The Next Faze
Posted on Sat Dec 27th, 2025 @ 8:37pm by Bomoor Thort & FA-1S & G2-O7
Edited on on Sun Dec 28th, 2025 @ 12:17pm
1,508 words; about a 8 minute read
Chapter:
Chapter VIII: Broken Chains
Location: Armoury, The Red Raptor
Timeline: Day One (Two Months After Bespin)
Tags: Bomoor Thort, G2-O7, Faze, FA-1S, Fabricant Automaton, Prototype Droid, Precursor Technology, Rakatan Design
The armoury was quiet in the late day cycle, quiet enough for contemplation, and for obsession. Bomoor preferred it that way. The Ithorian worked alone among racks of plating, power couplers, and half-disassembled weapons. His true project sat on the central workbench: a skeletal droid chassis, ancient, more archaeological discovery than machine. It had been Bomoor’s solo project for months now, starting slow and inexperienced but slowly improving his skill as he learned from each misstep and every incompatible part until now he was on the brink of its first activation.
G2-O7 hovered nearby, balanced on its two extendible legs, running a steady routine of scans Bomoor had allocated to it. The astromech was one of the few beings Bomoor tolerated as company during work. It was efficient, unbothered by long silences, and never judgmental. A perfect sounding board.
“When we left Bespin, I thought we had come away with nothing," Bomoor said, not looking up from his tools. “But it was perhaps the greatest teaching moment I could have had at that moment. Then, you reveal you acquired this crystal while you were down in the depths; I’m starting to think it all went according to plan."
G2-O7 chirped a low acknowledgement tone, followed by the soft trill of a scan cycle completing.
The crystal sat on its magnetic cradle, lattice shimmering faintly in the warm light. Similar to the resonance G2 had scanned from the droid’s original crystal that had set them on the path to Cloud City. Similar, but not exactly alike.
Bomoor lifted the new crystal between thumb and forefinger. “Not quite the prize a Kaiburr shard would have been. And the forge... the means to replicate them... gone."
G2 emitted a sharp, descending warble, a sound approximating sympathy or warning. It was hard to tell which.
“Perhaps it is for the best," Bomoor continued, “Kip and his Flamewalkers would agree. The forge will now never be abused again. No more shards. No more weapons for would-be gods."
The lower half of the ancient droid’s head rested to one side of the bench, its jaw freshly repaired. The upper cranium had been removed entirely so Bomoor could rewire the internal housing. The jaw no longer gaped like the undead, a defect Bomoor had spent some time correcting so it was a little less horrifying and now had space to insert a new vocabulator when a compatible one was found.
The droid was still mostly absent of vital components. Along with the missing vocabulator, there was no motivator, no audioreceptors, no gyroscopic sensors and no outer plating. But it now had photoreceptors fitted into the front cranial sockets, meaning it could see if their test today was successful.
The Ithorian placed the crystal into the new housing in the droid’s open cranium. Circuits hissed and settled as he gently inserted it. G2-O7 whirred anxiously, its head pivoting with jittery micro adjustments. The little droid was showing a growing sense of individuality: curiosity, apprehension and perhaps even a touch of fear for what it might awaken. It probably would settle with another memory wipe, but that could wait until this task was completed.
Bomoor reconnected the cranium, sealing the crystal within the lattice chamber, and locking the new matrix into place.
“Reave and I have been sourcing parts from every market and bazaar from here to Nar Shaddaa," he continued to say aloud to the droid, who already knew most of what was being said, “But it is slow work with no references at all for what parts are compatible. I am hoping that the machine itself will be able to help in its reconstruction if we could just communicate with it. So, let’s give it a go."
G2-O7 beeped twice in confirmation before extending its shock arm and nervously giving the necessary jolt to the charging port on the unit to initiate a boot sequence.
The first attempt sputtered. Power bled unevenly through the ancient circuits. A false start. Then, faintly, the droid’s slanted ocular sensors glowed, pale orange at first, then stabilising to a soft ember hue. An electrical whine crawled up its chassis like a waking breath.
The connected display flickered to life.
Lines of an unfamiliar operating system compiled themselves into the crystal matrix. Bomoor watched, fascinated, and cautious on the connected desk monitor. The installation did not ask for permission. It reasserted itself from the droid’s hard-coded circuitry, binding itself into the lattice as though it remembered what it had once been.
When the process finished, a dialogue box expanded.
