Ask History Repeating Itself

[Veles]

"I transferred it into another living vessel, which was another rat. It died within the hour, but that's to be expected when you load its body up with so much corruption. The test subject survived, so I'd say it was a success overall." He could tell she was just as passionate about this subject as he was. "You could also imbue it into an artifact, and it is likely an easier method, but transferring it to a vessel is more helpful when working with larger and more complex subjects, like humanoids. Naturally, I decided to go for the more difficult option."

"The crucial part was administering a mutagenic formula to the rodent in preparation for the ritual. I crafted it from Ro Hypa venom and water from Dathomir, but the recipe can vary. I administered the formula to the subject every day for a week and then sealed it with a binding ritual."

He thought for a moment. "I could show you, though I'm a bit low on some of the ingredients and would need to replenish them. The Ro Hypa venom is easy to come by as Mataou is relatively close, and I can imbue water with the dark side here so it should not be very difficult." As for subjects to experiment on, they had plenty in the dungeons.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

She nodded along enthusiastically as he mentioned transferring it into another vessel. It made sense, something else of flesh and blood would likely be the easiest target, but she wondered to herself if there were other uses for that stored corruption. Perhaps for her Orb of Transformation.

Some practice and experiments may be good, she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. I've crafted mechanical legs and bound them to a subject before, so I wonder if the process isn't so different - or even easier - for flesh and blood, she said.

Which does lead me to wondering if we can forgo the potion and dosing, she said. It sounded like a lengthy and involved process. While it was important to make sure that it was done right, if it could also be quick, that would be helpful.

I bet we could make it work, she said. You have a workspace? she asked, standing up excitedly.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

"Something like that," he replied, the two rising from their seats. Veles lead her out of the room, tapping his finger to his ear to activate the comms.

"Have one of the prisoners escorted to the entrance of the cave and wait for me there," he ordered, and a voice buzzed back in acknowledgement. The place was not too far from his chambers, because he had chosen the location himself, and though it was a bit more traditional when it came to workspaces, it certainly got the job done far better than sterile surfaces and fluorescent lighting.

He did not quite like the idea of forgoing the potion entirely, as Veles had always liked to do every process properly from start to finish, but with their combined powers, he had no doubt that it was possible. He'd never tried it on a humanoid, but then again, he'd managed a rodent when he was just a Champion.

The two turned a few corners until they reached a long hallway that lead to a single thick durasteel double door at the end, where two stormtroopers waited with two Mustafarians handcuffed and in chains, one missing an arm. One creature hissed and thrashed but couldn't free himself from the soldiers' vice grip.

"You will suffer an excruciating death for this!" he called out suddenly in basic. Veles was unfazed as he walked toward the door, nodding to the two stormtroopers who handed the chain to him, then offered him the prod that one of them was holding. He chuckled a little but shook his head.

"Thank you, men. You are dismissed." The two headed off back down the hallway from where Veles and the Empress had come.

"A thousand curses upon your bloodline!" the Mustafarian cried out as Veles tapped a few numbers on the keypad and the door slid open. The Sith Lord did not even turn to look at him, instead looking toward the Empress.

"After you, my Lady."

As they walked, they would pass through a medium-sized tunnel that had been carved in for as long as the planet had existed, emerging into a massive chamber shortly thereafter, where the dark side flowed and clashed like tidal waves hitting each other. The temperature was uncharacteristically cold for Mustafar, and even the Mustafarian ceased his shouting, a look of fear suddenly crossing his face as he realized what was about to happen. His compatriot had been silent the entire time, his head hanging down.

The cavern was dotted with stalactites and stalagmites that jutted out harshly from the rock, and in the middle several slabs of dark stone were arrange around a small platform made of smooth stone. Runes were etched into the slabs, covering their surface and glowing faintly a red the color of blood. As they approached the platform, the air seemed to stir around them.

"It's a bit on the traditional side, yes, but it certainly gets the job done," he said at last, echoing his earlier thoughts.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry continued on, dropping in behind him so that he could lead the way through the fortress. She looked at the man cursing her and thought on it for a moment, but said nothing at first.

As they headed down the path and arrived at his "laboratory" she smirked. It reminded her slightly of her own Vault on Dathomir where she kept her most valued items and performed her own experiments.

She moved over to the pair of prisoners and reached out her hand. The Force pushed into their minds and she simply muttered Sleep. They both collapsed downward. No point in putting them through the torture while they were awake.

Let's get them some sedatives, she said, not sure where she might find those in this lab. What are their crimes? she asked. Some would call it weak or silly, but she was no fan of unnecessary cruelty or execution. If they deserved to die, then they could die usefully. Otherwise, she was no fan of murdering random civilians.

She started poking around his lab and resources, frowning and thinking on the ingredients she saw. Most of it was what she would expect, which was good, but her mind was churning over a variety of alternatives.

What were you using the potion for? Softening the body? she inquired.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

He nodded, even though the idea of the Empress of the Sith Empire administering sedatives to criminals she wanted to experiment on was a bit strange.

