[Disclaimer: Star Wars fanfiction is based upon the Star Wars movies of the same name. All characters and situations other than my own are the property of George Lucas, 20th Century Fox and whoever else makes a ton of cash with that outstanding evolutionary franchise.]

Chapter 11: Runaway robot

The Rithoth City police force wanted revenge tonight, because six different precincts sent their forces to raid the substation in Gamma Zone. Agent Kuritas was in close contact with the police chief and local officers as they readied for the sting. She sent them intel updates every ten minutes on Slice's movements. The police wanted that bloodthirsty robot in the worst way. Once they sent him to the scrap heap, service droids could finally be used without blowing up in the hands of a citizen.

Bard watched Kuritas work the sting from the privacy of her parlor. The Republic agent hadn't left her terminal since meeting him. The monitor implant on her neck, which opened neural doors into cyberspace, was seriously working on overtime. With her eyes on every access point in the abandoned substation, she didn't make time to eat or sleep.

"What have you planned for him?" he asked.

"Something straightforward," she answered. "Police gunships will fly up, shoot holes in the roof and throw in static grenades. That will fry every droid in Slice's workshop and give him a few short circuits in the process. Then the armored cars will charge onto the property and shoot at any robot that moves. Cops rush the building, and ordnance disposal teams will disarm the droids."

"Couldn't the static grenades cook off the bombs?"

"Possibly, but the substation is in a deserted corner of the industrial grid. We won't cry if Slice gets blown up. We can apprehend him as scrap metal."

"You're assuming that he hasn't caught on to the police. What if Slice starts throwing his bomb-droids at the police?"

Kuritas scratched her cheek absentmindedly. Most of her consciousness was perched above the virtual network of the substation. She was feeling for electrical and data signatures in an effort to provide a better picture for the police. It took a lot of concentration to "walk" through the building and converse with Bard at the same time.

"Scrambler pods will jam any detonator in the building," she answered.

"But that will jam the police radios as well."

"It can't be helped. Slice may have other droids in the city. We have to cut his strings first!"

"And you're sure he doesn't know you're onto him?"

The agent cast an irritated look over her shoulder. "I've done this kind of work before, Mister Bard."

The pilot shrugged. "Something doesn't feel right. I've been on the other end of this kind of business myself."

"Really?" The agent turned in surprise. "Would I find some interesting reading material if I looked up your record?"

The courier pilot grinned at her. "I think you'll find that my record is missing from the Republic Intelligence database. Ivos Maddaus has me in his keeping."

"You're a mercenary?"

"The Jedi don't employ mercenaries. I just move packages. Sometimes I move passengers."

"Then you must move some bad passengers and bad packages, otherwise Maddaus would never have hired you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Maddaus only takes the disreputable under his arm. That's how he found me."

An indicator flashed on her screen. The agent turned her attention to her instruments.

"The gunships will hit the substation in thirty seconds. Slice is still there. He unplugged himself from a charge outlet. He's been working on the droids. I can detect pulses from their motivator units. Their processors are being rewired to follow remote control."

They waited in silence. The substation was many city blocks away from the NovaLux club, but it felt like the action was happening next door. Kuritas fitted a radio bud in her ear and listened to police chatter.

"The roof is shot through," she announced. "They're lobbing static grenades. Ground units are moving in."

The security panel buzzed behind Bard. He switched on the small viewer and waited for the hidden camera to show him the exterior of the parlor. A small droid was waddling slowly up the hall.

"Does Rengo keep any service droids?" he asked.

Kuritas didn't answer. She was hunched over the computer with a hand against her earpiece. She was whispering to someone on a microphone.

"He's just a dummy?" she asked. "What do you mean, he's a dummy?"

"Mona, there's a droid outside."

"Sergeant, get your ordnance team in there. Those droids could be―"

A screech erupted in her radio bud. She screamed and clawed at her ear, ripping out the instrument.

"What happened?" Bard demanded, keeping an eye on the approaching droid.

"Slice duped himself with a remote-controlled drone. My line with the field commander just went dead."

A communicator on her belt started beeping in short, angry bursts. She unclipped the device and held it to her other ear.

"Cirrus here," she answered. "What's going on?"

The droid strolling up the hallway looked innocent enough, but it made Bard feel tense. He swung open the parlor door and held up his hand.

"Hold it right there," he ordered the robot. "Turn around and go back to the elevator."

The droid didn't have a face. It was just a grey metal box on two stubby legs. The robot hesitated at his instruction, but didn't withdraw to the elevator. Bard suddenly regretted talking to it. If this was a service droid, it would be observant of the customers. If it was one of Slice's weapons, he had no time at all.

