Westgate Transfer Station
Welcome to Westgate mall, the premier retail complex the Rustbucket has to offer. Enjoy a vid at the Westgate theater. Dine at Clio, famous for their Prairie Spider steak dinners. Take a walk around the 15th ring park and gardens, marvel at the view of the lower levels.
Please note that, as with all WTS locales, you and your posessions may be subject to search at all time. Failure to comply with all TCSF requests can result in immediate detention. Be aware that all civil liberties provided by the Terminal City charter do not apply here, have a nice day and enjoy your stay!
Westgate Mall informational kiosk, 35 AE
Demographics
Around three hundred TCAF service members staff Westgate. While on base housing it available for families, most enlisted members choose to leave their families either at Southpoint or back in Terminal City due to the chaotic and dangerous nature of the place. The rest of the population are civilians who make their home in the mall and surrounding warrens, looking to capitalize on the nature of the Station. They provide services of various sorts, not all legal, to the base and passerbys who might be stranded here.
As part of the Trinity Edict made by the Covenant Prince of Prosperity Albion in 25AE, no Covenant personnel are allowed in the station as it is considered the westmost boundry of Terminal City.
Government
Westgate is completely under the jurisdiction of the TCSF and the base commander.
Defences
While the garrison of the Station are equipped with state of the art weaponry, the best defense the base provides is controlled access. All incoming rail tunnels have a series of reinforced security gates which can be dropped into place in a moments notice, and are more than capable of stopping a full speed locomotive.
Other than the train tunnels, several vehicular exits allow for patrols of the area, and are restricted to military personnel.
Internally, each section of the base is firewalled off via a series of airlocked tunnels with security checkpoints. These are used to apply customs checks on all goods and travellers that pass through the facility.
Infrastructure
Westgate is fully self sufficient, with underground dynamo power facilities and full life support recycling including atmosphere. Food is brought in from the Rustbucket and Terminal City, allowing for surprising culinary experiences.
The upper floors of the station were flooded with concrete and reinforced with Covenant armors to shield it from passing Dirth Storms. Any attempt at above ground facilities have failed miserably, regardless of materials used.
Extended ingress and egress tracks bring in railways from the Rustbucket to the depot proper. This massive structure is constantly expanding, and consists of hundreds of underground warehouses with a sophisticated system of tunnels to move goods from the trains to temporary holding spaces.
The terminal city loop is completely separate from these
Guilds and Factions
While the TCAF maintains strict security protocols and basewide monitoring, it is rumored that The Trust has a presence at the station. This is not surprising, given the potential for smuggling of illicit goods the base provides.
History
When the Trinity War reached its peak, the administration of Prosperity City, their families, and assorted well connected citizens were moved by TCSF command to the classified Westgate emergency center. This facility was designed to be used as a regional command base during the extensive wars that had plagued the years preceeding The Exodus.
This base was located underneath Westgate Station, the largest underground railyard Arilia had ever seen. As the population in the area boomed, it was deemed too costly to relocated the plentitude of railways that travelled through the city. Tunnel systems were bored underneath, and a series of large caverns were taken advantage of to produce the facility. The station acted as a staging yard for goods going out through the docs in Terminal City, as well as a regional transit station for commuters.
Despite having not been used in half a century, the facility proved sufficient to withstand the battles and the destructive aftermath of the Citadelfall than destroyed the region. The upper levels of the railyard, commercial, and municipal buildings were buried under tons of rubble, but the rail tunnels allowed for safe egress. While the civilians were later evacuated to Terminal City, TCSF determined that with some modifications the base would be an ideal military outpost for the nascent TCAF. The main rails through what was now the Prosperity Dirth were vaporized by the event, but auxiliary lines existed travelling to both Brokenhollow Island and what was once Whitefall Reef. Over the next few years these lines were diverted and rebuilt by various contractors using Covenant methods to reconnect the rails back to Terminal City circumventing the Dirth. The spacing here is quite generous after the edges of storms caused complete rail failure in the first year of its service.
Tourism
While not strictly considered tourists, a large volume of civilians travel through Westgate to visit family or do business on both sides of the DMZ. More intrepid travellers have been known to take rail tours of the Rustbucket, though this is not common.
Architecture
Westgate station is largely comprised of concrete tunnels, warehouses, and bunkers.
The surviving levels of the Westgate mall (which was largely buried under the collapsing skyscraper it was a part of) have been converted to a residential and commercial complex. This structure was extended downward to create cylindrical area with rings of stores and habitats lining the walls.
Cover Art:
Kansas Sebastian
Kansas Sebastian
Founding Date
25 AE
Alternative Name(s)
Stormwatch
Type
Underground / Vault
Population
500
Location under
Owning Organization
Characters in Location
Related Reports (Primary)
Related Reports (Secondary)
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