Brighthope Beacon

Yes, yes, Brighthope Beacon is that new fancy station the Republic finished building. I'm sure there are plenty of fancy academies and other such things. But you don't think that is what we are after. No. No. No. We will be the first to establish an operation there. Oh? You think not? Don't let the cheery name fool you, my friend. Even this station must run on "legitamate" business ventures. The first ones to establish their places in the undercity will have their pick of the profits.

- Captain Panocka Ohndor

Glittering Jewel of the Azulon Sector, Brighthope Beacon is a stronghold on the edge of the Azure Nebula, a vast gaseous anomoly spaning lightyears with hidden planets and stars. The station was built in a collaborative effort with the The Republic of Unified Systems, the Starlight Priests of Corellon, and the Solarion Sect of Ashari.
The station is has the latest and greatest in technology and amenities. Taking 15 years to construct, and opened 5 years ago, the Brighthope Beacon has a decent population that is steadily growing. 6 miles in diameter and 5 miles in height, the station is capable of supporting well over 10 million life forms. It's long arms radiate from the center outward for docking and shipping structures, and the dome in the center offers a look from the station surface into the beauty of space.

Demographics

Current Population: roughly 1,950,000
Rough Demographic Breakdown:
35% Human (682,500)
20% Dwarf (390,000)
15% Murae (292,500)
10% Togruta (195,000)
10% Xechara (195,000)
5% Luxodon (97,500)
5% Vesk (97,500)

Government

Brighthope Station is governed by the Ruling Council, a group of 12 individuals elected to represent the various districts of the station. The leader of this council is known as the Grand Councilman / Councilwoman. The Grand Council member is elected by the station districts from among the existing council members. Each council member has a term limit of 5 years, with the Grand Council Member having a limit of 3 years.

Outside of the Ruling Council, there is a quorum whose members not connected to the Ruling Council. This quorum would be assembled when legal action needed to be taken against the council, such as removing a member from office, or to review the legality of legislation made by the Ruling Council. This quorum is made up of a rotating group of 12 members from religious organizations, political groups, coorporations, and guilds. It is up to the relavant organizations to have elected their quorum member. Qurorum members can only serve in the position for 4 years.

Infrastructure

Overview

The station is 6 miles in diameter across its arms and 5 miles in height at its core. The tallest section has around 1400 decks, though as you go out across the arms they drop down to about 75-100 decks. A deck spans 6m (or 20ft) in height though only about 3m are usually avaiable for public use as the other 3 meters are split on top and bottom for maintenance access and conduit space.
The large dome at the center of the station is over 1 mile high, spanning what would be over 550 decks. The dome houses magnificent towers and a variety of parks and recreation areas under the starlit sky. The dome is heavily reinforced with redundant layers of shatter and impact resistant material as well as redundant shielding both external and internal.

Brighthope Beacon Sections

The station can be broken into 5 distinct sections.

• Azure Skyline:
  The large central dome which is home to many of the elite residents and major corporations. Instead of typical deck numbers, the Azure Skyline uses typical addresses to desginate the location of offices, homes, and businesses.
• The Habitat Ring:
  The region of the station surrounding the Azure Skyline. This is the primary compsition of the station and houses much of the residential sections as well as hydroponics and many life support systems. Any towers on the rings are addressed by the deck entrances and have independent flooring charts.
  The Habitat Ring starts at Deck 1 and rises until Deck 400 with decks 300-400 having direct access to the Azure Skyline along the border. These deck numbers are prefixed with "H" when giving directions (such as Deck H34).
• The Pylons:
  The 7 pylons extend from the Habitat Ring and jut out into the surrounding space. The arms are almost exclusively used for cargo bays, docking ports or docking bays, and the customs offices. A few residential areas can be found on the inner most sections though these are typically small and spill over from the Habitat Ring.
  The Pylons begin with Deck 1 as the lowest deck and rise upwards of deck 200 on the innermost sections. Decks 100 and above have direct access to the Habitat ring, while the lower decks are directly connected to the Core section of the station. Pylon decks are prefixed with "P" when necessary.
• The Core:
  The core is predominantly occupied by security offices, engineering sections, and also the main reactors of the station. Large engines can also be found on the exterior of this section that can help maneuver the station in events of emergencies. The Core has 330 decks and is where the station begins to drastically reduce it's overall footprint to the point where it is only 1.5 miles wide at decks 50 and below. The fringes of the Core have some less refined residential areas and recreational areas, typically frequented or lived in by those who work on these levels, but other cases where they are unable to afford in the upper levels. Core decks are prefaced with "C" when necessary.
• The Spires:
  The spires are the lowest portions of the BrightHope Beacon complex. Containing 340 Decks, the spires house the main waste processing and recycling centers. Many have also fashioned for themselves residential quarters and a few recreational commercial venues, either becasue they can afford nothing better or becasue they wish to live away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the station in smaller accomodations.

