STS. LOG-002. (Patreon)

LOG-002.[QUERY: CURRENT STATUS OF HULL REACTIVATION?]I resisted the urge to grumble in annoyance as the Munificent (or more specifically forward command frigate Silent Guardian, if she was to be believed in regards to her designation, which seemed an incredibly ironic name considering her...persistence in actively communicating with me) sent forth the latest in a long series of ever deafening pings, buffeting my mind since I'd established our brand new, incredibly makeshift and bare bones command network.With extreme emphasis on bare bones. After all, the command network went about as followed...me, immediately followed up by Silent Guardian....And that was about it at the moment, since every other droid on the ship was either inactive or had literally been swallowed up by fucking sand. Prying open the doors to the bridge and taking a peak outside had shown that the substance had somehow made it deep inside the frigate and was blocking the way out to the rest of the hull, which likely meant we had a breach somewhere.And that we probably weren't actually in space. Hopefully. More likely, we were stranded somewhere. Worst case scenario, we were buried in some stars forsaken desert in the middle of nowhere.[QUERY: CURRENT STATUS OF HULL REACTIVATION?]I mimicked a sigh, fingers still entangled in the insides of one of the B1 battle droids littering the bridge, carefully sorting one wire over another. This specific model was a command variant, judging by the painted head crest and what some of my own programming was suggesting, so getting it online remained a priority.Thankfully, most CIS droids were quite literally built for easy transportation and storage. A B1 could potentially remain offline for years and return right back to service with little to no issue, so long as the power core was topped up before deactivation, and the internal programming remained uncompromised.Now, normally something like this would be done automatically. Or at least some of the protocols bouncing around in the back of my mind seemed to think so. Unfortunately the primary vector for sending a fleet wide awakening signal, that being Silent Guardian herself, was currently in what was effectively her equivalent of sleep paralysis. I'd managed to wake the frigate's 'brain' up, but her hull simply wasn't online yet. Which likely indicated some distinctly mechanical failure somewhere along the line between the two.The disconnection was obviously rather distressing for the Munificent, judging by the-[QUERY: CURRENT STATUS OF HULL REACTIVATION?]Yeah, that. Which meant I needed to manually get out there and fix the issue before I could actually get Silent Guardian back up to full functionality, and thus allow her to wake up everyone else on board. And as much as the super tactical frame was built to be adaptable to a wide amount of circumstances and scenarios, the old adage of many hands making light work remained ever true in my mind."I am in the process of gathering a repair team. You will be returned to proper function. Please be patient."[CONFIRMED.]It was simply smarter to assemble a proper workforce than to try and do everything myself, after all.Click.Hence me effectively jump starting this specific battle droid in a manner that could hypothetically be considered against Confederate protocol, rather than following more conventional methods. But hey, if this wasn't a desperate situation, then I was a Republic astromech.Experiencing some no doubt propaganda-tinged amusement at the thought, I stepped back and stared down at the lithe machine as it followed a standard bootup sequence, unfolding from its previously compact position and standing up, right before it glanced around, bringing one hand up to brush away some dust that had accumulated atop one of its photoreceptors."Ugh...is it time to get back to work already? I thought we were meant to be deactivated...?"The nasal tone programmed into it slowly quieted as the B1 noticed my significantly larger bulk all but looming over it, the automaton somehow managing to display nervousness without the presence of an actual face as it snapped to attention. Which was...mildly impressive, if I was being entirely honest. Very humanizing of it."Oh! Fleet commander! OOM-1, reporting as active for new duties! What are my orders?"The droid leaned back slightly as I raised a hand, one finger pointing towards the exit to the bridge, speaking in a clear, concise tone to make sure the little bugger didn't misinterpret anything.Droids worked best when given solid directions and parameters, after all."We are trapped by an unknown amount of sand obstructing our way out of the bridge. You will begin digging. I will make efforts to reactivate the rest of your direct subordinates to provide assistance."God fucking damn if my monotone voice didn't sound tough though.Nonetheless, the command unit followed my outstretched limb, leaning over to glance out the opened doors at the small mountain of sand currently occupying the majority of the hallway beyond."Oh. Oh..."Chop chop, battle droid."Roger roger..."---"We're nearly through! I can see the light!""Roger roger.""Roger roger.""Roger roger."I ignored the ever present chorus of rogers and instead focused on the console in front of me, even as the dozen or so B1s behind me continued to work away at the sand with their bare mechanical hands.We were on a time limit, technically. After enough activity, their internal power reserves (lesser in quality compared to my own bespoke systems) would run out of energy without access to some kind of station they could recharge at, and then I would be right back to square one."We have almost breached the sand barrier. Are you aware of the current status of your remaining subsystems?"[AFFIRMATIVE: ALL SYSTEMS REPORTING FUNCTIONAL, BUT UNRESPONSIVE. MANUAL REPAIR OF COUPLINGS CONNECTING CENTRAL CORE TO HULL REQUIRED.]"In what way is your connection being disrupted?"[SAND.]Tapping a finger against the console, I considered that for a moment before nodding. There could be any number of other issues. Weathering. Small vermin possibly running throughout the ship and chewing through important infrastructure and components. But the primary issue was just the sand, in all likelihood.Munificents were built to sail through the void, after all. Not the dunes.Reaching out and grabbing hold of the compact blaster that had been placed next to the console upon my awakening, I turned and began to stomp over towards the gaggle of B1s desperately digging through the now actively collapsing hill keeping us locked in here."Stand aside."Letting their various affirmatives (roger roger!) wash over me, I allowed the droids to step out of the way before levelling my weapon, tilting my head slightly as my trio of optics took in the crumbling mound, calculations running through my processor almost faster than I could even think to start them.[STRUCTURAL WEAK POINTS DETECTED: PINPOINTING FAULTS.]Three shots were all that was needed, the streaks of red light slamming into the mound and causing minor explosions of dust and, of course, sand. A few yelps sounded out around me as the mound fell apart completely, turning into a brief wave that crashed towards us before settling at my feet.Thankfully, we hadn't been crushed by my little stunt, and now we had access to the rest of the ship. Or at least the parts of her that hadn't been buried as well."Advance. Silent Guardian must be brought back to full functionality if we are to make any significant progression. Consider this your number one priority."[APPRECIATION.]Following my own order and striding forward, I noted the sound of my makeshift squad picking up their similarly discarded weapons before moving to follow me. Good to see that their combat code was still working as intended, at least.After all, one couldn't be too careful, considering our current circumstances.Now, my internal map of the vessel suggested that the most vital systems related to the droid brain would be...ah. That way. Not too far from the bridge, conveniently enough.Excellent.