General information concerning the star system in which Starbase Cherryh orbits.
Vanar -- the Primary
A yellow star, Vanar is that which is generally recognized as most likely to be hospitable to Earth-type life, and so Vanar is. There are seven worlds in its orbit, one terran, four terrestrial and barren, and two gas giants. There is also a rich asteroid belt between the inner and outer planets, i.e. just beyond the terran world of Vana, the fourth out from its primary (two gas giants and one terrestrial world lie outside the belt).
Vanar IV -- Vana
Called such because of the vast forests that cover much of its continents, the world of Vana is quite Earth-like, though a little smaller. Its gravity is close enough to Earth normal to be comfortable for a variety of species, and its ecological richness makes it easy to sustain life throughout the system. It is not especially rich in minerals, but this is made up for with the richness of the asteroid belt.
Vana was colonized by Sakkra long before the coming of the empire and the building of Cherryh Station. Because of war and the vagaries of history, however, these colonists were cut off from high interstellar civilization for generations, and so have reverted to essentially medieval/early-modern standards. Only one nation, an island in a continental sea, maintains high industry and serves as the starport that connects the planetary culture to the high orbital culture.
The island and its city-state go by the same name, Vardans. Despite the high tech and high culture available there, most of the inhabitants are still actually early-modern in their outlooks, and the government of the city-state is an autocratic and theocratic priest-kingship--the priest-kings mediate relationships between the Outsiders who come down from high heaven and those who dwell on the world proper.
There is an interdict outlawing any contact between space-borne culture and the "backwards" tribes in the hinterlands of Vana, but we all know how impossible such interdicts are to maintain with limited resources. Just make sure you have plausible deniability if engaging in such illegal activities as smuggling heater-pistols to one medieval tribe over another ...
Starbase Cherryh
Built and orbiting at the trailing Lagrange point between Vana and its main satellite, Starbase Cherryh is a space station intended to serve as an outpost on the far fringes of the empire. It has facilities for the refuel, repair, and refit of dozens of starships, and bases a squadron of orbital-defense force gunboats in case of major incursion into imperial territory through its system.
These facilities for starship provisioning also, of course, serve to allow ships to venture out into the Wilderness beyond on exploration and trade voyages, and hence a large population of supporting persons have moved to station in a kind of analogy to an Earth-type mining boom-town. Much is available here, much is allowed, and the frontier beyond stands to be explored and exploited by those with the will to boldly go forth.
Because of the richness of the asteroids, there is also a fair possibility of the stardocks of Cherryh Station being able to construct starships ... but that possibility has not yet been tested.
The Belt
A rich asteroid belt provides plenty of gainful employment for prospectors willing to come to the border of the empire, but not bold enough to cross over chasing their own fortune and fate. The work is monomaniacal and boring, but decently lucrative--weeks spent chasing down just the right asteroid, mining out the needed minerals, and then coasting back to the station to offload a bellyful of raw materials, receive payment enough to refuel, reprovision, put a little away in savings, and then back out to repeat the whole mind-numbing process again. Such is the life of a Belter anywhere sufficient belts exist, and boring though it may be, it's a good life for those who value their independence.
Sometimes, Belters even need to offer contracts for ship hands to help them in their ventures, and those on Starbase Cherryh who need to make a few credits might find it worth their while to spend some weeks cooling their heels in the belt helping out, just to earn a bit of money.
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