Description
Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2025 5:26 pm
Seen from afar, Xenion appears to be a complete stone pyramid — a massive, regular edifice formed from native limestone and clad in radiation shielding. But its apex is an illusion. The uppermost tier is no solid structure, but a pyramidal forcefield, engineered to reflect light and texture in such a way that it appears indistinguishable from the rest of the pyramid. To the distant eye, it looks like stone; to a vessel on approach, it becomes a projection interface, flashing navigational glyphs and descent instructions in pulsating lattices.
This is no ornament. Xenion’s apex functions as Harmonthep’s principal spaceport. It regulates orbital traffic, coordinates incoming cargo, and mediates the flow of interstellar commerce into the commercial strata below. The forcefield crown serves as both navigational gate and protective barrier, seamlessly integrating Guild-sanctioned protocols into the planet’s material architecture.
The landing galleries and approach bays are housed in massive stepped terraces just below the field. These zones are heavily reinforced but retain the formal elegance of Harmonthepi design: vaulted arches in warm limestone, sand-polished mosaic floors, and lattice-cut ventilation shafts drawing cool air from the lower depths.
Arrival halls are subdued, their ornamentation restricted to stylised carvings of local symbols — quaraa birds, golden lions, moss clams — interspersed with standardised signs of function. Concourse lighting is soft and diffuse.
Behind this architectural order lies a dense bureaucratic apparatus, nominally under the authority of Strategos Philadelphos, with partial delegation to his daughter Xanthe. This apparatus is formally structured under PTOLOS — the Planetary Trade Office for Logistics, Oversight, and Security. Its officials handle landing authorisations, cargo inspections, and registry clearances in accordance with Imperial regulations and CHOAM standards.
Although House Hagal lacks a CHOAM directorship, the organisation's influence is manifest. A CHOAM Liaison Office occupies a discreet mezzanine in the southern concourse, where trade certificates can be validated, tariffs assessed, and exim declarations reviewed. If challenged by Harmonthepi authorities, traders may appeal here — and such appeals are usually respected. Nearby, a division of the Guild Bank offers secure transfers and asset services, including deposits and withdrawals of nearly anything of high enough value. Heighliner bookings can be made through kiosks scattered across the area, but strategic clients often turn to the Guild Bank to negotiate fares and special conditions. Both entities, however, keep a low profile — their presence understood, not advertised.
PTOLOS headquarters occupies a restricted zone — less a business facility than a command residence for the Strategos. It is widely assumed that this complex can be quickly hardened into a defensive bastion in the event of attack, though its specific mechanisms are not public knowledge.
Security across the wider spaceport is handled by military personnel, though their primary roles are procedural: inspections, identity verification, and enforcement of cargo limitations. Uniforms bear the insignia of Harmonthep’s planetary forces, but the real defences are largely concealed — interceptor drones, denial grids, and high-ordnance batteries kept in reserve. Combat-ready forces are present but discreet. No part of the apex appears overtly martial.
The civilian and bureaucratic culture of Xenion reflects an unspoken tension within House Ptolemaios regarding commercial governance. Philadelphos and Xanthe favour rigorous oversight and corruption suppression. Yet the Archon herself tolerates far more latitude, apparently recognising that shadow economies help grease the planetary budget. This divergence is not openly debated, but it is well understood by those who conduct regular business on Harmonthep.
Hospitality services are clustered in several places, though they are used mostly by those who must soon depart. The pathways of descent to the true commercial and hospitality districts embedded deeper in the pyramid are never hard to find.
This is no ornament. Xenion’s apex functions as Harmonthep’s principal spaceport. It regulates orbital traffic, coordinates incoming cargo, and mediates the flow of interstellar commerce into the commercial strata below. The forcefield crown serves as both navigational gate and protective barrier, seamlessly integrating Guild-sanctioned protocols into the planet’s material architecture.
The landing galleries and approach bays are housed in massive stepped terraces just below the field. These zones are heavily reinforced but retain the formal elegance of Harmonthepi design: vaulted arches in warm limestone, sand-polished mosaic floors, and lattice-cut ventilation shafts drawing cool air from the lower depths.
Arrival halls are subdued, their ornamentation restricted to stylised carvings of local symbols — quaraa birds, golden lions, moss clams — interspersed with standardised signs of function. Concourse lighting is soft and diffuse.
Behind this architectural order lies a dense bureaucratic apparatus, nominally under the authority of Strategos Philadelphos, with partial delegation to his daughter Xanthe. This apparatus is formally structured under PTOLOS — the Planetary Trade Office for Logistics, Oversight, and Security. Its officials handle landing authorisations, cargo inspections, and registry clearances in accordance with Imperial regulations and CHOAM standards.
Although House Hagal lacks a CHOAM directorship, the organisation's influence is manifest. A CHOAM Liaison Office occupies a discreet mezzanine in the southern concourse, where trade certificates can be validated, tariffs assessed, and exim declarations reviewed. If challenged by Harmonthepi authorities, traders may appeal here — and such appeals are usually respected. Nearby, a division of the Guild Bank offers secure transfers and asset services, including deposits and withdrawals of nearly anything of high enough value. Heighliner bookings can be made through kiosks scattered across the area, but strategic clients often turn to the Guild Bank to negotiate fares and special conditions. Both entities, however, keep a low profile — their presence understood, not advertised.
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Security across the wider spaceport is handled by military personnel, though their primary roles are procedural: inspections, identity verification, and enforcement of cargo limitations. Uniforms bear the insignia of Harmonthep’s planetary forces, but the real defences are largely concealed — interceptor drones, denial grids, and high-ordnance batteries kept in reserve. Combat-ready forces are present but discreet. No part of the apex appears overtly martial.
The civilian and bureaucratic culture of Xenion reflects an unspoken tension within House Ptolemaios regarding commercial governance. Philadelphos and Xanthe favour rigorous oversight and corruption suppression. Yet the Archon herself tolerates far more latitude, apparently recognising that shadow economies help grease the planetary budget. This divergence is not openly debated, but it is well understood by those who conduct regular business on Harmonthep.
Hospitality services are clustered in several places, though they are used mostly by those who must soon depart. The pathways of descent to the true commercial and hospitality districts embedded deeper in the pyramid are never hard to find.