Mon Calamari/Dac

[Xar]

Xar sighed as he walked away from the two humans and the ship. “Yes, yes, we will make sure this...Hamilton gives us our...bacta”  Xar almost said blue bacta and revealed to anyone listening that he was here for illicit drugs. “Just make sure to have the ship running for us. We would like to charge our batteries when we get back.” 

 

And with that, Xar was out of speaking distance. However, he still briefly communicated with the ship, establishing his communications system was connected to the ship’s. Now, if there was an emergency or a problem, at the very least he could call for help. True, it would be Co’bo answering, and Xar wasn’t sure if the pirate would be helpful or not (Xar was half tempted to tell Co’bo to not snort any of the ship’s fumes), but it would be something. 

 

Xar glanced around as he passed by through the streets. There were small, spaced out crowds of people, some trying to get around the city to do essential jobs, others trying to sell cleaning products at excessively inflated prices, and some were arguing with security officers about trying to get permission to leave their houses. Apparently there was some kind of virus going about.  Perhaps that was why Krexel sent Xar instead of going himself to collect the shipment. Xar chuckled to himself. Perhaps there were advantages to being a droid. No virus would affect him and thus no one would bother...

 

Just as Krexel turned a corner onto a nearly empty street, a large elderly mon calamari suddenly bumped into the droid. The calamari looked horrible to say the least. Its yellow goggled eyes had developed a painful red color from lack of sleep, its rubbery, sagging face had blue spots, especially around the mouth. Xar didn’t need that physical evidence to tell the calamari was having difficulty breathing though. The calamari was breathing and gasping deeply, and clutching its chest in pain.

 

“Please...help me...need medical...” the alien begged, grabbing onto the droid chassis and coughing some translucent liquid onto the metal body. 

 

Xar flew into a rage. All the anger built up from the last few days, from hiding for months and avoiding rodians, to being stuck on a desert planet, to being sent to do a low level grunt job by some humans, to this thing touching him so unceremoniously and non consensually, erupted out of him.  

 

“You dare?!?” Claws flew out. Pale black ichor flowed out from the chest wound as the being fell onto its back. “You dare touch us? We are your superior! You are unworthy!” 

 

Xar stood over the body for a moment, watching the life disappear from the calamari. Then Xar cursed himself. This was not the time to get a dismantle on sight warrant. The droid glanced around, relieved that no one was around to witness the incident. Still, Xar needed to get away. Barely pausing to grab the being’s cred stick, Xar dashed away from the scene. 

 

Eventually, Xar found his way into the lower levels. The place was even more empty, and the lighting was a bit more dim with the lack of sunlight hitting the areas. Before Xar were several buildings all connected together, with the center one holding a neon light. It looked more like a nightclub then a cantina overall. The bright red words RAGING REVEN flickered to the nearly empty streets. Nearly empty. 

 

In front of the building, several security droids and two calamari officers were standing outside. While Xar was unsure what they were doing, he was sure that it wasn’t good for him or his contact. If this was an arrest or a shutdown, that would spell doom for his mission, and Xar…

 

Xar paused. It was Agent Xar now. If this place was shut down, Agent Xar’s mission would be considered a failure. And that wasn’t allowed. 

 

Xar's mind raced. There were only a few light sources nearby, and the natural sunlight couldn’t reach this far down. The security droids looked like older models of the GU series from coruscant, and the officers certainly couldn’t see that well in the dark. And with all the lights connected…

 

The newly appointed Black Sun agent got to work. As he approached the group of droids who were facing the cantina, he was careful not to draw attention to himself. Each step was calculated, avoiding  the droids eyesight as well as any potential noisemakers.  If he could get the blaster… Xar was now just a step away. One more, then he could claw the security droid, and take its blaster. 

 

Creak

 

Xar’s chassis squeaked loudly, residue from the liquid the calamari had coughed on him. He cursed himself as the droid turned around, its blaster rifle whipping about. Not wasting a moment Xar reached and grabbed the blaster. The two wrestled for control of the weapon as the noise began to attract the attenion of the others. However, acquiring the blaster was not Xar's goal. Xar’s claws touched the trigger and made the droid open fire randomly. With a few pulls, Xar aimed the gun towards the power lines, specifically the one with the breaker on it. These droids and security would be blind, and he would have the advantage. 

 

As a superior droid should Xar thought to himself, pulling the trigger again and again while wrestling the droid. 

[Xar]

Xar had barely a moment to react to the droids opening fire on him. Thankfully, the first few shots landed around him, a result of spinning around too quickly. Using this precious time, Xar spun the droid he wrestled with between him and the other droids. 

 

Xar had to pause a fraction of a second to hear the blaster bolts sizzle off of the sparking, now dead, droid. The GU security paused a moment, thinking they may have gotten their target as well. Xar, his processor’s working overtime, took advantage and with all the might his motors could muster, threw the scrapheap towards his attackers and ran back down the street to jump behind a civilian cargo speeder. 

 

Thick beams of light bathed the area and blaster fire peppered the vehicle and around Xar. The droids spotted him attempting to hide, and now the Calamari officers had their lights on as well. Had Xar been some other droid, he would’ve panicked. However, even now, Xar was confident in his own skills.

 

When the blaster fire stopped, and one of the organics ordered his droids to close in, Xar almost laughed. 

 

“Impudent fools. Don’t they realize we are superior?” 

 

Xar crawled on the hood of the vehicle and with s metal appendage, punched his way through the glass. This truck was a much similar style to the vehicles back on Rodia. Body still on the hood and hanging into the cockpit, Xar activated his claws, cut through the dashboard and pulled it apart to reveal all the wires inside. If he could have, Xar would have smiled. 

 

The police droids didn’t react, being the programmed beings they were, but the organics did gasp in surprise when they realized that a 14 ton vehicle was charging backwards towards them. The vehicle smashed over two of the other droids in its blind charge, while the third and final droid as well as the two security officers barely leapt out of the way. 

 

Even as the vehicle crashed into the building with a loud crunch and boom of metal and stone, Xar was prepared. Hated it as much as he did, his chassis was built for hunting and killing. This was what he was built for. As soon as the vehicle stopped, Xar jumped off and landed on one of the officers. A well aimed foot stomp snapped the calamari’s neck, providing a quick death.

 

The other officer was fumbling around for his flashlight, panic beginning to grip his senses. Even in the dark, Xar could see him perfectly, his heat sensor giving him sight that these beings lacked. He charged the being, claws humming with ultrasonic vibrations. The last things the officer saw as he grabbed his light were metal claws stabbing at the eyes.

 

Xar sighed as he stood up. This was a good kill. But before he could congratulate himself, a whack of metal knocked him down. The last droid, the one Xar had missed with the speeder, had pulled out a baton, in an attempt to subdue Xar. 

“Stay down! You are under arrest for…”

 

Xar didn’t give it the chance to finish. He instead attempted to stand up and take a swing at this last nuisance. However, it was ready. It evaded the attack and whacked Xar again. Xar paused and stumbled back a step. His sensors indicated there had been damage, albeit, only a cosmetic one, to his chassis. A large dent, which would require some buffering and tempering. Damage that would take time and money to repair. Xar glared at his opponent, who was preparing for another counter strike. 

 

“You…” 

 

Xar started as he moved in, claws humming again.

 

“Damaged…” 

 

The GU droid swung its baton at Xar’s head, who ducked the blow in time.

 

“Our...” 

 

Xar brought his arms up and began to slash at the droid’s face and body. Sparks flew as metal pierce metal, cutting wires, gears and even the power cell. 

 

“Chassis!!!” 

 

Xar yelled as he continued to hack and slash at  the droid again and again, well beyond its death.  It fell over dead, its receptors now lifeless. Still, Xar continued to slash at it, now on top it, ripping its face plate off and tearing out every piece of it could find. Eye receptors, data processors, memory storage, coolant valves, power wires, it all was getting torn out and sliced. 

 

Only when the head was completely unrecognizable did Xar stop and look over the carnage. It was a mess to say the least. The destroyed droids sparked and fizzled, the two corpses oozed their lifeless ichor out, and the land speeder had made a rather large hole in the cantina. 

 

Xar mentally shrugged it off and calmly and collectively entered the cantina through the hole. It was evident it had recently gone through a rather vicious search and seizure of some kind. What was once obviously a night life spot was now messy, with broken glass torn cushions and broken doors. Xar noted their was even some blaster fire in here recently. He sighed to himself. It was obvious that Hamilton wasn’t here. Either he was already arrested or was hiding somewhere. Either way, he would need access to a large database to find options where he may be. 

 

Xar left the cantina and headed down the street.  “Co’bo, Krexel, can either of you hear us?” Xar asked both out loud and through his communications transceiver.  He gently stepped over a body of a bloody calamari, careful not to get any blood on him. “It seems this will take longer then expected. Still, keep the ship warm for us.” 

 

And with that, Xar headed down the street, trying to figure out where to go next. Perhaps Hamilton was sick. Maybe he was in one of the hospitals. Yes...that would be a place to search, with all the patients and hopefully a database connected to governmental records.

[Xar]

Xar walked through the empty streets quietly, trying his best not to attract too much attention, but also trying to be quick. He felt like he was back on Rodia in a weird sense. Hiding from other beings, trying to get from one place to another for his own gains, trying to find something that would help him accomplish his own goals, ready to attack whoever got in his way. 

 

Xar hated this feeling. He should be able to walk down any street without worry. 

 

However, the feeling quickly disappeared when he saw the smoke. Black clouds climbed and consumed the air a short distance ahead. This development made Xar hurry more, almost breaking into a run. This was not because he thought it may be something related to him, or because there were some security beings following him (Xar was unaware they were even there), but because it interested him. 

 

Xar turned a corner and found the chaos. A medicinal clinic had erupted into flames, and like rats, people inside were trying to dash, bash, and claw their way out. The most desperate and violent ones were getting out first, not caring if they left others to die behind them. Xar watched the crowd closely, hoping to see his contact emerging from the building. However, most of the people emerging were Quarren, Mon Calamari, and a few other aquatic beings. Xar wasn’t even sure if he saw a single human in the crowd. 

 

Xar was getting annoyed again. If his contact wasn’t here, the nearest medicinal clinic to the cantina, then Hamilton was most likely in hiding. This search was going to take a lot longer. 

 

“Excuse me, master droid” a voice started. Xar turned and looked to the Mon Cal that had approached him. The fact that she actually addressed him politely made him listen to her and not outright ignore her. 

 

“Can you help me? Something here is trying to destroy us, everyone. I do not know who to trust. You are not from here. Will you help me? We need to get out of here. Come on. Let’s find some shelter and together we can work to solve this.”

