Nakssa struggled to keep up with Krunnoh as they ran their third lap around the jungles surrounding Ghorma. He coughed and spit at the dirt at his clawed feet.
"Already dying from a simple jog?" Krunnoh said, looking back at him. He turned and began running backwards.
"I'm a big and old man, its going to take a little longer than usual for me to get used to this again," Nakssa replied.
"Excuses, excuses," Krunnoh said with a laugh. He turned back around, slowing himself down to make sure Nakssa wouldn't lose sight of him.
They stopped between two of the taller trees on the very edge of the outskirts where they had started.
"I didn't know you were this out of shape," Krunnoh said, standing before Nakssa leaning against one of the trees. He took in controlled breaths of air.
"Listen, the city life is never good for anyone. You saw those feasts I ate at Okhama's bar," Nakssa said in between gasps of breath.
Krunnoh patted him on the back, "Listen, if we're going to kill Crultekss and steal that titanium mine I need you moving like you're young again. Can you do that?"
"Yes, stop asking me the same question. You're acting like my memory is gone," Nakssa said standing up straight.
"I keep asking because your body keeps breaking down," Krunnoh said, punching at his shoulder.
Nakssa ignored him, looking at nothing particular, "You know, I remember on Trandosha, my father would drink the salt water from the oceans mixed with the blood of a Frist whale. He said it would mix with his own blood, making him feel young again. Don't know if it was true but its worth trying"
"Doesn't sound true at all," Krunnoh said, a scowl forming on his rough scales, "But I can't see you getting in shape in time at this rate. Let's get some Frist whale blood," He made his way to back to the inner city, along the middle path of the wall surrounding Ghorma.
Nakssa pulled him to the right, back to the hangar, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Well to buy that blood, didn't you just tell me? I thought you said your memory wasn't gone yet," Krunnoh argued, pushing Nakssa's arm away.
"Doesn't work if it's bought. We've got to kill one," Nakssa said, his face stoic as ever.
"Really? All of a sudden you know how that drink works like you've been making it for years," Krunnoh said with a scoff.
"Trust me," Nakssa said abruptly pulling on Krunnoh's shirt. He nearly stumbled to the ground but caught himself on Nakssa's arm, "It'll work for our training too. How else would a Trandoshan get back in shape than by a hunt on Trandosha?"
"For someone who was just wheezing and coughing, you sure have a lot of strength," Krunnoh said, attempting and failing to dislodge Nakssa's arm from his shirt.
"You'll get to my size eventually kid," Nakssa let go of his shirt, sending him falling onto his face straight into the dirt, "How old are you again?"
"Twenty," Krunnoh said with a groan.
Nakssa coughed out a laugh, "You have a lot of catching up to do"
"I know that already," Krunnoh jogged up to him, "I've only been to Trandosha once"
"I can tell," Nakssa stopped him, "You never finished your initiation hunt?"
Krunnoh hung his head in shame, "No"
"You're not old yet, you can still do it. This hunt for the Frist Whale will work," Nakssa said, "Stand tall, you're embarrassing me"
Krunnoh caught up to him, "My dad thought we should leave the animals alone so he never took me hunting past the first one"
Nakssa sighed, "One of those huh? My uncle was the same. He told me about meeting a Mandalorian, said he was amazed that they could tame a beast of any size. That's when he started hunting to keep what he captured rather than kill. I can understand why some Trandoshans turn to pacifists but taming animals isn't what life's about. That sort of thinking taints their whole mind. They start getting a little too comfortable with strangers, other species, until one day the Scorekeeper crosses them out of the game and they're gone. You have to keep it balanced out, play your cards right as the humans say," Nakssa scanned the street for any other Trandoshans before switching to their native tongue, "But too much killing can be a burden as well. That means you're prey are weak and worth little points. Wasting too much time on them will only bring you suffering, for the Scorekeeper will turn her eye from you. That is why I greatly dislike when a Trandoshan plays with it's prey. Like Crultekss"
Krunnohs mouth twitched at the mention of his name.
