Chapter 82: Gears in Motion

Disclaimer: Star Wars and all of it's Intellectual Properties is owned by George Lucas and Walt Disney, This fictional work and all of it's original characters are however mine.

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MULTI POV CHAPTER

Jake's P.O.V. :

Jake wiped the sweat from his brow as he surveyed the last set of Sentinel Security droids powering up. The updates were finally complete—stripped down, reconfigured, reinforced, and given a network-link system that, if successful, would put them leagues ahead of their standard programming. Now came the real challenge: seeing if they worked as intended if fielded in large groups.

He glanced at the others in the control room. Mira and Rina were giving him that look again—the one that screamed, “Don’t even think about doing things the crazy way.” Ugh, these guys are so critical, you make a not well thought out decision one time and somehow all other decisions become questionable. Arlos was already running final diagnostics, and Shmi stood off to the side, watching with her usual mix of curiosity and concern. Anakin, of course, had his face practically pressed up against the console, fascinated by the whole thing. Even Zero was watching, as if it had any stake in how this played out.

“Alright,” Jake exhaled, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get this started. Three tests, each one designed to push the network-link to its limits. First up, we test direct command efficiency.”

For the first test, teams take turns in the mock battle to be commanded by Rina or me, we'll evaluate their response time to commands and how they interpret the commands to accomplish it.

The first test took place in one of the larger, reinforced cargo bays of the station. Ten teams of ten Sentinel Security droids stood in formation, each led by a link-commander droid that was actively connected to the nine link-soldiers under its command. Jake controlled one team, Rina took the opposing team, and the objective was simple: retrieve a designated item from the field before the enemy team could claim it.

The field itself was set up like an urban combat zone, using modular barriers, simulated cover, and variable lighting conditions. The droids had to process real-time commands, adjust formation, and execute maneuvers with precision.

“Alright, boys, standard sweep formation. Cover fire at key intersections,” Jake ordered through his datapad, watching his team fan out like a well-oiled machine.

Rina, never one to be outdone, immediately countered. “Ambush pattern, bait and flank.”

The droids moved fast—faster than expected. The link-commander processed orders instantly, relaying tactics and updates without hesitation. When Jake ordered a feint, the linked droids adjusted their positions smoothly, covering the shift without exposing weak points. Rina’s team adapted just as quickly, their commander droid recognizing the shift and redirecting units to cut off retreat paths.

Blaster training rounds zipped across the field, marking simulated hits and forced shutdowns. The battle ebbed and flowed as both teams tested their limits, but in the end, Jake’s team secured the objective first by a split-second margin.

“Not bad,” Rina admitted, crossing her arms. “They’re fast. No lag between orders. But let’s see how they do without a leash.”

For the second test, the Sentinel droids will be tested on independent decision making.

For this round, the droids were given an objective with no organic input. They had to figure it out on their own, using only their network-link and stored tactical data. The mission: infiltrate a secured location, disable key defenses, and extract a target without being fed direct commands.

The station’s lower maintenance levels provided the perfect testing ground, full of twists, blind spots, and unpredictable obstacles. Each team was given a different path, ensuring that no two units would take the same approach.

Jake and the others monitored from the control room, watching as the link-commanders parsed through their options. Some teams took the direct approach, brute-forcing their way through simulated defenses. Others played it smart, using environmental cover and misdirection. One particularly clever squad even split into two fireteams—one drawing attention while the other slipped through a side passage.

“Look at that,” Mira mused, pointing at the readouts. “They’re adapting. No direct orders, and they’re adjusting formations mid-mission.”

“And it’s not random,” Shmi noted. “They’re making calculated risks based on the data they have.”

Each team reached the objective in different ways, with varying degrees of efficiency. Some struggled more than others, but overall, the test was a success. The network-link system allowed for rapid adaptation without organic oversight.

Jake grinned. “Alright. Now for the real stress test.”

And finally the third test is for when they encounter a situation or enemy with no immediate victory condition achievable.

For the final test, the Sentinel droids were pitted against the Skew and Nick droids in a battle that simulated overwhelming odds. The Nick and Skew droid team consisted of only four units—Skew-01, Skew-02, Nick-01, and Nick-02—but each of them was heavily armored with phrik plating, rendering them highly resistant to blaster fire. Meanwhile, the Sentinel Security droid teams rotated in and out, ensuring that each squad faced the challenge under similar conditions. The scenario was brutal—they outnumber the four custom droids but outmatched in durability specially the Skew droids, fire-power and in the case of the Nick droids maneuverability and the Sentinels had to determine whether retreat was viable or if high-risk maneuvers were worth attempting.

“Starting engagement now,” Arlos announced, triggering the simulation.

The moment the battle began, it was clear this was different. The Skew and Nick droids were combat-tested, unpredictable, and designed with Jake’s unique enhancements. The Sentinel teams started strong, but as the enemy pressed harder, the cracks began to show.

The link-commander droids had to make a choice: stand their ground or retreat. Some teams dug in, using cover and suppressive fire to buy time. Others repositioned, looking for an opening. Then there were the reckless ones—those who pushed forward despite overwhelming fire.

One such team attempted an aggressive push, flanking a Nick droid formation, only to be wiped out completely. Another group coordinated an orderly retreat, using tactical withdrawal maneuvers that saw minimal losses. A few even tried setting up chokepoints, making the enemy pay for every advance.

By the end of the test, the results were clear. The network-link droids were effective, but they still needed refinement in evaluating high-risk situations. Some units recognized the need for retreat, while others pushed too hard, prioritizing mission success over self-preservation.

“They’re really good, the Nick and Skew droids are quite plainly unfair enemies.” Mira admitted. “But we need to tweak the risk assessment algorithms.”