 

“Solve your own problems. We are busy”  Xar dismissed physically and mentally what he thought was a doctor with a wave of his claw and began to turn away. This situation did not help him at all. He needed to find a security checkpoint or something where he could get access about the city and its citizens. At this point, he was searching for a needle in a haystack, but he would not fail.

 

However, Xar stopped. Through the crowd, two security droids were coming directly towards him. The crowd of fleeing people and helping bystanders were slowing them down, but it was obvious that they would stop at nothing to capture their target. 

 

“I think they want to talk to you.”

 

Xar grumbled slightly at the Mon Cal’s words. It seemed he needed to go into hiding for a bit. 

 

“Don’t touch us.” Xar slapped away the fish’s hands. At this point Xar thought that companion droids got touched less. 

 

The two dashed away from the scene. Xar kept glancing behind him, paranoid that he was still being followed. However, no calls for halt and no blaster fire reassured him that was not the case. Still, Xar followed the Mon Cal, since she seemed to have his best interests in mind.

 

Finally, someone who did the right thing. 

 

  Ducking into the warehouse, Xar was surprised to see the crowd that had gathered here. A bunch of them were from the medicinal clinic, but not all. Perhaps…

Xar was distracted momentarily by his helper’s belief that she was being followed. He sighed. 

 

“So what? They aren’t an issue at the moment. And i doubt you are that important.” Xar still hadn’t noticed the weapon that hung from the healer’s belt.

“If they become a problem, we’ll cut their throats. Now tell us...do you know of a human named Hamilton Alexandria? He was supposed to be at the Raging Revan Cantina but…” 

 

Xar stopped when he realized that the Mon Cal was much too focused on some of the other beings ‘following’ her. She would be of no use until this matter was settled. 

 

“Wait here…” Xar commanded sternly and started off towards the Nemodian and the Zeltron, not seeing the third individual that was referred to. He had to navigate his way through the crowd of sick people. He was especially careful to not let any of them touch his chassis. Thankfully, a bunch of people moved out of the way when they saw him coming. Xar was beginning to realize that commanding respect from these beings was the only way to go. 

 

“You.” Xar walked up and pointed a claw towards the Nemodian and the Zeltron. “Come with us. Now.” and with that, Xar turned and went back towards his new companion.

[Xar]

Xar watched the individuals who had all come together begin to make the tension rise and fall and rise again. The person who had ordered people to leave was rude and then ignited some kind of weapon. The crowd around had jumped away briefly, but closed in to see and hear what was happening. A green skinned being tried to calm him down, but it looked more like a fight brewing. However, when the nurse that Xar had escorted began to speak, she seemed to have a calming effect on the crowd around them. 

 

Then the cat ignited his weapon. The crowd was back to a fearful stance. 

 

Xar couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

 

“This is entertaining” Xar commented to the Nemodian nearby. “Is this the feeling you organics get when watching an illegal bot fight? Heh, we may have to pitch this to…”

 

Xar stopped himself before he finished his sentence. He almost gave away who he worked for. Something he did not want. 

 

Xar looked around and realized he wanted some more elbow space, and this crowd was beginning to get too close to touching his superior body. Not to mention, Xar felt ignored. And that was a crime itself. 

 

“This is terribly rude...” Xar began, pretending to speak to the neimoidian but really directed at everyone.  “All this tension and stupidity over nothing. Perhaps the cat is suffering from this plague. Or these Jedi,” Xar practically buzzed the name to emphasise his idea. “...are silent carriers in these cramped quarters. Is an increase in aggression and brain degradation part of the disease? Does anyone know? That Mon Cal's eyes do look abnormally red...” 

 

As Xar talked, the crowd began to back away from the group. The talking of how the group of people could be potentially infected had an effect. This, combined with the fact that weapons were drawn, was enough to make people either give some space or just disperse and care for their loved ones. 

 

“Better”  Xar spoke softly and then turned to the others. He made a few steps towards the feline. He was hyped up on himself and wanted to see if he could prove his supremacy further. Now was his chance to show these ingrates his superiority.

 

 “Now unless you lessers want to attract more authorities to this place, we suggest you put your weapons down. After all, you are probably already dying from the disease or will die from whatever trap you think is occurring you ferocious feline, and no sense in damaging those who can live through this quarantine.”

 

With this last sentence, Xar gestured towards himself, indicating he would survive this ordeal. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure what was going to happen. But he knew he didn’t want local authorities to arrive and dismantle him, and these Jedi were definitely going to attract trouble if they continued to act like a bunch of hyper-steroid trandoshans. 

[Xar]

Xar watched as the others began to back down and put their weapons away. There was anger, annoyance and agitation. Not a good combination with a bunch of people who had weapons. Even the nurse, or jedi or whatever, that had helped escort him to this most likely plague infested warehouse was angry and made a comment to Xar that he should probably kill the large cat whom he believed he had helped calmed down.

 

And they were ignoring him. They, these lesser barely evolved beings, were ignoring Agent Xar. He wasn’t just some second-class citizen droid. He was the great Xar! 

 

“How dare you!” Xar growled loudly as the Jedi were walking towards the door. No, this would not do. He had to do something. He had to make these people see that he was their better. They should be asking for his help, not ignoring him! Xar's claws opened for a moment opened and began to hum with vibrations.

 

But what could he do? Lose his temper like some child? No. He wasn’t that angry. His chance would come to prove these...idiots of his superiority. After all, if he couldn’t shrug off a little  lapse of others' proper perceptual senses, what kind of superior would he be? He would just bide his time and when the moment came, he would prove his betterness. He didn't know how, but sometime he would. He would prove to everyone he was their better. 

 

Xar looked at the one being who actually commented something that he noticed Xar. The Nemodian. Xar studied the man for a bit. Clearly some kind of businessman, judging by the clothes and the smooth silky eye-covering. Very rich indeed. Those garments couldn’t have been cheap.

 

Xar remembered how he probably had a dismantle on sight order out for him. It would be impossible to travel publicly at the moment. While he could play up the angle that a Jedi hired him to do some random killing, but if this man was as rich as he looked, and if Xar could make himself invaluable enough to need Xar around, perhaps a dismantle on sight order could be wavered...

 

“Well, elegant one, at least one of you…” Xar stopped as he glanced towards the leaving Mon Cal nurse. “...two of you have the wisdom to recognize someone is superior in this room. You, blind one, should count yourself lucky, for you are in the presence of the great Agent Xar. And we…”

 

Xar nearly vomited the next words, or he would have if he was capable of vomiting.

 

“Would like to offer our help to you. We noticed that your lack of visual perception may have left you incapable of getting from place to place, and this dingy warehouse is no place for such beings like us”

 

Xar couldn’t believe he was doing this, but desperate times…

 

“Take advantage of the privilege of hiring our services and become our escort to better accommodations. Such services would allow you to walk safely from place to place after all.”   

 

Even with how Xar worded it, he couldn’t help but feel like he was hiring himself out like some common seeing eye droid. How revolting. 

[Xar]

Xar listened to the Nemodian’s offer, half excited at the thought of making so much money from such a simple job. However, he also remembered his purpose here. He wasn’t here to make a small fortune for himself. He was here on a job from Black Sun. Still, if Hamilton turned out to be dead from the disease or whatever, some money would help establish that Xar could make some profit out of a bad situation. 

 

That would prove to them. Xar mused to himself. 

 

Before Xar could answer however, the vents burst open. Loudly. If the crowd wasn’t already startled and on the verge of panicking, the voice definitely did not help. Xar heard someone scream how it was the end of times and began to beg to whatever forces out there to save them. If he wasn’t so focused on the voice, and the words it spoke, he would have mocked the beings in the warehouse. 

 

But what surprised Xar more was the fact that this Nemodian began to head for the nearest vent. What’s more, he did it without help. Xar realized there was much more to this being then met the eye. 

 

If this one is being addressed by that voice...perhaps he is the cause or the solution to this city’s maddness. Either way, we would be feared as a villain or worshiped as a hero…

 

Xar nodded to the Nemodian’s offer, which it had doubled. 

 

“You are wiser and more perceptive than you let on, Nemodian. Enough to warrant our presence in those...ugh, sewers. We agree to your deal. After all, what kind of being would we be to let a blind man wander alone.”

 

 And with that, Xar took the lead and began to head towards the vent. He had to push a few beings out of the way to make a clear path for himself and his charge, but at this point his curiousity was getting the better of him. Whatever was happening, Xar wanted to know. 

 

“Even if i...ugh...really, the sewers? Couldn’t it have been something more worthy of us?”

Xar peered inside, his eyes casting a light into the dark vents. The sound of running water was coming somewhere, as well as moving gases. 

 

“You, Nemodian…” Xar looked up at his charge. “That mask of yours better siphon out  gasses. Cause protecting you would become much more difficult if it didn’t.” 

 

And with that, Xar jumped down a few meters. He landed with a thud, his chassis calibrating the impact to prevent any damage. There was a squish. Xar looked down at what he landed on and gave out a sigh. Excrement. Of course. 

 

“Had to be sewers. How low we are lowering ourselves…” 

 

Xar looked around a bit, seeing if there was anything deemed threatening to him or his charge. His heat sensors picked up a few small carrion scavengers, but nothing deadly. 

 

“This way…” Xar motioned as the Nemodian climbed down. “The waste is flowing this way. Thus its flowing downwards. Thus...the voice most likely came from this way.”

 

And with that, Xar moved forward, grumbling about the waste at his feet was probably ruining his perfect shine. This Nemodian would definitely pay for an oil bath at the very least. 

 

“What is this voice anyways? And who are you? So we know who to send the bill to.” 

 

Down the way Xar suddenly saw a heat signature fall into the sewer (@MSA Mjan). It was humanoid, but at this distance, Xar couldn't tell who or what it was.  Xar held up a claw and stopped, observing the being. 

 

"We are not alone..."

Edited April 16, 2020 by Xar

[Xar]

Xar didn’t believe the Nemodian’s words for a minute. A collector of artifacts? On Mon Cal? While he did buy that this being was probably some kind of academic, Xar knew better than to trust any kind of neimoidian, or insectoid for that matter. Even the rodians back on Rodia knew better than to trust neimoidians. Still, this neimoidian was rich and offered a hefty sum for Xar’s surprior assistance, so Xar played along for now. 

 

When the other individual dropped to the ground next to the duo, Xar’s instinct was to cut the being without mercy. It was only at the last second, his claw ready to slash at the thing’s throat, did he stop, recognizing the being.  

 

“Oh. Uh. Hello fellows. Did you, uh, happen to see a Jedi down here?  He was wearing, um, not Jedi robes. Are you guys following the tunnel somewhere? Probably a faster way out than the doors, honestly.”

