Ehanu: (Sitting in front of Xbox, eyes locked onto the screen with obvious excitement dancing across his eyes. A tribal sounding song with orchestra fills the room as the game begins and Ehanu begins rocking out. Ancient Dragon Writer comes in about to ask a question, but sees Ehanu rocking out. Ehanu stops once he sees there's a spectator.)
ADW: What're you doin'?
Ehanu: I'm…uh…playin' Halo.
ADW: Haven't you played that a billion times already?
(Samus walks in about to ask a question too, but hears the conversation.)
Samus: Halo has been out for a full decade now and you're still excited about it?
(Fox also walks in, with yet another question, but also hears the conversation.)
Fox: You can't be that excited still over that game.
Ehanu: (Looks down, face going purple from embarrassment.) This is actually my first time owning and really playing Halo.
(All three stop, mouths and eyes WIDE open at what Ehanu has just revealed, all speechless and likely going into shock. Ancient Dragon Writer's eyes roll back and he falls to the ground, unconscious. Samus' face turns red with anger and eyes furrow in fury. Fox stands there with a look of mixed horror and confusion on his face.)
Ehanu: (Turns to audience) True story.
Samus again wondered if this was a good idea, flying into a ship with unknown loyalties and motivations. But, as the Gunship floated into the Great Fox's hangar bay, Samus settled that there was no turning back now. This battleship was likely loaded with a tractor beam, and judging from the unconventional upgrades she had scanned on the way in, this was no standard-issue military ship.
A sudden thud and slight lurch from the Gunship notified them of the ship being grappled by the Great Fox's docking system, then followed by a tilt as the system pulled them into a vacant docking slot. A mechanical whirring warned Samus of a catwalk extending to the sides of the Gunship, even as she noticed the three Arwings enter the docking bay begin their docking begin.
Samus disengaged the safety systems locking her to the chair and keyed the ship's elevator to rise to the upper opening instead of the usual lower one. Turning to the elevator, she nodded to the Twins as she stepped towards the activation hologram. When they didn't move, however, Samus stopped.
"What's the matter?" Samus said, "aren't you comin'?"
"We want to be ready in case something happens," T-Gan said, baring his claws, "then you've got a couple surprises for…"
"The best way to defend against enemies," Samus interrupted, "is to make them your friends. I would highly recommend that you put aside your childish desire to blow something up and Get. On. The. Elevator. Now."
Not even looking to see if they'd follow, Samus stepped into the hologram, activating the elevator and beginning the ascent to the upper hatch. She didn't have to wait for the Twins, knowing they would likely just get bored and follow anyway. As the upper hatch opened with a hiss, however, she wondered if T-Gan would be able to control his trigger-finger. Wrapped in her thoughts, she was immediately aware of the elevator jerking to a stop at the roof of the ship, revealing the insides of the massive mother ship the Great Fox was. Samus had seen many ships, both mercenary and military grade, in the course of her adventures. And she had to admit that this ship ranked high on her list.
The Great Fox's docking bay interior was Spartan when it came to design, with control wires and transistor connections being where they needed to be and nowhere else. The alien patterns and writings signified various things, but only that which was needed. The one thing that Samus noticed over all else, however, was the unique docking system that now held her ship. When she had entered in, she hadn't noticed how the system worked, but outside her ship, she saw that the ceiling-suspended docking racks followed two different paths. The one Samus had taken was a frontal entry that grabbed her ship, flipped it around 180 degrees and moved it to a holding position on the side, at which the catwalks extended, ensuring proper containment of the ship.
The other path was discovered when Samus saw the three Arwings coming the distance through the long tunnel that extended behind Samus' position. The three Arwings stopped shortly after Samus' ship, then moving and locking into their own to-the-side positions, leaving the track to the front of the bay free for deployment. The back, Samus could only guess, led to an aft-positioned bay meant specifically for docking.
In essence, this docking system was of the more-advanced systems she had seen in battleships of this size.
Samus jumped down off the Gunship, stepping towards the gap between her and the three Arwings as their pilots exited. Samus observed each pilot, trying to figure who it was she had spoken to. The beings that came out of the fighters were a little surprising to see, considering Samus' home planet.
The first pilot out looked like a purple vixen, wearing similarly-colored armor. The way it carried itself, it could only be female. The next pilot out was a green, frog-like alien, wearing a yellow jumpsuit. It almost tripped on the way out of its Arwing. Just by its clumsiness, Samus guessed it was a male, but not the one she was looking for.
Then the third pilot exited, and Samus knew it was Falco.
First off, just the way he seemed to float out of his Arwing suggested he knew his space craft, down to every rivet, joint, and stain, and there was nothing that happened to his space craft that he didn't know about.
In a word, this blue-feathered, red-armored falcon-esque alien was Falco.
Samus couldn't really tell with foreign species, but she was still willing to bet a few credits that Falco had had his run of swooning fans and screaming girls, begging for him to marry them. Just his very stance identified a presence that he knew he was the ace pilot of the team, and likely the very best in the galaxy.
