Circling the wasted Earth is the greatest city ever constructed, spanning large parts of the surface of Luna and even burrowing deep into the heart of the moon. Luna, once just a spectral orb in the night sky, had become the new home for man.
This is the city of Luna. From the Ancient Quarters, downtown Luna, the worlds of man are ruled by the enlightened Brotherhood and the often corrupt and scheming megacorporations. Outside the Ancient Quarters, into the Perimeters, the city has grown to cover ten times the area of any city man has ever known, and it is still spreading like a cancer.
Luna is an open city, regarding architecture, mind and restrictions. You can travel freely almost anywhere, you can talk to anyone and get a straight answer, and most of the time, you'll see the sky. However, you'll notice sharp contrasts between the different districts, mainly due to the living standards. As always, the rich have gathered together in their own areas, the factories have been clustered away from where people live, and shopping districts have been established to more easily attract larger numbers of people.
Luna is the home of millions and millions of people, and despite the fact that there is little status in living at the center of the world, people from every branch and level of society can be found. All the megacorporations and most of the more prominent free enterprises have their head offices here, and the corps of officials, agents, managers and businessmen is HUGE. And since they all need people around to take care of them-the service sector, is even larger.
Just surviving the day is no big deal-most parts of society is pretty smooth and simple. The difficulties begin when you start messing things up. It's not a good idea to make enemies among the megacorps.
Luna as it is today was built on the foundations of the colonies. It was logical that the construction of the city followed the basic structure of the settlements and Luna was initially constructed mainly under ground. Stronger structures were devised against natural hazards and allowed the city to surface and develop in a more conventional way.
Seen in profile, Luna could be compared to a gigantic, volcano, slowly rising higher and higher to finally, in ter, rise sharply in a feeble attempt to slice the re and there the spires of Cathedrals pierce the slopes like darning-needles, the tops of huge monuments can be seen scattered along the hillsides like decapitated heads; parks and rambling areas can occasionally be seen as moss-growths; and where the volcano rises from ground level, strings of smoke rise from innumerable chimneys, and the constant rumble from the city creates the impression that the volcano might erupt at any time.
The Ancient Quarters
As in most cities, the richer parts of Luna concentrated in the older areas. The further under surface you go, the more wretched the surroundings become. The central parts of Luna were designed by a new cadre of architects, the new romantics. They returned to
older values and created a monument to lost times. The architecture is massive and the buildings that make up this older part of Luna are huge behemoths of black marble, stone, steel and glass. Their heights vary. The highest sky-scrapers compete with the Cathedrals, stretching hundreds of meters into the skies.
Centered around the Tower-the enormous First Cathedral of the Brotherhood and the home of the Cardinal-the city spreads out like a disease. The Tower is the highest building, reaching towards the sky like an enormous spire, several hundred meters high.
Around the Cathedral the megacorporations have made their homes. Offices and research facilities abound, as do high-class shopping centers and luxury entertainment palaces. The areas here are totally under corporate control and the security and surveillance is heavy.
The Perimeters
The area between the older parts and the industrial zones along the city's edge contain the largest portion of inhabitants. People live here and work for minor freelancing firms and at the industrial areas and the ports, trying to get by without trouble. Out here, the buildings and apartments are mostly small and uncomfortable and many people sleep on the streets. The dismal pattern is occasionally broken by magnificent parks and artificial lakes, or by fashionable villa areas for those few who can afford to escape the gloom of the streets.
But here can also be found the shady parts of human civilization. The nightclubs and bars are frequented by criminals and people who want to operate without attracting too much attention. Entertainment of all kinds can be found, both on the streets and inside the worn walls.
It is also a lawless area. Unwritten rules govern much of what happens here and the Cartel leaves the area to govern itself. Only in cases of major riots or insurrections do the megacorporations or the Brotherhood bring in their own military forces to quell the disturbances.
Life in the Perimeters is harsh and unforgiving. Here, the city is darker and colder, shrouded in steam from leaking pipes and coughing machines. The blue light of the street gaslights throws distorted shadows across the walls and people flutter like ghosts between the archways and narrow alleyways. Wheezing vehicles make their way through the confusion, their heavy engines grinding and hacking.
The Industries
Southeast of the city and close to the ports lie vast industrial complexes. This concentration of heavy industry has no equal in the world. Stretching on for kilometer after kilometer, this area is larger than most other cities. It is rivaled only by the industrial might of Mars.
All different types of industries are represented, and in spite of the advanced technology available today, most work is still carried out by a human labor force. The jobs are hard and dirty and pay is poor but the need for money keeps the work pool filled.
The demands for profit by the megacorporations ensure the running of these industries around the clock. In the tunnels under the surface, diesel and steamengines connect the industrial zones to the ports. There the gigantic transports are constantly shipping newly manufactured goods to the corners of our system. The heavy pollution and the constant din of the machines makes this area hell to work in.
And even so people are living amidst the smoke and despair. Some workers never leave their posts and only rest between shifts, Few enjoy their work and most people dream of another world, another life, maybe in the financial world, maybe in the military, maybe on the other side of the law, or even in the embrace of the Dark symmetry. Only dream of something better and faith in the Brotherhood keep the citizens of the industrial areas from falling into total despair.
The major ports of Luna can be found in the more remote parts of the city. A few older and derelict ports, exist within the city itself, but these are seldom used except by smugglers or people who can't afford the costs at the larger ports.
