Gaia's Landing

Gaia’s Landing is the second largest habitat in the VBU, and the largest single purpose habitat in human history. Measuring in at eleven kilometres long and eight kilometres in diameter and with a thickness of two kilometres, its scale is almost beyond comprehension. The other major thing to note is that the entire inner surface is made of clear crystal.
Gaia’s Landing is an agricultural habitat. The upper level comprises a hundred square kilometres of open farmland under a crystal dome, with thousands of reflective mirrors about the station’s central axis to reflect light onto the fields. Here, an endless patchwork of farms raise animals and produce crops that otherwise can’t be grown through hydroponics. Beneath the surface though, there are endless hydroponic bays, storage silos, culturing vats and any and all machinery required to harvest, process and store the food produced.
Despite its mammoth internal volume, relatively few people live on Gaia’s Landing, and there are actually more residents than workers. There are two rings of habitation space on each of the exposed faces of the cylinder, with most residences facing out towards space. There are also clusters of residential blocks on the lower levels, where the builders could place windows on the subjective floor, still allowing residents a view “outside”. Much of the lowest levels however are made up of docks and shipping facilities that move the food produced off-station. About a third is exported to whatever system Gaia’s Landing is currently in, after the residents have been accounted for the remainder is sold to other habitats. Many systems dislike having Gaia’s Landing in their space as it is a guarantee that more VBU habitats will follow, eager to get first dibs on their exports.
The final major component of Gaia’s Landing is Gaia’s Spindle, a two kilometre long float-station nestled in the centre of Gaia’s Landing. Tethered to the cylinder by six long spokes it is home to both Gaia’s Pick (the local corps of engineers who work to provide the habitat with the raw materials required to continue operations) and Gaia’s Scythe (the habitat’s military garrison).
Several times in the last decade, pirates have attacked Gaia’s Landing. Whether they feel that a giant space farm is easy pickings, or that the potential rewards outweigh the risks, none have survived. Gaia’s Scythe are renowned for their determination and skill, but also feared for their zeal.