And Samus was certainly willing to believe it, too.
Then Falco turned his hard eyes towards her and she knew then that the time for indecision was long past.
Taking a deep breath, Samus began walking across the catwalk beginning to span the width of the gap. Just wide enough for two people to walk in opposite directions comfortably, it provided the perfect platform for the two parties to walk towards each other. Walking towards each other, Samus almost imagined that it was the setting of a Western showdown from one of those circa-1980 Earth films. But, one thing she was glad to have that they didn't have in those films was her trusty scanner.
Putting her hand to the scan-activation button, she initiated the short process of scanning each alien, starting with Falco. Once the scan finished, Samus noticed that her visor continued to highlight the other two with a blue aura, signifying that they were the different species from Falco.
*Morphology: Lylatian Pheasant
Species is one of many in the Lylat System. The Pheasant, strangly, resembles more closely to that of birds of prey on Earth, the exceptions being the anthropomorphic skeleton, and evolution making the wings into hand-like limbs. The Pheasant species is known throughout the Lylat System as having an affinity for aeronautics and space flight. Current subject, Falco, is probably the best pilot out of all the aces in the Lylat System.*
For how little Samus knew of these aliens, this was a surprising amount of information, even with her scan visor. With a hint of suspicion, Samus silenced her external speaker, privatizing her conversation.
"Adam, why is my scanner getting more information than is immediately available?" she said, knowing the answer.
"I figured you would be searching for any clues on this situation, so I just copied the files from the Great Fox's databanks," Adam said.
"Well, just be careful that you don't set off alarms," Samus said, "we don't want these potential-allies to become a headache like the Pirates are."
"Affirmative," Adam said, "but there is one piece of information I believe you'd be interested to know."
"And that is?"
"This is a mercenary group," Adam stated, "and by the looks of their financial transactions, they've got connections to the Cornerian Armada, a military fleet in their home system."
"Thank you, Adam, that could actually help in the future," Samus said, turning to scan the other two aliens. With that information in mind, she scanned the frog (a Lylatian Toad, surprisingly) and the vixen (a Cerinian Blue Fox) for more info. She found the frog, named Slippy Toad, wasn't too much of a flyer, preferring a wrench over a blaster, while the blue fox, with only the name Krystal, appeared to have a sixth sense or ESP capabilities.
I might have to watch my thoughts around her, Samus thought, suddenly insecure about her internal feelings. If they had the advantages of a PK-prodigy…
She didn't let the thought remain, instead focusing on the approaching party. If there was one thing she had learned, it was to make a good first impression. That was key, she found, in establishing good relations.
"Samus," T-Fru said on the com-link.
Silencing the external speaker again, Samus responded, "yes?"
"Take a look at the docking racks the Arwings are in," T-Fru said.
Samus looked over at the Arwings, wondering what it was she was looking for, when she spotted it. There were three Arwings, but four docking racks. Looking back at her docked ship, she noticed that her Gunship was in one of three docking racks, with the other two still empty. With the naked eye, it seemed nothing was unusual, but T-Fru must have noticed something to bring it to Samus' attention.
Activating her scan visor again, she scanned the empty slot on the Arwing side.
*Docking Rack system.
This technology utilizes magnetic and anti-grav machinations to life and store space-craft that is fighter-sized.
This particular rack doesn't have the signs of disuse the seeming "guest" racks are contaminated with. The signs indicate that this rack's use was stopped very recently.*
Samus clicked the com-link on her helmet.
"There's a missing ship, isn't there," Samus said.
"Yes, it's like the scan said: recent use, but no ship," T-Fru said.
"And a missing ship means a missing pilot," Samus said, the dots suddenly connecting.
"Which means that…"
"You're right."
Samus snapped her attention up to the other group, now just a few meters away, but not walking anymore as the toad and pheasant – Slippy and Falco, Samus reminded herself – were looking back at the fox, Krystal.
"What did you sense?" Falco said.
"She knows why we're here," Krystal said, staring at Samus.
Samus let her hand fall from her helmet's com-link, letting the external speaker reactivate. Since the Metroid was out of the bag…
"My, uh, assistants ran a scan of your docking system," Samus said, "and found that one of the racks was recently used. I then scanned it myself and found the same thing, drawing the conclusion you conveniently, um, sensed."
Falco turned his gaze towards Samus, eyebrows raised. He seemed tense, and cautious, despite what Samus was used to seeing in pilots of his ability. But, finally, he sighed and relaxed, turning all the way to face Samus.
"We are looking for someone," Falco said, arms (or wings) crossing his chest, "a very important someone to our team."
"We're looking for our leader," Slippy piped up, turning himself as well, "one by the name of Fox McCloud."
As he spoke, Slippy tapped his gauntlet, which fired a hologram into the air, stopping a few inches tall. The image displayed was a figure much like the other three Lylatians, save he was a fox-like one.
"This is Fox," Slippy said, "the leader of Team Star Fox. He was captured by an entity called the 'Aparoids,' and we fear he may have been turned to them through possession."
"Sort of like the Ing do," Samus said.
