SpacePort 6 has its own on-station government.
It is a bureaucratic entity that maintains public services, its own security
force, customs, as well as maintenance of the station itself. It is not
under the control of the government of Gem in any way, but the government
of Gem and the government of SP6 work in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Spaceport 6 is a member of the Confederation.
Several representative components of the Confederation government are maintained
on SP6, including a base for the Confederation Outworld Patrol Service,
the Confederation Assault Forces, and the Confederation Fleet. It also
maintains a major shipyard supporting both civilians and Confederate forces.
SpacePort 6 Law
The most important and well-known law
on SP6 is gun control. Lethal ranged weapons, including (but not limited
to) chemical slugthrowers, railguns, lasers, particle cannons, plasma guns,
rockets and missiles are all heavily regulated on SP6, and customs will
relieve characters of such weapons.
The only exceptions to this are members
of the SP6 security force, interstellar patrol, or confederation military,
or individuals deputized by one of the above agencies (like bounty hunters
and diplomatic security robots--though strict restrictions apply to the
latter.)
Some non-lethal weapons, like stunners
and tazers, can be had with a licence. Such licences can only be had if
the character can show a legitimate need. Some examples include military
reservists and private security guards.
Most other laws are lax. Customs only
restricts cargoes that are either restricted by confederation law or pose
an immediate danger to the station or its inhabitants. SP6 is a free port.
The livelihood of the station depends on the business of various free traders
and megacorporations.
Gambling is legal; several other areas
of law are not yet defined, but it is fairly safe to assume that most are
very lax.
While station law is very lax, it is
subject to the strictures of Confederation interstellar law. See the section
on Confederation Interstellar Law for more
information.
SpacePort 6 Government Structure
SpacePort 6 is run by 2 co-existing
governmental bodies: the Elected Council and the Departmental Council.
The SP6 Elected council is democratically elected by citizens of SP6. The
Departmental Council is made up of representatives from each of SP6's various
departments: Security, Shipyard, Port Authority, Trade Authority, Public
Works and Maintenance, Life Support, Judicial Administration, Confederate
Affairs, etc. These two departments form policy and make and review laws.
The members of the Elected council elect
a chairperson for that council, who holds the title of Mayor. The members
of the Departmental Council elect the chair of their council, who holds
the title of Station Administrator. Generally, the Mayor handles matters
dealing with the SP6 city, while the Station Administrator deals with affairs
of the station proper such as external security, trade, and diplomacy.
Though they are theoretically equal offices, the Station Administrator
is considered the senior of the two offices by those-in-the-know.
SpacePort 6 Security
SpacePort 6 security is a large organization,
run by a company called CorSec. Despite the size of SP6 Security, they
are strained to their limits by the amount of responsibilities placed on
them. The are responsible for maintaining order in the city and the port.
Although in theory the Port Authority and the Coalition Outworld Patrol
Service are responsible for customs, personell limitations have forced
them to contract to CorSec as well, who have orginizationally put that
responibility under the security department as well.
SpacePort 6 security maintains one of
the three AI supercomputers on SP6 in order to coordinate its activies
and help manage its massive responsibilities.
SpacePort 6 Customs
SpacePort 6 Customs is usually conducted
by a SP6 security officer or a autonomous robot of some sort. They will
prevent entry into the station of any firearms as well as powered melee
weapons such as vibro-knifes. They will also screen cargoes and luggage
to ensure that no goods banned by confederate or SP6 laws are being transported
or brought into the station.
Finally, all races known to exhibit
psionic cabability will be given a skin-cell or blood test screening to
verify whether or not they have the genes associated with psionic capability.
If they do have them, and do not have the registrations and monitoring
required of all psis in the confederation, they are administered with psi-suppresant
drugs for the duration of their stay on the station.