Landing Cove

## Flag

**Landing Cove** is one of the 15 districts of SpookVooper. It is situated on the western coast of Libertia. Its current Senator is Hellodan.

Landing Cove was the original landing sight of the first SpookVooper settlers, but many eventually left after plant life took over the district. After the plant life was under control, a new wave of investment came into the district.

## Etymology

The district was given its name for being the first place on the planet where Vooperian settlers and explorers came ashore.

## History

### First Vooperian Settlers

When charting a course for "SV-3", where to settle was a significant concern for what would become known as "Landing Cove". Although there was disagreement, it was eventually decided that they would settle in the area that would eventually become Port County, Landing Cove. This location was decided because it had a stable temperature compared to the rest of the region, one that would be warm enough to not require too much energy to be wasted on climate control. It was also detected that large veins of crystallite were exposed on the surface nearby, as well as access to the ocean and nearby freshwater and a central location upon a peninsula. All of these factors put together made it an optimal position for settlement.

The initial wave of colonization was incredibly daunting, with settlers being on a spacecraft for 7 long years. Miraculously, they managed to make it safely to their intended destination with very little issue. The location they dropped was completely barren, but less than 10 kilometers from the ocean. The settlers began referring to the area as Landing Cove, a name that has stuck around to the modern day. While it was certainly no resort, colonists were ecstatic to finally be off of the ship, and mesmerized at the idea that they were the first humans to colonize another planet.

Living for these first few settlers was difficult, but not impossible. Besides the content of atmosphere, the settlers had everything they needed to survive and feel comfortable. They described their time during those days as the hardest thing they had ever had to do, but also extremely rewarding. For the first year on the planet, it was necessary for settlers to work nearly constantly to sustain and grow the colony. Over time, they noticed that they had more and more time to do what they wanted to do. Free time was often spent play games, making art, or exploring the surrounding terrain. As more and more waves of settlers arrived over the years, their humble few structures grew into a full town. They decided to name their town Port City, due to it's proximity to the coast and the fact that docks were being constructed at the time.

Over the next year, all of the essentials were dealt with, and people could focus more on bettering their living conditions. Travel between structures was made safer, allowing for community services to begin to be developed like a full time hospital and a church. By this time, the population of the planet was well into the thousands, and the first children began to be born on the planet. A second town was established much further inland, which was named Portia after the first. With their needs dealt with, the citizens could focus on their primary objective.

Around this time, a man named Jacob arrived with a new company known as Vooperian Technologies. His engineers led the various settlement of Spookvooper in a massive project to start extracting metals and crystallite and sending them into orbit around the planet's moon. Finally, in April of 2045, their project was complete. The Crystallite Warp Gate, which would allow a new, significantly larger wave of colonization to the planet.

### Growing The Settlements

After the opening of the warp gate, there was also a new wave of investment into Landing Cove. With these new investments, Port City became the largest port and Naval base on the planet. It's location on the western section of the peninsula allowed it to be an easy way to access all of the Cove and push further development. However, at the time oxygen assistance was still required on the planet due to very sparse plant life. This was one of the main stifles of early development.

Almost 5 years after the opening of the Warp Gate, a proper government was established on SpookVooper. With control of the planet being split between 15 districts all under one Imperial government and Senate. Due to many of the districts of SpookVooper being located thousands of miles away, Landing Cove slowly weakened as the trade and colonization hub it once was. Ships leaving from Port City were only able to access two other districts, while ports in Eastern Libertia could access many more. Port City remained the most important city in Landing Cove due to its central location within the Cove Sea, but slowly faded into irrelevance on the planet wide scale.

After the forming of the Senate and the Districts, there was peace for a while. However, Lanatia seceded from the Empire less than two years after its formation. By many original colonists of Landing Cove, this was seen as an opportunity. With conflict stirring in the east, many were much more willing to stay in the more rural Landing Cove. The population grew slightly faster, and Port City was established as a safe hub for creating Naval vessels far from the conflict.

This economic boost was a great source of income for the district, and served as a good source of employment for unskilled citizens in Landing Cove. However, the population still did not grow as fast as some were hoping. Many citizens were hesitant to have children due oxygen assistance still being required on the planet. If the oxygen got cut off, so did the entire population, and many were not willing to subject their children to that. However, a solution was on the horizon.

