The current House Qel-Droma headquarters is located within a previously hidden tunnel cluster at the fringes of the Blind Spot of Port Ol'val. The new headquarters was built during the reconstruction effort following Whallatta the Hutt’s attempted coup of the Shadowport, and the ensuing shadow war with the Dawn Conclave, during which the old Phantom Complex was compromised and ultimately destroyed. Access to the Phantom Complex is via a trio of means. The Phantom Complex houses its own hangar, accessible via starship. On the side of the renamed *Blind Spot,* the Phantom Complex has a front of a pristine office building of dark glass, ostensibly the local offices of Naruba Investments. Thirdly, a limited number of access tunnels lead to the base level of the Complex, these narrow passageways only large enough to let a single person pass on foot.
Complex Proper
The Phantom Complex is named as such by the fact that the Qel-Droman presence is rumored but remains unconfirmed by the general populace. During the fighting against Whallatta’s forces in 36 ABY, a portion of the Besadii Entertainment District collapsed, uncovering a previously unknown cavern left behind by the original mining operation. This was swiftly taken up by Qel-Droma as a suitable site for their new base of operations, with the extensive rebuilding effort masking most of the more clandestine construction.
Unlike the previous Phantom Complex, the new HQ is a more compact affair, acting as the administrative and operational nexus of House Qel-Droma. Vast quantities of galactic intelligence, surveillance data, and various unconfirmed rumors all flow through it, feeding the command of Qel-Droma with information necessary to conduct its clandestine operations in service of Clan Arcona.
Due to the shape of the existing cavern, the Phantom Complex was built in three main levels, each connected to the other by a slanted central elevator shaft.
Base Level
Housing the majority of Qel-Droman personal quarters, staff lounges, briefing rooms, and workshops the Bottom level is a near perpetual hubbub of activity. Smartly dressed officers, returning field agents, and the colorful cadre of Qel-Droman specialists can all be found rubbing shoulders on this level of the HQ.
Entrance to the Base Level is done via the front of a Naruba Investments office building at the edges of the Blind Spot. Upon presenting valid credentials at the reception, the turbolift will descend to the lobby of the Qel-Droman HQ.
Upon entry to the HQ, one is greeted by a pleasant central garden in the shape of the House insignia, with meeting and common rooms on either side. Further down lie the personal quarters of various Qel-Droman operatives.
Main Elevator
The main elevator runs diagonally through all three main levels of the HQ, starting at the lobby of the Base level, bisecting the Mid level, and ending up at the Top level, near the Aedile’s quarters. Six high-speed turbolifts carry Qel-Droman personnel between the levels, each separated from the others by tens of meters of Ol’val rock. Housed within this massive column lies a zig-zagging walkway that snakes through a brightly lit hydroponic garden.
A circulating system feeds water from the top of the shaft in a cascading waterfall which makes its way down from layer to layer until finally pooling up at the base in a waist-deep pool. Fed by the water, the artificial sunlight, and maintained by dozens of robotic attendants, the garden on the ground floor is rich with life. Thousands of different plant species from a multitude of worlds are grown; tall, springy tropical trees from Selen sprout through the gaps in the walkway, joined by great, baby-wroshirs from Kashyyk. There are small, decoratively trimmed tschupera bushes, copied from the avenues of Coruscant, and great swaths of bryophytes; singing ferns from Corellia, glass ferns from Haruun-Kal, and tall, lacy feather-ferns from Yavin-4. From Felucia come phosphorescent lichens, shining in the shadowy undergrowth, and crystalline, multi-chromatic bell-heads. Endor’s historic moon provides creep-vines and monk-lilies, floating peacefully across the pools of water. Barabells, kasavas, jorgan fruit, and countless other fruits and veggies are grown in thick, multi-colored clusters, harvested on occasion by the headquarters kitchen staff.
While the turbolifts offer a speedy means of transit between the main levels, the walkway through this brightly lit floral cornucopia is an oft-preferred method for those not in a hurry, offering a much-needed escape from the confines of a space rock to something more organic and airy.
Hangar
The far end of the Bottom level extends up to Ol’val’s exterior, offering a more secluded entry point directly into the Phantom Complex for personal craft and small shuttles. Ships up to light freighters are able to pass through the narrow opening, although landing pads are usually reserved only for short-term stays and House shuttles.
