Private To Sculpt Divinity

[Darth Strosius]

It wasn't often that any within the Order of Wonosa sent invitations, rarely even to those within their own ranks. Orders and deployments comprised the meaning and circumstances surrounding most travel and interaction within their miniscule and scattered spheres of influence. As such when not one but two invitations were sent to Korriban requesting a meeting with the Disciple of Faith Revna and the Lord Seer of Korriban A'Mia it was quite the unusual occurrence. What may have struck the receivers even more strange was that the polite yet curt message came not from Darth Strosius, but rather the apparently aptly named Councilor of Korriban.

The invitations would call them to a set of coordinates where the Cacophony laid in wait for their arrival, a Sventove Carrier which received the invited guests with a fairly warm welcome in spite of the remote location it sat in. A nebula riddled with asteroids, difficult to navigate and even more difficult to pierce with scanners and sensors. Yet nestled within a clearing between the throngs of rocks and space dust the Cacophony hung there all the same. Thankfully the carrier itself was more than happy to direct them into one of its empty hangars and away from any danger from their surroundings.

A small greeting party had assembled within the designated hangar amidst the regular activity of the crew, a group of Lorekeepers headed by the Councilor himself. Despite the glances that the hangar crew threw towards their guests, they didn't offer much in the way of interaction of attention. There weren't any guards to speak of present either. Another oddity given the clandestine nature of the Cacophony's positioning and the ship's purpose in general. Not to mention the presence of two of the Order of Wonosa's higher ranking individuals as well.

Revna Marr / Madrona A’Mia

 

[Revna Marr]

To say that Revna was surprised to receive an invitation from her own Order, would be an understatement. Especially when the invitation was sent to her while she was staying on Korriban, attending to other matters and affairs that now needed her attention. Ever since her rescue and being reunited with her Master, she had split her time between serving Him where He needed her to, and her duties on the ancient Sith world. It was a tricky and time consuming affair, but she relished it. It felt good to be a part of something greater, something of importance, to her. And she was free now to do anything she wished.

Well, as free as her duties would allow her to be.

Revna opened the invitation within the safety and security of the garden that Caedes had built for her, knowing full well that no one and nothing would be privy to the information contained therein. It was a brief, polite, but curt invitation…sent by none other than the Councilor of Korriban.

Revna’s silvery-black brows drew down in a curious frown. Why would the Council of Bogan be sending her an invite to meet at a specific set of coordinates? It must have been important to warrant such a thing, and so Revna finished up what was left of her matters and delegated the rest, before adorning herself in something more appropriate for meeting with a Council member: a flowing set of Sith robes, adorned tastefully in red and gold stitchings and ur-Kittat scrawl. The colors of the King, as well as her House. It was the only outward sign that she wore that connected her to the throne of Korriban, as well as to a Sith noble house. And unless someone knew any of this, the weight of her station was likely to be overlooked. Just as she preferred; she was not one to flaunt her status unless it was necessary, nor did she advertise her rank within Korriban’s royal halls.

Upon reaching the shipyards of Vardin, Revna was pleasantly surprised to find the Lord Seer, A’Mia, there as well. And even more surprised to learn that she had received an invitation by the Councilor of Korriban too. Something was certainly afoot - especially considering that both Revna and A’Mia had connections to the Prophet of Bogan, Darth Strosius.

Revna almost inquired to her Father what the summons was about…but something told her that maybe this was something He wasn’t aware of. Otherwise, He would have been the one to summon her and the Lord Seer. She wasn’t exactly thrilled at doing something that He didn’t know about…but she went anyway. There was likely a very good reason why Darth Strosius hadn’t been the one to call for her, or A’Mia.

Their travels brought them to a rather clandestine location, weaving in between astroids that were scattered throughout a nebula, an astronomical phenomena that concealed a Sventove carrier ship known as the Cacophony. Revna and A’Mia were met by a small greeting party once they had disembarked from their ship, a group of individuals that Revna recognized immediately as some of her Father’s Lorekeepers - led by none other than the Councilor of Korriban himself.

Some of the nearby crew members noticed their arrival, but didn’t interact with them - setting about their tasks with order and efficiency. Revna strode forward with a slight limp that she did her best to hide, side by side with the Neti woman that Revna had come to call one of her own as well. And it seemed that Darth Strosius, in His own mysterious and strange way, had taken a liking to the Neti as well. Though that was probably due to the fact that both of them had similar interests and seemed to get along well enough to tolerate each other’s presence.

