- Joined
- May 24, 2016
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The whirring of the lift ascending through the tube, though rather quiet, filled Aska’s senses. For the first time in her life she was being brought to the surface of Coruscant. The excitement to see something beyond the lab that she has spent the last twenty-four years occupying was difficult to suppress, and yet she remained standing perfectly still, keeping her hands held at her waist with her right hand grasping her left wrist. She was wearing one of her standard skin-tight jumpers which were such a bright white that they were almost blinding, aside from the baby blue accents that reached from the inside of her biceps to about half way down her thighs. Her sneakers, which also were a blinding white, were cinched up tightly. These clothes were all she was ever allowed to own, and even then, they were still technically property of Trench.
Trench. The lead scientist who was responsible for her creation. Or was it her birth? To this day, Aska was still unsure of the details and specifics of her life. The scientist was a middle-aged man with hair that was as deep a red as the descending evening twin suns of Tatooine, spackled with traces of grey wisps along his side burns. His face was heavily wrinkled for his age and the best description of his body type that the young clone could come up with, which was draped in a stark white trench coat, was a man who had never considered physical activity as a priority but instead focused all his efforts into developing the woman he had created. The scientist had a name, but Aska never cared to remember it. For as long as she could remember, he was Trench and he always would be.
“Come, girl. Let us begin your test,” he said softly as the lift finally came to a stop, the doorway sliding open with a metallic rush. Trench stepped out of the elevator accompanied by one of his colleagues, a human woman, with Aska bringing up the rear. Finally releasing her wrist, she was drawn into a sense of wonder. Speeders rushed by at incredible velocities and different elevations. Even in those few seconds she had experienced, Aska could almost have sworn that many of the vessels would have collided into a fiery crash, twisting metal and flesh until neither would be recognizable before descending down towards the sublevels of the world. “Aria, have you made contact with our associate?” Trench asked one of his colleagues as he tapped away on a holoboard.
“Yes, Doctor Ryun. He insisted he would be here on time,” the short and stout woman replied. Her shoulder length brown hair was greasy and straggly, indicating to Aska that this woman had been so involved with her work these recent days that hygiene was completely disregarded. Or perhaps she was just a filthy slob. Who knew.
“And you’re positive you gave him the correct co-ordinates?”
“Yes, doctor,” Aria replied with exasperation. As soon as Trench had looked up from his holoboard to meet Aria’s gaze, a blue and gold speeder swiftly descended from the flowing traffic and came to a rest on the platform before them. From the driver seat, an alien creature hopped out and began to confidently stride towards them. Aska took in his appearance, evaluating everything she could. He stood a few inches taller than her, likely exceeding six feet and his muscle tone was incredibly defined. He was dressed in drab clothing, primarily run down clothe draped over a ragged orange tunic. Aska couldn’t help but smirk as she thought that his face looked like a mountain of gizka dung that had been stomped on repeatedly. ‘A Nikto,’ she thought to herself, remembering the studies of alien species that Trench had subjugated her to in the past.
“Ah, you must be Dur’Agu,” Trench spoke loudly, proceeding towards the new Nikto visitor. Dur’Agu began to reply to Trench but spoke a language that Aska was unfamiliar with. Despite the extent of education she had received in her isolation, learning alien languages always proved difficult for her. “Yes, that is correct. Five hundred credits will suffice?” the scientist responded before handing Dur’Agu a small satchel. The Nikto opened it and poured the currency into his scaled hand before smirking and tossing it back into the speeder before nodding in agreement to whatever it was that he and Trench had been discussing. Dur’Agu then proceeded to remove the drab cloak from his shoulders and revealed chiseled arms and a very wide set of shoulders before turning back to Aska and cracking his neck.
“Trench,” Aska began cautiously. “You never did tell me what this test is, exactly,” she finished as she began to take a couple steps backwards. Dur’Agu began to advance on her, meeting every step of hers with one of his own. “Do you expect me to fight that thing?” she continued, turning her eyes towards the scientist. Trench remained emotionless and pulled his holoboard back to his view. “Aria, what is this?” Aska cried out but was met with cold silence. By now, Dur’Agu begun to increase his pace. Each step grew to a stride and he was soon set in a dead sprint towards the significantly smaller human woman. He let out a loud grunt as he lowered his right shoulder and braced himself to collide with her abdomen. Reacting by instinct, Aska bent her left knee while swinging her right leg away from her and back, using the momentum to pull her body from the path of the barrelling alien brute. Missing his target, Dur’Agu slid to a stop which was assisted by colliding with the now closed lift door.
“Schutta!” the Nikto wailed as he rubbed his forehead before standing at his full height, turning his body to face Aska once more. Blood trickled from a small cut above his right eye, dripping down to his ridged cheek bone. Dur’Agu puffed his chest outwards and beat it with his closed fist, locking his beady black eyes with Aska’s.
