Tarkos Deep Extraction Platform — Standard Layout
Designation: DEP-47 “Iron Mare” Class
Manufacturer: Tarkos Extraction Limited
Operational Crew: 100 (minimum)
Max Complement: 300 (with contractors, scientists, and labor drones)
Operational Roles: Deep mineral excavation, refining, and heavy atmospheric lift.
1. Command & Control Deck (“The Bridge Stack”)
- Operations Bridge: Central navigation and systems command, with panoramic armored windows or reinforced sensor walls.
- Communications Tower: Long-range comms and beacon relay; doubles as spike-drive telemetry uplink when deployed offworld.
- Drone Coordination Bay: Oversees fleets of remote mining drones and maintenance crawlers.
- Emergency Override Room: Manual control for life support, reactor, and grav-lock systems — only accessible by senior officers.
- Observation Gallery: Small transparent dome for external monitoring and status reviews (also a favorite smoking spot).
2. Crew Deck (“The Burrow”) - Thick Biological Hazard
- Habitation Quarters: Compact sleeping pods and private cabins for senior staff.
- Cafeteria & Mess Hall: Shared dining and morale hub; famously grim Tarkos cuisine.
- Recreation Bay: Gym, VR lounge, and rec sim pods — often converted into makeshift bars.
- Medical Bay / Quarantine Module: Includes a decompression chamber and nanite scrubber bay.
- Hydroponic Tank Farm: Small food and oxygen generation area — half practical, half symbolic.
- Biological Containment Module (Greenflow Variant): Repurposed lab deck, with organic growth chambers and isolation wards.
3. Core Engineering Deck (“The Forge”) - Mild Biological Hazard
- Power Core: Fusion or antimatter reactor, heavily shielded; gravity modulation anchors located here.
- Environmental Systems: Life support, filtration, and coolant management.
- Maintenance Fabricator Bay: 3D printers and assembly lines for spare parts, hull plating, and tools.
- Gravity Control Hub: Manages grav-lock anchors used to fix the platform to surfaces — or, in emergencies, to trap landing craft.
- Access to Utility Shafts: Narrow tunnels running vertically down to the extraction levels below.
3.5 Spike Drive and Energy Core - Radiation Hazard
- Core Engineering Deck: Houses the main reactor controls, power distribution, and spike drive coupling.
- Engine Housing / Reactor Core: The physical spike drive assembly is mounted here — protected, radiation-shielded, and near the station’s structural heart for stability.
- Access Routes: Maintenance shafts and coolant corridors connect upward to the Refining Deck and outward to the Cargo Docking Deck for fuel handling and stabilization.
4. Refining & Processing Deck (“The Works”) - Partially Collapsed
- Ore Processing Plants: Smelters, crushers, separators, and volatile element scrubbers.
- Atmospheric Vent Shafts: Giant exhaust chimneys that vent gases, often visible from orbit.
- Bulk Material Conveyors: Automated belts and grav lifts that feed to storage bays.
- Hazard Bays: Containment areas for toxic, radioactive, or biological waste (if used for experiments).
- Machinist Control Center: Oversees automated refining systems; one of the loudest areas on the platform.
5. Extraction & Drill Deck (“The Teeth”) - Severely Damaged
- Primary Drill Array: Modular drilling towers, saw arms, or plasma cutters depending on material type.
- Survey Pit Interface: Surface bay for deploying drill clusters or crawler rigs.
- Subterranean Access Shafts: Used for manual inspection or salvage — cramped and dangerous.
- Excavation Control: Oversees power draw, depth readouts, and geological integrity.
- Anchor Struts: Colossal supports that adjust to terrain or asteroid surface irregularities.
6. Cargo & Docking Deck (“The Maw”)
- Main Cargo Bay: Bulk ore storage, shuttle loading, and resource sorting.
- External Docking Arms: For small freighters, survey ships, and Tarkos utility craft.
- Grav Lock Pads: Magnetic mooring clamps that double as security lockdowns — capable of trapping unauthorized ships.
- Fuel Storage Tanks: Liquid hydrogen and helium-3 reserves; explosive if breached.
- Maintenance Docks: Robotic gantries and drone hangars.
7. External Superstructure
- Sensor Masts & Atmospheric Probes: Constantly sampling gases, minerals, and radiation.
- Stabilizer Pylons: Retractable legs or magnetic clamps used to stabilize the rig.
- Storm Baffles: Heavy armor shutters used to protect from sandstorms or asteroid debris.
- Emergency Escape Pods: Ejectable life modules with limited navigation capability.
- Visual Markers: Fluorescent orange Tarkos hazard paint and rotating warning beacons.
Story Potential
- The grav-lock on the docking deck is tied to the central reactor’s failsafe — cutting power disables life support too.
- The “Teeth” deck has partially collapsed, revealing alien ruins or biological contamination.
- The maintenance shafts between decks are maze-like, allowing for stealth infiltration or ambush.
- The AI core may misidentify the PCs as crew and assign them to dangerous repair jobs until they comply.