Kamon Vondiranach
Heart in a Jar
Ten Years Ago
Location: Kamino
Weather: Thunderstorms
A line of water sprayed behind the fighter as it blasted across the vast ocean. Sprays of water landed on the cockpit as the fighter zipped between two large waves, her pilot completely focused on staying as low as possible. The fighter was a C1 Foil-class Starfighter. A prototype being developed by Eshan Drive Yards. The pilot was the designer of the craft, a young Echani woman named Niamh Raste. A promising designer, she was the owner of EchaniTech, a stakeholder in Eshan Drive Yards, and also a prominent Echani Firedancer. She was also a skilled pilot.
The ship slipped in under the radar of Tipoca City, stopping beneath one of the various landing platforms. As per her expectation, Niamh noticed that most of the platforms were currently occupied. Kamino was a busy world at any time, given their main export of clones. Arriving unnoticed was difficult. Difficult unless you had other means of arrival. Affixed to the fighter's dorsal hull were two large electro-magnetic clamps. They reduced the ships aerodynamics, the wedge-nosed fighter being designed primarily for speed, but they were not a permanent part of the vessel. As the fighter rose up beneath the platform, the clamps extended and sealed the fighter to the metallic underbelly of the city.
Niamh breathed a light sigh of relief that it worked. Without knowing the properties of the metal associated with the city, she had no way of knowing if magnets were viable. It had all been a hunch. A very educated hunch, but a hunch nonetheless. I could have always abandoned the fighter. That would have been a waste of resources though. She quickly powered the fighter down and popped the hatch. Beneath the platform she was sheltered from the blowing rain, though the wind still battered her, whipping her white hair all about her face and threatening to throw her into the water below.
Quick as she could, she climbed outward and along the front of the craft while pulling a grapple gun from her belt. A well-aimed shot hooked onto one of the catwalks beneath the city. She tied the other end off to the fighter before shimmying her way across the cable to the catwalk. Once on solid ground she studied her surroundings. No one was in sight, but she was aware the facility was going to have quite a bit of security. She pulled a small device out of her pocket and activated it before securing it to her jacket front with a pin. The jammer would severe all communications and cut all security feeds in the nearby area. A crafty security guard might be able to find her knowing that, but she had her doubts about their ability to do so quickly enough for it to matter.
Running down the catwalk, the young Echani kept her eyes peeled for any signs of movement. The flashes of lightning from the storm lit the area well enough that she'd be able to see anything before it was too late. She saw nothing as she made it into the entry for one of the lower shaft openings. Plugging her jack into the nearby dataport, she ran a slicing algorithm provided by one of the technicians at EchaniTech and huddled against the frame while she waited for it to work. She still saw no movement. Probably too busy worrying about making credits to care about perceived malfunctioning equipment. Their loss is my gain.
After a few minutes, the door slid open and she stepped inside, putting her datapad back into the special holster within the jacket she was wearing. As the door closed, she reached up and secured her hair in a bun. This way it didn't provide something for someone to grab, and it was out of the way. She didn't move immediately. To do so would be folly, as she'd leave a wet trail of footprints down the hall, which would draw the attention of even the worst guards in the galaxy. She didn't want that so she waited until no more water dripped from her, and then stepped to the side and rubbed the bottoms of her boots on the wall to try and remove any excess water from the treads. Then she stepped into the hall.
She moved quickly and quietly. Creeping down one hall to the next, she drew two small daggers from her waistband. They were the only weapons she'd brought, aside from herself. She approached an open door from which she could hear voices emanating. Crouching outside, she listened quietly as two Kaminoans conversed within. They were moving towards her but she didn't hesitate as she waited beneath their eyesight. The first one she let come through, as it was walking with its head turned away from her. As the second came out, she attacked with a blow to the side of its head that caused it to crumple. Then she hooked her arm around the other one with her blade to its throat.
"Your cloning control station. Where is it?" Niamh asked, the knife pressing dangerously close to a visibly throbbing artery in the aliens neck. "I will only ask once."
"Please do not harm me. I'm just a technician. I don't work in the cloning area," the Kaminoan said.
Niamh could feel the thrumming of its heart beat with the positioning of her hand. She felt the tremors in the creatures throat almost as much as the new perspiration that had appeared on its skin.
"You're lying."
Very gently she made a subtle slice across delicate flesh. The alien whimpered and the tension melted away.
"Please do not kill me," it said before pointing down the hall. "Continue down the hall and take the first right. You'll come to a tunnel that passes through the training area. On the other side, first door on the left is the control center."
"Thank you," she said before she cracked the tall alien across the back of the head and sent it to the floor with its friend.