One of the forefront genetic engineering companies of the time, Libertia Biomedical Institute, typically referred to as LiBio, began working on a solution. The trees of the time were growing slowly, and there were too few citizens across the planet to invest in large scale planting efforts. So it was decided that new flora must be created.

### First Flora

LiBio had created plants that would be able to rapidly produce oxygen and grow quickly, even in the harsh Vooperian atmosphere and rocky soil. After a promising proof of concept in Novastella, much larger projects were to be conducted in Ardenti Terra, Kogi, and on the island of Centrico, but most importantly Landing Cove. It was to be the site of the largest and most ambitious of these projects, since many predicted that it had all of the right conditions to support what would be a dense tropical rainforest back on earth. In 2054, the project was finally put into motion.

The results of LiBio's work were remarkable, as residents marveled at the small patches of grass and shrubbery that dotted the landscape that was barren just a few weeks before. Within just a few months, one might believe they were looking at prairie back on earth if they didn't know better, and by the two year anniversary of the project, almost the entire district was grassland and scattered trees spotted large portions of the Landing Cove countryside. At the same time, LiBio began to genetically engineer small insects that could survive in the Vooperian atmosphere.

During this time, Landing Cove became one of the most desirable districts to live, if for nothing other than the fact that it reminded people of home. Tourism increased massively, and parks were set up by the Landing Cove government. At this time, an architectural movement emerged to try and make buildings and infrastructure as earth-like as possible. This movement was especially popular in Portia, and because of it ended up passing Port City as the largest city in Landing Cove. With the explosion of population in Landing Cove, other cities also began to be settled and grew along the coast. Reformations were also made to the district government, with a more permanent representative democracy being established in the form of the Governor and Cogent Cove Congress.

At the same time, technology in other oxygen-producing sectors was expanding rapidly, such as algae and synthetic oxygen production. At the rate things were going, it was expected that the atmosphere would be safe in about 100 years. However, in 2059, the Emperor shocked the world by announcing his plan to complete the project by the year 2100, and said that it was very possible with the trajectory of technological progress in the sector. LiBio and Jacque Elje knew that if they wanted to continue being a significant portion of the planet's oxygen production, they needed to step up their game and fast. They created a new generation of fast-growing plants using a gene they referred to as the HASTI gene, and Landing Cove once again became ground zero for their testing.

Their results were good, almost too good. By 2061, significant portions of Landing Cove were filled with dense forests and jungles, and many within the district were voicing their skepticism. in one instance, a tree grew next to the home of a mother and her baby. The tree eventually collapsed, and crushed the mother and her baby alive. This event sparked outrage, and a few weeks later the Cogent Cove Congress decided to cancel all existing contracts with LiBio. Unfortunately, it seemed by that point the situation was already out of control.

### Overgrowth and Exodus

The genus of fast-growing plant life created by LiBio continued to spread rapidly. A variety of plants were given the HASTI gene, and all of these plants were planted at the chosen sites. The new plants were given very little testing prior to their use due to the desperation of LiBio to stay in their contract with the Landing Cove government. The HASTI plants quickly turned peaceful grassland from the last generation of tests, into sprawling forests and jungles that quickly outcompeted the previous generation. Area that once was designated as a future place for settlement was a sprawling grassland one month, and a dense jungle the next.

It is said that one settlement within Seaside County was completely consumed in only two weeks. At first, grass moved into the village, sprouting through cracked roads and in some cases, through the floors of homes. As the grass grew taller, some residents attempted to control it. Other residents of the village chose to flee, knowing the impending fate of the village. Soon after, bushes began to sprout and the roads vanished. Homes were nearly impossible to reach or exit due to the mass of bushes and tall grass. The fate of all residents who chose to remain was sealed when the trees arrived at the district. All infrastructure in the district was destroyed, and it was impossible to leave. Residents slowly ran out of food as their homes slowly were invaded by writhing vines and sprouts coming through the floors. Some residents were crushed by the branches of weak trees, while others starved.

The Cogent Cove Congress began immediate plans to try and limit the growth of the HASTI plants, and requested the help of LiBio to try and limit the damages. LiBio chose to agree, in the hopes that they would not be sued for as much if they helped to limit the damage. LiBio began trying to develop a new type of vine that would attempt to strangle and limit the growth of the HASTI plants. In the meantime, the Congress signed off on plans to limit the growth as much as possible by using flamethrowers and napalm to destroy square miles of jungle. The methods were somewhat successful in slowing growth, and it allowed enough time for the development of the NEUTRA genus of vine.

