Private Electric Sky

[AMCO]

[Source: David Carrion]​

Ministry of Science, Test Site Greystone
Darkstar-class Star Fortress
Yavin, Upper Atmosphere
---

As always, a storm raged outside the station's reinforced viewports - an entirely natural one, unlike the ones often seen in the skies of homeworld.

It was perfectly suited for anonymity, this place, for to find the station without the right coordinates would be next to impossible... and Force knew there was plenty worthy of concealment aboard, as they were studying the essential nature of the soul itself...

... in a very Sith way. Turning away from the crystal suspended before him - and the feelings emanating from it - he checked his chrono, smiling softly. Aren would be arriving soon, very soon, and it was about time that he check up on her; with his recent promotions and the innovative nature of his work, he had been a less attentive Master than he had intended to.

He could only hope that she was well-suited for his more freeform approach to an apprenticeship.

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Since the day she had met Adrian, her life had been nothing less than posh for Aren. Growing up, her life had been nice but this was on a whole new level. Pretty much anything she asked for was provided for her and she even had a whole suite of rooms that were her own! Meetings now between her and Adrian were getting fewer so when he called, she came.

After they met, he had started giving her some training and then let her have her freedom. Whatever she wanted to learn, she could and then he would give her things to experiment on. He allowed her to hone her skills on her own and did not keep her under any form of lock and key. Life was great for the thief from Zakuul.

For the most part, Aren hadn't changed much. Gotten a little older, didn't try to steal droids anymore and she had more knowledge. Knowledge led to power and her master had proven that. Even though they hadn't been in direct contact very often, Aren kept up to date on many things. A few other things had changed about her. She no longer carried around a beat-up bag of tools and instead had decided to upgrade that. Another part that had changed was what she wore for clothes. Because of the tattoo she had on her shoulder, most of her clothes still showed that. Why cover it when it was meant to be seen?

Not leaving behind her companions, Aren and her droids showed up. Somethings still made the young woman gape and right now she was doing just that. With a look of awe on her face, she joined Adrian. Their relationship might be odd, but they had worked that out early on. There was no need for formalities when it was just the two of them.

Giving him an almost friendly wave, EL wandered off with the other droids and Aren walked to her master.

"This place is EPIC!"

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

Better equipment and new experiences notwithstanding, his apprentice was still largely the same woman she had been when she first broke into his skyscraper on a quest for technological loot, for unlike some he had no interest in breaking her down and rebuilding her in his image.

He was, after all, rather progressive as far as Sith went.

"Glad you like it, Aren... but this is hardly the most impressive part." Smiling softly, he returned the droid's wave with one of his own - unlike Aren, he did not truly see droids as people, but if it made her happy he saw no reason not to pretend.

Gesturing towards the crystal hovering beside him and the Dark Side spirit trapped within, he continued. "As you can see, I have been rather busy... but that's hardly an excuse not to keep an eye on my apprentice. How have you been doing?"

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

With El and her companions off doing what droids do, Aren joined her master and smiled a bit as he spoke. When he said the area they were in wasn't the most impressive, she almost looked like she didn't believe him. Knowing Adrian though, he wasn't lying to her. What would be the purpose of that?

Tilting her head in a little bit of confusion, she followed his motion and her eyes fell on the crystal. Not reaching out to touch it, she moved to get a closer look. Seeing the trapped spirit inside, she pointed to it and then at her master. Standing up straight, she looked between him and the trapped entity.

"You did that? How? Who or what is it? Is this something I can learn how to do too?"

Granted Adrian had given her so much freedom to come and go as she wanted, she had still devoted a little bit of each day to the Force. On her own, she had learned how to get into the minds and memories of people. As well as light fires and cool things off. Not to mention telepathy and telekinesis. There was so much more out there that what she knew was just the beginning.

Telling him of what she had learned, he might not be totally impressed, but hopefully, he wouldn't be disappointed in her.

"Oh! I also have an enhancement! I'm always connected to the holonet."

