CRASH BANG BOOM enter Manus [action + video]

[icequeen_aran]

[ACTION]

[Late, late at night Friday evening (or early Saturday morning if you prefer) something broke through the summer sky. It wasn't one of those strange purple streaks but it was coming in hot and fast. A fireball looked like it was heading on a crash course for the dorms but banked hard at the last moment and plowed through the nearby forest bordering the school. The result was loud and thunderous, and left an ominous billow of smoke somewhere deep beyond the tree line. Perhaps it was a metroidrite meteorite? Dare ye investigate?

Should you bravely venture into the poorly lit forest you might discover what looks like the smoldering remains of a crashed spaceship. Half the hull was buried deep into the ground jutting out at a 45 degree angle, heaping up dirt and rock where it impacted. A neat line of toppled over, half-mangled, half-burned trees points in the direction it came from--seemingly none other than "up".

Samus was surprised he survived that at all. He can thank his suit of armor for absorbing most of the impact but now it too is mangled beyond any good use. Stripped of his Power Suit he's nearly defenseless, not to mention sore and grumpy. All he has is a rather useless emergency pistol and his tattered skin-tight Zero Suit. Attempting to crawl out of the wreckage only so armed may have been foolish, but he had no choice.

Some distress signal that turned out to be. At least he was alive, and he planned on making that much count.]

[VIDEO]

[SOME TIME AFTER THE CRASH... (perhaps a day or two later) Samus attempts, very begrudgingly, to get settled in this Smash Academy place until he can make repairs on his poor broken ship. Not that anyone needs to know about that and frankly he'd prefer no one did. That's a problem he plans to tackle on his own but in the meantime he has another one.

On the video there's some blonde grumpy guy I am shit designing clothes just roll with it he could be blonde Han Solo apparently using one of the library's public computers.]

My name is Samus Aran. I'm not one for formalities—you can call me Samus, or Aran, whatever you prefer. I'm new faculty and as much as I'd love to get settled in [There's some very light sarcasm there to the trained ear.] I'm running into a problem.

[He holds up a set of keys, upon which are inscribed with the letters: TD-01.]

The Headmasters insist this is my new designated room to board in, but it's already obviously occupied. I'd prefer not to kick anyone out of their room or take it by force unnecessarily, so show yourself so we can negotiate.

[[OOC NOTE #1: Lady Samus definitely would have at least told Ian she was jetting off to space with Falcon for an indefinite period of time. SORRY IAN, YOU'RE THE MAN OF THE HOUSE.
OOC NOTE #2: Because of this exchange, Lady Samus, before leaving, would have made efforts to encase some bombs in ice with her pew pew arm cannon's ice beams and booby-trap the hell out of the bunkers. More heavily (and more deadly-ly!) the areas surrounding the bombs, and should this put a damper on any plans I'm super flexible and willing to roll with anything; she missed a bomb, made human error, setting off one of her traps exposes a bomb or something. She definitely would have gone through the efforts to not make it easy on anyone, that's all.]]

Comments

one million concurrent threads also action

[redshirted]

[Ian's been keeping an eye on the skies lately after really the only two people he knew jetted off leaving him all by himself. Of course, random things falling from space gets him on high alert and he is quick to investigate.

Of course, it takes him a little bit longer to get out there considering he still doesn't have a car, so he's hoofing it out and through the forest. He sees the break in the canopy, but the understory still blocks his vision before he can really make out just what crashed. He starts calling out while climbing over some fallen trees.]

Hello? Anyone out here?

[hunter_aran]

[Of course a crash like this would attract attention of course he couldn't even ask for a few moments of peace to get the ringing out of his ears, or so it felt like. Fortunately whoever's decided to investigate his ship is giving plenty of advanced warning so Samus does what he does best and hunts this mark in the forest.

Keep going a little further Ian, don't mind Samus sneaking up behind you, gun first.]

[redshirted]

[There is a very large reason Ian is not in covert ops and this is a prime example of it. Ian plants his feet firmly in the ground and raises his hands slowly when the assailant catches him off guard.]

Look, I don't want any trouble.

[He waves his hands a little to point out that he's not exactly armed at the moment.]

Did you crash? [He gestures to the break in the canopy, though he doesn't try to move to get a better look at what caused it.] Maybe I can help you.

[If he can't defend himself, he has to try an alternative route to not getting shot. He probably should have asked Samus for a gun before she left... Hindsight is 20/20.]

[hunter_aran]

[Whoever he is he seems complacent and harmless enough, though Samus keeps his gun pointed right at him and emerges a little more out of the thicket. Dapples of moonlight break through the canopy and over his body. That sure looks like a Zero Suit.]

