"A Droid's lot in life" -- the story of KTP7

Well, what with all of my mushy, tear-stained Anakin/Amidala stuff -- which I love writing, by the way -- I can get pretty depressed. So I started working on this little thing. It's much lighter and more fun -- even sillé. And it has two of my favorite characters: Yané and Saché, the elusive handmaidens. So here we go:
-----------
Hello. My name is KPT7, a droid from Naboo. Let me tell you, I have been through some tough times! First of all, this horrid army invaded our planet. They were controlled by the Trade Federation, you see, and they were really quite rude. It was only a blocakde in the beginning, but then their ships landed on our planet and took over our city. Oh! how dreadful. They really had no consideration at all. Her Majesty Queen Amidala managed to escape, but she was forced to leave behind some of her best: His Honor Governor Sio Bibble, and the very talented handmaidens Saché and Yané. And this is where my part in the story begins.

My job is simple. I load cargo onto ships. That's what I was built for, you see. My Maker, of course, thought it would be quite amusing to place a protocol wire in my circuits, though I really would have no need for such a thing for my primary functions, but there you go. I suppose it's really not right to question the motives of your Maker, so I won't. Meanwhile, I have the unfortunate reputation among my fellow droids as being -- well, prissy. It was on the day of the invasion, in fact, that one of the astromech droids, with a series of tart chirps and whistles,
dubbed me "pretty droid," because of the PT in my name, I suppose. It was very sarcastic, of course, and I was duly offended. But suddenly there was no time for such trivial things. An
alarm went off in the hanger, signaling a dangerous situation in the city...
-----------
So, what do you think? Too sillé? I really enjoy writing it, so if anyone's interested I can post more. It gets pretty interesting when our friend KPT7 meets up with the girls...

Oh, rats. I switched the letters of KPT7's name in the title. Oh, well. I think I'm going to post just a little more, to get the story going.
------
Of course we were all expecting such things, having had the blockade of ships hanging over us for so long, but it was something of a shock now that it was really here. The astromech droids rolled into the main hanger to board the Queen's ship, where they might be needed in case of an emergency. We humanoid droids, meanwhile, gathered around a cargo ship and discussed the situation among ourselves. Some of them were quite excited; you see, because of the blockade we really hadn't had much work lately, and this could mean a great deal of action indeed. Others were terrified. I, for one, felt only one emotion: annoyance. Really, couldn't the Federation simply leave us alone? We were a peaceful people, and had done nothing to wrong them. Surely, if someone could explain that to the viceroy --

My logical comments were cut short by YT8, a rather saucy droid who prefers action to talk. He suggested that we venture out of the hanger, where perhaps we might get "a piece of the action" as he liked to call it. I sniffed and replied that it would be best to stay where we belonged, or risk being deactivated. I reminded him also of our restraining bolts, which keep us from venturing too far from our assigned place. His response to this was an astonishingly
human-sounding snort.

It was at this point, when the other droids had to separate us, that we heard footsteps nearby, coming ever closer. It sounded like a large number of humans; adjusting my aural sensors, I guessed about twenty of them.

I was pleased to see that my estimate was correct. Coming around a corner to enter the
main hanger, twenty or so humans appeared. My pleasure was cut short, however, upon seeing who the humans were. Topmost in my concern was the queen herself, dressed in the elaborate gowns which distinguish her from the remainder of the court. She was surrounded by her handmaidens and followed by the governor, the good Captain Panaka, and about a dozen royal guards. Also at her side were two human men I did not recognize; obviously, they were not native to our planet. Despite this, however, they carried themselves with a distinctive confidence and self-assurance. I realized, from the manner in which they were clad and the unusual weapons which they wore at their belts, that they must be Jedi Knights, the protectors of truth and justice in the galaxy, supposedly possessed of supernatural powers but, in my opinion, merely exceptionally agile and clever. Still, they were deserving of the respect of others, and I made as if to go forward and introduce myself, welcoming them to our planet. YT8, however, held me back, muttering something about "keeping my metal carcass where it belonged." I replied that such a comment was odd coming from one wanting so much to partake of "a piece of the action."
---------

So is anyone reading this?
------
Our arguing was cut short by some rather shocking noises coming from the main hanger, where the Queen and her entourage were heading. To my astonishment, my enhanced optical sensors picked up the sight of the two Jedi singlehandedly battling the dozen or so battle droids stationed
there. The tales I had heard of their feats had not been exaggerated; indeed, they had hardly done
these brave Knights justice. It was not long before the group of refugees could board the Queen's sleek ship, joined by several freed pilots and the Jedi. Moments later, it had taken off and left the hanger, heading for outer space, carrying with it our brave astromech droids, who would surely fill their purpose well.

