Ossus' Open Terrain

[ Metroclus Garrik | Meeting Hall | Harcey Keep | Ossus' Open Terrain | Ossus ] Attn: Lucien Malvern , Nem Yin & Aerandir Calmcacil

No doubt it didn't carry much weight outside of her homeworld, but the girl nevertheless represented the interests of the Aldar and Archon whether she was displaced by a few millennia or not.

She was still insecure and shy about herself and her place in everything. Casting a quick glance towards Lucien, Metroclus then spoke up for himself.

“Princess Sorsha Sunrunner of Archon, Crown heir to the Western Throne, is quite notable for her humility,” he said in a gentle tone, so as not to shame the girl or make her more self-conscious than she already was, “I am Lieutenant Metroclus Garrik, Republic Trooper attached to Guardian Squad of the Thirteenth Diplomatic Defence Legion.”

He rested his armoured palm on his helmet on the table, his blue-eyed gaze showing mild amusement, “If it's not obvious, I'm not a Jedi. Just a soldier out of his time and place.”

*Aerandir stood in observation as the young princess voiced her concerns over a potential second sabotage. He had met her and her companion briefly, during his tour of the palace; surprisingly, not the first individuals he had met who had been displaced from their own time, though their point of origin far surpassed any other he had met. He felt for the two of them, the young girl especially. Effectively losing everyone and everything she knew and loved at such a young age. The same age as his own daughter Lucy.

The same age Morgan was when...

"Stop that. She's home now," he thought, and preemptively chastising himself for feeling like he had to constantly remind himself of that fact.

He drew his attention back to the present, listening to the conversation. Lucien gave his opinions on the security of the project as well as his belief that their enemy had little to gain from sabotage. Aerandir disagreed, though allowed Nem to speak and assure all present that there would be due diligence, which evidently had been lacking in the previous attempt.

When he found a moment, he spoke up.* "I would actually have to agree with Metroclus, in my experience the Sith are too chaotic to trust... in any capacity, but specifically in regards to not mucking things up here." *He briefly considered the Ren, but he had gathered enough data on them—or at the very least, their ringleader—to comment,* "The Knights of Ren, on the other hand, are unlikely to sabotage such a project. As Duke Malvern says, they and the Empire are, for all their many faults, seemingly committed to some sort of order and restoration. No, it's the Sith we should, as ever, at least be alert of."

*Turning his head towards Metroclus, he added,* "In regards to the Jedi Shadows, we have no plans to revive them at this time. ... forgive me if that sounds scripted, however, the previous attempt failed when its leader fell. For now, we're choosing not to pursue their revival. Such a role was instated during the height of the Jedi's power... and much as we may be loath to admit it, we're not quite there right now."

[ Metroclus Garrik | Meeting Hall | Harcey Keep | Ossus' Open Terrain | Ossus ] Attn: Lucien Malvern , Nem Yin & Aerandir Calmcacil

It was impossible for Nem to detest the Sith for the past atrocities they had committed. It would have been far too hypocritical, given that the tally of the dead left in the wake of the Yuuzhan Vong War made those other terrible events seem like child's play by comparison. His people had destroyed plenty of planets themselves, some times for as petty a reason as that Sith that apparently destroyed Wysum. While in a post-war galaxy and deeply remorseful as a species for those events, even if some of it had been more the doing of a corrupt leadership, it still didn't wash the blood from his hands or the guilt that plagued him even worse than his gravity related illness did. Only time and a great deal of restitution could do that, even then, his soul might never be perfectly clean.

However, the Sith were still responsible for killing a member of his domain, a brother in some sense. That made it personal. While the members of Domain Yin were too often absorbed by their own guilt and culpability, they were also very slow to forgive. He wouldn't allow the Sith to ruin this opportunity to rectify some of the Yuuzhan Vong's past misdeeds. Whatever it took, he would make sure the Ossus Project was a success.



Snapped from his dark reminiscing, Nem nodded as Duke Malvern pointed out that the Praetorite would have its own agents in operation through the project's duration. He held his right hand to the side and snapped his fingers, signaling to the chazrach accompanying him that he required one of his biots. The hunched reptilian reached into the pouch around its waist and withdrew the Executor's qahsa, a portable organic computer that was essentially the Yuuhzan Vong equivalent of a data-pad. The creature handed the living tablet to the Intendant, who in turn began to study the screen while he spoke out loud.

"We most certainly will. Not only will the shaper caste overseeing the Project be actively looking for abnormalities and signs of tampering, but I will have members of my domain concealed amongst the worker caste that will be doing much of the manual labour. As former infiltrators, they will know what to look for if there are any attempts to set the project awry." He raised the qahsa he had been studying. "I should also like access to any available archeological records and scientific data on Ossus. While it will be impossible to completely recreate the planet as Metroclus might remember it, with the proper data it may be possible to clone and replicate some of the original fauna using our technology, at least returning the world to a near semblance of its old self. Keeping in mind that some alterations will be unavoidable if we are filling in the blanks where certain scientific historical data may no longer be available."

