The waves rolled into the port of Farn. A green hue painted the entire ocean just like everything else on Trandosha. The waves lapped at the coastline, painting it a deeper shade of green with every movement. Not a single piece of debris lined the coast, unlike most Imperial planets. Nakssa had been silently watching the ocean for some time, seeking out signs of the many fish that inhabited their seas.
"How does it feel to be back home?" Krunnoh said, eyeing the beach up and down. There wasn't another soul in sight. Their boat, a floating pile of junk as Nakssa had called it, was anchored at the end of the only pier in the area. It was made out of scrap metal from a local Separatist ship, destroyed at the very end of the war. There were still signs of blaster damage on some of the metal panels on the hull.
"Nostalgic, but that's about it. There's nothing left for me here," Nakssa replied, keeping his eyes on the ocean.
"As with most Trandoshans," Krunnoh said, his voice becoming uncharacteristically stern.
Nakssa ignored him, "The first step to hunting a Frist Whale, are their feces. The smell is faint and hard to find with all that salt from the ocean, but it's just enough for our noses to catch it," He stepped forward towards their boat, "It should be about time for the whales to come out. A few were released by the hunting guild a few days ago"
Krunnoh stepped onto the boat, it swayed with his weight. It wasn't considerably long, only sixty feet in length, but it was enough for their journey. The entire surface area was flat with guard rails at the ends and a small overhang on the roof with a circular crow's nest sat in the center, "How long does it take to hunt one of these whales?"
"One day, if you've done it long enough. It usually takes about three days if it's first your first time. Lucky for you I've killed entire herds with my tribe before," Nakssa said, starting up the engine. It sputtered for a moment, rumbling to life then dying down to a low hum.
"Save some for me, you have more points," Krunnoh remarked, steadying himself against one of the poles that held up the roof.
"Did you think I was going to be doing all the work?"
Krunnoh looked back at him, "Not at all, I just know you get greedy"
"You know me too well," Nakssa said with a toothy grin.
"Which means we have to split off soon"
"Split off? Did you forget about the titanium mine already? We'll be rich enough to hunt exotic beasts with the finest weapons in the galaxy for the rest of our life. Leave it all to me if you'd like. I'll have enough points to win the Scorekeeper's hand by then"
Krunnoh growled, "Just shut up and steer old man. Of course I didn't forget about the mine. I was just joking"
"Joking? That sort of attitude isn't common on Trandosha, where did you learn that?"
"I spent too much time with a crew of humans before I joined the cartel. My father introduced me to them"
"You see what happens when a trandoshan becomes pacifist?"
Krunnoh whipped around, baring his teeth, "Don't speak of my father any longer"
"If you say so," Nakssa scoffed, "Just wipe that look off your face you look like a hatch-ling"
Krunnoh raised his snout to the sky, "I think I can smell it"
Nakssa's nose twitched, "That's it, we're close. Get up top and keep a lookout for any movement below"
Krunnoh sped past Nakssa on the wheel and climbed the ladder to the crow's nest above.
He kept on course heading towards the east, deeper within the expanses of the ocean.
"I'm seeing something on the right, slow it down!" Krunnoh shouted from the crows nest.
Nakssa pulled back on the throttle, catching sight of movement himself. He stalled over a patch of green blotches that had formed on the surface of the water.
"Get down here and man the power harpoon," Nakssa said.
Krunnoh wordlessly jogged to the front of the boat where the harpoon lied in wait, hovering above the edge of the boat.
They waited a few moments in silence, Nakssa had cut off all power to the engine. He snapped his talons to catch Krunnoh's attention and made an x with his hands, the signal for silence.
The waves pushed and pulled against the hull of the boat, tilting it from side to side. On the surface, they could only hear the sloshing of the water and the periodic roaring of the waves. Beneath all of that, were lower frequencies of sound, ones that only the largest of fish could make. Nakssa and Krunnoh focused all attention to their sensitive ears, shifting through all the noise for the hum of the whale.
