Safety Pin

[Janick Beauchamp]

Given the nature of what she learned on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords, and before that, Ancora, where she took temporary command of the Verdict's fighter complement, she does not feel confident that she could achieve what she wants just yet but that she is otherwise on the right track to do so. Also, at this stage, she was much, much better known for alchemized food than for alchemized starship components. Lum, mead for those wealthy people who wanted to set off a dear one on a journey of alcoholism treatment, the Squibby Lifting Drink for those who would instead desire to levitate for short periods of time. Yet for someone that will alchemized food, people will start expecting that she alchemize cooking equipment rather than starship components. She writes another message on her datapad in yet another attempt to get some cold calls regarding the non-food part of the business.

-------------------------------

Dear [member="Ra'a'mah"],

With Utai Magic Circle, you can get a new use out of an item thanks to our proprietary alchemical process. Given the nature of alchemy, the possibilities for customization are endless: we want nothing but your satisfaction. However, the nature of the proprietary process means that processing any order for alchemizing items requires that the client comes in person to the Utapau Alchemy Castle, in the New Barkhesh district on the Fourth Moon of Utapau. Also, it is preferrable that the client supplies the item being alchemized; otherwise additional delays and costs will be incurred, depending on the requested item. Please let me know what works for you.

Best wishes,
Janick Beauchamp
Owner, Utai Magic Circle

-------------------------------

 

[Riamah]

Being in business, Ra also got quite a few advertisements from other companies. Most of them weren't of interest to her, but one stood out. She had recently acquired a pin for her cloak. It was a simple silver pin that had golden eyes of a similar hue to her own. The contact came at a good time for her since she didn't have any pressing matters to attend to and arranged for a meeting with Janick.

Ra didn't know what options there were, so made a list of questions she would ask when she got to the Utapau Castle.

Deciding to take her own ship, Ra brought her old YT-1300 in for a landing at the spaceport and picking up a speeder from there. She was taken to the castle grounds. Paying the speeder fare, she climbed out, approached the workshop and knocked on the door. It may have been a business, but she wasn't sure if just walking in was a wise choice.

Waiting at the door now, Ra looked around at the grounds surrounding her.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

Once [member="Ra'a'mah"] made landfall, Janick could feel a potent dark-sided presence make her approach, using a speeder taxi, but given the sparse taxi service on the Fourth Moon of Utapau, her using a taxi will make the next one in line wait a while to get it: there are only two or three taxicabs for the whole of Kessil. Then again, Kessil wasn't that big of a town. As Ra knocked on the castle's door, Janick came to the door of the castle, realizing that she towers over the customer, but the customer is too tall to be Utai. She now realizes that there is a rather petite woman (compared to her anyway, even though it's not necessarily petite compared to humans in the galaxy at large). She will also probably come to like her and not just because of how different she seems to be from the average Sith she encountered thus far.

"Welcome, esteemed customer. Come into the main storefront, where we can discuss your needs"

 

[Riamah]

The woman that answered the was considerably taller than Ra, but she was on the shorter side of things and didn't let it bother her. At her words, Ra nodded and stepped into the store.

"Good afternoon, please just call me Ra."

This was a business trip so Ra was dressed in her normal dark clothes. Her only visible weapons were the blaster and double lightsaber. Her other weapons were hidden and these were the ones she was more familiar with. Her hair was pulled back, braided and the ball at the end of that.

As she moved, it was with confidence and surety.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Take a seat"

The Utapau Alchemy Castle was where she lived, and it so happened that the storefront, inside the main turret on the ground floor, mostly looked like a neighborhood convenience store, a dépanneur as was called by the residents of Barkhesh, due to the shelves filled with Squibby Lifting Drink on the one hand, and the two specialty liquors on the other, the Utai Dry Pilsner and the Utai Ottegan Mead. Or a liquor store, as was the case on some other planets where liquor is legal but restricted. However, most clients would only get to see the main lobby and the storefront. [member="Ra'a'mah"] would be comfortably seated in front of in a plush velvet chair, designed to support the weight of Wookiees or equivalently-sized species, such as Whiphids, on a classy, wine-red desk. Before determing whether Ra's blood is going to be taken for what she always calls blood testing is called for, the tall alchemist asks the obligatory preliminary questions:

"It is recommended that you pick an object that you will use on a regular basis. Here are tow preliminary questions for you, Ra: first, what is it that you would like to alchemize? Second, what kind of effects you would like?"

