Cruelty is a Desirable Trait

[Darth Morrow]

The girl thought for a moment, considering her options, and then made her choice.

I trust you. Something that is strong, though doesn't seem so in appearance. A look that may draw some fear, though isn't as intimidating as I once was.

Valeska felt the prison closing in on her as her skin turned black and cracked, something that should cause immense pain if she had felt any at all anymore. Though the truth was, she had lost all feeling even before she crawled her way back into the palace, the moment the saber crossed into her core she knew that was to be it for this body, all hope of saving it was gone.

As the moments continued on he could sense her fear, her need for urgency. She had the power to save herself, but she was entirely powerless in this state, nothing she could do this was would make any difference, and her life was in his hands, she had waited too long. Please, don't take too long.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"Very well."

The Emperor turned to leave, his mind consumed by the task at hand. He would leave Valeska in the care of his personal doctors, despite both of their eccentric personalities he trusted them explicitly with his well-being. They would keep Valeska good company while he set himself to work building a new body for his apprentice, one that would be as she requested; powerful yet aesthetically unassuming, one that would be pleasing to the eye but lethal in every sense of the word.

The lift down to the sub-labs was excruciatingly long, especially with how much of Valeska's life was held by mere strings. Luckily, he had sent word of his intentions down to the cloning technicians prior to his arrival, and they were already hard at work firing up the cloning cylinders and inputting generic specifications into the computer systems. Carnifex took over control once he entered the room, his large hands moving deftly across several control panels as he keyed in various specifications and utilized his vast knowledge of genetic engineering to mastermind the creation of his new apprentice.

Hours would pass as the technology at his disposal did its work, whirred and humming with power as a newly formed adult female body was made from scratch. He had used the Zabrak genetic base as a foundation upon which to build this new body, removing the horns and adjusting the melanin until the clone's skin and hair was a beautiful porcelain white. Mutations made to the eyes removed both pupil and iris, leaving the entire eye a smoldering orange hue. This did nothing to impede the clone's eyesight, however, as her eyes functioned just as well as they did previously. Slight modifications were made to give the body a more alluring womanly look, with wider hips and pleasant curves, but nothing too obscene was included.

It would be nearly 72 hours before the clone's creation was achieved, the vacant body extracted from the cloning vat and placed in a specialized stasis chamber for its transportation up to the medical wing. The next time Valeska would see her master, it would be as he strode into the chamber followed by a transparent sarcophagus containing her new body.

"It is ready."

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​

 

[Darth Morrow]

As he entered the room he'd note the doctors hovering around the girl, her cracking fist clenched tightly around the white linen now stained black from her touch. The rest of her form lie motionless, weak and from the looks of it, the only thing left alive was parts of her upper system, the rest having shut down in attempt of essential preservation. She had possibly half of an hour left if she were lucky.

He'd feel the wall she hit, her soul dragging itself towards the body though too weak to leave her own form. So much knowledge wasted.

From what I can tell, trapped here, it is perfect. Though, anything is really better than my current situation, I bet you'd agree. Valeska's sass covered the remaining fear, at some point over the few days she had come to the acceptance that she could die before all was ready. Even now, with the body within reach, she had such little time left.

Attempting to keep the little hold she gained over herself, he'd see her weakening grasp on the side of the bed.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Carnifex ordered another bed rolled into the room and that the clone body is taken from stasis and moved onto the new bed. Chilling fog billowed out from the sarcophagus as it was opened, and with careful hands the team of doctors lifted the naked clone body out and gently placed it down, making sure to adjust all of the limbs so that they were uniform. Then both beds were pushed together, with the Emperor standing behind the heads of both as he grasped the decrepit remaining hand of Valeska and held it above the fresh hand of the clone.

"The time has come, apprentice. Be reborn."

Now he placed her hand over the smooth porcelain skin, bridging the connection between the old and the new. It was up to Valeska now to ford that distance, to wrench her soul free of her decaying body and transfer it into the new one that her master had crafted for her.

A new beginning.

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​

 

[Darth Morrow]

For a moment, seemingly nothing changed besides the black smudge across the beautiful white porcelain skin. The clone remained still and unmoving just as the corpse beside it had. Waste besides unmatched beauty. While most saw this as just two still bodies besides each other, Carnifex would know the struggle taking place. The weak soul of Valeska barely clinging to life as the transfer took longer than it should.

Feeling the clinging draw of the darkness she struggled to fully transfer over, the pull and lure of death dragging behind as she slowly began to take hold within the new shell. Within the span of roughly a minute, the remains of Valeska old body shriveled without it's hosting soul, and the smudged hand of the radiant woman clenched gently onto the new sheets.

