A/N: I realize it has been some time since I updated, and I apologize, but to make it up too you, this chapter will hopefully be good and long. Also, I've revamped, or revised if you will, all previous chapters, some only got a little bit of a change, while some got much more added. I'd suggest you read all of them again, so as to make sure you're up to speed on what's happening now.
Now I'll take the time to say thanks, and hopefully answer some questions. I got reviews from Mimic, Dragon Man, Shadow Fox, and Black Phantom, as well as Desert Lynx and ChaosGallantmon. Thankyou all, and now to the questions.
Yes Samus does have her fusion suit arm blades, and I intend to use them, when I find a good place(and remember them too). Also, as you'll find out if you read the previous chapter over again, I changed the shape shifter's name to Mimic(duh) instead of Lynx. But worry not Desert Lynx, you shall still have a part in this. Okay, now then, lets get on with it.
Metroid: Mutation
Chapter Six: Cat and Mouse
Log Entry - Samus Aran: "Today is the third day we've been hiding in this large asteroid's cavernous space. Bounty hunters and Federation Scoutships are everywhere. Apparently the Federation was good enough to put a large price on my head, and with the number of enemies I have across the galaxy, all too many of them are eager to collect. Jax has been working non stop with Adam to devise a way to mask our engine signature, while I try daily to keep my body in one peice. Mimic hasn't been much help, except for comic relief. The other day he tried to help Jax calibrate the landing struts, but instead he ended up disengaging them. Needless to say, Jax won't let him near anything important again. There goes the proximity alarm again, I better get up to the cockpit." Samus closed the book which she had been writing in and walked towards the door. While she could easily just use the computer to keep a log, she liked having her privacy. But that was no longer an option with three life forms in a ship not designed for such.
Coming out of her quarters, she soon took her seat and asked for a report. "How many is it this time Jax?"
The large robot tried to bring up his read out, while also being constrained in the small ship. Pressing a few buttons, and not even turning his head he said "It looks to be about five unidentified vessels, and two light Federation cruisers."
Samus inserted her arm cannon into the system, and began looking over the data. "I knew the Federation dealt with Bounty Hunters, but know you'd think they had a league with most of them." she said, trying to figure out what Hunters were in the area.... perhaps she knew one of them.
----------------------
Two weeks earlier....
"Gather round boys, gather round." a man with a robotic arm said to a group of people assembled. They were in a bar of sorts, inside of a large space station.
Thousands of vessels did business with this station each day, from merchants to diplomats, to pleasure cruisers. But in this instance, most importantly of all was, bounty hunters. Hundreds of them had packed into this single establishment on invitation by the Federation. They had not been told what they were see, nor what they would hear. They were simply told it would be worth their while. Many however saw no sense in taking any chances, and took their weapons with them; which was strictly prohibited by the Federation officials who organized the event.
"What are we here for?" one hunter shouted, "Yeah, what's this all about Gallant?" another cried.
"Keep quiet, and you just might find out!" the man replied, then when most of the disorder had died out, he continued. "You've been called here today, for a good reason. What have we all got in common?" he asked, to which there was some mumbling and whispering, but no reply. "What are we?" he clarified, to which someone finally answered "Bounty Hunters."
Looking over towards where the correct answer had come from he mockingly said, "Very good. Well, now that we've got that taken care of, allow me to address your attention to the holo emmiter. This is the one we've all been waiting for." he said, and then clicked a button, which brought up an image of Samus Aran's helmet, with several price listings along the bottom, each corresponding to a different intergalactic currency. Cheers roared through the place when "she" was displayed, above her head the words "wanted" were proudly displayed. Off to the side though, on a spiral staircase which led to the second level of the bar, stood a particular person who, not seeming joyful or glad at all, was the most elated off everyone gathered.
A reptilian like creature, with a long tongue and sharp claws, he looked at the image of a most hated enemy. "The time hasss come Aran.... that I can finally kill you," he said, and then snickering and hissing at the same time said, "And make a little money on the sssside."
