Author's Note
I once again thank my reviewers for their help in offering me and endless list of ideas in keeping my brain functioning. I apologize for the delays in between posts, I do plan to keep writing this.
As for most of this story, it is usually written moments before I go to bed at night since it is the only time I have available to do so, so my sleep deprived brain is to blame for this story from start to finish, for better or for worse, lol.
Holy crap, Metroid Prime 4 has been announced!
Uploaded
06/26/2024
LEGEND BELOW
"Chief, that's not a good idea..." = Normal speech.
''You're you, don't let it control you...'' = Normal thoughts/Receiving coms.
Chapter 44
Rated-M
M rating for blood, and language, and violence.
Music of the day
Metroid Prime 3 - Omega Ridley
Locaion / Space Pirate Homeworld
Six months and one week since Samus departed from Infinity
She frowned, a cold aura radiating off of her in waves. "This universe has no room for those who seek to sow chaos. The Covenant is one such stain. They have chosen their own path."
Silence rang out for a while, the space faring dragon taking in her words. Eventually she turned to face him once more, awaiting his answer. His eyes stared right into her own, and then he raised his arm, his hand completely enveloping her own relatively smaller limb.
She locked eyes with him, her firm silence speaking volumes as his claws wrapped around her limb in acceptance.
A wicked smirk graced his lips, the ground shaking as he felt to his knees in subservience, bowing his head lightly.
"I see now… how foolish my twin was to make an enemy out of you." He intoned lowly, eyes gleaming with a certain level of excitement. "I will not make that same mistake." He added after a moment.
Her lips twitched up in a delighted smirk. "I will hold you to your word…" She muttered, hand slipping free from his far larger limb. "Conflict is soon to come, I hope you are prepared to get your hands dirty, Commander…" She trailed off.
Her gaze once more fell to the stars above, allowing herself a moment to become lost in the infinite vastness. Getting lost in the sea of darkness, left pondering her past, the present, and her future, were things she was often seen doing by her most personal subordinates. To know that she was not a leader that made decisions on impulse, but spent time thinking before acting was calming.
As for the dragon in question, he could tell that his new leader was deep into her own mind, having seemingly withdrawn into herself for the time being. Perhaps, knowing that they'd come to a pleasing agreement between one another, this pause would give him all the time he desired to adjust to the newfound memories she'd implanted within his mind.
She'd, at the very least, given him much to think about. He needed to return to his people, for they would need to be informed of these new developments.
Left alone on the grand balcony, it would be some time before she was interrupted once more. This time, the news brought to her pertained to a developing situation off world.
"My Queen, we have intercepted a distress call from the UNSC Infinity…" Her moment of peace was interrupted when her closest subordinate approached her suddenly, voice distressed.
Samus turned from the balcony, beckoning Vespian closer with a curl of her claws. Her dearest Zebesian, the one who was the first to have been bestowed an advanced Power-Suit she'd specifically designed for her species. The armor seemed to almost mirror her own green suit.
"Explain, now." She ordered lowly, voice sharp.
The Space Pirate bowed lowly. "Infinity had issued a distress call from planet Requiem. We just moments ago received the message, thanks to your access to human communications. Their grand mothership has been pulled into the metal planet once more. They are currently under assault by the remnant Covenant forces stationed there." The Zebesian explained quickly, her head bowed deeply in respect.
"My Queen, what are your orders?" She asked, brimming with a certain level of excitement. The thought that she could be out there slaying those who opposed her beloved Queen here shortly made her heart race, her mandibles clicking in barely restrained glee.
Samus was quiet for a long moment, before she reached a decision. "Mobilize the fleet. Prepare Orpheon and Siriacus, for immediate deployment. I shall board Vol Paragom here shortly." Her voice was clear, sharp, powerful in its certainty.
It made the Zebesian shudder in delight.
"At once, my Queen!" The Space Pirate declared proudly, saluting with an arm stretched across her breastplate to display her undying loyalty.
A moment later saw her bug like wings stretched out from her backside, fluttering as she took off into the air, making a speedy trip to the location of the fleet.
Samus watched her go, pleased with her speedy departure, before her own draconic wings stretched out wide behind her. She bent her legs, thrusters on her back and feet propelling her high into the skies of her world. Pink lighting began to circulate around her body as she flew, a sudden wave of energy filling her.
Her wings flapped powerfully as she quickly caught up to her most loyal subordinate, soaring past her with a speed none could match, roaring through the skies as she made a beeline towards her flagship.
