Elegant (Wolffe)

29

Ok, for this chapter I had to do a bit of research in an incognito tab. I still don't feel 100% confident with my answer tho, so I made up my own lore.

You'll see what I mean.

I did end up scrolling too far at one point tho.

Horrifying.

Tw: Mention of miscarriage, mentions of death, implying of child abuse.

The Kaminoans had always been clever.

Perhaps not as smart as they could have been, considering they were nearly completely eradicated by the end of the Clone Wars due to the Empire. But they were still a highly intelligent species, and prided themselves on it.

So a few Kaminoans had noticed the subtle shifts in power in the galaxy just as the war was coming to an end. Around a month before the Empire rose to power, a few of the wisest Kaminoans slipped away, taking their projects with them.

Lina Ru, Nolo Sa, and Kuho Erse were the three to escape. They weren't known by many, which is why their actions went unnoticed.

While they worked for the Prime Minister, they were the ones given the more... unsavory assignments. They continued their work after as well.

Nolo Sa, the leader of their little group knew of an abandoned Kaminoan city on Bespin. It was hidden so close to the core of the gas planet that no one ventured that far down for fear of the pressure would immediately kill them.

But again, the Kaminoans were clever.

Decades ago they had made a city that was able to support life, deep into Bespin. It was just barely far enough from the core that it was survivable, but it definitely wasn't pleasant.

So in that city, they plotted and schemed and worked on their project. Hidden away from the rest of the galaxy they experimented until they found a way to once again be one of the richest peoples to exist.

And their plan revolved around children.

Because you see, children are the key to the future. They are the next generation. They are the source of life as well. Without children, who carries on the knowledge of their elders? Without children, entire species would go extinct.

So the Kaminoans knew they needed to create the next generation of Kaminoans to replace the ones that had been eliminated.

But how to create those children?

Lina Ru and Kuho Erse couldn't carry children due to the fact that most Kaminoans just couldn't reproduce naturally. The Kaminaon reproductive systems couldn't carry a child to full term unfortunately, for whatever reason.

And Nolo Sa couldn't impregnate females of another species; it had been tried already and failed.

That left them with one option.

Cloning.

It was ironic how the one thing their species was known for was the one thing they couldn't use on themselves. On their home world they had the technology for it, but the Empire had destroyed it.

"There must be a way," Kuho Erse said, after their thirtieth attempt at trying to create a new Kaminoan.

Lina Ru lifted her long fingers away from the screen and sighed. "There's always our back up plan."

Kuho Erse bobbed her head in agreement. "Indeed. It might be time to implement it."

"No." Nolo Sa's voice cut through their conversation.

Lina Ru and Kuho Erse both ducked their heads and stepped back.

Nolo Sa slowly glided towards the failed experiment, glancing coldly at the mRNA strand that had been simulated on the screen. "What is this?"

"It is a simulated attempt at manipulating mRNA," Lina Ru told him, peering over his shoulder. "We have designed it to-"

"Why are you using mRNA?" Nolo Sa laced his fingers together behind his back. "Why not go directly to DNA?"

"The mRNA would allow us to create DNA. With our limited technology we cannot get DNA from the nucleus. But mRNA leaves the nucleus and we might be able to capture it and use it to create DNA from that." Kuho Erse's voice was calm and serene. She slowly blinked at him. "It was a reasonable attempt that nearly succeeded."

"Try again. Succeed, this time," Nolo Sa ordered, gazing at the little boy they had as their assistant. "And you, where are your batch mates?"

The child raised shaking hands before Nolo Sa glared at him.

"He is mute," Lina Ru softly said before Nolo Sa could snap. "He speaks with his hands."

"He should have been ended before he came out of the tube. I do not tolerate failure of any kind." Nolo Sa faced the boy again. "Retrieve the others and bring them to me. I have need of you all again."

The boy trembled as he nodded, swiftly exiting to get his brothers.

"Hello?" Friendly said as they bumped into each other in the hallways. He reached out his hands to pat Crease's face. "I- Adult?"

Crease ran his thumb along Friendly's forehead, signalling it was him.

"They want us again, don't they?" Friendly's shoulders slumped.

Crease nodded, even though Friendly couldn't see it.

Friendly rubbed at his eyes, sighing heavily. "Let's find them, then."