• Location: Town Center, Hope
• Address: Riverfront 2
• Surroundings: Adjacent to the Federal Courier Service Station of Hope

The Federal Mills Facility (FMF) is the grain milling authority of the Federal Confederation during the Gamma Age. It is part of the Federal Food Plant of Hope and supervised by the Federal Allotment Agency.

The FMF replaced the Facility of Hope Mills Inc. of the Beta Age, which was nationalized after the Founding of the Federal Confederation and the introduction of Communardism. While Hope Mill Inc. was powered by Quantum Fusion Batteries, the FMF relies on water power drawn from the Arla River due to the energy restrictions of the Peace Treaty with the Alliance of Native Tribes.

Two watermills, named “One” and “Two”, drive the production, converting river flow into mechanical power for grinding staple inputs: Lunor Wheat, Zelor Grain, Rizon Barley, Helik Oats, and limited-batch Bilax Root.

The facility is built in heavy local stone with timber framing for the roof structures, located directly on the Arla River bank.

• Materials: Local stone foundations, brick mill walls, timber roofing.
• Lighting (No Electric High-Bays): Clerestories and small window slits provide daylight; after-hours, hooded oil lamps and baseboard Luminofera dualis runs are used.
• Ventilation & Acoustics: Open-beam lofts allow air circulation, while thick masonry dampens millstone noise.
• Energy Use: Each mill is powered by a water wheel connected to gears and shafts, avoiding electric draw.

• Mill One: Main water wheel and grinding stones; handles coarse grinding (Rizon/Lunor bulk).
• Mill Two: Secondary water wheel and grinding stones; handles finer grades (Lunor/Zelor) and specialty batches (Helik flakes, Bilax flour).
• Gear Hall: Wooden shaft system transferring power from wheels to millstones.
• Grain Intake Hall: Sacks received, weighed, and routed to labeled bins (Lunor, Zelor, Rizon, Helik; Bilax batch chute).
• Flour Storage Loft: Sacks filled, sealed, and staged by grain/root type for courier collection.
• Quality Control Room: Ledgers, test sieves, moisture scales, color swatches (blue-tinge index for Zelor).
• Administration Office: Oversees quotas, permits, and allotment logs.
• Loading Yard: Direct handover point to Federal Courier Service.
• Restrooms: Aurorasan System latrines.
• Cafeteria: Meals from the Federal Kitchen.

Inside the FMF, the constant turning of gears and grinding stones fills the air with a steady rumble. Dusty beams of twilight cut through high clerestories, highlighting suspended flour particles. The facility is austere and practical, with ledgers, wooden bins, and heavy sacks dominating the scene.

Notes: Federal Flour is the standardized wheat flour of the Gamma Age; Zelor Meal and Rizon Meal supplement porridges/stews; Helik provides breakfast and thickener options; Bilax Root Flour runs are limited and require special permits.

Staff (≈28):

• Mill Operators (≈10): Run mill wheels, gears, and grinding stones.
• Grain Handlers (≈8): Receive, weigh, and load sacks.
• Quality Inspectors (≈3): Test flour grade, maintain ledgers.
• Administration Clerks (≈5): Manage allotments, permits, and courier logs.
• Maintenance Crew (≈2): Service wheels, shafts, and hoppers.

• Shift: 06:00–14:00 milling cycle.
• Courier Windows: Pick-ups by FCS at 09:00 and 16:00.
• Tours: Not open for walk-ins; academy groups may view from observation loft by appointment.
• Rhythm: Mills alternate bulk runs (Lunor/Rizon) with scheduled specialty windows (Zelor/Helik) and weekly Bilax batches subject to permit.

• Perimeter Fence: 2.5 m timber and stone fence with single staffed gate.
• Controlled Access: Staff-only; analog key control and paper permits.
• Chain-of-Custody: Sacks sealed and lot-labeled by grain/root type; reconciled at loading yard.
• Analog Alert System: Analog Siren System tied to the Local Sheriff’s Office (Hope).
• Deputy Patrols: Regular riverfront checks; incident ledger at gatehouse.

Legal interactions:

1. Receive GAIA work assignments as mill operator, grain handler, or maintenance.
2. Deliver or pick up sacks as an employee of the Federal Courier Service.

Illegal interactions:

1. Forge allotment seals for extra flour.
2. Smuggle sacks out via courier yard.
3. Jam gear shafts to disrupt output.
4. Divert bran/husk by-products to black markets.

• Adventure Hook — The Headless Fieldhand: At dawn, workers find a decapitated agricultural body in a Lunor plot beyond Hope’s town fields. No Allotment Card is present; QA swabs and the Sheriff’s lab report no registry DNA match. No crews report a missing worker. The Federal Sheriff deputizes the party to investigate …

• Gamma Age
• Federal Confederation
• Communardism
• Hope
• Federal Food Plant of Hope
• Federal Allotment Agency
• Federal Courier Service
• Federal Kitchen
• Hope Mill Inc. (predecessor, Beta Age)
• Quantum Fusion Batteries (obsolete in Gamma Age milling)