Chapter 40: Prison Break
"Release the Commander at once." 8EX leveled his wrist laser arm at the resurrected droid. The ancient droid didn't comply.
KJZ-8267 knew he had to do something quickly or Zako would suffocate. The pilot droid lunged forward, grabbing onto the arm that held the cyborg's throat. KJZ-8267 used all the strength at his command and tried to rip the droid's arm clean off, but found that he couldn't. If it were an organic KJZ-8267 would have been easily able to snap his arm like a twig. The pilot droid could even take on most other droids. The fact that KJZ-8267 couldn't meant his opponent was a high-quality battle droid (which was odd considering the old droid looked more like it was designed for protocol than combat).
The pilot droid had failed to rip the droid's arm off, but made enough of a nuisance of himself that the other droid released the commander in order to focus on him. Zako scrambled away on all fours as the ancient droid ripped off KJZ-8267's arm. Just as 8EX fired the droid threw KJZ-8267 at him.
"What is going on?" 5TE demanded. The B2 super battle droid and Major Katen had returned.
"The droid tried to kill me!" Zako wheezed as he kept crawling away.
The droid managed to snare a spare E-5 blaster rifle that was lying around and flipped a table over for cover. 8EX and 5TE started firing at the droid. The table wasn't meant to be a barricade and wouldn't provide cover for very long.
The black droid returned fire, blasting 5TE in the face twice before the super battle droid went down.
"I need a weapon!" KJZ-8267 looked around.
"You need an arm too," Katen said as she handed off her commando pistol to the pilot droid. Katen noticed something… Zako had disappeared. The coward had left them!
Katen searched for another weapon. She couldn't believe how fast the ancient droid was. There was no telling how long the droid was lying around Raxus Prime, all that time without receiving any maintenance. But the droid moved as if it were brand new. Katen was sick of dealing with clones and Jedi and now even the droids were causing them problems! And on top of all that she still couldn't believe Zako had bailed on them.
Just as soon as Katen had decided her cyborg friend was completely useless, Zako returned to the repair shop equipped with an E-60R rocket launcher.
"Zako, put that thing away!" KJZ-8267 yelled as he fired his pistol. "You're going to make a mess."
"I'll clean it up myself but first I need to teach this droid a lesson in gratitude."
The mystery droid had just defeated 8EX in the shootout.
The cyborg leveled the rocket launcher at where the droid was hiding. "Take this you piece of scrap metal!" Zako fired the powerful weapon at the old droid.
XQ-2 air bikes flew over the city of Caniz. Equipped with several blaster cannons but their design left the pilot exposed, the air bikes were good for light raids or hit-and-run attacks, but in this instance they worked with STAPs and hunter-seeker droids in trying to track down General Pong Krell.
OOM-9's forces were scouring the planet for Krell's location, intent on ending the troublesome Jedi before he could cause them any more grief. OOM-9 certainly didn't need any more of that. The droid general had called for Senator Zok Zuuk to assist him in dealing with the planet's local leadership, but the Neimoidian was unavailable. Baroness Zada Zincer had been sent in his place.
Though meeting with Ahlenn's president and Caniz's mayor, it was becoming clear to OOM-9 that Zada Zincer was not up for the job. She was no more successful than OOM-9 in trying to smooth things over with the implacable local leaders. Zincer's appearance was the same as it ever was: skimpy clothes that exposed her shoulders, short dyed blue hair, blue lipstick, and an eye patch over the right eye while her left eye was cybernetic. Attractive by human standards (despite the cybernetic eye and the eye patch) she was unable to make any use of her appearance as the two leaders they were dealing with were both female.
"Your demands are too great." OOM-9 was not accustomed to sitting on plush chairs. A metal slab would have done just fine as far as the command droid was concerned. But organics were always soft and needed pampering.
"We do not think so," the mayor, an annoying female Rodian, said. Throughout the entire meeting, she had been smug and borderline disrespectful. OOM-9 had already fantasized about drawing his blaster and simply shooting the woman, but he couldn't do that, things were bad enough already. If he shot the mayor, then he'd have to shoot the president, then a whole list of local leaders would cause them problems until the army would end up shooting everyone on the entire planet. Considering how the meeting was going, OOM-9 found that option to be more agreeable than the current situation. Still, he held back on committing wholesale slaughter.
"We disagree, considering this isn't the Confederacy's fault," OOM-9 said.
"And how can you possibly claim that?" Ahlenn's president, a female human, asked.
"Our officer was not herself. The Jedi possessed her through the Force in order to create a distraction so he could slip away in the ensuing confusion. It is well documented throughout history that the Jedi possess others and utilize them as puppets." OOM-9 had made up this scenario on the spot. It was such an effective lie that there was the possibility that it was in fact true. There really was no telling how far Pong Krell would have gone to escape. And though Katen was no weak-minded fool, Krell was certainly not lacking in affinity of the Force. It was possible he had manipulated her actions.
"That is why we emphasize the use of droids in our military force above all others. The Jedi cannot control them like they can organic beings," Zincer added. "Otherwise we would have lost the war long ago."
"This was nothing more than an unfortunate accident," OOM-9 said.
"An accident that affects us," the mayor spoke. "And you have no proof that General Krell took control of your officer. I find it unlikely that any Jedi would resort to such tactics."
"That is precisely why the Jedi engage in such actions," Zincer said, "it is impossible to prove anything against them in matters involving the Force."
"You have the gall to accuse them with no proof at all?" The Rodian mayor shifted in her chair as if she were about to get up and walk out on the talks.
"My officer has never had this problem before. I know she was not herself," OOM-9 firmly stated.
"And I'm expected to trust the word of a droid?" The Rodian woman nearly spat as she finished the sentence.
"Would you trust the word of a Jedi?" Zincer countered. "They use lies, deceit and mind control to get what they want. And if all else fails they resort to their lightsabers to ensure compliance with their demands."
OOM-9 did not consider himself to be an expert in reading human facial expressions but he was certain Zincer was becoming very frustrated.
"Do you think I was birthed last year? I see right through your fabrication. The Separatists have no qualms about taking civilian life when it suits their purposes."
"You mistake us with General Grievous," Zincer's voice was an eerie sort of calm.
"And he is your leader," it was the president that replied this time. "Anyone who believes that Count Dooku is the leader of the Confederacy is a moron. Grievous is the one running this war, and the Confederacy."
"I do not answer to that Kaleesh." Zincer ground her teeth.
"I'll bet—" The president couldn't get out another word. Zincer had grabbed her hidden vibrodagger and threw it right into the human's throat.
The Rodian looked on in horror as her president chocked to death on the dagger embedded in her throat. It was as if she were trapped in a trace, a trance she woke up from the moment the president stopped making gurgling sounds. Realizing she was next, she bolted out of her chair and ran for the door. OOM-9 drew his blaster rifle and effortlessly shot her in the back as she tried to flee.
