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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:51:40 GMT -5
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:51:59 GMT -5
FORMATION
The earliest evidence of the Chopping Blocks' existence dates back to the major geodisplacement event that created the Ventannen continent, in 1021 OSC. It was then that the region was the city of Ataveno, which had been shelled and abandoned during the Splinter Wars. The geodisplacement event split the city in half and sent the rest off - sideways - with Ventannen. Structural stress swiftly caused the tilted ruin to collapse downwards to form a bed of crushed concrete and steel. Only a handful of buildings clung to the jagged slab of land that had accompanied them.
For roughly a century, Ataveno's corpse was left to rot. Monsters took over the crumbling wedge and discouraged travellers from exploring. The slab that Ataveno had rode in on remained unstable for sixty years. It routinely flaked off tremendous boulders and landslides until it finally collapsed in around 1080. Even once the worst of the danger had fallen over, nearby locals still regarded the location as cursed - and the hardly-reduced monster population was eager to oblige.
In 1128, another geodisplacement jolted the husklands of Newelhi into Ataveno's shadow - or what was left of it. While the husklands had been mostly devoid of life before, several ammunition dumps went along with them. Soon after, they detonated in sequence, wiping out a third of the ruins and shattering Ataveno's remains. The cause remains unknown to this day. Whatever the case, the sudden explosions were of considerable benefit to nearby residents; the monsters of the two conjoined husklands were almost totally wiped out.
By 1130, scavengers had started to comb the ruins. Finding useful salvage was difficult at the time. The First Chop, as the explosions were named later, had left the ruins an impassable mess of twisted metal and mangled concrete. Little more than Newelhi's name was ever brought back from the husklands. The early scavenging expeditions helped ward off the return of the husklands' monster population, and interest by marauders further solidified man's hold on the ruins.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:52:11 GMT -5
THE TRASH RUSH
The years to come were a tumultuous time for the soon-to-be Chopping Blocks. Successive eruptions of buildings from below set many of the blocks' present-day boundaries. Additional geodisplacement events brought more and more ruins and husklands together into the area. From 1134 to 1198, the ocean of asphalt grew in spurts, often with new features and landmarks over each jump in that period. Looney bunkers emerged, took hold, or simply appeared with the geodisplacements that nurtured the husklands. The horrors of the ruins returned, only to be suppressed by escalating interest.
Interest in the region was not solely by the living. As junk and rubble piled on, the garbage hauler network came wise to the area. It was one of the largest collections of potential salvage on the planet, tidily packed into a flat expanse of paved plains. The first processing center to be established in the region appeared in 1208, along with a small swarm of droneships scouring the region. Things escalated quickly from there. By 1209, another appeared. By 1211, three more were identified. By 1212, eight more. By 1218, there was a processing center for every hundred square kilometers.
Only about half of the region's processing facilities were operational - at absolute best. Likewise, droneships roaming the area were at a loss; there was simply so much to collect that many overloaded themselves and could no longer lift off. Many others were left aimlessly drifting, unsure of where to begin. The few that were able to return with anything of value often deposited it in inoperative facilities. Crashed haulers and dead processing cores littered the husklands. Many became towns and homes, some of which remain inhabited to this day.
The years between 1218 and 1223 were known collectively as the Trash Rush. The proliferation of garbage haulers helped consolidate potential salvage into central locations, where it could be readily stolen by anyone with the equipment to transport it. Before mercenaries ever began to ply the Chopping Blocks, merchant-salvagers ruled the day. Caravans of scrap moved across the blocks as ambitious junk-dealers staked their claims. Towns cropped up with increasing frequency to meet the demand of traders in the region. Even the Loonies prospered from the heightened commerce.
Mercenaries first saw their day in the blocks with the same caravans that preceded them. Rival trade companies soon went to blows over territorial claims. A growing bandit presence sought out experienced assistance to deal with increasingly-large caravans. Complications from monsters and warring traders encouraged towns to seek their own outside help. The Loonies, meanwhile, were simply idle facilitators; be it merchant or mercenary, some were ready to do business so long as it brought resources into the bunker.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:52:21 GMT -5
THE TRASH WARS
Merchant wars escalated for years until two years after the Trash Rush had ended, in 1225. It was at that point that the Space Loonies above had finally seen the activity on the ground. Garbage hauler facilities were being raided left and right, some stripped for parts when they could no longer sustain themselves, and not a single ton of salvage was destined for orbit. A meeting commenced between the Joint Orbital Defense Council and, in short order, several fleets were rallied to respond. In that same year, Space Loonies set foot on Set's surface in unprecedented number. The Trash Wars were on.
From 1225 to 1233, the Space Loonies moved to secure the haulers' processing centers all throughout the husklands. Merchants and townsfolk were infuriated overnight; their livelihood was being seized by aliens and spacers for no reason other than the fact that it was tied to the haulers. Only a handful attempted negotiation - which was universally unsuccessful. The remainder mobilized into a resistance force backed by whatever mercenaries and militias could be rallied to the cause.
Merchants and townsfolk were not the only belligerents in the battles. Highwaymen across the husklands steadily came to their aid as it became clear that the Space Loonies were ready to drive out their prey. The landed Loonies joined together into their own resistance force, rallied by xenophobia and old scars from the Big Split. Some formed the backbone of joint pushes on Space Looney operations. Others acted alone, and regularly clashed with known bandits and problematic mercenaries.
