This dome resembled a garden or public park; an place which would normally serve as a recreation area for the station's crew. The Spartan fell to the floor on hands and knees. The armor became too heavy to hold up as its power systems failed. Samus walked over and offered her hand. "You all right?" Samus asked. 'That voice...' The Spartan warrior took her hand and Samus helped her into a sitting position. Then Samus' own armor dematerialized in a in a glimmer of light and energy. 'A woman?' "You're... like me..." she said too quiet for Samus to hear. "It looks badly damaged, let's get this off of you," Samus said, to which the Spartan just nodded. Starting with the damaged leg they dismantled the armored suit. Slowly as the figure underneath began to take shape Samus realized that they were the same gender. As the helmet came off, shoulder length brown hair spilled out, and Samus was met with soft dark brown eyes and full lips. She appeared to be in her late twenties, a few years older than Samus. Samus was about to make a remark but then realized what she was about to do. Was this how other people felt when they learned her own gender? It annoyed her that people just assumed she was male under that armor and here she had went and done the same thing to someone else. It then occurred to Samus that this girl had just now learned her identity as well, and she was probably thinking the same thing. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't think to form a clear thought. The other woman just gave her a half-smile and nodded. She knew, she understood, the obvious questions at that point didn't need to be asked; the answers were already known. The sky lit up as the now quite distant Nassau station exploded, torn apart by the asteroid field. They watched as the fireball billowed and pieces of the station were thrown every which way. They both sat silently for quite a while as the explosion dissipated and eventually vanished. "It's Samus," she said finally. "What?" "My name. You have one?" "Petty Officer Second Class Spartan-458," she barked as if on command. Samus was a bit taken aback by the response. "Uh... N-Nicole," she said hesitantly. "Nicole hmm, I like that." "Samus is unusual. That short for Samantha or something?" "Hmm... No. At least I don't think so. So, Nicole, what are you doing here? Federation send you to check out this station as well?" "Federation? No, Actually I lived on this station for a while." "Lived here? This was your station? How did it appear here all of a sudden?" "No I was trapped on it; caught in a space-time anomaly and sent back to the 21st century. But I guess that solar flare destabilized it and I came back. I suppose that's how it appeared... So... what about you, why are you here?" "When the station just appeared out of nowhere I was hired to investigate. Nothing more to it than that." "You're a mercenary?" "Something like that." "I'm amazed a freelancer can keep pace with a Spartan like me, its impressive... you're pretty impressive." "You're not too bad yourself," Samus said casually though it was an enormous understatement. Samus marveled at Nicole's abilities, especially her tactical and strategic reasoning, and at how close in skill the two of them were. She never considered anyone an equal before. She wasn't sure if Nicole was or not, but she certainly came close. "What's a Spartan? Special Forces? Must be classified if I don't know about it." "Well it was, but not anymore. Spartans are the product of a super-soldier program." Samus gave her a raised eyebrow. "You know... biological enhancement, advanced armor, extensive training from an early age... the usual." Samus was taken aback; it was as if Nicole was describing her. "...you really hadn't heard? Hmm, that's surprising." "Uh, no... I guess the Federation has more up its sleeves than I realized." "Federation again. What is that?" "Wha-... you... you don't know? You're in the military, you work for them..." "I work for the United Nations Space Command... oh god..." The realization finally hit her. "What year is this?" "2095 GC. 3115 by the old earth calendar." "3115!" "That's not right I take it?" "It... it's supposed to be 2553." She then glanced up through the dome to where the station had been. "I don't think you'll be going back there now." "No... I won't." Nicole didn't sound too bothered by that fact. She had no real attachments back there, and it was apparent humanity had survived, which was all that really mattered. "Anyway, I remote called my ship. It'll come pick us up in a while." Nicole just nodded. The two sat silently staring at the stars through the glass ceiling, though Samus was focused on what Nicole had said earlier. The similarities bothered her immediately, and no matter how she tried she couldn't stop the flood of questions that formed in her mind. Normally she wouldn't even care, other peoples' business didn't concern her, but the questions just wouldn't stop, she was genuinely intrigued. "How young?" Samus blurted out. "What?" "When you started training? You said you received training at an early age." "What's it to you?" Nicole said somewhat defensively. "Nothing. I don't care. I was just curious." Nicole looked away and said nothing, seeming as if she would let it drop there. "I was six." She finally said after a short while. Samus expected something in the early teens. Not something nearly as young as when she... "You must really have liked the military to begin that young." "I was... drafted." "At six?" Nicole sighed and prepared the explanations that would follow. For some reason she felt like she owed Samus an explanation; normally she wouldn't have divulged her history to any random person, it was none of their business, however... It was odd, but she felt some kind of affinity with the woman. "I was taken from my family by the U.N.S.C., selected through a genetic screening program." Samus' eyes went wide with that statement. She couldn't help but take notice of the mounting similarities. "...They trained me in the art of warfare," Nicole continued. "...day in and day out; it was all we ever did." She got quiet for a bit, apparently thinking something over. "When you're