Meihua

"Well I shot a man in Meihua, just to watch him die. When they forced me towards the mine shafts, I held my head and prayed." - local folk song

Government

Razavi Industries's VP of Jinshan Operations, Hoss Delacroix, also serves as the planet's League-appointed governor, de facto ruling by fiat. A town council exists for Heihua, but acts as a rubber stamp for Governor Delacroix.

Industry & Trade

Ore refinement, meatpacking, offworld exporting, money lending,

Infrastructure

Minor space port, ore refineries, cattle stockyards.

Guilds and Factions

League of Planets (68th Peacekeepers Division, Meihua PD, colonial gov't Razavi Industries; AgraFeng; the Canary Killers; Black Lung.

History

Heihua fulfills a similar role today as it did pre-Scream: as a center for refining ore for offworld shipping. In the aftermath of the Scream, the city was depopulated as its original residents died in the ensuing chaos or fled to the countryside to manage a living on substance farming or ranching. Enterprising free merchants from La Magdalena managed to restart the planet's mining industry using Heihua as their base of operations. In 3188, scouts from the League of Planets make their first contact with the Sierra Sector when they stumbled upon Jinshan, establishing their first outpost, Fort Lonesome, just outside Heihua. As the rest of the planet was absorbed into the League, the town prospered as the sector's capital, bolstered by booming business and its location the fastest drill route between the League core worlds and La Magdalena.
Fortunes reversed after the outbreak of the First Mictlan-League War. The trade disruption put an end to Heihua's boom times, and the deployment of the planet's Peacekeepers to the front lines left the planet open to crime syndicates and raiding. The Paseo Campaign caused an influx of refugees from that sector, most of whom settled in shantytowns outside Heihua. The subsequent loss of the direct trade route meant the flow of trade and travelers through the sector dried up, with those who could leaving for greener pastures. Even the League, which once had its forward operations headquarters in Heihua, left behind just a barebones garrison for the planet's defense.
Although Heihua remains the nominal League capital of Jinshan, Razavi Industries, a major League-based conglomerate, has filled the vacuum left behind. Razavi's interests in governance only extends as far as need to protect its mining and refinement interests on the planet, leasing the old League governor's compound in the town as its base of operations.

Architecture

Utilitarian colonial/industrial prefabs in industrial areas and central business district. Haphazardly refurbished pre-Scream old town center. Predominately wood and adobe structures in working class areas. Ramshackle wood and steel shacks alongside tents in the outlying slums.

Geography

Meihua is located on a bluff between a major river and a large forest towards Jinshan's lower latitudes.

Type

Town

Population

75,000

Location under

Jinshan

Owning Organization

League of Planets

Characters in Location

• Solomon Dakota