Firefly/Serenity
- Thread starter PhoenixVader
- Start date
pennausamike
Sr Member
One of the screen-used Firefly bills has dollar signs on it,
so it isn't unreasonable to assume that some local currencies would be in dollars.
I think it is a stellar looking bill, and I'm thinking of using a marbled beige paper to print it out!
Thanks Much,
Mike
so it isn't unreasonable to assume that some local currencies would be in dollars.
I think it is a stellar looking bill, and I'm thinking of using a marbled beige paper to print it out!
Thanks Much,
Mike
Bronson BB
Well-Known Member
In the song 'Hero of Canton', the lyrics mention both dollars and cents.
That's a great piece of trivia. I don't know how I missed that before.
I was reminded today that I haven't finished the Ransom Project (primarily the descriptions for the map locations), so here is the latest update. http://fireflyprops.net/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=336
112 ~ Flannagan’s Laundry
Flannagan's Laundry is a full service laundry with a 24-7 laundromat for visitors to Ransom Airfield. Drop off your dirty unmentionables or wash your own. It's your choice at Flannagan's.
113 ~ Alliance Primary Hanger/Bunker
The Alliance Primary Hanger/Bunker has been around since the second year of the war. It was begun as a private project, but it was overtaken by the Alliance and it has served as housing for fighter air/spacecraft ever since. It is sometimes called Big A (and sometimes more colorful things). The Alliance maintains a skeleton crew of mechanics and service techs at the Hanger.
114 ~ Far Village Massage Therapy Spas
The Outskirts might not offer everything a person could ask for, but you can still get a relaxing massage and a mud bath at The Far Village. It's a Cozy place, with a friendly staff and a gentle acupuncturist.
115 ~ Residence - Ezra/Jennifer Pound
Residence only. See privacy citation - Pound/094.554.4.4200, Pound/098.321.8.9224
116 ~ Mama Chen’s
Mama Chen's is a Chinese-style teashop, with dumplings and dimsum, pots of tea, and mah jong clubs made up of Chinese grandmas who know everything about everybody, everywhere. Pull up a chair, order a pot of tea and eavesdrop on them if you want to get the skinny. Also…don't EVER let yourself be talked into joining one of their games--they'll skin you alive. They're fierce ladies who play for keeps. Money changes hands a lot at Mama Chen's. Even 'Mama' herself is known to come out of the kitchen or from behind the register to play upon occasion.
117 ~ Residential - Ransom Resort Towers
Ransom Resort Towers is the pipe dream of not one, but three entrepreneurs who were sold on the idea that the backwaters of the Verse could attract adventurous and wealthy citizens of the Core. The first man to buy into the property was named Tim Hamstead. A man of considerable wealth by himself, Hamstead had already proven his potential through unusual real estate ventures when he bought into the eco-super housing communities on Athens. He was also a participating financier on the Sunspire at Lilac City. Hamstead believed that an upscale hotel and casino could do very well at Ransom, especially with the presence of military personnel toward the latter part of the war. Of course, he broke ground too late to profit from the large-scale military presence there, and by the time Ransom Towers was taking shape, the Alliance had moved over 75% of their assets to Baal or offworld. The Alliance post war boom was also smaller than anticipated and the wealthy did not travel in large numbers to the lonelier parts of the Verse. The post war climate saw more veterans and refugees moving out from the central planets, so Ransom Towers was just one of many gambles in the Outskirts that didn't pay off. Still, despite disappointing returns on his investment, Hamstead was able to turn a modest profit in housing and gambling, but he chose to sell all of the facilities at a meager profit while it was still in the black.
The next owner and financier was Glenn Chandler, who followed hard upon the idea that Ransom Towers could be the premiere hotel and casino. It could be argued that this was true, as it was the only true hotel and casino in the Outskirts, and it might have been profitable because of this, but Chandler overreached financially and the business failed.
The third owner is a group, not an individual. A co-op of renters, businessmen and some offworld investors anxious to circulate their finances by legal and somewhat less legal means purchased Ransom Towers and traded shares for the facilities publicly. While ransom Towers is still not the money maker that it was intended to be, the co-op has consistently raised the profit margins of the facilities as a whole in the few, short years that they've run the place. Ransom Towers serves as a primary source for short and long stay housing, rentals, and in a few cases, apartments for a large percentage of Ransoms permanent residents and transient visitors. Ransom Towers' few conference center facilities are rented out for private and public affairs.
118 ~ Pick Me Up Saloon
The Pick Me Up Saloon is a no nonsense, rim world saloon. You get exactly what you would expect. A good drink. A sympathetic ear. An occasional drunken brawl. Pick Me Up is a great little watering hole decorated in wall to wall photos of visiting pilots going back several decades. You can expect to see no shortage of pin-up art, war relics and strange ship castoffs. Pick Me Up is also part of the Brewer's League, a triumvirate of beverage providers that support Outskirts hockey (see entry 101).
119 ~ Ransom Central Power
Ransom Central Power provides water, heat, cooling and electrical power to the vast majority of Ransom. While many hangers, businesses and residences have independent power sources against the threat of power failure and attacks, Ransom Central Power is the main provider to the area. The facilities of RCP are equipped to handle a number of fuel sources for generating their services.
120 ~ Ransom Buddhist Temple & Gardens
The Buddhist Temple at Ransom was built after the war ended. It is one of the newest structures at Ransom and most of the construction was provided by local workers. While the materials were purchased by public and private contributors, the gardens and temple were all built by volunteers. Everyone wanted to be a part of its construction. Nothing says Karma like neighbors working elbow to elbow with their fellow neighbors to build something sacred and meaningful to them all.
121 ~ Kuaile Wu (Happy Duck)
Happy Duck is a tiny, brightly painted, friendly little full service laundry. The rubber ducky in a tub of suds and a washboard which serves for a sing over the door says more than can said here.
122 ~ Ransom Airfield Medical Center
When the Alliance Airfield Medical Center was built at Ransom it provided exclusive, full service medical care for pilots, mechanics and all other federal support staff. This policy lasted almost a week. A lift engine failure on a 12-20 Ganges put a crew of 17 people in desperate need of emergency care, and the policy changed forever. Some red tape had to be overcome despite the accident, but the Alliance quickly conceded that the cost of keeping the lights on and medical staff busy without offering public care was ruinous financially and a public relations quagmire. While there are other medical services at Ransom, the presence of a high tech, full service medical center has made the airfield the go to place for injuries and emergencies. Ransom Airfield Medical Center is also well know as one of the only locations on New Canaan where a Reaver was taken alive and shipped offworld for study. Little is know about the incident, apart from sparse eyewitness accounts. The doctor who took down the Reaver (by whatever means he used) was shipped out with the captive as part of the study team and in an effort to keep incident information to a minimum. It's been an ongoing joke ever since that even Reavers can get treated and life flighted offworld at Ransom.
123 ~ Residence - William Ulrich
Residence only. See privacy citation - Ulrich/091.602.2.2002
124 ~ Pablo’s Boats
Pablo's Boats is owned and operated by Paul Damsgaard. Owing to a nickname given to him during his college years and a less than reverent latin course, Paul is know simply as Pablo. He favors the nickname so much that he's applied for a name change several times, but due to an unfortunate criminal record as old as the nickname, the Alliance won't let him change it. Still, everyone locally has accepted the name as is. Pablo runs a thriving business in used endo/exo shuttles and small boats. He has occasionally brokered deals for larger transports and cargo vessels, but he tends towards the small and the rare. He's even sold his share of racing vessels and ground mules, but shuttles are his stock-in-trade. If you're looking for something of long term reliability in short range transports, Pablo is your guy.
125 ~ Tinker’s Tool & Die
Tinker's Tool & Die deals in specialty tools and weapons. Some of the most interesting one of a kind firearms and well built machines can be found there. Everything from pneumatic pistols and magnetic slug checkers to the most basic pry bars and hammers. New tech and archaic devices share the shelves of Tinker's and many a discarded tool and antiquated gun have found a new home.
126 ~ Alliance Housing
Alliance Housing is graft, pure and simple. Sometimes called the 'UAP B&B', Alliance Housing is little more than redundant, waste housing. Central Facilities serves as the primary housing complex for all federal staff, and even that structure is two thirds empty most of the time, so the additional 'housing' that the Alliance constructed away from the airfield is rented out to visitors all of the time. If it weren't, the place would remain empty year round. It appears as a 'secondary' facility on all official papers, but it draws a profit that the local feds use to supplement their low, rim-world incomes.
Alliance Housing was also the unfortunate backdrop to the 2014 sex scandal involving Governor John Zhang Wei and his 'family'. The Governor arrived at Ransom with his entourage of servants and family and stayed at the secondary housing facility for several weeks before it was learned that his visiting 'daughters' were underaged slaves purchased and transported illegally to Ransom. There are numerous stories and rumors surrounding the incident, but most of these are covered publicly and privately. Please see outside sources for details.
127 ~ The Crossroads
The Crossroads Inn offers long and short term lodging and boasts one of the best breakfast menus to be had in the Outskirts. Everything on the breakfast menu (which is the only menu) is made fresh, from scratch and the coffee is legendary. Try as you might, if you don't stay there, you don't get to eat there. Guests are guests, and interlopers are put out on their ear.
