Star Wars - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Odd Bounty ❯ Paths ( Chapter 3 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Din was the first to exit the ship, shoulders squared and back straight even though his shoulder and side stung. He had questions and the old man was damn well going to answer them.

She was a droid.

A noise to his right had him reaching for his blaster but he dropped his hand when he saw the woman...droid step into his line of sight.

Her eyes were wide eyes as she surveyed their surroundings.

Boba was shaking his head, stopping beside her. "What? Never been to a bounty hunter haunt?"

She tilted her gaze up at him and shook her head. "Bounty hunter? What is that?"

Fett furrowed his brows, "Both Din and I are bounty hunters. Have you never been someplace else? Traveled on a ship to a new planet?"

She shook her head again. "No. First time on ship...well, first time awake, I think. They usually make me sleep until they want to see me fight."

Din grit his teeth, "Of course they would. You're a droid."

Telana nodded. "I didn't want to fight. I don't want to hurt people. I didn't want to hurt them."

Her hand settled over her open wounds, "I want to be normal."

Mando snorted, "Kind of difficult for a droid to be normal."

She stomped her foot, "I am not droid! I am Telana Veile! I am me!"

"I think you should stop making her upset."

"Her? She's a droid. A thing."

Boba gripped his arm and Din struggled for a minute before his other hand settled on his blaster. Boba arched a brow at him.

"I don't know what it is you have against droids, kid, but give the girl the benefit of the doubt here. I don't think she had any say in what she is now."

"Well, we'll see, won't we?"

"Ahh, Mando! I trust things went as well as they could."

They both turned to look at Karga as he approached, stopping when the girl circled around him, poking at his arm and back.

"You must be Telana."

"You were on the screen and now here...how?"

He looked at her oddly, "What?"

"She means the communicator screen. I don't think she's been awake for such a long period of time."

"You would be correct in that assumption." Their client stated as he came to stand behind Karga.

Telana cried out, rushing the man and falling into his arms. "Father!"

He pillowed his head on top of hers and sighed, "My dearest girl. It is good to see you once again. Now come, I must repair your damage."

"Yes, father."

"So what exactly is she, old man?"

"I told you...she is my daughter."

"She's a droid."

He leveled a steady gaze at Djarin. "Not completely. Follow us. I will explain."

/  -  /  -  /  - /

When they entered the small room, he patted the medical cot and Telana, without skipping a beat, removed the blanket and laid back.

"Now, my dear, I will have to shut off autonomous function for a short while. You will still be able to see."

"Yes, father."

He flipped a switch and she suddenly went still, the only sound in the room was of sparking wires and whirring machinery. Pulling a small cart near her head, he picked up a micro-spanner and began to prod at the opening on her shoulder.

Din shifted from foot to foot, "So, you said she wasn't completely a droid...how?"

The man sighed, running a hand over her hair.

 "When Telana was little, about 6 years old, there was an attack by insurgents on the imperial ship carrying her and her mother. The ship was damaged by a series of timed explosions. Her mother was killed instantly but her, my sweet little girl was nearly ripped apart but still alive. I couldn't lose her...she was all I had left of my wife. So I used all my technological knowledge to save her. Telana is a unique amalgamation of flesh and cybernetics. Ninety-four percent of her body is metal and wires. Her lungs had been shredded by shrapnel so I built her new ones. Ones that can reserve oxygen to allow her to run for longer periods of time without tiring. A valve in her heart was torn so I built tech that would help her heart pump normally again. I integrated a power source into her to help power her new parts but the hardened skeleton and bio-material making up her skin were the highlight of my inventions."

The spanner zapped in the opening and he nodded, reaching over to grab a packet and lifting it up for them to see before continuing his story.

"You see, she had lost both her legs and her right arm in the explosion and her spine was heavily damaged rendering her unable to walk and run like she used to. I wanted my daughter back. So the advanced skeletal structure gave her the way to walk and run again. To enjoy life as a normal child again. The bio-mat gives her the appearance of human skin. "

"What's the last six percent?"

The old man hesitated, not wanting to say.

Din stepped close to him, helmet nearly touching him, "I won't ask you again."

Boba nearly stepped forward at his tone but was stopped when the man spoke.

