A/N: Okay here is the next Chapter. I'm almost done with school for the semester so I hope to be able to update more frequently soon, so there is that.
I would also like to thank everyone who takes the time to review, it means a great deal to me. I don't get many and the one's I do get mean a great deal to me.
Also, as some of the reader may know, I love sliding references into my stories and their are few in this chapter as well, I'm wondering if anyone can pick them out.
Well enough of that, onto the chapter
Disclaimer: Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm.
Chapter 10
She wasn't sure how to feel about the revaluation. On one hand, she was at last free of Zann's influence, and it was a relief to find she felt nothing but anger and disgust for the man, any feelings of fondness gone.
On the other hand, Sabine felt a deep hole of emptiness in her stomach at the thought that she along with Ezra and Dral were now working on a time clock in terms of life line. They were all hooked on the "miracle drug" and once their supply ran out, they were going to die a particularly painful death. She wondered if this was how a person who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness felt when they received the news.
Kanan had told all of them what Zann had done and the deal he had offered. Frankly it wasn't a deal or partnership at all, it was extortion plain and simple. He knew Kanan would never let either her or Ezra die in such a manner if he could help it. Dral being included seemed like a pointless cruel point, Tyber knew he wasn't involved in any larger sense with the crew. She in fact personally seriously doubted Tyber didn't have at least some level of knowledge of who Dral was, he was after all a bounty hunter and Tyber no doubt had an excellent knowledge of most of the galaxies bounty hunters.
To his credit Dral was taking it much better than she had expected. He had only started punching the durasteel door of sitting room, smashed a couple glasses and swore for about twenty minutes. She had expected him to try and take the Ghost back to try and kill Tyber.
Ezra was the opposite, he had dummied up and just looked at the floor. She also noticed he refused to look her in the eye. If she didn't know better, she would have thought he looked guilty.
Shaking the thought, she forced herself to think on what Kanan had told them. They had a chance to fix the situation, a rumor Tyber had heard of a planet or a medicine that might be able to reverse the effects of the drug.
To find they were heading to planet Sabine hoped to never visit, the planet Dathomir.
This was all his fault, and he knew it. What he had done at the facility that was the seed of the disaster. Now he, Sabine and Dral were more likely than not, going to die. He hadn't really cared for Dral, but he still couldn't help but feel guilty over it.
He had hidden it from everyone except Kanan, and now it seemed the ramifications of his actions were spreading wider and more horribly than he ever could of managed. He, Sabine and Dral were now all but dead persons walking, Tyber Zann was not only alive but running rough shot over Lothal with Imperial backing. His actions had not only hurt people close to him, but had caused two of the forces he hated most in the galaxy to merge into one force more terrible than before.
If he was going to make this right he had a lot of work to do. He had to take down Tyber, of that he was certain, but he also needed to try and find this cure for him and Sabine, and Dral too he supposed.
But first, he would have to come clean to the rest of the crew. For his own sanity as well as setting things right, they needed to know what he had done.
This was going to be a long trip.
Imperial Fleet over Lothal
Tyber hated force users. Not as a general rule, but simple had yet to meet one that had ever made his life easier, or one that didn't have some sense of superiority to them, some arrogance.
This Inquisitor and his underlings were not exception. This Inquisitor had hunted him on Kamino, and had a nasty run in with JV-FR13, and Tyber suspected that it hurt his pride, being bested by little more than an animal. Apparently he had brought back up this time, one called "Fifth Brother" and the "Seventh Sister", pretentious naming as usual for these types.
"If you want to go onto that ship and tangle with that thing, I won't stop you, but it's a waste of time, he's stuck over there." Tyber said not trying terribly hard to stop them, he thought he could make a betting pool on the odds of the Inquisitors ability to take "The Shape."
The Fifth Brother, larger than the other two, and walking like he thought he was unstoppable, and Tyber believed he truly thought so, glared at him but didn't speak.
"I assure you Captain, this creature is nothing compared to the power of the force." The Seventh Sister said with cool and somewhat sultry voice.
Tyber smirked at her, either she didn't know about her superiors run in with "The Shape" or had a gross misunderstanding of it, Tyber had seen the Inquisitor after words and he was clearly the worst for wear.
"If you insist on taking that thing on, I'll provided a shuttle, but my pilot won't be hanging around to watch, once you are on that dead ship, you will be on your own until you either kill that thing, subdue it or die."
The head inquisitor spoke up this time "We shall…..manage." and with that he turned to leave with his subordinates.
