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Eggman's Flagship

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Chapter 8
Eggman’s Flagship

Shadow walks down the corridors of Eggman’s flagship escorted by two Egg Pawns.  As they passed each hatch and window and hallway, he would look to see what was there.  He was doing it out of instinct…he was planning ahead.  He thinks to himself how he was clearly walking into a situation which put him at a disadvantage, but despite that he knows that this is the only option left for him so continues despite his better judgement.

“Remain here with the guest.  I shall inform master of his arrival,” the Egg Pawn on the left said as it turned its head.

“Affirmative,” the second pawn coldly replied remaining completely still.  All the while, Shadow continues looking around and planning for what he expects to be a trap.

A short time later the first pawn returns.  “Master will now see you,” the pawn stated in that uniquely digitized voice.  Shadow walked through the large door and onto the bridge of the flagship.  Being the flagship, it was a most grandiose bridge compared to the very small bridges of the other ships Shadow had…boarded…in the past.  Consoles shown all around and little indicator lights blinked as doors opened and closed or teleporters were activated or when life-support systems activated.  

Eggman, being the thrifty emperor, designed his ships to only activate life-support in compartments where life-forms were present.  Since Shadow and Eggman were the only two lifeforms currently aboard the flagship, the bridge was currently the only compartment with life-support.  This system made security much simpler since in an emergency situation the system could be set to only react to a particular life-sign…usually Eggman’s.

“Why hello, Shadow,” Eggman greeted as he turned his chair to face Shadow.  “I’m glad to see you made it to the bridge without incident.  I’m afraid that we’ve been experiencing some difficulties with the life-support system.  It has a nasty habit of not detecting life-signs other than my own.  I lost my only human mechanic onboard while on the way to the ARK.”

“I’m sure you are really upset…” Shadow paused, “…Emperor.  I’m surprised you even have human mechanics.  I would have thought you would simply use robots for everything.”

“Ah, they are a bit easier to get along with, but sometimes you need a human’s imagination for certain situations.  Of course, I’m working on incorporating that into the next generation of Egg Pawns.  Needs a little more time in R&D.”

“Really?” Shadow scoffed, “What do you plan to do with the residents of Earth since you’ll no longer need them?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Eggman laughed, “They still will have a use.  What’s an empire without someone to rule over.  Robots are easy to command, but humans are far more enjoyable to crush their spirits.  Bwhahaha!”

Shadow looks around the bridge.  “This is a rather formidable looking vessel, Emperor.  Is it capable of deep space travel?”

“Not yet.  Again, it’s still in R&D.  Hopefully I’ll soon be able to extend my empire beyond this single planet.”

Shadow notices a console which has the words “Dimensional Navigation” across the top with data pouring across the bottom.  “Dimensional navigation?  What is that, Emperor?” Shadow genuinely inquired.

“Oh, that’s…just a new form of navigation,” Eggman stuttered.  “Yeah, it uses sensor input that extends beyond normal space.  It’s quite theoretical at this point.  We’re currently in an experimental phase.”

“Interesting…” Shadow mussed.  He knew that Eggman wasn’t telling him everything, but he didn’t want to push his luck either.  “Well, I hope that it works out for you, Emperor.”

“Thank you, Shadow,” Eggman smiled.  “I guess it’s time that I gave you the grand tour of the ship.”

“I’d be honored, Emperor.”

Eggman and Shadow walked through the door of the bridge and towards an elevator at the end of the corridor.  They entered and the doors shut behind them.  “Crew quarters!” Eggman spoke to the computer and the elevator smoothly began moving down the shaft.

“Crew quarters?” Shadow asked with a puzzled look.  “I thought you and your engineer were the only two lifeforms aboard?  Why would you have an entire deck designated as crew quarters?”

“It’s true that the crew is robotic and therefore don’t need quarters,” Eggman explained, “but I spare no expense for those few lifeforms aboard.”

The elevator door opened to a small lobby-like room.  There is a door on each of the three walls.  Eggman walks over to the door in the middle and it opens to show a massive suite themed in white and egg-shaped décor.  “This is of course the captain’s quarters.  I spend much of my time here when aboard since I am rarely actually needed on the bridge.”

Shadow just stood staring.  This massive collection of rooms made the quarters aboard the ARK look like the bunks of a submarine.  There were possibly ten or more rooms in the suite and each of them was at least the size of the observation deck of the ARK.

“I should show you the former engineer’s quarters.”

They stepped out and went to the door on the right which opened to reveal a similarly sized suite.  But rather than the tacky white, egg décor of Eggman’s quarters, this suite was decorated with human art from before the Empire took control.  Along with these pieces of art, there were pictures of a family…presumably that of the deceased engineer.

“I’m afraid that we haven’t been able to inform his family of his passing yet,” Eggman said with obviously exaggerated sadness.  “We won’t be within radio distance for another few hours.”

Shadow looked in horror at the residence of a man who hasn’t been dead for even a full day.  His thoughts went back to when Maria had been shot and how alone he felt…how angry.  He now knew that he had to do something…if only for the family of that engineer.

“And last, but definitely not least, I’ll be showing you to YOUR quarters,” Eggman grinned.

“M-my quarters?” Shadow stuttered confused.

“If you’re going to be my second in command, you are going to need quarters,” Eggman laughed.

The door opened to reveal a suite decorated in black and dark red.  Around the suite were different images of Maria and Gerald.  In one corner of the suite was an image which Eggman fabricated.  It was a picture of Gerald, Maria, Eggman, and Shadow which made it almost look like they were a family.  Shadow froze in his tracks as he looked around the suite.  It was very tempting to accept the offer just so that he could stay here with the images of Maria and Gerald…the family he lost all those years ago…

“I guess I should show you the engine room now,” Eggman said as he turned for the elevator.  The door opened and Eggman stepped in and turned around.  “Are you coming, Shadow?”

“Y-yes…”

The elevator doors shut behind Shadow and the elevator starts moving back up the shaft towards the engine room.  The door opens to reveal the large engine room.  Shadow felt a slight chill as the air in the elevator rushed into the engine room.

“Brrr,” Eggman muttered as he wraps his arm around himself, “it seems the life-support was delayed in starting up in the engine room.  I’ll have to get a pawn to look into that.”

Shadow and Eggman step into the giant engine room with a massive reactor in the center which runs from three decks down to two decks up.  It is connected to the main engineering department by three walkways spaced equally around the reactor.  The reactor sets in a hole that is about ten feet larger than the reactor.  The main core of the reactor is visible through an energy shield which prevents the reaction from extending beyond the reactor.

“So, this is the reactor for the ship?” Shadow asked rhetorically.

“Yes, this powers the whole ship and all of its…unique…abilities,” Eggman boasts.

Shadow notices that the reactor seems excessively large for a simple spaceship that does little more than fly in orbit.  He also happens to notice seven slots around the reactor that occupied by crystalline objects.  If he didn’t know any better…he’d say that they were Chaos Emeralds!

“So,” Shadow decided it was time to find out more about the Emperor, “Emperor…how did you do it?  How did you finally defeat Sonic and create the Eggman Empire?”

“Bwahaha!” Eggman laughed, “I was hoping you would ask…”
A slight change of plans. I was going to go into the Emperor's story, but I decided instead to give a small tour of the flagship.

Next...Emperor Eggman's Story: Part I
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