Chapter I
Beginnings
"I'm nothing special, really."
The young man who spoke sat in a mostly empty room. It was virtually featureless, the walls were all white, and the only things accompanying the man in the room were chair he sat in the highly advanced camera. The technology allowed the viewer to view biological readings, instantly identify and research people, and even detect lies. It was to this feature- detecting lies- that caused the young man's last statement to be flagged for immediate review.
"Remember: full disclosure here recruit," a voice with no discernible origin said. "You are signing up to join the greatest organization in human history. We uphold a standard of high excellence. The excellence starts with our complete faith in our soldiers. I'll ask again: What do you believe distinguishes you-from other recruits that is?"
The "recruit" shuffled in his seat a bit, then adjusted his hair, although it was already well kept. After a brief pause, he began speaking:
"My name is Ian Malkovich. I come from a family of servicemen and women…"
Ian replayed the video log of his recruitment interview on a Galactic Federation standard issue DataPad. It was uncommon for enlisted soldiers to request a copy of their interviews. The interview process was mostly seen as an afterthought, just there for posterity's sake. Ian seemed to find some importance in it, however, constantly playing and replaying the video, scrutinizing every detail. It occasionally earned him a high eyebrow from his squad mates, but ultimately it was just seen as an odd habit.
"Still watching that old video?" A large African-American soldier asked semi jokingly (although the term "African-American" was technically inaccurate. He was a Heavyworlder from a mining colony, and so had never even been to Earth). "What, you think you missed some details? Maybe the fly on the wall was actually a mosquito?" He continued using his semi-mocking tone even as he shelved his weapon then took a seat next to Malkovich.
"I'm just admiring my pretty face, Higgs. More than I can say for you," Malkovich responded, reattaching his DataPad to his armor.
"That's not what your girl said."
"I'm single."
"… Well I'm not wrong."
Malkovich chuckled and stepped over to the dropship's gun rack. He removed his assault rifle (that is actually tied to his suits' IFF tag. It can't be removed from a gun rack or fired by anyone but him) and began checking each of its parts. He's heard plenty of horror stories about new recruits not properly examine their guns and having a malfunction on the battlefield, and did not want to become a statistic. Malkovich diligently and meticulously went through every piece of the weapon to ensure it was well maintained, from the scope to the stock. Some saw it as excessive for a newly manufactured weapon, but Malkovich was taught that one could never be too sure. As he was finishing his examination, his commanding officer stepped into the troop bay of the starship, a Federation Aries-class dropship. Malkovich immediately stood at attention and called out,
"Platoon Seven, commander on deck!" at his call, all soldiers on board stood at attention and saluted. The CO stepped through the ship, taking a slight appraisal of each soldier as he passed by. The 7th Platoon was not exactly what its name suggested. A platoon typically consisted of between 15-30 soldiers; the 7th currently consisted of eight. It was less of a Platoon as it was an elite squadron serving directly under the General. The General in question oftentimes could be found on the front lines of the battle. He has been called perhaps the greatest soldier of our time. He'd respond by saying "If that's true, then I shouldn't be light-years way from the battle doing paperwork."
"At ease, Seven," he called out, while removing his helmet. "But shouldn't the squad leader call you to attention?" He turned and faced Ian specifically.
One of the soldiers saluted and said,
"Sir, my apologies, sir!"
"At ease, Sergeant. You didn't speak out of turn." The General never took his eyes off of Ian. Ian continued to face forward, away from the General. The Sergeant relaxed and said,
"Sir." The General slowly walked over to Ian who stood near the entrance to the troop bay. He took every step deliberately and methodically, finally stopping directly in front of Ian. He held a cold stare for several seconds before asking calmly,
"Why did you speak out of turn, Corporal?" Ian continued to face forward, not daring to look the General in the eye. Ian's lip quivered a bit, as if he wished to say something, but he did not yet speak. The General's face contorted into a frown. "Can you hear me, Corporal?" Ian did not respond immediately. Then said,
"Can I hear you? How can I not hear you? How can I not hear everything about you? The news, my teachers, the recruiters, my parents- everybody! Everybody keeps talking about you: The Great Adam Malkovich! The greatest soldier of our time, maybe the greatest soldier in human history! Everything you do is front page news. And then there's me. The disappointment. Everybody sees my last name and then gets disappointed when it turns out I'm not you. Even our own parents. Of course I can hear you asshole. Better question: Can you fucking hear me?"
Ian blinked and realized he'd gotten lost in thought. The General-Adam continued to stare intensely then said, "Are you deaf, Corporal?" Ian looked Adam in his eye then said under his breath,
"You know that I'm not." The General blinked and then responded with a pointed,
"What?" Ian readjusted to facing forward.
"No, sir!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes sir!"
"Then answer. The fucking. Question!"
"It was a force of habit sir! I learned to always address a Commanding Officer respectfully when he arrives, sir! I briefly forgot my role in the chain of command, it won't happen again, sir!" Adam continued to stare Ian down, as if considering his answer. Then said,
"See to it that you don't forget again." Adam then about faced and walked back toward the front of the ship to address the soldiers. And that was Ian's relationship with his older brother. Many people assumed (and gave him flack because) his relationship with Adam Malkovich guaranteed him a spot on the esteemed 7th, and that Adam paved the way for him. Ian, however, saw things differently. When it was discovered that he, Ian Malkovich was the brother of Adam, Ian was immediately given consideration for the 7th platoon, which Adam just as quickly shot down. Ian would have to find his way like everyone else.
