05-09-2017, 07:56 PM
Perhaps there was a bit of hope in the gnome’s voice. Samus suppressed a smirk despite herself. She wouldn’t lead the gnome either way. Only she knew if she had the confidence to fight this war.
Samus was more interested in the chips. “I’ll have a look at those,” she said to Madotsuki.
The others took this as a cue to gather round and inspect the chips. The moment Samus touched one, she felt a tingle of power on her fingertips. “These might not be safe to handle.”
A chuckle came, as though echoing down a long corridor. “I’ll take my … chances.”
Samus glanced across at the owner of the voice and recognised him for the first time. One of the Primes who’d been fighting at the Nexus, who’d taken part in the huge battle against her one-time killer. Her immediate instinct upon getting a better look at him was to inquire after his wounds; but closer inspection showed that under the cracked and half-broken armor his entire body was a host to injury and … other guests. Samus she was glad her helmet had a filtration unit. Had he been like her, once? A hunter?
“Out of curiosity,” voiced Samus, “What world are you from?”
“Hmm …” The desiccated corpse rumbled. “A world of war. Endless war.”
“That could be almost any world,” the hunter retorted.
Her object of curiosity appeared to consider that for a moment. “Do you know of the Adeptus Astartes?”
Samus shook her head.
“Then you don’t know my world.”
Satisfied, Samus turned back to the chips. A black man, clad in a rather … eclectic combination of leather jacket, goggles and samurai sword, had already claimed one with a single word: “Dibs.”
Samus would have preferred a merits-based approach over the first-come-first-serve strategy, and the man clearly picked up on that. “… Unless anyone else wants to take a look first?” he offered.
“You realise these are dangerous tools, right?” Samus impressed upon him. She didn’t want to burn her bridges, working with allies was undoubtedly better than working alone, but … “I don’t want to have to cut down anyone who gets too much of that stuff in their system.”
“Neither do I,” said the man, and Samus could see in his dark eyes that he was serious. “What’s your credentials for judging, anyway?”
Samus bit her tongue and inspected the chip she had in her hand. Some text hovered above the image of a sniper scope. ‘ZERO IN ON TARGET AND KILL’, it read. The other chips had similar text: ‘MERGE WITH SHADOW AND STRIKE’; ‘LEAVE BODY DOUBLE AND EXPLODE’. It didn’t seem there would be any that read ‘Give a reasonable amount of power and leave your sanity intact’.
Then and there, Samus made the decision to use neither the chip, nor Hyper Mode unless absolutely necessary. Her armaments would suffice. With both her bombs and missile systems now in place, she had less reason than ever to risk her life on the quick-and-easy route. Damage to the suit could be repaired. Damage to her mind?
Further … damage
Might not be repairable.
Samus was more interested in the chips. “I’ll have a look at those,” she said to Madotsuki.
The others took this as a cue to gather round and inspect the chips. The moment Samus touched one, she felt a tingle of power on her fingertips. “These might not be safe to handle.”
A chuckle came, as though echoing down a long corridor. “I’ll take my … chances.”
Samus glanced across at the owner of the voice and recognised him for the first time. One of the Primes who’d been fighting at the Nexus, who’d taken part in the huge battle against her one-time killer. Her immediate instinct upon getting a better look at him was to inquire after his wounds; but closer inspection showed that under the cracked and half-broken armor his entire body was a host to injury and … other guests. Samus she was glad her helmet had a filtration unit. Had he been like her, once? A hunter?
“Out of curiosity,” voiced Samus, “What world are you from?”
“Hmm …” The desiccated corpse rumbled. “A world of war. Endless war.”
“That could be almost any world,” the hunter retorted.
Her object of curiosity appeared to consider that for a moment. “Do you know of the Adeptus Astartes?”
Samus shook her head.
“Then you don’t know my world.”
Satisfied, Samus turned back to the chips. A black man, clad in a rather … eclectic combination of leather jacket, goggles and samurai sword, had already claimed one with a single word: “Dibs.”
Samus would have preferred a merits-based approach over the first-come-first-serve strategy, and the man clearly picked up on that. “… Unless anyone else wants to take a look first?” he offered.
“You realise these are dangerous tools, right?” Samus impressed upon him. She didn’t want to burn her bridges, working with allies was undoubtedly better than working alone, but … “I don’t want to have to cut down anyone who gets too much of that stuff in their system.”
“Neither do I,” said the man, and Samus could see in his dark eyes that he was serious. “What’s your credentials for judging, anyway?”
Samus bit her tongue and inspected the chip she had in her hand. Some text hovered above the image of a sniper scope. ‘ZERO IN ON TARGET AND KILL’, it read. The other chips had similar text: ‘MERGE WITH SHADOW AND STRIKE’; ‘LEAVE BODY DOUBLE AND EXPLODE’. It didn’t seem there would be any that read ‘Give a reasonable amount of power and leave your sanity intact’.
Then and there, Samus made the decision to use neither the chip, nor Hyper Mode unless absolutely necessary. Her armaments would suffice. With both her bombs and missile systems now in place, she had less reason than ever to risk her life on the quick-and-easy route. Damage to the suit could be repaired. Damage to her mind?
Further … damage
Might not be repairable.
![[Image: 0bwAI3j.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0bwAI3j.jpg)