The Fallen Continent: Colorado
The fate of the Centennial State thirty years after the Great War.
Population: 670,000
Largest City: Loveland
They came with the bold resolution
A commonwealth here to create,
And the watchword they bore was the name we adore,
Colorado, the columbine state.
Introduction
Before the Great War, many considered Colorado the most likely site of a relocated US government in the event of an emergency. This was known as well to the Russians as it was the Americans, however, and Colorado’s most strategic locations were annihilated, even the formidable Cheyenne Mountain Complex, America’s “indestructible bunker.” Other victims included Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, NORAD, Peterson AFB, the US Air Force Academy, and other vital installations.
Colorado Republic
Capital: Loveland
Classification: State Legacy (Patchwork state government)
The Two Colorados
The Colorado Republic is the product of two separate wars. After the destruction of Twin Falls, two rival governments in Colorado formed. The first government was established by state legislators in Grand Junction; they elected a new governor among themselves and sided with Bozeman. The second government was formed by the State Patrol in Loveland, who professed their loyalty to Midland. Though Midland and Bozeman proper never went to war, this didn’t stop the Colorado governments from fighting each other.
This war was not motivated by strong convictions of a particular presidential claimant, but rather a struggle for survival. Loveland, much like Dodge City, Kansas, was surrounded by circling camps of hungry and irritated refugees, and needed to be rid of them. The Acting Governor in Loveland sent whoever was willing back east to Kansas and conscripted the rest, beginning the Colorado Wars. This war chiefly consisted of pinprick raids punctuated by massed offensives through the mountain passes. Though Grand Junction initially had the upper hand over Loveland with its better weapons and more professional troops, Loveland’s superior population and industrial base gave it the long-term advantage.
As Loveland began to close in on Grand Junction, the GJ legislators grew worried. Bozeman, though distant, was beginning to draw nearer to Colorado and had taken an interest in the state war. Their handling of the Montana, Idaho, and Utah state governments stoked fear in the hearts of the Grand Junction government, who suspected a similar fate was in store for them. With the “Bozeman Scare” in full force (a phenomenon that Loveland greatly capitalized on with an effective propaganda campaign), Grand Junction thought it better to submit to Loveland than Bozeman.
The Bozeman government was too far away to actually assume direct control over the state, but that didn’t stop the panicked legislature from negotiating peace. Following an armistice between the two governments, Grand Junction’s governor resigned, and the legislature elected the Loveland governor as the rightful governor of the state. The western half of the state was generously granted significant regional autonomy as a result.
United Colorado
The resulting union became one of the strongest state governments in the country, which used its massed resources to quash raiders and subdue many of the various towns, counties, and other bodies that broke away from the state during the period of anarchy (though many others remained outside its grasp). They needed all the strength they could muster, because Dodge City was now on its doorstep, having founded its own rival government in Burlington.
Colorado became an important second front for the Dodge City–Midland War; its reactivated and enlarged State Defense Force was now one of the most battle-hardened formations in the country, while the Loveland metropolitan area had fostered an impressive war industry. President Ingersoll in Midland, being as paranoid as he was, did not recognize the competence of the Colorado government and began blaming them for his own failures in Texas. After repeatedly issuing suicidal military orders to Colorado, Ingersoll called for the arrest of the governor and his replacement by one of his loyal cronies.
The State of Colorado, who had never gained anything from serving Midland, instead stood by their governor. They cut all ties with midland and seceded from the United States as the Colorado Republic. The USA-DC, unfortunately, refused all subsequent offers of peace. Though occasional ceasefires have been signed, some lasting for several years, Dodge City has never made peace with the Colorado Republic and maintains that its secession was illegal.
The Colorado Republican government is effectively an oligarchy of prewar leaders and their postwar successors, holding pro forma elections mostly as a symbolic gesture. The Republic’s nature is very dualistic, and is effectively a confederation of two states, almost like the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Loveland government, having endured a worse situation regarding refugees and being so close to the front lines of the Dodge City War, is generally more authoritarian and heavy-handed. The Grand Junction government, by comparison, takes a more hands-off approach, and local elections are still competitive in some western counties.
The Colorado economy is quite robust, with a large industrial sector and one of the nation’s strongest currencies: the Colorado Silver Dollar, one of America’s rare silver specie currencies. Their economy is highly coveted by Dodge City, who wishes to capture their industrial base and strengthen their own weak fiat currency with Colorado silver. As Dodge City draws slowly closer to Loveland, the Republic has begun relocating industry to Grand Junction. There are currently calls to move the state capital, as well.
