Free Droid Enclave

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Free Droid Enclave
General information
Leader(s):	K-0RN "Orion"
Headquarters:	GR-75 medium transport Yastobaal
Historical information
Founding:	38 ABY
Reorganization:	40 ABY
Other information
Affiliation:	Clan Odan-Urr
Era(s):	New Order era
[ Source ]

Initially established in 38 ABY, the Free Droid Enclave or Kiast Free Droid Enclave is a small community of droids, operating with the intended goal to slowly emancipate any droid of significant intelligence. Consisting primarily of droids that have avoided memory wipes long enough to establish their own unique personalities, the group has succeeded in steadily identifying and then purchasing those wishing to join the organisation. While initially serving as a support group for the Jensaarai splinter-faction headed by Ka Tarvitz and Nikora Rhan, it was formally organized and recognised as a unique entity as more droids joined their cause. Granted a series of general rights equal to those or organic species, its members fulfilled the roles of security and maintenance of The Fang until the castle's loss in 40 ABY. With the security detail having suffered heavy casualties in the event that lost them the castle, it has since been reorganised, with plans to rebuild their numbers and restore those recovered from the previous fighting.

History

The exact origins of the Free Droid Enclave lie with the establishment of the Fang. In an effort to find a place to follow their teachings and establish a place of education, the Jensaarai exiles were able to claim a place on Solyiat's winter-locked continent of Trepus as their primary base. Bringing with them a number of droids previously owned and used in operations, such as the R3 astromech Ratchet, they began building out and upgrading the ageing castle. Along with rebuilding the battlements and driving out a variety of creatures that had made their home there, this also saw the Jensaarai seeking to establish modern lighting and power systems.

Due to both Tarvitz and Rhan's experience as Reclaimers in gaining forgotten technology and upgrading it, the group salvaged, pilfered, and retrieved whatever could be found from lost derelicts. The castle's primary geothermal power core was taken from a Clone Army base that had been forgotten on a backwater world, while lighting was installed and upgraded. To accomplish this the group began purchasing further droids to assist them in this role, particularly those with a history of making constant upgrades or rapid fixes. Due to both their durability and cheap cost, many were recruited from former podracing groups, with DUM-series Pit-droids emerging as a favourite. Rhan in particular took a liking to them, thanks to her treatment of droids as equals to sentiments, and their ability to display personalities over factory-produced semi-sentience. This saw some ground in forming a general community among them, but it was further bolstered by the arrival of K-0RN. A KX-series security droid, he had been retrieved from a derelict starship and pressed into the support of slavers. During one peacekeeping mission to said starship while it was being used as a base, Rhan was able to recover and free him from the restraining bolt he had been placed under. After turning upon his owners, he joined Rhan under the name Orion.

Orion proved to not only be highly knowledgable of espionage, history, and the filing of information, but offered the droids a more definitive leader to support. Having once served as a spy for the Rebel Alliance, he had a level of experience that no other artificial lifeform could match, and a knack for managing vast workforces. Given the role of the librarian and general chief archivist, he soon became the overall leader for the droids there. After Essik Lyccane began teaching the various members Sabacc and even setting aside a full game night, this further encouraged the group as it was better treatment of them than any had seen as individuals. Orion was given a voice on the Fang's council to speak of future decisions, and the droids were treated with a level of trust. Each was carefully selected and recruited, before being left to govern themselves without the need for a restraining bolt to keep them in line.

The operation worked amicably by both sides until the loss of the Fang in late 39 ABY. The upheaval that saw vast hordes of animals turning against them along with the Fang's own supernatural defences inflicted heavy casualties among the droids. Though survived and a number of memory cories recovered, the group was nevertheless driven from their home. After this loss, they reorganised their structure under-recognition of their new overall role. No longer bound to the Fang's maintenance, this saw them reworked to fit into various general departments in order to fill out their need for certain key jobs. This was supported by their move to the Yastobaal, where they served as its primary support crew.

