Colludia System

The Colludia System is a Federation star system located within the Beta Quadrant and centred around an orange dwarf star. It consists of five primary planets and a dense inner asteroid belt notable for its unusual mineral composition. The system is home to human settlers, most of them residing on Colludia II. Political and cultural authority within the system rests with the Colludean Assembly, headquartered in Colludea, Colludia II’s capital city.

System Composition

Colludia is a K2-type star, making it smaller, less massive, and significantly dimmer than Sol. Its cooler surface temperature produces a characteristic orange hue with the warmer cast of a late afternoon on Earth.

Colludia I

A small, tidally locked, rocky world with an inconsequential atmosphere. Its day-facing hemisphere is marked by extensive lava plains and remains entirely inaccessible for visitors, while the night-side is permanently frozen and merely hostile.

Unsurprisingly, expeditions are exceedingly rare, often planned years in advance, and almost exclusively focused on exploring the night-side’s subterranean cave system, or investigating the medical properties of a species of fungi native to the boundary zone between the two hemispheres.

Colludia II

Colludia II from orbit.

A temperate ocean world that serves as the system’s political and cultural centre. With 87% of the planet’s surface covered in vast oceans, the landmass is concentrated in a single large continent in the northern hemisphere, with scattered island chains and isolated volcanic formations found in the south.

Because Colludia II’s closest moon is larger in size than Earth’s, the coastlines are characterised by strong tidal ranges and dramatic beach cycles.

Initially, the planet was home to wealthy human settlers unwilling to engage with alien lifeforms, anxious to preserve human religion and tradition. However, in the past decades, Colludia has embraced cultural and xenological diversity and integrated Federation ideals seamlessly into its society.

Colludean society is organised around a system of communities distributed across the mainland. Each community maintains local governance and a distinct identity. Visitors will find some of them focused on temples and religious practises, others strive for scientific advancement. While the Colludian Assembly coordinates infrastructure, liaison with Starfleet, and Federation relations, civic life is experienced at the community level.  

Colludea

Colludia’s capital city grew from a natural harbour sheltered by the curved headland. It was here that the first permanent settlement took hold and remained politically significant long enough to become the capital.

Separate from Federation popular culture in the formative period of the settlement, Colludea’s artistic and musical traditions are recognisably human in their roots, resembling Naples’ Centro Storico on Earth. Recent architecture, however, has since admitted other influences,  incorporating sculpted elements, intriguing geometries and material combinations that respond to the quality of Colludia’s orange-shifted sunlight.

Music in particular occupies several public houses, and outdoor performance is common enough that temporary staging infrastructure is considered standard. The overall vibe is intimate and unhurried, with an undercurrent of creativity and deliberateness.

Colludia III (The Crystal World)

Colludia III is best known for its crystal forest and the consistent, low-level electromagnetic field generated by the mineral deposits underground.

Species with the neurological infrastructure for empathic or psionic sensitivity find that the field lowers the threshold. While gaining access to people’s inner monologue exists only in stories (so far), these visitors report feeling like they’re part of something larger than themselves.

Tourists without empathic or psionic inclination admire the crystalline structures and the opportunity to observe a sky unobstructed by light pollution.

Asteroid Belt - The Scatter

The Scatter asteroid belt.

The system’s primary asteroid belt is located between Colludia III and IV, and colloquially known as the Scatter. It’s unusually dense and notable for a high concentration of ferrosilicate bodies that interfere with standard sensors at close range. While ships trade and transport vessels usually avoid the denser parts of the Scatter, the challenging nature of traversing it has given rise to a flourishing culture of sports and speculation.

Scatter-racing is a recognised competitive discipline involving small crafts navigating the debris field and supported by various smaller asteroid bases located on the outskirts.

Colludia IV

The jungles of Colludia IV.

Tropical in climate and dense with life, Colludia IV is a designated wildlife protection zone under the authority of the Colludian Assembly. It’s characterised by warm temperature and heavy rainfall, dense forests, clear lagoons and coral-equivalent reef systems in shallow water between its islands.

Native to the planet is an ecosystem based around large, reptilian-like species that dominate land, skies and oceans, with the exception of a domed research station.  

Visitors are permitted access under strict regulations, and transporter use is prohibited outside of medical emergencies.

Colludia V -  The outer world

The Northern Lights of Colludia V.

The outermost planet is a cold, low-density world at the edge of the system’s habitable range. Tundras and boreal terrains dominate the landscape, and the poles are permanently frozen and mostly inaccessible. Its oceans are notably rougher, and transport occurs almost exclusively via shuttle.

Local communities are small and isolated, but willing to accommodate tourists in low-tech huts and cottages. While locals keep interaction with visitors mostly transactional, Colludia V’s allure provides a steady supply of tourists: people come either for solitude or for the aurora oval, which appears mostly at night and is best visible from the tundra islands.

In Play

• While the Colludia System features in Shore Leave 2403, it can be visited at any time.
• Rules set by the Colludean Assembly are not writing restrictions, but IC consequences when breaking them should be considered.
• Despite the main population being human and their initial history of wanting to preserve human traditions, most Colludeans are exceedingly friendly towards visitors and have long admitted other influences into their culture.
• It’s a big system with deliberate space for member canon - you can invent islands, moons, cities, communities, part of the Scatter, or even research outposts.