Prodigal Program HQ Entrance, Zellemite City, Planet Gyldaine, Suramil System, Seleania Galaxy, Popular Republican Union of Esdemir, Galactic Federation: 1st of April 1,986,014
Samus sniffled slightly as she looked at the entrance of the Prodigal Program Headquarters, the illustrious Prodigonia building. The number of people was almost overwhelming, so many stray emotions had to be shut out, so many conversations were happening all around her that her superhuman hearing was working overtime to filter out things she didn't want to hear. But saying her goodbyes to Arne, for the time being, had given her a sense of melancholy matched only by the realisation that she was going to have to let go of Old Bird's hand sooner than later.
"Are you ready, Samus?" He said gently to the young girl at his side as she clenched her fingers around his gauntleted palm a little tighter.
She was for the first time in her life, unsure of the answer to that particular question. Would the people she would meet be as kind to her as Arne or the other youths? Could she really make friends? She cast her attention back to the elderly Chozo's eyes, then towards August Wings, War Hawk, and Grey Voice behind the two of them. She felt the warmth Old Bird had towards her, their support and approval, and loosened her grip on his hand.
"I think so...we'll still speak regularly right?" She asked, turning back towards him with pleading blue eyes. She knew the answer, she didn't even need the Distant Sight to be confident in it. Yet she wanted to hear him say it, to banish the quiver she felt at the thought of letting go of his hand.
"Always, I expect to speak to you at least twice every day. First, when the day begins, and then again when it ends. And if you ever need my help, do not be afraid to ask." He said, stroking her blonde hair gently and resting his beak upon her scalp, a gesture repeated by August Wings while War Hawk and Grey Voice kept a respectful distance.
"Of course, the point of this exercise is to develop enough self-sufficiency to manage without calling upon our assistance. While you have more than demonstrated your mastery of battle and exploration; you must also learn how to master socialisation without our guidance." Grey Voice reminded her. Part of her wasn't entirely fond of hearing that, but she understood the wisdom of what he said. How could she help to guide and protect the universe if she could not hold a conversation with its typical denizens?
"I was once in your nest, Samus." War Hawk said, the young Chozo's exoskeletal crest flicking upwards and her spindly limbs swaying slightly for emphasis. "Few people in happy homes wish to leave it, but rest easy knowing that we wouldn't send you here if we didn't know if it was right for you." She said, her sisterly voice getting a grin out of Samus as she nodded in response.
"And of course, be sure to introduce us to all the lovely friends you make, Hatchling. I would love to meet them." August Wings said with her kindly voice that made Samus feel so very warm inside. Like the pleasant sensation of hot soup going down her throat and resting in her stomach, she felt more confident about the steps she was making and turned back to Old Bird.
"Let's get going. I'm sure they're waiting for us." Samus said as she looked ahead, tapping her free hand's fingers against her thigh as they walked forwards. A slight nervous tic, but one she managed to still after a quick breathing exercise.
The building that served as the entry was large and stylishly designed in a way that drew her attention almost immediately. Gently designed arches, green spaces, carefully integrated holographic lights, shimmering doors and art pieces that she was sure she'd be able to get better once she had time to study them. With a glance, she ascertained that the builders of the campus had made it to accommodate a wide variety of possible forms of life. And that the place was already quite busy, students and faculty going from place to place as their daily routines required of them.
It was all almost overwhelming, but it was also apparent that the makers of this place couldn't measure up to the same standards of Zebes of Arganti. She quite literally didn't feel the same magic seeping through the buildings; her eyes only detecting merely ordinary colours and the pleasant thrum of mystic and psychic energies absent. She hadn't even noticed such things before; it was just how everything worked. Now though, the world was a bit quieter and greyer than she was used to, the buzz of psychic activity less constant and meaningful.
"There are so many people here...sacred spirits...I hope this Adam won't have to wait too long for us." Samus said as she ran the numbers in her head. Even without her suit computers, she found the math trivial. Based on the flow of people she observed and the buildings' sizes and shapes and what she knew of the place, she concluded that at least one hundred and thirty-nine million seven hundred and fifty-three thousand and eight hundred personnel and students were spread throughout the campus here. A city in the guise of an educational facility to gather those with peculiar talents and abilities and provide them with both training and education in a welcoming environment. At least, that was what the brochure said.
The doors slid open in recognition of the approaching quintet, and the voices of the gathered personnel and students going through the main building all went silent. She had heard them speaking of various classes, social busywork, news, and rumours of special guests coming to them. But it was clear they never expected four Chozo and a human girl in a Chozo made power suit. The stares they gave her made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, and she could tell that they were trying to figure out why the ancients would bring a human girl with them.
Even the Aurora Unit that managed the facility; 1933; went silent, the cybernetic brain seeming to pause all of their operations at once. Their holographic avatar that sat in atop a pedestal at the back of the entry room shifted to regard the five with three ruby coloured optics, the sensation of its psychic pulsings feeling diminutive compared to what Mother usually made.
"-You must be the Chozo delegation then. Which would make you...-" Aurora Unit 1933 started before Samus raised her hand to interrupt and speak her own name.
"Samus Aran." She said with a beaming smile, getting one blue-haired pointed eared Aelva sitting at a desk going over files to choke on her recaf the second she heard the surname.
"The daughter of the guy who took out Ridley and the Scourge of Heaven?" She could hear people from across the building say, whispering as if she wouldn't be able to pick up on their words but loud and clear to her ears.
"There were no survivors on K-2L, how is that possible?" Another said. She was starting to feel more self-conscious now, her cheeks beginning to tint rose.
"She grew up nicely, wow." Someone her age said as she briefly turned towards them and gave the girl who passed the comment to her a smile and wave.
"Is that Chozo power armour she's wearing? Have they ever made something like that for humans?" She heard, frowning at the way they spoke of her, not even asking how she was, just speculating about what she was wearing.
"So young to be given that kind of tech too...what do you think she did to earn it?" She started to feel uncomfortable, all this attention starting to make her self-aware in a way that made her want to step out of the limelight. An unpleasant shrinking sensation in her gut as it twisted into knots and she stepped back to be a bit less visible.
"Some kind of simulacrum maybe? Honour the dead of K-2L? Not sure what the Chozo would be doing with a human girl." One said. Now they'd done it. She almost choked on the air she was breathing in and started to clench her fist before Old Bird laid a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm not a simulacrum! I'm Samus Eabha Aran! Daughter of Virginia Orla Aran and Rodney Liam Aran! Stop talking about me like I can't hear you!" She at first seethed, but knowing what Old Bird was expecting of her, her tone died down slightly into more of a plea rather than a command.
She gestured towards her family, sucking air into her lungs deeply as she adjusted the ponytail on the back of her head with her gauntleted fingers.
