Fan Fiction ❯ Backdrifts ❯ Knowledge ( Chapter 2 )

A/N- I accidently forgot to change the author name from `Syntax' to `Coke' in the previous chapter- Syntax is my FF.Net pen name.

Part 2

She sat in the cockpit, the disk in her hand, sliding it into the computer on the deck. Making a hum of noise, searching, data soon filled the screen, and as Samus scanned the text, she felt the sudden need to take off her helmet.

With a hiss of pressure she lifted off the piece of suit, and took in the recycled air within her ship. She was still on the snowy planet, not having taken off yet, and strands of her blonde hair, wet from sweat fell loose from the tie.

The text was an official hacked Federation document. Her brows rose slightly, wondering just where the man had gotten this from. The Federation system was secured to almost a ridiculous degree, no one could have gotten this unless they worked there.

She frowned a bit, eyes lifting from the screen to the panel of glass that let her see outside. The cabin she had left looked as if it had never been there, only white drifts stretching as far as she could see. She shook her head slightly, wondering just what was with that man.

She had gained her informant after she had done a small retrieval job for him. While he had no actual money to pay her, he did have connections, and it was precisely what she needed. He had told her about a man with a limitless amount of information. He could get you anything you wanted to know. Samus had been skeptical. There would no doubt be a heavy price attached with such an apparent well of knowledge.

The informant said he had only ever met him once. The man never left the icy planet of J43-786, or so Peco had said. Samus thought the small being was a little too caught up in gossip, but the hermit apparently knew everything. And since Peco couldn't get Samus what she wanted to know, he referred her to someone who could.

She never thought anything of it. Unsure if this guy was for real or not, she decided to give Peco the benefit of the doubt, and headed to the frozen planet, following the coordinates given to her.

Whatever she had expected, was not what she found.

He was strange, no doubt, but he made her think twice, and she hated that. Samus normally followed her instinct, she never dwelled on anything, making snap decisions. The old bird had once told her she would make a brilliant tactician.

"If only you did not hate so."

She smirked at the memory. .

Her eyes went down to the screen once more, scanning through the base damage report.

`All armed soldiers were killed, most by high-powered weapons at close range. A small battle was evident, and there were no survivors. Of all base personal, only seven are accounted for. The remaining sixteen are missing, but presumed dead.'

Samus frowned in thought, unsure of what that meant. She had been tracking these Pirates for some time now, they never took hostages. And if indeed they were dead, they would hardly take the bodies with them. No, there was something else going on here.

She scanned down to the analysis report on the pirates, most of which she already knew.

`Reports indicate that these pirates were independent, while we have infiltrated most of the heads, there has been no indication of such an order for an attack. Federation psychoanalysts suggest they are not a newly formed gang, but are a constant source of attacks across the Alphares galaxy. There is no constructed pattern, but Federation agents have tracked them as far as the Morangeous Nebula. J3-930 is thought to be headquarters.'

She felt a smile stretch across her face, and she reached for her helmet, she knew redemption was close at hand.

~*~

Patrick Kowl sighed slightly as he sat at his Federation issued desk. Not even high enough in their standards for an office. He scoffed.

Kowl was the type of man that personified gruff cop. He was well into his late forties, and had a continuous growth of stubble on his face that never seemed to fail to tick his partner off, and a lined and weathered face that he was told scared small children. Of course, Perkins was an ass, so he didn't take the comment to heart.

He stared down at the assortment of case files scattered among the numerous screens on his desk. One in particular had his attention, and he rifled through the report given to him by one of the rookies.

The raid on the Federation post, and he was assigned to investigate. They had already uncovered the who and when, but not the why. The Galactic Federation didn't tend to care about that last part, and though his case was about to come to a close, he didn't like the feeling it gave him. Something a little off, a thing anyone else would have put off, thinking small time. Space Pirates were hardly a new occurrence, and the gaining strength of one particular gang had most of the Federation worried. The head was known only as Mother Brain. The gang was stirring up trouble, looking to be a formidable threat, but the Federation figured they were on top of it. Kowl doubted it.

So of course, when a small, independent gang shows up like so, it's brushed away, handed to him. They thought he was a fading agent, not useful enough to be given the hot cases, infiltration of Mother Brain's gang, things like that. Well fuck. He glowered a bit more.

But this case, supposed to have been shut, was not. He kneaded through the information, the home base in their database. But there was no action. There was no interest. Well Kowl sure as hell had some interest. He had a feeling. He was sure the only person that took that seriously was his partner.

