Space Truckers -- Ex Terra, et nunc inter astra*

History

Post Fall Out and during one of the first pushes into Space, a large group of climate refugees took opportunities to join those rich enough to buy their way off Earth. These refugees were pushed into different fields of work with the promise of riches and safe passage for their families. However, it quickly became clear that several of the extremely wealthy wanted disposable staff to handle the duties they didn't think were necessary in space.

Those not scooped up by military recruitment or joined through the New Hope Project were trapped in legal limbo. Unable to afford the ridiculous costs of a Spindle through SpOre or MoonBase One's buy through program. They were forgotten, left to try and manage their new lives in a place that refused to acknowledge they existed.

Hundreds of climate refugees were stranded, unable to find work without a Spindle and no way to prove their identity, many were trapped in the same or worse circumstances than they had been on Terra. The difference, being at least they could breathe on Terra without paying for their air.

The Wayfinders

At the same time, the entire logistics division of the Solar System was grinding to a halt. Companies were facing massive fines and impossible requirements for new training initiatives. Several Unions stepped into and an oversight committee developed to deal with the number of crashes and issues between the settlements. WayFinder Incorporated stepped in and overhauled the entire system instead of setting up long haul trucking through disparate corporations, a collective was started by a group of long haul truckers with a lot of experience before the earthquakes kicked off and destroyed a lot of the roads.

The collective revamped how long haul cargo was shipped throughout the system, rebuilding the ships and replacing the controls with systems that resembled the old big rigs and creatin large space roads with beacons and other measures to create highways throughout space that were entirely dedicated to cargo traffic. They hired climate refugees, first with long haul experience, then branching out as their training initiatives got off the ground. Slowly as they hired out, a culture formed around those who didn't belong anywhere.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Astrèn is one of the main languages, developed as a cipher language at first to avoid the dominant use of English. It's based loosely on a mix of Latin, Spanish and English, but over time it has since become something on it's own.

Shared customary codes and values

Already held together through their outsider status and lack of Spindle or access to citizenship. Space Truckers formed their own subculture through shared work and expertise and knowledge of the solar system beyond the standard planet hopper. Collectively they go by ExTerra, sometimes ET, a reminder of where they've come from and what brought them out into the void. Later generations have started going by Inter Astra or IA, placing more importance on how far they've come instead of a planet they no longer recognize as their own.

Code of the Road

All ET's have a code they follow. The Neon Chivalric Code is document of the main tenets to follow while riding the System Way. They were created and added to over time as ETs' from all locals would add something to the code to keep the void safe.

Space is Premium

Big Rigs are built for one person to live in the cabin. They're designed to keep space and weight to a minimum as fuel and O2 add weight and and time to travel. With the advent of fusion and better power methods regular fuel is not taking up as much space but most ET's are used to small or cramped conditions. It's very common that those who take up having a family will often ride with them for a few years until there's enough money to get one or both citizenship, and until one of the parents of any children is a citizen none of the children gain that status either as there is a difficulty in finding a place of birth as there is no fixed address. Many a baby was born among the comets and asteroids winging by the Neon Highway with Jupiter taking up more room than the sun could ever wish.

Family

Community and family are big parts of ET culture, with generations born on the road. Meetups and community gatherings more often than not happen a nearby Apollo Medical and Hermes All in One Way Station. Some of the bigger waystations pick up families that are taking a break from the road and bit by bit build Pods and small dwellings that can be attached to the cargo hauler's for easy transport.
However, usually when one family settles down for a rest, others join in and small villages grow and spawn off the medical way stations and become their own little outposts.

Major organizations

• Wayfinder Inc
• Hermes Gas and Sip
• The Medical Order of Apollo

*From Earth, now Among the Stars

Related Locations

• Apollo Medical and Hermes All in One Way Station
• Ceres
• Epsilon
• Europa