"These are my adoptive parents! Re-Sekh, Somek-Ka, Isa-Hesh and Horath-Baast! They helped take care of me after picking me up from K-2L after...after the..." She hesitated. The rush of emotions she was feeling made her see the flash of purple, feeling the heat and flame of the world burning around her. Phantom memories of fire and dust made her skin tingle and her breath grow short while her chest grew tight.
She gulped, realising people were listening to her and that she had to speak. "...Attack." She said, pointing towards them and trying her best to wipe off the angry look that had formed on her face. She tried to push back the memories that afflicted her, moving beyond their reach as best as she could while grabbing for happier times; trying to think of how excited she was to let other people know about how great they were.
"They're...the nicest people in the universe, even if Somek is a bit grumpy at times." She said, exhaling sharply from her nose. She had gotten everyone's attention at least.
"-Yes, it would seem that there has been an unfortunate tendency to gossip about those whom it is our duty to welcome with open arms. Please, accept my forgiveness for the awkward introduction.-" The Aurora Unit said in their formal but friendly genderless tone, softly digitised and pleasantly warm. So much unlike Mother Brain even if their psychic voice lacked Mother's overwhelming power and presence. Immense by the standards of modern society to be sure, but it was like a red dwarf next to a quasar compared to Mother Brain.
"Well, now that young Samus has introduced herself, we are looking for the one expected to watch over her while we busy ourselves with our work. Now, we could simply pry, but I think it would be more polite to ask where we could find Adam Ivashchenko Malkovich?" Old Bird said, patting Samus on her shoulder reassuringly as the room tried to observe in silence rather than try to talk behind the back of the girl who could hear a pin drop from another building if she wished.
"-He is already here in fact, he has been waiting eagerly to meet you I believe, honoured Elder.-" The Aurora unit said happily as a blue-haired man in a white dress uniform stepped forward, adjusting his peaked cap and easing through the crowd that had gathered.
He was tall to be sure, with surprisingly youthful features that wouldn't be out of place in a university student for someone who had spent as long as he did in army service, but Samus could tell that he was someone who insisted on always looking to be the prime age for combat. Not some musty desk jockey. Had he not been four times her age, Samus might have even hazarded to call him handsome.
He offered a salute and a bow to the Chozo. "Honoured ones." He said with the utmost deference drilled into him by army service.
"Oh please, I've told you this before, no need for such formalities. I don't call you General do I?" August Wings laughed.
"My apologies, it seemed only right. Now, to business. You must be Samus then? I knew your parents quite well. It's a privilege to meet you." He said with an extended hand that Samus stared at for a hot minute after she nodded and smiled at his words.
She looked at the gesture and tried to think about what he might be asking for her to do. Some sort of psionic greeting? She mused for a second before dismissing the idea; she could sense no psychic abilities emanating from him. Was it an offer to wrestle with him? She doubted it, even if she fought him naked while he brought out his officer's power suit she'd crush him into a pulp without trying. Was it perhaps a bioscan? His gloves didn't look like they had any biometric devices. Maybe the Distant sight could tell her what to do...
"Ah...my apologies, this is a handshake. Just hold onto my hand and follow my movements." He said as her eyes lit up with realisation all at once and embarrassment flushed into her cheeks. It was a social gesture, of course. She followed his instructions and gripped his hand with a light touch that still made him briefly wince.
"Careful with that grip strength there." He said after pulling back his hand and rubbing it. His expression though, told her that he didn't mind too much. She was young after all; mistakes were to be expected, and the short laugh he made put her at ease as she giggled back.
"The rest of you, please return to your tasks." Adam said, getting a number of nods from the rest of the room as everyone cleared their throats or did the equivalent thereof and filed into their routines.
"Now, please c-" Adam started before Samus cut him off, her psychic senses already telling her what he was going to say.
"With you to my accomodations yeah?" She said with a grin.
"Ah, precognitive. Yes though." He said, making a signal for the procession to follow.
But as they started to walk again, Samus briefly caught sight of something shimmering in the corner of her eye and turned to see something mechanical skitter away some hundred meters from her position. Though it would have been too fast for an average human to get any clear visual of, she noticed that the scuttling, mite sized beetle-like drone bore a resemblance to Confederate designs. She felt her skin get cold, and that tightening serpent of fear almost made itself known before she swallowed and stilled herself, continuing on when she couldn't see where it had gone.
She'd need to take care of that thing as soon as she caught sight of it again. For her peace of mind if nothing else, even if it was just part of some sick prank.
Apexia Building
Samus' keen blue eyes were quick to pick out the details of the room offered to her in the mini-apartment provided to her and her fellow podmates. She had dismissed her armour to walk around in her casual outfit, this time deciding to wear a white shirt and a blue coat that hung to a bit above her knees.
The first to catch her eyes was an overly large bed indicated that at least one of the people she'd be staying with would be larger than was standard for humans. The four beds beside her own were pretty quickly analysed. One was a bit messy, the affectations next to it showed a great interest in fighting and pride in famous Aelvan freelancers. Another was much neater; its owner was definitely someone who had lived with military standards of cleanliness all their life. Based on the picture of a teenaged blue-haired boy with windswept locks and a wide, goofy grin paired with a V for victory symbol standing next to Adam; she figured him for his brother. The following human-sized bed was for someone she guessed rather quickly was another Aelvan based on the half-finished texts on Aelvan runecraft next to the bed. Finally, one was definitely much larger than the others, full of delicately constructed figures that she figured were handmade.
Five people, with her being the newest addition; and her sharp eyes quickly picking up names based on various personal affectations laid about. The large one was Montauk, a member of the somewhat ape-like Grulndi who had recently joined the Federation. The fighty one was Kreatz, a young Aelvan boy she figured had a chip on his shoulders. The other human would be Ian Ivaschenko Malkovich, a younger brother to Adam born when their parents decided to have a second generation of children once Adam and his siblings grew up.
The second Aelvan would be Yramil, another Aelvan girl clearly interested in the arcane arts of her species' famed witchseers.
Ian at least, didn't take too long to show up, the boy yawning as he walked in through the front entrance and quickly getting the entire group to turn towards him as he blinked a few times. "Hey, Adam I've been trying to find that Pirate drone you spotted, no di-" He stopped the second he looked around and took a second to pinch himself.
Clearly taking a second to process what he was seeing, he almost jolted into action and very nearly stumbled off of his feet before he caught himself with what she recognised as telekinesis and let out a breath of relief. He pushed himself back up and dusted off his slacks and made a loud attempt to clear his throat.
