Studying the Subject Alpha

[Edric Vanyan]

Upon hearing of a certain affliction from... overhearing her mothers conversations Samantha's curiosity got the better of her and now she stood in the lobby of Rendili Stardrive's main office, already looking at the reception desk and more so the creature that sat behind it. She was here to meet with one [member="Camellia Swift"], so that she could study the effects of the Croa virus to their fullest as the creation of Sithspawn interested her beyond most other forms of creations, second only to starships. Of course she made sure that she was safe in this position, taking a few blackblades who now stood outside the lobby and also making sure it was clear who her mother was. Her day would certain suck if this woman thought it a good idea to have a snack and that snack being Samantha.

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

Well if Camellia and most of the Croa were being looked down upon she felt very disappointed, especially considering the lengths she had went quite cleverly to avoid the issue explained to her about them, and if she were made aware of anyone's thoughts along those lines she would correct them at once. As it was, she was currently within her own office aboard Rendili Stardrive's main shipyard and glossing over various design projects in the works. Some weren't too impressive, but others certainly seemed to hold potential. A carrier design based off an old cruiser certainly appealed to the Rendili, Croa, woman. At the same time though it had been meant for the Republic, and it was reminiscent of that old power long ago too so it might look bad if she turned it over to the Sith. Then again it could be seen as irony, so maybe its value could be seen by Rendili's new territorial owner.

Production was already beginning on a few anyway since the project had been slated before the invasion, hopefully they wouldn't go to waste. Still, this was only a concern for later. Right now she had an appointment with someone who was apparently Sith Lady Balaya's daughter. So stepping out into the lobby of the administration department, Camellia looked over to where her young guest was and smiled before waving her over. "Ah! I hope you weren't waiting long. Just looking over some statistical figures and quotas. If you want to talk in my office feel free to enter." Waiting, Camellia did take note of the very. . . intimidating bodyguards the girl had, although personally the Rendili Stardrive executive favored the Rendili Commandos, such as the two flanking her office's entrance, in their now reforged armored to accommodate their Croa bodies, namely their tail and ears and to shape the armor to a female body for those who were formerly men.

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Camellia Swift"]

Samantha's eyes shifted to look at the woman and with a smile and nodded. Her outfit was nothing more than a pair of jeans and shirt that did not match who she was suppose to be, further more she had not a single feature that would relate to a Zeltron. Infact she would look eerily similar to another person that Camellia would have known in her past through the connection in the Corporate alliance. None the less though Samantha gave the woman a bow before crossing her hands behind her and waving for the blackblades to stay put as she started towards the door that the woman had come from herself. "Camellia Swift is your name right? Owner of Rendili Stardrives, well i have the pleasure of meeting with you and studying you if you don't mind for my own curiosity. I am Samantha Zambrano, co-owner of Krayt Industries."

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

Krayt? That was one of the primary Sith shipwrights if she recalled, its owner had even shown up at a Corporate Alliance meeting if memory served the Rendili woman right. And why yes, speaking of the Corporate Alliance, there was someone among that group that did eerily look very similar to the young girl in front of her. Purring curiously, Camellia flicked her tail as she stepped behind her desk and shuffled some files on it to the side and offered the chair set in front of her to her visitor to sit in. "Well I suppose that's fine since the Sith did turn my world into such a unique and interesting people now. Not that I'd complain, it actually feels quite nice since the transformation. Hasn't really posed a problem for most people either. Proper organization and planning kept most of society intact, sans the fact everyone is female with tails now though no one is complaining about that either."

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Camellia Swift"]

That last part caught her off guard as she had already been making notes about the planet's organization. "Everyone is a female now? Does that mean that the Croa Virus turned everyone into such or that it killed off the males. And while i must say that i would be interested to understand what you mean by the transformation feeling nice, i must decline any offer you would make to give me first hand experience. Mostly due to my wanting to keep my mind my own for the time." She didn't elaborate about what she said, though it was obvious that the meaning behind the words were that these creatures were nothing more than something to control and be commanded around. After all that's what the use of a sithspawn is, no?

