Chapter Ten

Lab Contamination

Josef Sieve hated his current job. Banning idleness on the Eclipse was one thing. But tearing Sieve away from the important task of studying Mnggal-Mnggal for its structure, behavior, and potential impact on humans? Refusing to collect even the smallest of live samples for him to study due to the "outsized risk" of such an exploit? All so he commit his aging body to the grueling labor of basic fuel refinement? It was ridiculous!

"Keep working, you lazy civilians!" the stormtrooper guarding them barked from his relative comfort by the door. "The sooner this fuel is fit for burning, the sooner we can keep moving."

Moving to where? Far as Sieve was concerned, the Eclipse was perfectly fine stationed above Csilla for another few days. It gave their alien friends an easier time getting settled on board, a great chance to restock on shared supplies, and ample time for the medics and their droids to check for signs of disease. Besides, what was the rush? Did the people in charge even know where they wanted to go next yet? No doubt they would be relying on Chiss intelligence to make that decision.

And why the refusal to land the Eclipse on the Csillan surface? In-orbit refueling was far more difficult, especially without a station to latch onto. Wasn't the whole point of an Aristocra regime change that the two groups would get along better from now on?

Sieve frowned at his memories of that meeting, of being talked over by a bunch of arrogant aliens who believed the galaxy would never progress beyond them. Progress belonged to those who pursued it, not those who sat around all day arguing amongst themselves. It was the reason a single emperor was, by nature, more progressive than a bickering bridge crew or fickle senate. Of course, it was difficult to make groundbreaking discoveries when one was forced to labor in a full hazmat suit on the well-understood chemical processes of getting crude oil ship-ready. Sieve was so bored by the task that his mind latched onto anything it could to distract him.

Sieve winced at the ache of his joints as he drew back up from his crouch. He and the rest of his assembly line were almost done with this batch. They would be relieved of their shift soon.

He gazed down into the swirling black void. Even in the suit, the smell of fuel was unbearable. It reminded him of days his uncle would visit. Ever the less fortunate of the family, that man had worked as a grease monkey at the same shipyard Sieve's dad owned… or, more likely, used to own. Most of their contracts had been Imperial, after all, and Sieve hadn't checked on either of them in seven years. Best case scenario: they'd both died of old age before this disgraceful war even started.

Still, his uncle used to have a policy. His own way of discerning if the fuel sent over for the warships was refined properly. Scientifically nonsense, of course, but once the desired vapor condensed and cooled, Sieve's uncle would run a finger through it and-

"Hey, stop that!" The trooper from before ran over to Sieve. The scientist drew his gloved finger back to his body. He hadn't even noticed what he was doing. "Don't you know better than to stick your hand in hot oil?"

"I'm covered head to toe! I had no chance of being harmed," Sieve talked back before his brain caught up with his mouth. Once it did, he apologized. "Sorry, officer. It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't. We can't afford you getting addle-brained on the job, old man!" The trooper leaned in to give his next warning. "And between you and me, those suits are old. I wouldn't trust them to protect you from enemy goo. Only way to know that stuff is gone is to burn it." He chuckled. "Or toss it out the airlock. Then the planet's atmosphere burns it for us."

"Enemy goo? Wha…" Sieve's eyes lit up when he realized. "You mean… the disease? It's in the fuel?"

"Shhhhhh! Shhh!" The trooper glanced around them, then shook his head. "Dammit. I… wasn't supposed to tell you that. Not supposed to scare any civilians working in here. But… yes. Corpses hid in the fuel pit during our battle. I was there. Their germs could be all over the fuel. Which is why you better refine it properly. All waste is getting sealed and tossed. So be careful."

Sieve was glad the trooper couldn't see him grinning under his mask. "I will, officer. I shall refrain from telling anyone else what you said to me."

"Good. Now get back to work!" The trooper barked that last bit louder than the rest, just in case anyone had been listening. "I don't want to see you slacking off ever again."

There was no need to respond after that. Sieve wasn't even thinking about the conversation anymore. No, he had the seed of an idea planted in his mind. Between the bright light of the refining center and the constant stream of thoughts he was pouring onto it, Sieve had a full-grown plan in his mind for how he could do his actual duty on this stars-forsaken ship.

The refining process itself may have been enough to burn out traces of his precious subject already, so Sieve couldn't steal fuel from his end of the assembly line. He had to get his hands on crude oil before the last of it was processed. With mini-refineries adapted from both human and alien parts running all over the Star Destroyer and nearly eight hundred workers on the project, the Empire intended to convert all the fuel it'd taken aboard as quickly as possible. If Sieve waited beyond today, he would lose his shot.

His chance came at the tail end of the day. Feigning age and a need to rest, Sieve made his way towards the nearest refresher, which just happened to be at the start of the assembly line. The first worker in the line, an aristocratic-looking woman, was practically keeled over from exhaustion and barely keeping up her end of the bargain. She was all too receptive to Sieve's offer to help her for a moment, not even noticing when he siphoned a small bit of crude off into her fallen drinking cup. The scientist sealed the cup completely with what he had available, not willing to risk even the slightest contamination of his prize. Once he stashed his bounty away in a secluded nook of the room, he made his way back to his station as though nothing had transpired. The work was repetitive enough he didn't need his mind to keep up with his hands, so his thoughts shifted into fantasies of the tests he'd run on his little pathogen. Oh, what nasty secrets awaited those who persisted!

