Private Resurrection by another name

[Xerek]

Xerek knelt by the body, shock on her face. She'd been too late, much too late. He was already dead. She didn't even know where the assassins went, but she couldn't find them. She gritted her teeth. There were few people she remained attached too, one was the Falleen who'd helped her gain a new droid body even after she'd attacked him, the other was this man. Taji Nelson, the man that had given her back an organic form. Let her feel again. And here he was.

No. There was another way. She wasn't as knowledgable in his tech as he was, having spent so many sleepless nights due to his work. But she had just enough to grasp the concepts involved. She grabbed the body, running and rushing from one thing to another, samples, processes, all of it. She had to make sure it would work. Her heart racing, still an unusual feeling of its own, but she was too focused, too busy. Too rushed in every motion to care. She had to make this work, had to bring him back. She owed him that much.

Cloning, that's how he gave her a new body, so she'd do the same. She couldn't do what he did, but perhaps she could replicate his body just right. She couldn't estimate the time it took, every moment seemed to last too long and too short at once. Time seemed to pass rapidly, yet the process took an eternity. When she finally thought she'd done it right, she sat back, watching and breathing heavily tossing her jacket to the side.

As she waited, she ran her fingers along the Ornamental Telepathic Amplifier, and listened. She wasn't just waiting to see if the cloning process would work, she was waiting to hear thoughts, to feel life returning. She needed it. She listened to nothing else and saw nothing else, staring at the machine and hoping. It was so odd to feel this desperation. Even as long as she had wanted a body, this need to repay a debt was quite strong. She had to see it through.


Taji Nelson II

 

[Taji Nelson II]

"W..... Who am I?" asked the voice of the clone of Taji from within the pod where she had grown him. He didn't know who he was. The pod he was in was something that to him was scary. This was because he had no memories of his past - though a vague thought he should know her. He just didn't possess the memories of who he had been, who his template was, actually. "And why am I in this strange contraption?" He asked, not aware of the reason why he was inside it. Unlike the original, he would have to relearn how to do science, and technology. This would give her a chance, a chance to both educate him, and also to steer him away from the mistakes he had made in the past. "And who are you?" He asked, lastly.

Xerek

 

[Xerek]

Xerek felt a relief wash over her as she realized it worked, yet, also a sense of pain. This person might have Taji's body, but his memories didn't seem so clear. It took her awhile to even think of a response to his first question, or any of the following. The mixture of relief yet uncertainty filling her mind still. When he asked the final quesiton she managed to straighten herself up slightly, opening the contraption to help him out of it, and speak, trying to keep him calm thinks to the pheromones and telepathy she'd once again had access to, "I'm Xerek Ortho, you helped me once with something very important to me." She'd try and get him to sit down somewhere, if there was a place for it as she continued, sticking close.

"You're...Taji Nelson. I admit, I really don't know how all this stuff works in full. So I'm not sure how I did. But that's a cloning machine, your body, is the clone." She smiled trying to convey sympathy perhaps, "An enemy of yours got to you but...when I found you, I just couldn't leave it that way. So, I brought you here, with the hope that I could do whatever possible to bring you back. I decided to do for you essentially what you did for me, a cloned body, though, your work was a lot better than mine was."

She waited to see his reaction, hoping that things wouldn't get too out of hand. How does one tell another they died? Or that they are a clone? She'd at least kept her memories and personality, how much of him remained? Was it due to death, or was it just due to this being a clone?

Taji Nelson II

 

[Taji Nelson II]

"Thank you for doing for me, what I did for you." The clone decided to say to her, with no elaboration. "Who was I, before I was cloned?" Taji asked as he looked at her. "What kind of person was I? What did I like doing? What did I like eating? What did I like drinking?" He asked, beginning to bombard her with a lot of questions. Her pheromones, and telepathy were keeping him calm which was good, as his heart would be racing otherwise.

He continued to pester her with loads of questions. However, like Taji was originally, he blushed when he saw her smile.

Xerek

 

[Xerek]

An interesting response to her first question. More question came soon after. About who he was and what he was like. There was such an odd mix of pity, pain, and joy at all this and she didn't quite understand it. But it seemed she now had another goal, to help him get back at least the good parts of who he was. To give him as much as she could.

"That's a lot of things to answer, and you know, I don't have all of them. You were an inventor though, hard working, sometimes a little too hard. I think it took up too much from you, and think you missed out on whatever you might have enjoyed. You did like hearing singing, learned that." she took in a breath thinking, "You meant well, for other people. I think you could be called a good man."

