Athena
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Overview
The Athena space habitat was based off the Stanford Torus design from the 20th Century. It housed approximately 100,000 to 140,000 permanent residents. It consists of a doughnut shaped ring that is 1.8 km in diameter.
Sunlight is provided to the interior of the Torus by a system of mirrors. The ring is connected to a hub via a number of 'spokes', which serve as conduits for people and materials traveling to and from the hub which is the easiest place for ships to dock.
The interior space of the Torus itself is used as living space, and is large enough that a 'natural' environment can be simulated. The Torus appears similar to a long, narrow, straight glacial valley whose ends curve upward and eventually meet overhead to form a complete circle. The population density is similar to a dense suburb, with part of the ring dedicated to agriculture and part to housing.
Close to the Federation border on the fringes of the Gamma Quadrant, away from any other major races, the Athena Station is an important trading hub between the Federation and other political organisations in the region and is often used as the venue of diplomatic missions where neutral territory is required.
Although officially an independant operation, the Athena Station has close ties with Starfleet and it's not unusual to find one or two starships in the region policing the trade lanes against pirates, political dissidents and the Orion Syndicate.
With a large population calling the station home, Athena has all the resources and facilities which would normally be found in a small city, including a fully integrated mass transit system, schools, hospitals, a well trained and equipped security force and emergency relief crews.
Station Facilities
Administration
Near the centre of the station, the administrative sector houses station security, flight control deck, central control and life support control. A highly restricted area, only those employed directly by the station administration are permitted entry to the secure buildings.
High Security Zone
Even more secure that the administration sector, the high security zone contains the station's prison, vaults and Starfleet Operations. While Starfleet has no actual authority on the station itself, the civilian operators understand the usefulness of having a military presence should they require it.
Docking Ports
As Athena is an important trade port it's unsurprising that they currently boast two large-scale docking facilities, with a third currently under construction, and a smaller shuttle port as well. Along with the standard docking facilities these areas include provisions for maintenance and repair of most classes of starship and limited construction facilities to accommodate the needs of the station administration's own fleet of security vessels.
The primary dock has the capability to house up to three Sovereign-class starships at once, along with a large number of smaller craft. The secondary dock can only handle one ship that size at a time, but has more berths designed for smaller craft as well as better cargo handling facilities. The auxiliary dock is planned to expand the cargo facilities, with more emphasis placed on short-term storage of goods for easy transfer between ships.
In addition the station has a number of smaller trade docks available to the residents for private use, most notably the one located close to the Ferengi trade sector which has been known to be used for smuggling operations and is currently under investigation by station security.
Habitation
Main Habitation
With a large resident population Athena has a variety of habitation options available, ranging from single room apartments all the way up to family homes. With the artificial environmental conditions available within such a large station you could be forgiven for believing that the habitation areas were small towns on a planet's surface, complete with local medical clinics, schools, emergency services, convenience stores and leisure facilities.
Little Terra
While most of the station is rated as M-class most humans arriving for the first time tend to spend most of their time in the zone which has come to be known as Little Terra. With an abundance of Earth-style shops, restaurants and educational facilities many humans feel at home, while other races spend their time here to experience the 'exotic' culture.
The Swamp
Located between the central trade district and the rougher Ferengi trade sector the area known as The Swamp was settled a number of years ago by a large group of Ferengi traders who wanted to be able to live closer to their shops. Originally a maintenance area, with a number of power generators located in the under levels, the zone is hot and humid, something the swamp-dwelling Ferengi found highly desirable.
Tinseltown
The richest residents aboard Athena live on the central boulevard running down between the central trade district and the Promenade. With the station administration offices close by, along with the station security central office, the people living in this area are kept as safe as they possibly can.
Blue Sector
Although the station is nominally set for class-M capable lifeforms Blue Sector has been set up with variable life support in order to accommodate those races who are unable to survive under those conditions. Due to the requirements for these races the sector is set close to the Medcare facilities in case of emergency and close to the corporate sector as usually such individuals are members of the diplomatic community, or at least need the aid of their own ambassadors on a regular basis.
Brown Sector
Originally part of the cargo storage section, the Brown sector was converted for basic habitation requirements during the Dominion War to house refugees. With such a large number of people crammed into the area communities soon became established and when the war was over a sizable number of those with nowhere left to return to decided to remain onboard. A hot pot of diverse cultures the Brown zone has a reputation for being rough but safe with many of the locals willing to aid strangers and preserve the security of the sector among themselves. Although rumours of organised crime are rife, so far station security has been unable to find anyone willing to report crimes from within the sector, whether this is proof no major crimes are being committed or that the locals are too scared to come forwards is currently under review.
Economic
Central Trade District
With transportation links connecting it to almost all the other locations on the station, including all three major docking bays, the trade district holds most of the commercial holdings aboard the station. Whether you need to buy a new outfit, are looking to book a holiday either on or off the station or want to hire an attorney, this the the area to look.
Corporate Sector
While most of the small time traders operate either out of the central trade district or the Ferengi trade sector the larger, more powerful organisations have their offices in the corporate sector instead. Filled with well-appointed and lavish offices and various staterooms used for conferences, large-scale meetings and diplomatic events the sector is also policed extensively by station security due to the ill-feeling many people hold towards the corporations and thier profit-based philosophies.
Ferengi Trade Sector
While almost anything you could need is available in the central trade district sometimes you need things which aren't always easy to obtain, or legal to. For those times the Ferengi are the people to talk to, and the trade sector located close to the civilian shuttle port and with its own trade dock certainly offers a few services which station security would prefer stay off the books.
Cargo Bays
While Athena has storage compartments and bays all over the station the majority of heavy freight is to be found in the dedicated cargo sector. Filled with a maze of containers and compartments the cargo bays offer traders high security storage for their goods, as well as a fair number of vagrants who live in the dark shadows.
Leisure
Promenade
When offduty the Promenade is where most station personnel and civilians hang out. Filled with a large number of clubs, bars, sports facilities and leisure opportunities this area is also known as the entertainment district or pleasure park. Back alleys also offer less salubrious forms of entertainment and because of this station security have a high presence here.
Greenway
Actually part of the station's life support systems the Greenway is an area of transplanted plant and animal life used to help process the atmosphere. The fact it's such a pleasant area for people used to living on sterile starships and stations has led to a thriving leisure industry, including rock climbing, water sports and 'pony' trekking.
