Golden Sunset Expedition
The Golden Sunset Expedition is a venture financed by the Saint Andre Trading Company with the intent of finding a suitable area to establish a new Natopian colony. It is being led by Captain Bernard Kayyk, a retired Natopian Navy officer.
Captain Kayyk
Bernard Kayyk (born 7.V.1616) is a retired captain in the Natopian Navy. He was born in Butter Cow City, Flaventia, to a wealthy family. He spent many summers on the family yacht visiting coastal towns on Borders Bay. Kayyk was qualified to operate sailing vessels by the Butter Cow City Marina & Club by the age of 15. He enrolled in the Newport Naval Academy and joined the ROTC program, graduating in the top 5 of his class. Upon graduation he began a tour of duty as a lieutenant aboard a Ziegeland-class carrier. By 1647 he was serving as the XO of a Trident-class minelayer during the War of Nicki's Minaj. He was captain of a Natopia-class destroyer during the War of Lost Brothers. Towards the end of the war, in 1657, he suffered an injury, and was reassigned to serve as commandant of the new naval base on Marinette island, Transegale. He has served as commandant for ten years before retiring. He lived as a private citizen for several years until 1671. The Kalirion Fracture allowed for a greater expansion of SATCo's trade fleet and routes, requiring a sudden need for experienced naval officers. Kayyk was offered a consulting contract in 1672, but did not accept until 1673, negotiating a high salary and the right to command a ship should he choose. Kayyk's experience as a commander and administrator quickly saw him become one of SATCo's most valuable consultants.
In the late months of 1677, SATCo began exploring the idea of settling a new colony after having their colonial governing rights restored to them in the new Natopian legal code. Several locations were shortlisted and several names attached to various expeditions. Kayyk was the consultant charged with exploring the feasibility of a colony along the eastern lowlands of Cibola. Eventually the Cibola plan was approved and Kayyk was named captain of the expedition, which was planned to disembark in early 1678, before the end of the first quarter.
The Fleet
Captain Kayyk's expedition fleet consists of several older hulls, decommissioned from the Natopian Navy and sold to SATCo. Four Ziegeland-class tactical carriers were commissioned into the SATCo Merchant Marine Fleet for this venture. They were named for former successful and unsuccessful SATCo colonies. Each vessel carried a marine mercenary unit of 50 men and a survey group of 10 cartographers, climatologists, geologists, and zoologists. The fleet is currently in the final preparation stages in the Port of West Bay.
- SAS Cape Oleslaad
- SAS Taroof
- SAS Farpoint
- SAS Cape Cran Bay
The Expedition
- 1678, Grunil 11: Capt Kayyk, on his flagship, SAS Cape Oleslaad, departs with the GSE Fleet from the Port of West Bay, sailing west in international waters.
- 1678, Grunil 13: Fleet adjusts course south to go around the southern cape of Calbion Island.
- 1678, Grunil 19: Fleet arrives at first Point of Interest, the inlet and ruins of Charis. SAS Taroof drops anchor in "Charis Inlet" and unloads survey crews to find a suitable site for a "large city, inland, on a navigable river, far from natives and potential rivals, with potential to become regional administrative center." Remaining ships sail south along the coast.
- 1678, Grunil 23: Fleet sails past ruins of Bourllac, determining the bay to be unsuitable, and arrives at a natural harbor south of those ruins. Captain Kayyk notes the close proximity of the Community of Goetia and decides to leave the SAS Cape Cran Bay to investigate.
- 1678, Grunil 29: Farpoint and Cape Oleslaad arrive at the island near the Navigators CF. Cape Oleslaad, with Capt Kayyk, establish a position between the small island and the unclaimed shore to survey both. Farpoint continues to Asara-Eliana
- 1678, Blumuar 3: SAS Farpoint arrives at Asara-Eliana before continuing to explore west.
The SAS Taroof Survey
- 1678, Grunil 19: Base camp established in the ruins of Charis. Site deemed unsuitable for further development beyond port and dock facilities at the mouth of the river emptying into the inlet. Survey team decides to follow tentatively named "River Des Char" to search for locations upriver.
