Geography

Estimated reading: 3 minutes

Geostation Kessler is a circular space station the size of a small moon, with a diameter of 500 kilometres. The central section, the Orb, houses the reactors, manifold collapse drive and central processing units. It is spherical, with a diameter of 200 km. The rest of the ship, the Web, is a disc 100 km tall and 300 km across, which can unfurl into three “arms” to perform the ship’s primary function. Though unassuming at “rest”, Kessler is an awe-inspiring sight at work: a radial, almost floral machine carving through the sky.

Kessler’s internal architecture has a certain brutal grandeur, with curiously vertebral pylons for transmitting power and sweeping radial arcs to brace the walls. Upon this canvas, Kesslerans impose their own eclectic tastes, using souvenirs of past journeys and projects along with bespoke FABREP art to decorate their home. Working areas are clean and focussed, but communal areas are full of experimentation and expression. Kesslerans iterate, continually adjusting how they live and how they work for the thrill of innovation.

The ship is categorised into a series of “zones”. These are not continuous with each other, but instead are located appropriately for the functions they serve:

Salvage zones line the arms of the Web. These include the immediate intake bays, from hangars that receive entire scrapped craft to vents for gas filtration, along with the mazes of conveyor tunnels and processors that churn through the intake and present it for inspection. Around 40% of the ship is made up of salvage zones, which are also the roughest and dirtiest areas aboard.
Laboratory zones are dotted throughout Kessler and split between lecture halls in the Orb and hands-on experimental labs in the Web, altogether comprising 10% of the ship’s layout. Biological and exotic material is sent from salvage to the labs for further study and processing. Protective equipment is still a must-have here, though it is only mandatory in active experimental areas.
Metro zones are broad flat blocks buffered from both the labs and the bowels where salvage occurs. Consisting of individual homes, places of business and public plazas for rest and relaxation, these areas are the closest to the urban metropolitan areas on other planets – they hum with trade, for it is here that Kesslerans exchange what they have gleaned on their travels with each other and with visitors. 30% of the ship is a metro zone of some kind.
The remaining 20% of Kessler is made up of areas deemed dark zones. These holdouts are parts of the ship that are too damaged, unstable or sealed to enter – at least, not without risking the destruction of either the adjacent areas or whatever lies inside. Though the contours of the dark zones are well-known, their contents are often a mystery – and progress on opening them up has slowed in recent decades, with few new discoveries of note.

The ship is criss-crossed with magrail transit systems, allowing rapid transport to the central stations at each and every zone. Transport within a zone is generally slower, especially for guests – Kessler is a maze of intersecting pathways, with little rhyme or reason to outsiders.Kessler is also invariably surrounded by the Remorals – a fleet of affiliated scavenger ships that assist in the mapping of debris fields and the safe disassembly and decontamination of objects that are too large, or dangerous, to move to the main station as-is. In exchange for their assistance, they enjoy the protection and support of Kessler and the Alliance, along with the privilege of trading with Kessler and its host planets alike.