Ports, Stations, and Facilities

These are the lifelines of the galaxy. Crews stop here for fuel, food, medical care, contract settlements, and cargo handling. Each type of facility has its own risks, politics, and customs.

Refuel and Rewater Depots

Function. Provide basic fuel, water, and air resupply. Often small, lightly staffed, and located on minor routes or near toll checkpoints.
Inspection. Minimal. Most focus on volume, not purity. Many don’t check licenses unless pushed by patrol ships or nearby syndicates.
Risks. Fuel may be watered down or cut with unstable additives. Water seals may be tampered with or counterfeit. Faulty parts are common, leading to system failures mid-route.
Notes. Fast, cheap, and useful for crews on tight deadlines, but reliability is low. Most experienced captains avoid relying solely on depots unless there’s no other option.

Repair Yards

Core Yards. Large drydocks with licensed staff, clean bays, and reliable replacement parts. Expensive and slow.
Mid Yards. Mid-level repair centers with decent staff, but debt pressure means corners get cut. Payment plans are common. Work orders are often delayed by bribes or “priority fees.”
Rim Patch Shops. Run by freelancers or clades, often out of old hulls or asteroid stations. Cheap and fast, but work quality depends on the shop’s resources. Some jobs are clever improvisations; others are disasters waiting to happen.
Risks. Unlicensed parts, recycled seals, and patch jobs that won’t survive long hauls. Some yards collude with syndicates to sabotage clients for future “rescue” contracts.

Scrapyards

Workforce. Heavily Caraphex, since they thrive in dust and vibration-heavy environments. Crews salvage hulks, strip engines, and reforge parts.
Function. Essential sources of rugged components and old systems no longer made by core corporations. Prices fluctuate wildly based on local supply.
Risks. Counterfeit seals and mislabeled parts are common. Some parts are stolen, flagged, or carry hidden locks.
Notes. Scrapyards are hubs for informal trade, hiring day labor, and striking quick deals. Many are guarded by clade militias who enforce order in their own way.

Clinics

Core Clinics. Licensed facilities with modern equipment, trained staff, and regulated medicine. Costs are high, but outcomes are reliable.
Mid Clinics. Variable quality. Some are run by Faith Networks and Mutual Aid groups, providing affordable care with limited supplies. Others are corporate clinics that demand upfront payment or debt contracts.
Rim Clinics. Often crude, with scavenged equipment and black-market supplies. Trauma care is available, but advanced surgery or cybernetic installs are uneven in quality. Some double as black-market augmentation shops.
Risks. Infection, counterfeit medicine, and unlicensed gene or cybernetic edits. Debt contracts for unpaid care are common.
Notes. Most crews maintain personal medics or travel with stocked kits to avoid relying solely on rim clinics.

Data Houses

Function. Buy and sell route charts, cargo manifests, and verified identity records. Trusted data is essential for safe travel.
Guild Members. Members of Data Guilds receive better access, lower rates, and first notice of updated charts. Non-members pay higher fees and often receive outdated or partial data.
Escrow Services. Many houses run escrow systems tied to their data trades. They verify manifests and release payments when proofs are logged.
Risks. False data is a weapon. Syndicates often sell forged manifests or route updates to mislead crews. Some houses deliberately sell bad data to outsiders while protecting insiders.
Notes. Keth survey leagues and Synthborn escrow nodes work closely with Data Houses to keep legitimacy intact. Crews who tamper with route data are blacklisted quickly.

Escrow Banks

Function. Hold funds during transit, ensuring cargo owners and carriers both meet terms. Credits are only released when seal codes and arrival proofs are confirmed.
Synthborn Role. Many escrow systems are run or supported by Synthborn nodes, trusted for precise logs and incorruptible memory.
Verification. Requires matching codes from ship seals, cargo manifests, and Data Guild records. Disputes go to arbitration, which can be slow or influenced by bribes.
Risks. On rim worlds, escrow offices may be corrupt, biased toward local factions, or secretly controlled by Syndicates. In extreme cases, escrow banks disappear mid-cycle, taking all deposits with them.
Notes. Crews depend on escrow banks to get paid fairly. Without escrow, many jobs default to bribes, intimidation, or outright theft.

Additional Minor Facilities

Waystations. Small bunk hubs for crews on long jumps. Usually attached to refuel depots or repair yards. Poor sanitation, mixed security.
Market Rings. Stations where food, spare parts, tools, and entertainment are sold. Core rings are orderly; rim rings are chaotic and scam-heavy.
Transit Prisons. Built into hubs along routes. Prisoners often used for labor on station upkeep or nearby mines. Guard discipline depends on contract funding.
Faith Shelters. Found in many ports. Provide food, water, and rest for travelers, sometimes in exchange for labor or donations.