A/N~ Alright! So, we are finally about to kick-start the war with a Yang! Well, not entirely so since this will be a Ruby-centric chapter, but still, we're going to begin the chaos and adventure the Clone Wars shall offer for the characters of RWBY!
And let's get to the reviews!
REVIEWS
Cy Man:
Thanks for the great review! It's really this kind of feedback that makes me quite accomplished and aware at the same time, spotting mistakes and inconsistencies and helping me work on them too. I'll be sure to keep on writing and making sure I'll get the facts right in the future :)
Sir Ludwig:
Well, it's always nice to acknowledge the people who have taken a definite liking to my story XD As for ideas, I'll consider asking if I need help. Otherwise, thank you so much for the review :)
And please give an applause to fenrir0612, kuranodesu, tomasaurusrex2, Drarnegas, Dinosaur Imperial Soldier, Lena 'Slipstream' Oxton and blackwing95 for pressing the Favourite and Follow buttons and staying tune to the story!
And so, we shall begin my 2018 fanfic craze with a new chapter! Enjoy and may the Force be with you!
Chapter 3: The Lost Droid
Iego,
Outer Rim Territories,
This was it. Ruby's very first mission as Jedi Knight. She had never wanted to be part of this brewing war, and yet, here she was, heading out through the galaxy without her Master to guide her. Since her departure from Coruscant, she was feeling a little bit tight in her heart about going on a mission all by herself. She was an official Knight and by encouragement of the Council, Ruby had to expect more of these lone trips to help win battles for the Republic.
"APPROACHING DESTINATION NOW, MASTER JEDI." The droid pilot reported. She could feel the anxiety coursing through her body as she neared her location, to find a missing Republic droid somewhere
There was so much she had to wonder from this first mission. Was the droid going to be hard to find? Would it be caught by some greedy junk dealer to be opted for selling? Or worse still, was it about to be decommissioned? She was only briefed that the droid was located on the planet Iego, where it was said it hid a hidden beauty from within. Ruby always heard the tales of the Angels; beautiful beings from Iego whose serenity was well regarded. She might have even heard Anakin Skywalker himself reputing about them at one point, though it might have been from what he has heard from outside sources.
Other than that, she was also given the exact place where the droid was last seen. It appeared it was accompanying a Jedi adept on a mission two centuries ago, to oversee negotiations of a small border war on some other system, stopping at a city in Iego for refuelling. Ever since then, the Jedi and his droid had disappeared. The Jedi Council then identified that the adept was killed in an assassination attempt planned by one of the belligerents of the conflict; his body sent back for his burial. The droid, however, was nowhere to be seen afterwards. While most had to assume it was destroyed during the murder, the fact that they did not find any of its remains left much to be discussed. The droid was claimed to have lots of important information about the Republic and the Jedi that should it fall into the wrong hands, it would most certainly be a blow to the both of them. Thus, it was Ruby's mission to find and retrieve the droid to have its data extracted back to Republic hands.
Ruby found it quite strange that the Jedi didn't even bother to look for the droid after finding out what happened to the dead adept. If that droid was so important, then wouldn't they make an effort to locate it, or whatever was left of it? Perhaps it was the typical notion that droids were seen as nothing more than tools or accessories for everyone, even the Jedi. She wanted to think that there was a tight connection or some bond between the Jedi and his droid, but without any specifics into his life, nothing was for certain.
Ruby would sure love to have a droid, not just as a helpful assistant to perform maintenance or technical purposes. She would definitely find a droid which could be something like a pet, or even a friend. Back in the Temple, she used to occasionally help with fixing other Jedi's droids, often seeing their less than joyful expressions when the repairs were done. However, there was one notable exception.
It was always the happiest of appointments when she was brought to help fix the astromech of Anakin Skywalker, who he called Artoo. Every time Ruby would fix the white and blue R2 unit, it... No, he would not just accept the maintenance and just roll off as most other droids were programmed to do. He would roll around and spin his cute dome with little chirps of joy and come up to Ruby as if to say thanks. All of this was confirmed as definite gestures of gratitude when Skywalker himself told her exactly Artoo said to her. It was these fun moments that made her feel warm inside, to understand that somewhere inside of all of that circuitry and electronics, even droids had some degree of sentience and feelings.
It has certainly inspired Ruby to extend her studious interests in droids, especially astromechs because, well, they were cute. Even down to learning binary code to speak with droids like Artoo, the young Knight's curiosity for the technological wonders and also terrors became quite the advantage in some of her missions.
Skywalker and Artoo certainly had some brotherly love between themselves. Could Ruby ever have such a relationship with a droid like theirs? She could use some company to back her up, now that she was going to go to battle without her Master most of the time.
Ruby did her best to lose the tension in her body. She had to remember the times where she used to go on alone without Kenta during some of their missions. Most of the time, he was always keeping an eye on her, making sure she wouldn't go overboard. After some time to get used to his habits, she grew to become more comfortable around his watchful gazes, fighting alongside her should the situation demand it. Now, however, she was finally on her own, with no ally to watch her back. At least, not for now.
"I AM PICKING UP NO TRACES OF ANY CONFEDRATE SIGNATURES. ALL IS CLEAR." Honestly, Ruby didn't really feel any better about the absence of enemy troops or ships. She was so new into the whole war thing that everything seemed so foreign to her. She wasn't sure what to expect; she hasn't even faced a battle droid before, even during her own adventures with Master Kenta. She only faced pirates, wild beasts and some of the occasional crooks of the underworld. Facing an army of well-armed battle droids was going to be the toughest challenge she was ever going to face. Based on what she had learned from droids, these B1 battle droids of the Trade Federation were weak on their own, but in battalions, they were an army of ants waiting to swarm all over their prey down.
She heard that her destination was going to be a small city built at the walls of a cliff, too small for any large scale battle. She did, however, have to watch out for the skies. This wasn't going to be some small scuffle like before. For all she knew, the enemy army had squadrons of Trade Federation fighters ready to bombard the Republic wherever they went. There was no turning back for cover if that should happen to her.
