Birthright. (Atretes Rhoujen)

[Salem Norongachi]

"Different branches of the same experiment..." Norongachi mused. It made sense, if one path failed there would be others to succeed it. It was very Palpatine.

He felt it best to clarify what he meant. "I wasn't born, not in the traditional sense. I was created from the ground up in a lab and grown on a Worldcraft just before the fall of the Emperor and his asthmatic goon. So what did they do to you? Gene therapy? Augmentation? What methods did they use to cultivate your Force Potential? How did you come to be free?" Many questions but he was a dabbling geneticist himself, in a manner of speaking. The very body he now wore was one of his own creations.

[member="Atretes Rhoujen"]

 

[EmKay]

The flood of questions reminded Atretes of when the Riposte took on more crew. He was one of the nicer members, so they always looked to him for advice. Every time he turned around, questions upon questions. He never divulged his monicker of Sigma, so they usually called him Goldie on account of his hair. It was... annoying, but he dealt with it. Those were simpler times, compared to his current wandering.

The glimpse of Omega's past was startling. He'd never met anyone who was, to put it bluntly, a test-tube baby. It added a new dynamic to his perspective, and also made him curious if the older man had ever longed for conventional parents as he had, or if that sense of loss was specific only to someone who'd been traditionally born. He'd tried, and probably failed, to hide the expression of surprise. He shook off that moment mentally as he got back on-task.
As he replied, he counted out the points on his fingers.

"Well, let's see," he began, "If I remember correctly, they favoured something they called 'immersion therapy'. It was basically putting me in a bacta tank with a slew of other chemicals with diagnostic equipment attached and plenty of needles," he shuddered at the memory before continuing, "Luckily I was unconscious for the majority of those times. I think either the injections or the fluid had some sort of sedative." he took a moment, remembering what else was asked, then went on.

"As far as my Force--" he stopped himself, "Force? Is that what you call it?" he asked, almost rhetorically as he filed that term away, then got on with it, "Force potential, part of that immersion therapy involved high-energy mi-di-chlo-rians," his voice was halting as he remembered the proper pronunciation of the term, "infused with the fluid that moved with such rapidity that they bombarded my cells and fused instantaneously. They always discussed something to do with defective midichlorian types and ensuring they only used the most efficient and perfected organisms to ensure they didn't over-stress my body by putting too many in." he took a breather after that long speech. He hadn't recited anything scientific in a long time, and he could feel his brain working again. It actually felt pleasant, but also mildly uncomfortable. He remembered the last inquiry, and the corner of his mouth twitched in threat to a smile.

"Getting out was surprisingly easy. They kept everything magnetically sealed and has some sort of shielding that barred me from getting out without an escort, but I'd noted that it lowered every time they entered or exited my room. I had been causing a few problems..." he remembered how, at one point, he'd punched the one-way transparasteel mirror with so much energy that a small crack appeared, "And subsequently they sent a team in to tranquilise me. I took that opportunity to get past them, and by then a self-preservation subroutine they somehow neurologically implanted into me had activated and I was able to do things I couldn't fathom at the moment. It was a snap getting out. Flying, on the other hand, proved its own challenges..." he scowled into his glass that he'd refilled at some point during all of this. He took a small sip. It got the flavour and less of the burn.

"I doubt you'd want to hear the tale of my blunder with a light freighter, though." he gave a crooked grin. The kind of thing you learn by example among spacers, pirates, and that crowd. He never realised he did it, but for someone who'd been around more it was a sign of... prolonged exposure, if nothing else.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

Norongachi listened as the tale unfolded, his glass rising and falling to deliver its cargo to his mouth. The science behind how they had taken a child and made him into a living conduit of the Force was partially lost upon him. All he had done to create the clones of himself that had marched across the Galaxy back in 26ABY was use the equipment and the research that had gone into creating himself. They had so finely tuned the process that it was almost automatic, you essentially flicked a switch and you had an OMEGA Series Soldier.

