((OOC: Alright, sense taking off got the axe, i'll continue here in a matter of speaking. As im at kind of a crossroads of issues, no means of travel, but i hate to continue posting by myself or i feel like im just writing a book, and if i remember correctly that is also a nono, so i hope to avoid that ))

Lost...Adrift within a soothing, warm, bright place...floating...floating endlessly... He was following the thread within himself that led he knew not where... But it was the warmest part of his being...the place within him that did not smell of blood, did not pulsate with hate...

He followed that inner warmth, that ancient thread that was. At the end of that thread was a vision...a vision of a crimson locked woman with endless eyes of violet...

"she's....my..."

what was the word? what word was he searching for? there was a word...a word he had never been assosiated with before this time...

"mother..."

the word held great meaning...as though it suddenly defined a whole new purpose in his existence.

He awoke, to find his fists clenched so tightly, that blood dripped from his hands. His mind refused to grasp quite why, the meaning escaped him, but he was afraid, afraid of the looming shadow within him... Afraid to of the voices tauntings.
You dreamt of a mother that is not... She cares not for you... She abandoned you, give into the hate and revil in its beauty.

his head shook, he held tightly to the inner warmth he knew was also a part of him...Held tight to the love he felt was somehow tied to his mother...

He would find a way to find his place in the universe...find a way to overcome both the light and the dark within him...and find a way simply to be...without the constant pressure...

Knowing full that this would take time...the first step was to learn what he could of the universe he now found himself in...alone. He would make use of whatever knowledge the cloners had at hand...he would study...study the politics of the universe, study the workings of the machinery, study histories of worlds, study the religions that have come and gone....he would study...for knowledge could give him the power to find his way...

--------------------

After a time of it he took a break and sat down to enter a state of meditation. This would be his pattern. Meditation seemed astoundingly usefull for him. It focused him. It helped him discover himself. Within the folds of meditation he had come to truely understand the two seperate entities that seemed to exist as part of him, though every moment those two forces seemed to assimilate further into his own natural conciousness. He was vaguely aware of the fact that these forces within him were governed by a very simple rule...equal and opposite...When one pushed, the other pulled just as hard. leaving his mind somewhere in the middle. He would most likely forever he incapable of truely understanding love, but to would he most likely truely feel what most regard as hate. Though at the same time, he himself understood and felt both emotions more strongly and completely then anyone else... If such a thing made any sense...

Within him he felt the swirling of the two emotions...at first he had only heard the one voice...the voice that begged him to spill blood... But as his mind began to unravel its own mystery, he had begun to actauly understand that, though it had influenced him always, the other side had a voice as well. Both were speaking less and less.. Though he had needed to hear them less and less as well...They were becoming an instinctive part of his being.

His breathing was steady as he continued to examin his inner self...
It is not to late...You can still kill them all...Still drink in there blood, and revel in the pleasure of hate
No...he can not. He is a kind soulWorthless!

With another breath the voices faded into the background and then vanished. His eyes opened and he stood before returning to his place at the table, and resuming his studies...

He would come to understand this universe, and find his place within.

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IT WOULD NOT BE LOGICAL FOR THE KAMINOANS TO GIVE HIM A SHIP. So Siratne, I hope you can be patient. I think you'll have to remain here until another character role plays here to Kamino, in order for you to logically depart from this thread.))

--------------------

As Shayla stepped through the portal the final traces of pain chewing at her senses faded, yet dark thoughts and potentially even darker plans continued to form in her mind as she truly considered just where they were headed.

Out of one demension and into another, one of mortals and of time.

She pursed her lips as she completed her step into the universe, and opened her eyes, unaware that she had ever closed them. Her booted foot hit a solid, tiled floor, and she began to look about herself although she was already on the alert and on the defensive for whatever might be waiting on this side.

Oddly, there was nothing. Save for a small, confined room surrounded by bookshelves full of books...

