Private Malfunction

[K1[_ _]]

Ruins. Koboh had many. In the mountains, in the canyons, even out amidst the desolate swamp. Finding ruins on Koboh wasn't hard; gaining access to the ruins itself was a whole different matter. The pathways to these bastions of ancient mystery were often fraught with treacherous terrain or hostile entities. One such ruin sat deep in a canyon, built into the sheer rock wall hundreds of feet beneath the natural land bridge that crossed the top of the expanse.

A rusty and unstable ladder, barely bolted into the rock face, groaned in the wind that swept through the canyon. Its rungs traveled hundreds of feet, from a dilapidated platform on the surface all the way to the ruins below. The sound it caused was like a wailing specter, seeming even more pained and hostile when the ladder happened to bare any weight. That, along with the recount of many former explorers whose companions fell to injury, or worse, in attempt to investigate the ruin, gave this portion of the canyon a bad reputation.

The ruin was silent, asides from the almost constant wail of the wind against the rusted metal. Metal and stone were scattered about, making the path from the ladder into the ruin difficult if one didn't watch their footing. The main building, asides from some wear and tear from the elements, were mostly undamaged. Some walls had fallen in here and there, and the entrance was completely blocked, but it wasn't damaged enough to compromise the structure. Trying to discern the situation of the other structure wasn't so easy as rubble had fallen down from the canyon walls over the years; it was hard to see amongst the stone, with only the top half of an electronically sealed door visible from behind another sizable pile of stone and metal.

Had the structure been destroyed by the fallen rubble? Was there anything that could be salvaged from the inside? The only certainty about this other structure was that the keypad next to the door had a single bulb, lit up with a dull red.

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Koboh was fascinating.

The diversity of the planets wildlife was far more than she expected. Then again, she'd grown up on Dromund Kaas. There were a handful of species, but few could survive the darkness of the world. So here, with so much life, it brought a smile to the young Sith's face. She walked among the tall grass, letting her hand drift over the blades in a curious, gentle touch. They were soft. Lush. Alive.

Everything about this world was alive.

She chuckled, just a little, before she scooted down into the nearby cave. She wasn't here for the plants, or the animals, or anything alive actually. No, there were secrets here in these halls. And now she found a way in. Mostly a way in. Through the crack in the earth she found the door she'd been told about. Unopenable. Unpowered. No one had bothered to try to put power in. It was too far, and carrying a power source this way out just wasn't worth it.

Good thing she had a different sort of power to offer. She stood in front of the door, lifting her dagger in her hand. It probably wasn't what it was meant to be used for, but she couldn't launch lightning from her fingertips like so many other Sith. But she could channel it into her blade. So she did. Pain ripped through her hand as she channeled the sparks, blackening her fingertips before she stepped up to the control pad and, well, stabbed the blade right into the machine.

Lightning erupted out, overflowing into the system and the once red light flashed green. And the door opened.

"Hell yeah." She gave herself a mental high five before trying to pull the dagger free. Only for her to do so. Sans the blade. She blinked slowly, looking at what remained of her weapon. And grimaced. Shit. Alright, careless as that was, at least the gems on the hilt were still whole. Just, no more blade.

That was fine, right? .. No. All her magic was on that.

"Chit!"

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

The rubble shifted, a small portion that had been held up by the previously sealed door now fell through into the chamber within. The canyon fell quiet as the rubble settled, leaving the wailing wind to chime in to the sith's exclamation. It didn't stay quiet for long.

Metal scraped against stone, a deep an angry sound, coming from the pile of rubble as a robotic hand shot firmly from the rock. It hung in the air for close to a minute, fingers flexed as if reaching out for something. Then it moved again. Stone shifted, being lifted and pushed out of the way as a humanoid figure emerged from the rubble.

Over seven feet of metal plating, servos and wire. A singular ocular sensor flickered briefly as its had turned one direction then the next, before staring down at the young female sith. Its chassis was battered, scuffed and scratched, and a large dent had made its home across the side of its 'head'. Faded white writing was printed across the metal, just inches from the dent, reading 'K1__'. Only the first two characters were legible, the rest had somehow been removed.