"Such disrespect should not be allowed to fester, it only wastes even more time. We must work together to bring down such point thieves. I trust you because I know what Crultekss did to you. I have seen it plenty of times when I worked with the Separatists. You believe you're fighting with friends by your side and then, all of a sudden they turn on you. I've seen too many good men fall to that trick. The backbone of this new Empire is built on this behavior. On Trandosha, things were much simpler. We would kill those who would betray the tribe, but now the Empire rewards them for the shame they bring upon all Trandoshans"
Krunnoh scratched at his neck scales, "I didn't ask for a lecture, grandpa," He said in their native language. He smiled as he watched Nakssa face fall, "But, thanks for sticking with me. Crultekss will pay for his crimes. We'll bring him down," He eyed a Sullustan that repeatedly glanced their way from the side of the road, "I don't know what I'd be doing by now if I'd gone solo. I probably would've just gone to another gotra"
"You're not that stupid. Stay focused. I'll teach you how to kill a Frist whale on the way over," Nakssa said as they entered the hangar.
"Are you sure you can still hunt? You couldn't even run for five minutes without taking a break," Krunnoh hopped up into the cockpit of his fighter.
"We'll find out soon," Nakssa closed his cockpit window.
"What do you mean we'll find out?!" Krunnoh slammed the button to close his cockpit window.
R-4V flipped R-23E back onto his side, Rags guided his arms ensuring none of them would get in the way.
"How is he doing?" R-7B asked. Rags had notified him the minute R-4V had finished the repairs.
"He should be fully operational. Thankfully not much of the acid leaking from his battery spilled onto his internal hardware. I made sure to clean and repair what I could. His chassis is all patched up. He won't be able to do anything too taxing for today, I'm worried I might have missed some of the damage," R-4V explained. He grabbed the prototype of their abdominal armor, still broken at the back, "This served it's purpose, I'll be reusing it for the final version. If it wasn't for this, he would've been crushed by that creature you were fighting. It sustained most of the damage. The tear in his chassis was much smaller than it could've been"
R-7B felt his internal temperatures decrease, "Thank you, R-4V. He'd be dead by now if it weren't for you"
"Rags and R-U5 were also vital in his repairs, thank them as well. Now, I have to finish reprogramming these droids. Please power him on in the barracks, notify me if there are any issues," R-4V said, giving R-7B room to carry R-23E outside.
"Will do," R-7B on the way out with R-23E slung over his shoulder.
He ran to the barracks, setting R-23E down beside one of the charging pods. He extracted the cable from the pod and pushed it towards R-23E. Somehow his hand was caught in a loop around the wire, his temperature rose with each second he remained stuck in it. R-7B went to pull the cable with all his might but he stopped himself, 'He'd scold me for that,' He thought looking down at R-23E. Carefully, he ran the loop of cabling from his arms and finally clicked it into place on the side of R-23E's abdomen.
His metal body clanged against the table behind him as he positioning himself to be in the direct view of R-23E's photo-receptors.
'What if he's damaged, and doesn't remember me?' R-7B thought, 'R-4V wouldn't be able to fix him then. Who would keep dueling with me? Dornan? No, he's too fast. If he dies...' He banged his hands against his head, 'Shut up, stupid CPU'
"Still letting your artificial emotions get in the way?" R-23E said, lifting up his head.
The sound of his voice startled R-7B. He reflexively went to reach for his blaster but threw his arm back to his side and stood up, "Forget about me, how are you feeling? Did you get any error messages? Are you detecting any damage to your chassis?"
R-23E kicked at his legs, "I'm fine, you're going to fall on top of me at this rate"
R-7B took a step back, standing up straight and balancing out his weight through the soles of his feet, "Sorry, I was just worried"
R-23E shifted, pushing himself up higher against the front of the pod behind him, "Worried?"
"Yeah," R-7B sat down onto the floor, "I don't think I'd be able to work with anyone else if you were to die"
R-23E pulled his arm behind his back, feeling for the injury that was no longer there, "I'd never felt fear like that before...how long was I deactivated?"
"Only a day," R-7B leaned back against the table, supporting himself with his arms on the floor.
"I felt nothing. Is that how it feels like to be dead?"
"Maybe, I wouldn't know. Even with my recovered memories, I don't remember how it feels like"
R-23E looked down at the cable on his abdomen. He checked his power. It was only at one percent, "What did you do before Ron and Rev rescued us?"
