Sand Gears

tdc25

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It’s been a difficult two weeks for the droid TD-C25. The planet of Bespin didn’t show her much. A boring place, she thought, with the only interesting detail was its Cloud City. It wasn’t enough to keep her there for some time however. Her loyal companion, the Bantha, grew tired of the atmosphere quickly. He could not roam freely and was only allowed in the less populated sections of the floating metropolis. The protocol maiden was offended by the treatment of her dearest friend. She soon developed a brief comradeship with a rodian merchant. TD didn’t care where he was going, she wanted off that city! Not listening to the alien’s warnings she and her mount tagged along on his next travel.

The rodian arrived in a desolate area of Tatoonie which the robot said her farewells to him. He again attempted to reason with the stubborn machine, saying she would not survive in the harsh climate. She ignored him. She and the Bantha traveled for days in the desert. They quickly became tired, the sand got into TD’s gears making it difficult for her to move. Bantha began to crave water. Their adventure soon became argerous with both sides being equally temperamental. During the hot nights the two avoided each other as they attempted to become comfortable enough to rest. Unfortunately for them, this lead to an even bigger problem.

“You better take me off of this ship immediately!” Angrily cried out the protocol droid.

The captain of the Jawa ship stared at the robot and pushed her aside. He approached one of his co-workers and began to speak. TD huffed and crossed her arms, only understanding segments of their conversation. Their language was simple but archaic. She had rarely interacted with Jawas before this but she had heard stories. It made her worried, but her annoyance with the situation distracted any concerns she had. Who she assumed was the leader of the ship paused in his sentence and briefly turned to look at her. She made eye contact with the small creature only for him to ignore her interest.

The ship made a startling stop. It shook both the creatures and droids that were inside, an R2 unit beeped with surprise. The leaner, taller Jawa that the captain was speaking to earlier made a motion to the machines that were in the best conditions. The astromech droids left the sandcrawler first in a straight line with some looking at their surroundings curiously. TD watched until she felt a small hand pulling at her.

“What?” She the droid slightly snapped at the alien.

Several other Jawas joined in on pushing the silver robot out of the structure, leading her to the outskirts of Mos Eisley. Before she was able to properly react to it all she was chained to an R9-series astromech droid to restrain her from running away. She began to express her disapproval verbally but only to be smacked by one of her sellers. She admitted defeat at this point, awaiting what she was bound to get herself into next.

@TheHook1
 

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Erd could never understand why his brothers had decided to settle on this barren ball of dirt. Water, plants, and common decency all seemed to be in very short supply. This world wasn't suited for farmers. His train of thought was suddenly broken by a loud shout from outside.

"The Sandcrawler is here!"

Jawas, nasty little vermin who preyed on anything that wouldn't be missed. Yet another marvel this sweltering wasteland had to offer. Erd made his way up the ramp to join his brother Tog in selecting a droid. The farm was in desperate need of an interpreter due to the sheer number of different languages spoken on the planet.
 

tdc25

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The protocol droid moved her shoulders uncomfortably. The chains added weight to her already tired limbs. The smaller robot aside her seemed to have no problem with the situation. He was excited by the idea of gaining a new master, beeping occasionally with delight. TD made a quiet scoff at the situation, looking away from the anxious machines.

As Erd and his brother entered the ship the stout captain greeted them. He gave them a respectful nod and walked a short distance away from them, then only to turn to their direction and made a motion for the duo to follow him. The fembot raised her head when she heard the occasional word from the crew. Her chained acquaintance curiously beeped.

"There's customers on the ship," She cooed at the astromech, "If my translations serve me right." She said with little confidence in her voice. The dome shaped droid chirped happily.
 

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Erd and Tog joined the youngest of the brothers, Cillan, on board the Jawa Sandcrawler. The stocky ship captain led the brothers around the interior of the ship, running his tiny little jaws trying to sell the Ithorians on every droid they came across. One more than one occasion Cillan had to be smacked to stop him from doing anything stupid in the presence of the crafty desert dwellers. Finally, the captain led the group outside to the lineup of rusty astro mechs and twitchy luxury droids that stood waiting in the baking Tatooine suns. As Tog and Cillan haggled for a pair of collapsed Pit droids, Erd made his way down the lineup to tdc 25. Seeing her missing eye, he put a hand on the droid's shoulder and asked, "How many languages do you speak?"
 

tdc25

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Like many similar sellers, the captain was good with persuasion. He could craft sentences that made the poorest of droids seem like top of the line. The small family however were smarter than that. The Jawa admitted defeat with some of his offers but was reluctant to give up others. As the group came around the around the more decent wares of the Sandcrawler, the the creature stepped aside and watched them. The R9 rattled excitedly as the Ithorians came into view. His seller gave him a quick, gentle push. The robot stopped immediately after the warning as the lanky Jawa and another haggled with two of the brothers.

TD turned and looked as she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder, "Oh, I know many languages," She gave a subtle boast, "500 hundred of them and still room for more."
 

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"You got Huttese and binary in there anywhere?"

At that moment, Tog and Cillan walked over carrying one of the two pit droids, with a multi-faceted abomination of a machine in tow. Tog stepped up to Erd before narrowing his eyes at the damaged protocol droid.