128 ~ Residence - Jose & Maria Arredondo
Residence only. See privacy citation - Arredondo/091.340.4.2375, Arredondo/095.883.0.2050
129 ~ Ma & Pa Franklin's Dirtfish Fry
Dirtfish is common enough at Ransom. You can get it served up at almost any place that serves food in town, but if you want to 'experience' Dirtfish and truly understand what it can be, you have to visit Ma & Pa Franklin. While Ransom sits comfortably in the Northern hemisphere of New Canaan, Ma & Pa Franklin come from a long line of Southerners going all the way back to Earth That Was. What does this mean to the average guest at the Fry? Everything on the menu is cooked in the drippings of everything else on the menu. Lard is alive and well at the Dirtfish Fry, so to speak. You can bacon on everything. This is not to say that the food is heavy or unhealthy. No, far from it. It just means that everything that is cooked is done so with flavor in mind. For steak, go to Chow God. For Breakfast, go to the Crossroads. But for Dirtfish, and everything that goes well with it, go to Ma & Pa Franklin. Ma & Pa take an unusual fish with an unfortunate name and transpose ordinary ingredients into five star fare. Go for the fish, stay for the pie, and leave with a smile.
130 ~ Ransom Tower & Central Facilities
Ransom Tower & Central Facilities serves as the primary Alliance presence in the Outskirts. Ransom Tower is the official airfield tower and the facilities building houses the control center and housing for all federal employees at Ransom. The complex is another great example of government excess, since much of the facilities are unused and less than half the housing is filled during any given month of the year. Still, the facilities represent a secure, high tech support complex for the community and post war relations between pro-Alliance and pro-Independent veterans remain amiable. The locals refer to the facilities at large as the T&C, but Ransom Tower is primary contact point for all pilots entering New Canaan space. Due to recent rises in Reaver activity, all pilots entering New Canaan airspace must broadcast flight and vessel information to Ransom regardless of their ground destination. This is required for the security of all territories at New Canaan. It also has the virtue of creating a regular, often colorful, amount of broadcast traffic, so that it's possible to know a lot about the little people spread all over the world. Ransom Tower carries all primary Cortex traffic, police, fire and emergency bands for the Outskirts.
131 ~ Bench Dental & Homeopathic
The name says it all. Bench is a full service dental and homeopathic care business. While various businesses about Ransom offer homeopathic remedies and varieties of care, Bench is devoted to homeopathy. They also provide an alternative to the dental services at the Ransom Airfield Medical Center.
132 ~ Tower Ravens Antiquarian Books
Owned and operated by Mark and Kristen Wilkinson, and named for the ravens kept at the Tower of London on Earth That Was, Tower Ravens is the eclectic, antiquarian book shop in the tradition of the 'corner bookstore'. There's nothing in the Verse like a bookshop, and TR is no exception. You can find the most amazing tomes and handbound volumes there and the sunlit sitting room at the front is worth the visit. While there, you might also check out the fine offering of knitted goods, all hands-on and knitted on the premises by Kristen, the 'Knit Cricket'.
133 ~ Outskirts Microbrewery & Pub
Outskirts Brewery and Pub is a modest, local distillery that exports alcohol all the way to the Core, though in the limited quantities carried off-world by the rocket jockeys of the New Canaan Trade Routes. They makes a lager called Blue Star (just try to guess why). They also produce an annual limited stock of schwarzgebrannter called 'Camp 96', a schnaps in honor of those who lived and died at Ransom during the War and specifically those prisoners of German descent that made moonshine to keep up the camp spirits during their incarceration at Ransom. Other labels include Stouthearted (a little bit of liquid courage), Black Rock Bock and White Horse (a weissbier named after the township south of Ransom).
134 ~ Ransom Sheriff's Complex
While the federal powers that be have a strong presence at Ransom, Sheriff's are still elected locally by residents of the Outskirts. This creates a certain balance of power, and it means that factions that were once pro Alliance or Independent work alongside each other in maintaing law and order. The Sheriff's Complex handles a great deal of the ground traffic and incident reports local to the Outskirts, while the feds patrol the sky on a broader scale.
135 ~ Delker Feed & Seed
Delker Feed & Seed was first started by Charles and Emily Delker, now retired at the Southshores (SEE citation 46). It now owned and operated by Franklin and Edith Greene who handle much of the supplies for livestock owners at Ransom, such as the Veterinary Hospital and the ranch stock yards along the airfield. Delker sells product all over the populated territories on New Canaan and even supplies some export to other worlds in the Blue Sun System.
136 ~ Outskirts Veterinary Hospital
Outskirts Veterinary Hospital is a full service animal care facility specializing in large livestock, but with a regular office staff capable of surgery and examination of pets. The hospital also offers long and short term kennel services the quarantine or lodging of animals. OVH is a federally licensed business and can handle any ADAW matters which may occur in the Outskirts.
137 ~ The Pool
Simply know as 'The Pool', this submerged foundation was actually built as a bomb shelter, but it was never completed. Rain would regularly fill the bottom portion of it each year, so that it served as an insect habitat for years before it was tapped with a drain. It is almost never filled with water, but the name remains. The walls of the pool exhibit some of the finest urban art to be found anywhere in Ransom.
138 ~ Staker Stone & Gravel
Nobody knows stone and gravel like Staker, and even places as far removed as Ransom have an office from that construction giant. The Staker yards at Ransom and Baal represent the companies most distant holdings from the Core, but as the ads profess wherever you go 'You'll find Staker'. You know the ones that I mean, the ads where the owner dons an outrageous turban and declares himself the 'Sultan of Stone'. Well, even new Canaan is part of that sultanate. Staker himself visited the Ransom yard when it was opened, but his visit was less about the yard and more about some friends from the War living in the Outskirts.
139 ~ Ridgewell (Public Water Source - Designation W-11-23)
Ridgewelll is one of several city wells at Ransom that is capped and fitted for pumping. The site is marked by a huge water tank that also supplies added water pressure for the community. See ADAW-NC-DR2-Ridge/W-11-23.00a/History under 'Outskirts-NewCanaan Wells & Storage'
140 ~ Amalgamated Waste Industries
Well known throughout the Verse as one of the largest waste and reclamation conglomerates, Amalgamated Waste Industries is responsible for the handling of roughly 78% of the waste and recyclable materials generated at Ransom. Their slogan 'Nothing goes to Waste' is indicative of their standards, because they ship everything from gum wrappers to toxic waste off world, and they turn a generous profit doing it. Anything you throw away or leave behind at Ransom eventually ends up at AWI.
141 ~ Runway 12
Runway 12 is the Southwest end of the secondary landing strip at Ransom Airfield. It is used mostly for smaller glide, HTO and drone aircraft, but is available to larger vessels when necessary. Most of the locals refer to it simply as 'Southwest'. The Alliance uses this runway more than any other entity.
142 ~ Residence - Don Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Don Dearmin is part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Don and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.
143 ~ Residence - Brad Goodwolf
Residence only. Information limited. Brad Goodwolf is an owner and operator for The New Beginnings Cattle Company.
144 ~ Residence - Christian & Maeve Tanner
Residence only. Information limited. Christian & Maeve Tanner have been residents of Ransom since the War. Both Christian and Maeve are veteran pilots of the Independent movement and Christian Tanner was a prisoner at Camp 96 at Ransom more than once during the War. Christian is a volunteer smokejumper pilot for Ransom Fire and Outskirts West, while Maeve is a freelance pilot for several businesses at Ransom. Christian Tanner has served as both a Sheriff and a Marshall for the Outskirts Territory and has been temporarily deputized as a special deputy for both tactical operations and prisoner transport when required. Maeve works as a volunteer for Catalina's Clinic and the homeopathy clinics at Bench Dental and Homeopathic. They are both a part of what is called the 'New Locals', which are any veterans that became residents of Ransom following the War.
145 ~ Residence - Mark & Kristen Wilkinson
Residence only. See privacy citation - Wilkinson/094.300.8.6596, Wilkinson/097.418.8.5007
146 ~ Earthenware That Was
Thomas Grooms owns the best little salvage/stoneware business this side of...well...this side of anywhere. One has but to cross the handmade tile threshold of this archeological rummage repository to discover some of the finest trifles, tokens, trinkets and trophies ever discarded by humankind or fashioned by human hands. Baubles of bygone days are there for the buying, and on a good day, there for the stealing. Good deals on well used goods are just an everyday part of Earthenware That Was. Remembrances and relics alike line the walls, stalls and hallowed halls of this collectible crockery shop. If you're searching for that certain you-don't-know-what, then ETW is the place to find it. For the very best in stuff that was, and terra cotta that is, Thomas Grooms is your man.
147 ~ Residence - Louie Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Louie Dearmin is part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Louie and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.
148 ~ Residence - Mason & Blanche Dearmin
Residence only. See privacy citation - Dearmin/099.521.1.1484, Dearmin/097.684.2.2487
112 ~ Flannagan’s Laundry
Flannagan's Laundry is a full service laundry with a 24-7 laundromat for visitors to Ransom Airfield. Drop off your dirty unmentionables or wash your own. It's your choice at Flannagan's.