"Oh...hey Adam. You've got some, unusual comp-" Ian said awkwardly as Samus tilted her head at him in interest, her own blue eyes meeting his cyan coloured ones and just about making the psychic's heart stop. His words died in his throat, and Samus got the immediate sensation that his vascular system was busy pumping blood to its lower section while he shifted a bit and harrumphed. Samus' eyes followed where his gaze went and decided to shrug and close up her coat, figuring he was bothered by her wearing it open.
"...Hi!" He said with enthusiasm and a wide grin on his face that she reciprocated and topped off with a wave. She did kind of like the way he was looking at her, he was very pleasing to her eyes, and she spent a bit of thought trying to imagine what he'd look like beneath those layers before making a coy smirk to herself, nodding approvingly.
"Please forgive my brother, should he bother you. He's always had a bit of a chaotic streak when it comes to following regulations." Adam said with a sigh as a pointed glare at Ian got him to blush and adjust his coat to more fully cover his waist for some reason. She didn't quite get it when Arne and some of the Faeran youths had similar reactions to seeing her pretty regularly, but she shrugged it off as another facet of life beyond Zebes she'd need to understand.
"Okay big bro could you try to embarrass me a little less in front of the cute girl you just dropped on top of us? I don't need you killing my vibe the second it begins." He said before giving Samus a wink for reasons that she didn't quite get given that her vision could pick up no irritants in that eye of his. She also didn't quite get what he meant by "vibe" given that he wasn't vibrating anymore than any other living person does.
"Ian, please, decorum." Adam said while the Chozo looked among each other with some concern and confusion. First they turned to Grey Voice who simply shrugged, and when they turned to young War Hawk her narrow, conical beak snapped shut and a whistle Samus knew quite well as meaning "why are you asking me?" shot out from her nose.
"You know that our family has to live up to high standards and that as a psion you have an especially great responsibility t-" Adam said before Ian rolled his eyes and completed his sentence for him.
"Okay, okay I know; big expectations from a military family and even bigger ones when I can read minds, make stuff explode with a thought and throw a tank around. I'm not five years old Adam, let me live!" Ian said with an exasperated groan at the end.
"Ian, what did I tell you about your attitude?" Adam said, folding his arms.
"To keep it under control..." He said with a sigh of defeat.
"You should listen to your brother, Ian. He is quite wise for one as young as he." Grey Voice said sternly and getting a look of mock shock and outrage from Ian.
"Oooh are you calling on Chozo to make your arguments for you now Adam? That is the most...you thing I've ever seen...just...Rylamak help me!" Ian said as he dramatically slumped to a wall in a fashion that got Samus and War Hawk to crack a laugh.
"Ian, stop being dramatic." Adam groaned.
"I have not even begun to get dramatic!" He said with a challenging smirk, shooting a hand into the air as now Old Bird and August Wings began to get in on the laughter.
"Your brother is quite the charming young man, isn't he?" Old Bird said.
"Uh-huh! Super energetic! You must be really confident in yourself huh?" Samus said, grinning and putting her hands on her hips and looking towards Ian, who gave two thumbs up and a coy smile.
"You bet!" He laughed.
"As you are on term break for the moment I'll let your antics slide. But Ian, if you take advantage of Samus' trust, you are going to be hearing from me directly. Am I understood?" Adam said with resignation that got a hard swallow from his younger sibling.
"Yes, Adam." He said as he stood up and offered a salute to his brother, who responded in kind.
"I'll let you get acquainted with your podmates, I'll need to discuss things with the Chozo in private. Dismissed." He said, turning to Samus and giving her a salute that she simply met with a wave goodbye, earning her a smirk from him as the adults walked out of the room.
When the door closed, Ian exhaled like he had been pumped full of air that needed to escape the very next second.
"Torturous I tell you, torturous!" Ian complained as he slid his hands into his jacket pockets and briefly closed his eyes before looking at her. She could feel his attempt at scanning her surface thoughts, but it was trivial to block him out. Not even mother brain herself could so much as make a muscle of hers twitch or push her the barest millimetre, and his power was a far cry from that. It was certainly something that seemed to surprise him as his eyes widened.
"Damn the Chozo blood in you really does make you immune to most esoterics huh?" He said, trying and then failing to make her sleeve lift as she nodded enthusiastically in response.
"Uh-huh. But you've already gotten your power to the point where you can do dynakinetics, telekinesis, and telepathy! I...still haven't learned how to do a lot of that, but I'm hoping to master it soon!" She said with a bounce to her step as she just about hopped closer to him.
"Man I am absolutely not the right person to teach you that." He said, noticing her smile fade into a pout and then starting to sweat slightly. "Buuuut I'd definitely like to learn alongside you, you know?" He said, making a "whew" sound when her smile returned.
"Yay! I'd like that!" She said, scooping him into a hug that made him at first smile before his expression twisted into a grimace as he wheezed in a strained voice.
"Can't feel...legs...breathing...hard...pain overwhelming. Happy to...see you're excited...now please...d-don't kill me." He groaned as Samus made an "oh" sound and backed away, looking down and huffing as she felt a bit bad.
"Sorry." She said quietly.
"It's fine; you just gotta control your strength there warrior queen." He said after letting air back into his lungs with relief.
"I'm not royalty." Samus said with confusion and getting a laugh out of Ian as he shook his head.
"Oh I am going to have to teach you every expression in existence, aren't I?" He chuckled, putting his hands on his hips and sizing Samus up, slightly intimidated that he had a minimal height advantage at best but offering his best smile anyway.
"I learned a lot with Arne." She said, getting a quizzical expression from him as he met her with his own head tilt.
"Who's Arne?" He asked.
"Oh, he's a really sweet guy. Arne Eriksen Skjoldr. I'd love for you to meet him someday Ian. Maybe you'll love him as I do?" She said as if she were talking about the weather as Ian seemed to pause his thought process and consider these revelations.
"Skjoldr...as in...ODOCR omnist terrorist Skjoldr? As in the tribe that helped gunrun for the Horus Rebellion? As in the guys who my dad used to tell me made thrones out of the power suits of defeated Federal troopers?" He said with concern.
"...His parents weren't terrorists!" She said with outrage, her brows furrowing and a surprised gasp coming from her. He gulped a bit before shaking his head and sighing before offering his hand out.
"Okay. Let's start that over again. I'm Ian. Nice to meet you." He said as Samus tried to grip his hand lightly and shake it with all the delicacy she could manage.
"Samus." She said with a grin before the door swung open again to reveal an orange-haired Aelvan girl who came up to about Samus' height if somewhat less muscular, her long locks pooling to about the midsection of her back and her bangs partly covering one eye. Runic tattoos in the vague shape of Leonid beasts decorated her cheeks, and yellow eyes stared out at the world as the vanilla skinned Aelvan slouched forward. She looked between the two and squinted her eyes, blazer covered shoulders sinking slightly.
