The Five Colonies of the Zel'var System

Amateru

Yellow
Resource: Energy

The crystal mountains of Amateru is one of the most beautiful sights in the galaxy. Many people come here to meditate or seek refuge and most of them are welcomed with open arms. There is plenty of food and water for everyone. Both industry and spacecraft throughout the sector rely on the Amateru crystals for power, but the Amateru prefer trading for food and other goods instead of selling for gold. With little military power to speak of this has made them a prime target for several Bellonian aggressions, but since Amateru is also home to more than one retired pirate, somehow a fleet of rogue ships have always intervened and kept Amateru a peaceful paradise.

Bellona

Purple
Resource: Space Ships

Bellona is an inhospitable place and a large portion of the population actually lives in the orbiting space docks. The wasteland on the surface is full of toxic gasses and mostly acts as training grounds for the military academy with a few mining camps scattered across the surface of the planet as well. The population is often described as being even more inhospitable than the planet. Xenophobic to the extreme and often involved in skirmishes with other planets, even daring to attack Earth ships on occasion.

Having been banned from the council several times for aggresive rhetoric (and once for discharging a plasma rifle at the speaker) they are rarely involved in the councils decisions. The only reason they have not been ousted completely by the other planets is Bellona’s massive shipyards which provide the sector with all of their larger cargo ships and most of the firepower needed to fend off pirates. The other planets are still somewhat reluctant to trade with the Bellonians and even the merchants guild often require extra payment for their services.

Elysia

Green
Resource: biotech

Elysia is the sector’s most fertile planet. The massive fields of gengineered crops cover most of the planet and after Elysia’s ingenious scientists managed to perfect the meat-trees they have been able to supply 95% of the sector’s demand for food. With the increased number of colonists arriving Elysia has been forced to vastly upgrade their production in order to meet the demands.

Even though Elysia has a large population they have no military to speak of since the other colonies all try to maintain good trade relations with Elysia and no one wants to see others cut off their supply. On the downside this means that Elysia often have to pay mercenaries or the other colonies to protect their own trade convoys.

Euterpe

Red
Resource: Luxury Goods

Euterpe is the cultural and commercial hub of the sector and home to some of the greatest artists and craftsmen in the galaxy. The desert sands provide a great resource for glasswork and other luxury goods, and the warm weather and gentle climate makes it an ideal vacation spot for anyone wanting to relax, whether you enjoy strolling in the art museums of the crafting district or the exotic dancers at the clubs in the space port district. It is possible to trade almost anything on Euterpe’s many markets, and often at a fair price too, even though everything is strictly controlled by the merchant’s guild.

The inhabitants of Euterpe care little for interplanetary politics, preferring to let the merchant’s guild handle most problems as they see fit, often resulting in them holding less sway in the council or at least having to rely on huge bribes to push their will through when the find it important enough. Since most of the planet’s goods are handcrafted there is very little in the way of large industries on the planet, and it is sometimes hard for the more popular craftsmen to keep up with increasing demand.

Pallas

Blue
Resource: Information

Pallas is mostly covered by ocean and was originally settled by scientists studying the planets unique weather patterns. Some decades ago (it is unknown exactly when) the planet was taken over by Erebos, a pirate cartel responsible for many of the smuggling operations in the sector. Erebos quickly turned the planet’s sensors and supercomputers to other uses, and today it is almost impossible for anyone to move a hair without Erebos knowing about it. Of course if you want to know too, whether it be technological secrets or the private life of a government official, Erebos will gladly share...for a price.

With little room left in the submerged cities on Pallas, and with new arrivals making the place seem even more claustrophobic, many have turned back to their old pirate ways. So far, however, Erebos has managed to use its influence to keep plenty of supplies flowing to them while colonist-ships are diverted to more desirable destinations.