[Inaius] On the Shores of a Solar Sea

[Esplandia]

Three suns shone brightly in the darkness of space; one red, one green, and one white. A trinary system. The white Star was the largest, three times bigger than the other two which orbited around it, synchronized and opposite of each other so that they would never meet and always be blocked from each other by the greater star.

The system had a number of celestial bodies orbiting around the inner suns, most were nothing but lifeless rocks, baked clean in the heat of the stars. Towards the outer edge of the system were a handful of gas giants and a ring of asteroids.

The largest gas giant was the closest to the star, and towards the planet a bright violet light streaked across the black. It was a ship, a large freighter, carrying cargo and passengers. Its destination was the systems only outpost, a single station orbiting the gaseous world. The station was a large complex, though dwarfed by the planet it orbited. Still it housed over six million inhabitants, and was an important stop on the trade routes. This was lamplight, a midway junction in the uninhabited region between the Central Core and the Borderworlds.

It was also neutral territory, neither controlled by the Interstellar Trade Compact, the members of the Sidereal Federation, the Trivanion Companies, or the New Cosmic Order. It wasn’t a lawless place, but the officials did turn a blind eye to many of the dealings that happened aboard the station. Because as long as it was a place where dark dealings could go on, the station would remain neutral. And the factions were all content to allow it to operate independently, because even governments need places to do business that could never be done through proper channels. Those who only stopped while passing through called it an unsavory place while the unsavory folk who frequented Lamplight called it “The Last Free Port in the Universe”.

 

[Esplandia]

Lamplight was one of the largest starports in the whole Alicia Mai cluster, the group of star systems that made up the home of the Sidereal Federation and the Interstellar Trade Compact. Lamplight’s system was located in a relatively empty area of the cluster, and the station itself around a gas giant.

The top levels of the station, where the wealthiest inhabitants lived, looked up towards the planet. Here were all the high end shops, the luxury apartments, and even a large park with trees and a lake. The streets and hallways were patrolled by station security and private guard companies. Whatever more insidious dealings that took place on the station, the did not happen here.

Below that was the markets and trade ports, the places where most passer-throughs would stay and shop. This was the heart of the station. On the outer edges were the docking rings and the cargo bays, and the warehouses for goods coming in and out. Towards the middle of the station were the shops and restaurants, the entertainment, the music and culture, and the living places of the stations inhabitants. This was where the cities life truly was. Life both honest, and not so honest.

 

[Esplandia]

Of all the people that called the station home, most came from within the Sidereal Federation, but there was a significant portion of aliens, and sentients from outside the local star systems. The Interstellar Trade Compact, which serves as the military and commercial arm of the Federation, has dealings even beyond the Alicia Mai cluster, and even far outside the Sector. Wherever there was a place for opportunity, legal or not, people would come. That was one of the cardinal rules of the universe.

Aurabelle couldn’t remember any other home but Lamplight. Most of her life had been spent aboard as a castaway of the universe. At least that’s how she likes to think of herself, though truthfully she was an orphan. She vaguely remembered her mother, the one who’d brought her here. Taichko said she’d come looking for work but that a sickness had taken her. Aurabelle wished she could know for sure, but Taichko had never lied to her and sometimes he’d even share his meals. They shared a similar bond. Here on Lamplight they were the only ones of their kinds.

But Taichko knew where he was from, knew about his homeworld and had grown up and been loved as part of a family. His people were called Mercavians, and groups of them would pass through the station, most stopping at his restaurant which was the only place to get food for their palates. But none ever stayed, just Taichko.

Aurabelle lived above his restaurant, in a small hidey-hole between the shop’s ceiling and one of the stations bulkheads. Taichko ignored that she was there, as long as she kept out of the restaurant after hours. Plus she would run errands for him from time to time and never tried to steal from him. A rare trait among Lamplight orphans.

And Aurabelle did her best to avoid trouble, to avoid getting mixed up with any of the gangs that ran their scams, or any of the bigger organizations that pretended to be legitimate but ran the biggest drug and arms organizations in the sector. Not all the work she had to do to eat was legitimate, very little on Lamplight was, but she stayed clean and out of everyone’s way.