Private In a Pickle

[Arken Dobson]

I can… see… for the first time!​

In Arken’s mind, it was a duplicitous statement with multiple meanings. For starters, this new body had been growing in a vat for years now, and its eyes had never been opened before. Not that Arken had never seen anything before in his century of life, obviously, but it was clearly a new experience for these fresh eyes. It was more vibrant of an experience than he had been expecting. They were sharp, sensitive, yet strong. Relative to his old, feeble eyes in his previously aged decrepit body, these new eyes seemed to be of a supernatural quality by comparison.

The other meaning, of course, referred to his brand new sixth sense: The Force.

He could… see, every mind that was near him within a certain radius. It was not subtle, either. The sensation was distorted and jumbled, and difficult to discern. But the stimulus was there. It was new. It was an extreme contrast from what he had experienced in his old body before, and the juxtaposition made the sensation obvious to him now. The chaos of everything his new Force senses was experiencing was beyond his ability to decipher, and he could tell that it would need serious practice to master it. But for now, it was bewildering, and amazing. And he now had time…

He sat up. The movement felt stiff, and unfamiliar, as the body had likely not ever moved on its own since it had begun growing in a cloning cat years ago. But it was already orders of magnitude easier to move than his expired old body in the bed next to him. He tested his limbs out with a casual stretching of his arms over his head, and then twisting his waist to stretch his core. Even stretching felt good in this young body… something that he hadn’t enjoyed properly for thirty years.

He then peered over at his old body, now lifeless. Besides the obvious knowledge that it had expired during the procedure, and the visible lack of chest movement, he could also… feel that that there was no life in it. With what little he could discern with his budding Force senses, he could somehow at least determine that. Perhaps his connection to the corpse after living in it for a century gave him a clearer read on it through the Force? He would have to consult an expert later.

He tried one last extra hard stretch of his core, putting extra effort into it when he noticed Liin Terallo out of the corner of his eye, sitting behind him. Of course she was still there. She had overseen the operation.

Pressing his hands against the mattress, he half-hopped his body to turn around to greet her, “I think we can say that the… ‘pickling therapy’ procedure is a success, Ms. Terallo.”

 

[Liin Terallo]

I am not entirely pleased with what I had done. And although the operation was a success; the whole thing gave me an uneasy feeling. My serum was not yet ready, yet the old man had insisted upon it's use; despite the risks. But I needed the credits. I needed to be able to create more decoy laboratories so that it could buy my more time to continue my research unhindered.

Whereas the Imperials wanted my research to make an army, Mister Dobson only wanted it for himself. So for me that was the easier choice. And if he was to die during the procedure? It was all a part of the risks that he had signed up for.

But now it appears to have worked, giving me a feeling of dread that I did my best to hide. I watched him while he tested the movements of his new body, making my own observations and notes with pen on paper. I hardly used datapads anymore for my notes, lest they be hacked and my data is stolen once again.

Mister Dobson turned to face me, and although his face and voice were different; the look in his eyes remained the same. They carried with them a certain level of cutthroat obsession enhanced by a calculating mind. Those two put together made him a very dangerous individual.

But I needed the credits.

"Yes, Mister Dobson. It appears to have done well. Now there is a series of tests that must be conducted before you can be discharged. Some of them are directed towards the physical while others are more focused on you enhancements." I took a small breath in, but let out the exhale slowly. My eyes redirected themselves from him to the series of questions that I had listed on my pad of paper. "Now tell me, Mister Dobson; how do you feel?"

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Arken Dobson]

He finished turning towards her before answering the question. Then, he looked at her, boring his eyes into her face with intense concentration. With his mind, he attempted to cast his new senses towards her experimentally. His body stiffened with the effort, and he almost shivered visibly from the sensation. With his level of mastery, he could not distinguish actual thoughts or feelings from Liin Terallo but little images seemed to flicker in and out of her mind faster than he could comprehend them. He could tell that this was going to take some practice to properly master.