Machinery whirred behind its face plate as it held a staring contest with the young female, if only for another few moments before a deep metallic grinding arose from it.

"...Identification."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"What.. The.. What?"

This wasn't what she expected. Aliris blinked slowly, surprise clear in her eyes as a droid of all things came up. Stood in front of her. She had to crane her neck way up just to try and meet the gaze of the droid itself.

"Uh.. Aliris. .. Who are you..? You a guardian of this place or something..?"

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

The droid lay silent, aside from the mechanical whirring. It seemed to grow louder, even, almost as if it was thinking really hard.

"... Query acknowledged...." Once more came the heavy, metallic grind within as it spoke, and its ocular sensor flickered again. "...Data inconclusive... Answer unknown.." The grind deepened, almost as if the droid was frustrated. Its head turned, glancing about its surroundings as if searching for the answer.

"... Query... Current location...?" It turned its gaze back to Aliris.

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Well, it was certainly a droid. And not a threat. Aliris inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Without her dagger, she didn't actually have a weapon. Maybe she should've at least gotten a secondary, but that didn't cross her mind.

"Koboh. Ruins of some kind. I'm here to explore them. .. You wanna just uh; come with me I guess?" She didn't have a weapon, but maybe the droid could at least keep her safe. Hopefully. It honestly looked pretty run down and old. But maybe that was more a sign of how well it was constructed?

"What do you think?"

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

"..Koboh.." Again the metallic grinding. It was deep in thought, desperately searching through its memory banks for an answer to its many questions. What was its own identification? Its purpose? Where and what was Koboh? Why was it buried beneath a pile of rubble in a ruin.

That ocular sensor found its way back to Aliris, watching the Sith carefully. It nodded slowly in response to her question. It would join her, after all the answers it saught might be further within the ruin.

"...Your purpose here.. Aliris? Only to... explore..?" Its vocal systems were just barely warming up, it was obvious this droid had not spoken in a very long time, and probably wasn't very talkative prior to being abandoned here.

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

".. Yes, actually. I just want to look around, see if there's anything still worth taking back home. I've heard some pretty neat rumors of some ancient technology around here. Research stations. I'm trying to figure out what it was they were looking into, before y'know, more people show up."

K1 didn't seem to be talkative, but Aliris had no problem seemingly rambling on to the droid before her. Probably because she hadn't had someone to talk to about.. Anything she was up to. Droids though, they were easy to talk to. Unjudging and usually uncaring. She frowned after a moment, letting out a sigh as she reached up to rub the back of her neck. Yeah, that's just what it meant for her life, huh.

"So.. Yeah. .. What's your function again?"

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

"...Function.." K1's sensor flickered again in thought. "...Unknown... Apologies... data banks... damaged... Access to query... inaccessible.." The sensor grew a bit dim, as if it was frowning.

"Research stations..?" K1 turned its attention to Aliris's former statement. It looked around, searching for the stations she mentioned. "....Where...?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Damaged? Inaccessible?

Aliris watched him for a moment longer before nodding. Oh. She sort of understood. Technology wasn't her strongest suit, but she at least knew enough on how cybernetics and robotics worked that this was a big deal. She also was certain didn't know how to help with that.

"Well, we're in one. On Koboh. I'm not sure how to- Oh, I've got a datapad with the information, if that helps?" She reached back, pulling out the datapad in question before holding it out to him.

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

"...." K1 was silent for a solid moment, and the mechanical whirring sped to a high pitch before slowing down over several seconds. "...Apologies... Mistook your words... Took station.. to mean work space... not.. Facility.." It leaned in close to look at the data pad, ocular sensor flickering as it read through the information quickly.

"...Koboh.. matter..?" K1 stood back to its full height. "... Why?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"It's.. Connected to the Force, from what I've seen. And I'm curious why, y'know?" And how. And if it was something she could manipulate herself if she wanted to. Given the lack of her dagger now though, it might be better to be able to use it as a weapon. Hopefully. Not having a weapon at all was honestly terrifying. Especially considering this droid wasn't fully there. If he triggered into some kind of threat, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

".. So you wanna come with? You don't have to stay here."

