Overview[]
New Twin Falls was built north of the Snake River, across the ruins of the original Twin Falls. It is home to those who scavenge the ruins of the Pre-War city as well as a number of farmers. While the town has a market of its own, of far greater importance, is the sturdy bridge crossing the Snake River, which makes New Twin Falls the easiest point to cross the river for many miles. It has recently been menaced by marauders, so the townsfolk have entered an agreement with The Frontiersmen to provide protection.
History[]
Twin Falls was caught up in the general bombing intended to destroy the greater Boise area. In the immediate aftermath of the war is was hit hard by rival groups of survivors, each intent on claiming anything of use for themselves and not the least bit shy about killing for it. Several decades of nuclear winter, black rain, lightning-sparked fires, terrific windstorms, and other phenomenon did a great job of wrecking the old city. Through it all the bridge spanning the canyon over the Snake River survived, though it's a fair bit creakier and wobbly than it used to be, and a number of holes pockmark its surface, patched up with crude planks of wood and sheet metal by the settlers who arrived some thirty years later.
They came from the countryside, relatives of rural farmers looking for materials and others to trade with. They found the ruined city, and believing it too dangerous to inhabit, decided to set camp on the northern side of the bridge. Passing travelers saw the camp, and it became a marketplace where the local farmers could bring their wares to trade with wandering scavengers and traders.
Frontiersmen To The Rescue[]
The greatest threat to New Twin Fall's continued survival came in 2260, when a far-ranging pack of The Bloodborne attacked some of the outlying farmsteads and chased those they didn't kill into the town itself. The townsfolk were able to drive the crazed raiders away, but only after five people had been killed and a dozen more terribly injured. Vasco Rayes, the town's young mayor and sheriff tracked the Bloodborne to their camp and spied on them. After determining that they intended to return to go back to Boise and raise a larger group and return to wreck further havoc, he consulted with other prominent townsfolk and struck upon a plan to get help. They secured a Mr. Gutsy robot from Snake River Traders & Outfitters on credit, and programmed it to carry a message to The Frontiersmen in Montana. Able to hover off the ground and requiring no rest, the robot was able to make the over 300-mile journey faster than a man.
Abigail Bacher received the robot, who was carrying a white flag, and heard the townsfolk plea for help. She authorized Gustav Rickenbacker to take a force to secure the town and negotiate their pay. Gustav was sent west with some twenty men, a significant allocation of the Frontiersmen's fighting force. The troops got to town in time to entrench themselves. They had hoped to drill some of the locals, but the Bloodborne returned with thirty-five raving lunatic warriors. After a five hour firefight, the raiders morale broke and they ran off to find easier pickings, carrying their wounded with them. The shaken townsfolk were relieved, and lauded Gustav and his men as heroes. They came to a long-term arrangement with the Frontiersmen, who were quartered in town and granted the right to charge a toll for travelers using the bridge. Vasco successfully treated with Gustav for salvage rights of the gear the Bloodborne left behind, which was used to pay off the service charge for the robot, which was returned intact.
A Dagger Against an Empire[]
The next several decades following the Bloodborne incident would prove to be good times for New Twins Falls and her Frontiersmen protectors. The professional soldiers managed to drill a local militia to supplement their numbers in case of an emergency, but it seemed as if it would never come. This peaceful state of affairs would finally come to an end in 2281. The Emperor of the Imperial Realm was determined to take New Twin Falls, or more specifically its intact bridge spanning the canyon over the Snake River to fuel his ambitions of conquest. He knew it wouldn't be easy. The town had strong walls on three sides and cliff face on the other. He knew the Frontiersmen were professionals, capable of fighting off superior numbers and were supported by the armed populace. And his own forces were still recuperating from prior conflicts. He was fairly certain, however, that the people of New Twin Falls knew very little about him or his own forces though, and decided to try and trick them. He sent one force the long way around the river, with orders to draw the people's attention by feigning an attack from the ruins of old Twin Falls. Meanwhile another, larger force would prepare to strike the town while the Frontiersmen were defending the bridge.
Things might have gone the Emperor's way, but there was a wild card he couldn't have accounted for. One of his subordinates leading a scouting foray into the countryside around New Twin Falls discovered a suspicious door underneath the ruins of a gas station. This was in fact the main door to the Bolt Hole of the Dagger Initiative's KR-12 Group. The Bolt Hole's computer detected the intrusion attempt and activated the emergency wake up protocols, unfreezing the team. The disoriented (and perhaps brain damaged) team of Pre-War tough guys had time to don their equipment and embark within their vehicle. When the soldiers broke open the door, the guys took them for hostile and gunned them down while making their escape. KR-12's mission included checking the status of Twin Falls and determining the viability of using it as the basis for a survivor community, so they drove there and saw the town on the verge of being taken by more of the kind of savage looking guys that had attempted to break into their bolt hole. They made the decision to help the town out immediately. Though brave and numerous, the soldiers of the Imperial Realm could do little against a V-150 with a machine gun, blaring out 1980s pop music, and were forced to withdraw.
Economy[]
For many years, the primary economic activity in New Twin Falls was scavenging the much larger ruins of Twin Falls. Even after nearly two hundred years of this, there are still plenty of scavengers, however small, valuable items have pretty much been entirely stripped out. These days, it's more about salvaging construction materials. Southern Idaho has become quite fertile, and many residents of New Twin Falls have turned to farming and brahmin ranching. The town operates related industries such as a grain mill, a slaughterhouse, and tannery which employ the remainder of the townsfolk. Snake River Traders & Outfitters operate one of their general stores here, which pulls triple duty, also serving as a warehouse and hotel. The town wasn't actually prosperous enough to keep the Frontiersmen on retainer, so their deal is that the town provides them with their local Lodge and the Frontiersmen get to charge a toll for non-locals crossing the bridge.