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

That brought a chuckle to the Croa woman's lips as she listened to Samantha's evaluation of the Croa as a virus and a people. She was among those underestimating them then it seemed. Although she was right to some degree, there were some. . . indisputable factors. "Firstly, yes the virus turned all the men into females too, because the Croa are just that. . . . . .and I assure you while its true all of us have an overwhelming urge to make the rest of humanity into a much better people, we have enough control, especially since we know the Sith are off limits." Because they had, to a degree, obey the one who had created them and that had been a very specific order that no Sith be turned and nothing unnecessary be done after Rendili was converted. It was hard to fight too, as the Virus compelled it. It left so much of Camellia herself intact, but altered her allegiance and her loyalty, and made her happy with them. In the depths of her mind she raged at that more than her physical transformation, which actually wasn't unwelcome, but on the surface and for the most part she couldn't be happier.

"I feel as though you have a bad impression of us Miss Zambrano. You seem far too nervous too. Would you like some refreshment while we continue? An aide can bring you a number of things of course."

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Camellia Swift"]

"A ration bar and some tea should be fine..." She had spoken as she made notes about the Sith being off limits and then she heard the part as she rethought the words about her being too nervous. "I apologize Miss Swift, but forgive me if i am a bit cautious around you. Your disease is transmitted through a bite right?" She was making another note as she looked at the woman and wondered something more. "The transformation process, was it painful, and if not for you what of the males that were infected, did they feel any overwhelming pain?"

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

Using the intercom to her secretary in the lobby outside her office, Camellia requested the refreshments that Samantha mentioned as she followed what the girl kept asking of her. Far too paranoid, if only she could just bite the young lady and be done with it. Undoubtedly she would feel so much better and more comfortable then. With a sigh she did answer, though she wasn't entirely sure she was describing it correctly. "The infection is spread through any bodily fluid, a bite is just the most simple. Blood can also be an effective substitute in some measures. As for the pain . . . . .the transformation does start out painful indeed. I feel mine was more so than others as most are rendered asleep after a minute. In the final moments there is a burst of pain, but at the same time the body is flooded with. . . .pleasure and euphoria. The transformed men have reported more pain, but also a more pleasurable experience as a result of their more drastic changes. We have a plenty of recorded transformations if you want to see them some time-"

A beeping alert cut off the rest of her sentence and drew Camellia's attention to her comm unit on her desk as she smiled apologetically to Samantha before answering it, aiming to keep whatever it was brief. A purr could be heard on the other end of the line before a voice came out. "Miss Swift, production sent someone down today asking about the progress of the Valor class and if there was any definitive answer on its development. We've been working on it maam, but Production and Finances want to know if this project will seriously be going ahead." Well Camellia had been expecting that question to come up soon. "Tell the girl that I just need some time to talk to the new overlords and see if other Core worlds are potential clients. Keep up the work in case we find someone, if not then these ships can participate in the new defense fleet."

Hanging up the comm, Camellia's ears twitched annoyed as she sighed before looking back to her guest. "Now where were we?"

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Camellia Swift"]

"The Valor class?" She was busy making the notes about the transformation when she heard the classification system of what she assumed was a ship that peaked her interest immensely. "I hate to diverge from the current conversation but i must ask one thing about this new ship and that is if you could well... explain its design to me. There are two things that interest me beyond all things and its the Sithspawn created by use of the force, which includes your species. And that of vessels of space faring nature... so if you do not mind miss Swift could you tell me about this new project of yours?"

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

Well that was something the owner of Rendili Stardrive was more than pleased to talk about. Of course she wouldn't go into detail about the specific components or systems or blueprints, but she definitely liked to boast about the concept and premise of a design if given the chance. Her tail flicked back and forth energetically behind her as she purred before responding. "The Valor class was an original design of Rendili Stardrive, then Rendili Hyperworks, during the Cold War back in the days of the Old Republic and Sith Empire. It was the primary capital ship of the Republic to the Sith's Harrower class. The Valor replaced the Hammerhead Cruiser then and was much larger, reflecting the more prosperous Republic that hadn't suffered nearly as many setbacks. Its iconic history and appearance was meant to help us now revive the design and sell it to the Republic as a heavy cruiser and carrier. The problem is since this company is supplying the Sith now, we don't have that great a market just yet. And might not. The Sith have been favoring Vong designs for some reason lately so the concern is that they won't like a non-vong ship. Still, there might be customers in the Core worlds looking to enhance private fleets, and there's still the open market in the Outer Rim if we have permission. At worst they'll be allocated to Rendili's own defense fleet so they won't go to waste."

