Scan complete.
Vessel identified as a Space Pirate Frigate.
The ship has been modified to undergo atmospheric reentry and is equipped with heavy-duty landing gear. It appears to primarily a research vessel, but is well defended by both soldiers and automated sentry guns. Energy readings suggest the frigate is recharging its electrical reserves before departing to its final destination. Said destination has yet to be determined. Ship ID has yet to be determined.
Samus could scarcely believe her luck.
Before her was a fully intact and operational Space Pirate research vessel. Orpheon, though heavily damaged, contained information that she found invaluable on her mission to Talon IV. This ship had everything still recorded and usable; there was little doubt in Samus' mind that this single frigate could expose secrets and research notes that would end the Space Pirate threat altogether. It was like staring at an information gold-mine.
But unlike other pirate vessels, which were often very well guarded, the guards of the frigate were no more than standard troopers. They were armed with only beams and energy scythes, neither being overly powerful, and the armor they wore only covered their chest and head.
The situation perturbed Samus. "There has to be more powerful pirates nearby…" she said to herself quietly. "A frigate being guarded so poorly is unheard of…"
She scanned the surrounding areas, but found nothing. The ship was defended by mere troopers, which meant that the ship was near worthless, or the troopers themselves were hyper-competent, though the latter seemed unlikely.
After thinking over the possibilities and consequences, Samus came up with a plan of action she felt suitable for taking care of the pirates.
"Screw it."
Samus dashed out of the bushes and shot three troopers dead before they had even noticed her, then fired a Super Missile at what she assumed to be the ship's com array. Space Pirates came flooding after her, beam weapons firing madly. Taking advantage of their clustered formation, Samus switched into Morph-Ball mode and boosted herself in the middle of a sizable group of pirates, placing a Power Bomb as she passed through.
To her surprise, however, the pirates noticed the bomb and fled to safer areas, letting it detonate harmlessly. Normally they have a much less apparent sense of self-preservation… she thought. Samus reverted back to her bipedal form, she noticed the pirates had assembled into shockingly well-organized formations. Their beams were fired in such as fashion that Samus could barely dodge them, leading to her getting hit and losing nearly two energy tanks.
Three pirate Aerotroopers appeared from within the frigate and began firing hoards of seeker-missiles at her. Quickly, she activated her Plasma Beam and fired at the pirate's jetpacks, but found their continuous dodging difficult to manage along with the constant bombardment of beams by their earthbound allies.
A missile struck her. While recovering from its recoil, two more missiles struck her, knocking the huntress to the ground. The Space Pirates wasted no time closing in the distance with the opportunity they had, and began to pile on top of her, energy scythes slashing at her with extreme precision, targeting weak points in the Power Suit Samus had no idea existed. Switching to her Wave Beam, she charged up her cannon and fired off her Wave Buster, sending the pirates flying off in every direction and leaving most dead, and many survivors paralyzed.
Samus hadn't any time to lament the loss of so many of her missiles, as the aerotroopers, no longer having their comrades directly in the way, began to fire missiles of their own. Samus jumped back on her feet and returned fire, this time able to concentrate on their sporadic evasion patterns while efficiently avoiding the assault. It was still a chore to actually hit the bastards, but eventually their jetpacks began to smoke and spark.
Instead of going for the usual suicide attack that most aerotroopers chose to perform, the pirates unhooked themselves from their jetpacks, sending the devices hurtling toward Samus as they fired with their sidearms.
They were easily finished off with ordinary Power Beam shots, but what had happened deeply disturbed Samus. Never had she faced pirates with such determination to kill… or the ability to do so, for that matter. The fact that most were merely troopers was even more worrisome. She had lost eleven of her twenty energy tanks, and all but thirty of her missiles remained. What if higher ranking, better equipped pirates attacked her in such numbers while she was in the ship…?
No. She underestimated them, was all. It was foolish to not to fight with every ounce of strength one had, and she had paid the price in time and energy.
With renewed vigor, Samus fired at the shielded door from which the aerotroopers had appeared, revealing the dim interior of the frigate. She held her arm cannon at her side, ready to kill anything that crossed her path.
It was time to hunt.
Dust groaned softly as his vision returned to him. He had a pounding headache, and his neck still felt constricted from his attack by those… things.
"How long have I been out, Ahrah?" he asked.
No response.
Alarmed, Dust quickly sat up and searched for his blade, which was nowhere to be found. Instead of being in the forest he last remembered being in, he was in a small, dimly lit room with a bizarre looking glass wall at the front. It softly glowed a burnt orange as it constantly warped and shimmered, almost looking ethereal. Dust placed a hand on it. The wall felt warm to the touch, and was undoubtedly solid.