Gallant wasn't finished yet though, as he regained order and attention "And luckily for you! I've even got the coordinates of her last known position!" several people tried to climb up the stage to snatch the disk in his hand, but were kept down by security officers. "But I'm afraid there is only one disk, and I can't part with it for any less than.. oh... five thousand credits." he said, smiling at the disgusted and angered looks before him. He knew that if those guards hadn't been there, he would already be a dead man.
"Make it four thousssand, and you've got a deal." a hissing voice shouted, while the body to which it belonged also pointed a plasma pistol at Gallant.
Knowing the bounty hunter all too well Gallant readily accepted, figuring that his next offer would be pulling the trigger. "The disk is yours Dragonis. Once I receive your four thousand credits of course." he said. "Of courssse." the reptilian replied. Walking to the stage and taking the disk, he punched his finger onto a pad, which transfered the money. He then pulled out some sort of device and slipped the disk inside. When he had finished he looked over the crowd which was beginning to disperse. "A gift!" he said, throwing it into their midst, causing plenty of chaos. His own copy of the information was securly locked into the device which he held in his claws. Walking out of the bar through another exit, he began the journey back to his ship, but unbeknownst to him, he had a tail.... well, another one that is.
----------------------
Log Entry - Adam Malkovich: "Day 5. I still feel odd about keeping a log, since I'm the ship's computer. I can easily store any information anywhere I want it, but something about this makes me feel I suppose... as if I'm still more of a man than a machiene. Foolish as it may be, nevertheless I will continue to do it for the remainder of our ordeal. Like vultures they hover around our little asteroid, just waiting for the right moment to strike. Working with Jax, I've devised a plan to get us out of here, hopefully in one peice. I am not 100% sure that it will work but at this point we're running out of options. We can only hide for so long before they find us. I'm just glad that Samus hasn't mutated further, otherwise we'd have had to leave much sooner." Alert! Alert! Unidentified vessels approaching, active warheads detected.
"Looks like they've come back to try and shake us out. End log." Ceasing from one activity and turning to another, Adam quickly began passive scans to determine what the yield of their warheads were.
Samus was already on deck, in her seat and working frantically yet still keeping her cool as she configured another wave of false signals to lead the sporadic bombing astray. "I'm almost ready... Jax have you got that algorethim ready yet?" she asked, not turning in his direction.
Continuously fighting his cramped space, Jax was mashing all sorts of buttons and working via his link up to the computer. Adam had at first protested to this but in comprimise, he quaratined off a portion of the system to which Jax would not have access. "Almost Samus, give me a minute."
Samus turned her head slightly and flatly said, "You've got half that." then returning to her work she made certain that all variables were accounted for. Looking over her left shoulder she could see Mimic standing in the corner looking around confoundedly. 'Atleast he's not touching anything important.' she thought to herself and turned back to Jax who had just finished his work.
"Ready when you are Samus!" Jax shouted, poised to enter in more key combinations. "Activate in 3... 2... 1." Simultaneously on Samus' voice uttering the word of one, both she and Jax entered their data which caused the radar dish to send out pulses which, when they encountered certain elements in the asteroid, would cause such a disturbence that no tracking system would be able to pick out their vessel. However that did not mean that they were completely safe, it just lessened their chances of being a direct hit.
-----------------------
On board one of the larger vessels flying a search pattern through the asteroid belt wherein the Hunter was hiding, an arguement was taking place which would end in someone's death.
"Dragonis! You slithery wretch! You promised me a bigger cut in the reward!" a man shouted, obviously greatly angered at the bounty hunter.
"Ssso sssorry Gallant. But I've changed my mind. You only get 30%, and if that isn't acceptable to you, then I'm sssure that we can LOWER it." he said, pulling out his pistol and aiming it at the man who stood before him.
