All righty then, here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait, and I'm afraid you'll have to wait longer: it seems that the library at school will be closed. D: No cool. SO wirting will slowed down sharply.
Anyway, IAN AND ADAM MEET AGAIN! There are some major parts in this chapter, though it's mostly humor.
ENJOY!
Samus slumped in the pilot's seat, gently caressing the steering sphere with her hand. She stayed silent due to her mixed feelings. She had never been so happy, now that Ian was alive and able to go back to Daiban, but she also felt sorry for Sylux. She had always thought he had coldly betrayed the entire Galactic Federation, but it turned out that the reason he left was completely different. But there was one thing that really nagged her.
Why had he let her go?
He had constantly tried to kill her, using ruthless ways, and not hesitating in openly risking his own life to do so. And here he could've ended her just by pulling the trigger of his gun.
And yet he didn't.
Why? Now that she knew the story, was he expecting her to join him?
Samus took a deep breath and thought carefully. She wasn't Sylux, so she couldn't be sure. But maybe…maybe he wanted Adam to know the truth. Adam had protected Sylux before. Maybe that's why he kept her alive. He was sill grateful for what Adam had done. Yeah, that was probably it.
There was the sound of someone slumping in the shotgun seat. Ian crossed his legs and arms. "So. What's up? The kids are waiting for you to take off. They want to see the ship fly. Not only that, but I kinda want to meet my brother again. You think he'll be happy to see me?"
Samus shrugged. "He was kinda beaten up when he heard you were alive. I think he'll beat you up."
Ian rolled his eyes. "So much for a loving brother."
"Says the guy who played dead for three months." Samus instantly countered.
Ian flushed. "Let's just go."
The little red shuttle shot across the starry sky, and veered in a circular ring around a small shuttle, the Venomous Hell. Samus switched on the mike.
"The Stealth Hunter is demanding authorization to land." Samus said.
She got an answer almost instantly. "Samus, head towards docking bay and land in the stationary number 44." She recognized Maurice's voice.
"Gotcha. I'm on my way." Samus gently turned the sphere and the ship tilted starboard, heading under the Venomous Hell. She gave a quick glance at Ian.
He was shifting every five minutes, and playing with his fingers. "Nervous?" she asked.
Ian nodded. "Totally. I wonder how Adam looks like now…"
Samus rolled her eyes. "Ian, you were…gone, for three months. Not ten years. Adam isn't a grandpa."
"I know. But still…Does Lhikan know I'm coming?"
"Nope. He was planning on picking you up himself."
Ian grinned. "I want to see his face when I pop up. Hello, I'm the ghost of Ian and I am here to haunt-OW what was that for?"
"Just act your own age."
Samus landed the ship in the docking bay. She climbed out and saw Adam standing at the end of the rail, his arms behind his back, his face unreadable as ever. "I was waiting." He said calmly.
The blond nodded at him. "Ian is well alive. And he's…well I brought him back." When she finished, Ian walked down the rail, nervousness written on his face. He walked up to his brother. Adam stared at him, but no emotion was being revealed. Ian, however, was eyeing his boots, clearly wondering whether his own brother was going to kill him, break down in happiness or simply just be…well normal.
Samus, sensing the awkwardness growing, wanted to interfere, but she met Adam's gaze. She rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. Adam was purposely making things awkward. And she remembered Anthony saying how awesome it was to have brothers and sisters…
"Ian." Adam finally said, his voice even. "Follow me to my office. We have some catching up to do." With that, he turned on his heel, and walked out of the docking bay, followed by his brother. "Samus, write down a report on what happened with Sylux. If you want to find Anthony, he'll be in the ship's headquarters."
Samus watched them leave. When they were out of sight, she decided to take Adam's offer to find Anthony. She needed some distraction for a while.
Adam led Ian to his office, and ordered him to enter. Once they were both in, he carefully closed the door behind him, and faced his brother. Slowly, his face twisted into a grin, and he walked towards his brother.
