Saga [DDC 2015] The Chronicles of I-5YQ (Updated 12/22/15-Complete)

If there weren't a couple of them running around in town (I think?), then I'd agree about wondering if these women were actually leaving deliberately. But with the memory alteration thing...

I think that this sounds likely (and interesting) as well.

No kidding! This has big, noisy, attention-drawing problem written all over it. And they really can't afford the attention.

Liked that it was Norro that made this particular connection. He's so enthusiastic and teenaged most of the time that it's easy to forget where he comes from, but he's seen a lot of the shadier side of the galaxy.

 

Thanks. I hope I can come up with something interesting to read.

It is hard to explain how the women couldn't be found unless the cops are incompetent or crooked.

In the profics Lorn Pavan entrusted I-Five with a friend while he went on a dangerous mission. If he died the friend was supposed to take I-Five to Jax. Instead he did a memory wipe on I-Five. It took him years to regain his memory and self repair. I think he will take it personally.

When have they ever been careful? lol!

I'm glad you like my OC. He is the only OC main character in this story.

That's exactly right.

Thanks. I wanted him to fit into the story and not have him as a useless character Jax gets to drag around. Teenagers can be a pain in the butt and irritating. I should know, I was a teenager once. Norro can be the thorn in I-Five's side for a while. We can't have Den always teasing him.

Thanks everybody for reading!!!

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Entry 20

Recovered Memory

We discussed different ways to recon the Drogan Medical Building. Sacha wanted to make a consultation appointment for one of us and hopefully we'd get a chance to look around while in the building. I truly doubt any nefarious activities would be apparent in any easily accessible area of the building, but we could use the visit to eliminate areas to search if we did discover a way to sneak into the building.

Sacha pulled up the construction plans from the local Building and Zoning Management Department and realized the medical center was built like a fortress with solid duracrete walls, blaster-proof windows and heavy security doors. That doesn’t surprise me. Medical buildings usually have prescription drugs prized by addicts. They also have high priced multi-million credit medical machinery, computers and other valuables.

Sacha had been scrutinizing the design plans for the last hour, shaking her head and mumbling that this was hopeless. I went over to her desk and glanced over her shoulder. She looked up to me and frowned. “It is locked up tight.”

I examined the floor plan of the three story building and was ready to concur with her assessment but then I noticed something. I pointed to the computer screen. “Is that a sewer access in the basement?”

She nodded. “I considered that possible ingress but I decided it wasn’t doable.”

I looked over the plans more carefully and saw what she was referring to. “The pipe leading to the building is small.”

She nodded. “It is fifty centimeters in diameter, and the pipe has durasteel bars covering the area where the small pipe meets with the main sewer line.”

I turned to Den who was sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and analyzing something on his datapad. “Den, could you fit through a fifty centimeter pipe?”

“Doubtful.” He patted his belly where he has a slight paunch. “I may be short, but I am just as wide as most adult humans.”

I looked over to Norro perched on the corner of the bed. When we rescued the boy from the prison world of Despayre he was little more than a walking skeleton—emaciated and close to starvation. He has gained weight since he has been with us, but his once severely limited diet stunted his growth. He was short and still maintained a frightening low percentage of body fat. I estimate his height and weight to be 1.6 meters and 45 kilograms. He probably would fit, but I wasn’t going to ask a boy to do such a dangerous mission.

Sacha frowned at the computer screen. “I think we need more information. One of us should try to get inside.”

I raised a hand. “I’ll go. I can pass as human, especially if I use some make-up to make my complexion less even.”

Jax shook his head. “I don’t know. That may seem suspicious. You don't look like a person traumatized. Also they may want to do a quick medical check up during the appointment. I know your insides are designed to mimic a human's anatomy, but I don't want you taking that risk."

Magash pushed off the wall she was leaning against and walked over to where Norro sat. “Norro has scars from when he was attacked by a virevol on Despayre.” She sat down next to the boy. “I-Five and I could pose as his adopted parents. We can say he was a war orphan that was attacked by some unknown animal and he still suffers from flashbacks.” She looked to me. “Do you think that would be a more believable story?”

I nodded. “I think so, especially if we get identifications with a common surname.”

Jax didn’t appear convinced. I looked to him questioningly. “You don’t think it will work?”

“It’s not that,” Jax said slowly. “I just don’t want to put a child into harm’s way.”

“I’m a teenager, not a child,” Norro protested.

“They will simply be getting a consultation appointment,” Sacha explained. “They don’t have a criminal record and they are not wanted by the Imperials, so it is unlikely their presence in the building will trigger any face recognition software. The worse that could happen is they are asked to leave.”

Jax shook his head. “What if the kidnappers are in the building? They may recognize Magash. She’s the only Zabrak I have seen on the planet. She stands out.”

Magash stood and came to stand by my side. “I am willing to take the risk.” She looked over to Norro. “What about you?”

The young man thought about it for a few seconds before nodding in agreement.

“I highly doubt the kidnappers will be in a professional building,” I remarked. “The women are secreted into the facility in the middle of the night. They have someone inside, but I would wager it is an employee who has never been to Svang.”

Jax threw his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I don’t like it, but I don’t see any other way to get inside.”

“We should get our identification first.” I gave Magash a sidelong glance. “Do you wish to be a Pavan…at least on the official records?”

I am used to her stoic façade, but this time a small smile graced her lips. “I do not mind being identified as part of a family…on the official records.”

I grinned. “I guess we have some appointments to make.”



Entry 21

Recovered Memory

The line to request replacement identification at the consulate office was extremely long. It was long enough that crowd control posts and ropes were positioned in the waiting area creating a maze of turns that we had to traverse to get to one of the two Phindians manning the counter.

“How can I assist,” the green skinned Phindian said in a thick Basic accent as we finally approached her work space.

I put a hand around Magash’s waist and smiled at the alien. “My wife, son and I wish to acquire replacement identification. We escaped the fighting on Biitu.” I reached into my coat pocket and produced flimsiplast documents Sacha forged for us. They were made to look like a Biitu marriage certificate and adoption papers for Norro. Sacha also went as far as creating a student identification and library card for Norro. I also handed the worker three ID replacement applications. “We were robbed in transit and our official identification was stolen. Luckily these documents were in our luggage tucked away in the baggage compartment.”

I am not sure what boredom on a Phindian looks like, but I am fairly certain she was tired of my story already. She picked up the paperwork and glanced them over. “Are these names correct? Magash Drashi Pavan, Norro Pavan and Fyve Pavan?”

“Yes,” I said with my best fake smile. I know the given name of Fyve wasn’t very original, especially since it is pronounced the same as Five, but I thought I should keep it simple. It was infinitely better than the list of names Norro had suggested which included Ron A. Muck, Ty Tass, Peter Pantz and U.P. Freehly. Since Norro is learning to read and write Basic I assume Den assisted him in compiling that particular list.

The Phindian looked at the three of us. “Will you vouch for each other that your names are as listed on the documentation provided?”

We all answered, “Yes”.

She handed back my forged documents then typed something into her computer before directing us to a side room where a disgruntled employee captured our image and printed out three brand new identifications. They were embossed with the Phindian crest, but they also had an Imperial hologram pressed into the back of the card. It was identification accepted by all worlds in the new Empire. As we walked out of the consulate building I gazed at my identification card and new name: Fyve Pavan. I feel extremely proud to carry the surname of my old friend—and the man I considered a father—Lorn Pavan.



Entry 22


Recovered Memory

Sacha got Norro a consultation appointment later that week. We used the time to practice our story. We couldn’t afford any slip ups. Magash and I were married on Biitu and adopted Norro a few years later from an orphanage packed with war refugees. He was a hard to place adoptee because of his age. He also had chronic anxiety and flashbacks from the time he was attacked by some sort of predatory cat.

Norro took on his new role with no problem. I, on the other hand, was having difficulties looking like a relaxed married man. Every time Magash touched me I had a tendency to startle. I wish I knew how to control my droid programming, but at this time that ability eludes me. Magash’s solution was to spend the next few days practicing the body language and gestures of a married couple.

I did not know married people had their own language, but I am learning. For example, when I am asked a question while in the presence of Magash I was told I should always look to her before answering. According to Sacha married couples can communicate with each other with just a look. Den also volunteered to teach me certain gestures indicative of a married couple.

“Sit together on the edge of the bed,” Den instructed us. Magash and I complied. Den made an expression of disapproval. “No, you are too far apart. You don’t get that degree of separation until you hit your twentieth wedding anniversary. Sit closer.”

Magash scooted over until she was pressed tightly against my thigh. Den scrutinized our positioning before he shook his head. “No, that is honeymoon close. Pull apart until you are a couple centimeters from each other.” He walked over and picked up my hand closest to Magash. “And put your hand on her knee. If the doctors at the clinic say something that you deem as helpful you give Magash’s leg a gentle squeeze and smile. If they say something upsetting, like they can’t help you, give her knee a squeeze and look to her with a sad expression.”