After a moment of trying, he gave up and turned his attention to his limbs and torso. One-by-one, he flexed everything, forcing Liin to patiently wait for him to answer while he completed his inspection. Finally, he nodded his approval, "I feel fantastic! Mind you, this body is in the fortunate position of being compared to my old one. But there are some key differences that stand out. There does appear to be a bit of a burning sensation throughout the whole circulatory system. I'm assuming this is from the long term biomolecule/isotope-5 "soaking therapy" that was performed while the body was growing? How long did it soak for, exactly?"

 

[Liin Terallo]

The look on his face, the focus and facial tremors seemed all too familiar. He was trying to force something with his mind. It was as though he thought that such an ability would magically appear and be summoned by his will alone. But he was wrong.

I did not say anything after he gave up the effort. Instead I merely documented it on paper. I kept my facial expressions neutral; however I knew deep down that I did not want him to have mastery of the Synthetic Force at all. But I needed the credits.

The sound of his voice shifted my thoughts and I returned my focus to him. "A burning sensation? How interesting. Does it burn like a cold fire? Or a hot one? Is it tingly in feeling or something else?" I did not respond to his question about how long the soak was for. And I did so on purpose. The less he knew, the better. The less he knew, the harder it would be for him to replicate the serum. It was far too soon for any such thing to be reproduced. For all we know, the effects could be fleeting. Yet I had hope that the isotope-5 would help to slow down that process.

"Other than that, do you feel any different? What about your senses? Sight, hearing, smell?"

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Arken Dobson]

"A burning sensation? How interesting. Does it burn like a cold fire? Or a hot one? Is it tingly in feeling or something else?"

Arken focused his mind on his body, “Like… a drug, or an upper, but without the high. As though too much caffeine is igniting my cells, but not painful”

"Other than that, do you feel any different? What about your senses? Sight, hearing, smell?"

“They’re fine.” He lightly snapped at her, impatient. She didn’t answer his question, and it irritated him. And to boot, she seemed to be distracting him with a follow up topic.

He did, however, let it go. There were more important things to discuss anyways, “Does anyone know about the midi-chlorians I gave you years ago? And is he… still alive?”

 

[Liin Terallo]

I copied down his responses to my questions, and then followed them with notes of my own. I then checked his heart rate on the monitor; which indeed seemed slightly elevated.

And then he snapped at me. It was not an enraged snap, but there was surely some bite to it. And it seemed to carry with it more than just a sense of impatience.

Just as I was about to ask him more questions; he instead chose to ask some of his own. And their subject matter were not what I was expecting either. I disreguarded the first, for I did not need him to try to connect any dots with it. As for the latter; I spoke my response quietly under my breath; "I am unsure. It has been some time since our last communication. But I hope so. Why do you ask?"

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Arken Dobson]

“What do you mean, you are unsure?” Arken interrogated. He was starting to wonder about this woman. He had invested some serious money and resources into her little project, and she seemed to struggle keeping her affairs in order. “The Grand Shepherd. The man that you’ve been tasked with keeping alive. Are you telling me you’ve lost tabs on that little situation?”

Arken injected a bit of venom into his tone, as a force of habit, but he wasn’t actually mad. Not yet. Years of running corporate schemes and operations of his specialty required a bit of hard-edged word-craft from time-to-time. While she wasn’t an employee of his, he was still her client for the time being. Her research still had his uses to him, and he needed her on her toes if his plans were going to work.

“And please tell me you still have my midi-chlorians. They were not cheap…”

The last thing he wanted was for his prospects to be in the hands of a complacent woman…

Liin Terallo

 

[Liin Terallo]

My jaw tightened with increased tension brought on by his anger. Yet I did my best to bottle everything up while I continued to monitor his readings. Despite the new body; his demeanor was the same - which clarified the fact that his transition to the new body was complete.

"Good. Your outbursts only seem to have physical reactions that are not out of the ordinary. Do you feel anything else?"

I ignored his interrogation for the most part; and instead kept to my role as a researcher studying an experiment in progress. However I did appease his curiosity somewhat with; "They have been put to good use. You might even be able to feel some of their effects."

