09-06-2013, 11:43 AM
Coruscant. A city of incredible beauty. As Samus gazed from the window of the transport, she felt herself quiver a little bit. Who would design such an intricate, uniquely beautiful city merely to trick a captive? Who would go to such lengths, get all of these actors, or design these artificial intelligences, to play so many parts … Who would do it for her benefit alone? It was beyond unlikely. Whatever this was … Wherever she was … It was probably real.
The power suited woman sunk into her seat. She was in another world. Returning to her own world would be highly difficult; maybe even impossible. Samus was not a woman of many friends. She had no family. But she had friends nonetheless, and considered them to be important to her. Could she summon them here? Maybe. But if she could, and did, then it would mean doing to them what Omni egg had done to her. She knew she could not. She knew. She was alone.
She sat through the rest of the flight in silence, until they arrived at their destination. They disembarked. The tower ahead of them was truly gigantic; Samus had not been able to see it from the windows of the transport, but now she could clearly see that it was the epicentre of the city. Outwards from it, rows of great streets stretched like the web of a spider god.
A robot stepped towards her and introduced itself as CR-529, while the Judge showed himself off. Beside her, the samurai and the small, cyborg-looking boy were being greeted by their own robot retainers. Samus felt compelled to talk with them, to treasure that connection, no matter how brief or coincidental, that they’d had. Who knew, this might be the last time they ever saw each other. But before she could find the words and muster the strength to reach out of her shell, they were gone and she was alone.
Perhaps not quite. The robot called out to her. “Miss … ah … mister?”
“Miss, Aran.” Samus nodded, the ghost of a smile on her features. She looked up and down the robot. Orange-plated like her; they’d obviously made some effort. Its face had little room for expression, only a set of simple circular eyes and a mouth that only moved to indicate that it was speaking. Mass-produced, no doubt. “Are you fully sentient?” she asked.
“No,” buzzed CR-529. “I have a limited artificial intelligence, but I am not what you would call ‘life’.”
She took the machine’s word for it. “What’s your name again?”
“CR-529.”
“CR-529. Very well. I’d like to see the city, Five-Two-Nine. Just a little bit.”
“As you say, my lady.”
Samus flinched. “Don’t call me that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright!” Samus sighed. “I don’t suppose I can summon my own spaceship here, can I?”
The machine whirred for a second. “Yes. Within the verse of Coruscant, it is possible to summon flying vehicles. However, space flight is not a possibility. There is no ‘space’.”
Samus concentrated. She could feel the idea of her ship, the contours and the cockpit. She could feel the different components of the machine; its weapons systems, especially, costed far beyond the omnilium she had within her. She could summon it without those, but it would take time, and she was feeling impatient and ill-focused.
“Just call a cab,” she said.
“As you say, Miss Aran.”
The power suited woman sunk into her seat. She was in another world. Returning to her own world would be highly difficult; maybe even impossible. Samus was not a woman of many friends. She had no family. But she had friends nonetheless, and considered them to be important to her. Could she summon them here? Maybe. But if she could, and did, then it would mean doing to them what Omni egg had done to her. She knew she could not. She knew. She was alone.
She sat through the rest of the flight in silence, until they arrived at their destination. They disembarked. The tower ahead of them was truly gigantic; Samus had not been able to see it from the windows of the transport, but now she could clearly see that it was the epicentre of the city. Outwards from it, rows of great streets stretched like the web of a spider god.
A robot stepped towards her and introduced itself as CR-529, while the Judge showed himself off. Beside her, the samurai and the small, cyborg-looking boy were being greeted by their own robot retainers. Samus felt compelled to talk with them, to treasure that connection, no matter how brief or coincidental, that they’d had. Who knew, this might be the last time they ever saw each other. But before she could find the words and muster the strength to reach out of her shell, they were gone and she was alone.
Perhaps not quite. The robot called out to her. “Miss … ah … mister?”
“Miss, Aran.” Samus nodded, the ghost of a smile on her features. She looked up and down the robot. Orange-plated like her; they’d obviously made some effort. Its face had little room for expression, only a set of simple circular eyes and a mouth that only moved to indicate that it was speaking. Mass-produced, no doubt. “Are you fully sentient?” she asked.
“No,” buzzed CR-529. “I have a limited artificial intelligence, but I am not what you would call ‘life’.”
She took the machine’s word for it. “What’s your name again?”
“CR-529.”
“CR-529. Very well. I’d like to see the city, Five-Two-Nine. Just a little bit.”
“As you say, my lady.”
Samus flinched. “Don’t call me that.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright!” Samus sighed. “I don’t suppose I can summon my own spaceship here, can I?”
The machine whirred for a second. “Yes. Within the verse of Coruscant, it is possible to summon flying vehicles. However, space flight is not a possibility. There is no ‘space’.”
Samus concentrated. She could feel the idea of her ship, the contours and the cockpit. She could feel the different components of the machine; its weapons systems, especially, costed far beyond the omnilium she had within her. She could summon it without those, but it would take time, and she was feeling impatient and ill-focused.
“Just call a cab,” she said.
“As you say, Miss Aran.”
![[Image: 0bwAI3j.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0bwAI3j.jpg)