I was hoping I wouldn't attract any attention.

[Asking for a bit much, there.]

Where'd you come from?

[redshirted]

[Human?? Probably human, which is comforting. Ian leans over, trying to get a better look. That outfit...]

Not sure were I came from is the big question here. [A laugh because there are few things he can take totally seriously.] If you didn't want attention, that's probably not the best way to make an entrance.

[hunter_aran]

[There's... something about this man's attitude that Samus tries to place. It's so carefree and familiar.]

Couldn't help it.

[He at least sees he's not armed and moves into full view, gun still pointed in his direction but not vehemently so. Just. You know. Casually dangerous.]

There was a building I banked to avoid. [He nods his head in the direction Ian came from.] That way.

[Indirect way of asking if Ian came from that way.]

[redshirted]

The school. Good thing you missed it, I'd probably have to fix your mess.

[Ian starts to lower his hands and thumbs back to where he was jogging from, more or less confirming that's where he was coming from. But there is really more pressing things at hand.]

So you've got a ship up there?

[Real subtle, Ian.]

[hunter_aran]

A hunter-glass gunship.

[After the whole fiasco at B.S.L. Samus made it a point to ditch the old ship he was borrowing and rebuild his so it matches the one seen in Smash Brothers I mean while keeping select artificial intelligence related components, of course...

Mostly Samus hopes divulging that little tidbit might be an indicator of who he's talking to. Someone who "fixes messes" could easily be high up on the proverbial totem pole... or very low on it.]

[redshirted]

[His eyebrows raise, clearly interested.]

A friend of mine has the same designation. Can I take a look? I used to work on ships back home.

[He's already dropping his hands and moving forward because really he's not gonna pass up an opportunity to get his hands on any sort of space craft.]

[hunter_aran]

[After a few seconds Samus quietly holsters his gun, deeming this kid benign enough. He was still obviously cautious, eyes scanning the nearby vicinity before concluding Ian had come alone.]

There's not much to look at, unfortunately.

[Well, there was plenty of spacecraft left but a good portion of it was buried in the dirt. Even so it bears distinctive Chozo markings along the middle of the hull that was exposed, some sections now scratched or threatening to smolder.]

[redshirted]

[Ian ventures forth to see said spacecraft, moving some branches out of the way to get to the clearing where the man had crashed aaaaaand...]

This is her ship.

[He looks between the ship and the man a few times. It's almost as if... no way. No way. His eyes narrow accusingly.]

Why do you have Samus' ship?

[hunter_aran]

[Samus raises an eyebrow questioningly. Samus was a gender ambiguous name, he almost certainly couldn't be the only "Samus" in the universe, but... to also be accused of that and of the same ship?]

Because that's my ship, and my name is Samus.

[redshirted]

[Ian looks between Samus(????) and the ship several more times. Briefly he wondered if this guy KILLED SAMUS and then put on her outfit like some perverted weirdo but honestly that seems sort of unlikely so he just says very plainly:]

Samus is a girl.

[hunter_aran]

[Samus just. STARES. Like this kid is high or something.]

...You're not doing much for your credibility as a competent mechanic.

[redshirted]

[Ian starts to circle around the crash to assess it, though he thinks he is certainly in the presence of a crazy person right now.]

I'm a great mechanic. [He leans over to look at some of the damage.] I was in the Federation's Engineering Department. Which you would know. If you were really Samus.

[But he's not because SAMUS IS A GIRL.]

[hunter_aran]

The Federation? [Samus follows, less to for the conversation and more like a lone war-wasp guarding a hollow, half-smoldering mangled up nest. Still, the conversation is quickly becoming very relevant to his interests.]

If you mean the Galactic Federation,

[Which based on the other things he's revealed seemed like a logical guess, though Samus and he were currently far far away from the Federation at the moment.]

then the name Malkovich should mean something to you.

[redshirted]

[Ian's head snaps up from inspecting a smoldering piece of spaceship.]

That's my name. Ian Malkovich.

[oh

my

god.

Samus turned into a man.

This is like, Ian's worst week ever.]

[hunter_aran]

Ian Malkovich...?

[The name is repeated slowly, Samus's eyes growing a little wide thinking this is too much to be a coincidence. He knew an Ianna Malkovich, which, after looking Ian up and down wouldn't be far fetched to say had a twin brother separated at birth or something. But the only sibling Samus knew Ianna had was...]

You have one sibling. Older than you.

[He starts slowly and cautiously with filling in the bizarre blanks/making guesses at this kid to see if they hit the mark.]

