I'm finally back! Whoot! Sorry for the long delay, I really wanted to finish the next chapter of Kotor: Beginnings before I continued with this fic. Plus, I didn't really have time to play the game over until recently xP so yeah, lol. Go check Beginnings out if you haven't! (Begs) I really worked hard on it lol P. Also, I'm sorry but after a few hours of writing down the dialogue between the Exile and the HK 'protocol' droid, I got lazy and just wrote some ofmy own from memory lol, just to warn you.
Oh, and on a Random note, I have like over 80 different saved games on my x-box, all of them at a different stage of the game to help me have easy access to dialogue. See how dedicated I am to this :D
Don't want to miss anything :) lol
Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! And don't forget to Review :)
Chapter 12: Things to do, Voice-Locked Seals to Open
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What does a dead body and a suspicious looking droid equal too?
A problem.
Kyros seemed to be having a lot of problems lately. First he was stuck here on this Force forsaken hunk of rock, had met Kreia, A know it all, someone who was confident that he wanted to be a Jedi.
"What ever happened to what I want?" He thought.
Oh boy, his list of problems continued. He then met Atton, the scoundrel that he swore was put on this station by some greater power with him just to test his patience, and now this.
"Something's definitely out to get me…" He groaned within his mind as he walked towards the droid.
"Greeting: It is a pleasure to see you alive, master, provided my receptors are not off-focus." The droid's eerie voice said. "How may I be of assistance?"
Kyros shuddered. Already he didn't like this droid, he felt that there was something was wrong about it, but he couldn't exactly place his finger on it. Something was telling him to get away, and fast. He didn't know what it was, but after looking the droid over, he decided to do just that.
"Uhh…Never mind, I'll be going now." He said, taking a step back and turned around. He was only able to take one step towards the door just as the sensible side of his brain kicked in.
This droid was the only thing that could help him right now…
He looked at the dead body lying on the floor and back to the droid.
He sighed. "Might as well get some answers…It doesn't seem like it's going to hurt me."
He didn't even get to open his mouth before the droid sprung to life again. "Greeting: It is a pleasure to see you intact, Master. How may I be of assistance?" It asked, voice oddly cheerful.
"How do you know me?" Kyros asked. "I am not your master…"
"Answer: I am a survivor of the Harbinger," The droid replied.
"Too bad…" Kyros thought before continuing to listen to the droid's explanation.
"Just as you were Master." It finished, then proceeded to speak once more. " With the unexpected termination of my previous Master, you are the only organic which I may now serve."
"So it was on the Harbinger…" Kyros thought. "It should be able to tell me what happened…"
"Tell me everything." He ordered. " Everything that happened between the Harbinger and our arrival here."
The droid complied at once, but it wasn't something Kyros wanted to hear.
"Irritated answer: Oh Master, it is such a long, dull, boring story, that is completely irrelevant to our current situation." It said. "I would rather not waste your valuable time reciting boring and tedious facts which are no help to our situation Master."
"What a bunch of Sith spit!" Kyros thought. "This droid is hiding something, I just know it..." He looked at the droid. "And I intend to find out…"
"You know, for a droid you certainly don't take orders too well." He snarled, glaring.
"But, Mas-"
He cut the droid off; he wanted to get out of here fast. He could feel something…coming. He didn't have time to waste here.
"Now tell me what happened." He ordered.
"Hesitant explanation: That has been the subject of considerable discussion since our arrival here Master, many have been trying to obtain you, and this unit…" He paused for a slighter more dramatic effect, it that annoyed the Force out of Kyros. "As salvage." It finished, disgust evident in it's voice.
Kyros groaned inwardly. "It thinks too highly of itself…"
He listened as the droid continued complaining. "I was crudely interrogated concerning our brief history together on board the Harbinger, before it's communications, weapons and engines suffered the cascade failure that disabled the ship." It finished.
"Then where was I in all this?" Kyros asked skeptically. How could he have not remembered any of it? Had he really been that injured?
"Speculation: It is possible you were incapacitated, then locked in a well shielded cargo compartment as the Harbinger was being systematically crippled, Master."
"Incapacitated?" Kyros asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Interesting choice of words…" He thought, making a mental note of it. This droid was becoming more and more suspicious by the moment…
"It knows something…"
"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…" It said dramatically. "MOST curious."
The droid's choice of wording caught his attention. "Drugged?"
"Placation: Merely a term of phrase master," It replied, persuading. "The implication that your state was due to the result of large quantities of Juma Juice…was unintentional." It paused. "I meant to only communicate that you were somehow rendered unconscious before you were locked securely in the cargo hold." It explained smoothly.
