Public Non-Compliance

[Crash]

In the hundreds of years since the Clone Wars very little hand really changed about Anchorhead. Crash, in spite of being a B-1 series battle droid, had become a presence that the people had largely gotten used to. Travelers sometimes commented on the novelty of a functional B-1, but did not generally give much consideration to the antique soldier. To some though, he was a fixture that was indispensable to the security of the merchant's sector of the town. Originally programmed centuries ago for security services by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, his routines had since then been upgraded and modified. Now he worked in opposition to petty criminals and street thugs in Anchorhead and had become something of an unofficial sheriff of sorts that gave to traders and townspeople alike a sense of security.

In exchange for his work he was entrusted to enforce common sense behaviors, as law was often more of a suggestion in the Outer Rim Territories. From petty theft to protection rackets, Crash worked in opposition to them to the point that the people of Anchorhead had become more brave in the face of criminal elements. It may have taken hundreds of years but crime in Anchorhead was on the decline, albeit slowly.

Smoke still billowed from the blaster impacts on the walls of the hangar bay Crash was currently cleaning. The trade vessel in question did not belong to the people who were unloading the ship, and when questioned to show papers of employment or ownership aggression was the immediate response. The droid had won the fight with the organics, due in no small part to their disorganization and a lot of good luck. Crash was now dragging bodies over to the corner so they could be collected by the detritus removal teams. Two of the male organics had outstanding bounties placed on them, while the one that told them to shoot was clean as far as being wanted prior to this encounter.

The twin suns of the planet were now at midday point and Crash now worked to secure the cargo that had already been removed. Delegation to the load lifter droids was simple enough and now that he had taken charge of the situation the B-1 stood in wait for the owner of the ship to return.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Aeshi moved carefully along the length of the hangar wall, both .48s drawn and held low in front of her. She’d heard a fairly significant amount of blasterfire and most folks had moved to cover, and then back to their business when they realized it wasn’t out in the street.

But something had prickled along Aeshi’s conscience and she felt the need to be involved. It was quiet now, except for the movement of heavy droids.

She paused at the edge of the doorway and leaned over, peering in at the bodies and the battle droids supervising the clean up. It was slightly disconcerting, to be sure, but she’d heard about this… Sheriff. Not that she knew it was the same droid, but really, how many antique B1s were there in Anchorhead?

“You the sheriff, yeah?” Aeshi called around the corner of the building, but keeping the wall between her and any more blaster fire. “S’all good here?”

 

[Crash]

Crash immediately turn his sensors to the organic lifeform that had called out to him. She kept cover between herself and the open area around the vessel wherein the cargo was being reloaded. "Affirmative. Criminal element has been neutralized and hangar has been secured." he said in that classic B-1 voice. He stood still and unmoving while the load lifters behind him moved in unison working their respective programmed assignments.

"My data indicates that this hangar has been authorized for use by the Tillian Family Enterprise. When I requested confirmation of employment or ownership from these beings they became hostile. I apologize for any inconvenience if you are the rightful owner of this vessel." he continued on. Crash was an oddity for sure. A relic of bygone days from a more violent time. The most outlandish thing about him though, was the weapon that he carried. Anyone familiar with the Clone Wars would recognize that the DC-15A blaster rifle in Crash's possession was the standard issue arms for the Grand Army of the Republic, and thus the clones that the B-1 battle droids had faced. It too looked worn and aged like his finish and plating. The only relatively new object on him was a white cape, which had been placed on him when he was deactivated by the previous owner as a makeshift coatrack. The owner was long gone but the cape remained and so too did Crash.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Crash

Aeshi stepped slowly around the corner, sliding the pistols back into her holsters, listening to the crunch of sand beneath her boots. Her eyes drifted across the bodies, but then shrugged and picked her way through the bloodstained sand to stand next to the droid.

"Yeah, we've been renting this hangar for now as I do some trading in the local sectors. Don't know what they would have wanted to steal though. This was a lot of cheap bulk stuff."

Not that she didn't have very valuable cargo on this trip, but that was tucked safely away in her coat, not left in the ship itself. "Well, it could be worse, I guess. Not a huge deal to reload things." She ran a hand through her hair with a frowne. "That's awfully good shooting to take all these out yourself."

 

[Crash]

"Affirmative. I have had approximately 896 years to augment my combat routines. Compared to clone troopers these beings were insufficient to handle the situation at hand. Their aggression saw to it that their effort was wasted. If they had simply complied with local property and trade law then this problem could have been avoided." Crash said with a polite nod of his head. It was a gesture that humanoids tended to use to signify respect or acknowledgement and in his experience people tended to like it.

