Private A Conductive Experiment

[Darth Strosius]

"And set them down...there." The Legionnaires and crew let out a small grunt as they set down their respective burdens, heavy crates full of supplies and salvaged materials, and stood at attention as their High Priest ran his hand over the top of one of the crates. "Excellent. That is all that I require, just make sure to point Lady Tremiru this way when she arrives." The cultists saluted and filed out of the cargo bay turned workshop, leaving Alisteri alone.

He turned away from the new supplies and stepped over to a nearby table upon which the most unique of his supplies rested. The remnants of the Thought Dowser, although admittedly unsalvageable and irreparably destroyed, it still served as a good reminder of what exactly he and his friend had been striving for. The Ascendant hadn't made studying or reverse engineering their technology easy by any means, especially with the ruined one being his only example thus far, but he had studied what he could nonetheless.

The masked Sith lifted up the ruined device and turned it over in his hand. "Something so small yet so powerful. How did they do it? How do you work?" He clutched onto the Dowser as if it would relent and give up the secrets of its workings by just his questioning alone. It refused to budge of course, and he set it back down on the table as he heard the sound of the bay's door opening again. "Did you bring back good news this time?"

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Better than news."

Alina stepped right over to the table Alisteri was at, gently setting down an intact Thought Dowser. Not just the dowser though. Several books, both physical and datapad. The Sangnir woman casually plopped down atop one of the other crates, a rather smug expression on her face as she watched the helm visor of her ally.

"Everything is decrypted. Looks like information on the mineral they used to make the Dowser. And, I think a schematic on other more.. Classic Sith abilities."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Oh." His eyes widened at the sight of the intact artifact, not to mention the books and datapads as well. Alisteri hadn't expected a literal treasure trove of information to be brought in. The masked Knight idly ran his hand over the Thought Dowser for a moment, as if to ensure that it was real. "Well well, yet again you strut right in with invaluable resources. I'm almost going to be disappointed if you don't have anything exciting the next time you visit."

He joked as he glanced over the books next, grabbing one of the datapads and skimming over what it had to offer. "Let's see here, what was it you were saying about a schematic? Anything you think we could cobble together a prototype of?"

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Ah, but I'm plenty exciting on my own, aren't I?" She chuckled a little, her golden eyes practically flashing with amusement. Even covered in his armor she could see how excited he was for this all. Or she was projecting. Probably both, really.

"Yeah. From what I read, the ruined parts of the other could be reused. If it goes right, well." Alina raised her hand, flexing her fingers.

"Lightning."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

He rolled his eyes and smirked at her remark, looking back down at the datapad as he scrolled through it. "Hm...exciting enough I suppose, yes." Alisteri perked up at the mention of the ruined Dowser and his masked gaze quickly shifted to her. "Lightning? Interesting..." He set the device aside and instead looked to the intact Ascendant artifact.

"If this had such a magnified power in influencing minds, then I can only imagine what one could do with a more offensive ability." There was a mixture of awe and hunger in his tone, like a greedy clerk looking at an open bank vault.

He looked back at Alina and cracked his knuckles. "There's only one way to find out! Which one of these has the schematics?"

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina glanced briefly through the various datapads on the table before lifting one up. Sure enough, it was noticeably marked different from the rest. "From what I read, the black mineral within the thought dowser is what acted as a conduit for the Dark Side. When it was shattered, it erupted in an explosion. Probably because the energy was no longer being channeled properly. The runes needed to focus it are on the last page. We'll need blood. Lots of blood."

As all alchemy did. The Ascendant seemed to be their own offshoot, taking advantage of what the Sith created but turning it to something stronger. In some ways.

"The thing is littered with warnings, though. Nothing can be gained without sacrifice, even power that all can use."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

The masked man followed her gaze to the different datapad, plucking it from the table as she spoke. "So a crystal, or some other form of container, that is infused with blood and suffering via careful channeling and runes." It made sense and at least on a theoretical level was easy to comprehend. Fabricating and remaking such an artifact was another matter.

"Not too dissimilar from standard Sith Alchemy then, or bleeding a kyber crystal. Blood is of little issue, there is hardly a shortage of criminals awaiting execution." Alisteri didn't dismiss the datapad as worthless of course, intently reading over it even as he spoke. If anything the fact that it was a relatively familiar subject made it all the more tantalizing. How were the Ascendant seemingly able to do something that other ancient Sith hadn't with the same resources and practices?

