Federation Holdings

The Federation does not have as many developed worlds as the Coalition does, but it covers a much larger territory size. After the Secession War, the Federation was granted ownership of almost all of the Coalition's fringe worlds, which now make up the backbone of Federation space. Unlike the galaxies close to Sol, these star systems are more recent discoveries, and despite the Federation's lack of intense development it has still invested heavily into upgrading its colonies, industry, and core worlds. Much like the Coalition, the size of their territory makes policing it difficult, but the brutal methods of the Federation navy help deter piracy and smuggling because the sentence for being caught is much more severe.

Major Holdings

Lalande

Lalande was the first system in Federation space that was colonized by humanity, even before the capital system of Voltker. As such, it is home to the oldest colonies in Federation space and some of the most technologically advanced. Where Voltker is a breadbasket system geared towards feeding the empire, Lalande is a commercial system with a heavy focus on trade and exporting to the nearby White Belt administration which it borders. Quite a few million colonists call the station's main focal point, the Bazaar, their home, but the Federation has chosen to focus on upgrading existing colonies instead of expanding to other worlds in the star's orbit. Lalande is widely known for its Class B blue-white main-sequence star, making it highly visible from the night sky across most close Federation systems.

Isphi

As an earth-like water world, Isphi is the only planet in Lalande's habitable zone; its surface is comprised of 88% ocean, leaving precious little land for development. It has become a destination for the political elite of the Federation's empire, an exclusive resort world frequented only by the uber-rich. Sometimes, one may even brush shoulders with high-ranking army officials or even the Supreme Commander himself, as he is said to enjoy frequenting the serene, picturesque shores of Isphi's surface. As one of the few water worlds in the galaxy, Isphi is also home to a large contingent of Poliesu; in some cases, the Federation tries to encourage the Poliesu immigrants it gets to settle there, as their aquatic nature makes them perfect workers for underwater mines or maintenance duties. Some are even retained as servants, tour guides or masseuses by the resorts on Isphi's surface.

The Bazaar

A hastily constructed station that has been sloppily expanded over the years, the Bazaar is the largest station in [[Federation Holdings#Lalande|Lalande] and the main source of commerce and trade for the Federation. Many vessels from all over the galaxy dock with the Bazaar to sell, buy, trade, and peddle illegal goods without much interference from the Federation. Taxes are paid back to the government and it leaves an out for the Federation to acquire tech that may be restricted or outlawed on a galactic scale, so they do not interfere insofar as these trades do not threaten them. Greasing the palms of Federation officers is a good way to get access to the thriving criminal underworld on the Bazaar.

Khoph

Khoph is a gas giant almost twice the size of Jupiter. It is known for its collection of 132 moons or other satellites, including small comets or asteroids caught in its gravitational pull. Khoph is also surrounded by several rings made of rocks, small particulates, dust, and debris collected over the years and is known as a graveyard of ships. Many vessels from the Secession War that were disabled in the Lalande system were pulled into Khoph's orbit - it has such a strong pull that vessels without significant thrusting power are warned to give it a wide berth lest they get caught in its pull and not have the power to leave its orbit. Thus, salvaging these derelict ships is dangerous, and many an intrepid scavenger has gotten themselves caught amidst the graveyard of forgotten ships.

Modo'ir

The last planet in the Lalande system, Modo'ir is a gas dwarf that is only slightly larger than Venus. It is known for the vibrant orange, blue and purple stripes that make up its upper atmosphere and the constant raging storms that make the construction of any atmospheric station impossible. It has fourteen moons, with only one holding a research outpost designed to study Modo'ir's extreme storms. It has a very fast rotational speed, making a single Earth day last only two hours on Modo'ir. Beyond the single research outpost that monitors its weather patterns, the hostility of Modo'ir's atmosphere and the amount of pressure in its upper levels has prevented any kind of development.

The Matron's Arms

Near the edge of the Lalande system is a large planetary nebula that is mainly red-pink in color. This effeminate shade, coupled with the suggestion that its shape resembles a woman with her arms outstretched has lead to its unofficial name as the Matron's Arms, or the Lover's Cloud. Ships entering and leaving |Lalande must navigate around this obstacle, but it is a spot that tours from Isphi end their rounds on. Local superstition in the Federation says that visiting the Matron's Arms as newlyweds will lead to a long and successful relationship. As such, some travel agencies both inside and outside Federation space charge top premium for ferrying newlyweds to the Nebula so that they may have a romantic moment or take their most poignant wedding photo.

