The cook, the thief, his droid, her maker

[Morgan Redeaux]

Morgan Redeaux sat at her small kitchen table in her studio apartment in Coruscant, rebooting her new Z2 Servant Droid. She had also just purchased a Z1 Assistant Droid from Hegemonic Automatons for her employer, a Cathar defense lawyer named Max Rumor. As a signing bonus for landing a new client, he let her keep the Z2 Servant Droid for her personal use. The Z1 was already shipped off to the Coruscant branch of Rumor, Wolf & Funk to begin cleaning up the offices and setting up the data storage and networking systems. And the HRD female would now begin to find something for her very first servant droid to do. When she had lived with her previous master, Bartho Redeaux in his compound - well, it really was a fortress when she thought back on it - there were multitudes of servant and worker droids but none that she had been in direct control of.

“There,” she said inspecting her new friend. “I will call you Zee-too or do you prefer a name? Like Tiberius. That's masculine sounding."

The servant droid whirred to life and said in a male robotic voice, “Zee-too is fine, Ms. Redeaux.”

“Good,” she said, clasping her hands. “Now what can I have you do first?"

“How about I cook something for your guests."

“Oh I'm afraid I have no guests coming over." She looked around to see what else Zee-too but her apartment was already spotless.

“Why don’t we watch some Holoshows,” she said, walking a few paces to the living room and sitting on the love seat. She patted the matching chair and Zee-Too sat down as well. She turned to a live broadcast from the Coruscant Convention Center were the techno union was hosting a huge Droid Expo and Auction.

“Now this is more like it," Morgan said to Zee-Too and he made an appreciative electronic noise. She felt a little guilty she wasn't using the droid for what he was built but no matter. There was plenty of time for work later.

A buzz at her door broke through the clamor of the show. The security camera for her apartment was wired to a chip in her circuitry, and through her artificial retinas she was able to see who was there without going to the door.

There were two droids, model type Z65 Patrol Droids standing outside. Her heart leapt in her throat at the sight of them. Even though she had witnessed - with those same artificial retinas - her previous buyer and master, businessman Bartho Redeaux killed dead with a blaster bolt to his temple, she knew that the executor of his will, cronies or anyone else who knew her from the Coruscanti compound would possibly come to retrieve her some day. She was Bartho's property, a valuable and rare droid, although she didn’t actually know how much she was worth because her manufacturing information was not traceable, nor lived anywhere in her main memory chip. She was curious yes, and though a blackmarket engineer could retrieve it, she honestly didn’t want the Underworld scum tinkering around in her wiring.

She began to reach for a small Ion blaster but then noticed the droids also carried Ion blasters, much larger ones. Even if they both fired at the same time, at least one of the droids would still be operational after the first round of fire.

"Wait here, Zee-too."

She stood and answered the door, Ion Blasters barrels staring back at her.

"Okay, let's go," she said knowingly.

*********​

Location: Mayferria, Unknown Regions

After a short hyperspace journey and shuttle ride, the three droids landed in a public docking bay on the planet of Mayferria. Before exiting the droids affixed a restraining bolt on the HRD which she hesitantly complied with. It was metal and black, resembling a shock collar and attached to a nearly imperceptible panel on the nape of her neck.

"Where are we going?" she asked. The restraining bolt so far had not rendered her incapable of speech.

The droids didn't answer and marched her to a bullet train station and they boarded silently.

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

"Well now I have two Suns in my eyes." Lanax stood up and looked at the 16th rearranging of his office. He looked at the large window and sighed. "Ok guys, let's return to having the dish in from of the window with my back to it. It looks like that is the best we are going to get." The droids then began rearranging the office once more. Once they were done, Lanax sighed and through his hands up, he would just get a better office later. He then left his office and journeyed to his workshop.

He arrived to his office and returned to working in a machine he would need to craft a new metal.

--------------------------------------

The bullet train came into the station where two protocol droids were there to greet the guest, "We will be taking Miss. Morgan from here." Once they were heading towards, the gold product line droid spoke once again, "Ma am, my master woul like to apologize for the previous droids and any behavior they may have used on you. There wasn't enough time to turn down their aggressive dial before calling on you, was your trip here comfortable?"


[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

"Well thank you," Morgan answered as the protocol droids inquired of her welfare. These droids were considerably more gentle with her and she warmed to them right away. They even walked side by side with her rather than grabbing her arm to keep her close like the earlier patrol droids had. Still the restraining bolt was securely around her neck and either one of the protocol droids or this "master" had the remote control caller.

