05-03-2016, 07:24 AM
(This post was last modified: 05-03-2016, 07:27 AM by Hiro Protagonist.)
The transportation from the Nexus was sudden and lurching. The hacker felt a deep and wrenching yank deep within his gut, and his view twisted and wobbled as he hurtled through the otherworldly portal. It spat him out after a few seconds with a bit of force, enough for him to have to land on one knee. At least his entrance was stylish. He rose to his feet and just stood there, blown away. It was glorious.
Spiraling glass towers scraped the blue horizon, the streets made of some sort of pristine uniform material that did not suffer any marks. The sound of the city filtered into his ears even as he gazed upon the multitude of shops, restaurants, and greenery! Huge swaths of parks and trees!
Hiro's world had been one of conspicuous overconsumption, and as technology had advanced nature had been molested in sacrifice. Some of the devastation had been so bad that the remnants of the government had designated them "Sacrifice Zones", places whose clean up cost outweighed any further profit from them. But this was like an ideal vision of those technological pioneers. Incredibly advanced, enough to preserve and maintain nature. Any plants or trees back home had been sickly, damaged by pollution. This was truly something wonderful.
A commanding voice jolted him out of his reverie. "You the Prime that was just cleared to come through? Step over here, please."
A uniformed EPD officer put a strong and guiding hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. "Gotta get a few details and register you in the system."
The hacker nodded slowly, still a bit overwhelmed by the vision of his world's failed goal reaching fruition in front of him, walking over to a small, square building. Noticing his demeanor, the officer chuckled. "Really is something, huh? Not many Primes appreciate it, they just bluster through and start imposing their will. I guess achievement loses its luster when you got Omni-given powers like that."
They proceeded through a waist high entry gate, a few more armored troopers waiting inside. The atmosphere was definitely one of a corporate workplace. Hiro guessed this must be the first checkpoint for the local law enforcement, and responded, lifting up his techno lenses. "Yeah...It's amazing. Pretty much what the people of my world envisioned before they fucked it up...I have to imagine this is a great place to live for Secondaries, too....I did some reading before I came to this verse. Let me apologize on behalf of this one Prime, for everything you must deal with." He gave a respectful Nipponese bow, and straightened up, extending a hand.
"Hiro Protagonist, hacker, swordsman, and wet behind the ears."
The officer nodded to a man seated behind the desk, and he came out to stand next to them. Shaking Hiro's hand, his escort responded. "Overseer Jentral. And thank you, but you don't need to apologize. You haven't done anything....yet. We've got a few of the good Primes on the EPD. If you feel like serving the Empire and the people of Coruscant, I'll point you in the right direction after your registration. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back to monitoring the entry plaza." And with that, Jentral turned and left the hut, grabbing a cup of something brown and steaming hot as he exited.
Jentral's subordinate poked at a digital tablet, not looking up as he lofted a few questions at Hiro. "So...full name, Hiro Protagonist, got it. Occupation/specializations, systems penetration, and martial arts...anything else? I'll need a statement as to your abilities, and a visual inspection of your weapons. Then, a DNA sample and fingerprint, and you're good to go."
That was it? That was pretty lax, especially compared to the requirements for citizenship in Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong back home. "Alright...um. I'm actually not sure as to what else...are you saying people get extra abilities when they arrive in the Omniverse? Cuz right now the extent of my abilities is computer systems and this sword."
He presented his weapon, and the aide scanned it with the tablet, a green light shining over the entire length of it. "Alright, good. Simple. And non-reactive. If this had been some sort of fancy shmancy explosive or firearm or laser or whatever, we would have to restrict it's use. Just be smart about where you take it out, and for Omni's sake don't even think about using it on one of our troops or a citizen." Hiro rolled his eyes at that. "I've also listed you as cooperative, so that's a plus." The aide smiled, a bit unsettlingly. "And that's the DNA sample and fingerprints as well. Have an enjoyable stay, Mr. Protagonist."
The man waved Hiro off, handing back his sword. The hacker ronin left the building and stepped out into the entry plaza once more, his lenses now tuned to full scan mode. They tagged and extrapolated, numerous locations being labeled as points of interest on a rapidly populating map. Making a few quick movements in the air with his hands, the swordsman started to clean up the list and itemized a few things, just as Officer Jentral walked up to him with a tired smile. "All registered? Wonderful. Now, if you were looking to help..."