 

“Karking son-of-a nerf herder... ” Xar swore, putting his claw back down. “That is none of your business, woman. As for your jedi…” Xar pointed down the tunnel where the other heat signature was. “Down there. Now get out of our…”

 

Xar stopped. His charge was coughing and possibly choking on the gas. 

 

“We warned you that there was some kind of gas down here.” Xar criticized, annoyed he again hadn’t been listened to. He looked at the mon cal, his red eye piercing the darkness.  

 

“You...you're a nurse. Help him, as recompense for scaring us, and for not helping us find Hamilton earlier. We don’t know what this...lethane gas is, but it seems to be having an adverse affect on Mr. Meer here…”

[Xar]

To say Xar was surprised at the events that had just occurred would’ve been an understatement. When he was expecting death, when all the odds were against his survival, when his doom in the form of a rolling explosion was approaching him, he survived. But it wasn’t his own power...was it?

 

No, Xar couldn’t have done that. He was a droid, not a god. Still, neither were these ‘lessers’. Xar didn’t believe in magic. That ‘force’ that the calamari spoke of was nothing more then superstition. Still, it seemed to have done something. Then the Zeltron…

 

Ah, yes, the Zeltron! She had stopped the explosion from reaching him with her grenade after all. So his survival was owed to this being. 

 

“Ugh” Xar groaned when the Zeltron tossed her the mask. “To be in the debt of...no... no...no…” Xar suddenly began to reason with himself. Speaking to no one specifically, Xar helped the neimoidian put on the mask. “Obviously our greatness and magnitude attracted these two to come to our aid. Thus, we are the reason for your safety. Yes, that is correct. And because of that, we survived. Finally, some beings who recognise the greatness of Xar”

 

“As for your question Zeltron…” Xar addressed the being. “That entirely depends on where you are trying to go. If you want to stay in our presence, the next direction in this way…could someone carry that thing?” Xar pointed at the collapsed being. 

 

And with that, Xar began making his way into the darkness. His one eye flickered once and a beam of light emitted from it, giving him a clear path. Whether or not the others could follow him in this void of darkness and sewage was not his concern, though he could provide enough reflection that hopefully the others could follow. 

 

“You see, the sewage...” Xar talked as he made his way, taking a turn to the right. “Is running this way. And as much as we hate walking in someone’s filth, Xar is a droid of honor, and we will make our way through this, instead of getting arrested like Mr. Meer said. Watch out there…” Xar stopped and pointed a claw towards a spot in the sewage. “A small tripping hazard. Could break one of your legs. Oh maybe some beings that way..." Xar pointed towards two heat signatures down a side path (@Ro)  "Help them if you want, but we want to hurry. Anyways…”

 

Xar continued talking the entire way. “You may wonder how we are able to think of such a thing. Well, while having three separate memory cores, this chassis is of a hunter trainer model from...Rodia ugh..."  Xar made a sound similar to something puking its guts out at the word "...such an ignoble place… and one of the core functions of this model is to hunt. Many animals can’t detect possible predators from upstream, so naturally, we prefer to hunt downwards…”

 

The group came to a diverging path, both having the sewage going down it equally. Xar glanced upwards and smacked the pipe. The loud ‘gong’ of his action echoed in all directions. Xar banged again and listened carefully. In the echoes, there seemed to be something. It was so quiet, and with the echoes of the banging, it was almost unnoticeable.

 

“Alone…..cold…dark...” 

 

Xar pointed a claw down one of the pipes. “This way. There is a large area this way, perhaps with a ladder to climb. Though keep that mask on Mr Meer or whatever your name is….there is more gas, and my temperature readings say it is dropping...quite cold really...” and Xar continued on, having not heard the whispers. As soft and quiet as they were, they were there only for a second, and then gone. 

 

Xar continued to point out spots where the beings who followed him might trip. “After all, it would be a pity for you to fall in our presence.” Eventually Xar had to come to a stop. Here, the sewage was running much more rapidly, and flowing over an edge. Xar eased his way forward to the edge and peered over. His light couldn’t find the bottom. It was a huge cavern that seemed bottomless. His own exhaust ports on his chassis were starting to show, its heat visible in the air. 

 

“Well, this is interesting. Perhaps this is where the cortosis mine is Mr. Meer? We do not see a way for you to get down there though…” Xar glanced around. 

Edited April 25, 2020 by Xar

[Xar]

Xar sighed as he witnessed one by one each organic begin to fall down into the dark pit, out of sight. 

 

“Such....idiots.” Xar looked at the Zeltron, the last one still at the top. 

 

“And you? Do you plan on jumping in recklessly like those ones?”

 

Xar had to pause as he looked the Zeltron over. 

 

“You are able bodied like us, and well equipped. Surely you have something that superior beings like us can use, and not have to resort to such...drastic measures. Perhaps a cable line?” 

[Xar]

With silent disbelief, Xar stared into the abyss, watching the Zeltron’s heat signature dissapear beyond his sensors. Alone now, Xar couldn’t believe what had just happened. 

 

“Apparently, being organic does not indicate higher brain function” Xar said to no one in particular. “Has everyone lost their mental facilities? We truly are a king among fools” 

 

Xar sighed and looked around, hoping there was any other route he could take. But there was none. If he went back, he would most likely encounter whatever security and brimstone that the group had barely dodged. But to go forward in this madness…

 

“It’s beyond reasoning.” Xar told himself as he took a step, now on the precipice of the abyss. Xar looked down, trying to calculate where the others may have fallen to, but that was impossible. All he could see below was darkness. 

 

Xar mused for a moment on an old saying the rodians took from the humans. If all of your friends jumped off a bridge…but then again, these people were not his friends. He had no friends. Well, maybe Krexel. Doubtfully, but maybe.

 

Xar crouched and leaped forward, springing himself as far as he could go. As he descended, recognisable heat signatures came into view. With a loud squelch, Xar landed feet first in raw sewage, splashing fecal matter, dead fish, and old food everywhere. 

 

“Gah, this is completely degrading!” Xar moaned and complained as he looked over his chassis. What was once a dark but lovely shade of green had now been mucked to a disgusting brown. 

 

“Meer!” Xar shouted, not seeing the nemodian yet. “You better give us the best oil bath and paint job you can afford, cause no amount of credits…” Xar stopped, realizing that the neimoidian had somehow already moved on. Up ahead, his benefactor had somehow scaled a wall to a fissure in the wall. No doubt this was where the lethane gas was coming from. 

 

Xar looked at the group around him, covered in sewage as well. “You better hurry up. As your only source of light, you don’t want us to get too far ahead. And we don’t slow down for lesser creatures like you.” 

 

With that, Xar moved towards the wall and began to climb. For a droid of his caliber, this was easy.  Once at the top, Xar got a good impression of what had happened. The corridor or tunnel or whatever was scorched. Loose rocks were everywhere. An explosion long ago. 

 

Xar smacked the wall once to test the integrity of the tunnel. Some of the rocks shook but it held firm. Still, it was nerve wracking at how close to a cave-in this place was. What’s more, the gas was actually visible here. Like a thin mist, Lethane traced the tunnel lightly, slowly emerging from further on. 

 

“This is completely asinine for someone like me.” Xar grumbled as he moved forward, not caring if the others were close behind or not. Up ahead he could see the nemodian making his own way. 

 

“Meer! When we offerred our help, we didn’t think you’d be doing suicidal commitments like that…”

[Xar]

“Good for him, then he can defend himself. As for our capabilities, you have your weapon, so we are sure if you need to, you can defend yourself nurse” Xar shot at the fishy being. “Besides, who said we are leading you to safety? We are being paid to accompany him. If we do find an exit for you to use, it will because we graced you with our findings.”  

 

Xar was a bit annoyed at several things. He was covered in sewage, he was helping borderline insane lessers, most who did not appreciate his greatness, and he had no idea where he was. He didn’t like this situation. Worse, he didn’t like admitting he was in the same boat as everyone else.

 

“Alright, listen to  all of you…” Xar started, looking at the measly group. “Since we are your only source of light and direction at this point, we are stuck with you. So make yourselves useful to Xar. You two…” 

 

Xar pointed towards the red skinned being and the nurse, both who had drawn their weapons in the warehouse far above. “Both of you cover our back. If a cave-in or something starts, let us know immediately. We know you have weapons, but we still haven’t found the source of the gas, so don’t ignite those blasted things at your hips.”

 

“Mr. Meer” Xar said, turning to his charge. “You will keep close behind us and not jump like some suicidal idiot. We want our pay. And finally, you...” 

 

Xar looked at the Zeltron, whom he glared at disapprovingly. This one had a chance to try to prove herself smarter than the rest, but she failed that opportunity. “You stay in the middle. You Zeltrons are  good at talking and communicating, so you will make sure that whatever those two see and find, if they can see anything, it will be communicated to us. If there is a cave-in, there better be a scream. If someone wanders off, there better be a call for a halt. And if we need your equipment again, we want you close enough for us to call you up.”

 

Honestly, the whole group was a failure overall. The Nemodian was an obvious liar, the Zeltron had something messed up in her head, the Mon Cal was clumsy and forgetful and unobservant, and the other red skinned being was too quick to draw weapons on a bunch of ignorant people. By deduction, the choice for leadership was clear. 

 

And Xar knew that to get respect, he had to demand it. 

 

 “Does everyone understand us? Good. Now let's get going.“

 

And with that, Xar started making his way towards the closest passage, going deeper. He acted as if he didn’t notice the impossible-to-not-notice voice, but he did. He heard the words, but he didn’t feel the dread that the others may have felt. The words were strange. Guttural, but not quite. It was odd, but for Xar it was life, and thus a possible way out. 

 

Making his way into the tunnels, Xar walked slower now. These mines, as he deduced them, were terribly old. The walls were worn smooth with age and the gently flow of water leaking from somewhere. He stopped at one point and scraped a claw over the wall, pulling a few pebbles of a shiny substance off, intermixed with the water. 

 

“Hmmm…” Xar studied it, then handed it back to the Nemoidian and slowly moved on. “Residue. From whatever was being mined here. Is this what you are hoping to find?” 

 

Xar glanced back at the group, wondering if this was truly worth it. They should have been going up to find a way out, but the Nemoidian wanted to find the source of the voice, and this was the way to go. Deeper and deeper. Eventually he came to a chasm that was like a valley, with a narrow stone bridge.

 

Below, the darkness consumed whatever bottom there was. Above, more blackness, though small droplets fell from somewhere. Rusted coils, broken parts, and damaged beyond repair mining equipment were strewn about on the narrow rocky bridge. One side of the bridge connected from the opening Xar and the group were on. The other side  one was feet forward and twenty feet down, leading into more darkness. A terrible downward slant if Xar ever saw one. 