...a peculiar novelty. Despite this fact, Shayla expected as much, for that is what she had seen in her vision. She continued to take in her new surroundings. In the center of the room sat a wooden table piled with books, one yet open in the middle of the table, its pages ruffled as though someone had been looking through it feverishly for answers.

Even so, one final thing was also abundantly clear. Whoever had been studying so eagerly, so desperately, was not present in the room as she had seen in her vision, for the wooden chair at the table was pulled out and vacant...

...and on the tile from the table to the doorway of the room was a trail of blood, smeared and dried...

...leaving damning evidence of a struggle potentially long since past. Shayla's eyes darkenend, and she streched out with her senses, seeking, searching.

What she found was not quite what she expected. Yet at the same time it certainly was.

Darkness tinged with conflict slammed into the core of her being. Instead of pulling away from these senses, Shayla instead accepted those feelings, and continued to strech out to them, identifying with them as her lids closed once more.

"He is here," she whispered softly. "I can feel it."

--------------------

“He is indeed,” he said. His eyes opened and a smile stretched across his face.

“But there are others here as well,” he continued. His queen should have senses this as well. She was new, perhaps not yet as honed to her own senses. “There are things, beings, those who have perpetuated this atrocity upon the child. He was meant to be born, naturally, not like a slug born from test tube slime. Come, my love, and we shall deal retribution to these perversions, and see if we may yet salvage any worth from our youngster.”

He turned his attention to the trail of blood on the floor, his tongue instinctively flicking against his tongue. He stepped towards the center of the room, his own blood lust beginning a slow steady build and thumping in his chest. He put his hand out and turned to beckon his queen to join. She reached out, shakily, and stepped forward. But her footing gave and she fell forward. Kieran stepped towards her and caught her in his arms, taking her gently to the floor.

A brief, small spatter of concern flashed in his eyes, which was quickly replaced with disdain.

“I should have seen this,” he said, disgusted with himself. “You are queen of the Darker Realms, your power is drawn from there. You are no longer of this realm, and to keep you corporeal you must draw your force from me. But even my power has limits here, so we must move quickly.”

And to what had been done to him. Something, something becoming more and more familiar to Shayla, rose up in hot anger. Her eyes darkened. She turned them to look upon Kieran even as he stood with her.

"The cloners will do what they have always done," she hissed. "We must show them the error of their ways," she continued, practically cooing, ignoring for the moment the probability that they had little time in this demension.

And that, without Kieran, she would have even less.

A thought to consider further at another time...

--------------------

It did not open.

He pressed it again, then again, his finger dealing more and more pressure to the hapless button. His frustration rose, for what was supposed to be an easy retrieval was turning into something more and more complicated.

Then the door hissed open, and a very tall, thin, pale, and surprised creature stood before Kieran. "Lord Pha--" it began, but the Lord of the Darker Realms flicked his arm up in an instant and caught the creature by the throat and lifted. Beyond, he caught a glimpse of another of these creatures standing before a large glass tank, bubbles of air flowing upwards in a clear liquid. Inside, with tubes running every which way, was a small human-looking boy, perhaps age ten.

But it was the bubbles that caught Kieran’s attention and his focus gave way to a strange stir of an image in his mind.

Bubbles. Always the bubbles, the liquid, the mask over his nose and tube running down his throat. He had awoken and was looking at everything through a hazy shimmer of bubbles. They were staring back at him, these tall thin frail things, nodding, looking to the side in anticipation – something else there stirred, a large, hooded shape of someone, something, stepping into view. But he can’t see a face, only… horns…

That did not, however, mean she was not aware of him and his movements or lack thereof. She instead focused her senses on the seemingly human boy in the tank, realizing that he was not entirely human. Or at least that he at some point was not, for there was something entirely disturbing about his appearance. His skin was a pale red, and on either side of his head he had small, almost non-existent, horns.

