[OOM] Tython.

[stuck_mynock]

They made planetfall a couple of hours ago.

So far, things have mostly just been messing around. They landed in a forest clearing, a little way from a deep but gently flowing river and a waterfall.

Which is where Atton is now. There's a pile of his clothes on a rock by the river, but he's nowhere to be seen, most of the time. Occasionally, he bobs up from under the water, peers around, and goes back down again.

Comments

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy reaches behind a pile of stuff to pull out a promising looking article, then gives a yell and jumps back with a standard 20th century style mousetrap attached to his finger.

"Ow ow ow gettitoff!"

[will_scarlett]

Will looks up from his pile and starts trying to pry the thing off of Guppy's finger,

"'old still."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

Atton looks over at Guppy, frowning.

"Are you okay over there?"

[guppy_sandhu]

"What the f*%k is a mousetrap doing in here anyway?" Guppy says, also trying to pull it off.

"Health and kriffing safety hazard, probably broken my stupid kriffing finger."

[will_scarlett]

"Dinna think its broken, spring's rusted."

Finally Will gets it off after a good bit of prying and cursing.

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"If you're finger's broken, I'll heal it, Guppy."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Thanks." Guppy massages it and gives it a little wiggle. "Hm, probably not broken. Just made me jump."

[will_scarlett]

"Weird place to 'ave it. Ye found aught, Atton?"

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"I think this is it," Atton says, holding up a small square object. "Thanks, whichever one of you found this."

He connects it up to his datapad, with a little bit of difficulty, and watches as a hologram of a Rakata (once they've probably become used to seeing, by now) appears.

"Many of my test subjects have died as a result of the growth technology, from cancerous tumours. However, one subject, Aurek, has been growing well. It is now sixteen feet long, and can infect rakatoid beings with its parasites, despite their relative size and intelligence. It shows the first signs of sentience, and considerable Force ability."

He paces, slightly.

"I have tested its abilities out on sixty slaves so far, thirty alive and thirty dead. The results have all been remarkably similar. Rapid infection and bodily alteration, including shedding of skin and vast alterations of circulatory, respiratory, digestive and nervous systems, along with the growth of an exoskeleton. At the moment, Aurek seems to be following its instinct to make workers for the gathering of resources for building a habitat. However, I hope that as it grows more intelligent, I can refine this to produce better workers, or soldiers."

The hologram fizzles out.

[guppy_sandhu]

"So they are testing it on people." Guppy says quietly.

[will_scarlett]

"Aye, 'orrible thing to do."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Were. This hologram is many millenia old, from the Infinite Empire. The Rakata kept slaves on most of the worlds they went to - s'hardly a stretch for them to use them as test subjects, too," Atton says, grim. "C'mon. We have what we came for."

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy moves over to Atton, walking quietly next to him.

"Actually I think my finger might be broken. Sorry."

[will_scarlett]

"Need to me to carry aught?"

Its nice to be out of here so quickly.

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Nothing t'carry," Atton says, taking Guppy's hand and healing his finger. "C'mon. If we're lucky, no bounty hunters'll have found us."

[guppy_sandhu]

"Thanks." Guppy says, giving Atton's hand a squeeze once his is healed up.

"Are they still after us?" he asks worriedly.

[will_scarlett]

"Aye, good. Probably, 'unters dinna give up till they've their prize or coin."

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

Atton nods, heading towards the exit.

"Yeah. The only way to stop bounty hunters once you've had a contract taken out on you is t'remove their employer from the equation. That way, they won't get paid, no motivation t'keep chasing you."

[guppy_sandhu]

"But how do they follow us through hyperspace? How do they see where we're going?"

[will_scarlett]

"Aye, or 'ave others looked too?"

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"They can't track us through hyperspace, not without a tracking device. But bounty hunters have a way of finding people, and if they're working with Enzu Koren, they already know where we're going. Remember, Koren's already found this technology, which means we're essentially retracing his steps. He knows where we're going to go."

[guppy_sandhu]

Guppy nods, not liking the sound of that at all.

[will_scarlett]

"Then we'd best move fast, aye?"

At least its downhill to the ship.

[stuck-mynock.livejournal.com]

"Aye," Atton says, hurrying down the corridor.

[guppy_sandhu]

"Would he be likely to send them to the one ahead of us?"