STS. LOG-020. (Patreon)

LOG-020."We are due to exit hyperspace. Has it been prepared?"Huntsman looked up from his position near the door, a datapad clutched in one of his manipulators."Yes sir. Shall I initiate the uplink sequence as requested?"I turned to inspect the IG-100 Magnaguard currently occupying the center of the bridge, the killing machine's yellow photoreceptors staring back at me silently, and nodded."You may begin."Moving closer to the command table, I raised a hand and activated a rather specific subroutine, watching as a small, deceptively thin wire emerged from my wrist.The direct connection was established with the ship seconds later, and I internally braced myself as Silent Guardian's full digital weight brushed against my own complex, but relatively small signature."I am networked."Huntsman inclined his head, tapping away at his datapad."Linking in three…two…one-"The Magnaguard wasn't a fresh construct. We hadn't built it. Instead, we'd found the droid on Bracca, left aboard the bridge of a Lucrehulk so damaged that the only thing it was worth was basic salvage.Perhaps the droid had belonged to some former admiral's command. Or maybe it had just managed to find its way there somehow before shutting down. Regardless, I had been quick to appropriate the machine for an…experiment of sorts.Droids being commanded remotely from command centers located aboard starships wasn't a new concept. It had been the initial design for the OOM droids, after all, up until the CIS decided that such a thing had too many negatives and not enough positives.This was a similar concept, if with a few more steps.[UPLINK COMPLETE. DIRECT CONNECTION ENABLED.]For a singular moment, I had the disorienting perspective of…well, two perspectives, before my systems adapted to the change in visual data and the feeling went away.I saw myself standing by the command table, hooked up to a small port and tilting my head.In turn, I also saw the Magnaguard staring back at me, its head tilting in a near identical motion.Silent Guardian was controlling the IG-series remotely, and with me patched directly into the ship and given administrator permissions, it had become quite evident that I too could puppet the combat droid.Raising my new avatar's hand, I flexed my mechanical fingers, slowly curling them into a fist, before moving it to grab at the electrostaff clutched in my other hand.The slight twirl I put the weapon through was calculated, and while I didn't have the exact programming that a Magnaguard had when it came to wielding such a tool, I liked to think I made a half decent showing, considering the vaguely impressed sounds several of the B1's had just made.My inspection of the Magnaguard's other armaments was interrupted by Huntsman calling out, the tactical droid gesturing towards the rapidly destabilising space ahead of us."We are now leaving hyperspace. What are your orders?"Surprising even myself, my voice echoed slightly through my new frame's rarely used vocaliser, the slight crackle of an ever so slightly delayed connection that I was rapidly beginning to account for adding a new layer to the already deep tone."Establish a blockade formation, and prepare a trio of transports."Huntsman tilted his head."What kind?"Turning to stare as the ominous form of Teth jolted into sight, with the planet almost seeming to hover beyond the viewport, I returned the electrostaff to my side."LAAT gunships. They will provide an...enhanced impression.""Understood."—The hum of the craft around us would have drowned out the majority of idle chatter, if there had been any at all.But BX commando droids didn't speak unless it was necessary, so we largely descended through Teth's atmosphere in silence, only broken once the pilot confirmed we had reached extreme visual range of the monastery I had pointed out from far above."Our objective is to establish contact with the rogue Republic force occupying this region. Blasters are to be set to stun, and you are only to return fire if unable to establish a dialogue."My puppet's left hand clenched the handle above it, keeping the rest of the droid stable while its other hand kept a tight hold of its electrostaff."There is a possibility that we will encounter a hostile operative upon landing. He may already be ahead of us, having arrived in an infiltration craft of unknown make and model, or we may have arrived before him. The target is a clone equipped with specialised gear and weapons, and adorned in grey armour. He will appear distinct compared to our potential allies."The commandos gave no indicator that they'd heard any of what I said. No nods. No twitches. Nothing. But I knew for a fact that they were all eagerly taking in whatever information I cared to give them, their droid brains internalising the new factors for the potential battle ahead."In addition, the operative has been trained to avoid capture, and may attempt to self terminate if he comes to realise that you intend to take him in alive. An electrocapsule implanted within his tooth is the most likely method of suicide, and so you will keep this in mind when attempting to apprehend him for interrogation."Turning to stare outside as the gunship's side door opened, I stared at the night sky, before picking a random BX and gesturing it towards the now rapidly ascending ground."You, approach the monastery on foot and attempt to establish contact with the rogue clones. We will maintain an orbit of the site alongside teams two and three for rapid response until you report back. You are clear to self determine what the best approach to diplomacy is, and whether reinforcements are required. Now go."The battle droid nodded once, leaping outside with a roger roger and landing on the dust covered earth with its knees bent to absorb the impact.Then the commando was sprinting forward, body kept low, even as the doors shut and the gunship took off once more.Though the potential window for our intervention was…painfully vague, I could only hope that I'd gotten lucky when it came to my timing of this little introduction.Glancing back up towards the roof of the LAAT, I tilted my proxy's head. After all, if the Force wanted to be nice for once, maybe it would help me out, hm?…Yeah, I figured that was the case.