Glarch are a peaceful grazing animal native to the planet Hyuin. They traveled the rolling hills of the planet's lush countryside in enormous herds, each consisting of as many as ten thousand animals each. The herds would migrate seasonally, creating a thundering sound that could be heard for miles as they wended their way across sprawling fields. The planet's only native people were nomadic and lived in small tribes of no more than five hundred individuals. The tribes subsisted for many millennia, living off the land and hunting the Glarch as a food source. The nomads never threatened the Glarch population, however, because the herds were large enough that their numbers were always able to withstand the small amount of hunting that was done. The nomads also had a profound respect for the balance of nature and kept moving on to new temporary settlements every so often, so as to avoid causing any permanent damage to any ecosystem. As such they lived in perfect harmony with the planet.
Then one day visitors from another world landed on Hyuin. At first the nomads did not know what to think of the great ships the visitors arrived in, or the technology that allowed them to arrive from the sky, and then fly away again, so high that they vanished from sight. The visitors were kindly and told the natives stories of wonders they could not even dream of: homes in the sky, devices that allowed a person to vanish and then reappear in another location, devices that spontaneously created fire. They even showed them the magic of electricity, which could power many amazing devices, including ones that generated light. The natives immediately trusted the visitors because they felt they had been sent from some wonderful magical plane of existence.
As time passed the visitors began to exploit the land, building permanent structures, felling healthy trees, and carelessly hunting the planet's native species, including Glarch, and using just the hide, while discarding the rest of the body, rather than using the entire carcass. Worst of all, they often hunted for sport, without even using the carcasses for any productive purpose. Eventually the natives spoke out against the visitors and explained their beliefs that natural order must be maintained, but the visitors only laughed and told the natives to leave and not cause trouble for them, else they would feel their wrath.
Some brave natives led by a young shaman named Tisvitca acted out against the visitors, realizing that if they simply left for other parts of the world the visitors would continue to expand and exploit the planet, eventually reaching all corners of the world, and in time there would be no escape. Tisvitca was young, but wise, and studied the ways of the visitors, taking note of some of their weaknesses. He noticed that their vehicles became immobile if the tires were lacerated, and also that they depended on wires to bring the electricity from the generators to their structures. Tisvitca organized efforts to thwart the visitors, sometimes throwing rocks at the structures they built, slashing the tires of their vehicles, cutting the electric lines, or even placing charms outside the doors of their homes so that they became sick. The visitors reacted with swift brutality and made examples of a few of the natives, even though they did not know which ones had actually committed the acts of resistance. Those who were punished were tied up and subjected to public torture or humiliation or forced to do hard labor. Some were even punished by death.
Tisvitca grew more and more frustrated as he watched the visitors destroy the beauty of the planet and carelessly strip away its natural resources with disturbing efficiency. As time went on he organized nonviolent protests against the visitors, but it was too late to do much good. There was very little he and his people could do to protect the planet, and the numbers of Glarch had already dropped to alarmingly low levels.
Unbeknownst to Tisvitca the Bior Sess corporation had set up a Glarch hunting operation on the planet because it was found that Glarch hide was and ideal material for crafting expensive luxury items such as shoes, handbags, and jackets. Bior Sess eventually laid claim to the planet because the natives did not believe in ownership, and therefore the planet was up for grabs. The natives were then given one year to vacate, or else suffer imprisonment by Galactic authorities. An interplanetary conservationist group, after hearing of the plight of the Hyuinians, worked to give them rights to live on a habitable moon of Hyuin. The natives were pleased that they now had a safe place to live, but hated that their home planet was still being destroyed by the visitors. With the help of interplanetary charities the Hyuinians formed their own organization, the Glarch Conservation Society, and began organizing a boycott of Bior Sess.
Unfortunately the boycott was not very successful because the amount of press it generated caused more people to want Bior Sess merchandise because it was so controversial. Also, as the number of Glarch declined steadily and the demand increased rapidly, the price of Glarch hide increased exponentially because it was now a rare commodity. The Glarch Conservation Society lobbied unsuccessfully to outlaw the killing of Glarch. The courts ruled that it would be irresponsible to pass such a law because Glarch hide is the planet's chief export. In fact its value is so exorbitantly high that the revenue from its exportation accounts for 99 of the planet's income and 85 of the planet's population has an occupation that is in some way related to Glarch breeding, grooming, feeding, hunting, skinning, etc. Therefore if Glarch killing was outlawed the planet's entire economic infrastructure would collapse immediately.
Frustrated that every measure he had taken to save the beloved Glarch had failed, Tisvitca decided to take drastic measures. He gathered every shaman from every surviving tribe and organized a powerful ritual that lasted ten days. Together, under Tisvitca's guidance they placed a curse on all who wear the hides of Glarch.
No one other than the tribesmen knows any specific details regarding what the curse is said to do. In fact many remain skeptical that the curse was successful at all, as no glaring examples of its effectiveness have ever been documented. But whenever he is questioned about it, the corners of Tisvitca's mouth raise in almost imperceptible smirk and he says in a voice laced with a quiet confidence "Justice will be served."
