Casey

War Never Changes

Gloria Van Graff - Ultra Lux, New Vegas

Gloria sat and watched as a few stragglers entered the room. It upset her slightly that nations lacked the respect to even show up on time but that was not something she was going to speak up about. As she grew up, she learned the importance of being courteous and showing respect to those around her. Gloria had learned it the hard way by her father who would ruthlessly beat her as a child until she learned… and that message was something she had passed on to all Van Graff employees, show respect, or face the consequences. Apparently these nations didn’t learn the same thing growing up.

The first of the latecomers was a representative of the Angels of War. A rather large mercenary group that had recently tried to gain entrance to the weapons market in recent years. To Gloria, she found them rather underwhelming from reports on their ‘nation’. Apparently a large amount of them thawed from ice and were from the Pre-war era, which somewhat intrigued Gloria but not enough to overlook the fact that this nation was competition. A competition that would likely need to be eliminated in the future. Though at the moment, they served the purpose of being a competitor to the Gun Runners, which in-turn meant the Van Graffs didn’t have to deal with them.

The next latecomer… was unusual to say the least. Clad in… well, if you could even consider that clothing. Gloria found herself accidentally staring at the women for longer than what could considered reasonable. The lady was beautiful, that much was obvious. And when she announced where she was from, Gloria hadn’t even heard the name before surprisingly. Either way, the fact that she was barely wearing clothes lead her to believe that the woman was from a tribal nation and if they were anything like the Legion, they would prove to be rather useless trade partners given the fact that Tribals rarely relied on energy weapons.

Following the two late arrivals, the King spoke up again. This time, to officially commence the summit."With formalities out of the way, I would like to open the floor to any urgent discussion our honored guests might have, before I speak on the behalf of Robert House. Are there any important matters that anyone wishes to bring to the forefront before we move forward?"

Gloria sat quiet. Her dealings would be dealt with privately amongst nations as they had always been done in the past. It would prove detrimental to announce any trade deals with other nations present, as it would only serve to weaken the reputation of the Van Graffs to nations that didn’t particularly like the trade partners that they had chosen.

Lucius, surprisingly, was the first to bring up the fact that the peace treaty was ending. And was actually the one in favor of renewing it to some degree. “"Then maybe we might discuss the fact that the Treaty of Goodsprings has reached its end. Mars alone knows exactly what that means, but I can take a fair guess. The treaty must either be renewed, or the Southwest will likely be awash with blood soon enough. And I can assure you, that whatever horrors the first war brought, the second will unleash even more."

Gloria could simply feel the discontent that her father had as Lucius spoke up. It was certainly not the initial statement they had expected from the Legion. A new war would jumpstart profits and allow for new weapons contracts. Peace… well, peace just wouldn’t do.

The next to speak up was the mercenary from up north, he spoke condescendingly about how these nations needed him… as if his group was actually a threat to anyone at this table in the slightest. Gloria held back a laugh but Salvatore let out a snicker at the arrogance of the man.

Then out of nowhere, James Kimball made an announcement that relieved both her and her father. He first started by shutting down the arrogant merc that had been invited, he then made an outrageous offer that would obviously get rejected… and the president knew that. He then made the big announcement that his invasion of the legion was already in progress as he spoke. Gloria realized now why the NCR wished to speak with them… he was already intending the fight the legion, and he wanted the Van Graffs to supply his army. Everything was working out even better than the Van Graffs had originally thought the summit would. They’d have massive profits coming in from the west, and if everything worked as planned they’d be expanding into the Midwestern Brotherhood and perhaps even further east.

As expected, the Midwest voiced their discontent and House also condemned the NCR and voiced how any battle within 100 miles of the mojave’s borders would be considered an act of war against the F.Z.M. Though, in all honesty, she doubted that House would attack anyone until the war was over. He wouldn’t pick a side, but Gloria could see him coming in and taking on the weakened victor once the war had concluded. As for the midwest, they had been against NCR expansion since the beginning, and were the only reason the NCR hadn’t won the war 5 years ago.

Gloria looked around the room at gasps from everyone sitting around the table as they heard the initiation of war against the NCR. And as Lucius heard the news he immediately bid the table farewell to defend his land. The Caesar of the legion was always the head of the strategy so it was easily predictable that Lucius would respond in this manner and leave. Though, Gloria had hoped to actually speak with him before he left… shit had simply hit the fan too fast… far faster than expected.

