Private Drowning In Darkness

[Darth Veyriss]

Drowning in Darkness

Darth Veyriss stood in silent contemplation aboard her station, the void stretching endlessly beyond the viewport. Andran's remains drifted like a wound in space—an accident, they called it, a catastrophic failure of some forgotten war engine, its destruction lost to time. The Sith geneticist had read the records, studied the whispers of history, but the why and how mattered little to her. What intrigued her was what lingered.

Fragments of Andran still pulsed with residual energy, faint but persistent, like echoes of a heartbeat that refused to fade. Sith alchemy had taught her that nothing truly died—it only transformed. Even in destruction, there was potential.

Veyriss traced a clawed finger over the control panel, calling up scans of the irradiated debris field. The station had been placed here decades ago by a some poor geologists long forgotten, an outpost for research, a place to sift through the wreckage of a world and pull forth something useful. And in that, she found kinship with this place. She, too, was a construct of destruction, molded from the remains of something else, shaped by hands that sought to make her better than what had come before.

Her crimson eyes flicked to the swirling mass of dust and stone outside. There was beauty in obliteration, in the reshaping of ruin into something greater. A hundred years ago, Andran had been nothing but a loss. Now, it was a crucible, a place of creation—if one had the vision to see it.

And she did.

Though the true labor would begin shortly, once she had all her equipment set up. Until then, she would continue the repairs on the station, and hope that some enlightened individuals might come and see fit to join her research.

Tag: Serina Calis

 

[Serina Calis]

Drowning in Darkness.
Location: ???
Objective: Meet the geneticist.
Allies: ???
Opposing Force: ???
Tags: Darth Veyriss

Break the body, break the mind. ​

Darth Veyriss was not alone.

The moment Serina stepped onto the station, she knew she had found what she was looking for.

The air was thick with the scent of metal and ozone, the ever-present hum of machinery filling the silence like a heartbeat. The station was old, its bones worn but strong, like the woman who stood at its heart. Andran's graveyard loomed outside the viewport, a relic of ruin and lost knowledge. But Serina wasn't here to mourn the past.

She was here for something far more valuable.

Her boots clicked softly against the durasteel as she approached, her silhouette cutting through the dim red lighting. She had not concealed her presence. There was no need. The woman before her was no fool—she would have already felt the shift in the air, the weight of another mind pressing against the fabric of this space.

Serina's blue eyes flicked to the control panel, the faint glow reflecting in them as she considered the data flashing across the screen. Debris fields. Residual energy. The signature of something still alive in death. Her lips curled slightly.

"Fascinating," she mused, her voice smooth, unhurried, deliberate. She turned to Darth Veyriss, tilting her head ever so slightly, studying her with the keen gaze of someone who already knew she had found something worth keeping.

"You are not the first to dig through corpses in search of answers." A beat, a shift in her tone, the hint of something more. "But you might be the first to find them."

She clasped her hands behind her back, exuding nothing but ease—an affectation, of course, but one she wore well.

"I came here seeking knowledge, and I believe you are the one who can provide it." Her voice was silk and steel, coiling through the cold air between them. "A geneticist. One whose work is… beyond conventional understanding. One who sees past the limitations of flesh and bone."

She let the words settle, watching, waiting.

Then, a slow, knowing smile.

"I don't suppose you'd know anyone who fits that description?"

 

[Darth Veyriss]

Drowning in Darkness

The presence of another on her station caused her brow to arch beneath her suit, the Chiss taking a moment to reach through the force to identify the issue.

It was found rather swiftly. A child.

She didn’t reply to Serina as she spoke, her gaze fixated on the outside, a hand clenched and flexed as she monitored things. “Knowledge is earned, not given. You must be from nobility to think you have the right to speak with me as you have.”

She remarked, refusing to dignify Serina with a glance. “There is plenty to find within the dead, but you have to have intelligence to know what you are looking for, and application on how to utilize it.”

She felt her irritation growing, perhaps it was that this woman sought her secrets now for what she assumed as free. She lacked the foundations to even read into theory from what she could glean. “Do not play games child, this is not school, this is no playground. You breath my air, on my station, wasting my time. Speak plainly, or not at all.”

She snapped her head to Serina, the chemicals within her suit began to hiss, releasing out into the enclosed space. Though what they were and did, Veyriss seemed to not care in the slightest.

Tag: Serina Calis

 

[Serina Calis]

Drowning in Darkness.
Location: ???
Objective: Meet the geneticist.
Allies: ???
Opposing Force: ???
Tags: Darth Veyriss

Break the body, break the mind. ​

Serina did not flinch.

