Play Testers Wanted Pt. 07

"No. I agree. He went screaming when he became one with the Force." He replied in a soft gentle tone. "Who wants dessert?"

I was given a data strip with the current statistics on one of Xim's transorbital fighters. It was my job to find a way of improving it and securing the ongoing benevolence of the death skull robots and their master Xim the Despot. I returned to my room and the sense of being watched which had once been minimal took a noticeable upswing. I was prying into things someone or something didn't want poked. Good! Stir the pot, let it simmer to a boil, and then start swinging at whatever crawls out of said pot.

"Honey, I'm home." I called out giving Traci a chuckle. "We have a fighter to look over."

"Let's take a look." She replied. I gave her the data strip and she displayed the schematics.

It was a slender streamlined fixed winged assault craft with both laser turrets and one rack of missiles. Who was going to pilot the damned thing? Traci directed me to a crystal set on a gleaming silver pedestal. I passed my hand over it and waited. A slave appeared at the door and I told him I had a few serious questions about the fighter and its pilots. I expected Tyllen to appear but instead one of those cheerful death bots showed up.

"What is your question?" It asked.

"Who or what is going to be piloting this craft?" I requested.

"A battle droid of course." It replied and began to leave.

"Hold on, I need to know what sort of tolerances you blokes can withstand."

"That is priority data. Work without it."

"Then don't blame me if your Lord and Master gets an inferior product. If I set the tolerances too low, then they won't be agile enough and will fail. The opposite is true as well. Inform Xim and let him decide."

"Impudent meat bag!" The robot growled and reached for its ever-present blaster rifle. Its arm jerked to a halt and without another word it turned and left.

"Let's keep going." I said and decided to focus on its in-atmosphere design. "Can you create a virtual wind tunnel?"

"I will ignore that rude question. Pulling up assorted atmospheric conditions across the Empire. Running first five simulations. Let's see shall we."

We were in our third batch of simulations when the doors were kicked open and no less than ten of the skull faced hell bots strode into my room. Amid his personal retinue was none other than Xim the Despot himself. I did the only thing I thought appropriate I dropped down and lowered my head.

"You show the proper amount of fear." Xim said in his modulated voice. "One of my drones inform me that you are requesting secure data. It also states that you cannot produce a quality craft without it. Explain or die."

"Your Grace," I reached out for a title befitting a megalomaniac. "As I tried to pass onto your drone. Without the strengths and weaknesses of the pilot how can I build a craft they are fully capable of utilizing. Flesh and blood pilots are subject to G forces which can and will cause a pilot to pass out or even die. Sure, we can compensate for that but if that should be damage during battle the craft and pilot are compromised. I just want to make something I can be proud of."

"It is about damn time somebody showed some balls and brains around here. What are those?" Xim asked pointing at the simulations Traci was running.

"Atmospheric simulations, I call it a wind tunnel. It is a way of detecting flaws given the various planets in the Empire and beyond."

"Brilliant! Adaptive technology for any given atmosphere would be a huge leap forward. Pack your things, you are coming with me." Xim ordered and then turned to go. "My shuttle leaves in ten minutes. Don't be late."

The parade of armored bodies left my rooms and I glanced at Traci.

"You heard the man, get your shit and get moving."

I didn't have much to pack. I placed Death Kiss in my inventory where she'd be safe. Tyllen was all smiles and held up a fist full of glittering gems Xim had given him for purchasing my services. I had twice brought wealth and opportunity to the House of Krenn. Tyrell was going to lose his shit over this. I met the shuttle with time to spare. Xim had noticed the catamaran and requested one of his own but larger and far more impressive. Great. We boarded the transport and were soon on our way to the flagship of the fleet. I stared out the window as the ground fell away. I tried to keep my demeanor cool and unemotional, but I failed. This was just too exciting.

"Few are given the privilege to even see my flagship." Xim announced in his overbearing manner. "Even fewer ever set foot upon her."

"I won't let you down." I declared as we left the atmosphere for outer space. The ship was shrouded on the dark side of the planet hiding in its shadow.

"Light her up." Xim ordered for a dramatic reveal of the city sized ship. "Glorious, isn't she?! Unique."

