In Search of Fresh Circuits

[Gir Quee]

Liberté-class Light Corvette Backwash, en route to the Aruza System

“Aruzans look like an interesting lot.”

Gir nodded in agreement with Nepo as the pair read up on the aruzan race. Their departure from Tanaan IV had been somewhat hurried, and Dr. Bonmi's information on the Maranza Collective would have best been described as “brief”. Yet Gir couldn't entirely fault the cerean. He had provided a location, several names, and a rough idea of who they were. That was all that needed to start headhunting for new talent. Gir glanced down at the datapad.

“And all but one appears to be an aruzan.”

The mon calamari officer looked up from his seat the ship's helm towards the datapad. Gir tilted the datapad to better allow Nepo to read it. Nepo muttered as he tried to pronounce. At least I'm not the only one...

“What kind of name is that?”

“I don't know,” said Gir, “though the parenthesis behind it states that he or she is marasan. I'd wager that's where they get the collective part of their name. It sounds like the azurans were trying to integrate other cyborg species and droids to get their perfect society.”

“Try? It sounds like they succeeded on their own world...”

“That being the key,” said Gir, “they succeeded in creating a uniform culture there. I'm not sure how well that would work in a multi-cultural environment. I know nothing about marasans, but I'm willing to bet that there are some pretty significant differences between them and the aruzans. Though I suppose it could be worse. There could be ganks involved.”

“Ganks?”

“You don't want to know.”

 

[Gir Quee]

Nepo seemed to take that comment as a finality, turning his gaze back to the flowing lines of starlight in front of them. Gir himself slumped into the seat of another console, typically manned by the weapon's officer. He began to flip through various screens on the console, reading up on what he could about the aruzans. The Backwash did not have extensive databanks on alien species upon which to draw upon information that could be useful for him. Instead, he had to pull information from the HoloNet, which by the end of their would likely cost him enough credits to buy a small starship. Yet he considered the transmissions cost well worth it if that meant that they could get the cybernetics branch off and running.

Hours passed as he read up on aruzan history and news stories of the Manaroo Collective. Apparently the collective had been named after a member of their race known for reaching out to other species and promoting peace. It seemed an apt namesake for an organization dedicated to forming a peaceful, pan-species cybernetic culture. But beyond that thin veneer of the group's mission statement and an article announcing the launch of their colony in the Aruza system, there seemed to be little information on them. And what was available seemed more akin to unverified rumors that Gir thought would be best suited for those raunchy holo-tabloid productions. He briefly scanned over their contents before turning his eyes back to the HoloNet News report on the Cygnus Colony. Five years ago, they started this asteroid colony...and nothing else can be verified about them? They must be pretty insular...

An alarm klaxon began to sound, prompting the sound of the ship's crew rushing to their stations. Gir quickly flicked back to the ship's tactical screens. A gravity well? He frowned. Nepo and I plotted this course out three times before since we started this trip...there shouldn't be a gravity well here...Gravity tugged at him as the ship lurched into real space. His tactical screen began to light up with dozens of signatures, most of which appeared to be snubfighters. Several appeared to be patrol ships slightly larger than the Backwash, but there also appeared to be an interdictor frigate just beyond their weapons range. None of the craft appeared to have transponder signals, which Gir would have suspected to mean that they were pirates. But rather unlike pirates, their starships did not make any overtly hostile maneuvers. Indeed, none of them seemed to even move at the appearance of the corvette.

Captain Kolo jumped into the console next to him, "Do we need to take evasive actions?"

Gir flipped through the screen to look at the star chart, "We're so close to the colony...I'm not sure."

"Signal coming in from one of their ships," announced Nepo.

"Patch it through."

"Corvette Backwash, this is Commander Radsi of the Cygnus Colony Security Patrol. Power down your weapons, drives, and shields and prepare to be boarded."

Gir flicked a switch on his headset, "Commander Radsi, this is Corvette Backwash. We are complying."

Kolo muttered, "Are we actually doing this? We don't know who they are..."

 

[Gir Quee]

"We don't," admitted Gir, "but we can't risk angering the colony security forces either. Power everything down like they ordered."

Murmurs of acknowledgement flooded through the cockpit as the crew began to power down various systems. I have to admit, this does make me feel naked. Without engines, shields, or weapons, we're pretty much sitting ducks. But I suppose that's what makes them feel safe to approach us. Nepo turned his head to face them.

