Life Ends, but the Mind does Not (Enigma)

[Harrip]

Marzoon​

Space Station​

Harrip's Preserved Body​

A large transparasteel window was in place over a large container. Through the transparent metal, one could view the body of a large strange beast, dead. It had been found on the surface, with a plethora of wounds. It was a scientific discovery that was to be transported to a laboratory somewhere closer to the center of the galaxy. The few scientists that had been on-planet at the time of the discovery had not been able to study the corpse in-depth. Once it had been transported to the space station, where better scientific equipment could be found, a number of scientists had begun examining it. They had not figured out what the creature was, its DNA was bizarre and unlike anything they had seen before. They had found, to their utter disbelief, that the body had been repairing itself slightly when they found it. Some external force had been mending the wounds and the death of the creature had not completely halted the healing process. When bio-scans had been completed, the results showed that the body was dead and that it was not active in any way. The unofficial theory had been that the creature was a product of Force Experiments, though most of the scientists shrugged off the possibility. They believed that this body may be a possibly key to eternal youth, for if there was a healing process that continued even after death then maybe that would transfer to when alive being able to rejuvenate one's body so that it would be younger.

The wounds had been numerous, or so the diminishing scarred tissue indicated. There had been a large whole through his skull, but it had mostly healed by the time the body had been discovered. It wasn't possible to determine the time of death on the regenerating body. Both lungs had been punctured, but had been sown back up by the scientists, and a large area of scarred tissue was to be found on his left side. It would have been a death sentence to any natural creature but either it had been hacked after death, or it had a very high pain-tolerance. Now the body was on display for a short time until they had prepared a shuttle adequately for transport. At the moment there were many people of all species and from all over the galaxy peering in at the strange, unnatural beast behind the metal.

Harrip's Lost Mind​

​

Once more Harrip looked upon the expanse of the Galaxy. He saw it as the living creature it was. A mass of organisms that when seen from such a distance would appear as a single entity. Of course he had never beheld it in that way until Death had explained it to him. It was a beautiful sight, something that few had ever been able to see. He was thankful for Death's embrace. When he had died, Death had welcomed him openly. There had been pain, but it had been worth it. Now he was in peace, no longer was he trapped within the body of a monster, no longer was he an outcast, incapable of socializing with the Galaxy. He was free, free of the Master that had used him, free of the Rakghoul mind that had been fused to his mind, free of the galaxy that feared and rued his very existence. He had had no purpose before, where would a monster live in a galaxy of 'refined' sentients. The Rakghoul was not one of the welcome beings throughout the galaxy. He had been shunned, shot at, and eventually killed. But that was the galaxy, everyone was violent, even he had been. But now he was safe and free, and could live in peace.

He looked upon the Galaxy that he had been studying for so long. He knew the names of most of the stars and the planets, he had been so happy to learn their names. After being stuck as a creature that could not study very quickly, he was glad to be able to learn quickly and much easier. His mind had always been clouded and slow when he was stuck in the Monster's body, but now he was agile and swift in his mind. He felt that nothing like this could have ever happened in his life, but now that death had claimed him as its own....

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

Rakghouls.

Since the First Great Schism - which her old friend [member="Val'Ryss Zankarr"] had been a part of, these abominations had terrorized countless planets, turning the inhabitants into monstrous sithspawn abominations that killed and destroyed. By 208ABY, seventy years after the fall of the One Sith, the Galactic Federation Triumvirate had destroyed the last of the rakghouls.

Which surprised her. Why was a rakghoul corpse here? Regardless, the rakghoul virus could be extracted from the dead husk and sent to [member="Darth Ferus"] on behalf of Circe's bioweapons research, in exchange for her capabilities to later utilize the virus once more was successfully synthesized. And on the off-note that the rakghoul's feral tendencies could be curled, a voice box would be placed around the monster's throat, similar to a collar. It could talk that way, albeit in a synthesized robotic tone.

