Metroid: A Breakdown in Communications

[Raron]

It was comforting at times. Especially in times like now to look out at the world through a visor. To gaze out at a world scanned, and sectioned, and categorized for simplicities sake. Maxwell... Edge as he was known in this suit of armor looked out at the landscape. Slowly scanning it for threats amongst the burning wreckage and dead bodies. He knew they were dead... living people came in more pieces. Still the visor scanned them and where possible IDed them. From time to time Edge's eyes narrowed within his visor as a name he recognized flashed into view. He could have turned off that function but... that seemed wrong. He knew they were all dead but to ignore them... seemed criminal so instead he looked at the jagged wall of names for a moment before returning to scan for threat as he moved forward. Occasionally shoving a piece of metal out of his way that was too annoying to step around. As his armored hands moved they dragged crosshairs across his sight, showing where the energy blasters built into the palm of his hands would fire if he let them, as well a blue almost invisible cylinder of light surrounded him, showing where the blades on his back could reach if he grasped them. This allowed him permament knowledge of his maximum reach. Truth be told he had long since stopped paying attention either to the cross hairs of the cylinder but they... were reassuring. A comfort to him as he felt the pressure around his heart pulse to it's own rhythm... He ignored it and kept moving. Occasionally looking at his minimap to conform his new... charm... was still there.

He spoke without looking over his shoulder, he knew she was there after all.

"Hey Lucky. Come on. Keep up. This place isn't fashionable for me to be found dead in."

Stepping forward he started to reach for a large panel of alumiglass that was blocking the easiest way through. He caught a brief glimpse of himself as he did so. His massive frame that almost dwarfed the woman lagging behind him. The grey featureless faceplace without even the humanity of eyeslots looking out at the world. The armor panels curved and a bit elegant while being firm and solid looking. The sharpened pauldrons protecting his neck and the thick gauntlets with their yellow glowing lines that lead down to the energy blasters in the palms of his hands. Over his shoulders the hilts of his remaining pair of blades stuck out. He froze as he looked at his armor. Autorepair had kicked in and fixed it up as best it could be so much was missing, he was down to a pair of low level blaster cannons without even a charge function and his most basic set of blades... he was glad to be alive that was true but looking at the grey and black armor with so much missing.. so much shredded off when he had barely survived the attack... so much loss... it was depressing. It really was. Grunting at this he grabbed and threw aside the alumiglass pointedly ignoring the red smear on it.

Again he spoke up. This time he did turn around to look at the woman.

"... Seriously though... I lost most my gear and the... whatever they call themselves... will be coming in to check for survivors. We better hustle."

[Nemo]

Lucky.

Rebecca Fields had never before considered herself in this category of humanity - among the Lucky. Especially now. Sure... She was alive, and she'd saved at least one person, but... Everyone else on the frigate was gone - they were the only ones to survive the impact to the planet. She didn't need to have the heads up display of her own helmet analyze the environment around her. She knew. Knew in her bones, in her soul.

She stayed close to him for a time, but the departed were... Recovering from the initial shock of the impact. They were dead, but only part of them knew that - the part(s) that were strewn through the gnarled wreckage. She kept her gaze down so she wouldn't see them with her Sight, but it didn't work. Luck could feel them around her, and she shook like a leaf in response to their impotent rage, pain, and fear. Silent tears flowed down her cheeks and her belly did flipflops, threatening to heave whatever she'd eaten this morning.

"Corporal Fields..." A spectral voice came to her, and she froze, stopping dead. The Seer's eyes widened a little, and she finally turned her face up. Between her and the man she'd saved was the shade of the captain. It would be hard for her to describe how he looked. He looked... Burnt to death, but like a healthy young man in the same space, at the same time. He was two things at once - spectral smoke curled from blackened cinders of flesh, and fair skin far younger than he'd been in life covering his form. His eyes were two holes in his skull, and blue at the same time. She shut down.

