Cassiopeia: An Unconventional Hero

Chapter 6

The weeks went on. With no contact or sightings of the pirates, Karsis relaxed his rules about two scientists to a survey-team, and began allowing three, which was graciously welcomed by the frustrated researchers. Due to his diligence, the teams felt safe and secure, and the progress that Tok Voalus sought began to materialize: millions of acres of viable farmland, fifteen different kinds of livestock, one hundred and seventy-three types of edible plants... rich resources, temperate climate areas for prolonged habitats, and gorgeous beaches for the colonist's enjoyment were among the list of amenities that Selkor IV provided. It was truly beginning to become the paradise that they all hoped that it could be, and with the black hole blocking the only hyper-route into the system, the chances of it being strip-mined for its resources or descended upon by millions of tourists was next to nothing. The RAIS had discovered the perfect, hidden world, and as Tok Voalus crunched the numbers, the price of admission just kept getting higher and higher.

Karsis didn't have access to the Republic holo-net, so he had to rely on the information that was stored in the freighter's computer systems, along with his own database of mercenaries, pirates, smugglers, and open-bounties, in his attempts to decipher who the pirate's leader might be; the one who seemed to require the ability to hide himself from the Jedi Order. Although Karsis hated the Jedi in general, he still respected them from a professional standpoint, and oft wondered that if the Mandalorians had Force-powered abilities, who would actually be running the galaxy today? He chuckled to himself at the thought and continued looking at the known associates and allies of the two names he had for sure: Daalak the besalisk and Tezzlah, the dead kubaz.

Cassiopeia was now fully part of the mercenary team. Her Force abilities and swordsmanship had saved more than one researcher from something as simple as falling down a hole, to saving another from a bear-like creature that was half the size of a ranchor. Her sweet disposition and caring nature ingratiated herself to both teams, and she was even learning how to avoid crying every time Karsis barked at her.

The two groups still gave each other plenty of leeway, as they still basically boiled down to employers and employees. Open-minded people like Nat Noom and Keli Damor crossed the invisible lines and befriended those on both sides, yet beyond theirs and Cassi's best efforts, the class-system of the haves and the have-nots was still glowingly apparent. Not that there was any animosity between the distinctly different teams, just the universally unfortunate existence of class-division. Regardless, the two reams worked well together, with minor squabbles and accusations being handled by the large and intimidating Mandalorian; while Cassi occasionally mediated.

For all of their progress, however, the existence of the mystery criminal still hung like a cloud over every positive thing that the teams accomplished. Tok, Yato, Fa'as and Karsis agreed that the pirates, or whatever they were, had to be apprehended before the second team came in to begin building the rest of the colony sites. Karsis had lead a fact-finding raid into the caves where they originally discovered the squatters, but all they found was abandoned beds, empty power cells, and hundreds of miles of tunnels; meaning that the criminals could be virtually anywhere. It was going to be a daunting task, but the RAIS leaders decided to suspend all activities for one solar week, while the mercenaries concentrated on nothing more than finding the criminals. Despite the early setbacks, the entire project was slightly ahead of schedule, and what the scientists considered to be a few days off the mercenaries considered to be a personal challenge.

Karsis chose Aliah, Jogar, and Cassi from the original hunting party, and added Hannah due to her engineering skills and the fact that she was handy with a blaster, and also Adonis Tarkin, as the RAIS team wanted some fresh eyes on the situation, and also due to the fact that he was the only scientist that had no qualms about carrying a sidearm. That left Lokis, Shii, and Nat to guard the scientists; who had decided to seek refuge in the freighter until the mercs returned. The line had been drawn, and Karsis was ready to plow right through it.