After seeing the disaster that was currently unfolding within their district, many members of Landing Cove chose to flee the district. They viewed the Congress as reckless for agreeing to a contract with LiBio in the first place, and had lost their trust However, some residents of cities could not afford to leave, such as in the case of Alcavilla, Seaside County. Once the imminent destruction of Alcavilla was reported, a large majority of residents were able to flee. However, some were forced to escape through other means. Many ships had been abandoned in Alcavilla its reported destruction, and these ships would serve as their escape. In an attempt to make some humor of the bad situation, some residents would refer to the Jungle as the Kraken. Creating a legend that the jungle was sentient, a legend that still lives on to this day. To make this naming more ironic, these residents of Alcavilla would later be named the first Pirates of Landing Cove by modern-day historians.

The population of Landing Cove continued to decline as residents fled from their homes once the jungle approached. Eventually, LiBio was ready to test the NEUTRA, a genus of vine designed to strangle and slow the growth of HASTI plants. The NEUTRA vines were first deployed at one location as the jungle approached Begiton, Cove County. The vines were a success, and the density and expansion of the forest was decreased to a more manageable speed. The NEUTRA vines were later deployed at additional sections of the jungle around Landing Cove. The spread of the jungle did achieve its original goal of making oxygen assistance no longer required, almost 30 years before the goal of 2100. However, it would leave a permanent effect on the district of Landing Cove that would take nearly a century to recover from.

### Golden Age of Piracy

After the Kraken enveloped much of northern Landing Cove, the majority of the most wealthy citizens of those counties fled south, while the poorer citizens who couldn't afford to move were forced to stay. Many cities, such as Port City, were left almost completely abandoned and were ransacked by those left behind. The people raided the town's docks and ships that were left behind, taking to the seas to avoid the Kraken. After the government of Landing Cove abandoned Port City and moved South a new government formed, one set on protecting the ones left behind. This new order of seafaring vigilantes became commonly as the Pirates of Landing Cove.

They grew in numbers living in the wreckage of the town and cities, clearing them up to a decent livability, whilst others took off to inhabit the scattered islands surrounding the mouth of the district. Eventually, others from the south began returning to work on clearing up the region from the overgrowth and re inhabit the cove, but the pirate citizens now despised the ones who left them. With their stolen equipment and vessels, they attacked and stole everything these newcomers had. The more they came the more powerful the pirates got, from a scattered few they pulled together under a law which they called the “Way of The Sea”. The Pirate Fleets of Landing Cove were formed under the protection of their godlike idol, Cordella, who they worshiped as the one who saved them from the kraken-like jungle.

The Vooperian government, agitated at this piracy, sent a few ships to take what they thought would be an underequipped insurrection. Instead, they engaged in a devastating assault against the pirates at the city of Alcavilla, leaving large parts of the city in ruin. After several long weeks of fighting, the power of the pirates surpassed the opposing navy and the invading Vooperian force was vanquished. While many citizens in the north were on the fence about the pirates up until this point, this attack angered them and many began assisting the pirates, who further strengthened their numbers began growing larger and larger. The Pirates, now with modified ships, took off to disrupt any trade from the south as anything that passed Marsh county was at risk of being eliminated.

Meanwhile, at the heart of the Pirate controlled Landing Cove, Portia was rebuilt with the stream of supplies being taken from the south. The docks and shipyards were rebuilt, the homes were cleared and built again, and the city was accommodated to match the tropical climate they now found themselves in in. Some Vooperians in the south saw these people’s piracy as a new found freedom and moved north, taking up careers as sailors, shipbuilders, and merchants. More and more the Vooperian culture was replaced by the pirates way of the sea. After the first 25 years of activity in the region their influence slowly expanded downwards past Falls county, almost enveloping the entire region except for the counties of Coastal, Malake, and King.

