| Fort Angel | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Establishment: | 2264 |
| Status: | Active |
| Location Information | |
| Location: | Black Hills, South Dakota |
| Societal Information | |
| Population: | approx. 75 |
| Notable Individuals: | Jack Saïd
Dave Reynolds Sr. Doom Buster |
| Factions: | Followers of the Apocalypse, Dakota |
| Notable Events: | Fort Angel Massacre, the Generals' War, Deserters' Standoff |
Fort Angel is the only successful outpost of the Followers of the Apocalypse in the Badlands Territory and contrary to the name is not actually a military outpost. Fort Angel mostly takes care of the sick and disadvantaged in the Black Hills area, catalogs native Indian languages, and serves as neutral ground between the almost constant warring factions of the Territory. However, the recent War of the Generals has caused a steady flow of wounded from the front, and many in Fort Angel think Custer is taking advantage of them big time. Also, recently the fort has fallen under the protection of a vigilante by the name of Doom Buster, to the residents' chagrin.
History[]
Fort Angel was visualized all the way back in the 2250s. The Followers of the Apocalypse wanted to set up a chain of outposts stretching from coast to coast in an effort to reconnect the North American wastes with nurses and doctors. This was assisted by access to pre-War maps and armed caravans.
The going was easier said than done. Out of thirteen Follower caravans, only five made it to their destination. Out of those five, only three managed to last into the modern day. Fort Angel was one of those and remained the Followers' only big outpost east of New California before the Old Mormon Fort was occupied in New Vegas.
The leader of the expedition to South Dakota and the founder of Fort Angel was Dr. Dave Reynolds (Senior), a former NCR Army medic who had joined the Followers after leaving the service. Along with Doctor Reynolds came his pregnant wife June and several other Followers and a handful of mercenaries to protect them. Reynolds was a harsh taskmaster, driving his expedition further than any of the others until they arrived at their set destination in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Reynolds was surprised to find that the region was not the dustbowl he expected but dry plains with a sprinkling of trees.
After arriving, the Followers' expedition quickly began cutting down all the trees they could find to construct a fort they could operate out of. This attracted the attention of the local Dakota Indians and eventually the regional ruler General Custer. At first, both were hostile to the Followers' actions of "barging in and taking whatever they wanted", but soon the Dakota Indians learned more and warmed up to the Followers due to their free medical assistance and schooling. The Dakota told Custer the Followers were welcome, and Custer decided they could stay.
The Followers managed to finish their fort and named it Fort Angel after their origin, the Angel's Boneyard aka Los Angeles. Soon after this, Dave Reynolds' son, Dave Reynolds Jr. was born and caused June to die after childbirth. Reynolds Sr. forged on and became Fort Angel's Chief Doctor.
Fort Angel provided free medical care for the surrounding area while relying mostly on caravans and donations from the friendly Dakota to survive.
Dave Reynolds Sr. reestablished contact with the Followers in California through letters in 2268. The Followers back east were ecstatic and started sending more supplies and Followers, which arrived in 2269. This was a great boon to Fort Angel, and it flourished in those years. The Followers treated the sick of the area as well as learning various native languages such as Lakota and Dakota. The Dakota Indians trusted the Followers but were not quite used to them yet.
This period of peace came to a crashing end in 2275 with the Fort Angel Massacre. A raiding party of scum from Rapid City appeared in the night and attacked Fort Angel. Twelve Followers and five mercenaries were killed before they were forced to flee by a large force of Dakotas coming in to help Fort Angel. After the battle, the Dakotas offered to help repair the damage done and support the Followers. This support fell off after a while when Fort Angel's condition did not improve.
Chief Doctor Reynolds and his son survived the Massacre, but this made the Doctor reconsider his options, for the safety of his son. Sending a letter to the Followers in New California, Reynolds informed them of the situation and promptly left the fort with his son in hand, never to be seen again. Several other Followers followed him out as well, eager to jump off what they considered "a sinking ship". This left Fort Angel without a Chief Doctor, without a pilot to guide it.
For a time after this, there was no Chief Doctor, and the few Followers stopped learning new languages and hiring mercenaries to protect Fort Angel. Hearing the fort's declining condition, the Followers in New California decided to send a new expedition east to resupply the fort. This expedition was headed by Valerie Stephens, who the Followers intended to become the new Chief Doctor. The expedition made it to Wyoming without much incident.
In Wyoming, Stephens and many others were killed in a tribal ambush and the expedition's only other surgeon, Jack Saïd, took over. The expedition arrived at Fort Angel to find it dilapidated and sparsely populated due to the Fort Angel Massacre and the desertion of Doctor Reynolds.
Upon his arrival in late 2277, Saïd became Chief Doctor and began to the process of restoring Fort Angel to its former condition. The Dakota were grateful enough to help (now with a few bags of medical supplies from the Chief Doctor), and the fort was cleaned up and restored physically by the summer of 2278.
