Perseus Cloud (Stars Without Number)

The remnants of a fairly remote principality of the Terran Mandate called the Praetorium. The Perseus Cloud is now fairly isolated from other regions of fallen Mandate territory due to dangerously disturbed hyperspace geometry at its edges.   Within the Cloud, three large empires vie for power. The Regency of Thar, a Spanish-speaking imperialist hegemony, uses its impressive naval capacity to overpower its territorial holdings. House Akkad, the ruling family of the Akkadan Kingdom, rules through heritage and familial power, installing loyalists in power on their territory worlds. The Confederacy of South-Eastern Nation States, headquartered on Kera, while ostensibly a democratic republic, is ruled mainly by a shadow organization of individuals whose power is derived from the intelligence and espionage services they command.   Within this environment of national strife, many smaller worlds are able to thrive on their own. From Yula, the desert planet ruled by megacorporations and media, to Dunn's World, a mercenary haven in the Northern reaches of the sector.   Within this delicate balance of large nation-states and fringe powers, adventurers of all stripes, from religious assassins to freedom-loving spacers to musical superstars, find a calling for themselves and call the Cloud their home.