Onia

Onia is the fifth largest planet in its system and is a relatively young colony.

General Information

System: Miranmir System

Moon(s): Dione

Development level: Low

Population (Planetside): 800,000 (approx.)

Onia is located in the Miranmir system, near the edge of White Belt space. As far as border worlds go, it is one of the largest in terms of population. However, its remote location makes traveling difficult. Known as one of the very few garden worlds in the demilitarized zone, the Coalition aggressively colonized the planet, deploying their terraforming technology to make the growing of Earth crops possible. In doing so, however, the natural ecosystem was irrevocably damaged. Alien forests were gradually eclipsed by trees planted by colonists, and now precious little remains of Onia's native flora and fauna.

Its first major colonization effort was a result of the Galactic Coalition's ambitious expansion policies. Survey teams noted a high quantity of not only heavy metals in Onia's crust, but an abundant presence of W-1, the most valuable resource a planet could realistically have. Colonists seeking to profit off of these rare resources quickly flocked to Onia, leading to the founding of Dusklight Colony in 2768. At that time, Onia was a major investment for the Galactic Coalition but when the Succession War began they were forced to abandon their plans for expansion to focus on the war effort.

As the Coalition fractured, Onia was left perilously close to Federation space. Its distance from the core worlds inhibited the Coalition's ability to maneuver fleets or help defend the local garrison. Since Onia was home to vast store of W-1, the Federation's interest in the planet was high. Numerous bombing raids were carried out on the colonists, leaving homesteads and infrastructure damaged. When the Federation deployed their super-weapon, however, its catastrophic misfiring made traversing the Onia hyperlane near impossible, leaving the only way to reach the planet a roundabout route that more than tripled travel time. It is because of these wartime transgressions that a good majority of the local populace harbors anti-Federation sentiments.

Ultimately, the Coalition and the Federation were forced to negotiate a fragile peace, leaving Onia in the demilitarized zone. Now deprived of the funding that the Coalition provided them, repairing the damage from the war seemed an insurmountable task. Luckily, the White Belt Administration saw the value in the colony. When they became the defacto government for the White Belt, a few lucrative grants were given to Dusklight to repair and resume mining operations. The subspace ruptures caused by the Federation's failed super-weapon continuously inhibited travel to the planet, though, and while Onia was useful for a short while once it had managed to rebuild, another catastrophe came in the form of a destructive earthquake.

Now, the colony is barely profitable as it struggles to recover and it has lost the favor of the White Belt Administration. While they acknowledge the abundance of W-1 as a valuable asset, Onia's remote location and distance from any other civilized world has prompted the Board to focus on other investments. Automated supply ships still make runs to Dusklight's landing pad, but one would be naive to assume they are supplied with anything but the third-rate leftovers of other, more successful worlds...

Dusklight Colony

A vast majority of Onia's surface remains undeveloped. The largest and most populous colony is Dusklight Colony, located in one of Onia's temperate forest regions. It is the oldest colony on the planet's surface, founded by the initial survey team and colonists that discovered the planet. While small, its population density is quite high. Beyond the towering defense walls built around the city, however, are a number of smaller settlements and homesteads where farmers toil away and dig teams work to try and make some small profit. These homesteads and settlements are heavily dependent on Dusklight for power, utilities such as water and telephone, and the Dusklight Sheriff's Department to protect them from hostile fauna and raiders.

There exist other colonies on Onia's surface, but Dusklight is the only actual port off world, and as such has a monopoly on most extra-planetary traffic and trade. The colony is divided into three districts: The administrative district is home to the Dusklight Sheriff's Department, a subdivision of the OSIRIS Network and Dusklight Hospital, which is owned by the local franchise of Valor Medical. In this business district one can browse a multitude of shops peddling local and alien goods, grab a bite to eat, visit the Star Securities bank or spend some time at the Golden Rabbit, Dusklight's resident gentleman's club. Lastly, the residential district contains towering apartment buildings where colonists are crammed together in inexpensive small rooms.

At one time, construction was underway to expand Dusklight Colony into the surrounding area but after the earthquake and as a result of a lack of funding from the White Belt Administration, the colony had no choice but to abandon the project. An opportunist motorcycle club known as the Lucky Sevens has taken up residence in the few finished structures. Outside of the walls of the colony, colonists are typically armed and travel in groups to avoid entanglements with the Sevens or any other groups that reside in the wilderness. There are whispers of a sect of the Reventlov Temple having wormed their way in somewhere on Onia, and an environmental group known as the Fireflies may have a local chapter hidden away as well, both acting as thorns in the Administration's side despite self-professed noble goals.