"There's a shuttle heading straight towards us. Looks almost like a Rendaran-class based on passive sensor scans."

Gir blinked, "That seems like it'd be pretty dated. Who wants to bet that if it is a Rendaran, that they've modified it for something else?"

Before any of them could take him up on that offer, they could all see the shuttle zipping towards them. It did appear to roughly match that famous shuttle class in size and general shape. Yet Gir could also see some noticeable differences in the canopy structure and the addition of underslung wing pylons that weren't characteristic of that class. The shuttle's wings began to fold upwards as it heeled back in preparation to land on the corvette. He slowly stood up from his seat as a metallic clang reverberated throughout the hull, announcing that the shuttle had docked with the Backwash. He strode through the corridors towards one of the ship's docking hatches. As he rounded a corner, he found himself standing before a pair of tall humanoids clad in what appeared to be power armor and wearing holstered sidearms. One looked down on him.

"You are the captain of this vessel?"

Gir nodded, "I'm the owner."

"Your ship is too heavily armed to approach the colony. It cannot proceed any further. What business do you have with us?"

"I am here to speak with Doctor Arenity about a potential project."

"Does he know that you are coming?"

"He does not," admitted Gir, "but Doctor Bonmi sent me. He should know that name."

"One moment."

That one moment seemed to last several minutes as the two cyborgs motionlessly stared him down. But finally, the second one began to walk away back towards the docking hatch. The first cyborg eyed Gir intently.

"Dr. Arenity states that he will see you soon. You may come aboard the colony on our ship. Your ship will remain here. Understood?"

"Understood."

 

[Gir Quee]

The ride over was awkward at best. The cyborg security officers had little to say to the man, and Gir quickly guessed back on some glances that they exchanged with each other that they were carrying out a detailed conversation through electronic means. Well, that's one way to avoid eavesdropping I guess. Gir contented himself with examining the insides of the transport ship. Whatever model it had been originally, it was clearly based on the Rendaran. Yet there were a large number of minor differences, including the lack of many of the manual controls. Gir guessed that many of the controls had been stripped because the crew appeared to have interfacing devices in their suits (or was it their bodies?) that allowed them direct access to control the craft. Minutes passed before the shuttle glided towards Cygnus Colony. Just as the HoloNet article, it appeared to be a vast asteroid the size of a star destroyer that had been carved into to make a city. But even a casual glance at the colony had shown that it had evolved since its beginnings. He could see that many more buildings and structures were growing outside of the rocky surface. Perhaps even more telling, Gir could identify several weapons emplacements on the colony's surface. It appears that at least some of the colonists aren't wholly pacifists...The shuttle swooped in to land in a tiny hangar located in a craggy outcropping. One of the cyborgs turned his head to face the man from Hast.

"Dr. Arenity is outside waiting for you."

"Thank you gentlemen."

Gir rose up and strode down the lowering ramp into the asteroid hangar. A blue-skinned humanoid with black wearing a set of finally tailored suit stood there waiting for him along with a bipedal droid. At first glance, Gir would have thought that he was seeing a chiss aside from the lack of red eyes. Arenity's eyes danced over him.

"You are not a doctor, I see."

"No," admitted Gir, "I am not. What gave it away?"

"Everything," said Arenity, cocking his head to the side, "everything about you. Your carriage, your muscle mass, your posture and mannerisms."

You'd have to be superhuman to figure that out. Or a cyborg. He must have some incredible processing power hidden somewhere inside his body...

"And now you are wondering why I know that...but you have some hypothesis's as well, one of which is probably right. But I want to know who you are first. You said that Dr. Bonmi sent you. Who is he, to you?"

"An employee, a partner," offered Gir, "I am Gir Quee, of Lucerne Labs."

"Interesting," said the aruzan doctor, "our image scans suggested as much. You are a well enough known figure to have many holos of yourself on the HoloNet."

Gir nodded, "I suppose that's true."

"So what does an arms dealer want with me? And what would Dr. Bonmi be doing with him?"

 

[Gir Quee]

"We make more than weapons and warships," stared Gir, "perhaps you've heard of our astromech droids or materials like Agrinicrete?"

"You're trying to branch out then," said the doctor, crossing his arms, "and that is where Dr. Bonmi comes in?"

