Reunion
After an age the pair of intense eyes locked onto the ship they
had been waiting for. This entire fiasco grated on their owner, but
it would at least be informative. He wasn't apprehensive, or if he
was he didn't show it. He had simply decided that caution was worth
the effort this time around. Past mistakes could be learned from,
even if he didn't remember them all. His eyes waited until the small
hunter ship had docked with the station before retreating back into
the black depths. He wished caution didn't mean such a long journey
back. Space was cold.
***
<Oh, there she is,> Patricia thought with a smile as Samus walked
into the docking lounge, <imposing as ever. She's right though, the
suit looks a bit of a mess, and she's getting plenty of attention for
it. I wonder where the other pieces are. Anyway, time to get her to
the labs, before she gets too annoyed at these gawkers. Welcome back
Sam.>
She didn't say her welcome out loud though. She guessed that more
attention was the last thing Samus wanted, and she was right. Samus
had been fed up enough when her suit tried to slice itself apart.
After the constant stares she had received at both spaceports she
wasted no time in walking over, more than happy to leave the thing to
the tech teams once she was out of it. "Let's go already."
So saying she strode out into the station and towards the
laboratories, Patricia following silently behind her, trying to keep
up. The sooner they were away from the morbidly fascinated public
eye, or anyone's eye, the better.
***
The surgical extraction process was long and very unpleasant. So
much so in fact that the electrical nerve therapy that followed was
almost a relief. The constant pins and needles sensations were far
more preferable than disconnecting the clusters of synthetic relays
the suit forced into her body. It was scarily ironic that the reverse
procedure the suit performed when it was put back on was both short
and strangely pleasant.
Samus had once tried to skip the therapy and head straight home,
but it seemed that the doctors did in fact know what they were doing.
Her body had felt like lead after only a few steps. Knocking herself
unconscious after her legs had given way wasn't the most embarrassing
point of her life - the Chozo had taken that with them when they
passed on - but it was pretty close. Patricia had laughed herself
silly, much to Samus' consternation, so now Samus lay strapped to the
table letting the charge stimulate her nervous system back into
proper working order.
Trish was working on the suit, leaving her to her thoughts.
Thankfully knowing about the commission early had meant that the team
had the replacement parts ready and waiting, so while she recovered
they repaired the armour and hopefully fixed the mistakes that had
been made first time around. She couldn't help but wonder why they
hadn't managed to do it properly in the first place. She knew Trish's
work wasn't infallible but it seemed like such a big mistake, getting
some of the plating to bond while other pieces hadn't and so had
consequently been sliced off when the morph ball was engaged. Still,
using the morph ball function hadn't actually been necessary, just a
quick convenience.
Chasing down a wanted arms smuggler through a crowded city wasn't
her style, but she took jobs like those for some quick money. With
her speed and skills it wasn't a challenge, or at least it shouldn't
have been. He had even been on foot, but after ducking through some
tight alleys that her suit couldn't have fit through he had given
himself an impressive lead and using her full speed in such a built
up area would have been disastrous. Not stopping in time could have
totalled any of the vehicles or buildings, not to mention what it
would have done if she had hit a person. Instead she had decided to
head him off as he ran down the slope that led out of the town. The
shallow stream that ran down there passed under the winding road and
would have given her the perfect ball run to pick him up when he
reached the bottom.
Instead however the suit seized up part way through the
metamorphosis before slicing through the shoulder guards. The
breastplate had almost cut her in two before it gave way and was torn
off, leaving a fractured sphere that couldn't have rolled even with a
boost start. She'd taken a good few seconds to uncurl herself and
curse before taking off at a sprint, running down the stream instead
and jumping each of the low bridges as she came to them. She'd caught
the man, received her money, but this time her suit was in pieces and
it would cost far more than she had just earned to repair it. Even if
Patricia was as close a friend as she had she couldn't work for free,
and business was business to them both. Samus consoled herself with
the thought that it had at least happened when it hadn't mattered.
She would need to make sure she tested everything out before leaving
next time. If she couldn't depend on the suit when she had to then it
was worse than useless. She was too used to using all its abilities
and one memory slip over a malfunctioning part could end up being
lethal.
It wasn't as though she could blame Trish or her team though. She
knew her better than to think that it had come about through
carelessness or incompetence. And the young woman, who still looked
like a teenager much to Samus' amusement, had delegated the first
look to the team she had assembled in order to check op on Samus
herself. She was sure having a freelance tech ordering them around
grated on some of the lab techs, but they all knew better than to
turn her down.
It even started out like that, though they hadn't been the best
of circumstances, but at least Trish paid her some mind along with
her professional stance. Maybe that was why the youthful technician
had ended up becoming the friend she had. They provided each other
with something they needed - for Patricia a steady source of work,
and on pioneering technology at that, and for Samus a repair, upgrade
and supply station she could trust - but they didn't let that
overshadow the fact that they were people as well as a commercial
opportunity. The few people Samus had ever come to call friends
outside her Chozo home had been the ones who had treated her as more
than just a tool for hire. The military had been a bad move in that
respect, and one she was glad she had left as soon as possible, but
she had at least come to know Adam out of it.
He had been a severe superior, especially for someone who worked
like she did, but for all the grief he had had to give her over her
conduct with the other recruits he had known that there was more to
her than just insubordination. She was cold, but that coldness
allowed her to do what she needed to objectively. She worked to her
own plans and rogue factors in those plans made it both inefficient
and dangerous. Her squad mates for example. She could think on the
fly, and that left others in the dust when it didn't fit their jar
headed training. He once commented that it was beyond him why anyone
with her skills would end up in such a rigid and regime orientated
outfit. Her resignation was accepted two days later, along with a
well worded official farewell letter from Adam himself that dropped
enough hints to help her get what he figured she wanted out of her
capabilities.
Even as the AI aboard her ship, whether or not it was Adam in his
entirety or even him at all, he had enough respect for her as a
person to let her work the way she had to. This new Adam wasn't what
you could call a friend like her commanding officer had been though.
There was something very machine like about the way he would talk
about things that weren't connected to work. It felt impersonal. So
very different from Trish.
***
Patricia was getting tired already. They had been working on the
suit for almost ten hours now. It had been well worth it, they were
sure they had solved the problem, but exhaustion was beginning to set
in as they reassembled the outer armour plating.
In the end it had all come down to one small oversight. They
hadn't realised last time that it was the magnetic differentials of
each plate that allowed the armour to slide over itself at key points
to create the sphere, and each one had to be coded correctly. Much of
the suit had been at fault there, but it was the major components,
namely the chest and shoulders, that hadn't been able to cope with
the change. Now they re-fitted each piece making sure to correlate
the differentials with those of the other plates in relation to the
base suit. The fact that the base 'fusion' suit had been able to make
the morph ball alone was all that had saved the incident from being
far worse than it had been.