113 ~ Alliance Primary Hanger/Bunker
The Alliance Primary Hanger/Bunker has been around since the second year of the war. It was begun as a private project, but it was overtaken by the Alliance and it has served as housing for fighter air/spacecraft ever since. It is sometimes called Big A (and sometimes more colorful things). The Alliance maintains a skeleton crew of mechanics and service techs at the Hanger.
114 ~ Far Village Massage Therapy Spas
The Outskirts might not offer everything a person could ask for, but you can still get a relaxing massage and a mud bath at The Far Village. It's a Cozy place, with a friendly staff and a gentle acupuncturist.
115 ~ Residence - Ezra/Jennifer Pound
Residence only. See privacy citation - Pound/094.554.4.4200, Pound/098.321.8.9224
116 ~ Mama Chen’s
Mama Chen's is a Chinese-style teashop, with dumplings and dimsum, pots of tea, and mah jong clubs made up of Chinese grandmas who know everything about everybody, everywhere. Pull up a chair, order a pot of tea and eavesdrop on them if you want to get the skinny. Also…don't EVER let yourself be talked into joining one of their games--they'll skin you alive. They're fierce ladies who play for keeps. Money changes hands a lot at Mama Chen's. Even 'Mama' herself is known to come out of the kitchen or from behind the register to play upon occasion.
117 ~ Residential - Ransom Resort Towers
Ransom Resort Towers is the pipe dream of not one, but three entrepreneurs who were sold on the idea that the backwaters of the Verse could attract adventurous and wealthy citizens of the Core. The first man to buy into the property was named Tim Hamstead. A man of considerable wealth by himself, Hamstead had already proven his potential through unusual real estate ventures when he bought into the eco-super housing communities on Athens. He was also a participating financier on the Sunspire at Lilac City. Hamstead believed that an upscale hotel and casino could do very well at Ransom, especially with the presence of military personnel toward the latter part of the war. Of course, he broke ground too late to profit from the large-scale military presence there, and by the time Ransom Towers was taking shape, the Alliance had moved over 75% of their assets to Baal or offworld. The Alliance post war boom was also smaller than anticipated and the wealthy did not travel in large numbers to the lonelier parts of the Verse. The post war climate saw more veterans and refugees moving out from the central planets, so Ransom Towers was just one of many gambles in the Outskirts that didn't pay off. Still, despite disappointing returns on his investment, Hamstead was able to turn a modest profit in housing and gambling, but he chose to sell all of the facilities at a meager profit while it was still in the black.
The next owner and financier was Glenn Chandler, who followed hard upon the idea that Ransom Towers could be the premiere hotel and casino. It could be argued that this was true, as it was the only true hotel and casino in the Outskirts, and it might have been profitable because of this, but Chandler overreached financially and the business failed.
The third owner is a group, not an individual. A co-op of renters, businessmen and some offworld investors anxious to circulate their finances by legal and somewhat less legal means purchased Ransom Towers and traded shares for the facilities publicly. While ransom Towers is still not the money maker that it was intended to be, the co-op has consistently raised the profit margins of the facilities as a whole in the few, short years that they've run the place. Ransom Towers serves as a primary source for short and long stay housing, rentals, and in a few cases, apartments for a large percentage of Ransoms permanent residents and transient visitors. Ransom Towers' few conference center facilities are rented out for private and public affairs.
118 ~ Pick Me Up Saloon
The Pick Me Up Saloon is a no nonsense, rim world saloon. You get exactly what you would expect. A good drink. A sympathetic ear. An occasional drunken brawl. Pick Me Up is a great little watering hole decorated in wall to wall photos of visiting pilots going back several decades. You can expect to see no shortage of pin-up art, war relics and strange ship castoffs. Pick Me Up is also part of the Brewer's League, a triumvirate of beverage providers that support Outskirts hockey (see entry 101).
119 ~ Ransom Central Power
Ransom Central Power provides water, heat, cooling and electrical power to the vast majority of Ransom. While many hangers, businesses and residences have independent power sources against the threat of power failure and attacks, Ransom Central Power is the main provider to the area. The facilities of RCP are equipped to handle a number of fuel sources for generating their services.
120 ~ Ransom Buddhist Temple & Gardens
The Buddhist Temple at Ransom was built after the war ended. It is one of the newest structures at Ransom and most of the construction was provided by local workers. While the materials were purchased by public and private contributors, the gardens and temple were all built by volunteers. Everyone wanted to be a part of its construction. Nothing says Karma like neighbors working elbow to elbow with their fellow neighbors to build something sacred and meaningful to them all.
121 ~ Kuaile Wu (Happy Duck)
Happy Duck is a tiny, brightly painted, friendly little full service laundry. The rubber ducky in a tub of suds and a washboard which serves for a sing over the door says more than can said here.
122 ~ Ransom Airfield Medical Center
When the Alliance Airfield Medical Center was built at Ransom it provided exclusive, full service medical care for pilots, mechanics and all other federal support staff. This policy lasted almost a week. A lift engine failure on a 12-20 Ganges put a crew of 17 people in desperate need of emergency care, and the policy changed forever. Some red tape had to be overcome despite the accident, but the Alliance quickly conceded that the cost of keeping the lights on and medical staff busy without offering public care was ruinous financially and a public relations quagmire. While there are other medical services at Ransom, the presence of a high tech, full service medical center has made the airfield the go to place for injuries and emergencies. Ransom Airfield Medical Center is also well know as one of the only locations on New Canaan where a Reaver was taken alive and shipped offworld for study. Little is know about the incident, apart from sparse eyewitness accounts. The doctor who took down the Reaver (by whatever means he used) was shipped out with the captive as part of the study team and in an effort to keep incident information to a minimum. It's been an ongoing joke ever since that even Reavers can get treated and life flighted offworld at Ransom.
123 ~ Residence - William Ulrich
Residence only. See privacy citation - Ulrich/091.602.2.2002
124 ~ Pablo’s Boats
Pablo's Boats is owned and operated by Paul Damsgaard. Owing to a nickname given to him during his college years and a less than reverent latin course, Paul is know simply as Pablo. He favors the nickname so much that he's applied for a name change several times, but due to an unfortunate criminal record as old as the nickname, the Alliance won't let him change it. Still, everyone locally has accepted the name as is. Pablo runs a thriving business in used endo/exo shuttles and small boats. He has occasionally brokered deals for larger transports and cargo vessels, but he tends towards the small and the rare. He's even sold his share of racing vessels and ground mules, but shuttles are his stock-in-trade. If you're looking for something of long term reliability in short range transports, Pablo is your guy.
125 ~ Tinker’s Tool & Die
Tinker's Tool & Die deals in specialty tools and weapons. Some of the most interesting one of a kind firearms and well built machines can be found there. Everything from pneumatic pistols and magnetic slug checkers to the most basic pry bars and hammers. New tech and archaic devices share the shelves of Tinker's and many a discarded tool and antiquated gun have found a new home.
126 ~ Alliance Housing
Alliance Housing is graft, pure and simple. Sometimes called the 'UAP B&B', Alliance Housing is little more than redundant, waste housing. Central Facilities serves as the primary housing complex for all federal staff, and even that structure is two thirds empty most of the time, so the additional 'housing' that the Alliance constructed away from the airfield is rented out to visitors all of the time. If it weren't, the place would remain empty year round. It appears as a 'secondary' facility on all official papers, but it draws a profit that the local feds use to supplement their low, rim-world incomes.
Alliance Housing was also the unfortunate backdrop to the 2014 sex scandal involving Governor John Zhang Wei and his 'family'. The Governor arrived at Ransom with his entourage of servants and family and stayed at the secondary housing facility for several weeks before it was learned that his visiting 'daughters' were underaged slaves purchased and transported illegally to Ransom. There are numerous stories and rumors surrounding the incident, but most of these are covered publicly and privately. Please see outside sources for details.
127 ~ The Crossroads
The Crossroads Inn offers long and short term lodging and boasts one of the best breakfast menus to be had in the Outskirts. Everything on the breakfast menu (which is the only menu) is made fresh, from scratch and the coffee is legendary. Try as you might, if you don't stay there, you don't get to eat there. Guests are guests, and interlopers are put out on their ear.
128 ~ Residence - Jose & Maria Arredondo
Residence only. See privacy citation - Arredondo/091.340.4.2375, Arredondo/095.883.0.2050
129 ~ Ma & Pa Franklin's Dirtfish Fry
Dirtfish is common enough at Ransom. You can get it served up at almost any place that serves food in town, but if you want to 'experience' Dirtfish and truly understand what it can be, you have to visit Ma & Pa Franklin. While Ransom sits comfortably in the Northern hemisphere of New Canaan, Ma & Pa Franklin come from a long line of Southerners going all the way back to Earth That Was. What does this mean to the average guest at the Fry? Everything on the menu is cooked in the drippings of everything else on the menu. Lard is alive and well at the Dirtfish Fry, so to speak. You can bacon on everything. This is not to say that the food is heavy or unhealthy. No, far from it. It just means that everything that is cooked is done so with flavor in mind. For steak, go to Chow God. For Breakfast, go to the Crossroads. But for Dirtfish, and everything that goes well with it, go to Ma & Pa Franklin. Ma & Pa take an unusual fish with an unfortunate name and transpose ordinary ingredients into five star fare. Go for the fish, stay for the pie, and leave with a smile.