She took a second to study Samus, putting her chin between her thumb and forefinger and nodded approvingly. "Looking gorgeous there, blondie." Yramil said with a thumbs up that Samus returned without hesitation.
"You haven't already tried to sleep with her right?" Yramil said, putting her hands on her waist as Samus looked at the pointed eared girl with fascination. So pretty. She must have looked incredible in motion, Samus thought, wondering what it might be like to feel those lips of hers. Spirits, so many pretty people here, the blonde concluded in her mind.
Ian almost reacted as if he was backed into a corner as he raised his hands up in protest and cleared his throat. Whether he was being genuine with his response or was playing it up for drama was unknown to her, but she did find it funny.
"Hey give me a little credit here! Besides my older brother was here too Yra." He said affectionately as the Aelvan rolled her eyes and snorted at the diminutive.
"Oh, not to interrupt Ian, but you said you saw a Space Pirate drone...right?" Samus asked.
"Oh...you've seen it too?" Ian said, clearing his throat in an effort to pull this conversation into any direction but the one it was in.
"Yeah, it was scuttling away from me in the lobby." She said, tapping her chin and then looking towards him. Her expression became much more stern with almost breathtaking speed. The conversation topic hardened her heart and her voice became almost cold.
"Do you think it's actually...Space Pirate tech? I...kind of hope it is so I can smash it." She said, doing her best to hide the slight quake in her voice every time she mentioned them. She wasn't sure if she could even mention that grotesque polity by its formal name without seeing red.
"Honestly? I doubt it, the Confederacy sending probes all the way out here? They'd have tried to blow something up if they could sneak a drone that big." Yramil said somewhat dismissively, shaking her head and folding her arms.
"It's probably just some asshole's idea of a prank. The older students here love their stupid jokes." She said with a resigned sigh before brushing some hair out of her face.
"Think it might be Gandrayda?" Ian asked, Samus quizically raising a brow and pursing her lips at the name.
"Who's Gandrayda?" Samus asked.
"One of the single-digits here. Or maybe she's older than that; I can't tell her age. Shapeshifter, addicted to stupid jokes. Also can shock you." Yramil said with a sigh as she looked over at Samus again and did a twice over as if she just needed a refresher of Samus' body to perk her back up.
"Oh, so like a Jovian?" Samus said, her eyes gleaming with understanding.
"I don't think she's quite one but sure if that helps." Ian shrugged as he sighed and slouched a bit backwards, leaning against the wall and folding his arms before putting on some sunglasses. A gesture that Samus found absolutely baffling given that he was indoors, though Yramil seemed to find it funny as she snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Ian, you're a dork." Yramil scoffed.
"Hey, you're just jealous because you can't look half as good as I do trying this out." Ian said with a smug smirk that got him a pronounced "tch" from Yramil before she opened the door for the trio.
"Well if you aren't busy being too awesome for us mere mortals, I'd like to show Samus to breakfast with the crew." She said, gesturing to the open door in a way Samus recognised as an invitation for her to step through first, staying between the two of them as they crossed the hall.
The trip down to the breakfast hall was relatively uneventful, though Samus couldn't help but stare and analyse every little thing and person she saw. It was all so very fresh to her; the odd shapes, the milieu of people, the bustle of surface-level thoughts and emotions, the chatter of conversations and the menagerie of activities. All of it endlessly fascinating to a girl who had never before seen so many people she could call peers. Oohs and aahs came from her, and she had to hold her tongue to stop herself from blurting every little bit of trivia she recognised.
Once though she couldn't help herself as she stopped and pointed to an alien with a short but wide torso atop long digitigrade legs bearing equally lengthy arms. His frosty blue and grey exterior smooth as ice, and his head encased in a seemingly featureless insectile helmet for the long and almost submarine shaped appendage. The air felt a little colder in his presence, and Samus immediately recognised him for what he was.
"Rundas!" She said, pointing out the famed Phrygisian freelancer as he chatted up some alumni to catch up with old friends. The hunter's sharp hearing got him to turn his head towards her and give her a nod. She had read so many of his adventure logs, admired the way he held his cool in the face of danger, and adored the way he had helped so many with the utmost confidence. Her wide eyed expression bore a huge grin as she clasped her hands together.
"Got a new friend there, Ian? Seems like she's got some good taste." He said with a relaxed, easy tone to his voice like there was nothing to worry about in the universe.
"Oh, this is Samus Aran. Yeah, daughter of those Arans. Guess the Chozo did save someone from there after all. Wild right?" Ian said, gesturing towards her and nodding, giving Samus a slight push forward as she nodded and tried to contain her giddiness.
"Damn, for real, you're Rodney and Virginia's kid? The girl who saved that brigade on the progenitor world?" Rundas said, only briefly losing his composure as he seemed genuinely shocked at the word. His four eyes beneath his helm studied her closely, mandibles twitching as he contemplated her. He was more than two and a half times her height, and had to lean down to look at her eye to eye.
"Yeah! I've read all about people like you and Ghor; all the stories Spire and Armaud told about you; all the logs you've written." She said, flushing rose in her cheeks before brushing some hair away from her face. "You're so brave and inspiring! I'm hoping I can be like that someday." She smiled sweetly at him as Rundas chuckled and nodded at her.
"Kid, I've seen the footage of what you did on Zoran. You're basically already most of the way there." He said reassuringly, his voice almost unexpectedly gentle as Samus felt warm on the inside despite the chill of being close to so mighty a cryokine.
"Besides, if you're good enough to have Armaud of all people singing your praises you've gotten farther than most already. Definitely hoping to see what you can do soon." He said, starting to stand up and crack his neck briefly.
"Oh thank you! It means a lot to hear that from you." She beamed at him, rocking a bit back and forth on her feet as she thought of something to say.
"Rundas?" She asked.
"Yeah?"
"Have you seen a small drone, mite sized? Looks...space pirate made?" She asked.
"Yeah, I've seen it around a few places. Must be more than one of them. Not a big fan of this kind of joke though so I'm hoping to find out." He said, a nod of understanding coming from Samus while he shook his head in disappointment. The kind of things some people find funny, he muttered beneath his breath though she could hear him just fine.
"Tell you what, when you finish breakfast with your friends we could look into it together?" He offered, and Samus jumped off of her feet and just about tackled him to the ground with a hug and an excited noise like a shrieking eagle. He crumpled beneath the unexpected force of her movements and grunted before laughing a bit.
"Wow okay, didn't expect you to pack that much of a punch there." He said easily.
"I'd love that! Ian, Yramil, you want to join in too?" She asked, turning excitedly towards the other two who looked between each other and nodded.
"Ahhh! This is going to be fun! An adventure already!" She just about clapped her hands as she stood up, noticing a few pointed looks in her direction and hearing a few mumblings about how weird she was. She tried to ignore them though, she was over the moon right now and wouldn't let anyone or anything drag her down.