Revna drew to a halt before the small entourage, and inclined her head in respect towards them, noting the lack of security anywhere nearby. Not that it was truly needed; she was in no danger here, not amongst her own. And she was well aware of the Neti’s capabilities, should she be threatened, not to mention that the Lorekeepers and the Councilor himself were dangerous and powerful in their own right. Revna was unconcerned, though she maintained a level of ambient alertness.

“Councilor,” she said in polite greeting, skipping the fluffy formalities as she cast a glance towards A’Mia. “We received the invitations. To what do we owe this visit? Will the Prophet be joining us...?”

Darth Strosius // Madrona A’Mia ​

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

There was something riding on the winds that morning. An inkling of something important to come, the kind of thing that most others would not or could not take note of. A'Mia though had a sense for that which would come to pass, an eye and ear for the subtle movements and signs in the Weave which indicated happenings of note. So the woman began her morning by fastidiously going through the motions of donning the stunning new armor that Darth Caedes had crafted for himself and those closest to him.

When the invitation came, the neti was therefore devoid of surprise and made her way to the shipyards at a leisurely pace. There, she reacted with true pleasure at the sight of Revna Marr — offering her hand in a warm gesture, the woman asked airily "You as well? I wonder what this is all about."

Though her prescience was indeed notable, even A'Mia could be surprised. One day, she aimed to surpass such mundanity but for now she moved within the Weave as spider reading the vibrations and tremors of that great web. These days, she'd even begun spinning fate in directions she saw fit. Her endeavors on Brosi were taking off, recent studies within Kor'ethyr laboratories had yielded promising results, and overall, the woman could feel that she'd entered a season of Spring in her life. Abundance and growth abound, the calling of ambition and collaboration promised new roots and a strong foundation for new power within her reach.

Upon their arrival at the clandestine locale, A'Mia subtly offered a steadying arm to her companion. It was a matter of principle, to lend strength where it was needed and in so doing, ensuring the overall wellbeing of her Grove. For her part, the neti followed Revna's lead— wide and curious eyes scoured every detail they landed upon, including the faces of crew members. Scrutiny which surely felt uncomfortable for some amongst them.

Though thoroughly armored, the woman had her helm retracted so her features were clear to see. The armor itself was so beautifu, form fitting, and flowing, that it offered her a regal but not overstated air. Though not yet ascended to rank of knight, nor in possession of the title "Darth", A'Mia carried herself with all the bearing of such. Silently, looming from the height of two and a half meters, the Lord Seer of Korriban awaited answer to her companion's question.

Darth Strosius​

 

[Darth Strosius]

"Lady Disciple, Lord Seer." The Councilor greeted the pair with a deep bow of his head, the Lorekeepers at his side offering a salute before performing the same gesture. "I'm afraid not, the Prophet is handling matters in Wild Space currently. Some governor tried to leak Sanguine Defense product blueprints and He thought it necessary to handle the leak personally." The rather clinical tone of Korriban betrayed a hint of grim amusement. He didn't need to specify what sort of handling that Darth Strosius would enact, but all could guess that it would be a rather messy affair.

"Do forgive the sudden invitation, but I thought it would be best to get you both up to speed as soon as possible. Please, follow me and I shall explain." The Lorekeepers left the Councilor as he gestured towards the door at the end of the hangar before moving after them towards it. "As you may or may not know, I am unaware what details the Prophet may have given you in regards to our latest venture, this vessel much like the rest of its kind is dedicated to Project Inductii. Loaded with cloning chambers and training facilities with which to rear a new generation of Wonosan soldiers and crew."

With the Lorekeepers still leading the way somewhat ahead, the door opened to reveal a wider hallway beyond it. One that seemed to be a hub for elevators and cargo lifts. "Nine genetic samples were taken and categorized into templates to serve as the basis for these clones. This ship, however is unique in its purpose. The clones aboard this ship aren't created using any of the nine templates that the rest of Project Inductii makes use of." Beyond the hall of lifts there laid another door which when opened revealed a glass corridor of sorts.

Visible outside these windows wasn't the vacuum of space or the nebula and asteroids around the vessel, instead it was cloning pods. Dozens upon dozens arranged in rows with various stages of growth for the clones within, most of them were entirely empty. The developing clones were unusual, many were misshapen and sporting various odd features such as bony wings or claw-like fingers. Their skintones ranged from ashen gray to pale, pallid tones. Some of them didn't even seem ro posses eyes of any note. "This vessel is dedicated to the cloning of the Prophet of Bogan, Darth Strosius."