"Your treachery won't go unpunished!" Gallant shouted as he began pulling his own weapon, but also grabbed hold of a nearby reptilian officer and used him as a shield. Dragonis pulled his trigger before he saw this and shot one of his own. Standing silent for a brief moment, the smoke pouring out his weapon's barrel, Dragonis then burst into laughter. Gallant did the same. After a hearty laugh with one another, Gallant spoke up first. "Alright then, 30%.... but if you dare take a percent of a percent off of that, I'll have your head!"
"Agreed." the scaley bounty hunter replied and then continued with their work of seeking out the Hunter.
-----------------------
Log Entry - Jax: "I'm really beginning to hate this small ship, but in the current situation I've no choice. We're almost ready to get out of this rock. Only a few things are left to be done before we can make our escape. Our course is set, and the planet to which that mysterious fellow directed us is the destination. It's in a star system not far from here, once we're out we should be able to reach it. I was searching the star charts the other day and came across a planet very similar to my home world. Oh Emperyan how I long for thee! .... Samus needs me, guess that's it's for now. Jax out."
Log Entry - Adam Malkovich: "Day 9. Today is the day, our preparations are complete now we must only wait for the right moment to set out. Mimic is getting restless, the poor fellow has nothing to do, as he is seemingly inept when put in charge of any device that is delicate in nature. But shant have anything more to worry about. Based on current search patterns,
We shall end this game of Cat and Mouse on the morrow. End Log."
Log Entry - Samus Aran: "An old 'friend' of mine is currently hovering right outside our escape passage. I think he's seen the same gap in their searching that we did and he probably knows I'm in here. Jax and Adam have got a back up plan, but it is much riskier, and I don't like it. They want to fire missiles out of all possible holes in the asteroid and then blast our way out of another and then hope that none of the surrounding ships can get a lock on us before we jump to hyperspace. I don't have to list all the possible things that can and probably will go wrong with this plan, there is simply too many of them to bother with." Alert! Alert! Escape trajectory open! "This is it, we've no other choice. If it is a trap as my gut tells me, oh well. We've got to get out of here now...." Samus jumped up and left the pen she'd been writing with laying on the open book. She found it quite difficult to write in her suit, but the last mutation she underwent fused her suit onto her, and it could not be removed presently.
Running out on deck, she jumped into her seat and inserted her arm cannon as usual. "Are we ready?" she asked punching a few buttons.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Jax said, bumping his head on the ceiling again. Mimic crept closer, and asked, "We'll get out now, right?"
"Yes Mimic. We're getting out of here, now please, take a seat." Samus said, and then returned to her work. Adam's voice pipped asking, "Disengage landing struts?".
Samus looked out of the cockpit into the asteroid before her, and slightly beyond that was their freedom... but was it really? She couldn't help but think that they were just taking the biggest bait that had been thrown at them thus far. "Fire the missiles out the alternate way." Samus ordered, having molded both escape plans into one last chance effort to make a break for it. Jax slid a few switchs forward, and then punched a few more buttons, "Firing missiles." he said as the ship lunged forward. Ten of their ship to ship warheads were on their way out one side of the asteroid while the purple gunship screamed out of another.
"There! There ssshe isss!" Dragonis shouted, "Helm! Lay in an interccept courssse! All weaponsss at the ready." he cried, eager for the hunt to truly begin. His ship was larger than that of Samus', and also larger than all the other bounty hunters around. Only the two federation crusiers were bigger, and even then they didn't hold much over his vessel. Armed with superior fire power, speed and shielding; he was sure that the reward on Samus would be collected by him.
Another explosion rocked Samus' ship, this one a missile impact directly into their shields. Mimic pulled himself out of the floor for the fifth time, saying something about stupid bounty hunters. "Shields down to 53% Samus, we better not take many more hits like that." Jax said, as he diverted power from unnecessary systems to the shield generator.
"I'm not taking this anymore, its time we go on the offensive!" Samus shouted, bringing her vessel about. Adam strictly protested, "Samus! This is no time for flexing our muscles, we've got to get out of here."
