Freecloud

**Freecloud** or **Alpha Doradus IV** was a class M planet in the Iconia sector of the Beta Quadrant. It was the fourth world of the Alpha Doradus system, located in The Thread between the main body of Federation space and the Canopus Core, surrounded on all sides by the Klingon and Romulan Star Empires and near the trailing end of the Romulan Neutral Zone. Founded in the late 22nd century, Freecloud was nominally a Federation colony, though it remained functionally independent and became well-known as a haven for all manner of illicit activities in that region of the Quadrant for more than two centuries. The colony's native and adopted residents were called **Freeclouders** or more commonly amongst themselves, **Freecs**.

By the late 2390s, the Fenris Rangers kept their funds there. In 2399, Bjayzl's base of operations was in Stardust City, the planetary capital, and Quark's also had an establishment there.(PIC: "The End Is the Beginning", "Stardust City Rag", Chabon: "Some Notes on Freecloud")

## Geography

Freecloud had one primary landmass, a large supercontinent called Panterra, which occupied "somewhat less than half" of the planet's northern and southern hemispheres, and was surrounded by the Panpotine Ocean. The coastline of Panterra was roughly one-million miles (1,609,344 km) long and virtually all of it was mountainous, except for the mouths of its major rivers and the inlets of three massive inland seas or lakes. The first two of these, known as the Yin and the Yang, were just north and south of the equator. The mouth of the third, the Perfume Sea, was near the forty-third latitude south.

Overall, the planetary climate was much warmer than Earth-normal, providing for lush vegetation. The high coastal ring of mountains cast a large rain-shadow, giving the majority of Panterra's lowland interior an arid or semi-arid climate. The colony's initial settlements were along the coastal areas, ranging from frozen polar regions to temperate tropics, with an equatorial climate so hot and wet as to be uncomfortable for most humans.

This geography made the planet subject to strong tidal forces, prone to powerful hurricanes and tsunamis. On the opposite side of the planet from the Perfume Sea and the primary settlements, these conditions made much of the Panpotine Ocean impassible except by submarine vessels. This was a negligible inconvenience to the Freecs, who rarely saw any reason to venture there.

The planet's capital and largest metropolis was Stardust City, sprawling across 500-square kilometers at the Perfume Strait, where the sea met the ocean. The city was built on the northern and southern coasts of the straight, up the slopes of the Bewlay Mountains that bordered the inlet and along the northern and southern shores of the Perfume Sea. Bewlay Island lay in the Strait, at roughly the midpoint of the city. For most of the planetary year, Stardust City was covered in snow and ice, except for a brief, 90 day "winter" during which it was hot, humid and subject to intense monsoons. (Chabon: "Some Notes on Freecloud")

## History

Freecloud was first settled circa 2180 by a splinter group of human Anarcho-Existentialists who ventured out on their own following a schism on the older Earth colony Silentum. Although *technically* under Federation control because of its location in the Thread, remained autonomous and neutral, maintaining an "anything goes" policy towards its citizens and an "anti-entanglement" stance towards the neighboring worlds and major powers. In turn, the Federation, Klingons and Romulans came to see the value in a truly neutral location in which to conduct business, diplomacy and espionage without worry of wars and treaties.

In 2201, a brief Constitution was ratified. Only five sentences long, it laid out the sole civic obligation of the colony's citizens: a period of service in the Freecloud Defense Force, commonly known as the Watchdog, beginning at age 16. This mandatory service was designed to ensure Freecloud's most precious commodity, its independence. "The Dog," as the colonists came to call the group quickly earned a reputation as the best trained, best equipped and most advanced military organization in the sector. Neither the major powers nor the likes of the Gorn, Orions or any other group ever wanted to test the Dog's capabilities or resolve.

After the Federation's withdrawal from the Thread in 2385, Freecloud's status was largely unchanged, and it remained a "refuge of lost causes, incubator of insurrections, last resting place of deposed monarchs and tyrants, hotbed of espionage and marketplace of secrets." (Chabon: "Some Notes on Freecloud")

## Society and culture

Freecloud was culturally pluralistic, politically anarchic, and financially independent; conversely, it was never isolationist or xenophobic - outsiders of all kinds, and their money, were enthusiastically welcomed; the colony simply remained "aloof" from the political and military machinations of the Federation, its rivals, and the galaxy at large.

During the 2390s, Stardust City's population was roughly 20,000,000, not counting "transients" or off-world visitors. Most of Freecloud's other 120,000,000 residents lived outside the urban areas and viewed the "Dusties" or "hive-dwellers" that called the cities home with a degree of disdain. The urbanites, however, felt they were expressing their own strong individuality by living in constant proximity to the scores of off-worlders.

Outside of some opulent districts of Stardust City, most Freecs lived simply, eschewing luxury and displays of lavish wealth. The majority of the colonists lived away from the urban areas, in rural or semi-rural "cohabs" (or just "habs") of up to a hundred or so individuals. The membership of these communities was entirely flexible and voluntary, and not based around familial or economic connections, but rather shared affinity. Some habs resembled more traditional cooperative or communal groups in nature, but most were more unique - ongoing experiments in political, social and interpersonal dynamics and organization. By the end of their lives, average Freeclouders might have lived in as many as a dozen or more cohabs.

Kinship and familial connections were not entirely ignored on Freecloud, though Freec society viewed "the family" as an "outmoded social unit [which tended] to diminish, rather than increase, individual liberty." Until they entered the Youth Corps at age 12, most children would live with one or both of their biological parents, but afterwards, were expected to follow their own paths.

As an anarchic society with virtually no laws, the colonists saw no need for law enforcement. Though off-worlders came to Freecloud to facilitate criminal enterprises or conduct business that would be illegal elsewhere, crime among Freeclouders themselves was relatively unheard of. They had no need for theft or economic crime, and thanks to the webs of networks that connected individual Freecs to one another, crimes of violence or passion were was likewise rare. Their cultural doctrines of collective self-defense and mutual aid tended to prevent interpersonal conflicts, or at least speed their resolution. In such an atmosphere, according to the locals, most offworlders would usually "behave themselves" as well, and any who didn't would quickly find themselves "sorted." (Chabon: "Some Notes on Freecloud")

As on most commercial/criminal planets, Freecloud had a thriving interfacers guild. The flamboyant 'facers would act as intermediaries and facilitators between competing corporations, organizations or gangs, or between grifters and their marks. (PIC: "Stardust City Rag")

## Settlements and features

Bewlay Island • Bewlay Mountains • Panpotine Ocean • Panterra • Perfume Sea • Perfume Strait • Stardust City • Yang Sea • Yin Sea
## External links

* Freecloud article at ***Memory Alpha***, the canon *Star Trek* wiki.
* Freecloud article at ***Memory Beta***, the non-canon *Star Trek* wiki.
* Freecloud article at ***Star Trek Expanded Universe***, the fanon and fanworks *Star Trek* wiki.
* "Some Notes on Freecloud" by Michael Chabon