Chapter IX: A Living Treasure

Ever patient the Homunculus continued in solitude on the ancestral Sith holy world. Abandoned by its former occupants this world belonged to him now, but unlike the vibrant living world he had come from this dead world of silence was not enough. His own desire for perfection and knowledge coupled with the essence of Greed still residing within his being impelled him to seek greater things. He had seen all there was to see of this world; all that remained now was to find a place to call his own where he could peacefully commune with the Force and begin to absorb its knowledge to augment his own while time continued to tick away.

In time Father found a place upon the planet's surface he wished to make his own. There he had begun work on creating his own palace out of the dusty ruins. He scrawled a transmutation circle on the ground and activated it to fashion the ground into the form he desired. Having to resort to using transmutation circles was so beneath him. Unfortunately it was the only way he could perform what limited alchemy he was able to perform here.

Using the transmutation circles the Homunculus was able to bend the Force into mimicking the effects of alchemy. It didn't have the ease of use which Father had become accustomed to in his world. This fact made him look down even more upon the lesser beings that were required to perform alchemy in such a crude manner; even the Elrics were disgustingly primitive in his eyes. Had Wrath, Pride or Envy also been a part of him when he was cast down to their level he would be full of contempt and rage during this time. Unbeknownst to the Homunculus that very anger by which his catharsis had expelled would have granted him tremendous powers in this realm. Without his vices to inflame his passions his ability to partake in the dark side of the Force was impaired. The Homunculus and his nearly perfect stoic composure would be more suited to the ways of the Jedi. It would be in the light side of the Force in which his true power in this continuum would lie, a power that in his hands would be unrecognizable from the power of darkness. However in this place a strong affinity for the dark side lingered and squelched out all knowledge of the living Force; hence the fact remained he would have to leave this world if he was to realize his maximum potential. Little did he know that the means by which he would do so was now orbiting overhead.

The Centurion Eagle came out of hyperspace and entered into orbit around the mysterious world after following a chain of clues from one planet to the next until at last they reached these coordinates, long scoured from any known star charts.

"By golly would you look at that, it is here after all." exclaimed Boram when the ghost world appeared in front of him.

Lando immediately started doing scans of the planet while his father brought the ship into a low orbit.

"Looks like it has a breathable atmosphere, moderate gravity and temperature. We should have no problems going down there." Lando reported.

"Are you picking up any lifeforms?" Boram inquired wondering if anyone had beaten them to the punch.

"There are no lifeforms detected." Lando answered.

"Excellent. Now find us a landing site next to one of those temple complexes." Boram instructed him.

The Homunculus, having originated in the darkness beyond the Gate did not meet the criteria for biological life to be picked up by the scanner. His physical form forged from a great philosopher's stone while comprised of the living essence of hundreds of people was also non-biological in nature. From their cursory scans the planet appeared to be lifeless in spite of its sole inhabitant.

The existence of the Homunculus was not entirely undetectable however. The effects of its transmutations could be observed from orbit and they caught the attention of Lando as he was scanning the surface of the planet for a probable landing site. Their sensors noticed a patch of extremely active geology affecting an otherwise unremarkable plain on the southern hemisphere of this world. This peculiarity piqued Lando's attention and made him scan the area more intensely.

"Over there dad, there's some irregular activity going on. You think it's worth checking out?" Lando turned to his father and asked, drawing his attention to the anomalous readings on his display.

Boram grinned and held two fingers to his lips before pointing at an area in the center of the newly erected structures below. "That could be the place. As good a place as any I suppose." Boram said.

Boram then took the Centurion Eagle down into the atmosphere and landed in the midst of the Homunculus' own temple complex. He left his son Lando to tend to the ship while he and Han disembarked onto the surface. Boram marveled at the grand palatial structures around them when they stepped outside. They seemed so new, so untouched by the hands of time for a world which had been forgotten for ages upon ages. The stones looked freshly cut from the earth, the gold trim and adorning jewels shimmered in the twilight as if they were newly polished to an inhuman shine. More fantastical than any of that was the sight of a tall spire rising from the dirt and forming itself into an elaborate fanciful tower.

"Active geology my ass! The ground just spit a tower out from underground." Boram remarked in sheer amazement.

The Homunculus was not blind to the presence of the interlopers, nor did he fear them. He fearlessly walked away from his work to meet them. Han was the first to notice the creature as it emerged from a great hall of its own design.

