The thought of cozying up to a bunch of Imps made Teon’s skin crawl. If it were up to him, the only time he’d have to see one of them was while aiming a blaster at their faces. But hunting Imperials wasn’t his job anymore. Now, it was his duty as a member of the newly reformed Grand Master’s Royal Guard to find and eliminate threats to the Brotherhood and all its people. He understood that sometimes he’d have to do things he had no desire to in order to fulfill that duty. And that’s what brought him to the Caperion System, to laboratory of a member of Clan Scholae Palatinae named Titius Osseus.
Getting into the system had been about as annoying as he’d anticipated. Even after presenting his shuttle’s transponder codes and his own chain codes, they still insisted that he wait while they “sorted things out.” The Miraluka made sure to let the head of Customs know that they were impeding an official investigation sanctioned by the Dark Council itself. Damned fools. If the nature of his investigation wasn’t strictly need-to-know, he would have loved to watch them all druk themselves upon learning about the chemical weapon that had been used to attack one Brotherhood outpost after another, and that it was only a matter of time before whomever was responsible turned the weapons against CSP, as well.
No matter. He was free, now. Once he was planetside, he wasted no time in heading to the coordinates he’d been given that led to Titius’ dwelling. Upon reaching the building’s entrance, he was just about to press the electronic buzzer on a small panel on its exterior when he heard the doors slide open, prompting him to step backward.
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The doorway was dark, the only light a small red dot accompanied by a dull hum. The dot seemed to bob slightly before turning away. It paused partway down the hall turning back towards the door.
The droid zipped back towards the door, reaching a spindly arm out towards Teon. The pincer grabbed onto a strap as the droid tugged gently.
Although he’d expected someone to step through the doors, the only indication that he received that there was anything present at all was the sound of a droning hum emanating from somewhere within the hallway.
“Is that a dr–Hey woah there, buddy.”
Yep, it was a droid. It’d manage to grab onto one of his armor’s straps and was trying to pull it into the building. He acquiesced to the machine’s whims, following it inside.
As Teon stepped through, the door hissed shut as the dark hall became slowly illuminated by awakening lightstrips. The droid let go of the strap and sped off down the hall.
The hallway was small, hardly a grand entrance. As the space brightened, the walls took on a sterile black sheen reminiscent of old Imperial bases.
The little guy moved fast! Teon hurried after it, using a brisk jog to keep pace with it as the traveled down the hallway. Even while he was focused on keeping up with the droid, he noticed that the way the building’s interior was structured was similar to the same one used at the Imperial Remnant facility of his youth. He was going to need to take a long vacation after all this was over.
The droid reached a Tee in the hall and flew right, landing in a small closet. Its hum slowed as it folded itself into a base.
Once the droid landed in the closet, Teon slid to a stop just a few feet away from it. What was this thing doing? He really wished he hadn’t passed up to learn Binary while studying at the Academy, right about now.
“What are we doing here, little guy?” he asked, hoping that it at least understood Basic.
“Good day, sir.” A smooth robotic voice came from behind Teon. “I do believe Mr. Spike has decided to recharge.” The voice came from a KX series droid that had appeared from the right hall.
“And where is Titius Osseus?” he asked, “I’m here on important business, so I really would like to get to it.”
“Ah, are you the expected guest? He just through…”
The rest of the droid’s statement was drowned out by a thunderous roar. A fine rivulet of silt fell from the ceiling as the world settled again.
“…there.” If droids could look sheepish, this KX certainly nailed the look.
“kaaaaAAAAAAAARK!” came a howl from whence the explosion came followed by the rush of a fire suppression system.
That didn’t sound good. Teon didn’t hesitate to investigate. Pushing past the droid, Teon moved down the hall at a brisk pace in search of the source of the explosion and the howl that followed.
A door slid open as Teon passed, revealing a yellow suited figure with a very large starburst of soot on their visor. “…of all the things to go wrong, the purity of the trigger isolate had to be off. I am going to skin those filthy Ugnauts alive for lying to my face…”
“Erm…Master Osseus, if I may…” The figure wheeled in the droid’s direction. “Either you have a linen to wipe my visor or youre volunteering for scrap duty, K9. Otherwise, stuff your circuits and fetch something that will help. Kriffing useless tickers” Arms flailed for a solid surface. “RIVET, get your clackety shell out here. I know youre watching!”
A small ball rolled out of the room, cracking into a Pistoeka droid holding a damp cloth. It chittered, offering up the item.
When the door opened, Teon turned. The man wasn’t Force sensitive as far as he could tell, but the droid confirmed that this was exactly who he was looking for.