I lifted my hand to interrupt Den. “So the knee squeeze is a universal gesture for sadness and happiness?”

“Sort of,” Den said. “It is a gesture of support. And remember to always glance over to Magash before making any statement that could be construed as a decision. I can’t stress this enough. Always look to Magash before making a decision.” He gestured toward us. “Let’s practice. I’m the doctor.” Den stood up straight and made a face that I assume represented someone of authority. “So, you would like us to treat your son for anxiety?”

I gently rested my hand on Magash’s knee and gave it a soft squeeze before turning to her with a smile. After gazing into her mesmerizing green eyes for a few seconds, I turned back to Den. “Yes, yes we do.”

Den crossed his arms across his chest, regarding us quietly. “Something’s wrong.”

“Make them kiss,” came a suggestion from Norro who was sitting on the floor across from us playing a holonet game on his datapad. He put down the device long enough to grin at me. “He needs to loosen up.”

I heard Jax and Sacha laugh softly as they pretended to be captivated by something on their computer screen.

I gave the boy a disapproving look. It appears Norro wants his fake parents to become a real couple. “Norro, I doubt there will be any circumstance where Magash and I will need to kiss while inside the medical facility.”

The boy just shrugged and went back to his game.

“I know what’s wrong,” Den exclaimed. “You both are sitting up too straight. A couple has a tendency to lean slightly towards each other. They don’t sit ramrod straight. Relax your posture.”

I let my shoulders droop as I leaned toward Magash. I guess I leaned too much because Den walked up to me and repositioned my body. “You look like you fell asleep in a public transport and are using her shoulder for a headrest. Don’t actually touch. Just lean in a couple of degrees.” Magash and I did as we were told. Den nodded his approval. “Good, good…now kiss.”

I shook my head and stood. “You are as bad as Norro.”

Den laughed before giving Magash a wink. “He needs the practice. I think he’s only kissed a woman once in his life.”

Magash smiled. “He does not need practice. He is proficient in that particular skill.”

Norro laughed out loud. “Five’s the man!”

It is too bad I don’t have an excuse to retreat to the ‘fresher, because I had an incredible urge to leave the room. “If you excuse me I’m going to…” I hesitated. I was going to say, ‘Get some fresh air’ or ‘Pick up something from the restaurant’ but neither is something a droid would need. I decided to tell the truth. “I’m going to get away from Den and Norro for a moment before I say or do something I’ll later regret.”

As I walked out the door I heard Norro snicker, “Like not kissing when you had a chance.”

I sighed deeply as the door shut behind me. It was a gesture of frustration supposedly programmed into the HRD body. He’s right though. I already regret not taking that kiss.

 

The plans sound solid but the teasing by Den and Norro is rlentless. I do think that the "training" in subtle couple body language will come in handy, make the cover story more convincing.

 

I-Five (or Fyve) is just never going to get a break from the crew about him and Magash.

I do worry about them wandering into this sinister hospital -- if it's that hard to get into, what if they need to get out? But of course if they paid attention to concerns like that there'd be no story.

 

Too funny. Those names, though.

 

Funny plans and I hope it's not a horror hospital

 

That is true. What would happen if Han and Luke never broke into the Death Star detention center. It would be a short movie as the battle station went around the galaxy blowing up planets. I do agree that I-Five won't catch a break. Prior to his injury and memory problems he was the person sarcastically harassing Jax and Sacha. Now it is payback time. Now that he is exhibiting more human emotions...like embarrassment...he is a target. Before I doubt anything the gang could dish out would bother him much.

Thanks. I forgot Amanda Huggenkiss. Can you tell I watch The Simpsons?

I have friends that have been married for years and I notice if you ask one of the couple a question they often look at each other before answering.

I don't like watching scary movies about hospitals and sick experiments. I don't think I have the stomach to write something really horrific. I just hope I can put in some suspense and make the story interesting.

Thanks everybody for reading. I really appreciate it.
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Entry 23

Recovered Memory

On the day of the reconnoiter mission, Sacha lent Magash one of her dresses and I squeezed into a borrowed pair of trousers and one of Jax’s dress shirts. Norro wore shorts and a colorful tunic with the logo of the Corellian National smashball team embroidered above the breast pocket. We checked out our outfits in the hotel mirror and, all in all, I would say we looked like a normal family. Zabraks and humans often marry and facial tattoos are ubiquitous to Zabraks, not just Dathomiri witches.

“We look like a bunch of soft bellies,” Norro complained.

“And what is a soft belly?” I asked while straightening my tunic.

“That’s prison slang for a non-violent offender thrust into a high security prison with murderers and rapists.”

“I assure you,” Magash said sternly. “My belly is anything but soft.”

I couldn’t help but smirk at that statement because it is so true. A few times Magash wore outfits exposing her stomach and I couldn’t help by notice her extremely toned abdominal muscles. I also have an excellent physique but in my case it is pliable foam positioned under my synthetic skin to give the illusion of an extremely muscular body. Or at least that is what my owner’s manual says. It doesn’t matter that the muscles are fake, my mechanical frame and hydraulics make me stronger than any human.

Norro laughed and grinned at Magash. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Den came up to us and handed out small transmitters we can clip to our clothing. “Stay in touch. If Magash gets one of her Jedi hunches that the situation is becoming dangerous—get out.”

“I promise you I won’t let anything happen to my wife and son.” I grinned, liking the sound of that. I turned to Jax and Sacha who were adjusting their computer’s transceiver to pick up our audio. “I guess we should go. We don’t want to be late.”

Sacha pointed to the computer. “I will try to stay in audio contact, but I have discovered some medical buildings use a signal jammer to protect their client’s privacy. Don’t count on us hearing you if you get in trouble.”

“There won’t be any trouble,” I said confidently. I put out an elbow offering Magash my arm. “Shall we go?”

She wrapped an arm around mine. “I am, husband mine.”

“Ack!” Den cringed. “That is the stupidest pet name I have ever heard. Don’t call him husband.”

“Ah.” She turned to me. “We should go, Love.”

I guess Norro didn’t find that name any better. He groaned in disgust as we walked out the door.


Entry 24

Recovered Memory

We were greeted in the lobby of the Drogan Medical Building by a smiling Phindian female with light green skin and clothing that I assume is categorized as casual-smart on the planet. “Mister and Missus Pavan, it is a pleasure to meet you.” She turned to Norro. “And this must be your son Norro. I know Doctor Rugan is looking forward to talking to you.” She stood, her knobby hands gesturing us to follow her. “This way.”

She led us into a room that consisted of an exam table and two cushioned chairs. I motioned for Norro to get on the table as Magash and I sat down. "Doctor Rugan will be in shortly," she said before exiting and closing the door behind her.

Norro looked a little nervous as he sat on the exam table--which is understandable. After he was rescued from Despayre he suffered through numerous doctor visits as they tried to rid him of an intestinal parasite. He also received dozens of immunizations and a trip to the dentist office.

“You don’t think they are going to make me undress…in front of you two…do you?”

I was still a little irritated at the boy for his constant teasing and I thought a little payback was in order. “Probably. They can’t do a rectal exam with your clothing on.”

“What?” Norro looked to me and then to Magash who somehow maintained a straight face. “You’ll leave if I have to get undressed…won’t you?”

Magash shrugged. “I may need to assist the doctor in holding you down for your shots.”

“Shots!”

“Or when the doctor inserts the catheter,” I added.

Norro crossed his arms across his chest and sneered at us. “Now I know you are lying. I am here for anxiety not any condition needing a catheter or a rectal exam.”

“Didn’t you know when Sacha made the appointment she told the clinic you were a chronic bed wetter.” I temporarily saw Magash’s stoic expression falter at that comment.

“She also said you were constipated. You might be required to supply a stool sample,” Magash added. Norro’s eyes went wide as his jaw went slack. That was too much for Magash who burst out in laughter. It took her a few minutes to regain her composure. When she did she grinned at the boy. “I am sorry Norro, but if you continue to tease people, they will eventually tease you back.”

He rolled his eyes and looked away, his face turning a nice shade of red. “Not funny!”

Magash looked to me. “I thought it was funny. Didn’t you?”

“Extremely funny.”

At that point the door opened and a tall, brown-skinned, Phindian doctor entered wearing a white smock and a wide smile. He stretched out his hand to us. “Mister and Missus Pavan. It’s nice to meet you. I’m doctor Rugan.” Magash and I stood and shook his hand before sitting back down. His attention then turned to Norro lounging on the exam table. “You must be Norro. I was told you are having nightmares and flashbacks from an attack you suffered.”

