Hunter Saga Part 1: Strength in Numbers
Chapter 1: Abandon Memories
Spinning away in the cold blackness of space was the Space Colony Chiron Station, a major hub of commercial, political, and industrial commerce in the Galactic Federation. In the commercial Promenade sat the Starfire Tavern, a place know for its rowdy crowd of freighter pilots and mercenaries spending downtime between jobs. In a corner by himself sat a stocky human. 6'5" tall weight in at 245 lbs, most of that muscle in his upper torso and arms. He wore a pair of jeans and a tight fitting t-shirt that partially covered up a faded GFMC tattoo. On his feet was his usual pair of cowboy boots. Armstrong Houston sat reading a pad listing different available jobs when some motion in front of him broke his train of thought. A figure had sat across the table from him. He looked up from the pad and stared straight in the blue eyes of the world's most famous bounty hunter, Samus Aran. She grabbed her mug of beer and took a drink.
"How is the search going?" She asked, nodding to the pad.
"Slow. Not much is going on job wise. Guild doesn't have much either. I'm going to be working my ass off just to make ends meet this month." He said, taking a drink of his beer.
She smiled. "That is why I'm here. I have a proposition for you." She said, leaning her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand.
He raised an eyebrow. "Do tell?"
"The GF Science division is sending a team to Zebes to try and find some remnants of Metroids. It's a long shot but they feel it's worth it. They want me to lead them. Keaton wanted to know if there was anyone else I could think of." She said.
"And you thought of me?" He said, smiling
"I owe you that much for your help in Kyra Prime. I told him you had some experience with me there, and I could use some backup too. Guarding 15 or more scientists is harder for one person then it is for 2." She said.
"You are a life saver, Samus." Houston said.
"Don't mention it, cowboy. " She said as she drained her beer. "I'm meeting with Keaton in the morning to finalize the contract. I'll let him know you are on board" She said as she stood up.
"Night, Samus." Houston said.
"Night, Houston." She returned with a smile as she left the bar.
The door to Samus' quarters opened up and she stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind her.
"Lights" She said, the room illuminating. She walked over to her terminal and flicked through her messages. One was from Houston asking to meet her that night, another was a junk message about some vacation she "won" and the last one was from Keaton's Office. It confirmed her appointment for 0930 in the morning.
"Computer, set alarm for 0830." She said, the computer beeping in response. She walked over to her closet and pulled out a pair of pajamas and a large t-shirt. She had taken it from Houston's place when she crashed there one night. Slipping out of her clothes and pulling the pajamas on she slid into her bed, lying on her side with her arm wrapped around a pillow. Slowly she felt herself slip away into slumber.
The next morning she woke to her alarm clock going off right on time. She pulled herself out of bed and into her bathroom. Lazily she pulled off her clothes and turned the shower on, setting the temperature right where she liked it. Soon the room filled with steam as she stepped in, letting the water flow across her. After finishing up she got out, dried off, and walked over to her closet. She pulled out the dress uniform she wore for any official meetings with the Federation. It was reminiscent of her old GF uniform but was more of a deep blue with black leggings instead of the usual white and tan color. She dressed herself and then combed and set her hair. Checking the time she saw she had to leave to make her appointment so she grabbed her things and left. Making her way to the lifts on the Habitat levels she entered one.
"Command." She said. The lift beeped in acknowledgement and the lift rose making its way to the command section.
The lift opened and she stepped out into the hallway. There were numerous people running about the area. Station crew, GF Police personnel, even a few Marines. Samus made her way toward the Chairman's Office and was greeted by the image of a woman made of crystal.
"Hello, Mirage." Samus greeted her.
"Good morning, Samus. It is nice to see you again." The AI said.
"You too." Samus replied.
"You can go in. The Chairman is waiting for you." Mirage said as the door opened.
"Thank you, Mirage." Samus said as she entered the office. Sitting behind a large desk was a funny looking green alien wearing a cape and a bowtie. He was talking with someone on a screen when his eyes moved over and saw Samus. He waved over as he spoke.
"I have reviewed the bill and you have my assurances, Councilor, that it will have my full support in Council. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a meeting." He said as he closed the channel. He turned to Samus and smiled. "Good morning, Samus. Care for some coffee?" He asked.
"Thank you, Chairman." She said.
He stood up and walked over to a small shelf, he grabbed a mug and poured her a cup and brought it back to her. "Have you reviewed the mission brief?" He said as he sat back down.