It made him sick. It had made him sick then as well but the greater good was at stake. The creations of Von Swartzkrieg running amok at the fore of a Sith armada. Force Users hunted and corralled like cattle into concentration camps. It was the darkest three years of his life, the things he had done -Had to do- to avert the inevitable chaos that would have ensued haunted him. Against such odds, against monsters and Galactic war on a scale that they had never known he had chosen to birth more like himself. Only monster could fight monsters

"You've had quite a life, Mr Rhoujen." He commented turning over dark memories of time best left forgotten. Somewhere in his recollections his glass had refilled itself. It had become such a habit that it worked on a purely subconscious level, it seemed.

"What do you plan to do with your gifts?" And now for the sales pitch.

[member="Atretes Rhoujen"]

 

[EmKay]

Atretes watched the veiled emotions play across Omega's facial features. Subtle things, like a certain look in the eyes, that even those with years of experience would struggle to hide. The younger man wondered what events in life had occurred to the elder one, but let matters lie. The comment of Atretes' life lived brought a pull to the corner of his mouth.

"Action packed, yet not helpful in the slightest for facing a whole galaxy." he said in-between Omega's pieces of dialogue.

"What do you plan to do with your gifts?" now this, was the one thing Atretes had never decided on. He didn't know if he should let slumbering beasts remain, or tame the creature he was forcefully gifted. So he answered honestly.

"I don't know," Rhoujen stated plainly, "I've considered doing nothing, I've also considered looking into harnessing the power. I never had any reason to follow either path, so I just toy around with what little I know sometimes." he finished. He reclined in his chair and swirled the contents of his glass without thinking about it. The repetitive motion kept his hands busy to alleviate the mixed curiosity and anxiety of why one would ask such a thing. Piled on top of everything that had happened today, it was quite eventful.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

Norongachi wanted to reach across the table and slap Rhoujen to the floor. If he had known the gifts he possessed and the limitless potential that he had been gifted when he had stepped of that heap of a freighter, broken and without a single memory his life may have been infinitely different but he hadn't. To see that potential in another and hear them speak about not using it pushed a button he never knew he had but as always, Omega was calm and collected -a master of his own emotions- and so he replied.

"Wake up and look around you." His tone steady. "The Galaxy is broken and its heading to a point where there may be no fixing it." He took another slug of his whiskey and swallowed it down. "We may have been created to serve a twisted regime but think of what we could do. Think of the lives we could save with our gifts, the power we wield can move planets, shape continents, tear down governments and lay waste to the blood thirsty horde that is slowly but surely carving out the heart of the Galaxy. I tried, a long time ago to do things alone but I lost my way and ultimately paid the price but together...." His eyes seemed to mist over as he thought about it. "I could train you, teach you everything I have learned and then your path is your own. It won't be easy, I won't even lie about that. You'll hate me at times and wish you could slit my throat but when you are ready and you see the world as I do, you'll thank me." He had made his pitch now it was up to [member="Atretes Rhoujen"] to decide.

 

[EmKay]

Wait... what?

The implications were immense. This man was suggesting that his ability was far beyond what he'd imagined. He thought he was a pet project and a prototype. Nothing really to see but the off flash of misfiring neurons. His reality had, in that instant, been thrown upside-down and everything shaken out. The pieces scattered, and he became a little lost in the myriad 'what if'. The moment lengthened into minutes, while Atretes fought to recollect himself. While the offer sounded borderline 'what you read in the books about the ancient Empire', it still held a weight he couldn't find himself easy to decline. In fact, they twisted into him and grasped at his very being in such a way that urged him to accept. Sigma wanted to learn from someone akin to itself, to not have to take lessons bit-by-bit from someone, for all intents and purposes, lesser.

Atretes' response was a small nod. The kind of private nod that only the conversational partner would recognise in a public setting. The decision made.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

And with that simple gesture it was done. The two wayward children of the Empire were together again, for better or worse. The path stretched out before Omega in all its glory, what he did from this moment on would ultimately shape and mould the young Sigma and if there were even a single misstep it could very well be his undoing.

"Heres to the future, my student." Norongachi raised a glass to Sigma just as Emah appeared.

"I have prepared Atretes quarters, as you requested." Norongachi nodded with a smile. He never had any doubt that he would fail to bring him into the fold.

