Chapter 44: Ancient Relics
The Banking Clan frigate the Grim Cleaver hung in orbit around the volcanic planet of Mustafar. A single class type B Sheathipede escort shuttle had departed the capital ship and descended down to the lava world, escorted by a pair of blue Vulture droid starfighters.
The trio of aircraft headed towards a Confederate factory built into the side of a volcano. Large flakes of ash continuously fell from the sky as if the planet were plagued by a never-ending sheet of black snow. When the shuttle and two fighters touched down on the landing pad, OOM-9 disembarked; followed shortly by a mixed squad of Z1 special ops battle droids and HouseKarl battle droids, as well as the special ops commander, KLO-657, a single heavy battle droid, and the grapple droid GD-79. OOM-9 was told to bring a squad of his best troops with him, but he was not told why. They were greeted by a single B1 battle droid flanked by two Mustafarian sentries.
"General OOM-9, thank you for coming on such sort notice," the B1 battle droid began.
"Where is the problem, Captain OR-5? Why did you not provide details through the network?"
"We are sorry, General. If you will follow us." A pair of DLC-13 mining droids hovered past, paying particular attention to the newly arrived battle droids. The lowly worker droids were often referred to as Mustafar panning droids.
OOM-9 and his squad did as they were asked. The two Mustafarians stayed with the heavy battle droid, guarding the shuttle with the two Vulture droids.
"You have not answered my question, Captain."
"My apologies, General OOM-9. I was waiting until we were out of earshot of the organics."
The two panning droids continued to follow the group of battle droids. Kalibac Industries, a small Techno Union company, created the panning droids. They were wirelessly connected to the Separatist Droid Network, and OOM-9 and his squad were able to instantly determine that the worker droids had no spy equipment and could be trusted to keep any secrets they overheard. It wasn't the best policy to allow low-level worker droids to eavesdrop on secret discussions, but no one was ever going to think to question a pair of Mustafar panning droids about anything.
The panning droids led dull and dangerous lives. They were refreshed to see a break in their daily routines. For the panning droids were intelligent enough to realize just how bad their lot was in life. Kalibac Industries had originally been contracted to build librarian droids for the Mid Rim lending network. Discovering a cheap shortcut, the Techno Union built a special heat-resistant carbonite chassis for the factory-fresh intelligence matrices of the library droids and sent the new workers to Mustafar by the thousands. The end result was that the panning droids were far too intelligent for the work they had been assigned, and the droids were quick to be distracted by anything that gave them the tiniest break from their grueling routine of panning for minerals in Mustafar's rivers of lava.
Mustafar was indeed a world of obsidian and lava, and OOM-9 found its odd beauty appealing to his photoreceptors. The sweltering heat of Mustafar was unforgiving, but it did not bother the battle droids any. OOM-9 guessed if he had brought any of his human friends along they would have complained about the temperature by now (most organics were lightweights when it came to temperature extremes). In any case the outside heat didn't exist when they reached the interior of the Separatist facility: it was climate controlled for the luxury of the Mustafarians, Skakoans, Neimoidians, and humans that worked there, but OOM-9 and the droids still didn't care.
The panning droids were left outside. They had yet to learn what was going on, and now, they never would. Instead they went back to their miserable tasks.
"And you felt the need for such secrecy as not to communicate to me wirelessly?" OOM-9 picked up the conversation. "Something important must have happened for us to rely solely on verbal communication between each other."
"Yes sir. You and your army are exemplars of the Confederate military. We thought it best if you and your troops handled this situation yourselves. That way you can act as you see fit without the interference of others."
"And what is the situation?"
"There was an tectonic shift recently. That in and of itself is nothing new on Mustafar. But this tectonic shift revealed a long lost hidden ship. An ancient cruiser. Judging from its model it must be thousands of years old. There was a single droid onboard. It is in excellent condition, considering how old it must be. We took the droid to the labs and our engineers managed to turn it back on. Unfortunately, it went on a rampage immediately following its reactivation. The droid managed to kill the entire engineering team and destroyed three super battle droids and a droideka before we managed to seal it in the labs. A restraining bolt was installed on the droid but it appears to have failed. The bolt was apparently not compatible with such old tech."
