Chapter 11:

Angseth had expected a room, in a compound, or even on some far wing of an outcropping of some space station. Four walls, a bed, and maybe something to store her items in. This wasn't a room. This was a house Arashe pointed out the different areas and their purposes. Angseth could figure out the rest for herself. In theory she could see herself staying here. But she had no idea that they would spoil her so much.

True to his word, Arashe had transferred her away from the prison sector, and she was given a fully furnished home on the surface of Agharta, the first layer of landmass that she had viewed from Areshe's office. Agharta had everything that one required of a colony ship, although colony wasn't quite the right phrase. The Chozo lived on these ships. They conducted all of their business from the ships, and they claimed no home world.

After crying her eyes out for the third time that day in Arashe's office, the Chozo had helped her to calm down by offering her some tea. The tea did help to calm her nerves a bit, and he immediately called for an escort to lead her to the transport vessels. By this point, Angseth had no idea what kind of strange device to expect. She honestly thought that they would just teleport her to whatever destination they had in mind. Arashe had joined her in this little bubble thing that floated down to the surface continent known as Agharta. It was then that she had the opportunity to get a good look at her new surroundings.

Once on the surface it was impossible to tell that she was on a ship. The sky was blue, and the land had been covered in all manner of plant life. Everywhere small paved stone trails cut through the forest or along rivers, over simple wooden bridges and toward temples and other structures. Everyone here had an alternate Morph Ball form. Angseth occasionally saw Chozo walking or talking to each other, but mostly everyone rolled along the paths, each contained inside their own little multicolored spheres.

The bubble-like transport came to a halt near one of the lakes Angseth had seen from Arashe's office. He helped her out of the transport, and they stood before a wall seemingly made of trees that had been woven and twisted together. She could see an opening in the trees, and beyond it, her new living quarters.

This wasn't just a house, but three small buildings, arranged in a triangular shape, creating a space in the middle that contained a small garden complete with pond and waterfall. The structures stood off the ground, built on thick poles, much like traditional homes found on Earth in the Nippon Empire. They had sliding screens that separated the interior spaces made of a flat surface that acted like a hologram. She would notice later that the design on the screen changed as the day wore on. The first building served as a living space, complete with a small kitchen that included a replicator. The second building served as her office space. The communication systems were familiar, but like everything else here, more advanced. The third building would serve as her bedroom. It had been furnished with a bed much like the one on her ship, a small low dresser, and nightstand.

"These are your living quarters now, and in possible subsequent visits," Arashe said through the translating device as he pushed open one of the screens. The inside had a wooden floor covered in large woven reed mats that were light green in color. Angseth noticed something to her right.

The Sigel had been placed on display in a stasis field. It had been cleaned up, with a round of clips hovering underneath it. Angseth felt her mouth drop, unaware of how the Chozo would have reacted to the banned technology locked away in a hidden compartment in her fighter. She brought her hand up and ran it through her hair. "I see you found my Sigel."

"Oh yes," Arashe turned to her with a smile. "We assumed that it was standard issue for all Confederate Captains."

Vera felt a smile come over her. Arashe knew damn well that weapon was banned, but was allowing her to keep it. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to explore the rest of the home. One of the first things she noticed were all the plants in the dwelling. They decorated every room and grew from almost every corner of the building. The pool in the garden turned out to be heated, which led her to believe that it was to be used for a bath. Arashe confirmed her theory, and Vera began to grow excited, She hadn't had a decent bath in such a long time-at least not one with real water. The home was pleasant, save for the fact that she had to bob and weave her way through all the plant life. She still wore the scrubs she had put on earlier that day, no shoes, and the prosthetic leg thumping along with her.

Her bedroom contained a sliding screen that lead out to a wooden deck. There were even more plants out here, and a stunning view of the lake. Angseth was feeling less and less like she was in the hands of an alien race, and more like she had been looking at a vacation home on some distant planet. She looked up at the wide expanse of blue over her head.

But its not a sky, its an artificial atmosphere, she looked across the horizon; clouds seemed to gather toward the east. It probably rains in here too. What a wonderful place. Why would Aran want to leave all of this behind?

Arashe stepped up behind her "Do you like your new living quarters?"

"Yes I do, its much more than I had expected," Angseth turned to look up at him. "I can't thank you enough."

"You will have two servants at your call. They will be here within the hour with fresh clothes and food. You will have limited access to the data banks on the Araia. The things that are mainly off-limits are our technology files and migration routes. All others should be free. Even the documentation on our Hatchling," Arashe said with a smile. "The computer systems have been calibrated for a distant transmission channel. You will be able to communicate with the Mabus. Do you have any other family that you wish to speak to? I can have the systems calibrated for their location. Perhaps your mother and father?"

At that Angseth's smile faded. She hadn't thought about her mother or father in years. For a moment she studied the horizon, at the ripples of the artificial sun off the lakes surface. "You won't need to. My parents were killed during the Pirate raids on the Isrec mining rings years ago."

Arashe crossed both of his hands over his heart, and bowed. "Forgive me, I did not know."

"Not many people do. The Isrec rings aren't really productive enough to make news. It was no more than a footnote on some report I read."