"Alright... let's get this thing loaded."

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

"Yes Mam. Any plans for it?"

The corpse was loaded onto the shuttle that had been prepared. The body was carefully moved from the casing it had been in to a special case that was air tight, to hopefully slow any rotting process that had and may occurred. The body had almost entirely healed, however as soon as it was moved the regenerating stopped. What was left were a number of scars but no open wounds. One of the scientists believed that maybe the beast was a mutant Rakghoul, there had been many such cases, but they had been extinct for a long time. Also the creature had a few features that made it seem less likely that it was a Rakghoul: it seemed bipedal in walking, its brain was incredibly strange compared to most Rakghouls, and its vocal chords were slightly changed from what was considered basic.

One thought that it was a Sith experiment similar to the Terentatek, in fact he believed it was a mutated version. Made to be less noticeable and easier to transport. At least that was until a sample of virus had been extracted from one of the claws of the corpse. It had been an almost pure basic strain of Rakghoul Virus, with only a few mutations. Though because the plague had not been seen in a number of years, the information was questionable and even not viable to some. The entire thing, while quite simple, was becoming very difficult to figure out. It was odd, but apparently all the scientists wanted to be right, yet none would agree.

The corpse was certainly a marvel in whatever case. The body was in good condition and the strength in the muscles would have been deadly. The claws on hand and foot were long and sharp, even after the prolonged time exposed to the elements. Overall it was a fantastic piece creature, if only it could have been found alive...

​

Mind​

​

Harrip had watched the events unfolding, it did not bother him that his body was being moved. It was no longer part of him, it had never been the most important part of his being. He remembered the time when he had been made into that abomination.

He had been purposefully trapped with a Rakghoul and then once scratched, he was moved from Taris to Dromund Kaas. The days he had been on board the ship during that were torture. The plague burning in him from the inside out, steadily transforming cell by cell, destroying what had been the man once called, Mikel Karm. And right as the plague would take over his systems, the guards around him would inject him with some very weak medicine that would prolong the process. It also made it agonizing. The plague was slowed but it only made the transformation more painful. He had never experienced more physical pain than then.

But that had been in the past, it was no longer necessary. The pain was gone never to be felt again. Death had claimed him and nothing of the living would concern him. He was free....

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Harrip"]

"Oh, I have a lot of plans." She smiled - the rakghoul virus as existed inside of this corpse was easily dealt with. But in combination with some of the other samples she had, a supervirus could easily be developed, one that would destroy almost everything and crush the galaxy as they knew it. It was time to get to work on her plan, a large part of which involved such bioweapons as this.

 

[Harrip]

"Good to hear. Best of luck." The manager said as his men moved the body in place. He only the manager of the space stations work force and hadn't been listening in on the scientist's chatter and debates. As such he didn't really know much about the body and to he didn't really care, he had learned that if he wasn't care to care he wouldn't. So much work had to be done that it wasn't in his paycheck then it was hardly worth his time. He held out a small datapad and asked in a friendly manner, "Would you sign here please?" It was simply a matter of protocol, he didn't make the rules and he may not care for them. But even so, he had to obey if he wanted to keep his job.

Mind​

Harrip was curious.

It was strange, an odd feeling. He hadn't been that way since before his death. He wasn't concerned with his body's future, but he was curious as to what was going on. When he had died, Harrip had expected his body to have been burned if found or maybe locked into someone's collection. But the current events were strange or at least odd and contrary to what he had expected. In truth his curiosity might have been the result of him living in the body for so long, but to Harrip he believed that his curiosity was simply a after thought, a small fancy that he decided to follow up. In actuality he was thinking quite hard about the possibilities, his dead body could be used for so many things. It was dangerous even in death. The plague could be transmitted and then there would be another epidemic. But then there were other possibilities. He just wanted to know...

