Private Children of Shiraya: The Null Forge

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Wearing: Kushiban Protective Uniform
Equipment: Lightsaber, Comms, Data Spikes
Location: Chandrila, Junkyard
Tag: Cybelle Elyance


Scrambling, Bex'l managed to jump back up to where her new partner was stationed. Her fellow Knight had been watching for comers and goers from a small door in the midst of a salvage yard. So far, no one had either come or gone, except a stout droid with what looked like a storage compartment built into its chassis. Bex'l siddled up beside the human woman that had been recommended by Brandyn as her partner for this mission. How Elyance was connected to Brandyn Sal-Soren was what confused the Kushiban. It sounded like they were friends, but then the way Elyance said his name sometimes indicated that it was more.

Going back to all fours, and nestling in alongside Elyance, Bex'l wondered if Cybelle's suggestion of the other vantage point would have been better. There was not a lot of space for them both on this outcropping of rusted metal. Bex'l had been working The New Way angle on Chandrila ever since Brandyn's issue with the courier that was assassinated. Brandyn had been correct. The New Way had a much larger presence than they had initially thought. This facility was evidence to that end. So far, they had nothing really to show for their investigation other than, yes, there was power to the site. She was very curious as to what the droid was transporting, but stopping the droid in any way would likely raise suspicions. That was the last thing that any of this needed.

Her ears perked up, and she offered a quick glance up at Cybelle. "So...how long have you known Brandyn?" She said. Her expression was noticeably mischievous.

There was a lot that Bex'l could share with Cybelle. Brandyn and the Kushiban had been on numerous assignments together. She respected him. And was surprised that she had been promoted to Knight before him. She had heard rumour that he had not taken their mutual friend's death very well. Perhaps that had set him back for a time. While not pleasant, they had had to learn how to deal with loss without giving over to their emotions. She could imagine Brandyn struggling with that. He seemed the type to love quickly and easily, and definitely too deeply.

"He's quite handsome for a human. Don't you think? Do you know if he is seeing anyone? I mean...I figured it would be Ralia. That was so sad. So, so sad. But he seems the type to need someone, you know? I have a friend I think would get along with him famously."

She waited, bait now in the proverbial water, and listened for any hints within Cybelle's reply.

​

 

[Cybelle Elyance]

C H A N D R I L A
[ New Way Facility ]
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

_____________________________________________​

A deep green hood was drawn up over her head while her focus remained on surveillance. The area had been carefully threaded with secretive technology like strip-cams and small surveillance droids that were protected from common scanners. A small orange-plated spider sat in a corner and recorded the data that they discovered. There were sister drones moving through the area communicating what they could see and safely slice through from a distance. It was older tech that ran on a different frequency than most, thusly, allowing a little more anonymity. Nothing was perfect—But the naked eye wasn't enough.

A pair of sleek monoculars sat in her hands. Occasionally, Cybelle stopped observing to scribble little notes in a bound leather book. They didn't seem to be written purely in basic but a mixture of languages that made it hard to decipher. When she made a report for the NJO she would of course detail it in a way that could be easily understood, but in the field, she was careful. Wary.

The outcropping was small, not her first choice, but it served their purpose all the same. Cy had documented the comings and goings of more than a few suspicious individuals, including, the main focus of her arrival on Chandrila. It hadn't taken long to isolate this area as a hot spot for New Way activity. Her silent observations were interrupted by Bex'l. The question was met with an easy tone that didn't turn dark eyes away from her monoculars. "Since we were children."

Bex'l was something of a treasure.

If it weren't for the fact that this mission left her with a sense of unease, she might have indulged the fully furred Knight a little more. It would be easy to find fast friendship with every mannerism eliciting some sense of endearment. Cybelle was a little surprised at how easily the people that Brandyn knew seemed to love gossiping about him. Mostly, with good-natured intent—But this wasn't the first time.

Cybelle didn't answer right away.

Thinking of Brandyn too deeply was something she tried not to do when her emotions needed to remain even and controlled. There was a subtle ache in the back of her heart from his absence, ever present, but she could temper it. Not because she was such a powerful Knight that sentiment was lost on her—But because she had no other choice. It was amazing what people were capable of when all other options had been exhausted. Realizing, slowly, that Bex'l was fishing the Hapani woman drew her head up for a moment and glanced at her mischievous partner. "You don't have to beat around the bush. If you want to know something…Ask."

Not that she could tell the rabbit-shaped humanoid much. Their feelings were clear. The fact that she was willing to defy what a good Jedi should have done the night Baros Sal-Soren showed up at his flat in the Cluster spoke volumes. He might not have referred to her as his girlfriend in front of the Countess but Cybelle had never required a title, thusly, she couldn't be upset over what she hadn't asked for. He loved her. That was enough, until the dust settled.

"He is in my heart."

It was the simplest, truest, explanation she could give. Was he handsome? Certainly. She just didn't have the strength to keep active surveillance going while also trying to calm down a fire flower blush and a fluttering heart. "And…I am in his. If he ever needed someone…"

"He knows that I'm here now."

Cybelle knew a little bit about Ralia. Enough, to put the puzzle pieces together but not enough to say with any certainty that she understood. It was just one more thing that she hadn't had a chance to talk with Bran about before spiriting away to Chandrila. The monoculars focused and refocused. A dark-haired man whom she knew all too well seemed to be leaving the facility. It wasn't the first time. He had a rented flat nearby that her spiders kept an eye on. This time, he looked angry.

Something hadn't gone as planned.

The auburn-haired Jedi Knight could see him reach for his ear and with the subtle movement of lips knew he was talking to someone. None of the spiders were close enough to catch audio and the young woman sighed heavily. "I wish I knew how to lip read. I feel like we're no closer to understanding the New Way than we were before I landed. I've got a ton of data, information, but none of it does us any good. We're missing…Something."

