Act 05: Understanding Gibberish

[Captain Larraq]

Mesen'loras Campaign
Act 05: Understanding Gibberish


Skek'zus Quall sat in a cold, Mandalorian laboratory. Around him, humanoids busied themselves with setting up the equipment he had brought with him. In other rooms, similar Mandalorian humanoids continued their attempt at studying the Charon data that Skek'zus himself now read through. The amassed information was... comprehensive.

As it would turn out, Charon technology was not their own. It was a resource that they had acquired from a species they had eventually eliminated. None the less, their mastery of it was impressive. Their achievements included the creation of massive organic ships, a type of 'unliving' technology, and some rather disturbing hybrid creatures made from sentient organics.

 

[Captain Larraq]

On the whole, Skek'zus found the Charons and their technology to be disturbing. In some ways, they were discussing. Even revolting. But on the whole the information was completely fascinating. The similarities and differences between the bioengineering techniques of the Charon and Qellan were similarly fascinating to him. Both the method and psychology behind the respective technologies and the application of said technology was both similar and divergent. The social constraints of both cultures had greatly shaped the methods and applications of the respective genetic engineering of organic constructs.

 

[Captain Larraq]

It was fascinating, but hardly illuminating. In his own, admittedly bias opinion, Qellan technology was superior. Charon technology was bulbous, clunky, crude, and limited. Qellan constructs were smooth, sophisticated, eloquent, and... superior. There were similarities of course. Charon Tri-laser Pulse-cannons seemed similar to the Scythe weapon created by the Qella when they had a cause for such creations. Though they were similar, the Scythe was both vastly more powerful and more efficient. Even the relative size of their bio-engineered ships were vastly superior superior to those created by the Charon.

 

[Captain Larraq]

That being the case... There were merits to the technology. Here and there, Skek'zus spotted innovations that his people had somehow missed. The Charons had unique approaches that solved common problems and limitations to Qellan bio-constructs. Similarly, there were genetic codes that and strings that were unknown to Qellan bioengineers and could likely be put to a number of uses beyond that conceived by the Charon. There was great potential here for Skek'zus to advance the biotechnology of his people by hundreds of years if he could successfully harness Charon technology and adapt it to existing Qellan projects.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Skek'zus looked around the room at the modest assortment of humans that scurried about. They were hardly the experts he would have wanted to be working with on this project. But as they were... They would serve him quite well. Should this ambitious project prove successful, his people would know that it was his hand that made it a possibility. Mandal Hypernautics might slap their logo on the final product, but the scientific community would herald his name as the creator of one of the most advanced bioengineering constructs of a generation.

Yes... These humans would serve him well.

For now though, he would need to focus on the task at hand. The creation of a living starship was a complex problem. Not only was the physical shape of the eventual creature a subject of great importance, as well as the chemical composition of its flesh, but the core of the creature would be the hardest to manipulate. All things came from a source, and in bioengineering, the source was the greatest concern. A thousand and one correct genetic variations could not override the... soul of a creature. All genetic engineering began with the careful selection of a primary strand of DNA to work with. A... host species to break down and reconstruct.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Biological anomalies were far from uncommon. The most common of which came from behavior and instincts. Despite their best efforts, shadows of the original species always seemed to bleed through the genetic programming and disrupt the behavior of the final construct. For this reason, Qellan went to great lengths to research the perfect biological host species before they began a project. Physical characteristics, internal organ function, natural environment, social and predatory behaviors, migration patterns, reproductive and parenting behaviors... all of which had to be considered.

For this project, Skek'zus would need to first find and acquire the perfect biological specimen to engineer. It needed to be aquatic, of course. Ocean dwelling species adapted best to space. Even the sentient species that found their way into developing space faring technology seemed to have a natural affinity for it that was lost on their terrestrial kin. The “Black Ocean” they sometimes called it.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Aquatic species were rather difficult at times though. Despite the best efforts of the top minds in the galaxy, there were still thousands of worlds with unexplored oceans. Not to mention the tendency of terrestrial sentients to ignore their own oceans in favor of terrestrial and extraterrestrial concerns. Then there were the trillions of variations in species. Fish, Reptiles, Mammals, Mollusks, Cephalopods, Crustaceans, Worms, Colony Organisms... The list was expensive. Each planet held its own variations of these base organisms and each environment allowed different species to rise to dominance. Where a fish could be the alpha predator of one ocean, a Mollusk or Crustacean could be the alpha of another.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Despite his own impressive knowledge of existing species throughout the galaxy, and the equally impressive databanks on such species available on numerous planets... Skek'zus would likely have to make a personal visit to a number of ocean-planets and perform a visual catalog of available species. He likely wouldn't be able to analyze the entire aquatic population of any of these planets, but he would be able to learn enough about the primary species of the planets to make an informed decision as to which species would be most ideal to forge into this... Mesen'loras. It was a primitive word for what Skek'zus and Auron Helix would be creating. But it was oddly poetic. Mesen'loras. Flesh Starship.

At least they had decided not to call it a Tal'gota. Blood Machine. Who names a species 'blood machine'?

Savages.

 

[Captain Larraq]

Skek'zus Quall tried to make a list of all the things he would need for this expedition. A relatively fast ship with enough space for work room and support personnel and a number of advanced recon probes capable of operating in deep water and equipped with high powered biosensors, life form indicators and genetic sample retrieval mechanisms... He'd also likely need a few months of food and basic supplies.

On the whole, the list was actually rather simple. And as it would turn out, Mandal Hypernautics would already have an appropriate vehicle readily available to them. A HCE-778 Planetary Survey Craft already outfitted with a number of advanced survey probes would be tasked to serve his needs within a mater of hours. The existing probes would be hastily modified with the sensors and equipment he specified and a handful of support personnel were put at his disposal.

The Mandalorians might be savages, but they were well prepared savages.