- "Why do you call it Hell's Gate?"
- ―Gavin Archer upon his welcoming to Hell's Gate
| Extra Solar-Colony 01 "Hell's Gate" | |
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| Location Information | |
| Location: | Australis, Pandora |
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Hell's Gate or as the facility is formerly known as Resources Development Administration Extra-Solar Colony 01 (RDA ESC 01) is the main center for all human colonial activities and contains the planet's only spaceport. It is in a constant state of siege from both the toxic environment and dangerous animals.
Colonization of Pandora[]
The construction of Hell's Gate began nearly 35 years prior to the events surrounding the assault on the Tree of Souls. The location to build Hell's Gate was on the "horn" of Australis, near the Equatorial Sea. A valley of mountains and hills was also a plus in choosing the appriopriate location for a colony that would be under constant siege; not from animals but from the Na'vi as well.
Layout of Hell's Gate
The chosen design of the colony was that of a pentagon, clearly as a form of defense that would allow security or otherwise to keep an eye on all sides and ends. Originally plan to build platforms above the surface, instead the RDA investors and planners chose to build beneath the surface while keeping a small amount of structures on the surface without platforms. This allowed for many to live within the ground without the threat of daily radiation coming from the gas giant and the mother stars of Pandora.
A pentagonal perimeter fence was erected first and foremost before digging and construction began on the main structures. Major weapon towers at each apex provide heavy munitions defense against surface and air intrusions by large hostile Pandoran wildlife, while four smaller towers spaced 250 meters apart along each side handle intrusions by smaller life forms, including burrowing attacks. A cleared, thirty-meter-wide strip surrounds the base, which is regularly patrolled by automatic plant-clearing machinery that keeps the jungle at bay through regular administration of acidic mining byproducts.
Slightly more than a third of the site is taken up by the shuttle runway, VTOL pads, hangars, equipment storage areas, and garage structures. A similar area is occupied by the armor bay, vehicle storage sheds, and a light industrial plant mainly used for fabricating parts for mining equipment and ammunition for base defense. The unobtanium refinery complex takes up the western side of the facility.
The remainder of Hell's Gate is composed of administrative structures such as: a barracks for SecOps staff, studio-style apartments for technicians and mine workers, an airtight condominium for senior staff, as well as Sci Mod that is part of the utilitdor-connected Hab Mod and Ops Center structures.
Recreational facilities such as the base commissary (popularly known as Hell's Kitchen) are shared, except for an unpressurized section between the research labs and the landing zone mainly used by members of the Avatar Program for athletic training. The recreational facilities are on the fifth floor, along with the gym.
Structures & Levels[]
Habitat Modules beneath the surface.
Six levels were created for each module as is there are seven modules. Out of the seven are three modules used purposely for living space and recreational services. Habitat Modules or HABMOD are the largest of all the buildings found on the surface and below it.
For the first module of the triangle of modules is CONMOD or Communications Module. This module can be found as the titular building that greets new arrivals from their long journey to Pandora. The CONMOD itself has four levels, two less than the HABMODs. The fourth level is Operations Center. The third level is Communication Systems and Administration. The second level is SecOps and Power Distribution. Lastely, the first level is Systems and Electronics.
The ground level is a detention facility, a training area and power distributioncan be found on this level. level 2 and 3 are living quarters,level 4 is devolved to supplies, services as well as administration. Level 5 is Laundry, ablution and recreational facilities. Level 6 is occupied by the medical bay.