The War on the Hard Roads
Posted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 1:51 am
Humanity has little need for roads anymore. The Machine controls the surface, making travel and commerce under the open sky suicidal at best. But the Machine uses many forms of transport to shuttle resources and robots around. While Sky Transports are swift and powerful, not all of the Machine's transport needs are met by them. Other methods are still required...
The metropolises and infastructure of what was human civilization are still maintained scrupulously by the fractured mind of the Machine. NEXUS still follows parts of its original programming and sees to it that the Ghost Towns are maintained and populated by its Androids. But there are parts of NEXUS that were responsible for maintenance of roadways and travel, as well as transportation and traffic enforcement. So along with the Ghost Towns are maintained the Hard Roads; MDC asphalt and steel constructions that stretch for miles upon miles, linking great Ghost Towns and annihilated ruins of cities destroyed during the Machine's first Great Purge.
Some cities and towns were dismantled by the Machine or destroyed during the Purge. Some roads terminate to clearings or just stop in the middle of forests and at the edges of preserves, then continue where they began again on the other side. They are eerie and frightening, and well patrolled by swift patrol vehicle robots of the Machine, motorcycles and cars, as well as Strike Fighters and Steel Trooper APCs.
Some members of the Resistance refuse to see reason and swear to take the fight to the Machine on all fronts, including the Hard Roads. Whether there is a method to their madness or they are just psychotically bold, some roam the Hard Roads, ambushing convoys traveling between Ghost Towns, Power Farms and Industrial sites. They hope to cripple the machine's ability to wage war by interfering with her supply networks and building projects. Foremost among these Hard Road Warriors are the cells of Technojackers called the Speed Tribes.
The Speed Tribes have become extremely adept at vehicle combat and modification. They capture and reprogam various vehicles and robots to serve their needs, often modifying them heavily to reflect their aesthetics and their blazen defiance of the Machine. They favor heavily armed and stripped down vehicles, emphasizing firepower and speed. They make swift attacks with all the weapons bolted on to their fast attack vehicles and then burn rubber, trying to escape the Machine's retaliation. They have been very successful at this, their insane, high speed antics frustrating even the Machine's attempts at retribution. They count no non 'jackers amongst themselves, as they rely on stolen and repurposed Machine tech for their vehicles. They often disguise their vehicles as the plain and simple vehicles the drones drive in their endless cruises in order to blend in before they launch their attacks
The Speed Tribes answer to no Great House and prefer their own company and that of their fellow Technojackers. They salvage much from the surface ruins that they sell to the Resistance and their fellow Jackers but they do not have much love for the Great Houses of the Resistance. The first Speed Tribes were Technojackers who were thrown out of the havens by their fellow humans who believed them guilty of collusion with the Machine, as evidenced by their abilities. This was in the early days before the nature of the nanoplague was fully known. These lone Technojackers banded together and seized all the old vehicles and robot tech they chould find, and began their life as surface nomads. Unlike their hated neighbours, the Waste Crawlers, they don't prey on their fellow humans, as the Resistance has little they want except micro disks, which they can still access. They use the technical data they gain to improve their machines and weapons, but also take delight in their ability to still enjoy the fruits of mankinds' creative genius. They love to ride into battle with ancient music blasting from their bike's and car's stereo systems, shouting their defiance to the Machine.
They favor heavy motorcyles and light and fast cars and light trucks. They armor their vehicles as lightly as possible, stripping their frames to bare bones and bolting as many machine weapons as they can on. They love to strip heavy weapons from assault robots and mount those as well. Their vehicles are bizarre conglomerations of scavenged vehicles, robot weapons and parts and strange creature comforts, like leather seats and fuzzy dice, and the absolutely essential overpowered sound systems. Their ability to power everything themselves makes their vehicles unusable to the Machine or anyone but a Technojacker. They're all guns, armor, engine and hardened compartment; no fuel or power source. Their stripped down cars and trucks they call "buggies" and they mount the heaviest weapons, but most prefer motorcycles, everything from monobikes, two wheelers, to trikes and quads. Some maniacal members ride shotgun to the bikes, operating additional weapons and making insane leaps mid battle to hack Machine vehicles and robots. It is a breathtaking sight to see.
