Name of World: Hermes Station.
System: Sol
Year Initially Settled: 2050.
Affiliations: Coalition.
Governmental Style: Cooperative military-democratic state.
Primary Languages: English, French, Swahili, Portuguese
Primary Industries: Hospitality, travel.
Current Leaders/Figures of Note: The commanding officer of the CDF base on Hermes Station, Captain Nareel Tanden, works with their civilian counterpart, currently Governor Fabrice Shael, along with an elected Board of Commissioners, to represent the needs of the people under the domes here.
In-Play Characters from this Location: None.
Human Mutations: None.
Geography/Biodiversity: Utilizing similar dome technologies to Praxas and Cantra, Hermes was built on an asteroid many years before the first Coalition planet was colonized. In fact, in terms of distance, it's actually closer to Earth than to any of the existing planets in the CHL. It boasts mostly invasive species (rats and other pest and pet animals), but outside the domes, one can find a few native critters burrowed into the rockface. They seem to live mostly on each other, and smaller, microbial life forms found clinging to the asteroid's surface, but cannot exist in the oxygen-rich environment under the dome.
That environment, though, comes at a premium: Unlike terraformed planets where oxygen has been made plentiful by plant life, the recycling systems on Hermes are expensive to maintain. As such, air is considered a utility on Hermes as much as water, trash collection, or electricity. Late- or non-payment can incur fines which, if unpaid for long enough, may trigger debt collection or worse. Visitors to Hermes Station make an up-front payment based on the duration of their stay.
The station receives a decent amount of sunlight from the nearest star - Sol - but as a result of not being in orbit, the panels which make up the dome over Hermes were designed with a filter system to mimic day/night cycles.
Being an early off-world colony designed for life rather than profit or production, Hermes has had a great deal of time to grow organically, and that shows in the warmer, more lived-in look of its 'streets' and buildings than many newer or more industrial space stations have.
History: In the early years of humanity's expansion into the galaxy, when the Coalition was still in its infancy, the possibility of finding a new home planet seemed like a pipe dream. The Coalition needed waystations along its exploratory routes, though - places to refuel, restock, repair - and so what is in the history books often referred to as the Space Station Era began. They dotted the paths traced out across the universe in various shapes and sizes, suited for a broad spectrum of needs, as human space exploration slowly progressed from crawling to a toddling, ungainly walk.
Hermes was one of the first stations built in those days, just off one of the first gates, into the side of a large asteroid amid a field in orbit of the nearest sun. The somewhat experimental dome technology pioneered on Hermes Station would later go on to make life for humans possible on Praxas and Cantra.
At the time, as the Coalition was still working out the kinks in representation as humanity continued to expand into the stars, Hermes was established as a kind of military town. The CDF base and refueling station were its primary intended purposes, but, soon, the demand for civilian workers necessitated expanding the station. Hermes has continued to grow in this manner ever since - gradually pushing back its borders into and over the asteroid on which it sits, and this somewhat organic development is reflected in the look of the station.
Closer to the military base itself, the buildings and streets are older, more cramped and less up to date. Retrofitting in these areas does happen on occasion, but usually only if the landlord is forced to by updated regulations, or if the benefit outweighs the apparent cost. Many who leave the CDF or CHL without first lining up lucrative new prospects wind up here.
Further out under the second dome, there is a considerable difference in quality of living. That difference comes with a cost hike, obviously, but this expansion (colloquially referred to as Old New Town) was designed with the middle class in mind. Though some of the structures are a few hundred years old, they were designed to be easily upgraded, and do see more frequent updates than the first dome.
The third dome was established more recently than either of the first two, and consists of a much more varied collection of classes. As the newest of Hermes' three 'towns' - and thus, often called New Town - it is also the beneficiary of newer, more advanced technologies...though these have largely been implemented to find cheap ways to pack as many people under the dome as possible. The area has some of the best shopping, clubbing, restaurants, and more.