Revna Marr / Madrona A’Mia

 

[Revna Marr]

​

A small smile curled at the edges of Revna’s lips upon hearing that her Father was away dealing with a minor inconvenience somewhere else, and she had a pretty good idea as to how He was handling the situation. But that meant that He would not be present for whatever she and A’Mia had been brought to this vessel for, and it only heightened her curiosity further.

The Councilor of Korriban immediately set about explaining the reasoning behind the invitation, and fiery eyes traced the Lorekeepers as they moved ahead of the three of them, and the Councilor gestured towards a door at the end of the hangar. Revna followed along with the Councilor, listening intently as he divulged some information about a project that she knew her Master had been invested in: Project Inductii, as it was called. It was another thing she had become aware of at some point after her recovery time, as she was brought up to speed with the current happenings of the Order of Wonosa, and plans and ambitions of Darth Strosius.

Once through the door, Revna was greeted by another larger hallway, a hub for cargo lifts and elevators to access the rest of the ship. She took in everything, noting the places of each item or person in the vicinity, before casting her gaze back to the Councilor, listening as he shared information about the nine genetics samples taken to develop various clones to serve in various areas within the Order - but then he revealed that the ship they were aboard was not like the rest of the cloning ships.

This particular vessel was special.

The Lorekeepers and the Councilor brought both her and Lady A’Mia towards a series of windows that gave a view of clone pods beyond. Dozens of them were arranged in neat, orderly rows and from her vantage point she could see various stages of clone development within…but that was where things really appeared to be different.

Some of these clones were unique and unusual. Some were misshapen, missing eyes or other body parts, while some had bony wing appendages or clawed hands. All of them were pale, either ash gray or ghostly white, in skin tone. Revna’s eyes narrowed as her mind stirred with ideas of what this could be - and only a heartbeat later her silent curious thoughts were answered.

This ship was dedicated to the cloning of their Prophet. Or rather, the attempted cloning efforts.

Revna was very still as she gazed upon the various cloning pods, her gaze narrowing even further. Her Master had indicated to her that He had been looking to clone Himself, mentioning to her that it was being done in an attempt to restore Him back to full function.

But what she was seeing here…was beyond that. Something else was in the works, clearly, and no wonder why this particular ship’s location was kept so hidden away. She already had several powerful Sith in mind who would love nothing more than to get their hands on this, twist it to their own designs, or outright destroy everything. There was a strange ripple of sudden protectiveness that echoed through her Force aura; anything that had to do with her Father, be it furthering His ambitions, advancing His goals, or simply aiding Him in a task like this...was something she was keen to guard and protect.

"I had been made aware that He was looking into designing a clone to restore Himself but I sense that this is something...different." She cast a gaze towards A’Mia, eager to see and hear her ally’s reaction to such a sight. “I sense that this is right in your field of work, Lord Seer. What do you make of this?”

Darth Strosius // Madrona A’Mia
​

 

[Madrona A’Mia]

Though imperceptible to those less familiar with the rare neti species, Revna Marr might note the way A'Mia faintly wilted and ruffled at the news that Darth Strosius would be absent. Clearly, she'd anticipated speaking with the man again given the nature of the summons. Those minuscule changes to the shapeshifter's vine-like hair and general stance were gone just as soon as they'd appeared and the Lord Seer followed the Councilor and Revna deeper into the ship.

Visible outside these windows wasn't the vacuum of space or the nebula and asteroids around the vessel, instead it was cloning pods. Dozens upon dozens arranged in rows with various stages of growth for the clones within, most of them were entirely empty. The developing clones were unusual, many were misshapen and sporting various odd features such as bony wings or claw-like fingers. Their skintones ranged from ashen gray to pale, pallid tones. Some of them didn't even seem ro posses eyes of any note. "This vessel is dedicated to the cloning of the Prophet of Bogan, Darth Strosius."

The neti straightened, stilled very abruptly, then slowly leaned to press her face very near the window she gazed through the window nearest her. She was enraptured by the sight and gave almost no indication that she was still listening to what was being said. Those wide, unusual eyes of hers drank in every detail. Only when Revna spoke her name, did the woman stir again.

