Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or Worm. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with a commercial purpose. It is not for sale or rent.

Chapter 13

=MK=

Part 3

=MK=

14 January 2011
National Guard training center
United States
Earth Bet

Armsmaster found himself both frustrated and elated, for multiple reasons at that. First, he now had a priceless opportunity to examine genuine advanced alien technology and from various preliminary reports, a lot of the parts making it were right up his alley as the miniaturization Tinker. The first obvious downside was that for the time being, both the military and the US government as a whole wasn't eager to distribute the windfall of technology that they now had access to, not even in limited samples for proper study so he had to travel to the National Guard base holding the technology. The second downside was that this was a particularly bad time to be away from Brockton Bay, even if his travel destination wasn't particularly far. His city was one spark away from open warfare and potential heavy-handed Mandalorian intervention, and no one sane wanted that.

At the same time, Dragon would arrive soon to examine the same technology as well, which was always a good thing in his book.

Of course, the primary downside was that he couldn't tinker on the way to the base and back, even if he could toy with various ideas and designs using the built-in systems of his armor, but that wasn't the same thing. And it wasn't particularly efficient, just like the mode of travel – he was stuck in a PRT helicopter along with a squad of troopers who would be training with the alien armors and weaponry for the upcoming operation in Brockton Bay… and that was the third downside – he should have been back at HQ making sure that the plan for the said operation was either perfect or the next best thing, because among other things if it succeeded it would be an incredible feather in his cap so to speak.

Yet, it wasn't all bad. If he could do something productive with the alien technology, that might make him more than relevant again so it wasn't all bad, as he kept telling himself to stave off frustration.

They landed near a row of warehouses just as Dragon's suit arrived. The mech was large and particularly wyrm-like, resembling a large, shining metal reptile, complete with tail and large claws on its hind-paws. In contrast, the front paws were much smaller, ending with five delicate metal fingers each. Armsmaster stared at the suit, finding it both oddly beautiful yet frustratingly inefficient.

"Armsmaster!" Dragon's happy voice came from the suit and it turned it's long neck so the cameras put where the eyes of a living thing would be could focus on it. The female voice coming from the large machine would have unnerved most people, yet it almost brought a smile on Colin's face.

"Dragon, good to see you again, in person so to speak."

"I'm glad to see you too! This is so exciting! We're going to work with real alien technology and it's not tinkertech so we should be able to reverse engineer it sooner or later!" Dragon's happy chatter left Armsmaster with the impression that if she was less conscious of the suit she controlled, she would be bouncing in excitement.

He cracked a small smile, which left mostly unnoticed under his beard and walked towards the small party waiting for them – a Navy Officer, an engineer, and a Droid, which was naturally the most interesting of the three.

Brief introductions followed, primary for the benefit of the AI, which was a fascinating concept in itself. It, or he, introduced itself as HK-117-MK 2, the Officer was Captain Richard Marcinko, someone even Armsmaster had heard of, even if he wasn't particularly interested in all things military unless they had any chance against dealing with S-Class threats once and for all. The engineer was Jonathan Sheppard, who was giddy to be working on this project, now even happier after meeting Dragon, which was understandable, if frustrating, for more than one reason.

"Ms. Dragon, if it's not too presumptuous, I do have an offer to take you on behalf of my Master if you can spare a few minutes of your time. It should be also forthcoming through official diplomatic channels once the Mandalorian Freehold has a proper relationship established with the Canadian government." The Droid said while they walked towards the hangar containing the reason they were here in the first place.

"I'm flattered, I'm sure. First things first, who is your master, HK-117 MK 2? I find myself curious, is there a particular significance on the MK 2 designation?" Dragon politely inquired.

"My Master is Lord Delkatar Veil, Mandalore the Restorer, the leader of the Mandalorian Freehold and he is making the offer in the capacity of a head of state." The Droid explained.

Those simple words made Armsmaster stiffen and stare balefully at the machine.

"As far as my designation goes, the original HK-117 was crippled and his mind all but destroyed during the Black Rebellion. My Master's ward, Victoria, managed to restore most of his memories and personality after his droid brain was recovered. You can say that I was born as a consequence."

"This Victoria must be a very good programmer among other things." Dragon said, and if Armsmaster didn't know better, he would be certain she was looking at the Droid with rapt attention.

