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Bren Clakston awoke from his nightmare in a cold sweat. He had not
been able to get a good night's sleep in almost thirteen years, ever sense
that fateful day he destroyed his life and the lives of countless others.
One life in particular, that of his friend Majon. Majon's death wasn't
Bren's fault, but he still felt responsible.
After that day Bren left his Jedi master Zrant and started roaming the
galaxy looking for a way to repent for his mistake. He traveled the stars
for over five years, not making any friends or getting close to anybody
for fear of losing them because he could not control his powers.
He watched as the Galactic Republic fell and the Empire took form.
Knowing the fate of the Jedi Knights had left Bren feeling even more alone
and filled him with a greater sense of guilt.
Finally he had come to the planet Himjot, a virtually unknown planet.
The inhabitants had long ago created a cloaking field to hid the planet
from all ships. The only way to discover the planet's existence was
to crash on it, as Bren had done.
The few that did unearth the planet's existence were quick to leave.
Anyone familiar with humanoid physiology were struck with fear by the planet's
inhabitants. They were tall, humanoid creatures with extremely pale skin
and little muscle. They look as though they were walking dead.
Bren had found the planet when a ship he had 'burrowed' had malfunctioned
and crash on Himjot. Bren wondered for days until he found himself
in the capital city of Tecbit.
He was scared of the inhabitants at first , but soon he discovered that
they were a purely scientific race. They had already created an engine
system that could out do any known to the galaxy. Their shield generators
could produce shields indefinitely witch could not be destroyed by conventional
weapons. They had stealth technologies beyond any seen in the galaxy,
some of the most powerful droids ever and they were always working on more
advanced technologies.
The only reason they had not gone out into the galaxy is because of their
main philosophy: 'Beings should not be explore
the reaches of space or hunt for other life and other planets until one
has discovered all there is to discover on their own world.' The only times
they even left the atmosphere was to test new engines and technologies
that could only be tested in space. They knew some of the galaxy
outside and the political games that were played, but wanted nothing to
do with any of it.
Bren became the first outsider ever accepted into their society. He quickly
picked up their language and started teaching them his. They in turn
showed him all their achievements and taught him their philosophy.
He soon grow to respect their ways and admired the peaceful teachings.
That was eight years ago and now Bren hoped he would never have to face
the outside galaxy ever again.
Bren had been working with droids research once he had proven he had the
knowledge and ability to be useful. He liked the work and looked
forward to seeing the new advancements that would take the rest of the
galaxy decades to even contemplate.
Bren got up and started dressing. It took him a good year to get
a wardrobe together. Even the children of the species were larger
than the average adult human and the baby clothes were too thin in most
cases for a human frame. Luckily there were tailors who were willing to
convert the Himjot style clothing to human standards.
Bren looked in the mirror at the scar on his face. A mark of his
failure that he could never be rid of as with the missing fingers on his
right hand. Everyday he had to live with these reminders of his past.
It had taken him years to find a way to not always be thinking of what
had happened, but to live in the present. It looked as though he
had found his dream on this strange planet of peaceful giants.
Bren was broken out of his trance when his communication console beeped.
"Yes," Bren said in the language of the Himjonians.
The image of a old wrinkled Himjonian came into view crystal clear and
perfectly life like on the circular platform atop the communicator.
"Brutgel, I'll be out in a minute. Just gotta get dressed."
"We shall meet at the lab then. I need to get the equipments warmed
up. Today we shall get the first batch on line" Brutgel replied
in a soft voice.
"I'll see you there." The Image disappeared and Bren finished dressing.
Bren left his quarters and headed down the stairs. He had been enjoying
the work he was doing. They had been working on making the smallest
droid with multipurpose programming ever. And today they were to
find out if the final product worked or not.
As Bren left the residents building and got on to the street, he got his
usual feeling of drowning. He was surrounded by Himjonians the shortest
of them being around seven to eight feet tall, and the tallest could reach
almost twenty feet. He had worked hard at getting used to the feeling
of being emersed in a world full of giant beings that looked to be corpses.
Bren walked down the street exchanging pleasantries with the people he
knew. When he had first arrived they had seen him and starred or
laughed, treating him as though he were a joke. Now they accepted
him and let him feel as though he belonged.
When Bren got to the complex, he found Brutgel in the middle of the warm-up
procedures.
Without exchanging any words Bren got straight to work in helping with
the warm-up. There were other Himjonians working on the project.
All were busy getting ready to learn if their work was successful or not.
After an hour the warm-up was done and it was time to start.
"Bren, would you like to do the honors? "Brutgel asked.
"Me? But, I haven't done anywhere near as much work on this project
as you. This is your life's work."
