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Thread: Just another day at the office

  1. #1
    Kyp Grenples
    Guest

    Just another day at the office

    Kyp finally began to let his true feelings show through on the way back.

    “You, my tin-plated friend have made my day.” It was the first he had spoken to the droid since taking possession of him a short while earlier. So far, the droid had proven to be a less than stellar conversationalist.

    “Don’t tell anyone, but I have a few gambling debts that need paying off. With the credits my brother and I score off your friend in the metal underpants, I can finally get that particular Wookie off my back.”

    ”Sir, you don’t appear to have a Wookie anywhere on your person.”

    “It’s a figure of speech, droid. But, anyway, today’s a day to celebrate. We’ll slap a few new parts on you, a little oil in the joints and BAM, I’m back in business.” Outside the glass paned lift, the city of Coruscant grew progressively darker, despite the increasing neon glow of countless signs. Here, on the lower levels of the city, it didn’t matter whether it was night or day; instead there was a perpetual eerie half-light. It was beautiful, in a way, sinister if you stopped to look beneath the surface.

    He loved it. He fit right in.

    Besides, he’d rather have a conversation with a barmaid than a politician any day--and not just because they were usually better looking. The people were more…”real” down here. At least they seemed to be, but there were just as many secrets bubbling beneath the surface here as there was up in the upper echelons. Though, down here, you always had to watch to make sure someone didn’t have a blaster hidden. But he could deal with that. He had grown up around it. It was why he was so good at reading people and their intentions; if you wanted to survive, you had to be.

    The lift slowed to a stop.

    “Come on, Tinman, let’s go, time for your makeover.”

    Up ahead was the dark, rundown façade that marked the location of Grenples Droids. Converted from old warehouse space, the shop’s dilapidated exterior belied the cool, clean and efficient interior. A small waiting room and reception desk acted as a buffer between the noisy streets outside and the working and living areas that lay further in.

    “Alright, let’s go introduce you to my brother.”

  2. #2
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI felt a sense of pity for the mother of these offspring if the other stated brother was anything like this one. XI decided that the human was something of a delusional, speaking of wookies and just slapping on new parts. XI understood figures and speech and the like but the inflections in this organic's voice belied a sense of literal meaning to them.

    "I eargerly await the event, Sir."

    It hoped that its new master had not entrusted XI to a bunch of crooks and thieves that would merely disassemble XI and sell his parts. Even then, trusting Tarsis to take revenge, little else could be predicted that Tarsis would even bother with rebuilding XI after such an event.

  3. #3
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    “You did what?!”

    (it must be bad, Kyp thought to himself, Anton almost never raises his voice)

    “Kyp, w-w-we can’t handle this kind of job right now. We don’t have the p-p-parts! Look around you? Does it look like we have a crate full of linear actuators? And I certainly don’t believe we have any d-d-du-durasteel armor plating just laying around! I mean…how could you accept this job without even consulting with me? It’s going to take at least 2000 credits just to get started on the parts. I’m not sure if you’ve been paying attention, but we’re flat b-br-b-BROKE, Kyp.”

    “Listen, I’m really not in the mood to listen to any of your complaining. I’m the one out there BUSTING MY BACKSIDE trying to get us work while you stay here and play with your little toys,” Kyp fired back, gesturing at several small droids that were scampering around on the shop floor. He tossed the credit chip at his brother who made a fumbling attempt at catching it. “There. My dear brother, you will find the down payment recently acquired by yours truly. There should be plenty there for parts. Now get to work, and remember who got us out of the frying pan yet again.”

    “I’m sorry Kyp, I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’ll talk to T’teek and have him get what we don’t have.” Anton regained his usual quiet tone of voice as he flipped the credit chip in his hand, content to let his brother have this victory.

    “Where is that little stink bomb, anyway?” Kyp queried, taking a seat across the workbench from his brother. Recently, Kyp had attempted to get their Jawa associate to bathe in a vain attempt to eliminate a small part of the stench that wafted from inside his rough brown cloak. T’teek had flatly refused the suggestion; apparently the smell was an important part of his people’s cultural identity or something equally ridiculous.

    “He found another Jawa at some nightclub down on the lower levels. Apparently they’re long lost cousins or something. Have you ever talked to him about the family structure his tribe has back on Tatooine? It’s really quite fascinating. You see, the chief male of the cla-.”

    “Anton, do I really look like I have any interest whatsoever in what those things do behind closed doors?” He tipped back precariously on the old chair, hand behind his head, eyes closed. “Listen, I’m going to catch some z’s; wake me up when he gets back. We need him to go on a parts run ASAP. In the meantime, take that pile of rust over there into the back room and get him cleaned up,” he finished, gesturing over his shoulder to the droid, ignored up to this point.

