When the turbolift reached the bottom of the shaft I stepped out of the door and was immediately startled by Atton's voice.
"Can you read me?" he asked me.
I activated my comlink. "Yeah, I hear you." I replied.
"Ok I'm picking up your signal but there's a bit of static." I did hear a subsequent amount of interference.
"There should be an emergency crate in the next room. But be careful there are a lot of droids in the area."
I was not surprised since I was in the mining tunnels were mining droids usually hang out. "Yeah I figured as much. Contact me if you detect anything." I turned my comlink off and made my way to the next room.
The room or corridor did in fact have a crate filled with survey gear, clothes, and other useful items. I was truly relieved to finally have something to wear
"Find the emergency supplies?" Atton's asked.
"Looks like some mining gear- and a uniform." I said joyfully.
"About time the whole half naked Jedi thing was wearing a little thin." He said sarcastically. Atton proceeded to explain the uses of the other items in the crate.
"Ok I'll get going." I told him equipping the gear.
"Um, just one more thing- I've narrowed down some of the ID signals, and if the numbers are right, you're sharing those tunnels with a battalion of mining droids." He said uncomfortably.
"If they were anything like those up on the administration level they should not be hard to take out."
I replied.
He told me to make my way to the governing intelligence terminal in the main shaft. I went through the next couple of doors and came to a machine that was unknown to me. I turned right and Atton immediately warned me of mines in the area. Using the survey gear I spotted a few of them.
"Why are there so many charges down here?" I asked him.
He explained that mining droids especially excavators, whatever those were, were programmed to arm and set sonic charges to mine fuel. They now deployed them to kill miners. I turned around and went through the passage to my right. The mining tunnels were filled with mining droids as Atton had told me. Some of them even used energy shields. In the second part of the tunnel, there were not only mining droids but also floating spheres, similar to remotes used for lightsaber training. It immediately repaired the droid I damaged. I ducked the blasts of the mining droids and jumped up trying to hit the naughty sphere. I missed and was struck by a blast of the mining droids. I ran away and hid in the mining tunnel I had already cleared. I suddenly heard Kreia's voice. "The maintenance droids are hard to hit with a sword. Use the force to destroy them. Imagine the raw power of the force. Imagine electricity coupled with the force."
I made my way back towards the maintenance sphere. "Now unleash the power." Kreia told me. I did as she told imagining the forces raw power in the form of electricity and a blue streak of energy came out of my hand and destroyed the little droid. I quickly took out the other two droids. Having been distracted by the fight I had not realized the wound on my left arm. The burning pain in my left arm and shoulder forced me to go back to the administration level were I used the Lab Station to heal myself. I went down to the mining tunnels and went through the first two shafts.
I came to another tunnel but I felt immense heat emanating from it. As if on cue, Atton, contacted me.
"Hey, watch out that shaft is hot! If you can find a mining energy shield, switch it on- it should protect you against the heat if you move quickly through.
I looked at the steam with the reddish hue coming out of the shaft. "I'll do that." I said unconvinced. I hoped this would work. I turned on the mining shield and ran through the shaft with a force-enhanced sprint. I felt immense heat but I didn't sweat or feel pain. I reached the other side without any injuries. "Thanks, Atton." I said to myself. The shaft I was in now was a bigger than the others. I destroyed the sensor ball and the droids in this shaft with a single ion grenade. I went towards the next shaft and finally saw something large.
"You're getting close to something big… I think it's the main ventilation shaft. The central controller terminal should be here. I'm picking up a lot of droids. If you still have a mining energy shield. I'd equip it and switch it on.
"Understood. Simion Marik out."
"So that's your name? Good to hear it." He said.
The area I was now in was very large and square in shape. There was a large open hole, circular in shape, in the middle of it. A bridge ran through the center of it. In the center of the bridge, however, was a circular platform with two large terminals. I crossed the bridge throwing two grenades at two droids that were too close for comfort. The two terminals made up the central controller Atton had mentioned. I found an option that made the droids attack each other and with the help of a spike activated it. I proceeded to shut down the containment fields. I was satisfied with my work and logged out. I watched with joy as the droids started attacking each other. I ran towards the open passageway to my left. Atton contacted me again. "Hey, Im picking up some strange reading- what are you doing down there?" he asked me.
