Chapter 13:
Samus made her way away from the wreck of her downed gunship, and towards the Capitol Building as quickly as she could. Elric had a massive head start on her and she knew that if he managed to secure the Radio Tower before she arrived, that it would be difficult to expose him without having to fight through his bodyguard. And the last thing Samus wanted to do was spill more blood, especially since it would be Federation troops and citizens that she would be killing. Samus soon saw the massive building off in the distance and proceeded to run towards it. The first thing she needed to do was to secure a shuttle or other fast means of transportation to get to the Radio Tower. Second, she needed to ensure that the data was both real, and that it did not fall into the wrong hands. To that end, she wished to speak with both President Richardson and Councilman Colin Williams.
As she ran towards the Capitol Building, she saw the wreckage of tanks, shuttles, transports, and fighters strewn all around the area that surrounded the Capitol Building. She figured that Elric's forces had likely launched more than one attack on the Capitol Building, either to kill the Council Members and planetary leaders that were siding with Earth, or to take direct control of Earth's defense grid; possibly, even likely, both. She began to realize just how tough a fight it was as she scanned her surroundings. She had helped take out a small army when she shot down the transports, tanks, and fighters. The destroyed force that she saw here, however, dwarfed the force that she had helped defeat on her way to the building. Along with the wreckage of the vehicles and fighters, she saw the dead bodies of many armored and unarmored soldiers. The armored soldiers wore armor of an unfamiliar type to Samus. She figured that these were members of Elric's army. She looked for signs of any Federation Army or Marine Troopers among the dead, but so far, she had found none. Also, while she found the wreckage of many Stilettos and atmospheric aircraft, she found none for the Katanas, a type of air and space fighter used primarily by Earth. While the Federation military was beginning to adopt the new starfighter, Earth was still its primary user. To Samus, it looked as if the battle had not been so much a battle, as a massacre in favor of the Earth defenders, and even without her help, they would have defeated the reinforcements that Elric had sent.
As she continued to move across the battlefield, a hovercar approached her. At first, she was on alert, knowing that there may still be stragglers from Elric's forces present. The helmets of Galactic Federation Marines sitting in the back of the car did little to ease her initial concerns, since Elric was still in charge of the Galactic Federation and could have sent down a contingent of Marines to try to deal with her. The driver, a man who looked to be in his early to mid thirties, wearing a Galactic Federation service uniform looked decent enough, though. Still, Samus cautiously raised her arm cannon and leveled it at the car, though she was careful to scan the car so that she would not hit a vital system that would result in the car's annihilation should be forced to fire on it. She then aimed at one of the non-vital areas of the car. In addition, she did not charge her beam, but that did little to comfort the driver. "Woah, Samus, wait!" the driver of the car called when she leveled her arm cannon towards the car. "We're not your enemy."
"Who sent you?" Samus called out in question.
"President Richardson," the driver answered. The two troopers soon stepped out of the car and Samus noticed that they wore Earth Marine Corps insignias on their armor. "Don't worry," he assured her. "We're the good guys. Both President Richardson and Councilman Williams are eager to see you and examine the data. Hop on in and we'll take you to them."
Samus was a little hesitant at first, but figured that if they were planning something, they would have tried something different. Two marines were not sufficient to kill her, even if they managed to get the drop on her. Besides, the marines were Earth Marines, not Federation Marines or Elric's cronies. She then decided to get into the hovercar, sitting in the rear of the car where she was joined by one of the other marines. The final marine then sat next to the hovercar's pilot in the front seat. Once she was onboard, the hovercar raced to the Capitol Building, where Samus could meet with President Richardson and Councilman Williams.
Meanwhile, onboard the Watchman shuttle, Kreatz and Mauk were flying towards New York as quickly as possible. They scanned the comm signals to find out what Elric's plans were, and just how close he was to accomplishing them. They could also help alert Earth's military forces to the plans of Elric and where he would be deploying his forces. So far, all they had heard was the crying of the Watchmen and their support as they were being slaughtered in Washington D.C. Checking on the signals in space, the ships from numerous other worlds that had shown up to assist Elric in the conquest of Earth were getting the crud kicked out of them by Earth's Planetary Defense Grid. Even with the arrival of more ships, the original one hundred starships that had arrived to assist Elric were all but completely depleted, with less than a dozen still operational. According to the reports that had come in, Elric's forces had opened fire first on the Heavy Defense Platforms and an Asgard-class heavy cruiser, resulting in the beginning of the firefight. Both Kreatz and Mauk frowned at the reports that were coming in. Even though the Earth defenders had suffered only minor casualties in the fighting, there had already been too much bloodshed, and they did not know when, or if, Elric's allies would cease the attack. So far, reports also indicated that Elric had led a force to the Radio Tower in order to capture it and keep Samus Aran from being able to use it to transmit whatever information she had found out about him. It was then that another report came in. It stated that Samus's ship had been shot down close to the Capitol Building in Washington. The faces of the shuttle pilots were aghast at the report, something that caught the attention of Captain Falcon. "What's wrong," he asked.
