Escape from Eden

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
On the outside, the asteroid base was nothing special. A simple structure of bare grey metal, sticking a few meters above the rocky surface of its perch. A single landing pad extended from the main base. The first thing a newcomer would notice would be the overwhelming silence. No blinking lights, no whir of machinery, no calls of workers; just deep, suffocating silence. There was no purpose at all in landing at the base. It was empty, gutted long ago of anything useful. It was just an empty metal shell.

At least, that's what it appeared to be.

But, the base held a secret, a deep, dark secret. A secret long ago lost to time. A brave adventurer, or perhaps an insane one, might just find something interesting amongst the empty metal rooms. For in the bowels of the facility, far from the light of any star, waited something extraordinary.

Who would be the person to reveal this mystery?

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Expansion it was bound to happen one day, her growing company needed more bases of operation, more places to develop arms armor and medical technology. Unfortunately the Galactic Empire wrapped up in all it's wars was not interested in backing her exploration, content with what her small factory umping out is limited goods as it, as such Lab was back to her own self going around by herself looking at new places.

Eventually the scientist reaching this old abandoned asteroid complex, it seemed intact, isolated and what much larger then what she already had, the problem? if it still function and most of all vacant. Slowly approaching an unmarked imperial shuttle came to land on the sole landing pad, the Twi'lek disembarking from its steaming ramp, a oxygen mask over her face, just in case.

"Well so far so good.... still something feels off about this place", thought a lack of people may be good, it often hinted to something sinister, wrist blaster on hold the doctor. [member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
The doctor was wise to wear the oxygen mask; the facilities life support systems had broken down years before. As she approached the gutted base, she would find herself inside what had once been an administrative area. Once filled with computers and the chatter of receptionists and security guards, it was now bare, only the large central desk, made of solid metal, betraying its former function. Upon entrance, an automated system, running on its last semblances of emergency power, would say:

"Wel-bzzzt to the bzzzt Clon-bzzt," before rapidly shutting back down. Across the room was a single turbolift, the labels marking its floors worn out so far that only one label on one button was capable of being read. Half of the label read "Stasis"; the rest was gone.

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

The place was very very strange, nothing, just nothing, not remaining devices, not computers, not furniture, just empty... it was if this place was never used, of who ever was here last packed up and left... but why. The introductory buzzer unfortunately did not shine any light on the subject, the only thing it hinted towards was this place not being army, otherwise she would expect to get an 'un-authorized individual', giving as such she could rule out a military instillation.

"So far so good, but I have an uneasy feeling about this"? despite this she could not help but move even deeper into the complex, eyeing up the only turbo life that indicated it led to a stasis room. Was this place a hospital of some sort? that may be good, but if the room was anything like this upstairs area it would not be of much use, not that she would not explore it. Walking closer she pressed the button on the small life, awaiting a response as her eye scanner began to search around the entrance area.

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

Luckily, it seemed as though the life support had been the only thing to go. The lift grinded into life, dropping the doctor deeper into the bowels of the asteroid facility. After a few rickety moments, the lift came to a halt, there was a "ding" and the doors shuddered open. Stretched out before the doctor was a long hallway, each wall covered by dozens upon dozens of stasis tubes. But, something was wrong about these tubes. Rather than glowing yellow, they were a powerless grey, and the people trapped inside were not much better.

Apparently, the failure of the life support systems had also caused a failure of the stasis systems. All the stasis tubes had lost power, causing their patients to wake and, trapped in a sealed tube, succumb to asphyxiation. Not a single one remained active; well, not that the doctor could see. If she kept going, however, walking past the horrid sights, she would find a single tube, as simple as the rest, at the very end of the line, glowing with the faintest yellow of power. It was impossible to tell where the power was coming from, only that it had saved the life of the specimen that hung in suspended animation within.

The tube had frosted over, the stasis process not holding off the passage of time and the effect of long-time exposure to lack of oxygen, so it was impossible to tell for sure what was inside the tube. Looking closely, one could barely make out the slender form of a young woman, a dark silhouette against the yellow glow of stasis. Next to the tube was a control panel, an ancient model, that, if activated properly, could no doubt initate the wake-up sequence and free this long-trapped prisoner.

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab quirked an eye brow at the fining sound that emanated through the hallway as the lift came to a halt, it was rather stereotypical but it also hinted more to the fact this place was to some extent open to the public, most military lift not having such a nice ring to it. Stepping out into the room the Twi'lek doctor switched on her a small flash light, giving slightly better illumination to the many rows of stasis pods, oh so many stasis pods. "What was this place, a holding facility for patients? criminals, or just people wanting to live in the future... not that much has change, though does not look like anyone has made it out alive".

It was a grim look, the sealed pods almost perfectly preserving the dead hosts that lay inside, some looking to be dehydrated but overall most only looking to have passes away recently, she could not imagine the fear and feeling some who have ha upon waking up only to die from suffocation. "Best not think about it, hopefully though someone survived, this place holds secrets, secrets want to know", steeling herself the doctor pushed onward, keeping her scanner out for any subjects that may still be alive. Suddenly her scanner picked up something, faint but a life sign, either almost dead or in suspended animation.