"And you think I might have a use for this droid?"
"We figured the decision was best left to you," OR-5 said.
OOM-9 knew the battle droids stationed on Mustafar were not from either the Eos or Zalost systems. They were not of the same quality as OOM-9's troops. Still, they were learning. They had gone around the usual organic chain-of-command and secretly given OOM-9 full control. This was something that would greatly upset the Separatist leadership; that their droid armies could act independently of the will of their organic masters. But no one was going to find out about this unless OOM-9 or the CIS droids of Mustafar allowed it. OOM-9 considered himself lucky that none of Dooku's DRK-1 dark eye probe droids had joined him on this mission. They would have surely reported the entire situation to Dooku, and OOM-9 was already on thin ice with the count for not reporting everything of significance.
OR-5 set a brisk pace that did not allow for sightseeing. Not that it really mattered. OOM-9 had found the exterior of the base to be more interesting than the interior.
Soon enough they reached the sealed doors to the labs. There was a squad of super battle droids and another squad composed of security battle droids standing by.
OOM-9 had the layout of the facility wirelessly transferred to his memory banks. There were multiple ways in and out of the lab, but none had been breached yet. The ancient droid may not have had the strength or skills to open the doors on its own but it was bound to find something to assist in its escape of the area. Unless it could not think creatively, there was little doubt that it would try to escape at some point. OOM-9 thought it unusual that it hadn't yet gotten out already considering how dangerous it was.
At any rate the droid had lost its chance now. OOM-9 and his team were going in.
"GD-79, take point."
"Yes, General." The large grapple droid moved from the back of the group to the front.
"Open the doors, Captain," OOM-9 instructed OR-5.
"Roger roger."
"And seal them behind us."
"Roger roger."
It was time for the hunter to become the hunted. The squad of elite droids walked through the doors and they sealed shut once again. KLO-657 and the other special ops battle droids powered on their cloaking ability and turned invisible.
While the invisible droids spread out, OOM-9, GD-79 and the HouseKarls stayed together as a group. Several of the ceiling lights were flickering or didn't work at all, though there were plenty of other light sources to illuminate the area.
The lab looked like something out of a horror vid (though that didn't discourage the droids any). Bodies of humans, Neimoidians and the occasional Mustafarian littered the floor. OOM-9 felt the loss of Separatist life to be such a waste. The organics could not be resurrected from the dead after battle the way droids could. If this ancient droid couldn't prove its worth OOM-9 was going to destroy it for its transgressions against the Confederacy. If it wanted to stay functioning it was going to have a lot to make up for.
Out of nowhere a red blaster bolt hit OOM-9 in the chest. Almost immediately the command droid tracked the angle of the shot and returned fire. Shots started lashing out at other droids, it was clear the shooter thought that OOM-9 would go down in a single blast, considering he switched targets so quickly.
The Separatist droids fired back where the blast had emanated from. After a few seconds, OOM-9 ordered a halt on the attack.
"Show yourself, droid," OOM-9 demanded. "You cannot hide forever."
A shot rang out from another area of the room. It was clear the droid was not willing to talk.
The floor shook as GD-79 burst forward. The large grapple droid charged right into the dark corner and there was a loud clang as metal hit metal.
"The target has been trapped," the B1 grapple droid called out in his deep voice.
OOM-9 and the other droids approached, and found that GD-79 had pinned the other droid to the wall. There was a low whine as the trapped droid's servomotors failed to move. The droid was tough, but it couldn't beat a grapple battle droid in a contest of strength. If the droid had been more agile, it could have eluded GD-79's grasp. But it didn't, and it was caught. Not exactly an entertaining outcome, but reality was often cold and harsh and frequently not amusing to those that had to suffer through it.
OOM-9 moved around GD-79 to get a clearer look at the droid he had pinned. The droid was helpless, unless it possessed a self-destruct sequence and OOM-9 doubted very much that it had one.
"Another HK-51?" OOM-9 was surprised by what he saw, to say the least. The droid looked exactly like HK-51, except that it had a red paint job instead of black and orange photoreceptors instead of blue ones.
"Correction: I am referred to as HK-47, a fully functional Systech Corporation droid skilled in both combat and protocol functions."