The blank looks she received signified the three Lylatians didn't know what she was talking about.
"I'll explain after," Samus said, "but how did your leader get caught?"
"It happened when we were patrolling the outer boundaries of the Lylat System," Krystal said. "We were all trying to relax when we came to an asteroid giving off large energy readings."
The hologram in Slippy's gauntlet changed, the image of Fox shrinking and being replaced by one that made Samus catch her breath. The image was that of a Phazon Leviathan.
"Having previously finished a war with the Aparoids," Slippy said, "we were naturally suspicious of the Aparoid DNA readings coming from it. We also identified another substance which was the source of the intense radiation readings…"
"Phazon," Samus said.
"Uh, yeah, so Fox took a Landmaster tank in to investigate and somehow fell prey to a mind trick by the Aparoid at the core," Slippy explained, "But, then suddenly the Aparoid activated and revealed the whole asteroid was the Aparoid, with the core of it being the central processing unit."
Samus nodded as Slippy explained this, wondering about the Phazon. It wasn't that surprising, given the shock of the Ing, but still it was bitter news. The one question on Samus' mind was how the Phazon had escaped the chain-reaction the source's destruction had caused. Perhaps, it might have had something to do with the things called "Aparoids."
"And, then the Leviathan, as you called it," Slippy continued, "fired a beam that opened a wormhole, through which the Leviathan fled. We barely got into it in time and came to this place. You saw what came after."
"The one thing I'm wondering, though, is just what are these things called the 'Ing?'" Falco said.
"I could explain for you," Samus said, tapping on her communicator, "but I only have limited experience with the Ing. I believe for the explanation, I will have to refer you to a race that has had years of experience fighting them."
On cue, the hatch over on Samus' Gunship hissed as the lift brought up a figure, who swiftly leapt off, a few moments later another figure of similar stature appearing. Samus turned away from the mercenaries to watch the Twins' progress, as well as theatrically sweeping her arm to introduce the Luminoth.
"What in the world are those things?" Falco muttered.
"It isn't anything I've ever seen before," Krystal said.
"Lady and gentlemen, may I introduce you to T-Fru and T-Gan, twin Luminoth siblings," Samus said as they got in earshot.
"Impressive structure," Slippy said.
"What is it, Samus?" T-Fru said, as they reached Samus' position.
"Is there trouble?" T-Gan said, activating his dual Arm Cannons.
"No, no, no," Samus said, holding out her hand, "there's no trouble save that of the Pirates, Ing, and whatever dangers the planet holds. This is merely a formal introduction and an answer to their question."
T-Fru perked up at that, turning her eyes towards Samus.
"You require a scientific explanation?" she said.
"A summary, if you will, of the Ing as we all head up to the bridge," Samus said.
"Oh, well I can do that," T-Fru said, as they all began walking towards the other side of the hangar, where the elevators were located.
As one, they all began walking back towards the Arwing side of the hangar, T-Fru occasionally ducking the occasional crossbeam. Samus held back, listening with half an ear as she continued observing the Arwings. Once again, she found the design ingenious.
I'll have to rethink my ship's bulky frame, Samus thought. And it was true, when compared to the Arwings. The arrow design looked like it'd cut back really well on fuel usage in atmospheric flight, as well as keeping her vision to the left and right free from obstruction. Even though her ship was equipped with cameras for the blind-spots, there was still something better about seeing it with your own eyes that made it better.
"Samus," a voice whispered. Samus turned around to see who had said it, only to discover T-Gan was still standing where he had been before, arm cannons primed for combat.
Samus shook her head, palming her helmet in exasperation.
"What?" Samus hissed.
"I'm goin' to go through the vents and do some stealth recon…"
"Put away your arm cannons and just come on," Samus said, "the last thing we need is a trigger-happy Luminoth stalking through the ventilation systems trying to start a fight."
T-Gan, determined, didn't move, except to turn and begin his search for the vents.
Samus hated being ignored, especially after a direct order had been issued. Clenching her left hand, she threw out her Grapple Beam, snagging T-Gan by the neck of his torso-plate. Turning around, Samus began walking, wrenching T-Gan to his back and dragging him along, the sound of grinding metal and Luminoth curses filling the air.
The Lylatians and T-Fru turned around, surprised at first, but smiles on their faces when they saw the scene. Samus only thought bitterly, I came here to get a job done, not baby-sit a hothead Luminoth. I just hope I can keep him under control.
But, somehow, she felt that keeping this wayward alien in line would soon become the last of her worries. In the pit of her stomach, she felt a tugging, as if some deity were trying to warn her away from Sadarshia.
Ehanu: (Shouts as he dies, again, by an invisible Elite's hand.) Why can't I use their energy swords!?
Fox: It's the first Halo game, duh! Energy swords didn't come out until Halo 2.
Ehanu: Well, that sucks, but at least it's fairly easier to kill invisibles.
Samus: Just don't shock Ancient Dragon Writer again with some game everyone but you has played.
Ehanu: I've never played Bioshock yet.
(Samus faints.)