Ian, grinned back. "Hi Adam." He closed the distance between him and the commander. "I'm sorry I-" He never got to finish. Just when Adam was about to hug him, Adam gave Ian a huge, massive blow.
"YOU BASTARD!" Adam shouted, delivering another blow. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW I FELT WHEN YOU DIED?"
Ian, rubbing his chest and cheek, smiled sheepishly. "Well, technically speaking, I haven't-"
"DON'T EVEN START WITH YOUR CORRECTIONS AND ALL!" Adam yelled. "YOU'VE GOT SOME SERIOUS EXPLAINING TO DO!" After delivering a final blow, he gave his brother a bone-crushing hug. "You had no idea…" he whispered.
Ian was so confused. First his emotionless brother was actually showing emotion. Second, he looked like he was ready to fire him down a blind hyperspace path, and now, he looked like someone who needed a hug. "Ummm…bro? I…I uh…"
"You are going to shut up and do as I tell you from now on, okay?" Adam said, pulling away but not breaking eye contact. "How in the world did you survive?"
Ian scratched the back of his head. "Well, you see, when the reactor began to blow, I tried to stay calm and keep it together. Naturally, that didn't work. When I realized I couldn't escape, since the ship and the rector had been separated, I reached some sort of room. It was tiny. I was barely capable of climbing in it. Anyway, I go in, and shut the door. I took off a part of my suit and placed it on the door." He explained. "It resisted the explosion, and got blown away. Since I knew thatI probably wouldn't be able to live for very long, I activated an update I attached to my suit. It was some sort of hibernation thing. It dropped all forms of temperature, and forced me into deep sleep." Ian continued his story. "When I woke up, I had no idea how much time had passed. I wanted to know where I was, but the small room began to heat up. But it was becoming REALLY hot. And I knew we were falling. When we hit the ground, I fainted, and got my memory shattered. It was a rough landing you know."
"I was found by Sylux and Lhikan. They took care of me and healed me back to health. I got the nickname 'Phoenix' since I survived something that I wasn't supposed to survive. But anyway, since my memory was broken, I couldn't remember where I came from. So I didn't see why I should go back to Daiban or something. I didn't even know you existed. But eventually, I remembered. Sylux was a great help. He tried to jog my memory by showing me pictures of some people of the Federation."
"Such as?" Adam asked.
"Well, you, Chairman Keaton, Anthony, Samus and some other dudes." Ian answered.
"And who did you remember?"
Ian felt his inward temperature rocket skyward. Samus had been the only one, but he didn't dare to say it. His brother had always been up to some sort of trick, being so overprotective of the blond soldier; he didn't even approve the idea of Ian being friends with her. He gave a reason that went like 'Ian, Samus deserves someone a whole lot smarter that you.' But for some reason, he allowed Anthony to befriend her. "Just Keaton" He lied.
Adam eyed him suspiciously. "Go on."
"Well," Ian continued. "When I remembered everything, Lhikan insisted that he joined as a recruit, since it was the only way for me to have some sort of link with the Federation. So, he joined, and thanks to Sylux's rough training, he became one of the top. You know the rest."
Adam waited for a while to digest the information. He slumped back in his chair and looked in exasperation at his little brother. "Why didn't you just go and act as a recruit?" he asked. "Wouldn't it be a whole lot simpler?"
Ian sweat-dropped. He mentally beat himself for going to the extreme to make a plan. Well, Lhikan came with it…No wonder Sylux face-palmed and said they were total idiots when they told him how amazing their plan was.
Adam rolled his eyes. "So much for being a genius right? Now here's your little punishment for worrying me to death. You have to act as Platoon 7's new mechanic. And you're on kitchen duty till the end of the mission. Got it? You're rooming with me. I have to babysit you. Now get out of here." He said, trying not to smile.
Ian pouted. "Can't I room with someone else?"
Adam's eyes glowered. "Someone else like Samus?"
Ian's face instantly flared. "Knock it off. That happened nearly a year ago. I was thinking of Lhikan…"
"And see the ship in debris in the morning? No. You're rooming with me. End of story."
