CHAPTER 5
HUNTER
LOG 3856
I know that woman from
somewhere...I must have met her before...but there's no way she's a
cargo pilot...
The people in this outpost seem all too oblivious as to what is going on around them. They don't even recognize me...which among higher staff, is usually the opposite.
Something is going to happen here, soon. And I'd rather not stay to find out what...
Samus out...
Samus took the detonator. She couldn't afford to leave it for someone else. Besides, it might come in handy later.
"What are you doing over here?" asked a voice behind her.
"I'm just looking," Samus explained as she turned to see an armored guard.
"What is that in your hand there?" he asked Samus, pointing with his gun.
"I got it out of the ship," Samus said.
"Let me see...that's a bomb!" the man yelled.
"No, wait..." Samus tried to interrupt.
"Calling for backup! Calling for backup! This is Sullivan! I've got a hunter with an explosive device in the docking bay!" the guard screamed into his com device.
"Listen, I..." Samus tried again.
"NO! Give that to me and stay right there!" the guard said as she grabbed the bomb out of her hand.
Samus knew she could dispatch of this guard easily, but she figured she'd give him a break with all of the chaos going on.
Shortly, a horde of guards came in and detained Samus. They led her down a series of hallways and into a small cell. Once there, she simply sat down and waited on a lecture.
After a few minutes, Dan Horizon and the woman from the ship walked into the room with the device.
"A little something you forgot to tell me?" he asked.
"Not really, but you might ask your guest about that little trinket," Samus responded.
"My guest? Do you mean her?" Horizon said pointing at the woman with the bomb.
"Please, don't wave that thing at me," the woman said, leaning back.
"Hunter, who are you? What is your name?" Horizon asked.
"I am Samus Aran," Samus said.
The woman seemed to turn white.
"Samus Aran? Are you aware that there is a request out to have you detained on sight for the murder of President Marcusson and the assaults on the combines?" inquired Horizon.
"You've got to be kidding," said Samus.
"I don't believe I'm kidding. A dead president is no joke. I'm afraid we'll have to keep you here for a while," Horizon said, turning to walk away.
"Then what would you say if I told you I found that bomb in the cargo bay of her ship? The same cargo bay that isn't equipped to hold any cargo," Samus probed.
"Is this true?" Horizon asked, turning toward the woman.
"But my ship was damaged! Of course it wouldn't look right!" she pleaded.
"I can't risk having you running around with suspicion cast on you. You'll have to join Ms. Aran in the cell," Horizon said as he ordered the guards to place her inside.
"This is crazy! You're going to let a murderer tell you who is guilty and who isn't!" the woman screamed as she was tossed behind the bars.
"I bid you adieu, ladies. Please...don't kill each other," said Horizon as he and the guards exited the room.
The woman went over to Samus and got right up by her visor.
"I HATE you! You've screwed everything up!" she yelled as her breath condensed on the facemask.
"Heh, I screwed things up? I wasn't the one who left a bomb lying around," Samus replied.
"Augh! God!" the woman exclaimed, clutching her hair with her hands.
"You really need to chill out," Samus said.
"No! You don't understand! That's not my bomb!" she yelled, then she lowered her voice, "I...I got it from the Alpha Combine..."
Samus leaned forward.
"The Alpha Combine? Tell me more," Samus prompted.
"Look, I'll make a deal with you. You get me out of here, and I'll tell you the whole story. I know you can get us out of here. That arm cannon isn't for show," the woman said.
"Before I do anything, I need you to tell me your name," Samus said.
"Lita. My name is Lita," she responded.
"Lita...ok, Lita, it's a deal. Now I'll warn you, it's very cramped in my ship," Samus said.
"Whatever, just get us out of here," Lita said impatiently.
"Step back," Samus ordered, pulling Lita back by her jacket.
She aimed and fired ice beam shots at each of the bars, then with a sweeping roundhouse kick, she shattered them all. Samus then led the way out the door with Lita following behind.
"Do you know where you're going?" Lita yelled.