"Baroness Zincer, would you care to explain what that was?" OOM-9 placed his blaster to his back once more. The weapon was aligned vertically on the right side, out of the way of his command antenna on his left.
"What? I could not tolerate the bile frothing from their mouths any further."
"Don't you think that could have been handled with a little more tact? I could have killed them myself if that's what it was going to come to."
"It's not my fault. I'm not an expert in inter-planetary politics. I know how to handle the people of Zakkudos, or the Zalost system in general. How you ever expected me to relate to these ass-backwards morons is beyond me. I mean really, General. Our people broke away from the Republic to get away from self-serving, spoiled political brats like them. I'm not going to grovel to them just because we need allies. They wanted to make a big issue out of nothing so I gave them a real issue."
"Their death?"
"Yes." Zincer's cybernetic eye gave off a powerful but silent aura of a cold-hearted murderer trapped in the position of a politician.
OOM-9 had misjudged the mental stability of Zakkudos' leader. She was much more forgone than he thought. Most politicians were merely greedy and cowardly; Zincer was paranoid and violent. Despite throwing him for a loop in this particular instance, OOM-9 still preferred working with Zincer to most other politicians. OOM-9 could manipulate and read most of the greedy lot, but they all too often disgusted him.
Blaster shots heard outside the doors indicated that the battle droids had killed the president's bodyguards that were waiting in the hall. This was no surprise to OOM-9; he was the one that had wirelessly ordered the guards killed.
"Don't worry, General. I'm sure we will figure out a solution to his mess." Zincer pulled her dagger out from the dead human. "I'm going back up to the fleet. Tell your flagship to prepare for my arrival."
"Yes, Baroness."
OOM-9 went from one disaster to another. He had a serious problem now that he had a dead president and mayor on his hands and he didn't have an immediate satisfactory solution. Now he heard some droid had gone rampant and tried to kill several of his subordinates. It could have been much worse, someone could have died, but the droid was subdued without any loss of life, a few droids that needed repairs but no permanent damage. The truth was this new problem was only a minor inconvenience compared to the droid army's larger problem of what they were going to do about Ahlenn. OOM-9 was almost going to ask EEK-176 to deal with the ancient mystery droid Zako reawakened, but the general felt he needed a break and the commander was adamant about tracking down and killing Pong Krell. The Jedi had continued to elude droid justice but no unidentified ships had left the planet. Krell was hiding on Ahlenn somewhere; it was all a matter of finding him.
OOM-9 stopped when he reached a door guarded by a pair of super battle droids.
"Dr. Quartz is inside with the prisoner," the B2 on OOM-9's left stated. The droid general wordlessly walked past the guards and through the door.
Inside the cell there were piles of droid repair equipment. Two grapple battle droids stood guard as a quartet of PK worker droids were taking orders from Dr. Gatling Quartz. The Skakoan was ordering a lot of materials to be put away, indicating the doctor was largely done with the ancient droid. OOM-9 couldn't get a good look at the droid, being obscured by a pile of repair supplies.
OOM-9 waited for Quartz to finish issuing orders to the workers before asking: "Let me see the droid that prompted Commander Zako to start shooting rockets off inside my ship."
A PK worker droid wheeled away the supplies in a cart, allowing OOM-9 to see the old droid. The droid turned his head to look at OOM-9. He couldn't do much else, as he was strapped to an examination table. The droid was encased in dark black armor, had icy blue photoreceptors and a generic-looking bipedal frame. To OOM-9, the droid certainly didn't give off the appearance of being a dangerous combat droid. OOM-9, of course, had seen the droid before when Zako had insisted on taking it away from Raxus Prime. He still thought it looked like an old protocol droid.
"How is the droid?"
The Skakoan scientist turned to acknowledge the command droid for the first time since he arrived. "Uncooperative. He claims to have problems with his memory core. He's an ancient rust bucket and I can't get access to the internal circuits without causing significant damage. The droid may or may not be telling the truth."
"Do you have any idea how old he is?"
"I'm not entirely certain but I'd guess a few thousand years at least. None of our databases hold any information on his model of droid." The pair talked about the droid as if he wasn't even there.
"Does he have a name?"
"He claims to go by HK-51."
"Statement: Perhaps if you spoke to me directly instead of conversing with the meatbag, you would acquire more accurate information."
OOM-9 turned his head to stare at the droid. He wasn't expecting him to try and talk. Quartz had said he was being uncooperative.
"If you're having memory problems I doubt any information you provide will be accurate. Why shouldn't I just scrap you?"
"Suggestion: Perhaps you might be able to utilize my combat functions."
"I have an army of elite battle droids at my command. I am an elite battle droid myself. Why would I need you?"
"Disclosure: Finesse. Battle droids hold battlefields. I am capable of eliminating a very… specific type of target."
"Sounds like you're an assassin droid to me."
"Retraction: Droids built for such a function face strict regulation and often have unique difficulties operating in galactic society. I therefore make no claim to that designation. I am a law-abiding droid. Yes, indeed, law-abiding, that's me."
"You're not a very good liar, a skill a good assassin should possess. In any case, you have no reason to lie to me. Things are different now than when you were active. When were you active?"
"Answer: I cannot recall. I do have problems with my memory core."
"A war is going on." OOM-9 changed the topic. He wasn't going to get anywhere on the subject of the droid's memory core. "A war waged by droids and organic clone soldiers."
"Announcement: I do detest organic meatbags."
"So, you dislike organics? What if I didn't have you scrapped, and instead allowed you to kill them? You would serve me?"
"Answer: I would find that a most agreeable arrangement."
"I cannot have you trying to kill every organic that you see. You already tried to kill one of my organic subordinates. Do you know how to follow orders?"
"Answer: Of course, Master. I am quite capable of distinguishing between friendly and enemy units, even if they are stupid organic meatbags. I am a high-quality assassin droid."
"So you are an assassin droid. I believe I can make use of you. But first, we will have your general combat proficiency tested. Then we will determine if you are competent enough to serve me."
General OOM-9 and Dr. Quartz left HK-51 in the care of the grapple droids. OOM-9 had serious doubts if HK-51 could be an effective assassin droid with his 'speech impediment.' He really didn't need HK-51's assassination services. There was a chance he might try to betray them. And there was the possibility that he might be completely ineffective at his job. Just because he surprised Zako and put up a fight didn't mean he was an effective assassin. OOM-9 remembered that he had been rescued from Raxus Prime and given another chance. Did this droid not also deserve another chance? At the very least OOM-9 decided to find out. But it likely wouldn't matter either way; one singular droid wasn't likely to make any major impact in the war.
