Kuat was a standard terrestrial planet of clouds, water, and land. Unlike other planets in the galaxy, a single, large man-made ring circled its equator. The ring appeared to galactic citizenry as an immense scaffold in space, bridged and augmented with enormous habitats and machinery. Inside the scaffolding existed the skeletons of ships and other craft, with tiny bright dots drifting to and from the ships under construction with the habitats of the station. The orbital ring had a total inhabitable area of less than three hundred thousand square kilometers, thus making its livable space smaller than a typical planetary substation. Due to the planet's geopolitical significance, its defenses were formidable. Guarded by a significant ground-based garrison along with a large Imperial fleet, its defenses were considered nearly impenetrable, with a large percentage directed towards space combat.