Johnny picked at the loose strings of his coat, twirling them around his wide metal fingers.
His other hand loosely handled the bag of credits he'd managed to salvage from the charred corpse of the farmhouse.
Beside him, the grappler droid was still lying on the ground, his battery percentage moving up a single percentage point every half hour or so.
The chirps of the insects and the soft pitter-patter on the roof of the barn had returned.
For Johnny, it would most likely be the last time he'd hear the same medley of noises.
His audio-receptors recorded every minute they could.
A quiet whine emanated from his internal hardware.
The hours since he'd cleared out the Imperials had been busy to say the least. He'd let all of the animals go, burnt down the rest of the farm, gathered and stored all the plant seeds he could recover, and buried the brothers into their family graveyard.
The map he'd been given had marked the location of the cemetery about a mile north of the farm, hidden near an ancient mine whose entrance had been blown and filled with dirt. The area had been damp and dark, covered in moss with gravestones that were somehow untouched by the nature around it. His photo-receptors had given him the sight to do the job. Their gravestones had already been planted beforehand, most likely by the brothers themselves.
Johnny shifted, his entire body suddenly feeling too rigid and sharp.
He'd recorded the last words Henry had spoken to him. The battering of the rain and chirping of insects was about as distant as the mountains themselves. He could only hear his voice.
"They wanted to be remembered," Johnny said to the unconscious grappler droid. He lazily turned his head towards him, "I'm the last one their family to have worked on the farm," He jerked a bit upright as he pulled another thread of string from his coat, "I'll make sure they aren't forgotten, starting by telling you, but I'll wait 'till you're awake"
The grappler droid shifted into a sitting position.
Johnny drew his blaster in reaction to the sudden movement, but he stopped himself mid-way through pulling it out of his holster.
"I am curious to hear the story," The grappler droid said, his deep voice shaking the straws underneath and the walls to their sides.
"How long have you been awake?" Johnny said, sitting up right. He leaned forward, tapping his foot against the hay bales.
The grappler stayed silent, "Approximately fifteen minutes"
"Oh," Johnny said, getting up to his feet. He extended a hand out to help the grappler droid up, "We should get going, I've got a lot to show you"
The grappler droid shoved his hand away, displaying the blades on his own hands, "I cannot take your offer, I would cut you to pieces"
"I forget," Johnny said, slapping himself on his metal cheek. He watched as the grappler stood on shaky legs and shook the straw from his blades. He waited another moment as a question arose in his mind, "Do you remember anything from before you powered down?"
The grappler droid stood stiff as a statue, "Affirmative…what happened?"
Johnny waved him to the doors of the barn, "I'll explain as I show you around"
He skidded to a halt, his feet sliding through the mud. The grappler droid shifted his abdomen to face down and look directly into Johnny's photo-receptors.
"By the way, I apologize for getting you killed. It wasn't my intention," Johnny said.
"It was our programming, nothing more," The grappler replied, "You powered me back on, I will serve you in return. I will erase the memory from my internal storage unit"
Johnny shook his head, "No need to do that, let's just move on"
"Affirmative"
By the time Johnny had finished retelling everything that had happened since the grappler droid's shut down, the sun had begun to rise over the horizon.
Johnny was sitting on one of the benches in the Sol family graveyard. He kicked at the weeds that infested the place, tainting everything with their green hands. His fingers sliced through them easily.
The B2 glanced over to him from the other end of the bench, his wide form taking up most of the space. He slashed through most of the weeds with ease until almost none were left.
"You didn't have to do that," Johnny said, looking at him as he sat back down, "They'll just grow back"
"You said they are deserving of respect. I will treat them as such," The grappler replied.
Johnny fell silent, his leaned back to rest his head on the stone wall behind them. The mine entrance was dark green, the stone riddled with cobweb cracks filled with roots and other green veins.
At first he thought to clean up the place, but after burying the brothers and taking a moment to collect himself, he'd decided it would be fitting for the family to be buried along with the plants. It was only right that they returned to the ground they once cultivated.
