Private Enthusiastic Request for Aid | Bardotta

[0-7]

Bardotta
Tags: Aether of the Iron Order

​

"Uh... hello. If there's an Aether of the Iron Order out there... I was told you would help me if you knew that you owed someone a favor? So I... am sending this message I guess. I'm running out of fuel... sustained some damage to my ship... I'm probably going to land on Bardotta. If I make it there... I think I'd appreciate if you came, but also I'll understand if you don't... I might also be dead when you arrive, so sorry for wasting your time if that's the case. Yeah... that's about it..."


When 0-7 arrived at Bardotta, she was accompanied by a handful of ugly starfighters, hot on the tail of her TIE/IN interceptor. It didn't take much more than a grazing of turbolaser fire to completely obliterate the wing of the vessel and send it careening down towards the planet. She was a fairly good pilot, though, so she eased it through the atmosphere and coasted along for as long as she could to try and dampen as much of the kinetic energy as possible before she inevitably hit the ground. By the time the vessel finally crashed, it wasn't nearly as catastrophic. When it was all said and done, however, Seven was still hoisting herself out of a ball of fire and scrap. She didn't get much relief either.

A dropship had followed her into the planet's atmosphere, throwing it's doors open to release the marauders of the Sons of Shadow. Their armor was mismatched and poorly maintained, their weapons were grafted together sloppily. They were so far removed from class that a cloud of miasma seemed to follow them. 0-7 hated that stench.

Front and center was a Dowutin, towering above his peers. Even in a helmet, 0-7 could feel the man sneering at her.

"Never ate one'ah Spectre's lap dogs," the brute mused. "I'm gonna enjoy this..."

0-7 was still rattled from the crash, too exhausted to muster up any illusions. She'd just have to do things the old fashioned way. When the large man swung his axe at her, she leaped up to land on it, using it as a springboard to get up to his head. A simple twist of the head was all it took to send the man to the ground. She proceeded to grab his axe and moved to parry an incoming vibrosword, only for her to be blindsided by a punch to the left of her. She staggered back, mustered up some Force energy to throw one back and cleaved through the other. Before she could even catch her breath, the mechanical arm of an IG-88 series assassin droid struck her, sending her flying back into one of the jagged stone structures that pierced the heavens on Bardotta. Seven slumped to the ground. Her body was trying to tell her she was in pain, but the implants suppressed the sensation and made her numb.

With a good seven or so pirates closing in on her, this was probably it. She had done all she could. It had been a good run...

Even if it was all wasted effort in the end.

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

AX-01 Vanguard Mark I
Jedi Securitron Model Parts
[Aether's Build]

Weapons Hot 'n' Heavy Compensator | G.O.O. Gun

TAGS: 0-7

Aether was already in the middle of pursuit, running a solo patrol through the Mid Rim. He'd been following Braze's trail ever since they'd left Coruscant, always just a little too far behind to catch upclose enough to know something was off. The kid had a habit of slipping through cracks, and an even worse one for getting in to trouble.

So when his console chirped and a transmission came through, Braze's comlink ID flashing on the screen, it caught his full attention.

The voice that followed wasn't Braze.

"Uh... hello. If there's an Aether out there... I was told you would help me if you new that you owed someone a favor? So I... am sending this message I guess. I'm running out of fuel... sustained some damage to my ship... I'm probably going to land on Bardotta. If I make it there... I think I'd appreciate if you came, but also I'll understand if you don't... I might also be dead when you arrive, so sorry for wasting your time if that's the case. Yeah... that's about it..."

It wasn't a typical call for help. If anything, it sounded like she barely expected anyone to be listening. There was a kind of dejection in her tone, the kind that told him this wasn't the first time she thought no one would come.

By the time the message finished playing, Aether was already punching in new coordinates and adjusting coarse to Bardotta.

Didn't matter who she was, and it didn't matter what she'd done. If Braze sent her… or trusted her enough to hand off that comlink, then Aether was coming with no questions asked and no delay.

