Description
A bustling station that shines as a beacon of stability, Tau Station is the capital of the Consortium, the most powerful organization in the universe. Tall buildings have risen from the ashes of destruction, including business offices and military tactical rooms alike. The station enjoys a blanket of security, provided by the watchful eyes of guards, drones, and security cameras.
As the capital of the Consortium, Tau Station has a level of order that is the envy of the many stations still struggling to rebuild from the Catastrophe. The location of the Consortium's home office, the organization uses Tau Station as the base from which it spreads forth and expands into the universe. To combat the ever-persistent threat of terrorism, and due to concerns about another disaster, the Consortium's military is strong and mighty, and their home base reflects this might, with guards and security enforcement cameras everywhere. Punishment for breaking Consortium law is swift and merciless.
While many enjoy the affluence and security afforded to those residing on the station, others still struggle to eke out some semblance of a life in the Red Zones, which are filled with slums and ruins, left over from the time of the Catastrophe.
Chronicle Text
One of the first stations to establish some semblance of stability after the Catastrophe, Tau is very much the patron station of awakenings, of stepping out of the shadows back into the light. Here, the Consortium reigns over the system with a shiny, chrome gauntlet of order and stability, offering a haven for travelers and settlers alike. The shiny metallic sheen of prosperity and order is only slightly marred by a thin veneer of poverty, corruption, and the occasional clandestine operation within the Red Zones.
Arrival Text
Welcome to Tau Station, the Jewel of the Consortium! Behave, Citizen.
Statistics
System: Sol
Affiliation: Consortium
Level: 1
Legal: 10 (High)
Orwellian: 10 (High)
Areas
Bank (Consortium Federated Bank)
Brushed steel escalators and cut stone stairs lead down into the bank from street level. The room’s high walls are carved from the natural rock of the station's asteroid shell and sealed under a clear resin.
The weary gaze of queuing customers is often captured by the wall's uniquely ancient beauty, making the wait for a free terminal an oddly mesmerizing experience.
Within the bank, the rough rock walls stand counterpoint to glass columns, lit from within and stretching to the high ceilings. Smooth metal partitions with rounded corners divide the tellers from one another.
Arrays of camera lenses glint from the corners of the room as they record every move made by customers and employees alike. The bank is a bustling place, with heavy traffic and daily commerce.
NPCs
Brig (Capital Detention Complex)
Tau Station’s detention complex is a massive, blocky structure that dominates the area near the ruins. Mounted weapons cover all approaches across the cleared zone surrounding the building. Security enforcement cameras perch at every corner of the building, rotating ominously to track the movements of visitors to the area.
Heavily armed officers wearing Consortium Penitentiary Service uniforms patrol the walls and corridors of the fortress-like prison. Inside, the dormitories and cramped cells are filled almost to capacity with prisoners wearing expressions of bitter resignation. Visitors to the jail are searched repeatedly as they move through checkpoints in the building.
NPCs
Clones (Crick-Watson Cloning Facility)
The cloning facility is a quiet and clinical space filled with gestation pods. Clones in various stages of development are just visible through the pods’ murky fluids.
Developing clones stare out from the pods that line the room with eerie, blank faces, their eyes tinged blue from the nutritional fluid that fills the machines.
It's not unusual to hear the odd muffled scream here as gestating clones unconsciously respond to updates to their Amygchips. Weary technicians pass regularly, exhausted from long shifts spent mixing nutrient paste or - worse - physically restraining clients who wake from their pod sleep in a confused and sometimes briefly-murderous mood.
Available Clones
- 3D Printed clone
- Vat Grown clone
- Premium clone (99 bonds)
NPCs
Decommissioned Area (Tau Station Clothier)
A long, squat building made of regocrete and painted a serious shade of deep blue, the Clothier is a factory that assembles garments for the galaxy's various needs.
3D printers equipped with robotic arms form the production line, printing, gluing and assembling individual components into completed items. Every few segments, when one malfunctions, human attendants arrive to survey and repair the problem.
The Clothier produces everything from everyday stationwear to more specialized items with technical and military applications, although the heaviest armors and military jumpsuits will always be made elsewhere. But the Clothier serves all else.
