Day 13: Companion. Because it wouldn’t be kotor if i didn’t draw some revanasi
This is the last one I drew at work before I clocked out. But I’m supposed to be at the same place tomorrow, so I should be able to get another 12 or 13 done.
A non-linear story of Bly, Aayla, and Quinlan in the time of the Knights of the Old Republic games (about 3,800 years before the prequels) designed to be read without any knowledge of that game or time.
First Chapter! Previous Chapter! Next Chapter!
Quinlan boards the Ebon Hawk last as they get ready to leave Tatooine. He hates this dust-ball planet almost as much as Obi-Wan’s padawan, but he refuses to walk in front of Sam’s mysterious murderdroid. The chances that HK-47 is programmed to mean any harm to anyone on this ship are astronomically low, but at the same time, Quinlan doesn’t put any stake in the odds anymore. Instead he believes that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. With their luck, the droid will have turned out to have been owned by Darth Revan or Darth Malak before its memory was corrupted.
Besides, none of them have ever heard of an HK droid, and it’s make and model are mostly unfamiliar, but Quinlan knows combat droids when he sees them. He’s spent the past two years of his life dodging around them and trying to avoid getting caught by one. Putting this one in front of him is practically second nature at this point.
Also, the droid is far too enthused by the prospect of committing the murders of what it calls ‘meatbags’ to be anywhere near normal.
Once on board the ship, Quinlan watches as the others separate before take-off.
Canderous grabs Mission. She’s particularly murderous, and has been since her brother admitted to choosing to leave her behind on Taris because he considered her a burden. His role in Czerka’s shadier businesses didn’t help, and it just added insult to injury when he had asked her for money.
Sam and Carth grab Bastila, who is particularly shaken by her encounter with her mother, and the reveal that the older woman was dying. Quinlan can feel her partners leading her back towards the cockpit, both for take off and likely also for the peace and quiet of the space.
Aayla and Bly are making their way towards the quarters the three of them are sharing, probably to act on the very specific hunger Quinlan can feel from the two of them now.
Zaalbar takes the supplies he acquired in the marketplace to the cargo hold, and Juhani excuses herself to catch up on the assignments her master has sent her.
Which leaves Quinlan alone with HK-47 and Sam’s other droid, T3-M4, which was absolutely what he wants, except the part where he wants to spend exactly no time with the murderdroid.
He settles into one of the plush couches in the middle of the communal space at the center of the ship and pulls up the audio recording file he has been transcribing to send to Madam Nu in the archives as a gift. He links the audio up to his headset and starts typing. Or, attempts to, anyways.
He’s distracted by a sharp motion on the edge of his field of vision. He looks up, and sees the smaller droid, T3-M4 bumping into HK. With the audio of the recording playing in his ears, he can’t hear what T3 is saying, but the lights around its flat top are flashing the way they do when it beeps out binary. HK tilts its head to one side, then responds. Quinlan can make out a low grumble, but not individual words.
T3 starts speaking again, spins dramatically in place, before shooting across the room towards the computer room. This time, Quinlan turns the volume down on his recording enough to hear HK’s response.
“I’m coming! Silly little one.” The second part is quieter, subtler, but fond, and it brings a little bit of surprise to Quinlan, even if he’d never show it.
“HK = designation: New Friend, && New Friend == Follow T3!” The small droid beeps back at HK in binary.
As Quinlan watches, the mysterious murder droid follows the tiny Tarisan droid down the hallway, muttering cross words in a fond tone. Quinlan doesn’t trust HK yet, but maybe – maybe there’s more to this droid than wiped databanks and hidden programming. Maybe.
