Long update. Wow... Well, back to the mystery of the Cobalt Terror!
Gamma Base, Arrn Chasm
"Sir, we have lost contact with Harbinger!" a Space Pirate reported.
"What!?" a second asked.
"Radar faintly detected a large object moving rapidly. It stopped sometime back." the first replied.
"We've tried communicating with the incoming Frigate, but we have no response. It may have been Harbinger that crashed, or it is quite possible that the chasm is blocking our transmissions." a third reported.
"And we've also tried communicating with Beta Base, but we have the same problem." the first reported.
"So... It seems that our only means of escape is potentially gone, and we are cut off from the world." the second stated.
"That would appear to be correct. However, if Harbinger did indeed crash, then we must send Security Teams to attempt to recover our cargo. We've made it this far, and we need to continue." a fourth replied.
"Excellent! If we are cut off from the world, the Warriors will never find us, and neither will the Federation!" the second yelled with glee.
The large, sleek assault ship landed nearby the rusting and barely operable Hunter Ship. It is half tilted, sinking into the ground. The entire back half of the roof of the assault ship slid backwards and behind, covering the main engines. The primary thrusters spewed heat downwards as small clawlike arms grasped the ground. The Federation base was almost in complete disrepair. The nearby water source was flooding, and portions of the original landing site were missing, presumably fell into the forests below.
Orion, clad in a white Power Suit, stood up from the cramped chair at the cockpit of the assault ship and hit a button on the control panel. A small sphere popped out of the top, and Orion grabbed it. He locked it into his arm cannon and got out. The roof-hatch of the assault ship slid back into place. Orion did not go towards the base, but rather Samus' old ship. He walked around it cautiously, inspecting it, as if something would jump out of nowhere and attack him. Nothing. He jumped on top and surveyed the area. Nothing in sight, and nothing was on his radar. He looked down for a hatch. The Federation explained that Samus had always used a hatch in the ceiling to get in and out. But the hatch was nowhere to be found.
Orion switched to his Scanning Visor. He looked around the ship for any hidden point of entry, but only said that the ship was rusting over and running on very little power. It did show that rust was gathering in an odd pattern on top. Orion inspected this section, closed his Scanning Visor, and hit the location a few times with his hand. The rust broke slightly, and was more hollow than the rest of it. Orion stood up and pointed his arm cannon at the rust. He was about to fire at it, but decided against it. Something or someone might pick up the weapons fire. Then again, if it could pick up weapons fire, it could pick up almost any change in energy. He shot the rust several times. It collapsed on its own accord, and Orion waited for a few seconds before jumping in.
He quickly looked around the area. It was rusting inside, but so badly as it was outside. There was only rust where air could get in or come in direct contact with, so only the area around, and including, the forward viewport was rusting. The ceiling around the hatch was rusting as well. The rear area as well as some spots of the floor had traces of rust as well. Orion approached the computer. The screen could barely be read. He reached around the base of it, near the floor, looking for an access point. He found one, slightly rusty. He punched it open.
Inside was a network of faintly glowing cables of different colors. On the side was a plate. He pulled a similar plate out of his arm cannon and set it onto the floor. He stood up and took aim at it. He fired several shots until the plate began to glow. He reached down and picked it up, putting it over the plate inside the computer. It locked and was very hot. The computer, as well as essential systems kicked to life. The engine strained and sputtered. It stopped eventually.
Orion accessed the computer logs. The last time the computer system had been used was for a suit diagnostics, and that was almost four months ago. He checked it for any mission data, but had all been dumped onto a mobile source. Samus' computer on her suit, no doubt. He checked for any sort of logs that may have been useful. After some time, he found one that logged at different points in time, all on the same day. The first was a small band of medium-sized beings, investigating the area, then leaving. The second was almost two hours later, a shuttle approaching the site, and another band of smaller beings than the last came out of it, also investigating. The third was the same scene, only ten minutes later, as a small band of the medium sized beings returned, but waited away from the second band of beings. The fourth log was that of himself, approaching the band of small beings, the troopers, and involving a small scurmish, when he had attempted to eat one of them. They all got into the shuttle and left. Orion heard some strange sound and looked up. The wind outside had just kicked up and must be blowing inside the opened hatch.
