The Coming Tide

[Northwood Galaxy]

"What's your price?" Jade nearly snapped, laying a foot on a credit that landed near her foot. "Last time someone made me that offer, they tried to end my life!"

She finally turned, as if she could face him. While she was blind, there was still a fire in her eyes.


The fire to survive.


(Lol, don't mind Jade. )

 

[Sya Latner]

Suddenly, a young teenager saw what was going on. He ran into there and watched as Jade laid the credit down. He'd hold on to one of the poles, and clench his hands tight on that pole. He did not want to be seen, not even noticed. He watched them.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Jade The Rogue"],

"Your time and your future."

The figure answered in a riddle,

"Come under my employ and you will live in comfort, you will be trained under me and my associates, and in turn you will fight alongside us until our dissolution or my death."

The hand reached out towards her, the silvery pale metal surface of the hand would reveal itself as the organic biot on it pulled back, it stretched out to Jade in an offer of a hand-shake, her Force sight would be also able to have a better look at the hand now that its Force-resistant layer pulled away, if Jade was proficient at spotting inorganic beings through the Force,

"If I wanted to kill you, one of us would be dead already. Do we have a deal, child?"



[member="Sya Latner"],

Just as the droid made his offer to Jade a thunder clashed and lightning split the sky apart overhead, causing a flash of light that for a split second illuminated the alley and Sya could see the brief image of a tall hunched figure wrapped tightly in black cloak, offering its hand to the young woman.

He could also see its pale-light faceplate or mask, although in the brief look he would probably be unable to determine whether it was made out of some sort of metal or bone.

Sya could also swear that there was movement in rafters that he could see by the corner of his eyes, just out of his vision, when he would look however, there would be nothing there.



[member="Six-O"],

As the portly organic ran away from Six's hostile behavior its quick patter of feet splashed across a nearby puddle, the dirty water splattering out and suddenly stopping in the air, lingering on some invisible object before the droplets slowly slithered down to the ground.

A pair of red glowing eyes flickered to life behind Six like a streetlight igniting, as a monotone reached out to him across the alley.

"Are you enjoying the show?"

If Six was able to register voice of the other maybe-perhaps-Shard, it was the same as this being's, which materialized to him as it dropped the stealth field of its chameleon cloak, its heat and energy signatures forming to Six's sensors as well. This being was a silver-grey colored HK droids, although it had a look of some older models, it was clear that its body was forged somewhat recently. Only its faceplate was visible to Six, the rest of him was hidden underneath a cloak that wrapped around it tightly, like wings of a bat, although unlike the being speaking to the young girl, it was grey, not black.

 

[Six-O]

It was no easy task to evade and slither by Six-O, but in doing so [member="HK-36"] revealed a glaring weakness in the aged machine--his rear. Since his earliest days he had operated with three-hundred and sixty degree radial vision. So while hood sat over spiked dome, obscuring his rear sensors, it left his navigation of the world around him unstable. He'd tried for centuries to correct this flaw, but the code was so intertwined with his original operating systems that it was nigh impossible to fix without cataclysmal systems malfunction. Poetically funny, perhaps. His original purpose was to design, refine and improve all facets of life and thing. But he could not escape the dastardly and quite frankly, amateur, coding of the Aratech Repulsor Company Chief Scientist.

A counter-measure that was supposed to strand the Droid in that Repulsor-Globe Chassis. It clearly was not enough. But perfection had yet still eluded him.

First measure of business, the hood came down. Those scorching claws burning another pair of fresh holes clear through the rapidly dampening hood. Small beadlets of rain water--which, Six-O mused in the time between seconds. Was actually humidity run off from higher up in the Cityscape. Steam bathing steel and duracrete ceaselessly from below only to return down every few hours. He'd nourished a woman some time ago on a diet of that very water, curious as to whether latent bacteria that may be present could be weaponized in to a cheap BioToy. Unfortunately it took two months for the sickness to take her, his inspection of the corpse after could neither prove nor deny whether she had died from the bacilli rotting her stomach and organs, or the blunt blow to her skull that she received for trying to deny her ration. It was also worth noting the lightning had actually come from a fractured power coupling cable that hung precariously between two buildings. In a moment another boom, and fluorescent flash would ignite their dim stretch of street----sizzling away to nothingness as they stroked his terrifying gripping mechanisms.

Six-O about faced mechanically, pristine, his rather excessive cache of weapons clanking against him. He'd heard the conversation down the street, he knew the words Three-Six had spoken to [member="Jade The Rogue"]. It only furthered his calculations that what he was dealing with here was a Shard.

Six-O hated Shards!

