Family of Steel [Exemplary]

[Proto Man]

The interior of the Community Center was an improvement over the exterior, yet it was still all too obvious that the place ranked very low on the imperial budget. After passing through a relatively advanced security checkpoint, Proto Man was ushered into a very large common room. From a first glance, it appeared that there had once been separate rooms, but the walls had been knocked down to form a larger area. Ten feet above his head, Proto Man spotted a spacious, wrap-around balcony that looked slightly newer than its surroundings. Decorated with old carpet and wallpaper that could do little to hide its age, the room’s most common pair of furniture was the table and chair. Many tables had chess or checkers boards atop them, while others were occupied by people sharing a meal or gossipping over a hot beverage in steel cups.

A few of the inhabitants turned to check out the new kid, but most continued doing whatever it was they were up to, either oblivious or apathetic toward another face in the large, house-sized room. Seeing none of the DLN-Series in either the common room or the balcony above, Proto Man made his way toward the far wall. His olfactory system was indicating that strong, almost pungent smells were wafting through the east door, which meant it probably housed the cafeteria.

Through the far door, Proto Man found himself in a much smaller room. Decorated only with some signage and a light fixture, this chamber contained three doors and a set of elevators. Seeing that the elevators led to small apartments on the floors above, the android bypassed them and a locked door as his way into ‘Connecting Hallway A.’ As the door clicked shut behind him, he found himself walking down a thin, poorly illuminated hallway, which stretched for about ten feet before sharply turning to the right. On one side of the hall he spotted a few assorted closets, probably for custodial storage.

The other wall of the corridor contained the remnants of former windows. Based on the cracks in the mortar, it seemed like the former openings had been bricked over a few years ago. Given the lack of visible repairs, the android imagined that the outer wall was probably covered in something a little sturdier than clay bricks. Turning from the walls, the preteen machine spotted a door that led out of the hall.

Before Proto Man could work the handle, the entire building shuddered as something outside detonated. A few seconds later the explosion was following by the chorus of various energy-based guns. Despite the suddenness of everything, the gunfire faded away after ten seconds and once again, silence fell over the hallway.

There had been no alarms, no automated message, no indicator that something abnormal was going on. Were these exchanges so frequent that they were just scenery for the inhabitants of the Community Center? Proto Man frowned as he mulled over just how miserable it must be for people down here in the ghetto of Coruscant.

Passing through the door left the android in some sort of reception area. A few yards in front of him, a bunch of raggedy chairs and sofas were arranged, with a stack of worn magazines on an endtable. A huge desk shielded by glass and steel bars stood to his left.

A doctor’s office of some sort? A few of the waiting area seats were occupied by haggard-looking people. As he glanced their way, someone excused herself as she slipped around Proto Man. The android looked at the woman and saw that she was carrying a bag full of tinned meat in one hand and a wrapped loaf of bread in the other. Moving his eyes from the woman, he took a moment to read a large sign that extolled the virtues of sharing rations with fellow community members.

Seeing that he was in some sort of ration distribution center, Proto Man made his way over to the clear pane that separated the person behind the desk from the rest of the room. As there was no one on the other side, the android turned to the people sitting in the chairs. “Is there no one running this place?”

Before the middle-aged man could answer, there was another exchange of high-grade munitions somewhere outside the Community Center. This time, Proto Man swore he heard someone let out a shriek amidst the cacophony of automated fire. Once the firing died down, the older man shook his head and looked back at the boy in the strange outfit. “The attendant had to go retrieve something after helping that last woman. She said she’d be back ‘lickety split’...” a grunt escaped his stubble-coated mouth as he shifted his weight around in the chair. “This is what they get for putting a child in charge of this stuff.”

“I assure you that I was designed specifically for tasks like this, Mr. O’Hale.”

That voice! With a gulp, Proto Man slowly turned and watched as a preteen-sized girl popped into view, aided up to adult level by a hidden stepladder. Although her initial attention was focused on the surly man waiting for his rations, she soon caught sight of the android from her peripherals. If the red dress and blonde ponytail hadn’t already given away her identity, surely those deep blue eyes would have. The girl’s mouth twisted up as she stared down from the desk at Proto Man.

“Do I know you?” She asked bluntly as she pulled herself up onto the desk itself and scooched over to get a clearer look at the helmeted, scarf-clad preteen.

“Maybe,” Proto Man said as he reached up and removed his helmet and set it on the ground before him. With another motion, he raised his sunglasses for a fleeting second, just long enough to prove a point that would have been so much harder with words alone.

The effect was instant as a gasp escaped Roll. “...It’s you!”