That might be the droid I'm looking for.

[Loske Treicolt]

​

Borealis;​

Having a specific address helped with navigation. But what would help infinitely more, would be having a travelling companion that would help with the navigation.

Even in all her simulations, Loske found herself multitasking to a point where it could become detrimental in a dogfight. And, as she strolled about the Alliance hangars she saw more and more pilots accompanied by little droids at their heels. A kind of bond that was enviable to the point of action. Also, Loske was finding that there was a likelihood of more and more there would be a need for her to be aerial for longer periods of time, and Loske was too chatty a chickie to be in silence for stretches of hours. Her squadron would likely close the mic channel she had access to, which could prove dangerous in case of a mayday or something. She supposed this was the convenience of that Jedi hocus locus, they could just sit there dwelling in their own silence and be perfectly content. Or at least, she supposed that’s what they did. Their magics were beyond her myopic comprehension.

As she swooped hundreds of feet before any landing point, she could tell the planet was pretty. The rich mixture of jewel tones, and lush resources welcomed her little X-Wing - saluting her with emeralds, azure and glistening golds from Pyria’s rays. She could see this being an excellent homestead for any family. Appreciative of her ability to move from planet to planet without too many security set backs, a small smile of contentment sprawled across the teenager’s lips while she reduced the thrusters enough to cruise above the jungle’s treeline. The thought of Borealis being a pleasant place to set up a family made her smile weaken though — reminding herself of that absenteeism in her life. The girl had no idea who her family was, where they came from, or why she didn’t know them. Or why they didn’t seem interested to know her.

Her lips twitched with the dissatisfaction of unknowing, and she retracted her foils to non-combat position. She just like to fly with them extended for show, mostly. And preparation. See! Another reason a droid would be helpful. She was so envious of [member="Micah Talith"]’s on Karfeddion — that little thing was genius; certainly something she’d coveted to the point that he’d given her a recommendation of his bloodline. Something she’d been envious of, too. Maybe she had siblings somewhere that also abandoned her? It was better not to think about it, she resolved; and instead focused on the positive aspect that she would be meeting someone who was about to make her life a lot easier and more enjoyable! With a little droid confidant, she might not have to nag [member="Greyson"] so much!

Dipping below the treeline to the designated landing spot, the blonde chemical concoction adjusted the velocity of her boosters; settling them to disengage meter by meter until the landing gear gave a slight rumble indicating she’d met the ground of the landing pad.

Safe and sound.

Still, she was walking into the unknown - and she didn’t know what the Talith’s communication was like. Would the siblings have called and spoken about her arrival — or was she about to be booby trapped? Not fully knowing, the girl strapped a standard Alliance issued blaster to her thigh, ready to reach for it ay any opporunity while she depressed the canopy and hoisted herself from the pilot’s pit.

With a set of fluid motions, the ponytailed pilot landed on the ground with an ooof of impact, straightening and stretching after many spanned hours in such a confined space. Being leggy did have its drawbacks from time to time.

“Okay.” She murmured to herself, pulling out the data pad with the coordinates that Micah had offered her. This was the location, and so far, nothing too sinister. Just a few more steps and — ah. That looked home-y just off in the distance


[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Her blonde hair was a mess and the weight of her eyelids was overpowering. Mouth agape in a yawn and her back stretched out to force her muscles awake, Kaili raised her arms in an arch going outwards. Her sleep pattern was still a disaster but at least the last few traces of the trauma from a few months prior was slowly starting to settle itself down in the halls of memory. At this point all that remained was the slight spike of fear that would send shivers down her spine for each descent through atmo that the girl had to experience, or at most the subsequent landings. Luckily there was none of that to worry about when it came to living on Borleias. The place was pretty much as much of a paradise to live in as it seemed.

A lazy hand grasped at the handle to her refrigerator. An equally lazy pull had the door pop wide open to introduce a sour smell to the already rather musty surroundings of the young mechanic. The kid might have been someone who spoke of propriety, but her home was anything but. Dust sprinkled the kitchen, the living area and her bedroom to the point where even she herself wondered why she never got around to creating that cleaner droid she always kept on nagging herself about.

