Author's Note
Happy to continue this.
Legend below
"Commander on approach!" = Normal speech.
"I hope this message makes it to you..." = Recordings.
CHAPTER 4
Day 3
True enough, when Samus and the Troopers finally arrived at the top of the Sky Temple the sun had already set on the dying world.
The walk back to the Luminoth sanctuary was long and tedious, and her legs were screaming for a brief moment of rest after hauling the massive load. She, however, ignored the deep aching in her thighs, instead focusing her full attention on the task at hand. No matter how much she wanted to sit down and massage the horrid kink in her neck, she knew that there was more important things to worry about then her own problems, however troublesome they might be.
When they finally arrived she had them disassemble the cargo and take it up the elevator manually, seeing as the door to the elevator was only large enough to walk through. They managed to fit everyone on the elevator platform will little room to spare.
Eventually she, alongside everyone else, arrived at the top of the temple. Seeing that this was the safest place on the planet for the time being, she let them take care of situating their equipment while she moved for the energy control room where she left U-Mos and Grippe.
When the door to the main control room opened, Grippe immediately stood at attention. U-Mos, who had been seemingly feeding a wild gathering of tiny moth creatures, turned to her with a low bow.
"Ma'am?" The Trooper asked. She turned to him, her face hidden behind her visor.
"They are downstairs…" She responded to his unasked question, her voice lacking the strength she had the day prior. The young man wasted little time as he ran down to greet his fellow soldiers, as well as make due on a promise he'd made to himself.
Finally alone with the alien, her tone turned serious. "Give me the location of the other energy collectors." She ordered. U-Mos blinked, happy at her heart to immediately begin her journey, but at the same time a little hesitant.
The giant alien hummed, tilting his head in her direction. But she must slow her course if she was to accomplish her mission. "I understand you are eager to begin, but please slow yourself. Would it not befit you to begin your journey come morning?" He offered helpfully. Her eyes narrowed behind her visor, gaze restrained.
"There is little time to waste with talking." Her voice was stern and irritable as she slowly drug out the words. She turned her attention skywards, noting the disturbing purple storm that wrought havoc across the world. Dark lighting flashed across the skies, painting a dark picture.
There truly wasn't much time left for this world. Aether was on its last legs, and wouldn't survive much longer with only the one energy controller remaining. She had to move now. The longer she dithered the higher the risk to her people's lives.
She had no other choice but to act…
"U-Mos, tell me where to go." She asked again, locking eyes with the last remaining sentinel of the Luminoth with a tired sigh. For a brief moment the creature caught sight of her face, before it was hidden away by her visor.
"Very well. I suppose I am powerless to stop you…" He conceded. Turning to the side, he motioned towards a window. "To the east of here is the land of Agon. There is where you shall find the energy controller. But please… be careful." He asked genuinely. "The Ing are waiting for you in the dark world… And they will surely be out for your life."
Samus was quiet, contemplating the Luminoth's words. She turned to the side, eyes narrowed in thought. ''To the east…?''
That had to be where the Space Pirates had set up shop as well. So she had more then a little problem to worry about. Furthermore, she wished to scavenge supplies from the Pirates. She'd need to bring along some of the Troopers to do so.
She didn't want to place them in anymore danger, but time would be wasted if she went alone.
She turned away from U-Mos, moving for the exit. He seemed as if he wished to say something more, but he held his tongue.
The short elevator ride to the lower level of the temple was quiet, Samus staring absentmindedly at the walls as she waited. For a brief moment her eyelids dipped as her body slouched slightly, the slow methodical movement of the floor beneath her strangely soothing. She didn't even notice when she finally arrived on the ground floor, eyes half open in a blank stare.
"Samus…?" The Hunter's neck snapped up suddenly at the voice, blinking away her bleary vision. "Are you alright..?" The voice of concern came from Smythe who'd been waiting at the bottom of the elevator for her. When he saw her come down after her talk with the Luminoth that Grippe had told him about, he'd a question for her. But when she arrived she just stood there, not even looking at him.
It was almost like she'd fallen asleep standing, and he'd certainly noticed.