Now Patricia stood overseeing the whole process to make sure
nothing like that slipped through again. The two youngest techs
seemed to have no problem staying attentive to their work. Having
never seen anything like this before they were in heaven and would
have spent the whole week living on caffeine if that had been what it
had taken. They were talented though and had taken her instruction
very well, much to her relief. The others didn't quite have their
enthusiasm, but having been called in before for Samus' requests they
had enough knowledge of what they were dealing with to make up for
it.
The main thing for Patricia wasn't the work or the long hours
though. Since getting the transmission from Sam over a week ago she
had been getting the parts made up and anticipating seeing her friend
again. She rarely ever got warning of these visits unless she saw the
ship approaching from her window or saw the incoming notice on the
docking lists. It had given her time to think, to plan and to try and
steel her nerves even as they frayed over waiting to see the person
she wanted to propose to. Then it had all fallen down in a massive
anticlimax. She'd barely had twenty minutes to speak to Sam properly
since she had arrived and there was far too much else of importance
to even begin bringing up the subject of their personal feelings.
She also knew what was going to happen once they finished work.
She was going to go to bed and sleep for most of the next day. It was
already 3am after all, and they had a few hours more to go. It was
made worse since she had been over-thinking and anticipating the
situation until she had given herself a mild case of insomnia. That
wasn't like her at all, but she'd never been in that situation
before, and now it had resolved itself she'd end up making up for the
sleep that she missed. Now Sam was back she wanted to spend time with
her, but it looked like the first day would be a total write off.
When it wasn't work things didn't seem to like going as planned for
her, not that there was much else that wasn't work.
In fact they had all expected to be working on the suit for days
if not over a week. The fact that they had found the problem so
quickly was a testament to their efficiency, skill and fortune. It
meant that there would be so much more time outside the lab, but as
always that knowledge didn't do much to sooth the fact that the time
she had waited patiently for would come and go before she had a
chance to do anything.
As they finished off and some of the techs began to leave she
told herself to stop living inside her own romanticised mind. Plans
and dream were all well and good, but she had to approach it
practically as well. She would never have become as good a tech as
she had by just believing in ideals of what she might be capable of.
That night she went to bed totally spent, hoping that she could
get it all to work out in the end. After all the time that it had
dragged out already she didn't know whether to believe that she could
any more, but she would lose anyway if she never found it within
herself to try. Even so, despite her thoughts and worries it didn't
take her long to fall asleep, the clock beside her bed reading 6.04am
and bathing the room in a soft green glow.
***
That morning Samus took the time to luxuriate in a long, hot
bath. The suit kept her sanitary, but this was one of the few
pleasures she made sure to indulge every single time she was free
from its confines. There was something hedonistic about having her
body surrounded by water instead of the inner cloth and plastic-like
supports of the suit. A freedom to float. Even lying on her bed
without the metal shell around her the pull of gravity, be it natural
or artificial, was inescapable. Except in the water, or at least that
was how it felt. She had no need to support herself at all; the water
did almost all of that for her. There was an exquisite womb-like
feeling about the experience.
When she had got in the night before she had been wiped out and
had barely had the strength to undress before collapsing on the bed,
falling into a deep sleep in mere moments. The electrical therapy
allowed her to move again but it drained her at the same time. Being
emotionally drained to begin with hadn't helped and she had slept for
over eleven hours, recharging everything that had been spent in the
last week. Consequently as she lay in her morning bath, her eyes
closed and her mind wandering aimlessly for once, she felt better
than she had in a long time.
She took her time as she washed herself, wondering what to do
next. She needed to make back some of the money the suit would end up
costing her this time. She had enough in her savings, but that could
disappear very quickly as she had long since found out. Her lifestyle
was simple but it wasn't cheap, and her big jobs often had large
costs to balance the large rewards. Still, she had some time. After
the last year she needed a little time off. She had searched for
information on that last metroid without success, and the two
missions she had taken since then had been small but
disproportionately stressful. Time with Trish to relax was something
she felt she could give herself right now.
She sighed as she got out of the hot water. She had only paid for
a week's docking. Maybe another small job before buying a long stay
docking pass would be a good idea. That would help take the edge off
renting the quarters as well.
Thoughts of money drifted from her mind as she towelled herself
dry. She could worry about that when the time came. She could be
looking for a small bounty while Trish was working. It wasn't as if
they'd spend all their time together after all. It would also be a
good chance to try out her suit. She'd booked the dock space and
quarters after hearing the work would be finished so soon, and she
felt it would be wise to test all her capabilities before heading out
next time, just in case.
Looking through her trunk she picked out some underwear, her rich
green sleeved top, one of the dark pairs of jeans and the glove to
cover the connection ports on her right hand. She was curious as to
what Trish had been up to since last time. It never mattered much,
but she always enjoyed hearing it and she guessed her friend felt the
same way. For as much as she seemed to like hearing about it, what
did the young tech know or care about bounty hunting? It seemed like
something of a contradiction to her, but for a pair who had so little
in common in life they had a lot in common as people.
Once dressed she made her way down to Trish's place. Samus always
took the same quarters for herself if she could. She had grown
strangely fond of them considering they were just a faceless set of
rooms like any other on the city-station. Reaching the door however
she found the call button disabled. When she pressed it the small
display above read 'Please do not disturb. Thank you.'
That was strange, it wasn't particularly early. Though Samus was
disappointed she didn't show it, even though there was no-one else in
the corridor. 'She'll have her reasons,' she thought before leaving.
She could stop by her favourite bar later and maybe get some of the
things on her list of non-perishable supplies before that. She also
called again from her quarters at mid afternoon just in case but got
the same response. Instead she spent the rest of the day unpacking
what little she had and taking the supplies to her ship, putting it
out of her mind.
***
It was the next morning when Samus was woken by the incoming call
to her quarters. The ringing wasn't as bad as the system's alarm
clock but it still grated on the nerves when it was the first thing a
person heard. She blinked herself as awake as she could and sat up in
bed, giving the comms screen a deadly stare before telling it to
allow the message.
Patricia's hopeful face turned a little worried when she saw
Samus and the disgruntled look she wore. "Oh, Sam I'm sorry, I didn't
mean to wake you."
Samus gave a little groan to herself for her attitude and
attempted a smile, which only half worked since she was still only
half awake. "'s okay Trish. I ought to be awake anyway. What's up?"
Patricia's worry vanished and she turned apologetic. "I'm sorry I
missed your call yesterday. I didn't want to put the silencer on but
I was working all night and... well, at least this way I won't feel
terrible all the time you're here. It was worth it though, you know I
said we found the problem already?"
Samus nodded.
"Well we fixed it too. You can try it out any time you want!" She
beamed her accomplishment over the video link and hearing it Samus
grew wide eyed, now completely awake.
"Already? That's fast work Trish. I owe you."
Patricia shook her head. "No, it turned out to be pretty simple
in the end. It was our fault we didn't do it properly in the first
place." She paused looking a little apprehensive.
Samus had to wonder why. "Hey Trish, you okay? If you want more
time with it that's okay, I'm here for a week. Like I said I owe you
for this one."
"Then, do you mind if I come round in a bit? I'd like to talk."