There was no time to think negatively. Ruby was going to accept the hardships of war, whether she liked it or not. She was sure many of the early Knights of her level were also going through the same feelings, but most of the ones she knew were admittedly more mature than she was. If they could take the heat, then maybe she could too.
All she needed was some meditation. Although strapped into her seat built into the side wall of the ship's inside, she took the time to enjoy her last moments of comfort before she would embark on the lone mission to search for the Republic droid.
Ruby felt the ship getting closer to the planet, through the gravity well tightening up the insides of her body. She was then freed from the pressure when the shuttle finally passed. Now that she was safely on the world, she unbuckled her seat belt and went up to the cockpit. She was eager to find out what her destination was like, always so intrigued by what she would see in front of her. There was a slight ease in her curiosity without Kenta to tell her to remain seated. She could now freely walk about and see what was going on. Perhaps one little bending of the rules wouldn't hurt…
She stood behind the seat of the droid pilot and steadied her hand behind it, watching with awe of the scenery around her. The planet's surface was barren and dry, with large spires of rock towering over cliffs. Below these cliffs was a constant blanket of fog and mist, blocking anything on the ground from being seen by anything and anyone. Ruby scanned the terrain, still feeling immersed in this new world she was exploring. Even if it looked dead and empty, there was no stopping her from thinking of the possibilities that somewhere in this dry world, life lived in strange ways.
After a while, she then spotted civilization at last. The shuttle was nearing the city of their destination, with the buildings built like towers over a large platform sticking out of the cliffs. There wasn't much activity going on around here, with very few transports moving about. It seemed like the place wasn't much of a popular attraction or of capital city status; just a quiet place for its population to live without having to face the problems of the galaxy.
The RX-series pilot droid put the ship to a slow halt, descending down on the frontal landing platform within range of its optics. It worked with its mechanical arms, turning the control stick with robotic motions as if they moved in each direction to steady the ship, step by step. It turned its head around to face the Jedi passenger behind it, waving its arm to give a salute to Ruby for a safe venture into the cliff-bound city.
"LANDING IN THIRTY SECONDS, MASTER JEDI. I WISH YOU LUCK IN YOUR MISSION." A smile crept up on Ruby's face. Hearing the droid 'wishing' her good luck on her mission made her feel a little amused, knowing that the sentence was only programmed into it which lacked any emotion or warmth in its voice. She only found the effort its makers must have made to cheer up its passengers that was kind of funny.
Well, enough of the ride and her desires for the perfect droid companion, it was time to get serious. When the shuttle landed on the platform, she was going to be in for a day of looking for a single droid that could prove beneficial to the Republic. Though she couldn't help but feel sorry for the droid in question; not only was it abandoned to rust in this quiet city away from the Jedi Temple, but to now be one of many centres of attention for the war, it was going to bring a lot of unwanted trouble for the little guy.
She had to rescue the droid before the Separatists would come for it. She didn't know what to expect from her new enemy. Would they come in those large battle formations she heard from Master Kenta during his time on Geonosis? Or would they just send and agent to hunt down the droid just as it was back when its master was killed? She had to prepare for the worst, with her custom-made saber pike folded into its compact form carried on her back, underneath her cape to hide it from watchful eyes.
Finally, the landing ramp was brought down and the doors opened up, revealing the small community of people walking around to visit stalls and shops, as well as droids and other workers lifting up cargo to be loaded in and out of other landed ships on other platforms. She was a little too inexperienced to know it, but the sight of a Republic ship on the landing platform was bound to raise some eyes from the locals in the area. She could see some bystanders whipping their heads towards her direction, as if she was somewhat known to them.
Ruby refused to take any notice, more focused on the mission to be seen by everyone around her. She walked off her ship and headed off deeper into the city to start searching. While doing so, she was letting her appearance give off some reactions to the crowd. The sight of a lone being with the soft robes and majestic-looking hood and cape was already spiking up some curiosity about where she came from.
Nevertheless, she could take comfort in knowing that she could go through with her mission with ease. It was easy to remember that among the billions living in the galaxy, there were only about ten thousand Jedi out there. Needless to say, their presence wasn't widely known, despite the tales told throughout history. Perhaps Ruby could go along with it and hope the citizens here in Iego were not as well-informed as most systems within the Republic.
For now, she seemed to appear as innocent and pure as some of the Angels who inhabited one of the large moons above the planet without giving out any clue that she was a mystical warrior of any sort. Ruby made her way into the city and into the relatively quiet and small crowd of other pedestrians who seemed to have nothing else to do but live life or do business in the docking area.
So, it was time for Ruby to get to work, to find the missing droid and return it to Republic hands. Her first place to look would be the obvious place to start; any place where they could be selling droids or their parts. She must have also faced the fact that it had been two hundred years since the droid lost its master, so some information could have been lost and would leave her with nothing effective to be used to narrow her search. She hoped that any vendor or shopkeeper would have some records that the previous owners of their stores would leave behind that could give her some leads.
Even if there was some light in her investigation, it was going to be one long day indeed…
Ruby was quite invested in her mission to find the droid she was sent for. She didn't even stop at the local motel to book a night's stay if she knew it was going to be quite a long mission. Yet, somewhere inside of her, she was going to give it a shot and find the droid as best she could and aspired to locating it in just an hour or two before she could be off back home.
Alas, it was already taking her six long hours and after all that time searching every nook and cranny of the city, there was just not a single sign of the droid anywhere. She looked for every shop she could find that might have had some witness to the droid, which on hindsight, meant every single one of them!
She even went to the murder site, which was also recorded in her mission file, but still could not find any leads to where it might have gone to. She had been searching the city for a good six hours now, and it felt like she had been walking in circles, failing to find anything that could lead her to the droid. Eventually, she had to look for the last bit of the city she hasn't explored yet.
Outside at the very edges of the landing platform that housed her ship, she went to one of the stalls she didn't manage to visit. To her relief, it was indeed a droid shop, as evident by the amount of parts, circuits, gears, thingamajigs and even the bodies of numerous models all stacked up or shelved for display, showcasing all sorts of equipment to buy. Ruby felt that this could be the place. It wasn't as big as the last droid seller she visited, but she was willing to take any chance she could get to find the droid there. It was probably her last chance to finding it.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" the human seller called. "I've got all the things you can possibly want for your very own droid! Parts, gizmos, other piles of stuff. I got it all here!" Ruby didn't hesitate to get close and personal with the collection of droids and parts inside. After looking around, there was no sign of the model she was looking for. Not even an old piece of part that fit the era of its prominence.