Running around the corner Lab spotted the pod, still on, with a huge amount of condensation around it, the person inside, still alive, "Hopefully they have answers, now to shut things off and get them out, I do not think this pod has much power left". Reaching around Lab went to work trying to shut down and open the pod, and if need be attend to the person inside if they needed medical care, "let’s hope this ends well".

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
As the doctor manipulated the control panel to release its precious cargo, the light within the stasis pod suddenly blinked off. There was a moment of silence, then a loud hissing noise as the top of the pod slid away, revealing its prisoner. It was indeed a young woman, in her late teens or early twenties, lying on her back against the cushioned pod. Her torso was covered by blue medical wrap, her blonde hair held back by a simple white headband. She was petite and slim, less than two meters tall, her skin pale from lack of sun exposure.

After a few more intense seconds as the door finished its opening sequence, the young woman suddenly gasped and her eyes flew open. She lay for a second or two, gasping as she tried to draw air from the empty room. Her eyes traveled to an emergency oxygen mask, sitting rather cruelly on a rack near her pod, which was thankfully on the very end of the room. She scrambled from the pod towards the mask, grabbing hold and placing it over her face. She took several deep breaths of precious oxygen and then, calming somewhat, climbed to her feet, only to fall back down again, her limbs, deadened by however long in stasis, refusing to bear her weight.

"Ow!" she cried as she hit the bare metal floor. She rubbed a banged elbow and then suddenly her eyes found the doctor. She blinked once, then spoke in an eerily mechanical voice.

"Experiment E-0101, wake up sequence successful."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab was hesitant to do much as the doors slowly opened, not sure if the blonde woman inside would be hostile or not, though she knew for a fact said individual would have some sort of temporary limb dysfunction after spending so long in suspended animation. Before able to reach in and check for a pulse of other life sign the woman awoke, a sudden manner which startled Lab for a moment, making her step back, forgetting for a brief moment that the life support systems were void, until said woman scrambled with post haste towards the emergency masks.

"Um excus-", the Twi'lek was unable to finish her sentence, the woman reaching the mask, but falling down the minute she tried to stand up properly, stasis sickness she had hypothesized coming into play. The following *thunk* of her elbow against the hard metal floor, making the doctor cringed slightly as she cautiously approached the downed woman, "A-are you okay miss"? She knelt down next to the girl, placing a shoulder on her, a little odded out by the name, at lest it was more information on the matter, *Ahem* well E-0101, how do you feel, are you okay"? It felt odd to say that but anything to make the girl feel more comfortable.

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

The young woman sat where she had fallen, eyes never leaving the doctor. At her inquiry as to her health, the young woman looked down at her limbs, slowly testing the sluggish response of each one.

"I appear to be suffering from some sort of hibernation sickness," she observed, "Though my retention of my vision as compared to motor control suggests that I was in stasis rather than carbonite." Shakily, the young woman climbed to her feet, using the pod for support, until she had regained some semblance of an upright posture.

"I am sure that after a few moments of rest I will regain total function," she declared. After a couple of deep breaths she turned back to the doctor.

"May I inquire as to the identity of my rescuer?" she asked, "You do not look like an of the other scientists who used to work here."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab wondered about the woman's monotone voice, though it was not unheard of for people to act like this it made the Twi'lek wonder if she was some sort 'raised from birth' or perhaps a clone, not getting a full grasp of galactic basic. Walking over the doctor's hands wrapped around the woman's body a little supporting her weight and preventing and further fall related in injuries, "those observation are correct, your body has been in a stasis pod for quite some time guessing by the amount of condensation build up".

Thoughts ran through her mind of the age of E-0101, even if the stasis sleep was only a few months at the least something nagged at the doctor mind that this person was much, much older then they appeared to be. She snapped out of her internal monologue, turning attention back to the girl, still struggling to stand up properly, "no I am not a researcher that was allocated to this facility, my name is Labkarhip Mordulla, and yes I know my name is a pun". "Though may I ask, you just said, 'one of scientists who USED to work here... do you know what happened to this place"?

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

The young woman steadied herself against the doctor, glad for her support. Her mind raced with questions as the doctor spoke: where were the scientists? Why were the other pods dark? Why did the facility seem abandoned? When the doctor asked such a question out loud, E-0101's eyes darkened as she thought.

"I wonder the same thing," she replied, "I only saw the scientists once, when the growth process was complete. I remember white coats and worried eyes, but nothing else I'm afraid." E-0101 took a tentative step forward, her legs thankfully beginning to respond properly. She leaned heavily on Lab as she looked around, eyes darkening again.

"Did you find...anyone else...alive?"

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab was hoping the woman would not enter a panic attack or shock, trying to steady her in a way that would make is easier to provide comforting as well as keep her stable in the event she lost mobility once again. Listening further to the test subjects words things started to clear up a bit, well more then compared to what she knew upon entering, 'growth process, sad eyes, artificial humans? no clones, and sad races? does not look like their experiment failed, so something else"?

