Ask Making it Fac-Fresh

[Kotru Eabrod]

"Pretty sure I 'member where they came from," Kotru mused aloud, his head swiveling to meet the Fiani's gaze with a toothy grin as he moved. The Zabrak got into a good rhythm as he worked, the measuring tape kept at a good couple inches, slowly pulling enough wire from the coil, clipping it then adding to the pile. Repetitive work was something that he had done plenty of times before. He didn't even notice time passing until something else happened.

His gaze briefly flicked up as Sleek took the slate from Di-Gi's head, plugging it into the droid's motherboard to kick off the factory reset. Kotru looked back down at the earnest pile. He wasn't given a very specific number, but this should be plenty. A hand rests atop the counter, nudging the one pile and then the other. "Should be a good couple there," He advised.

The Zabrak raised his hand in response to her inquiry. "Grew up too much. Maintenance wanted a lil' guy ta' fit in the tight spaces, 'n puberty hit me like a Bukk in heat," He explained, the lifted limb moving to the tape to press down on the casing and draw the measuring length back in. "Didn't really get much'a chance ta' rejoin 'fore I ended up in the corps."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___When Kotru pushed the wires to Sleek, she reached out to take one, soldered it into place, and repeated the process.

___"Yep, sounds 'bout right," she answered. "Shorter folk what can fit into smaller crawlspaces with ease can be pretty highly coveted. I knew a few guys on Fiana who were asked t'come take odd jobs in the starport hangars 'cause they were on the shorter side," Sleek laughed as she worked, putting wires in their appropriate places. Di-Gi had taken it upon himself to go and retrieve a loader droid with the crate full of spare BD parts so the woman could begin replacing the panels.

___"Didn't think they'd just kick y'out fer growin' up, though. Seems a bit shallow," Sleek continued. "If y'were my employee, I'd-a kept y'round t'do other tasks. Y'seem like a dutiful worker," she said as she replaced the first panel on the droid. "If y'know y'got a good worker, why would y'get rid-a them, y'know? Short-sighted decision I bet they regretted later," she murmured with a shake of her head. The datapad beeped.

___"Can y'press the button t'get it t'start uploadin' default settings?" Sleek asked Kotru. "Should just be a confirmation button askin' ya if yer sure 'bout purgin' the current memory t'upload the factory settings. Just hit 'yes'."

@FreelanceGarbageMan

 

[Kotru Eabrod]

Seemingly satisfied with the amount of wires supplied, Kotru would roll the pair of coils back up and lug them back over to the shelf where he had gotten them from. "No kiddin'?" He would cackle as he returned to the counter, swiping up both tools to return them from where they came from. "I'd figure that the tail 'n ears would get stuck. Y'know, wit' the fur 'n all. My horns hadn't exactly grown in yet, so I didn't get that problem," Kotru continued, hooking the wirecutters on their mount and planting the commonly used tape beside it.

"As fer' firin.." He briefly trailed off as the datapad chirped, leaning over the counter to press down on the screen to kick off the upload. He would watch the bar start to crawl along, wiping clean the BD-droids memory and uploading default settings and protocols as he would start up again. "Elroodian suits had this lil' thing goin' where if someone was on the younger side, y'didn't have ta' pay 'em as much. Y'know, no rent or anythin, didn't need it. Once ya' get past that..." The Iridonian shrugged. "They need someone ta' crawl into the refineries, 'n ya' cost too much. Buh-bye."

There was a tinge of resentment in the Zabrak's tone as he spoke, lips briefly pursing before he continued. "Don't really matter if they regret it or not, they got the cheap labor they need 'n I moved onto bigger things." He watched Sleek work between glances at the panel, seeing each component of the BD's chassis start to come together.

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"It en't really get in the way much as y'might think," Sleek clarified. "Besides, we got specially designed equipment t'guard our ears'n'tails when we're goin' through things like crawlspaces in a ship," she educated the Zabrak as she applied the finishing touches to the droid. The woman glanced over at the datapad to see the progress on the upload.

___"Sounds like corpos," Sleek groaned, rolling her eyes. "Exploit what they can outta ya a mighty kick in the arse once y'outlive yer usefulness. S'why I came t'work on Nar Shaddaa instead-a some major corpo on Coruscant'r somethin'." Corporations were something Sleek hated for the most part. They constantly exploited their workers for the most significant profit possible, leaving them to wither and die later. She set down her tools and shook her head.

___"Anyway, yer li'l guy's bout fixed up, ready t'go," Sleek said, looking over at the datapad as it finished wiping the droid's memory. The woman unplugged the pad and replaced the panels for the head, carefully fitting and reattaching them before pushing away on her stool with her feet. She gestured with a hand to the droid.

___"There y'go, Kotru. Turn on yer new pal, see how he takes a shine t'you. Name's I2-7, but most BD units en't gonna mind if y'give 'em somethin' new t'call 'em."

@FreelanceGarbageMan

 

[Kotru Eabrod]

"I'm jus' imaginin' a really big hairnet..." Kotru jested as he watches the casing's last component is secured in place and the upload finishes loading the last few files onto the droid's hardware. He smirked in agreement to Sleek's sigh. "Ain't that the damn truth. Been usin' my arse as a Huttball this 'ntire time," He confirmed. Elrood was pretty much ran by the Radell Mining Corps, and having been raised there the Zabrak had to deal with their shady nonsense from childhood.

As Sleek secured the head in one piece and stepped back, Kotru raised a thumb. "I2-7, huh? Aigh', let's get you on, lil' fella.." The Zabrak reaches behind the droid's head and flicks the small power switch at the base of his 'neck', small lights flicking to life across the head as it slowly stood up in a rigid position.

