Phase Eleven: Keep Calm and Drink Tea

[emorangerpink]

1. (the hangar)

[After the chaos of the fight, the hangar crew are working overtime on cleanup duty. Laura's pitching in, flying around in The Great Pretender, righting fallen mechs and clearing heavy objects.

For now, though, she's in the open cockpit of the Knightpolice she's been working on in her own time for the last while, and which came

Comments

2

[chozo_girl]

Who?

[Voice from nowhere - no, from upside. Looking up, Samus is there on a branch, looking down. Turns out, the tree Laura is under happened to be housing a bounty hunter in thought, so she heard Laura's mutters]

[emorangerpink]

- Oh, Samus.

[Laura leans back further, enough to meet the hunter's eyes.]

...My parents.

[chozo_girl]

I see.

[Samus jumps down to stand besides Laura]

How long has it been since you had contact with them?

[emorangerpink]

Almost five years, now. Before my illness.

[chozo_girl]

What was the reason?

[Samus is not the kind to make assumptions]

[emorangerpink]

I'm not sure.

What I was told was that Dantoinne offered to take over my medical costs and move me to a private hospital. They accepted, and then stopped visiting, and stopped calling, and seemed to forget I existed. When I left the hospital... for a lot of reasons, I didn't try to get in touch.

Now, though... I don't know if any of that's true. For all I know Dantoinne abducted me from where my parents had me, or faked my death, or anything. The staff who... helped me to decide what to do when I left, any or all of them might have been doing just what he wanted, to manipulate me.

[chozo_girl]

I see.

You should find out, then. [There's an extra edge of seriousness in Samus's already serious voice]

[emorangerpink]

I know.

I just need to... I'm not sure what to say. If it was all a lie... but I'm not sure it was. I don't want to hurt them, but I don't want to let them hurt me, either.

[chozo_girl]

[Nod. Then thought for a few seconds before speaking again]

Informing them of where and how you are and asking whether they want to reestablish contact would seem the best course.

If they agree, or if they believe you to be a lie by a third party, I can take you to them and back quickly.

[emorangerpink]

[Laura looks surprised.]

That's... very kind of you, Samus.

I'll keep it in mind. I've already got plans to head home, though, whether they answer or not. There are... a lot of loose ends I'd like to tie up. Some things I'd like to start.

...

You're not offering only because we're friends, are you?

[Presumptuous to imply they're friends? Well, technically Laura hasn't, not quite. Her implication stands, though - this feels like there's more to it than just Samus being neighbourly.]

[chozo_girl]

I offer because my ship is among the fastest in the Earth sphere [Being like four technological revolutions over Earth tech does that]. I expected you to be renuent to leaving the Chalice for long until the crisis is over and preempted any problems with such.

[She then stays silent for a couple seconds. Thinking what to say? Thinking on why she offered? Thinking on how to blow Laura's implications off? Who knows. This woman is more opaque than a black hole.]

I am not certain if I would not say friends. It is a word... I do not use frequently. But I would not have made that offer to many people.

[emorangerpink]

I know. Thank you.

[Laura's not sure if Samus misunderstood her or just dodged the question, but either way there's no point prying. Whatever motivates the hunter's particular concern with her family life is almost certainly too personal an issue to pressure her over.]