the adventures of one nerd jedi and his emotional support droid

[unapprovedtrash]

The Nexus was an unusual place. It was full of people and things from all over the multiverse. Wild. A little nerve wracking for Cal. He's not really used to being in such a... festive? environment. Sure is nice being somewhere he doesn't have to constantly look over his shoulder for the Empire OR it's inquisitors though. Probably. Ugh... he should be careful anyways.

His little droid friend BD-1 is significantly more excited. And eager to explore. Cal was distracted for just a few moments examining the weird and outlandish chalkboard menu of some kind of hot drink shop (Café au lait?) before he noticed that the familiar, ever present weight of his small best friend was NOT on his back or shoulder where he typically perches.

The redhead glances around. He was gone! He feels a bit of a panic coming on. BD-1 is so small! What if someone steps on him? Steals him? He can't even sense him through the Force because, y;know, droid!

It's okay, it's fine. He can find him his little friend. Deep breath. He has the rare gift of psychometry. Through echoes in the Force he can read the history of objects, he can see and hear the things that item has experienced. All it takes is a quick graze of his fingers here and there on things he thinks were of interest to his little buddy and he's got a good idea where he is.

And there he is.

...Scanning some random passerby to enter them into his databank.

"BD! You just ran off, I was worried..." with an excited trill and a series of beeps in binary the little droid runs over to the redheaded Jedi, excitedly chirping about all the things he's found. Cal looks up at the person BD has scanned, "Sorry, he gets curious. He wasn't bothering you, was he?"

Comments

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

Aal blinks and looks up her hand half up in a little wave half tempted to try and pet the little guy if he let her half crouched to get a better look at the wee droid.

She looks and pops back up to her feet in a few moments. At the approach of the young man. She lightly, "Tsks." At the Droids behaviour but can't help the bemused look and fond shake of her head. "Ah, so he does have a person I was wondering." And likely would have carried said droid to go and look if need be and someone hadn't come along in a bit.

"Oh not at all, He's a charming little fellow." she murmurs complementary. Though any small being mite widdle the response out of her certain one's bring out the maternal in her more then others. "Who likely should know better about running off..Some folks aren't as..friendly as others." She murmurs gently but firmly toward the droid. Before giving the redhead a warm smile.

[unapprovedtrash]

BD is absolutely an attention and affection seeker so if she reaches out to pet him he will definitely lean in to encourage it. All the pets and pats and head rubs for him please.

And when she calls him charming he absolutely preens and goes scampering back over to her, beeping excitedly.

"He should know better," Cal agrees with a quiet laugh, "He was designed to assist with explorers and to analyze new surroundings so when we found ourselves here... I think he wants to scan everything and everyone."

[delphicbooksandbaubles]

She opens her mouth in an excited/elated little hopeful way and tries not to wiggle too much. But it is rather 'puppy-like'. She giggles warmly and soft. "too cute." She murmurs lowlily unable not to grin. She has a soft spot after all. Her eyes twinkle bemused. Her Mate er Husband does the same sort of thing half playfully when she gives a compliment as well. She reaches out to pet the wee droid carefully.

She chuckles warmly, in echo. "Aye..and ooh I see..so.. Different than an Astro Mech?" She asks with a curious head tilt. She knew a little. She did half wonder if how much it might be if she found the right parts or something to get a 'rollie'. There were quite few visitors from places that might have one..Or could have the skill. Or heck she'd even trade say various kinds of services. She could make all sorts of foods with the right ingredients and other things.. Most folks liked food right?

She chuckles again, "That might take quite a while and memory around here laddie." She murmurs warmly and pats the little guy again while reaching her other hand out to shake. "I'm Ashlynn by the way, Mrs. Ashlynn 'Aalish' SinClair but most folks call me Ash." She warmly introduced herself.

[chiaro_oscuro]

BD had approached a tall man with dark hair and dark clothes, watching the droid with what looks like amusement. Ben Solo doesn't seem bothered, more entertained, but he allows the droid to return to its Jedi owner.

A Jedi. Ben doesn't know how trained this young man is, but he knows a Force-user when he senses one. The only other Jedi who visits the Nexus is Rey, and neither of them were really part of the tradition as it was.

"No, he wasn't annoying me." Ben's not intimidated by droids, though he doesn't exactly have a good history with them. A kitchen droid had tried to kill him when he was a baby. This one looks small and almost cute, reminding him for a moment of Rey and BB-8. "He found me interesting enough to register. I should be flattered, really."