Ian pretended to sob. "My brother hates me." He moaned.
Adam glared at him. "Ten minutes with you and you're already a pain. Maybe you should've died back in the reactor. You know what…?" He opened a drawer.
Ian freaked out, thinking he knew what his brother was taking out. "I'll…uh…Seeyoulater." He bolted out of the room, as though the entire fleet of the kriken army was at his tail.
Adam looked completely confused. "What in the world?" He found what he was looking for: his frame with him, his brother and Samus. He smiled at it. "Maybe this thing actually was a lucky charm…"
Samus found Anthony going through some files. She took a chair next to him, and sat down. He didn't notice her, and continued to rummage through the papers. "Dammit, where'd I put it?"
Samus raised her eyebrows. "Looking something?"
"Oh hi Samus. How was your mission?" Anthony replied without looking up. "And yeah, a yellow folder with all the records of Captian Kyna. I can't find it!"
Samus looked around the table. She looked back at Anthony and nearly face palmed. Grabbing a folder sitting in his lap, she hit him on the head with it. "Is it this?"
Anthony looked at her in confusion. He scanned the folder and grinned sheepishly. He held out his hand for it. "Please?"
Samus eyed him carefully, and placed the file in his palm. "What is it?" she asked.
"Oh, some plans on the capital of the Kriken Empire. I found it on my previous raid with James…By the way, did you bring In back? Where is he? I want to meet him again!"
"Ian's with Adam. Not sure how things are going back there." She said. She suddenly perked up. "Wait, where are Lhikan, Lyle and Maurice? I haven't seen them since I got here?"
"Oh, Commander Adam sent them to destroy a small city we've passed not so long ago. They should be here soon. Any luck with Sylux?"
Samus looked in surprise. "Wait, how do you know about Sylux?"
"Lhikan told me about his trainer." Anthony explained.
"Oh. Well, no, not really no. I wasn't able to bring him back." Samus said silently. She didn't say more. She wanted to ask Adam about Sylux's story before announcing his past to everyone.
Anthony looked at her. He could tell that she was holding back some information, but didn't press the subject. He continued to go through the file. "Samus, about-"
He was interrupted by a door sliding open, and Ian raced past the two of them, his face pale. He looked around the room wildly. "There!" He cried, and dove under the table as though the ceiling was collapsing.
Samus yelped at pushed her chair back, while Anthony got up and took a quick step backwards. "I-Ian? What in the world?"
"MY BROTHER WANTS TO KILL ME!"
Samus rolled her eyes. "Okay, what did you do this time?"
"NOTHING!"
Anthony peeked down under the table. "Um Ian? It's good to see you again?" he asked.
There was a pause, and hands shot out, grabbing Anthony and giving him a bear hug. "ANTHONY! I missed you so much old buddy!"
Anthony made a squeaking sound that could've been a 'yes' or a 'help', but Ian took it as a 'yes'.
Suddenly the door slid open, and Lyle, Lhikan and Maurice walked in. Lhikan spoke. "Mission couple-oh god Ian. I had no idea you were in this kind of stuff."
Ian let go, and looked at Lhikan. But Anthony wasn't going to let his friend get picked on.
"Heeey Lhikan. At least he doesn't flirt with the medic." He said.
Lhikan instantly turned scarlet. "It was an accident!" he cried.
Samus looked at Anthony. "Wait, he was flirting with Damara?"
"I WAS NOT!"
Anthony was about to say something, but the sound of heavy boots silenced everyone. Adam walked in, his hands behind his back. "Lhikan. How did the mission go?"
Lhikan, whose face was now turning back to normal color saluted. "Commander, we have completed the raid as ordered."
"What was taken and damaged?"
"Oh well the city was pretty beaten up. I doubt it'll be back to normal soon. As for what we stole, we found a large HQ. We busted it up and stole a couple of interesting things. It was loaded with crystals, credits, and a good amount of gold too."
Anthony gaped. "You robbed a bank." He deadpanned.
Lhikan grinned. "It was fun. Getting away was a little tricky though. Maurice is a lot better with ships than he claims to be."
