Making Friends
Disclaimer: Artoo and Han belong to The Great Flanneled One; Michael, Kosh and B5 belong to The Great Maker. Please don't sue; I'm only having a little fun.
Author's Note: This is kind of a companion piece to my crossover fic "The Coming of the Empire", but it was just too weird to put into the context of the story. It pretty much stands alone, but you can find the full fic here.
The corridor in front of Ambassador Kosh Naranek's quarters was silent and empty before the small, blue and gray astromech unit rolled down it. His beeps and whistles echoed cheerfully as he ambled along, finally rolling to a stop in front of a door. He turned to face it, then leaned back on two legs, giving the impression of looking it up and down, before reaching out a mechanical arm to the interface port and opening the door.
The methane-and-sulfur atmosphere was no hindrance to the little droid, who rolled through the airlock and into the main chamber. He turned his head around; whistling in admiration as he took in the sparse room, decorated only by a multicolored screen which hid a bright, flickering light.
Suddenly there was a snapping sound, followed by a sharp hiss as the light behind the screen darted out and flowed into the encounter suit usually occupied by Ambassador Kosh. Artoo whistled again in surprise and admiration then beeped a question. Kosh tilted his head to one side and regarded the little droid, then answered in a string of clicks and whistles. Artoo beeped happily, and shifted from side to side. Kosh regarded him soberly for a moment, then emitted another string of noises. Before long, the usually-silent room was filled with the sounds of electronic conversation.
"So, tell me about these droids you've got," Michael Garibaldi was saying. "I mean, the closest thing we have is an AI computer system with an attitude."
Han Solo rolled his eyes in exasperation. "You want 'em, you can have 'em. They're as annoying as hell - I mean, they're useful and all, but all Goldenrod does is moan and complain, and you can't understand Artoo at all…" He trailed off, suddenly noticing something. "Speaking of, have you seen the little guy today? I didn't see him in the docking bays…"
Garibaldi shook his head. "No, me neither."
Then the two rounded the corner and nearly ran into Ambassador Kosh. Standing next to him was Artoo, who beeped cheerfully in greeting.
The two men regarded the Vorlon and the astromech, at a loss for words. Kosh looked at them and said, "Most…amusing." He turned and glided back down the hall towards his quarters as Artoo beeped and moved around to sit next to Han.
Solo looked at Garibaldi in bewilderment. "What was that all about?"
Garibaldi could only shrug. "With the Vorlons?…who knows."
Artoo merely beeped at them again and rolled down the hall on their heels.