Chapter 2: Recruitment

Power source detected.

Entering Boot Mode.

...

..

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Real-time observation and reactionary selected.

Initializing...

"...telling you Obi-Wan, I've never seen anything like her before!" exclaimed the voice of Anakin.

KOS-MOS did not move or give any indication she was active at the sound of his voice, she detected three people in the room, and instead chose to listen. Perhaps she could gather intel while they were unaware of of status.

"Her internal systems are structured to be just like a human's to a crazy degree," continued Anakin, "Wires shaped like veins, internal systems shaped and placed like organs, someone really wanted her to be like a real person, it's crazy how life-like they wanted to make her."

"That's all well and good Ana...," came the voice of Obi-Wan.

Anakin didn't stop speaking, "And the engineering, I could vaguely figure some parts out enough to repair them, hopefully, but most of it I have no clue on. The tech, the material, are all foreign to anything we use. I managed to figure out how to make a cross-platform interface to try and see what made her tick."

KOS-MOS briefly grew alarmed. He had actually managed that between two unknown technologies? How long had she been offline for?

"And?" said Obi-Wan.

"It's completely different," said Anakin, "I don't recognize the language, the code, the structure, it's all a bunch of mumbo-jumbo to me. She's nothing Separatist from what I've seen, and she's definitely not Republic either. Something out of the Unknown Regions or Wild Space if I had to guess."

"Well, perhaps a hacker or someone with coding experience may be able to crack her code then," said Obi-Wan.

"Nah, I don't think that's a good idea," said Anakin.

"Why ever not my old padawan?" questioned Obi-Wan.

"I only looked in to try and see if I could get some schematics so I didn't make any faulty repairs," said Anakin, "Cracking into her code like that is for one, rude, and a terrible way to make a new friend or ally."

KOS-MOS was, both heavily relieved, and heavily irritated, as much as her programing allowed anyway. It was good that they had been unable to access her systems, and that this 'Anakin' hadn't really tried other than for repair purposes. It was also bad that he had done further repairs outside her core without first waking her to guide him through it. She would have to run diagnostics and tests to see her current status when she was done eavesdropping.

Obi-Wan sighed. "Anakin, your penchant for droids is exasperating. Anything that could be hacked or programmed to turn against you is not capable of being a friend."

"Like a sentient can't be bribed or threatened into doing the same?" Anakin huffed before growing snide and cutting, "Maybe if you tried to befriend some of the droids we worked with, you'd actually have some outside the Order."

If Obi-Wan was hurt by those words, he gave no signs, merely huffing. "I have friends outside the Order thank you very much. Senator Organa..."

"Senators don't count," said Anakin, "Neither does Dex."

"That is unfair!" said Obi-Wan.

"Life is unfair," countered Anakin, "Name a friend outside the order. Can you do it?"

"...Satine Kryze," murmured Obi-Wan, voice sounding awkward.

"...who?" asked Anakin.

The third person in the room finally spoke, "Sirs, with respect, you're both a bit of-topic."

There was an embarrassed cough from Obi-Wan. "Of course, thank you Captain Rex."

Rex continued, "And I think the Android is awake."

Interesting, and unusually perceptive, KOS-MOS was sure she hadn't taken any action, or even moved the slightest inch after her power core was put back in. KOS-MOS considered briefly continuing to act unaware, but decided against it, merely opening her red eyes and sitting up to stare at the third voice. Covered almost head to toe in white armor of some kind, it almost seemed plastic-like in look. He carried a white helmet with a visor under his arm. Hardened face, sharp eyes, a soldier's haircut, mouth set grim.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Anakin. "You activated it?"

Anakin shrugged. "Umm... I put her core back in? I didn't see an on switch anywhere."

KOS-MOS briefly considered if she should act offended that they thought she came with an 'on/off' switch, but dismissed it. "So long as I have power, I am capable of shutting down and booting up at will."

Obi-Wan frowned. "I'm not sure giving a machine freedom like that was a wise idea of your creators."

KOS-MOS considered how she should respond to that before pausing, noting a dark look Anakin was giving Obi-Wan at his words. She pondered briefly if he really had that much empathy for machine-based lifeforms, if something else in what Obi-Wan had said had set him off, or if it was an act to try and get in her good graces. Either way, she made a note of it in the profile she was starting up for him.

She was going to need one for each person she came across in this new area outside Federation space.

She chose to ignore Obi-Wan's words and instead turned her head to Anakin. "I wish to know what repairs you preformed on me, to the exact detail."

Anakin blinked a few times, turning his dark glare away from the unaware Obi-Wan. "Uh, sure..."

He took a few minutes detailing picking around scrap from the workshop, pirating a few parts that he was 'sure' the ship they were on didn't need, taking out and tinkering with a few pieces of her hardware, and then putting everything back in. KOS-MOS listined with what would have been a sinking-feeling of dread. At least, that is what her emotion-understanding programs suggested someone should feel at his words.

"I believe I wish to undergo self-diagnostics," she said.

Obi-Wan and Rex snorted, while Anakin merely looked offended. "Hey! I thought I did a damn good job considering I've never seen anything like you before."

"That is exactly why," she answered simply, "Save for Shion and a select few former employees of Vector, there are none I would trust to make adequate repairs, especially since you did not wait for me to awaken before you continued repairs."

Anakin winced a little. "Ah... yeah okay, I get that. Sorry, new tech gets me a bit excited, got carried away."

KOS-MOS studied him for a few moments. "Assuming I do not suffer catastrophic failures from your repairs, apology accepted."

Anakin blinked a few times. "Was that a joke?"

"No."

Anakin winced, Obi-Wan laughed, Rex merely sighed.

"Anyway, welcome to the Resolute, KOS-MOS," said Anakin, "Want a tour?"

"Anakin," said Obi-Wan, exasperated, "We're giving it a tour? Before we even determine if it's a threat? Before we've even questioned it?"

Anakin rolled his eyes. "C'mon, I told you I don't feel any danger.

"Protocol dictates...," began Obi-Wan.

"If it is protocol," interrupted KOS-MOS, "Then I will answer questions while I run diagnostics. However, information above your clearance level in regards to what I know, which is none, will not be disclosed."

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, folding his hands into the sleeves of his robe. "Fair enough. I suppose we will start simple then, you said you were formerly employed by this 'Vector Industries', and are currently under the directive of one Shion Uzuki, what government does she, and I suppose Vector, fall under?"

"Both were previously under the Galaxy Federation," said KOS-MOS, "A collective of roughly five hundred thousand plants..."

She noted a furrowing of Obi-Wan's brows, and Anakin showing rather open interest, Rex showed nothing.

"...but considering the last update I received from the U.N.N., the chance of government collapse under the onslaught of Gnosis attacks was high," said KOS-MOS before doing a few calculations, "I estimate, by the end of the conflict with the Gnosis and considering the rapidness of their attacks up to that point, roughly eight to ninety percent of Federation Space had been overrun with close to one-hundred percent casualties."

Color drained from Anakin and Obi-Wan's faces, even Rex looked disturbed.

Anakin opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Are... you serious...?"

KOS-MOS blinked at him.

Anakin scoffed. "Yeah, of course you are. That's... but seriously, were the unknown regions really that big? And what the hell is a Gnosis? A government? A species?"

KOS-MOS tilted her head briefly. "Do you have a map of this galaxy? And can you fetch your interface? I have a theory I wish to test."

Obi-Wan rubbed his chin a few times. "Very well."

A few minutes later, two 'holographic ports' as Anakin called them were retrieved. They brought up the map of their Galaxy, and KOS-MOS could not find any constellation in her databanks that matched the alignment of their stars. She plugged the second one in through the interface and brought up the display of the federation territory.

There was utter silence for a few minutes.

"Obi-Wan," breathed Anakin, "She's... she's not from the Unknown Regions or Wild Space, she's from another kriffing galaxy!"

"That's not possible, there is a hyperspace disturbance surrounding our galaxy," said Obi-Wan, a bit of denial and awe in his voice, "Nothing has been able to penetrate or leave it. The Outbound Flight Program was meant to be a test of that, and considering we never heard back from them, I think it's safe to say it was a failure."

KOS-MOS tilted her head. "A hyperspace disturbance?"

"We're... no one is exactly sure what it is," admitted Obi-Wan, "There hasn't been to much study of it in the history of the Republic."

"Can you pull up any relevant data on it?" inquired KOS-MOS.

Anakin pulled a datapad out of his back pocket, typed in a few things, and connected it to another port in KOS-MOS's interface. "Here."

KOS-MOS briefly double-checked her protective code before allowing the access to go through and began analyzing. "This disturbance is... similar, somewhat, to aspects of the Gnosis phenomenon, to where they could pull ships into real-space from hyperspace. However, there are differences, destructive and dangerous differences. I am unsure how I crossed into this Galaxy after Zarathustra activated on Mictam."

"Whats 'Zarathustra'?" asked Anakin.

KOS-MOS blinked. "Classified."

Anakin scowled.

"It's exact nature is above the vast majority of Federation clearance grades, under the rules and regulations I am programmed with, it should be above mine as well if not for my involvement in the events surrounding it. However, I can say that the method in which it was used was to end the Gnosis threat," said KOS-MOS.

"So... some kind of superweapon, okay," said Anakin uneasily.

Not exactly, but she wasn't going to correct him.

"And I'm still kind of waiting on an answer as to what the Gnosis are," said Anakin, just a tint of impatience in his voice.

There were two ways she could answer it, the actual truth that Shion and the other's had discovered, or what the Federation had thought. She chose the later. "The Gnosis are an alien race, monstrous in appearance, that come in many different shapes and forms."

She began displaying recordings and images different Gnosis she had encountered. "They arrived en-mass during the Miltian Conflict on Miltia in T.C. 4753, and have terrorized, decimated, and hunted down humanity in the years since then..."

"Sweet Force, look at those things!" exclaimed Anakin, shock on his face, "I've never seen anything like them."

"The Gnosis are merciless, and held an unexplained hostility towards humanity. The initial years in fighting the Gnosis before the Hilbert Effect was created were catastrophic in casualties and damage. The Gnosis were non-physical entities, existing in Imaginary Space..."

"Wait, what? That's impossible," said Anakin, "Nothing can..."

"Anakin, hush," said Obi-Wan in a serious tone, rapt attention focused on KOS-MOS.

"...that we could not interact with. Weapons were largely useless against them unless we could drag them into real-space, which is one of my primary functions," explained KOS-MOS, "Prior to my final activation, only starships and certain types of Realians could use the Hilbert Effect, making battles with the Gnosis especially costly. My systems allowed for an expansion of the Hilbert Effect radius up to several hundred astronomical units."

"So... you were developed to use this 'Hilbert Effect' against the Gnosis?" asked Rex.

"I am a combat-model Android designed with the focus of being an Anti-Gnosis weapon," said KOS-MOS, "The Hilbert Effect is one of my tools. I come with many different weapons and abilities to fight them."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Seems to me you lost any weapons before coming here."

KOS-MOS blinked at him. "I use a Personal Transfer System to call my weaponry to me at will."

Rex's eyebrows furrowed. "A what?"

KOS-MOS moved to stand up and held out her hands to her sides. Now was a good a time as any to test if it still worked. Her F-Gshot chainguns materialized a second later with a satisfying weight.

Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Rex jumped a bit and stared at her, wide eyed.

Rex whistled. "Nice."

"Hmm, well, that answers if she is a potential threat or not," mused Obi-Wan, "She's always armed."

"Uh... okay," said Anakin, child-like eagerness on his face, "Could you explain how you just did that? What the heck is a transfer system?"

KOS-MOS transferred her chainguns away, to appear less threatening. "Classified."

"Oh come on," whined Anakin.

"Back to the Gnosis," directed Obi-Wan, "You said that this 'Zarathustra' dealt with them all?"

"That is correct," said KOS-MOS.

"Well, I suppose that's a relief," said Obi-Wan, pulling on his beard.