"And that's just what I intend to do." Samus said, as her vessel flew right across Dragonis' bow, forcing a few smaller hunter ships chasing her to crash into it. "But there is no reason we can't kick a few of the ankle biters off." steering the ship away from the course it had been, she then directed it to a course between the federation ships. Weapons fire exploded from the two of them, but fortunately, neither vessel had good targeting systems, and consequently damaged one another, and destroyed a few more bounty hunter vessels in their barrage.
"Ha ha! Take that!" Mimic shouted from his seat, watching the mayhem being wrought behind them. Samus jerked the ship one more time, "Alright, that should do, now then Adam, if you would kindly initiate the hyperspace sequence."
"Gladly." Adam replied, and quickly set the ship in motion to do so. As they were about to launch though, Dragonis' ship came from behind, following after them. "3, 2, 1. Hyperspace achieved."
"Arrrggg, did you get tracce?" he shouted, waiting for his officer's reply. "Yess, ssir, they are heading for the... Ganak sssysstem."
Dragonis stood up at this news, he was somewhat disturbed but too thrilled by his quest for vengence that he immediatly ordered persuit to the 'Forbidden Star'.
-----------------------
"This is it. We're here." Adam reported after their ship had dropped out of hyperspace. "Samus.... I don't believe this. He's led up to the Ganak system...." Adam said, showing concern in his voice.
"What's wrong with the Ganak system?" Jax asked, stepped back from his panel to look out through the cockpit and into space. What he could see was five planets, two large, two small, and one about average. Everywhere he looked between he and the star, was debris. Star ships, asteroids, planetoids, everything imaginable was there.
Samus stood up, turned to face Jax and Mimic and said, "Welcome to the intergalactic graveyard." Before she could retake her seat, alarms went off, and their vessel was jolted by a missile impacting their side. Jumping up from the floor and retaking her station, Samus asked for a report.
"Its... Its Dragonis, he's followed us here." Adam said, engaging the engines and beginning to flee.
Samus paused for a breif moment, trying to figure out how to lose him, and to find the planet they wanted. "Which one of these planets is inhabited?" Samus asked, while flying through a gapeing hole in the side of a cruiser, and out another one. Weapons fire from Dragonis' ship tore the ancient hulk apart, leaving smaller peices of debris behind.
Another explosion, this time striking a nearby cargo freighter. It wasn't that bad, but they were getting closer. "There's no time to scan them all, we've got to land lady!" Adam shouted, doing his best to balance all the systems.
In another situation, Samus would have objected but with no alternative, she was forced to take the ship down, on Ganak 3 - The second largest planet in the system. "Landing sequence initiated! Everyone hold on to something!" Samus shouted, trying to keep the ship on course. Re-entry into a planet's atmosphere was not easy; it was altogether almost impossible with someone shooting at you on the way down.
"Shields almost gone Samus!" Jax shouted, desperatly trying to keep them online.
'Just what I needed, a steep angle of re-entry, and no shields.... thanks Dragonis. Come on Samus... hold it togther!'
----------
"Sssir, we've almosst destroyed their ssshieldss, do you wish for usss to ccontinue firing? They.."
"FIRE!" Dragonis ordered, ready to have his prize. What he did not hear his officer saying was, that they are most likely going to crash anyway, and that they should send down a search party afterwards to pick up whatever survives. But such an action was at the back of Dragonis' mind in the middle of the chase, one might call it his only weakness.
"Firing." his weapons officer replied. But gave it a less than full power burst, hopeing to only damage them a little bit more, but still let the crash do the damage.
--------
"We've been hit again Samus! Shields are offline! I don't know how much more this thing can take!" Jax shouted, but Samus wasn't paying attention, she was solely focused on getting her vessel and her.... 'crew' as it were, down in one peice.
A/N: Hehehhe, there always has to be somewhat of a cliff hanger does there not? It would be the theme that my fic has followed to a degree to this point. And I intend to keep it up :)
I'm hopeing that I can finish this fic before I go to college. My other two fics are done, so I'll have more time to put into this one. But I also have a job now, so I've got even less time than before. But I do intend to finish this, I so wish to. And lucky you, I've even got my idea for what the next chapter will be, so it should be sooner than you might expect.
