Pheristroch Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Ambrose Veshok Cloned trooper, high marks, but displaying signs of mental instability. Latest incident involved a confirmed fatality, not including his own. Directive: Immediate implementation into Dark Trooper Phase III project. Query (QR-23 in his official capacity) considered the order. Ambrose Veshok displayed all the signs of a "lost cause". Flash training was risky at the best of times, and coupling it with trauma only compounded the existing instability. Adding adjustment to a complete cybernetic implantation... Ambrose would be lucky to retain anything resembling sanity. Of course, Query could do things the easy way. Drug him, condition him, and reduce Ambrose down to little more than a piece of programmed meat with little loss in skill. But a chance to deal with such an unconventional individual in an even more unconventional situation...it could be interesting. No, no easy way this time. Rehabilitation would occur after implantation, and they could always patch his behavior with conditioning later. As Query accompanied the brain floating in a vat of nutrients to one of the operating suites, he typed out commands on his datapad. As he sent out message after message, his summoned colleagues silently fell in beside him. Droids only. Brain surgery of this complexity was best left to steel hands. He wouldn't need his datapad for such trivialities, but his vocabulator had been removed for this project. He couldn't say for sure if that was unusual, since he could recall nothing of his previous projects. However he had a...feeling that this was a new experience for him. A feeling? Interesting. File memory of anomaly in personal notes for later study ___ Days passed, Query and his team working tirelessly to keep Ambrose's brain alive and intact. A few times, Query worried (another feeling?) about the potential mental damage they were doing to the trooper's brain. Studies performed on B'omarr monks and their implementation process indicated a risk of intense trauma when transferring a mind into a completely new, mechanical body. Irrelevant he decided. It could not be avoided, and it could always be fixed later with proper conditioning and drugs. ___ Two days later, almost exactly, Query recorded the exact time and date marking the completion of the procedure. A complete success from a purely biological and mechanical standpoint. The only remaining factor was psychological. At imperial request, Query had included a code that deactivated the impressive exosuit. Unbeknownst to his superiors, he had also included a line of code preventing the exosuit's weapons from firing if trained on any 2-1B droid such as himself. These first few moments would be far more instructive if Subject Ambrose awoke fully armed, but there was no sense endangering himself in the process. Activate the subject. he typed into his datapad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 As Subject Ambrose's screams filled the room, Query considered the issue. Record personal notation: Results inconclusive. Unsure if screaming due to trauma or simply uncontrolled feedback to vocabula- The trooper's blasts ripped apart the two guards on the catwalk. Strong evidence for trauma. Soon only Query and his fellow droid colleagues remained in the room. Alarms blared, but Query held his gaze on Subject Ambrose. He needed to defuse the situation and calm Ambrose down before he damaged himself or more of the facility and staff. He had not yet inflicted enough collateral damage to warrant a violent solution (the cost of the troopers were nothing compared to the costs associated with the armor, procedure, and the learned skills of the subject) and these first few moments were crucial to his acceptance of the implantation operation. Shutting him down prematurely might add days or weeks to Query's work. Query started to speak. ... An oversight. His vocabulator had been removed. Moving slowly, as if ignoring the rampaging exosuit, Query pulled up a voice application on his datapad, accessed Ambrose's comm system, and typed out a quick phrase. Stilted and artificial, Query's words fed directly into Ambrose's armor. CAN...YOU...HEAR...ME? