Private The Catalyst Protocol: Hangman

[Mykel Dawson]

Continued from Engineering Ascension

Then

"Form up! Defensive pattern Zerek-Five!" The team leader barked, voice coarse from shouting so much over the blaster fire. Comms no longer worked, only grating static in the ears when he tried to radio the other teams around the complex. His unit, all clad in dull matte gray durasteel armor, snapped to cover behind recesses within the tunnel, returning fire with heavy blaster carbines. But the return fire they faced wasn't standard. No flashing bolt or the glow of tracer projectiles from the other side, just the whistle of high velocity flechettes and the subsequent crack as they pierced rock. He groaned as he popped up to return fire, only for one such flechette to nearly bow him over as it glanced against his pauldron, feeling an unusual stinging shock at the point of contact.

Not a kill shot, but it very well could have been if just aimed a little higher. They're toying with us.

A scream cut through the cacophony. He dared peeked to find one of his men of his men ahead of him was now stuck to the side of the tunnel like a bug caught in a web. The next went down just a quickly, but this time he was able to catch a blur of small black orb colliding with him, arcing at an extreme angle from around the corner of an intersecting tunnel. He noticed the hail of flechettes had stop at this point, replaced by these new larger projectiles ensnaring his men. Glop grenades, he quickly surmised, but he couldn't fathom how they seemed to be homing in on his whole squad like precision missiles.

Cursing loudly, he finally gave into desperation, risking implosion by tossing out his own plasma charges in turn, the far end of the tunnel momentarily filled with large bursts of crimson plasma to bring a short reprieve from the onslaught. Yet defeat was inevitable. Perhaps he should have just surrendered before the phantom opposition tearing through his whole outfit down in the mines, but he was much too proud for that. He would fight to the last man.

However, in anticlimactic fashion, his one man crusade would come to an abrupt end as he was struck squarely against the chestplate by a grenade just as he peaked out for more pot shots. He was shocked by the force behind the impact, slammed against the tunnel's side as he was splattered with an explosion of inky obsidian. It nearly enveloped his armored form, leaving only a precious sliver of a vision through his obscured visor. Instinctively, he tried to pull away from the wall, but he only made it one pitiful step before snapped back into place by the hardening epoxy. He was done.

The tunnel was quiet again, and he was left to stew alone in increasingly panicked thoughts as his armor had become a coffin.

After what seemed like an eternity, a dark shape did finally emerge from the under the flickering lights, the man seeming to materialize out of the very air itself. Some fancy stealth armor? Feth, we never had a chance.

Wordlessly, the armored figure raised a hand right over the lead merc's head. His world became pure black as his last speck of vision was extinguished.

---

"All clear," Mykel radioed to his master from his section. About a dozen unconscious mercenaries had been defanged and bound together across the complex. They were not the enemies of the Jedi or the Antarian Rangers (x), only an annoying obstacle to be pacified while conducting their investigation. No further harm would come to the mercenaries, but they would have some serious explaining to do to the local Makebian authorities when an anonymous distress call was eventually transmitted from the mine.

Out of curiosity, the technopath sliced into one of the merc's wrist mounted computers, extracting data for later analysis. It was always hard to parse the true employer of these types, but their presence was further evidence that people were taking the contents of data leaks seriously. Prior to their own insertion, the Jedi had observed all sorts of activity in and around the complex via their drone, but they had been far too late to physically intervene when the original culprits were still present. Now they were only left with their scraps.

Oh well, it was a start. As soon as the mercs were secured in place, Mykel started to look around the lab, checking if he could find anything useful.

Liin "Tera" Terallo

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

The laboratory was a mess. An explosion through one of the air vents had left charred remains in it's wake. Most of the valuable equipment was taken by the evacuees, save some scrap pieces. Datapads were gone, but some notes written on paper were scattered around. Some of them were damaged; either through liquid, blaster fire, or ripped from being stepped on. Yet that did not make them entirely unreadable. Little bits and pieces of the handwritten notes were legible, however they were incomplete. What could be read on them however, were mentions of biomolecules sourced from New Cov, cloned tissue samples and lists of various Force abilities.

In an adjacent room to the main lab, there lay the specimen room. A handful of small cannisters with bits of cloned biomass floated inside of bacta-like liquids. There were some pieces larger than others, although none were bigger than a common-sized finger, with the smallest being two centimeters. A few of them were slightly radioactive, but not to the extent to cause anyone harm. And just like in the previous chamber, this one had also been stripped of what was vital.

The lights in the facility flickered as the storm brewing above the mine interfered with the electrical currents powering the laboratory. It was obvious that the former inhabitants were conducting their research while on the run. And with the most recent infiltration; the scientists that had built the laboratory were on the run once again.

