Rebek

Rebek

Author	unknown
Written	approx. 8012 DE
Restoration progress
Current phase	Phase Three
Phase 3 began	May 26, 2015 (Intangibles)

Rebek was a D'ni Age settled in approximately 8012 DE. It was a source of prized and highly intelligent workhorse animals, which the D'ni eventually hunted to near extinction.

History

D'ni history

Shortly after the D'ni arrived on Rebek in 8012 DE, they discovered a highly intelligent and powerful native creature that could be used as workhorses throughout the empire. Although it was soon clear to the settlers that these creatures were nearly sentient in their level of intelligence, it seems they hid this evidence for the sake of maintaining their lucrative animal trade. Over the next 500 years, the population dropped as the D'ni overworked and exploited them for their labor, and the creatures gradually became more aggressive toward the D'ni. In 8503 DE, a pack killed six D'ni, and another incident a month later resulted in the government banning their use and closing off the Age.

Despite this closure, it appears that the Age's owners continued to travel to Rebek in order to hunt the creatures. This activity was not officially sanctioned by the government, but evidence suggests that they were aware of the practice. By 8590 DE, a hunting lodge and safari tour industry had sprung up on the Age, servicing a small—and very wealthy—segment of the D'ni population interested in hunting the extremely dangerous game. Because of their intelligence, the creatures continued to develop deadlier and more dangerous tactics in response to these hunts, which only served to make the activity more attractive to thrill-seekers. By 9000 DE, the creatures were thought to be extinct.

Demand for hunting this most dangerous game persisted, however. In 9005 DE, the Rebek Book went missing. While originally thought to have been destroyed, it was in fact stolen and hidden by a D'ni named Lord Balishek. Shortly after the Book disappeared, the wealthy hunting cadre and their gaggle of spectators paid to have slaves imported to the Age and trained to be replacements for the native creatures. Slaves were promised freedom if they killed one of the D'ni hunters during a safari, but it is unclear whether those promises were actually kept. The slaves were also given doses of a powder produced by animals native to Rebek, which had an adrenaline-like effect and made the hunts more challenging for the D'ni. Over time, this blood sport grew in popularity, though it was officially still illegal. In 9375 DE, The D'ni began to use Teledahn as a storage facility for the slaves bound for Rebek, under the supervision of a private owner named Manesmo. It seems that the activity was still popular all the way up to the fall of D'ni in 9400 DE.

Although the D'ni thought they had gone extinct, the population of the original creatures which the D'ni had hunted rebounded in another part of the Age after the Fall.

DRC restoration

According to Douglas Sharper's journal, Rebek was being worked on by the DRC as early as 2000 CE. Sharper's assistant, Nick White, had been assigned to the Age and described it as "amazing", but was pulled off of the project in July of that year. At the time, Sharper suspected that Dr. Watson discovered evidence of the slave hunts, and chose to slow-walk the restoration there as a result. When an explorer questioned him directly about the restoration in Rebek, Dr. Watson said, "The environment is a large space with some unusual gravitational/magnetic anomalies. We don't consider it a safe place to be spending a lot of time at the moment...".

When the DRC published their list of restoration projects in early 2004, Rebek was already listed in Phase Two, but suspended. A note on the page echoed Dr. Watson's remarks, stating "Rebek - 7/02 - Environmental abnormalities - too dangerous - Watson". After the DRC returned in 2006, they voted 3-1 to re-activate the project, but it remained shelved due to a lack of manpower.