Intermediate Control Point Theme Ideas?

[StoneFrog]

Well, here's the deal. As generic and overused a theme as this is, I cannot resist - since this is the only map for which I've actually put more than 2 days' worth of sketching and forethought into, I may as well give it a go.

The Premise
RED and BLU have entered into a technical deadlock over what to do with a missile silo. Both teams obviously have different plans as to what to do with it, but in true NASA fashion the launch cannot be started unless both control centers agree. Which they clearly have not. So they send out their mercenaries to take the remaining half of the facility by force and launch the missile by themselves.

The Progression
The players start out in general spahtech areas, and make their way downward into a winding crater - the silo is situated within. Think like the launch sites of HL1 and Ep2's rockets. The neutral point is inside the silo. When the map ends, the missile launches. Those back at the bases get a wonderful vista of the missile taking off against the sunset, rising out from the forest. Those in the silo get fried.

The Problem (Alliterations!)
Not sure how to theme the intermediate points. As there are no "facade" industries (i.e. mines or agricultural structures) in this map, that makes options rather limited. I could pull a very gradual transition between the industrial and spytech, kind of like what Icarus has done with Vector (very nice aesthetic progression in this map).

I don't want to resort to doing facade industries because that ruins the concept that the missile has been on standby. Some remarks:

• So the neutral point is underground, but unless I want to create a "dummy" silo, the final points can see this area to witness the amazing rocket launch. They're angled well enough that I can pull some major optimization trickery so that I can have the silo actually open - players within being able to see the skybox, players on the far ends of the map seeing the very same rocket launches that the players in other areas see.
• The other option is to have the final points underground and have the intermediate ones be on the surface with a view of the crater. Again, as there's no facade industries, this is problematic. I could simply design buildings similar to what Hydro has, but there is surely a better way. :facepalm:

So, I'm stumped. A follower of layout not taking precedence before general theme myself, anyone who can help nudge me along in making the decision will be of great aid to me.

 

[Terr]

You could make it all once facility but have two "sides" of the mountain ridge, one dry and dusty and the other grassy and fed by a stream. (But not so deep that it would make for pyro-asymmetry. Each side's "base" can be a rickety shack or rest-stop, but put some vehicles to suggest that they just got there to establish a beachhead upon learning that the other team might violate the wary truce.

Alternately, both RED and BLU established a facade industry, and both are assaulting a third-party missile silo, having both (ever-so-coincidentally) chosen to attack on the same day. In essence, the missile is "on standby" by a some third-party, who has of course been already eliminated by the time the map starts. This mysterious "grey" group simply has two control centers as a matter of safety.