As time went on and a couple decades passed, everything fell under control of the pirates, and conflicts began calming down. There was little to no fighting until some people from Far county decided they would go against the others, forming what they called “The Sea Reapers” which would plunder cargo and supplies from other pirates. The Sea Reapers would cause chaos around the northern coastlines ransacking anyone who they seemed not worthy of the seas, and their presence brought back a new age of violence to the Cove. However, their reign of terror on the seas would be brought to an abrupt end with a new threat, one that would unite Reaper, Pirate, and Vooperian alike.

### Zar War

In the initial hours of the Zar invasion, absolute chaos ensued as nobody knew what was happening. One moment, everything was fine, and the next moment, million of star-shaped crafts filled the sky and began destroying everything in it's path. Many thought it was some sort of horrible VTech experiment gone wrong, some correctly assumed it was an alien invasion, and the more superstitious among the pirates claimed it was the wrath of Cordella. In the north, people began to flee into the dense jungle for shelter, while in the South people had no such protection. Many at sea began to sail further into the ocean, meeting up with each other and forming fleets, hoping they could stay at sea long enough for it to blow over.

Compared to most other regions of Vooperia, Landing Cove and especially the pirates fared very well, due to the jungles which they took shelter in. While there was initially fighting between the Pirates and the Reapers, both sides very quickly realized that they needed to put aside their differences if they were to have a chance of survival. A massive group of several thousand people formed and began traveling the jungle. This group was led by Admiral Laza, a legendary sailor respected by both Pirates and Reapers alike. It was said that in one battle, he took out 3 VSS warships with a sloop.

Eventually, after months of exploring and living off the land, they found a suitable location. Deep in the jungle, in the northern part of Riverhedge county, was a large freshwater lake surrounded by fortified hills. The area around the lake had jungle that wasn't as dense, making it possible to clear and begin building shelters. Crucially as well, there was a large cave system nearby where people could flee in the event of a Zar raid. Under the charismatic leadership of Admiral Laza, the people made quick work and a humble town quickly began to take shape. The town of Lazaria was founded.

The legends of a safe haven in the jungle was extremely attractive, and many people from the south took their chances to find this legendary city. Soon, hundreds of refugees were coming to the city every month, mostly Vooperians from the south. While the residents were skeptical of working with Vooperians and letting in refugees, it was decided that as long as they worked and helped the community they would be allowed to say. Before long, Lazaria became one of the largest, most populated, and most prosperous above-ground refuges in Libertia. They began to make weapons that seemed to be effective against the Zar ships, guaranteeing the safety of their city.

About two and a half years after Lazaria was founded, Vooperian State Security began to be curious about this miraculous settlement in the jungle. The VSS would take any advantage they could get, and if the legends of these people being able to harness weapons that could defeat the Zar were true, they would be a powerful ally. They approached Lazaria with a deal. If they too the seas and helped protect the Vooperian navy from Zar attacks, the pirates would be in charge of Landing Cove after the war, the VSS would help clear the jungles so people could thrive in the north once against, and Lazaria would be made into the new capital of Landing Cove. This was an incredibly enticing offer, but Admiral Laza was skeptical, knowing from his time on the sea that if something seems too good to be true it probably was. Despite Laza's skepticism, the city voted, and agreed to take the offer.

Everyone able to fight in the city of Lazaria was sent back to Port City to rebuild the navy. They were met with the remnants of the Pirate Fleets, who had somehow managed to survive all this time. Together, with a combined force, they formed the greatest fleet Vooperia had ever known, with the purpose of patrolling the seas and making it safe for ships to sail in once again. Hundreds of warships left the docks of Port City, and began their quest.

The first few encounters with Zar raids on the high seas were surprisingly successful, but not without heavy losses. Still, new ships were constantly being constructed back at Landing Cove and joining the fleet. They were helping VSS ships transfer cargo from various locations for a project that would supposedly end the war, but nobody knew what. While they had began to get better and better at fighting Zar, the worst was yet to come. A massive contingent of Zar aircraft overwhelmed the fleet, leaving them crippled. Of the hundreds of ships that were apart of the fleet, only 18 survived. They were forced to return home, and this left the pirates in shambles. Still, just a few weeks later, Solar Beam technology was unveiled, and a year later the Zar war was over. Now, it was time to see if the Vooperian government would make good on their promise.