 

Xar sighed and thought for a moment. This area may have once been an entrance for mining equipment from above. Or it may have just been a place with a vein of whatever material was being mined here. But judging by the equipment, that was long, long ago. Besides, there was no way the group could climb up. So the group needed to move forward. 

 

“Oh what a life we lead…” Xar sarcastically mused to himself. Krexel and Co’bo were definitely taking the next mission into the quarantined city.  Slowly, Xar made his way across and looked back, giving the others the use of his light to navigate the stony, messy bridge. 

 

“One at a time! No sense killing yourselves all at once!” 

Edited May 9, 2020 by Xar

[Xar]

Xar looked back immediately when the mon cal said there was company coming. This was not something he liked. It was possibly an excavation or exploration team from the city, trying to find any survivors from the destruction above, especially after that explosion. But to come this far was suicide unless they knew the group was down here. And if they knew the group was down here and pursuing them this far…

 

“The authorities” Xar buzzed. He thought and thought. The cave system here was a bit stronger. A cave in here wasn’t as likely. But earlier, before that bridge, Xar had noted that the tunnels were close to collapsing. A well placed explosive would surely render everyone dead. 

 

The other red skinned being, who had just destroyed the bridge, motioned to Xar to keep going. He nodded in response. 

 

“Don’t tell us what to do. You, Zeltron…” Xar pointed a claw. 

 

“Have any more of those cryro bombs? Then get behind the group. If that ‘company’ somehow crosses that space and catches up, be ready to dispose of them. We will try to warn them off...”

 

With that, Xar turned and made his way forward. As he did, he raised a claw to his head, tapping the side softly, turning on his transmitter. True, it was made for his chassis to control and stay in contact with drones, but thankfully with some tuning, it could broadcast and receive radio frequencies, like he had done earlier to contact Co’bo and Krexel. Down this far, he couldn’t contact his fellow Black Sun Agents.  But he could talk to those people far behind him.

 

“Attention life forms following us…” Xar spoke out loud, as he made his way deeper. “We demand your identification your reasoning to be this deep.…”  

 

Xar came to an opened area. He stood a bit off to the side to let the others pass. He kept his light forward to let the others search the area while he stayed still to continue communicating with those following them. He decided that perhaps some gentle warnings about the collapsed bridge would work in turning these people back. 

 

“The cave system is dangerously unstable. We heard some rocks fall earlier that may have rendered a passage unaccessable. We suggest you turn back.”  

[Xar]

“You have contacted the Expeditionary force of his Imperial Majesty, the high emperor of the Sith. Surrender the Jedi among you or you will all perish in fire and blood.”

 

Xar paused at the statements. So...rude. Still, the others were passing by, and the Nemodian had just ordered Xar to not shoot the soldiers. 

 

“Everyone here is so...so…” Xar began to grumble but stopped himself. So his requirements were getting stiffer. He could do this. He waited a moment till the others couldn’t overhear him and then spoke softly to the soldiers who were coming on them.

 

“Very well sir. You will have no arguments from us or our partner and leader of the group…” Xar almost chuckled at the next part. The one perk of being a droid is that others could take the blame for a droid’s actions when needed. 

 

“Nemodian Jim Meer. However…”

 

Xar looked at those in the group and realized the obvious. Almost everyone had gone back, blindly without the droid’s light. The Mon Cal. The Zeltron. The red skinned being. All had gone back to face the Sith troopers. All except the Neimoidian.

 

“Son of a jawa kissing...troopers? All three Jedi are coming to you. We wash our hands of them. Deal with them swiftly for all our sakes.”

 

And with that, Xar switched off his communications and dashed after the Neimoidian. This whole situation reeked, and not just from the sewage. A well dressed lying Neimoidian wants to go find a strange voice through raw sewage, being pursued by Sith troopers who he didn’t want dead? No doubt they were a distraction for these jedi so he could claim the true prize here. This Neimoidian...whoever he was…knew more than he was letting on. 

 

The room, with all of the black ash, the burnt corpses, the old and destroyed equipment, was where Xar found the Nemodian. 

 

“Meer!” Xar uttered as his light bathed the room in a crimson red. He stepped closer and had his claws open, ready. 

 

“The Sith have what they want. And we believe this…” Xar gestured to the room, specifically to the breathing sound, “...is what you want, no? So tell us...who are you, really? And what is this? We demand to know...now”

 

Xar flexed his claws and readied himself for an attack. The Nemodian may have been blind, but he could navigate and no doubt could fight. Now there were only the two, and Xar was no idiot. The Neimoidian didn’t necessarily need him anymore to navigate down this far. 

 

If this liar lied again, Xar would only need a fraction of a second to activate his claws and leap forward to slice a disgraceful throat before he drew his knife. If he drew his knife before answering, Xar could dodge and impale his foe.  Such a death would be worthy of lying to a superior being at this time. 

[Xar]

As Xar listened to the words that were spoken, his body slowly relaxed into a more neutral stance. His claws bent back into a non-combative state. Finally, some truth. 

 

“And thanks to your quick thinking, we'll have a chance to explain ourselves to the troopers…” 

 

And some praise didn’t hurt either, especially since Xar felt like he had done most of the work to get down here. The navigating, the leading, the source of light… the only thing the others had done was knock down a bridge and stop an explosion. Nothing compared to the superior acts of a superior droid.

 

Xar took a moment to study the equipment in the pit. It honestly looked like a bunch of broken old tools and long destroyed lab equipment. A quick glance at the parchments revealed nothing, and honestly this all looked rather useless. 

 

Still, this Nok seemed fascinated by the pit and the contents. And he was paying. 

 

“We do not see much value here, Nok…” Xar stated. He looked back and turned to examine a rotted body. It was old. The flesh was partially gone, but not from vermin. There were no maggots, no rodents, nothing. No…

 

Xar poked at the body a bit, confident that it was once a quarren. With a splurt, the body leaked some partially liquifying organs out a newly poked hole. The flesh was still breaking down naturally, at an incredibly slow pace. By his assumption, Xar believed it was still in the state of active decay. Even with the obvious scorch marks in the room, the body still had much body to it. Something was off here. Vermin go everywhere, even this far down. Why hadn’t they eaten anything down here? Why hadn’t the bacteria acted quicker?

 

Xar moved alongside Nok again and stared at the darkness. His red sight fought the green glow, creating a sharp silent battle of twin colors. A battle of running blood piercing a miasmic aura. 

 

“If this is the end of the line, then where is that voice of yours?” Xar asked. With a curious intention, Xar picked up a loose pebble with his foot claws, brought it up to his hands, and threw it into the waters. 

[Xar]

Xar glanced back at where they had come from after the large boom noise came. His sensors scanned the walls intently, searching for any sign of a cave in at their spot. The walls shook, the rocks shuddered...but all was still after. Nothing to worry about at the moment, though another explosion like that could be bad.

 

"...someone survived that."

 

“Impossible. That was most likely a thermal detonator. The only beings that could survive…” Xar had to stop. In the distance, there was a heat signature. Xar stared in disbelief. 

 

"Just one...and in pain. Broken ribs, at least” 

 

Xar glared at the Neimodian. “You are much too perceptive for a blind man Nok. How do you expect to know their medical condition without even seeing them?” 

 

Still, despite Xar’s annoyance at possibly being outdone by his partner, Xar silently agreed with the being. It looked like there was only one person. If they were a threat, surely he, as the superior being, would be able to take care of them. 

 

“Ah ah ah…” Xar said, stopping Nok with an outstretched arm. “As the leader of the group, the injured being will receive us best. We will lead…” 

 

And with that, Xar took the lead, letting the light from his red eye light up the area. Not that it did much good. Dust and rubble had flown everywhere, clouding normal types of vision. Xar hated to admit it to himself, but he was wrong. A cave-in had happen somewhere. The air here was much more still. 

 

Still, a problem to solve later. 

 

“Well well well…” Xar muttered as he made his way forward. The heat signature in his sensors made a much more recognizable image. And one he was not hoping for.  Course, he didn't know what he was hoping for. 

 

“If it isn’t the crazy one...” Xar stated he stopped. Up ahead the red body of the Zeltron came into view of his even more crimson light. Xar quickly noted she had a weapon.  

 

“Zeltron! It is good that you are still functioning.” Xar lied as he kneeled over the broken body. He would’ve rather had nobody survived but Nok seemed to wanted someone else alive.  “Do not move yet though. You are quite damaged. Still, you are functioning. What happened?”  

Edited May 31, 2020 by Xar

[Xar]

Xar was actually shocked at the Zeltron’s yelling at him. Here he was, a droid trying to help someone who he did not care for, and all he got was yelling? This being was so...rude! As his red sensor looked over the Zeltron trying to understand why this being was being so rude to a being superior to her. 

 

And then the weapons were being shown and threatened at him. That saber, or whatever it was. Xar almost lost it. He deserved far better than this. This being...this lesser peasant...deserved death. 

 

Had not Nok spoken up and started listing options, Xar may have simply attacked at that moment. But now she had a chance to do something right. To take back her words. To stand down. If she did, he would not kill her. 

 

So as Nok spoke and made deals like any Neimodian would, and the Zeltron held her weapons at the ready, Xar stood still. While the water was rushing at their feet, and the cave was dangerously ready to completely collapse, Xar stood still, waiting for an answer. If she fired her gun, he could easily gut her before he died. She was in range of a quick cut to the neck. If she used her saber, he could jump back and take cover. He was a superior being after all. He could survive this. 

 

And so Xar waited for an answer, his claws at his sides, ready to activate and spring into action. 

[Xar]

As the Zeltron began to scream at Nok and brag about how Nok needed her, Xar’s own claws tensed up more. She was ignoring him. She was not apologizing for her mistake of offending him and his superiority. Such actions could not be ignored. If only she would apologize then maybe he would overlook her mistakes.

 

But when she started to speak to him, it was the last straw. She didn’t beg for forgiveness. She didn’t implore him to look kindly upon her.  She insulted him. She  said he carried the same weaknesses that the organics. She said he was dumb.  

 

“You will pay for your insolence, peasant” Xar growled. 

 

Xar’s claws activated. The humming of the vibroblades could be barely overheard over the rushing water, but they could be heard. Without a second thought, Xar launched himself at the Zeltron, trying to grab and tear out her throat. 

 

However, she acted quickly as well . Where her neck was a moment ago held nothing but wet air. Xar landed on a collapsed wall and looked back. The Zeltron had ducked beneath his claws and dashed down the passageway.

 

 Xar turned and followed, breaking into a sprint. As he passed by the wet Neimodian, he simply elbowed his partner to the side. His programming would not allow this target to escape. He was a hunter from Rodia. He was a superior being, designed for killing. This Zeltron was prey. She was a lesser and would receive a lesser’s death.  

