In search of the next story

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel kept alert as Orihime went to work on powering up the systems. She gave her friend her full focus, however, once she commented on the work the researchers were doing here. Droids got her attention for sure, but so did the use of large kyber crystals. Some of the information that was readily to hand was interesting to say the least. The concept of crowd control was useful – although Sorel wondered what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands.

But if it could be made safe so that it had no capacity for large scale destruction then it would be a worthwhile tool for the Jedi to use. It could prevent the loss of life at large scale demonstrations that sadly – but inevitably – tended to occur.

Which was when the Force told her to pay attention once more – and then her own ears warned her that they were not alone.

“We have company. I can’t say where or what yet, but I heard something. It may just be something warming up, but the Force tells me not to take it so lightly.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She was looking over more of it, more of the information about these weapons and if they could get it out and get it to work then... Well something non lethal could prove useful. She was certain there would be problems with it and nothing was ever perfect but they could try it out and if it worked great... if it didn't then they didn't have to use it or worry about it. "I sense something but it is muted like around us." There might have been other things here, like dealing with some of the dangers in temples always a chance of sithspawn they could be facing off against. A place like this if they were working on ways to improve against such creatures. They would need one to have subjects to test out in a controlled setting over just trying to make it all work in the field where they couldn't make adjustments and creatures of the darkside are annoying for how they can survive long periods of time."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

“Sithspawn!” Sorel rolled her eyes. They’d faced off against such foes before and although they’d lived to tell the tale, she would rather not have to fight one again. And definitely not two or three. Who knows what was down here – or the volume. Or the variety.

A lack of power might mean the creatures were simply locked in cells – manual locks keeping them in place. Or maybe it meant that doors were automatically opened? Perhaps any creatures had fought against each other, reducing the potential for multiple foes. The thought, however positive, had a negative conclusion. Whatever was left was the boss of the beasts – the one that prevailed. It was like a dungeon crawl that led straight to the final chamber!

“Well, at least we are expecting something – even if we’re not sure of the what.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

That was true, compared to some of the other times they at least knew that there was something there.. which was a benefit to them compared to being surprised. She was uncertain of what they would find down there but looking over parts of the logs she was getting a better idea while walking and checking the walls and rooms to get oriented. "Well lets see." Orihime stopped and... "THis will be room seventy two." She looked at it and the numbers gleamed for her. "Where they were working on botanical research methods to contain plant life. Allowing them to preserve and grow force sensitive plants that are across the galaxy in carefully controlled biosphere." She looked in the book at the project notes and what it did for visiting jedi. "They made a facility guide for dummies with cliffnotes." She said it with a smile on her face while she walked and was looking for it. "Animal and zoological research is down in the lower levels near the area designated the penn." Hmm she kept looking at it and advanced sciences as well as the reverse engineering labs could prove interesting. They might have been doing more things while she was walking to another room and opened it up revealing a tech lab with images and listed planets on the walls when she was looking at it. "This is a terraforming lab, they were working on ways they might be able to restore some fo the dead worlds in the galaxy and start transplanting life to them. Finding ways to cure some of the worlds that had been corrupted over time because of the lifelessness."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel knew that to worry incessantly about what might be was a bad idea. The Force would tell her when she needed to act and until then she should be mindful of the ‘here and now’. It was an old Jedi mantra that held as true today as whenever it was first uttered.

So she trusted that the Force would warn her and gave Orihime and their immediate surroundings her full attention. Botanical research was their first port of call. She’d seen the work her Master had undertaken and had to admit that Force sensitive plants was certainly an intriguing thing to study. If only there were more hours in the day.

Animal research always made her feel slightly uncomfortable. The advancement of science was always a good thing, and Jedi made for ethical scientists as a rule – but experimentation on fauna was always a contentious subject. And Jedi didn’t always make the right choices – the Vahla were a prime example of a righteous ideal gone wrong.

But her mood picked up at the thought of terraforming worlds. Between the Sith and man’s inhumanity to man, too many planets had been rendered lifeless and so anything that could help would be a good thing.