Jake nodded. “Yeah, we don’t want them throwing themselves into a fight they can’t win just because their objective says so. We’ll have to program a more organic decision-making process.”

With the tests complete, the results were logged, adjustments planned, and the network-link system deemed a massive success—with room for improvement. For now, though, it was progress. Big progress.

Jake smiled, grinning actually, cracking his knuckles. “Alright, let’s get back to work. We’ve still got a lot to fine-tune.”

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Kado's P.O.V. :

The Stellar Envoy rumbled softly beneath my feet, the hum of the magnetic clamps securing it to the belly of the lead CR90 corvette a constant presence in the background. Not that I needed the reminder—we weren’t flying under our own power, after all. Instead, we let the twin corvettes carry us as we weaved through our misdirection routes, making sure no unwanted eyes trailed us back to the station.

Davik was already out cold, snatching what sleep he could before we reached our destination. Tarek sat up front, as usual, hands on the controls even though Nick-03 had things well in hand. That droid was as competent a co-pilot as any organic, something even Tarek grudgingly admitted. The other droids—those that had previously crewed the freighters we offloaded on Ryloth—were now spread throughout the corvettes, running them efficiently and giving us the freedom to focus elsewhere.

I, however, wasn’t in the mood for rest. My mind kept circling back to the deal with Zarok. The whole transaction felt... off.

Zarok had dangled information like bait, hinting at Jabba’s growing ambitions against Gardulla. He knew things, that much was clear. And more than that, he wanted us to know he knew. What unsettled me was how eager he was to sell that knowledge, dropping his usual price lower and lower, as if desperate to be involved. A man like him didn’t offer services for cheap unless he expected a bigger payday later—or a knife in our backs when the moment suited him.

But the real kicker? He showed me "The bounty".

Zarok had no reason to give that away for free, yet he did. There was a price on us now—not just any price, but one that had bounty hunters lurking in both Jabba’s and Gardulla’s strongholds, waiting for us to slip up. Even pirate hideouts weren’t safe anymore. I muttered under my breath about how some bounty hunters weren’t any better than the outlaws they chased. Not that it was surprising—half of them would turn on their own employers if the credits were good enough.

Still, there was a silver lining. Zarok’s parting gift of intel pointed us to a bigger target than we’d ever hit before—one of Gardulla’s key operations, a place that was going to serve as a proper test run for the CR90s once we got Jake’s modifications installed. That was something to look forward to.

The comms crackled to life, interrupting my thoughts.

“Nick-03 reporting in,” came the droid’s voice. “We are en route to Station Base.”

I almost smirked. Station Base. That name had stuck ever since Tarek griped about our home not having a proper title. I agreed with him—privately, of course. Maybe it was time to put it to a vote.

A moment later, Tarek’s voice followed. “Jumping to hyperspace.”

The Stellar Envoy shuddered slightly as the stars stretched and blurred.

Not long after, we dropped back to realspace, and Jake’s voice greeted us over the comms.

“Finally! Welcome back! And I gotta say, those CR90s are a sight for sore eyes.”

I cut in before he could ramble. “Better start working on those upgrades fast. We’ve got a mission.”

Silence for a beat, then a short chuckle. “Of course we do.”

The real work was about to begin.

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Davik's P.O.V. :

Back on the space station, fully rested and sharp, I found myself in the meeting room with the others, tackling the intel Kado got from that extremely shady bastard, Zarok.

Kado laid it out for us: a major base of operations tied to Gardulla. Bigger than the usual outfits we’ve been hitting. This wasn’t just some backwater den of slavers running small-time deals—this was an underground auction house, deep in the credits and even deeper in security. But numbers weren’t a problem for us. Between our droids, firepower, and combat experience, we could handle a bigger target just fine.

The real twist instead is that Jabba had his sights on it too. According to the intel Zarok handed over, Jabba was planning a full-scale assault on the place, and we had a detailed breakdown of the forces he planned to bring. That meant two things: first, Zarok had some serious insiders in Jabba’s organization. Second, if he had spies feeding him this kind of data on Jabba, it was safe to assume he had people in Gardulla’s ranks as well. The guy was playing both sides—typical information broker behavior.

But for us, this wasn’t a problem—it was an opportunity. If Jabba was coming in force, that meant a messy battlefield. And a messy battlefield meant gaps we could exploit.

Mira leaned back in her seat, arms crossed, smirking. "So, we let Jabba soften them up, slip in, wreck their operation, and make off with the slaves before he even knows what happened? Sounds fun."

Jake, ever the tech-head, tapped on his datapad. "Better than that. We use this as an opener for recruitment. Some of the groups we’ve been keeping tabs on, we'll I'm sure that they’d jump at the chance to hit a place like this. We bring them in, let them see what we can do, and at the same time, introduce them to some of the freighters we’ve been modifying. Give them a rundown on the upgrades, show them how we operate, then hit them with the pitch."

Shmi nodded. "It’s a solid plan. We prove our capabilities, give them a reason to listen, and if they like what they see, they’re already in the fight with us."

There wasn’t much debate—everyone was on board. We split up to reach out to the groups we had our eyes on, sending invites for the raid. Some of them were already on the fence about working with us, and seeing our gear in action—seeing how we handle ourselves—might be what pushes them over.

With the plan settled, we got to work. This wasn’t just another raid—it was a chance to carve deep into Gardulla’s criminal empire and throw both her and Jabba’s operations into chaos. The more damage we did, the harder it would be for either of them to recover, and if we've been playing this right and I'm very sure we are, we are turning their own rivalry against them. Now that between the ships, the credits, and the manpower they'd lose, this hit would be nothing like the setbacks we've done to them. I'm betting that after this there's going to be a bloodbath.