It might not be something that would impress her master, but it certainly helped Aren with what she did. The always-on connection was wonderful and the constant chatter was something the woman had grown used to.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

Smiling softly at her barrage of questions, he waved his hand over the crystal, causing it to glow a brighter shade of red as the entity within reacted.

"Hah, give me some time to respond, why don't you?" Taking a moment to put his thoughts in order, he began rattling off answers. "I did it, yes, in fact I designed these crystals specifically to hold souls, spirits, what have you - still requires not inconsiderable sorcerous expertise to use, of course. The entity within is a spirit I pulled from the Netherworld - I suppose you could call it a demon - I have been experimenting with using them to power automatons, artefacts, and the like."

"... and yes, this is something you can learn... though I suggest focusing on the basics of Sorcery first, as Nethermancy is hardly simple."

Listening attentively as the conversation turned to what she had learned, he gave her time to elaborate before responding with a single nod.

"Not bad, Aren, though as you said you still have much to learn - out of curiosity, have you succeeded in combining your aptitude for Mechu-Deru with this new enhancement of yours? It certainly sounds like it could potentially prove very useful."

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

It was a good thing they had such a relaxed relationship. This was something Aren had noticed. The two of them got along more as friends than actual Master and Apprentice. Though that was certainly present. She could be herself around Adrian, show her excitement, confusion and everything she felt around him. At the moment, she was almost like a kid in a toy store. Only her self control held her back from getting into mischief right now.

"Can I touch it?"

Totally giving him the time to answer, she was quiet until he was finished or assumed he was. Gazing at the crystal, her eyes widened slightly when the demon inside moved.

"What did you do to it?"

Wondering if he had gone into the Netherworld to get it, she kept the question to herself. At least for now. Nodding when he suggested she focus on Sorcery first, that was still a work in progress. On her own, she had learned quite a lot, but would always want suggestions from Adrian first.

"I have! You see when I got the enhancement, it was an external modem thing that I had to be within a certain range in order to use. Now, I don't actually need that device. There was a chip in that stupid box that I took out. That little chip is what connected the box to the holonet. Now, that chip is on me. So I like empowered it. If you think I have it in me, you're nuts. I'm still all me."

In their lives, both of them probably knew many people with cybernetic enhancements, Aren didn't really want to subject herself to that though. So she remained entirely organic.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

Shaking his head at her question, he chuckled warmly. "Sure, you can touch it - unless you smash it into something, it should be safe enough. As for what I did, why, I simply poked it, albeit in a mystical manner - these entities sometimes go into a restive state when deprived of stimuli."

If he was being honest, even breaking it likely wouldn't be all that dangerous, not with him around anyway. The act of drawing these things out of the Nether in order to entrap them was hardly simple, however, nor was creating the Soulstone, to begin with. As for what Aren would feel if she went through with touching it... that was up in the air. A shift in temperature, a surge of emotion, or nothing at all, it was hard to say.

Mostly following her line of logic, he smiled softly, nodding in acknowledgement.

"You've managed to connect your mind to the HoloNet without internal implants, or am I misunderstanding? If so, that seems an impressive feat - I can only wonder how your unique aptitudes might manifest in a purely digital environment."

While he had never been, and likely never would be, a technomancer, it was a fascinating ability with numerous uses.

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

The two of them might not be focused on the same aspect of the Force, but they worked together really well. Neither of them were fighters and that was something Aren had started to feel would be needed. At least, on her end. Too many times, she had fallen prey to overwhelming numbers and had even been taken captive by a group of them. Even her ability to wreak havoc with electronics hadn't prevented the capture.

Choosing not to dwell too much on these memories, she returned her thoughts to the present. Her lack of attention might be noticed by Adrian but she hoped not. Dark eyes lit up when he said she could touch it. Giving him an excited look, it would also carry a sense of humor.

"Like I would smash it into something on purpose."

Accidently was another matter entirely. Reaching out a hand to touch the crystal, it gave her something similar to a light electrical shock. Not enough to hurt or cause her any harm. More of a tickle that almost felt like pins and needles probing her palm.

