Public A lonely droid

[Cristan Dins]

On the planet Corellia, the streets bustle with activity. Merchants advertise their products, citizens walk along the streets, and workers go about their day.
But in an alleyway, a single red photoreceptor lights up the dark. A loose wire sparks, creating some light, and the droid's spherical body is revealed. It boops in a somewhat sad tone, reminiscing the few hours it spent with its owner. But those days are done. Now, the droid spends the rest of its days travelling the galaxy, hoping to find someone to travel the stars with.

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

Corellia. A planet Matthias had spent little time on. It’s history of aiding both sides of the struggle between the light and dark seemed to fuel the industry here, still to this day the shipyards of Corellia were matched only by the shipyards of Kuat.

Matthias rarely visited somewhere without reason or cause. Today, he was wandering through the marketplace hoping to find some useful tools or items. He’d even settle for something less traditional, such as a piece of artwork, something that he still had a passion for.

As he walked through the busy crowds, few would glance at him with a hint of fear. His mask had an unusual appearance; it looked like it was made of bone. This didn’t sit well with some of the inhabitants of this civilized world. Though, for the most part, most people kept to themselves and avoided gazing.

As he neared the next set of street vendors and shops, a whisper crept up to his ear, “The alley…” it whispered. The voices had grown more and more the last few years and Matthias had accepted them to be real, thought truthfully there was still a small part deep inside him that doubted their existence and linked it to his subconscious. Regardless, times like this made the voices seem real and they seemed to be guiding him.

Stoping in his tracks, he peered down the nearby alleyway and spotted a single red light. Intrigued, the Sith knight approached, one hand on his hilt in case the voices were wrong and this indeed was to be yet another fight.

Cristan Dins

 

[Cristan Dins]

Just as the droid was about to power off, it hears footsteps that sound like they're coming closer with each step, but it couldn't quite make out what was approaching due to a crack it had received. So, it decided to approach the stranger, even though it felt like it shouldn't. The droid rolled into the light, revealing a dome shaped head with a fair amount of wiring and electronic parts and a glossy spherical body, colored yellow and gray. It looked up and tilted its head at the person, who appeared to have a mask made of what looked like either stained plastoid armor or bone. It made a quick trill of beeps and boops before the head returned to its regular position.

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

Before the knight’s feet was a small BB-unit. It had been a long while since Matthias had been in the company of any kind of droid, let alone one such as this.

In fact, his memory couldn’t seem to recall ever interacting with a BB-unit droid. Droids, in his eyes, we’re disposable servants. The loyalty they provided to their owners, however, couldn’t be denied.

This droid was damaged, various wires were exposed on its spherical head. Matthias examined the wires for a moment. “Damaged,” he stated as he kneeled down to get a closer look. His many years traveling alone had forced Matthias to maintain his own gear and equipment. A droid may be more advanced, but he was confident he could do at least something for it. “I could repair you,” he pondered out loud, his voice deep and cold. Not a moment later he grinned beneath his sinister mask. Helping this droid could provide a new ally. Any ally would be useful for future endeavors, but a droid would grant him a splicer and useful source of intelligence.

Regardless, he’d need to repair him first, assuming the small droid would allow it.

Cristan Dins

 

[Cristan Dins]

The BB unit was indeed damaged but could be repaired. It booped twice and rolled closer towards the man, who was now kneeling, perhaps indicating that it would allow this man to repair it. It hadn't interacted with anyone besides its original owner, and that was at least two years ago. It tried to make a good impression, extending one of its appendages in order to shake the man's hand.

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

Droids were incredibly hard to read, even the force couldn’t read them as well as other sentient beings. But it didn’t take much to know this droid was seeking to make introductions.

Matthias extended his arm forward and gently grabbed the droid’s ‘hand’. Shaking it he finally introduced himself, “Matthias Colcrip.”

After a short shake, Matthias stood once more. Standing aside and glancing at the streets not far from them, he nodded forward. “We need supplies if you want me to help you.” He wasn’t about to kidnap a droid against its will, he needed to gain its trust.