'Locked,' another word that caught Kyros's attention. "What do you mean 'locked'?" He demanded.
"Clarification: By locked, I meant SEALED Master." It stressed. "My vocabulater seems to be malfunctioning." It explained.
Kyros didn't believe it one bit. There was just something really…off about that droid.
"Fine," He sighed, ignoring his instinct for now. "What happened next?"
"Recitation: Following all the unusual set of coincidences that led to the cascade failure in the Harbinger's systems, we were boarded by a small freighter with unknown ID codes, It appeared that this freighter had been attacked and the captain wanted to study it." It recited. "This freighter appeared to be still space worthy."
Kyros nodded, taking everything in.
The droid continued.
"Your cargo compartment was breeched, then you were taken on board freighter shortly before the Harbinger's systems began to go critical."
"I too, managed to board the freighter before the Harbinger's destruction."
"Gee…If you hadn't made it, that would have been REAL bad." Kyros thought. He still didn't know whether to trust this Droid or not. He wanted to, but something was telling him otherwise.
"We were MOST fortunate to have survived Master." It said happily.
"What happened next?" He asked, urging the Droid to continue. The bad feeling that he had gotten when he first spoke with the Droidwas comming back, even stronger this time.
"I gotta get out of here." Kyros thought. "And soon."
"Evaluation: Master I do not know, judging from the damage of the ship, it had been attacked by a MUCH larger vessel, and when it attempted to escape the Harbinger with you on board, it was fired at once more." It replied. "Addendum: It does seem odd that such a small vessel has a high probability of attracting the attention of much larger vessels. NOT a welcome trait in a freighter to be sure."
"What ship was it?" Kyros asked, curiosity getting the best of him.
"I believe it was a smuggler's vessel by the name of the 'Ebon Hawk'." It replied. "Speculation: As to it's purpose, I do not know."
"Perhaps it was always its intention to play dead, then kidnap you off the Harbinger and rob me of my bounty…" It pondered out loud.
Another slip…this droid was practically GIVING him reasons to suspect it.
"Bounty?" He asked, surprising the droid when it noticed it had made a mistake.
"Clarification: By bounty, I refer to your life Master." It responded smoothly. "It would PAIN me to see you damaged in any way." It said dramatically.
Kyros just stared at it, a look of suspicion across his face.
"It is why the arrival of this, 'Ebon Hawk', caused me CONCIDERABLE distress Master." It finished, speaking in its MOST persuasive tone.
Kyros decided to ignore his suspicions, for now… This droid was the only thing that could tell him what happened, might as well take advantage of it now, and turn it into scrap metal later if it gave him problems.
"So how did we end up here?" He asked.
"Apology: My memory core cannot provide a clear answer on that point Master. Suffice to say, that once we arrived to this filthy rock, our situation became much clearer."
"What do you mean?" Kyros asked.
"Explanation: Despite my market value, the miners were FAR more interested in you."
"Me?" Kyros wondered… "But why would-"
The droid's words drowned out his thoughts as it continued explaining. "Of course, it did not take me long to ascertain the reason for this."
"Really." Kyros said skeptically.
"Why yes! Master." It responded. "While an HK protocol droid is a valuable piece of property, Jedi are worth MUCH more in…certain…exclusive markets across the galaxy."
It paused. "Painful admission: I must confess a feeling of inferiority at the speculated difference between MY value, and the price for your capture. I was forced to remind myself that it was not due to a failing of my model or function, but because…" It paused once more for dramatization.
"You were a Jedi." It finished.
He didn't know if it was because of the way the protocol droid had said it with annoying dramatization, but Kyros was in awe.
His awe quickly turned into anger.
"What gave them the idea that I was a Jedi?" Kyros snapped.
"Why I TOLD them Master." It responded gleefully. "You are the Exiled Jedi, who was exiled for disobeyed the Council and lead the attack on Korribian, where countless Jedi died…are you not?" It asked.
Kyros did not answer. This droid knew too much already, he was not going to confirm anything. There was still something off about this droid, but what worried him the most was how this droid knew so much about him…
"I hope that all that has happened has not been the result of miscommunication." It said with mock remorse. "If so, then the problem lies with core ward databases which are notoriously spotty." It spat.
"What do you mean?" Kyros asked, his temper wearing thin. This droid was the cause of all his problems, for all this...miscommunication.
