Private Lets try to minimize the stabbing

[Bao Quayan]

Iella Sunscream | SOMNOL-716


It would never really be clear what was going through Iella's mind when Bao and her had spoken, and it was a bit unfortunate. Bao watched on as the two were silent after that, Iella leaving once all was said and done. It was a moment of respite that left Bao.... a little uneasy. Truth be told, it would never really be clear what was going through Bao's mind, either. Bao was fighting forces she didn't know exist, just trying to keep her sanity. In the confines of confusion, wrapped in dread, her own enemy was herself. She had no real idea who she was before her accident, and she will never have any clue to her past life. Everything that linked her to her past is now gone, and she will never know anymore than she does now. She has no memories, only stories of a dying widow who saved her life. Bao was born after a catastrophe, where her family was slaughtered.... or so they say. There was no way to tell if the storyteller was telling the truth, and this fear would stay with her always. Bao became cold because she came to a realization that words mean nothing, in a realist sense. And unfortunately.... there's no way to tell what you see is the truth, either.

But she snapped out of her flashbacks for a moment to realize Iella had returned, waiting for everyone to be at the ramp and gesturing that it was time to work. Without thinking, Bao moved in a very weird and awkward manner. This was behind Iella, as only Somnol would realize. She didn't 'stand up' from her sitting position, as one would expect. Her body kind of just.... motioned towards the ground, with her torso gently and silently flying through the air, moving up in altitude before her feet slowly moved to the ground. She was lost in thought, and forgot to pretend with the normal mannerisms as people usually do, like, by standing up. When she realized Iella took her plan, she was kind of happy, but also didn't feel Iella needed to stand down and take Bao's suggestion. Then she thought for a moment; With this plan, Bao was placing a lot of trust in a droid, and she needed to make it clear.

As soon as Somnol finished their statement about dismemberment, and ignoring the skiff person. She placed her hand on.... whatever may be at the end of Somnols arm to get their attention. If she needed to, she would grab their arm to stop them from moving. But it wasn't aggressive, "hey," she said at a normal volume. "I need you to understand something, droid. This plan isn't perfect." She would say this while Iella would be right next to them, "my special power is just that, one individual power. I am not perfect nor immortal, so you need to understand this; The plan has a high chance of success with little to no bloodshed, but that means everyone has to play their part and play it right. If we didn't have a droid with combat protocols, I wouldn't even suggest it. I have confidence in you because of your methodical procedure and precision, meaning I will require you to block out any memory degradation due to not being wiped as much as possible. Feelings and hesitation will get me killed. Please understand, I will have to focus everything on the big one, which means when combat starts, I need you to focus any of the smaller ones that try to focus me. Keep them off my back, and I will deal with the big one. If they hit me, and the big one gets an attack in, we'll all feel it."

She would release Somnols arm, seemingly done with the conversation. For Somnol, it might have seemed more like an order that didn't need responding to, that Bao expected the droid to accept the demand because they were a droid, but the hand gesture seemed more personal than that. Bao immediately turned to the skiff seller and said in a cheerful manner, and with a smile on her face that might have creeped out Iella, if not the droid. "Yes, we're hunting some large pack beasts, my friend here is teaching me how to hunt and this is my personal droid assistant assigned to my care, making sure I don't die," she leaned into Somnol, "we're just here to find a trophy to show my abilities, not here to make any trouble." Bao was certainly not a stranger to murder, in fact some might say she slept with it, but she really didn't enjoy killing for the sake of killing.

 

[Iella Sunscream]

The only droid Iella truly trusted was Yip, a little BB model she had bought to keep her company during her solo travels; currently in low power mode back home; Iella had commissioned a gunship from a Mandalorian manufacturer recently, and that droid served as something of a proxy point of contact with them. She knew all too well droids tended to be servile, but she wasn't inherently evil, or malicious; she didn't want Sommy getting scrapped for following his nature, or protocol. As they sat down on the skiff, she would observe the panels with her cybernetically enhanced optics; if she didn't know how it worked before, she knew a great deal about it now. She had just downloaded the owners manual. She sat there for a while, staring at the control panel, then snapped her head to Sommy on his offer.

"Negative, Sommy..."

She smirked at his offer, but wasn't about to let him start scratching people on hunches. Then Bao spoke and Iella turned back just in time to see her smiling at the woman. Accurate, after their previous conversation Iella certainly felt a shiver. Remembering this same woman methodically dismembering her enemies. It was like she was possessed. If someone died by her blade, she took their head. Iella had chopped someone's head off before; completely by mistake. Vomited all over her then employers doorstep when she went to turn in the job. Something about the bone... The crunch... The snap of sinew.

She gagged lightly, an audible sound coming from her briefly which was quited with a clearing of her throat.

The saleswoman would nod at their combined responses, visibly concerned at SOMNOL's stare; but seemingly having her inquisitive thirst sated. As such, she offered a bye with a local hand signing, returned with an inhuman replication by Iella. Then she hit the gas. She kept it the speed limit in the city, offering short bursts whenever possible, but would burn hard once they got out of the city limits and on clear road.

