This had its effect on Rome, where discontent was brewing between two factions; the Optimates and the Populares. The Optimates argued that Rome should be the best, the optimum, and that in this, Rome had drastically failed. Not only had Sauron escaped Rome's clutches, he now wasn't even confined to the city of Dayglow, having re-established himself on the corpse of New California just like how a vulture feeds on carcasses. Rome had further let the English, the Portuguese, and the Spanish all die out as a people with their own identity, reducing the few that managed to survive to anonymous refugees, instead of members of a proud culture defiant to the last against Enclave oppression. This was taking place right now, too, with the Batavians and the Dutch, the New Californians that now lived within Roman borders, and soon, it would undoubtedly happen with the Moroccans as well. Should Rome not wonder why the Batavii chose independence? Should Rome not uphold its many peoples as an achievement, and not a burden, so long as they caused no trouble (though, there were radical Optimates that even argued in favour of Hobbit independence)?
The Populares pointed to Rome's successes; bringing the light of civilisation to the Enclave and Mordor, bringing the light of Christianity to the farthest corners of the world, bringing like-minded civilisations together in the Concord of Civilisation, and securing peace when Tommy Vercetti let himself be seduced into a war with Gondor. These were but some of Rome's successes, and, admittedly, there had been less-than-perfect outcomes as well, but then, only the Christian God was perfect. Rome wasn't a god amongst men, Rome was one nation, amidst many other nations, as had been enshrined in Rome's universalist values, in the fact that Rome maintained a military all men could voluntarily join, a church that offered room for various beliefs without discrimination, a civilian workforce where rich and poor, Roman nobility and liberated orc, and so many more, all worked together. To change all that, so as to enact the policies the Optimates spoke of, was recipe for disaster; for authoritarianism, militarism, and a slow descent into the very abyss Rome sought to close.
And yet, Rome could do so much more, could be so much better. She could cleanse the taint of New Vegas from the Enclave lands, and truly liberate all the people there, for example. But instead, she chose to rest on her laurels, the Triumvirate coldly calculating where profit was to be found and where there wasn't - and if there wasn't, why, then Rome wouldn't bother, and leave the weak to the uncaring and exploitative hands of the strong. Rome had never bothered to aid Bohemia in her struggles against Mr Dark, Rome had never looked further east or west than her own borders stretched. Indeed, Rome had been content to see vast portions of Khand fall to Sauron and Razorbeard - and even now, Rome was entirely content with Mr Dark's and Tommy Vercetti's colonisation of former Khandic lands. Instead, Rome was amassing her military on the border of Vice City, because those lands were right on Rome's border, because those lands were easier to integrate within the Republic, because that war would be easier to support with supplies and recruits from the homeland - because then Rome would own an entire continent. It would be dressed up as a war for the defence of Gondor, but was the Officium Frumentarii not antagonising Vice City with its terrorist operations in Clymenus, goading Tommy Vercetti into declaring war?
This debate raged back and forth, with each side finding themselves with strange allies. The Populares were spearheaded by the Triumvirate as well as both the higher-class and lower-class citizens. The higher-class had vested interests in Rome, such as their business ventures and their political careers, and as such, they desired measured response and stability, which waging war all over the world would threaten. The lower-class also cared more for their own livelihood than that of others - an entirely human notion, of course - but in this case, the concerns were borne out of survival and poverty. They didn't wish to be subjected to coerced immigration to new lands, nor did they wish to see money that could have been used to support their lives to be spent on foreigners far away. Sauron? He was far away now, let him be there. Hitler? A whole world away, who cares!
The Populares, on the other hand, attracted a wide variety of people; hence the name 'Populares'. They consisted of the middle-class and certain special groups, such as the fundamentalist Christians and the minorities of Rome. They were not as united as the Optimates, but the fervour and zeal they put into their cause made up for that - even though this was directed against their fellow Populares, at times. Some of the fundamentalists, for example, were of the opinion that the Orc couldn't possibly hold to Christianity and to civilisation as a Roman could. Driven by the need for compromise, most of the overtly antagonistic voices stayed silent; it would be enough for these people to exist in relative independence, like the Holy Romans did, and if that aligned perfectly with the desire of the more idealistic Populares, well, the outcome mattered more than the reason behind it. The Optimates, of course, said 'no' to an independent Republic of Orcs.
The Frumentarii, however, were firmly in the camp of the Optimates, and they didn't merely carry out operations on foreign soil. The protection service of Ray Machowski started protecting people a bit too vigorously against known Populares, and were perhaps slightly remiss in protecting the Populares. Further, the Frumentarii carried out hits against the Populares - independently, outside of the Officium, and explicitly not under the orders of anyone connected to the Optimates, of course, claimed various officials when this was brought to light. Besides, they were sympathisers and spies of Vice City, seeking to undermine the Republic.
