Ask Geonosis Not All that Glitters is Gold

[BD 9]

It would be just another day on sandy, rocky Geonosis. Another day where the sun peeked through the hazy clouds, illuminating the great spires of the Geonosian civilization of a past era. Just another day, if it wasn't for the sound of intermittent ion blaster fire. And the soft patting of metal on sand. And rock.

BD-9 dodged another shot, darting to the side with the help of his jets. Being faster than his pursuers helped keep him out of harm's way for this long, but the lack of hiding places in the open fields meant limited choices of where to hide within the ancient caverns and underground tunnels. His pursuers also came prepared. It was not hard to figure out why: BD-9 understood galactic law well enough to know that he wouldn't match any criminal profile, so the reason had to be because he is a BD droid. Probably one of the last of his kind, by his own memory banks. That meant he is valuable, just like the treasure that he meant to search for on this planet.

Taking a chance with the underground tunnels was better than hiding outside, at the very least, and that was where BD-9 sprinted off to. He dodged another ion bolt, making a proverbial sigh of relief as the poorly lit room engulfed his small droid frame.

The three pursuers, at least the three that BD-9 detected, slowed as they approached the same opening. They grumbled a bit before turning on their spotlights and cautiously followed BD-9 into the underground network.

 

[Rizkacha]

Unfortunately for Riz'kacha, the cave that had been chosen to hide in by the little droid was the one that the padawan had chosen for some individual meditation and practice. Though at this point she had achieved her own gathering and had some practice with her powers, she was still quite inept when it came to controlling them. Something the Twi'lek had hoped to remedy by practicing in the otherwise seemingly abandoned cave system.

There were some distractions present, however. Creepy crawlies that preferred to dwell in the dark skittered around every now and then, but the Jedi did her best to tune them out. That was until she heard the distinctive sounds of crackling Ion weapons attempting to fire at something outside. Another distraction, she supposed. Wait- They seemed to be getting closer. Furrowing her brow and moving to a standing position, the woman ignited her golden blade for light and began to make her way towards the entrance.

 

[BD 9]

Patpatpatpatpat!

BD kept on zooming through the cavern as fast as his little legs could carry him. He worried: if he stopped to hide, his pursuers could hear his echoing steps disappear. But BD-9 could very well be running himself into a dead end. Why did this have to happen? There have always been good organics and bad organics, but the bad ones had generally stayed away. The last time BD-9 came anywhere close to bad organics was at Exegol and it was at Luculia's insistence that they go there, not the other way around!

I wasn't built for this... he quietly lamented. Of course, he knew that was only half true: running away from danger was exactly how BD-9 managed to last this long. But attempting some organic comfort helped calm his motivators as he turned the next corner. His infrared sensor, which guided him this far in the dark, is suddenly assaulted by brilliant light and audio sensor loaded from the spat of an igniting saber. A Jedi? Here?

// I'm saved! // BD-9 whistled as he legged the stretch between himself and the Twi'lek.

He quickly attached himself to her ankle with both feet and pressed his box-like head against the Jedi's shin, squeezing her as though his life depended on it (but not too tightly, since she's still only an organic). Even if the Jedi cannot understand Binary, which could be doubly so due to BD-9 using an older edition of the droid language from over 150 years ago, the gesture should hopefully be enough to tell the Jedi what's going on.

It did not take long for the droid collectors to catch up. They came around the corner with weapons ready, but quickly lowered them at the sight of the Jedi and her lightsaber.

"We're here for the droid. That's all," one of them told the Twi'lek, pointing a finger straight at BD-9. "Hand it over."

// Please don't... // BD-9 whirred sadly, looking up at the Jedi with lowered antennae. It looked almost like a puppy as it held the Twi'lek close.

 

[Rizkacha]

She certainly wasn't expecting for a BD unit to come sprinting out of the darkness. Her gaze followed it as it approached her, and she spread her legs slightly as it got close, expecting it to run past her. Instead, it seemed to start clinging to her. She raised her lightsaber up a bit to get a better look at it, and noted its body language. It was clearly a bit scared. Poor thing. She was about to speak to the droid to let it know that she understood it before she heard more noises. At the people rounding the corner, she took a defensive stance, holding the weapon out before her in both hands. She relaxed slightly as they lowered their weapons, and gave the little guy one more smile.