“I suspect that the work undertaken, however old, would be of use to today’s scientists. And historians too. Who knows what species exist here and only here? Maybe extinct elsewhere in the galaxy – or hybrids that were created here.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She looked at Sorel with a nod of her head to that, there was a lot that was going on that they might be able to bring back and apply to the worlds once again. Sticking over with a couple of the things as she looked at the terraforming information and data. "Possibly, if there is information about extinct species we might be able to find some very useful information and data on it." She wanted to see about it though and going over the data here brought out her datapad while she started to image and record the information. The AI"s could look over this for their different works. "With htis though I am seeing some possibilities for improvement, maybe restoring some worlds can bring back a number of new things if we learn how best to transplant flora and fauna." THey had the saratai which could make colonies and create self sustaining endeavors, they were making hospital carriers that will allow them to rescue and move millions of people and they had works on some carriers for moving animals but with a botanical ship they might be able to recover the worlds. "The pieces of tech in here we might not always need but perhaps some of the ideas can be used."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel wondered if there was information about Yoda’s species to be found. That was a conundrum that was millennia old. Solving that riddle would be worth ten holocrons and half a dozen Jedi Council sabers. But she didn’t hold out too much hiope.

“What about Vong worlds? Ones where they’ve sadly re-terraformed the planet. Is there a chance this research might unlock a solution to that problem? I mean, not specifically, given the Vong appeared way after this station closed down, but in principle, the need is the same.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

"It might be possible and we could look into it, a lot of the terraforming involved breaking away what had been made on the world and bringing a whole new ecosystem so this could prove dangerous or beneficial if the world has life on it already. Barren deserts might be one thing or dead sith worlds but a real risk would be for planets where populations crop up from out of no where for the sake of something." She said it and was walking while they went over with a couple of things in the data and there wa smore information she could look over while continuing through the labs until she got to one of the observation windows. "Alright this is one of the testing areas for the weapons they were developing." She looked at it and stayed there for a moment longer allowing it to show as she tapped a button and the cannon was still there. Moving around and fairly small for a ship based weapon. "A light turbolaser style I guess maybe."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Orihime always spoke sense. She was worldly wise beyond her years, but then with Matsu as her mother, it wasn’t entirely surprising. And she was right. It wasn’t that there was a lack of habitable worlds. This sort of technology should be used to resurrect once verdant worlds, not turn deserts into plains. Nature should be given its head wherever possible.

The information that they’d reached weapon testing made Sorel take note again. It was a ship-based laser. “I wonder what made it different from the average armanent?”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Looking at the testing area she did have to give it a couple of things here on the screen. She wasn't exactly certain but they were looking at the cannon and it was smaller, very small compared to the other guns she had seen. "Well from looks and what i know of guns for ships it is very small, almost like it is made for putting on a vehicle or a starfighter even. You might be able to use it on everything instead of just a very specific type of ship." She said it though while the power was churning and starting it up, nothing came online in the chamber but the screen for targeting the cannon as she looked at some more of it. "But I can feel the force coming from it." She held her hand up to the window looking in and let her eyes look over it. "You can almost feel it vibrating if you focus. I haven't seen a large crystal like this before they are hard to find."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

As Orihime spoke, Sorel felt it too. The cannon was resonating with the Force. “Like a blaster that uses a crystal in the same way a saber does? I wonder what the benefits would be?” She stood as close to the viewing area that looked onto the chamber, reaching out with the Force, trying to ascertain what role the crystal played in the cannon’s power that went over and above what a traditional weapon would do.

“Perhaps it makes the blast more focused, in the same way it does for a saber? Or perhaps it merely maximises power, allowing for smaller armaments for the same output. Weight is always a factor for ships. And it would give the impression a ship was not a significant offensive threat when in fact it was. Or maybe something else?” She wrinkled her nose. The possibilities were endless.

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Orihime looked at Sorel and went to her hip as she pulled out the light blaster and she ran a hand along the top of it, allowing the force to be charged and held within the solari focusing crystal and she spoke. "Well." Saying it with a look at Sorel when she held it. "When my mother made it the blaster she based it on had uniquely penetrative properties able to go through shields and armor far better. SHe just made it able to use force light so against sithspawn it can harm them and weaken other without harming the innocent." There was a look though on her fce when she presented a lot of it with the larger cannon. "Compared to many though this isn't enhanced with the lightside of the force instead it seemed to be using the large kyber crystals to power it. Ancient super weapons were said to be powered by such crystals before when the jedi were learning about the force and protecting against the waning ancient races."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel furrowed her brow. Superweapons that were powered by such things as kyber crystals were not something current – thank goodness – but had their place in history. In fact, Jedi were often in a race to recover them before those that would use them in such weapons. The crystal was not, in and of itself, in any way evil – but its use often was.