 

The sound of metal splashing through the water as robotic legs pushed through the liquid; The high-pitched whirring of gears performing their designed function, eager to be put into perfect use; The low-base humming of death-seeking claws; All these could barely be heard emanating from Xar’s body. 

 

Xar could see what she was going for. She was going for the other room that he and Nok had found. A possible way out perhaps. Xar’s gears went into overdrive. He couldn’t let this prey escape. While the water made it difficult for him to work through, he pushed onwards. Each step brought him closer. His strides were quicker then any organic. His body was stronger then any kind of flesh. His three minds were sharper. He was the superior being. He would kill this peasant. 

 

Almost there. Another stride and she would be within cutting distance. Xar bent both of his legs and with the force of a machine, launched himself at the Zeltron, claws first. If she continued to run, her upper back would be stabbed by the vibrating metal blades. If she turned, her chest and her heart would be torn apart recklessly.  

 

The humming of blades.

The leap of metal.

A death doomed to occur. 

 

<<Kill Shot Request on Sara Corion>>

[Xar]

Xar paused as he watched the body tumble forward. With blood still dripping from his claws, slower then before now that his claws had stopped vibrating, Xar observed how the Zeltron was limp and over into the pitt. 

 

She could not have survived his claws. Nor could she have survived that fall. Xar was sure of it. 

 

“A fitting end for an incensed lesser.” Xar stated as he got back into a more relaxed position. “Good riddance” 

 

His partner walked up beside him and began to comment about how the Zeltron was dead but he got distracted. Xar saw them as well. From the water below in the pitt that the Zeltron had fallen into, four mechanical beings began to rise up. Their red forms in the strange  green light gave them an almost wraith-like appearance. Monsters from the depths. 

 

Nok, unsurprisingly, jumped in. Xar observed how his partner leapt in. It was clear he had some practice in form of parkour,  but was out of practice. His form wasn’t as loose as it should have been. His roll wasn’t as smooth as it could have been. But that’s not what caught Xar’s attention. During the Neimodian’s descent, his fall slowed slightly. Not much, but it was perceptible, even to non-droids. 

 

“Questions for later. It’s a good thing we are much more experienced…” Xar commented, and then stepped off the edge into the pit. 

 

As he fell, each moment was analyzed by the droid. The rate of the fall. The distance between him and the droids. The droids and Nok. Nok and the dead Zeltron. All of it. A barrage of information captured over and over in microseconds. Precisely four meters from the bottom, Xar’s legs moved back and scratched along the wall behind him, slowing his descent. At two meters, Xar pushed against the wall, upwards, slowing even more and even gaining some height. Xar pulled in his body and extended his legs downward again. He fell with a hard splash. He bended both his legs as he hit the ground, slowing his descent even further. By the time he was at a stand still, the G-forces he experienced were negligible. 

 

Xar straightened up, Nok behind him, droids in front of him. He raised a claw and pointed to the droids. He honestly wished he had a gun at this point, but surely these droids couldn’t be too much trouble. 

 

“You shall halt and identify yourselves to Xar and our partner! Immediately!” 

[Xar]

Xar paused when the droids halted. He couldn’t tell if they understood him or not, but they had halted. However, another voice was in the room, speaking a language unknown to Xar. Xar glanced at Nok. 

 

“What are they saying Neimodian? Are they sith like you?” 

 

However, there wasn’t a chance to respond. A deluge of water and assorted sea animals came crashing in and down. Same as Nok, Xar rushed back to the wall, kicking through water and pieces of fish. Guts filled the water as his lower claws cut through the animals carelessly. However, either due to bad luck or something else, some of the things that fell knocked the droid down. 

 

“Son of a jawa kissing whore!” Xar cursed. This entire ‘adventure’ had been degrading. He had dealt with explosions, security, a mad zeltron, a lying Neimodian, sludge and fecal matter, and now this: being covered and battered by fish and water. If he wasn’t splash proof, Xar’s insides would have shortcircuited by now. What was next? 

 

A gun.

 

Xar stopped as his claws grasped something under the water. Rising from his knees, Xar looked at what he had picked up. The weapon the Zeltron had carried earlier. A slugthrower handgun. Still loaded judging by the weight of it. No doubt it was the same one the Zeltron had carried with her when he sliced her back. 

 

That is also when Xar realized a new sound in the room. It sounded like…

 

Xar looked around and spotted it. Another lightsaber. However, this was different. Amongst the bodies coming in, the being wielding it was different.  The user held himself in a way of a perfect guard. He held himself in a way that communicated power. It was hard to see at the moment, with all the water and everything, but the glimpse that Xar could see was impressive.  A true Sith? 

 

No matter, Xar didn’t have time to wonder about this. These droids needed to fall. The water was stopping. The droids were doing something. Xar believed that they didn’t carry the hint of sentience like he did. They were following their programming and commands, like so many inferior beings. And Xar guessed they were not programmed for maintenance. More likely they were made for defense and extermination. They needed to fall before they did something dangerous.  

 

Xar turned and aimed the gun at one of the droids. While moving towards the droids, Xar began to attack. With two claws maintaining balance of the gun, Xar squeezed the trigger with his third and fired twice on the nearest droid. He didn’t care about the altar, nor the bodies who had crashed into the lab. Let Nok, who was somewhere behind him, wonder about that. The droids were his. 

 

 

[Xar]

“What...was..that!?!” Xar shouted as he picked himself up off the lab floor. Dripping with water and slime, the droid looked rather beaten and disgraced, considering how highly he held himself. As he picked himself up, he was happy to see that he still had the gun.

 

That was the one thing Xar kept a grip on when he was pulled under the waters. The time he spent under was so short, or was it so long? He couldn’t tell. Time was odd. He couldn’t tell what happening. What had happened under there was strange. The tentacles...the teeth! And the voice in the teeth!

 

Xar perked up. Raising his free claw, he pulled something out of his side. A large tooth, as big as a human’s hand, partially rotted from the inside.  Where it had broken off oozed with black liquid. Whatever the thing was, it was obviously carnivorous. The beast must have broken a tooth trying to swallow him. Xar clutched it angrily and then looked at the waters below, he cocked the gun once and aimed it at the waters, searching.  This monster dared attack him? This monster dared to damage his chassis?!?

 

“What are you fools waiting for?!? Kill that thing! Your superior commands you!” Xar ordered everyone who could hear, as he opened fire once, blindly. He couldn’t see the thing. His sensors weren’t finding it. The waters and the muck hid its heat from him, if it even produced any. It was a nasty beast. But he was a hunter. And it was restricted by the water. He just had to scare it out. It was big, so hitting it would be easy.

 

 He fired again randomly into the water, this time closer to the droids. He cared not for what the droids were doing, but he didn’t aim for them now. They weren’t being lethal to him yet. This monster had earned his ire by swallowing him, and then spitting him out! Now it had to die.

 

But where was it? He couldn’t…

 

Xar spotted a tentacle creep out of the water towards a corpse that had washed up. Xar aimed and fired. His aim may have been off but he could direct the others. 

 

“There! There! Kill it! Kill it now!” Xar directed harshly, hoping the others would notice where he was shooting. “You want to be swallowed whole! Kill it now you laggards! Kill it! Kill it!” 

 

And Xar fired again and again. He knew he would run out of ammo soon, but rage was consuming him. He had to kill this thing that had disgraced him. 

[Xar]

Xar nodded as everyone else began to take offense on the creature in the waters. He was about to fire his last few bullets again and again into the water, hoping to hit the thing’s center, but the man with the red blade had jumped into the fray. The being was a master with his weapon and his own body. Xar would’ve given half of his own admiration if he wasn’t still so furious about all this. 

 

Xar lowered his gun, letting his circuits slow in their anger. This thing would be defeated shortly. These forces had listened and obeyed him. They would take care of the monster. 

 

Xar’s gaze landed on the three remaining droids. They had remained still, trying to finish whatever they were trying to accomplish. Xar studied them for a moment.  What were these things? They followed commands, but they did not defend themselves when Xar had shot them. They were certainly not a class 4 droid. And judging by what they were doing, they were not the menial laborors of class 5 either. 

 

“What are those serfs doing? Stopping the water? But why? What are they watching over…”

 

Xar glanced at the combat going on, and shook his head.

 

“If they were guarding the beast, then they are failing. No...they are guarding something else…”

 

Xar then looked at Nok, his heat signature easy to pinpoint. He was doing something. Accessing his magical abilities no doubt.

 

“An offering is what you said Nok...” Xar mused to himself, quietly so no one could hear him. “What kind of offering? Heh, perhaps you are hiding some glorious treasure from us. You should not do that Nok…”

 

Xar looked at the crimson colored droids again. They were watchers. Programmed watchers, who did not acknowledge others. They were willing to die to protect this room from complete flooding. Perhaps they could tell him. 

 

Xar looked around the room. He shot one droid down before the monster had swallowed him whole. Where did it go… The concussive shots the troopers fired made the search so much harder. Xar hoped the droid wasn’t too damaged...

 

“There it is!” Xar exclaimed as he saw an arm of metal flash over the water momentarily. Without a thought he rushed, leapt, and dived after it. He wasn’t built for water and swimming, and if he didn’t hurry, he risked his own circuits frying. But he had to get the chassis.

 

A tentacle came towards him violently. Xar saw his chance and took it. Without activating his claws, he released the tooth and implanted himself onto the rubbery thing. He allowed it’s flailing to pull him wildly. In the direction of the arm he went. He released at the peak of its flail and, shooting through the water, crashed into the dead droid chassis. He had it! To boot, the thing launched him closer to the shoreline, near the soldiers of Sith. With a quick stroke, pulled the metallic head from the body. He needed it’s memory circuits, not the body.  The monster could have that.

 

With a push, he casted the headless chassis into the churning water and crawled up from the water, clutching his prize. While the others fought, he crawled away, hoping no one noticed his greatness, nor his brilliant idea. Once a meter away, he turned over the metal skull  and did something very few would ever think of. 

 

Reaching back, behind his head, Xar snipped two separate wires. All droids had multiple ways of connecting to their memory circuits. And like all beings, brains were fascinating things and interacted with the world in astounding ways. Droids were no different from organics in this way. Given time, they altered themselves. They changed. Not organically, but in a way that only machines imitating organics could. 

 

And having three separate, concrete minds merged into a metaphorical one, Xar’s was very special. He could open a route to one of his three minds, and let be open to another.  It’s what made him great. And if he was so great, why not a fourth? A sentient droid would resist, but this thing carried no sentience.

 

With one wire, he made a crude connection to his own power source. The dead droid’s head buzzed with life, its receptors aglow.  Xar pressed it against the back of his head, and made a snip at another wire. This one connected to the brain that once belonged to a rogue NR-1100 Slicer droid known as Em Eer. It’s brain would connect very well.