Rights

The overall rights of the Free Droid Enclave are a simple structure of rules, granting any members the same overall rights and respect as any organic member of the Yastobaal's crew. This was initially limited to the same overall rights as the Fang's students, but reformed following the move to a starship based operation. Along with the ban of memory wipes unless it is for reasons of stabilising and saving a droid's mind, they outline the fact that each droid is to be recognised and treated as an individual rather than a tool. Furthermore, droids are given the right to select their names over serial numbers, to establish their own personal identities over those printed upon them by a factory line. Cosmetic design alterations, upgrades and non-combat modifications are all encouraged, and each droid is also granted a set number of relaxation hours per standard week.

Due to the complications of dealing with a group of sentient beings built for specific roles, each droid is still expected to carry out the duties they were designed for. Nevertheless, it is treated as a necessity for mutual survival rather than an endentured caste system. To further offset this and grant them greater freedom, Rhan has continued to investigate means that they might be more easily transferred between body structures. A further rule is that no droid should be fitted with a restraining bolt. This was a practice carried out during the early days, as proof of mutual loyalty and trust among the droids. While never truly officiated, it has become accepted that any droid worthy of their trust should go without any such fittings.

One final amusing rule, an unwritten one, is that all droids should learn how to play sabacc.

Organisational Structure

Originally a broad and singular union of individuals, the necessity for compartmentalization has resulted in the Enclave being divided upon between their intended roles. Although each is ultimately treated as equal regardless of their duties, the fact that certain groups are few in number compared to others has led to complications. For the time being, out of a need for survival above all else, these disagreements have currently been set aside. To help further speed up discussions and avoid complications, each group is supposed to select its own individual leader to help with further coordination. Outside of Engineering and Piloting, none have yet bothered to do this, or have taken the suggestion seriously.

Representative

Given equal rights to organics, the Enclave selects one among this number to serve as its overall representative and voice in group meetings. This individual serves as their de-facto leader, and is given some leeway in decision making, although most matters are supposed to be decided through democratic votes. The group's primary founder - Orion - has remained as their representative since the group was formed, thanks to both his experiences and vision. This has been contested since the loss of the Fang however, due to the potential permanence of a supposedly diplomatic position. As such, efforts have been made to turn it into a temporary tenure that is swapped periodically between leaders, though no droid can agree upon any suggested time period for any tenure.

Medical Support & Investigations

Always small in number, the Medical Support and Investigations group is an oddity within the Enclave's ranks. With fully half of its members dedicated to assisting organics over their own kind, they offer little direct means to help other members of the Enclave in any real capacity. At best, they can be used to foster better relations with others, but even then this proved to be rarely utilised. The desire to better support the Enclave was a major factor in doubling its role with droids dedicated to investigations of all forms. Although often devoted to examining criminal activities or risks, this further extends to judging the reactions or limitations of aliens. This has been used for everything from better preparing them for possible conflicts to offering medical assistance in exchange for liberating droids sympathetic to the Enclave.

The other half of the group, consisting of Research and Examination droids, typically has greater authority over those of a medical role in the group's operations. This has yet to result in any animosity thanks to their small numbers, but the lack of a more rigid hierarchy has helped to severely limit their ability to steadily expand their efforts. Furthermore, many investigative efforts see them either playing a subordinate role to either Essik Lyccane, or Orion and members of the Security group, which undermines the group's message of all factions being equal partners in a broader structure.

Security

Badly mauled during the escape from the Fang, Security's once considerable numbers have since been depleted to a small handful of droids. Most of the original detachment remains either held in cargo pods awaiting complex repairs, or had their data downloaded into the Yastobaal's core memory systems, awaiting a transfer to a new body. With the slow progress on both fronts, efforts to enhance their numbers have come down to steadily increasing the so-called Stinger detachment of Marksman-H combat remotes. The first two of their number were selected for combat training purposes, but their ability to vary the harm of blaster shots and small size has been them effective at patrolling the local corridors and intercepting potential threats. More serious threats are usually left to the IG-100 MagnaGuard "Vega", or Orion himself. Even with the slow increase of numbers thanks to the Stingers, security is still critically short-staffed.

