Metroid Fan Fiction ❯ Stumbling Toward Elysia ❯ The Tangled Web We Weave ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: The Tangled Web We Weave

 

Caution: This chapter makes reference to acts between consenting same-sex adults. Nothing explicit is shown, but if such things bother you, you may want to stop reading at about the 3/4 mark.

 

 

"Sir, I... well, um... sir, you can't go armed in a government building," the police guard said as he stood outside the security checkpoint of New Pacifica's Federal courthouse. "Isn't there any way you can... well, you know, not be wearing all that?"

 

"No," the armored bounty hunter said flatly.

 

"Well, can you just take the gun off?"

 

"No."

 

The guard, who had already begun to sweat underneath his suddenly too-tight dress uniform, wiped nervously at his forehead. He could lose his job for allowing a weapon into the sterile area of the courthouse, but the man in the golden armor posed an even greater, not to mention more immediate threat. "Look, I don't want to be a jerk, but I can't let you in with a working weapon... can you disable it, maybe?"

 

The hunter considered that for a moment, and then tapped a series of commands into a cleverly hidden control panel in the cannon's side. "You may take the control module," he said, removing a small optical chip from within the panel recess and handing it to the guard. "The cannon cannot be fired without it."

 

"Thanks, go ahead," the guard replied, but before he could wave the hunter through, a mechanical left hand clamped hard over his own that held the device. "That is a sensitive piece of circuitry. It will not react well to tampering. Neither will I."

 

The guard only retained control of his bodily functions by a supreme act of will. "Uh, wouldn't dream of it," he said vigorously, but the words had no sooner left his mouth than the hunter was gone, only the thud of armored boots on marble indicating the direction of his departure.

 

A moment's walk took the hunter to a small office on the main floor, and he knocked twice on the doorframe before entering. "Is there a judge advocate on duty here?" he asked.

 

"Yes, sir," said the office clerk, a young woman wearing the chevrons of a petty officer second class. "If you'll just wait a moment I'll page him for you. May I ask what this is in reference to?"

 

"I recently brought in a half dozen Space Pirates, and I need a warrant to present them before the court and claim my capture credit. The relevant documentation is on file at the police station in the Annex."

 

"That's fine, we can get that for you before close of business. And your name?"

 

"Samus Aran."

 

The PO2 tapped the information into her computer. "Lieutenant Cartledge should be here any moment. Have a seat if you like."

 

Predictably, the bounty hunter remained standing.

 

A few minutes later, an athletic young man in a naval officer's uniform strode into the office. "Hello there, Mr. Aran," he said. "I'm Lieutenant Cartledge, GFN JAG. My yeoman told me you have a piracy warrant you need sworn out?"

 

"That is correct," the bounty hunter replied, extending his left hand in response to the officer's attempted handshake. Cartledge blinked at that, but to his credit switched hands with only a moment's hesitancy. "I brought copies of the logs from my ship's sensors and my helmet camera. I hope that will be sufficient."

 

"More than sufficient. I wish half the hunters I get in here were as well prepared."

 

Swearing out the warrant only took a few moments, as the JAG officer simply reviewed the footage and examined it for signs of alteration. "That's it," Cartledge replied, printing off a hard copy of the indictment and affixing a seal to the document. "Let's go across the hall and serve this, and you can be on your way. You staying around for the Fifteenth?"

 

"No," the armored hunter said.

 

"Oh. Too bad, the fireworks show's supposed to be spectacular this year."

 

As they exited the office and joined the line for the admiralty docket, a nondescript-looking man in the garb of an advocate watched their progress. A moment later, he walked out of the courthouse with a satisfied smile.

 

*****

 

Good heavens, what do I have to do to get a meal in this city? Samus thought, narrowly avoiding being drenched in someone else's beer as the throng of people repelled her from the bar for the fourth time. Owing to the upcoming Unification Day festivities, Donovan's was jammed to overflowing, as was every other restaurant, bar and nightclub in New Pacifica. A crowd of half this size normally would have sent her packing, but the other six places she'd tried previously had all been as full or more so, and the prospect of eating a prepackaged meal aboard her ship appealed even less.