“I never knew you had that blaster,” Sorel said – suitably impressed. She carried sabers and a knife but rarely, if ever, used blasters. Not that they were necessary uncivilised, but because she felt more comfortable with a blade in her hand. However, like most Younglings, she was trained in small arms fire. A Jedi never knew what they would have at their disposal in any given situation and to be unprepared was never an acceptable option.

“So this thing is somewhere between the two in power I guess.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

"In case I ever lose or can't use my saber, a rarity sure and if the force is dampened. Sometimes you just need that extra protection... and compared to others it is harmless." She wasn't making light of it... no pun intended but it wasn't a blaster like others. "It uses the force and is made to be harmful to darksiders. Be dangerous to sithspawn, which means against those who aren't outright evil or corrupt is might tickle." She was sure it might do more then that but that would require... shooting someone who wasn't threatening her and that wasn't exactly something that you just did same with what she was doing. Her eyes going over the specs for the cannon. "Though for this, the power levels are the same but different it is larger but doesn't appear to be harmful in the normal sense. It would be like an ion cannon only can target organics and render them unconscious as well."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel listened and not for the first time admired the ingenuity of whoever designed the blaster. No doubt Orihime, or her mother, or another family member. They were a living dynasty of creativity and the Force.

“That’s a great concept, and I can see how it would come in useful against those who we need to oppose. And it’s not a weapon that could be used against us, either?”

Then she turned her attention back to the cannon. “So, like a riot control device? Less messy than tear gas, less damaging than a stun grenade and reusable, unlike either of the other two. It has a lot of merits as long as the power setting can’t be tampered with.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Exactly, that was the thing... The power it put out and how to adjust it as she was looking for it. "Yeah riot controls or well based on the time of this facility and the era from history. They might have had the crusades. " She thought about it and it wasn't a good time in the orders history or the republics... When the jedi actually did say no and left the republic to its own devices. Well some jedi stayed but they became twisted, this could have been something that could have been used to oppose the crusaders going after alien life in the galaxy. The ones on the ground she doubted were all ito the idea but they were following orders, if the Pius Dea were willing to burn their own people who were loyal... what would they do to a heretic? "I mean the order went away and avoided the people but if they secretly worked on this or tried to make something that could be used against the Pius Dea in a way that wouldn't kill the people it could provide in insights into that time period."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel knew a little of the Pius Dea Crusades. She was no scholar but this was one of those moments in history that Younglings learned about. What started as a pre-emptive strike against the Hutts turned into a whole campaign of crusades and finally the sect even targeted humans accused of being alien sympathizers. The whole affair lasted a millennium. “Less sure they would have used peaceful means to end any conflict, unless this was for use against the Pius Dea. And even then, you ran the risk of creating martyrs that could break free and make things ten times worse.”

Sorel shivered. “It seems wherever you look in history, you find such things. Not anything to be proud of, huh?”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

Orihime nodded her head. "I think this was developed to stop them from attacking in crusades, their large ships were shielded and full of soldiers. if this could be used to strike them and knock out the armies they held then they should be able to stop the crusaders themselves." She was sticking with it though as this could prove useful when she roamed around the lab looking at some more of it. They would and should be able to set about recovering some of the items and information here about the cannon. The other experiments and prototypes that they were developing for use. Grav grenades were on the order and they were non lethal but able to disable large groups of people. Some more works for themselves as she spoke. "Though some of this other stuff looks like they made it to stop groups of people without risking killing them."

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel followed the line of logic. It was a perfectly reasonable explanation of the use of the cannon – especially if it were mounted on a ship. Engage the enemy in space, rely on the fact that standard shields would not be designed to protect against what was effectively a stun ray and pacify the opposing army before they even landed.

“If they pulled this off, it would have changed the course of modern warfare, let alone riot control. Battles lost in space before a single foot had set foot on the ground. And with zero casualties.”

Sorel followed Orihime around the area and noted the things they were working on. “These feel like entirely sensible things for Jedi minds to be working on. Keeping the peace rather than waging war.”

[member="Orihime Ike"]

 

[Orihime Ike]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]

She looked at her with a nod of her head to that, this might have been a way of peace but it could be presented against some of the others as a thing of war. She knew how some of the things could look. Orihime was watching a few of the things on the screen before she was presenting more of it and now that the systems were being set up to show the design and she was downloading all of the information. "It could have and for jedi to be able to use it, non lethal that could be worked on so we might be able to improve it with these designs." She was working on more of it and pulling up information as she looked over some fo the things. "They also seem to have found some things, crystals here on the planet as well as just a number of resources they were able to get more for their own needs. The stygium here on the planet they could use to shield the facility from sensors."