I was still watching the hanger where the ship had been just minutes before, admiring the short work the Knights had made of those insufferable battle droids, when a commotion closer by caught my notice. It was our good governor His Honor Sio Bibble and two of the queen's handmaidens, who apparently had been commanded to stay behind on our planet. The governor seemed to be engaged in a slight disagreement with the girls. Eavesdropping, of course, is not in my programming, but if my aural sensors picked up more than they should have, I am surely quite
sorry.

It appeared that the handmaidens intended to leave the hanger immediately to avoid capture. They planned to obtain weapons from somewhere and resist the attack of battle droids at all costs. The governor, on the other hand, felt that such actions would be far too dangerous and insisted that they remain in the hanger until other actions could be taken.

I could see the merits in both sides and I stepped forward, offering my assistance in mediating the argument. At last my protocol programming could be of use!

Unfortunately, neither the girls nor the governor appeared interested in my assistance. Disappointed, I continued to listen as His Honor decided at last to let them go -- though I had the
oddest impression that he really had no choice in the matter -- while he would stay in the hanger. The handmaidens, looking highly pleased, turned to a small exit at the back of the hanger and started to leave. However, one of them turned around suddenly.

"You," she said, and I was surprised to discover she was addressing me.

"Are you referring to me?" I wondered, knowing the answer but wishing to remain polite at all costs.

"Come with us," she suggested. "You might be able to help us out."

"Yané," the other one whispered, perhaps not realizing that my sensors could pick up anything she said, "we can't waste time dragging droids around with us."

"I assure you," I said, rather offended, "I am no ordinary droid of work. I am fitted with a
protocol wire which allows me to --"

"Well," Yané's companion put in, "maybe you can carry some stuff for us. Come on!"

Rather chagrined, I followed them silently out of the hanger. If only a human would recognize my
potential, for once. It was really most unfair.

Very cture story! And it's definitely a unique idea for a fic...

yay! i love it so far :-D keep it up please

It's great - more, more!!

Thanks for reading, everybody! To show my gratitude, I'll post some more:

High speed was not one of my better features. I was hard pressed to keep up with the
handmaidens as they hurried down corridors, their feet moving swiftly over the marble floors. I
was tempted to stop and examine some of the lovely artwork, which I had never before had the
privilege of seeing, but I had already fallen behind. My motivators were beginning to wear down;
my metallic feet were sadly scuffed. I began to wonder if perhaps I should have declined Yané's
invitation. This was surely more than I had bargained for.

To make matters worse, I had fallen so far behind the girls that when I reached a turn, I
was uncertain which direction they had taken. Left or right? My directional functions would be
no use here, considering I had no idea of where I was going. Fortunately, my sensors picked up
the sound of footsteps down the right corridor, and I instantly started off in that direction. It was
not long before I had caught up with the handmaidens, mainly because they had stopped. They
stood now before a large set of double doors, locked and accessable only by a series of codes. I
expressed my disappointment that we had come this far only to be shut out. Of course, if this
room was under high security, surely Her Majesty had the best of reasons for it.

"Of course," Yané replied, yet she did not seem discouraged by my suggestions. Indeed,
she seemed quite cheerful. "It's very high security. She only gives the code to those she most
trusts."

I replied that since no such personages were present, we were in the same predicament as
before.

"No such personages?" Yané repeated, raising her eyebrows, an interesting human feature
I have yet to discover the purpose of. "You're looking at them."

I was quite dumbfounded. "You? But -- but you are merely girls, servants of the queen."

"Don't get angry, Saché," Yané cautioned her fellow handmaiden, who was beginning to
eye me with what seemed to be some sort of hatred. "We're used to being underestimated. Sometimes it even works to our advantage."

Saché folded her arms over her chest and glared at me. "I'm really beginning to wish we
hadn't dragged this electronic dooshin with us."

The dooshin, I recalled, was an aquatic animal native to the Dashi system renowned for its
stupidity. I realized she had insulted me and searched for a rejoinder.