“Well, that’s probably one of the more interesting introductions I’ve had this week,” he interjected while stepping into the room. “Were you informed of my reasons for coming here?”
The only response was a rapid squeaking of Titius’ cleaning effort.
K9 stepped up again, their frame hunched as they entered the doorway. “Perhaps I should make introductions. Master Osseus has a tendency to be quite explosive when suprised.”
“Master Osseus, this is Teon of…sorry, where did you say you were from? The briefing details was above my access allowances.”
Teon chose not to mention where he lived because it wasn’t relevant to the nature of his business. Instead, he mentioned what his occupation was.
“I’m a member of the restructured Grand Master’s Royal Guard. I’m here because I need your assistance in investigating a chemical weapon that has been used against brotherhood holdings.”
Titius glared through his now smeared visor. “And Im here for caf. Get K9-C4 to show you where the mess is and Ill be back in a minute.”
With dismisive wave, he sulked his way into a room labeled DECONTAMINATION.
“Well, that went smooth enough. Can I fix you some sustenance, Teon of the Grand Master Royal Guard? We carry most amenities owing to Master Titius’ ever changing tastes.” K9 gestured towards a small kitchenette at the end of the hall.
“To show me where the mess is?” he asked, making no effort to hide the confusion in his voice. Surely, he didn’t think he was a cleaner? Perhaps, he was referring to his workspace; something told Teon that this man wasn’t the most organized person in the system.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine,” answered Teon as he followed the droid. He didn’t have to eat often to sustain himself–one of many side effects of the experiments conducted on him the Imperial training facility all those years ago.
“Is he normally this … irritable?”
K9 lurched towards a pristine room and turned on a caf press. The machine roared to life in a puff of steam.
“Master Osseus is rarely happy. Psychiatric assessments have all resulted in large craters . Though there are two particular situations where I have observed a smile upon his face.” Pulling a mug from a cupboard, the droid continued their work.
“Hopefully that doesn’t affect his work,” he mused while leaning against the caf table.
“I only produce results and Im very good at doing so.” Titius entered, wiping down what should have been ears but were instead dull silver panels. “Now either you have a contract for me or youre here for a demonstration.” He took a seat, glaring at K9-C4 until the fresh mug was slid to him.
“Then you shouldn’t have any problem with this,” answered Teon, though he didn’t look directly at Titius as he entered. Instead, he produced a canister and held it up for the man to see.
“The Brotherhood requires your services. Housed within this canister is a highly toxic gas that has been used to deadly effect against Brotherhood supply depots. I need to know what it is we’re working against and if anything present within it can be traced back to whoever created it.”
Titius nearly spat his caf across the room. Coughing lightly, he composed himself before standing up.
“Best move that to the lab. While I will likely survive accidental contact but Im not stupid enough to have to explain a dead Royal Guard on my property.”
“Good point,” Teon concurred while clipping the explosive back onto his utility belt. “Please, lead the way.”
Titius palmed the door control on the lab, barely waiting for the panel to slide open. Inside there was another identical door ringed in red light surrounded by racks of immaculately hung pressure suits. “What size suit are you and do you have any breathing requirements?” he asked while quickly donning a green suit.
“A medium will do,” he replied, “And none that I know of. Can only breathe in atmospheres that most near-human species can. My respiratory health is optimum.”
Teon kept his hands at his sides while following the scientist, silently making note of his surroundings and their layout.
“Second shelf, on the right. Take off everything that can’t or you don’t want to get contaminated. Spare attire is under the suit. Sample goes in the hatch.” After pointing to the hatch in question, Titius sealed his helmet on and stepped under a spray head. White steam cascaded down over him before draining through the floor.
Teon spent the next few minutes removing his beskar armor and the durasteel weave flak vest and jumpsuit underneath. A member of a sightless species, he didn’t have the same reservations about being nude in front of others as many species did. That was made clear when he stripped down to his birthday suit in the laboratory’s doorway before putting on the clothes and suit Titius had provided for him.
After folding his clothes into a neat pile, he stepped into the room and stepped under one of the spray heads to decontaminate himself. Then, he placed the canister into the recepticle before taking a step backward.
The room shifted as the outer door whispered shut, sealing themselves tightly. Titius shut off his stream and strode to the inner door. “Any minute now…”
A sucking gasp came from the doors as air was suctioned through the yawning opening. The lab beyond was larger than the rest of the complex by several times. Machines hummed, draped in horrific umbilicals of cable and tubes. In the center of the space sat a box.