She turned to the vendor, who seemed a little discomforted by her presence. His brows furrowed like he was being chased by a ghost or something. Like he was anxious, waiting for someone else. It was probably a not-so-lucky day for him, lacking any profitable gains.
"I'm looking for a T3-model droid. Do you happen to have one?" The seller looked around to look at the arrangement of droid bodies lining up against the counter behind him. He then turned back and delivered the news to Ruby.
"Sorry, miss. I don't have any of those." After telling the man with the goatee at the counter the type of droid she needed, she was again being pelted with rejection, giving her a sour taste of defeat in her search. "These models haven't been in centuries. Wouldn't you like the standard R2-units instead?" The man showed Ruby the assortment of shut-down astromechs, rusty and full of dust, lying there for her to choose. It was true that the T3's were old news immediately by the time newer and more successful models were released long before even the R2-units. This was probably the unlucky break Ruby did not want to stumble upon.
As tempting as the offer was to an R2 unit for herself, Ruby decided that it was not worth the money. She needed to stick with what she needed to do.
"Actually…" she told the man. "I'm looking for a specific droid. I think it was last seen here in this city." She then decided to hand the man her datapad to show the exact droid she needed to find. The man took a good look at the screen, scanning for the details of the droid. Ruby didn't need to worry about exposing herself to the man of her identity. The datapad she was using was slightly altered to look like something that belonged to a traveller's tool or a collector's guide tagging numerous trinkets and other items of interest throughout the galaxy. "It belonged to a Jedi not too long ago." The man grabbed his chin, somehow interested in the droid he was looking at.
"Ah." he nodded his head. Ruby sensed the man may have known something about the droid she showed him. "This droid, eh?" She moved forward immediately and smacked her hands on the counter, surprising the man.
"You know anything about it?!" she excitedly asked. The seller stepped back in a flurry of shock and got back to Ruby after clearing his throat. The young Jedi rubbed the back of her head apologetically after her excitement was let loose.
"I'm sorry, girl." Her excitement was not to last, being shot back with another negative on her questioning. The disappointment kicked in again, leaving her right back to where she was before; lost and defeated. "But that droid has been sold off a long time ago. One of my shop's past owners did the job of giving it to some other traveller. You sure you don't want any other droid?"
"No, that's fine." She shook her head, still unsatisfied with the unfortunate loss. She was still hopeful for at least a few more leads to where the droid might be now. "Do you happen to know who the person was?" Yet again, she was given no clue to the whereabouts of the droid or its last new owner.
"Sorry, lady. I can't really help 'ya there." Ruby scoffed in her head, not wanting to show her disappointment in front of the seller. She had to show a neutral face to avoid unnecessary questions. "Why do you even need such a droid? It's old news, missy." That was one of those questions, prompting Ruby to try and make a pass on that question to protect her mission. This was now turning to a dead end, right as soon as she began, like going out on your very first walk as a baby, only to not being able to open the door to get out.
"Never mind." She decided it was time to end her search. Six hours of searching had been for nothing; every shop she visited and every corner of the city to look for, there was nothing she could find or use to complete her first mission. "I'll just be leaving then." After waving goodbye, the Jedi Knight turned away and left the stall, and a less-than-disappointed seller to shrug off his missed chance to sell more.
Pity too. She looked like someone who had a decent amount of money to wanting to buy something as rare and ancient as a T3-series utility droid. For now, he had to accept having no sales today; there was going to be something more special on its way for his business.
It didn't really matter if he didn't get to sell off something to her, he had bigger plans for himself. In fact, he was relieved when the girl outside his stall. He walked into the house behind his stall, entering the living room where rock walls surrounded the casual furniture and other stuff and collectibles of poor quality; arranged untidily and probably unused. He reached for a door at the other end of the room, opening it up to reveal a messy closet of more scrap and spare parts, rustier and dustier than the ones he sold. Within that closet, however, was his prized possession. The one thing he most needed to sell to his specific customer and get loads of cash to escape the boring unprofitable life on Cliffhold City.
"You stay back there, you rascal." He snarled at the lone droid inside the tiny space, contrasting from his initial politeness he showed to the mysterious young girl outside. The little astromech retreated into what little room it had, turning its head in frantic spastic shakes as if to show fear towards the oppressive threats of the human. The droid seemed a bit battered in many places around itself, filled with small dents and scratches added with smudges of dirt and patches of dust around its rusted body. The seller kept his angry gaze at the droid with pure frustration, making sure to keep the mechanized nuisance in its place.
"You're not leaving this store until your real customer gets here." His warning continued to subdue the droid to further submission. It seemed the droid had tried to escape the torturous abuse the human was forcing upon it. An escape attempt that definitely failed, resulting in the droid's body being whacked at, damaging its already aged plating. "If you dare leave this place again, I'll sell you for scrap instead!"
The doors shut, leaving the droid back in the darkness. The human seller let out a gruff cough from the dust blown from the door closing. He stomped his way back to the stall while awaiting the time for that customer to come pick up the droid. He probably regretted damaging the outer structure of the droid, but all that mattered was that it was still functioning and moving about, given its previous escape.
He still had to wonder why anyone would want this old piece of junk anyway. Why did everyone want such an antiquated model like it? First, it was the mysterious contact who called him about it. Then, there was this girl who came close to finding out about his possession of the droid. He decided to choose to sell the droid to the former. His contact definitely had the larger sum of money to give him, much more than that girl would have ever had.
That was all he needed; a lot of money to help him live the good life for a long time to come…
Ruby was about to head over to the local motel to finally call it a day. It was going to take another day to fully refuel her ship with enough fuel to return to Coruscant to report her findings to the Council.