Then, out of nowhere. The representative of the ‘ghost-traders’ whoever the hell they were who had come with Joshua Graham spoke up about his discontent with the NCR invading the Legion territories, and then made a statement that made Salvatore clench his hand into a ball “As for us. The Ghost Traders simply wish to widen and expand trade with the Free Economic Zone of the Mojave," explained Christine. "My people are very good at constructing and repairing various Pre-War tech. Namely old plasma and laser equipment. We'd wonder, if it's possible to set up business in New Vegas… We'd be even okay with setting up our trading posts in the New Vegas sewers - if the topside is too expensive or too occupied for us”

Salvatore spoke up almost immediately, Gloria could tell he was holding back the urge to punch the woman “Is that so? Well, I’m afraid that just won’t do. The Van Graff Corporation controls the energy weapon trade in the region and I’ll be damned to let some unknown nation try and impede our operations and trade in the area. If you want to open up trade, you can do so through discussions and contracts with us.” he looked to the King hoping he would be in agreement considering the fact that House had always had good relations with the Van Graffs.

Then under even more outrageous circumstances something else happened. The damn president announced he had a television message play where the ‘actual?’ president described the situation. What the fuck was going on here? Gloria couldn’t help but feel like everyone here was getting played and that at any moment a bomb was going to go off in the room...

War Never Changes

Gloria Van Graff - Ultra Lux, New Vegas

Gloria watched as the nations of the wasteland began filling in and taking their seats at the table of diplomats. The first to arrive following themselves was the Legion, they’ve proved.. difficult to make contact with in the past and Van Graff attempts to expand their trade network into Legion territory had been met with heavy opposition. So heavy in fact, that trade trade networks in Legion territory had to be slowed and all shipments had to be moved in secret. Though, Gloria was satisfied to see them, hopefully she’d be able to get through to the leadership and have them open their borders to trade. And if not, she was sure there was something of value they could do that would convince them.

The next to enter, almost ironically following the Legion was the NCR. While they’ve had their troubles, the NCR was the Van Graffs most profitable market. Gloria nodded at the president as he came in and took his seat. Quickly after, one of the masked men of the Ultra Lux came and approached her and her father. Jean Baptiste stepped in front of the man and placed an arm on him to stop him from furthering.

Jean Baptiste looked at the man angrily and asked him in a equally angered voice, “What?”

The masked man looked at the massive Van Graff security guard blocking his path in fear and hesitation
“A thousand pardons sir. A message from one of the delegates for the Van Graff leadership”

Gloria who hadn’t even looked in the direction of the masked man behind her, raised her hand
“Let him by. This is a Diplomatic meeting brother, I don’t need you stopping everyone that tries to speak with me. Not a single person in this room would dare an assassination attempt.”

Jean-Baptiste gave a heavy push on the man before taking his arm away and allowing him to pass. He came and whispered into Gloria’s ear. “The NCR delegates wish to speak with you privately following the meeting” he then began walking away.

Jean-Baptiste quickly placed his hand on him once again, “Never approach my family again without permission” he then let him by

Gloria looked to her father and spoke in a quiet voice to ensure the delegates around her couldn’t hear. “It seems the NCR wishes to meet with us privately”

Salvatore nodded. “I assumed they would. Meet with them after and see what they want, I’m sure they have something up their sleeve. Either way, you know our plans. Follow them”
Gloria nodded, this summit was something the Van Graffs had been planning for, for weeks now. Every discussion had been thought out, and every move they were willing to make had been calculated.

The next to enter was the delegate from the south-east. Gloria knew little about the nation other than the fact that the nation was a trading haven. Which meant a lot of competition… however, it’d be worthwhile to speak with them about possibly opening up stores either way. Soon after the West Coast Brotherhood chapter entered. In the past they’d been a threat to the Van Graffs though in their weakened state, and with their new reforms that have been rumored to possibly be occuring, it’d be possible that trade networks could be opened or perhaps direct trade with the Brotherhood government would be in order. Though, in all honesty, they are far more of a risk then a benefit, the Van Graffs would be better off without them.