Headache shared this story with Eddie just before the ship landed on the Bior Sess asteroid. It didn't help the feeling of nausea that had already found a home in his stomach, but he knew that he wouldn't be wearing Glarch hide anyway, so what did he have to worry about? The hatch opened with a hiss as the cabin began to fill with the air from the asteroid's artificial atmosphere. "The air here is so fresh and almost sweet" Eddie observed.
"It's the finest in designer airs" commented Fendra-Li, the level of pomp in her voice rising to critical levels.
"It's a waste of money and resources, is what it is" replied Headache.
"Can't you just lighten up and enjoy the finer things in life?" asked Fendra-Li.
"I do enjoy the finer things in life" said Headache in his own defense, "but what I don't enjoy is blatant over-the-top wastefulness. Do you realize that instead of pumping perfumed air into the parking lot of a commercial asteroid the resources could instead be used to filter the pollutants out of the atmospheres of impoverished planets that can't afford to have clean air? Don't you think that would be a more constructive use of the über-expensive air reparticulators on this asteroid?"
Fendra-Li didn't seem to hear Headache's monologue as she skipped toward the magnificent gleaming boutique, Gurf by her side keeping in perfect syncopation with her erratic pace. "The way he follows her around reminds me of a Tarkalian puppy dog" observed Headache.
As Fendra-Li and Gurf began the approach toward the magnificent visage of the boutique they saw a large crowd of reporters and other members of the press mobbing the great crystal doors. Two enormous security guards towered over the people, using their massive limbs, the thickness of tree trunks, to fend off the crowd of relentless reporters, and continuously reminding them that recording devices are not allowed in the boutique. But the voices of the security guards were barely audible above the commotion caused by the overzealous crowd.
Fendra-Li's pace quickened to a gallop as she saw the crowd that had amassed outside the building. Someone important must be in there she thought to herself as she mercilessly dragged her boyfriend along with her. Gurf, who seemed completely uninterested in everything that was going on, was nonetheless very patient and kept up with her pace perfectly.
Suddenly something caught Fendra-Li's eye: it was a glint of light shining off a metallic surface in her periphery. She almost didn't notice it, but she always remained vigilant when at a high-profile like Bior Sess because she didn't want to miss anything. The glimmer of light came from a vessel in the boutique's private parking lot beside the building. It was intentionally kept hidden behind a rocky ridge, but certain parts of the ridge were not quite tall enough, and from a very few places along the path leading to the front doors of the boutique one could steal a glance at the ships parked there. Though her view was almost entirely obstructed by the strategically placed boulders atop the ridge, Fendra-Li spotted one ship, a silver spaceship of a very particular design, and knew immediately to whom it belonged. At that point her base animal instincts kicked into high gear, seizing control of all of her body's autonomic and voluntary functions. Adrenaline ripped through her, her heart pounded so hard that even Gurf could hear it despite their quickened footfalls, and she broke into a full run. The long stone stretch to the boutique's front doors fell behind her fast as she closed the distance in record time.
By the time she reached the crowd she was no longer a Human-Gelorian hybrid, but had somehow transformed into a feral creature with only one purpose: getting into the boutique at once and nothing could stand in her way. As she reached the crowd she did not slow down one iota, but dug her nails into the back of the first reporter she encountered, and used him as leverage to sling herself into the air, catapulting herself onto the back of another reporter deeper into the crowd, and in turn using that poor creature as leverage to propel herself deeper and deeper through the mass of people as her boyfriend stood watching, horrified.
Mere seconds passed before she made her way to the front of the crowd, leaving a trail of carnage in her wake. Without missing a beat the security guards each extended one tree trunk-like arm and grasped her thin, stringy arms with thick hands the size of palm fronds. She struggled in vain for a moment, then realized that she was hanging several feet in the air and could do nothing, so let out a loud wail that caused most of the members of the press to drop their cameras and cover their ears immediately.
When all the air had left her lungs and she realized that the security guards were still unfazed she decided to try a different tactic. "I am a very good client and I demand that you let me in," she stated harshly, "I will not be denied entrance, or you will have my lawyers to answer to."
One of the security guards looked down at her, his expression calm and collected, as if nothing at all out of the ordinary had transpired. "You may enter, so long as you behave." And then the two security guards placed her gently on the ground before them.
Fendra-Li was irked. "Behave!" she bellowed, "You're telling me to behave! How dare you? I am the daughter of an ambassador. I can have you fired in a moment's notice. You had better treat me with a little more respect. Now I demand an apology."
The two security guards gave one another a smirk, which only infuriated her further, and then continued staring down the crowd, which had calmed down considerably by this time. Fendra-Li, realizing that she had lost her battle against the guards, decided to remove herself from the scene as promptly as possible, and entered through the grand doors of the boutique, leaving the other three members of her party to find their own way in.