Samus made several trips back and forth to her ship during the day. She
didn't consider herself much of a shopper, but was currently prepared to
part with some major credits. This was her first chance to furnish her ship
since she bought it. In addition to the necessities such as fuel tanks and
navigation equipment, she also bought a plentiful supply of food for
herself and her current roommates.
The moon dipped behind the horizon, blanketing the city in darkness. The sun began to rise, but was little more than a dim, cloud-like shimmer on this planet. The moon was much brighter. So although it was the morning in theory, it might as well be nighttime for all practical purposes.
Samus was sitting outside a little cafe on a street corner, waiting for her energy to return to her like a rechargeable battery. This problem of hers was really beginning to become a nuisance. She bitterly wondered how she would hunt her next bounty in such a weakened state. She frowned as she sipped at her latte. Her frown deepened at the taste of the coffee and she poured in more sugar although it was already piled high with cream and chocolate shavings. She had so few opportunities to indulge in her little- known weakness for sweets.
A neon sign blinked to life in a shop across the street. Samus watched over the rim of her cup as other shops followed suit, as if on cue, transforming the city before her eyes. Suddenly, her senses were assaulted by a dozen new smells and sights, screams and raucous laughter merged into one, and dull metal buildings became abodes of entertainment to wile away the night. Samus realized that she was downtown and the city's nightlife was just beginning.
She drank the last of her latte and an icy wind made her shiver. She had no idea that it got so cold when dark. Maybe it was a bad idea for her to refuse Dr. Bernen's overcoat. Samus paid for her drink and walked out onto the street, wrapping her arms around her exposed shoulders, trying to shield them from the cold.
The bounty hunter walked for a little ways before she realized something odd about this section of town. The streets were dark from many broken lights and abandoned buildings. Sickly-sweet chemical smells dominated the air, a number of which she recognized as narcotics if not alcohol or urine. Samus realized that she was in the decrepit section of the city but did not quicken her pace a bit. She was more annoyed than worried about being caught in this part of town.
A crowd of men and women blocked the sidewalk in front of a building, right in Samus's path. The men spoke in loud, slurred voices and the women wore less or tighter clothes than Samus did despite the cold. The bounty hunter pushed past the crowd, lips pulled tight in disgust at the stink of those people.
She walked a little ways away. "Hey, bitch!" Someone yelled behind her. She froze. "You, girl!" The person repeated. Samus turned around and found a tall, burly man, looking at her with a lewd expression plastered on his face.
She looked around and pointed to herself. "Who, me?" She said with mock innocence.
The man drew his lips back in a toothy grin. "Yeah, baby. Wanna have some fun tonight? Come with me, the party's in here." His tongue flicked across his bottom lip.
Normally, Samus would have played along with the man, then kicked him in the balls when it fancied her. But she wasn't willing to flirt with danger today. She's cold, there's this weird illness to her, and the man reeked of cheap alcohol, even at this distance.
"Fuck off." She sneered. The man's face darkened, but Samus wasn't there to see it. She had already turned around and left.
************
The entrance to the gardens still loomed above me, although now it was only twice my height. And with my new power suit aiding me, I should be able to breach such a height easily. I was still nervous, though. Old Bird was watching me, scrutinizing my prowess with the suit and making the last adjustments.
I leaped into the tunnel opening with plenty of air to spare. I was rather surprised by how easily the suit responded to my movement and thoughts. Despite being nearly too heavy to lift by hand, it weighed next to nothing when worn, and I suspected that it even regulated the gravitational pull on my body on different planets.
Old Bird jumped into the tunnel to join me, flapping his feathered arms for extra lift. He grabbed my right leg, carefully removed a portion of the metallic covering, and fiddled with the controls in there. Then he jumped onto my shoulder and adjusted some of the wiring in my helmet.
Maybe it's an effect of my power suit, but Old Bird felt almost weightless on my shoulder. He had always been small for a Chozo, but for the last year or so, he seemed to be wasting away before my very eyes. He was old when he first took me in, and I doubt many Chozo live to his age. But his mind was still sharp and his body was still lively.
"I dare say your suit is finished, Samus-san." Old Bird declared as he jumped off my shoulder. I smiled behind my visor although he couldn't see it, but I think he knew anyways. I whirled around, like a girl spinning in a new dress, and just about as giddy. The ancient Chozo laughed. "With this suit, you shall be protected from all the harshness of the universe. Imagine! You are the first creature to wield Chozo weapons and wear Chozo armor in eons! But don't let this delude you." Old Bird jumped back into the commons room and I followed close behind.
It always amazed me how much shorter he was than me. I remembered him in the past standing over me, a mere baby at the time, his unwavering confidence making him tall. A pillar among the Chozo around him, despite his short stature and tendency to hunch.
"You are not at full power yet." He continued. "I do not have the knowledge to bring the suit to its full potential."
"Well, this ought to give me an edge over most species." I said, mostly to reassure him.