"Trust me," I replied. "Whatever you've detected it's, probably my fault." I said proudly.
"The containment fields in the mining tunnels are shutting down- you need to get out of there before they vet fuel to the surface of the asteroid through the tunnels." I was suddenly not so proud.
"Great." I said wryly. "How much farther is the exit?" I asked.
"Not to much time and I'm locking down the lift to the administration level to keep the blast from spreading. If you have anything left to do down there make it quick. The lift to the fuel depot is only a little ways ahead." He explained. I found the remains of droid skirmishes and smirked. After two more rooms and another malfunctioning droid turned scrap I made it to the turbolift. As the turbolift raced upwards I felt a strong amount of heat. A red light started blinking on the lift but thankfully it continued upwards for a few seconds and then the door flew open. I jumped out of the lift and the pressure of an explosion accelerated my jump. I rolled across the floor and jumped to my feet. Looking to my left I saw a familiar looking corpse. I walked over to it and recognized it as the body of the maintenance officer from one of the logs I had seen. I heard metal clinking and instantly picked up my vibroblade.
"Greeting: It is a pleasure to see you alive, Master, provided my receptors are not off-focus. How may I be of assistance?" It was a large bipedal droid. The design of its body was rather universal but the face was menacing and unique. I had never seen a droid like that before. Even stranger was that it called me Master.
"How do you know me? I'm not your Master." I asked him.
"Answer: I am a survivor of the Harbinger, just as you were, Master. With the unexpected termination of my previous Master, you are the only organic I may now serve."
I scrutinized him. Served as what? "Who was your previous master?"
"Answer: The captain of the Harbinger, Master. I was in transit to Telos to facilitate communication and terminate hostilities… However, we did not arrive at our intended destination."
"What happened?"
"Irritated Answer: Oh, Master, it is such a long, dull story. And not terribly relevant to our current situation." He replied.
"That's strange." I thought. "Droids don't usually question orders."
"For a droid, you don't take orders too well. Now tell me what happened." I told him.
He reluctantly proceeded to tell me that the Harbinger suffered a number of cascade failures that disabled the ship. He also told me that many miners had discussed what happened to us and some of the miners tried to claim him and me as salvage.
"How come I don't remember any of this?" I asked.
"Speculation: It is possible that you were incapacitated and locked in the well shielded cargo compartment as the Harbinger was being systematically crippled, master." A good speculation but almost too good.
"Incapacitated?" I asked curiously.
"Clarification: Yes, Master. No doubt the flurry of destruction on board the harbinger somehow drugged you into a stupor from which you could not awaken. Most curious."
"Curious choice of words tin man." I thought.
"Drugged! What do you mean drugged?" This droid had one weird vocabulator.
"Clarification: Merely a term of phrase, Master. The implication that your state was due to the result of ingesting large quantities of juma juice was unintentional. I meant to communicate only that you were somehow rendered unconscious before you were locked securely in the cargo hold."
This droid was strange for sure. Or he had something to do with what happened to me. "Maybe his Master ordered him to do something with me?" I asked myself. And hwy is he insistent that I was "locked" into the cargo hold.
"Locked?" I asked with suspicion.
"Clarification: By locked, I meant "sealed," Master. My vocabulator seems to be malfunctioning."
"I'd say." I mused. "If he was a protocol droid he was acting very strange and if he was some special combat droid of the commanders he was giving himself away."
"Fine- what happened next?" I asked.
He explained that the Harbinger picked up a small, damaged freighter with unknown ID codes, something I already knew. The captain seemingly wanted to study it. I was kid-napped by the crew of the freighter and he continued to narrate that he also managed to board the freighter. "We were most fortunate to have survived, master."
"Any idea what had attacked the small freighter?"
He told me that a much larger vessel attacked judging by the damage it suffered and that upon leaving the Harbinger it was fired upon again. "Addendum: It does seem odd that such a small vessel has a probability of attracting the attention of much larger vessels. Not a welcome trait in a freighter, to be sure."
