Teslas

Teslas

Located in the Redmond Barrens, built on and around the ruins of the Microsoft campus is Arclight, the home of the Teslas. Originally a small steampunk-themed engineering group, they've constructed a technological marvel in the wasteland. Arclight was originally the location of a large Tesla safe-house from when the group had only about a dozen members, but as the Teslas have grown over the past 12 years it has essentially become a proper town. Arclight currently hosts hundreds of Tesla members and about 3,000 civilians behind walls and turrets erected to fend-off Raider attacks. Arclight has full electrical and utility coverage, even if city mechanics are often seen tinkering with it or bodging new pieces together. Arclight is self-governing under the control of the Teslas.

Vance Wagner-Tesla

Membership in the Teslas requires the sponsorship of an existing member, as well as the passing of several tests, after which candidates earn the right to affix the Tesla hyphenate to their names. The Teslas are currently headed by the young Vance Wagner-Tesla, and his Second-in-command, the mage Lady Crowley-Tesla. Vance spends much of his time in the Tesla Tower, a brass-inlaid tower featuring innumerable Tesla coils constructed using the old Microsoft headquarters as its base, atop which is mounted the largest Tesla Death Ray yet built. Crowley has seniority by several years, but prefers to serve in an advisory role, leaving primary leadership of the Tesla's to Vance's apparently superior technical skill. She is often found in the Clockwork Gardens, a set of botanical gardens built into a ruined skyscraper, each on its own moveable mechanical plate.

Lady Crowley

Tesla's have tech, and plenty of it, cars, mechs, and even a few aircraft known as “Marvelous Dragonflies” all kitted out in Victorian to art deco style and fused with modern flare. They also have membership requirements which require all members to know their way around tech, and a code of conduct which states that all members must look out for each other and civilians. Furthermore, and especially due to the proximity of Raiders, the use of drugs is highly circumscribed, with Psycho being entirely forbidden, its use being an excommunicatable offense. Because it's unsafe to travel the Barrens alone, Teslas regularly organize into caravans to visit the city or ferry back guests. Tesla's often do patrols, and are likely to engage or report on any Raiders they encounter.

Tesla Knight

The “Steampunk City” has become a popular destination in high-fashion, Gothic-Lolita and engineering circles alike, and the Tesla's are at the forefront of a mild steampunk revival. A small number of upscale boutiques have been allowed to open in the community's underground mall and open-air marketplace. Likewise it has received a significant amount of media coverage as the “Jewel of the Barrens”. Most interests are ambivalent about the existence of an undocumented city in the wastelands an hour away from Seattle proper, but those who live within reach of the Barrens are glad to see the Raiders have a natural predator. Furthermore, local businesses are always glad to see Tesla caravans show up from the barrens to do business, as Teslas are invariably clean, smart, and well-mannered.

Teslas have a significant presence in Seattle proper, keeping a few safe-houses and hangouts for extended stays in the city, and as liaisons with other communities. They also keep a number of residences on the outskirts of the Barrens as staging areas for their caravans.

Lone Star still extends little or no coverage into the Barrens, and relations tend to range between cordial and cool, as many view the Teslas as technically a gang. Some megacorps, notably Renraku and Aztechnology see the Teslas as no more than squatters on what is now prime-territory, and have made motions to acquire the real-estate upon which Arclight sits; these efforts have been spotty at best, however tensions remain. Many assume that the Teslas must have some sort of corporate backing to be scratch-building tech and infrastructure out in the Barrens, but the truth of the matter remains a mystery to most.

Teslas are the Nemesis of Raiders