Chapter 49
The cool night breeze nipped at Connor as he stepped outside, taking in a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air. The party inside continued to grow at an exponential rate, music blaring and alcohol being passed around without a second thought. Connor strode over to the balcony's edge, staring off into the dark horizon. Slowly, his eyes drifted upwards, taking notice to the stars above. He gazed up at the gleaming space diamonds, wondering just how many of them there were; too many to count, easily. He wasn't used to such a defined view of the spatial expanse just beyond the atmosphere. Back on Earth, there was so much light pollution, very little was ever seen of the astral bodies…but here on Norion, the sky was pristine, untainted. It was beautiful.
Slowly, the boy turned to head back inside, forcing himself to tear his gaze from the glimmering lightshow.
"These Feds sure know how to party don't they?"
Connor nearly jumped out of his skin, "Good God man, don't do that!"
Kel chuckled, sauntering out from the shadows of a nearby pillar, "Sorry, 'bout that; wasn't sure if you knew I was here or not."
Connor sighed, his heart rate returning to its normal pace.
"I never get tired of this." Kel murmured, staring up at the sky for the millionth time.
"You and your stars." Connor laughed, "Admittedly, though, they're quite something, especially with a view like this."
"Oh yeah, you sure as hell don't get this back at home…"
"Well, unless you're up at the cabin."
"Ah yes…gotta love Hundred Mile House."
Connor sat silently for a moment before breaking his silence, "So, the blood transfusions tomorrow…you ready for them?"
Blood transfusion; the words bounced around Kel's head like a pinball. Due to the high levels of phazon still in his system, they had decided the best course of action would be to replace his blood supply entirely, so as to momentarily halt the corruption while further solutions were discussed. Connor's situation wasn't too different, though luckily for him, the corruption in his system wasn't as advanced, and was possibly curable.
Kel looked over at his friend, partially hidden by the shadows, "Connor, you kicked me into a wall of exposed wires and shrapnel, unleashing a surge of God how many volts upon me. Now, that hurt. If I can, not only handle, but survive something like that…then a simple blood transfusion should be like child's play."
Connor patted his friend on the back, "That's what I like to hear."
"Still, though…I'm nervous."
"Me too, but you know what?"
"What?"
"We are a couple of tough sons of bitches, you and I. Look at all we've been through: The coordinated attack on the base in the middle of the night…"
"The first fight with Dark Samus at the outpost…"
"You nearly cracking your head open on the way to the outpost…"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Kel chuckled.
"There was also the attack on the hidden military base on Reach, during which I almost fell to my death…"
"…which would also be when I stole that badass experimental rifle thing."
"Yeah, and then almost killed us with it." Connor replied, jokingly.
"I honestly can't apologize enough for that."
"It's all good; I'm still here aren't I? Oh, and shortly after you left, the damn Covees nearly glassed us."
Kel's eyes widened, "Dude, seriously?"
"Yeah, it was pretty scary. Oh, and then there was the trap we set for you with all those fusion coils."
"Oh, you mean when you guys littered my entire body with spikes from one of our homemade grenades?"
"Yeah…sorry about that."
"Water under the bridge, man."
"Then there was you freaking out and going absolutely nuclear on that operating table."
"Oh yeah…I remember that."
"There was the battle with Dark Samus beneath the ice…and then the battle with you beneath ice…"
"Which is when you kicked me into that wall, essentially saving me."
"Yeah…and then not long after that was the final battle."
The boys went silent for a brief moment.
"Man, that sounds cool." Kel remarked, staring with glassy eyes out towards the horizon.
"Doesn't it?" Connor replied enthusiastically, "It's like we were in a movie or some shit. But look; the point I'm making is, we've been through a lot, you and I…and honestly, at this point, I don't think there's anything we can't handle."
Kel looked over to him, a curious look in his eye, "You really think so?"
"I know so." Connor answered, holding out his fist, "Pound it."
Kel smiled, returning the gesture, "Hell yeah.