Dirty and under constant construction and repair, the port areas are huge complexes dedicated to the arrival and departure of the ships that traffic between the planets. All ports have the facilities to maintain and repair ships and guard them fiercely.
Most ports belong to the different megacorporations. A few of the ports are independent and run by freelancing firms and companies. These ports are not as tightly secured but still have a sizable force of guards and mercenaries to prevent any trouble. They are often used by smugglers and illegal immigrants to gain entry to Luna without having to pass through the normal channels as well as providing escape routes for those who have made enemies within the Brotherhood or the megacorporations.
The majority of the ports are also self-sufficient, to prevent shutdown in case of problems in other areas of Luna -or anywhere else in our solar-system. Mining settlements are situated under ground, to provide protection against the meteorites that once pounded the surface. The major part of this ENORMOUS system of mines and settlements is still there; some of it has been used for the Underground lines, some shafts have been used as dumps, others as sewers or ventilation tunnels, and thousands and thousands of entrances have been plugged.
But most of the old mines are still there, empty or providing shelter for the homeless.
Places of Note: The First Cathedral, The Stone Archives, The Black-House Underground Station, The Overlords Residence, The Pinnacle, Cardinal Durand's Tomb, The Twin Towers, The Reading Palace, Imperial Plaza, The Luna City Capitol Eagle Hotel, The Imperial Grand, The Cartel Building, Cybertronic HQ, Downtown Shopping Area,
Cradled between the mighty Kirkwood mountains, the slopes of the gigantic Mariner crater and the shores of the Sea of Tranquillity, lies San Dorado, Capitol's "Capital". After Luna, it is the largest city in the solar system, containing most of Capitol's assets and large legacies from the other megacorporations.
It is impossible to set a certain profile to San Dorado, except maybe by calling it an well-rounded city. It contains all kinds of industries, factories, service establishments, official buildings and offices. The northern outskirts and the areas some hundred miles north of San Dorado are characterized by thousands and thousands of oil wells, their pump-towers stretching hundreds of meters towards the clear-blue sky. Bordering these oil-fields, life-important for Capitol, lie the Effenberger mines, containing a LOT of Capitol's raw materials.
The patch-work of avenues and streets downtown lie in the shadow of skyscrapers containing both offices and apartments for the five corporations, primarily Capitol. The tallest are more than a hundred stories, providing places of work for tens of thousands of people.
San Dorado is said to be the most wellorganized megacity in the system, but when you are standing in the street it is impossible to see how. Looking up, the sky is barely visible due to the elevated highways, intersections, passages and rails running between the buildings. The street beside you is completely jammed, if you can see the street at all. Normal conversation is impossible. Everywhere car horns, whistles, shouts and screeching tires are heard. It is the HEART of the largest corporation in the world, and you can feel it.
Places of Note: San Dorado Cathedral, The Presidential Palace, The Statue of Freedom, The Pyramid, The Eleven Towers, Capitol Corporate Museum, Donaldson Radio Tower, Commerce Park, Wonderland, Technikhaus, Hundred Pagoda Gardens, The Cybertronic Ziggurat, The Arch of Victory, Industrial Zone Seven (Movietown), Imperial War Museum, Venusian Gardens, Palace of the Skies
Kirkwood Bunker Mars
High above the city of San Dorado soars the enormous Kirkwood Bunker. This is a hollowed-out mountain bristling with gigantic missile launchers and enormous particle beam weapons. It shields San Dorado from any spaceborne attack and is also the barracks and headquarters of Capitol's 4th Army. In times of civic emergency, this army can be rushed to San Dorado by helicopter to keep the peace.
Deep within this mighty fortress is the sealed bunker to which the President is taken in times of war. Here also is the huge war room from which any surface war fought on Mars is controlled. It contains a holographic map of the entire planetary surface and representations of all the military forces known to be present.
The Endless Caverns Mars
At the southern tip of the Kirkwood Mountains on the edges of the South Martian Warzones lie the Endless Caverns, a spectacular series of cave complexes that run for hundreds of miles through the' very heart of the mountains. The largest of these caves is over a mile across and a hundred feet high. The smallest is barely large enough for an adult to squeeze through. Gold and precious minerals have been found here in abundance, a festering source of dispute between Capitol and Mishima.
With their greater experience of underground building, the Mishimans have stolen a march on their Capitolian rivals and begun to enlarge the caves. At the very mouth of the caverns, they've laid the foundations of the new city of Asaka. Capitol wants to lease the caves to Mishima in the same way as Mishima leases Fukido to Imperial, but Mishima denies that the caves are Capitol's to rent out. The Lord Heiress Mariko also claims that, since Mishima is taking all the risks, Mishima should take all the rewards. So far, the Capitolians and the Mishimans have not come to blows over this, but it does strain their relationship at times.
The Canals Mars
These are another legacy of the original Pioneers, a vast web of waterways that fan out from the polar icecaps. These, as much as the railways, have shaped Martian society. They irrigate the fertile Freedom Lands that surround the icecap and are the breadbasket of Mars. With the canals, Capitol has made the deserts bloom and transformed arid wilderness into one of the most productive areas on Mars. It was the vast land reclamation projects of the early Pioneers that made the settlement of much of present-day Mars possible. Following the disastrous series of South Martian Wars, many of the canals silted up, and in consequence, much of Southern Mars is now uninhabitable.
