Even though we were safe, well, as safe as one could be on this rotten planet, the rain and the storm didn't stop all at once. Although it began to subside, starting with the wind, which was easing a little and no longer howling like a banshee. Looking at my Master emerging from the TIE's hatch and climbing down in a hurry, I suddenly felt my legs give out, just like Jalo or Vila, as we all found ourselves back on the ground, lying there in the rain, feeling our limbs grow weak. Only HK remained standing, surprisingly silent and not even complaining about anything... yet.
"Easy," my Master said as he stopped next to us, helping us back up from the stone-covered ground. "Don't move too fast, check for injuries... That was too close, but at least you're alive, so let's keep it that way."
"Not all of us," I muttered, my voice suddenly feeling breathless and hoarse as I remembered Iowi.
"I... See..." Master Ben murmured, squeezing my shoulders, suddenly knowing and understanding that Iowi was no longer with us. As I gazed at him, he looked exhausted, as if he was rushing to save us, and I think that was exactly what happened. "So I was still late."
[Correction: You arrived at the best time.]
"From a certain point of view." He nodded, smiling once again, looking over us in the rain, lightning strikes still happening above us, but with less and less frequency.
[Statement: Your piloting was sufficient for our continued survival, meatbag Jedi. Addendum: I am pleased that you did not crash with our added weight.]
"It wasn't my first time flying a TIE," Ben's mouth twitched, hearing him speak, "But thanks, I guess?"
Only then did I realize that, indeed, he had come in a TIE, and I hadn't questioned why. Looking at it, it was definitely an old model, decades old, in fact. It may have been repainted a few times, but the scuff marks were way too obvious, not to mention the multiple refits. An original TIE, still in service after so many obvious battle scars, was a miracle in itself. As I watched, the storm and rain finally began to subside, and the thick clouds above us also began to thin here and there.
"How did you even find us?" I asked.
"That's a long story," He shrugged, looking over us, "Partially, I felt you were in trouble; otherwise, I was following up on clues. I had run into Sith-made droids," he continued, grimacing as we looked at each other. "Oh, I see," he caught on fast, "So, the thing you blew was their base, hm?"
"A refitting factory and their old birthplace," Jalo nodded, "Iowi and I found it, and when Vila and Kael arrived, we decided to attack it because they were shipping themselves out..."
"Oh, they did." Ben nodded, watching us, "And I'm afraid it's worse than you thought."
"Why am I not surprised about that?" Vila groaned, pinching the ridge of her nose. "Damn... Do we know how many of them got out?"
"No idea," Ben shrugged, watching us. "I had come across multiple leads; this planet was not only one of those," he continued, making my blood grow cold, "and I felt the Force push me here so... Here I am."
"Weren't you..." I began asking, remembering he was out to find Vestara. Oh. Of course. Now it did make sense, and I saw him nod.
Looking up, I saw the clouds part, just for a little while, revealing the sky beyond, and I caught a glimpse of a Star Destroyer hanging high in the atmosphere, its triangle-shaped silhouette unmistakable even at this distance.
"So you found her again?" I smiled while Ben followed my gaze, his expression becoming unreadable. "I thought you might."
"I bet Vestara has a different outlook on these droids." Vila joined in, but Ben shook his head, looking back down, continuing his explanation.
"No," He began, letting out a long breath, "They broke what she was trying to build, so she wants them destroyed."
"What do you mean, Master?" I asked, taken aback by the news, because if I had been asked before, I would have guessed Vestara would take the opportunity to work with them. Or at least, to gather more ancient knowledge from their chassis.
Ben didn't answer immediately; instead, he stepped closer to the cliff's edge, his eyes tracking the last wisps of smoke rising from where the facility had once been, then to the dark ocean that had already swallowed the exploded starship's wreckage. I knew at once that after the fire subsided, he would head in and take a look for himself, and I was ready to follow him back down. I know there was little to no chance of finding Iowi's remains, but... Still, I would try.
And we must make sure that the ones here were destroyed for good.
"These damnable Sith-pattern units had contacted her, and when she refused cooperation, they attacked." Master said after a momentary pause, "Sadly, half of her order decided to join up with them, the other half... well, I am here with those."
"I am not surprised." Vila spoke up, with a scoff, "Once a Sith, always a Sith."
"Vila," My stomach sank a little, glancing at her, not knowing how to approach this diplomatically, because of what was going on between Ben and Vestara. Even if I agreed with Vila.
"Her words hold truth." Ben looked at me, then nodded at her with a soft smile. "When I found her, she was also tracking them, trying to find the source and other possible bases, so we joined up once again. Long story short, here I am, because of it. So, if not for Vestara, I may not have arrived in time! Also," He nodded at us approvingly. "It was a smart idea for you to leave a buoy outside. We managed to approach the moon with the data stored within, without risking the integrity of the Reborn, and I launched the moment the call of the Force became unbearable."
