Cheyenne Mountain Refuge

      Our nation has not fallen as long as one person remains who calls himself an American. We must remain resolute in our defiance of the invaders, and never give up hope. It is everyone's duty to help their fellows in this time of disaster, so that we can grow strong again as a people and reclaim what has been taken from us.
      -President Tom Weathers, from his inaugural address

    As the invasion progressed and America’s infrastructure collapsed, General William Rawson realized that he and his command were on their own. Out of touch with the Pentagon and NORAD Strategic Command, Rawson took it on himself to fortify his position for a long stretch of independence. Fortunately, he was blessed with one of the most defensible and self-sufficient bases in the world, the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, a fortress carved out of solid rock. The base is capable (in theory at least) of withstanding a moderate strength nuclear attack. It began with food enough to sustain its population of nearly fifteen hundred soldiers for a month, and effectively unlimited water from an underground reservoir.

    Rawson was also blessed with some of the most disciplined troops in the modern military, American and Canadian forces who were well-trained and accustomed to high-pressure work. They stuck with him in a time of great crisis, maintaining the base against occasional attacks, foraging for food, and constructing shelters outside the base for the refugees who came seeking shelter and protection. The area around Cheyenne Mountain is now home to nearly three thousand civilians, who are not allowed into the base unless a large-scale attack of some sort is underway, but are protected by military patrols day and night.

    For the initial weeks of the invasion, Rawson expected that any number of high government officials might arrive to take shelter in the base, which contained a section to protect the President in time of nuclear war. After a month of disappointment in this regard, the one and only VIP arrived. Tom Weathers had been the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury at the time of the invasion, and was hastily appointed Secretary of the Treasury on the disappearance of the current office holder. His rapid confirmation by a diminished Congress went practically unnoticed during the chaos of the invasion, but left him fifth in line for the office of President. With the disappearance or death of everyone above him in the chain of succession, Weathers was the only available rallying point for what remained of the government and armed forces. General Rawson had him sworn in shortly after he arrived.

    The Mountain is run under martial law and strict military discipline. Some of the civilian refugees chafe under what they see as needless rules, but others take comfort in the order that the camp provides. Everyone is acutely conscious that without the protection of the Mountain’s soldiers, they would probably have died long ago. The area has been attacked by hordes of zombies twice, and by less identifiable things on a number of occasions, including a ghostly creature that haunted the inside of the Mountain for a month and killed upward of a dozen people before somehow being driven off.

    The community accepts any refugees who can reach them and agree to live under their rules. People who wish to help defend the community may be taught combat skills by military instructors, and inducted into the militia, which reports to the actual NORAD command structure. It’s rare for anyone who wasn’t already a member of the US or Canadian military to actually be integrated into the Mountain’s formal military forces, or allowed into the fortification itself. To be a fully accepted member of the Community (and gain the Community Trait, “Cheyenne Mountain”) one is required to acknowledge Tom Weathers as legitimate President of the United States.

    Over the last few years, the leadership at Cheyenne Mountain has come to accept the use of Invader arts by members of the Resistance. The Cheyenne military has begun including Invader arts practitioners in their units, most notably those who practice Artificing science. However, they treat misuse of Invader arts, particularly when used to harm civilians, as an extremely serious crime, and frequently a capitol one.

    The Mountain’s forces have been on the forefront of the war against the Dominators. With the help of other resistance groups, they have prevented the Dominators from taking Kansas, and have recently re-taken a substantial amount of ground from them in Oklahoma. Cheyenne now controls several small communities in these areas, with their largest settlement located in the fortified city of Wichita.

    This slow spreading of their community proved fortunate when the Mountain, itself, was attacked. Enemy forces somehow summoned a powerful monster, possibly a demon, inside the fortified military base. With help from the Axiom group and the Pathfinders, the monster has been contained within Cheyenne Mountain, but the base has had to be evacuated. Cheyenne command is now located in Wichita, though they still control a number of small settlements and a garrison outside the Mountain proper.

    President Weathers and General Rawson are acting as the last remnant of the American government, and are attempting to unify the remaining free human population of the country under their leadership. So far, the other prominent resistance communities have resisted this idea, some more forcefully than others, but difficulties with communication and transport would make direct control of remote areas extremely difficult in any event.

    Typical Attitudes toward the other Communities

    The Fellowship

    “While we still cannot accept a King on American soil, it’s clear that John has provided much needed leadership to the people of Cooper’s Lake. The Fellowship’s principles echo many of our own, and some of their forces have fought with us bravely against the Dominators in Kansas and Oklahoma. They’re different from us, but they’re good people.”

    The Syndicate

    “Their leaders are thugs and gangsters who are taking advantage of this war for their own gain. We will deal with them, for now, but only in hopes of improving conditions for the poor people trapped under their thumbs.”

    Blackburn's Compound

    “The people of Ithaca are smart, brave Americans, and we are going to need their expertise to get this country back on its feet and into the 21st century again. They will have all the support we can give them.”

    San Francisco

    “The people of San Francisco have held off the Malish for over two years now, and we regret that we couldn’t give them more help than we have. They’re proven themselves tougher and more resourceful than we imagined. The Resistance could never have done this well without them.”