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Author's Notes:

Tails of the Old Republic is a crossover between the Sonic the Hedgehog universe and the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video game.

Sonic and all related IP belongs to SEGA/ Sonic Team
SW: KotOR and all related IP belongs to Lucas Arts/ Bioware Corp
No copyright or trademark infringement intended.

Series rated "Web-14" for violence, mild language, and suggestive themes.

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Upper City Taris — Droid Shop

Tails woke up before Carth again, and he tinkered with the personal energy shield at the workbench. Despite it looking like a plain metallic arm guard, its internal workings were incredibly complex. The adolescent Mobian was able to intuit some of the design, but for an electroplasmic shield generator, it was nothing like he had ever before seen. He found were some circuits has overloaded, and after a little soldering, the fox was able to repair the damage. Tails noticed five individual power cells, and after a brief analysis, he figured that each one provided an independent energy source for the shield emitters, and after the first cell was drained, the second one would take its place, and so on. He wanted to play with the design, but with limited tools and lacking proper documentation, Tails worried he could severely damage it, and he knew he wouldn't be able to spend all day fixing it. Tails put it back together and let it be.


Carth awoke at o-five-thirty, and after a quick breakfast in the apartment, Carth and Tails headed north for the elevator to the Lower City. It seemed to Tails that Carth's opinion of him had deteriorated somewhat since last night. Their brief conversations were terse and to-the-point, and overall it seemed like he had a bug up his duct about something. This annoyed Tails, but he kept his mouth shut. At least the Human thanked him for repairing the shield. Tails wondered what was bothering him, but he the boy guessed it had to do with his Chaos abilities. It wouldn't be the first time "normal" people discriminated against him because of it, and he chose to not let it bug him.


Tails carried the suit of Sith battle armor in his "subspace storage locker" (as Carth put it) as the Human wore his own clothes and under-armor. The Sith armor was supposedly their ticket into the Lower City, but the Republic soldier didn't want to wear it until he absolutely had to. Tails himself wore his boots, gloves, pants, and windbreaker, as well as his other gear and a new white tank-top. Carth had asked what happened to the orange shirt, and Tails had explained it got ruined in his match against Twitch. Unfortunately for the Mobian, Carth had a replacement. Tails found the Human obsession with clothing absurd.


Along the way, Carth and Tails found three Humans obstructing their path. They were causing a ruckus in the street, and generally being obnoxious. Tails gagged; they positively stank of ethanol.


"What ish this planet (hic!) coming to, eh?" asked the first one. "Schlummies just walkin' around in the Upper City!"


"And whutizuh a fuzzy-whuzzy doin' with a hummen," asked the next. "Are you (hic!) izh pet, little fuzzy-whuzzy?"


"Shuddentyouz gobackinta da Lower Schitty (hic!) whereszhu behelong, schlummies?" demanded the third drunk.


Carth Onasi rolled his eyes. "Oh, great..." he complained.


"Yeah! Like 'e said!" exclaimed the second. "Uh... wait... uhh... OH YEAH! Theze schtreets are for Upper City schitizens only! Ya better get outta the way if (hic!) you knowz whatz good for ya!"


The first drunk pointed an unsteady finger in Tails' direction, and said, "You! Yeah, you! WITH THE FACE! What'zhuh mutant freak-a-zoid like you doin' (hic!) on mah planet? Go back intuh space and POP like... like... oh, I dunno, SOMETHING!"


Tails facepalmed.


"Let us pass, please," Carth asked politely, but irritated.


"Nuh-uh! You gotta go hack bome, schlummies! Or yuhr gunna be feelin' some HURT!"


"For your information, we were headed to the Lower City," Carth said, "Which is in the direction behind you."


"Do you schlummies (hic!) think we're ztupid or somethin'?"


"The thought had crossed my mind," Carth retorted.


Tails noticed two Sith soldiers approaching. They needed to disappear, fast.


"Hey guys, can we all be friends, here?" Tails cut in. "Look, I'll... uh... I'll buy you guys another drink!"


"A drink?!" exclaimed the first drunk, his entire attitude changing. "Hey, hey, hey! For a fuzzy schlummy, you ain't so bad!"


He turned back to his comrades-in-intoxication and declared, "C'mon, boys! This schlummie's buyin' us the next round! WHOO HOO!"


"Ugh, no way; forget it... no more drinks!" said the second drunk. "We're wasted enough as (hic!) it is!"