With a nod of his head, Hiro answered. "Yep. I see it on the map. That seems like a good first stop to me, although I might check out some of your tech shops later." The lawman nodded, and sent him off with a final goodbye. Stepping into the flow of pedestrian traffic, Hiro disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the city.
Spiraling glass towers scraped the blue horizon, the streets made of some sort of pristine uniform material that did not suffer any marks. The sound of the city filtered into his ears even as he gazed upon the multitude of shops, restaurants, and greenery! Huge swaths of parks and trees!
Hiro's world had been one of conspicuous overconsumption, and as technology had advanced nature had been molested in sacrifice. Some of the devastation had been so bad that the remnants of the government had designated them "Sacrifice Zones", places whose clean up cost outweighed any further profit from them. But this was like an ideal vision of those technological pioneers. Incredibly advanced, enough to preserve and maintain nature. Any plants or trees back home had been sickly, damaged by pollution. This was truly something wonderful.
A commanding voice jolted him out of his reverie. "You the Prime that was just cleared to come through? Step over here, please."
A uniformed EPD officer put a strong and guiding hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle shake. "Gotta get a few details and register you in the system."
The hacker nodded slowly, still a bit overwhelmed by the vision of his world's failed goal reaching fruition in front of him, walking over to a small, square building. Noticing his demeanor, the officer chuckled. "Really is something, huh? Not many Primes appreciate it, they just bluster through and start imposing their will. I guess achievement loses its luster when you got Omni-given powers like that."
They proceeded through a waist high entry gate, a few more armored troopers waiting inside. The atmosphere was definitely one of a corporate workplace. Hiro guessed this must be the first checkpoint for the local law enforcement, and responded, lifting up his techno lenses. "Yeah...It's amazing. Pretty much what the people of my world envisioned before they fucked it up...I have to imagine this is a great place to live for Secondaries, too....I did some reading before I came to this verse. Let me apologize on behalf of this one Prime, for everything you must deal with." He gave a respectful Nipponese bow, and straightened up, extending a hand.
"Hiro Protagonist, hacker, swordsman, and wet behind the ears."
The officer nodded to a man seated behind the desk, and he came out to stand next to them. Shaking Hiro's hand, his escort responded. "Overseer Jentral. And thank you, but you don't need to apologize. You haven't done anything....yet. We've got a few of the good Primes on the EPD. If you feel like serving the Empire and the people of Coruscant, I'll point you in the right direction after your registration. Now if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back to monitoring the entry plaza." And with that, Jentral turned and left the hut, grabbing a cup of something brown and steaming hot as he exited.
Jentral's subordinate poked at a digital tablet, not looking up as he lofted a few questions at Hiro. "So...full name, Hiro Protagonist, got it. Occupation/specializations, systems penetration, and martial arts...anything else? I'll need a statement as to your abilities, and a visual inspection of your weapons. Then, a DNA sample and fingerprint, and you're good to go."
That was it? That was pretty lax, especially compared to the requirements for citizenship in Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong back home. "Alright...um. I'm actually not sure as to what else...are you saying people get extra abilities when they arrive in the Omniverse? Cuz right now the extent of my abilities is computer systems and this sword."
He presented his weapon, and the aide scanned it with the tablet, a green light shining over the entire length of it. "Alright, good. Simple. And non-reactive. If this had been some sort of fancy shmancy explosive or firearm or laser or whatever, we would have to restrict it's use. Just be smart about where you take it out, and for Omni's sake don't even think about using it on one of our troops or a citizen." Hiro rolled his eyes at that. "I've also listed you as cooperative, so that's a plus." The aide smiled, a bit unsettlingly. "And that's the DNA sample and fingerprints as well. Have an enjoyable stay, Mr. Protagonist."
The man waved Hiro off, handing back his sword. The hacker ronin left the building and stepped out into the entry plaza once more, his lenses now tuned to full scan mode. They tagged and extrapolated, numerous locations being labeled as points of interest on a rapidly populating map. Making a few quick movements in the air with his hands, the swordsman started to clean up the list and itemized a few things, just as Officer Jentral walked up to him with a tired smile. "All registered? Wonderful. Now, if you were looking to help..."
With a nod of his head, Hiro answered. "Yep. I see it on the map. That seems like a good first stop to me, although I might check out some of your tech shops later." The lawman nodded, and sent him off with a final goodbye. Stepping into the flow of pedestrian traffic, Hiro disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the city.
Quote:(Hand of the Empire quest progress: 954 words)
![[Image: MZSDl2O.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/MZSDl2O.jpg)