N'aal Buuk

The Enterprise Sector

The Enterprise Sector presents a startling contrast to the beauty and order of the Administrative Sector. Here, buildings are plain and utilitarian, often grimy with years of soot and dust. The streets are broad, not for ascetic reasons, but to allow passage of enormous wagons. Noise and smoke are everywhere. This is the home of Nectar's industries - weaving, pottery, glassware, and tile. There are also numerous wood workers, metal workers, and stone cutter here. Factories and warehouses are mixed with shops and tenement houses for the workers. The ceramic and glassworks run all night, as their kilns must be kept going continuously.

The name of the sector in the local language, N'aal Buuk, means "place of many guilds". Nearly all of the workers belong to one of the three great craft guilds - the weavers, the potters, and the glass-blowers. The people of the Enterprise Sector are by far the most outspoken of any in Nectar. A weaver or a potter will never hesitate to say what he thinks about anything to anyone. This is one of the Prince's true strongholds of support, but the Enterprise Sector's workers never hesitate to demonstrate or riot when they disagree with their ruler. They work hard here, and when work is done they drink, gamble, and fight. The taverns here do not cater to strangers; a visitor will get hostile looks and silence.

Crime in the Enterprise Sector is mostly limited to petty thefts, drunken brawls, and domestic fights. A stranger on the street at night may be attacked by one or more neighborhood toughs, but is likely to find others rushing to his aid.

The Landing Field: The city's cloudship landing-field fills the area between the city gate and the Alkaara Canal. The field has mooring masts for up to twelve cloudships, plus covered hangers for the ships of Nectar's Navy. Nectar usually sees one ship arriving and another one departing every day. Since the Prince has opened his city to interplanetary Ether-Flyer traffic, Nectar sees one flyer arrive every month or so (depending on the orbital arrangements or Earth and Mars.) Most interplanetary traffic is carried on American or Dutch flyers.

The landing-field has a small shipyard, but is only capable of repairs. Nectar must buy its cloudships from other cities. In the past, most have come from the Tossian Empire or from the yards at Alten. Prince Sitanni is trying to find investors willing to help him improve the shipyard.

The ships of Nectar's aerial Navy are based at the field. The crews live scattered about the city, but the Marine Legion is quartered in a barracks next to the landing-field by the city gate.

"Sky Town": In the narrow streets behind the landing-field is Nectar's "Sky Town." Here the rough sky-sailors drink and sleep between voyages. One can find skymen from all over Mars in this part of town, and often a few Terrans as well. The Temple of the Wind Lord here is shabby but well attended, even the most well educated cloudship commanders leave an offering just in case.


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©1995, 1998 The Familiar, LTD. Illustrations are ©1995, 1998 David Flora. All Rights Reserved.