"Samus's gunship has been reported to have been shot down in the battle of Washington D.C.," Mauk answered.
"Any word on whether or not she survived?"
The two shook their heads and merely showed them the report that had appeared on the screen. Captain Falcon smiled reassuringly and said, "I wouldn't worry too much about that. More than a few people have survived the crashes of gunships. If anyone can survive such an incident, it's her."
"Yeah," Kreatz agreed with a smile of his own as hope reentered his heart. As they continued on their way, though, both Kreatz and Mauk offered a silent prayer for Samus's safety.
Inside the Capitol Building, Samus waited as Councilman Williams' tech analysts went over the data that she had given to them regarding Elric's part in the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters on Daiban, as well as in giving the Space Pirates the necessary data that allowed them to take control of Aurora Unit Zero and eventually have it destroy the planet. The trip to the building had been uneventful, though she did have to pass by numerous checkpoints and submit herself to a full bio-scan and brain scan. At the conclusion of the tests, she was shown to be the real Samus Aran and not to have been under any form of mind-control. Once that had been completed, she handed over the round disk to Councilman Williams and his tech analysts. That was approximately fifteen minutes ago.
Samus watched as they replayed the scene again and again, going over it with a fine-toothed comb. They wanted to make sure that this data was one hundred percent legitimate. Samus, too, wanted to be absolutely certain as well. Inwardly, she was conflicted on whether or not she wanted the data to turn out to be real. On one hand, she knew the potential ramifications should it prove to be true. Elric had a great deal of support from a large number of non-human races in the Galactic Federation, as was demonstrated by the large fleet that had come to Elric's aid over Earth, and was being massacred up in orbit, while most of the resistance to his election had come from the humans, and even then, it was only due to him choosing Cyrus as the Vice-Chairman, rather than the Speaker of the Council. In addition, there were still the hearings into Elric's alleged role in the production of illegal bioweapons on both the Bottle Ship and Research Facility 777, as well as his clone of Samus, herself. Still, she could understand the potential need for a much stronger military. She, herself, knew that the Phazon Crisis would have not been nearly as great as it was if the Federation had had a larger military. In addition, the threat posed by the Space Pirates would have been significantly reduced. That was shown during a Space Pirate raid on planet Z-1A, where even had Samus not arrived, the Federation would have still arrived to drive off the Pirates, albeit not before there had been more fatalities among the civilians and other personnel down on the planet. Samus, and bounty hunters like her, could not be everywhere at once, and she knew that she was a rarity among bounty hunters in her willingness to take jobs only for just causes, and to refuse jobs that went against her beliefs and morals. However, if Elric had, indeed, given the Space Pirates vital data on the defenses of Daiban, then he was complicit in the attack. And it would not be lost on many people that one of the few that actually ended up benefiting from the attack on Daiban was, indeed, Elric.
After a while, the data analysts rose from their terminals and went over to Samus and Councilman Williams, who was standing a few feet away from the bounty hunter. "So, what's the verdict?" the Councilman asked.
"It's legit," the lead analyst, a human male in his early thirties with red hair, answered succinctly.
Colin Williams gave a melancholy sigh. "I suspected as much," he lamented. "It actually makes sense. There was no way the Space Pirates could have gotten that much information on Galactic Federation Headquarters and its defenses, along with knowledge about Aurora Unit Zero, without inside information."
"So, what should we do?" the voice of President Richardson came in from behind the Federation Council Member.
"We need to get this information out as quickly as possible," Williams responded.
"Won't that cause mass hysteria?" Richardson asked, his eyes not hiding his surprise.
"Perhaps," Williams admitted. "But considering what the Watchmen are doing right now here on Earth, I think that the rest of the Federation needs to know what's going on."