Samus chuckled and shook her head. Since when did either of them
need permission to drop in on each other for a chat? Then again, as
she thought about it she supposed it was always her who visited
Trish's when they got together, not the other way around. "Of course
you can. What's on your mind?"
Patricia hesitated. If she could do it at all it wasn't over the
video link. "Just... stuff, you know? Umm, anyway I'll let you get
dressed and everything. I'll see you in about half an hour."
Samus nodded, "Sure." She was curious but didn't make much of it
in the end. She was glad they could make up for missing yesterday.
Having so few people you were close to made those you had that much
more important. That was what had got her down the previous day.
On her end Patricia smiled weakly and closed the link. She'd set
it going now, and there was no stopping it. Once you take the first
step you have to follow through or fall, there isn't an in-between
because putting it off becomes surrender, and one that you can't take
back. That knowledge made her feel nauseous.
<Am I so inept at this it has to make me ill?> she asked herself.
She knew it wasn't that hard really, it was just her nerves over
something so new to her. This once she wished she had led a normal
childhood like everyone else seemed to. Except Sam. That final
thought comforted her. Whatever Sam had learned of romance and the
like she would probably have had to learn much the same way as
Patricia was doing now. She guessed dating prospects among the Chozo
hadn't been good!
In the back of her mind she just hoped Sam would not be as alien
to romance as she was, because that could make everything very
awkward.
***
The rest of that morning ended up much like most other times they
managed to get together. Catching up always took a little while, even
when there wasn't a huge amount to say. This time it was Samus who
had the bulk of the news after her last mission and her theories on
her failure to find anything on anyone who might want to get a
metroid onto the station. Patricia listened with rapt attention and
she broke into a huge smile when Samus said she might be staying for
a while soon.
Seeing that smile Samus gave her a warning look. Trish had wanted
her to be taking less dangerous jobs for a long time. "Easy Trish,
don't start thinking I'm giving up my bounty work. It's just about
time I took a break, so one more for pocket money and that'll be it
for a month or two."
Even so Patricia couldn't stop grinning. "About time. I bet
you'll be bored stiff after a week here though! Why not head off to
one of the beach resorts on Minia? I've got nothing lined up since
I've been prepping to do your suit so I might just tag along!"
Samus smiled, an unusual calmness surrounding her. "I think I'd
get bored there faster than here. Besides, I'd end up killing the
tourists after a day."
"No," said Patricia, "Minia's islands are empty most of the time.
Just several dozen small places with a little cove each, or between
two. I've seen the brochures."
Samus raised an enquiring eyebrow. "I never thought of you as a
beach person."
Patricia smiled back. "I'm not really, but it's all overgrown
beyond the beaches and I like forests. Add a beach view to that and
it looks okay to me." She shrugged, remembering. "I was going to go
for my eighteenth but I never found the time."
"Well we'll see," Samus said. "I've got another job to find
before I decide anything. It would be nice to have company besides
Adam though, even just here."
That name brought up the worry in Patricia again and for once she
voiced it. "Umm, just who is Adam? You've mentioned him before but
you've never actually introduced us or told me anything about him."
Come to think of it Samus realised she hadn't. "That's a bit
complicated, but he's my ship's AI. The Federation lumped me with him
when they gave me this ship just before BSL, but he's turned out
alright. Apparently he had his personality scanned from my old C.O.
which was ironic since I'd already named him after him."
"So... what happened to the real Adam then?"
Samus paused, becoming quieter. "He died. A while back."
Patricia's features fell. "Oh, I'm sorry." She dreaded asking
this, but she felt as though she had no choice. "Were you, well,
close?"
"Close?" Samus echoed. "There was a lot of respect there. A lot.
He was a good friend but we didn't really get to know each other much
outside the job. Anyway, it was a long time ago. I just named the
computer after him in a fit of nostalgia."
Patricia felt guilty for being so relieved by that. "Well, if you
do end up heading off somewhere for a break, then I'd be happy to
come along. I know it's nice to have someone to talk to sometimes."
"Yeah, thanks." Samus seemed to brighten back to herself again,
or as bright as she ever was. "And speaking of that, what was it you
wanted to talk about before?"
Patricia fumbled over her thoughts and looked down from where she
sat cross legged on Samus' bed. "Well, it's kind of several things.
Umm... well yeah the first is that I've got the phazon beam done."
It wasn't the main point, but it was true. Over the past year she
had tried to put her heart back into the work and the first prototype
was now finished. Hearing that lit up Samus' face once again and
Patricia continued. "It is just the prototype and it can be a little
twitchy but it does work and it is stable. I tested it out when I
took some time off-station. I've got a few additions to make to help
stabilise it, but I don't need it here to do them. You can take it."
Samus was a little awed. "Thanks Trish. I know how much that cost
you. I really do owe you this time."
Patricia shook her head, "Stop saying that Sam. It was my own
fault I got hurt and if I hadn't kept putting it off it would have
been done ages ago. Anyway, you paid in advance for that one. Just
promise me you won't kill yourself with it. That's all the extra
payment I need." She gave a small laugh at how she sounded. "Besides,
I charged you through the nose for it anyway."
Samus smiled in response to seeing her cheer up after that little
rant. "This is the only time I'll ever be glad to hear it."
"Anyway, I was thinking," Patricia said, trying to sound casual
about it, "it's been a while since we went out for a drink or
anything. Do you... want to tonight? I thought we might have dinner
or something and head to a bar."
Samus nodded, not noticing the tension in her friend's voice this
time. Why would she pick up on something that she would never have
expected to be there? She was feeling too mellowed about her
situation right now to analyse everything the way she might for work.
"Sure. What did you have in mind?"
"I thought maybe Elmenia?" she said with a trace of hope.
That surprised Samus a little. They didn't go to places like
that, or at least she didn't. "That's... expensive Trish."
"I know," Patricia replied, "but I just figured we could maybe
splash out once. Especially since you're going to have a break soon.
It'll be my treat. After getting paid for doing your suit I can
afford it."
Samus smiled and shook her head. Patricia had it all worked out.
Samus couldn't even feel guilty about the price because she was
paying for Trish's work this time. "Okay, but I don't have anything
to wear to a place like that."
Patricia beamed at her, hardly believing that she had said yes,
even if Samus didn't really know the reason behind what was going on.
"Don't worry about that. Just casual smart will do. After seeing some
of the people eating there I don't think they're as stuffy as they
used to be!"
Even so, Samus had to wonder what she had in her wardrobe that
would work. She didn't even do casual smart occasions. She didn't do
any occasions really.
***
Samus was right, the Elmenia restaurant felt very strange. It
didn't look as big from the front as it did inside and the entire
expanse of genuine wooden furniture and polished flooring was
coloured and lit the most soothing shades of red, burgundy and brown.
It felt almost too comfortable. She had expected the music to be
louder and more classically orientated but there was just a
background murmur of gentle soothing melodies. No-one had to shout to
be heard across their tables. It was a strange combination of
relaxation and class.