Don't forget to review!
Now I'll take the time to say thanks, and hopefully answer some questions. I got reviews from Mimic, Dragon Man, Shadow Fox, and Black Phantom, as well as Desert Lynx and ChaosGallantmon. Thankyou all, and now to the questions.
Yes Samus does have her fusion suit arm blades, and I intend to use them, when I find a good place(and remember them too). Also, as you'll find out if you read the previous chapter over again, I changed the shape shifter's name to Mimic(duh) instead of Lynx. But worry not Desert Lynx, you shall still have a part in this. Okay, now then, lets get on with it.
Metroid: Mutation
Chapter Six: Cat and Mouse
Log Entry - Samus Aran: "Today is the third day we've been hiding in this large asteroid's cavernous space. Bounty hunters and Federation Scoutships are everywhere. Apparently the Federation was good enough to put a large price on my head, and with the number of enemies I have across the galaxy, all too many of them are eager to collect. Jax has been working non stop with Adam to devise a way to mask our engine signature, while I try daily to keep my body in one peice. Mimic hasn't been much help, except for comic relief. The other day he tried to help Jax calibrate the landing struts, but instead he ended up disengaging them. Needless to say, Jax won't let him near anything important again. There goes the proximity alarm again, I better get up to the cockpit." Samus closed the book which she had been writing in and walked towards the door. While she could easily just use the computer to keep a log, she liked having her privacy. But that was no longer an option with three life forms in a ship not designed for such.
Coming out of her quarters, she soon took her seat and asked for a report. "How many is it this time Jax?"
The large robot tried to bring up his read out, while also being constrained in the small ship. Pressing a few buttons, and not even turning his head he said "It looks to be about five unidentified vessels, and two light Federation cruisers."
Samus inserted her arm cannon into the system, and began looking over the data. "I knew the Federation dealt with Bounty Hunters, but know you'd think they had a league with most of them." she said, trying to figure out what Hunters were in the area.... perhaps she knew one of them.
----------------------
Two weeks earlier....
"Gather round boys, gather round." a man with a robotic arm said to a group of people assembled. They were in a bar of sorts, inside of a large space station.
Thousands of vessels did business with this station each day, from merchants to diplomats, to pleasure cruisers. But in this instance, most importantly of all was, bounty hunters. Hundreds of them had packed into this single establishment on invitation by the Federation. They had not been told what they were see, nor what they would hear. They were simply told it would be worth their while. Many however saw no sense in taking any chances, and took their weapons with them; which was strictly prohibited by the Federation officials who organized the event.
"What are we here for?" one hunter shouted, "Yeah, what's this all about Gallant?" another cried.
"Keep quiet, and you just might find out!" the man replied, then when most of the disorder had died out, he continued. "You've been called here today, for a good reason. What have we all got in common?" he asked, to which there was some mumbling and whispering, but no reply. "What are we?" he clarified, to which someone finally answered "Bounty Hunters."
Looking over towards where the correct answer had come from he mockingly said, "Very good. Well, now that we've got that taken care of, allow me to address your attention to the holo emmiter. This is the one we've all been waiting for." he said, and then clicked a button, which brought up an image of Samus Aran's helmet, with several price listings along the bottom, each corresponding to a different intergalactic currency. Cheers roared through the place when "she" was displayed, above her head the words "wanted" were proudly displayed. Off to the side though, on a spiral staircase which led to the second level of the bar, stood a particular person who, not seeming joyful or glad at all, was the most elated off everyone gathered.
A reptilian like creature, with a long tongue and sharp claws, he looked at the image of a most hated enemy. "The time hasss come Aran.... that I can finally kill you," he said, and then snickering and hissing at the same time said, "And make a little money on the sssside."
