Some Shifty Experiments

[Valik]

Valik had been looking for a while for a particular type of entity, the Stennes Shifter. They were a rare race, unique in their perspective in the Force. They had a unique telepathic ability to make people ignore them, allowing them to saunter through crowds of people unnoticed. A nice talent, but ultimately secondary considered to what they could truly do. Stennes Shifters fed on the Force, literally consuming the Force inherent in the others around them. An interesting talent, a useful one in a galaxy that seemed to have exploded with Force Users after the Gulag Plague, and overall, one that just needed to be studied in general by the Sith Scientist. Valik had never really gone and sought one out, just making notes here and there to try and find one as he conducted his business. Not the most optimal method, but a suitable one for multitasking.

And it seemed that eventually his multi-tasking had payed off. He believed that he had finally found one, with a penchant for dressing up as an old fantasy style reaper it seemed. Breaking the ice so to speak he headed over to the man and began conversation.

"I believe you are a . . unique individual. If I am correct you and I might have a good business opportunity. Tell me sir, are you a unique individual?"

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

@[member='Valik']

Not only being seen but being noticed was a refreshing change of pace for Trechtus. It was, however, unwelcome. The expressionless gaze of his mask shifted away from where he had been originally staring and to the man who was bothering him. Without a doubt, Trechtus was a unique individual. Stennes Shifters were rare creatures where they were natively found, so forget about encountering one moving through the galaxy at large. Getting Trechtus to acknowledge that, however, was going to be fairly difficult. The darkly clad man stared at Valik for another few moments, completely in silence, before reverting his gaze back to a crowded corner of the bar. Something would happen at some point. He had a feeling. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here.

"No." He eventually said, although it may as well have been a whisper. "Go away."

For the past few weeks, Trechtus had been wandering around this particularly unsafe neighborhood and lingering wherever misfortune befell someone. Stabbings, robberies, gang fights, police crackdowns, riots. That kind of thing. That was the kind of activity that got a rise out of people's innate Force energies. The kind of stuff Trechtus lived off of. He was rarely noticed, acting as a mute and apathetic fly on the wall for the entire affair. Valik was the first person to register, which confused him, but he didn't allow that to show.

 

[Valik]

If the man had any other expressions than annoyance, Valik could not tell. The merits of having a full cloak and mask to hide ones appearance he supposed. That, along with Valik's lack of emphatic abilities ensured that the man's voice was Valik's only sight into his emotions, his thoughts. Not a situation Valik enjoyed being in truth be told, so little variables to account for and observe, but not one he was afraid of, and certainly not reason to give up the first form of hope he'd had in finding a Stennes Shifter.

"I suppose I could, be no harm in it, probably forget all of this ever happened in fact." He said, making subtle reference to the Stennes Shifter's rumored telepathic abilities to blend in, watch from a distance. "But that would be awfully boring wouldn't it? Less opportunities for me to get my business done, less opportunities for you to make some credits, less opportunities for you to . . . properly use your talents." He said, holding up his hand just high enough to garner attention to it at the end of that last sentence. A crackle could be heard, just barely, as lighting began to bounce from finger to finger and around Valik's palm. Normally it was a display meant to show power, but if his instincts were right and this man was in front of what he thought it would not be fear, but hunger that ran through his mind.

"Tell me, are you certain that there's nothing we could do for one another?" He asked, after closing his hand and ceasing to generate electricity, lest others around them realize who they were surrounding.

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

@[member='Valik']

The lightning cackling on the edges of Valik's hand brought back the Stennes' attention. Perhaps a little too quickly. Aside from that, Trechtus maintained a cool, unfettered outward demeanor. To him, making his thoughts and feelings public knowledge would inevitably compromise him in one way or another. It was a weakness, and when your race has all the friendliness and beauty of a mutated, permanently furious Rancor, he couldn't afford to be weak. He listened to Valik with more interest than he would have liked, only breaking his eyes off the man's hand once the lightning was gone.

Credits and opportunities to hone his talents sounded nice, but there had to be a catch somewhere. Trechtus had not realized this man was of a Force Using sort until now. Judging from his demeanor, Trechtus had to guess this man tended towards the darker, more vile side of that spectrum. Personally, Trechtus had no strong love for either side. It was not so much that he disdained them, but more that he simply did not care. If a Jedi had approached him with this offer instead of Valik, his response would have been more or less the same.