Mister Dobson was my first test subject. I do not like the man enough to worry about if the experiment killed him or tore him apart. A serum had been developed mixing biomolecules, midi-chlorians and other components within my laboratory. I am unsure of how long it will last or whether or not it will alter the clone's DNA at all. Only time will answer those questions.

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Arken Dobson]

"Good. Your outbursts only seem to have physical reactions that are not out of the ordinary. Do you feel anything else?"

“I feel anger, Ms. Terallo.” He was starting to get angry for real now. He had asked the question twice, and she had blown him off both times. Grand Shepherd Burtch represented a significant investment of his in the potential future. Liin Terallo had been tasked with developing some kind of treatment for him a few years back, and so far, many attempts had fallen short of successful. The force sensitive metal had not yet succeeded, but the old Chiss was still in her care until some kind of breakthrough was found.

He stood, moved towards where she was sitting and towered over her for a moment, then spoke, “Answer my question. What is the status of Grand Shepherd Burtch ?”

 

[Liin Terallo]

Despite the change of bodies and the near death experience that he had; Mister Dobson still retained his temper. And his intense presence. The anger seemed to coil around him like a serpent preparing to bite. While his eyes displayed the look of a predator cornering it's prey.

My body tensed in what I assume to be a natural reaction to what he was projecting towards me. "He is safe," I uttered softly under my breath. "And learning as you must do." I swallowed down a lump in my throat that had formed while I restrained from giving him any details or specifics about Mister Burtch. "And I cannot have you interfere with that process. Just as I cannot have him or others interfere with yours. Catastrophic consequences could result if you do." The more that I spoke, the more confident that I felt. "Do you seriously want to risk your brain's neural pathways to stem your curiosity? Especially at this early stage of development?"

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Arken Dobson]

"He is safe," I uttered softly under my breath. "And learning as you must do." I swallowed down a lump in my throat that had formed while I restrained from giving him any details or specifics about Mister Burtch. "And I cannot have you interfere with that process. Just as I cannot have him or others interfere with yours. Catastrophic consequences could result if you do."

“I…” his temper seemed to sputter, like a misfiring combustion engine. Her words made sense, and he was usually better at reeling himself back in quickly, but something was off, “I suppose you’re ri…” suddenly, a dizzy spell surge up from within him and disoriented him. He grasped around himself until his hand caught hold of something. Gripping on tight, he dared to hope that whatever it was could support his full weight as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Do you seriously want to risk your brain's neural pathways to stem your curiosity? Especially at this early stage of development?"

“No… you definitely have a point, Ms. Terallo.” He admitted begrudgingly. His eyes squeezed even tighter as to illustrate her point even more, “help me sit down, please. I can’t move without falling.

“What can I do to prevent dizzy spells like this?They’re not… normal, I can tell.”

 

[Liin Terallo]

I breathed a short sigh of relief while his temper seemed to have subsided. At least momentarily. My little bit of reverse psychology seemed to have done the trick. At least for now.

As he flailed his arms around the moment that a dizzy spell struck, I had tried to move out of the way a bit so that I was not struck in the face. For the most part I had succeeded on that point. But still he had gripped my right arm and held onto it tightly.

I rose to my feet and helped him to sit back onto the bed. "Lay down. You have only just gotten this new body, you elevated your blood pressure with your temper, and who knows of what other things you tried to do while interrogating me about Mister Burtch. Your system is being overloaded too quickly. And you have not even eaten anything yet." I let out a frustrated huff like some nurse would over an unyieldly patient. "You need to give yourself time. Do not expect miracles straight away, even with this younger body. Be patient, Mister Dobson."

I had to try to be stern with him, even when most people would not even dare to do so. He gave me no other choice if he wanted to survive this procedure. "If you decide not to; then your efforts at cheating death will absolutely fail."

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Arken Dobson]

Arken curtly nodded at Liin Terallo as a begrudging thank you as she helped him lay back down. She was right. There was time to worry about everything lager. He needed rest.

He decided to let Liin Terallo off the hook... for now.

"Alright. You win. I'll rest. But I will still have business to attend. Do you mind arranging for nearby facilities for me to meet with old colleagues while I recover in your care?"

