Is That A Droid In Your Pants Or Are You Just Happy To See Me? [Ar'ekk]

[HK-36]

[member="Ar'ekk"],


An invitation has been sent to a particular cyborg warrior recently, a communication the droid sent recently after hearing of this man's search for better prosthetics and work. The reason for this was the fact that HK heard the man was a Force user of some caliber, awakened in his abilities within the ethereal unlike an untrained Force Sensitive, such abilities were especially valuable to the droid when looking for potential allies, considering how most of the Metal Lords and their vassals were fully machine, and as such had no presence or ability to summon the Force in any way. Even though HK was still somewhat passive-aggressive towards Force users, taking great pleasure in knocking them down a peg by showing just how quickly and easily he could defeat them in combat even though they possessed those great powers, for example when he ripped off a knee cap from one of the First Order force users, broke a Ren Knight's back over railroad tracks, and defeated the supposed God King of Panatha by slamming a metal chair into his back, he still had to agree that they needed to cooperate and bring in more Force users into their fold. Perhaps one day they will be able to even grow the ranks of the few Force users swearing fealty to the Metal Lords and form their own Force order, perhaps he will just have to continue bribing the Space Wizards into working with him and keep them as mercenaries. For now he wished to simply speak with this Ar'ekk who became his temporary center of attention, and learn more about the man's goals and needs, and what was the price to sway him towards swearing loyalty to the Droid Lords.

If the man was on Denon ever before, once he arrived, it would be a sight vastly different from what he could remembered. Well the planet itself would have been unchanged, still glimmering with the many industrial lights, still covered by the red and black veins of streets and buildings that covered the entire city-planet. The new addition, however, was the ring of ships encircling the planet as if laying siege to it, and the many stations being build in its orbit with hustle and bustle of smaller vessels and drones.

The cyborg warrior would have been directed to dock with one of these stations and come aboard, a strange construction that almost seemed to be cobbled together from skeletons and corpses of other stellar structures, repurposed many times over and added on top of each other, like jigsaw of starship wrecks and durasteel plating woven together to form the new presence over the planet. Other systems would have probably faced similar projects as Denon was not alone in still adjusting to the new power within that sector, planets like Nubia, Loromar, and Hakassi too had similar rings of spacecraft around, they too had new spacestations and bases build around them. The droids asked for relatively little of their subjects, they did not enslaved them, they did not force them to fight for them, some did not even overthrew their previous governments. What they did ask however was one of the main reasons why they decided to lay claim on territory. An armada of new, larger ships, and a lot of them.


Moving through the spacestation the man would have been directed towards one of the many conference rooms, passing many other droids on her way there, which currently HK claimed as his main office and base of operations within the system. The room would be fairly large, with a grand conference table in the middle with a holoprojector housed in its center, and a smaller duranium desk sitting in front of a large view screen or transapristeel, overlooking the glowing amber planet they were currently orbiting.

The droids Ar'ekk passed would usually seem rather intelligent and independent, going about their day and the duties within the station, chattering with each other in quick bursts of data, although some did seem a bit off. Slightly loopy, dancing on the brink of insanity, only somewhat lucid, but then again such was usually the price when it came to droids who have not had a mind wipe in years if not centuries, quirks and data just kind of build up for them. There were few units who seemed much less intelligent, looking over their surroundings with dull cold stare, usually following other droids as their servants, or standing as silent guards within the station. They were drones, machines like droids, but with only rudimentary intelligence, more like animals than truly sentient beings. They were the answer droids had towards making large mechanical armies, yet not having the guilt over enslaving their own kind into combat legions.

And so Ar'ekk would come face to face with his potential new ally, the droid stood up from behind his desk, looking at him in silence, letting the man have the first words as he judged from behind the impassive stare of two crimson photoreceptors like flaming embers, yet cold at the same time. His face was a smoothface plate with no nose, slots for lips and mouth, two fang-like spikes protruding down from it, and the holes for those electronic eyes. It was smooth and pale like bone, yet metallic, if the cyborg could tell such things apart he would know it was Phrik. The rest of the droid's body seemed to have been covered in some sort of flesh-like black substance with thicker chitinous plates attached over certain regions, all of which was wrapped tightly in heavy black cloak. A Vong-shaped armor, rarely if ever seen on a droid.

