On a far distant world on the edge of the Universe, the first signs of sentient life appeared. Millennia came and went as primitive life evolved into a complex bipedal lifeform, capable of learning and adapting as their young violent planet slowly, over time became a lush, abundant world where intelligence and cooperation would lead to a society where learning and the quest for new stimuli ruled ..... that planet is the homeworld of the Bo-Satar.
Back in the mists of time and space, when most planets were nothing more than a collection of dust drifting in the cosmos, Satar was a thriving world where space travel was in it's infancy. Three thousand years of trial and error had led finally to the stars and all they had to offer.
Early Satarians ventured forth eager to find other forms of life, to teach and to learn was the Satarian way. A peaceful race that wished to grow and help others grow along with them ....... but alas ..... they were alone. Satarian ships came and went for millenia, always searching for another species to fill the void of space, and always failing in the effort.
Finally the decision was taken to seed other worlds, to take the basic building blocks of life and create lifeforms that could survive and adapt in different environments in the hope that trade and cultural diversity would thrive.
Sadly, even though Satarian DNA was used ...... the results were far from perfect. Many of these new genotypes were warlike and suspicious of outsiders. Those that were not quickly became targets for the more aggressive races and a culture of fear and greed began to pervade into the universe.
The Satarians retreated to their own world, unsure of how to handle their hostile offspring. It was not their way to enter into battle with other beings .... there had never been 'others' before. They knew that they themselves would some day become the most prized target of their militant progeny, and to that end they began to bioengineer a sub species that would protect them if ever the need arose.
They called this sub species the Bo-Satar.
CHAPTER 1
Two figures approached the settlement from out of the desert.
Both were dressed to keep out the elements , and to keep prying eyes from gaining any knowledge of their intentions. Hooded cloaks and layers of wrapping covered them from head to toe so that not so much as a grain of sand or a ray of sunlight touched their skin. The Tarn were well used to adverse weather conditions and their attire insulated them from both heat and cold. They walked at a brisk pace until they reached an outcrop that overlooked the lodge, they were at the exact co-ordinates given on the message they had intercepted months ago, the same message was still broadcasting.
They had been to desert worlds like this before, it came with the territory in their line of work. A certain amount of privacy was called for when negotiating contracts and the fewer witnesses the better.
The lodge was carved out of the bare rock, as were the outbuildings surrounding it. This was quite normal for a settlement of this type, no one wanted to remain here long. The food would be basic and the beer would be old, brought in from worlds where crops could grow year round and not be burned to a crisp while still in the soil.
Both individuals sat beneath the ledge and watched the area for a long time, studying the rock formations, watching the shadows as the suns moved across the sky .... looking for something that shouldn't be there. The ship's scanners had confirmed that nothing had landed here for many weeks and everything they saw confirmed their data.
But something felt wrong .........................
A prize this big was sure to attract attention from all over the sector, and it wasn't everyday that someone announced that they had a Bo-Satar child for sale, in fact none of their species had ever heard of a transaction quite like this before.
The answers were to be found in the rock lodge before them.
The ship's scans and their own observations indicated that the way was clear for them to proceed, but this team had survived many missions by not making silly errors, from beneath their robes they each withdrew an object, Remote Activated Target Scanners, RATS for short. These are designed to scour the vicinity searching for heat signatures, movement or power sources, utilizing them meant they could search the surrounding area for traces of life and yet remain hidden while they continued to observed the Lodge.
These two didn't like to take chances, they had operated successfully as a team for many years mainly because of their cautious attitude and one doesn't change a winning formula. The Tarn were also known as a cowardly race, always liking to have superior numbers going into any situation, as well as all the relevant facts.
As the RATS scurried off, the Tarn crept back under the ledge that had been giving them much needed shade on this sun drenched world.
It didn't take the RAT long to find Castigar hanging limp from a tree, his foot wedged tightly between two branches. The RAT took some readings, then moved on. It would be another four hours before it reported back to the Tarn.
Neither RAT found anything of significance other than the deteriorating body of Castigar during their search and finally they returned to reveal their findings to their masters. The Tarn watched the vid and laid out a route to best make their way to where the body hung without exposing themselves too much. They would come at it from above to examine just how the calamity had befallen this individual.
The suns moved overhead as they made their way over ridges and dips in the high rocky cliffs that surrounded the valley where the lodge was located, always trying to keep out of the heat by travelling in the shade. Eventually they arrived on a promontory that overlooked the unfortunate victim of this mishap. They could read what happened from the markings on the precipice where they squatted.
Some rock had given way under the weight of the mans foot and in a state of unbalance he had plunged forward over the lip of the ridge and somehow become entangled in the upper boughs of an old dead tree. The Tarn could see the newly exposed rock, dark next to the faded, sun drenched stone all around them, this was an accident that could happen to anyone who didn't have their wits about them at all times.
The Tarn paused to discuss what may have distracted this creature at a vital moment near the edge of a high rock face, they crawled forward, wary of the state of the dry stone and peered over the edge. Looking down, they could see Castigar hanging motionless, one leg trapped at the ankle and the other hanging almost against his chest, the individual's blaster was on the ground beneath him, probably fallen from it's holster during the sudden sharp arrest as the leg became entangled with the branches.
They came to the conclusion that bad luck had played a part in the events that led to this moment and so they proceeded carefully to descend the cliff face to examine the body.
On reaching the ground safely, the Tarn quickly and efficiently went over the site, the man was alive, barely. The weapon was well out of his reach, but it had a charge in it ..... the mans jacket lay nearby, he had tried to use it to snag the blaster, but to no avail. Around the mans neck was an amulet of pure gold hanging from a leather strap which the first Tarn took, he wound the strap around his wrist and let the talisman dangle along with other jewelry he wore in that way. The other Tarn took the small knife from Castigar's boot and slipped it under his robes.
The hapless victim of this misfortune barely registered their presence as they went about searching his belongings, the jacket and pant pockets revealed nothing. This was a man that traveled light. He was likely here for the same reason as the Tarn, and he was going to pay for his misfortune with his life.
The Tarn left the sun to finish the man off as they made their way towards the centre of the valley to observe the lodge from a closer position. The time was fast approaching when they had to make a decision about entering the lodge, every day they waited meant that another crew could arrive to take the prize, the fact that the man had no com gear meant he was probably alone .... but they couldn't take the chance that someone was out looking for him right now.
They moved forward towards the building.