The major canals are enormous in size. Some are a thousand miles long and a mile wide. Seen from the air, the networks resemble enormous Venusian river deltas. Only their regularity and the webs of smaller irrigation canals that run off them gives away the fact that they are not of nature. In places, the canals feed into huge lakes such as the Shallow Sea and Lake Vega. These lakes act as reservoirs for many great cities and are constantly replenished by water pumped down from the polar icecaps. Dotted along every hundred miles or so are titanic pumping stations, each with its own fortress. These stations keep the waters flowing. Many are near huge locks which move ships from level to level on the canals. In times of war, these are often military targets.
The canals carry a tremendous amount of shipping. Gigantic grain barges carry food from the Freedom Lands to the railroad hubs. The lakes are plowed by factory ships seeking fish and kelp transshipped in from Venus. Many smaller pleasure boats and passenger ships carry tourists and sightseers along the great waterways.
One entire General Department is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the canals. It employs a corps of nearly a hundred thousand builders full time to repair and survey them. The Waterways Department has its own enforcement arm, the Canal Police, whose powerful launches cruise the waterways in search of pirates and other malefactors.
In the southern hemisphere, the Department is doing its best to reclaim and rebuild the great canals, but it's slow work, hampered by continual interference by the other corporations and the Dark Legion.
Cyberopolis Mars
Located on a spur of the main San-Dorado Hope rail line is the Cybertronic complex known as Cyberopolis. This cluster of giant geodesics built on land leased from Capitol, and it is the of one Cybertronic's main production plants. This area is off limits to visitors and is accessible by invitation only. People tempted to sneak a look at the most advanced production plant on Mars should think again. This is one of the most heavily fortified areas on the planet. A complex web of sensors and electronic scanners lies for miles around. Patrols of cuirassiers make regular sweeps, and robot-controlled drone aircraft scour the skies, searching for intruders with unblinking camera eyes.
The whole area is dotted with fortified bunkers containing the dread T2000 heavy combat robots and all sorts of automated defense systems. No one knows what Cybertronic is really doing here, but they certainly seem to fear anybody taking it away from them. It is said that one of the reasons that Cyberopolis was built so close to San Dorado is because the new corporation has a secret defense treaty with Capitol to protect the installation. It is certainly true that Cyberopolis manufactures many advanced components which the Capitolians are incapable of building for themselves.
The Freedom Lands Mars
The Freedom Lands are the vast, cultivated areas irrigated by the northern canals. They are a thinly populated area of ranches and tiny communities serviced by the canals and the railroad. They are responsible for over four fifths of all Capitol's food production, and are extremely well protected by the AFC. Military bases are dotted Fight throughout the Freedom Lands, and the CAF makes regular scouting sorties.
The Freedom Lands cover most of the northern hemisphere of Mars. They are the most famous examples of Capitol's doctrine of tolerance. Here are enclaves of settlers from all over the system, who have come here to escape persecution and practice many strange faiths and philosophies. The only things forbidden here are involvement with Dark Symmetry and gross violations of others' civil rights. Despite the vigilance of the Brotherhood and the CBI, there are persistent rumors of entire towns that have gone over to the Dark. Now and then, travelers report sighting towns that have been bombed flat, so perhaps these rumors contain some truth.
Hope Mars
Hope is the Capital of the Freedom Lands. It is another huge city. Hope is the hub where cattle from the ranches are slaughtered and grains and wheat from the factory farms are bought and sold. It the home of Capitol's huge food industry, churning out every sort of processed food imaginable.
Hope is also the home of the famous Hope University, the largest academic institution on Mars. Over two hundred thousand students study here, and many times that number would like to. The business school is famous, having produced more Presidents than any other seat of learning. Hope is a strange blend of frontier cattle town and ivory tower. There are constant rumors that a new Cathedral is going to be built there, but so far this has not happened. Hope Field is the home of the CAF's famous Air Combat Training School, the so-called Top Gun academy. Planes of the Capitol Air Force constantly fly over the city.
Vega Mars
Situated along the shores of Lake Vega is the gambling city of Vega. This is a huge city given over completely to hedonism and the pursuit of a quick Dollar. The city streets are lined by enormous casinos. Over each casino, five-hundred foot-high holograms flicker and twist, each showing the logo of the pleasure palace below.
Inside the casinos, no expense is spared to create an atmosphere of luxury and easy spending that soon separates most visitors from their money. Drinks are free to gamblers. Food is cheap and subsidized from profits. Beautiful people are everywhere. Every form of gambling game imaginable, from black jack to roulette to slot machines, can be found in these places. There are no clocks, and artificial daylight prevents the visitors from ever thinking about what time it is. The lake swarms with casino ships. The red-light district around the docks is the most infamous on Mars. People come here from all over and gamble away large and small fortunes.
There is a whole cut-throat industry given over to providing the visitor with everything he
or she might want, legal or illegal. Gangsters and crime are common, but surprisingly, Vega has a much lower crime rate than any other city in Capitolian territory. Nobody wants to do anything that might scare the suckers away, so murders are usually limited to gangland hits on rival mobsters. Independent robbery is Strongly frowned upon, and the justice dispensed by the gang lords is rougher and swifter by far than that of the corporation.
The Brotherhood strongly disapproves of Vega, but since the city is in the Freedom Lands, there is little that can be done about. The Directors don't protest too much because Capitol gets a huge chunk of revenue from this operation.