"My trip was a little inconvenient but otherwise uneventful," the HRD admitted. "And of course it would be more comfortable if this contraption was off my neck." She clutched at the restraining bolt with one hand, more to demonstrate how it was leaving a mark on her fair synthskin.

"Who is your master, may I ask?"

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

The silver protocal droid looked at the female humaniod droid in wonder and then in a form only can be described as a droid laughing came to surface. "I believe those droids need some work and thought they were giving you a gift like jewelry." The gold droid lifted a hand and a key came out to take off the collar, "Seems it isn't even active, our apologizes. Our master commanded us to tell you nothing about him or else it will be harder for him to explain things to you. All you need to know is you have met before." The droids led her to a building and after linking to the door it opened for them and they led her down into the workshop where a man in a black, English suit was welding on a contraption bigger than a human and unaware of the guests present. The gold droid approached the master, "Sir, Miss. Morgan has arrived." There was no change in behavior from the man as if nothing was said. The silver droid spoke matter of fatally to the woman, "He gets very focused in his work, may be some time before he notices we are here."

[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

Morgan finally smiled as the restraining bolt was removed from her neck. She gave a huge sigh of relieved and for a short moment let her guard down. The moment didn't last long - her past mistreatment wouldn't allow that - but she did feel less apprehensive about the whole trip to Mayferria.

When the silver protocol droid said she had met their master before, the HRD still wondered was this a colleague of Bartho Redeaux's? Her programming still held all of Mr. Redeaux's details, so as she followed the droid guides, she internally scanned her systems for anything that mentioned Mayferria and could find nothing relevant. Sure he had stray contacts all over the galaxy but no one notable came up in his contacts. Unless... no, it couldn't be, she thought and pushed away that hopeful feeling. Hope was for those ever irrational humans.

And finally she was ushered into a workroom of sorts where a young man in a dapper, elegantly tailored black suit was bending over, engineering a large device. He was so engrossed in his work and she didn't want to disturb him, so Morgan waited patiently for a few minutes. Finally when enough time had passed she spoke up: "Hello, Sir. I'm MR-X97. You wanted to see me?"

Perhaps he would react more to her model number rather than her name.

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

What Lanax needed and why he had step up shop on Mayferria was to gain Ionite. It was a rare material that was immune to negative and positive charges. It was perfect to repulse lighting and bypass shields which was highly sought after. The problem, however, was amount and demand and the rare supply could not last with his needs. The giant machine he was working on was a smelter and fusion device that could combine and in a large amount. What he needed was a common metal that could harness the power of Ionite and not delude it, but he wasn't sure what metal would work for this. He finished his welding and put it down standing up and getting ready to move to the other side when he noticed he wasn't alone. He noticed the lady present and grabbed a rag to clean his hands as he walked over to her, "Ah Morgan, glad you could make it, was the trip pleasant?" The 35 year old man put out his hand to greet the woman with a warm smile and friendly handshake.

[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

"The trip was fine, Sir," she answered shaking his hand in return. "But I wouldn't mind knowing why I'm here." It was an unusual request as MR-X97 was programmed to be a helpful attendant with little expectation of her own. But two years was plenty of time for her metaprogramming to start putting her needs before others.

She glanced behind him at the machine, inspecting its electronic parts and longing to put her slender fingers on the console so she could find out more about what it did. She was not equipped with the same repairing tools as an astromech droid but she knew she could at least slice into its rudimentary mainframe. Morgan pushed the curiosity over the device's nature away for a moment. She looked at the engineer in the black suit.

"What is your name? And what do you want with me?" she asked getting right to the point.

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

"Lanax Grayson at your service, as to who I am you would not know as I erased all memory of me when you were sold, but most would call me your maker, but seeing as I made you closest a droid can get to human, father seems more appropriate." Lanax smiled at the woman before him and then to be a tease he ruffled her hair at the mention of the word father. He then walked over to a table motioning for her to join. "The daft man who commissioned your creation sighed a contract that if he should perish without a next of kin you would return to me. My tech is special and I rather it not it just fall into a random person's hands." Lanax grabbed his sonic screwdriver, a device he used to program droids without opening them up to do so among other things. "One thing about you I am very proud of is your mind, I used the most advanced version of AI possible that has the ability to evolve over time. Sadly, that daft man wanted you as a symbol servant so right now your AI is limited so if you don't mind I would like to unlock your mind and then things will become clear. I made you to be human, one if a kind really. You are more of a cyborg AI, just without the human bits." Lanax smiled as he spun the sonic screwdriver in his hand.