"Just forget it, Saché," Yané said absentmindedly. She had turned to the control panel on
the wall beside the doors and had begun punching in a code. Moments later, the double doors
opened, but, to my great disappointment, they only revealed another set of doors behind them.
"It's all right," Yané assured me. "Just needs one more code clearance..." She punched some more
buttons on the door and grinned with triumph as those doors opened and made our way clear.
Saché and I followed her as she entered the room.

"That'll teach you to underestimate us," Saché muttered at me, but I simply acted as
though my sensors had not picked up a single word.
------------

I turned my attention instead to the contents of the room we had just entered. To my
astonishment, it carried weapons of every kind, hanging on the walls, kept on shelves and in
drawers. It was a veritable arsenal, on our own pacifist planet of Naboo. Astounded, I protested
that this was entirely impossible, considering that we were a peace-loving people, and never raised a weapon against another.

"Peace-loving, yes," Saché acknowledged. "But we're not stupid, either." She and Yané began searching the shelves for suitable weapons. I watched in disbelief, though I could not deny
what my opticals sensors showed me. These were not merely girls who served the queen. They
were skilled fighters! This was evident in the knowledgeble manner in which they sorted through
weapons, testing their weight, their power, holding them in their hands as though ready to fire.

To tell the truth, it was so convincing that when Saché seemed to be aiming a blaster at me, I
threw my hands upward and exclaimed, "Don't shoot!" Of course, perhaps this was only due to
Saché's rather resentful behavior towards me of late, and the distinctively devious grin on her face.

"Stop it, Saché," Yané told her, as she chose her own weapon and turned to face us. "You're scaring the poor fellow."

'Poor fellow,' I told her rather disparagingly, was hardly a fitting description of me. "I am
KPT7," I said, "humanoid droid of labor, proud resident of Naboo and programmed for protocol.
I can --"

"You can shut up," Saché told me. She brightened when I became silent again. "That's better. I'm Saché," she introduced herself, holding her hand out in a friendly manner that I had certainly not been expecting. "Handmaiden to Queen Amidala -- one of her most trusted friends, bodyguard and protection," she said pointedly.

I shook her hand tentatively, rather taken aback at her forward manner -- and strong grip.

"And I'm Yané. She offered me her hand as well and I shook it as best I could, wondering at these peculiar human customs. I preferred bowing, which involved no contact whatsoever.

"Now let's get out of here," Saché said briskly. "We'll need to get to the wardrobe room,
Yané -- we could try fighting battle droids in these, but it would be better if we wore something
else."

I noted that the long, flowing gowns the girls sported had not seemed to hinder them previously, but then, they had not yet encountered any droids.

"Wait -- you'll need a weapon too." It took me a moment to realize Saché was addressing me.

"I?" I glanced down at me hands, which, however humanoid, could never wield such a weapon as they held. "How could I possibly --"

"Here." Yané thrust something into my hands -- a long stick, made of some sort of metal and distinctly unadvanced from a technological viewpoint, compared to the weapons they held.
"You can bash droids with it, if nothing else. Besides, it makes you look more formidable."

I could not recall any instance of battle droids being frightened away by a big stick, but I
decided to refrain from commenting. The handmaidens were already hurrying out of the room,
and I followed them quickly before the doors closed and locked behind us.

"Hurry up!" Saché called behind her as I struggled to catch up. "We don't stop for stragglers."
-----------

Short post today:
---------
This wardrobe room must have been some distance away, because it was another ten mintues before I reached it, my joints aching with the effort. Saché and Yané had already entered the room and changed into more suitable outfits, both a dark shade of green, by the time I arrived. They were now fastening their weapons to their belts and tying their hair up in tight knots. "It's about time, metalman!" Saché noted upon seeing me. I did not appreciate the title. I reminded her of my official name and asked that she please adress me as such from now on.

"Look out!" Yané exclaimed suddenly, drawing her blaster and aiming it at something behind us. Saché and I both whirled about to see a dispatchment of about ten battle droids heading towards us, their weapons raised and ready.

Somewhat panicked, I found myself being pushed behind a large metal container as Saché ordered, "Take cover!" and joined Yané, her blaster in her hand. Both girls began firing at the droids with amazing accuracy, finishing them off in a matter of moments. Again, despite what my optical sensors showed me, I found it difficult to believe I was really seeing the large pile of smoking droids. But there was no time to stare.

"We have to get out of here," Yané said, failing to keep the worry out of her voice. "I heard one of them contact their commander; they know we're here. They'll be sending others any minute now."

