Marvo and Dory listened closely as TB-239 told them what little he knew of the situation he was in. Their opinions on what to do with him didn’t change but drastically differed, and they were left with a choice to make.

When the energy readings of his ship gave a slight bump, Dory powered her engines and cleared the space just above him after a brief look inside. Based on the readings she received, the only thing worth using what little energy he had were the engines. Powering up his weapons would do more harm for his situation than good, and she could see that even if he managed to get a single bolt from even one of those cannons, that would be all there was of his energy. No more signal. If they left him, he lost what might have been his chance to discover what he missed, and would be left out here, alone, with no one to mourn him. No one deserved that.

[b]“Well TeeBee, you can call me Dory, or Alara, or Rogue Five,”[/b] Dory mused aloud. [b]“Come to think of it, you can just call me your new best friend.”[/b] Her ship, which had settled just behind his own, had begun pulling ahead and returning to the Alliance fleet a sizable distance away. If she calculated correctly, there was enough power to get him to Farfalla Station and the fleet, but not much further. [b]“Just follow me. We’ll integrate you back into the galaxy—“[/b] 

[b]“Hold on a minute,”[/b] Marvo cut in, guiding his Y-wing a short distance behind TeeBee, lining up his laser cannons with the old fighter. [b]“You want to bring it back with us? For what?”[/b]

[b]“It is a ‘he’, I can tell by the masculine programming.”[/b] 

[b]“Not the point right now, Alara.”[/b]

Dory felt a shiver of discomfort run down her spine. Being called Alara usually meant things were growing serious. [b]“Right,”[/b] she mumbled. [b]“I think it could be good. Think about how much he knows, and what he could have seen. Just look at his ship; no power for shielding or weapons, not to mention the state of the ship in general. He barely has enough power to keep up with me – look.”[/b] 

TeeBee’s ship, Marvo noted, was moving just as sluggishly as the Y-wings that escorted him. Somehow he was even slower than them, and they weren’t trying to be that much faster than him. If the system power wasn’t stressed, he believed Dory was right. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.

[b]“So say we waste the resources getting this thing looked at—“[/b] 

[b]“He,”[/b] Dory reminded with a drop of frustration. [b]“He’s a he… you know… unless TeeBee doesn’t want that. This channel isn’t private; he can hear everything we’re saying. He might be an older model, but he isn’t unintelligent.”[/b]

Marvo held his tongue. Dory’s passion for Droids had made her their ally in everything, including giving proper respect where others would not. She introduced herself to any astromech unit in the Alliance fleet, and was the shoulder for any protocol droid to lean on. Normally he kept all that in mind. But this droid wasn’t meant to help anyone. All it could do was find ways to kill people. The galaxy didn’t need more killer tacticians to add to a war that should have been over by now.

[b]“I understand. Let’s try this again then.”[/b] The laser cannons of his ship were still trained on Teebee’s fighter, but remained unpowered until he saw fit to charge them. With reduced speed, they would be able to make it back to the station within the next fifteen to twenty minutes. That was more than enough time to figure out what to do with TeeBee that did not involve his destruction. 

[b]“TB-239, my name is Marvo. While I don’t see the use in bringing you back with us, Dory seems to believe you may be worth saving. I’m willing to believe that you’re worth the effort if she is, because my team and I, we support one another… no matter how crazy the idea seems.” [/b]

[b]“I’ll take that as a compliment!”[/b] Dory chimed in cheerfully, tilting her ship rightward and executing a barrel roll.

Marvo smiled to himself despite his seriousness, but shook off Dory’s infectious enthusiasm. [b]“Alright… let me start by telling you now that the Clone Wars are over. The leaders of the Confederacy were executed and their droid armies were powered down. As for the Republic, we lost just as you and your people did. The galaxy as you remember it is gone. No more clone army, no more significant presence of Jedi – nothing but a Galactic Empire down an Emperor and Lord of the Sith, and an Alliance dedicated to defeating them and working towards creating the New Republic and protecting it with our lives.”[/b] 

For a moment, Marvo wondered how he would take it if he woke up and was told that the very thing he was created to do no longer mattered. Where would this leave TeeBee, and how could Dory give him new purpose? Was there even room in this old unit to do something new?

[b]“Any questions?”[/b]

[center]~-~-~

[@Lauder][/center]