Free buffer system

Overview
The so-called Free Buffer Systems, or FBS, designated as such at the conclusion of the Great War, are a line of sparsely-populated star systems intended to serve as unaffiliated buffers between the UCSA and UNCS.

The concept of the FBS was first advanced in the closing years of the 21st century when competition over resources threatened war between the two main human powers. However, it was not until the Van Maanen Treaty in 2112 that the buffer systems were put into place as a legal institution. Their role as a neutral ground between the UNCS and UCSA was formally established, and the two powers began removing assets- at least, overt assets.

The systems' total population is estimated at under one million, comparable to a small UCSA system-state such as Fargo. Their military power is rather limited, and generally restricted to privately-owned spacecraft, locally-maintained fighter squadrons, and a handful of older warships. These forces are almost exclusively for internal security, given the well-deserved reputation of the free systems as havens for pirates, smugglers, terrorists, and other 'questionable' entities.

List of Free Buffer Systems
WX Ursae Majoris

L725-32

40 Eridani

GJ 1116

Ross 614

NN 3379

BD-03*

Recent History
The buffer systems have recently began drifting towards the formation of loose confederacies for mutual defense. The primary purpose of this endeavor would be to enable the purchase of strategic-scale weapons for deterrence purposes. Currently, the Northern Systems Coalition has been proposed by representatives of 40 Eridani and WX Ursae Majoris, considering those two systems' positions, isolated between two regional powers.