The "Big Three"

Here they are folks, larger than life. They dont get much bigger than this. Just a piece of advice for young adventurers..

"Mess with the best - and die like the rest"

Jeb Delaney

Jebidiah Delaney. He is first person the old man told me about, and has now become the most powerful figure in the world. When I was a boy Jeb was famous, but now he's a god.
Jeb is probably the most ruthless and uncaring person one would ever care to meet, but he can afford to be, because he is also the single wealthiest person on deadEarth. Some call him the ghost keeper, because some that visit Jeb, never return. Those of us who trade with him know that he doesn't keep anyone's soul, but he does bury their bodies. You don't ever want to piss him off unless you consider yourself good in a fight. Anyone that he finds displeasing will find themselves in his arena. That's where people fight to the death, gladiator style. Jeb doesn't believe in killing people outright. After all, where is the profit in that? By sending people to the arena, his soldiers get some entertainment. Good for the morale you know.

Did I mention that Jeb is a trader. In fact, that is where he made all of his $tandards. If you want it, Jeb has it. To think that a person could become so rich starting with only one piece of merchandise. He sold an Apache helicopter that some fool gave him for the price of a trip. All I gotta say is that it had better have been one hell of a trip.

I was lucky enough to be in the same room with Jeb while he was playing a game of Jacobs Ladder. Jeb was winning, as he usually does, but this was more. He wanted to rule his opponent. His opponent, who's name I can't recall, was a young cocky trader from Kansas City. The poor fool had never dealt with the likes of Jeb, and thought he could cheat him. Jeb knew right away what this kid was up to and invited him into the game. The kid didn't know when to quit, and Jeb quickly sapped him of every $tandard he had. Somehow this kid thought he could pull it off and bet Jeb his soul. Not in the sense of the devil and all that, more of a slave trade. Jeb laid down his cards and the kid started crying. I didn't notice that I had started laughing, then Jeb began to laugh. Jeb must have been feeling particularly giving, because he stripped the kid naked and sent him into the wilderness. No arena, no iou, nothing--I couldn't believe it. After that night, I left his complex and never saw Jeb as the ghost keeper again.

Jeb's complex is located just west of what used to be New Orleans. It covers a massive 12 square miles, and houses almost 180,000 troops. Even the Power won't go in there. Word is that his guard leader is a machine, sort of a robot, I guess. I don't really know though, nobody I know has ever seen it; or is it him?

Jeb used to control Kansas City, but the Brotherhood was able to take it from him. Must have been back in the days when he was just a pup. There is no way he would let that happen now. In fact, I hear tell that Jeb has his eye one Kansas City again. If you wander around just south of the city you will see his soldiers, clad in the most vibrant orange you have ever seen.

My advice to you is, if you need something and can't find it anywhere else, your best bet is Jeb. Get what you go there for and get out. Don't linger and don't beat around the bush. Jeb is a lot of things, tolerant is not one of them.

General David Sime

David Sime is a hardass, plain and simple. He is an old infantryman that used his awesome presence to get people to back him. He started the Power just a few short years after the war broke out, made up mostly of World Defence Initiative soldiers. He must have figured if he got an early start, he would be able to take over the world before anyone noticed. He probably would have too if the Raiders hadn't come out with its massive numbers. Not less than a year ago it appeared as though the colosal prick was going to lose, but the tides have shifted. The Raiders have too much internal strife and Sime trains his soldiers well. One of Sime's soldiers could probably take out five or six Raiders.

Hagi Christ (Hay-guy kris-t)

Hagi Christ is a natural negotiator. He has a mental prowess that is unmatched except by one person, Jebbidiah Delany. Many credit the success of the Power to General Sime, but it is not that simple. True that Sime is a great leader, but you cannot build an army without equipment. Hagi, under the protection of the Power, runs the largest trade depot in the world at New Frankfurt, Germany. If you are looking for it, Hagi either has it, knows someone that can manufacture it, or knows how to get it.
Unlike most of the traders I've run into, Hagi is fair, just, and polite. I remember the first time I met Hagi. I was just a boy, maybe just eight years old. My mother worked for him doing a job called "rolling", which basically meant that she sorted through piles of junk and trash that Hagi had picked up on one of his trade deals. One day I asked to come to work with her, I was a big boy and wanted to help out the family. We were sorting through a big pile of scrap metal and my mom gashed her hand. Hagi was not one for loosing good workers, he saw this and immediately bandaged the wound himself. He also went over to a nearby pile of clothing and pulled out a pair of leather gloves for each of us. Hagi said, "These are yours, keep them." It doesn't seem like much, but that is the first time I remember anyone giving us anything.

Also, unlike most of the powerful men in this world, Hagi is not a fighter. Don't get me wrong, he can probably fight, but it doesn't seem to interest him. Instead his conquests lean toward the feminine. He is known throughout New Frankfurt as a ladies man, and that probably gets him into more trouble than it is worth. I remember hearing a story about a woman from Russia that he fell for. She was quite beautiful and very charming. Unfortunately for him, that charm was used against him. She apparently wiggled her way into his heart, and used her guile to extract strategic information from him. Information that apparently lost General Sime a few battles. Word is that Hagi is kept out of the loop these days when it comes to military policy and strategy.

If you are ever by way of New Frankfurt, you've got to stop and check out Hagi's trade depot. Just don't touch anything unless you intend to buy. His guards are mostly former Power soldiers, and they tend to have itchy trigger fingers