Firefly/Serenity

You might notice that there is no shortage of 'bomb shelters'. Allow me to explain...

Almost half of the bomb shelters at Ransom were built just before or during the war, and half of that half were built while Ransom was held by the Alliance. Towards the latter end of the war these shelters were used as often for Reavers as they were for bombing raids or drills. Sometimes more often. At first, the people of the Outskirts believed that Reavers were either part of some horrible shock and awe campaign, or worse, that there were murderous bands of defecting marauders hitting the Rim. There were few if any survivors who could speak of any 'up close and personal' contact with Reavers, and people were slow to believe that there was anything so monstrous out there as rampaging space zombies, but in fact the shelters were used as Reaver Bunkers as much as bomb shelters, though without true understanding. After the war, and with the growing stories of the 'Meaties' or 'Bloodmonsters' (as they were called locally), people began to take precautions, and about 60% of all new structures included a 'shelter'. These were called by different unpleasant and sometimes vulgar names (Meat Retreats, Meat Coolers, etc), but they were built primarily to keep out the terrible, mysterious, animal things that were becoming more real than rumor.

People now openly declare by sticker, sign or word of mouth that their home or business is a 'Safehouse'.

Pilots wishing to touch down at Ransom must accept a copy of the Miranda Broadcast in audio, vid or Holographic form before landing. No one is allowed to believe that life at Ransom doesn't come without a certain sense of perspective. The people at Ransom do not take the subject of Reavers lightly.
 
Thank you. Chris had to crunch a lot of numbers, and the asteroid names and regions were still coming in just a few days back, so we kept adding to it. We're very happy about how it turned out.


Is there any way you can post a compilation zip or rar file of all the files? Including your absolutely amazing currency files? My computer gets a little wonky when trying to save multiple files is why I'm asking.
 
Is there any way you can post a compilation zip or rar file of all the files? Including your absolutely amazing currency files? My computer gets a little wonky when trying to save multiple files is why I'm asking.

Yes. When I get a chance I'll compile everything.

Meanwhile...I'm completing write-ups of Ransom in order of appearance. Here is the first column of locations.

01 ~ Residence - Will Sanders
Residence only. Information limited. William Edward Sanders is one of three caretakers at the Palace Beyond the Pond. While the facility is not in use in any real sense, Sanders is allowed to live and work there as a handyman while the property is in dispute. See 'PALACE BEYOND THE POND'

02 ~ Palace Beyond the Pond
The Palace, sometimes called the 'Chandlery' after Glenn Chandler who had it built, can be best described as a semi vacant entertainment venue. It was built to serve as a private, high end, all purpose vacation facility for visitors that could afford to pay for the finer things in life. Chandler was of a mind to make Ransom a vacation getaway spot for wealthy citizens of the Core wishing to 'slum it' out on the Rim. The Palace was built with some residential housing, a restaurant, bar, theater, etc., but the idea failed as Glen Chandler taxed himself too thin by investing in too many ventures at the same time (See RANSOM TOWERS and RANSOM ICE ARENA). The Palace was partially damaged in a Reaver attack in 2516, but restored soon afterward. Much of the potential there remains untapped. The property is in dispute by several warring parties, but some of the original staff have been allowed to remain as caretakers until the dispute is settled. Two families and an unmarried groundskeeper live on the property. The Palace is sometimes 'rented' without proper permission for Ransom gatherings, dances, concerts, etc. by the caretakers, who use the money to supplement there meager stipends.

03 ~ The Seep
The Seep is the oldest, most obvious evidence of ground water and the underlying aquifer at Ransom. The Seep was used as a water source for the very first drill teams and terraformers in the Ransom area. Terraformers considered the site for test drilling, but the ground proved poor, so the first true drilling was moved to Black Rock. Water from the Seep is mixed with waste water from Ransom in the water treatment process, though as a secondary treatment facility.

04 ~ Old Water Treatment & Dirtfish Ponds
The water treatment facility at Ransom's North End is one of the oldest constructions in the Outskirts. While there was and still is a significant aquifer under Ransom proper, the water usage is strictly governed by overlapping Alliance bureaucracies. Ransomites have also agreed to send much of their water shares by pipeline to communities that provide livestock and agriculture to the Outskirts, so water usage in Ransom is kept low by red tape and by choice. To counteract the limits of water usage, the people at Ransom have always maintained some sort of water treatment facility, and this allows them a water source that they can completely govern locally. Early Ransomites agreed to a build and maintain the ponds for their own use and they were later expanded as part of the 'Shachihoko Project', which provides genetically altered fish as a food source and filtering organism for early terraforming ventures. New Canaan is one of only a handful of places where the 'Shachihoko Project' is still active, owing to the success and local popularity of the project's primary, filtering organism, the Dirtfish. 'Dirtfish' is the local slang for the genetically altered carp-catfish engineered by the Shachihoko Project, and now studied by Lindon Research and Technologies. The fish was not widely accepted on other worlds (being a very boney fish) but they thrive on little food and grow to a significant size under poor conditions, so they became a staple of Ransom very early on. Breeding and control of the local population has improved the quality in the quantity of Dirtfish, and they are now considered a local delicacy. Canned dirtfish is a novelty export of Ransom and very few pilots from the inner systems will depart without a can or two it for trade in-Verse.

05 ~ The Island
The Island is part of the Old Water Treatment Facility. A pump house, fish farm and a handful of homes are situated on the island. Dirtfish is canned and processed here and visitors can pay to 'fish' and 'process' their own. There is even a small 'museum' about Dirtfish on the Island.

06 ~ The Great Bunker
When Ransom airfield was first built, the 'Great Bunker' was constructed, both as a shelter and a storage facility for the companies working at Ransom. It is still used for both purposes today. It is the oldest bunker at Ransom, though the smaller 'Icehouse' was completed first.

07 ~ North Aubrey Road
The North Aubrey Road was first called 'The Northwest', but only the oldest residents at Ransom still use the name. The road passes West towards North Aubrey first before winding Northward through Birchwood and the High Meadows. The younger generation at Ransom is slowly mutating the name to 'Naubrey' and the new name will no doubt overpower the old through common usage.

08 ~ The Icehouse
The Icehouse was built as a bunker for the airfield construction teams. While it is not not the first one to be built at Ransom, it was the first completed bunker. Once the Great Bunker was finished, the workers began to use the smaller one for cold storage and it is still stocked with winter ice as an emergency cold storage facility for the community. It is also the location of the Summer Solstice Ice Festival, a shaved ice party that always degenerates into the only mass snowball fight in the verse held in high Summer. Participants gather to eat, dance and then brain one another with snowballs at sunset on the longest day of the year.

09 ~ Residential - The Box-Huts
The Box Huts are made up primarily of giant storage and shipping containers. Many of them have been in place for so long, that concrete structures have been built over them and some of the newest 'huts' are pre-fabs. Like many Rim settlements, with their 'any shelter in a storm' view of habitation, the Box Huts constitute a kind of shanty town for Ransom. While the place is populated by the poorer or 'seedier' elements of the city, the place isn't so large that it has any true micro-commerce or dissenting economic/political establishment. It is considered a walled or gated community in it's own right and there are events and customs specific to the place, but these are few Most Ransomites consider it a sort of burrow to the larger city (which is laughable given Ransom's size). Despite it's dour appearance, the Box Huts are home to some of the earliest settlers of Ransom.

10 ~ Plan A
Plan A is a the Box Huts' answer to a community bunker and events center. It's used all of the time for everything from mixed martial art tournaments to community theater. It was built as a fortified storage facility by the Alliance, and it is one of the most secure, underground retreats in an emergency. Most of the Box Huts nearby are sturdy enough in their own right to serve as bunkers, but everyone prefers to fall back on 'Plan A'. A Reaver would have to be insane to attack Plan A and hope to…oh wait.

11 ~ Old Blackjack (abandoned runway)
Runway 21 is one of the original airstrips built at Ransom airfield. With a significant decline in local 'glide' traffic it was decided not to maintain the runway in favor of shorter, newer ones and it has fallen into decay.

12 ~ Chow God and Jaw Jack’s Fine Fixin’s
'A Requirement of Brothers' ~ The story behind Chow God and Jaw-Jack's Fine Fixin's by William Pace

Chow God and Jaw-Jack's Fine Fixins' might just be the single, most unique eatery to be found anywhere in the Verse. Forget the fact that it's part ship repair shop, part roadside diner. Forget that it's in the Outskirts, which places it smack dab in the middle of nowhere. And just forget the fact that the structure itself is pieced together from a dilapidated machine shop, cafe front and the airframe of a downed B-323 Harpy. The combination of all these facts alone would make it the perfect oddity, even for the Rim, but one fact is stranger still. It's popular.

