Approved Location Garden Street Station | Museum & Memorial

[Natasi Fortan]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To create a location significant to some First Order characters.
• Image Credit: Main Image and Central Terminal, Archie Garcia [x], Exhibition Hall, Wolfgang Ortner [x], Tunnel Exhibition, Michael Neocleous [x], Memorial Garden, Jeff Johnson [x]
• Canon: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: The First Order, Avalonia, Dosuun, Boom Crunch, It's Been A Long, Long Time

SETTING INFORMATION

• Structure Name: Garden Street Station
• Classification: Decommissioned Transit Station / Museum and Memorial
• Location: Avalonia, Dosuun
• Affiliation: The First Order
• Accessibility: Public Access
  
• Description: Garden Street Station is a large transit station situated on Garden Street in Avalonia, a complex consisting of the large terminal building and the attached, disused subway tunnels that had been blocked off since the Garden Street Station settlement had been cleared out in the early 860s ABY. At one point, served as a hub for overland trains, subway trains, busses, and taxis. It was severely damaged during the Sack of Dosuun, and when Avalonia was rebuilt, the new transit hub was in a separate location. The First Order Ministry of Culture requisitioned the ruins of Garden Street Station as well as the subway tunnels, restored the complex, and opened it as a museum and memorial featuring stories of courage and resilience during and after the Sack of Dosuun. The building features exhibits on the Sack and the measures taken by the survivors and resistance cells to survive the occupation of the Ssi-Ruuk Imperium, and Dosuun's eventual liberation. In addition to the exhibits, there are two restaurants and several small shops, as well as a memorial garden. The tunnels have been preserved in more or less the same status they were left when Dr. Renata Westaway's group was rescued, glassed in so that people can see up-close how the people survived in the tunnels beneath Avalonia.
  

POINTS OF INTEREST

Central Terminal​

The Central Terminal is the main point of entry to Garden Street Station. The building has been restored to its for glory, including hand-carved marble detailing, wrought iron, and intricate masonry. The terminal looks very much like it did prior to the building's original destruction, although without the building's original use as a transportation hub, the pace is much more relaxed. Instead of commuters, the area plays host to sightseers and shoppers. Shops line the perimeter, although they are built in such a way as to avoid cheapening the experience; no neon lights are allowed, and outside of business hours, the shops are closed up behind polished wooden doors. The far end of the terminal, opposite the main entrance, hosts an elegant restaurant, and a terrace outside features a more casual café. The room often plays host to large events; the sense of drama makes it ideal for fundraising galas, corporate and government functions, weddings, etc.

Exhibition Hall​

The Exhibition Hall, located one level below the Central Terminal, occupies the space formerly used for First Class lounges, restrooms, and business center. It is a long, columned room that hosts a rotating exhibition of art, including paintings, sculptures, tapestries, and other objets d'art, often curated from exclusive private collections. This exhibition does not tend to focus on the events that made Garden Street Station famous, and instead tends to showcase generally patriotic art or else just aesthetically pleasing art pieces.

Tunnel Exhibition​

The tunnels beneath Garden Street Station that were once used by subway and train cars are no longer connected to the larger transportation network. Instead, they have been maintained as an exhibition of how the survivors of Garden Street Station lived. Subway carriages that were utilized as dormitories, kitchens, or armories have been maintained in that state, with some even being open to allow visitors to climb inside. Also preserved for posterity are the command bunker and examples of the water collection and purification system and the hydroponic mushroom farm that watered and fed the occupants of the tunnels after their supplies and rations ran out.

Memorial Garden​

Situated in the rear of the station, where there once was a shuttle landing pad and a smoking area, is a small memorial garden, dedicated to the residents of Avalonia who died in the second Sack of Dosuun, as well as specifically honoring the several individuals who died in Garden Street Station from injuries following the Sack. The space offers an area for quiet reflection and contemplation. Occasionally, a small makeshift memorial with flowers and other small tokens is set up at a particular plaque by fellow survivors or friends and families of the deceased. These are typically left alone until the flowers begin to decay, at which point they are respectfully removed.