"No."

That was his answer as to whether or not he was certain, to clarify. Suffice to say, Trechtus was no longer certain that there was nothing Valik could do for him. Not when he could conjure lightning so easily. He would have to risk whatever potential consequences came from dealing with this man.

"What do you want?"

This was as close to "I'm interested, please continue, good sir" as Trechtus could come.

 

[Valik]

"No." The man said once again, though this time he was not blowing Valik off, but rather voicing uncertainty in what he wished to do. The slightest bit of doubt had creaked into his voice, the only true expression the man had given him thusfar. It showed he was curious, a feeling Valik knew quite well. The hunger for knowledge, or for this rare species, perhaps simply the hunger for the Force.

"What do you want?" The man asked, notably with less hostility than the statement implied. It seemed it was not in his nature to speak with others in a 'diplomatic' function. Unsurprising due to their telepathic abilities, but ultimately a non-issue for the Sith Alchemist. He was here for business, not pleasantries.

"Simply put, if you are what I believe you are, I wish to feed you." Valik admitted, being up front with the man. He had always found that, provided he intended to let his test subjects go, that honest was a good way to convince someone of what you were doing. Present your ulterior motives and people stop looking for other ones, or realize what you had in mind wasn't quite as terrible as they thought.

"Examine how it is you feed, how it affects you, how it affects me using the Force. We run a couple simple tests, I compensate you, and you're free to go." Valik concluded to the man. "Are there any questions about the procedures you'd like answered?" He asked, trying to show himself as inviting, or at least inviting enough to not be the devious scientist much of the galaxy knew him as.

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

Feed him? Willingly? And pay him for it?

That was just about the weirdest thing anyone had propositioned Trechtus, barring that one incident with the Gamorrean, the Jawa, and the vat of fertilizer. Then again, Trechtus had only thought they were talking to him when that occurred. In reality the Jawa had been speaking to a three eyed mutant by the name of Balthazus. This entire scenario was utterly irrelevant to the topic at hand, however, and didn't warrant any further straying from the subject matter and into an explanation.

There had to be something else going on here. Was this guy going to kill him after the fact? Somehow Trechtus didn't get that vibe. He should have; he normally did, but it was not showing up now. Maybe he was losing it. Perhaps this man was just projecting a cunning illusion that dulled Trechtus' usual ability to scent out a trap of one sort or another.

"No catch?" He inquired. "You sure?"

 

[Valik]

Valik smiled. It wasn't often he could answer this question truthfully.

"Well, I'll have to hook you up to some medical equipment to get proper readings, but I really wouldn't consider that a 'catch'." He answered. He always assumed that such a process was self-evident when conducting testing, but he had learned long ago that not everyone thought like he did. Perhaps that was why the universe was as screwed up as it was. If only people acted logically, the galaxy would be so much more of a peaceful place. But he supposed now was not the time to get idealistic.

"I'd assume you'd wish to conduct this privately, so we can begin at my ship, or yours, but I'll need to gather some equipment if you opt for the latter." He stated in a tone that was strictly matter-of-fact. Sometimes the 'we need to go to the lab' moment became creepier than he wished it to. Hopefully the offer of conducting the test at the Shifter's place would have eased that tension a little.

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

Trechtus sincerely wished he had a space-worthy vessel of his own. He also wished it would be large enough to accommodate whatever equipment this man needed. It would have done wonders for his sense of security if he owned the vessel he was going to hop aboard to be experimented on. But that wasn't an option. If he wanted do to this, and Trechtus did want to do this (if only to satisfy his curiosity), he would have to take the risk of boarding this man's vessel. This untrustworthy, suspicious man who had already displayed the ability to conjure lightning on a whim.

This was a bad idea. Common sense dictated not to follow strange men back to their ships for medical experiments, but Trechtus decided he would suspend that logic in favor of just seeing where it took him. Whatever happened, he would learn something. Be it about the Force, himself, or why it was a bad idea to suspend logic for any amount of given time.

Trechtus gave his answer. "Your ship."

