Savage Fallout - East Coast: South - HOTlanta and Stockyard

This will begin my overview of the main cities in the East Coast Fallout world. Being from the South, I'm starting with the various main cities located there, as I am more familiar with them than I would with, say, New York. So, let us begin with the remnants of Atlanta - HOTlanta.
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HOTLANTA -

Located 30 miles south of Stockyard, Hotlanta was once known as Atlanta, Georgia. It was once one of the largest cities in the south and very prosperous. Most notably, it was the location for the Center for Disease Control. This office was the main reason for the higher survival rate of the surrounding areas when the New Plague hit in the mid 2000's. Bold, experimental drugs were used on the willing populace, some of which worked well... others were almost worse than the plague itself. Though the CDC's efforts did produce fruit, the population still took a massive dive, wiping out over half of the city's people.
Then, in 2077, the bombs fell. Atlanta took a massive bombardment, most thought due to the CDC, and the city was laid waste. The once proud city of the peach was now so much rubble. Everything within the perimeter of I-285 was gone, leaving only the barest remnants of a city. Outside the perimeter, what wasn't destroyed by the blast wave was left to rot when the fallout began to show. The dwindling population fled to the four corners, some settling in nearby Woodstock, others going farther... many were never seen again.
The area now known as HOTlanta is easily seen by day or night, due to the glow. The radiactivity is still quite high (treat as high radioactivity within the I-285 perimeter and 5 miles beyond, low radiactivity within 10 miles beyond that) and no living thing has been found that could survive in the ruins of the city. There are rumors, however, that someone or something still thrives somewhere deep within HOTlanta, but as of yet, no one has been able to substantiate those claims (more on the rumors in a later post).
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STOCKYARD -

After the bombs fell, Woodstock found itself filled to capacity and beyond. The community had been hit hard by the New Plague and its population was dwindling to near zero by 2077. The outlying peoples had either left the city for larger, more prosperous places or moved inward, partially filling the gap left by the victims of the Plague. After Atlanta was decimated, the city once again filled, though by this time the city boundaries had shrunk to a shadow of their former selves. They also found themselves under siege by worse than famine and radiation... raider gangs, mutated wildlife and newly mutated ghouls driven mad by their transformation. Banding together, the populace fought back, formed a citizen's militia and erected a strong chainlink fence around the city. Later on, some of the populace commented that the fence made the city look like an old auto stockyard. The name stuck and Stockyard was born.
Today, the city stands as a testament to the human spirit. Though under semi-constant attacks by raiders and worse from the south, it nevertheless holds an important position between The Safe Docks to the east, Ham-ton to the west and Daltonville to the north (self-proclaimed "Gate to the North"). Mayor Lucas Blackwell runs the town well, and though some of his critics will tell you he's too easy on law-breakers, Blackwell has little patience for those who would disrupt the peace of his town. The population numbers around 2,000, though this is can be higher depending on how often the trading caravans move through. Several well tended herds of brahmin lie to the north of town in self-contained split pens, allowing the brahmin to graze on the sparse vegetation of one side, then be moved to the other side to allow the hardy plants to regrow and prepare for when the next move occurs. Just east of the pens is the city gardens, which remarkablly are able to provide food to the populace and still have enough overage to sell to the traders. Just how this is accomplished remains the secret of the farmers (will be explored in a later post).
Within the town, one will find Stockyard also boasts one of the better hospitals of the area, with a full time doctor, Gareael "Doc" Gonzales, and ten full time nurses. The Fort Inn near the center of town almost always has rooms for weary travelers, who are greeted by the friendly, but stern, Jim "Bruiser" Brewster. For those with deeper pockets, a stay at Stiles' House of Luxury, owned by Rupert Stiles, should be just the ticket, boasting fully private rooms, gambling and guaranteed hot running water. For any tool, weapon or other needs, the best selection sit in Ace Wares, run by Nole "Ace" Finny. His father Jonas is the head of the farmers and the two share a rocky relationship only maintained by the business between the two. Though Ace will tell visitors that the stock is sub-standard, L-Mart, Hugh Chamber's supply shop, has a decent selection and a larger browsing area. There are several restaurants, which serve a selection of vegetables, brahmin meat and lizard-on-a-stick.
The town militia are considered by much of the populace to be the most important fixture of Stockyard. Numbered around 200, with a reserve of 150 that acts as the police force, the militia serves as a barrier to the rampant raider gangs that live not 10 miles away in the South Ruins. The head of the militia, "General" Clayton Coker, runs the militia as well as can be expected. There are 24 hour patrols along the south fences, all of them well-armed and ready to give their lives to protect the townspeople. All told 100 men in 12 hour shifts keep the ruinous forces at bay. Along the rest of the fence, two pairs of guards hold each entrance... west, east and north. The rest of the fencing and out to 1 mile is patrolled by 74 members of the militia in 8 hour shifts. Finally, 20 militiamen and women keep the city gardens and brahmin herds as safe as possible. Within the city, the reserve members act as the city police. Led by Kyrie Laaw, the police keep the peace 24/7. Lately, the SPD has had their hands full with increases in crime around the Hawks' domain. This increase, while unsettling, doesn't worry Captain Laaw... yet.
But not all is as nice as Mayor Blackwell would like. Stockyard has its share of problems. One of these is Edwin Quinn, the local trade ambassador. It's well-known, though rarely spoken of, that Quinn has his eye on the position of mayor and sometimes works with the less polite portions of the populace to cause trouble for Mayor Blackwell. The most notable of these is his right-hand man, Lobo Reese, leader of the Hawks, a local gang. Quinn maintains that Reese is merely a bodyguard and his gang security for Quinn's offices. But, members of Reese's group have on more than one occasion been tossed in the jail for attempted burglary, assault and worse. It remains to be seen how the power struggle will play out.
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As for my game, it will revolve around Stockyard for the beginning. I'll also post session summaries and any world developments as I continue working on the setting.