Highriders
Highriders are the backbone of space colonization. They are the workers for all the various settlements and live in squalor, suffering under the oppression of the various orbital governments and corporations.
Life for Highriders is hard. Living in the cramped workshacks gives people little to no privacy. The society has adapted and normal earth concepts of privacy are ignore or completely invalid. Nudity isn't taboo, though staring too long is. Personal belongings are rare and often whatever the highrider can carry.
Highriders for the most part are calm and slow to anger. They have close bonds with each other. A Highrider will have each others back when push comes to shove. The reliance and trust is required to survive in the harsh environment. Those who can't be trust won't live very long. This has lead to little to no alcohol or drug use. A Highrider getting high chronicly will be a dead one sooner than they think.
This isn't to say that Highriders are pure, instead they prefer a quick, fast high that has little after effects. Stimulants are often necessary in order to survive as well. The other addictions that is prevelant in the Highrider community is braindance.
Structure
Highriders consists of several nations or tribes. These nations/tribes are organized families, which have associated gangs/packs. This is similar to the organizational structure to the Nomads on Earth.
The nations/tribes are:
Le Bure
("The Free" The Word)
This nation is the Highriders who lead the revolt against the ESA on O'Neil One. They currently run O'Neil One. Members who participated in the revolt are hunted by ESA and Interpol for their illegal actions. Most don't leave the space station. Those who do are often caught spying or spreading propaganda to other Highrider tribes.
Wassa Arbita Bande
("Water Workers Band" The Word)
are free ranging people, who often go from station to station eeking out a living in space. They will often take over abandon workshacks and living as long as possible before needing to move on due to dwindling supplies.
Kasi Gyousha
("Traders of Speed" The Word)
contains the majority of pilots in system. They refuse to get involved with any politics that is brewing in system and maintain neutrality among the different factions in space.
Irawo Eta
("Star Eater" The Word)
are salvagers of space. They are looking for any salvage adrift and reclaim any resources and material from the. They have been accused of piracy at times, allegedly taking over a manned space station, spacing the crew, and scraping the station, but these are rumors.
Bas Arbita
("Low Workers" The Word)
this group is the collection of the vast amount of laborers, technician, and other workgangers who work on the various settlements in space. They are often exploited by the various governments and corporations. Working long hours with little food or rest. They are not organized as a group yet, though families and packs who claim to be part of this nation are growing.
Ominira Belta
("Independent Belter" The Word)
This nation is compose of the independent miners, surveyors and others who live amongst the Belt. The have no central governing body, but the majority will unit around the same cause, their freedom.
Le Mtumwa Spaca
("The Slave Spacers" The Word)
This group is quite the opposite of the Ominira Belta or other Highrider nations. Their name was given to them by the other nations as these are the wage workers for the ESA and Corporations. Calling them a Mtumwa Spaca to their face will often cause a brawl as they take it as the derogatory term it is. The membership of this group is usually recent arrivals to space. They are people looking for work which they can't find dirt side. Highriders will often say this forcefully with the disrespectful tone.
Lun Sauti
("Luna Voice" The Word)
the members of Lun Sauti are broken into 2 groups, Lun Sauti Tike and Lun Sauti Icus, Tike members living in Tycho luna base and Icus living in Copernicus luna base. These highriders contains most of the oldest people living in space as some are from the original colonization back in 1997. The people here have a bit better existence than ones living in the workshacks or other stations. Their quarters aren't as crampt and have the ability to expand their dwelling easily. Members of Lun Sauti are a bit more easy going than other nations and more outgoing as well.
Watu wa Pilule
("People of the Pill" The Word)
The members of this nation living and work on Galileo - O'Neil 2 and Paradise - O'Neil 3 station. The living and working conditions for Highriders are abyssmal at both stations. Since the O'Neil One revolt, Galileo - O'Neil 2 has gone into lockdown. The security is draconic at that colony. Workers are often harassed by the station's security. Raids on living quarters are often and many outspoken critics are thrown in the brig or, in a few cases, never heard from again.
Paradise - O'Neil 3 isn't as strict as Galileo - O'Neil 2 as it is controled by the joint governments of U.S.A. and Japan. The conditions are bad, but not as draconic compared to ESA hold on Galileo - O'Neil 2.
The Watu wa Pilule are on edge. They are very reserved and never speak unless spoken to by non-members.("" The Word)
Culture
Highriders have a strong tribal culture. They have a oral history of their life and have form new mythologies based on "The Dark" (Space). Their culture is a mixture of African, Anglo, and Asian legends. Mixed to form a new culture. Most Highriders are well educated from the consistent sharing of knowledge.
There are many rites and rituals throughout the community. These rites/rituals have been discourage by ESA and other governing bodies, but cannot prevent them. One such rite is on L-3 colony (Galileo - O'Neil 2) where young people do a spacewalk out to an old destroyed battlesat with a handheld EVA and a respirator with 1 hour of air. They need to bring back a trophy from the wreck. The journey takes an hour, with no mistakes.
Language: The Word (a blend of Earth languages)
Normal Possesions: clothing, rad detector, water flask, respirator, 1+ "Goop Ball"