"I'm fine. What do you need?" She asked as she finally stepped off the elevator, completely brushing aside his question. Moving into the main chamber she saw three more Troopers waiting for her. Grippe, Benet and Monz stood just inside the room.
Smythe stepped in front of them, gaining her attention. "You're heading out, aren't you? Grippe told us about the planetary problem." He placed a hand to his chest. "We can't stand idly by while you do all the work. Us four are ready and willing to follow you into battle."
"We've got your back ma'am!" Monz saluted.
"We won't let you down." Benet said, offering a salute of his own.
"I'd feel guilty if I had a pretty lady such as yourself do all the hard work…" Grippe muttered, unable to make eye contact with her.
Smythe stepped forward, displaying the Space Pirate's energy rifle attached to his forearm. "We're the most capable on the team. Give us the weapons and we can hold our own." He said confidently.
Samus blinked in surprise, a little shaken by their determination to help her despite the severity of the situation. Yet she was simultaneously touched that they were so willing to risk their lives for her.
"I.. see…" She muttered. She glanced past them, looking at the rest of the platoon. They'd taken the time to situate the wounded comfortably, while a few more began to set up whatever equipment they had remaining.
She should be fine leaving them here…
Right…?
"Samus?" The Hunter in question blinked as someone called her name again, turning to find Smythe staring at her. "Are you sure you're alright?"
She'd spaced out again, as it would seem.
"I'm fine." She grunted sharply. "If you four plan on joining me then prepare. I'm leaving immediately." She explained, turning for the nearest exit.
"Immediately..?" Monz couldn't seem to hold his tongue. She gazed at him from the corner of her eye.
"You wish to stay longer?" She asked.
"I'm sure Grippe is fine, seeing as he took the time to sleep while you were gone. But the rest of us have been up for hours without sleep." Benet grunted.
"Just for a few hours." Monz added, rubbing at his neck.
Samus sighed, her shoulders slackening. True she wanted to go now, but having to cover half awake soldiers sounded like they were begging for death. It wouldn't do for them to die because they couldn't manage to stay awake.
She supposed that the training for Federation Trooper's had gotten slack within recent years…
Or she just forgot that she wasn't human…
"I see." She said, turning her back to them without another word. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a busy day." She stated.
"Yes ma'am!" The four saluted. They all went to rejoin the others.
Samus sighed, turning her attention to a window. From where she stood she could make out the dusty lands of Agon in the distance. Dry lightning storms ravaged the lands, casting the area into chaos.
It wasn't a comforting sight…
And far in the distance too she saw the vague outline of what must have been the Space Pirates base. The sight of it standing was enough to make her blood boil.
She turned away, subtly glancing back towards the Troopers. They'd fallen asleep…
Her eyes narrowed as she slipped out of the room.
She didn't have time to be sitting around while the world she stood on rapidly approached its last legs. For all she knew, if she didn't have the planetary energy by tomorrow, they could very well die…
"Log 07.159.9 Datecycle 07.014.2 of the Cosmos. I am logging my report for high command. Another disaster has stricken us, and our presence here is again threatened…"
It was not the voice of a human that echoed across the dusty halls of the makeshift home base that the Space Pirates called their temporary home, but it was the soft clicking of a Pirate herself. Though smaller and softer looking then her vile Pirate brethren, she'd taken to recording the happenings of their business on the planet.
"If not the hostile alien presence that constantly lays siege to our base, then it is the foolish portal dives that base commander has requested on repeat. With every day that passes we lose soldiers and ground within our quadrant. If command's plan is to kill us off by having us repeatedly throw ourselves at a stone wall, then they are accomplishing it wonderfully…"
Her dry sarcasm was evident even through her dialect, defeat saturating her voice. If the slump of her shoulders wasn't enough of a point, her words that might as well have proven her distrust and faith in high command was likely a death sentence in and of itself. But she didn't care.
Behind her, in the far side of the main chamber was a large test platform, at the center of which was a portal. The spatial anomaly suddenly expanded and out came two armored Pirates. Both were wounded and heavily beaten. Stripped of nearly all their armor they collapsed to the ground, defeated. Though many rushed to the aid of their commando's, she brushed aside their state.