Then she heard their demands. There was no way the Jedi was going to do that. Especially not to these people. She gave the little droid a reassuring smile, before shifting her gaze to the scrappers and shaking her head, saber still in hand, "That is not going to happen. You clearly do not own this droid, and I do not believe you want to fight a Jedi with a lightsaber in close combat. I believe it would be advantageous for you to leave. I recommend backing down."

 

[BD 9]

The one who spoke looked bewildered by the Jedi's defiance. "Miss, you don't own the droid either. We've been going after it for quite a while now, so what gives you more rights over the droid than us?"

"It's not like we're going to sell it for scrap: BD droids are literal collector's items. They're worth hundreds of millions. We could use that kind of money," the hunter tried to reason with the Jedi.

They clearly were not looking for unnecessary trouble, but still determined to claim their prize. BD-9 deduced, from the tone of their voice, that they were truly on financially rough times. But he could not allow himself to be captured and taken by these ruffians.

BD-9 gave another sad whirr as he detached himself from the Twi'lek's ankle, but kept the Jedi in between himself and the three hunters. He peeked around at the hunters and analyzed their emotional states. The one doing the talking seemed calm, if a bit frustrated by the turn of events. The second seemed a little nervous by the lightsaber and kept a tighter grip on his ion blaster. The third seemed purely annoyed by the exchange. That one is who to keep an eye on.

"We can't go back empty handed, Drerrik," the third hunter interjected. "We're already broke as it is. I'm making the call this time. You can blame me later."

He quickly raised his ion blaster and squeezed the trigger, firing the bolt straight at the Jedi.

 

[Rizkacha]

Riz'kacha listened to the first one who spoke with a determined look on her face, not seeming to budge in her belief despite their words, "Whether you intend to scrap this droid or not, you clearly do not own it and it very clearly does not want to be captured. I am only attempting to defend it from coming to harm." Her gaze shifted between the hunters after she spoke, trying to reach out with the slightly familiar sixth sense provided by her training to feel the emotions radiating off of them.

Calm, nervousness, and... Was that annoyance, or hostility? She couldn't tell. Her eyes shifted between the forms silhouetted by the golden hue of her blade while they sat in tense silence, before one inevitably broke it. The strange feeling she got from the third one seemed to compound as he spoke, giving Riz'kacha a pretty good idea of what might happen in the next few seconds.

The Jedi prepared herself to move mentally, judging the best way to avoid getting hit and turn the table on these people. They had ion blasters, for one, which wasn't a good thing for Jedi. Ionized shots couldn't be deflected with a lightsaber. There were three of them, secondly, which gave them an inherent advantage against her and the droid who may not even be able to fight. Her mind was made up.

As the man's finger squeezed around the trigger of his weapon, Riz'kacha dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the man's blast at the expense of her landing on the ground with a dull thump. As she landed, she quickly gestured to the droid with a hand in an attempt to tell it to follow her or otherwise stay close, before extinguishing her lightsaber with a high pitched zip. She had the force to guide her in darkness. These people didn't. She quickly rolled to the side, expecting them to shoot at where they had just seen her, before standing up and refocusing for just a moment before heading off further into the darkness.

 

[BD 9]

BD-9 instinctively ducked as the first shot blazed through the air. At the very least, he wasn't their intended target this time. He followed along as the Twi'lek gestured, staying close like gizka to its feed as more ion blasts splattered around the rocky passage. The second and third had started blasting, but the first just stood there in shock as the duo retreated deeper into the cave.

Their spotlights afforded them the opportunity to keep shooting, but only when the light was held steady enough to provide vision. The third let out a growl of frustration.

"Come on!" he said with a gesture.

Their voices blended with the echoing of the cave as the Jedi and the droid ran, making it nearly impossible to listen further. Their voices faded as it seemed that they returned their focus to finding BD-9.

They took a moment's reprieve by some spherical canisters that were too large for either of them to possibly carry. BD-9 took the time to size up his apparent savior. At first diagnosis, she appeared unhurt, but it never hurt to ask.

