Cassandra Matthews had always been interested in life beyond Earth. When she was contacted by the DPIP, she was quick to accept their proposition to research a new colony of sentient creatures on a new planet. Although a bit nervous about meeting new creatures, new people, both as intelligent as her and as different from her as they could be, she nevertheless couldn't have been happier to do so. Meeting new sentient species had always been her dream, and to help found and research such a new colony on this newly developing planet... to help it and its people become so much more... Cassandra felt that this could be her life's true calling.

Once she arrived on Xiunus, she quickly met up with the Tsabhua colonist who would be founding the colony that she would be instrumental in researching and aiding, and even helped her to come up with a name. New-Dawning. To Cassandra, it symbolized the beginning of something truly incredible, and her new Tsabhua friend seemed to think so as well. Together, they vowed to make New-Dawning something to be proud of, and to take the best care of it, as well as its future people, that they could.