The trip down revealed that Taleen was going to be of several things, none of which were pleasant. Arid, pale with a light dusting of red from the rocks, and yellow-white grass that extended in plains all the way towards far off mountains . There was a giant gash in the land near the orb landing area, which resolved itself into a massive canyon as the party drew closer. Spider webbing out across the top of the canyon were signs that a civilization had once flourished here. Traces of broken pillars and half submerged buildings, as well as what looked like a downed ship that had embedded itself in a massive building. There was no movement visible amongst the ruins now. As the dry wind blew through the stonework, it would became clear that they were walking into a mass graveyard.

Not somewhere you'd want to spend your vacation.

For some people, this was going to be a field day.

According to the scans and what little records they had, there hasn't been a sentient being around for hundreds of years. The majority of native wildlife had moved out of the area, seeking refuge. The land looked dead already. In the sky above, several specks of light twinkled in the sky, growing bigger with each passing hour. In a few days, it will be raining fire.


[Closed to Daniel, Eleventh Doctor, Sofia, Jamie, Hoshi, Howard, Billy, the Master, River Song, Cassie, Tom]

He kept his eyes closed the entire time, once he regained control of them. It wasn't that he didn't want to see, it was just that there was some sort of childish belief that if he opened his eyes, the entire thing would pop like a bubble and just be a dream.

He really didn't want it to be a dream.

About the time his eyes closed, hands closed tight around his shoulders, holding him firmly in place. Iniss didn't really need to, but the Yeerk was weird about control at times. Weird about physical dominance even though the fake host was really about the same size as him.

There was a sharp pang in his chest as the Yeerk pulled away for the final time-something he didn't want to call loss, something he couldn't quite label relief. "It's done. Now what will you do?" The words were soft, hushed, pressed against his ear in a mockery of an intimate embrace. "You'll miss me. You'll miss being able to yield control and not fight back. You know you will. You'll miss the utter certainty that someone else is there to clean up your messes."

He kept his eyes closed, arms hanging lose at his sides. "It's going to be scary, isn't it? Being all alone in your head, you've never done that before. No one to talk to when you have doubts, no one to watch your back or protect you from repercussions when you screw up- and you will, you always do - I bet that terrifies you, doesn't it?" He swallowed, lips curling into a smile. "I have friends, family. They'll help me. They'll be strong when I can't be. Who's going to help you?"

It took a lot of effort to pull away, not opening his eyes to look at Iniss, not opening them at all until he was sure he was facing towards Sam.

He managed to not look back. It made him feel oddly proud.

ooc: Tag under the headers of person you want to talk to.

For those looking hard enough, the black market on XaXing shouldn't be too incredibly difficult to find - just look for the section of town where people don't look excited to be trading. Everyone in this little section of the market either looks like they just got away with a murder and need to keep glancing over their shoulders, or like they're about to get lined up for an execution. The more experienced traders here are clearly more at ease and looking as casual as possible, but there's still a distinct tension in the air.

An alien clearly designated as a police officer gazes down the street but, after a shopkeeper passes him and discretely slips some contraband into his hand, keeps walking.

An Iskoort and a human man dressed in black are relaxing outside the door to a store titled "Merchandiser, Brother of Hood Ornament Seller, Offers Exotic and Tantalizing Goods from the Far Corners of the Galaxy!". Under that sign, a few more signs detail how no background checks, down payments, identifications or collaterals are necessary. From inside the building, the sounds of a scuffle are audible, followed by the sound of someone choking.

The man in the doorway taps his cane against the window. "Keep it down in there!"

The Iskoort, Merchandiser, looks around a bit skittishly. {If you would allow me to purchase a sample of your superpowers, I could incinerate the body. I would pay a very reasonable price.}

"And leave nothing for your Mortician's Guild to clean up? Hardly."

Across the street, the shop that supposedly sells cactus extracts, but secretly specializes in drugs and hit contracts, lowers their blinds a few inches.


(( OOC: Here, have a criminal underworld! Feel free to tag in and run into other crew members ("what are you doing looking at faerie slaves?"), or into one of the underworld gurus here. If you want one of my NPCs to tag you, just put it in your post title. NPCs are Merchandiser and Dark Thomas Casey. ))

After the briefing, the Orbs Deck disconnected from Stacy, making it's way down to the planet and landing on the top of what looked like...a mall.

Outside, a mismatch of buildings stretched as far as the eye could see on a backdrop of a sunny green sky, a few golden clouds lazily floating across it. Here there was a mall, there there was a endless parade of street shops, and over there was a bazaar. And everywhere you looked there was advertising, selling everything from kitchen knives to starship engines to pet cosmetic surgery.

And populating this world was a practically endless number of species's, all of them brought together by one thing: trading. Credit was being exchanged everywhere you looked, from the shiny exclusive stores to the the dark and dangerous spaces in-between.

As the crew stood around, a peculiar looking alien with a mustache approached them, his oddly-shaped legs and knees making it looks as if he was walking backwards even though he was coming forwards. And as he moved, his accordian-like midsection made moved, making a weird, wheezing noise that might remind some of the crew native to Earth of the sound of Fran Dresser's voice.

<Welcome to XaXing, strangers!> he said to them in thought-speak, eagerly rushing towards everyone. <I am Guide! Your ship has already arranged accommodation for you, and I have been employed to guide you there and answer your questions! But if you would just sell me your memories then I can also guide you to all of the best stores and markets...>

[[ooc: After this post, everyone is free to make their own posts on the planet! Just tag all logs for Shore Leave with !plot: shore leave.

Also, if you have any questions you can ask Guide! ...just be prepared for him to also try to buy your kidney.]]