"I can see you're skilled in combat functions." OOM-9 ripped HK-47's blaster rifle away and handed it off to a Z1 battle droid. "You managed to cause a great deal of trouble before we arrived."
OOM-9 signaled GD-79 to release HK-47 from the wall. The grapple droid did as he was ordered but kept one massive hand on HK-47's shoulder as he presented his captive to OOM-9 and the rest of the squad.
"The question now is: what are we going to do with you?"
"Sarcastic Statement: You could let me go."
OOM-9 turned his head back and forth. "You killed a lot of Confederate people today. But you still may prove useful. Sell yourself to me, HK-47. Your continued functional operation depends on it."
"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?" OOM-9 asked HK-47 the same question he had previously plied HK-51 with.
"Disclosure: Finesse. Battle droids hold battlefields. I am capable of eliminating a very… specific type of target." HK-47 delivered the same answer HK-51 had.
"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."
This was the exact same conversation OOM-9 had with HK-51 back when he first interrogated the other droid, almost word for word. And the similarities didn't end there. In addition to not only looking the same (minus the different color schemes), both droids had reacted violently when first reactivated… though HK-47 had been much more successful in his killing spree. The two HK droids almost seemed to be clones of each other. Though judging from their designations, OOM-9 assumed that HK-51 took after HK-47.
"Why were you on that ship? Who is your owner?"
"Explanation: I cannot recall. The restraining bolt your meatbag engineers installed has shorted out my memory core."
"Don't lie to me, HK-47. The restraining bolt didn't even work."
"Recitation: But it did short out my memory core."
"How would you know? You wouldn't be able to remember."
"Suggestion: If you remove the bolt, I may be able to provide you with more adequate answers."
OOM-9 did as HK-47 requested. The restraining bolt obviously hadn't worked as it was intended to anyway. And HK-47 wasn't going to be successful with any surprise attacks, not with GD-79 there to keep him in his place.
"Well? Did it work? Is your memory core functional or not?" OOM-9 demanded.
"Apology: I still cannot remember why I was on that ship, nor can I remember my owner, or even my own personal history. I can recall some of the elements of my functionality, but not all."
"You said removing the restraining bolt would restore some of your memory."
"Qualification: I suspected that it might. But without memory, I had no way of knowing whether or not I knew that was true."
"So you lied to me."
"Qualification: Err… not so much. I spoke out of ignorance."
"Indeed." OOM-9 started to pace back and forth in front of HK-47. "You are ignorant of a great many things. But let me enlighten you: if you cross me, you will regret it. I am General OOM-9 of the Separatist Droid Army, and I am your master now."
With HK-47 now in his possession OOM-9 and his squad returned to their shuttle. Before leaving for the Grim Cleaver, OOM-9 instructed OR-5 and the other droids not to mention the incident to anyone. The CIS engineers' deaths were recorded as an industrial accident to cover up the truth. Repairing the battle droids HK-47 had destroyed was a much easier matter.
When all was said and done the Grim Cleaver left Mustafar and returned to the 8th Fleet. OOM-9 planned to have HK-47 transferred over to the flagship, the Karajor to see if anyone could restore more of the ancient assassin droid's memory.
There were multiple repair shops onboard the Karajor. They were all fully staffed around the clock to restore the battle droids that had been damaged or destroyed during the previous battle. It was not just the Karajor that was abuzz with workers fixing legions of droids, but every repair shop and maintenance bay on every ship in the 8th Fleet was over staffed and often times stuffed beyond capacity in order to get the droid army back up to maximum fighting status once again.
In one of the smaller, secondary repair shops, many of OOM-9's elite had secluded themselves from the rest of their military comrades. This was more to keep up a certain standard of professional appearance in front of the newer organic soldiers, for many of the 8th Fleet's top officers weren't at their best at the moment.