130 ~ Ransom Tower & Central Facilities
Ransom Tower & Central Facilities serves as the primary Alliance presence in the Outskirts. Ransom Tower is the official airfield tower and the facilities building houses the control center and housing for all federal employees at Ransom. The complex is another great example of government excess, since much of the facilities are unused and less than half the housing is filled during any given month of the year. Still, the facilities represent a secure, high tech support complex for the community and post war relations between pro-Alliance and pro-Independent veterans remain amiable. The locals refer to the facilities at large as the T&C, but Ransom Tower is primary contact point for all pilots entering New Canaan space. Due to recent rises in Reaver activity, all pilots entering New Canaan airspace must broadcast flight and vessel information to Ransom regardless of their ground destination. This is required for the security of all territories at New Canaan. It also has the virtue of creating a regular, often colorful, amount of broadcast traffic, so that it's possible to know a lot about the little people spread all over the world. Ransom Tower carries all primary Cortex traffic, police, fire and emergency bands for the Outskirts.
131 ~ Bench Dental & Homeopathic
The name says it all. Bench is a full service dental and homeopathic care business. While various businesses about Ransom offer homeopathic remedies and varieties of care, Bench is devoted to homeopathy. They also provide an alternative to the dental services at the Ransom Airfield Medical Center.
132 ~ Tower Ravens Antiquarian Books
Owned and operated by Mark and Kristen Wilkinson, and named for the ravens kept at the Tower of London on Earth That Was, Tower Ravens is the eclectic, antiquarian book shop in the tradition of the 'corner bookstore'. There's nothing in the Verse like a bookshop, and TR is no exception. You can find the most amazing tomes and handbound volumes there and the sunlit sitting room at the front is worth the visit. While there, you might also check out the fine offering of knitted goods, all hands-on and knitted on the premises by Kristen, the 'Knit Cricket'.
133 ~ Outskirts Microbrewery & Pub
Outskirts Brewery and Pub is a modest, local distillery that exports alcohol all the way to the Core, though in the limited quantities carried off-world by the rocket jockeys of the New Canaan Trade Routes. They makes a lager called Blue Star (just try to guess why). They also produce an annual limited stock of schwarzgebrannter called 'Camp 96', a schnaps in honor of those who lived and died at Ransom during the War and specifically those prisoners of German descent that made moonshine to keep up the camp spirits during their incarceration at Ransom. Other labels include Stouthearted (a little bit of liquid courage), Black Rock Bock and White Horse (a weissbier named after the township south of Ransom).
134 ~ Ransom Sheriff's Complex
While the federal powers that be have a strong presence at Ransom, Sheriff's are still elected locally by residents of the Outskirts. This creates a certain balance of power, and it means that factions that were once pro Alliance or Independent work alongside each other in maintaing law and order. The Sheriff's Complex handles a great deal of the ground traffic and incident reports local to the Outskirts, while the feds patrol the sky on a broader scale.
135 ~ Delker Feed & Seed
Delker Feed & Seed was first started by Charles and Emily Delker, now retired at the Southshores (SEE citation 46). It now owned and operated by Franklin and Edith Greene who handle much of the supplies for livestock owners at Ransom, such as the Veterinary Hospital and the ranch stock yards along the airfield. Delker sells product all over the populated territories on New Canaan and even supplies some export to other worlds in the Blue Sun System.
136 ~ Outskirts Veterinary Hospital
Outskirts Veterinary Hospital is a full service animal care facility specializing in large livestock, but with a regular office staff capable of surgery and examination of pets. The hospital also offers long and short term kennel services the quarantine or lodging of animals. OVH is a federally licensed business and can handle any ADAW matters which may occur in the Outskirts.
137 ~ The Pool
Simply know as 'The Pool', this submerged foundation was actually built as a bomb shelter, but it was never completed. Rain would regularly fill the bottom portion of it each year, so that it served as an insect habitat for years before it was tapped with a drain. It is almost never filled with water, but the name remains. The walls of the pool exhibit some of the finest urban art to be found anywhere in Ransom.
138 ~ Staker Stone & Gravel
Nobody knows stone and gravel like Staker, and even places as far removed as Ransom have an office from that construction giant. The Staker yards at Ransom and Baal represent the companies most distant holdings from the Core, but as the ads profess wherever you go 'You'll find Staker'. You know the ones that I mean, the ads where the owner dons an outrageous turban and declares himself the 'Sultan of Stone'. Well, even new Canaan is part of that sultanate. Staker himself visited the Ransom yard when it was opened, but his visit was less about the yard and more about some friends from the War living in the Outskirts.
139 ~ Ridgewell (Public Water Source - Designation W-11-23)
Ridgewelll is one of several city wells at Ransom that is capped and fitted for pumping. The site is marked by a huge water tank that also supplies added water pressure for the community. See ADAW-NC-DR2-Ridge/W-11-23.00a/History under 'Outskirts-NewCanaan Wells & Storage'
140 ~ Amalgamated Waste Industries
Well known throughout the Verse as one of the largest waste and reclamation conglomerates, Amalgamated Waste Industries is responsible for the handling of roughly 78% of the waste and recyclable materials generated at Ransom. Their slogan 'Nothing goes to Waste' is indicative of their standards, because they ship everything from gum wrappers to toxic waste off world, and they turn a generous profit doing it. Anything you throw away or leave behind at Ransom eventually ends up at AWI.
141 ~ Runway 12
Runway 12 is the Southwest end of the secondary landing strip at Ransom Airfield. It is used mostly for smaller glide, HTO and drone aircraft, but is available to larger vessels when necessary. Most of the locals refer to it simply as 'Southwest'. The Alliance uses this runway more than any other entity.
142 ~ Residence - Don Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Don Dearmin is part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Don and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.
143 ~ Residence - Brad Goodwolf
Residence only. Information limited. Brad Goodwolf is an owner and operator for The New Beginnings Cattle Company.
144 ~ Residence - Christian & Maeve Tanner
Residence only. Information limited. Christian & Maeve Tanner have been residents of Ransom since the War. Both Christian and Maeve are veteran pilots of the Independent movement and Christian Tanner was a prisoner at Camp 96 at Ransom more than once during the War. Christian is a volunteer smokejumper pilot for Ransom Fire and Outskirts West, while Maeve is a freelance pilot for several businesses at Ransom. Christian Tanner has served as both a Sheriff and a Marshall for the Outskirts Territory and has been temporarily deputized as a special deputy for both tactical operations and prisoner transport when required. Maeve works as a volunteer for Catalina's Clinic and the homeopathy clinics at Bench Dental and Homeopathic. They are both a part of what is called the 'New Locals', which are any veterans that became residents of Ransom following the War.
145 ~ Residence - Mark & Kristen Wilkinson
Residence only. See privacy citation - Wilkinson/094.300.8.6596, Wilkinson/097.418.8.5007
146 ~ Earthenware That Was
Thomas Grooms owns the best little salvage/stoneware business this side of...well...this side of anywhere. One has but to cross the handmade tile threshold of this archeological rummage repository to discover some of the finest trifles, tokens, trinkets and trophies ever discarded by humankind or fashioned by human hands. Baubles of bygone days are there for the buying, and on a good day, there for the stealing. Good deals on well used goods are just an everyday part of Earthenware That Was. Remembrances and relics alike line the walls, stalls and hallowed halls of this collectible crockery shop. If you're searching for that certain you-don't-know-what, then ETW is the place to find it. For the very best in stuff that was, and terra cotta that is, Thomas Grooms is your man.
147 ~ Residence - Louie Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Louie Dearmin is part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Louie and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.
148 ~ Residence - Mason & Blanche Dearmin
Residence only. See privacy citation - Dearmin/099.521.1.1484, Dearmin/097.684.2.2487
Goodwolf
Sr Member
And it just so happens I can prove it.
http://i.imgur.com/C6aFGCa.jpg I'll just leave the link as the pic is a bit largish.
You're welcome. I dug in my heels last night and finished the write-ups for the map. I will probably add to these over time, but for now, I give you the last column of entries.
149 ~ Fonnesbeck Gardens & Greenhouses
Some of the finest in flowers, vines, trees , shrubbery and edible plantings can be found at Fonnesbeck Gardens & Greenhouses. The grounds are laid out in a decorative garden fashion and the business boasts some of the best on and off world plant varieties you could ask for anywhere on New Canaan.
150 ~ Residence - The Schultz Compound
One of the earliest families at Ransom, the Schultz line has at least four generations living in and around the community. Known for their tech savvy, the Shultz family are often found discussing machines and mainframes. They also represent part of the community known as 'Little Germany'.
151 ~ Ransom Field Storage "The Sheds"
Built as hangers for large support gunships during the War, they are now used for storage, support and emergency goods at Ransom Airfield. Airfield maintenance equipment is kept in Shed 1 for cleaning, snow removal and upkeep, while portions of Shed 2 are rented out to private citizens and corporations for storage. Some fire suppressant compounds are also stored there for Ransom Fire.
152 ~ Residence - Frank Decher
Residence only. See privacy citation - Decher/099.798.9.4955
153 ~ Old Blue (Incomplete Blue Sun Facility)
Blue Sun Supply Depot: 2212 at Ransom is considered an incomplete, but not abandoned facility as most people think. The facility was part of a corporate wide expansion that worked on some fronts, but not others. See the following citation for explanation.