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Harrip"]

With the body now in its shuttle, chains were bound to it, the voicebox adequately around its neck so it would be able to speak once reanimated. Circe smiled, placing individual energy crystals round the body, corrupted with the Dark Side. For the ritual she was about to perform, she would need their help. "I call upon the Dark Side of the Force... Wrench the soul of this monster from Chaos so it may rise and kill once more, as my servant." And with that said, she began to focus. Hard.

Now I know how [member="Rave Merrill"] felt bringing me back...

 

[Harrip]

Mind​

Harrip was even more intrigued as the woman began placing crystals and locked the body in chains. "Why would she do that? It is dead. There is no need to fear its return." He would think to himself as he watched her begin some meditating. Maybe it was a ritual to learn from the dead, he wasn't truly learned in the rituals of the Sith. But how could he even be sure she was Sith? He had made the assumption when she had pulled out the crystals. He guessed now that she was even though there was little to prove it. He wondered about that device around the beast's neck, he was no technological wizard but he guessed it was similar to a droid's vocabulator, maybe to allow it to speak even in death.

Even as he thought about that weird device he felt something, a pull towards it. Was it drawing him in? No it couldn't, it must be an illusion. But then it would stop, right? It didn't, he kept being pulled in. Suddenly he wasn't being pulled he was falling. The galaxy around him swirled faster and faster soon it was a blur and he felt a strange burning. He looked around him and only saw blackness, was this truly Death? Where was he? Where was anything? Even a small light would be comforting, but there was nothing. He felt alone, even in his death he had felt as if there were those around him. But here.....this he felt was the true representation of Hell. He felt every fiber of his being burn, the pain the pain...

Body​

​

At first nothing happened, the power of [member="Enigma"] would begin working but it took a moment for the results to be seen. Within ten seconds the body would twitch faintly, the hands would twitch and the chest would rise slightly with half a breath. This was all that happened for a couple moments, the chest rising and falling only slightly and the rest of it twitching back and forth. Then suddenly the fists would clench and fly up as if to strike an invisible opponent but was stopped by the restraints. Its legs kicked out, only to be restrained by the chains. The mouth would open wide and try to bite at nothing, the whole body was thrashing wildly. As if it were a beast trying to free itself it scratched at the ground beneath it, grinding its long claws against the metal. Either the beast was attempted to break free or was in agony, an intense agony. It tried to break free, its great hands fighting the chains for freedom. One could hear the protests of the restraints as their durability was put to the test. From the creature's mouth came cries of an animal in pain but the voicebox stayed silent.

In a single moment the creature would stop struggling, as if a switch had been flipped it lay still. Its body suddenly relaxed and it would appear that it had died again but for the slow raising and falling of its chest. Its eyes had stayed closed the entire time and now that all was over the beast even now had its eyes closed shut, not squeezed shut but as it it wasn't moving them. Then a quiet voice could be hear, rising from the mechanical box on his throat. "Where....?" It seemed as if there was supposed to be more to the sentence but that was all that was said and it fell silent again. The creature was alive! It had been brought back!

 

[Onrai]

"Hello?" Circe looked at the resurrected creature, surprised that the rakghoul was once more alive. In her hand was a packet of rakghoul serum, for use in the event that she was scratched by the this creature - the serum she had would likewise be ineffective until it was modified. "My name is Circe Savan. You may call me Mistress, however - I have returned you back to life so you may serve me, and act as a subject for me to acquire more of the rakghoul plague from in ever-greater samples." She paused. "But before I proceed any further... Is there any sentience inside of that shell?"

It did have the intelligence to speak, with the use of a vocabulator, as its true larynx was likely long mutated away.

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

Where was he? He heard a voice speak to him, who was that? Was it the woman he had seen in his death? Yes that must be her she called herself Circe.... But why couldn't he see?