She poured her Fibers into a bowl, added the blue milk, withdrew a spoon from the cupboard and proceeded to chow down. A quick look outside her window would be enough to tell that much like every other day on Borleias, today would be yet another beautifully warm one. Her hand extended itself towards a nearby fan and with a gentle wave she forced it into action.

Oh yeah. Technomancy had its benefits.

The nearby roar of an X-Wing brought a smile to her lips. Part of her knew that she had forgotten something. Something very important, but she had forgotten what. The kid perked her brow and thought long and hard on it. Micah played into it, she knew that much, but how? Or why?

The X-Wing passed above her little shed and before long she would see it touching down in the distance.

Eyes opened wide.

“Oh shoot!” Kaili blurted out, nearly choking on a small corn flake that almost got stuck in her throat. “Loske!”

The kid rushed to her room. Dresser, dresser, dresser, where was her dresser? There it was. Kaili thrust it open and picked a random piece of clothing from each drawer that she could open. A soft green undershirt, a purple sweater and a beige pair of pants. Tasteless to say the least, but she had no time to be picky. She got dressed, tucked as much hair as possible behind her ear and took another bite out of her cereal before rushing out the door to meet with her client.

“Hello, hi!” Kaili pretty much shouted as she stormed out from her shed. “You must be Loske.”

“I am Kaili Talith, Micah told me you would be coming.” The kid came to a halt in front of the young Matson and extended her hand in a greeting. “Sorry for looking like a total mess, I had a bit of a... Morning mishap.” Understatement. “It’s good to meet you.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

An anxious feeling distantly nudged Loske as she admired the perimeter of the landing pad, before re-adjusting her vision toward the shack. All of a sudden, as if it was the source of the anxiety, a silhouette burst from the door and rapidly became larger and more detailed as she neared Loske. Fighting instinct, she refrained from reaching to her holster and instead remained vulnerable — due to the other blonde girl’s fretted salutations.

Relief replaced the anxious feeling, her own emotion, as she visibly sighed with relief - touching her collarbone in satisfaction of recognition. Whew - this was going to be a whole lot less awkward than she was afraid of.

“Oh good,” she breathed, a crooked grin replacing whatever blissful expression was already stained on her visage. “I was worried I’d have to do some huge awkward exchange on ‘who are you, what do you want?’ etcetera.” Her hands moved in rapid flurries, gesturing out the exchange as if it had just happened. Her friend’s told her she talked with her hands too much. (Lie.) And it did. So she really didn’t avoid it as much as she’d hoped. Shucks! Foiled by herself again.

She reached for the extended palm, grasping it in her own with a firm downward tug and upward rise before retracting. She had a habit of holding on too long — that’s what her Republican squad mates had told her (Lie. That was a feigned memory from the science lab).

“Ah, no worries. Being stuck in a capsule in space doesn’t do wonder for presentation either.” At that, she became mildly self conscious, reaching up and patting down any flyaway that had uprooted from her ironed down ponytail.

“Nice to meet you too! I saw some of your work on Karfeddion, Micah’s,” she admitted “And holy galaxies are you ever talented! I was totally envious.”

Azure gaze moved from [member="Kaili Talith"]’s flushed cheeks and over her shoulder to the shed she’d emerged from “-Do you work in there?”

Of course, a point accompanied her question.

Miss-talks-with-her-hands.

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili shook her head. There was no need for the ‘who are you, what do you want?’ unless Loske absolutely wanted to. Which by the sound of it, she did not. Neither did Kaili if they were at the point of being completely honest with each other. As much as Kaili loved to meet new people, she already had an idea what this was about. Micah had most certainly told her about ‘the blonde girl who kept staring at her droid on Karfeddion.’ An act that Loske herself even admitted she had done. A gentle laughter and a thankful nod of her head was all Kaili could provide in return for the compliments.

“I do.” She nodded again in affirmation to Loske’s question. “I don’t need much more than a few heavy machines and a hydrospanner.” The kid chuckled at her own joke. “The cramped spaces make it particularly cozy.”

Deep inhale, slow exhale. Kaili waved at her client to follow her towards the shed. There was after all no point in dwelling right outside when there was a job to be done. At first glance around the shop there was one thing that seemed to be evident. Almost too much so, but Kaili had long since come to ‘never mind’ it. Dust. A very sparse layer of dust lingered on the machinery due to a recent drought in customers. Kaili might have been good at what she did, but customers were few and far between. Almost to the point where she could focus solely on working droid repairs, but she would never find any fulfillment in that.