“Trench!” Aska wailed, though she didn’t expect a reply. By now, the Nikto had once again began to rush his opponent. The young woman, now realising that her foe was a man of impulse and angry outbursts, prepared herself by slightly bending both knees and locking her gaze on the advancing tank. As he grew closer and closer, Aska pushed herself up and placed her right hand on his lowered broad shoulder, rolling herself across his back to finally come to a stop on her right foot behind him. Locking her left hands grasp on the folds of his tunic, she then proceeded to bring her left foot to the inside of his right knee and pushed with all of her weight. The man, unprepared for retaliation, dropped to his knee but before he could react and bring himself back to his feet, Aska brought the palm of her right hand to the back of his head, connecting where his spine met the back of his skull. Dur’Agu fell forward, landing on his chest before Aska rushed herself up his back and bringing her heel down to the back of his skull. She was met with a sickening crack and as she looked down, she saw blood had begun to pool around his mouth. Had she just killed this man? Aska fell to the ground and scrambled away from the twitching corpse as she tried to put as much distance between her and Dur’Agu as she could.
“Fascinating,” Trench said excitedly as he dropped his holoboard to his side before rushing over to the now crying woman. “Aska, that was simply fascinating!”
“FASCINATING?!” Aska cried. “I just killed him! And that’s all you can say is FASCINATING?!” Trench attempted to put his arm under Aska in an effort to lift her to her feet but he was met with a cold and angry shove. “Don’t touch me, slug!” she wailed. “Just… Just don’t!” Her mind was racing over what had just happened. She couldn’t believe what she had done and then it began to dawn on her that not only had she killed this brute of a Nikto, but how easy it was as well.
“Don’t you see, Aska? This is proof! You truly are a perfect clone of my ancestor!” Trench exclaimed, waving his arm towards the finally still corpse.
“Again, Doctor, how can you be sure?” Aria said calmly as she walked over to Dur’Agu’s speeder to retrieve the payment he had received. “The original Aska was a cold-blooded murderer, and a skilled one if the records are to be believed. Who is to say that these mannerisms aren’t simply inherited from the host?” the woman said as she made her way to the doctor and the crying clone.
“Enough, Aria! You’re ignoring the obvious fact that your thug should have been able to tear any normal person to pieces! And, if I might remind you, my ancestor was able to harness the power of the Force! She could perform acts that you or I could never even dream of!” Trench exclaimed before turning his gaze back to Aska. Her sobbing had calmed slightly, but her eyes remained red and puffy as tears streamed down her cheeks. “But you, my dear… You are the epitome of my life’s work,”
Trench. The lead scientist who was responsible for her creation. Or was it her birth? To this day, Aska was still unsure of the details and specifics of her life. The scientist was a middle-aged man with hair that was as deep a red as the descending evening twin suns of Tatooine, spackled with traces of grey wisps along his side burns. His face was heavily wrinkled for his age and the best description of his body type that the young clone could come up with, which was draped in a stark white trench coat, was a man who had never considered physical activity as a priority but instead focused all his efforts into developing the woman he had created. The scientist had a name, but Aska never cared to remember it. For as long as she could remember, he was Trench and he always would be.
“Come, girl. Let us begin your test,” he said softly as the lift finally came to a stop, the doorway sliding open with a metallic rush. Trench stepped out of the elevator accompanied by one of his colleagues, a human woman, with Aska bringing up the rear. Finally releasing her wrist, she was drawn into a sense of wonder. Speeders rushed by at incredible velocities and different elevations. Even in those few seconds she had experienced, Aska could almost have sworn that many of the vessels would have collided into a fiery crash, twisting metal and flesh until neither would be recognizable before descending down towards the sublevels of the world. “Aria, have you made contact with our associate?” Trench asked one of his colleagues as he tapped away on a holoboard.
“Yes, Doctor Ryun. He insisted he would be here on time,” the short and stout woman replied. Her shoulder length brown hair was greasy and straggly, indicating to Aska that this woman had been so involved with her work these recent days that hygiene was completely disregarded. Or perhaps she was just a filthy slob. Who knew.
“And you’re positive you gave him the correct co-ordinates?”
“Yes, doctor,” Aria replied with exasperation. As soon as Trench had looked up from his holoboard to meet Aria’s gaze, a blue and gold speeder swiftly descended from the flowing traffic and came to a rest on the platform before them. From the driver seat, an alien creature hopped out and began to confidently stride towards them. Aska took in his appearance, evaluating everything she could. He stood a few inches taller than her, likely exceeding six feet and his muscle tone was incredibly defined. He was dressed in drab clothing, primarily run down clothe draped over a ragged orange tunic. Aska couldn’t help but smirk as she thought that his face looked like a mountain of gizka dung that had been stomped on repeatedly. ‘A Nikto,’ she thought to herself, remembering the studies of alien species that Trench had subjugated her to in the past.
