Orison

Orison is a city located in the clouds of Crusader. It is built upon a military-constructed latticework of inhabitable floating platforms which Crusader Industries uses to manufacture their large-scale ships. The shipyards themselves are famously beautiful and have made Orison a prime tourist destination in the Stanton system. It offers a breathtaking view of Crusader's commercial shipbuilding platforms. The platforms at Orison are equipped with large thrusters that fire periodically to maintain its orbital position.

Public transport between areas is conducted by Skyway Shuttle services.

Orison maintains its precise orbital height through controlled firing of the Seraph-class thrusters situated below each platform. Precisely timed to prevent shearing and destabilization of the connected network of struts, each thruster is activated for a short burst allowing Orison to stay firmly in place. Crusader locals often describe the gentle vibrations that accompany the periodic adjustments as "Orison’s free massage."

History
The first orbital platforms were built by the UEE Navy in 2855 and considered an engineering marvel at the time. Providence Industrial Platform played an important role in the repair of capital ships. In 2865, CEO Kelly Caplan purchased the gas giant Crusader when the UEE decided to sell the planets in the Stanton system. Soon after, Providence Platform was converted into one of the most advanced shipyards ever in operation and the city of Orison developed around the existing latticework.

Cloudview Center
Cloudview Center is Orison's main commercial platform and home to the Stratus shopping center, Greencircle habs, Voyager Bar, Orison General Hospital, the Crusader Industries showroom, a Stormwal sculpture, a Trade and Development Division, as well as numerous scenic points overlooking Crusader's cloudscapes.

Arriving at the Crusader Visitor's Center, you head straight down the elevators to the Grande Observatory, where the transparent flooring provides unparalleled views of the tempestuous atmosphere below.

"Once past the windbreak, she slowed her pace, used her badge to shortcut customs and turned towards the promenade. The wide garden-lined walkway provided access to most of the various shopping plazas and services that comprised the bulk of the hub's structures, with the added bonus of serving up some of the best vistas of Crusader's massive vessels being constructed. Even at this early hour, tourists congregated along the length of the overlook...

...As she approached the starport's entrance, she bypassed the long line that snaked outside and beelined straight for the maintenance area...

...The massive maintenance bay held several starliners in different states of repair."

- Hostile Negotiations

This is where the Crusader Security Office is located.

"With its pleasant atmosphere and abundance of ergonomics, you could tell that "team flow experts" and environmental psychologists who specialized in harmonizing workers with their surroundings had probably been consulted during construction. Basically, there was a lot of natural light, way too many potted plants and hallways that nearly all lead towards the "interface lounge," i.e., the break room."

- Hostile Negotiations

Skyway Shuttle Cloudview station is located there.

Providence industrial platform
Providence industrial platform is an industrial platform in Orison. Skyway Shuttle Providence station is located in there. Visitors can take a tour of the facility via the Crusader Discovery Center. Other amenities include Covalex Shipping and Self Storage, Cousin Crow's Custom Craft, Providence Surplus, and Orison Municipal Services.

Providence Platform was originally constructed as a Naval drydock in 2855 to take advantage of the lower gravity and breathable atmosphere found here. This is also why they made this Crusader’s new headquarters. When the company purchased Stanton II in 2865, Providence Platform underwent major renovations to transform it into the manufacturing center that it is today. Of course, while it may not be an official Navy site any longer, Crusader carries on the tradition of working to help people across the empire.

August Dunlow Spaceport
Orison's spaceport (named after August Dunlow, the founder of Crusader Industries), serves as the main point of entry for the landing zone. Skyway Shuttle Dunlow station is located there. It is connected to several Aeroview hangar platforms.

Shipyard complex
Floating in a nest of complicated latticeworks, the Crusader Industries Shipyards are prized examples of unintentional art, where one may watch massive transport ships emerge from nothing as they are constructed by a delicately choreographed ballet of bots and workers.

This is where the Genesis Starliner is built.

Stormwal sanctuary
Stormwals live in the vicinity of Orison, and visitors can board a Discovery Tour shuttle for a chance to see these beasts.

Other platforms
Orison contains more than a hundred platforms in total, with several sections of them interconnected to one another. These can all be classified by different platform types:

Significant characters
Liaison Officers Lisa Gibbs (ID# 91G66BW0) and Devin Bautista (ID# 948J030K) work Crusader Security's 'lemonade stand', the small auxiliary community outreach office in Orison. They are already the points of contact for Crusader Security contracts via mobiGlas as of Alpha 3.3, but datamined audio reveals that they will also be voiced mission givers. The lemonade stand's parent - the Crusader Security Office, is run by Section Chief Captain Pontayo, and is where Liaison Officer Kayla Frost works in dispatch. Frost features in the Hostile Negotiations storyline along with cameo appearances by Gibbs and Bautista.

Trivia

 * Crusader gardeners could not find a tree that would fit well in their city, so they created one themselves. Something that was well adapted to high winds and low humidity, that could self-pollinate, and most importantly, was beautiful. They created a cross-combination of flowering dogwoods and taverbark pines: the Hosanna tree features strong roots, flexible branches, delicately scented pink flowers.
 * 2955 marks the centennial anniversary of the first orbital platform built on Crusader.

Gallery
Exterior=

Maps=

Cloudview Center=

Provicence Platform=

August Dunlow Spaceport=

Other platforms=

ISC 2021-07-24=

Development=

Concept art=

Unofficial art= Note that these apparently were never approved by Chris Roberts, released instead by concept artist Ken Fairclough as part of his portfolio. Making it unlike most other concept art found. May or may not relate to what Crusader's landing zone finally looks like.