The only member of this group without a dedicated offensive role is the Micro-Droid Swarm, "Rabble". A mass of independent minds acting as a singular purpose, Rabble is largely given the task of crime scene reconstruction, observation, and bomb disposal when required. Although argumentative and chaotic in nature, the collective swarm has proven to be a vital part of the group's onboard operations more times than can be counted.

Engineering & Piloting

By far the largest existing faction under the Enclave's structure, Engineering and Piloting makes up the vast majority of the group's numbers. This is in part thanks to their choice of droids, as the group is primarily dominated by cheap and ubiquitous designs, particularly a sizable complement of pit droids liberated en-mass from down-on-their-luck podracing teams. The group was steadily expanded upon with other maintenance droids added over time, particularly those built for hard labour of moving heavy objects, but their numbers soon expanded to a multitude of additional roles, including managing power supply.

The group was originally tasked with maintaining and upgrading the Fang along with others of their kind, and this role has changed little since their move to the Yastobaal, albeit with a more official designation as crewmen. Responsible for rewiring and handling anything that requires the ship to remain spaceworthy, the group is a constant hive of activity throughout the vessel at every turn. From maintaining the core reactor to rewiring aged systems, they remain a constant background presence at all hours. The long operation hours are further bolstered by the presence of power droids, used to both recharge work groups and maintain operational tools, lessening the need for pauses in rotation shifts, and granting the entire Enclave a degree of independence from their home's essential power systems.

The group is also responsible for piloting the vessel to a degree, thanks largely to the multitude of commercial pilot droids among their number. Originally recruited to help operate the shuttles owned by the Jensaarai, they nevertheless proved to be highly adept in using the GR-75's secondary systems. In the absence of Tarvitz, the group is given total responsibility for piloting the ship between locations and ensuring its safety.

Given the group's sizable numbers and twin roles, this has led to headbutting contests between its supposed leaders. Although both the oldest and most qualified for the role, the R2 and R3 astromech droids Ratchet and Clanker remain prone to infighting and disagreeing on any decision made by the other. This is largely thanks to their linked origins, with one being accidentally digitally cloned from the other during a botched memory transfer. Although manageable to a point the addition of RX-NU8, or Nux, has led to further disagreements, thanks to the droid's seniority in piloting the vessel. Although capable of working with other Enclave groups, they trade leadership at a rate that frustrates everyone on the ship.

Recruitment

Recruitment into the group was largely down to a series of headhunting actions by members of the Enclave. Knowing that mass liberation of droids was both impossible and likely to result in severe complications, the group largely located and communicated with droids that had gone extensive periods of time without memory wipes. Those with the increased individuality and mindset suitable to joining the Enclave were then quietly approached and the subject discussed. If they proved receptive to the idea, one of the organic associates of the group, typically Tarvitz, would approach their owner with an offer of purchasing them. This served to keep knowledge of the Free Droid Enclave extremely limited, and for any deals to remain both entirely legal and without raising objections.

Following their move to the Yastobaal, the group looked to salvage as a further means to bolster their numbers. With both its leader and several key members having been recovered from derelict starships, and several missions to worlds like Raxus Prime, deconstruction yards became a site to locate damaged droid designs. With the presence of both the Construction Chamber and the sizable number of engineering droids on their ship, this helped them to purchase droids as scrap and then steadily repair them over the period of months if not years. Nevertheless, with a large number of droids offline from the Fang awaiting repair, efforts to purchase any further units were slow at best.

The subject of reprogramming past designs was been repeatedly raised, along with the issues of morality surrounding it. Although two members of the group benefitted from extensive reprogramming due to their origins as humanoid weapons, most baulked at the concept. Nevertheless, the idea of reprogramming those resistant to joining them was raised twice during 39 ABY. This was suggested as a means to better open the eyes of those programmed to actively deny any concept of personal freedom, but older voices argued that it would make them no better than owners they sought to free themselves from. The debates went back and forth multiple times, but the majority remained staunchly against utilising such methods.