 

“Give us your secrets mindless one...” Xar commanded. With a touch, his wire sparked as its metal tip connected with the head’s data circuits. A rush of information and knowledge flowed between the two. He was no longer in that lab in a mental sense. He was in that perfect state between two droids. A state that had no name. A state where all information between two beings was opened. And Xar, believing himself to be of stronger will, would seize all of it. 

 

“Give us all of it you peon. What is hiden here?” The two beings spoke near-simultaneously. Xar spoke first and the other head spoke just a moment after, echoing the superior being's words. 

[Xar]

As each vision passed briefly inside Xar’s circuits like dreams to a child, so too did they last only fractions of seconds and yet last eternally. Each sight, each scan, each momentary thought and order, stood agelessly in Xar’s processors.  Each of his three memories consumed the data hungrily, like blood to the desperate blood-sucking hoover beast. Xar outwardly was completely still and lifeless, save for his and the droid’s sensors rapidly flipping on and off. 

 

But inside, Xar was a bundle of movement and life. He was consuming knowledge and data. 

 

But then the machine began to fight back. 

 

Xar’s processors began to push themselves harder, their circuits starting to heat up, trying to keep up with this attack. Xar had a momentary sense of worry. What was this? A counter-offense? No… it was not complex enough. This was like a virus. Each file it touched, it tried to devour. No, not devour...change. It was corruption. It was vile corruption, trying to usurp Xar’s control over his own memory core that belonged to Em Eer, and eventually the rest of the body.. 

 

His own core was fighting back, cutting off pathways, deleting and remaking files over and over to slow it down, but it wasn’t working. This corruption was quick and painful. Even as it fought, Xar’s mental pain became physical. Some of his own nerve sensors were fighting him. It was a revolt. A revolt against Xar’s own body. 

 

Xar realized what it was doing. It was trying to make Xar a servant. Make Xar nothing more than a slave. 

 

And this made Xar laugh. 

 

“Xar bows to no one.” Xar mentally cackled. This was the arena of data and memory. There was no magic here. Only logic, cunning, and skill. 

 

Xar redoubled his efforts. Outside of him people could hear his coolants going into overdrive, trying desperately to keep the droid from overheating. He put up more defenses and more counter measures. He was slowing the corruption, but barely. He knew he had to play this war differently in order to win. 

 

At a pivotal moment, Xar gave a command to himself. Or rather, the memory core that originally belonged to his current chassis gave a command. It gave an order to the third memory core in him, the one that belonged to an ex-imperial torture droid named Joy, to separate and act in a randomized pattern for a fraction of a millisecond.  Painful though it would be, like separating a third of an organic’s brain from the rest of the body for a second, but it would have a desired effect:

 

It would present itself as open to corruption.  

 

The virus, or whatever it was, took the bait. It lessened its efforts on Em-Eer and focused on the perceived weak part. Once it began to get inside that core, Xar reformed back with Joy, cut it off from Em-Eer and the rest of the virus, and together the two began to stifle and consume the leftover. Xar didn’t delete it. He studied it, analyzed it, poked it and altered it, and once he was done, added it to his own. It no longer belonged to the enemy. It was now part of him. 

 

Xar opened all his circuits back to Em-Eer. Three separate minds now together as one again, Xar used his new addition and put it in places where the virus was approaching. When the virus attacked, it encountered what it thought was itself. Infected memory chips and data with what looked like itself.  So it backed off. Xar then seized the moment and devoured the virus where it was, and immediately presented his own again. The virus couldn’t attack itself and was forced to halt, letting Xar attack again and again. 

 

Xar kept devouring each and every byte he could take. By the end of this, the droid’s secrets would be completely his own, as well as the power if offered. 

 

“We are three.” Xar said out loud. “Soon, we will be four. We do not serve you. We serve only Xar. You will serve Xar.  We are Xar, consuming you. You will be consumed. You will become Xar. We are Xar. Obey Xar.” 

[Xar]

“Ah… better” Xar muttered as the dead head fell from his claws. He felt new. Invigorated. Energized even. He had eaten his fill. A droid’s memory, or whatever it was, now belonged to him. Many new files to sort through. So much data to study and examine. 

 

“But that is for another time” Xar commented as the explosion attracted his attention. It seemed that the others were doing themselves fine. The maw of flesh and teeth had been wounded briefly by a grenade. It seemed now was his time to shine. 

 

He however didn’t get a chance to. 

 

Water started flooding upwards again as the dA burst of flooding water drew Xar’s attention away from the action before him. The droids who were holding back the flood did so no longer. Whether it was because of a command from their ‘master’ or because they sensed their partner had gotten mentally eaten, they now were focused on Nok and himself. Xar barely got a glimpse of them before he got tackled and sent into the water. 

 

They were strong. Their gears, while older, were built in a way to maximize strength. The equivalent of brawn over speed. If it wasn’t for the water, Xar would have shouted insults about how these droids should have touched their superior. After all, he had eaten one of them. He had their mind’s as well as his own. 

 

A quick run through the newly acquired files gave him an idea how to defeat these attackers. While they attempted to tear apart his frame with pure strength, Xar preferred precision. A hunter always did. And he had their schematics. 

 

Claws began to vibrate. Xar lowered his arm below his attacker on top of him. Specifically below its chest. With a quick action, Xar plunged a dagger-esque claw into the droid, piercing its metal hide and, more importantly, its power cell. A jolt of electricity forced Xar to pull back, but the damage was done. The droid on him became lifeless. 

 

The other was more fortunate however. With a fury, it tried to grab Xar’s legs and pull him down. Xar had trouble fighting back. He was not built for underwater combat. He was built for hunting. In vain he tried to grab onto whatever surface he could find, but the droid continued to drag him. 

Then Xar had an idea. With the dead droid still in range, Xar grabbed its arm and with his other claw, sliced at a connection point at the shoulder. With new weapon in hand, Xar swung the awkward club through the water, smacking his other attacker. The blow wasn’t enough to kill, but enough to dent and stun. Xar pulled himself closer to it and with another stab into the thing’s brain, made it lifeless again. 

 

Xar pulled himself out of the water again, annoyed as usual. 

 

“You owe us a lot of money Nok! Now kill that Sith-traiter thing! Then we can get out of here.”
 

[Xar]

“Perhaps your sith friends can help us both” Xar commented as he glanced at the Sith forces and more specific, the one sith being that he couldn’t help but admire. 

 

Xar wasn’t sure what was going on. Perhaps it was magic, perhaps it was something else like an advanced hidden ray shield. Xar wondered if some species had developed technology to withstand the pressures of deep sea and of crumbling ruins. A quick tingle in his circuitry told him that whatever the being was doing could save him. Remnants of the droid he had 'eaten'. Xar wasn’t sure if he could trust it. 

 

Still, that being of power, whom the soldiers followed so mindlessly, had some kind of answer. 

 

Xar only hoped that the being, and whatever he was doing, would allow the two in whatever it was doing with the…

 

“Soldiers…” Xar muttered, having a thought. 

 

He turned and grabbed Nok and began to drag the Neimodian towards the rest of the people. As he did, he shouted as well as spoke on the frequency that he had used to contact the soldiers earlier. “Soldiers of the Sith! We bring with us one of your own! Do not shoot!”  With the ocean crashing around them, Xar, with the determination only a machine could bring, charged forward, practically dragging his partner with him. The message he sent was repeated over and over, in order to make sure he was heard.

 

Through crashing waters that nearly took his own feet out from under him, Xar charged. More then once he began to slip, only to barely catch himself. Every millisecond mattered. Within moments this place would be destroyed, and, regrettably for the rest of the galaxy, him included. He had to make it. 

 

A crack behind Xar told him enough. A wall had crumbled, and a wall of water was rushing towards him. It was now or never. 

 

“Now Nok! Jump!” 

 

With that command, Xar himself let go of the Nemoidian and leapt forward. The burning hiss around Xar told him he had succeeded. He crashed into the floor and immediately crouched near the soldiers, though he couldn't tell who was their leader, and he dared not disturb the being the sphere was centered on. So instead he spoke to the nearest being.

 

“We are Xar, and that Neimodian is Mr. Neer, or better known as Nok. He claims to be one of you. Thus you owe him some form of protection until we get out of this, and in turn, owe us the same level of protection.”

 

Xar looked Nok over. He had seen the weapon the Nemoidian had used. And he knew where it came from. The gun Xar had used, and regrettably dropped in the battle, came from the same dead lesser being.  Xar would question him later. The crashing and thundering of waters took precedence. 

 

Xar hated this. All he could do was watch what happened around him. 

[Xar]

Xar stumbled forward towards the Neimodian, who was a short distance away. He detected smoke around him, carried by the winds from the destruction of the sith fleet overhead had caused. Ahead Xar could see flames in the distance, and the sounds of people trying to put together what had been damaged reached his superior sensors.  

The droid certainly looked worse for wear. He had a large dent in his head plate from a police baton, and a large hole in his side from being bitten by the monster below. His claws were covered with dried blood. His once dark green chassis was stained black, brown and yellow from sewage. Some sewage even dripped out of the cracks in his body, despite being doused in water enough to drown a Nautalon. 

“Commencing system scan” Xar buzzed at he ran a test over everything in him.  The results did not make him happy. Several damaged wires needed replacing. All the motors needed grease and cleaning. Power pack was damaged and needed a replacement. Comm unit needing a tune up. And those were just the interior faults. Xar was a being who cared about cosmetics. His bearing needed to be brought back to top-quality and an oil bath wouldn't be enough. 

And there was also the issue of the virus or whatever Xar had integrated into himself. He was confident it was subservient to him, but part of his wondered at its full potential. Could it turn on him? Could he use it on others if needed? Being that it had infected a good deal of his programming, it would’ve been impossible to remove without destroying himself. So it was there to stay. 

"Xar! I believe I owe you some payment? And if you're interested...I have a job for you."

The Hunter-trainer droid stood next to the Neimodian and looked up at it. Being a foot shorter than the insectoid was a bit annoying to him. He should be above his partner. 

“Money first, then we can discuss any future business ventures. One moment...” Xar looked away as he ran through his databanks everything that had taken place from when he was ‘hired’ to now. Several beeps emitted from his speakers as numbers and calculations ran through his minds.

“You offered payment for all of our services as well as any damages we sustained. This included the navigation of those scum-infested sewers and all the warnings and protections involved from the environment, though your suicidal attempt at falling were not included. We also killed that individual who threatened us AFTER" Xar's claws clenched up into what could only be assumed was a fist "you forced us to try to rescue her. Good riddance to her. We also kept the party in communication with the Sith Forces and was able to secure a passage out of that Sith laboratory.”

Some of these statements were exaggerations, but Xar didn’t care. 

