The Tundak

By Dave Littley

"If I had a boredom gauge, it would be at maximum at this point." the Tundak thought to itself. The GH9000 battle droid surveyed the scene before him. Its owner, Valarius, was seated in front of it at the head of a large oval table. The vile Juntoid often kept the Tundak close at these meetings just to remind everyone he was involved with the galaxies largest Mafia. The business Valarius was involved with ranged from a perfectly legal factory planet to a very illegal drug trade. This particular meeting involved the latter. The other occupants of the room were a mixture of races, ranging from a small sleazy looking Felinid, to a large ugly Insectizoid. They had all come to Valarius' bar to decide who would be in charge of an emerging market in a nearby system.

Occasionally, the occupants of the table would cast a fearful glance towards the Tundak. At the moment, the Tundak was in its relaxed state. Its body resembled a crab - a low metallic ovoid shape sprouting eight multi-jointed legs.

For amusement, the Tundak simulated how quickly it could kill everyone in the room. During its three years of ownership by Valarius, it had rarely seen combat, as its mere presence kept potential threats away. The occasional times someone was stupid enough to try something, the combat was brief and easy.

Today would be different. Monitoring a camera linked to the outer door, the Tundak noticed a group of combatants approaching the bar. Immediately, they attacked the Gra-Luruk bouncers who were guarding the door. As the Tundak saw this, it shifted itself into battle mode. The bulk of its body partially raised and split down the middle. A section of the Tundak few have seen exuded forward through a gap in the droids shell. This section swung upward as it unfolded into a humanoid head and torso while its lower half closed into a compacted form. The torso, joined to the lower half with a thick snake like midsection, scanned the room and then locked eyes with Valarius. Valarius quickly understood.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Valarius said, "if you quickly move to that corner of the bar, I can activate a shield to ensure your safety. I do believe my Tundak is going to get some exercise." The small group moved to where Valarius was pointing and a hefty energy shield was activated around them. The Tundak then leapt to the ceiling of the bar and waited for the attackers to enter.

<Request system status>

<Negative, start battle logging for future study>

The Tundak saved an image of the Human for its files. Humans were one of the more populous species in the area. This one was male, had a slim build, little hair, and seemed to have an air of menace about him.

The Equidon was the largest biological of the group. He was covered in thick brown fur, had an elongated head ending in a large snout, and hoof like growths at the ends of his limbs. His large muscles strained every time he fired the powerful weapon. This one seemed to be very calm, calculating each move as he fired his weapon at the bouncers.

The droid and the Takolee were standing to the side behind cover waiting for the combat to finish. The three-meter tall droid was motionless. Its large torso gave it the appearance of a hunchback as its smallish head was slung about a half-meter down the front of its body. The Takolee beside the droid was miniscule in comparison. She was less than a meter tall, covered in fine blond fur, with a long bushy tail. Her upraised ears seemed to twitch involuntarily. Takolees were known for exceptional speed and agility and this one seemed to have difficulty staying still.

As the Tundak watched the brief combat outside the bar, it grew impressed with the skill of the attackers. The two bouncers on the defending side were members of the towering Gra-Luruk race. Each one massing almost a tonne, they each wielded heavy rapid-fire assault weapons. The 'Luruks, while normally proficient with their weapons, seemed to lack the skill needed to land a hit on the attackers. Unfortunately, the attackers had no trouble hitting the bouncers and the two behemoths were quickly killed. As the two 'Luruks fell, a glimmer of hope filtered into the Tundak's consciousness. Maybe this will be a half-decent fight after all. The camera he was linked to was destroyed and a moment later the door burst open.

Valarius was standing almost directly in the line of fire from the door. The Juntoid wasn't worried about his safety since he had one of the largest personnel energy shields the Tundak had ever seen.

"I really hope these guys have a shield disrupter." The Tundak thought, "That would wipe the cocky smile off his face." A stream of flame then came through the door washing over most of the bar. The large droid who looked like it was made primarily to house its two large flame-throwers followed the stream of fire into the bar.

The Tundak pulled out his favorite possession - a high-powered plasma rifle, and went into motion. It fired a volley of shots into the back of the large droid still trying to scorch Valarius. Two of the shots, however, only grazed the droid.

<Interesting. The attacking droid is moving in a defensive crouch while firing at Valarius. Perhaps it saw me as it came in.>

The walking flame-thrower continued to focus on Valarius, who was now diving behind the bar. The Tundak scanned Valarius' shield seeing that it was only 4% depleted. Valarius was in no danger. The remaining combatants stormed into the bar and spread out.

The Tundak continued firing on the walking flame-thrower, hitting it almost every time. The Human and Equidon opened fire on the Tundak, while the Takolee attempted to hide near a far wall. The droid was quickly taken down as it's hydrogen fuel supply for the weaponry ruptured and caused the droid to explode in a large fireball.

<Assault droid destroyed without too much effort. The Human and Equidon are obvious shock troopers. The Takolee is a sniper, most likely an assassin. It appears that I am the prime target. Valarius is watching from behind the bar and is not being attacked. >

The Human and Equidon were landing the occasional hit while the Tundak spread its shots over all three combatants. The Tundak rarely missed while the others hit the Tundak with about 40% of their shots.