Who incidently had just entered the room, heading towards Kowl, holding a disk. Mack nodded slightly to Kowl, and handed him the small square plastic.

"What's this, Mack?"

Mack fought a frown. "Autopsies. Like you asked for."

"Ah right. Just checking." He smiled charmingly, and Mack smirked.

Most wouldn't have had a second thought about Mack, had they not seen her. Her name was like the hard-nosed detectives Kowl had thought about in the ancient histories of man. Kowl was a human, born and bred, with ancestry leading back to Earth. Mack, was not, which was quite funny when Kowl thought about it.

She was a Mestivinian, a race of bipeds that aside from two hands, legs, and a head, had nothing in common with humans. Gender was an iffy thing, and Kowl wouldn't even have known Mack was female if she didn't tell him. Her skin was covered in rubbery, rope like appendages, eyes only a single slit in her face, mouth a slit below it. It was hard to judge her expressions, but Kowl had mastered the art of reading a person. And he could read Mack like a book.

She shoved the plastic disk irritably into Kowl's hand, he smirked as he took it and stuck it into his computer. The screen flashed to life with images of each of the deceased, including a long and very boring looking report.

"Mack, what does this mean?" He asked, not bothering to try and understand it all. She sighed, or at least let out a gust of breath that could be taken for a sigh. Kowl wasn't sure if she actually knew what a sigh was, but didn't waste time thinking about it.

"It means nothing. Nothing was found, just death from close range high-powered blasts. Usual Space Pirate weaponry."

Kowl frowned. "Nothing eh?"

"Nothing." Mack paused, then added as an afterthought. "I don't know what you expected to find, but maybe the Federation isn't the way to go about it."

Kowl raised an eyebrow at his partner, her strange face was blank. Mack, the most devoted, by the book agent, asking him to get a little dirty? Huh. A smile spread on his face.

"Get off it." Mack said, with what Kowl was sure would have been an eye roll had she had the proper eyes. "I'm going home. You can sit here like that if you want." She didn't hesitate at all, turning swiftly to leave much like she arrived.

Kowl smirked a bit, going over what he knew. Using as much of the resources available to him, he had found the group wasn't young. Similar random attacks that fit the profile stretched a good twenty or so years back. The Federation simply had not cared about it, or followed it through. Other, more important things seemed to take precedent over a few scattered attacks on space colonies and outposts. Never planets.

The first case reported that Kowl had associated with these pirates was of K-2L, a small planet with the beginnings of civilian colonization. The atmosphere was being converted, and hopes were the planet would be livable in a century. Yet there had been no survivors after a vicious raid, though the report curiously enough included the involvement of another race. The Chozos.

Kowl had looked them up on the database, they were an ancient race, keepers of highly advanced weaponry and technology. Near K-2L was the planet of Zebes, the home of the Chozos. Kowl thought back on Federation involvement with the race- they had openly shared technology until recent years where any attempts by the Federation to offer an alliance were rejected. The race had become fiercely independent, and aside from a few skirmishes involving the pirates, were wary to involve themselves in anything. Kowl wondered about that, curious.

Finding that almost everyone else had also left for the night, Kowl stood, grabbing his jacket, and left the building. The atmosphere was created on this planet, glass domes still covered much of the sky as large machines pumped and re-filtered breathable air so the planet could be populated. The Federation building was the largest of the structures, and as he left it, strolling along the mostly empty roads, he realized how dead it felt here.

The bar he frequented was a welcome change. It was smelly, grungy, and just the way he liked it. Taking his place at the bar, he gestured for a drink, glancing at his watch. He had sent an outgoing message just before he had left, so his informant should be here anytime soon.

In the meantime, he got pleasantly on his way to being drunk. Before arriving there he glanced over towards the doors as they swung open to let in a small gray being. He smirked, remembering the old myths that used to be associated with that race from human standards, a lot having to do with anal probing. He let himself laugh at that, realizing he was further along to being drunk than he thought.

The gray being hopped up on the stool, glaring at Kowl, face seemingly impassive. "You smell like crap, Kowl."

"Thank you, Peco. You're a good... man..thing."

Peco shook his head. "What did you call me for?"

"Information my good buddy, information."

"But of course."

Kowl tipped his glass up at the gray alien, taking another swing. "Tell me Peco, you know anything about Space Pirates? Not big guys, small time. Attacked a base a bit back."