Vera spent a moment in silence. She had shed those tears years ago. Not only had the Pirates raided the colony for all useable ores and minerals, but they had also kidnapped a good majority of the people for whatever purposes. She still held the hope that one day she would encounter her parents somewhere in the slave trade. She hadn't felt that hope much in later years.

"I will leave you to grow accustomed to your new surroundings."

Angseth nodded, and saw Arashe to the door. She closed the screen after he left, then looked over at the Sigel. Her duffle bag had also been placed in the main room. Her fighter was the only thing missing from her personal possessions. She collected her duffle and shuffled into her bedroom, then glanced up the small hallway toward her office space.

Vera quickly closed the space, then sat down before the holo screens. Her left hand ran over the keys, occasionally stumbling over letters and buttons. She almost sobbed when the call went through.

"The Socrates has released another probe."

Lieutenant Briar leaned closer to her holo, knowing that it wouldn't do much good, force of habit mostly. "How many probes do they intend to send down there?"

"We've registered ten so far."

Briar settled back into his seat,

Angseth's seat, not mine.

and steepled his fingers. The probes seemed to be a bit of a stretch for a data-gathering mission. He would guess ten probes for possible colonization, but not a data run. Briar filed this away in the back of his mind under "interesting", but said nothing more of it. Things had been fairly routine thus far, however there had not been any transmission from Admiral Mirson about further orders. SR3-88 had become a bit of a downer. A big dead brown and gray planet that the scientists picked at as if it were the giant fossil of some beast. Ten probes.

Then again, the Socrates had been pretty loaded when he had visited. Maybe they were ditching some excess weight? Briar pondered this as he announced that he was retiring for the night, then pushed away from his floating chair,

her chair

and guided his body to the door. Perhaps tomorrow morning he would dump his mental "interesting" bin and see if any random puzzle pieces matched up. He didn't trust either Svenson or Thomas. The scientist had seemed eager to start on the dirt ball. If there was anything left alive down there, Svenson seemed determined to find it.

What if that paranoid goof did manage to find some of the last strands of "X"? In that case Briar didn't want the Mabus anywhere near the planet, and in the event that it did infect his crew, could he find it in his heart to slam the Mabus into the planet in the hopes that he could destroy it? It seemed to be a violent solution to the problem, and it wasn't even entirely effective the last time Someone Who Will Not Be Named Again tried it.

He stopped. Nevada had missed his room entirely. He shook his head and turned around, his tail lifting from the floor. Vera would have playfully smacked him and told him to wake up.

Like the layout of Angseth's quarters, the first thing he encountered through the door of his room was an office space. A large desk stood in the center, decorated with various objects of his travels. Briar had noticed that no matter where he went, beings of all races had something that resembled an office. A sacred place to pray to the gods of order and commerce. Offerings of paper and information were presented to the gods regularly, and the worshipers referred to the holo screens like some all-seeing oracle to determine if the gods had heard their prayers.

"Lieutenant Briar?"

"Yes?" By habit he looked to the speakers on his desk. They were little things, unnoticed by many.

"There is call on your private line."

"Thank you. I'll take it in here." Nevada sat down behind his desk. Speaking of gods, that was probably Mirson extending their sentence. He scratched his eye ridges, then turned his feline eyes toward the screen, and highlighted the bar that read, "Accept".

"Nevada?" Came a welcome voice, and even more welcome features.

"Vera!" He leaned forward, excitement leaping into his chest.

Angseth was at a loss for words for a moment, looking away and wiping at her eyes with her left hand. "Hi…how have you been?"

Briar however was at no loss for desired information. "What happened? Where are you? Are you okay? Why didn't you contact me sooner?!"

"I…I can answer a few of those, but I'm afraid the rest are…confidential."

Nevada paused, absorbing her words. "Shit. You were reassigned."

Vera nodded.

Nevada knew that it would be useless to ask questions about "where" and "how long". Reassignment was a common military practice. Suddenly a loved one went away, and the only information their suffering family received was a brief call explaining that their loved one was alive well, and coming home soon. Sometimes "soon" meant twenty-four hours, and sometimes it meant years.

The look had also returned to his mates eyes. She had seen the far side of hell again and somehow managed to stumble back. So much was said in that one glance. The bin labeled "interesting" in the back of his mind suddenly dropped to the floor as if Vera had come over and kicked the thing into its side, sending pieces and fragments sliding over the workspace of his mind. The pieces drew together as if by some magnetic force. Vera's next words made his blood run cold.

"Admiral Mizzen will be in touch with you shortly in regards to your new orders," her lips said one thing, but her eyes said entirely another. Her eyes told him that this was going to get a lot worse before it got any better.

…have been assigned to guard Svenson's vessel and proposed research facility on the planets surface.. Words from Mirson's briefing ran through Briars mind. Another thought formed behind that. Ten probes. That was too excessive for research purposes. Ten probes perhaps spaced out over an amount of time, but not one after another successively. Taking into consideration what he had seen on the Socrates, this wasn't a research mission. No, given his own experience in the field, these were supplies for a base of some kind. They weren't probes at all, but units designed to deliver materials to the planets surface. No actual hard evidence, but from the sheer number of the probes…and the size of them.

"I love you Briar. I will try to be with you as soon as I can."