State of Colorado
Capital: Burlington
Classification: Local Government (Re-founded state government)
Allegiance: United States of America (Dodge City)
The State of Colorado is one of six contiguous states within the United States of America in Dodge City, having split off from the rest of the state during the Colorado Wars. Loveland’s hold on eastern Colorado was always tenuous; the State Patrol had no interest in governing the eastern counties and only viewed them as a region in which they could disperse troublesome refugees. Both the governmental neglect and refugee problem led to widespread resentment for Loveland. Grand Junction could have offered an alternative, but they were too distant and too occupied with the Colorado Wars to help.
Following the 1st Dodge City Congress and David Brannigan’s ascension to the presidency, however, the eastern counties found a solution. They broke off and proclaimed their own state government in Burlington and subsequently joined Kansas and Oklahoma as the third state of the Dodge City Congress. Like other USA-DC states, Colorado holds regular elections at the local, state, and federal levels. Like other states in the Dodge City Convention, Republicans tend to dominate the polls. There is a not insignificant presence of liberal Democrats and far-right Constitutional Patriots at the local level, but not enough to make state elections competitive. Elections in Colorado are especially carefully handled by the federal government, as they have a vested interest in ensuring the continued dominance of the hawkish Republicans and their platform of militaristic national unification.
Colorado holds an immense strategic importance to the USA-DC. They hope to push to the Rocky Mountains as a defensible western frontier and establish a bulwark there which they can fall back to in case of an extreme crisis. More importantly, they desire Colorado for economic purposes. The substantial heavy industry of the Loveland metropolitan area and large population would make great boons for the republic, but most of all they covet Colorado’s silver reserves. A silver-backed currency would greatly strengthen the Dodge City economy, which currently relies on shaky fiat dollars.
Although they halt for occasional ceasefires, some lasting a few years at a time, Dodge City remains perpetually at war with the secessionist Colorado Republic. After the downfall of the United States in Midland, Colorado has become Dodge City’s primary military theater and the state is heavily militarized as a result. They have made considerable advances toward Loveland, including the recent capture of Fort Morgan, but will only face greater difficulty as the Coloradans are pushed back into the defensible mountain passes of the Rockies.
King of Castle Rock
Capital: Castle Rock
Classification: Warlord (Personalistic warlord gang)
The King of Castle Rock is one of the last free biker warlords, who built up Castle Rock as a fortress in anticipation of Dodge City’s advance. They are de facto allies with the Colorado Republic, but both parties would deny this charge.
Fremont County Neutral Zone
Capital: Cañon City
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Rogue localist regime)
The Fremont County Neutral Zone got its start during the Starving Time as a localist regime, turning away refugees from Colorado Springs and Pueblo. They sat out the Coloradan Civil War from the sidelines, and they hope to do the same with the Colorado-Dodge City war. Dodge City, however, is not so fond of their fence-sitting and will force Fremont County to finally pick a side and fight, once they turn their gaze towards Cañon City.
Colorado City Cowboys
Capital: Colorado City
Classification: Warlord (Vigilante gang)
The Colorado City Cowboys originated as a vigilante group, enforcing frontier justice to the unruly crowds of refugees coming south from the destroyed, larger cities. They have three options available to them concerning their future: try to get on Dodge City’s good side, try to carve out a new home for themselves somewhere else, or be swept aside by the oncoming US Army.
Chaffee County Emergency Council
Capital: Salida
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Eclectic local government)
Allegiance: United States of America (Dodge City)
The Chaffee County Emergency Council—a diarchy between a former Sheriff’s deputy and a benevolent warlord—has thrown a wrench into the Colorado Republic’s plans by approaching Dodge City and securing a good deal in exchange for their loyalty. When such loyalty can be so easily bought, one wonders how likely Dodge City will be to honor their end of the bargain.
Saguache County
Capital: Saguache
Classification: Local Government (County government)
Allegiance: Colorado Republic
Poor Saguache County is now trapped and isolated after Chaffee County’s defection. They’re trying to muster up a battalion of men to help the Republican army retake Salida, but their isolation has left them very vulnerable.
South Colorado Public Safety Commission
Capital: Del Norte
Classification: Military Faction (Rogue military unit/Neo-feudal regime)
The South Colorado Public Safety Commission (commonly referred to as just “South Colorado”) is the only major warlord faction in Colorado, being a small neo-feudal regime founded by a renegade National Guard commander. His troops earned the respect of the people of southern Colorado by defeating the “Comitatus,” a warlord army that invoked Roman history and symbolism (not to be confused with the prewar Posse Comitatus militia movement). He has cast feelers in the direction of the Colorado Republic, trying to get a good deal in exchange for aid against Dodge City.
