settled-reach/docs/design/span-gate-transit-schedule.md

title, description, type, status, ticket, decision_refs, author, created, updated, superseded_by

title	description	type	status	ticket	decision_refs	author	created	updated	superseded_by
Span Gate Transit Schedule	Canonical daily transit schedule driving NPC routines, ring operational windows, and investigation timelines	design	superseded	#336	D-031 D-036 D-050	Miri	2026-02-19	2026-02-19	D-166

SUPERSEDED (2026-06-12, cascade-refocus sweep): superseded by D-166 (NPC routines/schedules become generator+economics outputs; gate-transit lore lives in the wiki). Kept as historical record; do not build against it.

Span Gate Transit Schedule — Sova Transit District

Ticket: #336 Author: Miri Status: canonical Last updated: 2026-02-19

Reference: D-036 (setting), D-050 (Velen/Van Maanen's Star), D-031 (time system)

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Purpose

The span gate transit schedule is the freight district's heartbeat. Every NPC routine in Sova Transit District is organized around the gate's rhythm. The ring's operational calendar is synchronized to maintenance windows and low-scrutiny transition periods. The detective's investigation timeline maps to freight movement patterns.

This document establishes the canonical schedule so NPC routines, ring operations, and investigation events are internally consistent.

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The Span Gate — Operational Notes

The span gate connecting Sova Station to Velen's freight depot is a local transit gate. It does not open a continuous passage — it cycles, processing transit events in discrete windows. Between cycles, the gate is in standby: the hum is present but lower, the transit ring is inactive, no cargo moves.

Cycle time: Each transit event takes approximately 4-6 minutes from gate activation to transit completion and reset. The gate is not available for another transit for approximately 12-15 minutes after the previous one (cooling, realignment, manifest logging).

Daily capacity: The gate can process approximately 40-50 transit events per standard day under normal operations. In practice, 30-35 are scheduled, leaving buffer for delays, priority transits, and maintenance.

Direction: The gate handles bidirectional transit in the same physical ring — one direction at a time. The schedule alternates blocks of Sova-to-Velen transits with blocks of Velen-to-Sova transits, with coordination managed by the Transit District logistics hub's Meridian scheduling system.

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Standard Daily Schedule

Station Sova operates on a 24-hour standard day cycle. Times are in station time (Van Maanen's Star Standard).

Night Maintenance Window (0200-0500)

Transit activity: None. Gate offline.

The gate's automated maintenance cycle runs from 0200 to 0430. Diagnostic, realignment, calibration. Occasionally extended to 0500 if issues are flagged. The gate control room has a skeleton crew of two: one systems technician, one logistics coordinator.

Why it matters for the ring: This is the ring's primary operational window. No cargo movement means no one is watching the floor. The maintenance crew is in the control room. The hub's day crew won't arrive until 0600. This 2-hour window (0200-0430) is when the ring moves product in or out of the staging areas where it will be processed in the morning. Product placed during the maintenance window appears to be standard freight waiting for morning processing.

Why it matters for the detective: Any cargo that arrives in staging between the prior sign-off and morning shift start is "off-schedule" — it shouldn't be there. The detective's manifest analysis should flag containers that appear in staging without a corresponding late-shift transit event. This is one of the early investigative tells.

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Morning Startup (0500-0600)

Transit activity: None. Pre-shift preparation.

Gate comes back online at 0500 after maintenance. Diagnostics confirm operational status. Day shift logistics crew begins arriving 0545-0600. The first transits are scheduled to begin at 0630.

NPC activity during this window:

• Early arrivals (maintenance tech Drin, often Kael who has a habit of arriving early) are in the hub
• Break room coffee dispenser runs heavily from 0545 onward
• Ring members who placed product during the maintenance window have already left; the product sits in staging looking normal

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Morning Freight Wave (0600-1200)

Transit activity: Heavy. Approximately 12-15 transit events in this window.

The first major transit block of the day. Cargo moves from Velen to Sova Station (incoming) and from Sova Station to Velen (outgoing). The logistics hub is fully staffed. Manifest verification is active. Scanner bays are all running.