Coming to the conclusion that he had been captured, Dust immediately began plotting his escape. At first, he tried ramming the glass door at full strength. Upon bruising his arm and leaving the door without a scratch, he opted to examine his cell for grates or weak points. For perhaps half an hour he poked and prodded at every corner of the cell, looked for some hope of escape.
There was no such hope.
Feeling defeated, Dust sat down in front of the glass door and into the rather obscured room outside. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move out the door. Pressing his face against the door as hard as he could, Dust could make out a tall bipedal figure with large, bulbous shoulders..
"I'm dead."
Upon stepping into the long hallway in the frigate's interior, Samus was hit by an overwhelming sense of déjà-vu. The steam spewing off of the pipes, the Space Pirate writing on the walls, the circular end of the hall itself… something just felt familiar, yet very strange.
She continued onward, going through a large airlock, then through yet another long hallway. When she opened the door at the end of the final hallway, Samus found herself in a large, open room filled with computers and holding cells filled with various creatures. Oddly enough, there were no Space Pirates. She activated her X-ray visor and looked around for any concealed opponents, but there was nothing other than the creatures in the cells.
Still on guard, Samus walked over to one of the computer terminals present in the room. Using her scan visor, she hacked through the system's security and decrypted the data it contained.
Log Entry 19.940.3
Following a shortage of power, we have landed in an isolated part of the target planet. Subject M-903 has expired from malnutrition.
Even the troops agreed that relying on just one Metroid for our power was absurd, even if it was enhanced by phazon. Experimentation is good, but not on a delicate operation such as this.
Thankfully, the Elites recovered a strange creature that produced great quantities of energy while scouting the area. The creature resisted all attempts at energy harvesting until one of the engineers inadvertently introduced it to the Earth-native delicacy known as 'marshmallows', at which point it became very docile. Subject NB-001 does not produce as much power as a Metroid, but it will serve its purpose until we replenish our power reserves.
Samus reread the log over and over again. The only Metroid on the ship was dead, but what was this 'NB-001'? Could it be dangerous? She accessed the unknown creature's profile.
Subject NB-001
Height: approx 1.5ft to 2ft
Weight: unable to be determined.
Creature appears mammalian in nature with orange and white fur. It utilizes a pair of leathery wings to fly, though it must be exceedingly light for its size to be able to stay in the air. Subject can be aggressive, but supplying marshmallows will unfailingly qualm its bloodlust.
Attempts to determine NB-001's sex were met with utter failure. Subject consumed a large portion of the examiner's face despite it being protected by a Jovian steel helmet. No further physical examinations of NB-001 will be authorized.
NB-001 is capable of speech, and has expressed disdain for its imprisonment while requesting more marshmallows. Repeatedly. Attempts to kill it with the toxic substance called 'peanut-butter' failed. The subject did not expire, but the peanut-butter clung to its palate in such a way that it could no longer speak. We are no longer planning to kill NB-001 so long as we have peanut-butter in supply. Should the supply run out, subject is to be terminated to preserve the sanity of personal, regardless of the potential amount of power lost.
Samus frowned. The creature was dangerous, but it seemed intelligent enough to reason with. Making a mental note to acquire marshmallows, she continued to search through the Pirate data base. As she browsed for any critical information, she heard a soft, but distinct voice from behind.
"Samus… the safe by the desk…"
Samus spun around, and sure enough, there was a safe nearby a researcher's desk. She cautiously walked over to it and scanned it.
Scan complete.
Safe is composed of cordite. Energy readings within structure match that of the weapon known as 'The Blade of Ahrah'.
Samus sighed. "How'd you end up in that thing, Ahrah?" she asked. "Please don't tell me that Dust-"
"He did," the blade said flatly.
Samus observed the holding cells for but a moment before finding the rather beat-up, guilty-looking figure that was Dust.
Her palm audibly collided with her helmet.
Well, I technically uploaded in March like I said, but considering how late this was I might as well have uploaded it tomorrow, which would be in about thirty minutes from the time I am writing this little comment...
Seriously, though, I do apologize for the tardiness of this chapter, but when you have EOC exams to worry about fan fiction really isn't on your list of priorities. Anyway, this chapter is a tad short, but that fight scene with the Space Pirates did challenge me a fair bit. When you have such a powerful character to work with, it's hard to make them struggle without making it contrived, and I really wanted to avoid that.
Gimme reviews that tell me what I do wrong. You won't hurt my feelings. Telling me how bad I am might prevent WWIII. Or it could just make some random guy on the internet a slightly better author. Perhaps both. You never know...