Author's Note

Thank you all so much for your feedback on the last chapter, I really, really, really appreciate it! I was super worried no one would want the romantic aspects in this story, but I'm glad that I was wrong. Glad to get one more chapter out for the month's end, and a bit longer then last time too.

I hope you all enjoy.

Uploaded

08/31/2024

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 46

Rated-M

M rating for blood, and language, and violence.

Music of the day

Metroid Other M - Ridley battle theme

Location / Requiem

Six months and one week since the Didact's defeat

"Go go go, evac the wounded!" She shouted, raising her assault rifle to blow away a handful of Grunts that were beginning to push forward. Plasma fire rained overhead, but she stared stalwart through it all.

"We need a medic!" Someone shouted, a pink needle sticking out of the chest of another soldier in their arms, dying. "Shit, they just won't stop! Where the hell is the Sparta-" Their voice went quiet when a plasma bolt struck their chest.

"Jake!!" She shouted, rushing forward as more and more plasma came flying her way, barely missing the familiar visage of her Helljumper helmet. She slid to the ground, holstering the rifle over her back as she pulled out her magnum, using her free hand to pull the downed man to safety.

She hissed when a bolt struck her shoulder armor, but paid it no mind as she moved to retreat, round after round exploding from her hand cannon. As the click of an empty mag was heard she cursed in her head, procuring a plasma grenade that had been left behind from the dead Grunts, tossing it right into the fray.

"Come on Jake, don't you die on me you stupid bastard!" She hissed, her throat clamping up as she put a tight rein on her emotions. She fell behind cover, the blast door sealing behind her offering temporary shelter. She pressed a finger to her helmet comms unit, trying to hold in the desperation in her voice as she called for help.

"Commander, I've got wounded down here and multiple casualties! I've been separated by my platoon, the Master Chief is alone in Engineering with that damn bomb now! There's a Zealot hit-squad breaking our lines and attempting to arm the weapon! We need backup-" She hissed through the radio, only to recoil as an explosion rocked the door to the room she was hiding in.

Tens of hundreds of wounded people were left practically defenseless, only a single metal barrier between them and the merciless Covenant hit-squad on the other side of the door. Other soldiers clenched their weapons tightly, pressed up against the wall beside the door barrier.

Her fingers clenched tightly around her shotgun, eyes twitching as she prepared to face the attackers head on.

''Copy that Savanna, you've got reinforcements inbound. ETA two minutes!'' Lasky's voice echoed outside her helmet, the words filling the people with a sense of hope. ''Hold those aggressors off until backup arrives.''

Maybe they wouldn't all die today…?

She wouldn't hold her breath.

She'd seen what happened down on Requiem during the last campaign there, this was bad, but not the worst situation she'd been in. Hell, if it wasn't for that green alien lady, she would've died in that blasted desert that day…

The feeling of a giant hole in her chest that no medical equipment could ever repair was haunting, as was the feeling of slipping away that immediately followed it. Her blood pooling on the ground of the Mammoth, the world slipping into darkness.

If that woman returned now, then maybe she would live to fight another day. And maybe she'd finally get the chance to thank her. But in order to do that, she needed to live.

The barrier buckled as a fuel rod slammed into it, the resulting explosion nearly taking the metal off its hinges. She glanced over to the other soldier, the woman holding a SPNKr rocket launcher, the last two rockets in its tubes.

There was but a short moment while the attackers outside seemingly reloaded their weapons, giving her seconds to plan a strategy. "Keep clear of the door! The second that door falls, open fire." She called out, pulling out her last frag grenade.

"W-We're going to die…" Someone in the back realized in horror, the sentiment shared.

"That's not going to happen." Savanna snapped, bracing herself.

A moment later saw the door coming down in a cloud of green, the fog providing her all the cover she needed to step out and toss every grenade she had left. The woman opposite the door swung around, taking aim before she fired the rocket. The missile slammed into the pile of grenades, igniting in a glorious fire that took out nearly everything on the other side of the door.

Besides the deafening ringing that accompanied the attack, silence fell in the rooms afterward.

Besides the sounds of those still alive groaning in pain, the fight seemed to have-

She recoiled in horror when she saw it, a glint in the corner of her eye, light refracting off of the active camouflage of an Elite Headhunter.

