Private A Force of Conflict

[Eli <redacted>]

The restaurant was quiet in the way expensive places always were; soft lighting, muted conversations, and a view framed by tall glass windows overlooking the plaza below. Eli watched that plaza more than his dinner, his gaze fixed on two distant silhouettes moving through the crowd: Liin. And the Jedi who refused to leave her side.

He didn’t bother hiding the irritation tightening his jaw. Instead he leaned back slightly as Arken took his seat across from him. Eli acknowledged him with a small nod, eyes never fully leaving the window. “You picked the perfect moment to arrive,” Eli said, his voice calm but edged with purpose. “I needed someone who can move without drawing suspicion. Someone whose presence alone creates… shifts." Eli tapped a finger lightly against the stem of his glass. “The Jedi is resourceful. And very inconvenient. He keeps Liin anchored. Cautious. She won’t push herself while he’s near.”

Through the glass, it looked as though Vex stepped a little closer to Liin as she paused to check her tracker. Eli’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t want him harmed,” he continued quietly. “I just need him away from her long enough for me to take him. Long enough for her to see that she can’t rely on anyone else to shield her from what she’s becoming.”

Eli finally looked directly at Arken, shifting his focus completely towards the man. “I need a distraction,” he said. “Something subtle. Something that draws the Jedi’s attention and pulls him away. Once he’s separated, I’ll handle the rest.” His gaze slid back toward Liin, softer for only a fraction of a second before hardening again. “When you begin, don’t signal me. I’ll know.”

He lifted his glass, still not drinking, and let the faint clink punctuate his next words: “And then the Jedi becomes… useful. A demonstration of what the serum does to someone who already touches the Force. If he survives the experience, he may even become an ally. And if he doesn’t…” He exhaled softly, dismissively. “Then he no longer stands between me and what Liin refuses to explore.”

Tags: Arken Dobson Vex Drakkon Liin Terallo

 

[Vex Drakkon]

After Master Vex Drakkon and Liin spent time conversing about the Synthetic Force serum, the female allowed Vex to tag along to what he thought was the location of where Liin stored the serum. Even if the Master Jedi didn’t know what he was getting into at the moment, he had a feeling deep within, as if something were trying to warn him. It was the Force, but Vex was ignoring it for the time being. Why? Because he genuinely believed that he alone could end this.

It was a pitstop, or at least that is what Liin had told him. They settled into a booth at some restaurant, waiting for the waitress to bring them their food. Vex was hungry, so the stop wouldn’t be much of a waste and it would possibly give the Jedi enough time to squeeze more information from Liin before they head off once again. "Have you thought about training?" He asked, trying to spark up some sort of conversation between the two.

People around them were chatting amongst themselves, enjoying their time, and inhaling the food in the process. Everything seemed ordinary, almost as if nothing could go wrong. Even Vex couldn’t sense what was coming next because his mind was so indulged by this serum, it had the Jedi Master scrambling ways in their mind to stop it. Something had to be done, even if it meant destroying it in the end. Liin would hate him forever, but it was something that may need to happen in the future.

Liin Terallo
Eli <redacted>
Arken Dobson


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[Arken Dobson]

Arken was not quite sure what to think of Eli <redacted> . The man definitely seemed a little nuts, and seemed to assume Arken knew more than he actually did. As soon as his butt had touched the seat, the man had started spewing ideas and schemes in rapid fire succession. Arken quickly felt as though he had entered into a holo theatre half way through the show and was trying to figure out the plot.

On that note, how had he actually gotten here, anyways? He didn’t remember driving here. He didn’t recognize the sky, so he must be on a different planet. He didn’t know the man in front of him at all. He strained his focus on what Eli <redacted> was saying to puzzle out what was going on. “Liin”. “Serum”. “The Force”. He blinked and tried to search his mind, but to his dismay, he seemed to be missing memories. Was the soaking therapy causing memory loss? What other side effects were there?

He looked at his plate. It was full of food that he would definitely order. Had he already ordered it? What the kriff was going on?

He picked up his fork and attempted to appear as casual as possible, “I’m sorry… please remind me why I’m here?” He forced a bit of false annoyance into his tone to make it sound more like a test rather than actual confusion. Hopefully the answer given would help to unravel what was going on and who this guy even was.




Vex Drakkon Eli <redacted> Liin Terallo

 

[Liin Terallo]

Something was putting me at unease. But that something could be any number of things. And while I held some trust for the Master Jedi; that trust only went so far. Understandably he detested my serum. And more often that not he had brought up the very idea of destroying it. But I am not prepared for that yet. My research is not yet complete. Destroying it now was premature and could carry with it plenty of consequences. I had opened the floidgates of a dam. Closing it would not end the destruction caused by it's wake.

I looked up from the menu to the Master Jedi as he asked me about training. "The notion had been brought up a couple of times," I answered. "But I have not considered it yet. It is not as though there are a lot of people like me to train from."

I knew that I was the only recipient of my Synthetic Force serum. A few others that I had come across were given copies of the serum that were not exact. Their creations were from partials of my research. And not the entire formula. Yet that did not make them any less dangerous.

"Should we really talk about this here, though? And right now? How about we discuss different topics. Such as....what is your favorite planet that you have been to?" I did not know who might be listening to us. And so I directed the conversation away from anything sensative.

Tags: Vex Drakkon Arken Dobson

 

[Eli <redacted>]

I watched him over the rim of my glass, the act casual, the assessment anything but. Something wasn’t lining up behind his eyes. A gap. A slip. Too big to hide behind a forced bit of irritation.

“You’re here because you asked for this meeting,” I said, steady and matter-of-fact. “You told me the treatments were shifting. That the memory loss was getting… different. You wanted clarity. Answers. A comparison of what the serum is doing to us.” I let that hang for a beat. “You also said you thought Liin might have the missing pieces.” My arms folded loosely, posture relaxed only on the surface. “And you’re probably right. If anyone can make sense of the side effects, it’s her. She was ahead of all of us.”

A faint breath, almost a shrug. “But getting to her isn’t simple anymore. She’s got a Jedi glued to her hip. A protective one.” My eyes narrowed just a fraction. “If we go to her, we have to make sure he doesn’t turn it into a problem.”

I nudged my untouched plate aside. “So.” Another quiet pause. “…Did something change since this morning? Because if your symptoms are accelerating, then we’re running out of time to approach her cleanly.”

Tags: Arken Dobson Vex Drakkon

 

[Arken Dobson]

Ah.

So apparently memory loss was not a new problem. Arken strained his mind to remember anything recent. Last thing he recalled, he was going over regulations for a new agency he was developing. How had that been going? Was it finished? Or struggling?

He pushed the thought aside.

Right now, whoever this man was, seemed to be in a position to help him with his current problems. There was a lot of apprehension inside Arken’s mind. Everything Eli <redacted> had said was a potential lie, and he had absolutely no way to confirm any of it. The only way out was forward…

“My symptoms must be getting worse, yes. I honestly don’t even know who you are. But I don’t see how I have any choice here.

“I will run interference for you. But you better help me regain my memory functions. I may have big weaknesses, but double crossing me is a mistake. I am Arken Dobson.”

With that, he grabbed some kind of biscuit from his plate and scarfed it down quickly – this new body seemed to get hungry a lot – and then stood up to go see Liin Terallo .

He then stopped at her table. There was another man there. Arken didn’t recognize him. The confusion became clear on his face. He looked at Vex Drakkon for a moment, trying to see if his memory jogged at the sight of him.

He then looked at Liin Terallo and the look of confusion deepened in his face. To Liin, he said, “who… are you?”