Renegade Rodian
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To give the delinquents of the galaxy a place to work off their accumulated debt the honest way: grueling physical labor.
- Image: Crystal mine experiment by Eliminate
- Canon: Nope.
- Links: N/A
- Name: Helix Syndicate Debtor Mine
- Materials: Crystals (Mygeeto), Industrial Metals (Ord Thoden, Monhudle, Churruma), Precious Metals (Isiring).
- Classification: Debtor Prison / Mining Facility
- Locations: Mygeeto, Monhudle, Isiring, Churruma, Ord Thoden
- Affiliation: Helix Syndicate
- Population:
[x0001] H01 Artificial Intelligence - [x0800] Helix Syndicate Enforcers
- [x0065] Helix Syndicate Shock Troopers
- [x1500] Helix Syndicate Support Staff
- [x0050] Helix Syndicate Communications Technicians
- [x6500] Debtors
[*]Accessibility: Debtor mines tend to be in remote, mountainous or hilly regions. They are not frequently found close to any villages, towns, or cities in order to deter escape attempts. Debtor mines are most frequently accessed via air transport, but they can also be accessed by roads.
DESCRIPTION
Helix Syndicate debtor mines are not happy places. They tend to house well over eight thousand sapients, just over six thousand of which are individuals who owe money to the Helix Syndicate or one of its employers. In the depths of these mines, the debtors slave endlessly in order to atone for the money they owe and are otherwise incapable of paying back.
When purchasing debts, the Syndicate began to find more and more people were completely incapable of paying their debts. They had no real skills to offer, no assets to seize, no family to beseech. This began to result in lost profits for the Syndicate. How to fix this? No one needs a great deal of skill to swing a pickaxe or haul ore to the surface. The Syndicate thusly began to establish debtor mines on some of the more mineral rich worlds of the Pentastar Sectors.
When a debtor can’t pay their dues any other way, they are black-bagged and shipped to one of the debtor mines listed above. Here, they toil away being paid a paltry minimum wage. This wage does not go into their pockets, of course, but instead towards paying off their debts. Meanwhile, the total value of the crystals they mine in their nine hour shifts are worth far, far more than their debts or sad little paychecks.
Debtor Mines are usually found within or near mountainous regions. A tall electric fence dissuades entrance on foot. There are no roads that lead to civilization near these sites either - the surrounding area is usually uninhabited wasteland.
Despite the grueling labor, these debtor mines aren’t the worst place someone could spend time. It’s what you make of it, really. The Helix Syndicate understands that its debtors function better if they are alive and well, as opposed to dead or sick. Lodging facilities are kept temperature controlled and always cleaned. Each debtor mine’s peak capacity for debtors is eight thousand sapients, but this is purposely kept lower to minimize complications from overcrowding. Model debtors are allowed some luxuries in their off-hours. Good behavior and high productivity can lead to some of their debt being forgiven and, as a result, a shorter sentence. Some debtors are even recruited into the Syndicate this way.
The prisoners’ quarters are spartan, but not left in deplorable conditions. Maintenance droids regularly clean and search the facilities while the prisoners are working their shifts in the mines. A day in the life of a prisoner here typically involves twelve hours of work, four hours of leisure time, and the recommended eight hours of sleep. Meals frequently consist of Imperial Ration imitations which, while bland, account for 100% of most sapients daily nutrition needs.
Well-behaved debtors are often allowed visits from relatives or friends. Official policy states that no gifts are allowed, but bribery is a frequent enough occurrence to circumvent this.
The guard quarters are far more luxurious, featuring an indoor pool, a gym, a movie screening room, and a library. The food there is also marginally better. Occasionally, hookers will be bussed in to keep morale high. Nearby, the administrative center serves a multitude of tasks. It acts as a communications relay and bureaucratic headquarters for the debtor mine. Monitoring debtors, sending alerts to the guards, and transmitting updates to the Helix Syndicate’s headquarters are handled both by an H01 Artificial Intelligence and a small administrative team.
The basement level of the administrative center has been outfitted with an assortment of communications monitoring equipment and an array of supercomputers. From this center, incoming and outgoing communications to anywhere on their home planet are intercepted, recorded, and decrypted if necessary. These tasks are performed by a team of trained technicians utilizing the Aurelius-Class Decryption Engine.
POINTS OF INTEREST
- Sections A - C: These sections are dedicated to the housing of prisoners. Conditions are spartan but humane. Productive prisoners are often afforded certain luxuries in their cells. These sections are kept close to Section F.
- Sections D - E: These sections are the living areas for the Syndicate’s support personnel, Enforcers, and communications technicians. These sections include recreation centers and are, as a whole, much more comfortable than the previous sections.
- Section F: The mines are in this section. All of the heavy industrial equipment and tools are also stored here. It is located close to Sections A through C.
- Section G: The communications array and administrative center is housed here. The listening post the Syndicate operates in each mining facility is also located in a sublevel of this section. It is located in the heart of Sections D and E.
- Section H: This section is dominated by a large warehouse, where extracted materials are sorted, catalogued, and prepared for shipment elsewhere. It is located in the heart of Sections D and E, next to Section G.
The mining facilities are lightly defended. They possess a rudimentary shield generator in addition to three anti-aircraft turrets, concentrated as usual around the landing pad. A dozen anti-personnel turrets can be found overshadowing pathways and keeping watch over the facility’s exterior as well to dissuade any attempts at rioting.
Inside the buildings, there are security checkpoints at every major juncture. Keycards are needed for access to most areas. Retinal scans are mandatory for access to more important areas, like the control room. Be advised that the retinal scanners can detect whether or not the retina they are scanning belongs to a live person.
A network of security cameras keeps close watch over all residents at all times and auto-turrets keep watch over the hallways. These auto-turrets remain deactivated unless an intruder is detected. When active, they will open fire on any individual not carrying a clearance keycard or not logged in their facial recognition system.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
One of the many dilemmas faced by debt buying companies is what to do with debtors who are incapable of paying, either with assets or currency. Most companies simply cut their losses with those individuals, but not the Helix Syndicate. As the owner of the debt, the Helix Syndicate is rightfully entitled to compensation. If they cannot purchase their freedom, they will work for it.
So the Syndicate set about purchasing failing mines on mineral rich planets. Now whenever a sentient cannot pay their dues to the Syndicate, they are simply black-bagged and deposited at one of the debtor mines. They will labor here until the debt is considered paid off.