It wasn't tools of war that the New Way seemed to be transporting. She recognized a lot of the logos on the crates that were being carried in from varying medical suppliers. High grade, too. Bacta from Thyferra, high grade. No rag-tag homemade terrorists could afford that without backing and introductions. Was this some sort of office to aid injured personnel?

It was so heavily guarded…Cybelle just didn't know. It would help a great deal if she could find out what was in the newest shipment of crates.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Wearing: Kushiban Protective Uniform
Equipment: Lightsaber, Comms, Data Spikes
Location: Chandrila, Junkyard
Tag: Cybelle Elyance


Bex'l's ears flattened and her nose began to twitch uncontrollably the more that Cybelle spoke. Skin folded, but was hidden by fur that turned a bright blue colour, as her eyes grew larger and possibly just a little watery. "By the Force...that is the most adorable thing I have ever heard...in my entire life..."

Without even thinking about it, her front hands had drooped over in a fashion akin to a little puppy that was having its belly scratched. "Childhood friends. Falling in love as Jedi. Oh my word. You couldn't write this stuff."

Bex'l had always been known for playing matchmaker, prying, but also knowing when their were clear boundaries. She was also well known for getting distracted by drama-talk while on mission. She cleared her throat, and rolled over to her belly, her two foot long ears staying pinned to her back. The words of her master rang in her mind: "Quit daydreaming ya little furball." Ah. Those were good days.

Back on mission. Yes.

Beady little black eyes narrowed. She was unimpressed with how long this was taking too.

"We need to get inside."

Nose twitching again, she could pick up just the subtlest of hints of burning rubber. It was a scrap yard, so that was not probably uncommon. But she knew the type of rubber. It was a smell she had first noted when she was still with the litter.

Bouncing away in a hurry, Bex'l scurried away over and through the mounds of metal rubble. Rounding a small bend, she saw exactly what she thought it to be. FX3 Reinforced tread spinning over a polished surface. The delivery droid was stuck.

Tiptoeing was now the order of the day, and Bex'l managed this with ease. While the droid helplessly spun its tread trying to get free, the Kushiban knight found it perfect timing to open the small transport cubby. The box inside was decent in size, compared to a Kushiban...about her mass? Probably.

With a little tweaking, and a fortuitous push of the Force, the droid was off on its way again. As it approached the door to the bunker, the transport compartment on the underside of the droid opened, just a crack, only for a black, prehensile ear to wave cautiously towards Cybelle's vantage point.

​

 

[Cybelle Elyance]

C H A N D R I L A
[ New Way Facility ]
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

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Cybelle rubbed her neck awkwardly while a blush stole through her against her will. Bex'l seemed to have accepted her words, but more than that, had a full-body reaction that even caused her fur to change colors. Thankfully, it seemed that her partner simmered down. The Hapani woman tugged her hood more firmly over her head so that the Kushiban wouldn't notice the way her cheeks warmed. Brandyn wasn't even here and he still managed to affect her.

It really wasn't fair.

Bex'l seemed to agree with her assessment that they needed more and the humanoid rabbit bounded off without explanation. Cybelle could only stay where she was, the lookout, while her partner investigated something. It took her a moment to find a tell-tale pair of ears amongst the scrap but the moment she did…She wished she hadn't. "Bex'l…What are you doing?", Cybelle asked no one, slowly, groaning when twin fluffy ears waved in her direction.

She was sneaking in to the New Way facility they had been staking out for weeks now.

<<Be careful. Try and find a way for me to meet you inside. A side door—A vent.>>

Cybelle used the force to let her mind touch that of her partner for the moment. It was a delicate and nonintrusive brush against her psyche. If they started using comms there was a chance that a scanner in the area might pick up on their signal and realize that they were no longer secure. They were jammed, and encrypted, but that was never foolproof. As much as Cybelle wanted to bop her fellow Knight for acting so impulsively…

It was as good a plan as any.

They weren't getting anywhere from a distance, nor, was anyone else. Cybelle had kept in contact with as many Jedi as she knew who were following varying leads and every Jedi Shadow kept finding the same dead ends. The explosives used on Coruscant had no defining details. Fairly common and unstable materials that could be found anywhere. It hadn't been the worst explosion as far as blast radius went but the sight and sound of it was terrifying. Deafeningly, loud. It brought panic and fear.

But that was, after all, what the New Way seemed to want. As if they could somehow completely change public perception through sewing discord.

Knight Elyance watched the delivery droid closely until it disappeared into the facility. Her heart skipped a few beats before she calmed it and washed away her anxiety. Focusing on the will of the Force was often her way of finding peace. This moment of concern for Bex'l was no different. She might have looked fluffy and adorable but she was also a skilled Jedi Knight. She could handle her own.

Cybelle began to pack up. Make it look like they were never there. Her spiders scurried amongst the scrap heaps to hide themselves so they could keep recording data. From there—Her armored robes began to shift with her will and provided some level of camouflage. It wasn't perfect stealth but it would make it much harder for the naked eye to spot her amongst such a busy background.

The Knight jumped down from the perch, swinging once from a pipe, before landing neatly on her feet. Her body crouched low while she remained aware of her surroundings. Everything remained quiet. She was undetected, it seemed. Cybelle crept closer to the facility and dutifully waited for a sign or a call from Bex'l to sneak forward. Who knew what was down there?

From the number of personnel, she had seen walking in and out at all hours she could confidently confirm that the New Way facility was much bigger on the inside than the outside.

It would take two, at least, to get the job done.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Wearing: Kushiban Protective Uniform
Equipment: Lightsaber, Comms, Data Spikes
Location: Chandrila, Junkyard
Tag: Cybelle Elyance


It was all rather quiet for a while. Just the sound of metal scrapping against metal as the scrapper droids went about their onerous task. The door had closed on the droid, and its stowaway for some time.

