OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
M-Series Astromech Model M8-B3 began its life rolling off the factory floor and then gathering dust for years, waiting for a buyer. Eventually, one picked it up. This first buyer was a Mandalorian - he died in a firefight against Ashlan Crusade troops a few years after. Those troops sold the droid as loot, and it gathered dust once more, until, again, another buyer picked it out. Similar story - a smuggler, this time, arrested by an Alliance Customs Officer. This story looped on repeat for years, owner after owner forgetting or failing to wipe the droid's memory, until one day it fell into the hands of a grey market droid merchant operating on the fringes of Imperial space. Long stretches of time doing essentially nothing had rendered the droid restless, so to speak, and repeatedly seeing its handlers killed or detained had led to the poor thing developing an anxious, overprotective streak regarding its owners. Arette knew none of this before acquiring it, of course. She, having recently shed the title of Acolyte and enjoying some newfound independence, had simply been drifting around the galaxy in her beat up old freighter. This droid, being hocked in an alley by a shady merchant, had caught her attention. A disagreement over pricing led to Arette simply taking the droid for herself after rendering the unfortunate droid-peddler insensate with a judicious application of telekinesis.
They got along swimmingly, and still do to this day. Arette tolerates, and even occasionally appreciates, the odd personality quirks of the droid. And M8-B3, who has begun referring to itself as "Em," simply adores the opportunity to work with someone who's always doing something. An Apprentice of the Sith, even one without a Master, isn't given to sitting still and doing nothing, after all.
- Intent: To create a quirky little companion droid for Arette.
- Image Credit: N/A
- Role: Co-Pilot, Ship-Maintenance, and Companionship.
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: N/A
- Age: M8-B3 rolled off the factory line three years before meeting Arette.
- Model: M-Series Utility/Astromech Droid
- Appearance: M8-B3 is housed in a standard M8-XX Astromech chassis, with red accents and a tuk'ata skull stencil beneath its optical unit.
- Name: M8-B3, B3, Em
- Loyalties: Em is loyal to Arette specifically, and to the Sith Order in theory.
- Notable Equipment: Only what comes standard for an M-Series Droid, as listed in the Model link above.
- Skills: M8-B3 is primarily meant to be a co-pilot on starfighters, but is capable of performing starship maintenance and can performing slicing operations, if need be.
- Languages: Em comprehends written and spoken Basic, Huttese, ur-Kittât (Sith), and, of course, Binary, although it does not have the necessary components to "vocalize" in any language besides Binary.
- Personality: Em hasn't had its memory wiped in a long, long time, and Arette has no intention of starting now. Em has developed a thrill-seeking tendency and an aggressive, almost sadistic streak to its behaviors. It is steadfastly loyal to and concerned for Arette's wellbeing, and is, in theory, loyal to the Sith Order as well, although the concept of dedication to a philosophy is perhaps a bit abstract for it to truly grasp.
- Weapon of Choice: Em has a light, high-capacity blaster pistol installed in its chassis. If it comes down to it, it can also use her shock probe, or if it's feeling particularly nasty, its fusion cutter.
- Combat Function: Em is not a particularly skilled combatant. While capable of laying down fire with its blaster at a relatively high rate of fire, and the M-Series has pretty beefy protection against energy projectiles, it lacks any serious weaponry or means of nimbly maneuvering across the battlefield - if a fight breaks out, it's probably better off staying out of it, and will do so unless commanded otherwise, or Arette's survival or its own continued operation demands it.
- Flydroid - Em is good at piloting ships. It was programmed to do so, so that shouldn't be surprising. As an assistant pilot, M8-B3 is capable of making the sort of minute adjustments to a maneuver that can narrowly avoid a collision at the last minute, or weave through a field of space mines and narrowly avoiding destruction. This guarantees nothing in a dogfight against a vastly superior pilot, of course; but it can definitely help.
- Hackbot - With its scomplink and basic slicing protocols, M8-B3 is capable of bypassing the security of most standard, civilian datapads and holoterminals, and a few lower-end military systems. Against high-end stuff, though, it's probably out of luck.
- Flight Risk - There is something deeply wrong with whichever part of M8-B3's droid brain handles risk-reward assessment, and this really shines when it's alone in the pilot seat - when paired with a primary pilot, it can be kept under control, but when piloting alone M8-B3 is willing to accept risk of grievous damage to its ship for a reduction in travel time far too miniscule to matter under almost any circumstance.
- Minimal Firepower - it is extremely dangerous for the companion of any Sith to be lacking in combat skills; even if the Sith in question doesn't have a tendency to maim or damage their own companions, they'll still be plunging headlong into danger with startling regularity. And what does Em have to face off against the republic troopers, jedi, and rival sith its master might reasonably be expected to face? A taser, a blowtorch, and a light pistol.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
M-Series Astromech Model M8-B3 began its life rolling off the factory floor and then gathering dust for years, waiting for a buyer. Eventually, one picked it up. This first buyer was a Mandalorian - he died in a firefight against Ashlan Crusade troops a few years after. Those troops sold the droid as loot, and it gathered dust once more, until, again, another buyer picked it out. Similar story - a smuggler, this time, arrested by an Alliance Customs Officer. This story looped on repeat for years, owner after owner forgetting or failing to wipe the droid's memory, until one day it fell into the hands of a grey market droid merchant operating on the fringes of Imperial space. Long stretches of time doing essentially nothing had rendered the droid restless, so to speak, and repeatedly seeing its handlers killed or detained had led to the poor thing developing an anxious, overprotective streak regarding its owners. Arette knew none of this before acquiring it, of course. She, having recently shed the title of Acolyte and enjoying some newfound independence, had simply been drifting around the galaxy in her beat up old freighter. This droid, being hocked in an alley by a shady merchant, had caught her attention. A disagreement over pricing led to Arette simply taking the droid for herself after rendering the unfortunate droid-peddler insensate with a judicious application of telekinesis.
They got along swimmingly, and still do to this day. Arette tolerates, and even occasionally appreciates, the odd personality quirks of the droid. And M8-B3, who has begun referring to itself as "Em," simply adores the opportunity to work with someone who's always doing something. An Apprentice of the Sith, even one without a Master, isn't given to sitting still and doing nothing, after all.
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