  4. #4
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    Pile of rust? XI's receptors dilated as if in shock. This human had no respect it seemed. XI agreed that it was not the cleanest droid but it was rust free... mostly. The other brother seemed to be quite the organic though, XI was now very interested to hear how the family structure of jawas worked on Tatooine. T'teek was an often found jawa name; it was an often name to several races but XI had done a cross search between the name and the planet and concluded with a jawa.

    XI followed Anton into the back where a cleaning unit waited. Glad that the other brother had left, XI spoke up.

    "Sir, I am interested in the jawa family structure. Might you continue?"

  5. #5
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    In the back room, Anton turned to the droid, ready to get to work. He was in his element now; gone was the uncertainty, the stumbling, and the stuttering. “Perhaps another time. Right now I’d like to get to work. We’ll start with a thorough degreasing and sandblasting to try and remove some of this corrosion and grime. Just step into that unit there and the automated sequence should begin.”

    He paused for a moment, “Oh, what’s your name?”

  6. #6
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI nodded, a bit disappointed that the human was reluctant to divulge his information. The human's inflections had changed though, as if his focus had been adjusted. The droid complied with the following order though, clunking its way to the unit and onto the platform.

    "My designation is XI-20-P, Sir."

    The platform began to lower XI into the degreasing fluid, its servos adjusting as his flexibility slowly increased. It stopped sinking into the fluid as soon as it reached the base of XI's skull plate. Mimicking the same inflections as the human had,

    "What's your name?"

  7. #7
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    “Anton,” the man replied, without looking up. Already he was making notes, drawing up schematics, mumbling quietly to himself as he began to work out how he was going to proceed. The next hour passed in relative silence.

    A cheerful ding signified the end of the cleaning cycle as the droid emerged from the fluid. Next, Anton led the droid to a shower-like enclosure. A robotic arm ending in narrow nozzle was fastened to the wall and the floor was dominated by a recessed turntable.

    “Please step into the chamber. We’re going to use this sandblasting station to try and knock loose some more of that corrosion. Remain still as the cycle commences.”

    The arm leapt to life and the turntable began slowly rotating as the cycle started. A sensor emerged from a hidden panel on the arm and completed a thorough sweep, mapping out XI-20’s frame, retracting when finished. Before long, the chamber was filled with flying sand, streaming from the nozzle in a wide, flat band. The cycle finished with a quick oil rinse. Finally, the chamber opened and XI-20-P emerged. He was noticeably cleaner, but still walking with the distinct halting gait. Reasonably satisfied with the results, Anton decided to continue with the preliminary procedures.

    Oddly enough, the droid found, this new one didn’t talk about him in the third person, didn’t refer to him like a common lifeless hunk of machinery. Instead, Anton exuded the attitude of a doctor, examining a patient. The droid found himself being talked to, not about.

    “So, XI-20-P…mind if I call you XI for short?...it says here that your owner wants a complete overhaul for you." He continued, flipping a pair of magnifying lenses down as he poked and prodded at the droid. "Hmmm…yes, you seem to have a decent frame underneath all that, I can definitely work with it. Now, don’t worry, I’m not going to touch your core memory or processor, but, I assure you, you are going to feel like a whole new droid by the time we’re done.” Anton sat back, apparently satisfied with his examination. “I’ll tell you what, I’m going to draw up some plans, do a few sketches to show you what you can expect when we’re done and run those by you before we start.”

  8. #8
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    The human was treating XI as if it were one of his own kind. XI felt an odd sense of humble gratification and pride in being treated in such way, more or less that the human would consider a programmed opinion before he started on something.

    "No, Master Anton, whatever you prefer to name me. I appreciate you considering my opinion, Master Anton."

  9. #9
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    “Alright, XI, is there anything that’s been bothering you that I should pay special attention to? Also, you appear to be an industrial model, yet your current function is as a protocol droid, and your new owner would like you to function in a combat role. I would like to get a complete upgrade history, to the best of your memory.”

  10. #10
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI knew that his current state was not nearly his original design, some of the pieces had to be constantly reconfigured with his processor. This led XI to believe that it had been through many overhauls then but the irreperable damage of the memory wipes prevented it from knowing any further.

    "Sir, due to the excessive amounts of memory wipes that my processor has endured, I cannot even recall when my original date of activation was. For which company I was designed as an industrial model is not available either. I have never seen a droid model similar to my structure either since my last memory wipe, Master Anton. I was a protocol droid upon activation, Master Anton, and I am unable to recall whether or not I was a protocol droid beforehand either. I'm afraid that my processor has suffered severe information gaps about my own system but it has never been an issue for my previous masters. At least I do not believe it has."

    XI still felt compelled to hide the archive unit it was unable to access. And that random code often made its way into XI's logic drive, creating much chaos for its processor to sift through.

