Jack of Harts

The South American Union first ventured to unwanted stars. San Pedro, San Mateo, and San Marcus orbited dim or distant stars that took years for their hyperdrives to reach. The Big Three targeted stars they could reach and exploit far quicker and left those systems alone. And Union colony ships moving to San Lucas and San Juan required long transits through systems owned by other nations. The Union spent the better part of a century colonizing and investing in those five colony worlds, efforts that mostly resulted in backwater vanity projects that would never affect interstellar politics. Most of the colonists were rugged types that enjoyed backwaters, but they were far from returning the investments poured into them. The Union Council was not amused.