She looked down at the panel, and flicked a few switches, causing a canopy to slide up, offering them a relatively enclosed space; though there were blaster holes in the window and there would still be an annoying sound of wind gushing through. In any case it would have been easier to hear, and the elements wouldn't bash against them so much.

"Negative on your last as well Ms. B... Don't engage big man, I'll take him. You guys just need to focus on clearing out those goons. I wanna' take their number from five and a rotary cannon to four and blasters before they realize what's going on.. Just leave him to me"

She offered, paying attention to the road, and radar for any unseen threats, or hazards. Thinking about it, she glanced back to the other for a second, smirking in her direction.

"I wont miss, and that bow I brought will knock a Trandoshan on its backchute, much less a man. Soon as he drops, you drop, help SOMNOL before they can get a shot off... I'll provide cover, and update Sommy with any information about additionals. In, and out the way you came... Should be easy"

She said, periodically glancing between the road and her, and ultimately staring ahead. This job would goo off without a hitch, and it was a chitload of credit for something so simple.

SOMNOL-716 Bao Quayan

 

[SOMNOL-716]

//Affirmative,// Somnol barked at Hound's order, returning to it's usual timbre.

There was always something catching the droid off-guard with these two. He reasoned that it would be a common experience, as he learned their mannerisms and social styles. Somnol saw Bao Quayan reach over, and grab his hand, which was one of those times he was caught off-guard. He wasn't used to any physical contact, save for the physical contact of slicing a skull open with a vibroblade. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. Perhaps it would require further testing.

He listened to her as best he could, understanding everything she said with crystalline clarity. His other hand balled into a fist, and he considered the motion, and Bao's words, in equal measure. //I have been assigned an objective,// the droid stated, with some finality. //Whether the objective itself is flawed or not is inconsequential. I will perform my part perfectly. It is in my programming, after all.//

There wasn't a hint of bravado or over-exaggeration in his tone. It was as if he thought his success was as unerring as a mathematic equation; no matter how many times it was computed, it would always produce the same result.

With the slight change to the plan put forth by Hound, Somnol nodded. It worked fine for him. He still had to worry about the deception he would have to perform, but he had confidence in his abilities. Suddenly thinking of something, he turned back to Bao, just a twinge of offense in his voice.

//Are you certain memory degradation due to a lack of memory wipes exists? I will have you know, I do quite a bit of maintenance on my memory banks, and my oldest sensor data has yet to be corrupted in any way.//

- Iella Sunscream -

 

[Bao Quayan]

Iella Sunscream | SOMNOL-716


Bao listened intently suddenly as Iella sparked up, though just before as she was glad the droid took her words seriously, her face had no expression when she turned to Iella. She wasn't upset or frowning, this was Bao taking in new information before she realized what it was; good or not. It seemed Iella wanted a bit more action than Bao's original plan had intended. Her original plan made Bao do a little more work, but in the end it still showed that the Hound rescued the hostage and delivered them. It didn't really matter, if they could truly knock out the potential heavy soldier, then that would work out as there were far less serious threats to deal with. But just as she had unfortunately assumed Iella took the entire original plan, Bao was assuming the worst from the battle. If the rotary cannon soldier was wearing light armor, this battle would last a lot shorter than Somnol probably would expect. Bao would just slice their throat or neck since their arms would be to busy lugging a big cannon around. But she was thinking if they were wearing heavy armor, which would make sense if this hostage was serious business.

"I do not lack confidence in your aim, nor your shot, but what do you plan to do if they are wearing military-grade heavy armor?" Her thought path was that of a major escort group, where a rotary cannon soldier wouldn't be caught dead in light armor. They were meant to be the one taking aggro, while any other soldiers take cover to support the heavier soldier. Like patrols taking cover positions beside an Armored Personnel Carrier and providing supporting fire. "Luckily for you, Hound, you hired someone extremely adaptable. I won't speak on behalf of the droid, but only my own expertise. Whatever happens, we'll get our good fight, and I'll handle what comes my way."

She again was still instilling confidence in her new boss, but this was growing a bit tiring. However, she was also informing the Hound that even if things went sour or not as planned, Bao would be on the case, and wouldn't be froze in terror being confused on what to do next. Before she could further the conversation with Iella, Somnol spoke up, addressing Bao's statement from before. Oh boy, this one would be a doozy. Bao was a little uncomfortable having to voice an opinion, but she really didn't care in the end. Her thought process was that opinions get you killed, but also that droids were binary. "I won't pretend that I am an engineer of any sort, nor of the kind of intelligence that would be able to investigate something so deep and serious and requiring of such technical skills. Unfortunately, for me, I am of the mind that I don't care. Droids are nothing but servile, like a ship or a weapon, although I have a distrust of droids since they find imitation of wants and needs and emotions to be so easy. I believe machinations are binary, and serve only one purpose. Anything else imposed is merely programming, and some supposed emotional states are programming by the original author to make them more humanly. I find it horrifying, as an individual displaying happiness while committing atrocities is insane and should be put down. I am, thankfully, comfortable around binary-speaking and or non-expressive droids." She finished by looking away from Somney, "curious droids are the most common, however, and I typically avoid them."

