Why Can't Metroid Crawl (Into My Heart)

Head to the meeting. No sense making them wait on you.

Head to the meeting. No sense making them wait on you. You may be slightly earlier than the appointed time, but it doesn’t look good to show up late to a meeting because you were trying to set a high score at the shooting range.

You walk up the ramp and hit the door switch to disarm the door shield. Some hunters liked to shoot them, but you thought that sounded pretty dumb because what if someone else shoots it from the other side right after you and you die? Clearly those people didn’t care about the well being of others. The door opens to the lower bridge, which seems like a very short walk for any invading force to reach the command center. Different levels of personnel perform various tasks to maintain.

You make your way through all of the security checks and scans, not seeing any of the other hunters. Maybe you're later than you thought… the doors to the meeting room hiss open, showing no one else was there. Only Admiral Dane and a holographic brain locked in a game of chess. The Admiral strokes his chin for a moment before reaching out to move a pawn.

Before he even sets the piece down, the brain says, “That move will result in a checkmate for me in seven moves.” He grunts and selects a different pawn, “That one will end the game in three.”

“Damnit 242! You’re supposed to be taking it easy on me.”

“This is me taking it easy on you.” The holochess disappears, “It looks like the first of our hunters has arrived.” The Admiral notices you for the first time and approaches you with his hand out.

“Glad you could make it, I’m Fleet Admiral Dane.” You complete the handshake, though you’ve never understood the point in handshakes. If they’re meant to show that you’re unarmed, what about the beings that can cause harm using abilities that are non physical? Regardless, they’re standard greeting procedure for those in the Galactic Federation. 

“It’s good to see that you’re a little more punctual than the other hunters, and I appreciate that.”

You wonder where the rest of the hunters are, since you were pretty confident that you were going to be late yourself.

This time the brain speaks, “They must’ve gotten distracted by the revamped shooting gallery. It’s been recently upgraded with new targets, challenges, and a high score leaderboard.”

Damn, I should’ve checked out the gallery. Could’ve met some of the hunters early. You think to yourself. Just then, the door opens again and a group of hunters stalk in the door. You quickly recognize Rundas and Ghor. The two were infamous for their part in the Phazon crisis, and how they had nearly been killed by the Federation’s mistakes with the PED devices. You really hope that this super top secret mission isn’t anything like that mission was. You think that it would be a bit above your skill level. You chat with the four hunters for a few minutes, learning a few things about their skill sets and past achievements while you wait for the remaining three to show up.

You already knew the basic spec on Rundas and Ghor, they were considered some of the most “good” hunters that went around the galaxy performing murders for money. There were other jobs that weren’t murder of course, but you know, murders made up a substantial amount of them. You did not recognize the other two on sight, but once they had introduced themselves, you remembered hearing about some of their high profile jobs. A lanky being that seems to absorb all the heat in the room is quietly chatting with Rundas about ice based weaponry. You know them to be Noxus. A member of a proud and secluded race that preached about truth and justice, you remember hearing that he could be “a pompous ass” sometimes. They are very picky about what jobs they take, although they didn’t seem to be aware of the concept of collateral damage, nor about any tarnishing of public opinion when bystanders were injured while completing a mission. The other is clad in boxy green armor with an opaque gold visor. He is notorious for having been a Space Pirate and a Galactic Federation officer, and was at some point exiled from both factions for unknown crimes. Now, he is considered one of the morally grey hunters, with no job too wretched or kind as long as the pay is satisfactory. You believe that he is probably one of the more sketchy characters to be around, but he is seriously skilled and never goes out of his way to harm anyone that isn’t explicitly labeled a target.