Kowl thought he saw Peco start. "What?"

"Nothing." He answered too quickly, obviously thinking about Samus' similar request, but not that Kowl knew anything of it.

"So?"

"Well, not me personally. But I know of a person who could."

"Yea?" Kowl looked sober for a moment as he took in the information. "Who?"

"A hermit, lives on a lifeless planet, but he knows a lot of things. More than me by far."

"More than you, Pecky?" Kowl laughed, "I wouldn't have thought anyone knew more than you."

Peco ignored Kowl, not sure if it was an insult or not. "Granted. And don't call me Pecky."

"You should get drunk sometime, Pecky. Its fun."

"No it isn't. But you go ahead and have your fun." Peco shook his head, hopping off the stool to leave. Kowl was about to shout that he hadn't left him the coordinates for the hermit, but caught himself as he saw a paper scribbled with the numbers. Funny... he hadn't seen him write that. And where did he put that paper? Wasn't like the little guy wore any clothes. Kowl decided to stop thinking, and grabbed the paper, stuffing it into his pocket. He'd have to swing over there after his hangover wore off the next day. But that was yet to come, and he ordered anther drink.

~*~

Space never failed to amaze her. The inky vastness, specked with pinpoints of lights, stars that were light-years away, but looked so insignificant. Surely, she thought, each of them housed an orbit of plants and spawned life. She loved that thought, infinite stars with infinite life.

The coordinates for the home base of the Space pirates was punched into her computer, and the autopilot took over, leaping into warp speed. Even at the rate they were going, it would take a few hours to get there.

In the meantime, Samus had taken off her suit in the deceivingly roomy space of her ship. She felt the grime from the days of work on her skin, and wanted desperately to get cleaned off. The inside of her suit probably smelled like something awful, so she had put it into the autocleaner, before taking a turn herself. Not nearly as satisfying as an old fashioned shower, but efficient enough.

She wondered not for the first time, exactly what she would do once she got there. Infiltrate the base, of course, and seek out the leader, taking great pleasure in killing him. Yet the Chozo elder had looked at her, saddened. As if he could foresee the bitterness that would forever taint her. But didn't he realize she couldn't rest until she had killed them? Those who had taken everything from her.

"But you refuse to acknowledge what you have gained. Strength. Intelligence. Passion."

The voice of the old bird that nagged at her always, whenever she thought of the satisfying feeling that would accompany the death of the space pirates.

"But death is not an ending. You will not feel absolved."

"I know" She whispered, for the first time admitting to herself that this would not quench her thirst. She would continue on her path, but the face of the Chozo she thought of as a father, the one who had been taken from her, and the faceless parents that she never knew, never let her rest. She had to kill them, there was no other way.

"Just remember, our newborn. Do not bury yourself in your hate. Lift yourself from it, and continue your fight."

And she would continue the fight, for as long as it took. Her thoughts quieted, and she rested during the journey. It felt as if she had barely closed her eyes when the computer beeped at the approaching planet.

Surprised, she realized it wasn't a planet, but in fact a moon, as the ship veered towards the smaller mass. It was green and blue, reminiscent of earth, not barren and rocky like most moons. Samus guessed it might indeed have been a planet, but was pulled into the gravity of a larger one.

She stood from where she had lain, dressing in the Power Suit that the Chozo had given her. The visor powered on, and she blinked as her vision adjusted to the screen, sitting back in the cockpit to guide the ship down safely.

The entrance to the atmosphere was rough, and the ship shuddered through it as she flexed her muscles to steady the control. The landing was not exactly smooth, but they settled, and she checked the computer for surrounding life signs. Other than small native creatures, there were none.

She exited the ship with a deep breath, readying herself for the battles that would surely follow.

Opposition was light, and the creatures preferred to ignore her rather than attack, but her arm stayed on her cannon. Pushing her way through the thriving plant life, Samus thought she felt them move with her, and she considered that perhaps the plants here were their own kind of creatures.

Her visor beeped, indicating a large structure, she followed the path it gave her, pushing away the greenery and stopped short.

So obviously not a part of this planet, the large, steel structure made her crane her neck up as far as her suit allowed, following the tall tower, for it seemed only to go up, not out. She wondered at the efficacy of that, but thought nothing of it, curling fingers over her cannon just that much more tightly before she stepped forward.