"Blue Sun Supply Depot: 2212 at Ransom
Status: In Review
Internal Memo 32316: Committee for Reviews - Level 2 Priority
To the Committee of Operations,
The status of our supply depot at Ransom on New Canaan has come into question once again, what with the surprising lack of interest in consumable goods in bulk quantities and an unexpected volume of localized imports and exports. As you know, it was first assumed that Ransom would be the ideal place for high volume, long term storage of goods, due to the community's size and relative planetary isolation, the presence of an airfield and the close proximity to smaller neighboring towns and settlements. The initial studies of Ransom showed that the location was ideal for ground floor consideration and that there was every indication that a facility equal in size to Blue Sun's holdings at Dacy, Bella Union and French Creek on Deadwood would thrive in the Outskirts. Not so.
After an in depth study of competing corporations in the Blue Sun System, such as Corpus Christi, Tang and Ursa Major, it was shown that none of these competitors exhibited a vested interest in establishing a foothold at New Canaan. The combination of low population growth, delays in terra-forming stabilization and the lack of significant political and economical infrastructure nullified any and all high stakes competition. In view of growth estimations for post-war New Canaan, and with Blue Sun poised to set and control the local market value and distribution of goods, it was concluded that a depot would thrive at Ransom.
Armed with this information, ground breaking began at three separate locations starting with two large pre-fab warehouses. Blue Sun's 2212 storage facility was built in close proximity to the Ransom airfield and adjacent to the primary Alliance properties of the same. This location afforded Blue Sun both protection and ideal real estate. Within three weeks, foundations for a distribution center and office space had been added nearby. Site 2212 was completed and fully stocked in less than two months and it was partially staffed for the sale and marketing of goods. Trade with White Horse, Benson, and other neighboring settlements ensued, but far below expected estimates. Even sales at Ransom proper proved poor at best.
Within six years of service, Blue Sun's 2212 facility had garnished so little use that it was scheduled for liquidation not once, but four times. Sales were so poor, that construction on the distribution center East of the warehouse site was halted altogether. This memo constitutes the fifth and final review of site 2212.
Early information and studies of Ransom failed to take into account the many individual supply boats, sutlers and smugglers coming and going from Ransom. The traffic of small vessels through the airfield there was never considered when examining competition in trade goods. It was assumed that even a steady traffic of light and mid-bulk transports could never yield enough imports to constitute competition, but in and outgoing ships were selling more Blue Sun goods than Blue Sun itself. Add the unexpected volume of cattle interests and the presence of other small livestock ventures and Blue Sun was further undermined. Even the sales of alcohol and ammunition, generally considered a cash cow for corporations on the Rim, were eclipsed by local breweries out of Ransom and New Cumberland, and local shops were regularly stocked with small arms and munitions.
Despite causes or reasons of failure, site 2212 has proven unprofitable in short and long term reviews. After much consideration, and considerable hindsight, it is recommended that site 2212 be sold at cost and that the goods therein should be liquidated and/or moved to Blue Sun holdings at Baal and Bishop Docks. In the opinion of this office, Ransom's status as a corporate commodity should be reduced in priority from a supply hub to a remote sales point. This office can only recommend the maintenance of the smaller sales office building and property sheds at the same location. All other facilities should be sold or rented until the financial climate at Ransom should show marked improvement in Blue Sun's favor.
Respectfully,
Edward James Clawson
Accounting, Requisitions and Reviews
Clawson and Peels
CCC-2341-6767-22-900"
After the above recommendation the site was closed, but it is guarded and maintained by two Blue Sun employees, Wilson 'Dusty' Carver and Max Standish. Dusty and Max keep regular hours and often sell third party Blue Sun products through their office, despite the fact that the depot is considered inactive. With so much time on their hands, they've found numerous loopholes for shipping goods and services out to Ransom. This has allowed them to pass on significant discounts to locals by bartering shipping through such services as Keelhauler and Northern Lights and keep the lights on at the loneliest depot in the Blue Sun Empire.
154 ~ Residence - Brian Wiser
Residence only. See privacy citation - Wiser/097.200.2.1650
155 ~ The Bards
Even places as far removed as Ransom have 'theater' and The Bards is the place to see amateur dramatics and visiting, traveling shows. First built as a music hall, it now hosts performances year round and supports a regular troupe of local talent. The book turned play, from which Ransom gets it's name, is played every few years on this little stage to packed houses. Plays, readings, musicals, concerts, and improv are all performed at The Bards.
156 ~ Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond was built and donated to the people of Ransom by the Blue Sun Corporation as a public relations event the same year that Blue Sun broke ground for Depot 2212 (SEE citation 153). The baseball field is maintained by the employees of Blue Sun at the Depot and is used regularly by the local schools and some amateur leagues in and around Ransom.
157 ~ Old 89
The original highway to all points South, including the town of White Horse, Old 89 now serves as a road for cattle drives and access to a few ranch and homestead sites. '89ing' is a local saying that means to 'drive livestock from the hills', since most of the high meadows West of Ransom lead down to the old highway running along the bench. It is considered a right of passage to 89 cattle to town at least once in a lifetime.
158 ~ New Water Treatment & Dirtfish Ponds
While the Old ponds are still used for water treatment and the farming of Dirtfish, the new ponds incorporate a better location and new technologies. This relatively new facility also produces a considerable amount of high grade cannabis indoors and makes use of the water and control technologies to create a lucrative, self sustaining facility.
159 ~ White Horse Road
First designated as the New 89, the locals quickly renamed it White Horse Road, because they believe that Old 89 is the only 89 and that White Horse Road just sounds better.
160 ~ Runway 26
Runway 26 is the North end of Ransom Airfield's primary landing strip. Sometimes called the 'Crosswind' by locals, but heavily discouraged by all official parties at the airfield, Runway 26 is the widest, longest landing strip in the outskirts.
161 ~ Dead Seven (abandoned runway)
One of two original runways, Dead Seven has been abandoned for decades and used primarily as a service road for Ransom Airfield. During the War it was the primary patrol road for Camp 96. It was the prisoners at Camp 96 that referred to the old runway as Dead Seven and the name stuck.
162 ~ Lindon Research and Technologies
Lindon Research and Technologies is well known for their study of early terraforming and post terraforming effects and anomalies. Lindon has patents on over 2,000 discoveries and developments ranging in importance from catalogue systems to cures for post-terraforming diseases. Lindon's Ransom facility focuses on studies of harsh environments, water usage and the Dirtfish among many other things. They have numerous scientific awards over their 17 years as a company.
163 ~ Merrill Farms “The Fat C Ranch”
Merrill Farms is an 'Eggs & Bacon' business. They sell both poultry and pork (live or processed), but they deal primarily in laying hens and provide the majority of the eggs for local commerce. Chances are, if you eat an egg while visiting Ransom, it came from the Fat C. Chances are, if you ever got egged by a rival, those eggs came from the Fat C.
164 ~ Deadwell (Abandoned Water Source - Designation W-7-24)
Deadwell is one of the only failed rilling locations at Ransom. This well location continued to collapse again and again with diminishing returns, so it was abandoned. During high water years the ground water at Deadwell will swell and create a seep around the well head, but it remains dry much of the time.
165 ~ Short Eight (large VTOL landing pad)
Short Eight is the largest dedicated landing pad for VTOL endo/exo-craft. It is sometimes called the 'Back Porch' by local pilots.
166 ~ Runway 30
Runway 30 is the Northeast landing end of the Ransom Airfield's secondary runway. SEE citation 141
167 ~ The Smokehouse (Camp 96 Cooler)
Named for a popular folk song out of Dyton, the Smokehouse served as the 'cooler' for Camp 96 and many a prisoner was brought to the brink under the hot Ransom sun during a stay there. During a bombing raid on Ransom Airfield during the War, a stray bomb destroyed much of the Smokehouse killing one guard and four prisoners. It was rebuilt and used for the duration of the war, but the previous bombing had weakened the foundation enough that it collapsed within a year of the armistice. Veterans and guards of Camp 96 rebuilt the entire structure as a memorial and it bears a plaque with the names of those who died there, including the guard killed during the raid and the troubled veteran pilot who killed them and took his own life after the War.
A plaque has been set there which carries multiple meanings and reads, "For those who died within and without".
168 ~ C-96 Yard, Hot boxes & Pit Houses
This area constitutes the yard and housing for Camp 96 prisoners, but also some of the 'hot box' punishment structures. Most of the prisoners were housed underground in pit houses to utilize ground insulation to keep them cool in the Summer and warm in Winter. These relatively lightless buildings were poorly ventilated and proved too small for the growing number of prisoners as the War progressed. Most of the pit houses can be visited today and some veterans have pit meetings and events commemorating their internment.
169 ~ C-96 Machine & Work Sheds
The work sheds and machine shop at Camp 96 were used by the guards and the prisoners. Prisoners were allowed to work, both for exercise and merits. Many prisoners chose to work if only to escape the white hot days or dark pit houses. The sheds offered a place out of the wind and elements with chairs. There are several personal accounts that discuss the glory of getting to sit in a real chair.
