[Solved] Reborn Relics

Commanders Rovern and Irivan had done well to secure the combative elements surrounding Mount Tantiss. Their salvage mission was on schedule and the discovery’s made within the late Emperor’s treasure trove excited the scientific community on The Maw greatly. Nearly everything of value had been cleared out when a wandering storm trooper came upon a door with yellow warning signs plastered over it. Deep in the caverns of Mount Tantiss, an imperial cryo-cycle stasis facility lay hidden. Maybe the first of it’s kind…

Senior Researcher Avlin Novar stared at the datapad, her eyes rapidly darting back and forth across the screen. The project director, Quentin Creel strolled between the rows of cryo-stasis chambers, peering in at the people beneath the glass.

“Simply magnificent.” He breathed. “I haven’t seen this face in a long time.” 

“Sir, the chamber’s microdata suggests that they were put under…27 years ago.” She said.

“My god. That is a long time. Now why is that one on the bottom so old?” asked Creel.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. A waking date wasn’t set so we’re led to believe the problem is internal.”

“M’am” the technician interrupted. “The Bacta tank shows no signs of leakage.”

“Well that rules out Bacta Poisoning” she said, thinking hard.

“Perhaps the door seal wasn’t air tight.” Suggested the Director.

“Unlikely...” Novar shot the idea down. “The chambers are separate from each other. Both of the doors on the bottom row would have to be damaged.”

There was a pause.

“Find anything, Technician Cogrow?” She called up.

“Possibly” said the young technician, focusing on the back of the unit. “Nothing looks damaged but the freezing valve seems to have tightened over time. To be honest, I can’t say when it happened.”

“Hmm” the researcher chewed her cheek uncertainly. “There’s our smoking gun…”

“Thesis, please?” The director prodded.

She paused for a beat and then began to explain. “The tight freezing valve could explain the age discrepancy between these two and those in the row above them. The unit continued working as normal but after these men were put under and the room sealed off, they failed to receive an adequate supply of Cryo-Gas. The effect? They remained unconscious but their bodies resumed the natural ageing process. I don’t believe the freezing valve tightened over time. This hibernation unit had a tight freezing valve the day it was installed.” She gestured to the old man. “This man has lived 27 years of his life in a box.”

The technicians stopped working and looked into the glass. After a moment the director broke the silence. “More like 54 years…They’re clones. Their ageing is accelerated.”

She considered the implication. This bearded clone had fallen asleep as a boy and would wake up an old man. His red fatigued counterpart had lived and died in his chamber. His skeletal remains were all that was left to prove he had existed. Hundreds of thousands of clones were killed in the clone wars and the conflicts that followed. These survivors deserved better than the cards they’d been dealt.

Director Creel continued. “The most humane thing we can do for this one is to terminate him…before he becomes aware of his wasted life.”

“No” she said a little too quickly. “The cloning capabilities of the Kaminoans were unmatched. We’d be fools to dispose of their final creations.” 

“Very well” he accepted. “Fetch these men some fresh clothes from the shuttle” he commanded the Death Troopers on guard. “And find some liquid protein packs. These men haven’t had solid food in decades.” He looked at Researcher Novar. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s wake them up!”