"Obviously. Why would they take me aboard?"
"Answer: The ship's name, I believe, was the "Ebon Hawk". Speculation: As for its purpose, I do not know. Perhaps it was always its intention to play dead and rob me of my bounty."
"Aha, now you really gave yourself away. I should just destroy it but maybe it can help me for now." I thought.
"Bounty?" I asked smirking.
"Clarification: By bounty, I refer to your life, Master. It would pain me to see you damaged in any way. That is why the arrival of this Ebon Hawk caused me considerable distress."
"I understand," I mused. "I would be worth less if I was damaged. This must mean that whoever put out the bounty wants me alive."
"And the Ebon Hawk came here?" I said after a moment of thought.
"Apology: My memory core cannot provide a clear answer on that point, Master. Suffice to say that once we arrived at this floating rock, our situation became much clearer." He replied.
He explained that the miners were very interested in me, which gave him feelings of inferiority. He also said that he was a HK protocol droid. "Yeah but what kind of protocol?" I thought.
"… I was forced to remind myself it was not due to a failing of my function or model, but because you were a Jedi."
"Finally some one got it right." I told myself. "But why did he think I "was" a Jedi while everyone else thought I "am" a Jedi?" I wondered if he maybe had something to do with that.
"How did they find out I was a Jedi?"
"Surprised Answer: Why I told them, Master. You are the exiled Jedi who served with Revan in the Mandalorian Wars, are you not? I hope all that has happened has not been the result of a miscommunication. If so, then the problem lies with the coreward databases, which are notoriously spotty." He said innocently.
"No matter if they are spotty." I thought angrily. "I vowed to kill whatever spread these lies about me and now you will loose your head tin man." I
I was about to swing my vibrobalde at him when I heard Kreia's voice. "Careful Exile!"
I closed my eyes. "What?" I asked her silently.
"The droid may still have his uses… he may have been the one to trap us here… maybe you can get him to help us."
"Alright, but I want to interrogate him a little more." I replied.
"That information wouldn't have been in the coreward databases… only in the Jedi archives." I told him wondering what he would answer.
"Indignant Exclamation: Master, I am only a protocol droid! But it is part of my function to know such information and relay it to any interested parties, in the interest of terminating potential hostiles."
"Potential hostiles?"
"Quick Clarification: Apparently, my vocabulator has suffered some damage, master. I meant terminating any potential 'hostilities'."
Oh right another stumble. "I see… go on."
"Answer: All that has happened, occurred because they thought you were a Jedi, Master. They debated what to do with you, as you lay unconscious in the medical bay. One group seemed intent on selling you as property. The other group opposed this." He explained.
"Then what happened?" I asked.
"Three standard hours after the division between the miners became apparent accidents began to occur throughout the facility. These accidents coincided with the degradation of the mining droid behavioral cores… crude models are prone to such failures, resulting in murderous rampages. The mortality rate of organics in the facilty rose quickly."
"So what happened to the rest of the miners?"
"Many miners began to join you in the medical bay as a cascade of flawlessly timed explosions began to occur in the lower levels of the facility. The explosions herded the miners into emergency sections of the station, quickly and efficiently cutting them off from the communications and facility control… but sadly enough not the ventilation systems."
"Sadly enough? What do you mean?"
"You see, the explosions had damaged specific sections of the facility's ventilation systems, causing a slow, lethal build up of toxic fumes in the dormitory level." He explained.
"How nice. Are there any left alive?"
"Answer: I do not know, Master. Ironically enough, any miner that fled to the dormitory level to protect themselves from the droids and the explosions would find themselves in a gas-filled deathtrap." He answered.
'There all dead then?" I said to myself.
"Forget them, then. I need to get into the hangar bay and get off this rock." I said coldly.
"Pitying Answer: Oh that is unfortunate, master. The hangar is selaed behind a contianment fieldd. It would be impossible to open it." I didn't need his false pity, that's for sure.