It was merely her instincts that kept her head firmly mounted on her body, throwing herself backwards as a blade came swinging for her neck. She hit the ground hard, bouncing off of her backside as she stumbled to her feet.

The red Elite roared in defiance at her refusal to die, before slipping back into his cloak, joining the rest of his cloaked platoon.

She snapped to the ground, picking up a plasma pistol dropped from one of the dead grunts. Other soldiers did the same, refusing to back down in the face of their odds.

She held the trigger, charging up an overcharged bolt as she strained her eyes to catch any glimpse of movement.

She knew she had no chance of fighting off a hit squad like this, she was a dead woman standing. But that didn't mean she was going to give up.

But in that moment, she felt a heavy presence flash past her, deftly maneuvering between all the people behind her, and into the battle. The Elite mere feet from her, once cloaked in active camouflage, was shoved to the ground.

Her eyes widened in stunned shock as she witnessed that very mystery woman in question seemingly appear out of thin air to wipe the floor with her enemies.

In the blink of an eye, Samus had pinned the Zealot to the ground, claws wrapped around his throat as she sucked him dry. He struggled for a brief moment, before she ate through his shields, and then drained him dry.

Nothing was left but a body sucked free of every ounce of life, now grey and ashen like some sort of statue. She stood up tall, wings flaring out wide behind her to defend the defenseless crew behind her.

The remaining Elite's roared at the unmitigated slaughter of their brother, decloaking as they drew their blades.

Her nose twitched, her arm cannon opening up as it suddenly formed a plasma blade of its own. Funny thing really, absorb enough of their weapons and her suit eventually learned how to recreate the weapon perfectly.

The yellow beam sword was a single wide long blade, the tip of which hovered mere inches off the ground. The sight of her drawing upon her own blade gave the aliens pause, for even they were aware of who it was they were facing. But they would not falter for their cause, even though many knew their chances of survival were slim at best.

"Are you well?" Then she spoke, glancing back over her shoulder to the woman, eyeing her with a strange sense of familiarity.

The ODST's eyes widened in surprise, legs shaking as she stood her ground. "Y-You… You're back." She breathed in a hero worship level of awe, eyes nearly sparkling.

Samus's black lips pulled up into a little smile. "I am glad to see you are doing well." She expressed gently, voice genuine, before she turned back to face her enemies. "Go, get the crew out of here. I'll pave your path forward." She ordered, eyes narrowed at the Elites.

Then they moved, launching forward in attack. Her knees bent slightly, swinging her cannon up to parry the first energy blade. The red Elite stumbled slightly, blood exploding out of his mouth as she raised up a long powerful leg, before slamming it into his chest with explosive force. He flew backwards, crashing into the ground, gagging on his own blood for a few seconds, then he died.

Slowly she lowered her leg before it came to rest by the other, yellow energy blade glinting in the light.

In two moves she'd managed to thoroughly annihilate a Zealot, and she'd done so as if he had been nothing.

She blinked passively, her gaze slowly coming to settle on the creature closest to her. Then her eyes narrowed, and she blinked forward in a flash of light too fast to follow. She swung her arm forward, cutting the Elite down before he could react. She slid to the ground, ducking one attack as she swung upwards, taking the arm off of another Elite. She spun around in a kick, thrusters propelling her leg forward at speeds that ruptured organs when it crashed into the chest of the fourth Zealot.

The alien flew into his brethren with such force they were taken off their feet, sent scrambling to the ground below painfully. She spun on her one foot, sliding to a stop suddenly as she took aim at the pile of twisted bodies. The energy blade disappeared, the barrel of her cannon opening suddenly as a green tipped warhead poked free.

Then she fired, the Super Missile turning them into a paste of blood and gore. Another Super Missile was instantly loaded, ready to fire upon a moments notice. Suddenly there was but one Zealot that remained, the youngest and weakest of the platoon. She stood across from the Devil clad in green, arms shaking as she stood stock still.

Samus turned her attention to her, arm coming up to take aim at her, reticule locked right between her eyes, Super Missile ready to turn her into a pile of blood and limbs.

The creature's eyes widened as she threw her sword to the ground, alongside her other weapons as she fell to a knee in a desperate bow of submission. It would be all too easy to kill her and move on, but she didn't.