Samus took a sip of the coffee and nodded. "Yes, sir. Everything looks good to me. I didn't speak with Armstrong yesterday and he is on board too." She said.
"Excellent. I appreciate you help in this matter. Science Division has been hounding us for months to send a team to Zebes. They refuse to take no for an answer." He said.
"I've never really found them to be enjoyable myself. Too many of them are in someone else's pocket." She replied.
"You are referring to BSL?" He said, tapping his desk.
"Among other things. But that is not why you asked me here, sir." She said.
"I understand. Yes, we can reminisce on less pleasant times later." He said as he grabbed a nearby pad and handed it to her.
"Standard contract, usual clauses and such. I won't bore you with the details. Fee is 10,000 credits, payable upon successful return. Your objectives are as follows. One, Lead the GF Science Team to areas on Zebes that have had Metroid activity in some fashion. Two, Protect them from any hostile forces. Do you understand, Samus?" Keaton explained.
"I understand." She said as she placed her thumb on the small circle at the bottom of the pad. The screen showed it was scanning her thumbprint. Verified The pad read. Samus handed it back to Keaton and he inserted it into a slot. "I'll get Mirage to process this quickly. I'll signal you when you are clear. Thank you very much, Samus." He said.
She stood up and went to leave when he called out to her. "And Samus." She turned around. "Be careful. You never know what might happen. Stay safe and come back to us whole." He smiled.
She nodded. "I will. " She turned and left.
Entering her quarters she changed out of her uniform and into her blue jumpsuit. Crossing her arms in front of her chest she closed her eyes and then threw her arms out to the side. She became enveloped in a bright light and when it dimmed she stood in her Power Suit. She looked herself over as the suit ran a diagnostic. Everything checked out so she closed her eyes as the light enveloped her again, leaving her back the way she was. She pulled out some loose-fitting clothes to fit over her Zero suit and she packed a small bag for the trip. She left the quarters, locking up.
Making her way down to the hanger bay she found located her ship. Punching the code into a bracelet on her wrist the lift lowered, allowing her access. Entering the ship she set her bad down on the little sleeping alcove before climbing into the pilot seat. Powering the ship up, she ran all diagnostics on it. The readouts show that all systems were normal.
Her comm beeped. "Samus, this is Chiron Station Central Control. Chairman Keaton has cleared you for departure and wants to add Good Luck." The flight controller explained.
"Thank you Central. Samus out." She replied as she powered the engines up, lifting the ship off of the ground. She turned toward the open bay door and took the ship out and into space.
"Computer, Calculate Exit Vector for Warp Jump to Zebes." She said.
"Calculating…..Jump Coordinates Set" The computer replied.
"Engage Autopilot and Proceed with Jump when coordinates are reached." The computer beeped in acknowledgement.
"GF Science Team Alpha to Samus Aran." The Com beeped.
"Samus here." She responded.
"This is Frank Day. Nice to see you will be joining us. We are about 4 hours out of the Zebes system. What is your ETA?" He said.
"My jump will get me there in about 2 hours. But don't worry. I can kill some time. Samus out."
She closed the connection. "Wake me when the GF science crew reaches Zebes." She told the computer."
Leaning back in the chair she folded her hands in her lap and let her eyelids drop. She fell asleep soon after.
She found herself standing in the middle of a large room. She recognized the markings on the pillars as Chozo. This was a temple, one she didn't recognize. She traveled a lot as a child and memorized all the temples and cities she had visited with Gul'Gen, or Old Bird as many knew him. She tried to move but found she couldn't. She felt like she wasn't even there, just viewing things. Several Chozo Spirits appeared before her, circling her. She could only hear faint whispers of them. Only make out a few words.
"Coming" "Hatchlings" "United" "Great Evil" and "Awoken".
Two large statues appeared in front of her. But instead of being Chozo, they were human. The Chozo spirits flew at her, enveloping her with bright light.
Samus shook awake, panting. She was sweating and breathing heavily. She looked over at the beeping sound and realized that the Science Crew were inbound. She also saw the telemetry of a small Bounty Hunter ship and realized that Houston was on his way too. She sat back, closed her eyes, and tried to breath. Her heart finally slowed back down and she stopped sweating.
"Day to Samus. Glad to see you." Her Com beeped.
"You too. I am sending you landing coordinates that are a good starting point. See you on the surface. Samus out." She said, slapping the com to shut it off.
