"They can, yes sir. But there aren't any Force-sensitives here but Deskyl."

"She can tell? What makes a person Force-sensitive?"

"It's something people are born with; there's a biological reason for it, but I don't know much about it. And, yes, she'd sense a Sith or Jedi anywhere on the planet if they weren't taking active measures to avoid being noticed, and an untrained Force-sensitive of reasonable strength anywhere in the city; they're very obvious."

"If it's biological, can it be induced?"

"No, sir."

"We have some people with biology powers."

    "If it was as simple as adding midichlorians to someone, it would have been done by now. Perhaps they can do something more comprehensive, but - she's not inclined to try it."

"Why not?"

He begins to feel a mild, sourceless unease as Deskyl signs to DZ.

    "There's no way to do it ethically. Or safely, in the long run."

"—are you using a power on me?"

    "She is; it's reflexive, sir."

"Can she stop?"

    "She wants you to understand that she's not going to bend on the subject of Force sensitivity experimentation, sir." But the feeling fades as DZ speaks.

He nods. "I'm sure whatever she has in mind with respect to 'Force sensitivity experimentation' is quite unlike what anyone here would do, but I understand that she might not believe me."

    "She's not just concerned for the experimental subjects."

"What else is she concerned about?"

"Sith are volatile by nature, sir, and don't cooperate very well; where we're from, it's rare outside of unusual circumstances to have more than a small handful on a given planet - usually specifically a master and their apprentices, which is a comparatively stable arrangement, but still often results in them killing each other. They're not any better at cooperating with non-Sith: they don't tolerate being given orders very well and generally won't follow them at all unless they're backed by credible threats, and sometimes not even then, and they generally react violently to disappointment, failure, or disobedience from underlings. Deskyl in particular is very prosocial, for a Sith, but she has no reason to expect that any Sith that you made would be."

Deskyl signs.

"Especially if they're made Force-sensitive as adults; Sith usually begin their training as young teens, and are specifically taught that they will have to submit sometimes in order to survive."

"And could a Jedi not be made instead?"

"She doesn't know how to train someone to be a Jedi."

He nods. "I think the main thing people might want out of this would be protection from the mind reading. Lots of people in the Protectorate have very important secrets to keep."

    "Even if you could straightforwardly make them Force sensitive without the downsides of being Sith, she'd have to be near them to train them, sir."

"It cannot be done with remote instruction of any kind?"

    "No, sir. She'd have to observe what they were doing with the Force to give feedback on it."

"I see. Then so much for that plan."

"Yes sir."

"She doesn't mind avoiding the Protectorate building. And she doesn't want to be confined, but she's willing to keep you apprised of where she is, at least on the level of a city or similar area."