''This one is worthy of subjugation. Keep her. Perhaps she could be of use to keep watch over our children…'' Queen Bee had been quiet for some time now, perhaps sleeping unless called upon. She did have a knack for speaking up whenever it suited her, however. Her words echoed within the ex-Bounty Hunter's head, her slow drawn out drawl akin to a purring cat.

Samus's head tilted to the side in thought, her aim still trained on the bowing Zealot. ''Hmm. I will figure that out at a different time.'' She thought back, taking a step forward as she approached the bowing alien.

The Elite didn't look up when Samus approached her, head down, eyes down. She only looked up when she felt the other woman's claws cup her mandibles, directing her gaze up to meet her own. "Are you willing to serve me implicitly?" The Hunter asked lowly, three bright red eyes staring into her soul.

The Zealot swallowed thickly. "Yes." She breathed, every cell in her body telling her what would happen otherwise. She saw Samus's lips quirk up, pleased.

"Good." She purred, moving to stand back up. "Then help these people out. Listen to this human woman, Savanna, that is an order." She muttered lowly, turning to the shorter ODST for emphasis.

The Elite turned to the flummoxed human woman, quickly approaching her, before taking a knee before her. The ODST wasn't quite sure what to think, looking between her and Samus.

The Alien Queen smiled. "She will listen to you. Use her as you require." She explained simply, before turning away. "Where is the Master Chief?" She asked lowly.

Savanna's mouth seemed to betray her for a long moment, before she realized that she'd been asked a question, and Samus wanted an answer. "Master Chief is just ahead! That tunnel should take you right to engineering. He's fighting an uphill battle in there. My team was sent to aid him, but we couldn't make it to him…" She explained quickly, the bodies of her platoon lying outside the destroyed bulkhead.

Samus's eyes glanced away from the woman, gaze drawn to the other ODST in the room. From the blood pooling underneath him, it was clear that he must've flatlined merely a minute ago.

Her eyes narrowed.

She approached the man, the other soldier holding him in her arms unsure what to say at the sight of the strange alien woman. Samus took a knee before her, placing her claws on the man's destroyed chest plate. A pink energy swirled around her arm, crawling down her fingers and then into his body.

In a short moment his heart began beating again, the hole in his chest sealed shut, blood veins and tissue regrowing at a terrifyingly rapid rate, colored pink. Eyes once shut in death suddenly opened, retinas the same pink as her healing energy.

He sat up suddenly, coughing as he sucked in as much air into his repaired lungs as he could. One moment he was gone, the next he was sitting up, dragged back to the world of the living through powers he would likely never understand.

"O-Oh my god… Jake!" Savanna couldn't believe it, afraid her eyes were deceiving her. He was alive.

He was alive!

Samus smiled lightly at them, before standing up. She had no time to play around here. Without even a word of warning, she took off deeper into the ship in search of her man…

He hit the ground, plasma fire raining hell upon his position. He dropped the empty clip from his assault rifle, shoving another one in, sliding the charging handle absentmindedly.

"They certainly are persistent…" Cortana murmured in the back of his head, arms crossed beneath her breasts.

"Hm." He hummed in acknowledgment, poking out from behind his cover as his shields recharged, unloading his clip into the swath of Grunts and Jackals that stood across from him. He leaned to the side as he narrowly avoided taking any unnecessary damage.

He scooped a Plasma pistol off the ground, charging it up in one hand as he fired a powerful bolt that homed in on the Elite. A moment later as a swath of bullets flashing through his brain.

"Chief, you've got three minutes left on that timer." The blue A.I. pointed out.

"I know." He replied simply, fully focused on the task at hand. His arm snapped down to his waistband, grabbing a grenade that was tossed immediately into the group, stunning some and killing others. He rushed in, backhanding the Elite brutally, delivering a devastating punch to a Grunt beside him.

His arm snapped forward, snatching a plasma grenade from the alien's hips as he activated it, slamming it into the creature's chest, before shoving him back into the rest of his platoon.

He dove backwards, landing in a role as the resulting explosion of blue and green behind him cleared away the entire enemy platoon.

If only that was the last batch of Storm Covenant in engineering.

