EIS-4
Empirical Industries Solar Four (EIS-4), is a space station in the Sol system. It occupies Langrange Point Four in the relationship between the sun and the Earth. This means that it remains approximately in the Earth's orbit, 150,000 kilometers ahead of the planet, at all times. It has artificial gravity that nominally equates to Earth-normal, and a variety of satellites based on its current business affairs. It is largely inhabited by Empirical Industries employees, particularly by those of the Empirical Aeronautics subsidiary.
Contents
Populace
The EI Solar station has a diverse population, the majority of which is made up of Empirical Industries employees. A transient population of consultants, temporary workers, and travellers make up the remainder.
If counted among the population, the organic population is entirely overwhelmed by the robotic populace, which continues its work expanding the station, as well as aiding in the various forms of research and development, construction, materials refining, and other such work.
Political Structure(s)
The station is directly operated by Empirical Industries, in cooperation with Empirical Aeronautics, a subsidary corporation of Empirical Industries that deals with all sorts of extraterrestrial transportation technologies. Due to its nature as an extraterrestrial object, it does not technically fall under the rule of law of any Terran nation. As, however, EI's origin is in Cardinal, laws tend to be the same as those found there, and tend to be even more strictly enforced.
Considering that some of their craft might be considered paramilitary, at least, by their armament, Empirical Aeronautics follows a quasi-military ranking system to establish a chain of command while on board their craft, and a number of naval traditions can be discovered in how they operate. The station itself, however, has a large portion of non-Aeronautics employees, so these traditions are much weaker there, than they are shipboard.
Places of Note
Operations
The station is commanded from Operations, a secure chamber in the centre of the station. Unlike the rest of the station, this chamber typically remains in micro-gravity, rather than using the artificial gravity that the rest of the station uses.
Graving Dock
This highly significant portion of the station is where spacecraft are both constructed and repaired. A full shipyard has the capacity to construct and repair even heavy cruisers and industrial mega-transports.
Launch Dock
This segment of the station serves as a hangar to smaller craft, larger craft remaining at stationkeeping or docked to a station pylon.
Residential Segments
People live here. No, really!
Industrial Segments
These segments are the true hotbed of activity for the vast majority of the station's personnel. It is here that Empirical Industries conducts its primary research and manufacturing activities, before shipping finished products through its networks of portals to its variety of resellers and distributors.
Defenses
The space station boasts a number of defenses, some of them common to Empirical Aeronautics projects, others less so.
The exterior skin of the station contains armour plating of a special alloy, created from studies of Black Iron, and attempts to create a non-magical procedure to create it. While creating a procedure for duplicating true Black Iron itself failed, it was successful insofar as making a superior alloy to deflect high-velocity threats such as micrometeors and ki blasts. The subtly Orderly nature of the armouring alloy blunts the force of ki blasts, although powerful blasts may still be able to pierce the shell.
Additionally, the space station carries a complement of energy field projectors, as a primary line of defense, capable of deflecting navigational hazards like meteors, as well as dealing with suprapowered effects. They have a special capacitor pool that feeds them, but also have a plasma conduit link to the space station's primary generators, to provide a direct feed of energy to maintain the shields and protect the station, if necessary. This is capable of absorbing a direct hit from an asteroid.
The space station also carries a number of offensive weapons. Robotically controlled laser turrets are the primary armament, and are occasionally used for point defense against space rocks.
The station has a number of plasma thrusters that it uses for stationkeeping. However, it is possible for them to be juryrigged as weapons, in certain situations.
Should intruders breach the station's defenses and board it, there are numerous internal defensive systems, in addition to security personnel. Defensive systems include robotic turrets (mobile and static), atmospheric control systems (selective depressurization, knockout gas, etc), and varied other controls. Also, blast doors and forcefields reinforce the internal structure of the station.
Additionally, any number of Empirical inventions may be mounted on the station at any given time. This means that anything from psionic dampening to transdimensional injunctions may be in effect without prior notice.
Points of Interest
The Solar station orbits Lagrange Point 4 of the Earth/Sun system, propelled by Coriolis forces to orbit the point.
History
The Solar station was designed primarily by Alothin, with input from a number of scientists hired specifically to solve some space-related technological issues, such as artificial gravity generation, air recycling, and metallurgical sufficiency.
The Solar station was constructed quite recently, and is still under construction in parts, as its modular and semi-modular design permits expansion as necessary to accomodate additional facilities and new technologies. It is, however, fully functional at its current level.
Initially, parts were shipped by transdimensional portal to ARCHIE III, by agreement with that station's operators, then transshipped by freighter to the construction point of the Solar station. Once there, robotic construction crews assembled the Earth-built frames until its own transdimensional facilities were active, and direct shipment of modules and parts could commence. At that point, the robotic crews continued to construct the dimensionally shipped pieces into the variety of modules that organics require -- atmospheric recyclers, residential quarters, entertainment segments, and so on and so forth.
Other Lifeforms
The Solar station has a number of other lifeforms, besides Empirical Industries employees. As a launching point for interstellar vessels, it may have a number of travellers on it at any given time. There are also a number of pets kept by long-term employees aboard the station. Some animals are also kept there for micro-gravity adaption and experimentation.
