Dealing with losses was never easy. Rev had woken to the reality he so wished had only been a malfunction in his memory unit. Ron was still deactivated and so was R-23E. The rest of the droids somehow felt the dread in the air, even as non-organics. Something in their circuits stirred. Their minds had once been part of the same mothership, perhaps it was that. Nevertheless, they felt for their fallen brothers.
Their new purpose after the failure of the war was to survive, and they were failing even at that.
Rev pushed back against the hopelessness of it all and set his CPU to work, plotting out their next move. He hooked up to Ron and recovered what he could of the map he had backed up on his own database. It almost felt wrong to intrude on his memory unit but he knew Ron well enough. He'd understand why this needed to be done.
OOM was still shifting guards in and out of duty, his full focus on the environment in front of him.
Rev tapped him on the shoulder, "Go ahead and recharge I'll take it from here"
"Copy that," OOM replied, shaking out of his stupor.
Rev looked over to the other units set up behind cover overlooking the entryways. Luckily, nothing had come their way since yesterday. He'd set a timer in his interface for a standard day and it was coming up on the final minute.
He took a glance at the group in its entirety. Suddenly it occurred to him, he'd never learned the majority of their names or, rather, unit numbers.
"OOM, do you have a list of all the unit numbers of our squad here?" Rev asked over their communications line.
"Affirmative, sending it to you now," OOM replied, he'd just gotten set up on the generator, "I will be entering sleep mode, is there anything else you need?"
"No, that's it," Rev looked through the list. Two caught his eye, "C-5B and C-6C," he called out.
Two droids positioned behind him peeked their heads out of cover, "Yes that's us sir," C-5B said.
"I have a job for you two, but first I have to ask, why are your names so similar?" Rev said.
"I think it has something to do with the fact that we were manufactured at the same factory around the same time," C-6C replied.
"We also work better together than most other units," C-5B continued, "At least, that's what our superiors told us based on our combat reports"
"Interesting," Rev looked between the both of them and was immediately reminded of his own bond with Ron. He shook the thought away, "Perfect, you two will be the ones to head up and find a path to the surface"
"Roger sir," C-5B replied.
"Just the both of us?" C-6C said.
"Yes, if you run into any enemies make your way back here or call for backup. I've scanned the path ahead and didn't find any threats, but stay alert and stick to the shadows alright? I don't want to lose anyone else," Rev explained.
"We understand sir, we'll be careful," C-6C said.
The duo left through the narrow path where Kano had come from.
Rev looked back to the group, looking to busy himself and ward off the memories that continued to haunt him. C-37 had recently come back online, thankfully his systems hadn't been damaged, making a full recovery since the crash landing. He needed to fill him in on what had happened the past twenty four hours.
C-5B and C-6C stood side by side, they swept their sides of the room before continuing onto the next chamber. The path seemed endless, the only light sources from the crystals around them. They encountered the same pillars and crystal clusters from before, a narrow path intermittently formed at the end of each chamber in the cave system. As they trudged further along, C-5B noticed something, "Hey Six, are the lights getting dimmer or are my photo-receptors malfunctioning?"
"No, you're right. Just slightly, but it is getting darker," C-6C replied.
"Should we go where the light grows dimmer?"
"I guess, the way ahead just keeps going on forever"
They deviated from the main route and took a left turn and were immediately confronted with a pitch black cave and a bright white light off in the distance.
"This should be it, I'll radio the commander," C-5B said, zooming in on the light to confirm that the light was indeed the way to the outside, "Found the exit sir, we've marked it on the map"
Rev responded to the duo in surprise, "That was quick, you two do work well together. Return to base"
Only a few minutes had passed since their departure and only another few passed once they'd relocated their base to the chamber closest to the exit of the cave system.
"That doesn't look wide enough to get our supplies out of here," Rev said inspecting the opening more closely. Outside, the nearby sun had only just begun to rise, the warm orange glow quickly turning to a faded yellow. Rev turned back to OOM, standing close to his side, "I would have C-37 blow this open but that could cause a cave-in right?"
"Affirmative, that would only induce further casualties," OOM said.
Rev almost winced at the mention of casualties even though the majority of his pain receptors had been turned off thanks to their reprogramming, "Any ideas?"
"Perhaps there is another exit around here," OOM replied.
