You'll Need A Doctor

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Vrak looked down at her, smiling just slightly.

Perhaps she had learned obedience, though he doubted that very much. She would likely need to be taught another lesson or two, though that could come later. Slowly he wandered around her, backing away for just a moment to round the table and stand on the other side. Her head perked up, just barely following him.

"Eons ago there was a woman who served within a legion of Sith called the Dread Masters." He began the tale. "Her name was Bestia. She utilized the force to control and twist all manner of creatures to her will. Sith Alchemy it is called."

Irajah might have been familiar with the concept, she might not have been. "I am incapable of such feats."

He didn't mind admitting his fault.

"But thankfully, Bestia left us with a way of recreating her arts through the means of modern science." He tapped the holocron once more. "You are here to create a virus, one that will have the same affect as Bestia's own work."

Vrak looked down at her. "Do that, and you may walk free."

 

[Kuzo]

She wanted to spit in his smiling face.

Slowly, agonizingly, she pushed herself up to her knees. It would have been prudent to stay where she was, but every action she took on her own behalf was one that she took back from him. She couldn't stand yet- no amount of willpower would support the shivering muscles of her body. Letting her knees drop to the side, she half sat, half knelt-

She would not kneel to him for any reason.

"The magic of yesterday and the science of today are two wholly different things. And if I am unable to duplicate her work?"

The volume of her voice might be weak, but there was no tremor there. She watched him, her eyes full of wariness, but she didn't shrink back.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"That would be unfortunate." Vrak stated flatly.

He was aware that the two were not exactly in harmony with one another, both from what he had learned from Bestia herself, or rather the gatekeeper of the holocron, it should at the very least be possible. The virus would effectively be based on aspects of Sith Poison, acting much like the ancient Vongspawn Virus. The Guardian was confident that it would work, and had even seemed...eager to assist within the Virus' creation.

"I am sure you won't disappoint me, Doctor." His smile didn't go away. "I have every confidence in your abilities."

The remote in his hand was returned to his pocket.

"I have provided everything you might require, however if something else is needed, you have only to ask." He was sure enough that she could at least begin the project, right now he had only the basic formulas of Beastia's work, something Irajah would likely have to be shown.

Though that wouldn't be much of an issue.

 

[Kuzo]

"I have every confidence in your abilities."

The sound of those words made her skin crawl. [member="Darth Prazutis"] had said almost the exact same thing, but that situation could not have been more different than this one. She gritted her teeth, tasting bile in the back of her throat. Irajah ducked her head, swallowing hard. She breathed in deeply once, twice.

"I guess that just leave me with one other question. What should I call you?"

When she looked back up at him, she was actually smirking, choosing to indulge in the anger over the fear.

"Because, as satisfying as it is, Red-Faced-Bastard just doesn't roll off the tongue-"

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

He blinked for a second, his face remaining impassive for just a second before slowly his hand came up from the table in front of him.

Fingers would suddenly curl, and she would feel invisible chains of the force wrap around her throat. They tightened and tightened, constricted her throat and ceasing the breaths to her lungs. There was no anger in his eyes, though it seeped from every pore in his body. He stared at her with that impassive face as she rose from the ground, the force grasping at her neck in a tight choke.

"For as long as you are." He said as the force gripped just a bit tighter. "I am your Lord and Master."

He stopped as soon as her feet dangled within the air.

"Those are the only names you need to know" His lips were thin.

Vrak was no mood for argument, no mood for fun sass. He had suffered too many setbacks as of late, and unlike others that he had pulled into his service, Irajah simply didn't have the power to resist him. "Is that clear?"

He allowed her just enough air for a single word.

 

[Kuzo]

Even if she had wanted to, she wouldn't have been able to keep her hands from clawing at her throat. Stars exploded at the edges of her vision, her chest heaving but with no air drawn into frantic, starving lungs.

"Yes,"

came the strangled response, the only one she could with any sanity mutter. There was no room for empty gestures, for smart retorts in that moment. She struggled, growing more and more frantic by the heartbeat.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"Good." His tone was delighted, his fingers immediately unfurling and allowing her to drop to the floor.

This virus, what it could do, it was his means back to power. Athiss had been gone from him for too long, the Council had once again grown back to it's stagnant state, all the progress he'd made was gone, he needed this. If everything was to go as he originally planned then he needed this virus to be created, more than that he needed it to work. If this woman wouldn't cooperate, then she would be made to cooperate. It was as simply and easy as that.

He stepped around the table, this time the Holocron remaining open.

"I would begin my work soon, Doctor." Vrak told her. "The longer this takes you..."

The Pureblood slowly began to stroll towards the stairs. Irajah would have a few hours to go over the research notes already present, she'd also be presented with the Holocrons Guardian to ask any questions that she needed. Vrak would return to her in half a day to check her progress, and answer any questions she had. "The longer you remain my prisoner."

Simple.

 

[Kuzo]

It took longer than she would have liked to recover enough to cry.

She never would have given him the satisfaction of seeing it. She held it tight and hidden until she was certain she was alone. She stayed on the floor where she had fallen for a long time, her face pressed against the cool floor.