“Sorry for the mess, again. You’re the first customer I’ve had in...” Kaili covered her mouth with her hand and began tapping her finger at her upper lip. “Four weeks, maybe?” She stopped. “Yeah, it’s been going slow.”

“Anyway, what did you have in mind for the droid? You don’t have to be too specific. I once made a droid for a particular fellar who only told me ‘I want it to do stuff.’ So, you know, no pressure.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

The teen didn’t understand the joke. Hydrospanners looked painful.

But! Nevertheless, she followed [member="Kaili Talith"]’s cues to follow her, and although the girl looked ahead, the cloned spawn couldn’t help but have her eyes wander about the beautiful flora that curved around the location.

Inside was a certain contrast to the outdoor.s Although there was almost the same amount of dirt. Loske couldn’t tsk at the girl though, she herself was not the neatest being on the planet. More than once her star fighter had been cluttered with a McYodas packet more than a week old. That stuff never went bad! It was hard to remember to clean up without the cue to the nostrils. Loske kept that to herself. People tended to think it was gross. Her own failures didn’t keep her from drawing her finger along a thin line — which she wasn’t sure why she did that. Dust was mostly a collection of shed skin particles and collections of other microscopic debris.

“I tried to look you up on the holonet after Micah talked you up.” Loske added absently, leaning against a table that didn’t look like she’d interrupt anything. Loose odds and ends were strung all about the shop, elements that would contribute to concoctions beyond Loske’s comprehension. Save for the cereal — that she understood. “You don’t really advertise, maybe that’d help with traffic?”

A shrug rolled from her shoulders. Loske was no marketer “-How long does it usually take for you to create something? Maybe 4 weeks ain’t so bad.”

Kali began to explain the information she needed from the pilot, and Loske unfolded her arms, taking the turn to tap her own lips in consideration. “Mmm, yes. Stuff would be nice.”

A glimmer struck her eyes “Lots of stuff, the more the merrier, y’know?” She shook her head, indicating it wasn’t true what she was saying “-But yeah, basically, the only stuff it really needs to do, is help me fly. I’m in a cockpit a lot, just talking to myself, and I feel like I’m going kind of nuts.”

 

[Kaili Talith]

“That’s because the second you market yourself as a droid maker, people wants you to help them spread suffering across the galaxy.” Kaili sounded almost angry. “I make droids, not weapons. And as such, I rely on word of mouth because it lets me work unhindered and without straying too far from my beliefs.”

It was a principle thing as well. Kaili was desperately holding on to the last few shreds of decency in a market that seemed dominated by otherwise rather shifty characters. While her company itself wasn’t the most upstanding company around she still managed to find solace that her data gathering was small-time compared to the pain; the hate, that other companies seemed to endorsed. She never had, and she never would, create a single droid with weaponry powerful enough to provide anything other than self-defense.

“Well, to me it sounds like you need something to keep yourself busy during the long trips through hyperspace and what-not.” Kaili slowly nodded her head as she leaned over her workbench. “Alex has a pretty simple programming within her that keeps track of historic and religious events and notes. It wouldn’t be a great leap from history to a more contemporary setup.”

“It needs to talk, it needs to pilot, and it needs to be somewhat aware of what is going on around it.” In a sudden, Kaili gave Loske a most serious staredown. “And once again, no weapons. I make personal droids, not battle droids.”

“I just want to make sure we are a hundred percent on the same page here.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Uh oh. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the floodgates had been opened to a soapbox of morality.

Nodding affirmatively, the blonde’s ponytail bobbed in understanding. “Got it.” Though this did peak her interest, but she remained tight-lipped and brow quirked for the rest of the shakedown from [member="Kaili Talith"].

“You’re pretty passionate about the killer-bots. Did you make one and something go wrong or something?” That wasn’t a totally tactful question, but Kaili had opened herself up to it; she was visibly upset by the simple fact Loske had suggested she market herself a little more. Which was only a helpful suggestion to refute the slowness Kaili was facing. That was dismal in the full circle spectrum too — Kaili, an honest droid-maker, was going to be put out of business because everybody wanted a murdering machine.

What a sobering thought.