"I had been made aware that He was looking into designing a clone to restore Himself but I sense that this is something...different." She cast a gaze towards A’Mia, eager to see and hear her ally’s reaction to such a sight. “I sense that this is right in your field of work, Lord Seer. What do you make of this?”

“You sense correctly…” the woman murmured absently, gaze still trained on the rows of clones.

A’Mia brought forth a sleek datapad that looked dainty in comparison to her rather looming form. One spidering long fingered hand began tap-tapping out a cascade of initial notes. A long pause between that initial acknowledgment elapsed before the intense scientist seemed to recognize that the moment called for some manners.

”Forgive me, Revna. Yes— I’ve been entrusted with some of this work, but this,” she gave a sweeping gesture, “Is more elaborate than I have had facilities to replicate currently. At least while also preserving total privacy.”

Again her eyes were drawn back to the project and leaned as if seeking to press herself through the glass.

”I’d like to see your readouts, and it would be most beneficial if I can examine each variation. So far, my progress has been stalled at the stage of accounting for mutation within organism that remains cohesive to the whole being— not to mention concerns I have about sentience transfer in the case that we are seeking total replacement of vessel…”

Her words trailed off but it was clear the arboreal woman had many more questions and curiosities she sought to satiate.

 

[Darth Strosius]

The Councilor allowed the pair a moment of silence to take in the news and sights around them, stopping even as the Lorekeepers continued on down the corridor. He gave a slow glance out at the various pods and their unnatural occupants although given his mask his expression towards them was unreadable. "Something far different yes." He finally spoke after seeing that the Lord Seer seemed a bit occupied with noting down her observations. "We are still working towards restoring the Prophet back to full function here, but we have another mission to pursue in the meantime."

Seeing an opportunity to turn A'Mia's attention away from the views beyond the glass, the Councilor straightened up and nodded at her request. "Of course, we can provide all the details and results that you have need of. Follow me." He turned and resumed the path forward in a slightly more brisk pace than before. "We too had many issues with mutation. Our initial attempts to craft any clones quickly turned into potential methods of stabilizing the Prophet's template into something usable."

A rare note of frustration slipped into the Councilor's tone as he sighed and shook his head at the thought. "The alchemical enhancements have stained each and every sample to varying degrees even despite our best efforts to isolate and remove them, and there's simply no easy method of working around the Sangnir aspect. It's an aggressive thing and remarkably resilient. Getting the baseline template for the Prophet was almost an impossible task. Until we found the one solution that worked."

The door opened for the trio to reveal a laboratory of sorts where the Lorekeepers had set themselves to work at various stations and desks scattered around the circular room. The center was occupied by a mechanism stretching down from the ceiling, almost certainly one meant to house the same cloning pods that lied just beyond the walls. Another display off to the side which had some more arcane instruments as well as scientific ones surrounding it was a glass container of ashes, seemingly innocuous at first glance and yet dreadfully potent with the telltale presence of Darth Strosius.

Across from it on the other side of the room sat another container, a vat which seemed to be preserving some odd organic implant which seemed to be half-melded into a portion of an upper spinal column. "The Prophet's samples have proven too difficult to work on by themselves, too difficult to properly separate and study. So we thought of a new angle to approach. Dilution." The Councilor gestured to the implant. "We knew it was possible from this device."

One of the Lorekeepers passed the Councilor a datapad which he in turn offered to the Lord Seer as he continued. "Project Vicar was the Prophet's first attempt at spreading his will in a more physical sense. Using some bits of his blood and tissue as a basis for an organic implant, he was able to influence the mind of any who was implanted with them. See through their eyes, turn them against their oldest allies and friends, and take whatever knowledge he needed from them. He meant to use these as a tool to destroy the criminal syndicates of the galaxy from within, but we encountered an unusual problem."

He crossed his arms behind his back as he regarded the implant with what almost looked like some semblance of pride. Naturally the Councilor of Korriban had been key in that project as well as this one, and it showed. "One of the subjects we implanted not only wound up being a latent Force Sensitive, but also exceptionally genetically compatible with the Prophet. Due to this the implant grew exponentially, making the connection between her and the Prophet grow stronger to the point where she could peer into His mind just as easily as she could into His. Unfortunately, this resulted in her falling into a coma and shortly after we removed her implant He had her...disposed of. Perhaps as a precaution in case she was ever captured. But we knew what was possible and we did have some idea on what genetic markers were compatible with His."

Revna Marr / Madrona A’Mia