"Yes, but without your help in bringing forth ideas from outside none of
this would have been possible."
"Thank you. I guess it's time to see if these guys will run."
Bren looked to the center of the room which had an assemble line, that
was surrounded by a see-through barrier. Bren threw the switch Brutgel
had offered him and the assembly line came to life.
All the robots on the assembly line were miniature and were working on
circuitry that was almost invisible to the naked eye. It looked as though
some of the machines were working on thin air.
The group of Himjonians watched with Bren as the first group of droids
came off the assembly line.
Ten circular droids sat on a platform at the end of the conveyor belt.
Each had a single robotic eye sticking out from it body and was about four
centimeters in diameter.
"Quickly hook them up for finally programming," Brutgel commanded, breaking
the silence that had filled the room.
Bren picked up two of the miniature droids, as did four of the Himjonians.
He walked to his station and plugged the droids into the computer output
jack.
Bren typed in a serious of commands then sat back and watched as the computer
did the rest.
Brutgel walked over to join Bren. Both of them were waiting full
of anticipation to see their final results.
"The two that Frulgy took had malfunctioning input receptors. Let's hope
your's turn out better," The old Himjonian said.
"The are reading the final batch of programming now," Bren replied, a hopeful
look on his face and his fingers crossed. "If this doesn't work we just
lost two years of research."
"Do not look at it that way. I am sure we are close. If not
this time then we are that much closer to solving it the for the next try,"
Brutgel said reassuringly.
The computer beeped, signalling it was finished.
Bren looked at Brutgel and then at the two small droids.
"Well go ahead and give the command," Brutgel requested.
"Power up, full charge." Bren stared at the droids waiting for a response.
It took a few seconds until the eye of both droids lit up and started focusing.
At the same time a loud explosion was heard from outside. All the workers
rushed out to see what was happening. Bren quickly followed.
Outside Bren had to crawl under the Himjonians to get a look at what was
happening. He regretted what he saw.
A troop of white armored stormtroopers were marching down the streets firing
at anyone they saw as a threat to them. Behind them was a dark figure
Bren had only heard about but knew without a doubt, Darth Vader.
Bren ran back into the building. Inside he saw Brutgel working on
the computer.
"Are those the people you called the Empire?" Brutgel asked without
raising his head.
"Yes. We must leave. They will kill everyone if they get the
chance."
"No. I must see to it that none of our creations fall in to the wrong
hands. I have started the self-destruct sequence that should wipeout
all the technology in this lab and the corresponding operations.
I only hope the other chiefs of operations have the chance to do the same."
Brutgel looked up at Bren with tears in his eyes. "Go and take the ship
you built, find someone to carry on the works of our peoples."
"I will old friend, I will. But come with me." Bren said as
tears formed in his eyes.
"No. I will die with my people. Besides I don't think I could
live on another planet. Go and remember us," Brutgel said as he headed
for the door.
Bren ran up and gave Brutgel a hug, puzzling the Himjonian.
"What was that?" Brutgel asked.
"A human way of saying good-bye. I never got to say good-bye to the
other people that were as close to me as you are." Bren replied in
a soft tone.
Brutgel reached down and hugged Bren back in a very awkward position. As
Bren pulled away Brutgel handed Bren the two droids he had just programed.
"They work. Take them with you to help you remember us."
"I would never forget you."
Bren turned around a headed for the back door as Brutgel went to keep the
Imperials from getting into the lab before it all self-destructed.
On his way through Bren grabbed a portable repair station for the miniature
droids and a wrist communicator preset for the droids' frequency.
As Bren got back into the open air he looked up and saw a fleet of star
destroyers. All around he saw stormtroopers running into to buildings
with guns firing. Behind him he could hear explosions coming from
the lab as it self-destructed.
Bren ran through the exploding buildings and wild laser fire, keeping low
and out of sight, which was not too hard with all the structures having
been built for the large Himjonians.
When Bren reached the storage shed which had been built especially for
him and the ship he was designing he found his way blocked by five stormtroopers.
"Great now what," Bren said talking to him self.
A series of beeps
Bren reached in and pulled out the two droids. He looked at them
for a moment thinking. He pulled out the communicator, strapped in
on his wrist and turned it on.
"Are all your systems fully functioning?" Bren asked the droids hopefully.
"All systems are at peak operational standards," the reply came through
the communicator in Himjonian. Bren read the reply and was filled with
hope.
"Good then here's my plan," Bren said with a smile.
The stormtroopers were working on how to open the oddly placed human sized
door on a planet of giants when they were interrupted by someone running
by.
All five of them turned around to see Bren running towards a near by ditch.
"Get him!" Their captain yelled.