When she did finally get up, she moved around the room again. She checked every nook and cranny, clammered up on one of the tables to try to reach the vent. She sat at the top of the stairs, staring at the door for at least half an hour.

Her head hurt and she wasn't sure if it was from everything that had happened or because it was over 24 hours since she'd had a cup of caf.

Eventually though, she found her way back to the pyramid. She frowned at it. As if that would do anything.

*****

Hours later, she was perched on a stool, leaning over the table. The data scrolled before her eyes, hazel orbs scanning surely too fast to properly read all of the symbols before her. She was so engrossed that she didn't even notice the sound of the door opening.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Vrak wandered down the stairs once more, wearing the same robes along with the same expression. The anger still seethed from him, though it seemed to be more subdued now. The Pureblood was far from calm, but at the very least he didn't appear to lash out at any second anymore.

He slowly stepped onto the floor, his eyes immediately darting towards the Holocron.

A part of him had been concerned that she would try to destroy the device. Bestia had made it last throughout the ages, but a strong hit from pretty much anything with some weight would shatter the Holocron into a thousand pieces. He was glad to find it still intact, if only because then he would have lost out on both it, and the doctor. Slowly his gaze pointed towards the woman who seemed to be all consumed by the datapad in front of her.

A ghost of a smile formed on his lips. Excellent

Vrak thought to himself as he approached her, pleased that she was at least putting on the appearance of work.

"What have you discovered so far?" The question was voiced as he wandered around the other side of the table from her, bright yellow eyes floating up to look a the Holocron upon the table.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah just about fell off of the stool

"Karking maw don't do that."

She couldn't keep the sour look entirely from her face as she picked the datapad back up.

Despite herself, the information available was fascinating. It wasn't her first foray into the morass that was Sith poisons- there had been that particularly unpleasant situation on Bakura- but this was a depth she hadn't previously had access to. In any other situation, she might have dived right into this project with actual excitement. Honestly, it hadn't even occurred to her to smash the holocron- the idea of deliberately destroying knowledge, no matter the type, was completely alien to Irajah.

She eyed him briefly, turning her attention back to the data pad.

"The language is archaic," she said bluntly, answering his question. "The experiments are sloppy, unscientific. Flailing in the dark until something sticks. The original form of the virus itself is a mess- amateurish and bloated. It's like watching a Quarren toddler fingerpainting."

Doctor Ven, apparently, wasn't impressed by Bestia.

"But there's a groundwork here I can build on," she added, grudgingly.

[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

If Vrak was insulted by Irajah's lack of respect for Bestia, he didn't show it.

Perhaps he even agreed. Bestia had been human after all, and therefore, flawed. That was what Vrak believed after all, that by their nature humans would always be disappointments. They couldn't really help it, like a Hutt being disgusting or toydarian being a liar. Simply the laws of nature. "Excellent."

He answered her finally.

Vrak didn't particularly care how Bestia herself had done, the woman hadn't been a scientists, she had been a Sorcerer. As long as her work could be taken and evolved, Vrak didn't particularly care whether or not Irajah found it all impressive. This virus was to be his ticket back to Athiss, the thing that would allow him to seize the power that was rightfully his. The fact that he needed it in the first place was humiliating, but that couldn't be helped.

"When will you have your first sample?" He asked. "I'll ensure you have proper test subjects."

It was clear he wanted this.

 

[Kuzo]

She spread her hands out in a helpless gesture.

"I don't think you understand the undertaking we're embarking on here. Creating a virus from scratch even with...." she paused, a look of disgust passing over her face "fingerpainted blueprints such as these.... is a complicated affair."

With the right building blocks, she suspected she could have a working virus in a week, considering there were no other distractions. But she wasn't about to admit that. Irajah had no intentions of delivering him a fully functional virus- and certainly not in a week.

"It could take months."

​[member="Vrak Nashar"]

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

His lips thinned.

Months? It was still better than the years it would take him to work his way through the system back on Athiss. Politics was never easy, politics with Purebloods? A dreadful nightmare that even the most experienced Senator on Coruscant couldn't begin to understand. There was also a good chance that if he went back now Siedra or one of the others would have him killed. It was too much risk to return to Athiss right now, he would have to keep a presence their through Irid and the others.

"Well." One could hear the displeasure in his tone. "Then you should get started, Doctor."

The course was set. There wasn't an alternative option that he could take. He needed this virus, he needed the results in order to take back his position back on Athiss. Without it he would be considered as less than nothing on his homeworld. He would have to start over.

Vrak couldn't allow that. "I'm sure your friends miss you."

If he was at all concerned about someone looking for her Vrak didn't seem it. Even if they found him he still had one great advantage; her.

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah was never good at bald faced lying. It was never a skill she'd particularly picked up. But evading the truth? That she could do. After all, if she had her way, it would take months. Not because she wanted to be here- but because of the satisfaction of denying [member="Vrak Nashar"] what he wanted.

And she knew, with enough time, she'd be found. And there was a certain grim appreciation for the thought of [member="Darth Prazutis"] or [member="Matsu Xiangu"] grinding this bastard's head into paste.

"I need food and caf first, Red," she said. "Then I'll get started."

