Arsenal Ward

The park between the dormitories was mostly empty at this time of night, with the dim frictive glow-lights illuminating the perfectly maintained greenery and trees. Sitting on a bench directly underneath the skrch-skrch of a frictive light was the man Thanie was here to find.
The man looked up. "Miss Aldur." He was a plain man of virtually no distinguishing features, wearing a grey cloak, its hood around his shoulders. His nondescriptness was so universal it seemed obvious that he was a member of the Grey Archive, though Thanie kept that thought to herself. "We are to understand that Magistrate Haideri is calling in his favor."
The apprentice nodded. Haideri had given her explicit direction to not say a single word - anything she said would likely be turned against her later, according to the Magistrate. While she thought that ridiculous at the moment, it made perfect sense here, as the hairs on the back of Thanie's neck stood on end. There was no threat, of course; the Greys were not predisposed to violence and the Arsenal was a remarkably safe ward to travel at night. But all of her training told her that she was in danger from this man in front of her, though he gave off no obvious impression of such.
The man looked her in the eyes and gave a smile, though his own eyes failed to move. "No, it's alright. I can guess as to your instructions as to how to behave. No matter." The man pulled a key from his robe, made to reach out, thought better of it, and simply placed the key on the bench next to him before standing. "This unlocks the 3A loading bay door at the UTC rear differential assembly manufactory line building. There is no provenance for the key, and we expect the Magistrate to handle its disposal with discretion." The man stood to leave. "Whatever Haideri is up to, we wish him the best, in the furtherance of the Progress of the Principality." He strode out of the park.
Thanie picked the key up gingerly, as though it would sting, and placed it in her own vest pocket. If whatever was happening in the Arsenal was important enough for the Magistrate to request aid from the Greys, it had to be serious, indeed. She glanced around the ward, but she was alone. Perhaps she would pay a visit to the manufactory herself tonight, just to take a look around, see what had had Haideri in a grim mood this morning...

Demographics

The vast majority of inhabitants of the Arsenal Ward are workers at the local manufactories, and are specialists in Power-Wagons manufacture.

Government

While the Arsenal Ward is merely another section of the city under control of the Mayor of Patino as well as the Patino District Commander, in practice, the various consortiums play a more major role in the Arsenal in the modern era. All property in the Arsenal is owned by the consortiums that have a local manufacturing interest, not only the manufactories themselves, but also the residential worker dormitories, supporting commercial space, and even the local parks and areas of recreation. The entire ward has been designed as a 'consortium town', a microcosm within Patino optimized around the entire lives of the workers on the manufactory line.
Although the Arsenal was originally directly owned by the state and its manufactories directed by the Principality of Etoile towards solely military production, the industries here were sold to consortiums once the pressing needs of war abated, some time after The War of Unification. The Unified Trade Consortium is the dominant industrial concern in the Arsenal, and the largest state contractor in Patino.

Defences

Although long since disused, a number of betong towers (a hardened military version of reconstituted rock) were constructed around the Ward to emplace launcher turrets during the time of the First Princeps. The hardware was long since removed by the Principality; all that remain are the rock towers themselves, a curiosity for tourists and children.

Industry & Trade

The Arsenal remains the center of production for Power-Wagons in the Principality; odds are that any power-wagon found anywhere in the country rolled off the manufactory lines in the Arsenal before being shipped to destination. As the manufactories here matured, new lines were constructed in order to mass-produce components at speed; many firms in the Arsenal specialize in production of specific components, only useful to other manufactories, and have optimized their own production lines for efficient scale. Not only does the Arsenal send off thousands of new power-wagons to the rest of Etoile each year, but also tens of thousands of wheel assemblies, power clutch plates, reciprocating rod joint assemblies, and all of the other advanced technology components that underpin the day-to-day infrastructure across the country.
Notably, the Arsenal does not itself contain smelters or refineries; iron ingots and wood machined to standard sizes are largely crafted elsewhere and imported through the Patino docks, as there are no ore deposits or forests of any significance near the Machine City itself.