She had to prepare for what to say to the Council. At least not finding the droid was beyond her control. It was simply the case of a forgotten droid that was unfortunately sold off to someone else right in the middle of the ignorance of its existence by the Council. She hoped the droid was in better hands; she'd be very upset if the droid ended up with a troubled owner who would probably discard him for spare parts or worse. Now, there was no point crying over spilt blue milk. She had to accept the possibility that the droid was gone for now. She wondered if the Council had some records of the droid somewhere in the records, since it was belonged to a Jedi of that temple. Maybe she'll find her search there and hopefully find a way to locate the droid; if its transponder was still working and not found by its new owner, that is…
"Excuse me, ma'am." Suddenly, she was called by a young male voice from behind her, prompting her to stop and turn around. Behind her, she saw a young boy waving to her while being seated on a shabby hammock hanging in between two supports of the awning of the building behind him. His bright face was dirtied by smudges of dirt and his brown hair was messy, matching the poor and ragged robes he wore. He looked very young, almost a few years behind Ruby, maybe. Yet, his voice sounded off like a kid who knew how to live in the tough alleys of the city. "I believe you're here for something."
"Uh, yeah." Ruby obliged, surprised that the boy was somehow aware of her plight. "Actually, I am." She walked over to the boy, wondering if there could be something the boy could do for her while she was still at a loss. "I'm looking for a droid that was last seen here. But I'm sort of out of luck here." The boy jumped out of his hammock and went over to the older Jedi, hands clasped behind his back while giving his attention to Ruby.
"May I know what the droid looks like?" he asked, intrigue building up.
"I guess…" Ruby dug through for her datapad again, gave it to the boy who then looked at the screen which showed the same info file about the droid. "This is it." She waited for a response as the boy took a read through the details on the device. The Jedi tapped her foot, clearly aspiring for a break in the case, that the kid might know something. The chances of him even recognizing it were dangerously slim, but she held onto to faith that there could be a new path to finding what she needed and help the Republic gain an edge over the enemy.
"Ohhh…" Ah! A sign. Her eyes widened with anticipation. This kid seemed to know something. It was slight, but every little thing counted for Ruby. "This T3, huh?" Her excitement mounted, but she kept her expectations as low as she could. Anything was possible. Her hopes were still reaching the roof, begging to the Force that the kid had at least some information on the droid. A clue, a sign, a definite answer. She had to accept anything at this point, as long as it led somewhere.
"Ma'am. I have just what you're looking for." Ruby couldn't hold it in. She practically ran for the boy to get the answers she wanted so bad. The chance to succeed on her first mission had just opened up again.
"Really?!" she exclaimed with the utmost joy; her over-excited expression startling the boy. However, when she thought about it, there was one little thing that didn't seem to fit. "But that vendor told me that the droid was sold off to someone else before him."
"Oh, Grondor?" The boy spoke with mock disbelief, before giving out a raspberry to show Ruby how much he knew about that grumpy old vendor. "Yeah, he's not really the type to be trusted." Ruby thought as much. That seller had been playing a trick on her the whole time. She could probably use a bit of a visit to him and show him how offended she was towards being swindled from buying it.
"No worries, I just stole the droid from him, and is now ready to be sold." The boy assured before laughing out the salt to Grondor's injury of the loss. "And he doesn't even know it! So if you want your droid, you're going to have to make the deal now." Ruby seemed to question the ethics of how this boy obtained the droid. She was a little hesitant about making a deal from someone who had just stolen from another. Then again, she was told a lie by that particular someone, and the mission was vital to both the Jedi and the Republic. Supposedly, she would have to accept the deal anyway; get the droid and leave off with humility over her results. The mission would be over and the war would be off to a good start.
"Great!" She snapped her fingers, accepting the offer without reluctance. "Take me there!" The boy swung his hand around and shot it out to the direction of where he was about to take her to.
"Right this way! Jaybo Hood's got you covered." Soon, the two made their way to the place where Ruby could finally get her droid and be on her way back home. She only had to hope that she had enough credits to afford it. Otherwise, she'd be a bit of a deadweight and would be forced to prolong the stresses of managing at crunch time.
Ruby was soon taken to a small junkyard somewhere deep inside the city. It was probably around the same corner she had recently searched at, even dropping glances at the area but couldn't seem to find anything without intruding into the property. Now, she knew the place was Jaybo's and he would give her the droid without having to dig through the thrash herself.
She walked through the arched entranceway and was led through a clear dirt path that was flanked by heaps of metallic or mechanical junk and scrap. The conditions for most of what Ruby saw were rather unsanitary and wrecked, bent or snapped in many places due to factors like blasts, explosions, physical damages and more. Everything seemed like a droid 'graveyard'. Ruby certainly hoped the droid she was looking for wasn't among the totalled garbage that the boy was selling.
Jaybo led Ruby to the small building inside the yard, having multiple openings and little protection from any prying eyes of what could go on inside and allowing passers-by to see the messy counter of more junk and some utensils and kitchenware that was left jumbled up to be covered in dirt and cobwebs. Ruby decided to pay no attention to the accommodations; she was here for the droid, plain and simple.
"So, is this where I can find the droid?" she asked the boy.
"Yep!" Jaybo hopped into the house and dug through an open closet where again, junk piled up. He went to work and dug through the messy heap to find her droid, throwing away the stuff in the way while also lifting up some of the heavier thrash.
"You need any help?" offered Ruby, but Jaybo just swung his hand out to her while his head was still deep in the heap.
"No, it's cool." he called from the room. "Just wait there. I'll get the droid out in no time." So, Ruby decided to let him be, leaning herself against a column of the building that help support the metallic roof over her.
She watched on as Jaybo continued to rummage through the junk; eyes on the kid and waiting for the droid to come out. All the while, though, she didn't even bother to look around for any trouble, especially the kind that would sneak up on you and take something from you when you least expect it. And not far away from where she was, something was coming, and it was after her…
"It's gotta be around here, somewhere." Jaybo also seemed to ignore the possibility of being watched as he dug and dug through his thrash for the droid. "That old T3 model's been sitting around for quite long, lately." After getting rid of a few more junk, he was now a few inches into the room, where his voice was slightly echoed. "I tell 'ya. Imagine the little guy's joy when he finds out someone's ready to buy him after a thousand years of isolation from the galaxy. It's going to be such a swell day for him!"