"Answer: Why, all that has happened was because they believed you to be a Jedi Master." It said. "They debated on what to do with you as you laid unconscious in the Medical bay, one group seemed INTENT on selling you as property, the other group opposed this."
"Where is everyone now then?" He asked.
"Three standard hours after the division between the miners became apparent, several accidents began to occur through out the facility." It replied. "The…result of improper maintenance…I believe."
It continued. "These accidents, coincided with the degradation of the mining droid behavioral cores, crude models are prone to such failures, resulting in MURDUROUS rampages."
Its tone began to change more and more into gleefulness Kyros noted as it continued recalling everything that had happened. "The mortality rate of the miners rose quickly." "What do you mean?" Kyros asked, bewildered. What could have possibly happened that killed most of the miners?
"MANY miners began to join you in the medical bay Master, it was due to a cascade of PERFECTLY timed detonations that occurred in isolated gas pockets on the lower levels of the facility." It said, proudly describing the damage. "The explosions, herded the miners into emergency sections, quickly and efficiently cutting them off from communications and facility control, but sadly enough, NOT the ventilation systems."
"Ventilation systems?" Kyros asked.
"Yes Master, you see the explosions, had damaged specific sections on this facility's ventilation systems, causing a slow, lethal build up of toxic fumes in the dormitory levels."
Kyros gasped. "What happened to the miners?" He demanded.
The droid answered with mock sadness in its voice. "Answer: I do not know Master," It changed the subject. "Ironically enough, any miner that fled to the dormitory level to protect themselves from the druids and the explosion, would find themselves…" It paused.
Kyros groaned, "This droid is REALLY starting to bug me…"
"In a GAS…FILLED…DEATH TRAP." It finished.
"Well, are any of them still alive?" Kyros questioned.
"It is unlikely any miners remain alive Master, as I said, the dormitory has been cut off from the rest of the facility."
"As has the Hanger bay…" It added, much to Kyros's dismay. "There is NO escape."
"Well," Kyros asked. "Is there anyway to try and reach them?"
"Apology: Unfortunately communication with the dormitory section is severed, Master." It replied. "It is perhaps for the best, especially if any other 'accidents' have occurred in that section."
"If that were the case, the severed com-link would have spared us the satisfaction of hearing the miners screams as they lived out their last moments in fear and terror."
"Satisfaction?" Kyros asked, gripping the hand of his viro-blade tighter in his hand. "From what?" His face with disgust.
"Rapid retraction: Why yes, satisfaction in knowing their fate Master. It would have been unfortunate if they had been slaughtered, but there would be a calm, comforting certainty that there was NOTHING we could do to escape…" It said eerily. "Until a ship arrives of course Master…"
"There must be a way." Kyros demanded. "There just HAS to be…"
"Theory: You COULD walk across the surface of the dormitory to the air-lock…but such a route would be considered EXTREAMLY hazardous." It replied. "And I do not wish to see you damaged in any way Master."
"I'm going to go see if there are still people alive, maybe they can help us." He glared at the droid. "You're going to help."
"WARNING: MASTER, continued exploration of this facility may put you in unnecessary danger." It threatened, voice booming.
Kyros was almost about ready to attack, when the droid suddenly became calmer, speaking in a tone of persuasion. "Master, I advise you to return to your room in the Medical Bay, and wait for retrieval from a vessel that is no doubt on the way, even as we continue this pointless conversation."
"NO…I am going to go," Kyros threatened, "And unless you want to be made into scraps, I'd 'advise' you to help me."
That got the droid's attention.
"Weary resignation: Very well, Master, but there is very little that I can do, see the air-lock is sealed by a code…" It began to explain, but Kyros was half listening, too busy thinking.
He didn't care; nothing was going to stand in his way. He was getting off of this Force forsaken piece of rock, no matter what he had to do...
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A/N: GOSH, I really want to get this story going, (many ideas xP) but it's taking FOREVER…so I was just wondering, would anyone mind if the Peragus mining facility parts were not so descriptive? For example, dialogue? I'm just asking because I just want to get out of here almost as much as Kyros does lol. (I hated playing through it the first time, and not exactly 'loving' writing it out either lol) But don't worry though I NEVER slack off when writing. I always do my best…it's just that this part is REALLY boring xP lol. If nobody minds, then I'll try to get them to Telos in say about…the next two chapters :D
Again, this is just a chapter to get things going, so don't yell at me if it sucks. Please? xP
Hee, remember,comments and ideas are ALWAYS welcome! (cuz gosh, i sure need em haha)
Thanks for reading! Please Review :)
Until next time…