"What about override codes?" I asked
"Answer: Only the administration officer has those codes, Master. If he hasn't already been murdered in an unfortunate accident, then he is trapped in the dormitory section, which has been effectively cut off from the facility by explosives."
"There must be another way to reach the dormitory." I said hopefully.
"Theory: You could walk across the surface of the asteroid to the dormitory airlock, but such a route would be extremely hazardous, and I do not wish to see you damaged." Of course he didn't, that would lessen my value.
"If that's my only way out then I will do it and you will help me or I will turn you into scrap along with your faulty vocabulator."
"Weary Resignation: Very well, Master. But there is very little I can do. You see, the airlock is sealed by a code."
I suddenly felt the great urge to chop his head off and jump around on his medal carcass. "Query: Master, why are you making such a strange expression?"
I quickly pulled myself together. "Never mind. This just keeps getting better though. Who's got the damn code?"
"Correction: I already possess the code, Master, but I am afraid it will do you no good."
"Oh and why is that?"
"Condescending explanation: Master, the console governing the droid cluster… and the airlock is voice printed. Musing: In the last days of his life the Maintenance officer was quite careful about voice protocols bordering on paranoid obsession. Conjecture: I suspect once he realized something was wrong in the facility, he voice locked the droid bay functions. A prudent measure, but in the end he met the same fate as the rest of the organics."
"Voiceprinted by the voice of, a now dead, man." I thought. "But if Mr. Assassin wanted to get me out of here unconscious he must have a way to get out of here…"
"Voiceprinted?" I asked curious if his vocabulator would make another slip.
"Explanation: Yes, Master. Many consoles have voice recognition sensors built into their systems, so that only selected officials can unlock them."
"No, really?" I asked him sarcastically. "Never mind, you said you already have the code?"
"Condescending Explanation: Oh, yes, Master, the code is "Maintenance Control: Voiceprint ID: R1-B5," but unless the maintenace officer speaks the code, it is useless."
"Damn! If the maintenance officer is dead, how can you… I mean I speak the code?"
"Answer: Master, you cannot. You are trapped here, just as I am. There is nothing to do except patiently wait for whatever the future has in store for us." He replied.
I looked around the room my eyes settling on the corpse to my feat again. His legs was burned and scorched and he was shot numerous times by lasers. "What's that body here?" I asked the droid.
"That is all that remains of the maintenance officer. In the end he was quite incoherent from the pain and all communications with him proved useless. I heard his dying screams as the droids he tended turned on him, mining him like some piece of asteroid rock." A shiver of disgust ran up my spine.
"Screams?"
"Recitation: Yes Master, the recordings of his last moments were: … five droids… burning through the outer door… they're forcing there way through the bay… please someone, they… oh no, there through!
Aighhh! My leg! They've burned through my leg. I… stop! Stop! St-! Addendum: His remaining attempts at communication are variations in decibel, Master, ranging from frenzied screams to gibbering, inarticulate attempts to beg for his life" My hair stood on edge as I listened to the screams of the man in the recording. But something struck me.
"Wait- if you can playback his voice, can't you speak the voice code?" I asked.
"Objection: Master! To commit such an act would be in violation of the ethics programming most droids are believed to possess. I am afraid there is nothing that can be done."
"The fact that you can mimic voices is pretty impressive. What would it sound like if you did speak the code to the console?" I asked interested.
"Proud Answer: Master, I believe my vocabulator is working adequately enough to accommodate your request. Recitation:…" he proceeded to speak the code using the voice I had heard in the recording." There. Was that sufficient, Master?"
"Impressive. Can you follow me and say that again?" I asked.
"Objection: Oh, Master, no. I might inadvertently speak such a code near a console and unlock something I should not. I was merely speaking such to prove to you that I could- it is a trait I am quite proud of." I said with obvious pride in his voice.
"Looks like I'll need to find some way to carry your voice there- or record it." I said quietly.
"Confused Query: I am sorry, Master. Were you speaking to yourself?" the droid asked.
"Never mind. I'll be going now."
I turned around and left the strange droid standing next to the maintenance officer's remains.