The fifth was just two minutes later, as the band of medium sized beings, six in all, approached the ship. They all got in. The next log was almost immediately afterwards, but all it contained was the timestamp. The next log was that of the medium beings getting out, just as a large group of small approached from the side. The two groups met, and only four medium beings were able to leave after clearing out the smaller beings. One of them apparently got back into the ship, and a portion of the larger group followed. The four went back to the ship and closed the hatch, then moved away.
The eighth log was horrifying-- another large group of the small creatures approached the ship and crawled in through the back. Orion began to reach for his plate in the computer before examining the next log, and pointed his arm cannon at the viewport. He continued. The ninth was a report of engine failure. The tenth was at the same time, and it was a video. It showed the cowardly Space Pirate in an extreme state of panic. It was looking around suspiciously, as if any portion of the ship could just come alive and attack it. The slime on the floor began to move, and the strange spines it covered along with it. They formed an odd breed of Goltronga and attacked the Space Pirate. It opened the hatch to the engine to try and use the heat to kill it, but it had failed. It got sucked away from view. Eventually, a tentacular-claw-hand extended from the hidden area and closed the hatch. The log also showed a record of an abnormal sound. Orion played it. It was the engine kind of puttering dead, and some strange groans and slithering was also heard during and afterwards. A strange slithering-clicking sound then followed, and the strange appendage closed the hatch. It made the same sound the Orion heard several minutes ago.
Gamma Base, Arrn Chasm "Sir, a Surveillance Team reports that an assault ship from the Harbinger has landed at the Federation base. The only being inside, looking like the Hunter in muted color, climbed out and inspected the Hunters Ship." a Space Pirate reported.
"Impossible. The Hunter has become a hybrid. She can no longer assume the form of her weaker self." a second retorted.
"But it is true. They have a video record of this case." the first explained, bringing up a holographic viewscreen.
"Play it." a third commanded. It did indeed show a 'Hunter in muted color' come out. But that is Orion.
"I know what this is!" the second yelled.
"What then?" a fourth asked.
"If the Harbinger has crashed, it cannot be due to some minor error. It would have had to have either lost its Command Team or be heavily damaged. We have managed to retrieve a communication from the approximate time from when the Harbinger was going down. It details how a small pod was recovered, how it was Federation sabotage, and how what inside was a Hunter with a second weapon, in muted color. It quickly decimated the Command Team, and then a strange occurance was followed by static. This strange occurance is an EMP strain." the second explained.
"Yes, and we have also received a communication from an Assault Team in the hanger. They explain how this Hunter is possibly just some Federation robot made to replicate the real Hunter. It also explains that several reports from other Decks on the ship were attacked by something so similar to the Hunter, that the only difference was that it was apparently muted in color and had a second cannon." a fifth explained.
"So, what you are saying is that this being is not the Hunter, yet is?" the third asked.
"I think he's saying that this is not the Hunter. This is the Hatchling." the fourth detailed.
"What?" a sixth asked.
"The Federation took the Hatchling when it was young. They may have trained it to be their new Hunter. It may have exhibited traits of both Goltronga and the Hunter. The Federation must have found some way to block off the Goltronga hunger and focus on what good they could get out of it." the fourth explained.
"But then where did this suit of Chozo design come from?" the third asked.
"Assuming that from the way it seems to be built, it would take extreme amounts of strength to operate it, strength that only a Goltronga Warrior could produce. So, that must mean that it is not biologically engineered, but rather it is just something physically similar, built by the Federation. It's mechanics must be complex if it is able to match the functions of the Morph Ball function." the sixth explained.
"Are you saying that the Federation has somehow managed to perfectly replicate the complex Chozo secret of the Morph Ball before us? They are just simpletons, and cannot think for anyone but themselves. They could never learn the Chozo secret with what limited technology they have." the second said.
