Wasteland Crisis
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The Wasteland Crisis, also sometimes known as the NCR Affair, was a period of heightened tensions between the Republic of Cascadia and the short-lived New California Republic during April 2024. It began in mid-April, when citizens of the North American Union founded the New California Republic in Nevada, near Cascadian territory. Over the next week and half, Cascadian diplomats worked to secure a peace deal while Cascadian defense leaders prepared for any possibility of a conflict due to anti-NAU paranoia present in the Cascadian government. The crisis would end near the end of April 2024 with an NAP and negotiated border agreement, with the NCR fading into obscurity shortly thereafter. Despite the lack of direct action during the crisis, it was a critical moment in relations between Cascadia and the NAU, and was one of the events preceding the Great American War.
Background
During 2023 and the early months of 2024, a simmering mistrust existed between high-ranking officials in Cascadia and the neighboring North American Union. Amongst the most skeptical of Cascadians were Moxicodone, the Secretary of Interior during the Second Setrus Administration, and EmpressCorgo, the Treasurer during the same time period. Others, including Secretary of State Milgorn123, were generally more trusting of the NAU's intentions. The leading issue for skeptical Cascadians was the NAU's leadership's strong connections to the Prince Rupert friend group, which was had grown an reputation for racism, edginess, and doxxing. The group's connections to Bonzzil, who was considered a terrorist in Cascadia, also hurt its reputation.
The Crisis
On April 10, 2024, the Fallout TV Series, inspired by the video games of the same name, was released to Amazon Prime Video. The show was a major success amongst Fallout fans, which happened to include several citizens of the NAU. Due to a combination of boredom and inspiration from the show, a handful of NAU citizens, led by Ghostyuu, founded the New California Republic on April 18, 2024. The nation's capital was built over the ruins of a previous Fallout build in the Nevada desert, Vault 15, and the capital was named Shady Sands.
The unanticipated NAU expansion into Nevada sounded alarm bells in Cascadia. The paranoia surrounding the new nation grew stronger when Vault 13 was established in the Sierra Mountains, leading Corgo to warn that this may be the beginnings of an invasion. At this point, Milgorn would begin to open diplomatic channels with Ghostyuu in an attempt to calm tensions, with Ghostyuu insisting that they were only doing Fallout larp and would not be a threat towards Cascadia.
At the same time, another town, "Sahara Base", which was unrelated to the NAU, had joined the New California Republic. The town was placed directly next to the Cascadian town of Death Valley (in present-day Nevada County), and was associated with former Death Valley residents who moved to Mali after a dispute with the mayor. In an attempt at revenge, Sahara Base was founded with the goal of harassing and hunting Death Valley residents. On April 15, the Department of Defense, then led by Raptormm4, was notified of the hunting activity occurring around Death Valley. It was at this time that the Department of Defense began to investigate the matter, and would offer strategic advise to the President.
On April 19, negotiations between Cascadian and NCR officials proposed a border treaty delineated by a three straight borders around the Great Basin, and extending East. Within Cascadia, the deal was supported by Milgorn and received light support from other cabinet members, though it was opposed by Raptor, who didn't believe it was in Cascadia's interest to "surrender" the American Southwest to the NCR.
The deal was nearly killed entirely on April 21, when Kounter purchased the Cascadian town of Spokane after its mayor 42ed. This sparked major alarm bells in Cascadia, with many in cabinet declaring it to be an obvious invasion of Cascadia's sovereign territory. These fears were only heightened when it was found that Cascadian icerails going through the city had been blocked off "By order of Bonzzil". With Spokane captured, officials in the Cascadian Treasury began to prepare for a shift to a war economy. When Milgorn asked for updates on what had happened, Attorney General Akeboun commented that the NCR was "poking a sleeping giant". While there was confidence amongst the military advisors in the cabinet that they were prepared to fight a war, many members, including Vice President Setrus, were less confident, citing Cascadia's declining activity and population during recent months.
The threat of war quickly passed when Kounter reached out to Cascadian officials the next day to confirm that he was willing to transfer the town back to Cascadia at no cost in exchange for a negotiated deal between the NCR and Cascadia. Milgorn agreed, and after several days of negotiations, a deal was agreed to. Both nations agreed to a non-aggression pact, and a border generally surrounding the Great Basin and going straight East, though both sides understood that it would be loosely enforced, especially by the NCR. At the pushing of the Department of Defense, the NCR also quietly agreed to kick the town of Sahara Base. Sahara Base would fall into inactivity regardless around the same time. The treaty with the NCR was proposed to the Cascadian House of Representatives in the evening of April 30, and was passed by a vote of 11-2-1, with Paradox1080 and NotMakarov voting no and Akeboun abstaining.
Legacy
Due to the lack of direct action and focus on diplomacy and backroom dealings, the Wasteland Crisis is often considered a side note in the months leading up to the Great American War. Though many of the NCR's towns, including Shady Sands, would align themselves with Bonzzil during the war, and laid the groundwork for the Texan offensive to the Cascadian metro. It played a larger role in the context of the Transatlantic Cold War between the NSR and Cascadia, since the opening of more regular diplomatic relations between Cascadia and the NAU would help lead to the creation of the North American Protective Pact in June 2024.
The crisis also played a major role in the evolving domestic affairs of Cascadia during the period. The approach of military readiness and "power through strength", supported by the Raptor Doctrine, came to prominence during the crisis and continued in almost every diplomatic affair after until the start of the Great American War. It was also one of the first diplomatic crises that future President Raptormm4 would be involved in at a high level of decision-making. In the towns of the Great Basin, the crisis left a scar which can still be seen today in the ruins of Sahara Base, Shady Sands, and Death Valley.