<Oh. Hey. That's not good...>

The silence was deafening for a second that seemed stretched into minutes.

<Oh. OK. That's not so bad. Maybe if I just...>

For a while there was nothing again. Just silence in the Force. A door that didn't open, and a Jedi Knight that did not update.

<Hey. What does a thermal detonator look like?>

<False alarm. It was just a ball joint from an old Imperial droid.>

<I think.>

A minute of silence followed, only punctuated by the occasional squeak and harrumph through the Force. It was almost as if Bex'l had left the holo-com online and she was projecting all her little huffs and puffs through the Force.

Finally, there was some movement outside of the door, as two purple furry ears stuck up out of the pile of scrap under which the much watched door provided what seemed to be the only entrance. Bex'l's little furry hand popped up next, and ushered her new friend towards her locale.

<I think you are small enough to get through this duct with me. Come on, Cybelle.>

​

 

[Cybelle Elyance]

C H A N D R I L A
[ New Way Facility ]
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

_____________________________________________​

Cybelle focused on her surroundings and the calmness that could be found within the Force. No part of her was comfortable with Knight Bex'l being in the facility alone for any length of time. The mental play-by-play would have stressed out any Jedi partner she was sure, but, part of her wondered if the little rabbit did it on purpose. A new shift of guards would be coming around any moment.

<<…Be careful, Bex'l.>>

The warning was perhaps unnecessary but she tried to bolster it with positive feelings of encouragement. The silence was almost worse than the constant, worrying rambling. Her stomach had nearly hit the floor at hearing the question about a thermal detonator and she had to catch herself from tripping over a piece of salvaged metal. Great. That would have been just great. Jedi Knight from Naboo alerts the New Way that they're being watched by falling into a trash pile. <<Remind me to show you what one looks like later…That's never something you want to question.>>

Finally, after what felt like forever, the furred Knight found a way for Cybelle to join her inside. The young Hapani snuck around the debris as if she had training in special operations. From swinging from low hanging bars to vaulting from one salvage pile to the next, almost soundlessly, she was little more than a green blur to be caught out of the corner of an eye. Then—Dismissed as a leaf on the wind.

Bex'l was right.

It was a tight fit to squeeze into the vent, but she could make it reasonably well enough. She scooched inside and pulled the cover down behind them. <<I'll start making a map as we go so we can find our way out. We need to find out where they're taking all of those materials…>>

<<Or—Perhaps a server room?>>

Either option would work for Cybelle, though, having real-time data to slice into would make the mission a lot easier. The green-clad Jedi Knight wasn't the most skilled in getting past firewalls but she had enough tech built into her suit by Locke and Key that most security systems buckled and broke eventually. They just needed to get into this mainframe without getting caught. The nanites in her gear would track their movements so they could easily find their way out.

Her stomach still hadn't crawled up from her feet.

Something about this place felt foreboding. Wrong. As if they shouldn't be here. It was cold in the vent and she knew that some of the gooseflesh beneath her gear was because of that. But, the rest?

This facility gave her the creeps.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Tag: Cybelle Elyance


"All those fancy gizmos and doodads you have," Bex'l said, eyes widening with each word.

The Kushiban Jedi began to crawl away from Cybelle, leading her partner towards an egress from the ventilation system. Her long bushy tail stuck out from uniform but waved back and forth with an almost serpentine grace.

"You must come from a very wealthy family," she said, whisper echoing a little more than she intended.

Rounding a corner, she found her way to the grate, and pointed downwards while also issuing an imploring, "Hush."

"Do you see that last batch of results?"

Voices approached from one end of the corridor beneath their location.

"Reviewed them over breakfast. They look promising."

Footsteps could now be heard. The voices growing closer.

"The first forward step in a month, I would say."

"I thought Ewzkin's results last week showed good signs."

"If you ignore the state of the subject after administration."

"But for five minutes their was confirmed nullifica..."

A door hissed open, and the voices disappeared into another room or hallway.

"Server room might have some interesting data?" Bex'l said, while removing the latches from the grate, and allowing it to swing open, "let's go."

She didn't wait for her compatriot, but simply rolled off the ledge and dropped to the floor below.

---

Elsewhere on Chandrila​

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"We aren't getting anywhere with him."

"I did suggest other methods."

Brandyn winced, casting a mournful gaze at the Alliance officer that had been assigned to the interrogation process. Valere was a hardened woman, beyond what Brandyn had witnessed in the Alliance before. There was an edge to her that was dangerous, a dark aura floated about her like a storm ready to unleash its havoc. "Torture?"

"You say it like it is a dirty word," she said, blue eyes seemingly numb.

"It isn't?" Brandyn said, with obnoxious confidence in his position.

"He is scum. Killed three. Just to keep his secret. Hide The New Way's true intentions on Chandrila. More people die because you get squeamish about the methods of stopping terrorists? How do you feel then?"

"How we do what we do matters as much as what we do. The Code forbids such methods of coercion," Brandyn said, shoulders rolling as if to rid himself of unwelcome thoughts, as he turned back to look through the one way window.

"The Code." Valere rolled her eyes and stepped towards the window. Her breath steamed the glass up.

"Yes. The Code," Brandyn said, looking to lean into further reprimands.

"I guarantee you that you have lied when it was convenient for you to do so. How much effect did your Code have on you in that moment?"

"I..."

"You are a Padawan. Sal-Soren. Assigned to this because no one else wants to take the hit to their moral character. Because they all know what is necessary, but are unwilling to front up and be party to the process."

"That's not..."

Valere turned to the young Jedi, eyes cold and steel-like.

"We do things my way now."

