Petrópolis is a deserted radioactive ruin, though the regions around it are still sparsely inhabited and forming a refugee crisis for the world. The Commonwealth of Nations has organized an effort at relief services, and is attempting to provide a framework for government in the ensuing chaos. It was the capital of The Petrópolis Free State.

Once a town filled with parklands and a reputation for a wild nightlife, the town has not been heavily industrialized since the collapse of the Selich Empire in 2860. Locally brewed liquors were its most famous export. The market was also somewhat famous as a black market, where gold bullion spoke as the currency of the realm, though barter was also common, particularly in the form of “Brass Tax”, or bullets. Leather goods, clothing, alcohol bio-fuels and simple tools (shovels, bicycles, and carts) were commonly produced fro export in small, single family workshops.

The community was destroyed by twin nuclear explosions that took both the central fortress and surrounding urban community with it, for kilometers in every direction, though the bulk of the blast was contained by the hardened walls of the fortress itself. Today, the site is haunted by lone salvagers operating with environmental suits, trying to find industrial tools and other valuable goods to bring out of the city, and which Grupo Petrópolis pays top coin.

Grupo Petrópolis : A large conglomerate opened for operation in late-3029, the company has connected six (6) small independent breweries among the city into a single conglomerate. The company brews a series of vodka, beers and purified water, that is widely exported across the local region under the unified “Crystal Nova” brand. The company quickly expanded its production, and is making great sales, mostly promoting its products to national sports events in Buntar.

In mid-3030, the company folded the local munitions plant under its wings, and continues to churn out munitions from recovered brass casings. Known as the “Bullet Farm”, it is located south-east of town, and is prone to minor explosions. Grupo Petrópolis converted this site into a minor manufacturing site in late-3030, adding various armored facilities for its munitions manufacturing, as well as the Taurus GTA Carbine taken from San Marcos early in their invasion and raid of the San Marcos military complex. it produces the weapon for the new territorial militia and other private interests, and security is controlled by the Company of the Rose.

The destruction of the city affected the operations of Grupo Petrópolis little, as the bulk of the blast was confined to the urban sprawl around the fortress. Nonetheless, there are still concerns about long-term exposure, as well as fallout poisoning the local spring water. The organization is presently examining its options, and seems to have mothballed its brewery equipment for the time being, though they still sell munitions to local scavengers and nearby security forces in Buntar.

Petrópolis Castle : The old imperial palace of the Selich family, the site was converted into a museum, the “Museu Imperial” (The Imperial Museum of Terramatrix), and its original ferrocrete walls and many ancient furnishings and other treasures were preserved. The focus of these efforts was the cathedral in the castle, and another was the “hospital wing”, which provided the best medical care in the region.

Long dominating both the community and nearby region, the fortress served for many years as the government headquarters of the local military forces, and was filled with vehicles, fuel and munitions in support of whichever military force held the castle.

The nearby central electrical plant was destroyed in the attack, and along with the fortress itself, both remaining a silent host to the ultimate destruction that technology can provide.

Military Forces

The fortress provided ample facilities for a variety of military forces over the years, starting with the forces of the Selcich dynasty, through the various Marcosan garrison forces, until the occupation of the town and region by Buntar in late-3028. In 3031, the fortress and city fell to revolutionary forces from the Bloody Hand of Marcosa, and, for a time, their hired mercenaries, the 7th Cavalry – “The Iron Ponies”, until they were forced to retreat by the new government.

Only a few weeks after this, the new militia forces, backed by a number of independent mercenaries with ties to the old Defiants mercenary company of Prince Karishal Monitor, leader of the Bloody Hands, the fortress and town were devastated by twin nuclear blasts, and destroyed. Today, the ruins of both city and fortress mark the hubris of using the ultimate in deterrence, nuclear weapons.

The town and region are now the haunt of lone scavengers, and careful patrols by forces under the command of The Commonwealth of Nations, who scour the edges of the devastated landscape, trying to keep the territory neutral and out of the control of outside forces.