The machines use a variety of materials in their work. Some fabrics are synthesized from chemicals by the printers themselves, while others are imported the growing vats on The Ghost of Mali. The noisy array of assembly bots spews out another completed product every hundred units or so.
NPCs
Employment (Tau Station Employment Agency)
The employment agency is filled with people searching through the postings for worthwhile work. Guards stand idly near the entrance, content to chat among themselves.
Out-of-order signs and maintenance tags adorn dusty terminals labeled “Employment Database.” The walls of the agency are covered with layers upon layers of job flier scrolls and advisory posters, many of which are brittle with age and showing the signs of multiple printings. People crowd around, sifting through old plastic scrolls, advertising work. Most postings are for little more than odd jobs: temporary tasks that will take, at most, a day or two.
The regocrete floor is worn smooth from decades of foot traffic and the frames of the job boards are stained black from the touch of so many desperate hands.
NPCs
Career Advisory (Tau Station Careers Center)
The Careers Center is a boxy, underlit room occupied by a row of temperamental terminals. When they work, they specialize in carrying out user aptitude tests and offering guidance on professional choices.
In less than a segment, citizens can discover their true calling by answering a few simple questions, claims the electronic message that greets visitors as they enter.
Side Jobs
An electronic board in a side booth refreshes regularly with offers for short-term, casual work across the station. Those who have a few spare segments and want to convert them to credits gather here, staring hopefully at the blinking screen.
Citizens waiting here for a suitable job offer display the full range of human attitudes to work. Some begrudge its necessity, cursing the gambling debts that brought them here, while others smile optimistically, hopeful that the ticket to a better tomorrow is just a screen refresh away. The electronic board, meanwhile, provides an insight into life on the station, via the window of its ever-updating list of unmet needs.
| Name | Description | Credits | Statistic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo Unloading | Daily shifts available. Join the port crew for around the clock cargo work opportunities! | 5 | 5x Strength |
| Cell Cleaning | Even the guilty deserve a clean place to sleep! Help us keep our prison cells clean. Who knows? You might be the next who sleeps in one. | 5 | 5x Stamina |
| Encyclopedia Editor | A busy professor needs help with a community Encyclopedia project. Can you assist? | 5 | 4x Intelligence |
| Medical Waste Disposal | The sick bay needs assistance disposing of medical waste. Walk-in shifts are available. | 5 | 5x Stamina |
| Prisoner Processing | The security of Tau Station requires that offenders be admitted to our brig swiftly and efficiently. We need temporary workers to assist with processing. | 5 | 5x Agility |
| Security Informant | Safety requires constant vigilance. We need socially gifted assistants to help us monitor station areas and identify potential security leads. | 5 | 4x Social |
NPCs
Discreet Work
Sometimes jobs are offered by those who need to be able to deny involvement. Don't ask too many questions; you won't get many answers. And don't be surprised if you wind up in the brig or sickbay.
Gaule Embassy (Gaule Protectorate Embassy)
Embassy staff laugh and chat as they work underneath a sign urging travelers to “Visit Gaule: Purchase a Visa Today!”
Brightly colored flags and posters proclaiming the beauty and freedom of the Gaule Protectorate greet visitors to the embassy. Soft instrumental music plays to those waiting in short security lines before they’re escorted through to speak to a smiling embassy clerk at one of the plush consultation stations scattered around the room.
Extend your visa: 45 cr
NPCs
Government Center (Capital Government Center)
Located in the central area of Tau Station's inhabited zone, the Center is home to the station's governmental and military offices. Guards and security enforcement cameras monitor each access point, while stern-faced agents screen employees and visitors upon entry.
The government offices are housed in a stark regocrete building with Consortium flags above every door. Visitors make their way through the checkpoints at the gate before entering the main hall, where they form lines and wait at the different departmental counters that ring the room. Guards block an archway that leads deeper into the building, next to a directory that lists the offices of all the government officials.
NPCs
Gym (Sol Fitness)
Exercise machines form orderly rows through the large room. The trainer at the front points out empty workout stations as new people arrive.