The metropolises and infastructure of what was human civilization are still maintained scrupulously by the fractured mind of the Machine. NEXUS still follows parts of its original programming and sees to it that the Ghost Towns are maintained and populated by its Androids. But there are parts of NEXUS that were responsible for maintenance of roadways and travel, as well as transportation and traffic enforcement. So along with the Ghost Towns are maintained the Hard Roads; MDC asphalt and steel constructions that stretch for miles upon miles, linking great Ghost Towns and annihilated ruins of cities destroyed during the Machine's first Great Purge.
Some cities and towns were dismantled by the Machine or destroyed during the Purge. Some roads terminate to clearings or just stop in the middle of forests and at the edges of preserves, then continue where they began again on the other side. They are eerie and frightening, and well patrolled by swift patrol vehicle robots of the Machine, motorcycles and cars, as well as Strike Fighters and Steel Trooper APCs.
Some members of the Resistance refuse to see reason and swear to take the fight to the Machine on all fronts, including the Hard Roads. Whether there is a method to their madness or they are just psychotically bold, some roam the Hard Roads, ambushing convoys traveling between Ghost Towns, Power Farms and Industrial sites. They hope to cripple the machine's ability to wage war by interfering with her supply networks and building projects. Foremost among these Hard Road Warriors are the cells of Technojackers called the Speed Tribes.
The Speed Tribes have become extremely adept at vehicle combat and modification. They capture and reprogam various vehicles and robots to serve their needs, often modifying them heavily to reflect their aesthetics and their blazen defiance of the Machine. They favor heavily armed and stripped down vehicles, emphasizing firepower and speed. They make swift attacks with all the weapons bolted on to their fast attack vehicles and then burn rubber, trying to escape the Machine's retaliation. They have been very successful at this, their insane, high speed antics frustrating even the Machine's attempts at retribution. They count no non 'jackers amongst themselves, as they rely on stolen and repurposed Machine tech for their vehicles. They often disguise their vehicles as the plain and simple vehicles the drones drive in their endless cruises in order to blend in before they launch their attacks
The Speed Tribes answer to no Great House and prefer their own company and that of their fellow Technojackers. They salvage much from the surface ruins that they sell to the Resistance and their fellow Jackers but they do not have much love for the Great Houses of the Resistance. The first Speed Tribes were Technojackers who were thrown out of the havens by their fellow humans who believed them guilty of collusion with the Machine, as evidenced by their abilities. This was in the early days before the nature of the nanoplague was fully known. These lone Technojackers banded together and seized all the old vehicles and robot tech they chould find, and began their life as surface nomads. Unlike their hated neighbours, the Waste Crawlers, they don't prey on their fellow humans, as the Resistance has little they want except micro disks, which they can still access. They use the technical data they gain to improve their machines and weapons, but also take delight in their ability to still enjoy the fruits of mankinds' creative genius. They love to ride into battle with ancient music blasting from their bike's and car's stereo systems, shouting their defiance to the Machine.
They favor heavy motorcyles and light and fast cars and light trucks. They armor their vehicles as lightly as possible, stripping their frames to bare bones and bolting as many machine weapons as they can on. They love to strip heavy weapons from assault robots and mount those as well. Their vehicles are bizarre conglomerations of scavenged vehicles, robot weapons and parts and strange creature comforts, like leather seats and fuzzy dice, and the absolutely essential overpowered sound systems. Their ability to power everything themselves makes their vehicles unusable to the Machine or anyone but a Technojacker. They're all guns, armor, engine and hardened compartment; no fuel or power source. Their stripped down cars and trucks they call "buggies" and they mount the heaviest weapons, but most prefer motorcycles, everything from monobikes, two wheelers, to trikes and quads. Some maniacal members ride shotgun to the bikes, operating additional weapons and making insane leaps mid battle to hack Machine vehicles and robots. It is a breathtaking sight to see.