She'd try and answer what questions she could, big or small. Though it did seem interesting that language had come so quick but so much was left behind. Perhaps it was simply a part of the instincts in him. Like walking and such, though, she supposed those could be learned to. But she had cloned an adult body, and she didn't really understand all the science behind how his particular machine worked.

Taji Nelson II

 

[Taji Nelson II]

The clone smiled when she mentioned he was a good man. He then looked at her. "Where do we go from here?" Since Nelson Prototyping had been basically taken over by someone else, he would have to open a new company for himself that would be new. He didn't know what he would do from this point forward, honestly. After all, he didn't have the memories of the past. "Would you be willing to teach me, and help me regain who I was in the past, become superior to who I was, originally?" He asked her.

He looked at the case that held the Owl Suit, and the other suits he made. They were in his lab, after all. "What are these?" The Owl Suit had been worn by him when he had done vigilante shenanigans on the world of Denon. Shenanigans that were something he couldn't do, until he recovered his skills and memories.

Xerek

 

[Xerek]

Another smile from him, and in turn from her. His question was a reasonable one, and one that she was having issues coming to a conclusion on as well. For a long time now she'd had someone else's orders to follow, sure she went by and by on separate or lone jobs, but ultimately there was another person being some form of guide or employer. However, now, that wasn't how things were. Without his memories, Taji just wouldn't know what he was meant to do. And she naturally didn't blame him for that, but it did pose an issue.

She thought, but he had a potential answer to the previous problem. To help him regain what was lost, and get better. She smiled again, though there was a feeling of loss in her there was still hope. "I'd be glad to." she agreed.

He saw suits, including on in particular, and asked her about them. She chuckled, "Something perhaps best not put to use yet. Mostly combative or operative purposes would be a fairly apt description of them I think. But they may be a bit much, you did only just...wake up?" she wasn't sure the best term for what happened. Come back? Return? Born? Resurect? This was far not her expertise, was this even just science? Or philosophy? Force matters? She had limitations in all of them, sure she had a good amount of knowledge, but it was still limited.

 

[Taji Nelson II]

Taji nodded at that. Waiting to do things with the suits was a wise idea when he had just.... woken up. After all he had to regain the full range of skills needed in order to properly operate said suits. "So, what's the first step in order to get me in top form?" He asked, as he examined her for a moment. "And can you help me learn how to fully channel the power of the Force so I can use it for my own plans?" He asked. "Before, I only knew a few tricks. Unlike then, before you had to clone me.... which I don't remember... well I don't remember much of my past. That puts me at a distinct disadvantage compared to most people. They know their past - I don't." He sighed. "I need to get actual combat skills in order to hold my own. How did I fight?"

Xerek

 

[Xerek]

First steps, and then he also asked about the force, already he started to seem more like himself. The way he spoke and moved on. And as he spoke, he mentioned knowing a few tricks in the past but not what they were. And the lack of knowing his past. And his style of fighting. There was something more then still in him than just appearance. At least, that was enough for her to believe.

"Much to unpack I guess. Guess I'll go in reverse again, you mostly fought by use of what you had access to. Mostly your creations, preferably non lethally. I wasn't with you in fights enough to get your actual moves down, but I'm sure we can work on figuring that out." She responded thinking it over, and his other questions, "As far as the force, that could be a little more difficult. While I know a bit about it, I haven't had enough time or training to know a great deal about it. I can help you learn meditation, and personally have a better skill with mind based powers, though not illusions. So I'm not sure just how much I can help you there."

Then there was the matter of where to start, "As for where to begin, that's up to you. Can start on the force, can start on tech, can start on history, combat, whatever works best for you."

Taji Nelson II

 

[Taji Nelson II]

"The first thing we need to do," said Taji as he looked at the dump of the Lifestar that they were currently inside of. "Is find a place that is better than this dump for us to use as our base of operation. " He sighed, as he looked at the sparking light fixtures, and the damage to the other parts of the Lifestar that needed repair. "Yes, we'll need to find a place that's better than this for me to call my home." He paused, as he thought about it. "I truly held back against those who were my enemies? Why did I do that?" asked Taji, as he looked at her. "In any case, that was the old me. I won't be playing nice with those who are my enemies any longer. That was naive of me. It's time I grew up. "

He then looked at her. "First, we'll start with meditation. Since I'm not that strong physically, I'll have to resort to cheap shots, and dirty tricks when fighting to level the field." He then asked her. "Which would you say I should start with?"

Xerek