Shayla stretched out with her senses towards the being, connecting with him. As she did his eyes snapped open, revealing bright violet irises. That, however, was the only portion of him that was bright; all else in his being seemed lack-luster and dulled, almost as if...

"They've domesticated him," Shayla snarled, keenly aware that the Kaminoans had ways of making a being more docile. "But that's not all they've done."

She paused then, turning to the still wide-eyed Kaminoan. Despite the fact he towered over her in stature, Shayla still managed to present a threatening aura as she stalked closer to him. "What experiments have you performed on him?" she growled, pinning the Kaminoan with her eyes. "He's more human than he should be..."

--------------------

"I-- I--" he stammered a bit helplessly as his free hand waved about in a similar manner. His other hand was taken up by a type of medical scanning device, for being but a lowly lab assistant it was his duty to make certain all the various and sundry devices ferreted away in one lab or another worked flawlessly. Heaven forbid that one of a growth-tube's occupants wither and die at his hand, be it by accident or not. That was the last thing he wanted in life; happy to remain in his lowly station, he hated the snide remarks his occasional blunders brought down upon his head.

Especially when they came from the lips of his cousin.

The thought of Rhua Ki heartened him tremendously. He drew in a thankful breath, and ventured to speak.

"This experiment was under the direction of one of our best geneticists, Dr. Rhua Ki," he said to the floor, but in a loud enough voice that Shayla would clearly hear him. "He has been off on sabbatical, but you are in luck. He has returned home but just three cycles ago; perhaps you would rather speak with him about this one?

"I could fetch him for you," he finished before falling silent. He could not fully contain his trepidation, though, which revealed itself in the manner he started fiddling with the scanner, turning it over and over in his hands as though with that motion the attention of the two strangers would be captured long enough that he could make a quick and serendipitous exit.

--------------------

"Yes," Shayla responded, the word coming out more as a demand than a response. "Fetch him. Now."

--------------------

It did not take him long to find the one he sought, to whom in a rather breathless outburst he tried to explain all that had happened so unexpectedly to him, ending with the fact that the good Doctor was now being requested to join the strange visitors.

How they had come to be where they were, he hadn't a clue. He didn't want to know, in fact. So finishing his little spiel he didn't wait for any reply but fled the scientist's presence, heading off to continue his chores in one of the labs as far away from this part of the great Stilt City as possible...

[ 06-20-2011 09:45 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rho Ki ]

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He didn't like quandaries, truth be told. They bothered him, for they disturbed the smooth, effortless functioning of his sterile, scientific world. But they did have a place of sorts in the grand scheme of things, this he had to admit even to himself.

They made one sit up and think, made one expand one's paradigms, made one look at the situation from another side, another view. They kept one from becoming jaded and pedantic. Nothing destroys good science more than that.

So he went on, now turning his thoughts to something his excitable cousin had blurted out before hastily departing. Something about the fact that the being of note was too human--?

But... wasn't that what the red-skinned, horned being had wanted? Quandary indeed...

He shrugged inwardly, putting this aside for the moment. Customers were allowed to change their minds about their orders after all; it wasn't his place to question. Only to do what was required to the best of his ability...

And charge them even more so.

He came to the room, and laying one long-fingered hand upon the door palmed it open. It was a small room, with only one growth-tube inside. Being one of the smaller labs, it was used for private experiment and others of singular inquiry. It was the larger wards that were used for mass cloning, not a small lab such as this.

He entered, and bowed his head to the human female who was standing with very much haughty demeanor within. Behind her was the growth tube, which was apparently being scrutinized by a familiar looking red-skinned being... well, familiar as to species, not the individual. He could only see the entity's back, after all. After quickly taking in the scene he opened his mouth to offer words, then wisely thought better of it.

"I am Dr. Rhua Ki," he finally said by way of introduction. "I understand there is some sort of problem with my work?"

[ 06-20-2011 10:05 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rhua Ki ]

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...but there was something odd about it all. And that was when it hit Shayla.

