Catch Me in a Can

[Isaac Ideus]

Spoiler

“Do I really wanna do this?”

Isaac made his way through a crowded space port in the outskirts of Coronet. Was it a holiday today, he thought? Why are there so many damn people here? I guess it’s a good place not to get noticed. Funny how the more people there are to find you out, the less likely it is to happen.

“I’ve got no other choice…”

That was a lie, though. He didn’t need to run. Maybe the police would only slap him with a fine and community service. That really was no good though, and the people that truly scared him were the thugs from the local gang he had pissed off. It wasn’t even his fault! But he knew he had no one to blame for his troubles but himself. He grew up with a stern father who always warned him about the fruitlessness of complaining. ‘There are starving Twi’lek children on Ryloth who would kill to have you life,’ he would declare. ‘When you grow up, nobody except your mother will care about your problems. Never look for pity, and never pity yourself.’

​

“Bagh, excuse me. ‘Scuse me, par—pardon! I said I’m sorry!”

The twenty-something year old made his way through the busy crowd, dragging along two suitcases like a pair of dead womp rats. They were filled mostly with clothes, a small personal computer system, and some random personal junk. He and his bags were looking for a ticket to ride, as they say. Some freighter on its way out of here, he hoped. He had some money to pay for a seat, and he could help out on board as well. But he just needed to leave. A new start, he told himself. Yeah, that’s right… this place is bad for my health. How am I supposed to develop in the same place I grew up? I’ve just gotta find my own way in this galaxy. He convinced himself of this in order to cover up the emotion of leaving his home and his parents. They already lost their only daughter, and now their only son?
The space port was bustling. Frigates were loading and unloading cargo, people were shouting directions, droids were sliding, crawling and hovering every which way. He backed up into a Twi’lek offering her… services.

“Long journey, space man?”

“Uhh, I just ehhh.. I—“ he stuttered out as he scampered away.

This place is a trip, he laughed. A small freight ship came in for landing directly overhead, its engine noise ringing the ears of everybody in the space port. It was an ugly brute, probably Mandalorian or some such. Those guys don’t care about rules or nothing¸ Isaac thought to himself. The craft put itself down 30 meters away. Might as well try my luck. I wonder what tough bastard pilots that thing. The Corellian system had two main trading and transport routes, and he knew that a ship like this one was probably going some place interesting. He took his bags and walked over, just as the engine was idling. With a sharp blast of air, the cargo hatch lowered.

[member="LLP-850"]

 

[Nyxie]

At a whopping 300 meters, the Ulur'uur-Class Frigate was hardly a 'small' ship. The vessel was hardly legal in Coruscanti space, and was likely illegal in numerous other, more conservative systems. It's massive upgraded engines pulled it into port with haste, leaving huge ion trails behind it through the upper atmosphere. Every single plate and window, down to the last rivet, was spotless and glistening - testament to it's 'off-the-assembly-line' new state. The flight there, in fact, had been its maiden voyage. Considering the locale, and the distance between Coronet and Terra Sin, it was the most logical calibration test flight. All of the systems were running optimal, and LLP-850's own inputs had it running at peak performance. Much of the data collected in the long journey there had also greatly increased her awareness of the Ulur'uur's capabilities. Finally the ship landed, too large to land on one of the many small landing platforms, forgoing a dry docks instead.
As the door extended downwards, bridging a connection between the dock and the mighty vessel. Moments passed, and no one exited. Finally, small flocks of Shadow Empire sailors had flooded onto and through the dock. No sign of LLP-850.

[member="Isaac Ideus"]​

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac gripped his luggage handles tight, as the loading platform shuttered down to the landing dock. No you idiot, act cool. He tried to relax. A droid wheeled out of the ship's hull, followed by a palate-train of goods. Then a man walked to the edge of the ramp. Stereotypical freight pilot, a weathered old git whose spent years on the intragalactic highways. He came down the ramp, while eyeing a datapad he held in his hand. Isaac cleared his throat.

