WATN: Gunny, the Alliance, Begaye

[MEDIA=youtube]roMdzHqq-js[/MEDIA]





The Four Corners Alliance initially struggled to find a new direction for its people once the war ended, with no war effort to rally behind. By 2030, with the Union of Autonomous Pueblos ratifying the Intertribal Charter, the Four Corners Alliance was fully restored. Work resumed on many planned projects- the restoration of mass agriculture, construction of housing for its citizens, the full transition to clean energy, and most importantly, the restoration of groundwater to most of the Colorado Plateau. The Arizona scientific collective known as Bio-II provided much needed training for the programs' head scientists, including Kendra Nez, who would oversee the greening of the Black Mesa.  Despite all odds, the Four Corners would eventually become more hospitable to life and survival than it had ever been.



The Roloff-Nakai Engineering Collective, per an agreement with the Intertribal Council, scaled back its weapons development, though it continued to produce firearms for TSF use and for export, and Roloff-Nakai would become and remain a seal of quality for years to come. The RNEC became the Alliance's largest employer, with an array of divisions for countless engineering ventures centered in the San Juan Basin.



Within 2 decades, conditions had stabilized, largely thanks to the establishment of the Pacific Commonwealth in Tech-Com's former territory. With most of their early leadership being former comrades on either side, the two powers worked closely to exchange resources and specialists and gradually rebuild, together. Between them, the Apache Coalition served as an important intermediary, building flourishing trade centers along the old I-80 Highway to connect them all. The three powers eventually ratified the Southwest Free Trade Agreement, allowing for free movement and further sharing of resources. Alterations to the Hoover Dam and other power systems allowed for hydroelectric power to supply California and parts of the Alliance, while also gradually restoring the ecosphere of the region. The Biospherans of BIO-II, heavily involved in a variety of ecological projects, are given free passage and guaranteed security by Long Rifles on their expeditions.



By 2069, 30 years after the end of the war, the quality of life within the Alliance, the Coalition, and the Commonwealth began to resemble life in the 20th century.



The members of Long Rifle Team 9 were lauded as heroes in the Four Corners Alliance for participating in the assault on Cheyenne Mountain. All surviving members received the Alliance Medal of Valor for their faithful service. At the end of the war, only Team 9, portions of Team 6, and the expeditions in Latin America remained out of an original 12. The Intertribal Council and TSF Command deliberated for some time, then decided that the Long Rifle Program would be reorganized into the Tribal Scout Corps, a massive initiative to explore the post-war world and establish new diplomatic relations.  Long Rifles would cease to be a purely military venture, and come to include doctors, engineers, even Biospherans in their ranks. Following in the footsteps of Team 9, the new Long Rifle Teams crossed the abandoned Coltan Line, surveying what remained of the Eastern United States, Atlantic Canada, and beyond.



Gunnery Sergeant "Gunny" Nez remained in command of Long Rifles Team 9 until its disbandment in 2031. The aging Nez returned to his preferred role- chief instructor at the Long Rifle School, where he helped to raise a new generation of Long Rifles from the ashes of the war. Ushered along the relatively uncrowded ranks of senior enlisted, he eventually retired in 2039 at the rank of Sgt. Major. Throughout the remainder of his career, he continued to act as a mentor to his former teammates, many of whom had continued to gain officer's commissions- especially Nelson Haskie, who was part of the first graduating class of the Alliance Military Academy at Chinle. He also remained very close with the surviving members of Delta such as Kato Sei, with whom Team 9 had worked very closely during the war. He regularly held holiday gatherings for Team 9, Deltas and their families, a tradition established in the refugee camps after first returning from California.



Following his retirement, Nez continued to support his daughter's pioneering work in climate restoration and aimed to spend the rest of his days creating and fostering new life.



Colonel Joseph Begaye personally oversaw the tribunals of SkyNET collaborators, former members of the CPRA regime, and Ghost Dancers following the liberation of the Four Corners. With the abrupt end to the war, most of these tribunals were halted and clemency was granted to all but the most heinous of offenders. Fulfilling a promise to Lt. Tomas Bermudez, the Colonel sought Alliance citizenship for all surviving members (those who wanted it) of Delta and the Resistance Special Operations Command, who had been instrumental in the liberation. The Intertribal Council followed through and guaranteed that all members of the Resistance were eligible for such citizenship. He also ensured that liberated Assets within Alliance territory remained free from persecution and discrimination, and dedicated "as-needed" funding expenditures to rehabilitation programs, which in later days soon included psychiatric support for veterans of the Coyote War. He remained Commandant of the Tribal Security Force under President Marie Tsosie-Kim and her successor Russell Chee, until his retirement in 2040. Begaye became very reclusive in his later days, refusing to see the gradually increasing army of journalists and news agents seeking an interview with "The Colonel."  He left Window Rock, and returned to his maternal uncle's land, where he built a hogan and became a radio operator for Hightower, relaying weather updates and regional news to rural communities.



James Lone-Elk, captured by SkyNET and repurposed into an elite Auxiliary, was declared Killed-in-Action- Body Not Recovered during the night of May 5, 2028 by the Four Corners Alliance during the opening phases of Operation Apex. The exact circumstances of his death remain classified to this day.



[SPOILER="Deeper lore explanation for the ending..."] Humanity never stopped watching the skies, where the countless rockets had ventured in the wake of Cheyenne Mountain's destruction. After 2 years of apparent stripmining of The Moon, all traces of the organized Machine remnants vanished, leaving the lunar surface brutally scarred. While it had remained generally accepted that SkyNET was "gone," both nations developed contingency plans for the contrary, and quietly began researching spaceflight, using SkyNET propulsion designs recovered from the ruins of Pacific Command to kickstart their development. Today, the aging astronomers of the Resistance Naval Observatory continue to watch the skies, hoping that one day they may be able to know where SkyNET went, and whether they might return. [/SPOILER]