Public Aggressive Landscaping [Centrality]

[Taeli Raaf]

Erilnar, Southern Hemisphere
​

While the expansion of the Empire of the Lost over part of the Centrality, including its capital of Erilnar, had delayed the expedition to the planet's southern hemisphere, the greenlight from the local authorities had finally been given. The wining and dining with the Imperials had brought much needed credits into the reclaimed zones, but the greater concerns for the planet remained. Many of the planet's lakes still remained poisoned by the Bryn'adul terraforming efforts and the prior invasion, and more worryingly was the reason for the research expedition to the south.

The aggressive growth of some sort of plant life across the south had only been beaten back from the reclamation zones and new cities through aggressive chemical use, and even then, parts of it had seen renewed threat from the weed. The planetary authorities needed to understand what exactly was trying to choke out all other life on the planet before further terraforming could repair the rest of Erilnar's ecology. Also worrisome was that the planet had been steadily growing hotter and hotter over the years since the Bryn'adul occupation, and seismic activity had started to increase where none had existed prior. Theory suggested the weed was somehow responsible, sparking yet another reason for the expedition to the south.

Aurora Industries had sponsored part of it, and Taeli herself had decided to accompany the initial team of scientists venturing south. A base camp had been established near Thorian Lake, and while it was not choked with the weed, it had grown up to the water's edge and even into the shallows. The objective for the scientists and their escorts was an abandoned Bryn'adul military installation several klicks away.

 

[Nej Tane]

Nej was a big believer in two things: credits, and the idea of hunting for jobs as soon as you were done or nearly done with another. The idea was that to maximize your smuggling routes, you didn't necessarily need to pickup another smuggling job. In fact, that would be a fast way to blow your cover. A guise of a mercenary or bounty hunter was a better option, and picking up jobs solidified a reputation for traveling for work, and not so much "I am taking illegal things into your space".

So, he got a ping for a protection job.

What else was a gunslinger to do? The price wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, but it was moreso the lack of heat, than it was the job itself. Nej stood with the team of scientists and the black-haired woman, unaware of who everyone really was, or who they were with. Not that it really mattered- Sith and Jedi weren't the big hubbub to Nej as they were to everyone else.

They paid the same.

He clicked his teeth, walking along, looking at the rapid growth of the planet. Really rapid. Never seen anything like it. The Bryn'daul were here, the has-beens of the has-beens of another has-been Empire. He wagered, without being told, they were here to figure out how to stop the rapid growth of whatever was consuming the planet. Nej's quip about weedkiller wasn't well-liked.

He just thought they needed a bigger bottle...

Nej stepped over a growth, guiding the Scientists through, watching the greenery for anything other than creepy, rapidly growing plants.

This place creeped him out, and so did the lady at the front a bit, but he didn't say anything. Just yet.

Taeli Raaf

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[Kivah]

Escort a bunch of geeks through the jungle to a place and get paid. Sounded like three things Kivah liked. She was kinda neutral on the walking and scientists to a lesser degree, but she liked Das and how different could these people be from the nerdy little slicer? Quite a bit it turned out. Maybe her friend was special. But that left the jungle and getting paid. And she liked those a lot, even if the trees weren't as impressive as those back home and most everything else was getting choked out by this legume-vine-thing the researchers were here for.

As they'd traveled, her jumpsuit's zipper had fallen to hover at about her navel and her sleeves had started rolled up past the elbow, more for the freedom and to enjoy the occasional breeze than to fight the humidity. The heavier parts of the armor and its plating were left strewn about her room when she'd repacked the light bag now hanging from her back. She didn't expect much shooting to happen in her direction and she'd packed light, a pair of pistols, her knife, and a bow strapped alongside her bag. Now she was enjoying that decision as the sensation of plants passed by under her bare feet, a difficult thing to find throughout most of the galaxy.

Bored, she sauntered closer to one of the other escorts, a Human who's hair had a little more red in it than her uncontrollable mane. "So what do you think we'll find at this base we're going to?" It was a cliched question, but she was bored and she hadn't met him other than the quick introduction they'd all gotten the day before. The noggins were all hoping for some chemical or data on what had happened to the planet, but their type of people usually hoped for more tangible things.

Taeli Raaf Nej Tane

 

[Taeli Raaf]

The first few days of the expedition had merely been studying the effects of the weed on the lake, measuring toxicity and alkaline levels. Observing what it had been doing to the wildlife within the lake and marking down the slow poisoning they had observed. All of that had been going on while they waited for their escorts into the overgrown region that scans had shown was an old Bryn'adul military base. Once some of their other parties had arrived, the expedition had set off at a slow pace.

While the base was only few klicks away, the scientists from Aurora and other companies and the Centrality government had made numerous stops to take samples from the weed and the surrounding soil. They had taken yet another stop to take more samples and scans of vapors observed coming out of a crack in the ground, Taeli having looking over the data and half listening to the beginning conversation of the two mercenaries with them. She understood it was boring work, at least for the moment. Erilnar had never had much in the way of predators and the Bryn'adul creatures that had been left behind were no doubt lurking near the base.

If anything still lived that is.

The weed was reacting to external stimuli, suggesting some degree of intelligence or active biology beyond a normal plant. Nothing too unusual in the galaxy, but it was the trace amounts of organic matter that they were picking up that was more concerning. Digested organic matter being broken down within the plant to fuel its growth.

"Nothing pleasant," would be her interjection to the conversation. She would turn to look at the two mercenaries, and while she appeared a mere scientist herself as she had chosen to forego much evidence of her Sith identity, there would be the unmistakable air of authority. She was no doubt the leader of the expedition. She had feeling her lightsaber would be needed further in too.

"We're picking up small amounts of blood and other organic matter within the cells of the samples we've collected. Carnivorous plants at least, which would be expected of the Bryn'adul I suppose."

Nej Tane Kivah

 

[Kivah]

Hearing someone else reply, Kivah looked over to where a pale human was talking to her and Nej. The Cathar thought she was the head scientist or whoever was bankrolling the gig's representative. Everyone was making sure to stay respectful towards the woman and Kivah was no different despite their limited interactions so far.

"I suppose," she agreed, not really knowing much about the Bryn'adul other than the common talk and the little she'd picked up in the last few days. They'd been a big thing before she left the relative shelter of Cathar and her usual circles weren't really big on history unless there were piles of credits in it.

Not that she didn't understand plants. The Denik lived in a jungle and were big on plants. "Plants love a dead body. Good nitrogen, calcium in the bones, and... Phosphorus?" Not all her childhood lessons had stuck and plants had been prettier or toys rather than interesting science. "Though if you're finding it every time we stop, it's not random enough to be ground or canopy kill." She hadn't seen the usual bits plants used as insect lure. No sap pitchers or scented goop or even the rarer trap plants with their open mouths. Kivah pondered it as they continued along suddenly wishing she'd pulled her boots on the last time they stopped. If this vine was spreading out from a central location at this base, did that mean there was a central stalk spreading out the nutrition? And what was it feeding on?

Taeli Raaf Nej Tane