Chow God and Jaw-Jack's Fine Fixin's appears on more obscure epicurean lists than any other mutation of its kind. Indeed, this weird little grease-monkey/greasy-spoon combination enjoys a kind of zealous cascade of mad pilgrims. People will travel outrageous distances across the known Verse just to try such dishes as the 'Seizure Salad' complete with the house's 'Browncoat Field Dressing'. The slaw and sweet potato fries are spoken about in hushed tones from New Canaan to Santo and the 'Quail-Burger' is reverenced in every dockyard from the Core to the Black and back again. People who have never heard of the Outskirts, let alone Ransom, will travel trillions of kilometers out of their way to wait in line outside the dustiest, ramshackle building every to sway in a stiff breeze just to smell the food. They'll hitchhike and stowaway aboard boats that should have been scrapped years ago just for a chance at the table scraps that fall from this otherworldly lunch counter.

Why do people love the place so much? Perhaps it's the name. Perhaps it's the t-shirts they sell that come with braggin' rights. Perhaps it's the convenience of getting your ride tuned while you eat. Perhaps it's the food itself, which is quite honestly some gorram amazing stuff. Nobody can really say why they love it so much, but to understand the place it helps to know the owners.

Jesse Westmore and Jim Heard go way back. Both men were born and raised in Ransom; the outskirts of the Outskirts. They played together, went to school together and even dated some of the same women. Hell, it's the Outskirts. Everyone dated the same women. In fact it should come as no small surprise then that Jesse's mom and Jim's mom dated the same man. This was not the quiet, courtly dating that you might find in the Core. This was true dating. Dating in a 'little or nothing else to do' sense. Dating in a biblical sense.

Did Jesse and Jim know that they were half-brothers when they teamed up to take down the class bully in starter school? No. Did they know that they were kin when they stole the mayor's hovermule at the age of 13 and crashed it into the Southbound Altrans out of Cove? Nope. They still had no idea they were related when they asked the same girl out to the Big Red Hanger Dance. In fact, Jesse and Jim made it all the way into basic training together, never once suspecting that their mutual father had slept in his share of neighboring beds. Knowing or not knowing didn't change the fact that they were brothers inside and out.

Perhaps their half-blood (thick or thin as it was) just made it impossible for them to go through life without watching each other's back one moment and getting each other into trouble the next. Whatever the reason, Jesse and Jim just seemed to gravitate to one another. This gravitation got them in their share of scrapes over the years, but it saved them from the worst one of all.

The War.

Growing up in the Outskirts had made both of them as tough as nails. It's hard country, where a person lives by the sweat of their own brow and a good man's word is worth a thousand Alliance promises. Neither man had been given any handouts growing up, but each of them had known their share of hardship and good, old-fashioned work. They had also been endowed with a strong sense of independence, so they joined the cause that fought to keep it. They passed through boot camp without a hitch, outperforming almost every other person in their company.

Jesse was quickly grabbed up for the Independent's Corps of Engineers, and as he had both built and blown up his share of things growing up, this suited him just fine. He took to demolitions like a dog to water. Within a few short weeks he was considered the man to have about in a pinch, for no other soldiers in his company could puzzle out the tasks presented them quite like Jesse could. He could fix, or put something in a fix, faster than anyone they had ever seen and nobody came even close to talking as much as Jesse "Jaw-Jack" Westmore.

Jim's rise through the ranks was a quieter affair. He started out as a favorite cook of the company, often serving up grub that his fellow soldiers could not believe came out of a ration tin. Over time he proved to be as good in the field and never lagged behind. He was promoted several times for his natural ability to shepherd men through the toughest of times, rising all the way up to Captain before the Alliance retired him to a labor camp. Still, despite all of the titles given him and the grand adjectives flung upon him, he never escaped his first and favorite nickname. Chow God.

They each saw their share of fighting, as soldiers do. They were each wounded in action, though neither so badly that they left the fighting. They were often stationed planets and systems away from one another and waves by letter or cortex were rare. Each man saw his share of trials and travails, but always apart.

Then came their last battle and their one true test.

Despite being in separate companies, Westmore and Heard both found themselves pinned down in the trenches Northwest of Sudder during the little known battle of New Mohrland. It seems that fate had stepped in once again to unite the two of them on Silverhold. Both of their companies had arrived within hours of each other to route an Alliance power play in the Red Sun System. The Alliance had begun landing troops at Sudder in mass and with a stealth precision that had taken the Independents by surprise. Realizing that the Alliance would gain a foothold that would upset the struggle in that system, Major A. Edward Geary quickly called up every able force to run the Alliance out. He also opted to fight stealth with stealth by placing his forces in the very unsung, but geographically unique community of New Mohrland.

New Mohrland appeared on few if any maps before the war and appears on fewer since. At the time the place boasted just four dozen small families spread out over as many miles, with only a handful of these settled in the township proper. Not only was the place not of any strategic importance, it was not of any obvious importance to anyone but the residents themselves. The only reason that it appeared on any maps at all was due to the fact that it sat near Emery Summit with a steep grade running North and South. This placed the community at the perfect point to serve as a junction for the grav-trains passing between Sudder and Centeridge Docks. New Mohrland was also strategically placed to service the many neighboring mining interests around Emery Summit. Indeed the whole town lived on the economy provided by the rail line and the mines and might have remained alive, but historically unimportant if not for the battle that played out there.

Geary, using small vessels and support craft, landed his companies and battalions at a distance from Sudder and used the main rail lines and spurs to unite the forces at New Mohrland. Once there, it was his hope to secure the rails at Emery Summit and intercept Alliance forces traveling along the line. By taking as many prisoners in secret as he could, he hoped to delay an all out battle until more Independents could arrive in support, but the action failed very early on. With so few ground troops and little in the way of special tactical forces and air support, it was impossible for Geary to secret away many prisoners unnoticed. The Alliance had too much support by the time he had his soldiers in play. In the end, Geary only succeeded in rounding up his own people as prisoners for the Alliance. Two of them were Jesse and Jim.

Less than five hours after Geary united his mixed forces at New Mohrland the Alliance was made aware of them. It is suspected that local collaboration led to their discovery, though historians tend to weigh in other deciding factors. Whatever the cause, the Alliance took no chances and within an hour of the discovery, they shelled Emery Summit with heavy artillery and air support. With large numbers on their side at Sudder and support forces out of Centeridge, the Alliance resupplied their lines from both directions by grav-train and transport.

Seeing that the position could not be held, Geary called for 'destruction in retreat'. Jesse's company was called in to sabotage as much of the main line as possible and is credited for the destruction of no less than three kilometers of main and mining rail lines throughout the area. Unfortunately, owing to limited supplies and a zeal understood only by soldiers in the field, Jesse was badly injured when he opted to take out several strategic points along the line at once. Without sufficient materials to detonate their objectives at a distance, Jesse and his team chose to destroy the line without regard to their own safety. Sage Peery, Wyatt Conner, Will Mortenson, Richard "Rickshaw" Dampier, Clay Waters and Jess Westmore were all injured in the undertaking that stalled Alliance support troops out of Centeridge and destroyed 76% of the facilities along the New Mohrland line. Only Westmore and Dampier lived to tell the tale of their deeds that day. Because of their bravery, some 187 soldiers were able to escape to safety before the greater Alliance bombardments.

Within minutes of the explosion that rocked the junction, Jim Heard was informed of the part that Jesse's team had played in it. Fully aware of what awaited him and anyone who went with him to rescue the saboteurs, Jim selected a handful of volunteers and returned to the last known position of Jesse's team. Losing none of his men, but struck by fire three times himself, Jim rescued his friend and fellow soldiers in what was later called 'a requirement of brothers' by General Adaire Baltzer. On the same subject Baltzer said, 'Soldiers see not the dangers before them, but rather the dangers before their fellows. No soldier worth his salt will consider himself when he sees a brother in peril'.

In the aftermath of the battle, Jim Heard was found in the shelter of a drainage tunnel beneath the rail yard. His leg all but amputated by enemy fire, and with a ferocity born of fever and his devotion to Jesse, he wounded three Alliance soldiers with his service pistol before being shot a fourth time himself. Despite mortal injury, he was taken alive along with the many wounded men of his company to a mobile surgical outfit where he recovered all of himself but his right leg below the knee. While still recovering, and just prior to being sent to an internment camp for the duration of the war, he learned by the process of the DNA sampling of prisoners that Jesse was more than a friend. He was heard to say that he needed no such test to tell him what he had known without knowing. He was also heard to say, when asked about his leg, that it was "Better to lose half a leg than a half brother".

