Spider

A man-made structure built from a half-finished habitable platform and countless ship hulls. As a center of pirate activity, various gangs use it as their base of operations and frequently fight for control of certain sectors. Spider is also home to an extensive black market and every form of illegal activity imaginable.

Protocol
Spider, the largest gravity source in the system, can’t be missed, but if you need to fly on autopilot it is at 145 mark 200 mark 30 (Nav 7 if you are using an ACorp standard projection unit). A docking approach is, again, tricky. In short, the process changes constantly: the most recent docking protocol (which we warn you may be obsolete by the time this article is published!) is that you need to signal a tower four times for an approach vector. Any other number of signals will immediately designate you a target.

Once you’re in, though, you’re in! Culture aboard Spider is deceptively pleasant: everyone knows themselves to be in the company of thieves and any business done is no more or less honest than you would find in a public square on Terra. Don’t anger the locals, of course, but that’s good advice on any world. One important note: every segment of Spider has a different decompression alarm… so watch for flashing lights, beeping sirens or anything that might be trying to get your attention. The energy fields that contain the atmosphere are in no better repair than any of the other systems on Spider… so don’t be separated from your helmet and pressure suit.

At the center of Spider’s winding ramps and disparate starship hulls is a makeshift pirate court for settling on-world disputes, part of a fascinating and so far unexplored pirate subculture now taking shape. Appropriately, this is located on the unfinished platform hull that the Navy initially designated to be a listening post. Beware — disputes are most often settled the old fashioned way: with a duel to the death. Visitors are encouraged to bet on the outcome!

Commerce
What can you sell on Spider? Basically, anything… with a clear preference for luxury goods. Those trying to build a life on the artificial world crave anything from the homeworlds — high quality foods, games, books, electronics and the like — and will always pay a premium for them. Illegal resources are not in demand because they are usually in surplus: go to Spider if you need to buy drugs, bootlegged products, slaves, cybots, human organs or stolen goods of any sort. You will probably find what you’re looking for; if not today, then within a week. Owing to its origin as a junkyard, Cathcart is also a great place to pick up ship upgrades … if you don’t have a problem with technology that may be a century or two out of date!