I recognized the ship. I had seen it before and Xim saw it in my eyes. "You have seen her before. How?!"

"I am a Force user."

"I know that."

"I saw her in a vision. But it wasn't here." I mixed lie and truth. Were they reusing assets or was the Pride of Korriban and Xim's flagship one and the same? "Before you ask, she was parked in orbit around a radioactive hell known as the Viridian Pulsar."

"I see. I am not a Force user, but I believe you. Xim did possess a wireless connection between him and his war droids. I felt the communication pass between them.

"No anomaly or charted stellar mass with that designation."

"Where?" Xim demanded.

"I believe it lies somewhere in the Uncharted Region." I said and Xim chuckled. Korriban itself was within the edge of that section of space.

"Perhaps I need to spend resources to chart the rest of the area and find this Viridian Pulsar." The tyrant pondered. "It might prove beneficial."

The craft shuddered as we docked, and the engines shut down. I followed Xim onto his city ship. The docking bay was all too familiar. It wasn't just the exterior that I recognized. Xim watched me like a hawk. He judged every nuance I put out. When I recognized something, he knew it. It was useless to try and hide it.

"I haven't been this amused since... well in quite some time." Xim chuckled and I took that as a good sign.

"Your Grace, might I ask a question?"

"You may ask, but I reserve the right to remain silent."

"Why are you here?" I asked watching his body language intently.

"An excellent question worthy of your curious intellect." Xim replied and paused as we crossed the docking bay. "I have an empire to manage and expand." Another long pause as the blast door opened revealing the corridor beyond. It was different from the one I had experienced. This possessed a three-way intersection with a corridor leading directly ahead while the Pride of Korriban didn't possess that feature. "My father was killed." Xim said as we walked straight ahead. "I bent quite a bit of resources finding out what did it." I noticed the use of the words killed and what when identifying the suspect.

"He wasn't murdered." I stated and Xim shook his head.

"A very similar killing happened here on Korriban. You might have pried it from Friend Tyllen. His family has had a similar loss."

"The damaged skull and emptied of its contents." I blurted out.

"Exactly the same." Xim chuckled at my loose tongue. "Even the unusual enzymes in the wound. Your workshop Chief Engineer. Get settled in and dine with me later. I will send for you. If you want or need anything, requisition it. Don't disappoint me Kressh."

The large door split open revealing the ships foundry and works. It was like going from a small-town smith to an aerospace lab. Traci whistled and we introduced ourselves to the equal mix of sentients from across Xim's empire and assorted droids. I introduced myself and the sense of tension leaving them was nigh on physical. They were dreading a Sith taking over as imminent death hanging over them every moment.

"How many projects are we working on?"

I went from there. Most of the projects were focused on improving the war effort while a full third of them was solely biological in nature, specifically extending Xim's lifespan. Of course, a tyrant would want to outlive his subjects for as long as possible. I talked to the chief geneticist and he showed me the file that inspired Xim to even seek biological immortality. The catalyst was an enzyme found in the wound in his father's skull. It showed potent regenerative properties in the creature that had killed his father. It had become a passion of Xim's.

"Our latest work is the study of cells brought in that show remarkable metamorphic capabilities." He shared displaying the DNA chains side by side. "Not the same creature."

As to not piss off the despot I focused the rest of my energies on studying wing performance in various atmospheres. Fuselages would come later once we made some progress. When I mentioned an adaptive wing, it excited the engineers. First, we needed to isolate the best shapes and then go from there. That first day went by quickly. I showered and dressed in fine clothing provided by Xim. I walked on eggshells around a man that had thousands of worlds under his thumb. Would I see beyond the intricate body armor tonight? No less than six death bots escorted me to the top of the ship. The droids left me before a massive blast door that bore the iconic skull sigil that was the sign of Xim the Despot. The doors split open revealing a huge living area. It was modular in the same way my own room had been.