170 ~ C-96 North/South Hotels (Guardhouses)
The Hotels were the barracks for all Alliance guards at Camp 96. While not luxury accommodations, the barracks were extremely comfortable and contained all of the luxuries one could hope for so far from the Core. The Hotels are used to house veterans during anniversary events. In a role reversal event just after the War, former prisoners stayed in the hotels, while former guards spent several nights in the pit houses. Alliance officials frowned heavily upon this, saying that it sent mixed messages publicly. Privately it was called a 'moving event' that both revealed and healed.
171 ~ C-96 Old Main & Catalina's Clinic
Formerly the Infirmary for the prison population at Camp 96, the Old Main building now serves as a museum and the housing for 'Catalina's Clinic' run by Doctor Zezuski. The Doctor and her staff serve anyone serve everyone from local farm folk, to the occasional off-worlders and airfield emergencies (So long as they land at Ransom for the care). Because Old Mai is a large building, the clinic is fortunate enough to boast a chapel, housing, recreation room and laboratories. It also houses the Camp 96 museum and many of the privately donated relics of Ransom's early history.
172 ~ The Far Field (Cemetery)
Most people visiting Ransom believe that the Far Field is the cemetery created solely for Camp 96. This misconception is partially due to its proximity to Old Main, but also because it sits at the far side of Ransom proper, which people also believe is the reason for the name. All of these things are not true. First, the cemetery location is where it is due to its proximity to Black Rock, and because of the first accidental deaths at the drilling site that created a necessity for the cemetery. Two men were killed during the collapse of a drilling rig within the first few weeks of drilling at site W-6-24. The expense of shipping their remains back to the Core was weighed against the needs of surviving relatives, and it was decided that both men should be buried at New Canaan. The town of Ransom was already appearing along the bench by the time any other death required the need for a cemetery. This third death came to one Calvin Hope, who was reported to say, "Bury me in the far field…there alongside those who went first", but there is no proof that he ever used such a phrase. Some people speculate that the name comes from the poem by Nicholas Moore, but wherever it comes from, the cemetery has been called the Far Field as long as anyone can remember. Despite not being intended for the camp, many prisoners who perished at Camp 96 are buried there and veterans who have died since have asked to be interned at the Far Field.
173 ~ The Roundabout (gun emplacement)
During the height of the War, a large gun emplacement sat at the South end of Camp 96 for defense of the camp and airfield. Many have argued that such a gun would give good service against Reavers, but the Alliance has never seriously considered building ground defenses for this purpose.
174 ~ Residence - Brent Carpenter
Residence only. See privacy citation - Carpenter/098.731.0.0008
175 ~ Oxbow
When the first drill jockeys arrived at Site W-6-24 for drilling, they came aboard an antiquated Oxbow Class Transport Freighter. The Oxbow was used as temporary housing and operations while structures were built and assembled at Black Rock. Eventually the freighter left, but the name for the spot remained along with one of the large cargo bay canisters. The canister remained there all the way up until the War, when it was scrapped for the metal. One of the leveling armatures from the canister is still there, and Brent Carpenter employs it as a flag pole. Oxbow is also the first spot at Ransom to be cultivated, though not significantly.
176 ~ Runway 8
Runway 8 is the South end of Ransom Airfield's primary runway and the newest chronologically.
177 ~ Old South/The Overland
Old South is the first maintained road at Ransom Airfield and served as the access road between Black Rock, the airfield and Ransom. Once the road leaves town to the East, it is referred to as 'The Overland' and it continues Eastward to such places as The Meadows and New Cumberland. It is the oldest continuous road across the Outskirts.
178 ~ Yule Hua (Joy Blossom)
Yule Hua is a ***** house. Let's get that right out in the open. The working men and women there are locally known as the 'Firecrackers' and they provide a service.
Interestingly enough, the structure was originally built to be a control tower for the airfield when Old Blackjack was still in use, but…it has also always been a ***** house. It was built with several small, private, but comfortable storage rooms, so the men working the W-6-24 Site recognized its potential at once. Small, private rooms. ***** House. Airfield. ***** House. Bored, well paid men in the middle of nowhere. ***** House.
This line of thought has been maintained by every neighboring body since. Bored Camp 96 guards. ***** House. Yule Hua has built upon this tradition, and even parts of the lobby are decorated with framed pictures of it's noble history and the pioneering ****** which came before. Locals will tell visiting pilots that they must see the ***** Museum.
179 ~ Grovewell (Public Water Source - Designation W-10-24)
Grovewell is one of many well sites at Ransom. The locals could site no interesting history or trivia about the site.
180 ~ Grove
About as long as people have lived at Ransom, there have been trees at the Grove. It is a popular place for open air parties and their is a regular Grove Dance, which serves as one of the proms for Ransom Schools.
181 ~ Blackwell Refitted Goods
Eric Ardros, a former Browncoat and jack of all trades is the owner, operator and resident at Blackwell Refitted Goods, a parts and repair business that strives to "Refit your outfit". The business deals primarily in the buying and selling of used and refurbished engine parts, though one can find other ship components upon request when available. Eric also dabbles in what the locals call 'Fireworks'. You know…sticks and shape charges that go bang. Fireworks. Nudge-nudge.
182 ~ Site W-6-24 Water Storage
Rebuilt and enlarged many times over the course of it's history, the current water tank at site W-6-24 is the largest fresh water storage structure at Ransom. It sits on the original tank site and cover most of the original footings of the drill site.
183 ~ Black Rock Well "Blackwell" (Public Water Source - Designation W-6-24)
The Black Rock Well project precedes all other developments at Ransom and is the longest, continuous water source from the original drilling site at what was first called Discovery Region 2-North (DR2-North). If you walk around the well site, you can still see cement and steel footings from the platforms and structures that once surrounded Blackwell. Blackwell has supplied continuous drinking and irrigation water for Ransom and the surrounding communities for almost a century. During the 75th anniversary of Blackwell, the last living drill jockey Solomon Wicks, was saluted by a 'toast' from over 4,000 people in attendance. It is estimated that over 11,000 gallons of water were consumed during the toasts that day, while another 8,000 were used for activities. The events featured ice sculpting and snowball fights in 80 degree heat. A snow making machine was airlifted to Ransom to create a ski and sledding slope down the side of Black Rock, which quickly turned into a mudslide. The day also saw the largest group photos ever taken at Ransom.
So entertaining was the mudslide that the tradition has continued every year after, with such activities as mud-sledding, the Mud Run, and Ultimate Mud Fighting. Every year the residents turn out in droves to do painting and maintenance upkeep before stripping down and donning their 'finest muds'. Generally these are extremely out of date clothes and garish fashion choices used to add pageantry to the mud events. The event is so crazy that it made the list of 'The Verse's Top 100 festivals to Attend' in 2508 and marked the only recorded export of 'Mudder's Milk' off of Higgin's Moon. The case was raffled off during the festival.
184 ~ Black Rock
If you live at Ransom long enough, you'll be told about the 'First Town of the Outskirts'. While Black Rock was never a town in any real sense, it did boast a considerable, albeit transient population of drill jockeys. The drilling teams that occupied the place built temporary and permanent structures, including a pub and an above ground pool called 'Swamp Beach Resorts'.
Black Rock is a rough outcropping that rises out of the surrounding, flat lands at the edge of Ransom on the Southeast. The exposed bedrock was ideal for drilling structures and some of the early permanent footings for platforms and housing and provided a natural windbreak for the camps. It was also ideal as a sighting marker for pilots when the first landing strip was built. The airfield was laid out with Black Rock positioned at one end, as it existed then. SEE citation 11 - 'Old Blackjack'
At it's height of activity, Black Rock had a regular voting committee and even boasted a Mayor, though the position was often given as a slight to incompetent employees. A mayorship would last only as long as that employee could supply free drinks each night at the pub. The Mayor's office was made of three conjoined, portable, chemical toilets and painted a bright shade of yellow. During it's time, Black Rock boasted 73 different mayors. The Mayor's office was blown up during a prank called the 'coup d'toilette' and a shipping crate of considerable size served for the remaining years of that office. Despite the fact that the Black Rock community has been gone for many years, anyone buying a round of drinks at Ransom is still saluted with a 'Hail to the Mayor!', much to the confusion of other visitors.
185 ~ New Southern Road "The Bypass"
The New Southern Road was built for the sole purpose of getting vehicles off the Airfield and to encourage new construction and development along Ransom's South Side. It hasn't made much of a difference. People still use Old South and the Bypass equally and little development has occurred since the road was created.
149 ~ Fonnesbeck Gardens & Greenhouses
Some of the finest in flowers, vines, trees , shrubbery and edible plantings can be found at Fonnesbeck Gardens & Greenhouses. The grounds are laid out in a decorative garden fashion and the business boasts some of the best on and off world plant varieties you could ask for anywhere on New Canaan.
150 ~ Residence - The Schultz Compound
One of the earliest families at Ransom, the Schultz line has at least four generations living in and around the community. Known for their tech savvy, the Shultz family are often found discussing machines and mainframes. They also represent part of the community known as 'Little Germany'.
151 ~ Ransom Field Storage "The Sheds"
Built as hangers for large support gunships during the War, they are now used for storage, support and emergency goods at Ransom Airfield. Airfield maintenance equipment is kept in Shed 1 for cleaning, snow removal and upkeep, while portions of Shed 2 are rented out to private citizens and corporations for storage. Some fire suppressant compounds are also stored there for Ransom Fire.