The Kaminoans hadn't taken it upon themselves to experiment on the child as she originally thought. Someone had instructed them to do it...

...but who? Hadn't that first Kaminoan who opened the door started to call Kieran Lord somebody-or-other?

"My Lord and I want to know what techniques have been used thusfar on the boy," she said evenly. "It just seems that he does not look entirely... well at the moment," she ended, falling silent and waiting.

--------------------

"Please, my apologies," he began politely enough. "While much information can be gleaned from the genome of an individual, when it comes to an interspecies admixture there are sometimes gray areas that we find ourselves having to... ahhh... extrapolate in order to fill. Is this young one ill? I am not entirely familiar with the human species; are you a purebred human, Lady? Perhaps you would be so kind as to allow me to take some samples from which I might--"

A lethal look from Shayla steered him quickly back on course.

"Ahh; very well. As to the procedures that have been implemented, why it was as Lord Phalomir requested: the child was to have the Sith portion of his genetic map eliminated, and replaced by that of his human one. Eventually he will be a purebred human; oh, might I add that his regression is coming along quite nicely. He is approximately halfway to the endpoint from which we first aged him.

"I think that, other than the few understandable issues I am having to deal with, considering I do not have an entire human gene map at my disposal, this one is coming along grandly.

"Aren't you pleased with him?"

He stopped then, and waved one slender, genteel hand toward the young boy that floated, sickly pale and limp, within the growth tube.

--------------------

It. Has. Been. Done.

But that was all that was allowed before darkness overtook once more, stamping the thught into angry submission. Shayla glared coolly at Rhua Ki, her hands balling into fists. "He is useless if he is ill. Put the Sith DNA back in him."

[ 06-20-2011 10:54 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"I'm afraid that is not an optimal route to take," he announced, albeit a bit pedantically. "I was instructed to ascertain that should this possible future request occur, it not be acceptable, no matter who was requesting it. His genetic make-up has been influxed with markers as such that to add the Sith gene back into his make-up would make him nonviable."

He paused a moment, looking Shayla straight in the eye, nonplussed by her growing anger.

"He would die."

He took it upon himself then to approach the growth-tube, where he took up a stance next to the yet-silent Sith.

"It has been mentioned that the race must remain pure," he said in a low voice. "That it should not be sullied. I have made certain that at least in the case of this one, this is most certainly so."

He paused for a fraction of another moment, then continued.

"This I can replicate, should the need ever arise to do so."

He turned back to the growth-tube, cocking his head a bit to one side as he stared at the young boy within it.

"It should not take too long before his regression is finished," he announced in somewhat non sequiteur to his former statements. He turned his back to the growth-tube, fixing his gaze upon the human female while being very much aware that the Sith beside him had turned slightly in his direction.

He waved a hand towards Shayla.

"Is this to be the surrogate?" he inquired, all innocence. "Or do you wish to maintain him in this state, here, within my lab.

"This would be very expensive..."

[ 06-20-2011 11:19 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rhua Ki ]

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For the moment.

But things were not entirely beyond repair. And this tall, horrible worthless being would be the unwitting savior to the Realms.

Kieran turned his head to the Kaminoan, his face dark and cold. His eyes flashed red and a slight grin dared to cross his lip.

“Change nothing,” he said coldly. “Proceed with the regression.”

Kieran turned fully towards the tall being, then stepped forward to position himself behind his queen.

...and not only that. "He will never be able to take his place as such."

She fell silent then, her eyes locking on Kieran's, waiting for his response.

--------------------

...and desire for Power.

Power. Not Love. And Balance.

Again, a whisper. But something more than a whisper: "I can make you Whole."

In the few moments it took for these thoughts to fly through Shayla's mind, she didn't so much as bat an eye as she continued to regard Kieran. There was one thing she was curious about, and she wanted to know.

"Without his Sith DNA, he will not have certain Sith abilities which may prove..."