"We can replicate such a feature. We have done it before. It is just that we have always focused on the unit to change, and the specimen to somehow accept this forced change. They cannot do so if they are not willing." a seventh explained.
"Nonsense! They willing engaged the prototypes!" the first said.
"That may be so, but that is only their conscience obliging. Their body must oblige as well." the seventh explained, standing up from its curved chair, walking around the room. "We can no longer use mechanical means to change an organic body, just as we cannot use organic means to change a mechanical body. We can only use something of similar design to change the other."
"What are you saying?" the third asked.
"If we want to replicate the Morph Ball, we should not use machines to do so. An inanimate cannot affect the animate! We must use a unit composed of organic build to proceed. This organic build has to be able to respond with the organic user. Machines can never read someones body movements accurately, but something organic can. So, I propose that we begin research on organic materials that can be used to ease the body into a sphere. We will integrate mechanics into this organic material to get it to perform its function, as well as undo it." the seventh explained.
"Then the Pirates being tested will be exposed and defenseless!" the others said.
"We can work that out later." the seventh said, walking out the door.
Orion downloaded the ships entire loggings onto the plate and began to slowly pull it out. He looked at a freeze clip of when the Space Pirate was dragged into the engine, and compared it to what happened just minutes ago. He did an overlap of both, seeing that it is very possible that the Space Pirate has mutated and is standing right behind him. The recent clip does not show this, but a mutation can adopt the ability to hide itself perfectly. He got the ship to perform its last task-- a thermal reading of the interior. Indeed, there was something behind him. But it wasn't just behind him, it was breathing down his neck.
Psychie: Look at those Pirates conspire!
Anyways, leave a review. I would like to know what people think of this latest fic of mine. And I'd like to hear what peoples opinions are about what might happen in later chapters, or the next. And if you are one of those people who just waits until a story is finished to review it, you'll be waiting a long time. So, review now instead!
Oh, and if you like how this is writen, and you also like 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and/or 'Yu-Yu-Hakusho', you should go check out some of my other stuff. Or you can check my bio. It has a link to my deviantART account, which pictures what Orion looks like!
Gamma Base, Arrn Chasm
"Sir, we have lost contact with Harbinger!" a Space Pirate reported.
"What!?" a second asked.
"Radar faintly detected a large object moving rapidly. It stopped sometime back." the first replied.
"We've tried communicating with the incoming Frigate, but we have no response. It may have been Harbinger that crashed, or it is quite possible that the chasm is blocking our transmissions." a third reported.
"And we've also tried communicating with Beta Base, but we have the same problem." the first reported.
"So... It seems that our only means of escape is potentially gone, and we are cut off from the world." the second stated.
"That would appear to be correct. However, if Harbinger did indeed crash, then we must send Security Teams to attempt to recover our cargo. We've made it this far, and we need to continue." a fourth replied.
"Excellent! If we are cut off from the world, the Warriors will never find us, and neither will the Federation!" the second yelled with glee.
The large, sleek assault ship landed nearby the rusting and barely operable Hunter Ship. It is half tilted, sinking into the ground. The entire back half of the roof of the assault ship slid backwards and behind, covering the main engines. The primary thrusters spewed heat downwards as small clawlike arms grasped the ground. The Federation base was almost in complete disrepair. The nearby water source was flooding, and portions of the original landing site were missing, presumably fell into the forests below.
Orion, clad in a white Power Suit, stood up from the cramped chair at the cockpit of the assault ship and hit a button on the control panel. A small sphere popped out of the top, and Orion grabbed it. He locked it into his arm cannon and got out. The roof-hatch of the assault ship slid back into place. Orion did not go towards the base, but rather Samus' old ship. He walked around it cautiously, inspecting it, as if something would jump out of nowhere and attack him. Nothing. He jumped on top and surveyed the area. Nothing in sight, and nothing was on his radar. He looked down for a hatch. The Federation explained that Samus had always used a hatch in the ceiling to get in and out. But the hatch was nowhere to be found.