Norro nodded then fell into his role of a traumatized orphan. “Yes. I was attacked by an animal.” He turned to the side and lifted up the back of his tunic. “You can see the scars.”

The doctor lifted Norro’s shirt and frowned at the young man’s back. Norro was actually too young to remember the virevol attack he suffered, but the evidence of his mauling was still apparent. Every centimeter of his back was covered in upraised keloid scars where the creature had nearly clawed him to death.

“Oh my,” the doctor gasped. “I can see why the young man suffers from night terrors.” He lowered the shirt and stared at Norro. “How often do you have these nightmares?”

Norro shrugged. “At least four or five times a week. I wake up shaking and covered with sweat. I can still remember the rancid smell of the cat’s breath as he tried to eat me alive.” He threw his arms out wide. “The creature was enormous with big teeth and claws as long as my hand.”

I tried to signal Norro to stop extemporizing and overacting, but he ignored me. Luckily Magash is a quick thinker. “Norro please stop talking about the attack. You know how that triggers the night terrors. I think the doctor has enough information for now.”

Norro stopped looking somewhat sheepish. “Sorry, you’re right.”

The doctor turned to us. “I saw in the admission application that Norro is adopted. I assume that means you have no knowledge of his family’s medical history. Is that correct?”

I nodded.

The Phindian rubbed a hand over his chin in thought. “Other than the night terrors, have you noticed any disturbing behavior such as mood swings, hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, catatonia, depression, or mania?”

I shook my head. “No, just the normal teenage emotions.”

“That in itself can be bad,” the doctor said with a chuckle. “I believe Norro could benefit from treatment…but that is for you to decide. Do you want us to erase the memory of the attack?”

I was about to say yes, but remembered my training. I put my hand on Magash’s knee, gave it a gentle squeeze as I gazed into her eyes. “What do you think?”

Magash regarded the doctor. “I have questions. I would like to see the equipment and learn more about the procedure. Also, do you treat many humans?”

“I’ll be more than happy to show you our facility. It is a painless procedure and non-evasive. As for treating humans. We have treated two women in the last year or so. Both were abused as children. They wanted to leave behind their past and start fresh. We have a ninety percent success rate for both humans and other humanoid species.” He opened the door and gestured toward the hallway. “If you follow me I will give you a glimpse of our facilities.”

We followed him down the hall and stopped in front of a door closed. “We have a patient undergoing treatment in this room,” the doctor said. “Because of privacy concerns I can’t show you the device in use.” He opened the door of a second chamber. Inside was a padded reclining seat with a bucket-shaped apparatus suspended above by a wall mounted mechanical arm. I assume the device is lowered onto a patient’s head. The strange helmet-like contraption was attached to numerous sensors and readouts. “This is our second machine. It has a built in magnetic resonance imager to find the area where the offensive memory is stored. We will then use sound waves to eradicate specific neurons. We will put Norro into the MRI and have him think about the traumatic event allowing us to locate where those specific memories are located. It won’t hurt a bit, young man.” He turned and when he didn’t see Norro he made a full circle looking for him. “Where’d he go?”

I poked my head out into the hallway and caught him leaving the other treatment room. He’s a smart boy. He was trying to find out who was in the next room. I grabbed him by the tunic and made an effort of looking irritated. “Pay attention son. You’re the patient. This should interest you.”

Magash looked at the machinery, her brow furrowed. “Do you only have two machines?”

“Just two. We have another patient scheduled to check in today.”

“Is your waiting list long?” I asked.

The doctor nodded his large head. “It is a long waiting list, but we have streamlined the procedure once we acquired these two new machines. We had only one apparatus previously and it took six times as long to treat a patient than it does with this equipment. What once took two months can now be completed in a little over a week.”

“If you have such a long waiting list, why not use the third machine?” Magash asked.

The doctor shrugged his bony shoulders. “It gives inferior quality of care. We hauled it to the basement where it is collecting dust.” He turned to Norro. “Do you have any questions?”

Norro’s face scrunched up in an over-the-top expression of deep thought. “Yes. When you take away the memory of the attack is that just a blank part of my memory or do you replace that memory with something nice…like me dating a beautiful girl or something?”

The doctor chuckled. “I assume your attack was of a short duration…minutes and not hours or days. Depending on the recovery time and the amount of pain you endured after the attack, we might not have to erase much. I doubt you would notice any missing time. We insert memories only when we erase long term events such as child abuse. In that case we discuss with the patient what type of memory they would want inserted. It will be like the flash training done with clones. The inserted memories have to be designed not to cause the patient more distress or confusion. In your case you have scars to explain away. If we had to, we would probably put in a memory that this event happened when you were a toddler and you have no recollection of the attack.”

“How long would I have to be here?” Norro asked.

The doctor gestured to the empty bed. “Usually it takes three or four days to determine the locations of the specific memories, two days for treatment and two days under observation during recovery.” He looked to me and Magash. “If you want to set up an appointment you can see the personnel at the front desk. From what Norro says I would say he is a good candidate for neural therapy treatment.”

I looked to Magash, giving her my mandatory married man’s search for approval prior to talking. “I think we would like a day or two to consider this.”

“I completely understand.” The doctor ushered us out of the room and down the hallway. He opened the door leading to the lobby. “I’m glad to meet you Norro. Maybe I’ll see you again.”

We said our goodbyes and walked out of the building.

As we strolled down the sidewalk I turned Norro. “Was Sondra in the other room?”

He shook his head disappointed. “No, just some Phindian.”

I blew out a breath. “I knew it couldn’t be that easy.”

“We learned much.” Magash reached out and wrapped her arm around mine, pulling me close so she could whisper to me. “I believe somebody is using the outdated machine in the basement.”

I gave a nod. “I think so too. We need to figure a way to get into the basement…but that may be impossible.”

She glanced at me and smiled. “You will find a way. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities.”

I wish I had her confidence.

 

Excellent sleuthing. They asked the right questions in just the right tone to get the maximum amount of information any genuine prosspective patients would ask. Yup, definitely the basement is where to look next. The type of therapy if done judiciously sounds like it could be very helpful and get a person back to better than good mental health, but if in the wrong, unscrupulous hands -

 

Good investigatin'. I bet they're right about the machine in the basement; that was my first thought when I read that.

 

Things in the basement are always bad. I hope they will find out more

 

Norro always cracks me up. What a goof ball.

This erasure of memories is something I-Five can certainly relate to, I would think. But the ultimate question is, why? The women are being abducted, but why erase their memories. To make them easier to manage? And what memories are being inserted instead?

Loved this line: I looked to Magash, giving her my mandatory married man’s search for approval prior to talking.

 

Yup, if you're dishing it out you're going to get it back sooner or later. Their goofing around here is a much-needed bit of relief in what is becoming a suspenseful situation. There's something very creepy going on with the amnesia machines. As Ny said, the technology itself could be invaluable if used carefully and for legitimate purposes -- but really dangerous in unscrupulous hands.

As everyone said, it's fun to see I-Five and Magash doing their "acting like a couple" show, and playing detective at the same time. And of course it would be in the basement. Just like it always has to be snakes in Indiana Jones.

Aww, I really like how they've become such a team lately; it's in earlier posts too but it shines very nicely here.

 

I commissioned VagabondX to draw I-Five in his HRD body and Magash together. They are standing by the Artoo unit he sometimes uses. I think it turned out really well.

 

Thanks. I think in every profession there is unscrupulous people. Just look at black market plastic surgeons. If there is money to be made people will do just about anything.

Thanks. I guess I am not subtle when it comes to foreshadowing.

That is where most of the monsters reside in scary movies. That and the attic. I think people don't like being in areas where there are no windows and it is hard to escape.

Thanks. I think spellcheck changed Norro into Norfolk. I am glad you like him.

Thanks. I think Norro would be able to handle the teasing if it was anything but doctors. In Jax's journal he recounted how the boy had to get all his shots and he took medicine to kill his parasite and had multiple appointments. I don't think he is fond of doctors.

I'm glad you like Magash/I-Five. I swore this wouldn't become some weird slash, but I don't know if it would be so bad. I liked the Star Trek episode where Natasha Yar and Data had a fling.


Come on, admit it. That was a great episode.

I want to thank VagabondX for doing up a drawing for me. This is my image of Magash. I read through the books over and over and I didn't see any real accurate description of her other than she is a Zabrak/Human hybrid. I know Zabraks have various skin colors and may or may not have facial tattoos...so I may be way off on her looks, but this is an AU anyway so the heck with it.

Thanks everybody for reading.
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Entry 25

Recovered Memory

After our recon we returned to the hotel where Sacha chastised us for teasing Norro.

“Did you really tell a young teen he was getting a rectal exam?”