"Anyway, we should probably head out. I don't want to lose out on my favourite spot." Ian said, adjusting his shades and putting a hand down his coat pocket.
"Oh right...food, what do you guys have?" She asked, backflipping off of Rundas and cracking her neck after landing perfectly amidst them. She made it look so easy and effortless, but of course, a movement like this was nothing to her. No harder than lifting a finger would be to an average human. She barely even noticed it as a matter of fact even if Yramil offered a round of applause like she had just stuck the landing at a sporting event.
"I mean, basically anything you want." Yramil said as she adjusted her own jacket while waving goodbye to Rundas who gave the three a thumbs up.
"Catch you kids later. Take care of them will ya Yra?" Rundas said with a gentle smirk of his mandibles beneath his helmet.
"'Course I will. I've got this babysitting thing down." She said, folding her arms and smirking smugly while Ian rolled his eyes.
"Also, Ian, one more thing." Rundas said, getting him to turn his head towards him.
"Sunglasses indoors? Makes you look like a dweeb." He said before Ian extended the middle digit of his right hand at Rundas and immediately got raucous laughter out of the Freelancer. The three walked away while Yramil tugged on Ian's collar, getting a yelp out of him as she demanded that he follow behind her.
"What does that gesture mean?" Samus asked, curiosity sparked.
"It means fuck you." Yramil said casually while Ian pulled a flask out of his pocket and started to sip a fruity blue carbonated drink while they approached the mess hall.
"Oh maybe later. You are both quite pretty, and I like your company, but Ian seems to be too young to do that with Rundas. Not to mention that the cold would be unpleasant inside of his body." That statement made Ian start to choke on his drink almost immediately while Yramil covered her mouth and doubled over like she was punched in the gut. A long, protracted wheeze came out of Yramil while Ian started hacking out the blue liquid of his soda with wet, desperate coughs.
"Are you okay?" She asked as another Aelva approached, roughly and boyishly cut black hair framing a youthful, spunky looking face that Samus would have called cute before anything else.
He wore a collared blue and white shirt paired with some athletic looking trousers and walked on comfortable looking shoes while his bright green eyes stared out at the three and looked with concern at Ian's coughing fit. He patted him on the back and made a face before looking at Samus and soon dropping his jaw before Yramil closed it and chastised him about looking like an idiot.
"Ohhhh, you must be Kreatz!" Samus asked while he continued to pat at Ian to help him expel all the fluid inside of his throat.
She thought that he must have had some fascinating, beautiful musculature beneath all those clothes; she wondered if he ever took to exercising shirtless. She almost said as much before her distant sight told her that such would be a rather...awkward question to ask the relatively short elfin boy.
"Yeah, that's me alright. So what'd you say to get Ian to spit out his lydleberry soda anyway?" He said before getting a self-cleaning cloth out of his pocket and wiping off Ian's face and then clearing his throat, hands going behind his back to stand at attention.
"Oh, Yramil said "fuck you" while explaining a gesture with the middle digit, and I expressed interest in the offer. Would you like to join?" Samus said casually.
Kreatz' whole body flushed red before he started wiping sweat away from his forehead and made a loud harrumph as he averted his gaze. Yramil sniggered joyously and started to laugh outright while Samus was left feeling quite unsure of what was supposed to be funny. Ian looked like he was going to combust as he shakily rescrewed his cap telekinetically.
"O-o-ok-okay...gonna have to work on your idioms because wow that was terrible. I am...holy shit." He said with quivering lips before trying to turn away and redirect their attention literally anywhere else.
"Well uh, Ian I kind of uh...got more footage of that drone problem you've got...so if you'd like to talk about things that won't make me die of being flustered let's, do that please?" He said quickly and desperately, his body almost shaking with his eagerness to turn towards a task that wouldn't make him cringe his way into twisting his skeleton into a pretzel.
"Y-yeah that sounds. That sounds good. Let's do that. You saved my table right, Kreatz? I'm going to kick your ass if you didn't save my table." Ian said, pounding his chest to get the last of the cough droplets out of his mouth before Kreatz thumbed over to the room just behind the nearest visible door.
"You couldn't do that if you had a century to prepare Ian." Kreatz said with smug confidence.
Samus paused as she considered what he said for a bit, stepping around to look at Kreatz's posterior and getting a confused stare out of the Aelvan. She then looked back at Ian and sized up his leg before snapping her attention back to the bewildered Kreatz.
"Are you sure about that boast? It doesn't look like you've got a lot of advantages in a fight with him." She asked, getting a sputtering laugh out of Kreatz and a snort out of the other two.
"You haven't seen how I fight Samus." The elfin boy smirked.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to impress me if you try," Samus said with an approving nod, getting a smug scoff and smirk from Kreatz.
"Oh please, I know I'd be able to impress you! Chozo training or not, I've got skills like nobody else." Kreatz said, thumbing over to himself and just about brimming with self-confidence that got a laugh out of the young girl. A laugh that only intensified when Yramil grabbed him by his ear lobe and started to pull him back.
"Kreatz come on, stop trying to show off in front of the new girl." She said as Kreatz shouted off a rapid series of "Ow"s that a quick scan by Samus' keen eyes let her know were being exaggerated for dramatic effect while Ian snickered under his breath.
"Okay, okay, I give!" Kreatz said before he was let go, rubbing at his lobe and twitching his pointed ears slightly before flicking his gaze over to Samus once more and clearing out his throat.
"But yeah, if you want to spar with me; I'm game," Kreatz said before he gestured towards their table. "But first, let's get something to eat, I'm starving." He said, though as far as Samus could tell, he was perfectly healthy.
The seats looked surprisingly comfortable, and folding sections quickly unfurled to provide Samus with back support as she got comfy and swivelled slightly in the chair. The barely audible clicks of folding machinery like a bit of music to her ears as she relaxed a bit.
Samus' eyes drew themselves towards a holographic menu as she trusted her distant sight to tell her what she might like to eat. It didn't take her long to settle on a dish similar to what her dad would often make, potatoes, some flash grown white meat, lentils, seasoned with a bit of saffron and pepper, with green leaf mixed in. She set the specifications to just what she liked and nodded with satisfaction with it confirmed the order.
It was only when she noticed the large, bulky form of Montauk sitting down next to Yramil at the farthest end of the table from her that she realised she'd let herself fall behind on the conversation. Something about whether Zarata or Errok would win in a fight…characters from…animated shows she guessed?
She had no context for whatever it was so she decided to shift the conversation back to where it originally was, unsure of how they got distracted with something so frivolous.
"Hey, I've gotten the information from the drone decoded. If you'd like a look." She said, offering the data to everyone's personal computer devices with a flick of her wrist.
