Chapter 9 - Upgrades people upgrades

speech:"like this"

though:'like this'

telepathy:<like this>

comms:=like this.=

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

┍ Main Cast ┑

Cadmus

Samus

Lala

┕ ┙

┍ Returning Cast ┑

Derous Ordo

┕ ┙

///3RD POV///

A few weeks after their first mission.

Pum Pom PuPum Pom Pom Pupom Pom Pum Pum Pom Pom.

Radio:~Hail~

Cad, Lala:"~Hail~."

Radio:~What's the matter with your head? Yeah~

The trio is now landed on the massive desert planet Tatooine, Lala is finally upgrading Samus's ship after getting the necessary material and resources to do so.

Radio:~'Cause you're fine, And you're mine, and you look so divine~

Cad, Lala:"~'Cause you're fine, And you're mine, and you look so divine~"

They landed away from the city and Cadmus raised a barrier, to make them go unnoticed from undesired eyes.

In these weeks the war has been raging on, the Empire is ever-enclosing on the Outer Rim worlds, dominating it one by one.

At the same time, while the first campaign on the Sith Empire incursion on Korriban was happening, three other places were attacked, one of those being the primary Republic Star Cruiser construction site.

Radio:~Come and get your looove~

Cad, Lala:"~Come and get your looove~"

And yet, with three whole sectors, filled with planets and resources, being aggressively taken with all the standing forces being annihilated, politicians gotta do politics.

They had the brilliant idea of sending an ambassadorial party to talk things out.

The Sith Emperor, allowed them to get close enough to transmit images of the Sith fleet to the Republic before obliterating them.

Radio:~Come and get your looove~

Cad, Lala:"~Come and get your looove~"

The immediate response from the Republic was to send their own fleet to fight back and liberate the besieged sector of Tingel Arm.

Arriving at an obvious trap, being surrounded by Imperial flee and turncoat Republic vessel they were forced to scatter and escape or else risk annihilation.

Derous:"Are they always like that?"

In sum, things aren't going great for the Republic right now, and even with this blatant threat, there a still people in the Senate that are not convinced.

At the very least, since the information about the Sith's return was delivered earlier in this timeline, more people are treating it more seriously, so even with the nay-sayers and the constant disorder in the Senate, progress is being made.

Samus:"...yes."

At Derous's question, who made no effort to hide the amusement in his voice, even through his helmet, Samus answered with a tired voice, and yet her foot still tap to the rhythm.

They were watching Lala with protective glasses and overalls dismantling parts of Samus's ship and Cadmus waited for them to fall on him to carry away.

Samus thought that she would be more reluctant to allow such a thing, but spending these weeks with them, she had to admit it was nice.

She wasn't looked at as a weapon, she wasn't shunned for her messy DNA, and she wasn't greedily looked at to be a guinea pig in a lab.

She was just Samus, a temporary companion in a weird dimensional adventure.

And she had to admit that she was having fun, they were annoying but fun, she hadn't had this much fun since.....

Samus:"Fun huh?"

Derous:"What is it?"

Samus:"No, they are always like this, they don't get serious often, it's like everything is a big joke for them I don't know how I can put up with it."

Shaking her head from the somber memories of the past, Samus proceeds to comment on their behavior as if complaining while massaging her forehead, making Derous chuckle.

Lala:"That is something that you would say, Tsundere Sam."

Finally noticing Derous arrival, Cadmus and Lala stopped what they were doing and approached them.

Hearing what Samus was saying about them Lala, with a smirk, commented.

Samus:"Stop saying that, I'm not a tsundere."

Cringing and becoming embarrassed, Samus almost shouted, initially when Lala called her tsundere Samus didn't care much as her tone wasn't malicious.

But after Cadmus explained what it meant all hell broke loose she complained and shouted incensed, saying that she is just trying to get home and as soon as she returns she would never see them again and that she was hating every minute of this trip.

But the red face didn't help her case.

Actually, she knows that she is liking it but she is scared, her past taught her well not to trust so she is careful not to get overly involved.

Derous:"Huh? What is a Tsunde–"

He didn't even manage to finish his sentence as the sharp glare from Samus made him retreat with his hands raised.

Cad:"*chuckle* You won't convince anyone acting like that."

Samus:"*hmph*"

Cad:"Derous my friend, good to see you."

Derous:"Good to see you too, I brought the things you asked."

Lala:"Oho, let me see, let me see."

At Cadmus's comment, Samus just hmphed and looked away making Lala giggle at her behavior.

Greeting Derous, who have been on friendly terms with the group since the mission on Dantooine, Derous pointed at the gravicart that was behind him.

Cadmus's group had a few missions with Derous in these weeks, as he knows more about the place(Outer Rim) and has more contacts they made a deal that Derous with help them out and guide them.

In exchange, they would help him with bigger jobs that he couldn't handle himself.

Of course, all with a fair price, this is still business after all.