Nakssa turned the wheel right and brought the boat to face south, back towards the coastline.
Krunnoh took that as a sign that he'd heard something. His eyes pierced through the surface of the water, looking as deep as his reptilian eyes allowed him. A faint glint of dark green fins passed through his peripheral vision. He shifted the harpoon to the left, staving off the need to pull the trigger.
He caught another glimpse of fins but kept his discipline, 'It's still not the right moment,' He thought, feeling Nakssa's glare on his back.
His shoulders tensed, feeling the low hum of the whale hit his ears. The harpoon plunged into the water directly into the whale's side. The giant mass flopped in a futile attempt to detach the blade stuck in it's flesh. The boat lurched as the whale pulled it forward.
Nakssa loosened his hands off the wheel, "Wait for it to tire out, then strike at it's head"
"I would've never figured that out," Krunnoh said sarcastically.
"I don't doubt that," Nakssa said with a wheezing laugh.
Krunnoh clamped his mouth shut and focused on his prey. It wriggled desperately against the weight of the boat, still fighting strong against the blade embedded into it's side.
'This one's tough,' Krunnoh thought.
Something else wriggled it's way into view. Another, much smaller fish with a coiled up sack of flesh for a head and a green and brown spotted body. It bit at the line holding the harpoon.
"Get your pathetic little fangs away from my prey!" Krunnoh said, pulling his blaster and firing into the water. Just as usual, most of his shots missed.
"What's going on?" Nakssa said, abandoning the wheel to be at his side.
"This little thief is trying to steal my points," Krunnoh said, the embarrassment of his terrible aim overcoming his senses.
Nakssa pulled out his own blaster and fired a single bolt into the fish, killing it instantly. He turned to Krunnoh, "It almost cut the rope, if the whale pulls hard enough it could rip it in two. Prepare another harpoon"
Krunnoh heaved another harpoon close to the side of the gun, trying his best not to embarrass himself further.
Just as Nakssa had said, the whale flopped another time, ripping the rope apart. He discarded the torn harpoon and loaded the next. He didn't hesitate this time around and shot at the whale's backside. It once again embedded itself deep into the whale's skin.
The boat shifted forward violently, sending Nakssa tumbling to the ground.
"Get up, it's starting to turn!" Krunnoh shouted back at him.
Nakssa turned the wheel from the ground. Krunnoh watched the whale squirm, it's movements slowing with each attempt it made at escape. He grabbed another harpoon in one hand and the line tethered to the whale with the other. With a leap he flew forward into the water, driving the long blade in front of him. He felt the cool rush of the water hitting every crevice on his body and small pockets of water enter his nose and mouth. The rope in his hands jerked violently as the whale caught site of him edging closer. With all his strength, he drove the harpoon as fast as he could into the whale's head. It squirmed one last time before coming to a complete stop, slowly drifting downwards. Krunnoh held onto the line and swam back up to the edge of the beat. Nakssa pulled him up by the back of his jacket.
"That's not exactly the easiest way to kill one. You could've just shot it in the head," Nakssa said watching Krunnoh take in gulps of air, "But that is how we did it in my tribe," He grabbed Krunnoh by the arm and lifted him up onto his feet, "You passed the final hunt, congratulations. You can add Skrosky to the end of your name"
"I'll put it after Duashk," Krunnoh said still winded.
"As you should. Now help me lift the tail fin up," Nakssa put the end of his foot at the tip of the boat. Taking a deep breath before heading down, he jumped in feet first.
Krunnoh and Nakssa pulled the dead whale by it's tail fin onto the shores of Farn. They leaned back, putting all their weight into dragging the enormous fish back onto land.
Nakssa gestured for Krunnoh to stop and take a breath. The horizon had turned a dark green hue after their brief hunt. The sun reflected off of the waves, making the sea glow green.
