What's Behind Door Number One?

[on_repeat]

WHO: Echo & YOU-SA OTA
WHERE: The Agrii Ship
WHAT: Lost
WHEN: Yes Now-ish
WARNINGS: TBD but I'm pretty sure it's N/A. Will update as needed.

----

His initial disorientation quickly subsided the moment he realized nothing was familiar.

It was huge, yes. But oh, it was different – very different from the Venator-class Republic Cruiser Echo was used to living on between missions. Through the dark visor of his helmet, he looked up, scrutinizing the lines running along the corridors, the shape of the bulkheads, the lights. However, it soon dawned on him that he would have to learn where everything was before any further venturing was done.

"Which means we're back to square one," he muttered under a breath, shouldering his blaster while he stood there to figure out his next move. And after staring down the way at the nearest door, he sighed. "Well. Looks like I got the time. A little exploring won't kill me..."


* * *

His first point of inspection:

"Large an' empty. I wonder what could've been held in here."


* * *

Second point of inspection:

"Inventory," he almost snorted through his vocabulator. The thrill in his tone (or lack thereof) was evident. "Always loads of fun."


* * *

A third point of inspection:

"...What is this, a refresher?"


* * *

Hits and misses were plenty the more he looked around, but for some reason, it wasn't boring him. Wherever he ended up next, he was sure to find something interesting.

Comments

[out_of_order]

A smile twists at Cal's lips when the music starts to play. That's definitely not something he'd expected. Not at all his choice for preference, but then again, it's probably meant to help relax whoever's being scanned. At least, that's his thought.

Once the scanner has finished going slowly from Echo's head to toes, it travels back up the path for a quicker sweep even as it moves to reset itself before the light finally fades again. BD-1 borbles at Jon's inquiry, glancing up at the earlier readout that had previously held the generic outline. With the scan completed, it updates with a more Echo-shaped outline and lines of whatever information it's picked up. Echo's form on-screen shows most of his body highlighted in green, most likely due to his armor, or at least prominent inorganic material, so not much seems to have been picked up.

[on_repeat]

Echo realizes he's been holding his breath, finally exhaling a sigh after the beam passes over him to return to its original position. His body relaxes as he shifts to prop himself up again, elbow planted on the bed so that he can watch the results.

At the same time, he doesn't see anything too alarming. "Maybe I should've taken the armor off..."

[beholding_archivist]

Nodding at Bd-1's reply, Jon gets up from his place on the bed and slowly walks over to the one Echo is currently occupying for the scan, his attention shifting up to the screen above with a little frown. No, he can't really see anything on there. Even without any medical knowledge or the medical data point that much seems pretty certain.

Echo's words pull his attention back down, and Jon blinks. "Oh. W-well... That might be a possibility..." Though he doesn't exactly sound sure. This is alien technology, isn't it? Shouldn't that be able to ignore such mundane things as armor?

He casts a questioning look over to Cal.

IDK how much you wanted to actually find out so I'll leave it up to yoooou guys

[out_of_order]

The padawan can't say what he'd been expecting, although the results almost make him laugh. He hides a laugh behind his hand as he presses a fist to his mouth, clearing his throat instead. Yeah, maybe they could have tried to adjust things a bit, but they were all working with unfamiliar technology, so there's room for error.

BD-1's found a way to zoom in, watching as Echo's scanned outline scrolls along on the screen. He cocks his rectangular head with a curious hoot as the man's head comes into view. Maybe it's just a blip.

I'm good with either choice, we can try figuring it out

[on_repeat]

Between Jon and Cal's responses, Echo's nose wrinkles as he attempts to keep a straight face.

"Could be," he agrees, but his attention goes from casually beginning to undo and remove his winged pauldrons to BeeDee's hooting. He blinks, glancing at the now zoomed-in readout of his head. "What's that?" From what he recalls, the screen was clear of any blemishes earlier.

The important word here may be *try* X)

[beholding_archivist]

At the very least, neither of them really know what they are looking at for and just barely have an understanding for what they are even looking at. That's at least somewhat reassuring.

Jon's attention is back up at the screen when the display shifts to the more detailed results of the separate sections. He frowns a little when be thinks he has seen something, but naturally can't be certain. It's BD-1's reaction as well as that of the clone that raises Jon's eyebrow and directs his attention towards Echo.

"Were you generally informed about everything they did to you? Every procedure and... Ah... Adjustment?" And he can only hope he has worded that in an acceptable way.

XD

[out_of_order]

There really is no good way of putting it. The entire circumstances surrounding clones was controversial, and yet things had been put into motion well before the Jedi even formally brought them in to serve the Republic. Another thing that probably factored in with how things turned out, Cal considers.

