Races | Technology | Buildings & Organizations
MOUNT ATRANA COMMUNICATION OUTPOST
Overview
The Mount Atrana Communication Outpost is a crucial part of the critical infrastructure for Exohuman communication. It serves as a vital relay for the Shortwave Radio Network that connects the four main exohuman settlements – New Kourou, Hope, Morningstar, and Firetown. Without this outpost, there would be no direct communication link between the settlements, severely impairing coordination, emergency response, and law enforcement operations across the region.
During the Beta Age, the Outpost was operated by the Weber Communication Company, responsible for establishing and maintaining the ExoHuman Communication Grid. Since the founding of the Federal Confederation on July 4, 2631, the outpost is operated under the Federal News Agency in New Kourou, integrating it into the broader network of federally managed communication facilities.
Over time, the outpost has become known among exohumans as “The Lighthouse” due to its remote location and the solitary nature of the month-long assignment.
Historical Background
The Mount Atrana Communication Outpost was established in 2626, during the Beta Age, shortly after the landing of the Exohuman settlers on VOI 700 D. It was built as a critical node in the shortwave communication network, enabling real-time communication between settlements. The network’s infrastructure was designed and developed by the Weber Communication Company (WCC), a pioneer in Exohuman communication technologies. In addition to creating the network, WCC also operated Weber Broadcasting Services, which produced news and entertainment programs.
A shortwave entertainment and news station in New Kourou broadcasted daily from 8:00 PM to midnight, bringing music, stories, and news updates to settlers across the Asari and Ralar Regions. These broadcasts became a cherished ritual, fostering a sense of connection among the isolated communities.
In its early years, the shortwave network served multiple purposes:
Inter-Settlement Communication: Ensuring uninterrupted coordination between settlement leaders.
Law Enforcement Communication: Allowing the Federal Sheriff and local law enforcement to respond quickly to threats and emergencies.
Emergency Alerts: Broadcasting vital warnings about environmental hazards and conflicts.
News and Entertainment: The Weber Broadcasting Services kept settlers informed and entertained, providing critical updates and cultural content that connected communities across the regions. Private households and farms were also linked to the network, making communication widely accessible.
Following the signing of the Peace Treaty with the Alliance of Native Tribes, the network's role was significantly reduced. Private access was revoked, and the network was restricted to critical institutions:
Law Enforcement: The Federal Sheriff, Local Sheriffs, and Deputies use portable radios for patrols and emergencies.
Inter-Settlement Coordination: Facilitates dialogue between leaders, resource allocation, and crisis response.
Emergency Alerts: Broadcasts warn of immediate threats, such as environmental hazards or conflicts.
In July 2631, with the founding of the Federal Confederation and the enforcement of Communardism, all private companies were socialized, becoming property of the Federal Confederation on behalf of its citizens. The Weber Communication Company and Weber Broadcasting Services were dissolved, their infrastructure declared federal property and integrated into the Federal News Agency.
Klaus Weber, the founder of both companies, was offered multiple roles within the new system. However, on his own request, he was assigned as the technician at the Mount Atrana Communication Outpost, seeking solitude and a hands-on role in maintaining the very network he built. To this day, Weber’s expertise and dedication remain pivotal to the outpost’s continued operation, earning him the nickname “The Godfather of Communication.”
Architectural Significance
The outpost’s stone construction blends into the rugged mountain landscape, offering natural protection against the elements. The compact layout makes the most of the limited flat space at the summit, with buildings strategically placed to withstand the extreme conditions. Functional and without excess ornamentation, the design reflects the outpost’s utilitarian purpose.
Building Structure
The Mount Atrana Communication Outpost covers an area of approximately 500–600 square meters and consists of the following key features:
Main Transmitter: The tall central antenna serves as the primary relay for shortwave communication.
Backup Beacon: Located in a smaller side building, the beacon maintains limited communication if the main transmitter fails.
Perimeter Fence: A metal fence surrounds the outpost to deter intruders and wild predators.
Closed Gate: A reinforced metal gate at the main entrance, kept locked at all times. Access requires a key or manual unlocking from inside the outpost.
Guard Tower: Positioned at the southern edge of the outpost, it provides a panoramic view of the surrounding terrain.
Wind Turbine Array: Three high-efficiency turbines generate power for the transmitter, living quarters, and perimeter fence.
Living Quarters: A modest stone building divided into two apartments — one for the permanent technician and one for the shifting deputies. Each unit contains a cot, desk, heater, and minimal personal items.
Outhouse Toilet: Located behind the living quarters, equipped with a waste-disposal system that functions in freezing temperatures.
Supply Shed: Holds tools, spare parts, emergency rations, and crates of signal flares and crossbow bolts, as well as repair kits for the wind turbines and transmitter.
Look and Feel
Perched atop Mount Atrana at 4,700 m, the Communication Outpost feels more like a windswept beacon than a building. Outside, swirling ice-laden gusts press against its stone walls, carrying fine snow that scuffs the hardened metal of the wind turbines. Dawn and dusk merge into a perpetual grey-blue gloom — so the outpost’s exterior lamps cast long, pale beams across drifts of powdery frost. Stepping inside is a shock of warmth and stillness: thick stone walls hold in heat from the small geothermal boiler, filling the air with a soft hiss and a faint scent of sulfur. The central transmitter room is lit by low-voltage lanterns that glow like embers against racks of brass-tubed radios and coiled wiring.