"I love you too Vera." His hand lifted to touch her cheek, but stopped when his hand disrupted the holo field. "There have always been forces bigger than ourselves, yet we have always survived."

Vera nodded, her dark brown eyes fixing on his. Nevada felt his heart and arms ache, he just wanted to hold her again, feel her tiny heart beat against his chest and lick the sweat and tears off her cheek.

"Bye Nevada."

"Goodbye Vera."

The holo screens faded, and Briar leaned his head against his desk. The fang Angseth had given him slipped out of his collar and dangled from his neck. He watched it sway for a moment before lifting his head and activating the com. "Serec?"

"Yeah Briar?"

"Please meet me in cargo bay hold 15F."

"If you had wanted to check out the odd piece of cargo, it's too late." Serec responded. "They picked that thing up yesterday."

Briars image left the holo screen. Angseth rested her head on the edge of the table in her office space, the fang falling out of her shirt and dangled before her. She was completely unaware, but wouldn't be surprised if someone had told her that Briar was currently sitting in the same position over half a galaxy away. Vera slowly looked up to observe her alien surroundings, suddenly overwhelmed with the immensity of her situation. Getting overwhelmed wasn't in her nature, and she hated the tears that crept from her eyes. How dare they expose her weaknesses? How dare they escape so soon after being locked away in their dark closets? Tears of pain were welcome. Tears of desperation or of sheer stress were not. Anything that made her seem weak she had worked to lock away. Anything that could betray her standing among humans had been pushed to the deepest part of her mind. Still the tears crept, seeping from crushed dreams and lost friends like a fine distilled fluid.

Now is not the time to have a nervous breakdown. Not in this place, not this far away from. . .

Civilization is what she wanted to say, but that itself was a joke. The Chozo were one of the oldest races in the Five Galaxies and beyond. If there was civilization to be had, it was here.

She stood and shuffled into the bedroom. For a moment she stood before that large feather-stuffed bed, and felt her leg give. Her body hit the mattress, and her tears wet the soft pillows. Screw it, she would go ahead and cry. Cry for her arm, cry for Briar, and cry for Samus, all because she had been too much of a little scared bitch to help her.

That wasn't Aran. . .Not anymore.

Vera kicked and felt the prosthetic fall to the floor. The bed was soft and this damn crying fit had been a long time coming.

The stimulants had been gotten, and she had acquired, then wrecked yet another jet pack. The air on Aether seemed to be getting clearer, and most of the dangerous critters were easily avoided or disposed of. Most of them seemed to run when she entered their lairs or stomping grounds anyway. Almost as if they recognized her as another predator or some scavenger that killed weaker creatures. Part of her mind told her that was the probably the case, although she felt that the only reason she didn't encounter very many creatures was that Aran had killed them all.

Speaking of which; where the hell had Aran gone now? Angseth scanned the horizon and all the likely areas that she thought Aran might have visited at one point. Vera's power suit had been patched together so many times it now looked like some grade school wielding project. Currently she had more stimulants and painkillers running through her system than she was sure were healthy for any living creature. Vera would be quite surprised if she made it out of this without gaining any new addictions.

Samus once again had vanished. The Hunter was now clad in a suit that looked as if it had been made from liquid mercury, and just as slippery. The Marine couldn't seem to get a good bead on Aran's location. Not to mention that the Hunter moved damn fast, whether in her Morph Ball form or just running. How did anyone have that much stamina? Angseth had prided herself in performing a five-mile run while wearing her power suit, but she couldn't compete with Aran. After a while Angseth had given up trying to track her. She might as well have tried to catch the wind.

Already Vera had run through most of the areas that she could reach. Some places were just plain inaccessible. For a long time she had avoided all areas near the Pirate base. If she was having trouble fighting off wildlife, then she didn't want to fight trained killers. Now she felt almost obligated to go and investigate since those bastards were the reason why she and her now deceased comrades ended up on this god-forsaken planet in the first place. Part of her wanted to explore, another part screamed for back-up that was no longer living. All of her teammates had been killed. Each of their names highlighted in red on her HUD. Every last one. People she had spent her life with, shared a few of her more intimate secrets with. For all intents and purposes, this crew had been her family. No, she couldn't get lost in the past now, she would save the tears and pain for some other time.

Angseth stood near the entrance to what she guessed would be an expansive Pirate compound. Aran had already been here. No big surprise there, but damn the woman left quite a mess behind her. Strewn hither and yon were dead pirates. Some neatly shot in the head, others reduced to a paste, almost as if the molecules in their body had been vibrated at such a high frequency that they lost all structural integrity. At the moment Vera could care less about avenging her dead crewmembers, she was honestly too tired to even think about it, but she knew that the Pirates would have supplies. Hell, maybe they would have some spare suits lying around that she could use. Anything would be better than what she was wearing. Since Aran had already been through here, Vera didn't expect much resistance.

She walked along the outside wall until she came to a convenient hole. Some kind of even heavy arms fire or mine had caused this crack, and almost compromised the whole side of the compound. Quiet as a mouse, Vera slipped inside, and flipped through her scanners until she came to night vision. As expected the interior was dark, and stank. The stench of the dead mingled with the scent of bodily fluids and other chemicals present in the air. The air was also disturbingly still compared to the dust storm outside. Dirt had gathered near the entrance, blown in by fierce winds. Angseth felt her feet slip for a moment before her boots gained a grip on the corrugated floor. She calmly began to walk up the hall toward the flickering light of computer screens beyond.