She’d keep notes about how she wanted to incorporate history too. The more she knew about the world, the better. She’d spent most of her life in pilot simulations, training, or out in space. This didn’t give much opening to understanding of how the galaxy came to be.

 

[Kaili Talith]

“What? No, I just...” Kaili sighed. “I know what war causes people to do, the waste of life it brings about. I just don’t want to help with spreading that kind of suffering. If that means I leave my droids defenseless, then so be it.”

That didn’t say much. No real explanation of why Kaili exploded as she had.

“Look, I once advertised myself on a local level and yet the first man that caught onto was a local Colonel. He entered my store, walked right up to me and said,” Kaili put on a mock-male voice and leaned to her left. “I need a droid.” She reverted back to her own voice and leaned to the right before speaking again. “I ask him what he wants.” Left lean, mocking voice and a fake old-geezer pout. “I need to get an edge over my enemy, blah blah blah, I would pay you well.”

The kid reverted to an upright position. Hand running through her hair she let the unwashed hair stand tall upon her head like a crown. Or well, kind of. As much as tended to be keep a professional approach to her business there was just something about today that had her making all the wrong mistakes when it came to being anything but. Uncertainty lingered in the air, Kaili’s mouth seemed to hang agape and her eyes diverted to the side as if she was at a loss for words.

“And he wrote up a preliminary sum for the work I’d put in...” Kaili paused for dramatic effect and strove for eye contact with Loske again. “So many zeroes, yet I kept asking myself what it was all for. I figured that if anything those droids would put my name in a game that that I would never want to find myself associated with. And as such, I said no despite the sum he was offering me.”

“... He still comes around to ‘make sure I keep his offer in mind’ but he can’t seem to take a hint.” Kaili sighed, eyes rolling so hard she’d almost feel pain. Still, this was not Loske’s fault. The kid strove to look Loske in the eyes again and smiled. “It’s not so much that I don’t like killer-bots as much as I am tired of being asked to create one against my better wishes. I am a droid manufacturer, not a weapon designer or warmonger.”

Kaili let off a one-shouldered shrug. “So, I’m sorry for blowing up in your face like that. I just really don’t do weapons.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

"Wow, admire your resolve. People aren't made like that anymore..." Mouth pulled inwards, drawing sharp triangles at the folds as she remained tight-lipped through [member="Kaili Talith"]'s explanation. Loske continued to think on what she said, cottailing it with: "Which is why I guess there's such a demand for weaponry." Vileness everywhere. Kaili was honest to the bone, and didn't seem to mind exhibiting her kindredness toward the galaxy. While she spoke, Loske felt like a somewhat bad person for being responsible for pulling the trigger of the pew-pew-pew mechanisms of her Starfighter.

"Well, we're lucky on two counts here.

A.) I don't have a zillion zeroes to offer you.
B.) I don't want a war-bot."

She smiled queasily, ogling at the tangled tiara that was still managing to stay perky atop the manufacturer's cranium. "Everything you mentioned before would be incredibly helpful for my day-to-day, plus not only current events, but I wouldn't mind history information too. Recognition of land marks -- I don't really know much.

Like I said, cockpit all the time." She jabbed a thumb backward over her shoulder, indicating the ship that she'd landed not long ago was basically the cocoon of her sad little life these days.

 

[Kaili Talith]

It was a simple droid that Loske asked for. As much as Kaili had come to understand that off-worlders didn’t have the amount of credits to their name as her slightly more well-off neighbours had, she couldn’t help worrying at the mention of not having ‘a zillion’ zeroes to offer. Of course Kaili wasn’t living with the outright assumption that Loske couldn’t afford to commission a droid either, she was merely readying herself for what could be a possible reality.

She listened to Loske talk and at the end of it Kaili mimicked her customer in the sense that she raised her finger to point towards the ceiling and drew an imaginary circle by the corner of her eye.

“Like I would say, workshop all the time. I am pretty horrible at current events as well.” The raised hand dragged itself across the top of her head to flatten out the disgustingly dirty hair. “Still, I appreciate your understanding in this. Of course, I can outfit your droid with basic tools that could be used as weapons, but not to any real life threatening degree.” Kaili snickered. “In the end all I’d need to do is repurpose a copy of the AI that I used for Micah’s droid and apply some other more ‘substantial’ modifications and we should be right as rain.”

