- - -
Mara was, by her nature, an early riser and a light sleeper. So it was a bit infuriating that she hadn't been able to nail down a particular issue she'd been having since she got here until it entered the dining area of the temple and announced itself:
Namely, where Skywalker was getting fresh meat and fruit to feed not only her, but Rotta on a daily basis.
"Report: Master, the hunt was successful," a rust red humanoid-shaped droid reported as it marched into the plain dining room, "stocks are refilled and I killed many organic meatbags."
The droid had sinister red glowing eyes, and a heavy blaster slung over its back. It seemed utterly out of place in the peaceful, organic surroundings.
Luke smiled at the droid, sitting at his simple wooden table with Mara, Rotta, and Artoo.
"Good work, HK! Any trouble with the new chassis?"
"Answer: No Master. You have done very well in your upgrades. I feel three thousand, three hundred fifty two point nine one three years younger," the droid replied, "may I go assassinate some sapient meatbags now?"
"No, not now HK," Luke said, smiling indulgently. The droid's face was emotionless, but Mara could swear the thing was pouting.
"Statement: As you wish, Master. Query: Will these new meatbags be staying long?" The droid asked.
Luke nodded.
"Yes, they're my first students. This is Mara Jade," he said, gesturing to her, "and Rotta the Hutt."
He gestured to Rotta, who was not a morning being. The Hutt was eating, but still looked groggy. Artoo nudged him, and the Hutt coughed and sat up straight.
"Uh, yeah, hello," he managed.
"Introduce yourself, HK-47," Luke said, and Mara's jaw dropped as the droid did just that.
"Introduction: Hello, meatbags and inferior droids. I am HK-47, human-cyborg relations and assassin droid. I am in Master Luke's service."
"You got the assassin droid of Darth Revan working again?!" Mara gasped. Luke smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't have time to do much work on him before Endor..."
And before Mara revealed herself as a spy and fled, she mentally added. Not that she was feeling guilty over that... Much.
"... but afterwards, I found the time and fully restored him," Luke finished, beaming. "With Aphra's help."
"Of course," Mara grumbled.
"Observation: Ah, the female meatbag recognizes me? Good! I am pleased my reputation is intact. Query: Are you the same Mara Jade who was an Imperial spy and assassin?"
"Yes, that's me," Mara said dryly, eating some meat. "I guess I can thank you for the food?"
"Explanation: Yes. Master allows me to hunt fresh game for his food and entertainment. Expansion: I even get to cook the food. While not as satisfying as killing it, it is amusing to imagine the humiliation the meatbag is suffering while I cook and season it for consumption by a superior being such as the Master."
The droid shrugged.
"Qualification: It is not much, but it beats being a-ugh-protocol droid!"
"He also keeps watch over the grounds," Luke said.
"Statement: I am unhappy to report no attempted assassins tried to infiltrate the temple last night, Master," HK-47 stated. The droid looked upwards, wistfully, "perhaps that will change soon? The more Jedi that are here, the greater the chance of attack?"
"That... Seems likely, yes HK," Luke said with a nod. Rotta gulped nervously, but a reassuring smile from Luke calmed him.
HK-47 nodded.
"Relieved Statement: Good, I was worried it would be this boring forever! I will hope you bring many more Jedi here, to provide even more targets for me to utilize my skills against."
Luke chuckled and nodded.
"Go ahead and recharge, HK. Good work."
"Statement: Thank you Master." The droid turned and walked off. Mara still stared in disbelief at Luke.
"You... You're putting one of the most efficient and famous assassin droids in galactic history to work getting you food and patrolling your grounds?!"
Luke smiled and nodded.
"He's also a wealth of knowledge about the Jedi, the Old Republic, the Sith Empire-So much of it," Luke said, "and it makes him happy... Well, not as happy as he would be killing people, but still..."
Artoo beeped in amusement. Luke nodded to his loyal astromech.
"Besides, Artoo likes him."
Artoo beeped something loudly in binary. HK-47 stomped back, and glared with glowing red eyes at the little droid.
"Statement: The Death Star still only counts as ONE kill. And Master Luke did most of the work! Fabrication: And I am not jealous!"
