Welcome to DS13. Due to the Reptilian Alliance design of the station you may be unfamiliar with the layout. By creating this guide I hope to rectify that.

The station has three main sections. First and foremost is the Pole. This is the heart of the station and contains Ops, most of the leisure facilities and the main power plant. Around the Pole are the eight rings which are connected to each other and the Pole by the two docking pylons.

The Pole is a long cylinder surmounted by a egg shaped unit. At the very bottom of the Pole are the warp engines. In the rare occasions that the station needs to move quickly these are extended downwards, there they open out until the engines reach beyond the rings. Finally the mounting is moved back inside its housing. This leaves the engines themselves on the out side of the station 90 degrees round from the docking pylons. The radius is large enough for a safe warp field to be generated. However, the power demands of this are so high that almost all the stations power must be diverted to run them. Most of the station's power comes from the main power plant which is situated directly above the warp drive.

The power plant consists of three matter/anti-matter reactors producing enough power  to run all the stations operations. Beyond the power station are the main cargo bays, these are used by traders exchanging good on the station. Security is high in these areas to protect citizens goods. Past this is the main public area of the station. In this area are numerous shops and offices. Currently, due to the newness of the station and proximity to Masai space, much of this area is unused and closed off. Some of the notable establishments are Galel's bar and Hawk's Casino. There are currently 30 different restaurants offering cuisine from all over The Federation. Whether you are a fan of Klingon food, or if you prefer something a little lighter, such as Bajoran, you will find at least three places serving food you will enjoy.

Above the public areas are those which are off limits to all but Starfleet personal. In the Pole this consists mainly of Ops, the stations Command and Control section which is in the egg at the very top of the Pole. But there are also a few labs and the Fleet cargo bays.

Running through the center of the station from Ops to the warp drive is the main computer core. This cutting edge machine used warp technology to speed up data processing and data can  be transmitted from one end of the station to the other at within 0.1 seconds of the request being received. The data transfer rate is 74 Terabytes per second.

There are eight rings on the station. each is dedicated to a particular section of operation. Like the Pole, the higher ones are off limits to non-fleet personnel.

Starting from the bottom of the station, the first four rings are dedicated to providing accommodation for civilians aboard the station. Long term residents generally occupy the third and fourth rings, whilst the first two are used by those who are just passing though. As the station is not yet receiving its full capacity of visitors, all non-Starfleet personal are currently housed in the fourth ring Once business starts picking up the above system will be implemented.

The next ring is the final accommodation area, it is provided to house the crew of DS13, as well as provide short-term accommodation for Fleet personnel who are only on the station for a little time.

The final three rings are dedicated to Fleet business, in main engineering the functions of the station are monitored. Unlike a starship engineering does not surround the warp core, which takes up five entire decks, however an engineering term is stationed at the power plant at all times. Security is positioned above engineering, this allows rapid access by security personal to the critical parts of the station (engineering, science, and Ops). In addition a security office is maintained at the center of the Pole, this allows access to the rest of the station such as the power plant and a place for civilians to bring anything that requires security personnel to their attention. The science section contains several labs and the main medical center. A second med center is also situated in the center of the Pole, next to the security office. 

The two docking pylons run the run the length of the station and out each end. They allow the docking of up to 40 ships of various sizes. Like the rest of the station they have a section of limits to non-Fleet personnel, for details see the map of the station.

In addition to providing docking facilities, the pylons contain automated loading/unloaded facilities, based around robotics and transporters. This allows a ship to be unloaded very quickly. The use of station facilities in this manor leads to a small surcharge on the ships docking bill. All monies are channeled in to Fleet funds.

Finally the pylons allow turbolift travel between individual rings and each other, as well as the Pole. 

In the event of an emergency, the docking pylons can be ejected. This allows the Pole to move at impulse out of the rings where is can extend the warp engines. The reduction in mass then allows the station to travel at Warp 4. This is an emergency tactic as all personnel aboard the pylons or rings will be left behind with emergency battery power running life support. Unless the Pole can return within 2 hours life support on the rungs and pylons will die. This allows only 2.3 hours for an evacuation to take place, which on a station the size of DS13 would require a vast number of ships.