Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars; Mr. Lucas and Mr. Filoni do. Don't sue me for this, please; I'm just having some fun with an interesting concept here.
A/N: This fanfic was inspired by spikala's fanfic "The Last Voyage of the Endurance." It's my own version of a sentient warship, except this time it's a Separatist destroyer instead of a Republic cruiser. Patriot Fist was shown in the book "Star Wars: Complete Cross-Sections," and was said to have participated in the Battle of Coruscant in "Revenge of the Sith." Enjoy!
"I say, the Republic really is stubborn if it can hold out against our passionate armada this long," remarked a B1 battle droid pilot.
"Do not speak out of turn, OM-54," said an emotionless T-series tactical droid standing nearby on the bridge of the Separatist destroyer.
"Sorry, sir," apologized OM-54. "I just thought we could use a little commentary on how the Republic-"
"You are speaking out of turn again, OM-54," the tactical droid repeated. "One more time and you will be-"
"Leave him alone, TR-77," said the dark-skinned human woman in uniform watching the space outside the viewport. "He has a right to talk about the blasted Republic, too."
"But Admiral Terakk," said TR-77, "most organic Separatist commanders cannot stand to listen to the irreverent chattiness of the B1 and OOM droids. I am surprised you have never minded that."
"That's because droids, even emotionless ones like yourself, are just as capable of being self-aware as organics like me," said Aravis Terakk. "You should open your eyes to that fact sometime soon, especially considering that we are soon going to enter what might be the most devastating battle ever in the Clone Wars. We're going to need all the muscle and firepower we can muster to take Coruscant, and Patriot Fist cannot wait to fight the Jedi and clones, either."
"Admiral, sir," said TR-77 blandly, "the Patriot Fist is just another expendable ship in the Confederate Navy. It doesn't live any more than I do, or OM-54, for that matter. And it can be replaced easily."
"That hurts," remarked OM-54 morosely.
"You said it, OM-54," said another B1 numbered UH-3.
"Patriot Fist is my ship," argued Terakk, "And she can't be replaced. She's like a partner in warfare to me. She's survived many more battles in this war than many other Recusant-class light destroyers have, and she is not going down without the fight of her life. I know that because she an extension of me, a proud one that will make the Confederacy proud in turn."
In the Minntooine system in the Outer Rim, Patriot Fist was snoozing to the sound of her engines near the planet Minntooine.
She had indeed always felt proud of her standing as an elite warship of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. She was not called "Patriot Fist" for nothing. Count Dooku, leader of the Confederacy, had predicted that she had a great destiny ahead of her when she was constructed, more so than so many other Commerce Guild support destroyers. Apparently, he had sensed it through the voice of something he called the Force. Patriot Fist didn't understand what the Force was, exactly, but it appeared to have something to do with being in charge of the affairs of the galaxy. And if that were true, then she was confident that great things were ahead of her.
Minntooine was the planet and system where she had been built originally. Quarren radicals of the Free Dac Volunteers Engineering Corps had made an assembly line of these support destroyers, and they had served their purpose well, even if so many of them had been destroyed and "replaced" in battle. Although their design had originally been a Mon Calamari design, Patriot Fist and many other Recusants felt a sense of belonging with the former Quarren Isolation League. She wasn't sure what had led her commander to bring her back to Minntooine's orbit at first, but many other Commerce Guild destroyers, plus even more Banking Clan frigates, were congregated in the general area, and she had heard that they were preparing for a great battle in the center of the galaxy, against the very heart of the corrupt Republic.
Admiral Aravis Terakk. How fortunate that Patriot Fist had been assigned to her of all Separatist officers! As idealistic as the Separatist cause was, she was aware that many Separatist commanders saw their ships and droids as expendable, and fought either for the thrill of war or to achieve their own personal ends. But not Admiral Terakk. Ever since her first trial run with her, Patriot Fist knew that the good Admiral was not out for a personal or selfish agenda, nor did she consider her, or the droid crew, to be expendable. She merely supported the Confederate cause for what it was, a bid for independence from a government gone rotten.
And Terrak went easy on her when she made mistakes, too. She often pretended not to notice them when they happened, and when she didn't, she would act very professionally and get right to the heart of the matter, never giving into any "it can't be done" remarks from her tactical droid. That was an interesting concept to think about, an organic Separatist Admiral who was smarter than the brilliant but arrogant tactical droids employed by the Confederate Navy and Separatist Droid Army.
Patriot Fist started to rouse herself from her slumber, and with her sensors and command bridge that served for her eyes and ears, she looked around at the other Separatist ships around her. It saddened her a little that many of the other Recusant-class destroyers were relatively silent and kept to themselves except when fighting side-by-side in battle. She knew that they often had a much lower self-esteem than she did, perhaps due to the fact that they were made off of an assembly line and were considered cheap and easily replaceable. The Munificent-class star frigates, however, despite being subject to the same poor attitude, were quite chatty, like the B1 and OOM battle droids. It probably had to do with the fact that they were designed to be naturally born communication ships in the Navy. Munificents were supposed to channel hyperwave supralight transceivers with their antennae, while hindering sensors and targeting systems with their jamming devices. They also helped broadcast Confederate propaganda on the Republic HoloNet to blind and isolate loyalist forces. As a result, Munificent-class frigates tended to talk to each other a lot about the evils of the Republic and what each of them had in mind to do to stop them.
To pass some time, Patriot Fist decided to see what sort of conversationalists two nearby Banking Clan frigates were that day. Their designated names were Earth Mammon and Deep Thought. With names like that, thought Patriot Fist, they must have a lot to say about money and thinking.
A/N: The name "Deep Thought" is from a computer of the same name in the book "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." "Aravis" is also the name of one of my favorite heroines in "The Chronicles of Narnia," and "Terakk" is a respelling of "Terak," the chief villain in "Ewoks: The Battle for Endor."