"Go back!" he shouted.

Mona lowered her communicator. "Bard, who are you talking to?"

She saw the wobbling robot on the security screen and jumped off the bedroll. She grabbed Bard by the arm, yanked him inside, and tossed a static grenade down the hall. They fell into her room as the grenade exploded. There was a loud pop, and something metallic struck the floor. The lights in the corridor were blown out.

"Why didn't you hear me?" Bard shouted.

"Why didn't you stay inside?" Kuritas shouted back.

"That was one of Rengo's droids."

"Rengo doesn't keep any droids."

"Terrific. It's time to go. Slice knows you're here."

The agent stared at him in shock. Then she remembered all the hours spent in the network, reading the digital representative of the dummy in the substation. Slice must have sniffed her out, traced her own data signature in Rithoth cyberspace. Now the artificial terrorist was thirsting for revenge.

She reached for a backpack and stuffed in her computer, a toolkit, some extra static grenades and a power pack.

"The police were ambushed," she told him as she packed. "The stolen droids weren't even wired. The entire building was stuffed with explosives."

"My God," whispered the pilot. "There could be dozens of cops caught in the rubble. Come on! The same thing that will happen to us if we don't move!"

"Do you have an escape plan?"

"I've got something that looks like one."

Bard flipped open his communicator. "Wake up, T6! It's time to break loose. Fire up the engines, take off and follow the source of this transmission. Don't worry about spaceport clearance. Signal when you approach my position."

"Is that your ship?"

"My astrodroid. We're getting picked up on the roof in about seven minutes."

"Is your ship shielded from invasive signals? Slice can hack a droid without a hard connection."

"Lotus is full of electronic countermeasures. If he gets within range of my ship, I'll turn him into scrap. Are you ready?"

Kuritas pulled the pack over her shoulders, picked up the blaster rifle and peeked around the door. The two-legged droid was dead on its feet. Burning wires hissed from a few ruptured panels.

"Rengo the Hutt is going to have to pay the bill for this one," she muttered. "I don't think he'll want to see me again."

"Did you make a deal with him to stay here?"

"Yeah, but it didn't include getting into shootouts. This is the last time he makes an arrangement with Republic Intelligence."

"What about your equipment? Isn't this secret spy stuff?"

"I don't need it. I dumped my files into the Rithoth police database for safe keeping. The rest of the gear will shut down if anyone tampers with it. I'm done here."

Garollian drew his blaster and followed her down the opposite end of the hall. They got to the edge of the carpet when the elevator chimed behind them. Both pivoted with their blasters and saw the one thing that could stop them from getting out alive.

A huge battle droid was standing in the elevator. Its servos were encased in thick armor plate. A series of sharp metal studs and blades protruded from its arms and legs. One of its gauntlets clutched a massive blaster rifle with an underbarrel grenade launcher.

"That's no dummy," Bard exclaimed.

The monstrous automaton peered at the humans with two red eyes. It had no features that a human could describe as personable, but Kuritas and Bard were sure that it was angry.

"Kuritas!" boomed the robot.

"It knows your name," Bard whispered.

Mona felt a chill run up her spine. She tried to control her swelling sense of fear. This was the monster that had killed hundreds of citizens on two different planets. This was the monster that Mona nearly caught before it turned the tables on her. Her fear turned into anger.

"You're under arrest, Slice!" she shouted down the hallway. "Deactivate your motivator and stand down!"

The huge droid made a noise that sounded like a synthesized growl. Slice cleared the elevator with one long stride, stopped at the defused service droid and kicked it into the air. Bard and Kuritas ducked as the inbound droid hurtled over their heads. It smashed into the wall, showering the humans with paint and plaster.

They fired their blasters simultaneously. Bard missed completely and struck the elevator car. Kuritas nailed the droid in the leg, but its armored appendage took the blast. Slice stumbled backward, recovered, and raised its gruesome weapon.

Garollian and Mona jumped into the stairwell on their right. Something exploded behind them as they made the landing. They were hit with shards of plastic and bits of melting wire. The hallway behind them was ablaze.

Bard brushed the smoking debris off his jacket. "Was that his grenade launcher? He's got lousy aim for a droid."

Kuritas started up the stairs. "He doesn't need to aim with a grenade launcher!"

They fled to the top landing, but the exit to the rooftop headhouse was barred shut. Bard had to waste a power pack in his pistol to shoot through the barricade. They emerged on top of the NovaLux and looked for cover, but all the ventilator domes, comm-antennae and skylights were unsuitable for holding off a battle droid.