// Are you injured? // he whistled as he ran a second diagnosis, tilting his head as he walked a quick lap around her to make sure he didn't miss anything.

BD's personality matrix was buzzing with thoughts and questions, but only another droid could possibly process everything at once. He already recognized the sigil that marked these relics and the original purpose of those canisters.

 

[Rizkacha]

Having successfully escaped the pursuers for the time being, Riz'kacha rested a hand on one of the spherical containers as she got her breath. On hearing BD-9's whistling, she shook her head, lekku wiggling slightly as she responded, "I am unhurt, little one. Are you okay? Those scavengers certainly do not strike me as the friendly sort, and I can not imagine what other troubles you might have faced from other dangers." After a moment, the apprentice seemed to notice what her hand was resting on, "...What is this?"

She took a moment to listen for the scavengers once more, making sure they were still distant, before igniting her lightsaber once more and raising it up to better light up the room and expose the contents within. How the kriff did something like this get in here? Was that... That was the symbol of the old Empire. That didn't seem right. After a moment of thinking about what these containers might house, the woman looked to the little droid, "What is your name, little one? I am Riz'kacha, Jedi Apprentice of the new order. I should have introduced myself earlier, but the notion escaped me. I apologize."

 

[BD 9]

It was not until Riz'kacha brought up the thought that Beedee realized that he did not check his own operational status.

// Commencing self-diagnosis. // BD-9 reported, stiffening as his photoreceptor momentarily dimmed. Moments later, he provided his summary. // Self-diagnosis complete. All systems are operational! //

BD-9 spun about in place, as to demonstrate the authenticity of his report.

// No need to apologize, Riz'kacha! This unit is called BD-9; BD-9 is designed to provide physical and mental support for exploration missions and research projects! BD-9 would not have been able to troubleshoot a solution without Riz'kacha's help! //

The little droid hopped to the side and shined his spotlight on the canister. The lights that dotted Beedee's head flashed as the unit accessed his internal database.

// These containers date back approximately 140 years, during the reign of the Galactic Empire. According to the Free World Alliance's official record, Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered the deployment of a poison gas, which resulted in the extinction of the Geonosians. Estimated population at the time was... // BD-9 rattled off from the database, but his robotic tune slowed as he approached the final fact. //... 100 billion. //

Beedee turned to look at Riz'kacha. // Although Beedee has remorse for the great loss of life, we should consider ensuring our own safety for the time being. //

His data on Riz'kacha's personality and mental state is limited, but Beedee understood from personal experience to avoid letting organics dwell on negative facts. Particularly when they are in a state of danger.

His photoreceptor picked up a flash of light in the distance and he immediately turned and sprinted a short distance in that direction, beeping a quick alert. // Caution! //

The hunters approached seconds later. They shouted the moment they saw the duo and started blasting without further warning. BD-9 darted out of the way like earlier and sought cover from the ion fire. Without dealing with them directly, it seemed like they will be hounded to exhaustion.

 

[Rizkacha]

Riz'kacha seemed pretty happy at the little droid's diagnosis, even going as far as to chuckle a little at its display. "You're a cute one, you know that? It is nice to make your acquaintance, BD-9. Are you working on your own? Usually BD units were assigned to people to work in teams." Her mind was quickly taken away from this as the droid analyzed the containers, along with their... Blatantly awful past. Weapons of mass destruction... She needed to report these to the council.

Then BD beeped out its cautionary alert. These guys again? The report would have to wait. Hearing them approach, Riz'kacha ran for cover of her own. She waited for a pause, before she boomed out, "Scavengers, I believe your goal is greatly above your pay grade. These containers hold a toxin that wiped out the original geonosians that inhabited this planet. Before you end up rupturing them or otherwise causing a malfunction that gets us all killed, I recommend vacating immediately." She really didn't want to resort to violence. This was a last ditch effort. If they didn't respond well, she'd have to defend herself. And the little guy, too. Riz'kacha couldn't let any harm come to him.

 

[BD 9]

The two could not see the hunters yet, but they could clearly hear their voices echo at that distance.