Every room she came to held more death. Mostly pirates, some local fauna, other scavengers like herself. Somewhere deeper inside the base she could hear disjointed sounds. Maybe the dying whines of some piece of machinery, or perhaps even the prolonged death throes of some creature. Angseth felt no fear as she moved through the halls, opening doors and investigating rooms for anything that could be salvageable. The computer banks held no interest for her; she couldn't read what was on them anyway. Right now she was only interested in medical packs and any useable technology that Aran hadn't already stripped. Vera even began kicking over the bodies of the dead, searching them for anything of value.

The hall eventually opened wider, until she stood on a platform over a pit of darkness. Her scanners indicated a large room below her, containing many pieces of technology, computers, and interestingly enough, one very large holo projector depicting a detailed map of all the planets in this system cluster. Vera searched until she could find a way down. At the moment she didn't care too much about getting back up, she could worry about that later. She climbed down some fallen scaffolding and stood on the base level. More dead bodies and more of that horrible stench, still nothing useable.

Movement suddenly registered out of the corner of her eye. Angseth swung around and aimed her rifle toward her right. Samus stood there, once again her armor having changed to another color and hue. Apparently somewhere along the line she had dropped the silver armor for this darker version. The plating was hard. Purple and black in places then dark blue in others. Underlying the panels and plates was a blue light, seeping from her eyes and arm cannon. Across her chest and shoulders the blue and black light gave an intricate interplay revealing the underlying artificial muscle tone.

Samus stood there for a moment, regarding Angseth curiously, almost as if she had never seen her before.

"Its just you," Angseth said, her throat dry. She lowered her weapon, and then slid it back into place on her back.

Samus' head tilted to the side, then back, almost as is she were staring at Angseth down the line of her cheek. After a moment she turned, then began heading for a glowing piece of wall. At first Angseth had dismissed it as some exposed flickering wiring, but now that she actually focused on the section of wall, she began to realize that it wasn't a blown holo panel after all, but another one of those portals that Aran had been jumping in and out of for the past forty-eight hours. Once again Aran began heading toward the portal. And this time Angseth had enough.

"Goddammit. I have been chasing your ass all over this damned planet and you still wont pause for long enough to give me a straight answer! Why do you keep leaving me? Huh? Marines are not supposed to leave others! I know you're a bounty hunter, but hey! Come back dammit!"

Samus didn't even so much as look back, she continued walking directly into the portal.

Angseth felt rage overcome her. She was tired, in pain, desperate, afraid and most of all angry. She would pin Samus down to the ground if she had to until she drew some answers out of her. Samus vanished into the portal, and this time Angseth ran right in, a battle cry ripping from her throat.

The sensation was entirely unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It felt like the roughest space jump that she had ever taken, and she didn't handle jumps all that well to begin with. She could feel her entire body getting pulling along, each atom and molecule pulled and then reassembled in a separate three-dimensional space. For a moment she wasn't even aware that her body had stopped moving, or that it had been moving at all. Her scream had been separated from her throat and what remained only sounded like the whimper of a lost child.

The world was dark, slowly she registered one point of light, and as she came to focus on the light she felt reasoning return to her. The light came from a crystal, which had been mounted on a staff. The light cast a circle around her, illuminating purple-colored sands and a world that seemed to have been caved from amethyst. Standing before her, just outside the light, was Samus. Samus now looked back at her almost defensively. Angseth gained her bearings again and stepped forward.

"Look the least you can do is…" Angseth stopped. As soon as her body left the circle of light, a light crackling sound began in her ears. Her entire body suddenly felt as if it had caught fire. Vera fell to her knees and drew her arms in toward her chest, almost as if that would make the pain stop.

The atmosphere, the atmosphere is corrosive! I need to get out of here!

She spun, reaching back for the circle of light, then the crystal suddenly flickered and went out. Samus suddenly stood next to Angseth. Vera shifted her gaze toward Samus' feet. Instead of the familiar boots, she saw toes, actual real toes covered in some thick hide-like skin. As a clawed hand closed around her throat, the thought crossed Angseth's mind that perhaps this wasn't Aran.

Angseth felt her body pulled from the ground. For a moment she peered into two glowing eyes. No, this was not Aran! Vera kicked, and her foot found no target. The claws tightened, and she felt them pierce her armor and sink into her flesh. Something familiar overcame her. Her rage, her anger, her instinct intensified by her need to survive. Something was making it stronger. Something she didn't know how to place.

Her vision began to grow more vivid, the colors of the world around her all the more intense, she could feel and respond to the energy flowing into her body. Blue light engulfed her, pulling at the blood in her veins, saturating every muscle fiber and every cell of her bones. Her hands wrapped around this Aran-creature's arm, and instead of fighting that power, her body instinctively drew upon it. Almost immediately she felt stronger, more energized. For a moment she bathed in that blue light, pulled it around her like some kind of shroud.

The creature, stunned, let go.

