Private The payed guardians

[Karen Casti]

Karen walked down the underworld of Coruscant with a warm smile on her face. Passing several market stalls that were selling a wide variety of goods- she decided to stop. She didn't know how many people could be following her.

"Mornin'!" She said as she stopped at a stall that seemed to be selling fried Endorian Chicken, "How are you today?"

The stall owner looked up- it was a young man in his early twenties, about the same age as her. He smiled at her, "I'm doing well thank you."

Karen smiled back, "Good- it's so easy to be glum down here. Especially with the new bill, the Senate came out with."

The man's smile fell slightly, "Yeah, It's making it much harder to sell in this low light..." Then he perked up, "But I will continue working. I enjoy getting to meet new people!" He blushed slightly.

Ugh.

Karen laughed as if she hadn't seen it, "You must meet some odd people!"

"Oh so odd! But on occasion- I meet an amazing person. " He blushed harder.

Karen made herself blush.

I've been here long enough. I need to get going- to meet my business partner.

"As much as I would love to stay and talk- I've got to get back."

The stall owner looked disappointed, "Will I see you again?"

Karen nodded, "I'll make sure of it." Then she spun on her heel and left. That should have thrown anyone off of her tail. Her accomplice that she was supposed to meet apparently stood out in a crowd, so they were meeting in a local and deserted warehouse.

Karen looked down at the paper in her hand. Yes- this was the place.

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

The planet of Coruscant... A large, completely urban place, with so much to see and get distracted by, and the hub of the galaxy, so much weird and strange stuff happens here, it becomes nearly an everyday occurrence for you to see something new and strange on Coruscant...

Which is why it is the perfect place for a droid like Echo to be.

Being so large and strange looking, on planets with not so much urban areas and more wilderness, Echo stood out more. But here, the central hub for the galaxy, he could blend in much better. Then again, he still attracted plenty of attention, because of his massive size. Still, he blended in better here than he did out in a wide-open field.

Echo stood by the warehouse he was supposed to be meeting his contact at, standing absolutely still, who was approximately 30.3948393843... seconds late. She must be held up somewhere. Then, a small figure was walking towards the warehouse. Echo ran facial recognition and saw that this was the person that he was meeting with. Echo emerged from the shadows, his loud footsteps thudding on the ground.

Echo approached the woman. "Are... You... My... Associate?" Echo asked her, crouching down to her. His voice came out in different voices, of multiple random people of different genders talking, creating a weird effect. This was the Echo talked, he himself didn't have a voice, but he did have the ability to listen to people speaking, and record and memorize their voices and the words they were saying, which he could then put back out and use as his own words.

 

[Karen Casti]

As I walked towards the warehouse I kept an eye out for my contact. I didn't know exactly what he would look like- just rather... eccentric.

There was a movement from the shadows. Karen just smiled and palmed a mini blaster- just in case. A towering figure stepped out from the shadows and Karen stopped- the figure stepped towards her, feet echoing on the hard floor.

It spoke- asking her if she was his associate. Or was it a she? He? She? Karen couldn't tell it's gender. Its voice was a garble of other people's voices.

Karen smiled amiably. It was this type of meetings that made her job worthwhile. So many interesting people.

"Yes- I am. What, may I ask, is your name?"

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

The woman said that she was his associate, then asked what his name was. "

Yes- I am.

" He said in her voice. "QEMD-15 Echo." He told her, using random other people's voices, of various age, gender, and species, for his name. He often used the voice of the people he was talking too, it was often the quickest and easiest way to speak. But they were always bewildered by it.

"

What, may I ask, is your name?

" He asked in her voice yet again.

 

[Karen Casti]

Karen watched, interested by this droid. A queer thing for sure.

"My name is Karen. If you don't mind me asking- what exactly are you?"

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

Echo tilted his head at her. "Hello, Karen" He said, using her voice to say her name. Then, she asked what he was. Echo thought it was an obvious answer, but then again, many people asked him that. True, he was odd for a droid, having to use other people's voices to speak, but he still thought it should be obvious. Anyway, it was still a common answer he was asked.

"I am a Quarantine Enforcer/Hunter Killer Specialist Droid, Karen." He told her. "I am also a mercenary, bounty hunter, and assassin droid." He continued.

 

[Karen Casti]

Karen smiles- she thought as much. But in a galaxy of mysteries, one could never be too sure. After all, she herself wasn’t as she appears.

Karen turned away from Echo for a moment, to look out the warehouse doors. The bustle of the crowds was close enough to be heard from here- but not close enough to be of any bother to them.

That was good- she turned her attention back to Echo.

“I believe you know what we’re defending.”

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

Echo tilted his large head as she asked if he knew what they were defending. He nodded his head. "Yes," He said in her voice. Then, there was an odd tuning noise coming from Echo, and then he said, "Police say that it they are still unsure where all of the illegal weapons are coming from, but they are trying their hardest to find out who is the supplier." He said, in the perfect voice of a news reporter. Nearby, there was a large screen showing the news, and the reporter on screen said the exact same words Echo was speaking at the exact same time. He had tuned into the broadcast, another ability of his.

"Does that answer your question?" He asked her.

 

[Karen Casti]

“It does.”

Despite herself, Karen’s smile widened. There were LOTS of illegal weapons that had been circulating. And it wasn’t too hard for Karen to get her hands on a few. She bore some of them tonight.

“I’m looking forward to this.”

Karen brought out a data pad from her bag that hung loosely at her side. Bringing it out- a few swipes lead her to the page.

“I have a friend who hacked into the police’s network, so I have all of their chatter.”

She swiped again to bring it up.

“They believe they know of the supplier.”

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

Echo nodded and stood back up. Karen pulled out a data pad, and spoke to him having hacked into the police network, and that they knew of the supplier. That was... problematic. If they found the warehouse, they would definitely have enough evidence against the supplier to get a warrant. That was not good at all.

"I have... hacked into the... supplier network." He told her, piecing together different sentences and words Karen had said, forming his own sentences. "They know of the... police." He continued, still in her voice.

"They will send representatives to us to transport the illegal weapons." He told her. "We will go with them."

 

[Karen Casti]

Karen smiled at Echo. This was good news.

“I’m glad- this makes the job much easier.”

She slung her data pad back into her bag.

“Do you know of the next step?”

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

Karen continued to speak, and put her datapad back into her bag. "After we meet the representatives then we will help escort it off planet." He told her. After that, Echo had no idea what would happen next. He only knew up to that point, their employers hadn't told him everything, just enough to know what would happen in the immediate future.

"For now, we must wait." He told her.

 

[Karen Casti]

Karen nodded as Echo explained in his mitch-matched vocals.

"Very well," She said leaning casually against the wall. There was silence as they waited.

 

[QEMD-15 Echo]

Karen Casti

Echo nodded, and waited along with her, in silence. While they waited, he tracked the movements of the police and of their employer, watching both to see what the next move would be.

Then Echo looked up. He could see multiple large speeders descending down towards them, along with a cargo vessel. This was it, this was their employer.

"There, above us. Our boss has arrived." He pointed out as the speeders and the ship moved for the landing platform nearby.

 

[Karen Casti]

Karen looked up to where Echo pointed. She hadn’t met their boss...

“well,” She said,”This will be interesting.”