"I did miss sights like this. There's no other planet like Trandosha," Nakssa said in between breaths.
"There isn't any planet I know of that's greener," Krunnoh replied just as winded.
Nakssa took a deep breath in, enjoying the last scent of the salty water before they would inevitably have to return to Hsskhor. He pushed at Krunnoh, pulling out his vibroblade, "Take what you want I just need the blood"
"I'll take a chunk of meat and that's it," Krunnoh took out his own vibroblade.
A few minutes later, they had set up a small fire and silently gnawed on the chunks of meat Krunnoh had taken out of the whale.
Nakssa stared at his blaster in between bites, "Krunnoh"
Krunnoh stopped mid-bite, "What?" His voice muffled from having his mouth full.
"I think it's time for someone to teach you how to properly shoot"
Krunnoh bit down onto the meat and tore a chunk off, "If that's what you think"
"Finish quickly, I don't want to be here when the hunters guild comes to check the port"
They wolfed down the last pieces of their food, the sight would've made any other organic shiver in disgust.
Krunnoh pulled out his blaster, "I hope you can do a better job than my own tribe"
"Us Skrosky are known for our marksmanship. You won't get better training from any other tribe," Nakssa said, "Get in position"
Krunnoh readied his blaster pistol with one hand.
"That looks good, now shoot," Nakssa said, watching him closely from the side.
Krunnoh fired a single bolt, his breathing a bit more labored than usual.
Nakssa walked up closer to him and slapped him on the back. He grabbed at Krunnoh's other hand and slammed it onto his blaster, "You're back's stiff and your blaster wobbles all over the place from your weak grip. Go again"
Krunnoh fired another bolt. His heart thumped loudly in his ears.
"Better, keep going," Nakssa sat on one of the logs they'd used for the fire.
For half an hour Nakssa did the best he could to correct every mistake Krunnoh made.
"You're not perfect, but improving. Just don't forget everything I've taught you once you get into a firefight"
"I won't. I'll be a master marksman one day," Krunnoh said, his eyes wide with joy. He hadn't felt such satisfaction since the day he had killed his first Frist wolf.
"My father was better than anyone else I ever saw. It took him forty five years to finally get his aim to near perfection under stress," Nakssa said, looking back out to the ocean, "Get on the boat, the hunting guild should be here soon," He checked the bottle of blood in his bag.
Krunnoh hopped into the bench seats behind the pilot's wheel in the center of the boat, "Are you sure that whale blood will do anything?"
"I think so. The elderly of my tribe used to drink it all the time," Nakssa replied, grabbing the wheel, "If not, well, at the very least we got our fair bit of training in before the attack"
Waves splashed over the guardrails, sending a small dribble of water all the way to the very back. Right onto Krunnoh's feet.
He took in a deep breath and looked out to the horizon, entranced by the entirely green appearance of Trandosha for once.
R-23E read and discarded all messages in his console upon powering on. His photo-receptors focused in on the charging pod straight ahead of him. He felt a familiar signal to his side. The cable running to his abdomen from the charging pod came off with a click. He stepped one foot forward, before tripping, landing onto his hands. He looked back at his other foot and tried to move it but felt no response. Dragging himself onto the table, he stared at R-7B powered down in one of the pods.
'I probably shouldn't power him on, he tends to get angry when I do that,' R-23E thought.
"R-4V, I need some help. My body is not responding to my CPU," R-23E said over the radio.
"It sounds as if you have more damage that I did not see. Where are you?" R-4V responded immediately.
"In the barracks"
"I will send Rags to get you," R-4V said, the sound of his blow torch hissing in the background muddled his voice.
"Copy," R-23E replied.
Rags appeared at the door of the barracks a few moments later, "Can't move?"
"I can move everything but my right leg," R-23E reported.
