He's had it up to *holds hand up to hairline* here.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

((closed to Fett and Skaffen.))

If he were completely honest, he wasn't actually expecting it to work.

Well, not for long in any case. The drone was equipped with very advanced technology, and it had more intelligence than he'd ever like to give it credit for. But that wasn't the point. It was more of a test run; he had to see if he could manage it at all. If he could, there was a chance that he could update it, make it run longer, and then....

He didn't want to disturb anyone in his section of the park, so he shadowed the drone once or twice at a distance to pick up on its patterns of movement. He then decided to set up his equipment in Frontierland, right after the Shooting Gallery.

The concept was simple, really. He had no need for personal shielding himself, it was a hindrance, but having temporary holding shields was useful. He could bring them into play with particular rowdy cargo, the kind that would attempt escape before Slave I reached them. It typically took the form of a box of green light with a nasty bite when you pressed too hard against the energized walls.

The only thing left was to reprogram it so that it acted like a womprat trap - once the drone entered the area it should trigger it to snap into place. He had to be reasonably careful with the software; he didn't want it to trap anything sentient, so he had to be sure that living tissue wouldn't set it off. It had taken more nights up than he wanted to admit, but if it worked in any capacity, it would be worth it. So Fett made the final adjustments early that morning, and then settled down out of sight to wait.

Comments

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Skaffen-Amtiskaw had been getting lazy, although it would have denied any such accusations vehemently. The fact was, the number of points it had scored against its one serious nemesis had made it overconfident. Between that and the general lack of any kind of danger in the park, the drone tended to not pay attention to its surroundings as much as it usually did.

Which is how it completely failed to notice Boba Fett's trap -- or even the bounty hunter lurking in the shadows.

The green light was a surprise; even more of a surprise was the zap it got when it tried to exit the box. It felt dangerously like a low-level EMP.

"What?"

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

If he were the triumphant type, a minute or two of hollering and cackling would have sufficed. As it was, Fett contented himself with walking out to inspect the handiwork.

He stayed deliberately silent as he circled, his helmet tilting this way and that, as though he were examining something in the shield rays. This was not actually how one checked shielding, but it was better to move about than stand around and stare.

Some people might have called this a form of gloating. Fett would have said he didn't gloat. Some people would have known better.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Shite and perdition. Skaffen-Amtiskaw should have known.

"Pleased with yourself, sir?" the drone demanded. It gave the shielding an experimental flick with one of its effector fields, and was rewarded with a sensation that was the drone equivalent of chewing on aluminum foil. Grief. It knew that it should've had that electromagnetic field upgrade installed...

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Fett gave the slightest of shrugs. "I hadn't really thought of it that way," he lied for his own deserved amusement. "Equipment tests, you know. Have to have a subject for it, and I figured you would volunteer for the position."

He continued to take readings, of course, but it wasn't as though that required anything manual. Data ran in columns at the side of his viewplate, and he checked to make sure everything was running smoothly.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

The drone prodded the field again and flinched at the chewing-aluminium sensation. "I'm so glad I could help," it said, its tone naturally expressing exactly the opposite. "How did you construct this, anyway? It's rather more advanced than I'd have expected."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"Just some minor adjustments," Fett informed him. As if he would actually break into some all-out explanation of the work. Sounded more like Emperor Palpatine. Vader had been a little better, but that was only provided that you had done your job to his exact specifications. "It was hard to find the time for it, in fact. I've had all sorts of unwelcome guests coming around lately.... Which I'm sure you wouldn't know anything about?"

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Oh, you mean the silly goggle-eyed Englishman?" It was a measure of how incensed the drone was that it didn't feel like being coy. "I'm sure you sent him on his way. Didn't try to shoot him, did you? Although I suppose if you felt like you needed a bath, that'd be one way to handle it."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

There was no way Fett was going to tell the drone what he had needed to do to get the man to leave. Not if he valued his reputation. Still, it was satisfying getting a straight answer out of the thing for once. "Witty," was his one-word response to the bathing comment, moving around the field in his old manner and feeling more like himself than he had in... months, probably.

"I was just disappointed to know you were handing out your dirty work to hapless individuals like that," he continued after a moment. "Stretching yourself a little thin lately, I suppose."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Handing out? I beg your pardon; the Englishman, for one, was practically begging for it. Besides, I like working with allies. People with compatible goals whose experience is orthogonal to one's own. It gives one better data."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

The use of words like 'orthogonal' in an un-mathematical sentence only reminded Fett of the many reasons why he disliked droids. "Working with allies is not the same as attempting control over witless counterparts." He should know, often as he exerted that control himself.

"I am assuming that you have a purpose in continually disturbing me."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Oh, I don't know about that. I call it 'working with what you have', either way." Its aura colour had faded from angry white to a crabby brownish-grey. It detached a knife missile and prodded the shielding; the knife missile recoiled and snicked back into the drone's casing.

