"What am I looking at?" The Councilor of Ziost drew a sigh from his peer, the Councilor of Dromund Kaas, at the question but she didn't look up from reading the datapad that she had been glancing over for the past hour or so. "He calls it an 'experiment' if you want the official response." Kaas replied rather dryly, earning an incredulous glance from the Twi'lek. When he didn't receive anything resembling a proper answer in spite of the silence that he let reign between them he slowly drew his gaze back to the window with a slight grimace. "I think I preferred it when His 'experiments' consisted of injecting Himself with whatever alchemical concoction He'd read about that week."
That earned a slight laugh from Kaas, one muffled into a hum as she cleared her throat. "You're not the only one." The somewhat disturbing sight that Ziost was cursed to witness was that of their Lord Strosius in the next room, cradling an infant of all things. It was a very unusual sight indeed, the imposing robed figure rocking a little bundle in His arms and idly toying with their little hands with His own gloved fingers that Ziost personally knew to be more than capable of ripping apart most commercial metals.
Apparently according to Kaas the Prophet had insisted upon spending some time with each of the clones aboard the Intonement, one of the more specialized of the Sventove carriers. He had saved the infants for last it seemed, having apparently already spent most of the day with the more matured and child clones that were now being prepped for the project at hand. Neither of the Councilors could see the point of the exercise, it wasn't as if any of them would remember the interactions. Certainly not these youngest ones at any rate. And against his better judgement, Ziost found himself setting foot into the nursery as Darth Strosius set the one infant that He had been coddling back into their little pod.
"My Lord Prophet," "Councilor." The head Darkseeker straightened at attention as he was addressed, crossing his arms behind his back as the masked Sith Lord cast him a glance from over His shoulder. "I had hoped that you would arrive sooner, so that you could have gotten to meet with our future comrades before the final preparations began." There was a hint of edge to the admonishment but Darth Strosius must not have been too concerned about the issue, given that rather than turning to face the Twi'lek He instead moved to another of the pods and gently plucked the infant within from its bedding.
"Forgive my tardiness my lord, but I was unaware that you intended to..." He paused as the Prophet of Bogan finally turned to regard him properly, the slumbering clone held against His chest as they burrowed their little head into His arm. "...acclimate yourself with the agents." Darth Strosius hummed at that, His hidden gaze set firmly on the infant as His gloved thumb slowly stroked their cheek. "I thought it would be rude not to. We have come such a long way, invested so much time and training into these generations, developed them so precisely. Do they not deserve to know that their hard work is worthy of recognition?"
Ziost caught himself before an exasperated sigh left at the typical profound question that was proposed, finding that he was already weary of the conversation. His fingers twitched, wishing to curl around the hilt of his lightsabers rather than be clasped behind his back as he stood at attention. "Please forgive my impertinence but it is what they were made for, my lord. They are simply finally fulfilling their purpose, I fail to see what-" He tensed as the masked Sith raised a gloved finger, the reason becoming apparent as the clone in His arms squirmed and kicked a foot out.
Their eyes opened, wide and fixed upon the looming features of Darth Strosius. Ziost cursed under his breath as he saw the little clone start to take in a deep breath in time with their eyes watering, face scrunching as they prepared to unleash the full wrath of their infantile lungs. And then they paused. Their eyes widened even more as the Prophet tilted His head to the side, resuming His stroking of the child's cheek and wiping away of their tears until they settled back to slumber just as quickly as they had awoken. Yet the Darkseeker hadn't felt the first sign of the Sith Lord's mind reaching out to the clone's.
"Ah...the implants are functional?" Darth Strosius nodded as He set the infant back into their pod, tucking them in before responding. "I've checked every one of them myself just to be certain." He paused and gave the Twi'lek another glance. "Don't tell Kaas, she'd overreact if she knew I was doubting her work." Ziost nodded grimly, knowing well enough to steer clear of the academic and animated "discussions" that the Prophet and the Councilor of Dromund Kaas often held. Sometimes during otherwise standard and dull meetings, which did admittedly tend to liven them quite well albeit to the detriment of productivity.
"I've updated the list of delivery locations as well, to include several Core and Mid-Rim worlds given the gaps in their security at the moment." The seamless transition into a more formal situational update was enough to ease the tension which had taken root in the Twi'lek's shoulders, his hands no longer trying to strangle his wrists in silent frustration. "I will ensure that the Darkseekers receive the most recent mission data then. I assume the alterations to the agents' simulation have been made already?"
Darth Strosius offered a nod as He strode past the Councilor, although it was more a gesture for the Darkseeker to follow rather than an answer. "It has delayed the timetable somewhat, but yes they're being implemented as we speak. Vicar Phase Two will be a day behind schedule but should otherwise commence as we've discussed." He paused right before the door to the nursery, turning on His heel suddenly and almost catching the Twi'lek off-guard as a result. "Remember to keep the procedures detailed and specific. I trust our Darkseekers to succeed, but if they don't follow protocol then we could be dealing with any number of potential breaches in the programming of the Vicar agents. Understood?"
There was no room for hesitation or doubt in the Prophet's question and Ziost let neither slip into his response. "Understood Lord Prophet. We will move unseen and unknown, as you command." That seemed to be enough for the Sith Lord, who gave a curt nod before turning and opening the door to allow the both of them to leave the nursery without any further delay. "Excellent. You may begin dispersal of the agents the moment that their programming is finalized. Vicar Phase Two is to be commenced at once." "Of course, my lord."
