Overview
Scorpia is known for its lush jungles and hot temperatures. These days the Colony is most commonly associated with the seedy casinos of Argentum Bay and the hard-partying city of Itauna — both of which have made Scorpia the premier vacation destination for uni students on Vernal Break. Its paragliding is legendary as well.
After the Unification, Scorpia became the new home of the Fleet Shipyards. Its capital is Celeste.
Geography
Scorpia's land mass is divided across six large continents.
Argentum Bay
Argentum Bay was a back-water fishing village on the gulf coast of Scorpia's southeastern-most continent, Meroe, before Colonial Unification. After the Cylon War, however, it was one of many spots where off-world investors saw "potential." Cubits poured in to build first a sailing resort, then low-bet casinos, bars and strip clubs, and in just a decade the sleepy little place was reinvented as a tourist trap. Albeit not exactly a classy one. It's never been more than a low-cost alternative to Caprica or Leonis for college kids on Vernal Break, or a bachelor party spot to misspend a few cubits for some dirty thrills. Still, the beaches remain some of the most beautiful in the colonies, especially the few remaining parts that aren't covered with drunken co-eds and cheap beer bottles.
Few tourists venture off the main beach-side drag, as there’s not much else anyone would want to see in the somewhat depressed townie area. The permanent population hovers under a million, though it can balloon to double that in the spring, during particularly busy sailing seasons when boats "camp" in bay. The economy is dependent on tourism, the fishing industry now almost gone, and jobs tend toward lower-paying hospitality work. Crime is high, mainly DUIs, drugs and other vice raps. The police are mainly concerned with making sure the "fun" doesn’t get out of hand and scare off the paying customers, and have a reputation for looking the other way if a few cubits change hands.
Argentum's main source of pride, outside the beach strip, is its Pyramid team. Despite being smaller than most other competitive markets, the Silverstars are frequent play-off contenders, and are one of the few area attractions that are popular with locals as well as the tourists.
PC Contact: Phin and/or Bear
Celeste
Scorpia's capital and one of the largest cities on the planet (population hitting about 7.2 million if you include its suburbs). It's an inland urban area in the northwestern continent's temperate zone, a few hours drive from the Guardian Mountains - a popular paragliding destination. The high elevation gives it a cooler climate than many other areas on the planet, and outside paragliding enthusiasts it's not nearly the tourist draw that Scorpia's more tropical areas are. Its economy is heavily based in manufacturing - its factories big suppliers of parts for the Fleet Shipyards before the attacks. Between the factories, the trade they bring, and the infrastructure around the government, the economy is decent, with a broad working- and middle-class. Though, of course, it still has its slummy areas. It's home to Scorpia's largest university and numerous trade and boarding schools. It supports two Pyramid teams (the Storms and the Lightning) who're fiercely competitive with each other, though they only infrequently make a post-season showing in the larger league worth talking about. The Marine branch of the Colonial Fleet Academy is located in the hills just outside Celeste, and it's a popular place to retire for many old officers.
PC Contact: Phin wrote the thing, probably open to expansion.
Yparana
Yparana is an island continent bisected by Scorpia’s equator and surrounded on all sides by ocean. It is 5 million square kilometers in area, more than eighty-seven percent of which is wet tropical rainforest. The River Uru flows northwest-southeast across the island. From its source in the Pindaba Mountains to its mouth in the Arasy Gulf, the Uru spans more than seven thousand kilometers, making it the longest river in the Colonies. The capital of Yparana is Itauna City.
Once dominated by the indigenous Apyaba people, Yparana was colonized by the state of Hesperia some four centuries ago and renamed the Island of Hamameliades. By 1896 AE, however, it was essentially self-governing, as Hesperia had suffered a number of debilitating military defeats. But not until the Cylon War concluded did Yparana win formal statehood. Unfortunately, independence was a double-edged sword: the collapse of its sugarcane industry in 1913 AE left Yparana the poorest of Scorpia’s several states by a wide margin, a dubious distinction the island still holds. Today, revenues from tourism and associated service industries account for over ninety percent of its GDP, and the majority of its citizens still live below the poverty line.
But these political problems detract not one whit from its attractiveness as a tourist destination. White-sand beaches, primeval ruins, pristine jungles, and breathless cities bursting at the seams: the continent has it all. Small wonder, then, that Yparanans consider their island to be the beating heart of Scorpia, wild and untamed.
More details on Yparana may be found here.
PC Contact: North