Among the Free Planets, Neptune occupies an odd role. It is not as populous or abundantly productive as Saturn, not as dangerous but resource-rich as Jupiter, and does not have as cohesive and recognizable a culture as Urania. Nonetheless, it is by traffic the second-most popular territory in the System as of 200 A.T., this, despite the fact that the planet still does not have a functional Magnetic Accelerator Relay to replace the one destroyed in 179 A.T.

Said destruction is part of what is commonly referred to as the Relay Incident of 179, an act of anti-corporate terrorism conducted by a group that has only ever been publicly identified as “the Technicians.” Their claim ostensibly was that the MAR network was being used as a system of control by the Baron, and that destroying even one relay would prove that the illusive Consortium CO was trying to manipulate the entire population. Pundits were quick to point out that no evidence of this ever surfaced following the relay’s destruction.

Neptune’s population did boom after the Incident, due mainly to the fact that transit into the territory was now far easier than leaving it. Departing Neptune territory means either traveling back to Saturn or Jupiter the old-fashioned way, as in thrusters and impulse engines the whole way, or, heading to Logos. Most end up opting for the latter, which has helped bolster Logos’s already considerable population.

Neptune has no official capital like the other planets, due to its government being highly in flux. Unofficially, Neptune Station 17 is regarded by many as the go-to spaceport. The Station has in recent years been called “Gravin’s Base” by locals due to it being the primary construction site of Gravin Shipbuilding Enterprises. Gravin’s company owns sixty-five percent of the station’s interior and docks. Negotiations between Gravin and the Solar Consortium regarding a merger have been in the public eye for several years, but are still unresolved as of 200 A.T.

Traffic around Neptune is largely unregulated and as open to freelance exploration as the other planets, save for its primary moon, Triton, which is off-limits to citizens not affiliated with the Consortium.