Private Two Little Shadows

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Unknown place
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

Since Dis already knew the kiffar woman, they knew it was best to wait in silence. So the Shadowcat sat down next to Kal and watched the artificer working. These were the worst moments, waiting to find out what was happening, what the woman would figure out.

~ I'm a little excited! ~ they sent a message to Kal and also conveyed this emotion towards their companion.

More and more notes were made; meanwhile, she examined the object with Force, her ability, and other technological methods. She lingered with it for quite some time, not as long as the two Shadow with the translation, but it took a good half hour to research and investigate. She frowned a few times or raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! It is not a fairy tale or story, but a computer program… rather a code!" she said enthusiastically.

With that, she brought herself a datapad and started working on it. It took about another ten minutes, she got up at the end and went to one of the places where there was more free space. and here she projected to the two Shadows what she had deciphered by decrypting the code.

"It's going to be a map, let's see what it shows!"

 

[Kal]

Zahra was many things, but imprecise was most definitely not one of them. This would take a while, no doubt, but fortunately Kal didn't mind.

<Likewise.>

A mere half an hour later, his patience was rewarded, the Shadow leaning forward in anticipation as she revealed the rather unexpected results. A map? He never would have guessed. <Truly? How extraordinary. Do you recognise it?>

"I'm afraid not... but that part right there looks quite distinctive."

They could consult the archives once more, of course - or perhaps Dis saw something neither of them did. Kal had many diverse interests but cartography was not among them. He could appreciate a pretty map, but it had never seemed, well, relevant.

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Unknown place
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

Dis was also very curious to see what the outcome would be, the end result. They were also very surprised when it turned out to be a map. The Shadowcat didn't think of such a thing after it was essentially a fairy tale on the scroll. They conveyed enthusiasm and a great deal of curiosity to both their companions.

~ Nor would I have thought it could be a map! ~ sent a message.

The Shadowcat began to examine the map to see what might be, they tilted their head to the side and looked at it. Because they were the size of a bobcat and because of this they were much smaller than Kal or Zahra, Dis jumped up on the table and studied the map from there. Unfortunately, they were not familiar with it either; they never had to deal with maps, there were memories of others when they possessed others, they could rely on their memories, or even droids who were looking for what they needed.

~ I'm not familiar with it either, unfortunately I'm not familiar with things like that. ~ sent a message of regret and also conveyed this feeling to their interlocutors.

They were still looking at the holographic map, then suddenly something came to their mind. Maybe it will be a useful idea if they don’t want to spend weeks or months in one of the archives or libraries.

~ Zahra are you able to ask one of the machines to help find this place for us? ~ inquired curiously.

 

[Kal]

Technology, then. Not Kal's forte, but he was well-aware of its usefulness.

"Possibly. No, probably." Eying the hologram for a bit longer as if waiting to see if she would spot anything distinctively familiar, Zahra visibly considered the suggestion and how to implement it before eventually heading over to one of the storage cabinets ringing the workshop and retrieving a fist-sized droid of some sort from a drawer.

Without further ado, the Kiffar flung the eyebot into the air where it froze of its own volition as the inbuilt repulsors kicked in. Hovering over to the hologram, it promptly began scanning.

"It will start cross-referencing the data it gathers with the databases at my disposal sooner rather than later - public HoloNet maps, Greystone's records, the occasional sliced corporate computer. The works." Useful? Yes. Illegal? Probably.

Good thing mortal laws mattered little in this place.

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Unknown place
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

Dis also only came across as many technologies that are used here, and of course what Greystone makes, but since Realspace is typically without a host, they dealt with little technology. It was always treated by others and not them. And how good it would have been now. Shadowcat watched with interest and patience as Zahra began working on the request.

They were glad that it was possible, even though it required special databases to be scanned. And now because of this, they had to wait again, because if they are unlucky, it can take a very long time. Since Dis was a pretty curious kind, they were still happy to look around and talk to Zahra and Kal in the meantime, if they didn't bother them.

It took more time than for the kiffar woman to crack the system, so it took about two hours for the system to find something. With a contented shout, Zahra let the two Shadows know that this was not just a partial hit, but a direct hit. If they both went there, she would speak out loud.