Rags slung one of his arms over R-23E's shoulder and lifted him up, "Most likely there's some damage on your circuits somewhere"
R-23E dragged along his unresponsive leg, "I just hope it isn't permanent"
"It isn't, but it'll be tough to find without the right equipment. I'll let Ron know what we need to get you fixed up and anyone else who might need it in the future"
They slowly approached the workshop. Rags pulled R-23E's leg up as it became caught on a rock.
R-4V was already waiting at the door when they entered the facility. Together with Rags, he hoisted R-23E up onto his workbench.
"I'll have to power you down again, is that alright?" R-4V said grabbing his toolbox.
"Do what you need to do, I just want to be combat ready," R-23E replied.
"Lie down," R-4V said. He hooked up a cable to his abdomen and powered him off, "Notify R-7B when he powers on, I'm sure he will be wondering where R-23E has gone"
"I'll keep an eye on his signal," Rags said before sitting back down at his bench.
In the corner of the workshop, C-5B, C-6C and C-37 were putting together the final pieces of their projects.
C-37 carefully slid in the final piece of metal into his new incendiary detonator. The piece clicked into place, causing a satisfying hum to emit from C-37's internal hardware, "My first official detonator, and it was approved by Ron this time," He said displaying it to C-5B and C-6C.
"Congratulations. Don't test it out on the forest, do it in the cave like we said. And take C-05 with you," C-6C said, briefly looking up from his work on his flamethrower. C-5B grabbed a piece of metal near his hand.
"Don't worry, I may disobey orders frequently but my CPU tells me burning down our home would be a bad idea," C-37 reassured them, strutting outside. He displayed the detonator for Rags to see on the way out.
"Good job. It looks operable," Rags said, viewing it from every angle possible.
"Thank you," C-37 said hurrying outside, never taking notice of R-23E on R-4V's workbench. He called up C-05 on the way to the outskirts of the sanctuary and waited. He stood overlooking the entirety of their base from the north side. B-35, Thomas, and Johnny made their rounds around the perimeter.
"Where are you going?" B-35 asked, towering over him.
"To the caves to test my new incendiary grenade, check it out," C-37 held it up for him.
B-35 attempted to grab it but C-37 pulled back.
"No, no. I have to test it first, I'll let you use one in our next battle," C-37 said.
"Affirmative, I will log this conversation," B-35 said before returning to his patrol.
Thomas and Johnny trailed him, "Good luck," Johnny said, his coat flapping with the wind.
"I hope it works," C-37 replied.
C-05 appeared from within the headquarters.
C-37 waved at him and beckoned him to hurry, "My joints are getting stiff and my CPU is about to overheat from all this waiting"
"Waiting is what we did for the majority of the war, how did you not overload already?" C-05 replied once he got to his side.
"I don't know, just follow me," C-37 said, walking much faster than C-05 who practically had to jog to keep up with his long and hurried strides.
"Slow down, the mountain isn't going to move. That detonator isn't timed is it?" C-05 slowed down and moved a few paces away from C-37.
"It's just the fuse, I didn't set a timer on it," C-37 reassured him.
"Just don't burn the drills when we get there," C-05 said.
"I won't, we'll do it at the far exit"
They marched to the other side of the cave system. C-05 glanced at a few of the drills and checked their fuel before moving on.
They stood at the foot of the rear exit. Their chassis shined in the sunlight thanks to a fresh coat of metal polish. C-37 held the incendiary detonator in front of him. His metal digits clasped the outside tightly, "Here it goes"
He twisted the top and threw the detonator back down into the cave. It bounced a few times down the slope. A fireball suddenly exploded from within the detonator, chunks of shrapnel bounced along the walls before embedding themselves into the stone of the cave.
"Wow," C-37 captured a photo of the fire with his photo-receptors, "Wasn't that beautiful?"
"Sure, it is pleasing to look at. Though, my photo-receptors are starting to artifact," C-05 said, looking down into the fire.