She could have simply left them there, but it was too risky. Instead, she drug each of them back into the room they'd come out of, which appeared to be some sort of small lounge, and secured them with wire that she pulled from a holo terminal. She made them face each other so that they couldn't untie one another. With the two secured she set off at a light jog. At the first right turn, she took it. As she'd been told, she was soon running through a clear tunnel. Outside she could see the cloning pods secured to central towers. Beneath them were a large myriad of clones of different appearances, all studying computer screens or training in some fashion. She couldn't help but stop for a moment to admire it all.
It was only a moment, though. She knew she didn't have a lot of time to waste, and the tunnel was open. It would be easy for someone to spot her. She approached the end of the tunnel and slowed to a walk as she drew near to the door on the left. It was closed, and there was no jack for her to plug into. The only available device for accessing the door was an eye terminal at a height that she'd only be able to reach if she jumped. That posed a problem. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and then rested her head against the door and listened. Tuning out all of the other sounds was difficult, but after a few moments she heard voices inside.
Well, looks like it's the hard way. No killing, Niamh. Knockouts only. Secure them, secure the data, and then get out. She nodded her head once and took a deep breath. A quick glance both directions ensured that she was clear, and then she slammed the hilt of one of the daggers on the door repeatedly before darting back down the tunnel a few paces and flattening herself to the wall. She slowed her breathing until she was only taking a breath every couple of minutes and waited for the release of air that signaled the door was opening.
Then it happened.
As the door began to rise, she started running. Her momentum allowed her to slide inside, between the legs of a very surprised guard, and assess the room. Four individuals, all Kaminoan. Two guards and two scientists. She flipped her blades around and threw one that caught the second guard square between the eyes before she even rose from the ground. Coming to her feet, she bounded for the scientist nearest the console and slammed his head into it as she planted her feet on the plate glass that separated her from the cloning chamber. Whipping around, she allowed her boot to collide with the side of the second scientists head, sending him spinning to the ground as she landed with a thud.
The last guard was lifting a comlink to his mouth, and she threw her last blade, which pierced through the aliens hand. Unfortunate, but necessary. In seconds she crossed the gap, dodged beneath a swiping arm, planted a blow to the aliens stomach, and then flipped backwards to catch it in the jaw with her foot, while avoiding its downward momentum and springing back to land on her feet. With all four aliens neutralized, she closed the door before sitting in one of the chairs. Jacking into the terminal, she began downloading all of the systems data. There was a lot to go through and it was going to take some time. It gave her a while to admire the beauty of the cloning chamber. It wasn't just the lights, it was the whole system. The ability to recreate life from a small sample of DNA was mesmerizing. It was as if the Kaminoans were gods, building people to inhabit worlds.
She didn't fancy herself a god by any means. Niamh was just a warrior scientist with strong inclinations to ensure the safety and survival of her people. The Compact was on the rise. Janira Fenni was making a name for herself as a descendant of Raskta Fenni. She'd nearly risen in power to the point of leading the Echani Compact, but she still needed to face Cyba, the current triumvirate leader, to obtain her leadership role. Niamh supported her in this because Cyba was too complacent, conceding to often to the Republic and unwilling to face the encroachment of the Mandalorians. It would be dark times if Cyba wasn't deposed.
Having become lost in thought, she didn't notice for some time that the download was completed. It wasn't until a warning klaxon sounded that she looked down. When she did, she grabbed the datapad and unplugged it before gathering her blades and making for the door. Someone must have found the two Kaminoans she'd run into earlier, and they would have told them where she'd been going. She had no choice but to return the same way she'd arrived, however. Without a full schematic of the building, she would not be able to find her way around and back to her fighter. At a run, she found the eyes of some of the clones watching her, but she paid them no mind. Her keen eyes had already deduced that the transparent view panes were blast proof. Nothing from the outside could harm her.
Turning left, she came face to face with the same two Kaminoans she'd taken out before, plus a guard. She didn't have time to deal with them so used her momentum and rolled her body to the right, one foot lifting, and a hand sliding, to contact the wall and propel her around the trio of surprised individuals. She didn't look back, instead activating the small device on her belt that instituted an invisible shield around her person, and ran down the hall as fast as she possibly could. Blue bolts of energy whizzed by her, one or two impacting the shield before she reached the door she'd entered through. It opened for her without any trouble. Apparently they only wanted to keep people out, not in.
Down the catwalk she ran as she finally tucked her daggers away. Leaping over the railing, she grabbed the wire and shimmied her way across to the fighter, where she tossed the wire free before climbing into the pilots seat and closing the hatch above her. Powering the ship up, she deactivated the magnetic clamps and the fighter dropped like a rock before she kicked the engine into gear and shot across the waters surface. Scanners detected no immediate chasers so she sighed in relief and aimed for space.
A smile touched her features as she plotted her hyperspace course before punching the hyperdrive. As the stars elongated into pencil thin lines and finally a blur of blue and white, she laughed. She'd just successfully stolen a copy of the Kaminoans data on cloning. The Shroud Project had officially begun.