In any case HK-51 was just another problem in a growing list. Commander Zako's lack of focus had become a secondary concern to Katen's near-meltdown. This was not a problem OOM-9 was sure he could solve. Why couldn't his human friends act more like droids and make things easy? Though in fairness they could be moderately droid-like, but they'd never be one hundred percent. They would always have issues the droids would have to worry about. But it still didn't change the fact that their slip-ups were the last thing OOM-9 needed at the moment. If anything he needed them more than ever. He had so many more organics added to his military force as of late, and he was hoping his two human friends could help him manage them more effectively. Though in reality it was more wishful thinking on OOM-9's part: Zako and Katen worked more with droids than other organics, and so wouldn't be much more adapt than the droids in working with the massive influx of newcomers. In the end it was ultimately a situation that wasn't going to be easy, but nothing seemed to be easy anymore anyway.
"Do you think the droid can be trusted?" Quartz asked as the pair walked down the hall.
"We shall see. I do not think loyalty will be an issue. Any loyalties to previous factions should be long dead. There's no one left from his era he might serve. Given his presumed age and his limited programming, he seems likely to be reliant on a master. It may as well be me."
"It's clear he hates organics," Quartz stated the obvious.
"Then he will enjoy fighting the Grand Army of the Republic."
"I hear we're having some trouble with the Ahlenn's leadership," Quartz pulled the topic away from HK-51.
"You've heard correctly, Doctor. I assume you have a thought of a solution to our problem?" OOM-9 didn't think Quartz would bother to mention the problem regarding Ahlenn's leadership if he hadn't thought up a solution.
"Possibly. You might use Dr. Destroyer's Force abilities. Have him take control of the captured clones again. Use them to stage an attack on the capital building. Then you can claim the president and major were killed in the attack. Have the clones kill a few civilians too; get the planet's population back on our side. Then you can send in the droids and make them look like heroes. The people of Ahlenn will never know the truth."
"Indeed. It looks like you may have solved our problem, Dr. Quartz." OOM-9 didn't usually orchestrate such devious plots to outright lie to the public, but that didn't mean he wasn't above doing it, especially in the case of a currently contested planet like Ahlenn. No one else had come up with a better solution… and they needed a solution.
While OOM-9 was meeting with HK-51 and Dr. Quartz, Commander Zako and an OX9 worker droid were heading to the Scrapyard's infirmary to pay a certain someone a visit.
"What is your problem, Commander? I'm lying around in pieces and you're playing with ancient junkyard droids instead of fixing me up?" SSA-719 was not happy when he saw the cyborg walk through the door of Vex's infirmary room.
Zako saw Vex lying in her bed. She was still missing her arm; she was still waiting for the procedure to have it reattached. Most of SSA-719 was in a chair next to the bed, while the rest of him was on a nearby table.
"Hey, Zako," Vex said with a tired smile. "Come to keep me company?"
"You wish. I'm here for SSA-719."
"Now you'll fix me up? Tired of your patients trying to kill you? Serves you right for not fixing me first before working on your pet projects!"
"Get off my back, SSA-719. I didn't know you were still in pieces. Vex stole you away. Blame her for this."
"I'm bored being stuck in this stupid bed," Vex protested. "I needed someone to talk to. I'm gonna go insane otherwise. They need to hurry up and fix me, dammit!"
"Hey, Vex," Zako said with a sly smirk, "how about an arm-wrestling rematch?"
"Fuck you!"
"I may just be a bio-linked cyborg, but at least I'm not the one in pieces!" Zako started laughing.
The OX9 worker droid started putting most of SSA-719's parts in a crate. Commander Zako gathered up SSA-719 from the chair. Despite his slender frame and half his parts not attached, the security battle droid was surprisingly heavy.
"Fuck you, Zako! Hey, bring Red back! Don't leave me here alone!"
The door shut as Zako, SSA-719 and the OX9 worker droid left. Vex was stuck lying in bed alone. "I hate being alone." Zako seemed to be unusually mean, leaving her with nothing. Then she remembered. Is he still mad about Zesrop?
SSA-719 wondered why Zako was moving him to another area. He could have just as easily been fixed up in Vex's room.
"Are you still angry at Vex over what happened at Zesrop?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Vex can be annoying. But maybe you should let that go. It wasn't her idea and she was but one of many participants."
"How would you feel? I know I'm expendable. But even I think that was a bit much. There was absolutely no need to put me at risk. Quartz is more at fault than she is, but she still went along with it just the same. I wouldn't be so mad if someone had bothered to tell me about it!"
"The Jedi would have been able to read your mind."
"It's still no excuse for putting me at risk for no good reason other than entertainment. It wouldn't have been quick or painless either if something had gone wrong. It would have been a horrible death."
The commander made a good point. Dr. Quartz had been way out of line and hadn't been seriously reprimanded for it. SSA-719 still couldn't shake the opinion that Zako was being just a little too sensitive about the whole ordeal. Everything had worked out perfectly in the end and he was no worse for wear.
"I didn't make a big deal of it either," Zako continued, "so I think I'm entitled to be mad still."
"You should focus more of your anger at the Republic. You're losing focus. You threatened General Grievous—right at his face even—"
"That's different than the thing with Vex and you know it. Grievous is scum."
"We all agree on that. My point is you need to save your anger for the minions of the Republic. You're going to deplete your anger reserves and burn out if you keep going the way you are."
Zako sighed. "I'm not genuinely mad at Vex. I just wanna give her a hard time for a little bit. Does that make me a bad person?"
"Yes."
"Thanks. You know, a real bad guy would plan something much worse than taking you away to be fixed up. I'm a jerk, at most."
The area around the city hall of Caniz had become a war zone without warning. A small army of clone troopers had marched on the municipal government building and started shooting at everyone in the immediate area without warning. Civilians were screaming in the streets. Parked speeders had been set ablaze. Smoldering corpses of various sentient beings lay in the street. Local law enforcement had arrived at the war zone, only to have their vehicles blown up by rocket launchers. The police that made it through the initial round of heavy weapons fire were quickly gunned down… they were no match for the military prowess of clone troopers.
The majority of the clone troopers stormed inside city hall, while a small portion remained outside to deter anyone from coming near. Hunter-seeker droids arrived quickly, hovering far above city hall, recording the chaos.
It was several minutes before CIS ground forces arrived via a single MTT followed by a couple of PACs under the direct command of EEK-176. The commander himself was operating as the co-pilot for the first platoon attack craft, but jumped down from the unarmed repulsorcraft when his B1 battle droids had been deployed. Having deployed their troops, the pair of PACs started to leave. The small droid army had to break into a trot, having been deployed several blocks away from city hall. They followed after the armored MTT, which was still heading towards city hall.