Ruby smiled, imagining the delight the droid would show. Unless of course, it was one of those typical expressionless droids. Either way, she just wanted to get the mission done and come home with a victory.
Little did she know, from the entrance, a lone figure approached, sneaking closely towards her. It made its way for the Jedi and made a quick scan with its electronic red eye, searching Ruby for something it was sent for. It was a little droid, but soon enough, Ruby would have to learn that big things come in small packages.
As she waited some more, she grew a little out of focus from boredom. It has already been a minute since Jaybo started digging into the pile of junk and she was starting to lose her patience. Quite a lot of times she was reminded by her Master to keep her composure and be patient over anything. As he also pointed out to her before she left, the lessons were often forgotten with the energetic Jedi tending to lose focus and fidget or tap her foot from anxiety of doing nothing. She had to move something of her body, or she'd be constricted with stress. That would be a side effect from her incredible ability to use the Force and speed away in a dash. After using it often, it was certain that she'd grown to be a nervous wreck if nothing was happening around her. That was why she was always out for adventure, always jumping in at the slightest moment when on a mission with her Master.
Sometimes, however, it was this excitement that would cost her at any degree of consequence. Especially right now…
SNAP!
"Wha-?!" She felt a strong tug from her back, pulling her back to also feel something snap behind her. When she turned around in a blitz, she saw what was to be another episode of chaos. From behind her, a small humanoid droid stood with its arm extended out all the way at her. In its hand, Ruby scowled at the sight of her precious possession being snatched away from underneath her cape and headed right for the droid.
Her saber scythe.
"Hey!" she screamed out. "That's mine!" The droid grabbed a hold of the folded weapon and let out what sounded like an electronic fit of naughty giggles at her. Ruby's annoyance levels grew high, her teeth gritted with frustration at the mischievous little thief. Then, to her dismay, the droid soon took off and ran for it, taking her weapon with it.
Alarmed, Ruby spun around to tell Jaybo of her plight, but when she saw the closet where he was, she saw nothing and no one. No droid, no Jaybo.
PHEWWEET!
Suddenly, there was a loud whistling sound directed at her from the doorway. Turning to face there, she found Jaybo, leaning against the column of the frame with a smug look on his face.
"See 'ya! Loser!" And soon, he too dashed off at the same direction as the droid thief. Ruby let it all sink down inside of her. She knew it was going to come to this. She was being scammed! Overcome with both exasperation and panic, Ruby was about to mumble with anger for the two-timing rat who took her weapon. But she knew better than that; deep breaths came and slowly calmed herself down to avoid being too caught up with her emotions as told by Kenta so many times before. All that came out in the end was a rough sigh and the rubbing of her forehead for being so distracted.
"That's just great! My first mission and I already lose my weapon!" she groaned before giving chase to get back her weapon before she'd lose it for good.
Her chase led her much deeper into the city, where she could barely see the two tricksters trying to run off into the shadows. She followed them as they crashed into some of the other locals trying to lose Ruby. Jaybo counted on hiding within the darker areas of the city where he could shield himself from her sights.
When Ruby saw them about to run into the alleys, she got to work and prepared to put her skills to the test. She ran right for them, finding a way to outrun and catch them before they'd be gone. She decided to run to the side, somehow away from the two troublemakers and towards some of the buildings at the sides of where Jaybo and his droid were running off to.
As the two made their way through the dark area, they soon halted to see if Ruby was gone from their sights. They looked behind to see that the angry woman was nowhere to be found, not even at the bright lights at the back. Jaybo waited for a good while, waiting for anything to happen. If he was able to lose her, then surely she must have run off to find security like any 'good' woman would do. Surely at this rate, he was probably already long gone to her, successfully stealing whatever it was that his little friend had taken.
He bent down to meet the little droid and carried the weird red box-shaped gadget, inspecting it closely. He could not figure out what it was. Was it some sort of weapon? A blaster? Or was it a big box of valuables, locked tight to keep unwanted hands away. He just didn't know what to make of it. Unfortunately, his investigation would be cut short.
Suddenly, in an instant, the object soon flew up in the air, making Jaybo fall from his feet and landing on the road from the surprise. The red device flew all the way up the roofs while Jaybo recovered from his fall. When he looked up, he could see a most shocking occurrence.
There she was; Ruby Rose. She was all the way at the top, grabbing her rightful weapon from the ground. Jaybo was beyond astonished. The thing flew right from the ground like there was nothing! He didn't see any physical body speeding towards it. There wasn't any application or tool that was used to hoist it up. There could only be one sort of explanation to how Ruby was able to pull her weapon back to her hands.
But Ruby had no time for Jaybo's questions. She immediately made the jump from the roofs and landed on the ground. The force of the drop made her cape fly up and shot out a storm of red rose petals which blew right at Jaybo and his droid with full velocity. After shielding his eyes from the breeze, he laid his eyes in fright at the sight of the older girl who had just jumped down from a building and landing gracefully without harm. Ruby stared down at the boy with a very cross look on her face.
To help out its owner based on its programming, the tiny droid jumped forward to tackle Ruby and give Jaybo time to escape. However, Ruby managed to catch the droid before it could reach her, raising her hand and used the Force to trap the droid in an invisible grasp that stopped it in its tracks.
With her ingenuity on droid circuitry and mechanics, she focused her energy and began to locate the central power core of the droid with her mind. Once she found it, she pushed in some more power to sever the wires connected to the core which then shut it off. The droid fell limp while still afloat in the air by Ruby's unseen grip on it. Jaybo helplessly watched as the Jedi disabled his tool of the trade, beyond baffled by what he saw right in front of him.
After finishing up with the droid, Ruby turned around to get back to the kid who started this little chase. She stared down at the boy while walking towards him, ready to deal with him for even daring to try and steal her beloved Crescent Rose from her, and with a cheap shot too.
"Eep!" As Ruby approached him, Jaybo was stunned by the sheer and sudden power of this magical woman in front of him. He tried to make a run for it, but Ruby quickly caught him by the back of his collar and pulled the boy towards her with a strict face.