Zeta Leporis

Zeta Leporis is a large system centered around an O-type blue main-sequence star that is theorized to be 10 million years old. It is a massive star, more than 51 times the solar mass of Sol's sun. As such, most of its planets are spread out and its habitable zone is extremely far away from the star, between 68 and 100 AU. Zeta Leporis is a border holding that borders Visra space and is a moderately important military system for the Federation. It is home to the Federation Cadet School as well as several extremely industrial shipyards designed to help ameliorate the losses that the Federation suffered in the Secession War. It was here that the FFS-Fialetivvy was designed and constructed; the system carries a bad reputation as a result.

Turt

Turt is a planetoid that isn't large enough to be classified as a real planet. It is so incredibly close to Zeta Leporis' star that it is utterly inhabitable, even with the advanced technology available to humanity. Scientists believe its elliptical orbit has slowly been bringing it closer and closer to Zeta Leporis over centuries and sometime in the next few decades, it will be swallowed up by the sun with potentially unforeseen effects. Preliminary scans indicate that it is comprised of heavy metal ore and this weightiness to its mass has helped it avoid the strong pull of the star for as long as it has.

Utanesa

The second dwarf planet and the second closest to Zeta Leporis, Utanesa is equally as uninhabitable as Turt is. However, it is much farther away from Zeta Leporis than Turt is - almost four times the distance. Thus, it is in no immediate danger of being swallowed up by the star. Utanesa is known for its deep maroon coloration and the fact that it has a retrograde orbit, and thus orbits in the opposite direction of most other celestial bodies in the system. Utanesa is the namesake of a special type of liquor favored in Federation space; made from combining ripe red grapes with fermented nutripaste, this maroon-tinted drink's heavy alcohol content is said to leave one so sauced they cannot help but walk backward, much like Utanesa orbits backward.

Losad

Losad is a junk world. Centuries of scrap, shipwrecks, and rubble have been dumped on Losad's barren, desert surface, dating as far back as the 24th century when the system was first colonized by humanity. The poorest of the poor call Losad their home; it has no official spaceport and no 'official' population, though there are stories of nomadic scavenger tribes that live in the husks of ancient battleships and obsolete space shuttles, struggling to survive in the heat and harsh conditions. The Federation continues to offload scrap technology here - things so thoroughly antiquated, destroyed, or unsalvageable that they have nowhere else to go. As a result of the build-up of garbage and junk on its surface, Losad's air is poisonous to breathe without filtration, leading most scavengers to live below ground in its moist, damp caverns which are said to be home to giant metal-eating worms.

Preston Shipyards

A massive orbital facility that is tidally locked with Losad, the Preston Shipyards are the main supplier of carriers, cruisers, shuttles and battleships in Federation space. They obtain metal scrap from Losad's surface and melt it down into raw ingots to help cut production costs, even though it is technically illegal for them to do so. Owned by the massive megacorporation Preston Ships Inc, they make a tidy sum selling military vessels to the Federation as well as helping repair or upgrade older or damaged ships. Given that Preston Ships Inc takes plenty of government contracts from the Federation, they are a sanctioned entity as far as the Coalition is concerned. Still, the cheaper price tags of Preston ships attract civilian and private buyers from Coalition space, much to the chagrin of the Coalition government. Preston Ships Inc is the main manufacturer of sturdy industrial cargo ships, tankers, and asteroid-eaters.

The Nucleus

The Nucleus was once a highly classified research station whose importance was kept from the public. It was here that the Federation, in conjunction with local ship designer Preston Ships Inc and a crack team of scientists designed the FFS-Fialetivvy, the destructive super-weapon that brought an unfortunate end to the Secession War. Publicly listed as a monitoring station, its true purpose was military-grade research to help the rebellious Federation gain the upper hand against the Coalition. Heinous technology including bioweapons, dispersion bombs that targeted organic matter, and unshackled combat AI were in development during the War. After the War was over and the Federation was reprimanded on a galactic scale, they insisted that the Nucleus was shut down and all research shuttered. There exist plenty of conspiracy theories that the supposedly derelict station still remains in operation, however.

Setsum

Setsum is an ice giant near the fringes of the Zeta Leporis system. The Federation maintains several water treatment plants that are suspended in the upper levels of Setsum's atmosphere to harvest and purify water from its gases. This water is then used to supply the Federation navy and other local structures, but mainly the Federation navy. This keeps the water on Voltker Prime where it needs to be and prevents the draining of Isphi's oceans. This water is known for its metallic taste and low quality, but it is really all the Federation navy has at their disposal. Servicemen drink, shower, wash, and clean with this water - giving it the semi-affectionate name of Setsum Cosmic Lead, a ploy on the name of the popular water brand Saron Cosmic Water.