The Great Rust Desert Mars
Stretching halfway around the Martian equator is the Great Rust Desert. This area has not been irrigated and is still a wild and untamed wilderness populated by nomads and prospectors. Since the South Martian Wars destroyed much of the southern canal network, the Rust Desert is slowly expanding south again, turning once-fertile land back to desert. Here great sandcrawlers move across the desert, sucking in the iron-rich dust and extracting the ores. These all congregate on the enormous town of Valley Forge. Since the coming of the Dark Legion, there are rumors of giant beasts tunneling below the Sand Seas and emerging to swallow sandcrawlers at a gulp. At the moment, the truth of these rumors has yet to be confirmed.
The Great Desert is also the home to the Nomad tribes. These are descendants of the pioneers who opted for a wandering lifestyle in the earliest days of settlement. Many are religious fanatics. The most famous of these are the Zealots, who believe that the end of humanity is near and that the arrival of the Dark Legion heralds the onset of the Apocalypse. Some of these tribes are hostile.
Often, on zeppelin flights over the Rust Desert, you will see great caravans of vehicles and beasts moving from lake to lake. The lakes are formed from impact craters made when the world was originally sculpted. They may be fed by underground wells or some other strange process. Many have their own micro-climates. Some of these lakes are home to Brotherhood monasteries.
Valley Forge Mars
This is called "the town steel built", and it is the ultimate company town. It's owned by Capitol's Universal Steel subsidiary, and it is given over entirely to the production of steel and the refining of metal. At night, the flames of its vast smelters light the sky for hundreds of miles. The stink of its forges can be smelled twenty miles away. From its great mills, the metals that go into Capitol's cars, planes and railroads roll off the assembly lines. It is reported that 25% of all the steel in the Solar System is produced here. Because of industrial pollution, it is not a pleasant place to visit. Worth seeing though, is the Valley Forge Monument, an enormous steel spire a thousand feet high on the outskirts of the town. This was made from all the scrap collected from the battlefield of Valley Forge. It marks the site of one of Imperial's greatest and most ill-fated attempts to annex Capitolian property. Over a hundred thousand soldiers lost their lives when Imperial troops attempted to seize the town. The siege of Valley Forge lasted over a year, and the fighting was from house to house and factory to factory before the city was finally relieved.
Mount Erebus Mars
Mount Erebus is a rare sight, an abandoned Citadel of the Dark Legion. Of course, it is much smaller than the Citadel of Saladin, but it has one great distinguishing feature. The mountain on which the Citadel was built has had one entire face carved and sculpted into the resemblance of the features of the Nepharite Malakhai. Whatever process created this abomination also renders it immune to the best efforts of Capitol and the Brotherhood to deface or remove it. Everything has been tried-explosives, drilling, the Art-but nothing has worked. The leering evil face still remains and terrifies all viewers with its grim majesty. Mount Erebus is visible from the main San-Dorado-to-Burroughs rail line, although few care to view this evil colossus for more than a few minutes. A small force of Brotherhood warriors maintains a vigil over the ruins of the shattered Citadel and warns away all trespassers.
The Vally of a Thousand Stones Mars
Situated near the small town of Clarkesville on the very edge of the Rust Desert is one of the great wonders of the Solar System, the Valley of a Thousand Stones. Here in this secluded valley are a hundred thousand hexagonal pillars varying in height from one hundred to one thousand feet high. The sides of each are inscribed with hieroglyphs in some alien script. Capitolian scientists have dated these pillars as being over five million years old, but so far, no one has explained how they got there. Nowhere else on Mars is there any trace of an alien civilization. The most commonly accepted theory is that they are some sort of monument left here by alien travelers passing through from system to system. The second most common theory is that they are some sort of relic of the Dark Legion, although Brotherhood observers have found no trace of Dark Symmetry about them.
The Southern Lands Mars
During the terrible time of the Dark Ages, before the Cardinal emerged to unify humanity, other corporations cast covetous eyes upon the rich lands of Mars. Richest of all Capitol's domains were the Southern Freedom Lands. It was these the other corporations desired. First the Mishimans landed, then the Imperials, then last came the Homebuilders of Bauhaus.
So began the terrible series of South Martian Wars and the dreadful time when corporation fought corporation in a bitter struggle for supremacy. War raged across southern Mars. Alliances were formed, and treacherous attacks were made. Soon the Southern Freedom Lands, once the most green and prosperous part of all Mars, seethed with endless battle. Cities became rubble. Chemical strikes turned farmland to desert. The railroads were destroyed. The canals were blocked. The desert returned, and southern Mars became an arid scrub land fought over by the warring factions.
Then came Cardinal Nathaniel and the Treaty of Heimburg which ended all hostilities for a while. Southern Mars was declared a free zone, open to all who would rebuild it. Capitol did not like this, but after the long wars, any chance of peace was to be seized. Southern Mars is now populated by people of all corporations and is still one of the most fought over areas in the system.
Nowadays, southern Mars is a desolate place, remote and inaccessible. It houses thousands of tiny settlements where brave people eke out a precarious living, and it holds a few great cities, centers of power of the great corporations. All of them except Imperial are following a pattern of expanding outward from their great fortified cities. As usual, Imperial disperses its settlements wherever it can claw a foothold or see an advantage.