Guilds and Factions

Religious and Scientific Organizations

Corellon's Light

The Starlight Priests of Corellon lead the religious services of Corellon's Light, a faith focused on the deity of Light and Creation for the Vulerans: Correlon. They have a large sanctuary in the Azure Skyline known as the Beacon of the Lux. Though they are truly devout, many do not posses extraordinary powers as seen by other religious individuals in legends or those rumored throughout the galaxy.

The Iron Guard

A group of warrior monks who worship Haela Brightaxe, the dwaven battlemaiden and goddess of battle. Their complex, the SwordLight Cathedral begins in the Azure Skyline and spills over into a small tower of the Habitat Ring rising out of the dome. The cathedral contains many levels for guest quarters, sanctuaries, training rooms, and even armories. It is one of the few complexes that has permission to have its own armories and allow it's residents to own various weapons without permits for each type of weapon.

The Astral Exploration Society

Rising high above the Habitat ring and the Dome of the Azure Skyline is the Starspire. Owned and operated by the Astral Exploration Society, the collosal silver tower holds large atriums for adventurers and guests to enter and mingle in. There are also large debate and lecture halls in addition to large holographic chambers for astronimical charting and expedition planning.
The Society prides itself on its ability to take on jobs others cannot and explore and compile vast troves of knowledge. The Spire also houses the Astral Datacron, one of the largest compilations of knowledge and literature in the quadrant. The Datacron is a large collection of computer nodes storing information, and much of its content is available to the public, though large repositories of information are under strict guard by the Viridian Archivists.

Viridian Archivists

This group of scholars both seeks out information, and guards secrets deemed too dangerous to let loose into the galaxy. Many dedicate their service to Ioun but religious devotion isn't a requirement.

Corporations and Guilds

Astral Extractions

A large firm responsible for the collection and distribution of stellar resources across the Republic, Astral Extractions recently moved its headquarters to Brighthope Beacon to take advantage of operations going on inside the nebula. The corporation often comes into conflict with the Mining Guild of the station.

Cobalt Mechant's Guild

Many merchants of the station are members of this association to protect themselves from political and financial abuse as well as forge a network among their fellow merchants for buying and selling wares.

Crystalworks Technologies

A pioneer in computers and energy sources, Crystalworks is a rising star in the tech industry that hopes to seal it's position as one of the major corporations in this area of the quadrant by getting in early and grabbing the best spaces in Brighthope Beacon as well as prividng much of the new technological components the station uses.

Ionacorp

Everyone in the modern age needs power, and Ionacorp is the leading provider of energy across the Republic. Contracts were written with Ionacorp when the station was built to allow them to tap into the station's reactors to provide power to residents and maintain large amounts of the energy infrastructure of the station in exchange for proprietary technology for longer running and cleaner reactor cores that the station uses.

Ourana Mining Cooperative

The local mining guild runs operations to collect stellar gases and minerals from planetoids in or around the nebula. Many of the working class of the station are employed with the various local businesses that form the cooperative.

Tymoran Transit Authority

One of the main interstellar transport companies for both cargo and passenger transport. Though a few other agencies do exist, the TTA is by far the most widespread and high class of general transport. Only the Murea Star Line surpasses it in luxury and comfort, though the MSL is limited to Star Cruisers not day to day transport.

Gangs

Crew 55

The only gang to sprout up from the station itself, Crew 55 runs the lower levels of the station with the rumor that their base of operations is on Deck S55. It arose as a means of protecting the Spire neigborhoods from the oppression of the gangs finding their way onto the station trying to form their own underworld empire. Though official documentation does not support it, many doubt the altruistic goals claimed by the group.

The Azure Phantoms

At the moment, the origins of this gang are unknown. They came to the station about 15 years ago from somewhere else and it seems changed their name to appear as a native gang. Originally trying to take over much of the lower sections of the station, they have ended up at the lower levels of the Habitat Ring and the upper levels of the Core sections. True to their name, very few members have ever been caught and their base seems to dissapear and reappear at random.

The Whisperman Syndicate

The most widely known throughout the Republic. The Whisperman Syndicate is a high brow criminal rings that has several "legitamate" businesses that they use to cover their tracks. There are rumored to be a few bases and meeting spots in the inner Habitat Ring and Azure Skyline. Of all of the gangs on the station, the Syndicate is the most vexing for security to face because of the many connections and resources they have to avoid incarceration.

by Austin Graham; Paizo

Type

Starbase

Population

roughly 1,950,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Beaconite

Related Organization

The Republic of Unified Systems