​

 

[Cybelle Elyance]

C H A N D R I L A
[ New Way Facility ]
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

_____________________________________________​

Cybelle stilled for a moment at the mention of her family. "Kinda…It's a long story.", she murmured in the softest breath. She did tend to use more gear than the average Jedi Knight but she found most of it to be invaluable. Most of it boiled down to her foster father and Master being incredibly overprotective without "trying" to seem like they were coddling her. A Jedi should be able to stand on their own two feet…They just wanted to ensure she stayed standing.

Her explanation would have to wait.

She barely breathed while they eavesdropped on some of the personnel in the facility. Scientists? Cybelle wasn't sure exactly what she'd expected of the terrorists in the New Way. Explosive and munitions experts, certainly. It took a gifted mind to know how many ingredients and how much to use to control a blast radius; and it had been, controlled chaos, on Coruscant.

The state of the subject?

Her heart fluttered as the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach grew. Were they experimenting on animals? That was awful. Immoral…But to what end. Her lips formed a frown while Bex'l suggested that they continue to the server room. With the grate undone, unlocked, they tumbled soundlessly from the vent and landed on the pristine floors below. It certainly didn't look like a scrapyard dungeon down here. They had money. Backing, funding. A lot of it.

The pair set off creeping through the hallways. Avoiding security wasn't the easiest task but through a clever game of wirelessly looping feed and dodging between shadows they were about to follow power conduits toward where they were most needed. The hub of the facility. Servers. Cybelle maintained the map in her armor and noted points of interest. Perhaps, alternative escape routes if their position became compromised.

The server rooms were locked behind literal blast doors.

<<What are they expecting down here?>>

More importantly—What were they hiding? Cybelle engaged the nanites in her armor once more and reached out to place her hand just above the touchpad. They copied the fine lines and prints that had been left behind by others to make a composite. When she pressed her palm against it the doors slid open with a gust of hydraulic pressure. It was just as clean as the hallway. It didn't seem too ominous in comparison. Brightly lit, with the sound of electronics humming.

Cybelle nodded to Knight Bex'l and they both moved forward to find a central terminal. Every step the young Hapan made in this facility caused her to feel…Shaken. Something, wasn't right. Every sense in her body seemed to be on high alert. Telling her, them, to leave. <<Just gotta find the right port and made sure we don't set off any alarms. I don't want to get caught down here.>>

No. Their stay at Chateau de la New Way should not last any longer than necessary.

Cybelle moved through the stacks carefully. Her suit constantly scanned for laser wires and droids that might have been set to secure the room…But there weren't too many. Honestly, she thought they might be hidden in the walls until activation. As long as they didn't make a wrong move it seemed that this area would remain peaceful. Perhaps, she might be able to disable it once they gained access—

The green-hooded Jedi Knight froze.

<<Bex!>>

This was it. The main terminal. Everything should be here…They could tap into security feeds, audio, files, and any data that was being transferred back and forth through the dark end of the Holonet. Cybelle procedure a data chit from a slim pocket and slowly put it into the terminal. Holding her breath. It was supposed to act as a skeleton key but she wasn't the coding tinkerer that her foster father was. He would have made short work of it. Cybelle?

Cy had to wait.

Code and colors flashed across the computer screen so quickly that she couldn't catch it. A nervous glance over her shoulder, here and there, but nothing in the atmosphere of the facility seemed to have changed. She couldn't hear any alarms, nor detect them, but that didn't mean there weren't silent measures in place. Especially once they began to access internal systems.

After what felt like an eternity the monitor flared to life and they were granted access to the back end. There was so much information that Cybelle didn't know what to make of it. Rather than try and sort it out in enemy territory she put in a transfer chit to begin downloading the data. There were plenty of Jedi Shadows with the Council that were capable of decrypting and understanding what she couldn't. While she waited, she began to click through different folders. Looking mainly for ways to secure a safe extraction. This data was vital, more important, than anything.

The New Way wouldn't be a ghost anymore. They wouldn't be able to hide, anymore.

She began to cycle through different security feeds. Following the hallways they'd come down—Mapping out others. The layout was impressive. Almost, an underground hive.

Cybelle nearly jumped out of her skin when something hit one of the security strips. A chair? The feed was too damaged to make out what had happened, so, she moved on to the next. It was a sterile setting according to the files but that wasn't what caused her to stare openly. She could see several personnel adjusting the bindings on something strapped to a metallic gurney. One of them moved. She saw the face of a young woman. Slack, with sleep, sedatives, or something more sinister.

They weren't testing on animals.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Tag: Cybelle Elyance


<What is it?>

Bex'l jumped a little to get a glimpse of what had left Cybelle so slack jawed. <Cybelle...what do you see?>

Just a half second of a glimpse was all the Kushiban needed. She dropped to the floor again, hair turning a muddy brown colour. Ears dropped, and she recoiled slightly as she skittered backwards on all fours.

"We need to tell the Order about this place..."

Her fur began slowly to alter into a deep purple colour.

"...immediately."

Something in the back corner of Bex'l's mind spiked. Her nose twitched, ears turning just moments before her face turned towards the door. "Someone's coming," she said in a hurried whisper.

Even before she could finish speaking, the sound of gyros spinning, servomotors churning, began to grow louder and louder. With a couple of bounces, Bex'l found cover behind a protruding support strut.

From the far side of the room, at their point of entry and only real safe point of egress, appeared two large rolling droids. they were upwardly tapered barrel shaped with a rotating dome atop the barrel. Too big for an astromech. They were something else. Stemming from the centre of the rotating dome was what seemed to be a stun based weapon.

<Security droids. We must have tripped something.>

Surprisingly, the droids did not enter beyond the door way, but rather took up positions there, keeping the optical senses trained on the interior of the room.

