Brakkus
Mining Aficionado
ANDO PRIME REFINERY
"Forgetown"
"Forgetown"
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To provide the Ando Mining Collective with a primary base for mineral refining.
- Image Credit: [1] [2] [3]
- Canon: Not Applicable
- Permissions: Not Applicable
- Links: Not Applicable
SETTING INFORMATION
- Structure Name: Ando Prime Refinery or "Forgetown"
- Classification: Refinery
- Location: Ando Prime
- Affiliation: Ando Mining Collective
- Accessibility:
As the largest refinery in the Lambda Sector and the flagship facility of the Ando Mining Collective, this site is well-known across the mining industry and neighboring systems. Heavy industrial traffic flows through daily, with constant movement of materials and personnel. Strict security protocols are in place to manage this activity, ensuring unauthorized transports are restricted from entering secure areas of the refinery.
- Description:
The sheer scale of the Ando Prime Refinery is evident at first glance, sprawling across the landscape like a small city and earning the name "Forgetown" from the locals. As the planet's most populous settlement, it presents a stark contrast to the untouched arctic expanse surrounding it. Towering exhaust stacks stretch into the sky, releasing dense, dark plumes of pollutant gases into the icy air. While parts of the facility showcase sleek, state-of-the-art technology with untarnished exteriors, much of the refinery still relies on aging, outdated equipment—a testament to its long operational history and ongoing efforts by the Ando Mining Collective to modernize and expand the site to meet ever-growing demands.
POINTS OF INTEREST
North Wing – Mass-Produced Metals & Alloys
The North Wing, the largest of the four, is dedicated to mass-producing essential metals and alloys needed across the Galaxy, especially in starship and vehicle manufacturing. High-demand materials like Durasteel, Flexisteel, Transparisteel, Doonium, and Carbonite are refined here in large quantities to support galactic warfare, with new contracts fueling recent investments in modernization. Despite these updates, the North Wing still relies on massive, aging blast furnaces that operate 24/7. While dependable and high-yielding, these furnaces are less fuel-efficient than newer models and are responsible for most of the facility's atmospheric pollution. Finished metals and alloys leave the site as ingots, sheets, rolls, or bars.
The North Wing also requires the largest workforce, though an increasing amount of automation is now involved. However, traditional manpower remains critical, leading to a higher rate of workplace hazards, with the wing's current fatality rate at 3.4 deaths per 100,000 workers.
East Wing – Gases & Liquid Refining
The East Wing focuses on gas refinement, primarily processing Tibanna gas—a vital fuel used across a range of technologies from blasters to capital ships. While Tibanna remains the most refined gas, other gases are produced as contracts require. Given the explosivity and toxicity of these gases, this wing is highly automated, with extensive pipeline systems handling material throughout the facility. A central control center, fortified for explosion protection, manages operations. Refined gases are stored in external tanks, where Ando Prime's cold climate helps keep them safely pressurized before export.
South Wing – Rare Metals & Alloys
The South Wing specializes in the low-yield refinement of rare metals and alloys. Unlike the North Wing, it uses state-of-the-art metallurgy technology for contracts requiring exceptionally high purity metals, ideal for advanced technological components. Due to the value of these materials, this wing has the strictest security within the facility, with completed products stored in vaults near the South Wing hangar, ready for immediate export.
West Wing – Research & Development
The West Wing, the newest addition to the refinery, is dedicated entirely to research and development. Laboratories here house equipment capable of synthesizing advanced alloys with precise purity, while testing chambers allow scientists to study these materials' exact properties. This wing also develops new mining technologies, rigorously testing equipment under extreme conditions to ensure reliability in the harsh environments of Ando Mining Collective's remote contracts.
Residential District
To support the refinery's round-the-clock workforce, large dormitories were built on the facility's outskirts. Over time, the area expanded into a bustling pseudo-city, attracting independent businesses unaffiliated with Ando Mining Collective. The district now offers a wide array of services—bars, casinos, restaurants, and shopping centers—catering to both workers and visitors. Due to the 24-hour shift patterns, the district is always active, frequented by workers on break and "industrial tourists" seeking to experience the refinery firsthand. However, the lack of regulation has led to an increase in criminal activity, with black market dealings on the rise. To counter this, Ando Mining Collective has invested in security, imposing strict penalties on offenders, including immediate dismissal and eviction.
Lacking access to the Collective's spaceports, independent businesses use makeshift landing pads within the district for supplies and tourist transport. Although popular with visitors, the Residential District generates no revenue for Ando Mining Collective and has increasingly become a management challenge.
SECURITY
[Medium]
Access to the refinery is restricted to Ando Mining Collective personnel and authorized partners. Most doors require low-level security clearance, effectively preventing unauthorized civilian access. High-value storage areas, however, require elevated clearance levels and are equipped with constant surveillance, including cameras, motion sensors, and thermal imaging. Workers entering or exiting these areas must pass through X-ray screenings to prevent product theft. A dedicated security force patrols the facility and responds swiftly to any incidents. This team has also been tasked with managing the rising crime rate in the Residential District. Security in the Residential District remains challenging due to its public nature and the constant flow of industrial and residential traffic entering and exiting the area daily.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Founded by the Ka'bo Mining Company shortly after the Battle of Yavin, the Ando Prime mining site emerged as a symbol of freedom for the planet's residents newly liberated from the Galactic Empire's rule. Initially focused exclusively on Vonium extraction, the site quickly became the backbone of Ka'bo Mining's early success. The mountainous regions of Ando Prime contained far richer Vonium reserves than anticipated, prompting the company to allocate substantial resources to extend mining operations for centuries.
As extraction intensified, Ka'bo Mining invested heavily in modernizing the site, transforming it from a modest operation into a vital resource hub equipped with advanced mining machinery and infrastructure—yet dedicated solely to Vonium production. Given the site's enduring value, it soon included a dedicated refinery, laying the groundwork for what would eventually become the largest refinery in the sector.
Centuries later, however, the Vonium deposits began to dwindle, forcing the Ka'bo Mining Collective to make a difficult decision: either close the facility and forfeit much of their investment or repurpose the site. With infrastructure intact and vast excavated land available, the site was reimagined as a general refinery for minerals extracted across the Lambda Sector. New plans were drawn up, and Ka'bo Mining invested heavily to establish Ando Prime as an essential industrial center.
Over time, the refinery expanded and modernized further, enabling it to meet increasing demands for refined minerals. The facility was restructured into four specialized wings—North, East, South, and West—each dedicated to specific processing needs. Around the worker accommodations, a residential district began to flourish, complete with entertainment, restaurants, bars, and amenities, although unregulated and separate from Ka'bo Mining's oversight.
As the Ka'bo Mining Company expanded under Brakkus Ka'bo—eventually rebranding as the Ando Mining Company—there were concerns he might close the facility and shift operations beyond the Lambda Sector. However, these fears were soon dispelled with the announcement of further expansions to both workforce and production capacity. Unprecedented investment transformed the refinery, enabling it to meet multiple megacorporate contracts simultaneously and elevating the Ando Prime Refinery into a bustling industrial metropolis operating around the clock.
Many Ando Prime natives expressed discontent with the sprawling development and its environmental impact, yet Brakkus Ka'bo, through strong lobbying efforts, managed to suppress local opposition and continue the refinery's operations unabated.