Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or The Clone Wars; Lucas, Filoni, and Disney own them.

Artificial Waitresses

Gregor, the clone commando presumed to have died on Abafar, had managed to survive his fight with the droids, and after receiving some recognition for the way he took down all those droids single-handedly, he was now going to get a bite to eat.

His experiences with Mr. Borkus at Power Sliders didn't make him very enthusiastic about trying another diner, but he heard that there was a quaint little diner in Coco Town called Dex's Diner modeled after the beauty and elegance of the Golden Age of the Republic. Colonel Gascon insisted that it was a much better joint than Power Sliders, too, and so he had decided to take a chance with it.

Inside the diner, he was greeted by a droid that went around on a single wheel, like a unicycle. It had the appearance of a feminine droid, and it's voice sounded feminine, as well.

"Hi there, and welcome to Dex's Diner," she greeted him. "I am Flo, your WA-7 waitress for today. Please take this menu and have a seat. I'll be right with you."

Surprised by the droid's friendliness, Gregor took the offered menu gladly and had a seat in an empty booth. He noticed the other, human waitress walking about the diner too, and in the back, he could see the gruff, but generally nice, Besalisk cook and owner, Dexter Jettster. He examined the menu, and decided that he wanted a cup of ardees to drink. Soon enough, Flo returned to his table and asked him if he wanted a cup of Jawa juice.

"No thanks," said Gregor politely, "I prefer the ardees, thank you."

"Jawa juice is ardees, mister," Flo told him.

"Oh, yeah," said Gregor, "Sorry about that."

"That's all right, honey," said WA-7 amiably. "I'll go get your drink, and then I'll take your order."

"Thank you, Flo," said Gregor. He watched the WA-7 wheel away. Being a clone commando who was routinely fighting battle droids, like most clones, he had a habit of disliking droids in general. However, his time with the little Colonel and D-Squad showed him that not all droids were bad, and he was grateful for having learned that lesson. In fact, he was beginning to wonder if he felt some sort of attraction to Flo. Obviously not a romantic attraction. No, organics and droids could not fall in love. But the way this waitress droid carried herself, more as a willing servant of the people and her decent master than a mechanical apparatus programmed to do work for lazy owners, it was as if this uncommon droid from a bygone era was to ordinary life what R2-D2 and the other mech droids had been to heroism: one of the finest and most unsung examples.

He continued to read his menu, until he made a decision on one of Dex's sliders and some hubba fries, one of his signature, and most delectable, dishes, plus some Trammistan chocolate ice cream for dessert. Soon, Flo returned again. Gregor took notice of the speed and grace of her locomotion, as well as the ease with which she carried his drink. She placed it before him.

"There's your Jawa juice," she said.

"Thanks a lot, ma'am," he replied.

"So, what'll it be, mister...?"

"Gregor," said Gregor, "I'm a clone, and my name is Gregor."

"Ah, yes," said Flo, "What'll it be?"

"I'll have a Coruscant Bantha burger with some hubba fries, and some Trammistan chocolate ice cream for dessert. And hold the vegetables. I'm a meat lover, because it tastes better than my trooper rations."

"Very good, honey," Flo replied. "You know, honey," she said conversationally, "you should try going to some other diners, too. Dex's Diner is one of the best, but I hear that many diners throughout the galaxy still have WA-7 droids like me, and some of them are old friends of mine."

Gregor blinked. "You're actually suggesting that I go see other diners, too? I would think you'd only want all service to come here."

"Yes, that's true," admitted Flo, "But my kind are worth seeing, even if it means trying other restaurants besides your favorite. We WA-7s are unanimously excellent waitresses, and we all have the same chipper, courteous personalities that clienteles love, but we still have our own quirks. I have a WA-7 friend called Marwigo at a diner on Stobar called Plop Dribble's. She has much of the same characteristics as a WA-7 droid should have, but she's still an individual. She's a little stuffier than me, and eccentric, (she believes that a droid could do a better job at running the galaxy than an organic), and she is also always ready to defend the diner from troublemakers, although I suppose I could be that way, too."

"Interesting," said Gregor, "But don't you think you should get back to waitressing now? This is all very insightful, but you might get a better tip if you work faster."

"Indeed," said Flo, "I work for tips, and to show Hermione Bagwa who's the better waitress around here. I'll give your order to Dex's at once." With that, she wheeled away on her unicycle wheel, getting back to work.

About ten minutes later, Flo returned again with Gregor's meal. Again, he noticed how Flo carried the tray full of food so perfectly balanced and moved so fast without tripping over anything or anyone or bumping into anything.

"One Coruscant Bantha slider with hubba fries, all meat-based, coming right up, Mr. Gregor," Flo said with enthusiasm. "Would you call that good service?"

"Almost," said Gregor, smiling, "Just be that quick and graceful with my dessert, and maybe you'll get something sweet."

"Thank you, Gregor," said Flo, "Enjoy your meal."

Gregor started to chow down on his all-meat Bantha burger, delicious as it promised to be, and his hubba fries, salty and tasty to the point of ecstasy. Dex and his droid waitress sure knew how to serve up great food. When his ice cream came later, it was great too, and once more, Flo served it up with finesse. She even told him that she had asked Dex to add a little whipped cream to it to increase the delicious flavor. Gregor was so satisfied that after he paid for his meal, he left a large ten credit tip for Flo.

On his way out, he noticed the pleasure Flo took in getting the tip, not to mention a hint of a jealous expression from Hermione Bagwa, the human waitress. He was convinced that WA-7 droids were worthy of the same recognition that D-Squad was, and now he wanted to see more of them if he could. Like some other Republic commandos, Gregor was considering deserting the Grand Army after the war, because it was good, serving the Republic, but he looked forward to a free life, too, one without someone like Mr. Borkus running his life. Maybe he could visit Stobar and Plop Dribble's someday and meet Marwigo.