Revival of the Empire's Forgotten Hero [Hildegard Modries]

[Y'roth Helghast]

Agent Y'lor Jerrard stood beside Agent Bren'lar Scothis. They stood together in their Geist powersuits, helmets on, as the black painted Lambda-class shuttle pulled into the hangar of the XQ3 Platform, the Headquarters that they knew as Dark Horizon. The voice belonging to Y'lor was raspier than he or Bren'lar remembered it ever being. After years of stasis, neither of them held it against each other.

"You think she can do it?"

Bren'lar's helmet tilted towards Jerrard slightly; the wings of the shuttle folding upwards in the meanwhile.

"You're the surgeon, right? You know how bad it is. I've seen plenty of 'em stabbed through and through with their sabers, never seen one get back up and spit in their face afterwards."

"He is a machine."

"He is. Never really ever thought of 'em as just as a man."

"No one did. Does."

The shuttle landed, setting down. The lit path along the paneled ground of the hangar coming from the shuttle's landing pad led right up to where the two powersuits waited. The momentary silence was broken by Bren'lar this time.

"You think we're overdoing it with the suits?"

"No."

Y'lor lifted a massive hand encased in plates of armor, dextrous enough to manipulate a computer, strong enough to punch through a duracrete wall, and responsive enough to be his own hand.

"These suits convey superiority. She's a cyberneticist. She should be able to appreciate that something like this doesn't move as fast as it does without a neural interface."

"Yeah, and it's not like we brought our guns or anything."

"Right, and Bren..."

As the ramp of the shuttle lowered.

"Yeah, Doc?"

"Shut up. Let me do the talking. I know you're still cracked after Naomi. Just stand there. Follow my lead."

Y'lor only heard a sniff in response. Appropriate. If this woman was as good as the initial reports said she was, her next big break might just salvage everything.

[Hildegard Modries]

Dr. Modries wasn't likely to ever turn down a professional opportunity and this time was no different. She had been approached by a mysterious contact who had expressed how her skills were required in a delicate operation. It had piqued her interest and while she hadn't been able to find much detail about the contact, the documents and few amounts of data provided, had been sufficient for her to accept the offer. Due to her high qualifications and successful resume, she had previously collaborated to secret projects and understood the security levels mandatory to top secret experiences. Maybe she should be wary of such things, but she wasn't. She prefered professionalism and straightforwardness that made communication and transportation as practical as possible, rather than people trying to cover what should be directly deemed as "classified".

The one thing she had requested to be shown prior to board the ship taking her to the unknown destination was a sample of the equipment she would be provided once there. She hadn't seen much, but technical specificities and a couple holo pictures had finished to win her over. She always longed for a new challenge and she had the intuition this would be it.

During the journey to the facilities where her skills were needed, she made sure to get some rest for there was no reason to brainstorm what she'd have to do until she had the actual information once there.

When the pilot touched down, the place looked difficult to figure out in what affiliation it might have, but she cared little about it.

"Dr. Modries? Please follow me." The pale blonde nodeed and retrieved her bag and did as told, staying focused on whatever would come next.

[Y'roth Helghast]

The pilot wore a simple, unmarked flight suit. Beyond the Lambda-class shuttle, the base was largely void of much that would indicate that the massive space station was actually an Imperial black site located in the N2 quadrant of the galaxy. Some described the way to get there was to hit the Xo system and then just keep going. The pilot would've never known how to enter such coordinates if they had not first been a co-pilot en route to this base. That often sparked the conversations between the pilots about how the first crews had ever figured out how to navigate here to begin with. He shrugged it off as he led the woman down the ramp, stopping short with a quick intake of breath as he saw who awaited them ahead. He could feel the blood draining from his face as he turned to the woman, giving a weak smile. Unable to speak, he gave something akin to a wave and salute before heading back up the ramp and into the shuttle. The pilot hoped the best for that woman.

