Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

Blai and the others had brought the hounds they had captured near the factory back to the university two days ago. Now that the source of the darkness there had apparently subsided, the xenobiologist had some hopes the poor critters might be looking better, and might even be saved in the end.

He made his way through the halls of the University, finally reaching the Applied Xenobiology and Veterinary department and the building where it had been said the hounds would be kept.

Getting to a counter and taking his University Researcher badge out of his wallet, he asked if he could be shown to the person responsible for keeping an eye on the hounds' situation after they were brought back.

EDIT: Had changed this to EM while trying to set things up with the others, but EM actually works best after all. Sorry for the mess -_-'

EDIT: 2 Sleepy Blai doesn't know that "M" stands for Morning. IT should be AFTERNOON, not morning. Heck! I'm really sorry, I'll refrain from posting while sleepy next time -_-'

Galen had been of the same mind, arriving shortly after Blai.

"Good morning!" he called out, as he approached.

What was another snag to add to the big tapestry of emergencies, Kat thought as she showed up at the university dressed in her usual Jedi-garb of whites and browns.

The Jedi Knight had a serious expression on her face as she walked through the halls, until she could finally spot Blais. "Sir Frayus," she said, raising her voice just enough to catch his attention with a hand held up to indicate she was the one who spoke. "Sir Sol," she recognized the other one who had arrived.

"Good morning to both of you."

Hearing one, then the other, he turned around and waved to them in turn.

"Morning Galen, morning miss Ulgo! I've just answered your texts on, ah... well, the other thing. Supposing you're also of a mind to see how the poor Kath hounds are doing, then?", he says with a worried smile.

Noticing the serious expression on Katarzyna's face, he turns his head slightly sideways at her. "Ah... or maybe...I assume you've got something else on your mind, miss Ulgo?"

"The hounds are of interest," she wasn't dismissing that out of hand, as it would be good to know if they could rule out Sith influence, but the recent news made it seem it wasn't likely. "... But this object you found is currently my greater concern, and something I might be more capable of commenting on than the hounds."

"If it's what I think it is, you should definitely show it to her." Galen advised.

Aurilie would stroll to the gathering of concerned and like-minded individuals regarding the hound problem. After perhaps left with some time to spare from the mud wrestling, she managed to clean and change into one of her tweed outfits to perhaps match with the studious environment. However, her interests in the hounds weren't exactly academic but rather to gather tools needed for her profession in the wild and perhaps future hunts. She's wished that she could just assume the hounds were just some freak accident but the encounter with the spirit thing painted a different picture for her.

"Good afternoon, everyone" she would greet everyone cooly.

Baesal arrived with a large portable cup of caf in her left hand hand and a bag full of...widgets? in the other. She looked a tad tired but very interesed on the hounds

''Good morning people''

The university staff relate that the hounds seem healthy but are still very confrontational and prone to violence. They have the creatures in their own containment area. They are unsure of what to do with the creatures, kath hounds can be violent in nature but these seem overly aggressive.

Galen looked at Blai after hearing the report. "If they were manipulated and made this way through the Force, perhaps we can rehabilitate them the same way."

"My hypothesis is that the hounds got this way by drinking the by-products and the refuse of the Sith machine that infiltrated their water holes."

She sipped her coffee

"It is possible that the effects are temporary but I'll need further data."

She crossed her arms. "And this would be the cause of their physical changes as well? They are far larger than any other found in the area and really seemed to have an adverse relationship with the region. Would you know if it's mostly their appetite or just the relationship with this Sith spirit affliction?"

Blai Frayus wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:01 pm

- snip -

Her face relaxed a little. "It can wait a bit though. Let's focus on the hounds first?"

She listened with interest on the condition of the hounds. "It is possible that Black Tooth could have been brought him from off-world by the Sith during the invasion, considering the advanced state of it compared to the other hounds."

"I'd say Black Tooth was definitely the first affected." Galen nodded. "It is possible that he was directly experimented on, but the pool we found at the oasis could have corrupted any creatures searching for water out in the sands. Regardless, it seems clear that the Sith were doing something out there beyond processing hyperfuel."

"Yes, Black Tooth was absolutely the first one. Hence my thought that he could've been brought in from off-world perhaps, unless there was a laboratory you found yesterday?" she asked with some interest as she tried to get a feeling of the bigger picture.

"Have any other corrupted creatures been seen in the area, or just the hounds?"

"No. I didn't see signs of much else." he shook his head. "But, it's a desert and I'm sure the hounds killed anything that came close to their lair. There were enough corpses out there to suggest that. Of course, Black Tooth and the others could have dragged many of them back from elsewhere."

"The contaminated water seems to be coincidental, however. I don't think that machine, whatever it was, was intended to do that." he added. "If anything, it seemed like it was an anchor for those dark spirits."

Aurilie Alde wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:49 am

She crossed her arms. "And this would be the cause of their physical changes as well? They are far larger than any other found in the area and really seemed to have an adverse relationship with the region. Would you know if it's mostly their appetite or just the relationship with this Sith spirit affliction?"