 

[Riamah]

Ra was seated in a large chair. Some blood was taken with her permission for testing to make sure the process conducted on her pin wasn't going to somehow make her will and then Janick asked her a couple of questions.

Taking the pin off her cloak, she set it down on her desk between them and pointed at it. On her way here, she had though about what she felt she needed enhanced and thought of a couple of things.

"In my line work, I feel it would be good know if a person is telling me the truth or plans to deceive me in any way. What other features might you suggest?"

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Enhancing the ability to use Force-empathy is related to what you seek, and is much wider than just the ability to detect lies or deception stratagems. As a bonus, enhancing one's ability to do precognition may enable you to see deception stratagems or lies coming from further away, among other things, and also something to enhance one's psychometry skill. Finally, probably tricking them into telling the truth using mind tricks would be something useful in a pinch"

She got to grant the Utai maid that she was expedient, while realizing that whatever progress she made as an alchemist may well be leading her somewhere she may not like, or incur expenses she may not have liked. At the request of the maid there was actual blood testing equipment installed in the basement in sterile conditions so that the blood actually taken would be suitable for alchemical purposes: they wouldn't want a Sith sword or talisman making their users sick for no reason, and also because alchemical food products were, unfortunately, subject to the same sanitation standards as any other food product. Janick knew that the three alchemized food products would be on the market only as long as there are no issues with the blood, and also that [member="Ra'a'mah"] was clear about what she wanted out of the cloak pin. So Ra was more of a person that used the dark side for policing on top of business... she thought, while collecting the silver cloak pin from Ra. with the blood sample from Ra still below.

"Does that make sense for you?"

 

[Riamah]

Ra listened to the added benefits of what she wanted enchanted into her pin and nodded. All of them would certainly be of use to her.

"Yes, empathy is something that would indeed be useful as well as the other abilities that come with it. Would I need to actively touch the pin or just wear it for it to work?"

In a business situation, touching the pin could be taken a sign of weakness and she wouldn't want anybody to think that of her.

"It makes perfect sense, Ms. Beauchamp."

Ra felt it easier to conduct business by providing just a part of her name. Her business clients though, she called by titles.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Just wear it... that's what talismans are for: they are wearables, good-luck charms if you will, whose effects remain while worn without having to touch them"

She realized that business etiquette was a concern to [member="Ra'a'mah"], which was a common concern to many of her local clients. While, of course, Janick tried her best to accommodate clients' concerns, sometimes things could get a little dicey. But a clear timeline should help.

"In half an hour it should be done"

 

[Riamah]

"Thank you for answering me, it is indeed a relief to know I wouldn't have to touch the pin for it to work."

Tilting her head to the side slightly, Ra blinked as looked at the woman in front of her before speaking her next question.

"What is the process that's going to be done?"

The time wouldn't be an issue and she was quite curious about how the process was done. If it was a skill that could be passed on, given the chance, she would like to learn it. Something for her to research on her own and at her own leisure.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Ah, it's a skill that can be passed on, just that I want you to learn something else first. Another thing that I found useful when all other methods to find out the truth, or any intentions to deceive, fail, that I use as a last resort: Drain Knowledge. Maybe you know it, maybe you don't"

Janick's relationship to Drain Knowledge is pretty similar to a Jedi she heard about, a Jedi that was a regular target for people to practice Drain Knowledge on. Understandably, she has come to know nearly every practitioner of Drain Knowledge in the Utapau system, and maybe it's because some of them realized that her memory is quite different from other people. Perhaps the client right in front of her, [member="Ra'a'mah"], would also like to learn Drain Knowledge before getting into the thick of her learning of alchemy. She'd rather want other things to do with metallurgy, or electronics, or even food, over Sithspawn. And probably Ra would rather not create her own Sithspawn...

