Colonial Coalition
The Colonial Coalition is a group of seven Federation colonies that line one of the most distant borders of the Federation in the Shoals. The closest trading hub to these colonies is in fact not a Federation member but the allied world Esperance, which is home to the major spaceport Star Station Esperance.
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| The Shoals |
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History
The Coalition was founded at some point in the mid-2200s with the settling of the first three major colonies within what is known to residents (and now strangers also) as "the Shoals", an area of space tucked nearby the Tholian Assembly in which tetryon fields make travel within the region troublesome past warp four. Because of the threat of piracy and other navigational hazards that had plagued the colonies, a historic route least affected by the tetryon fields was mapped out in 2303 to connect the worlds of the Coalition with each other and to the rest of the Federation.
During the height of the Dominion War, the Starfleet vessel USS Denali managed to lure a Dominion Battleship into the Shoals - a tactical error on the Vorta's part remembered favourably by locals.[1] This would be the most the Shoals ever saw of the Dominion War, however - though the effects of the overall conflict would prove beneficial to the Coalition, of which is home to many deposits of rare benamite crystals that fuel quantum slipstream drives.[2]
In 2391, the Federation News Service published an editorial by the Colonial Coalition urging the Federation Council to curtail foreign aid and focus more resources on Federation member worlds and its colonies, which were suffering from natural calamities and plagues, continued piracy and raids, and renewed Klingon aggression.[3] The outer colonies in particular were growing disgruntled at the lack of supply runs due to refusal of service by the Federation Transport Union and had begun relying on non-Federation sources for trade.
Organisation
The Coalition is led by an official leadership board known as the Coalition Council. Headed by the Council President, the Council is a twelve-member board that make up the daily workings of the Coalition. The President is aided by the ministers, which are divided into several fields including: Trade, Healthcare, Education, Foreign Affairs, and Defence. The Council is chosen from the main assembly of the Coalition, the Coalition Assembly. This is a body of 50 people that are chosen each 4 years through an Universal Suffrage election. The Council President is chosen as well during an election, however it is a Two-Round System and the President is choosen only after the second round. Both elections employ a Proportional Representation system. The Assembly votes on the laws passed by the Council and by any legislation put forward by their own. The Federation has a special Coalition Envoy installed in the Council to coordinate their laws with that of the Federation.
The Council and the Assembly meet in the Council Palace on Antor II, although that planet's recent natural disaster has forced the legislature to relocate to the smaller Palace of Law on Ketar V. The Coalition has several different agencies installed to aid their organisation, including the Coalition Marshals Service, the local law enforcement agency. The Boards of Communications & Navigation is in charge of mapping the continuing changing tetryon in the Shoals, as well as maintenance on the Mother Road, alongside Starfleet. The Office of Trade governs the daily supply needs for the colonies in the Coalition, and has several fleets of Supply runner vessels to distribute vital supplies across the Shoals.
Members
Listed in order of founding
- Ketar V, oldest colony
- Meridian, largest colony
- Antor II, capital
- Donova IV
- Shadow's Edge, smallest colony
- Havley's Hope
- Karakka, most remote colony
References
- ↑ "Providence or Deception", Jilor, USS Veritas, SD 239501.10
- ↑ "The Good Work", Capt R.Rahman, USS Veritas, SD 239508.16
- ↑ "President Nan Bacco assures colonists relief aid as Transport Union strike continues," Federation News Service, SD 239201.16