"Hold up, Merrick. You sure about this?"

"Seriously? Don't be such a wuss, Drerrik. She's obviously bluffing."

"Yeah, seriously. Haven't you heard of the Sterilization of Geonosis? Whatever those people did to this planet back then wasn't ever cleaned up. You really want to take that chance?"

"It hasn't killed us yet."

"Fine, you can go after the damn droid yourself. I'm heading back to the ship. Coming, Zerrick?"

"Yeah. This place gives me the creeps, anyways."

"Ugh, fine. I'm coming too..."

Their footsteps could be heard fading as they retreated back to their ship. The two were safe for now.

// Good thinking, Riz'kacha! // BD-9 whistled happily as he came out of hiding. // My sensors indicate that they are gone: hopefully for good. //

Beedee looked straight up at the Jedi padawan, focusing his photoreceptor on her face. // Regarding your earlier query: this unit is on an exploration mission here on Geonosis. Since we have identified Imperial gas canisters in this cavern, it is possible that a data terminal is nearby. BD-9 would like to access that terminal, if possible! //

The droid bounced on both legs in excitement at the prospect of his mission accomplished.

// Is Riz'kacha willing to support this unit? // Beedee asked.

 

[Rizkacha]

The apprentice let out a vocal sigh of relief as the three scavengers kindly left them alone, wiping away the sweat that had begun to bead on her brow. This was more action than she was hoping for today, to be honest, but she was just happy she didn't have to hurt anyone. Her eyes shot to the droid as it whistled at her, a smile once more making its way to her face. Success! He was okay. That was good at least. She hadn't failed the first thing she had made an effort to protect as a Jedi.

As he blipped and beeped out his response, the tall woman furrowed her brows once more and thought for a moment. A mission for who, exactly? It wasn't like droids to just do things for fun. Not usually, at least. Maybe this little guy's personality matrix had just evolved that much over the years. It was hard to tell. Seeing the little guy bounce around melted her heart a little; BD-9 was just adorable. It came as no surprise then, when the droid asked, that she was quite eager to blurt out, "Of course! I mean. Yes. Absolutely. I will help you as much as you need, but I have to ask... Who are you doing this for? Do you work for anyone, or..?" She let the question hang in the air a moment, before adding, "...And I hope you do not mind if I mark this location so that Jedi colleagues can retrieve and deactivate these devices, if they are still active. I would very much prefer that weapons of mass destruction get put out of commission so they cannot be used again."

 

[BD 9]

// Excellent! // BD-9 proclaimed while jumping for joy.

But before BD-9 could continue on his way, the padawan stopped him with a question. He tilted his head to the side as he contemplated an answer during Riz'kacha's pause, but allowed the Twi'lek to speak further.

// This unit has no objections with Riz'kacha's proposal. // BD-9 replied.

He opted not to answer Riz'kacha's question about his state of servitude. Instead, he turned his attention deeper in the underground network.

// Follow me! // BD-9 called behind him.

BD-9 led Riz'kacha through the tunnels. At various points, they climbed through debris from the partially collapsed ceiling or squeeze through openings when the tunnels narrowed. They eventually found an opening to a larger room, likely originally used as a conference room.

// This looks promising! // BD-9 declared once he found a computer terminal housed on one side of the room.

He sized up the terminal, scanning it up and down to find a way to power it up.

// Does Riz'kacha see a power generator for this terminal? // BD-9 asked as he turned to look at the padawan.

 

[Rizkacha]

She found it odd that the droid seemed to ignore her first question, but maybe that was just a quirk of being such an old model. Who knew. What she did know was that she was going to tag these crates. Her hand reached into a pocket to produce a small navigational dart, and she quickly activated it and tossed it over. She had never really bothered buying a launcher for the thing. Oh well. It would be marked for safe retrieval later.

There was another matter they had to tend to for now, though. Namely, BD-9's mission. The droid's chipper attitude kept her spirits up even as she crawled, climbed, and otherwise made her way through the tunnel with him. When they finally reached the room in question, Riz'kacha took a moment to rest, letting the droid do his scans until she was addressed, taking her hands off of her knees and letting out a low groan as she began to walk once more. She clearly wasn't made for this much physical activity.