Slice didn't show up yet. Nothing exploded. Blaster fire didn't shoot through the roof. But then they heard the firing and shouting from the stairwell. The metallic monster was stomping down the lower floors.

"He's run into Rengo's bouncers," said Kuritas. "They won't stop him. Where is that ship of yours?"

"Any minute now. My droid is an aggressive flyer."

"We need to buy time."

"That runaway droid has got to stay down."

"He'll get back up," she murmured. "He's just too strong. I don't know where he modified himself. Our blasters won't work. I wish Maddaus was here."

Bard silently agreed with her. A lightsaber would make short work of that damnable robot.

His communicator started to ring. To his delight, the excited chirps of T6 could be heard over the speaker. Lotus was in the neighborhood. It suddenly gave him a bright idea.

"What about the static grenades in your backpack?"

"They won't damage Slice. His armor is protected against electrical discharge."

"But they'll disrupt his sensors and slow him down! Wait until Slice shows up on the top landing. Throw them inside the door, then start firing."

Bard grabbed a flare stick from his jacket, twisted it open and tossed it at the headhouse. The flare burst open in a hail of green sparks. They heard the sounds of Slice's heavy feet from the inner stairwell. Slice was done with the bodyguards and eager to disintegrate his primary targets.

"Here he comes," Kuritas warned. She got down and laid three static grenades in front of her.

A great, hulking colossus made of jagged steel burst out of the door. Slice was scorched and nicked by club security, but was far from disabled. He roared at the humans through his vocal speakers.

"Nail him!" cried Bard.

Quickly, Mona thumbed the arming buttons on her grenades and threw them at Slice. There was a flash of blinding light, and the evil droid was instantly swallowed by a fierce electrical storm. Static electricity crawled across his armored skin, but he continued to trudge forth.

"Fly in low, T6!" Bard yelled into his communicator. "Aim for the green flare at the headhouse!"

Slice stepped out of the static vortex, fired his terrible weapon and struck Kuritas in the shoulder. She cried out in agony and flew back across the roof, teetering on the edge of the parapet. Bard dived after her and landed on her legs.

Not even the killer droid could predict the sudden arrival of the Lotus. There was a crunching sound as the starship plowed through the rooftop structure, taking Slice with it. T6 triggered the breaking thrusters and stopped the agile vessel right above the roof. The roar of the engines was deafening.

"Are you all right?" Bard shouted to Kuritas.

The woman nodded, but her face was twisted in sincere pain. A black hole existed in her right shoulder. She couldn't cover the scorch mark with her hand because Bard was sprawled on top of her.

The pilot helped her up and moved them to the Lotus. T6 opened a hatch and they climbed inside.

"Wait," she grunted, "we can't leave without Slice."

"Are you kidding? Leave that meat grinder on Rithoth!"

"If he recovers and gets away, he'll build a new body and start bombing again. The police will never find him."

"I'm not taking that thing on my ship," he stated.

"I need his processor, Bard! It holds his personality and his programming. He'll be powerless without it. The rest of his parts are useless to me."

"Are you out of your mind?"

Mona gasped as a stab of pain shot through her shoulder. "He has to be taken into custody. Please, help me!"

T6 piped an alarm through the intercom. Bard glanced in the direction of the cockpit and knew what was happening. Rithoth Police had scrambled aircraft to catch the Lotus. They had to break out of local airspace and jump into orbit before they were shot down. To local authorities, the intruding vessel was just another gunship run by the gangs.

"Fine," he responded. "Be quick about it!"

He helped the agent out of the hatch and ran to the parapet. A jagged metal arm protruded from a pile of rubble under the ship's bow. Bard grasped the steel gauntlet and dragged the battle droid into the open. Thankfully, Slice was a total wreck. His thick armor was torn apart like the hull of a ruptured tank. His scary red optics were dead in their sockets.

Kuritas took a multitool from her pocket and unscrewed something on Slice's chest plate. She pried off the armored pieces and dug into his skeletal frame. The agent used another instrument to fidget around his battery core before wrenching a tiny capsule out of his body.

"I have it!" she cried. "Slice booby-trapped his own body. I had to disarm a grenade that was bolted on his spine."

She tucked the processor into her jacket. Then her body sagged from the pain of her wound. Bard caught her under the arms and dragged her into the ship.

"Your job is done, Agent Kuritas. It's time to split."

Garollian shouted for T6 to hit the skies as he sealed the hatch. Lotus went to full burn and cut into the clouds, leaving the damaged roof of the NovaLux and Gamma Zone forever.