EEK-176 would have preferred to personally continue the search for Pong Krell, but it was becoming increasingly unlikely that they would find the Jedi. And even if he were found, EEK-176 didn't have to be there personally. There was a small chance Krell might try to regroup with the clones attacking city hall, but the command droid considered the chances of that happening to be very small.
As the large blue and gray transport neared, it attracted the attention of the clones, who bombarded it with their rocket launchers. The tough armor prevented any harm to the MTT's contents. The MTT started to fire at the clones stationed outside the building as battle droids started spreading out.
EEK-176 went over to address a few police officers that were taking covering behind a burning speeder.
"The clones attacked without warning," one of the officers said when the command droid approached. "The President and Mayor are in there!"
"Tell the other officers to hold position. We'll take care of it," EEK-176 reassured the police officer.
"I don't understand. The Republic didn't operate with such aggression towards Ahlenn before."
"They've lost the battle and are cornered. They are looking for high-value hostages to secure passage off the planet."
The rockets stopped flying towards the MTT, indicating the clones had run out of ammo for their heavy weapons. The MTT opened up; revealing that its internal configuration lacked the usual racks used for carrying B1 or B2 battle droids. Instead a squad of dwarf spider droids marched out of the troop transport, a haze of mark IV recon droids hovering above them. The recon droids were not there to fight or scout out the enemy, but to record the events as they transpired.
The dwarf spider droids started to spread out, encircling all entrances into the building, preventing any clones from escaping, or at least that what it was supposed to look like. The clones and droids were merely actors in a secret play. The clones fought the droids, but under the control of Dr. Destroyer. The Ithorian made the scene look very authentic.
"What are you waiting for? Attack those clones! Right there!" 3B3-888 pointed out a small grouping of clone troopers retreating up the front steps to the main entrance to the city hall. DSD-08 and several dwarf spider droids gunned the clones down, with 3B3-888 managing to kill the very last one. The droids started taking fire from the windows of the building.
3B3-888 shot at one of the clones firing through a window. The B1 battle droid swore the clones were shooting with higher accuracy than they usually did. Not that it really mattered. Battle droids were falling left and right to make this little act seem authentic, but they would be repaired later. The droid army was facing no real losses, General OOM-9 would not have agreed to it otherwise.
A blue blaster bolt struck 3B3-888 in the chest, and a second hit him in the shoulder, taking him down. 3B3-888 would be all right, but would need repairs. Nothing was really damaged other than his pride. Dr. Destroyer was having the clones put on a really good show. DSD-08 fired a charged shot into the window, intent on killing the clone that had taken 3B3-888 out of the fight so early.
When enough B1 battle droids had fallen in battle, Commander EEK-176 had the rest of his troops move into the building. The small, spherical recon droids followed the squads of B1 battle droids, recording everything that was transpiring.
EEK-176 and his battle droids fought through city hall, killing clone troopers and rescuing the occasional civilians still trapped in the building, with the mark IV recon droids recording the entire thing. The Confederate droids were coming off as heroes, EEK-176 was sure it would be enough that the people of Ahlenn would forget they had also played the role of villains. They eventually busted into the mayor's office, only to find a trio of clone troopers standing over the corpses of the president and mayor.
The clones and droids exchanged fire with each other. When the two of the clones went down, the third pulled the thermal detonator attached to the small of his back and set it off. EEK-176 and his droids were far enough away not to be consumed by the blast, but the explosion had incinerated the corpses of the president and major. The Separatists needed to have the bodies of the leaders shown but destroyed so further inspection would not reveal that the president had been killed by a vibrodagger (a weapon not utilized by clone troopers). Dr. Destroyer's manipulation of the clone troopers had gone perfectly. The recon droids had recorded the incineration of the bodies. It was a believable story that the final clone would blow himself up, trying to take as many droids with him as possible.
Once HK-51's combat capabilities had been thoroughly tested (against captured clone troopers), the assassin droid was quickly dispatched for his first mission.
An AA-9 freighter reached one of the docking bays of Asteroid M-23-B, one of the Republic's many prisons that dotted the galaxy. It was a newer facility, which was common. Many prisons were built within the last few months to accommodate the influx of prisoners of war the Republic accumulated. Some in the galaxy joked that the Republic was going to prevent the Separatists from seceding by putting them all in prisons for the rest of their lives.
HK-51 waited in a line of droids that filed out of the freighter. The prison was getting a new batch of worker drones and HK-51 was able to fit in as a protocol droid. It was nice plan, if a bit rushed. Information provided by CIS spies revealed that the Republic was sending a new shipment of droids to Asteroid M-23-B, but the Separatists had to work quickly to forge HK-51's datawork and get him onboard the proper ship.
Eventually, HK-51 reached the trio of clone guards. The sergeant held up his hand for HK-51 to stop. He checked his datapad to check what the droid was for.
"Let's see what we got here… a protocol droid. They didn't send us one of those annoying 3PO protocol droids. Praise Palpatine," the clone sergeant said. The clone called in to the prison warden over his comlink.
"Commander Blocraam, your new protocol droid has arrived."
"It isn't one of those 3PO units, is it? I told them specifically not to give me one of those aggravating droids. I swear, if they gave me one, I'm going to space it out the airlock!" Even through the comlink, the commander's voice was grating and unpleasant.
"No sir."
"I'm a female, you idiotic bucket head! You will address me as 'ma'am."
"Yes sir—errr, ma'am," the clone fought from giving his preprogrammed response again. The Kaminoans had programmed the clone troopers to address everyone as 'sir' whether they were male or female. "Do you want me to send the droid over to you?"
"Why would you think to do that? Stupid clone. If I wanted the droid I would send for it. I know the Kaminoans developed you with sub-formed brains so you would follow orders, but use what little gray matter you do have! Send the damn thing over to the droid repair shop."
"I thought you might want to check the droid out first. I've never seen one like it before."
"You're not paid to think."
"I'm not paid at all."
"Don't get fresh with me, clone."
"I wasn't trying to, Commander. Merely stating the facts."
"Watch that clone mouth of yours, Sergeant. Or I'll space you out the airlock. Just shut up and send it to the droid shop."
"As you command." The transition ended, much to the clone sergeant's relief. "Right, so the warden doesn't need you right now. You are to report to the supervisor of the droid repair shop. It will get you squared away and give you something to do."
"Compliance: Of course. I will go there now."
The clone showed HK-51 a map layout so he could get to the droid repair shop on his own. HK-51 left the clone and headed for his assigned destination. HK-51 blended in perfectly, he looked like just one of many droids going about their mundane duties on the asteroid-turned-prison. Only those with the sharpest of eyes, paying complete attention, would notice that something was amiss. The hidden irregularity was not with HK-51, there was nothing odd about him, but there was an abnormal bend in the light nearby… in a shape that many would recognize…
When HK-51 reached the droid shop, he found that it was inhabited by an EV supervisor droid and two Kaminoan worker droids.