"I wish you didn't take so much enthusiasm in your work Lhikan." Adam said dryly.
"Hey," Lyle said, "An enthusiastic worker is an efficient worker, right?"
"Yes, but an enthusiastic pillager is a future pirate." Adam countered.
Lhikan and Lyle looked at each other as though this was news to them.
"I thought so. Lhikan, the next call to some Commander named Lyxia is going to take place soon, Get ready. And Ian, why did you run off like that?"
Ian turned white again. "You were getting a gun out of your drawer. How am I supposed to feel?"
Samus could've sworn she saw Adam resist the urge to face-palm. "I was taking out a frame Ian. You've got to stop thinking I want to get back at you all the time." Without waiting for an answer, he turned, and walked out of the room.
"Oh…" Ian muttered, feeling a bit stupid at the moment. But he quickly recovered. "So Lhikan."
"Yeah?" the youngest member of the legion said while taking his armor off.
"One question."
"I gotta get ready for the report, so make it quick."
"Is it true you have hots for Damara?"
"Anthony, you're gonna die for making up this lie."
Samus raced after Adam. He was walking down the hallway towards his office, his hands behind his back, obviously in deep thought.
"Adam wait!"
The commander turned and saw Samus. She took a second to catch her breath before talking. "Adam…I need to talk to you. It's…it's about Sylux."
Adam stared into her emerald-green eyes and nodded. He opened the door to his office and gestured at her to enter.
"What is it?" he asked when he had shut the door behind him.
"When I met your brother back on Aipotu, I met Sylux. He…he told me his story." Samus said softly. "Adam is it true? Was Sylux really betrayed like he said? Did you protect him, and then order his death?"
Adam's face was as cold and emotionless as ever. "When Sylux returned from his mission against the mothership of the Space pirates, he was grievously injured. I heard from Colonel Riegerix that he had betrayed the entire legion, causing its destruction. I had no proof saying that he didn't do so. I wanted to know Sylux's side of the story."
"When I heard what Sylux told me, I knew Riegerix wasn't done. Since he was only one who the truth the colonel was going to everything to silence Sylux. I had to protect him for as long as I could. I did what I could, but Admiral Dane believed Riegerix's words. Eventually, Sylux would not make it. I decided to form a mission that would at least give him the benefit of a doubt."
"When Sylux's new legion had left, the Chairman received a report signed by me that I had ordered his death. But I was one of the only people to keep Sylux alive, so clearly, he didn't believe it. When I heard of it, I tried to contact Sylux, hoping that I wasn't too late. But unfortunately, the soldiers had tried to kill him. None succeeded, but Sylux had changed. HE was no longer the warrior who had fought on our side. He became twisted, evil, deadly."
Samus took a while to let it sink in. "But…why did Sylux keep Ian alive? He was after you."
Adam took a while to answer. "Sylux was a close friend of Ian. He probably still believed him, and suspected that I didn't give the orders to kill him. My guess is that he thinks that Riegerix is responsible."
Samus nodded. "What became of Colonel Riegerix?"
"I'm not sure. As far as I remember, he left his post a while ago. I haven't heard of him since."
Lhikan was seated on Captain Kyna's usual seat. Adam stood behind him with Anthony out of the projector's view. Samus was seated in the lieutenant's seat, watching her new-friend, wondering what he'll say.
Lhikan took a deep breath. He snapped his fingers. "Lyle, let's roll call."
The hologram shot on, and a huge Kriken stood there. He was much larger than the previous ones encountered, and his arms were thick, one with a large blade, the other with a boney hand which, Lhikan guessed, to be able to morph into a gun. "Commander Lyxia." Lhikan said. "I have come to present you my report of the past few months." Lhikan kept his voice even, though Samus noted some nervousness in it.
Lyxia stared at him. "I believe that it is time. But I'm afraid that your little report will have to wait. I have some more important news for you."
'Wow. Straight-forward without missing a beat.' Samus thought.
"Such as?"