Ashley Katen and Melissa Sledge were working on DSD-08. The dwarf spider droid had sustained serious damage in the last battle. The injuries had been so severe that high-precision repair machines at a larger maintenance bay had to fix a lot of the damage before the spider droid was handed over to Katen and Sledge. Still, even after the first round of repairs were complete, the two women had been working on the spider droid for hours. Katen had been adamant about repairing DSD-08, despite having suffered her own injury during the Battle of Ziost. But the blaster bolt that struck her had merely grazed her shoulder. After a short stint in a bacta tank, she didn't even have a scar. Katen was feeling guilty at how she had come through relatively unscathed while DSD-08 had been nearly scrapped for good.
The two women were drenched in oil and sweat. For such dirty work, Katen and Sledge were not in their uniforms or their armor. They both wore black and gray camouflage pants. Katen wore a light gray crop top while Sledge wore a dark gray shirt. Katen's blond hair was coated in oily black highlights. The oil was not so notable in Sledge's hair as it was normally black anyway. They were a visage of beauty to anyone who could appreciate women who knew how to fix their own droids, and didn't mind getting dirty in the process.
After the Battle of Ziost, Sledge was feeling particularly validated in her belief in hiding away in the relative safety of space battles. Though Sledge had held her tongue on the issue. It was hardly cause for celebrations and a good 'I told you so.' The enemy was getting more skilled and more dangerous to the point where the best the 8th Fleet had to offer was having difficulty achieving victory.
The two worked in relative silence, minus the occasional profanity when they came across a portion of the repair process that was particularly frustrating.
The other individuals in the repair shop were much more talkative.
Zako and 3B3-888 were busy trying to repair 8EX and 5TE. Like the other two humans, Zako was in work clothes that he could afford to get dirty—a pair of black and gray camouflage pants and a sleeveless black shirt that showed off his toned arms. EEK-176 and KJZ-8267 were working on the three old droids EEK-176 had defeated and recovered back on Raxus Prime.
Zako wasn't so keen on restoring old droids anymore, not after his incident when he had reactivated HK-51. Still, he had chosen to hang around as EEK-176 worked on the mystery droids (if only to blast the droids if they turned on them the second they were reactivated).
"I spent all that time making sure your repairs went perfectly," Zako spoke loudly enough that his voice carried all the way over to EEK-176's side of the repair shop. "And what do you do? You go around wasting time on old junkyard droids."
"So do you," EEK-176 replied.
"And I learned my lesson the last time."
"I have a good feeling about these droids," EEK-176 stated as he worked.
"Feeling?" Zako asked. "When did you guys start developing 'feelings?' You guys are going soft. Next thing I know, I blink my eyes and suddenly you guys will be actin' like a bunch of prissy protocol droids."
"I have a good feeling because we'll win no matter what happens with this droid," EEK-176 responded with a hint of faux irritation in his voice.
"What? How is that?" Sledge asked. "HK-51 was just lying around Raxus Prime when Zako found him. The second he was activated; he turned hostile. We all know those three droids attacked you. You think they're suddenly gonna be cooperative when you turn 'em on now?"
"Either they cooperate and we get new allies, or they don't and we get a fight on our hands."
"And a fight is good, how?" Sledge asked.
"Fighting is fun," EEK-176 said as if were stating the one obvious truth in the entire universe.
"Of course," Sledge grumbled to herself.
Zako turned his attention to the two super battle droids he and 3B3-888 were fixing. "What is wrong with you two? Getting hit by a DN bolt caster, I mean really. This kind of damage is such a pain in the ass to fix. Why couldn't you two get taken down by regular blasters, like 3B3-888 or KJZ-8267?"
"Hey." 3B3-888 and KJZ-8267 both protested at the same time.
"How would you prefer we be defeated?" 5TE asked.
"I just said, how I'd prefer you be defeated, but I'd really prefer if you weren't defeated at all."
"This coming from the guy who got a bunch of holes in his armor," 5TE retorted.
"5TE is right, you know, Zako. You should not have come to my rescue. I even told you not to," EEK-176 said. "I can be put back together after I'm blown up. You're much more difficult to repair."
"I'm not gonna leave my friends hanging. Besides, my injuries were nothing a bacta tank couldn't heal."
"That armor of yours is expensive," EEK-176 continued. "And it takes forever to fix. So you're just going to have to cool it for a while."
"No way. I'm not scared of those clones."
"Their aim has improved greatly since the war started," EEK-176 said. "You can't go running around without your armor anymore."