"Uh, uh... I guess you're right. See ya around, schlummies! (hic!) C'mon fellas, letzgo."


The three drunks dispersed, and Carth and Tails were able to continue. The two Sith soldiers monitored the drunks for a moment, but disregarded the two "Republic fugitives".


"Well, that was rich," Carth commented. "Sun's barely up, and some people are already blended."


"I've noticed that, when intoxicated, a Human will generally respond favorably to an offer of more intoxication. But, I did kinda pull that out of nowhere," Tails said.


The two continued for another hour, until something caught Tails' interest. A small building on the side of the street read, "Janice Nall's Droid Shop".  Tails could barely contain his enthusiasm.


The fox coughed pointedly, then asked, "Hey Carth, would it be all right if we checked this place out? We could find something useful in there!"


"We don't need a droid, Tails."


"Five minutes, that's all I ask," said Tails. "Could you humor me for that?"


Carth groaned, then replied, "Fine. You have three hundred seconds, and counting."


The Human and Mobian entered the shop which, like Equipment Emporium, was surprising bare. Three humanoid "protocol droids" were in stasis behind a glass screen, and two squat "utility droids" sat near a counter. An orange female Twi'lek appeared, and she seemed overjoyed at the presence of Carth and Tails. The fox noticed she was much more conservatively dressed than the Twi'lek females in the cantina.


"A customer? Come in, come in! Janice Nall, at your service," she said. "Welcome to my droid and droid supply shop. Always a pleasure to see a new face - - customers are hard to come by. A lot of Taris' citizens won't even come in here; they refuse to shop at a store owned by a Twi'lek."


"What do people have against Twi'leks?" Tails asked, though he guessed it was related to all the death glares he'd been getting from random people.


"They don't like aliens like you or me much here in the Upper City, little one," she answered. "They tolerate us Twi'leks, but they'd rather see us as dancers in some dank cantina than as successful business owners."


Carth Onasi spoke up next. "You would think people would be a little more tolerant of others in this day and age," he sighed, "but I guess stupidity and ignorance will never go out of style."


"You'll see a few aliens around," the Twi'lek said, "but most of the non-Humans stick to the Lower City. I've learned not to dwell on it, though. I try to stay focused on running my store."


"Speaking of which, what are you selling?" asked Tails.


"My selection is a bit limited right now," she replied. "The Sith confiscated all my assault droids, most of my droid attachments, and a whole bunch of other stuff. They practically robbed me blind. But, I've got a utility droid you may find interesting."


"What do utility droids do?" asked the fox.


"Heh, what don't they do? They're great for making vehicle repairs, for starters. They're pretty handy to have in a fight, too; small and maneuverable, but tough and packing a surprising amount of firepower. And there's no better code breaker or security hacker around... not that I'd ever condone you doing anything illegal, of course."


Tails tingled with excitement. He had done plenty of hacking into "Eggman's" battle network, and he knew how tough it could be, especially if a competent AI was defending the system.


He turned back to his companion and said, "Hey Carth, something like what she's selling seems like it could be useful to us. If the price is right, then a utility droid might be just what we need."


The Human just shrugged. "I suppose so," he said.


'YAY!' thought Tails.


"We're definitely interested," Tails told the shopkeeper. "What do you have available?"


"I only have two droids left right now," said the Twi'lek. "A rebuilt T3-H8 model I'll sell you for fifty credits, and a top-of-the-line T3-M4 model with all the options. But that one's a special order by another customer, so it's not for sale. Sorry."


"Only fifty credits for the first one?!" exclaimed Tails. "I'll buy it!"


The shopkeeper smiled, and said, "You know a bargain when you see one! This little guy's as reliable as used droids get. I did the reconditioning on him myself! Don't worry, he'll follow you everywhere!"


Tails transferred the credits, and Janice activated the T3-H8 unit. It was bright yellow with red highlights, and its shape reminded Tails of a toy robotic dog in "sitting" position, except it had a large saucer-shaped head and had four treads instead of feet, and it stood (or rather, sat) one meter tall, and although Tails was maybe thirty centimeters taller than it, he guessed he was only half it's weight, if that. There was a brief whirring sound as it came to life, then was silent.


"Is there anything else you need?" asked Janice.


"We should probably go now," Tails answered. "Thank you for your service!"


"You're welcome! Maybe I'll see you around again? If you ever need anything, I'll be right here!"