“Do you have any preference in appearance? I know BB-Units have risen in popularity recently. R2-units as well, come to think of it. I guess that can’t be helped with the occasional waves of ‘retro’ that seems to sweep the galaxy at random intervals.” Kaili smirked at the thought of the man who had carried an exact replica of Skywalker’s first saber. She would never understand that kind of obsession with the past. Not ever. “I’d say you want something sturdy and able to take a punch, yes?” Kaili looked at Loske. “Something that could withstand punishment and live to tell the tale?”

“I have a few ideas of such things, but in the end it is up to you as a customer to elaborate upon the design. I merely work the insides, if that makes any sense.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

“Well, I mean I hope we don’t have to go through too much punishment together - but that’s probably ideal with the way the galaxy seems to work.” Again, she offered a crooked grin at [member="Kaili Talith"]. Despite Kaili’s resistance to violence, it was something Loske had been immersed in her entire life. Training for combat both aerial and ground.

At this point, Loske took the cue to reach into her leather jacket’s pocket, the one on the inside where she kept her data pad. In it was just a collection of information. Her ID, and a collection of images she’d snapped with the thing on certain specifications she aimed towards. One day…one day.

“Funny you should mentioned that, I mean, call me shallow but if I have to look at the thing all the time, I’d like it to be not only capable but kind of cute - but also look like a droid. Those human-esque ones kind of give me the heebie jeebies, especially if you’re building in artificial intelligence.” A physical shudder ran through her body, ending with a shake of her ponytail for emphasis.

The data pad was produced and set on the table, the thing film of dust accepting this new object being rested into its realm. Ignorant to this, the girl’s Nabooian accent continued to manifest her specifications while a blue light emanated with the virtual projection of what it was Loske was hoping to find.

“R2 units are common pilot companions, as are BBs.” A simper glowed, highlighted by the blue that circled before them “They also meet the cute category.” However, what Loske was projecting between them was like a meld between the spherical design of the BB and the largeness of the R2. A blend of the popular units. “Both fit what I’m looking for, but you’re right, they’re very popular. I see both whirring in and out of the hangars all the time and I don’t want my little buddy to get lost in the crowd of clones.” Cue the sign for irony being walked across the stage.

“I found these lookers, archival designs that seem to be the best of both worlds!” The image properly manifested now, two droids side-by side. The blue colouration removing the the variability of the original paint jobs.

• Droid 1
• Droid 2

“To me, they both seem the same save for the sassy triangular eyes of this guy,” she pointed obviously at the design; “Not sure the technical benefit of that. Maybe you do?”

 

[Kaili Talith]

Direct copies of ancient designs weren’t unheard of, replicas much less so. Kaili pondered the possible outcomes of working the design. On one hand she could get sued, on the other hand the chances of actually getting caught with it was practically abyssmal unless Loske was regularly seen in the company of whoever owned Industrial Automation, in which case it was fair to just assume the woman would have approached that particular person for this and not an independent creator like Kaili.

Nonetheless working with options was a nice change from how it usually went down. Most of the time people shrugged, looked at Kaili and told her to do whatever. A customer who knew exactly what kind of droid they wanted was a rare oddity and Kaili would appreciate every single moment of it.

Believe it or not, it spared her weeks of work.

“It’s really just aesthetics.” Kaili chuckled. “The big triangle on that one,” Kaili pointed at Droid 1. “...-is merely a nice way to cover up the sensors you see in Three-Dot’s ‘head’ so to speak.”

“Might be some difference in defenses though...” Kaili said and pointed at the material list of the two different designs. “Low-grade durasteel and high-grade durasteel. So it seems orange has a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to taking a beating. However, I can fix that myself. All we really need here are the designs and coupling schematics.”

“Like, I said, aesthetics. Ugly versus pretty. I must say, they’re both really good.” Kaili leaned back on her workbench. “Have your pick, any you like.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

A hmm of consideration vibrated through Loske as the words of reasoning were digested. “Come to think of it, those circles do look a little bug-like. Not sure I want a companion that resembles a fly.” A confident bob of her head followed this statement, curt decisiveness swimming to action.

“Yes, the triangular fellow. But maybe in blue?” She tilted her head, as if pleading with [member="Kaili Talith"] to appeal to her kindred sense. “It’s my favourite colour.” (Truth. Preference derived from [member="Marcello Matteo"]’s preferred accessories and vehicles).