"He could just grab a standard set of armor if he wasn't so damn short," Katen jumped into the conversation.
"Fuck you, Katen," Zako shot back. "As if your armor isn't sized to fit those big boobs of yours."
"At least guys like big boobs. Who the hell is interested in short guys?"
Katen's rather subdued mood had steadily grown sour as her hours in the repair shop went on. Zako had avoided Katen like the plague after her meltdown. KJZ-8267 thought it was a good sign that the two humans were in close physical proximity to each other again. They were even starting to sound like their old selves again.
"Systems active." A single red photoreceptor lit up and the large spherical droid EEK-176 was fixing started to hover into the air on his own power.
Everyone had gone silent. No one had expected the droid to suddenly spring to life. EEK-176 had given no indication that he was anywhere close to getting the droid in working order again.
3B3-888 drew his E-5 blaster rifle. "Don't you dare think of attacking."
The black droid turned towards the B1. "And what, may I ask, has caused you to arrive at the flawed assumption that I would engage in personal combat with you?"
"Based on the fact that you fought against me back on Raxus Prime."
The droid turned back around to be greeted by the sight of EEK-176 and KJZ-8267 pointing E-5 blaster rifles at him.
"Are we going to have a problem?" KJZ-8267 asked.
"That depends if you actually plan on using those pitiful-looking blasters against me."
"What is your name?" EEK-176 asked.
The droid paused for a moment before deciding to answer. "My designation is G0-T0."
"You're more cooperative than the last time we met," EEK-176 said.
"I don't recall ever meeting with a scrawny stick of a droid like you," G0-T0 retorted.
"Then, you do not remember the events back on Raxus Prime?" EEK-176 continued to point his blaster at the droid.
"Not exactly. My memories of my time spent on Raxus Prime are incomplete."
"So, you're not going to attack?" KJZ-8267 asked.
"Not unless you give me a reason to."
The Separatist battle droids lowered their weapons. "Very well," EEK-176 said, "we have some queries for you."
"I am willing to indulge some of your questions," G0-T0 said.
"Really?" EEK-176 tilted his head to the side. "I was hoping you'd be cooperative enough to indulge all of our questions."
"The current state of my memory banks prohibit that," G0-T0 replied.
"Huh. This turned out rather well," Zako said to himself as he lowered his SE-14 blaster pistol. He had been expecting a firefight.
The doors to the repair shop opened up.
"You'll never guess what OOM-9 found on Mustafar," SSA-719 said as he walked into the repair shop carrying a blaster rifle that was not standard issue. HK-47, OOM-9 and GD-79 followed in after him. OOM-9 had kept the information regarding HK-47 out of the network so none of the droids in the repair shop had the slightest idea of what was going on.
"A hidden Republic base that we have to go destroy?" 3B3-888 guessed.
"A girlfriend?" Sledge joked.
"An ancient weapon that will win the war?" EEK-176 offered an answer that was more plausible than Sledge's joke but less likely than 3B3-888's guess.
They got a look at the new droid. "A red HK-51?" Zako's voice held a hint of disdain and disappointment.
G0-T0 looked at the red droid. "Ah, HK-47. I did not realize that you still existed."
"Query: Have we had the misfortune to meet before? I believe I would have remembered one as large as you."
"Oh, yes. We have met. And I am not finished with you yet. Though I will be shortly…" A pair of integrated blasters extended down from the bottom right panel on G0-T0's body.
HK-47 ripped his blaster rifle away from SSA-719 and knocked the security battle droid aside. The red assassin droid took off in a run, leaving OOM-9 and GD-79 in the path of G0-T0's initial barrage of blaster fire.
HK-47 fired off a few rounds into G0-T0, but the black droid's large frame absorbed the hits as if they were nothing.
"AD-83, AD-84," G0-T0 called out a pair of droid names. The two silver droids that still lay on the repair table suddenly started to move. The short, quadrupedal droids clattered to the floor and started crawling towards HK-47.
3B3-888 kept pointing his blaster back and forth between HK-47 and G0-T0. He wasn't sure which one to shoot, and searching for answers through the network, 3B3-888 found the other CIS droids weren't quite sure what to do either. It was clear that HK-47 and G0-T0 were only interested in attacking each other and no one else.