The region is, as always, a tinderbox, for all the corporations desire more territory, not least Capitol, which wants to regain its lost lands. It is a flashpoint for potential conflicts because here the corporations skirmish and probe, testing each other for any sign of weakness. The situation has been complicated by the arrival of the Dark Legion, which has built a host of lesser Citadels across the region and which exploits any new conflicts between the forces of humanity. You would think that all enmities would fade in the face of the common foe, but this is not the case. There is no end to the folly and weakness of humanity. If a Dark Legion raid weakens one corporation's defenses, the others swoop like vultures to capitalize on the opening. The Cartel has tried and failed to mediate in these disputes, and day by day the situation grows more critical.
The Southern Lands are not a good place to travel. The Trans-Martian runs only to Capitol cities now. To reach the settlements of other corporations, you must travel by airship or take a four-wheel-drive vehicle across perilous lands. This is a place where hardy adventurers can make a fortune or die in a week. It is not a place for tourists.
Burroughs Mars
Burroughs is the home of the AFC's Anti-Legion Command and the site of Mars' second Cathedral. It is the main railhead for the McCraig Line. Once an obscure town in a remote and unpopulated area, Burroughs has swiftly grown to become the second city of Mars. Enormous amounts of money have been thrown into the creation of armament and aircraft factories, and Burroughs is now the site of Capitol's largest military base. Camp Burroughs on the city's outskirts now trains almost a quarter of all AFC personnel. At times, Burroughs is like a city of soldiers-there seem to be more uniformed people in the streets than civilians. The nights are filled with the drone of aircraft taking off from Burroughs Field to bomb the Dark Legionnaires beyond the McCraig Line.
Burroughs is also said to be a hotbed of intrigue where agents of the megacorporation rations vie to steal Capitol's military secrets, and heretics constantly seek to infiltrate the AFC's ranks.
It goes without saying that there are also large numbers of Brotherhood people here. There is an enclave of them around the Cathedral. Inquisitors and Missionaries prowl the streets. The Cathedral dominates the city's skyline. A constant stream of scholars and pilgrims arrive to study the Fifth Chronicle- Algeroth and Dernnogonison its walls.
Edison Mars
By the shores of the Dry Sea sits the city of Edison. This was once known as the City of the Future. It was here, before the South Martian Wars, that Capitolian scientists worked to create new inventions and products for the corporation. Edison suffered most when the Darkness came. Faith in progress and science was shattered, and many of those who had worked on secret projects went mad. The whole city was shattered by a gigantic explosion. Now the ruins of the city stand as a monument to the broken dreams of the Pioneers. From the rubble, the steel skeletons of starscrapers still rise, but desert sand- drifts clog the streets. Here and there are lakes of fused glass. Monsters stalk the shadows, and mutants dwell in the underground tunnel networks.
Edison is not yet totally dead. Outside the ruins stands a small community where scavengers have gathered. From the fortified town, groups of prospectors still set forth, hoping to reclaim some lost secret of the ancients. In truth, most are madmen driven by hope or folly. The city was long ago scoured by Capitol's own agencies, and such ancient secrets as could be found, were. Yet every few years, someone still stumbles across an ancient hidden cache and sells the secrets for a fortune. It is rumors of this sort that bring the drifters, the lost and the desperate to Edison still.
The Dry Sea was once the greatest of the southern lands' reservoirs. Now it is completely dead, a parched, baked expanse of flatland out of which arise the partially buried remains of great ships.
Lawrence and the Imperial Mandate Mars
Imperial managed to seize and hold a fair chunk of land between the McCraig Line and the Great Rust Desert. After the Treaty of Heimburg ended hostilities, this area was ceded to Imperial by Capitol. At the time, it was thought to be fairly worthless, but since then, valuable ore deposits and an ice mine have been discovered, and the Mandate is one of the most prosperous parts of the Imperial domain. The arrival of the Dark Legion forestalled a Capitolian attempt to retake the Mandate back from the Imperials.
Although the area is now fairly arid, Imperial has built one large fortified city here: Lawrence, an Imperial trade center. Its population is swelled by the presence of many nomadic prospectors who pan the desert for gold and gems and ancient artifacts. The presence of Saladin's Citadel nearby means that, recently, Lawrence has acquired a strong presence of ISC agents. In the true Imperial tradition, Lawrence is a very well-defended place. Scattered around Lawrence are dozens of smaller Imperial settlements and enterprises.
Strathgordon Mars
Halfway round the world from the Mandate, high amid the towering peaks of the Mariner Mountains, squats the grim Imperial fortress of Strathgordon. Half castle, half enormous bunker, Strathgordon sits atop one of the deepest and most profitable gem mines on Mars. The foothills of the mountain are covered by bunkers and minefields, and the whole surface of the peak bristles with defensive weapons. Strathgordon is a base for the legendary Highlander Clan Warriors of Imperial.
In its long history, this giant fort has been subject to more assaults than any other place on Mars. It has never fallen. According to one ancient prophesy, when it does, doom will befall the Imperial Corporation.
Karkov Retreat Mars
In the Mariner Mountains, close to Strathgordon is the great Brotherhood fortress-monastery known as the Karkov Retreat. This sits high atop the 1,000-foot-high Karkov Cliffs, overlooking the great Silverspray Waterfall. Within this huge complex, over a thousand Brothers study the Art and prepare themselves with meditation and fasting to return to the lands of humanity and fight the Darkness. The darkened cells beneath the monastery are also home to the Penitents, a group of Brothers who have in some way failed in their duties and who have now taken a vow of silence and humility until the Preceptor of the monastery feels they are ready to return to active duty. The penitents perform the humblest and most menial tasks around the Karkov Retreat, learning anew the meaning of their vow of obedience to the Cardinal.