Angseth felt her body fall to the ground, but the fall seemed to last for an extraordinary amount of time. Even the constant tick and pop in her ears from the atmosphere chewing into her armor seemed slowed. Vera righted herself and landed on the ground, her body sinking down to all fours. The energy outpouring from her hands and feet caused the dirt around her to stir. Her body had become hyper-alert. Every muscle was now working to its fullest, every cell expending its maximum amount of energy. And everywhere was the blue light. The entire world was alive with all the colors that energy possessed.

She remembered that the adults back in the Isrec mining colonies would speak of times that their bodies had reacted in this very same manner. When in times of stress, they would find that the world had changed to their will. Most attributed it to the gods. Angseth was finding herself attributing it to the blue light spilling forth from this Aran look-alike. She wanted more of that light. She found that her body craved that light to the extent that she craved another shot of stimulants. Was light even the correct term? Angseth sprang, determined to pull more of that light toward her. She had tasted this new drug, and now her body wanted more.

The creature jumped, and began to hover backward, it's bare toes not touching the sand. Angseth chased it deeper into this dark other world, which had many of the same features of Aether, but not quite. The atmosphere creaked and popped in her ears, she could see her armor corroding away, small flecks of it fell away behind her as she ran. Angseth wanted more of that blue light. The blue light enabled her to survive, and she would tear through anything to get it. An instant power rush, and an instant addiction. The creature turned, and fired its weapon at her. Vera was unable to move fast enough and received the full blast directly in her chest. Before she hit the ground, three more shots impacted with her body. She hit the purple sand, her body slid, then began to tumble down a steep trench. She flipped once, her head striking a boulder. She fought the oncoming darkness, unsuccessfully.

The Araia was big, yet even that seemed to be an understatement. Vera felt that no word in the Standard tongue could describe accurately the enormity of the Araia. A colony ship wasn't the right word to explain it either. Technically, Confederation data banks described a colony ship as a vessel large enough to sustain life for an extended amount of time. But colony ships usually had a destination and the people on the ship would eventually leave and settle on a planet somewhere. An artificial environment that had been meant to hold life for indefinite amounts of time would be considered a station. Most stations, were as their namesake implied, stationary. From what little information she had access to, the Chozo ships were not big mechanical beasts, but a collection of landmasses, that were held in place through whatever means they had devised over several epoch of their civilization.

Inside the Araia were no less than three other layers of landmass called Life Spheres, all placed within each other like Russian dolls. Each layer held another set of continents, more cities, and more technology. Preliminary research told her the Araia was the smallest of all the Chozo ships. The largest held over seven layers of Life Spheres. Each level contained its own unique ecosystem, flora and fauna. Hovering around each Life Sphere were smaller ships that contained office spaces, military training facilities, and of course, prisons. One of which Angseth had been in recently. A council, usually consisting of an odd number of members, headed each prison. This helped to ensure that a majority would rule in every decision.

The Chozo spoke in a kind of modified sign language. Thus far her escorts had been kind enough to wear universal translating devices. Angseth soon requested that they not use translation devices except in emergencies. She wanted to pick up the language on her own. The Chozo language required both hands to be used when signing. The right hand, the noun hand, was used to denote the subject, while the left hand was used to convey verbs. Vera was positive that if she studied enough then she could pick up the sign language, then again, there was the matter of her missing arm.

Which brought her to her current problem. After a few days of hobbling around on her prosthetic, she had enough, and began to look for a mechanic. She knew the Chozo had advanced cybernetic technology. The Confederation owed much of their own experience to Chozo tech. Finding a mechanic on the other hand was a little more difficult. She had no idea where to start, who to go to, and most importantly, how much it would cost her.

Arashe assigned two escorts to ensure that she was comfortable. Angseth still didn't know their names per say, but had managed to memorize their hand signals. Since she was unaware of their gender, she picked two androgynous names. Vera called one Jamie, and the other Ryan. Through a little more research, Angseth discovered that the Chozo language didn't have gender specific terms. Much of Chozo dialect didn't translate nicely into Standard, and as she came to understand more, the reason was clear. Standard didn't have room for the complex ideas that the Chozo took as a part of their daily lives. Translating anything into Standard was like trying to explain quantum physics to a Neanderthal.

The Chozo found truth in the soul, and the body was a tool or vessel, the two worked in unison, or not at all. An individual had gender, but this was not the deciding factor of their character. Angseth became sure that outside of mating, they really didn't care. The Chozo word for "one person" was more complex, because they felt that it represented more. Angseth tried creating a direct translation into Standard, and came up with what she felt was the grammatical equivalent of Pi. The concept just never ended. Now that she knew that much, she didn't mind that the translating devices always called her "he". It was a lot simpler than what the Chozo really meant.

Of her two escorts, Jamie was the taller. Jamie had light cream-colored feathers, with dark brown eyes surrounded by a bright splash of white, creating a mask around "his" eyes. Jamie seemed to be fond of wearing pastel colors, long flowing wispy ethereal robes that changed color and design depending on what light he stood in. Jamie didn't speak much; he seemed to be mainly the account holder, or even the muscle behind Ryan's actions.