"I agree," Samus chimed in. "With this information, Elric will be exposed as the criminal that he really is. Don't forget that before the attack on Galactic Federation Headquarters and Daiban's destruction, there were hearings into the allegations of Elric having commissioned the assassination of former Chairman Keaton, and promoting the supposed assassin, Cyrus, to Vice-Chairman. And those hearing were concurrent with hearings on his part in the development of illegal bioweapons on both the Bottle Ship and Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven. The reasons those hearings were put on hold was because of Daiban's destruction, the deaths of almost one third of the Council, and Elric having to replace the dead Council Members. Of course, he replaced them with his own supporters, who then swept this all under the rug. However, if we broadcast this data to the entire Galactic Federation, then no one will be able to deny what Elric has done, and the other hearings will be reopened."
President Richardson nodded, having been convinced by Samus's arguments. Besides, if anything could prevent an all out civil war from occurring, then the broadcasting of this data would do so. "Alright, let's do it," he said. "But you'll need to hurry. We have already had sightings of Elric's forces nearing the Radio Tower and the security forces are not going to be able to stop Elric's troops."
"I've got a supersonic hoverbus fueled and ready to go," Williams volunteered. "The only problem is that it has no weapons to speak of. If we fall under attack, we'll be in trouble. It does have a sheet of ablative armor, though, so it can hold up against a few hits assuming the enemy doesn't use missiles."
"Can't you bring a couple of fighters for backup?" Samus asked. She was not fond of the idea of the Councilman going to the Radio Tower without a fighter escort to protect his bus.
"I could," Williams responded, "but it would mean taking fighters away from the defense of Washington D.C., or the orbit of Earth. And we'll almost certainly be expected by Elric and his forces. Nothing like a couple of fighters escorting a nondescript hoverbus to draw attention to us. Secrecy is the best tool we've got right now"
Samus could not fault his logic. However, the lack of fighter support would definitely hurt them if anyone discovered the information that she and the others carried. Eventually, she said, "I'll provide defense for the hoverbus. I'll stand on top of the bus and provide defensive fire if we run into any enemy fighters or opposing forces."
"I'll keep my finger on the radio transmitter, though," Williams added. "Most of the military forces on Earth are loyal to us and not the Federation or Elric. If we run into any real trouble, we should be able to have help arrive relatively quickly."
"How quickly is 'relatively quickly'?" asked Samus.
"Within a few minutes or so," Williams responded with a shrug. "Maybe less with the whole world on alert given the situation in orbit." After a moment of contemplation, Williams then reconsidered his assessment, saying, "Actually, it may be more given the trouble in orbit and all of Earth's defenses being necessary to defend the planet."
That did not give Samus much comfort. Still, she had suspected that if anything went wrong, getting to the Radio Tower would be the hard part. The trip would last approximately twenty minutes and she knew that she would need to protect the bus for the entire trip. Samus then asked Williams, "Where is the hoverbus? We need to get to the Radio Tower as quickly as possible?"
"It's right out front," the Councilman replied.
The two then proceeded to head out the door when they were followed by President Richardson and two Secret Service guards. One of the President's aides went up to him and asked, "Mister President, may I ask what you are doing?"
"I'm going with them," Richardson responded. "I was elected leader of this planet and it is my responsibility to help deal with any threats to the planet. That's why I'm going with Samus and the Councilman. I won't just sit behind a desk while others are off fighting. Besides, my presence might cause a few enemy soldiers or fighters to hesitate in opening fire on us. Not only that, but I have the access and override codes for the Radio Tower's signal."
"Okay," the aide responded, "but be careful, sir. And take the Secret Service guards with you."
"I will, George," Richardson assured his aide.
The President then followed Samus and Councilman Williams to the hoverbus, which was parked just outside the Capitol Building. Once they got to the bus, Councilman Williams boarded the bus, sitting in the back left seat. The President then got in the right rear seat just behind the pilot and copilot. The Secret Service bodyguards of both President Richardson and Councilman Williams then boarded the bus as well. These guards, however, were dressed in the power armor of Galactic Federation Army soldiers, and Samus could see force field projectors at their waists. In addition, one of them also had a plasma cannon, just in case they ran into any tanks or fighter craft when they arrived at the Radio Tower. Samus jumped on top of the hoverbus and activated the magnetic abilities of her boots. That would allow her to stay attached to the roof of the bus while it was flying at supersonic speeds towards the Radio Tower. Once everything was ready to go, the hoverbus started its engines. A small hum echoed from the vehicle as a gust of air emerged from the undercarriage of the bus. Stray blades of grass and other matter were forced away from the bus as it began to ascend into the air. Once the hoverbus was a few hundred feet into the air, it flew straight towards New York City, accelerating to supersonic speeds.
