11-26-2017, 09:46 PM
Aello cursed under her breath and clutched at her forehead. This was entirely all too much to process. Not that the situation was entirely unfamiliar. This wasn’t the first time she had been abducted and dropped off at an unfamiliar place, hell she had arrived at the Helios under similar circumstances. It was partially due to this familiarity with the unfamiliar that helped her keep her from shutting down losing her metaphorical shit. She allowed her body to relax, undoing the tightened ball of cords that was her gut. She exhaled and sat on the edge of the fountain. The woman took stock of her belongings, her gun was absent and so was her phone.
“Well fuck,” she muttered.
No point in crying about it she figured. Aello stood and began to walk towards one of the few landmarks available to her. It was hard to judge distance in the sea of featureless white. What had appeared to be a quick hop and a skip turned into a two hour hike. Not that she minded the distance, it gave her plenty of time to collect her thoughts. As she approached the gate of her choice she became aware of a few armored guards. Their shock-white armor blended in with the ivory background. They carried a brand of energy rifle that was foreign to the girl.
“Uh, where am I?” she asked one of the guards.
The soldiers shared a glance amongst themselves before one of them stepped forward and addressed her. His helmet added a robotic intonation to his words.
“Are you a prime?”
She scrunched her face and responded, “the hell’s a prime?”
Again the retinue of soldiers shared looks. Aello felt a twinge of danger in the air, perhaps it was paranoia -- perhaps not. She felt the urge to cut and run to another gate, but she didn’t feel like getting shot in the back.
“Did Omni greet you when you first arrived here?” the soldier’s distorted voice asked.
“Yeah,” she responded, “at least, I think?”
There was a moment of silence before the soldier spoke again, “please come with me.”
Aello’s danger radar was going off the charts. Instinctively the joints in her robotic arm whirred to life and she raised the limb across her chest. The soldier stepped forward and grabbed the wrist of her real arm and tugged. Her entire body tensed up and a gallon of adrenaline was dumped into her veins. She stepped back and pulled back.
“Get off me motherfucker,” she shouted and swung.
A vicious and hollow thwack echoed across the barren landscape. While her prosthetic appendage had not been designed for direct combat it still proved to be a formidable weapon. Bits of a white plastoid composite were sent splintering off from the trooper’s mask. She had scored a solid hit, but the soldier merely stumbled for a bit before regaining his poise. In response the trooper pulled the butt of his rifle back and slammed it into Aello’s gut. Such a sudden impact forced her over and she began to retch violently. Rifles were leveled at the fresh arrival and radio chatter filled the air.
“Stay down!” the soldiers commanded.
“Bite me,” she shouted back.
Aello raised her head and found herself staring down several barrels. Her hand reached for her pistol, but found nothing but disappointment. The trooper she had struck adjusted his helmet and fell in line with his brethren. A stranger, wearing an impeccably clean uniform stepped through the gate. A layer of baby fat gave his face a warm and friendly visage. Despite his soft face he moved with a kind of precision found only in a military man. Aello locked eyes with the stranger and he offered a courteous smile.
“Gentlemen,” he spoke, addressing the troopers, “lower your weapons, this is not how we do things.”
“Who are you?” Aello asked, adding as much scorn to the word “you” as she could.
“Me?” he responded, “why I’m just a concerned friend, you must be terribly confused, and rightfully so.”
The officer made his way to the downed woman. His polished boots slapped against the ivory white floors. He removed his glove and offered her a hand.
“Welcome to the Omniverse, I’m Lieutenant Boggs,” he said, once again offering his cheery smile.
Aello scowled, swatted away his hand, and said, “the fuck you think I got legs for?”
“Sorry, I meant no offense,” Boggs said and retracted his hand.
Aello climbed to her feet, wincing as her bruised stomach cried out. Again she had the powerful urge to turn tail and run, but just where in the hell would she go?
“What do you want?” Aello asked.
Boggs replied, “nothing, but a moment of your time, miss…?”
