boxofmisfits | Strange Droid

When the Stormtroopers returned to the Admonitor, they had a box with them, claiming that they got a good deal on it and thought the Grand Admiral might appreciate it. Opening up the box had revealed a droid, but not like any Thrawn had ever seen. While he'd seen droids within the Empire, none were quite this human looking. The lead Stormtrooper, Commander Balkin, said that he felt Thrawn might appreciate it as an art piece or collector's item. Balkin said that the seller hadn't known what world the droid came from, or what culture made it.

Thrawn accepted the droid and took it back to his office. The droid wasn't like any he'd ever seen before, even after cross-referencing various models dating back to the Clone Wars. He'd even looked at droid models from the Sith Empire and Old Republic, and it matched none there either. The strange synthetic skin was interesting, as Thrawn could see no real reason for it. Perhaps it had covered the unit's entire body once.

Thankfully, Thrawn had figured out which wires went where within the droid, and had found a way to hook it to a battery that would give it enough power until it could recharge itself. After some fiddling, Thrawn managed to boot the droid up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"She seems fond of her droid. Could just be my imagination, but it ain't the sort of fondness you'd feel for a reliable appliance or a servant."

Very few people would think to thank their toaster or look pleased about their stove turning on as expected. So he thought the woman depicted in the painting probably saw that droid as perhaps a family member. Or at least a friend.

"Not that I have your ability to read art though so I might just be seein' what I want to see."

Wishful thinking that he could be something more to someone, perhaps. Friendship that bordered on being family.

"An astute observation." Thrawn was nothing but sincere in his statement, liking that Valentine was willing to speak his mind and come to the conclusion that he did.

"The painting was commissioned by a woman who had been widowed, and turned to her droid for comfort. She saw the droid as something of a replacement for her husband, in matters of companionship and possibly conversation. The droid is looking at her with affection in return, though it may have been a request by the widow."

Thrawn wasn't sure how sentient droids like that were back when that painting was made. Perhaps the two were close companions, or perhaps the woman had an unhealthy fixation on what a non-sentient being.

"Replacement, huh. That doesn't sound healthy. Not like the droid could say no even if it had wanted to."

That was a big difference, he'd found, between himself and other droids. They couldn't say no to their owners at all. While he was always able to speak his mind. While plenty of people were friendly with their droids and while he too had made many friends, a lot of them didn't expect a droid to outright refuse orders or requests.

A few people had been surprised that he himself had told them no on multiple occasions. Though they had stopped seeing him as a serving droid by now.

"I get loneliness, but that ain't necessarily the way to go about it."

Seeking companionship from someone new would probably be better. But he supposed the droid had just been easier to access if it had already been in the home. If it knew her husband too and could emulate his behaviors.

"Loneliness can often make one attach themselves to persons or things in an unhealthy way, yes."

He'd seen officers who became lonely during long tours, away from loved ones, and it would sometimes lead to them crossing boundaries. Thrawn had even suspected one officer had outright had an affair to alleviate his loneliness, and had never spoken of it aloud or told his wife.

"Still, if one was willing and able to give consent, then friendship or any other strong bond with a mechanical being wouldn't be inappropriate."

"Loneliness can lead you down a lot of dark roads, I think."

Unhealthy attachments. Substance abuse. Different sorts of addiction. People weren't meant to manage all on their lonesome. Not in the long run. He wondered if the woman only had the droid left with no other friends or family left to lean on after the death of her husband. Even so, leaning on a droid for companionship and no one else was unhealthy. Not just for her, but probably for the droid too.

Nick had gotten to know enough that he knew that they were as much people as any organic being. Of course they weren't considered as such.

He wasn't really, either. Not by anyone besides Thrawn and the people aboard his ship he'd gotten to know, anyway. And jury was still out on some of them whether they considered him a person or just as a droid with a particularly fun programmed personality.

"It wouldn't be, no," He agreed, with a slight smile. He thought of Thrawn as his friend after all. And hoped the man felt similarly about him even though he was quite difficult to get a read on, "Love would probably be complicated, if only because most people would find it off-putting."

Romantic love would be, anyway.

Strange Droid

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