House’s little helper was the next to enter the fray. Gloria and Salvatore gave a nod to him as he walked in, relations between House and the Van Graffs had been extremely beneficial and Gloria intended to keep it that way. Not only did House inform them of the Big MT research facility but he had also given them the land as sovereign territory, which came with the protection of being in his territory, and the added benefit of his territory not having taxes on trade. Overall, it was a good set up and the Van Graffs had every intention of keeping the deal running.

The next group to enter had a strange air about them… she’d heard of a dark cult in the east and it was immediately obvious to her that these must have been the cults envoys. Gloria couldn’t help but get chills as the young girl in their party entered the room. While she wore a elegant dress and looked fine on the outside, something about her simply felt off. Salvatore had made it clear however that no one was to open discussions with them, they were currently at war with the MWBoS apparently and the Van Graffs did not need a reason for the midwest to deny trade deals. Seemingly on cue the other cult from the east. The “Children of Atom”. This group was also an overall unknown to the corporation.

After a little time the Midwestern Brotherhood entered the room. As they walked in, Gloria noticed them acknowledge the Van Graff leadership. Gloria nodded in return. The MWBoS was the next market the Van Graffs hoped to open up. Given their technological prowess they’d likely be open customers to the new energy weapons being produced at Big MT and their nation was known to have the materials needed for the corporation to increase manufacturing capability even further than they already were. She felt compelled to move over and open discussions immediately though she decided it’d be better to allow the meeting to occur firstly, rather than be interrupted by it mid-conversation.

The Arctic Haven mercenaries showed up next, a group to the far north that was relatively small. However, given their presence at the meeting it seemed likely they were trying to expand into the west, which was a threat to the Van Graffs market and if it came down to it, would likely need to be eliminated.

A man named Joshua Graham and a woman named Christine announced themselves as leading the Ghost traders. Gloria didn’t even have knowledge of such a nation, though she did know Joshua Graham from the rumors that everyone had heard by now.
‘
And finally the Enclave entered and made their presence known. Gloria had assumed that they had been destroyed given their lack of a presence in the west, though perhaps this would prove beneficial to the Van Graffs. The Enclave technology had been a mystery since their disappearance and perhaps a deal could be struck for it.

It had taken a while but the nations of the world had actually decided to show up to the summit. She had expected far less delegates to actually show, though perhaps the nations of the world were serious about achieving peace after all.. Though she still doubted it. In all likelihood most people were just here to make alliances against the nations they wanted to destroy. Which is something the Van Graffs could easily exploit.

The King then announced the rules of the discussion and Salvatore snickered as he read them. House really expected people to follow this bull shit? He invited nations that had been at war with each other for years and yet House was acting like he was hosting a tea party amongst old friends.

War Never Changes

The Van Graff Corporation

Name: The Van Graff Corporation

Logo: fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Van_Graffs?fil…

Territory: Big Mtn. is the only geographic area they control entirely. The rest of their numbers are in various weapon stores and armories they have set up throughout the West.

History: The Van Graff corporation was originally a powerful caravan family operating out of Redding. While the Wright family of New Reno trades in drugs and prostitution, the Van Graffs traded in gold and weapons. The Van Graffs were a huge family, and the leadership was all taken by those actually within the bloodline. The entire family was intensely loyal to each other, and at one point the Van Graffs could be considered a nation in their own right, rivaling that of the budding NCR when it was first starting out. However, rather than focusing on Nation Building, the Van Graffs took to focusing on expanding their trade networks and ruthlessly taking out all rival weapons traders that were intending to compete with them in an open market.

As the NCR grew, so did the Van Graffs, but at a far slower rate. The Van Graffs never considered them to be a threat until it was far too late, and at the point where they were outnumbered immensely. As a result of the NCR’s growth, the profit began to decrease immensely as the NCR would often stop their expansion with regulations and taxes, along with laws prohibiting the Van Graffs from legally doing what made them so profitable in the first place, taking out the competition.

Despite this, the Van Graffs maintained their role as one of the largest weapons manufacturing corporations in the entire NCR, rivaled only by the Gun Runners. However, it was far from enough for the Van Graff family, they began expanding into new territories, eventually finding themselves with several stores outside of NCR territory, such as the armory in New Vegas.

Eventually, and perhaps luckily for the Van Graffs, War never changes, and the war for New Vegas began, thus increasing profits tenfold, allowing for further expansion and hiring, as all sides needed more weapons to fuel their war machine. With no regards for the NCR, the Van Graffs even secretly expanded into Legion territory, and began profiting off both the east and the west.

