Coalition of Cascadia Reborn
The Coalition of Cascadia Reborn, commonly abbreviated to CoCR, was once the chief governmental force within Cascadia from 2170 to 2195. They began as a loose collection of caravan runners who would meet at a bar in Moda Garden, and eventually became an organized collection of delegates from every major settlement in the region who decided the fate and the future of Portland and beyond.
During their short-lived existence, the CoCR accomplished a great deal within Portland. They unified numerous settlements, established and expanded existing caravan routes and supply lines, made peace between warring factions, united fractured groups under one banner, and even waged and eventually won a war against a superior foe. This in particular was their final great act, repelling the Super Mutant Unity remnant force that arrived in Oregon to sack the city in 2193.
Arguably the most impactful thing the CoCR ever did was the reactivation of the Poseidon Oil Refinery in Happy Valley in 2184, with the collaboration of technologically-minded groups such as the Infojunkies, the Greasers, and OMSI, as well as an independent robot named Diesel. This act and the reactivation of the Stongehenge Broadcast Station would increase the quality of life within Portland beyond anything it had seen in over a century. Having working heat and reliable radio communication firmly established the CoCR as a government for the people, and for the first time since the end of the world it seemed as if peace and prosperity could be carved out of the frozen suffering of life in Cascadia.
They only ever had one president, an Irvington native by the name of William "Stimpak Willy" Landon who was repeatedly voted into office from 2179 until the end of the CoCR's existence.
While they were the de-facto ruling group in Portland, they were never the only ones. During the latter half of the CoCR's tenure a rival pseudo-military force known as the Guardians would rise to power under the leadership of General Horn, a powerful ghoul with a knack for uniting Scav clans under his banner by way of arming and providing for them in a way that the Locals never did. Even during the early days the Guardians and the CoCR never saw eye to eye, and while outright confrontation was rare, there were many meetings had to discuss the unnervingly swift elevation of a gang of Scavs to a bona-fide military just a stone's throw away.
It was during one of these meetings, in fact, that the CoCR came to a catastrophic end.
On a clear night in 2195 the delegates of the CoCR called for an all-hands meeting at Moda Garden. Every settlement representative and major player within the government was to attend an emergency discussion regarding the ongoing tensions with the Guardians. Even General Horn himself was invited to attend, likely as an olive branch extended by the CoCR to finally attempt to resolve hostilities while on neutral ground. The Guardians and the CoCR had collaborated before, most notably in defense of the city against the Unity remnants the year before, but any would tell you that the relationship was tenuous at best.
The exact details of the meeting are lost to time. As are all who attended it, as on that night an unknown saboteur was spotted entering Moda Garden and successfully caused a series of reactor meltdowns within the bowels of the Garden's power superstructure. The resulting catastrophic explosions obliterated the arena, the neighborhood surrounding it, and claimed the lives of all in attendance. In mere seconds the CoCR was wiped from existence, leaving only a handful of survivors who had not been present at the time.
The fact that General Horn can be counted among the lucky few who happened to not be there that night, as well as his known distaste for the CoCR, has of course led most to believe that he was in some way responsible for the disastrous event. To this day he claims innocence. Given how quickly he responded by filling the resulting power-vacuum with his own force, it is a claim that is seldom considered.
Those who remember the Coalition of Cascadia Reborn rarely speak of it these days. Fifteen years have passed since the loss of what many consider to have been the region's only hope of rebuilding something of a civilization, and as a result Cascadia has largely returned to the state of depressed isolation it held before those first caravaners began sharing tales in the bars of Moda Garden.
Time will tell if another group will take the place of the CoCR. Somebody likely will, for better or for worse. But for now the future remains as cold, dead, and irradiated as the remains in the crater where Moda Garden once stood.
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