He decided to spare the details of why. He imagined Valik could probably guess as much anyway. "I'll follow."

 

[Valik]

"As you wish." Valik responded, and began heading back to his ship, the Stennes Shifter following from behind. He took periodic glances behind to ensure the man hadn't gotten lost in the crowd or simply ditched him but he remained behind him the entire way, and seemed skinnier than a shadow the way he moved through the crowd. Darting from gap to another he always seemed to know exactly where to go to proceed where he needed, and how to do it without attracting attention, or even so much as bumping one man or another. He'd have to contact this man again if he wanted somebody for a public assassination. Then again, he supposed he didn't know if the man was adequately trained or hardened for that sort of work. He could do it himself, but again he had promised no catch. Capturing him to train would require breaking him into service, and Valik didn't feel that an effective use of resources.

As such Valik dropped the thought, and just before they arrived at Valik's ship. It was a nondescript freighter, looking much like the freighter any other spacer would have. While it's contents were unique the outside didn't attract any attention uncommon from simply being a ship. He gestured for the Stennes to join him and if he would he'd find a hallway leading to a well equipped medical lab.

"I'm going to stick both you and I with one of these." He said, referring to a needle attached to a sensor. "It will monitor both of our health and then relay data back to one of my datapads. Once we're hooked up I'll take a little weight here." He said, gesturing to a block that was marked '1 Kg'. "And hold it a meter high telekinetically. Your part in the test will be feeding off the exerted Force until it reaches the floor or you can't feed off of it anymore. After that we'll handle payment and you'll be free to go. Any questions?"

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

Trechtus almost paused in the doorway, momentarily distracted by the event he had been waiting for. A blaster went off, screams and shrieks all about. He was unsure what had led up to it, as Valik had distracted him from watching. As much as he would have liked to stay and feed, this offer was much more tempting. He continued after Valik, he moved through the crowd with the refined grace of someone who had moved through crowds for many, many years. Despite his sinister attire, no one gave him a second glance. Another skill that was refined over the years. Or perhaps it was just a trait.

The freighter they eventually arrived at did not look extraordinary. It was as plain as any other freighter he had seen. This was probably intentional. Traveling was much easier when your ship wasn't flashy or visually impressive. Then everyone would remember it when they saw it and easily tip off potential pursuers. He followed Valik inside to a medical bay more well-stocked than the exterior of the ship implied. This was expensive equipment. Trechtus briefly wondered where this man got his money from before Valik started talking to him.

Needles. It had to be needles. Trechtus had no love of being stuck with just about anything, but in the name of science he would allow it. He made sure to actually look to see that the needle was hooked up to a sensory device before beginning to roll up his sleeve. His arm was a grey, ashen color. It may very well have belonged to a mummified human, but that was the natural complexion of the Stennes for you. Aside from this, everything else the man instructed him to do would be simple, and Trechtus could oblige.

"No questions."

 

[Valik]

"Excellent." Valik said as he examined the man's ashen arm. He didn't really care about the man's complexion, only where his veins were. Once he found it he held it in his mind, then took a tech-tip and dipped it in a solution.

"Disinfectant, to make sure no bacteria lying on your arm gets into your blood stream. My equipment is similarly sterilized." He explained as he rubbed the solution near the man's veins with the radius of a couple centimeters, before poking him with the needle and setting up a basic clamp to hold it in place. It would have stung a little, but not been overly painful. Afterwards he did the same thing to himself, not even bothering to find his veins. He'd performed medical aid or studies on himself enough times to know what was where at any given time on his person. Once that was settled he picked up a datapad and ran quick diagnostic to make sure it was receiving data from the both of them. There was a ping, followed by the scientist's smile. Putting the datapad on the table he replaced it with the kilogram weight, then put it inbetween the two men and sat down, before outstretching a hand and lifting the block to about a meter's height.

"You may begin whenever you wish."

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

The Force flowed out of Valik's fingertips, manipulating reality itself and causing the weight to levitate. Aside from one encounter not too long ago, Trechtus had never encountered a prolific Force User. He had never really been exposed to such a brazen application of the Force. Excluding, obviously, when Valik had made a brief display of lightning in the bar. The lightning had been far too brief for Trechtus to make any use of, but this was more sustained.

