Boeing Field or King County International Airport was a bustling airport in Seattle before the Great War, taking flights from both overseas and within the states. However, after the war the airport has long been a den for raiders. Only recently have the raiders managed to organize into King's Council, a somewhat civilized and respectable group that provides "protection" to caravans and groups in Seattle.
| King County International Airport | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Establishment: | 1928 |
| Location Information | |
| Location: | Washington |
| Societal Information | |
| Population: | 800 |
History
King County International Airport was constructed in 1928 to service the Seattle area. It did so for more than a century, becoming especially relevant during the Sino-American War.
When the Great War occured, the King County International Airport was spared a direct hit but suffered nonetheless due to a plane being knocked out of the sky nearby and colliding with the airport. Many people in the airport terminal died or were injured by the plane's impact, and many others subsequently fled outside, most of them soon dying from radiation or transforming into ghouls. The airport was soon abandoned by humanity, left to burn as the world continued to fall apart.
That was until the U.S. Army returned to Seattle in early 2078 and tried to secure it as a last bastion for stability and civilization. A squad of soldiers were sent to King County International Airport to check to see if there were any operational aircraft and to secure it as a base. They found no operational aircraft but did find some working helicopters, albeit without any fuel. The soldiers, following orders, cleansed the area of feral ghouls, set up an outpost in one of the airport's air traffic control towers, and monitored the area from there.
That was until Skull-Taker entered the scene in 2079 and absolutely destroyed what remained of the city of Seattle. The airport was not spared, and the soldiers not killed and eaten by Skull-Taker's followers barricaded themselves in an air traffic control tower, eventually starving to death.
After Skull-Taker left Seattle and things calmed down, the airport was left deserted for generations. People began to fear the airport's wrecked metal behemoths and great towers of stone, thinking of of it as a place cursed by an ancient evil where not even ghouls would go.
That was until three raiders braved the ruins of King County International Airport in 2118. The raiders, Jarl Pi, Charlene, and Magnum Nega, were all friends and saw the ruined airport as the perfect fortress for a raider gang, if it did not kill them. To the raiders' relief, the airport was empty, not even having feral ghouls. So, the three raiders and some more of their friends settled there and became the first raiders to inhabit King County International Airport. Their gang, called the Shanks, were ruled by a triumvirate of the friends. The raiders were very successful in their raiding, robbing caravans, scavengers, and even other raiders.
In less than two years, the airport's population had exploded in size due to the raiders' success and notoriety, topping two hundred. The raiders even let in legitimate merchants to set up shop in the airport, further giving an economic boost.
All that growth made the raiders at the airport enemies with many groups in Seattle, particularly the New Order who regarded the raiders as "mongrel savages". In 2121, a small force of New Order footsoldiers attacked the airport and massacred over one hundred raiders, including Charlene. This threw the airport into chaos as soon the raiders turned on each other, calling each other traitors. By the next year though, Magnum Nega was in charge as warlord of the raiders and had changed the raider gang's name to "the Negas".
The airport and its raiders continued on raiding after that, but things had become much less stable. In 2125, Magnum Nega overdosed on Psycho, and his brother Earl became the warlord in charge. Earl was weak though and was replaced in a year by the more powerful Perez, a former drifter from California turned raider. Perez managed to hold things together for a long time, but the airport's state was still unstable, with numerous attacks from the New Order, mutants, and even other raiders. Perez was killed in 2156 along with all his bodyguards in an elaborate assassination by the New Order again, this time using C-4.
The death of Perez heralded in years of weakness for the raiders at King County International Airport which over sixty years just about degenerated into a den of chem addicts instead of raiders. The power of the raiders at the airport declined even as Seattle developed, and other raiders and super mutants began moving into the area. That was until an ambitious young raider named Fisk rose to power with a dream to bring the raiders glory again.
Taking power in 2235, Fisk outlawed the use of chems within the airport's premises and exiled all the junkies who would not comply. After that, Fisk set about taking advantage of the airport's potential for scrap. He sold tons and tons of scrap to scavengers, bringing great wealth to the airport and himself. At the same time, Fisk focused on eliminating the single largest threat to the airport: the New Order. The New Order, weakened by constant warfare and low numbers, were unable to stand up to the raiders and soon receded back to West Seattle. In 2242, the New Order's commander negotiated a truce with Fisk, even being made to pay tribute. Fisk soon went back on the truce and joined the coalition to destroy the New Order in 2247. They did and the airport's raiders spread their influence into West Seattle afterwards as a result.