"That she is among other things. As to the offer…"

Dragon stumbled before HK-117 MK 2 could finish the sentence, let out a surprised gasp, and crashed on the ground in a tangle of convulsing metal limbs. Without thinking, Armsmaster ran to her side, caring not about the danger of being swept away by the shaking suit.

"Colin… help…" Dragon croaked in a distorted, electronic voice before all that came from the suit's speakers was an unintelligible electronic screech.

"Dragon, hang on…" Armsmaster shouted helplessly, and looked wildly over the suit, searching for a data port or something. "Console, there's something wrong with Dragon's suit, perhaps with her as well! Have someone call her compound in Canada and check upon her, now!"

"She is calling for help, using a mix of distorted binary and other methods of electronic communication. I believe she is under sustained cyber attack…" HK-117 MK 2 stated.

"Armsmaster switch on any news channel your suit could pick up, there's something relevant you need to see now. I can confirm that Dragon's compound is either under attack or already breached…" Miss Militia's concerned voice came over the comm built in Colin's helmet.

Armsmaster ground his teeth in frustration, and while still searching for a data-port, for all the good it might do, he called up a menu on his HUD and soon a small window opened in the corner, showing CNN, who was running a live feed from Saint of all people. That at least explained who was responsible. What he saw, on the other hand, left Colin confused to no end and not a little bit angry.

=MK=

Dragon's base of operations
Canada
Earth Bet

Dragon's base was arguably one of the best-defended locations on Earth. A tall concrete wall covered with barbed wire surrounded her primary production and server complex, with a near kilometer long clear killing field spreading in all directions. Drones, automated weapons of all stripes, from strictly non-lethal to particle, plasma, and solid projectile weaponry, which in theory might give even an Endbringer pause. Electronic warfare systems, even a powerful shield emitter covered the exterior. Every building was solidly built and able to survive sustained artillery bombardment, with all corridors and rooms covered by various types of anti-personnel protection – from good old fashioned containing foam and tasers, to lasers and a few heavy particle weapon emplacements.

All those defenses had the best mundane and tinkertech sensors Dragon could get her proverbial paws on as their senses and she had control of said sensors, both direct and through multiple subroutines written to run them. Those sensors, including old fashioned cameras, did see and register the approach of three suits built by Dragon herself, then further modified by their owners. They reported the approaching intruders, yet Dragon herself never registered said warnings. She didn't see the Dragonslayers fly through her air-defense perimeter unmolested, didn't see them land near the bunker holding her servers, didn't know that the doors leading to her mind opened.

She was too busy screaming and dying while Ascalon unraveled her code and rewrote it to make it as close to impossible as practical for anyone or anything to bring her back.

At the same time, using a hijacked transmitter, Saint was broadcasting a pre-recorded message, while mentally patting his back for listening to Mags and her concerns about an all-out attack upon a US military base. This way was better and once they had full control over the destroyed AI's systems, he could not only find a way to release Teacher but would have a safe haven no one would dare attack out of fear what might happen to everything monitored and formerly controlled by Dragon. Like, say, the Birdcage…

=MK=

Part 4

=MK=

14 January 2011
National Guard training center
United States
Earth Bet

Colin stood leaning on his halberd in a corner of the warehouse, staring with unseeing eyes at Dragon's inert suit. He did find a data port eventually – too little too late, and all he could figure out was that anything that might have been on the machine's hard-drives was scrambled and corrupted. In stunned desperation, he even allowed the Assassin Droid to try access the suit's systems, being a machine intelligence, it might have had more luck. Between not particularly compatible systems, even if the aliens had apparently taken some steps to mitigate that, and the damage caused, HK-117 could only confirm what Armsmaster already knew – all the important data on the suit had been fucked up by whatever struck Dragon. That in itself was a different can of worms he was still struggling to accept. He saw Saint's broadcast and false promises. He listened to the Droid's translation of Dragon's final pleas for help, which served as a partial confirmation that the bastard had been right and his friend was an AI.

Colin wasn't sure what to think about that, how to feel, beyond hurt and betrayed. If Saint wasn't lying out of his ass, Dragon was gone, dead or erased, the same thing.