---

Brandyn felt nauseous. He had looked away for extended periods, but his ears had not been spared the events inside the room. Valere had done her work, and was now exiting the interrogation room with a look of exhaustion. Brandyn was shocked to realize that it had taken a toll on the Alliance agent as well.

He looked her way. She avoided eye contact.

"I didn't hear..."

"Give me a moment, Sal-Soren," she said, pushing past the Jedi.

Brandyn glanced towards the door as she exited the room, and into the hallway. The console beside him beeped. The computer had finalized the written testimony of the tormented man within the interrogation room.

Brandyn leaned against the wall, his eyes falling on the text on the screen. His semi-relaxed pose did not last long as tension rose with each word he read. His eyes narrowed. Mind clouded. As the man's muddled, adjective and expletive riddled testimony scrolled past Brandyn's eyes, he found one word repeating in his mind. A word that was not anywhere in the report, but one that was currently investigating the subject of the document...

"Cybelle..."

The words had not even finished appearing on screen before Brandyn had pushed out of the room, and set on a full sprint for the speeder garage.

​

 

[Cybelle Elyance]

C H A N D R I L A
[ New Way Facility ]
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

_____________________________________________​

If she had any less training she might have thrown up as reality settled in. The truth. The reason this New Way facility existed in secret. The fact that Baros Sal-Soren had led her to it was equally nightmarish because of the sheer volume of implications. She had wanted, for Brandyn, to believe that Baros wasn't the man the evidence painted him to be. She had no love for him. She never would…But this? Sentient experimentation? It couldn't be with consent. Why else would they be tied up?

The screen flickered—From one gruesome scene to the next.

People. In cages. Imprisoned.

She couldn't tell Bex'l what she saw because even in her mind, even with telepathy, she was certain that her internal voice would crack with the sheer violation of near-human rights and lack of a moral compass. <<You're right.>>, was all she could manage. In full agreement that the Jedi Order needed to know what as really happening on Chandrila. The data had just finished loading to the storage chit when Bex'l announced they weren't alone. She retrieved it and wiped the screen just in time for the massive blast doors to open. The fact that they were so large, so heavy, actually bought them precious seconds of time. Cybelle moved behind a terminal just before the scanning light swept through.

She'd barely avoided detection. Barely.

Her heart was hammering in her chest but she consoled the bleeding organ to calm. Bex'l was high. Cybelle was low. They would find Cy long before they found Bex, which, was about the time the auburn-haired Knight realized that between the two of them…Her furred companion had the best chance of escaping. The best chance of getting this information to anyone who could actually amass enough force to really do anything about it. Security was tight—Way more than two Knights could handle.

And all those people…All those people.

<<I can't leave them, Bex. I won't.>>

But—They had a duty. A job. The mission always came first because that was how the stability of the Order was maintained. Jedi needed to be dependable. Not wild cards. Slowly…The nanite armor she wore retracted and revealed a plain set of white Jedi Robes beneath it. The impressive jade bangle that she was never seen without seemed to protest at being removed, but she pulled it off regardless. Slowly…She floated the items she held up to Bex'l. The transfer chit, too. <<Put it on. You won't be able to use everything because it's coded to me but just think about what you want. Think of the map. It'll show you the way out and protect you if you get spotted.>>

<<You're faster than I am. More agile.>>

She knew Bex'l would protest but Cybelle was already decided…This was the way it needed to be. She needed to save these people. But, they needed to finish the work. It was a classic case of divide and conquer…In the belly of a steel and iron beast. <<Go. You've got to go. Bring back...Everyone.>>

A green lightsaber flared to life with a familiar "snap-hiss" that would tell Bex'l exactly what her plan was. Cybelle pulled out from behind the terminal and both security droids turned toward her on a dime. It didn't take longer than a moment for one of them to target-lock and fire some sort of energy bolt at her that the young knight slid away from. The floor was scorched—But they didn't seem to care or mind the equipment in the room. They were the absolute roundest pepper-pot droids she had ever seen. Worse than the garden variety astromech, but, still. Dangerous, if she got sloppy.

Every dodge or roll to avoid the death beam brought her closer. Enough, so that with a quick swipe to the core of one of the units she sliced it effectively in half. While it fizzled out and the hot parts turned to slag the other took aim. Fired. Cybelle blocked and returned the bolt back to the sender. It launched through its single photoreceptor and the secondary unit stopped moving. Lights out.

Cy raised her head toward Bex'l as if to say "See—I'll be fine" before she began moving through the blast doors that were jammed open. In the opposite direction of Bex. Deeper, into the facility to the holding cells. She did feel a twinge of warning…Still. Her senses told her to leave. To flee.

But she couldn't. Fear did not control her.

The Council wasn't going to like this.

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Tag: Cybelle Elyance


Fear completely controlled Brandyn, be he still sought desperately to rein in his emotions. He was no good to Cybelle if he did not get control of himself. But he did also not that his heightened sense of awareness was aiding him in his piloting of the speeder. He was expertly threading needles and passing traffic as he sped towards his destination. Perhaps the fear was more friend than foe in this moment?

The fear was fueled by the text he had seen on the screen. Experiments. Force nullification. Something about Mandalorian and Vong bio-weapons. Whatever the specifics, it seemed that Cybelle and Bex'l had been staking out a hornet's nest of galaxy threatening proportions. He had tried to raise them on comms, but to no avail. Given the tech Cybelle had available to him, he knew this meant she was being blocked - whether intentionally or unintentionally so.

They went in...I just...know...they didn't stay outside...

What ifs permeated any second that wasn't spent avoiding disastrous impact with other speeders filling the Chandrilan speeder lanes. His destination was approaching fast. Brandyn slapped the dash, yelling at the speeder to go a little faster.

Upon reaching the scrap yard, Brandyn had put the breaks on, leading the speeder into a screeching halt, that he used to throw himself over the fence and into a Force propelled run towards the two Knight's last known location.