"Shard. . . " The IG-Model modulated with disdain, they had been the first his vocabulator had uttered in quite a stretch of years.

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade shook her head. "I will never join you." She sneered. "I don't look to kill for a living."

With that, she turned to walk away from the droid.

 

[Sya Latner]

Sya didn't know if HK-36 was helping her or not. If she was in trouble and had to help, he knew he was to weak to take HK-36 on. He walked a step closer to see what was really going on, but tripped and stumbled to Six-0's feet. He panicked for a split second, and took three steps back from Six-0.

"S-sorry, sir- I mean droid."

He didn't know what to do.

 

[SupaSanic12]

(wrong account)

 

[HK-36]

[member="Jade The Rogue"],

"Good, then you are what I am looking for."

The droid reached to grab the hilt of his lightsaber, pulling the simple hilt out of the confines of his black cloak. One of his long six fingers pressed up against the saber's button and pressed it in,

BWWWWWWWWMMMMMMM,

The sound of a lightsaber plasma blade activating pierced the alley as a pure white sword erupted from the old hilt. It washed over them in brilliant light, casting away the shadows that cloaked the machine's presence, revealing his form, tall and slender, wrapped tightly in black cloak. Jade would be hit by the piercing presence of serenity and hope, it was the Aura of the Light Side radiating from the blade of a lightsaber that wielding Force-imbued Solari crystal. The twist was that the droid was a servant of the Light Side, and often worked alongside the Jedi,

"There is a difference between killing and fighting the Darkness."


[member="Six-O"], [member="Sya Latner"],

"Shard. . . "

The other droid cast aside his grey cloak enough to reveal a holstered magnetic revolver on one side of his hip and a hilt of a lightsaber hanging on the other. As the material of his cloak was pushed to his back the machine would also reveal that it was wearing a suit of armor over its metal body. Six-0 would be probably able to notice old Protectorate markings on the suit, unless he was inactive around that time then popped around again after the Protectorate dissolved, and never bothered to read up on the Galactic History during that period.

"I am so much more than just a Shard. Or a puppet. Or a slave."

As Sya fell down to Six's feet by accident the other droid raised his hands in ready position just in case the boy would get in trouble, the Greycloak's hands were covered in a fleshy looking surface of the Grav Gloves,

"I am a free droid, ascended above my base programming, master of my own path."

The HK droid held the current position, there was no need to escalate the situation more than it already did,

"Can you say the same?"

((Just heads up, I'll be gone away from posting for the next day, went on a trip with friends))

 

[Six-O]

Oh, to which cruel God's did [member="Sya Latner"] owe his debt of pain to? His soft body staggered to ground, splashing quietly at the feet of he, the great, the magnificent, the cruel, Six-O. The one true King of Kings. The Droid twitched once, a fog of static shivering through his view-screens. In that brief moment of haze and snow he at once saw the terrible fate of this lower creature.

A song cascade across his sensors, a melody of terror to witness his nightmare to.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJUaCAIxSk4[/youtube]

At his feet is where this weak creature belonged, imploring his mercy. But none would come. No, none at all. From bone would flesh and muscle be peeled. From sockets would eyes be snatched. From jaw, teeth collected. From skull, his brain harvested. To jar and case the Droid would keep them. Kept functioning with electrodes and the power of Science so this fetid varmint could witness his ruination for all eternity.

His skin tanned to leather, Six-O would parade through street and Galaxy for all time. [member="Sya Latner"] his Cloak of triumph. Cleaned and polished, he would continue, his jarred pet of poor, young, Sya begrudged to watch from that horrible prison until that skin shroud would finally rot and fester. But still yet, the gray matter that once stumbled so carelessly to the feet of it's superior would persist. Confined pet, his glass poked and prodded endlessly. Until Stars went dim and planets became but dust and rubble.

Together he, and his new God, Six-O, forever until the Universe would cease to be. Forever in to the great dark and beyond. Oh such cruelty would this puppet of flesh and regret endure.

Then not but a tick of time later, Six-O, with Cloak now gravid with Underlevel Rain snapped open a claw and extended it to [member="Sya Latner"]. His sensors drinking in every movement and marking on [member="HK-36"] all at once. Data Screens of information racing with cross-references and checks. IGa-60 took in everything. Posture, demeanor, chassis tattoos, weapons and words. Making particular note of the facial plate shape and resemblance to the deadly Karabbac of Kalee.

A free droid.

Six-O found him strange.

"I am." A simple reply.

The two droids came from very different backgrounds. The injured cable sparked again, showering the teary surroundings in it's blue glow as another boom rumbled the corridor like mighty thunder.

