-Chapter 36: The Heart of the Matter-
Location: Coruscant
"Every well-oiled machine is the product of a dedicated mechanic."
After his jaunt out to Telaris, Anakin returned to Coruscant and was promptly sent to the Republic Intelligence Bureau's headquarters, where a collective of numerous Jedi Councillors, alongside Chancellor Palpatine and Commander Thrawn stood waiting. Obi-Wan turned to his friend and grinned.
"Fashionably late as always, I see." He noted.
"What can I say, Master? I like to make an entrance." Anakin replied, smirking as he did. "So, what've we got?" He asked, turning to the other Masters.
"A total of eight logs, all of them having been recorded by a 'Doctor Pomel Scipio'." Shaak answered. "We've listened to a few of his logs already and he appears to be one of the primary scientists behind The Wraith, or 'Project Sunstorm' as he keeps calling it."
"He indicates other scientists, which leads us to believe that there was once a whole team of individuals at work on this." Plo continued.
"Huh, interesting." Anakin mused. "Alright, fill me in. Where'd you all leave off?" To respond, Mace Windu pulled up a new audio log, freshly deciphered thanks to the intelligence officers.
"This one is entitled 'A List Of Casualties'." He noted, pressing play.
"What a perfectly lovely title." Obi-Wan sarcastically mused as the recording began.
"Scipio's log: entry zero-point-zero-one-one. We lost another one today, this time almost immediately after administering the injection. Subject 'nine-nine-four-K-seven'. A Rodian. Cause of death was due to unstoppable palpitations triggered by heart expansion, he succumbed to heart failure. This was basically a heart attack, something we all took note of. While I wish I could say this was a one-off, it isn't. We've lost too many test subjects, more than I care to count. But every death has been in a different fashion, possibly more brutal than the last. Take subject 'nine-eight-three-J-eight', a Neimodian. He died when his muscular system grew at such an advanced rate it tore through his skin, the blood loss killing him as pain overwhelmed him."
"Ew." Aayla grimaced.
"Or take subject 'four-one-D-eight', a Twi'lek. She died when an adrenaline overload resulted in heart rupture. It beat so fast it, well, it exploded. Again, test subject 'G-four-four-T', a Kel Dor. He died when his brain exploded due to, again, enhanced muscle growth. Stars above... failure after failure..."
"Ho-ly..." Anakin remarked, trailing off at the morbid descriptions.
"Such a history not only mars the reputation of us all but also casts a shadow across the future of Project Sunstorm. If we cannot produce results... if we cannot produce at least one super-soldier for the Separatists... I fear we're all in jeopardy of a fate far worse than tarnished careers and destroyed names. We've got to come up with some sort of results and come up with them fast!" As the recording came to an end, the listeners were left to their thoughts on what they'd just heard.
"It would seem as though Project Sunstorm faced great adversity in its initial phases." Thrawn quietly noted.
"The body trail they left behind is... I don't want to say impressive, but it is long." Palaptine agreed. "Which makes me wonder how they succeeded at all, or even stayed so secretive after the deaths of so many test subjects."
"The earlier log indicated they were moving on to child test subjects." Shaak stated, her voice belaying her obvious distaste for such a move. "If they could stoop any lower I get the feeling they would."
"Wait, they tested this stuff on kids?!" Anakin exclaimed, having not heard the earlier log. "By the Force, how many of them did they kill?"
"We don't know. We have not heard any logs after that decision was made." Obi-Wan informed him. "It does leave me wondering, though..." He mused, stroking his beard. As he did, Thrawn and Mace Windu sifted through the available files, cycling through logs already listened to and those remaining to be heard.
"Here's log nineteen, after the decision to pursue child subjects." The Jedi announced, pulling up the new log. All present fell silent as the doctor's now-familiar voice filled the room.
"Scipio's log: entry zero-point-zero-one-nine. I appear to have a come across a fortuitous stroke of luck as I have been gifted with an infant for testing. How he came into our clutches I do not know and, even if I did I would not be allowed to explain in a log as such matters are confidential. However, I will not look a gift-bantha in the mouth and I have received permission to go ahead with the injection as soon as possible. This moment has the potential to either make or break Project Sunstorm. All of our hopes rest on this little one... but even now I find myself struggling with the prospect of using a child as a test subject. If this infant were to succumb like the others, such a guilt would never leave my conscience." A silence ensued as the doctor ceased speaking, caught up in his own thoughts and too lost to his own feelings to voice them. The Republicans waited tensely until he spoke again. "Should this child survive, I promise to ensure he grows into a healthy, respectable man. One who will live a fulfilling life as he deserves."
"Some 'fulfilling life'." Anakin snorted as the recording came to an end.
"And yet this Doctor Scipio reveals he was not at all comfortable with going through with this." Thrawn calmly noted. "Therefore revealing the mixed desperation of those overseeing Project Sunstorm and the complete determination of the Separatists as they were willing to cross every boundary in order to ensure they successfully produced a single super-soldier."
"There seems to be nothing they won't do to achieve their goals." Palpatine noted in agreement. "I'm half tempted to allow the PR department access to this in order to turn it into propaganda of some sort." He added, pondering the ethical nature of this subject. Enemy intelligence was fair game once collected. But propaganda using a dead man's origins...
"There's another recording here, it appears to be next in the evident sequential order of things." Mace announced. "Do we care to listen any further?"
"Perhaps we'd better, if only to see where this leads." Plo answered. Mace nodded and pressed play.