"It tickles."

When she touched it, the being inside stirred again and almost seemed to look at Aren. Pulling her hand away, she turned her attention back to her master. Opening her bag, she held an item out to him to look at.

If he took it, he would feel there was a latent power that had been put on it. He would also be automatically connected mentally to the holonet. She probably should have warned him, but wanted to see the possible shock and surprise on his face when that happened.

"Yes, this chip was inside the modem and as long as its on my body, I'm connected to the holonet. That's probably because I'm the one that infused it. People like you, actually need to be touching it. When it was in the modem, it would automatically connect with any Force user that was within its range. That bothered some of the visitors I had, so I took it out and attuned it more to me and just have it with me all the time."

Looking at him with a bit of an odd look, she shook her head.

"I'm not sure I would be comfortable going fully digital. I would like to remain as I am and just do what I do already. My foot and finger prints are hard to find and almost impossible to follow."

This might be what he meant, but that's how Aren heard it.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

"It tickles"? Hardly what he suspected, but perhaps he should have expected the unexpected.

"How curious - and what do we have he..."

Eyes widening as his perception suddenly seemed to fold outwards, encompassing the veritable hoard of information that was even the smallest droplet within the vast ocean that was the HoloNet, he took a step back, blinking once before his smirk returned.

"I'll admit I didn't see that coming - and I can most certainly see why your visitors were disoriented."

Humming in understanding, he handed the item back to her, feeling some relief as the disturbance vanished. "Oh, certainly, but I was thinking more along the line of focusing one's entire attention upon the HoloNet without abandoning one's body."

"Come to think of it, those new neural interfaces one of my companies is working on might help you with that, if you ever give it a go."

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

While Adrian might not have expected the object to tickle, that's the best way she could describe the feeling it gave her. Trying not to giggle when he took the chip, Aren couldn't help but at least smile. The look on his face was priceless!! Sobering up, she wasn't exactly afraid he was going to lash out at her, but some small part of her almost expected him to get some sort of payback for doing that to him. Luckily he didn't and handed it back to her.

Putting it back in her bag, the familiar noise of the holonet returned to her head and she turned it out to focus on her master. Understanding what caused her guests to not stick around long, it did take a while to get used to. It had been with Aren for so long, she had gotten used to it by now.

"You mean like plugging in and still staying conscience?"

Lowing her brows in thought, she wondered if that was possible. Tilting her head when he suggested she give something a try, she nodded slowly.

"Yeah sure. Want me to be a test subject?"

This was something she wasn't entirely opposed to either and looked forward to trying out something new.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

Truth be told, punishing his apprentice for her little prank never really crossed the Sith Lord's peer - he had always favoured more amiable and casual teacher-student relationships to the brutal trials, scheming, and inevitable betrayal of some of his peers.

Just because he was Sith doesn't mean he had to be uncivilised.

"Something like that, yes - I believe they are working on a... helmet? Neurochemistry was never my speciality, but it's supposed to establish a direct mind-to-machine link without requiring an implant. Based on old Galactic Empire research, I believe..."

Chuckling softly, he shook his head. "... and no, not a mere test subject - though I would like to see if you can find novel uses for it!"

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

What his company was working on certainly interested Aren and she nodded. There was a good chance that a group of people she worked with might also be interested in the device. When she returned to them, she might just mention it and see if they were. The worst they could say was no and that would be that.

"I'd like that too. You could probably easily arrange for one to be delivered to me."

With her almost always-on connection to the holonet, with this device he mentioned, she might even be able to accomplish something similar to it. A way for her to be more than just an observer like she was now. She could actually do some of her jobs with it and not leave a trace of her touch.

"Oh! Do you remember that odd-looking technological Sith artifact you have in your office? I was wondering if I could borrow it and look into what it is and how it works."

