Appointment at Atropos

Two decades have passed since the conclusion of the Six Year War between the Hyperborean Commonwealth and the Kar-Shan Imperium, a brief but bloody conflict which ended in a shaky truce and the secession of the Commonwealth's Isolationist faction. Every two years, according to the terms of the peace treaty, the parties involved are bound to meet in neutral territory and conduct negotiations to maintain a peaceful compromise.

Some have been taking this obligation more seriously than others.

The venue designated for these gatherings is the small station Atropos which, together with its two sisters, keeps a watchful eye on the quarantined planet M-426-800012-X 3 from a stationary orbit. As usual, the mediators are the aloof Ninandari—who must be pleased that everyone has paid their extortionate hyperspace gate toll to get here.

Who will end up with the disputed colony Lemuria Secundus? Will the Kar-Shan succeed in removing the ban on their research into cloaking technology? Is somebody finally going to do something about the Lemurian pirate problem?

In a few hours' time, quiet Atropos will once again briefly become a hive of activity.