Onda is a panthalassic planet. Onda's star system was settled by colonists of Brazilian origin approximately 2400 years ago, with Onda itself being one of the last celestial bodies to be colonized. The planet has no land outside of scattered, rocky islands that have been mostly weathered away by millions of years of constant exposure to waves and storms. Life is abundant in the oceans, particularly in shallower seas where underwater forests and vast reefs support large, complex ecosystems with access to sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to occur but enough depth to protect from the frequent superstorms that ravage the surface. It is in the fertile shallows where most of Onda's 2.4 billion inhabitants live and work in great undersea cities and homesteads.