"Me? I was just infantry," He looked at the closed doors of the barracks, "I was at every major battle you can think of. Geonosis, Rhen Var, Kashyyyk, Mimban, Felucia – but even through all of that I always liked the smaller missions. The ones where I could see the clones helmets up close and watch as our commanders guided us to victory. I couldn't ever tell what was going on in those major battles"
R-23E watched R-7B closely, feeling an unusual signal emitting from his antenna, "I was an assassin for the majority of it. They sent me to eliminate platoon commanders at first, and then officers, and then generals. I never could kill any of the generals. The tactical droid thought I was defective and sent me to be infantry instead. That's when I was sent to Felucia"
R-7B returned his attention to R-23E, "You and I could've been sent to anywhere else, but we just happened to be at Felucia at the same time as Ron and Rev. We're very lucky"
"We are"
"We survived all of that. And that all could've ended thanks to some animal," R-7B's visor emitted a short stream of static alongside his voice as it struggled to capture his anger.
"Maintain control of yourself, R-7B"
He paused, staring at the floor for a long while, "I'm conflicted, R-23E"
"How so?"
"I want to continue fighting, it's what I was made for, but I am afraid of losing everyone and everything here. I don't want to die," R-7B shifted his legs around the cables running from R-23E pod, "During the war I wouldn't have cared but I have everyone here now. Including you"
R-23E stared at R-7B, his logic circuits running in a loop, "I feel the same way"
"What should we do? I can't just stop fighting. My CPU would fry itself if I did that," R-7B punched at the floor, frustrated with his own logic circuits.
"I don't know..."
R-7B stopped his punching, "Rev told me to find something other than combat to satisfy me back when we were being hunted by the Imperials. I found that rescuing our brothers was just as satisfying as a good fight"
R-23E kept silent.
"I don't think we'll ever stop fighting but at the very least we should make it mean something. Not just to solely complete an objective or to feel satisfied, but to help our battle droid brothers too. At least if we die then, we'll do it saving more droids like ourselves"
"A fight with a purpose….yes, that would do"
"We can't avoid death, might as well go down fighting for a good cause"
The metal doors of the barracks flung open. OOM along with C-37, C-05, and R-56V walked in.
"How is he doing?" OOM asked R-7B.
"I'm alright," R-23E replied.
"You're awake already?" OOM stopped just short of the two with R-7B's squad close behind him, "These three have been nagging me for the longest time asking me whether or not you were killed"
"We're always left out of the loop," C-05 complained, walking over to the other side of the table where R-7B was situated.
"Forget about all of that, are you still damaged?" OOM said crouching down, inspecting R-23E's body, shifting and turning his arms and abdomen.
"No. I'm not detecting any damage," R-23E replied.
"I heard you were fighting a giant creature," C-37 said, sitting down beside him, "It would've been the perfect test for my new home-made thermal detonator"
"You're what?" OOM asked turning to him.
C-37 pulled the detonator from his waistband and held it out for OOM, "An explosive, I made it myself"
"Very impressive," OOM replied, taking it in hands for a brief moment, "Now, R-23E. I've been sent to tell you that the mission to Boleria has been canceled"
"What? Why?" R-23E said, looking between R-7B and OOM.
"We have received a report from our allied astromech on the ground that the Imperials have threatened to invade the planet if it does not eject the Confederacy from their cities," OOM replied.
"That should be a reason for us to go immediately not for us to run away," R-7B argued.
OOM turned to him, "I haven't finished yet," he looked at all of them, "The Confederacy has begun the mass production of more battle droids to prepare for the Imperial invasion of Boleria. It is working in cooperation with the local government. The container we discovered being shipped to their base was just the beginning," OOM stood up facing the rest of the droids, "We simply do not have the resources to accommodate all of those droids just yet. We will have to wait and see what happens next before we can take action. Ideally I would like to save as many of our brothers as possible, but fighting against the Empire we would be wiped out"
"So what are we going to do?" R-23E said. R-56V took a seat beside R-7B, his audio-receptors tuned in to OOM's report.
"I have been speaking with Ron and Rev about the possibility of sneaking behind their front-lines while the battle goes on and stealing as many droids as possible. It is doable but we would have to plan everything perfectly and there's a chance we would be caught in the middle of the fighting"
"If there's a chance to save them, it's worth it," R-7B said.
The rest of the droids signaled in agreement.
"There is nothing we can do for the time being but watch," OOM said, returning his full attention to R-23E, "Which is good for you because that means you can rest for the day, as will everyone else"
"Rest? I don't need it," R-7B replied.