A Phantomray came spiraling down from the upper atmosphere like a dying star, its engines sputtering in an odd pattern, its flight path jagged and wrong, as if no living thing were at the helm. It twisted through the clouds in silence, but as it broke through the haze, its belly split open. From the darkness within, a silhouette dropped from the vessel, it's form that of a towering figure of metal, hurtling earthward. One of the marauders, a hulking Nikto, gloating with a spiked club raised over 0-7's fallen body, barely had time to blink before Aether landed on him with a thunderous crunch, flattening the man into the stone below with a force that shattered his ribcage and cratered the earth.

Before the other's could scream, IG-88 snapped its head toward the new threat, just in time to watch its fate unfold.

Aether was already in motion. Six arms snapped outward with a metallic bloom, each limb unfolding into bladed configurations and magnetic claw-tools, accompanied by the high-pitched whine of servos and locking joints. From his back lashed six grasping tendrils tipped with plasma filaments and vibro-hooks, arcing like striking serpents.

The assassin droid fired first.

Aether caught the bolt mid-air with a repulsor-deflecting claw and surged forward on grav-boosters, vanishing into a blur. He slid low, tendrils wrapping around IG-88's ankles and yanking it off balance mid-calculation. The next instant, a telescoping appendage slammed into the bounty droid's torso, cracking durasteel plating. Aether's knee rocketed upward into the collapsing frame with enough force to rupture its central chassis.

IG-88 tried to activate its emergency override.

Aether's blade arm punched clean through the droid's cranial unit and twisted sending sparks.

The once-lethal bounty hunter crumpled like a child's toy, and Aether let the remains fall with mechanical indifference. His head pivoted, scanning the remaining pirates now scattering like roaches.

"Target threat neutralized," he intoned, his voice distorted and low, modulated through multiple channels. "Engaging remainder."

And then he vanished in a shimmer of cloaking tech, leaving only panic in his wake.
In short order, those that remained were dealt with swiftly, brutally, and with terrifying efficiency. Bright, colorful, searing arcs of light whirled through the air in sharp, sudden bursts. Limbs were severed in clean, glowing strokes, bodies falling before they could scream. Smoke curled from cauterized wounds, and the scent of ozone grew thick in the air. Aether left no room for resistance from the marauders. Only silence and ruin followed in his wake. When the last of them fell, the battlefield was still... all quiet but for the hum of his internal systems and the faint crackle of scorched stone.

He plucked one of the communication devices from the dead, turning it over in his hand as scanners whirred to life along his arms. With a flick of his wrist, a tendril snaked forward, jacking into the cracked unit to begin a data pull. Aether's optics pulsed softly, parsing streams of data even as he cast a calculating glance toward the girl and her injuries.

"You're lucky I arrived when I did. Though luck rarely factors into my calculations."

 

[0-7]

Bardotta
Tags: Aether of the Iron Order

​

"Huh... I'm alive..." she muttered, her eyes dilated ever-so-slightly. Her chest moved with labored breaths. "That was terrifying..."

He was a shard it seemed. 0-7 had heard of beings called 'Iron Knights,' living stones encased in machinery. She didn't expect to meet one, let alone watch them destroy a bunch of pirates in brutal fashion. They never stood a chance. That was a very easy way to convince 0-7 not to mess with someone.

She had a respectable fear for power like that.

"I'm not usually lucky... so I'll take what I can get," Seven decided. "Oh... right..."

The young woman moved from her slumped position to a crouch, sheepishly removing the communicator from her person and presenting it to Aether.

"I shouldn't keep this..."

It wasn't hers to keep.

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

AX-01 Vanguard Mark I
Jedi Securitron Model Parts
[Aether's Build]

Weapons Hot 'n' Heavy Compensator | G.O.O. Gun

TAGS: 0-7

Aether made no move to take the device. "What is your name, and where did you get that?" he asked, his voice flat but not unkind.
As he spoke, his optics swept over her, scanning for injuries. Beneath the surface trauma, he cataloged the inorganics woven through her body, an amalgam of tech and flesh that struck him as... curious.

Above them, the Phantomray wheeled through the sky in a silent dogfight, chasing the last of the fleeing ships. Aether didn't look up. He didn't seem concerned.

