Station

The station runs on reputation and inspections. Security patrols the Lower Levels, the Black Market sells what Security pretends not to see, and the Wild Network rents out the upgrades no licence covers. None of the three is optional: a shop with no Security standing gets searched, and a shop with no Black Market standing gets no cheap stock. The pages here cover how standing is gained, what it buys, and how it is lost.

The station’s factions are not a reputation ladder to climb; they are three creditors, each of which is paid in a different currency. Security wants information and clean inspections, the Black Market wants volume on the other side of the law, and the Wild Network simply wants paying customers for the upgrades no licence covers.

Standing is recoverable in both directions, which is what makes the risky middle of the game playable. Losing Black Market access costs supply rather than the run, and a bad Security file can be rebuilt by returning wanted names. The wanted list is the clearest example of the trade: the same case can be sold to either faction, and only one of them gets to pay.

One faction on the station is not a customer relationship at all. Augs — hosts carrying a rogue AI chip — are covered by a policy every faction has agreed to, and the shopkeeper is the one expected to apply it at the counter. That is why the section ends there: it is the point where the station stops offering a choice and starts issuing a mandate, and where a misread customer costs more than a bad sale ever will.