North Oak (2020)

NorthOak is Night City's closest neighboring city and home to the NorCal Military Base. Smaller than Night City, NorthOak's towering structures and ship-superstructures can be seen across the bay from the East Marina. NorthOak is a military city; most of its shops sell to military servicemen or their families, and the majority of its population is in some way or another associated with this huge military complex.

In the light of vast post-war funding cutbacks and the rise of the Free States, the Pentagon fell back to the concept of core bases: large, well-defended installations that would protect a regional area and support units from all four branches of the military. NorCal Military Base was established as part of the deal that allowed Northern California it's titular independence from the Union as a Free State. The State government doesn't mind; it keeps the SoCal scum from coming north and raiding for water.

NorCal Military homeports Navy ships (the carrier John F. Kennedy and cruisers Ticonderoga and Washington, plus assorted support frigates and destroyers), a small Air Force squadron of F-36 fighters, and a U.S. Amy armored battalion with its own AV-7 and AV-4 support vehicles.

The city of NorthOak is almost entirely federally owned and operated. The "Mayor" is the commander of the base, and of the twelve man city council, eleven are now, or have been, in the military. NorthOak is no longer even considered a Californian city—M.P.'s patrol the streets instead of police, and all justice is handled in a military court under a military version of the Uniform Justice Code. The military runs NorthOak with an iron fist, acting as judge, jury, and executioner in all criminal cases, keeping its crime rate a mere percentage of Night City's. If you live in NorthOak, you'd better be prepared to follow the federal lead. Firing squads have come back into fashion.

Living on NorthOak's wide, oak-shaded streets can be quite agreeable. The homes are pleasant, pastel-colored bungaloes with identical numbered curbs. Schools are excellent and the Base Hospital, Theatre, Officers and Enlistedman's Clubs and the Base Exchange shopping mall will provide almost anything you might want. If you like life in or around uniforms, this is the place for you.