"Why did we die? It hurts..." He said, his expression concerned, mildly pained, but... There was still his self control in the shade. "Couldn't you have done something? Why... Why did you..." He began, and she shook her head.

"I didn't!" She said, and clenched her fists tight, shaking harder. The shade paused, and tilted his head. "I... Couldn't do anything... I wanted to... But... But..." She said, and the ghost silenced her by cupping her cheek in his hand through the helmet.

"... I believe you." He said eventually, and seemed to look around. She followed his gaze - a hundred other shades, several hundred, were already gathering in. He looked about to speak, but the bounty hunter he'd hired spoke. The shade looked back, then nodded to Fields.

"Go. Go now." He whispered, and looked to his crew.

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING HERE FOR?! LET'S BLOW THIS POPSTAND!" He howled, and as a group, they faded from the Sight... And moved on. For some reason... Lucky felt better. She was still sad they were gone but... at least they could be at peace now.

"R-right behind you" she squeaked, scrabbling over the wreckage. Imagine a woman of about twenty five, her skin pale, bluish in places with an acre of freckles but blue-green hair. There are implants in her forehead and around her grey eyes, smoothe pale metal and plastic, dark lines under her skin, and small motes of light glowing from within as she climbs through the debris field in what amounted to a basic hostile environment suit, her helmet open the front faceplate.

[Raron]

Edge looked over the debris... there... at the edge of the crater, past the fires and the ripped up rock and dirt that was still smoking... the edge of the jungle of this planet. His visor scanned the nearest foliage as he approached, scanning the iridescent purple leaves that had been blackened by the head. Scanned and categorized the strange blue smoke coming off the leaves where they burned. He hummed slightly at the results that spewed into view. The foliage seemed... copper based... strange. Not something he had come across before. The black trunks of the trees and the white branches that the leaves came from seemed to the normal color. The trees... bushes really. Very large ones.. were angling the leaves at the sun as he watches, visibly moving them to get the maximum amount of sunlight possible as the shiny leaves bounced sunlight towards the trunk and branches. He slowly dragged his gaze across the nearest bushes... really he wanted to just run in, weapons bared and ready and just blast or cut down anything that moved at him but... he had to play this defensively with the Charm in tow... he briefly tried to remember her name but figuring she was likely to be dead in short order even with his help he put that off as a bad job and continued forward, holding out one hand and not even paying attention as a hilt shot from his back into the waiting open hand. The hilt pulsed with a brief energy and a blade of solid matter constructed itself in his grip. The gauntlets began to transfer energy and the black double bladed sword was then edged with yellow light, a slight sizzle in the air from the energy edged blade.

"... stay close. We are about to enter the territory of unknown predators, creatures, and who knows what kind of defense mechanisms... try not to die."

Edge... was not mean... he just wasn't used to working with turtles... softies, sure she was military but she was diplomatic core military. He doubted she had ever been in a combat zone much less have to kill someone. She was fat... not body fat... but civilian fat. Not like him... not like the rest of the soldiers and bounty hunters who were lean.. snakes. Predators of a high order who had chosen to protect prey species. It was a dark way to look at the world but that was how it worked. There were predators, and prey. If you were a predator you could prey on the weaker... or you could protect them. Even if he was a predator he didn't have to like protecting the prey in person. It could get pretty dang annoying is all.

Grunting subvocally Edge brushed aside the nearest bushes with his open hand and melted almost soundlessly into the underbrush.

[Nemo]

Lucky followed Edge carefully over the debris until they made it at last into the singed foliage closest to the crash site. Things were quiet near it, but she could see why the forest hadn't burned where they landed. Sure, plasma fire had glassed things a bit... But this was a soggy place, a rainforest unlike any other she had yet seen and she looked around in silent wonderment. There was a hush on the woods, and she could feel the tension on the air with contemptible ease. Everything was holding its breath, every living thing that normally inhabited this area frightened to enter it now that the ship had crashed. It was like the anxiety was written in the air itself.