Surely, I thought, they would not bother to waste more droids on just two girls. But they had already begun racing down the corridor again. Snatching up the stick, which I had dropped in
the scuffle, I hurried after them.

Good writing!

keep up the good work please

I won't be able to post until Monday, but I will post then, I promise.... Lots of adventures are in store for our friend KPT7.

I wonder if anyone is still reading this...well, I'll just post and see what happens.

----------
The handmaidens had stopped when I caught up with them at last. They were talking rather heatedly to each other; indeed, it seemed they were involved in an argument.

"And I'm telling you, it's past the waterfall!" Yané was saying.

"I know exactly where you're talking about," Saché responded, "but I don't think that's
where we should go."

"Where else is there to go?" Yané demanded. "That's the only secret passage I know of. We don't have time for this; we have to get out of here."

"Of course we do," Saché said impatiently. "But there's another place. If we turn right
here --"

"We'll get lost," Yané interrupted. "I know of one way out of the palace where we won't be seen. There's no other way out that isn't surrounded by battle droids."

"Shows how much you know," Saché replied smugly. "While you've been spending all your free time taking apart droids and building engines, I've been exploring."

"Exploring?" Now Yané sounded interested. "What did you find?"

Saché grinned and started off down a hallway. "You'll see." Yané shrugged and began
following her. I went after them nervously.

"Wait! What was that about ? taking apart droids?" They didn't seem to hear.

Saché took turn after turn, weaving a maze through the palace that had even me, with all
my directional sensors, quite baffled. "Is she absolutely certain she knows where she's going?" I
asked Yané in a low voice.

She grinned. "If she doesn't, we're in a lot of trouble."

"That's not exactly comforting," I protested.

The only pattern I could see in our progress was that we were going gradually lower and lower. By now we must be below ground level; no windows lined the walls to light our way. Yané retrieved a small lamp from her dress and handed it to Saché, who thanked her for it and examined it briefly. "Your own invention?" she asked.

"Just a little thing I've been working on," Yané shrugged.

We had arrived at a large set of doors, again locked with several complicated codes. I asked, rather sarcastically, if the handmaidens had been entrusted with these codes.

"No," Yané frowned, but she was looking at the control panel with interest. "I can get us
in, though."

As she began working on it, I inquired of Saché how she could know where this led if it was so tightly locked.

"Don't get smart with me, metalman," she replied smoothly. "This area's only locked during emergencies. Which this is, I would say."

I was about to remark again on her insulting naming of me, but just then the door before us let out an thunderous sound like a gust of wind and slowly opened. Yané turned to us with a triumphant grin on her face. "There," she said. "Nothing to it." Then she looked past the
opening doors and her mouth fell open. "Saché," she gasped, "what is this place?"

Saché walked forward calmly and motioned for us to follow. I myself was more of Yané's temperment at the moment. I gazed in awe at what lay before us.

It was an enormous room, with a ceiling so high we could not even see it from where we stood. Above us stretched layers upon layers of catwalks, crisscrossing in all directions,
surrounding massive energy generators. My own electronic frame seemed to hum with the power
that surrounded us.

The giant doors closed once more behind us with a thump. "I'm disappointed in you, Yané," Saché said as she walked lightly along the floor, evidently unaffected by the sight. "You, of all people, should be interested in what powers the palace. Well, here it is."

"Here it is," Yané echoed, her head lifted upward, her eyes aglow. "It's beautiful."

Beautiful was hardly the word I would choose to describe it, but then human tastes differ so much on matters of beauty.

"Save the talk for later, metalman," Saché said over her shoulder. "We still have some way to go."

"Where exactly are we headed?" Yané asked, finally tearing her eyes away from the

i'm reading! moremoremore, please

Thanks, jeditictac! Here's some more:

--------------
Our trip across the floor of the reactor room took nearly another half an hour. Our going was somewhat difficult; at times the floor dropped below us and we were forced to climb onto a low catwalk. The perilous nature of the room did not seem to disturb either handmaiden, but I must confess I was quite terrified. Saché seemed quite confident of her way, and Yané trusted her to guide us. My trust in her was considerably shaken, however, by her constant disparaging comments in my direction. "I still don't see why we brought him along," she muttered continually.

The silence of the enormous room remained unbroken, expect for occasional brief exchanges between the girls and the constant hum of the reactors. I'm sure if I had been human the noise would have given me a headache. As it was, my sensors were quite frazzled by the pure energy flowing just above where we walked.

