Steel City
Steel City was the northernmost bastion of the Ironworks, set across the Great Lake from the rest of the empire. During the Ironworks era, the settlement served as a critical steel refinery, processing ore transported from Wischigan and Mini Soda into alloy that was shipped to Motor City, Mill City, and Rail City. The city's industrial output was essential to the Ironworks' manufacturing operations, and the Chancellor invested heavily in keeping it under control.
This was the home of the Reclaimers within Ironworks territory. Every Reclaimer in Steel City looked longingly to the north, toward the free settlements of Homeland that they could almost see across the Lake. A large and loyal detachment of Ironworks forces was permanently stationed to keep the restive population in check. The soldiers were well paid and could look forward to pensions in warmer places after completing their tours, an incentive designed to ensure loyalty in an assignment no one wanted.
Mayor Bruce Thompson governed the city as a political gesture. A Reclaimer himself, gangly, with hair refusing to stay out of guileless blue eyes, Thompson was firmly in the Chancellor's pocket. He wore pre-fall-style suits with long sleeves to hide his Reclaimer markings and warned citizens against the dangers of the renegade settlements of Can Do and Lakehead. He was a puppet mayor in a puppet city, and everyone knew it.
Across the Lake, the Sleeping Giant was growing. Steel City was the target of Monty Mackenzie's liberation plans, the prize that would prove the Reclaimers could take back what was theirs. The constant ferry trade that connected Steel City to the rest of the Ironworks also made it vulnerable, dependent on food and supplies from the south. The city's expansion from the Lake's swelling had made it a port, and ports can be blockaded. Every Reclaimer within the walls dreamed of the day the Giant would wake.
This was the home of the Reclaimers within Ironworks territory. Every Reclaimer in Steel City looked longingly to the north, toward the free settlements of Homeland that they could almost see across the Lake. A large and loyal detachment of Ironworks forces was permanently stationed to keep the restive population in check. The soldiers were well paid and could look forward to pensions in warmer places after completing their tours, an incentive designed to ensure loyalty in an assignment no one wanted.
Mayor Bruce Thompson governed the city as a political gesture. A Reclaimer himself, gangly, with hair refusing to stay out of guileless blue eyes, Thompson was firmly in the Chancellor's pocket. He wore pre-fall-style suits with long sleeves to hide his Reclaimer markings and warned citizens against the dangers of the renegade settlements of Can Do and Lakehead. He was a puppet mayor in a puppet city, and everyone knew it.
Across the Lake, the Sleeping Giant was growing. Steel City was the target of Monty Mackenzie's liberation plans, the prize that would prove the Reclaimers could take back what was theirs. The constant ferry trade that connected Steel City to the rest of the Ironworks also made it vulnerable, dependent on food and supplies from the south. The city's expansion from the Lake's swelling had made it a port, and ports can be blockaded. Every Reclaimer within the walls dreamed of the day the Giant would wake.
History
Steel City was originally a Reclaimer settlement before the Ironworks captured and occupied it. The Chancellor installed a Reclaimer puppet mayor and garrisoned the city with well-paid, loyal troops to keep the native population under control. The city's steel refining operations became critical to the Ironworks' industrial chain, receiving ore from the mines and producing alloy for the factories. As the Great Lake expanded from arctic meltwater, Steel City became a port, connecting to the rest of the Ironworks by ferry rather than rail. The Sleeping Giant resistance in Lakehead identified Steel City as the primary target for liberation, and the growing resistance pressured the Ironworks to invest ever more heavily in maintaining its grip on the northernmost city in its empire.
Geography
Steel City sat across the Great Lake from the main body of the Ironworks, connected by constant ferry trade. The Lake's expansion from arctic meltwater had transformed it into a port city. The settlement received ore from Twin City and Wischigan for refining, then shipped alloy south to Motor City, Mill City, and Rail City. Homeland lay to the north, with Lakehead visible across the water as the headquarters of the resistance. The city's dependence on food and supplies from the south, delivered by ferry, made it strategically vulnerable to any disruption of Lake traffic.