Ryan was shorter and predominately light blue in color, also with a white mask around his eyes. Much to Angseth's delight and dismay, Ryan liked to talk. His hands moved at such a fast pace, that Angseth had given up on trying to follow the conversation. He was also the more vocal, prone to song-like chirps to gain the attention of others. With such a large vocal range, she asked Ryan why he hadn't learned to speak Standard. His answer was simple and insulting. Why should he learn to grunt in a creative manner?

Angseth had settled into a morning routine. She would wake up, head into the main room, meditate for an hour or so, then eat breakfast, usually consisting of fruit and some kind of tea. She did crave a wider variety of food, but hey, beggars couldn't be choosers. The majority of the day was spent searching through the databases on aspects of Chozo culture, and of course studying the language.

Waking up this morning so far didn't prove to be any different. She pulled herself out of the very soft bed, and slipped on the prosthetic. The door in her room that led the balcony had been left cracked open the night before, and early morning light poured in along with the smell of flowers. She stood and dressed in one the nicer causal suits she had been given, then moved through the home to the main room. Waiting on the steps out front was a familiar sphere. Blue in color with the average amount of joints and gold pin striping creating a grid-like effect down the center. Angseth slid the front screen open allowing the ball to roll inside.

The Morph Ball began to glow as she walked past it toward the kitchen. Ryan then followed her to the food replicator.

"Good morning Ambassador."

"Morning Ryan. What's on the schedule today?" Vera moved past him, then pulled up a floor cushion and sat on it. She had never held the title of Ambassador before, and quite frankly, she was bored. Not even a week had passed and already she was wishing to be elsewhere. Jamie and Ryan had spent the past few days showing her around Chozo society. Not matter how much they tried to make her feel comfortable, Angseth still felt out of place. At first she had thought the post-traumatic depression had finally kicked in, but that didn't prove to be the case. For the past ten years of her life she had never been allowed the luxury to relax. Her next breath was never promised. Now that things had become considerably slower, she missed the adrenaline rush.

"Good news Captain. A mechanic has been found that is familiar with human physiology and nervous system. He would like to see you later today."

Vera sipped her tea. "Sounds good. I've been waiting for that news."

Ryan sat before her, also bearing his own cup of tea. He was oddly quiet, not characteristic for this normally talkative bird.

"Where's Jamie?"

"I have dismissed him."

"Why? Did he need the day off?"

Ryan examined Angseth, searching her features. For a moment she could see something familiar in his expression, almost as if she had seen that exact same look on someone else's face before. "I…felt it would be best to cut as many ties with Arashe as possible."

"Oh?"

"To be honest with you, I have not been assigned by Arashe. The High Council chose me to look after your well-being."

"Am I getting thrust into a political power play?" Angseth asked, taking a bite of her fruit. She hated to be blunt but she didn't want to get into any more trouble than she already was. Forewarned was forearmed.

"One could say that."

"Can I at least know why?"

"I cannot say at the moment."

Angseth guessed as much.

"My hands are tied, but the moment I find how it affects you, then I'll let you know," Ryan smiled; his eyes showed his glee more than his lips however. "You must be excited to receive a new set of limbs."

"Actually I am."

"Later this afternoon I will come for you, and we shall see the Doctor together."

"I don't want anything too flashy. Just this side of functional will do. I don't want to worry about going into a station and getting killed for the sake of spare parts."

"We will be careful of that. How have you been feeling?"

"Much better. The pain in my muscles and joints hasn't been flaring up as often anymore."

Ryan paused again, then gracefully gained his feet. "Might I check my accounts using your computer counsel? I believe I must have left my personal unit at home."

Angseth noticed that he didn't even wait for her response, just went back into her office area. What the hell was going on now? After a moment Ryan came back out, the smile still gracing his features.

"I will return to escort you in the afternoon—oh my. I forgot to close out my clearance in the computer. Would you be a dear and do it for me? Bless you child."

Once again he didn't wait for an answer. Ryan quickly assumed his Morph Ball form then zipped away, leaving Angseth wondering what had gotten into him. She pulled herself to her feet, then went into the office, and gazed at the screen.

"Oh you bastard, what did you do?" Angseth smiled as she sat down.

For the past few days she had been reading up on Chozo history and culture in an attempt to gain any kind of knowledge about her new post. On more than one occasion, her limited clearance didn't allow her to pursue any further study. There had been one glyph that she had been unable to find a meaning for. It seemed to her like two feathered snakes trying to eat each other, like an Ouroboros. Ryan had just given her a free pass into the depths of anything she ever wanted to know about the Chozo. She had nothing else to kill an afternoon with, so this was as welcome a distraction as any. After a following a few tangents, she had her answers. For a moment Angseth leaned back in her chair, her eyes darkened.

"Oh Ryan, what have you pulled me into?"

The Chozo were an ancient race, this much she knew. The Confederation revered them with almost god-like respect. There was no corner of the universe that the Chozo did not know, no technology unexplored. Chozo wasn't even the name of their race. The first explorers from Earth that had stumbled across their temples hailed from the Nippon Empire. The name Chozo had been derived from the fact they found statues of bird people everywhere. In that tongue, Chozo meant "bird statue". With all this information Angseth had no idea that the Chozo could be anything but benevolent. With this new information, she now knew otherwise, and frankly this new revelation scared the crap out of her.

