[QuarianRex]

And for the love of god make sure that you have some defense on each planet. I can't count the number of times that I have lost colonies when an enemy ship manages to penetrate, or circumvent, my warp-point defense and glass a few worlds. Conversely, the presence of a couple weapon platfoms or some defense sats (less useful) has saved my arse from just such a fate time and time again.