Whatever energy Valik expended on keeping the weight afloat, a small portion was siphoned off and into Trechtus. It was a negligible affect. The weight did not falter from where it was floating, nor did it even show any signs of disturbance. If Trechtus feeding off of Valik's application of the Force was noticeable through any medium, it could only be seen in whatever data Valik's machine recorded.

There was no way for Trechtus to really step up his drainage. Really, he had no way to. It was a passive, reflexive ability. He could perhaps stop it if he truly wanted to, but aside from that Trechtus had never really bothered to experiment with it. Maybe he would learn something from this.

Given that there was no visual indication Trechtus was draining the Force from the air, Trechtus felt obligated to inform Valik.

"It's happening."

 

[Valik]

Valik continued to hold the kilogram in the air, not seeing anything different. Not feeling anything different. He was wondering why the man was waiting so long to get it done, if the Stennes were anything like the Anzati feeding was likely a very excitable activity. That was until the Shifter spoke.

He said. Except it didn't seem the man for waving or a lightshow, being blank, expressionless, and to the point in his speech. A trait Valik could appreciate in honesty, though it gave him less information to go on.

"Can you increase it's potency?" He asked curiously, not knowing the limits of the Stennes's ability. It wasn't everyday one got to examine a creature such as this.

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

"Can't." Trechtus answered initially, before reconsidering. "Or don't know how."

Trechtus did not like disappointing people. To the point where it could well be considered a phobia for him. One could probably hazard a guess and say that this crippling fear of letting people down contributed to his desire to interact with as few human beings as possible. It probably wasn't too far off from the truth, all things considered. Hopefully Valik was able to get something out of this no-doubt pathetic display. How long had it taken him to find a willing Stennes Shifter, if any Stennes Shifter at all? Only for him to waste his time on a clueless runt like Trechtus.

He continued on this mental tirade of self-loathing and feelings of inadequacy, blissfully unaware that the intensity of the drain had increased ever-so-slightly as a result. Perhaps enough that Valik might begin to feel it.

 

[Valik]

The Shifter's response, while a bit disappointing, showed Valik a semblance of intelligence, as well as implying a less than stable family situation. Curious though that made him it wasn't really relevant to his experiments. Even if the man had never met another Stennes Shifter in his life that didn't mean Valik could find him one to teach him how to be a better Shifter. With extensive and prolonged testing he could have tried to scientifically find why and how this or that worked and imply a course of action for improvement, but that wasn't something he could do today and he doubted he could convince the man for an extended stay.

But then he saw something, or felt something, he wasn't quite sure what happened first. The weight dropped, perhaps as much as four centimeters.

"Whatever your doing keep doing it." Valik said to the man, alerting him of his increased progress. He wasn't aware he was telling the man to continue to wallow in self-hatred, but then again, if he did know he'd have done it anyways.

After all, it's for science.

[member="Trechtus"]

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

Trechtus snapped out of his self-destructive tirade. Keep doing what? Wallowing? He noted the sudden drop in height of the weight and was able to piece two and two together. Was it necessarily his wallowing, or perhaps just his own pent up negative emotions? Whatever the deal was, it was worth a shot. In the name of science and a renewed effort to avoid sowing further disappointment with Valik.

The Stennes focused on himself, ostensibly for the first time. He had never really bothered to do so, as he had never thought to even attempt to increase his ability to passively drain exertions of the Force. He channeled his rage, his annoyance, his total frustration. Some of it was directed at himself. Some of it was directed at others. The rest of it was directed at the galaxy at large and his deplorable state within it. He was a nothing. A no one. A useless parasite that could do nothing more than suck the energy out of other, more productive people. A fetid, disgusting weakling with poor fashion sense and an accursed phobia of speaking more than a handful of words at once.

The weight dropped another few inches.

 

[Valik]

[member="Trechtus"]

Valik observed as the weight continued to drop, eventually reaching a point Valik would say was about ten centimeters down from it's original starting point. Even if Valik wasn't a genius he could have told you that was ten percent, a nice round number to play with and study.