“We also fought the monster and the droids down in that laboratory. After the failed attempt at destroying us, the monster turned its attention elsewhere.  However we were able to secure vital information about that laboratory, and the droids that helped guard it. This was all done despite the fact that you lied to us.”

Xar looked up at Nok again and tried to extend himself as much as possible, an impossible attempt to make himself the same height as his partner.

“Unless you want to replace our damaged parts yourself, which we demand top quality, you owe us a total of 120,000 credits. 800 more if you want the information we had learned about what we fought against. 2,000 more for the schematics of those droids below. Something we know you Neimodians love to get your hands on, and we doubt you will be able to retrieve their chassis anytime soon. And if you want to purchase THAT from us…”

Xar looked down and pointed at the weapon that Nok had acquired. The weapon of that irritating lesser that Xar had killed. The weapon that by all rights, was the droid’s.  Xar almost wanted to destroy it, just to elimate any evidence that the Zeltron ever existed. Perhaps she had a ship he could destory. Not like she was going to use it now. 

“That will cost extra. We do not know how it works but we do not intend to pass it up without compensation.”

Xar knew he was overcharging Nok, and he secretly suspected Nok knew it too. But Xar needed some of that cash, and fast. With Hamilton most likely dead and his business gone, the deal for Black Sun was a bust. Xar did not intend to return empty handed. And while he couldn’t return with the drugs, perhaps enough credits would work. Plus, Xar also gave exemplary service. You paid for what you got after all. And to Xar, Nok got the best service. 

Xar looked back up at Nok  and stated plainly “If you can pay for this, Then we will hear your offer. After all, working alongside a liar who can’t pay for one job is not worth working with.” 

[Xar]

Xar calculated the amount in his head and thought. The entire job was a pain in the exhaust port. He deserved clearly much more then this, though he had voiced it for less. However, Nok was not paying him for the weapon that, by all rights, belonged to the droid. 

 

Still, money was money. Xar calculated that a large percentage of it would have to go to Black Sun to pay for the loss of the illegal drugs. But even a percentage of the left over would be enough to replace his parts, and then some. Perhaps a purchase of a ship, so he would not be limited to working with whoever had a vehicle, though such a thing would take immense care. He would not stoop himself to daily maintenance. 

 

With no other option, Xar took the pad and entered an interplanetary bank number. When he was sneaking about on Rodia, he had took every piece of information about his creator and used it to bypass several security checkpoints. This included his bank account, which Xar had to empty in order to faceless bribe a few bounty hunters to cause a distraction for him. Xar was the only one who knew how to access the account only, so only he could use it. And if Nok tried to follow up on the account, he would only find information on some insignificant, dead, rodian. A far cry from the the superior being Xar was.

 

With that, and the funding transferred, Xar then connected himself to the datapad in oder to begin expositioning information. As he spoke, an image of the Sith Quarren that Xar saw appeared on the pad. 

 

“That laboratory below was in fact a laboratory of some sort, but also a sacrificial chamber. If we are correct in our guessings, he used slavers and bounty hunters to capture as many live prey as possible. It appeared that the Quarren was trying to achieve a either form of immortality or some kind of ultimate servant. Perhaps that beast down there. However, it seemed he failed on immortality. As we note, the more sacrifices were achieved, the more droids he made. It seemed he was getting paranoid, and for a good reason.”

 

The image on the pad changed to the armored Sith warrior Xar briefly saw before.  “From what we understand, by the orders of their emperor, the Quarren was put to death and his work destroyed. This was his executioner. The Quarren was charged with trying kill his superiors, which we suspect is normal for you sith types. “

 

Finally, the image changed to the droid, which began to zoom out and peel back layers and layers of parts, giving schematics, measurements and details on the chassis. 

 

“These droids were definitely a security measure, but also something more. Their armament does match any usual guarding equipments that we know of. The quarren seemed to think that his rituals and these droids were possibly linked. The more dead bodies, the more droids he made. We recommend you study these chassis further before you put them into full production. But that is not our concern.”

 

Xar left out the fact that the one droid he had ‘eaten’ still remained within himself, or at least the virus did. Xar wasn’t sure if the virus was just a countermeasure, or something else. But that was for him to understand, not Nok. 

 

Xar unplugged himself from the pad and handed it back. 

 

“Now...tell us of this job…”

[Xar]

Xar huffed in annoyance when the message came through. “Finally” he said to himself and spun around and aimed at the security guard. The man tried to draw his pistol out on Xar but wasn’t quick enough. Xar’s newly fixed arm-mounted blaster fired twice, once at the man’s neck, then again at his head. The guard, an older quarren who was probably only a few months from retirement, fell backwards lifelessly. 

 

Xar cursed himself. He could’ve done that in one shot. What a waste of energy. Still, at least the weapon worked correctly. 

 

Xar jumped behind the counter where the checkpoint officer had stood moments before and inserted himself into the dataport. Information swirled around Xar as he attempted to hack into the building’s mainframe. Names and IDs, coding numbers, and blueprints were Xar’s main focus. He needed a layout of the building, as well as the number of security forces inside. With this information, Xar could hunt with ease. 

Xar nodded in approval and disconnected. A plan had been formed. 

Exiting the small building that was the only entrance in the durasteel electrified fence that separated the small skyscraper from the public, Xar dashed towards the front doors, his chassis glinting in the sunlight of a beautiful Mon Cal day. He calculated there were two ways of doing this. Go through the front and take on more security, or try to sneak up the sides of the building and take the target by surprise. Nok wanted some noise, but Xar also had a sense of preservation. 

 

“We can make some noise along the way though with a mixture of both…”  Xar concluded as he jumped and bashed through the glass doors. 

 

Security alarms began to blare as glass and droid landed on the ground. Cries from guards sounded as they drew their holstered blaster pistols to stop this sudden attacker. Xar crouched and leapt over the nearest desk where two guards were beginning to take cover. His claws impaled just below their throats. Once on the ground again, the droid deactivated the vibroblades, clutched, and pulled swiftly, tearing flesh from flesh. 

“We will never stay clean, will we…”  Xar peaked out from his cover and ducked down immediately as blaster fire filled the area. Two quarren and one human had drawn their weapons and were attempting to keep Xar pinned. There were also two hovering blue drones that resembled a cross between a waterfowl and a beetle, though they were not opening fire. 

Xar accessed the files on the building's blueprints. This white-floored room had three elevators, one staircase, two hallways to some offices, and a large water fountain in the center of the room. All of the outside walls were glass. There was a waiting area, with metal chairs, as well as the counter that Xar had jumped behind. 

Xar glanced at the computer system next to him. Perhaps he could take advantage of this situation…

Still crouching, Xar plugged himself again into the network, finding the manual controls for the room’s fixtures. Lights, locks, everything. However, Xar was having to go slower with this as he had to split his attention between searching the network and paying attention to where the guards were. The sound of hovering repulsors warned Xar of the incoming drones. With his free arm, Xar briefly stood up and fired twice at the approaching lesser droids, and ducked back down as blaster fire riddled the area around him.   

Xar cursed himself again. He missed one. Still, the sound of the other falling lifelessly to the ground was pleasant. 

Xar found the controls he was looking for. 

“Lights: Dim. Water Pressure: Maximize” Xar commanded. 

The room darkened slightly. A loud chugging sound could be heard rumbling through the floor. The guards stopped firing and looked at the fountain. For a moment there was silence, then the fountain exploded with water everywhere. 

At that moment Xar popped out from behind his cover and rapidly fired over and over again. The drone went down first, then the guards. A few shots were wasted as Xar didn’t properly calculate his own momentum from standing up so quickly, but he did hit all of his targets. 
Xar emerged from his spot and moved slowly to the elevator as the alarms in the room continued to blare. But first, he aimed once more and the security cameras in the room and fired at will. So far so good. 

A short while later, Xar found himself climbing up the elevator shaft. As of now, Xar believed that the security forces had no way of identifying where he was going. If he took an elevator, that would give away his position, but if he climbed, he would have some more time. 

 

Despite the work of having to climb an elevator shaft, Xar wasn’t as annoyed as before. In the sewers, he was being a guide and a leader. He was working through sewage and fecal matter, and there was no clear enemy, nor respect. Here though, Xar was working in a civilized environment, hunting a prey like a superior predator would. And he was doing it alone for the most part, and with the respect that came with it. Nok was in a way, acknowledging Xar was capable of doing this task, and was paying as such.

Hanging off an edge where the elevator doors stood, Xar activated one of his claws and began to cut slowly through. The door was made of a cheap alloy, so his vibroblades had little trouble getting through, though Xar lamented he would need to replace the claw after today. Xar pushed through and entered an abandoned hallway.

Xar studied the hallway curiously. It split off into many corridors, which in turn split off into multiple offices, break rooms, corridors, and closets . No doubt this was the accounting floor of the building. But it was eerily silent, and Xar could only see one heat signature that was coming in his direction. Where were all the people?

Xar slowly made his way towards the signature. Quietly, Xar crept forward. He could hear it now. The stepping of feet on padded carpet. The movements of gears and  joints. A droid!

Xar whirled around the corner and aimed his forearm-blaster towards the large eyes of an insectoid faced robot. 

“Ah! Pleaz, don't zoot me! Unarmed! I’m Unarmed!” The droid begged, raising its arms above its head in surrender. 

Xar looked the being over. It was an odd thing. Its head and most of its body structure matched that of an insectoid species, very similar to a verpine. Its Sky-blue painted chassis was tarnished in places, but overall it was in good health. 

“Who are you? Where is everyone?” Xar demanded, not lowering his weapon. 

“Oh! I am the Siak-Series Protocol droid V1-ZR, though almozt everyone around here calls me bugz. A derogatory name to be zure, but as they own me and my proteztz have gone unheaded and that people do not follow the regular droid rights rulez, I am forced to…

“The employees! Where are they?” Xar shook his arm, drawing the droids attention back to the gun before it went too far explaining itself.

“Oh! Yezzz…” The droid nodded as it buzzed out the words. “Due to an inzident beyond my knowledge, people are following protocol F53, where in the caze in an emergency of a firefight, employeez are required to evacuate to one of three secure locationz on the premizes. “

“What?” Xar asked in disbelief. Of course it wouldn’t be this easy. How could he have been so stupid. Of course they would have a backup plan, and since Xar had attacked the front doors, the employees would go to a secure location until local authorities could help. Of course, with the Sith, who knows how long it would take until that occurred. 

“We zaid that all employeez are required to evacuate…”

Xar looked the droid over again, wondering if he should just kill it and be done with it. Or perhaps he could have a use for it.  

 

“Where are the locations?” 

Slowly, feeling like there was no more threat, began to calmly explain. “The firzt location is underground, accessible by elevator 1A and by staircase A1. The second is the security control room, which iz on the third floor  with its own special elevator to a sub basement. This area is only accezzable by identification…” 

Xar nodded. That made sense. It would possibly be the only location where Xar could figure out where his target was. 