"We have known some crisis in the Military domain. The Federation has proven itself to be much more of a threat than we anticipated. They have flattened several armies at once. Your help will be necessary."
"Of course." Lhikan replied. "But I'm afraid that my ship is not one for battling. My small squadron is weak. We shall not be much of a…help."
"In that case," Lyxia said, "I have another job for you. These are the news I wanted to talk to you about. The Stained Moon is being shadowed. Every single one of your stops have been utterly crushed. Venilus was your previous stop I believe."
"Of course." Lhikan answered. "We stopped by only hours ago. They were in complete increase of economy. Excellent for building weapons."
"It was destroyed. Pillaged. Wiped out. Same thing for Venomous Hell"
Lhikan's eyes went wide. "No…impossible. Who in the world…"
"Allow me to answer that." Lyxia said with infinite calm. "The Platoon 7 of the Galactic Federation."
Lhikan tensed. "Of course…only they would be foolish enough…"
"And they are led by their symbol: Adam Malkovich."
Lhikan grinned, though it was a bit nervous. "Join us at the rendez-vous point." He said. "We'll wait for them, and then we'll crush Adam and destroy the Galactic Federation's true pride."
Lyxia stayed silent. "I have a better idea. Let them capture you. Act as their prisoner, we'll strike them then."
Lhikan got up. "WHY YOU-"
Another hologram zapped to life next Lyxia. This kriken was huge. Four arms were attached to his back. On had a tentacle, two more had blades and the last one held a gun. Lhikan paled, and began to sweat in fear.
The Emperor.
He radiated power and authority. Even Lyxia looked like a wannabe soldier compared to him. He was a born-leader.
"M-my l-lord." Lhikan stammered. He heard a couple of grunts and growls coming from the other soldiers. He didn't dare to see who it was.
"Well well Kyna. I see that you are angry with the Commander." The Emperor said. His voice was steely.
"Any per-captain would be if they heard what Commander Lyxia had said." Lhikan stammered. Even if this was a hologram, Lhikan was scared of the kriken, it was like he was piercing his very heart.
"I see. Here are your orders. Go straight to meet the Revenge in the Cobalteer System. There, we will assemble the greatest fleet, and crush the existence of the pathetic Galactic Federation. I'm counting on you to join us in time. It would be a shame for you to miss our great victory, wouldn't it Kyna?"
"Y-yes my lord."
"Then get to it. Do not make me call you again. Or I'll destroy both you and your crew you are so proud of. Now go!" The hologram winked out.
Lyxia hissed. "Don't keep me waiting 'Captain'." His hologram went out.
Lhikan turned to face Adam. "Um…Commander? What do we do?" he asked.
The Commander ignored him. He stayed as still and quiet as a rock. He clenched his fist. He turned around and walked out of the room.
"Anthony, warn Admiral Dane. Tell him to bring the fleet to the planet Latiara. Tell him operation Diamond. He'll know what it is. Three days."
Lhikan looked at Samus and then at Anthony. He shifted uneasily. Whatever the Commander had said, it was important, seeing their faces. "Um…what's going to happen?" he asked.
Samus looked at Lhikan. "The greatest battle the Galactic Federation has known is going to take place. We've made it. Now we're going to assault the Capital of the Kriken Empire." She said.
"So, any decent idea why we're back at the HQ?" Lhikan asked, his arms crossed behind his head.
The Platoon 7 had returned to the Galactic Federation HQ a few days ago. Commander Adam hadn't given the full reason, but the members suspected it was to prepare for war.
Lhikan, Anthony, Ian and Samus were seated in a circular table, having lunch.
"Preparation for war?" Ian said, eating a fry.
"But the krikens know about our tardiness. Won't they be a little suspicious?" Lhikan asked. "Look, I know that Commander knows what he's doing, but I'm just wondering."
Anthony shrugged. "Don't worry Lhikan. Commander Adam will have it all sorted out. He isn't called a strategist genius for nothing. He got past even the most dangerous missions."
Lhikan said nothing. "Still, I thought we weren't going to attack the Kriken Empire head on. Remember back during the briefing?"