"Maybe Drain Knowledge could be of use to you: power also is of use to a Sith when a Sith is able to use the power in a variety of ways. Drain Knowledge might be useful in interrogating people or to learn stuff faster than you otherwise would. But first, you have to realize that using Drain Knowledge is akin to using somebody else as a computer in the Force, and slicing it at that. You're much stronger than I am in the dark side, so there is some caution that you might need to observe. Depending on the mental defenses of the target, it might be a little hard; also, if you're careless, you may accidentally remove knowledge from the user but removing knowledge from the user, as opposed to simply downloading information from someone else through the Force, depends on how good the target's memory is: if the target has a good memory, it may be difficult to remove information from its memory but it is easier to download more information from the target. It's also important to have a good feel for the target's brain"

 

[Riamah]

Ra knew her master had not had enough time to pass on all his knowledge before he died, but this skill was not one she had heard of. It could be of great use in intelligence gathering missions. She nodded and looked across at Janick.

"Are there any risks to me?"

She understood clearly the danger it could pose to the target, but was perfectly aware of her own Force pool. Knowing that and already having a good read on people for the most part, Ra figured she would quickly learn just how much Force would needed to accomplish the task.

"How does one get a feel for the target's brain exactly?"

Raising an eye brow, she was genuinely curious.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"Dangers to yourself? I would dare say that it would be more about repeated long-term use, which is simlar to repeated long-term use of the dark side in general, and also potentially about big headaches if you absorb too much information too quickly. It can also become addictive in the long run. As for getting a feel for the target's brain, the process really is about getting a feel for the target's brain in the Force. Here, instead of looking for weak spot in the target's mind in the Force, as would be the case while mind-tricking or inducing fear in people, it's about looking for specific bits of knowledge"

Visions of what's being drained will flash in [member="Ra'a'mah"]'s mind as well as her own, should Ra succeed in using Drain Knowledge. Other side effects of using Drain Knowledge which are, hopefully, uncommon, include brain damage to the target, whose likelihood of occurrence increases when the flow of information is too rapid. But Ra will find that there are many, many different things in Janick's memory, some of which could potentially interest her. Then again, Janick wasn't one's everyday dark-sider: she was seemingly of the more intellect-intensive variety. Perhaps Ra would be more inclined to retain the lesson if I had her use it to get the juicy bit, she thought, while pondering exactly how much of said bit the client would be able to get from her. Most likely enough to get the learning process started, but not much else. Nevertheless, she feels confident that Ra won't be one going overboard while Drain Knowledge is in use, and that her own mental abilities are strong enough to withstand the rapid flow of information from her brain to Ra's. And also that Ra's brain is fast enough to handle the sheer amount of information that will be downloaded in it.

"As an exercise, try to use Drain Knowledge on me to learn what you can about alchemy"

 

[Riamah]

Ra listened to the answer provided and considered it. There didn't appear to be any side effects on her part other than a potential headache if she took too much in all at once. She didn't have an addictive personality, so doubted she would get addicted to using the skill in the way Janick suggested. She also said instead of looking for a weak spot to more or less just perform a scan and search out the information wanted.

Not really having a clue as to how to approach performing this, Ra stood up and walked around the desk. She looked at Janick and raised her hands to hover around the woman's head. She made no physical contact and reached out with the Force. Ra used it to scan across the mind and memories of Janick, seeking to find and access what she wanted to know.

The little bits of what Ra would consider trivia about the woman didn't interest her. Passing up on that, she found what the woman knew and would attempt to only access that information.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

Janick knew that most people that used Drain Knowledge wanted skills out of her, with the more social-intensive or more addicted of the practitioners wanting trivia. So once [member="Ra'a'mah"]'s hands are above Janick's curly hair, Janick's brain is heating up in the particular area where the memories pertaining to the procedures used for dark-side alchemy are stored, because Ra's use of the dark side forces Janick's neurons to fire. As the knowledge starts being downloaded into Ra's mind, visions would flash in both ladies' minds, where Janick begins by spraying the object with blood, making the object more receptive to the infusion of dark-side energy that is to follow. The real part that requires concentration, when using Force-alchemy, is the infusion of dark-sided energy and one has to focus on what one wants the alchemical effects to do, with tendrils of dark side energy flowing into the alchemized object. She will also realize that a nearly limitless range of customization options are available, and that blood types are not important if blood from more than one person is used since the dark side infusion destroys the agglutinogens and agglutinines present in all blood used. Beginners will need to make do with limited amounts of effects on their first tries, and to start with simple stuff. Also, Ra gets to see what happens when someone is using contaminated blood: the interaction of the dark side with the contaminants makes it so that the object becomes poisonous, with the nature of the poison depending on the contaminants. Man Ra's brain is so fast... Janick thought, while realizing that Ra's download speed was faster than that of most people that used Drain Knowledge on her.