As he thought that the eyes of the beast fluttered open. He could look around him slightly and moved his head to look one way. Was he alive again? But how was that possible? Was it another Sith ritual? It could have been. It would make sense, Sith loved deadly beings for their use. He would be another tool in this woman's arsenal. The powerful Abomination of Vitiate would once again be a Sith weapon. He tried to move to sit up, but the restraints kept him from doing so. His mouth opened to speak, but there were no words to say, instead the machine around his neck delivered his muddled mind's message. "Sentience? Yes.... Mistress." He couldn't speak more for his mind was racing with too many thoughts in different directions.

He felt the pain within his body which had subsided but was still there. He thought of when he had died. Had it all been a dream? Had he been alive the entire time and simply in a sort of hibernation while his body healed? No, he had died and had been brought to life. But what would this Sith have planned for him? She seemed young, so she probably was not aware of his history. He wondered, was he to be a pet, a body guard, or maybe a personal killer? He wouldn't be surprised, it was Sith. He was made for the Sith, it was his destiny to be the servant to an uncaring master.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

Scratching at her eyebrow in curiosity for a moment, she paused, thinking carefully about her next move. "Alright..." Focusing with the Force, the chains binding the rakghoul to the table broke, falling off his arms and legs. "Alright... It's good to see that you're still in there, whoever you are, instead of the beast. I know rakghoul conversion has about as nasty a habit to the mind as to the body." That said, she walked around him, examining him, knowing very well that he could potentially attack and infect her before she had a chance to react. "I would simply let you go once testing was done, but while your mind is stable, your body is still extremely infectious. I've informed all of your caretakers to carry a double dosage of rakghoul vaccine. Until we can stabilize your condition and prevent the plague from being accidentally spread, your movements will be restricted. My apologies for having to do so to a fellow sentient, but unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice if we're to survive with you around."

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

Harrip rubbed at his wrists as the chains fell. He listened intently a the woman. He could understand her hesitance to allow him to run on his own, but he wondered why she would want to sterilize the plague within him. He wouldn't complain, but he was curious. He had always expected Sith to use things like him as weapons. But this one was using him as a test subject. "Why do you fear the infection? I am harmless." That may not be true but he would never willingly hurt a person. The part of him that would had died, or so Harrip hoped. That part of him had been the devil of his existence and had killed many a good person. He had expected it to disappear now that he had died once, but maybe it had been called back with him. He could not tell.

His mind wished to ask so many questions, but the voicebox appeared to dislike having to sort through more than one thought at a time. He took a breath, trying to calm down, while waiting for a response before asking his other questions. Why was she doing this? Who was she? Where were they?

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

"Harmless? I disbelieve that. I already have multiple samples of Rakghoul virus, taken from your body. I'd hardly call your destructive capabilities harmless." She smiled. "But I'm not sure whether I want to have the risk of you killing my people through accidental scratches. Perhaps some further mutation is in order." The crystals were still glowing, albeit faintly, her having the ability to do one final thing before their energy was drained. "Rip the voice box off and devour it. I want to see if this will work..."

When he did so, she would chant another incantation - one that would take the ability from the voice box to speak words and give it to his mutated larynx. He would be able to speak without the mechanical augment, in a normal, if not gravely, voice.

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

Harrip did not enjoy consuming the metal mechanism. It had not the flavor that he would consider enjoyable and the shape was not conducive to swallowing. He felt it morph and change in his mouth as the woman in front of him spoke some strange words. When he tried to speak his voice returned, it sounded somewhat to what he remembered it being. "That was... unpleasant. Why are you doing this? You have your samples, what was the point of returning me to life?"

