Ministerio Civil | |
Political Information | |
Government: | Bureaucracy |
Leader Title: | Director |
Leader: | Director 'Remi' Oxavacus |
Societal Information | |
Location: | Distrito Capital, Tamaulipas |
Population: | 72 |
Historical Information | |
Founded: | 1952 |
Founded by: | Ciudad Victoria Municipal Council |
Policy Information | |
Enemies: | raiders, Comancheros |
Status: | working hard |
Formerly an important part of the municipal government, the ministry is just another army by 2287 once responsible for condoms and pamphlets, now responsible for Jeans and landmines.
History[]
The Civil Ministry of Tamaulipas was created sometime in the 1950s, responsible with serving and educating the people of the region on sexual and social issues. Often controversial with their contemporaries, it was often filled with idealists, political rivals, and boy-scouts, ensuring an efficient bureaucracy. They operated within their budget until the morning of October 23rd, 2077. Fortunate enough to be in a mandatory meeting in Conference Room B, they were shielded from most of the radiation, with only a little penetrating the basement via air-duct.
Initially mistaking the blasts for earthquakes, they were stunned and horrified when they emerged to see the city burning, with mushroom clouds on the horizon. One of the bureaucrats regained his senses and yelled for the others to get inside, which they did in a hurry. It would not be fast enough for some however, as they fell prone to the radiation. About half of the sick died, while the others would turn into ghouls, locking themselves in their offices as their skin peeled and hair fell out.
Their emergence greatly shocked their colleagues at first, but after some fast talking, they managed to convince them they were the same. Their attempts to raise others had failed since the bombs fell, and many who had left for their families had not comeback. It was in this atmosphere that Ramon "Remi" Oxavacus, the highest level surviving bureaucrat called the ministry together. He told them that the world would not be same, and that these times would be bad, but that they could manage by sticking together.
Initially his words were ignored as yet more hot-air from some blowhard, but after a raid by a group of raiders, they began to take him more seriously. He began to reorganize them to various tasks, the most important of which was always the gathering of information. Some of their family members would find there way to the building, which greatly boosted morale, but quickly drained the already depleted cafeteria. Forced to scavenge in the ruins, they encountered others, most of whom were friendly, if still shocked survivors.
Confident in the good nature of the people, Remi and several others convinced the majority of their fellows to allow some of the people in. The refugees managed to pull their weight, and the group scraped by into the 2100s. Then in 2105 they found the ruins of a printing shop. Initially using the building as nothing more than a flop-house, that changed when it was discovered the press still worked. Remi was ecstatic upon the discovery, and ordered that it run 24/7 making posters.
That order would be hard to apply to resource shortages, though the help of civilian scavengers helped greatly. They managed to produce several dozen posters and scattered them throughout the city. This attracted civilians as well as raiders, though the attacks were beaten back. This is also around the time they began their "guns for food" program, which saw them exchange canned goods for assault rifles and other such weapons. By 2106 they had a large, albeit fragile, society, with over 40 refugees living in a tenement town on their lawn, just inside of a scrap-wall.
Their attempts at farming had been consistently poor; with squabbling over land and water common. To alleviate this, Remi issued a directive supporting scavenging as a main food/income source. This would also create trade-ties with several scavenging groups that had popped up since the war. Some of whom had even stayed at the office. It would also bring them into conflict with several other groups however, most of whom reacted with the utmost hostility.
Previously able to move freely due to their acquired arms, the rise of organized resistance limited their range, as well as killing several of their members. To compensate they began to distribute flyers and bounty notices around the ruins, pricing the value of supplies to them. While this had little effect at first, overtime they would see a constant stream of merchants.
Comancheros, gangs, and rival factions would also see them however, and attacks would grow to be frequent. Being aging bureaucrats they were untrained for conflict and could do little to ward them off. This would cause them to sign on mercenary bands, at first just for a short time, but gradually their contracts became longer. This lead to Remi proposing the 'Private Contractor Reimbursement Initiative' in 2120, with the section heads finally approving it the next year.
It basically allowed opened ended contracts with the mercenary groups of the district, as well as entitlement to any loot of value from their attackers. The resulting boost in their manpower allowed them to punch out and create a small, but stable area for the refugees. They established several junk and scrap walls around a small courtyard shared by several other office buildings, all of which would be emptied over the next few months. With the refugees secure for the moment, Remi and his subordinates decided that they needed to determine the status of the other government branches.
They had encountered army and police units already, but only as small groups of raiders in the ruins. To this end they sent four messengers with merc escorts to City Hall, the offices of Transportation, the offices of Maintenance, and the offices of Public Housing. The results were less than encouraging; City Hall was in ruins, with Radiation ticking heavily; the former maintenance workers had regressed into tribal-raiders and attacked the group sent there; and Public Housing was a burnt-out ruin. Only the department building for Public Transportation was approachable, though it had become a cantina since the war.