  11. #11
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    “Ok, XI, I think I have enough information to begin my examination. But before I open you up and begin to access your internal circuitry, are there any safety systems I should be aware of? I would rather not have them accidentally activated while I’m working.”

    He ruefully remembered one droid he had worked on with an extensive security system. It had taken several weeks for the facial tic to stop. Several thousand volts would do that to a person.

  12. #12
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI was not aware of any security system it had installed but it ran a systems check anyways. A stream of random code worked its way into the systems check and the results came up with a scrambled answer. The answer was directly, and involuntarily, fed into XI's speech unit. The sounds it uttered were harsh in inflection but delicate in the pattern of accents. Once it finished a moment later, XI shook its head as if it had belched.

    "Excuse me, Master Anton. That was an odd occurence."

    A second systems check was ran and XI now had a more presentable answer.

    "I have a downloadable image of my blueprints, containing a better model of the directory of units that should not be tampered with. The result of such an action would be..."

    XI did not have the end of that message until more random code worked its way out until its removal which seemed to jog XI's memory a bit more.

    "...Very fatal to your health."

    XI was not sure what this answer meant and his processor could give no verification of stated parameters. It was possible it was just a farce to keep organics from disrupting XI.

  13. #13
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    The response took Anton a little by surprise. Did the droid just threaten him? He considered the possibility for a moment, but then decided to continue anyway. A job was a job and this one had to be done. After all, he considered with a little chuckle, his brother always was telling him he had to live a little. As for the blueprints, he didn’t need them, he was certain he would be able to figure out what was what once he was in there.

    “Ok, XI, could you shut down for a while? I’m going to open you up and see what I’m going to be working with inside.”

  14. #14
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI did not answer for a moment as its processor diverted its attention to several paranoid possibilities of what the human might do to XI when it was shut down. It felt a familiar tug of programming in its logic drive as it pondered its response. Following the thought drive, XI once again encountered the self-preservation drive.

    The droid had encountered this drive once before as far as it could remember and that involved the meeting of Tarsis. XI had acted on objectives that at a later time seemed illogical, all produced from the self-preservation drive that the droid could not seem to actually locate within his system directory. But even as XI attempted to study this more, directives popped up here and there in its intended actions list.

    "Master Anton, I am having difficulty shutting down. Give me one more moment please."

    The dull drone of XI's voice slurred out at the end as XI tried to override the self-preservation drive and shut itself down. The droid was internally worried as it had to use several backdoors to go around its own security software. Within moments, the dim glow of XI's receptors died down and its body slumped as the servos quit holding up the droid's weight.

  15. #15
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    With every minute, Anton became more and more fascinated by this droid. After he had made his way past battered torso plating, he found a system that almost defied explanation. There were system redundancies everywhere, what seemed to be 3 distinct processing units, and one large component that didn’t seem to serve any purpose at all. It was amazing the droid didn’t have multiple personality disorder, the roundabout way he was assembled. The droid was like a house that had been built on with addition after addition, jury-rigged construction everywhere, each successive owner adding their own personal touch. Either that or one owner had made all the additions and had been quite undeniably insane.

    Anton was like a living encyclopedia when it came to droids and their components, a trait which proved to be invaluable as he dug deeper and deeper into this particular unit. He had a feeling that any blueprints the droid might have were years out of date. It would simply be impossible to accurately diagram the eclectic wiring design. With the aid of a diagnostic tool, he identified a computer routing module, similar to those found on many astromech droids, a protocol module, and some sort of industrial programming module—no doubt the droid’s original function based on his heavy-duty exo-structure. Anton’s unfavorable opinion of the previous owners solidified as the examination continued. They may as well have tried to turn a toaster into a hyperspace drive, a hydrospanner, a high speed pod-racer and a holonet receiver. There was just no logical reason to try and cram so many functions into a single droid. Worse yet, there was no…beauty to the setup, no appreciation for form over function. The droid may work, but only because of the ugly, brute-forced way it had been rebuilt over the years.

    Still, not all the components were identifiable. One in particular confounded him. It was a design unlike any he had ever seen before, and was connected to the main personality module, though it didn’t seem to be functioning at all.

    Even more strange, every component in the droid seemed to be unquestionable ancient. It was as if the droid had stepped out of the past. He left confer with a database he had collected over years of research, cataloguing examples of droid and robotic components from myriads of cultures over thousands of years.

  16. #16
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    Where had the time gone?

    Anton wearily rubbed his eyes. He had been poring through his records for several hours, hardly blinking. Several times false leads had gotten his hopes up, only to have them dashed against the cruel rocks of reality. Nowhere could he find either the industrial unit or the unidentified module. The few leads he had found were all related to the industrial unit, the other unidentified module remained a mystery. It was as if the droid emerged from nothing, having no apparent pedigree. But how could that be? All droids, even custom built ones, shared some base components. He just had to figure out where to look.

