The Kuras Tetrarchy: And All These Things

[Archangel]

After the death of General Enscu was reported to the fleet, the battle ended quickly. All of the TIE Hunters being used by the Ganks had already been destroyed, and the Muir vessels had made short work of disabling the Pilgrim. The remaining Gank Killers were rounded up and shuttled down to the surface until a decision could be reached regarding their fate. General Jex Sirri was only too happy to have them under his keen eye for the time-being.

Meanwhile, crews were sent into the Drift to retrieve the Kurasians that had been taken and imprisoned by the Scautus Order. They were found on a small space station, stuffed into cramped quarters and guarded by a number of Gank Killers. When the Killers learned of their leader's demise, they surrendered and were also taken into custody.

Once everything had settled, the colony had a single task before anything else could be accomplished: a funeral for the lives lost in the battle. Admiral Arelim Seron officiated. The list of casualties was read through. Alvis suppressed a sob at Miles' name. Their friendship had lasted for years, and the loss affected him deeply. Nova leaned against him, holding him close for comfort. The colony buried the bodies of both sides, creating a memorial with dignity on the surface of the planet. A durasteel marker was set up; it was a large, triangular obelisk, listing on each side the casualties from each of the three battles the planet had undergone since its recolonization.

When the funeral had been completed, it fell to Gideon to decide what to do about the Gank Killers. It seemed that everyone had an opinion, and for a time, Gideon felt like a simple administrator once again, but the feeling did not last. Kiuwo knocked on the door to Gideon's quarters late one night. Gideon answered the door, looking a little disheveled from the stress of the decision. Too many lives hung in the balance for this to be an easy choice.

Kiuwo smiled his odd Rodian smile. "How are you, Gideon?" he asked.

The human smiled in return. "Well enough, I suppose. There are three major opinions among the people about what we should do with the Ganks. Some want us to throw them in the mines and work them for the rest of their lives."

Kiuwo shook his head. "We can't enslave them. That's not our way. We're not the spice mines of Kessel, after all - we're a peaceful colony that wants to avoid combat and politics."

Gideon nodded. "I know. I've ruled that one out. Others want us to build a larger prison, or convert one of our vessels into a prison, or reuse the station that Enscu used against us. Then we could keep the Ganks in a cell until we felt they'd been rehabilitated."

Kiuwo frowned. "I don't think we could build a prison big enough to hold all these soldiers. Not even Enscu's station would be large enough. What do they propose we do with the remainder?"

Gideon shrugged. "The same as the third opinion, I suppose: kill them. A lot of folks want revenge. They say that the Ganks should be executed for their part in this war."

The two of them paused as they considered that option. It had the most merits. There was very little cost, no need for prison guards, and no shortage of justice. But it didn't sit right with Gideon, nor with Kiuwo. The Rodian spoke first. "I'm not going to tell you what to do, Gideon, but I want you to consider the limits of your power. Every man who has ever executed a large number of people has had, in his mind, legitimate reasons. But history always condemns those men, no matter how justified it may have sounded. The Force is a thing of life, Gideon, not death. Don't destroy life as long as there's another reasonable option."

Gideon sighed. "I'm ashamed to say I was thinking the same thing."

"Ashamed?" Kiuwo echoed.

Gideon made a face. "They're not going to like this."

Kiuwo nodded slowly. "Keep in mind, of course, that you and I won't be staying here. You need to select an administrative tetrarch to replace you, and then we are leaving Kuras IV. We have to track down Kratyn's new master. If you make this decision and see it through before you leave your office, then the damage to the colony as a whole will be minimal."

Gideon nodded, then Kiuwo turned and left.

Two days later, the Gank prisoners were locked up in the crew compartments of the Purgatory's Escape, and a skeleton crew made for Nar Shaddaa. A week later, under Gideon's command and Admiral Seron's watchful eye, they were released.