Old Bird shook his head with amusement. "There is always room for improvement, hmm? Therefore, I made your suit compatible with certain Chozo technologies. On most planets we have colonized, there are sacred statues which contain upgrades for your suit. And if you ever meet any other Chozo, or any species once allied to the Chozo, they might be able to teach you some new abilities."
I suddenly stopped. Surely I had heard wrong...? "Other Chozo?" I asked. "But...I thought you are the last Chozo!"
"Not at all!" Old Bird seemed surprised, as if he expected me to know this fact beforehand. "There are Chozo on other planets and space stations as well. They simply escape the notice of other races. And of course, there are always the Chozo ghosts, who transcend time, space and eternity."
I stood there for a full minute as I struggled to comprehend this new grain of knowledge. "Wh....what?!" I finally managed to stammer. "You mean that for all the years that we have been living here, alone, secluded from all other species and contacts, we might have been living with other Chozo?!"
"Well, we did visit some human colonizations." The ancient Chozo said self- righteously. It was true, we would occasionally visit human cities to get supplies and for me to learn how to get along with others of my species. But still...!
"Besides," He continued. "Chozo on other planets don't need to be bothered by the trifles of our tribe." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Trifles...!" I yelled, but Old Bird kept talking.
"Death does not concern the Chozo." He explained. "We have lived out our life as a civilization, and now peacefully and willingly subside into death. The Space Pirates may have destroyed us in body on Zebes, but our ghosts will remain."
I opened my mouth to protest further, but the Chozo held up his hand, indicating that I shouldn't speak. I took off my helmet so he could see my outraged expression. He had never seen my face twisted with such rage, and his hand fell to his side like a useless limb.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I hissed with rising anger. "You Chozo had weapons when Zebes was attacked, but you never used them. There are other Chozo in the galaxy, but you never bothered to contact them! You...you die as soon as you feel that life isn't worth living! What's the use of all this technology if you all die?!" I was practically screaming by this time. Old Bird simply stared at me, giving no outward indication that he heard. "You Chozo, despite your intelligence, are....are," My bottom was lip trembling. "Pathetic! Foolish! Naive! God, it's a miracle that your race has survived this long!"
After a brief moment of silence, Old Bird slowly smiled, infuriating me even more. "If it is any consolation to you," He said sadly, softly. "I will make contact with others of my race very soon. Before long, every Chozo in the galaxy will know of you, Samus-san. The Hatchling, the Defender, the Newborn."
His words made no sense to me and I was too furious to try to understand. I was blind to the sorrow in his eyes. With my jaw clenched tightly shut, I stormed past Old Bird and returned to my room.
The next morning, I was awakened by two humans in spacesuits who told me that they were here in response to a distress call. It must have been Old Bird who sent the call, because I certainly didn't. But when I finally found him in the main control center, his ghost had already long left his body.
The moon dipped behind the horizon, blanketing the city in darkness. The sun began to rise, but was little more than a dim, cloud-like shimmer on this planet. The moon was much brighter. So although it was the morning in theory, it might as well be nighttime for all practical purposes.
Samus was sitting outside a little cafe on a street corner, waiting for her energy to return to her like a rechargeable battery. This problem of hers was really beginning to become a nuisance. She bitterly wondered how she would hunt her next bounty in such a weakened state. She frowned as she sipped at her latte. Her frown deepened at the taste of the coffee and she poured in more sugar although it was already piled high with cream and chocolate shavings. She had so few opportunities to indulge in her little- known weakness for sweets.
A neon sign blinked to life in a shop across the street. Samus watched over the rim of her cup as other shops followed suit, as if on cue, transforming the city before her eyes. Suddenly, her senses were assaulted by a dozen new smells and sights, screams and raucous laughter merged into one, and dull metal buildings became abodes of entertainment to wile away the night. Samus realized that she was downtown and the city's nightlife was just beginning.
She drank the last of her latte and an icy wind made her shiver. She had no idea that it got so cold when dark. Maybe it was a bad idea for her to refuse Dr. Bernen's overcoat. Samus paid for her drink and walked out onto the street, wrapping her arms around her exposed shoulders, trying to shield them from the cold.
The bounty hunter walked for a little ways before she realized something odd about this section of town. The streets were dark from many broken lights and abandoned buildings. Sickly-sweet chemical smells dominated the air, a number of which she recognized as narcotics if not alcohol or urine. Samus realized that she was in the decrepit section of the city but did not quicken her pace a bit. She was more annoyed than worried about being caught in this part of town.
A crowd of men and women blocked the sidewalk in front of a building, right in Samus's path. The men spoke in loud, slurred voices and the women wore less or tighter clothes than Samus did despite the cold. The bounty hunter pushed past the crowd, lips pulled tight in disgust at the stink of those people.
She walked a little ways away. "Hey, bitch!" Someone yelled behind her. She froze. "You, girl!" The person repeated. Samus turned around and found a tall, burly man, looking at her with a lewd expression plastered on his face.
She looked around and pointed to herself. "Who, me?" She said with mock innocence.
The man drew his lips back in a toothy grin. "Yeah, baby. Wanna have some fun tonight? Come with me, the party's in here." His tongue flicked across his bottom lip.