Despite this, the mission was declared a success, though not a great one. Trade relations were set up with the people living in the transportation offices, and life went on for a time. They were forced to become an active participant in the wargames in 2165 however, due to an issued resolution. A scavenger team came under fire in March of that year, and were forced deeper into the ruins.
2165-2185[]
Finally forced into a dead end and heavily out-gunned, it looked like their end. They were saved however, their attackers being cut-down from the back. Their saviors were revealed to be members of El Sindicato de Empleados y Obreros, who were fighting to secure the area around the city archives. When the scavengers returned and retold the story, Remi was more than pleased to send a diplomatic party to the Union, hoping to establish formal relations.
His wish was granted on that trip, with trade being established, and a small celebration. Within months the two groups grew close and had established an alliance. What Remi and his department heads couldn't know however, is that the Union had reverted to polytheism, and were entering the war season of the year.
Removing the garb of their ancestors, the Union now applied their war-paint and began worship of their war god, Diaz. The tribals spread into the ruins, slaughtering whomever they came across. At first Remi and the others stood by their choice to ally, until reports started to reach them about the killing of civilians.
At first dismissing them as slander and rumors, Remi was forced to realize the truth when a squad of mercenaries reported them firsthand. No longer able to ignore the truth, but not wishing to appear waffley, Remi continued to support trade with the tribe, though he suspended military aid under the context of 'defense'. He and his department heads would face increasing pressure from the bureaucrats underneath them, as well as the citizens they protected to stop the tribals, though they would continue their trade until February of 2166, when word reach them of the Mchoney Massacre.
The Mchoney's were a extended family of scavenges that the Ministry had contracted to retrieve needed typewriter parts, and who had ventured deep into the ruins. Coming across a warband of the tribals, they didn't identify their employers and were thought to be a group of raiders. After a brief fight, the Mchoney's were killed and their remains scattered around the area. After a caravan brought back several of their heads, Remi had no choice but to break their alliance and go to war with the group.
knowing they had to strike fast, Remi and his heads came up with a plan that would hopefully knock the tribals off their feet, if not out of the District. They raised what guards they had along with their mercenary allies and struck at three places. The Ministry guards struck at the tribal hunters, trapping and killing them in their hunting ground. The mercenaries were sent to ambush the warbands and kill the syndicates leaders.
The guards managed to ambush the hunters rather well, but the mercenaries got stuck into drawn out firefights. when they finally broke the tribals and chased them, they were fully in a bloodlust. They made their way to the tribal camp, and fired on all they found. Unfortunately, in the eyes of Remi and his department heads, many of the casualties from the attack on the camp were women and children, with about half of the tribe's fighters managing to escape. The general populace took heart in the news of the attack however, and the reputation of the Ministry was somewhat restored.
The other factions took this opportunity to strike at the syndicate, hunting down and killing the scattering bands of warriors before they could dig in. They also struck at the Ministry mercenaries, hoping to keep them in check. Despite the first few ambushes, these attacks would generally be quick stalemates that saw both sides retreat with few if any casualties. This series of skirmishes would be recorded by the Ministry as Las Guerras Tribales, stemming from their initial attack on the syndicate.
This began to put the ministry on more of a war footing however, with their agents beginning to purchase more ammo and weapons. The dreaded offensive never came however, and they would began to expand somewhat in 2180. In 2183 younger bureaucrats managed to fill out two petitions and all the necessary paperwork and table a general vote of confidence in the director, feeling he had become incapable of properly aiding the residents of Tamaulipas, and submitted his actions in the last twenty years as proof.
2186-2230[]
The Ministry would also begin delivering food to refugees nearby their territory, earning the admiration of those denizens as well as those under their protection. This result in Remi retaining his position in a narrow election, that went to two recounts. He wisely changed his position on several issues, seemingly content to guard what they already had and not expand. The ministry would continue to help the people of Cuidad Victoria but it would be mainly through agents.
They would remain constant well into the next century, their numbers bolstered by a generation of volunteers and settlers. Their stability also attracted traders and individuals seeking employment, as well as raiders and Comancheros. These later were usually dealt with by mercenaries or rivals, though some had to be bribed away.
2231-2262[]
This new found prosperity would cost them however, as a large group of Comancheros gathered to attack their offices, convinced they had decades of food. The first week of 2231 would see a bloody siege, with the bandits only breaking after a mercenary squad managed to get on their flank and rout it. The Ministry would spend the next three years hunting Comancheros and raiders in the ruins, convinced that they were a serious threat at the moment. This would unfortunately regain the attention of their enemies, who were passive after a generation of silence.
Not wanting to be caught off guard, the Ministry began posting bounties for any resource that could help them. They would receive blankets, food, ammo, maps, electrical parts, scrap, ink and paper. Happy for the easier supply the Ministry would stockpile these until 2240, when they were told of a much bigger find. Maria Santos, one of their agents, had found a factory on the outskirts of town, and one of the lines looked to still be functional. Remi immediate proposed and got approval to send a dozen mercenaries and six hundred Pesos to restart it. Maria would have the factory operational the next year, and it would produce over a hundred pairs of jeans.