Mara was, by her nature, an early riser and a light sleeper. So it was a bit infuriating that she hadn't been able to nail down a particular issue she'd been having since she got here until it entered the dining area of the temple and announced itself:
Namely, where Skywalker was getting fresh meat and fruit to feed not only her, but Rotta on a daily basis.
"Report: Master, the hunt was successful," a rust red humanoid-shaped droid reported as it marched into the plain dining room, "stocks are refilled and I killed many organic meatbags."
The droid had sinister red glowing eyes, and a heavy blaster slung over its back. It seemed utterly out of place in the peaceful, organic surroundings.
Luke smiled at the droid, sitting at his simple wooden table with Mara, Rotta, and Artoo.
"Good work, HK! Any trouble with the new chassis?"
"Answer: No Master. You have done very well in your upgrades. I feel three thousand, three hundred fifty two point nine one three years younger," the droid replied, "may I go assassinate some sapient meatbags now?"
"No, not now HK," Luke said, smiling indulgently. The droid's face was emotionless, but Mara could swear the thing was pouting.
"Statement: As you wish, Master. Query: Will these new meatbags be staying long?" The droid asked.
Luke nodded.
"Yes, they're my first students. This is Mara Jade," he said, gesturing to her, "and Rotta the Hutt."
He gestured to Rotta, who was not a morning being. The Hutt was eating, but still looked groggy. Artoo nudged him, and the Hutt coughed and sat up straight.
"Uh, yeah, hello," he managed.
"Introduce yourself, HK-47," Luke said, and Mara's jaw dropped as the droid did just that.
"Introduction: Hello, meatbags and inferior droids. I am HK-47, human-cyborg relations and assassin droid. I am in Master Luke's service."
"You got the assassin droid of Darth Revan working again?!" Mara gasped. Luke smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't have time to do much work on him before Endor..."
And before Mara revealed herself as a spy and fled, she mentally added. Not that she was feeling guilty over that... Much.
"... but afterwards, I found the time and fully restored him," Luke finished, beaming. "With Aphra's help."
"Of course," Mara grumbled.
"Observation: Ah, the female meatbag recognizes me? Good! I am pleased my reputation is intact. Query: Are you the same Mara Jade who was an Imperial spy and assassin?"
"Yes, that's me," Mara said dryly, eating some meat. "I guess I can thank you for the food?"
"Explanation: Yes. Master allows me to hunt fresh game for his food and entertainment. Expansion: I even get to cook the food. While not as satisfying as killing it, it is amusing to imagine the humiliation the meatbag is suffering while I cook and season it for consumption by a superior being such as the Master."
The droid shrugged.
"Qualification: It is not much, but it beats being a-ugh-protocol droid!"
"He also keeps watch over the grounds," Luke said.
"Statement: I am unhappy to report no attempted assassins tried to infiltrate the temple last night, Master," HK-47 stated. The droid looked upwards, wistfully, "perhaps that will change soon? The more Jedi that are here, the greater the chance of attack?"
"That... Seems likely, yes HK," Luke said with a nod. Rotta gulped nervously, but a reassuring smile from Luke calmed him.
HK-47 nodded.
"Relieved Statement: Good, I was worried it would be this boring forever! I will hope you bring many more Jedi here, to provide even more targets for me to utilize my skills against."
Luke chuckled and nodded.
"Go ahead and recharge, HK. Good work."
"Statement: Thank you Master." The droid turned and walked off. Mara still stared in disbelief at Luke.
"You... You're putting one of the most efficient and famous assassin droids in galactic history to work getting you food and patrolling your grounds?!"
Luke smiled and nodded.
"He's also a wealth of knowledge about the Jedi, the Old Republic, the Sith Empire-So much of it," Luke said, "and it makes him happy... Well, not as happy as he would be killing people, but still..."
Artoo beeped in amusement. Luke nodded to his loyal astromech.
"Besides, Artoo likes him."
Artoo beeped something loudly in binary. HK-47 stomped back, and glared with glowing red eyes at the little droid.
"Statement: The Death Star still only counts as ONE kill. And Master Luke did most of the work! Fabrication: And I am not jealous!"