It was strange to speak again, even though it had been only a few minutes at most since he had been resurrected. In that moment of thought he felt another presence. He recognized it as the mind of the Rakghoul part of him. The part of him that often took control of his monstrous body when Harrip least needed it. A mind of primitive need and destruction was one that Harrip wished he could do without. However he was trapped with it and in such close confines of one body for two minds, one was bound to be dominant and the other would appear rarely. But it would still appear. That was always his fear was when it would break free of the mental 'restraints' that Harrip tried to raise when the other mind showed itself. He was not too concerned with it at the moment, but it was good to know that it was there rather than to be ignorant of its presence until too late.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Harrip"]

Well if you're going to serve me, it only makes sense that I have you situated to best do so." She smiled. Assuming that the sensible part in you is where it belongs right now, tell me a bit about yourself. I prefer my newest test subjects tell me whatever their history is. Please, begin." She motioned for an orderly to bring the sentient monster food and drink as they spoke.

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

"What should I say? I am an abomination of the galaxy created by a Sith Lord many centuries ago. I was to be his personal killer until he had me left on Taris. I've lived most of my years on that planet with recent years being spent traveling until I was killed I don't know how many weeks or days ago. I have now be resurrected by you for a purpose that I am pretty sure will be detrimental to the overall stability of the galaxy. Is that all, or do you want a full autobiography?" Harrip took a breath, he smiled slightly out of humor at himself. He had never spoken so many words that complicated in one go. And he finally spoke with contractions! It was fun for him, even though what he had spoken was true and he did not like this new master, partly because he didn't know her or understand her wishes upon the galaxy. Subservience was not unknown to him and he was somewhat alright with that, but the fact that it was again a Sith in control of him was somewhat irksome.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Harrip"]

"Well, knowing about who you are - or rather, were - before your transformation into a rakghoul would be nice." She smiled, eying him over. "I wonder if your body is humanoid enough that it could wear a suit. Perhaps even something else, like armor or the like. I'm not sure yet, truthfully..."

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

Harrip made a slight sigh with a tiny smile. It was nice to know the Sith at least to some degree cared for who he once was. "I was a human, my name was Mikel Karm. I was a slave to the Sith who would later make me a monster. I was one of the few slaves that was happy to be in my position at the time. I had foolishly believed that the Sith Lord actually cared, in fact I was being set up for an experiment of his in Sith Alchemy. There isn't much to know about my original body as my mind has stayed mostly the same, though now I do not trust Sith thanks to him, no offence Mistress." He was able to remember to call her by the name she had said at the last moment this time. He wondered how she would respond, he didn't expect a Sith to care, but she had been acting differently than he had anticipated. She may be different... And a suit or armor! That would be much more pleasant than going with no clothes into a blaster fight where he would feel the burn of every shot and then heal afterwords. Maybe it would be nice to be better dressed for those occasions that he could hopefully someday go to, maybe a friends anniversary or a ball or maybe a wedding. With actual clothing he wouldn't stick out so much and might be a little more welcome at such venues. Not that he was betting on that actually happening, but it would be nice to have in case.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

"Eh... Call me Circe." She paused, intrigued by the situation. "Well... Seems that you're quite the survivor. And here I thought that you were just a poor sap from Taris or Alderaan who got infected by the plague or the Muur Talisman. While you are a weapon of mass-destruction, you're still a sentient being. It's only fair that I treat you as such, considering I was once in the position you were in. But my master wasn't a Sith - he was a slaver."

[member="Harrip"]

 

[Harrip]

"Thank you. Circe. I can understand, slavers are not the best master to have in the galaxy. Why did you want the plague then?" Harrip was truly surprised at this turn of events. He had not expected this Sith to have anything similar to him or to be empathetic to him. It was strange to him and he never thought he would feel thankful and sad for this Sith. What made her so different then him? How could he feel this? This was not right, yet he felt them and he could not change that.

[member="Enigma"]

 

[Onrai]

[member="Harrip"]

"For later mutation, testing, and usage. I desire greatly to use it against some of my enemies, and as a future bioweapon too." She smiled. "In the meantime, you yourself will serve as an excellent bodyguard. You'll of course be fed, given room and board, and be attended to. You may be a monstrosity, but you're still a sentient and should be treated as such." She turned away for a moment. "May want to consider filing those claws of yours down..."