==========

Y'lor Jerrard stepped forward, his metal foot surprisingly quiet against the hangar flooring. His voice projected with a clarity that communicated his damaged voice as if the helmet was not even there.

"Dr. Modries. I am Dr. Jerrard. Chief Surgeon of this facility. We appreciate your timely response to our request. I'm sure you are tired from your journey, but I'm afraid we have little time to spare for you to recollect yourself currently. If you will follow me?"

The other man in his imposing Geist Powersuit stared solemnly at her before following behind them.

"We need you to accept basic terms of privacy and secrecy regarding this upcoming operation and the equipment that you are about to have access to..."

A small, black mirrored sphere flitted towards them from an adjacent hallway as they walked down a long corridor. Red lights rotated behind the glass of the sphere and flashed occasionally at Dr. Modries as if it were analyzing her. It came closer and bobbed.

"That is a Gremlin. It will accompany you everywhere you go and is your personal assistant and means of communication while in this facility. Any initial issues?"

They passed through one set of security doors, entering a portion of the facility that was less populated and sterile, more like a hospital.

[Hildegard Modries]

When the armored doctor introduced himself, Hildegard checked him out with a professional eye, trying to make basic assessment of the technology at play there, from the armor to likely implant and link to the living being inside. After the journey, grateful for her habit to get sleep whenever and wherever she could, she was feeling refreshed and had made sure to remain hydrated.

"I rested aboard the ship, Dr. Jerrard," she replied curtly, following him through the hallways.

"I signed up the privacy agreement prior to board the transport. I've worked on several classified projects in the past." She didn't care about boasting but this established that she wasn't weirded out by any sort of security protocoles or secrecy requirements.

Her gaze briefly went to the device that scanned her and she let it do its job, unfazed. "None."

She had questions about what exactly she would be working on and what detailed information she could be given to do her job, but she saw no reason to ask them until they reached the workroom where she would be operated. She was a no-nonsense kind of person and saw no use in chitchat.

[Y'roth Helghast]

Jerrard nodded as they reached another door. It was not transparent like the rest had been, and it was easily portrayed as unwelcoming as the Gremlin flitted to the door. After a moment of silent consultation, the door opened, several internal locks coming undone and the release of an atmosphere maintained beyond the norm. Jerrard led the way inside, the other powersuit following behind them all.

This part of the facility was clearly medical intended. Multiple empty rooms lined the hallway. In some rooms, it appeared that the contents had been hastily placed there, large containers with multiple warning symbols. Others were better prepared, awaiting a patient, empty beds with medical supplies and a bacta tank ready and available. As they continued down the hallway, the rooms were no longer single occupancy but opened to larger bays. Bacta tanks and operating tables lined one bay while on the other side of the hallway, it appeared more like a workshop then a medical bay.

The large medical bay had a number of cloning vats as well. Most of the vats were the appropriate size for creating organs or smaller limbs. Towards the back were two cloning vats that were larger than a normal human. There was no one but a few medical droids, matte black with orange eyes, milling about, tending to a few pieces of equipment or some organs in a few of the smaller cloning vats already in use.

The workshop on the other side was arranged with some of the highest caliber equipment that any high performance organization could afford. Multiple cradles sat awaiting organic hosts, and the array of limbs and materials available was staggering, even a growth vat for developing synthetic musculature. All of this available for the doctor to take in as they continued down the hallway to the another sealed door.

As the next sealed door opened, frost flaked from the inside of the door and onto the ground. The temperature here was decidedly colder and for good reason. In the center of the room, massive power cables extending from the high ceiling led into the large cylinder in the room. A sole occupant hung suspended within the stasis chamber but no light was cast upon it beyond the flickering light of a barely sustained stasis field. Three Gremlins flitted about the room, manipulating the holo-consoles that littered the room. A much larger sphere, bigger than a human's torso floated down from the darkness in the ceiling, toward them.