"Iokath! The planet is Iokath" she said.

~ Oh, is this the former supposed droid culture where almost the entire planet is automated and supposedly inhabited by droid gods? That is giant droid superweapons… ~ they asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, this is exactly that planet." Zahra confirmed.

 

[Kal]

Iokath? Unexpected, very unexpected.

Seeming quite thoughtful, Kal drifted forward to look at the scroll as if in a new light. <Iokath is a mechanical world, is it not? A great sphere encasing a star?>

Not something he would normally associate with the Sith, that.

<I only know of it from a few vague reference in ancient records, and the occasional whisperings of older shades.> A place of great ingenuity and mechanical excellence, once, though he did not know if it still remained intact.

So much had been lost over the aeons - entropy was not a gentle force.

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

Dis looked at Kal and Zahra. This was also very interesting to them, as the scroll may have been older than Valkorion, and yet it mentioned Iokath. Somehow it didn’t come together as a whole and there were time shifts. But maybe it was these things that made the whole thing even more interesting.

"Yes, that's the place. Very interesting, the whole thing is somehow not right on time. A kind of anomaly. Unless… unless Iokath was found earlier than we know from history." Zahra explained.

Dis thought pretty much the same thing; the Shadowcat nodded enthusiastically to what Kal had said. Roughly the same, mysterious and ancient world, plus an area that none of Shadow really dealt with. Unfortunately, they had no further information about what the place was, it was all from the Old Republic era.

"I don't have much more information about that place either. Only legends, myths, especially from the time of the Eternal Alliance, the last days of Valkorion, or the time immediately after his death." she said, it was pretty much what Kal and Dis knew.

She thought for a few moments before speaking again.

"Do you think you would be able to go there and look around that place?" she inquired.

 

[Kal]

Kal knew many things about many topics, but this... was not his forte.

He had never been one to study the star maps of yore nor the mysteries of esoteric engineering. No, he had focused his efforts on the minds and cultures of the living and the dead. Much more intuitive, at least to him.

<I don't even know where the world-structure is located, or even whether it still remains intact.> He had heard of it, vaguely, but nothing from recent sources. Just old whispers and dusty records. Nothing concrete to base an expedition on.

<As we all know, the records of that time are... somewhat unreliable.>

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

After Kal's words, Zahra smiled broadly, she was definitely like she knew something. Dis looked at her curiously, though the facial expression wasn't really visible because of the shadows, so the movement of the tip of their shadow tail and the wide-open snow-white eyes were more telling.

"We know exactly where it is, people and droids still live there today. I have a pretty nice and long record of Valley of the Machine Gods!" she said enthusiastically.

Dis didn't even know if they had ever seen the woman so enthusiastic. They couldn’t decide when they did rediscover the planet because it would have had a much bigger reputation then. True it wasn’t their specialty it was, but they found it even more interesting. And if they really had coordinates, there was only one thing that separated them from going there. Kal and his decision.

~ You're coming, aren't you? ~ they asked excitedly.

They would have been happy if Kal said yes, but of course they would have understood if they hadn’t, since that was far from the specialty of any of them.

 

[Kal]

The prospect of a journey to a mysterious maybe-lost-maybe-not world; normally something that would excel in holding Kal's interest, but this was different.

Iokath was a world of machines, not men. Strange technology took the place of the very bedrock of the false world and Force knew what mysteries lurked within. Mysteries of cogs and digits, baffling to his senses. Interesting, certainly, but unpredictable.

He knew all too well how effective a ray shield could be against his kind.

<I am... reluctant to venture into a place defined by mechanical hazards. Organics are far more predictable and properly-calibrated energies can end us as surely as they can humans.> Fear was not a common occurrence for Kal, but this was an exception.

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

[ Theme ] ​

Dis also nodded to Kal's worries, for they were afraid of what would happen in such a case. In many ways they could not be harmed, but the shields were soulless and evil. Zahra could see she hadn't thought about it, so she frowned for a moment. She finally snapped her fingers and turned back to the datapad. After a few minutes, she projected a picture of Iokath.

