Thought to be set in M38, A Mid-Hive Lights-Out Dream takes place in the legendary lost domed city of Airdome. A seat of culture and learning, the township of Airdome was a collection of habdomes located far below the Spire, within a day's journey of the Underhive. Maps from the era show a large central dome surrounded by four slightly smaller domes at cardinal compass points.
Airdome was home to "The Duke". The first Duke came down from hive city with a retinue of retainers and personal guard sixty years before the story takes place, and moved into the central dome. According to genealogical records, the first Duke was the 20th son of a minor branch of House Ko'Iron. With limited prospects of inheriting much of worth, he moved to an ancient title of property bequeathed to him by his father to seek his fortune.
The last thing residents of Airdome wanted was a minor noble taking over their town as his private residence. They were a hard-working people, proud and reluctant to bow down to his rank or behave like indentured servants. It was believed that the Duke was in for a rude awakening, and a betting pool was started to see how long it would take for him to return uphive. It turned out that the residents were very wrong in their assumptions.
As expected, the Duke supplanted the Mayor as the ruler of Airdome. The Mayor was kept on as a senior advisor, and the Duke changed nothing else about the governing of the town. The captain of the Duke's personal guard become an advisor to the Chief Watchman, and within a year they had turned the town watch into an elite security force, protecting both the Duke and the citizens of Airdome.
Despite all the grumbling when the Duke took over the reins of government, not one of the citizens' fears becomes reality. The Duke turned out to be fair, generous, and a force for good in the town. Under his rule the town not only thrived, but gradually expanded into the four adjacent domes, becoming the Airdome depicted in legends.
The Dukes personal guards were not the hive city bully-boys that the citizens had expected. Most were highly trained technicians and engineers, who taught their skills to the citizens. After a few years, the local guild halls became formalized seats of learning with expanded apprenticeship programs. With a workforce of highly trained citizens, the town underwent massive restoration projects. The town cleaned up, buildings were renovated, and major lighting projects drove back the grim half-light common throughout the areas this close to the Underhive.
The greatest project of all was the restoration of the Skyway light array. Hidden in the gloom of the central domes high ceiling and under a thick layer of grime was an ancient archway that bisected the dome. Created by the dome's original founders, it rose high over Airdome, forgotten for generations. For a full year, engineers and technicians would vanish into the upper reaches of the dome, and the citizens could make out the flicker and glow of cutters and welders like stars in the darkness above. The completion of repairs to the Skyway literally marked a new dawn for Airdome.
One lights-on, Airdome remained in darkness. As the citizens moved into the streets, more annoyed than alarmed, The Duke activated the Skyway, timing it to the rising of the sun outside the walls of the hive. A few lights on the lower eastern edge of the Skyway came on, brighter than anything the citizens had ever seen before. Slowly more and more lights came on until a blazing circle of lights shone out of the Skyway and into Airdome, lighting the dome in the same way that the sun lit the world outside. The Skyway arch was a massive array of lights, and the circular display would slowly move up the arch and down the other side in perfect time with the sun outside, which none of the inhabitants (save The Duke and his men) had ever seen. At lights-out, the display would slowly vanish on the opposite side of the archway, and the process would repeat itself with the next lights-on cycle.
The Skyway light array was made of sun lamps, and so perfectly mimicked the sun that green plants could be grown inside Airdome. Gardens were planted, and a park was established by The Duke's manor. The general health of the citizens increased, and in spite of an initial outbreak of sunburn, everyone quickly adjusted to the new Skyway light.
Goods produced in Airdome were of a superior quality and much sought after in neighboring towns. Trade expanded and profits soared. Within a decade, news of Airdome's transformation had spread far and wide through the underhive. Guilders made sure trade caravans passed through the town on their way down to or up from the lowest levels of the hive. The town's techno guilds accepted apprentices from outside their borders, and so neighboring communities also began a slow renewal, spreading the good fortune that the Duke brought to Airdome.
But there were those who did not appreciate what the Duke brought, and others who were jealous of Airdome's good fortune. Local gangs did not appreciate the heightened security or the crackdown it brought on their activities. Gang members were being apprehended by the Watchmen in increasing numbers, and gangs from outside the borders of Airdome saw the lure of easy spoils in the expanding town.
Three of the local gangs who had suffered the most at the hands of the Duke and his expanded Watchmen banded together in the third year of his rule to try to oust him. The uprising was crushed ruthlessly by the Watchmen, who were far better trained and armed. Many of the remaining local gangs took this as a hint to leave town. More than a few gang members were impressed by the new Watchmen, left their gangs, and swelled the ranks of the local police force. The expanded Watchmen soon began escorting caravans to and from neighboring towns, making life for marauding gangs outside of Airdome's borders even more difficult.
And so the town grew under the Duke's rule. The town was clean, the air purifiers maintained, the water purified and the people well fed. The town was secure, and the main trails to their neighbors became safer than anyone could ever remember. The level of education for the common citizen was probably higher than anywhere else beneath Hive City.
After fifty years of prosperity, an outbreak of the Zombie Plague struck. The people of Airdome, with their clean air, water, and food, escaped mostly unscathed from the horrors of the plague itself, and the neighboring towns fared better than many other areas this far down the hive. Although Airdome didn't fall victim to the plague, they were not free from attack by those that did fall. Zombie hordes began moving up from lower hive zones, wiping out towns and holesteads as they advanced.
The Duke sealed Airdome to keep the zombie hordes out and safeguard his people. However, a call for aid from the nearby town of Forgeview could not go unanswered by the Duke. Taking a force of Watchmen, the Duke set out to reinforce Forgeview, which was protecting a bottleneck of open routes that prevented the hordes from invading the levels above them. The Dukes timely arrival, along with the large supply of flame weapons and promethium that he brought, decimated the zombie hordes. Guard reinforcements requested by the local Arbites precincts eventually arrived to find a field of charred zombies before the gates of Forgeview. Leaving them to clean up the stragglers, the Duke returned to Airdome with his contingent of Watchmen, who had suffered no losses.
The road back to Airdome still had wandering bands of zombies, which the Duke ferreted out and destroyed, until they had nearly reached the town gates. There they were set upon by a large force of plague zombies under the control of a Wytch, and the Duke fell, grievously wounded, within sight of the safety of Airdome's gates. The Duke's eldest son drove back the zombies, slew the Wytch, and brought his father back to the town. The Duke's wounds were severe, and the town's medicae could not save him. The people were afraid of what would happen to their glorious town.
The Duke's eldest son, Thevus, took the mantle of leadership and the title of Duke. In the ten years since the passing of the first Duke, the new Duke had proven to be every bit the ruler his father had been. Airdome continued to thrive and helped their neighbors rebuild.
Then a large band of Esher gangs moved into some of the neighboring towns, taking advantage of the plague losses and the power vacuum that ensued. Calling themselves the Fae Amazons, they waylaid caravans and raided nearby settlements. Eventually, the new Duke set out to defeat the Esher gangs and free up the surrounding areas. After many skirmishes and a few major battles, the Duke's forces cornered the Esher at Ventdown, where the Duke defeated the Esher leader Hollin in single combat. For unknown reasons, instead of slaying Hollin, the Duke spared her life. Now, all of Airdome revels in gossip, as the Duke prepares to take Hollin as his bride. And this is when the story takes place….