*ahem*
"Are you the captain? I uhhh... was wonderi--"

The man didn't bother looking up. "Get lost, kid" he hissed as he walked on by.

That went well, Isaac thought. Who exactly does he think he is, anyway? He's just a dumb trucker! What a jerk. He sighed. He was like a lost puppy dog. He looked around. The ship next to him had sailors walking to and fro from its landing dock. It was a giant ship-- interstellar, surely. Looks like they run a tight operation. He hauled his luggage over near a door. "Hey! Hey, excuse me!" he yelled over the noise of the background and of the busy sailors. A few looked at him, but they kept on walking. "Hey you!" Still no reaction. "You! Sir!" Frustrated, he put a hand out and grabbed one of them.

"Whaddya want?!" he said as he spun around?

"Sorry!" Isaac put his hands up, not wanting a confrontation. "I need to get off this planet. Do you have room on board? You'll hardly notice me, I promise! I can even work! Can I talk to your captain?"

[member="LLP-850"]

 

[Nyxie]

A soft, monotonous female voice suddenly rung out over the cargo deck's PA system.
"Battering interstellar military officials is ground for expulsion or worse, incarceration."
Not too long a moment after, a single magenta-haired droid emerged from one of the internal shutter doors in the cargo hold - which, huge as it was, dwarfed in comparison to the sheer scale of the ship itself. Originally a warship bought for private use, it was no surprise the vessel was so mighty and its capacity so minuet in comparison.
The droid was unlike any ever seen on that world before; and rightfully so, as she was the only one of her kind in existence, the cumulation of millions of credits of technology from three different cultures in an idealistically perfect shell. She was surreally human-like for a non-HRD. LLP-850 had unfortunately not been programmed with personality protocols yet, leaving her vastly a devoid and mechanical husk.
"State your name and intention, unidentified human."
What had stood before [member="Isaac Ideus"] was clearly something extraordinary, unaware even of its own potential for greatness. Her three eyes constantly gazed up and down the boy, learning every detail about him from the fabric of his clothes to his estimated physical statistics and weaknesses. Her Anatomy Upgrade Package ensured her scans were thorough and intelligible.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Just as the sailor was about to form a response, a loud voice leapt from an external PA system aboard the ship. Isaac was confused. Expulsion?! I'll expulse you, idiot! He looked around and above him and when he looked back straight ahead he saw that the sailor who he had grabbed had continued to walk away. Just great.

And then he looked up and saw a... thing, standing at the entrance of the cargo hold. It was a droid type thing-y. Sure he had seen plenty of droids in his life, but nothing like this. More importantly, it was staring right at him. He squinted; it was the figure of a woman, with shocking electric hair hanging down over its shoulder. What is it looking at me for? Staring's rude, ya know?

"State your name and intention, unidentified human." Now it was talking to him! It didn't sound like an ordinary droid, that's for sure.

"Call me... Wedge." Isaac wasn't sure if his name was on any lists. He didn't want to risk it, and besides, why did this droid need to know his real name anyway? Regardless, Wedge was a local folk hero... the hometown kid who survived both battles against the Death Stars. Every kid grew up wanting to be just like him.

"Say, are you a protocol droid? Like a uh, android or somthin'? Well, I wanna know if you can spare some room on board. Just want to get out of here, ya know? I'll help out on board as much as I can. Can I speak to your captain?"

[member="LLP-850"]

 

[Nyxie]

"Wedge..." the droid recited... almost as if bewildered at the name.
LLP-850 had been looking up reports on the ship's holonet array and simultaneously downloaded them to her memory via the dual broadband antennae crested on her head. Unwitting to [member="Isaac Ideus"], she had his entire public dossier and noticed the minor infractions and warrants on his name.
"Ideus, Isaac, born 10-21, male, twenty two years. You are now verified. You are wanted on three accounts of murder, one account of destruction of property and one account of obstruction of justice...."
Those were all most certainly not what the man had in mind, but somewhere along the lines, he must've gotten tangled with the underworld. It was like they said; if you were at the scene of a crime, you were a suspect.
She paused, though unwavering. Finally, an arm rose straight out at a right angle, index finger pointing to a single, large plasteel crate with an air-tight locking door. The labor droid working it had already been broadcasted with orders to set up and move the crate into position, as well as given a pending remote memory wipe. The only thing needed to be done now was for the man to hop into the crate. It seemed simple enough.
"Please step into the crate, Wedge."
LLP-850 awaited his response.
Destination; Terra Sin, Eclipstica.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

"Wedge..."