"The data says that most things don’t work anymore. This is not surprising, the place was already ruined in Vitiate's time and was millennial years old. But people live there nowadays. According to the data, even Darth Prospero’s apprentice was there a few years ago. So there is a human colony there that was not built so long ago."

The Shadowcat, turning their head, watched the images as if they were an owl. In the end, Zahra looked up enthusiastically again, and Dis looked at her questioningly. They did not understand what this sudden change was after her former bad mood.

"If I were to go with you to take care of you? Or would I send someone with you, maybe a trusted person? Then you should not be afraid of getting into trouble and the truth could be revealed."

She looked at the two Shadows curiously and Dis also turned to Kal as he was the more experienced.

 

[Kal]

If he had eyebrows, he would have raised them in an expression of profound doubtfulness. An at least partially broken machine world with some no doubt unhinged humans up and about was supposed to be an improvement? Zahra's viewpoint might well be skewed by her technomantic tendencies; Kal had no such advantage.

<The offer is appreciated, but it seems far outside my skillset. Interesting enough, but not enough to warrant by presence.> Normally he would simply have someone else pursue the lead, but it was possible the Shadowcat would want to pursue it, despite the risks.

<If you want to seek it out yourself, I will of course ensure that you are properly supported.> Dis had connections, he was sure, but Kal's were especially well-positioned.

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

[ Theme ] ​

Dis felt a little sorry for Zahra that Kal had said no, and the trip to Iokath would probably not be as good, but they could understand their Shadow peer why he said no. In fact, they were also “afraid” of such a situation. The Shadowcat had never been trapped before, but they had heard stories from others, and they were not a pleasant experience at all.

~ I think I have to agree with Kal. ~ they said.

"Then I will handle this matter alone. If I think you will be curious about the end result and you want me to tell you when we have found the “princess”?"

Dis nodded that yes, they would be curious. Zahra even waited for Kal to respond, then sent away the two Shadows so she could continue her work.

~ Nearly two weeks later ~

It was about as long as Kal and Dis got a message from Zahra to go to her workshop because they managed to find what they were looking for. When both Shadows arrive, Zahra excitedly leads them to the back of the workshop. And there was a two-meter-high, special-looking droid, turned off for now.

"Following the coordinates, we found her, she will probably be the princess. Are you ready to activate her?"

 

[Kal]

An ancient automaton of unknown providence? Far from what he had expected when he had first seen the scroll - it did not resemble any known form of Sith engineering with which he was familiar. Not that he was an expert in the area.

<Curious. I have never seen anything quite like it. Have you analysed its material makeup?> An expert he was not, but he knew the importance of such information.

Once that question was answered, Kal seemed quite willing to turn the thing on, but not before making an amused remark. <What is it with organics and their overly gendered automatons? One would think a sexless machine would work as well.>

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

[ Theme ] ​

Dis watched the huge and strange droid with interest. Because of their height, they floated closer to see the machine from there. To the outside, it might have looked like a live cat sniffing something. They just did this, the Shadowcat floating, from above, sometimes from the back, or just from the side. When they felt they had examined her properly, they floated back beside Kal and looked at Zahra.

~ Yes, I'm curious too! ~ message enthusiastically and this feeling was also conveyed by them.

Zahra turned to the two Shadows and smiled somewhat mysteriously.

"Why do they give gender to droids? Maybe for convenience, but we know they were female. My investigations in the present case show that it is a hybrid machine. I’ve never seen anything like it, the materials it is made of are also completely unique. I haven't been able to analyze it yet. As for the droid itself…"

She turned back to the droid, finally looking at the two Shadows again like a teacher to her students.

"They have a soul. There is a soul in it, but not in a traditional way. It's more like an imprint of that princess. It was as if she wanted to survive that way. I found and perceived real memories in the droid brain. It was as if the consciousness of a living person had been uploaded to the droid. I haven't really heard of anything like this before."

 

[Kal]

Uploading a mind or personality was certainly unusual; comparable to bargain bin essence transference, in some ways. An inelegant technological solution to a matter best referred to a master of the mystical arts, as far as Kal was concerned.