It was one thing to have everyone's support for the project, that was more or less the easy part. Creating results? That was going to be a bit harder. He had confidence in the bio-forming technologies of his people, however, and even more confidence in Mira Yim. With the scientific data made available to them, he was also certain they could recreate at least a convincing facsimile of Ossus before its landscape became a broken ruin. There may be a need for some creative liberty to fill in a few gaps, which he already had a few ideas about. There was a particular herb he quite enjoyed, meant to be smoked in a pipe but it could also be enjoyed in a number of other ways. Given the climate and weather charts he had examined previous to the meeting, he was confident it would grow in abundance if properly nurtured.

Mqaaq'it brightening at the thought, Nem shook the thought from his head and returned his attention to the present, offering another bow at Lucian's address. He handed his qahsa device back to his chazrach and then placed his hands on his hips, feeling a mild bit better now that the sparkbee honey was having an effect on his system. A pleasant fug set in over his mind and his twisting guts were all but forgotten about.

"With that in mind, I should depart and make ready a site for our master shapers arrival. Based on the available data I have a suitable location near the equator where the weather tends to be warmest. I've already taken the opportunity to upload the geographical coordinates of the site to your datapads." He said with a wink. When had he done that? "I will coordinate with the Ysanna and other scientists once Mira arrives. Until then..."

He turned on his heel and departed the hall, his faithful chazrach hurrying to hobble after his longer stride.

After leaving the duke's estate, having more or less wrapped up negotiations for the Praetorite Vong's involvement in the renewed Ossus Project, the Executor had returned to the yorik-trema he had arrived in. Upon exiting the fort, Nem's glowing green mqaaq'it spotted the familiar molted ball of flesh, affectionately referred to as the Blood Chalice, perforating the ground where it was parked with a series of arrest tentacles. Unlike the infidel starships, the organic transport didn't need to refuel or swap out power cells. It needed to feed. Fortunately while the planet had been stripped of much of its available sustenance, the minerals found in the rocky soil were perfectly suited to fill its stomach and replenish its vitality. The belly of the ship split to reveal an air-tight hatch sphincter, which retracted to release a long unfurling molleung worm that served as the vessel's boarding ramp. The Intendant strode up the ramp with purpose, his lurching chazrach companion hobbling after him, doing its best to keep up with his assertive stride. Upon reaching the cockpit, Nem leaned in over the cognition throne where his pilot was symbiotically connected to the living organism through a tall-yor. The hooked protrusions of the covering were literally embedded in the flesh of the pilot, painfully tugging at his scarred grey skin.

"Take us to Alpha Site in the western hemisphere. Mira's already arrived and I want to see her progress for myself."

His feature's concealed behind the fleshy hood sealed over his head, the pilot nodded and began to manipulate the controls, rousing the dovin basals to full wakefulness. Bending gravity to their purpose, the plant like organisms raised the yorik-trema off the ground, while six segmented spindly joints retracted and returned to their housing inside the organic vessel. The bow end of the ship spun on a horizontal axis until it was facing the opposite direction, then the long whip like tail that protruded from the stern began to sweep rapidly from right to left, kicking up dust as it swished through the air and began to propel the transport forwards. The dovin basals were doing most of the work but the tail helped to add a little bit of extra speed. Soon the Blood Chalice was zooming over the desolate landscape, flying fast towards its target destination.

Nem spent much of the travel time going over the information provided by the Jedi Lords on the planet's history. His brow furrowed as he glared at the qahsa device in his hands, his ocular implants practically glued to the glowing screen as he flipped through data. The information was mostly science based and would have been beyond the scope and understanding of most Intendants, but he wasn't like most, a Yuuzhan Vong out of time from a period before castes were a concept to enslave their daily lives. Mira was probably the only other Yuuzhan Vong for a thousand parsecs that could have deciphered the information and draw meaning from it. Irritatingly, her natural affinity and talents when it came to bio-engineering had quickly surpassed his own, despite her vastly shorter life span. As they drew nearer, he put away his organic tablet and headed up to the transparent membranes that allowed a clear look at the landscape ahead. He spotted the first of four damuteks that had been dropped from orbit, the massive organic structures had already taken root and were still growing to an immense scope.

They were necessary for the task of terraforming, each assigned to a different duty. One was responsible for the supply of water, be it from tapping hidden reservoirs buried beneath the surface of the planet, or by creating it through seeding the clouds and promoting rain, harvesting the hydrogen particles the frigate in orbit was hard at work gathering. Another damutek was responsible for the production of oxygen, pulling carbon and other various elements from the air and ground like a massive filter. It was aided in this task by the fauna that was beginning to grow and overtake the brown harsh landscape. A third damutek was in charge of the ground itself, leaching nutrients into the soil to make it more fertile while digging deep and drawing on geothermal power locked deep beneath Ossus' crust. And finally, the last damutek, was responsible for life itself. Most of the shaper caste that had arrived with Mira had taken up residence there and were overseeing the genetic reproduction of animal life, cloning technically, but that was only necessary in the initial stages. Time and nature would eventually see a return to more normalized forms of breeding in the wild, once the plant and animal populations were there to support it.