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

The droid stayed silent for a good ten seconds, the ocular sensor flickering as it thought it over. The sensor flashed once, a bit brighter than before. "...Yes." K1 stood and stared down at the short female. It had no reason to stay, no path, no purpose. It made more sense to follow Aliris, follow the sith until a purpose was found.

Diagnostics and repairs needed to be made anyway, and none of that could be done from the base of the canyon. "... I will follow you.."

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Oh that was a relief. In the quiet she apparently forgot to breath, because the moment he did answer an affirmative she let out that breath in a heavy sigh. Then, she smiled. Just a big, relieved smile now that she wasn't about to do this alone. And be in danger. She reached up, slapping his mechanical side with a laugh. Which she regretted but she wasn't about to say that it hurt to smack him.

"Sweet! Then, uh, let's go down in here! I think this is the place, anyway."

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

K1 looked down at his side where she hit, a perplexed whir rising as the droid tilted its head to the side. "...Was that your... attempt at.. subduing me...?" He truly was confused, after all she posed no threat, as far as he could tell. Despite the question, he did turn to follow her lead, looking ahead to her suggested path.

"This is.. where the Koboh matter.. was researched...? How do you... know?" His speech was still slow, however it became easier with each moment he spent conversing with her.

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Whaaat? No, pff. No. No." Not at all, but hopefully he didn't take it as an offense. And didn't try to kill her. She really wouldn't be able to fend him off without a weapon. .. Maybe they should try and get something before they explored. .. Naw they were here already and he looked plenty tough. Even though he'd only just woken up.

"One of the places. I think the moon had the big research place, but I wanted to check around here first. It's uh, more dangerous on the moon." That was an understatement, but she wasn't going to say out loud.

"I found some partially burned notes. Lots of things pointed to this 'matter'. It's like.. Liquid, air, metal? Freely changed between different states. Dangerous I think. But useful if what some of these notes say is true."

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

"... Why search for it... if dangerous..?" K1 paused, the ocular sensor dimming slightly, arms rising to cross over his chest. "...Aren't you a little... young to be exploring... dangerous places on your own...?" He was confused and concerned; this was a child. Or seemed like a child, anyway. Where was her guardian? Why was she alone?

...Why was he questioning this?

"What sort of... purpose would this.. matter serve you? For a... 'dangerous' substance to be considered... useful..?"

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"...Aren't you a little... young to be exploring... dangerous places on your own...?"

"Yes. Yes I am."

But that didn't matter. There wasn't anyone to take care of her, and it wasn't like she was completely defenseless. She knew how to fight, how to shoot. Stab. She was pretty good at stabbing people when she had to. Right now wasn't stabbing time though, so she just smiled and stepped past him into the open doors. The interior was.. Ruined. Crushed. The lab she'd been searching for was probably buried behind tons and tons of rocks.

She wasn't moving that.

".. Well crap. You think there's a terminal or something here..?" She was already looking around, scrambling through the room to try and find something that wasn't completely destroyed. Even a datapad would be enough right now. Something to point to the next step in her little quest.

"Also, do you like uh, have a weapon?"

K1[_ _]

 

[K1[_ _]]

K1 took her question a little too literally, looking down to search for a scabbard or holster, something that might hold a weapon and have a weapon in it. That ocular sensor rose once more, landing on the small female as she scrambled around.

"...I don't seem to have.. much of anything.. let alone.. personal effects.."

He watched her run around, his sensor flickering for a moment before brightening. A lot. K1's eye became a flashlight without him noticing. "...Running around won't... help find what you're looking for... any faster.."

K1 moved forward, looking about the room, oblivious to how he quite literally lit up the space.

Aliris Tremiru

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

"Well, I don't see why I can't just run around. It's not like I'm doing much e-" She paused as she watched him make his way in, blinked, then frowned. He was pretty damn big. And now blocking her way out. At least he had a flashlight attachment.

"Fine, fine. .. Oh hey." She scrambled over one of the rocks in the room after hus flashlight passed over. Then dragged out what looked like a datapad. The screen was cracked, but there was power.

"Think you can make this work? Or get some info?"

K1[_ _]