"I'd rather we try to get out here than continue exploring. The map Ron has also shows that the farther we head north, the closer we get to civilization," Rev said. He kicked at the rocks around the exit, noting how easily it crumbled, "Maybe we can make this exit a little wider with some brute force. Has the B2 been reprogrammed?"
"Negative, though our programmers say he is close to being finished"
"Let's get him finished first. In the meantime, do what you do best and secure the area. I'll see if I can widen the exit on my own here"
"Copy that"
OOM set up R-7B and C-05 outside of the cave, lying prone in a patch of wild overgrowth in the clearing surrounding the entrance. C-5B and C-6C were positioned covering their flanks.
R-U5 and Rags worked tirelessly on reprogramming the B2. It had been a fun task for the both of them. Working through the strange inner workings of a B2 was like navigating a maze. It felt wonderful when the pieces of the puzzle would come together. Another hour went by before they'd finally put everything together.
"He's all ready sir. There might be some issues considering how fast we did the job but he should be operable," R-U5 reported to Rev.
Rev looked over the now upright B2. It had taken both Rags and R-U5's combined strength to lift the B2 up on his feet.
"I hope those issues aren't too bad, we need to get out of here soon," Rev replied, his metal joints hissing as he looked back towards the entrance, "Power him up"
"Right away," Rags said. He connected to the B2's system one last time to send the power on command and rapidly disconnected himself, fearing something would go wrong.
The unit's eyes blinked red for a moment. With a loud creak, the B2 shifted his body, surveying the area.
His eyes eventually wandered to Rev, sensing his authority, "Unit B-35 reporting, what are my orders?"
"Hello B-35, your orders are to widen the entrance to the cave here. I'm transmitting you all the details," Rev replied.
"Roger, roger," B-35 marched forward and began punching and kicking away the crumbling rocks around the entrance, sending the pieces flying all over the place. His mechanical strength gradually bit away at the opening, eventually widening it enough so that none of the other droids would have to stoop down to use the exit. Although, B-35 would not have that luxury.
"That's good enough B-35, you can stop now," Rev said, cautiously approaching him as he returned to his stiff upright position.
B-35 did a swift about-face and marched towards Rev, "Task complete. What are my next orders?"
Rev backpedaled, never having gotten used to the enormous size of the B2s, "Stand guard outside while we move everything out"
"Roger, roger," B-35 stomped his way to the outside world doing just as he was told. He assumed a standard guarding position, with his blaster arm upright at the ready.
It felt strange to interact with a droid so stiff and unwavering in regards to both their composure and their compliance with orders. Had Rags and R-U5 failed to properly reprogram the B2 to give him freedom from his old programming? He couldn't tell and neither was he willing to confirm that they'd done their job properly. Programming had never been to his liking, even though his systems could do it well and a faint tinge of pleasure seemed to tickle his CPU every time he'd create a functioning program.
Possibly, B-35 hadn't noticed the lack of programmatic restraints and continued going about his usual ways. B2s weren't known for being independent thinkers, after-all. Their programming was much more rigid which was what had caused so many issues for Ron back when he'd begun working on him.
Whatever the case, Rev was glad he was on their side. The B2s were feared by everyone, excluding most other droids. Rev was an outlier in that respect. He'd always avoided interacting with the titanic metal beasts. They loomed over him and were nearly unstoppable in combat. Fearing their wrath was only natural.
It took them a few minutes to get their base set up outside. Rev chose a spot under a field of tall grass covered overhead by several trees clustered in the same area. Boulders and thickets of the local flora surrounded the field of grass, making for good natural defenses.
Nearby, Kano's ship sat awaiting its owner. Rev sent C-37 and R-7B to hurriedly ransack it, looting several useful pieces of equipment including more thermal detonators and several blasters. He wasn't short on credits either. Not only that, the control panel contained a plethora of information. Star maps, known radio channels, trade routes, and most importantly, a connection to the galactanet.
Rev was almost tempted to use it but considering Kano had a transceiver on his body, he restrained himself from touching anything for the time being. He ordered Rags to search the ship for anything malicious hidden within the control panel and was pleased to hear the transceiver had been the only tracking mechanism on the ship. The bounty hunter certainly wanted to be invisible.
OOM approached him after they'd both helped the rest of the squad organize their new supplies and run a check-up on Ron and R-23E.
"That ship, it will only do us harm if we stay by it. I have an idea for getting rid of it," OOM said. He'd pulled Rev away from the rest of the team as they continued their organization. B-35 awkwardly stood guard on the outskirts of the area along with C-5B and C-6C.