"Dr. Bonmi is a part of our colonization efforts on Tanaan IV," started Gir, "during our journey there, we ended up rescuing hundreds of political prisoners from a stranded prison ship. But it wasn't exactly a peaceful retrieval, and many of them were hurt doing that process. Dr. Bonmi and his team have helped stabilized and healed many of them. But many of them needed cybernetics...to become fully functional again."

"I am not a clinician," murmured the aruzan, "but Bonmi knows this. Our sole work together was on a cybernetic hand model that had finer sensory and motor control than the average humanoid hand. It was really quite impressive, or so I thought before I came here."

"He never mentioned it to me."

"He has one himself," said Arenity, "his left hand was lost during a starship crash. He was one of our pilot testers of the device."

Gir blinked. I never would have guessed. It always seemed normal to me...But that sort of enhancement would be useful for a surgeon. Gir rccovered himself.

"I see."

Arenity eyed Gir carefully, "This is more interesting than I expected. He sent you here without fully telling you everything. The two of you aren't close, are you?"

 

[Gir Quee]

"We're not fast friends outside of work, if that's what you mean," said Gir, "but I completely trust his professional judgement."

"I would gather then, that he sent you here because he wants us to design prosthetics for these people that you've rescued."

"Yes."

"But it's not entirely altrusism, is it? You would have these devices sold on the market as well."

Gir nodded, "Your research has to be funded somehow."

"Yes, I suppose that is true," mused the cyborg, "but for this to occur, I expect several conditions to be met."

"And what might those be?"

"We each have our ethics. I expect you to respect mine, and those of my team according to themselves as individuals. I want no part in making weaponized cybernetics. Do you understand me? No built in blasters, grenades, rockets, or whatever it is you people use these days to murder and destroy."

"That sounds reasonable."

That seemed to catch Arenity offguard. The cyborg paused for a few moments, making Gir wonder if he was also communicating with the rest of the team. The aruzan's mouth briefly opened, shut again, and opened once more.

"And we want complete freedom in the direction of our work."

Gir hesitated, "Lucerne Labs has never been a top down affair. We value independent thought and encourage our people to start and initiate projects on their own. I have no interest in managing your day to day affairs, and you and your team will largely be independent for practical purposes. But I'm not sure if I can do complete freedom. Research requires money, as I was saying, and for that to happen, your team should be producing products that do that in order to have a sustainable business."

"In other words, you will allow complete freedom so long as it is profitable?"

"So long as it breaks even," said Gir quietly, "Lucerne Labs wasn't formed to make a profit, but to supply people with similar views to our own with what they needed. Whether they were soldiers, pilots, sailors, and you name it. We sponsor and advance ideals with our products. Reading up on the Collective here, I thought that you and your team may be kindred spirits."

 

[Gir Quee]

"An interesting comparison, but the collective may not appear to be what you think it is."

"How's that?"

"Enlightenment is a lofty goal, as are multiple people groups living in harmony," said the aruzan, "we thought that with our attanni, that we could bring other people like us, cyborgs, to enlightenment. Show them a path to peace and harmony. But as you see now, there are weapons on the Colony, and not only on our patrol ships or defense satellites. But you don't see the moral issues with that, do you?"

"I can see why they trouble a supposedly pacifist community," said Gir, "but on a personal level, no, the presence of weapons does not bother me. Even the Jedi typically keep one at their side. They're a means to advance ideals and save lives, if need be."

"An ends meet the needs philosophy. That is not like us. At first, we tolerated them to protect against outside threats...pirates, corporate thieves, and the like that would seek to take our technology or enslave us. But I have found that the pacifism that we aruzans tried to promote has become more and more diluted as the months go by. Other species haven't been as influenced by the memories that our attanni share, and those that we receive from their's make it difficult on a society such as our own. It is difficult to seek peace in all things and to advocate for violence when you have the memory of your son and daughter being ripped from your arms to take into slavery. To see one's home burned to the ground and the endless wars which wrack this galaxy."

"Ignorance is bliss?" offered Gir.

"No," countered Arenity, "it just means that we haven't found the solution yet. And that I doubt that we will find it here. We will take you up on your offer, Mister Quee. But realize that this is just a means for us to try and find our solution to the galaxy's problems."

Gir solemnly nodded, "We both pursue solutions to the same problem then, in the end. Each in our own way."

Arenity's eyes darkened, "Perhaps we will one day know which path of those is the right one..."