Stations

Larger stations in stable locations or in orbit around uninhabitable worlds usually operate independently of terrestrial governments, acting as their own states with their own territories and areas of influence. Stations exist because they were built for a purpose: mining, gas extraction, or to provide a platform for dry docks, shipyards, research, and so on. Their populations largely work to support the station’s mission or the people who do. Civilian stations usually have permanent populations, with the largest numbering in the tens of millions. Military stations are smaller, without permanent populations born and raised aboard.
Blink gates are special cases – although they exist beyond Cradle’s actual state boundaries, they are integral to Union’s galactic hegemony. As such, each Blink Gate is managed by a Union-appointed governor, policed by Union security forces, and administered by Union personnel. Because blink gates exist to ferry ships between worlds, their stations tend to have very diverse populations: each one likely has something that someone from a Core world (or an advanced Diasporan world) would recognize as a flavor, sound, or comfort of home.