The Colonies

It was long ago, before the first colonies, before the dawn of civilisation, before we, the dead, died, that the form of humanity's colonies was set.

There have been changes, modifications, unions and collapses, yet the basis remains.

The centre is the star, origin of nearly all energy and around which all colonists orbit.

Closest to the star reside the Venergy.

Once they were simply a company, Venus Energy, the largest owner of solar satellite platforms around our first star.

They held all of Venus and loaned technology to many more.

They were the primary backers for the first colony fleets.

Now they are a community, a culture, a people.

It is they who feed power to any colony.

Should the system have a habitable planet, humans will live here, generating a new ecosystem with selected plants and animals.

These are most often called the Habito, and at the majority population in any system.

They can feed the rest of the system, but also gather energy and materials.

The planet is circled by rings of the planet-station, wound to the world by the spires- grand tall structures like mighty tree trunks, moving power, materials, food, air, and people, between system and planet.

Beyond the station orbit platforms- large rotating cylinders much like the original colony fleet. 

One maybe the original. 

Some may be new colony fleets being built.

All beyond the Habito zone belongs to the Coald. 

They were once a great family, mining the asteroids and planets beyond the majesty of Mars, keeping away from the jurisdiction of the Saturn Fraternity.

They left with the colony fleets in the hope of forging a mining empire to compete with those that challenged them at home.

They are still a family, of sorts.

They mine the debris of the system, gathering any resources humans can use.

To this end they maintain a variety of technology, most notably the Golems.

Being so far from the star and Habito, they are also the only people allowed to build and use the ancient technology of fusion reactors- dangerous, yet necessary.

They are also the first line of defence against anyone who might wish to raid or make war upon the system.

Today, beyond the system are also the Enlightenment.

The all 10 original colonies, along with the 2 that were replaced, signed the agreement.

Having, long ago, made war upon Earth, they have taken it upon themselves to act as messengers and teachers, travelling between the colonies.

Their Scholar-Fleets travel from a College of an Enlightened Colony, out towards the edge of the Ken, visiting any system that signals them.

Thus humanity can stay connected, technology and research shared, the development of colonies monitored and encourage all to work towards building new colony-fleets.

The Enlightened are not always "just", not always "fair", but they have always kept we, the dead, from dying, and enabled humanity to spread.

Nothing can stop humanity.

The Galaxy is Ours.