Proxima

Proxima is a human Inner Colony located in the Alpha Centauri system. Named after its parent star, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri, it is the closest extrasolar colony to the Sol system.

History
A rocky world initially hailed as one of the most promising future homes of humanity, Proxima underwent ambitious terraforming efforts that bankrupted the contractor originally responsible. Multiple waves of settlers arrived over the course of the decades-long terraforming efforts, significantly complicating the planet's political situation. Some of these settler groups were intent on setting up their colonies as grand social experiments, inspired by the promise of a new beginning on one of humanity's first extrasolar colonies. The planet has been the site of periodic unrest since the Inner Colony Wars.

Governance and society
Historically, Proxima's population has been divided on questions of autonomy from the United Earth Government. Proxima hosts numerous settlement groups, and each one has as good a claim to settlement as the other. Some are fiercely pro-UNSC and others are just as fiercely pro-independence. Votes on whether to leave or remain are inconclusive, and generally depend on which group is left alone with the ballot boxes. At best anyone can determine, the percentage of the population that wants to leave was likely over fifty percent as of 2524.

Though its colonization was more motivated by hype and propaganda than utility, Proxima hosts various industries. What began as a routine resource-extraction-based economy has since diversified to various civilian goods and even small spacecraft, though Proximan brands are known in Sol more for their low prices than quality. Proxima also hosts several holiday resorts that market themselves to the inhabitants of Earth and Mars through exotic sights and various extreme activities. For an Inner Colony, there are unusually high disparities in the level of development and quality of life between the various cities and settlements.

It is often pointed out as being ironic that one of Earth's closest extrasolar colonies is also one of the most politically troubled, and Proxima's reputation as a disappointing failure likely contributes to the Alpha Centauri colonies often being overshadowed by the more celebrated worlds like Reach, Luyten and New Carthage.

Topography and climate
Due to the piecemeal nature of the terraforming by various actors with differing goals (along with a pair of notable failures along the way), the planet's climate and ecology are notoriously unstable.