He would leave Liin alone for now. He had other matters to attend to first.

Namely, he needed to reach out to the only member of his offspring that hadn't turned out to be a total disappointment. He needed to get his assets back together...

"Locate Linn Dobson for me. Summon her here."

 

[Liin Terallo]

First I am the one surpervising his recovery from surgery. And now he thinks that I am his secretary. Oh, the nerve! The sooner that I can get out from under his shadow; the better!

I give him a curt nod to both requests, signifying that I will see them through. "I know that you may not want to, but you need to sleep. A little nap will suffice until Miss Dobson arrives." And no doubt she will be in for quite a shock. That is unless she knew all about this all along.

Leaving the recovery room, I find myself wondering about the insane oddity of the Dobson family. They are a worrisome one, and I hope that their power within the Galaxy remains small.

Tag: Arken Dobson

 

[Linn Dobson]

The prison transport was a needle of durasteel and silence, knifing through Coruscant's air lanes with the kind of clearance that did not invite curiosity. No viewports. No chatter. Just gravity hum, binders biting into Linn Dobson's wrists, and the faint antiseptic stink of inevitability.

High security meant ritual.

Biometric locks layered like paranoid prayers. Null-field bands tuned to muscle memory and reflex. A containment cell designed less to hold a body and more to insult a mind. Linn catalogued it all without moving her eyes. Old habit. Old pride. The Mile-Star commander reduced to cargo.

The facility itself sat buried inside Coruscant's endless strata, a buried thought beneath the city's roar. Inmate Facility Aurek-Seven. The kind of place where names were shaved down to numbers and grudges fermented quietly.

Her number lasted eleven hours.

The lights dimmed by a fraction first. Not enough to trip alarms. Enough to whisper.
Then the locks stuttered.

Linn felt it before she saw it. A familiar cadence in the systems, not sloppy, not flashy. Someone who knew how to touch machinery without bruising it.

The cell door slid open.

Greah stood there in a security uniform that did not belong to her, jaw tight, eyes burning with something far hotter than fear. She didn't rush forward. Didn't embrace. Didn't say Mother.

She simply keyed the binders off and stepped back.

"Your window's four minutes," Greah said. Flat. Professional. As if this were a job she'd already decided not to enjoy.

Linn rose slowly. Pain flared, bright and sharp, then tucked itself away where pain learned to wait. She studied her daughter the way she used to study battlefields, taking in the posture, the tension in Greah's shoulders, the distance carefully maintained.

No apology came.
No thank-you either.
Just a single nod.
Approval, not affection.

Greah's mouth twitched. Something like a wound reopened, then sealed itself again. "Transport's docked on Level Thirty-Nine. Don't miss it."

"I won't," Linn said.

They did not look back at each other when they parted.

Greah's craft was compact, fast, and bristling with illegal modifications Linn recognized instantly. The hatch sealed. Engines purred. Autopilot engaged before Linn could comment.

The bacta tank hissed open like a held breath finally released.

Linn stripped out of her ruined uniform and sank into the warm, glowing suspension. The ache in her ribs softened. Burned muscle relaxed. Bruises began their slow retreat. For the first time since the Signa-Ki facility burned, she allowed her eyes to close.

Andrew Lonek's face surfaced uninvited. Calm. Calculating. That infuriating restraint.

Later, she promised herself. Personal revenge could age like a blade kept dry.

The navcomputer chimed.
A course had already been plotted. Not to safe houses she'd memorized. Not to old allies long purged from her command web.

This one cut deeper.

Arken Dobson

The name felt like a phantom limb. A Dobson thought dead, buried under old fractures and older sins. Family, in the way storms were family to the sea.

Linn rose from the bacta, skin steaming faintly, strength returning in deliberate increments. She dressed in spare clothing Greah had left behind without comment.

As the craft slipped into hyperspace, Linn allowed herself a rare thing.
Uncertainty.

If Arken had reached out, truly reached out, then something had shifted in the shadows she thought she understood. Whatever waited at the other end of that jump, it was not coincidence.

Andrew Lonek would wait.