His eyes are drawn to the monitor, a frown pulling at his face as he has no better time of discerning the admittedly lacking detail of the scan's focus. "I'm not sure," he admits, glancing at Echo. Could it be a glitch? Something with the settings? BD-1 was already fiddling with the system again, jumping back with a surprised squawk as the scan's readout switched to a skeletal one. Cal's brows lift before he gives the droid a slight grin.

"Well, I guess it scans well enough through armor after all," he observes. Which at least gives Echo a break from having to redo the whole thing.

XD

[on_repeat]

"Generally informed, yeah," Echo answers the Archivist, finally sitting up so that he can lean forward and squint at the blip. "All vitals and physical conditions were cleared each and every time we went through the whole routine. This included any vaccinations and other miscellaneous details related to our overall health and performance levels. And none of us ever felt off unless we were badly injured– "

Surprise gets him when BD-1 accidentally switches to the skeletal version of the scan, jerking back with a half-spoken swear. "...You're gonna give someone a heart attack doing things like that," Echo chides the droid lightly, the corner of his mouth quirking once he gets over it.

At least that helps him laugh a little. That and Cal's observation. "Pretty good for a foreign alien scanning device," he says in turn. "Other than that, I'm assuming that's about all we can get from it for now. Is it possible to keep this on record somewhere?"

[beholding_archivist]

Generally informed... Which may well indicate that there were things the clones weren't told of. And that, in turn, leaves them blind. Jon holds back a sigh and glances over to BD-1, ignoring the way the display shifts to one Jared Hopworth would enjoy. Bones.

"I assume BeeDee can download the data so we can study it in detail at our own pace." And maybe share it with others who have more in-depth understanding of human biology. It's with a small frown Jon turns back to Echo. "Do you know anything about them altering your bodies in other ways but genetically?" They were bred to be an army. To be soldiers. Which already implies a notable degree of genetic engineering.

[out_of_order]

It's not exactly a reassuring response that Echo gives, further testament of how little the clones even knew about themselves. It turns Cal's stomach. So much was going on... Could it have been stopped? The clones, from what he understood, were already an army by the time the Jedi had learned about them. Maybe it was too late to wonder about how things could have been done better, but it still bothers him.

He smiles wryly at Echo's admonishment, watching as BD-1 ducked his head, if briefly, but the droid beeps something of an apology at least. He borbles an affirmative as he sets to grabbing the information, spooky bones and all.

Cal folds his arms, leaning nearby as he looks from the droid to Jon and Echo, brow furrowing slightly at the question.

[on_repeat]

In between those moments, Echo's brow knits, relaxes, and then creases again as he sinks back into everything he's learned, everything he's known about being a clone and a trooper for the Republic.

"Nothing," he says after a beat, his expression apologetic despite the steadiness in his tone. "Nothing aside from what the Kaminoans have done since the beginning. The genetic modifications were made known to us. Due to our circumstances, any other physical modifications are made during the course of the war unless we are deemed unfit for combat. If there were any updates, then surely we would've heard about it..."

Not only them, but anyone else who needed to know this information. That's enough of a thought to run the numbers in his head.

[beholding_archivist]

Genetic modifications, physical modifications, being deemed unfit for combat, updates... To hear a person talk about themselves that way feels utterly alien to Jon, if not even wrong. He's still struggling with the various odd term usages he has been hearing in regards of himself being The Archivist.

BD-1's noises are a welcome distraction from this roller coaster of thoughts and Jon casts the droid a brief, thankful smile before settling with closing his eyes for a moment.

"I want to assume some sort of mind control is involved, but- I only am familiar with it in a more... Supernatural sense. And with the scale we are talking about here that just seems unlikely. Very unlikely. Also I can't help but think of it like a coffee machine on a timer: Programmed and ready the moment the timer turns it on. But how on Earth that would work with people... I have no idea." And there sure doesn't seem to be some sort of implanted timer on those scans.

[out_of_order]

It doesn't exactly sit well with Cal either. He'd only heard how most of the Republic viewed the clones as merely a means to an end, and at least the Jedi he knew valued the lives of the troops they were given command of. But couldn't they have learned more about them?

BD-1 beeps to signal that he's done, helpfully resetting the scanner and powering it down. He hops up the arm Cal extends to him to reclaim his place behind the padawan.