<Request system status.>

<The attackers are quite experienced. They have landed a total of six hits on various areas of my structure. The Takolee is obviously building up an assassination attempt. Unfortunately, for the Takolee, there is a 92% probability that she is focusing on my decoy vital systems. If there were a combatant in the area that knew how to assassinate a Tundak, I would have been informed.>

<The attacker's stamina is impressive. I have landed numerous hits but they are still going. I estimate their deaths will require another 35 seconds. >

As it continued the battle, focusing more on the Human and Equidon, the Tundak envied the Takolee. Assassins were some of the most lethal combatants. They had the uncanny ability to concentrate on their target, anticipate their movements and fire their weapon at the precise moment to hit their target's most vital area. Often, they can bring a target down with just one shot.

Valarius was watching from behind the bar, a grin from ear to stubby little ear.

"These losers are putting on a great show." he mumbled amidst the cacophony of weapons fire. "This will surely bump up my reputation a notch or two. My Tundak slaughtered a group of seasoned combatants. Eight months of butt-kissing to that zarking Mafia Don paid off."

The Takolee, attempting to hide on the wall behind a hanging plant, was in a state of utmost calm. Normally a hyperactive, mentally unstable, mall crazed female, she was now completely at one with her senses. She watched the Tundak moving at blinding speed around the bar. It was landing hit after hit on all three of them and the most recent hit on her leg burned painfully. She ignored it and took aim with her weapon at the metallic death machine. She anticipated every movement before it happened and waited for the perfect moment for the Tundak's vital area to be in view. Her Human comrade had burned a few nice holes into the Tundak's shell, while the Equidon had shoved the Tundak around a few times with the discharge from his rifle. Regardless, by now they were all heavily wounded and needed this assassination. Her bushy tail twitched as she waited.

Suddenly, the opportunity came into focus. The Takolee didn't even think about it, as extensive experience in the art of death took over and pulled the trigger. The intense red beam flashed out of the needle beam rifle. The Tundak was in mid leap as the beam pierced into the center of its lower half.

The Tundak, still in mid leap, lost consciousness. Regaining consciousness a moment later, it landed on top of the bar. Small micro-explosions could be seen at various parts around its body as energy transfer nodes overloaded. For a moment it just looked at its opponents and then leapt into motion again.

<The assassin knew right where to hit me. Systems heavily damaged. External energy shield active. Current target - the Takolee. She knows how to assassinate a Tundak. She must be killed.>

Valarius lost his grin. He suddenly wished he had not fired his other bodyguards when he obtained the Tundak.

The Tundak jumped towards the Takolee, though not with as much agility as before. The female of the group tried to avoid the repeated plasma bolts, but was not successful. A plasma shot grazed her scalp, then another plunged deep into her shoulder. The Tundak was focused entirely on her now. Her comrades tried to draw its fire, but were not successful. Two final shots finished the Takolee off - one ripping her jaw from her face, and the second landing at the base of her skull, almost removing her head.

<Assassin eliminated, energy shield taken hit from Human's needle beam, down to 30%>

The Human was heavily wounded and had recently applied a couple of medical patches to himself. The mesh of nanoscopic robots burrowed painfully into his flesh sealing a couple of the more serious wounds. He squeezed off a trio of shots as the Tundak turned towards him. Two hit, one finishing off the energy shield, and the other piercing the Tundak's torso.

As its internal diagnostics examined the hole in its chest, the Tundak focused on the Human. The biological was almost dead, covered in scorched bleeding flesh. Despite the Tundak's destroyed targeting and damaged arm it landed two hits to the Humans head, finishing him off. The Tundak quickly leapt onto a table and landed shots into the remaining attacker's torso. The Equidon, while fighting to remain conscious, took an aggressive stance and landed a nice hit in the Tundak's mid-section. The blast from the antimatter rifle sent the Tundak sprawling backwards.

As the Tundak regained its balance, it looked at the Equidon. The large fur-covered biped had overextended his stance to get that last hit and was now in a vulnerable position. Apparently, he had hoped to finish the Tundak off. Biological eyes and mechanical eyes locked as the Tundak raised the plasma rifle with its working right arm. The Equidon's eyes told that he knew his imminent fate. Three bolts of superheated gas plunged into the Equidon's body, one in the head, one in the throat, and one center in the chest. The body of the Equidon crumpled to the floor.

The battle ended with the Tundak victorious. It stood in the center of the room completely motionless. Valarius, while in shock, still regained his composure enough to lower the shield protecting his guests. The sleazy looking Felinid ventured out into the room and peered at the unmoving Tundak.

"Is it dead?", he said in a raspy voice, breaking the eerie silence of the aftermath. The Tundak abruptly turned and stared at the Felinid, startling him enough to make him leap back a couple of meters. The occupants of the room hastily left as Valarius sat and stared at the remains of his droid, a blank expression on his face.

The Tundak gathered the bodies of the attackers together and burned their remains in the center of the bar. It never learned who the attackers were or why they attacked.