"Y-you're one of them, right?" Jaybo stuttered, fearful for what may come to punish him. He tried to put up a straight face at Ruby, but the overwhelming power of the woman before him completely struck him at the heart, leaving him unable to do anything. "You're… a Jedi!" As Ruby had thought about before, Jaybo was one of many people in the galaxy who hadn't seen the real power of a Jedi, only heard through stories. How the stories went for this kid must had been a little farfetched. No matter, he had to be taught a lesson.
"Listen, kid!" Ruby pointed her finger at Jaybo's face, letting him know that she wasn't being as nice as she usually was. "I dunno what games you're trying to pull, but I really have no time for your nonsense!"
"P-please, let me go!" begged Jaybo. Ruby still kept up with her rant at the boy's antics.
"Do I really need to let the authorities know of what you're doing right now?" Then, when she looked up at the city's roofs, her angered face turned into one of pure devilry; a smirk forming at her mouth. "Or should I do something you're not going to like?"
"W-what are you going to do?" Jaybo continued to panic with Ruby's intent on making him pay. Ruby then led the boy out back to the light where they could see the rooftops. She then pointed out to a lone uplink node somewhere above one of the buildings. She had just the thing to deal with low-life thieves like Jaybo, even if he was only about a few years younger than she was.
"How about I hang you up there on that antenna and leave you there where it's going to take a long time for anyone to find you? Sounds good?" The sudden threat by Ruby made Jaybo shiver even more, receiving the humiliating dishonour to be hung from above where many would never find him for a while. Just being up there to be ridiculed in front of everyone, especially the authorities. If Ruby wasn't really going to leave him up there, she'd be sure to send the authorities to find him for his misdeeds.
"Okay! Okay!" He clasped his hands into fists together, begging for Ruby to let him go and be spared both the embarrassment and safe passage from the security's eyes. "I won't steal again! I promise! Please don't leave me up there!"
Ruby was now satisfied with Jaybo's terrified pleads, not because she found the feeling of fear itself quite enjoyable, but rather the fact that she was able to resolve the issue without any trouble. She decided to oblige to his surrender and let him go. Jaybo, begrudged over his failed attempt at scoring one more, lucky break.
"There." Ruby mused. "Was that so hard?"
"Shut up." Jaybo shook his clothes by the shoulders after being roughed up from his capture. Since this was a little scheme of thievery, Ruby had to accept things as they were once again. Her mission was still at a dead end.
"Well, looks like there isn't really much else to do but inform the Council about my findings." She brushed her red-highlighted hair, walking away from Jaybo to go on her way back to the motel. "The longer I stay in this place; the more stuff I lose." Turning away from the thief, she moved off to give it a rest and wait for her ship to be refuelled so she could finally leave the planet and report to the Council of the missing droid.
So much anticipation for her mission was once again destroyed as soon as she knew Jaybo led her to a hoax. She was now left with both failure and a disgruntled mood after having to chase and bring back her saber. She nearly lost a valuable weapon for her role as a Jedi protector. She nearly lost, as any Master would put it, her life.
"Wait!" Suddenly, the same thief she let go called out to her again. Ruby rolled her eyes and spun back around, not willing to hear any more of what this punk had to say. Jaybo's face, this time, looked to be quite regretful, as if he had suddenly repented for his crime.
When he spoke to Ruby, he had once again opened up the case with a strained trust from Ruby.
"That droid. I know where it is." Again, Ruby couldn't afford to even bother about Jaybo. She felt that he was pushing his luck; that his attempt to catch her attention would lead to yet another haphazard robbery as a fall back plan to get more.
"Not this again, kid." She wanted to brush him off and get away from him to deal with her own business. "Look, you really have to get a life. Fooling people twice is really not the best idea."
"No, really!" This time, Jaybo was insistent. Or at least, to Ruby, sounded insistent. She wasn't sure if to whether give this kid a chance or see him as desperate for a gain. "I know where the droid is! I'm not lying this time!" Ruby had to find time to see if she could either trust him or simply let him be. She was going to do the one thing her old Master would tell her to do.
Don't think… Feel…
So, seeing Jaybo's eager look, she saw a boy who wanted to show her what he saw or knew. Remembering how Jaybo was when he was scheming against her, she then compared that with his expression now. She felt for the emotions of the boy, sensing for his true intentions, no matter how inexperienced her vision was.
Through her senses in the Force, within all of that shabby exterior she could feel a pang of truth in his words. She could feel a bit more honesty in him, feeling the light in his heart. There'd be no way that honesty was fake, because it felt natural, without any ill will or malicious intent. With that in mind, she went ahead and gave him another shot at convincing her of the droid's whereabouts. She crouched down to Jaybo's level and stared him down in the eye.
"Start talking." she muttered. "And if I catch you trying to swindle me again, I'll probably drop you off on top of the cliff instead." Jaybo took no time to tell Ruby about the location of her objective, pointing out to where it was.
"It's with Grondor." he confessed. "He's got the droid you're looking for." His answer was met with very little enthusiasm from Ruby. He had just met the guy earlier and told her that the droid was bought by someone else, meaning that he would have not a single clue about its current location. So why would Jaybo straight up say it was him who still had it?
"But I thought someone before him sold it off." said Ruby.
"And I thought you heard me when I said it. Grondor's a big fat liar." Jaybo reminded her. Yes, Ruby remembered now; he did say Grondor was not one to be trusted. So, it might seem that the vendor was in fact fooling her into thinking he didn't have the droid. Then again, after what Jaybo did, was it really credible to follow through? Coming from a thief himself, it was a little bit hard to swallow.
"How do I know you're not one yourself?" She stared him down again, suspicious of his motives.
"Hey!" Jaybo raised his hand to his side, making a pledge to not make any attempt to trick her again. "A swindler like me never tries the same trick twice." Ruby stood up and turned around, balling her hand into a fist before placing it on her lips while pondering. Now, it was time to think; about what to do with Jaybo's claims of Grondor possessing an old droid that was most likely sold off well before her time here.
After considering the options, Ruby was finally ready to see the light shining on the problem. If there was ever a chance that she might get the droid, the she might as well take it while Jaybo was showing some signs of truth.
"Take me to Grondor." She finally agreed to Jaybo's word, if not with a little suspicion. "And do remember what'll happen if I get robbed again." Her warning came loud and clear and Jaybo knew not to mess with a Jedi, especially twice.
