The Millstone
Industrial or Resource · Processing Station
A neutral Shatter refinery separating useful ore and salvage from debris before valuable material is shipped inward.
Overview
The Record
The Millstone separates value from wreckage before Shatter traffic heads inward. Anchored to a tiny moon, the refinery receives ore and salvage gathered among the debris, processes what can be recovered, and prepares useful material for safer shipment.
Exterior collectors and receiving structures rotate through changing debris lanes while processing halls follow standardized shifts. Industrial and residential modules maintain separate pressure systems so contamination, fire, or an impact in one does not force the evacuation of the other.
Neutral commercial interests operate the station under contract rather than a realm’s warrant. Contracts determine whose material enters a processing line and when a finished load departs. The station’s authority extends to safety, custody, and scheduling, not to the territory from which salvage was recovered.
The Millstone makes dangerous material transportable, but it cannot make the Shatter predictable. A missed collector window, disputed title, or closed inward route leaves processed cargo and incoming wreckage competing for the same limited berths.
Political Relationships
Standing
Standing at a Glance
- Civilization Status
- Industrial
- Heraldic Standing
- No Unified Mark
Neutral commercial interests operate the Millstone through station rules governing safety, custody, contracts, and berth allocation. No principal power represents the refinery, and its operators claim no authority over the wider Shatter. Company and berth marks identify responsibility for work; the station has no sovereign crest.
Physical Characteristics
Ground and Sky
- Diameter95 km
- Mass0.0000001036 Earth masses
- Gravity0 g
The Millstone and its anchor moon are airless outside. Processing halls and residential modules maintain separate pressure systems so industrial contamination, fire, or impact damage can be isolated without evacuating the entire station.
Orbit and Time
Path Around Oranth
- Orbital Order699
- Orbital Radius10,900,000 km
- Orbital Period134.239 days
- Rotation36 hours
- Inclination4.9 degrees
- Eccentricity0.041
The refinery and its anchor moon maintain a controlled thirty-six-standard-hour rotation during a 134.239-standard-day orbit. Interior work follows standardized shifts, while exterior collectors use the rotation to pass through changing light, thermal conditions, and debris lanes.
Culture
The Twofold
No station-wide Twofold affinity is established. Practitioners may serve individual crews or contractors, but assay, custody records, and engineering inspection determine what enters a processing line and what may leave it.
Travel
Travel Notes
Arrive only with a contract, declared cargo, and an assigned receiving berth. Keep clear of exterior collectors and tug lanes as the station turns through the debris field. Salvage remains sealed until inspection establishes contamination, ownership records, and a safe processing route; passenger traffic transfers directly into the residential pressure network.