The next two years were rough for Chief Doctor Saïd, who had to closely rely upon his lower-ranking but more experienced Followers for advice. The going was tough, and Saïd was often impatient and headstrong. However, he did restore Fort Angel and even began language cataloging again in 2279 and schooling in 2280.
2280 was a rough year for Fort Angel. The Generals' War began between the RUSA and the ANA, with hundreds of refugees going south to flee marauding armies on the North Dakota-South Dakota border. The Followers treated the refugees as kindly as they could before most of the refugees went further south to Deadwood to seek refuge.
Then came the wounded from the front. Battles in the Borderlands were very bloody, and Custer saw an opportunity to unload many of his injured to be treated. Chief Doctor Saïd and the Followers frowned on this strategy but just gritted their teeth and went on as they always did. It was only when injured from the ANA showed up did things get complicated.
The first one to arrive was on January 3, 2282. A deserter from the ANA and a former member of the New-Merican Society, the soldier trekked through enemy lines and snowdrifts to Fort Angel, which he heard provided refuge for the "disadvantaged and disowned". The ANA deserter was allowed in and treated for hypothermia. The wounded from Custer's American Army, making up most of the patients in Fort Angel, wanted to lynch the deserter as an enemy and a coward. Showing his characteristic backbone, Chief Doctor Jack Saïd stood up to the angry patients and had the fort's mercenaries protect the deserter until he recovered and silently left Fort Angel in the spring of 2282.
Since then, deserters from both sides and ANA soldiers caught behind enemy lines began to flock to Fort Angel to escape persecution from Custer's soldiers. This caused further tension between the Followers of the Apocalypse and Custer.
This tension peaked in 2286, when several shell-shocked ANA deserters holed themselves up in the western part of the fort and declared themselves "Dakota Free State". Seeing this, the Dakotas and a few soldiers from Custer's American Army surrounded Fort Angel, ready to storm it if the "Free State" took it over. Through the mercenaries' bravery and Saïd's stubbornness, this was avoided, and Fort Angel was back in Follower's hands. The Dakota withdrew their children from schooling in Fort Angel.
Doom Buster
After the Deserters' Standoff, security in Fort Angel has been beefed up. Both ANA and RUSA soldiers are still allowed, but now all weapons are taken up at the door by mercenaries and given back on release. One of the more interesting developments is the emergence of Doom Buster, an armed vigilante known for waiting outside of Fort Angel and attacking ANA deserters who try to get there. Its unknown who the man is or who he works for, but Doom Buster is condemned by the staff of Fort Angel and has never publically been inside.
Currently, Chief Doctor Saïd is overburdened by his work and is not the naïve optimist he once was but a product of the unforgiving Badlands Territory. Between the injured from the war, Doom Buster, and a building financial crisis, Saïd needs help.
Government[]
Fort Angel's government is headed by the Chief Doctor, who manages the fort's organization, defense, and finance. Some of the more anti-authoritarian Followers have protested this, but the current Chief Doctor, Jack Saïd, has stayed firm on his position.
Economy[]
Fort Angel is not a business, and the Followers do not charge for their services. They mostly rely on caravans from the west and donations to survive. However, Saïd has occasionally sold medical supplies to keep afloat, unknown to his fellow Followers.
Culture[]
The culture of Fort Angel is one of humanitarianism and learning, as is the mission statement of the Followers of the Apocalypse. However, an underpinning of desperation is always present. Fort Angel also maintains a policy of neutrality, treating all patients as equals. This has understandably ruffled a few feathers in recent years.
Relations[]
Dakota[]
The Dakota Indians are Fort Angel's closest allies due to the Followers because of their free medical care and charity. The Dakota protect the fort from raiders (most of the time) and educate the followers on their languages. Also, if the situation is especially bad, the Dakota will donate supplies to Fort Angel.
Custer's American Army[]
Fort Angel and Custer's American Army's relationship is currently neutral but standoffish. Fort Angel has been repeatedly defiant of attempts to incorporate it into the RUSA and has on occasion angered Custer by treating ANA deserters. However, the fort's relationship with the Dakota has prevented Custer from actually punishing them. So, Custer often sends in tens of injured soldiers from the Borderlands to Fort Angel, as a sort of middle finger to them.
American Northern Army[]
Fort Angel has no formal relationship with the ANA, but all ANA soldiers in the Borderlands know about it from hearsay. They know if injured and caught behind enemy lines, to forge south and try to take sanctuary in Fort Angel, neutral ground.
The Followers do not mind this much, but they have become more cautious treating ANA soldiers recently, as skirmishes between ANA deserters and Fort Angel mercenaries nearly caused Custer's American Army to intervene and take over the fort.
Canadian Liberation Army[]
The CLA rarely ranges as far south as Fort Angel but the two times they did, the CLA members were given good care and allowed to return to Canada. For this "favor", the grateful Tarleton, in a drunken bout at the Border Club, decided to make Chief Doctor Saïd an honorary member of the CLA and sent a letter south informing Saïd of this. The Chief Doctor wrote a letter refusing the membership, but this letter was lost, so his honorary membership still stands to the amusement of many Followers.
Quotes[]
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