The Bostock Expedition
The Bostock Expedition is a massive salvage venture sponsored by Northern Gun. The aim of the expedition is to locate salvageable Golden Age technology in the depths of the region called Dinosaur Swamp. Undertaking the mission is Golden Age Salvage, a highly reputably salvage firm and member of the Ishpeming Military Contract Network (IMCN). The company's legendary founder and former leader, Ingram Bostock, has come out of retirement to personally oversee this venture. Along with a handful of Subcontractors, Golden Age Salvage ambitiously intends to hit twenty-two different sites within the span of a year. Bostock's efforts represent the largest organized expedition to ever set foot into the Swamp, second only to the New Lazlo Expedition of 82 P.A.
Ingram Bostock and his second-in-command, Lionel Hudson, have developed an itinerary based on months of painstaking research. Using a number of recovered pre-Rifts documents such as maps, travel guides, and encyclopedias, Golden Age Salvage has been able to piece together a reasonable idea of Dinosaur Swamp's layout prior to the Coming of the Rifts. Despite the major changes in geography caused by the Great Cataclysm, they've been able to determine the approximate locations of various pre-Rifts population centers and installations that could potentially yield some finds. They've also identified locations that likely had a high degree of military, scientific, or academic value during the Golden Age.
The ruins of densely or highly populated settlements, such as big towns and cities, are primary targets for the expedition. This is because these locales have a little of everything: commercial districts, manufacturing districts, power generation stations, hospitals, banks, academic institutions, museums, and more. Particularly in the ruins of big metropolises, one can find salvage of nearly every variety, all located within the same geographic area.
Ingram Bostock and his second-in-command, Lionel Hudson, have developed an itinerary based on months of painstaking research. Using a number of recovered pre-Rifts documents such as maps, travel guides, and encyclopedias, Golden Age Salvage has been able to piece together a reasonable idea of Dinosaur Swamp's layout prior to the Coming of the Rifts. Despite the major changes in geography caused by the Great Cataclysm, they've been able to determine the approximate locations of various pre-Rifts population centers and installations that could potentially yield some finds. They've also identified locations that likely had a high degree of military, scientific, or academic value during the Golden Age.
The ruins of densely or highly populated settlements, such as big towns and cities, are primary targets for the expedition. This is because these locales have a little of everything: commercial districts, manufacturing districts, power generation stations, hospitals, banks, academic institutions, museums, and more. Particularly in the ruins of big metropolises, one can find salvage of nearly every variety, all located within the same geographic area.
Expedition Route
The Bostock Expedition will be entering Dinosaur Swamp from the northwest; crossing from Tennessee through the perilous D-Shifting Wilderness of the Eastern Wall, and into the region once known as North Carolina. The expedition will first stop at Char, backtrack westward to the ruins of Gastonia, and then continue northeast to dig at a a couple of large sites (Winston-Salem & Greensboro). Subsequently, the expedition goes eastward into the Eastern Carolina Marshes in order to excavate a number of important sites in a place known before the rifts as the Research Triangle (Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh). Raleigh, the former capital city of North Carolina, will get some extra attention. Then, the expedition turns south to Fayetteville, Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base along the coast.
Afterwards, the expedition will head into South Carolina and perform salvage ops at a few ruins along the way (Florence, Sumter, and Shaw Air Force Base) before veering west and re-entering the Horror Forest. While there, the expedition will dig at the ruins of Columbia (the capital of old South Carolina), followed by several westward stops scattered throughout the area (Fort Jackson, Spartanburg and Greenville) before taking a sharp turn south to Georgia.
Once in Georgia, the expedition goes directly to the ruins of Augusta, and then onward to the ruins of Atlanta in the west. As the capital of Georgia and the largest former city in the region, a month or more will be dedicated to these ruins alone. Then, the expedition moves south to Fort McPherson, and then further south to Macon. The ruins of Macon will be followed by a brief stop at Fort Hawkins to resupply. This will be succeeded by salvage operations at several military bases in lower Georgia (Robins AFB, Fort Benning, & Moody AFB), and then directly westward to Tallahassee, Florida.
After working the ruins of Tallahassee, the expedition goes southeast to the Cape. The ruins of the Cape are submerged, and due to the complexity of underwater salvage ops, it's likely that a month or more will be spent in this area. Afterwards, the expedition travels west to Orlando, finally terminating at the so-called "Magic Kingdom," as described in Deearn Neenok's book.
Once all salvage sites have been accounted for, the convoy will return northwest at full speed to the Domain of Man and Ishpeming.