Freedom Falls
| Freedom Falls | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Founded | 2104 |
| Population | 37000 (12000 in surrounding homesteads) |
| Leadership | Matriarch Syranis |
| Planet | Aite |
Freedom Falls is a fiercely independent spaceport town located in a temperate zone on the northern hemisphere of the garden world Aite. It is one of the oldest settlements on the planet, from the initial colonization wave in 2104. Originally an asari research outpost, it has become a flourishing settlement under the leadership of Matriarch Syranis, and it enjoys a reputation as a reliable trading port and a safe haven from the many conflicts that plague Aite.
It is a place where legitimate businesses mix with smugglers, mercenaries and the occasional pirate. In the middle of it all is a civilian population living the frontier-town life. The surrounding area is home to several homesteads, most fairly new. Most food is acquired either from small crop and space cow farms or from hunting.
Like most settlements on the planet it's population is primarily human, although many different species can be found on its streets.
Inhabitants
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Organizations
Geography
Freedom Falls is located in a river valley in the foothills of the imposing Dactyl Mountains. The volcanic mountains serve as a shield against the conflicts of the surrounding city-states and corporations, and the Epimedes River that flows through the town provides power and water, as well giving it its name - the oldest structure in the town, the Syranis Foundation Center, is built atop the waterfalls that mark the eastern edge of town, overlooking the river delta below, which is the source of the wide-reaching Dagessa Wetlands.
History
Freedom Falls was first founded under the name Valarmi in 2104. The original settlers were mostly asari who had traveled to Aite in order to catalogue and collect samples of the local flora, fauna and geology. For many years it was a rather isolated and peaceful research outpost. When the colony declared independence during a brief period of unified leadership in 2133, many of the settlement's inhabitants decided to depart and return to Council space. Several researchers, however, remained, working to preserve knowledge of Aite for future generations.
After losing their research funding Valarmi became little more than a ghost town. In 2142, a minor revival was experienced with the establishment of roads connecting to several nearby city states. This new connection to the wider world of Aite lead to a second wave of settlers, many of the refugees seeking to escape the more unstable areas of the planet. The original research team leader, now de-facto leader of the whole town, settled into her new role well, and a number of construction projects began. Freedom Falls soon grew into a major trade hub for the region. After a disastrous raid from a local warlord in 2149, a town militia was established, with arms and training supplied by a Terminus Systems security firm, as to not take sides in any of the planetary conflicts.
Things remained largely the same until the arrival of humans into the galactic society, which brought a renewed interest in Aite. A large number of human corporations and colonists arrived on Aite in the years following the conclusion of the First Contact War. Freedom Falls received the attention of several smaller corporations looking to profit off of Freedom Falls' status as a trading hub, or to extract Aite's resources without establishing their own independent settlements. The population of the town increased greatly in the following years and the humans were soon a majority and it wasn't long before the original asari name of Valarmi faded into disuse in favor of the new human name of Freedom Falls. The town grew a reputation as a haven of peace and trade on a dangerous world, remaining neutral in all major conflicts and becoming one of the most important spaceports on the planet.