"Go on," Rev was curious to hear the old droid's ideas. He'd interacted with OOM only a couple of times before when it came to strategics. Ron seemed to have taken a liking to him, thus he trusted him even though he always had something to say about their intelligence.
"Our next objective is to acquire a new ship, correct?" OOM continued.
"Right," Rev nodded.
"So, let us use this ship as barter. In this way, we will be able to keep those credits you found while getting rid of this nuisance," OOM said, pointing to Kano's fighter.
"Good idea," Rev hesitated to say more. Ron had been right to bring him along and he wanted OOM to know that, but the last thing he wanted to do was inflate his ego.
He returned his attention to the group before him. Everyone had completed their tasks, satisfied with their results.
"I'll be going over the next step to our plan but first, everyone meet B-35," Rev gestured over to B-35, still stiff as a statue, looking over the rest of the droids.
R-7B immediately set his mind on battle, he'd seen and fought alongside plenty of B2s in his time. All of them had gained his respect, "B-35, what's your combat efficiency rate?"
"I inflict a ninety five percent causality rate on the enemy," B-35 said in a swift response.
"You have my respect, I hope to fight alongside you in battle," R-7B replied.
B-35 gave no reaction. Truthfully, he didn't know what respect even meant.
"I'm glad to have him here, I remember a B2 saved me from a Jedi once," C-05 commented.
Rev nodded, "B-35 here will handle most of our heavy lifting and guarding from now on. That should give us more droids to spare for our main objectives. Speaking of, our next goal is to get a new ship. The map for this planet shows a trading hub to the north about a kilometer from here. Only one other droid can come with me on the trip"
"Why only one?" OOM questioned.
"We only have two disguises," Rev said.
"Disguises?" OOM's head tilted in confusion.
"Yes, organics would start attacking if they see that we're battle droids"
OOM brought a hand to his head, "That's right. I tend to forget how strange these organics can be"
"I'd like to have them on our side but I don't see that happening anytime soon. I need someone who knows a thing or two about ships, excluding you OOM"
R-56V stepped forward, "I spent most of my time in the Navy on several ships. I've learned a lot about them"
"Perfect, we'll leave soon. Recharge if you need to before we go. I guess I'll have to teach you how to deal with organics"
OOM was left to deal with the security of the perimeter as usual. Rev assigned the rest of the droids different tasks, mainly focusing on R-U5 and Rags attempting to help Ron and R-23E as best they could. Truthfully, they couldn't do much other than monitor their temperatures and system logs but that was enough for Rev.
"I've only had to deal with organics once before but I can tell you that most of what our databases say about them is true" Rev said to R-56V. They walked along a makeshift path settled between two plateaus. Their straw masks and fur coats rustled with the winds that passed over the land. Their blasters were tucked into their holsters on their backs.
"I don't have a backup of our database, what did they say about organics?" R-56V replied.
Rev felt dumbfounded at the realization that most droids most likely didn't have any sort of backups to the information they were given. Come to think of it, he'd only installed a backup because of Ron suggesting it, "They're erratic and illogical creatures. They can be unpredictable and dangerous. They're the same as the clones except they aren't trying to kill us on sight. You don't have anything to worry about, just follow my lead and make sure to speak to me through radio first"
"Roger that sir"
"You don't need to call me sir all the time. We're not soldiers anymore"
"Oh…" R-56V had never thought of it that way. For him, life had stayed the same since the end of the war. He hadn't realized how much had truly changed.
The path to the trading hub was lengthy. At the very least no one would be able to find their camp easily.
A dome-shaped building with a shiny chrome finish on the exterior appeared far off in the distance, nearly blinding the droid's photo-receptors. Adjacent to the main building sat a plaza. Dozens of people of a variety of different species and heights and colors shuffled around, visiting booths set up on the perimeter.
Their makeshift outfits stood in contrast with the silk robes and colorful cloth of the organics before them. To Rev and R-56V it made no difference what they were wearing, but Rev knew organics weren't that simple. There was still so much to learn about them. Too much to learn, in fact, and not enough that could be studied as words and data but would have to be experienced instead. He'd learned that the hard way on Maridun.
No ship vendors were visible. Most of the booths set up were selling old trinkets, fuel, or blaster parts.