She walked over to her refresher and grabbed a drink of water. Grabbing a towel she dried the sweat off her brow before pulling her outer clothes off and tossing them aside. She grabbed her Paralyzer 5 pistol and holstered it. Crossing her arms she was enveloped by the light again, leaving her in her suit. The ship took her to the coordinates and made and successful landing. She stepped on the lift and was lowered onto the ground. She stepped out as the other ships landed and the crews started to disembark. Houston walked over to her in his suit. It was Federation Issue Marine armor but had been extensively modified along with a dark purple paint job. He took his helmet off.
"Hey, how was the trip over." He asked.
"It was fine. Nothing big." She said. The lack of emotion coming from her caught Houston off guard along with her not taking her helmet off.
"Everything ok?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm fine, Houston. Let's just focus on the mission." She said, turning away.
"Samus." He said. She stopped, but didn't turn around.
"I'm your friend. I know something is bugging you. I wish you would tell me because if I can do anything to help you know I would." He said as he put his helmet back on. He couldn't see but Samus closed her eyes as a single tear welled up. He always knew exactly what to say to her. Just then Frank Day walked up.
"All of our equipment is set up. We are ready to move to the first location." He said.
Houston picked up the pack he set down and attached it to the back of his suit. "I have some supplies in case we need them. Ammo, cutting torches for traps, bombs, the works." He explained.
"I'll take point. Houston you bring up the rear." Samus said as they gathered at the nearby cave entrance.
"Roger." Houston said as they made the way into the cave.
It was well lit due to the bioluminescent fungi that populated the planet. Most of the creatures left them alone as they made their way through the various passages, down small ledges and into a large hallway.
Samus and Houston only needed to intervene just a few times killing creatures that wanted to make lunch out of them. Making their way to the end of the hallway she opened a door leading to a room with a large stone statue that was falling apart. Below it was a large lift.
"To Tourin we go." She said as they got on and she pushed the pad, engaging the lift. The lift lowered at an alarming speed but when it came to a stop it slowed down before hitting the bottom.
Samus led the group to a large room filled with pipes and glass barriers. "Here is the spot. You can set the equipment here." She said as she walked to a corner of the room. She leaned against the corner and wrapped her arms around her waist. The scientists started to unload their equipment as Houston walked over to her.
"You sure you are ok?" He said. He could hear her breathing heavily.
"Just give me a minute." She tried to say. She gagged as the light enveloped her, leaving her out of her suit. She fell to her knees and vomited what little was in her stomach.
Houston pushed a button on his wrist and the front part of the suit retracted, allowing him to run out to her side. He got on his knees next to her. "It's ok. Just breathe." He said. Some of the scientists were watching them. "Just focus on your work. I've got this." He said to them. They returned to their work as she lifted her up and sat her down against the wall. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her.
"I'm sorry. This room is a little too much for me right now." She said, curled against him.
"This is where you found it, didn't you?" Houston said. She nodded.
"It attacked a Side Hopper and after it drained it to dust it attacked me. I truly thought that was going to be it for me. But then it stopped, and let me go. I was barely able to walk to the recharge station nearby but I still remember that chirp as it ran away. It remembered me, Houston. It remembered who I was." She said.
Houston softly stroked her hair and held her hand. "I'm sorry Samus." Was all he was able to say.
"It's Ok, Houston. There was nothing you could have done." She said. "Also I've been having some bad dreams lately. I had one right as we got here. That is why I was acting like I did." She said.
He reached over to his pack and pulled out a meal bar and some water. "Here, you better eat something." He said.
She tore open the bar and ate in silence. Houston watched the scientists work on their equipment, grateful they were leaving them alone for now. "Can he help you? With the dreams I mean." Houston asked.
"Gul'Gen? Probably, it's been a long time since I've seen him." She said as she took a drink of the water.
"After this is done you should go to him. Take a few days and get away from everything." He said.
"I think I will." She said, giving him a weak smile as he pulled her into a brotherly hug.
"Do you really think they will find anything?" Houston said.
"Doubtful. But it's worth a shot. There are numerous advancements in energy generation and storage that can be made if we understand more about Metroids. Too bad most of the records of the Chozo have been lost." She said.
Houston pulled out a small scanner and scanned the area. "I'm picking up a whole lot of nothing in the area." He said
Samus was about to comment when the scanner beeped. "Wait a minute. I'm getting something." He said. Just then one dot turned to many dots. "Uh… Make that a lot of something. We got company!"
Samus stood up and activated her armor. Houston jumped up and stepped inside his suit, the front panels unfolding around him.
Samus punched a few buttons on her cannon. "Use your Ice Beam. We want to keep them alive." She said.