"Ah, new acquisitions," the EV droid turned to address the newcomer. "So you're the Commander's new protocol droid. We've been without a protocol droid since the Commander got angry with the last one and had it spaced out the airlock. What's your model? I don't recognize it—"
Without warning, HK-51 tore the EV supervisor droid apart with his bare hands. The droid was thin and weak. It tried to put up a fight but the most it could do was clumsily fail about for a split second before its destruction. The pilot battle droid that had challenged HK-51 had been more of a challenge, made sense, as that was a combat droid and this wasn't.
The two Kaminoan worker droids had been reduced to smoldering piles of scrap, but they hadn't been destroyed by HK-51…
The assassin droid accessed one of the computer terminals, finding the prisoner manifest and where they were held. Playing with the computer's systems for a moment, HK-51 discovered he could gain access to the prison's mouse droids. The mouse droids' programming was simple enough that HK-51 was easily able to override their subroutines and program them for a new assignment. That he was able to do so at all was a result of the Separatist Droid Network filling him in about the modern galaxy before he had left on the mission. The acquisition of knowledge had been efficient and orderly. And while HK-51 didn't have proper access to his own memories, he somehow got the feeling that the galaxy hadn't changed very much while he was deactivated. He knew the past was filled with war and violence, it had to be, or an assassin droid of his caliber would never have been produced in the first place. The present seemed plenty violent, and if it wasn't, HK-51 was going to change that.
HK-51 ordered the mouse droids to return to the repair shop, where he outfitted them with bags filled with oil from the droid baths. Once the droids were outfitted with the bags of oil, HK-51 made sure there was a small cut in each bag and sent the small herd of mouse droids off to the prison's clone trooper barracks.
Leaving the droid repair shop, HK-51 made his way to the communications station and killed the two non-clone workers stationed there. From one of the computer terminals, he sent a signal to the ships of the 8th Fleet, instructing them to arrive in twenty minutes. He also sent out an order for most of the prison's clone troopers to report to the barracks. He couldn't have them all report in or it would look suspicious.
HK-51 left the communications station. He moved at a faster pace than his usual walk, but he didn't move so fast as to arouse suspicion. He only had twenty minutes now, that didn't leave a lot of room for error. But this had already become a timed mission the moment HK-51 had destroyed the EV supervisor droid back at the repair shop.
He reached Block A3, the cellblock that housed the prisoners that he had been sent to free. A single clone trooper armed with a DC-15S blaster guarded the door to the block.
Now was not yet the time for overt violence against the armed guards. HK-51 needed a believable lie… and instantaneously thought of one. He remembered how abusive the prison's warden/commander had been during the comlink conversation with the clone sergeant earlier.
"Statement: I've been sent by Internal Affairs to investigate accusations that Commander Blocraam is bigoted against clone troopers."
"You're kidding?" the clone was ecstatic from the news. "You're a spy droid from Internal Affairs? Praise Palpatine." Commander Blocraam was a bitch of a Chagrian. She loved making the lives of the clones under her command miserable. She didn't care for clones, but absolutely hated humans. So she really didn't like that the Grand Army of the Republic was made up of cloned humans. The Fett clones stationed on Asteroid M-23-B never found any respite from Blocraam's never-ending inane ramblings on how a Chagrian clone army would be infinitely superior to one made out of humans. As much as the clones wanted to, they couldn't space their commanding officer out the nearest airlock (something she often threatened to do to them). An Internal Affairs investigation was the next best thing. It finally seemed like the bitch would get what was coming to her.
"She's completely bigoted against clone troopers. We've been waiting for someone like you to show up. How can I help you?"
"Answer: I need access to this prison block."
"Of course. Go on through." The clone let HK-51 pass without a second thought. He was too excited at the prospect of Commander Blocraam being discharged or reassigned to a different installation to stop and think on what on odd request the droid had just made.
There were two clone troopers stationed at the control hub. They were sitting at computer terminals up stood up when they saw HK-51 enter. One was wearing the clones' usual armored uniform, while the other wasn't.
"What are you doing here, droid?"
"Statement: I am Commander Blocraam's new protocol droid. I was sent here to inspect the prisoners." HK-51 continued to move towards the two clones as he spoke.
"We weren't notified of your impending arrival," one of the clones spoke.
"Explanation: Of course you weren't. That's actually just a cover story. I was sent here by Internal Affairs to investigate accusations that Commander Blocraam is bigoted against clone troopers."
"Oh…" the clones were less suspicious and more stunned. "Uh… how can we help you with your investigation? We're more than willing to provide testimony."
"Statement: That won't be necessary." HK-51 grabbed the armored clone and snapped his neck.
"Hey!" The second clone reached for his blaster and pointed it at the droid, but HK-51 grabbed him by the hand and snapped his arm backwards before he could fire. As the clone started to scream out in pain HK-51 grabbed his jaw and ripped it off. A gruesome attack, but HK-51 needed quiet. He knocked the jawless clone to the ground and smashed the human's neck with his metal foot.
Checking the computers, HK-51 found he couldn't open all the cell doors at once remotely. He would have to use the control panel on each individual door, a safeguard to prevent an easy prison break (not that it would stop HK-51).
The first cell door HK-51 opened held the human CIS officer Zian Finnis. The human had been captured by the Jedi Echuu Shen-Jon at the conclusion of the Second Battle of Sarapin near the beginning of the Clone Wars. He had spent most of the war behind bars and was ready to get out and get payback. As soon as HK-51 had opened his cell door, Finnis knew something was off. He didn't recognize the droid as a model the Republic used.
"Took you long enough to free me," the Confederate said as he followed the droid out the door.
The second prisoner HK-51 released was the legendary human CIS shock trooper Gregor Zolska. Gregor Zolska was a legendary commando, though despite his many great accomplishments, he was not well known in the public sphere. He had accomplished things that would have made Jedi like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi look like a couple of wimps, and he did everything without any connection to the Force. On his long list of achievements, the one that stood out the most was the fact that he had killed a total of six Jedi in the war so far. Three of the Jedi Zolska had killed had been blown up by well-placed mines. Gregor Zolska was an impressive fighter but also knew how to use his brain and outthink the enemy. Many Jedi failed to detect the dangers of mines, especially during the heat of combat, until it was too late. It had taken none other than Mace Windu to finally defeat Zolska in battle.
Seeing Finnis behind the droid, Zolska knew that meant it was time to go.
"We're finally leaving this station, eh, Finnis? I was afraid we were going to die of old age in here."