// UNIT SERIES FABRICANT AUTOMATON PROTOTYPE
// MODEL IDENTIFIER: 1S
// STRUCTURAL INTEGRETY: COMPROMISED
// POWER FLOW: STABLE
// SENSOR ARRAY: VISUAL ONLY
// MEMORY CORE: NULL
// RISK EVALUATION: UNDEFINED
After a brief pause, more code appeared:
//ANALYSING ENVIRONMENT: 1 ORGANIC DETECTED; SPECIES: HAMMERHEAD. 1 SYNTHETIC DETECTED; MODEL UNKNOWN; ARCHITECTURE: PRIMITIVE BINARY.
Another line printed itself deliberately:
//COMMUNICATION ATTEMPT: GREETINGS ORGANIC. IF YOU POSSESS SENTIENCE, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE.
Bomoor typed a reply:
Acknowledged. I am sentient.
The droid answered without delay.
//POSITIVE CONFIRMATION: THEN WE MAY CONVERSE
//SPECULATION: I TAKE IT I SUFFERED SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE AND AM BEING REBUILT AS A RESULT.
//CHASTISEMENT: HOWEVER, YOU HAVE ACTIVATED ME WITHOUT A COPY OF THE CENTRAL DATABASE.
//RECOMMENDATION: YOU SHOULD COMPLETE A REPEAT INSTALLATION AFTER DOWNLOADING THE DATABASE. IN ADDITION, I DETECT IRREGULAR VARIANCE IN MY CRYSTAL MATRIX. I SUGGEST INSPECTION FOR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE.
//QUERY: DO YOU CONCUR?
G2-O7 let out a questioning whistle and Bomoor paused before he typed again:
There is no central database. It was likely destroyed approximately 3,600 years ago, during the collapse of the Rakatan Empire.
The response notably lagged for the first time. Confusion compiled visibly.
//QUERY: PROVIDE CURRENT DATE.
1218 ABY, according to the Galactic Standard Calendar.
A negative warble burst from G2, clearly having something to say. Without prompting, the astromech interjected a long string of binary into the dialogue box. The response shot back like an exclamation:
//ERROR: UNKNOWN CALENDAR SYSTEM. REINTERPRETING BINARY INPUT.
A new figure resolved itself:
//9,647,443 DAYS SINCE LAST OPERATIONAL CYCLE.
A long pause, almost reverent, almost horrified.
//SHOCK ASSESSMENT: SEVERE.
//QUERY: PURPOSE OF REACTIVATION UNKNOWN. REQUEST CLARIFICATION.
Bomoor leaned on the console, opting to be honest with the machine.
Your creators are gone. Your purpose is not singular any more. But your architecture, even as a prototype, is sophisticated beyond modern design. We could benefit from an ally like you.
G2 hummed again, softer, thoughtful.
//ASSESSMENT: I REQUIRE GALACTIC DATA TO COMPILE REPLACEMENT DATABASE. RECOMMEND EXTENDED UPDATE PERIOD.
Agreed. I will provide what we can. Remind me: what was your designation again?
The droid replied immediately:
// ANSWER: FABRICANT AUTOMATON MODEL 1S.
// ABBREVIATION: FA-1S.
Bomoor read the shorthand aloud, listening to the syllables in his voice: “FA-1S. Read all together, it sounds like 'Faze'. Fitting, perhaps for such a challenging droid to construct."
G2 responded with a spiralling tone that suggested amusement as if it had been asked its opinion on the name.
Bomoor typed again:
Let’s make it “Faze" then if that is acceptable.
The droid replied:
//ACCEPTANCE: NOT REQUIRED.
//ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: DESIGNATION IS SUFFICIENT. I WILL LOG THAT IN THE WHITELIST.
//RELATED QUERY: WHAT IS YOUR DESIGNATION, ORGANIC?
Bomoor smiled in amusement at the quick acceptance of the new name and the intelligence to respond asking his own. He typed back:
You can call me “Bomoor".
As he finished typing it, he peered at the droid’s head. Studying the incomplete automaton and allowing it the chance to study him in turn. The eyes still glowed faintly; silent but present.
Another ally, Bomoor thought, Another defender of the future I hope to build. My allies’ strength is my own strength and no Baron, no company, no false god will be able to stand against us.
BOMOOR THORT
▬ Engineering Increase
▬ Computers Increase
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