"That is sufficient." Valik said, before he dropped the weight, letting it give a small clang as it hit the ground. He then walked over to the table and took off his clamp, then the needle it was holding in place. Afterwards he put a bandage to stop the bleeding and headed over to do the same to the Stennes, unclipping his clamp, removing his needle, and bandaging his unplanned leaking spot.

"Put pressure on the spot hold it upwards for about fifteen minutes or so." He said, demonstrating with his own arm. " I'll have your payment here in a minute." Valik reassured before walking out the door, presumably to somewhere else in the ship to obtain an amount of credits, leaving the Stennes Shifter to his lonesome for a moment.

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

Not much longer passed before Valik called an end to the experiment, and so Trechtus resumed thinking about... What did he usually think about? There was no answer to that question. Up until now, it seemed he had been floating through life like it was a dream. Aimlessly traversing the surface of the planet, one tragedy to the next without the slightest bit of constructive thought. Next to no interaction with just about anyone meant he didn't really have a lot to think about.

This little exercise woke him up.

There was a whole galaxy out there ripe for exploration. He didn't need to loiter on this planet, subtly draining the Force out of those involved in crime waves. Trechtus had done something here. Something useful. At least, he hoped so. It certainly felt like he had contributed to a cause higher than his own here, and that was something he had never done. Not even once. In the process, he might have even learned something. If he could amplify the strength of his passive drain through anger, what else could he do? He would have to make it a point to learn.

Eventually Valik re-entered the room and, when he did, Trechtus immediately spoke.

"Do you teach?"

He hoped it was obvious what kind of teaching he was referring to. It definitely wasn't math tutoring.

 

[Valik]

[member="Trechtus"]

When Valik re-entered the room the the Stennes immediately spoke, not being passive or avoiding the subject. He still spoke in his 'fewest words as possible' mantra, but his normal expressionless voice was demeaned by the swiftness of his question. The hunger to learn, to better oneself was there. A smile curled on the scientist's lips. An apprentice like this could be useful indeed.

"I teach yes." He began, as he walked over to give the man his credits. "But I do not coddle. Knowledge and power are things to be earned, not to be given." He said as he handed the man his credits. It was probably more the man had carried at once for quite some time, though it still wasn't a fortune.

"So I'll make you a deal." He said, before pulling a lightsaber off of a nearby desk and to his hand, then igniting it. It's crimson blade hummed in the ship, giving new light to the room before Valik pressed the button again and the blade was gone. "I have business on the planet Enarc in five days. If you can meet me there than I'll teach you how to live up to your abilities." He said, before tossing the lightsaber at the man. Valik barely even used it anyways. "This should help, but be wary of it's use. The best tools often make the most noise. Never use brute strength where precision can get you the same results." He said, giving the man a 'freebie'.

"I trust I'll see you soon then?"

 

[Ugoto Chivaro]

[member="Valik"]

Trechtus was not looking for a coddle anyway, but it was good to know Valik wasn't into that scene either. He agreed with that sentiment regarding knowledge and power. They had to be earned. This was why Trechtus was such a lowly, ignorant runt in the grand scheme of things. He hadn't earned the right to be anything else. Speaking of earning, a lump of credit chips was deposited into the Stennes' open hand. More than he had ever cared or needed to keep before. He would make sure to spend it conservatively.

Valik mentioned something about a deal before igniting a crimson lightsaber. Trechtus had never seen a lightsaber before, much less an ignited one. He managed to repress a flinch, if just barely. It was off-putting, but to think that he was going to be killed was silly. Who paid a person just to kill them ten seconds after the fact? Silly. What he expected less than the lightsaber was it being deactivated and thrown at him.

Gloved hands shot out and snatched the thing from the air, perhaps a bit too quickly. It was more a desire to not fumble the catch and have the thing clatter to the floor than any sort of greed. It felt cool and heavy in his grasp. As with the stark majority of the galaxy, Trechtus hadn't the foggiest idea on how to use a lightsaber. Yet here he was being entrusted with one. He would have to make sure to take ample care of it, then, in case he was expected to give it back.

He paid close attention to what the human had to say before nodding slowly. Enarc. Five days. No brute strength where precision would work better.

That had already been a rule of thumb for Trechtus anyway.

"Yes." Trechtus said, not at all considering the potential hassle of finding one person on an entire planet. He didn't even know where Enarc was.