[member="Atretes Rhoujen"]

 

[EmKay]

With tension eased and a shot having just passed his gullet with a small "Cheers", the fact that he was already prepared for struck him as hilarious. He had to get a grip on himself and regain his composure, then sheepishly looked to the sparkling AI and his new teacher in turn.

"Sorry." he said quietly, after his episode had passed. He supposed he should head off to get oriented, but he waited for any sort of instruction. He wasn't sure if something was already planned, given this latest event.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

"You'll learn that I'm usually prepared for every eventuality." The Force Master said with a crooked smirk. "We won't start anything until tomorrow, its late and I'm more than a little drunk. So follow your new best friend if you want the tour or stay here with me and get blind drunk. The choice is entirely yours." Emah rolled her eyes at that, no doubt hoping that they would come under attack by a Deathstar or be bombarded by meteors. Anything to get out of tour guide duty.

Gone were the days where the Dark Lord Omega had imprisoned his students in the bowels of his citadel for getting lippy. It was time for a new approach, one that would hopefully not lead to yet another showdown between Master and Student. A dark insidious voice whispered that he had gone soft but he drowned it with another swallow of whiskey. Maybe he had, maybe he hadn't but nothing he had tried in the past had worked.

[member="Atretes Rhoujen"]

 

[EmKay]

While the chance to get excessively drunk was potentially a way for him to become less of a lightweight, Atretes excused himself from the table and turned to the holo-AI, requesting he be guided to what was necessary to know, and not given the full tour at the moment. Things were slowing down in his mind, and a sense of progress was becoming evident. Like he was getting somewhere now. Some underlying purpose was being fulfilled. It had many names, but it brought the corner of his mouth to rise in a slight smile along the way.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

The following morning Norongachi was still awake and still where Emah had left him. The amazing thing about his body and being a Master of the Force meant that he could easily break down alcohol when he needed too and thus he was sober, dog tired, but sober when she appeared before him.

"Is the training room prepared?" He asked the hologram, she simply nodded. "Guess I better wake up sleeping beauty." It had just gone 0600 by his chrono when he arrived at the quarters earmarked for [member="Atretes Rhoujen"]. He thumbed the small buzzer beside the door, its melodic chime filling the silent corridor, and waited.

 

[EmKay]

Atretes had actually been awake for a few hours already. His sleep was restful enough, but being aboard a new ship with strange sounds and vivid dreams of abstract concepts made it less restful than it normally would have been. So he woke up early, by the volition of his body. Rhoujen's hair could be a pain, but he took the time where he assumed everyone except the AI would be asleep to hit the refresher, then to brush out the knots and tangles in his long hair and tie it in a ponytail with one bit of spare cloth he tore from his cream-coloured undershirt and keep it out of his eyes with a headband fashioned out of another scrap of cloth. He looked presentable, and almost the part of a trainee with his hair done up how it was. He'd just finished ransacking his room and the two adjacent ones for clothing that fit an he found an old Imperial Gunner Uniform [image 2] though he set the helmet aside, unused. He walked over to the door and pushed the switch that opened the door.

"Good morning, sir." he said. The sir came naturally after his time on the Riposte, and he found that wearing what was obviously some military uniform simply heightened that natural reflex of terminology. He even stood straighter than before.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

"Thats certainly different." Norongachi commented immediately upon seeing [member="Atretes Rhoujen"] new attire. Where he had dug that up from was a mystery to Omega, the ship was full of old Imperial relics that he hadn't had the time or inclination to discard. "And drop the sir, Omega will do at a push or simply Salem." He motioned with his head for Atrestes to follow and marched down the corridor toward the turbolift at its end.

"You know some telekinesis, so I thought we'd build upon that." He thumbed the call button for the lift and waited, his hands clasped at the base of his spine. "Do you like auto-turrets Sigma?" He smiled and evil smile. "I love auto-turrets." The lift arrived then and he stepped inside, it would take them down to the starboard hangar which he had converted into his own personal training room, sparring droids and all.