Looking around the customers varied widely. Business men in their
suits shared expensive meals, the lone eccentrics ate and drank with
blissful relish and couples gazed pinkly at each other over their
food, holding hands and talking more than they ate. The staff were
smart but not stuffy. Their waitress had been very friendly and
helpful in her tight cut suit, helping Samus out when she had
hesitated over her menu, unsure of what several dishes actually were.
That had been deeply embarrassing, reducing her to monosyllables to
cover her uncertainty. This wasn't a place bounty hunters were
supposed to go.
And yet she found she was actually enjoying it. Patricia seemed
to know what she was doing and the food was superb. Extortionate, but
you got what you paid for. She could relax there easily and the two
of them chatted aimlessly, just as secure as they felt when they were
alone. Everyone else seemed to fade away and the staff knew just when
they were needed, and left them to themselves the rest of the time.
Samus in the end had worn her dress suit from years back; the one
the military had provided her with. It was severe, but without the
jacket and left to hang as it was wont it passed well for semi
formal, and the sewn emblem on the left shoulder still gave her a
sense of presence when people noticed her. The green trousers also,
by strange coincidence, seemed to fit well with the restaurant's
decor. She had worn her hair loose this time, so even in trousers and
shirt there was no mistaking a very attractive woman.
By the same token Patricia had made an effort with her hair this
time. Very short as it was a comb through had taken off the rough
edge and she had actually worn some light lipstick this time. Samus
hadn't even known she had owned any. Her blouse was simple but
pleasant and that green skirt, the only one Patricia had, had come
out again along with some nice dainty shoes. They both knew this was
overdone for them, but what was the harm this once?
It wasn't until they had finished their meal and were savouring
the last of the bottle of red wine before Patricia decided to do
something. She had been trying to build up to it, but in the end she
hadn't really known how. Always one for practical clothing the skirt
had a small pocket, and in that pocket sat the ring. She couldn't
propose, that was far too far, but it was that that finally gave her
strength.
"Sam," she said, trying the only approach that came to her. "I
don't... Have you ever thought about, well, maybe not being so
alone?"
Samus blinked, a little confused. "How do you mean? It... suits
me. I don't get lonely."
"I didn't used to either," Patricia replied. "But everyone does
every now and again. Don't they?"
Samus nodded. "True."
"I'm okay with my lifestyle," Patricia continued, "but I don't
want to be alone forever." She paused, but Samus didn't reply. "You
do feel like that sometimes, don't you?"
Samus was silent for a moment. "Sometimes. I wouldn't inflict my
life on anyone else though. You've seen what happens."
"What if they didn't care?"
Samus paused again. "Is there a point to this?"
Patricia looked down into her glass. "Yes."
When she didn't elaborate however Samus pushed the issue. "What
is it?"
"I..." Patricia was beginning to feel desperate. Maybe she
couldn't... "I just can't do this any more."
That worried Samus, even though the subject wasn't one she liked.
"Trish, what's up with this?"
"Why do you call me Trish?" Patricia shot back. "Why do you let
me call you Sam? Anyone else would lose their teeth!"
Her vehemence was a surprise to the hunter. "... We just do.
You're a friend."
Patricia looked her in the eyes. She looked almost ready to cry.
"That's just it. It hurts too much to keep dancing around like this,
and it only gets worse when you leave. I want more."
The flicker of understanding finally passed between them.
"I love you Sam."
There was a very long silence. Samus hadn't heard those words
since she was less than four feet tall. The Chozo had been kind and
caring, but they had never used the word love when it came to
children, even their own. Since that point the only people she ever
spent time with were professional colleagues and the odd person she
might have been able to call friend. Love had never entered into it.
Until today that is.
Samus had had many kinds of power in her life, and once again she
held everything a person was in her hands. Only this time it wasn't a
matter of pulling a trigger or not. The girl opposite her would go on
living, but the answer she gave could crush her just as easily. For
once being in control made her nervous, even afraid. How could she
say she loved Patricia back? She had no idea whether she did or not.
She'd never thought about the option of being in love with someone
she knew. Love was something that happened to other people. She
needed time to think, to find out what she felt. But that didn't give
any resolution. Patricia deserved resolution when her emotions were
on the line. Samus had already scarred her body, if not directly, and
would have gone to great lengths to avoid doing anything else, but
she wasn't about to lie to her best friend either.
And then there was her first point. Trish didn't deserve to have
the life Samus led inflicted upon her. Samus could see there was no
way she could win whatever she said now, and in a cruel joke of
pragmatism there was no way she could lose either.
It was Patricia that beat her to speaking first though. She had
no moral or emotional turmoil to wade through except the answer she
wanted to hear. The one she knew had so little chance of coming right
now. This wasn't the movies, or her dreams. No mutual confessions
right on the spot. "I guess this is the point when the alarms are
supposed to sound and you rush off to save the universe again. Then
we both get time to think everything over and it all works out for
the best in the end, whatever that may be."
Samus looked at her, her face not betraying her worries. "I don't
hear any sirens."
"Neither do I."
Another pause. "Trish, I don't know the answer. I'm not used to
this."
"I didn't ask you anything," Patricia responded, trying to force
a smile onto her face. "I just had to say it. I... have for a long
time. I don't mind what happens now, as long as you know."
"Of course you mind," Samus replied. "That's why I have to give
you an answer. I will, but I have to work it all out. I'm sorry Trish
but I need some time."
Patricia closed her eyes and smiled, her hand wrapped tightly
around the ring in her pocket. "I know. I'm just... glad I finally
said it. I'll be okay with whatever you want, so don't worry."
She took the last sip of wine in her glass. "Sam, would you mind
if we skip the bar?"
"That might be a good idea." Being drunk right now wasn't what
either of them needed, even if it might have been appealing to start
with.
In the end Patricia took the bill as she said she would despite
Samus' protest. The man at the cashier's desk smiled at the pair, one
of the waitresses having filled him in on what had happened the
minute before. "And next time you are here feel free to take a bottle
of champagne if you wish, with our compliments."
Samus narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't get involved."
He dropped his professional charm a little as he replied. "Some
of us just like happy endings Miss Aran. Some of us were also there
in the Boatman crowd that night, and know how much we should owe you
for it."
Samus was a little startled by the fact that he, and the
waitresses, had recognised her out of her suit.
"It wasn't that hard if you care to see what you look at," the
cashier replied enigmatically.
Later, when it came time for the two to go their separate ways
Samus halted her friend as she said goodnight and made to leave.
"Trish, I'm glad you let me know." With that she gave the small young
woman a hug. Almost a foot's difference in height didn't bother them
in the least. Patricia returned the embrace with all the strength she
could, Samus' hand on her head.
That night, no matter how hard she tried, Samus couldn't fall
asleep, her feelings, knowledge and worries circling in her mind. And
no matter how hard Patricia tried not to, she found tears rolling
down her cheeks as drifted off into her dreams.
***
Had she waited a day later, Patricia would have got the alarms
her romanticised whimsy had foreseen.