Zipping towards the crystalline structure at the centermost point between the four giant flowers, the Blood Chalice approached the remains of the Fecund Fortress, which now had rooted itself in the ground and had become a glimmering structure. Through the transparent window he could see worker caste and Yuuzhan Vong farming organisms hard at work. The yorik-trema set down next to a field of budding lambent trees, the feint glow of ripening fruit adding an eerie haze the landing zone. He exited the craft alone, his lower half sealed in robeskin pants bound to his flesh like a layer of second skin, while his chest was bare to reveal the dueling imagery of Yun-Harla and Yun-Yammka tattooed across his breast. A long robeskin coat hung from his shoulders, ending it small hooked protrusions that rattled as he walked. Upon entering the gem encrusted building, he raised the bladder flask hanging from his hip and took a deep swallow of sparkbee honey, savouring the narcotic fluid he was mildly addicted to.

This was home for now, he supposed. Until the project was completed. He wondered what the Ysanna would be like, and what they would think of all...well, this.

Bone hooks rattled as the Intendant came to an abrupt stop, finding the Master Shaper practically pressed against him. As he was taller, he was forced to stare down at her, his ocular implants shifting from their usual emerald hue to a pleasant blue. His own dark purple and far less pleasing to look upon eye sacs pulsated in return. Where Mira was a classic example of Yuuzhan Bong beauty, Nem was ugly, even by the standards of their people. He ran a spindly fingered hand over his rough scalp ridges and turned his head to the side, praying the odor of sparkbee honey on his breath wasn't too oppressive.

It wasn't even mid-day and he was already half in the bag, as the expression went.

"Master Shaper." He replied more studiously, eyeing the other shapers of her ilk in the background. "I saw your efforts on my way in." He focused his mqaaq'it on her more intensely, lowering his voice so only she could hear his words. "You would do well to show a bit more humility in your work. We haven't yet discussed a formal plan for developing the planet with the Ysanna. If they take offense at our actions it could compromise my diplomatic efforts. I'd like to cultivate these Jedi Lords as allies."

Lifting his chin, Nem hesitated before replying, struggling to find the words to convey his constantly troubled thoughts without giving too much away. Finally, upon letting out a slow hot breath, he answered her. "It was...educational."

Time was a lesson. Ten years ago, when the galaxy was a far more tumultuous place and war was on the verge of spilling out into all quarters of the galaxy, he had sought to manipulate events to his purpose. Through careful coordination, he had...convinced, the Corellian Jedi to launch an expedition mission to Zonama Sekot. They arrived believing the purpose of their visit was to investigate a potential Yuuzhan Vong threat. What they had not been expecting was that Nem had led them there with intent. He informed them of the threat of the Sith Empire, which he had been gathering information on for some time. Unfortunately they were less than pleased with his tactics, and to his knowledge, never pursued the matter seriously. He had failed, but in doing so had learned the importance of tact when it came to dealing with their kind. They respected straight forwarded honesty, which he had to admit his adoptive caste had never excelled at. This time around if he wanted to accomplish the same goal, he would have to do things differently.

His mqaaq'it flicked from side to side, noting the presence of many potentially listening ears and watchful eyes. He leaned in towards Mira, nearly resting his grey head on her shoulder as he turned his thin lips towards her fluttering wing like ear.

"Is there somewhere we can speak in private?"

Remaining quiet as he allowed the shaper to guide him deep into the bowels of the terraforming epicenter, he tried to keep an open mind, which proved impossible when they arrived at their destination. From passive blue to flaring red, his ocular implants blazed with stress and frustration, before settling back to green. He sucked in a breath and approached the tank, resting both his hands on the railing while he leaned over and peered into the murky liquid, exhaling after a moment in a vapid cloud of steam.

Yammka's bloody cock, Mira. His mind flipped furiously fast through all the potential outcomes, while his hands squeezed the railing and his veins stood out on his arms like splintering cracks. After a moment he untensed, pushing off the railing and turning to face the Master Shaper, seeming to have quickly come to terms with what was already done.

"I'm not thrilled. These creatures are rare enough as it is, so to commit one to this project when there is no guarantee we will be staying here long term...it seems costly. But, I am grateful to see that you are taking this seriously. Perhaps you are right. We devote a powerful resource such as the dhuryam now, maybe catastrophe is diverted in the long run. Either way, it seems I'm too late to have a say. There's no sense in getting upset about it now."

Lowering a hand to the robeskin satchel on his hip, he rummaged around in the pack for a moment before retrieving his smoking biot. The long pipe shaped crustacean was of his own design, with a bowl on one end and a long flute ended opening on the other. He packed the bowl with some of his dwindling supply of Sekotan Green and put the flute end to his thin lips. As he dragged on the tip, the bowl end immolated the contents without the need for an open flame, igniting the narcotic herb and pulling the noxious smoke into his lungs. A hazy cloud formed around his naked head as he exhaled, his woes and worries diminishing as the euphoric substance worked its magic.

"Your work isn't what I wanted to talk about. I wouldn't even trouble you with my thoughts, but well, I'm a little short of people I can trust these days."