TAVLEKS
The Tavleks are a species of battle-scarred mercenaries who kidnapped Rygel to gain a ransom. They wear fearsome energy weapons called Gauntlets that operate through direct neural control. ![[ TAVLEKS ]](images/tavleks_main.gif) Each Gauntlet also dispenses a drug into its user; the Tavleks call it a stimulant, but it exerts some mental control as well, heightening anger, aggression, and recklessness to dangerous levels. Worse still, the drug is also highly addictive.
When the Tavleks captured Rygel, we captured Kyr, a young male Tavlek. Zhaan attempted to befriend him and asked him why the Tavleks kidnapped people. Kyr told her it was for money, that money buys provisions from trading ships that happen by — and that the Tavleks would never survive on their harsh jungle planet without those supplies.
According to Kyr, the Tavleks live on this inhospitable world because they were exiled there; Kyr has never even seen his species' homeworld. Long before Kyr was born, the Tavleks went to war; their leaders created an elite regiment to invade their enemy's capital. The soldiers were given the best weapons available — the Gauntlets — and were half-way to the enemy system when their leaders caved in and negotiated a settlement. The soldiers refused to accept this; they still wanted to fight. When they refused to abandon their mission, they were stranded on the jungle planet, where the regiment fragmented into armed, rival camps.
Bekhesh, the leader of Kyr's camp, told Kyr that one day they would reunite the regiment and go back to their homeworld to overthrow those who betrayed them. I doubt that will ever happen; the Tavlek exiles are much too barbaric to assemble a disciplined army. Even young Kyr betrayed Zhaan's trust and actually injured a DRD to get a tool with which to pick a lock. Zhaan and I fear the drug in the Gauntlets will forever keep the Tavleks violent, savage and enslaved to their own addiction.
JOURNEY LOG REFERENCES
Throne for a Loss
Liars, Guns and Money, Part 1: A Not So Simple Plan
Liars, Guns and Money, Part 2: With Friends Like These
Liars, Guns and Money, Part 3: Plan B
STARBURST TO ANY LIFEFORM
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