All five ran towards the ditch, none noticing the small black circle that
dodge their feet as the ran by it.
The stormtroopers reached the ditch to see Bren just standing there with
his back to them, looking as though he was working a control panel that
did not exist.
The troopers raised their weapons. "Turn around or die." The
Captain commanded.
The figure did not respond.
"Fire!" Cried the captain.
The troopers fired their weapons, surprised to see the beams go straight
through the image in front of them.
The image suddenly disappeared.
"What's happening here?" Asked the captain.
A small projectile came flying throw the air and landed at the stormtrooper's
feet.
"A thermal detonator. Run.." The Captain said as he turned
around to see the man they were chasing entering the building after a small
rodent like droid jumped into his hand.
The captain was about to fire but was stop by an explosion from behind
him.
Inside Bren climbed into his ship. It was a simple shuttle craft. There
were two seats in the piloting area, a fold down cot next to the supply
closet, a cramped refresher and a small cargo hold which housed an experimental
suspension bed. Bren had designed the shuttle as a rescue ship. He
would use the suspension bed to slow down the bodily functions of injured
passengers.
Bren placed the droids in the copilot chair as he took the pilot seat.
The craft slowly hovered out of the shed. Bren took the craft cautiously
into the sky. He looked back at the fires and devastation that had been
his home for nearly eight years.
His concentration was broken by laser blasts flying by outside. He looked
up to see a squad of TIE fighters swooping down at him. He suddenly regretted
having not including weapon systems in his design. All he could hope for
was to out maneuver the TIE's until he could get free of the planet's gravity.
He put his shields on max, regretting not using the Himjonian shield generators
because he had felt they took up too much room. Instead he rebuilt
the shields from his old ship
Bren aimed his craft directly at the lead TIE fighter at full speed.
Just before the two ships would have impacted the TIE fight swerved to
the side crashing into another fighter.
Three more fighters came down at Bren.
As the lasers bounced off his shields Bren heard the computer alert stating
that the shields were almost depleted.
Bren swooped down and then back up trying to buy as much time as possible
with the three TIE fighters in close pursuit.
Bren broke through the atmosphere and into the cold of space. All three
TIEs were gaining on him. He quickly set the navigation system to plot
a hyperspace path.
In front of Bren a dark rectangular shape eclipsed the stars. Bren
gasped as he saw the approaching Star Destroyer. he had heard rumors
of them having been built, but He had no idea the immensity of them.
The navigation computer registered that it had already calculated the jump
to hyperspace. Bren checked and was relived to see that the engines
were fully charged as well.
"It looks like the force is with me," Bren commented as he threw the hyperdrive
controls into full.
As the stars began to streak in front of him, Bren felt relieved. The relief
vanished several minutes later when he heard an explosion from the rear
of the craft.
The streaks of stars vanished as the ship quickly returned to normal space.
Bren jumped from his seat and rushed over to the ship's internal monitoring
system. The screened showed that the hyperdrive engines had failed.
Bren sent out one of the droids to get a idea of how bad the damage was.
As he looked at the holographic picture of his hyperdrive, Bren found himself
at a lose of hope. The hyperdrive had completely blown itself apart.
Bren figured one of the TIE's must had gotten a lucky hit in right as he
jumped to hyperspace. It had just been pure chance that the ship
had not exploded with the engines.
"Okay Rascal, come back in," Bren said to the droid. "And I guess I'll
call you Rodent," Bren remarked to the droid that had been projecting the
hologram.
After several hours Bren had figured it would take several lifetimes for
the shuttle to make it to the closest safe system on the sub-light engines
that still functioned. he only had enough supplies to last him a
few months.
It did not take long for Bren to come to the only solution he had left.
He spent the next few days working on modifying the suspension bed.
He then programmed Rascal and Rodent with the full workings of the ship
and the suspension bed, along with the basic maintenance of each other.
"It will be up to you two to keep the ship running," Bren explained as
he slowly undressed. "I will need to be woken up every ten years so I can
reset the systems. If another ship comes in communication distance
or there is danger, wake immediately."
The two droids, Rodent now painted with a blue 'V' shape on his back side
and Rascal with a red 'V', beeped back affirmative replies.
"If everything goes well, we will encounter another ship before the hundred
or so years it will take to get to a planet."
Bren laid down in the suspension bed. The cold cushioning itched
as his named body fell into place. He slowly lowered the transparent
dome over him. He took one long breath of air and then nodded to
Rascal who was resting on the control unit. A small appendage emerged
from rascal's body and flipped the switch he was next.
A white cloud filled the dome. Bren relaxed as he felt the gases
cover him. As he dozed off Bren wondered where he would be when he
awoke next.
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