For Fun!

[Darth Metus]

After Alderaan, the Mandalorian did not have much reason to venture into Republic space. The whole affair had left a bad taste in his mouth, one resembling salt. However, according to his evening strolls through the HoloNet, a rather nifty shop was opening its doors to the public. It was small. Humble, even. But specialized in the creation of customized droids. Now, Isley wasn't exactly in dire need of a droid per se. Having something of the caliber of a -PO unit following him around wasn't an exciting prospect. Nor did he pilot enough small craft for an astromech to be necessary. What he did need, however, was an assistant.

Okay, well, he had an assistant at one point. A professional assistant that he hired on through his company. But, as these things go, dating one's assistant leads to a drop in collective productivity. A man tends to forget his appointments when a beautiful woman is asking about their next lunch meet. Anyway. Droid assistant. He could go for something hand-crafted, custom made, and exceptional. And that is why Isley Verd made his way to Borealis. Now, it's not everyday that a beskar-wearing giant walks into your store...but for [member="Kaili Talith"], it happened. Isley strolled in just as the store hours began and had a look around.

The place looked like it should, in his opinion. Cluttered with the work of one's passion. It wasn't a hurricane of a mess, but rather organized chaos. It reminded Isley of his own forge. He knew where everything was, but kark if anyone else did. Eventually he made his way to the counter, removed his helm, and offered a warm smile.

"Good morning! I'm here to see about commissioning a droid?"

 

[Kaili Talith]

The last customer for the day had left the shop. The sun wasn’t setting, the hour wasn’t late, Kaili had just come to notice a recurring trend when it came to customers and her working hours. By early afternoon it would become deserted, by late afternoon there was really no point in keeping it going. Most requests came through via the holonet and with the recent ad she had put out on the SSB there had been no shortage of them, and although most of them seemed to have simple requests, she still had to turn several down due to the sheer lack of manpower. Allyson was around, but as much as Kaili loved her, she wasn’t ‘there yet’ so to speak.

The young woman leaned against the counter and fiddled with an old broken radio. It was something that she had seen in a salvage shop. Imperial, ancient and-

Eyes wide in surprise as her door opened up, not in fear but surprise. In walked an armored man, a colossus of metal and yet he reeked of the force. Had any lesser mortal been faced with them, perhaps they would have been afraid, but not Kaili. Ever since her return to her roots, after getting over herself and the trauma, she found parts of herself resurfacing. That meant the belief that she was somewhat immortal had returned. There was no harm this man could do to her that she couldn’t take or return in full to him.

Then his helmet came off and she was exposed to…

… A warm smile?

The surprise only solidified itself on her face.

“Uh, hello.” She blinked. “Yes, yes you can commission droids in my store.”

Was this happening? By the looks of his armor he was a Mandalorian, but last she had heard those weren’t very likely to receive a warm welcome in her neighborhood. By which she meant planetary security, which by all means most likely had let him slide. The fear of living at the very border between Republic and One Sith space was real.

Kaili cleared her throat and put on her most professional look. “... Anything special you had in mind, sir?”

[member="Isley Verd"]

 

[Darth Metus]

The Mandalorian chuckled.

How could he not? The expression plastered upon the owner's face was the definition of priceless. There she was, tinkering with what looked to be something ancient when in walked Isley. She gaped and he saw it. And when his helmet came off, she gawked even more. For some, such a response would have been taken as an insult — a "how dare you stare at me?!" kind of attitude. Yet for the Mandalorian, it was laughable. Literally.

"I don't know if what I'm looking for is plausible, yet the HoloNet reviews spoke highly of your store. Thought I'd give it a shot." he began, pausing only to clip his helm onto his belt. "I need an assistant. Something with an exceptional amount of memory, for starters. I also need it secure; and resistant to wear and tear. Male programming as well, if you don't mind."

All of that was easy, but here came the "kicker."

"I also would like it very, very small. We're talking fruit-sized small. Is that possible?"

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

‘Professionals did not blink at mentions of reviews.’ Something Kaili had to quietly repeat for herself, because as far as checking her own reviews went she’d be lying if she said she had given it much more than a very loose skim-reading. Hovering over the mixed and the negative to see what she could improve or how people would try to defile her reputation. The urge to suddenly check the reviews once more grew ever the more tempting. But alas, she had business to attend and the urge had to be pushed aside for the second [member="Isley Verd"] had left.

“Of course, I have already made something similar before for another client.” Or rather, her brother, and for absolutely free. Which in turn was also the reason she had the store opened. Why give when you can sell? “How does this look?” The girl asked as she opened withdrew a small holographic projector detailing the bare minimal information on Alexandria. “This particular unit was made with a Custom A.I, female programming and with a wide array of tools to help, store and retain knowledge.

The hologram died.

“That particular customer was someone I could trust, much like the rest of the people I have issued customized droids for.” Kaili gave her customer a serious lookover. “If you want me to create a droid for you I need to know what it is exactly that you will use it for. I have little in the way of respect for those who treat my children as little less than slaves.”

Did she go there? Did Kaili go to Creepytown? Yes, yes she did.

“So, first off. Who are you, Mister… ?”

[member="Isley Verd"]