To Make an Omelet Chapter 1 (Revision 5)

“What is a good daughter supposed to look like?” Omletta often pondered this as she worked. She certainly resembled a good daughter in appearance. Spiky, fiery hair groomed to perfection. The cute golden tiara with the red jewel in the center. Her lavish dress and perfectly shined shoes. This did nothing to assure her of her competence. Surely, a good daughter wasn’t a failure. A good daughter wasn’t a disappointment. What did that make her?

She had been taking part in a war waged by her father, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, against the denizens of the Land of the Sky for a few years at this point. Omletta was charged with designing and producing most of the badnik robots. She modeled many of them from animals and insects; the first one, her personal favorite, was the moto-bug. It was a small creation modeled after a ladybug,which Omletta even had a little plastic model of on her desk.

As much as she loved it, the moto-bug was practically useless in combat and only served any real purpose in transporting goods like a pack mule. She found comfort in knowing it still had uses in logistics, even if it was pointless to use in a fight. She was full of other ideas for new war machines anyway.

Omletta sat alone in a control room, full of brightly flashing buttons, glowing holographic keyboards, computer monitors, and the odd toy or drawing scattered about. She watched one particular screen which displayed the point of view of her greatest invention yet.

She modeled it after her father’s arch nemesis. Blue paint. Sharp blades and spikes on the head that resembled hedgehog quills. Hydraulics and hidden wheels installed in the legs for rapid ground movement. A built in jetpack for aerial locomotion. An eye that allowed the robot to see and provide a video feed. Its best feature was its Chaos-powered battery, capable of siphoning energy directly from a Chaos Emerald to greatly increase its lethality.

The arch nemesis in question was a smirking hedgehog wearing bright red shoes and immaculate white gloves. Behind him nearly at all times, a smiling two-tailed mutant. A cute and fuzzy one, but a mutant nonetheless. Their names were Sonic and Tails respectively, although Omletta doubted if “Tails” was truly his name.

Sonic and Tails went up against this copycat in the Sky Sanctuary, a place where the Master Emerald resided before getting pilfered by Dr. Robotnik and used to power a war machine. In the ensuing battle, her creation didn’t fare too well. It received several devastating blows and showed signs of major damage. Large dents in the metallic plating, sparks of electricity spewing out from severed wires, and erratic movements.

The blue rodent and his cohort easily dodged past his copycat’s attacks, jumping over it when it dashed backwards and sidestepping its razor-sharp spindashes. Omletta smashed her fists on her desk, shouting angrily at the screen. Her latest, greatest creation couldn’t hit its targets even once, and it lacked the opportunity to utilize its Chaos siphoning abilities.

Sonic landed a final concussive blow to its head, knocking it down and rendering it inoperable. The video feed turned to static, but audio still came through. From the sound of it, the battleground beneath them crumbled and sent her creation and debris hurtling into the Land of Darkness below.

Omletta pressed a button next to a microphone. In a panic, she called out to her father. Dr. Robotnik picked up a moment later and inquired if Sonic was dead yet. She looked at a motion tracker nearby, indicating two interlopers had broken into their base, the newly repaired Death Egg. She disappointed him by letting him know that Sonic was here, and meant business.

Useless, he called her; it stung even if she felt compelled to agree. Plan A-2 came into effect, and her father got to work in getting his final defenses ready. Omletta received orders to evacuate and return to Robotropolis, then to execute Plan B. The little scientist did as instructed. Grabbing what she could, she fled to an escape pod located in a far off hallway in the bowels of the base and climbed in.

The pod closed with the press of a button, and it disengaged its locks with another. She buckled up and grabbed into the safety handles. Out the window, she gazed upon Planet Freedom below. It looked so pretty from here, she thought. The ever shifting clouds and the majesty of the Land of the Sky were a sight to behold. Too bad that’s where all her enemies lived.

Once she reached the planet’s atmosphere, things got much harder to see. The fire created from the immense air resistance blocked most of the view. She didn’t need to see very well to know when she passed through a gap between the skybound continents. The sudden lack of light was indication enough.

Omletta deployed the parachutes that significantly slowed her descent. It jerked her downwards and made her hit her head on the console in front of her, causing her to cry out. It hurt, but at least it didn’t make her dizzy.

Once she made it down safely and landed in the outskirts of Robotropolis, she unbuckled herself and took a look out the window. To her chagrin, it was raining. Acid rain too, as evidenced by the smog surrounding her. Omletta sighed and took out the escape pod’s emergency filtration mask. She secured it over her face, unlocked the door, grabbed her things, and climbed out.

A blindingly bright and enormous light fixture arranged in her father’s image cut through the smog, guiding her on where to go. She ran through the empty streets of the city, passing by the occasional humanoid robot putting “sleeping” people who got caught out in the rain, human and animal folk alike, onto gurneys. She hoped they’d be okay.

One of the robots spotted her and waved her down. As Omletta approached, it informed her that it called for transport and that she should remain stationary. She nodded, and waited as she got progressively more soaked in toxic water. After a few minutes of waiting around, an egg-shaped aircraft landed nearby. Its door opened, and a moto-bug wheeled out.