Gallant wasn't finished yet though, as he regained order and attention "And luckily for you! I've even got the coordinates of her last known position!" several people tried to climb up the stage to snatch the disk in his hand, but were kept down by security officers. "But I'm afraid there is only one disk, and I can't part with it for any less than.. oh... five thousand credits." he said, smiling at the disgusted and angered looks before him. He knew that if those guards hadn't been there, he would already be a dead man.
"Make it four thousssand, and you've got a deal." a hissing voice shouted, while the body to which it belonged also pointed a plasma pistol at Gallant.
Knowing the bounty hunter all too well Gallant readily accepted, figuring that his next offer would be pulling the trigger. "The disk is yours Dragonis. Once I receive your four thousand credits of course." he said. "Of courssse." the reptilian replied. Walking to the stage and taking the disk, he punched his finger onto a pad, which transfered the money. He then pulled out some sort of device and slipped the disk inside. When he had finished he looked over the crowd which was beginning to disperse. "A gift!" he said, throwing it into their midst, causing plenty of chaos. His own copy of the information was securly locked into the device which he held in his claws. Walking out of the bar through another exit, he began the journey back to his ship, but unbeknownst to him, he had a tail.... well, another one that is.
----------------------
Log Entry - Adam Malkovich: "Day 5. I still feel odd about keeping a log, since I'm the ship's computer. I can easily store any information anywhere I want it, but something about this makes me feel I suppose... as if I'm still more of a man than a machiene. Foolish as it may be, nevertheless I will continue to do it for the remainder of our ordeal. Like vultures they hover around our little asteroid, just waiting for the right moment to strike. Working with Jax, I've devised a plan to get us out of here, hopefully in one peice. I am not 100% sure that it will work but at this point we're running out of options. We can only hide for so long before they find us. I'm just glad that Samus hasn't mutated further, otherwise we'd have had to leave much sooner." Alert! Alert! Unidentified vessels approaching, active warheads detected.
"Looks like they've come back to try and shake us out. End log." Ceasing from one activity and turning to another, Adam quickly began passive scans to determine what the yield of their warheads were.
Samus was already on deck, in her seat and working frantically yet still keeping her cool as she configured another wave of false signals to lead the sporadic bombing astray. "I'm almost ready... Jax have you got that algorethim ready yet?" she asked, not turning in his direction.
Continuously fighting his cramped space, Jax was mashing all sorts of buttons and working via his link up to the computer. Adam had at first protested to this but in comprimise, he quaratined off a portion of the system to which Jax would not have access. "Almost Samus, give me a minute."
Samus turned her head slightly and flatly said, "You've got half that." then returning to her work she made certain that all variables were accounted for. Looking over her left shoulder she could see Mimic standing in the corner looking around confoundedly. 'Atleast he's not touching anything important.' she thought to herself and turned back to Jax who had just finished his work.
"Ready when you are Samus!" Jax shouted, poised to enter in more key combinations. "Activate in 3... 2... 1." Simultaneously on Samus' voice uttering the word of one, both she and Jax entered their data which caused the radar dish to send out pulses which, when they encountered certain elements in the asteroid, would cause such a disturbence that no tracking system would be able to pick out their vessel. However that did not mean that they were completely safe, it just lessened their chances of being a direct hit.
-----------------------
On board one of the larger vessels flying a search pattern through the asteroid belt wherein the Hunter was hiding, an arguement was taking place which would end in someone's death.
"Dragonis! You slithery wretch! You promised me a bigger cut in the reward!" a man shouted, obviously greatly angered at the bounty hunter.
"Ssso sssorry Gallant. But I've changed my mind. You only get 30%, and if that isn't acceptable to you, then I'm sssure that we can LOWER it." he said, pulling out his pistol and aiming it at the man who stood before him.
"Your treachery won't go unpunished!" Gallant shouted as he began pulling his own weapon, but also grabbed hold of a nearby reptilian officer and used him as a shield. Dragonis pulled his trigger before he saw this and shot one of his own. Standing silent for a brief moment, the smoke pouring out his weapon's barrel, Dragonis then burst into laughter. Gallant did the same. After a hearty laugh with one another, Gallant spoke up first. "Alright then, 30%.... but if you dare take a percent of a percent off of that, I'll have your head!"
