"A politician will do anything to keep his job. Even become a patriot."
William Randolph
---
Hall of Congress - Hall Antechamber
Shady Sands, New California Republic
November 2nd, 2280
"Mister President, I must-"
"Protest, yeah I know," Kimball said, seemingly indifferent.
"But, Sir," the aging politician pleaded as the two made their way to the main hall, "I highly recommend that we-"
"Save it for later, Preston," the President muttered while straightening his tie.
Albert Preston, Secretary of Education, couldn't seem to get words to escape his mouth in time before the President of the Republic threw open the doors to the congressional hall and began marching triumphantly towards the raised podium amid a din of applause. The awesome display and the rushed ceremony of the event simply drowned out the faint protests of a single man.
---
Alright, the President thought to himself,
Let's get down to business.
Aaron Kimball, President of the NCR, adjusted the microphone at the podium and cleared his throat before summoning up his characteristically bold voice to address the massive assembly before him. Some were still clapping; his audience was essentially on board already, so this was more or less a formality, and a nice picture for the public.
"My fellow Californians," he began, "Thank you for your support. Thank you for everything you have done, and will no doubt continue to do, for the sake of our nation, for our people, and for our great cause. Today we face a threat that was once considered our mortal enemy. We face a threat that was once the enemy of all peoples, from our Republic and elsewhere. We face a threat that was thought to be extinguished, but as we now know is sadly, terribly, still alive."
He fixed his eyes on a point above the crowd, striking a grim but determined pose.
"We face the
Enclave."
The crowd began stirring. They knew it was coming, but some of them still felt the need to demonstrate their anxiety.
An even better picture for the public. Believable.
"Yes, the very monsters who claimed to be our rightful government have reared their heads once again! A new face, a new voice perhaps, but all heads connected to the same beast. They will stop at nothing to undermine what we have accomplished in order to further their own selfish gains. They will stop at nothing to destroy our Republic, to enslave our people, to rule over a wasteland that they chose not to build upon, but to ravage!"
Kimball glanced down at the podium, picked up a few words from a speech he could never recite word for word, and continued on.
"We know not why they are here. We only know that it is our solemn duty to see to it that they are removed, permanently. Yes, it is our duty to destroy the Enclave, since what it represents is no better than slavery of heart, mind, and soul. We cannot and shall not yield to their advances. I speak for all of us in saying that we shall stand at the ready, ever ready. And if they decide to come to grips with us, then they will have the fight of their lives!"
The assembled congress was already beginning to applause, but there was still one line left in Kimball's repertoire.
"We will fight them today, or tomorrow, for as long as it takes, to make sure that
this great nation will not perish from the Earth!"
Satisfied, he stood atop the podium a few moments longer for the sake of photographers before stepping off and through the back door, escorted by his personal security.
---
Madness.
Absolute madness.
Preston could not contain himself. In the middle of all the cheering, of all the groupthink that was taking place in a room dedicated to democracy, his mind simply exploded into the loudest voice the old man had ever used.
"Don't you
get it!?"
Lost amid the masses.
"Don't you people understand?! They aren't just bogeymen anymore!! They're a
genuine threat!!"
He began waving around a white binder. It contained the latest northern border patrol reports, filled to the brim with warnings about an abnormally large number of Enclave units operating around, and even inside, the local settlements near their old Navarro Base. This was just icing on top of the cake; after all, it wasn't long ago that the Shi had been totally obliterated, and word from the trading grapevine said that the Mexicans had just run into troopers to the south. It presented a scope that was totally unknown to any Wasteland faction: well-equipped military units under the same banner operating hundreds of miles apart from each other was no easy feat, not even for the NCR.
Ironic that a minister with no obligation to the study of war or diplomacy was the only person to take it for what it was worth.
"How can we fight powered armor and aircraft with rusted guns?!" he shouted, "How can we ignore the danger?! Why are we not even considering diplomacy?! If we cannot fight them, why are you so determined to?! We'll all be killed!!"
Lost.
"
Killed!!"
