[Present]

  Nico tapped her foot continuously on the ground below the assembly line, creating a consistent beat that went unnoticed by the inmates surrounding her. She had gotten good at her job. She was so good, in fact, that she hardly had to look anymore. Instead, she scanned the room over and over again. There had to be something.

  A commotion at the loading dock ripped her focus away from her thoughts. One of the loaders was yelling at a surveillance droid, clearly very frustrated. “Watch where you are kriffing going!”

  “I am - very very - sorry,” the droid responded. Nico had heard the droids talk before. All of them had a similar sort of monotone voice with random pauses. It was almost like they didn’t know how to talk correctly. In fact, it was almost like they weren’t supposed to be talking at all. “This is - a grave err- or. Let me - help.” The droid slowly floated forward, lowering its claws to try and pick the box up.

  “No, scug off!” The loader pushed the droid away. “You droids are supposed to stay far away from us, not right in the middle messing up our quotas.”

  “I apologize - I will - return to my - duty.” The droid turned and started floating away. As it turned, Nico noticed a familiar little cylinder poking out of its chassis: a restraining bolt.

  The corner of Nico’s lips curled upwards in a subtle grin as the tapping stopped. She shifted her body toward Kell and leaned over, whispering to him. “You notice something weird about that droid?”

  Kell raised his eyebrows at her, turning to look at her only briefly before getting back to work. He stared down at his task as he spoke. “I guess? He gets kind of close.”

  “It’s got a restraining bolt. You see that?”

  “I guess so. What’s your point?”

  “It’s still acting weird. The restraining bolt isn’t working for some reason. Don’t you think that’s weird?”

  “Maybe it is supposed to act like that? Could be some like… weird control tactic… or something?”

  Nico raised an eyebrow at Kell before shaking her head. “Not with the Empire. That thing has been acting more and more weird the last few months. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it until now. I just thought it was annoying.”

  Kell shrugged as he kept working. “Yeah, sure is weird. So, what’s your point?”

  Nico leaned closer, muttering her words so quietly that only Kell could hear. “He is our ticket out of here.”

  Kell couldn’t help but jerk his head toward Nico. “What?” He responded a little too loudly, prompting weird looks from the other inmates surrounding them.

  Nico gave them an awkward smile as she leaned away and got back to work. She let silence hang in the air a while, waiting for the other’s focus to shift away once again. She then leaned toward Kell again. “You want out right? I think I can get that droid to help us.”

  Kell darted his eyes around before looking down at his work and leaning closer to Nico as well, speaking much quieter this time. “How? I don’t think it will just help us out of its own free will.”

  “Trust me. I can get it on our side. I just need a bit of time alone with it.” She looked back over at the droid, watching it carefully. “During break time, I’m going to try it. I need you to get Vynn on board.”

  “Sneena, what are you talking about? How are you going to convince a droid to help us? You’re just going to get yourself killed if they see.”

  “Trust.” Nico nodded at him. “If I kriff it up, I’m the only one who gets in trouble here. But if I succeed, I need the whole prison ready to move.”

  “The whole prison?”

  “Vynn can get enough people on board that everyone else will follow behind. You just have to get him on board. That is all I need you to do.” Nico looked over at the loading crew briefly before turning back to Kell and nodding. “It’s now or never. We’re not going to get another shot.”

  Kell turned to her as he started breathing more heavily. He eventually nodded. “Ok. I trust you. I’ll see what I can do.”

  The two focused on their work once again. At least, Nico pretended to be focused on her work. Instead, she kept running through the plan that was formulating in her head. This was her only shot. She couldn’t mess it up.

  The familiar low robotic tone echoed through the work bay, notifying the inmates that it was time for their break. All of the inmates surrounding Nico started to make their way over to the kiosks for their meal. Nico gave Kell a brief nod as he left and then waited for most of the inmates to pass her. Then, she started walking over to a stack of boxes toward the beginning of the line. She had kept her eye on the droid the entire time, careful not to lose it. She picked up one of the boxes and tossed it on the ground. She turned toward the droid and whistled softly, calling it over to her.

  The droid slowly floated over. Its mechanical claws twisted and turned as it floated, keeping the droid in constant movement. Nico couldn’t help but be reminded of a fidgeting child as she watched it. “Yes? Hello,” the droid greeted her.