“Do I get to name it too, if you’re building it as Micah’s Alex? Or does it name itself?”

The thought derailed almost instantly and bright eyes darted about the room, leaning this way and that for emphasis “Do you have your own droid?"

 

[Kaili Talith]

Nobody liked bugs, did they? With the second design discarded the young girl started to take note of the more triangular droid design and put it down to memory. Kaili turned to look at Loske as she began talking of what her prefered color was and held back the chuckle that was desperately trying to force its way up her throat and out into the open. Of course Loske would get a blue droid if she fancied a blue droid, that was the whole point of custom-built hardware such as this. It was about getting the parts and pieces that you wanted rather than picking up the prefab units available on wider markets.

“Yes, no and also yes.” Kaili half-smirked at Loske’s questions. “Yes, I will make it blue for you, No it does not name itself -- unless you want it to -- and, yes, I have my own droid. I call him Henry.”

And as if on command, a 15-by-15 centimetre spider droid scaled along the sides of Kaili’s workbench. The kid let her hand down onto the table in order to allow the droid access to her hand, arm and (subsequently) her shoulder where the droid would latch on to the fabric of her sweater, turn to look at Loske, aaaand,

[ Hi! ] Henry chimed with a slight Imperial accent to his voice modulator. [ I’m Henry, I help young Miss Kaili around the shop. ]

“Yes, you do.” Kaili gave the droid a warm smile before turning back to her customer. “He’s the first droid I ever made, sort of.”

[ Sort of? ] Henry sounded almost insulted.

“Well, you are the first droid that I made with any semblance of intelligence.”

[ Oh, right. Certainly ] The droid nodded it’s entire chassis up and down in a sign of agreement.

“But yeah, like I said, we’re going for what you want. And so far that’s:

Blue paint, did you mean full on blue, or mainly blue details, orrr... ?”

“Oh and, if you have a name now is a good time to share it, unless you’d prefer to name it once it’s actually in your hands.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Loske crooked her head slightly. “It’d be kind of neat to have it name itself, I think. That’s an opportunity a lot of us don’t get.” It would also liberate her from any potential blame if this thing had sass to it — which, she hoped, it did.

Loske’s cerulean orbs widened slightly. She’d just insulted bugs, and this click-clack-clattering thing was quite bug-like in itself, wasn’t it.

“I..” she lifted her hand in a palm-out salute, before wiggling her digits in salutations to the small droid. “Hi, Henry.” He was quite cute, actually. “You’re kind a wonderful little guy, aren’t you?” She was enthralled, nigh, almost entranced by the sentiency of the otherwise gadget. A companion indeed; and soon her lust for one similar would be fulfilled. Though it wouldn’t be quite as nimble as the arachnid-like robot before her.

“As much blue as possible, different shades if we can. That would be incredible, really. Spice it up.”

A pause “-What inspired Henry?” Maybe she was going about this droid thing all wrong, after all [member="Kaili Talith"] seemed to have it right with her compadre.

 

[Kaili Talith]

The wonderfuliest everest! Henry arched his chassis in pride at Loske’s compliment. Kaili did much the same, only with her head and with a grin to go. Henry was her greatest invention-slash-creation. To be praised for it was very welcome.

“So, a lot of blue? I can do that.” Kaili let out a gentle laugh. “I’m sure if you talked to Micah he would tell you about the whole animal husbandry we have going in our family...”

“Yyyyeah,” The kid sucked in some air and pointed both of her thumbs at herself. “Not me.”

“Aela had a pet, Maleah had several. Micah found Vexen eventually. It was just me and myself, and being the youngest I am sure you can imagine that particular kind of envy.” It was the truth. Kaili had been very envious of her siblings at first. “So I approached my father and together with him we ordered for some droid parts, knowing that while I didn’t have the aptitude for animals, I had one heck of an aptitude for droids.”

“So we built one of our own.” Kaili shrugged it off as if it was no biggie. Because, in the end, it really wasn’t. Not for her. “You should have seen when he couldn’t even speak basic and had yet to learn binary.”

[ I do. ] Henry interjected.

“O-oh, you do?” Kaili blinked.