They stood in silence while C-37 snapped a few more photos. A few minutes passed by and still the fire burned, "Uh, its supposed to go out pretty quick in here," C-37 said.
"What did you put in it?" C-05 his CPU suddenly spiking in power usage.
"I didn't put anything. C-5B and C-6C bought some chemical to make the fire when the detonator goes off"
"You don't even know what's in it?"
"No. I'll tell them to put something that isn't as strong next time," C-37 said, swatting the plumes of smoke blocking his photo-receptors.
"How are we going to get back now?"
"We'll go the same way Ron took us when we defeated those spiders the first time"
"The mining operation better not have burned down when I check on it later," C-05 said, beginning the trek back.
"It won't, the fire shouldn't be strong enough to spread," C-37 said, close behind C-05.
C-5B locked in the last piece of their new flamethrower. Made of the spare durasteel they had found lying around in the storage room along with parts from their old makeshift flamethrower, their new model was properly wielded together and with the help of R-4V's squad of engineers, they had designed the weapon to reduce overheating. The new flamethrower curved upward into a thick cylindrical barrel with the grip and stock made specifically for their three metal digits. The rest of the body was covered in grooves and ridges designed to spread out the heat as efficiently as possible. C-5B and C-6C had linked up with Rags and R-U5 to create the majority of the outer shell's design while they wielded everything together and hooked up the internals.
"It feels good to finally be done with it," C-5B said, propping up the flamethrower onto a piece of leftover durasteel.
"I'll see if we can get some fuel to test it. I'm sure Ron wants to see it," C-6C replied, cleaning up the metal scraps and dropping them into a small bin.
C-5B grabbed the flamethrower and proceeded out only to stop upon seeing R-23E's body.
"How is he doing?" C-5B asked R-4V.
R-4V held up a light to R-23E's exposed internals, "Not good. There are small bits of damage somewhere from the battery acid that leaked onto his circuits. They're difficult to find. I've only found one so far"
"Maybe Deadeye could help, I remember him saying something about Silver upgrading his exposed photo-receptor," C-6C said, standing beside C-5B.
"Call him over," R-4V said, attempting to set up the artificial light overhead with a string attached to one of the tools on his workbench.
"Will do," C-5B said continuing out. C-6C sent out a message to Deadeye. He passed by the two on the way to the workshop.
"Spider had a habit of getting himself injured more than once back on Geonosis. This should be no problem for me," Deadeye commented as he passed by.
"Good luck," C-6C said.
C-5B opened the metal doors of the headquarters. In one corner, Thomas and Johnny were putting together a small makeshift garden contained within a wide metal enclosure, tall enough to accommodate enough dirt for plants. It was separated into a grid created from scraps of metal from C-5B and C-6C's project. C-6C handed them another batch of metal pieces.
"Thank you," Johnny said, flipping the small bin onto his hand and placing the scraps into a small pile on his table, "Look, this one's starting to grow a bit," He pointed out a small seedling that had begun to grow in the very center of the metal grid laid out before him. It stood on three thin legs that held up a wide and bulky body like a tiny droideka.
"What plant is that?" C-5B asked zooming in with his photo-receptors.
"It's a Muja fruit, the very first fruit I ever planted," Johnny said leaning back into his chair.
"A fruit? Those sweet circular things?" C-6C asked.
"That's right. The organics love them," Johnny patted the edges of the small garden.
"If only we could taste them," C-5B replied.
"Maybe one day," Johnny's photo-receptors wandered to the flamethrower in C-5B's hands, "Is that your new flamethrower?"
Thomas looked up from carefully cutting pieces of scrap metal. He was awkwardly sat in one of the chairs. His bulky body made it hard to fit into a single chair intended for the B1s smaller bodies.
"It is," C-5B held it up in front of him, "We just finished it"
"We were about to go show it to Ron," C-6C continued.