Tag: Mykel Dawson

 

[Mykel Dawson]

There wasn't much to look at, as the Jedi and Rangers soon discovered. This makeshift setup could have easily been mistaken for some kind of mundane criminal drug operation at first glance. The visible violence that had unfolded here could have been explained away as inter-gang warfare.

However, it was upon closer inspection, that they did get a better idea of the true nature of the laboratory as they scrounged together scattered handwritten notes that had been left behind. Sloppy. Evidence of just how hasty the retreat had been. There were even few half drunk mugs of cold caf and freshly opened rations. If only the Jedi had arrived to Makeb a day before.

In another room, the team found the cloned tissue mentioned in said notes, all small specimens floating around in canisters. A few slightly radioactive, but the team was under no threat from exposure, especially as their armor was rated for CBRN defense. Mykel frowned as he looked upon the grotesque products, the tiny lumps of flesh reminding him of tumors.

"This isn't much different than a Sith Alchemist stitching up their abominations in their dungeons," Mykel observed with his master beside him.

"Yes...but the Sith know the evil they wrought." Kaldor explained. "They relish in the corruption. These people behind this project, on the other hand, pursue their aims with naivete, like a baby reaching for their first flame. Their ignorance makes them even more dangerous in some respects. They are literally blind to the forces they attempt to manipulate."

Mykel agreed, looking down at the list of Force abilities in his hand, all neatly listed like powers in an RPG rulebook. "They seem almost innocent in a way, from the tone of their notes. I almost feel bad for them, but this research is going to hurt a lot of people if we don't put a stop to it."

Kaldor placed a gloved hand against the pane of one of the canisters, as if he was praying for the deformed construct within.

"We will. We must."

---

The investigative team was in and out in about less than an hour, gathering what evidence they could and leaving what they couldn't carry away to the local authorities who would soon be anonymously tagged.

The biological materials were passed along to Jedi researchers and scientists aboard a mobile hospital ship with the resources to perform deep analysis with the assumption that the experimentation hadn't taken place on Makeb by accident, while the original investigative team continued with their search for the scientists.

There was no clear sign where the project had gone. Perhaps some more leaks that indicated activity on Masterra, but nothing definitive. An agent may be deployed to follow up on that possible lead, but the team at large decided to try a different tactic: reaching out to the project head directly. By backtracking to New Cov using the gathered notes and referencing the data leaks on hand they had a person of interest. Liin Terallo.

Feelers were sent out to publicly available addresses of the mogul scientist, all behind the front of a legitimate Kiribian biotech firm called Panacea.

Dear Dr. Terallo,

First and foremost, allow us to extend our sympathies regarding the unfortunate leak that has recently come to light.

We can only imagine how frustrating it must be to see work meant to be handled with discretion and care subjected to distortion through third-party channels. The public rarely understands the nuance or intent behind innovation at the cutting edges of known science. But some of us do.

It was, in truth, that very leak which drew our attention. Not out of condemnation, but curiosity.

Panacea has long pursued frontier medical research with a keen interest in what others consider too obscure, too dangerous, or too soon. We believe the right kind of collaboration could not only validate some of your more speculative designs, but shield them under the umbrella of more formalized, safeguarded innovation.

Please let us know if you're open to a private meeting at your earliest convenience. We're happy to accommodate your preferred time and medium.

Respectively,
Dr. Issira Vahn
Outreach Director
Panacea

Liin "Tera" Terallo

 

[Liin "Tera" Terallo]

My alias seems to no longer be working. At least for some people. I had gotten a message recently that seemed to implicate me with what happened on Makeb. Every word of it was true, however I am not entirely happy with being identified so easily. Most of all by another company.

I had stepped away from corporate politics. It had turned into a distraction. With it I had become too focused on myself and what others thought of me. The rumors and scandals involving myself and a former bodyguard was the tipping point. I could no longer bear their whispers and articles regarding a love life that did not exist. That and the takeover of New Cov was also unbearable. I needed to get away, I needed to focus entirely on work. And so that is what I have been doing. Only now my work has been bringing about all sorts of different kinds of attention.

Most of them were threatening.

But this one is slightly different. It almost feels like a job offer, however I have no desire to share my reasearch to any company. I had promised to Balun Dashiell that my research would not be sold, and I plan on sticking to my word.

Still I am curious to know just how much that this Panacea knows about my research. And the only way to find that out is to respind to them. And so I do:

Dr. Vahn,

Thank you for your understanding. It is not an easy task to be conducting research while others line up to bang down my door. Whether it is to stop or to steal my research for themselves; both are the same to me.

Due to my continued movement across the Galaxy, I do believe that a holo-meeting would serve us best. Perhaps one can be scheduled in two standard days time at 0900.

Regards,

Dr. Terallo~

Tag: Mykel Dawson