If he was so lucky…

"Bad guys inbound." Cortana echoed in warning. No sooner had she pointed that out he saw more Covenant rushing through the door on the opposite end of the deck. He cursed his luck, grabbing the bomb with one hand as he began to try and yank it out towards the other exit. It was heavy as all hell, but he'd moved heavier before.

Plasma fire flew towards him, slamming into his helmet and his chest. His shields flared to absorb most of the attacks, but as they continued, they did everything drop.

He was near the door now, but he couldn't keep sustaining those attacks forever. His suit warned him of the damage he was sustaining, and he was forced to repel the attackers, sidearm in hand as he began to blow the Covenant away.

Elites rushed him with energy swords in hand, forcing him off the bomb. "Chief watch out!" Cortana cried as a blade came swinging for his unshielded body.

He bent at an uncomfortable angle to avoid the attack, hands snapping up to grasp the arm of the alien, snapping his wrist as he shoved the blade right back into its chest without hesitation. In a last act of defiance, the Elite slammed his head into the Spartan, sending him stumbling backwards in a daze. His neck jerked sharply, heavy feet desperate for ground. A blade slashed through his chest plate, severing several critical systems, but barely missed his body underneath.

He suddenly found himself tripped, the other Elite sending him crashing down onto his back. He hit the ground hard, but thinking quickly, he used his momentum to carry himself back to his feet in a reverse role. Feet under him once more, he leap backwards to avoid a sword swipe that would've taken his head off. His shields failed to reappear, his suit far too damaged to sustain them anymore.

The Elites rushed him again, roaring in excitement and then some. "You will meet your end here, Demon!" A blade came for his heart, tearing a chunk out of his shoulder armor as he leaned to the side, a devastating right hook to the sternum that took the air out of the Zealot's lungs, another punch to the face broke his neck. The Spartan was quick to pick up the energy sword left behind to parry the third Elite before he could cut his arm off.

Suddenly it was just the two of them.

The Spartan's eyes glanced at the bomb just off to the side, the timer running out in his head. But he couldn't do anything until the area was cleared again.

"Chief, put this guy down and-" Cortana exclaimed, before being cut off as the Elite lunged into action.

The Spartan swung his blade, clashing against the aliens in a showy spark of blue light. Attempting to do what he'd done to the other Zealots, he tried to break the wrist holding the energy sword.

However, this Elite was no fool. He'd seen how the Spartan had taken his team apart one by one, he would not go down the same way. A devastating kick was launched that struck true, slamming into the Spartan's lower half, sending him stumbling back to the ground.

The Spartan saw red, warnings flashing in his eyes on his malfunctioning heads up display. He slammed his palms into the floor, shoving himself back up to his feet as he tackled the surprised Elite with all the weight of his armor. Ribs were broken, bones strained as the alien hit the ground hard.

The man's eyes narrowed to pin pricks, heart rate spiking as he entered the peak of Spartan-Time. Everything seemed to slow down as the sword came for his chest, blade just barely avoiding any vital organs as he raised his own titanium knife up high. His free hand clasped around the wrist of the Elite, stopping its attack before the energy sword could go any deeper into his body.

Then he struck, deeply imbedding the energy sword into the neck of his foe, severing his jugular and cutting his life short instantly.

The handle of the energy sword fell to the ground, unpowered. Immediately, his suit began to try and diagnose his body's damage and set out to repair it, lest he bleed out.

His breathing was labored as he stood to his feet, red flashing everywhere. "Chief!" Cortana cried in the back of his mind, but he paid her no attention. He had a job to do.

He turned his attention towards the bomb, knowing that he was running out of time. "It's fine." He muttered, quickly getting his hands on the device as he began to tug.

Everything hurt, but he wasn't dead, so that was a plus he supposed…

"I hate your line of thinking, you idiot…" The blue woman sighed in his mind.

"This isn't the worst injuries I've suffered." He thought to add helpfully, yanking the bomb towards the door.

"Oh? And that makes this okay?" She retorted in a snarky tone, arms crossed under her breasts.

"I didn't say that…" He muttered lowly, activating the door controls to open the lockdown to engineering…

Or at least he tried to, but the door was suddenly blown free of its hinges with godly force, the heavy metal sent flying across the deck before it crashed loudly into another wall.