She didn't care. They had offered to venture the world beyond that portal, and had paid the price at their own expense. Five went in, barely two made it back out.
"I would like to amend a previous statement. We have now lost even more soldiers to the foolish portal dive." She held her head in her claws, groaning loudly. "It is beneath me to question them, they say, however by my estimate we have roughly ten cycles left before we are eradicated. I find my willingness to serve such foolish commanders having waned completely."
Her head snapped up as the lights to the base cut out completely for a solid thirty seconds, before turning back on. Irritable groaning could be heard in the background, the sounds of a heated argument brewing. The Pirate groaned again. "At this rate we shall completely drain our reserve power long before we're killed off…"
Her face suddenly took a dark turn, the fear of death radiating off of her, yet despite that she looked inspired. "If that was the end of things, then perhaps we would have a fighting chance. But as team leader has reported, the Hunter herself has made planetfall and has already started purging our presence…" Her voice turned shaky. "To that end I've decided to try my chances. Perhaps dying while trying to save myself is a better fate then staying cooped up in here waiting to be obliterated. Perhaps she would be merciful enough to take on one lowly one such as myself. Even should I have to slave myself before her very presence, it is a better fate to serve someone powerful and smart then powerful and foolish…"
She clasped her claws together, eyes shining in awe as she gazed upwards. "Her power is beautiful and worthy. It sends shivers through my body only imagining her strength…" She gushed, completely caught up in her own fantasy. "She deserves the armies more then high command ever would. I shudder to think of her as the leader… such a future would be grand!" A small explosion echoed out from behind her, energy rifle rounds flying across the room. Her expression dimmed, a snarl marring her face as she clicked her teeth in irritation.
"This is Silva, designation number seventeen, reporting. End log…" Then the recording shut down abruptly.
The female Pirate, aptly dubbed Silva by she herself, stood from her coms terminal. There was a huge commotion beginning behind her, the commander berating the two Commandos that had returned empty handed.
Arguments were started and it was going to take more then a few of them to put a stop to it…
Unfortunately, she had no further obligations to serving foolish leaders. And this local dispute was the perfect opportunity to commit the treason she'd contemplated so longingly. The thoughts that filled her head alone would be worthy of death in the minds of command, but she was already too far gone to stop now.
No one would notice when she vanished, and by the time they did, she would already be gone. And more then that, she planned on taking something with her.
A gift to her potential new master, if you will…
The ground shook beneath the Hunter's feet, the rumbling of the old Luminoth elevator still hard to get used to. Upon opening the doors to the ground floor she found herself in an entirely different area of Temple Grounds. And while looking very similar to the rest of the surrounding areas, it was indeed different.
The night was still young, and there was easily a few hours left before the sun began to rise. Perfect for a quick scouting mission or a hit and run.
Although lost in the new world, she still had a general sense of direction, and planned on following the way U-Mos had indicated.
The trek through the dark and shadowy grounds was going to be a long one, but the quiet was something she had come to enjoy as a momentary reprieve from the constant barrage of the sounds of battle.
She made it only a short distance away from the base of the Temple elevator, glancing up behind her to eye the Temple above. There was a lingering concern that even there they wouldn't be safe.
However.
If she allowed her concerns to rule her judgment then she would've never taken the first step. She had to continue on. She was more worried about the planet then their immediate safety, as the occasional earthquakes that had been going unnoticed for a while now were getting worse.
For their sake. She would continue forward on her mission. It was her duty…
She eventually arrived at the edge of the Temple Grounds, overlooking a massive drop off. U-Mos had been right. Far below the land she now stood was a deserted wasteland, sands covering every square inch of land. From what she could see, it had been, many years ago, farmland.
This had to have been the Agon Wastes he had talked about…
Without wasting much time she took the nearby elevator down. The platform shook underneath her feet, before dropping fast. Flashing lights and colors greeted her as she passed, going on repeat. Seeing as she had a moment to herself in private, she temporarily un-summoned her helmet, the Chozo technology vanishing into particles.