She was hungry. Tired. And her head hurt in a way that she knew was from the lack of caf. If he wanted her to give this her all (which, granted, he wasn't going to get anyway), well, there were certain needs here.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Before she could react, Vrak pressed the button on the small remote in his pocket.

In an instant she would feel the familiar feeling of a shock running through every muscle in her body, every inch of her skin. The Purebloods expression never changed, his eyes never filled with hate of darkness, everything was kept neutral. The seething ball of anger still formed within his stomach, but he kept himself more controlled. Unleashing his rage would see her dead, and she was still needed if the virus was to be created by the end of this.

"You forget yourself again." He commented, holding down the small nub upon the remote.

She had been told what to call him, and she had decided to ignore it.

That was her first mistake.

The other? Making demands.

 

[Kuzo]

This time, Irajah did fall off of the stool, writhing.

Had it been worth it?

She'd have to weigh in on that later.

*****

And so it went. Each day Doctor Ven worked very hard to work very little, showing just enough progress as to be believable (she hoped). Each day [member="Vrak Nashar"] would check on her, supplying necessary materials when needed, sometimes watching when it wasn't.

Sometimes, she got away with the sass. More often however..... Irajah became very familiar with the sound the collar made the heartbeat before it filled her body with a thousand angry wasps.

By the third day, Irajah had already worked out exactly how to design the virus. Compared to Gideon, this was child's play. She worked on the problem in the safety of her head, never committing the information to any other source. Even as she was moving through the pretend planning stages, she could turn the finished virus around in her mind's eye, reading the hypothetical genetic code the way some would envision a lover's face or their childhood home. Sometimes she would find herself, repeating the coding in a low mutter, almost a mantra as her mind and her hands worked at distressingly different speeds.

To call the situation was stressful would be a laughable simplification. But she took a sort of grim satisfaction in every moment she kept this from him.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Time had a way of dragging on when you wanted something.

For Vrak, every hour that passed felt like a day, every day felt like a week. He would watch at at times, a careful scrutinizing eye falling upon her whenever she fell too silent, whenever she stopped moving. He knew that she would likely try to lead him on by the nose, drag out the work until he friends could find her. He had no doubt in his mind that she hoped they would come for her, just like he had no doubt that in the end she would be disappointed.

It was on the third day that Vrak returned once more, this time the sound of his footsteps being proceeded by the soft pitter patter of another persons feet. A woman, smaller than Irajah thought clearly an adult practically tumbled down the stairs, barely managing to keep standing as she hit the landing on the stairs. "Doctor."

His voice was melodious in greeting, almost warm.

"I've brought you a gift." The girl seemed to shirk away from Vrak, stepping away from him. She wore no collar unlike Irajah, though a long scar was located between the base of her neck and her shoulders. "A research assistant."

He settled a hand on the girls shoulder.

 

[Kuzo]

The Hey Red she almost chirped at him died, stillborn on her lips.

Up until a moment ago, she'd been feeling fairly cheerful, all things considered. She'd fit the last piece into the mental puzzle of his virus- things like that always gave her a certain amount of pleasure, but doubly so because he didn't know about it.

But the sight of the other woman brought Irajah to her feet, the alarm on her face clear as day. Not for her own safety. Her brow furrowed, a sour but wary look shot [member="Vrak Nashar"]'s direction.

"She's terrified," she said bluntly. "What have you done to her?" Turning her gaze to the smaller woman, she offered a small, encouraging smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Additional kidnapping isn't exactly going to earn you any brownie points here. And I don't *need* an assistant." She crossed her arms over her chest.

 

[Vrak Nashar]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

"The progress that you have achieved so far would prove otherwise." Vrak countered.

His hand slowly unfurled from the woman's shoulder, a gentle push pressing her forward. The blonde stumbled slightly, but complied with the silent request. She moved to stand near Irajah, her eyes towards the ground as she did so.

"I have done nothing to her." Not anything he hadn't done to Irajah anyway, well, save for one thing. "She, like you, is here to serve a function."

Compliance.

"She has a medical degree from the University of Thyferra." A reputable school that was known for producing excellent research students, though most of them were focused on the use of bacta rather than genetics.

"If you don't find her useful....think of her as motivation." His expression grew grim. "You have two days to show me true progress. If there is none to be had, she dies."

Vrak didn't like torture, he got no pleasure from it, the same could be said of killing. That being said, he knew Irajah, he could read her like an open book. If pain wasn't going to motivate her, then perhaps her sense of duty would.

 

[Kuzo]

It didn't take a conscious decision for Irajah to step between the blonde and [member="Vrak Nashar"]. Despite the fact that she was in the same situation, with no possible protection to offer, that hardly seemed to matter in that moment. The idea that she could protect her was utterly laughable. But that didn't stop the motion.

"You don't need to do this," she said quietly, swiftly. "I'll find a way to move faster, get better results. But she has nothing to do with this. You will have every part of my attention. I'm sure I am close to a breakthrough to the next step, without the life of another person hanging over my head."

The implication in all of this was potentially that she *had not* been working to her full potential for him yet. But concern for herself wasn't what prompted the words.