---

Bex'l made as if she was about to protest. But the look in Cybelle's eye relayed that she would be impossible to convince otherwise. And, Bex'l knew that someone had to get the intel out.

Her mouth closed, and she slipped the datachit into a pouch on her overalls. The nanotech started doing its work over the much smaller Kushiban. It tickled a little, as the hairs of body were depressed by the growing envelope of protection.

"You are no good to anyone captured or worse, Cybelle...promise me...

Bex'l walked in almost a waddle over to Cybelle. The nanite suit still felt a little weird around the legs. Her big Kushiban eyes looked up at her new friend, as a soft padded hand took Cybelle's. Bex'l's hair had gone a deep green in colour.

"...that you understand...that the most important person to get out of here...is yourself."

With a soft pat on top of Cybelle's hand, Bex'l offered a smile. "May the Force be with you." And then bounded off into the hallway and quickly disappeared from view.

​

 

[Cybelle Elyance]

C H A N D R I L A
[ New Way Facility ]
Tag: Brandyn Sal-Soren

_____________________________________________​

Cybelle could only smile at Bex’l. It was confident—Beautiful. Warming. It was everything that a smile should be…But it wasn’t. It was the expression of someone who couldn’t make any promises because she didn’t want to accidentally lie. “All that matters is the intel…You’ve got to get it out. Into the right hands. Please, Bex’l.”

Force be with them both.​

So far so good.

Her Master would have been proud of her memory in regards to the twisting, turning, maze-like hallways that painted a confusing pathway through the New Way facility. The silent alarm that she had accidentally tripped in the server room didn’t seem to activate all of the defenses right away. There was a delay. She suspected, giving time for the security droids to check in with their findings.

Which—They wouldn’t be doing. With half of each one laying on the floor in molten ruins she might as well have just left a calling card “Hey there, Just a Jedi sneaking through your facility” for all the subtlety that it lacked. She’d acted on instinct. An innate need to do what was right no matter the cost. Every person the New Way experimented on was someone’s child. A person, caged, and in unthinkable agony from what looked to be like cascading failures in experimentation. She hadn’t gotten to read everything they were up to but with all the gene therapy supplies she’d seen going in…Cybelle had an educated guess. It horrified her. But, she could never show it.

She could never act with fear.

Cybelle would bring the prisoners what they needed. Freedom. Hope. The opportunity for medical treatment to potentially undo what had been done to them. There was no way in the Force that anyone in their right mind would agree to be tested on. Even if they had there was no way they could have known what would happen. No one…No one ever agreed to live mutilated, mutated, and in a cage. Her heart broke from the pain the test subjects were enduring. No. Not test subjects.

Victims.

<<Tell me you’re out of here Bex…It’s about to get crazy.>>

She’d found the holding cells through trial and error. The errors had been…Subdued, to the best of her ability. Cybelle would keep to the Code even if these scientists and doctors hadn’t spared a single thought for the people they’d disfigured. She would leave those she crossed alive. Unconscious and with one heck of a migraine in the morning, but, alive. It was more than they deserved.

But it was right. She wasn’t a judge, jury, or executioner. Cybelle, was just a girl. A Knight that wanted to save people. That was what she intended to do.

The metallic doors fought her intrusion while she pulled on them with an unseen hand. The metal creaked and bent but she couldn’t quite pry them apart. Fine. The next second caused the ephemeral light of her saber snapping into existence while she drove it into the door. It would melt, slowly, like butter. Another telltale sign of whom had come for them. Cybelle was aware that it might make tensions even higher. That—It was the exact thing they were afraid of.

A Force User abusing their abilities to come after them.

But it was all she could do. No rational, sane person, wouldn’t use any tool at their disposal when literal lives were at stake. Once the hot orange cookie-cutter shape had been made in the door she drew back her hand and pushed at the weakened structure. The giant hole fell through and metal clanged noisily to the ground. A quick burst of chilled air caused the metal to cool…But nothing could have prepared her for the sight of the holding area. Cage after cage. Room after room.

She felt sick.

The victims immediately began shouting. Their voices mingled. Growls, filled with terror. Pain. Anger. There was so much emotion that it was incredibly overwhelming. The smell was…

“Hey—You’re not supposed to be in here!”

Cybelle glanced toward a young woman with mouse-like features and a nose that twitched remarkably like a rodent. She was near-human. Just, very animated. With black-rimmed glasses and a tuft of curling hair spilling down to her shoulders, it was the white lab coat that caused honeyed eyes to grow just a tad more amber. Darkened, with seriousness. Disappointment. “If you let them out, give me access to the loading dock, and sit down, I won’t hurt you. Understand…I don’t want to. But, I will.”

A bit of a bluff, but, not entirely. Knocking someone out took significant force or an intrusion of the mind. She didn’t have her armor—So her options were limited.

The young woman opened and closed her mouth a few times. Clearly, afraid. Cybelle hated that anyone looked at her that way. With such…Abject terror. Not because of anything she had done, or, would do. It was because she’d been born differently. “You have my word.”, she returned, softly, though with no small amount of authority. The girl dropped down into a chair at a desk and began typing obediently. Cybelle could only hope that she wasn’t alerting even more security, but, it didn’t much matter now. She was in the thick of the viper’s nest. Snakes, everywhere. “Where does the loading dock lead?”

“It looks like the back of the scrapyard.”

The scientist, doctor, whomever she was nodded her head. There was a hesitant pause…And then the cages unlocked. The doors to testing chambers. Bindings. Shock collars. The prisoners all stopped yelling and looked up in surprise. Cybelle was worried about a panic. About, people getting trampled. In the span of seconds, alarms and klaxons began to go off. Blaring so loud that it was deafening.

That’s when the panic set in and the crowd began to surge in all directions.