"You do, R-4V has informed me already. The rest of you all might not need it but Ron, Rev, and I need time to plan out our attack plan of Boleria and finish buying and setting up our defenses. What use would it be to save more of our brothers if we cannot even save ourselves? We are sorely lacking in defensive units, be patient R-7B. I know you have trouble with it"
"I do, but I'm improving," R-7B replied.
"That is exactly what I like to hear," OOM said, standing up before heading out the door. He established a private line with R-7B on the way out, "Truth be told, I was much like you in my early days. You must learn to control your anger, it will always be there. Come to me if you ever need help with it. Good luck"
"So when's the next time we're going on a mission as a squad again?" C-37 said.
"I can ask Ron. He must have something for us to do while we wait for the Boleria operation," R-23E replied.
"Rev has something for me to do," R-56V said.
"What's that?" R-23E asked.
"He wants me to improve my fighter skills and start patrolling the skies near the sanctuary"
"They're really worried about our defenses," R-7B commented.
"The Empire isn't coming around this section of the Outer Rim are they?" C-37 said.
"I've checked the galactanet about that multiple times, they're not interested in the Outer Rim or at least they're making it seem that way. It could be a trick," C-05 replied.
"OOM already explained why. We have to defend ourselves before we can begin saving more of our brothers" R-23E said, checking his power levels. It was just about to reach ten percent.
"That's all fine by me, I can make another bomb and we have time to go on another mission," C-37 said.
"Why do you keep on insisting that we work together again?" R-23E asked.
C-37 fiddled with his thermal detonators, "I miss the days when we would all fight together. We have more droids than ever before, if we all banded together it would be like the old days of the war"
"You'll get your wish when we start the operation on Boleria," R-23E replied.
"I can't wait," C-37 said, "I'll finish working on my next project with C-5B and C-6C in the meantime"
"What are you making now?" R-7B asked, genuine curiosity lined his voice thanks to his visor.
"An incendiary detonator. Seeing all those spiders being burned alive made me think of different ways we could make their deaths faster. I think shrapnel and fire would work very well together"
"You should talk to Warhead of Silver's squad. He seems to know a thing or two about explosives," R-7B said.
"I'll do that...later. I need to recharge, I'll stay here awhile," C-37 said.
The doors opened once again, this time Dornan strutted in with his vibroblade clanging against his back, "I saw OOM on the way out, I'm assuming he's told you about Boleria already?"
"He did," R-23E replied. His photo-receptors wandered to the outside, taking in the dim sunlight bearing down on their base.
"It's a shame but this operation has become more complicated. Even more so with you being injured. I was busy training Silver's squad when you came back from your mission. You and R-7B will still be under my command when the time comes for that mission," Dornan stood beside R-7B who was sat at the center table.
"Hopefully it isn't soon, I still have to recover from my injuries," R-23E replied.
"It won't be, not from what Ron and Rev have told me," Dornan head swiveled back to the entrance, "I still have to finish Silver's training," He looked between R-7B and R-23E, "You two should keep practicing together once you've recovered"
"I won't let him get slow," R-7B commented.
"Good, I'll see you all around," Dornan stomped his way outside, his heavy footfalls kicking up clouds of dust.
The room fell into silence, each of them thinking of their own respective missions.
"What is it Silver?" Ron said, making his way into the middle of his circle of squad-mates. He kept a line open to Rev behind him who was still actively creating the map of their planned defensive units. There were still many things to do around the sanctuary, and even with their combined CPU power, most of it would be left undone for the time being. Ron almost thought to tell Silver to hurry up but considering he hadn't spoken with him much since their initial rescue, he was inclined to hear what he had to say.
"Me and my team have been creating a new program for all of us. Deadeye gave me the idea for it after he overheard R-7B wishing he was able to see in the future so he could keep up with R-23E. I call it the synchronization module. It let's two droids – er, two B1 battle droids connect with each other so that both droids know what the other is about to do. It's not exactly seeing the future but it's close enough. This should improve combat performance from what my theoretical tests have shown," Silver explained.
Ron CPU came to a halt, accidentally interrupting Rev's creation of their weapons list, "OOM should know about this. You've just given me many ideas for the battlefield. I didn't know you were such a good programmer"
"I had to be. I was forced to reprogram all of my squad-mates manually. Oh that's right, I never did tell you what happened to us before you came did I?"
"You did not, but please save it for a later time, I am busy at the moment"
"I'll make sure to plan a day for it," Silver shifted in the chair he was sat in, the cables on his head wriggled around like snakes.
