Today in the CBO
Settlements Today
by Nat Wright-Kowalski
19 May 2296 - Easy Town
Each Tuesday for the upcoming weeks through the playoffs, we will feature one of the settlements, teams, and owners of the Commonwealth Baseball Organization. This is meant to tell you more about life in the Commonwealth, as well as give you more information about the teams and their owners.
In our sixth installment of "Settlement Today," I went to the place I will refer to as Easy Town. There are several places in the Commonwealth known by different names, but the slice of the former East Boston carries perhaps the most sobriquets of all.
For those running the show here now, they mostly refer to it as Easy Town, so that is why I will, too. That nickname spurred from Easy City, which is the name of the local racetrack, Easy City Downs. Some also refer to East Boston and the Airport. Not far away lies Nordhagen Beach, but that is a different area entirely.
East Boston, circa 2288
What we know now is that the area has been organized and that makes it one of the more popular settlements in all of the Commonwealth. The Brotherhood of Steel calls this area its territory, though most of the soldiers live south of Easy Town at Boston Airport. The Mechanist, aka Isabel Cruz, has what she calls the Mechanist's Lair nearby. And of course, there is the schoolhouse community in East Boston Prep, the place where the East Boston Prep Assaultrons' stadium was constructed.
East Boston Prep
In its history, "The East Boston Preparatory School was founded by the Catholic Church as a religious institution. However, as church funding declined, local activists took over the school as a secular organization serving the immigrant population of East Boston. The school was eventually abandoned during the economic recession before the Great War" (
https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/East...aratory_School).
In 2287, "A gang of raiders, led by Judge Zeller, . . . transformed the school into a reeducation camp to recruit new raiders and coax in unwary travelers. This 'reeducation; [was] simply torture; new raiders [were] broken in, each holding a blood contract which [stated] their loyalty to the judge and his jury. Those who [did] not break [were] executed." That is, before Nate Howard came in and wiped out Zeller and his brainwashed by request of Bunker Hill.
Today Easy Town is a gambling and entertainment hub of the Commonwealth, the place where many Brotherhood of Steel initiates come for their R&R. Because of the number of young people in close proximity, there are some double entendres to the use of Easy Town, too, but we will leave those for your imagination. Needless to say, it has not yet developed itself into a metropolitan area just yet like Diamond City and Lexington has, but Easy Town is one of the more popular spots for those under 25.
Owners - Deb and Kay Merchant
Deb Merchant - Working the merchant booth
While the married couple are co-owners of the team, with some help from their daughter, Meg, Deb is the one who runs the day-to-day operations of the ball club while Kay spends most of her time managing the businesses and clinic within East Boston Prep.
Kay Merchant during a hard day's work
Deb and Kay got their start together in Bunker Hill. There, Deb was one of the main general goods traders of the Commonwealth, while Kay ran the settlement's clinic. After the trade reform of 2288, they decided to move east and set up shop in helping to run the well-defended area. Raider remnants were quickly wiped out, and Deb and Kay became the entrepreneurs that Easy Town needed.
Robot Races
Easy City Downs
This is the place where a lot of money is lost by the Brotherhood of Steel. They even had to make a deal with the bettors that they could never allow more than a 50% of monthly income wager from Brotherhood soldiers. Still, the track rakes in the caps!
The track features its main attractions. According to the official Easy City Downs entry, those racing robots are: "Atomic Dreamz (Mister Handy), Tin Man (protectron), Ol' Rusty (eyebot), Piece o' Junk (Mister Handy), Iron Maiden (assaultron), Lady Lovelace (assaultron), The Boston Blaster (Mister Gutsy), Bob's Your Uncle (Mister Handy) and Fusion's Folly (Mister Handy)."