For more long-term storage, rotating racks of docking cradles line the walls, able to hold both starfighters and even YT-series freighters, although access to the ship is limited and retrieval somewhat cumbersome.
Ol’Val Specialized Training Center
by Karran Val’teo and by Zaric Jarard
The Ol’val Specialized Training Center is available to all members of House Qel-Droma for training and sparring. However, its true utilitarian purpose is for training elite enforcers and guards for service to the Summit. All types of combat can be trained in here, from lightsaber wielding to physical martial arts, and also ranged weaponry.
The Training Center sports a full armory with wooden swords and staves on some rackets and also training blasters and bows. It has a firing range with different distance settings, a sparring room with a circle ring in the middle, an exercise gym with equipment for different purposes, some for stamina training and other for strength training and then some for endurance. And a first aid center staffed with medical droids.
Some of the best fighters that House Qel-Droma has to offer cycle through this facility in order to ensure that its recruits receive well-rounded instruction and learn a variety of techniques.
Operative Suites
Personal quarters for Qel-Droman operatives, these chambers come with a modular design that can be easily configured to cater to the individual’s preferences. As standard, they contain a comfortable bed, kitchenette, refresher cubicle and basic lounge furniture. The rooms are spacious enough to host small gatherings of a handful of people and come standard with personal keycards or biometric locks, as per user preference.
Briefing Rooms
Standard office rooms with excellent sound isolation, the briefing rooms come available in several sizes to fit small teams to even platoon sized elements. All come equipped with data terminals, central holodisplays, and uncomfortable seating to keep the attendants suitably alert.
Workshops
Compact, but well-stocked and isolated rooms near the Hangar intended for all manner of gear or equipment repairs, modifications, and jury-rigs. A wide selection of tools and basic materials are available for the construction of specialist equipment, ranging from stocks of durasteel to 3D printers, lathes, and hydrogrinders.
Staff Quarters
Small, personal rooms for Qel-Droma personnel who are on stand-by rotation. The rooms are equipped with simple amenities and extensive entertainment suites to let the menials relax after working at their posts. These come both as assigned to certain key personnel or given out on a rotation basis to, e.g. security personnel.
Tunnel Access
A handful of small, one-man abreast, tunnels lead up to a small room in the sub-basement of the Base Level. From here, various points of the Blind Spot can be accessed discreetly. The access is heavily defended and fail-safes built in to prevent the tunnels being used against Qel-Droma by malicious forces.
Mid Level
The most protected and isolated level of the Qel-Droman Headquarters, the Mid Level houses the ‘brains’ of the intelligence operations. The ambient temperature is kept a few degrees lower than on the other levels to keep the operatives alert and the banks of computing cores cool. Several rooms of frosted transparisteel and holographic displays fill the level, housing data-analysts, intelligence officers, signals interpreters, and a myriad other specialists all sifting through galactic data streams and organizing vast quantities of information into useful reports. It is this leg work that keeps Qel-Droma one step ahead of its competitors.
Operations Center
Housed at the center of the level, the Operations Center contains the most senior staff of the Phantom Complex whose task it is to monitor and advise on active intelligence missions. The auditorium-style room is dominated by a series of large displays showing pertinent data on ongoing missions by Qel-Droman field agents, opposed by rows of data terminals from which various mission controllers can observe and advise field agents on their deployments. Seated so close to each other and observing a limited number of operations at once, the cadre of specialists is able to quickly divert their attention to pressing developments. Secure holonet links allow near-realtime tactical analysis, offering agents access to believable cover stories, alerts on local developments, and guidance on best courses of action.
Only Qel-Droman personnel of the highest security clearance is allowed access to the Operations Center, the veracity of their person being triple-checked via a combination of physical pass-key, verbal security phrase, and DNA sample. Save for the Vault, it is the most secure space within the HQ, and by extension, Ol’val.
Signals Analysis
The department is located immediately by the main elevator, containing within its electromagnetically isolated rooms the equipment and experts used to identify, analyze, and decrypt vast quantities of secure holonet transmissions captured by the Qel-Droman assets, the DIA, or the Inquisitorius. Powerful computer cores work alongside droid brains and cybernetically augmented crypto-analysts with a number of tools ranging from direct neural uplinks to holotables and even physical flimsi sheets. An extensive gallery of mass-produced literature, cultural regalia, and phrases of significance from all around the galaxy are stored in a compact store room at the back of the main offices. Though some might consider such items trivial in modern code-breaking, they have still proven useful in decrypting confounding ciphers based on obscure and culturally-sensitive understanding.