"This new program will be of great use to us. Is it done yet?"
"No, it still needs some more patching up but I'll let you know when it's finished"
"Let me know over our communications line," Ron said, stepping back with Rev. They kicked up dirt as they returned to the headquarters.
"I didn't think we could get any more connected," Rev commented on the way back.
"I wonder what other ideas he's thought up," Ron said.
Rev finalized the list, "Alright, that's it. It'll cost us about two hundred thousand credits. That's about how much we have right now"
"And it will be worth it. I'm just as eager as everyone else to continue our expeditions"
Ron's photo-receptors focused on the holotablet he'd left lying on the center table of the headquarters. Johnny obstructed his view, stopping them both.
"Hello, sorry to bother but I'd like to know if you'd allow me to build my own farm here. Rev, have you told him about it yet?" Johnny said, Thomas was close behind still conversing with B-35 about his wrist blades.
"I haven't," Rev said.
"A farm? At the moment, no. We are still setting up our defenses. After they are complete we will allow you to do so," Ron replied.
"That's alright. I can wait," Johnny said waving it off, he started back to Thomas.
The sight of his strange hat and coat suddenly brought up a recent memory, "Wait, Johnny," Ron said.
"Yes?" He said turning back around.
"You know a thing or two about animals don't you?"
"Yes, I only tended to some animals for a year but I learned a lot"
"Right, do you happen to know why animals...play?"
Johnny went silent, looking at the ground for a moment, "Animals – organics as a whole get bored sometimes. Playing is their way of passing the time. They have fun, it releases some sort of chemical form their body that makes them feel good. Supposedly makes them live longer"
Ron recorded the fact into his database, "Thank you for the information Johnny. We will get those defenses set up as soon as possible"
"No, thank you for letting us stay," Johnny said, shaking his hand before walking back to Thomas and B-35.
"He's a very...unique droid. We never did reprogram him did we?" Rev said, taking a seat at the center table.
"No. Perhaps the organics that saved him did so already," Ron replied.
Rev ran a cable from his abdomen to Ron, "It's strange how different he is from any other droid I've seen. Not even a reprogram would change his voice like that"
"I would ask him but he seems to dislike talking about those organics"
"Strange...well, as long as he's happy here"
"Right, now where's OOM?"
R-4V inspected each of the five droids from Akiva. They were lined up in a row outside the workshop. OOM walked alongside with him. All five of the droids were painted the standard color of every B1. Their chassis were nearly spotless save for a few scratches here and then, no doubt from the stray rocks that would fall into the factory where they were created and abandoned.
"None of you have a name," OOM started.
"You all will be given the chance to choose one using the galactanet. Follow me," R-4V said, waving them over. OOM walked beside him, "Tell Ron I have improved that recovery mode he created and a few other programs with Silver"
"I will let him know, now what were you saying about those two from your squad?" OOM replied.
"Oh yes. R-TY and R-V9. They spoke to me about joining your security force as permanent members"
"Permanent? Why permanent?"
R-4V switched to a private line with OOM, "They are resentful of their failure to defend me back on Felucia. I have told them many times there wasn't much we could do against a squad of commandos but they do not listen. They want to make up for their errors through the defense of this sanctuary"
"I see…" OOM went silent for a moment. They neared the entrance of the research facility, 'Their failures weigh heavily on them, just like me,' He thought, "If a permanent position is what they want I will give it to them. I will speak to them now. Are you fine dealing with our new members on your own?"
"Of course, go on," R-4V said, taking lead of the droids. OOM split off from the group heading towards the headquarters.
R-4V waved to Silver before heading in, lining up each of the five droids in front of a computer, "I've prepared a list of names. You will choose one and report to me once you have made your decision. OOM will begin your training afterwards"
The droids stiffly moved into position before the computers. R-4V stood at the end of the row, dedicating half of his processing power to designing their new leg plating while he kept watch on the new droids.
The first of the group came up to him, "I would like to be called Ranger, sir"
"No need for the formalities, just call me R4. Ranger? I don't remember putting that on the list...if that is what you want to be called then so be it. Report to OOM, I have sent you his location," R-4V replied. He watched as Ranger marched out the door, his body stiff and his movements awkward, 'I guess that's how we all were when we were powered on for the first time,' R-4V thought.