Politics

Though it is one of the planets with the largest population in the outer rim, it is not populous enough to justify having a capital or local government. Instead, Onia is indirectly governed by the Outer Rim Authority, a part of the White Belt Administration that oversees all of its rimworld colonies. The entire outer rim is a single voting bloc as far as elections go, and as such its citizens can vote for a single pair of representatives to represent them all in Administration affairs. Obviously, these two individuals typically lack the voting power on their own to change much of anything for the outer rim, save for candidates that may sit on the Outer Rim Authority. Even then, these chosen candidates must be approved by the Administration to receive their post.

Laws are enforced by local sheriff departments on Onia. The largest of them is the Dusklight Sheriff's Department; each Sheriff is one of the candidates that may be nominated by the two Outer Rim representatives. Typically, though, the Outer Rim Authority tries not to interfere with local law enforcement. They are tasked with overseeing a large amount of worlds and are too busy to personally handle many things. If a Sheriff misbehaves or if word of corruption reaches them, however, they are usually forced to act and investigate, or, if necessary, appoint a new Sheriff.

As a colony of the White Belt Administration, Onia technically is able to freely trade with any other galactic entity or accept immigrants from other worlds. Usually, though, the Outer Rim Authority handles such transactions and Onia is forced to accept their migrants or trade deals, sometimes having to work in very small time frames to meet demands. The Administration regularly convinces aliens or citizens to travel to these outer rim planets, promising wealth and prosperity. These individuals sign contracts that necessitate them living on and working on their destination planet for a number of years, while providing them a Universal Basic Income. While attractive at first, colonists usually find that life in the outer rim is not as glamorous as they were lead to believe and end up stuck on these worlds until their contract runs out...

Climate, Flora, Fauna

Onia is an Earth-like planet, and has a varied climate as a result. One of the defining features of life on Onia is the long period between sunset and nightfall, thanks to the binary star system that it is located in. This long period of dusk light is the namesake for Dusklight Colony. Daylight hours are shorter than Earth's, and as a result a vast majority of Onia's surface consists of temperate forests. Human terraforming has impacted the climate as well, though not by much. Approximately fifty percent of Onia's surface consists of saltwater oceans, with the remaining landmasses heavily forested. Nearer to the equator, hotter jungles can be found but the slow replacement of alien fauna with invasive human species has drastically impacted the local ecosystem.

Like Earth, Onia experiences the four separate seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Owing to the abundance of water, rain is common on Onia, making it a great farming planet. Its oxygen rich environment encourages insect growth, and these alien insectoids are one of the last remaining vestiges of native fauna. They are a nuisance to local operations, and some are innately hostile to colonists.

Fauna

Razorwasps

Razorwasps are large, brightly colored insectoids that can have wingspans up to 75 cm (29.5 in). They are a predatory species whose diet typically consists of other native insects, but have been known to snatch colonist's pets when extremely hungry. Their large mandibles are capable of easily chewing through the thick bark of Onia's alien trees; they gather these fibers from dead vegetation to construct their massive nests, mixing their saliva with this pulp to create sturdy, waterproof structures. Razorwasps are dangerous to colonists when provoked, and are so named for the many barbs located on their stingers. While their venom is not particularly potent, the deep lacerations caused by their shredding stingers can prove to be fatal when encountered in groups.

Corpseflies

Corpseflies are a mutation of one of Onia's native species brought on by the Coalition's terraforming operations. They are bloated, grotesque flying insects that seek out dead animals (or colonists) to lay their larvae in. Corpsefly maggots live in these decaying bodies and feed on the rotting flesh until they are large enough to survive on their own and begin constructing their pupa. It is not uncommon for bodies to be hollowed out by the aggressive appetite of corpseflies only to burst like a wet balloon when they emerge from their pupae as a fully grown fly. Corpseflies can have a wingspan of up to 50 cm (19.7 in) and have been known to attack colonists by spitting acidic globules at passerby.

Spinnerets

Ten-legged, twelve-eyed arthropods can typically be found in dense forests or dark caves. Spinnerets might be mistaken for spiders in appearance, but their anatomy is distinct. Spinnerets have incredibly complex eyes that can see in up to sixteen colors, far surpassing the capabilities of other creatures native to Onia. They are sedentary entities, using their armored pedipalps to dig into the terrain and construct deep burrows from which they hunt and live in. Spinnerets are so named for the web-like structure that they spread over the terrain outside of their burrow. When these silky tendrils are disturbed, the spinneret attacks with blinding speed, kidnapping its prey and pulling them down into the darkness to consume. However, unlike the typical Earth spider, these webs are intensely corrosive. They are a rarity close to civilization, but in the uncharted wilderness these lion-sized arthropods are incredibly dangerous.

