Ports, Stations, and Facilities

These are the stops that keep the galaxy running. Crews come here for fuel, food, repairs, doctors and work. Each kind of stop has its own dangers.

What they are. Small stops for fuel, water and air, with few staff. Most sit on minor routes or near toll checkpoints.
Checks. Almost none. Nobody asks for papers unless a patrol ship or a syndicate is nearby.
Dangers. Fuel is watered down. Water is recycled or dirty, and sometimes sold as Vellari ice water when it is not. Cheap parts fail mid-trip.
Notes. Fast and cheap, but not reliable. Most captains use them only when they have to. The coffee machine is always broken.
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Core yards. Big clean drydocks with trained staff and real parts. Expensive and slow.
Mid yards. Decent staff, but they cut corners to pay their own debts. Payment plans are common. Bribes get you to the front of the line.
Rim patch shops. Run by freelancers or clades out of old hulls or asteroid bases. Cheap and fast. Some jobs are clever. Some are disasters waiting to happen.
Dangers. Knockoff parts and patch jobs that will not last a long haul. Some yards work with syndicates and sabotage ships so they can sell a rescue later.
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Who works there. Mostly Caraphex, who handle dust and shaking better than anyone. They strip hulks, pull engines and rework parts.
Why crews come. Old, tough parts that nobody makes anymore. Prices jump around with supply.
Dangers. Stolen parts, fake parts, and parts with hidden tracking locks.
Notes. Scrapyards are good places to hire day workers and make quick deals. Clade guards keep order their own way.
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Core clinics. Good equipment, trained staff and real medicine. Very expensive.
Mid clinics. Some are cheap and run by faith groups. Others are company clinics that want cash up front or a debt contract.
Rim clinics. Scavenged gear and black-market drugs. They can stitch a wound. Surgery and cyber installs are a gamble. Some double as back-alley implant shops.
Dangers. Infection, fake medicine and bad gene or cyber work. Unpaid bills turn into debt.
Notes. Most crews carry their own medic or a good kit so they can stay out of Rim clinics.
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What they do. Buy and sell lane charts, news, cargo lists and identity records.
Members. Data Guild members get better prices and hear news first. Everyone else pays more for older news.
Dangers. Bad data is a weapon. Syndicates sell fake charts to steer crews into ambushes. Some brokers sell junk to outsiders on purpose.
Notes. Keth navigators and Synthborn record keepers work with the honest brokers. Crews caught faking lane data get blacklisted fast.
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Banks. Core banks hold money and pay out jobs. Many hire Synthborn to handle payments because they are hard to bribe. Rim banks can be crooked or owned by a syndicate. Now and then one just vanishes with everyone's money.
Pawn shops. Every port has one. Crews pawn guns, tools and sometimes ship parts to cover fuel.
Bounty offices. Small offices with a wall of wanted posters and a tired clerk. Hunters check new bounties here and turn in targets for pay.
Notes. Getting paid is half the job. Without a trusted place to collect, deals fall back on threats and theft.
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Motel rings. Cheap bunk rooms on long routes, usually next to a depot or repair yard. Thin walls, bad plumbing, mixed security.
Market rings. Stations that sell food, spare parts, tools and fun. Core rings are orderly. Rim rings are loud and full of scams.
Noodle bars. Open all night at almost every dock. Cheap broth, cheap beer, and a screen showing the bounty news.
Transit prisons. Built into hubs along the lanes. Prisoners work on station upkeep or in nearby mines.
Faith shelters. Found in many ports. They give travelers food, water and a bed, sometimes in exchange for work.