Carth and Tails exited the droid shop, followed by the T3-H8 unit. It's treads made a slight whirring noise as it traveled, but it wasn't all that noticeable. Tails observed that when it traveled faster, it leaned forward and squatted lower to the ground. The fox found it oddly cute.


"Well, how'd I do on time?" Tails asked Carth.


"Four minutes, forty-five seconds. Impressive."


The two organics and the droid traveled a few more city blocks, when Tails' ears started picking up a buzzing and grinding sound behind him. Tails ignored it for a minute, then turned around as he pinpointed what was making the noise. The droid had stopped moving, and appeared to be convulsing. Its saucer-shaped head started sparking.


"What—"


KA-BOOM!


The droid's head exploded, and Carth and Tails guarded themselves against flying shrapnel. The droid fell apart, and its broken carcass was left smoldering on the side of the street.


"W-wha... what the heck?" Tails sputtered.


"Is she trying to kill us?" Carth grunted.


"It looks like somebody forgot to install the fusebox," Tails commented.


"Well, there went our fifty credits," said Carth.


"No way! I'm getting a refund!" said Tails.


Tails picked up what remained of the droid's saucer-shaped head, carrying it under his arm, and he and Carth stomped back to Janice Nall's droid shop. She seemed surprised to see them back so soon.


"Well, that was fast! Welcome back to my shop. What can - - hey, where's that T3-H8 unit I sold you?"


Tails presented the exploded head. "It blew up," he stated plainly. "I came to get my money back."


"It... it blew up?" the female Twi'lek echoed, sounding surprised. "Huh, I thought I fixed that little cross-wiring problem. Well, don't worry, I run an honest business here. I don't technically have to give you a refund, but I don't want to lose a customer, especially when I have so few already. Here, have your fifty credits back. No hard feelings, all right? I wish I could sell you the T3-M4 unit, but like I said, it was special-ordered by another customer. So... sorry about that."


Tails got his money back, and both he and Carth left the droid shop.


"Man, what a disappointment," Tails said. He felt emotionally hurt, even though it was just a machine.


"Somehow I knew that would be a bad deal," Carth replied. "No droid could be that cheap and work as advertised."


Carth and Tails were quiet the rest of the way, until the Human motioned to stop.


"The elevator platform is two blocks away. Let's duck into this alley."


The two hid behind a recycling chute in the alley, and the fox pulled the suit of Sith armor out of his tails. Miles Prower turned his back and stood guard as Carth changed out of his clothes and into the Sith armor. When he was finished, Tails packed away Carth's clothes and polymer under-armor, which was significantly lighter than the other. Tails estimated the total mass was only eleven kilograms.


Carth Onasi was considerably more imposing with the Sith armor on, and under the helmet's black-tinted faceplate, Carth was downright scary-looking. Fortunately, Tails knew who was under that armor.


"It fits well enough," Carth commented. Then he said, "I'll lead out. Follow me at ten meters."


"Don't the Sith troops all carry rifles?" Tails asked.


"Let's hope my pistol makes the cut."


Tails followed Carth at the specified distance. The crowds seemed to part for him, and Tails was far enough away that no one really connected him to the armored trooper. At o-eight-hundred, Carth and Tails reached the entrance to the elevator platform. Only one Sith soldier was guarding it.


"Another patrol heading down into the Lower City, eh?" he said. "Who's the furball?"


"This local claims to have extensive knowledge of the Undercity," Carth replied. "I'm taking him down to see in he's telling us the truth or not."


Tails was unflattered.


"Really," said the Sith soldier. "Well, good luck in finding anything. I hear it's pretty rough down there. And there's a big swoop gang war going on in the Lower City. You had better watch yourself; those gangs will take a shot at anybody, even us. I just wish we had the manpower to sweep those slums clean. Oh, and watch your back with that mutant freak you got there. You can't trust these locals."


Tails hid his irritation under a mask of serenity. "Mutant" was slowly starting to become a berserk button for him.


The guard let them pass, and Carth and Tails stepped through the large metallic sliding door onto the platform. Given the size of it, Tails figured it was meant for cargo and vehicles. Carth walked up to a control panel and pushed a few buttons. After a few seconds, the elevator platform began to descend.


Miles "Tails" Prower didn't know how far down the elevator could go, but from what he saw outside, Taris' city spires were more than two kilometers high. Tails wondered what the Lower City would be like. The Upper City was clean and shiny, but from what the adolescent fox had been hearing, the Lower City was probably not as well maintained. If it was continually plagued by gang wars as suggested, Tails could imagine the dirt and refuse building up in the streets and corridors. Clearing his mind as best he could, Tails stood straight and tall with his arms behind his back, and closed his eyes.