At last we approached the end of the room. Unfortunately, there were no doors, only a solid metal wall. I immediately expressed my disappointment, and even Yané looked at Saché accusingly. "So how do we get out of here?" she demanded.

Unperturbed, Saché strode to a portion of the wall and knelt to the floor. "I know it's around here somewhere," she murmured, her eyes scanning the metal surface. "Aha!"

"What?" Yané knelt beside her curiously. "Is there a switch to open a secret door or something?"

"This is the secret door," Saché said. Both Yané and I were quite dumfounded. I pointed out that she could hardly fail to notice how small was the portion of wall she indicated.

"Really, Saché," Yané frowned, "you expect us to fit through that?"

Her fellow handmaiden shook her head. "Just wait a second." She put her hands firmly on the metal and pushed with all her might. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, part of the wall yielded to her push and fell back, leaving a gap just wide enough for a girl of her size to slide through.

Now Yané grinned. "Brilliant! I wonder who built it?"

Saché was too busy climing through the hole to answer. Yané followed suit, calling for me to follow. But I eyed the gap uneasily, expressing a fear that I might not fit.

"Oh, come on, metalman!" Saché exclaimed with disgust, her voice muffled by the wall that separated us. "So you scrape your skin a little. Worse things have happened to droids."

I did not like the sound of 'worse things,' and I recalled Yané's penchant for taking apart droids.

"Let's get out of here," I heard Saché say. "I told you from the start, we shouldn't have dragged him along."

"You agreed to take him in the end," Yané protested. "But ?" her tone changed to one of resignation ? "if he can't get through there, we don't really have time to help him out."

That decided it. The thought of being left in the reactor room for an interminable period was too much. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" I informed them, sliding my metal body gingerly through the space and bracing myself for the sound of scraping metal. To my surprise, there was nothing, and I was through the hole before I knew it, adjusting my sensors hastily to the sudden sunlight that struck them. When they were properly acclimated, I focused on the handmaidens and saw that they were grinning, their annoyance thankfully gone.

"Are you still in one piece? Good." Yané said before I could answer. "Let's get going."

"You know, you're all right, metalman," Saché laughed. I was not overflattered, but coming from her I suppose it was quite a compliment.

"Oh, one moment!" I cried, and scurried back to the hole.

"What is he doing now?" Saché grumbled.

I returned quickly, my stick once more in my hand. "Oh," Yané smiled, "he missed his stick."

Is anyone out there...? This story falls to page nine so very quickly. Ah, well. I'll keep posting either until someone reads or until I get kicked off.
--------------
Yané glanced at the hole in the wall and frowned. "Saché ? shouldn't we close the wall again?"

"I almost forgot." Saché went back and pushed the metal portion back, with some effort.

By now my optical sensors had fully adjusted to the light, and I was able to view the scene before us. It was quite astounding. We had exited the palace on the borders of a lush forest, its vivid green foliage rising high above us. It would, indeed, provide an excellent cover for the girls, clad in dark robes. I, on the other hand, would scarcely remain hidden, with my shining metal covering reflecting the sunlight.

"Don't be silly," Saché told me. "As long as we're in the forest, the trees will keep out the light."

The cover of trees would be better than standing in the open, at any rate, so I voiced no further complaints as I followed the handmaidens into the forest. Instantly my sensors picked up a sharp drop in the temperature caused by the paucity of sunlight, and the quiet hum of woodcreatures roaming about. I wondered uneasily if such animals would be offended at our entrance into their habitat.

"Don't worry," Yané laughed, "I'm sure they don't attack droids." Could the same be said of her? I thought silently, but, as she had not yet attempted to disassemble me, I suppose I was relatively safe.

After we had proceeded through the woods for several minutes, Saché, who was leading our small group, stopped suddenly. "Quiet," she commanded, though we had been silent. "Did you hear that?"

I amplified my arual sensors, but they picked up only the same sounds of the forest.

Yané seemed to agree. "I don't hear anything,"

Saché titled her head slightly. "It was a quick noise, like a snapping twig ? or a blaster shot." She and Yané exchanged somber glances.

"Do you think there's battle droids around here?" Yané asked.

"Could be." Saché's keen eyes began scanning the trees around us. Finally, however, she stopped searching and shrugged uneasily. "I don't see anything. Let's keep going."

Just upping this to see if anyone's actually reading this. If so, I have more to post! but only if someone's interested...