After helping destroy the New Order, Fisk became increasingly ambitious, wanting to control all the city's raiders and to expand his influence throughout Seattle. He even took on a pet project restoring a helicopter to working condition alongside a mysterious mechanic named Clarissa. He did this to achieve one of his biggest dreams, to fly. As Fisk was indulging in megalomania, other raider leaders were talking behind the scenes about what to do after Fisk died. They did not want to risk returning to an unstable "warlord" state like they had before Fisk took charge, so they grudgingly decided that sharing power would be the way to go. Fisk was not informed of this conspiracy but did not really care what might happen after he died, so it would not of concerned him much anyway.
Fisk ruled King County International Airport until 2262, twenty-seven years. By that time, Fisk had restored the helicopter and flown, something he had always wanted. However, with the rise of other settlements in Seattle, Fisk's influence had ebbed, and the raiders at the airport had grown restless. Immediately after Fisk's death, the raider leaders, now old themselves, collectively took power and declared themselves to be "King's Council", a coalition of the different raider gangs at the airport under a ruling council. Now with renewed strong leadership, the raiders proceeded to continue Fisk's work of establishing dominance over Seattle's raider scene. The raiders from the airport attacked several enemy gangs and enslaved those that did not run. This happened to coincide with the Oregon Brushfire Wars and establishment of the Block, a slaving town, which King's Council both took advantage of. King's Council, seeing the threat the NCR posed if they came north, sold their captives to the Block and sent quite a lot of funds to aid the Northwestern Alliance. This all turned out to be for nothing, but King's Council had not lost much.
As years went on, the airport became surrounded on all sides by organized settlements and groups. It became harder and harder to simply raid at all without at least some repercussions. So in 2275, King's Council decided to instead pursue a more "peaceful" method of survival: extortion and protection rackets. This has succeeded pretty well so far but has caused many in Seattle to hate the raiders at the airport even more than before, viewing them as parasites feeding off of healthy settlements. The FNA in Seattle, based in Campbell Armory, has attempted to unite the people of Seattle against King's Council as a common enemy, but their efforts have yielded little results so far. The FNA managed to kill large numbers of raiders in the summer of 2283 but have done little since besides the occasional non-committal offensive.
In recent years, King's Council has also set about fortifying King County International Airport against a large organized attack they are sure is coming in the future, most likely from the FNA. These attempts at fortification include rebuilding walls, occupying air traffic control towers, and clearing out junk that could provide cover for attackers. No attacks have come so far, but King's Council is sure they will come, soon.
Government
The airport is ruled by a council of the most powerful raider bosses, who in turn rule their individual raider gangs. The politics of King's Council is rather cutthroat, though members make sure that bloodshed is left in the shadows to keep up appearances. Before the creation of the council, infighting was much more common and often bloody. The rule of the strong is law, and the non-raider residents of King County International Airport are fully at the mercy of their raider overlords. Not slaves though, mind you. Those are around as well but in small numbers.
Economy
The airport's economy is one of a more civilized raider, based around extortion and protection rackets. Most of the place's money comes from there. Some money is made off of more legitimate trade and human trafficking but that is secondary. Also, some of the raiders grow their own food but most prefer pre-War "delights" and food from "feeder settlements".
Culture
The people of the airport are raiders and their culture is raider culture, plain and simple. It is a cutthroat life with Social Darwinism practiced in full force. Women, children, and the eldery are not safe there. However, order is maintained by King's Council, and there is some law.
Layout
The airport is a standard pre-War airport, made up of concrete walls, two asphalt runways, a terminal, and several traffic control towers. It only contains a couple of planes now, most were sold for scrap.
Geography
King County International Airport is located five miles south of downtown Seattle, as it was before the Great War.
Relations
The airport has mostly negative relations with the rest of Seattle, who regard King's Council as parasites due to their "feeder settlements" and extortion. Their label as raiders has never gone away even as they try to legitimize themselves. The Council's newest and most proactive enemy has been the local cell of the FNA, headed by Colonel Chen Song and based in Campbell Armory. This FNA brigade has led a small but determined fight against King's Council in hopes of drumming up popular support but has fallen short so far.
Most caravans either avoid the airport or halfheartedly pay the Council's extortion demands. However, some caravans do come to King County International Airport to trade ammunition and food, two things the raiders always need more. King's Council's participation in the Oregon Brushfire Wars also won them some friends from groups outside of Seattle, but none of their "friends" really know of the group's actions on their home turf.
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