With a sudden gasp she made the leap to life once more, launching up and breathing in air without the aid of a machine for the first time in near a week.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The struggle to survive, the determination to not perish. If anything it was these qualities that embodied the spirit of the Sith, this fierce tenacity to never let go of the material and to exist in perpetuity, a permanent actor upon the stage of life. Carnifex watched his apprentice transfer her essence from her mangled corpse to the fresh body he had made for her, his eyes twinkling with pride as she managed to bridge the gap despite her exhaustion and momentary weakness. She utilized her anger, tapped into the Dark Side of the Force, and made the universe bend to her will as she fully slipped into her new skin.

Awakening with a startle, Valeska Daeranthe was reborn.

Carnifex watched dispassionately as her old being crumbled into dust, several of the attendants already moving ahead to scoop up the ash and clean the soiled linens without him having to command them to. This allowed him to fully fixate on his reborn apprentice, his hand reaching out to gently grasp her flesh to anchor her in reality as her senses re-adjusted to this alien sensation of rebirth. It was an experience he was well familiar with.

"Apprentice, can you hear me?"

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​

 

[Darth Morrow]

The bright light of the room blinded her, staring ahead taking slow deep breaths and calming her panic as she felt Carnifex's hand over hers. In truth, she hadn't thought she was going to survive the transfer, every bit of information she had ever read mentioned the likelihood of success, the results of failure, and what would happen in between, all of which terrified her to the very core.

"It worked..." Taking a moment to gather herself she'd turn to Carnifex, a mischievous grin on her face. "It actually worked... thank you."

Looking over she'd see the dust left behind, the bones and horns of her past life left in a mound of remains. Unless stopped, she'd attempt to move herself from the bed, placing her legs off the side and slowly standing, shaking a bit getting use to the rather different form. Lithe and tall instead of bulky and short, a huge difference.

"This is, incredible to say the least. How was this created in such short notice?" The burning coals of eyes looked back at the man still far taller than herself, a blanket being wrapped herself as she stepped away from the bed.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

The Emperor chuckled, "It is a long story apprentice, but suffice to say my power cannot be contained within a physical shell for more than several years at a time. I primarily exist as energy, formless and unyielding, but require a mortal conduit to exercise my power. That is the ultimate toll of the Dark Side of the Force." His current body was his fourth, his first having been destroyed by Kiskla Grayson many years ago on Panatha, and his second falling victim to Gabriel Sionoma on Dromund Kaas. His third was sacrificed in exchange for his current body after significant modifications were made to the clone's genetic sequences that afforded the Sith Empire rapid regenerative abilities.

Fortunately, his current body was still useful and strong. He calculated that it would be many more years before he was forced to abandon it.

"And because of that necessity, I have acquired the greatest cloning technology ever known to the galaxy. With it, I have created an inexhaustible supply of clone bodies to serve as my future vessels once the flesh I wear becomes too weak and brittle for my power. It was that technology that I used to create the form you now wear, as mindless clones needn't a long gestation period like those who possess their own personalities do."

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​

 

[Darth Morrow]

"Perhaps you could show it to me sometime. I doubt this will be the last replacement I will ever need." Looking around the room for a brief moment, she'd peer back to her Master.

"I was so sure you would hold anger over me when you found out about Imperia, though, that is how we work no? A constant feud, only allied to stop those who would go against all of us and to cleanse the galaxy. Such a shame she was reduced to mere violence, like she lost all sense of logic. All I had were a few question that could have been solved over a drink or two." Letting out a warm chuckle of her own, she'd play the fight once over again in her mind. The desperation that filled the bay, the pain fueling her anger, the sickening grin of her opponent that quickly faded to fear. "Once I got within arms reach she was done for, so pathetically weak. So much knowledge she had wasted on a frail little form."

"So, what are we to do now, months more of simple combat training or have I proved some semblance of worth? Clearly, I have the ability to rival a Sith Lord, at least of her stature. I feel as though physical training in just fighting would do no use to me now, at least without improving other areas of self, no?"

Running a hand through her pale hair, the woman's gaze drifted down the the blanket wrapped around her. "Maybe I'll start with a new outfit first, then we can move on."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"You have suffered in your own way for your ambition, apprentice." There was nothing like dying and then crawling back to life in the Emperor's mind, he had experienced the sensation personally and found it to be quite traumatic. "And no, I do not think you have much left to learn in the ways of battle. You have proven yourself to me."

She had done well, remarkably so.

Had she informed him that she planned to track Imperia down and hassle her for answers, he would've written her off as a dead fool. But no, she had surprised him when she returned, irrevocably broken yet victorious. Though her recounting of the Lady Imperia did leave the Crucible Operation in considerable dire straights if she was to be believed, he would have to dispatch his agents to find Imperia and surmise the entire truth in order to decide how best to proceed with his hidden projects.

But first things first.