Slowly the duo walked a bit further, herself having to almost life the girl up, "unfortunately all the other pods are... not operational, you seem to be the sole survivor E-0101, tell me is there any other information you know about this place, dates maybe years? what your skills or purpose was"? It may have been a little to much information for the, what she assumed to be a clone now, just woken up individual, but the more Lab knew the easier it would be to help the woman.

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

E-0101's eyes filled with sadness as she looked down the lines of disabled pods.

"So many..." she said so quietly it was almost a whisper. She didn't look at Labkahip when she asked her question, just rattled off a response, as if it was pre-programmed into her mind.

"I am designated as 'Special Forces Medical Specialist'," she said, "I am designed for advanced combat medicine in service of front-line military units." She turned again to the woman supporting her.

"This is all I know," she finished, her voice losing its recitative quality.

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab honestly could not relate to her sadness, but could understand loneliness and the sudden shock on ones life being turned upside down, her hand patting against the woman's back slightly, "I am sorry".

Once more things took a sudden change as the girl took the monotone robotic like voice, responding t labs question, almost as if her creators had expected her to be asked that a lot. "A medical doctor then, well that is nice to know, something we have in common, and do not worry I am sure there can be something around here that will give us more information, can you walk"?

One of those methods like checking the model of the stasis pods, get a feel for when this place could have active, seeing such a facility was powered by a nuclear reactor that could keep going for hundreds of years.

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

Sarad accepted the other woman's comfort with a weak smile.

"Yes, I can walk," she replied, eyes gazing down the line of pods.

The stasis pods themselves were of a rather standard design, a simple transparisteel tube with caps at both ends, much like a bacta tank. However, rather than standing upright, they lay at a slight angle, and instead of being filled with liquid, they had a soft cushion upon which the containee lay while suspended. It could be somewhat accurately assumed that this facility had been active sometime in the last millenium, though due to the tendency of basic medical technology to remain stagnant for extended periods of time, that was a rough estimate at best.

"I know little about this facility's design, but logic would assume there is a data center somewhere."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Labs eyes looked around the stasis pod as the two slowly walked along the darkened corridors, nothing was of real note, stasis pod where not usually changed in anyway, and there was no production number, date anything really indicating who made it. Considering though the state of this place and it's seeming secretive nature Lab would not be surprised if the pods where made specifically for this place, not original manufacture made by 'this' organization, who ever they where.

"So, E-0101, would you have any idea where the data banks are? further down this corridor perhaps"? It was true the upstairs area's had been cleared out, but a Data bank or server may still be here for recording the subjects states and being connected to the pods themselves. Clearly they wanted to keep the subjects allive, as such a place like that must still be around, and even if the place had lost power Lab could still attain the information.

[member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

E-0101's expression was still blank, though her face looked pained, as if she was struggling to remember.

"I do not know," she replied as she looked around, trying to find an answer.

The young woman may not have remembered it, but there was in fact, just around the corner at the end of the corridor a control room. Though time may have affected the computers, they might still have just enough information to fill in the blanks.

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab gave the woman a reassuring smile, "It is okay, at the very least you are alright, that is something", she replied setting the girl down and going around the corner to find a computer bank, one that had seemed to still be active. "I may be able to get something out of this, just give me a bit okay", looking over the controls most seemed to be similar to those used by Imperial devices, old but the resemblance was there, had this facility been from the old Galactic Empire. 'Well it's worth a search, I wonder if they have the same interface and file setting, that will make things easier to find', lab thought to herself while flicking through the different screens.

(sorry for this I thought I had replied by I think it did not go through) [member="Sarad"]

 

[Sarad]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

The computer systems were indeed similar to those of the old Galactic Empire, though it was clear that they were not military, but those of a civilian industry. Many of the files were corrupted beyond repair, but there were a few that could still be accessed, as if whatever had wiped the systems hadn't quite managed to get rid of them. They were organized as log entries, obviously made by whatever scientists had operated the facility. There was no information regarding who the scientists were, or what company they had worked for. The only visible text read:

"Entry #...Date...The Eden Initiative is proceeding as planned. Our mission to create superior artificial soldiers is underway, and already the first specimens had begun growing. Our bioengineering procedures are superior to any training the Kaminoans could have come up with. Once these specimens are complete, we will be able to send them straight into combat. They are perfectly designed, perfectly operational, and perfectly controllable. Also today the official coding for the mental conditioning was complete. To test the conditioning, the codeword JANUS has been programmed into every unit. Using the codeword should activate a full personal description. Use it at will to ensure functionality. Full control codes will be given as they come. .... out."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

The system seemed to have been deleted hastily upon Kab starting is up, the way certain flies had been removed or seemed to have been removed alerted to a frantic wipe without making sure it went all they way. Regardless is would hopefully give some answers to this place that seemed old and familiar at the same time. Opening the first data long her eyes began to scan the information, slowly growing in size as she realized what had been uncovered.

Super soldiers, Kamino, it was all strange, how far back did this go? was it old Imperial tech, was it Galactic Republic? She did not know, but the one thing that did stand out the most the was 'JANUS' code word. "Hmmm, i will do a little bit of digging later, but first... let us hope your memory is still intact". Turning to face [member="Sarad"] Lab uttered the short phrase, hoping the woman had not suffered to much brain damage, "JANUS".