The Chozo consisted of four different races. One was known as the Ltaoclazeuq. This was the race that had dealt the most with the Confederacy. However the Ltaoclazeuq were only one part of a much larger family. The family included the nations of the Colalt, Ltacehe, and the Acopiltaczet. Together they formed the race known as Inauhomenlapi. All of these separate nations were in constant war with one another. A long and bloody civil war that had spanned generations of Chozo, and no one knew how many millennia. Eventually the Colalt and Ltecehe packed up and found other homes very far away, while the Acopiltaczet and the Ltaoclazeuq remained, each fighting and scrambling for the same ground. The two nations were almost impossible to tell apart save for one difference. The Ltaoclazeuq had a white mask around their eyes, and the Acopiltaczet had a black mask of feathers around their eyes. This prejudice had been the cause of many wars and the worst arms race in recorded history. The Confederation sat very neatly in the middle of this chaos. No wonder they wished to hide this information from her.

Angseth sat back and studied the glyph for a moment. Two feathered snakes, biting each other's tail, creating a circle of constant destruction. Light and Dark. Neither feathered serpent was more elaborate, or made to look evil, or good. They were equals, only their colors were different. Further information revealed that in the past two hundred years or so, the Acopiltaczet and the Ltaoclazeuq had formed a truce of sorts. They agreed not to meddle in the others affairs, and in turn, peace could be sustained.

But it wouldn't take much to set either nation off.

Angseth turned off the computer, signing Ryan off as she silently thanked him. Still, why was this information important? And why did he feel that Arashe couldn't be trusted? Was Arashe one of those people that tried to cause trouble just because it was there to be had? Suppose that she was in Arashe's shoes for a moment. Suddenly a link the Confederation had dropped into her theoretical lap, allowing her access and leverage in the Confederation. Or perhaps if she was in Ryan's place for the moment, trying to sway said Confederation link to another side. Each of them could dangle whatever treats they felt up to in front of her eyes in hopes to lure her away.

Vera closed her eyes. She needed more information and she needed to know who the hell she could trust here. Neither Ryan or Arashe would give her a straight answer, of that much she was certain. So all she could do for the moment was play along, and hope that some kind of opening would present itself.

I just want my limbs back.

The mechanic was a pleasant individual. Older and smaller than most of the Chozo she had seen so far. He smiled from behind a pair of holo glasses, his eyes small and squinted. His clothing was simple, minimal to what she had seen the others wearing, and exposed more his body than she had the privilege to see before. The Chozo were bird-like, but the only areas of their body that contained feathers was the head and near their ankles. The rest of their bodies were covered in a fine layer of shiny gem-like scales in many different patterns and colors. The mechanic had a crest of black feathers with glossy dark red scales covering his arms. A pattern of yellow diamonds started at his shoulders and continued under his clothing, which was very form fitting. Angseth was curious to see what the diamond pattern continued to look like on his back and along his spine.

The tiny Chozo circled around her as she stood on a glowing disk. Mechanisms circled around her, scanning and measuring her body from every angle. This was definitely a more in-depth scan than she had received when she gotten her last leg. He paused and began to sign to her. The Mechanic didn't wear a translating device, and Vera was happy to try her hand at the language without the handicap.

How long did you have your former artificial limb?

"About ten years. Give or take. It was regularly calibrated once a year." Angseth almost winced at the thought of it. Regular calibrations and regular intervals of teeth marks in Briars arm.

Do you prefer any features, or particular style?

Angseth thought Ryan would have told him earlier, but once again she repeated herself. "Something useable, with standard features. Not too expensive. I don't want to get mugged because someone sees me walking around with some top-grade hardware."

Understandable.

The Mechanic pulled a few holo screens closer, studying the information presented on them. He then began signing.

You are free to go.

"Hm? That's it?"

Yes, come back tomorrow afternoon and I will have your new limbs ready.

Angseth stepped off the disk, and took her coat back from Ryan. She had been given a new Captains uniform. It made her feel a little more comfortable. She was glad that all this mechanic did was take a few scans, none of those painful tests she had taken before. "What kind of limbs will I get, walking? Multi-purpose? And most importantly, how much are they going to cost me?"

Custom. Each being is unique. All of my works are custom pieces. As for price, Ryan has already seen to that.

Angseth's jaw dropped. Her last few legs she had picked out of a previously made line up. She would never have been able to afford custom pieces on her own.

As they left the small shop, Angseth walked a bit faster to catch up with Ryan, who was walking swiftly toward their transport. "Ryan."

He paused, looking over his shoulder.

"Why?"

What do you mean? his hands moved slower now, obviously happy that she had taken the time to study up on the language.

Angseth looked at her left hand, then began to trace clumsy symbols and signs in the air. She couldn't use her noun hand, so instead she would pause to indicate the noun, and then begin with her verbs. Why did you buy those limbs for me?

I wasn't the one to purchase them. The High Council did. He turned around and began walking toward the transport again.

"Ryan."

Once again he turned. This didn't seem to be like him at all. Quiet and contemplating.

I would like to talk with you. Angseth folded her fingers in another clumsy way, hoping that Ryan saw what she meant. The symbols for "to talk" and "to move" were very similar due to the fact that they communicated through sign language.

