Serpent Trace: Located in the astrographic center of the
Vanguard Reaches sector, this cluster of fifteen Jump-1
systems is accessible from outer parts of the sector via two
Jump-2 routes. One stretches rimward to the Trace from the
Duchy of Trelyn, and another expands coreward from the
Altarean Confederation. The cluster takes its name from the
serpentine nature of its twisting route that wends its way
through three subsectors.

The Serpent Trace is home to several billion residents,
and nearly all kinds of sophonts from spinward charted space
can be found within. Society in the Trace is cosmopolitan and
on the cutting edge of technology.

No single government controls the Trace, although many
trade agreements boast several worlds as signatories. The
Regional Commerce & Growth Association is a local group which
promotes trade and commerce throughout the cluster.

Some say that the planetary governments are mere puppets
of the industrial concerns of the high population worlds in
the Trace. In reality, each system controls its own planetary
armed forces and many have naval squadrons. These troops are
more than capable of handling commercial disagreements and
enforcing law and order throughout the Serpent Trace.

(reproduced by permission of the author, Chuck Kallenbach II)