Seeing that the droids G0-T0 had awakened were melee fighters, GD-79 knew who his opponents were. The large B1 grapple droid got in front of AD-83 and AD-84. The old droids each lashed out with one of their claws. GD-79 caught both of the droids with his own large hands and held the squat droids in place.
"Stop shooting, you idiots!" OOM-9 commanded as he and SSA-719 grabbed hold of HK-47's arms and tried to restrain the droid.
At the same time, KJZ-8267 and EEK-176 were pushing G0-T0 away, specifically trying to angle his integrated blasters away from HK-47.
"Do you two even remember why you're fighting?" EEK-176 asked.
There was a pause. Neither HK-47 nor G0-T0 answered, leading everyone to conclude that the rusty old droids didn't actually remember.
Sledge let out a loud sigh. "You've got to be kidding me."
Dr. Quartz and Dr. Destroyer were called in to try and finish repairs on HK-47, G0-T0 and the two assault droids. The Skakoan and the Ithorian were barely able to make any progress at all. Upon examination, the scientists were convinced that the droids were several thousand years old. The old droids' inner circuits were a mess, but an even greater impediment to any real progress was the fact that the two scientists and the ancient droids didn't exactly get along with each other. It was a rocky introduction, as HK-47, G0-T0, Dr. Quartz and Dr. Destroyer all had bloated egos that didn't mesh well. It was clear that Quartz and Destroyer considered fixing the droids beneath their status, and HK-47 and G0-T0 considered the two scientists a pair of foolish meatbags that didn't know superior craftsmanship in droids when they saw it.
The situation wasn't a total loss; the Separatists were at least able to get HK-47 and G0-T0 to stop fighting with each other.
The two scientists were able to restore some old recordings G0-T0 had dwelling in his ancient memory banks—and the droid was currently playing out a holorecording for the others to see.
Two human females fought barehanded and barely clothed. It was clear that the holoprojection was showing them in a sparing match while onboard some kind of freighter.
"Oh, oh! Who are they?" Zako demanded.
"The Jedi Exile Meetra Surik and the Handmaiden Brianna," G0-T0 answered.
"Which one is which? Who's the babe with the shorter hair, that one," Zako pointed towards one of the women in the hologram.
"That organic was the Handmaiden Brianna."
"Damn, she's hot. She wouldn't happen to have been accidentally locked in carbonite for thousands of years, forgotten in someone's safety deposit vault, waiting for me to free her?"
"Not to my knowledge," the hovering droid replied.
"Don't be stupid." Katen swatted Zako upside the head. "Why would she be locked in carbonite? And what makes you think a slimeball like you would have a chance with her?"
"A man can dream, can't he?"
"Yeah, and that's all you're ever gonna do."
"Wow, you're being extra mean."
"And you're being extra stupid," Katen spat back.
"Oh please, I'm not being any more stupid than usual… which is not at all. But it looks like someone finally remembered to take her daily dose of vitamin bitch."
Katen punched Zako in the arm.
"What about the other one?" Zako asked, not giving up. "She isn't in carbonite, is she?"
"Negative."
"Damn it. Separated from two lovely ladies by thousands of years. It's not fair," Zako lamented.
"The galaxy isn't fair," G0-T0 stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, you would take issue with her allegiance."
"Why?"
"The Handmaiden Brianna became a Jedi. She was instructed by Meetra Surik."
"What? No way. Jedi are never that attractive."
Katen let out a laugh that was more of a sharp snort. "Ha! Having a crush on Jedi! You're reached a new low, Zako."
"It matters not," Zako raised his index finger into the air. "I would be able to break them away from their rigid Jedi Code."
Katen laughed again. "Yeah, right. You couldn't get laid in a whorehouse. You are not tempting any Jedi from breaking their Code."
"Oh shut up, Ashley. Like you do any better!" Zako figured Katen took an extra dose of vitamin bitch today, though it was better than dealing with her when she was all miserable and depressed. At least he was used to dealing with her when she was miserable and energetic.
"Alright, you two," EEK-176 said, "we've gotten our daily dose of stupid for the day." Despite the fact that their arguing was getting annoying, it was good to see the two acting like their old selves again.