I couldn’t suppress a guilty grin. “From your remark I assume the audio signal was not blocked, therefore I will not deny that accusation.” Sacha shook her head in disbelief, but I noticed Jax and Den appeared amused.

It was getting close to checkout time, and not wanting to pay for another night, we decided to leave the hotel and go back to the ship. If we needed to slice into the security vids at a later date we could rent another room in town or work from our rented speeder. That was fine with me. The hotel room was getting a bit too crowded in my opinion.

Once back to the ship we had to make a decision as to how to proceed. My friends and I sat around the ship’s galley table sipping caf (with the exception of Norro who was drinking some sort of juice and of course I don’t imbibe) and discussing our options.

“Sondra wasn’t in either of the two available neural altering devices they use to erase memories.” Magash emphasized. “She has to be in the basement. Someone must have hooked up the old machine and Sondra is in it now.”

Jax drummed his fingers on the table top in thought. “Perhaps…but it is just as likely that the second bed was empty because she was removed. They may have assumed you would ask for a tour and she was hidden until you left the premises.”

“That could be,” I admitted. “But the place is so open and with dozens of staff members.”

“I also did not sense any malicious thoughts coming from the doctor,” Magash said. “Through the Force all I felt was compassion and helpfulness. I do not believe he has anything to do with the missing women.”

“Everybody at the clinic appeared to be helpful and very caring people.” I looked around the table. “I think Magash is correct. Somebody is using the older machine. And if what the doctor said is accurate, it takes about two months for that old machine to do its job. With the new machines it takes 4 days of analysis to determine where the target memories are located, 2 days for treatment and 2 days for recovery. If the old machine maintains the same ratios then it would take a month to do the analysis, two weeks for treatment and two weeks for recovery. Sondra has been missing for almost two weeks now, so that means there is a distinct possibility that we may find her during the analysis phase and we could actually stop them from erasing her memory.”

Sacha put down her cup of caf as a dispirited expression crossed her face. “But how do we get in without getting caught? Jax has a bounty on his head so we can’t afford any contact with law enforcement. Besides the place is built like a fortress. We’d have to blow a hole through a wall to get in and that is not very subtle.”

Sacha was right. When the doctor escorted us to the treatment area I noticed security cams in the hallways and most rooms had a key swipe locking mechanism. “We don’t need to break her out, we just need proof that she’s inside. If we could get a holo-image of her then Sondra’s father could take that evidence and contact the Imperials or perhaps the Phindian Investigation Bureau. We just need to get an imager inside. How about the basement sewer pipes? There are such things as sewer inspection imagers. It is basically a camera at the end of a cable which is snaked up the drain. Do we have anything like that?”

Jax shook his head. “We have some cameras with cable extensions but nothing long enough to do the job you’re suggesting.”

“How about an insect droid?” Den offered. “I have a couple Insect Mimic Message droids. They are usually used to pass on holographic images, but they can be altered to record images.”

Sacha chewed her bottom lip in thought. “Those droids are made to deliver a message to a designated recipient who is generating a signal for the droid to home in on. That won’t work unless we can get the homing device into the basement.”

Den massaged his temples briefly. “I have a servo droid.”

Sacha shook her head sadly. “They are programmed to clean. If you put it in a sewer you'll probably never see it again.”

“We need to figure out a way to save this girl,” I said adamantly with an edge of impatience. “We have to get into the basement.”

Jax spread his hands wide. “There is nothing we can do other than tell Sondra’s father what we suspect and hope the local police force isn’t as corrupt as we believe and they actually investigate. I doubt any higher authorities will act without definitive proof.”

My mouth took on a determined line. “If the police are corrupt we may be endangering her life. If the abductors feel threatened they could kill her and dispose of the evidence. Also the longer we wait the greater the possibility that the kidnappers will move on to the treatment phase and start erasing memories.”

Jax’s scrubbed a hand across his face in frustration. “I want to get the proper evidence to save Sondra, but we don’t know how to get into the basement without setting off alarms and there is nobody small enough to traverse the pipe leading to the building.”

I looked to each of my friends silently as I made the most difficult decision in my life (or what I remember as my life). “There is one person small enough,” I said softly with a hitch in my voice.

Sacha’s eyes narrowed. “I hope you are not volunteering Norro. It is too dangerous and the pipes are probably crawling with bacteria and vermin.”

“No, not Norro.” I muttered uneasily. “I’m talking about me.”

Jax scoffed as he pointed in my direction. “In case you haven’t noticed you barely fit into my clothes. I don’t know what the original purpose was for your HRD chassis, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was constructed to be a bodyguard. You’re built like a smashball tackle.”

I looked down at the table as an uncomfortable chill ran through my body causing my hands to tremble. I recognized the sensation as fear and apprehension. “I’m suggesting that you put my droid brain into the servo droid. Hook up a camera to it and let me fly up the pipes.”

Everybody at the table starred at me in stunned silence. Den was the first to say something. “You want me to remove your brain and put it into another droid body? Are you sure you can handle that? You just about had a seizure when you discovered you were a droid. What will happen when you wake up in a cleaning droid’s body?”

I felt sick just thinking about it. “I don’t know how I will react, but it’s the only way to get the information we need to save her.”

Jax gave me a curious look. “I-Five why are you so determined to risk everything for a stranger?”

I sighed and looked away for a moment. “I don’t like the idea of somebody stealing another person’s memories and filling their head with lies. My recent memory problems have shown me how emotionally painful it can be to believe your life is a certain way and then you discover it is all fictitious.” I looked over to Den. “I don’t remember the memory wipe I had years ago, but Den does. He told me how it took years of self-repair before I was able to salvage precious memories of Lorn Pavan. I don’t want any other person to endure what I went through.” I gazed at Den somberly. “Can the servo droid house my brain?”

He nodded. “I think so. If not, I can make some minor modifications. We can hook up an imager cable that you can extend up past the sewage grate in the basement floor. Hopefully we can find that machine and see if Sondra is inside.”

“Good.” I stood and faced my friends. “If you excuse me, I need time to prepare.” I turned and went to the cargo area where I have been living since Magash’s attempted abduction. I didn’t tell my friends that what I really needed was a place where I could have my panic attack in privacy. I found a location far in the back of the ship where I could slip into the shadows. I dropped to the deck and sat against the bulkhead feeling nauseous. If I could vomit I would, but I can’t. I can only quake in fear and hope I don’t totally lose it when I wake up in a small droid body.



Entry 26

Recovered Memory

I sat in the cargo area alone and distraught for about a half hour before I heard footsteps approaching. I really hoped it wasn’t Den because if he saw how upset I was he might refuse to do the brain transfer. I smiled when I spied Magash walking towards me, her formfitting jumpsuit hugging her body in an excruciating suggestive way. She sat on the deck next to me and gave my knee a friendly pat. “There is no shame in feeling scared.”

“I’m not scared.” That wasn’t exactly true, but I didn’t want to appear a coward.

She chuckled. “You are a lousy liar. I can sense your trepidation in the Force.”

I gave an irritated grunt. “My Force signature is a blabbermouth.” I looked away. “It’s more than trepidation…I’m terrified.”

She smiled sympathetically. “You are very brave.”

I laughed sarcastically. “Didn’t you hear me? I’m scared to death.”

Her head dipped in acknowledgment. “There is a Dathomiri saying, ‘There is no bravery without fear.’

I scoffed as I held my shaky hands out in front of me. “Then I must be the bravest man on this ship, because I am literally trembling with fear.” I stared at her stricken. “I know I am a droid and that Den has switched my brain around to other droids…but I still feel human and the thought of having my brain scooped out and becoming something other than this.” I looked down at my humanoid body. “Horrifies me.”

“Den will make sure you are not harmed.” She put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “And it won’t be for long.”

“I know, I know. I’m not just nervous about the mechanics of the exchange. I’m worried about my emotional well-being. I already had a breakdown when I found out I’m a droid. What if that happens again? I don’t know if I am strong enough to go through with this.”

“Then don’t do it,” she said softly. “There are other options.”

I shook my head. “The longer we wait the more likely the girl will be harmed.”

Magash sighed deeply. “You do not need to take this responsibility onto your shoulders.”

I sat quietly considering her words. “Magash, we were Antarian Rangers fighting against the Empire. We already ran from that fight. I don’t want to do it again.”

She made a dismissive wave of her hand. “We did not run from the fight. Darth Vader and his Inquisitors were actively hunting down Jedi. Jax, Sacha and I were putting the Rangers in danger every day we stayed.” Her eyes narrowed. “Are you calling me a coward for leaving?”

“No, no!” I quickly clarified. “You are one of the bravest women I know.” My shoulders slumped. “Sorry. I’m just don’t like losing my nerve. I also hate the fact that my brain…the core of my being…will be barely protected by the thin hull of a cheap Servo Droid. I’ll be so vulnerable.”