Isaac laughed inside. Dumb droid bought it. He never liked talking to protocol droids. You'd think something programmed for etiquette would have a bit more... social grace. He really wanted to talk to a human. It's hard to manipulate a droid, if that's what you're trying to do.

"Ideus, Isaac, 22 years old... wanted... murder... destruction of property"

Isaac could fill the pit of his stomach drop, and his heart was in his throat. He had either gone completely pale or blush red. He checked his hand-- pale. The droid must have facial recognition software, he thought. Just my luck. And what was all this about murder!?

"Murder!? Obstruction of justice? I never did any of that! You've got your records wrong, ya dumb bucket of bolts!"

No, it can't be.
Isaac knew that the police force in Coronet were corrupt. He went through a list of names and faces of people he'd been associated with. He was just a petty criminal, after all... but somebody must've framed him or something. He looked around, wondering if anybody was following him. He began to get anxious, and he could feel a bead of sweat run down his brow.

The droid rose its arm and pointed at a large crate. You've gotta be kidding me, Isaac thought. Does that thing really want me to get in there? This may be my best bet...

Isaac looked around the space port for the last time. He tossed both his bags in the crate and hopped in. God I hope this works.

[member="LLP-850"]

 

[Nyxie]

Behind the boy, LLP appeared and grabbing the airtight door with both hands, pulled it shut tightly over the plasteel crate.
An hour had passed. There was no light inside, and the space was kind of stuffy. The air supply wouldn't last forever either, but the doors only unlatched from the outside. Finally, the road of the heavy Mandalorian-build engines grew vivid and loud, shaking the back of the ship and vibrating the crate from the sheer intensity of the frequencies as the Ulul'uur took off and set into space. Somewhere minutes later, the hyperdrives engaged and the ship calmed to a smooth, quiet hum.
LLP had come back for the crate, now far clear of the system.
"Do you know where we are going?" she asked as the crate hissed open and fresh air filled its reaches.
The lone droid offered a ceramic-plated ball-palm hand to the boy, only to expedite his exit from captivity; she cared little in the way of assistance.
"We are going to the Eclipstica system. We will be docking in the city of Tera, also known as 'Sin City' or 'Tera Sin'. You may leave once we are there. The journey will take approximately five days. Three meals have been granted to you each day, totaling fifteen. No official bunk space has been reserved. You will have to arrange your own sleeping quarters. This crate will also be available to you should you wish to lodge here. You are not to interfere with the crew or inhibit them in any way while on-duty. Please come with me."
She pirouetted on her heels, electric red hair swinging over her right shoulder in fluid movement as she did, and began to walk off towards the far-side door in the innermost part of the cargo bay. A whole new world lay beyond that airlock door. A million different ships he could have boarded, a million different outcomes; [member="Isaac Ideus"] was fortunate fate had orchestrated their meeting as opposed to some crime lord or pirate, robbing him, enslaving him or worse, killing him outright in the deep expanse of space where no one would ever find out.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac tucked his head into the crate and settled in. The droid leaned over and closed it. Isaac heard the hiss that signifies an air-tight seal has been achieved. What is the dumb droid doing? Us humans need to breathe! It was dark, and soon his body began to heat the box up and he could feel sweat form at his brow. Soon, the main engines were lit and it was a hell of a racket. As the craft lifted off away from the spaceport, Isaac could barely think as the noise and vibration was so tremendous. Soon enough, the vibrations transitioned into the silky smooth near sensory-less experience of interstellar cruising.