Call will probably be able to tell that the stranger is very Force-sensitive. There's more than a little darkness in him, but it's no longer as violent or as strong as it used to be, and there's light mixed in. Ben himself senses the Force in this newcomer, and he's interested to meet another Force-user here. There are no fully-fledged Jedi, as far as he knows - mostly darksiders and reforming darksiders.

[unapprovedtrash]

Cal has had an incredibly damaged connection to the Force for the past five years that he's only begun to repair recently. It's still bruised for a lack of a better term. It takes him a moment partly because of that, and partly because panic had overridden common sense but now that he's had a moment this guy... he's really going to have to reevaluate his personal re-training if he didn't notice him before now.

Light... dark... not to longue ago he probably would have tried to avoid someone like this like the plague, but he's come to learn not all users of teh Dark are evil or terrible. Merrin is pretty nice...

"He scans pretty much everything and anything that catches his optic. And here? That's a lot," he laughs and BD chirps in agreement and nods his little head. So much to scan! "You're already acquainted with BD-1 I guess. I'm Cal."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"My name is Ben. I suppose I ought to welcome you to the Nexus, Cal." The dark young man gestures to their surroundings, then lowers his voice. "You're like me, aren't you? Force-sensitive. There are others like us here, but not many."

Ben's acknowledged the fact that he'll never truly be of the Light. He's rejected both Jedi and Sith teachings, since he believes neither of them helped him. The darkness in him will always be there, and it's his responsibility to keep it in check. Right up until relatively recently Cal would have been right to fear and keep away from Ben - but he's been working to change since then. He may have ideological differences with lightsiders, but he won't harm them now.

"He's brave, too." Ben can't identify the droid's model, but he's familiar with the personality type. "Hello, BD-1. If you're looking to explore and learn, there's no better place you could have come to."

[unapprovedtrash]

"I don't think I know a braver droid or person in the entire galaxy, right little buddy?" he hold out a hand for the little guy to hop onto. A quick scoop and he's deposited to the safety of Cal's back. He's completely honest about the bravery thing too. He's not sure he knows anyone robotic or organic who would willing leap on Darth Vader's back and shock him to save a friend. That man... is terrifying. A true monster. Cal sincerely hopes he never encounters him again.

...Of course he's probably on the Empire's Most Wanted list by now SO...

He'll think about that later.

"I am..." he nods. There's a little hesitation and BD might have been the one scanning him earlier but now he takes a moment to examine Ben, his gaze searching... for... he's not sure honestly. Something familiar? Did he ever see this man at Coruscant?

"Are you... are you a survivor too?"

[chiaro_oscuro]

"We aren't the only ones here. There are a few others. Did you read the pamphlets?"

Even though he is Vader's grandson, even Ben fears Darth Vader. It's ironic that he actually met his grandfather in person once he had grown past the stage of his life where he openly admired and mimicked Vader. It's not a stage in Ben's life he's proud of.

And he certainly would be angry if Vader laid a finger on someone here, especially one of Ben's friends. He hasn't forgotten that he's keeping an eye on his grandfather.

When Cal asks his question, Ben shakes his head. "I was born after Order 66. You'll meet people from different times here, and people who aren't from our universe at all." He's wary about being too open about who he is - whatever Cal's been through, and no doubt it was a lot if he survived the Jedi Purge, he's young, and Ben doesn't want to frighten him. Cal was born some time before Kylo Ren and the First Order in general if Order 66 is in recent memory. But he is a survivor.

Most of the Force-users Ben has met come from the Imperial era, and the Galactic Civil War.

[unapprovedtrash]

"I've heard a little about that. The universe and the time thing," he begrudgingly agrees. He almost seems to sag, just minuscule. BD chirps in concern but Cal just smiles and shakes his head.

"I guess it's a little different hearing about it and seeing someone who..." he trails off a bit. Someone who looks the right age to have been a young newly made knight right before the Purge. Someone who might know other survivors. Or might have known a little more about what happened. About why it happened. Or...

"Well it doesn't matter I guess," he takes a deep breath, finds his center, and smiles a little, "I guess the fact that you were born after, and you know who you are... that's something right? Gives me a little more hope for the future."

[starryeyedangel]

Astaroth had almost tripped over the little robot when it came up to scan him. The over seven foot, blue skinned angel, instantly knelt down to look at the little being. His blue eyes staring back as much as the robot was staring at him. An angel of science and knowledge, he can be a bit curious himself, and artificial life is one of the things he's fascinated with.

