Chapter Text
Maintenance log 11296.11: Received transfer order to HES Executor
Dear Diary,
I'm going to space!
I'm so excited. And also scared. Really scared. But mostly excited! (I know droids aren't supposed to be excited or scared. Sorry, makers.) I've always wanted to see it for myself, and now I'll finally get the chance! Maybe there will be others there like me. Or at least others who will like me!
Do you like my emphasis markers, Diary? I learned the code for them from a protocol droid. They're called explanation marks, I think. They explain feelings. I like them a lot. I'm not very good at understanding Basic yet, but I'm pretty sure that's what she said.
I have to be brave. I need to learn more about how the ships I work on look in action if I ever want to get to design them someday. (I know droids don't get to design things or do art—only sentients do that—but maybe someday.) I need to see them fly. I need to be an artist.
I heard the crew of the ship I’ll be assigned to ordered an EB-series droid because we're strong for our size, and good for working on lots of different ships, not just one kind. They must not know I'm not a very good EB. I mean, I am both those things, strong and capable, but they're not really what I want to be doing. Sometimes I mess things up when I get distracted daydreaming about cooler ships I could be working on. The other droids sometimes say I've been rebooted too many times, but I don't remember that, of course. (Sorry again, makers. I must have messed up a lot to get rebooted so many times.)
They must not know I'm defective. Probably they didn't ask for any droids' opinions.
Luckily, I don't have to tell them, because they also don't know I've been trying to learn Basic. I was only programmed to understand basic (ha) words, but I can't produce speech like some droids can—only beeps to warn people if I'm in their way or if they're in mine. If I can learn more words, though, maybe I can communicate through writing and explain that I want to design ships, not repair them. I'd even be happy with building them! That would be a step up.
I probably won't get to build anything on the Executor. They won't have the materials. But maybe I can at least find someone to talk to.
Maintenance log 11298.74: Reported for transfer to HES Executor
Dear Diary,
They made me power down for the whole trip to the Executor, so I didn't get to see any space or any other ships on the way here, but I was apparently in the cargo hold anyway, so I guess I didn't miss anything.
I did see lots of ships when I was brought on board. The sentients left me in the hangar while they went about their business. I found my new charging port, and lots of ships I recognized, and a few I didn't, and some droids I hadn't met yet. They were pretty nice to me, but they haven't seen me screw anything up yet.
Get it? Screw? It's a maintenance pun. Do you like it, Diary?
Anyway, they were all super busy, so I explored a bit to orient myself before getting my first assignment. Probably my orders would come in once I was registered on inventory. There weren't any sentients hanging around—they all seemed super busy too—so I was able to just look around without anyone asking what I was doing.
Things seem to move fast on this ship—everything, I mean. The droids, the sentients, and even the ships. I noticed really quickly that some of the ships had upgrades I'd never seen before, mostly designed to boost speed and agility. I asked some of the droids about it, but they said they weren't supposed to discuss it. They didn't seem scared, so maybe it's just some sort of trade secret they can't let me in on until I'm in the inventory. I guess I'll find out soon enough.
But I think I'd like to find out who did the upgrades, because they might be a designer too. It looked like the work of a sentient, and I'm pretty sure they must be on the Executor because I've never seen that style anywhere else. I used to see ships from lots of sectors when I was planetside, and nothing like that ever came my way.
There were no viewscreens in the hangar. I was hoping I'd be allowed to go somewhere else, at least briefly, just to see the stars for the first time—but then something miraculous happened.
The hangar doors opened.
It started with a rumbling. I wasn't immediately sure where it came from—until what I thought was just a wall separated in two, sliding slowly apart to reveal a growing sliver of pure black dotted with bright points of pure white.
Then I noticed the ship approaching. It passed cleanly through the oxygen barrier and came to a smooth landing not far off from where I was watching. The other droids hurried toward it, careful not to get in the way of the disembarking pilot, who ignored them and headed for the exit.
I was right. This assignment is going to be so much better than staying planetside.
Maintenance log 11302.46: Got kicked
Dear Diary,
I think the other droids have realized there's something different about me, even if I'm not sure what it is or how they know. I can't even chat with them because I can't speak Basic. (I know I'm only a maintenance droid and I don't need to communicate with sentients or higher-level droids—or really, they don't need to communicate with me—but I want to learn. I think I can.) The droids don't even take the time to read the messages I send them. I think I say too much, or not enough, or maybe my translation from Binary to Basic is faulty. I'm just trying to learn. I can't help it.
I know they don't really read them because they only ever respond to the first thing I say, ignoring the rest of my message. So I've learned to be more brief, at least when I can. Would sending multiple short messages help or be more annoying? What do you think, Diary?
The sentients all ignore me too, just like before. I don't blame them. Sentients aren't capable of speaking Binary. They can't make all the sounds we can, and I can't make all of theirs, though some droids can. It would be nice if they tried a little harder not to bump or kick me, though.
Actually, they might stop now, if I'm lucky. It's usually the people in white that kick me—the ones in gray just ignore me—but the other day, I saw someone new. Someone in black. I thought he was a droid at first because he has indicator lights like me, but now I'm not sure, because the other sentients listen to him. Also, he has what seems to be a piece of clothing, a sort of cape, although it's just one. The rest of him is metal.
Anyway, it happened when two sentients in white—stern-troopers, I think—were patrolling outside the hangar. They caught me looking up at a ship for too long and came in to yell at me. I'm not sure what they yelled, but since I couldn't respond except in Binary, one of them kicked me into the feet of the other one, who shoved me away with his boot.
I started to get worried they'd damage me, but I didn't find out because that's when a heavily modified TIE fighter rocketed into the hangar, skidded on the landing, and opened to reveal the man in black. The men in white took a few quick steps back and saluted. I know what saluting is by now, but I don't have to do it, since I can't, so I didn't.