SECURITY
Medium

• Security Holocameras
• Blastproof glass (around exhibits)
• Standard security suite including motion sensors and alarms

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Garden Street Station was constructed as a transportation hub for the city of Avalonia during the initial settlement of Dosuun by the First Order. The station served as a connector between the city's public transportation options like busses, subways, and taxis, and other transportation services like trains and shuttleport/spaceport transfers. It served its purpose well for years, serving millions of travelers over its lifespan.

When the Ssi-Ruuk Imperium first came to Dosuun, Garden Street Station became the unofficial headquarters of the First Order's resistance. Several high-profile individuals were evacuated to the station during the assault, including Natasi Fortan (then Grand Moff of the First Order) and others. The group formed the backbone of the resistance to the Ssi-Ruuk occupation of Dosuun, along with the dozens of military personnel and nearly two hundred civilians that populated the station. Since the overland station had collapsed and trains had stopped running, the only way in and out of the subway tunnels beneath the station was through the train tracks, which allowed the survivors to fortify their defenses and disguise their presence rather effectively. They emerged from the tunnels on patrols and to seek food and intelligence, as well as to send a distress signal to the First Order fleet.

It was a hard and utilitarian life in the tunnels; they had not been designed to house people indefinitely. Emergency supplies were rationed and subway carriages were used for quarters. It was not a comfortable existence, but for the most part it was safe. The Ssi-Ruuk Imperium never breached the station, and although the existence was certainly lean, no one starved to death or succumbed to illness in its tunnels. For those who survived within those tunnels, that was enough.

Weeks after the attack, the First Order fleet returned from operations in the Bakura sector and liberated the planet. Garden Street Station was rebuilt and refurbished, this time with an eye towards potential disasters in the future. The tunnel system was reinforced, and a bunker was drilled out for use in the event of another such threat, although many believed it would never be used. However, when the Ssi-Ruuk Imperium returned years later, they did it with a vengeance, and the extra effort came in handy. When Dosuun was sacked by the saurian invaders in the 850s, the destruction of Avalonia's surface features was nearly complete. The first time the Ssi-Ruuk came, they came to enslave and entech. The second time, they came to conquer and destroy. Avalonia was all but flattened, but thanks to the reinforcements made to Garden Street Station's tunnels and bunker, they survived.

Garden Street Station again played a pivotal role in safeguarding large numbers of civilians during the Ssi-Ruuk occupation. One such civilian was Dr. Renata Westaway, an urban development scientist for the First Order, who was evacuated to the tunnels when the Ssi-Ruuk attacked. They were better prepared this time, with certain upgrades to the tunnels making existence a little easier, but this time rescue did not come in a few days or weeks. The survivors of Garden Street Station huddled in the tunnels long after the rations ran out and the emergency generators had to be shut off to conserve what little fuel they had. In the four long years they lived in the tunnels, the survivors built cisterns to collect and purify water and grew mushrooms and other edible fungus. Before the tunnels became completely blocked by an accumulation of debris from the surface, the survivors were able to search for supplies, but after about eight months, the entrances were all but blocked.

They remained in the tunnels until Avalonia was being rebuilt, and the construction re-opened one of the tunnels, at which point the survivors were rescued and re-integrated into the new First Order society. The building was cleared and eventually requisitioned by the Ministry of Culture, at which point they decided to rebuild the station to its original specifications and convert it into a museum. The refurbishment took about a year and when completed, it opened to much fanfare. The museum has proved popular, not just as a museum and memorial but as a social gathering space and place for shopping and dining.

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Under Review.

Natasi Fortan

 

[Fiolette Fortan]

Pending Approval.

Natasi Fortan

 

[Srina Talon]

Fiolette Fortan | Natasi Fortan

A lovely location. Please, enjoy! [Approved]