"Agreed." the scaley bounty hunter replied and then continued with their work of seeking out the Hunter.
-----------------------
Log Entry - Jax: "I'm really beginning to hate this small ship, but in the current situation I've no choice. We're almost ready to get out of this rock. Only a few things are left to be done before we can make our escape. Our course is set, and the planet to which that mysterious fellow directed us is the destination. It's in a star system not far from here, once we're out we should be able to reach it. I was searching the star charts the other day and came across a planet very similar to my home world. Oh Emperyan how I long for thee! .... Samus needs me, guess that's it's for now. Jax out."
Log Entry - Adam Malkovich: "Day 9. Today is the day, our preparations are complete now we must only wait for the right moment to set out. Mimic is getting restless, the poor fellow has nothing to do, as he is seemingly inept when put in charge of any device that is delicate in nature. But shant have anything more to worry about. Based on current search patterns,
We shall end this game of Cat and Mouse on the morrow. End Log."
Log Entry - Samus Aran: "An old 'friend' of mine is currently hovering right outside our escape passage. I think he's seen the same gap in their searching that we did and he probably knows I'm in here. Jax and Adam have got a back up plan, but it is much riskier, and I don't like it. They want to fire missiles out of all possible holes in the asteroid and then blast our way out of another and then hope that none of the surrounding ships can get a lock on us before we jump to hyperspace. I don't have to list all the possible things that can and probably will go wrong with this plan, there is simply too many of them to bother with." Alert! Alert! Escape trajectory open! "This is it, we've no other choice. If it is a trap as my gut tells me, oh well. We've got to get out of here now...." Samus jumped up and left the pen she'd been writing with laying on the open book. She found it quite difficult to write in her suit, but the last mutation she underwent fused her suit onto her, and it could not be removed presently.
Running out on deck, she jumped into her seat and inserted her arm cannon as usual. "Are we ready?" she asked punching a few buttons.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Jax said, bumping his head on the ceiling again. Mimic crept closer, and asked, "We'll get out now, right?"
"Yes Mimic. We're getting out of here, now please, take a seat." Samus said, and then returned to her work. Adam's voice pipped asking, "Disengage landing struts?".
Samus looked out of the cockpit into the asteroid before her, and slightly beyond that was their freedom... but was it really? She couldn't help but think that they were just taking the biggest bait that had been thrown at them thus far. "Fire the missiles out the alternate way." Samus ordered, having molded both escape plans into one last chance effort to make a break for it. Jax slid a few switchs forward, and then punched a few more buttons, "Firing missiles." he said as the ship lunged forward. Ten of their ship to ship warheads were on their way out one side of the asteroid while the purple gunship screamed out of another.
"There! There ssshe isss!" Dragonis shouted, "Helm! Lay in an interccept courssse! All weaponsss at the ready." he cried, eager for the hunt to truly begin. His ship was larger than that of Samus', and also larger than all the other bounty hunters around. Only the two federation crusiers were bigger, and even then they didn't hold much over his vessel. Armed with superior fire power, speed and shielding; he was sure that the reward on Samus would be collected by him.
Another explosion rocked Samus' ship, this one a missile impact directly into their shields. Mimic pulled himself out of the floor for the fifth time, saying something about stupid bounty hunters. "Shields down to 53% Samus, we better not take many more hits like that." Jax said, as he diverted power from unnecessary systems to the shield generator.
"I'm not taking this anymore, its time we go on the offensive!" Samus shouted, bringing her vessel about. Adam strictly protested, "Samus! This is no time for flexing our muscles, we've got to get out of here."
"And that's just what I intend to do." Samus said, as her vessel flew right across Dragonis' bow, forcing a few smaller hunter ships chasing her to crash into it. "But there is no reason we can't kick a few of the ankle biters off." steering the ship away from the course it had been, she then directed it to a course between the federation ships. Weapons fire exploded from the two of them, but fortunately, neither vessel had good targeting systems, and consequently damaged one another, and destroyed a few more bounty hunter vessels in their barrage.
