Jessups Cure All, Surgery and Haircuts
"You know your in good hands with a Jessups, we aint all got the coin for the healers and for some we don't want to turn to the gods for thier help or wait for when they can be bothered to give it. Then theres all sorts of diseases and foulness you can catch off worlds and cargo, not to mention what it does for your joints. Jessups will be there with cheap if not free options, and even a complimentary hair cut if you need it. We all know they're not the best but it's reliable and cheap and you know what if they can't fix it they can point you to a healer who can and save you the trouble and cost of finding some bugger who actually knows what they're doing." Tolvir - Senior Dockmaster of the fourth twistJessups buildings all look the same, carved into the stone of the Helix docks these blunt and uninspiring square blocks are utilitarian in design. They focus on cheap and high-quality medicines and cures. While their rooms tend towards plain tiles that are easy to wipe down and offer an institutional feel there are few complaints. Jessups tends to the dockworkers and crews of Caspi with diligence and knowledge base that rivals that of the Guild of Apothecary, Medicine, and Surgery. Many are surprised they still offer their sideline of haircuts, a link back to their earlier days as barbers surgeons. This surprise turns to awe as the barbers are often beautifully decorated spaces reminiscent of a high-end bar than a wing of medical operation. There are rumours that the barbers listen in on the talk of their patrons to extract knowledge that helps Jessups invest in the best crews and ventures. Though those who are found spreading such thoughts tend to end up with shaggy hair and poor health as Jessups doesn't take kindly to such insinuations.
Purpose / Function
These buildings are dotted all over the Helix docks, offering medical support and haircuts to all those who work on the ships, either as long term crew or dock hands. They do provide services to others but at a steeper rate, as they are tied to the Guilds that run the Helix docks. Designed to have 4 distinct sections, focusing on barbers, surgeons, apothecaries and medical scholars the buildings are generally laid out as a square with a central waiting room.
History
The original Jessups was a barber-surgeon, she worked on at the Helix docks of Caspi healing the wounded and keeping them trim, she had more success than most in both categories and over her lifetime expanded her operation across many floors of the docks. This continued for some three generations till her great grand daughter changed the game. While Dannera Jessup was still relatively young and when she inherited the business, she was approached by a newly formed Guild of Medicine, Apothecary, and Surgery and pressured to join. Jessup who wanted no part of the 'highfalutin' ways of this latecomer Guild resisted and pushed back. Thus began a low-key war between the two organisations, the Guild was small but rapidly gaining power, and Jessup while completely entrenched in the Helix Docks realised that over time her influence and leverage would be erased. So Jesse approached the Guild of Dockworkers and Guild of Career Crew, both very powerful Guilds who had long benefitted from her and her family's work, and proposed what would become the first 'Private Guild Service'.
Making the case that some services were better kept in house she negotiated with them to have her become their provider of health and curative measures, arguing that the health of their people was too important to be stuck in negotiations with other Guilds. Not done with that particular coup, Jessup also argued that this should allow her to have a place within but not controlled by the Guild of Apothecary, Medicine, and Surgery. This was taken to The Guild Authority who after much deliberation agreed that certain principles should be agreed to be able to be private to some degree, including medical, arcane, and security, with sufficiently large organisations being able to claim some role in the guild they competed with to ensure knowledge sharing and consistency of services. This change wasn't just a win for Jessup, but introduced a frenzy of competition into Caspi that helped it avoid a stall and fall into monopolistic practices that was already happening.
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