Diaspora -- Bellweather

Bellweather: T-1 E-1 R0

Bellweather is an ice-covered ball on the fringes of its star's habitable zone. Temperatures run well below freezing and that's before the windchill sets in. The harsh climactic condition, slightly higher gravity and unremarkable resources made it the ideal prison world during a particularly dark time in Confederation history.

The one thing Bellweather does have is an abundance of steam thanks to numerous geothermal vents. Using this ready source of power, the Confederation drilled down through ice and rock and set up sprawling underground prison complexes complete massive hydroponics for food.

Conditions in the prisons were extremely harsh. The traditional problems of prison gangs and conflict with wardens were altered by the need for everyone to work hard to maintain the systems that kept the prisons viable. After one particularly disastrous riot, an entire facility lost power and was quickly turned into a frozen graveyard. This tended to force some degree of cooperation, but when buried grudges came to the fore, they were often more brutal. Over time, corruption set in and the wardens were integrated into the gangs in various ways. Often they ruled a gang as the top dog, but sometimes a crafty gang would get leverage on a warden and use them as a puppet.

Eventually, Confederation politics changed and Bellweather was decommissioned as a prison, but the culture of Bellweather had mutated to the point where everyone saw more benefit staying put. In flagrant violation of prison rules, a number of generations had actually come of age within the walls. People either had some sort of seniority in a pecking order that would be lost if they went back "outside" or they had no useful place in regular society. So Bellweather applied as a colonial protectorate and was largely ignored by the rest of the Confederation.

Then a desperate merchant decided to hire a small gang of Bellweathers to protect his ship. The pirates who tried to board the merchant were cut down to a man. The claustrophobic prison warrens were very similar to life aboard a starship and the Bellweathers knew lots of ways to kill someone in a close-quarters fight where guns and explosives weren't an option. Soon Bellweather's chief export was Shipboard Security Services. The Wardens generally negotiated services and commanded the forces on-board. Despite some early (and swiftly punished) episodes of betrayal, the Bellweather teams were loyal and dedicated to their employer and the Confederation as a whole. The Confederate Navy experimented with incorporating Bellweather forces into their Marines, but these experiments were always small scale and kept fairly quiet to avoid a PR disaster.

When the slipstream connections to the Confederation broke up, there was a period of several months of violent outbreaks as power vacuums were exposed and filled. Things were soon sorted out and life on Bellweather returned to normal (although the lack of work was keenly felt). The re-alignment of the slipstreams has brought new opportunities and new problems.

The Wardens in particular, still hold some loyalty to the Confederation (even in its greatly reduced scope). They continue to favor working with Apex and Concordia. The gangs, on the other hand, are mostly loyal to their gang and the biggest paycheck. Merchants and mercenary groups from Eigen are anxious to get Bellweather gangs on their payroll and they generally have a lot to offer. So far, Bellweather accepts only limited contracts to work for Eigen merchants, but it's a rapidly growing sector of their trade and the pressure to do more lucrative deals with Eigen is steadily increasing.

Aspects:

• Natural Born Killers
  
• The Gang is Everything
  
• Steam-powered Warrens
  

later
Tom

Diaspora -- Bellweather

Bellweather: T-1 E-1 R0

Bellweather is an ice-covered ball on the fringes of its star's habitable zone. Temperatures run well below freezing and that's before the windchill sets in. The harsh climactic condition, slightly higher gravity and unremarkable resources made it the ideal prison world during a particularly dark time in Confederation history.

The one thing Bellweather does have is an abundance of steam thanks to numerous geothermal vents. Using this ready source of power, the Confederation drilled down through ice and rock and set up sprawling underground prison complexes complete massive hydroponics for food.

Conditions in the prisons were extremely harsh. The traditional problems of prison gangs and conflict with wardens were altered by the need for everyone to work hard to maintain the systems that kept the prisons viable. After one particularly disastrous riot, an entire facility lost power and was quickly turned into a frozen graveyard. This tended to force some degree of cooperation, but when buried grudges came to the fore, they were often more brutal. Over time, corruption set in and the wardens were integrated into the gangs in various ways. Often they ruled a gang as the top dog, but sometimes a crafty gang would get leverage on a warden and use them as a puppet.

Eventually, Confederation politics changed and Bellweather was decommissioned as a prison, but the culture of Bellweather had mutated to the point where everyone saw more benefit staying put. In flagrant violation of prison rules, a number of generations had actually come of age within the walls. People either had some sort of seniority in a pecking order that would be lost if they went back "outside" or they had no useful place in regular society. So Bellweather applied as a colonial protectorate and was largely ignored by the rest of the Confederation.

Then a desperate merchant decided to hire a small gang of Bellweathers to protect his ship. The pirates who tried to board the merchant were cut down to a man. The claustrophobic prison warrens were very similar to life aboard a starship and the Bellweathers knew lots of ways to kill someone in a close-quarters fight where guns and explosives weren't an option. Soon Bellweather's chief export was Shipboard Security Services. The Wardens generally negotiated services and commanded the forces on-board. Despite some early (and swiftly punished) episodes of betrayal, the Bellweather teams were loyal and dedicated to their employer and the Confederation as a whole. The Confederate Navy experimented with incorporating Bellweather forces into their Marines, but these experiments were always small scale and kept fairly quiet to avoid a PR disaster.

When the slipstream connections to the Confederation broke up, there was a period of several months of violent outbreaks as power vacuums were exposed and filled. Things were soon sorted out and life on Bellweather returned to normal (although the lack of work was keenly felt). The re-alignment of the slipstreams has brought new opportunities and new problems.

The Wardens in particular, still hold some loyalty to the Confederation (even in its greatly reduced scope). They continue to favor working with Apex and Concordia. The gangs, on the other hand, are mostly loyal to their gang and the biggest paycheck. Merchants and mercenary groups from Eigen are anxious to get Bellweather gangs on their payroll and they generally have a lot to offer. So far, Bellweather accepts only limited contracts to work for Eigen merchants, but it's a rapidly growing sector of their trade and the pressure to do more lucrative deals with Eigen is steadily increasing.

Aspects:

• Natural Born Killers
  
• The Gang is Everything
  
• Steam-powered Warrens
  

later
Tom