Orion switched to his Scanning Visor. He looked around the ship for any hidden point of entry, but only said that the ship was rusting over and running on very little power. It did show that rust was gathering in an odd pattern on top. Orion inspected this section, closed his Scanning Visor, and hit the location a few times with his hand. The rust broke slightly, and was more hollow than the rest of it. Orion stood up and pointed his arm cannon at the rust. He was about to fire at it, but decided against it. Something or someone might pick up the weapons fire. Then again, if it could pick up weapons fire, it could pick up almost any change in energy. He shot the rust several times. It collapsed on its own accord, and Orion waited for a few seconds before jumping in.
He quickly looked around the area. It was rusting inside, but so badly as it was outside. There was only rust where air could get in or come in direct contact with, so only the area around, and including, the forward viewport was rusting. The ceiling around the hatch was rusting as well. The rear area as well as some spots of the floor had traces of rust as well. Orion approached the computer. The screen could barely be read. He reached around the base of it, near the floor, looking for an access point. He found one, slightly rusty. He punched it open.
Inside was a network of faintly glowing cables of different colors. On the side was a plate. He pulled a similar plate out of his arm cannon and set it onto the floor. He stood up and took aim at it. He fired several shots until the plate began to glow. He reached down and picked it up, putting it over the plate inside the computer. It locked and was very hot. The computer, as well as essential systems kicked to life. The engine strained and sputtered. It stopped eventually.
Orion accessed the computer logs. The last time the computer system had been used was for a suit diagnostics, and that was almost four months ago. He checked it for any mission data, but had all been dumped onto a mobile source. Samus' computer on her suit, no doubt. He checked for any sort of logs that may have been useful. After some time, he found one that logged at different points in time, all on the same day. The first was a small band of medium-sized beings, investigating the area, then leaving. The second was almost two hours later, a shuttle approaching the site, and another band of smaller beings than the last came out of it, also investigating. The third was the same scene, only ten minutes later, as a small band of the medium sized beings returned, but waited away from the second band of beings. The fourth log was that of himself, approaching the band of small beings, the troopers, and involving a small scurmish, when he had attempted to eat one of them. They all got into the shuttle and left. Orion heard some strange sound and looked up. The wind outside had just kicked up and must be blowing inside the opened hatch.
The fifth was just two minutes later, as the band of medium sized beings, six in all, approached the ship. They all got in. The next log was almost immediately afterwards, but all it contained was the timestamp. The next log was that of the medium beings getting out, just as a large group of small approached from the side. The two groups met, and only four medium beings were able to leave after clearing out the smaller beings. One of them apparently got back into the ship, and a portion of the larger group followed. The four went back to the ship and closed the hatch, then moved away.
The eighth log was horrifying-- another large group of the small creatures approached the ship and crawled in through the back. Orion began to reach for his plate in the computer before examining the next log, and pointed his arm cannon at the viewport. He continued. The ninth was a report of engine failure. The tenth was at the same time, and it was a video. It showed the cowardly Space Pirate in an extreme state of panic. It was looking around suspiciously, as if any portion of the ship could just come alive and attack it. The slime on the floor began to move, and the strange spines it covered along with it. They formed an odd breed of Goltronga and attacked the Space Pirate. It opened the hatch to the engine to try and use the heat to kill it, but it had failed. It got sucked away from view. Eventually, a tentacular-claw-hand extended from the hidden area and closed the hatch. The log also showed a record of an abnormal sound. Orion played it. It was the engine kind of puttering dead, and some strange groans and slithering was also heard during and afterwards. A strange slithering-clicking sound then followed, and the strange appendage closed the hatch. It made the same sound the Orion heard several minutes ago.
Gamma Base, Arrn Chasm "Sir, a Surveillance Team reports that an assault ship from the Harbinger has landed at the Federation base. The only being inside, looking like the Hunter in muted color, climbed out and inspected the Hunters Ship." a Space Pirate reported.
"Impossible. The Hunter has become a hybrid. She can no longer assume the form of her weaker self." a second retorted.
"But it is true. They have a video record of this case." the first explained, bringing up a holographic viewscreen.