### The Pirate-Vooperian War

Unsurprisingly to many of the pirates, the Vooperian government did not keep their promise. The Vooperian government actually did the opposite of what the pirates had wanted. Their fast action was declaring Portia as the new capital city of Landing Cove, as it was the largest city in the district prior to the invasion of the Zar. The Vooperian government also failed to help clear the jungle, and did not allow the pirates control over Landing Cove. A new constitution was passed declaring the new Republic of Landing Cove, one free of pirate interference. Shortly after doing a sufficient amount of meddling in Landing Cove politics that they presumed would stabilize the district, the government returned to rebuilding Vooperia after the devastating Zar invasion.

After the reforms made by the Vooperians, Admiral Laza had felt that they had been robbed again. They had sacrificed hundreds of lives against the Zar, and received nothing but a spit in the face in return. Immediate plans were drawn to regain control over the Landing Cove government. It was first decided that in order to regain control, trade within Landing Cove must be crippled. A large majority of trade within the Cove was done between three coastal cities, Alcavilla, Port City, and Dorcoast. First, it was necessary to gain control of Dorcoast and Alcavilla, the least guarded of the two cities, before cutting off Port City and taking it as well.

#### **The Attack on Dorcoast**

Under the cover of night, Admiral Laza slowly led a group of about 550 pirates through the jungles of Riverhedge. The jungle was extremely dense and harsh, and insects constantly harassed the pirates on their pilgrimage. When they had reached Dorcoast, it was estimated that about 40 pirates had died along the journey. They set up camp in the jungle on the outskirts of the city, and slowly regained their strength while they waited. Groups of pirates were sent into the city at a time to attend shops and purchase goods such as food and tents so that they were fully ready for the invasion ahead. After about a week of waiting and preparing, Admiral Laza said they were ready to attack.

The pirate force split into five groups, and at about midnight made their way to the ports of the city. Along the way, they placed explosives at key objectives throughout the city. Locations such as the city hall, warehouses, and roads leading to the ports. At the same time, a pirate fleet approached Dorcoast ready to extract the pirates from the city. It was about 3:30am when the pirates reached the ports of Dorcoast. They placed explosives on many important structures of the ports. Bombs were placed on cranes, control buildings, and shipping containers. At about 4am, the pirate fleet arrived at the port and took control of any ships currently in the port. Once the city was barely in view anymore, the bombs went off. As the janitors arrived at city hall to clean before the councilmembers took their seat, the building collapsed in a ball of fire. Explosions could be heard all over the city as buildings collapsed and ash coated nearby homes and businesses. At last, the bombs went off at the port. The explosions could be seen from the pirate fleet as cranes collapsed into the ocean, and the entire cargo unloading structure collapsed. After the attack, it was reported that at least 13 had died, and 39 were injured. The city lost billions of credits in trade due to the attacks. Up next for the pirates mission was Alcavilla, the smallest city of the Tri-trade cities.

#### The Battle of the Isles of Alca

After the attacks, the newly reformed Cogent Cove Congress knew they had to act fast. What remained of the Cove Navy that hadn't been assimilated into the pirate fleet in the previous decades was deployed into the Cove Sea. In order to deal with the situation, the new Senator of the district took over. Senator Plungett directed the airforce branch of the Cove Guard to do immediate surveys of the ocean to find the location of the pirates. In order to save time, the Cove Navy had already been deployed on a course to the central Cove Sea. So when reports were received of the pirate fleet quickly approaching Alcavilla, the Cove Navy was able to quickly redirect their course and approach the fleet.

When Admiral Laza received reports of the planes flying near the fleet, he knew what was about to happen. The fleet was ordered to be reordered into combat positions as they had practiced against their Reaper opponents in the past. All guns were checked to ensure they were still operational, and all pirates aboard the ships were ready for combat. As the Cove Navy came over the horizon, Laza began examining the Navy to see what they were up against. The battle was about to begin at the Isles of Alca.

Cannons were fired on both sides as ammunition flew through the air. As the first barrage of fire flew, many shots fell into the sea. However, some shots hit and caused significant damage to ships on both sides. One interesting aspect of this sea warfare was the chain of islands that had to be maneuvered around mid-combat. Many ships collided with the islands, with one ship of the pirate fleet fully crashing into one island and capsizing. Even after capsizing, the Cove Navy took easy shots on the ships to attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the pirates. Unfortunately for the Cove Navy, they had only wasted valuable ammunition.

