Pristine Downport, Dominion Space

Downport Ore Refinery

Contents

Pristine Downport is constructed on the edge of a plateau adjacent to a geologic basin.

Locations

Starside

Arriving ships will be met by one or more electric busses that approach from the terminal building and attach a boarding tube.

The bus seems to be operated by the Legion, despite bearing Administration Bureau livery. As well as a black-uniformed driver there’s a pair of Legion Customs officers who check their tags and ship doco then sit back down in their ‘reserved’ seats.

The ship parking bays are large bays with concrete walls many metres high and thick. This is not an uncommon design, but here on Pristine, unlike many planets, they are roofed over with steep, angular structures to protect the ships from Pristine’s weather. On many planets the bays are simply open at the front and top, but here they are fitted with huge folding doors.

Starside Bus Depot

The port-side bus depot is a draughty, cavernous area that opens onto the main building concourse.

Main Concourse

A long, low structure for which the main building materials seems to be rough-hewn local granite and bricks. Many of the walls don’t have internal finish and the inside looks the same as the outside, though judging by the thickness of the wall as one passes through the door, there’s an insulating layer to the outside.

Pristine Downport concourse is a surprisingly busy place for a small B-Colony world. At the same the facilities are a bit basic, perhaps because of the comparatively habitable environment which is forgiving of things like a lack of pressure sealing, the whole complex has a rough, partially finished and rustic feel. Heating in the building seems irregular as one moves about some areas are toasty warm and others quite chilly. In the building there are typically many people milling about, both travellers and service workers, Legion members and the occasional low-level Bureaucracy member.

Having passed through a lightly supervised security checkpoint, ahead is a large, long space that looks more like a huge warehouse than a starport concourse. Functional-looking lights hang down from the high ceiling on cables and the heating ductwork is exposed. There are skylights in the roof to add natural light when the star is up. A collection of shops runs along the wall to the left and individual shops appear to have been constructed from non-structural materials inside the existing open space. To the right are various facilities associated with travel – fresher facilities, baggage collection, public terminals, vehicle rental, a secured section for port staff only, etc. Ahead, at the far end of the building is the ground-side travel terminal. Unlike most ports with travel pods or trains on Pristine the usual method of travel from the Downport to the city is a bus or cab ride. Aerostats are also available.

Clothing Store

A common stop on the concourse is the clothing store, which has a prominent sign out the front:

New to Pristine? You’ll Need A Coat!

Inside one can purchse locally-made cold weather gear which seem to be made of animal product furs or imported, which seem to be of woven fibres.

The salesperson will usually suggest that one also purchase a lighter weight coat or jacket for wear about the spaceport and city and helpfully point out the footwear range and possible headgear options as, “You lose a lot of heat through your head, you know.”

Transit Depot

Because starships tend to be loud, slightly radioactive and potentially capable of significant destruction if they hit the ground unexpectedly, Downports are usually located some distance from population centres. On most worlds the Downport is usually connected to the nearest city or installation with a train or a travel pod network. However, on Pristine travellers have a choice of bus, perhaps a taxi or (for VIPs) an aerostat.

The transit depot is undercover and there are heating units near the concourse doors, but there are bus-sized openings through which freezing air is blowing. The temperature is decidedly chilly and the place smells of ozone and brake pads. On one side of the depot is a cab rank.

Road to Clement Basin/ Main Groundside Entrance

The main road is well made and marked and it’s a smooth drive as it proceeds away from the port and off the plateau on which the spaceport is constructed, before turning into a series of gently-curved switchbacks as it descends into the basin for which the settlement is named.

Beyond the entrance there’s a round-about with a big sign showing various directions to the following destinations:

Cargo Transfer
Passenger Transfer
Taxi Bay
Staff Parking
Official Vehicles
Factory Zone
Refinery

Perimeter Road

A paved perimeter road appears to circle the installation. Past the entrance, the perimeter road widens out to carry large and high volumes of traffic to Clement Basin. Near the ore bucket line to the nearby mine, an unsealed service road runs off the perimeter road.

Administration

Accessed from outside through the Official Vehicles parking area. This entire garage area appears to be heated and they can proceed comfortably to the entrance, where another guard/receptionist individually tags them in and asks who they want to see?

This is a Restricted Area.

Security Office

A grey utilitarian space furnished with a steel desk and simple chairs, festooned down one wall with CCTV monitors and another covered with partially closed venetian-style shutters that look out on what appears to be some sort of control centre for the spaceport. There’s a rather obvious weapons locker in one corner and a suit of combat armour on a rack next to it.

Cargo Area

Iceheart Import Export Brokerage

An independent brokerage firm leasing an area of the Downport.