    Anton stopped slowly, his mind cloudy with weariness. Was that it? It was hard to tell, as the industrial unit in the droid was buried under so many other additions, but it seemed to be a match. He checked the place of origin. Kessel? Made sense, the place was well known for its many factories and mines, a perfectly reasonable place to find an industrial droid. His patient in the other room seemed to have originally belonged to the United Mining Consortium of Kessel, a company that had gone bankrupt and had been forced to liquidate its assets. Then he saw the date.

    It couldn’t be.

    If it were true, the droid would be close to 700 standard years old. A relic. A holdover from another age.

    Still, it would explain a lot: the components, many of which, while no doubt top-of-the-line in their own time, were woefully outdated by today’s standards; the badly degraded wiring; the antiquated design…Anton glanced at the time; he supposed he really should wake XI up. He would no doubt be interested in knowing his origins.

    He put his reference material away, his curiosity satisfied for now, and returned to the droid. After making a few schematic drawings trying to make sense of the chaotic mess of components, he closed his patient back up and restarted him.

    “Ok, XI, I’ve finished with my examination. You may be interested to know that you seem to be a model originally built for the United Mining Consortium of Kessel, a company that became defunct more than 700 years ago.”

  17. #17
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI's receptors flashed to life, a series of system checks and security examinations occuring the moment its processor was awake. Everything was functional, at least what XI could access, and nothing was reporting any anomalies. Then it registered what the human said.

    "But... but... but... Master Anton... the life expectancy of a droid of my caliber in relation to the given time period is zero! My systems cannot accept this as fact."

  18. #18
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    “I’m sorry to say, what you believe does not constitute reality; you are 700 years old. If I had the proper dating equipment I’m sure I could confirm it to you, but for now you’ll have to take my word for it. Look on the bright side, XI: for a droid your age, you’re in amazingly good shape.”

    “Well, I’ll need some time to procure the needed parts and materials for your upgrade. For now, make yourself at home. But I would advise against leaving the shop. Things can get a little rough out there.”

  19. #19
    XI-20-P
    Guest
    XI's system was chaoticly struggling to confirm what the human was saying. XI had notions even that the human might be attempting to possibly create a humorous situation but after scanning over human behavior, XI decided against that. And then, the human was leaving?

    "There is nothing to worry about, Master Anton. The terrain outside is actually rather flat; I am confident that you will not have a hard time though. I will not bother leaving though, Master Anton, as it can become rather unsage for droids out there sometimes."

  20. #20
    Anton Grenples
    Guest
    The glowing blue cloaked figure emerged in the countertop of Anon’s small office, catching the attention of the bespectacled man hunched over the desk an arm’s length away.

    “T’teek! There you are. I was wondering if I would be able to get a hold of you. Listen, I need you to come back by the shop as soon as you can, Kyp just got us a job and we’re fresh out of most of the parts I need. I’d also like to get your opinion on my planned upgrades.”

    ”Ooon tidi o so doango.”

    “T’teek, did you loose that new translator already?” The small figure fished something out of its voluminous robes, holding it up to its shadowed face.

    ”Sorry, Anton, I forgot. I’ll be back in a few hours.” Though he could now understand him, the Jawa’s high, strained voice still made Anton cringe a bit. The ghostly figure faded as the transmission ended, leaving the man alone with his thoughts.

    The droids limbs would have to be replaced completely. The effort and time it would take to refurbish what was there wasn’t worth the trouble. The limbs from Anton’s own GC-10 combat droid design should be able to be modified to fit the torso frame and the requests of the client. If the computer routing in it still functioned, he would like to incorporate a standard interface jack somewhere, possibly the forearm. The other forearm, of course, would conceal a modified standard Imperial issue blaster, a feature Anton was quite proud of. With the legs, Anton decided to try out a new pneumatic shock absorption system he had been recently toying with in an effort to increase the stealth of the unit.

    Most of the wiring would have to be replaced, Anton ruefully realized. It was simply too outdated, completely insufficient for the power loads they would have to carry with all the new upgrades. The inadequate power supply would also have to be torn out and a new, more powerful system installed in its place. Space could become an issue, especially considering he wouldn’t have the money to buy smaller, more modern computer routing and protocol units. Still, he would like to keep the droid’s design sleek and compact, the fewer exposed components, the less prone the droid would be to damage.

    He finished drawing up his blueprints just as T’teek’s arrival was announced by his distinctive odor. Anton emerged from the office, steeping into the cavernous workshop area where he found T’teek already eyeing up XI.

    “Ah, T’teek, welcome back. I’d like to introduce you to XI-20-P, soon to be combat-droid extraordinaire.”

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