Also in the Federation. A commander.

[redshirted]

[Ian draaaaaaags his hands across his face and lets his mouth fall agape now that everything is starting to click. Samus even warned him about this, but he never thought this would happen to her especially since Samus and Falcon went dashing off into space.]

Adam. Adam Malkovich.

[He cannot believe this. This is actually a thing that's happening.]

You were in his unit. Well, not you specifically...

[You specifically was very clearly not in Adam's unit.]

[hunter_aran]

I was, and I left not long after...

[Having ventured to places like the planet Aether, Samus couldn't exactly discount the idea of dimensional rifts, alternate or even multiple universes. Adam Malkovich instead of Eve. Ian instead of Ianna. Samus a girl instead of Samus as he knew himself--with X and Y chromosomes. As utterly bizarre as it sounded, everything more or less in Ian's perception lined up with Samus's, except with the opposite genders.

Unlike Aether, this stunning development was affecting him on a much more personal level. However, taking Ian's mere presence into account meant there was additionally something strange about this presumed alternate universe. Samus swallows hard. It was suddenly to pretend this was some sick joke, especially tired and injured as he was. The stare he has on the younger Malkovich becomes grave and unwavering, his voice almost a low growl.]

I'm going to say a word and you're going to immediately tell me all that you know of it.

[He breathes. He just needed a little something more, just a little more evidence to think Ian, or Ianna could have been spared in another life...]

Metroid.

[redshirted]

[Ian obviously hesitates with his answer. This Samus obviously wasted no time getting to the giant elephant in the room, Ian's own death, not that he expected anything less of him, Y chromosome and all. He can't say he blamed him, this was certainly odd for all involved, but at least Ian had a bit of warning.

Ian draws out a long uhhhh while awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. Delicacy is not his specialty, and he's not sure what else this version of Samus wants to accomplish by bringing this up/]

Yeeeessss??

[He watches the other man's reaction closely to try and pick up whether or not this was the "right" or "wrong" answer. He's quick to ramble on with more.]

The pinchy floating one. [Pincer motions included.] You told me about them and Adam and...

[He sort of trails off, not sure what this is really accomplishing. Alternate universes were complicated.]

I still died, if that's what you were wondering.

[He got the feeling that's what he was wondering.]

[hunter_aran]

[The answer probably would have sounded very unsatisfactory to anyone else, but it wasn't what Ian said so much as how he said it. What cinched it of course was his other admittance--that he still died. How... if he died, but was here, but wasn't... She did but he didn't but--

Samus drags both hands down his face. Very slowly. Alternate universes were complicated.]

This is really happening.

[This was really happening to him. He definitely feels a headache threatening to rear its ugly head, if not from this then from the physical stress of surviving such a tremendous crash. He blindly takes a step or two backwards until his back hits the still-warm hull of his ship. Putting his full weight against it, he slides down until his butt hits the dirt.

From there he just stares up at the night's sky outlined by haphazard half-trees, and sighs.]

[redshirted]

[Ian's sympathetic. He really is, especially on the heels of almost being in the same sort of situation: being thrown into a completely different environment and having everything you've known as truths torn out from under you. He gets you, bro.

He sort of shuffles over to the ship and slides down next to Samus, butt hitting the dirt with him.]

Yeah. Sorry, man.

[He's hesitant, certainly much more so than he would be with the more familiar version, before he sort of slowly reaches over and pats Samus on the shoulder a few times. It's awkward and sort of stilted, definitely not his normal level of affection.]

Could be worse. You survived the crash alright.

[Ian gives him a closer look over now that they've sort of reached an understanding.]

Do you need to head to medical?

[hunter_aran]

[He tenses under the physical contact but is too exhausted to shy away. He does give Ian good look stare--mostly just taking in all the similar facial features, the same penchant to be touchy-feely, same mannerisms, all that--before he lets his mind mull over the question. Of course he doesn't want to go to medical. He doesn't want to go to any medical ever.]

Not really. I've been through worse.

[Bit of an understatement but it didn't really compare with death by drive unit malfunction.]

Never been a woman before, but, [He half-smirks at the idea; it's not like he hasn't been mistaken for one before under the Power Suit in his universe.] I don't think it'd change much at all.

[redshirted]

[Ian lets his shoulder go and sort of laughs. He rubs his chin, doing a mock scrutinization of the male Samus.]

No, can't say you seem too different from the Samus I know.

[You guys even dress the same which is sort of weird but alternate universes, yadda yadda yadda.]

You should probably get some rest at least before you try and deal with-- [He knocks his knuckles on the ship behind them.] --this.