BRAID

What began as a small but essential collection of ships and space-stations acting as a refueling hub in the expanses between galaxies has since grown to become a major commercial hub in intergalactic commerce located in a field of asteroids mostly with easily mineable minerals suitable for the production of many of the galaxies wide variety of fuel types.
What had once been a rather small operation has become a sprawling network of space stations spreading across the void nearly half an astronomical unit at it's longest and a quarter of an astronomical unit at it's tallest, although the structure itself did not have anything resembling 'standardization.' Every sort of commerce passes through Braid, and refining and manufacturing facilities for every possible raw cargo could be converted into the most profitable form on its route to the final delivery point that has expanded vastly over the creatures.
At this point in BRAID's development space-ports are plentiful and vary in policy based on public or private ownership and there are rapid-travel terminals that can be used to transit across its vastness.

The Core

The oldest portion of Braid consisting of twenty-three cooperating space-stations that had been built over time. From here all logistical operations to and from Braid are conducted for the various factions that operate on Braid. It is also the functioning seat of the local government, the official political representatives representing Braid in trade negotiations between galactic civilizations.

Mining Colonies 01-1321

Braid's massive economic output is aided by the asteroid field it was built in was rife with a healthy representation of every mineral in the galaxy. These colonies are small, and owned by a combination of private industries and in some cases entire governments which employ the employee-citizens working in the operation. These colonies vary widely in sizes and cultures depending on the financial or governmental ownership.

Manufacturing Colonies 01-369

While the manufacturing colonies are far fewer, they are able to take the raw goods of the cosmos and push out everything with a blueprint. These occupations are those which are explicitly owned and operated by the Private/Public partnership and foreign interests are forbidden from the direct ownership in these operations.

Agricultural Colonies 01-71629

Like the other two sets of base colonies, the cultures vary from each colony. 60% of the food production is done for the public sector of the gigantic BRAID, the remainder is owned by private or foreign entities and reflect the cultures of those species' agricultural production practices.

THE HUB

This is the seat of private power within the massive BRAID expansion, in this series of four interlinked asteroids you will find the headquarters of the vast business interests that do business on BRAID. The HUB has the greatest diversity of alien species and its residents take up nearly ten percent of all of BRAID. Contained within are also various districts for recreational amusement and by far the largest contingency.

CLUSTER OMEGA

This cluster of manufacturing shipyards is the production center for all of the security equipment for the Braid-Security Forces. The production capabilities of Cluster-Omega can easily keep pace with most regional galactic power and through trade treaties have several quick reactionary forces on call from trade partners. Given BRAID's independence and its importance, there were many treaties labeling BRAID as a sovereign demilitarized zone for many species who may come into conflict.

DEFENSES

Braid-Security Force - BRAID's "Police" and Naval Defense force, the BRAID Security Force is vast and has outposts across the collection of colonies, however for the total population they are grotesquely outnumbered. Although the funding for the police is plentiful, the true nature of 'justice' on BRAID is more often settled in smoky rooms followed by someone taking an unsanctioned space-walk. Oftentimes, it was easier for the law enforcement to look the other way and join in the profits, preferring to keep their focus on keeping the general population safe from outside threat.
Note-Worthy: While their technology to combat metas is severely lacking compared to Earth, their police force is pulled from a vast array of volunteers from those who have come to call Braid home. Many of them are more than capable of fighting on higher grounds, a point they're more than happy to emphasize to remind the population they would be better served not becoming anything resembling a destructive nuisance.

Population: 32 million
Government: Criminal Empire
Threat Level: High
Resources: Medium