Lucky's boot bumped something though, and she looked down to see an iridescent stone. Her visor immediately began analyzing the find as she crouched a bit over it. It was hollow? She gingerly picked it up and turned it over and over in her hands. It was... warm, oddly enough. It wasn't a stone despite its appearant mineral content. It was... An egg! She blinked!

"H-hey... Edge-san, An Egg." She held up the softball sized purple object in her gloved hands.

[Raron]

There are many words a traveler is willing to hear from their companions. Many phrases that are tolerated or even welcome... when traveling through the wilderness of an alien world the words that came out of the Charm's mouth were not among any of them what so ever. Edge froze like a statue not even daring to breath and then he slowly turned around. His empty hand wide open exposing the energy cannon in his palm and his right hand holding the sword before him as his visor took in the egg. Again he registered as copper based life form... but it also his visor took in the bones around the nest that he noticed now, the next that had been mostly buried. His system took in the size of the bones and brought them up before him, bringing them up in a 3D display and giving a rough estimate of the previous owner. Edge's voice didn't crack as he firmly spoke to the Charm.

"Okay... no sudden moves...Do... Not... Drop... That... I want you to slowly... slowly... and very carefully put that down... right back where you found it..."

His featureless visor began to sweep back and forth around them and he kept talking as he spoke doing his best not to raise his voice, not to scream at the turtle.

"See... egg means momma, and egg size indicates momma is not small at all. Momma may have been scared off by the crash but I doubt momma is going to be gone long and the bones around us that are mostly buried around you are any indication... momma might like to invite you to dinner. So when egg is back in nest you and I are going to leave the nest... and hope th..."

He had started to move, started to move towards the Charm to make sure she didn't do anything stupid... when he heard a nose underfoot. A loud cracking noise followed by a screech. His gaze followed the sound and he saw it... another egg that had been covered by fallen leaves and his foot had immediately rendered... less then whole. And the creature within seemed to have had a brief moment to scream as the armored foot crushed it. His visor took in details, sharp teeth being formed, the start of a chitinous hide, and the fact his armored foot was smoking from the fluid within the egg. All the details added themselves together and Edge looked up to the Charm and spoke... less composed.

"New plan Lucky... drop the egg and run... just... run!"

The last sentence was punctuated by a road... the grandmother of all roars that shook the trees. The roar was loud, long and endlessly pissed off. Edge grabbed the Charm's hand and pulled.

"RUN!"

[Nemo]

It didnt take rocket science to know when she'd fucked up big time, and Charm obediently held the little egg she'd found in her hands as she was told to. She nodded when she was told to put the egg down very genty and carefully. How had she missed these bones and things...? She blinked, and gently put a couple leaves over the found egg. She breathed out and very nearly relaxed.

"Okay... Not my best--" crunch-squeek. She froze, not lifting her gaze. Suddenly there was a presence she hadn't really noticed before. Maybe because it was a little ways away? It was certainly something she could feel now! It felt... shocked! And then, nearly so shortly afterward that it was almost at the same time, mad with fury! She stood abrupyly, and hardly needed the tug!

She didn't waste time screaming - she saved her breath for running!

[Raron]

Of all the stupid, moronic, amateur hour mistakes to make in the middle of an environment like this! Within the safety of his own head he screamed at himself, he could hear the reverberations of his own self abuse so loudly it echoed within his own brain. He quickly shoved that voice down deep and buried it. There would be time to beat himself up when they weren't both about to die. One hand was tethered to the Charm like a anchor. He shifted the grip to her wrist and didn't give her a chance to complain about the tightness as he accelerated. He would get her to safety if he had to drag her. He only slowed down enough to grind his smoking foot in some dirt and scrap off the yolk before accelerating even faster. Before he had been going at a speed that she could easily keep up with... now they were taking an accelerated tour of the planet via Edge Tourism as he kicked off a tree as it's branches reached with sharped spikes at them, used it to propel them up into the tree's own branches and pausing to cut down the reaching limbs with a single swipe, with that he kicked off the tree again and pushed off the ground launching himself as only someone in power armor could towards the higher tree branches, again and again veins, branches, and even a snake-like being reached at them only to be cut down by the scything blade, flesh and food seemed equally weak to the energized blade but still he wished for his full gear.

