Black Mountain/The Descent

The Descent, officially the Descent Security Component (DSC), is the underground part of Black Mountain that contains the higher-security military, intelligence, and strategic areas of the facility. It is fortified as a bunker, capable of withstanding a ground-zero antimatter attack, and is located approximately 1,500m below sea level. At nearly ten times the size of Topside, it essentially functions as an entire city, with personnel accommodation, entertainment, and recreational areas.

The area is split into multiple sectors, including Sector A (Sector A), Sector B (Sector B), Sector C (Sector C), Sector D (Sector D), Sector E (Sector E), Sector F (Sector F), Sector H (Sector H), Sector L (Sector L), and Sector R (Sector R). An underground train system within the bunker's secure perimeter links all sectors together, some of which are located far apart from one other.

Access

The Descent is only accessible from a number of heavily secured checkpoints known as Descent Access Gates (DAGs) which link it to Topside. These include hermetically sealed airlock-style blast doors designed to prevent any atmospheric contamination from the outside world.

Movement through these checkpoint is strictly controlled, permitted only at scheduled transitions. To leave for a period of holiday outside the facility, most personnel must request such leave multiple months in advance, and whilst outside they are escorted by Strategic Intelligence Office agents.

Life Support

The biosphere of The Descent is hermetically sealed and designed to operate self-sufficiently for up to a decade. Oxygen generators and liquid amine CO2 scrubbers regulate the atmosphere, while a dedicated hydroponics sector produces food for personnel. Heat rejection is performed utilising sealed heat exchangers which exhaust the thermal energy utilising a number of different routes to eliminate the possibility of sieges, including a natural cavern system beneath the complex, the surface via convection-based vents, and the sea via a water supply piped to and from it. Descent life support systems primarily use technology from Pacific Industrial Science, making them one of the most important suppliers to Raven.