"Valeska Daeranthe, kneel before your Lord and Master so that I may transfer onto you a blessing." Once she had done so, the Emperor conjured forth crimson Sith lightning between his two hands and passed the current back and forth from fingertip to fingertip, eventually enveloping his apprentice in an agonizing field of dark energy that cascaded over her body like a shroud. "You have knelt before me as Valeska Daeranthe, and I, Darth Carnifex, Dark Lord of the Sith, transfer onto you the mark of the Sith." Somewhere on her body, the image of the Sith would be systematically burned into her flesh by the dark lightning that coursed around her, the smell of burning flesh filling the room before the mark was complete.

"And with this mark comes a new name, a new identity to coincide with your rebirth. So now rise, my apprentice, rise as Darth Morrow! Lady of the Dark Side, and trueborn Knight of the Sith!"

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​

 

[Darth Morrow]

Kneeling before him, Valeska stared up into his dark eyes as the lightning began to form, feeling the energy surge through her new body the pain quickly followed, and the scent of burning flesh filling the vicinity as the shroud coated her body. For a moment, she thought he was going to try to kill her, it certainly would have been the moment to, catch her off guard, make it quick and simple. Until he continued his monologue.

So now rise, my apprentice, rise as Darth Morrow! Lady of the Dark Side, and trueborn Knight of the Sith!

Biting down on her lip strongly, she began to stand, grabbing onto the side of the bed for some support as the final traces of electricity fizzled out of her form. She felt the new burns present, sullying the beauty of her pure white skin, though containing at least something meaningful.

"Thank you, my Lord, I am honored."

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"A new dawn rises, Lady Morrow."

He sent his servants to fetch more suitable garments for his apprentice than the blanket she had wrapped around her, something befitting her new station. As they were left alone for the moment, the Emperor informed the newly minted Darth Morrow of her new charges. "With a new name comes new responsibilities. As a knighted lady, you are now an executor of my will. You will take apprentices of your own, pass down my teachings through you to them, and command the soldiers of the Empire in our wars against the light." Soon enough the word would spread of the Emperor's apprentice being formally knighted by her liege, and regional commanders would be made to learn to obey this new arbiter.

"Custom dictates that I bequeath you a gift on the day of your ascension, and thus I will give you the Apotheosis. It was a battlecruiser I had utilized as my flagship nearly ten years ago, and have recently retrofitted with the latest and greatest Imperial technology birthed by my Empire. You will find that it will serve you well as you serve me and the Empire." The Emperor would produce a small holoprojector, creating a three-dimensional image of the battlecruiser in question. At an even two kilometers in length, its fierce alien design would no doubt be pleasing to his reborn apprentice.

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​

 

[Darth Morrow]

A small smile crept across the knights lips. Before her stood the design of the ship she was presented, and it was indeed pleasing. The firebird was truly a wonderful ship, though that was wonderful for herself, this ship would serve as more than a mobile base, it would stand as a symbol of power, status, and a wonderful place to carefully bring up many apprentices to come.

"Somehow it means a lot more than when Imperia offered me the rank of knight years ago. Perhaps it is because this time it is real. The ship is wonderful, and again, I am very honored to be put in such a position." There was a pause for a moment. "I should only hope you will find me deserving of the title in the years to come."

With this said, the servant sent away would return with a rather low cut set of black robes and black leggings to follow, questionably offering it to Morrow and hoping for acceptance. Taking it in her hands she would let the fabric tumble down so she could view the whole garment before nodding in approval and taking the pants as well. Looking to Carnifex for approval, she would bring the garments with her behind a small wall to the side before changing and stepping back out into the open space of the med bay, the robe billowing slightly behind her.

The features he had decided to give the form were well beyond simply complimented by the fabric, it was almost as if it was fitted for her, hugging every curve yet not too tight, leaving room to breathe.

[member="Darth Carnifex"]

 

[Darth Carnifex]

"I have no doubt you will, apprentice."

He let her retreat behind one of the modesty walls to change, which struck him as odd. Being the person that he was, the Emperor had long since abandoned the idea of modesty when it came to the physical form. He would often change in full view of his apprentices after an arduous training session, shower with them, and would sleep in the nude. Several civilizations past and present found nudity to be... disconcerting, to say the least. Some of them forbade women from showing any skin at all, similarly to men in more matriarchal societies. Being from the humid and tropical world of Panatha, clothing was often considered as optional both privately and publicly.

Still, he voiced no opposition and merely shrugged his shoulders before she returned with her new garb. The clothes had been created via the Emperor's fabricators to conform to Valeska's exact dimensions, which had been altered in the hip and buttocks region with her new clone body.

Undoubtedly she would have to discard her old garments.

"How does it feel?"

[member="Valeska Daeranthe"]​