that young and your life is just fighting, combat training, it... you just...ah, never mind. You wouldn't understand." "It has a profound effect on you, the way you think, the way you view the world... At that age though, it's like a game, the target practice, obstacle courses, tactical maneuvering; it's like play time, its fun. Then when you realize its practical use is for killing... well, you look back on those years in a very different light," Samus said finishing Nicole's thought. Now it was Nicole who was shocked. "You... you were..." "I was three... My parents... they were killed in a pirate raid. I was adopted by an alien species; they trained me to fight." "You... lost your family too... hmm..." She paused, appearing lost in thought. "We're... a lot alike, you and me." "Mmm..." Samus nodded. "You mentioned biological enhancements..." "Yes, they used all sorts of drugs and implants, making our bones harder, increasing our muscle density, they even did something to our nerve endings to increase our reflexes... So, you too?" "The Chozo, the aliens that raised me; they altered my DNA when I first went to live with them. I'm not sure of the effect it had on me, but I know one effect is that I can use that suit I wear. It won't even turn on for anyone else." "Hmm...It looks really advanced. It can morph and dematerialize... I've never seen anything like it. Are things like that standard issue in the 32nd century?" "No, it's one of a kind... At least now it is... The Chozo are all gone now... I'm the only one left that can use their technology." "Where'd they all go?" "Killed... by the Space Pirates" "Wiped out? But judging from that suit they were incredibly advanced. How'd they fall?" "There were advanced, the most advanced race in the galaxy in fact, but they had no warrior's instinct. They had the weaponry, but weren't well suited to using it in battle." "That's where you come in, huh?" "What?" "They used you. Made you into a weapon; they couldn't fight so they trained you to... kind of... like I was." "I never thought of it like that." "So, These Space Pirates, they're a threat around here?" "Yeah, the Federation is pretty much at war with them." "Are these pirates the same ones that killed your parents?" "Mm-hmm. That's... It's not something I'll ever forget... or forgive." Samus shrugged, "So I fight them... I hunt them... It seems I alone am destined to... And I'll keep fighting them... I'm the only one that can, the Federation isn't strong enough." "We had something like that in my time. The Covenant as they were called. You ran into them earlier." "Those things from before?" "Yes. We Spartans were the only ones that could stand up to them, at least on our own. So... all that weight was placed on our shoulders--" "Like you're some sort of savior; invincible, infallible. Doesn't matter if it's true, it's what people expect of you..." Samus spouted off quickly, almost sounding angry. "R-right..." Nicole was again surprised by Samus finishing her thought. "So you take on the responsibility anyway, what else you can do." "Nothing. You can't do anything but accept it. To ignore it would... the consequences would be terrible." Samus paused. "It consumes you, though. You become immersed in it. ...lose sight of everything else." "It's all you ever think about sometimes... fighting... combat..." "Yeah... it occupies your every thought; ways of improving your skills..." "How to do this a little faster, how to do that a little smarter..." "Working out in your head how much damage your armor can take before it gives out..." "How many times can I get shot by a plasma rifle and still fight on." "You spend all day devising tactics and strategies..." "...and matching them to their respective opponents." "Right, it doesn't leave any room upstairs for much else, no time for it either," Samus took a long pause, "No matter how much... you might want to." "Mm... It's difficult... a difficult life we lead," Nicole said. "No one ever promised me an easy life," Samus chuckled. "Me either..." "Constantly struggling..." "...surrounded by violence... dealing in death..." "...danger around every corner, not knowing if you live to see tomorrow." "And... and there's the long quiet in between battles... that gets to you..." "Mm hmm... It's lonely, days at a time with nothing but your own thoughts... "Devoid of human... contact..." Nicole said, now noticing how close the two of them were sitting to each other. "Mm... Though it's probably for the best. We wouldn't know how to interact with people anyway." "Ha. No, we never learned things like that as kids. Wasn't part of standard training." "We're more like machines than people anyway; just fulfill your function as efficiently as possible; completely the mission and move on to the next, nothing else matters." "Nothing else..." Nicole repeated lazily, now distracted by Samus' figure. "The armor helps in that regard. If you're a machine on the outside..." Samus said glancing up at Nicole. "…It's easy to be one on the inside." Nicole looked up as well, and their eyes met. "Exactly..." Samus said softly as she trailed off. "But still... it lingers... that..." "That desire..." Nicole said swallowing the lump in her throat. "...for... human contact." Her eyes now fixated on Samus' lips. "Ungh... And when the suit comes off... it's not... not so easy to ignore any longer." "No, its not... but it's best to just... push those kinds of thoughts aside," Nicole said wistfully, her face now drifting unconsciously closer to Samus'. "Y-yeah... No one needs that kind of trouble." "Absolutely not..." Nicole said breathlessly, her eyes beginning to close as she got even closer to Samus. "Uh... my uh... ship should be here soon." Samus said uncomfortably, she backed away and stood up. "I'll give you a lift back to the Federation; you can go where you want from there." "Uh...t-thanks..." Nicole said a bit staggered herself, unsure of what had just transpired between them, or what had almost happened. She stood and shook her head, facing away from Samus. 'It's best to push those kinds of thoughts aside,' she reminded herself. End Part Two
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