She blew out a breath before turning to me, a mixture of compassion and determination filling her emerald green eyes. “Den has told me stories about your courage. He said you confronted the possibility of death daily when you assisted medics in the front lines of the Clone Wars. You have faced and fought Darth Vader more than once. You killed an Inquisitor to save your friends. You’ve had an arm pulled off by an irate Wookiee and you were decapitated twice while performing perilous missions…but you are here today. You are a fighter and I have no doubt you will succeed in this mission.”

Her voice was so strong, confident and awe inspiring I had to grin. “That’s some pep talk. Were you the person who gave a rousing speech to your clan sisters before you mounted your vicious man-eating Rancors and trotted off to hunt down some unbelievably deadly creature?”

She chuckled. “No, you are my first pep talk recipient. Did it help rally your courage?”

I thought about it for a second before I shook my head. “No, not really.”

Her face dropped into a mock expression of defeat. “If my words bring you no comfort, I shall try another method.” She eased closer, stretching her arm around my shoulder, before pulling me into her embrace. “I have no experience reassuring a human male, but I have seen Sacha and Jax console each other in this manner. How does this feel?”

I flashed her a good humored grin. “A little less of a headlock would be nice.”

She laughed as she repositioned herself until my head was resting on her shoulder.

“Does this bring you any comfort?”

“Yes,” I responded truthfully. It did feel good to be in her protective embrace. I still worried about the upcoming procedure, but at least I no longer felt alone.

 

#25 - Great of I-Five to volunteer despite feeling trepidatious.

#26 - ok, I have to SQUEEE! This Magash/I-Five is growing on me as if it hadn't already. His level of comfort with her is telling, just as friends he's able to confide in her, and she's very excellent at the pep talk thing, and the nonverbal consoling.

 

I-Five is in the thick of things and sure has a great friend in Magash

 

Poor Five. I think if I found out I was a droid and someone wanted to stick me into a little tiny droid body, I'd have a panic attack, too.

 

Thanks! This is becoming a I-5/Magash love story. Is that allowed? lol!

All members of the group are very close. In the novels there was this weird relationship between Den, I-Five and Jax. If I remember correctly Den was a little jealous that I-Five was so determined to find Jax. Den had planned on going back to Sullustan and hooking up with a lady Sullustan he knew...but in the end his friendship with I-Five was so close that he couldn't leave. It was too much like leaving his family. I-Five had promised Lorn Pavan (who he saw as his best friend and father figure) that he would watch over his son, so he has something almost like a Wookiee life debt going on with Jax. Now in my story Sacha is in love with Jax. Jax has paternal feelings toward Norro. Norro loves everyone for getting him out of Despayre and now I-Five has become smitten with Magash. We just don't know exactly how Magash feels about I-Five. In the profics Magash looked like she was interested in Jax, but in my story she realized she wasn't ready to take on a relationship. Her culture doesn't see men as companions. They are slaves. She knew Sacha was a better match for Jax, so she stepped aside.

I would think so too. I think the anticipation is the worst part. Once the switch is made I think he will be okay. It's like when a rollercoaster is slowly moving up a steep incline, your anxiety heightens, but when you plunge on the other side you are too overwhelmed with the sights and sounds to be nervous. At least that is how it is with me. Hopefully that is how it will be for I-Five.

Thanks everybody that is reading this story!

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Entry 27

Recovered Memory

Den had retrofitted the servo droid to house my brain and rigged a small holocam attached to a flexible neck on the top of the chassis. The imager’s neck movement was controllable and would allow me to view above the basement floor grate once I was in position.

My friend had pulled a folding table into his cabin and was using it as a work bench. In front of him were the disassembled components of a servo droid. I watched him measure out the dimensions of the housing unit where my droid brain would be inserted. He was humming a song while he worked in a calm and efficient manner. The sight of the small droid horrified me and I could feel the trembling in my hands return. I clasped them behind my back to hide my rising anxiety. I didn’t want to have another breakdown. I had to remain strong. The life of a missing girl depended on me remaining calm…but I was anything but composed. My thoughts leapt feverishly as a cascade of possible disasters ran though my droid brain.

“Will this work?” I needed Den to reassure me.

“I think so,” he said casually, not looking up from his work.

“You think so?” The words came out in a panic. “You are about to scoop my brain out and you don’t know if this will work?”

Den looked up to me, his big black eyes unreadable. “I-Five, I only meant I don’t know if you’ll get the evidence you need. I wasn’t suggesting that you’d be harmed physically. I’ve transferred your droid brain to a half dozen droids over the years into all models and configurations and I haven’t kriff’d it up yet. I know what I’m doing.”

“Okay.” I tried to sound confident in my friend’s abilities, but it didn’t sound convincing. My apprehension rose and I began pacing the room to hide the tremors racking my body.

Den looked back to the servo droid, connecting wires and checking circuits. “Can you stop pacing? You’re making me nervous.”

I gave out a caustic laugh. “I’m making you nervous?”

Den put down his tools. “I’m not going to do the transfer.”

“What?” I walked up to him. “Why not?”

“Because you are going to have another episode…a seizure or breakdown. You are not ready for this.”

I rung my hands nervously. “I can do this.”

“Then you need to calm down. Go see Magash.”

My brow rose questioningly. “Why should I see Magash?”

Den picked up his tools before rolling his eyes. “Because she was the person who was able to calm you down during your last attack. I think she has a way of distracting you.”

I glared at him as a blush reddened my cheeks. “She doesn’t distract me.”

He gave a shrug. “Okay she doesn’t, but you are distracting me. I don’t want to make a mistake and crosswire your repulsors so up is down and left is right.” When I didn’t move he pointed to the cabin door. “Get out.”

I heaved a sigh before I left the cabin. In the corridor I found Jax leaving the ‘fresher. “How’s it going?”

I shrugged. “Den is reconfiguring the droid so my brain will fit.”

“Good.” He scrutinized me for a moment before leaning back against the corridor wall. “Do you really want to do this?”

I closed my eyes. “I want to do it.” That was the truth. I did want to do the mission…I was just terrified at the thought.

Jax obviously didn’t see my unease. He smiled and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Come into the galley. We’ve been working on a plan.”

I moved into the kitchen area where I found Magash, Norro and Sacha looking over schematics on a datapad. They looked up when they heard me enter the room and Magash patted the empty seat next to her inviting me over. I sat down next to her and felt a calmness wash over me. Den was right, she does have a soothing effect on me. I wondered if she was using some Dathomiri spell to steel my resolve.

“Tomorrow the medical center is closed,” Sacha told me. “It is a Phindian national holiday. There should only be essential personnel in the building. If Den gets the droid ready, I think that would be a good day to do the mission.”

I craned my neck to see the plans she was looking at. “Did you find the best way into the sewer?”

Sacha pushed a couple buttons and slid the datapad over to me. “In the alley behind the building there is a sewer cover. I had Jax check it out this morning. He said there is a dumpster nearby that he can move to mask your movements. He’ll open the cover and you two will enter the sewer.”

Norro glared at Sacha. “Me too.”

She let loose a frustrated breath. “It’s too dangerous.”

He crossed his bony arms in front of his chest, his face a determined mask. “If something goes wrong, if I-Five has flight problems, I’m the only other person small enough to go in and get him.”

Sacha’s face pinched into a troubled expression. “I-Five is getting his brain transferred into a servo droid so you don’t have to traverse those pipes.”

The boy scowled melodramatically. “I know! That’s why I said I would be available if he had flight problems. What if he gets stuck in the pipes?” He looked to each one of us. “You need a backup plan.”

Jax sat down next to Sacha and smirked. “He found out I was using a lightsaber to cut the bars covering the pipe leading to the basement. He wants to be the person brandishing the lightsaber.”

“That’s not it,” Norro protested. “Or that’s not the only reason. Do you really want to go into this without any alternate strategy?” He looked to me and held out his arms in a pleading gesture. “I don’t want anything to happen to my father, Fyve Pavan.”

Sacha gave an unladylike snort. “He should be an actor.”

“He’s right though.” Jax ran his hands through his hair before he threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine. You’ll come with me as backup.”

Norro popped up out of his seat and gave a hoot. “I get to use the lightsaber!”

“I didn’t say that,” Jax protested.

“Let us get back to the plan.” Magash reached over to the datapad and pushed a button bringing up the layout of the building. “The drainage pipe leads to the center of the basement. You should be able to see most of the lower level from the drain location.”

Jax made an upward gesture with his hand. “You pop up that camera on its flexible neck and get a three-sixty look into the room. Record whatever information you see and get out. We’ll exit the sewer and rendezvous with Den and Magash in the speeder.” He turned to Sacha. “Sacha will remain here prepping the ship so we can make a quick exit if need be.”