The gym smells of sweat and is bright with light reflected by long mirrors along the walls. Most visitors listen to music via their CORETECHS and work out alone, but some form teams to encourage one another between exhausted breaths. A group gathers by a screen at the back to compare their current statistics and a security camera swivels in their direction as someone shouts in victory. Sensei Krukower wanders the room, giving pointers here and there, and offering private sessions for those who are ready to take their training to the next level.
You must have minimum combined physical stats of 30 to avoid injury at this gym.
NPCs
Inn (Wayfarer Inn)
The Wayfarer Inn offers food, drink, and lodging to travelers and locals alike.
The clean counters and booths of the Wayfarer Inn's Bar are occupied with customers, laughing and drinking. Idle chatter fills the air and nearly drowns out the music that's pumped through the establishment. Two smartly dressed security guards stand at the entrance with bored expressions on their faces as they watch the patrons for any sign of trouble.
NPCs
Bar (The Oasis Pub)
The Oasis Pub is a charming establishment, with a large rounded bar, tables dotting the floor, and walls lined with booths. A Consortium flag hangs proudly behind the bar, and officers and government officials can often be found here, chatting amiably with each other and travelers to the station.
A boisterous place at nearly every segment of the day, the Oasis Pub is known for its hearty meals, frothy synth-ale, and oversized booths. The latter of which are perfect for making business deals, catching up with old friends, or discussing the prowess of the Consortium military.
Cleaning Bots, about a meter high, move between the tables and past the booths, hoovering up trash and polishing floors. Each boasts a bulbous collection of black glass eyes on its head, housing the sensors which enable them to navigate such a busy environment autonomously. Many citizens also suspect the eyes to contain additional camera feeds serving the prying eyes of station Security.
Menu
NPCs
Hotel Rooms (The Wayfarer Inn's Guest Room)
The rooms at the Wayfarer Inn are clean and comfortable, though small and utilitarian. The bed slides back into the wall, and a small bench can be pulled out in its place to allow work to be done at the small metal desk that's bolted to the wall.
For entertainment, a wall screen displays a few government sponsored channels, with talking heads discussing the economy and reporting on recent advancements by Consortium science teams.
Occasionally, garish adverts for companies like "Ajax Systems" and "Vkusno Victuals" interrupt the programming, often addressing you in a manner that seems to harness your room booking data. "Hungry? Vkusno Victuals offer 30 exciting flavors! Check room service menu for more info" scrolls along the screen at regular intervals.
Prices
- 1 day: 10 cr
- 5 days: 40 cr
- 10 days: 70 cr
- 30 days: 180 cr
NPCs
Lounge (The Wayfarer Inn's Lounge)
The Inn's ornate lounge is filled with a mixture of government workers and travelers happily sipping their beverages under the watchful gaze of a pair of guards.
This relatively calm corner provides respite from the bustle elsewhere. People convene here for conversation and reflection.
A number of the galaxy's most popular content feeds are advertised on the holo-board, hoping to attract new subscribers from those wishing to read something. Ads for "Ice Trader Daily" and "Tau Life" alternate endlessly, occasionally interspersed with ones for the "Bodyguard's Bulletin" and "Consortium Cadet".
NPCs
Market (Grand Market)
The Grand Market is a muddle of shoppers and sellers, loud with competing voices haggling for the best deal. High above, drones patrol or display holographic signs, advertising local wares. The sides of every shop are plastered with advertisements, or flicker through ever changing commercials.
A bedlam of commerce, the market is filled with people buying, selling, and bartering. Shops and kiosks peddling wares of every sort imaginable cram the space from wall to wall. The shopkeepers strive to shout over one another, as if excess volume is all they need to make a sale. Customers crowd around the shops yelling, bargaining, and arguing to the point of rage, hoping to earn even a small discount, though calming down quickly when a security officer draws near.
A shop in a corner call 'Bits and Bots' caters to those lucky enough to own a robot and requiring upgrades or maintenance while next door the strange aroma of spiced (and 3D printed) foods drifts along the thoroughfare.
NPCs
Vendors
The market's vendors operate from a row of orderly stalls, often adorned with rotating 3D holographic representations of their most eye-catching items. As you walk past each one, a personalized sales message pings to your CORETECHS, tempting you with an offer you suspect is far less "exclusive" than the ad makes out.