As Titius stepped into the lab, a dark cloud lifted from the central area. Its form dripped over Titius before floating to the passthrough, quickly caressing the tube of toxin.
“Welcome to my lab!” A maniacal grin spread across the mercenary’s face. <@1056685516441006091>
“Thank you,” replied Teon. He regarded the swarm of electronics curiously after stopping a few feet away from where Titius was standing.
“So, what’s the first step?”
“Steps? I want to see what this stuff can do!” On cue, the vial laden cloud rippled over to the central box, an inset door opening to receive it and Titius. “We will decant this into a more suitable container then start testing. How did you get this sample anyways?”
“It came from the most recent supply depot that was attacked,” he replied, folding his arms across his chest. “Security has tightened up, now, so there weren’t as many casualties or damage to Brotherhood property. They managed to recover one of these, thank the gods. Guess it was a dud.”
Titius crooked an eyebrow at the mention of a dud. Grabbing a datapad from a mount by the containment, swiping through several screens. The sample descended into a containment vessel, its securement marked by a chunk-hiss. The cloud settled in lazy helices around Titius waiting for the testing to commence.
Twin lasers appeared, circling the canister. A thin line of molten material appeared followed shortly by a click as the two halves seperated. Gas filled the chamber, swirling as if searching for its next victim. A tube lit up and carried a portion up along its length to a large device. A low bass permeated the lab.
“Thats one” Titius mumbled distractedly. “Now how about some fire…” Another sample flew along, landing in a blackened chamber. A hissing growl followed suit, hailing a gaseous inferno licking through the mysterious toxin.
Teon listened to the sound of flames rushing into the container. He suspected the point of this test was to determine how the compound responded to extreme heat.
“I’m surprised you didn’t ask to see what it does to its victims,” he commented idly, trying to find something to discuss while waiting for the tests to run their course.
“While curious, I thought you were a mere messenger. If you have details, please share.”
Titius waved a hand absentmindedly, engrossed in the data crawling through the datapad display. A small motion directed the cloud to another contraption. A small aperture opened to accept a portion.
“Live test. But what dosage?..” Fingers drummed on visor as Titius mused aloud.
“I’ve only read the reports,” he answered, folding his arms across his beskar breastplate. “Those affected died quickly, approximately ten standard minutes following exposure. Symptoms included excessive drooling and lacrimation, loss of bodily function and finally, death due to complete respiratory paralysis.”
“As for the dosage, couldn’t tell you. You planning to use this on lab rats or something?”
A terrified squeal came from the contraption, replaced by a wheezing gurgle as something was exposed to a sample of the weapon. A pulsing warning tone softly sounded from the central area. “Are we out of sample already? I was just beginning to have fun!” Titius sounded disappointed. “Well that concludes our testing today. The analysis will take some time so I encourage you to return to business should you have any or feel free to stay at the Guard compound on Seraph.”
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“This is … fun, to you?” he asked in disbelief. Then, he shook his head before turning to the exit. After removing the suit and placing it on a small metal rack to his left, Teon reached into his pocket to fetch a data crystal.
“This has the information you’ll need to contact me after your analysis is finished,” he said, holding the slender crystal in the air for Titius to see. Then, he placed it atop the collection of labware. “Contact me as soon as you know more.”
Teon gave the scientist a final nod before turning to leave. He needed to get the frakk off this Imperial planet.
“Wait…nononoNONO” Titius shouted. The door refused to open as an alarm started up. The pulsing throb was interspersed with a calm voice stating “Contamination”
“Well kriff it all.” Titius threw his hands up. “Has noone taught you universal precautions? Taking your suit off before decon?!” Walking swiftly to the shower stall, he turned and gestured to Teon. “You scrub down, Ill go deal with the alarm.”
Teon flinched at the sound of the alarm. Pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers, he sighed and nodded before heading to the showers. “It’s been a long week.”
He stepped inside the small booth and let the waters wash over him. “Sorry about that.”
“Hope you can hold your breath…” Titius muttered in his suit. Flipping open a hidden control panel, he thumbed inside. The alarm changed pitch morphing to a calmer tone of “Decontamination”. The doors to the lab slid shut on Teon, trapping them in the antechamber. The shower shut off abruptly as a low fog dribbled from hidden vents.
And hold his breath he did. With all the modifications made to his body, both biological and cybernetic, the Miralukan had no trouble holding his breath for the duration of the decontamination process.
After what felt like an eternity, everything fell silent. The lab finally released its hold.
As the mist abated, it revealed a very incensed Titius. Tossing Teons apparel at him, he said in a terse monotone “Get out. Now.”