 

[Riamah]

While certainly not a master of the skill since Janick was willingly offering the information, Ra picked up on it and within moments had also learned the starting of how to perform alchemy. What she had expected to take a bit of time learning, came very fast and the information even faster. Remembering the warning Janick had given about taking in too much all at once, Ra drew back her probe after learning about contamination and its effects.

These two skills would certainly come in useful and she would have to practice to become at least adept at both of them.

"Thank you very much, Ms. Beauchamp."

Lowering her hands and letting go of the Force, Ra stepped away from Janick and resumed her seat in the chair across from the woman.

"Does the blood for the alchemy need to be human?"

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

"It does not need to be human: it seems that the reaction of blood to the dark side varies only lightly outside of a genetic engineering context. But from what I heard, the question of blood origin may be more significant if someone wants to do Sithspawn. That being said, it can be your own blood, it can be the blood of another sentient, it can be even blood from non-sentients if that's the only source of blood available"

So the question of the origins of the blood did not come up in what Ra used Drain Knowledge on me for? she thought, upon hearing [member="Ra'a'mah"]'s question. Unlike Joon, who was much more prone to anger than Ra was, Ra was able to keep her emotions in check. She also seemed to be much easier to trust. By now Janick stood back and placed some sterile plastic sheet on the desk with gauze underneath it. She then took on some surgical, sterile gloves and later proceeded to spray the blood contained in Ra's blood sample on the pin, taking care that both sides of the pin were properly sprayed with the blood before the infusion of dark side energy began to provide all the effects requested of the pin. Both ladies will soon see tendrils of dark-sided energy flowing into the pin...

 

[Riamah]

"Good, I'm glad."

It was all she said about the subject of blood. Listening to the rest of the answer though, it got Ra curious. She didn't have any desire at this time to make use of Sithspawn, but perhaps in time as her powerbase grew, she would.

As Janick moved about in starting to perform the alchemy, Ra watched with great interest exactly what was done. Even though she had gleaned the information minutes before, seeing it in action did wonders. It also gave her a much better idea how much Force would actually be needed.

In her own house, would all the surgical items be needed? Some she would get just to make it easier, but if she didn't need it all, then she wouldn't worry about getting it.

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]

 

[Janick Beauchamp]

[member="Ra'a'mah"] is left to wonder why Janick even feels the need for surgical-grade sterile equipment to even perform alchemy. Again, unless she desires unwanted poisonous effects, better take the sanitary precautions. Not only that, but she doesn't want a faction's health and safety authorities to come down to the castle even though cottage industries are usually less likely to receive the visit of food safety inspectors. Even then she had every label on the back of those food products state clearly what side effects are likely to ensue, which are much more important on the alcoholic beverages (lum, mead) than on the Squibby Lifting Drink. That, even though she knew about some alchemists that sprayed some contaminants if they had no access to contaminated blood for alchemy-induced poisonous effects. Half an hour later, after all the effects have been infused in Ra's pin, using dark side energy, Janick finally gets around to explaining why there even is all that sterile equipment on the table where the pin is, with the gauze, sterile plastic sheet and surgical gloves being thrown into a specifically marked waste bin that is for biological waste, the same model as used in hospitals throughout the galaxy. And the pin has no visible trace of blood to the naked eye.

"I hate to admit it but I have to plan for the regulatory authorities due to the fact that I'm alchemizing food products. Otherwise the regulatory authorities would not care about my alchemical business. Hygiene is an important concern for me, but maybe not as much for you"

 

[Riamah]

"Another question that wasn't answered as I used Drain Knowledge, if this gets dirty, can it be cleaned? I would assume yes, but would like to know for sure."

Among the information she had gleaned, Ra knew the alchemy would be in the item for as long as it lasted. Janick picked up on the stray thoughts Ra had about sanitation and answered the question. Ra nodded in understanding. It wasn't for the act itself, but for her business and Ra certainly knew about that.

"Is it often you get such visits?"

Reaching out her hand, Ra picked up the pin and could immediately sense without even really using the Force the emotions of Janick.

"Is there anything further you need to do with this pin?"

[member="Janick Beauchamp"]