Oracle, Engineering Bay
"Query: How much longer must I remain here, silicate?"
"I told you that I need time to look over your schematics before I start repairs!"
"Resignation: You have been looking at them for the past half hour. Either initiate repairs or let me find something to kill."
The engineering bay that Cheriss and HK-47 were in was nothing short of a complete mess. Cheriss had scattered various documents, schematics, technical manuals, and all sorts of other material around the room, darting from one to another while muttering under her breath.
"Statement: Surely repairs cannot be that difficult. Query: Why is it that you have been going over those documents for so long?"
"It's not just about repairing you!" Cheriss said, throwing her arms up in frustration before turning back to HK. "I was told that while I was repairing you I was supposed to try and understand how you're built but I can't figure it out!"
"Boast: Of course there would be no precedent. Revan didn't just build me. The closest analogy I can conceive of is that his process of building me was similar to creating a work of art."
Cheriss folded her arms. "It sounds like you've been spending way too much time around Thrawn."
"Indignation: My point was that Revan did not use conventional methods when he constructed me. As such trying to base your examinations on conventional manuals is a waste of both our time."
That got Cheriss thinking. "So if he didn't use any conventional methods...does that mean..."
As Cheriss muttered under her breath HK tilted his head in confusion. "Query: What are you muttering about, silicate?" She didn't reply, instead nodding to herself, and then suddenly she snapped her head towards HK. "Enter standby mode for a duration of one hour, override code 'Rusted Steel.'"
Before HK could respond he promptly entered standby mode, his body going slack. Nodding to herself, Cheriss' eyes closed as the room was silent for a moment. Even the hum of the engines seemed to fade as Cheriss tried to focus on the Force.
Then the racks of tools rattled slightly before some of them detached and began to float towards Cheriss, who took them out of midair and began the task of repairing HK. It was a surreal sight as Cheriss would finish using one of her tools, then simply let it float in mid-air as she grabbed whatever the next task required from the set gently hovering around her. The process continued for an hour, Cheriss never breaking from her trance as she tirelessly worked to rebuild HK-47.
At the end, the tools floated back to their positions, and Cheriss stepped back for a moment before blinking and looking at her work. Before she had entered her trance HK-47 had shown visible signs of rust and decay throughout his body, and while he had insisted he was at peak capacity it was clear that the years had taken their toll. Now, he looked as though he were built yesterday, his plating bright and reflective, and no signs of any damage were visible on his body.
Before Cheriss could react, HK-47 reactivated. "Indignation: Was it really necessary to-"
The assassin droid paused in place.
"Running self-diagnostic. Combat efficiency at 100%. All systems operating at peak capacity. Full functionality restored. Query: What did you do, silicate?"
"I...reached out to the Force, and I used it to help me rebuild you."
"...Statement: It would seem that you are far more talented than I gave you credit for, silicate. In that case I shall-"
"Wait!" Cheriss shouted, her eyes lighting up as she began darting around the lab. "Stay right there I have so many ideas for what to do with you now it's going to be great just let me find some tools and schematics and requisition some things-"
"Alarm: That will not be necessary-"
"Oh nonononononono it's definitely necessary," Cheriss said, her eyes shining as she stared down HK. "Give me more time to study and learn and experiment and whatever, and I guarantee that I can make you even better than you were before."
"...Statement: I'm listening."
---------
Oracle, Training Room
Some Time Later
Ciaran arrived at the Oracle's training room with no small amount of trepidation. After she had told Cheriss to repair HK-47 the Shard had locked herself in the engineering bay, only opening the door to get the various components that she had requisitioned for...whatever she had done. She was about to find out, as Cheriss had invited her to oversee a 'performance test' for the droid in question.
Arriving at the observation deck, she saw Cheriss practically - scratch that, actually vibrating with excitement. "I'm so glad you made it you're going to love what I did I know I kind of got a little carried away okay a lot carried away but-"
Ciaran glanced past her to look at HK before turning back. "Cheriss. What did you do?"
"I could tell you but it'd probably be easier if he just showed you!" Cheriss said excitedly as she pressed a few buttons on the console. "I know we've had a surplus of B1s for a while now so I decided to get some for this. BEGIN TESTING!" she shouted excitedly as the hapless B1s entered the room to face down HK...who was curiously unarmed.
As the battle droids marched forward and began to open fire, HK rolled to one side, raised an arm, and from his forearm a blaster came out, allowing HK to return fire on the B1s.