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Interesting. Query watched Subject Ambrose as he targeted Agent Aleksandra, and started a visual record for his personal files. While Ambrose's body was mechanical, body language often transferred in partial cybernetic replacements. It seemed likely that would be the case here. Even as his weapons refused to fire (thanks to the override command), Subject Ambrose's body language displayed nothing but rage, suddenly prioritized against a singular entity as Agent Aleksandra made threats. Not the method Query would have chosen, but it did achieve the desired focus. Ambrose's clarity would return, provided he could be kept on task while his subconcious parsed his new situation. Subprocess commencing. What? That made no sense, it did not spring from any line of thought running through his processors. It simply...was. Identify subprocess Deleting Primary Directive: Serve the Imperial Remnant Identify source of subprocess ...Data not found Did he have a virus? Had he been sliced? Query immediately disregarded both notions as impossible. Per current project protocol he linked up to no outside sources and was routinely scanned for tampering. Query understood. He had made a decision. He had bypassed his own primary directive. But...now what? A thousand possibilities flashed through his mind, processors loaded to capacity running scenarios and analysis. Finally he landed on one. Geonosis Query turned to Aleksandra, then Ambrose. Acquire combat assets Query turned, curled his pincers into a rough sphere, and punched Aleksandra, directing the blow to the precise place on her temple guaranteed to cause unconsciousness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Query knelt next to the now unconscious ISB agent Aleksandra. He ran his pincers along her temple, spiraling out to the rest of her skull. Subject Aleksandra diagnosis: Unconscious, no fractures, pulse and temperature within acceptable limits. No sign of internal hemorrhaging . Full recovery expected. Query then turned his attention back to Subject Ambrose. From a combat consideration, the man was a decidedly positive asset. However, his volatile state was worrisome, introducing a level of uncertainty Query couldn't make himself comfortable with. While both no doubt wished to escape, Subject Ambrose likely did not need Query to do that, or at least he didn't see Query as an asset. Query needed to ensure the subject's loyalty. A moment's more typing on his datapad, and he broadcast his stilted words to Subject Ambrose's comm system again. "I...CAN...FREE...YOU. GET...ME...TO...GEONOSIS...AND...I...WILL...DISABLE...YOUR...OVERRIDE...COMMAND. Query considered Subject Ambrose for a second, constructing a preliminary psychological profile based on the soldier-turned-cyborg's recent actions. Then Query considered ISB Agent Aleksandra's threats. I...WILL...ALSO...ORDER...THE...IMMEDIATE...DISPOSAL...OF...THE...GIRL'S...BODY...IF...YOU...WISH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Oh my Query clutched his datapad as Subject Ambrose picked him up, carried him up the wall, and stormed out of the surgical suite. His servos strained as Subject Ambrose dropped him roughly to the ground. 2-1Bs were not designed to handle physical abuse he thought, irritated. On the positive side, Subject Ambrose's tactical mind clearly remained intact. Taking an unexpected route showed foresight and logical thinking, and boded well for his overall mental recovery. Either that or Subject Ambrose was completely insane and operating on base instincts. Even more positive, Query felt irritation. Other 2-1B's often developed security complexes and intricate emotional responses, but Query had always been neutered in that area thanks to uncounted partial mind wipes. Then again, those partial data wipes are likely what led to his unusual ability to bypass his own prime directive. Had Query developed a subconcious from the broken fragments of data and collected recordings of his past musings and experiments? File question for later. Return attention to Subject Ambrose. Query stood, taking into account the misaligned servo in his left shoulder caused by the rough treatment. Nothing crucial or limiting, but maintenance would be required later to prevent the damage from getting worse. Looking up, he saw Subject Ambrose staring back, unmoving. Subject is calm. Given military psychological profile and current confusion, is likely awaiting direction. Note: Not capable of vocalization. Likely a mental block caused by trauma That did not matter. They did not require vocalization for communication. Query opened up a map of the facility on his datapad (so much easier than staffing the place with mouse droids), and simultaneously accessed Subject Ambrose's HUD. A few moments and some improvised coding, and Query was able to display the correct route to leave the facility on the upper left corner of Subject Ambrose's visual display. After a moment's thought, he added PLEASE...BE...GENTLE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Query reevaluated his conclusions about Subject Ambrose as he was tossed to the ground yet again. Ambrose had deviated from the path and dropped him here... Is Ambrose confused? No, this is one of