"Hello." The shimmering blackish-blue wings are already settled at his back calmly and he's ready to start having a conversation with the robot, when the companion interrupts. "No. I appreciate the curiosity."

[unapprovedtrash]

"As long as you don't mind," he glances down at his little friend. His curious nature has gotten them in trouble before, but honestly Cal wouldn't have him any other way. He'll just consider putting a bell on him or something in the future.

The tiny droid trots back over to the tall blue strangers and trills out a string of beeps and whistles in binary.

"He's saying 'I'm BD-1 and this is my friend Cal!" he helpfully translates. Not everyone in his own home galaxy could understand binary, even fewer people here can, "He's asking for your name and where you're from so he can put it in his databank. As long as you don't mind."

[starryeyedangel]

He shakes his head. "I see curiosity as a virtue to encourage."

Even when it probably meant trouble. No doubt this might be one of those times but the small robot appears harmless enough. Astaroth whistles his own name back in binary to show that he understands. He can't make the mechanical beeps but whistling could work well enough.

"I'm Astaroth, the archangel of mathematics, science, and the stars." This isn't the first alien creature that has come along looking to catalog everything. "I come from a realm called Chaos."

[unapprovedtrash]

"Curiosity is definitely something BD has in spades," he grins as the droid trills a nonsensical little musical tone as he catalogs his new information. He trots in a quick circle around his newest friends and then informs him in beeps in whistles that his accent is terrible but Cal's is worse.

"That was once BD. Not gonna let me live it down huh?" he sighs and shakes his head while the droid in question makes a sound that resembles snickering.

"From the way you talk you sound like... I don't know a sort of guardian of those things?" he's never heard of an 'archangel' before. Angels he's heard of, the Diathim from Iego, but he's fairly certain that's not what this person is.

[starryeyedangel]

"Good. The universe needs more curious minds."

As BD trots around Astaroth opens his wings. He has a 30 foot wingspan, wings stooped and sort of falcon shaped. As the sunlight hits them, the edge of the feather glow faintly white.

Astaroth closes his wings, shaking them gently to align all the feathers.

"In a way, yes. I teach the related knowledge but I don't guard them." He pauses. Thinking of the best way to address this. "I am the energy that allows those things to exist in my creation. I can actively influence them but I don't have to the way a God actively needs to."

[stark_ravingmad]

Tony had to move his foot and balance himself properly to avoid stepping onto the little machine bot with his large size eleven foot. What was it? Some sort of drone? The things kids had these days.

"Woah there, little guy! I nearly stepped on you."

The engineer looked down as he moved his feet well out of the way of the small robot, admiring the way it moved. The work involved in developing such a thing must have been immense. It didn't look like any sort of toy Tony knew and it was definitely more than a toy. Someone's science project maybe? The young man's voice then punctuated the air, as he looked up at the red-headed guy.

"This yours? He's pretty neat. Although, you might want to re-programme his direction controls."

Was it scanning him? Tony looked down once more and cocked his head. Huh. Well, how about that?

[unapprovedtrash]

The tiny droid jumps in shock. He looks rapidly between Cal and the stranger and whistles in concern.

"Don't worry little buddy, there's not going to be any reprogramming," he shakes his head and smiles and holds his hand down so the little guy can clamber up his arm and take his typical seat at his shoulder.

"BD-1 isn't 'mine' he has his own agency," he explains. He's not mad or anything. Even in his own galaxy droids who clearly possess their own personalities are nearly always treated poorly. As lesser, they don't know any better, "His personality and his habits aren't for me to change or reprogram, they're his."

He glances back for a moment, BD whistles innocently, "Oh don't think you're totally innocent, my threat of the bell still stands."

[stark_ravingmad]

Was he scared? Poor thing. Tony had never meant it as a threat, far from it for him to re-programme the guy's droid. Hey, he was just offering some sound advice.

"Just a figure of speech, buddy. Sorry, didn't mean for a servo crash or anything."

Tony offered the small droid a smile and a wave. The little robot was cute and seemed to capture the engineer's attention either way. It was a really good piece of work. As for the guy? He seemed like a friendly sort of young man who cared for his little droid friend. Always a good thing in Tony's book.

"So, uh--are you new around here? This Nexus. I'm Tony Stark, by the way. Engineer, inventor, billionaire. Also Iron-Man. You might have seen me around?"