The hissing chemicals, the weight of Veyriss's irritation, the dismissive edge in her voice—none of it moved her. If anything, it amused her.

Noble.

Serina's lips curled into something between a smirk and a sneer, equal parts entertained and unimpressed.

"Then it seems you already know me better than most," she said smoothly, meeting Veyriss's gaze without hesitation. There was no flattery in her tone, no coyness—just the unshaken certainty of someone who had spent her life standing above others and saw no reason to apologize for it.

"I am of noble birth. I was raised in an environment where words are weapons and control is the only currency worth having." A slow inhale, measured, unfazed, before she continued. "And I will admit, it makes me sound condescending at times."

She let the statement sit, unapologetic and razor-sharp.

"But you misunderstand me, Darth Veyriss." Her voice shifted then, losing its edge, sharpening into something harder, something real. "I am not here to waste your time. I know exactly what I want. I came looking for a geneticist who understands the Force at a fundamental level—who doesn't just use it, but builds with it. And now I stand before one."

She gestured around them, a slight tilt of her chin toward the station's worn metal and the graveyard beyond it.

"I recognize value when I see it, and I recognize you for what you are—a master of your craft. I wouldn't have come if I didn't." Her blue eyes gleamed with something unreadable, something precise. "I need someone who can create life, mold it into something greater, something beyond what the limitations of nature have dictated."

She finally took a step forward, not threatening, not submissive—just present, just here, standing firm in her intent.

"So let's not waste each other's time with arrogance. You don't suffer fools, and I don't tolerate being dismissed. You say knowledge is earned, and I agree. So tell me what it will take."

Her hands folded neatly behind her back.

"And I will earn it."

 

[Darth Veyriss]

Drowning in Darkness

She paused at this, though her gaze still glared into Serina’s being. This woman thought she was worthy of her life’s work, her secrets. She felt her blood pressure rising, before she relented just a bit.

“You want my knowledge, my research?” She muttered to herself, then moving back to her window. The chemicals on her suit continued to hiss, though she reached up both hands and pulled down two holoscreens, the displays flickered on to display a familiar looking Echani girl to Serina.

“This is my primary subject at first, though due to lack of production, primarily cloning vats, I only have one in development.”

She muttered to herself, setting a hand against the glass. “If you can find, and subdue my original subject, I’d be more than happy to…allow you a role in my tests.” She explains, her body regaining a small bit of tension. “Though, I suspect that may be a bit beyond your skill set. She has been quite elusive as of late.”

Tag: Serina Calis

 

[Serina Calis]

Drowning in Darkness.
Location: ???
Objective: Meet the geneticist.
Allies: ???
Opposing Force: ???
Tags: Darth Veyriss

Break the body, break the mind. ​

Serina's breath didn't hitch. Her pulse didn't spike. Her body didn't betray her. But something cold settled in her stomach as she stared at the holo-image of Alana Calloway.

Of course it's her.

She should've expected this. The Force had a sick sense of humor, binding her fate to the same woman over and over again, like a thread that refused to snap no matter how frayed it became.

Still, Serina kept her expression carefully neutral, the only tell of her thoughts being the slight narrowing of her piercing blue eyes.

"Alana Calloway," she repeated, the name rolling off her tongue smoothly, evenly. "A rogue element, unpredictable, but hardly beyond my skill set."

Her gaze flicked from the holo back to Veyriss, calculating. "Subdue. Not kill. That means you need her alive. And intact." A pause, then a knowing tilt of her head. "Cloning her is not enough for you, is it? You need her, the original."

Serina's mind was already turning. Alana was strong, but she was not invincible. There were weaknesses, vulnerabilities—some physical, but most emotional. Serina had learned them intimately. She knew how Alana moved, how she thought, how she reacted when she was cornered.

But the real question was—did she want to do this?

She could still hear the last time Alana had spoken to her, the bitterness, the fear, the anger. Alana had begged her for freedom. Had begged her to let go.

And now, she was being given the perfect opportunity to rip it away again.

Serina inhaled slowly, her expression unreadable. "If I do this, if I bring her to you, I expect to be more than a mere observer in your work." Her voice was measured, but firm, her hands clasped neatly behind her back. "I want access to your research, your process. Full access. If I deliver your original subject, I will not be some assistant sitting on the sidelines."

A beat, her lips curving into something sharp. "I want to build something, Darth Veyriss. I want to understand what you do down to its very foundation. That is my price."

She stepped forward slightly, her presence pressing against the cold, sterile air between them.

