One theme in the Star Alas series is the UFP’s use of Deep Space bases. These bases are far away from water worlds, located outside stars FTL transition limit gravity wells. Star Atlas 1 lists Spectre, a minor planet Sol X. Way the heck out in the Solar System’s Oort cloud. It's the biggest fortress in the best protected system in the sector. Other Star Atlases include the Federation's deep space bases in Imperial and People’s Republic space. And perhaps, in other places they aren’t expected.
In the twentieth through twenty-second centuries Terran humanity became a technological space faring culture. IRSOL monitored their painful progress. In secret, from the edges of the Solar System. The IRSOL moved outward, farther from the Sun as humanity ventured into space.
Later, in the twenty-sixth and twenty seventh centuries, the UFP takes up that strategy. They monitor potential friends and enemies from the edges of their star systems. Quiet, unseen, unsuspected. Watching space traffic, listening to electronic communications. Beyond the hyperdrive transition limit. Most people that get that far from a star kick in the FTL drive and keep going to another system, other worlds.
The Feds aren’t most people. Or rather, the High Republicans of the Terran Union weren’t most people. During the earliest stages of the Terran diaspora, the High Republics didn’t have FTL. They struggled, then thrived in vacuum colonies.The Moon, L5 cylinders, Mars, Mercury, the gas giant moons, even Pluto. If you can colonize Pluto, which they did, you can live on any icy airless rock anywhere.
There’s little evidence other Star Nations build extensive deep space facilities. They ignore the possibilities of a true space based civilization. Later Terran colonists, blessed with FTL drives, found better places to live. They know about deep space colonization, but didn’t bother without good reasons. Most examples we see involve big money from mining. No investment in turning hell worlds to deep space homes. Why would they colonize hell worlds? If you keep looking you can find nicer places, safer, cheaper to settle. Other races mirrored their priorities. They seek colonies on planets that remind them of home.
It’s cold in deep space. No useful solar power. Nothing to breath. Nothing but dirty ice to drink. Far from wet planets with breathable atmospheres. They will have construction and maintenance costs as high as Starships. And unlike starships, deep space bases will never visit habitable worlds. Never feel the warmth of a main sequence star. Hell. But the High Republic built there, found new lifestyles, and they stayed.
Strategic and operational advantages must be immense to justify the expense and danger. of deep space basing. And the eyes of High Republic natives saw those advantages.
At the edge of the Solar system, the great fortress Spectre demonstrates these advantages. It’s outside the Solar hyperdrive limit. Ships launching from Spectre can go FTL without long STL transition travel. Quick reaction forces save precious hours. Likewise, incoming traffic avoid long STL travel, and crowded inner Solar system traffic orbits. The base has privacy. Nobody goes there without good reason. If their reason is spying they will be detected a long way away.
There’s no weather on Spectre. It’s seismically stable. It’s a good place to store expensive things. Like surplus battle fleets. Unprotected Federation citizen die on Spectre, but they know how to protect themselves. Warehousing and airdock facilities are unmatched anywhere in known space. The guns of Spectre are known a dozen sectors away, unmatchable firepower. The Azzies and GPR consider attacking that base to be a pointless suicide mission.
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