The droid maintenance room was dark and silent with everything powered down for the night. A flood of light spilled in across the floor from the hallway as the doors opened. A dark figure entered the room and walked straight toward the gleaming black form of protocol droid NXG-320. The only sound in the room came from the visitor's heavy boots thudding against the floor and the steady intake and exhale of air through a mechanized filtration system.

The dark figure removed a panel from the chest of the droid and inserted a security access key into a concealed slot near the central drives. Not in the main system and protected from standard data scans, a backup of the droid's memory system was contained in a secondary drive unit. It recorded all information and kept it secure in case the primary systems were wiped clean. With the security key locked in place, the erased memories of the droid were restored from the backup unit.

With a gloved hand, the figure switched on the droid. Red eyes lit up as NXG-320 came back to full functionality. It's gaze centered on the dark figure standing in front of it. Because its memories were restored, 320 recognized its builder.

"How may I assist you, Lord Vader?" 320 asked.

"Report on the meeting of Admirals yesterday," Vader commanded in a deep voice.

"They are planning to assassinate the Emperor and install themselves as the new leaders of the Empire," 320 stated.

"When will they meet again?" Vader questioned.

"They are scheduled to meet tomorrow morning to finalize the details," 320 answered. "I am to assist in the meeting before having my memory wiped again as a security precaution."

"Continue observing them until I arrive," Vader ordered.

"Yes, Lord Vader," 320 accepted.

320 shut down as Vader turned off its power switch. Vader retrieved his security key and replaced the covering panel over the interior systems, departing from the room in a swirl of his nearly floor dragging black cape.

***

The following morning, the scheduled meeting of the Admirals came to an immediate halt as Darth Vader swept into the room. The Dark Lord of the Sith pointed toward NXG-320.

"Leave us," Vader instructed simply and firmly.

320 departed from the room and waited in the corridor for further instructions.

"Lord Vader, we are honored by your unexpected arrival," Admiral Verrius began. He started to go further, but his words were cut off and ended in a strangled gargle.

320 couldn't see what was happening in the room, but with the door open, it could hear every word.

"You have plotted against the Emperor," Vader accused. "For this, you shall all die."

A vibrating hum filled the air, followed almost immediately by several blasters being fired. A pair of blaster bolts shot through the open doorway to explode against the far wall, leaving behind scorched holes in the metal. The humming noise changed pitch several times and was punctuated by sounds of a sizzling nature just prior to the thump of something against the floor. Something heavy crashed against a wall, shaking the room enough for the vibration to be detected by 320 in the hall. The blasters were firing less and less, and in a few seconds, they stopped altogether. Only the humming was left, but it too ceased.

Darth Vader exited the conference room and looked toward NXG-320.

"Have that room cleaned, then report back to the maintenance bay until needed again," Vader instructed.

"Yes, Lord Vader," 320 answered.

As Vader departed down the corridor, 320 looked into the room to find all of the admirals dead. Burn marks crossed several of their chests. The conference room table had been upended and used to smash another admiral into the left hand wall where he was still pinned in place by the heavy table. Admiral Verrius lay crumpled at the far end of the room; no obvious signs of violence showed on his body, but 320's sensors weren't detecting any life signatures.

320 wasn't bothered by the violent scene as it was one of many in its computerized memory. As a spy droid build specifically by Darth Vader for monitoring the less than loyal members of the Imperial High Command, 320 had been witness to many examples of Vader's swift retaliation against any traitors who were exposed. Rather than being bothered by the role 320 had played in those deaths, it felt rather pleased as the Empire remained strong and free of corruption, in part due to the loyal service of droid NXG-320.