 

"Sammy! Hey, Sammy! I thought that was you!"

 

Samus glanced around at the call, and spotted a familiar purple face weaving through the revelers. "Oh, hello!"

 

"I just got here, do you believe this place?" Gandrayda shouted over the crowd noise, grinning as she approached. "You been here long?"

 

"No, just came in to get something to eat," Samus yelled back. "Bad idea, huh?"

 

"You're not kidding, this is nuts. Let's get out of here."

 

"Where to?"

 

"How about my place?"

 

Warning bells rang in a distant part of her mind. She didn't go anyplace that wasn't at least semi-public, and she absolutely didn't go anywhere with people she didn't know - both of those were great ways to wind up kidnapped or dead. Then again, she couldn't live a hermit's existence forever, and if the Chozo had taught her anything, it was how to take care of herself in a bad situation. "Sounds great. Let me just pay for this." As before, she handled the palm scanner left-handed, and Gandrayda smiled at the unusual mannerism.

 

"Let's go. I live just a few blocks from here."

 

Owing to the warm summer night, they walked the short distance to Gandrayda's apartment, which was located in a fairly pleasant, if rather bohemian neighborhood. "Nice place you have here," Samus commented as Gandrayda let them both in the front door. "Did you decorate this yourself?"

 

Gandrayda blushed a deeper shade of violet at the compliment. "Um, yes, actually. There's no real theme to it, just whatever I thought would look good... anyway, thank you." Walking to the small kitchenette, she asked, "I thought we'd order takeout. Mulholland's is all I have for beer, is that okay with you?"

 

Samus blinked at that - the famous ale was a bit more than she would have purchased for her own consumption - but she only smiled politely in reply. "That's great, thanks."

 

"So, what brings you back to this world? On the job, or here for the Fifteenth?" Gandrayda asked once she returned with their drinks.

 

"A little of both, actually. I closed a fairly large business deal this afternoon, so I'm in something of a celebratory mood."

 

Gandrayda snickered at that. "Good one, Sammy." She paused, and her tone took on a hint of grievance. "You know, you could have told me what you really do for a living."

 

Samus frowned in reply, confused and more than a little concerned. "What? I told you: private security--" she started to say, but Gandrayda cut her off.

 

"Which is a nice-sounding fib that really means a hired gun... or a bounty hunter. You're Samus Aran, aren't you? As in, Class A fugitive agent? Went from total newbie to top 50 in less than three years? Never seen out of that fabulous armor suit? Who everyone thinks is either a man or a robot? Tell me I'm wrong."

 

Samus nearly dropped her beer bottle at those words, and nausea roiled in her stomach as she realized that she'd been well and truly caught. Any denial she offered now would be instantly dismantled, and without her armor or even a backup weapon, she would have no way of fighting her way out if Gandrayda decided to act on her newfound knowledge. She couldn't even arrange a convenient domestic accident to stop Gandrayda from talking - she would have no way of explaining how her trace evidence came to be at the crime scene, and she had no idea if or to whom the shapeshifter might have revealed the secret already. Even as she contemplated the other woman's death, though, Samus had to offer her credit for figuring out her deception at all, let alone doing it so quickly. In just over a month, Gandrayda had deduced something that no one except for a handful of Chozo knew, a secret that had remained inviolate for three years in the public eye.

 

"You weren't joking about being a spy, were you." Taking a long swallow of her beer, she replied, "I am as you said." And heavens help me, I may well have just signed my own death warrant, her subconscious finished.

 

Gandrayda smiled affectionately at the look of fear the hunter was trying so strenuously to conceal. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I hunt heads too, remember? It's tough enough without everyone busting on you for being a girl."