"I merely wanted to keep your life interesting," it went on. "Really, you should be thanking me. I thought you'd have been bored out of your mind otherwise."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Which is why you should have been decommissioned immediately following your activation, Fett thought vehemently. The inability to separate differences like that, or indeed the impulse to ignore them entirely was exactly the sort of behavior that Fett held accountable for many of the problems he had to put up with. Arrogance and idiocy continued to be the driving factors in the universe.

"You are mistaken," he said in response to the comment about boredom. "I have enough to keep myself occupied. It seems more likely that you are the one getting bored." He disliked attributing sentient emotions to a droid, but there was no other way to describe it.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Oh, I'm definitely bored," the drone replied. "I've mapped every inch of this park twice over. What have you been up to? I didn't imagine there'd be many bounties to collect."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"I've been... engaged," was his response. "Some of the park inhabitants have been made nervous by a pair of residents and required assistance." Not that he was looking for a vigilante job, but that was sort of how it came out sounding, didn't it?

"And you find no flaw that your boredom induces you to antagonize people?" he said finally. "It is rather... human of you."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

A ripple of very bright reddish-orange rippled through the drone's aura at the mention of the "engagement"; it was sort of a drone O RLY? "Glad someone's keeping busy," it said out loud.

The "human" comment elicited another ripple of colour, this one pink marbled with blue. "I'm a Culture drone," it said, with the air of someone giving an explanation to a slow child. "Our workings aren't that far off of human."

It was intrigued, now. So AIs in Fett's world didn't have humanoid reactions or emotions? Were the limits of their programming more constrained? That would explain a lot about the man's reactions.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

In truth, he was glad to be keeping busy as well. Nothing to work on led to lethargy, with led to indulgence, which meant a lack of discipline that he simply did not allow.

As far as droids were concerned, they weren't supposed to develop along those lines where he was from. That's what memory wipes were for, to ensure that a distinct personality didn't emerge or develop. Of course there were always those sentimental idiots who didn't do memory wipes for their beloved family droids, which led to odd deviations.

And the ones who were just fundamentally flawed in their programming. Assassin droid IG-88 had been one of them. 4-LOM, the droid who wanted to become a Jedi after his bounty hunting stint. Jabba's old junk sorter, EV-9D9, she was certifiable. Which had led to many of his own opinions on the drone, it so happened. "Your workings? You'll have to be more specific than that, I'm afraid."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Culture AIs, including drones such as myself --" a small, slightly mocking bow, "-- are designed to want to live, to want to experience, to desire to understand, and to find existence and our own thought-processes in some way rewarding, even enjoyable.* In other words, to approach life much as humans do." A beat, then, "As most humans do," it corrected itself. The way it tilted at Boba Fett implied an insult without spelling it out.

*((Ganked straight from A Few Notes On the Culture. Because IMB put it best. In that essay, he also notes that "A few such apparently anti-social people are even used by Contact itself, especially by the Special Circumstances section. The way the Culture creates AIs means that a small number of them suffer from similar personality problems; such machines are given the choice of cooperative re-design, a more limited role in the Culture than they might have had otherwise, or a similarly constrained exile."))

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

That was so backwards, Fett didn't even know where to begin.

Of course, the insult didn't really register; his view on life was admittedly quite different from most humans and enjoyment wasn't very high on his list of priorities. "And the Culture finds that useful?" It seemed like a very productive waste of time to him.

((That was so cool, btw. ^_^))

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Skaffen-Amtiskaw was silent for a moment, and then its aura strobed pink. "You might as well ask if having children is useful," it said. "How can I put this in very small words ... Drones. Are. People. People. Are Not. Always. Made. Of. Meat. At least that's how the Culture sees it, and has done for several millennia."

((I ♥ IMB. And he's got a new Culture novel coming out next year! I am so happy!))

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

So why didn't they just have children? That was where it was not working out in Fett's mind. Why would a human find a desire to substitute or indeed add the creation of artificial life as some sort of procreation?

"And I suppose like any reasonable society, they have asked you to seek medical help regarding your destructive tendencies?" One thing was certain; he pitied the person responsible for this drone's creation.

((squee! I really have to pick them up now that I've got more readingtime available))

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Several varied colours rippled through the drone's aura before it finally responded. "My human colleagues and I understand each other quite well," it said frostily. "They say that the Special Circumstances branch isn't composed of the warmest and fuzziest people in the galaxy, and I suppose it's true. I'd have thought you'd understand that sort of thing. Although there is that prejudice you seem to have against AIs and non-organics..."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Prejudice? Maybe. It was hard not to when an mad assassin droid had it out for you, and constantly tried to get in your way during jobs. In fact, the drone and IG-88 would have probably gotten along alarmingly well.