"Blunt trauma, compromised cybernetic pathways, and early signs of systemic fatigue. You're leaking current and blood in equal measure. Sit still unless you want to shut down."

 

[0-7]

Bardotta
Tags: Aether of the Iron Order

​

"Blunt trauma, compromised cybernetic pathways, and early signs of systemic fatigue. You're leaking current and blood in equal measure. Sit still unless you want to shut down."

"I won't shut down," 0-7 insisted. "My core creates cold fusion via Palladium. I will not run out of energy."

The young assassin sighed as she stood, moving to pop her shoulder back into place.

"My designation is subject 0-7," the young woman stated. "You... may call me Seven. I received the device from Braze Kai'el approximately five and a half days ago on the planet Chalcedon. I was... regrettably sent to intercept him by... by my handler. I was offered an out, and I took it."

Seven gritted her teeth a little. She still wasn't fond of how quickly she had been dispatched. Kalrath kept her so weak it was pathetic.

"He is unable to return," Seven relayed. "He has a... 'tight leash' on him. Something is restraining him. I did not take note of any technological means to do so."

This was exhausting. She wasn't used to talking so much.

"This place is not safe," the defector informed Aether. "My core has been equipped with a tracking device. There... will be more..."

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

AX-01 Vanguard Mark I
Jedi Securitron Model Parts
[Aether's Build]

TAGS: 0-7

The blue photoreceptors glowed faintly as he listened, expression unreadable in the cold gleam of metal. Overhead, more ships screamed down from orbit, streaks of fire and wreckage crashing far in the distance. Amid the chaos, the Phantomray descended, its landing controlled, purposeful. It touched down several hundred feet away in a slow, graceful hover before settling with a low thrum.

"Your mechanical systems may keep running," Aether said, his voice calm, almost clinical, "but you require medical attention."

Without further delay, he moved to lift her. Despite his formidable build and weapon-laced frame, his movements were surprisingly gentle. His arms worked in harmony to cradle her weight evenly, careful not to jostle damaged parts.

"Come with me, youngling."

He carried her with the caution and attendance of a rescue droid, steps steady as he boarded the ship. Inside, he laid her into one of the padded seats. Aether secured her with exacting care, mindful of her frame. The harness clicked into place.

Then, with a final systems check, he moved into the cockpit. The engines flared, and the Phantomray rose like a ghost reborn.
The Phantomray slipped upward through the smoke and clouds, its silhouette vanishing with a shimmer as stealth systems engaged. Inside, the cockpit glowed softly with control lights, casting angular reflections across Aether's gleaming chassis. Coordinates were already locked.

Zeltros.

Known for its revelry, biotech, and bio-synthetic arts, it was an odd choice for a medevac...but not a foolish one. Beneath its pleasure-drenched façade, Zeltros hosted some of the most advanced cybernetic clinics and memory-mapping specialists in the Mid Rim. And most importantly, no one asked questions.

The ship slipped into hyperspace with a ripple of light.

They emerged into the vibrant orbit of Zeltros some hours later. The world below shimmered like a living gemstone, oceans reflecting violet sky, city domes pulsing with soft neon light. The upper atmosphere glowed with refracted color from its layered pollution and nightlife haze, a perpetual aurora dancing in the high clouds.

Aether guided the Phantomray down through the layers of traffic with impassive precision, locking on to a discreet clinic nestled beneath the Sapphire Promenade. It was shielded from the worst of the hedonistic chaos, an old contact of Valin's, perhaps, or a remnant of a forgotten war.

The landing pad extended. As the ramp descended with a hiss, warm pinkish air flowed in, laced with perfume, ozone, and faint electric rain. "Hold on," Aether murmured without emotion, "We'll stabilize you within the hour."

 

[0-7]

Zeltros
Tags: Aether of the Iron Order

​

"Hold on," Aether murmured without emotion, "We'll stabilize you within the hour."

Seven lay still in her padded seat, letting out an exhale. All of this effort... nobody had ever given it to her before. Whisked away, taken to an advanced medical facility, handled with so much... care. Why was this happening to her now when her life had been full of nothing but turmoil? This didn't seem right at all.

