Kenema
Kenema is the motor city of the NLC. As the home of six automotive and defense contractors, including Nova Motors and Shaian Mechanics, Kenema rivals Rapid City as the automotive capital of the North. Kenema is also the site of many smaller manufacturing firms which produce everything from hairbrushes to hand grenades.
Kenema is also one of the unfortunate hot spots of Norlight crime. Keneman street counter-culture is spearheaded by local “bangers,” members of street gangs and the underworld movements who inspire many young followers and poseurs. The Kolson and Forzi cartels are fighting a bloody war through banger proxies and street crime is spiraling out of control. The Keneman Police are fighting the good fight, but they are faced with a growing tide of crime. The elite of the police are the Quick Response Teams (QRTs), highly trained SWAT squads, some of whom use Gears.
In late Summer, Kenema plays host to the Kenema Science Fiction Fair, the largest annual special interest convention on the planet. Over 100,000 fans normally show up, booking every hotel room within a 50 km radius. Popular exhibitions include seminars on alien intelligence, personal anti-gravity devices and teleporters. Even during this summer invasion, local residents are easy to identify due to their high-pitched, nasal accent.
The 42nd Infantry Division of the CNCS is stationed in the Smolensk-Livingstone-Kenema region, sharing its brigades — the 26th Infantry, the 38th Infantry and the 50th Heavy Gear — between the three cities. Of particular interest, the 18th HG Regiment of the 50th Brigade is the proud host of the B Company, the Busybees. These elite Gear pilots have learned the fine art of tackling heavier Gears in unarmed combat and disabling them through their very accurate knowledge of the models they are facing. Called in for those missions where “everything else has failed,” the Busybees dare to go where others fear to tread— or fight. Although not fanatical, they are highly motivated and have a very strong esprit de corps. They will never abandon a fallen companion.