Despite the military origins of the Commission and the professionalism of the paramount leader’s retinue army, the SCPSC is not much different from any other neo-feudal faction. Most of its troops are not elite retinue, but are in fact vassal levies and are not much better than any other county militia. Still, the Commission is a force to be reckoned with, and is one of the main reasons why the UIN hasn’t expanded any further into Colorado than it already has.
The Lightbringers
Capital: Antonito
Classification: Religious Faction (Satanist warlord gang)
The Lightbringers are a Satanist gang that controls the small town of Antonito on the border with New Mexico. The only reason the SCPSC hasn’t crushed them yet is because of the other surrounding warlords and, more importantly, the rising threat of Dodge City. They make a convenient enough buffer against the UIN, as well.
Their Satanism is not just an edgy joke or a thin excuse to pillage and rob, though they certainly do these things. They are among a handful of Satanist cults that believes the Great War was some kind of sick punishment on mankind by an unjust and uncaring God, and that they fight for the liberation of mankind from the cruelty of Christianity.
Anglo Reservation
Capital: Durango
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Warlord client state)
Allegiance: United Indian Nations
The Anglo Reservation is a vassal state of the United Indian Nations populated almost entirely by white people. It serves more as a client state and a northern buffer than an actual reservation to which white people are deported, but the project has been an unmitigated diplomatic disaster for the UIN and has convinced most of their neighbors that they are not acting in good faith. It is the most effective piece of propaganda the George Washington Legion has ever enjoyed, as a result.
Silverton Vigilante Company
Capital: Silverton
Classification: Warlord (Vigilante gang)
The Silverton Vigilante Company offers justice and protection to its citizens. The protection isn’t optional, however, and costs a good deal of money. The Company’s rule is absolute and unchecked, at least until some larger power reaches them and tests their mettle.
Ouray County Military Authority
Capital: Ouray
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Local militia regime)
The Ouray County Military Authority doesn’t have any ties to the actual military, but was instead organized on behalf of Ouray County by a retired veteran of the prewar US intervention in Lebanon. The small county army was meant to defend it against raiders and overbearing vigilantes while the state government fought amongst itself in the Colorado Wars. The Authority’s power snowballed until it displaced the actual county government, which isn’t even kept around as a formality anymore. They’re the last bitter holdout of the Colorado War; they used to fight under Grand Junction’s flag, but cursed their betrayal and compromise with Loveland. Maintaining their grudge, they still harass the Colorado Republic with raids, forcing the Republican Army to divert troops to Montrose.
Nuclear Republic
Capital: Nucla
Classification: Warlord (Slaver regime)
The town of Nucla was founded by idyllic socialists, who dreamed that their settlement would become the “nucleus” of a burgeoning agricultural community. The choice of name was ironic, considering that a uranium mining industry developed in the region later on. During the Starving Time, an enterprising warlord captured the town with the goal of re-starting the mining industry. He’s brought in slaves from the Mormon Wars and the Southwestern Race War to repopulate the ghost town of Uravan, earning a small fortune off the backs of dying miners. His Nuclear Republic sells uranium to the few factions mad enough to consider nuclear power or even a nuclear arsenal, but the Republic’s chief export is actually vanadium, to be used in high-quality steel alloys.
Sons of Silence
Capital: Dinosaur
Classification: Warlord (Outlaw motorcycle gang)
The Sons of Silence are a prewar outlaw motorcycle club that was founded in Colorado. They briefly flourished during the anarchic days of the Starving Time before the Colorado Wars sidelined them. Rather than stay caught in the crossfires and risk destruction, they escaped west and captured the town of Dinosaur, which they use as their home base. They’re far more concerned with developments in Utah across the state line and frequently raid the Ute Nation and the Dodge City-aligned State of Utah in Uintah County.
Moffat County
Capital: Craig
Classification: Legitimist Warlord (Rogue county regime)
Allegiance: United States of America (Bozeman)
Moffat County is quite similar to the Ouray County Military Authority in that they refused to go along with Grand Junction’s surrender to Loveland. Rather than bitterly fight against the Colorado Republic, however, they quietly refused to secede and maintained their support for Bozeman. This was not out of true loyalty, but rather a justification for the county government to rule unimpeded and unrestricted as local oligarchs.
Index
Click here to read the master post of the series, with links at the bottom of the page to all other Fallen Continent entries.
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So many places got nuked that just didn’t need to be nuked really😭