"Will they... put me under?" 0-7 asked, her voice neutral, though clearly masking some fear. "I don't want to be awake."

Kalrath forced her to be awake. One should not be conscious for medical intrusion of that nature. That was the one thing that Seven never wanted to experience again in her life.

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

AX-01 Vanguard Mark I
Jedi Securitron Model Parts
[Aether's Build]

TAGS: 0-7

Aether leaned down to unstrap her from her seat, ready to help her up. He paused, listening to what she said.

She sounded so... abused.

He nodded lightly. "Don't worry... they'll put you under anesthesia, so you won't feel a thing. I'll be here the whole time to keep you safe; Relax... everything will be fine." he assured her, moving to gently gather her into his cold, metallic arms, perhaps silently cursing that he couldn't offer the comfort of warm touch like a real organic being.

He carried her tenderly inside, where he was assisted in placing her on a medical bed. Aether remained by her side as the medical staff ran tests. She was prepared for surgery by some very kind-hearted women, and true to his word, Aether stayed close as she was ushered into surgery to address the very real problems nestled within.

By the time she awoke, the anesthesiologist was gently coaxing small bits of crushed ice to her lips. She wouldn't feel pain, she had been thoroughly medicated to help with that. Once she came to, she was asked a series of questions before being wheeled into a clean, quiet room where Aether was waiting for her. She would need at least a full day of rest before being cleared for discharge. Everything was explained to her gently throughout the process.

Aether turned to look at her, his photoreceptors adjusting. "How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

 

[0-7]

Zeltros
Tags: Aether of the Iron Order

​

This was going to be fine... They were just going to put her under, remove the tracker from her Palladium core, then stitch her back up like nothing had ever happened. She didn't need to be worried at all. Aether carried her into the medical facility, laid her down, and before long the anesthetic was received. Everything faded to black before...

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Oh..." 0-7 groaned, rubbing under her left eye. "Numb... I guess..."

It felt like all the bones had been removed from her body. She had to flex her fingers for a moment to get her arms to wake up. Her hand slowly moved to her chest, where she traced a straight line from her clavicle to her stomach as though expecting to feel residual pain from an incision... nothing.

"I... I don't know what I'm supposed to feel," Seven finally admitted.

It was like being stranded on an alien planet that defied the laws of physics. Nothing made sense. What could have prepared her to be here?

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

AX-01 Vanguard Mark I
Jedi Securitron Model Parts
[Aether's Build]

TAGS: 0-7

"Well... for now, you can rest. In a few hours, they might bring you a light meal," Aether said gently. "If you're not feeling tired, I can put something on for you to watch, or bring you a few books."

He paused, thoughtfully considering what small comforts someone recovering from surgery might prefer. Some people liked to read. Others enjoyed puzzle books or even coloring... simple, quiet activities that could be done from bed with ease.

 

[0-7]

Zeltros
Tags: Aether of the Iron Order

​

"...I'll be fine."

It was all a bit too much. 0-7 sort of just wanted to sit there with herself and just... process everything. It was jarring to go from having nothing to be offered so much. Wrong, even. It broke every conception she had of reality and how she perceived herself. She was nobody. No name, no family, no home... Why did anybody care now when they never had before?

And the Spectre loomed ever present in her mind. Lord Kalrath. Would he even bother wasting his time to have her killed now that her tracker was offline? On the one hand, she was nobody of significance to him. On the other, the Sith fed off of cruelty and fear.

Both possibilities left her more uncertain.

"Uh... thanks..." Seven managed to mutter amidst her confusion. "I guess..."

 

[Aether of the Iron Order]

AX-01 Vanguard Mark I
Jedi Securitron Model Parts
[Aether's Build]

TAGS: 0-7

Aether was quiet for a moment, his glowing optics steady on her, studying the subtle shifts in her expression and all the disorientation, the guarded gratitude, and even the ache of old wounds not yet healed.

"Then rest now," he said gently, the modulation of his voice low and even. "When you are discharged, I will take you to Tython."

He didn't elaborate right away.

"There, you will meet others like you," he continued offering reassurance. "Young ones who are still learning what it means to feel the Force. To wield it with purpose… and peace. You're alone anymore."