“Open the doors to the dock!”

The panicking New Way employee did just that. Coming face to face with all of the patients that she had helped place in varying states of disarray was not something she wanted. They seemed more intent on getting out, over revenge, and for that Cybelle was grateful. She picked up a comm link and ripped it from the desk with enough force to tear the line free. Cybelle used the cord to secure the scientist to the chair while the hydraulics hissed and lifted a massive hidden door. There were a few security personnel on the other side but they didn’t stand a chance against the masses. They were overwhelmed, swiftly, and Cybelle winced. She wished that there was time to reason with the victims, to help them, but it was only the calming aura she radiated that kept them from rioting. Killing.

They were right to be furious. Right, to want justice. She knew better than most…Death wasn’t justice.

Instead—Cybelle followed. They were stuck by a reinforced fence covered in security wire. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. “Let me through. Excuse me—Please!”, her gentle tones were lost to the cacophony of sounds. One Jedi was not equipped to deal with a scenario like this. “Please, listen!”

They didn’t have time for this. Some of the patients seemed barely mobile.

“Hey!”

Once again, Cybelle drew her saber but this time let it ignite straight up in the air. There was a rush of cooling wind and a flash of bright light that would gather the attention of the crowd. They stilled. Some of them recognized a Jedi from the weapon while others didn’t. Baseline, force sensitives that had never learned the craft. “I know what happened to you. I know, you’re scared, angry, and a lot of other things and you have every right to be but I need you to let me through. Once you’re past the barrier go to the White Lotus Temple. They will help you. Protect you.”, Cybelle informed, giving the address, and a general description of the area as she moved to make short work of the security fence.

It wasn’t nearly as thick as the blast doors. Or—The hidden loading dock.

Just as before, the metal fell away, and Cybelle hurriedly helped them through. The sirens coming from the open dock had attracted attention from all over the site. She could sense people closing in on their location. Obviously, not friendly.

They were disappearing into the city streets, dispersing, and Cybelle was just about to push through herself when the electro-static sound of a weapon went off behind her. She fell into a rolling dodge and turned to find what looked to be a small army. She swallowed. Hard. The mouse-like scientist that she had tied up was standing with them. Rubbing her wrists. Though, no part of her looked disappointed.

“Take her alive. She’s perfect for the next phase—More gifted than the rest. We need her.”

The Knight raised her saber and fell into a defensive position but it didn’t much matter. A dozen weapons were raised with tranq ammunition or rubber bullets. Cybelle recognized that they didn’t want her dead. They wanted something…Far worse. She stood still for a long moment. Buying time. If they were focused on her they wouldn’t be able to effectively chase the others. At the first shot, she twisted her wrist and deflected it. Another, another deflection. Why didn’t they fire all at once?

Cybelle was slow to realize that they were testing her efficacy.

When one shot didn’t work, they tried more. Faster. To the point that she had to use the Force just to keep up with all the darts flying in her direction. For all of her efforts, all of her strength, it only took one. Just one. A sharp pinch to her neck caused her to swing wide with her saber and it ran through several of the barrels trained on her. She fought. As hard as she could. But, she was getting slower. Losing air.

It was getting dark.

Cybelle never felt falling to the ground, nor, being strapped to a gurney. They hadn’t even moved her to the lab. Just back through the loading dock. She felt bleary. Her head, so heavy. She couldn’t concentrate enough to telekinetically undo the clamps that kept her still.

“Don’t bother. You’ve been dosed with an inhibitor. It doesn’t work well or last long against your kind…But it’ll do the trick until we can get you the real deal.”

She turned her head, lips dry, to see the woman from before. Putting latex gloves on. The auburn-haired woman wanted to ask..Why. Why, she was doing this. Tormenting people when the New Way was supposed to be about protecting people. But she couldn’t get the words out.

Cybelle didn’t have the strength.

A light flared in her sluggish, grey mind. A familiar sensation close by that almost made her choke with the emotion of it. <<Brandyn…>>, she called for him, mentally, but wholly uncertain that her words would be able to reach him. Cybelle could see the scientist checking her watch, waiting for something, and the young Knight felt a knot twist in her stomach. She didn’t know what was coming.

She knew it wasn’t good.

<<Run away. Leave this place.>>

Her consciousness slipped for a moment. Her head jerked to the side as she woke up, startled, with her heart hammering in her chest. She hadn’t been out for more than a second at most but it felt like a lifetime. He was closer. Not, further away. Was the inhibitor wearing off? <<Run away. Run away—As far and as hard as you can. You…>>

<<…Have to help them.>>

Slipping. Again. Slipping, while a soldier arrived with a long black case.

<<I wish…more time…>>

It was full of injection units. The scientist picked one up and began to speak in hushed tones that she couldn’t understand. Cybelle could feel her eyes burn against her will as her head slowly fell to the side again. She was losing the fight to stay awake. Her head ached like nothing she had ever felt and even as she thought the words…She was fighting a losing battle.

<<…I love you...>>

“Don’t look so upset. You won. You saved your friends and beat the bad guys by making a trade. It’s almost like you think you’re capable of feeling human emotion. You have a disease controlling you— and I’m going to cure it.”, the scientist announced, confident while pressing the injector against the side of her neck. “I know. You’re selfish. You want to keep the rest of us down by being superior…But the New Way is going to correct that. You’ll feel…Exactly, ordinary, on the other side.”

A pause.

“If you make it. The mortality rate isn’t that high.”

Hot water flooded from her waterline against her will. Tears—With frustration. With…Peace. She had done the right thing. The Jedi, thing. Cybelle could not regret that. But, she would regret Brandyn not knowing. That secret…She couldn’t die with.