She trailed. "... Useful."

The voice deep within, which formerly whispered, howled then in open despair.

[ 11-05-2011 12:10 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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Perhaps it would regress back to the actual pairing of the gametes that had come to form him? Now, that was an interesting thought...

--his inquisitive but logical mind had leapt yet one step further in the chain of events that were unfolding. Somewhat abashed that his science was proving itself unworthy to the Lady, he brightened as this new idea struck him.

"Lady," he said with a formal bow of his head. "You are human; your companion is of the Sith race. While this male can no longer retain Sith DNA, no matter what I would strive to do, I could create a replica of him.

"Using gametes from the pair of you, of course. It would be entirely clinical, unless you would wish it to be, ahh--"

He paused a moment, seeking the proper way to state matters.

"Otherwise," he finished with a delicate cough.

[ 11-05-2011 12:21 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rhua Ki ]

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But a thought interrupted his impulse. His lip twitched and his smile turned into a contemptuous sneer. He forced his eyes away from Shayla and regarded the tall thin creature who had spoken.

“No,” he said flatly. “You were told to regress this… child. Sith blood runs through it already, it is the chosen one. “

He turned back to Shayla, his expression now lighter.

“ Its life was made from a Sith Lord, and a human of great power,” he said. “And he was made complete by the spirit of our own dark lord, a noble sacrifice that shall mean the survival of our Realm. But we must add our own flavor to this recipe, it is clear to me now.”

He stepped back and looked at the bubbling tube. The future, indeed, rested within.

Does he view you as an equal? Or as a means to an end? came an errant thought.

She pushed that thought aside. For he could do with her what he wanted...

...and she, in turn, could respond how she wanted as well. "What then, My Lord?" she asked Keran simply, her eyes yet like ice.

At length, however the look in her eyes changed from ice to something almost softer, and almost seductive.

"And until then, my Lord?"

[ 11-05-2011 12:47 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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"Sir," he began, giving Keiran a respectful bow of his head.

"This can easily be accomplished; in fact, this human is quickly approaching the embryonic point in which it existed when first brought to us. But--"

He paused a moment, a brief moment of inquisitiveness passing through him as he wondered if the red-skinned being in front of him, or the human lady, would be offended by his next words. But if offense they would bring, he could do nothing to prevent that. For they were nothing but truth.

"He is not he," he said as he waved one slender-fingered hand toward the incubating tube. A smile at his own prowess then crept across his face, and those fingers caressed the duraglass in an almost loving manner.

"With the Sith DNA gone, there is nothing to work with but the human component. This being is now a female, and is in fact a clone of its mother."

He couldn't help but smile in self-satisfaction, for if there was one area of expertise that he, a Kaminoan scientist, was most adept, it was in the manufacture of clones.

[ 11-05-2011 12:55 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rhua Ki ]

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“A clone?” he asked steadily. “A hateful, degenerate unnatural clone… Of its mother?”

All hope of understanding the grand plan, and of accomplishing that which he had set out to do, vanished like a puff of smoke. Actions set in motion countless years ago, a careful design leading to the moment when the chosen child, composed of living flesh but avatar to the Dark Spirit, first of a new race, would be born of a woman of the Dark.

But now that dream was shattered, smashed against the cold sterile walls of a laboratory, destroyed by the simple curiosity of a creature of science.

In his mind he was already striding to the tall thin creature and wrapping his hand around its throat. He was lifting it high into the air and twisting the body until the satisfying crack of bone was drowned out by the even more satisfying screams of agony. He was throwing the crippled form into the glass tank, shattering it. The creature’s body was being cut in two by the impact and sharp shards of glass, and bubbling liquid was spilling across the floor, mingling with the blood already spread there. And then he was upon his queen, taking her amidst that death and gore…

“But wait,” he said aloud, staying the execution. “Perhaps not all is lost. These things you say, of making an heir, with my queen and with me… this can be done, with certainty?”