Lossa’s Blog Post - Read it first.
The sterilisation process was not his idea, but he understood the need for it. Still, he was unaccustomed to having to disrobe and be sprayed down with so many chemicals. Now in his hazmat suit, he entered the room. Several children lay sedated, but not asleep on firm, plastic covered matresses. Cold steel bars prevented them from accidentally rolling away. They all had lines in their feet, sensors on their chests, and machines with low hums and beeps doing gods knew what.
“Sir. Follow me.”
The technician was precise and clipped in their tone. Achan appreciated their efficiency. He followed, though it was not far to his destination.
”This is the child that the operative brought us yesterday?”
He looked down over the pink-skinned child. Displeasure crossed his face. The technician was already prepared with the answer.
”Partial Zeltron DNA,” they said, bluntly, “but enough human DNA for effective trials.”
His expression only slightly altered from the displeasure of before. “The operative thinks to regain our favour with impure specimens,” he said dismissively.
“There is still value in the specimen she provided us. And it cost the movement nothing to acquire it,” said the technician. There tone seemed impatient.
“Move the operation to site Delta,” he said, already deciding that the risk of the assassin being followed here was too much to risk.
The technician stiffened, and looked back towards their colleagues who were eavesdropping. They seemed unwilling to intervene. The technician looked back a Achan. “Sir. We have been making solid progress here. The last four specimens survived the procedure. The last one will make a full recovery. We must persist while we have momentum. Moving now will only unsettle the specimens and drag out the time necessary to complete phase 3. I strongly advise that we stay…”
“Tell your friends to come over here if they want to be a part of this,” Achan said, his demand cutting their sentence off.
The technician looked nervous now. They had seen him look this cold before. They waved their compatriots over, and they quickly complied.
”Do you all understand how you have managed to continue this kind of research unmolested?” He said, too calmly. The technicians looked at each, and decided nodding was the best cause of action. He remained less than convinced. “Through great expense. And tightly forged alliances. Through compartmentalising. And through doing…what…you…are…told. Of all of us, it is my neck stretched out in front of any Jedi that might learn of our deeds and decide to act recklessly. I pay the price of eternal vigilance…so you can play God with pink half-breeds.”
He turned, and despite not being any taller than the average of the technicians, he looked down on them all.
”The assassin is good. She were probably not followed. But probably is not the same as definitely. We can definitely go to Delta site. Do the definite thing,” he said. His voice was eerily calm.
He turned back to the small pink specimen. “Now. Taking into account the shift to Delta site. When do you expect to being testing on this one.”
”Ah…three weeks…or more, sir,” the first technician said, this time stammering over their words.
“Good. Keep up the good work,” he said, turning on his heel and heading towards the door to the next chamber over. The technicians behind him were patting ach other on the back encouragingly. The first technician shrugged the pats off and snapped at them. “Get back to work.”
The door slid closed behind Achan as the machines went to work spraying his hazmat suit down. The group he had just seen were working on a project that likely would see no real fruit. Their job was more data collection on the substances they were testing. The room he was going to housed a specimen that was much more fascinating. The grandchild of his predecessor, child of his friend. A little one that had been granted full cognitive awareness months before birth, how much the child had become aware of though was only just starting to come into focus.
”How is little Baryn Sal-Soren doing today?”