Jesse was nearly eight days in a coma before he too learned that the friend he had saved and then been saved by was his kin in more than name.

The two of them spent the rest of the war on the sidelines, content to wait it out, but for one failed escape attempt. In true fashion, Jesse blew up fifteen yards of security fence with a bomb that was called "both questionable and brilliant" by the camp commander. While he did not escape himself, Jesse was responsible for the freeing of 11 soldiers from the camp, 4 of which returned to the fight. Chief among these was Captain Joseph Micah Banks, known after the war as "The Road Runner" for his high speed, cross country forays into enemy territory delivering weapons and supplies to resistance groups in and around Argos on Hera.

Once the war was over, Jesse and Jim returned to the Outskirts to do what they do best: get each other into and out of trouble. They opened up shop in Ransom within a year of their return and have lived there ever since. They also chose to maintain a sense of irony in their lives by courting and marrying two sisters out of New Cumberland. Patrons visiting their fine establishment will find a photo of the two brothers over the cafe counter with the following inscription.

"Two halves make a whole mess of trouble"

Whatever reason brings you to their diner, be sure to try the brisket. Just ask for it by name. That's if you can remember the alliteration behind this tongue-twisting delicacy's name. The Rim Runner's Rubbed Rib Roast Reprise.

It should also be noted that people visiting New Mohrland today will find a small, but well maintained monument to the men and women who gave their lives fighting to hold the line. While Major Geary was killed in action later in the war, his choice to hold the place has never been questioned by the brave soldiers who survived the battle. When one unnamed veteran of the battle was asked what he thought of Geary's Folly, the soldier replied. "The Alliance didn't win. They gained only what we left for 'em. We won by holding the place against impossible odds and just ask 'em to say different."

13 ~ Despondent Space of Father Moriarty
You could call the Despondent Space of Father Moriarty a church, but you'd fail to define it adequately. The Despondent Space is part temple, part meetinghouse, part dojo and part business front for other things. You're as likely to find the 'Good Book' as you are a swift lesson in mortal combat. All of the hard lessons for this life and the after life, can be experienced at the Despondent Space. And it has to be experienced.

14 ~ Crane Observatory & Research Center
The Alliance built and named the Crane Observatory, though it was first called the Crane Science Center after science historian Bruce Crane. While it was built primarily as a science outpost and observatory during the early terraforming years, it has served many functions. It was the airfield's first real 'tower'. The earliest 'school' at Ransom occupied several rooms on the main floor of the Center. It was one of the first structures to include an interior bunker. It housed the first federal facilities of any number. The original land office was housed here as well as the municipal court and jail. It is still used today for some educational purposes, but most of the center is rented out for private research. The observatory is also used as a siting position for the airfield's inbound and outbound traffic in conjunction with the Dome.

15 ~ Residence - Crance
Residence only. See privacy citation - CRANCE/094.223.6.7721

16 ~ Northwell (Public Water Source - Designation W-8-24)
Northwell is one of several city wells at Ransom that is capped and fitted for pumping. See ADAW-NC-DR2-North/W-8-24.00a/History under 'Outskirts-NewCanaan Wells & Storage'

17 ~ The Cement Pond
An outdoor pool used mainly by the residents of the Box Huts.

18 ~ Residence - Jacob Webster
Residence only. See privacy citation - WEBSTER/081.404.0.0050

19 ~ Residence - Anne Wilkes
Residence only. See privacy citation - WILKES/130.812.3.3022

20 ~ Deadlot
Deadlot is abandoned residential lots from the Alliance occupation during the war. The lot was stripped of materials and fabrication during the post military decline shortly after the armistice was signed. It is considered federally own property, but there are no current plans for construction there.

21 ~ North Plot
This city owned plot is traditionally used to grow supplemental feed grain. It has been rented by lottery to small commercial ventures for the past six years. It is currently being used by Birchwood Sheep.

22 ~ Aerial Marker 1209 (Field Repeater)
This Aerial Marker is used as an electronic sighting beacon for pilots and navigation systems.

23 ~ Northpoint Storage
Private rental storage facility owned by Crance family. See RESIDENCE - CRANCE

24 ~ The Northwest Shed
The Northwest Shed can be summed up in two words. Urban. Legend. Nobody knows who own it, though it was bought, paid for, and is still maintained by an unknown, private, off-world entity or individual. According to the limited public information surrounding it, the shed was purchased and shipped from Osiris. It was paid for in form of digital cash by courier and it continues to be each year. The Northwest Shed was constructed half way through the War, but no one has ever witnessed it being used by anyone or for any obvious purpose. The mystery of the shed is further puzzled by the nearby presence of an above ground power junction box the size of a small ground vehicle. Once a year, a 'technician' or 'maintenance' person is sent to check the grounds and repaint the two structures a placid primer gray. The new painter is hired for this purpose alone, and attempts to learn more from the new, yearly hired hand have proven fruitless. Scans, both legal and illegal, have yielded nothing and even the local feds can't say with any certainty what it is. An employee at Ransom Central Power was once heard to say that the shed draws enough power from the grid daily to run a few appliances or a walk in freezer. The latter possibility was enough to spin a few sinister suppositions about the shed for years.

Most adults will tell you that the shed is only talked about at all because it's so unassuming. If it were more sinister, it would somehow be less so. It's uniform color and lack of use make it interesting only because it isn't. It's just a shed. If it were something more, it would have a fence and more lighting.

Children and young adults will tell you a different story. They'll point out how it sits alone. They'll make a point of describing how solid and well built it is, and on this point the average observer would have to concede, for the shed is built to take a missile strike and the door seems monolithic for a building of that size. The absence of the fence just exaggerates the disturbing loneliness of the edifice in young minds. Children want to assign purpose to everything. It doesn't hurt that the mystery of the place it talked about almost daily as one kid dares another one to 'touch the shed'. Some local clubs require that a new inductee spend a night by the shed, which the Sheriff and Feds allow in good fun.

Still, no one knows what it is for certain, and as long as the taxes and power bills get paid, the local constabulary will not brook any meddlesome trespassers on the plot containing this small, private, ever mysterious shed. After all, property is property.

25 ~ Residence - Thomas Cripps
Residence only. Information limited. Thomas Cripps is about as old as the hills. He has long grey hair, and the clearest blue grey eyes that never did see, because Thomas was blind from birth. He's also a bit of a local mystery, for while he talks about many of the places that he's been to over the years, and though he describes them as well or better than anyone who had seen such places, it's almost impossible to learn anything about the man himself. Still, he's cordial and conversational, and more than this, he's the best damn fiddle player you might ever hope to hear. The man can play bluegrass like a barn can burn. He makes his sole living from playing at almost every public dance, gathering, wedding, funeral or what-have-you. If you need something to tap your toe by, Thomas is your man.

26 ~ The Dump Yard
The Dump Yard is a conundrum. Technically all scrap or garbage should be placed in the hands of the proper recycling or reclamation facilities (if not sold for profit at the handful of junk and scrap dealers spread across Ransom), but people still like to throw things out. Recycling be damned.

27 ~ Residence - Richard/May Krenshaw
Residence only. See privacy citation - KRENSHAW/106.700.7.3284, KRENSHAW/100.560.3.1361

28 ~ Ransom Community Hall
The Community Hall was first built during Alliance occupation at the early part of the War. As a result, it has that oh so nice institutional look that belies a certain lack of imagination. Function without form. Despite this, it is regular used for every possible public and private club and organization you might imagine. You can step through the doors of the Ransom Community Hall and find yourself in a watercolor painting class or a quilting bee. You might learner to cook Core cuisine in the morning, followed by yoga at noon and ending with basic cabinetry. It's exactly what you might expect from a sleepy town community hall.

29 ~ Residence - May Dunnley
Residence only. See privacy citation - DUNNLEY/110.569.1.1873

30 ~ Residence - Wes/Gwenn Hirsch
Residence only. See privacy citation - HIRSCH/090.422.1.3568, HIRSCH/089.989.4.2054

31 ~ Residence - John Bradshaw
Residence only. See privacy citation - BRADSHAW/150.301.2.0009

32 ~ Pate & Zurbruck Properties
The property company of Pate & Zurbruck handles private and public sales of land holdings all over the Outskirts. While must of the land shares for the Outskirts are handled by the land office, P&Z buy a significant portion of these by public auction and sell them privately. They also help develop larger plots made up of adjoining properties for homesteaders that wish to create neighboring communities from the word go.

