As the squad makes its way across the Frontier, they'll come across all kinds of places—from lost colonies and trading posts to worlds scarred by war. Every single one of them has its own story and its own set of problems, and you can bet you'll get dragged into both.
If Catalina IV ever shows up in your navigation log, check your ship's insurance. Twice. A powerful engine, a stray energy pulse, or even a noise that's just a little too loud can stir up a storm. And the lightning here? No joke. One strike can knock a ship right out of the sky.
The planet is almost entirely covered in ocean. Sailboats and airships weave between the islands, while cargo from orbit comes down on anti-gravity ferries. When the atmosphere itself declares war on plasma engines, people have no choice but to get creative.
Catalina came out of the Third Interstellar War better than most frontier worlds, but it wasn't cheap. After the legendary Maharaja Durga fell, power passed to a regent ruling in the name of her young daughter. Meanwhile, the old clans are circling again—using spy networks and shell contracts to size each other up. Behind the facade of the region's last surviving state is a fragile peace, the kind that could shatter with one wrong move.
Throw in postwar ruin and the endless scramble for influence, and you'll quickly realize that behind those postcard-perfect views lies a place where even a good contract can turn into a lifelong headache.
The largest station in the nebula and a place where just about anyone making a living on the edge of space ends up, sooner or later. Getting there isn't easy. The routes through the nebula change constantly, and some ships with stealth sails prefer to shoot first and ask questions after.
Despite the rumors, Umbrose doesn't feel much like a pirate den. House No keeps the station in line, acknowledges Pluto's authority, and even enforces laws or at least the ones they consider important.
Officially, the station runs on nebula research and selling navigation data. Unofficially, you can find almost anything that civilized ports won't touch, from rare tech to people with very particular skills.
That said, the local powers do have lines they won't cross. Smuggling, espionage, and the usual frontier trades barely raise an eyebrow. But slavers and aurorite dealers? They tend to end their careers somewhere on the outside of an airlock.
Maybe that's why Umbrose manages to thrive in a sector full of lawless places. It's rare to find a place that balances order and crime to everyone's mutual benefit.
If you've got enough credits that you don't bother counting, you'll probably end up in Aureos. That's where the station's best hotels are, the priciest casinos, and the offices of people who'd rather not say how they made their fortune. Well-dressed gentlemen roam the corridors with equally well-dressed bodyguards in servo-armor. And when talks hit a dead end, there's always the local arena, where you can watch other people solve their problems with violence.
Most visitors spend their time on the Ring. Docks, shops, repair bays, bars, and a never-ending flow of people from all over the sector. Security on the Ring is more of a suggestion than a real force, but the locals are good at keeping order on their own. Looking for a new contract, a shady broker, or just a drink after a bad run? The Ring's your stop.
Many official maps of Umbrose pretend the Grey Sector doesn't exist. Half-built utility lines, abandoned hab blocks, miles of maintenance tunnels. They've become a whole separate world inside the station. Debtors hide here. Fugitives, smugglers, the homeless, and people whose past you don't want to know about. Even station security isn't eager to go into the Grey Sector. And, as usual on Umbrose, this is exactly where you find things that don't exist anywhere else.
These are just the first few places on the Frontier that Jay's mercenary squad will head to. But forewarned is forearmed! Don't forget to add Frontier: Path of Shadows to your wishlist and support the game at Steam Next Fest 2026!