***
Hamli Pateni was a dock worker. His was nominally called the
morning shift at docking station three, but that was just like any
other shift since morning, noon and night meant very little on
Cassidi station. Checking cargo manifests, running the refueller, and
shipment transfers were his lot, as they had been for the last four
years. It was both boring and overly strenuous, but if he needed a
silver lining to his employment cloud it was that in another six
months he had a very good chance of being promoted to the cushy slot
of air lock operator. No more heavy lifting there, and he would have
to stay on the ball to make sure it all ran smoothly.
Until then he joked with his dock worker friends on their breaks,
bemoaning the lack of gratitude thrown their way and wishing for some
excitement in their lives. For Mr. Pateni having his head bitten off
by a fourteen foot long space faring lizard wasn't quite what he had
in mind.
Everyone working on that dock had looked on in horror as the
dragon like creature crawled with lithe agility out of the airlock as
they opened it and decapitated their co-worker with one swift bite.
Few of them had seen anyone killed before and they either froze up or
ran as the man was eaten. The creature ignored them even as the
warning came over the comms system of a Zebesian style ship entering
the area. Not many knew who or what Zebesians were, but they went by
a much more recognisable name most of the time. Space Pirates.
Ridley looked up from the red stain where his meal had bled over
the floor. <About time to work.> He had changed yet again since he
had last been seen by any sentient being outside the insectoid
Zebesians. A run of wires and primitively exposed cybernetics
protruded from the left side of his head and neck, running down his
spine to the base of his lethal tail. His right arm and both legs had
small plates where they joined his long, deceptively bony torso, but
his left arm, more enhanced than his other limbs, he kept hidden
behind his folded wings, as if protecting it.
He slinked three legged up the side of the control box and thrust
his fist through the window, showering the cowering controller with
glass. With surprisingly dexterous claws he started the airlock
sequence and outside the Space Pirate ship began to dock, a dozen
bipedal insects waiting to land, power and wave blasters in hand.
The emergency sirens began to sound. Evidently the station
security knew what they were doing and by the time he and his Pirates
were ready to begin the security troops would already be waiting for
them. So much the better. He was still hungry.
***
Samus was still asleep when the priority message came to her
quarters. After getting only three hours she'd managed to sleep
through the alert siren that was blaring in the corridor outside.
Since the advisory was to stay inside their rooms it hadn't sounded
inside. The security chief's first orders had been to deal with the
problem themselves, readying a squad of troops outside the one and
only door to the docking bay. When the wall was blown in and his men
were incinerated by the dragon creature instead he made the call to
Samus' room. He was always informed whenever she came aboard, just in
case.
"What? What's the problem?" Samus asked as she tried to focus her
eyes on the screen. With everything on her mind right now she didn't
need another problem.
She was getting one whether she liked it or not. "Ms. Aran, we
have an emergency situation. Space Pirates have broken onto the
station and we can't handle them."
"Oh shit." Samus was awake after hearing that. "What do you want
me to do about it? How many are there?"
"A dozen or so, but they've got a dragon with them and it's
tearing us apart! It's all we can do to keep it occupied while we get
everyone evacuated from the shopping arcade! God only knows where the
insects went, but we can't spare the people to hunt them down!"
Samus' features froze. "It can't be..."
"Ms. Aran we need your help *now*. If you know about this
creature then help us deal with it!"
<I sure hope I don't know it,> she thought. "I'll be there."
She cut the link and dashed out into the station in the shorts
and vest she had been sleeping in, heading for her suit. She opened
up the mobile speaker she'd grabbed as she left and rang Patricia.
"Trish, you there?"
Across the speaker radio Patricia's wavering voice replied. "S-
Sam? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, get to the lab, I need to be back in the suit and
fully powered. Bring the Phazon cannon."
There was a pause as Patricia absorbed that information, very
scared. "Okay. Be careful."
"You too," Samus said seriously.
***
Samus reached the lab before Patricia did though, and she wasted
no time in suiting up. The techs that were there followed her orders
to the letter as she was powered up and re-supplied with missile and
bomb charges. Any onlooker might have though she was wasting her time
with that, but Samus had a nasty feeling in her stomach.
"When Trish gets here tell her to call security and find me. I
can't wait for her."
The techs nodded as the armoured warrior left and knuckled down
to wait. Samus meanwhile sprinted through the station far faster than
she should have been able but the corridors were empty, everyone
having closeted themselves away already. She even managed to find one
of the Pirates on her way to the shopping arcade but it didn't even
have a chance to raise its gun before she ploughed through it,
killing it instantly. The broken corpse that was left was soon far
behind her and she reached her target before she knew it, watching
the huge lizard open its fernal glottis again and spew a flaming ball
of mucus at another unfortunate soldier.
By all the laws of reality she knew it couldn't have been
possible, but it was. She had faced him time after time and had made
as sure as she could he had been well and truly dead on Zebes. Then
Zebes and everything on it had been blown to dust. The X infected
mutation on BSL had been a fluke of genetic melding, left over from
god knows when, and even that had been completely destroyed when that
station was annihilated.
But it was still... "Ridley."
Without another word she locked a missile charge into her cannon
barrel. The minute self propelled shell barely had time to absorb the
immense amount of energy that was thrust into it as the hunter
charged the S grade unit to maximum. 'Super Grade' explosive weaponry
was suicidal on a space station if it detonated anywhere near the
hull but safety was the least of Samus' worries. As far as she was
concerned a Prime Metroid was the most fearfully deadly being that
existed, but Ridley came a very close second. Her aim was as true as
ever though and the dragon creature never knew what hit him as the
super missile impacted his left side, not managing to break through
the immensely tough hide of his wing but burning it badly and taking
out some of the floor under him.
Ridley looked around sharply to see what he had wanted. <Samus
Aran.> Despite the pain in his wing and the arm that was still hidden
beneath it he grinned, showing every one of his huge, sharp teeth.
Now the dance was on.
He launched at her, ignoring everything else around him now and
landed only feet away, lashing out his lithe, muscular tail and
catching her as she vaulted aside, sending her flying across the wide
hallway and through one of the shop windows. She responded by firing
another S charge missile which the lizard barely managed to avoid. As
he did, the weapon destroying a huge chunk of wall behind him, a
massive blast of frozen gas impacted his right leg, followed by
another missile, this time with a regular charge. The combination was
enough to stop him long enough for the explosion to hit the ice that
had formed and lacerate his limb enough to draw blood. He watched as
his target fled the wreckage of the shop front. She was forever
formidable.
On her side Samus knew her best chance was her super missiles and
fired them off as best she could as Ridley assaulted her with tail,
claw and flaming mucus. The missiles didn't look like they did much,
but their effect was more than skin deep. The blasts she made from
her beams when she couldn't re-load in time scorched, fried and froze
his leathery hide, but they were all superficial. Missiles and morph
ball bombs also bruised muscles and stressed bone under the scaly
leather. Getting in close for a bomb was out of the question so she
dodged and ducked as best she could, watching as her missile charge
supplies and armour energy reserves were slowly depleted.