Rev looked to one of the organics standing close-by. He was a human man dressed in an ornate silk green robe with a wide smile on his face as he listened to a merchant speak about the artifacts from the Old Republic he had on display.
"Hello sir, do you know if there's anyone selling ships in the area?" Rev asked him.
The man turned to him, the smile on his face growing wider, "Of course, a good friend of mine is selling some. You won't get a bad deal from him, he's an Imperial diplomat. That man knows how to get the latest technology from our engineers, just don't ask how he does it," he chuckled, "You can find him in front the agency building," he said pointing to the dome-shaped chrome building they had seen from afar, "Just ask for Niro"
"Thank you sir," Rev said with a curt nod. Laughter was a bewildering sound to his audio receptors. His database gave him indication that it meant something comedic was said but he couldn't decipher what the human had found so funny.
The man waved them off, R-56V reciprocated the gesture as he walked off towards their destination.
In front of the main agency building were various small shacks made up of the same blinding metal as the rest of the buildings in the area. Rev asked one of the workers posted outside for Niro. They pointed to a man dressed in white and gray clad clothing, reminiscent of an Imperial officer.
Niro took notice of the two immediately as they approached him from afar, "Hello, I assume you two are interested in my wares?"
"Yes, we're in need of a ship"
"Perfect," The Imperial looked the two up and down, their shanty clothes becoming more apparent to him as he studied them closer, "You know, I've put a lot of work into getting my merchandise, I hope you know they will come at a high price"
Rev hoped Kano's fighter was enough to stomach the cost, "I understand. We're interested in one capable of carrying multiple people and resources"
"A light freighter ship would do you fine, in fact I have a prototype model that was sent in from my friends in higher places," Niro excitedly rubbed his hands together, eager to show it off, "Come I can show you it, it's a Corellian design so you know it's a quality ship"
Rev reluctantly followed Niro behind the building where several landing pads had been constructed in the middle of a flat field. There were no rails or anything of the sort to prevent anyone from entering any of the landing pads unattended. In fact, security in the whole area was quite scarce. Although, every organic in the area seemed to be carrying a blaster.
"Correllian…that sounds familiar," R-56V commented.
"Make note of it," Rev replied.
"Are these all yours?" Rev asked Niro.
"No, no, the rest of my supply is elsewhere," Niro replied, "But truly, this is the star of the show" he gestured towards an almost hexagonal ship with its engines making up the bulk of the rear, forming a dense column. Several windows for the cockpit were constructed directly in the center with a blaster implanted on the bottom of the head. The bulk of the ship was in the middle, presumably where their cargo would be stored. Its outer body was pinched into slim columns on the outside forming its hexagonal shape, "They're calling it the VCX-100 light freighter. She's a very reliable piece of work, let me tell you. I've flown it from one end of the galaxy to the other four times over on just one barrel of rhydonium. This ship operates on peak fuel efficiency and you'll be needing that for your cargo, no doubt"
Rev was impressed even though he didn't know much about star ships in general.
"Seems like a good deal, but you say these organics are unpredictable. I don't trust that it's as efficient as he says it is, I haven't seen many frigates that could make that many trips" R-56V commented through their radio.
"Noted," Rev replied.
"So let's talk about pricing," Niro continued.
"Of course, we were wondering if you were willing to do a trade. We have a fighter we believe you would like," Rev said.
Niro laughed and once again, Rev couldn't tell what he thought was so funny, "I have plenty of fighters in my garage, I don't need another one. In fact, I've been trying to clear up space in my own freighter for these newer models"
"Are you sure? This ship hasn't seen much action, it could go for a high price"
"Money is the least of my worries right now, I'm sure. Maybe someone here will take it," Niro pointed back to the plaza.
"Maybe…so how much does this uh, VCX-200 cost?"
"It's called the VCX-100 and it'll cost you about one hundred and fifty five thousand credits," Niro replied with a deadpan face.
"We only found one hundred thousand credits on that fighter. I'm not sure how much that ship would value but our vulture droids cost eighty thousand, I would say it's around that price. We could sell it first," R-56V said.
"No, we need those credits if we want to survive out in the world of organics," Rev turned his head out towards the other ships in the area, "Do you have any other light freighters?" he said, returning his attention to Niro.
"I just sold the only other light freighter I had, this is the last one," Niro leaned up against the window of the cockpit.
