Location from The Expanse by James S.A. Corey
The largest station in the Belt, spun up for gravity centuries ago. Home to millions of Belters living in tunnels carved through the dwarf planet. OPA stronghold, Star Helix policing, and the place where Miller worked his last honest case.
Ceres is the Belt's unofficial capital — the largest single concentration of Belters in the system and the emotional heart of the OPA movement. Millions of people live in tunnels bored through rock, stacked on top of each other in a gravity gradient that makes the rich live on the outside and the poor live near the core where spin-gravity fades to almost nothing. Star Helix Security keeps order on contract, which means they keep order for whoever is paying. Miller walked these corridors as a detective, knowing every bar and back-alley, understanding the station's ecosystem of petty crime and quiet desperation. It was here he caught the Julie Mao case that destroyed his old life. Ceres runs on water — imported from Saturn's rings by ships like the Canterbury. When the water stops flowing, people die. This fundamental vulnerability makes Ceres a political hostage in every conflict between Earth, Mars, and the Belt. The station has changed hands multiple times, each new authority discovering that controlling Ceres means feeding Ceres, and feeding Ceres is expensive.
From outside, Ceres is a cratered dwarf planet spinning faster than nature intended — centrifugal force providing a fragile imitation of gravity that gets weaker the deeper you go toward the core. Inside, it is a vertical city carved from rock. Tunnels and corridors spiral inward, lined with bars, flophouses, air recyclers, and the accumulated grime of generations. Grow-lights flicker in hydroponic bays. The air is thick, recycled too many times, tasting of rock dust and humanity. Water is rationed. Gravity is a luxury that varies by level.
Also known as: Ceres, Ceres Station