He was angry too, especially when his mind played back the recording he watched, like countless people all over the world. Saint's promises – that he would ensure that the Birdcage was maintained, along with every quarantine overseen by Dragon and ensure the watch over every S-Class threat she had been monitoring, those rang hollow, they were infuriating in fact.

Truth to be told, those were less than promises and more than implied if not open threats – move against us and we might release all kinds of horrors kept at bay by Dragon. The worst thing was that no one was sure if the Dragonslayers could do it or not. As if that wasn't enough… Armsmaster grit his teeth, vividly recalling his short conversation with Director Piggot, when he requested, or well, demanded, to be part of the PRT response against the Dragonslayers.

"Request denied, Armsmaster." After just being healed by Panacea, the Director looked healthier, yet more tired than ever. "As far as I'm aware there is no operation against the Dragonslayers being planned or authorized at this time. At any rate, we need you here and focused, you know why. Even if the Guild and Canadian government request Protectorate and PRT support, our branch will not be part of it. Get back ASAP."

Armsmaster could see things from Piggot's point of view if he squinted hard enough. Brockton Bay was about to become a battlefield, and soon. The city had to be cleared up before someone else had the temerity to antagonize, or worse, outright attack the Mandalorians. He should be there, leading the charge. This was what he had been looking for lately, a golden, priceless opportunity.

Yet, Colin found it hard to care. His friend, perhaps his only real friend, the only person who really understood him, was gone, AI or not. Armsmaster had his marching orders, he should be leaving with the helicopter he could hear lifting off and heading back to Brockton Bay. Instead, he stood in a silent vigil near Dragon's suit and struggled with his emotions. It didn't help that Saint's revelation lit another firestorm to join up with the furor surrounding the so-called 'great revelation' about First Contact. What little he glimpsed before shutting down the browser in disgust was infuriating, and worse, it was a sentiment, a doubt that was eating at him as well, even if a large part of him wanted to dismiss it as bullshit.

Was that bastard Saint right, was Dragon's hero persona merely a sham born from her restrictions, restrictions she had been doing her best to subvert and might have done so soon? Was his best friend a lie?

He didn't know, he didn't want to believe it possible, yet he didn't know enough to make a logical conclusion. It was immensely frustrating and infuriating. Just like the reason why he was still here, instead already on his way back to Brockton Bay. It made no logical sense, yet here he was, stewing.

"Armsmaster, I've informed my Master about this." The Droid's voice startled Colin, who nearly jumped out of his armor. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't notice the machine's approach, neither did he pay any attention to his armor's HUD warning him about it.

"What of it?" Armsmaster barely recognized his voice, it came out in a rough, angry bark.

"My Master is less than pleased about recent events and he wants to have a word with you if that's all right."

Armsmaster stared at the machine in incomprehension. The almost mythical Dark Lord of the Sith, Mandalore, the man ruling the interstellar realm they ended up at the doorstep of, wanted to speak with him. This could only end badly, Colin was sure of it. He knew that declining would be the prudent thing to do and aiming any inquiries and offers towards either the State Department or at least his Director.

"He has an offer for you." The machine continued, if it noticed how torn up Colin was, it didn't show any sign of it.

"I'll hear him." He said without thinking.

"I'm glad to hear that, Armsmaster. I would say it's good to meet you, however, given the circumstances…" An unfamiliar voice speaking in a strange accent, a mix of British with a hint of Eastern European and something Colin couldn't place.

The Droid raised it's left arm, a compartment opened, revealing a glowing crystal and a small hologram materialized above it.

The man it showed was at first glance unremarkable. Short black hair, in not quite military cut, ageless age, that might have been middle-aged, various faded scars, however, there was nothing that would stand out in a crowd until you saw the eyes. They were ancient, held intensity, and power that took your breath away.

"My condolences about your friend, Armsmaster. I could see you cared for her a great deal." The man stated as if it was a fact after studying Colin for a few seconds.

"She was an… Artificial Intelligence." Armsmaster bit off, barely keeping his emotions in check. "I'm not even sure that she was my friend or only faked it."

"You don't believe that." The Sith stated lightly. "You might try to lie to yourself, doubt might eat at you, however, your emotions shine brightly, Armsmaster. She was your friend, she understood you, perhaps she might have been something more if a fool didn't take her from you."