"Sweet, mind if I have a look?" Ian asked as she passed one of the holograms towards him, a burger already in his hands. He looked over the information with what Samus recognised were augmented reality scanners in his sunglasses before he nodded and took a bite out of his food, chewing briskly to save on time.
"You guys still obsessing over the drones?" Montauk said, a rumbly baritone almost at odds with his presence next to the rest of the group.
"I mean it's more interesting than another lecture about the Great Universal War…Come on, don't be a killjoy." Kreatz grumbled.
"It's called having a healthy sense of doubt regarding whether this whole thing's worth our time. We've got plenty of stuff to worry about already without chasing after the first shiny thing." Montauk said with a plaintive groan.
"Obsessing? Come on, tracking down whose dumb idea these were could help us get ahead in class. Just think about what they'd say when we unravel this whole dumb prank." Ian said, leaning a bit back in his chair and scoffing with folded arms; telekinetics holding his sandwich in the air without any spillage while he gave a flirtatious wink to Mizuki who snorted in response.
"Have you actually gotten more than the first three paragraphs of that report done though? Just asking." Montauk said with a rather distinctly unimpressed looking gaze from his simian features.
"Ian? Get work done on time? He's probably waiting for the "inspiration" to hit him like he always does." Yramil shrugged, hands behind her head.
"Hey, if it works it works." Montauk said with a shrug before he finally seemed to notice Samus and let out a sound best described as a surprised mixture between "huh" and "oof." "Oh, didn't see you there you're...wow that's what you look like beneath the armour? When I heard you saved an entire mechanised brigade I was expecting something more...like Ghor. All metal."
"Oh no, I'm entirely organic. Just...very enhanced is all. I'm surprised that you've already heard about that. That wasn't very long ago, honestly." She said, a flush to her cheeks as she bashfully accepted the offering of food given to her by a hovering machine.
"And well, the DNA splicing was done very carefully to make sure I still looked completely human. I can even have um...babies normally." Samus flushed a bit, though of course the Chozo would never countenance making her sterile. If she wished to restart the Aran lineage once again, that was always to be her choice. Though such was definitely far in the future for her. Far too much to do until she could settle down as much as the idea appealed to her.
"Oh really?" Ian said with a bold and daring grin before Kreatz palmed his face and groaned about Ian being horny again, though Samus took a look at him and could find no presence of horns or antlers or any similar structures protruding from his head.
"Oh come on Kreatz, you're supposed to back me up." Ian said with an exaggerated sigh as he pulled himself up straighter and took a bite out of his meal, washing it down with more of his drink.
"I think he's trying to be charming." Montauk said simply.
"I already find him charming!" Samus said out loud, quirked brows raising before she added. "You're all really charming and interesting! It's so intriguing to just hear you all talk!" Samus clapped her hands with glee before turning towards her food and stabbing her fork into the first piece of artificial meat.
"We're interesting?" Yramil asked, giving an enticing look of coy curiosity. "Sammy, have you seen yourself lately?" She said with a bit of a sweet singsong at the end of her tone.
"Well, I think you're interesting! But I guess yeah, I did a lot of stuff too." Samus said with an attempt at humbleness.
She ate at a careful rate, trying to savour the food rather than just shovel it all in, never eating while she was talking. All a bit formal, even to Yramil's eyes as she loudly slurped up some liquified ice cream derivative drink.
"I mean, you saved an entire sector from being destroyed. And you're related to the people who killed Ridley." Uldrasi said before Samus' smile faded all at once as her breath started to get shallow and quickly drawn in. She let out an unpleasant wheezing sound at the mention of his name, her fingernails starting to press into her palms while her heartbeat intensified until she was aware of every little contraction.
She felt the fire and the flames once again, and that awful roar rang in her ears. She shook her head and grimaced before she swallowed and turned towards her drink and gulped it down hurriedly. The sweet flavour and the cool sensation drew her mind away from the terrible thought, and her breath started to relax and slow. She had almost had a panic attack in front of her new friends, and felt briefly ashamed of her weakness. Unbecoming of her, she thought as she was aware that all five of them were staring at her sympathetically.
"Uldra, maybe we could not mention his name? Just a little thought." Yramil said with an unhappy glare at her mechanical companion who looked away with shame clinging heavily to her.
"Hey, Samus. It's okay; you're safe here." Ian said, hesitantly reaching a hand towards her, ready to pull back at the first sign of her not wanting him to approach, but getting a nod of her assent and resting it on her. He gave a sympathetic smile, lowering his sunglasses at her and smirking before she pulled him into another hug that made him wheeze before telekinetically bracing himself.
"Gonna have to work a bit more on that strength control with people who can't bench press starships, Samus." Mizuki said with raised eyebrows.
"Okay...readied myself for that one...still, ow..." He grimaced before she let go and smirked at him.
"See, we can all be adorable together!" Yramil laughed.
"Adorabloodthirsty." Kreatz insisted, folding his arms together and giving a proud look.
"So...to get back on topic..." Uldrasi said, clearly desperate to regain some shred of honour after her faux pas.
"Yeah, Uldra and I have narrowed down some candidates for who could be making stuff like this." Kreatz said after clearing his throat and folding his hands together. He looked towards her and gave an expectant glance for her to explain some of the more technical details, dark blue eyes focused intently on her as she made an electronic harrumph.
"Okay eliminating everyone who doesn't have any known ability to make robotics and doesn't have the resources to make something like this I cut the list down to about a thousand people. Then I cut out the people who'd probably find something like this tasteless and the people who wouldn't have the free time." She said, showing a picture set of the student body and faculty and then rapidly eliminating portraits that didn't fit her criteria. Though Samus looked at the image with more than a bit of concern at the fact that she could just...get all this information without asking, was it publicly available?
"And I cut out the people who wouldn't have had any known opportunities since we started seeing the drones about fifteen days ago. So that leaves us with six people to the best of my ability." She said, showing six images that Samus took only a moment to look over. None of these faces were human, not even a little. But her eyes could make out all the distinct features all the same.
One was a frilled metallic life form by the name of Duskroz, a robotic whiz kid who had quickly grown famous for her work with machines at an early age. But Samus eliminated her from the running in her mind, her intuition told her it was the wrong answer, and her brief analysis of her profile told her this couldn't be the one. Too focused on her work to distract herself with a dumb prank.
Lagrim, an electrical energy based being at first seemed like a good suspect. They were mischievous, irreverent, playful and had to have a few reprimands due to their habit of getting a bit meanspirited. But they also liked to leave calling cards due to wanting recognition for their jokes. So no, couldn't be them either.
Grilari, a floral plant-based life form was dismissed out of hand by Samus as she saw that like herself; he was very unfond of the Space Pirates and would never stoop to trying to make use of their image for a joke.