33 ~ Residence - Anita Crowe
Residence only. See privacy citation - CROWE/100.088.9.3216

34 ~ Residence - Dale Dawe
Residence only. See privacy citation - DAWE/095.244.0.6233

35 ~ Residence - Deann Turnbow
Residence only. See privacy citation - TURNBOW/094.606.8.8590

36 ~ Residence - Mike Chism
Residence only. See privacy citation - CHISM/118.121.2.1007

37 ~ Residence - Ashley/Dawn Nash
Residence only. See privacy citation - NASH/146.418.7.4196, NASH/149.771.3.5757
 
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Here is the next column of Residences and Businesses.

38 ~ Residence - James Neal
Residence only. See privacy citation - NEAL/126.000.6.3881

39 ~ Residence - Alex/Matilda Partridge
Residence only. See privacy citation - PARTRIDGE/107.943.1.1013, PARTRIDGE/120.263.6.4500

40 ~ Residence - Dan Napper
Residence only. See privacy citation - NAPPER/099.922.5.6754

41 ~ Residence - Maddy’s Gambit
Madeline Tazwell is a retired ship's engineer who came to Ransom to live and work as an artist/engineer out of her home. She has set up her unique workshop as a metal scrap sculpture studio and repair shop that she lovingly refers to as Maddy's Gambit. Now she dabbles in gizmos that are as much art as machines, making custom creations for herself and others while fine tuning her life on the Rim.

42 ~ Residence - Dan/Carrie Munk

Residence only. See privacy citation - MUNK/098.482.0.4861, MUNK/113.999.6.1579

43 ~ Residence - Ralph/Irene Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Ralph & Irene Dearmin are a part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Ralph and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.

44 ~ Residence - Glen Coburn
Residence only. Glen Coburn lives and works out of Ransom. While a transplant to the Outskirts, he has made a reputation for himself as a hard worker and a straight shooter. During a Reaver attack in 2516, he he fought off a half dozen Reavers while protecting fleeing students as they ran for shelters from the open game fields near Ransom Schools. He was wounded twice in the action that saw three people killed at Ransom that afternoon. Glen works for Mules and Fuels on the rise overlooking the playing fields by day, and as a part time bartender for Pick Me Up Saloon at night.

45 ~ Residence - Frank/Kay Vaught
Frank and Kay Vaught have lived at Ransom since the middle of the War. Frank Vaught served as a guard in Camp 96 during the Alliance occupation. He was wounded during a fire in the camp and saved the lives of two prisoners, earning him respect among the veterans imprisoned there. Frank stayed in Ransom following the end of the War and married Kay Waters out of White Horse. They have three children.

46 ~ Residence - Franklin/Edith Greene
In addition to being married, Franklin and Edith are business partners and shareholders in Delker Feed & Seed. They purchased the business from Charles Delker when he retired with his wife and family to the Southshores and they have maintained close ties with Charles. In fact, he still brokers deals for them in that part of New Canaan. He does this on a limited basis. Franklin handles most of the bookkeeping, having lost a leg during a bombing raid at Bishop Docks. Edith runs the day to day on the sale floor of the store. They have a son on Deadwood and two daughters in the Georgia System.

47 ~ Winchester Courier (Big Red)
Winchester Courier is named for the paired Winchester Class, Light Courier Transports that handle the bulk of their shipping deliveries. At least one of the ships is in the air at all times sending and receiving packages to all points across New Canaan, with planetside hubs at Baal, Bishop Docks, New Cumberland, Easthollow and Ramat Rachel. Winchester Courier is so widely respected for attention to detail and prompt delivery service that the company is hired out regularly by a dozen other shipping companies out of Ransom and they are a dedicated courier for Tang Industries. Expansion in recent years has allowed the business to open branch offices at Highgate, Iscariot and Deadwood, though Big Red (the oldest and largest hanger at Ransom Airfield) remains the headquarters for the business. They employ full time pilots and engineers for all of their boats and service everything in house, and they keep enough spare parts on hand to almost build a third Winchester Transport. Winchester Courier maintains a strict 'no passengers' policy, so anyone hoping to hitch a ride must seek a seat or berth elsewhere.

48 ~ Ashley Mining and Machine Works
Mining has always been a big part of the Outskirts. Many companies have come and gone, and while the larger guilds have taken over many a small mining business across the Verse, Ashley has managed to maintain a strong foothold on the Rim. Ashley has survived through the years by buying all of their equipment used. The business model for Ashley focuses on putting the money in the hands of the employees and shareholders, while keeping the overhead costs low, so they buy cheap and pay the engineers and miners well. This has made the business strong from within. They have also bought up those companies which have failed or fallen on hard times, buying nearly new equipment well below cost, and employing seasoned workers from those crumbling ventures. When the Yellow Creek Mine was destroyed in an explosion, Ashley bought up the contracts of the miners there and kept the families of workers in food and clothes, even though Ashley was just a foundling company at the time. This created a strong loyalty among the earliest employees, and they have maintained that loyalty through good and bad times. By applying surplus to seasoned mechanics instead of new machines Ashley has established itself as a true grass roots industry that people want to be a part of. It has opened doors for them that remain closed to the larger mining conglomerates.

49 ~ Residence - Richard Borealis
Residence only. Information limited. Richard 'Big Rich' Borealis is the owner and operator of Borealis Enterprises' properties at Ransom.

50 ~ The Coppersmith
Though simply named 'The Coppersmith' this old world style business does a trade in some of the finest handcrafted metals to be had anywhere in the Verse, so don't let the name fool you. A well made pot or kettle means a lot on the Rim, and with so many smaller settlements in need of goods, a coppersmith makes a good living in the Outskirts.

51 ~ The Undergrounds
In 2481 one of the largest houses at Ransom collapsed due to faulty construction, and within a week the remaining structures on the property were condemned and dismantled. Despite this, the foundations remained, and with them, the basements. An enterprising group of teenagers bought up the depreciated property through collaborative fundraising. Then they fixed up the place. 'The Undergrounds' soon became one of the longest lasting youth hangouts in Ransom, earning a reputation for music and safety (though 'safety' would become relative with the arrival of the War and Reavers). While being wholly underground, the property contains no true safety shelters of any kind. When Reavers attacked Ransom in 2516, two of them breached a makeshift barricade in the Undergrounds and Cole Behr became the youngest citizen at Ransom to take down Reavers. Though small for his age, and shy at the best of times, Cole's mom had taught him to shoot and he put all six rounds from his birthday revolver in the two assailants. Two in the chest. One in the head. Reavers beware. Despite the worries of a few protective parents, the Underground remains a popular part of the youth culture at Ransom. Cole remains a local hero.

52 ~ Residence - Martin Brody
Residence only. See privacy citation - BRODY/062.019.7.5464

53 ~ Opal Sands Fortune & Tarot
Worried about your future? Need a little cosmic guidance now that you find yourself stranded in the backwaters of the Verse? Have some time to kill while seven different scrap yards bid on that part that will get your boat off the ground again? Turn to the Opal Sands and try your fortune.

54 ~ Ransom Rodeo Grounds
The people at Ransom might be 500 years removed from their ancestors of Earth That Was, but some things die hard, and where there are horses and cattle, there are rodeos. While the rodeo grounds at Ransom may not look like much, the men and women that ride, break,and rope at Ransom take it very seriously.

55 ~ Hale Electric
Technologies have come and gone and power sources change with the times, but there will always be some sort of 'wiring'. This is especially true on the Rim, where 'old world' tech is the high tech. Hale Electric is a classic provider of power sources both portable and permanent.

56 ~ Shuttle Service Tarmac
While the airfield has a designated Shuttle Service Tarmac most of the businesses at Ransom that provide such services prefer to keep their boats close, so the SST gets used as a long term parking area more often than not. Traffic at Ransom is light most of the time, but the tarmac has been used in emergencies and when public events warrant more space for visiting boats.

57 ~ Airfield Maintenance Sheds
Equipment kept at the airfield maintenance sheds is used for the upkeep of the airfield hardtop and airstrips. Vehicles for snow and ice removal, painting, and ground work are housed there.

58 ~ Janice Junk
Janice Junk turns a profit in the sale of small items. Unlike the many businesses at Ransom that sell everything from engine parts to complete airframes, Janice deals in the local trade of appliances, small motors, used tools and equipment. They maintain a good supply in surplus goods and containers for all purposes.

59 ~ Residence - Fredrick ‘Yick’ Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Fredrick 'Yick' Dearmin is a part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Yick and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.

