Rapid City
Rapid City is the center of the Federation’s industrial heartland. Situated in the foothills of the Quinn mountain range, Rapid City overlooks the Fossenwood and the Byerst Plain. The city is blessed with a temperate climate and mild weather. Despite its high level of industrialization, Rapid City’s environment is relatively healthy due to the city-state’s unusually severe pollution laws. The sprawling metropolis is the focal point of the UMF’s military-industrial complex; chief among the military contractors is Northco, the manufacturer of the Hunter and Jaguar Gears. The city is also the main manufacturing site for most Northern military aircraft and landships.
Since most of Rapid City’s military contractors are automotive and aerospace firms, it is also the center of the UMF’s civilian vehicle production. Also located here are the headquarters and central yards of Federated Railways, a powerful private rail corporation. In midsummer, the city sponsors the Rapid City Motor Expo. Hundreds of new vehicles, both military and civilian, are marketed and sold at this trade show. The purchase of military vehicles is restricted to Northern governments, friendly Badlands city-states and recognized soldiers-of-fortune (read pro-North). The Expo attracts thousands of sightseers and business people every year, creating a temporary boom in the city’s weak tourist industry.
From a military standpoint, Rapid City is important because it houses the main production facilities for Northco as well as many other key industrial assets. Along with Ashington, Rapid City is also the port of call for much of the UMFA’s landship resources. Although the UMFA does not field a huge number of these mammoth ground effect vehicles, even a small number of the ships account for a great deal of armed might. This gives enemies yet another reason to target Rapid City. The defenses of the city include the presence of two complete brigades from the UMFA as well as additional Northern Guard forces. The city itself is surrounded by a 35-meter wall with gun emplacements. The wall, however, only protects the old city, the industrial core of Rapid City. The residential areas that have grown up outside the battlements are less well defended.
Despite the presence of so many soldiers, average citizens are more aware of the many corporate security agencies that defend industrial facilities from espionage, theft and sabotage. Northco’s security service is especially visible. It tries to project an image of friendly policing, operating hand-in-hand with the Rapid City Police Department, but the needs of corporate security have led to several incidents of heavy-handed tactics unfortunately broadcast by the local media.