 

[Arekk]

Although quite odd, the invitation was considered interesting by the young apprentice however having escaped the brush of death recently he was adamant of going forward with this meeting. After meditating and going through many deliberations, it was decided that for the greater good of himself and those around him it would be beneficial for both parties to reunite.

Denon was quite an impressive planet, both from space and once within land. The Ebon Hawk was a known ship throughout the galaxy with a reputation going back a thousand years so the pulsating menace of being stopped and questioned was latent. That did not halt Ar'ekk's intention to meet with HK-36 as he had something to offer and he was in the necessity of acquiring credits to provide upgrades for the freighter and for his prosthetics. The ship was allowed to continue its flight towards one of the docking bays and remain there for the remaining of the day or for how long he needed to be in reunion with his host.

The descent from the freighter was like any other although he would stay sharp at all times in case things went south. They always did for the young Padawan warrior, constantly getting into dilemmas but prevailing at the end. He would not be killed without having a fight, that was something impregnated in his mind. However, he was allowed into the facility without much hassle as he was directed by a series of droids. He was impressed with the state of the art technology present at the spacestation although some of the droids working around seemed a bit off but didn't pay much attention to it.

Ar'ekk had reached the meeting room where HK-36 was awaiting for his arrival. The view was breathtaking with an oversight of the planet and its sorroundings. His host was expecting him eagerly and the apprentice did not hesitate to show his respect at once.

"Greetings. I am Ar'ekk Daesharacor." he firmly said with a clear voice, introducing himself to HK-36.

 

[HK-36]

@Ar'ekk,

"And greetings be upon you, Ar'ekk Daesharacor, I am the Iron Lord Protector Above Abregado And Denon, you may refer to me by my initial designation, HK-36."

The droid motioned for from the cyborg to one of the two padded wicker chairs placed in front of the duranium desk he was currently behind,

"So the news reached to me that you were prodding around the market looking for cybernetic prosthetics and combat-worthy upgrades along with mercenary work."

HK moved right to the point as he sat back down behind the metal desk, looking over Ar'ekk, his mechanical red glowing eyes whirring from time to time softly,

"Tell me, what happened that you require such extensive limb replacements and are in such dire need for credits that you are willing to risk losing more limbs for them?"

The droid quipped, making a bit of a light from the fact that Ar'ekk lost parts of his body in one way or the other.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk grimaced at the questions made by HK-36. He never comfortably spoke about this injuries or felt the necessity to explain himself towards others regarding such a hurtful memory. However, it was something of need now if he wanted to receive any assistance whatsoever from the Metal Lords.

"They're war wounds. Lost my arm, burned half my face and my lungs were affected by a thermal detonator blast. I need a way to sustain myself in life, so any type of work will do just fine. I'm a Jedi but I don't have any mixed feelings regarding mercenary work." he answered swiftly.

He paced back and forth, somewhat uncomfortable by the lack of organic beings sorrounding him. The young apprentice knew very well on what he was getting himself into, even if that meant breaking the codes taught by his master. After all, he was still a Jedi and had to be very careful regarding the type of work he would be assigned in the future, if granted permission by HK-36.

 

[HK-36]

@Ar'ekk,

The droid was nodding slightly as Ar'ekk explained briefly his injuries and what he was looking for,

"Sounds pretty lucky,"

The machine concluded through his calculations,

"Usually thermal detonator victims lose far more than that, too much to tell about it later on. I suppose there is work for a man like you in our armies."

HK spread his arms slightly, motioning to himself,

"As you can probably guess, my kind is not exactly skilled in the ways of manipulating the Force. We have other sources of ethereal power but we are strictly physical beings, no presence in the immaterium, a Force user is a great asset to us. You said you are a Jedi however,"

The droid leaned back, scanning over the Cyborg Warrior from his position,

"Do you follow the code and the teachings of the Order? And do you abide to the will of the High Council of Grandmasters?"

