New Foundry, moon of Kiln
Sèvres shines like a beacon in an otherwise dark void of space. Smaller outposts exist on New Foundry, but there is little doubt that Sèvres is the jewel of this dim habitable moon. It is a deeply ancient city. The Founders settled here 10,000 years ago, having had no choice but to rebuild after their homeworld fell into Kiln, burning. Known as the Bär Kei, or the "Great Loss", this event still actively studied by historians and a thread in the shared cultural fabric. A pensive melancholy echoes from Sèvres' oldest buildings and ruins, a feeling which is shared by Victor Drake as he absently scanned the horizon.
Victor stared out of his office. Blue artificial light from the city is scattered by rain as it falls against the window. The muted voices of pedestrians mixed with the mumble of distant music. Sèvres has always been a place of industrial commerce, and thus a melting pot of various languages, trades and interests. If you didn't look to closely you would not notice the black markets and mafias that ruled significant portions of the region. Sèvres was not the worst place to live in this sector of the galaxy, but the majority of the residents now lived there out of necessity rather than choice. It was increasingly a world of darkness, lit only during manufacturing contracts, in which Kiln would shower New Foundry with a warm glow for some months.
These contracts were mostly to supply weapons and ships for small-scale skirmishes in the sector and maintaining standing fleets. During the great wars Kiln had functioned continuously, acting as a synthetic sun for the moon. Money was fast and the weather was good; New Foundry was a place for business and pleasure. This was much before Victors time, or even his grandfather's. The last 250 years had been a time of relative peace, with the demand for large weapons greatly diminished. Peace is not desirable if you deal in arms. For better or worse New Foundry continued to eek out survival on intermittent, if somewhat questionable, trade.
Victor works as a broker for negotiating manufacturing contracts. It is a relatively well-paying job and he lives comfortably compared to the lower rungs of New Foundry society. Fundamentally, his job is "corporate", as much as the concept of corporate exists on this cold rock. His view over the city was impressive, and Victor often found himself hypnotised by the slow moving freighter ships above. The rain was particularly heavy tonight. On New Foundry, the seasons were determined by manufacturing schedules. Then again, everything on New Foundry followed manufacturing schedules. Kiln's warmth would energise the weather system, eventually resulting in the heavier and heavier downpours towards the end of an order. This gave rise to to the local names for seasons Work and Dark, since the seasons do not exist on the moon outside of this process. It was currently the beginning of Dark.
Victor was daydreaming in his office when he heard a knock at his door. It was already late and he was not expecting any meetings this afternoon, and so this was particularly startling to him. Slowly he got up, walked across the room, and opened the door. Standing there was a dark hooded figure, soaked from the rain. Before Victor could say anything the figure spoke:
"Mr. Drake, I have a message"