The next of the five droids reported, "Nomad, reporting sir"
R-4V felt the urge to intensify the speed of his internal fans as he repeated the same explanation.
The third droid came up to him, "I would like to be called Prime"
'...Maybe I put the wrong list,' R-4V thought, "Report to OOM," He said plainly.
The fourth walked over to him, nearly tripping on his own chair, "I think Tyranor would suit me sir"
R-4V returned all focus to his photo-receptors, "Alright, report to OOM," He looked at the screen of one of the computers, 'First they use words instead of names, but now Tyranor picked an actual name'
Before R-4V could inspect the computer, the last droid drew his attention, "Bowman reporting for duty"
"Report to OOM," R-4V said waving him off. He looked at the screen of all five computers, 'Oh...some of them were looking at a dictionary instead of the list….at least that's over with,' He thought before hurrying back to the workshop.
OOM leaned back into his chair in the center table of the headquarters, "Are you two sure you'd like permanent positions on the defense force?"
"Absolutely," R-TY said. R-V9 nodded in agreement.
Ron and Rev were seated on the other side of the table, counting up the final expenses for their defense units.
"Do you have any experience as squad leaders? You both used the forensics device already, right?"
"We did, and yes, we were both squad leaders in the past," R-V9 replied. He picked at pieces of his camouflage paint that was beginning to peel off from his hands.
"Perfect. You two will be my very first officers," OOM said, "I was going to give that title to Dornan but he seems to have his hands full at the moment"
"We won't fail you sir," R-TY said with a salute.
"Sooner or later you will fail, the important thing is that you recover," OOM stood, "It is easy to get overwhelmed when you realize a mistake has been made. Do not obsess over the fact that it happened, learn from it"
"Affirmative," R-TY replied.
"Go ahead and join Thomas, B-35, and Johnny on patrol. I will train you at a later time," OOM said.
"Right away," R-V9 said, marching off to the outskirts of the sanctuary.
"Things are finally coming together," OOM said, sitting back down at the table.
"There is still work to do," Ron reminded him, "The anti-air turrets are operational now, thanks to R-U5 but we need the extra firepower those J-1 proton canons will give us"
"They'd give us a chance to retreat if we would need to abandon this base," Rev explained.
"Those canons would do little damage against the Empire's more advanced units based on the very few pieces of information I have found on them," OOM said.
"It would be much better than to have these simple turrets. The lasers would take too long to take down their shields," Ron said.
"I see your point," OOM took a brief check of the droids around him, "Where is R-G2 and his squadron?"
"I sent them to map out the rest of the cave where we found that rock creature. I told them to retreat if they were to find another one of those animals"
"I see. R-G2 is always getting the smaller jobs isn't he?"
"Yes, he volunteers for them. I do not know why but he seems to enjoy it"
"Very well, I will return. Our new members from Akiva need to undergo training"
R-G2 trudged along the spiky chamber of the winding entrance to the hidden cave. C-8H was constantly scanning the area, emitting a low pitch buzz for every scan that would go out.
"Would you please stop that?" R-G2 said turning to him.
"Sorry, I just wanted to check," C-8H replied.
"Don't worry, if there's anything down here, I'll cover you guys while you retreat," C-J2 said, walking behind R-G2. He looked over his shoulder for the hundredth time.
"I doubt we'll need cover. From what Ron was telling me, that thing that attacked them was slower than a walking droideka," R-G2 replied.
"And what was it? An animal made of rocks?" R-6Y said.
"Ron said he wasn't sure it was an animal. It didn't even register on any scans, just like the spiders," R-G2 replied.
"All the animals on the surface have a signature. It's strange that these cave creatures don't," C-8H peeked around the corner as they came upon the entrance of the chamber where the living pile of rocks had been living.
"I don't understand it either," R-G2 powered on his blaster. The familiar hum eased his mind, "Stay focused. We need to map the path to that ore and get out," R-G2 said.
The group marched into the chamber where the rock beast had been slain. Their photo-receptors failed to light up the path ahead of them. The beasts black blood covered the entire chamber, making it appear as if they'd entered a void.
"What is this place?" C-8H said, clinging onto R-G2's shoulder.
"It's the chamber where that creature was found. Ron said the whole place was painted black from that animals insides," R-G2 reassured him, "Stick close, I have the map they created. There's an exit on the opposite end"
"I can't see anything at all," C-J2 said placing a hand on R-G2 shoulder, "Well, other than you guys"
"I'm scanning for enemies," R-6Y said, getting closer to C-8H.
