Recharge stations can be found at the nadir and zenith jump points of many star systems. These stations deploy massive solar sails similar to those carried by JumpShips. The stations then store the energy collected with these sails in massive energy banks or Lithium Fusion battery cells. The recharge stations then use microwave transmission, direct-feed lines, or the simple modern expedient of transferring charged battery cells to recharge JumpShips at the jump points. Using the old fashioned way a recharge station can charge a JumpShip in 125 hours, approximately five days, cutting two days off the standard recharge time of a jump. The modern transference of battery cells that ComStar first showed to the Human Sphere allows a JumpShip to make a jump approximately one day after arrival if fully-charged batteries are available, greatly decreasing travel time.
         Most recharge stations perform secondary roles, often acting as cargo way stations or refueling points. Many also act as early-warning systems for the star system they inhabit, using sophisticated sensors to detect inbound hostile craft. Despite this use, attacking forces usually do not target recharge stations, primarily because the attacker can use them to recharge his own JumpShips as well. As a result, most recharge stations survived the Succession Wars. However, many have been the target of a covert operation to neutralize their sensors or communications equipment and negate their reconnaissance value.
         The White Mantle Class recharge station is the largest major class of station in service today. The first was unveiled in 3092, and in the years since these massive stations have become the core of "Jump Lines" linking many major capital worlds and the worlds within 150 light years from Terra. Each White Mantle is a sphere that weighs one point five million tons and measures two full kilometers in all dimensions. The station’s massive array of energy-collection lithium-fusion batteries can easily recharge any ship that comes through. Batteries are charged and then organized in pallets, one for each of the dozen or so major JumpShip designs in use, and a single shuttle can fly the batteries to their destination. Non-standard JumpShips can also order a recharge if they have the modifications to allow it, but ComStar charges a surcharge for such custom orders..
         The White Mantle can carry over 170,000 tons of cargo in its ten holds, and each hold has a docking hardpoint for DropShips. The White Mantle also boasts a three-section repair facility. Two smaller bays within the dome-shaped facility can accommodate anything up to a Merchant JumpShip, while the single larger bay can accommodate even a gigantic Monolith These large bays are generally in constant demand, and usually must be booked months in advance. The White Mantle's massive grav deck is one of the largest ever constructed in the Inner Sphere. Designed by Taurian Arcologists and built by their teams at each location, it measures more than two kilometers in diameter. All of the station’s crew and passenger quarters, enough to give entire ship crews single-occupancy boarding while their ships are under repair, are located on the massive deck.
         The White Mantles are one of the primary public faces of ComStar, especially to lifetime spacers, and so they are always in good repair. Clean, white halls, food courts, and even tourist information services welcome visiters, and malls encourage them to purchase local products approved by ComStar. Guests at the station can even rent one of the 500+ suites, much more spacious than those on any mobile ship, if there are openings at the time. Some major shipping companies actually have permanent contracts to keep between 1 and 5 rooms open and ready for their factors whenever needed, further boosting ComStar's income.
         Interestingly, the White Mantles never give charges to military craft, as ComStar wishes to maintain its neutrality in the modern age. No organized nation has attempted to force the issue, but in 3098 a squadron of raiders in the Amiga system attempted to do so. They fired a single warning shot off the "bow" of the station, even if they couldn't figure out where it was. The White Mantle responded by firing its weapons for the first time ever. Its two gauss slugs ripped through the War Frigate and broke its back in one shot. The other raiders panicked and opened fire, spraying the station with weapons fire. Their weapons barely scratched its armor before the station's return fire wiped them out of existence. ComStar publicized the event and every major nation claimed its innocence in the affair. Of course, even War Frigates do not grow on trees, suggesting that an organized hand had to be behind it. Still, ComStar seems content with the idea that their point has been made and no one else has attempted to force a recharge.