 

[EmKay]

Was different good? It didn't matter much to Atretes, these clothes were more durable than his pirate-like gear, and they also made him feel more comfortable in movement. The chestplate gave him a sense of security as well. [member="Salem Norongachi"] had established a manner of addressing him, which was good. It made things less funny in his mind, one way or another. He was quiet for the most part, and looked around the halls as they walked. Sometimes he thought he saw a camera follow them. One time he waved, and the camera's lens refocused. This was certainly an interesting ship.

When Salem mentioned telekinesis, he nodded. He was taken aback by the second question, and stalled for time by entering the turbolift. He felt his organs move in a weird sense of vertigo when the platform accelerated rapidly.

"Auto-turrets?" he asked, partially dumbfounded. He hadn't ever had the... pleasure? to experience auto-turrets, but they didn't sound friendly. The trip was only a few seconds long, and by the time a moment passed after he finished speaking, the lift doors reopened revealing the training room. He took a step forward and peered in, examining all of the machinery and equipment. It was fascinating.

 

[Salem Norongachi]

"Auto-turrets Sigma!" Omega yelled with a broad smile, his arms out stretched as he almost danced into the training room. There were obstacle courses, large containers and smaller objects for use with telekinesis, droids lying dormant against the walls for saber training and of course the array of laser turrets on rails in the walls and the celling.

"Say hello to Emah, I do hope you haven't pissed her off since you arrived." The grin seemed perpetual, he hadn't had so much fun in a millennia. He winked at one of the turrets and if it had eyes it would have rolled them.

"First task: See those small boxes?" He indicated the ones he spoke of, no bigger than a first aid kit. "Move them over to me, you get bonus points if you arrange them into an amusing picture.

[member="Atretes Rhoujen"]

 

[EmKay]

Atretes followed slowly, looking around.

"Hello..." he said to the turret, the listened to his instructions. He silently nodded and looked over the little boxes. They varied in shades of grey and brown. He pulled out his datapad and flipped through some piddly sites on the holonet until he found a picture of a stuffed Jawa. With a shrug, he clicked off the datapad and tucked it away to his jacket pocket. He turned away then climbed up the scaffolding typical to every hangar. After a minute of climbing, he perched himself upon a TIE rack and looked down to the boxes.

It took concentrated effort, and the usual hand-grippy-movement, for him to grip onto the boxes, and even then his grip was shaky. His natural ability kept him from becoming physically drained from the effort, but his mental function was straining. His brow was furrowed while he completed his task, and yet as he carried on moving the boxes, each one got progressively easier. From his top-down view he arranged the crates to form the picture of the Jawa toy. Toward the end, he was able to twiddle his fingers and arrange the boxes, as if he were pulling invisible marionette strings. He could manipulate no more than two boxes at a time per hand, which was pretty meager in comparison to a trained individual, yet he still felt slight pride in becoming more adept at moving small crates.

After twenty or so minutes, his little picture was complete. Now for the amusing part. He'd heard the spacers from the previous chapter of his life talk about punting Jawas for fun. He didn't imagine it would be much fun kicking around a tiny fuzzball unless there was some sort of sport involved, but nevertheless he rearranged a few crates on the chest region of the Jawa to look like a little paper note that said 'Kick Me'. He sighed, yet still had a bit of a grin, at his bad joke, then he slid down the scaffolding and metalwork back down to where he was initially.

[member="Salem Norongachi"]

 

[Salem Norongachi]

"Thats it," Norongachi coached, moving around the edge of Rhoujens work area. "The trick with Telekinesis isn't about the size of the object or how heavy it is. Its conditioning the mind to grow accustomed to it. Did you know how to hold a fork for the first time? Could you do it in your sleep now? Its about getting the feel for the object, its shape and weight." As he watched the boxes move under his students mental commands his minds eye observed the Force, saw the focus and the ease with which the Force began to flow through Atretes. "Once you do that, its as easy as taking a breath."

"Telekinesis is the most versitile and also the most deadly of any gift we have been given." Salem lectured as more boxes arranged themselves upon the floor. "It is the foundation of the more advanced powers, such as pyrokinesis. It can rend buildings apart or even grant you the ability to fly. The only limitation it has are your own." The last slipped into place and he cocked his head to the left and then the right, moving around the arrangement trying to take in the picture. He failed and looked to where Sigma had been atop the old TIE racks, he let the Force infuse with his leg muscles and then leapt the distance to the highest point, his hand gripping a wall support for the racks and looking down upon it.