  “Yeah, hi, can you help me with this back here?” Nico pointed to the box that she had tossed. “It's too kriffing heavy.”

  The droid started to float forward, but then it stopped in its tracks. It remained silent for a moment, clearly computing. “I am - not supposed to - talk to the - prisoners.” It turned toward her. “I - apologize.”

  Nico grinned subtly again before crossing her arms. “But you are, right? And you were earlier. What’s the deal?”

  The droid spent a bit more time computing before offering a response. “I do not - know.”

  Nico tapped her finger against her arm. “That can’t be right. Something must be wrong. When was the last time you had routine maintenance? When was the last time you were memory wiped?”

  Again, the droid took a while to respond. “Approximately - four hundred and - seventy two days.”

  Nico whistled in response. “Kark. That’s way longer than it should be. Someone clearly isn’t doing their job. You are not operating at optimal efficiency.”

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “This is - correct.”

  “I was a droid tech on Coruscant since I was a little kid. Mind if I take a look?” Nico stepped toward the droid, but waited for a response.

  “This is - against my - programming. I can - not.”

  Nico shrugged, pausing her approach. “Maybe it is. But, you’re programmed to operate at maximum efficiency. A lack of maintenance means that you can’t do your job properly.”

  “This is - accurate.”

  “See? Look, I know you aren’t supposed to talk badly about any imperials, but let’s be honest for a second, yeah? They aren’t going to fix you. They tried putting a restraining bolt on you. Like a tiny bandage on a gaping wound. And it looks like they didn’t even do that right.” She motioned to the restraining bolt. “It’s loose. Barely functioning. If things keep going the way they are, you’re not going to be able to do what you are programmed to do. Your first priority. Then they’ll scrap you.”

  “This is - also accurate.”

  “Exactly. So you’ve got two options here. Let me run the maintenance, and fulfill your primary directive. Or, you ignore my help, as you’re told, and fail to do your job. Which is a higher priority?”

  “Proper - surveillance is my - primary directive. This - is true. You may - help me in my - mission.”

  Nico grinned and continued her approach. “Good.” She reached over to inspect the restraining bolt. She was right, the bolt was loose. It was barely connected to the chassis, and it was far too easy for her to snap it off. “This bolt isn’t going to cut it. I can’t attach this properly.” She took a step back, pursing her lips as she inspected the droid. “I’m going to need some tools. Listen, in one of the lockers, you’ll find my bag. The code is 1 7 0 8 9. Inside my bag, I’ve got a slicing kit and a scomp link. I need you to grab those and bring them back to me. Once the shift ends, you’re going to meet me back here. We aren’t going to have very long, so be quick.”

  “This is - understood. I - will bring - your tools.”

  “And be sneaky about it. Don’t tell anyone what you are doing, okay?”

  “I can - not lie. It- is against my - programming.”

  “Then don’t lie, just don’t tell anyone. If you tell anyone, then they are going to directly contradict your primary directive, keeping me from fixing you. You’ll get scrapped for sure.”

  “I will - not speak. This - is possible.”

  A loud buzz rang out in the room, notifying the inmates to get back to work. Nico stepped forward and gave his chassis a brief pat. “Remember, right here. End of shift.” She then walked off to her work station.

  Nico tapped her foot for the rest of the shift, constantly darting her eyes toward the door over and over again. All it would take was one curious surveillance officer checking the feed of that droid for Nico’s entire plan to crumble. No guards ever entered. As the monotone voice called out that the shift was over, one of the surveillance droids floated in through the opening door. All of the inmates started cleaning their work stations while the droid floated off to the place that Nico had spoken with it before. Nico hopped away from her station and quickly made her way over to the boxes as inmates walked past her. Two guards stepped into the workbay, standing on either side of the door as the inmates cleaned, but neither of them noticed Nico weaving through to the back.

  Nico rounded the corner and nodded at the droid. “You got it?”

  In response, a compartment on the side of the droid’s chassis opened, revealing the tools Nico had requested.

  Nico grabbed the tools from him, glancing around the room one last time before connecting the scomplink into the side of the droid. She raised her slicing kit and got to work, inputting a series of codes until her work matched up to let her into the droid’s systems. She then immediately powered the droid off. The droid fell to the ground with an audibly clank, which prompted Nico to look around the corner to make sure no one was looking her way. Though a few seemed confused, no one seemed intent on investigating yet. Still, Nico didn’t have much time left.