60 ~ Residence - Bernard ‘Bern’ Dearmin
Residence only. Information limited. Bernard 'Bern' Dearmin is a part of the Dearmin clan that has lived at Ransom since before the War. Bern and his brothers are co-owners of Dearmin Brothers Garage.

61 ~ B&E's Space Salvage & Scrap
B&E's Space Salvage and Scrap Yard is owned and operated by Richard Borealis of Borealis Enterprises (though the business is technically 'off the books') and Richard's crewmate, Kendel Element. The name is not an abbreviation for the 'Breaking and Entering' (as it's joked about locally) but rather the initials of the Borealis and Element. As they advertise in regular broadwaves, B&E is the 'Home of Catalyzer's and Synchronizers and every other part you need to fix your boat'.

62 ~ The Post Horse Press & Cortex Cafe
Paper is scarce on some backwater worlds, and it isn't used all the much in some finer corners of the Core either. Most of the paper that comes to Ransom on purpose or by accident arrives on transport ships. Much of this is used for the most basic needs of the day to day, but Ransom still manages to have a press. The Post Horse gets most of it's print stock from regular recycling, hemp paper (which is most common) and some linen papers out of the Southshores. The Post Horse prints everything from art graphic posters for local sporting and social events to the rare, but occasional wedding invitation. Primarily they serve as a print and electric newspaper/leaflet business, publishing such broadsides as the Trading Post, Weekly Planet, The Weekly Independent (still active from before the War, and now a paper devoted to veterans) and a quarterly magazine simply called 'Blue', which focuses on news from all over the Blue Sun System. Some of their publications have earned them accolades from as far away as Sihnon. It doesn't hurt that an article in Blue about Tang Industries' philanthropic activities on the Rim was republished widely across the Core. Tang was so grateful for the positive press, that they sent a gift of 15 pallets. They contained enough paper that the owners could offset the cost of their production for the better part of a year. They installed a dedicated Cortex Cafe with that year's surplus.

63 ~ Rojello Chavez’s Plastic Fabrication
Plastic is common enough in most places on the Rim. Custom plastic fabrication is not so common. Plastic comes to the rim in every form from pre-fab shuttlers to storage bins, but a lot of it doesn't stand up to the rigorous weathering of the Rim, let alone the Outskirts. While almost anything can be shipped to the New Canaan from the Core, the cost of shipping can be ruinous to a settler and it takes time, so when Rojello Chavez saw a niche to be filled he drove a plastic fabrication facility into it.

64 ~ Residence - Sean Crowley
Residence only. Sean Crowley is the owner, operator and ideas man behind Keelhauler Transport & Trading Company. Sean is a restless fellow who likes to be everywhere at once. It's not uncommon to see him running from his airfield office at the last minute to hitch a ride with one of his outbound shipments in one of his own boats or in the company of strangers. His affable nature, ability to hitchhike the Verse on a budget and willingness to go almost anywhere and try almost anything once, make him one of Ransom's most travelled citizens, though his random acts of absence put true 'residency' in question. You're likely to hear his fellow Ransomites ask him one of two questions on a regular basis "Just get in?" or "Where ya headed?"

65 ~ Residence - Akin
Sheriff Akin is a former member of the 76th Independent Battalion. Akin was a citizen of Beaumonde prior to the war. He was caught up in some unfortunate business with Interpol which forced him out to the Rim where he found honest work as a lawman.

66 ~ Residence - Jim/Claire Heard
Residence only. See privacy citation - HEARD/114.227.8.9100, HEARD/114.931.4.6462

67 ~ Dearmin Brothers Garage
The Dearmin Family has lived and worked at Ransom for generations. Ralph, Yick, Bern, Louie and Mason Dearmin opened Bearmin Brothers Garage before the war, and though the conflict between the planets called some of them away to serve, and interrupted business at home, they have been reunited since the Armistice. All of them live and work at Ransom, and business is just busy enough without being too busy that they can work in revolutions, thought they choose to hang out even on their respective days off.

68 ~ Bakers’ Street
Named for the ancient market street for bakers in Jerusalem That Was, Baker's Street is an artisan bread company. Baker's Street provides bread to private citizens and businesses alike. With the close proximity to New Cumberland (the breadbasket of New Canaan) by regular transports and couriers, Baker's Street can provide a wide variety of grain products and baked goods. They supply daily bread to the schools, hotels, and several eateries. Chances are that any bread you buy at Ransom comes from Baker's Street.

69 ~ Northern Light Trading Co.
Northern Light Trading Company is one of many businesses at Ransom that bring in prefab shelters, work equipment, foodstuffs and other day to day goods from the Border to the Rim. Because of businesses like NTL, TANG, Namebrand, and others, Blue Sun has not been able to establish a foothold in the Outskirts. NLT is one of two businesses owned and operated by Borealis Enterprises.

70 ~ Old Gravel Yard
The old gravel yard has been home to six different gravel companies. No gravel or stone is produced there. The gravel yard was used for the storage and sale of rock materials only, but it also served as a target range at one point in Ransom's history.

71 ~ Airfield Holding Yards
There are numerous ranches and livestock businesses in the Outskirts and across New Canaan, so Ransom maintains a public holding yard for cattle that are shipped in or out though the airfield.

72 ~ Badger Tannery & Arms
Owned by Karl Derrick, Badger Tannery and Arms deals in nothing but custom, hand fabricated goods. Karl believes in quality over quantity and his signature goods say everything about his standard of business.

73 ~ Keelhauler Transport & Trading Co.

Keelhauler Transport and Trading Company might seem like a fly by night business at first glance, especially to the larger companies and the handful of mega-corporations in the Verse, but not so. Not only does Keelhauler thrive with its handful of old transports and seemingly remote offices, but it manages to pick up so much of the business that falls through the economic cracks of the Core that it excels on several fronts.

First, the Keelhauler fleet is small, so maintenance is small. Rather than maintain a large fleet of ships and shuttles in endless need of repair or replacement, Keelauler piggybacks more than 85% of its transport and trade with other cargo ships, ingoing and outgoing passenger liners and smugglers already bound for destinations favorable to shipping and receiving.

Second, Keelhauler has little to no overhead. Small runs in great quantities means big business with little storage or stock issues.

Also, the name is hard to forget. Even if one could forget such a name (with that special 'I'm sorry...what?' quality) Keelhauler itself would never let you forget it. What Keelhauler lacks in large advertising funds, it more than makes up for in the liberal distribution of cheap print goods. Ship a box or two for Keelhauler and expect to walk away with a t-shirt or two and a handful of classic postcards (perfect for that handwritten wave from the Rim).

"Dear Ma. Our postman got ate by Reavers, but the youngin's are just fine."

74 ~ Alliance Prime
Alliance Prime is a dedicated landing pad for any Alliance vehicles stationed at Ransom or visiting.
 
Cortex Ghost asked the following question over on Cortex System RPG • Index page

cortex ghost said:
I did note that they (Winchester Courier) don't take passengers - did they convert the upper bunks into more cargo space?

It's a good question and Winchester Courier's decision needs explaining. The decision was three fold.

One, they wanted to be taken seriously as a courier business, and not one more all purpose transport business that would take anyone or anything. The decision to specialize made it easier for them to just say 'no' whenever anyone asked and to focus on making a name for themselves in a primary market.

Two, it avoided any issues associated with passengers from transporting feds to fugitives. Passenger service requires either background checks on all people boarding and unboarding (and the paperwork that goes with it) or just the gamble of taking anyone along for the ride paperless. This way there's less legality, less headache, less safety and security issues, and lets face it, less opportunity for complaining from unknowns. With only crew, you're paying people to work and you can expect them to work without any messy and unforeseen issues. Paperwork is reduced to the day to day of employees.

And three, as you suspected, with a portion of the upper bunks removed/converted they can carry more fuel and more cargo. However, only a portion of the bunk space was converted. The remaining space was kept and maintained for overlapping crew watches. One shift sleeps. One shift runs the boat. This means they can run the boat almost all of the time and on longer runs without fatigue or delays. This continuous running of the two courier transports allowed Winchester to outpace the post war market for shipping at Ransom and it keeps them in the trim.

There was an unforeseen bonus to these decisions. Since Winchester did not compete for the odd passenger traffic at Ransom, it became popular among other service providers, as it didn't further thin an already thinned market in people moving. Interstellar Passenger Services could not exist at Ransom if Winchester competed with them, and Winchester could not compete if Interstellar provided any significant shipping services, so they can focus on being the best in their respective markets. Winchester is also never delayed by late arrivals or issues with luggage, illness, special medical needs, pets, and every other thing that comes with cargo that talks.