"You did not tell me much about them...how were they?" The grappler droid said, shifting his wide abdomen to face Johnny.
A breeze blew in from the entrance to the hidden graveyard, shifting all the leaves in one great wave. The sound of rustling leaves filled their audio-receptors.
"I'll tell you more later," Johnny pushed himself up onto his feet, "We have to get going, the Empire will be here soon"
The grappler droid followed him out.
The both of them stood at the edge of the farm. The farmhouse had turned almost completely black with smoke still rising from it. In the middle, the roof had collapsed, leaving the triangle-shaped roof jutting out of the wreckage at the farthest ends of the house. Both the old and the new barn were left in a similar state. Somehow, the oldest of the two barns still stood with the wood only having turned completely black. It was dark enough to nearly cause damage in their photo-receptors.
The fields were left a mess with dirt and mud thrown all over it to cover up the fact that there had ever been fields of plants and fruits in the first place.
Johnny went through his memory unit, and came upon his first encounter with the brothers, "Hello, my name's Todd and this here's Henry…" Their words, their voices. So unique to the rest of the organics I've encountered. He scoured up every memory of their conversations and bundled them into one data set. I will be their voice. Yes...they will live through me. His vocalizer rebooted adjusting his accent to match the brothers. He stood and looked to the cabin one last time.We will survive, all of this will be for you two.
He looked up to the grappler droid, "Say, now that I've been thinkin' about it, you don't have a name do you?"
"Negative," The grappler droid replied, standing as still as ever.
Johnny scoured up every name the brothers had ever uttered until he came upon one that pleased him.
"How about Thomas?" Johnny continued.
The grappler droid gave no physical reaction, "This will be a suitable replacement for my unit number. Re-configuring internal name database…"
Johnny let him finish, taking as many pictures as he could of the area before it was all gone.
The grappler droid shifted in place, "Database has been re-configured. My name is now Thomas"
"Let's get going Thomas," Johnny said, patting him on the side, "My name's Johnny, by the way"
"It is nice to meet you, Johnny. Your wish is my command," Thomas replied.
As they walked through the forest back towards the rolling plains of the battlefield where their fellow battle droids had gone to die, they came upon a particular road that made Johnny completely stop in his tracks.
It was a wide dirt path, long since abandoned by the local farmers and the Empire. A hole that extended a few feet deep interrupted it. A river ran alongside it, leading down further to a cliff to the east.
"This place is familiar," Thomas commented, coming to his side.
Johnny's shoulders sagged, "It's where I stepped on a mine and disconnected from the mothership"
"Interesting," Thomas said, staring at Johnny.
"And it's where you chased me"
Thomas turned to face him head on, "It was only my programming. I apologize"
"It's alright," Johnny looked up to him, "I understand"
He wanted to look back, catch a glimpse of the farm far behind them but he resisted it as best he could.
There was nothing left for them there, not anymore.
He took a single photo of the path and continued onward to their new star ship.
Johnny gazed upon the freighter. It's green paint heavily scratched up from the years of use. The main body was outlined with sharp edges that almost formed a trapezoidal shape, with the cockpit being the highest point in the entire ship. The wings featured antenna-like spikes coming off from them, ending in a flat edge at the end.
Thomas came up to his side, "I have never flown a ship before. I do not contain the modules necessary for such a job"
"Me neither," Johnny replied. He laid a hand on his hat, bringing it down to his waist, 'Henry said something about always taking your hat off indoors. I'll respect that rule'
He brought out the key chain Henry had give him. At one end was the key to the ship, at the other was a small pad with a series of buttons displayed in rows. He clicked at one. The cargo bay at the rear of the freighter opened with a burst of steam. The white mist flowed at to the side, a gust of wind blew the rest of it away.
Johnny pressed onward, with Thomas close behind him.
The bay was barren, with only bags and empty crates taking up space.
'For the harvest…' Johnny thought.
