Tartarus Prison

The most feared prison in the solar system, operated by the Cold World Accords, Tartarus is a massive work-camp where inmates mine for resources that are then shipped back to the Cold Worlds.
A hellish, artificial underworld of crudely hacked stone tunnels and caverns, lined with stuttering lights and the orange-red glow of insufficient heaters. Dirty ice smudges the walls and the tattered rags of the men who shamble through the gloom like shades, and all is watched by the ever-present guards. In contrast to the tattered rags and scraps of cloth the prisoners cling to, these men wear glossy black armor with blank visors, and carry beam rifles and long, cruel whips. Heavy boots clank on the catwalks above the prison floor as they pace back and forth, hands on weapons, in groups of four or more. Despair hangs in the thin, cold air as the prisoners hack and chip at the walls with crude tools, the constant sounds of mining only interrupted by the odd crack of a whip or screech of a firing beam-rifle.

Demographics

People from all of the four Cold Worlds can be found in Tartarus- and though less common, each of the Inner Worlds as well.

Government

Tartarus is run entirely from Charon station, an outpost kept above the surface in a massive, ferrocrete bunker complex. The prison is under the near total control of the Warden, who only has an oversight council comprised of a member from each of the Cold Worlds to deal with. The council only visits the prison annually.

Defences

Tartarus has few actual defenses. The cold provides a better barrier than any wall, is far more dangerous to cross than any razorwire, and more impenetrable than the strongest of shields. Only specialized ships can land in the environment without suffering massive system failure.
Charon station itself is lightly defended by automated beam weapons at designated choke points and heavy chrome-alloy barrier doors.

Industry & Trade

Tartarus is a prison mining camp. There is only the extracting and refining of ore there.

Infrastructure

There is one landing zone for the prison, at Charon station. Within, the prison complex is comprised of several tunnels. Some of the more important have mine carts that can carry workers, when there's no ore or spoil to extract.

Assets

Tartarus has nearly unlimited mineral wealth. Unfortunately the exceedingly hostile environment limits how easily this can be accessed.

History

Tartarus was established on the site of one of the largest failed mining colonies as an initiative by the Cold Worlds to deal with criminals once the Solar Empire fell, and has been in near constant operation since.

Geography

Tartarus is entirely comprised of a vast, sprawling complex of mining tunnels that criss-cross the caves and crevasses of Pluto. The fortunate guards live above, in Charon station- an ugly, military-designed series of ferrrocrete bunkers.

Alternative Name(s)

Tartarus, Terminus, The Freeze, Hell

Type

Underground / Vault

Location under

Pluto

Owning Organization

The Cold World Accord