~*~

Kowl frowned as he stared out from the main deck of his ship. Snow. And a lot of it. He frowned some more, fastening the hard suit more securely to his body, and pulling on his helmet. By god, if Peco was lying to him he'd personally skewer the alien and eat him for dinner.

The snow was hard to get through, and flurries came down, obscuring his vision even more. The visor on his suit was beaded over from the melting snow, and he glowered. The federation issue Hard Suit was a piece of shit. While more of an office man, Kowl had seen his days of action. Too bad his own suit shorted out on that mission to Scartesh. He sighed to himself, trudging through the white drifts, wiping at his visor to squint at the brown blob that he assumed to be where the hermit lived. The mother-of-a-hangover-that-hadn't-worn-off-yet didn't help matters much, and even now, a slight throbbing of a headache bothered him.

Approaching the home, he saw a rather blurry version of a log cabin. Very rustic. He smirked.

He fisted a hand and banged loudly twice on the door, hoping there was someone in there, or this would be just a complete waste of time that he didn't appreciate. But sooner than he thought, the door creaked open, and a hand ushered him in before closing the door shut.

Kowl looked around at the lived in quarters before taking in the hermit himself. "Tell me, what is this air?"

The man raised an eyebrow, but answered anyway. "Oxygen. Carbon dioxide." He added as an afterthought, and Kowl pulled off his helmet, eyes adjusting to the dimly lit cabin. He frowned at his helmet, meaning to corner someone and complain about the visor.

But he didn't get far in his mind, thinking about the amount of expletives he'd like to cram into his request. His eyes took in the other man, and his haggard face twitched a bit as he observed that he was a man who not too long ago must have been a boy. Humanoid in appearance, if not slightly ticked looking at the intrusion.

"Don't tell me. Peco sent you?"

Kowl smirked at the irritated tone of voice, thinking that Peco had been sending quite a few customers the way of this guy. It seemed it was the answer he wanted, and the man went back to his couch, settling himself down, smirking a bit as Kowl did the same across from him.

"I take it you want information?"

Kowl tried to study the figure before him, but his training at reading faces faltered. The guy obviously wore a hell of a good poker face.

"How intuitive." Kowl replied, slouching back. "If you don't mind me asking, what the hell are you doing on this shitty planet?"

"Actually I do mind you asking," The man replied icily, but Kowl took no heed of it. "But not for lack of courtesy, I'll answer your question. I have a feeling it would be bugging you long after you left here."

Kowl nodded, smiling a bit. So this young man was reading him, as he himself was trying to do. Interesting.

He glanced out to the window. "For one, I like solitude. But that aside, it's my eyes. They aren't exactly perfect, no technology can fix them." He smirked, glancing back at Kowl. "I suppose you couldn't have guessed that I can't see you. Oh I know you're there, I see your shape, your mannerisms, but I don't see you." He paused, smiling strangely to himself, and Kowl furrowed his brows at the revelation. No, he wouldn't have guessed. The man acted as if he could see perfectly fine.

"Something about the white snow, and the white sky, and the reflection of the sun on it. I'm able to see it. The only thing I can see, but it's beautiful."

He smiled slightly, wistful Kowl could guess. He turned back to his guest, no proof of what he said with his eyes fixing on Kowl's face. "What did you want?"

"Information, of course."

The man laughed a bit. "What makes you think I have information?"

Kowl looked at him in disbelief, then a slow realization. "You know I'm Federation. How?"

"I don't need to see you to know that." The man said, shaking his head.

"I'm not here to arrest you. I know perfectly well a lot of what you know you shouldn't, and sure as hell probably should be arrested for. I'm not here as an official cop. I'm here as a customer, wishing to know certain things."

"Hmm." It was not affirmation, but Kowl figured it wasn't dismissal either.

"And payment?"

"How much?"

The man snorted, not amused. "How about protection? You make sure the federation doesn't know about me."

"Fair enough."

The man glanced up at him, and Kowl wondered how if he couldn't see, he learned such a gesture. But he figured this man's problem was not as simple as blindness. "I need to know about a space pirate gang."

The man's face registered something, but Kowl had a hard time figuring out what it was.

"Why?"

"I'm the agent assigned to the case. And I want to know the real business with this scum. I know you have information that I don't, things that are not in the federation base."

The man furrowed his brows. Kowl of course hadn't known the other man had useful information, but his bluff seemed to have worked. The man answered carefully. "Yes. I do have information on them. Information not on the Federation database."

Kowl grinned, "Good."