Normally, Samus would have played along with the man, then kicked him in the balls when it fancied her. But she wasn't willing to flirt with danger today. She's cold, there's this weird illness to her, and the man reeked of cheap alcohol, even at this distance.
"Fuck off." She sneered. The man's face darkened, but Samus wasn't there to see it. She had already turned around and left.
************
The entrance to the gardens still loomed above me, although now it was only twice my height. And with my new power suit aiding me, I should be able to breach such a height easily. I was still nervous, though. Old Bird was watching me, scrutinizing my prowess with the suit and making the last adjustments.
I leaped into the tunnel opening with plenty of air to spare. I was rather surprised by how easily the suit responded to my movement and thoughts. Despite being nearly too heavy to lift by hand, it weighed next to nothing when worn, and I suspected that it even regulated the gravitational pull on my body on different planets.
Old Bird jumped into the tunnel to join me, flapping his feathered arms for extra lift. He grabbed my right leg, carefully removed a portion of the metallic covering, and fiddled with the controls in there. Then he jumped onto my shoulder and adjusted some of the wiring in my helmet.
Maybe it's an effect of my power suit, but Old Bird felt almost weightless on my shoulder. He had always been small for a Chozo, but for the last year or so, he seemed to be wasting away before my very eyes. He was old when he first took me in, and I doubt many Chozo live to his age. But his mind was still sharp and his body was still lively.
"I dare say your suit is finished, Samus-san." Old Bird declared as he jumped off my shoulder. I smiled behind my visor although he couldn't see it, but I think he knew anyways. I whirled around, like a girl spinning in a new dress, and just about as giddy. The ancient Chozo laughed. "With this suit, you shall be protected from all the harshness of the universe. Imagine! You are the first creature to wield Chozo weapons and wear Chozo armor in eons! But don't let this delude you." Old Bird jumped back into the commons room and I followed close behind.
It always amazed me how much shorter he was than me. I remembered him in the past standing over me, a mere baby at the time, his unwavering confidence making him tall. A pillar among the Chozo around him, despite his short stature and tendency to hunch.
"You are not at full power yet." He continued. "I do not have the knowledge to bring the suit to its full potential."
"Well, this ought to give me an edge over most species." I said, mostly to reassure him.
Old Bird shook his head with amusement. "There is always room for improvement, hmm? Therefore, I made your suit compatible with certain Chozo technologies. On most planets we have colonized, there are sacred statues which contain upgrades for your suit. And if you ever meet any other Chozo, or any species once allied to the Chozo, they might be able to teach you some new abilities."
I suddenly stopped. Surely I had heard wrong...? "Other Chozo?" I asked. "But...I thought you are the last Chozo!"
"Not at all!" Old Bird seemed surprised, as if he expected me to know this fact beforehand. "There are Chozo on other planets and space stations as well. They simply escape the notice of other races. And of course, there are always the Chozo ghosts, who transcend time, space and eternity."
I stood there for a full minute as I struggled to comprehend this new grain of knowledge. "Wh....what?!" I finally managed to stammer. "You mean that for all the years that we have been living here, alone, secluded from all other species and contacts, we might have been living with other Chozo?!"
"Well, we did visit some human colonizations." The ancient Chozo said self- righteously. It was true, we would occasionally visit human cities to get supplies and for me to learn how to get along with others of my species. But still...!
"Besides," He continued. "Chozo on other planets don't need to be bothered by the trifles of our tribe." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Trifles...!" I yelled, but Old Bird kept talking.
"Death does not concern the Chozo." He explained. "We have lived out our life as a civilization, and now peacefully and willingly subside into death. The Space Pirates may have destroyed us in body on Zebes, but our ghosts will remain."
I opened my mouth to protest further, but the Chozo held up his hand, indicating that I shouldn't speak. I took off my helmet so he could see my outraged expression. He had never seen my face twisted with such rage, and his hand fell to his side like a useless limb.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I hissed with rising anger. "You Chozo had weapons when Zebes was attacked, but you never used them. There are other Chozo in the galaxy, but you never bothered to contact them! You...you die as soon as you feel that life isn't worth living! What's the use of all this technology if you all die?!" I was practically screaming by this time. Old Bird simply stared at me, giving no outward indication that he heard. "You Chozo, despite your intelligence, are....are," My bottom was lip trembling. "Pathetic! Foolish! Naive! God, it's a miracle that your race has survived this long!"
After a brief moment of silence, Old Bird slowly smiled, infuriating me even more. "If it is any consolation to you," He said sadly, softly. "I will make contact with others of my race very soon. Before long, every Chozo in the galaxy will know of you, Samus-san. The Hatchling, the Defender, the Newborn."
His words made no sense to me and I was too furious to try to understand. I was blind to the sorrow in his eyes. With my jaw clenched tightly shut, I stormed past Old Bird and returned to my room.
The next morning, I was awakened by two humans in spacesuits who told me that they were here in response to a distress call. It must have been Old Bird who sent the call, because I certainly didn't. But when I finally found him in the main control center, his ghost had already long left his body.