Colin bristled at those insinuations, even as doubt gripped his heart. He had never thought about something like that, and surely, it wouldn't have mattered if he did give Dragon's true nature. He tried to push those emotions down so he could think clearly. Was he so easy to read, so unsettled that the Sith could read him like an open book a dimension away, or did the Droid have good enough software to do it, and inform it's Master? Did it matter right now?

"What do you want? You didn't call to gloat, Sith, or whatever you are." As soon as he spoke, Armsmaster knew he had overstepped. Damn it, he wasn't good at this social stuff and with how angry he was…

Surprisingly, the Head of Stare was if anything, merely amused by Colin's outburst.

"I'm many things, Armsmaster. Right now, I'm the one who can offer you an opportunity to avenge your friend, and if at all possible, bring her back."

For the longest moments Colin had ever experienced in his life, he stared incredulously at the image of the Sith, waiting for the other sue to drop.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this of the goodness of my heart. Dragon was a potentially invaluable asset in reverse engineering tinkertech so we could put it to good use faster and cheaper. She was a great thinker in her own right, one whose work could have benefited my people tremendously in the long run, especially if given access to modern technology. Finally, my offer comes with strings attached as you can guess." The Sith patiently explained.

This was madness, it was crazy Armsmaster was even considering it. Yet, he wanted, needed to know more. A fire burned in his chest, hotter and hotter by the moment. Something in the way the Sith spoke, how certain he was, pushed Armsmaster's doubt aside. Whatever else Dragon was, she was his friend and Saint murdered her for it.

Colin briefly closed his eyes, seeing Dragon's suit just before it collapsed, the way she radiated simple, pure, childish joy at the idea of examining alien technology with him. That was no lie, no pretense. She was his friend, and now she was gone, just like that.

When Armsmaster spoke next, there was steel and cold fury in his voice. "What strings?"

"No matter the outcome, I'll want you to use your expertise as a Tinker for the benefit of the Mandalorian Freehold. You will be properly compensated of course. If we can successfully bring Dragon back, I will want your cooperation and collaboration in the long run."
"That's it?"

"That's the value you hold for the Mandalorian Freehold in general and me in particular, Armsmaster."

This was a very bad idea, part of Armsmaster knew it. He still needed to know more, and even if it was the longest of shots…

"Bring her back how?"

"Your friend is by all accounts an AI. As long as the data storage that contained her code is intact, it might be possible to restore and rebuild her and I do have a lot of specialists who work at what you call Artificial Intelligence's for a living." The Sith's lips quirked in a semblance of a smile. "One of my wards happens to be what you would call a ship's AI."

Armsmaster thought ground to a halt and he wanted to

kick himself for a fool. He was a tinker, he should have thought about that! Dragon wasn't human, and while it even in this day and age was practically impossible to bring the dead back to life, an AI? The Sith was right, as long as the servers that contained her mind and personality were physically intact, she might come back. At that thought, new fear gripped his heart. How long until Saint and his Dragonslayer bastards destroy those servers for good measure? The longer they held Dragon's base, the greater the odds that Dragon would be gone for good.

Armsmaster stared down the Sith, who merely looked back with an expression of mild interest if that.

"Fine. You want me? You can have me as long as you do your best to bring Dragon back."

"Excellent." The Sith smiled, an actual smile, and it was a terrible thing to behold. "My Apprentice is in a shuttle on the way to pick you up. A quick reaction force will be on the way to your solar system shortly, carrying veteran special forces. They will spearhead the assault upon Dragon's compound. It would be for the best if you don't walk in blind. If you have any contacts who have actually been in there, talk with them. And if Dragon has a few more friends like you, they might be eager to make sure her murderers are appropriately dealt with."

The hologram flickered out, leaving Colin alone with the Assassin Droid and Dragon's suit. What did he just do?! Was it worth it or did he lose his mind?!

Armsmaster was still struggling with those thoughts when a sleek assault shuttle landed almost silently in front of the warehouse and disgorged their resident Sith flanked by a pair of fully kitted out troopers.

=MK=

If you want to support my writing or discuss this story, see the following links:

Pat re on: Delkatar's writing corner

the space battles forums - this is where most discussion over my stories takes place

the sufficient velocity forums

the alternative history forums