Location: Kamino
Weather: Thunderstorms
A line of water sprayed behind the fighter as it blasted across the vast ocean. Sprays of water landed on the cockpit as the fighter zipped between two large waves, her pilot completely focused on staying as low as possible. The fighter was a C1 Foil-class Starfighter. A prototype being developed by Eshan Drive Yards. The pilot was the designer of the craft, a young Echani woman named Niamh Raste. A promising designer, she was the owner of EchaniTech, a stakeholder in Eshan Drive Yards, and also a prominent Echani Firedancer. She was also a skilled pilot.
The ship slipped in under the radar of Tipoca City, stopping beneath one of the various landing platforms. As per her expectation, Niamh noticed that most of the platforms were currently occupied. Kamino was a busy world at any time, given their main export of clones. Arriving unnoticed was difficult. Difficult unless you had other means of arrival. Affixed to the fighter's dorsal hull were two large electro-magnetic clamps. They reduced the ships aerodynamics, the wedge-nosed fighter being designed primarily for speed, but they were not a permanent part of the vessel. As the fighter rose up beneath the platform, the clamps extended and sealed the fighter to the metallic underbelly of the city.
Niamh breathed a light sigh of relief that it worked. Without knowing the properties of the metal associated with the city, she had no way of knowing if magnets were viable. It had all been a hunch. A very educated hunch, but a hunch nonetheless. I could have always abandoned the fighter. That would have been a waste of resources though. She quickly powered the fighter down and popped the hatch. Beneath the platform she was sheltered from the blowing rain, though the wind still battered her, whipping her white hair all about her face and threatening to throw her into the water below.
Quick as she could, she climbed outward and along the front of the craft while pulling a grapple gun from her belt. A well-aimed shot hooked onto one of the catwalks beneath the city. She tied the other end off to the fighter before shimmying her way across the cable to the catwalk. Once on solid ground she studied her surroundings. No one was in sight, but she was aware the facility was going to have quite a bit of security. She pulled a small device out of her pocket and activated it before securing it to her jacket front with a pin. The jammer would severe all communications and cut all security feeds in the nearby area. A crafty security guard might be able to find her knowing that, but she had her doubts about their ability to do so quickly enough for it to matter.
Running down the catwalk, the young Echani kept her eyes peeled for any signs of movement. The flashes of lightning from the storm lit the area well enough that she'd be able to see anything before it was too late. She saw nothing as she made it into the entry for one of the lower shaft openings. Plugging her jack into the nearby dataport, she ran a slicing algorithm provided by one of the technicians at EchaniTech and huddled against the frame while she waited for it to work. She still saw no movement. Probably too busy worrying about making credits to care about perceived malfunctioning equipment. Their loss is my gain.
After a few minutes, the door slid open and she stepped inside, putting her datapad back into the special holster within the jacket she was wearing. As the door closed, she reached up and secured her hair in a bun. This way it didn't provide something for someone to grab, and it was out of the way. She didn't move immediately. To do so would be folly, as she'd leave a wet trail of footprints down the hall, which would draw the attention of even the worst guards in the galaxy. She didn't want that so she waited until no more water dripped from her, and then stepped to the side and rubbed the bottoms of her boots on the wall to try and remove any excess water from the treads. Then she stepped into the hall.
She moved quickly and quietly. Creeping down one hall to the next, she drew two small daggers from her waistband. They were the only weapons she'd brought, aside from herself. She approached an open door from which she could hear voices emanating. Crouching outside, she listened quietly as two Kaminoans conversed within. They were moving towards her but she didn't hesitate as she waited beneath their eyesight. The first one she let come through, as it was walking with its head turned away from her. As the second came out, she attacked with a blow to the side of its head that caused it to crumple. Then she hooked her arm around the other one with her blade to its throat.
"Your cloning control station. Where is it?" Niamh asked, the knife pressing dangerously close to a visibly throbbing artery in the aliens neck. "I will only ask once."
"Please do not harm me. I'm just a technician. I don't work in the cloning area," the Kaminoan said.
Niamh could feel the thrumming of its heart beat with the positioning of her hand. She felt the tremors in the creatures throat almost as much as the new perspiration that had appeared on its skin.
"You're lying."
Very gently she made a subtle slice across delicate flesh. The alien whimpered and the tension melted away.
"Please do not kill me," it said before pointing down the hall. "Continue down the hall and take the first right. You'll come to a tunnel that passes through the training area. On the other side, first door on the left is the control center."
"Thank you," she said before she cracked the tall alien across the back of the head and sent it to the floor with its friend.