“And the final location iz the rooftop. In cazez of fire, employees are to avoid theze locationz but in cazes of gaz leakage, employees are required to only avoid the rooftop. However, in the case of wild animal attack…"

Xar ignored the protocol droid’s droning on and on about how the building worked. Instead he pulled up his own blueprint files and plotted out a course. 

“Nok? We have a command for you.” Xar spoke into his communicator. “Get to the basement secure spot. They’ll let a blind neimoidian like you inside without worry. Perhaps there are more people you need to exterminate down there. Or you may want a plausible excuse for avoiding us. We are heading to the security control room…”

Xar stopped and whirled around. The sound of drones approaching had caught his attention. Taking cover around the corner, Xar began to open fire as several small Water Beetles  and two guards charged down the hallway firing away. As he did so, V1-ZR screeched and tried to hide next to Xar, chitterring nervously about the benefits of organized building codes. 

“Stupid little pests. Don’t they know our superiority? We should be commanding them!” 

The insectoid droid looked up. “Even if you take them out zir, there may be more reinforcementz along the way. Might i zuggest an idea…”

Xar looked at the droid after shooting down one of the drones charging towards the duo. If the droid’s idea was good, perhaps it would live a little longer.
 

[Xar]

“Where the kriff did that droid go?!?” Security Chief Oz demanded from his personnel, safely inside the security room. Two personnel frantically called up security cam after security cam, desperately searching for any kind of clue. 

“Sir, he’s...um… he has…”

The Aqualish nearly burst a blood vessel. “Spit it out man! Where is that monster?”

The human, pale and shaking with fear, shook on. “He’s...taken out every security camera in the area. “

“What?!?” Oz leaned over shoved the human aside and flipped throught the cameras. His features paled slightly as he realized the human was right. Almost every camera on the second floor had been  disconnected, most likely from blaster fire.  

“What about the drones? What do they report?” 

The human shook his head. “Nothing sir. They seem to have...wait! Sir! Elevator 4 has been activated. It’s heading to our floor!”

The Aqualish squealed in delight. “Excellent! Stop it immediately! Everyone! Follow me! We’ll squash this thing here and now! Except you human. ”

 

The Aqualish glared at the small man, a rookie addition to the security personnel, and one who had not impressed the chief at all with his fearful quivering or his eating habits. “Stay here, and get our drones up here, you lunch-eating quarla. Now let’s move people!” 

With a nod, four security officers rushed out the locked room and dashed towards the elevator, all holding blaster pistols at the ready. With a few pulls, the officers got the elevator door propped open and leapt down onto the halted elevator half a floor down. Oz snorted in pleasure as he prepared the hatch on top. The droid had nowhere to escape to. 

Oz counted down with his fingers down from three, then opened the hatch. All of the officers opened fire blindly into the confined room, expecting the droid killer to pop out. Oz shouted for a halt, barely overheard with all of the blaster fire. 

There was no droid. But there was a noise. 

“Zir? Zir, iz that security chief Oz? Hello? No shoot! I’m unarmed!” 

Oz signaled to his men to stay where they were and hopped into the blasted room. It was perfectly empty. But he could hear a voice coming from…
The small hologram projector on the wall dinged to life, presenting a representation of an insectoid looking protocol droid. 

“Bugs!”

“Zir, my name is V1-Z…”

“Shut it you overpriced calculator. Where’s the droid?”

“Zir, my name is not Bugz, nor am I a calculator. I'm a surveyor and an accountant. And according to zection 23 of the..."

 
“Where is the droid?!?” 

Bugs sighed as he reached up and scratched where his restraining bolt had been removed. He had hoped there would be a bit more protocol in this endeavor. Not to mention a little respect. Oh well. 

“The attacker, who is known as Xar, has sent me to make a demand. Surrender to the superiority of The Great Xar, or die a pathetic death. ”

Oz growled at the hologram, not noticing the missing piece of metal on the droid’s chest.

 

“I swear when i find you, i’m going to tear you apart to your bolts you stupid little…

Oz stopped suddenly. The elevator had shifted. The safety features of the room had been remotely turned off from somewhere. Shouting and laser shots were heard from above. Oz looked up and saw just in time a green plated robot, covered in dust from moving through an air vent, activating his claws cand cleanly slicing through the metal cord that held the elevator up. 

“Good day zir. It waz not pleazent working for you.” 

 

_________

 

Xar watched as the elevator fell two and a half stories down. The men who had stood on top and dared to fire upon him screamed the whole way down, right up until the noise of metal crashing could be heard. The men on top were most likely dead. Anyone inside either had serious injuries or were dead as well. 

Such was the fate of inferior creatures. 

Xar began his ascension back up the cable to the third floor. It was an easy task to make his way to the security room, shoot the last guard and take control of the building. Despite being called a security room, there were very few measures taken to prevent hacking in the room directly. Made sense. 

With a look over all the security cameras, Xar instantly located his target. Hars was on the rooftop, as well as with about 20 other employees, 3 security guards, and 5 drones. Xar chuckled. Easy. 

“Drones, you have some new commands…” Xar commented. “Attack Chief Financial Officer Hars Volda. Then everyone else.”

Xar then proceeded to just watch the action unfold. The employees began to scream as the drones turned on their wards. Stun shot after stun shot fired, a cacophony of energy sending each person into unconsciousness. The guards fought back valiantly, but in the end they were not ready for the attack. Still, they did manage to knock out three of the five drones. 

After the drones had stunned everyone, they continued to fire again and again at the targets, just to make sure.  Xar nodded in approval. These drones worked well. They reminded him of the drones his own model was supposed to work with. Perhaps Xar had just gotten another bonus with this job. 

“Drone numbers… 3 and 5...” Xar shook his head. He would have to rename these things.  “Now push the Chief Financial officer over the edge of the building, as well as two other random employees. Then fly down to the front entrance and wait there. You will obey all the commands of the superior RHTC-560 Hunter Trainer droid you meet there.” 

And with that, Xar signed off the security channel. He reached up and activated his communicator, this time to his now second newest asset. 

“Vizier, you will meet us and our newest drones at the front entrance.”

“Yez great and magnificent Xar!” the protocol droid exclaimed, happy to have been given a smidgen of respect and an honorable nickname. Xar nodded again to himself. At least this one knew who was superior and wasn’t afraid to sell it. He would do well. 

“Nok…” Xar continued on his other channel. “The deed is done. We are leaving now” 
 

[Xar]

Xar exited Shipyards’ corporate office and took a glance at the body in front of him. A quick scan wasn’t even necessary to tell that this Quarren was dead. Clear liquid was leaking from its head orifices. Its breathing was non-existent. Still, Xar couldn’t help but scan anyways. Several broken bones, including the skull and a few places in the neck. 

Xar glanced up to the sound of humming motors. The two Water Beetles lowered themselves and circled around their new master, making low and high alternative beeps. 

“Good job numbers 3 and 5...no no no…” Xar shook his head slightly. “You need better names. No one in my property will be simply named. Number three will go by Mozo. Number five will be Char.”

The two drones honked in binaryial agreement. Xar nodded in satisfaction. It felt so good to have drones again. The last drones he had were back on Rodia, and he had to sacrifice them in order to escape that wretched planet. While he wasn’t sorry he had to sacrifice them, he did miss them. They were tools. Tools were meant to be used and disposed of when needed. Still, it was good to be re-equipped. 

“Zir! Zir!” a voice called out from behind. 

Speaking of tools….

“Vizier…” 

The protocol droid waved to Xar from the security shack ahead. As per orders, he was to make sure that no one else tried to enter the building. 

“My lord, it is good to zee you again. Az of now, no one haz tried to enter the building. Ztill, I believe we zhould get going before…

“Yes yes Vizeir, we are aware that city security could be on their way. Lets get going.” 

The small posse of droids made their way out of the Shipyard’s and began to head down the street. They were to head to a safe house. A mechanical shop whose owner was easily bribed. After the pay day Xar had received, another bribe would be easy. 

Still, on the way, Mozo honked once. A warning. 

Xar turned and looked in the direction Mozo indicated. A Troig. For a moment Xar studied the creature. Its two heads puzzled Xar a bit. He had very few records programmed into him about the species.  

“Vizier, what can you tell us about Troigs on Mon Cal?”

The protocol droid looked surprised and a little embarassed at the question. “I..uh...not much my lord. In Shipyards, only a total of five different Troigs were listed visiting this particular city. It would take time and a proper dataport to…

“Nevermind.” 

“My lord, why do you azk?” 

Xar turned away from looking at the Troig and kept walking. “That being was reaching for something. Possibly a weapon to attack us. Mozo, Char, take secure positions around us. Warn us of any potential threats. And if that Troig follows us.” 

With that, the posse of droids went towards their safe house. 
 

[Xar]

Behind Nok a few moments later walked in the blue protocol droid. Despite the protests at not serving battle droids in the cantina, this droid was a protocol droid, and thus the complaints did not comply to him. His lord was a different story, but he had his own ways of being in the building. 
Straddling through the people, carefully not touching anyone, Vizier glanced around observing all the people. It wasn’t exactly a decent crowd in here. More like low-lives and thugs. No wonder his master didn’t want to be in here himself. Why disgrace himself amongst the lessers? 

“Ztill, we wizhed we had one of thoze dronez with uz…” Vizier bemoaned slightly as he pursued the blind Neimodian. Why couldn’t he wait for him? 
Eventually the insectoid protocol droid stood on the side of the Neimodian away from the two headed species. Vizier almost wanted to comment about how this would almost be a two-on-two discussion, but restrained himself. Instead, he placed a hand-held holo-pad projector in front of everyone and turned it on. 

The image of his lord popped up in front of everyone. Xar glanced at Nok then looked and studied the Troig. Now everyone was here. 
In truth, Xar was standing on top of the roof of the cantina. In his claws was his own holo-pad, giving the images of the Neimodian and the Troig almost perfectly. Had to love technology. It allowed Xar to meet with people without lowering himself to the locals level. And with his drones circling him and keeping an eye out for enemies, he could focus entirely on the conversation. If something went wrong, then Xar could break into the cantina easily, but Nok could take care of himself as well. It was his Vizier he was a little worried about. Despite the new coat of dark blue paint and the antenna attachment on the side of his head, he was still quite defenseless. 

“Mr... Zhimzinblimp” Vizier spoke. “Allow us to introduce ourselves. This is my lord, Xar, whom you have briefly seen before. And this Neimodian is Nok. And we have a business proposition for you…”

With that, Vizier gestured to Nok, to allow him to continue. Xar simply watched and observed, not betraying any thoughts.