Treemen

While the name might lead one to believe these creatures are some kind of cryptid, they are in actuality massive stickbugs that effectively imitate dead trees. This natural camouflage helps them avoid predators in the environment but also tends to render them invisible to colonists. There are many local tales of an unlucky miner deciding to relieve himself on the bark of a tree, only to find out that it is not, in fact, a tree. These creatures normally possess no real danger, as they are not predatory, but their massive size and weight can cause plenty of damage to manmade structures as they hastily attempt to make their exit when discovered. They are an especially dangerous roadblock to colonial logging operations as they become agitated when struck with an axe.

Slatters

Resembling large, beefy pill bugs, Slatters are so named because the segmented portions of their armored body bear an uncanny resemblance to the standard galactic slat. Slatters are detritivores and their diet mainly consists of decaying plant matter such as leaves, and to a lesser extent, wood pulp. When threatened, however, they can curl their bodies into large, boulder-sized balls through a process known as conglobation. Their carapace is typically coated in a noxious, toxic liquid that is poisonous to most other creatures. This, coupled with their thick armor plates and the damage they can inflict merely by rolling into things makes them not worth the effort as far as most predators are concerned; only the larger Spinneret is unaffected by the Slatters' toxic defenses.

Flora

Dirtberries

Dirtberries are so named due to the earthen-brown color of their fruit. Dirtberries are sweet, starchy legumes grown underground in thick pods, not dissimilar from peanuts. Unlike peanuts, however, the number of nifs in a pod are typically 8 or more. They have a rich, savory and fatty flavor and are used in a number of baking recipes as an alternative to a number of Earth-grown legumes. They are an extremely hardy plant and can be grown in an variety of soil conditions, though they do require constant watering, much more so than other native flora.

Cage Mushroom

Cage mushrooms are aptly named thanks to their cage-like structure. They are a notoriously odorous fungi, with a stench not unlike decaying flesh. It is not unusual to smell a Cage mushroom before you see it. While their noxious aroma is an excellent repellent for mammalians, flies and other insects are attracted to the smell. The inside of the fungus is lined with a thick, slimy mucus that can trap insects inside of the mushroom, where they eventually expire and the fungus feeds on their desiccated corpse. Corpseflies are an easy prey for the bright orange cage mushroom, and their rancid stench keeps away any meddling animals.

Dragoneyes

Characterized by the bioluminescent purple fruit this thick, fibrous stalk-like plant produces, the fruit of the Dragoneyes plant has been likened to a cross between a plum and a peach; it features sweet, tasty flesh and a brightly colored pit. Dragoneyes are a moody plant and only grow in specific temperatures and environments, usually more easily found in Onia's temperate forests. The plant begins as a brown-colored stalk that eventually grows to the same height as a human, its surface pockmarked by multiple recesses. It is in these recesses that the plant's fruit gestates, and when ripe they are shot out from an ejection of gas that builds up within the stalk. Harvesting Dragoneyes plants is famously dangerous thanks to the extreme muzzle velocity of its ejected fruit, with records as high as 300 meters per second. Equally, mishandling of or accidentally puncturing the plant can result in explosive decompression thanks to the volatility of the gas contained within.

Weeping Blackcaps

These black-capped mushrooms are commonly found in caves or in areas shadowed from Onia's binary suns. Weeping Blackcaps are not dangerous on their own, but they continuously secrete a hallucinogenic liquid that gives the impression that they are 'crying', hence their name. This blue fluid is a psychoactive drug; when ingested or absorbed through the skin it causes hallucinations and acts as a mental depressant. They are highly prized by certain colonists, however, as fermented Blackcap secretions are a potent bootleg liquor. It is not unusual to find homesteads or small bars serving this mushroom juice, colloquially known as the Tears of Dionysus.

Birdsnatchers

At first glance, this predatory plant might be mistaken for an Earthen palm tree. This is half true - when the Coalition first terraformed Onia, one of the many species they attempted to see on the planet was, in fact, the Earthen palm tree. It had great difficulty adapting to the alien world, though, and eventually it cross-bred and mutated with a native species to create the fearsome Birdsnatcher. Curling, bioluminescent tentacles dangle from the tree's structure; as birds come near to land and rest, these tendrils snatch them up and slowly curl inwards until their prey are nestled close to the trunk of the tree. It then secrets an acidic fluid that dissolves the creature into a nutritious soup the plant can consume. There are tall tales of Birdsnatchers that have grown large enough to grab colonists, or in extreme cases, shuttles and small ships.