Private The Grovemind And The Gardner

[Madrona A’Mia]

Stygian Caldera
Brosi
Newly Constructed Spore Industries Laboratory ​

More responsibility had fallen on Lesh's shoulders as of late, and with war in the Holy Worlds, Professor Madrona had entrusted the student with near unlimited access to the greenhouses of Kor'ethyr while she was away. The student had guidance from other academy staff of course, but it had been yet another test of the young woman's enterprising spirit.

A few weeks after the imperial foe had been driven from Brosi, Leshanna Dromar received summons to attend her mistress there. She'd been provided only a few hours notice before the shuttle left Korriban. En route, she received a dossier regarding Spore Industries and instructions on how to reach the laboratory upon landing.

It soon became apparent why instructions were necessary, given the vast jungle that had sprung up across the surface of much of the planet. Even traversing a few short miles would provide ample opportunity to get turned around and lost in the dense foliage.

Leshanna stepped out of the hangar to be greeted by this lush oasis, where clearly reports of a plague ravaged world were a thing of the past. The very air felt alive, and if the human opened herself to the Force she would find the land itself reaching out toward her as if in welcome. Sithspawn and droids could be found in abundance at first glance but outside of a few staff manning the hangar, she encountered no other humanoid sentients.

The path to the lab beckoned to her, and eventually she found her way to a rather well camouflaged duracrete entryway to a building that appeared semi-subterranean. Leshanna knew that a portion of A'Mia's laboratory on Korriban was much the same and it offered heightened security. Per the dossier, the human knew a simple biometric scan would get her through the door.

With a hissss and click, the entryway slid open and just as quickly closed behind her. The interior was low lit, it was eerily quiet save for the low ever present hum of the environmental maintenance system, and Leshanna might get the sudden sense that she was not alone…

 

[Leshanna Dromar]

Madrona A’Mia ​

Responsibilities were something that Leshanna dreaded, but embraced with passion as she slowly climbed the ladder within Kor’ethyr Academy. In the very beginning, she had struggled - but with the help of friends and lovers alike, she had stepped into her own and bloomed into a young Sith woman with great potential and power. She excelled in her classes, even the more arduous ones, and was an excellent student - receiving top marks in many things.

But nothing quite satisfied her like being in her Mistress’s greenhouses, tending to the various things Lady A’Mia had contained within. Lesh went from being a student to ‘teacher’s assistant’, in a way, as the Neti began to take an interest in her young charge. While the Tree Lady scared many of the students, she didn’t disturb Leshanna. The young Sith woman rather liked the Neti and her no Bantha-chit approach to everything. It was very scientific and straight to the heart of the matter, and it was something that Lesh appreciated.

So the summons that came to Lesh from Brosi was not much of a surprise to her; she knew that her Mistress had gained control of the world after the Imperials had pulled back from the Holy Worlds following their defeat, and she figured the Neti had called her there for academic reasons.

While enroute, she carefully looked over the dossier she’d been given, looking over the information about Spore Industries and the instructions on where to go and how to get there once she landed on Brosi. And once she arrived there, it became very clear why instructions were necessary.

The place was a damn jungle.

Brosi was now alive, where it had once been ground zero for a disease that seemingly had no real cure. Awe and amazement filled her blue eyes as she looked around at the dense oasis and a small and knowing smile curled her lips. This was the perfect place for her Mistress to set up, the perfect world for her to govern and rule over. Leshanna stretched out her senses, tapping into the energy of the Force weave around her, feeling how it moved and flowed through and around her. The essence of the dark side was strong here too - a sort of dark chill that was a constant basal note at the very edge of her awareness.

As she looked around herself, she noticed droids and familiar plantlike Sithspawn going about their business, though she noticed very few other staff members roaming about. Without wasting any further time, she set off down a pathway - allowing the Force to be her guide as she traversed deeper and deeper into the jungle. She didn’t rush, but took her time because she didn’t want to take a wrong turn somewhere and end up lost. She had a feeling that her Mistress wouldn’t seek her out, but push her to find her way out of her mess.

Eventually, the young Sith woman came upon a camouflage duracrete entryway that led into some underground structure, and she counted her lucky stars for even locating it in the first place. Had she not followed the welcoming guide that reached out to her, she never would have found the place.

At the side of the door was a biometrics scan and without hesitation, she set her palm against it so it could read her information. Lady A’Mia’s lab and greenhouses on Korriban were similarly guarded and so it was something familiar for her. Once the scan was complete, the door slid open with a hiss and click, allowing the Sith student to step across the threshold, the door closing shut behind her as she stepped through.

Almost as soon as she was through the doorway and into the low lit interior, she sensed that she wasn’t exactly alone. Cautious blue eyes flickered around the space she found herself in, reaching out to whatever presence was there with her, hoping it was someone familiar and not something that would be dangerous to her. She was at the stage in her education that dangerous trials and testing occurred without warning and though nothing seemed amiss or dangerous in the moment, she knew better than to let her guard down.

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

And indeed, when Leshanna reached out for something familiar there was something reaching back. The presence was not entirely A'Mia, though aspects of her were present. Something younger and more curious than the neti's tangled consciousness was also present, and if she quieted her mind, Leshanna would also feel the tug of something vast which seemed to pull at the Force like a blackhole tugs at reality. Instead of pulling in anything which neared its borders though, this anomaly seemed to live at the center of the planet and appeared to draw psychic energy toward its event horizon.

Those additional details were revealed as mere distractions right now though, as a very familiar mental voice beckoned cryptically.

Enter the vivarium.
​

The hallway Leshanna Dromar had entered soon gave way to a lift, with a minimalistic control panel that really only made one destination possible. Down.

It was impossible to know how far down, but the lift moved at incredible and effective speed. Soon it slowed and as the door slid back open, the student was greeted by a new hallway, this one lead directly to a massive, reinforced blast door. Just by sight, Leshanna knew this was the vivarium A'Mia had indicated. The Weave shimmered there, rippling with power and purpose, awaiting the daring entry of an apprentice in the making.