Meanwhile, over at the Radio Tower, seven more security officers filed out the entrance to the tower, only to be mowed down by the Watchmen. However, the Watchmen did not escape the exchange unscathed. Three golden-armored Watchmen fell to the hail of energy fire that the security officers unleashed against them. Still, the writing was on the wall for the defenses of the Radio Tower. Elric emerged from behind a metal barricade and stepped towards the entrance to the Radio Tower. He grinned as he walked towards the entrance, as did the disguised Magic Lords. "Soon," Aglara said quietly and with great satisfaction as she stepped past a fallen security officer. "Soon, Earth and all of its heroes shall be killed."
"And without the Earth heroes, particularly powerful psychics, the galaxy will fall to us," Aramon finished.
Elric then led the Watchmen into the Radio Tower, calling back to the others, "Forward. Get to the top of the tower, where the transmitter is located. Once there, secure it until me and my Elite Guard enter. Then, set the transmitter so that it will transmit the signal to all televisions, radios, and receivers on the planet. If you encounter any workers or security forces inside, kill them."
"Yes sir," the other Watchmen and the mercenary soldiers that were working with him said. With that, Elric's forces entered the tower.
Elric was about to follow suit when he his communicator started to beep. He grimaced and grumbled, "Aw, great, what is it now?"
He fished pushed a button on the side of his armor and a small holographic image of a Star Elf appeared. "What?" Elric barked to the elf.
"Sir, a hoverbus containing both Councilman Colin Williams of Earth and President Richardson has left the Capitol Building and is headed straight towards your location at supersonic speeds. My latest estimates are that they should be there in less than fifteen minutes." Elric was about to close the line when the elf spoke again, "There's more, sir. Samus was stationed on top of the hoverbus. She's going with them to the Radio Tower. I suggest you take precautions, sir."
"Damn," the Chairman seethed. "With Samus, they'll easily be able to take out my forces on the ground. And with most of my fighters bogged down in combat against Earth's forces, chances are that they'll turn their attention towards me and my forces at the Radio Tower. Is there anything else?"
"No sir, that's all I have to report for now. Do I have any further orders?"
"Negative," Elric replied. "Stay there and monitor the situation and tell me of any changes."
"Understood, sir. Over and out."
After the line was cut, Elric wasted no time opening a second channel. After he had opened the channel, he bellowed, "Chairman of Defense Rickard Lorenz, do you copy? I need you!"
"I'm here," Lorenz's voice crackled in over the subspace comm. "What do you need?"
"Where are you right now?"
"I'm in the orbit of Earth, trying to fight my way down to the planet's surface, but those defense platforms and warships aren't makin' it easy," Lorenz replied.
"Are you by any chance piloting a starfighter right now?"
"Yeah," Lorenz replied. "I'm in a Stiletto-class starfighter. Why?"
"Excellent! Get down here as soon as possible," Elric ordered. "A hoverbus containing Samus, Councilman Williams, and President Richardson is on its way to New York City. It is imperative that that hoverbus not be allowed to reach the Radio Tower. Hell, make sure that none of the occupants survive, either."
The Defense Chairman responded, "I know. Don't worry, sir. I'll be down there to give Samus a real surprise."
"Good," Elric said. With that, he cut the transmission. He then activated a comm to the rest of his forces and ordered, "All troops, get out of the tower and take up defensive positions around the Radio Tower. Councilman Williams, President Richardson, and Samus Aran are coming. They are not allowed into the tower under any circumstances. My elite guards and I will clear the interior of the Radio Tower. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir!" they responded.
Elric grinned. Even if Samus survived her fight with Lorenz, chances were that her suit would take at least some damage in the fighting, which would give his troops on the ground a better chance at finishing her off, or at least slowing her down until he and his masters had complete control of the Radio Tower. Then, a weakened Samus would likely have to face off against his masters, who would easily be able to kill her in her current form even if she had full power, or so he believed. With that thought, Elric proceeded to enter the Radio Tower and join Aglara and Aramon as they slaughtered anyone and everyone that got in their way, friend and foe alike.