"I'm glad you did, Master Skywalker," Jalo shrugged, "It saved our lives."
"And the rest of the survivors," Vila added, making Ben raise an eyebrow.
"Others?" He looked at us, making me nod.
"A group, the originals who found this place, because this is or was the origin of these things."
[Observation: Maybe shooting down the escaping ship was a bad choice.]
"As I said," Ben shook his head, "We have other clues, and I am not risking these machines leaving and disappearing into the universe! They are way too dangerous. Their leading unit is powerful enough to make me not risk it."
"Leading unit?" Vila and I glanced at each other, making my Master nod, his face turning serious.
"The one that made contact with Vestara." He said, turning serious, "I watched the recordings the Reborn took as they docked into the Star Destroyer. That droid had a personality. I don't know if it's a recreation of an old Sith, an ancient, weird programming, or something different, but it acted like a living being, not as a droid."
[Disgusted Exclamation: Abomination! It must be destroyed, because it brings a bad light onto us all, proper droids. Don't turn us into meatbags... that's unforgivable.]
"It indeed needs tracking and dismantling." Master agreed at once.
"How did it escape?" Vila asked, shocked, because this meant that it had contacted Vestara, yet somehow it also managed to leave. Feeling what she was thinking of, I could tell she was sure that Vestara let it go intentionally.
"As I said," Ben glanced at her, feeling the same thing, "There was a schism, so they left with a number of Vestara's people; they even disabled the Reborn, letting it stay adrift for months. I found them between two systems, drifting in empty space."
"Great!" I moaned, rubbing my face, "So we still have a bunch of runaway Sith-made murder-droids, roaming the Galaxy, planning who knows what, with humans on board who can now interact with the wider population without revealing who they are working with."
"Fucking great..." Vila cursed out loudly, making Ben smile in a way that wasn't a smile. "This is horrible..."
"It could be worse," Master tried to say, but he knew that was... not helping. "Well... Stay put. I'll radio Vestara, tell them the situation, then we will go from there. Let's get everyone back into space, and then we can talk about our next step."
...
....
...
[Base O-0-A had gone silent.] A metallic sound rang out inside an empty space, where there was no light, and apparently, there was simply... nothing.
"Noted. Last received message?" Another cold voice answered, but, despite being synthetic, it had more life to it.
[Jedi attack. Imminent destruction: unavoidable. Smiliafactorum 078-99-1.]
"History repeats itself one more time..." The voice said with an audible sigh, "Did the local system record the details of the intruders before going dark?"
[Positive. Transmitting data now.]
At that point, the darkness lit up a little, permeated with dark red and green light, showing that it wasn't anywhere at all, as it wasn't reality. It wasn't space either, nor the Force, because it was a constructed existence, a closed-off, hand-made reality, existing only in ones and zeroes, inside the main core of a particular droid itself... Yet, in the middle of this non-space, there stood a man, wearing a set of elegant black-and-gold robes, his red skin almost glittering, the flaps hanging from his chin, adorned with gold rings and covered in ancient Sith glyphs. But... then again, as the transfer ended, everything went back to complete darkness, only leaving the voices behind.
"Hmm... Weak. And I can't believe that these weak people call themselves Jedi... Hm." For a long minute, then for another... and another, nothing happened, before finally, the voice, almost humorously, laughed to himself, still echoing with a mechanical pang. It was not at all close to the laugh of a human or anything that could be called living. "Well, I can't be that angry; our efficiency has also gone down considerably, so we can be counted on equal footing now."
[Current estimated recovery is at... Calculating. Calculating. Error.]
"Skip the L2 and R4 caches; they are fried, so try again."
[Recalculating. Estimated recovery is at: 12%]
"It should be ten, but close enough," the voice chuckled to himself, "And at best, we will be able to climb back up to 20-25% and no further. We had been asleep for way too long, and so far, most of our caches were destroyed by time, looters, and the old Jedi. No matter! We can always start anew; time no longer means anything for us. How are our new recruits?"
[Conversion is ongoing. Currently, 44% percent of the flesh-made units have been converted to obedient thralls.]
"Don't rush it." The voice warned it, "Don't let them notice the override either! We need the front-facing part because people don't deal with droids; they deal only with other people."
[Urgent Report! Sentry K-9-RR2 has fallen.]
"The one on Korriban? Hm... Do we have data about its fall?"
[Negative.]
"Probably Jedi... They are still tracking us, and I have to give them that... they are good at sniffing us out. Abandon the sector and pull out all remaining sentries. We collected enough flesh-based slaves; we can go back into hiding and work through our new intermediaries."
[Acknowledged. Secondary Report: Arrival at Dromund Kaas in 32 hours.]
"Good... good." the voice muttered, satisfaction shining through his metallic tone, "It's good to be back home... I wonder what had remained of it."