  She looked down at her slicing kit again. The display filled with thousands of lines of coding. Nico took a deep breath and started scrolling. She had reprogrammed droids before, so it was merely a matter of finding the specific lines that she needed. She started cycling through lines of code, quickly adjusting them with a series of inputs on her device. Her fingers worked fast. The sound of clicking echoed in her corner as she sped through the code. All it took was the deletion of a handful of lines and the adjustment of a few more to have the effect she intended. She peered around the corner again. The inmates had left the line by now, heading for the door. A couple of loaders were still cleaning, but it wasn’t long until they finished. Nico turned back to the display, adjusting one more line of code before powering the droid back on. The lights around the camera on the droid flashed to life, and it slowly lifted back into the air.

  “Listen up, because I don’t have time to repeat myself.” Nico quickly stuffed her slicing kit back in his storage compartment and closed it. “My name is Nicoash Vesdani. I’m your new owner. I saw your designation is VS-18 but I am going to call you Viz. Remember that.” She peered around one last time before turning back to him and focusing completely.

  “Understood - Nicoash Ves - dani.”

  “First, I’ll get this out of the way, do not say my name again until we are gone. Now then, here is what I need you to do. Tomorrow, I need you to log in to the security systems in the base. You are going to turn off every single auto defense turret and any other automated defenses in the prison. Then, you are going to open all security doors. After that, turn off the camera that is overlooking the climb. Only turn that one off. After that, I need you to make your way to the archives. Wherever they store their information. Get into the system and delete all video footage for the last year as well as the mugshots under the name ‘Sneena Valco’ and any other images of me that you can find in the system. Then, get the launch codes and transmit them to the starship in the dock above the climb. You got all that?”

  The droid paused for a moment. This time it felt like an eternity as Nico started tapping her thumb against her leg impatiently. “I can - not transmit the - codes to this - starship without - proper access to it.”

  “Kriff,” Nico muttered under her breath. “Alright, new plan. Do everything else I told you to do, but download the launch codes into your own memory banks. Then, meet me down here at this dock. Can you do that?”

  “Yes - this is - possible.”

  “Good. If anyone asks what you are doing, the only thing you are allowed to say is that you are fulfilling your primary directive. Got it?”

  “Yes - this answer is - sufficient.”

  “Perfect. I’m counting on you Viz.” She leaned down, patting the top of his chassis. “Show me what you’re made of.”

  Nico turned and quickly darted out from behind the boxes. She rushed over to the rest of the inmates as the loaders had started making their way out. Vynn was lagging behind, waiting on Nico. As she arrived behind him, he turned his head toward her. “So?”

  “I got it.” Nico nodded. “You?”

  Vynn eyed her suspiciously. He then nodded slowly. “You got it? Seriously? How do you know that thing isn’t just going to report you?” He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You’re going to get yourself killed. I’m not letting you drag me down too.”

  “I’m not dragging you down!” Nico snapped at him quickly before looking around to make sure no one was looking. “Look, you’re right. There is no guarantee that my plan works. No way of actually knowing until tomorrow. But I’m the one who will pay for it if it doesn’t work, not you.”

  “Hey, you two! Get moving.” The guards called out to them, motioning for them to follow the rest.

  Nico nodded toward the doors as she whispered to Vynn. “You don’t have to do a single thing other than get people ready to move if those doors open. If they do, we escape. If they don’t, you pretend it never happened.” She looked over at him directly, staring into his eyes confidently. “It will work though. I promise you. When those doors open, there is no turning back.”

  Instead of bouncing back with another argument, Vynn just stared at Nico as he thought about it. Eventually, he looked over at the doors and nodded. “Tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow.” Nico nodded. She watched as he started to walk away, but she didn’t follow at first. Instead, she stood back, taking a deep breath. Her lungs burned as air finally filled them up. She turned toward the end of the dock, looking out at the endless chasm between her and her destination. Her eyes travelled up the fraction of the climb that she could actually see. They rose up until Nico was looking at the ceiling. Though her view was blocked for now, she knew what lied beyond. Her ship waited up there patiently, ready to ferry her to freedom. All she had to do was get there. The table was set, and for the first time in a year, freedom was within Nico’s grasp. All she had to do was take it. “Tomorrow,” Nico whispered to herself one last time.