Something was still missing, but he wasn't sure what. "As long as we can figure out where to find this crystal, or a suitable replacement, we should be able to make something with this. Maybe not as powerful as the Thought Dowser can be, but enough to be worth the effort."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I don't think it's crystal. It's brittle, at least compared to the normal stone. Like.. Sand? Clay, I suppose, would be a better term. When it was cut whatever the lightsaber met with turned to black sand." She lifted up the broken thought dowser, scanning through the exposed bits. Sure enough, within were stones of black. Surrounded by the plating used to channel the dark. Alina frowned for a moment before setting it down.

"Lets see if it works, reusing the old one. I think there might be something more on the mineral used in some of the other datapads that were retrieved, not that I looked. After a point it reached the realm beyond my understanding. .. At least for now. Any news on the other.. Project?" Alina couldn't hide her excitement for it. Even now she was trying to hide her grin. If it worked, well, a whole new level of power would be hers. If her connection could even be prepared.

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

His head cocked to the side as he listened and peered at the stones still in the broken Dowser. While they hadn't escaped his notice before, he wasn't sure of their purpose until now. The rest of the device itself was similarly mysterious but he could have vague assumptions and guesses based on previous experience. "Interesting. Probably something unique then, maybe something even more potent than kyber." More than likely it was a rare material, maybe even something that had to be created instead of found.

"Ah yes, well I have some good news and some bad news on that front." Alisteri reluctantly set the datapad down and turned from the others to look back at Alina, his arms crossing behind his back. "Your...condition is a very unique one, as I'm sure you already know. The data and information you've given me has been monumental in trying to untangle a possible solution but I'm afraid that thus far I've come up short on results."

He gestured to his rudimentary workshop as he spoke, his finger lazily pointing off in the corner where a few makeshift cages sat. They were empty but the bars were covered in scratch marks and old dried blood. "I simply lack the proper facilities and resources to concoct anything that will work in the long term. I have had some success with a small number of test subjects but the results tended to be..." A small sigh escaped him as he shook his head in attempt to banish the memories of said experiments.

"...monstrous to say the least. Even then that's working without the restriction that you possess, just normal non-blessed individuals. I need more equipment than just the salvaged makeshift alchemical workshop that I have now." It was far from the good news that he had little doubt she was expecting. "Once I get a proper workplace set up I can begin real work on a solution."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

The more he said, the less of a grin Alina had. She had no delusions that it'd be a swiftly solved problem. And, more importantly, she knew that there were probably better minds she could ask. Not that Alisteri was less. Her master's resources were just.. More. More experienced. Better equipped. But she refused to ask her master for favors.

Any favor asked would be paid double in return. That was how the Sith operated. At least with Alisteri she could trust she knew enough of his intentions. Taeli Raaf was still unknown. Too unknown for Alina to willingly ask for something more than she'd already asked from her Master.

"Then I'll set my sights on reclaiming my families old forge. I'm sure enough of it is salvageable to be of use for you." She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice, but she tried regardless. Instead, she nodded to the schematics. "First, that. What do we need to get that started?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri merely nodded in response, having nothing more to say on the matter really, even if he was curious about the forge. There wasn't really any news on the solution to Alina's problem, none that he hadn't already spoken of anyway. He would find a solution. She deserved it. His gaze returned to the datapad and the schematics it still held.

"The mineral seems to be a fairly integral component. Everything else we may have on hand or can acquire in some way, but it's all just a hull if we have no way to power it." He scanned over the datapads for a moment before shrugging. "Could always try using the stones still left in the ruined Dowser too. Recharging and reworking them may just be enough to get something working. The blood isn't too hard to get, my people on Formos have plenty of smugglers to pick from."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Recharging is what has me the most interested. It seemed to be endless. How do you think they got it to be so.. Full. Especially with literally anyone being able to use it." She picked through what remained, just staring over the ruined runes that had once been carved into the metal sheath around the ore. Most seemed to have melted off when Amani severed it.

Ah, right.

Alina pulled out the runed covered lightsaber of The First, setting it down amongst the other runes.

"Before I forget. I need this stored somewhere.. Just, somewhere. The hag that inhabits the blade is someone I need to deal with, eventually. But I can't hear her as I am now. Think you got a safe or something she can rot in till we fix the mess she started?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

"That is the question of the day." With any luck the additional datapads and books could offer some insight on it. To even contain such a power the mineral had to be special, but he doubted that a recharge would be easy regardless. "The fact that they were able to stay hidden in history means that a large sacrifice like Sith Alchemy would traditionally use may not be the culprit, unless they were able to hide it somehow. I did have one theory but it's admittedly a bit of a long shot."

