- Chapter 3 -
- The Graciousness of the Space Pirates -
Immediately after the message disappeared, a security camera in the shape of an eyeball out of its socket opened up and shone a bright yellow light on me from the left corner of the stone ceiling to the top of the pillar I was standing on. Just below me and to either side, two heads like the ones I had seen earlier turned on metal blocks and faced my direction. Their eyes and mouths glowed with a dim red-yellow that seemed to cast a colored shadow rather than provide light.
A glint of surprise shot its way onto my expression, and in a hastened panic, I quickly jumped over to the right side of the stone head furthest from the camera. It followed my every move flawlessly up until I pressed myself against the lower left side of the "staircase" I had frantically blazed up and over moments ago, eager to get out of view. The Chozo always leave behind weapons to aid me, but this one was under watch. Snatching it must have triggered some sort of security. I'll probably meet up with a few Space Pirates soon. I thought myself careless, but I realized there was no other way of getting the item. No matter what I did, it would have resulted in detection. Maybe later suit upgrades will have more possible outcomes. I decided then that I would have to be much more careful of my actions in the future.
Nevertheless, the Space Pirates knew I was in their base. The element of surprise was shattered, and there was no getting it back. Surely they knew the potential I had to ruin their plans after our last encounter and would dispatch more security than they had previously. With their numbers dwindled from the explosion, I still have a chance.
Moving over to the left again at that point would have only gotten myself more face time on the security monitors. Looking around my small safe zone, I spotted a small damaged block near my feet. I saw no better option at the time, knelt down, and fired my beam at it. It crumbled instantly. I let out a sigh of relief and activated my newly-recovered Morphing Ball, then rolled on through the makeshift tunnel. As I rose back into a standing position, I pushed the feeling of déjà vu to course through my body to help calm my nerves. They were onto me, and they knew where I was. I didn't have time to sulk, only to get moving. I didn't have much fire power to fend them off, either.
I had a decision to make. Either I could go back up the elevator the way I came to get to my ship for protection, or I could press on down the hallway I was facing. Either would get me away from where they spotted me, but the further the better. I took and chance and headed to the right, hoping I could descend into some catacombs and possibly find some sort of weapon or suit upgrade in the process. My feet instantly began dashing at full speed toward the other end like a well-oiled machine. Out of the corners of my eyes, I noticed the passage was cleanly cut along the floor. The ceiling wasn't as even with some gaps between rocks and jagged stone sticking out in some patches, but it was certainly paid more attention to than the previous area.
A moment later, a ledge about six feet above the level ground sported a blue door in the wall just a few steps' length further. A quick jump and shot opened the way into another room with two more stone heads at either end of a 15-foot line of blocks suspended about a foot above the floor by the back wall. It was set just above a slightly longer line of the same brittle stone that ran the length of the room, but I quickly pushed my mental notes aside and pushed forward toward the nearby door directly in front of me. I jumped on top of the higher line and took a shot. When nothing happened, the little adrenaline that had begun to pump weakened its flow.
It was a red door.
No! I had just made my decision in the last corridor, and already I was regretting it. Going back would waste time. I can't go anywhere else here, so I have to get a move on to get back! I ran back out and to the elevator. Just as I was about to go up, something inside me clicked. The block by the Morphing Ball. It was the same as the blocks lining the floor in the other room. If I could shoot that one out, could I do the same in there? I don't hear or see any security just yet, so I may have time! With that thought, I acted on my inquisitive instinct and doubled back once more. I took a few shots around the suspended platform and the floor, and sure enough, they crumbled. I saw more of the room down below and wasted no time dropping down. The room was about three times its immediately recognized height, and at the bottom was another small tunnel the size of my Morphing Ball. I crouched down and rolled through, blasting open the door and running in as fast as I could.
. . .
I wasn't pressed for time. I wasn't on the run. I was back on the home planet of the Chozo. It was that time again—the time I had learned and mastered enough for them to entrust me with a new ability! I walked up to the ceremonial statue with the glowing sphere that looked to be woven in metal. A gentle shot of my Power Beam went forward and opened it. I reached out and slowly touched the miniature rocket in a capsule, accepting the gift they chose to grant me.
MISSILE ACQUIRED.
I felt the technology integrating itself into my arm cannon as I turned to thank Old Bird for his decision and gift, but there was no one. I was in a small room with neatly placed metal blocks and pipes running along the walls, but one thing brought my mind to a place of discomfort. I saw a Space Pirate doorway. My fantasy of my past came crashing down around me, and reality forced itself back in. I was running from security that had most likely been dispatched quickly, and this room was a dead end. I dashed back out the door and jumped up along the platforms made of broken and cracked blocks. I shot my way up and through them, then turned right to try out my missiles on the door that had just denied me entry. It seemed to weaken the force field a bit. It flashed a docile blue for a moment and let out a sort of pounding sound, so I emptied my inventory quickly. It took all five of my new ammunition to get in, but I did.
