Ceres Station (Solar Wars)

Initially a territory under the control of Earth, Ceres Station is now an independent republic and home to the largest non-orbital docks in the solar system. Thousands of kilometres of tunnels have been dug into the rock of Ceres, forming three distinct levels of habitation and work areas. Ceres Station is arguably the most important waypoint between the inner and outer planets. Over 700 ships dock at Ceres Station every standard day and nearly a million individuals transit through Ceres Station at any given time. 
Ceres Station is also one of the very few space stations that are able to generate spin gravity. This is accomplished via 300 nitrogen-thrusters positions across the surface. As a result, Ceres Station offers travellers an opportunity to experience activities only possible with gravity such as drinking out of a cup or dancing, albeit only at 0.29G.
==Government==
The separation of powers in the government of Ceres Station is murky, and in the past a common saying was "There are no laws on Ceres Station, only cops" owing to the role of private policing services on the crime-infested Ceres Station. Today, the administration of the Station has tried hard to order its society, stamp out crime, and enforce accountability... but the legacy remains.
* Legislative: The legislative branch of Cere's government is the Council of Ceres which consists of 45 councillors elected one-each from the 15 districts on each of the 3 levels of Ceres Station. The Council makes laws that govern Ceres.
* Executive: The executive branch of Cere's government is the Chief Director of Ceres, elected station-wide by the permanent citizens of Ceres. The Chief Director presides over the Board of Directors, consisting of up to 15 directors appointed by the Chief Director with the consent of the Council of Ceres to direct Ceres Station's various executive bodies such as the highly important Resource Management Directorate that manages the Station's valuable food, water and utilities supplies, and the crucial Public Transport Directorate which operates the only form of inter-level transportation, the Ceres Tube. Other important statuary bodies include the Internal Affairs Directorate (policing, immigration, citizenship, etc.), the Education and Employment Directorate, the Public Health Directorate, the Housing and Development Directorate, the Foreign Affairs Directorate, the Port Management Authority, the Public Defence Directorate, the Science and Energy Administration, and the Law and Justice Department, among many others.
* Judicial: The judicial branch of the Ceres government is the least well-established branch, particularly suffering from a lack of experienced judges and a culture of frontier lawlessness leftover from Ceres' frontier past. Nonetheless, the High Court of Ceres consists of 9 justices appointed by the Chief Director with the consent of the Council to serve until age 70. It is also customary for judges from other jurisdictions such as Earth or Jupiter to be invited to serve on the High Court for one year, at times bringing the total number of justices up to 15. All appointed members (excluding guest justices) must survive a retention election every 10 years.
==Military==
The Armed Forces of Ceres Station falls under the purview of the Public Defence Directorate and consists of 20,000 military personnel split into the Infantry Division, Naval Division, and Missile Division, consisting of 8 thousand, 9 thousand, and 3 thousand personnel respectively. Additionally, all naval personnel are also trained in infantry combat and vice versa, for whenever their service in the other division are necessary. Despite being a relatively small force, the Naval Division operates a fleet of over 300 small and agile fighter craft adept at using the asteroid belt's many asteroids to outmanoeuvre and evade the detection of larger naval ships. Moreover, the Naval Division operates 7 frigates with more under construction. Finally, the Missile Division is a secretive division that operates up to 180 long-range stealth missiles forming Ceres Station's ultimate line of defence against a larger fleet of advanced warships. Missile launch platforms are located in secret facilities built into asteroids along the asteroid belt, ready to launch if needed.
==History==
Category:Solar wars