Each breath you take seems to hang in the cold, dry air as you cross the rough-hewn stone floor toward the living quarters, where a single cot and desk sit under a narrow porthole framing rolling cloud seas below. Outside that window, turbines creak and the lone guard tower silhouette shifts in the storm-wracked dusk. In every corner — on frost-speckled windowsills, across scratched logbooks, by the pile of signal flares — the outpost whispers of solitude, endurance, and the vital hum of connection threading these isolated peaks to the world beyond.
Roles and Responsibilities
Beta Age
Technician (1): A civilian engineer (often from Weber Communication Company) maintained the main transmitter, backup beacon, and wind turbines—repairing equipment, monitoring power levels, and coordinating with other hubs.
Security Officer (Automaton): A
Guarding Bot patrolled the perimeter and critical areas, supported by a
Combat Drone on standby for any serious threat. Together they handled access control, perimeter surveillance, and emergency lockdown procedures.
Gamma Age
Technician (Klaus Weber): Now a Federal News Agency appointee, Weber continues full‑time upkeep of all transmission and power systems, schedules maintenance with downstream relays, and oversees log archives.
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Public Access, Operating Hours and Operational Rhythm
Beta Age
Operating Hours:
Technician Shifts: 06:00 – 18:00 daily (two overlapping 6‑hour shifts)
Guarding Bot Patrols: 24/7 perimeter rounds
Combat Drone Standby: 08:00 – 20:00 (responds to any security alert)
Gamma Age
Operating Hours & Shifts:
Security Measures
Despite its limited staff, the outpost is equipped with several security measures to ensure its safety:
Guard Tower: Positioned at the southern edge of the outpost, the tower rises 8 meters above ground level, offering a 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding terrain.
Perimeter Fence: A 3-meter-high metal fence, constructed from salvaged parts of the Last Frontier, surrounds the outpost. While not electrified, it is robust and difficult to climb, serving as a physical barrier against intruders and wild predators.
Guarding Bot (Beta Age only): A heavily armored automaton armed with a
Laser Gun patrols the perimeter and critical areas. It handles access control, perimeter surveillance, and can engage threats on sight.
Combat Drone (Beta Age only): A compact aerial drone remains on standby to support the Guarding Bot. Equipped with proximity sensors and a non‑lethal pulse weapon, it can intercept intruders or provide overwatch during security incidents.
Automated SOS Signal: In the event of a security breach or emergency, the outpost’s shortwave transmitter automatically sends an SOS distress signal to all
Guarding Trooper Stations (Beta Age) or all Local Sheriff Headquarters and the Federal Sheriff (Gamma Age). The closest Local Sheriff to receive the alert is based in Morningstar, ensuring a swift response.
Signal Flares: Strategically placed in the guard tower and supply shed, these flares are used for emergency signaling. When launched, they can be seen from several kilometers away, alerting nearby Federal forces or settlements.
Deputy on Duty (Gamma Age only): The Deputy of the Federal Sheriff is tasked with guarding and observing the area, patrolling the perimeter, and monitoring activity from the guard tower.
Tripwire Alarms for the Deputy`s Rest Periods (Gamma Age only): Simple but effective, these audible traps are set around key areas, such as the main gate and backup beacon building. Triggering the tripwire releases metal chimes and bells, creating enough noise to wake both the technician and the Deputy.
Tactical Advice for Dungeon Masters
The Mount Atrana Communication Outpost provides multiple gameplay opportunities, from stealth and sabotage to negotiation and combat.
Beta Age Adventure Hook Example:
“Voices in the Static” – When the long‑term Technician at Mount Atrana — cut off on the summit — snaps under isolation and paranoia, he begins broadcasting eerie, hypnotic pulses over the shortwave network. Those signals override the Guarding Bots across multiple settlements, turning them from silent sentinels into armed jailers who seize local authorities as “hostages” and proclaim that only the awakening of the ExoHuman spirit can set them free. Combat Drones swarm to defend their “commander” at the outpost, cutting off any relief. The Guarding Troopers Headquarters scrambles to retake control but lacks the radio codes — they dispatch the PCs to ascend the mountain, disable the rogue transmissions at the source, and avert a region‑wide siege before every bot and drone locks down the
Asari Region in the name of liberation.
Gamma Age Adventure Hook:
“Shadows of the Past:” Years after the outpost’s automation was dismantled, the hulks of old Guarding Bots were broken down and their components stockpiled as spare parts for the
Medical Bots still allowed under
Communardism. Now, a rogue
Individualist technologist has unearthed Weber’s original compressor algorithm — hidden in the archives — and stolen the encryption key. By secretly loading the code into the outpost’s beacon, they plan to override the handful of Medical Bots at
New Kourou’s Medical Station and the adjacent Federal Hospital, compelling them to rebuild Guarding Bots from the depot’s spare parts. With deputies succumbing to bot‑issued arrest orders and medical stations besieged by their own “care” units, the Federal News Agency dispatches the PCs on a covert night mission. They must breach the summit outpost, locate and purge the compressor algorithm from the beacon’s core, and dismantle the hidden transmitter - before the Medical Bots reassemble an entire battalion of Guarding Bots …
Related Pages and Further Information
Relay Stations within the exohuman Society