Ridley was as fast and powerful as ever but never once took
flight this time. He wouldn't have had the room to manoeuvre the way
she remembered him doing before. She also had a new target: the
exposed cybernetics. Whatever they were for she had a chance to
disable them, but Ridley protected himself well, rolling to take the
blast on his skin if he had no other choice. Stupidly he seemed to
care much less about his head itself than the wires, cables and rods
that protruded from it. He also never showed his left arm, cutting
his manoeuvrability that bit more. Despite her explosive barrage any
onlooker could have seen that she was being tossed around like a rag
doll. Each swipe or lash did massive damage to her protective energy
reserves. Had the suit not been charged it would have been carved
open like a tin can in only two or three hits, no matter how good it
was, and that charge was steadily going down cell by cell. Even so
she was only taking one in every five attacks her alien nemesis made
as she leaped and slid around him, keeping her advantage of distance
as best she could.
From long range all Ridley had to rely on was his fire breath,
which despite the carnage around him was not an accurate weapon
against a real foe. After almost two full minutes of the insanely
destructive battle the entire area was laid waste. Only a few shops
in those rows had escaped being destroyed and the walls, floor and
ceiling were a mass of blast holes and melted metal. The only
onlookers were the few security cameras that had escaped the
destruction, recording the battle as a testament to two of the most
powerful beings there were. It was as Samus fell back to escape a
swipe from Ridley's claw that she took her chance, launching a
missile just as he opened his mouth to spew his flaming breath over
her. The explosive took him full in the face, sending him cringing
back as he let out another piecing scream of a call, warding off the
intense pain. He looked over and snarled as Samus got to her feet
again. He could bide his time like this no longer.
Then to Samus' surprise a woman's scream filled her ears through
the suits sensors. "WAIT!"
Samus paused for only a moment, but that was enough time for her
adversary to finally spread his wings, sitting back on his haunches
and revealing the source of that voice. A broken and bloodied woman
hung clumsily, the mass of claw and cybernetics that was Ridley's
left hand buried in her back, hooking directly into her spinal cord.
He raised her and with lurching, uncoordinated movements she looked
straight at Samus with wide, glazed eyes. "We must talk."
The words had far too much normalcy about them coming from
someone impaled on a dragon's claw. "Who are you?" Samus replied, not
lowering her weapon.
Ridley grinned and a grotesque human parody of that wide, toothy
grin broke onto the woman's face. "You know my name Samus Aran," she
said, in that dull but now amused voice. "This is my puppet. I have
need to talk this time, and so I take a human voice."
Under her helmet Samus' brow creased. "You're sick."
"I am practical," replied Ridley's puppet girl. It was all the
more disturbing that she might have been called an attractive young
lady once. Her brown hair was now thick and matted, the generic green
surgical patient's gown was torn in places and stained with dried
blood and her arms and legs were bare and bruised. And the
expressions that crossed her face were so unnatural.
"Let the dead rest in peace!" Samus said, her voice laced with
deadly anger.
The puppet's grin widened almost skeletally. "It's not dead.
Don't think to rescue it though Samus Aran, there is no mind left to
save in this shell. I know how you creatures are."
Samus' hard voice took on an even sharper edge. "Then you know
how much more I'll enjoy killing you for doing this."
"I'm sure you would. However, even as mindless meat I doubt you
would put a missile into it. You are not yet removed enough from your
kind to see its innards flow across the walls."
Samus locked a charge into her cannon. "Shall we find out then?"
The puppet gave a clumsy shrug as Ridley rolled his eyes. "You
can do whatever you wish to it. After I am done with it. I also know
you would not cooperate Samus Aran, so I have decided to assure your
attention to what I say." He paused letting the veiled threat sink
in. "While that happens - and you can do nothing about it, so don't
waste our time trying - allow me a question now I can ask it. How do
you survive your 'morph ball'? I would be pleased to know."
Samus smirked at that, remembering the test results she had read
of Pirate attempts to replicate it so long ago. "The ones who could
tell you are dead. That's your reward for killing them."
The Ridley puppet let out a small sigh. "Not that it matters now.
Simple curiosity."
"Enough!" Samus shouted. "Either say your piece or never say it.
Either way you die now!"
Ridley didn't even need to move, the puppet reaching to intercept
the small energy blast she shot at him. Even as hardened as she was
Samus couldn't help but swallow in revulsion as her shot vaporised
the unprotected young woman's right foot, leaving a cauterised lump
and a smell of burning meat.
Ridley smiled inwardly. The more unbalanced he made his foe the
easier his victory would be should he have to fight again so soon.
"Patience, I warned you Samus Aran. Anything you do is your own act
of will. However, prolonging this is evidently futile and the insects
have been efficient. They wish to bargain with you. I am their
intermediary, otherwise you would have slaughtered them before
hearing their proposal."
"And why should I listen to them at all?" she asked. Scanning
around she could see several Space Pirates appearing at the ends of
the shopping arcade and from the high walkways above.
"Turn around," Ridley said, calm confidence on both his faces.
Samus would never have done it if her sensors hadn't detected a
human signal by the doorway. <They've taken hostages?> She turned and
magnified the scene. There stood Trish standing unsteadily between
two Pirates, two guns pointed at her. Samus could just make out the
words on her lips as she sobbed her fearful apology to her.
"You BASTARDS!" Samus cried, whirling back to Ridley with her gun
raised. There was no way she could kill all the pirates before one of
them got a shot off. Even at top speed she couldn't have made it
there to cover her in time, and the impact would have crushed Trish
even if she had made it.
And Ridley knew it. His puppet girl had cocked her head, smiling,
and was waving a jerky finger at her in amused admonishment. "That
would not be a good idea Samus Aran. Now you have our first proposal.
We shall talk on our ship and you will make the deal offered
otherwise the scenario before us shall end right now."
"You cowards," Samus snarled at him, her blood boiling.
The puppet gave her an unbearably pleasant smile. "Should they
take their chances against you alone? I cannot vow to kill you after
past failures after all, as much as I might be interested to try. You
have already proven formidable prey. But now you have a possible
result none of your kind could ignore in favour of force. I am
capable of doing the research required and you will not let this one
die."
Building the courage to give in was hard, even if it was Trish
whose life was on the line. This was Ridley she was bowing her will
to.
Ridley smiled as he watched her form sag a little in defeat.
"This is only the deal to make you listen Samus Aran. In keeping with
human desire there is another incentive for agreeing to the deal they
will make. Of course, if you turn that down the insects will likely
take their chances and she will die anyway, but that is your concern.
Follow or she dies."
"Insects?" she asked as they began to move off to the Pirate
ship. "You don't think very highly of them."
"No," Ridley replied, "but they have a job for me and I had no
desire to remain as you last left me."
***
The Pirate's ship, now back in space and left alone by the
station's fighter squadron since they had taken hostages, looked like
a relic from past human space travel. There were no clean curves,
polished surfaces or technical panels. It looked like it had been
made from a scrap metal heap. Monotonous brown and grey metal beams
and grating covered every surface, pipes and chains hung from the
walls and ceilings giving the Space Pirates perfect surfaces to climb
along. To Patricia it only terrified her more, harking back to primal
human fears of dim light, rusty metal and pitfalls leading to dark,
unknown bowels of the ship.