A short set of stairs led into what appeared to be a living quarters, with two bunk bends squeezed in at either side. A small kitchen with only two stoves and a fridge was constructed in the corner. A table sat nearby. At the other end was a small holotable, squished right up against the wall and bunk beds.
"This looks cozy," Johnny commented.
Thomas stayed silent, still staring at Johnny.
"Don't think I've ever seen the inside of a civilian ship before," Johnny continued. He looked up towards the final set of stairs leading to the cockpit. He plopped down into the pilot's seat. The glass of the cockpit extended to either side of him, letting him see much farther than the average star ship. A red light blinked on the wall of instruments before him, 'I don't know how to fly a ship, but Henry and Todd had faith in me to learn as fast and as best I could'
He scoured the galactanet, briefly reading through a few flight manuals and more documents on the ship they were currently in. He was brought back to reality by the sound of banging next to him. He looked over. Thomas had crammed himself into the co-pilot's seat, his blades tucked close to his body.
"I do not believe I will be of much use," Thomas said.
"That's alright," Johnny replied, pressing the button to close the bay doors, "You don't need to sit, just watch my back"
"Affirmative," Thomas replied, standing back up, his wide body struggled to fit back through the door.
Johnny started up the engines and leaned back in his seat, thumbing the wheel before him.
"Is there an issue?" Thomas questioned, looking down at him.
"No, this is an older ship. Need to let the engine warm up," Johnny replied, still looking forward. Out in the distance he could see the mountains staring down at him past the tops of the trees. The same mountain that had watched his entire journey since the minute he'd stepped foot on Antamont.
He leaned forward, burying his head into his hands, "I don't even know where to go…"
Thomas leaned back, his CPU working harder than usual, "Antamont is our current location. Is this correct?"
Johnny lifted his head and clasped his hands together, "That's right"
"There is a Confederate aligned...formerly Confederate-alligned planet nearby, named Daphermil. There is a depot for droids in the city of Ghorma," Thomas replied.
Johnny sat back up, "We'll head there," He clicked at the numbers on a terminal in the center of the ship's instruments.
Once he was finished, the ship was entirely silent, save for the whir of the engine somewhere below them.
"I believe this would be a good time for you to inform me of the organics that salvaged you," Thomas said, breaking the silence.
Johnny mimicked a sigh which sounded more like a burst of static-riddled breath, "I'd rather not talk about it right now. Some day, I'll tell you all about them"
"Noted"
They fell back into silence.
An idea nagged at Johnny's conscience, 'He's here. Another battle droid. I shouldn't waste this time in silence'
"Thomas," Johnny said, finally looking back up at him.
"Yes?" Thomas replied, shifting his body slightly to look at him in the eyes.
His menacing stare nearly made him forget what he wanted to ask, "You're disconnected from the mothership, right?"
Thomas stayed silent for a second, "Affirmative. I lost contact with the control ship shortly before I powered off"
Johnny propped up his elbow on the headrest of his seat, "Tell me this, if you had lost the connection to it earlier, would you have still gone after me?"
Another few seconds passed by with no response and both of them staring at each other. The hum of the engine grew louder or at least seemed to.
"I do not know," Thomas replied, "I am not doing so now. I don't believe I would have"
Johnny laid his head against his arm, "I don't think so either. I know I wouldn't have, without a doubt"
"I believe you," Thomas grabbed the sides of the cockpit entrance, and looked out the window, "I remember hearing your voice, sometime before today. You said you would repair me, and power me on. You did exactly that. I will not leave your side. I know no other droid would have done the same, not even myself"
Johnny's head jolted up, "I appreciate it...but you heard my voice? I didn't power you on until today"
"I postulate that the moving of my body must have stirred the last of my power reserves for a brief moment," Thomas replied.
"Huh...Well, you have my word that I won't let you die as long as you're with me," Johnny said extending a hand out towards him.