<I have heard of such techniques. There are ways of transferring memories, even personalities, though whether or not that can be considered the equivalent of a soul is up for debate. I remain somewhat dubious, clone seems a better term.>

There had been recent innovations in that area, at least when it came to ease of access, but it remained a mysterious subject. He could not imagine the ancient Sith possessed such technology - it seemed orders of magnitude more advanced than the methods they had employed in similar fields of science.

Perhaps it had its origins with some now-dead civilisation's secret techniques?

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

[ Theme ] ​

Dis continued to listen with interest to what was happening as Zahra said. They listened to Zahra's tale with huge snow-white eyes. Nor had they heard too much of such things during their existence. Of course, they knew books, read about how the Sith could do similar, though hadn’t heard anything that would have copied something into a droid body before. The Sith typically occupied another mortal body.

"I agree with you, Kal. I once read a similar one from the time of the old Sith Empire, they may have been trying to copy this. A Sith Lord named Lord Grathan made a droid out of some soldiers. Droid / human hybrid. Unfortunately, I don’t know more about this, but it reminds me of that. In summary, unknown material makes up the droid, probably having the memories and personality of the original person. And it’s like there’s a soul in it, but it’s just more of an imprint."

~ Quite unusual! ~ Dis said.

"Yes, it really is!" Zahra agreed with Dis too. "Then, let's activate! The scroll also seems to be a special source of energy, with a place on the back where it can be inserted."

She slapped her two hands together, then took out the scroll and placed it on the droid's back under the back cover, then put the back panel back on. The droid began to activate.

 

[Kal]

Whoever this Grathan fellow was, he was not someone Kal had ever heard of. Either Zahra was making things up or she had been perusing some truly obscure records, knowing her more likely than not the latter.

<Some kind of... extreme cyborgs? Seems different in principle, though I suppose if you replace part after part...> At that point it was a matter for the philosophers.

Even more surprising was the fact that the machine seemed to run on the scroll, somehow. Fuelled by the Force, then, but why? Perhaps it was necessary to form a proper simulacrum of a true spirit, or perhaps the design was experimental.

Either that or it was meant as some sort of key.

 

[Dis]

Dis the Shadow(cat)
Shadowcat, explorer and wanderer; Owner of the Cat’s Paw; Member of the Greystone Mercantile​

Location: Zahra’s workshop
Equipment: N/A
Tag: Kal

[ Theme ] ​

Dis hadn't even heard of this Sith Lord named Grathan, so they listened with interest to what Zahra had to say about it. Found it interesting, but Shadowcat didn't like what they heard at all. They ruffled their fur and shook their head disapprovingly, the shadows around them dancing nervously as well. Didn’t like it when someone turned out the life, and that seemed very much to them. They would have been happier with a demon.

~ It is very impractical and evil! ~ their voice was now almost like that of an hissing cat.

"I thought you wouldn't like it very much. But Kal, I don't think you're wrong. In any case, it is a rather extreme solution. Somewhere I’m glad I haven’t read more of these, or others haven’t tried this in millennia."

There was no answer to the additional questions, however, one could watch as the droid awoke. The energy started from the point on his back, countless ancient Sith runes flashed all over his body through the metal parts. These were not visible until now and disappeared again after the flash. It took about two minutes for the droid to become fully operational. In the end, the droid opened her eyes, which were the usual Sith’s golden-reds.

"What happened to me, where am I?" she spoke on a human voice with ancient Sith language.

 

[Kal]

No one had attempted the like in millennia? Probably the most doubtworthy thing Kal had heard that day, given the various examples he could think of, some of which weren't even slightly confidential. Excessive cybernetics or comparable tampering with the mortal body was still taboo in many cultures, but that did not stop some people.

People like, well, them. Not that Greystone tended to alter the unwilling.

Openly eying the machine for a while before deigning to respond, Kal would nonetheless eventually answer its question - sort of - unless one of the others beat him to it. "You are in a place of study. What's the last thing you remember?"

His ur-Kittât was a bit rusty, but by no means incomprehensible.