FIRETOWN RELAY STATION

• Location: Industrial Ring, Firetown
• Address: NE Industrial Ring Road 1
• Surroundings: Adjacent to the Copper Plant (Federal Copper Plant in the Gamma Age)

The Firetown Relay Station is a vital communication hub within the Shortwave Radio Network. During the Beta Age, it was operated by the Weber Communication Company, responsible for establishing and maintaining the ExoHuman Communication Grid. Since 2631, following the formation of the Federal Confederation, it is under the control of the Federal News Agency. The station ensures stable shortwave transmissions for law enforcement, administrative coordination, and public broadcasts (Beta Age only).

Unlike other relay stations that rely on solar, wind turbines and microbial fuel sources, the Firetown Relay Station is uniquely powered by the Geothermal Power Plant of Firetown, which provides a constant and highly efficient energy supply. This connection ensures uninterrupted operation, making it one of the most reliable relay stations within the ExoHuman Communication Grid. It is one of the key relay points linking Firetown to the broader ExoHuman Communication Grid, amplifying and stabilizing transmissions from Mount Atrana Communication Outpost.

The Firetown Relay Station was originally constructed in 2626 by the Weber Communication Company as part of its efforts to establish a Shortwave Communication Network that links all exohuman settlements. The station played a pivotal role in extending radio transmissions and enabling inter-settlement communication across VOI 700 D.

Following the founding of the Federal Confederation and the implementation of Communardism in 2631, the Weber Communication Company was nationalized, and the station was placed under the jurisdiction of the Federal News Agency. Since then, it has functioned as a state-controlled relay point, ensuring regulated information flow and real-time communication across settlements.

The architecture of the Firetown Relay Station Shop reflects the town's unique location in the Ralar Region of the Dark Side:

• Construction Materials: Modular cargo containers from the Last Frontier, welded together and reinforced with salvaged spaceship hull plates, ribbed heat shields, and industrial steel frames.
• Design: Low-profile, single-storey technical bunker with minimal vertical exposure to reduce wind load and heat loss. The building is designed to appear more like an installed system than a traditional structure.
• Geothermal Feed Vents: Insulated steel stacks and vent assemblies integrated into the rear façade, channeling heat and hot water from the Geothermal Power Plant to maintain interior temperature
• Air Vents / Heat Recovery Ventilator: The building's air exchange was managed by a mechanical ventilation system with a central intake on the exterior of the building.
• Power Supply: Quantum Fusion Battery (Beta Age only)
• Lighting: Battery-backed electric light in the Beta age. Since the Gamma Age the interior is illuminated with Luminofera Dualis, a bioluminescent fungus native to VOI 700 D, which provides soft, sustainable light.

The Firetown Relay Station is a single-story facility, built for functionality and security. It includes:

Perimeter & Access

• Reinforced metal fence enclosing the facility
• Single secured gate with identity verification
• External cable conduits and geothermal pipes entering the structure from below grade

Transmission Hall

• Primary shortwave relay racks mounted directly into container frames
• Signal amplifiers, stabilizers, and backup relay coils
• Shielded antenna feed-throughs running vertically to the roof mast
• Floor-mounted vibration dampeners to protect equipment from industrial tremors

Control & Monitoring Bay

• Compact technician workstation with analog dials, signal meters, and logging consoles
• Hand-written and etched logbooks stored in wall-mounted racks

Maintenance & Storage Compartment

• Crated spare components, vacuum tubes, coils, and cable segments
• Tool lockers for field repairs

Roof Assembly

• Shortwave antenna mast with tension cables
• Ice-resistant insulators
• Signal grounding rods anchored into volcanic bedrock beneath the containers

From the outside, the Firetown Relay Station feels less like a building and more like a machine embedded in the settlement itself. Cargo containers, scorched plating, and bolted reinforcements form a squat silhouette surrounded by pipes, cables, and drifting steam. The ground around the station is perpetually scarred — frozen mud, ash, and ice churned by maintenance traffic and falling soot from nearby industry.