Thomas stared at it, "I will damage you"
Johnny reached out to his hand, carefully avoiding the blades and slowly shook it, "Nothing to be afraid about. This just means we have a deal. I will honor my word as long as I'm alive"
They broke off contact, Thomas was mindful of his blades as he let his hand fall back to his side, "I understand. I will do the same"
Johnny finally returned his attention to the window. He pulled up on the wheel, the mountains came fully into view. As he descended higher and higher into the air, the land grew smaller. A gust of wind hit the window, forming frost on the outer edges of it, as if Antamont was saying one final goodbye.
He snapped one last picture as he turned the ship skywards to the void of space, cold and apathetic to his journey.
His free hand moved to pull the lever to make the jump to hyperspace.
The ship shook with enough ferocity to nearly push him out of his seat.
"What was that?" Thomas said, his hands nearly bending the entrance as he clung on for dear life.
"Dunno," Johnny replied.
He pulled the wheel around in a desperate search for what had hit him.
It didn't take him long to find the culprit. A hulking mass of gray metal barreled towards them. It was an Imperial Bayonet-class light cruiser. It's triangular shape and form like so many other Imperial ships, though the command-bridge appeared to have more armor than other war ships of it's type.
The speaker above him crackled to life, "State your name and occupation immediately," A posh voice said.
"Uh, name's Johnny Roger, occupation is farmer," Johnny replied.
The silence afterwards was long. Johnny's head whipped around to see if he had accidentally turned off the radio.
"You're not in our database. We will have to arrest you, please do not move your ship," The voice responded.
'Not happening,' Johnny wanted to say. He pulled at the wheel and turned back towards the expanses of space and pulled at a lever. A whine grew in volume and just as quickly died down.
"I don't know what's wrong," Johnny said. He went through the manual in his head again.
"Mister Roger, please do not attempt to jump to hyperspace. We will be bringing you aboard shortly," The voice said.
"Ah," Johnny said throwing up his hands in frustration, "Guess I need to move closer"
He set the throttle to full speed, the ship lurched briefly then suddenly jumped in speed, jostling around as if something had been grabbed onto it.
"Mister Roger, I advise you to not-" The radio went silent.
"There we go," Johnny said, "I turned it off. That was just distractin' me"
"I will strap myself down," Thomas said, as another rumble hit the exterior.
"Please do so," Johnny said. Red bolts, nearly thick as the freighter itself whizzed by the cockpit window. He pushed down on the wheel as hard as he could, the inertia pushing him further back into his seat.
The wheel jerked around violently as another rumble shook the ship. A seismic wave of crashing metal echoed from behind him.
"Everything alright back there!" Johnny yelled.
"I am alright!" Thomas replied.
A green light lit up somewhere beneath him. He pulled at the lever. The whine from before grew and grew, finally resolving with a high pitch yelp. The blue and white lights of hyperspace lit up the skies.
Johnny unstrapped himself, and walked into the lounge area, plopping himself down onto one of the beds.
"That's it," Johnny said with a sigh, "It's done"
Thomas unhooked himself from the holotable and strode over to his side, "You have done well"
"Thanks," Johnny looked out to the cockpit, "Now let's see if I can keep us alive out in the wild"
Johnny laid back into the bed, sinking deeper into the mattress. He could almost imagine still being in his room back on the farm, his only worries being that of the crop and what lessons he would be taught next.
He brought his hand to the artificial light overhead, playing with it as it shone through his fingers just as he'd done back on the farm, 'Is this what Henry and Todd felt like?' He thought. He replayed their last conversations together, celebrating one last time.
He suddenly sat up, 'That note, it makes more sense now,' He jumped to his feet and strapped himself back into the pilot's seat, 'They'd want me to move on, just like their father said,' He pulled the hat from his waist and slid a hand over the exterior, 'I will make sure you aren't forgotten. You will live through me, through this coat, this hat, my voice, I will make sure everyone hears you, just as I promised'
The ship lurched, as they exited hyperspace. He looked back up with renewed vigor and set course for Ghorma.
A/N: If you're a new reader and are interested to see more of Johnny, he appears in the later half of my other story: The Art of Brotherhood. Hope you enjoyed.