"This is a good spot for a hostile to attack, keep on the lookout" R-G2 agreed.
R-G2's fans powered down upon seeing the gray exit that had been left mostly untouched by the creature's blood.
"Finally, I was starting to feel something weird in that place," C-8H said while they continued further down the cave system. It sloped further downward, the temperatures slowly slipped past ten degrees Fahrenheit.
"Yes me too, like an electrical surge slowly building up inside my circuits," R-G2 replied.
"That's exactly how it felt. You're good with words. You've been talking to Rev haven't you?" C-8H said.
"I have. He was telling me about this book the humans made about...psychomegry or something like that. It's the study on how organics behave and think. He's been trying to compare their behavior to ours"
"Good luck to him. I don't understand organics whatsoever," C-J2 commented.
"I don't think any of us do," R-6Y said.
"I'm not sure the organics even understand themselves," R-G2 replied.
"Maybe, but neither do we," C-8H said.
"I guess not"
The cave finally began leveling out, the walls gradually transitioned from sharp jagged edges to smooth surfaces. Their photo-receptors easily adjusted to the environment, letting them see the path ahead.
"Keep updating that map, C-8H," R-G2 said.
"I'm working on it," C-8H replied.
They walked a few paces in silence. The only noises were that of their pistons hissing with each step they took.
"So when are you going to tell us about what happened after I first died. My recovered memory only told me so much," C-8H said.
R-G2 nearly tripped. He stiffly corrected his footing, hobbling in place and acted as if nothing happened, "One of these days, when we have the time"
"I think now's a good time, we're not doing anything too taxing," C-J2 said.
R-G2 fans sped up, "I-I guess so…"
"What's wrong? It sounds like you're vocalizer is acting up. I can tell R-U5 to fix it. He repaired mine within a couple of minutes," C-8H said.
"No, no. It's not my vocalizer," R-G2 gripped his blaster tighter, "The memories cause my programs to malfunction, that's all"
"Oh...maybe you shouldn't tell us," C-8H said.
"No, I have to now," R-G2 looked back to R-6Y who sent him a silent signal of reassurance to him.
"When you two were nearly destroyed on Geonosis, I had to fight hard to get you two back in my squadron, I've already told you all about that tactical droid"
"Yes, I remember," C-8H said, his full attention on R-G2. He'd forgotten to let go of his shoulder after they'd left the pitch black chamber.
"I never told you that it was all my fault. The reason you were killed was because of me," R-G2 said, looking straight ahead, "I've been trying to fix my error ever since then"
C-8H pulled his hand from his shoulder, "I don't blame you for anything, R-G2. You don't have to fix anything"
"But I do, if I want to be a squad commander, I have to right my mistakes. I ordered you to charge that command post because I thought it was loosely guarded"
"It's not your fault. None of it was your fault," C-8H said, "It was the Confederacy who did this to all of us. None of us knew what we were doing. We were created and sent to die. It was just in your programming to not care about us. I just don't believe it was your fault"
"But I did care. If I didn't I wouldn't have tried to save you all. Maybe I didn't at first, I don't remember exactly, but I still did what I could do to stay with you all" R-G2 said.
"R-G2," C-8H said, stopping the group, "We're all still alive because of you. We owe you our lives. We will serve you until we shut down for the last time. Just let the past go, you didn't do anything wrong. You taught me everything I know today, you repaired C-J2 dozens of times and you saved R-6Y plenty of times from being burned alive inside of a vehicle. You did enough"
"You remember all of that?"
"I do"
R-G2 loosened the grip on his blaster, he finally turned to C-8H and the rest of the squad. His photo-receptors adjusted to focus on all of their faces. He stared at several scratches along C-8H's neck, and the burn mark on C-J2's side and the silver gleam of R-6Y's hands, the paint on them long since burned away, "I guess...I guess you're right"
"We'll always serve you, R-G2," R-6Y said, "Even if you make another mistake"
"Absolutely, we made a promise didn't we?" C-J2 continued.
"Yes, we did," R-G2 replied.
"Come on, we still have to find that ore" C-8H said.
R-G2 returned his attention to the path ahead of them, "Of course"
The group marched along in silence until they hit the end of the cave system.
R-G2 spotted the glint of metal on the furthest wall, "That's it, mission accomplished. Let's go home"