//Loading AI.DR.BD_I2-7... Ver. 1.05538//
//Checking MEM... OK | RAM... OK | INT... OK//
//PWR OK | Proceeding with NUE//

After a few silent moments between the two, the droid's still stance would begin to relax as it got a feel for the new control surfaces and all of its new components. It took a while, but the BD-Unit would swivel its head towards Kotru and narrow its photoreceptors. Thankfully, it's vocabulator came with pre-recorded messages. At least for the setup, anyways.

"Introduction // This unit's Serial No. is Designated I2-7. Clarification // New User Experience offers re-assignment of this designation if required. Please input now."

Kotru blinked twice, surprised by how suddenly the subject of naming came about. "Oh, hell- Didn't think this through, well you've still got that Ritzy look to ya'... But how'd I say that, Arr-Tee Zed-Why?" He murmured to himself thoughtfully, looking over the machine's blue and gold casing-

"Confirmation // This unit shall now be designated as RT-ZY."

"Kark- Ah, whatever."

"Notice // Extensive modification to Header connections has been detected. Understand this invalidates all warranties under the terms and agreements upon purchase of this product."

Kotru blinks twice as the droid continued its spiel, briefly looking to Sleek then back at the BD-Unit.

"Internal gyroscopes will require recalibration to account for an added zero point oh-five kilograms of weight. Please stand by for required updates."

RT-ZY would promptly go silent, presumably installing all of the necessary software to use all of its newfound features. Kotru would look to the Fiani, having resumed his previous position of leaning on the counter. "Err. While he goes 'n does that, what do I owe ya' for 'im?"

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___Sleek observed as Kotru powered on the droid and went through the motions for its fresh activation. Sitting on her stool, the woman propped her elbow on the counter and rested her chin on her palm. She smiled, occasionally snickering as the man fumbled the name and appeared confused about the setup process.

___"En't much. I'll let 'im go fer ᖬ5,000. That's 'cause a brand new unit usually goes fer 'bout ᖬ4,500. Factor in extra bits I attached that weren't part-a the original model, seems about fair t'me," Sleek said, reaching over to her computer to pick up a datapad. She pressed a few buttons before sliding it over to Kotru for him to pay with his credit chit. Her BD unit bounded onto her shoulder, chirping and leaning forward to examine the booting unit.

___"Yep, woulda been you if I factory reset ya," Sleek laughed. "Anyway, whatcha think? Y'happy 'nuff with it?" she asked. "Oh, and if y'ever need any repairs'r anything, yer welcome t'bring it by. I always put a three-year warranty on any droids I sell folk."

@FreelanceGarbageMan

 

[Kotru Eabrod]

RT-ZY would remain motionless for a time, before it would stand back up and look around it's surroundings. The well-maintained motors would whir to life as it took a few steps before swivelling it's head around to look towards Di-Gi. It gave a few nods, the motors hum giving way to a series of eager and synthetic greetings.

"Damn. Looks like I'll have ta' learn Binary after all," Kotru mused aloud with a chortle.

When the small device was offered across to the Zabrak, he nodded and slipped the bronze chit into it's slot ont he datapad. There was a short pause as he authorized the transfer, a five-thousand credits finding their way into Sleek's bank account as Kotru withdrew the chit and slipped it back into his wallet.

After a brief conversation and sharing of names that the Iridonian could barely keep up with, RT-ZY would move over to its new owner. Kotru offered his arm, and the droid hopped up, onto his shoulder and finds itself instead climbing into the hood of the Zabrak's jacket to watch over his shoulder.

"Hah! He sure seems happy wit' me so far," Kotru grinned as he offered his arm across for another firm and friendly handshake. "'N I'm plenty happy wit' 'im. Thanks, Slick."

Rolling his shoulders a few time to get used to the weight, the Iridonian returned his hands to his pockets after he released her hand. "Gonna be in the Slice 'fer a while. Lemme know if y'need anythin' done."

@Remileah

 

[Yoshiko "Sleek" Ryder]

___"En't gotta worry 'bout learnin' binary. I promise it en't as hard as yer prob'ly makin' it out t'be in yer head," Sleek grinned, pulling the datapad back once Kotru authorised the payment. She watched the droid mount the young Zabrak's shoulder, happy to see another satisfied customer. When Kotru reached his hand out, Sleek returned the handshake.

___"Seems like it. I get the feelin' you two'll make a fine pair," Sleek confidently commented. "En't no problem. Y'got anyone else what needs a droid or repairs, feel free t'send 'em my way," she said with a wink as she released Kotru's hand. When he mentioned the Slice and asked if she needed anything, the woman pursed her lips and lowered her eyes to contemplate the offer. She shook her head.

___"Nah, I en't think so, but feel free t'come by if y'find any salvage y'think I might like. I'll take most things," Sleek stated. "Ship parts, droid parts, random components, the works. If it looks mildly useful, I'll always give it a look. Part-a bein' a salvage business."

@FreelanceGarbageMan

 

[Kotru Eabrod]

The droid would shuffle about in Kotru's hood a little, eventually finding a good position to rest its rectangular head on top of the Zabrak's shoulder to watch the Fiani with curious photoreceptors. Kotru gave a firm squeeze and released, satisfied with her work as always. "Honestly I'll jus' be happy to have an extra voice ta' bounce things off of while travellin'. Gets lonely sometimes."

Her response to the offer drew a small hum from the Zabrak, lightly scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Find? Hah! Sister, most'a my work comes ta' blowin' ships outta the void. I'll have ta' see 'bout gettin' a cargo scoop or somethin'." Kotru laughed.

"Anyways, I'm sure I'll see you 'round soon enough, Slick. Take care out there."

With one last nod and a grin, Kotru would depart her store with the new droid pal chilling in his hood. Blissfully unaware that they would spend the rest of the day completely rebuilding the Junkspear's janky as hell operating systems.

@Remileah