The reality that he was permanently leaving his home planet began to sunk in. He thought of the past, the present, and the future, and nodded off to sleep.

A sharp hiss of air awoke him, and light crept into the dark crate. He shielded his eyes and looked up. It was that droid again... great. It offered a hand and Isaac got to his feet. The droid told him that the ship was headed towards Tera, in Eclipstica. He had heard of it... both good things and bad. It was better than Hoth, he thought. The droid told him to follow it, and he obliged. "Hey uhm, thanks and everything..." he said. Am I really thanking a protocol droid? But this droid seemed different, more sentient, although it didn't appear to have any kind of personality software installed. "Say," he continued, "What exactly do I call you?".

[member="LLP-850"]

 

[Nyxie]

The airlock shutters had opened, and LLP-850 lead the boy through them. There was a single elevator at the end of the corridor, and LLP hopped in waiting for him. The two rose to the uppermost deck and exited. Another door lie down the end of the exit corridor, this one much nicer. It opened automatically just as LLP entered proximity range. Behind her was the bridge, in all its grandness, and the huge bubble-canopy observatory below. The female droid took two steps forward and turned her head to the side, so that her beaming yellow eye caught glimpse of the boy behind her; her silhouette casting a shadow over her back, darkening it almost heroically.
"I am unit LLP-850, and this is... No Refuge."
LLP slowly continued forward again, this time taking a seat at the helm, opening up a holo-screen and typing in things with an inhuman haste.
"I have given you refuge and escape as I see potential in you to join the Imperial Shadow Armed Forces. Scans indicate that you are at your peak age, are physically fit and show no signs of physical or mental disability. You are a prime candidate for enlistment."
With a slight waving motion, the screen projection circled around through the air and flipped itself over to [member="Isaac Ideus"]' eyes. There, had been a complete dossier on him and an attached enlistment contract form, one subdivision for the Army, one for the Navy... and a third file, secret, indescript.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

LLP-850... LLP-850... did it say 850 or 815? What is LLP? Must be a serial number from its production run. Isaac was still perplexed as to what role this droid played on the ship. "No Refuge"? What the hell were they playing at with a name like "No Refuge"? It sounded like the names you would read about old Imperial Star Destroyers having. The pair rode up an elevator to the bridge. isaac didn't say anything. You don't have small talk with a droid, he told himself. The door opened and they stepped outside. A chill ran down Isaac's spine; this is what a true star ship looks like on the inside. He had seen plenty of exteriors, but he could only ever imagine what the guts were like.

As he stood dumbstruck, [member="LLP-850"] informed him of the reasoning behind taking Isaac in. You gave me refuge? Oh c'mon, he thought. You're going to hold this over my head? And refuge? Isn't this thing called "No Refuge"? He laughed to himself, but a cold and unforgiving stare quickly wiped the smirk off of Isaac's face.

"I see potential in you to join the Imperial Shadow Armed Forces" the droid declared.

It caught Isaac off guard. Ten seconds ago he was admiring his luck to have bummed his way onto such a spectacular ship. What's this about the Imperial Shadow now?

"Huh? Listen, I... I'm no soldier."

He didn't even know what the Imperial Shadow was, to be honest. He sure as hell wasn't about to join some military force. Ten-hut, 1-2 1-2... forget about it. He didn't want anything to do with that. He felt entrapped, and now he just wanted to get back inside that crate more than ever.

"... sorry to burst your bubble. You've got the wrong kind of guy-- I don't do that soldiery stuff, it's not my game. Eh, listen-- can I speak with your captain?" Was he really going to be pressed into service? Was this all a set-up?

 

[Nyxie]

LLP-850 turned in the helm to face Isaac, coming flush in line with the holoprojection screen between them, her three mechanical, yellow eyes piercing through with the humanoid facial expression of utter apathy and intent.
"I am the captain and owner of this vessel, a modified Ulur'uur-Class Military Surveillance Frigate."
LLP paused, crossing her fingers under her chin.
"What is your inquiry?"