"This one--" he jutted his head toward the one that had caused the most ruckus, "--was apprehended during the battle a few weeks ago. He killed four troopers with his bare hands and bashed their helmets and heads open on the rocks. The other, the armless one, lead an expeditionary force of Mustafarians through the caverns in hopes of taking a backdoor into the Fortress and disabling our defenses from within." Both had committed serious crimes against the Empire and both should technically be dead, but to execute all the prisoners they'd taken they would need an entire day, so Veles chose to leave them in the dungeons until he needed test subjects. It would be evil, if they hadn't brought it onto themselves. No one made them attack the base. He'd left them alone up until then.

"The sedatives are in a fridge right here," he added, walking back toward the entrance and disappearing into the corridor. A hole had been carved into the wall with a black wooden door. Veles unlocked it and went inside, passing by a table etched with channeling runes that had been made of Dathomiri wood and past a plant with a mouth and rows of sharp teeth, which snapped at him as he walked by. In the back corner there was a medium sized fridge--one of the only pieces of technology down there--where he stored the temperature sensitive materials and regents.

Veles returned with two syringes in hand and handed one to the Empress, then turned and injected the armless Mustafarian in the neck. The alien didn't even stir as the liquid entered his body though his breathing and heartbeat slowed. The sedative would keep them knocked out for some time, which gave them ample time to work.

"Yes. It makes the body more malleable to genetic mutation and basically streamlines the process, but the formula isn't necessary." He didn't even need to gather the Force to himself here; small sparks of green played around his fingers the moment he even thought about channeling it. It was the perfect place for sorcery and Veles loved it. He was proud of the accomplishment, even if many Sith probably didn't even know that the Fortress had been reclaimed by the Empire.

"Do you have any ideas?" he asked, looking at her as they stood in front of the prone bodies of the natives. "Or shall we begin?"

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry injected the sedative in the other victim, satisfied that they were doing this to individuals on their way to the other side of the Veil either way. All the better if the two weren't awake, however.

She thought for a moment more about what he said, nodding. I have another formula I want to try. Something I think might be a little more rapid onset, she said.

She reached through a few bottles and mixed them. She muttered a quiet incantation, her fingers emitting a green mist that mixed with the liquid before drawing some up in a syringe.

Here, try this, she said, handing him one. Quicker onset, probably more painful too. Also possibly safer, she said.

She injected one of the vials into her victim before looking at the stump where one man's arm used to be.

Just cut it off with a lightsaber? she asked, motioning that he was welcome to do it while she worked on the one armed man.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

He nodded, moving one step back to give Andruil space to work. "By all means," he replied, motioning to the workspace. The idea of a formula that could work from a single dose and be more potent than any other was exciting because of how unheard of that was. Pulling it off--and he had no doubt she would succeed--meant revolutionizing the field of Sith alchemy.

As she handed him the syringe, he peered through at the brackish dark liquid and injected it into the Mustafarian's throat. The potion entered his bloodstream, and the alien began to convulse, his entire body thrashing on the platform. Then, he stopped, and Veles looked at him. He could still sense the man's life force and feeling his pulse, the Sith Lord found that the Mustafarian had not perished. "He's still alive. The formula worked." The hilt of his lightsaber flew to his open hand and ignited, bathing the two Sith in red light, the hum echoing through the cave.

"Remarkable," he murmured under his breath, his eyes set on the Mustafarian's shoulder. With one clean swipe, he amputated the arm and cauterized the wound, all in an instant.

He turned to the Empress, and extinguished his lightsaber, hooking the hilt back to his belt. "Hoof of the bantha and root of crackleflower are definitely out of the box, but it seems they did the trick, my Lady."

Now came the hard part. Rather than sit there and explain the entire process to Andruil, he would instead show her, opening his mind to a degree so that she would be able to feel the entire process as if she were doing it. Turning, he exhaled deeply and channeled the Force to himself, and it coursed through him like a rushing tidal wave. He opened his mouth and began chanting, and Andruil may be surprised to recognize that it was in Dathomirian. Every sorcerer tended to have their own personal flair, and Veles drew heavily from the teachings he'd learned from Andruil.

Green mist curled around his wrists and through his fingers as he chanted, his eyes closed. The air around them stirred and this time, they would both definitely feel it. Above the Fortress, the air sparked with static electricity and a bolt of lightning struck the very tip in between the two prongs. The electricity ran down the length of the building to its base, and the cave around them rumbled. The mist continued to grow until it was swirling around them, a massive cyclone powered by the dark side.

At first, nothing happened to the Mustafarian. The arm was placed under his stump, and slowly, the flesh began to stir, bone finding bone and nerve finding nerve. The arm molded slowly into the Mustafarian's body, his skin shifting and settling. Veles concentrated, feeling the exertion as sweat gathered on his forehead and dripped onto the stone at their feet.

