Tuesday, April 24, 2012

[Gatewar File] Formation of the Pacific Union


(I decided to do a quick background write-up to go with the Opfor that I'm painting up using ACP Nationalist troops.)


It wasn't until nearly 2100 A.D. that the economic turmoil which had been brewing for nearly a century finally rocked the scales of world power. It had taken much longer than experts predicted, and it did not happen nearly in the manner expected. World leaders were braced for a new World War as the United States and China conducted proxy wars throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, fearing the confrontation would finally come to a head - or more likely, the U.S. would simply fall by the wayside in the face of the financial power wielded by the East. In the end, though, it was a civil movement that, spurred on by unprecedented levels of public dissent, grew to unstoppable proportions on the West Coast of the United States and ultimately led to the Second American Civil War. The political divide between Washington and the economic powerhouse on the West Coast became insurmountable when the Federal Government began deploying military units to control citizens, and in November of 2094, California seceded from the union to be quickly joined by Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, forming the Free CalTex Republic. 


This abruptly ended the United States' wars abroad as troops were recalled home in complete disarray. The military was instantly fractured, different generals ceding loyalty to various political leaders. Some units, bases, and naval vessels mutinied, others were taken by force. It quickly degraded into one of the darkest times in modern U.S. history. The conflict, however, was short and savage. The battle lines shifted for several months and American cities became battlefields. Many cities in Texas were left little more than ruins as the U.S. offensive charged along the Southern border toward Austin.


Ultimately, Texas fell, with New Mexico following not long after. The decisive shift in the desert war occurred at the Battle of Mojave, along the Arizona/California border where Free Caltex tank brigades composed of American-made tanks and reinforced units manning armor sent by Russia and China lured the U.S. armored columns into a massive ambush, crippling the larger force and causing a stalemate. 


Public resolve was quickly eroding in the U.S., and Washington was soon forced to sue for peace. With Texas and New Mexico lost, Free CalTex leaders were in a dire situation themselves. With neither side willing to escalate the war, the United States' President Klein signed the Totonto Accords on March 24, 2095, ratifying the existence of the new Pacific Union. 


The Pacificans quickly established themselves as a powerful global force, maintaining a strong economic position in the West, forging firm diplomatic ties to Russia and China while managing a surprisingly stable peace with the United States. Shockingly, it was Pacifican military action that aided in halting a joint incursion into the war-torn state of Texas by Mexico, Brazil, and Venezuela, thus paving the way for eased relations moving forward. 

Yes, I geeked out and made a flag. :P Combining elements of the California and Nevada flags seemed to provide a striking image, the red star looks cool and speaks to their ties to Russia and China, and Nevada's "Battle Born" motto seemed very appropriate, given the background story.


The war did not completely cripple the United States, as many expected. It did, however, weaken their position as one of the most dominant forces in world politics and brought the Pacificans, U.S., China, Russia, and the E.U. to roughly equal geo-political footing.


Today, the Pacific Union is known as a hotbed of progressive thinking and technological innovation. Many of the largest corporations are of Pacifican origin, not the least among them Sol United - the interstellar surveying firm that discovered the Moirai System and Lachesis. Pacificans are typically branded by outsiders as morally bankrupt due to their cultural and political beliefs, especially after the scandal caused by the human treatment of Crusties being revealed to the world - one of the chief perpetrators being Sol United and the Pacifican armed forces.


Having been on the forefront of the discoveries on Lachesis, the Pacificans have benefited greatly from ample access to Tetrobium. Because the Pacific Union was forged in a savage desert tank war and fierce urban fighting in the American Southwest, Pacifican military doctrine favors the use of heavy infantry units backed up by armor support. With the advent of Tetrobium-based walker technology, the Pacifican Army has embraced these units fully, and currently fields some of the most advanced walkers humanity has to offer.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks, it was tough to gauge the overall cheesiness factor at the time, but I really like how it came out!

    ReplyDelete