152 ~ Residence - Frank Decher
Residence only. See privacy citation - Decher/099.798.9.4955
153 ~ Old Blue (Incomplete Blue Sun Facility)
Blue Sun Supply Depot: 2212 at Ransom is considered an incomplete, but not abandoned facility as most people think. The facility was part of a corporate wide expansion that worked on some fronts, but not others. See the following citation for explanation.
"Blue Sun Supply Depot: 2212 at Ransom
Status: In Review
Internal Memo 32316: Committee for Reviews - Level 2 Priority
To the Committee of Operations,
The status of our supply depot at Ransom on New Canaan has come into question once again, what with the surprising lack of interest in consumable goods in bulk quantities and an unexpected volume of localized imports and exports. As you know, it was first assumed that Ransom would be the ideal place for high volume, long term storage of goods, due to the community's size and relative planetary isolation, the presence of an airfield and the close proximity to smaller neighboring towns and settlements. The initial studies of Ransom showed that the location was ideal for ground floor consideration and that there was every indication that a facility equal in size to Blue Sun's holdings at Dacy, Bella Union and French Creek on Deadwood would thrive in the Outskirts. Not so.
After an in depth study of competing corporations in the Blue Sun System, such as Corpus Christi, Tang and Ursa Major, it was shown that none of these competitors exhibited a vested interest in establishing a foothold at New Canaan. The combination of low population growth, delays in terra-forming stabilization and the lack of significant political and economical infrastructure nullified any and all high stakes competition. In view of growth estimations for post-war New Canaan, and with Blue Sun poised to set and control the local market value and distribution of goods, it was concluded that a depot would thrive at Ransom.
Armed with this information, ground breaking began at three separate locations starting with two large pre-fab warehouses. Blue Sun's 2212 storage facility was built in close proximity to the Ransom airfield and adjacent to the primary Alliance properties of the same. This location afforded Blue Sun both protection and ideal real estate. Within three weeks, foundations for a distribution center and office space had been added nearby. Site 2212 was completed and fully stocked in less than two months and it was partially staffed for the sale and marketing of goods. Trade with White Horse, Benson, and other neighboring settlements ensued, but far below expected estimates. Even sales at Ransom proper proved poor at best.
Within six years of service, Blue Sun's 2212 facility had garnished so little use that it was scheduled for liquidation not once, but four times. Sales were so poor, that construction on the distribution center East of the warehouse site was halted altogether. This memo constitutes the fifth and final review of site 2212.
Early information and studies of Ransom failed to take into account the many individual supply boats, sutlers and smugglers coming and going from Ransom. The traffic of small vessels through the airfield there was never considered when examining competition in trade goods. It was assumed that even a steady traffic of light and mid-bulk transports could never yield enough imports to constitute competition, but in and outgoing ships were selling more Blue Sun goods than Blue Sun itself. Add the unexpected volume of cattle interests and the presence of other small livestock ventures and Blue Sun was further undermined. Even the sales of alcohol and ammunition, generally considered a cash cow for corporations on the Rim, were eclipsed by local breweries out of Ransom and New Cumberland, and local shops were regularly stocked with small arms and munitions.
Despite causes or reasons of failure, site 2212 has proven unprofitable in short and long term reviews. After much consideration, and considerable hindsight, it is recommended that site 2212 be sold at cost and that the goods therein should be liquidated and/or moved to Blue Sun holdings at Baal and Bishop Docks. In the opinion of this office, Ransom's status as a corporate commodity should be reduced in priority from a supply hub to a remote sales point. This office can only recommend the maintenance of the smaller sales office building and property sheds at the same location. All other facilities should be sold or rented until the financial climate at Ransom should show marked improvement in Blue Sun's favor.
Respectfully,
Edward James Clawson
Accounting, Requisitions and Reviews
Clawson and Peels
CCC-2341-6767-22-900"
After the above recommendation the site was closed, but it is guarded and maintained by two Blue Sun employees, Wilson 'Dusty' Carver and Max Standish. Dusty and Max keep regular hours and often sell third party Blue Sun products through their office, despite the fact that the depot is considered inactive. With so much time on their hands, they've found numerous loopholes for shipping goods and services out to Ransom. This has allowed them to pass on significant discounts to locals by bartering shipping through such services as Keelhauler and Northern Lights and keep the lights on at the loneliest depot in the Blue Sun Empire.
154 ~ Residence - Brian Wiser
Residence only. See privacy citation - Wiser/097.200.2.1650
155 ~ The Bards
Even places as far removed as Ransom have 'theater' and The Bards is the place to see amateur dramatics and visiting, traveling shows. First built as a music hall, it now hosts performances year round and supports a regular troupe of local talent. The book turned play, from which Ransom gets it's name, is played every few years on this little stage to packed houses. Plays, readings, musicals, concerts, and improv are all performed at The Bards.
156 ~ Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond was built and donated to the people of Ransom by the Blue Sun Corporation as a public relations event the same year that Blue Sun broke ground for Depot 2212 (SEE citation 153). The baseball field is maintained by the employees of Blue Sun at the Depot and is used regularly by the local schools and some amateur leagues in and around Ransom.
157 ~ Old 89
The original highway to all points South, including the town of White Horse, Old 89 now serves as a road for cattle drives and access to a few ranch and homestead sites. '89ing' is a local saying that means to 'drive livestock from the hills', since most of the high meadows West of Ransom lead down to the old highway running along the bench. It is considered a right of passage to 89 cattle to town at least once in a lifetime.
158 ~ New Water Treatment & Dirtfish Ponds
While the Old ponds are still used for water treatment and the farming of Dirtfish, the new ponds incorporate a better location and new technologies. This relatively new facility also produces a considerable amount of high grade cannabis indoors and makes use of the water and control technologies to create a lucrative, self sustaining facility.
159 ~ White Horse Road
First designated as the New 89, the locals quickly renamed it White Horse Road, because they believe that Old 89 is the only 89 and that White Horse Road just sounds better.
160 ~ Runway 26
Runway 26 is the North end of Ransom Airfield's primary landing strip. Sometimes called the 'Crosswind' by locals, but heavily discouraged by all official parties at the airfield, Runway 26 is the widest, longest landing strip in the outskirts.
161 ~ Dead Seven (abandoned runway)
One of two original runways, Dead Seven has been abandoned for decades and used primarily as a service road for Ransom Airfield. During the War it was the primary patrol road for Camp 96. It was the prisoners at Camp 96 that referred to the old runway as Dead Seven and the name stuck.
162 ~ Lindon Research and Technologies
Lindon Research and Technologies is well known for their study of early terraforming and post terraforming effects and anomalies. Lindon has patents on over 2,000 discoveries and developments ranging in importance from catalogue systems to cures for post-terraforming diseases. Lindon's Ransom facility focuses on studies of harsh environments, water usage and the Dirtfish among many other things. They have numerous scientific awards over their 17 years as a company.
163 ~ Merrill Farms “The Fat C Ranch”
Merrill Farms is an 'Eggs & Bacon' business. They sell both poultry and pork (live or processed), but they deal primarily in laying hens and provide the majority of the eggs for local commerce. Chances are, if you eat an egg while visiting Ransom, it came from the Fat C. Chances are, if you ever got egged by a rival, those eggs came from the Fat C.
164 ~ Deadwell (Abandoned Water Source - Designation W-7-24)
Deadwell is one of the only failed rilling locations at Ransom. This well location continued to collapse again and again with diminishing returns, so it was abandoned. During high water years the ground water at Deadwell will swell and create a seep around the well head, but it remains dry much of the time.
165 ~ Short Eight (large VTOL landing pad)
Short Eight is the largest dedicated landing pad for VTOL endo/exo-craft. It is sometimes called the 'Back Porch' by local pilots.
166 ~ Runway 30
Runway 30 is the Northeast landing end of the Ransom Airfield's secondary runway. SEE citation 141
167 ~ The Smokehouse (Camp 96 Cooler)
Named for a popular folk song out of Dyton, the Smokehouse served as the 'cooler' for Camp 96 and many a prisoner was brought to the brink under the hot Ransom sun during a stay there. During a bombing raid on Ransom Airfield during the War, a stray bomb destroyed much of the Smokehouse killing one guard and four prisoners. It was rebuilt and used for the duration of the war, but the previous bombing had weakened the foundation enough that it collapsed within a year of the armistice. Veterans and guards of Camp 96 rebuilt the entire structure as a memorial and it bears a plaque with the names of those who died there, including the guard killed during the raid and the troubled veteran pilot who killed them and took his own life after the War.
A plaque has been set there which carries multiple meanings and reads, "For those who died within and without".
168 ~ C-96 Yard, Hot boxes & Pit Houses
This area constitutes the yard and housing for Camp 96 prisoners, but also some of the 'hot box' punishment structures. Most of the prisoners were housed underground in pit houses to utilize ground insulation to keep them cool in the Summer and warm in Winter. These relatively lightless buildings were poorly ventilated and proved too small for the growing number of prisoners as the War progressed. Most of the pit houses can be visited today and some veterans have pit meetings and events commemorating their internment.