"Scipio's log: entry zero-point-zero-two-oh! Success! Success, we've done it! The injection worked and the chemical has taken root within the child's body, it is integrating into his genetic code as we speak. His body will gradually develop into the super-solider of our design, as the serum will tell his body how to grow and change... Ah! This is a remarkable occasion!" The doctor fell silent for a moment before giddy laughter could be heard in the distance of his recording. His voice suddenly returned as he gasped. "Wait... what am I doing? Of course! I must log his properly... Subject 'A-thirty-one-B'. Species: human. Positive acceptance of serum, molecular integration successful. Age... two months." His final words left the listeners dumbstruck as the recording came to an end.
"Two months?" Aayla repeated. "That... That child was practically a newborn." She said, both shocked and horrified by what she'd heard. The others couldn't help but agree.
"Wait a moment," Shaak said, a thought developing, "if he was two months old at the time of this recording... how old would he be now?" All of them started crunching numbers in order to answer her. Thrawn was the quickest of them all.
"According to calculations..." He began, pausing briefly to ensure his math was correct, "just seventeen." Everyone fell silent as that fact settled in. If this infant had truly grown up to become The Wraith, then it was not a man they had been fighting and failing against, but a mere teenager. The news affected Anakin far differently from the others. He realized The Wraith had been no older than Ahsoka, despite being as tall and as broad as a grown man.
No wonder he seemed to be fostering a crush on her, he was an adolescent just like her...
"He would've been fifteen when this war started." Obi-Wan added, knowing that Wraith had been operating in the Clone Wars for a while now.
"He was a child soldier." Ki-Adi noted. "And we killed him."
"They sent a youth to fight us. Is there anything the Separatists won't do?" Mace commented, understanding just how depraved these actions were.
"A highly trained and very deadly youth. But you are right, Master Windu. This is a new low for them." Plo agreed. "The fact that they would confirm such an order to begin with is hard to accept. Some of us might've hoped that there was some sense of decency left in them."
"This would confirm otherwise." Ki-Adi responded. "Master Windu, are there any more logs for us to hear?"
"Just one more." His fellow master replied, selecting the final log they had decoded.
"Scipio's log: entry zero-point-zero-two-one. Just a quick note to say that subject a-thirty-one-bee is healthy and alive, no adverse effects whatsoever. I have received permission to go ahead with flash training as soon as possible and to schedule the next phase of training when appropriate. I shall record my thoughts again once the training is underway. We're really pulling out all the stops for this one! This boy will be the bane of the Republic, mark my words!"
"Boy was he ever... assuming this 'A-thirty-one-B' really did grow up to become The Wraith." Anakin muttered, having experienced Wraith's full, destructive potential firsthand.
"It seems likely." Obi-Wan replied. "One successful test and one super-solider... there certainly seems to be a correlation."
"Is it possible they may still be trying?" Aayla wondered. "Certainly Wraith's successes would inspire them to try again."
"One would suspect that to be true, Master Secura. And yet we haven't seen another super-soldier in the entirety of this war." Palpatine replied. The group fell silent once more, now trying to discern the Separatists motives.
"Hey! Maybe they did make more, but they all dress to look like Wraith." Anakin suggested. Obi-Wan mulled his theory over, slowly nodding as pieces started to fit into place.
"That's always a possibility." He stated. "But was each one then educated to act like the same person? That seems like a lot of work and effort." He added, highlighting the one flaw in that plan: Wraith's own unique personality.
Plo Koon was deep in thought, considering the unique situation that had been present to them. He thought about the logs and about Scipio's words... and a single abnormality revealed itself to him.
"It makes me wonder... why was Wraith the only successful one? What was so wrong about all the others...?" He said aloud. None could answer him. No one knew for certain as to why A31-B survived while the others did not. They all believed destiny worked in mysterious ways, but even this outcome was beyond their means of deduction.
"So... that's it?" Anakin hesitantly wondered. "That's all we got?"
"We didn't recover very many logs that belonged to Scipio. Most of them were Wraith's." Mace informed him. "So yes, this is all we've got."
"Right... well, this has been a most informative session." Palpatine declared. "And I'm pleased we were able to reach something resembling a conclusion concerning this super-soldier." The Jedi nodded in agreement, Thrawn tipping his head as well. "However, there are other matters we must attend to." The Chancellor continued. "Master Windu, we need you to investigate the Herrik System. We're receiving more reconnaissance reports similar to the ones from the Telaris System and would like for you to investigate. General Skywalker is now completely deprived of Torrent Company and we need a more able-bodied unit for this." The Jedi nodded.
"I understand, Chancellor. I will ready my men and leave immediately." He responded. The other masters turned to leave, but Palpatine had one more person he wished to speak to.
"Commander Thrawn, a moment?" The Chiss turned to face him, nodding as he did. "I understand your continued presence here is only because you wished to see The Wraith dealt with before his kind could possibly reach your homeworld. With his defeat, you are free to leave as you see fit." Palaptine explained.
"Thank you, Chancellor." Thrawn quietly replied. "I wish to stay here a little longer, if only to see what it is the Separatists produce next. If it is a manageable threat, then I will return to my people." He calmly answered. Palpatine tipped his head in understanding and the two of them made their way out. Everyone who left had been changed a little after hearing Scipio's logs. For all of them now had a better and more knowledgeable understanding of who The Wraith really was and how he had come to be. They knew now what to look for should the Separatists attempt to unleash another super-soldier.
But little did they know that the quarry they thought deceased was still very much alive...
Author's Note: Next one will be nice and long... and violent. That I can promise!
