Earth

Earth: cradle of Humanity, heart of the Empire, birthplace of mankind … and a difficult place to turn a profit. It’s no secret that Earth is set in its ways. All roads lead to Earth and the system is designed to support native-born Humans above all others. Tax policies support Earth-based corporations at the extreme disadvantage of those based on worlds like Terra, while representation in the UEE Senate continues to skew disproportionately in favor of Earth’s populace. Put simply, Earth is the capital and namesake of the United Empire of Earth and it is the seat of power that governs everything from rising systems like Terra to distant colony worlds that barely impact the homeworlds’ economies. Home to the Imperator and the UEE Senate, Earth sets the standards for everything that happens in the Empire, from moderating economic models, to setting social trends, to organizing military campaigns. While other more strategically located star systems, like Terra, have begun to make claims for higher standing in the Empire, Earth is still the acknowledged center of the universe.

Contrarily, Earth wants for everything. Thousands of years of Human civilization have left many of the planet’s natural resources exhausted and the system imports trillions upon trillions of tons of food, raw metals, manufactured goods and everything else imaginable. If it were not for the so-called “balance tariffs” keeping prices uncompetitive, this would be an ideal situation for any erstwhile shipping magnate. As it is, a run to Earth can barely be guaranteed to provide more than a 5% profit … and that’s before you get to the exorbitant docking and refueling fees for spacecraft carrying other systems’ registration numbers.

Earth is also safe, to an extreme. The UEE military, Advocacy and various police arms patrol the system ceaselessly and they are notoriously uncompromising when it comes to punishing wrongdoers in the system. There is no faster way to get an extremely high bounty on your head than to commit a crime, even a minor infraction, in space near Earth. The military dockyards in Earth orbit are home port to no less than five Bengal-class carriers and at least one is dry-docked at any given time.

The planet itself is pockmarked with starports, a natural evolution of nearly a millennium of Human space travel. Three of these have taken the throne as the significant import/export centers of the world: New York in North America, Moscow in Europe and Shanghai in Asia.

New York
Old world architecture stands beside modern design aesthetics along the labyrinthine streets of this historic city. New York is not only the political center of the Empire, but a highly influential beacon for culture, technology and commerce.

Moscow
The inspiration behind the adage "you can find anything somewhere." Moscow is one of the largest trading hubs on Earth. A neverending stream of goods pulse through the ports of the city, giving it a perpetual energy and feeling of a town on the move. Moscow is also the current home to the Governers Council.

Shanghai
While home to the largest starport in the State of Asiatica, Shanghai began to redesign their city to bring an element of nature back into the superstructures and skyscrapers, following a movement to restore some of the sitting gardens and parks lost to overpopulation during the 22nd century.

Luna
Once refereed to simply as "The Moon", Luna is a large natural satellite that is tidally locked with Earth. The first celestial object Humanity ever visited, in 1969.