“Aello, just call me Aello,” she said.
“Aello it is, let’s go somewhere a bit more conducive to a conversation,” he stepped aside and motioned her towards the gate.
She bit the inside of her cheek and huffed, but began to walk towards the gate. Boggs followed shortly behind, stopped only to regard the battered stormtrooper. In response the trooper seemed to stand up straighter. A more than stern talking to was coming once the Lieutenant was done entertaining.
As she passed through the Coruscant gate she half expected to be vaporized instantly or that someone would be waiting to throw a bag over her head. Instead she was greeted by a checkpoint so fortified that would make even the most hardened Space Vaults blush. Static turret emplacements lined the checkpoint’s walls, giving it the appearance of a dragon’s mouth. Squads of stormtroopers stood sentinel as well as a handful of massive warriors that she would come to know as Space Marines. Lieutenant Boggs led her through a series of security gates, each one more secure than the last. Invisible scanners combed her for hidden guns or other more exotic armaments. Eventually they reached the interior atrium and Boggs led them down a corridor titled “NEW ARRIVALS”. They came to a rest inside a small office that appeared to be the Lieutenant’s personal quarters. He offered Aello a seat and took the one at the other end of his desk.
“Well,” he said, exhaling and resting his elbows on the table, “I’m sure you have more than a thousand questions, and I’d be happy to answer them as best I can.”
“Okay then, what the hell is this place?” she asked, “where did you take me to?”
“Well, that depends on how specific you want to get,” he said and pointed to map of the Omniverse that hung on his wall, “as you could probably surmise this place isn’t your home, we’re in the Omniverse, I’ll leave the speculation up to the scientists and philosophers, but here are the facts…”
Boggs went on to explain each of the eight main verses and the general geography of the Omniverse. He ended the exposition with his description of Coruscant.
“Coruscant is split into seven tiers, each of them with their own personality so to speak, you’re on tier one currently, with tiers two through seven below you,” he said, “this’ll probably be the most comfortable verse for you, we try to keep things as modern and habitable as we can.”
“Who is ’we’?” she asked.
Boggs once again flashed his characteristic grin, “we’re the Empire, Aello, the ‘good guys’ so to speak, when the Omniverse was first created, our Emperor, Palpatine, was one of the first primes summoned here, along with Aragorn, the current king of Camelot, our Emperor envisioned a united Omniverse, a utopia under one banner where men and women of all backgrounds could live in perfect harmony. Aragorn, the arrogant man that he is, was simply too myopic to see the greater good and formed his own faction to act as a thorn in the Empire’s side, but that is all they are Aello, just a thorn, nothing more.”
“So what do you want from me?” she asked.
“I’m not going to twist your arm and offer you an ultimatum Aello,” Boggs said, passing a business card to her, “you’re free to explore the city and indulge in all it has to offer, all I’m offering is a job that not only pays well, but also offers a sense of accomplishment that you can’t get anywhere else.”
She turned the card over in her hand before shoving into her pocket. Aello pushed back her chair and stood. Boggs shuffled around some papers on his desk.
“Think on it,” he said, “my door is always open.”
Aello said nothing and turned for the door. A jackhammer was set to full bore against her skull and she was tired of listening to this guy talk. She needed a drink, not a lecture. As she approached the threshold of the Lieutenant’s office Boggs spoke up.
“One more thing,” he said, his voice adopting a serious tone, “do the people where you come from believe in a hell?”
Aello froze in place with her back towards the Lieutenant. The word “hell” brought back a flash of memories. A cold cell in a strange world filled to the absolute brim with misery. Inside this dark world a familiar looking girl named Amelia found herself. Aello’s headache worsened. White splotches assaulted her vision and wiped away the memories. Amelia’s name went the way of the wind and Aello could no longer grasp it. She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand.
