The Basilisk
Intent: To establish a major mining location on Vaal that adds economic and strategic importance to the planet, serving as a key source of Phrik in RP.
Image Credit: Midjourney
Canon: Vaal Phrik
Permissions: N/A
Links: Vaal, Phrik, Vaaldredge
SETTING INFORMATION
Mine Name: The Skyspire Veins
Material: Phrik Ore
Location: Vaal
Affiliation: Vaal,
Adonis Angelis IV
Size: Massive
Population: Heavily Staffed
Profit: High
Accessibility: Remote and heavily fortified. The mine is located in the heart of the Skyspire Range, a jagged series of peaks deep in Vaal's frontier. Access by foot requires navigating narrow mountain passes and surviving both the local wildlife and the mine's automated defenses. Entry is restricted to authorized personnel under government oversight.
Description: The Skyspire Veins are a wonder of both nature and industry, a sprawling network of tunnels honeycombing an entire mountain range, glinting with Phrik ore veins that shimmer when struck by light. From the air, the range appears like a massive crown of stone and steel, with durasteel gantries and cargo lifts clinging to cliff faces, and conveyor lines carrying ore down into fortified processing yards. Many of the deepest shafts were first carved by Vaaldredge, a colossal, rock-eating insect species native to Vaal, whose hardened mandibles and resin-reinforced tunnels have been integrated into the mine's architecture.
POINTS OF INTEREST
- The Crown Gate: The heavily armored main entrance to the mine, built into a sheer cliff face with retractable blast doors and an integrated checkpoint.
- The Deep Vein: The richest seam discovered so far, a cavern where Phrik ore runs in continuous bands along walls and ceiling. Miners say it hums faintly under certain conditions, possibly due to Vaaldredge activity in adjacent tunnels.
- Antwalker Tunnels: Named for the Vaaldredge, these are original insect-hewn shafts widened and reinforced for mining equipment. Their winding, organic shapes make them more stable than straight-cut boreholes and allow deeper access without destabilizing the peaks.
- The Spire Lifts: Massive vertical cargo elevators running inside hollowed peaks, transporting ore from the deepest levels to the surface.
- Lightning Shelf: A high plateau near the range's summit where storms often strike, believed to contribute to trace mineral variations in the Phrik ore.
Security Rating: Maximum
- Guard detachments stationed at all entry points
- Anti-air turrets and sensor grids to intercept unauthorized craft
- Automated blaster emplacements in key choke points
- Armored personnel carriers for rapid deployment inside the range
- Sealed emergency blast doors throughout the tunnel network
- Environmental hazard controls to prevent sabotage
- Pheromone-based Vaaldredge deterrent systems to keep the insects from wandering into sensitive areas
The Skyspire Veins were created less than a century ago when a geological survey, originally intended to locate building stone, revealed streaks of metallic ore unlike anything seen on Vaal before. Testing confirmed it as Phrik, one of the galaxy's rarest and most valuable metals, famed for its resilience against lightsabers and extreme conditions.
Mining was initially slow and dangerous until xenobiologists studying the Vaaldredge, meter-and-a-half-long rock-eating insects, realized their sprawling tunnel networks could be adapted for human use. The Vaaldredge naturally chew through stone in search of mineral deposits, sealing their burrows with hardened resin. These resin-lined walls proved incredibly stable, even in high-stress mining zones. Early Vaalian engineers reinforced and expanded these insect-carved arteries, creating a hybrid network of natural hives and industrial shafts.
Ownership of the Skyspire Veins shifted over time, from Republic oversight, to private corporate exploitation, to Alliance control. Today, the Skyspire Veins are both an economic powerhouse and a heavily defended prize. In the darkness below, drills and conveyors work alongside the distant scraping of unseen Vaaldredge, a reminder that Vaal's most valuable resources have always been shaped by both its people and its predators.