[fiveofnone]

The man that BD-1 has accosted does not stand out much from the crowd, aside from his well-tailored suit, perhaps. He's giving the small droid a benevolent look, one eyebrow raised at the scanning. "At least buy me a coffee first," he quips, the beginnings of a smile on his face. Caspar's origins give him a soft spot for most robots, especially the small and adorable kind.

His smile fades when Cal appears, his expression becoming significantly more guarded. "No, he wasn't bothering me." His gaze flicks between the two. "Nothing wrong with being curious."

[unapprovedtrash]

"Course not. Except when you don't tell your best friend that you've decided to disappear and he almost has a panic attack imagining all the terrible things that could be happening to you. Or that you could be causing. Remember the time with the bounty hunter?"

BD is carefully avoiding Cal's gaze and replies in a string of beeps and whistles and sounding as innocent and guilt free as one small droid possibly can.

"You can't just claim a memory bank corruption when I literally ran diagnostics for you this morning," he crosses his arms and gives him a look, "I know you remember that you wanted to see what would happen if-"

He's interrupted again by a burst of binary, he sighs and his hands drop to the sides and he looks over to Casper, "...So apparently we're buying you a coffee."

BD whistles a victorious little tune. There's no winning against him.

[fiveofnone]

Caspar watches this exchange silently, gaze difficult to read. In far too many universes, his own included, sentient robots are treated as little more than slaves. Cal is already ahead of the curve, referring to BD as his best friend, but it's the little droid that Caspar gives most of his stony attention.

The comment on memory bank corruption does make him chuckle, though.

"...what?" He wasn't being serious, but -- well, alright, whatever. "Fine with me, so long as it's decent coffee." And if Cal needs help finding a place, Caspar has a few suggestions. He shifts his gaze from Cal to BD and adds, "You ought to listen to your friend, though, this isn't the greatest place for wandering off."

[unapprovedtrash]

To be fair in his own universe most DO treat droids in that matter. Cal and BD's relationship... is a little different. He found his smallest dearest friend at a time he needed someone the most. They've been through a lot together.

BD looks up at Casper. And though he isn't physically capable of emoting to the level of someone humanoid... he looks BETRAYED. He whistles mournfully.

"He thought you'd be on his side because he offered to treat for coffee With my credit," he laughs, translating, "My name's Cal by the way. The troublemaker is BD-1."

BD beeps absolutely SCANDALIZED by the terrible accusation.

[fiveofnone]

So long as Cal keeps treating BD like a friend and not something he owns or condescends to, he won't get any attitude from Caspar. On the contrary, the Cylon is legitimately curious how this human (or humanoid, at any rate) formed a relationship with the little bot in the first place.

"Yeah, I figured." He gives BD an expression somewhere between apology and amusement. "Sorry, buddy. Safety first." His gaze returns to Cal and he nods, a little less standoffish than before. "I'm Caspar. Nice to meet the both of you. I don't run into other robots around here as often as you'd think."

[notasnake]

Crowley, self-absorbed as he tends to be, is surprised by being addressed apropos of nothing. He blinks behind his sunglasses, his head ducking down to look at the small robot as Cal apologizes on its behalf. Well, this is new.

"Didn't even know the little bugger was there," the demon offers with a shrug. He leans over slightly to take a closer look at BD-1, his hands in his pockets and his neck and back arched in rather inhuman ways. If Cal is familiar with snakes, he might get the impression of one as he watches Crowley tilt his head back and forth a few times.

"What is it? This little robot of yours? Never seen its like before." The demon crouches a little closer, oh so curious about this little thing. "Definitely not a thing you'll find in my corner of the multiverse."

[unapprovedtrash]

There is something definitely... serpentine about the stranger. But Cal hails from a universe chock full of all varieties of sentient life, some of them almost identical to humans. And after he met the big blue angel guy with the giant wings earlier...

"He's a companion droid," his lips quirk into a crooked smile as BD tilts his head up closer to the stranger's, whistling inquisitively, "But BD's his own droid, I wouldn't call him mine. He's a friend. Or at the very I'm a form a transportation for him."

[notasnake]

"A friend? The robot's sentient enough for that?" Crowley tilts his head slightly, matching BD's head angle to get a better look at him. It certainly sounds like the robot is trying to say something to the demon, but he doesn't understand a lick of it. How in the world does this human discern all those beeps, clicks, and whistles?

He reaches out to give BD a little poke in the center of his body, partially because he's curious how the robot will react and partially because, well, why not? Demons like to cause trouble, after all, even demons who are in love with soft, beautiful angels. "Looks like he can get around all right without you. Does he hitch a ride because you're faster, hm?"