Vol Paragom, another name she had procured from the Space Pirates of the other dimension. It in no way resembled the ship it was named after, but she was pleased with its name, for it felt fitting.
The ship in question quickly came into view, the vessel a beast of her own creation.
It resembled the Space Pirate Destroyers from her dimension, although larger in size. The main body of the ship was cylindrical in shape, with three gigantic prongs that extended forward from the end to form the main weapon system.
The orbital laser weapon that she'd seen used countless times during the Federation/Space Pirate war was a formidable weapon in the battlefield, and the decision to replicate that technology here and now, albeit at a far more efficient capacity, was a decision she was quick to make. The design of the ship was intimidating in nature, and its alien shape would help differentiate it compared to her allied UNSC starships.
Although it was named after the research frigates she had destroyed in her own time, they were modeled after the Destroyer class star ships. The idea to steal the name was a quirk she'd thought of last minute, but decided not to change once the names were implemented. She felt it an appropriate stab at her now distant enemies, and a way to remember the universe she'd come from.
In addition to the main canon used to destroy enemy cruisers of similar sizes, it was also armed with half a dozen heavy anti air plasma cannons and interplanetary cruise missiles capable of both in atmosphere flight as well as space. The vessel was well armored, but its largest upgrade would be its energy shields.
Most UNSC star ships were heavy vessels that made up their defense with metal and alloys, but no energy shields. The Infinity was the only exception she knew of currently in their fleet.
That would not be the case in her own fleet.
She personally modeled a shield generator system designed after her own Power-Suit's energy shields into Vol Paragom, allowing it maximum defensive capabilities in the field. It was, as of yet, untested.
She planned to change that today.
To compliment her flagship destroyer, two more were built to stand beside it, Orpheon, and Siriacus.
They too were Destroyer class star ships, yet they stood to carry lesser star fighters into a battle instead of heavy cannons. Each of her ships had a compliment of Fang Class Fighters, Armored Tactical Carriers, Assault Skiffs, and one Heavy Pirate Warship, her Destroyer.
Compared to the UNSC or the Covenant, it was minuscule in comparison to their respective fleets. But this was only the beginning, and her plans were far greater than what she had now.
This was merely her personal strike force, to be used in moments just like this.
The giant vessel was currently docked in her personal shipyard, thousands of Pirates currently awaiting her orders within the ship. Her mighty wings flapped hard as she descended from the skies above, feet flaring out to support her as she landed atop the ship near its closest docking bay.
Her landing caught the attention of the soldiers stationed aboard it, the Zebesians all quickly bowing at the waist.
"""Our Queen has arrived!"""
Came the bellowing response as all in attendance took notice of her presence.
Standing at the front of such an army brought a smile her to lips, seeing such forces all fiercely loyal to her and her alone.
She approached the commanding officer for her flagship, the male Zebesian not daring to raise his head until addressed. That was, until he felt her claws come to gently cup his chin, directing his eight eyed gaze up to her own. "Gek, the fleet is moving out. I want you by my side during this mission." The woman spoke lowly, a gleam in her eye that made him shiver.
"Can I trust you to accompany me?" She asked lowly, already knowing the answer.
"My Queen, I shall give my life for the sake of your goals! Even death shall not stand between me and serving you." He declared proudly, arm crossed over his chest.
She grinned. "Good. Then join me at the helm. We are departing immediately." She stated lowly, turning on her heels as she quickly stalked off towards the command deck. Her riveted tail brushed against his legs as she passed, the demonic appendage wagging lightly behind her as if it had a mind of its own.
As she approached the doors to the command deck, she felt a familiar presence, one that made her hardened features soften in delight.
Opening the doors, she was greeted with the sight of her children patiently awaiting her return. In the time since leaving the Infinity behind more than half a year ago, they had seemingly reached their final forms.
Four Omega Metroids sat in the wide expanse of the command deck, their eagerness to see their mother again palpable.
''Greetings mother, Zeta has missed your presence greatly.'' The massive Metroid cooed lowly, her voice deep and rumbling as she bent down to lean into her much smaller mother's open palm.
''Zeta is not the only one who has desired mother's attention. Alpha has yearned to see you.'' Her sister declared clearly, joining her oversized sister in the desire for motherly affection.
''Must you too bother mother with your desires? Gamma believes mother is a very busy woman.'' The third Omega sighed lowly, but it was obvious that she too yearned for the touch of her mother.
