Editing Blue Planet Campaign Frontier Justice (section)

== '''RIO BRAVO''' ==

Rio Bravo is a Colonial settlement on the southern shore of the third largest island in the New Hawaii chain, Oahu. The town is 993 Kilometers Northwest of Atlantis or about a four hour flight via standard patrol jumpcraft with a range of 900 Km, including the routine stop over at the Incorporate Headquarters City/Platforms of Biogene about three hours and 738 Km into the trip to refuel.

The town sits at the confluence of the Rio Bravo River, which flows out of the heavily rain forested mountain ranges to the north on the islands interior dominated by the dormant volcano Kiluea at 2550 Meters elevation and the Los Isolotes Straights.

The origenal colonial settlement began in the early days of the Long John Rush in the nineties, before the Incorporates came to New Hawaii, as a small base of operations and rest and relaxation for the many independant prospectors that used to prowl the Kaui reef in surface and submersible craft. Its heyday as a rough and tumble lawless frontier town was from 2190 through 2195, before Biogene arrived and built its massive sea surface platform/undersea city of Cliffside on the continental Shelf of the Kaui Reef and began to dominate the Long John Prospecting.  In the years since only a few stubborn independants and small time outfits have managed to hold out and continue to use the port facilities as a base of operations for prospecting.  In the last four years, Rio Bravo's economic base has shifted towards traditional farming along the cleared slopes up river from the town, providing much needed foodstuffs to support the needs of the huge population living on the platforms and habitats of Biogenes largest and most prodcutive Long John prospecting and processing facility, as well as its planetary headquarters.

The town consists of its older section, with its shallow harbor suitable for medium draft water craft, docks and warehouses along the shore and west bank of the Brave river. A fishing cannery and the old dillapidated and long abandoned Long John refining facility can be found along the beach near the water as well. Up from these facilities, River Street runs along the West bank of the broad and shallow river. Along the oldest street with access to both water craft along the river and vehicular or foot traffic are all the old establishmnets on stilts of the former boom town, mostly a series of combination saloons/casinos/brothels that still cater to the independent prospectors as well as the crews of the supply vessels running to and from Cliffside, and Rio Bravo's own long shoremen and sizeable community of terrestrial farmers and the support network of commercial enterprises that has grown up around the thriving town. Its buildings meander out from river street in no discernable pattern as the rich alluvial plains here have been cleared of tropical rain forest for both structures and to grow the crops that support many thousands of Incorporate employees to the south.  Farms of terrestrial crops hardy enough to grow on Poseidon as well as native crops such as the Poseidon Potato or "Popo"  dot the surrounding countryside and can be found as far 20 Km up river from the town proper.  Most farmers own at least one cargo hovercraft, using the river as a highway to transport goods and crops to town and back.  The town and scattered farms support a population of nearly three thousand persons.  They get their power from a small fusion power plant run by Biogene, who also maintains a corporate office for conducting trade with the locals as well as managing the Company's other interests in town.  It is no secret that the leadership at Cliffside would like to annex the town and make it part of the ever expanding corporate interests of Biogene Poseidon, however there are forces within the town, especially its seemier side that actively oppose annexation. 

There has never been a permanent Law Enforcement presence to date in Rio Bravo, although the more civilized of the towns folk and farmers have been clamoring for the GEO to provide one as of late.  The GEO's HCC does provide a communications tower And Sattelite uplink relay at the top of a winding dirt road  up Hellbender Hill to the northwest of town 4 KM, and staffed by two GEO HCC personnel. Their small compound, composed of several cabins made of idustrial grade fast fungus resistant bioplastics was built with visitors in mind  and can comfortably house up to eight personnel. Located between the Hill and town proper sits the indepenantly owned and operated landing field for VTOL/jumpcraft.  The facility does a brisk business in cracked Hyrogen fuel for the many flights that use Rio Bravo as a refuel point on the way to all points of the compass. The nearest structure to the landing fields is the Kaui Arms motel.

The eastern Bank of the Rio Bravo fans out into more of a traditional delta and wide tidal swamp extending some five Km at its widest point and is a maze of narrow channels of brackish water and densely forested islands. The area is infested with Hellbenders, hence the name of the hill as well as no small amount of Grendels that prowel the marsh at night.

Of course the real money to be made in Rio Bravo is in the clandestine Pharium crops that are grown in the hilly jungle clearings farther up the Rio Bravo and slopes of the Kiluea range. Its said the strain derived Pharium or "Derivative" or just "K-D" as its known on the street, that grows on these hills has some of the highest euphoric inducing content and is sought after by buyers at least as far south as Haven. If the rumours are to be believed, the Gorchoff Syndicate has many growing and smuggling connections among the small time producers in the area and are highly protective of their interests here due to the lucrative nature of this cash crop.

Bar and nightclub