Fist is the edge of civilisation - this is the Imperial gateway to the Trojan Reach, and the starting point of several major trade routes to both the Aslan Hierate? and the Florian League. As a result, its starport is huge and bustling. Almost every commodity in the Imperium and outside it can be bought here - it is a maze of brokers, factors, bonded warehouses, fences, mercenaries for hire, thieves, assassins and traders. The Imperial authorities try to keep some kind of order in the up-port and down-port, but once you are outside the starport, anything goes and anything can be bought and sold. The planet has a number of other downports belonging to various merchant clans and consortia, and although the Imperial authorities would prefer that ships didn't land directly there, they know there is nothing they can do to stop them, apart from noting their transponder identities and tagging them for extra checks the next time they dock at an Imperial starport or encounter an Imperial naval patrol. There are daily X-boats that leave for Imisaa with transport data for this purpose.
The planet itself has a small permanent population of only 30,000 or so, mainly because 90% of its surface is water. The land that is available is in the form of small islands, and each of these is the territory of a merchant clan. The chief factors of each of these clans provide the High Council which controls the planet, and the planet's economy is therefor entirely focussed towards trade. The only other industry is oceanic food harvesting - it doesn't pay to think in too much detail what exactly the steak you are eating in the highport restaurant is made from.
The lack of continents gives the surface water of Fist a high variance of temperature from equator to poles, and this also gives rise to epic storms that can circle the planet in a constant cycle, picking up energy from the equatorial waters and pushing it into the atmosphere. Those planning to land on the surface are advised to take the weather forecast very seriously.
All the major trading corporations of the Trojan Reach, including the Aslan ones, have offices on Fist. Goods of all kinds from through the Reach can be found here with the right contacts, and the local law level of zero means that nothing is illegal to trade (the Imperial authorities continue to take a dim view of atomics, and biological and chemical weapons however). It is also a web of intrigue, diplomacy and espionage. The only law that functions on Fist is corporate and contract law - locals and visitors will sign contracts with the authorities on each island that govern actions that they are not permitted to engage in, and penalties that will be exacted for breach of contract. In general, killing a visitor will only attract a small fine, whereas killing a local will attract a harsh penalty.
UWP: B789430-C
Primary: F1 V Main Sequence Yellow-White Dwarf (Size: 1.5 Sols; Luminosity: 4.13 Sols)
Fist is the stepping off point for three major trade routes, because it is the only Imperial planet that is within Jump-2 of the independent part of the Trojan Reach.
These are:
