FN-3043 walked down the polished halls of the Star Destroyer. His heart was racing. His forehead was sweating. His breathing was hurried. An audience with the Supreme Leader was never a light occasion. And for most, it didn’t end well.
He was a simple stormtrooper. A cog in the Supreme Leader’s powerful machine. What reason would Kylo Ren have to see him?
He was trying to remain calm. To think good thoughts. But the odds of his survival weren’t stacked in his favor.
“Are you okay?” the droid asked, startling him from his thoughts.
He nodded rapidly. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
The black droid’s eyes narrowed into amber slits.
“In fact, you look dreadful. My diagnosis says you are suffering from anxiety.”
FN-3043 looked at the droid.
“And you’re not helping,” he said.
“I am a medical droid. My sole job is to help my patients in any way that I can.”
“I don’t think you can help me,” FN-3043 said.
The droid made a sound that resembled a laugh.
“Of course I can help you. I have been programmed with 5,763,891 different cures to aid my patients.”
FN-3043’s eyebrows rose. “That’s impressive.”
“My diagnosis is that you simply need someone to talk to.”
3043 smiled. “Talking would help.”
They turned a corner.
The droid cocked its head. “So, what would you like to talk about?”
FN-3043 looked at the droid.
“Well for starters, what’s your name?”
“T4-79,” the droid said with a hint of pride in its robotic voice.
“I’m FN-3043 but my friends call me Double Three.”
“Double Three?”
“I have two threes in my name.”
“Oh,” T4-79 drawled.
“Us stormtroopers, we give each other nicknames. It’s our way of standing out so that we can feel like individuals rather than…”
“Droids,” T4-79 finished.
FN-3043 nodded.
“Why wouldn’t you want to be a droid? Droids are the smartest beings in the universe. We are given a purpose and we fulfill it in the best way possible. You don’t see it as a compliment to be considered a droid?”
3043 laughed. “You know, I never thought it about like that. I’ve always seen stormtroopers as nothing more than pawns which are thrown into battle just to die.”
“You may be pawns,” T4-79 tapped his shoulder, “but you are important. The First Order would not thrive if it weren’t for its stormtroopers. You are the foundation that keeps this organization moving.”
FN-3043 smiled. “Thank you, T4-79. That actually made me feel a bit better.”
“My diagnosis never fails.”
They suddenly came to an abrupt halt as they stopped before an elevator which sat at the end of the hallway like a dead end. That meant there was only one for him to go and that was up.
“Supreme Leader Kylo Ren will be waiting for you,” T4-79 said as the elevator door opened.
FN-3043 took a deep breath before stepping into the circular elevator. He gave T4-79 one last look before the elevator doors closed and it lifted him to his imminent audience with the Supreme Leader.
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