Tandi

Tandi (2145–2248) is the leader of Shady Sands. In 2161, she still resides in the same town, unaware of her future role in society. Destined to be a founder and second president of the New California Republic, she would go on to become one of the most influential people in the entire post-War world.

Early days
Born in 2145, Tandi was a cute, raven-haired girl with a winsome expression and a head full of dreams about traveling and adventures. From her early years, she displayed an uncommon strength of character and liveliness, complementing her good looks. However, her father Aradesh was a cautious man and kept her close to him. She looked with disdain at the boredom that came with the steady work at Shady Sands. When she met the Vault Dweller at the age of 16, the brief meeting left a lasting impression on the young girl, further reinforced by her kidnapping and subsequent rescue from the Khans. After the Vault Dweller slaughtered the Khans, the town of Shady Sands enjoyed a period of peace, as raiders gave it a wide berth.

The Foundation of a Nation
Aradesh and Tandi used this opportunity to develop the community. The village thrived, eventually becoming an economic power within New California. As trade routes developed, so did the cultural exchange between towns. Tandi helped her father expand Shady Sands, laying the foundations for the New California Republic. Little Shady Sands would soon grow substantially as she opened trade routes with Junktown and the Hub. This was something her father had been reluctant to do, despite the obvious advantages. With a strong economy and Tandi's determined guidance, Shady Sands soon dominated the brahmin trade and eventually, the first states of the soon to be NCR emerged, slowly merging into a standalone political entity with help from the Brotherhood of Steel (which remained out of the power structure for the time being).

This lead to the emergence of a national identity movement which gradually gained popular acceptance. In 2186 the New California Republic was founded. A trial council government was formed to draft a constitution. The ideals of the NCR would spread throughout California steadfast, with Junktown becoming one of the first provisional states of the New California Republic, due to its status as one of Shady Sand's oldest and most trusted trade partners. Though the alliance causes some concern in the Hub, ultimately it had little effect on the relations. In 2189 the Republic was voted into existence as a federation of five states: Shady, Los Angeles, Maxson, Hub, and Dayglow.Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.41: "New California Republic" "The New California Republic was born from the remnants of the survivors of Vault 15 and the small walled community they founded, Shady Sands. Under the leadership of Aradesh, and with the assistance of the Vault Dweller (who saved Tandi, Aradesh's daughter and a future president of the NCR), the community prospered. Trade routes with other settlements allowed cultural exchange, and a movement to form a national entity gradually took root and won popular acceptance. In 2186, the town of Shady Sands changed its name to "New California Republic" and formed a trial council government to draft a constitution. Four more settlements joined the council, and in 2189 the NCR was voted into existence as a sprawling federation of five states: Shady Sands, Los Angeles, Maxson, Hub, and Dayglow. ''By post-apocalyptic standards, the NCR is a paragon of economic success and good ethical character: political enfranchisement, rule of law, a reasonable degree of physical security, and a standard of living better than mere subsistence are daily realities for it's 700,000+ citizens. Currently, the NCR in a state of transition, with rapid economic growth and a sea change in political leadership endangering its grand humanitarian ideals. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Mojave, where the occupation of Hoover Dam has improved access to electricity and water, but at the cost of straining its budget and embroiling its armed forces in a morally corrosive imperialist project.'' ''The NCR government's aim is to annex New Vegas as the republic's sixth state. While it already controls Hoover Dam, its treaty with Mr. House and the three families compels it to allot one-fifth of the dam's electrical and water production to local use free of charge. Adding injury to insult, the NCR is locked into protecting New Vegas from invasion by Caesar's legion even as it receives not one cap in tax revenue from the Strip's highly lucrative resort operations. NCR citizens in the Mojave have largely come here for economic reasons, whether as paid citizen soldiers or as prospectors and fortune-seekers."''

After Aradesh disappearance and presumed death in 2196, his daughter was elected unanimously as the second President of the New California Republic. She continued to win eleven terms but serve ten, winning all consecutive elections until her death. As President, Tandi did more to unite the wasteland than any other leader born after the Great War, including rebuilding the pre-War infrastructure to support the growing population, finding new forms of transportation and manufacturing, clearing roads and rail lines, building forts, fostering caravans and trade inside and outside of the Republic, as well as dealing with threats swiftly and efficiently. By 2241, the Republic was the largest economic and political power in the wasteland. Much of its power was provided by its vast brahmin herds, which provide meat, leather, beasts of burden, and other goods for trade.

Expansion policies
Tandi succeeded her father as the President of the Republic and from then on ruled the NCR alongside congress. She was focused on expanding the state, to bring peace and stability to the wastes. Her ideals long since replaced by pragmatism, she was not above forging a deal with New Reno to bully Vault City into joining the NCR and supplying it with their superior medical technology. Closing on 100 years of age in 2241, Tandi remained acting president, still retaining her wit and youthful fire. Dementia and other ailments of the elderly seemingly failed to sink their hooks into her.