 

"But you have a day job. Why chase bounties?"

 

"Sometimes for mad money, sometimes just to see if I can do it. Your guy Lafas, for example. I spent three weeks posing as one of his foot soldiers, trying to get enough evidence to take him down. And then you hacked his information systems, waltzed right in and walked out with the kingpin in handcuffs. I didn't know whether to hate you or bow down in admiration. Of course, the whole rank thing at the police station didn't help matters either."

 

Samus winced as she remembered the ugly incident. "You have no idea how awful I felt about that. And then in the bar that night, listening to you tell your side of the story, I about wanted to ball up in a hole and die."

 

"I wished you would - or at least, I wished the armored guy would," Gandrayda replied. "Probably a good thing I didn't know who you were back then, or I would have kicked your tail."

 

"And I probably would have let you. In any case, it wasn't as easy as you think," the hunter said, with a faint smile. "I just happen to have slightly better tools than most."

 

"Understatement of the galactic cycle," Gandrayda laughed. "Seriously, where'd you get that armor suit? I mean, not even the Wotans have anything that advanced."

 

"It was a gift from my grandfather," Samus replied, smiling with pride. "He was quite the engineer in his youth, and taught me everything he knew about mechanical stuff, computer hardware and so on. Anyway, he made it for me when I turned fourteen. Allegedly it has some Chozo technology built into it, but who knows."

 

Gandrayda chuckled at that. "I think your grandpa might have told you a tall tale there. The Chozo have been dead for ages," she said. "Whoever's tech it is, though, it's beyond amazing."

 

Samus just continued to smile, finishing the last of her beer.

 

"I have to ask you a question, and please be honest," she said a moment later. "How did you figure it out?"

 

"What, your secret identity? Promise you won't laugh." Gandrayda grinned as she refilled their drinks. "I asked the desk sergeant who the big guy in the armor was. You do have an unusual name."

 

Samus snorted at that. "Not exactly Jane Anygirl, eh?"

 

"You said it, I didn't. From there, I tried a vital records search, but that pretty much came up blank. So, I started looking for information on K-2L, and I stumbled across a picture of the old mining colony. You look exactly like your mom, you know that?"

 

"Actually, I didn't." Samus fell silent for a long moment, staring into her bottle. "I don't remember much of them. I was only three when..."

 

Gandrayda said nothing, simply placing her own hand over the hunter's and squeezing lightly. Samus tried to ignore the warmth that spread up her arm at the sympathetic gesture.

 

"Anyway, you were saying?"

 

"So, once I found that picture and I realized that it really was you, I just waited for you to show up again. Sure enough, the same day Samus the bounty hunter comes in with a gang of Space Pirates, that night Sam the private security agent is back at Donovan's. The kicker was when I watched you signing your tabs at the bar. You're right-handed, but you always sign with your left. I didn't put that together until I realized that your armor doesn't have a right hand."

 

"You know, you're the first person who's actually noticed that," Samus noted.

 

"Hey, they pay me to be observant," the shapeshifter replied with a grin. "And speaking of observing, did you notice the new bartender they had tonight? I'd take a piece of that any day."

 

"A piece? Is there a reason you wouldn't want the entire individual?" Samus asked, and her confusion only grew as Gandrayda nearly aspirated her drink, laughing until tears sprang from her eyes. "Did I say something funny?"

 

"It's a rather dirty joke," the shapeshifter explained, wiping at her face with the back of her hand. "It means... oh, never mind. Gods, how did you get this far in life and still be so naive?"

 

"I don't get out much," Samus replied guilelessly, which only made Gandrayda laugh harder. "Sammy, you are a trip," she wheezed. "My, you're an easy target after a beer or two."

 

"Oh, so you set me up to make fun of me," Samus said dryly. "Nice thing to do to a guest."

 

"Guilty as charged. Are you going to haul me in now?"

 

"Not unless there's a price on your head."