 

[Arken Dobson]

“A ship has arrived from hyperspace with the codes you told us to expect, Mr. Dobson.” Said the droid.

Precociously, Arken sat up from his bed, careful not to move too fast. The dizzy spells were still a common occurrence, and Arken didn’t like the confusion that came with them. He said nothing but motioned for the droid to help him up. The droid just stared at him awkwardly.

“Help me up.” Arken commanded dryly. Liin Terallo had seemingly lent him the droid to be his assistant. Arken had wondered if Ms. Terallo had given it to him when she was sick of being his go-for. The droid was sub-par, and terrible at connecting the dots. He assumed that she’d probably given him a lame model on purpose for his demeaning treatment of her. He couldn’t help himself, though. To Arken, antagonizing people from a position of power was the closest approximation to playful teasing he could manage. He didn’t despise Terallo. But she was the only interesting person in this place, and therefore, was the only person worth antagonizing. She probably wouldn’t know it, but Arken meant it as a backhanded compliment.

The droid did obey, however, and helped Arken to his feet. He was dressed in silken red pajamas. A luxury that other patients here would not get. He considered dressing more formally, but he feared exerting himself further would trigger another dizzy spell. He decided the silk pajamas would have to suffice.

The droid stared at Arken dumbly, as if waiting for further orders. He sighed, which could have been a growl, “now take me to the hover chair… and then take me to the landing pad.”

After a few minutes of navigating the halls and turbolifts, he arrived at the landing pad and waited for Linn Dobson ’s ship to arrive. While he waited, he looked up from his hover chair at the droid, “you may inform Liin Terallo that she is free to attend if she so wishes… wait, belay that. Instead, tell her that her presence is requested.”

Arken knew that she was actually a rather busy woman, and he guessed that attending to Arken’s family gathering would be a rather annoying interruption. But in his newfound youth, he craved the amusement…



Linn Dobson Liin Terallo

 

[Liin Terallo]

Out of all of the regretable things that I have done; this one is near the top of the list. Saving a life is one thing. But it was who I saved that brings me those feelings of regret. Mister Dobson is a horrible, cranky, selfish, no-good old man. His new body may be very young; but he will always be an old man to me. And I do not suspect that this new chance at life will ever change him.

Just as I was working on my notes for my research I had gotten word that Mister Dobson requested that I meet him on a landing pad. I had told him that he needed to rest, but the old man is even more stubborn than I am. Some people might mistake it for ambition; but I do not see it that way. I do not trust it. And in that regard; I do not trust him.

Yet against my better judgement I find myself answering his request. If only just to be sure that he does not over exert himself. Not that I would mind so terribly if he did. In fact it could probably be a valuable lesson for him. Plus it would be mildly entertaining to watch.

And so I approached the designated location, donning my laboratory coat and datapad like an attending doctor would. I speak quietly to him while keeping my gaze fixed forward. "Try to keep your temper in check, Mister Dobson. You would not want to end up passing out in public."

Tags: Arken Dobson Linn Dobson

 

[Linn Dobson]

Hyperspace spat the craft out with the indifference of a god that had already moved on.

The world below was quiet in the way forgotten places often were. No orbital traffic worth naming. No patrol grids humming with authority. Just a scarred moon hanging beside a rust-colored planet, both content to be overlooked. Linn approved immediately. Arken had always preferred locations that history stopped checking.

She guided Greah's craft down manually, casual fingers on the controls, letting the engines murmur instead of announce. The landing pad was little more than reinforced stone and old durasteel plates welded with care and paranoia. No banners. No guards in sight. That absence was itself a welcome committee.

Linn disembarked without ceremony.

She moved through the compound as if she'd been there a hundred times, even though she hadn't. A corridor carved from rock. Lighting kept deliberately dim. The faint scent of oil, spice, and something metallic she couldn't quite place. Every step measured, unhurried. Anyone watching would have seen a woman arriving late to a meeting she expected to survive.

The door at the end opened before she reached for it.

Arken Dobson stood framed by lamplight and shadow, older than she remembered, but not weaker. Time had sharpened him instead of softening him. His hair had gone iron-gray, his posture still carried the echo of command, and his eyes held that familiar, irritating patience.