"I have an idea," Samus replied.
The two rounded a turn and blasted between two patrol guards, knocking them against the walls. As they ran, they heard one of the guards call for security, resulting in alarms and strobing red lights.
Surprisingly, the two reached the docking bay doors without encountering any guards, but when they entered, they learned why.
Legions of guards stood surrounding the cargo ship.
Inside her helmet, Samus cocked her head. Why would they guard the broken down ship and not her ship? This would make for a much easier escape.
"Hey, run toward that ship three down to the right of yours," Samus whispered to Lita.
"That? Isn't that a GPX9860J custom model?" asked Lita.
"Yeah, why?" Samus asked, puzzled.
"Oh nothing, my...uuh...my friend had one. It was nice," Lita said.
Samus tried to make sense out of the conversation, but quickly gave up. The two dashed toward Samus' ship. At first, the guards hesitated, not expecting the two to attempt an escape, but after a moment, they opened fire on the escapees.
"Holy crap! You don't do this all the time, do you?" Lita screamed as she ran.
"You know what they say about old habits," Samus said back.
"Well I don't plan on dying today!" Lita yelled back as she jumped on top of Samus' ship.
Shocked, Samus skidded to a stop. She'd never seen anyone else do that. A shot to the back returned Samus to her surroundings. She quickly followed Lita and boarded the ship.
"This is awesome...it's just like...my friend's ship, except newer," Lita remarked.
"Nice to hear, but you might want to buckle in, it doesn't always fly as smooth as it looks," Samus replied.
"I resent that, ma'am,"
"Sorry, Grady. I was just kidding. How about we get out of here?" Samus suggested.
"Where to, ma'am?
"I say we go to Orpheus," Lita recommended.
"Orpheus? The asteroid base? No thanks, that's bad food," Samus said.
"Why not? There's plenty of old equipment there. I'd be able to whip up a few things, and we'd be able to use it as a makeshift base," Lita reasoned.
"There is a bit of a problem. There's a hole in the side. When it was blasted open, all of the oxygen escaped. It wouldn't be functional," Samus rebutted.
"No! I'm totally familiar with the operations of Orpheus. I've studied it extensively. I can get the generators up and running, and there should be enough oxygen in the reserves deep in the center of the asteroid. That is, unless you plan on making it a permanent installation, then I'd have to build a CO2 converter to give us a sustained supply," Lita explained.
Samus removed her helmet, revealing a dumbfounded face with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" Lita asked.
"Ahem! Ladies, I'd like to remind you that we're still under fire outside. Would you like to pick a destination?
"Sorry, Grady. I guess we're headed for Orpheus," Samus relented.
"Course set for Orpheus Asteroid Station, proceeding... "
Samus' ship started moving toward the exit of the docking bay. By this point, the guards had exhausted their gun ammo and commanding officers began barking orders.
"Ready the MAC!" rang from the crowd of guards.
An engineer from the catwalks answered.
"It can't be fired yet! It's too soon! It's still cooling down from the last shot!"
"Don't disobey me! Ready the gun NOW!" the commanded yelled.
The ship left the bay and entered the asteroid field.
In the stern viewing screen, Samus and Lita watched the MAC gun illuminate from inside the barrel. The light started as green, then turned to yellow, then a bright orange. Suddenly the barrel bulged and shuddered.
Pieces of the outpost drifted into space as the MAC gun barrel shot forward from the station, leaving a gaping hole in the side. Strangling bodies floated freely in the vacuum behind the large cylinder.
"They tried to fire it too soon. The shell melted and stuck inside the barrel. The force was so great that it pulled it out of the outpost like a splinter out of a finger..." Lita said in wonder.
It had to be a return to Orpheus. The feeling of that place was that of an abandoned asylum. Walls that once encased intense activity sat undisturbed for decades. Samus wasn't there long enough last time to really explore, but she was sure that the inner passageways of the station were even drearier than the outer corridors had been.
Enter: Samus...bounty hunter...fugitive of the Confederation