"You've been here less than a month, Zolska." Zian Finnis thought Zolska had no right to complain. He had been stuck rotting in prison far longer than the other man had.
"Far too long to be in this miserable excuse for a prison. No wonder the Republic is doing so badly in this war. They waste so much money feeding their prisoners."
"You rather they didn't?"
HK-51 left the two talking humans for the next cell.
The third prison cell contained a General Fangor, a male Harch. Fangor was a brilliant strategist with an almost flawless record, though he was defeated and captured by the Jedi Plo Koon and Kit Fisto. It had been a close battle, but Fangor had lost. The Harch had blamed his loss on the Jedi's ability to foresee the future.
Fangor noticed that a single droid was their rescuer. He would have expected an entire squad would have been sent. Combined with the fact that no alarms had gone off, and Fangor knew the Republic didn't realize they were being freed.
The next cell over, HK-51 released a Skakoan pilot known as the Silver Stalker. The Silver Stalker was one of the Confederacy's top ace pilots. Already a veteran fighter pilot long before the war between the Confederacy and Republic broke out, the Silver Stalker had over four hundred confirmed starfighter kills. The Silver Stalker found the conflict between the CIS and Republic to almost be boring, the clone pilots were nowhere near his skill level, but then neither were the pirates and mercenaries he flew against before the war broke out. He did find a challenge in taking on Jedi pilots, however. Before his capture, the Skakoan pilot had shot down a total of nine Delta-7 light interceptors in the war so far.
Opening the fifth prison cell, HK-51 found General Lok Durd. In addition to being a military officer, Durd was also a weapons developer. If ever there was an organic that fit the term 'meatbag,' it was the portly Neimoidian that stood before HK-51 now.
"Ah, I see that the Confederacy has the wisdom to free me in a timely manner. I assume my generous contributions to the cause have not gone unappreciated?" Durd's most dangerous contribution was the defoliator—an artillery radiation weapon that could eradicate organic matter while leaving machinery unharmed. The testing of the defoliator had proven successful, unfortunately, it was destroyed in a battle with the Republic and Durd had been captured by Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
HK-51 didn't answer and merely went to free the next prisoner.
The sixth cell held Pune Zignat, a male Aqualish who worked as Lok Durd's chief weapons technician. He had been captured along with Lok Durd on Maridun.
The seventh prisoner to be released was Dr. Nuvo Vindi, a male Faust. Despite being mentally unstable, Vindi was a brilliant scientist. His success of re-engineering the Blue Shadow Virus into an airborne strain had put him in the sights of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
The eighth prisoner was General Whorm Loathsom. The Kerkoiden officer was responsible for many Separatist victories against the Republic, but had met defeat on Christophsis. Like so many others, Whorm Loathsom had also been captured by Skywalker and Kenobi. A pattern had emerged during the war in which those two particular Jedi had become very troublesome to the Confederacy.
The ninth and last prisoner in the cellblock was the leader of the Techno Union, Wat Tambor. The Skakoan was furious; he wanted revenge against the Republic for their poor treatment of him. He was also not pleased that the Confederacy had not rescued him immediately. Tambor could only imagine what was going on in the Techno Union during his absence. Of course, it wouldn't have fallen with him not around; Tambor was worried about maintaining his own position as leader of the organization. But Wat knew he was letting his thoughts get ahead of him. He had only gotten out of his cell; he hadn't even escaped from the prison yet.
"Announcement: If you could all follow me in an orderly manner, we can leave this prison shortly."
"Good." Lok Durd couldn't wait to get out of his prison garb and back into proper Neimoidian attire. He had found the treatment they received as prisoners to be most unacceptable.
"We're just going to walk out the front door?" Finnis asked.
"Answer: Yes, provided you all keep quiet and do as I say."
Finnis and Zolska picked up the blasters from the two dead clone troopers.
The door providing the entrance and exit to Block A3. The clone guard turned around.
"Why are the prisoners—" the clone couldn't finish before HK-51 had killed him. General Fangor took the clone's weapon.
It was odd that a single droid was leading such a large group of prisoners through the corridors of Asteroid M-23-B. It was even more odd that some of the prisoners were carrying stolen clone blasters. But through sheer luck, the group didn't come across anything more than a few isolated astromech droids (which ignored them entirely).
HK-51 was leading the group not to the docking bay to escape, no; they had to make a little detour first. They were going to pay the clone barracks a quick visit. But before they could reach the corridor connecting to the barracks, they were blocked by a pair of clone troopers guarding the door.
The two clone guards whispered to one another as the group approached. "Isn't that the Commander's new droid? What's it doing?"
"We'll find out in a second."
The pair waited until HK-51 and the prisoners stopped in front of them. The group was large enough that those with weapons were easily able to hide them behind the backs of others.
"You, droid. What are you doing with these prisoners? Why are they out of their cells?"
"Explanation: Commander Blocraam requested a prisoner transfer. These prisoners have been marked high-value and are to be sent to Coruscant."
"And why would she have you do it?"
"Answer: The Commander doesn't believe they have any hope of escape. She doesn't have enough for me to do and demanded that I make myself useful."
"That does sound like the Commander," one of the clone guards whispered to the other.
"Uh…" the clone paused for a moment, thinking the situation through. "That still doesn't change the fact that we weren't notified. We'll have to call in and clear it."
"Statement: I was told this transfer was already approved."
"Maybe it was called in during another shift?" the other guard theorized.
"Suggestion: It would not be wise to hold up this transfer. The Commander will be most displeased by any hiccups in efficiency of this facility."
That got the clones' attention. "Oh, right. Go on through." The clones waved them on.
HK-51's group passed through the doors. The guards were too busy talking to each other to inspect the prisoners.
They were right about to reach the main doors to the barracks when the two clone guards they had passed came running back to them. Boots clacking against the deck, they ran to the front of the group to confront HK-51.
"Hey! Halt! We called it in and nothing was cleared!" The two clones had their weapons drawn on the droid.
"Explanation: It wasn't cleared because they're dead." The droid grabbed at nearest guard's gun and ripped it from his hands.
Before the other clone could shoot HK-51 he was shot, not by Finnis, Fangor or Zolska… but by a black-plated command battle droid that materialized out of nowhere.
Commander KLO-657, dual wielding a pair of precision SE-14 blaster pistols, shot the second clone that had his gun stolen by HK-51. The commander of the special ops battle droids had his cloaking activated and had been following HK-51 around all along, making sure the mission went smoothly. Only now that things were about to get messy did the special ops droid reveal himself.
"Ah, yes. Very clever. Cloaked this whole time, even to us," Dr. Vindi commented. "I could use a few droids like that."
Gregor Zolska merely grunted, he had noticed the cloaked battle droid shadowing them back in the cellblock.