Top Level
At the topmost level of the Headquarters lie the offices of the Quaestor and Aedile, as well as those of many other senior members of staff and other administrative offices.
Quaestor’s Suite
The Quaestor’s Suite is the working chambers of the Qel-Droman Quaestor, known among the Ol’val populace as the ‘Blind Man’. Entry within is regulated by a high-level passkey, requiring certain access privileges to even let the Quaestor know that someone is seeking an appointment. Only the Consul of Clan Arcona has an immediate override key which opens the secure blast door without verification from within.
The floor of the relatively compact room is laid in a herringbone pattern of dark maroon floorboards, giving off an elegant and warm ambiance. The walls are lined with pict-screens cleverly disguised as portraits, depicting the preceding line of Quaestors down to the House’s founder. These same screens can be used to display security recordings or tactical feeds, if required.
The far end of the quarters is dominated by a large office desk and an ergonomically shaped chair, the desk’s robust structure capable of withstanding blaster bolts as well as bureaucracy in equal measure. Behind it, carved into the raw rock face of Ol’val’s side, is a heavy armored transparisteel viewing port that allows a small luxury in the shape of a genuine view of outer space and a ‘breathing hole’ within the otherwise claustrophobic confines of the asteroid base.
Along the middle of the office, nestled around a faux fireplace flanked by a small library, is a cluster of nerf hide couches. Between the two opposing couches of supple dark brown leather is a small table inlaid with a holographic projector. Hidden within the bookshelves lies a well-stocked drinks cabinet; a staple for Arconan officials.
Aedile’s Suite
by Aru Law
The Aedile’s Suite has been built according to the specifications of the current Aedile Aru Law.
The sleeping chamber has a polished black marble floor with a white square in the middle. A large bed with red sheets and dark wood frame is located against a wall. On the opposite wall there’s a soft fur couch with a small table that contains a holoprojector for personal calls. On the walls, small speakers are installed, usually playing Jizz and some paintings are hung on the walls with a gambling theme. On the side there’s a bathroom with a soaking tub, a standard toilet and all hygiene amenities.
The living room is where the Aedile can conduct private meetings and entertain guests of the House. It has two large couches angled against each other, both slightly turned to a holo fireplace. The center table contains several ashtrays because the Aedile smokes Tabac and usually one deck of Sabacc for casual play. Behind the couches, there’s a desk where official business can be conducted. The Aedile’s chair is a big black velvet office chair. Behind it stand two sculptures, one of a Twi’Lek and one of Jedi Master Fay. Above, stands a shelf with the Aedile’s personal collection of Caf blends, Havao Tabacc and Sabacc decks.
Administrative Offices
Dreaded by even the bravest of warriors and fiercest of huntresses, the Administrative Offices house the palid, bespectacled bean counters who nevertheless keep Qel-Droma running, her assets properly supplied, her agents armed, safe-houses stocked, and bills paid on time. Rows of generic work desks stand upon rough wall-to-wall carpeting, with the heavy smell of caf and muted tones of cigarros wafting from the breakroom.
The men and women working here are best left to their own devices, unless you find yourself short an accountant, or require professional assistance in navigating the bureaucratic labyrinths of [Coruscant].
The Vault
The Vault is Qel-Droma’s safe, offering a secure place to collect items of value or great power. The Vault is located near the elevator terminus, with its meter-thick durasteel door capable of withstanding even lightsaber attacks, for a while. Within, the Vault is split into smaller sectors with the immediate holding stacks of data records and intelligence of particularly high importance or value. Separated from this section by a laser gate lies the Treasury, containing the physical wealth of the House in a variety of precious metals, gemstones, credit chits and unmarked currencies of a dozen major denominations. Further on still, past another laser gate, and plugged by a smooth rock cylinder weighing several tonnes and no operating mechanism, is the Crypt, housing various artefacts of Jedi or Sith origin, or beyond. The Crypt is kept near frozen and flooded with an inert gas, all in an effort to minimize any danger of the volatile artefacts stored within, though also making the atmosphere unbreathable.