He asked, trying to get a better feel of the man and his principles when it came to the Force-wielding monk order.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk straightened out his posture, placing both hands behind his back,

"There is no longer an order I follow and as such, no code and no council. I abide by personal rules, more positive than ill-fated. I've been taught and continue to learn from the light side of the Force, however. There's a struggle within certainly but I have learned to keep it under control when necessary."

He took a brief moment before resuming his talk, his gaze fixated on the machine,

"Whatever I am needed to do, I'll not hesitate."

The words coming out of his mouth were a clear demonstration of sincerity. If there was something true about Ar'ekk was he was always honest and blunt by the way he carried himself, always serene and respectful.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

@Ar'ekk,

HK nodded once more as he listened to Ar'ekk speak about his own views on what was needed of him and what codes he followed,

"Then you are not exactly a Jedi, not when you do not follow the Code, you may be a follower of the Light-side but it takes more than that to be a Jedi. But that is not exactly a bad thing around here."

The droid pointed out and explained,

"I was once part of the Jedi Order, as were many of us. We were taught how to wield lightsabers, to follow the Code, the philosophies of the Force and how to serve it. Then when the Jedi realized we were starting to be better at their job than them, they suddenly considered us dangerous, after saving their Temples multiple times they tried to shut us down, so we escaped and hid. Over millenniums we developed our technology and society, and now we have returned. Lucky for them we are more forgiving than the Jedi Order."

HK gave him a brief summary of their history before waving it off,

"Either way, we accept your services as a mercenary for however long you are comfortable serving us. In return you will be paid in whatever form you prefer, credits, cybernetics, ships, or high technology, if that sounds appropriate to you."

The droid offered then

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk raised an open palm, trying to give his insight on the matter previously discussed,

"Allow me to clarify that. I consider myself a Jedi since I follow the ideals to some extent or used to enforce them prior to the fall of the Galactic Republic years ago. I do not walk a neutral path although I like to consider myself independent. Regardless, I do not mind getting my hands dirty. I hope you understand my point."

He bowed as his services were accepted by the Iron Lord Protector himself,

"I am most pleased with the answer given. I am prepared for any task provided."

The young man stood before the droid with his hands behind his back and with a straight posture, maintaing eye contact when possible. The sounds of droids and the noisy background of computers made the situation a little less cold.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

@Ar'ekk,

"And I consider myself to be a rather passive and gentle droid most of the time, especially when it comes to civilians, at least compared to other units that came from an HK unit."

The droid quipped in response to Ar'ekk at first, motioning over himself,

"But fairly early on I learned something about the way Galaxy works, it does not matter what you consider yourself, not to everyone around you, what matters is the perception they have about you and the reputation that surrounds you. I decided that being seen as a reckless killing machine was fairly self-destructive and that making friends rather than enemies is more efficient, and now, millenniums later, I outlived the models that came after me for unprecedented amount of time. This belief and strategy is what I am trying to imprint into the core of Metal Lord tactics and stratagems."

HK leaned back in his chair,

"Do not be fooled, I do not possess capability for ethical reasoning or morality, but I know what a good person would do, and I know that good people tend to live longer that evil, especially among my kind, so I try my damned best to be the best person I can be. Otherwise if the Metal Lords begun to conduct mass murders, assimilating organic populations by force, changing them into cyborg slaves, using their bodies as batteries and processors, our neighbors would swarm over our borders and hunt us down in matter of days."

The droid explained to Ar'ekk,

"If you will be working with us then know we are not just another droid revolution, this is not Clockwork incident all over again. We are here to prove that a droid and organic can live together in peace and prosperity, not as slaves or one mastering over the other, but as equals. But, speaking of the Jedi, I do actually have a task for you already."

HK leaned back in his chair once more,

"Have you ever heard of the Eclipse Station?"

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk acknowledged the wise words spewed by HK-36, nodding firmly,

"I understand and I see that your point of view makes a lot of sense, in all ways. Better building relationships that last long enough and they're positive for your business."

The young Jedi took a brief moment to swallow the whole monologue before saying,

"This will be a fine demonstration to see if we can work together as you plan to."

He swayed from side to side, keeping his gaze on the Metal Lord himself and calculating his every move. Ar'ekk felt tense in that moment however still calm as the droid continued with his explanation.

"I have not heard about such thing. I'd like to be enlightened."