Winchester is streamlined.
 
The third column of five...

75 ~ Residence - Brandon Sweet
Residence only. Citation in review. See Case Number 0987756391-005-11-00-1G

76 ~ Birchwood Sheep
Birchwood was one of the early settlements North and West of Ransom that did not survive the Four Winters. Birchwood is not considered by most to be a true 'settlement' anymore, but rather a sheep camp or ranch district. It is used for livestock grazing during the Spring/Summer/Autumn months and the sheep and other small livestock are wintered at Ransom.

77 ~ Ransom Schools Gymnasium
The gymnasium for Ransom Schools was bought and paid for through a tax incentive program for poorer areas in the Verse. An aspiring and somewhat savant fellow by the name of Kirkham Brant found that the grants program for disadvantaged districts contained some very interesting, untapped loopholes. Using an unorthodox method for early filing Brant convinced Ransom Schools to hire him as a part time employee and then had them recommend him for a pilot program in the Core called Outer System Outreach. OSO was designed to bring teachers from the Rim to the Core in order to educate them and return them home again better armed to improve the level of education in the most remote parts of the Verse. Once Brant was in the OSO, he was allowed access to additional incentive programs and he became a voting member in policy and administration. On the inside he was given access to some of the review processes in unallocated funds. The rest is history.

78 ~ TANG Industries
Tang Industries is one of the fastest growing corporations in the Verse. Like it's strongest competitor Blue Sun, Tang supplies everything one might imagine from foodstuffs to the proverbial kitchen sink. The Tang home offices are located on Sihnon, but they reach all the way out to the Rim. They distribute so many good and services around the Verse, that it's possible to sit down in a chair while wrapped in a blanket to read a book while eating a meal cooked in an appliance inside a house all provided by Tang.

79 ~ New Beginnings Cattle Co. - Stock Yard
The New Beginnings Cattle Company was started by Brad Goodwolf. The ranch properties are all outside of town, but for the private stock yard, bunkhouse, offices and processing facility in Ransom proper. New Beginnings supplies beef to almost every settlement of the Outskirts in varying quantities and exports to three other worlds in the Blue Sun System on a regular basis. The Alliance purchases between two to five head from NBCC as part of the stock sampling required by the Alliance Department of Agriculture and Wildlife every two years. New Beginnings Cattle Company is recognized by ADAW for their consistent stock and ranch maintenance and their reputation is sound both on and off world.

80 ~ Ransom Fire/Outskirts West Territory
The firefighters of Ransom Fire in the 'Outskirts West' Territory specialize in wildfire suppression and aerial firefighting (owing to the many retired pilots at Ransom). Marshal Tanner was a Smokejumper pilot on Hera before the war and continues in this role as a volunteer pilot for the Outskirts. Ransom Fire serves all of the surrounding communities, though each of them has a volunteer brigade.

81 ~ West Ridge Drilling Company
Like so many drilling companies that came before it in the Outskirts, West Ridge primarily drills for water. Each company that has come and gone before it has sold their equipment to their successor, and West Ridge is no exception. One can find evidence of previous drilling companies under ever West Ridge label and paint job. West Ridge does a good business in ranch wells all over the Outskirts.

82 ~ New Construction - Ransom Schools
Ransom Schools is an every growing complex of classrooms and facilities. See RANSOM SCHOOLS and RANSOM SCHOOLS GYMNASIUM.

83 ~ Residential - Whitehall
Whitehall began as a business complex complete with storefronts, offices, warehouse storage and underground parking. It never reached the completion stage for any of these, except for the parking area. It was financed by Corpus Christi, an early industrial developer at New Canaan. Corpus Christi went nearly bankrupt just before the project was completed at Ransom after the corporation was found guilty for numerous acts of 'cooking the books'. Corpus Christi was forced to sell the uncompleted facility at a loss to Tang Industries. Tang altered the intended offices and storefronts and now rents out Whitehall to private and public interests as a apartment housing and storage. More than a few outlying communities keep timeshared guest apartments at Whitehall and several airfield business house their employees there. The name itself was conjured locally. It was a derisive nickname given to the barren, but audacious structure as it sat uncompleted for some six months. Locals would adopt an exaggerated, snobbish tone when speaking of Whitehall. When Tang purchased the place executives kept the name, completely unaware of the comic disdain that came with it, and while the stigma has moved on, the name remains.

84 ~ New Beginnings Cattle Co. - Bunkhouse
In addition to the several ranch houses outside of Ransom, New Beginnings Cattle Co. keeps a working bunkhouse and kitchen for its employees at the Ransom airfield. The ranch hands who live in Ransom year round maintain a handful of milking cows and beef cattle for use by local businesses. New Beginnings is the dedicated provider of dairy and beef stock to such businesses as Chow God's and Jaw Jack's and the Crossroads.

85 ~ Catspawn
Catspawn is a weird hybrid of cat breeder and pawn broker. Owner Mary Kate DelPaggio jokes that the cat breeding business is a plot to populate the rim for a future feline takeover, but she does breed some excellent mousers and she take the responsibilities of pet ownership very seriously. Cats are an invaluable alternative to costly pesticides on the Rim. Mary Kate also deals in used, but very selective junk. Her business deals more in well used and maintained objects than true junk and a everything purchased at Catspawn is well bred or in good working order. If you make the mistake of calling Mary Kate a 'junk dealer' she will gently correct you with 'rescuer of reliable goods'.

86 ~ Ransom Schools
Ransom Schools is an amalgamation of public and private schools under one roof. They provide the standard pre-school through standard graduation courses (taught by local teachers in combination with cortex classroom broadcasts) that one might find anywhere, but they also provide private tutorship and vocational training as well.

87 ~ Koberstein Junk
Koberstein Junk was founded by John Tibbs in honor of his maternal grandfather Idan Koberstein who was killed during a peace protest on Ariel in the first weeks of the War. Idan was well known as an honest, no nonsense dealer in used goods. Like his grandfather John Tibbs has a good reputation for buying quality materials in bulk and selling the surplus to the customers at fair prices. Unlike his grandfather, his business is relatively small and it serves mostly as added income to the modest stipend he receives from a settlement due to an industrial accident that left him with one eye. Tibbs maintains that the loss of his eye opened up his perspective on the wider Verse. He served with distinction at Canals and lives with his wife and two sons at Ransom.

88 ~ New Beginnings Cattle Co. - Processing
In addition to processing their own stock, New Beginnings Cattle Company butchers and packages beef cattle for over three dozen smaller enterprises around the Outskirts. They provide local and remote processing.

89 ~ Interstellar Passenger Services
Interstellar Passenger Services is a rapidly growing transport and shuttle service based throughout the Blue Sun System. They do a good business in world to world travel and planet side destination services, and they serve as a travel fulfillment provider for the larger transport companies that bring people to and from the worlds of the Rim. While Interstellar Passenger Services is popular for transportation, they have experienced more Reaver attacks than any other passenger business. This is mostly due to their size as a service provider, not any mistake on their part. Interstellar Passenger Services is now officially registered as an armed transport company.

90 ~ Residence - McArthur W. Emmerson III
Residence only. See privacy citation - Emmerson/095.123.8.0807

91 ~ Mules and Fuels
Mules and Fuels is a full sales and service provider in ground and hover mules. While they sell and refurbish used mules of every variety, they deal primarily in the sale of new equipment and custom mules. They also sponsor the local Mule Runs. The Mule Runs bring custom mule enthusiasts from all over the Outskirts to compete in ground and hover races and endurance runs all across the Outskirts region.

92 ~ Artemus Ward Memorial Field
The Artemus Ward Memorial Field is a sports green dedicated to one of Ransom's most adored citizens. It is used by Ransomites for all sorts of public and private events and it serves as a playing field for Ransom Schools. Ransom held one of the largest sack raises in recorded history at Artemus Ward Memorial Field in 2516. The record stood for almost a week and a half. No one at Ransom cared because they had more fun.

93 ~ Lanier Livery
While many businesses maintain a hitching' post, stall or even a full service stable, Lanier Livery maintains the largest privately owned stables at Ransom after New Beginning Cattle Company. Lanier stables horses for several small business at Ransom.

94 ~ Namebrand
Namebrand is a wholesale and retail distribution company with holdings on almost every terraformed world across the Verse. They package and distribute their own label on a seemingly modest, local scale, but their true presence across the expanse of worlds is remarkable. Namebrand maintains a quality over quantity approach to products. In addition to distribution in goods, Namebrand is also a sizable franchise sponsor in the sports communities.

