KEUNECKE DOCK HOUSE

• Location: Riverfront, Hope
• Address: Riverfront Way 14, Hope
• Surroundings: Nearby River Dock Market
• Founded by: Ralph Keunecke

A high-throughput river dock and processing house active in the Beta Age, Keunecke Dock House ran two to three skiffs on the Arla River targeting [misttail_crab|Misttail Crabs]] and Silverscale Gliders. Under one roof it handled landing, gutting/cleaning, brining, steaming/smoking, and market delivery. Fresh catch went each morning to the River Dock Market; weekly preserved lots shipped to New Kourou.

Status: Closed 2631 after the Great War activities outlawed under the Peace Treaty (ExoHuman diet restricted to vegetarian only). Building sealed; gear mothballed.

• Construction Material: Two stacked cargo containers salvaged from the Last Frontier, heavily weathered and structurally reinforced. The lower container rests on river-stone pilings and timber cribbing to counter seasonal flooding.
• Container Treatment: Original hull plating remains visible across most surfaces, marked by burn scars from atmospheric entry, corroded seams, and patched breaches welded shut with mismatched steel plates.
• Façade & Signage: A large, weathered metal sign reading KEUNECKE DOCK HOUSE hangs from the river-facing façade, bolted directly into the container ribs. A narrow strip of low-power industrial backlighting causes the sign to glow faintly under Hope’s perpetual twilight, making it readable from the river without overpowering the surroundings.
• Roof & Venting: The upper container’s roof has been cut open and retrofitted with steam vents, smoke chimneys, and hinged exhaust flaps, allowing heat and brine vapor to escape from the processing bays below.
• Design Purpose: Maximum throughput with minimal comfort. The building reads as working infrastructure first — a machine for turning river catch into market goods — not a civic or commercial space.

• Boat Slips (×2–3): Skiffs *Early Tide*, *Reed Runner*, and (seasonal) *Blue Current*
• Crab Kettle Bay: Steam kettles; cracking benches; shell bins
• Gutting & Grading Line: Stainless tables; scale hooks; drains (for Gliders)
• Brine Room: Casks for wet cure; salt bins; shellac floors
• Smokehouse Bay: Four kettles; baffled chimneys; rack ladders to loft (for Glider fillets)
• Drying Loft: Net-strung racks; airflow shutters
• Cold Room: Quantum Fusion Batteries-powered chill box for morning holds and market staging
• Market Door: Rolling hatch to handcarts bound for the River Dock Market
• Office & Locker Nook: Weigh slips, ledger desk, tally board; crew gear

• Dockmaster (1): Schedules boats, signs weigh slips, sets prices
• Skippers (2–3): Lead river crews, maintain nets/pots, pilot skiffs
• River Crew (6–8): Pots and nets, hauling, deck work
• Processing Crew (6–10): Cleaning, brining, steaming/smoking, packing
• Apprentices (2): Rotate across stations; learn tally and seal

Humidity and smoke cling to the rafters; steam beads on container walls. At first bell, skiffs nudge the piles while river birds wheel above the slips. Inside, knives whisper over scales, kettles hiss, crab shells crack in steady rhythm, and tally bells ring as Courier Drones with boxes full of fish fly toward the River Dock Market and the Courier Station. Grain dust from nearby granaries drifts in and mixes with the scent of the river — work, weather, and commerce in one breath.

• Operating Hours: 03:30–19:00 (processing line 05:00–16:00)
• Sales Rhythm: Fresh trays to market daily at dawn; preserved lots dispatched each Seventhday
• Community Role: Primary fresh/preserved supplier for Hope and caravans up the Seedway

Legal interactions

• Apply for a job at the dock house
• Arrange daily deliveries to specific stalls at the River Dock Market
• Negotiate bulk smoked-glider or pickled-crab contracts to New Kourou caravans
• Hire skiff and crew for upriver survey or messenger runs

Illegal interactions

• Hide contraband beneath brine casks or in false-bottom barrels
• Bribe a tally clerk to alter weigh slips and tax notes
• Poach in restricted backwaters at fogfall to boost quotas

A living node that touches boats, market, and ledgers—ideal for smuggling, labor disputes, or quota wars.

Adventure Hook Example

• Weights & Whispers — Market inspectors flag a week of “light” crab barrels from Keunecke’s. The dockmaster swears sabotage. PCs must shadow skiffs, check brine salinity logs, and interrogate market runners—unraveling whether a rival dock is skimming meat, a clerk is selling forged stampings, or a crew is off-loading prime cuts to a Sidestreet speakeasy.

• Beta Age · Hope · Arla River
• River Dock Market · Free State of Settlers
• Peace Treaty (closure) · Gamma Age
• Misttail Crab · Silverscale Glider