Five Fates Station

Five Fates (also Five Fates Station) is an independent orbital district, trade outpost, and pirate fortress located in the Charybdis system of the Calypso Deeps. Situated deep within an ultra-dense field of ice asteroids local to the system, the district has been formed from the wrecks of five starships abandoned during the evacuation era. Its turbulent history, marked by bloodshed, shifting ownership, and frontier warfare, has made it one of the most infamous but widely used waypoints in the Calypso Deeps.

Stations

The Fool

The Fool is the gateway terminal to the Five Fates, the port of entry for most visitors and the first of the stations they are likely to navigate. This is a consequence of its position: of the original ship hulls that make up the Five Fates orbital district, it rests alone at the outermost edge of its parent ice field, extending out into a navigable corridor of more open space that winds through Charybdis' periphery, and forms a convenient waypoint for miners, freelancers, and pirates passing through.

Originally the Santa María, the vessel was retrofitted into a general-purpose auxiliary ship under the UAC, and then refitted again upon its rediscovery into a glorified transit node, lined with docking spires, hangar bays, freight yards, and transfer halls. Though appearing as a rough assemblage of reconfigured hull sections and unplanned additions, it functions suitably well in its role, with an eclectic but effective makeup.

Customs and tolls at the Five Fates are loosely enforced and highly negotiable. Multiple embarkation concourses offer entry, some cutting through or exiting into the territory of various factions. Travelers on these routes may face successive fees across multiple checkpoints but can expect a greater leniency with certain forms of illicit cargo. Other checkpoints, hangars, and docking spires, those run by the station nominal administration, are stricter, only slightly less expensive, yet more reliable and may offer certain visitor services. During times of conflict on the station however, their control over many areas is not guaranteed. Privately owned hangars and less-frequented landing pads provide another option primarily used by freelancers, allowing certain vessels to bypass the concourses altogether as well as the associated fees.

The station itself is mainly a series of immense concourses renowned for their floor-to-ceiling windows in many sections, offering spectacular views of the ice fields, the transit corridor, and every ship passing through. A station-run commissary and several private outlets offer food, drink, currency exchange, and basic supplies to travelers, while a similar mix of public dormitories and private lodging options provide accommodations ranging from capsule bunks to “luxury suites” featuring exterior-facing windows and simulation rooms. Several medical centers are also present, though the most well supplied tend to be privately or faction owned. Ship chandlers are also common, though offerings are limited to more widespread equipment models compared to inventories present elsewhere in the Fates.

Clustered in common areas and hidden in the uncountable nooks and crannies throughout the station, smaller markets offer an eclectic pile of secondhand wares. Hidden among them are a few luxuries for the keen-eyed captain or crewmember: genuine silks, fruits, and spices from Turkey, Japanese spirits and devotional trinkets from New Canaan, or American, French, and Brazilian arms from Callao. Repair houses and smaller bars and cantinas are also scattered throughout these areas, filled with the variety of drifters, freelancers, and mercenaries that tend to congregate in such places. Yet The Fool is most often crowded with transients, crews and passengers pausing to take advantage of its amenities before venturing into the Charybdis’ ice fields or passing elsewhere into the Calypso Deeps.

Pilgrim's Hall

After being damaged in a botched docking early in the station’s history, a section of concourse was closed off and left abandoned. It was briefly inhabited by a group of Christian pilgrims, who painted several of its windows, a practice later copied by an Islamic mosque that established itself there. Today, dozens of places of worship line the hall: some modest and makeshift, others more established, offering food, lodging, and guidance to practitioners and especially pilgrims.

Fools Errand

A five-story cantina, Fool’s Errand is located directly across from the station’s largest charter house. As such, it has become the de facto meeting place for captains and crews arranging passage, freight contracts, or less-legal dealings. Its floors are loosely stratified: the lower levels are used by drifters, loaders, and small-time haulers, the upper balconies reserved for the station’s elite, or visitors looking to flaunt their wealth. Each level has its own bars, gambling tables and other amenities.

Jericho Beach

Jericho Beach is an inn and butcher shop owned by John Finnegan, a widely respected freelancer whose property is considered ‘neutral ground’ aboard the station. It offers modest but affordable lodging and is especially known for its elaborate common rooms, filled with relics and mementos from Finnegan’s long career. Its professionally outfitted chophouse and grill features, mounted above the carving station and open flame, Finnegan’s proudest centerpiece: a bullet-wracked, Cuban-built MiG-480 once flown by Black Mask in the Calypso Deeps.

Overflow Anchorage

Utilized when the main docking spires are full, or by ships too large to dock directly with the station, a network of outposts and tethered platforms extends outward from the station. Shuttles and courier craft ferry crews and cargo to the station.