The survey drone floated silently in the night, its cloaking field also covering the swarm of smaller drones flying with it in nearly perfect precision. The graveyard was quite, fresh mounds of dirt covering the last resting places of hastily buried dead. The drone set itself down, and if anyone were nearby they may be able to feel the slight vibrations in the ground as it scanned with sonar. It waited a second and analyzed the results before floating back into the air and shining three small laser at a nearby plot. Immediately the smaller drones rushed to the spot and began digging the grave up with surgical precision, searching for their master.
Back on the ship, Cato was monitoring the progress carefully. Jan Alexi was important to the Federation's stability, she had taken out dozens upon dozens of the Federation's enemies, for bounty money or not. In many battles, she led the charge against rebels, pirates and insurrectionists. While Samus went on wild revenge missions, Jan was carefully planning her moves to keep the aging government propped up in an attempt to keep order and prevent anarchy. But recently, a snag in the plan had developed. From his records, Cato knew that Jan did not use the Zero-Suit interface. She had a terrible allergy to the material the Chozo made it from, and instead had a work-around neural interface jack at the base of her neck. It served well, but in recent year it had been... Deteriorating.
The coffin had been uncovered and the drones began to cut the cover from it. It was not a casket, it was a crude box of wood, with clear holes left so that the worms would devour the condemned body inside. So had Jan been treated in death. She died the death of a hated criminal. Cato knew it was not money or revenge that drover her, it was the pain. The decaying of the interface led to complications in the nervous system - at first it was only a slight numbing sensation at the neck. It grew into a sharp pain, but Jan was a warrior and could bear it. But recently it was too much for her. It would cause every nerve in her body to flare up in pain, paralyzing her until the correct dosage of painkillers could be administered. And in recent months, they were losing effect. To stay active, Jan had needed constant injections. She had already stated she was developing symptoms of addiction and was becoming more resistant to them. Soon she would be unable to take the pain, unable to even more, much less compete her duties vital to the Federation's survival. When some businessmen offered her a potential solution, she had no choice but to take it. Their plan had failed, and Jan payed the price. The cover was removed, and if any human had seen the body they would have vomited. The remnants of the power armor she wore was in shreds. Her entire body was ruined to the point she did not look human. Her limbs were gone, and her face... Cato scanned the faint IFF transmission from the suit.
She was still alive.
Immediately all its system lit up. A shuttle was sent to recover the body, and a stasis chamber was prepared to hold the fallen hunter's living carcass. She would likely suffer extreme amount of mental damage, perhaps lose her sanity... But it was a risk that was unavoidable. All the ship's systems began to decrypt the Chozo logs looking for anything relevant to the situation. One turned up. The Pool of Revival. It was a mythical pool meant to heal maimed Chozo warriors on the planet now known as Veron, a wild planet not inhabited by humans. Its wildlife was violent, and the combat drones would not be able to secure the area. But who could... Jake. Jacob Argon. Ex-Federation Special Forces. Declared a traitor and hunted by his own faction. Jan had saved his life, and he would likely return the favor. As the seal closed on the stasis chamber, Cato entered the coordinated into the warp drive.
The scenarios spoke for themselves. Without Jan's interference, the current amount of rebellions would only increase and lead to a revolt in roughly five years. With hundreds of anarchy afterwards. Jan was civilization's only hope. The ship rose, turned and fired up its mighty engines, lighting the night sky with fire. When it cleared the atmosphere, the warp drive engaged, and the journey began.
Topic: Mafia XVIII: Super Smash Bros. Brawfia! Day 12-"where the aspirin??" (Read 8229 times)
