Colonia is the largest human settlement outside the Sol region, and also one of the most distant. With seventy systems supporting over nine million inhabitants, it has become prominent in exploration and technology, as well as providing a political alternative to the authoritarianism of the Sol region's superpowers.

The region is 22,000 ly from Sol and visually dominated by the Colonia Nebula, which is rich in vacuum life-forms, including the large umbrella molluscs. In the four years since its foundation, the systems of Colonia have seen many events and changes.

-- From The Traveller's Guide to Colonia, Third edition, published December 3306.

The story of Colonia starts with Jaques Station, a starport that was owned by the centuries-old cyborg after whom it was named. The station was fitted with engines, and roamed the galaxy for four decades, until it returned to inhabited space in 3301. A year later, Jaques announced his intention to execute a daring jump to the far side of the galaxy, to Beagle Point, and asked independent Commanders to help with stocking up fuel. Not everyone was looking to help, however: some were looking to sabotage the jump instead, by smuggling Thargoid Sensors aboard, which were known to severely disrupt human technology. Their last-minute attempt succeeded, and Jaques Station suffered a catastrophical misjump. The starport never arrived to Beagle Point, and nobody knew where it ended up again - or if it even survived the jump attempt.

Weeks later, several outposts picked up garbled messages, which indicated that Jaques Station survived the jump, but ended up heavily damaged and stranded at an unknown location. It was found not long after by CMDR Cly, in a system near the Eol Prou nebula. The station still held together, but just barely, and it needed urgent repairs. Independent pilots launched a massive relief effort, stretching over a distance that was far beyond any such drive done before. Thanks to them, the station was eventually repaired and restored to full operation. However, it was doubtful that it could survive another jump, so Jaques decided to abandon the journey to Beagle Point. The station would stay in its current orbit permanently. Universal Cartographics renamed the system to Colonia, and people began calling the nebula as the Colonia nebula as well.

Having a fully operational starport 22,000 ly away from Sol turned out to be quite a boon for colonisation efforts, and waves of settlers soon followed. The idea of a fresh start away from the superpowers of the old worlds proved to be alluring, and later on, people fleeing the Thargoid threat made their way to Colonia as well. In the years that followed, the region underwent waves of expansion, and eventually, internal conflicts as well.

Readers interested in the further history of the region should read the Story of Colonia by Ian Doncaster.

Today, Colonia is a largely peaceful region, far away from the old worlds and their conflicts. Commanders can find all manners of services here, as well as a number of Engineers who provide their unique services to pilots.

Outside of the inhabited systems, there are other sights to see around Colonia as well. The nebula is host to an array of spaceborne life, most notably the large Umbrella Molluscs, and the Holloway Science Institute constructed experimental habitats to study other non-native lifeforms in nearby systems. (Eol Prou PC-K c9-221, Eol Prou LW-L c8-99, Eol Prou KW-L c8-301, Eol Prou PC-K c9-154)

Image credit: Alpha Orbital, Canonn