The Citadel of Absalom Mars
Less than a hundred miles away from Strathgordon lies the Citadel of Absalom. Although less huge than the Citadel of Saladin, it is no less formidable, being built right into the core of the mountain. The evil Nepharite Absalom knows well the ancient prophesy concerning Strathgordon and it is his unending task to work toward the doom of that city. At least once a month, his forces surge toward the embattled Imperial city and attempt to take it. At least once a month, Imperial launches a counter-strike. So far, the forces have been well-matched, and neither has gained the upper hand.
Hosokawa Mars
This beautiful city is the capital of the Lord Heiress Mariko and the center of Mishiman power on Mars. At its heart lies the Palace of the Skies, which is faithfully replicated in San Dorado. In Hosokawa, though, the palace is surrounded by another, mightier ring of defenses, hundreds of emplacements, bunkers and barracks all sculpted into the landscape of the surrounding park land so cunningly as to be almost unnoticeable. This serves the double purpose of beautifying the park and camouflaging the weapons. The rest of the city is built in classic Mishiman style and is full of open space, temples and fine buildings. It, too, is surrounded by an open killing ground full of defenses.
Hosokawa is at the hub of a ring of settlements that stretches outward for almost 1,000 miles to the south polar icecap. Mishima has made a serious effort to reclaim this part of the Mars, rebuilding the canals, replanting the land and reopening all sorts of settlements. Tension is constantly high with Capitol, Which desires to take back the lost lands. But after investing so much in this area, Mishima simply cannot afford to let this happen. Vast tracts of the Mishiman lands are constantly contested by the AFC and the warriors of the Lord Heiress.
Red Sun Mars
Red Sun is Mishima's largest media combine. it publishes papers, magazines, books and comics in both katakana and brotherhood script. It owns chains of radio stations and movie houses in most major cities throughout the solar system (Mercury excepted.) Red Sun licenses martial arts films and Mishiman cartoons to Capitol and Imperial. It also merchandises toys and games based on its products. Its line of plastic Tatsu and battlemeka are particularly popular. Because Red Sun's entertainment connections stretch through the solar system, Red Sun is extrernely influential in both Mishiman society and in Mariko's court. Of course Red Sun maintains its own fleet, called the Red Sun guard, the largest in the Solar System. The Red Sun Guard is one of the most formidable fighting forces in the human worlds.
Shinwa Mars
Shinwa is a giant conglomerate with interests in everything from sandmining to steel smelting to construction to battlesuit and Tatsu production. It is controlled by Lady Mariko's cousin Lord Commander Shinwa Akabe who is fanatically devoted to his mistress. Some say that Shinwa is Mishima's largest Keiretsu with greater sales and revenues than even Suritomo. Shinwa also fields Mishima's largest standing army. Shinwa is the financial and military support on which Lady Mariko depends heavily.
Amida Mars
Amida is Mishima's largest aerospace Keiretsu. It owes its position of dominance within Mishima because it spies upon Capitol's system leading aerospace industry and because the large Keiretsu on Mercury have not entered the aerospace field. Amida manufactures everything from autogyros to zeppelins to rocketplanes to spacecraft. Amida also has its own line of rather effective ground-toair missiles. It has a finger in the electronics pie, too, manufacturing military radar and air-traffic control systems. Amida sells its products to anyone who will buy including the rival Lord Heirs. It does this with Mariko's complete blessing. She appreciates the revenue these big ticket items garner. Because of its pre-eminence in the aerospace field, Amida owns the strongest airforce in Mishima. Many of its Samurai are trained as pilots. All of the others are trained as aircav. Amida is most famous for its Aeromeka, rocket-propelled meka battlesuits which can fly over the battlefield unleashing potent rockets from their shoulder mounts.
Mundburg Mars
Mundburg is the one large Bauhaus settlement on Mars. It is located near the southern pole, on the edge of the wastes of endless ice. The city of Mundburg itself is a lonely place, for all its enormous size. It is famous for two things: for being the home of the Order of the Ice Bear-one of Bauhaus' most successful military orders-and for being built on seven islands, each of which can be swiftly turned into a fortress in event of attack.
Mundburg was to be the center of Bauhaus's attempts to claim chunks of southern Mars, but the arrival of the Dark Legion on Venus caused most of the Homebuilders' resources to be diverted back to their homeworld. Today, Mundburg stands at the center of a small area of Bauhaus settlements upon which the other corporations look covetously. This has caused its folk to become famous warriors, for little help is forthcoming from Venus when the attacks begin. So far, Imperial has made over a half-dozen failed attacks on Mundburg. Perhaps the next one will succeed.
A tremendous asteroid in an orbit around the sun that was synchronous with that of Mars was discovered, claimed and colonized by Clan Paladine during the reign of Cardinal Petrus the Elder. It was an incredible find and was instantly recognized as one of Imperial's greatest assets. It contained huge amounts of coal, oxygen and platinum, straight off making it a treasure trove of untapped resources. It quickly evolved to become the most valued part of the asteroid belt, the jewel in Imperial's crown.
Victoria today is an interplanetary crossroads throbbing with activity. Its consistent proximity to Mars made it a natural spaceport, and it soon became the gateway to the rest of the belt and even the outer planets. Virtually no traffic goes past Mars without first stopping at Victoria for fuel, supplies and news.