Over at the Spear Pillar, Cyrus's helicopter landed on the ground close to a set of columns that had been the location where Dialga and Palkia been summoned two years ago. The hatch to the helicopter opened and the Vice-Chairman and Team Galactic leader stepped out onto the ground. Coming over to meet him was Charon and a few other Team Galactic grunts. Unlike many Galactic grunts, though, in addition to the Poké Balls at their waist, these grunts were also armed with energy rifles and pistols. Charon approached Cyrus and told him, "Sir, we have secured the Spear Pillar. I have stationed numerous Galactic Federation Army soldiers inside of Mount Coronet, as well as at the base of said mountain with strict orders to not come out onto the pillar."
"Good," Cyrus told him. "That should keep any nosy Pokémon trainers from poking around, and it should also keep Cynthia and the other captive Pokémon trainers away, at least for a time." Cyrus then paused for a moment, another concern coming to mind, and then asked, "What about Kreatz and Mauk? Is there any sign of them coming here?"
"No," Charon answered, shaking his head. "Our scanners indicate that they are currently headed towards America, either to Washington D.C. or to New York City. There's a big concern about Samus since she's currently headed to the Radio Tower. Evidently, she has something that Elric doesn't want to get out."
Cyrus grinned. He knew exactly what Samus had that had Elric so worried. He, too, knew of the secret recording of Elric's visit with a Space Pirate Trooper and that the Chairman had given the Space Pirates information and codes that allowed them to launch their devastating attack on Daiban that had eventually claimed the planet. Cyrus was still a little concerned, though, about the potential of encountering Cynthia or one of the other trainers. "Any word on who remained on the shuttle and who departed?"
Charon nodded. "Yes sir. We have confirmed sightings of the Sinnoh League Champion, Cynthia, Pokémon Coordinator Dawn, Gym Leader Brock, along with Pokémon trainers Ethan and Lyra. The children of some of the defecting politicians were also dropped off, so chances are that the trainers will look after them until their parents or caretakers pick them up. However, two captives remained onboard the shuttle."
"Who?"
"Captain Douglas Jay Falcon and an intelligent ape named Donkey Kong."
Cyrus nodded. He was not concerned, despite the reputation of Captain Falcon. "Very well then. Charon, you and the others get back to work. We need all of the preparations to be completed before I can summon Dark Arceus and be able to control him.
"Right," Charon and the guards responded in unison. They then left Cyrus so as to make the final preparations and ready any defenses should any of Cyrus's enemies manage to make it past the Federation Army soldiers that were in Cyrus's employ inside the mountain. Cyrus then proceeded to make his way towards the Spear Pillar and towards a spot that his map had identified as the where the stairway to the Hall of Origin, the supposed resting place of the Legendary Pokémon Arceus, the one who was said to have created all of Sinnoh, and possibly the entire universe, would appear. However, it was not Arceus that Cyrus wanted, but a much stronger, and more evil Pokémon, Dark Arceus.
Meanwhile, the hoverbus containing Councilman Colin Williams, his guards, President Ricardson, and Samus Aran, who stood on top of the bus to provide defensive fire against any would be attackers, rocketed towards New York City at supersonic speeds. Samus activated her poor man's Scan Visor and gazed off into the distance. She strongly suspected that there would be pursuit of some sort after the bus since she was transporting information that could either end Elric's career as a politician, or split the Galactic Federation almost irreparably; possibly both. Sure enough, off in the distance, she saw the distinctive shape of a Stiletto-class starfighter approaching. This starfighter looked to have taken a hit from a weapon but its atmospheric speed was not hampered at all. Samus opened a channel to Councilman Williams and informed him of the approaching fighter, saying, "Councilman, Mister President, I've detected an approaching Stiletto-class starfighter. Is it one of yours or a part of the Earth military?"
She tensed up as she awaited the Councilman's reply. After a few seconds, Colin Williams answered, "No, it's not one of ours. I just told President Richardson and he said that he's unaware of any further escorts coming our way. All of our fighters are still up in orbit or flying holding patterns over vital sites down here on Earth. I'm opening a channel to the fighter to ask its identity."