Samus nodded. She smiled. "Do you really think we were the only ones doing our raids here?"
A trio entered the cafeteria: Chairman Keaton, Admiral Dane and Commander Adam.
Everyone got up and saluted, but Chairman Keaton waved his hand to dismiss them.
They walked up to their own table and sat down, they began talking between them. Probably still trying to figure out their next course of action.
"That reminds me of something." Ian said. He got up and walked towards his brother. "Hey Adam, can I talk to you just for a sec?"
Adam coughed loudly and began drinking his coffee as though nothing had happened.
Ian took the hint. He rolled his eyes and made an extremely sarcastic salute. "A moment of your time Commander?"
Adam looked at him for a while, and then gestured at him to talk. "What do you want Ian?"
The younger brother glared at the Commander. "Did you change the lock of our dorm? My key doesn't fit in."
Adam nodded. "I did. Why?"
"Can I borrow your key to make a copy?"
Adam looked at his brother for a moment. He got up, and made a quick salute to the Admiral and the Chairman. "I'll be back in a minute." He led Ian back to his table, causing some people in the cafeteria to look in confusion. When he was standing directly behind Lhikan, and in front of Samus and Anthony, he spoke. "You wanted to borrow my key?" he said, a little louder than necessary.
Samus noted the small gleam in his eyes, the only hint of emotion in his face. 'This isn't good' she thought. Whenever he had that gleam, he would be planning something really embarrassing for the person responsible.
"Um, yeah. I need to make a copy." Ian said, wondering what his brother was doing.
Adam stayed quiet for a moment. "No."
"What? Why not! I need to get in too!" Ian protested, unaware that the cafeteria was listening to the sibling's conversation.
"I don't trust you when it comes to rooms. I heard a couple of rumors that Samus left our quarters last night. Not to mention some…ah…noises. Care to explain what happened?"
Ian's face turned scarlet, he started saying some broken sentences. Samus felt her inside temperature rocket skyward. She realized that the ENTIRE place as silent, creating an awkward silence that was killing both her and Ian. She looked at her friends for help.
Anthony was looking down at his meal fighting hard not to laugh, while Lhikan was giving her a 'You're not serious' look.
"Commander there's a good explanation to this." Lhikan stammered.
Adam's stone cold gaze left his brother and faced the young adult. "Yes?"
"Well, you see…Ian invited us…well to celebrate the fact that Ian was back and well, we decided to party, and Ian invited us in his quarters. We watched TV, and I made a really crappy joke. As to make fun of me, Samus threw the remote at me. It hit the wall and it fell under the bed. When it hit the wall, it pressed a button, and the TV switched to a channel where some really inappropriate thing appeared. We struggled to get it off, and we eventually made it, though it took half of the night. Reaching the remote was hard. Good thing that Anthony's got big biceps and Samus is a lot flexible than expected."
Adam stared at the prodigy. He stared for long and so intently that Lhikan began sweat nervously. "Um…Commander?"
"Why didn't you just switch the TV off?" Adam asked.
Lhikan his face turning a little red scratched the back of his head. "I…I guess we didn't think about that option." He stammered.
Adam stayed silent. He leaned over and spoke directly in Lhikan's face, "A foolproof story. Indeed you do have some brains. What a shame that your story doesn't hold a second."
"Um…why not?"
"I don't own a TV."
The entire cafeteria was filled with sniggering, and a couple of 'epic fails' could be heard.
Lhikan's face flared. He got up and blurted out; "WHAT KIND OF COMMANDER DOESN'T OWN A TV?" He quickly realized what he just said and clapped both his hands against his mouth.
Adam raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Lhikan opened and closed his mouth, his face beef red. "I…uh…I…" he then bolted out the room, skidded to a halt in front of the doors. He made a quick salute. "Um…see ya Commander. Bye Chairman. Nice knowing you Admiral." And he raced away.
The cafeteria burst out laughing, which was silenced by Adam's upraised hand.
