Within the heart of Sacramento, the newly declared Pacific Union and its representatives gathered together.
The breakaway state consisted of the former states of Washington, Oregon, California, and parts of Nevada.
Like its rivals, the Pacific Union claimed to be the only legitimate heir to the United States proper, and had claims to every state east of its borders. However, de jure and de facto ownership were two very different concepts.
And while the United States as a whole was claimed to be owned by the Pacific Union by right, and by law. The pragmatic reality was that anything east of California was under occupation by other entities whose claims overlapped with theirs.
Others still were in a state of outright open warfare. The Great Basin Empire was the name given to the lands by the self-proclaimed warlord who tore through northern Nevada and parts of southern Idaho and western Utah with little regard for what polity claimed what territory.
When the rule of law collapsed, and the monopoly of force was shattered, laws existed in word only. What really mattered was who held the most firepower, and the means to deploy it effectively.
And with that in mind, former Staff Sergeant of the United States Army, Caleb "Rattler" Maddox had become the de facto ruler of those disputed lands.
His convoys tore through the desert sands and salt flats like a new Mongol horde. Trading horseback for lifted trucks, and composite bows for heavy machine guns.
In such vast and open terrain, they had proven virtually unstoppable against more conventional forces.
Whether it was flak guns mounted in the bed, heavy machine guns like the M2, or lightweight anti-tank guns with APDS ammo provided by overseas contacts.
These highly mobile raiders had completely overridden the Pacific Union’s attempts to claim its disputed territories.
As well as their rivals whose claims to the lands disputed their own. Today, the Pacific Union’s representatives met in Sacramento to discuss the problems they were currently facing.
One man who had come all the way from Portland was quick to shout his fury at the incompetence displayed so far by the Pacific Union’s armed forces.
"It is simply unacceptable! Caleb Maddox’s march to the Sierras has gone unpunished for too long. Every punitive expedition we have sent to match his ravenous band of marauders has been met with humiliation and defeat! Something must be done about this!"
A representative from Los Angeles stepped forward, countering the Portland delegate’s claim.
"Our intelligence supports that Mr. Maddox and his brigands are gaining support from east of the Rockies! It is almost certain that the traitors in Detroit supply these bandits with the weapons and munitions they need to harass our lines of defense, and to delegitimize our claims to the Great State of Nevada! We cannot get rid of the so-called ’Great Basin Empire’ without first cutting off the hand that feeds them!"
The Portland delegate was about to respond with outrage when the representative from Seattle stepped forward to intervene.
"Enough... both of you! Three expeditions have been sent into Northern Nevada to quell this unrest. And three times they have been sent back broken and in body bags! We have taken this threat far too lightly. And we should muster the entirety of our strength to force these raiders into submission! I call for an immediate declaration of war against the so-called ’Great Basin Empire’ and a mass mobilization of our forces for this purpose!"
The hall went silent. The words ’Declaration of War’ echoed throughout the chamber, as none dared to speak up again after hearing them.
Until now, the Successionist States had largely prevented themselves from directly stepping on their opposition’s toes.
The Great Basin Empire lacked legitimacy as little more than a tributary state to a semi-nomadic war-band who protected its subjected population through violent reprisal against those who would trespass against them.
But the claim that it was being supplied by their rivals like those in Detroit was a falsehood. The reality was that Germany was supplying any and all destabilizing actors they could reasonably broker trade with.
This was a process made easy by the limited radar infrastructure that had survived the initial chaos of Washington’s fall from grace.
The truth of the matter was, there was nobody left who could accurately pinpoint the origins of the weapons and munitions flooding the country. And because of this, many had become deeply paranoid about their neighbors.
If the Pacific Union were to declare war against the Great Basin Empire, its aftereffects would reverberate across the landmass that had once been the United States of America.
Any claim to Washington, and the United States as a whole with it, would most certainly die from first contact.
The fear of such a thing was enough to stall any potential action that was sufficient to eliminate the threat ravaging their borders.
Every delegate paused and thought through how he was going to vote on this. Were they willing to declare themselves a truly independent and sovereign state from Washington, and relinquish their claims to succession?
Or were they still trying to cling to the dying notion of a United States of America? Even if it meant that their borders bled and burned in the wake of their indecision?
It was the question on everyone’s minds. And eventually they had no choice but to vote. Cling to the past, or embrace the future, even if it was a far harsher reality than any of them were willing to admit existed.
There was much debate, internally and among one another. Hushed whispers containing volatile rhetoric were cast across the aisle as the different parties discussed what to do.
And in the end, the vote was concluded by a simple majority. The declaration of war had passed, albeit by a thin margin.
The United States, as far as the Pacific Union was concerned died when Roosevelt declared himself Dictator Pro Interim and effectively bypassed the constitution altogether through emergency powers.
Even with the storm gathering on the horizon, there was no alternative. The Pacific Union had set its course, and from this moment forward their intention was to paddle their own canoe. Anything else would be considered stark staring mad.