Geothermal vapor seeps constantly from vent outlets at the base of the structure, forming a low fog that hugs the ground before being torn apart by the wind. Harsh industrial lamps cast sharp shadows across the metal skin, while the distant orange glow of the Copper Plant’s furnaces stains the darkness behind it.

Inside, the contrast is immediate. Warm air presses close, heavy with the hum of generators and the faint metallic tang of heated circuitry. Racks of transmission equipment line the walls like silent sentinels, their indicator lights blinking in steady, hypnotic rhythms. In the Gamma Age, soft bioluminescent light from Luminofera fungus replaces electric glare, bathing the room in muted greens and blues that make time feel suspended.

There is no comfort here — only function. The Relay Station does not invite people to stay; it demands they remain alert.

It is a place built to endure cold, silence, and pressure — because if it fails, Firetown goes deaf.

• Technicians (3) Rotating in a shift-model. Responsible for the maintenance, troubleshooting, and operation of the relay station’s systems. In the Gamma Age, these technicians are under the supervision of the Federal News Agency.

Public Access:

All areas of the Relay Station are strictly off‑limits to the general public. Only the front vestibule (for official deliveries) is accessible, and even that requires prior authorization. All technical and transmission spaces require full security clearance.

Operating Hours:

The Relay Station runs 24/7, staffed by three overlapping technician shifts to guarantee uninterrupted service:

• Shift 1: 06:00–14:00
• Shift 2: 14:00–22:00
• Shift 3: 22:00–06:00

To ensure the safety and integrity of the relay station, several security measures are in place:

• Perimeter Fence: A 3-meter-high metal fence encloses the facility, deterring unauthorized access.
• Locked Gate: Access is strictly controlled, requiring authorized identification for entry.
• Restricted Access: Only authorized personnel are permitted in critical areas, such as manufacturing and storage zones. Identity verification is mandatory before granting access.
• Analog Alert System (Gamma Age Only): The station is equipped with an Analog Alert System, which is triggered in case of unauthorized entry or emergencies. The siren is directly linked to the Local Sheriff’s Office for immediate response.
• Deputy Surveillance: In the Gamma Age, Local Sheriff Deputies conduct regular patrols, ensuring security compliance and deterring potential intrusions. During the Beta Age, Guarding Troopers from Firetown's Local Station were responsible for patrols and station security.

The Relay Station provides a variety of gameplay opportunities, including missions involving sabotage, security breaches, and communication control.

• “Echoes of Rebellion”– At the Firetown Relay Station, one of the technician grows increasingly erratic. Late one night, she tampers with the control loops — embedding a hidden pulse in the station’s transmission stream. That signal propagates through the Shortwave Network, scrambling Guarding Bots in Firetown. Suddenly, these automatons lock down municipal buildings, take local officials hostage and broadcast demands to “liberate the exohuman essence.” Meanwhile, Combat Drones converge on the relay to protect their “leader”. With the local authorities unable to override the corrupted codes, PCs are dispatched by the Guarding Troopers to infiltrate the station’s fortified perimeter, reboot its power systems, and wrest back control of the network — before the region plunges into full‑scale bot‑driven revolt.

• ”Coded War Preparations” – While monitoring the shortwave bands of the Firetown Relay Station, a friend of the PC who works as a Technician in the Station, encrypted signal masked beneath the steady hum of the geothermal feed. The message references clandestine copper shipments rerouted to fund a secret militia in the Ralar Region. Convinced the local allotment official is corrupt and taking bribes from Outlaws, he refuses to tip off the Local Sheriff. Instead, he slips you a copy of the raw beacon logs and begs for your help …

• Exohuman communication technology in the Beta Age
• Exohuman communication technology in the Gamma Age
• Klaus Weber
• Weber Communication Company
• Weber Broadcasting Services
• Shortwave Radio Network
• Shortwave Communication Device
• Federal News Agency

Relay Stations within the exohuman Society

• Mount Atrana Communication Outpost
• New Kourou Relay Station
• Firetown Relay Station
• Hope Relay Station
• Morningstar Relay Station