IN-GAME DATE
September 21, 9 AFE (10 BBY)Chakrei - Capital of Kar’Tikka
Known for the wonderful hot springs located in caverns under the town, Chakrei is a lovely town situated on the western bluffs overlooking the channel to Sato's Rest. With great views in every direction, many people visit the capital of Kar'Tikka Province for romantic vacations. Sadly, many people also return with vacation horror stories.
The town has been plagued by a terrible string of bad luck since its founding. Strange noises blowing through the sewer system, swarms of vermin randomly sweeping through town, small sinkholes randomly appearing, and a host of other nuisances. The leaders of Chakrei have tried everything they can think of, even going so far as to ask an Ohdo leader if they could perform some sort of exercism on the town to cure it of this curse. (The Ohdo only looked at them in disbelief before wandering away, shaking his head in wonderment at their superstitious and biased idea). This is an unfortunate string of events for the town, as the hotsprings they are known for actually are a wonderful source of healing and rejuvenation, and should be a huge draw for tourism.
The leaders of the Province also reside in Chakrei, and are a worried lot. Along with the issues in the town itself and the ever-present pain that the criminals of Galatea present, there is a disturbing tendency for expeditions that venture into the wilderness of the province to disappear. Hunters, explorers, scientists of all types have all ventured out, and about a third are never heard from again. Search parties and reconnaissance flights from Patrol craft find no clues, and the leaders are debating on denying any future requests for travel and exploration permits into the wilderness. Sadly, these expeditions are also the largest source of income for the region, so it is a heated and lengthy debate at present.
Sato’s Rest -
"Not welcoming" is often the nicest thing outsiders say about the residents of Sato's Rest. This quiet town on a sheltered bay appears to many to go out of its way to make people uncomfortable when they try to visit, and most visitors for outside Kar'Tikka Province cut their trips short instead of dealing with the behaviors of the locals. This behavior is often attributed to a long string of violence and destruction in the early days of the town caused by visitors from off-planet, which left much of the place wrecked or in ruins several times, and the residents eventually had enough and began to make it more of a chore to enjoy the lovely vistas and beautiful beaches of the area than people could deal with. Kar'Tikka residents know to be on their best behavior when visiting, as they only get a little bit of leeway from their neighbors.
In a twist of fortune, this small town is home to one of Selvaris' most valuable known resources. A species of mollusks, known as ghaweyag barnacles, make their home in nooks and crannies of the nearby cliffs, residing deep under the surface of the water. These creatures produce small nodules on their shells while they are reproducing that have a beautiful blue pattern, mixed with all sorts of other colors. The colors only appear after the new ghaweyag barnacle emerges and the nodule seals up after it. These nodules are incredibly fragile and hollow, meaning that machines are unable to harvest them, so divers from Sato's Rest have become experts at collecting these beautiful spheres and ovoids, and putting them through a slow hardening process before mounting them in jewelry or other art pieces. The process does make them stronger, but they are still very fragile, turning to a fine powder if dropped, and Sato's Rest Divers Guild jealously guards any knowledge of the processes involved in all steps of production.
Galatea -
Many years ago, a colony ship crashed near the Zaniah Wilderness of the Kar'Tikka continent. While all the passengers were successfully recovered, and eventually deported for trying to illegally immigrate to Selvaris, the ship was deemed a loss and never recovered.
In recent times, the ship was re-discovered by a group running from an unknown cartel. Deciding that the large ship would make a great haven and possible base from which to conduct business from. While the engines and life support systems were trashed, much of the structure was still safe and usable, and power was soon reestablished throughout the whole thing.
Currently the ship, now known as Galatea, is being used by the group as a place for illicit deals and back room trades, and has become a hub for those looking to ship contraband items to or from Selvaris. It's location has remained a closely guarded secret, with only those trusted by the owners being allowed to visit in person. Most business is actually conducted in nearby clearings or beaches, and those that do visit the actual ship are often blindfolded or sedated for the trip.
The officials at Chakrei, the capital of Kar'Tikka Province, know of the existence of this facility. They have a standing bounty for any information leading to the exact location, as well as the arrest of those running it. Unfortunately for them, no leads have ever panned out in the last several decades and many people have figured it will remain a known secret for the foreseeable future. They continue to try and locate it, but all efforts have proven futile, even orbital searches conducted by the Patrol have failed to locate Galatea.