The human ships of this type had been long ago when the masses
made their own craft, irrespective of the safety or look of such
cheaply created ships. A massively successful combination of
technical skill and corner cutting. It was a long time before
aesthetics one again caught up with the space faring minds to create
the ships of the last three generations. Now they appeared in horror
movies and gothic period drama, highlighting the cramped, unpleasant
'industrial' age of space travel.
Patricia had no tears left to run down her cheeks. All she could
do was stand there on the grated balcony, a large energy weapon
pressed against her hair as the debate began below. Even so, she
couldn't stop quivering. Her mind was slowly pulling itself from the
blank panic that had engulfed her, enough to finally realise
everything she saw, but it didn't help. The surreal metal ship around
them and the tinny smell of the Pirates themselves clawed at her raw
nerves, her racing heart pounding in her ears.
It was her own twisted little fairy tale. Her knight in shining
armour debating with the evil dragon below to rescue her. Pity there
was no sunset in space for Samus to carry her off into.
<Please don't let me die here Sam,> she whimpered into her own
mind. She wasn't brave enough to say that if she had to die she
wanted it to be with the woman she loved. It was true, but she didn't
want them to die at all. They couldn't die until Sam had told her how
she felt. If the answer was no, then she wanted time to be happy
again before she died, and if it was yes she wanted time to be with
her and be happy together before it happened. There would never come
a time when she would be willing to lay down and die. And feeling so
helpless caught by these aliens it felt like she was doing just that.
And if she tried to do something she would die, and maybe Sam
would too. It all rested on Sam making a deal that went against every
instinct in her body.
***
"This entire fiasco was for a peace treaty?" Samus could hardly
believe it. "You slaughtered all those people on Cassidi to get my
attention, and now you expect me to stop hunting you?"
"That is what I said," Ridley answered through his glassy eyes
puppet. "Must your kind repeat everything you are told?"
This was ridiculous. After all her battles and most notably the
destruction of Zebes she had managed to wipe out, as Ridley now told
her, not only the organisational mind behind the Space Pirates, but
ninety percent of their population. Mother Brain's plan had been
ingenious. Her enforcers and generals like Ridley and Kraid had been
carefully selected from their species and trained both physically and
genetically to be some of the most powerful members of their races,
be those races natural or scientifically engineered. And the mass of
her forces had been the entire Zebesian race. They were pitiful in
comparison but enough for their tasks. They also had their numbers.
Mother Brain had psychically enslaved them to the point that they
were hatched naturally obedient to her. And now they were without a
being their lifestyles had depended on, and with only a fraction of
their numbers left. Without proper measures they would soon become
extinct.
"And what about you 'Generals'" Samus had asked poisonously.
"Were your brains hacked into too?"
"The positions came with many reasons to follow Mother Brain."
Ridley had replied. "Mother Brain understood the concept of reward
for loyalty and skill."
And now that understanding was one Ridley used. "Your reward for
compliance will be the life of your... mate?" The puppet quirked an
eyebrow, making Samus growl. "In any case, it is only the insects
that seek non-interference. I understand the need for revenge so you
may hunt me all you like. I too look forward to killing you. I wish
to see why I was so easily defeated in the past."
"Your memory must not be too good," Samus said, her stomach
turning over what was in the deal. She also didn't like hearing about
her need for vengeance. It was a truth of her life, she sought
revenge for what Ridley had personally done to her, but she didn't
want to hear that word. She would not admit that she could sink
herself to that level.
"On the contrary," the battered young woman on Ridley's hand
said, "my memory is excellent. This is the other incentive for
compliance. Mother Brain knew her generals were not indestructible
and so made us submit to memographs before each operation. She also
had out genetic samples, so should anything happen she had a
replacement ready. I could not very well submit memory after you had
defeated me, could I? All I can do is study in preparation each time
we meet. Our fight was insightful, but I still wish to see how you
were able to slay me in the past."
"So you have a little clone family. No wonder."
"Clones?" Ridley said, "Nothing so crass. I would hardly expect
you to grasp the technicalities. In any case you will be given the
locations of these memographs and gene samples of Mother Brain's.
What you do with them is up to you."
"You are personally giving up the chance to live past our next
battle?" That was so suspicious it couldn't be true. "Why?"
"I have no plans to be slain again." Ridley's puppet growled at
her. "And my only interest in you is my own curiosity over your power
and prowess. You are not even close to worth the effort of killing
for food, just a perpetual and chronic nuisance I should have taken
care of years ago. If you wish to hunt me that is your privilege and
I will welcome the battle, but I cannot now be bothered with you
otherwise. You have the proposal being offered. Will you take it?"
"What happens when the Pirates have their numbers back and start
killing again?" Samus asked. She was going to agree to the offer
anyway, but she could at least know that. Once she had made sure
Ridley wouldn't be coming back she could hunt him down and kill him
for good, and if the Pirates overstepped their mark she would deal
with them for it just like anyone else.
"What they do is up to them. Should they warrant hunting again
others will fill your place if you choose not to."
Samus nodded as best as her helmet would allow. "Fine. I accept.
Give me the clone locations and Patricia and I leave these things
alone." She gestured to the Pirates that stood and clung about the
room.
Both Ridley and his puppet smiled and he gave his gravelly roar,
followed by the excited chittering of the Pirates. "I am pleased you
know reason Samus Aran," the puppet said, showing far too many teeth.
"Whatever," Samus replied. "Let us out safely and get the hell
away from us."
***
Of course it wasn't quite that simple. Ridley had thought out the
plan very well. To make sure nothing underhanded happened the Pirates
would keep Patricia on their ship until they were a safe distance
away, then send her back in a life pod. Likewise Ridley would return
to Cassidi station with Samus, and would fly back to the ship himself
when they released the girl. Samus couldn't afford to leave an
explosive parting gift for them, and the Pirates were effectively
deprived of their means to stand up to her.
And so Samus and Ridley stood in the docking bay, waiting for
Patricia's pod to arrive. It was agonising for Samus, having the
object of her hatred only a few feet away and being unable to do
anything about it. And now that he had the means Ridley was far too
chatty for her liking. Hearing his words come from the lips of a
battered living corpse, and a human one at that, sickened her.
"And how do you expect to breed with this 'Patrisha' female?" he
rambled on, amused at the discomfort he was causing. "She is your
chosen mate, or perhaps you are hers. In either case your species
can't last long with mating attitudes like that."
At Samus' continued silence the puppet cocked her head and put on
a cute voice. "Come now Samus Aran. You have no reason not to tell.
Perhaps you find this tool of mine attractive also? I could leave it
for you. I will have no further need of it and after this long I
doubt it will taste..."
"Shut up!" Samus finally spat out. "I liked it better when all
you could do was roar at me!"
Ridley took another look out of the docking window. "We have a
few minutes Samus Aran. They might as well be profitable. I do
suppose with all your technology such a mating might not be so out of
the question. But how to decide who should carry it? Quite a
quandary."