I was in another hallway much like the last one. I started down it and found myself approaching a large block of stone hanging off the ceiling and back wall that left a small tunnel between its bottom and the floor, but more pressing than that was the camera sitting halfway up the structure. In a flash, it opened its eyelids and beamed light on my infamous Power Suit once again. Another! I did a quick tuck-and-roll through the tunnel hoping for an end and wound up in a tiny side space. Another missile expansion sat just above my head on a decorative metal piece. I wasted no time nabbing it and spraying an array of Power Beam shots around the area looking for a way to progress further. After realizing I wasn't going anywhere beyond the side space, I got out as quickly as possible. If there were no more exits to speak of, I was officially at a dead end. I had to head back up through the elevator. I've wasted enough time and given them too long to mobilize! If I want to make it out alive as I am, I have to get back to my ship. Now.
. . .
The ride back up couldn't have been more agonizingly slow. The automated speed didn't mesh well with my need to move. I still counted myself lucky that they didn't shut the elevators down and corner me, but it would take more than that to make it back safely.
As the platform set itself back into position, I noticed the once dead elevator room was now active as noted by the brighter lighting and computerized sounds beeping around me. I expected something like this, and the impact of the encounter had been mostly nullified over the years through training and experience. Mostly. I opened the door back to Mother Brain's old chamber and went in, throwing myself into action both to save time and stop even the thought of hesitation.
Space Pirates! Looks like security's finally here. One stood directly in front of me, and a swift turn of the head revealed another climbing the wall just above the door. And me. The one to my left took a shot, and I quickly ducked down to the small space between the nearest Zebetite and wall that created the platform to the door. I used my only weapon to try and take out the one from above. There was a short shriek as the beam landed. A controlled flurry of small explosions and fire engulfed the Pirate's armor for a short second while the sound of soft stone crumbling or boulders gently but unanimously rolling echoed off the walls, then nothing. It worked! Good, I know I can take them out. I need to move before too many come at me. My legs and arms guided my motions through muscle memory once more as I hopped across to the next platform, taking out the second Pirate in my hang time.
As the series of explosions diminished, my Power Suit sounded a few short blips, and my missile inventory increased by two. Hm? Why in the world would it do that? Did something cause it to refill, or is there a glitch in my system? That was the least of my worries at the moment, so I looked forward and pressed on. Two more were stationed in the same fashion, and I got rid of them the same way. The second Pirate left behind a small glowing object that was stationary in mid-air. I looked at it inquisitively, but my observations yielded nothing. The only thing to do was either go around it or try to grab it. I chose the latter and cautiously reached out my hand. The instant I touched it, it disappeared, and the blips sounded as my inventory increased by two once more. It seems they leave behind weapon refills, but why? How? My mind snapped back. Time was of the essence. The last platform was empty. Good, I'm done with this room.
I pushed forward toward the door, but was caught by both surprise and a weak shot from a laser. Agh! The force sent me back and down onto the metal piping below. I picked myself up and let the Pirate on patrol live only a few seconds longer than planned. I decided to stay down where I was in case more came unannounced as well as to prepare and think. Why are these so weak? I expected much more difficult opponents to get rid of me as fast as possible. And what about the explosive deaths at that? The ammunition? Thoughts raced through my mind regarding the situation, and the best explanation I could come up with is that they were still severely few in number. If my theory was right, Ridley was taking a risk and testing out new armor on some of his followers. I supposed he sent the experiment "volunteers" both to get me rattled and weed out the failures. It probably didn't matter to him whether they died or I did. It was a win-win. It still didn't explain the ammunition they left behind though.
Thinking further, I realized the situation turned out to give me the upper hand. If I was right, Ridley had risked letting me live with his plan, and I was satisfied with both his loss and the opportunity to breathe longer. A glance to my Power Suit's energy on my HUD let me know that I had lost 15% of my shielding. At this rate, if the same proportions of Space Pirates are scattered all along the way back to my ship, I could probably make it. Why aim for a tentative standard though? The last thing I need is for my suit to fail me before I expect it to. It would be nice for these guys to leave behind Power Suit energy too. Poring over it wouldn't help much more. I got back up by the door planning to go straight through, but the surprises weren't over. Just like the ammunition, there was now some sort of dark sphere before me that seemed to emanate something from its center. I took my chances and made the same decision as before. Speak of the devil... I admired my shielding's100% coverage and allowed a sly smile to come over me. It's moments like these...
I took note of the door's oddity—rapidly blinking between blue and gray colors—and put together that I had triggered an event that causes the doors to "unlock". I fired my arm cannon, opened the door, and cautiously stepped through. The bottom of the shaft was all clear, but scaling could prove problematic with enemies along the way. I began my climb and spotted another Pirate clinging to a wall just above and to my left, then took care of it. A few jumps more revealed another to my right. It became apparent that the sporadically-placed platforms actually had a sort of pattern after a while of somersaults and enemy dispatching. Near the top, there was a Pirate on either side of me. I tried to take them out at the same time, but I missed one. The Pirate fired back and leaped to the other wall, successfully knocking me down along the way. I never gave him the chance to do the same again (or anything else for that matter) and rose to the top center platform.
I came through the door and instantly found the creatures of Zebes I had missed earlier on my way down.
- End Chapter 3 -