Omletta climbed in and turned on the windshield wipers. She piloted the vehicle towards her home; her true home, not some stuffy workstation in space. She docked in the hangar and was escorted inside by another robot, this time being one of her father’s own spiky, spherical guardbots.

The first thing on Omletta’s mind was hygiene. Acidic, toxic water soaked her clothes and hair, rendering her a sopping wet biohazard. In a moment of clarity, she asked the guardbot to scan her for radiation. A small geiger counter came out of the robot’s hand; it waved the contraption around her body and it thankfully came up negative. Close call, she thought.

She commanded the guardbot to lead her to her quarters, to which it obliged without question. On her way there, she passed by a familiar face in the hallway. An old half-animal folk scientist with a sickly green tint to his reptilian skin - and spiky, greasy hair styled in arches that resembled a spider's legs. His nametag read “Dr. Grimer”. She noticed him wearing a cast on his left arm and stopped to question him as to what happened.

“The damned guard rail broke!” Grimer complained. He recounted how he had leaned up against it in the middle of work, and it gave out. He fell several feet and landed on his arm, which now had several fractures. “I’m not getting any younger! Tell your father I at least need a break so I may recover from this!”

“I’ll see what I can do... D-Daddy’s a-”

“A very busy man, yes. You’ve said that many times, little heir. Are you going to get him to actually do something about these work conditions for once? Or, are you going to keep-”

“Watch your mouth!” Omletta spat back. “If daddy finds out you’re talking that way to me, he’ll make sure both your arms are broken!” Grimer backed off, grumbling something under his breath as he made his way towards his own destination. Omletta let out a sorrowful sigh once the scientist was out of earshot. She shouldn’t have said something so mean, she thought.

Omletta entered her living quarters, located near the Robot Generator that produced most of her father’s robotic military. She dismissed the guardbot and thanked it. It saluted her and went on its way, leaving the young inventor to her devices.

Omletta undressed, sent her clothes into the laundry chute near her door, and climbed into the Robotnik brand sanitation and sterilization unit. She shivered as it sprayed chemicals and cold water over her body, then sighed in relief once the warm water came on. The robotic arms and automatic processes made quick work of her filth, then dried her body and hair just as fast.

She got out, dressed herself with a new set of clothes, and put in the effort to ensure she looked her best. Spiky, perfectly groomed hair. The tiara. The dress. The shined shoes. She yawned and considered going to sleep right then and there, but she didn’t have the time.

Omletta pinged her father on a PDA. After a few moments, he picked up and informed her of the current situation. The Death Egg was falling apart at Sonic’s hand. A chain reaction of explosions tore it apart, and her father fled with the Master Emerald in a mech modeled after his appearance.

The blue rodent managed to recollect all seven of the Chaos Emeralds over the course of his journey, and used them to turn into a Chaotic super form. Omletta heard the enemy bashing against her father’s vehicle, practically tearing it to pieces as he tried and gradually failed to keep the hedgehog away long enough for the super form to wear off.

One last impact caused it to melt down and fall apart. Omletta yelled, asking if her father remembered to properly install atmosphere-reentry measures. Robotnik barked at her in response, confirming her inquiry and questioning her belief in his competence.

The last thing on his mind was his own survival. The enemy was just about to take back the Master Emerald, and from his point of view all Omletta seemed to care about was something as simple as basic safety measures. Her mind went back to Dr. Grimer as he said this.

She apologized, to which her father reminded her that she had much more to apologize for as he plummeted to the planet below. “We’ll talk later!” He hissed. He cut off the call, leaving his daughter in silence as their prized space station turned into smoldering rubble.

Omletta put down the PDA and turned on her command console. She input the orders for Plan B, then took off her tiara. No point in looking her best now, considering there was nothing she could do at the moment. Wasted effort, she thought. She climbed into bed, not bothering with undressing any further. She huddled up into a small, sniffling ball and waited for sleep to take her. She didn’t expect to rest for very long.

NEW CONTENT STARTS HERE:

Omletta woke to the sound of her PDA blaring at her. She grumbled, wiped her puffy eyes, and picked it up. As the connection established itself, she looked at the time to see she had been asleep for five hours. Her father came through from the other end and called her name.

She responded, asking what his current status was. “I’m fine. Are you alright yourself, my sweet little egghead?” Omletta yawned. She wasn’t nearly awake enough to acknowledge his change in tone since the last time they spoke.

“Mmm hmm...” The young scientist mumbled. “I’m okay, daddy. I made it home safe.”

Robotnik asked if Omletta got a notification. She requested that he wait a moment as she checked. The notification read that a squad of Egg-Robo badniks recovered the metallic Sonic copycat and were running repairs in preparation for the later stages of Plan B. She confirmed her knowledge of this news.

“This fight isn’t over!” Her father’s voice boomed with an excited cadence. “We don’t need to destroy that damned hedgehog just yet! Angel Island is still ripe for the taking! All we need is the Master Emerald. Once we have that, we have no need to fear Sonic’s interference anymore!”

