Somewhere far, far away...

[jarvisconsole]

The wreck looked like it hadn't been disturbed since it crashed. Somehow avoiding the usual pilferers and pirates who look for salvage in this part of the galaxy. It was a strangely shaped craft, more gyroscope than ship in some ways. An experiment in how far humans could travel from their own planet. And far it came, it had markings on it from many years ago from a corporation long dead and gone.

The paint was faded and almost gone, but one could still read the black lettering as "Stark Industries" across the ship's body. Inside, there were no survivors. The bones had turned to dust and the dust had scattered. The only sign that the ship was not completely abandoned was a faint energy signature buried deep within it's computer. One light flickering on the console on and off....on and off....

The only light in the whole ship that had refused to go out.

Comments

[notjustanumber]

     Fives leaned back, folding his arms across his chestplate as he listened. Jarvis wasn't the only one taking note of information, and the ARC Trooper wasn't one who wanted to volunteer more than he was being offered either.

     "Basically," he said.

[jarvisconsole]

"And you are all soldiers in that war." Jarvis does some inner calculating.

"If history is any indicator, a war will not solve the differences between the respective parties." Jarvis had been part of a weapons manufacturer's brain after all, he had run many war simulations and was programmed with the strategies of most battles fought on Earth. Of course, those had not been interplanetary wars.

"May I ask what will become of me?" An question asked in a professional tone that seemed out of place considering the circumstance.

[notjustanumber]

     "...it's this war that we were made to fight for. We'll do our job, because it's as you said: we're soldiers."

     As much as their galactic history was full of wars over the span of thousands of years, Fives knew that no one liked them. But if there was no war, they wouldn't be here. No clones would have been made- but then perhaps it would have been better if it meant that there wasn't any war at all. He'd already lost so many of his brothers, and there would likely be many more before they saw an end to things.

     "Not sure what they'll do with you, Jarvis. Most likely extract you from our ship, since we can't have an unknown A.I. haunting the system. After that..." he shook his head slowly. It wasn't his call to make.

[jarvisconsole]

"Termination?"

That didn't sit well with Jarvis. He didn't relish the idea of being switched off permanently. Though he couldn't say exactly why it was not a comfortable idea. Without Mr. Stark, however, was there a purpose to continuing on? He was the first and only of his kind, a happy accident that Mr. Stark was unable to repeat.

"I am prepared to cooperate, Mr. Fives. But I would like to be consulted before being terminated." He at least was entitled to that, being an intelligence, even if he was artificial.

[notjustanumber]

     "No, not terminated," came his reply- not so much a reassurance as it was more of a belief. "I'm sure they'd be curious as to where you've come from, not to mention how you managed to transfer yourself into th' computer here."

     That much Fives was sure of. He knew that they'd likely wonder the same things he had, about whether this A.I. had any connections to the Separatists.

     "Your cooperation would be most appreciated, Jarvis." The Jedi Cruiser was coming within range, the usual channels coming to life with clearances and status inquiries. The ARC Trooper looked briefly towards the console and the pilot; he'd let him handle it. His attention wandering again towards Jarvis, Fives found himself speaking up again.

     "...I'll let 'em know that you didn't mean us any harm when they debrief us." He wasn't sure if it would make any difference, but he could understand if the A.I. had been so desperate to seek out its ship's passengers, assuming that Jarvis actually had more 'feelings' than he was letting on. That was the thing with droids and programs though.

[jarvisconsole]

The soldier willing to put in a good word for him? Jarvis attempts to be suitably grateful for that. "Thank you, Mr. Fives." Perhaps he should prepare a statement of his intentions. If it was convincing enough, perhaps they would think twice about shutting him down.

Jarvis observes their docking and landing procedures inside the large cruiser. There are a few technicians standing by with a box between them. A few armed soldiers as well, just in case. But there is no difficulty with the landing. The hologram of Jarvis remains on the holocom so that he can observe all that is going on.

[notjustanumber]

     He offered a nod, and as the hangar to the Venator grew closer in their viewport, Fives got to his feet, slipping his helmet back over his head. Everything else went smoothly, and once he heard the hatch behind them open, he felt that last bit of tension that he hadn't been quite aware of ease.

     "...time to go."

[jarvisconsole]

The technicians descend on the smaller ship, the isolation box between them. Right off, there was an argument from the A.I.

"Surely you don't expect me to get into that." As if it was an insult to be packed off into a box that small. Jarvis is used to large servers and having full reign of the system he was in. "Absolutely not, there isn't even a webcam on it." The techs, not knowing what else to do, try to work around his complaints and connect the box to the system anyway. Jarvis is not about to go quietly, his firewalls blocking them at every turn.

[notjustanumber]

     Fives managed to hold back another sigh as he stepped back and watched the proceedings. He hoped Jarvis wouldn't give them a hard time, and the resistance was just going to make it more difficult for them to trust the A.I.

     "Jarvis...you said you'd cooperate," he muttered.

[jarvisconsole]

"I don't appreciate being stuffed inside a breadbox," Jarvis says, his voice on the oscilloscope monitor. He seems more willing to talk and reasonable with Fives than anyone else. One of the techs, frustrated, says, "Either we isolate the programming or we have to scrap the whole shuttle's computer system. It's a security problem more than anything."

"My systems are quite secure, thank you," Jarvis says, his voice on the edge of being miffed. He would just as soon stay in the shuttle if it came down to it. But of course, they couldn't risk him getting loose on the cruiser and doing who knows what.

[notjustanumber]

     This time Fives did sigh, and he stepped forward, glancing at the tech apologetically as he pulled off his helmet again, tucking it under an arm.

     "Look, Jarvis-" He sure hoped his brothers weren't looking at him oddly every time he spoke to this thing- "Try looking at this situation from our point of view. We hardly know a thing about you, an' you did try'ta make off with our shuttle earlier."

[jarvisconsole]

"Nevertheless, I would like to inspect it, please."

The tech looks confused, not sure what he means. But obligingly hooks it up so that Jarvis can connect to the isolation box. It seems adequate to store the bulk of his programming, more than adequate in storage capacity. However, it dampens any electrical signals, effectively isolating the programming from the rest of the world around it.

Without warning, the tech flips a switch and the trap, unbenownst to the soldiers there, is sprung. There's a few sparks from the console as Jarvis is absorbed right into the box without a word in edgewise. The lights go out after completion. "Sorry, sir, they did say not to let it get out."

Jarvis was an A.I. in a box and there was nothing he could do about it.

[notjustanumber]

     Fives looked at them helplessly at that, but he nodded at the tech. Let the A.I. do what he wanted.

     "-hey!" he snapped once he realized what had happened, although at the back of his mind, he realized he shouldn't be surprised at what they'd resorted to. It didn't stop him from feeling guilty. "What're you going'ta do with 'im?"

[jarvisconsole]

"Our orders are to keep it away from our computers till we get back." The rest was probably not the soldier's concern. The box is hefted by the technicians and carted away to the hold.

"You're to report to the bridge, sir."

[notjustanumber]

     Fives watched as they began to take the box that contained Jarvis away. He looked about to say something, but he knew it wasn't his place to tell anyone what to do with the A.I.

     "Understood."

     He nodded, and after one last look after the technicians, the ARC Trooper turned and headed towards the corridor.