<<…I love you, Brandyn.>>

<<I—>>

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

​

Tag: Cybelle Elyance


He stood before the door, looking for an easy entrance into whatever lay beyond. Still, he found himself uncertain if the door was actually the path to take. Brandyn glanced behind him, looking about the valley of junk in which he stood.

<Brandyn?>

His eyes shot back to the door, hands pressing against it in a futile attempt to open the metal slab of a door. <Bex? How did you get in? Can you get out?>

His eyes darted to and fro as he sought out the response from the other side. He slapped the door. "BEX!"

<Sorry. Pinned down by security...>

<How do I get in?>

<Ah...can't find a way to...whoa...that was close...>

<Bex! Stand away from the door. I'm going to cut my way in.>

His saber blade ignited with the classic snap-hiss. A quick backwards step set the end of the blade towards the top left corner of the door. Progress was slow, but persistent. <Bex...I'm coming.>

The lack of response pushed him. The door was resistant to the saber, but not completely. Brandyn's heart pounded, even as the last of the cut was completed. He stepped to the side, reached out with the force and pulled the large metal slab out. The sound of the chunk of door hitting the metal scrap behind Brandyn was drowned out by his heart beat thumping in his eardrums.

Looking down the tunnel that descended in a subtle decline, two hovering droids were rotating back towards him, with three of their compatriots sitting in a heaping fiery mess on the floor. Before Brandyn had even completed the though, his lightsaber was already thrown from his hand spinning and taking the down the droids before they could train their weapons upon him.

His first step into the hall way saw him bump into something with his foot. Eyes dropped moment before his heart sank. The sight of Bex'l lying face down on the floor, the seam from the blaster hit still rising from her back.

Brandyn stooped, hand moving her ears into a position that seemed more natural. "Ah...Bex...not you...may the Force guide you in your new journey, my dear friend."

It was only then, that his hand dusted across the nanite armour that was so familiar to him. "Cybelle?"

<<Brandyn…>>

<Cybelle. I'm here.>

<<Run away. Leave this place.>>

He was already down the end of the hallway at the T-junction. A guard had approached from his left, firing at the Jedi. With barely a flinch, the saber sent the shot back and the guard fell tot he ground.

<<Run away. Run away—As far and as hard as you can. You…>>

She was somewhere to the right, so that is the way Brandyn found himself going a half second before his mind actually processed the information. Surprisingly, his breathing had settled into a rhythm, his mind clear with purpose and intent, the Force guiding him in each step.

The door closed in front of him, while he saw lab dressed people running from his end of what appeared to be a observation room. His saber slashed through the door in a few precise cuts before a push through the Force popped the door open like a can exploding from the inside.

<<…Have to help them.>>

Stepping into the observation room, a shower of blaster fire ran out from the four corners of the room where security pods and lowered from the ceiling and laid out fire against Brandyn. Steps to the left, spinning and swatting, the security pods erupted into sparks as their attacks were reflected with barely a full thought given to them. The last shot, aimed at Brandyn's head, was reflected back even to take out the last pod even as he stepped up to the window and looked down on the lab below.

<<I wish…more time…>>

Face steel, looking down on the room, Brandyn almost didn't see Cybelle on the lab bed, his focus so intent on those around her. He wanted to say something. But there was no time. There was only action.

The glass was already shattering before he realized that he had stepped back and sliced through the window. Shards flew inwards, and out into the open air of the lab. It was a large room, with Cybelle strapped down to a be several dozens of meters away from the floor directly below Brandyn's vantage point.

<<…I love you...>>

He was already in the air, falling to the ground floor of the lab. His hands supported his landing. It would only be after these events that we would realize how many cuts he had earned across his arms and legs from his landing.

<<…I love you, Brandyn.>>

A droid approached him. It was already in half before the blaster was raised. A scientist tried foolishly to grapple at his shoulders, a subtle push of the hand sent the man flying back first into the corner of a wall. A small mousey woman ran from Brandyn. His hand reached forward for her, while his blade lifted over his head to deflect a shot from an unseen assailant, who promptly fell down dead from the returned shot.

<<I—>>

The terrified woman turned to see Brandyn's blade coming down towards her. Her eyes opening wide in terror. All of her own prejudices being justified in this one moment of horror. But Brandyn instead stooped, the woman flew past him, and as she did the edge of the saber tapped the back of her knee, searing from tendons before pulling back.

A cry of pain was subdued by surprise, as the woman tumbled to the ground, and failed in several attempts to get up again. "You vile...creature...abuser of nature..."

Stepping to the side, Brandyn placed a couple of fingers on Cybelle's wrist. Even through his sullen concentration, he could feel the hope filled presence of a heart beat. His focus cracked. The calm washed away with the torrent of emotion that now washed over him. Cybelle was alive. For how long, he was unsure. But hope was not lost.

Turning back to the woman, she had found a way to scramble backwards and towards a dropped blaster. Just before she could reach it, it rose above her head and flew away from her towards the approaching Jedi. The saber sliced through the weapon, and then came to bare on her.

"You will tell me everything that you just did to her. Give me all data pertaining to whatever you did."

"I will tell you nothing," she spat back, "you are affront to nature itself. An aberration. I hope she dies and that you follow her to the grave."

The words drove him to lift his blade. Eyes narrowing, hate washing over his mind. The universe would be better off without people like her. He had the power, and a more than viable lie to cover up his sin. It was easily done. No one would know. Cybelle wouldn't know.

A moment passed. The woman's face grew scared again, knowing that her life was just about to end.

<<You would know.>>

Words not spoken from anywhere other than within his own heart. His conscience taking the sound of his dear Cybelle.

"I would know."

His words were but a whisper.

Brandyn's blade turned off, and his hand lowered, stretching towards the woman.

"You will tell me what you did to her," he said, calmly but with authority.

"I will tell you what I did to her..."

And then he would take Cybelle away from this place. From the hell it had wrought.

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