settled-reach/wiki/star-systems/GJ-3988/index.md

GJ 3988

GJ 3988 | binary-type | north_reach

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System Profile

Star	k-m · 31.0 ly
Bodies	0 habitable · 1 inhabited
Gates	2 aperture · spur_end
Settlement	unsettled
Industries	metallic_ore, agricultural_produce, processed_food, hospitality, financial_services, legal_services
Exports	processed_food, financial_services
Imports	electronics, consumer_goods, medical_goods, fusion_fuel, refined_metals, heavy_equipment
Population	—

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GJ 3988 is a K-M binary pair — two dim stars in a close mutual orbit, their habitable zones either nonexistent or destabilized by tidal perturbation. Surveys conducted during the corridor's extension found no planetary body suitable for settlement: the inner orbits are chaotic, the outer orbits cold. The system exists in the network because the gate infrastructure was laid to reach Mossbank beyond it, not because anyone wanted GJ 3988 for itself.

Horizon gates were built here to serve as a transit node. Nothing else was built. The apertures mark the in-system transition point, and a bare-minimum automated relay station runs on solar harvest, maintaining position-lock data and issuing standard navigation broadcasts. It has been doing this, without maintenance, for the better part of two centuries.

The binary's gravitational geometry makes in-system maneuvering slightly more demanding than average — nothing extreme, but captains who have not run the corridor before sometimes request updated charts before committing to the approach. The charts are available, frequently outdated, and nominally the responsibility of the Athabasca system two hops back.

Supply Dependency

None. The system has no population and no resource extraction. Vessels transit through; nothing stops.

Faction Notes

No faction presence. The automated relay is Commission-registered infrastructure, but no one has formally inspected it in years. Its operational status is presumed from the fact that it continues to broadcast.

Silence Topic

Not applicable — no population to keep silence.

Narrative Hook

A vessel reported a third navigation signal in the system last year — not the relay, not a passing ship's transponder, something else. The report was logged at Athabasca and filed under "equipment anomaly." Nobody has gone to look.

Calibration Note

Unsettled binary at hop 6 functioning as a transit node is consistent with the Cairn pocket's incremental settlement pattern — gate infrastructure extended ahead of population, routing determined by adjacent viable destinations.

Celestial Bodies

Orbit	ID	Name	Type	Inhabited	Pop	Mass	Gravity	Year (d)	Day (h)	Atmo	Biome	Hydro	Economy	Settlement	Industrial
1	GJ3988b	—	planet	no	—	terrestrial	0.32g	22	18.6	none	barren	—	—	—	—
2	GJ3988-belt	—	asteroid_belt	no	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
3	GJ3988c	—	planet	no	—	terrestrial	0.40g	86	22.4	trace	frozen	—	—	—	—
4	GJ3988d	—	planet	no	—	terrestrial	0.30g	260	26.4	trace	frozen	ice	—	—	—
5	GJ3988e	—	planet	no	—	dwarf	0.10g	780	20.2	none	frozen	ice	—	—	—
6	GJ3988f	—	planet	no	—	dwarf	0.07g	2000	16.8	none	frozen	ice	—	—	—
7	GJ3988g	—	planet	no	—	dwarf	0.05g	4800	14.4	none	frozen	ice	—	—	—
8	GJ3988-oort	—	oort_cloud	no	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Stations & Facilities

ID	Name	Type	Orbits	Population	Economy	Governance	Docking	Gate	Districts
GJ3988-oort-S1	GJ 3988 Horizon	horizon	GJ3988-oort	—	transit	—	major	yes	1

Topology

• Hop Distance from Gateway: 6
• Adjacent Systems: GJ 1289, GJ 603