"Promise! Won't do a thing!" With his promise, he prepared to leave with his deactivated droid in hand, leading Ruby to Grondor's store where she would have a little talk with the vendor. It might serve as a lesson for Ruby; one that she might have needed to heed when going out in the bigger galaxy…
Always be on the lookout for cheapskates…
The two returned to the open docking area where Grondor was selling his goods at his stall, expecting to see some deception-breaking unfold in their eventual meeting with the man. When they arrived, they could see the man in the same mood of glee he showed to Ruby during her previous visit. Upon looking at him, Ruby wouldn't really see him as the type of guy who would keep things from her. However, it had become common etiquette to never take things for granted, especially from people who seemed like they would help you.
Perhaps this was going to be one of those times to fully see a man for who he really was, with the help of a boy who just tried to steal from her. To put it short, she was caught in a situation where she was unsure and felt a bit blind of what was going on around her now. All these lies, thefts and deceit; it was getting through to her like a toxic cloud catching her in chaos.
She was going to set things straight and probably do a bit more investigating on the vendor and see if there were any discriminating evidence on the man trying to dissuade her from getting the droid.
"Hold on." Suddenly, Jaybo stopped her with his hand out. He then led Ruby to behind a wall away from Grondor's sight where he crouched down to whisper to her. Ruby was not sure what Jaybo was doing or coming up with now, but she hoped it was going to help her rather than trouble her. "You wait here."
"Why?" She asked again, sceptical over his sudden request to remain where she was.
"Because like I said, Hondor's a real conniving snake." explained Jaybo. "I'm going to let you know that and show you the truth. Just wait here and listen up." Ruby decided to let him have his shot at talking to Grondor. As far as Ruby knew, the only thing worse than a liar, was another liar. She stayed close to the wall, almost at earshot from where Grondor was, so she could hear the whole conversation between him and Jaybo.
She peeked over to see the boy walking casually towards the stall. Once Jaybo reached within sight of the seller, she could see the gruff face on Grondor's face; a stark contrast to the seemingly nice man she met earlier. He must have possibly had some bad past with the kid. Well, anyone would have a bad day when your stuff is stolen, right? Perhaps Jaybo had caused a bit of trouble for the old man before that probably explained the hostile reaction from the vendor.
"Hey, Grondor!" Regardless, Jaybo greeted the man as if there wasn't any bad blood between them. "Do you mind helping me out with something?" The boy came over and leaned his arm against the counter, annoying Grondor further. Ruby paid close attention to the talk unfolding, anticipating some break in her investigation.
"Ugh. Not you again, Jaybo." Grondor groaned. "I don't have time to deal with kids like you. So why don't you just buzz off?" Ruby could hear the man loud and clear; his voice coming out as coarse, angered and impatient.
"Come on, Grondor." Jaybo tried to make some 'business' with the vendor, hoping to expose him in front of Ruby. "Can't we just make a deal and be on our merry way?" Grondor slapped his forehead, clearly not wanting anything to do with the boy in front of him. His growls were easily heard, giving Ruby some indication that Grondor had something else in mind right now. The man looked like he had other plans to do that probably didn't require anyone else's attention. She even felt a bit of defensive impulses in the man, through her sensing in the Force. It was starting to become clear to Ruby at this point; if there was something Grondor was hiding, then it appeared that his earlier interaction with her may had come as a lucky break for the man. Then again, she did once notice some discomfort in his eyes when she met him. First, she thought it was something in the air or another rough day at work. Now, however, she was starting to suspect something was going on behind the scenes that Grondor didn't want her, or anyone else, to know.
"What do you want?" Ruby continued on listening out for any hint in the talk, hearing the vendor finally conceding to discuss with Jaybo about his fake proposal.
"I was hoping…" Jaybo walked away a little further from the counter, tapping his chin as if to think about what to get from Grondor. He then turned around, looked at the man with a face of intrigue and shot out his demand. "I could trade that T3 droid you're selling for a few power couplers."
This was it. Ruby was about to hear what Grondor would say back to Jaybo. She waited for the man to answer and confirm her suspicions, or debunk yet another one of Jaybo's lies to her. Grondor crossed his arms as if to fight back and send the boy packing, but he was indeed going to give Ruby the answer she wanted to hear.
"Ugh! Forget it, Jaybo!" he exclaimed. "That droid is being sold to the highest bidder. I can't afford to waste it all on a junk seller like you."
There! That was the break! Ruby could not believe what she had just heard. That man… that sick old son of a Kowalkian monkey lizard… lied to her! He had kept the droid a secret from her and coated it with a big old fib. She couldn't contain her disappointment, angered by the deception she had been caught by. And if that wasn't enough, someone else had already made plans to buy the droid from him, clearly showing Grondor's true motives of greed and deception. It was truly a baffling thing to experience for Ruby; having to be told a lie and it worked. She felt like such a fool to be discouraged by the man, causing her to instantly jump out and deal with him with her own barrage of verbal attacks. But she knew better not to spring out and flush out her anger. She had to contain it, calming herself down before she would erupt in rage from his betrayal. She needed to hear more of what Grondor would say, giving her a better, more peaceful idea on how to approach him.
"Oh, so you've found a customer for that droid?" Jaybo casually let the conversation go on, speaking to the man with suave. "Gee, I wonder why anyone would buy such an old model. Must be someone really rich, huh?" Unfortunately, it seemed that Grondor had a very short temper, not willing to go on and be delayed his chance at a glorious escape from this boring old place.
"Listen, kid. I don't have time for your dirty tricks, but no one, and I mean, no one, is going to buy that droid, and I can't risk wasting it on anyone else!" the vendor finally let loose a loud rant at Jaybo. He was not going to be distracted by some other deal while he was about to make one that could give him everything he always wanted.
"No one, huh?" Then, from out of nowhere, Grondor was surprised to hear a very cross voice coming from behind him. When he faced that direction, fear was driven into him when he saw the one person he thought he'd never see again. From out of the shadows, Ruby emerged, crossing her own arms with a vexed look on her face as she stared at him. Grondor was in for some trouble now, having no time to see the sneaky little grin Jaybo gave him.