"I said amusing, not racist..." He scowled as the Jawa came into focus before he smiled and sprung down, landing lightly beside [member="Atretes Rhoujen"] . "Good, I think I have a gauge of your skill with TK now. We'll continue working on it until I'm sure you can handle the basic level and then we'll move on. Next, I want to see how many you can keep in the air. THINKFAST!" Norongachi yelled, flicking one of the boxed from the Jawa arrangement up toward Rhoujens face with a thought.

 

[EmKay]

An apologetic expression played over Atretes' features until he saw the smile, then his temporary mind-wheeling of 'oops' played down into nothing again. He had listened throughout the long lecture, though at first he found it hard to listen to [member="Salem Norongachi"] and work at the same time. It got easier, though, and he was able to pay attention while still working on his little box project. He felt a little more at ease, and a little less wound up in his core. Perhaps this Force-based workout was what he needed to ease that tension that had been present since he'd escaped Bestine.

"Next, I want to see how many you can keep in the air. THINKFAST!" the teacher of the two shouted. A series of neurological and ethereal sensory arrays fired off in rapid sequence, alerting him to the incoming object. The warning didn't exactly prepare him, though. The box flew at him, and his first physical instinct was to dodge it, but instead some voiceless dialogue in his mind commanded him to catch it. So he reached his hand out to catch the small crate and before he knew what he was doing the object's velocity had almost immediately slowed and now it was floating before him. He blinked, rather surprised by that. He tilted his head and held up his finger like he was balancing the box upon it, then with his other hand made a sweeping gesture and the crate started to spin like a top. He grinned at his little moment of playtime, amused by the things he was able to do.

"You said this is versatile and lethal, it's also rather fun." he said aloud to Salem. He stopped his goofing around though and brought the container to a halt.

 

[Salem Norongachi]

Norongachi wasn't sure the kid had it in him and then instinct took over, a flash of brilliance radiated in the Force just the smallest glimpse of what Sigma was capable of but it was enough to reassure Salem that he had made the right choice. The box spun lazily under Rhoujens command but Omega didn't lavish him with approval just yet. The lesson had barely begun.

"Oh?" He responded his face an imperceivable mask and then the laws of physics seemed to go to hell. Anything that wasn't nailed down began to tremble, as if the ship had suddenly hit an asteroid field. Loose bolts from the disused TIE racks shot out from their sink holes toward Norongachi as he conducted a symphony with the Force. The intangible energy field churning and sparking as the maelstrom of his control reached a crescendo and every object in the hanger shot from the ground toward his casual form, hands in his pockets and eyes fixed upon Sigma. Crates, shipping containers and the saber training droids all began to mass above him, spinning like planetoids around an invisible star. Another box, like the one [member="Atretes Rhoujen"] had just caught fired from the swirling mass toward him and then one twice as large a heartbeat later.

It was time to show his student that this was far from a game.

 

[EmKay]

The box dropped. The one he had been toying with fell to the ground with a clatter, and he dropped his stance back from casual to readied as the hangar bay shook. He watched as entropy was embodied in a floating mass of chaos. He wasn't sure to be stunned in awe or horror. Maybe both. He didn't dwell, though. He had more important things to focus on -- like what would happen next. Almost as soon as that thought crossed his mind, the first box came hurdling out. With muscle and thought memory, he managed to catch that one with relative ease. It took concentration, but he did it. A tingle up his spine made him step out of the way of the second box moments before it impacted him, and he traced with that one and brought it to hover with the other.

He looked from the boxes to the mass and [member="Salem Norongachi"], and he couldn't help but grin. Some deep part of him felt somehow fulfilled by the exertion, the stress on his mental capacity that cracked barriers and brought forth new ability. It was happening quickly, but just slow enough that he was in control. No sudden, debilitating burst of energy. No wild instinct. It was like going to the gym, but on a less physical plane.