Sagittaron

Introduction
Sagittaron, officially the Union of Free Sagittaron, is one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and is abundant in natural resources, in addition to being the primary exporter of nitrassium through its capital of Tawa. Settled by worshippers of Zeus, the colony is viewed by some as a slave labour camp for the Colonies, which has brewed a violence.

History
Sagittaron was founded by the followers of Zeus from the Sagitara Galleon around 166 CE.

Having endured centuries of hate and resentment from the other Colonies, Sagittaron was brutally fought over for centuries. The other colonies often viewed Sagittaron's as uncultured, unwashed heathens and exploited them, even when the native Sagittaron were nothing of the sort.

Colony Wars
Prior to the Colony Wars, Sagittaron was a great provider to its fellow colonies, with its citizens and workers taking pride in their accomplishments. A change occurs when politicians and lawmakers turn the colony's output from necessity into profiteering. Under this, agricultural workers and labourers became slaves, as Sagittaron is turned into a work camp where 'once those duties were supervised by armed guards doling out punishment for underachievement, the morale of Sagittaron's labouring citizens faded and then vanished completely'. These changes do not occur overnight, as they take many generations of slow and steady erosion.

Many Colonies took advantage of this corruption, sapping the planet for most of its production. On many occasions, they simply stole what they could not take.

Picon Invasion
At one time or another, half the other Colonies claimed territory on Sagittaron, largest among them was Caprica. Naturally, this didn't instill much good will in the Sagittaron and most turned to pirating to feed their families. Formed on its western continent who, unregulated by corrupt Sagittaron authorities, raided lucrative trade routes that ran nearby from Caprica to Picon. This threat, and the governments inability to stop it, enraged several other Colonies and Picon reacted firmly by invading and occupying Sagittaron in order to rid the planet of its corrupt government and criminal network.

This heavy-handed approach by the Pisceans created hate and resentment from the indigenous populace. Insurrectionists continued to terrorize the puppet government of Sagittaron instilled by the Pisceans, eventually leading Picon pulled its forces off the Colony when it became too closely to continue the occupation outweighed the material gains.

Industrial Revival
Recovering quickly, Sagittaron rivalled Caprica as the most powerful world in the Cyrannus Sector in a matter of decades, regularly the two Colonies fought in numerous skirmishes. Where Caprica was known for its political prowess and immensely rich world, Sagittaron was an industrial and military juggernaut, able to out produce goods faster than any other Colony could muster.

Cylon Reliance
With the invention of the first Cylons, their people had been eager to jump at the chance to improve their industrial power and overnight Sagittaron's markets sky-rocketed.

But when the Centurions rebelled, Sagittaron was sitting on a powder keg. Censuses before the conflict reported out of all the Colonies, Sagittaron averaged four Cylons for every one human, meaning that when the keg blew, Sagittaron was decimated. Thousands perished when the Colony's automated military turned on them and attacked, reducing the once powerful world to nothing in a night.

Colonial Unification
While the newly unified military of the Colonials drove the Cylons back, Sagittaron was doomed.

Corrupt politicians and business leaders again returned and rebuilt Sagittaron's infrastructure, not to provide for necessity but for profit. Nearly all her goods were seized or 're-purposed' for government usage and then sold to other Colonies, reducing the Sagittaron people to poverty and glorified labour camps for the second time in their history.

During the successive generation, the government of Sagittaron began finding ways to address the situation of Sagittaron status as a work camp, however they did not wish to accept responsibility for the current condition of the colony.

Unification brings some changes to Sagittaron, namely discontent and labour strikes which affect the colony's output, in addition to various pirate attacks. All of these factors bring an increased military presence to Sagittaron, including Colonial Marines and curfews.

Society and Culture
Sagittaron's culture is based around its work force, which occurs due to the natural erosion of other vocations during its pre-Cylon War conversion into a forced labor camp. Due to this, the Sagittaron Labor Ministry became increasingly powerful and was able to control the lives of Sagittaron workers, even in spite of the introduction of workforce reforms - which only the wealthy took advantage of. The culture is not as sophisticated as Caprica; there is very little evidence of Sagittaron being a mecca of art and literature, outside of various Roman-Greco statues and modernistic architecture.

The Sagittarons are a simple people, pacifists by nature, herbalists and farmers by trade. They believe that sloth is the ultimate sin and that work is faith. Under Sagittaron penal law, convicted felons lose their citizenship, but have it automatically reinstated after they finish serving their sentences. This included the right to vote and to stand for election. They reject many technologies that make life easier, viewing shortcuts as sin. Only those who embrace challenges are assured eternal deliverance.

The Sagittarons practice a form of the Colonial religion that can trace its roots for at least 1,000 years. Like the Gemenese, they developed a staunch religious stance but with possibly a greater emphasis on traditional folk practice than scripture. They view medicine as 'an abomination, a sin against the gods,' and instead use charms and natural remedies to promote health, such as the soma braid or the burdock root. This stubbornness and their perceived backwards nature has led to a bitter dislike by members of the other Colonies.

They are strong adherents of herbal medicine and reject much of modern medicine, which has lead to derogatory terms such as 'stubborn root-sucking jackasses'. Many Sagittarons wear soma braids around their wrists, believing it will bring them health. Given the long history of exploitation and persecution of Sagittaron, their rejection of modern medicine and distrust of the military may have a common source.

Social Services
Sagittaron consists of various transportation services, including roads and monorails, in addition to a news network called the Sagittaron News Network that broadcasts news and information to its citizens.

Additionally, a civil defence system was repeatedly utilized during Cylon attacks to assist in evacuating non-combatants from the war zone, likely maintained by members of Sagittaron Civil Defence.

Provinces and Cities

 * Tawa