What is the NX7?
The NX7 High-Risk Security and Correctional Station is a maximum-security space station prison that holds dangerous and high-value criminals. Many details are of the prison are unknown, due to it's secure location and strict procedures regarding communications. But despite these restrictions the prison has achieved a rather infamous reputation, and rumours and gossip state that the prisoners held within live in miserable conditions and are often sealed away in small rooms for weeks or longer at a time. And as far as anyone knows, it is impossible to escape from or at the very least no recorded breakouts or successful escapes have ever been noted on public record.
Run by the Imperial Protection Federation, or I.P.F for short, this security and protection service manages and fully operates the space station as well as acting as the police force for the sectors governed by the Imperial Council of Planets. The Imperial Council of Planets (they dissuade using an acronym so they are commonly known as The Imperials), is a highly militaristic collection that governs their territory with an iron hand and an immense military fleet. In circumstances that their laws are broken, the I.P.F are quickly sent out to subdue and resolve the situation, typically with brutal effectiveness. Though the I.P.F and The Imperials prefer to keep lawbreakers alive as they provide a convenient and free source of workers.
When lawbreakers are taken into custody, they are often sent to planetary mining colonies in the sector to work off their debt to society. Though this debt is often deemed so high that most never leave these colonies, either dying due to accident or from old age and exhaustion. However, there are some criminals that are either too dangerous or too valuable to be sent to one of these places. Instead, they are sent to the infamous, and mysterious, NX7 High-Risk Security and Correctional Station instead. The Imperials love a mouthful of words when it comes to their naming conventions, don't they? Most of those that talk about the station simply call it NX7 Prison or just NX7.
Function
The primary function of the NX7 High-Risk Security Correctional Station is to hold criminals that pose a higher risk to society than the typical individual. Though more often than not, the prison is actually used to hold criminals, and even political dissidents, of high value/risk to The Imperials and their hold on their section in a secure location where it is unlikely they will be found, rescued or attempt escape. The station itself is considered one of the most secure structures in The Delta Space, which is covered in layers of armour plating, shielding, and hundreds of automated weaponry. The station is also operated by a staff of highly trained military personnel, who are fully capable of dealing with extreme situations at a moment's notice. That along with NX7's secure location reduces the likelihood of escape or rescue of those within dramatically.
Since the NX7 Prison is under the jurisdiction of The Imperial Council of Planets, and the I.P.F in turn, most prisoners are taken into custody in the sectors that they govern. Unfortunately for those that enter their sectors they become fair game for the I.P.F, who commonly come up with false accusations just so they can reach their quotas and fill the prison mining colonies, and to take hostage high-value individuals before sending them to NX7.
Many of the individuals incarcerated here have caused significant headaches for The Imperials and they wish to ensure they will not be so again. The perfect example being
Amaeria "Firebird" Ozark, a well-known space pirate in The Delta Space and alleged descendant of infamous space pirate Montgomery "T-Bird" Ozark. Firebird apparently poked the bear one too many times and the I.P.F finally caught her, she has been a resident of NX7 for several months now.
Other residents of the station are comprised of those individuals that The Imperials have deemed convenient political tools and bargaining chips. Many of these prisoners are only held captive until they can be traded to whatever group, government, etc. that wishes to pay for them or provide some sort of benefit for The Imperials. Commonly this leads to lucrative trading agreements or beneficial exceptions for the sector. This tactic has mixed results depending on the individual and their status in the galaxy, some hostages only stay here for a matter of days, while others have sat for years before wasting away. But, when deals have been met The Imperials have benefited from the tactic greatly, though it has given them a notorious reputation for cruelty amongst the residents of The Delta Space.
Location
NX7's location is top-secret and only a handful of high-ranking individuals within The Imperial Council of Planets and the I.P.F actually know the coordinates that lead to its location. Even those that work on the station do not know its exact location and are ferried in on rotating shifts every other week. Only a few dozen pilots work these transport and undergo intense screening and training before they are given the coordinates to the station and many of these pilots are former soldiers in the military fleet of The Imperials. Many of which were raised from a young age to act as soldiers for The Imperials. The location is such a guarded secret, that even the ships that carry staff are stripped of any sort of passenger viewport, or technology that could possibly be rigged to send communications. Each passenger is required to go through a thorough search and scan for any illegal items, communications and/or recording devices before boarding and after arriving. If any are found, they are kept on board the transport and are immediately incarcerated at NX7 upon arrival.
In order to reach the station, several requirements must be met first. First, only a specific range of Imperial-made transport ships are allowed to approach NX7. If any ship approaches that aren't on this approved list of vessels they are immediately shot down. If one of the approved ships is used, then they must use one of the sectors specially designated Probability Suspension Drives to jump straight to the station. No Probability Suspension Drives outside of Imperial territory have the coordinates, therefore any special cases must first travel to Imperial space and continue from there.
In order to use these special Probability Suspension Drives, the transport must transit a series of codes, which are updated regularly, to the operator of the drive. Once confirmed the jump will be performed, and the transport will arrive at the station shortly afterwards. Here the transport must give a secondary code, confirm their identity, and their purpose for their arrival. If approved they will be allowed to dock. If denied, they will be taken in for questioning or depending on the situation be shot down before they can dock or escape.
A long-standing rumour has it that travel to this location via regular propulsion drives is impossible as the station apparently orbits precariously close to a black hole, and only precise coordinates will allow for safe arrival and docking. There are those that believe that this was done on purpose in order to make the station more secure from outside threats and from potential breakouts, as any ship not using precise coordinates may fall victim to the immense gravitational pull of the black hole.
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