Kahaka

Kahaka
Just pretend all those trees are a beautiful shade of blue.
Faction	House Reticulum
Planet	Aomori
Population	8.3 Million

Built on a semi-circular volcanic archipelago, the city of Kahaka is the industrial center of Aomori. The islands which make up the city are connected by a network of bridges, ferries, and monorails. With space at a premium on the islands, most available space is taken up by interconnected towers and skyscrapers. Those that don't reside in these towers or on tiny private islands dwell in makeshift housing all along the shores of the city, save for a few swathes of public or private beach. Powered by geothermal plants inside the local volcanoes, Kahaka’s manufactories produced most goods not provided to the planet by A.C.R.E. before its dissolution. Many of House Reticulum’s forges and workshops are located in Kahaka, and many of its greatest weapons have been forged in the heat of its volcanoes.

Transportation

A city spanning uni rail system transports most inhabitants of the city from place to place. Private transportation by boat or air is common, and the streets are generally a disorganized mess. Whalecrab howdahs scuttle above massive bridges, and small vehicles move through crowded streets at all levels of the city.

Nobles in Residence

Examples of a few of the more influential nobles in charge of the city are:

• Fumu Guan Reticulum Nguyen Lan (She/Her), a religious firebrand and ardent supporter of the Ecumenical Council on Non-Human Rights.
• Fumu Guan Reticulum Tele Lotu (He/Him), a soft-spoken businessman with connections to the Trilliant Ring.
• Fumu Guan Reticulum Ghuran Muhammad (He/Him), the city's civic leader. A large, boisterous man and an outspoken supporter of House Crux's efforts to rid the sector of synthetic life.
• Kimpurusha 蛇首 Sapani Tama (She/Her), the long-reigning Kimpurusha of Kahaka and a notorious drunkard.
• Shinkan 夾白 Tu Kyung (They/Them), an eccentric smith widely known for their odd religious views regarding the souls of weapons. Kyung is an ardent public opponent of Fumu Guan Nguyen.
• Pishacha 蛇首 Haija Kohen, (He/Him), the aging head historian of the Martial Library of Kūpuna. Keenly interested in the goings-on of the sector, Pisacha Kohen maintains a network of informers across the Empire.
• Daikannushi 夾白 Napitu Bunda (She/Her), one of the youngest members to ever enter the Daikannushi council, at the age of 18. Brash and impetuous, Bunda is a well-known advocate of the Democratic Mandate.
• Rakshasa 蛇首 Kila Kaai (He/Him), a famous duelist and bloodthirsty combatant. Owns several arenas and fighting rings around the city.

Recent History

In 3178, shortly after the beginning of the War Against the Artificials, a factory crew of synthetics revolted and attacked the city. Purportedly under orders from House Cygnus, these synthetic workers destroyed one of the city’s geothermal power plants, causing an explosion which destroyed a significant portion of the city. This explosion claimed over 2,000 lives, and the destruction of the facility caused sweeping power outages for years to come.

Over the next ten years, House Reticulum poured extensive resources into rebuilding the destroyed portions of the city, officially completing reconstruction in 3188 with the grand opening of the Wong Memorial Stadium.

Island DIstricts

A map of Kahaka

1. Alalaga

Alalaga contains Kahaka's primary spaceport. Busy both night and day, the island is filled with the constant noise of ships landing and taking off. Visitors to the city arriving on Alalaga are usually funneled across the Path of Heroes into the rest of the city.

• The Path of Heroes. One of the only examples of Pre-Scream architecture in Kahaka, The Path of Heroes is a massive bridge spanning the distance between the two largest islands in the archipelago. Lining the sides of the bridge are statues of some of the greatest figures and heroes in the history of House Reticulum. On the northern side of the bridge stand the statues of Reticulum's greatest weapon crafters, while the houses fiercest wielders stand on the southern side. Situated at the center point of the bridge, standing on a metal arch one hundred feet above the bridge, is a statue of a man in traditional Reticulum garb. Though time and weather have worn away the statue's exact features, many suspect it to be a statue of the first Astradhari. Urban legend indicates that these statues are robots who will act to protect the city if it is ever in serious threat, but this has never happened in the recorded history of Aomori.