"I could've used one of those back on the farm," Johnny looked at the plants, "In the warmest season a group of insects would tear through the fruits and cause a ruckus. They would group in swarms, that flamethrower could've burnt them all to a crisp within seconds"
"When you start your own farm here, we'll build one for you," C-6C said.
"I'd appreciate it," Johnny waved them off.
C-5B and C-6C approached the center table where Ron, Rev, and OOM were busy tapping away at their holotablets.
Rev looked up upon seeing two pairs of metal feet enter his peripheral vision, "C-5B, C-6C, what's going on?"
"We've finished our new model of flamethrower," C-5B said presenting the weapon to all three commanders.
OOM and Ron leaned closer in their chairs.
"Very impressive, it almost looks like the flamethrowers I used on one of my missions," Ron commented.
"Yes, it looks like it is military-grade," OOM agreed.
"We were wondering if we could use a bit of fuel to test it," C-6C said.
Ron looked to Rev and OOM, silently calculating their fuel reserves with the direct link he had established with them, "Only enough for one fuel tank and that's it," Ron said after a long silence.
"That's all we need, we'll send you our results," C-5B said carrying the flamethrower in his arms as if it were a rifle.
C-5B and C-6C passed by the workshop on the northern perimeter of the base, heading straight for the towering mountains of the north. They sped up upon seeing C-37 and C-05 in the distance.
C-37 waved at them, "It worked!" He shouted.
"We have a radio, C-37," C-6C reminded him.
"Oh, right," C-37 replied, "It detonated and created a great ball of flame just like you said," He sent over several images of it over their comms-line.
"The only problem is that the fire is too strong. It's still burning in the cave as we speak," C-05 said.
"It was a little much," C-5B admitted, "We'll lower the dose of white phosphorous next time"
"Is that what you put in it?" C-37 said, jotting the name down in his database.
"Yes, we told you this already," C-6C replied, "We have a flamethrower to test, we'll meet you at the workshop afterwards"
"I'll start working on finishing the second one," C-37 said, happily marching back to his workbench.
"Don't blow yourself up," C-05 said, walking along beside him.
"I have plenty of experience with explosives, don't worry about me," C-37 replied.
"If you say so," C-05 wandered back into the headquarters, sending a signal out to check who was on patrol. Ron waved him over to the center table, "Yes?"
"Rev and I have decided that you will be our first officer under our command once we begin the Boleria operation. We'll begin your training soon"
"I will have to let R-7B know about this"
The doors of the headquarters remained open, letting in a breeze along with a few stray leaves into the metal flooring of the facility. Ron looked to the outside, the sun cast directly overhead. He noted the lack of storms as of recently, a much needed respite from the water. The rust that had begun to form on their chassis was no longer much of an issue for the moment thanks to a few chemicals recommended by C-5B and C-6C.
"How is R-23E doing?" Ron asked.
"He was being repaired by R-4V again last I saw him"
Rev looked up from his work, "Again? We should take a look, see if R-4V needs anything else to repair him"
"In a moment," Ron said. The headquarters was mostly silent save for the sound of the sharp cuts Thomas was making in the back of the building with Johnny at his side. They spoke among themselves about creating a layout of their future farm. R-TY and R-V9, OOM's latest recruits were returning from their patrol, sending out a signal to B-35 notifying him of their leave, "Your training will be quick. R-U5 tells me you were an officer already at one point based on your recovered memories, is that right?"
"Correct, I don't remember much about it. I still have all the protocols and modules needed to act as one"
"You'll just need a quick...warm-up and you'll be ready to lead again," Ron said.
Rev felt a small jolt of power in his side from the cable connected to Ron's side. He'd recently copied what he'd learned about organics and their language and behaviors to Ron's database.
"I don't remember my combat efficiency but I'm sure it was high. The tactical droid on Felucia made a request specifically asking for me," C-05 recalled the experience. He'd had a squared body colored with green and brown markings like the infantry he was leading. He was an older model, still plagued by stubborn arrogance. His voice was much deeper, however, owing to the fact that he was one of the last of his line to be created before the super tactical droids were introduced.