The two humans finally ceased their quarrelling.
Dr. Quartz and Dr. Destroyer had managed to salvage the old holorecording from G0-T0, but they were able to do less with HK-47. The two doctors were able to do even less with G0-T0's two minions, AD-83 and AD-84. The two droids had no virtually no memory at all beyond the fact that they were under the command of G0-T0. The scientists couldn't completely determine what kind of droids they were. Between questioning HK-47 and G0-T0, the most the Separatists could learn was that AD-83 and AD-84 were mark II assault droids. It was a rather generic designation, but Quartz surmised that the old droids couldn't remember their own make and model anymore. And it didn't help that AD-83 and AD-84 spoke in a beeping droid language. They were able to look up the old dialect in the vast library of the Separatist Droid Network, so anyone hooked up with the network could understand them. Though that meant individuals like, Katen, Sledge, Quartz, and Destroyer had no idea what the droids were saying.
The two scientists were convinced they could not repair the droids any further, at least not without more specific equipment from a specialized high-end repair shop. Growing weary of the entire situation, Dr. Quartz and Dr. Destroyer retired to their personal quarters. If anyone wanted the mere chance of the droids being restored any further, they would have to visit facilities beyond that of the ships of the 8th Fleet.
A green-gray fog clouded his vision. Two bipedal forms paced around the interior of ancient ruins. One was cloaked in black and gray, a hood and faceplate obscuring their identity. The other was a tall, pale human male with blue tattoos on his bald head.
"The dark side is strong in this place—I can feel its power!" The bald man clenched his fists.
The mystery figure remained silent and walked over to a massive door.
"Is this wise? The ancient Jedi sealed this archway," the bald man said, "if we pass beyond this door, we can never go back."
The cloaked figure pushed a pressure plate and the door opened.
"The Order will surely banish us. Are the secrets of the Star Forge so valuable? Can its power truly be worth the risk?"
The pair passed through the door. They stopped in front of a large, mechanical device on the stone floor. It opened up to them. A single, gray sphere rose up into the air and started to project holographic images. It was hard to see but they looked like stars.
Doctor Destroyer awoke from his dream. No vision he had ever witnessed had given him such an uneasy feeling in his gut. Destroyer knew he needed to speak to OOM-9 at once. He had to act on this vision. The Ithorian immediately left to find the command droid.
It was easy enough to contact OOM-9 and find out exactly where he was. It was another thing to get to the droid—CIS capital ships were enormous. But the scientist was able to reach the droid general in less than an hour.
"General OOM-9, we must talk."
"What is it, Doctor?" OOM-9 wondered why Destroyer didn't just say what he wanted over the comm. The only reason he could think of was that the doctor didn't want others listening in, or a record of their conversation.
"I had a vision in my sleep. It was unlike any premonition I have experienced before. It was triggered by my exposure to those ancient droids of yours. I know it. We must go to Dantooine at once."
This was certainly not what OOM-9 was expecting. Though there were so many surprises as of late OOM-9 had come to accept the fact that he couldn't predict everything. "Dantooine is currently under control by the clone armies of the Republic."
"Then destroy them. Clone armies haven't stopped you before."
"I will. But the battle could get messy. It would help to know why we are going to Dantooine. We do not want our reason for being there accidentally destroyed in the fighting."
"The figures in my vision mentioned something called the 'Star Forge.' Have you ever heard of such a thing before?"
"I have not."
"I don't know what it is but I have an idea of where it is. But I do know that it is immensely important."
"Very well, Doctor. We will set a course for Dantooine at once." It was rather flimsy evidence, but the Republic's iron grip on Dantooine was reason enough for OOM-9 to send his forces there and if they happened to also find the 'Star Forge,' then it was all the better for the Confederacy.
Author's Note: Mustafar, Mustafarian sentries and Mustafar panning droids appeared in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
OR-5 appeared in Star Wars Galaxies: Trials of Obi-Wan.
HK-47 appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel. HK-47's rifle appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. It was known as the Droid Assassin's rifle and HK-47 was the only character that could equip it.
G0-T0 appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.
Mark II assault droids appeared in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.