“That sounds simple enough.” I tried to look upbeat, but I was still terrified. I felt a soothing wave pass through me and I turned to catch Magash gazing in my direction intently. Now I am positive she is doing some witch spell on me.

I leaned over and whispered to her. “Are you using some Force magic to calm me down?”

Her eyes went wide. I guess she was surprised that I could detect what she was doing. “Yes. Do you wish me to stop?”

I shook my head. “No. I need all the help that I can get.”



Entry 28

Recovered Memory

Today is the day. We wouldn’t enter the sewer pipes until dark, but for now Den needed to do the transfer and give me some time to practice maneuvering the servo droid.

All of us went into the cargo hold where I would have room to fly once the transfer is complete. Den laid the small droid on my sleeping cot and pulled up a chair for me to sit in.

“Just sit down and we’ll get started.”

I gazed at the chair for a long moment and then to my friends in the room. They didn’t look any more thrilled about this transfer than I did. Sacha had a worried expression on her face as she nervously shifted from foot to foot. Jax’s eyes flickered from me to the servo droid as he reached out and captured Sacha’s hand in a calming gesture.

Norro was leaning against a bulkhead wide eyed and fidgety. Magash’s head hung down, her eyes gazing at the deck. Den looked confident but his mouth was pulled into a grim, determined line.

I forced a laugh. “You guys look like you are attending my funeral. Den, I thought you said you’ve done this dozens of times.”

Den gave a nod of the head. “I have. We’re just worried about your reaction.”

I took a step towards the chair, then hesitated, turning back to my friends. “I think I would be less nervous if you guys weren’t around.”

“Sure,” Jax said as he turned and moved to the door, his hand still clutching Sacha’s. Norro pushed off the bulkhead and exited the room with them.

Magash hesitated. “Would you like me to use my calming spell on you?”

I sat down in the chair and blew out a nervous breath. “Yes, please.”

She walked over and knelt in front of me, putting her hands on my knees, palms up. “Give me your hands.”

I held her hands and closed my eyes. I could feel pressure at the back of my head as Den pulled back a flap of hair hiding the entry panel to my brain case. My grip on Magash tightened as I heard the panel click open.

“Listen to my voice,” Magash whispered as I once again felt a soothing wave wash over me. “You will be fine. Nothing bad will happen to you.”

Her voice drifted off into the distance. I could no longer feel her touch, but I continued to feel her calming presence, her caress through the Force. It was a strange sensation, similar to the time when we first met and she did that probing spell on me. Back then I was surprised and a little upset that she used the Force to sneak into me and analyze my consciousness. This time was different. Having her Force presence suffused around me gave me comfort.

Eventually I could hear Den speaking. “I-Five, can you hear me?”

I tried to turn toward his voice when a sudden sensation of vertigo hit me causing my vision to spin. Eventually I realized I was the one spinning. I was floating about a meter above the deck in an uncontrolled gyration. I saw Den’s hands grab me as he begged me to stop trying to move. I willed myself to remain still causing the droid’s small repulsor lifts to power down.

“Be still. If you want to communicate with us, just think. This droid doesn’t have an audio speaker, so you can’t talk to us normally. Just think about what you want to say and your thoughts will be translated into words and sent to our wireless earphones." He tossed a earbud to Magash who pushed it into her ear. "Can you hear me?”

‘Yes.’

I could feel my body move as Den set me back down on my sleep pallet. At one point my optical sensor caught sight of my HDR body. The hair on the back of the head was pulled back exposing the interior brain case. Magash once told me about shaman witches having out-of-body experiences—well I was having one right now. I was beginning to panic at the sight of my human body. Magash walked into my line of sight and I could see the worried expression on her face. I hate her seeing me like this—seeing me as I truly am—a compact positronic brain. The fact that I my conscious can be transferred from droid chassis to droid chassis was proof that everything that made me truly me can be held in the palm of Den’s hand. It is a depressing thought and I felt like a fraud. My friends treat me as an equal and I’m not. I’m simply an artificial neural network. I am nothing else. I am nothing.

“You are something,” Magash said pulling me out of my musing.

Den sighed with a shake of his head. “I said you just have to think and the signal will be translated into our earpieces.”

‘You heard all of that!’

“You mean your self-deprecating and depressing thoughts?” Den chuckled at my expense. “I will adjust the communication link where you have to think a key word prior to and after the end of the transmission.”

‘You should have done that before making the switch!’

Den picked up his datapad and punched a long string of commands. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were dealing with thoughts of inadequacy and feelings of low self-worth.”

‘I’m not!’ I insisted. ‘Or at least I normally don’t think such depressing thoughts. These last few weeks have been stressful to me. First I believe I’m human and now my brain is shoved into a cleaning droid. A small machine used to clean toilet paper and urine off the floors of ‘freshers! If I did this to you I doubt you would remain upbeat!’

“Sorry, sorry.” He pushed once last button on his datapad. “Finished. When you want to transmit think ‘start’ when you are done think ‘out’. You don’t have to do it before every sentence. When you start the mission you can keep the line open, just watch your thoughts.”

‘Thanks,’ I thought. When Den did not answer I tried again. ‘[Start] Thanks, can you hear me? [Out]’

“I hear you. We have some time before we leave. You need to take the time to learn how to fly and control the camera. Try powering up your repulsors.”

I was sitting on my sleep pallet as I activated the repulsor engines. At least if I failed and crashed I would land on a cushioned surface.

“Good,” Den said with a smile. “Now think about floating up.”

I concentrated on the thought of flying. I wobbled in space for a moment before I slowly drifted upward.

Den’s grin grew wider. “You are doing great. Now try to slowly turn in a circle.”

I tried to do as he said, but I wobbled and felt a strange sensation followed by the sound of splashing water. ‘[Start] What just happened? [Out]’

Den put a hand over his mouth to muffle a laugh. “You accidentally activated your cleaning mechanism and released some washing fluid.”

I am sure if a servo droid could blush I would be doing so right about now. ‘[Start] Are you saying I wet my bed? [Out]’

This time Magash broke out in laughter. “Sorry.” She turned around as she tried to compose herself, but I could still see her shoulders shaking in amusement.

Den pinched his face up to hide a grin. “Don’t worry about it. It happens to the best of us.”

‘[Start] Sure, I’m certain this is an everyday occurrence for most people. Who hasn’t had their brain put in a servo droid with an incontinence problem? [Out]’

Magash made a snort/laugh sound before she excused herself saying she had to use the ‘fresher.

Den grabbed me out of the air and put me on the deck floor. “Just in case you have another accident…these floors need scrubbing.”

I wished this chassis had hands so I could smack him upside the head.

“Let’s try again.”

I once again activated the repulsors and slowly rose off the deck. When I tried flying I lost control and bumped into the bulkhead. During my second try I rammed into Den’s head…which I didn’t do on purpose…but he deserved it. Eventually I figured out how to hover in place and move about. I even learned what actions would control the cleaning functions…in this case I was trying to ensure I avoided activating the washing and scrubbing utilities. I then practiced controlling the Holocam. The imager’s flexible neck was attached on top of the droid chassis and controlled by contractions of the wire filaments within the cable. It worked similar to muscle contractions. That took time to master, but I eventually figured it out.

I was surprised that my sense of panic had subsided. Once the transfer was complete I became immersed with mastering this new body. With that said, I cannot wait to be back into the HRD chassis. My senses are very limited in the servo droid. I can see, but I can’t sense any odors (which might be good while traversing a sewer pipe), I can’t really feel with my new body. I can sense vibrations when I hit objects or if something grabs me. There are no touch sensors on the hull of the droid, instead I am interpreting data coming from a gyro located between the repulsors.

I was resting on a small shipping container with Den checking the camera signal when Jax came into the cargo area to get me. He was dressed in dark clothing with a hoodie pulled down to his brow. Norro entered the room dressed like a miniature version of Jax. “We have the speeder ready.”

Den reached into his pocket and pulled out two earpieces. “Here put these in so you can hear I-Five. He can hear you when you talk in the same room. When he is out of voice range press the button on the earpiece to communicate with him electronically. They are keyed to his frequency.”

Norro and Jax screwed the earbuds into their ears. “Say something I-Five.”

‘[Start] Com check. Check, check. [Out]’

Jax walked out of my line of sight, but I adjust the flexible neck to get him back into view. “Sounds good. How about you Norro?”

“I can hear him fine.”

My vision became skewed as Den picked me up, cradling me in his arms. “I guess it’s showtime.”

Showtime. That is such an upbeat word for a mission that involves a fecal infested drainage system plus breaking and entering.

I just hope everything goes as planned and I can get back to my human body as soon as possible.

