Death Skate
Telide Jarrola could not believe his fortune.
Whether it was sheer luck, will of the Force, or the act of some unknowable cosmic entity, a fully intact HRD had found its way in front of him, located by some miracle within the vast scrap yards outside Voontara City. Although much of the synthskin across its face and upper shoulders was befouled or missing, the unit appeared more or less undamaged. And yet, even in its filthy state, Telide could tell that the droid was a high-end model that was more suited for a tower elite’s high-rise condo than a scrapyard.
What then, had transpired to see such an advanced synthetic being assigned such an ignoble fate?
The question, whatever its answer, was casually entertained for a few moments before being relegated to the back of the scavenger’s mind. In truth, Telide cared little for the droid itself—only what he could get out of it. Whether that was money, valuable components, or something else that might allow him to finally get off of the polluted wasteworld that was Nar Vaadu. To that end, the scavenger quickly wrapped the droid in a large cloth bag so as to conceal it from view. All the while, he casted extended glances around the immediate vicinity, to make sure that none of the other scavengers saw his find. It would not do to have someone attempt to steal the droid from him or take credit for the find.
Once that was done, Telide filled his net bags with random bits of junk and scrap haphazardly collected from the area. All largely worthless pieces of electronic waste that would serve to prevent others from taking a second glance at his scrap haul. Then, after placing the net bags over the cloth sack with the droid inside, he went for his cargo speeder bike. Upon his return, he loaded up and secured his cargo—first the cloth sack with the droid inside, then the net bags placed over it.
A few moments later, Telide was gone. The rest of his day would be spent away from the scrapyard, in his makeshift home on the outskirts.
Voontara Space Port, Nar Vaadu
Three Days Later
Telide had worked for three days, not just on the droid itself, but also on preparations to leave Nar Vaddu for good. While going over the droid’s systems, he had found a component inside its chassis worth more credits he had earned over two full years of salvaging—a cold ionization fusion core, undamaged and in full working order. After extracting the core and replacing it with a standard battery, Telide had sold the droid off to a cartel buyer who was none the wiser, leaving him with more than enough credits to purchase a ticket off-world. Later on, the now ex-scavenger intended to sell the fusion core on the black market. The yield from the sale would allow him to live comfortably for some time.
And so, as Telide wheeled his bags onto the passenger shuttle, he presented his ticket to the boarding agent with a muted expression of pride borne across his masked features.
After two years of scrapyard hell, he was finally free.
Droid Maintenance Level, Scrap Master’s Palace, Nar Vaadu
“Almighty Scrap Master, this is the HRD that was procured by one of the quartermasters.” The LE-series repair droid spoke in a flat, mechanical tone as it gestured towards the Scion unit laying on the nearby repair table. “The unit was found by a scavenger in the scrapyards outside of the city.” The repair droid continued. “Evidently, it has undergone extensive refurbishment.” Indeed, the once befouled, degraded synthskin was clean and fully intact, revealing features that were equal parts jarring and flawless.
“However, I am told that the original power source was damaged beyond repair and replaced with a new one. I recommend a thorough analysis of the droid’s systems before putting it into service, to see if it can still perform as rated.” The repair droid then nodded to its subordinate astromech, which beeped in response before moving up to the side of the table.
“With your permission, I would like to begin activation of the unit, Your Excellency.”
Keg'rala the Hutt
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