Although a wide variety of items can be bought here, the busiest trade is usually done on stalls specializing in stims, VIP packs, or weapons. But some are here only for window-shopping, and the Benevolent Dynamics shop usually attracts the larger part of this crowd, keen to see what wonders the innovative company has on offer here.
Public Market (Hawkers' Corner)
Tau Station's Public Market is locally known as "Hawkers' Corner". Ordinary citizens use it to buy and sell, hunting bargains or trying to raise a few credits for their unwanted possessions.
Citizens queue to register their items for sale with the various Public Market attendants, who assess goods to ensure no foul play occurs.
People stand in line clutching all sorts of items, from spools of scavenged nano wire to fully-functioning sniper rifles from Hephaestus's latest range. A pair of vigilant guards monitor proceedings, clutching their own weapons firmly against the rigid black protection plates of their composite armor.
Storage
Rows of reinforced lockers offer citizens a range of storage options for items they don't wish to carry on their person. Retinal and fingerprint scans provide ample security for the lockers' often valuable contents.
- Small: ??? cr
- Medium: 60 cr
- Large: 150 cr
NPCs
Port (Port of Tau Station)
Perhaps the busiest port in the Sol System, Tau Station's port is practically overflowing with ships, cargo, and people. There’s rarely a moment when it isn’t active. A tinny voice on the overhead speakers announces shuttle arrival and departure times in a constant drone.
Visible through thick observation windows, ships can be seen carrying people and goods to and from the station in a steady stream. Battered freighters, expensive private corvettes, and sleek naval frigates are berthed next to one another, their captains and crews exchanging words as they secure cargo and disperse into the station. Public shuttles flit between the larger vessels, homing in on the passenger gates. Like most of Tau Station, the port is clean and efficient, a testament to the strides the capital of the Consortium has been able to take in the wake of the Catastrophe.
NPCs
Arrivals (The Grand Concourse)
Anyone arriving on Tau Station, whether through the local shuttles, docks or shipping bays, enters the station through the arrivals area. On Tau the arrivals area is the entryway to the port stylized in bronze, brass and Earth stones such as marble and limestone.
NPCs
Shipping Bay (Tau Station Shipping Bay)
The Tau Station Shipping Bay is a riot of organized chaos. Huge piles of crates and wares, ready to be loaded onto waiting ships, are attended to by officials checking their contents before clearing them for boarding.
A steady stream of goods and cargo come and go from the Shipping Bay. The wealthy and bustling station consumes much, and merchants are always eager to bring their wares to Tau Station for a fast turnover.
NPCs
Docks (The Docks)
All manner of private vessels arrive, depart, and rest here, from sleek corvettes to larger ships that look like jury-rigged death-traps more than jewels of a proudly space-faring civilization.
Local Shuttles
Tau Station's Local Shuttles are a busy place, with countless travelers coming and going. From the capital, all the stations in the Sol system are reachable at an affordable price for those who lack their own ships. Departure boards list connections to exotic-sounding places like Taungoo, Nouveau Limoges, and Sol Jump Gate.
Travelers wait in tidy lines and big groups for the next available shuttle to take them across the stars to another station. Regocrete benches line the walls and are set here and there, offering those waiting a place to rest before their ship arrives. Heavily armed Consortium guards stand around, watching everything and everyone.
Above the heads of all, security drones float quietly, their eyes sweeping the floor. Here and there, Consortium flags are visible, pinned to bulkheads a few meters above travelers' heads. Wall screens cycle through their displays, alternating between advertisements and general service announcements: “Smile! You're on Camera! A well-watched society is a protected society!” “Travel to Cirque Centauri! The Greatest Show in the Galaxy!” “Sign up for Consortium Military Service! Protect your friends and family! Explore the galaxy!” “The Broth Base and Seishu Pub - The best noodles in the galaxy! Ancient family recipe!”
Residences (The Cone)
Home to Consortium military leaders and personnel, as well as top Consortium officials, business people, and other Consortium employees, the residential area on Tau Station is floor upon floor of moderately-sized rooms, apartments, and suites, carved into the wall of the station's asteroid.
