Robotropolis airspace

[Shazbot]

((Still not 100% sure I know what's going on, but here goes...))

The shuttle was purring like a kitten beneath Shazbot's smooth touch. As a kid, he never had much interest in vehicle maintenance. It's funny how quickly your interests can shift when your head is hooked up to the internet while you sleep. In hindsight, that might've been a really dumb idea, but the benefits seemed to outweigh the side effects. In any case, he was able to tune up the shuttle mid-flight, and with his unusual emerald as a power source he shouldn't need to stop and refuel for another... hundred-thousand miles or so.

He fiddled with the radio, but no matter what he did he couldn't get anyone to respond to his hails. Whenever he heard a voice, it was distorted, as though the signals were getting crossed. He knew the source of the transmissions wasn't far ahead, but he still had no idea what to expect. Perhaps the world was inhabited by a highly intelligent race of plant people? Or perhaps wandering tribes of nomadic scavengers etching out a living in a nuclear wasteland? Or maybe, the entire world was comprised of nothing but monkeys?

"...Eh. Like THAT could happen."

The radio chatter was also sounding kinda... hectic. Like, there was something big going down, and maybe he shouldn't get involved? Before he could change his mind, however, he spotted a city skyline on the horizon, with misty black clouds shrouding the tower tops in charcoal gloom. Dispersed throughout the airspace were a variety of airships in all shapes and sizes, most notably an enormous, arrowhead-shaped craft was casting a very dark shadow on the city below."Well, that certainly looks... homely. Maybe I should come back in spring, when they've stopped burning so much coal in their ovens-" Suddenly his radio let out a terrible "SCREEECH!" Then a voice, still slightly distorted and with a horrible metallic echo, issued forth from his speakers.

UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL. YOUR TRANSPONDER DOES NOT APPEAR IN OUR REGISTRY. THIS IS A RESTRICTED ZONE. TURN AROUND AND LEAVE THIS AIRSPACE AT ONCE. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL RESULT IN YOUR IMMEDIATE TERMINATION.

Well, at least they speak English. Time to make myself scarce... WAH! I'M GOING! I'M GOING! CHILL OUT! GEEZ!

Before he could even bank a turn, anti-aircraft guns and flak began peppering his hull. The metallic voice spoke again; YOU HAVE FAILED TO HEED OUR WARNING. PREPARE TO BE TERMINATED. HAVE A ROTTEN DAY. Shaz strained as he pulled on the control stick in an attempt to gain altitude. Are you kidding me? You guys must REALLY hate guests! Alarms on his console blared as the damage to the shuttle's hull started to reach critical levels. Once again, the voice piped up on the radio. "TIME FOR THE DAILY HOROSCOPE. ORGANICS SHOULD AVOID FLYING AND PROJECTILES TODAY. MACHINES ARE ORDERED TO BROADCAST TEN 'HAIL ROBOTNIKS' BEFORE EVERY RECHARGE CYCLE FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY. TODAY'S UNLUCKY NUMBER IS... 3. HAVE A ROTTEN DAY."

Of course Shaz was barely listening as he finally entered the thick blanket of smog that covered the city. The "ping"s and "bang"s off his shuttle became less frequent, until they stopped altogether. Then he broke through the clouds, and the sun blinded him for an instant as he turned the craft about, trying to determine the fastest course to "the heck outta dodge." As he sat there thinking, something kept nagging the back of his mind. What was it that transmission said? He could almost swear he heard a name, but it didn't make any sense. Maybe it just sounded REALLY similar to the name he was thinking of? In any case, he wondered what a robot needed lucky numbers for... or were they unlucky numbers? Aw well, who cares? They're a load of bull either way.

Just then another alarm shook him from his reverie, and he looked at his radar to find... three sidewinder missiles making a beeline for his location. OH SHI- He slammed down the accelerator, but the damage from earlier had taken its toll, and the ship groaned as it tried to reach maximum speed. He tapped the chaff button as fast as he could, but the missiles were already on top of him, and the resulting explosion shook Shaz in his harness and caused him to black out for a moment. When he came to, the shuttle was barreling through the clouds, the flight-unit too damaged to keep them airborne. Desperately he grabbed the radio and shouted MAYDAY! MAYDAY! SHUTTLE DOWN! I'VE BEEN SHOT! LOOK OUT BELOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWW!!!!!"

[To Egg Hangar]