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Camellia Swift"]

"Interesting, looking to revive an iconic and memorable ship... Im interested to hear of the progress you make in that decision." She was very curious and smiled as she tapped her hand and continued to speak. "Perhaps there is something that you need help on in regards to the design or process of the ship's recreation? I seem to remember the design's original shaping but i am curious as to if you are keeping it or downgrading the size of the ship or perhaps even creating a larger form of it with some changes?" She tapped her hand, this woman's idea obviously interesting her as she took the drink from the attendant as well as the ration bar, drinking from the former before finishing off. "That is if you don't mind my help with anything miss Swift?"

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

Camellia folded her hands and considered what the other girl had to say, though she wasn't entirely sure about it. "To be truthful the specifics of the vessels dimensions are hard to come by after the Gulag Plague, but based on our reports and experts examining images, models, and documents we've determined its size fairly accurately we hope. We plan for this redesign to be just a little bit bigger, but in exchange hold more firepower while maintaining its overwhelming fighter support. If you'd like to see more of the project that's fine with me, but our real problem is not the construction but whether or not such a ship would ever find any use in this part of the galaxy."

 

[Edric Vanyan]

[member="Camellia Swift"]

Samantha held the glass in between her hands as she drank from it slowly and with a curious expression as she smiled and looked upwards at the woman and continued with the questions. "And the hanger space on the vessels, had you been able to determine such, or the material used in the creation of these ships." She was obviously absorbed in learning about the past of the ships but then halted her questions and looked to the side before speaking once more. "My apologies if these questions are too invasive, your business is just of great interest in the realm of your species and your ships, each to their own part in my mind as your species is one in its unique nature. You remain intelligent yet a creation of Sith Alchemy, there isn't too much of a draw back minus the obvious susceptibility to powers in the force such as light or a sith controlling your actions. Which mind you, you need not worry about when it comes to me, my talents with the force are limited at best as i never sought training."

 

[Camellia Swift]

[member="Samantha Zambrano"]

Now Camellia had to chuckle, the girl was just too . . .what was the term? Adorkable. At the very least she was good conversation for the owner of a shipwright who loved to talk ships herself. Now was probably a good time to explain some things to her. "Oh we're all well aware of some of the side effects, but the degradation happens further down the generation line of infected. For example, I am gen zero. Those I infected became gen one. Those they infected became gen two and so on. You'll have no idea how needlessly tiresome and complicated it was to figure out and coordinate a plan of action to figure out the degradation rate and when it began to occur and just what needed to be done to minimize loss of intelligence among the Rendili population while maximizing the speed of infection to prevent people from resisting too efficiently. After all, we don't want to lose people, our doctors, our teachers, our scientists, our engineers, our technicians, the workers on the docks and across the world. The amount of effort it took to make sure everyone turned on this station was gen two or three at the most took a lot, and we have over thirty thousand workers and staff aboard. It was easier after that to infect the smaller stations in a similar fashion. It was the planetary invasion that got messy. Still, in the end only twelve percent of the overarching population of Rendili suffered any mental degradation and we still love and see our sisters as no less. As for the other issues you mentioned, I wasn't a force user before anyway so I was still fairly vulnerable, I feel the perks outweigh that. As for obeying the Sith, since my awakening I don't have a problem with that, but you're mother was very wise. She set very intelligent restrictions on who we would have to obey, after all she wouldn't want us being abused or her work exploited. . . . . . . .as for the ship too by the way. We know the hanger space could allow for one hundred and ten fighters with space for fifty dropships and shuttles. It was a fearsome man-o-war. We hope to keep that intact. No matter how much work it takes us."