 

[Iella Sunscream]

Having learned from her past mistakes, she allowed Bao to speak in full before contemplating a response. Offering SOMNOL a pensive glance at his words to Bao. Seemed the droid could be snippy when he wanted to be. And while there was a split second of her wanting to pull rank of sort, and tell them to can it; well, she was sort of enjoying their banter. The skies had been particularly lonely before them. They wouldn't know it, but they were even of service sitting there, arguing over their petty disagreements in theory regarding the droid persona. Iella let a few beats pass, even so much as offering SOMNOL an opportunity to respond before saying anything else, that smirk never leaving her lips.

"Well, to put your mind at ease friend, while I know it ain't a blaster, that bow is a composite ballistic weapon; including Phrik-A FM's double-o-2 through three alloys, not to mention Duraplast-E inlays... Electromagnets, and Magnetic Accelerator Rai-..."

She would take glance back at Bao, aware she probably didn't give a hoot about the technical modifications of the weapon. As such she would just shake her head, and simplify what she was trying to say.

"It would take an act of God to stop someone surviving a direct hit from that, the arrows are armor-piercing, and the bow itself can fire a projectile; well, in my hands at well over speeds of Mach 2... Give or take. I wont miss, he can't dodge; and unless he's about to surprise with a full set of Beskar, that thing will pin him to the ground like game bird, or the wall... Or hell it might hit him and some poor bastard behind him... Physics can be monstrous"

She finished, eyes glancing between the radar again, and the road. In the distance a small town had just come into view, and as such she would cut the speed lightly; still flying mind you, but just enough to start looking out a place to set up. As far as her conversation with SOMNOL, she wasn't going to get into that, she agreed far enough to say she wasn't technically savvy enough to weigh in on SOMNOL, but he was alright with her, and hadn't done wrong by them so far.

She offered him a glance, but would say nothing on the matter. She was aware of course how the galaxy viewed droids, but didn't particularly have any gripe with them. If anything they were generally very upfront with their intents, and their wants; that was something she appreciated about them. Whether or not it was all code, or maybe it was the spirit of the machine? Hell that was too high for her to take a swing at.

What she would say was simple.

"You're alright with me Sommy, just don't kill me in my sleep, cool?"

SOMNOL-716 Bao Quayan

 

[SOMNOL-716]

This kind of talk, Somnol understood. Not to say he enjoyed it, but he had witnessed it before.

Up until this point in their journey together, Somnol had felt more like a partner than a tool. His input was requested for the equation of a mission they were undertaking, and he provided his strategic insights freely as a result. It was a strange experience, but one that the droid appreciated.

Bao reminded him what his journey had been so far. As a dependable, unerring weapon. Something to be turned against the enemy, pointed and shot, without any regard for what he wanted, who he was.

SOMNOL-716 was not a creature of emotion. He had heard that as inorganic beings such as himself accrue more life experience, more memory, they could take on that uniquely organic trait. But Somnol was not designed to have feelings, he was designed for labor. The inclusion of emotion into his work could compromise his search for perfection.

Then why did that fact make him feel a little sad?

Somnol made it a point to sit incredibly still. //Perhaps it is as you say. I will attempt not to cause you discomfort with my imitations.//

'. . .an individual displaying happiness while committing atrocities is insane and should be put down. . .'

Somnol broke his stillness to look at Hound as she spoke to him, offering a platitude. He nodded, his chipper voice back to full-strength. //I would never. As long as I am within your service, it is my objective to ensure your continual survival.//

The moment had passed, but for how long, who could say?

- Bao Quayan - Iella Sunscream -

 

[Bao Quayan]

Iella Sunscream | SOMNOL-716

Bao sat back as she listened to the Hounds mountainous weapon jargon, not really absorbing everything but the key points of what she said. She wasn't trying to seem offensive as she ignored all the serious details, but she was practically ignorant when it came to projectile weapon mechanics and parts. When they finally started speaking layman, there was a hint in her face where she was appreciative of the reflection in conversation. "Yeah, if it's beskar, there will be nothing I can do short of a perfect, clean cut to their weapon, and that's excusing their potential to react since I'm fighting their weapon and not them. Although if it were a Mandalorian I wouldn't be too entirely surprised, they take job offers, whether moral or immoral. But, I understand the capabilities of your weapon, and I have confidence in your abilities. We'll see how it goes."

Then once more she turned back to Somnol with the comments made from both, and definitely felt she was crossed for her opinion, which she wasn't surprised about. However, she wanted her position clear. "Somnol," she said plainly to get its attention, "if you feel your emotions may cause me discomfort, you may choose to behave however you like." She did little more than emphasizing her speech on certain words, making no gestures or attempts at mocking. She was serious as she continued, "You are not my property and I will not dictate what protocols you direct. I have no problems with you, and you have no owner, therefore you must do what you must for your own survival. That responsibility is only yours now." She would be personally done on that conversation, hoping everyone understood while Bao had the opinions she did, it did not mean she thought negatively of the droid. They hadn't threatened her life or realistically made her uncomfortable enough for her to dislike them, so all was fine. She just wanted to ensure she could count on the droid for their skills.