"Even when thinking about aspects of the Force- as it is possible to influence minds," Cal says, still looking bothered by the whole thing, "-it's just as Jon says. It's not possible to do so on such a wide scale, across multiple systems..." He shakes his head. "And clone troopers aren't exactly weak-willed," he adds, offering a brief if lopsided smile at Echo. "But...the idea of something being on a timer...no, just the idea of having something prepared in advance to set off at an opportune moment..."

It's a terrible thing to think about, and yet it's what happened, isn't it? Programmed... as much as Cal doesn't like the word applied to people, he's reminded of the clone's training. No, the whole idea isn't impossible at all.

[on_repeat]

It was all a matter of perspective. What Jon and Cal thought was abnormal in reference to human clones was nothing out of the ordinary for Echo. It was what it was.

"I don't know much about it, but mind control would've made sense within certain parameters," Echo agrees, tilting his head a few degrees down and off to one side. "Coffee machine, though? A timer?" With that example in mind and Cal's points, he sits back and folds his arms. He acknowledges the Scrapper's lopsided smile with one of his own, letting his gaze drift between him and the Archivist once he's silently gone over it again. The slight frown then returns. "...That kind of precision is unheard of. You'd have to be insane to plan to that degree."

Echo knows and picks out details from time to time, but he can't imagine anything like that. "Looks like this venture gave way to more questions than answers."

[beholding_archivist]

"Insane... Or dedicated." Jon points out with a ton that suggests that this isn't the first time he has encountered this degree of meticulous planning. Though he doesn't consider himself capable of it by any means. Gertrude, however...

His expression shifts into an apologetic one. But at the same time he offers Echo a tiny smile. "I'm sorry we couldn't clear anything up yet, but for all it's worth? I don't believe you or your brothers are to blame for what has happened - Or will happen." And if they are lucky, whatever timer this event is set on, does not affect Echo's stay on Agra 10 once they reach the planet.

[out_of_order]

Dedicated, that's something Cal agrees on. It's still a disturbing thought when put into perspective. So many lives used and sacrificed...for what?

He looks at Echo, wishing he could refute what the clone's suggested, but knowing that something to that degree must have happened, it's no exactly as insane as it sounds. He's glad they shift away from that line of thought at least, his own smile apologetic, if a bit weary.

"I think having more questions than answers is going to be a running theme in general around here," he points out, shrugging. "But...I think Jon's right. I don't believe it's any of the clones' faults either. It's...hard, still, but...there's obviously been something bigger at work." And the Jedi were blind to see it until it was too late.

[on_repeat]

Echo also nods, now considering the dedication angle. He still doesn't like how things are supposed to end up the way they do according to Cal's timeline, but there's no denying that they do have a little more of an understanding with what they've tried to untangle.

"We did try," says the clone, lifting his head a few degrees to meet Jon's gaze. "And we were able to gain different perspectives on this." He then looks to Cal with another nod, his expression apologetic for the trauma his clone brothers have caused the young man. "As awful as it is, I should thank you both for taking the chance to fill me in on what I didn't know."

He does hope that they'll be able to figure it out, but now isn't the right time.

[beholding_archivist]

Jon could answer the question on what someone would sacrifice that many lives for. He has had to deal with such of dedication before, and not necessarily very successfully.

He nods in Echo's direction. "We tried. And we will keep trying to make sense of it. I appreciate that you are willing to work with us here." His attention shifts over to Cal, and Jon offers the young man a little smile. "Also thank you and BD-1 for joining us. I admittedly don't think I would have been able to figure any of these machines out."

[out_of_order]

Cal offers a shrug, but manages a faint smile as he nods at the two. "We all look out for each other here. And trying was the least we could do." He gestures loosely towards the door. They had no further reason to be here in medbay, did they?

[on_repeat]

"Would've been much harder if I didn't," Echo chuckles, getting to his feet so that he can pick up his helmet and blaster. "And looking out for each other is more productive than the alternative."

Although it still makes for awkward times ahead, but he's accepted the fact it will be like that for a while. As they make their way out of the medbay, Echo turns to add, "So...I guess we'll be seeing each other around, then?"

[beholding_archivist]

Jon simply nods at the question. "In all likelihood. But we will reach Agra 10 eventually, so I suggest you make the best you can of the time we are still on this ship."

Just a friendly suggestion. Being back in Temba will be... Well. It will be being back in Temba, won't it.

[out_of_order]

Offering a crooked smile at that, Cal nods his agreement with Jon as he looks between the two. He offers a salute, mimicked by the little droid on his shoulder before BD-1 drops back down to hang off of the boy's harness as he turns and starts off down the corridor ahead of them.

It might be nice getting back planetside, but then who knows what awaits them back there?