Different as they may be, when a being such as they ran in to each other. It warranted investigation. Droids could be highly covetous of fellow Clockworks that were potentially more advanced than they.

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

Jade smirked and turned. "The Jedi looking for me? I am neural, you need both sides."

Her energy dropped and she nearly collapsed. she was getting force sick again.

She had to stay strong though, Jade had no clue what the droid wanted.


Not yet anyways.

 

[Sya Latner]

Sya stayed still. He did not speak. He did not move. He thought to himself. A free droid? What did that even mean? He still had so much to learn.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Jade The Rogue"],

"Not just the Jedi. There are many orders allied behind their banner who wish to see this Galaxy free from the scourge of the Sith. We wish to see the lives of the innocent preserved rather than put at risk by the Sith and their lackeys. I represent the order of the Iron Knights, but there are other, those who follow the ancient Je'daii traditions, the Shapers of Kro Var, the Eldori Angelii, the Jensaarai, some of us believe that one has to tap into both the darkness and the light within them to truly understand the nature of the Force."

The droid twirled the white-blade lightsaber in his hand casually as Jade's energy left her and she was on the verge of the collapsing, deactivating the energy sword with a familiar,

WHHHHHHHHM,

As he stepped closer towards her, looming over her,

"I perceive the Force and its will through other means still, you could consider me the true definition of neutrality within it, as I am a being outside of the Force's great ocean. You are trained, child, trained enough to wield a lighsaber, but there is still much to learn about the Force. Come with me, and we will cloth you, we will teach you, we will pay you, if you will join our cause against the Sith and their philosophy of destruction and despair."


[member="Six-O"], [member="Sya Latner"],

"Yet you wallow in your own filth, stealing the bodies from your own kin to survive, and lashing out at any who come near like a mad animal while I thrive among the organics, as their equal, and their leader."

As Six reached out his foul glowing claws towards Sya so did the Greycloak extend his hand out towards Six, only two of his fingers extended out, others clutched, as if making a shape of a pistol as he aimed it towards Six's elbow,

"Let this organic go."

The droid half warned Six, half gave him an order as he activated one of his Grav Gloves. A gravity anomaly was created in Six's elbow, as his arm extended out towards Sya, HK would attempt to subtly tugging through telekinesis on the wiring and mechanical muscles, rotors of Six's limb, knowing about the other droid's anatomy only what his scans could tell him from the proximity. HK would try to make Six's arm feel heavier, more sluggish with every inch he moved it closer to Sya, slowly moving his two fingers down towards the ground, and so he would attempt to make Six's rotors lock and fail so that his arm would follow the movement of HK's fingers and fall to hang limply at Six's side or simply stop just a couple of inches away from Sya.

"I have found the most efficient way to achieve maximum effectiveness at relations with organics in order to improve the standing of droids to the point of where they choose to follow our commands willingly, to the point they see us as equals. To the point where they shared with me knowledge never possessed by an other droid."

HK extended his other hand out towards Six threateningly,

"I do not want to deactivate you, see the logic in adopting my protocols and algorithms to improve your own situation, but if you decide to remain in this path of wanton violence, murder, and destruction, I will utilize the full extend of my tricks and powers to neutralize you."

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

"I too tap into both the light and dark." Jade all but panted. "However, fellow force user, forgive me for being wary."

Her force sight swirled dizzily around her as she fought to remain focused.

 

[Six-O]

It was hard to tell at first, in that crown of terror that was his metal sensor dome, if Six-O would in fact take heed to the subtle, passive-aggressive threat of this Droid before him. Whether he could in fact deactivate the IG-Model was the real question. A ventured guess could claim that a positive assessment, given the status and gear allotted to @HK-36. But still. There was a moment. A moment that, for [member="Sya Latner"] must have felt an eternity.

If only he actually knew what an eternity was.

That claw hand snapped and sang of devilish anticipation. The rotors of his mechanical elbow began to grind, smoke wafting from joint. His arm was immobile, the source was obvious. Your existence cannot stretch over four thousand years and leave you as naive as a teenage meat sack of an organic.

But how could Six-O proceed?

He was not good. But he did understand one thing.

A contract, an alliance, so to speak.

That silence seemed to stretch on in perpetuum. Partly because IGa-60 did not fancy himself a Droid. He did not care to co-inhabit this Galaxy with Organics. This Galaxy belong to him, and those like him. Those removed from the Organic Condition. Those outside of time, and decay. Those that would wander this Galaxy until the Great Darkness swallowed it whole.

Even then, they would strive on further.