History

The city of Petrópolis was once the capital of the Dumassas Empire, a multi-generational realm that united the planet under the charismatic and ruthless Selich family of tyrants (dating roughly from July 18th, 2830, until its destruction by BattleMech raiders in 2860.

After decades as a semi-autonomous state within the bulwark of San Marcos, it was the latest in conquests by Buntar from that collapsed nation-state, eventually falling under the control of the terrorist organization the Bloody Hand of Marcosa. On February 28th, 3032, the city suffered a devastating twin nuclear device explosion, which shattered the central fortress, and destroyed the capital, forcing its inhabitants to flee into the surrounding rural regions.

Following the rebuilding efforts in mid-3025, the local junta was contacted by an off-world force that supplied military supplies, BattleMech and armor support troops and even small tactical nuclear devices in the form of several ancient Star League HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Warheads. After the military of the city used them to thwart recent advances by The Republic of Buntar, the combined military’s of Sangria and San Isabel hired the Iron Dingoes to drop on the fortress to end their control, on January 6th, 3026.

Capturing most of the citadel’s relics, as well as their advising group aboard the “Cadejo”, they departed, leaving the military to pick-up the pieces and rebuild after choosing a new leader from among their surviving officers. Their ad-hoc hospital was also largely looted and its personnel taken from the site, along with their dependents.

For a short while, the town was considered a valuable industrial town on the border with Buntar, but its forces continually came under raids by a resurgent Buntar military in the region. Most felt that an invasion was soon to occur, pulling the town and its valuable agricultural lands under the shadow of a resurgent Republic of Buntar.

In late-3028, the nascent nation-state was finally invaded and conquered by its rivals in Buntar, using their newest arms in the form of HIMARTs equipped with Inferno rounds. The entire state fell in weeks, and was quickly occupied by Buntar’s military forces. The occupation and assimilation of the nation’s small industrial and agricultural strength was likely to take months, and even a small insurgent force in the nation-state made it a difficult occupation.

After a series of student protests in the city, a massive riot broke out, ending with widespread violence and even fire-bombing of government and military facilities, by the rise of a new organization, the Bloody Hand of Marcosa. On February 12th, 3029, the movement, led by a former MechWarrior Karishal Monitor, developed during an increasingly violent series of protests in the city, leading to numerous fire-bombs and the death of many local government and military targets. They remain a force to be reckoned with in the region.

On January 19th, 3031, the city and its environs were invaded by the 7th Cavalry – “The Iron Ponies”, and within days the local resistance cells of the Bloody Hand of Marcosa rose up and declared themselves in control of the nation. Today, both the military might of the 7th Cavalry, and the militia forces of the Bloody Hand of Marcosa control and protect the region, with that latter force being an indifferently armed band of fairly standard planetary, having equipped themselves from the local armory and taken control of many of their former protectors vehicles and munitions.

On December 14th, 3031, the 7th Cavalry mercenaries both on patrol on the borders and garrisoned at Petrópolis came under attack from the Bloody Hands Militia, using off-world light armor units and a handful of MSK-9H Mackies. The mercenaries took light losses, and retreated out of the state, abandoning their contract, and Prince Monitor took command over the state formally, declaring a new government by his militant Bloody hands Militia, and began an immediate armament and conscription process across the nation.

* “The Iron Dingoes” attacked the fortress on February 28th, 3032 via high-altitude drop, and within a minute of the fight against local militia forces, the twin nuclear explosions erupted, destroying most of the defending force and devastating both town and fortress. Prince Karishal Monitor died in the attack, fighting to the bitter end.

Over the next few weeks, the Commonwealth sponsored a relief effort, with funding from its signatory nations, as well as a large contingent of Iron Dingoes support troops and medical personnel. The site designated FOB “Jericho” is increasingly important to the Commonwealth, and is becoming known as an international aid effort to try and meet the needs of the local survivors and refugees.

While the Commonwealth continues to lead the organizational efforts, they depend heavily on the help of forces from the Iron Dingoes, namely * “The Dead Man’s Hand”, who provide protection over the growing refugee camps, and keep the forces from both Buntar and the Marcosan Mandate at arms length from the territory.