When they arrived back at the offices, Remi would have them passed out through the Ministry and the remainder sold. The profits were put back into the factory, which had opened a trade post to receive more materials. They found their agents selling the jeans would prove popular targets, causing them to deploy most of their mercenaries to protect them. They would see skirmishes throughout the 2240s but no major conflict until 2254. That year a large band of Comancheros yet again attacked them, this time striking at their factory. The guards managed to fight them off, causing Remi to hire an additional Mercenary band to kill the survivors of the Comancheros.
They would find the sales from the latest batch of jeans to far surpass there farthest expectations, able to fund their approved budget for the next three fiscal years. They would abide by these budgets, but drew up more generous ones for the fiscals years starting in 2259 onward. They would begin to expand their aid missions in 2259, but would be drawn into open conflict with Los Constructores in 2262 due to their raids of Ministry caravans.
2263-2287[]
The war would take five years, and cost the lives of over a hundred mercenaries, and a dozen Ministry personnel. The early 2260s saw the Constructores with an easy advantage in the simple fact the Ministry didn't know where they were coming from. They could only hire scouts and send heavily guarded agents and caravans out, which often attracted attention. Only after five years of anxious trips and bloody firefights did mercenary scouts finally located the Constructores' base. Wasting no time Remi and his heads organized a large mercenary host to attack.
The mercenaries would encircle the raiders for three days, killing their patrols and defeating their sallies before they attacked the walls. Despite their number the mercenaries began to lose ground, having far underestimated the skill of the raiders in actually constructing. They would be saved when one man inside the fort dropped a bucket of grenades, not only blowing the walls and gate open, it also killed the defenders as well. Thinking it was a purposely made decision, one squad took him on their soldiers and carried them the entire way back the Director Remi.
The remaining Constructores were hunted down and the fort destroyed, with pieces marked by the various bands their symbols. The ministry and their people were overjoyed to hear about the end of the war, especially as it allowed them to fire several of their armed groups and focus on rebuilding. The war had been destructive and they had lost several buildings and out posts to the raiders and various other opportunists, as well as killing many of their scavengers. The next decade was spent repairing the damage done, mostly financed by Maria Santos' jeans which were still proving to be popular.
They have regained some of their strength by 2278, but are finding that many civilians farther from their offices are hesitant to deal with them for fear of being targeted. They would make some headway in the years after that, but have tried to remain more cautious, instead opting to help fund individuals that help other throughout the district. While this system is rife with corruption, they have found cases of legitimate good being done, and continue it. They are content to consolidate their hold on what they have, and began tentative talks of clearing additional buildings to house civilians. There has also been another vote of confidence in Remi by younger bureaucrats, tired of practical king leader their supposed bureaucracy. It has been scheduled for 2288 and both sides have been passionately sending memos.
Culture[]
The Ministry and it's ghoul director try to maintain a decent level of morale within the district, and as such they invest in the creation of pinatas and posters, to remind the people a hint of color, as well as bring back a sliver of their heritage. Their headquarters however, is a depressing blend of fortress and prison; with walls, guard towers and fox-holes that manage to accentuate the fading pastel paint on the face of the building. Those inside work around the clock to organize and manage their various 'projects' and 'agents', as well as try and help the citizens as best they can.
Inside their office is a reproduction of before the war, with typewriters clicking away and members debating policy. This sight is contrasted by the bandoleers worn by these people, as well as the daycare/school in the basement. Artistic talent of many types are appreciated, with aspiring painters and writers often finding a home to craft the Ministry's murals.
Layout[]
The offices are located in an brightly painted pastel concrete structure, with sandbags and barbed wire along the whole of it. There lays a small shantytown in front of it's entryway, constructed over the decade by those seeking the ministry's protection. At the end of the town are several junk walls and towers, topped with searchlights and mercenaries. They occupy several neighboring buildings as well, using them for runoff housing.
Relations[]
The ministry is hostile to all slavers, raiders, savages and generally unfriendly groups in the district. They also find themselves at odds with the other factions fighting over the ruins, though they do have a few friends among them. They focus on winning the hearts of the people, as well as the support of Blanca Viniegra and her arms consortium. They condemn the use of addicts in battle, but still fire on them, galvinizing some.
Government[]
The current director is Ramon 'Remi' Oxavacus, who has held the position since shortly after the war. While a virtual monarch, he has always sought the approval of those below him in line with their regulations. He and his department heads discuss most issues that face the Ministry before deciding on a course of action, though there has been exceptions in the past. Like Remi, most of the department heads are ghouls, though nothing bars humans from working their way up. The process for choosing a new head is a simple vote within that department, while the process for a choosing a new director is a vote of the department heads.