The city defence force, an initiative started in Antium, leaned overwhelmingly towards supporting the Optimates, as did most of the army. Dissent by the Populares was quelled by suppression of voice, of freedom, and even of life, what with the most important press being owned by the state, and with the actions of the police and the Frumentarii decidedly questionable. This only emboldened the Populares, and spearheaded by the fundamentalists and the increasingly mistreated minorities, more and more city streets became unsafe as peaceful protests turned to violence all throughout Rome. Cicero spoke out loudly against these acts of violence, and though both the Optimates and the Populares could have taken umbrage with that, it was a policeman proclaiming the glory of the Optimates who beat him up for daring to speak out against the rampant violence. With a heavy heart, Cicero too added his voice to the Populares.
In Raven Rock, the situation was no less tense. Gnaeus Pompeius had managed to climb the ranks of Rome's military, after he and Gaius Marius (the latter hired by Crassus specifically for the purpose) proved the use of mounted warfare to Marcus Antonius. Marcus Antonius still remained dismissive towards the idea, and perhaps it was this attitude that caused Rome's knights to lean more towards the side of the Populares - but then, this was entirely logical, as the knights had been formed precisely to protect the weak. This did, however, cause tensions to rise more and more, and eventually, Gnaeus Pompeius and the officers loyal to him abandoned Raven Rock to a nearby bunker hidden in the mountains, which the Enclave had never quite completed. Gaius Marius, however, went in secret to the knights stationed in Gondor; the flight of the Optimates to Epirus and the de facto proclamation of independence there was perhaps the first act of a Roman civil war, and if so, the Optimates would need a military.
Lacking a navy, strategic islands were fortified by the Populares, establishing places such as Pompeii near the abandoned ruins of Morannon.
Pompeii was obviously named after Gnaeus Pompeii, while Mare Mari was named after Gaius Marius; the Sea of Marius.
Gaius Marius began implementing a military tradition amongst the knights. One inspired by the honour and valour of the Principes - though the knights had that in plenty already - but more importantly, one that bound the knights closer together, as brothers in arms, as one unit distinct from the rest of the Roman army.
It also bound them closer to Gaius Marius; he was their man, and maybe, just maybe, they would need to rise for him, against the Roman army. An army guided by the principles of Marcus Antonius, an army chock-full of Antonii, brute macemen caring not whether they crushed the skulls of enemy combatants or helpless civilians, razing and plundering entire cities. The knights hurried back to the nearest Roman city, Circeii, eager to take up the muskets Gaius Marius had acquired for them.
The main Roman army had made camp in Ardea though, and Marcus Antonius was quick to create his own regiments of mounted musketmen. The Brothers and Crusaders that had seen combat in Mordor, as much part of the army as any Antonii was, were the first Roman cuirassiers, recognisable by their breastplate with the A of Antonius on it.
The stage was set for a civil war, though most of Rome hoped peace would last. Should the Populares come into power, they would decide to implement a government more suitable to their desires; one that could bestride the world and protect the weak everywhere. The military would obey certain codes of conduct that would be strongly enforced, so as to make the Princeps of old, full of valour and honour, come back to life in spirit. The noble knights of recent times - convienently already on the side of the Populares, by and large - would be a good image to draw upon.
Universalist values would have to be abandoned, but interventionism need not be taken to the extreme; Rome wouldn't run around declaring war on everyone, but so long as she had a strong enough army, and so long as all would-be evildoers knew Rome would crush them if they stepped out of line, hopefully, the world would improve itself without too much direct intervention.
To implement all these changes, a dictatorship headed by Gnaeus Pompeius, Gaius Marius, and Marcus Tullius Cicero would be put in place. Temporarily, of course, Cicero hastened to add. With the generals, the knights, and the philosophers represented in this overwhelmingly military dictatorship, the necessary changes would hopefully be implemented soon.
Some officials from the military pushed for a stratocracy, but involving the military in all matters of life... That would kill the freedom of Rome. And the Populares, too; none would accept such a proposal.
What they would accept, however, would be the transfer of certain cities. The establishment of an independent Morocco, a place for Orcs to live their lives in freedom.
And, although it was too late to try and separate the English, the Spanish, or the Portuguese from the Romans - let alone the Hobbits - it wasn't too late to return Vault 15 to the Dutch, and to see that The Hub could become the home of the proud Batavii. Aquileia would be retained as a foothold on the continent, and in time, the rebirthed Mordor would be handed over to the surviving New Californians.
All of these would enjoy the strongest of ties with Rome, as would Carolus Magnus and his Holy Rome, though whether this would in effect be a vassalisation was still debated over between Gnaeus Pompeius (yes) and Cicero (no).
Cicero makes a compelling case, in that vassals influence the player's diplomacy with other AI's - perhaps making the would-be vassals exceedingly friendly with Rome through the World Builder might be a better solution. Of course, that is assuming the Populares win the 'civil war' (and if so, it will be a non-violent civil war, so...
) - will they win? You decide!