 

"Touché. So, back to the subject of bar-tending hotties. Do you have anyone special?"

 

Samus shook her head no. "Relationships don't exactly come with the job." Spinning her bottle absently about its base, she continued quietly, "No time... no interest..."

 

"Nice try, Sammy. Tell me another one." Pause. "Don't you get lonely?"

 

"I..." Her words died out as Gandrayda's fingertips traced the line of her jaw, barely skimming the sensitive flesh. Sensing no resistance, the shapeshifter leaned in close, hesitating for several seconds before closing that final distance, their lips meeting in a slow, tentative kiss. How can anything be so soft, she thought as the kiss went on, becoming more and more heated until their need for air finally forced them apart.

 

"You're even better than I imagined," Gandrayda murmured throatily, tracing the contours of her spine through the form-fitting T-shirt she wore. "Shall we dance?"

 

Confounded by the naked arousal in the other woman's eyes and the matching desire rising within, Samus fumbled for a coherent response, unsure of whether to proceed or even how. "This isn't... I mean, I'm..."

 

"It's all right," the shapeshifter whispered, mere inches separating their bodies. "I won't do anything you don't want me to do. As for the rest..." She paused, licking her lips. "I can be anyone you want. Anything you desire..."

 

Looking into Gandrayda's eyes, she made her decision.

 

"Be yourself. I don't want 'anyone.' I want you."

 

*****

 

Moonlight filtered through the blinds and into the bedroom, tinting the room in shades of black and silver. Oblivious to the view, Gandrayda slept peacefully, the light washing over her nude figure as she curled closer to the equally unclothed form of her lover.

 

Samus lay awake, staring at the play of shadows on the ceiling.

 

This was a stupendously bad idea, the voice at the back of her mind shrieked. You couldn't be more vulnerable if you tried right now. Unarmed, naked, and in a strange bedroom in a city you barely know. And worse yet, your lover - and let's not even think about how dumb that was - knows who you are. Even if she doesn't sell you to the first up and comer, she's now a target for anyone who might be gunning for you. You put her in danger, you put yourself in danger, and for what?

 

Well, her body answered that one. She couldn't remember ever having felt this good before. Memories of the night's activities flickered through her mind, and she smiled even as the old fear continued to circle and howl inside her head.

 

You better hope it was worth it, that shrill voice replied. Because your odds of getting out of here alive are approaching zero rapidly.

 

Carefully slipping out of Gandrayda's embrace and out of the bed, Samus walked over to the open window, hoping that a bit of fresh air would calm her frenetic mind. Outside, the streets still pulsed with partygoers, but they hardly drew a moment of her attention. Instead, she looked up at the stars, picking out the unfamiliar constellations in New Pacifica's night sky. The old childhood habit had never failed to calm her, and it worked just as well as ever tonight. Suppressing a yawn, she turned away from the window, intending to go back to sleep.

 

As she walked back toward the bed, a gust of wind blew through the window, scattering papers from the desk to the floor. Automatically, Samus leaned down to pick some of the papers up, and glanced at the top sheet as she made to return the stack to the desktop. The sheet contained part of a list, names and residences that somehow sounded vaguely familiar, and intrigued, she began to sort through the rest of the pile.

 

A donor list from the Galactic Anti-Piracy League, all surviving family or former residents of her homeworld. A bar napkin with her name and a series of lines of investigation written upon it. Images and diagrams of her armor. Court schedules and spaceport arrival and departure records, all with her name highlighted. An old photograph, dusty and faded but clearly showing that marquee they always used to build just outside the city park - and oh heavens, those were Papa and Mama standing there, which meant that the baby had to be her -

 

Gandrayda couldn't simply have stumbled across all this information - the shapeshifter had been stalking her, hunting her.