And now, finally, Derous managed to acquire the reward for saving his life.

Lala:"Ohhhh, so this is Beskar, not bad, not bad, I will run some tests before upgrading your armor Samus."

Samus:"Uhun."

Looking at the silver ingots in the cart, shining, reflecting the sun, Lala let out a sigh of admiration and Samus just looked seriously at it.

This is something that Samus was having internal turmoil till now.

Allowing them to modify her ship was one thing, but her armor is part of her body, it's like an outer layer of skin, an exoskeleton.

Would it be wise to let them mess with something so personal considering that she still didn't fully trust them yet?

But then again she also didn't trust the Alliance back at home and knew that they would rather dissect her if they could.

And that was the dilemma she was having, she had to let those unsavory people tinker with her "skin" back at home, at least these two only want to do it because she is considered weak.

Huh, weak, that is the first time she was considered something like that since her time with the Chozo.

All these things passed through her head and she could not help to have a small, sincere smile on her face, not noticing Cadmus briefly looking at her in the midst of his conversation with Derous.

Although Cadmus wasn't reading her mind, which he could either with his runes or with the grimoire.

But he could see her apprehension and he was getting worried about her, so he was keeping his eye on her to see the best moment to sit and talk.

Now noticing that she wasn't making dark faces all the time and her mind was getting stable, he would do it soon.

Lala scanned the metal with a few machines before nodding to herself and taking all to the ship.

The ship's interior suffered an immense change, Cadmus enhanced the interior to be bigger on the inside, now, it has as much space as a high-class cargo ship while maintaining the smaller and slick appearance.

In fact, what they were doing on the outside, as they were taking the external metal shielding, is upgrading it, along with its systems, along with retrofitting it with compatible ports for the know systems in the galaxy.

Now the ship will finally be able to communicate properly with its own systems instead of relying on Lala's crazy inventions.

Cadmus also is adding a few runes in the shielding for added protection, nothing too big as it would need activation, and since the initial intent is for Samus, eventually, go her own way and she couldn't possibly use those runes

These are the major reasons why Samus was in a dilemma.

Not only they are not interested in using her, but they are also strengthening her and thinking about how she will be able to keep like that after they part ways.

This makes it hard for Samus to not put some trust in them.

They are already strong, stronger than her, and she doubts that the upgrades they are giving her would be enough to overpower them.

Lala and her weird inventions aside, she can't imagine herself beating Cadmus.

Let alone at the beginning when she saw his weird powers, but now, watching the training regiment that he puts Lala through every day and does with her without breaking a sweat.

They all took a break and spend some time speaking with Derous about miscellaneous things before deciding to meet later and do another mission.

They now have a considerable amount of resources considering the raid they did in the Hutt hideout on Dantooine.

Lala and Cadmus finished the external changes to the ship and now, proceed to smelt the Beskar to make upgrades on Samus's armor.

Lala:"Raise it a little more."

Cad:"Ok."

Samus in full armor was in a water tank on the ground, waiting for the process to begging.

She was nervous, although they explained the process to her, along with the safety measures they would be taking she still couldn't help but feel nervous.

Cadmus offered to do it another day when she would be more sure about it, but she said no.

Now there she lay, feeling defenseless, even in full armor, questioning herself if this was the right decision.

Cad:"Are you alright?"

Making her flinch, taking her from her deep thought, a kind, familiar voice asked her.

Samus:"I'm fine."

She tried to sound resolute, but Cadmus was more than a veteran to pick up subtle hints of distress from the people surrounding him.

Cad:"No you are not fine, we will be canceling the proce–"

Samus:"You don't think I can take it?"

Cad:"What is there to take it?"

That was true, the metal would only be hot enough to fuse with her permanent armor, Cadmus would use his runes to maintain it in a liquid form even after it turned cold enough to start hardening again.

Different from the upgrades made by the Alliance or the Chozo themselves, this would change the core of the armor.

Meaning.

This would be the default form, even in its weakened state.

In other words, she would not lose it.

Samus's armor is a symbiotic one, it can be damaged to the point of becoming "weakened' and needing to regrow, so, it would have a most basic form.

The infusion they were doing it's to make it a permanent upgrade to the armor, so even in its weakened state, it would be as strong as a full-body Beskar armor.

The liquid that Samus is immersed in is an invention of Tearju, it works as a cellular catalyst for organic metal or to help nanobots rewrite genetic codes.

So really, it is a safe operation.

Samus is only nervous because she still doesn't know if she should trust them or not.

Samus:"..."

Cad:"*sigh* Sam, you don't have to do it if you don't want, you don't have to prove anything, this is something you have total choice over and if you don't trust us on something like this, it's fine, we understand."

Seeing her hesitation, Cadmus sighed and with the most calm voice, he started to speak.

Cad:"There is no rush for us to do something like this, sure, there is a war going on and we will have to take part in it but you already are strong enough, and we will still have your back."

