The Alliance lies on the north of inhabited space, with the Federation to the south, and the Empire beyond. Alliance systems lie in or close to an area known as the Ursa Majoris cluster, the principal stars of which are Alioth, Mizar, Alcor, Phekda (or Phecda), Merak and Dubhe. Most of the systems are generally type M red stars, some steady burning and some flare stars. The Alliance has its share of red giants and multiple star systems. There are no white dwarves amongst the members.

  The general astronomical statistics for the Alliance are as follows:

  Only a few systems are suitable for planets containing outdoor life. Alioth, Gateway and Phekda are the only members where indigenous life can be found - in all other systems with outdoor worlds, terraformation was responsible. It is quite easy to see why the the Alliance has such a lot of manufacturing industry - most of the stars are type M red stars without suitable planets for terraformation. Lifeless systems mean that there is no environment to damage. The Alliance also has its fair share of flare stars, from the benign to the downright vicious. The most obnoxious flare star in populated space is Hoenin C.

  There is also a number of brown dwarf substellar objects in Alliance space. These objects are considered failed stars - planets that are not quite large enough to start burning steadily, but much more massive than most gas giants. The brown dwarves typically emit significantly more energy than they receive, and there is a nuclear reaction in progress at their cores.