Running Star

This article exists in the context of the Astral Era, after Sphaeran civilization's ascendancy to the interstellar level. Before approximately 3000 SR, Sphaeran civilization would not have known this information.

The Running Star is the derelict orbital station that circles Sphaera and has for millions of years. Built by the ancient harpies and karura, the station's designated name is Shyk'aarluo'iep (an ancient dialectal harpiian word whose meaning is no longer known.)
The Running Star's initial purpose was to serve as a base of operations for the Sphaeran terraforming project and colonization efforts. After a long period of disrepair, the station was rediscovered and inhabited by the fledgling global space program to facilitate their space exploration efforts, and inevitably became Sphaera's largest orbital spaceport.

Structure

The Running Star is a modular station of ancient harpy design, with a labyrinth of conjoined nodes centered around a core block that houses the primary reactor and computer banks. The core is surrounded by six secondary blocks serving as nexii for different wings:

• Zenith Nexus - Spacebound port
• Nadir Nexus - Sphaerabound port
• Fore Nexus - Station Command + Communications
• Aft Nexus - Cargo
• Starboard Nexus - Scientific
• Port Nexus - Habitation

Each nexus is equipped with interlinked RCS to maintain or change orientation and orbital vector, as well as an airlock and dropship dock to facilitate exterior maintenance and quick evacuation should the station suffer a crippling catastrophe.

Alternative Names

Shyk'aarluo'iep

Type

Orbital, Station

Parent Location

Sphaera

Included Locations

• Pillar of Heaven

Station type

core-block modular

Station class

Eaalaqui OSS

Constructed

0 Hrp (5 million BC)

Constructed by

Skhaariaq'chul Planetary Development Collective

Derelicted

0 Syl (0 AC)

Reclaimed

160284 Syl (~1.6 Myr AC)

History

Pre-Collapse

The Running Star was originally built to be the base of operations for the Sphaeran terraforming project, serving a long operational term of several million years. It was later modified as the orbital anchor point for the Pillar of Heaven, which brought the harpies and their genetically-engineered creations to the planet's terraformed surface. After the Shattering, the isolation of the Sphaerabound harpiian colonies from the galactic colonial network thanks to the Reverent Conquest proved to be their civilization's undoing, causing the Collapse that marked the start of the civilization-free Lybertic period.

Post-Collapse

After falling into dereliction over the million-and-a-half years between the Collapse and the rediscovery of spaceflight, the Running Star was eventually restored beyond its former glory, serving as Sphaera's primary orbital port and the jumping-off point for Sphaeran civilization's return to space exploration. During the War of Angels, the Running Star became the headquarters of the Aurin sector forces, and it was from here that the Revenant Fleet was coordinated. Several millennia later, the station became a holy site for the Order of the Red Star until retaken by the Fleet of Bellerophon.