"What other types do you have?" Rev said before switching to his radio line with R-56V, "Do a scan of the area behind us, don't use your photo-receptors"
R-56V's systems hummed for a moment, "Only two life forms, they're walking back towards that strange building"
Niro rambled on about the make and models of his ships. Rev tuned it out, only caring to check if he was still talking.
In the blink of an eye, Rev pulled out his blaster with one hand, setting it to stun in the same motion and shot Niro once in the chest. Rev caught his body in mid air and dragged him toward the cargo bay of the ship, "Check the area"
"Roger," R-56V looked back towards the building to see no one had come their way, "Sector clear," He moved to help Rev with the body.
Upon entering the VCX-100, Rev noted just how spacious the cargo bay was even though the ship didn't appear all that great in size. There were an array of white lights embedded into the ceiling. The cargo bay was entirely empty and appeared as if it had never been used. The sleek gray metal still shone from its recently applied finish. Rev estimated it had been manufactured only months earlier.
"I think this is a much better deal than one hundred and fifty five thousand credits," Rev said, plopping Niro's body down onto the ground with a thud.
"Absolutely sir, this ship is in pristine condition," R-56V inspected the area from one side to the other.
"Do you have any experience as a pilot?"
"Affirmative"
"Go to the cockpit and get us back to base," Rev ordered.
"Roger that sir," R-56V excitedly headed up the stairs to the main passageway of the ship, his head swiveling from left to right and back as he made note of the layout.
"OOM, get everyone and everything ready to board our new transport," Rev said over their comm-line.
"Copy that," OOM promptly replied.
With a loud hiss the bay doors closed shut and within seconds they were off into the air.
Rev strode into the cockpit alongside R-56V and hooked into the ship's terminal, downloading a map of the ship. There was much more space and he would need all of it if he wanted to continue rescuing more droids and begin establishing the foundations of Ron's sanctuary.
The light freighter was much too big to land near their base, forcing R-56V to touch down some dozen meters away in a wide open field tucked between two circular plateaus.
The crew made quick work of the trip with OOM leading the security and transportation of their resources similar to when they'd first crash landed on the planet. B-35 made the trip much quicker as he carried a bulk of their supplies on his own.
OOM appreciated the increased space of the cargo bay, likening it to the many Separatist shuttles he'd been tasked with protecting over the years, "Outstanding work commander," he said, marching up to Rev.
"Where's Ron and R-23E?" Rev ignored his comments for the time being. The thought of the crew accidentally forgetting one of their own had horrified him the minute it had entered his train of thought.
OOM was unfazed by the sudden turn of subject, "C-5B and C-6C hauled them up here," he led the way towards the stairs leading up to the main lounge of the freighter.
Both downed droids were propped up on a red velvet couch embedded into the ship in one of the corners of the room. The generator was nearby with R-7B and C-37 setting down the last of the oil canisters next to it.
"Get R-U5 up here to give me a report on their condition, and make sure everyone's on-board before we start the lift-off. We need to get out of here quickly," Rev said.
"Copy that," OOM wasted no time in returning to the bay and running an attendance report.
To an organic, both injured droids were identical in appearance and most would have a hard time discerning one from the other, but Rev had memorized Ron's frontal appearance long ago. The scorch mark on his abdomen was the only new scar on his body and it was much smaller than the one on R-23E's body. He approached Ron's body and prepared his wiring to connect with his systems.
R-U5 approached the group, the noisy hissing from his pistons alerting Rev to his arrival, "They're all cooled down now sir. All they need is to be rebooted manually. I was going to do it while you were gone but OOM-342 ordered me to standby. He said you'd want to be here for it"
"I'll have to thank him later," Rev pressed a hand onto Ron's abdomen to confirm he had indeed cooled down, "Go ahead and reboot R-23E, I'll do the same for Ron"
"Roger"
Rev was almost afraid to send the command but he pushed onward and sent it out. He watched as Ron's system began booting up, his screen filling with every system check and log that was issued out to his entire body. He inspected every single one, scrutinizing every detail, watching to see if something went wrong. But the errors never came thankfully, and at the very end, one last log was sent out that reassured and worried him at the same time.
"Entering Recovery Mode," it said.
Never had he heard of such a thing. He couldn't recall ever hearing about any other droids entering such a state either. Their recycling protocols were the only programs that were activated after death.
'Maybe it's something Ron created,' Rev thought. Whatever the case, it kindled a small jolt of hope in his circuits.