She could have simply left them there, but it was too risky. Instead, she drug each of them back into the room they'd come out of, which appeared to be some sort of small lounge, and secured them with wire that she pulled from a holo terminal. She made them face each other so that they couldn't untie one another. With the two secured she set off at a light jog. At the first right turn, she took it. As she'd been told, she was soon running through a clear tunnel. Outside she could see the cloning pods secured to central towers. Beneath them were a large myriad of clones of different appearances, all studying computer screens or training in some fashion. She couldn't help but stop for a moment to admire it all.
It was only a moment, though. She knew she didn't have a lot of time to waste, and the tunnel was open. It would be easy for someone to spot her. She approached the end of the tunnel and slowed to a walk as she drew near to the door on the left. It was closed, and there was no jack for her to plug into. The only available device for accessing the door was an eye terminal at a height that she'd only be able to reach if she jumped. That posed a problem. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and then rested her head against the door and listened. Tuning out all of the other sounds was difficult, but after a few moments she heard voices inside.
Well, looks like it's the hard way. No killing, Niamh. Knockouts only. Secure them, secure the data, and then get out. She nodded her head once and took a deep breath. A quick glance both directions ensured that she was clear, and then she slammed the hilt of one of the daggers on the door repeatedly before darting back down the tunnel a few paces and flattening herself to the wall. She slowed her breathing until she was only taking a breath every couple of minutes and waited for the release of air that signaled the door was opening.
Then it happened.
As the door began to rise, she started running. Her momentum allowed her to slide inside, between the legs of a very surprised guard, and assess the room. Four individuals, all Kaminoan. Two guards and two scientists. She flipped her blades around and threw one that caught the second guard square between the eyes before she even rose from the ground. Coming to her feet, she bounded for the scientist nearest the console and slammed his head into it as she planted her feet on the plate glass that separated her from the cloning chamber. Whipping around, she allowed her boot to collide with the side of the second scientists head, sending him spinning to the ground as she landed with a thud.
The last guard was lifting a comlink to his mouth, and she threw her last blade, which pierced through the aliens hand. Unfortunate, but necessary. In seconds she crossed the gap, dodged beneath a swiping arm, planted a blow to the aliens stomach, and then flipped backwards to catch it in the jaw with her foot, while avoiding its downward momentum and springing back to land on her feet. With all four aliens neutralized, she closed the door before sitting in one of the chairs. Jacking into the terminal, she began downloading all of the systems data. There was a lot to go through and it was going to take some time. It gave her a while to admire the beauty of the cloning chamber. It wasn't just the lights, it was the whole system. The ability to recreate life from a small sample of DNA was mesmerizing. It was as if the Kaminoans were gods, building people to inhabit worlds.
She didn't fancy herself a god by any means. Niamh was just a warrior scientist with strong inclinations to ensure the safety and survival of her people. The Compact was on the rise. Janira Fenni was making a name for herself as a descendant of Raskta Fenni. She'd nearly risen in power to the point of leading the Echani Compact, but she still needed to face Cyba, the current triumvirate leader, to obtain her leadership role. Niamh supported her in this because Cyba was too complacent, conceding to often to the Republic and unwilling to face the encroachment of the Mandalorians. It would be dark times if Cyba wasn't deposed.
Having become lost in thought, she didn't notice for some time that the download was completed. It wasn't until a warning klaxon sounded that she looked down. When she did, she grabbed the datapad and unplugged it before gathering her blades and making for the door. Someone must have found the two Kaminoans she'd run into earlier, and they would have told them where she'd been going. She had no choice but to return the same way she'd arrived, however. Without a full schematic of the building, she would not be able to find her way around and back to her fighter. At a run, she found the eyes of some of the clones watching her, but she paid them no mind. Her keen eyes had already deduced that the transparent view panes were blast proof. Nothing from the outside could harm her.
Turning left, she came face to face with the same two Kaminoans she'd taken out before, plus a guard. She didn't have time to deal with them so used her momentum and rolled her body to the right, one foot lifting, and a hand sliding, to contact the wall and propel her around the trio of surprised individuals. She didn't look back, instead activating the small device on her belt that instituted an invisible shield around her person, and ran down the hall as fast as she possibly could. Blue bolts of energy whizzed by her, one or two impacting the shield before she reached the door she'd entered through. It opened for her without any trouble. Apparently they only wanted to keep people out, not in.
Down the catwalk she ran as she finally tucked her daggers away. Leaping over the railing, she grabbed the wire and shimmied her way across to the fighter, where she tossed the wire free before climbing into the pilots seat and closing the hatch above her. Powering the ship up, she deactivated the magnetic clamps and the fighter dropped like a rock before she kicked the engine into gear and shot across the waters surface. Scanners detected no immediate chasers so she sighed in relief and aimed for space.
A smile touched her features as she plotted her hyperspace course before punching the hyperdrive. As the stars elongated into pencil thin lines and finally a blur of blue and white, she laughed. She'd just successfully stolen a copy of the Kaminoans data on cloning. The Shroud Project had officially begun.