"What's going on over here?"
 

tdc25

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"I do, I'm especially good with Huttese." She answered.

The droid began to cover her badly damaged eye, gaining the creeping feeling that the two were focusing on it. She moved her attention towards the greasy look of a nearby wall. Disgusting, she thought. Her unfortunate condition in sight didn't bother her much but more than ever she wanted to get off a ship, even if the only way was to be purchased. The female droid eagerly looked back at the two brothers.

She exposed the gap with her ocular wires hanging loosely, "I don't recognize some colors but I still operate just fine."
 

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"Hmm, I don't know..." Tog rumbled, scratching under his mouths.

"We don't need her eyes, just her voice." Erd replied, "How much for the protocol droid?"
 

tdc25

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The leader heard a phrase that was universal for all Jawas: How much? The cloaked alien shuffled towards the trio and glanced at the droid. He explained smoothly that she was going for somewhere around 800 credits. There was a brief pause before he added hestiantly that he would be willing to make a deal, in case the the potential buyers didn't have enough. He leaned on the protocol fembot's knee as he awaited their responce.
 

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"800 hundred credits!?" Cillan shouted, "The chassis is rusted and she's missing an eye."

Erd raised his hand and gestured for Cillan to take the two already purchased droids to the house.
 

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The Jawa straightened himself. The droid inched away from the small creature as he coughed and began to speak. He explained that a monthly paid deal could be done or, as he spoke with great reluctance, lower the price. He looked at his surroundings and noticed that he and his crew was running out of room for new wares. He added that he would be willing to change her price enough to fit the customer’s budget, depending on how many credits he had.
 

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"650, and we'll take that broken pit droid of your claws." Tog said, holding out his hand. The Jawa captain fidgeted for a few seconds before hastily shaking Tog's hand. As he brought the busted droid into the moisture farmhouse, Erd turned toward tdc 25 and took her chains off.

"What is your name?"
 

tdc25

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"Ah, thank you." The droid said with relief as the chains were taken off. They left grease marks on her wrists and legs, ugly stains that stood out on her sliver colors. She stretched out her fingers and and moved them, the gears whirring loudly. She immediately stopped after hearing the obnoxious noise.

"TD-C25," She answered, "What is my intended purpose here, if you don't mind me asking?" She inquired as she looked at her new master's brothers, specifically watching the other robot they purchased. "I'm afraid I may not be able to do much before I get an oil bath." She put her attention back onto Erd.
 

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"You'll be translating various languages for my brothers, since no one else on this rock speaks Ithorian." Erd replied, laughing slightly. He looked back at the oil-splattered droid and watched her try and fail to move all her joints smoothly. Another mysterious stranger missing an eye, he should just start carving a notch into his slugthrower for every missing eyeball he came across. His attention was only broken when his own prosthetic foot seized up, sand had gotten into the joints. He dropped to one knee and cursed in Ithorian, smacking the metallic limb.

"Guess I'll be joining you." Erd groaned.
 

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The fembot stepped back cautiously as his foot began to glitch. "Er, yes," She awkwardly responded to his first statement, "You lead the way, please." She soon realized that her response was possibly rude. To reassure her role as a well functioning droid she reluctantly began to cater to the Ithorian, "Unless you're in that bad of condition," Her fingers were able enough to point down at his prosthetic part, "I can easily find the area if you give me directions." TD said softly.
 

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Erd looked up to see the protocol droid standing over him, a finger slightly pointed at his prosthesis. He waved off her hand and stood up, limping toward the main building.

"It's fine, I just forgot to put a protective wrap on. Besides, I'm not going to pass up the chance to share a bath with a pretty girl." Erd replied, laughing and using his rifle like a crutch.
 

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The robot walked slowly, keeping a distance from the man as he hobbled towards the structure.
"Please remember next time, um, sir." She wasn't sure what to address him as. As they approached the building TD ducked as she entered inside. She stood tall again once she was in. She looked at her surroundings carefully, but nothing in particular stood out. She went back to Erd, "Will the other droid be joining us?"
 

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Erd sat down in a nearby chair and panned the tiny living space. Cillan was the mechanical expert of the family, so he had brought TDC to his section of the house. He detached his foot and set it on the dipping grate over the oil bath, along with the functional pit droid.

"You don't have to be so formal, you can call me Erd, I'm only visiting anyway. The other two who live here are my brothers, Tog and Cillan."
 

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TD carefully entered the bath. She touched the oil slightly with her right foot before emerging herself into it. She let out a relieved sigh as the oil washed up against her. It was well deserved after the gruesome condition she has been in, she splashed some of it onto her neck and upper chest. She could slowly feel her gears lightening up and moving well again.

"So your brethren are my new masters." She looked at him. The robot let out quiet motor hum as she splashed some more oil onto her metal plating, "Is there any chance that you have been following the local news?" The droid asked as she focused on her bath, "Someone I've heard is looking for a bantha." Her voice trailed off.
 

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The oil soak seemed to be working its magic on the new Honab family droid. Her question caught Him off guard though. Why would looking for a bantha be local news? There was a herd of them every klick on this planet.

"Sorry, I just got here yesterday, haven't caught any news. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?"
 
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