 

Somewhere in her mind, she wondered if she was overreacting, but adrenaline was already flooding into her bloodstream, overriding her rational faculties. Her eyes darted from corner to corner, and suddenly the room was too small, the air held no oxygen, her drinks had been poisoned, there was a sniper peering through the window, the arm thrown across the bedspread held a knife, a gun--

 

Run. Take the evidence, get out of here and never look back.

 

Moving as quickly and quietly as she could, she dressed, swept up the papers and made her way to the door. The hinges creaked just a bit as she eased it open, but Gandrayda remained blissfully asleep as she ducked out and closed it behind her. She broke into a sprint as soon as she reached the street, not stopping until she reached the spaceport, and that same frantic speed carried her aboard her ship and through the emergency take-off checklists. The radio howled Astro Control's displeasure at her for breaking departure procedure, but she didn't care - she only needed to put as much distance between herself and the planet as possible.

 

Once the Defender made the jump to hyperspace, she headed straight for the shower, turning the water hot enough to leave angry pink tracks across her skin and scrubbing until the soap had worn down to a useless sliver.

 

What have I done? Oh heavens, what have I done? she thought, leaning against the composite material of the shower stall, shaking with fear and self-loathing. Old Bird, help me...

 

Even as she thought the invocation, though, she berated herself for her weakness. All the people she might have confided in were dead, and none of them would have helped her even if they had lived. Although her Chozo family had never denied her care when she truly needed it, they had always stressed self-reliance as the signature quality of a true Defender, and Adam simply would have told her that a real soldier would never let something as stupid as a mistake stand between herself and completing a mission.

 

All right, so the primary mission is to save your own life; the secondary mission is information control. Get dressed, sit down and think it out.

 

If Samus prided herself on one skill, it was her ability to plan out a mission. Five minutes later, dressed in her heaviest sweatshirt and pants, she sat in the Defender's equipment bay with a cup of herbal tea and reviewed her situation.

 

On the whole, the breach could have been considerably worse. By her own admission, Gandrayda hadn't told anyone yet about Samus' other identity. All the evidence was circumstantial, and even in her panic-induced flight, she had managed to take everything from the apartment that could possibly corroborate Gandrayda's theory. With no proof, the shapeshifter would have a hard time finding anyone to believe her. Even if the story did leak out, anyone who actually knew anything about bounty hunting would discount the tale as yet another urban legend - "Samus Aran is really a woman" would go right down with all the other stories that "really" identified her as a man, a robot, an alien and whatnot.

 

She would be safe - but only if she never allowed any other living creature to see her true form again.

 

Well, that's not such a hard choice, is it?

 

She could remain in her armor indefinitely if she had to. As long as she topped off her energy tanks every few weeks or so, the armor would perform all the necessary life-support tasks for her, and barring a catastrophic failure, she wouldn't even need to remove it for repairs. She could still continue to pursue her career - indeed, she might even find it easier to do so, since she would always be prepared to take down any bounty at any time. Social contact was completely out, of course, but all of that was for normal people, and she had never been normal. In hindsight, it had been folly for her to even try.

 

A meter or so away, her armor stood in its storage armature, powered down and connected to the ship's energy supply for charging. Its helmet lay on the nearby work bench, and Samus picked it up, tracing her fingers absently over the metal's contours, staring pensively into the mirrored green of the visor.

 

Get used to it, she thought. For the rest of your life, this is your face.

 

In the years that would follow, she never returned to New Pacifica. She never left her ship without her armor, nor allowed anyone else to learn her true identity. And until that fateful call from the Federation, she never saw the beautiful shapeshifter again.

 

 

 

Author's Notes: Ouch again. One-night stand gone horribly wrong, on both sides. You have to wonder if the Chozo really did the right thing, raising their human hatchling in isolation - she really has no clue how to interact in galactic society, let alone how to deal with problems of a more intimate nature.

 

"My grandfather built it for me" is a reference to Samus' Chozo guardian, whose name translates out of Japanese as either "Old Bird" or "Bird Grandfather."