Then finally, after an infinity of mulling it over, the Droid spoke once more. A single word, HK-36 undoubtedly would understand. There once must have been a day when he too lived outside of society. A tool for destruction, deactivation, memory wipe, or restrainer bolt lurking around every corner you rounded. Modulating words became redundant. Let the flesh rags think you simple.

"An. . . alliance?"

 

[HK-36]

[member="Jade The Rogue"],

"It is natural to be wary."

The machine retorted to her as it stepped closer still,

"Come, child, it is cold and damp here, let us go speak in a more comfortable place. You seem tired."

HK referenced to her straining to keep focus on the situation as her strength begun to leave her. At least the droid was not planning on attacking her, in her current state it would have probably been a quick fight.


[member="Six-O"],

"You expect me to ally myself with you when it seems more logical to simply crush your databanks and pull your memory unit out of your head where you stand to neutralize such a volatile creature?"

The other droid quipped as he kept his hand extended out towards Six, although the gravitational manipulation ceased now that the IG's rotors seemed to have been damaged or lock, at least temporarily,

"If you want to come into my allegiance you will have to serve me first and accept my commands, see where your calculations went wrong and how I achieved my prosperity."

HK put down his statement, watching over Six vigilantly in case the IG was merely pretending and was ready to lash out at moment's notice,

"How I learned to wield the power I have over you."

Although the two droids were the same age, HK seemed to establish a stronger foothold, have more influential presence, at least in the current Galactic Age, he was not very worried about this feral lesser being conducting violence against him, the machine found a key to immortality, even by droids' ageless standards, and even then there was little Six would be able to do to undermine HK's position without the lightsaber-wielding droid noticing. Or so he thought at least, his views were often rather egocentric, with plenty delusions of even grander grandeur.

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

"I... will... join you..." Jade shivered as she was very close to losing the battle to stay awake.

 

[Six-O]

Self-adoration, it was a condition that even Six-O found himself plagued with, perhaps it was a mutuality of mind shared by all Droids that had come so far. But, really, how far had Three-Six come? Six-O had never received a wipe of his memory, it was, in fact, one continuous reel of knowledge that started with the spark that birthed his personality some years after his service on Attahox began.

The glow of his Sensors dimmed, it was the equivalent of an organic eye squint when reviled by mockery or criticism.

The words did make Six-O ponder, deep, and heavy did the IG-Model inhale over his circuits. Calculating every minute and infinitesimal detail of his superior. He could tell what this Droid thought of him, he could tell what this Droid thought of itself. With penetrating clarity, it was obvious [member="HK-36"] may have come far. But he in no way outdistanced IGa-60 as cleanly as he believed himself to.

A greater arsenal and stronger armor was not a harbinger of finer distinguish and exception. If anything, relying on his more elevated upgrades made him many, many times the weaker. Convenience and luxury merely begets laziness and a lesser intellect for critical problem solving.

But no matter the situation, or artificial feelings he may weave over his processors. Three-Six spoke from a position that the IG Droid could not resist. Slave to his programming, in his own right. He needed to improve, he needed to adjust and become more.

Constantly.

"Then with you, I ally myself. Teach me of your path." He modulated obediently, elbow rotors snapping with grinding gears as his arm tucked back to side, and he took a knee before [member="HK-36"].

 

[Sya Latner]

He took 6 steps back, deciding to leave the conversation... for now...
Back out Sya went, until he went somewhere, where they couldn't see him. He took out a telescope and looked at them through it.

 

[HK-36]

[member="Jade The Rogue"],

((Sorry for the pause, I got super busy with college and rebellion my faction was doing))

"Good."

The droid sounded out as Jade agreed to go with him, the mechanical being extended its hand out to her to help her up, asking her,

"Have you been to Abregado system before?"

The crimson glow of the machine's eyes would wash over her as he watched her still trying to stay awake,

"Because that will be where your new training and career begins."


[member="Six-O"], [member="Sya Latner"],

"Then you will come with me to the kingdom of fortune and glory I built for myself and other machines."

The Greycloak lowered its arms and hid them back underneath the chameleon cloak, letting the fabric wrap around him again as Sya managed to get away safely and Six agreed on the terms of the allegiance.

The droid stepped closer, lifting its foot to deliver a quick snap-kick aimed at Six's elbow, the kick would unlock his joints, allowing him to move them again as it set back his mechanical muscles and bones back into rightful place.

"We will go to Abregado system, there your training will begin, there will be your new home."

The other machine would watch Six for a second, letting the droid get back into his range of motions and stand up,

"Welcome to the Alliance."

 

[Northwood Galaxy]

"Charming...." Jade barely whispered as all went silent.