Still, she had a mission to help with! She began to walk around the room and examined the various different panels on the wall. Surely one of these was power related, right? Though they weren't exactly completely intact considering their age, the Twi'lek eventually found one that looked promising- complete with rusted yellow paint and a voltage warning, "...Over here. I think this one is power-related. Can you do a scan to check whether this would be useful? There might be a port to plug into."

 

[BD 9]

BD-9 scurried over to examine the panel that Riz'kacha pointed out. His scanning indicated that there was still power, but no obvious means of activating it by hand. After crouching close to the ground, BD-9 leaped straight onto the panel and held tight to its front with both feet. He felt around and found that there was a sheet of metal that rattled. BD-9 grabbed its edge and pushed. And pushed. And it finally gave way as the dirt and grime gave in, revealing a circular port. Much like what would be used by a droid as a secondary activation method.

// Excellent! // BD-9 whistled.

The droid extended his scomp link from the bottom of one foot and hooked himself up with the port. Much like the sheet panel, the gears in the port resisted BD-9's efforts, but eventually relented. A gentle hum began to sound, though with intermittent sputtering. It seemed like there wasn't much juice left in the generators.

// Let's hope there is enough time. // BD-9 added as he sprinted back towards the computer terminal.

As quickly as he could, BD-9 jacked himself into the system, lighting up the dust covered screens, and began sifting through the ancient data. What images that could be found occasionally flashed on-screen, but BD-9 worked faster than it might seem.

Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of junk. Communiques from the Geonosian times could be interesting to a historian, but they were mostly of little value to BD-9. But, there were a few phrases that were interesting. They hinted at a secret project, dating sometime immediately before the Geonosian genocide. BD-9 focused his search. But there was nothing. At least, it seemed like there was nothing. BD-9 started sifting through the memory banks that were marked for deletion, in hopes that there was something left behind. Perhaps the project details was transferred to another storage device or it was to be scrapped and scheduled to be wiped.

Finally, he found it. It was only a fragment, but there is enough left to get a decent picture. Unfortunately, it was too fragmented to display on the Geonosian viewscreens.

// This is an interesting find. // BD-9 spoke up.

He spun his head towards Riz'kacha and turned on his holoprojector. As BD-9 loaded up bits and pieces into the computer's active memory, he ran an analysis to try to piece together and fill in components that would logically fit in the gaps. The resulting image, in holographic red, was as infamous as it could get.

// This unit found key phrases referring to a so-called "Ultimate Weapon" in the files, which led to this discovery! // BD-9 declared with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

BD-9 wanted to do a small victory dance, but being connected to the data terminal and trying to show the Twi'lek Jedi his findings made that a clear impossibility. Perhaps he will have a consolation moment once they were done.

 

[Rizkacha]

Riz'kacha watched the droid do its work with a bit of amazement; despite its small frame, it seemed to have no trouble clearing the panel by itself. Knowing that she would likely just slow things down, she was content to watch the images flickering across the dusty screen. Wait a minute, was that- Her hand swiped across the screen, clearing it of some of the dust, but the image was gone just as quickly as it appeared. Still, there was plenty to watch.

Intercepted geonosian communications, supply requisitions, status reports, filter checks, and so on. It just went on and on, until finally... OH NO. A wave of dread immediately washed over her, manifesting in a headache that ached in her lekku. That was not good. Not at all. She looked to the little droid, furrowing her brows, "...Bee Dee. I do not think it is wise to let these files leave this bunker. They should be destroyed. The Death Star... That cannot happen again." Her tone was cautious, though she clearly wasn't very happy about finding these files. They were probably worth a fortune, sure. More than the droid, even. But her duty as a Jedi wouldn't let her just let them be.

 

[BD 9]

Upon hearing Riz'kacha's disapproval, BD-9 gave a sad whirr. He could tell that Riz'kacha did not approve of this discovery, which ignited his empathy modules. He was caught in a conflict between his personality matrix and his base programming. He really wanted to take the plans, but part of the BD unit programming required that BD-9 avoid unnecessary conflicts with their owners. He ran the logic patterns over and over, searching desperately for a solution.