Alisteri's musing paused as the lightsaber was laid on the table, his gaze gliding over the runes to try and recognize anything at first glance. "I have plenty of dark and secure crates too toss it in. One can hardly collect Sith artifacts without having proper storage for them you know."

He gave the weapon another once over before turning and grabbing a cloth from underneath a nearby cluttered table. Without much explanation he wrapped the lightsaber up as completely as he could and set it aside. "I'll have to have a look and see if I have a proper storage for it later. Something small but with a good lock."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"She can go to the bottom of a damn well for all I care. So long as her influence can't leak out." Alina's unique stature in the Force made it impossible for her to feel the First, but already the crystal within was reaching out. Demanding to be heard. Demanding to be wielded. Demanding a vessel. It was a primal energy of emotion, yet with a cruel mind focusing it.

Once it was out of sight the Sangnir let out a sigh. Closed her eyes. Focused.

"What's the long shot?"

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

Alisteri cocked his head to the side for a moment at the mention of the First's influence, confusion crossing his face as he felt something pulling him towards the lightsaber. It was a subtle tug and demand for attention, not too dissimilar to when a holocron was trying to draw in a user, but one that he could ignore. "Noted."

For the moment it would sit there until he could find a good place to put it. Whether it liked it or not.

"Ah right. Well obviously these minerals need to be charged somehow yes?" The masked man drifted back over to the ruined dowser and idly gestured to it as if it would prove his point. "However a sacrifice, or a few dozen, don't seem to be enough to give such an artifact the power that it used to have. Meaning that we either need a couple hundred sacrifices, or we can siphon it from something that already has a similar energy." His hands crossed behind his back as he stood up straighter, the ceiling lights glinting off of his visor.

"I believe that we could use a Force Nexus to charge one of these artifacts. It's obviously risky and very dangerous, the process could kill or warp whoever is trying to transfer such power, but it is the only way that I can see these things being made to work."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

A nexus, huh?

Alina nodded once. She herself couldn't feel them, but perhaps that was it's own advantage. She smiled, faintly. No, grinned. All at once pieces were falling together neatly. Her problem wasn't any closer to being fixed, but that didn't mean her other plans were dead in the water. Leaning forward, resting her chin in her hands, her eyes practically flashed.

"Then lets go to one. I can keep you from being overwhelmed, after all."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

As a grin spread across Alina's face, Alisteri silently wished that he had kept his theory to himself. "Alina, this isn't a simple matter." He held up his hands as if trying to calm her excitement as he spoke. "We're talking about trying to draw power from a nexus here. Relying on it to boost one's abilities is easy, but this is something else entirely."

If she had been blessed like he was perhaps she would have a better understanding of it. "It may not even work. If I try drawing power intentionally it may take from me instead! I know how to draw power from the emotions of others and the recently slain sure, but we're talking about a massive source of raw Force power that has existed for as long as we know."

He glanced at the remnants of the Ascendant device and then back at her. "I'm not saying I won't try it. But this is something on a scale that I've never done before. Preparation is key."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina let out a small, frustrated huff as she settled back into her seat. Things were, as ever, more complicated than they seemed. Then again, that's just how the Force was, right? She closed her eyes, crossed her arms. Tried not to look anymore annoyed than she felt. Preparation was key for all things, that much she could agree with.

"Alright. Let me know when and where we're going and I'll do what I can to help prepare."

Darth Strosius

 

[Darth Strosius]

There was a noticeable pause as Alisteri visibly shifted in place, as if reluctant to speak for a moment. "That's the thing. Most of the Force Nexuses that I know of are...well..." He cleared his throat before continuing. "...under the control of Jedi. The Crusaders have been busy and precise in their conquests. The only unclaimed one I'm aware of is a little backwater world called Dagobah."

Admittedly the planet would suffice for their purposes, based on his limited information anyway, but the task alone was an arduous one. "We can attempt this fairly soon, within a couple of days in fact. The only additional materials I require are certain...illicit substances."

Alina Tremiru

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Another swamp?"

That was starting to become a running theme for them, wasn't it? She let out a soft chuckle, trying to bring some kind of humor to this so it wasn't all frustration and set backs. Though, she blinked.

"Wait, like.. Drugs? You have drugs that actually work for you?"

Darth Strosius