Currency and Trade
AX.GAT.09.04 - Currency & Commerce
Station Credits (℃r)
Astraeus Terminal operates on a single unified currency: the Station Credit (℃r), administered through Oryx Logistics' financial infrastructure. Credits are digitally tracked, maintained on personal biometric accounts accessed through any terminal node or portable credential chip. Physical credit chips exist for emergency use and off-network transactions, but the default is digital.
The ℃r is not backed by a galactic standard. Its value is local and functional, maintained by the Terminal's controlled economy. Oryx Logistics holds the administrative authority over the supply chain that makes Credits meaningful, which gives the corporation structural leverage over every faction and individual on the station.
Off-Terminal Credits: Travelers arriving from elsewhere bring their own currencies. Conversion services operate through licensed Oryx exchange terminals and through informal networks. Exchange rates favor Oryx; the informal rate is better but involves relationships.
Supply Tiers
Every item and service on Astraeus Terminal sits in one of four supply tiers. Tier determines not just price but access, who can acquire it and through what channels.
Standard Tier, ℃r 50–500
Available through public dispensaries, the Terminal's open market stalls, and licensed commercial vendors. No credentials required. The Standard tier covers daily necessities, common tools, basic weapons, and the equipment that makes station life functional for most residents.
Acquiring Standard goods: Walk in, present a Credit account, complete the transaction. Oryx's dispensary network handles most Standard goods automatically. Independent vendors operate in the markets of every Ring with varying stock and prices.
Restricted Tier, ℃r 500–5,000
Requires faction credential or demonstrated professional authorization to purchase through official channels. Restricted goods include specialized equipment, higher-grade weapons, advanced medical supplies, and tools with dual-use potential that Oryx's compliance framework flags for oversight.
Acquiring Restricted goods through official channels: Present a valid faction credential, a Vigilant badge, Oryx contractor ID, Survey Corps field authorization, or equivalent documentation, at a credentialed vendor. The transaction is logged. The faction's authorization is noted.
Acquiring Restricted goods off the books: The Solis League's supply network, independent fixers, and informal market contacts can source Restricted goods without credential. Price premium is typically 20–40% above standard value. No transaction log. Relationship required or referral necessary.
Controlled Tier, ℃r 5,000–50,000
Faction-issue only. Controlled goods are not available for purchase by individuals; they are issued by a faction to its authorized personnel for operational use. Heavy weapons, advanced tactical equipment, specialized void operations gear, and medical equipment capable of serious augmentation sit in this tier.
Acquiring Controlled goods: Receive them from your faction as operational equipment. There is no purchase pathway for unaffiliated individuals through official channels. Controlled goods that appear on the informal market were diverted, stolen, or sold by someone who had faction access. Their acquisition involves risk proportional to how badly the faction wants them back.
Black Market, Faction scrip or barter only
No ℃r price. No official existence. Weapons that are prohibited entirely on the Terminal, substances outside the licensed pharmaceutical supply chain, information with operational value, identities, and passage off the station without documentation. Transactions in this tier are structured around personal relationships, non-traceable value transfers, and mutual interest in the arrangement remaining private.
Barter and Scrip
Faction scrip circulates in some communities as a supplement to or substitute for ℃r, tokens of value backed by a faction's resources rather than the Oryx financial system. Span guild scrip is recognized across the labor corridors; Violet Sector has its own informal notes backed by the Solis League. Scrip is local and relationship-dependent; its value outside its originating community requires someone willing to honor it.
Barter is common in the Cargo Ring and parts of the outer Hangar Ring where transient populations pass through. Services, materials, information, and favors all trade directly. A character with skills in demand, medical, mechanical, navigation, security, can provision themselves in barter economies without Credits.
Faction Economic Access
Each faction's relationship to the supply chain shapes what their personnel can access without transaction friction.
| Faction | Standard | Restricted | Controlled | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oryx Logistics | Full | Full | Full | Administers the supply chain |
| The Vigilants | Full | Full | Full (tactical) | Weapon/tactical issue through command chain |
| Survey Corps | Full | Full (field rated) | Operational issue | Field rating covers void operations equipment |
| The Span | Full | Guild credential (work-related) | Rare exception | Guild credential covers professional tools |
| Solis League | Full | Informal network | Black market | No official credential; supply line is the League's value |
| Oblis Consortium | Full | Cover identity access | Target-specific | Restricted access via maintained cover credentials |
| Unaffiliated | Full | No automatic access | No access | Requires relationship, credential purchase, or informal sourcing |
Price Reference: Economy Anchors
These entries anchor the economy, what common things cost, establishing scale for all equipment entries.
| Item | Tier | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bunk in common quarters (one week) | Standard | ℃r 75 | Blue Sector dormitory rate |
| Private cabin (one week) | Standard | ℃r 250 | Orange or Green Sector standard |
| Station meal (dispensary) | Standard | ℃r 8 | Caloric sufficient; no character |
| Station meal (commercial vendor) | Standard | ℃r 25–80 | Quality varies significantly |
| Transit pass (all rings, 30 days) | Standard | ℃r 40 | Covers all non-restricted transit |
| Standard labor day rate | Standard | ℃r 150–250 | Varies by skill and availability |
| Specialist labor day rate | Standard | ℃r 400–800 | Technical, medical, navigational work |
| Passage off-Terminal (commercial) | Restricted | ℃r 2,000–4,000 | Berth on commercial transport; destination variable |
| Basic toolkit (maintenance grade) | Standard | ℃r 80–150 | See AX.GAT.09.03 |
| Personal sidearm (licensed) | Standard | ℃r 200–350 | See AX.GAT.09.01 |
| Combat vest (soft armor) | Standard | ℃r 180–300 | See AX.GAT.09.02 |
| Vacuum suit (standard) | Restricted | ℃r 800–1,200 | See AX.GAT.09.02 |
| Standard medical supplies | Standard | ℃r 50–200 | Field kit; see AX.GAT.09.03 |
| Advanced medical kit | Restricted | ℃r 1,500–3,000 | See AX.GAT.09.03 |
Wealth and Character Resources
Player characters are not assigned a starting Credits value. Instead, their starting equipment is determined by their profession and lineage during character creation (AX.GAT.05.01). The economy information here establishes the baseline against which characters manage their ongoing resources.
Economic pressure is a recurring feature of play on Astraeus Terminal. The gap between Standard access and Restricted access is the most common friction point, not catastrophic scarcity, but the consistent reality that certain capabilities require either faction credentials, informal relationships, or willingness to pay the premium. This is not a survival-horror scarcity model; it is an access and relationship model.
Characters who develop faction standing, League relationships, or Fixer connections are acquiring economic infrastructure as much as social capital. The supply tier system gives this infrastructure concrete mechanical expression.
Economic Notes for GMs
Oryx as economic leverage: The Oryx Logistics supply administration is not a neutral background fact. Administrator Loriya's control over the supply chain is the structural basis of Oryx's power on the Terminal. Missions that threaten supply security, expose supply chain corruption, or involve Restricted goods moving off-credential are missions with Oryx economic implications regardless of whether Oryx is the nominal subject.
The informal economy: The Solis League's supply network and the Restricted-without-credential pathway are the most common drivers of player character economic activity outside faction frameworks. Characters who need Restricted goods and lack credentials will, over time, develop League relationships, Fixer contacts, or Survey Corps standing that resolves the access friction. The GM should treat the economic system as a relationship-building engine as much as a resource management tool.
Black market as narrative engine: Black market transactions are not priced because their value is not Credits; it is the relationship, the favor, the information, or the risk. When player characters enter black market transactions, the GM should specify what the transaction costs in those terms, not in ℃r.