Scholz

Scholz was one of the most valuable systems in Coalition space until the War robbed them of it. Scholz' star is an M-type main sequence orange-red star around 61 million years old. It is a statistical anomaly; five planets are located in the habitable zone around Scholz, with four of them being recognized as Earth-like condition. This was prime territory for a massive galaxy-wide metropolis, but the War robbed the Coalition of the chance to take advantage of it. Now, Scholz is in Federation hands and they have speedily begun terraforming and colonizing these garden worlds, which is a source of significant consternation in the upper echelons of Coalition government. If there was ever a reason to subjugate the rogue colonies again, it would be Scholz.

Uhakyu

A hot, rocky planet with a complex ring system, Uhakyu is nonetheless a habitable world, though it lacks abundant amounts of surface water. It is a world of scorching rock and parching desert with high temperatures and cool nights. The Federation have already established a small colony on Uhakyu's surface, making important use of moisture vaporator technology to squeeze as much water from Uhakyu's atmosphere as they can. Preliminary scans indicate an abundance of ore and metals in the planet's crust and it is already a prime candidate for some mining corporations who are eager to make a profit. Uhakyu takes longer to rotate than it does to orbit Scholz, meaning that a year is technically shorter than a day on its surface.

Rann

Slightly farther from Scholz' star than Uhakyu, it is still close enough to be a balmy tropical world with moderate to high temperatures and a low percentage of surface water. It was the site of a tourist trap the Coalition had been planning for the system but development on the colony stagnated when the War began and the Federation is yet to resume investment in Rann's development. Thus, it is entirely unpopulated, though some captains take illegal trips to its surface to smuggle hostile native fauna off-world and sell them to the rich and famous. The most notorious of these creatures is the Rannian Jungle Snake - a massive, incredibly long reptilian similar to Earth snakes with seriously potent venom but supremely expensive hide.

Danaor

Danaor is the site for most of the development in the Scholz system. Its temperate, varied climates make it an incredibly convincing Earth-like planet and has fifty-eight percent surface water. Several colonies with millions of colonists have been founded on Danaor's surface, helping to supplement food production that has so far been mainly handled by Voltker Prime. Earthen pigs and cows have taken surprisingly well to Danaor's atmosphere, and the abundance of cattle has helped the price of meat drop in Federation systems. It is now more accessible to the middle class, and nutripaste has fallen out of favor as a result of real meat now being more affordable, though it is still difficult to transport long distances.

Ted'cun

A humid, stormy Earth-like planet with a sixty-two percent surface water, the surface of Ted'cun is regularly battered by intense storms and hurricanes. It is a prime fishing planet, despite this, and fish and prawn exported from Ted'cun are noted to have a particularly briny, ocean-y taste, lending themselves well to a more refined palate. Some very large and very dangerous carnivorous animals call Ted'cun's dark, swirling depths their home, though, and fishing vessels are known to be regularly attacked by towering creatures that have been equated to a mutated sea-horse shrimp thing. The majority of Ted'cun's fish product go to restaurants aimed at higher class citizens, and seafood from the planet is widely known to be of high quality.

Uvofor

Uvofor is within the habitable zone of Scholz, but it is unfortunately a gas giant, making surface living impossible. It has seen little interest from the Federation and private corporations have muscled in to get gas refineries set up within its atmosphere. Plenty of people who live on Danaor also commute to Uvofor for work, and a majority of natural gas in use by the Scholz system comes from Uvofor. It has an approximate population of ten thousand permanent resident workers, engineers and corporate bureaucrats, but the majority of the Uvforian refinery employees commute from elsewhere in the system. The job pays well.

Frontier and Transitory Systems

Owing to the large amount of territory under Federation control, some star systems exist on their map merely because their hyperlane routes are important to connect key systems. Others are frontier systems that have seen very little serious development and are home to only a few hundred thousand colonists. While these parts of space may contain the odd refueling platform, orbital hotel or recuperation center, they are systems one does not typically linger in and have seen little in the way of attention or investment from the Federation government. People move through these star systems because they have to, not because they want to. The secondary systems of the Federation consist of:

• SCR 1064-4967, frontier system. Recently discovered. The Federation has only just started constructing its first colony in the system.
• FS-145, frontier station. This installation is designed to monitor the Federation's border with the unknown regions.