Source GM Core pg. 94
Catwalks in Starfall are where accidents stop being accidental. They’re the narrow ribs of steel and nanocarbon that hang above reactor pits, cargo gulfs, Rift‑lit chasms, and factory floors—perfect for maintenance, ambushes, and “falling hazards” that were never properly logged.
Ribs of the Machine
Ask any dock rat or engine‑bay tech where real deals and real deaths happen, and they’ll point up. Catwalks are where you go when you don’t want to be seen from the main floor: the overhead veins of a station, reactor cathedral, or shipyard where fumes gather, drones hum, and one loose bolt can mean a thirty‑meter drop.
In Inner Sphere megafactories, catwalks are regulation‑compliant nanocarbon grids with standard‑height railings, warning strips, and safety‑light patterns that blink in time with Metronome Pulses. In Outer Sphere refineries and Frontier rigs, half the rails are missing, gratings are scavenged from three different eras, and the only safety markings are spray‑painted skulls where someone already fell.
Guilds and factions treat catwalks as informal turf: Chronologists lay sensor taps along them to watch Metronome housings; Ebon Syndicate crews use them as smuggling routes above customs scanners; Crimson Concord artists string banners and light rigs from them for mid‑air performances.
Implications
Maintenance & Inspection: Techs, Navigators, and Chronologist apprentices use catwalks to service conduits, Metronome pylons, coolant ducts, and Rift‑sensor arrays that can’t be reached from the deck.
Smuggling Routes: Above‑floor paths bypass choke points, cameras, and crowd control down below; concealed panels or junction boxes along a catwalk can hide contraband or dead drops.
Social Spaces: In cramped stations, catwalks double as makeshift balconies and meeting spots—smokers’ corners, secret tryst points, and overlooking platforms for deal‑brokers watching cargo loads.
Emergency Egress: Properly designed bays use catwalk networks as backup escape routes when floors flood with fire, coolant, or toxic fog.
Societal Impact
The state of a facility’s catwalks says a lot about who runs it:
Accord / Commission Sites: Redundant railings, clear load stamps, anti‑slip plating, and well‑lit paths suggest bureaucracies that fear both accidents and liability.
Syndicate & Warlord Holds: Partial railings and missing grates communicate that only the valued and agile are expected to survive; falls are “natural selection.”
Viridian & Riftsworn Zones: Catwalks are overgrown with living tendrils or warped by Rift energies, turning them into organic arteries or fractal, half‑real beams.
Unions and worker clades often fight specifically for catwalk safety upgrades—netting, new rails, or better anchors—because they know how easily “missteps” can be manufactured in a dangerous workplace.