The scientists were scrambling, trying to lock down the signature when a wall on the far side of the room started to crumble. 4 large Pirates stepped out and were followed by 5 more.
Samus swore and looked to the scientists. "Get out of here. Now!" She yelled at them. They all ran toward the lift as Samus and Houston stepped between them and the Pirates.
Samus tried to scan them. "Insufficient Data? What the Hell are these?" She said.
"Let's find out later. Right now we need to keep these occupied." Houston said as he aimed and fired a missile at one of them. The blast hit him square in the chest but when the cloud dissipated there was minimal damage. "That is not good." He said
"Spread out." She said
Two Pirates attacked each of them. Samus switched to the Plasma Beam and fired fully charged shots at them. The heat began to take its toll on their armor. "Heat seems to work." She said
Houston rolled out of the way of an attack and fired a Super Missile at another one. The blast threw it back against the way, causing major damage. "That is one down."
The fight went on for what seemed like hours to them. Most of their attacks were barely doing any damage if they were doing any damage at all. Slowly but surely they were whittling down their numbers until only one remained. Houston charged but was caught by a swipe of the arm, throwing him against the wall.
"Houston!" She yelled as she charged up for a Super Missile but when she went to fire it all she heard was a click.
"Oh no" was all she was able to make out before the Pirate slashed at her with his large clawed hand. Samus felt a rush of pain as the claw sliced through her suit and into her right side. Her insides felt like they were on fire. Before she even had time to process it the Pirate brought another clawed hand up and drove it through her left shoulder, the talons coming out the other side, lifting her off the ground. Samus could only scream at the pain coursing through her body. She forced her eyes to open as the pirate dangled her above the ground. He brought her to where they were eye to eye, a low growl coming from it. It raised its claw again making to puncture her head when an explosion rocked it, then another one and another one.
"Let her go!" Houston yelled as he fired missile after missile at the arm that she was impaled on. Finally the arm was blown off and Samus fell into a heap, the claw with arm attached still impaled through her shoulder.
Houston continued to fire shot after shot at the open wound as the Pirate screamed and ran away, clutching the remains of its arm.
Houston stood there for a second, panting before realizing what was happening. He ran to Samus's side and rolled her onto his back. He pulled her helmet off. "Samus, stay with me." He said.
"I'm…sorry" She was able to make out before she lost conciseness.
Houston scanned her. The readout came up and he felt his heart drop like a stone into his stomach.
Subject: Samus Aran
Age: 29
Sex: Female
Species: Human
Current Injuries
Shattered Left Shoulder Joint
4 Shattered Ribs
Massive trauma to internal organs
Immediate Medical Help advised within the next 20 min
He flipped open a panel on Samus' arm and pushed a few buttons.
"This should keep you going for awhile. Just stay with me, Samus" He said out loud.
He replaced her helmet and scanned her again.
Suit is devoting all energy to keeping subject alive. Estimated time to critical energy failure: 40 min.
"That will have to do. I can hook you up to the ship when we get there." He said as he pulled the claw out from her shoulder and placed it in the pack. He carefully lifted Samus into his arms and made for the lift.
Houston ran out, carrying Samus in his arms as the scientists were all gathered around the ships. Frank came up to them. "We just heard what happened." He said as he turned to Samus. "Is she ok?" He asked.
Normally Huston would cuss him out for asking a stupid question but he didn't have time. "She has been injured, badly. I have to get her some help." Houston said as he made for Samus' ship.
"We can treat her." Frank said.
"No. I have something better for you. Take this and analyze it. We are going to need to know everything about them." He said as he handed the arm to Frank. "Get back to the station and report to Keaton that the mission was compromised. Take my ship with you." He said as he stepped into the lift and rode it into the ship. He laid Samus down on the small bed and connected some wires from the power port to her suit.
"Hopefully this will keep you going until we get to him." He said as she sat down in the pilot seat. He powered on the ship and pulled it off the planet and into orbit. Scrolling through the Nav system he found the planed called Serinea.
"Computer, calculate fastest Warp Jump Vector to Serinea." He said. The computer pulled up the coordinates and travel time.
"An hour and a half. It will have to do. Hang on, Samus. I'm taking you home to your father." He said as he steered the ship to the coordinates and engaged the Warp Jump.
This is rougly based off of the Super Metroid Comic from Nintendo Power back in the 90s. Chairman Keaton and Armstrong Houston are from that comic. The rest of the Characters like Frank Day and Mirage are origionals. Hope you enjoy this. More will be comming