Samus smiled lightly at her caring children, the first three of her ever expanding family tree of Metroids. Although she loved every newborn she'd birthed, her affection for her first three would always be greater.
"My children, your father is in danger. We are going to render assistance." She explained simply, making sure they all knew the plans that lay ahead.
They all made differing clicking noises of worry, leaning in closer to their mother. Standing underneath her towering children, she almost couldn't believe that they'd grown so large. They stood at fifteen feet in height when standing on their hind legs, and ten when walking on all fours.
Their softer looking features were a trait of their new evolutionary line, not truly resembling the monstrous creatures from SR-388, and feeling more like gentle giants.
To her they were the most well behaved creatures…
To her enemies, they were demons that could not be stopped.
Locaion / Requiem
He ducked as plasma fire soared overhead, tearing scorching holes into the wall a few feet behind him. His hand snapped down to his waistline, frag grenade flying into his hand, automatically primed, before he peaked out from his cover. The grenade flew from his hands, landing at the feet of the surprised Elite and his squadron.
The explosion stunned the giant, killing the three grunts that surrounded him and sending the Jackals screaming back in retreat. His right arm snapped up, the sights lined up on his magnum as he blasted three anti material rounds into the skull of the platoon leader, painting the door behind him with his own brain matter.
The Jackals raised their shields to defend themselves, but were woefully unprepared for the green Spartan to step out from behind his cover, a Promethean Knight's hard-light shield forming over his arm that acted as a translucent full body great shield.
The blue hard-light absorbed the plasma coming his way as he dismantled the platoon of jackals, first shooting holes through their hands, making them drop their shields in surprise, before planting a bullet between their eyes.
The entire encounter took no more then twenty seconds, and thirty Covenant lay dead at his feet.
The shield vanished, left hand swinging down to procure another mag for his handgun.
"All clear! Move, now." The man exclaimed, ushering the wounded men and women out of the docking bay. He ran forward across the wide expanse, rushing up to the manual override systems as he closed the doors to the landing bay.
"Commander Lasky, bay five secure." The spartan muttered over his comms, casting his gaze over the area once more to confirm his words.
''Copy that Chief, we need you to help out Crimson Team in engineering! We believe the Covenant are trying to take Infinity's power offline!'' Lasky's distressed voice came through.
"How did they manage to gain access to engineering?" The Spartan asked, eyes narrowed. He'd already taken off in a sprint towards the tram system, making a beeline for engineering.
''We believe that the Covenant employed a highly trained headhunter squadron for this assault. They've decimated our forces on their way, we've got casualties stacking up.'' The commander's voice was tight, the situation looking worse by the minute.
"ETA on friendly backup?" Chief spoke, meeting up with a squadron of ODST's who'd already begun making their way towards the engine bay.
''We've got nothing from HQ, the planet is jamming interplanetary communication…'' Lasky's voice vanished for a moment, before it returned. ''Requiem is sending a signal that is countering anything we send out, it's canceling any calls for help off world.''
"Why would the planet start this now? What changed since we were here last time?" Cortana chose that moment to speak up, bewildered.
''Science Team believes something tripped a Forerunner security lockdown somewhere deep in the planet. Until that lockdown is taken offline, we're grounded.'' Lasky's words gave the Spartan pause.
"Cortana…?" The man muttered.
''My thoughts exactly Chief… Let's just hope they don't come true…'' The digital woman murmured, not liking where the conversation was going.
''Once Infinity is secured, the Captain is going to set up a strike force to move on the Forerunner base.'' Were Lasky's last words before he moved onto other units.
Chief ushered the ODST's into engineering, pulling out his assault rifle as the other soldiers flanked him, ready to assist.
He pushed his way inside, silently ushering any of the surviving crewmen out of the room, moving deeper into the facility. Sliding up to a wall, he peered around the corner to observe the situation within the core of the ship-
Only to reel back as a hyper-charged Beam Rifle round shot towards him at untraceable speeds. He'd barely pulled away in time, the thin yet powerful beam of plasma tearing a chunk out of the side of his helmet.
His shields flared, titanium shrapnel sent flying from his helmet. ''Keep your head down! There's two of us in here!'' Cortana shrieked as the Spartan stumbled backwards, hand flying up to his face on instinct.
"Master Chief!" An ODST hissed, running up to the Spartan's side.
He waved him off. "Ignore me, keep moving forward. I will draw their fire." He ordered, his mutilated helmet an unbecoming look for the super soldier. His visor was split down one side, charred metal framing the jaw of the helmet.
It was a close call.