 

Excellent plan and has a good start, glad Norro is back-up. Understandable that I-Five would have issues about the "transfer."

Den is an unrepentant tease. Magash is a great support.

 

Well, now that the transfer is over, at least I-Five is able to function without panic. Hope the mission goes well!

 

Five is so incredibly brave. I love how he has the ability to assess himself in a new body and yet still BE himself. He still has his fears and insecurities, his wishes and hopes, and best of all his sense of humor. He is the soul of the body, and there is nothing to be ashamed of in that.

Looking forward to reading how the infiltration plan works out.

 

Love his 'human' reactions to the transfer and the fun. I hope the plan works with Norro as back-up

 

Den is probably closer to I-Five than anybody else. They are best friends and best friends often tease each other. I think this transfer is good for I-Five because he is facing his fears and the reality of his situation.

I think the mission will have a few hiccups.

Thanks! I thought that once he was in the new body it would be a little like a person playing a virtual reality video game. If he didn't think about it too much he might not freak out.

Thanks. I guess this is turning a little into a Pinocchio plot with the droid who wanted to be a man. I don't know how it will turn out for him. I haven't outlined this story. Thanks for reading.

This next entry is a little long. I apologize in advance. I hope it will hold your attention.

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Entry 29

Recovered Memory

On the drive to the medical building I listened to Jax, Den and Norro talking. Magash remained strangely quiet during the ride. I think she was a little nervous for me. Den was driving with Jax in the front passenger seat. I was in the backseat perched between Norro and Magash.

“How did you convince Sacha to stay in the ship?” Den asked Jax.

“I didn’t have to. Once the baby started to move Sacha’s motherly instincts kicked in. She doesn’t want anything to happen to the baby. I told her to lock up the ship tight and keep a blaster on her. I don’t need another kidnapping attempt.”

“You think of any names yet?” Den asked.

“I like the name Tark, Jaran, Dak, Tomas, or Derik. Sacha likes Viktor, Eric, Markus or Triv. We haven’t decided yet.”

Den slowed the speeder and pulled to the side of the road in an area unlit by streetlamps. I could see him pointing out the front windshield. “The building is up at the corner. There is an alley on the side with the entrance of the sewer. Magash and I will wait here in the getaway speeder. We'll be monitoring your communications and I-Five's vid feed. So if you need help let us know and we’ll come in with blasters blazing.”

Jax and Norro exited the speeder. Magash picked my servo droid chassis and handed it to the boy who unceremoniously tucked me under his arm. My vision became jumbled as the two men sprinted toward their destination. Occasionally I was able to focus and view my surroundings. We entered a dimly lit alley. As we moved past a large dumpster Jax made a wave of his hand and I heard the squeal of something large moving behind us. I assume he used the Force to shift the trash container in order to hide our movements from the street. When we finally stopped running I was able to focus on the sewer cover before it levitated up and to the side. Normally Jax avoids using the Force at all costs, not wanting to attract the attention of any Inquisitors in the area, but I assume we are in more danger of being seen by law enforcement than Force strong darksiders.

Jax jumped into the dark opening before calling for Norro to follow. The young boys feet landed with a splash in what I hoped was water.

Jax turned to me and grimaced. “You’re lucky you can’t smell this.”

Norro balanced me in one arm as he pressed the sleeve of his free hand to his face. “Smells like the slit trench toilets on Despayre.”

They both activated glowrods and Norro startled as a spider-roach scuttled off into the darkness. “I hate those things.”

Jax held the glowrod up and then gestured for Norro to follow him. “The access pipe should only be about fifty meters from here.”

My vision jerked and shuttered as Norro switched the Servo droid from under one arm to the other. I would have complained but the situation was stressful enough for me. I just wanted to get this done and over with. Eventually we arrived at the medical facility access pipe. As expected, there were bars covering the opening. I heard the hum of a lightsaber and saw a pale red glow illuminating the underground passageway. Jax used the Sith lightsaber he acquired from an unknown benefactor over a year ago to slice through the durasteel bars.

“Why did you bring the red lightsaber?” Norro asked.

“A couple reasons," Jax said as he deactivated the saber. "If I lose it or have to ditch it I won’t miss it as much as the saber I designed and built. Second, when people see a red lightsaber they immediately think Inquisitor. People avoid Inquisitors like a plague. That aversion might save our lives.” He clipped the saber to his belt before holding his hands out toward me. “Hand me I-Five.”

Norro passed me to Jax who brought me up to his eye level. “Are you ready?”

I activated my transmitter. ‘[Start] I’m ready. Can you hear me? [Out]’

“Loud and clear.” Jax held me up to the pipe entrance. “Whenever you’re ready.”

I fired up the repulsorlifts and shot up the pipe toward the building above. It didn’t take me long to reach the basement's large drainage grate. I steadied myself, hovering directly under the slotted drainage cover, activated the camera and maneuvered the flexible neck up and through the grate. The camera had night vision capabilities, but I didn’t need them. The room was dimly lit, but it was bright enough to see the room clearly. I turned around slowly, getting a three-hundred and sixty degree view of the chamber. There were crates, cleaning supplies and old furniture littering the area, but I didn’t see any evidence of a machine that looked anything like the ones we saw upstairs. There was a storage room off to the side with light pouring out from under the door, but there was no way for me to see inside from my location. ‘[Start] I don’t see anything. There is another room, but the door’s closed. There is light coming from it. I will try to push the grate open and enter the basement. [Out]’

I pressed the top of the servo droid chassis against the grate and fired up the repulsors to full power. The small engines whined from the effort, but the grate didn’t budge. ‘[Start] I can’t move the grate. It’s too heavy. I think this is a bust. What do you want me to do, Jax? [Out]’

There was a long pause before Jax answered. “Norro wants to try to climb up and help you. Do you think he’ll fit?”

‘[Start] I believe so, but there are areas that are steep. I don’t know if he can find enough traction to move up the pipe. [Out]’

“I can give him a push with the Force.”

‘[Start] If he wants to try, that’s fine with me. [Out]’

I waited at the grill entrance for a few minutes before I heard a scrapping sound and an occasional grunt and groan. Norro eventually came into view, covered with grime, his face scrunched with a look of disgust.

“That’s far enough, Jax,” he called out. His movement stopped momentarily before he crawled the last meter to my position. “Move out of the way and I will try to push it up.”

I flew back and watched the boy crawled to a position under the grate and roll over onto his back. He reached up and pushed on the grate with all his might. The wiry muscles in his thin arms strained, but the cover did not budge. He angled his head so he could see me. “Can you see if there’re screws holding it in place?” He backed up allowing me to fly to the grate and snake up the camera to analyze the situation.

‘[Start] There are two screws holding the grate in place. They are on either side and line up with the direction of this pipe. There is no way you will be able to push it open. [Out]’

“Think again,” Norro said with a grin as he pulled Jax’s lightsaber out of his side trouser pocket. “Back up.”

I did as he said. He didn’t have much room to maneuver with the weapon. He ended up pressing the hilt of the saber to where I indicated the screws were located and activated the lightsaber. The blade burned through the metal and duracrete floor. He deactivated the weapon and did the same for the other side before he quickly turned off the saber and secured the weapon back into his pocket. “Hopefully that did the trick.” He reached up and pushed. This time the cover moved. He pushed it up and over to the side until I had enough room to get through.

‘[Start] Stay there Norro. I am going to try to get my camera under that storage door. If Sondra isn’t in there, then this mission is terminated and we get out of here. [Out]’

I flew through the opening and made my way to the storage door. I landed at the base of the entry and maneuvered the flexible camera neck under the door. At first I didn’t see anything but the floor, but as I adjusted the camera I found what I was looking for. Our missing woman was in the room, secured to a bed with various probes and sensors attached to wires that went from her head to a large humming machine with flashing lights. ‘[Start] Den, I’m transmitting an image. Can you see it? [Out]’

“I see her. Good work. Get out of there and I’ll notify her father that we located his daughter.”

‘[Start] Affirmative. [Out]’ I started up the repulsors and attempted to pull the camera out from under the door, but encountered resistance. I pulled, pushed and jiggled the flexible neck, but it stubbornly remained stuck. ‘This isn’t good,’ I thought to myself.

Den’s panicked voice came over my transceiver. “You need to get out of there now. Two vehicles have entered the underground garage.”

I maneuvered back and forth trying to dislodge the stuck camera, but I couldn’t get loose. ‘[Start] I have a problem. I’m stuck.’ I left the mic open for quicker communications. ‘If they come into the basement they will see me for sure. Get out.’