When the need for weapons as a result of the long war began to outnumber their means to produce, the Van Graffs began looking for alternative places to start increasing their manufacturing ability. Eventually, Mr. House informed them of a place called Big Mtn. He revealed to the Van Graffs the manufacturing ability it has, and in exchange for being allowed to occupy it, and be considered sovereign territory from Vegas, the Van Graffs would supply forces when needed and the Mk 6 securitron upgrades to House. The Van Graffs agreed and ordered a large scale invasion of the facility and after a month long invasion, they managed to mostly clear the facility of the few hundred Lobotomites and other deadly robots and creatures. While having heavy casualties, in the end, Big Mtn was ripe for their taking. They surrounded the Think Tank tower that had been entirely locked up during their assault and breached the entrance. When they found themselves face to face with the Think Tank themselves, Gloria Van Graff, rather than ordering to kill them, offered them a deal. Work for the Van Graffs and help bring the facility to an operational capacity and they would be allowed to live and manage the facility further. They accepted.

While it took 5 years, and a huge amount of scientists under the orders of the think tank and men to bring the parts of the facility online that they wanted, and to clear the hold outs of creatures that they had missed in the initial invasion, they finally did it. Now, with the Van Graffs in the strongest position they had ever held, they began producing robot scorpions under the supervision of Dr. Mobius, LAER rifles (which has never been sold on Market before this, and brought in immense profit), and a large amount of other Big MT inventions that the world had never seen (though some technology was never sold, and served only the Van Graffs, for instance the Robot Scorpions were never privately sold, but rather worked as defense for the Van Graffs). The Van Graffs also fitted Big MT with an immense amount of air defenses and land defenses so that the facility could never be taken without a considerable force. Overall, they skyrocketed their power as a the strongest weapons manufacturing company in the west, completely outshining the Gun Runners in profit.

In addition to the new technologies that they were now able to produce and profit off of, with the addition of the Robot scorpions to their army, the Van Graffs also became one of the leading Mercenary groups in the west as they took their shot at the “private army” market. Hoping to profit further off a possible upcoming war by being hired by the NCR or Vegas to assist in the war.

Population: 15,000 Employees

Government/Domestic Politics: All run by the the Van Graff executives. No formal governments, works more as a company, with regional managers that report directly to the Van Graff executives.

Notable People: Gloria Van Graff, Salvatore Van Graff, the Think Tank, Dr. Mobius

Military (try to be somewhat realistic): 5,500 Security Forces. 120 Robot Scorpions.

Economy: Weapons and Technology Manufacturing. Also, now working into the “Private Army” industry.

Culture and Technology: High level of technology. As a corporation, they have no distinct “Culture”. Employees are allowed to follow whatever religion they please so long as it does not conflict with the direct orders of the Van Graff Family.

War Never Changes

Gloria Van Graff - Higgs Village, Big MT

5:00 AM

Gloria Van Graff had woken up at her normal time, eager to get operations underway and finish preparations for the New Vegas summit. It had been called with the idea of bringing peace to the nations of the wasteland but she knew better, the NCR and the Legion were going back to war as soon as the meeting ended and everyone went home. It was useless… well, to them at least. It was an easy way for the Van Graffs to continue expanding. All the representatives of the world, in one place, just ripe for the picking. In fact, this summit could speed up operations by 10 to 15 years. Originally, the corporation hadn’t planned on making its way further east for another 5 years, and not to the east coast for another 5-10 years after that. But with wars waging all over the continent, she was sure she would be able to make some arrangement to get weapons to the east within the year.

She left her house, looking around at the beautifully restored executive housing for her family and the elegant fountain centered in the middle. The building was filled to the brim with Van Graff security standing at every door as well, though in all honesty, Gloria hated it all. It was mostly established by request of her brother and sisters. Gloria preferred the harsh lifestyle she used to live, she felt like the luxury of it all was making her soft.