Apart from the spaceport and mining operations, Victoria features a large naval base and the best portion of Imperial's administrative buildings in its sector of the belt. Its vicinity to Base Britannica, Imperial's major naval base in the belt, adds to the already heavy traffic to make Victoria the busiest spaceport in the system, surpassing even those of Luna, of which there are several.
Besides all this, it's home to Clan Paladine, the current holders of the High Serene Leadership. After the Sad Struggle, this instantly catapulted Victoria to supreme status in the belt. Put simply, there is no bit of land that the Imperials consider more important in economic, governmental and emotional terms.
The asteroid's single city, also named Victoria, has a population of almost 10 million people contained in an area of around 50,000 square miles. It is appreciated by those who find themselves within its embrace for its dry, clean breezes and mild temperatures all year long. And the natives are as pleasant as the climate, always polite, well-mannered and willing to help. After all, while the mines are still running, Victoria's economy is based strongly upon its service sector these days, and what is good is service if it's not good service?
If a widely scattered people like the Imperials can be said to have a capital, Victoria is undoubtedly it. More tourists come here to see the sights and pay their respects to Her Serenity (at least symbolically if nothing else) than to any other Imperial city, surpassing even Diemansland. This may have something to do with the number of lobbyists streaming in and out of the Paladine Palace on the edge of the city, hoping to have some influence on the Serenity.
The Paladine Palace
The luxurious and expansive Paladine Palace has been Clan Paladine's home for centuries. The palace itself is a bizarre building that's grown in bursts and spurts throughout the years, incorporating both function and art simultaneously. The main building is rectangular in shape with a large open courtyard in its center. Each of the buildings tapers at the top, leveling off in flat roofs which can be strolled upon by Paladines wishing for an excellent view of their city.
The palace walls have few windows and are covered with inscriptions, coats of arms and historical scenes carved in the white stones darkened with age. These are particularly lavish and detailed toward the lower floors where they can be appreciated by passers-by. The corners of the complex are dominated by high towers stabbing into the sky like huge chimneys. Placed atop these are tremendous spotlights and autocannons and other massive defense weapons. Of these, only the beams of the spotlights are normally visible. It has been many generations since anyone was foolhardy enough to attempt an assault on this well-defended city.
Today, the palace houses Her Serenity's brothers and sisters and their families. She and hers spend most of their time at the Reading Palace in Luna, coming here only for special events. Nearly half of the palace is offices for the family's business interests, though, which is the reason for the monumental parabolic antenna that arcs out of the square in front of the palace.
The Inner City
A large park featuring wonderful gardens spreads out in front of the palace, leading into the city's heart. From its borders, a broad avenue rolls through the center of city until it terminates in the Arc of Triumph at the city's opposite edge. In the center of the square made by the walls around the city proper lies Serene Square. A statue of Jack Paladine, the founder of the old Paladine Corporation long before Imperial was even a twinkle in a Murdoch's eye, stands atop a towering pillar in the middle of a fantastic fountain in the center of the square. From this point, four different avenues, including the one from the palace to the city gates, radiate out, forming eight spokes from the central square, reminiscent of the Union Jack half of the Imperial badge.
The wall surrounding the city is mostly symbolical. It serves as a huge memorial of all the men and women that have given their lives for Imperial. Their names are engraved upon the wall's surface. There are millions already there and more being added every day. Statues and military badges also dot the wall at regular intervals in a strict and stylish manner, honoring the most famous of the dead in unique and special ways.
Outside the main city lies the mining area and one of the Brotherhood's largest Sacred Chapels. The chapel itself lies mostly underground, in an abandoned hall of an empty mine right in the heart of the asteroid. The chapel's entrance is one of the most recognizable bits of Imperial architecture. It consists of a huge building that looks like a tremendous bandshell faced by a curtain of stone and glass. It's the second largest building in Victoria next to the Paladine Palace, which indicates its importance to the Imperial people.
The Cardinal Emeritus in charge here is Victor Rubicus, a former Arch-Inquisitor. Now he runs one of the largest Inquisitor training centers in the worlds here, which might explain why Victoria has been left alone by the Dark Legion so far. The training center is located behind the chapel entrance. It looks like an old Roman palace, with long, rectangular buildings, pillars along the outer wall and tiled roofs, pools and fountains all over the place. Novice Inquisitors can be seen all around the city, as the academies, schools, libraries and gyms are scattered throughout it. Almost all Inquisitors of Imperial birth are trained here, and there are more than you might expect.
Other places of note inside the city walls include the embassies of each of the four other megacorporations. As the gateway to the great beyond, each of them feels obligated to make their presence known here, even Cybertronic, definitely the least welcome of them all. There's also the Cartelliensium, the Cartel's largest offices outside of Luna. There's more need for its sort of peace-keeping here than in just about any other location.
The Chaplain's Court houses the local ISC offices. A large branch of the Yard is here, too, as they find it easier to run investigations of the Dark Legion from this well-known crossroads. As has been said more than once, "All flight paths lead to Victoria".
For tourists, particularly the wealthy ones who can afford to travel to Victoria, there's always Wilkins & Co., the most exclusive mall in all of Imperial. The elite flock here from all around the system to shop for just about anything they could ever want. Some of the wealthier patrons brag that they never shop anywhere else, and for a few of them, this is even true.
And of course, there's the Old Opera and Victoria Stadium. For those into classical music and performance, the Old Opera is a virtual Mecca. And for those whose tastes run to the modern, they can see some of the best concerts and sporting events in the 135,000 seat, open air Victoria Stadium, one of the largest in the system.