Infrastructure

As the oldest ward in Patino, the Arsenal is well situated, right next to the cliff face of the Patino Waterworks, minimizing motive loss between the Power-generating wheels embedded in the former waterfall cliff and the manufactory lines. As the Arsenal was originally planned by the Principality, it is unusually well organized compared to the chaos of the Wards that followed; a tidy grid of manufactories and dormitories and power-delivery flatrods criss-crossing the rooftops, as well as direct freshwater micro-aqueducting from the cisterns straight into each building and tidy main sewage disposal.

Assets

The Arsenal Ward is, by technical assessment of the value of the Power-Wagons and goods manufactured, the most productive ward of Patino, and its assets include all of the specialized manufactories built over nearly a hundred years to service the demands of the Principality of Etoile, both military and civilian. The design of the oldest manufactories is documented and studied extensively, with the lessons learned from those early industrial efforts applied to manufactories across Saibh.

Guilds and Factions

Sixteen of the forty constituent commercial interests of the Joint Consortiums are represented in the Arsenal Ward, all of which are specialized in heavy industry. While the Joint Consortium organization maintains a minimum level of commercial decorum in the Arsenal and helps resolve disputes, it remains a fact that the consortiums are in vicious competition, with the dominant Unified Trade Consortium ruthlessly attempting to drive its competitors out of business. With that being said, due to the strategic importance of the Arsenal and Patino as a whole to the Principality of Etoile, the Arsenal is well monitored, not only by the local Mayor and Patino Council, but by teams sent by The Magistrates to ensure that competition never becomes conflict.

History

The damming of the Patino waterfall in 631 and the construction of the waterworks was in service to the state-directed manufactories established along the Patino shoreline. Those manufactories were tasked with replacing the materiel losses suffered by the First Princeps during The War of Unification; the Principality was unsteady in its first few years, and the Principality Ground Forces required extensive replenishment of its armored power-wagon and launcher-wagon inventory. 
Defense production in the Arsenal largely ceased with the end of significant military conflict and the passing of the First Princeps. With the military having far more armored cavalry than it could use, the manufactories were sold off to private interests; demand for power-wagons was at an all time high and the profit opportunity was enormous. The Principality technically owns all Power-Wagons and simply 'leases' them to private individuals for a duration, and during those heady first years those leases were preposterously expensive. In the modern era, with more efficient production lines for the newest models of power-wagon, relentless cost-cutting has resulted in lean manufactory operations and relatively inexpensive prices for power-wagons and industrial parts.
As a result, the Arsenal has grown significantly in population and productivity, and is one of the most densely populated areas of the Principality despite the wide boulevards and comparatively open urban planning.

Points of interest

While the Arsenal is not exactly a tourist destination, the single largest manufactory in the Arsenal is marked for historical preservation. The building, formerly known as the Etoilean Arsenal prior to its sale to the Unified Trade Consortium, is the largest freestanding building in the Principality, and at one point was able to construct a complete armored assault prow from its constituent components. While now subdivided into partial lines and subleased to various smaller interests, the building still commands awe from those who see it for the first time.
Outside of the former Arsenal building, the Patino tramway stop in the ward is well known for its baroque architecture, with the motif of twisting brass and iron 'vineworks' covering the fencing and columns of the tram station.

Geography

The Arsenal was placed laterally to the Patino Waterworks, some distance away from where the original waterfall's plunge pool landed, but close to the power generation wheels as well as the port of Patino on the coast. While technically part of the 'Lower Wards' in Patino, the Arsenal does not share the same reputation for ill deeds and criminal activity as the true Lower Wards on the other side of the waterworks.

Founding Date

631

Alternative Name(s)

The Arsenal

Type

Ward

Population

90,000

Location under

Patino, the Machine City

Owning Organization

Principality of Etoile