"I am not warm and fuzzy," Fett agreed, "but I am also not reckless and temperamental. You lack the control that is essential in your line of work." And that was the problem, right there. He had no patience for people who used their job as an excuse to flex their muscles and use big guns. It was your profession, and that mean you performed it with diligence and precision.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"I beg your pardon. I have more than ample control when necessary. Ms Diziet Sma, for instance, would be more than happy to vouch for me in that regard."

Well. Sort of.

"You really have no sense of play, do you?"

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"I'll believe that when I hear it from her lips," Fett told him seriously. He had not survived this long by taking anything's word at face value.

"Perhaps I don't," he said in regard to play. When you had thousands of brothers all designed for combat, constantly being trained, it made the playground a very different exercise. Granted, he hadn't been genetically manipulated into docility, so it gave him an edge. But generally he had stayed away from the troops. "Putting others in danger never actually coincided with my definition of play."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"I suppose what one defines as 'danger' depends on one's level of vulnerability," the drone said. "And I do believe both you and I know quite well that people can't get killed here, so that opens the playing field up quite a bit, don't you think?"

It had to be admitted that the drone's position on the matter was more relaxed than any non-Culture sentient's would ever be. The Culture, after all, was somewhere where lava-flow rafting was considered an entertaining extreme sport.

The drone considered the ground below it, and wondered if Fett's clever little electromagnetic shield extended down as well.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"You didn't know that the first time you made the attempt," Fett pointed out needlessly. He didn't expect any of this was actually getting through to the drone; it was exactly as he thought, defective. Some people were that way too, just wired wrong. You couldn't fix them or teach them, or even reason with them.

Interestingly, the shield did not extend down. This might have been due to the fact that most of the species Fett had trapped in the course of his career had not been blessed with burrowing capabilities.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Touché, sir," the drone replied, sinking low to the ground in a posture of embarrassment. "I suppose this is my cue to apologise or something, isn't it?"

A small curve of its effector field swept discreetly downward, and -- yes! Not a hint of the aluminium-chewing sensation. A plan formed in the drone's mind.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

"I would rather you didn't," Fett said stiffly. "I have no use for words. I would, however, accept some form of peace on your part." It was a shot in the dark, but he had to take advantage of the situation while they were speaking normally.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Oh, very well," the drone said, affecting humility. "Let me see, how shall I put this..."

What happened next happened very quickly.

A knife missile detached from the drone's casing and plunged straight downward into the earth, digging deep with its effector fields and flinging the rest out behind it. Amid the flying earth, the drone shaped its own effector fields and followed.

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Fett backed up quickly when he saw the knife missile, watching irritatedly as the drone found a way out of his little trap. I'll have to fix that for next time, he thought. It would take some creative manipulation, but there had to be a way to get that field lined up across the ground. He should have seen that coming.

Regrets aside, he prepared swiftly in his mind any number of scenarios that could possibly arise in the next few seconds, and waited to see what the outcome of this little excursion would be.

[skaffenamtiskaw]

The drone emerged from the earth about six feet away. It had considered burrowing up directly under Boba Fett, but it felt, not without reason, that such a gesture would have really been pushing its luck.

Within seconds it was hovering at Fett's eye-level, its aura a warm magenta.

"Ah, that's much better. I so enjoy being able to speak to people when I'm not stuck into an electromagnetically shielded box. Now what was that you were saying? Some form of 'peace'?"

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Well, considering that nothing was exploding, he would call that a win situation. Truthfully, he was impressed with the knife missiles; cutting through layers of concrete was not something that he had ever seen any multi-purpose weapon do. He wondered if someone from his galaxy might be able to create something similar. It would profit him to no end.

"The whole conversation might have happened without the box, but last time I recall speaking to you freely, I was later disturbed by the temporary distruction of my quarters." Staring at the magenta aura, Fett realized he was starting to understand the drone's color scheme better now, an interesting set of indicators that did not require body language. "If you want to play war games, say so; I have no time for subversiveness. And I have no desire to continue a fight without purpose."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"I confess I should miss matching my skills against a reasonably worthy opponent," the drone said, which was about as close to a compliment as it could get. "Very well, then; I'll stop using people to harrass you. I've no interest in being friends -- but I expect you feel similarly, don't you?"

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Fett had no fondness for compliments - they usually came from sycophants and liars, and that put him in mind of too many people that he'd encountered on the job and wanted to forget - so it was just as well that it didn't ring too genuine in his ears. "I have no use for friends," he confirmed. "So we are not at odds in that aspect."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

"Well, shall we agree to simply stay out of each others' way, then? I think I can live with that."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

We'll see how long it lasts, Fett thought. "Good. We appear to have an accord."

[skaffenamtiskaw]

Of course, the drone was already thinking in terms of plausible deniability even as it bobbed lightly in the air. "Very good. I'll be on my way then. Good day, Mr Bounty Hunter."

[lasting-justice.livejournal.com]

Fett nodded, then waited until the drone had disappeared before collecting his gear and returning to the Gallery. He had started alterations on the equipment before the hour was up.