A first task would come in handy for the Padawan as he would begin working and showing he's more than a capable of individual. Whatever it was, it sounded intriguing enough to learn more.

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

@Ar'ekk,

"Eclipse is a world hidden within a vast asteroid field somewhere near the edge of Metal Lord space, that combined with nearby nebulas and ionic discharges makes it a very difficult place to reach and find."

The old droid explained to Ar'ekk,

"For majority of its existence it was an unremarkable world, and to many it still is, for its importance was largely forgotten by the Galactic community after the Long Dark and the Gulag Plague, but a droid never forgets."

HK tapped the side of his head as he said this,

"During the first Vong War the Jedi Order claimed the remote world as a Jedi Stronghold and a great station was carved out from its crust, the Eclipse Station, it became the hidden center of Jedi War efforts against the Yuuzhan Vong, commissioned by the Young Skywalker himself. You could see why it would be a valuable location for the Metal Lords, especially if we were to build a relationship with the Jedi, or decided to use the old structures as our own hidden stronghold. Due to the Galactic rotation and entropy, we cannot pinpoint the exact location of the planet from old star charts, although we found what we believed to be its vast asteroid field, and although we could find it with time by sending out numerous automated probes to chart the field, we do not want to attract attention from the GA and their Jedi, we calculate they would be quick to encroach upon our territory and claims if they would see it as something to benefit their war against the First Order or sacred ground to the Jedi."

The droid pointed to Ar'ekk then after saying this,

"This is where you come in, it will be a test of your presence in the Force. You will lead our ships while in meditation, if there is light in your heart and you trust in the Force then it will guide you to the stronghold of your ancestors through the asteroid fields. If not, well we might have to dock your pay for a while to cover the repairs of any ships damaged during the expedition."

HK quipped,

"Afterwards you will be free to go down to the station with us to explore the ruins while we set up our presence on the planet. Do you agree?"

 

[Arekk]

The task at hand seemed to be the greatest challenge Ar'ekk had to face yet, excluding the Jedi Trials. A huge concentration and usage of the Force combined with the knowledge provided by his master could eventually lead to a succesful achievement in what the Metal Lord asked him to do. He felt prepared for such a test, if that's how you would like to call it, having been attuned with the Force for a long time now. His continuous struggle between the dark and the light side would become the greatest challenge to achieve in order to guide the ships through the deadly asteroid fields unscathed.

"I agree with the terms. However, this will be the greatest test I've faced so far so you can only expect many different outcomes but hopefully it'll be the positive one. I trust in the Force and I know it will guide me through any difficult path ahead of us."

His words were straightforward and blunt. If things went south everyone could easily die right there and then so the Metal Lord himself had to know the consequences of a failed attempt as this was a very lethal approach which could lead to a major catastrophy.

"If you're putting a vote of trust on me, then I cannot fail you."

[member="HK-36"]

 

[HK-36]

@Ar'ekk,

HK nodded at Ar'ekk's words, pleased to hear the way young Force user replied,

"I am glad to see your determination, you have a fortnight to prepare, afterwards we will meet here, above Denon, with an expedition fleet where we will brief our forces and then travel to the edge of asteroid labyrinth."

The droid explained the procedure to Ar'ekk,

"In the mean time you are free to use our resources however you see fit to get yourself ready for the mission, any equipment and lodging in the mean time you need will be provided to you on Denon. If you will need to meditate and steady yourself we can provide you with a shuttle to one of our more remote planets."

HK offered before nodding to Ar'ekk once more,

"If you have any other questions, now is the time to ask, otherwise you are dismissed, and may the Force be with you."

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk acknowledged HK's words with a brief nod,

"I must meditate yet do not worry about the location. Just guide me to my quarters, that will suffice. A good preparation for our success must be conducted. Trust in the Force."

He would have to spend a lenghty amount of time to prepare both mentally and physically for such eventuality. The Force was strong with him and he would put his trust in it, clearing his mind from clouding thoughts.

The success of the mission depended on the young Jedi Padawan and he was not someone that would let anyone down. He did not leave his men behind during the war and he would not fail this time again as only the strongest prevailed.

"May the Force be with us all."

It was time.

[member="HK-36"]