"Those tactical droids, they were too rigid in their ways," OOM commented, glancing up at C-05, "But their hardware was much better than ours. It is impressive for one to have called for you"
"You will go on a short mission to set up our first J-1 proton canon we acquired from our former employer," Ron said.
"It shouldn't be too difficult, just get used to leading again. OOM will train you next on his strategies," Rev continued.
"I've already led with R-7B before, but it has been awhile since I commanded a squad on my own. I'll do my best," C-05 said.
"The canon is in the freighter, have B-35 and whoever else you can find to help carry it up the hill. I have sent you the coordinates," Ron said.
C-05 saluted and made his way to the freighter, sending a few commands out via their radio.
"Now to R-56V," Rev muttered, calling him up.
R-56V wandered in a few moments later, "Reporting," He said.
"I think now's a good time for you to start patrolling the skies. Have you finished checking the fighter?" Rev questioned.
"Yes, it's all good to go. I've been simulating as many test flights as I can with the help of Silver," R-56V replied.
"Very good, you can go ahead and start flying. Don't go too far and please don't crash," Rev said his visor fluctuating the pitch of his voice.
"I'll fly slow," R-56V assured him. He jogged to the fighter, his circuits yearning to get to the skies.
Silver waved him off, "I'll be waiting for more data"
"Noted," R-56V said, his fighter blew small pockets of dust around the boosters before speeding off into the skies.
Ron disconnected himself from Rev, "Let's see how R-23E is doing"
R-7B's photo-receptors powered on, taking in the sleek gray metal surfaces of the barracks, save for the table made of a rust-colored metal they'd bought for only a few credits. The charging pods and their black and blue coloring awoke a distant memory from the oldest sectors of his memory unit. His vision almost appeared to have blurred. Within each charging pod was another B1 like himself, most were about as scratched up as he was, the glint of the exposed silver metal underneath their metal finish pierced his photo-receptors. A tactical droid passed by the droids in front of him, slowly making his way around to him. He stopped in front of his charging pod, his glowing white eyes looking directly into his. A wave of pressure and heat rose from the bottom of his abdomen all the way to his head. His arm flung forward. He fell forward directly onto his knees and hands. The cable from the charging pod was stretched to full capacity and creaked with the weight of his body. He yanked it from his port and threw it back into its place.
All sorts of warning messages flashed across his photo-receptors. He went through and dismissed them all in one single command. His head shot up and swiveled frantically from side to side.
'Where's R-23E?' He thought.
Immediately he attempted to establish a connection with him but found no response. Imaginary scenarios began to plague his CPU, one where he was dead, or where he was in the midst of a fight waiting for him for backup. He ran outside, bursting through the doors of the workshop.
"Where's R-23E?!" R-7B said, shaking R-4V.
"He's right here! Now let me go, you are going to make me damage him," R-4V said, pushing R-7B away.
R-7B's power levels suddenly dropped. Reality set back in, "Oh...sorry," his hands sliding off of his workbench.
"Don't worry, I've got plenty experience repairing our models without any tools," Deadeye said from beside R-4V, his head buried in R-23E's internals.
"Please, fix him," R-7B said before stumbling back outside right into Ron arms. He hoisted him back up to his feet.
"Are you alright?" Ron asked, helping him regain his balance.
"No, R-23E is still damaged and I need to train," R-7B said.
"Your power levels are fluctuating violently," Rev noted, "Come on, I think you should stay with R-4V and the others for awhile," He wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him back to the workshop.
R-7B went to protest but a flicker of yellow blinded his photo-receptors for a moment. OOM was already at his other side.
"Control yourself, R-7B. When you have been alive for this long, you begin to act irrationally as an organic would," OOM explained to him.
"Will it get worse?"