WELCOME DR. MODRIES. I AM IMP. THE SUBJECT HAS TWO HOURS TO STABILIZE ONCE STASIS IS RELEASED INITIALLY IF YOU HAVE A VIABLE SOLUTION. I ANTICIPATE THAT YOU WILL NEED SEVERAL HOURS TO REVIEW. IF THE SUBJECT REMAINS IN STASIS, THE SUBJECT WILL REMAIN ALIVE FOR APPROXIMATELY 87 MORE HOURS.

To the side, a part of the wall came to life as red holoconsoles adjusted as if waiting for Dr. Modries to access them.

"The subject..."

Dr. Jerrard lifted a hand towards the tube in the middle. The suspended occupant was then lit, revealing a large human male. A large, cauterized hole was obvious where the subject's heart would have been.

"Lord Inquisitor Y'roth Helghast."

[Hildegard Modries]

Hildegard's attention went to every detail she could take in from the facility she had been brought to. It was fascinating and she felt curious about what she would have to work on. The cloning area was one of the most advanced she had seen, and she had worked at a few over the years.

When she arrived in the colder room, and could finally see the subject at hand, her eyes slightly widened. Such a lightsaber wound was mortal, regardless of the species, if it went straight through the heart as it had with the tube's occupant.

The half Arkanian stepped closer, listening to the number of hours she had.

"He looks human, but is his DNA 100% human?" She naturally went towards one of the console to pull the files and specifics of the man and what the facility had in store, to start reviewing. Yet, she knew the surgeon was with her so asking a few questions whether to him or the AI present was natural.

"Could the subject be placed back in stasis after being released?" She believed it wouldn't be an option but it was one she needed to know about.

[Y'roth Helghast]

There was a pregnant silence within the room as Jerrard regarded the woman from where he stood behind her then glanced at IMP and nodded, granting the IMP the permission to continue onward.

LORD HELGHAST'S DNA IS BASED OFF A HUMAN TEMPLATE WITH A DORMANT, SYNTHESIZED VARIANT STRAIN INTRODUCED PRIOR TO INCUBATION. THE VARIANT STRAIN WAS COAXED AND AUGMENTED VIA GENE THERAPY AS THE SUBJECT MATURED. THE FILES YOU ARE CURRENTLY ACCESSING PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS REGARDING THE FUNCTIONALITY AND CAPABILITIES DEVELOPED THEREIN.

IMP floated above and to the side of the doctor as certain panes of the holo displays were highlighted.

THE INQUISITOR CAN BE REINSTATED IN STASIS BUT CELL DECOMPOSITION AND LIKELY CEREBRAL TRAUMA IS INEVITABLE DUE TO TIME CONSTRAINTS.

Dr. Jerrard came to stand beside the doctor as Scothis moved towards the stasis pod. Jerrard gave another pause as he watched the woman analyze the data before he continued.

"We have the means to repair the damage. Are your skills up to the task?"

[Hildegard Modries]

The half Arkanian had no interest in playing games of any kind and was a very detail and goal oriented individual. The questions she asked nevertheless served two purposes: acquiring vital information about the procedure she would perform in the next hours and make sure that the fellow professionals who would work with her were up to the task. Top notch equipment was only part of the equation and the crew using said equipment was as important, if not somewhat more for without proper input and reactions, the best project could fall apart, regardless of the quality of available tools.

She nodded to the provided information about the subject's DNA and kept reading some other files. "A full human's heart change would be easier feat than with him. I see the nervous system was altered for quicker reactions. We will need to take care of how this is embedded in a dangerous web very carefully besides usual cardio-vascular work for a heart transplant. I take it you have an artificial heart crafted for the subject?"

She would have to see what other organs the lightsaber wound had affected, but one thing at a time. They had a given time frame to work with but rushing would only result in loss of subject.

When posed a direct question, her piercing bright eyes met Dr. Jerrard. "They are." she replied in a tone void of bravado. She was simply stating a fact.