He disconnected after seeing the rest of the startup processes go smoothly. Taking a step back, he anxiously awaited any movement from Ron. R-U5 ran through some tests on R-23E's system before stepping back himself.
"Permission to help the crew with the cargo sir," R-U5 said.
"Granted," Rev replied, shooing him off with one hand.
Rev nearly jumped when Ron and R-23E stood up. Their heads were locked forward and their bodies were stiff. Not a good sign.
Ron looked from one end of the room to the other until his eyes finally came to rest on Rev.
"Ron? Do you recognize me?" Rev asked.
His body turned towards him, "Your unit number is…unknown, what are my orders?"
'That recovery mode must be messing with his memory…I hope,' Rev thought. The last thing he wanted to do was assume the worst.
"R-23E, do you remember me?" Rev asked.
"Negative, what are my orders?" R-23E replied.
'It has to be that mode they entered,' Rev thought, "R-23E go and report to OOM for orders, Ron you stay close to me"
"Roger, roger," R-23E and Ron replied in unison.
"My unit number is R-0N sir, not Ron"
"No, your name is Ron"
"...Affirmative"
Rev rested a hand on his shoulder, "You'll be back to normal one way or another soon, I promise"
"I do not understand," Ron replied, pulling his shoulder away from Rev.
"You will," Rev said, leading him back into the cargo bay.
OOM immediately went to him as soon as he stepped into the bay, "What's wrong with them?"
"It seems like their memory unit is not working properly. Give it some time, Ron programmed something to help them recover," Rev replied.
The droids gathered around their two commanders, the vacant cargo bay was now slightly less empty.
"I trust that you are correct," OOM said, "We have another issue, we were meant to get rid of that fighter. If we leave it here, it could possibly be used against us later"
Rev looked into the group of droids staring at them, "Has anyone here piloted a ship before?"
They stayed silent.
"Ron's the only other droid here who has," Rev said, returning his attention to OOM.
"As you said, his memory unit has not recovered yet. It would be foolish to send him out in such a state"
Rev nodded, "I agree, so I'll do it. I've read the schematics of this freighter, it has a slot for a fighter on the bottom. I could dock the ship while in the air then come aboard. There's a hatch down there that leads back to here"
"But you've never piloted a ship before, have you? Those skills can't be downloaded, not anymore at least," OOM replied.
"I've seen Ron do it before, I have an idea of what to do"
OOM shook his head, 'This fool is just as moronic as Ron,' he thought, "Fine, do what you think is best"
Rev nodded, "Have R-U5 begin liftoff once I radio in," he turned over to Ron behind him, "Stay here with OOM"
"Roger, Roger," Ron replied.
It saddened him to see his old friend reduced to his base protocols. For a brief moment, the notion of Ron losing all of his memories crossed his mind, but the thought brought up such a poignant fear he immediately erased the idea from his memory unit.
A brief trek through the fields back to the fighter didn't help quell his fears.
'He wouldn't want me thinking like this. He will recover his memories, and if he doesn't, I'll continue his dream'
Rev climbed into the cockpit of the fighter. It was a slender and narrow little ship with a hidden arsenal of blasters and missiles. The inner base of the ship was painted black while the outer edges were painted gray. Any living being, droid or organic, could see it was a fighter built for speed and ferocity. He fumbled with some buttons on the panels before him, jumping in surprise at the sound of a hiss. He was relieved to see the noise had only been the cockpit pressurizing as the ship's canopy slid back down into place.
"I'm all set up OOM, go for liftoff," Rev radioed in.
"Copy, return to us in one piece" OOM replied.
Now more familiar with the layout, Rev hooked up with the fighter's internal computer and did the best he could to understand the controls.
He flipped some buttons and was pleased to find the engines had started. He pulled the yoke towards him and within seconds he was in the air. It didn't take long to catch up with the freighter, its bulky body was unmissable in the yellow sky. He carefully closed in on its position. Slowly pushing down on the yoke, he brought the ship just under the freighter. He pulled the yoke back towards him and matched his speed with that of the freighter. With a satisfying click and snap, he was hooked onto the ship's underside. He pushed at another button and the canopy slid back, revealing a circular hatch above him reminiscent of a creature's fanged mouth. He clambered out back into the freighter, where he found himself in a room tucked within the ship's underbelly.
Rev strutted into the freighter's lounge room, "The operation was successful. That wasn't so difficult"
"Impressive," OOM said. It was the second time Ron and Rev had proved him wrong in his assumptions, 'Perhaps I am the fool,' he thought, "You're needed in the cockpit"
Rev nodded.