Slowly she breathed in the unfiltered air, letting it fill her lungs. "Uuh…" She groaned lowly, raising her left hand to her exposed neck to massage a horrid kink. Her hair, finally freed from confinement flew up into the air as the elevator dropped, the long golden strands fluttering.
It felt nice to have wind blowing on her, and despite the dusty atmosphere it was strangely soothing. If only this moment could last little longer, but she knew she was rapidly approaching the ground floor. Break time was over it seemed…
The elevator finally connected with the ground, sending her hair all across her armor, cascading down her back before stopping at her armored rear end. She frowned as it covered her vision, blowing hot air to brush it aside, allowing her bleary bloodshot eyes clarity once more.
With a sigh she pulled her hair back into a messy bun, a difficult task to do with one hand covered in armor. With that done she summoned her helmet once again, combat visor at the ready.
Immediately after leaving the elevator room she was blasted with a hot dry wind, the temperature shifting considerably from the Temple Grounds. Even though night still stood, the ambient air was uncomfortable. However, the Varia Suit made such an environment child's play to her. It was made to venture the depths of planets, so this little heat was nothing…
She managed maybe a few feet out into the dusty sandy lands of Agon, before a storm of dry lightning struck the ground inches from her.
As if a reminder that there was little time for this world, otherworldly events were starting to become commonplace here…
Two hours later saw the Hunter approaching what appeared to be a massive temple. Again it seemed to be designed like a combat arena, large and round with high walls that prevented easy escape.
As strange as it was she had yet to see the suspected Space Pirate presence that was here in the region. Save for wild animals, it had been unnaturally empty of hostile life.
However…
Upon approaching the temple she felt the terrain below her buckle. She sucked in a sharp breath, the very ground beneath her cracking and splitting apart. She watched as the split in the ground grew from between her legs, stretching all across the arena. The ground shook, a heavy earthquake rumbling. She grounded herself, planting her feet until it stopped.
It lasted for only a few moments, but it was long enough to be alarming.
She was running out of time. Aether didn't have much time left in its current state.
She quickly made her way through the arena, entering into the deepest part of the temple. It was there that she found an energy controller much like the one with U-Mos.
However, the only difference here was the fact that it was empty. Not a speck of light energy remained, having been drained completely dry. And, resting just beside the controller was a corpse. It was Luminoth…
"Warrior… Please… hear my warning…" Samus spun around at the sound of the disembodied voice, only to stop at what she saw. Hovering above the energy controller was what appeared to be a hologram of a Luminoth warrior. In fact, it heavily resembled the corpse that she found herself beside.
Although alarmed at first, she realized that it must've been nothing more then a recording left behind for whoever would come to their rescue.
"These blessed lands have been lain to waste by the Ing attack. My kin killed, and my family butchered. Here I stood as the last champion of Agon, defending my temple down to the last breath… To think that it would come to this. My shame in my failure is only outweighed by the loss that befell my clan…" The hologram spoke, the creature downtrodden and devastated.
"But, I can rest in peace now. I am confident that despite my failures, the vile beasts will meet their maker one day. If anything, that belief was the only thing that empowered us to continue…" Suddenly the warrior trailed off, looking somewhere off to the side. Samus found herself following his gaze, her eyes narrowing in on…
His corpse…
Her breath hitched.
"Sadly, I fear that I will never see that day… If you are hearing of this now, then I am sure my fate has already been decided by outside forces. Even now, as I stand here before you, my brave warrior, I hear my aggressors nearing. My time is nigh…" He continued. He raised his hands skyward, almost in prayer.
"But fortune has smiled upon me this day!" He cried out. "For you surely are a strong warrior, capable of stopping this menace! To that end I will bless you with my remaining knowledge."
Samus patiently listening as he went on to explain of a portal station that was nearby, the only one in Agon that would allow her to freely enter and exit the dark world. He also warned of an external enemy presence that served to guard the portal, no doubt speaking of the Space Pirates.
