0403

Nadir Reach

• Star Type: K-Orange/Red 0.8 Sr

• Exchange Satellite: Yes

• Refueling Options: Scoopable + Station

• Hazards: gravitational anomalies

• Traffic Frequency: Moderate

• System Authority: Exchange Managed

• Security Level: Patrol Light

• Faction Presence: Tarkos Extraction Limited Stations, Greenflow Biotics ‘REDACTED’, Pirates

• Military Assets:

• Industrial Assets: Mining Platforms, Bases

• Scientific Assets:

0403.1 Kavarna

• Type: Gas Giant
• Position: Mid
• Size Class: Large
• Gravity: High
• Atmosphere: None
• Temperature: Hot
• Radiation Level: Mild
• Moons: 14, 3 with stations

Permanent auroral storms visible from orbit — miners call them “the Lantern Veins.” Kavarna’s dense radiation belt makes it both a navigational hazard and a shield. Pirates and black market haulers often use the magnetosphere to hide from long-range sensors.

0403.2 Ironfold Cluster

• Type: Asteroid Cluster
• Position: Kavarna Second Lagrange Point
• Size Class: Medium
• Radiation Level: Safe
• Resource Density: Nickel, cobalt, osmium, iridium, magnetic silicates.

Ironfold Mining Stations

• Tech Level: TL5
• Population Size: Hundreds
• System Authority / Faction: Tarkos Extraction Limited
• Law Level: Lawless / Corporate

Logistics

• Facilities: Mining operation
• Docking Options: Docking / Surface Landing
• Refueling Availability: No
• Communications: Intermittent
• Defenses: None

The Ironfold Cluster is a maze of tumbling rock and debris — fragments of a shattered moon.
Half a dozen Tarkos Extraction rigs still drift here, abandoned or cannibalized.
Rumors persist that at least two of these have been converted into pirate refit docks.

0403.3 Burnside Relay

• Tech Level: TL4
• Population Size: None
• System Authority / Faction: Exchange, Koralis Agro-Collective
• Law Level: Corporate

Logistics

• Facilities: Relay Station.
• Docking Options: Docking
• Refueling Availability: No
• Communications: Reliable
• Defenses: Automated

Maintains FTL comms bridge between sectors 0402 ↔ 0404. Burnside is mostly automated, but sometimes hosts a skeleton crew of technicians.
It’s considered neutral ground — even pirates tend to leave it alone, fearing Exchange sanctions.

0403.4 Crossbay Exchange Hub

• Tech Level: TL4
• Population Size: Thousands
• System Authority / Faction: Concordant Exchange
• Law Level: Corporate

Logistics

• Service Prices: Expensive x1.5
• Facilities: Docking arms, repair bays, arbitration courts, freight storage, taverns, and a central Exchange board.
• Docking Options: Drydocking
• Refueling Availability: Yes
• Communications: Reliable
• Defenses: Automated / Patrols

The Crossbay Hub is the lifeline of the system — the only semi-stable stop for refuel, food, or legitimate salvage contracts.
Every crew passing through 0403 comes here, willingly or not. It’s a rough place, kept civil by the Exchange’s monopoly on air, fuel, and security.

Current Situation

• Tarkos Extraction Limited still holds mineral rights but rarely patrols — their claim-station at Kavarna-6 is automated and minimally staffed.
• Independent miners and small Free Merchant outfits make up the majority of traffic.
• Greenflow Biotics occasionally passes through, citing “environmental surveys,” though few believe it’s just that.
• Pirate cells, often out of Sector 0406, use abandoned stations to repair or retrofit ships. Some cooperate loosely under the banner of the Ironfold Collective, a non-official smuggler syndicate.

Points of Interest

Location	Description	Allegiance
TKL-34 “Broken Claw” Rig	Semi-operational Tarkos refinery turned into a pirate chop yard. Rumored to have a hidden shipyard dock.	Ironfold Collective
Cobalt Point	Independent mining outpost protected by an ex-Tarkos frigate.	Free Merchant Collective
Verdan Coil Site	Greenflow’s “temporary” biological monitoring array — nobody knows what it’s actually studying.	Greenflow Biotics
Echo Caverns	Deep-ice asteroid pocket filled with ancient ruins or old drone wreckage — opinions vary.	Unclaimed