R-U5 sat in the pilot's seat. A myriad of controls and blinking lights enveloped the entire cockpit.
'I would've never been able to start this ship up,' Rev thought.
"We're all clear to make the jump to hyperspace sir, I just need coordinates," R-U5 said.
"Right…" Rev looked through Ron's plans he'd downloaded off his memory unit, "Make the jump back to Akiva"
R-U5 hesitated for a moment, knowing going back there was a bad idea, but began inputting the coordinates for Akiva nonetheless.
Rev made a beeline back to OOM in the lounge, sparing a brief glance towards the rest of the droids.
B-35 was having a hard time standing up fully and had to sit down on one of the embedded couches. C-37 and R-7B were comparing their spoils from the pirates on Akiva at one of the couches while C-05 watched from nearby.
"Where's Ron?" Rev asked.
"Right here," OOM pointed to Ron standing guard at the top of the stairs alongside R-23E.
"You two come with me"
They wordlessly followed Rev over to Rags and R-U5 who were sitting at another one of the couches, "I need you two to do some check-ups on these two, make sure their recovery goes smoothly"
"Of course. I just have to warn you sir, our bodies were made to be recycled, not recovered to be in the same state as before," R-U5 said.
"Ron implemented a recovery mode to deal with that, just run some tests. Make sure their memories aren't corrupted and if they are, do your best to recover them"
"If only we had this recovery mode when my partner from the scrap yard was dismembered…" Rags commented.
"If you remember where he died, maybe we could recover him sometime in the future," Rev replied.
"Really?"
"Absolutely, we have to save as many droids as we can"
"Roger that," Rags said, vigorously nodding in agreement.
He walked back to the middle of the lounge. For once, Rev had nothing to do, and it terrified him. The same pesky notions from before began re-surging. Especially that of Ron's memories becoming corrupted. He needed something to keep him busy.
"Sir? What should we do with this human?" C-5B said from the bottom of the stairs in the cargo bay.
"Throw him out into space," Rev replied, he had no time to deal with the threat of an enemy on their new ship.
"Roger"
He turned back to OOM who had taken up guard at the top of the stairs leading to the lounge, "OOM, you don't need to guard the area. We're secure"
"With all due respect commander, the majority of my life was spent guarding ships of grave importance, I know a thing or two about keeping a ship secure. If you think you're safe in space, you're wrong. I've found the exact opposite is almost always true. In fact, being in a ship can be much more dangerous than being on the ground, depending on the circumstances," OOM replied.
If Rev had lungs, he would've sighed, "Right…I never was transferred to the navy"
"I don't doubt that you would learn how to secure a ship in a matter of days. You were able to pilot a ship without prior experience, after all"
"Ron said something similar before," Rev said, looking over to Ron. He was sitting motionless on the couch as Rags hooked up to him, staring straight ahead, "He was confident that I could lead the group"
"And you have done a good job so far. Only one day has passed since those two were injured and we aren't dead. I would say that's much better than some commanders I've worked with in the past"
"Thank you…now I just have to keep it up. How long do you think it'll take for them to recover?"
"Like I said before, I've only seen a few droids get back up from a burst of blaster-fire. They can recover, but how long that would take, I'm not sure. Some took days, other took weeks, some…well, it's best that I don't mention the rest"
Rev nodded, "Let's make sure nothing like this happens again"
"Agreed"
Rev checked up on R-56V in the cockpit one last time before taking a seat next to B-35 in the lounge. His battery was still full and there was nothing left to do but wait while the rest of the droids conversed with each other.
It was then he realized how terribly lonely it was without Ron.
Rev looked back to his old friend, still sitting motionless, 'I hope he regains his memory soon...if at all'.
A/N: Wow I'm actually gonna surpass 100k words. Didn't see that coming. I've been worried that I'm making these chapters too long but they feel right to me. Or maybe I'm losing touch on the pacing (I have no idea what I'm doing). I'm gonna go back and redo some stuff when I finish this anyway. Treat the current state of this story as the first draft because, truthfully, that's what it is. This'll be my first long-form fanfic that I'll be finishing if things go to plan and I finish by the end of the year (I haven't even finished any of my long-form original works yet lol). Anyways, thanks for reading. I appreciate the reviews and all the new readers.