Block 1 (0600-0800): Incoming priority freight

• Inbound cargo from Velen: agricultural products, manufactured goods, supplies for station consumption
• High scrutiny: first transit block of the day gets more attention. Supervisors are fresh. Commission kiosk reports are reviewed.
• Ring operations: avoid this window. Contraband does not move on incoming high-scrutiny Block 1 unless the coordinator has a specific reason.

Block 2 (0800-1000): Outbound priority freight

• Outbound cargo from Sova: processed goods, manufactured components, commercial freight bound for Velen distribution
• Moderate scrutiny: the day has settled into rhythm. Supervisors are managing the floor rather than observing it.
• Ring operations: low-priority. Possible for experienced operations, not standard.

Block 3 (1000-1200): Mixed transit, midday run

• Mixed direction. Lower-priority commercial freight. Station consumption items.
• Standard scrutiny, lower volume.
• Ring operations: possible. The midday run is the ring's secondary window — lower volume means less cover, but also less scrutiny. Used for smaller movements.

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Midday Break (1200-1400)

Transit activity: Minimal. 1-2 scheduled transits; rest is buffer.

Lunch period. Logistics crew rotation. One shift overlaps with the next for the 1200-1400 block. The gate processes standing orders and scheduled maintenance transits during this period.

Why it matters: This is a social observation window. The bar has lunch trade. Workers who've been on shift since 0600 are rotating through the break room or heading to the bar. The 1300-1400 period is particularly useful for the detective — this is when overheard conversations in the break room or bar are richest, as workers are discussing the morning's work.

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Afternoon Freight Wave (1400-1800)

Transit activity: Moderate. Approximately 10-12 transit events.

Block 4 (1400-1600): Standard commercial transit

• Routine freight. Mixed direction. No particular scrutiny focus.
• This is the most operationally neutral window — not high enough volume for chaos, not low enough scrutiny for easy movement.
• Ring operations: standard. This block is used for moderate-volume operations when the morning maintenance window wasn't viable.

Block 5 (1600-1800): End-of-day priority freight

• Higher-value or time-sensitive cargo that needs to reach its destination before end of business on Velen.
• Scanner scrutiny increases slightly for high-value designations.
• Shift change happens at 1600 and again at 1800 — overlapping crews, attention divided, handoff procedures absorbing focus.
• Ring operations: the shift change exploit. The 1600 shift change is the ring's secondary operational window during active transit hours. Scanner coverage during handoff is the lowest it gets during a transit block. An experienced ring member can route a container through the right bay during the 15-minute shift handoff overlap.

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Evening Lull (1800-2000)

Transit activity: Low. 2-3 transits. Primarily inbound station supplies.

The freight day is essentially over. Night shift has started. The hub has skeleton crew for monitoring and late transit coordination.

NPC activity:

• Most of the day shift is now in the bar or heading home.
• This is peak bar time: 1800-2200.
• The ring's members may gather in the bar, ostensibly socially, actually checking in on operational status through conversation.

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Night Freight Window (2000-0200)

Transit activity: Light. 4-6 scheduled transits, primarily overnight freight contracts.

Not nothing — the gate runs overnight. But volume is low, personnel is minimal, and scrutiny is diffuse.

Block 6 (2000-2300): Overnight freight

• Freight that needs to transit overnight for morning delivery on the other end.
• Two logistics workers on floor, one supervisor. One scanner bay running.
• Ring operations: viable but visible. Less cover than maintenance window, but earlier timing. Used when the coordinator needs a movement that can't wait for the 0200 window.

Block 7 (2300-0200): Late night

• Minimal. 1-2 transits, sometimes none. One logistics worker on floor.
• The quietest freight period before the maintenance window.
• Ring operations: highest-risk standard window. Very few people around, but that cuts both ways — if anything irregular is noticed, there are fewer witnesses but also fewer people to provide cover.

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Maintenance Schedule (Recurring)

Beyond the nightly maintenance window, the span gate has scheduled maintenance events.

Weekly Extended Maintenance

When: Every 7 standard days, starting at 0000, duration 6-8 hours. Gate status: Offline.

This is when significant maintenance work happens. The gate team (larger crew than the nightly skeleton) does calibration, component replacement, software updates, and anything that can't be done in the 2.5-hour nightly window.