"As an assassin droid HK should always be armed, and the best way to do that is to integrate the weapons into his chassis," Cheriss explained as HK began to tear apart the B1s. "Based on schematics from the B2 Super Battle Droids as well as records of the HS-1 units encountered on Kamino, HK now has a blaster rifle embedded in each forearm. Of course he can still use regular rifles as well, but now he has more effective holdout weapons."
"...Was he always capable of doing that?" Ciaran asked, pointing to HK who was dexterously dodging the blaster rounds fired at him.
"Kind of, but I'll get back to that later," Cheriss explained as she pressed another button, causing the area the B1s were on to rise up. HK took a second to process this, then Ciaran's jaw dropped as HK activated a jetpack attached to him, flying up into the air to continue his assault.
"What."
"You do not want to know how hard it was to integrate a jetpack into his systems, but I think it was totally worth it," Cheriss happily explained as HK managed to mop up the remaining B1s. When only one was remaining, HK decided to charge it, grabbing a pair of rods from his sides and activating them before beating the B1 to death with a pair of shocksticks.
"Oh yeah, I forgot I put those there," Cheriss said as Ciaran struggled to find a coherent statement. "Based those off of the HS-1 records too, those should let him be more effective against melee combatants."
"So what else did you install in him!?" Ciaran asked, trying to maintain her composure.
"Well..." Cheriss started to say before she noticed a barely functional B1 trying to shoot HK, before he turned towards it...and the lights went out. "That jammer the reports mentioned seemed like a good idea too..."
When the lights came back on, the offending B1 droid was in several pieces. As Ciaran shook her head in disbelief a thought occurred to her. "Wait, didn't I ask if he'd become more dexterous?"
"Not to worry, that's what the final test is for!" Cheriss said gleefully as the room reset...and HK turned to see the Silencer entering the room, as calm as ever.
"He isn't armed Cheriss why isn't he armed"
"Because that would be missing the point of this last test!"
With those words the Silencer charged forward and began to engage HK-47 in hand-to-hand combat. To Ciaran's disbelief, the assassin droid was able to match him blow for blow, even managing to counter the Silencer at points. From what she could tell, the two combatants were evenly matched.
"Is...how can he keep up!? I know HK is skilled but the Silencer should just be faster."
"That is what I'm really proud of today," Cheriss said, calling up a holographic display of HK-47. "As well-designed as he was, there were still...inefficiencies in his design. Nothing a normal person would notice, but I could tell that there were areas that could be improved, redundancies that could be eliminated, even his processing speed could be increased..."
Cheriss seemed to trail off as Ciaran looked at her confused. "Cheriss? You still there?"
Despite being in a robot body, Cheriss jumped in place before replying. "S-Sorry. Rebuilding him got kind of...weird...I tried tapping into the Force and well..." she gestured to the continuing fight below. "that happened."
"So what I'm hearing is..."
"I didn't just repair HK-47. I made him better."
As Cheriss said that, a loud noise came from the room's speakers and the two combatants broke apart, saying nothing before simply turning and walking in opposite directions. Shaking her head, Ciaran turned to Cheriss. "Could you do the same for our other droids? Like PR-1 for instance?"
Cheriss made several "hmmm"-ing noises before replying. "I mean, I can't do exactly what I did with HK for all of them, but I can definitely improve on the designs if you want me to...I could create the schematics in my spare time, though any actual refits are going to need time and lots of credits."
Ciaran nodded, a smile beginning to form on her face. "If those redesigns are even a tenth as effective as what I just saw they would be well worth it."
Rewards:
-Learning: "Sair Customized Frames" upgrade available for all droid units (requires Learning Action for conventional droid troops, Hero Action for PR-1)
-Cheriss: Cheriss Sair gains "Mechu-deru," "Spark of Genius: Robotics" traits
-HK-47: HK-47 gains "Sair-Enhanced Frame", "HS-1 Upgrade Package" traits
AN: Why just have one set of murderdroids when you can turn all of them into murderdroids!?
Anyway, I didn't plan on it at first, but now I kind of love how HK's ended up with all of the nasty gadgets the HS-1 had...and a jetpack as well. Because jetpacks are awesome.
Hope you enjoyed your foray into mad science!
...But I know what you people are really excited for. Don't worry, the thing will be coming soon-ish. Spoilers: For what I have in mind I guarantee it's probably either going to be a multi-parter or super long. Dunno which quite yet...
See you then~
* I don't understand what that is