2. Kaitiaki

Kaitiaki is the primary police and military base of Kahaka, as well as a transportation hub from which travelers coming from Alalaga disperse into the city under the watchful eyes of the Crux central station and a joint Aquilan/TKA base known as Fort Cetus.

• Fort Cetus. An Aquilan Legion base set up after the Second Imperial Civil War, in theory, Fort Cetus is jointly held by House Aquila and the Tentara Kerajann Aomori. In practice, however, the fort is almost exclusively managed by the Aquilan Legions, with irregular and disorganized TKA officials visiting occasionally.

3. Hama

Banners, posters, and a plethora of wall art decorate the towers of Hama, where Ghandarva and non-Reticulum artisans gather to create various sundry goods. A great many Lyran artists gather in this section of the city.

4. Kālā

Clean and boring office spaces take up most of the space on this island. A handful of vendors cater to the masses of office workers. moving from place to place, but the district is noticeably bare at most times of the day. At night, however, the streets and bridges of Kālā become a popular place amongst the city's youth to host fights. On occasion, nearby salarymen have been known to join in on this night time tournaments.

5. Uso

Also known as "Tyrtown", the financial district of Kahaka plays host to a heavy concentration of Eridanii residents. Eridanii products line the shelves of local shops, and native Tiber planets dot the bridges and walkways.

6. Kiwili

A mixed commercial and residential island, Kiwili is unremarkable save for some well-known restaurants supplied by local fishermen and mainland farms and plantations.

7. Ngahau

Much of Kahaka's entertainment industry is located on Ngahau. Fighting pits, theatres, gaming parlors, and casinos are spreading out equally along the island. Numerous small-time gangsters run various rackets in this part of the city, but much grander operations exist on Ngahau as well.

• A small group of synthetic sympathists operates out of the Bleeding Edge Casino, actively smuggling synths out of the city and towards the synthetic sanctuary known as The Bastion.

8. Ka Lawai'a

Kahaka's less glamorous commercial district. Goods and services flow through Ka Lawai'a like blood through an artery, rising in quality from sea level upwards. In addition to processing the majority of the city's bulk shipping, the docks of Ka Lawai'a also berth a small fleet of fishing ships.

9. Mount I'a Pua

The iconic center of Kahaka. Workshops, factories, armories, and even temples crowd the slopes of Mount I'a Pua, powered by geothermal energy. Forges encircle the rim of the volcano, protected from its poisonous gasses but still managing to give an excellent view to the crafters who work night and day to create some of Reticulum's most legendary weapons. For hundreds of years, this island has produced high-quality arms and armor, along with many of the manufactured goods not imported to the planet. With the fall of ACRE, factories and manufacturies have been working double-time to produce new goods to fill the gap in the market left by the commercial giant, and many of the corporation's factories on the island were quietly snapped up between the start of The War Against The Corporations and House Eridanus' merger with ACRE.

10. Pahua

The home of the various Fumu Guan and the city Diet Hall. Walled manses and heavily protected compounds house the most influential nobles on Kahaka, as well as their extended clans.

11. Ho'i Kili

Private noble residences cover this island. Tiny parks, opulent apartment suites, and glittering plazas all lend to Ho'i Kili's air of snobbish superiority. Crux officers and private guards patrol the streets here, keeping out the riff-raff.

12. Huatau

Before the War Against the Corporations, Huatau was home to a gathering of corporate offices and headquarters. Following the war all ACRE offices and holdings were shut down, as well as the majority of PRISM's holdings on the island. Between the beginning of the war and ACRE's merge with House Eridanus, most of ACRE's former assets were quietly "appropriated" by local Reticulum businesses.

13. Piha'i

By far the most densely populated of Kahaka's islands, Piha'i houses most of the city's population.