So far Adrian hadn't ever denied her anything she asked for. This might be pushing it though. She knew how rare things like these were. However, with the knowledge she had gained under his tutoring and on her own...she had an idea as to what it was.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

"Certainly - I will put you down as one of the first to receive one."

Or rather, one of his ever-watchful assistants would do so, and promptly at that. He had always been more concerned with his research than corporate matters and content to let his employees handle anything but the most crucial of details and relay any requests he might have.

Her second request, however, gave him more pause for thought; he did not know exactly what it was, not truly, but he knew it was ancient - and by extension irreplaceable... that being said, her unique talents might just be sufficient to find out more about it and its origins.

"That, that is an ambitious request... but one I am inclined to grant, if only because you might see what I have not been able to." Pausing for emphasis, his tone was serious but hardly threatening. "I do expect that you will be very careful with it, of course."

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

With the amount of time Aren had spent with her master, she should have realized he would have another person actually deliver the item to her. He would get her name on the list but that was about it and that was just fine with her. The two of them were similar in many ways but also far different.

Adrian focused on his research and controlled companies but had very little to do with the day to day running of them. While Aren was very much hands-on with her own work. On the other hand, she didn't have any company of her own and probably lived closer to the shadow Adrian cast. Though in her field, she was superior to him.

Her master knew this and granted her permission to borrow the ancient relic. It would be well taken care of and she would be careful with it. Dark eyes lit up and she smiled at him in thanks.

"When have you ever known me to not be careful with technology?"

She would have to make a trip back to Dromund Kaas for it. Almost chuckling at her first memory there. The apprentice had certainly grown in power since. Power and knowledge. Only a little bit of which she had shared with him. That was one reason for them meeting. To catch up and maybe for her to learn something new.

As if it had been a second thought, she colored up slightly before speaking.

"I uh...also know how to teleport...sort of. There was a situation I got into and instead of falling to my death, I teleported away and to another planet entirely!"

Even if she felt embarrassed about what happened, the excitement of teleporting and escaping made up for it.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

Smiling wryly at her reply, Adrian simply shrugged. "Never, but it seemed worth mentioning given the irreplaceable nature of this particular piece."

Worth mentioning, but that was it. No threats, not even any dire warnings - he trusted her to do her utmost to keep it safe but should the worst come to pass he had no intention of harming her in anger like some of his more ardent peers were wont to do to their apprentices.

That was reserved for intentional trespasses.

At her admission, such thoughts melted away in an instant, the Sith Lord's eyebrows flying skyward.

"You teleported? To another planet?" He had not known his apprentice to lie to him and yet he still reached out with his mind, sensing no hint of deceit or doubt. It was possible her memory had been tampered with, but he could not for the life of him figure out why someone would do that. "Very, very interesting. I dare say only a handful of Sith Lords would be able to replicate that feat... and I am not among them."

Humming thoughtfully, he eyed her in a new light - to be able to do such a thing spontaneously, it was almost unthinkable. "Have you been able to replicate the feat at a later date, even over small distances? A mere metre or so is beyond most, you know."

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

Nodding in a pleased manner, her question had been asked and answered. Moving past that, Aren had opened up another whole can of worms with her comment about teleporting. Clearing her throat and slightly blushing when he double-checked to make sure she was telling the truth, there wasn't anything within her to suggest anything else.

"Yes, I was captured on Dorsis...have you ever been there? It's a lot like Coruscant but smaller. Still a whole city-world...it's great!"

Allowing her master to probe her mind, there wasn't too much she could have done to stop him, even if she wanted to. Adrian needed to verify her statement on his and this was the best way to accomplish that.

Pulling her head back in a little bit of a surprise, she would have assumed he could.

"You mean it's not something everybody knows? Much like the Mechu-Deru I already know huh."

Not exactly a question, but it still sounded like one. Shaking her head when he asked if she had been able to replicate the feat. She really hadn't been practicing it.

"I got off that world, returned to Dorsis and life carried on. There hasn't been a need for me to do it again. Should I practice it more? I'll tell you, it would save on travel time for sure!"