"If you would all continue to follow HK-51." KLO-657 waved the group on. The command droid waited for everyone to pass, then he turned towards the doorway to the barracks. There were oil trails clearly visible, the mouse droids had done their job and leaked oil all throughout the barracks. KLO-657 aimed his left pistol and fired once. The violet blaster bolt ignited the oil. In moments the fire had spread all throughout the barracks. Screams of clone troopers could be heard over the sizzling flames.
The fire alarms went off as KLO-657 caught up to the group.
Most of the prison staff was worried about the barracks catching fire; no one was around to stop the escapees as they reached the hangar bay. Battle klaxons blared in over the fire alarms.
A trio of CIS capital ships had exited out of hyperspace in front of the asteroid prison complex. The Banking Clan frigate Zankess was flanked by two Commerce Guild destroyers, the Zaxon and Zanna. Stag Beetles and Vulture droids launched from their hangars, protecting Sheathipede shuttles. The starfighters ended up having nothing to attack, no Republic fighters were launched and the asteroid sported no defensive weapons emplacements of its own. Asteroid M-23-B deterred invasion based upon the threat that the prison staff would space all prisoners out the airlocks if attacked. That was why OOM-9 had covertly sent HK-51 in the first place; this situation couldn't be solved by OOM-9's usual tactics of brute force and overwhelming numbers. Now that the prisoners were out, the CIS could fall back into their old, comfortable habits.
The door to the asteroid's hangar bay opened slowly, and HK-51 ran through. The droid made sure to keep ahead of the others, if shooting started, he would be okay. His organic charges were not so durable.
"It's a prison break!" a clone yelled when he saw the prisoners approach. Zolska shot him.
"Stop right there, criminal scum!" a clone sergeant raised his weapon and fired. The blaster bolt hit HK-51 in the head but the droid was unfazed. Fangor shot and killed the sergeant. HK-51 picked up one of the fallen clone's weapons.
"I'll stay with the officers, you go stop the clones from closing the hangar doors," KLO-657 instructed HK-51.
"Acknowledgement."
HK-51 made sure that the shield doors weren't closed. It wasn't a difficult task. The most the assassin droid faced were a few non-clone workers. Even with his memories missing and his assassination protocols a fuzzy haze rotted by age, HK-51 knew this battle was far beneath his abilities. It was almost insulting. HK-51 hoped the Republic would have better fighters to offer him in the future, or this was going to be a short war indeed.
The Sheathipede shuttles made it into the hanger bay. Their colors alternated between the old Trade Federation brown and the Confederate blue and gray. None of the shuttles were controlled by an automated brain; all were crewed by pilot battle droids.
Commander OOM-8 and several marine battle droids exited from the shuttles. Before the CIS commander could utter a word, the prisoners were already scrambling to board the shuttles. They were ready to be off the prison asteroid.
A few clone troopers started to make their way to the hangar bay, but not many. A good deal of the clone troopers had died in the barracks fire (which was still burning). With his two precision pistols, KLO-657 could take on all the clones by himself. OOM-8 and his marine droids weren't even necessary.
When the escapees were all aboard, HK-51 returned to the group of battle droids defending the parked shuttles. More clone troopers started showing up. Even worker droids came to attack.
Then a female Chagrian showed up, clan in red and white body armor and wielding a DC-17 hand blaster. It was Commander Blocraam. "No one escapes Asteroid M-23-B on my watch. No one!" She shot at HK-51, the droid that was supposedly her new protocol droid and the reason for the prison break.
KLO-657 killed three clones in quick secession with his precision pistols.
"Fight harder, you damn clones!" Blocraam wailed. "You're gonna hope those droids kill you. You're not gonna wanna what I'll do to you if anyone escapes this prison!"
HK-51 aimed his stolen blaster and squeezed the trigger, leaving a gaping hole in Blocraam's face (about the only part of her that wasn't covered in armor). HK-51 had actually done the remaining clones on Asteroid M-23-B a huge favor. With Blocraam dead, they now stood a chance at having a leader that wasn't so bigoted against human clones.
The last the clones Republic worker droids in the hangar bay were killed, leaving only the battle droids and their shuttles. HK-51 and the battle droids withdrew to the shuttles.
With all the passengers aboard, the Sheathipede transport shuttles left the asteroid's hangar bay and took off for the safety Separatist capital ships. The Zankess, Zaxon and Zanna were able to collect their shuttles and fighters without incident and escaped into hyperspace.
Baroness Zincer had agreed to meet OOM-9 at the Magna Musai's command bridge. Her transfer from the Karajor to the Magna Musai was attended by several squads of different types of battle droids. Given her flair for such flashy arrivals, OOM-9 was started to get the idea that Zincer was getting a big head. Her arrivals to destinations had started becoming much more grandiose, as if she considered herself an empress of some sort.
OOM-9 had made sure that only droid crew were onboard the droid control ship's bridge when Zincer arrived. Important information was sure to be exchanged and OOM-9 didn't need any organics listening in. Loose lips could destroy ships, but droids knew when to shut up.
Pilot battle droids and PK worker droids filled the bridge, as well as a pair of HouseKarl battle droids that were acting as Zincer's bodyguards. Armed with nothing but ordinary E-5 blaster rifles, the two HouseKarls looked no more threatening than a pair of security battle droids.
Other than OOM-9 and Zincer, Commander Zako was also present, as OOM-9 knew that despite being an organic, he could be trusted. There were many in the galaxy that wouldn't even consider him an organic anymore, what with him now being a bio-linked cyborg. Such notions were merely bigotry; Zako was still very human… for the most part.
"Baktoid Armor Workshop is publicly up and running again." Baroness Zincer sat in one of the chairs. OOM-9 was sitting in the command chair while Zako had opted to stand.
"Excellent. That company should have been resurrected long ago," OOM-9 said.
"You spent a lot of money on legally resurrecting that company. Going through all the data processing was a nightmare."
"Money does not concern me. Having Baktoid Armor Workshop running publicly again is a point of pride for the Separatist Droid Army."
Baktoid Armor Workshop had been dramatically dissolved after the Battle of Naboo. Although most facilities and resources were transferred to either Baktoid Combat Automata or Baktoid Fleet Ordnance after Baktoid Armor Workshop's dissolution, OOM-9 had always taken it as a personal insult that the company was ever scrapped in the first place. He (like almost all CIS droids) felt great pride in the companies that created them and their equipment.
Commander Zako remained silent as the two leaders conversed but a variety of topics. The end of the conversation revealed that Zincer planned on staying with the 8th Fleet. The Baroness of Zakkudos was aware that Dr. Gatling Quartz was about to reveal another of his inventions, and wanted to see it in action.