Ryan seemed to relax immediately. A subtle gesture, but one that she had been able to notice. Why yes Angseth, I do believe that this a good day for a walk! He lifted his hand and sent the transport on its way, then turned with a big smile on his bird-like face. "I thought that you would never get it."

Angseth's jaw dropped for the second time that day. "You can speak Breft. Why didn't you let me know before?"

"Everyone here can understand Standard. Not many here know of Breft. I knew that you would be familiar with it since you told Arashe about the station you had your fighter repaired on." Ryan gently placed his hand in the small of her back, and began leading her down a system of trails.

"I need answers,"

"We all do. Even here in the forest, it seems that even the trees have ears."

Angseth's mouth abruptly snapped closed. This was one of the few nursery rhymes that she had learned in Breft. But now the double meaning was very clear. They were being watched. "How many ears would each tree have if it had ears?" She sang the next line.

"Many, Trees can hear anything." Ryan laughed, completing the rhyme. "Your grasp of language is amazing. How many others do you know?"

"Native Syrese."

"Too common."

"Standard."

"Given."

"Breft,"

"Obviously." Ryan nodded, since that was the language they currently spoke in.

"Kin' Tara."

"Interesting."

"P'ara'shuin."

"Perfect." Ryan said. Now speaking in P'ara'shuin. "We can switch back and forth between as many of them as we need to during this conversation, to attempt to throw off any watchers. I will also help fill in your vocabulary in my language, that of the Ltaoclazeuq. Whenever I begin to sign, do your best to follow."

"I will." Angseth flexed the fingers on her left hand. Making those symbols and signs were hard on the tendons. She needed bird hands to pull off some of them.

"Ask away." Ryan began to sign some words that she already knew. Angseth tried to follow. Trying to focus on two completely different languages at once.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Your escort. Nothing more."

"Will you ever tell me the truth?"

"In time you will discover it. I cannot say anything directly."

"Fair enough," Angseth stumbled. He had switched spoken languages again. The symbols he traced were more complex. "Can I trust either you or Arashe?"

"No."

"Why? What do either of you represent that could cause me harm?"

"You are aware of the civil war between our peoples?"

"Yes, now I am."

"The group Arashe represents wishes to wipe out or drive off the threat. I represent a group that wishes to preserve the peace. There are forces like us on both sides," once again he switched to another language.

"I could guess that. Where do I come in?" Angseth wasn't as familiar with this language, but at least she could follow.

"The Confederation's main territory is right in the middle of all of this. In 'no mans land' so to speak. My group wishes to maintain peace for the sake of the new political force that has grown in the wake of so much blood shed. The Confederation is still young, and holds much promise."

"And the group Arashe represents, wants to destroy the Confederation?"

"Not in such black and white terms. They want the Confederation to remain there as an outpost, and possibly even as a means to create more troops for the cause. A convenient obstacle."

"And in no way either your or his group is thinking about the welfare of the people of the Confederation?"

Ryan grew quiet, helping her to focus on the more complex symbols he traced in the air. "I would like to think that is not the case. My group wishes not to fully immerse itself into Confederation politics until this whole mess has been dealt with."

"So what are your groups motives?"

"We wish to continue the treaties with the Acopiltaczet so that peace can be maintained throughout the Chozo Empire and not interfere with the political maneuvers of other races."

"And Arashe's group?"

"To drive off the Acopiltaczet in order to achieve the same ends."

Angseth sighed. "And either way requires bloodshed."

"Unfortunately. But there had been a loophole of late."

"Oh?"

"We wondered if there could be a way to have a neutral observer be a go-between, so that differences could be worked out between our two nations before it came to blows with each other. It almost seemed as if our gods had answered our prayers. Years ago, we found a small human child."

"Samus."

"Yes. Samus is my hatch-mate. We were raised together."

"So you're her brother," Angseth stopped, and sat on a rock. Her leg was aching again. Ryan folded his legs underneath his body and began to hover in the air. Vera mulled this thought over for a moment. "Is that why . . ."

"She lived part of her life here with the Ltaoclazeuq, and part of her life with the Acopiltaczet. She acts as a unifying force for all three of our nations, including the Confederation."

"So why are you giving me all this information?"

"Because Arashe attempted to hold this information from you. You know as well as I do that the best way to control a people is to control how much information they receive. I am not trying to control you, so I have given you as much information as I can. That said, please be careful how much information you reveal during these next few trials."

"But why choose me?"

"We have not had contact with Samus for years. We know that she is still alive, but she has not reported in. This has made both of our groups very nervous. You have had contact with her, and more than that, brought back information as to why we have not heard back from her."

"Why wont anyone tell me what's in that file?"

"You will learn. We are approaching the main council chambers of Agharta. The delegates have much to ask you."

"Why did you wait for so long?"

"Everyone wanted to be sure that you had settled in comfortably and recovered from your ordeal."

"Sound mind and body?"

Ryan smiled again. Angseth was able to see that this was the mask that he hid behind. Just as her own face would turn to stone when she wanted to hide her emotions, Ryan put on a smile to thwart his enemies.

Angseth could stand to learn a few lessons from him.