Castarians and the Castarian Empire

Castar is not a particularly hospitable planet. It is larger than earth, and much further from it's star than earth is from the sun. The star is quite a bit bigger than Earth's sun making the average temperature about the same. The problem is the variation in the seasons. The planet has a 37-degree tilt and travels in an elliptical orbit, making the variation between the hottest and the coldest seasons extreme. The planet's surface is about half water, with a great deal of freezing and thawing taking place each year. This leads to some violent weather patterns. It is not the type of planet that any species would choose for their home planet, but they did not choose it, it was chosen for them.

The early Castarians were migratory tribes that followed the sun. They were hunters and herders. Life was difficult. This made them very tough and insured that only the fittest survived. It also instilled a strong work ethic in the society. Those that did not work and contribute were cast out of the tribe, and usually died from exposure to the elements.

The tough living conditions also drove the Castarians to develop technology quicker than most species did. The development of the means to heat your home in the winter and cool it in the summer, as well as the ability to preserve and store food, gave certain tribes the advantage of not needing to migrate with the seasons. The society advanced rapidly, but it was also the most creative and enterprising individuals who did best. It is not surprising therefore, when the first planetary wide government formed, it was very capitalistic. Survival of the fittest was almost the motto of the whole society.

By the time the Castarians reached for the stars, some of the corporations, labor unions, and special interest groups had become quite large and powerful. They had also discovered how to buy the politicians. At first the people objected, but the politicians soon discovered they could buy the people off fairly cheaply with things like free food, retirement benefits, and medical care. Castar went from a society of builders and entrepreneurs to one of consumers and takers who look to the government to take care of all their needs.

When a corporation discovered Landor and the Landorians, all it took was a few dollars in the right pockets of government officials, to make slavery legal and to give the corporation the franchise. When the union bosses objected the corporation gave them shares in the enterprise to look the other way. The union members got nothing, and many lost their jobs to the slaves, but the bosses retired very wealthy.

When another corporation discovered that Finuls tasted good, all that was required was for that corporation to throw a large dinner for the politicians where they served up big helpings of Finul meat and campaign contributions. The fact the Finuls were intelligent suddenly became top secret information, and the corporation received the exclusive franchise for delivering Finul meat to market, with a generous annual allocation to the politician's private meat locker.

All this might have continued indefinitely if no outside forces interfered. However there was an outside force. It was called Team Fourteen.

Captain Garrard

Captain Garrard is a ship's captain. It is only a harvester, not a great passenger liner or a military warship, but it is a spaceship capable of hyperspace travel. He loves his job even though at times he dreams of bigger things.

Garrard is a man of high integrity. He treats his crew, both Castarian and Landorian, fairly. He believes in motivating everyone with positive incentives, not negative threats, and he works hard to keep morale high on his ship. It has paid off. The corporate bosses who own his ship, and employ him, measure everything by results. His ship has the highest productivity in the fleet, and both he and his crew are very proud of that fact.

Garrard has never approved of slavery. He grew up with Landorian slaves in his house, and his parents could never explain to him why some people, for he saw them as people, should slave for other people. The only argument that his father could give him was that the Landorians were born to slavery and it was simply their lot in life. Garrard argued that they did not come out of their mothers with those collars on their necks. His father had no answer for that one.

Garrard has learned to live in the society he was born into, He remains unhappy with the slavery, but tells himself there is nothing he can do about it. On his ship, however, Landorians are treated as employees, not slaves. He has made that an order, and all of the crew seems happy with that.

There is something else that bothers Garrard. It is the annual Finul harvest. He is not sure why, but something does not seem right about this. He is about to find out what that is, and the daring steps he takes to change what cannot be changed will in fact, change the lives of many people, forever.

Commander Derek

Commander was Garrard's right hand man. He is a little shorter than the average Castarian, and has blonde hair, which he keeps cut short, and blue eyes. His light complexion is unusual in a Castarian, but not unheard of.

Derek has served under several other captains. He has never met one like Garrard. The man is extremely fair with everyone, even the Landorians. Derek did not understand that at first, but when Garrard explained his personal beliefs concerning slavery, Derek become a convert.

Commander Jin

Commander Jin is tall, thin and has dark, almost black hair, and grey eyes. He is in excellent physical shape and he and Derek work out together often. Jin has a strong background in science and mathematics. He is a very logical thinker and will often see things that others miss.

Garrard has come to depend heavily on Jin, as well as Derek.

Chenik – Guard from the mine, council rep at Sanctuary

Chenik had a job as a guard in the mine on Delstar Four. It was not a great job, but he collected hardship pay, and was able to save most of it since there was very little to spend money on at the mine.

His job was to watch over the slaves that worked the mine. He did not see how he was really needed. Where were the slaves going to go? Besides they all had collars on. He had seen those collars used. He felt sorry for the Landorians, having to wear a collar like that. He had a collar actuator, but had never used it and had promised himself he never would.

He came to know and like the slaves he watched over. There was one fellow in particular, named Emite. Chenik marveled at how hard Emite worked and how he would take some of the load for his fellow slaves when they were sick or tired. One time when Emite got sick, Chenik let him sit all day, and gave him extra water rations. He liked Emite.

Then the night of the revolution came. He did not blame the Landorians for revolting, but they had put a collar on him, and he was scared to death. As two Landorians dragged him onto the stage to be "tried for his crimes," he knew he was going to die. Then the leader, who was serving as judge and jury, and had already sentenced several Castarians to death, asked if anyone wished to bear witness against him. Chenik suddenly saw Emite step forward, but instead of accusing Chenik of a crime he bore witness in his favor and asked that he be spared! Chenik could not believe his ears. Then Emite pointed to Chenik's best friend and asked that he also be spared.

Chenik just stood there shaking in fear as judgment was passed. Then he heard the leader say: "In the interest of justice, these Castarians will not be punished. Their collars will remain on for now, but they are under my protection. They are not to be harmed or mistreated in any way. Guards remove them. Guard them, but treat them as well as they have treated us."

Petron - Commandant of the mining camp

Petron is the commandant at the mine on Delstar Four where the Landorian revolution begins. He has become arrogant and is often cruel to the Landorian slaves. When the miners revolt, Petron pays the price when he is sentenced to die by the pain of the collar

Nardina, Member of Governing Council

Captain Garrard selected Nardina to be the other Castarian on the council. She'd been the commanding officer on one of the harvesters and had played a prominent role in getting the Castarians settled into Sanctuary. Like Garrard she hated slavery and had forbidden the use of the collar as long as she was in command of her ship.