Hunter's Worries

[chozo_girl]

As for Samus, after the mission she's been quite busy. These were not normal Metroids. They were hideously mutated, and that strange splitting they did and shifting weaknesses were troubling - while to most people these are Metroids and that's that, Samus knows that the jellyfish shape is just the larva. And whatever these larvas would grow into, it would be to something nobody has seen before. Therefore, she detailedly scanned each of the Metroids in the station before killing them, and dumped the information as well as one of the analysis programs from her suit onto a laptop.

And so, now, anyone who goes by the Arboretum will get a glimpse of a frowning, focused Samus with a laptop sitting on her crossed legs, many lines of text and diagrams flashing in front of her. She's obviously thinking of a lot more than what's on the screen as well... it's really quite unusual to see Samus looking any kind of worried, though.

Bother her for information?

Comments

[emorangerpink]

[Normally Laura leaves Samus alone beyond a friendly acknowledgement when she's in the Arboretum, but this doesn't seem like meditation.]

Samus? Is everything all right?

[chozo_girl]

Laura. [A nod of acknowledgement]

Yes. For now. But the metroid larvae we fought were severely mutated. Even though the mutation weakened them overall, that does not bode well.

[emorangerpink]

You've fought things like these before? With those space pirates?

[chozo_girl]

[Head shake] Metroids are animals, and not affiliated with the Space Pirates.

And yes, I have fought them before. Metroid. The word means, roughly, "Ultimate Warrior" in old Chozo. They were bioweapons designed to stop the Great Parasite from devouring the galaxy, hundreds of years ago. But these were not normal metroid larvae.

[emorangerpink]

So you're worried if there are more, they'll be unpredictable.

Still, if they're weaker as larvae, they're not likely to be stronger as adults, are they?

[of-10-faces.livejournal.com]

That was quite the mess down on 30 Bunch. Did you find anything important about those Metroids?

[Leaning against a tree.]

[chozo_girl]

Yes. They were hideously mutated by some strange mutagen agent. Which is worrying.

[of-10-faces.livejournal.com]

Mutated in a bad or worse way? I noticed they were susceptible to my attacks.

[chozo_girl]

It weakened their defenses, and gave them strange powers. But what worries me are the implications.

Metroids are extremely resistant to mutation. Even larvae have been documented to be able to take mutagenic radiation in doses greater than 600000 rem without any change. Yet look at these data [Samus shows Tsukasa the comparative in her screen, a normal larva versus one of these Fission ones. And yeah, the level of mutation is huge and all-pervading through the body. Samus seems to be letting Tsukasa deduce the implications himself before saying more, though].

[of-10-faces.livejournal.com]

So in other words, someone's found a way to change their base structure, and mutate them into stranger, if just as deadly foes. Someone with knowledge that's outside of this area of space no less.

[russianbluerobo.livejournal.com]

Sa. Mus.

[A soft meow accompanied the tone. Vlaska was at her side, regarding the bounty hunter with a worried look.]

What. wrong? Why. like. this?

[chozo_girl]

Ah, Vlaska. [A slight smile, and soft scritching of greeting]

Nothing is wrong yet. But I was analyzing the data on the metroids we fought yesterday.

[russianbluerobo.livejournal.com]

Met-roid-s.

[Vlaska seemed to almost be trying to "roll" the word along his "tongue".]

Find. something. Important?

[chozo_girl]

Yes. They were greatly mutated at a genetic level. This weakened them, but gave them strange powers.

[She frowns]But Metroids are almost impervious to genetic decay. Whatever mutagen was enough to do that to so many Metroid larvas, it must be dangerous beyond any known substance. The estimated dose needed to create just the Metroids we killed yesterday, would have been enough to annihilate what remains of Earth's ecosystem.

And we know not if there is more of it, free, or even where it came from.

[russianbluerobo.livejournal.com]

[Now... Vlaska, despite being much smarter than most cats would not have understood a lot of that. But the latter parts of Samus's explaination were what made themselves VERY clear in his head.]

Annihilate..? Must. Find. Fast. Then. Earth. Home.. If. Not. Find. Bad. Things. Happen.

[Vlaska was now looking panicked, almost to the point of running about in frenzied and frightened circles.]

[mecha_eihwaz]

Wow, I didn't know humans can work with computer data so fast!

[chozo_girl]

Lily. [Nod of acknowledgement]

I am not that fast. I just know which parts I should pay attention to.

[mecha_eihwaz]

Uh huh. What are you working on, Miss Samus? Data from the colony?

[chozo_girl]

Yes. Those metroids were not normal ones. I decided to run some analysis.

[mecha_eihwaz]

And did you come up with anything...?

[srwuga_mods]

[And sure enough, after Laura's delivery, Ayame makes her own arrival to check in on Samus.]

I took a look at what you had Laura hand over to me; and it seems to me you deal with some very nasty things.

Then again, I suppose a woman who fashions herself a bounty hunter would have to.

[chozo_girl]

It's what I do.

[srwuga_mods]

Yes, well at any rate all this data should help us out, should we encounter these mutants or the real deal any time in the future. And all these considered, we probably will.

I suppose you're probably wondering though how Maxene knew what these things were, incidentally.

[chozo_girl]

[A nod] Notice the life cycle on the standard SR338 strain. Metroids are metamophic creatures. I know not what metamorphosis will imply in these Fission metroids.

And yes, I have wondered. Does she have the Sight?

[srwuga_mods]

Who honestly knows?

I've got a good handle on the captain, and Dan as well. I've been onboard this ship long enough for that. But Maxene... she knows things no person, witch doctor or not, should be able to find out.

All of that said, I trust that woman with my very life. Besides, she makes my job half as difficult in the infirmary.