When the meeting concluded and Zincer left with her bodyguards, OOM-9 had pulled a particular HoloNet news article up on one of the vidscreens.
OOM-9 and Zako studied the HoloNet news article for a moment. The Coalition of Automaton Rights Activists had issued a decree criticizing Arakyd Industries for the model Vindicator XM-15 brilliant missiles used by the new B3 ultra battle droids. They claimed the missile's central processor was so advanced it was sentient. This is far beyond a mindless battle droid. Theses are thinking, feeling sapient entities doomed to an explosive demise, which is nothing short of an abomination, the statement read.
Under the façade his calm demeanor, OOM-9's circuits began to boil. He was particularly enraged by the comment that a they considered a missile to be superior in intellect to a battle droid, and OOM-9 knew they were referring to the Confederacy's old B-series battle droids. They were more intelligent than missiles!
"Commander Zako," OOM-9 said.
"Sir?"
"I have a new assignment for your assassin droid."
"My assassin droid? General, if it were up to me, I'd have that damn thing scrapped after what it tried to do to me. You're the one that wants to keep it. He addresses you as 'master,' not me. He's your droid, not mine."
"You're against giving him a chance? You salvaged me from Raxus Prime as well, if you remember."
"Of course I do. I also remember you didn't try to kill me when I turned you back on."
"Stop being so fragile."
"I can't help it that I have all these weak squishy parts, it's part of being human."
"I meant emotionally. You take everything too personally."
"He tried to choke me to death. How am I supposed to take it?"
"Like a droid."
"Excuse me for needing to be able to breathe."
"Could you stop portraying the whiny organic stereotype so well and do as I command?"
"Yes, General OOM-9. May I ask a question first?"
"That was a question… but go ahead."
"Why don't you order him? You are his master, right? Why send me?"
"To make sure he's capable of being around friendly organics and taking orders from them."
"What?"
"Don't worry. There's four grapple droids guarding him. They won't let anything happen to you."
"But… we're making sure he'll get along with friendly organics? Shouldn't we have determined this sooner? We took an awful risk having him rescue the prisoners."
"If you will remember, I just said that we're testing that he will take orders from them. He was the one giving the orders when he freed the prisoners. Plus KLO-657 was there to keep him in line. Now spare me any further complaining, Commander. Tell HK-51 I want the head of the Coalition of Automation Rights Activists terminated."
"Yes sir."
"And see if there's any way to have him killed with a Vindicator XM-15 brilliant missile." For this next assignment, OOM-9 wasn't going to hold HK-51's hand. The old assassin droid was going to be set loose on his own. There was a greater risk things wouldn't go as planning without a CIS droid to supervise HK-51, though there wasn't as much at risk either. If HK-51 failed, OOM-9 could always send someone else to kill the head of the Coalition of Automation Rights Activists.
On the bridge of the Karajor, Captain Melissa Sledge found herself inundated with battle droids making a request she couldn't possibly accomplish—getting Katen out of her funk. This was not what she had in mind when she said she wanted the others to visit her more often on the flagship.
"You talk to her," KJZ-8267 urged the human.
"No. You do it." Sledge tapped at the deck with her left boot as she squirmed in the command chair.
"You're human," SSA-719 said. The security droid was standing to her right. "You can relate to whatever is bothering her."
"No, I can't. You're a droid. Use your awesome droidness to convince her to abandon her silly human emotions." Sledge was only half joking.
"We have no idea how to do that," KJZ-8267 said.
"You know organics are fragile—especially Katen. Something doesn't go her way and she gets pissed off. And when she's faced with a real problem, she starts to fall apart. There's nothing I can do." Sledge wasn't a shrink. She'd rather go fight with the infantry than try to fix Katen's current attitude. "This is just something that she has to work out on her own. It's just going to take time."
"We need her fully operational, now," SSA-719 said.
"I said there's nothing I can do!" Sledge snapped at the security droid. "Not every problem can be solved with violence and teamwork! I have no idea how to fix this. Neither do any of you. So we just have to sit and wait for her to get over herself. That's all there is to it. Now shut up and listen to this." Sledge turned up the volume on a news report on one of the vidscreens. The reporter was going on about how a detachment of clone troopers tried to capture Ahlenn's president and Caniz's mayor in order to secure safe travel off the planet. As she continued to explain that the two leaders had been killed in the struggle, video footage provided from the Confederacy's recon droids was being displayed.
"Wow, the plan worked perfectly," Sledge was impressed. "Ahlenn must be made entirely out of idiots. They must have the memory of snap gnats. We look like heroes now."
"We look like heroes?" KJZ-8267 asked. "Implying we aren't actually heroes?" The pilot droid was well aware of the fact that they weren't heroes. Yet they weren't villains either. Sometimes the droid army engaged in good acts and sometimes in bad ones. Someone could argue that they were or were not certain such labels but the truth was they were just a bunch of battle droids that enjoyed combat.
Katen had locked herself in her private quarters. She didn't feel like talking to anyone or doing anything. She had done enough already. She lay face down on her bed, moping around. Her left arm hung lazily off the bed, her middle finger tapping at the floor in endless irritation.
She had heard the rumor that OOM-9 had suggested that Pong Krell used the Force to manipulate her into shooting the child. Katen desperately wished that were true. But the truth of the situation was she didn't know if Krell had manipulated her to act or not. She hadn't felt like herself when it had happened, but she didn't know if she was operating on fear or the Force.
And when she really thought about it, nothing seemed to be her fault. Other than Krell, the civilians were also to blame. They should have cleared out long before anything could have happened. They should have stayed in their homes when the nearby forest was burning. Hell, they should have stayed indoors just from the fact alone that the Confederacy and Republic were fighting over their planet, Ahlenn. But no, they were going about their day like nothing was out of the ordinary. The fighting and dying of the two opposing armies clearly meant nothing to them. It was also the parents' fault for not keeping track of their little girl; it was the girl's fault for being such a stupid coward. Katen didn't act like that at her age. There was a long list of people responsible for what had happened yet Katen found that it somehow all came crashing down on her. For in the end, manipulated by the Force or not, Katen was the one who had pulled the trigger.
Katen wished she could go back in time, just right before firing her pistol. She wished the whole thing ended differently. It should have ended with Krell's death, not the little girl's. But there was no rewind or reset button for real life, and Katen was stuck with what had happened.
Author's Note: Zian Finnis appeared in the expansion for Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds.
HK-51 is based off of the cut content for Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords instead of the version from the Old Republic. I had always planned on putting HK-51 into OOM-9's Revenge, long before he was altered and put in the Old Republic. So I decided to keep him the way he was in the cut content.
The XQ-2 air bike is Hasbro's Separatist droid speeder (2011). I felt it needed a more specific name, so I made one up.