The Outskirts
The mining area is where the common people of Victoria live, work and die. There isn't any particular downtown area here, as the city consists mostly of industrial and residential sections. Miles of shanty towns thread the areas in between with people living in little more than cardboard boxes or tarpaper shacks.
The houses in the residential areas are livable, if dirty and fairly simple. They sit on twisting lanes running over hill and dale, each of them narrow, two-story, red brick affairs nestled right up next to each other with brief breaks only for city streets. Each of them practically sits on the edge of the streets which run so closely together that there's barely enough space for a back yard occupied almost entirely by a small garden. These areas sprawl on for miles with only the occasional pub, Laundromat or corner store for relief.
The industrial sections consist mostly of mines, quarries and oil fields. These crop up wherever the necessary resources are, and the shanties spring up around them. The most impressive sections are the open-cut mines where enormous tracked vehicles, each with a long arm terminating in a gigantic wheel-shovel, break up the lode and transport the ore to the refineries on the side of the city most distant from the Paladine Palace.
Outside the city, behind the palace, ties the Dell Spaceport, part of Imperial's Dell Naval Base. More than 250 spacecraft are stationed here, along with over 3,000 naval troopers to staff them. The most notable building in the spaceport itself is a large station where commercial check in and customs are handled. Right next to this is an enormous banana-shaped hangar in which many of the craft are worked on and housed. There's also a traffic control building which consists of a domed tower with a large telescope mounted in it. Radar dishes rim the entire structure.
The base and the city are ringed by dozens of huge anti-aircraft batteries housed in concrete bunkers. Each of these 155 mm autocannons runs almost 30 feet long and are mounted in batteries of at least two. These guns have rarely had to have been fired, but the defense forces keep them in tip-top shape, always ready for any kind of attack.
Places of Note: Victoria interplanetary spaceport, Base Britannica, The Paladine Palace, The Brotherhood's largest Sacred Chapel, Cartelliensium, Wilkins & Co. Mall, Dell Spaceport
Diemansland The Asteroids
The largest and most important of all the asteroids is far and away Victoria, although one other is constantly cropping up in discussions all across the system: Diemansland. This settlement started out as a prison colony in Imperial's early days, but it has since turned into a thriving society all its own. It is unique in that almost all of its native inhabitants are rogues, men and women without a clan to call their own, since their ancestors were disowned before being exiled to this lonely rock.
Over the years, Diernansland has been converted from a barren mining colony to beautiful resort area. On the inside of the belt, it has a unobstructed view of the sun, and because of this, has wonderful weather nearly all year long. In the time of the Sad Struggle, Diemansland's prison colony status was lifted, as most of the incarcerated fought on the side of the Murdochs. Those that survived were granted full amnesty.
Ever a lawless community, the removal of the security systems on Diernansland did nothing but transform it from a place of gentle quietude to a raucous getaway for the system's dregs nearly overnight. Gambling consortiums moved in as quickly as they could, and before anyone could say, "Now, hold on a minute", organized crime had established a firm foothold on the asteroid's shores.
Clan Morgan handled almost all of the asteroid's legitimate gambling concerns, and they knew how to do it right. Quickly as they could, people came pouring in from all over the system to sample Diemansland's now strictly controlled delights.
Diemansland is like a miniature version of Fukido, but with regulations and laws. Anything can still be had for a price, but in Diemansland, you can feel comfortable about not getting ripped off. The powers that be on Diernansland know that tourism is their bread and butter. No one just wanders by an asteroid and stops by to check things out. They have to be brought, and no one's going to come to a place this far out of their way if they're afraid of it. Sure, it's a bit pricier, but that's the premium one pays for security and peace of mind.
Diemansland has become the home away from home for just about every imperial prodigal around. Where else can they be indulged in nearly every way and feet the security of having their fellows around them at all times?
People from other companies are welcome in Diemansland, but they are by and large in the minority. Still, intercompany tensions are few on Diemansland, as anyone caught fighting over such things is immediately barred from the asteroid for an indeterminate amount of time. For non-Imperials, the ban is often permanent.
Recently, there has been trouble in Diemansland. An antiImperial group of rogues has begun a series of terrorist attacks against the Morgan casinos. These people apparently object to the fact that the people that callously exiled their ancestors to this planet so many generations ago are now turning a profit off of the sweat and hard labor of those criminals' descendants.
This group, known as the Diemansland Liberation Army (DLA), demands self-rule for the asteroid. They are tired of constantly getting the short end of the stick because of something that their ancestors did so long-in some cases centuries-ago. They wish to be entirely independent from the Imperial megacorporation and set up an independent business, owned and operated solely by Diemansland natives.
The Imperial Parliament has, of course, denied them any right to do so. After all, if every branch of the megacorporation that suddenly turned profitable was allowed to secede from the whole, Imperial would soon be reduced to nothing. The only way such an organization as Imperial works is by the consent of its members to bow to the will of the majority. This means that if you don't like how the game is going, you can't just take your ball and leave.
Up until now, the terrorist activities have been limited. For the most part, they have been aimed solely at members of Clan Morgan and not any of Diemansland's tourists. Not even the DIA wants to drive the business into the ground. If they were to employ such a tactic to drive their oppressors out, Imperial would probably eventually capitulate and leave the asteroid to the terrorists, but then what would the DLA have gained? They'd be left with a tourist trap no one wanted to visit. And so the struggle goes on.
Luna