 

[Cristan Dins]

It shook the man's hand and made a series of trills and beeps in response, using it's holo-projector to display a name: CD-9. The man stood up and nodded forward. The droid recognized this gesture, as it had seen it used often in the streets of many planets. It beeped and rolled past the man- who had introduced himself as Matthias- and towards a shop that apparently sold droid parts and supplies. It turned back to him and trilled, making that same gesture it saw Matthias make.

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

Matthias followed the droid, CD-9, back out of the alley and onto the busy streets. It pointed the way towards a nearby shop that sold droid parts. Walking in, Matthias examined the various parts and components scattered about. Behind a small counter against the back wall was a short older man with cracked spectacles. "What can I do for yah," he said in an old raspy voice.

Matthias turned to face him before shifting his gaze down to the little droid. "My BB-unit needs repairing," he replied before making his way over to the droid. Kneeling down, he once again examined the various wires that were exposed. After a moment, he stood and turned back to the shopkeeper, "I need a splicer to repair these exposed wires and some metal plating to replace and seal his head."

Matthias stood tall with his hands behind his back. He wasn't going to kill anybody needlessly, especially in front of a droid he sought to make an ally. However, he also wasn't swimming in credits at the moment and wouldn't be able to help much without a decent discount on the items requested. "How much?"

 

[Cristan Dins]

As the two made their way into the shop, CD-9 looked around at the various parts of scrapped droids. There was a battle droid torso with at least half of its limbs and a head that looked like it had seen better days. On a shelf not far from the counter contained the head of K-X security droid, rusted and worn. A protocol droid missing its lower torso sat on the floor close to the entrance.
CD-9 booped and produced three credits from one of his storage areas that he had found lying around on Tatooine, tapping Matthias on the leg with one of his appendages and handing the credits to him.

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

As the droid tapped his leg, Matthias glanced down for a moment and eyed the credits offered up to him. Grinning, he raised a hand as if to say ‘no thanks,’ before returning his gaze to the shopkeeper.

“How much for the parts?” Matthias asked calmly.

“For the gear and parts…” the man thought for a moment, “50 credits.”

He may have had enough for the purchase, but he wasn’t about to follow through with it. Hands still behind his back, his right hand opened and his fingers began to curl, “We’ll take it for free.” For a moment there was silence, the man staring deeply into the mask.

When Matthias constructed his mask years ago, he had the goal to create a mask that would strike fear into those he encountered. That fear would only further influence them through his usage of the force. In a situation like this, it worked. The man nodded, “Yes, for free,” he replied in a trance-like tone.

Matthias nodded as he gathered the materials on the counter. Turning heel, he began walking towards the door. They just needed a quiet place to work now.

 

[Cristan Dins]

The droid beeped and put the credits away, and CD-9 watched as Matthias waved a hand across the shopkeeper's face. Confused on why he did that, the shopkeeper said that the parts were free. Surprised, but altogether happy, he exited the shop with Matthias and back into the streets. The droid boops and trills at him, tilting its head.

 

[Matthias Colcrip]

Matthias made his way through the crowds swiftly, occasionally turning slightly to ensure CD was still trailing behind. After a few minutes, and a fair distance from the shop, he made his way into a nearby alleyway.

Turning to face the droid, he slowly kneeled down, reaching into his pack as he did so to obtain the supplies. Placing them gently on the ground beside the droid, he started up the slicer and began repairing the loose wiring that was exposed.

It took a few minutes to get all the wires reconnected and tucked away neatly. The way the wires were layered atop each other is what made it so challenging. Regardless, Matthias was able to get everything fixed right and organized.

Next was the plating, which was a considerably easier task to accomplish. After a few minutes of ensuring the new plating was in the correct position, the repairs were complete.

With everything done, Matthias stood up and gazed at the newly repaired droid. He wasn’t sure what exactly to do with it, but he did hope that by helping it would at least consider itself an ally. It didn’t occur to him until now but why exactly was this droid’s owner? “Why were you damaged?”

 

[Cristan Dins]

It booped in response and made a sound that sounded like a blaster firing but muffled. One of the droid's appendages extended and tapped the plate that covered the gaping hole in its head. It had been hit by a stray blaster bolt that was fired in a standoff that resulted in numerous injuries and a civilian causality. The worst of the damage had now been repaired by Matthias, as a somewhat rusty metal plate covered the hole.