The lack of unity and severe technological disparity eventually led to the resistance's defeat in 1233. There was no surrender or decisive conflict that ended the Trash Wars; merchants and Loonies alike had simply exhausted themselves in the fighting. Each party quietly disappeared as the Space Loonies redoubled their efforts and locked down the remaining processing centers. For nearly two years after, merchants were nowhere to be seen in the region. Many towns failed and dispersed as food shortages set in.
As it became clear that they had achieved dominance in the territory, Space Looney plans grew in scope. The sheer density of hauler facilities presented a clear opportunity. With direct oversight and monitoring, they could be used to efficiently process planetside salvage with relatively minimal resources. The first Space Looney ground facilities were erected in 1237, and their first spaceport was established only a year later. Patrols intensified across the husklands as more and more fleets above pledged their assistance to the growing operation.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:52:30 GMT -5
THE AGE OF GOLDEN GARBAGE
In 1240, it was determined that, under Space Looney management, the processing centers of the region could support a significantly higher load. The droneships themselves, however, were a much more difficult target; even with close supervision, most were still aging derelicts that could hardly stay in the air. To fill in the shortfall of salvage, many fleets began committing older ships, decommissioned strike craft, and ailing equipment to the husklands' facilities. Landings saw a colossal uptick in the years to follow as more and more salvage-to-be was sent below.
In a full reversal of the Trash Wars, the Space Loonies were swiftly overwhelmed by a lack of coordination. Fleets seizing on the opportunity to part with problematic hardware swarmed the skies over the territory. Ships and equipment arrived faster than administrators could keep track of. In 1243, the volume of descending craft was so significant that planetside Loonies across Ventannen declared it a full-scale invasion and mobilized defenses in preparation for an attack. Nothing of the sort came - and it was instead the Space Loonies who wound up as defenders.
For many, it was the Age of Golden Garbage. Towns and bandits saw the massed arrival of Space Looney equipment for what it was. They saw aging ships, towed derelicts, and cargo containers slopped across the husklands in indefensible hoards. Merchants still bitter from their losses in the Trash Wars heard the murmurs and chased after. Mercenaries soon followed in again, called along again by ambitious traders. It was an opportunity like no other; a chance to seize some of the most valuable commodities on the planet in unbelievable bulk.
1248 saw the first mercenary raids on Space Looney stockpiles. Early operations were smashing successes; even with all their technology and discipline, the Space Loonies simply could not keep track of every last cache of equipment. Behind each mercenary raid was a train of merchant transports, slipping along in their shadows to collect their due from garbage hauler facilities. Marauders, townsfolk, and even monsters seized on the swelling chaos in a long-awaited counterattack.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:52:40 GMT -5
THE CHOPPING BLOCKS
In 1248, raids were paid-for profits made by ambitious and cunning bands of hardened veterans. By 1249, matters took a downturn like no other. The Space Loonies swung back, dedicating entire wings of gunships and ad-hoc infantry units to patrol around their holdings. Hovertanks, made expressly to navigate the husklands' rough terrain, breezed through prototyping and rushed into frontline duty. Stricter controls on interorbital traffic cut down on the swarm of ships coming and going. Raids quickly lost their momentum, their opportunities, and, ultimately, their success.
Surviving mercenaries peeled away from the region in droves. Those few who were left behind were in such grave condition that there was no longer any option. They had two choices; to find a source of profits or die trying. In 1255, the Chopping Blocks were given their name and reputation. There, the last of the lost struggled to slip into the cracks between Space Looney patrols to seize their shot at salvation. Most died in the attempt. An envied handful succeeded and came away rich.
Tales of the successful raids spread like wildfire across the surrounding territories. Many worked their way up into orbit. The Chopping Blocks were a place of legend, a vast expanse of battered stone where the dying earned their second chance. A place where, with the right skill and determination, the damned could be saved. An early rush of desperate and daredevil mercenaries saw scores dead in an attempt to repeat the Age of Golden Garbage. The influx quickly tapered off as the blocks' reputation tempered itself.
By 1267, mercenaries in the Chopping Blocks had reached a level roughly in line with the present day. Spacers were among their foremost representatives. Freelancers were slowly earning their place as the region's stars. Townsfolk were adapting to the new era and hiring on more and more contractors. The Loonies had opened up again - if only partly - and begrudgingly accepted the Space Loonies' presence. All the while, the Space Loonies themselves had organized into a tighter, leaner grip on the blocks.
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Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 7:52:49 GMT -5
PRESENT DAY
The Chopping Blocks have remained largely unchanged since 1267. Salvage processed by the Space Loonies has slowly fallen, but mercenary raids and population density remain largely unchanged. Only interested parties have shifted; Cloneston, Unity Station, and others of similar repute have all saved and damned countless desperate mercenaries. Monsters have steadily taken an increasing role in daily affairs in the blocks for reasons unknown. Geodisplacements have been largely muted - or added on to the blocks. Whether the Chopping Blocks will remain a raider's graveyard or be split across the planet remains to be seen.
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