Re: [DL] (Marshal Talk) Power Groups [spoilers]

[Xotzil@aol.com]

Let's see.

Union Blue:

I don't think a lot has changed there. A majority of the security force is 
probably soldiers with an Agent placed in areas of heavy rival RR activity. 
UB and DR is more about military control than it is about profits. He who has 
Ghost Rock and a good supply of it is going to get a major advantage in the 
war. The profits probably (for now) go towards their RR costs (as has been 
discussed on the RR thread), and any financial gain they get won't be until 
the line itself is entirely complete.

I'd bet the figs for the old P agents are going to stay the same. Only the 
name will change.

Dixie Rails:

I agree with your assumptions. I don't know how much events in Gomorra are 
being absorbed into the GRW storyline, so I can't comment on whether it is 
becoming common practice for known Harrowed to be conscripted in the numbers 
they were in Gomorra.

Wasatch:

Hellstromme Ind owns WR. Wasatch would gain a tremendous advantage if S&R 
sold their line to HI, but one of the two (Smith or Robards, I forget which) 
is refusing to at the moment. Hellstromme has complete control over WR. He 
has also made a deal with the Collegium to share resources (which seems to 
mean that he gives them minimal funding and gets to take a look at whatever 
projects they are working on whenever he wants to).

A small side effect of this is that the pool of Differential Scientists that 
Hellstromme has access to is growing quickly, and he doesn't have to waste 
any of his own time weeding out the poseurs from the artistes. The Collegium 
keeps him abreast of advances, and he can take a direct interest when 
something noteworthy catches his attention.

Bayou Vermillion:

Nope. Black Circle is going to answer those questions for us. Last we heard, 
the Baron was being stymied by Geronimo and the other Apaches. He also seems 
to have a tentative agreement with Santa Anna (see South o'the Border).

Grimme:

Yes. Grimme has sent out small cadres of Lost Angels to harry the Barons for 
quite a while now [Fistful o'Ghost Rock, Lost Angels and several other 
sources]. He believes that the Railroads are the Devil's Own Work, and it is 
this belief that drives most of these Gangs to slow down the expansion.

Far as the Flock goes, there are only two members of the Flock itself that 
appeared to survive the Knicknevin events in Gomorra. Mary the Wanderer, who 
was last seen escaping from an Asylum with a Collegium member, and Elijah, 
who seems to be the Speaker for Grimme in matters pertaining to Gomorra. With 
Elijah came a crew of Grimme's Lost Angels. Who they are and what they really 
want has yet to be seen.

Black River:

Black River is not working with SweetRock. They form a third arm of the Black 
Circle, which appears to consist of the Whateleys, Bayou Vermillion and Black 
Circle railroads. SweetRock is its own entity, and, as yet, barring the fact 
that they want to get rich, we know next to nothing about them.

Iron Dragon:

The Maze Rats are and always have been an arm of Kang, who runs the Iron 
Dragon railroad. They took their marching orders from Red Petals Su. They 
have recently undergone a pogrom of all non-Asiatic folk from their ranks 
(Maze Rats, not Iron Dragon), and I think there is but one left (more out of 
curiousity than mercy, one feels).

We know that Kang has managed to forge an alliance with the Sioux, and has 
been able to build through their lands. Beyond that, we know little.

Santa Anna:

Erm...beyond rumours of a covert operation into his territory (the results of 
which are still at present unknown), we haven't heard very much about SA. He 
was supposed to be getting involved in Gomorra, but the license ended before 
he was really able to.

The shift in the dynamics of the Doomtown factions seems to suggest that the 
Barons want to see how much they can get Grimme to overextend himself. By 
buildling their rails going in both directions, some of the stalls that the 
RRs have run into can be temporarily bypassed. This also forces Grimme (and 
their rival barons) to fight their wars on two fronts as opposed to one, 
pushing their already thin resources even thinner.

Grimme may have found one or two ways around this, as the events in Ghost 
Busters, Rain o'Terror and [the forthcoming and very eagerly awaited] Dead 
Presidents have/will show.

Ghost Creek is still a bit of a puzzle. SOMETHING is going on there, but 
currently, I can't get a lot concrete out of what we've been told.

--Jacques (Chris' friend)