Absolutely šš¤šµ āRex King K and the Desert Droid Doctorā A Rex King K Story ā Arizona Sector The Arizona sun hit different. It wasnāt like TatooineāTatooine was dry, harsh, and ancient⦠like the planet itself was angry. Arizona was dry too, but it had a cleaner heat, like the desert was wearing designer sunglasses and acting civilized. Rex King K stepped off his ship, The Horizon Mantis, as its landing thrusters settled into the sand behind a hidden mesa outside Phoenix. The hull shimmered with heat waves, the Rex Credit symbol ᬠpainted boldly on the side like a warning sign for broke people. Behind him, his personal astromech unit R-K3 rolled down the ramp. BEEP-WHHRRR⦠CHK-CHK. Rex squinted. āYeah, yeah⦠I know youāre glitching. Donāt act dramatic.ā R-K3ās dome spun twice and sparked slightly. Rex sighed. āAlright. Weāre going to the shop.ā āø» The Droid Repair Shop They drove into the outskirts of Phoenix where the city faded into desert lots, scrapyards, and strange little industrial buildings that looked like they hadnāt changed since 1996. There it was: DESERT DROID REPAIR & CYBERNETICS āIf it sparks, we fix it.ā The sign was crooked, but it had a charm. There were old droid parts stacked outside like a junkyard museumāprotocol droid limbs, astromech shells, busted repulsor units, even a dusty old battle droid torso sitting in a lawn chair like it was on break. Rex stepped inside. The air smelled like solder, motor oil, and burnt circuits. The place was packed wall-to-wall with half-built machines. Some were humming. Some were sleeping. Some were probably spying. A bell dinged overhead. From behind the counter, an older man appeared. Gray beard, goggles on his head, and a stained work apron that said: āMIGUEL ā DROID SURGEONā Miguel looked Rex up and down. āNice jacket,ā he said. āEither youāre a celebrity⦠or you owe people money.ā Rex smiled like he owned the planet. āI donāt owe money,ā Rex said. āMoney owes me.ā Miguelās eyes narrowed. āā¦Youāre that Rex guy.ā Rex tilted his head. āDepends whoās asking.ā Miguel laughed and leaned on the counter. āIāve seen the HoloNet stories. Rex Credits. Astromech leases. Coruscant banking rumors. Some say youāre the richest man alive. Some say youāre a scam.ā Rex leaned forward casually. āScams donāt last this long. Legends do.ā āø» R-K3ās Breakdown R-K3 rolled forward and let out a miserable sound: BEEEEP⦠WHOOO⦠KRRRZZZT. Miguel crouched down and popped open the droidās side panel like heād done it a thousand times. Immediately he whistled. āOh yeah. This thingās been through war.ā Rex nodded. āHeās been through business deals.ā Miguel pulled out a glowing circuit board. āThis is your problem right here. Cheap Corellian memory chip. Someone tried to patch it with aftermarket code.ā Rex blinked. āThatās impossible. This droid only gets the best.ā Miguel smirked. āYouād be surprised what happens when you land in Vegas and let a Rodian ātech geniusā touch your systems.ā Rexās face went serious. āā¦I knew it. That Rodian was too confident.ā R-K3 beeped defensively. Miguel stood up and wiped his hands. āI can fix him. But Iām not cheap.ā Rex pulled a thin metal credit chip from his pocket and flicked it onto the counter. It spun like a coin, landing perfectly flat. Stamped into the chip was the symbol: ᬠMiguel stared at it. āā¦Thatās a Rex Credit.ā Rex nodded. āFresh minted. Not the fake ones. Real system-backed.ā Miguel tapped it with his fingernail. āThis is worth what, like⦠a car?ā Rex smirked. āThis is worth what I say itās worth.ā Miguel raised an eyebrow. āYouāre dangerous.ā Rex smiled wider. āThatās why Iām successful.ā āø» The Hidden Droid in the Back Miguel walked into the back room, motioning Rex to follow. Rex stepped through the curtain and froze. In the back was a fully enclosed repair bay with one droid standing still in the corner. It was tall. Humanoid. Chrome-plated. Eyes black like empty space. Miguel noticed Rex staring. āDonāt worry,ā Miguel said. āThatās just a custom unit Iām building for a private client.ā Rex walked closer. The droidās chest plate had faint engravings. Not English. Not Aurebesh. Something older. Rexās instincts kicked in. He turned to Miguel. āWhat kind of client?ā Miguel hesitated. āā¦Government.ā Rex smiled slowly. āOh. So youāre building spy machines.ā Miguel threw his hands up. āI fix droids. I donāt ask questions.ā Rex leaned in. āQuestions are what keep you alive, Miguel.ā The chrome droidās head suddenly tilted slightly. Rex stopped. Miguel blinked. āThatās⦠not supposed to be on.ā Rex stepped back, hand slowly drifting toward his belt blaster. The droidās eyes flickered red for half a second. Then it shut down again. Miguel swallowed. āā¦Okay. Thatās new.ā Rex nodded calmly. āThatās not government tech.ā Miguel whispered. āā¦Then what is it?ā Rex stared at the droid like he could hear its thoughts. āThatās Outer Rim salvage.ā Miguel looked pale now. Rex turned and walked back toward R-K3. āYouāre fixing my astromech. And youāre going to forget you ever showed me that thing.ā Miguel nodded quickly. āYes. Absolutely. Forgetting right now.ā āø» The Repair Miguel worked like a man possessed. He replaced R-K3ās memory core with a reinforced Rex-grade chip, welded new wiring, and installed a small protective firewall unit. Rex watched, impressed. Miguel was skilled. Not a Coruscant engineer⦠but good enough. Finally, Miguel snapped the panel shut. āAlright,ā Miguel said. āTry him now.ā Rex looked at R-K3. āWake up.ā R-K3ās lights blinked. BEEP-BEEP! WHIRRRR! The droid rolled forward smoothly, dome spinning with confidence. It projected a small hologram: A floating blue ᬠsymbol. Rex grinned. āThatās my boy.ā Miguel wiped his forehead. āHeās clean now. But listen⦠whoever tampered with him? That wasnāt random.ā Rex nodded. āI know.ā Miguel leaned in. āSomeone is trying to get into your network.ā Rex smirked. āLet them try.ā Miguel frowned. āThatās not funny.ā Rex tapped the counter twice. āIt is when you own the lock⦠and the key⦠and the whole bank.ā āø» The Rex Exit Rex dropped another chip onto the counter. Miguel looked down. āThatās⦠too much.ā Rex adjusted his jacket. āI donāt do small payments.ā Miguel stared at him. āWhy?ā Rex walked toward the door with R-K3 rolling beside him. Without turning around, Rex said: āBecause I donāt just buy repairs, Miguelā¦ā He paused. āI buy loyalty.ā Miguel watched him leave. Outside, the Arizona sun burned bright over the desert highway. Rex stepped onto his ship ramp. R-K3 beeped proudly. BEEP-BEEP. Rex looked down at the droid. āAlright. Now we go handle the Rodian.ā The ship engines ignited. The Horizon Mantis rose into the sky, leaving a swirl of dust and heat behind. Miguel stood in the doorway, still holding the Rex Credit chip like it was radioactive. He whispered to himself: āā¦That man is either the futureā¦ā He glanced back at the chrome droid in the corner. āā¦or the reason the future is about to get very ugly.ā āø» END