"The last six percent is completely human. I did not replace everything in her with cybernetics, only the pieces that were highly damaged. That doesn't mean that she is indestructible. She is not just a machine but a highly advanced one that relies on an actual nervous system...an actual brain, although she has an advanced processor integrated into it. I was worried that she would over-do it so I had a failsafe worked into her that keeps her from over-heating her core. She can bleed yes. That means she can die if damaged too much but the most difficult thing to explain so far is that even after all the tests and parts I have built into her and all the experiments the imperials have run on her...her brain is still very much intact."

Karga was the first to speak this time, "What do you mean by that?"

"She may be partly droid but has the capacity to learn without being reprogramed. She acts human because she still is."

That stopped Din short. "So why did the imperials have her?"

"She is unique. Strong and merciless but kind and gentle, childlike. Human. If the imperials were to make more like her...and use them as spies to infiltrate the last remaining pockets of rebellion left..."

"They would be able to locate and eradicate the remaining rebels easily from the inside and not even know it. Ferrik, why not destroy her then."

"No! She is still my daughter. I will never entertain the thought. I just want to get her out of this galaxy, somewhere far from here where we can live in peace."

Din un-holstered his blaster and pointed it at her.

"What's to stop them from getting her again? If they do and they make more like her...then more people will suffer...more people will die...more families will be ripped apart!"

He was breathing heavily, hands shaking.

Boba took a step forward, his own hand reaching for his blaster. "Kid..."

He shook his head, helmet obscuring the tears that were blurring his vision.

She was just a droid.

It was just a droid.

The man quickly moved between him and Telana, shaking his head. "You have had a difficult life, haven't you?"

"Shut up and move out of the way, old man. Its a droid, nothing more."

"No. She is my daughter. Yes, most of her now is cybernetics and mechanical parts but she still feels, still thinks for herself, stills cares for others. She still has the capacity for love. To be loved."

"Love? Droids don't feel love or pain. They only follow orders. Doing what others tell them to do. And plus who would want a droid for a wife."

The old man snorted softly, "That is where you are wrong, son. You see, for all I have done to replace her damaged body, one part of her remained unscathed by everything. The one piece that sets her apart from other droids."

"And what is that?"

"She still bears a fully intact reproductive system."

His eyes studied the droid's face and he stilled. Her blue eyes were wide with fear, water gathering in the corners before flowing down her cheeks. She was crying.

The blaster in his grip faltered for a second before his hand dropped, throwing it to the ground.

"I don't want your credits. Take your damned droid and leave. If you're not gone by tomorrow. I'll kill both of you."

Karga reached out to Din, "Mando..."

"Don't. Just make sure they leave."

And he left, wandering the streets in a daze, screams and explosions once again echoing through his mind.

When he came too, he found himself in the covert once again standing in front of the Armorer.

"What has brought you here?"

"I took on a bounty not knowing all the details and now...I have given the payment back."

"Why?"

He shifted nervously. "I was angry."

"You have been angry before and still kept your payment. Why now?"

"The bounty in question was a...what looked to be a woman but was not."

The Armorer stepped close to him and just stared at him.

He continued, "She was in fact a droid."

The other Mandalorian's shoulders dropped, knowing exactly why he returned the credits now.

"You still relive that day, do you not? The attack on your village by the droids?"

"Yes."

"And finding out that this woman was a droid brought your anger and hate back to the surface?"

"Yes."

"But you are not angry at the droid?"

"No."

"I see. You are angry at yourself. What is this droid woman like?"

"A foot shorter than I. Pale blonde hair, piercing eyes and pale skin. She is..."

"She is beautiful? That is why you are angry. You find yourself attracted to a woman revealed to be a droid. A machine that you blame for your parents' death."

He grit his teeth, refusing to answer but she shook her head.

"Your silence cannot deny it. You cannot deny it. You can only accept it and move on."

"How? I nearly shot her twice after I had protected her, getting wounded in the process. I even threatened to kill her and her 'father' should they linger here too long."

"Would you kill them? Should they decide to stay?"

He paused, "I..I do not know."

"Then you are confused. Attraction for the woman and hatred for the droid are warring inside you. You are being pulled between the two."

"So how do I cease this battle?"

"You have two options now. Either learn to forgive and let your heart guide your actions or..."

His hands clenched into fists, "Or what?"

"Or let your hatred rule you and destroy her and thus yourself in the process. It is up to you to choose which path you may seek. This is the way."

He nodded, "This is the way."