[member="Isaac Ideus"]​

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac waited for a response. If he could just talk to the captain, he could explain that he's not some kind of soldier.

"I am the captain and owner of this vessel, a modified Ulur'uur-Class Military Surveillance Frigate."

What the hell? Something's up. Isaac knew he couldn't trust that droid. What kind of operation is this ship running where a droid is telling everybody what to do?

"Listen," he began. "I'm grateful and all for you taking me in, but I think you've got the wrong idea. I just want to find a place to stay for these next few days... and maybe some food." He hoped that talking to the droid like a human might result in a little humanistic empathy. He just wanted to get off the bridge. He couldn't wait to get to Tera... he hoped this wouldn't end up as the longest week in his life.

[member="LLP-850"]​

 

[Nyxie]

Unfortunately for Isaac, the ironies ended with the title. There was no other captain, no ulterior motives or operations. Everything was exactly, word for word how it was presented. It was perhaps a lesson on why hitchhiking was a very dangerous endeavor.
"Your decline is duly noted. You will find your meal tickets in the card printing out of the console beneath the holoprojection screen. You are allowed to use them as you see fit, however, you will not receive any extra should your current supply be expended prematurely."
LLP-850 had stopped for a moment to order the enlistment forms to be encrypted and downloaded into a portable data chip. She then grabbed the card plugged into her console and handed it out to the boy. An officer shortly later approached her with the data chip, which she handed over as well.
"You have until No Refuge's arrival to Tera Sin to decide. Should you accept, you will be brought to the capital of Eclipstica and presented before Captain Kikhveakkaz of the Imperial Shadow Navy, where you will be further evaluated and enrolled in an all-expenses-paid naval academy and trained to pilot attack-grade Heavy Starfighters and Light Freighters. I urge you to reconsider your decision. Do you have any further inquiries or issues?"
[member="Isaac Ideus"] had been given an escape and allowed on the ship for the sole purpose of recruitment of a very able-bodies individual. He was in no way forced to accept, but the reality was that his ride was not given out of charity - no such concept was programmed or yet developed in LLP-850's advanced droid mind. Each recruit she found was commission for her, which supported her frigate's expenses.

 

[Isaac Ideus]

Isaac waited as his meal pass was printed out. He stared at it nervously, as if it were somehow booby-trapped and if he were to take it something bad may happen. He looked back up at the droid. No matter how life-like an android is, you can always pick it out in a crowd. They don't fidget, they don't adjust their balance, they rarely break a stride. He quickly grabbed the meal pass and shoved it in his pocket. "Think I'll grab a bite to eat" he said, stepping backwards and turning towards the way they came. He could feel the droid's intense, cold stare pierce the back of his head as he walked away. He dreaded the next time he'd see that thing... it really put him off.

He made his way to the mess hall. It was fairly busy, and he stepped in line. It had been a long day, and his rumbling stomach served as a reminder that he was far from the comforts of home. He looked behind him as another sailor queued in. He broke the ice, and asked the crewman what he knew about the captain. The sailor just shrugged. Isaac could sense it was a lie. The picture was starting to come together. He realized that a face to face conversation with that android was probably rare. [member="LLP-850"] was no ordinary official in any kind of military.

After mess, Isaac walked around his new confines for the next week. He found a fairly unused corner near a cargo hold and rolled out a blanket from his luggage. A jacket doubled as a pillow, and he tucked in. His eyes were closed but his mind raced. He questioned everything he had done, wondered if this was the right thing to do. His mind drifted to his encounter with the Captain, and his plan for how to handle his new situation. He imagined what his future life would be like; where would he live, what would he do. Then, he imagined nothing and drifted to sleep. The next week would be spent eating, thinking, planning, and sleeping. But more importantly, avoiding the Captain. He talked to droids and read to pass the time. But he was never fully at ease on the ship, and it was a feeling he had never felt before.