Linn stopped just inside the threshold.

She looked him over slowly, deliberately, as if inspecting a relic she hadn't decided to keep.

"Well," she said, voice dry as blasted stone, "you don't summon me unless something's gone terribly wrong."

A beat.

"So," Linn continued, one brow lifting, "did another Dobson finally manage to die properly… or have you purchased a pet?"

Her gaze flicked around the room once, checking corners, exits, and the absence of cages. A pause. Then she looked back at him.

"I'm hoping for the pet."

Tag: Arken Dobson Liin Terallo

 

[Arken Dobson]

"Try to keep your temper in check, Mister Dobson. You would not want to end up passing out in public."

Arken snorted at this, “I’m sure no matter what happens, I’m in… competent hand, Miss Terallo.” He was carefully not to use too flattering of a word. Liin Terallo was actually excellent at her job, but he wouldn’t let her think he was getting soft.

To illustrate his vigor and confidence, he slowly stood up in the doorframe and then set his posture to look as prominent as possible. As a businessman with decades of experience, he knew how to carry himself. He allowed the shadow under the doorway to shroud him. I guess in my youth, I’m rather fond of a bit of theatre…

Then the ship arrived. It touched down without ceremony, and so did his daughter. She had aged since last time he’d seen her. She was still prominent, however. A master huntress with the piercing brown eyes to go with it. Her figure was solid as ever—built to dominate, rather than accommodate. Her clothes seemed to be… prison vintage. However, the way she stood, with precision and form seemed to somehow make even those rags seem like a General’s uniform. Arken felt his pride swell in such a way that he hadn’t felt in years. After so many disappointments he had in his children, it almost broke him to see that his last hope was still as strong as ever. He remained rigid, however, revealing nothing. He knew better than to show his huntress daughter any sign of weakness.

"Well," she said, voice dry as blasted stone, "you don't summon me unless something's gone terribly wrong."

A beat.

"So," Linn continued, one brow lifting, "did another Dobson finally manage to die properly… or have you purchased a pet?"

Arken stepped out of the shadows. His face came into the light clearly now. Revealing not the aged face she once knew, but that of a much younger man. A face that she would not have known before she was ever born.

“You know how I feel about pets, Linn.” He stated ominously. There had been a moment in her childhood when a pet had been brought home… and a lesson had been taught. He let the words linger for a moment, knowing that the memory would surface. Perhaps it is a bit much.

He decided to change the tone, “Linn, meet Liin.” He gestured awkwardly between both women looking almost frantically between them. It just occurred to him now that they both had the same name. He tried something else, “tell me you have been well, my daughter.” He tried to put genuine concern into his tone. His concern was real, but expressing it took effort. The sentiment was foreign to him and the expression felt forced. But he sincerely wanted to know how she had been. The prison outfit definitely concerned him.

Not that something as trivial as prison could harm the mighty Linn Dobson , but prison often meant failure. He hoped that wasn’t the case for her…

 

[Liin Terallo]

Competent hands indeed.

I closed my eyes in a bid to center myself. I did not want to be here. Not right now. But Mister Dobson did contribute something valuable for my research. And so I was indebted to him. That unfortunately gave him leverage over me. I just hope that when he was recovered enough, that I could go on my merry way.

The arrival of Ms. Dobson gave me reason to reopen my eyes and to focus on the present. The apple did not fall far from the tree, it seemed. The woman looked harsh and unforgiving. Her question of the purchaee of a pet gave me pause. Was that meant as a slight towards me? And to hear that we both had similar names was astonishing. Obviously I was the better Liin of the bunch. But that was not a thought that I would choose to vocalize.

I dipped my chin in greeting, but remained silent. There was no need for me to insert myself in the family reunion. I almost wanted to excuse myself from the pair entirely. But I had a job to do. And that was to see that Mister Dobson was recovering well enough for his regular day-to-day activities. Switching bodies was no easy feat for even the strongest of individuals.

Tags: Arken Dobson Linn Dobson