Nirauan's Terrain

Cain sighed, knowing that the Dracus had been engineered by his father and now him to serve one purpose. He spoke to C'thulu.

Cain Dracus:"Because of what it was designed for, technically there isn't anything else the Dracus was made to do. However, with that said, if the central intelligence was able to form, then it is possible the Dracus would be capable of more than just combat. Due to the parasitic nature of the Dracus, along with it's seemingly insatiable hunger, it's ability to perform other tasks is diminished. So far, in all my years of working with the Dracus, it has never displayed any sort of uncharacteristic traits such as being able to go under cover. But in truth, if there was an outbreak, it wouldn't need to."

Cain then stepped over to a terminal and motioned for his apprentice to join him. After passing through several screens of complex diagrams of the Dracus' genetic breakdown, Cain called up information regarding it's behavior.

Cain Dracus:"The Dracus hungers. It is driven by this base instinct. That in itself belies the parasite's true intelligence. The Dracus parasite is capable of learning and accessing it's hosts memories. Anything you know before infection, it knows after infection. It breaks down the information it can access and compartmentalizes it down to survival. What is the most important thing it knows that will allow it to continue consuming as a whole? That's what it goes for. Using a blaster. Flying a starfighter. These are all things it processes and uses as it determines the probability of its survival. If using a blaster is more beneficial during the initial outbreak, then that's what the Dracus will use. If flying a starfighter up to a capital ship in orbit will help it spread from this world to the next, then that's what it will use. Do you understand it better now, and respect what it is truly capable of, my apprentice?"

Cain turned to his apprentice once more, waiting to see what the Kaleesh would say next.

C'thulu was certainly more intelligent than Cain had originally assumed. He was taking the information Cain was giving him and he was absorbing it like a sponge. He would make an excellent protege. Cain thinks for a few moments, then speaks to his apprentice.

Cain Dracus:"Apprentice, how would you like to become my second in the labs? You hunger for knowledge and you are a quick study. I could use a mind such as yours in the labs, testing the different strains of infection. Perhaps you will even lead this project to a breakthrough, who knows? But simply being a Sith with a mind such as yours is a waste of your full potential."

Cain observes his apprentice, gauging his reaction.

Cain had to hand it to his newly acquired apprentice. He was certainly well educated and more intelligent than originally assumed. Which was good. Having a fresh mind going over the monotonous diagrams that Cain had drawn and studied for years could produce new results. Beneath his helmet, Cain grinned.

Cain Dracus:"Excellent. I shall find a task for you as soon as we are done here..."

They had one more test subject to infect before he could assign C'thulu a new task. And there was the matter of locating new specimens for his experiments as well. Cain motioned for the next subject to be wheeled closer as he grabbed the syringe from the cart and prepared to inject the last subject...

The Trandoshan prisoner was next. Having witnessed the Rodian's transformation as well as the Chiss's death, he hissed and snarled before speaking.

"The Scorekeeper will not stand for this! You will be punished..."

Cain simply retorted with a chuckle and brief statement.

Cain Dracus:"Your pathetic gods mean nothing to me. Besides, your god cannot save you from what is about to happen next...hehehe..."

And with that, Cain stepped closer to the Trandoshan and injected him with the infection. The blue liquid traveled into the Trandoshan's veins. As before, he began struggling against the restraints, thrashing in agony as he screamed and howled in pain. Cain merely took a step back and spoke.

Cain Dracus:"Where is your god now?"

He knew the Trandoshan would hear him, but due to the agonizing process of infection, he would be unable to reply back. And that suited Cain just fine.

Beneath his helmet, Cain grinned as C'thulu taunted the Trandoshan. As the specimen thrashed against its restraints, it began to transform as the Rodian had. The Trandoshan's already pale colored scales began to turn a deathly grey and molt. Its head snapped back with a sickening crunch and bone-like tendrils sprouted from the wrist. As a hardened lump began to form on the Trandoshan's chest, it heaved against the restraints, much harder than the last time. And the restraints snapped. Two technicians rushed forward to try and push the beast back down onto the table as a third attempted to restrain it. Cain stepped back and pushed C'thulu back as well. As the two technicians trying to hold the transformed Trandoshan down struggled, the infected specimen thrashed about, flailing its tendrils about. The tendrils caught one of the technicians and sent him flying into the wall with surprising force. As the other tech struggled to maintain what little control he had on the specimen, it lashed out again, sending the technician sailing over to the counter, crashing into it. As the third technician began to panic frantically, Cain stepped forward, right hand extended outwards, pointed towards the infected Trandoshan. He began to exercise his telepathic link with the infection.

Cain Dracus:Remain calm! I am in control. You will return to the table and lie down!

As if on cue, the specimen paused, mid thrash, and stood there for a few moments. And then it took two steps back and laid down on the table, calmly. Cain then motioned for the technician to come strap the specimen in. As he did so, several Asset Containment Unit members charged into the lab, stun batons and rifles set to stun at the ready. Assessing there was no reason for them to be on the offensive, the leader motioned for the rest of them to stand down and assist in removing the two injured techs and securing the specimen properly.

Cain Dracus:"As you can see, not every species reacts the same way. Some turn normally, while others react adversely. ACU responds to all alerts within seconds. I have taken every precautionary measure I can to ensure the Dracus does not break containment."

Cain watched at the ACU team continued with the clean-up.

Cain, lost in thought, was brought back to the present as his apprentice spoke to him.

Cain Dracus:"From here, the freshly infected are taken to isolation. They are then left alone in a dimly lit room and monitored. No access or interaction is permitted for a standard span of twenty-four hours. It allows the infection to fully manifest unhindered. If the specimens survive the isolation period, they are then taken to a secure holding cell and stripped of any remnants of their former life. Clothing, personal effects and anything else that remains from the former specimen. After that they are taken to a sterilization chamber to be disinfected of any outside contaminants. Once decontaminated, the Dracus are separated into three groups. One goes to the holding pens we observed earlier. Another group goes the labs for further experimentation and the final group is put into stasis and stored until such a time that it is needed."

Cain motioned for his apprentice to follow him as ACU and the lab technicians finished up with the final specimens and carted them out of the room. Cain made his way out of the lab, retrieving his weapons from the security station as he did so. His black visage stood in stark contrast to the brilliant white of the rest of the facility.

The shuttles landed outside the old cloning facility. It had been relatively untouched, but the shields kept vegetation out. The shuttles set down in the landing space and immediately, the technical crews they had brought with them disembarked and walked into the facility. They then began disassembling the cloning technology piece by piece for transport to Csilla, where a new cloning center had been constructed and was sitting there, waiting to be used.
—10 hours later—
The cloning equipment had been disassembled and loaded onto the shuttles. The various doors of the shuttles closed and they lifted off, headed up into orbit.