Additionally, it would save on travel costs but that's never been a concern of hers. With everything Adrian had given her and Aren taking on side jobs, money was not an issue for her. No matter what he answered, she felt it wise to get control over the ability enough to use it when she wanted and not just in life or death situations.

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

Shaking his head, he reacted to her ignorance of just what was normal for her fellow Force Sensitives with visible amusement, but not without privately making a note of the fact that he would have to see about expanding her knowledge of the basics.

"Hardly everyone, no, though it's not necessarily uncommon for Knights and Lords - even they are usually restricted to shorter distances within line of sight, however. I personally cannot transport myself with any precision, even though I have made creatures that can."

As gifted as he was in the sorcerous arts and the manipulation of energies both physical and mystical, that had always been his greatest skill, what had elevated him above the masses to the Dark Council itself - the reshaping of life and reality alike in his image, the ultimate expression of control.

It was power at its most intoxicating, its allure far greater than any seductress, its highs superior to any drug.

"I would certainly recommend further practice, to do such a thing instinctively is indicative of an incredible aptitude for the art!" Eyes glittering with amusement, his lips quirked upwards into a smirk. "Careful practice. I assume you wouldn't want to blend your molecules with those of a wall?"

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

The whole basics thing was more or less skipped when Aren had attempted to steal from her and she had been thrust into the deep end head first rather quickly. So far though she hadn't really failed at much and on her own, she had learned a few skills outside of even Sith space. Granted she didn't really live within their sphere as much as she probably should have. Just something for her to keep in mind for the future.

"How can you have made something that can teleport and yet you can't very well?"

At least, he knew the foundation of the skill. Maybe he should take his own advice and practice more. Pushing that out of her mind for the moment and focused again on what was around them.

"Have you succeeded in getting this thing to provide power for you?"

Nodding in a sort of absentmindedly manner when he suggested she practice, it would be something she would work on more later.

"What other secrets does this facility hold?"

This was said more to herself than to him but certainly loud enough for him to hear. Daydreaming of what sort of lab she should set him in her flat filled her mind.

"Um...I wouldn't accidentally destroy a building working on something like this would I?"

AMCO

 

[AMCO]

"How can you have made something that can teleport and yet you can't very well?"

Lips quirking up in a wry smile, his reply was mildly amused. "The same way you could design a droid capable of observing wavelengths outside the human visible spectrum; much like how cybernetics or external tools could serve a similar function for you, I too have projects in the works." Waving a hand in dismissal, he continued. "Nothing concrete, mind you. There are a great many things I would like to do and only so much time."

Returning his attention to the trapped demon, his eyes gleamed with excitement. "Minor things, for now. Artefacts and the like, but nothing that could not be empowered in other ways. I have had some promising results, however... among this facility's secrets are automatons designed to house such spirits, to contain and be empowered by them. Think Force-wielding droids, albeit, ah, flawed ones. Yes, quite flawed, so far."

Raising a finger as if to assuage her fears, a thoughtful look crossed his features and he slowly lowered it. "Probably not. Not unless you start messing about with other dimensions, bringing in things which were never meant to coexist with the rules that govern our reality."

Aren D'Shade​

 

[Aren D'Shade]

When her master answered the question the way he did, Aren understood it completely. By using technology as an example, she knew what he meant. Droids were one thing she worked with on an almost all the time basis. What she was able to make them accomplish was far beyond anything a mere human would be able to on their own. Somebody with the Force though could do much more.

A look of awe crossed her face when Adrian said he was working on making droids able to use the Force.

"Hey! I might be able to help you with that. Can you show me these droids?"

So far in their master and apprentice relationship, he hadn't ever told her no and she didn't expect that to happen this time either. How are they flawed? It is because the Force needs something living to work? Having these beings involved that shouldn't be as much of an issue though..."

Nodding as he answered her almost fearful question, they both had quite a thoughtful look on their faces. She didn't plan to delve into this too deeply in her own home. Already she was forming a plan in her mind and would be patient until she could put it into motion.

AMCO