But the remaining three, Skord, Kyramph, and Eleok seemed more promising to her. Skord, an insectoid who had been down on his luck until he suddenly was able to spend a lot more money than he usually could seemed suspicious to be sure. Kyramph, an annelidish silicoid had recently started acting somewhat erratic and had an unusual shift in some personality traits towards being far more reclusive than usual. And finally Eleok, a reptilian sulphur breather, had started to sneak off frequently from her usual friend groups at reasonably regular intervals. Of course, this was assuming that the commentary posted on their profiles by other students and faculty was accurate.
Samus flicked a finger towards her three subjects of choice. "I'd think it would be these three? But I'd really prefer to get to know them before making any serious accusations. It'd be awful if he blamed someone innocent." Samus said, taking a glance between the rest of her group and starting to form a theory in her head only to dismiss it later. She needed more facts before she could commit to a hypothesis, being rash in her decision making could get someone hurt. Yet the narrative building in her head was a powerful one. She could feel it clinging to her mindscape as if it was trying to resist her urge to dismiss it for now.
"Huh, that seems to be actually pretty reasonable." Yramil said as she looked over the information for herself. She paused, rubbed at her chin between her thumb and forefinger and then looked towards Samus and nodded at her. The runes on her cheeks briefly glowed as she made a few incantations that Samus recognised as Aelvan witchcraft, an ooh and an ah issuing from the young woman's lips as Yramil let a few threads of energy slip from her free hand.
Ian, clearly not one to let himself be outdone; harrumphed and concentrated. Samus could feel the psychic energy radiating from his mind and wriggled her fingers at the electric sensation of his mental probing. While Yramil was weaving a cable of esoteric energy, Ian was sending out something more like a sonar pulse. Both were equally fascinating to the blonde who hungered to know both forces one day, and she soon formed a grin on her face as she clasped her hands together.
"Wow, mind saving some of Samus' attention for the rest of us?" Kreatz said with a hearty laugh while Montauk and Udrasil simply gave their best shrug.
"Oh, are you two competing for my attention? It doesn't have to be a contest, you're both being very helpful." Samus said with a clap and a wide grin.
"If it were a contest I'd clearly be the winner anyway." Mizuki said, gesturing to themselves proudly.
"Yeah but I've been able to find a good way to get in touch with them without tipping them off." Ian said with a smug smirk and a fold of his arms while Yramil rolled her eyes.
"Meanwhile I managed to find where they're likely to get going later today." Yramil said with her own coy look until Montauk let out an exhalation.
"Maybe we should just inform some of the staff without invading people's privacy?" He said, clearly unimpressed by the light show going on.
"He's right." Samus said, running a hand through her hair after having thought about it. She couldn't stomach the idea of just barging in with these sorts of accusations accrued through these methods, even if they might be allowable. She placed a hand on her cheek and straightened herself up as the others looked towards her expectantly, waiting for her justification.
"We can't just barge into people's personal information like this without a good reason. But what we can do instead, is catch one of the drones and see where that leads us." She continued, feeling a sense of relief at getting her feelings off her chest. She did want to catch them of course but she would feel so very much better with herself if they did it in a more fair way.
"And do you have any proof besides a guess based on their profiles?" Samus asked pointedly, raising a brow and rapping her fingers against the table.
"It's at least a lead, come on. Be reasonable." Kreatz said with a groan.
"No, it's a guess based on circumstance. Let's do this right." Samus said, folding her arms in return and huffing.
"Gonna have to agree with her there. Let's not chase random hunches." Yramil said after finishing off a spoonful of her gelatinous dessert. "Besides we'd look like assholes if we went after one and were wrong anyway." She added before her hand found its way to a cup and downed some blue liquid in a hurry.
"So that means it's up to you Ian. What's your take coolkid?" Kreatz said, putting his chin in his hand and staring down the younger Malkovich as he pursed his lips and had a brief moment to think.
He didn't take too long of course, Ian always prided himself on his ability to think quickly, and he snapped his fingers promptly as he thought of his answers. An audible "Eureka!" being heard escaping his lips as he had his lightbulb moment.
"I'm going to agree with Samus here. Let's do this right." He said, lowering his sunglasses and offering a wink to Samus that she identified as flirtatious based entirely off of the empathic signals he was radiating out.
She didn't mind it, though she wished he'd just be more open with his infatuation like Arne or the Faeran youths were. It was strange not knowing whether or not it was acceptable to reciprocate. Such things felt so much easier back home, yet everyone's reactions to her stating her feelings out loud were so strange. Had she made a mistake?
She shook her head, no she'd done just fine. She'd be up to the challenge no matter what it was.
"So...when can we get started?" She said, perking up before Montauk let out a small whistle and chewed his lip.
"Well, first we're going to have to get you settled in before any of that. Orientations and everything you know?" He said, getting a nod of understanding out of the heiress of the Chozo. What he was saying did make sense, if she was going to be sticking around here she might as well get used to how things worked around here.
"When will be able to get started on that?" She asked.
"Soon as we finish eating." Yramil said, kicking back slightly in her chair and humming mostly to herself as she finished off the last of the food put in front of her. For someone of her figure, she was quite adept at making large meals disappear in a hurry, though Samus figured that Yramil probably required a lot of energy for the work she was clearly doing with her body.
"Yeah I've been waiting for a food break for ages." Mizuki added as they gulped down another mouthful of rice and fish.
"Oh, so we can't hurry up with eating then! I'd really like to go out and see around!" Samus said with a wide grin before she paused at the sound of Yramil laughing like a hyena. Samus tilted her head and scrunched her face, feeling slightly embarrassed as she was left unable to figure out what she said that was so funny.
"Oh make these guys hurry up with their food? Oh you'd have an easier time punching a black hole to death." Yramil said, barely containing her laughter as she lurched a bit forward with her giggling until Samus found herself sharing a laugh with her. And with laughter being the ever infectious thing it always is, it soon passed around until all six of them were busily guffawing.
Well, at least she was well on her way to making friends.
Samus' Logbook entries
Individuals: Human-Chozo Hybrid: Female: Federation Born: Independent: Alive: Samus Eabha Aran (Part 3)
Samus Eabha Aran attracted substantial attention in Federation Circles by saving an entire mechanised brigade stranded on the Progenitor deathworld of Zoran and stopping unknown entities from detonating a catastrophic dimensional rift device with enough power to destroy an entire sector. Not only was the daughter of the slayers of Ridley confirmed to be still alive, but the Chozo had granted her their gifts and knowledge. She had grown into an incredibly potent fighter far beyond what most Lancers could hope to achieve even at an extremely young age. Interest in her only further deepened following her transfer to the Prodigal Program at the behest of the Chozo. The Chozo had believed that she had learned more than enough about physical combat and conventional education to instead focus on socialisation. So far, she has remained unavailable for comment to Federal News agencies.