Even with the Charm in tow if he had his full gear... he would just turn and face Momma... as it was again and again he kicked off a tree and finally... he ran out of trees, instead what was before them was... stone. He froze, his body still except his sword arm as it seemed to move on it's own hacking apart anything that reached towards them. He scanned what was before them and it came up stone... stone that was carved into blocks and formed into the ruins of a... temple?... Something of that kidney... He... he recognized some of the carvings. The only reason he did because there was only one being that could be called the heir to what this temple contained... It was Chozo carving... on a mostly unexplored planet in the middle of no where...

Glancing around and figuring nothing was reaching for a bit Edge lessened his hold on the Charm and asked... looking her in the eyes as he did so.

"Alright Lucky. What do you think? Do we stand and deal with Big Momma or do we go into a Chozo ruin filled with who knows what kind of creatures, doubtlessly trapped, and with who knows what else... This is your life too."

[Nemo]

Lucky squeeked as she was dragged along! After a brief pause to scrape his foot off on a bush, Edge only accelerated and there was no way, no way at all that she could keep up with him at the pace he was going, but she made the effort, staying directly behind him. But then he siezed her wrist and began bounding through the trees like an ape, and she hadn't got a prayer - she was just in his hands then. But he looked after her, and though she wheezed as they got out of the forest and faced down the ruin, she had enough sense to wheeze quietly.

But... the atmosphere had changed. She caught her breath, and looked up at the looming stone structure. For a moment... she forgot all about the rampaging creature that even now still chased them. Edge had put a good patch of distance between them and momma, so they had a moment to consider. Good thing, too. She reached out, and felt over the ancient carvings on the stone, and her lips drew into a thin line. "Chozo..." she said softly, and heard ancient voices on the air. Voices that were...

She drew her hand away from the stone carvings that flashed with the briefest life, and a roar from Momma brought her back to reality. She shook her head as if dislodging a thought, and again looked at the temple.

"... We should go inside." she said, in a distant voice. She made eye contact with him then, and nodded. She looked slightly dazed, but there was a... strangeness to her expression, like she wasn't looking at him exactly, more like she was looking at something in her own mind.

[Raron]

Okay.. creepiness factor of her thousand yard stare aside Edge figured the charm had a point... and at least inside creatures PROBABLY would only come at them from two directions at a time or so... rather then every direction except maybe from directly below. Nodding he wrapped an arm around her and hefting her to his shoulder with one hand he leaped from the tree, his feat light as they kicked off the stone work below and launched him towards the entrance. Hoping that speed might propel them through bobby traps, evil heart eating ghosts, etc... he was mildly disappointed when nothing happened when he got to the entrance. Still holding the Charm he paused to look around, to gaze at the ruins... and try to repress the urge to jump up and down squealing like a girl. This was it.. this was a real ruin. A ruin like one of the ones that Samus.. Samus freaking Aran was raised, she she picked up her gear, where she learned to kill space pirates with her bare hands. Edge...felt giddy. He felt happier then he had in a long time as he gazed on the runes, on the ancient broken statues, as he felt the metal of his boots slide on stone... stone that the chozo themselves carved... he took the time to be thankful for the suit's plumbing that allowed himself to pee himself from excitement and left no one the wiser.

The reminder of Momma in the form of the sound of a tree exploding behind them somewhere was all the invite Edge needed to step into the ruins, turning on his head lamps so he could cast light on the situation while he set the Charm on her feet and pushed her gently forward. Figuring that first of all she was diplomatic so maybe she would know about the langauge or something... and also if something moved, rotated to fire, or opened to attack her if it was an animated object he could fire at it, if it was something else he could grab her and hurl her behind him.

His lamp landed on moss growing on carvings, intricate portraits of Chozo in important rites...

".. I wonder what this all says?... ... I hope it isn't porn."