Gloria looked across at her father’s home and noticed he too was leaving his house. He held a cane at his side which he used to walk, and had 2 guards at either side of him. He was dressed in a perfectly clean black suit with a overcoat (looks like this: media.istockphoto.com/photos/old-scho…) Salvatore was old, but the man was pretty much the genius behind every operation, he was ruthless, merciless, and the reason the Van Graffs were in power. Gloria may manage Van Graff operations, but her father was in charge of every strategic play that they’d ever made. He was actually the one whom originally accepted House’s deal, and he was the one who ordered the countless attacks on Caravans throughout the NCR and the mojave such as Cassidy’s Caravan and other lesser brands looking to make a name for themselves. Though he may look like a shell of his former self, he’s still as ruthless as before and nothing big happens with the Van Graffs unless he’s first consulted. Even Gloria knew not to mess with her father, he’d as quickly order her death as he would any other one of the workers in this entire facility. The Van Graff family was really family only in name and blood, it just meant loyalty, nothing more.

Salvatore approached her
“Is the shipment ready for departure?”

Gloria nodded,
“I had it prepared yesterday, though, I’m heading over to ensure everything is loaded onto the plane and accounted for before we depart”

Salvatore began walking away,
“See that it is. We leave at one”

-------------------------------------------------------------

2:00 PM

With the shipments of newly manufactured Energy weapons and explosives in tow, the private Van Graff executive plane arrived at McCarran airport. Gloria brought her own private security guard, Jean-Baptiste, her brother whom she consulted and trusted with everything. Salvatore brought four additional guards as well.

As they left the plane, a personalized securitron with the cartoon face of a mob made-man approached them “The Van Graffs… welcome back to Sin City. The summit meeting as I’m sure you know is at the Ultra Lux Gourmand.”

Salvatore shook his head,
“For Fuck sake… plan on feeding everyone some human meat to bond over?”

Gloria looked up at the robot,
“Cancel any meals pre set for us… we won’t be eating”

The robot responded,
“Very well. I'm sure you aren't here for the food anyway. Do you have any weapons that need to be moved?”

Gloria nudged her head towards the back of the plane,
“We’ll have our men handle that, the weapons in the back of the plane are not to be touched by anyone but my own. Understand?”

The securitron turned around,
“Very well. Now if you’ll follow me, I’ll lead you to the monorail”

------------------------------------------------------
The Strip
After exiting the Monorail and entering the strip, it was obvious that House had set up a secure operation here. A large amount of additional Securitrons had been brought in to ensure the security of the diplomats. Gloria never truly felt any awe for the strip, sure it was wonderful, and Gomorrah was a fun time and a good way to get laid, but it always had this fake feel that she could never shake. It was largely the reason she didn’t frequent it much. It truly was a shining Jewel in the wasteland, though she certainly preferred the wasteland

When they finally reached the Gourmand, she realized that they were the first to arrive which was excellent for her. The Van Graff security quickly spread out throughout the room, the only one staying close was Jean Baptiste whom stood directly behind both Gloria and Salvatore. A number of masked men stood around the room waiting for orders. Salvatore immediately broke out the bottle of scotch which they had received when arriving and poured himself a glass and began lighting a cigar. All they had left to do was wait...

War Never Changes- A Fallout RP

IC is up: roleplayerguild.com/topics/163118-war…

For those of you that are new. Generally, how we have the RP's set up is that you describe in your first post how your faction got there, what they're maybe thinking about, and their reactions to the city (Maybe they hate it based on where they are from, for instance the legion may be disgusted seeing strippers and chem dealers while being escorted to the Gourmand, maybe the love the brilliance of it etc.). You could also just add in an excerpt of what they were doing before they left if you want.

Then, once most people have those posts up. Private discussions or general talks can begin by approaching people.

War Never Changes- A Fallout RP

Tentatively interested here, but I haven't roleplayed in years. Would it be acceptable to be a fairly small power in this, or is it just major players?

@Ozymandias

Well, there are factions such as the Van Graffs which have only 10,000 people are only a trading company in the west. And the church of atom only has 50,000 people. So you don't need to be as large as the NCR to have a faction. You can be smaller

War Never Changes- A Fallout RP

Here's Mine

The Van Graff Corporation

Name: The Van Graff Corporation

Logo: fallout.wikia.com/wiki/Van_Graffs?fil…

Territory: Big Mtn. is the only geographic area they control entirely. The rest of their numbers are in various weapon stores and armories they have set up throughout the West.