"Boram, I think you better take a look at this. We've got company." Han spoke up and drew Boram's attention away from a panel of carved reliefs.

They both turned and faced the approaching Homunculus. Having dealt with countless aliens before the treasure hunters were not one bit unnerved by the Homunculus' appearance. Being who he was the Homunculus was also not the least bit concerned by the presence of humans here.

"Greetings. Welcome to my world." Father greeted the two.

"Who the hell are you?" Han asked.

"Is that any way to greet your host?" Father asked in reply.

"You may call me Homunculus." Father then obliged to answer Han's question.

Father could sense their emotions. It was a strange sensation indeed; the Force was showing him something that did not have its equivalent in alchemy. With enough focus these feelings gave way to words that slipped from the treasure hunters minds to the Homunculus. Immortality it was, that was what they had come seeking. Oh how many humans have long sought this coveted treasure. These petty humans were all alike, so desperate to stave off their own mortality. This was something he could indeed tempt these feeble creatures with. It was not without exchange for these feeble creatures had something which the Homunculus greatly desired. They had come here from elsewhere and elsewhere was where he longed to be.

"You seek the stone of immortality I presume." Father stated.

"What makes you say that?" Boram asked.

"Why isn't that what everyone comes here for." replied the Homunculus.

"They never find it though, until now." Father continued.

The Homunculus shook and quivered as if he was gathering up a large quantity of energy within himself. Nervously Han stepped in front of Boram and raised his blaster to the creature. The Homunculus ignored the hostile gesture and proceeded to produce what the treasure hunters believed they wanted. He excreted Greed's stone through his rubbery tar colored skin into a clear flask which he fashioned from minerals in the dirt. Once the flask was full of the radiant hot pink fluid substance he extended his arm and held it towards Han.

"I present to you the immortal stone." Father magnanimously offered to Han.

"That? That is it?" Boram asked.

"Indeed. The key to immortality is in that flask." the Homunculus declared.

Han nervously lowered his blaster and reached for the flask. The Homunculus lifted it up and snatched it away from him.

"Before I can give this to you there is something you must do for me." the Homunculus told them.

"What is it?" asked Boram.

"Take me away from this world into a place full of life and beings such as yourself. I have been alone upon this rock for the better half of eternity and long for a change of scenery." the Homunculus told them.

These two had to have come from a place full of human resources. If he could go to where they were from he could use their energy fully restore his stone and reassume the form he had lost to the Gate. He could also peer into the light side of the Force and seek out knowledge thereof.

Han looked over at Boram and raised an eyebrow. "Do you think we could swing having a hitchhiker on board?" Han asked.

"If that goo really is what he says it is I don't see why not." Boram said.

The price which they would fetch for the serum of immortality was definitely worth the risk. They only had to be certain the serum worked. If they returned with a vial of snake oil they would be sold into slavery at best, more likely they would be skinned alive and made an example to all others who would dare scam their client.

"Can you prove that the stuff works?" Boram asked.

"Why certainly! Fire that weapon of yours at me and see for yourself. I am imbued with the very essence of that stone and therefore am its product, an immortal, nearly perfect being." the Homunculus replied, bidding Han to shoot him.

Han hesitantly raised his blaster and shot the Homunculus in the chest. The blaster shot left a scorch mark dead center of the creature's chest which then sparked out with red energy and healed itself completely. Han then fired three more shots across the Homunculus' chest and one into its eye at the center of its forehead. All of the wounds crackled with the bright red electricity and the Homunculus was restored as if the damage had never happened.

"I've seen enough." Boram declared before Han could shoot the creature again.

"You can come with us; just hand over that flask first." Boram told the Homunculus.

"Very well." the Homunculus said and handed over the flask to Han.

"Be careful Han. Go put that in a sealed container onboard and please try not to spill any of it." Boram commanded as Han took the flask.

"As for you follow me, allow me show you to my ship." Boram graciously offered the Homunculus.

He then led the Homunculus back to the Centurion Eagle and once aboard showed it to its quarters where it was to remain until they reached the nearest inhabited planet as per their agreement. To the treasure hunters this was a very one sided deal; they obtained the secret to immortality in exchange for a relatively short space taxi ride. To the Homunculus this was also a one sided deal; the humans would transport his greed to some poor sap who would become its new vessel and thereby become bound loosely to his will. Furthermore once he reached his destination he would become more powerful than these tiny humans could ever imagine. He was free of this world now and one step closer to being truly and completely free.