"Ha ha! Take that!" Mimic shouted from his seat, watching the mayhem being wrought behind them. Samus jerked the ship one more time, "Alright, that should do, now then Adam, if you would kindly initiate the hyperspace sequence."
"Gladly." Adam replied, and quickly set the ship in motion to do so. As they were about to launch though, Dragonis' ship came from behind, following after them. "3, 2, 1. Hyperspace achieved."
"Arrrggg, did you get tracce?" he shouted, waiting for his officer's reply. "Yess, ssir, they are heading for the... Ganak sssysstem."
Dragonis stood up at this news, he was somewhat disturbed but too thrilled by his quest for vengence that he immediatly ordered persuit to the 'Forbidden Star'.
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"This is it. We're here." Adam reported after their ship had dropped out of hyperspace. "Samus.... I don't believe this. He's led up to the Ganak system...." Adam said, showing concern in his voice.
"What's wrong with the Ganak system?" Jax asked, stepped back from his panel to look out through the cockpit and into space. What he could see was five planets, two large, two small, and one about average. Everywhere he looked between he and the star, was debris. Star ships, asteroids, planetoids, everything imaginable was there.
Samus stood up, turned to face Jax and Mimic and said, "Welcome to the intergalactic graveyard." Before she could retake her seat, alarms went off, and their vessel was jolted by a missile impacting their side. Jumping up from the floor and retaking her station, Samus asked for a report.
"Its... Its Dragonis, he's followed us here." Adam said, engaging the engines and beginning to flee.
Samus paused for a breif moment, trying to figure out how to lose him, and to find the planet they wanted. "Which one of these planets is inhabited?" Samus asked, while flying through a gapeing hole in the side of a cruiser, and out another one. Weapons fire from Dragonis' ship tore the ancient hulk apart, leaving smaller peices of debris behind.
Another explosion, this time striking a nearby cargo freighter. It wasn't that bad, but they were getting closer. "There's no time to scan them all, we've got to land lady!" Adam shouted, doing his best to balance all the systems.
In another situation, Samus would have objected but with no alternative, she was forced to take the ship down, on Ganak 3 - The second largest planet in the system. "Landing sequence initiated! Everyone hold on to something!" Samus shouted, trying to keep the ship on course. Re-entry into a planet's atmosphere was not easy; it was altogether almost impossible with someone shooting at you on the way down.
"Shields almost gone Samus!" Jax shouted, desperatly trying to keep them online.
'Just what I needed, a steep angle of re-entry, and no shields.... thanks Dragonis. Come on Samus... hold it togther!'
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"Sssir, we've almosst destroyed their ssshieldss, do you wish for usss to ccontinue firing? They.."
"FIRE!" Dragonis ordered, ready to have his prize. What he did not hear his officer saying was, that they are most likely going to crash anyway, and that they should send down a search party afterwards to pick up whatever survives. But such an action was at the back of Dragonis' mind in the middle of the chase, one might call it his only weakness.
"Firing." his weapons officer replied. But gave it a less than full power burst, hopeing to only damage them a little bit more, but still let the crash do the damage.
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"We've been hit again Samus! Shields are offline! I don't know how much more this thing can take!" Jax shouted, but Samus wasn't paying attention, she was solely focused on getting her vessel and her.... 'crew' as it were, down in one peice.
A/N: Hehehhe, there always has to be somewhat of a cliff hanger does there not? It would be the theme that my fic has followed to a degree to this point. And I intend to keep it up :)
I'm hopeing that I can finish this fic before I go to college. My other two fics are done, so I'll have more time to put into this one. But I also have a job now, so I've got even less time than before. But I do intend to finish this, I so wish to. And lucky you, I've even got my idea for what the next chapter will be, so it should be sooner than you might expect.
Don't forget to review!