However…
"Heed my warning, blessed one!" She stood straighter, listening intently. "I am sure you are capable of many things, great warrior! However, even our very best have lost their lives to the dark world. Why, the very air is lethal. Should you find yourself without the light, I pray for your safety…"
The atmosphere of the dark world was lethal…?
She clenched her fist, eyes narrowed. That little tidbit of knowledge would come in handy. However, that posed a problem. She would have no way of knowing how the Varia Suit would hold up against such an environment until she was there.
The thought wasn't pleasing…
"To that end, we have gathered our greatest minds together to craft for you a battle suit of darkness! It's strength will repulse the darkness. However, it too was taken. Should you find it, please, I beg of you, use it…" He grew quiet, the hologram stopping. She stared at it for a long moment afterwards, waiting to see if it had anything else to say.
But it had gone silent…
She sighed, shoulders slumping. Once again, it had all gone quiet. Nothing but a dusty darkness was left here for her, and the sun still had a few hours before it rose.
Her visor looked expressionless, staring quietly at the long dead warrior. All around her was the decrepit remains of a since destroyed holy temple. It was obvious to whoever was looking that a serious battle to the death happened here, both sides fighting till the end.
She stood there for a little, taking a moment of silence to herself. But she knew that she had to go. With this new bit of information she'd gained, her mission had just gotten a slight bit clearer. So with not a word, she turned on her heels and made to leave.
But as she neared the exit, she could feel a presence observing her. She turned, finding the hologram from before.
It was staring right at her, eyes locked with her own. She didn't know how to react, and so she paused. Blinking, she shook her head and made to leave properly this time. She missed the hologram bowing as she went…
It was nearing daybreak when she returned to the Sky Temple. She'd returned to find the Troopers waking as she walked in.
"Samus! There you are!" The Hunter made it roughly ten feet in before she was addressed by the four Troopers from before. It was Smythe that spoke up.
"Where the hell have you been? We woke half an hour ago and found you missing?" Benet grunted, although it was clear he was concerned. He eyed her armor, noting the dust and sand particles that seemed to cover it. Her boots were practically painted with sand and dirt.
"We thought you'd…" Grippe muttered, looking away. He gripped his weapon, but said nothing further.
"Listen… Forget about it, okay…" Monz muttered, patting Grippe on the shoulders. "If something happens to you, we're doomed. Just…" He tried, but couldn't say anything more. "Never mind. I'm sorry."
Samus sighed, her stare dimming behind her visor.
Of course they'd be concerned if she went missing. But she didn't have time to worry about feelings right now.
Feelings were what got in the way of the mission.
Feelings were what got people killed, or worse…
She didn't have time for feelings if she was to get them all off this planet alive.
"Are you all ready to move out?" She asked. They stood a little straighter. Though disappointed at the lack of any response to their worries, they didn't voice their opinions.
"Yes ma'am!" They saluted in unison. She nodded to herself.
"Good. Then we move now." She stated in monotone. She turned to the large windows, her gaze locked on the sandy region beyond. "I've located the rough location of a portal to Dark Aether. We need to leave for it immediately." Following her words, the temple shook lightly as an earthquake rattled the world below them.
The lights hanging above them swung around as the ground seemed to shift beneath their feet.
"The hell?!" Benet shouted.
"Was that an earthquake?!" Monz hissed.
"Samus?" Noticing that the woman hadn't mentioned the shaking led Grippe to believe that she knew about, and furthermore, the cause behind it. Her fist clenching beside her thigh proved that to him. "What's happening?
"This world is dying, and the longer we spend talking the higher the chance that we won't make it out with our lives." She muttered sharply, her soft yet stern words striking their hearts.
That made it clear where she had been the last few hours. While they slept, resting their weary heads, she was out there risking her life for their sakes. And, although she probably needed to rest her aching legs and straining muscles as much as the next person, she fully understood just why she didn't have the time to do so.
"Let's move, before it's too late." She stated. Her words bolstered confidence in them, and they found themselves standing behind her, ready to follow to the ends of the world. Her gaze hardened as she made her way out, the Troopers quick on her heels…
Chapter
4
End