Like a jagged hole in space lies the entrance to otherspace. Nearby drifts the Landry Space Station; a Telos military base and the last bastion of that empires civil authority before entering the Fringe. Three star systems are within striking distance of the station. The most remote is the Numos system.
Numos has seven planets and a medium-sized red star. There are two gas giants (Saresad and Oassen) that are both centers of gas mining. There is only one habitable planet in the system, Caliban. Caliban is mostly desert with few resources. Numos contains a large asteroid belt that is currently owned by Lightwave Industries. They have a mining operation active in the belt called Faltz #4047, run by Felix Redback; a Lightwave Executive. The operation is infested with pirates, but is the only fueling station on the way to the inner planets. Besides Caliban, the other inner planets are hellish worlds of searing heat and fracturing cold.
Naturally occuring holes to otherspace are known as "ainniq" an old word for "hole in the ice." The ainniq are the primary means of travel between the vast distances of space. However, the skills necessary to navigate the ainniq are a closely guarded guild secret. Ships that do manage to run the blockades around the gates never arrive at another gate. The Telos empire claims it has the ability to construct "man-made" gates, but to date has not does so--although they claim they have "secret" gates for military purposes.
Over the last few decades the Telos empire appears to be decaying. There hasn't been a new starship design seen in over 20 years. While the existing designs are still quite functional and modern, it is the longest break in development any can remember. The Telos navy patrols the space around the Landry Station and will occassionally escort a Lightwave transport to Faltz and other facilities in the area, but no farther. These large ships would make quick work of anything other than a coordinated attack effort from the pirates in Numos.
Still folks are beginning to ask why Telos has been so inactive for so long. Rumors abound about political infighting, a repressed civil war, war with xeno's, plagues and even the destruction of Telos itself. But rumors in the Fringe are common and rarely accurate. Besides, what happens core-ward has little to do with life on the Fringe. Why worry?
The leading crime family in the Numos system is the Demosid clan. Based out of Oassen, the Demosid militia is the dominant force beyond the range of the Telos Navy. The Demosid's take by force any resource that seems to have value in the Numos system. The only areas where they have no control are Saresad and the Faltz mining op. Saresad has it's own militia, but chooses to only defend its immediate area and trade routes. Faltz is a Lightwave Industries resource and while only lightly defended, if it ever were attacked, the resulting corporate response would be bad for business. On Caliban the Demosids run drug manufacturing, gambling, slavery, smuggling and about every other criminal racket possible. On Oassen they control dozens of mining colonies (floating spheres inside the upper reaches of the gas giant). The family has enough influence to get it's goods through the Landry star gate. They pay large bribes to the local Telos authority for the priviledge.
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