Why it matters: The weekly maintenance is an extended window with reduced staff focused on technical work. The ring has historically used weekly maintenance for larger-volume movements, knowing that the unusual activity of maintenance crews makes the hub harder to monitor normally.

The weekly maintenance timing rotates — it's not always the same day of the week. This is standard practice to prevent predictability, but it means the ring has to know the schedule, which requires access to the maintenance planning documents. One of the ring's information assets is knowing the maintenance schedule in advance.

For the detective: Discovering that the ring has foreknowledge of maintenance windows is an investigative milestone. It implies an information source inside the logistics coordination system.

Quarterly Commission Compliance Audit

When: Approximately every 90 days. Duration 2-3 days. Gate status: Online, but with additional scrutiny.

Commission inspectors visit Sova Transit District approximately quarterly to review manifest records, scanner calibration logs, and customs compliance. During an audit, scanner scrutiny increases across all bays, Commission personnel observe loading and unloading, and manifest anomalies are reviewed directly rather than flagged for routine review.

Why it matters: The ring essentially pauses operations during a Commission audit. No product moves while inspectors are present. This 2-3 day pause is when ring members are most cautious about behavior, conversation, and associations.

The most recent audit was 8 weeks ago. The next is due in approximately 5-7 weeks. This timing matters: the detective has arrived into a window where the ring has been operating freely for 8 weeks post-audit and is 5-7 weeks from the next one. They're in their most active and potentially most careless period.

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The Ring's Operational Calendar (Derived)

From the transit schedule, the ring's typical operational pattern:

Window	Frequency	Risk Level	Notes
Nightly maintenance (0200-0430)	Every night	Low	Primary window. Product staged for morning processing.
1600 shift change	Opportunistic	Moderate	Used when small volumes need to move during active transit.
Weekly extended maintenance	Weekly	Low	Larger volumes. Requires advance schedule knowledge.
Midday run (1000-1200)	Irregular	Moderate-Low	Secondary option when morning window wasn't viable.
Overnight freight (2000-2300)	Irregular	Moderate	Used when coordinator needs faster turnaround than maintenance window allows.

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NPC Routine Anchors

The transit schedule determines when NPCs are where. These are the anchors that NPC routine design (Paula + Gestalt) should use:

Time	Hub NPCs	Bar NPCs	Maintenance NPCs
0545-0600	Kael (early), maintenance crew finishing	Empty or closing	Drin finishing night maintenance
0600-0800	Full day crew. Voss present. Ring members at normal posts.	Closed	Drin gone home
1200-1300	Rotation crew only. Most workers at lunch.	Light lunch trade beginning	Varies
1600-1800	Shift change chaos. Handoff period.	Starting to fill as early day-shift ends	-
1800-2200	Skeleton crew	Peak hours. Ring members present. Detector present. Social intelligence peak.	-
2200-0200	Night skeleton (2 workers)	Late regulars, card game nights	Night maintenance crew on call
0200-0430	Maintenance tech in control room only	Closed	Full maintenance crew

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Monologue Anchors — Transit Events as Narrative Triggers

The span gate hum changes with transit events. These changes are monologue triggers:

Hum State	Meaning	Smuggler Monologue Register	Detective Monologue Register
Baseline hum	Standby / normal	Background. Ignored.	Background. Logged.
Rising pitch (pre-transit)	Transit event beginning	Functional awareness: "Gate's spinning up."	Investigative note: "Transit in 3 minutes. What's going through?"
Peak/transit	Active transit	Operational: "There it goes." / Risk moment if contraband is moving.	Analysis: "Manifest says machine parts. Logged."
Settling post-transit	Transit complete	Relief if operational, neutral if not.	Follow-up: "Transit logged. Check against staging inventory."
Absence (maintenance)	Gate offline	Calibrated awareness of the window.	"Two hours until gate comes back online. Right. What is anyone doing at 0230 in the hub?"

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The transit schedule is the district's skeleton. Every significant NPC routine moment, every operational window, every investigative milestone is anchored to gate activity. When the gate is busy, the district is busy. When the gate sleeps, the district's secrets move.

Miri — Sprint 12