95 ~ Residence - Cluff Peck
Residence only. See privacy citation - Emmerson/101.220.1.7526

96 ~ Folks Market
Folks Market is a local grocer and market. While Northern Lights, Namebrand and other large distributors provide most of the long term canned goods and stock materials for life on the Rim, Folks Market sells the day to day. One can find toothbrushes, eggs and milk there, but also homespun and seasonal goods. While Tang and Namebrand will sell their respective versions of stewed and canned tomatoes any time of the year, Folks Market provides locally grown and prepared salsa, jams, jellies and the odd seasonal beverages. They also sell the finest sarsaparilla in the Outskirts.

97 ~ Gated Community - Zephyr Cove
Zephyr Cove is a small, private community operated by Jose and Maria Arredondo. Jose began building the community before he officially purchased the property in what is considered to be the brashest act of trespassing and land development in real estate history at Ransom, but only among those few people who actually know about it. Jose was hired by Parker and Hao ( a real estate partnership out of Baal) to handle the upgrade of eight homes and outbuildings on the properties owned by the partnership. The partners at Baal never came to visit the properties after their initial purchase, so Jose was able to landscape and fence the entire area as one entity and he put it up on the market without tipping his hand to his employers. He sold the entire acreage together to a third party at four times the price that Parker and Hao were asking for it, even before he had purchased the individual buildings and adjoining properties from them. There was a three week window where Jose officially owned and didn't own the property. While it's true that Jose broke several laws in the interim, the final paperwork is all legal and above board and so air tight and binding as to protect Jose from reprisal. Had any deal failed or been delayed during the process, Jose would most likely be living out his days in a federal facility, and not the cozy little home at Zephyr Cove with his wife Maria. It should be said that Jose himself is not a dishonest person, nor a reckless person in any real sense. Jose simply had a daring, devil may care epiphany that swept him away at the time and he now looks back on the events with a kind of giddy, nervous relief at what seemed like a good idea at the time, and fortunately for him, paid off in a big way. Maria doesn't like to talk about. She just shakes her head at Jose from time to time.

98 ~ Xiao Long Salon & A Close Shave
Any local community has a person that can wash and cut your hair or shave your face, Xiǎo Lóng Salon and A Close Shave specialize. Xiǎo Lóng is a true salon that will make even the dowdiest of ranch wives feel like a queen for a day and A Close Shave is a gentlemen's barbershop in every sense of the word. If you've had a rough patch in the Outskirts, then there's nothing like feeling clean and pampered. Let's face it. A shave and a haircut is worth whatever passes for two bits in the Outskirts and then some. It should be pointed out that A Close Shave is not just a clever pun, but a daily reminder to the owner and operator of a near death experience he had in his not so distant past. Ask him about it the next time you stop in for a chin scrape.

99 ~ Miner’s Guild
The Miner's Guild at Ransom is a very localized office and branch of the larger New Canaan Miner's Guild. The guild protects mining businesses and individual prospectors from the larger guilds of the Verse and it serves to assist ventures in the exploration of materials at New Canaan.

100 ~ Residence - Jose & Maria Arredondo

Residence only. Information limited. See GATED COMMUNITY - ZEPHYR COVE

101 ~ Ransom Ice Arena & Event Center
To describe the Ice Arena and Events Center it is first necessary to describe the history of Hockey at New Canaan…or...Ransom's answer to sheer boredom and sports addiction.

There isn't a hell of a lot to do in the Outskirts (apart from drinking and then brewing more stuff to drink), so when the weather gets cold the Ransom Privateers hit the ice. They may not be the best hockey team in the Verse, but they live in the only town outside of the Core to boast a homebuilt zamboni that runs on pure wood alcohol. They also have the only practice rink to be built over a water treatment pond, but what else can ya do with it when it freezes over? Figureskating?

Somehow hockey, drinking and remote locations just seem to go together. There's a lot of tension and testosterone in the Outskirts…and not a little, good, old fashioned Roman boredom and bloodlust…so a game with a long hitting stick, bladed shoes and a solid, unforgiving projectile just seems to speak to folk. In the Outskirts, a little friendly violence recreation just comes naturally.

The idea first matriculated in the mind of Eric Franklin the day he took a fall in front of the airfield medical facility. The whole tarmac was covered in ice, and as he lay there spread eagle assessing his back and limbs, it occurred to him that if he was going to fall on the ice, he might as well do it while chasing a puck and beating the tar out of fellow Ransomites; an experience he still refers to as his 'epiphany of pain'.

Thus, the seeds of the New Canaan Hockey League were born, and with them, a golden age of brawling and sprawling.

Now at first, the Ransom Privateers just paired off and sparred against one another, having too few ice monkeys to play anything but short sets. It also didn't help that they were woefully unprotected on the ice. Helmets and pads were often shared, and the zamboni wouldn't make an appearance for another two years.

Then along came the owner and proprietor of Kaiser Junk. In addition to a thriving junk business, Kaiser was one of the best personal, body armor enthusiasts this side of Sihnon, so he had both the time, talent and the means to help the team. He joined forces with Folks Market and Keelhauler to form the backbone of the Ransom Privateers' franchise. Together they created the Outskirts first Hockey Club and gathered in as many business owners as they could to outfit the team. By the time they were done, the players were set up with some of the best body protection a hockey player might ever hope for on or off the ice.

With no true competition two additional teams were formed under the direction of Dale Dawe. In honor of the prisoner history at Ransom, he called the first team 'The Pit Dogs' (slang for prisoners of the Camp 96 'pit houses'). He was joined by no less than 15 original inmates and one guard from the camp. The second team took up the name 'Diggers' in homage to the drill jockeys that founded Ransom. Both teams were outfitted by a triumvirate made up of the Outskirts Microbrewery, Pick Me Up Saloon, and the Veterans Distillery Club. Recognizing the opportunity to raise community spirits (and profits from distilled spirits) the collation formed the Brewer's League.

With the teams well supported in and out of Ransom, the sport thrived. Fans from far and wide would walk, ride, drive, hover and fly into Ransom to watch the teams shave ice.

And the hockey craze did not stop at Ransom. The sport phenomenon spread like a pandemic, and the first 'season' wasn't half over before another team formed out of New Aubrey, called the Baker's Dozen. That team was made up of no less then 9 members of the Baker family and three other Bakers by marriage. With the addition of the Baker's Dozen, they took the game on the road, inspiring as many as five regular communities outside of Ransom. Teams from White Horse to North Pike joined in the fray and within two years hockey had reached Bishop Docks and the Southshores.

Hockey was there to stay.

In 2515 ground was broken for the Ransom Ice Arena & Events Center, which was partially funded by Ransom Towers' second owner and financier, Glenn Chandler. Chandler was nearly bankrupted by the endeavor, and left Ransom to recover his fortunes elsewhere, but the Arena endured.

102 ~ Ransom Recreation
Ransom Recreation is just the inevitable extension of the Ice Arena & Event Center's success. The property includes an indoor and outdoor pool, sports courts of all varieties and fitness facilities of every ilk. When it was first built, Ransoms Schools used it for sports prior to the building of their own gymnasium.

103 ~ Residence - George/Emma Winslow
Residence only. See privacy citation - Winslow/093.161.9.3787, Winslow/096.224.6.5557

104 ~ O’Reilly Machine Shop
Every settlement worth its salt should have a good machine shop, especially on the edge of the Verse. IT takes a long time to get parts out to the Rim, but only ours or days if you have a good schematic, some pocket money and a place like O'Reilly. You can get most of what you want at other places in Ransom if they have the part, time or materials, but O'Reilly specializes, and sometimes you need a specialist.

105 ~ Zenith Metal Fabrication
Everyone at Ransom knows Lloyd and I do mean everyone. If you don't know Lloyd, you need to meet Lloyd. How is it that you don't know Lloyd? Lloyd has been in Ransom almost as long as anyone can remember, and since a lot of people drink and forget things in Ransom, remembering Lloyd is saying something. Lloyd owns the metal fabrication facility that most people call Zenith and not a few people simply call 'Zen', because if Lloyd is anything, he's zen, man. Seriously, how do you not know Lloyd?

106 ~ The Quail Run

There are many hangers and airdocks at Ransom Field. Most of them look the same. It's a modest place where pilots foreign and domestic rest their heels when they're not gallivanting about the Verse. One of the local regulars is Preston Whitingford and he owns the Quail Run. Now the Quail Run is a kind of fly by night courier and taxi business, perfect for the daring businessman and traveler. While transport and package services are common enough about the Outskirts, there is nothing common about the Quail Run or it's owner/operator.