The man blinked in surprise, the lack of smoke telling him that no bomb or weapon had done such damage. Yet he wasn't given much time to think, for as soon as the way was opened, a certain feminine alien burst onto the scene with great haste.

Their eyes met almost immediately.

He blinked, hands falling from the bomb in surprise. "Samus?" He asked lowly, surprised.

''Did your heart just skip a beat?'' Cortana's amused voice whispered in the back of his head.

She went promptly ignored.

The woman turned his way, whatever she was going to say dying on her alien tongue as she took in his blood covered sorry state. "John!" She cried out, protective instincts taking over as she closed the distance between them in a flash of light. "What happened-?" She'd tried to get out, but he raised a finger to her helmet to shush her. Her cheeks warmed hot at the action, words lost.

"Bomb, fifty seconds, go." His words were short, concise, and to the point. The indignation she felt bubble up at being shushed so instantly over her worry for the man took a backseat in her mind as she took in the gravity of the situation.

Her eyes narrowed, nodding firmly. The wounded Spartan stepped away as she fired her grappling beam at the device, hooking it. Her wings flared out wide as she began to tug the thing along with surprising ease compared to him. Thrusters flared to life on her backside, pushing her forward faster.

It didn't take her more than fifteen seconds to rush the bomb to the nearest docking bay, throwing herself and the device free from the ship. But she knew that simply getting it free from the infinity wouldn't be enough.

Clambering on top of the bomb, she magnetized it to her body as she flapped her wings hard. The bomb dragged her down towards the planet, but with her large wings and thrusters in overdrive, she managed to begin moving it through the skies.

She bit her lips, sending even more power to her rear thrusters as they exploded to life. The trusters on her heels powered on too, as soon she was flying right towards the opposing Covenant heavy carrier.

Thirty seconds remained, and she realized that she wasn't going to make it in time on her own. The bomb was simply too heavy.

…

…

…

"My Queen, let us render our aid!" However, in that moment saw Vespian rushing to her from across the skies. Not waiting for permission, she grasped onto the side of the bomb, her wings helping to propel it faster.

But it wasn't just her.

All members of House Aran appeared, the female Zebesian's all eager to bring their queen aid in her time of need. A loud buzzing filled the skies as they all flocked around their queen bee, aiding in the final moments.

The woman suddenly found herself propelled forwards across the skies, rapidly gaining momentum.

Up above, her flagship had charged another devastating Hyper-Cannon beam. The attack shot through the shields of the heavy carrier, tearing a hole into its hull. ''Path cleared, my Queen!'' Cherkain's voice echoed in her helmet, the young male having cleared her path forward.

She smiled to herself.

She was sure to remind herself that he was in desperate need of a reward after this was all said and done.

Forward they flew, into the gaping hole of the ship. Gravity shifted as they entered into the core of the massive vessel. Her Zebesians separated from the bomb as it started to beep faster. She disconnected her magnetic field, kicking off the device as she rejoined her house in the skies as they fled the doomed ship.

Flying over a thousand miles an hour, she left the heavy carrier behind as it suddenly imploded on itself, the ship containing most of the explosion before the wave slammed into them, knocking them out of the sky.

Samus felt her place in the skies fall, the blast wave tossing her and her Zebesians far from the point of detonation. But they'd managed to clear the debris, and after regaining their composure, the Infinity was their next destination.

The mission, was complete.

Smile splitting her lips, she raised her hand to the side of her helmet. "Captain Del Rio, do you read?" She called out, wind whipping past her helmet.

''Go ahead, Samus.'' The older man's voice muttered.

"Mission complete. All heavy carriers have been destroyed, the bomb has been neutralized. The skies are yours, Captain." She explained, a certain amount of pride in her voice.

The line was quiet for a moment, before the man spoke again, disbelief in his voice. ''Well, I'll be damned… Fantastic work Aran! I'll see you on deck, a team will be dispatched and waiting for your arrival. We'd appreciate your support from here on out. Del Rio, out.''

"Understood, Captain." Her hand fell to her side, wings flapping as she and her Zebesians began to make their way back to the Infinity. Her mind immediately went to John, and she wasn't going to be able to think of anything else until she was sure he was ok…

Chapter

46

End