I stepped in and the blast door clanged shut behind me. I walked into the center of the chamber as the sounds of hydraulics hummed around me. The room changed to fit Xim's current needs. The lighting softened and I noticed a distinct lack of obvious security measures. I felt someone moving through the shadows around me. They tried to flank me and come up from behind. I looked over my shoulder to see a stunning human female with dark red hair. She wore dark silks and a distinctive diamond necklace where the stones had been cut into the shapes of skulls.

"Xim?"

"Surprised?" She purred. "Good. You are one of a very few that know what I look like. I prefer to use the armor as a persona. Let us sate our appetites."

"You aren't angry with me." I stated as I followed her to a table.

Feminine droids appeared and served our meal to us. Each portion was dutifully scanned for toxins and other poisons.

"To answer your earlier statement. If I didn't want you prying you never would have gotten this far." She laughed. "I didn't succeed without a measure of gambling. I think your curiosity will outweigh your desire to free your people, if they are in fact your people." She gestured and a thermal scan revealed my vampiric nature. "Room temperature is interesting, don't you think?"

"Definitely. The meat is quite tender."

"We both have secrets. I have already dedicated myself to an exit strategy." Xim explained and gestured a second time. The soft hum of hydraulics filled the air as a glass cylinder rose from the floor. Inside it was a near human female with pale skin and notable deep-set eyes. "The species is from this area; they call themselves the Shi'ido and they are shapeshifters. I learned of their long-life spans after a little persuasion. That specimen is an altered clone with all of their abilities and tissue compatible with my own flesh."

"You are tired." I said and Xim nodded. "Not done but getting there."

"I like to think ahead. So, what is your story?" Xim purred.

"I found myself here after a hyperspace accident. I was about to insinuated myself into Sith society when I arrived in the city. I didn't know you had seized the planet. I spent time in the wilderness preparing and got caught off guard."

"I understand the value of information and strategic intelligence." Xim chuckled. "In that same vein I am a student of the past. Why make the same mistakes others have made when you can make all new ones. If you are patient enough you find threads that weave a pattern across the entire galaxy. A web that is as ancient as life itself." She said frowning. "Inevitable as death."

She gestured again and a hologram filled the air above our heads. It was a map of the known galaxy. One by one first slowly and then much faster a star would flash and turn crimson. There were ten then a hundred, a thousand, and finally tens of thousands of stars were red. The galaxy dripped blood as Xim explained to me the legend of the Old Ones. They were a primordial race that long faded from those worlds, but the memory remained. Xim hinted that the Old Ones legacy survived in the form of a monster, a monster that ripped open the skulls of its victims and consumed the contents.

"The story of this thing is the story of every world where sentient life has arisen. I once chalked it up to common mythology like sky gods, but I was wrong. Across my empire I have relics." She said with a sweeping gesture. The hologram changed. Gone was the bloody galaxy and in its place was the swirling tsunamis and woven tentacles in the waves of destructive energy. The commonality among so many cultures separated across time and space was staggering. It was like the galaxy was having a nightmare and this was firmly entrenched there. "Get your rest Kressh, you have a fighter to build for me."

I was dismissed.

The walk back felt longer somehow. I was haunted by the scarlet galaxy. It dripped the blood of a race that went extinct thousands of years ago. They left behind a persistent species that fed on the very seat of intellect of all sentient races. Anywhere this monster is a horror. A thing that should be destroyed on sight. My six guides stopped short of the door to the workshop.

"Tyllen is dead."

"How did he die?" I asked the sense of panic rising.

"As his father did before him. He left you fifty slaves to honor your friendship. Sleep well."

The workshop was still active. There was a continuous cycle of engineers taking turns working on various projects. I wasn't tired. I attacked the most common atmospheres within the populated worlds in the galaxy. Some were thicker, some were more active, and others were extremes of temperature. The image of Tyllen with an empty skull haunted me. Did he scream when this thing ripped the top of his head off?

"Shit!" I cursed and stalked away with everyone watching me.

"Kressh," Traci whispered. "Xim has given me access to all of his historical files. Why?"

"Look for common myths, plant or animal life, minerals, hell... anything that ties them together. Remove any item that doesn't fit that criteria."

