Tendon

Not to be confused with tender, a portable life‑support service unit.

A Tendon on Daban Urnud is a major through‑shaft and systems bundle that connects a vertex installation on the despun icosahedral frame to the ship’s spinning interior, culminating at the forward or aft bearing chambers and the Core that serves the Orbstack.

Description and role

• Function: Long rigid corridors that double as structural and utility trunks between the outer frame and the Orbstack. They support movement of people and equipment and carry plumbing, cabling, controls, and other services.
• Scale and construction: Though the trafficway visible to travelers is a roughly ten‑foot‑diameter passage, the Tendon as a whole spans more than a hundred feet in width, packed with trusses, conduits, and machinery hidden beyond the inner wrapper. Along the passage are frequent hatches, valve‑wheels, wiring panels, displays, and signage.
• Ship integration: There are twelve Tendons in total—six radiating from each of the two great bearings that couple the despun icosahedron to the spinning Orbstack. They flex and absorb shocks from the rubble‑shielded frame while transmitting forces and services inward.
• Analogy: Observers liken the Tendons to connective tissues—bones, muscles, vessels, and nerves—reflecting their roles in structural support, shock response, transport, and communications between the outer frame and the habitat.

Connections and usage

• Vertex access: Each Tendon begins at a vertex complex (e.g., observatory or command nodes) and runs inward to a large bearing chamber where traffic can continue into the Core via ball‑valve portals.
• Core access: From the bearing chamber, personnel and materials can pass through a giant spherical valve into the Core, then onward along the Core wall to the Nexi that connect into individual Orbs of the Orbstack.
• Operational activity: During shipboard emergencies, Tendons become busy thoroughfares for firefighters, soldiers, and technicians. The Tendon serving the support base for the World Burner saw heavy two‑way traffic when operations surged there.

First noted context

The name “Tendon” was used in‑situ by visitors moving inward from an observatory vertex toward the forward bearing chamber and the Core. Their account emphasizes the Tendon’s role as the main route from a vertex into the ship’s inhabited interior.

Status

Active conduits essential to the structure and daily operations of Daban Urnud, providing both passage and services between the despun frame and the spinning habitat.