"So tell me—how badly do you want her back?"

 

[Darth Veyriss]

Drowning in Darkness

Darth Veyriss regarded Serina with the detached curiosity of a scientist inspecting a particularly intriguing specimen. The request was bold—almost reckless—but not unexpected. Serina had ambition, an intellect that refused to be caged, and, most importantly, a personal history with Calloway that made her the perfect instrument for this task.

Veyriss let the silence stretch, her crimson gaze dissecting every flicker of expression, every subtle shift in Serina's posture. She took her time, savoring the leverage she possessed.

"You misunderstand, Serina," Veyriss finally said, her voice smooth as silk but laced with iron. "I do not want her back. I will have her back."

She took a step closer, letting the weight of her presence settle between them. "But you are correct—cloning is insufficient. There is something in her that cannot be replicated. Not yet. And until I extract the missing variable, the original remains invaluable."

A slow smile, sharp as a scalpel. "Your terms are… ambitious. Knowledge is power, and I do not share mine lightly. But I also know the hunger that drives you, Serina. You do not want to be an observer. You wish to create."

She tilted her head slightly, considering. "Very well. Bring her to me, alive and undamaged, and you will have more than mere access. You will have a hand in reshaping the future of the Sith. But know this—if you fail, if you allow sentiment to dull your edge, there will be no second chance. If you have to kill her, put her in storage. I can work with her corpse for a set period. Any longer the four hours and it will be spoiled."

Her voice dipped lower, a whisper edged with promise and threat alike. "You will be either the scalpel that carves her open, or the blade that dulls and is discarded. Make your choice. As to how badly I require her? I’ve tasked several others with bringing her back to me. Last I saw she was taking bounties. She never amounted to much, her true potential was being a surgical device.” She remarked, leaving out how Alana had nearly killed her after their last conflict. “She has a drug addiction in her system that she will be unable to treat, and an emotional connection to Dantooine. Perhaps those will aid you.”
The Darth shrugged and looked back out at the scene before her. “I do intend to torture her, on my own terms, so you will not have access to her during that time. Then I will kill her at the conclusion of the project. If you desire a portion of her, then I can part with that.”

Oh the things she had in mind for that woman.

 

[Serina Calis]

Drowning in Darkness.
Location: ???
Objective: Meet the geneticist.
Allies: ???
Opposing Force: ???
Tags: Darth Veyriss

Break the body, break the mind. ​

Serina absorbed every word, every calculated pause, every cruel promise that dripped from Veyriss's tongue like venom. The Sith Lord's certainty was absolute, her conviction in Alana's inevitable capture and suffering unshakable.

For the first time in a long time, Serina felt something like satisfaction coil in her chest.

Finally.

Finally, someone who saw Alana the way she did. Someone who understood that Alana Calloway was not meant to be free. That she was wasted in the filth of the Outer Rim, running from herself, from her purpose, from the power that had always been hers to wield.

Veyriss didn't just want her back—she wanted to break her. To tear Alana apart and put her back together in the shape she was meant to be.

Serina had tried. Oh, she had tried.

And every time, Alana had found a way to slip through her fingers.

But this? This was different.

Serina's hands clasped neatly behind her back, a careful mask of control disguising the slow, simmering pleasure that unfurled beneath her skin.

"I will deliver her," she said smoothly, her voice steady, betraying none of the hunger she felt curling in her gut. "Alive. Whole. No damage that you do not wish inflicted."

She could see the way Veyriss watched her, weighing her, assessing whether Serina was a tool sharp enough to be trusted. That was fine. Let her wonder.

Serina took a step forward, her blue eyes gleaming with something cold and knowing. "I don't care what you do to her. I don't care how much she suffers, how long it takes. I only care that it works. That when you are finished, there is nothing left of Alana Calloway. That whatever remains is something worthy."

She allowed herself the faintest smirk, a flicker of dark amusement. "And if you require something… to remember her by?" Her gaze flicked back to the holo-image of Alana, tracing every familiar feature, every stubborn line in her face. "I will take what I need from her long before her body cools."

A pause, then, softer—mocking. "You said others have been sent after her? How many of them have failed?" She tilted her head slightly, as if already knowing the answer. "Because I will not."

She had no illusions about what this would take. Alana wouldn't come quietly. She would fight. She would rage. She would hate her.

And Serina… Serina would enjoy every moment of it.

Veyriss had given her the perfect opportunity, the one thing she had always wanted—to finally, truly own Alana Calloway.

And this time, she wouldn't let her go.