Within his mind, he could see every vein, nerve, and piece of tissue he was working on. Using the Force, he welded them together piece by piece, the dark side pulling at his being, trying to drain him of his life force as he worked. It gave him immense power, but it was moments like these that he truly felt the taxing effects.

Abruptly, he stopped. The mist stopped in its tracks and dissipated, the rumbling cave calming down. The arm was connected to the Mustafarian, but they needed to make sure it worked properly. Veles probed it, grabbing it and kneading to feel if anything is amiss but found nothing. For some sorcerers, the ritual would leave behind a scar on the arm, but Veles knew what he was doing.

"It worked. Now the only thing left is to wake him and see if he can control it." His voice sounded a bit strained, his eyes just a little bit more sunken, the orange fire within dancing like an inferno.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

The incantation is the part that pulls it all together, she said. The ingredients were only half the battle, but the spell she had used was one she had derived from a mixture of Kravos's holocron and bodily enhancements performed by the women of Dathomir.

She stood back as he went to work, watching with her eyes, but much more so watching in the Shadow. It flowed and fluxed in ways she recognized and his words had their own meaning to her. She nodded along as if thinking to herself "ah yes, I recognize that."

The smell of burned flesh and the mists of Dathomir filled the room and then it was done.

Nice work, she said, deciding that it was nice and simple to sit back and watch the work. And what work it was. She had a good feeling about how things were unfolding here.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

"Thank you." He was spent, but he would stand for a little bit more, to see this through. There would be time to rest later. Veles put his hand on the Mustafarian's forehead.

Wake. The alien's eyes burst open, and he tried to get up but failed. Though the Sith Lord had awoken him, his body was still under the effects of the sedatives which meant he was very, very high. It would be difficult to get him to understand Basic in this state, but Veles realized there's a more universal way to test it. He raised his palm up for a high-five and the Mustafarian weakly slapped his palm, his arm clearly working. Veles turned away from the subject and toward the Empress.

"It is done. The process is essentially the same every time you do it, though you may find it gets easier over time." He had been unprepared because otherwise he would not have gotten so weary. He usually preferred to meditate before rituals to clear his head, but he hadn't gotten to now.

"What would you like to do with the prisoners, my Lady?" He shifted his head toward the two Mustafarians--one with a brand new arm and high as an air-squid, the other fast asleep, his stump still sizzling.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry smirked as she watched the high five, quite satisfied with the results. Interesting and informative to say the least. It was nice to have another mind that enjoyed these techniques as much as she did. It was seldom that people really enjoyed delving into the secrets of the Shadow. It was also nice to have another brain to bounce ideas off of. She may have known a great deal about these techniques, but she was not omnipotent. A mind - or her grimoire - could only hold so much information.

I leave their fate to you, she said. She could tell he was fatigued, and for good reason. He had done most of the heavy lifting of the ritual, and that without many of the techniques she often used to lessen the strain on herself such as runes, glyphs, and words of power.

You should get some rest and regather your strength, she said. The work you've been doing here has been impressive and I look forward to seeing how you continue to expand the region.

She started to head back out once again, in the general direction of her ship. She felt this meeting had been informative and worthwhile despite its brevity, but she knew there was still other business that demanded her attention.

Unfortunately, I have to be going, but you should look at Lord Escar's treatise on words of power. You might find it interesting as a read about how to imbue power for later use, she said.

@vamp

 

[Veles]

The fate of the two prisoners rested on his shoulders, and Veles was simply pleased by the prospect of being allowed control over something. He already had a plan in mind for the two, and he was going to be developing it even further over the next few days, so it was nice to have something to do for a week. After that, it would probably be back to flying to minuscule planets to fight the wildlife and natives.

"I think it certainly won't hurt," he agreed, his body growing more fatigued by the minute. It seemed the effects slowly sneaked up, but hit hard. He wasn't upset; in fact, he enjoyed the fact that he was able to experience this, too, because it was important to feel the negatives.

"Thank you, my Lady. I will let you know how the situation develops." Dagobah was as good as taken, so he would be reporting some very good news very soon.

He nodded, because it was clear the Empress had places to be. "I appreciate your presence here today, and will definitely look for that document." It was interesting to have someone suggest him books to read, because usually it was the other way around. It was strangely refreshing.

The two would head out of the chamber together, since Veles was probably the only one that knew the way out. As they exited onto the hall of the Fortress, the two stormtroopers were there, and the Sith Lord pointed back to the tunnel.

"They're both in there, heavily sedated. Return them to their cells and wake me up in 12 hours," he informed them, walking away without giving them a chance to reply or say they weren't qualified to do that. If there was a way, they'd find it, because no one wanted to piss off a Sith Lord.

Veles lead the Empress back to the landing pad, where her ship was still waiting, and bid her goodbye, watching as her craft left, becoming a small dot in the atmosphere until it disappeared. Then, he turned on his heel and headed directly to his room, collapsing directly onto the bed, not even bothering with the blanket.

Fully clothed, he would sleep there for 11 hours and 23 minutes without stirring.

@Phoenix

The end.​