The commander faced his brother. "When you'll see him next time, tell him that he's in kitchen duty for three weeks. And you," he stabbed a finger in Ian's chest. "are going to do some explaining this afternoon." He stared at Samus. "And you, lady, are going to join him with me."
With that, he turned and walked back to his table, quite satisfied of his trick. Maybe this time, Ian won't be all over Samus like this.
Samus retreated into the training center, mostly to escape the giggles and whispers she was getting. Stupid Adam. How could he make fun of her like that! He'll pay for that!
She looked at the screen to see who was fighting in the virtual reality.
It was Lhikan.
She decided to join him. Climbing in one of the cylinders, she was about to activate it when the doors slid open and an embarrassed Ian followed by Anthony entered. "Sup guys?"
"We were looking for you. What are you doing?" Anthony said.
"I was going to join Lhikan. Want to come?"
Ian climbed into his own cylinder, imitated by Anthony.
Samus activated her own. The lid shut, and she closed her eyes and felt her mind go blank.
Lhikan was lying on the ground, sniping NPCs, vaping them one after the other.
"You okay?"
Lhikan turned to see the trio standing behind him. He shrugged. "Still trying to get rid of the embarrassment Commander Adam gave me."
Samus nodded. "Enjoying sniping NPCs?"
Lhikan nodded. "They make some weird noises when they die." He commented.
There was an awkward silence.
Ian spoke up. "So, is this a private party, or can anyone join?"
Lhikan grinned. "So, here's the goal." He pointed to a crystal shaped thing floating on the ground. "That's an octolite. We have to grab it and keep it safe for as long as possible."
"Then why are you up here protecting it and not trying to get it?" Anthony said.
Lhikan smiled sheepishly. "I'm lazy." He turned. "Let's go!"
The four of them cheered and jumped off the ledge towards the octolite.
Adam looked left and right. Where in the world was Ian? He had to give him a document…
"Krystal, do you know where Ian went?" he asked a lady who was going through some papers.
Krystal thought for a moment. "I'm not sure…I saw Lhikan going to the training center though. Knowing Ian, he's probably with him."
Adam nodded. "Thank you." He walked briskly towards the training center.
The metal doors slid open to accept him. The first thing he registered was laughing. He turned and saw a group of people clustered around a screen of a virtual training process that was taking place. He decided to check it out.
He reached the group and cleared his throat. Everyone spun around and instant saluted, some of them struggling to keep straight faces. He dismissed them. "What's going on?" he asked.
A brown haired boy Adam recognized as being called Jimmy, explained. "It's Lhikan, Samus, Ian and Anthony. They're so funny." He said.
Adam nodded. He watched the training.
A missile screeched past Samus and exploded against a wall. She had managed to snag the octolite, but the NPCs were going after her shooting like madmen.
Anthony and Ian were holding them back, while Lhikan went out to scout ahead. They were doing a pretty good job so far-except for the time Anthony had tried to tackle an NPC, but missed and knocked Lhikan off his feet.
Samus saw a green armored human run towards her. She waved at him to get his attention. "Any luck? We're getting routed here!"
Lhikan slowed down. His face flushed with both excitement and worry. "There's a ship just ahead. But it's old and damaged. What do we do?"
"FIXING'S MY JOB!" Ian shouted, and ran as fast as he could past them, followed by Anthony.
Samus watched them run. A missile exploded right behind her, snapping her back to reality.
She ran as fast as she could.
The ship was grey, small and, as Lhikan had said, old. It had three reactors to give a boost.
Samus wondered how they possibly going to get it going. Ian and Lhikan and disappeared inside, and Anthony was crouched at the entrance, covering her.
Samus dove into the ship. "WHAT DO WE DO NOW?" she shouted over the noise of explosions.
"IAN'S GETTING THE ENGINES STARTED! IT WON'T BE LONG TILL-"
The reactors roared to life, and the ship slowly rose into the air.
Samus looked at Anthony, bewildered. "HOW IS HE DOING THAT?"
"DON'T QUESTION A MECHANIC!"
