What Is the City But the People

[Athena Myaló]

This was your objective, wasn't it? Athena thought silently. She still hadn't entirely processed all that had just happened. The robot had a blade that could manipulate ice? She was no weapons specialist, but she hoped she could get a closer look at that later. She supposed that if a machine in her world could weave an impenetrable shield out of nothing but invisible energy, then an ice sword wasn't too far-fetched. Still, whatever properties it held were sufficiently alien to her that the weapon demanded examination.

At the same time, she wondered at the human-like qualities of her new-found ally. Depending on the level of technological sophistication, robots could be mindless tools or practically sentient beings. Athena wasn't sure where this one landed on the spectrum, but it (he, presumably, given the voice) at least appeared to have some range of basic emotion (strong emotion, even). On the other hand, he apparently was incapable of resolving ethical issues (or, at least, hesitant to do so). Well, at any rate, the decision fell on her shoulders.

Athena stared down at the squirming yellow caterpillars. Rather repulsive creatures, she decided, not that it had any bearing on the situation. So she could determine their fates. She knew that a certain comrade of hers would kill them just for the convenience of it (or the pleasure, depending on what mood he was in), but all things considered, Athena would rather try to be more like Delta or Nitrogen than Abstract. She would have to formulate a plan to maximize everyone's well-being while preferably expelling the creatures from the establishment. She thought for a moment, running possibilities through her head, and then chose one. It was a little complicated, perhaps, compared to just taking all their insectile lives, but she was satisfied with it.

She slid the God Sword off her back, holding the cumbersome weapon in her left hand while keeping her gun in her right. She approached the pile of rocks that had buried the creatures. The larva that had spoken trembled in fear as she walked up to it and lifted the sword... but it breathed a sigh of relief as she used the large blade to pry up the boulder. It quickly scurried out of the way - but froze again as she trained her gun on it with a cold stare.

"Here's what we're going to do," began Athena. "You - " she jabbed her gun towards the released creature - "will guide us to the exit - both myself and the robot." I'll have to find out what his name is, as well. "From there, one of the two of us will remain there to make sure you don't come back. The other will bring the rest of your friends individually until the library is empty of you entirely." She took a step so she could see the pile of boulders as well as her gun's target. "If any of you do anything other than what is expected of you, we will not hesitate to take all of your lives. That includes ever returning to the building. Agreed?" The larvae shivered almost in unison and nodded their heads fiercely. They believed her, whether she was telling the truth or not.

Actually, her speech had been a partial truth. The only disparity between her words and reality was that she didn't expect to remain in the library - or even in Coruscant - long enough to be recruited as a permanent employee for this sort of work, in case they did return. But that was a trivial detail. Her job (or, the robot's, which she had somehow gotten involved in) was to remove the infestation, and she would do that. The intruders knew the plan, and they would comply.

Athena directed her next words towards her ally, altering the tone to sound less harsh, although her gaze remained on her hostage. "You may want to bring one with you, too, in the interest of time. One captive per person should be easily manageable."