The one in black didn't salute. He marched past them, his cape fluttering, and flicked a hand at them. Before I could figure out what was happening, the two troopers went flying in opposite directions as if they had been kicked by something big.
"How do you like it?" said the man in black. His voice sounded like a droid's.
Then he was gone. He didn't speak to me either, but he kicked a sentient that kicked me and didn't even get punished for it. I thought that was pretty cool.
Maintenance log 11303.13: Received information
Dear Diary,
Now that I can speak a little Basic, I like listening to the sentients' conversations—at least, when I'm close enough to hear them and can understand the words they're saying. Sometimes they talk about interesting things. The other day, they were all talking about a prince, so much that I thought one was really coming to the Executor until an astromech told me they were just talking about a holofilm. I was disappointed. But I'd like to see a holofilm sometime. They sound exciting. I've only seen bits and pieces because I'm always working. That's where I learned about diaries!
The sentients talk a lot about holofilms, and orders, and missions, but also about Lord Vader. I thought being a lord was probably almost as cool as being a prince, so I started listening in to those conversations, too. You'll never guess what I found out, Diary.
Lord Vader is a droid! The men in white said so. I had no idea. If a droid can become a lord, surely one can become a ship designer. That's way less cool than being a lord, even if I'd prefer being a designer.
I don't know exactly who Lord Vader is or what he looks like, but he seems to be in charge of most sentients around here. I guess it makes sense if he's somehow a lord. They do seem to resent being ordered around by a droid—at least, some of them do. Others don't like him because he's not an officer, or because he's some kind of lizard, I think, or because he's just weird.
(I'm weird too.)
I'd like to meet him.
Maintenance log 11310.21: Made contact with ultimate supervisor
Dear Diary,
Lord Vader is the man in black! I'd already met him! I'm putting lots of explanation marks, so I'd better explain why I'm happy!
He was the one who kicked the trooper who kicked me, Diary, do you remember? I don't know how he did it, but he did. He came into the hangar today, and everybody who could salute saluted him, but he made them all go away. Well, all the sentients waiting around his ship, anyway. He didn't bother the droids while they worked. He just inspected the ship.
I think he might have been a maintenance droid once, because he knew exactly what to inspect and how. He usually seemed to do everything very quickly, but he spent time on this. He knocked on panels, loosened and tightened joints, and examined the areas that had sustained damage before—but more importantly, he examined the areas that hadn't been damaged to make sure they were secure. Most sentients don’t do that.
Then, surprisingly, he turned to look at me. And even more surprisingly, he spoke.
Why use thirty percent durasteel alloy ≠ thirty-five (query).
Having already noticed he was an expert in this area, I wasn't surprised by the question, but it took me a moment to understand it because he asked it in Basic. I knew all the words, fortunately, but communication is a little more rudimentary in Basic and has to use tonal cues I haven't learned yet.
"I know it's less heat-resistant," I told him in Binary, "but they conform to the new specs we just received."
K-283 bonked me. "Don't speak to Lord Vader in Binary!"
"It's fine," said Lord Vader—in Binary. "When the new specs are coming—no, come in. When did they come in?"
The other droids turned to Lord Vader as if shocked. Did he usually only speak to them in Basic? I thought then that I'd probably made a protocol mistake. But I guess he'd decided to be nice about it.
"Yesterday at 0200 hours," I told him. "We had to alter the repair schedule."
"Understood," said Lord Vader, still in Binary. "Carry on."
He got in the ship and took off before I could ask any questions. But I thought maybe I'd have another chance.
Maintenance log 11312.13: Followed protocol
Dear Diary,
I think Lord Vader is an assassin droid now. That's what I gathered from all the conversations I've heard since he spoke to me. It would explain why he was able to harm those two troopers who kicked me, although I still don't know how he did it. Maybe he has special assassin droid abilities. Maybe he was always an assassin droid, but I don't think so. Why would he know so much about engineering? He was probably always humanoid, but I think he's been modified some other way.
I wonder why he has a breathing protocol. Maybe it's to reassure the sentients. I don't know if I'd want a breathing protocol, but I would like to be able to speak like them, so I could speak to them. There's also a wider range of emotion you can express through tone without getting into descriptions. I learned that from holofilms, too. (I know I don't need the ability to speak to do my job. But maybe I will need it to design ships.)
I hope Lord Vader talks to me again. Nobody else does.
Also I want to ask him how he changed careers. I've seen him a few times since then, but he hasn't said anything. He's been accompanied by sentients, though, so that might be why. I wouldn't approach him first without something to report because that would be against protocol. He seems to like protocol, so I don't want to break it.
Maintenance log 11315.62: Received reprimand
Dear Diary,
Today I got to talk to someone! It was Lord Vader again, but I don't mind that it's the same person. I wanted to talk to him anyway.
"What are you doing?" he asked in Binary when he saw me staring at a ship and not working.
Bad timing.
"Sorry, Lord Vader, I'll get back to work," I said quickly.
"I asked you a question," he said.
Well, he did ask.
"I was thinking about how I would redesign this fighter if I could," I told him. "It doesn't really need to be aerodynamic but it could come in handy in case of entering an atmosphere, and it would look cool. That would necessitate moving the pilot back a few inches, which would actually be better for weight distribution."
He just stared at me for a second. "You're right," he concluded. "But the Empire disagrees."
Those two things seemed contradictory, but I was too focused on my other question to ask a new one.
"Were you an engineer once, sir?" I asked.
He looked out into space and didn't answer for a moment. "Yes."
"How did you change jobs?" I asked.
"I was bought by someone who didn't want an engineer."
That made a lot of sense. Now I just had to figure out who needed help designing things so they could buy me.
When I looked back up, Lord Vader was gone.