Explore the Galaxy

Galactic Rings

Two circles appear on nearly every published version of the known galaxy map. These circles are known as the Galactic Rings and are a descriptive concept that the IGS has used in internal communications for about 30 years. Any system that is very close to Avalorr, or inside the area of the first circle, is called a Core System. Any system that is inside the area between the two circles is called an Inner Ring System. A system that is outside the two circles, but has a public jump station, is called an Outer Ring System. Every unexplored, unmapped, or undocumented star system is considered part of the Galactic Frontier. A Galactic Frontier system becomes an Outer Ring system as soon as a jump gate has been established.

Jump Stations

Most of us are well familiar with the Primary Lanes that provide our worlds with goods brought from all over the civilized galaxy. Currently there are 197 public jump stations that form the Primary Lanes of the IGS Public Jump Network. Each IGS Jump Station is a fortress of weaponry, satellites, equipment, and patrol craft dedicated to defending itself. Strict neutrality has kept the IGS uninvolved with the two Galaxy Wars. Stations accept transmitted tolls, assist with jumps, monitor traffic, and relay information. However, the IGS Public Jump Network is not the only jump station network in the galaxy.

Private Jump Networks

Private Jump Networks have been around for a long time. However, since the Second Galaxy War broke out, they have become a topic seen regularly on the news networks. Each major government and several of the UCORs maintain a network of private jump stations. These jump stations are masked and, due to the vigilance of the owners, are very hard to find. It is through the Private Jump Networks that war supplies and reinforcements can be gathered in staging areas for the final hyperspace jump into a combat theater. The constant patrolling and sweeping of government cold naval forces ensure that space around the various home worlds are free of covertly built private jump stations or even surveying ships seeking to establish a temporary jump station.

Jump Station Construction

Large vessels like the IGS Vanguard class explorer ships carry the necessary equipment to conduct more conventional hyperspace travel to far systems and establish temporary jump points. Due to the nature of the dynamic stream jump system, jump routes cannot be established between any random two points. A vessel that seeks to establish a jump point must travel to the place where a jump point is desired and conduct extensive surveys of the surrounding space-time fabric. This process can take months or years. Even when successful, the surveys might yield a jump point that is several score and even sometimes hundreds of Astronomical Units from the system’s star. There are many stars that are inaccessible from what appear to be close stars. They may only be reached by going through a farther star system because no suitable jump station could be established. Vanguard class ships are designed to stay out in space for periods of 2-3 years, but the IGSES Silver Spear set a record when it took 5 years and 2 months to find and establish jump station 152 in the JC1602 system.

Once a suitable jump station location is established, the survey ship will deploy the jump point satellites and equipment that allows the heavy construction equipment and supply ships to jump directly into the new location. Usually the survey ship stays on station until jump station construction is complete. Construction of a new jump station is a process that will take several more months and the temporary jump station remains open throughout the process.