Fifth planet of the Xi Bootis system, 19 lightyears from Terra.Cliodna is a small, rocky body about half the size of Mars. Extensive terraforming was necessary to prepare the world for Human settlement. There was no evidence of aboriginal life.
The foundation of Cliodna in TE 250 (as part of the Imperial Quarter-Millennial Celebration) completed the settlement of all habitable worlds within 30 lightyears of Terra. The 47 worlds involved would have formed a respectable territory by themselves under any circumstances; but most maintained only skeleton colonies at best, and none gained quite the importance of the pre-Imperial near-Terran planets, especially the Nexus Worlds.
At its height, Cliodna was a popular tourist destination for low-level Imperial bureaucrats from the Nexus Worlds. Due to the planet's proximity and relative obscurity, Cliodna tended to attract those who wanted to remain out of the public eye; frequent visitors included the criminal underworld and public figures carrying on illicit love affairs. (Before becoming Empress, Ellen Fodon was rumored to have met various secret lovers in the fleshpots of Cliodna.)
After the Empire fell, Cliodna was no longer able to maintain its terraforming; by about 3500 CE, Clidona had vanished from Human history. In the mid-23,000s HE, several Second Empire archaeological teams visited Cliodna without much success.
copyright (c) 2007, Don Sakers
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