"Play it." a third commanded. It did indeed show a 'Hunter in muted color' come out. But that is Orion.
"I know what this is!" the second yelled.
"What then?" a fourth asked.
"If the Harbinger has crashed, it cannot be due to some minor error. It would have had to have either lost its Command Team or be heavily damaged. We have managed to retrieve a communication from the approximate time from when the Harbinger was going down. It details how a small pod was recovered, how it was Federation sabotage, and how what inside was a Hunter with a second weapon, in muted color. It quickly decimated the Command Team, and then a strange occurance was followed by static. This strange occurance is an EMP strain." the second explained.
"Yes, and we have also received a communication from an Assault Team in the hanger. They explain how this Hunter is possibly just some Federation robot made to replicate the real Hunter. It also explains that several reports from other Decks on the ship were attacked by something so similar to the Hunter, that the only difference was that it was apparently muted in color and had a second cannon." a fifth explained.
"So, what you are saying is that this being is not the Hunter, yet is?" the third asked.
"I think he's saying that this is not the Hunter. This is the Hatchling." the fourth detailed.
"What?" a sixth asked.
"The Federation took the Hatchling when it was young. They may have trained it to be their new Hunter. It may have exhibited traits of both Goltronga and the Hunter. The Federation must have found some way to block off the Goltronga hunger and focus on what good they could get out of it." the fourth explained.
"But then where did this suit of Chozo design come from?" the third asked.
"Assuming that from the way it seems to be built, it would take extreme amounts of strength to operate it, strength that only a Goltronga Warrior could produce. So, that must mean that it is not biologically engineered, but rather it is just something physically similar, built by the Federation. It's mechanics must be complex if it is able to match the functions of the Morph Ball function." the sixth explained.
"Are you saying that the Federation has somehow managed to perfectly replicate the complex Chozo secret of the Morph Ball before us? They are just simpletons, and cannot think for anyone but themselves. They could never learn the Chozo secret with what limited technology they have." the second said.
"We can replicate such a feature. We have done it before. It is just that we have always focused on the unit to change, and the specimen to somehow accept this forced change. They cannot do so if they are not willing." a seventh explained.
"Nonsense! They willing engaged the prototypes!" the first said.
"That may be so, but that is only their conscience obliging. Their body must oblige as well." the seventh explained, standing up from its curved chair, walking around the room. "We can no longer use mechanical means to change an organic body, just as we cannot use organic means to change a mechanical body. We can only use something of similar design to change the other."
"What are you saying?" the third asked.
"If we want to replicate the Morph Ball, we should not use machines to do so. An inanimate cannot affect the animate! We must use a unit composed of organic build to proceed. This organic build has to be able to respond with the organic user. Machines can never read someones body movements accurately, but something organic can. So, I propose that we begin research on organic materials that can be used to ease the body into a sphere. We will integrate mechanics into this organic material to get it to perform its function, as well as undo it." the seventh explained.
"Then the Pirates being tested will be exposed and defenseless!" the others said.
"We can work that out later." the seventh said, walking out the door.
Orion downloaded the ships entire loggings onto the plate and began to slowly pull it out. He looked at a freeze clip of when the Space Pirate was dragged into the engine, and compared it to what happened just minutes ago. He did an overlap of both, seeing that it is very possible that the Space Pirate has mutated and is standing right behind him. The recent clip does not show this, but a mutation can adopt the ability to hide itself perfectly. He got the ship to perform its last task-- a thermal reading of the interior. Indeed, there was something behind him. But it wasn't just behind him, it was breathing down his neck.
Psychie: Look at those Pirates conspire!
Anyways, leave a review. I would like to know what people think of this latest fic of mine. And I'd like to hear what peoples opinions are about what might happen in later chapters, or the next. And if you are one of those people who just waits until a story is finished to review it, you'll be waiting a long time. So, review now instead!
Oh, and if you like how this is writen, and you also like 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' and/or 'Yu-Yu-Hakusho', you should go check out some of my other stuff. Or you can check my bio. It has a link to my deviantART account, which pictures what Orion looks like!