"Oh! Uh… you again!" stuttered a panicked Grondor. "I… uh…" Ruby was not going to let him go this time. She was going to set things straight and get the droid straight from him; no questions asked.
"You just told me that droid was already sold a long time ago." she clarified. "You better start talking, Grondor." Grondor grew even more panicked by Ruby's own frustrated tirade, backing off while the young girl let him have it. "That droid has valuable information the Republic might want to win this war against the Separatists. So, let us discuss the price we can go with." Jaybo's face was not seen, but it appeared that there was some intrigue that developed in him. So that's why this Jedi was all the way out here in Iego. He figured if someone as powerful as a Jedi was here, then it would come to no surprise that something on the planet would have interested her and the Republic for that matter.
Grondor started to feel the wrath of the girl, slowly descending into further anxiety from being in a messy business. He felt like a tight grip was about to crush him, making him desperate to escape and get away with his attempts at scoring big. As Ruby intensified her stance against him, he was about to break down and let himself be vulnerable to whatever she would do to him. It was about to end really badly, with his prize at risk of being let go by someone else other than his expected customer.
No… Not today…
He whipped his hand to his belt and pulled out a firearm, pointing it at Ruby.
"Aah!" The now broken man fired the weapon at Ruby and Jaybo, forcing the two to flee and find cover. The furious flaring shots raged towards them, causing everyone in the area to panic and run for their lives before the crazy vendor could end their lives. Ruby and Jaybo retreated behind a power ventilator, allowing its metallic plating shield them from the blaster fire. When they were out of sight, Grondor stepped outside from his stall and proceeded to shoot the ground in a frantic rush of energy blasts. The shots were fired all over at their sides, clearly in an attempt to make them feel doomed.
"No one's getting that droid!" he yelled at the two in anger. "I'll be getting loads of credits to get out of this forsaken planet!" He fired his weapon again with even more livid force, pressing his trigger repeatedly harder and harder with each shot. Ruby and Jaybo hid well behind while making sure they weren't exposed to the blaster fire. The Jedi could feel the raging emotions running wild from Grondor, sensing his motions. She could sense that the man was moving forward to try and finish them off. With nowhere to run, she had no choice but to act.
When Grondor stopped firing to recharge his weapon, she saw the chance to leap up high in the air, flying above like a red twister of petals darting upwards. In mid-air, she set her sights on Grondor before diving down in another beautiful dash which saw her crashing down on the ground right in front of him. The landing was powerful enough to stun him. He still had his blaster in hand, but he was so shocked by the strange power Ruby fired upon him that he didn't have time to respond.
Using this chance, Ruby then reached for the weapon behind her back and swinging it forward and transforming the packed-up saber into its saber scythe form. She then instinctively slashed the man's blaster, just in time for the silver light blade to ignite and slice the pistol in two. Grondor gasped in terror as everything happened within a blink of an eye; the shining silver blade searing through his blaster and leaving behind two cut pieces with a smouldering ring of molten metal at where the blaster was cut at. The parts soon fell onto the ground, small trails of smoke drifting upwards with its severed circuits jolting from being cut.
The weapon was then pointed at Grondor's face, slightly centimetres from cutting through his nose. The vendor soon fell to the ground, horrified by the sight of the blade being wielded by the woman in front of him. It became apparent that he was coming face to face with someone of legendary status.
Jaybo couldn't help but gasp in awe. The item he nearly stole from a Jedi was her lightsaber! Such a weird design too, for all the stories he heard had told him that the lightsaber was always created as a silver, metallic hilt that was almost two thirds the length of the blade that was fired up. Seeing Ruby's very unusual design left him almost speechless, and he had been holding it the whole time.
"You…" Grondor was also feeling the chills, not from admiration, but from fear. "You're a Jedi!" Sensing the anxiety on his face, Ruby knew that he was not going to be brave enough to try and attack again. Her presence alone was enough to overpower him to submission. Given that she may have had exerted enough force, Ruby decided to deactivated her weapon; the blade being summoned back into the hilt and then transforming the saber back into its folded form.
Ruby crouched down to Grondor's level, now back to her old, mischievous self as she seized the chance to negotiate a deal while the man was still down.
"Alright, pal." she urged. "You've got exactly ten seconds to change your mind, or I'm going to let security know you've been lying to your customers." She rested her arm over her knee, grinning while striking a more empowering pose against the man. "So, let me have the droid so we can all enjoy our day, 'kay?"
"I can't!" shouted Grondor, still defiant about the droid and his business, but being a bit more frightened. "You don't understand! The person who wants the droid. He's someone you don't want to mess with." Ruby was not convinced. Just who could be so reputable enough to not interrupt a good offer for a Republic droid that was centuries old?
"And who might that be?" She began to ask, eager to one up Grondor's claims and claim the droid for herself. But then, that's when things became a lot more hectic than she originally planned.
"Ahhh. Mr. Grondor. I've been expecting you." All of a sudden, Ruby heard a voice from behind her, seeing the face of Grondor somewhat surprised himself. She looked behind to see that the crisis was being joined by someone she didn't want to see at all.
The creepy voice came from a wrinkly Neimodian, dressed in a black fancy robe with dark blue smoothly coming down the fabrics while also wearing a headdress with a flat square resting on top. And what made Ruby especially dismayed was the sight of two armed droids, skeletal in design, heads with the shape of a bird's skull and armed with a blaster she easily recognized from her guide tome of the galaxy's weapons. E-5 blaster rifles, clutched by the droids' three flat fingers coming together like a crustacean's pincer.
Ruby could figure out what was going on by the sight of a neatly-dressed Neimodian guarded by two armed droids. They were most certainly B1 battle droids, and they were protecting someone who she assumed was from the Trade Federation; one of many subgroups who have joined the Confederacy. She was looking at the face of the enemy for the first time in this war. And judging by the importance of the droid to the Republic, it was no surprise that, in the bigger scheme of things, it looked to be very obvious that the Separatists were on the hunt for it as well.
This was going to become a heated confrontation; one that Ruby had to avoid somehow before it all went down south really fast.
TO BE CONTINUED…