Vume is a tiny rockball of a planet, outside of the main star's habitable zone. It was chosen to be the location for Vume highport for two reasons. Firstly, it is far enough from the main star that the effects of flares from the main star are lessened, and are easier to monitor and react to. Secondly, the actual planet was obviously inhabited at some point. The surface of Vume contains the enigmatically named Vume Station, a pre-human artefact that is built on and into the surface. The builders are unknown, although it is officially listed as an Ancient site, but many researchers feel that it doesn't exhibit the normal characteristics of an Ancient site, whatever those are.
The fact remains that Vume Station is an enigma. The original discoverers assumed it was just a small outpost or research base, not appreciating how far it extended underground. The original inhabitants are now unable to leave - a bacterial infection has radically altered their brain function and metabolism. In fact there are now four groups of inhabitants, who have been infected in different ways and exhibit different behaviours. Each keeps itself to itself, and they are now unable to intercommunicate with each other - their thought processes are too divergent. Visitors are discouraged and need to take stringent precautions to avoid exposure and infection.
Exploratory expeditions into other areas of the station have a very high failure rate - they normally just disappear. A few return, and there have been occasional outbreaks of xenoplagues on other systems caused by agents that have returned with surviving explorers from Vume.
There is evidence that Vume did not originally orbit in the position in which it is now situated. Possibly it was moved outwards as its star expanded, which would be an incredible feat of engineering.
Vume highport has little or no contact with the inhabitants of Vume Station. Originally build by GeDeCo?, it is still owned and run by them. Once new and impressive, it is now somewhat run down, although still functional and a decent place for a stop-over. There is little commercial traffic through Vume, but it is used as a convenient base by the Imperial Navy, as anti-Imperial sentiment is lower here than in Theev or Palindrome?.
Star Data
Star
Category
Class
Mass (Sol)
Temp (K)
Luminosity (Sol)
Diameter (AU)
Habitable Zone (AU)
Jump Shadow (AU)
M-Drive Limit (AU)
Primary
K7 II
Main Sequence (Orange Giant)
Orbital Data
Orbit
Name
Type
Distance
0
Star
0
3 gas giants
2 planetoid belts
9 rocky planets
Habitats
Vume (planet)
Starport:
B
Good - highport available (no downport), good ship repair facilities, minor shipbuilding
Size (Diameter):
1
1,600km
Atmosphere:
0
No atmosphere
Hydrosphere:
0
Desert world
Population:
4
~10,000
Government:
7
Balkanized
Law Level:
7
Shotguns prohibited
Tech Level:
C
Average Imperial
Resources:
B
Abundant
Labour:
3
Thousands
Infrastructure:
4
Very limited
Efficiency:
+1
Average
Heterogeneity:
4
Harmonious
Acceptance:
5
Very aloof
Strangeness:
5
Distinct
Symbols:
C
Very abstract
Classification:
Ni
Non-industrial
Va
Vacuum world
An
Ancients site
Vume Highport
Vume Highport is owned and operated by a subsidiary of GeDeCo?. It is spacious and well maintained, but somewhat run-down. It mainly caters to long-range ships rather than local merchants, and there is little trade or passing traffic here, so appearances seem to be less important. There are extensive reaction facilities though for the crews of Imperial ships or mega-freighters passing through, and this is the main source of revenue. The locals (meaning the inhabitants of the highport, who rarely if ever mix with the inhabitants of Vume Station) are extremely, and often irritatingly, friendly in their attempts to get passing crews to enjoy their stay and part with money as rapidly as possible.
Vume Station
As described above, travel to Vume Station is highly discouraged. The lure of finding recoverable Ancients technology is very persuasive, and the inhabitants of the highport normally won't stop craft landing on the surface, but they probably refuse to have anything to do with it afterwards, for fear of infection or contamination.
The actual inhabitants of the Station are very strange to deal with. The various infections have completely altered their brain chemistry, making their actions, speech patterns and thought patterns almost incomprehensible to uninfected humans (and completely incomprehensible to the other three factions in the Station).
