Eternal Father
"We've been very busy, my Lord, following your instructions to the letter."
The wire-thin man pressed his index finger against the bridge of his glasses, pushing them back up his nose and setting them more securely against his face. Beads of sweat accumulated along his nose and cheeks, his anxiety more than evident. Even on his best days, he was prone to nervous ticks when set on edge. He was already wringing his hands worriedly, his eyes cast down to the floor at his feet as he walked. There was no way that he could bring himself to look up, not when the great shadow next to him threatened to overload his senses.
He'd never met his benefactor before, only knew Him through the instructions passed down through the many intermediaries He employed. It was never the same individual twice, or even the same species. They were always different, the most inconspicuous people you would ever happen across. Sometimes they were even droids, and on rare occasions children. Where He had found them and how He had pressed them into His service was an exercise in futility and madness, no one needed to follow that thread to wherever it may lead. It was for their own benefit to remain ignorant.
But now, He'd come here. To Metellos, world of steel and grime. They'd never even detected His arrival, seen no ship entering the atmosphere, and had only received a minute's warning before He suddenly appeared in the facility. He came alone, but was clearly armed with a lightsaber that hung from His waist. A cloak of brilliant white was laid about His broad shoulders, while the garments beneath were dull gray. The inside of the cloak was most curious, for in contrast to the stark white exterior the interior was a deep blood red and stitched with various symbols and iconography. Undoubtedly few knew of their meaning save for his benefactor, and the man was far too terrified to broach the subject.
What had truly frightened the man more than His benefactor's appearance was how quiet He was, even when they walked. His Lord rarely spoke, and what words He did convey were brief. He wanted to know if they'd completed their tasks, which they had. He wanted to know if they encountered any difficulty along the way, which they had. And He wanted to know if everything was prepared, which they were. That was it, and since then He'd remained silent as the man led Him through the facility.
Only he and a few others had truly grasped the scope of what their benefactor had asked of them. They'd been charged with making several forays, illegal forays mind you, into former Mawite space. The Alliance had quarantined those sectors from civilian traffic since the Brotherhood's collapse following the Battle of Exegol. Normally, it would impossible to bypass the cordon, but their benefactor had given them the means to do so and imparted them with the knowledge of how to do it. For one who was adamant on skirting the authority and regulations of the Galactic Alliance, He was well-versed in their codes, protocols, and the nature of their military operations. Where He had gleamed this knowledge, the man could not say, though he suspected that they were not the only ones He contacted within the Alliance.
These forays had not just been for fun, they had been tasked with going to certain worlds and retrieving certain items. Many were arcane in nature, but only pieces; ones that once existed as pieces of a greater whole. They'd been told to handle them carefully, and instructed on how to safely contain and transport them back to Metellos. He'd even shown them how to hide the items from Alliance inspections, even the most rigorous and thorough ones. They'd never had to put that information into practice, thankfully, but the knowledge yet buzzed in the back of his mind like pressure building before a headache.
A pair of doors whooshed open at their approach, and they entered the epicenter of the facility. Where they were standing was an observation platform overlooking a workshop. Many things were strewn about the workshop, pieces of equipment, tools, and various other mechanical odds and ends. But what was most important was what lay at it's heart. It was an archway, constructed out of smooth basalt and interlaced with gleaming silver technology. They had been shown how to build the device piece by piece, only ever receiving one step at a time over the course of many months; never all at once. The final step had yet to be revealed, but they had followed everything leading up to that exactly as told. Several of the scientists and engineers were on the workshop floor now, and they glanced up towards them as they came into view.
Their benefactor stared down at the archway, His eyes slowly moving over the structure from one side to the other. He seemed to remain deep in thought for several moments before the faintest hint of a smile curled at the edge of His lips.
"Good," His voice rumbled like thunder, "Very good. You've done exceptionally well, far exceeding projections." He then turned to face the man, the enormity of His presence now baring down upon him. "And, of course, as promised." He reached into His white cloak and produced a small vial. Within was a glowing green liquid, which seemed to roil and squirm behind the glass surface as though alive. This was what he'd been promised, the entire reason that he'd thrown in his lot with this dark benefactor; infamous throughout the galaxy.
He grasped for words as he stared transfixed upon the vial. "Y-yes, that's... that's..."
"Boundless infinity," finished Darth Carnifex, Dark Lord of the Sith. "The sum of all your ambitions, held aloft before you." He seemed as though He were going to offer the vial to the man, and the man started to reach out in turn. But the Dark Lord softly closed His fingers around the vial, keeping it from the man. The man was confused, and fear nauseatingly raced through His stomach. "But first," continued the Dark Lord, "We shall test your work, to see if you are truly worthy of such a gift." Some of the fear abated, but the man's stomach was still twisted in knots, and his skin was slick with a cold sweat.
"O-of course, my Lord. As you command."
He moved away, turning towards the men and women below and calling out to them. They moved into action, preparing the great device to which they'd devoted much of the past year to. The Dark Lord watched coolly, returning the vial to His robe for the time being.
Now He would see if all this had indeed paid off.