- 1678, Grunil 21: Bear attack leaves 4 men dead and 1 geologist mauled.
- 1678, Grunil 23: New site along River Des Char determined suitable for administrative headquarters, survey team suggest "Paine City."
- 1678, Blumuar 2: Bear attack leaves 3 men dead and a biologist in a coma.
- 1678, Blumuar 5: Geologists determine the plains around Paine City to be ideal farmland. Surveyors begin plotting parcels to be auctioned off to various agricultural conglomerates.
The SAS Cape Cran Bay Survey
- 1678, Grunil 23: Base camp established and named "Camp Ayreon." Captain Kayyk leaves instructions that Camp Ayreon is intended to put pressure on the nearby Goetics into establishing trade agreements with SATCo.
- 1678, Grunil 30: Camp renamed to "Ayreon's Bay" as settlement and fortifications proceeds.
- 1678: Blumuar 6: Geologists discover gold traces west of the settlement. Prospectors identify several potential mine sites and auction off the land rights.
The SAS Cape Oleslaad Survey
- 1678, Grunil 29: Captain Kayyk and a marine unit goes ashore to the Navigators, offering trade goods to establish goodwill. Members of the cycle family warn Kayyk to avoid settling Nearby Island, as they call it, as it is where most exiled Goetics end up.
- 1678, Grunil 30: 30 Marines land on Nearby Island to find about 3 dozen exiled Goetics living in a shanty town. Disease, malnutrition, and dehydration are prevalent.
- 1678, Blumuar 1: SATCo medics determine about a dozen of the Goetics on Nearby Island to be beyond medical help and issue palliative care. The remaining Goetic exiles agree to a work-release agreement with the Company to begin construction of a settlement on the island in exchange for medical assistance and food allowances.
- 1678, Blumuar 4: Members of the Navigators hear of of SATCo's plan for using the Nearby exiles and begin to expel SATCo from Navigators' turf. Capt Kayyk orders a retreat to avoid unauthorized conflict.
- 1678, Blumuar 6: Alan Paulson, father of the Navigators, and Capt Kayyk meet aboard the Cape Oleslaad and sign an accord stipulating that SATCo may use the Nearby exiles as indentured laborers, but may not permit any exiles Goetics to leave the island. Navigators, speaking unofficially for the Conference of Cycle Families agrees that any Goetic exiles will be sent to Nearby Island in the future.
- 1678, Blumuar 7: Settlement on Nearby Island begins to take hold, named Satyria, in honor of the Emperor's son and heir, Nathan III.
- 1678, Blumuar 8: Captain Kayyk decides to settle a sister city on the shore, and names it Luix, one of Nathan III's middle names. The twin cities of Luix-Satyria would become a primary trade hub with the Goetics and allow SATCo to project control further inland.
SAS Farpoint Survey
- 1678, Blumuar 4: The Farpoint and her crew have been contracted by the government of The Two Martyrs to explore several potential expansion sites west of Asara-Eliana in order to ensure lines of communication and control to the isolated islands of Lichtstadt.
- 1678, Blumuar 5: Farpoint identifies two unoccupied islands and the tip of an unclaimed peninsula as ideal points of control and critical for maintaining ice-free transport routes.
Territorial Control
Several relevant committee chairs of the Natopian Frenzy had been informed of SATCo's Expedition and gave approval, strongly suggesting to the Company that a colonial charter would be issued by the Frenzy very soon. With unrest in Normark, politicians in Lindstrom have put pressure on SATCo to speed up the Expedition to offset the loss of Normark. Working with the survey teams, SATCo legal advisors have drawn up a colonial charter that they will present to the Frenzy for review. The colonial charter is expected to balance corporate needs of SATCo, other Natopian-owned businesses, and Raspur-allied businesses to properly take advantage of the new land. Frenzy Representatives, however, have indicated that the new colony must be founded on 3 pillars: population diversity, self-sustainability, and ecological stewardship.
The potential new colony, tentatively named Waffel Plains, will have 3 zones of production: agriculture, mining, and trade. Each zone will be based in the cities of Paine City, Ayreon's Bay, and Luix-Satyria. For five years, each zone will be directly governed by a corporate board of directors appointed by SATCo.