Back on Kuras IV, Gideon met with representatives from the Muir Commonwealth. Gideon expressed the deepest gratitude of the Tetrarchy, and offered anything the Muir desired as recompense for their generosity and help. Since Muir vessels disabled and captured the Pilgrim, their representatives requested they be allowed to keep it; Gideon gave it freely.

The Nomad, meanwhile, was undergoing very slow repair work. Many of the weapon emplacements were irreparably destroyed, but most of the ship was salvageable. Commodore Nova Suen had it rechristened the Talon of Kuras, or simply the Talon in a pinch. Given the shortage of personnel, the Kurasians ran it with a skeleton crew only.

When Admiral Seron returned in the Escape, Gideon resigned his position as Administrative Tetrarch of the Kuras Tetrarchy. He suggested Oomar Kli'one, the Caamas, as his replacement, but the final decision fell to the other three Tetrarchs. Freyel, Arelim, and Jex agreed that Oomar was an excellent choice. The diplomat accepted happily, and bid thanks and a fond farewell to Gideon. A week later, Kiuwo, Gideon, and Emma Zacharias purchased passage to Rendili in hopes of tracking down the ownership of the Nomad and the Pilgrim.

Around the same time, Eric Noble, Tieradeff Jaggeron, and Yerrix finished saying their goodbyes. They took the Wayfarer and departed Kuras once more, looking for work and adventure.

Freyel was sitting in his office that day, trying to figure out what had happened to Whit Solomon and where he had gone during the battle. He suspected that he was looking for his old command ship, the Corsair, but in eight hundred years, no one had ever found the vessel. All the same, it was a big Galaxy, and there were a lot of places to hide something as small as a starship. Freyel was intrigued by the entire situation, more so than he had been about his own predicament. For a brief time, Freyel had been lumped together with the Gank Killers and Werro Prell as enemies of the Tetrarchy. Fortunately for him, Gideon and the other Tetrarchs backed him up, as did Oomar Kli'one after his inauguration. The Ryn wondered how he had been put in such a damaging position; he had always thought of himself as agreeable and friendly, and he had never wanted to oppose the colony. Everything he did, he did to help Kuras.

But not everyone felt that way.

There was a rap at the door. Freyel called out by habit, "Come in." Then he looked up to see Carveik standing over him. The Shistavanen had been avoiding him since the battle, ignoring his calls and apologies, and generally staying hidden and out of sight. Freyel smiled, hoping that Carveik was here to forgive him - finally. "How can I help you, Carveik?"

The Shistavanen held up a scarred hand. "I'm going to make this short, Freyel," he said, "I can't trust you anymore. Maybe, if I were a more reasonable man, and I gave you enough time, you could build trust with me again... but I won't give you that chance. I had some money saved up, so I purchased a JumpMaster 5000 with an upgraded Hyperdrive and enough consumables to last two people for three years. I also had a high-end communication array installed on the vessel with a direct line of communication back to this planet. I intend to take my daughter and depart for the Unknown Regions to explore, find new Hyperspace routes, and provide data on peoples and resources in that part of the Galaxy. I'll be back every so often to refill on consumables. Meanwhile, I am establishing a kiosk here in the colony for the sale of starmaps and resource information, called Lai Ceal Exploration after my mate. I want you to manage it."

Freyel frowned. "Me?" he asked, "But you said that you don't trust me."

Carveik nodded. "I don't. But you're clever, you're conniving, and somehow or another, I think you really do have the best interests of Kuras at heart. Besides, your whole business is information. So I don't need to trust you."

Freyel smiled honestly. "Okay, Carveik," he answered, "I'll take care of it." Carveik was about to leave when Freyel asked, "What will the vessel be called?"

Carveik paused, but did not look back. "The Kempef & Fiaco," he said, "for my sons."

Freyel nodded solemnly. "I wish you and Docas the best of luck."

Carveik swallowed the lump in his throat. "Thank you." Then he was gone.