With the situation of Southern California stabilized, President Tandi intended to expand north. However, Northern California became an arena where the NCR struggled to dominate its two rivals: Vault City and New Reno. Tandi also faced opposition to her politics of peaceful expansion, with Vault 15 acting as proving ground. The geopolitical struggle centered around the town of Redding, the region's primary supplier of gold ore. When the Republic switched to dollars as currency, backing them with gold, the mining city became the key to the trade in the entire New California. Whoever controls the supply of gold, controls the currency. Redding was lucky enough to remain far away enough to make a military takeover uneconomic. The three powers instead decided to make the city align with one of them through agents operating in the city, either planted ones ("Painless" Doc Johnson) or voluntary supporters (Marge LeBarge and Dan McGrew). The Chosen One: "Hear any interesting rumors?" Modjeska: "All I hear about are politics. That always seems to be the big stir in discussion." The Chosen One: "Politics? What do you mean?" Modjeska: "Have you ever seen a greased brahmin contest?" The Chosen One: "Nope, never heard of anything like that. Tell me about them." Modjeska: "What they do is grease up a brahmin calf, and then everyone in the crowd tries to catch the calf. If you can't catch it yourself, you make damn sure nobody else can, either." The Chosen One: "I don't see what that has to do with politics." Modjeska: "In this game, Redding is the greased brahmin - and a golden one at that. New Reno, the New California Republic, and Vault City are all trying to catch us...or at least keep the others from catching us." The Chosen One: "What do you mean?" Modjeska: "Here in Redding we mine gold. Then we ship it to New Reno, the NCR, and Vault City in return for goods. Each of those places would like to have the gold - and the trade - all to themselves." The Chosen One: "Why don't they just attack you and take it, then?" Modjeska: "We're big enough, and far enough away, to make a take-over expensive as well as dangerous. Much more efficient to have us join willingly." The Chosen One: "What do you mean?" Modjeska: "The three powers are trying to get Redding to choose which side to ally themselves with. They've all got powerful allies in town, and it looks like things are coming to a head. Soon, Redding's going to have to make a choice." The Chosen One: "A choice?" Modjeska: "The grease on this Brahmin calf is getting a bit thin. Soon, one of the powers is going to have to make a major play to take Redding before the others do. When that happens, people are going to get hurt. A lot of people." The Chosen One: "Why are people going to get hurt?" Modjeska: "People are going to get hurt because this kind of change doesn't come easy. Those that think they're not going to get the prize get it in their mind to not let anyone else get it, either. The only way to avoid that is if we decide to go with one of the powers and make a quick alliance before the others catch on." The Chosen One: "What do you think will happen?" Modjeska: "I think that the folks here will follow Mayor Ascorti's lead. He's a crook, but people trust that. He'll go with whoever's strongest. You see, whatever's good for Ascorti is also going to be good for Redding. I think he just hasn't figured out who's closest to being on top yet. But he's got to choose soon." (Modjeska's dialogue) By 2241, the situation was slowly approaching a critical phase. In January, the first Jet batches began to arrive in Redding as part of a plan by the Mordino family to control the mining city through drugs. Vault City rejected an offer to ally with the Bishop family and the NCR in February, with mercenary attacks designed to bully the City into the alliance beginning a month later. All this was set against the backdrop of the worst dry season in years caused a drought in North California, causing widespread food shortages in the less developed areas, such as Arroyo and Modoc.

Throughout their journeys, the Chosen One was the decisive factor that secured the Republic's expansion in the north, resolving the dispute for Vault 15 in the Republic's favor and vindicating Tandi's expansion policies. Not only that, but under John Bishop's lead and with support from President Tandi, New Arroyo, Redding, and Vault City would also become territories of the NCR. The Republic would further secure its interests by attacking remnants of the Enclave within a few years of the destruction of the Enclave Oil Rig in 2242. Navarro would fall to the Republic's Army and with it caches of weapons and numerous Vertibirds.

In 2248, President Tandi would die from an unnamed illness at the age of 103, after a 52-year presidency. She was succeeded by her vice president, Joanna Tibbett. Her legacy lived on, however, and she remains the most popular and longest serving NCR president to date.

Family
Tandi's father is Aradesh, the leader of Shady Sands, and her mother remaining unnamed. Seth and Tandi were close during her time living in Shady Sands, with Seth describing her as "my girl" before correcting himself in her rescue quest. Tandi married and had a son, Hoss, of whom she spoke infrequently.

Quests

 * Rescue Tandi from the Raiders: Tandi was captured by some Khans and she needs to be rescued.

Other interactions

 * Tandi possesses some background information and also tells a bit about the deathclaw in the Hub if she can be persuaded to. She is kidnapped by the nearby group of raiders, the Khans, a few weeks after the Vault Dweller discovered Shady Sands and rid them of radscorpions.

Khan base
Tandi's tell-me-abouts regarding Khan members will be the same as that of a Khan raider. This is likely due to a bug within the game making it treat her as if she is a Khan member.

Quests

 * Retrieve Parts/Gain Access to Vault 15: Retrieve pre-War computer parts from Vault 15, from where the NCR originated, and negotiate terms with the inhabitants to join the republic.
 * Complete Deal with NCR: Tell Tandi that the squatters at Vault 15 will cooperate with the NCR, and accept their presence.

Other interactions

 * In Fallout 2, Tandi gives a huge amount of background information about the Vault Dweller, for those who have not played Fallout.
 * A younger version of her also makes an appearance at the Café of Broken Dreams special encounter.

Appearances
Tandi appears in Fallout as a talking head voiced by Cree Summer and in Fallout 2 where she is voiced by Tress MacNeille, appearing much older. She is also mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas and can be seen on the $100 NCR bill.