"Question," said Rex, "You were developed as an Anti-Gnosis weapon, that duty is fulfilled, so what is your function now?"

KOS-MOS didn't immediately answer. "I... am not certain as of the moment. Logic dictates I return to Shion and she either redirects or re-purposes me."

"I don't mean to sound like a pessimist," said Obi-Wan slowly, "But if you truly are from another Galaxy, that is far easier said than done. We have no means to cross the Hyperspace Disturbance. You may be stuck here."

"That is an unacceptable outcome," said KOS-MOS.

"Maybe the Republic could help with that," said Rex, "If you are willing to help us out."

KOS-MOS studied him. "Explain."

"We are in a war with the Separatists right now, the Confederacy of Independent Systems," explained Rex, "Call it a hunch, but something new and unexpected like you? Calling out weapons out of nowhere with who knows what else you have stored away? I think that you could make a difference in the war. You do that, I figure the Republic could try and figure out a way to get you out of our Galaxy."

"Rex, I mean no offense, but such a deal like what you are implying is a bit above your rank to offer," said Obi-Wan slowly, "Besides, no one single droid..."

"Android," corrected KOS-MOS, yet again.

"...will make that much of a difference," finished Obi-Wan.

"Well, how about we see then?" said Rex, "I have a good feeling about this, sir."

KOS-MOS studied the inhabitants of the room for a moment, processing the offer. "If the 'Republic' is willing to make such an offer, then I will agree. In good faith, and as a showcase of my abilities, I will offer one free participation in a battle of your choosing in order to make this agreement... more enticing for your government."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I suppose I'm going to be outvoted on this."

"Yep," said Anakin.

"Don't suppose we could test your abilities a bit earlier?" asked Rex, "We have a firing range in the ship."

"As you wish."

KOS-MOS lead out of the room into the depths of the ship by an overeager Anakin, a calm-but-eager Rex, and a reluctant and chagrined Obi-Wan. They walked into a semi-full firing range, and showed her to a booth. KOS-MOS peered outside the small window at the target-ring a distant a away. She was a bit disquieted, this was nothing compared to the tests Vector had put her through. It was fairly disappointing.

She transferred a single chaingun and shredded the target-ring in three seconds before moving to the next empty window, morphing an arm into her R-Cannon, and then blowing through the test-ring and leaving a giant hole in the wall behind it.

"Is this satisfactory?" she inquired, morphing her R-Cannon back into her hand.

There was silence for a few moments. Anakin was staring at her arm as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. Obi-Wan was rubbing his forehead like he had a headache. A number of the other troopers (with the same face?) were staring at her in awe. Rex had a single eyebrow raised. If this were their reactions to her basic weaponry, perhaps she should keep her more advanced ones in reserve for the time being.

One of the troopers leaned over to whisper to Rex. "Sir."

"Yeah Jesse?" said Rex.

"She just tore a hole through part of the ship, I think I'm in love."

"Noted," said Rex.

"Can we adopt her?"

Rex snorted a bit, glancing at KOS-MOS approvingly, "Well KOS-MOS, I think it's safe to say, welcome to the Grand Army of the Republic..."

Review Responses:

Mauricio Cunningham: I have many stories I have to work on, patience. As for her other weaponry, KOS-MOS will slowly reveal them over time. There will be no Gnosis, but that doesn't mean her Hilbert Effect won't have use.

Tell me.

What do you think would happen if KOS-MOS used the Hilbert Effect on a Force Ghost?

:D.

Noter: KOS-MOS is going to obliterate everything in her path up until she encounters her first Sith. The Republic has no idea to just what KOS-MOS is capable of. When they get anything close to a real clue, they are going to be absolutely terrified, especially at the thought of her possibly getting hacked and turned against them (easier said then done considering her encryption and different code structure). The closest thing in comparison to KOS-MOS (at this time) would be the eventual Death Star or the Dark Reaper. Of course, other super-mega superweapons from Legends might outdo her.

And I think the Tertiary weapons system *might* have the capacity to OHKO the Death Star, who knows.

AzureTemplar: WTB Xenosaga 4!