Omletta did her best to sound chipper. “Yeah, we’re still in this, daddy. I believe in us.”

Her father laughed. “I can tell you just woke up, my dearest. I will let you rest. You’ll need it.”

They ended the call on a high note, though he gave her a few small orders before she was to go back to sleep. She rallied troops from her command console and passed the orders down, then promptly flopped back onto her bed. Daddy’s happy, she thought. That’s all she needed for now.


Plan B was simple in theory. Assassinate Knuckles the Echidna with an explosive to prevent any interference, conduct another sweep of the island with badniks, secure the Master Emerald, industrialize the area, use Angel Island as a vantage point in the war against the Land of the Sky, then go from there. There was a catch, however.

Not long after his return to Robotropolis, Dr. Robotnik called for a meeting. He brought Omletta and several others to discuss how best to move forwards. With the Death Egg destroyed, many future plans were halted or otherwise rendered impossible.

The only person Omletta recognized besides her father was Dr. Grimer, who himself avoided eye contact with her when possible. She didn’t know their faces, nor their names or reasons for being here. Their eyes fell upon her for the majority of the meeting, something she was acutely aware of.

He called upon Omletta to make a few changes to the plan. He commanded her to upgrade one EggRobo, then pilot it directly from her command console. Omletta asked why she would need to do it herself, to which he replied with a most humiliating answer. “Your AI is substandard under normal circumstances, and downright terrible under our current conditions.”

It took a lot of effort for Omletta to not burst into tears at this. She didn’t object or complain, only silently nodding to avoid speaking; she feared that her warbling voice would reveal her emotions and break down the willpower keeping her eyes dry. This is war, she thought. She could not afford to emote at this time. He was right, she thought. Her AI was not good at all.

Robotnik framed it as a way for her to prove herself. A way to show that she was capable of great things. To prove that she could put an end to the blue menace once and for all and make her father and her people proud. She slowly nodded her head once more, as did several others in the room. The sentiment was nearly unanimous, save for one who disagreed.

“If I may...” Dr. Grimer suddenly piped up. “Perhaps this is not at all necessary. This is a lot of pressure to put squarely on a child. Perhaps I could-”

Robotnik cut him short. “We’ve discussed this, Grimer. Omletta is my Chief Robotics Engineer, not you. You have not earned my trust! Why should I let you replace her? She performs; you complain and whine! Why, you’ve even injured yourself as evidenced by the cast on your arm, which itself brings your competence into question.”

The room fell into a tense silence. The suits around the table stared with a mix of apathy and contempt for the green doctor. How dare he question Robotnik’s genius, they must have thought. Despite this, Omletta took a deep breath and remembered what Grimer had told her before. She had an opportunity to mediate the issue, and she took it. Anything, she thought, anything to keep the subject away from the low quality of her AI.

“U-Um... Daddy?”

“Yes, Omletta?” Robotnik grumbled as he pinched his temple.

“U-Um... D-Doctor Grimer says that a guard rail gave out... That’s why he’s hurt...” She squeaked.

“Hmm...” Robotnik moved his fingers from his temple to his chin. “And why is that? Were you sleeping on the job, Grimer?” He accused, looking back at the reptilian cripple.

“No, not at all my good doctor! I merely needed to rest but for a moment! You see, I had been working for quite a while and merely needed a breather, and the guard rail fell apart as I did so.” Grimer elaborated.

“Hmm...” Robotnik collapsed his hands together. “Yes, I suppose that is logical on the surface, but I ask why you did not request for any of our worker bots to fix the issue instead of coming to Omletta or myself for this. I say again, there is a reason my daughter is the Chief Robotics Engineer and you are not. She would have handled the issue post-haste instead of making such a distracting racket.”

“B-But sir, she is the one who-”

“No more, Grimer. I will not hear of this again! Do your job, and quit wasting our time.”

After a moment of silence, Dr. Grimer merely sighed and nodded. “Yes sir.”

The subject returned to that of the upgraded EggRobo. Robotnik ordered her to outfit it with upgraded defenses and mobility and remote control capabilities. He didn’t care how, he just wanted it done. Omletta nodded again and wiped her eyes when nobody was looking.

An object of concern for her, however, was Grimer. After being silenced by Robotnik, he showed no contempt for him whatsoever. Instead, he stared daggers for the remainder of the meeting.

Omletta waited for everyone else to leave, but found herself rather fearful when Grimer returned shortly after and retook his seat. “A moment, Omletta. That is all I need at this time.” She didn’t engage in eye contact, but she nodded as a cue for him to speak.

“Your father puts a lot of trust in you. Much more than he does for me, despite decades of diligence and hard work. You are very, very lucky. Treat the situation as such.” He growled.

He left, not expecting a reply. Omletta approached the door, but only to turn off the lights. She guided herself with the glow of her PDA and sat down in the corner and waited. She stayed there for many minutes until she felt strong enough to get up.


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Pub: 04 Jun 2022 00:07 UTC
Views: 186