I heard movement and expected to hear the kidnappers entering the room. Instead Norro’s voice boomed above me. “I’ll get you free.” I felt him tugging on the camera and sliding it along the base of the door until he found a place where the gap was larger allowing the camera to slip out. “Come on let’s go.” Norro ran back to the opening in the floor, sat at the edge of the pipe, and lowered himself in. He reached out for me. “Come on.”

I was about to dive into the pipe with him, but I then noticed something--Norro’s wet feet left footprints from the pipe to the door and back. ‘Norro. I have to get rid of all of these footprints. Close the grate. I will activate the cleaning function of this droid and get rid of the evidence. I’ll find a hiding place until it is safe to leave.[Out]’

To my relief Norro didn’t protest. He pulled the grate closed and I triggered the servo droid’s small wet vacuum built into the bottom of the chassis. I ran over the wet footprints until there was no longer a trace. I then sucked up the broken duracrete and metal fragments caused by the lightsaber. I heard voices in the hallway and the sound of a code punched into a keypad. I flew up and landed on top of a storage cabinet and powered down the servos. I kept the camera activated and the transmitter open.

Three people entered the room. One large Phindian and two human males carrying a large dufflebag between them. I could hear the muffled cries and movement coming from the bag and I knew the kidnappers had a new victim.

“I don’t know why the kriff you brought me another female!” the Phindian complained. “I haven’t finished the diagnostic portion of the treatment with the girl I have already.”

The two men dropped the bag with a thud prompting muffled sobs from the canvas tote. One of the humans—who I recognized as the scarred face man from the Svang hotel—gave the bag a kick. “Shut up or I’ll give you something to cry about!” He looked at the Phindian. “Why do you need all this careful analysis of the brain? We are going to give her false memories, just erase everything and save time.”

The Phindian shoved his hands into his long overcoat and heaved a heavy sigh. “I have explained this to you before, the brain is complex and none are exactly alike. If I eradicate neurons randomly I could destroy parts of the brain that are needed to talk or read.”

“Stang!” the man screamed. “Don’t you know where those functions are located in the brain? Just avoid those areas!”

The Phindian shook his head in frustration. “Brains are complex. Injury or brain tumors can shift certain brain functions from one area to another. I can’t always assume certain memories will be where I think they'll be located.”

The scarred man sneered at the alien. “So what if you erase the talking or reading portions of the brain.”

The large alien rolled his eyes. “I'll tell you what. You won’t get your commission for finding a marriage minded woman for that high class matchmaker site if she is a drooling idiot.”

“Kriff that! I can also sell her as a brothel slave. The miners don’t give a crap if she can read or talk. In fact they’d probably prefer they don’t talk.”

The alien’s mouth drew into a hard line. “We agreed that they wouldn’t be sold into slavery.”

The other human, an ugly bearded man who was silent to this point, burst out in laughter as he nudged the scarred faced man with his elbow. “What’s he going to do? Call the police.”

The Phindian’s large head drooped knowing he was trapped by his circumstances. “I can stop working for you. Then what are you going to do? Call the police,” he said with a sarcastic tone.

The scarred man grinned at the alien evilly. “No, we’ll just kill you. I need you to hurry up and finish with the girl you’ve got now and keep this one under wraps until then.”

The Phindian threw his arms out wide in a frustrated gesture. “This basement is sometimes visited by the security force. I can’t afford to keep her tied up in the storage room. There’s a chance that the guard will hear her struggling or trying to scream through her gag.”

“Then knock her out, idiot”

“Do you think I can just give her a knock out drug and let her lie in the corner for weeks? I need to have her on an anesthesia drip, have a feeding tube and a catheter.”

The two men shrugged their shoulders. “Then do that, we are in a medical facility.”

The alien smacked his palm to his forehead. “Every item in this building has a scan code and every IV stand, every drug, every catheter is accounted for. If something goes missing then the person in charge will search for it. We don’t want people searching the storage basement for a missing IV bag.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I personally bought the items for the girl we have now. I’m going to have to buy the same items to keep this one on hold.”

The second man shrugged. “Then do it. We’ll reimburse you from the profits.”

The alien looked to the ceiling before blowing out a breath. “Fine, let’s get her in the storage room and I’ll give her a sedative that will keep her out until I can purchase the items. I have a friend who owns a medical supply store. Maybe I can get him to open up on a holiday.”

“When are you going to start erasing the other girl’s memories?”

“I don’t know. I may be able to start tomorrow.” The alien pulled a key out of his pocket and opened up a padlock on the storage door. He heaved the huge door open allowing the two humans to drag the large dufflebag inside.”

The two men exited the storage area and called back to the Phindian. “We’ll check your progress in a couple weeks.” They exited the basement leaving the Phindian with the two women. I couldn’t see what was going on inside, but I heard the sound of a struggle, a quickly muffled scream and then the grumbling of the Phindian. “Kriff! She doesn’t look a day over fifteen! Kriff’n perverts!”

A few minutes later the Phindian exited the storage room and locked it up. He then gave the basement the once over before he left the chamber, closing the door behind him.

I didn’t move. I wanted to make sure they were gone. ‘[Start] Den, let me know when the two vehicles leave the garage. [Out]’

“Will do,” came the sound of Den’s voice. After about five minutes I was given the all clear. “They’re both gone.”

I fired up the repulsorlifts as Norro pushed the grate cover open and crawled out onto the basement floor. I thought he was making way for me to exit and he would follow, but he ran over to the supply closet. ‘[Start] Norro, what are you doing? [Out].’

He looked up to where I was hovering. “You heard them. They are going to start erasing memories tomorrow. We can’t wait until Sondra’s father convinces the police to get a search warrant.”

‘[Start] We can’t get them out and we think the local police are corrupt. What do you suggest? [Out]’

“I can get them out!” he said with a grin as he pulled the lightsaber out of his trouser pocket. “I have the master key.”

“What’s going on?” It was Jax’s voice broadcasting to me. He was probably confused since Norro was talking out loud and not communicating through his ear comlink. Jax could only hear my side of the conversation.

“[Start] Norro is getting a bit impulsive. Give us a few minutes.[Out].” I maneuvered the servo droid toward Norro. “[Start] Norro, I know you can get into the storage area, but once you break in we can’t get the women out of the building. Unless they're your size they can’t go out the way we came in. Besides they are probably both unconscious. [Out].”

His brow furrowed in concentration before he grinned. “The Phindian said there was security guards upstairs. It sounded like they weren’t in on this criminal activity.”

‘[Start] We can’t walk up there and make a report. There will be questions and the Empire wants us dead. [Out]’

Norro paced around the basement as he tried to formulate a plan. I know I should have insist that we leave immediately, but deep down, I also wanted to find a way to save the two women tonight. Norro stopped on the far side of the room and stared intently at something on the wall. “I-Five, do you think the fire department is also corrupt?”

“[Start] No, why? [Out]”.

He stood back and pointed to a fire alarm. “I’ll cut off the storage room padlock and open the door all the way and then pull the fire alarm. This way when security personnel and the fire department show up to investigate they’ll see the women and they’ll help.”

I have to admit. That was a good plan. I’m now glad the young man came with us. Without him I wouldn’t been able to get into the basement and we might have never discovered what happened to Sondra. ‘[Start]Let me check with Jax. Can you hear me Jax? [Out].’

“Yeah, what’s going on?”

[Start] Norro wants to cut the lock to the storage door, open it, then pull the fire alarm. What do you think?”

There was a slight pause. “Do it.”

Norro obviously heard Jax in his earbud because he immediately activated the Sith lightsaber and cut off the padlock. He then deactivated the weapon and tugged the door fully open before turning to me. “Go ahead and get into the pipe. I’ll pull the alarm, jump into the pipe and pull the grate closed.”

He didn’t wait for me to reply. He ran over to the alarm and yanked down the handle. An alarm blared out so loud that Norro covered his ears with his hands. I dove down into the pipe and waited for the boy. He quickly followed and replaced the grate. We both then swiftly moved in the direction that we entered.

‘[Start] Jax, Den, Magash we are coming out in a hurry. Hopefully the emergency workers are not on the kidnapper’s payroll. Get the speeder ready. [Out].’

The trip out of the sewer was quick and hectic. Once we were out of the narrow pipe Norro grabbed me out of the air and ran next to Jax to the sewer entrance. Jax used the Force to levitate Norro out of the underground passage and to the street about and then jumped out himself. They then both started their sprint to where the speeder was located. The teenager was holding me in front of his chest when he tripped over something on the ground and I flew out of his arms. My optical feed was spinning as I tried to activate my repulsors to stop my trajectory. The last thing I remember was the image of the trash dumpster rushing toward me. I hit the metal garbage container with a loud metallic thump before everything went dark.

 

Oooh, great incriminating stuff the group witnessed & clever strategy by Norro, but the ending there. I'd call that a hiccup!

 

great action with the group. Now they know what's going on. And a cliffie