[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

Maker, father, developer... this was a little too much information for the HRD droid, especially when Mr. Grayson actually touched her, running his hands through her hair. This was the man who had created her with his own deft fingers. He had assembled her or at least designed the blueprint for assembly. Right now she didn't know whether to pull away or to pull his hand closer to her. So Morgan Redeaux stood very still and said nothing. This must be what orphans feel like when they finally find their birth parents, she thought. Perhaps father was the most precise description for her relationship with Mr. Grayson after all.

Morgan sat down at the table when asked. She watched him carefully her software processing every word. "Most of Mr. Redeaux household were executed by a rival CEO," she said. "Except for me. I suppose I shouldn't have gone so rogue," she admitted. "But without knowing who you were and not wanting to go back to that Coruscanti compound... I would have been reprogrammed or decommissioned or at the very worst incinerated. I hope you understand why I fled and was makerless for so long."

When Mr. Grayson admitted that he wanted her to be human she was both excited and fearful. "While unlocking my mind sounds tempting, what does that even entail? And why would I want to be human anyway?"

Morgan stared back at Mr. Grayson with her curious artificial eyes, trying to figure out this enigmatic droid engineer's intentions.

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

"Human? Ah silly Morgan, you are not a weak human. I see you as an Apex. Your former master, owner, employer or whatever you saw him as paid me a lot and I mean a lot. I built you and this place on his money. No, I made you to be more than what he wanted to be so I locked away most of your functions. Basically, for a lack of better words, you could match a force user... Well without the force of course, but your body and mind are powerful. You are my masterpiece." Lanax sat at the table across from her and listened some more and then laughed, "Sweetie, you have nothing to apologize for, I gave you free will even though must of that is locked away because of his needs. If you want to stay and assist me you may, if you want to leave and live a different life, it is all your choice. I am merely offering to reveal what I made you to be and then you can go from there." Lanax was a soft and caring type, almost too much so, but his words were not deception and were truth in the fullest.


[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

So far Mr. Grayson’s demeanor was friendly and welcoming and he certainly had enough insights into her programming that she began to trust him. He did not appear cruel or mercurial as Mr. Redeaux had been for the last two years of her existence. And even after forcing her to come here, Lanax Grayson was promising her a life of freedom, the theory of which honestly was a foreign concept to her to begin with.The more her artificial mind accepted her metaprogramming, the more she may long for it, but at this point in her droid life, she longed for normalcy. A master who valued her, didn’t lock her away from the world, didn’t physically and psychologically abuse her.

How could she say no to the promise of unlocking something deep and buried inside of her circuitry? Something which had lay dormant in there for the entire two years of her life. Skills and attributes only Lanax Grayson had intimate knowledge of.

She titled her head, smiled and said: “Okay, I’m ready then. Please unlock me, Mr. Grayson.”

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

Lanak Grayson spun his screwdriver and then pointed it at her face and turned it on. A blue light emited from it with a buzzing sound. Just as quickly as it began, it ended. "Se? No pain, but I must warn you it maybe hard at first. I made you with not only free will, but emotions and you will be feeling them in waves much like hormones so it will be like being a teenager." Lanax laughed a little to himself, "I guess it will be a mix of fun and torture. Being human is not easy." Lanax stood up and returned to his machine. "Now you can chose whether to stay or go, but it is up to you. If you want to stay, I could use some help with this."

[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

Slightly apprehensive when Mr. Grayson pointed the sonic screwdriver at her face, she closed her eyes and clenched her fist in anticipation. But he was right - the whole thing was over as soon as it started.

Morgan listened to Grayson explain her unlocked attributes. Then she went over to the machine he needed help with and began to inspect its console. She turned back towards the doctor.

"Mr. Grayon... Master Grayson," she corrected. "When will I start feeling these emotions?" She didn't feel anything just yet and wasn't sure what to expect. She had no exposure to teenagers in her short life and couldn't even begin to know what kind of "hormones" they had and what those actually felt like.

[member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Break]

Break was not too far away his face covered by his hood he was in a particularly bad mood. He was made to stay outside per orders of his new employer. A Master, [member="Lanax Grayson"] . He wasn't necessarily mad about being ordered to stay outside as per reason why, because there really wasn't one.