First, theres the fact that the business sports two of only a handful of surviving Quails in the Verse. Second, no one in their right mind would fly one of them unless they had to.

This leads us to the subject of Preston Whitingford himself. You see, Preston was a Quail pilot during the War, which as most people know, is enough to set you apart from just about every other pilot in the Verse. Hell, it's enough to set you apart from most human beings. People who fly Quails are about as reckless, fearless or just plain dumb as they come. Most Quail pilots died flying them in the War, and not a few perished afterwards, but not because they died crashing the first or the second time. Quail pilots just kept going up, as dauntless as the fated dead.

So what sets Preston apart from any other Quail pilot? Preston has crashed seventeen times.

Now most human beings would have walked away after the third crash. The hardiest of Quail jockeys might have held out for four or five healthy rendezvous with gravity. Not Preston. What any other person would have taken for a string of really loud wake up calls, Preston took as a sign from above.

When he crashed the first Quail in basic and came away without a scratch, that was 'a sign'. When he was shot down over Walling at the Battle of the Range only to go up and get shot down again the same day, that was a sign too. Certainly the fates were with him at Sturges, when he downed a burning Quail in a crowded street plaza and took out the lobby of local hotel. It's hard to argue that the 'Creator of All' held Preston in his hands when he put a Quail with one engine on the roof of St. Anne's Hospital. Preston piloted more Quails to their doom than any other pilot of any kind, including his last flight of the war. On that day he crashed into an Alliance C-15 Yǔ Yǐng Qū, not because he was trying to destroy it, but because he needed to put the Quail down fast and the cruiser was the nearest place to land. He spent the next five weeks in a hospital bed at Elson Prison praising God amidst a hailstorm of surgeries, medication and not a little interrogation.

It follows then that Preston is a fan of the Quail. It follows also that he'll be a Quail pilot all of his unnatural days. If anyone ever needed a 'God is my copilot' bumper sticker, it's Preston Whitingford. Of course, Preston already has a copilot. Kitt Madden.

Chris, or Kitt as he's known to most, was a robot repairman most of his days. He served as a technician for the Technology Exploration Museum on Londinium. The museum boasted more Earth That Was robotic relics than any other museum or private collection of its kind and Kitt kept them all up and running.

Now Kitt started out like any other child of the Alliance. He was born in relative comfort. He had the benefit of good schooling. He learned a trade early on and excelled at it. Along the way he took up many unusual hobbies, delving into ancient history, archaic weapons, and the manufacture of Lasseter laser pistol replicas. He also belongs to that rare and timeless fan club of Jeep owners. Yes, Kitt has built as many as three Earth-style Jeep replicas from scratch using preserved original manuals carefully digitized and shared across the Verse. He's an eclectic and affable fellow who eventually found his way into one of Preston's crashes.

They've been gambling with their lives together ever since.

Preston and Kitt make regular runs between Ransom and New Cumberland. When they aren't playing at odds in the air, they can be found at the Outskirts Microbrewery and Pub telling stories and sampling the import/exports.

NOTE: Their most recent crash took out a Reaver over downtown New Cumberland while they parachuted to safety. They just pointed the quail at the Reaver and let the ship do what a quail does best. Crash and burn.

107 Residence - Herbert Isom
Residence only. See privacy citation - Isom/097.202.0.4142

108 ~ Residential Housing - Oakberry Hollow
Oakberry hollow is a small community of residential bungalows. These are snug, ridiculously similar little homes that all of the same trees and bushes. It's comfortable and quiet.

109 ~ Ransom Tower’s Private Storage
Ransom Towers' Private Storage looks a lot like the Ice Arena and Recreation Center to most observers. This is not a coincidence. When Glenn Chandler (second owner and financier of Ransom Towers) built the storage facility he financed it in conjunction with the other two contemporary structures. This is one of four projects that he backed at the time that led to his bankruptcy. The building serves as a longterm storage space for residents of Ransom Towers.

110 ~ Five O’Clock High
Five O'Clock High serves traditional "high tea"--that is, an early evening meal with meat as well as starches and the pastries to go with the tea. It's a good spot to find workers grabbing their evening meal during the evening shift change at the airfield and area manufacturers. Visitors can sometimes convince the proprietor to whip up an afternoon tea if they arrive far enough ahead of the shift change.

111 ~ Kaiser Junk
Niklas Kaiser is a business man first and last. He thrives on making something out of nothing and making a good thing better. It's not so much about the money, but the challenge of building something where nothing existed. Had Niklas lived in China, he would have been on the Wall Committee. Niklas is to business what the Panama Canal is to ditch digging. He owns and operates Kaiser Junk like he's selling 'the wheel' for the first time. His enthusiasm for business has taken him many places over the years and he is the primary financial backer of the Ransom Privateers and hockey in the Outskirts. This new sports obsession has made him the man to know at Ransom, New Canaan, and in time, the Verse.
 
Here is one of the first props that I've worked on for STAND. STAND It's a prewar issue One Credit Note that was financially backed by the Penglai System Federal Reserve Bank. This credit was widely circulated in the Kalidasa System and is still legal tender in a few pockets of the same, but the bills are seen less and less all of the time.

PACE-PenglaiOneCreditFront.jpg

PACE-PenglaiOneCreditBack.jpg


http://pics.fireflyprops.net/PACE-PenglaiOneCredit.pdf
 
First off, I don't want to step on anyone's toes (especially Rob's) So if you have not already, you really should buy some of RobStyle's Food Bars (wall he is offering them), they are cast off of an original, and are AWESOME!And if anyone want's me to take this post down, just ask, and I would be happy to take it down.

Ok, on with the show.

A wile back, I was planning a Firefly party (sadly I realized, other then my girlfriend, I don't have any local browncoat friends. And the party never happened.) So I made these up. I was thinking of those old cardboard boxes you used to be able to get M&M's in. (Does anyone else remember them.) So, I was going to fill these with M&M's and hand them out at the Party. (that didn't happen.) I even thought about putting an M&M logo where the Chinese characters are, but I didn't want to have to worry about copy rights.

You have a few options.

1.) Just print it out, and put it together.

2.) print the color version on the frount of some good paper (like the photo paper at Dollar Tree.) and print the Black and with version on the back, to help you know where to cut, and fold. (only do this if your good at getting things to line up on both sides, when printing form your printer.)

3.) You could just print the Black & White version on the back of Card Stock, in the color of your choice.(hopefully the kind with a little texture to it) and then just cut it out, and fold it up, placing the black ink on the inside where no-one will see it.

(if you print the black and white version on the back of anything, be sure to flip the image so that it's the mirror image of the front. Other whise it wont line up, and it will be backwards from the other side. If that makes since)
Also, I have included to versions of the round center piece. The easy version, that you can just print out, and cut out the round part. And, a version that is made up of two layers, where you have to cut the white part out of the chines Characters, and place the darker disk behind it.

and here we go.
foodbar72.jpg


background72-2.jpg


foodbarpost12.jpg


foodbarwhite22-1.jpg


Oh, and I left the flaps, on the side parts, that get folded inside, bigger then they need to be, for extra stability, but feel free to trim them back, to what ever works for you. (when it's put together, you wont see them anyway's, unless your opening it up to eat what's inside.)

Oh, and at 120 dpi, it should print out at just the right size. (but don't quote me on that. lol )
 
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Thank you for that. You wouldn't happen to have the food bar markings would you? Remember when they sold them to patience, she took a bite of one and you could see some type of design on the bar themselves. I was wondering if you or anyone else had the design.
 
Thank you for that. You wouldn't happen to have the food bar markings would you? Remember when they sold them to patience, she took a bite of one and you could see some type of design on the bar themselves. I was wondering if you or anyone else had the design.

Most of the food bars in the show were cast resin (with all the features showing in my design above) Then when it came to her taking a bight, they made one with some kind of food (maybe fudge) in it, that was rapped in black foil, and painted to look like the resin ones. the design on the foil was the same as the ones in the rest of the episode. (if it look different, it's just because it was foil, and not resin, and it was partly pealed back, from the food part of the bar.)


I don't have one of mine finished to post pics of, but here are some screen caps.

resin
PDVD_0672.jpg


foil wrapped food bar.
foodbar7-1.jpg
 
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Thank you for the caps. Hmmmm I wonder if maybe someone could make a REAL food bar possibly out of shortbread or fudge. It would be perfect for the cons...
 
A friend asked me for an "easy version" of the food bar, so I through this together for him, and thought I would post it up too, for those that don't want to put the work into the other version.. :)

easyversion7.jpg
 
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