Rebel Recruitment

A soft breeze carried the scent of singed circuits and damp soil through the hidden Rebel encampment on the jungle moon of Vallis. In it, starfighters whined as technicians worked feverishly to patch them up, their tools sparking against the chill of the metallic flooring. Amid the chaos, a gleaming red protocol droid with a polished exterior fussed nervously beside a squat, boxy power droid with blinking blue lights.

"Honestly, Lieutenant Korrin," C4PQ began in a prim and proper tone, gesticulating with delicate servomotor precision. "I must confess, joining the Alliance was entirely against my better judgment. I am a protocol droid, after all, not a soldier! But how could I leave poor AC-D3 behind in this dangerous venture? The thought alone was unthinkable!"

The Rebel pilot, a grizzled woman with an arm in a sling, smirked as she crouched to tighten the strap on her boot. "Really? Seems to me you’re the one always in trouble."

"Oh, no, Lieutenant. Why, just last week, during that utterly ghastly firefight on Arda Prime, AC foolishly decided to run straight into the middle of a collapsing generator room! If I hadn’t stepped in—well, I dare say the entire operation would have been a disaster."

Instead of talking, AC-D3 chose to emit a rapid series of defiant beeps, the lights on their casing flashing a stubborn red. Of course, the protocol droid understood.

"What do you mean, you saved me?" C4PQ huffed, his optical sensors whirring indignantly. "I distinctly recall dragging you out of the wreckage myself! My legs are still recovering!"

Korrin chuckled as she stood, slinging her blaster over her good shoulder. "So, things are dangerous. Why stick with the Alliance at all?"

C4PQ straightened, his voice taking on a rare note of sincerity. "Because, Lieutenant, the galaxy is in chaos. Someone must ensure order is restored—preferably with etiquette and diplomatic tact, but failing that…" He hesitated, glancing at AC-D3, who gave an encouraging hum. "Well, failing that, someone must ensure that family—however unconventional—survives. AC and I? We’re all we have. And if you ask me," C4PQ added, his usual nervous chatter returning, "this Rebel Alliance is in dire need of a few individuals with sense. Present company excluded, of course."

A surprising lack of Protocol Droid art online! Perhaps they suffer a similar fate to Gungans? The character is too strong and seeps into the whole species! Some options for our droid-friend, htech!

Alas, they aren’t gleaming red! I love the backstory by the way! Very characterful! Let’s hope our protocol droid makes it through the next mission!

Once AC-D3 clears out his bugged audio channel, he asserts himself into the conversation. His voice is gruff and tough, deep in bass as well as loud in volume

"Look here, lady. PQ here is telling it all wrong. Arda Prime was a work of art. You shoulda seen it! Collapsing that reactor room was exactly what we needed to clear the way for our escape! And hey, they don't call us Gonk droids for nothin'. A little building falling on top of me is just another Tuesday night!"

"Anyway, after PQ here dragged me out, there wasn't a living organism with a brain left on the station. Funny how an overloading fusion reactor doesn't play well with organics! We walked out of there like we owned the place! I even took 3 power converters."

Suddenly, his voice box gives out, and his voice turns into that annoy repeating Gonk sound over and over again until C3PQ gives him solid wack on the top of his square dome. After a flurry of binary curses, he regains his composure.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks PQ, you did good back there, dragging me out. Sorry, my temper gets the better of me sometimes."

"Anyway, how many times do I got to tell you, order is overrated, PQ! If there's one thing I've learned about the galaxy in my 200 years as a walking fusion reactor, is that everything is about power. Who has power, who doesn't, who's willing to do what it takes to take power."

He extends his retractable manipulator arm to pump his fist (or, more accurately, claw) for dramatic emphasis.

"So lady, when you ask me why I want to join the rebellion, I'm telling you straight. It's time to take the power back from those scruffy-looking nerf herders that call themselves "The Legion."

It’s all coming together! Everyone is submitted! We have some motivations already! If motivation isn’t all that important to you right now, then maybe some more connections between players.

How does Hss’kas, a Jedi from the good old days, feel about working alongside Plok, the bounty hunter extraordinaire?

Who pulled Kibbec off Tatooine and onto this ship? Is he being trained in the Jedi arts?

Ain’t she a beaut?…

Love that ship.

I can see Plok keeping quiet about his profession. The Jedi might not know. Or might not let on that He Knows.

Based on Plok's motivation...

It looks to me like he's on a bit of a redemptive arc. He might have even taked jobs from the Imperials until he realized they Had to Go.

He also has 1hp so we shouldn't think about this little space turd too hard.

Glad you liked it. I probably wouldn't have written so much if you hadn't written yours 😂

Ship looks great, people look great... Punch it, Chewie!

Looks like I'm a youngster out for revenge. I'm not sure what for exactly though lol. I guess my parents disappeared while working on some research, so maybe a rival scientist!

That's clearly an out-of-production cross between the YT series freighter and their SRF starfighters, both from the Corellian shipyards.

Hmm, Hss'kas is currently lying low as well (ie he's not waving his lightsaber about openly as a recluse), so I don't think he's trying too hard to sniff out Plok's or Knibbec's motives. As far as he knows, he was summoned to be on a humanitarian mission of some sort (from a trusted contact presumably, and I'll bet it was the droids who searched for him) which he could not turn down (it's part of his Burner Identity), and assumes the rest were also invited to be on the same mission.