"You two flank from the side, and you follow up around the back. When the sniper takes his shot, pin him down. " He ordered, sending two shock troopers one way, and the other two another. He glanced down to his arm, activating his hard-light shield as he stepped back out around the corner.
The result was instant, another thin beam round exploding out to try and take his head off. The attack ricocheted off the shield, slamming into an unsuspecting wall. The Jackal recoiled in surprise, before his head was blown clean off via a fifty caliber round from a certain shock trooper.
The moment the sniper dropped, Chief pushed forward, whipping out his sidearm as he began to blast a cap in the heads of each Grunt or Jackal that stood in his way.
''Chief! Duck!'' He reacted before Cortana's words could even fully register in his mind, narrowly avoiding decapitation as an energy sword blazed through the air where he'd just been. He dropped to the ground, palms spread to support him as he sprang up into a kick that broke the neck of his would-be assassin.
The cloaked Zealot stumbled backwards, before dropping to the ground dead, body seemingly appearing out of thin air.
"One-" He grunted, landing on his feet as two more Zealots fell from the platforms above. He instantly switched to his Promethean Vision modification, something procured by the Knights he'd encountered on the planet. Their cloaked bodies appeared as blurs, but he was able to make out exactly what he was looking at.
The Elite's, believing that they were unseen by the man, flanked off to the sides. He pretended not to notice, keeping them in the corners of his eyes as they moved.
Then they moved, one rushing low with the other moving high. They were planning on tearing him apart in an instant.
''Chief…?'' Cortana drawled out in worry.
"I've got this." He muttered, perhaps, a hint of bravado in his voice.
''That's what I'm afraid of…'' She murmured as he suddenly lashed out, grabbing the arm of the one Elite. In one fell swoop he redirected one's sword into the chest of the other. His other free hand swiped the second sword, thrusting it into the body of the other.
Their dying bodies collapsed onto each other, a pile of corpses quickly piling up.
A loud ping rang out as a fifty caliber round wizzed past his head, blowing clean through the brain of the fourth that had attempted to sneak up from behind him.
His head snapped across the room, eyeing the shock trooper wielding the heavy weapon. The ODST tossed him a thumbs up.
''I like that one.'' She pointed out decidedly.
"You can't just-"
''Yes I can. In case you forgot, I'm an A.I., I make my own decisions.'' She teased, the image of her wiggling her eyebrows at him flashing through his mind.
He sighed, deciding to give up on the failing argument and instead continue with the mission.
"Commander Lasky, Engineering is clear, hostiles neutralized." The Spartan opened a comms channel to command, his words clear and firm.
''Understood, Chief. What of the survivors?'' Lasky's voice rang out in his ears as he began tending to the wounded or helping the other marines secure those who couldn't move.
"Survivors accounted for. No casualties. The Covenant weren't here to kill the crew." He pointed out, eyes roaming the vast engine room for any clue that might hint so as to their presence here today.
''Hunting for information?'' Lasky murmured, unsure.
''Chief I'm picking up something on your other visor!'' Cortana suddenly hissed, demanding that he change to his hyper advanced thermal imaging. He wasted no time in doing so, swapping to said visor before he suddenly barreled forward at what he saw.
"Lasky, the Covenant brought a bomb!" Chief called out, rushing towards it as he prepared to insert Cortana.
''A bomb?'' Lasky's voice was tense.
The Spartan ignored him in leu of making sure the entire ship didn't go up in a ball of hyper nuclear mist. He slammed his hand onto the bomb's control panel, the massive device of a similar caliber as the ones used to annihilate the planetary defense platforms outside Earth during the Covenant's initial invasion.
''I'm getting tired of this, Chief. This is the second time they've tried this.'' She ranted heatedly, rolling her eyes in irritation.
"Technically, they've tried this more than once. This is just the second time we've stopped them." He corrected, continuing their little bickering game she'd started hours prior.
''Excuse you? I didn't start anything, smart mouth!'' The beautiful blue woman exclaimed, aghast.
Right…
He'd forgotten she could read his mind.
''I know all your thoughts, big guy…'' She teased knowingly.
He sighed, deciding to instead turn to Lasky once more. "Bomb defused, Commander."
''Then get it off the Infinity before this situation becomes a lot more messy. The airspace out here has gotten hot, we need all-'' Lasky's words were suddenly cut short, a new situation suddenly arising outside.
''All hands! Unidentified vessels have appeared inside Requiem airspace!'' Del Rio's words echoed out...
Chapter
44
End