A gentleman flanked by two others approached from behind and frowned, "What did you do to my boys?"

Crash leaned to look, "They were in violation of local property and trade law. I requested cooperation. They declined, and then presented me with the only solution viable in the situation."

"Wait a minute, you did this?" the man said to the droid, then looking at the woman. It was obvious he thought she had done the deed, but now he was confronted with the fact that his men had been killed by a single B-1 series battle droid. This was a fact he did not like. "Scrap this can and the woman. Boss wants this hangar and the goods."

The man that was clearly in charge did not identify himself, but he left his two men behind to handle what was appraised to be an easy situation. What he did not anticipate however, was the droid being a quick draw with the blaster pistol at his side. As the DL-44 thundered two shots out and the men dropped dead, the gentleman looked back over his shoulder in utter shock. Crash spoke up with the blaster aimed at him, "Database indicates that you are a gentleman called Sami Thunderhead. I am placing you under arrest for trade law violation, attempted theft, attempted grand theft, and attempted murder. Comply peacefully please."

Down five of his men, Sami actually complied, placing his hands in the air and surrendering himself to the droid. Cuffed and identified, it was revealed upon further scanning through his databases that Sami was a wanted man and a bounty of ten thousand credits had been placed on his head for petty theft and gang related activities. "I will be taking you into custody and turning you over to the authorities of the Rimward Trade League. They will then pursue justice according to their own laws and guidelines and you will be tried in their courts. Thank you for your compliance."

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Crash

"Fething 'ell," Aeshi murmured as the droid spoke about upgrading his combat routines over 896 years and criminals being insufficient to match against clone troopers. A sense of danger prickled her neck and she dug her heels in the sand to turn around, both hands dropping for the holsters at her hips. But before she could draw, the droid had already opened fire four times. "Kark..." Aeshi said with a whistle as the droid took out the rest.

She looked up and down the gang leader with a frown. "The boss wanted this hangar and cargo?" Her eyes narrow as she studied him. "We're going to have a long chat, you and I, about who exactly this boss is and why he thought he could get away with targeting either my family's company or a League ship."

She turned back to the droid. "My thanks, Sheriff. I appreciate it."" A thought struck her. "Have you ever considered...wider employment? The League is always looking for experienced, honest law enforcement."

 

[Crash]

Crash was silent for a moment as he ran through his sub-routines while examining the other two organics for whether or not they had outstanding bounties. Only one, but his collection today was roughly thirty thousand credits total so he could keep himself going for a little while longer. The priority order from his programming put answering the question on hold while he completed his final sweep of the area. He returned to the female organic, "As a representative of the Rimward Trade League I request that you bring proper security to Anchorhead so that these elements can treated with a proper judiciary. Should you be able to provide a presence for these good organics, then I will go with you to speak with your superiors about proper employment. I have requests to make of someone with more assets than this town can provide." he offered, indicating for the first time that he had motives of his own and was not a simple or mindless thing. He was self-aware, and self-assured, otherwise he would not have spent the last 896 years in opposition to the crime on Tatooine.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Crash

Aeshi frowned as she paced around the unloaded cargo, taking stock of what they’d tried to take while the droid processed the offer. She raised a head at the counter offer.

“I would,” she began, “But last gossip I heard was that the Mandos over in the Enclave were headed this way as part of their Frontier War to clean up the Rim. Not sure we can convince them to join the League, or even let us have any sort of legal authority.”

A pause as she considered her options. “I’ll do my best though, but unless I’m hauling cargo, I don’t make promises.”

 

[Crash]

"Roger roger. I will go with you to meet with your superiors. Anchorhead has appointed me to represent them in negotiations, so I would like to participate for them." the droid said with an affirmative nod. The cargo had been secured aboard the ship and the load lifters had gone back to their resting positions to wait for more work during the brief talk. Bodies were disposed of, and data had been transmitted. With the credits in his account for the bounties collected, Crash's work was done in this hangar, so he stood waiting for the human to confirm that she was going to be fine before leaving.

 

[Aeshi Tillian]

Crash

Aeshi grinned, at the response. "That sounds fine to me. I can certainly give you a lift back to League space if you're wanting to go visit."

She pursed her lips as she turned to assess the hangar. "And looks like it's all cleaned up for now. I'll just take some time to look over my ship and see if they damaged anything. Let me know when you're ready."