169 ~ C-96 Machine & Work Sheds
The work sheds and machine shop at Camp 96 were used by the guards and the prisoners. Prisoners were allowed to work, both for exercise and merits. Many prisoners chose to work if only to escape the white hot days or dark pit houses. The sheds offered a place out of the wind and elements with chairs. There are several personal accounts that discuss the glory of getting to sit in a real chair.
170 ~ C-96 North/South Hotels (Guardhouses)
The Hotels were the barracks for all Alliance guards at Camp 96. While not luxury accommodations, the barracks were extremely comfortable and contained all of the luxuries one could hope for so far from the Core. The Hotels are used to house veterans during anniversary events. In a role reversal event just after the War, former prisoners stayed in the hotels, while former guards spent several nights in the pit houses. Alliance officials frowned heavily upon this, saying that it sent mixed messages publicly. Privately it was called a 'moving event' that both revealed and healed.
171 ~ C-96 Old Main & Catalina's Clinic
Formerly the Infirmary for the prison population at Camp 96, the Old Main building now serves as a museum and the housing for 'Catalina's Clinic' run by Doctor Zezuski. The Doctor and her staff serve anyone serve everyone from local farm folk, to the occasional off-worlders and airfield emergencies (So long as they land at Ransom for the care). Because Old Mai is a large building, the clinic is fortunate enough to boast a chapel, housing, recreation room and laboratories. It also houses the Camp 96 museum and many of the privately donated relics of Ransom's early history.
172 ~ The Far Field (Cemetery)
Most people visiting Ransom believe that the Far Field is the cemetery created solely for Camp 96. This misconception is partially due to its proximity to Old Main, but also because it sits at the far side of Ransom proper, which people also believe is the reason for the name. All of these things are not true. First, the cemetery location is where it is due to its proximity to Black Rock, and because of the first accidental deaths at the drilling site that created a necessity for the cemetery. Two men were killed during the collapse of a drilling rig within the first few weeks of drilling at site W-6-24. The expense of shipping their remains back to the Core was weighed against the needs of surviving relatives, and it was decided that both men should be buried at New Canaan. The town of Ransom was already appearing along the bench by the time any other death required the need for a cemetery. This third death came to one Calvin Hope, who was reported to say, "Bury me in the far field…there alongside those who went first", but there is no proof that he ever used such a phrase. Some people speculate that the name comes from the poem by Nicholas Moore, but wherever it comes from, the cemetery has been called the Far Field as long as anyone can remember. Despite not being intended for the camp, many prisoners who perished at Camp 96 are buried there and veterans who have died since have asked to be interned at the Far Field.
173 ~ The Roundabout (gun emplacement)
During the height of the War, a large gun emplacement sat at the South end of Camp 96 for defense of the camp and airfield. Many have argued that such a gun would give good service against Reavers, but the Alliance has never seriously considered building ground defenses for this purpose.
174 ~ Residence - Brent Carpenter
Residence only. See privacy citation - Carpenter/098.731.0.0008
175 ~ Oxbow
When the first drill jockeys arrived at Site W-6-24 for drilling, they came aboard an antiquated Oxbow Class Transport Freighter. The Oxbow was used as temporary housing and operations while structures were built and assembled at Black Rock. Eventually the freighter left, but the name for the spot remained along with one of the large cargo bay canisters. The canister remained there all the way up until the War, when it was scrapped for the metal. One of the leveling armatures from the canister is still there, and Brent Carpenter employs it as a flag pole. Oxbow is also the first spot at Ransom to be cultivated, though not significantly.
176 ~ Runway 8
Runway 8 is the South end of Ransom Airfield's primary runway and the newest chronologically.
177 ~ Old South/The Overland
Old South is the first maintained road at Ransom Airfield and served as the access road between Black Rock, the airfield and Ransom. Once the road leaves town to the East, it is referred to as 'The Overland' and it continues Eastward to such places as The Meadows and New Cumberland. It is the oldest continuous road across the Outskirts.
178 ~ Yule Hua (Joy Blossom)
Yule Hua is a ***** house. Let's get that right out in the open. The working men and women there are locally known as the 'Firecrackers' and they provide a service.
Interestingly enough, the structure was originally built to be a control tower for the airfield when Old Blackjack was still in use, but…it has also always been a ***** house. It was built with several small, private, but comfortable storage rooms, so the men working the W-6-24 Site recognized its potential at once. Small, private rooms. ***** House. Airfield. ***** House. Bored, well paid men in the middle of nowhere. ***** House.
This line of thought has been maintained by every neighboring body since. Bored Camp 96 guards. ***** House. Yule Hua has built upon this tradition, and even parts of the lobby are decorated with framed pictures of it's noble history and the pioneering ****** which came before. Locals will tell visiting pilots that they must see the ***** Museum.
179 ~ Grovewell (Public Water Source - Designation W-10-24)
Grovewell is one of many well sites at Ransom. The locals could site no interesting history or trivia about the site.
180 ~ Grove
About as long as people have lived at Ransom, there have been trees at the Grove. It is a popular place for open air parties and their is a regular Grove Dance, which serves as one of the proms for Ransom Schools.
181 ~ Blackwell Refitted Goods
Eric Ardros, a former Browncoat and jack of all trades is the owner, operator and resident at Blackwell Refitted Goods, a parts and repair business that strives to "Refit your outfit". The business deals primarily in the buying and selling of used and refurbished engine parts, though one can find other ship components upon request when available. Eric also dabbles in what the locals call 'Fireworks'. You know…sticks and shape charges that go bang. Fireworks. Nudge-nudge.
182 ~ Site W-6-24 Water Storage
Rebuilt and enlarged many times over the course of it's history, the current water tank at site W-6-24 is the largest fresh water storage structure at Ransom. It sits on the original tank site and cover most of the original footings of the drill site.
183 ~ Black Rock Well "Blackwell" (Public Water Source - Designation W-6-24)
The Black Rock Well project precedes all other developments at Ransom and is the longest, continuous water source from the original drilling site at what was first called Discovery Region 2-North (DR2-North). If you walk around the well site, you can still see cement and steel footings from the platforms and structures that once surrounded Blackwell. Blackwell has supplied continuous drinking and irrigation water for Ransom and the surrounding communities for almost a century. During the 75th anniversary of Blackwell, the last living drill jockey Solomon Wicks, was saluted by a 'toast' from over 4,000 people in attendance. It is estimated that over 11,000 gallons of water were consumed during the toasts that day, while another 8,000 were used for activities. The events featured ice sculpting and snowball fights in 80 degree heat. A snow making machine was airlifted to Ransom to create a ski and sledding slope down the side of Black Rock, which quickly turned into a mudslide. The day also saw the largest group photos ever taken at Ransom.
So entertaining was the mudslide that the tradition has continued every year after, with such activities as mud-sledding, the Mud Run, and Ultimate Mud Fighting. Every year the residents turn out in droves to do painting and maintenance upkeep before stripping down and donning their 'finest muds'. Generally these are extremely out of date clothes and garish fashion choices used to add pageantry to the mud events. The event is so crazy that it made the list of 'The Verse's Top 100 festivals to Attend' in 2508 and marked the only recorded export of 'Mudder's Milk' off of Higgin's Moon. The case was raffled off during the festival.
184 ~ Black Rock
If you live at Ransom long enough, you'll be told about the 'First Town of the Outskirts'. While Black Rock was never a town in any real sense, it did boast a considerable, albeit transient population of drill jockeys. The drilling teams that occupied the place built temporary and permanent structures, including a pub and an above ground pool called 'Swamp Beach Resorts'.
Black Rock is a rough outcropping that rises out of the surrounding, flat lands at the edge of Ransom on the Southeast. The exposed bedrock was ideal for drilling structures and some of the early permanent footings for platforms and housing and provided a natural windbreak for the camps. It was also ideal as a sighting marker for pilots when the first landing strip was built. The airfield was laid out with Black Rock positioned at one end, as it existed then. SEE citation 11 - 'Old Blackjack'
At it's height of activity, Black Rock had a regular voting committee and even boasted a Mayor, though the position was often given as a slight to incompetent employees. A mayorship would last only as long as that employee could supply free drinks each night at the pub. The Mayor's office was made of three conjoined, portable, chemical toilets and painted a bright shade of yellow. During it's time, Black Rock boasted 73 different mayors. The Mayor's office was blown up during a prank called the 'coup d'toilette' and a shipping crate of considerable size served for the remaining years of that office. Despite the fact that the Black Rock community has been gone for many years, anyone buying a round of drinks at Ransom is still saluted with a 'Hail to the Mayor!', much to the confusion of other visitors.
185 ~ New Southern Road "The Bypass"
The New Southern Road was built for the sole purpose of getting vehicles off the Airfield and to encourage new construction and development along Ransom's South Side. It hasn't made much of a difference. People still use Old South and the Bypass equally and little development has occurred since the road was created.
Brigandia36
Sr Member
I wonder if I could mail a letter with these? Hmmmmmmmm.
Maybe not, Canada Post is noted for not having a sense of humor.
In France, if you pay the tax with true stamp no problem, you can put what you want on the envelope.
You're most welcome. I hope I didn't miss any contributions.
Mike J.
Master Member
I love all the new 'post'. Thanks, Mike.
I did, thank you. Sorry, I thought I had responded to it. It's a great link!