“Well, even if they don’t I can give you this bit of warning, think of it as friendly advice,” Boggs said, “being a prime you’re immortal, but don’t think that gives you free reign, there are laws for a reason, and should the need arise there is a place for primes that makes Dante’s Inferno look like a summer vacation, please do keep that in mind.”
“Tch,” Aello responded as she walked through the door, “don’t worry, I’m what you’d call a model citizen.”
“Well fuck,” she muttered.
No point in crying about it she figured. Aello stood and began to walk towards one of the few landmarks available to her. It was hard to judge distance in the sea of featureless white. What had appeared to be a quick hop and a skip turned into a two hour hike. Not that she minded the distance, it gave her plenty of time to collect her thoughts. As she approached the gate of her choice she became aware of a few armored guards. Their shock-white armor blended in with the ivory background. They carried a brand of energy rifle that was foreign to the girl.
“Uh, where am I?” she asked one of the guards.
The soldiers shared a glance amongst themselves before one of them stepped forward and addressed her. His helmet added a robotic intonation to his words.
“Are you a prime?”
She scrunched her face and responded, “the hell’s a prime?”
Again the retinue of soldiers shared looks. Aello felt a twinge of danger in the air, perhaps it was paranoia -- perhaps not. She felt the urge to cut and run to another gate, but she didn’t feel like getting shot in the back.
“Did Omni greet you when you first arrived here?” the soldier’s distorted voice asked.
“Yeah,” she responded, “at least, I think?”
There was a moment of silence before the soldier spoke again, “please come with me.”
Aello’s danger radar was going off the charts. Instinctively the joints in her robotic arm whirred to life and she raised the limb across her chest. The soldier stepped forward and grabbed the wrist of her real arm and tugged. Her entire body tensed up and a gallon of adrenaline was dumped into her veins. She stepped back and pulled back.
“Get off me motherfucker,” she shouted and swung.
A vicious and hollow thwack echoed across the barren landscape. While her prosthetic appendage had not been designed for direct combat it still proved to be a formidable weapon. Bits of a white plastoid composite were sent splintering off from the trooper’s mask. She had scored a solid hit, but the soldier merely stumbled for a bit before regaining his poise. In response the trooper pulled the butt of his rifle back and slammed it into Aello’s gut. Such a sudden impact forced her over and she began to retch violently. Rifles were leveled at the fresh arrival and radio chatter filled the air.
“Stay down!” the soldiers commanded.
“Bite me,” she shouted back.
Aello raised her head and found herself staring down several barrels. Her hand reached for her pistol, but found nothing but disappointment. The trooper she had struck adjusted his helmet and fell in line with his brethren. A stranger, wearing an impeccably clean uniform stepped through the gate. A layer of baby fat gave his face a warm and friendly visage. Despite his soft face he moved with a kind of precision found only in a military man. Aello locked eyes with the stranger and he offered a courteous smile.
“Gentlemen,” he spoke, addressing the troopers, “lower your weapons, this is not how we do things.”
“Who are you?” Aello asked, adding as much scorn to the word “you” as she could.
“Me?” he responded, “why I’m just a concerned friend, you must be terribly confused, and rightfully so.”
The officer made his way to the downed woman. His polished boots slapped against the ivory white floors. He removed his glove and offered her a hand.
“Welcome to the Omniverse, I’m Lieutenant Boggs,” he said, once again offering his cheery smile.
Aello scowled, swatted away his hand, and said, “the fuck you think I got legs for?”
“Sorry, I meant no offense,” Boggs said and retracted his hand.
Aello climbed to her feet, wincing as her bruised stomach cried out. Again she had the powerful urge to turn tail and run, but just where in the hell would she go?
“What do you want?” Aello asked.
Boggs replied, “nothing, but a moment of your time, miss…?”
“Aello, just call me Aello,” she said.
“Aello it is, let’s go somewhere a bit more conducive to a conversation,” he stepped aside and motioned her towards the gate.