"So says the freak survivor of a dead race!" Samus bit out,
hoping to hit as hard a nerve as he had struck with her. "I don't see
any mating prospects in your future!"
Ridley smiled and his puppet giggled manically. "How little you
know Samus Aran. Freak I may now be but as I have said, Mother Brain
gave many perks for our work. I will sire many progeny, all as mighty
as I, and perhaps it will be your own race that shall bear them. My
race will rise again from the fairy books and spread its wings across
the galaxy. Maybe, once you have found me again, I shall keep you
alive long enough to bear the first."
Samus' gaze bore into the puppet's skull with deadly intensity.
"I will kill you."
"You will try," Ridley replied. "The outcome has yet to be seen."
"I've done it before."
Ridley shrugged as only a creature like him could. "And I have
learned from my lives."
A soft *thunk* made them both turn to see the life pod, floating
inside the docking air lock having hit the door. Samus signalled the
terrified man in the control box to open the door, and once it was
pressurised he did so.
Ridley crawled into the airlock and shoved the pod out. "You have
time Samus Aran. A gift." Then he tore the young woman from his left
hand and threw it to her. Samus tried to swallow down her hatred as
the body landed with a heavy thump, its contorted features staring
blankly at the ceiling. Ridley gave a last toothy smile before
letting out a grating cry that was cut off as the air lock closed,
leaving him to grin as he launched himself into space.
Samus didn't bother to watch him fly off. She rushed to the pod
and almost ripped the space sealed door from its frame. Inside
Patricia looked up at her with dull eyes. "S-S-Sam."
Samus took her hand and helped her out of the pod, but they got
no further as Patricia hurled herself onto her armoured friend,
holding onto her as if her life depended on it and crying herself
into exhaustion.
"I'm sorry Trish," Samus whispered to her as she fell limp in her
arms. "I'm so sorry."
***
Patricia looked up towards the door as the announcer sounded.
"Come in," she said, despite herself. Sitting amongst her bags the
last thing she wanted was company but it came out as a reflex. She
knew what she had to do, but she didn't want to do it. Not without...
"Samus?" Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw the object of
her affections, and her fears, standing in the doorway, once again
unsuited. "Wha..? I... thought you'd left already. You've got to hunt
that thing down!"
Samus came in slowly and sat herself down on the bed, looking at
her feet, thoroughly ashamed. "I'm sorry about all of this Trish. I
never meant any of it to happen. I didn't think anyone would have
reason to try."
"What do you mean?" Patricia asked, confused. "I'm okay, and you
got what you wanted."
"If it had been anyone else I would have let them die," Samus
admitted quietly. "I'd have killed Ridley on the spot and taken the
information anyway." She paused, her heart heavy. "This place isn't
safe. You need to leave. Now. Go somewhere they won't find you and
lie low." Looking around the room she could see that Patricia had
already had the same idea. She was always a clever girl.
"I'm going," Patricia confirmed. "I was going to find you. No
Sam, listen..." She took a breath, steadying her nerves. "Right now
the safest place to be is right next to you. If you're going to pull
that then you're going to have to take me with you. I don't care if
you don't... love me. Either I'm staying here, or I'm staying with
you."
"Haven't you had *enough*!?" Samus shouted at her, startling her
back against the wall. "I told you what my life does to people! After
all this... Do you want your whole life to turn out like that!?"
"No," Patricia whispered back. "But I don't want to spend my
whole life worrying about you either. When you're off hunting these
things, wondering if you'll make it this time, wondering if I'll ever
see you again, and what will have happened if I do. Sam, if these
things, people, whatever, want to find me then they will, and there's
nothing you can do about it."
"Unless I'm there."
Patricia nodded. "I'll make myself my own power suit if that's
what it will take for you to let me come with you."
Samus looked at her seriously, knowing that Trish was going to
win here. "If you come with me, you'll be in danger *all* the time.
Not just the odd mugger or kidnapper Trish. Even the *wildlife* I end
up having to deal with can be lethal."
Patricia understood. "I never want to go through that again, I
was so scared Sam, but I can at least help by being on the other end
of a radio. Fixing you up when you need me to. I live in these three
rooms, so a cramped ship won't make much difference to me."
Samus smiled in gentle defeat. "I just want you to be safe,
because I do care about you Trish."
The smile that broke onto Patricia's lips was heavenly, and she
could feel her eyes getting misty. "Don't worry Sam, I can wait a
little. You go and clobber that lizard. I guess our holiday is
cancelled though."
"No," Samus replied. "I'm not going to play his game."
"What do you mean?"
Samus sat forward. "Ridley talked too much. He gave out too much
information. You don't ever want to know half of what he said, but
how much was true and how much was bait I don't know. He wants me to
run after him, but he also told me I had time. Time before what I
don't want to know, but I'm going to take that time, so when I put
him down it's going to be for good."
She was going to take down the gene supplies first, and make sure
she had everything she possibly could in order to put him out of her
misery permanently. "I can learn how to use that phazon beam, I can
try and find a way to boost my energy reserves, and I can take the
time to think before I act. Get myself calm and focused. I'm going to
take some time off out of the suit. I don't need help putting it back
on after all. And if you won't hide for me I suppose you'll have to
help me instead."
Patricia beamed at her. "I'll do my best."
Samus gave a sigh at her shy enthusiasm. "When did you get so
strong willed?"
Patricia's smile just shone back in response. "Umm, could you
just give me a minute? There's something I have to do before I go."
"Sure," Samus replied. "I'll take some of the bags to the ship."
"Thank you."
Samus shouldered two of the larger bags as Patricia left and took
another one in each hand before heading for her ship. She tried to
ignore the stares she was getting, knowing they were not towards
Samus Aran who had destroyed a station block, but just to a tall,
faceless woman with too much luggage. While she had been in her suit
the looks had been much more deadly. She knew she wouldn't be coming
back here for a long time. Thankfully the damage had been contained
to only one of the commercial blocks, but it was still a blow to the
station and she was the ideal one to lay their blame on. She hoped
Patricia wouldn't be on the receiving end of that.
When she got back to the room the youthful tech had already
returned, and her happy if somewhat nervous face was enough to
convince the hunter that she hadn't been victimised for her part in
the destructive fiasco. "Come on," Samus said, taking one of the
other bags out of Patricia's hands. "We'd better go before they start
wanting more reports, and I know we've already been caught on camera
once."
Patricia nodded and followed her, locking the door as they left.
They were her own quarters after all, even if she doubted she was
ever going to be back. She slipped a tentative hand into Samus', and
to her surprise the hunter held it with comforting strength. Patricia
looked up at her as the walked on, feeling warm despite their current
situation. In her back pocket she could feel the two little boxes,
each containing its gold ring.
Patricia leaned into Samus slightly as they walked off to the
ship, each uncertain of what might be ahead.
Right then however their worries didn't seem to matter all that
much.
***
The End
***
Feedback is always welcome so please leave your thoughts. Thank you.
Thanks to Richard King for proof reading.
(c) 2004 Nutzoide
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