Sieve floated away from his station at the end of his shift, whistling to himself as everyone handed off their suits to a replacement worker. He received a few glares for his attitude, but nothing he wasn't used to.

Now that playtime was over, Sieve had real work to do. He had to get his sample properly stored away in his lab before anyone else found out about it. Ignoring the complaints of his body, Sieve rushed off to his lab on the opposite end of the ship. After sealing the door and checking that he was alone, Sieve once again covered his entire body in preparation to secure his sample. He whipped out a clear glass cylinder, a device with all the appearances of a tall petri dish.

Sieve tore the seal off his stolen cup and poured its black contents into the dish. He was screwing the top back on when a banging of fists at the door disrupted his concentration.

Not bothering to remove any of his protective gear, Sieve cursed under his breath, set his sample down in the very center of the table, and ambled over to answer the door. On the other side stood a scowling redhead in uniform with a small child tucked behind his knees.

"Commandant Hux. To what do I owe this… pleasure?"

Hux wasted no time with greetings. "I gave you what you wanted a week ago. I got you down onto the Csillan surface as the only civilian yet to receive clearance. I didn't do that as a gift, remember?"

So that was why there was a child with him. Sieve's face fell. "I will get to our little arrangement, I promise. Please allow me to conclude my current experiment first. Preliminary tests will only take a few-"

Hux blew past the stumbling scientist, ushering his companion to enter with him. He ignored Sieve's protests while doing so. "No, you can't do whatever dumb experiment you want to run yet. I know your schedule. You're not assigned to anything important. You promised me your expertise. I upheld my end of the bargain, and I've waited long enough. I'm not leaving your 'lab'," Hux used the term mockingly, "until you honor yours."

Sieve bristled at the implications of Hux's words. "You didn't uphold your promise in the slightest! I was promised a chance to collect samples of Mnggal-Mnggal from the surface of Csilla itself. During my time on that planet, I received no such chance. Your little talk with the grand admiral amounted to empty appeasement."

"I promised you a ride to the surface. Nothing else. It's not my fault Sloane blocked your mission. Now sit down and do what I asked!"

"You do realize I'm a research biologist with a specialization in microorganisms, correct? I'm not a psychologist, nor am I a family doctor. I fail to see why you would even want me for this particular task."

"Because," Hux lowered his voice, stepping in close to Sieve so they could lock eyes through the scientist's goggles, "you and I are the only ones who really understand each other on this ship. You believe in a constant, continuous effort towards understanding in all disciplines. You don't believe current methods are ever 'good enough' that we ought to stop innovating. While you apply that philosophy to the study of germs and bacteria, I use it in the training of Imperial soldiers. The path to the future lies not in the armor troopers wear nor the weapons they possess. Those were already superior to what the rebels used against us, and the Empire failed regardless. No, the path ahead exists within the soldiers themselves. They shouldn't have come to us at sixteen with instilled biases and connections to family or outside worlds. Overriding those preset conditions was half my job at the academy on Arkanis. The best soldiers are the ones who can be trained to value only the cause they fight for, as they were in the Clone Wars. But while clones are indeed expensive, you can't teach these beliefs to someone who's already developed ideals for themselves. Better to catch free recruits while they're young, so their minds can be trained with their bodies in the best way to serve the Empire.

"My ideas are based on years of personal observation and proven by the data. They're a natural thing to propose for the purpose of improving our military personnel. Yet because of them, I'm treated like a monster. Your labcoated colleagues shun me out of their own queasiness. But not you, Doctor. You believe in progress above all, just like me. That is why I require your help in this matter."

Sieve's brown eyes shone in admiration as the commandant gave his speech. It felt wonderful to have someone on board who understood him. Even before the Empire's collapse, those who shared Sieve's philosophy had been few and far between. Orson Krennic had once. As had Galen Erso, or so he thought. But those two had worked in a discipline distant from his own and died from work-related causes. Here and now, Sieve faced a man from a different walk of life who seemed to have him nailed down perfectly.

"I appreciate that, Commandant. My concern is that my lack of experience in medicine and developmental psychology will ruin your designs for the future. It was nothing to do with an unwillingness to help you."

"Well, don't worry about such things now. I only need you for a basic evaluation tonight. Before beginning any experiment, one needs to examine their subjects. AB-1324, stop your hiding." Hux caught the child by his wrist and practically threw him into Sieve's path. Previously, the kid had been by the table with Sieve's sample on it. "AB-1324, this is Doctor Sieve. He's going to perform a basic checkup on you to make sure you're healthy. I need you to answer all his questions and do whatever the doctor says. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." AB-1324… that was a soldier serial, wasn't it? Sieve understood their use in combat and computer programs, but there was no reason to avoid real names here. He would ask the boy as soon as his commander left.