"If you let it. A good soldier has a strong grip on his mind and body"
Ron opened the doors of the workshop and led the small group in. R-4V was already back to working on their armor while Deadeye finished repairing R-23E.
"I was just about to call you," R-4V said looking up at Ron, "The abdominal armor is fully complete, and the leg armor is in its prototype phase"
"You are making good progress. How is R-23E?"
R-4V dropped a set of tools in his hands with a loud clang, "It appears he has more damage to his circuits than I previously thought"
"My eye has been able to pick up most of it, I think," Deadeye replied, glancing up at the group.
"R-7B here is in need of R-23E for his training, are you almost finished?" OOM said.
"Just need a little more time. This is the last of the damage I was able to pick up," Deadeye said, cleaning away at R-23E's internals.
"I'm alright," R-7B muttered to Rev. He broke away from his arm and leaned up against a nearby table. He looked back to Rags who was tinkering away on another piece of their armor along with R-U5 at the far end of the building. C-05 was in the corner, his head buried in a box of intricately designed pieces of metal all carved by Thomas.
"Silver said that program of his is completed, by the way," R-4V said after a long moment of silence save for the hissing of a blow torch and the clanging of metal.
"We'll test it ourselves, I believe R-7B and R-23E here are in need of further rest," Ron said looking at R-7B.
"I'll be fine once I'm practicing again," R-7B assured him.
"I trust your word"
A few minutes later, Deadeye let R-4V close up R-23E's chassis.
"He's all good to go, I'll see you all later," Deadeye said taking his leave through the entrance.
"I will let you power him on," R-4V said moving away from the table.
R-7B stepped forward and connected to R-23E through a cable. He sent the power on command and stepped back.
R-23E slowly sat up on the table, "What's going on?" He looked at all five of them staring at him.
"We were just checking up on you," Rev said.
"R-7B here is eager to get back to training," Ron continued.
"Let's go, that should be a good test to see if I have any further damage," R-23E said, hopping down from the bench.
R-7B watched with great satisfaction as his temperatures and systems returned to normal, "Gladly"
"Come back if you freeze again," R-4V called to him as they left. He turned back to Ron, Rev, and OOM, "Take a look at the abdominal armor," He held it up for the three to see, "It no longer has the latches at the top and bottom, instead I have designed it to fit perfectly with our new chest and leg armor, once those are complete"
"Excellent work," OOM said, "You are doing us all a favor with this armor, R-4V"
"If we want to truly survive, I believe it's best we leave this old armor behind, don't you think?" R-4V said banging a fist against his abdomen.
"Of course," Ron replied, "We won't bother you any further," He waved for the others to follow him out.
They marched to Silver's outpost outside the research center. Each day his squadron would tack on another piece of metal to the front of the building as a form of defense for their position.
"It's all finished," Silver handed a data stick to Ron. He carefully took it in his hands.
"Has it been tested?" Ron questioned.
"Of course, Deadeye and myself already have it installed in our programming. It can be activated and deactivated on command" Silver explained.
"We'll test it ourselves," Ron said looking at Rev.
"You'll enjoy it, I'm sure. Including you OOM"
"I have been thinking about it extensively, thank you Silver," OOM said.
The three hung around the outside of the headquarters, taking in the dome-shaped building gleaming against the sun overhead.
"We're one step closer to improving ourselves permanently, no longer acting as cannon fodder," Ron said holding the data-stick up to his photo-receptors.
"We'll be able to defend ourselves against any enemy," Rev replied.
"And without the need for organics," OOM added on.
They marched back into the headquarters eager to get back to work.
A/N: I've added a couple more chapters to the plan I have for the rest of the story. I'm certain that it will end at 39 chapters. Maybe less but no more than that. So far, I'm happy with the ending I've got. Hopefully, my brain won't suddenly think up of something else. Sometimes I end up accidentally making new plot lines when writing a chapter (Krunnoh and Nakssa are a good example of this).
