The first homestead

"A homestead ? Only for the rich in their sky-high towers !"

- Pirate Queen Cassandra, the first of her name

The first homestead is the only major city on the planet Hawking belonging to the The Alliance of Terrestric Forces. It is very important due to it's industrial significance and because it was humanity's first real, non temporary settlement and it's construction in 2300 marked the beginning of the so called "settlement era", in which the humans started to colonize the galaxy.

Demographics

The slumdweller caste

The major part of the first homestead's population is made up of factory workers, criminals and other people on the lower end of society, who live in the slums, surrounding the city. This caste does have no political rights and is often exploited by the citizens.

The citizen caste

The citizen caste consists of the inhabitants of the city's inner district. These people have the right to vote for the city council and are usually far richer than the slumdwellers. There is a vast range of professions a citizen can have, like trader, security guard or factory owner.

Government

The city (and the rest of the planet) is ruled by a council made up of 50 men and women, who are elected by the citizens every five years. Every council member has a political party dedicated to themselves and generally a huge following among the citizens. Each council elects three chairmen and/or -women.

Defences

Due to the city's industrial importance it has impressive defensive capabilitys. Several thousand soldiers are permanently stationed there additionally to the local security forces. All of these forces are heavily armed and well trained.

Although these force's official purpose is to guard the city against pirates and other enemys, it is very blatant, that they are aswell used to supress and control the workers.

Industry & Trade

Most big companies like Exocon-Insustries or Galactus Arms have at least one facility in the first homestead's factory belt. A huge portion of the ATF's industrial capabilitys are located here.

Infrastructure

The city consists of three major areas, that are divided by walls, fences and security personnel. The biggest area are the slums, that are inhabited by factory workers. This is a lawless terretory, mostly ruled by gangs and criminals, where police or other government forces are rarely seen. The place where most slum inhabitants come to work is the factory belt. This area is the second biggest and consists entirely of factorys and other industrial facilitys. This belt stretches around the city's center, where the citizens live and the council resides.

Guilds and Factions

Most of the first home's factions are of political nature and are made up of council members and of those aspiring to become one, one day. The biggest and most important faction are the "Industrialists", who support the city's industry and the exploitation of the slum dwellers. A faction they often cooperate with are the "traders", who focus on trade and the expansion of the city's trade ports. Their main political enemy are the "ecologists", who want to protect the environment and help the slum dwellers. There are more factions of different origins, like religious ones, but these are mostly not relevant and do not have a lot of ploitical weight.

History

Founding and early years

The city was founded in 2300 as the first real city on a planet other than earth. This was an important step for mankind, as it meant humans were capable to permanently live on extraterrestrial worlds. It soon became an important base of operations for terrestric construction fleets, that were colonizing other planets.

Later years

After the settlement era ended, the city faced a significant decline in importance. This ended when the council decided to exploit the planets natural resources. This decision led to many major cooperations erecting factorys and facilitys around the city. This area is known as the factory belt today.

Architecture

The city's arcitecture drastically changes throughout the city. The city center mostly consists of big skyscrapers, where the citizens live. From these skyscrpaers one can see over the factorys surrounding the center to the slums at the city's edge.

Geography

The city is located on a peninsula and surrounded by an ocean on three sides. In the middle of this peninsula is a hill, on which the city's center is located.

Natural Resources

The first homestead's peninsula once was very rich in natural resources, when the city was founded. but these have been mined a long time ago and only the mining shafts remain.

Type

Metropolis

Population

about 5,000,000 citizens in the main city and twice that in the surrounding slums

Location under

Hawking

Owning Organization

The Alliance of Terrestric Forces

Related Historical Events

• 2300 AD
  Founding of the first home