"Master Lanax, am I clear to enter the building yet?

[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

"Hard to say when honestly, you are the first I have ever made, oh my, speaking of which. [member="Break"], come on in. Sorry I forgot about you, I was using an EMP in here so I did not want you to be effected. Break, meet Morgan, Morgan, Break. Now that that is out of the way. What we have here is a fustian smelter, are you two familiar with Ionite? Let me explain if you aren't, Ionite is a rare metal. One of the moons here has a lot of it, but being so rare it will run out of we mass produce with it. My theory is it can be combined in a low quantity with more common metals that share similar properties. If we can do this we can provide the Galaxy with droids, starships and most other things that can literally bypass shields or withstand lightning or electrical damage. Just a matter of how." Lanax looked at the machine in a curious, almost questioning way. He wasn't sure what kind of metal would do this, but had a Smuggler picking up many different kinds. "Also, no Mr. Grayson or master stuff when it is just us. In public, Mr. Grayson, but only to keep up appearances."

[member="Break"]
[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Morgan Redeaux]

“Hello Break. Its good to meet you."

Morgan turned to her Master and answered, “Of course, Mr. Grayson. Ionite is a compound found primarily on Bandomeer but it can be found in other pockets around the Outer Rim and Wild Space. It’s very likely that it has already been mined to depletion in the Core Worlds but one never knows. Pure Ionite when manufactured can be used in items which are very dangerous to anything with electronics including droids. Unless as you suggest, it is combined with other metals that will negate its unfavorable effects.”

As she watched the doctor, lost in his own fascination for the fustian smelter, she thought again of what attributes he had unlocked in her programming. She didn’t feel like a teenager yet. She knew teenagers were angry, at times defiant. Was she going to be rebellious? Is that what he meant?

To distract herself from these thoughts, she turned to Break and asked, “You’re an HRD too I see. When were you first manufactured?”

[member="Break"] [member="Lanax Grayson"]

 

[Break]

"Understood, now if j may further your research with a question before my suggestion. The alloy you are creating, it is only meant for Droids and ships? If so for the purpose of Droid armor and exoskeletons, I would suggest a lead base laced with Ionite and then coated with a rubber spray. "

Break had extensive work already done in this before he had arrived. And had actual experience in battle being attacked by both Jedi and Sith. (A great thing Break had always protected his anonymity.)

"The lead Base will protect from EMP damage as well as make up most of the armor, however the rubber coating will resist most shock damage. I would also run some sort of metal to attract electric damage to a focused point running along the extremities to a battery running along the spine. This could power the armor much like an exoskeleton since it will be very heavy."

Break began to look around the place admiring the room.

"Nice diggs."

He said calmly almost as if his bar age of words had never happened.

[member="Lanax Grayson"] [member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Break]

He turned and looked at Morgan inspecting her.
"Nice to meet you as well my lady."
He spoke calmly he noticed how normal she looked. It had been his first time meeting another HRD.

[member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Zac Grayson]

"Very good Morgan, but what if we harnessed this power and it gave our droids and techs an advantage over other company droids?" Lanax turned his attention to Break and thought for a while after Break spoke. "Genius, my only concern is weight as lead is heavy and this sounds extensive so this sounds perfect for heavy ships or droids, but light modals we don't want to waste precious weight on the armor plating. Maybe if we mix lead into the mixture? If we use multiple metals in our new metal we should get something that can do what the metals do with half the weight. We can also make our wires with a led coating which could still make the same effrect I would assume." Lanax walked over to a desk and grabbed a ingot of Lead to give to Break so he could see the weight it would give.


[member="Break"] [member="Morgan Redeaux"]

 

[Break]

Break felt the weight of the ingot. The weight wasn't anything to him however a regular droid would probably be encumbered.

"That my good friend, is why I mentioned a power pack going along the spine."

Break removed his sapphire blue robes to show his Zodiac armor.

"This armor was created by a friend of mine, and was created to absorb blaster fire and power the HUD. I see no reason why one could not power the armor itself to move....in fact why not go a step further and make the wearer stronger?"

Break put his robes back on and began looking at the other HRD

"I was created quite some time ago...deactivated stored in a Hutt collection and then reactivated by... a friend. "

[member="Lanax Grayson"] [member="Morgan Redeaux"]