[ I am a droid, Kaili. I remember. ]

“Uh, right.” Kaili cleared her throat most nervously. “In any case. I’d say that we’re good to go. We got a design, we got an idea of how it’s going to look and we also know what it should do. If you have any last minute requests, now would be the opportunity to make it heard.”

Another hand slid through Kaili’s hair in an attempt to flatten it out. She brushed the actual dust off of her shoulders and proceeded to do the same for her pants. If she strove for professionalism, this wasn’t exactly it.

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Loske, woefully, could not imagine that type of envy. Though if it was anything akin to the green feeling she was feeling while [member="Kaili Talith"] referenced her breadth of lineage, then maybe she could. In the meantime, she smiled daftly while Kaili told her story, admiring the references to family without any hinderance. She liked it. She found so often that people had iffy family relationships, as if the galaxy wasn’t dark enough. Why not have a single place to refer to? A sanctuary? Everyone needed one.

“That’s nice.” Loske managed to offer, meaning it with all sincerity. There was a trouble to saying ‘That’s Nice’ — it was one of those permanently sarcastic sounding phrases. Even if that’s now how it was in context.

Anywho. Special requests?

“I..well let’s see. We have,” at this her index finger poked up while the rest curled into her palm. This would be her record keeper of features “Flying capabilities, knowledge of technical systems, news download, history projections, artificial intelligence,” she paused “—and yeah. I don’t mind what gender it’s intelligence is.

Although I’m inclined to think if it were female, she’d be somewhat maternal. And i don’t want that. Perhaps a sassy guy.”

 

[Kaili Talith]

It was nice to have family, but it was even nicer to know what it was that Loske had in mind. A mental note was made for Kaili to repurpose parts of the Alexandria AI to save time. Though that was hardly something her client needed to know. Saying ‘I repurposed something slightly older’ was a good way to have people feel less special as customers. Because in the end, the only real difference between Alexandria and the new fledgling Male AI they had in mind for Loske’s droid was the fact that it was male and the fact that it needed an internet connection. Other than that, identical.

“Sass,” Kaili chuckled. “I can do that.”

[ Damn right. ] Henry chimed in and Kaili rolled her eyes in a very ‘See, I told you.’ kind of way.

“Sassy and well-aware of the going ons around the galaxy. I can do that.” Kaili withdrew her datapad and began browsing for the blueprints Loske had provided. “So, while I know it’s not the funniest part of purchasing goods...”

The kid paused, looked at Loske and shrugged.

“We still need to discuss the price.” Her hand slumped by her side. “I’ve run my calculations and with the work necessary we’re landing at around... Five-thousand credits or so.”

“I really wish I could lower that price, but with the way the shop is going and the general state of affairs, that’s almost as low as I can go.”

[member="Loske Matson"]

 

[Loske Treicolt]

Loske flinched only slightly. She was going on a new salary, and had been looking to relocate to a living space more in the city, rather than a bunker in the Galactic Alliance pilot quarters.

That said, a droid was going to make her life a whole lot easier than a new apartment. It’s not like she was ever in it, anyway.

“Do you take galactic-transfer?” The ponytailed-pilot asked, trying not to gawk too much at the price. She did assume though, that artificial intelligence would add to that sum significantly.

“I don’t really walk around with that kind of poundage on my person.”

[member="Kaili Talith"]

 

[Kaili Talith]

Kaili too flinched.

“Oh! Oh, of course!” She didn’t exactly expect people to walk around with the kinds of money she was talking about when it came to the creation of the droids. “We can make it a payment plan even, I just, you know... At the end of the year I’d like to have the five-kay for services rendered, you know?”

Kaili placed her datapad on the counter. All things considered, Loske was getting a better price than Kaili usually provided. Call it a hunch or a small part of her taking to the woman that stood in front of her. She was a friend of Micah after all, he didn’t just befriend just about anyone.

... Or so the youngest Talith hoped.

“So if you want to run... Let’s say Four-hundred-and-twenty credits per month for twelve months, that’d be good enough for me.” Kaili shrugged. “Unless you want to pay the entire sum upfront, in which case I wouldn’t say no either.” Business-like chuckle was a must here, and Kaili obliged. “In the end all I really care for is your satisfaction and potential as a return customer.”

She didn’t lack in honesty at least.

[member="Loske Matson"]