The Cone is located on a narrow part of the asteroid, which is almost triangular in shape. Burrowed into the inner walls of the hollowed out asteroid, the living spaces of the station's locals line the walls for many floors. The center of the cone is open-aired, with multiple lifts allowing access to the various levels. At the bottom level, a large round plaza with replica trees, plants, and a holographic water fountain offers a pleasant communal space. Here and there, on each level, a resident leans against the waist-high railing that runs along each floor’s walkways, looking out over the plaza. Drones patrol the open space, keeping residents safe under their watchful eyes.
NPCs
Ruins (The Red Zones)
The Red Zones of Tau Station are massive, daunting, and dangerous. Red Iron Oxide dust covers most surfaces, causing the visual effect after which the area is named. Wrecked buildings stretch on for kilometers, serving as a grim monument to the destruction of the Catastrophe. Scrolling holo-boards caution visitors: "Enter at your own risk".
Tau Station may be massive, but not all of it is fully lit and inhabited. Curving along the inner walls of the station are the ruins of areas that once supported thousands, but which have been without power or maintenance for many cycles.
The infrastructure here is dilapidated, and lifeline systems temperamental. Carbon filters are largely spent, or scavenged; humidity sensors no longer work; and the decompression risk is elevated in certain unsecured sections. The ever present drones that provide a watchful eye over the rest of the station are completely absent from this area, and what cameras do get placed here often meet a quick demise.
NPCs
The Wrecks
The Wrecks are found in the central area of the Red Zones. Scavengers frequent these unlit corridors and abandoned structures, hopeful of salvaging something of value from the dusty rubble.
Against the background hum of the station's central fusion tube, The Wrecks offer their own unique soundscape. In the distance, the sound of Ruins rats scratching out their living is always audible. Debris is carefully cleared, scrap and junk is broken down for valuable components, and, occasionally, those who've spent the day harvesting such finds are opportunistically attacked by those too lazy to do so. Caution is advised to all who enter.
The Wilds (The Red Zone Wilds)
Tau's Wilds occupy the most decayed part of the Red Zones. Here it's not unusual to find the dust a darker shade of red, stained with the spilled blood of the well-armed factions who do battle in the rubble here.
Among the rubble here, syndicate members and criminal gangs stalk each other and do battle, competing for the spoils of this eerie wasteland. Death awaits those who let their guard down here, often in variously violent ways.
Security (Station Security Services)
Squat, gray-walled, and teeming with humorless officers, the Station Security Services area resembles a military bunker. Flickering screens display current threat levels for the stations in Sol System as well as low-res images of wanted criminals.
Situated in an adjacent office, there are "Private Bodyguard" services available which allow citizens to hire a personal protection when, for whatever reason, they do not trust the busy public Security team to keep them safe.
The men and women of S3 wear body armor faded with long use. Teams of these guards frequently patrol the barricaded streets surrounding the security offices, staring intently at anyone in the area. Clipped voices can be heard as a squad rushes a pedestrian and orders them to submit to a random interrogation. The other civilians nearby studiously look down and remain silent, and as they walk away cameras swing to follow their movement.
NPCs
Sick Bay (Tau Station Medical Center)
Nurses lead patients to the diagnostic rings and log their details on a slate before escorting them into a gleaming consultation room.
Everything in the medical center is clean, sterile, and bright. Patients with every variety of illness and injury fill the small rooms that line the hallways. Sedated patients snore away with content expressions spread across their faces while others wait impatiently, grimacing at aches and pains. A harried technician reassures those waiting that they haven’t been forgotten. An entire wing of the medical center is dedicated to government funded medical research and development, in partnership with Moemedi Medical.
NPCs
University (University of Tau Station)
For learning, life improvement, and subject matter expertise, without the hassle of actual studying, the University of Tau Station offers a quick, simple solution. Education is only an injection away.
The large room is filled with people eagerly waiting in line for their turn with an Education Technician. The technicians themselves wear bored expressions as they go through the rote motions of “educating” their pupils. After confirming the requested course, the techs quickly program a syringe of nanites with the relevant information and give the student an injection under the watchful eye of a security enforcement camera. Students flow in and out of the building, chatting happily about which classes they plan to inject next.
Classes available:
- Business
- Combat
- Engineering
- Leadership
NPCs
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