Welcome to Starbase Cherryh

 Or Cherryh Station, as some of the inhabitants call it--a starbase named after an ancient novelist of some repute.

Whatever brought you here, you stand at the crossroads of opportunity, friend.

You're at the far edge of the empire. In the stars beyond this station, the laws and norms of the empire don't exist, leaving everything open to opportunity and wild speculation. But there are laws out there--the laws of the locals, who may or may not like the nosy intrusion of imperial speculators horning in on their homes.

How can this be a frontier in the three-dimensions of open space? Imagine two cones projecting out from a single point. That point is where we are now--Cherryh Station. One of the cones projects back into the empire, and the nearest stars in that direction lie within its projection. The other projects into the unknown wilderness of space, the three nearest stars in that direction, and the sector of space beyond.

It must certainly be true that there are other avenues connecting the empire and this wilderness--and it's true that someone with enough supplies could skip Cherryh Station and just jump from the empire into unknown space--but at the moment, and with gatecores as they are right now, Starbase Cherryh stands at the only really viable path into the unknown, a veritable borderfort at the limes of the empire.

Three stars lie within easy reach from Cherryh, and from there the subsector of "The Wilderness" opens out before you, open for honest trade and exploration--or exploitation. You'll need a ship to get there, of course--that, or know someone who does. Fortunately for those who don't own their own ship, traders, smugglers, and explorers regularly pass through the Starbase's docks on their way into and out of the farther reaches, and offer contracts to those on the base who are willing to make a deal.

So, welcome again to Starbase Cherryh. Whatever brought you here, the ticket to the future is open--but it's up to you to figure out what to do from here!