"Good. I will be outside with the others. Come to me when you finish."

"Wait, others? How many are we doing-" the door closed before Sieve could finish, "...tonight."

But seriously, how many? Sieve was already exhausted from his shift at the refinery. He had only intended to store his sample away for the night when he'd arrived at the lab. If Hux had seen his schedule, did he also know that Sieve had been awake for sixteen straight hours (and laboring for twelve of them) by this point? Based on Hux's attitude, Sieve assumed not.

Oh well. Best to get this job over with so he could get back to what he really wanted to do. Sieve picked up his sample from the edge of the table, finished screwing its lid on, and stored it away in a temperature controlled cabinet. He removed some of his protective gear at this point. "Come with me, child. Let's get you a place to sit."

The short brunet followed him to a second, smaller room in the lab, this one with only an examination table, a chair, and a deactivated interrogator droid. In case it wasn't obvious, Sieve's lab once had other uses. "Sit on the table for me." The child got up. "What is your name?"

"AB-1324, Doctor."

"No, not your serial. Your name. What did your parents call you?"

AB-1324 shook his head. "The general says we aren't supposed to use those names anymore, Doctor. He only calls me AB-1324. That's my name now."

Hm… perhaps it was part of Hux's grand design in creating the perfect soldier. By removing their names, Hux effectively deprived them of clues to their planet of origin and, more importantly, their cultural heritage. Only the name given to them by the Empire (their serial) stood in its place. Clever.

Was Sieve supposed to assist Hux in coming up with new ways to implement his plan on this sample population? Or was he only here to assess their physical health for the time being? He should have asked. "Very well, AB-1324. What is your age in standard years?"

"Eight, Doctor."

Sieve had guessed as much. Though the boy certainly seemed small for his age. "Were you fed well as a child?"

"The general feeds me good, Doctor."

"What about before Comma… General Hux found you?"

"Oh," AB-1324 slumped over. "I was always hungry before I met the general. I had to take food from shops when grown ups weren't looking."

So the child had a history of malnourishment. His brown hair was bleached light and skin heavily tanned, suggesting long days in the sun and possibly a risk of skin cancer. Sieve should probably be writing this down. He fetched a datapad from the other room and created an entry around AB-1324's serial number. "Have you ever been seriously injured?"

"I… don't know, Doctor."

How did he not know if… wait. Sieve was talking to an eight-year-old. He needed to change the way he asked questions. "Have you ever hurt yourself really badly? Like broke a bone, for example."

"N… no, Doctor. I was hit with a cane for stealing a few times. On my back."

"Did the laceratio- did the cane leave marks on your back? Does your back ever still hurt where you were hit?"

"No, Doctor."

"Remove your shirt and show me." AB-1324 obliged. Once Sieve saw that there were no scars that would indicate a lashing, he told the boy to put the shirt back on.

The rest of the examination proceeded in much the same way. Sieve asked any question he could think of in a way that even a little boy could understand. Once he'd exhausted his list of ideas, Sieve checked all of AB-1324's vitals. Despite his history of abuse and malnourishment, the boy seemed to be quite healthy currently. With the right nutrition, AB-1324 could grow to be big and strong yet. More importantly, AB-1324 confessed he was doing well in Hux's training program and seemed genuinely grateful to his general. Best Sieve could tell, the boy had no reason to be anything but loyal to his master and empire. He even got along with Armitage Hux, Brendol's small runt of a son. Why a six year old was also allowed to run around commanding soldiers, Sieve had no idea.

"Thank you for your cooperation, AB-1324. I will report the results of our time together to your general. Let's walk to the entrance together." When Sieve stood up, he briefly lost his vision as a wave of dizziness hit. Wow he was tired. How was this day not over?

Sieve put his foot down after the third check up. If Hux wanted all his soldiers examined properly, he would have to let Sieve sleep for a shift. He had assigned work tomorrow as well, as did Hux, so they would have to finish this the next time both parties were free.

Sieve was so tired by the time he landed in bed that he completely forgot about what a horrible case of cross contamination he'd allowed to occur in his lab.


A/N's: Welcome to arc number two! Nothing like a mad scientist to start things off. Sieve is probably my favorite character to write for in this fic so far. He's just so insane.

Those on AO3 can already see this from the tags, but for my readers on : this fic is no longer trying to comply with canon. After seeing Rise of Skywalker twice, I have concluded there is no way to reconcile my ideas for this fic with the mess that is that movie. Nor do I want to. I by no means hate the film (there were many threads I enjoyed), but I came into this project wanting (among other things) to give Snoke an interesting backstory and I can't do that if all canon says he is is a (SPOILER) tool created by Palpatine to fuck with Ben Solo. Not to mention, I want the First Order to be developed as worthy adversaries, not sidelined by a completely unnecessary Sith fleet.

I can rant on and on. Point is, this fic is AU now. I will still draw inspiration from canon sources and do my best to fit with TFA and TLJ, but I make no attempt to include anything Exegol related here. Thank you for reading, don't forget to leave your thoughts below, and I'll see you on the far side!