Smirking to himself, Tyber knew this fight was going end badly for the inquisitor. He and his companions were without a doubt highly skilled warriors, he knew that he himself would not hold up well against any of them in a fair fight, but "The Shape" was not a creature that skill or tactics could beat, he just kept coming and didn't go down. It would simply outlast them, they may hold the advantage for hours on end, but it wouldn't matter long term.
You couldn't beat it, you could only survive it.
"Why are we here again?" The Seventh Sister asked in a bored voice. She clearly did not think this creature warranted three inquisitors' to handle, her comment to Zann had shown that.
"Do not under estimate this creature, he sorely tested my abilities, I don't believe it can be killed. We however are not here to kill him, we are to capture him, he is a valuable specimen."
The Sister didn't responded but sate quietly while the shuttle approached the now crippled ship "Shadow of Intent".
The ships life support was still functioning to some degree, but all three inquisitors still had to wear breather masks. Disembarking from the shuttle, the trio simple stood in the dark hanger, sensing for the thing they had come to hunt.
They couldn't quite pin point its location, the echoes in the force from the carnage it had wrought on the ship clouded the senses but they could still tell it was close.
"We should split up, hunt it down and….." The Fifth Brother began before the High Inquisitor cut him off.
"No, we take it as a team, no need to risk anything in a one on one fight, it will come to us, make no mistake."
As if on cue, they all felt the telltale prickle at the back of their skulls, and turned to see "The Shape" standing in a door way, staring at the new comers, it's head tilted slightly to the right.
"Time to die!" The Brother shouted igniting his lightsaber, chagrining forward.
"No." The High Inquisitor shouted as the brother charger and drove his blade deep in JV-FR13's chest.
The Brother smirked as his attack landed, but the smirk faded as his target didn't even flinch or seem to react, it only looked down at the glowing read blade in its chest with what appeared to be mild curiosity, then looked up and right in the Fifth Brother's eyes.
The Ghost
Sabine had requested to be left alone for a while, and the rest of the crew had so far kept to her wishes. She found herself reading the data Tyber had stolen from the station, for two reasons. The first was to take her mind off he own situation, which wasn't really working given the drug had come from the facility, but she couldn't bring herself to do anything in the way of her art with her mood so foul.
The second, more solid reason she was interested about JV-FR13, the way it looked at her. It had intent in its eye, but she couldn't figure out what.
The files in it were organized with the most recent first, it like traveling back in time for the like story of the experiment.
This poor thing, she found herself thinking it was odd to think of it as such given what a brutal killer it was but it was, had been subject to what Dr. Cooper had called "Stress and Strain" tests, like it was simple piece of metal. What was more it did, according to the Doctor, feel pain as much as any human did, but had been so desensitized to it, it no longer reacted.
What was scaring her more and more however, as she read, the wording made it seem like this creature had not been grown like the clones in the Clone Wars. It was starting to sound like it was a more than likely not so willing volunteer. It wasn't really clear as of right now, but she didn't doubt as she read on it would become clear.
As she did, the nature of the experiments done to it were continually growing more and more grotesque. Gene splicing to giving it attribute of several different species, attempts to re wire its brains by cutting out certain parts, which failed to work as all pieces grew back. Injecting it with every variety of venom known in the galaxy to make it immune to them as well as several toxic substances not found in nature.
The removal of whole organs to test the levels of regeneration, the application huge levels of electrical current, exposure to lethal levels of radiation. Freezing it in temperatures cold enough to cause severe frost bite and even solidly freeze it. Submerging it in water for hours at a time to see if it could survive under water.
For a couple hours Sabine read about the experiments done to JV-FR13, and found herself disgusted with the Empire in a way she had never experienced. This was beyond cruel and disgusting. What was more, as she got closer and closer to the beginning of the experiments, it was clear this thing was once human, even if it wasn't know. Soon, she would be reading the "Subject volunteer" file, and find out it's real name, who he had been before the empire had destroyed his mind.
Shadow of Intent
"Why won't he die!?" The Fifth Brother had shouted as he jumped back for the thing. It had nearly taken his head off when he had attacked it.
"It's an experiment gone wrong yo fool!" The Sister shouted running next to him, a gash on her cheek. "If you had paid attention during the briefing you would know it won't die so easily!"
The High Inquisitor landed behind them after leaping away from the thing. "It's different than before, something has changed it, it has some force power now, it's only acting on instinct, but it's somehow developed force abilities!"
The Brother and Sister go wide eyed at this news, as far as anyone knew, it wasn't possible to gain force powers through scientific means, not that a number of people hadn't tried, but this thing was supposed not of shown any of these traits during the last encounter the Inquisitor had with it.
All three looked at it, and it just stared right back, walking slowly towards it them, like it didn't have a care in the world.