History: The Van Graff corporation was originally a powerful caravan family operating out of Redding. While the Wright family of New Reno trades in drugs and prostitution, the Van Graffs traded in gold and weapons. The Van Graffs were a huge family, and the leadership was all taken by those actually within the bloodline. The entire family was intensely loyal to each other, and at one point the Van Graffs could be considered a nation in their own right, rivaling that of the budding NCR when it was first starting out. However, rather than focusing on Nation Building, the Van Graffs took to focusing on expanding their trade networks and ruthlessly taking out all rival weapons traders that were intending to compete with them in an open market.

As the NCR grew, so did the Van Graffs, but at a far slower rate. The Van Graffs never considered them to be a threat until it was far too late, and at the point where they were outnumbered immensely. As a result of the NCR’s growth, the profit began to decrease immensely as the NCR would often stop their expansion with regulations and taxes, along with laws prohibiting the Van Graffs from legally doing what made them so profitable in the first place, taking out the competition.

Despite this, the Van Graffs maintained their role as one of the largest weapons manufacturing corporations in the entire NCR, rivaled only by the Gun Runners. However, it was far from enough for the Van Graff family, they began expanding into new territories, eventually finding themselves with several stores outside of NCR territory, such as the armory in New Vegas.

Eventually, and perhaps luckily for the Van Graffs, War never changes, and the war for New Vegas began, thus increasing profits tenfold, allowing for further expansion and hiring, as all sides needed more weapons to fuel their war machine. With no regards for the NCR, the Van Graffs even secretly expanded into Legion territory, and began profiting off both the east and the west.

When the need for weapons as a result of the long war began to outnumber their means to produce, the Van Graffs began looking for alternative places to start increasing their manufacturing ability. Eventually, Mr. House informed them of a place called Big Mtn. He revealed to the Van Graffs the manufacturing ability it has, and in exchange for being allowed to occupy it, and be considered sovereign territory from Vegas, the Van Graffs would supply forces when needed and the Mk 6 securitron upgrades to House. The Van Graffs agreed and ordered a large scale invasion of the facility and after a month long invasion, they managed to mostly clear the facility of the few hundred Lobotomites and other deadly robots and creatures. While having heavy casualties, in the end, Big Mtn was ripe for their taking. They surrounded the Think Tank tower that had been entirely locked up during their assault and breached the entrance. When they found themselves face to face with the Think Tank themselves, Gloria Van Graff, rather than ordering to kill them, offered them a deal. Work for the Van Graffs and help bring the facility to an operational capacity and they would be allowed to live and manage the facility further. They accepted.

While it took 5 years, and a huge amount of scientists under the orders of the think tank and men to bring the parts of the facility online that they wanted, and to clear the hold outs of creatures that they had missed in the initial invasion, they finally did it. Now, with the Van Graffs in the strongest position they had ever held, they began producing robot scorpions under the supervision of Dr. Mobius, LAER rifles (which has never been sold on Market before this, and brought in immense profit), and a large amount of other Big MT inventions that the world had never seen (though some technology was never sold, and served only the Van Graffs, for instance the Robot Scorpions were never privately sold, but rather worked as defense for the Van Graffs). The Van Graffs also fitted Big MT with an immense amount of air defenses and land defenses so that the facility could never be taken without a considerable force. Overall, they skyrocketed their power as a the strongest weapons manufacturing company in the west, completely outshining the Gun Runners in profit.

In addition to the new technologies that they were now able to produce and profit off of, with the addition of the Robot scorpions to their army, the Van Graffs also became one of the leading Mercenary groups in the west as they took their shot at the “private army” market. Hoping to profit further off a possible upcoming war by being hired by the NCR or Vegas to assist in the war.

Population: 15,000 Employees

Government/Domestic Politics: All run by the the Van Graff executives. No formal governments, works more as a company, with regional managers that report directly to the Van Graff executives.

Notable People: Gloria Van Graff, Salvatore Van Graff, the Think Tank, Dr. Mobius

Military (try to be somewhat realistic): 5,500 Security Forces. 120 Robot Scorpions.

Economy: Weapons and Technology Manufacturing. Also, now working into the “Private Army” industry.

Culture and Technology: High level of technology. As a corporation, they have no distinct “Culture”. Employees are allowed to follow whatever religion they please so long as it does not conflict with the direct orders of the Van Graff Family.