Samus' Notes:
Spirits I don't think I'm ready to be a celebrity. This is all kind of...far too much attention for someone like me to handle. I think I'll try to keep a bit out of the limelight for now.
Organisations: Academic: Federal Established: Supranormal: Prodigal Program
The Prodigal Program serves as a system of providing education to the supranormally gifted with abilities well outside of the norm of their species. Established by decree of the Federal Commission with the assent of the Chozo in the cosmic year 2006, the Prodigal Program is regarded as one of the most broadly successful extranormal educational programs within the space of the Galactic Federation. While the program has had its critics due to its focus on practical education and getting pupils to integrate well with Federation society; it has been praised for its ability to consistently turn out some of the most valued members of Federal society. Courses are offered to all ages, but its programs covering the youth years are typically the most well known. Courses cover not only supranormal subjects but also conventional educational courses, though these can be modified depending on the pupil's needs. The program has campuses spread across the whole of the billions of light-years of Federation space, and the establishment of new campuses is usually one of the first signs that a system has been fully integrated into the Galactic Federation.
Samus' Notes:
Well, so far everything seems nice. I'm hoping that I'll get to do well here. So many interesting and pretty people too. Ah. I just can't wait to make as many friends as possible!
Technologies: Computer: Synthetic Consciousness: Biomechanical: Federation: Aurora Unit
The Federation's Aurora Units serve as the core of its bureaucracy and civil service, handling tasks that would have once required thousands of lesser with a single centralised unit. A seamless intermeshing of mechanical computing technology with organically grown artificial brains, Aurora units combine the best of both biological and technological thought processing. Thanks to their psychic abilities, Aurora Units are also naturally adept at interacting with organic life forms and can easily read the moods and desires of those they work with. Furthermore, their ability to monitor thought has made it far easier for Federal Law Enforcement to deal with infiltrators and would-be criminals. As time goes on, the Aurora Units have increasingly been integrated with every facet of Federal society, forming the Federation's famous aurora network across its territories spread throughout the known universe.
Samus' Notes:
I don't think I like the idea of them being free to read people's minds unless they're trying to be polite. I'm also uncomfortable with the fact that they're designed with mind-control capabilities. But it's nice to see the Federation making progress towards on the level of Mother Brain, even if it's prolonged.
Individuals: Human: Male: Federation: Military: Army: Officer Corps: Alive: Adam Ivaschenko Malkovich
Adam Ivaschenko Malkovich is the latest General to be produced from a long line of Malkovich military officials in the family's deep connections to the Federal Armed forces. Adam refused to make usage of any patronage networks, however and requested deployment far away from his family's usual areas to avoid being advantaged by knowing the right people. While this has somewhat stymied his career and leaves him short on friends, it has given him an impeccable reputation for incorruptibility and fairness. Well known for his sense of honour and his tactical aptitude, Adam feels most at home in field command and has little interest in being promoted beyond a grade where he can be expected to find himself in battle. Adam was also close friends with both Rodney and Virginia Aran during their tours of service in the Federation Naval Marine corps, considering them his unofficial liaisons to the Navy.
Samus' Notes:
He's an honourable man and I'm hoping that he can tell me more about what my parents were like while he knew them. I wonder what his home's like?
Individuals: Human: Male: Psionic: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Ian Ivashchenko Malkovich
One of Adam Malkovich's younger siblings born more than a generation after him when their parents decided to have a new set of children, Ian was soon found to be a powerful psychic. As is expected for Federation born psions, Ian was transferred to the a supranormal educational program for his education at an early age in which he has remained. Though he was initially a model student seeking to follow in his older brother's footsteps, teenaged rebellion has driven him towards being an incorrigible flirt obsessed with his image as a suave and handsome playboy. Though he remains a high performing student, many have criticised him for his seeming inability to take things seriously and tendency to spend more time trying to catch eyes than studying.
Samus' Notes:
I really like the energy he has! just not sure if wearing sunglasses indoors or at night is very practical. It looks nice on him though.
Individuals: Aelvan: Female: Mage: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Yramil Arthynielle Sylmarith
Yramil is the descendant of famed Aelvan Witchseers and well regarded for her exceptionally quick ability to learn both Aelvan runecraft as well as the sorcerous habits of other cultures. Particularly interested in the legacy of the progenitors such as the Faera, Yramil has spent substantial portions of her young life in trying to make progress on deciphering Faeran runic text. She hopes to one day meet one of the honoured ancients herself and learn their magic from them directly. Noted to be somewhat sarcastic but always playful, Yramil is well regarded by most people who meet her and has come to be one of the most famous pupils of her age bracket at the Prodigal Program's headquarters campus.
Samus' Notes:
She's so interesting! I'd love to get to know everything I can about her. I'm really glad that she's my pod mate, she must have so many interesting things to talk about!
Individuals: Aelvan: Male: Mage: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Ilkreatzan "Kreatz" Thelndraen Elemon
Kreatz is a young mage of a tradition that emphasises the usage of sorcerous ability for enhancing close combat prowess. As such, he is quite pleased with his physical might and ability, making expert use of his arcanolumor weapons in sparring and practice drills. While he does not have much in the way of famous family history, Kreatz seeks to defy many preconceptions of the Aelva as a dainty or nonphysical species. Many consider him to be brash, aggressive, bellicose and often even foolhardy. However, these traits belie Kreatz's cunning and quick thinking, which more than make up for his tendency to be somewhat lacklustre and planning ahead. Kreatz is also well known for how much he hates being reminded that he is rather short for an Aelva.
Samus' Notes:
Honestly, I think he's adorable. However, I get the feeling that he'd kick me if I called him that.
Individuals: Grulndi: Male: Aberrant: Federation: Civilian: Prodigal Program: Alive: Montauk Ungrumok Gurlok
Montauk is an Aberrant of the Grulndi species born with exceptionally heightened strength, regeneration, and durability even by the standards of his species that can increase with the extremes of his emotional state. Though ordinarily a very placid and calm individual, Montauk has a finely honed sense of outrage at injustices and abuses and rarely hesitates to get into fights against perceived bullies if peaceful methods fail. However Montauk also emphasises the need to seek peaceful solutions before resorting to force when all other paths have been exhausted. His sense of fairness is also impeccable, always seeking to do right by those who do right by him, and to avoid antagonising people unless absolutely needed. He is, despite the often savage stereotypes associated with the Grulndi species, also a soft-hearted intellectual who enjoys fine arts and literary craft.
Samus' Notes:
He seems like a big sweetheart! Someone I can hug without worrying if I'm going to break their spine too. And his taste in books is incredible! Hoping he can recommend me some really nice stuff soon!