As it did an unnatural fog started to form in the hanger, starting to obscure there vision.
Tyber listen to the transmission from the ship, the shuttle Captain had dropped on when he had dropped off the Inquisitors and now it made sense in a way. It had developed some level of force abilities, and force sensitive individual weren't affected by the control serum. It had somehow developed force abilities after he had subdued it, it couldn't have been force sensitive when he had done it, otherwise it would have just gone unconscious.
How that had happened he couldn't even guess, but that thing was getting more and more dangerous, and frankly he would be content to let it sit on the ship for the rest of eternity, but had had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.
The Seventh Sister was on the back heel as "The Shape" slashed wildly at her with its simple blade. It had no form or finesse, but it was much stronger and faster than it looked, and it looked extremely strong to begin with. Added to the fact that none of her attacks seem to slow t it down and it didn't get tired, there was only one eventual outcome, it would kill them all. The ballistic mask it wore showed no emotion and it was extremely eerie.
The mist it had apparently summoned was growing thicker and thicker. This force ability was largely ignored by inquisitors and the Sith order in general, it lacked any form of offensive power, she had read of a few Jedi who used it, Master Plo Koon being the most notable, but they only used it ot disrupt and hide.
Now she was starting to see the use of it, the psychological affect was great, not being able to see her opponent was unnerving and it caused her to confuse simple objects as her target. The Force was too clouded her for her to properly sense out her opponent and she was starting to lose her nerve. She could sense him in general, but not pick up his exact location.
Then he vanished, both as the shadow she was fighting and in the force.
With it the mist started to dissipate, and when it did, she saw the Fifth Brother and High Inquisitor, injured but alive making their way towards her.
"It's gone." The Fifth Brother said, clutching his side, which was bleeding profusely. "How."
The High Inquisitor looked highly disturbed "That thing, should have that power." He said vaugly, not really to the Sister or the Brother.
"How can he just disappear like that? That should be possible."
The High Inquisiter scowled, this sounded like reports he read about from the Clone Wars, not exactly the same, but vauge similarities. He knew where they would have to go from here.
Tapping his comm the High Inquisiter call Tyber "Captain Zann, we are ready for pick up, and prepair our ship, we need to depart as soon as possible."
"Where are we going? We don't have clue where that thing went." The fifth Brother snarled.
"To Dathomir, that creature is showing force powers long thought lost to the Galaxy, powers only Dathomri Witch's possess."
Sabine felt mentally exhausted from the reports on what had been done to the JV-FR13, but she whas nearing the end of the files on it, and she just felt compelled to finish, to find out who the man behind the mask was, why he was chosen and what, if anything, he had done to warrant this fate, which Sabine was having a hard time trying to think of anything that might warrant the living hell he had gone through.
Finally she came to it, the first report it read.
Dr. Alexander Cooper's Log, Experiment JV-FR13
The test subject has finally been provided for in my latest experiment. Attempts to trying and grow a completely new species from birth have resulted in nothing but failure. The child was provided for us…
Sabine stopped reading there, her stomach churning like it was full of hot sour milk. Did she read that right? She went back to re-read it, two more times to make sure. Child, the CHILD, JV-FR13 was a child? It shook her to her core, and made her nearly sick, all the experiments she had read that were performed on it, this was all done a on a child. She wanted to stop, but now her desire to know who this person was, not this man, but this child, who they had been.
The child was provided for us by one of our security officers. Apparently an illegitimate child he didn't even know he had and never really wanted, he was happy to be rid of him. The boy's mother apparently had been raising him for a number of years and for reasons that alluded me and his father, sent him here to live with his father. The father doubted the validity of this claim initially but a DNA test soon provided the proof that this child is indeed his don. The father was paid handsomely and as I understand it plans to retire now. Documentation below gives the child name and little else, we have nr records of his place of birth or his exact age, although I may estimate approximately between six and nine standard years of age. Documentation is as follows
Subjects name: Jaden Toraness
Sabine stopped here for a moment, her breathing heavy at this point. Jaden, his name was Jaden. The boy's father had sold him to the empire, to a doctor to be an experiment. To have his body mutilated and twisted into something to kill and destroy, with nothing in his heart but rage and destruction.
She didn't want to keep reading, feeling she had all she needed, but continued on, something compeling her to do so.
Date of Birth: Unknown
Planet of Birth: Unknown
Mother: Unknown
Sabine felt her heart drop into her stomach as she read the final line, chill run down here spine, her head spin and her stomach churn. The final line read
Father: Atin Wren
A/N: Okay please leave a review if you liked it, hated it, or felt completely indifferent to it.
