For my next FanFic I thought I would embark on a look at one of Metroid's underated and overlooked villains (mainly because like most of the marines in Other M he gets all of four lines) WARNING SPOILERS AS LARGE AS (mini) KRAID!
Basically this fic will look at the character of James Pierce, revealed to be the Deleter after the discovery of his body (not that it is explicitly said but a process of elimination proves it) This fic will follow him as he moves throughout the Bottle Ship sytematically and callously killing of his squadmates one by one before his demise. For me he is a very interesting villain as unlike the other Metroid villains he is as human (seemingly) as you or I.
I hope you enjoy and as always reviews are eternally appreciated.
Metroid Other M: Deleted
It was just a job. That was all it was to him. Just a job, a dirty job admittedly but someone needed to do it and he took a small amount of pride in knowing he was very good at it. James Pierce had been selected to act as a Deleter two years prior to his current mission, following an incident within the Galactic Federation Military that had seen him discharged following several charges of attempted mutiny, sexual harassment and assault.
He had been approached by a man claiming to represent a small sect with the Federation that were interested in the research and experimentation for bioweapons. This was highly illegal but the group had many high contacts and the pestilent corruption in the Galactic Federation meant that as long as they did not draw the attention of particularly overzealous GF operatives, they could operate in near total secrecy and security.
The man had wasted little time in asking if James would be interested in becoming a Deleter for them in return for all his court charges being "dealt with". James had accepted with some reluctance knowing what the job entailed but, the large pay check and bestowed diplomatic immunity won him round. Unsurprisingly the charges against him were dropped; he was reinstated and even given a promotion to the 07th Platoon.
A "Deleter" was a military position the very existence of which was kept secret, many suspected, even from the Galactic Federation's Supreme Council. As a result only a handful of people, in the highest echelons of the GF Military and the Secret Police, knew of or had access to a Deleter. A Deleter's role could be generally summed up as the covering up of potential dirty stains to the GF's crystal white public image through extreme force if required. If there was a high ranking politician known to be a Space Pirate sympathizer? Send in a Deleter. If a GF Military Platoon was known to be planning a mutiny? A Deleter would be dispatched and the rebels in question would magically disappear, "officially" fleeing to join the Space Pirates. Deleters would be indistinguishable from normal soldiers and would officially hold which ever rank they had prior to becoming a Deleter in his case it would be Communications Expert. Having heard so many rumours from his fellow soldiers about "phantom soldiers appearing at will" and "shape shifting marines with red eyes" James often chuckled to himself at how mundane the truth was. Deleters were trash men who used dirty methods to keep the GF clean.
He had done several missions now but this one was shaping up to be his most daunting. His platoon members had all seen frontline action and their leader was decorated and renowned for his martial prowess and tactical genius. Commander Adam Malkovich. Pulling the wool over his eyes and if necessary neutralising him would prove very difficult indeed but James did like a challenge and he had a feeling the mild mannered Maurice Favreau and the anxious K.G. Misawa would not present much of one.
His objectives were complicated and likely to become even more so as the mission developed: 1. prevent 07th Platoon discovering the true purpose of the Bottle Ship 2. If 07th Platoon should discover true purpose neutralise them by any means necessary and destroy all evidence. 3. Neutralise any survivors linked to the Bottle Ship projects 4. Secure Sector Zero and Project Metroid Warriors for transfer to employers following success of objectives 1, 2 and 3. 5. Activate Bottle Ship's self-destruct system and evacuate.
He would hate to say he was cocky or arrogant but he had already partially succeeded objectives 1 and 2. By disabling his team's personal communicators they would be isolated and easy pickings; unable to corroborate evidence to establish who the traitor was. In addition he had planted trackers that would enable him to roughly know where the rest of the Platoon was in the Bottle Ship. He smirked to himself and leant back against the wall of the ship behind him. "What is so funny James?" Maurice enquired good naturedly, "Ahh nothing really," James replied nonchalantly, "just I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't a little bit excited about this mission."
Lyle, who was sitting opposite him, chuckled, "Yeah I know how you feel. I always get a kick from my missions. There is something about the unknown that gets my blood pumping." James nodded and, deciding that keeping up the conversation would help gain their trust, addressed K.G. "What about you K.G.? You up for this?" K.G. meekly replied, "I don't know how you can all be so calm! I mean we have no idea what could be waiting for us there do we?" James was about to reply when the stern voice of Adam cut him off. "That's enough talk. Focus on the mission you should all be checking your armour and weapons. Carelessness invites death." "Wow," James thought, "what an asshole."
The largest member of the Platoon, Anthony Higgs, spoke to Adam. "Ahh come on Commander I mean we all need to blow off a bit of steam before we do this thing right?" Adam grunted and the conversation resumed. A little while later James caught Adam staring at the various members of the Platoon. James began to wonder if he already suspected there was a traitor among them after all Adam was high enough up in the GF to know about Deleters wasn't he?
As the spaceship touched down in the Bottle Ship Hangar Bay, the Platoon lowered their visors and ran down the ramp into the Bottle Ship. James Pierce took a last glance back at their ship and then turning around marched off into the bowels of the ship. It was time to go to work.