The grey ship began to pick up speed, and soon, it was screaming down the dark alley, away from the NPCs.
Samus shut the door of the ship, and wandered inside with Anthony. "Um…guys?"
"OVER HERE!"
Both of them walked till they reached the cockpit of the ship. Ian was piloting, and Lhikan was seated in the shotgun seat, going through some drawers. "Not a bad getaway huh? Now what?" he asked.
"We have to keep the octolite safe as long as possible. So I suggest we-" Ian was interrupted by a squeal Lhikan made.
Everyone looked at him with WTF looks. Lhikan was peering inside a drawer. He grabbed something and showed his prize to his friends: a commander's cap. It was dirty, black and ruined, but Lhikan was very pleased with it. He deactivated his power suit, and placed the cap on his head. "Commander Adam is taking orders." He said in a stupid voice. "Commander Adam is going to make you three his personal slaves."
Samus rolled her eyes. "All right Lhik-"
"Commander Adam demands that you call him Commander Adam or he will throw you overboard." Lhikan answered, still in his stupid voice.
Anthony instantly caught on. "Payback on the commander." He guessed.
There was a loud roar, and the ship shook. A black creature flew over the ship. "Commander Adam and Anthony will take flying thing down. The hatch will be open. "he got up, and leaned against the wall, trying to get the security code right. The angle at which Anthony as looking at him at, made it look like he was pressing buttons on his arm. "The hatch is open." He ran down the alley, followed by Anthony, who was shouting;
"HOLY COW! COMMANDER ADAM'S BATMAN!"
Ian instantly spun around to look behind him. "Seriously? Dude that's awesome!"
Samus rolled her eyes again, but she decided to play the game. "And we all know how much you love batman Ian."
"I gotta see this. Samus, fly the ship." He instantly climbed out of his seat, and ran after the two other boys yelling, "MAN I LOVE MY BROTHER SO MUCH MORE NOW!"
Samus laughed. She couldn't help it.
The three men were on top of the ship, looking at the ominous hallway that was shooting past at high speed.
A screech was heard. A huge, dragon-like creature appeared, following the ship at high speed.
Lhikan grinned and yelled in delight. "IT'S THE BALD PIGEON!"
Ian looked at Lhikan. "Ridley? Bald pigeon?"
"Pay no attention." Anthony said.
The three of them opened fire on the monster.
No one dared to go near the Commander, much less look at him. His was stiffer, colder and less emotionless than ever. He turned and entered the final cylinder.
"I'm joining them." He whispered dangerously.
"AND THE MIGHTY RIDLEY GOES DOWWWWWWNN!" Lhikan announced as Ridley was a ball of fire disappearing in the distance. "Come on, let's see how Samus is doing."
Samus was still flying the ship, trying to ignore the trio's insanity. "The ship has suffered from the battle. We'll have to land her."
"Commander Adam orders you to fly till the end of the tunnel and ram into the wall." Lhikan said.
"I'd say we land now."
Everyone turned to face a person in Galactic Federation Marine armor. Lhikan pointed at him. "Commander Adam does not take orders from mere soldiers!" he snapped playfully.
"Indeed." The man deactivated his helmet.
Lhikan paled and began stuttering.
Anthony's eyes went wide, and his gaze fell to his feet.
Ian gulped. "Have mercy."
Adam walked towards Lhikan, and glared down at him. He stretched out his hand. Lhikan put the commander's hat in it. "Thank you. I believe that you should start thinking twice before making jokes." He said dryly. He looked at Samus. "Samus, try to knock some maturity in this guy. Ian, just because I have to deal with Lhikan doesn't mean you're off the hook."
Ian groaned.
Adam turned, and left the virtual training.
"Party pooper." Lhikan pouted.
So...yeah. Humor. I couldn't help it. There should one or two chapters till the end.
If you're asking why Adam purposely made things awkward in the cafeteria, I say that he doesn't want Ian to be with Samus. I see him trying to make things so awkward in between them that Samus and Ian wouldn't dare too look at each other again. Parents. Meh.
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