''Sith alchemy can have a great variety of effects depending on what is wished for.''

''I am not sure if Black tooth was first of just one who had a stronger reaction to the Dark side or the likely alchemical by-products. All we can do is speculate at this point aside from noting the obvious watering hole corruption.''

Galen Sol wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:24 am

"No. I didn't see signs of much else." he shook his head. "But, it's a desert and I'm sure the hounds killed anything that came close to their lair. There were enough corpses out there to suggest that. Of course, Black Tooth and the others could have dragged many of them back from elsewhere."

"The contaminated water seems to be coincidental, however. I don't think that machine, whatever it was, was intended to do that." he added. "If anything, it seemed like it was an anchor for those dark spirits."

''That's my train of thoughts as well. Darth Dominus might not have intended to corrupt the local fauna but might have capitalised on it. He could have possessed Black Tooth to bring him victims but that is, once again, speculation.''

She brought the caff to her lips again

''Professor Frayus...does your team have any stool and urine samples from the specimen? Pumping their stomachs might reveal mush as well.''

Seeing the other two arrive, Blai greets them with a wave and a smile, although his attention is clearly devoted to the ongoing conversation.

Katarzyna Ulgo wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:14 pm

"The hounds are of interest," she wasn't dismissing that out of hand, as it would be good to know if they could rule out Sith influence, but the recent news made it seem it wasn't likely. "... But this object you found is currently my greater concern, and something I might be more capable of commenting on than the hounds."

Hearing Katarzyna's words, he nods to her and Galen and comments in a softer voice. "I've been careful, as you said... let's deal with the hounds first, but... I'm concerned too, I must say."

Then to the others. "Aurilie, Baesal. I hope you've been well?"

Galen Sol wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:24 am

"No. I didn't see signs of much else." he shook his head. "But, it's a desert and I'm sure the hounds killed anything that came close to their lair. There were enough corpses out there to suggest that. Of course, Black Tooth and the others could have dragged many of them back from elsewhere."

"The contaminated water seems to be coincidental, however. I don't think that machine, whatever it was, was intended to do that." he added. "If anything, it seemed like it was an anchor for those dark spirits."

"I... don't know, really. It did seem like an anchor of sorts... but even who or what the spirit was is unclear to me. And they may have capitalised on the hounds to attract people, maybe..."

Turning to Baesal and Katarzyna first, but also the others, he asks. "Does the name ring a bell to any of you? Dominus I mean?"

Then turning specifically to answer Baesal's question

Baesal Zyn wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:30 am

''Professor Frayus...does your team have any stool and urine samples from the specimen? Pumping their stomachs might reveal mush as well.''

"I... believe the vet team may have some samples. Better ask, as I wasn't directly involved in the observation due to the festival and, well, our field expeditions."

Dapper Dog wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:07 am

The university staff relate that the hounds seem healthy but are still very confrontational and prone to violence. They have the creatures in their own containment area. They are unsure of what to do with the creatures, kath hounds can be violent in nature but these seem overly aggressive.

He then turning to the staff again. "Thanks for the report, dearests... I'm troubled to hear they're still like that. Ah... do you know if the team has collected urine or stool samples, as miss Zyn here suggested? Or... could we have a look at them", he says, looking at Galen. "I... do have at least some hope we may be able to do something to rehabilitate them."

OOC:
Could we maybe try to go with Galen's suggestion of using the force (possibly along with good old 'offering treats and establishing rapport') to connect with and try to purify the dogs ?

Galen asked to see the hounds and followed the staff to where they were being kept. Once there, he tried to calm one of them, projecting peace and calm through the Force. But, he was unnerved by the darkness circling it.

- - -
Hound are they doing? (D6 EA, Organa Sunflower University), Influence Hound, Peace: 2eF 2 Dark Side

Blai Frayus wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:23 pm

Seeing the other two arrive, Blai greets them with a wave and a smile, although his attention is clearly devoted to the ongoing conversation.

Hearing Katarzyna's words, he nods to her and Galen and comments in a softer voice. "I've been careful, as you said... let's deal with the hounds first, but... I'm concerned too, I must say."

Then to the others. "Aurilie, Baesal. I hope you've been well?"

"I... don't know, really. It did seem like an anchor of sorts... but even who or what the spirit was is unclear to me. And they may have capitalised on the hounds to attract people, maybe..."

Turning to Baesal and Katarzyna first, but also the others, he asks. "Does the name ring a bell to any of you? Dominus I mean?"

"Good." She nodded, then focused on the group.

"Darth Dominus... I've heard the name before, yes." Kat looked a bit grim at being reminded of the name. It wasn't one she had expected to remember, but her fellow padawan had shared the stories. Of him and others.

"Darth Dominus was supposedly a very loyal servant of the old Emperor, but reports say he disappeared from public eye after the death of the Emperor. A master of Sith sorcery and alchemy, delving into some truly old and dark secrets... I heard stories that he'd use alchemy to twist living beings, turning them into monsters."

She looked to Blais and Galen, then the beasts. "It certainly lines up then..."