// This unit regrets Riz'kacha's opinion regarding these weapon plans. // BD-9 (figuratively) sighed as he turned off his holoprojector.

// The existence of these plans provides evidence of Imperial motive to destroy the Geonosian species. Without being able to cross-reference this data with existing records, the validity of such a claim could remain in dispute indefinitely. // BD-9 added.

// Furthermore, analysis of the progenitor of planet-destroying weapons could lead to discoveries of critical weaknesses inherent in such designs, opposed to present knowledge from derivative weaponry. // Beedee continued to reason.

// Does Riz'kacha still disapprove of maintaining possession of the Death Star plans? // the droid asked.

 

[Rizkacha]

Though she initially was against the idea, she could see the merit in BD's words. Still, these were files pertaining to The Death Star. You know, the weapon that had wiped out an entire planet? The weapon that the Galactic Empire had sacked Ilum to get the materials to create its immense power? The weapon that Luke Skywalker had destroyed with the help of the Rebel Alliance not once, but twice? Riz'kacha had read enough to know that it could not be replicated. The entire galaxy would be at risk if it was.

Still though, it wasn't as if these files were the actual building instructions and plans for the Death Star, right? They wouldn't just be on some computer out in the middle of nowhere. Plus, having these might help in the event of other plans somehow coming up, as the droid said. She didn't like it, but the old droid's logic was sound. A pit started to form in her stomach as she finally spoke up, after minutes of silent thought.

"...You make excellent points, Beedee." She paused, letting that pit in her stomach settle a moment before she finally sighed, "...Fine. You can keep the plans, but you should make sure that you are the sole owner of them. And if anyone attempts to interrogate you or somehow otherwise captures you, you need to be ready to delete them." She thought a moment, before asking, "Actually, I need to ask something first. What is your intention for finding these plans? You seemed to already know where they were."

 

[BD 9]

When Riz'kacha relented, BD-9 whistled a great, loud cheer and immediately began the process of transferring the files over to his databanks. These plans were even larger than BD-9 originally thought, but he was able to add everything to his own databanks. But before he could express his gratitude for the Jedi's decision, she hammered him with a question.

// This unit was not specifically searching for these 'Ultimate Weapon' plans. Rather, this unit was tipped off regarding potential treasures hidden on Geonosis. Unfortunately, the only way this unit could secure transport to the planet was on-board the ship belonging to the three hunters you have encountered earlier. // BD-9 explained as he finished the last of the transfer.

He pulled the scomp link from its port as the power generator hiccuped, temporarily losing power for several seconds before coming back on. Beedee felt lucky that the power did not fail as he was transferring the files, since it could have affected file integrity and lengthen the process of verifying the file transfer.

// Does Riz'kacha have a ship? // BD-9 asked as he retracted his tool.

The scomp link got stuck, perhaps from the Geonosian dust and grit. But it reminded the droid that he could use an oil bath. Are Jedi able to provide oil baths? Not that it mattered, since the Twi'lek is his only ride off-planet. BD-9 had to stomp his foot on the terminal's dirty surface several times to finally get the scomp link all the way back into his limb.

BD-9 looked up at Riz'kacha with an expectant look. Surely she would not leave him behind now, right?

 

[Rizkacha]

Riz'kacha watched the droid's enthusiasm with a soft smile on her face, seemingly happy that she could bring the little guy such joy. Still though, she mused, she should keep an eye on things. Make sure that she didn't let the droid, or what she assumed he was transferring, get into the wrong hands. For now, at least, he was her responsibility. As he spoke, she realized that maybe he didn't have a crew after all. He was on his own. Poor thing.

Her eyes drifted to the droid as the scomp link got stuck, beginning to move forward to help but stopping as he got it free. Shortly after, she responded, "That I do. It's not very far from here. I might not be as quick as you, but you can ride on my shoulders if you want while we move." She paused, "...After we get out of the cave. I kind of lost track of where we were from following you around so much. Do you have a mapping function?" Whatever his response, the two would be on their way before long, back through the caves and to the ship that the Padawan had mentioned before.

//End Thread//