"....Im' searchin for the memories of a love that's dead and gone. Tonight I sit at home, diggin up bones." Randy Travis, old earth musician, circa 2000 A.D.
The flight had been a long, dangerous one. All throughout the journey into Pleasant Meadows, the funa and even the flura threatened to swollow the tiny sparrow whole. Greywolves, poison spitters, night howlers all lay in waiting. And Justice Steele, or at least the mind that still was Justice Steele, did not yet have the "feel" for this land. Not like in Nacsance, not at all. Steele had an instinct for that land. He could sense creatures and dangers in advance enough to prepare for it. It would come though, in time.
Just outside the gates of Omni-1, the sparrow landed cautiously in the forrest. He then took a moment to collect himself for what was to happen next. Justice hated this part, executing the command that would send billions of nanobots racing at light speed to suddenly shift his molecular structure back to that of a solitus. It wasn't so much painful as it was disorienting. The nausia was comparable to the feeling of turning off the inertia dampener in a yalm and pulling about 6 G's. This too would be something that would take some getting used to.
Justice, the solitus, crouched low behind a tree. The next leg of his trip would be difficult to say the least. Sneaking inside of omni entertainment and to his destination without be shot on sight by the heavily armed gaurds that stood post. He no longer had his yalm, that was stripped from him along with his Keeperhood. Difficult indeed.....for a human anyway
The Curse Walker prepared himself as he sent out a similar command as before. Only this time he took shape as a minescule leet. Steadying himself as the whirlwind of illuminated nanobots rushed away and faded, the tiny rodent took a moment to regain its bearings. Justice, the leet, ran off towards the slums of the north.
Once inside the city, a strange rush of...."knowledge" hit him. It struck him like a tidal wave of sights, sounds, and smells. Yet for all it's magnitude it still left him dry of any true hint if what he was looking for. He remembered, for instance, where the gaurds would be posted, how many their were, and even the weaponry they would be carrying. It was as clear to him in his mind as if he saw it yesterday. Also the memory of some man in the slums. And still he was there. Today we was appearantly making a secretive transaction with some young thug, then telling him "run, fixer, run". But for the life of him, he could not remember how or when he had come to here those same words.
Street navigation also came without thought. His tiny leet paws seemed to remember where he was heading without giving them any conscious direction.
And then as the rodent turned the corner, it heard something so very familiar to its very soul. The rythum of some music filling the air of the street. It followed the source to what it knew would lead him to a bar. Into a corner, out of sight the leet scurried.
Another rush of glowing nanocloud and again the solitus Justice stood, leaning his back into the corner a moment to let the sensation pass. He tugged his black trenchcoat around him and buttoned it up so as to conceal the shoulder holsters he wore. Not attracting attention to himself might mean the difference between life and death from this point on.
He walked the final few feet towards the door, passing a flashing neon light. His mind knew it would say "The Roompa Room", yet his eyes were to frightened to look upon it. One deep breath of composure before opening the door......
He felt her suddenly. Felt her memory in the center of his essence. But still he could not see her in his mind's eye. He pressed on toward the bar, walking mindlessly as fragments and ghost of the past flew teasingly through his mind. All of it was to abrupt or out of context to make sense of. His eyes fell on the bar tender and Justice knew he had spoken to the fellow many times in the past. At least, he thought he knew. Certainly the man didn't seem to recall him.
A quick glance to his left to the booths he knew would be there. The odd shapped lamps he knew would be sitting upon them. He felt more than he actually saw the eyes of three Omni-Pol officers upon him. But Justice continued on, acting as non-chalant as possible. It was at least practice, if not in policy, that this bar was a sort of neutral territory. So long as he gave the officers no reason to question him, he would not be bothered.
The force that pulled him to this bar for no appearent purpose suddently came upon him again. It drew him to a booth further back like a siren's call. But this flood of the past conflicting with the present, conflicting further with any sort of coherency was too much too suddemly. As soon as he reached the table, his legs gave out, collapsing him into the seat there.
They sat here before. Justice, or who Justice used to be, and the ghost. A fleeting memory of passion that faded away as suddenly as it came. The pain of loss melded with the pleasure of that moment in time. Waves of saddness flooded him, threatened to pull him under and take his life in that very spot.
"Anything to drink, Sir?", The uniformed omni female said with a smile. She seemed not to care that he was a "dirty clanner"
"I....I have not yet embibed alcohol.....but I am told it has the power to numb one's feelings" Justice struggled to make a coherent sentance push out past the chaos in his mind
"Aye, that it can, my friend. I got just the thing" she said, faking a smile as best she could. Before turning to walk away, she gave him a quick, consolitory pat on the shoulder.
If it was not possible to remember who she was right now, at least he could forget all the things about her, maybe for a little while. A single tear rolled down his cheeck, the first one he could remember since Rebirth. And in an odd way, he mused to himself, it felt good to be human again