“Ah, you must be Dur’Agu,” Trench spoke loudly, proceeding towards the new Nikto visitor. Dur’Agu began to reply to Trench but spoke a language that Aska was unfamiliar with. Despite the extent of education she had received in her isolation, learning alien languages always proved difficult for her. “Yes, that is correct. Five hundred credits will suffice?” the scientist responded before handing Dur’Agu a small satchel. The Nikto opened it and poured the currency into his scaled hand before smirking and tossing it back into the speeder before nodding in agreement to whatever it was that he and Trench had been discussing. Dur’Agu then proceeded to remove the drab cloak from his shoulders and revealed chiseled arms and a very wide set of shoulders before turning back to Aska and cracking his neck.
“Trench,” Aska began cautiously. “You never did tell me what this test is, exactly,” she finished as she began to take a couple steps backwards. Dur’Agu began to advance on her, meeting every step of hers with one of his own. “Do you expect me to fight that thing?” she continued, turning her eyes towards the scientist. Trench remained emotionless and pulled his holoboard back to his view. “Aria, what is this?” Aska cried out but was met with cold silence. By now, Dur’Agu begun to increase his pace. Each step grew to a stride and he was soon set in a dead sprint towards the significantly smaller human woman. He let out a loud grunt as he lowered his right shoulder and braced himself to collide with her abdomen. Reacting by instinct, Aska bent her left knee while swinging her right leg away from her and back, using the momentum to pull her body from the path of the barrelling alien brute. Missing his target, Dur’Agu slid to a stop which was assisted by colliding with the now closed lift door.
“Schutta!” the Nikto wailed as he rubbed his forehead before standing at his full height, turning his body to face Aska once more. Blood trickled from a small cut above his right eye, dripping down to his ridged cheek bone. Dur’Agu puffed his chest outwards and beat it with his closed fist, locking his beady black eyes with Aska’s.
“Trench!” Aska wailed, though she didn’t expect a reply. By now, the Nikto had once again began to rush his opponent. The young woman, now realising that her foe was a man of impulse and angry outbursts, prepared herself by slightly bending both knees and locking her gaze on the advancing tank. As he grew closer and closer, Aska pushed herself up and placed her right hand on his lowered broad shoulder, rolling herself across his back to finally come to a stop on her right foot behind him. Locking her left hands grasp on the folds of his tunic, she then proceeded to bring her left foot to the inside of his right knee and pushed with all of her weight. The man, unprepared for retaliation, dropped to his knee but before he could react and bring himself back to his feet, Aska brought the palm of her right hand to the back of his head, connecting where his spine met the back of his skull. Dur’Agu fell forward, landing on his chest before Aska rushed herself up his back and bringing her heel down to the back of his skull. She was met with a sickening crack and as she looked down, she saw blood had begun to pool around his mouth. Had she just killed this man? Aska fell to the ground and scrambled away from the twitching corpse as she tried to put as much distance between her and Dur’Agu as she could.
“Fascinating,” Trench said excitedly as he dropped his holoboard to his side before rushing over to the now crying woman. “Aska, that was simply fascinating!”
“FASCINATING?!” Aska cried. “I just killed him! And that’s all you can say is FASCINATING?!” Trench attempted to put his arm under Aska in an effort to lift her to her feet but he was met with a cold and angry shove. “Don’t touch me, slug!” she wailed. “Just… Just don’t!” Her mind was racing over what had just happened. She couldn’t believe what she had done and then it began to dawn on her that not only had she killed this brute of a Nikto, but how easy it was as well.
“Don’t you see, Aska? This is proof! You truly are a perfect clone of my ancestor!” Trench exclaimed, waving his arm towards the finally still corpse.
“Again, Doctor, how can you be sure?” Aria said calmly as she walked over to Dur’Agu’s speeder to retrieve the payment he had received. “The original Aska was a cold-blooded murderer, and a skilled one if the records are to be believed. Who is to say that these mannerisms aren’t simply inherited from the host?” the woman said as she made her way to the doctor and the crying clone.
“Enough, Aria! You’re ignoring the obvious fact that your thug should have been able to tear any normal person to pieces! And, if I might remind you, my ancestor was able to harness the power of the Force! She could perform acts that you or I could never even dream of!” Trench exclaimed before turning his gaze back to Aska. Her sobbing had calmed slightly, but her eyes remained red and puffy as tears streamed down her cheeks. “But you, my dear… You are the epitome of my life’s work,”