She bit the inside of her cheek and huffed, but began to walk towards the gate. Boggs followed shortly behind, stopped only to regard the battered stormtrooper. In response the trooper seemed to stand up straighter. A more than stern talking to was coming once the Lieutenant was done entertaining.
As she passed through the Coruscant gate she half expected to be vaporized instantly or that someone would be waiting to throw a bag over her head. Instead she was greeted by a checkpoint so fortified that would make even the most hardened Space Vaults blush. Static turret emplacements lined the checkpoint’s walls, giving it the appearance of a dragon’s mouth. Squads of stormtroopers stood sentinel as well as a handful of massive warriors that she would come to know as Space Marines. Lieutenant Boggs led her through a series of security gates, each one more secure than the last. Invisible scanners combed her for hidden guns or other more exotic armaments. Eventually they reached the interior atrium and Boggs led them down a corridor titled “NEW ARRIVALS”. They came to a rest inside a small office that appeared to be the Lieutenant’s personal quarters. He offered Aello a seat and took the one at the other end of his desk.
“Well,” he said, exhaling and resting his elbows on the table, “I’m sure you have more than a thousand questions, and I’d be happy to answer them as best I can.”
“Okay then, what the hell is this place?” she asked, “where did you take me to?”
“Well, that depends on how specific you want to get,” he said and pointed to map of the Omniverse that hung on his wall, “as you could probably surmise this place isn’t your home, we’re in the Omniverse, I’ll leave the speculation up to the scientists and philosophers, but here are the facts…”
Boggs went on to explain each of the eight main verses and the general geography of the Omniverse. He ended the exposition with his description of Coruscant.
“Coruscant is split into seven tiers, each of them with their own personality so to speak, you’re on tier one currently, with tiers two through seven below you,” he said, “this’ll probably be the most comfortable verse for you, we try to keep things as modern and habitable as we can.”
“Who is ’we’?” she asked.
Boggs once again flashed his characteristic grin, “we’re the Empire, Aello, the ‘good guys’ so to speak, when the Omniverse was first created, our Emperor, Palpatine, was one of the first primes summoned here, along with Aragorn, the current king of Camelot, our Emperor envisioned a united Omniverse, a utopia under one banner where men and women of all backgrounds could live in perfect harmony. Aragorn, the arrogant man that he is, was simply too myopic to see the greater good and formed his own faction to act as a thorn in the Empire’s side, but that is all they are Aello, just a thorn, nothing more.”
“So what do you want from me?” she asked.
“I’m not going to twist your arm and offer you an ultimatum Aello,” Boggs said, passing a business card to her, “you’re free to explore the city and indulge in all it has to offer, all I’m offering is a job that not only pays well, but also offers a sense of accomplishment that you can’t get anywhere else.”
She turned the card over in her hand before shoving into her pocket. Aello pushed back her chair and stood. Boggs shuffled around some papers on his desk.
“Think on it,” he said, “my door is always open.”
Aello said nothing and turned for the door. A jackhammer was set to full bore against her skull and she was tired of listening to this guy talk. She needed a drink, not a lecture. As she approached the threshold of the Lieutenant’s office Boggs spoke up.
“One more thing,” he said, his voice adopting a serious tone, “do the people where you come from believe in a hell?”
Aello froze in place with her back towards the Lieutenant. The word “hell” brought back a flash of memories. A cold cell in a strange world filled to the absolute brim with misery. Inside this dark world a familiar looking girl named Amelia found herself. Aello’s headache worsened. White splotches assaulted her vision and wiped away the memories. Amelia’s name went the way of the wind and Aello could no longer grasp it. She rubbed her forehead with the heel of her hand.
“Well, even if they don’t I can give you this bit of warning, think of it as friendly advice,” Boggs said, “being a prime you’re immortal, but don’t think that gives you free reign, there are laws for a reason, and should the need arise there is a place for primes that makes Dante’s Inferno look like a summer vacation, please do keep that in mind.”
“Tch,” Aello responded as she walked through the door, “don’t worry, I’m what you’d call a model citizen.”