Orion Cloud

Orion Cloud

Asteroid Belt

Distance: 5,235,925,485 km
Belt Width: 9723861615 km
Contents: Alleghany, Bristol

The third asteroid belt in the Epsilon Eridani System, the Orion Cloud is less in orbit of Epsilon Eridani and more of a sphere encapsulating the system. It is like a big, thick-walled bubble made of icy pieces of space debris the sizes of mountains and sometimes larger. Most of the objects in the Orion Cloud are Planitesimals- that is fragments of planetoids. It is a more dangerous area to traverse, as these objects do not follow a set orbit around the star. However, like the Sacramento Valley on old Earth, the Orion Cloud is the primary place where those looking for riches migrate. Many uncommon minerals are present in the floating objects for those daring enough to brave its expanse. It is also a place for explorers of other kinds as the last stop before deep space and the Pandora Gates beyond.
 

Alleghany

Planetoid

Distance: 9,873,459,486 km
Radius: 5000 km
Gravity: 0.7G
Orbit Period: 1537 days
Rotation: 128 hrs
Mean Temp: 44K/-229C
Population: 1,350

  Formed of mostly of rock and ice, this planetoid is one that drives the rush in the system, as it has rich deposits Nickel and Iron and more importantly Palladium, Ruthenium and Cadmium- three ores that are very valuable in the market. The mining market is driven by the Black Seam Collective operating on Prospect station, high in orbit above the planetoid. Hab bubbles dot the surface of the planet, as those who would seek their fortune venture out onto the surface, under threat of microimpacts from debris in the system. Its inhospitable surface has no atmosphere to speak of, necessitating full life support to mine its unforgiving surface

Prospect Station

Space Station

Distance: 486 km from Alleghany
Population: 6,900

 
Prospect Station was funded by Davida Gaudens- one of the founders of the Emporia Corporation- when she became concerned about the direction the corporation was taking in terms of the new system. It was becoming more and more entrenched in the power struggles and wealth hoarding that had plagued the Sol system, and she began to see the power corrupts saying was not a saying for no reason. The station was developed as an open project with the help of others concerned about Emporia, feelings heightened by the move towards supply chain economics - a blight on what the Commonweath had originally stood for. As the more anarchist elements of the system were pushed outward, Prospect became a hub for these dissaffected feelings resulting in the eventual formation of the Black Seam Collective, driven not just by the feelings of open source researchers, free miners, gatecrashers, or anarchy driven revolutionaries, but an idealistic fusion of those views. Of course, just as with the Emporia Corporation, as the Collective grew larger, so did the frictions as new blood was brought into all the factions.   More on Prospect Station

Bristol

Planetoid

Distance: 13,912,602,003 km
Radius: 9000 km
Gravity: 0.4G
Orbit Period: 1654 days
Rotation: 67 hrs
Mean Temp: 27K/-246C

Operated by the Black Seam Collective, Bristol is very similar in composition to Alleghany, but the difference in orbit makes a large difference in the heightened risk of mining operations here. The skeleton of an orbital dock is in place above the planetoid, but other than this structure, there is no support here, making minor risks elevated in their status - no one is in orbit to save anyone if there is a problem. The dock in orbit is more unified in their outlook than Prospect by necessity- the borderline habitable status and work that has to be done unites the people, no matter what faction they are from. However, the faction conflicts of Prospect Station bleed over into the projects on the Bristol Drydock, making the construction of the station and the few projects they take on from their more limited mother station take longer than it need be.