Samus focused on the Stiletto as it rapidly approached the hoverbus. Samus noticed that it was not flying in a pattern that indicated it was flying escort or cover, just the opposite. It looked like it was lining up a shot for its energy cannons. "Williams, go evasive!" the bounty hunter shouted suddenly. Just as the bus banked to the left, a volley of scarlet energy pulses were unleashed upon the bus, piercing the space the bus had occupied mere moments before. Samus scanned the fighter with her suit's makeshift Scan Visor and found that, indeed, the fighter had sustained damage from an earlier battle. She figured that it had been damaged trying to fight its way into Earth's atmosphere. Still, despite its damage, Samus knew that her suit's beams were not going to be all that effective in shooting down a Stiletto-class starfighter. Still, a lucky shot could possibly manage to take off the energy cannons, effectively rendering the fighter impotent. To that end, Samus opened fire on the fighter, spraying it with green energy pulses. The pulses glanced off the metallic hull of the fighter, merely scratching the paint of the fighter. The fighter returned fire, scarlet balls of energy streaking over Samus's head as the fighter tried to land a shot on the hoverbus, which was doing its best to avoid the energy fire.
Samus continued to spray fire towards the attacking Stiletto, but met with little success. The fighter was too heavily armored for her cannon to be able to damage it, and the evasive maneuvers were throwing off Samus's aim. Still, she continued to fire and hope that a lucky shot managed to take out one of the fighter's cannons. Samus saw one of her beams score a hit on the cannon, but the damage was only superficial. She was puzzled as to why her suit's stacked Plasma Beam would be so ineffective against the fighter's energy cannon, which was not all that durable in and of itself. She felt as if her hit should have at the very least been able to inflict more damage than it did. She then switched to her Ice Missiles and prepared to fire on the fighter when another volley of energy fire from the fighter flashed past Samus, with one of the pulses managing to score a direct hit on her suit, taking off two Energy Tanks with the hit. Samus was thrown through the air and landed several feet away by her hit as the second energy pulse that had accompanied the first managed to score a hit against the hoverbus. The pulse of energy managed to burn its way through the metal hull of the bus and plow its way through the vehicle, in one end and out the other. Smoke rose from the hole and the bus shook. Fortunately, there were no secondary explosions and the bus did not list downwards or lose too much speed. So far, it was likely that the bus would manage to make it to the Radio Tower, assuming the bus did not suffer any further damage.
Samus rose from her landing spot and zeroed back in on the Stiletto. She locked onto it with her missile launcher and fired a volley of Ice Missiles towards the fighter. The missiles streaked towards the fighter, which made no attempt to dodge. The missiles scored direct hits on the fighter, but a blue field of energy appeared each time a missile struck. As Samus had known, the fighter had been protected by energy shields. She checked her HUD to see how much damage her missiles had done to the shields. She frowned when she saw that the missiles had inflicted next to no damage to the shields. Darn, she thought. Normal missiles would have a greater effect than this. She then switched back to her stacked Plasma Beam, knowing that the phasing effects of the Wave Beam would be more effective if she managed to score a lucky hit.
She focused on the fighter and grimaced as it came around for another pass. She knew that she was outmatched and that she was likely not going to be able to stop the enemy fighter from taking them down, but that did not stop her from giving her every effort in the attempt to try. Once more, she sprayed energy fire against the fighter. Just as before, the energy glanced off of the metal of the fighter, but this time, something was different. One of the blasts sailed through the cockpit and seemed to strike something behind it. Samus's eyes lit up at the sight as the fighter immediately banked away from the hoverbus. Samus surmised that the phasing effect of the Wave Beam must have penetrated the cockpit window. She hoped that the pilot had been taken out by that energy blast, but her hopes were soon dashed as the fighter came at her once more.
Again, the fighter fired on the bus, and again, the bus performed a series of intricate evasive maneuvers in an attempt to avoid the incoming fire. Samus did her best to try to fire on the cockpit of the fighter, but each of her next shots went wide, glancing off the wings and the armor surrounding the cockpit of the fighter. After a few moments, the bus leveled off, giving Samus an easier shot at the cockpit of the fighter. While the fighter also had an easier shot at the shuttle, Samus wasted no time going after the fighter, making certain to make her shots count. She targeted the cockpit and let fly with a volley of green stacked plasma shots. Several of the shots merely glanced off of the armor of the cockpit, but a couple of the blasts managed to strike the cockpit canopy and phase through the glass. Even worse, for the pilot, was the fact that both shots scored direct hits on him. The fighter pilot's head and upper torso was completely disintegrated by Samus's plasma shot. The second shot took off the pilot's legs, though that was of little consequence as the pilot was already dead. As the pilot slumped in his seat, the fighter immediately began a climb and began to fly straight up, and would not stop its climb until it escaped the atmosphere, and continue out into space until it either struck another fighter, starship, crashed into a planet, asteroid, or star.