• Wong Memorial Stadium. The Wong Memorial Stadium was named after Gonkannushi Reticulum Wong Jason, a Reticulum noble and factory overseer who died in the 3178 synth uprising. Construction on the stadium began in 3179, finishing in late 3187. Its official opening in 3188 marked the end of the reconstruction process in Kahaka. Sports of all kind are played in the stadium, including Psiball, bouts, duels, and Aomori rules Gridiron.

14. Malihini

Malihini is Kahaka's most diverse island, containing two smaller volcano peaks and the forges that accompany them, Kahaka's Grand Catherdral, and the famous Kahaka Night Market. Most seagoing passenger liners visiting Kahaka dock at Mahilini, and the area around the coast is filled with hotels and other areas businesses related to the tourist industry.

• The Grand Cathedral of Arhat Mercury. Kahaka's primary place of worship is a massive cathedral made of black volcanic stone, giving it a somewhat sinister appearance. Inside, hymns and songs of praise can be heard at all hours of the day as the faithful give thanks to the cathedral's patron arhat, Arhat Mercury. Numerous shrines in the area immediately surrounding the cathedral also honor various Reticulum Arhats and Astradhari.
• The Kahaka Night Market. A famous feature of the archipelago city, the night market is a vibrant open-air market which attracts tourists and shoppers from across the sector. Several specialized fighting pits featuring animals and gladiators from all across Aomori are also scattered across the market, drawing massive crowds that the local vendors happily capitalize on. The organization known as The 14 Red Dogs Society maintained a base of operations in this portion of the city before the end of the war against the Sector Trade Organization (STO).

15. Kūpuna

This quiet and somber island, connected to the rest of the city by a small fleet of traditional antique canoes, is home to Kahaka's tombs and cemeteries, as well as a handful of libraries and museums.

• The Martial Library of Kūpuna. A museum and archive showcasing the Empires long martial history and glorifying its most heroic warriors and cunning inventors. At each of the three corners of this triangular building stands a statue of the three Astradhari of House Reticulum.

16. Ulu o Liia

The main campus of the Imperial Academy of Aomori dominates this island, with student housing and business catering to the student body taking up any space not used by the academy.

• Imperial Academy of Aomori. A prestigious military academy, the I.A.A. has trained some of the greatest Imperial soldiers and engineers in the last decade. The academy offers courses on military tactics and logistics as well as other essential courses not included in traditional Reticulum Education. A small island several miles offshore houses the university's flight school.

17. Kawaii'a

Fine shops and luxury businesses catering to the city's elite populate Kawaii'a, though the island is mostly dominated by the Trilliant Ring.

18. 'Olu'Olu

The Red lights district of Kahaka. Drugs, gambling, and copious amounts of sex are bought and traded on 'Olu'Olu. Recently, resident brothels and bordellos have begun to boast exotic "imports" from Kama.

19. Taikutsuna

Serf housing takes up the vast majority of this island. Clean and compact, a handful of fountains and statues help to liven up an otherwise dreary portion of the city.

20. Poino Ole

Formerly a luxurious neighborhood with deep roots, sabotage during the War Against the Artificials caused several explosions on this island which collapsed multiple buildings and drove away most of its former Reticulum inhabitants. Now, the island functions as a massive slum. Municipal transportation lines move across the island without stopping, giving passengers a view of former luxury apartments turned into tenements and drug houses. Before its collapse, the 14 Red Dogs Society maintained a community center in this neighborhood.

21. Hoʻōliu

A quiet and respectable residential neighborhood, Hoʻōliu is known for its somewhat odd housing situation. Noble, serf, and freemen housing exists in equal measures on the island, allowing social classes to mix in sizable portions. Hoʻōliu and its inhabitants have gained a reputation for egalitarian thinking, though a strong Imperial influence and respect for the Chain of Being mean that no serious social movements have ever arisen on the island.

22. Uliuli Uliuli

The surface of Uliuli Uliuli is covered in closely compacted office spaces, including most of the city's municipal offices. Above these offices, Simo Park sits atop a massive platform, sitting over 100 feet above the sea level and blocking out sunlight on the island below. Named after the legendary third Astradhari, Simo park is a popular spot for festivals and social gatherings.