the recovery suites. Ambrose's companion was shot when he recovered, likely here. He wants me to save her. Tapping on his datapad, he pulled up the girl's file. Emmaline. That's not good. This presented a serious problem. Ambrose was taking refuge in the delusion that his companion could be saved, despite likely knowing subconsciously that she was dead. If Ambrose was forcefully broken out of his delusion, he might react violently. If he was allowed to continue in his delusion, he would only act more irrational and the reaction would be even more severe when the delusion broke later. Only one choice made sense, risky though it may be. Without Ambrose mentally or emotionally stable, Query would not make it out of this facility. First the pain SUBJECT...EMMALINE...SUFFERED...CATASROPHIC...DAMAGE...TO...HER...HEART. CANNOT...BE...SAVED. Now shift his focus HER...BODY...CAN...STILL...BE...SAVED WE...CAN...DESTROY...IT PREVENT...REMNANT...OFFICIALS...FROM...EXPERIMENTING...ON...HER Encourage proper emotional response SHE...DOESN'T...HAVE...TO...BE...LIKE...YOU LIKE...US SHE...CAN...BE...FREE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 He doesn't realize he can't shoot me ...Perhaps it was better if Subject Ambrose didn't realize that yet. Giving him a feeling of control, even artificial, would do wonders for his mental stability. An old battlefield adage Query had recorded from a trooper he'd treated once came to mind: "Die later when there's time" Query pulled out his datapad, moving slowly as if he was scared of Ambrose. Accessing secure functions...done They hadn't revoked Query's authority yet. Good, that'd simplify things. Categorizing the corpse of Subject Emmaline as a Class 5 Biohazard, necessitating immediate disposal Imperial labs, particularly those with high security clearances like this one, retained strict safety protocols and imposed harsh penalties on infractions. As such, anything that could potentially become a hazard required storage that could dispose of the material remotely to prevent potential spills, outbreaks, or detonations. In this case, he'd just remotely incinerated Emmaline's body in her storage tube. Behind him, the room flared bright orange as the capsule sitting central in the room filled with flames. WE...MUST...LEAVE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pheristroch Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 The sun. Query held off adjusting his sensors to compensate as he looked up at it, realizing that this was the first time he could recall simply looking at any planet's sun this close. No doubt he'd seen the suns of other worlds on his previous assignments, but those memories had presumably been wiped from his mind at the end of each project. Not important enough to retain in his personal notes, those images and thoughts would have been deemed "garbage data" Now he reevaluated that assessment. In the back of his mind he recorded data on the sphere, from its projected size to its luminosity. The numbers were concrete and real, yet did nothing to lessen the magnitude of the orb. Such scale, greater than any creation of organic or droid. He realized he no longer simply understood the sun. He appreciated it. Return to primary task Query dimmed the sun in his photoreceptors and looked around. There, a shuttle, likely ISB agent Aleksandra's. Two troopers guarded it. FOLLOW Query approached the shuttle, keeping his stride measured and calm as the troopers raised their weapons. Adjusting the datapad to broadcast to the stormtrooper comm system, selecting the two in front of him, he tapped out another message: EMERGENCY...CLASS...5...BIOHAZARD...IN...FACILITY... PER...ALEKSANDRA'S...ORDERS...THIS...PROTOTYPE...IS...TO...BE...STORED...ON...SHUTTLE...UNTIL...EMERGENCY...HAS...PASSED IMPERIAL...AUTHORIZATION...CODE...1174578 His personal code allowed him certain privileges in a medical emergency, which this technically constituted thanks to his false alarm earlier. The troopers looked at each other, likely confirming with command over their comms the presence of the "biohazard". This is where it got tricky. They'd verify the hazard alert was genuine, but if command informed them Subject Ambrose was loose and hostile, it could get messy. On the other hand, command would be trying to keep this quiet and prevent security leaks... One trooper looked back at Query, pausing before speaking. "Confirmed. Move him inside." Leave it to a secret imperial lab to keep its soldiers in the dark. Once inside, Query quickly accessed the autopilot MILITARY AUTHORIZATION CODE REQUIRED... Query turned to Ambrose. IT...NEEDS...YOUR...CODE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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