Carth Onasi removed his helmet and ran his fingers through his cranial hair, and he sighed disgustedly. He clearly did not like being inside that suit of Sith battle armor. It was like he felt that, just by wearing it, what it stood for was contaminating him. Tails detected something else, though. Something was preoccupying the Human's mind, and was causing him a general uneasiness. And, Tails felt the he was partly to blame for that, at least in Carth's mind. Tails wished he knew what was bugging his companion, and what he could do to diffuse it.


"I need out of this thing," Carth finally said. "So, um, could you pull my clothes out of your, ah, 'tailspace'?"


"Sure. But, its proper name is 'hyperspace inventory'," Tails replied as he knelt down on the elevator floor.


"What you call it is seven syllables long. 'Tailspace' is only three."


"Sorry, I just like detail and accuracy," said Tails as he coiled his tails and buried his arm inside the fluffy mass.


"I like brevity, and 'tailspace' is detailed and accurate enough."


"Fine, you win," the boy sighed, and he finished pulling out Carth's stuff.


Tails turned his back, and the Human removed the Sith armor and put on his suit of black polymer under-armor, then his ordinary street clothes. When he was done, Tails put the Sith armor back inside his "tailspace", and was again burdened by its additional weight. The Mobian performed his stretching exercises, then did some cartwheels and then a few backflips, trying to acclimate his body to the extra mass. Tails didn't want to stumble into a battle feeling like a lead weight. Carth eyed him with amusement as Tails jumped around.


"Um, hey... that ability of yours has certainly come in handy," Carth said. "I appreciate you having it."


"Thanks," Tails replied. "I don't mind being your storage locker. I'm just glad I can help."


Tails returned to his "at ease" stance, and he and Carth were silent for the next several minutes as the elevator continued to descend.


"Hey, Carth..." Tails piped up again.


"Yes, what's on your mind?"


"Um... you mind telling me more about yourself?"


"Huh? Regarding what?"


"Oh, I dunno. Anything. There's nothing to do until the elevator stops, and I'm bored."


"Uh... OK. Well, I've been a star pilot for the Republic for years, and I've seen more than my fair share of wars. I fought in the Mandalorian Wars before all this started, but with all that I've never experienced anything like the atrocities these Sith animals have unleashed. I mean, not even the Mandalorians were this senseless! My homeworld was one of the first to fall to Malak's fleet. The Sith bombed it into submission, and there wasn't a damn thing the Republic forces could do to stop them!"


As he spoke, Carth's voice became more and more uneven, and by the last sentence, the anger in his voice was obvious.


Tails cringed. "I'm sorry, Carth. I didn't mean to cause you distress. But, it sounds like you're blaming yourself for what happened."


"No, it's not... look, I'm just a soldier, I go where the Fleet Admirals tell me to; I follow my orders and I do my duty. It's just..."


Carth sighed, and he held his head with one hand. "It doesn't seem right that doing that means... I failed them. I didn't!"


"Them?" asked Tails. "You mean, the people of your homeworld?"


"No, I — no, that's not what I mean."


Carth sighed exasperatedly, and he seemed to calm himself.


"I'm sorry... I must not be making much sense. You probably meant well with your questions, but I'm just not accustomed to talking about my past much. At all, actually. I'm more used to taking action; keeping my mind on the business at hand. So let's just do that. If you have more questions like that, ask them later, please."


"It's all right," said Tails. "Though... you didn't have to blow up in my face like that."


"I just... I'm sorry, OK? I'm just under a lot of stress right now. I actually meant to talk about something else, but... my mind kinda jumped ship at the last moment."


"Don't worry about it," said Tails.


The Human and Mobian were silent again, and Tails had time to think about what had just transpired.


'The Sith bombed my homeworld into submission, and there wasn't a damn thing the Republic forces could do to stop them!'


What Carth had said resonated strongly within Tails' soul, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He knew all too well what orbital bombardment could do. Doctor Robotnik had leveled wide swaths of Mobius that way, and Tails was there to watch it all burn. Even Earth nearly fell to that fate. Perhaps he and Carth had more in common than they had realized. The fox's hands trembled a little, and he fought down the sudden surge of memories. Some horrors didn't need to be re-lived.


Finally, the elevator came to a stop.