As the battle went on into the afternoon, Admiral Laza decided to get more risky with his maneuvers. He ordered one of the smaller ships of the fleet to offload most of its crew, then attempt to ram the cruiser of the Cove Navy into one of the islands. After unloading its crew, only 5 brave pirates remained on the ship. In an attempt to distract the cruiser, the ship raised its white flags in an attempt to signal negotiations. As the cruiser sat nearby one of the small islands, the ship rammed into the back of it. The cruiser spun backwards as its crew attempted to board the smaller ship and stop it. Members of the Cove Guard jumped from the cruiser and fell onto the smaller ship, and began to engage in close range combat.

Both sides attempted to fire at the other as the ships spun in a dance of death. Despite being outnumbered 4 to 1, the pirates were able to last a surprisingly long amount of time on board the ship. However, as the first pirate fell to the gunfire, their deaths were inevitable. One by one, the pirates fell as they attempted to protect the controls of the ship. Eventually, as the last members of the Cove Guard broke into the control room, the last pirate left shot the first Guard in the forehead. As the Guard fell to the ground, the last pirate put his gun to the bottom of his head, and fired. His limp body fell to the ground as the Guard attempted to gain control of the ship. But it was too late, the side of the cruiser slammed into the island at full force and was taken out of the fight.

After the Cove Navy cruiser was taken out of the fight, victory was all but assured for the pirate fleet. As additional ships of the Cove Navy sunk, Senator Plungett finally made the decision to begin negotiations with the pirates. The fight was over, and the negotiations had begun.

## Geography

Landing Cove is situated on the western coast of the main continent, Libertia. The district's geography is dominated by a large central peninsula jutting out into the West Tsunamic Ocean.

### Climate

Landing Cove has a largely tropical and temperate coastal climate, due to its proximity to the ocean. The district was originally covered in vast tropical jungles, but much of it, especially in the more populated coastal regions, has been cleared away.

## Government & Politics

The executive position for Landing Cove is the governor, who is currently Tyco. The governor is elected at the same time as senator.

The legislative body of Landing Cove is the Cogent Cove Congress, which every county elects one representative to. The Cogent Cove Congress is managed by the governor, who receives a permanent seat on the congress. The Governor has the ability to veto legislation, but their veto can be overturned by a 3/4ths majority.

The Senator is tasked with running elections for the Governor and Cogent Cove Congress, and filling in as Governor in event of a vacancy. The Senator can also declare peace or war on other districts with the approval of a majority of the citizens.

## Culture

Overall, Landing Cove has a very strong maritime culture, with most people in the district atleast having a basic understanding and experience with ships. The district is split between the more wealthy southern counties with a culture very similar to the rest of Libertia. The less wealthy northern counties have their own distinct pirate culture. The remnants of the Pirates of Landing Cove and the more Vooperian-loyal southerners often come into conflict.

### Way of The Seas

The Way of The Seas is a religion developed by the pirates during the period in which they were isolated from the rest of Landing Cove and Vooperia. It is a collection of various superstitions of the seas. Many of these were also tall tales about Vooperian constellations to help people better learn to navigate at night without the need for GPS. Believers in this religion believe that many natural geographical features and meteorological events are the result of various competing spirits, some of which are loyal to humans and some of which are not. The most important of these spirits was was Cordella, the spirit of protection in the ocean. If one had Cordella's blessing, they would be much more likely to have a safe voyage.

### Northern Maritime Dialect

People in the Northern Provinces, especially pirates or sailors, have their own dialect which many unaccustomed find strange. Common things in this dialect include:

* Using "Captain" or "Skipper" as a substitute for any leadership position.
* Referring to Credits as Doubloons.
* Referring to Port City as "West Port", or less commonly, referring to one's home city (given that it is a coastal city) as "Home Port".
* Referring to the Cove Guard as "Blues", in reference to the Blue and Yellow insignia their ships wave and the blue uniform the guards wear.
* Referring to people from the Southern Counties as "Grasslanders".
* Geographic Sites
	+ The rainforests of Landing Cove, especially the dense northern rainforests, as the "Cursed Jungle", and referring to it female pronouns.
	+ The Peninsula which Port City and Portia lie on as "Laza's Peninsula".
	+ Captain Samuel Sea as "The Winter Channel".