A chair rose out of the floor as the room sensed my desire to sit. I took advantage of it and sat while a massive list of elements filled the air. As we watched, the other engineers drifted over to see, elements winked out of existence as they were eliminated. The list popped and crackled quickly at first as most of the processing power was spent running this request. The disappearing elements slowed as basic elements remained like oxygen, nitrogen, and the like. Once those were ignored, since they were necessary for life, what was left was horrifying.

"What the hell is an Old One?" A Twi'lek engineer asked. "Wait, are you talking about the Primal Ones?"

Echo.

A single drop of terror in a small body of consciousness.

The ripples raced outward touching the others.

"The Keeper of Secrets?" A Togrutan whimpered.

"The Dreamer in the Depths." An aging Echani muttered softly.

A dozen other references to myth and Lovecraftian terrors. I thought of Great Cthulhu and others. He stood out because of his obvious tentacles. The same tentacles woven into the art of a thousand civilized worlds.

"Traci, do have a detailed scan of the wounds suffered by Tyllen Krenn?"

"I do."

"Can you isolate the structural damage and display them?"

"Displaying requested image." She replied.

"Highlight any and all crushing damage. Good." I stated as green markers half and crescent moon shapes appeared. "Display separately an image of Cthulhu." There were murmurs from most of the engineers as the bloated octopus headed humanoid shape appeared. "Lose the wings. Good. Not very stealthy looking, is he? That would never be able to sneak up on anyone. Give him a thin muscular build. Now we are getting somewhere, I think. Try and match the facial tentacles to the wounds. Adjust until you get a match please... if possible."

The images overlaid one another. Traci went to work adjusting, subtracting, and readjusting until a match was possible. I had hoped I was wrong. The circular shapes matched the suction cups on the interior of the facial tentacles. The height required and general shape also left another glaring fact.

"It is bipedal!" One of the engineers cried out. "That is no mindless monster."

"It has to be sentient." Another whimpered.

"Traci, scan the damn ship for errant life forms. Don't leave out a square millimeter!" I ordered. "I want to make sure one of those... things... isn't aboard."

"Yes Master!" She replied and went to work.

It would take time to search a ship this size. I ordered the engineers back to work. They were happy to be back to thinking about anything besides the nightmare hovering over the center of the workshop. Traci saved the file and then resumed showing various aircraft wings and how well they functioned in different atmospheres. I closed my eyes and slipped into a meditative state. I reached out and looked for another Force user on the ship. I suspected that these things could mask their presence. If they had learned Force cloak, I might not be able to find them.

"Master," I whispered. "I need your help."

'Find my third holocron, your answers are there.' He sent back silently.

"Where?" I asked.

'I left a map on Korriban. It has been there since before my people departed the planet.'

"A map... it could be anywhere!" I snapped.

'You have already seen it.' The Rakata declared amused.

"Thank you Master." I acknowledged his wisdom. "Let's start at the beginning."

I replayed everything from my dramatic arrival to the present. I didn't remember seeing anything during my time with the derelicts. Was it something at the Sadow fortress? No, the only maps were ones of the structure itself. The space port... I never got inside, and the exterior had no maps. That left the Krenn mansion. I remembered the dining room, no... my rooms... no. I growled in frustration. It was driving me insane. I was missing something... wait! The garden! It was five hundred years old. It hadn't changed in all that time. I needed another look at it.

I leapt to my feet and ran out. A war droid stood just outside. I requested an audience with Xim. After a brief pause I was asked why I needed to see the despot. I asked to pick the slaves owed to me by the Krenn family. I was given leave under full guard of course. I was in the employ of Xim now and where I went the war bots would follow. A full score of these deadly mechanizations were allotted to me for my trip and a ship capable of carrying my property.

I didn't want the damn slaves. The first chance I got I'd free them. I wanted a chance to see the garden again. I brought Traci with me so she could scan it and together decipher how to read it. The midsized warship left the docking bay and headed for the surface. It was far larger than was required but it did make a statement. I was representing Xim and not to be questioned. Unlike my first trip inside one of Xim's ships, this time my attention was turned within. It was useless to try and sense a Force user within Krenn's mansion. Sith by their very nature are attuned to the dark side of the Force. If one of those things was lurking inside Tyllen's home, it would difficult to detect.