Cadmus approached the tank and looked down at her, his eyes looking at hers through the visor.

Like in a trance, she looks deep into his, hearing every word as if not wanting to miss it.

Hope and apprehension could be seen in her serious eyes, it was like she was waiting for this.

Until now there was only small talk and banter between the three of them.

All of it did warm Samus's heart, as she never had something like this, this comradery, something that she saw in the military, how they treated their brothers-in-arms, but was never "allowed' to partake.

Now, now finally came the serious, honest, talk, something that she was equally hopeful, terrified, glad, and panicking.

What should she say? What she has to do? Is it safe to share? Would they be willing to share with her?

Cad:"Trust is something that must be earned from both sides, and I know, since we are strong it's way easier to deal with the consequences than you, so don't worry my child, take as much time as you need, our journey is long."

Cadmus warmly smile at her, indicating that everything was alright, that they understood her side and weren't offended by her doubts.

Samus's heart beat faster as she was both elated and scared.

Could it be? Did she finally find people that she could fully trust? Would they mind her past? Would they think of her as a weapon? As a genetic blueprint of an extinct race to be studied? An information shard from an unknown technology to be dissected and analyzed?

Cad:"For now, until the trip is over, we have to be and will become a proper team, I am willing to give my back to you, and will wait for you to do the same, don't worry young lady, there is nothing wrong with the way you are thinking."

She felt his hand, squeezing hers inside the liquid, her armor did not prevent the feeling of touch when in a safe environment, or when needed.

It would have been inconvenient if she had to use her senses in a possibly hazardous atmosphere and had to take off part of her armor and risk infection or poisoning.

Seeing his calm, warn, comforting gaze, looking at her she couldn't help but reminisce.

The only person that treated her as a person, the only person that gave her hope, the only person that did care about her wellbeing as Samus, not as the last warrior of the Chozo.

Adam Malkovich.

Her only commanding officer and somewhat father figure.

He was a strict man that cared for all his soldier well-being.

She was not as cooperative as a youth, holding a great disdain for the authority that Adam had to deal with.

"Any objection, Lady?"

Adam's words resonated in her head, she can never respond now, she can never thank him, and she can never tell him how much he meant to her.

And more importantly, she can never again hear him say these stupid words after a mission briefing.

Catching herself from the melancholy of the past, Samus looked resolutely into Cadmus's eyes.

Samus:"I do trust you, Cadmus."

She decided to take a leap of faith.

Cadmus looked a few seconds into her eyes before nodding.

Cad:"Very well, we will get this over with, just know that if you want to talk, I'll be here, as well as if you want to know something about me, I don't mind telling you."

She nodded thankful and closed her eyes.

Turning to where Lala was, Cadmus saw her with a happy smile.

Even if she likes to get on Samus's nerves, Lala sees Samus as a friend and likes her company, so she is happy that Samus is taking a step toward trusting them.

With the Beskar now melted Cadmus started to use his runes.

Once it became at an acceptable temperature for a safe, cellular chemical process, the liquid Beskar was transferred to the tank Samus was on.

Quickly, Lala activated the console on the tank and supervised the processes, only giving some stimuli to guide the process to the desired result.

As it was something more complicated, it wasn't the usual quick transformation that Samus was used to.

She could feel the changes, all positive, at first, she felt her armor getting heavier, but soon it got back to the normal weight that she was accustomed to.

She figure Cadmus had something to do with it.

An hour and a half later the process ended and Samus felt more powerful than ever in her armor, she knew that it wasn't just the defense that was improved at the end of the process and she was eager to test it out.

Getting up from the tank and looking at her now silver suit with bulkier shoulders she couldn't help but admired it.

(Image)

She looked at Cadmus and Lala and although she didn't say anything, both could see the gratitude in her eyes and just nodded in response.

She looked at Cadmus, not knowing how to word her wish.

Samus:"uhh, Cadmus, would it be a bother to train me as well."

A little embarrassed she asked.

Cad:"Not a problem, I will just have to test out your full power before we get started, and I think you want to go all out to see what this new suit has to offer."

Cadmus easily nodded as he started to think about how to best train Samus, this was something that he gladly picked up from Scatach.

In his former life, he could not train his children as he was not the best pick for it, and being a parent that took pride in teaching his kids everything that was a sore spot for him.

Samus:"And, uhh, I mean…"

Taking him out of his musing, Samus was having difficulty saying the next thing, her face was all red and her eyes were darting everywhere.

Samus:"What you said….about sharing, there are things that I want to know, I mean if you don't mind–"

Cad:"Of course not, I would like to tell my story to you as will as would love to know yours."

Scratching her face in embarrassment she nodded, not looking directly at his face.

Lala:"Ahnn my little girl is growing up."

Finally remembering that they weren't alone, Samus stoop abruptly like a soldier.

Samus:"I'll go check our coordinates for our next trip, see you later."

And promptly ran away."

Cad, Lala:"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------