Shortly after his recruitment interview, Ian found himself taking the Army placement examination. Unlike the interview, the placement exam was mentally and physically demanding. The written portion tested a recruit's potential knowledge of wartime situations. This part was actually easy for Ian because his family had been taking him through situationals for the better part of his life. The answers seemed to pour out of his brain and on to his paper, and before he or the instructors knew it, he was done. He was the first to stand and submit his paper. State of the art Federation review software was able to process and score his test immediately: 98%. The instructor wore a confused frown, then run the test through the machine again. Discrepancy detected, adjusting score. The instructor wore a satisfied expression before switching to utter bewilderment as the new score was shown: 98.5%. The instructor looked at the score, then looked up at Ian. Ian shuffled nervously.
"Did I do something wrong, ma'am?" he asked.
"Well I'd accuse you of cheating if it were possible to cheat in this room. This score should be impossible. We've given this examination to wartime geniuses and they usually don't get better than an eighty. Not since… Say, what's your name son?" The instructor asked. Ian shuffled again an answered,
"Ian Malkovich, ma'am."
"Malkovich? Any relation to-"
"The General? Yeah he's my older brother," Ian said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Ah, that explains it. You come from a great pedigree, you know that?"
"That's what they tell me, ma'am."
"No wonder you're so good at this. Go on, your physical is up next."
Ian was snapped out of his reverie by a light bump from Higgs.
"You weren't nodding off again, were you?" he asked, his face masked with genuine concern. Ian just looked away nervously, which was all the answer Higgs needed. "Aww, come on man! You can't keep doing that! Gotta keep ya head in the game! You do that out in the field and you might get yourself killed!"
I know, I know," Ian sighed. "I'll stay focused out in the field."
"Yeah, right. Well lucky for you, I decided to record the briefing. I'll send it to your DataPad. You'll have a couple of hours to watch it on our trip." Ian breathed a sigh of relief, then said.
"Thanks, man, you're the best, Anthony!"
"I know. You don't gotta remind me. I think I'm gonna catch some shuteye. I don't think we'll have a chance to take a good nap when we get there."
"Yeah, I may join you. Just as soon as I finish watching this." Anthony, yawned, nodded, and waved, all in one motion, before stepping out of the troop transport area of the ship to enter the Residential Quarters. Ian turned his attention to his DataPad, but before he could start watching the briefing, his Sergeant addressed him.
"Corporal Malkovich!" Ian stood at attention, then said,
"Yes, Sergeant!" The Sergeant got up close in Malkovich's face, then said with a snarl,
"What you did today was rude and out of line! Not only did you directly disrespect a General of this fine Army, undermined my authority in front of my team! If you EVER do anything even remotely like that again for as long as you live I will personally dump your sorry ass into a vat of fuel gel! Do I make myself clear, Corporal?"
"Yes, Sergeant!" The Sergeant shoved past Ian on his way to the Residential Quarters. When he was out of sight, Ian relaxed. Another soldier, the lone female, walked up to him and said,
"Don't worry about Sergeant Aldemir. His ego's a little bruised, is all." She regarded Ian with a smile. Ian's IFF registry identified her as PFC (Private First Class) Terri Kane.
"I hope you're right. What a way to start my first mission…" he said, going back to his DataPad. Terri's face twisted in confusion.
"Wait, this is your first mission?" she asked incredulously.
"Yes," Ian responded.
"You're a Corporal on the 7th Platoon and this is only your first mission?" she asked, even more shocked. Ian slowly nodded.
"Permission to speak freely, Corporal?"
"Go ahead."
"I really hope you're not just here because of your brother. I've seen 10 year veterans die on this team," she said, with genuine concern. Ian chuckled and shook his head.
"Trust me, I'm not here because General Malkovich made a call." Terri slowly nodded, then turned and went back to inspecting her weapon.
Ian took a glance at his bio scans.
Subject: Ian Malkovich
Planet of Origin: Daiban
DOB (Galactic Standard): 9/13/20XX
Age: 18
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 207 lbs
Hair Color (if applicable): Brown
Eye Color (if applicable): Brown
Skin Color (or equivalent): Light
Federation ID Number: 2595-09:11191
"207?" he said to himself. "Must've gained weight."
"Mr. Malkovich, can you please step forward?" a voice announced from a speaker. Ian complied, and found himself within a metal grey, featureless room. "Thank you. Mr. Malkovich, we're just going to be running a few tests to determine your physical aptitude. During this examination we will be using hardlight holograms to simulate various objects and situations. Bear in mind: You are in no real danger, however, treat every hologram you see here as if it were real."
"Yes, sir."
The simulation began with basic strength and speed tests. Ian did well, although he didn't shatter any records. Usually, those would belong to the non-human Federation Troopers, of which there were quite a few. Among humans, however, Malkovich did pretty good. Which made sense because he was bred to be in his best possible shape his whole life. After the basic portion was concluded, the Combat Aptitude test began.
"Alright, nice work. There should be a weapon being dispensed, if you would please pick it up." Ian did as instructed, then stepped back to the middle of the room, rifle in hand. "Alright. I trust you know how to hold one of those. Here's a couple targets to hit." As he said that, the wall in front of Ian activated a holographic display of several targets in an open field. Ian fired and hit them all, usually at or near the bullseye. "Nice shooting! But anyone can hit that. Try this…" On cue, the targets disappeared, then reappeared in the "distance." Ian used the scope to zoom in and hit the targets accurately. He was still mostly missed the bullseyes, but never missed a target entirely. "Good job. Of course, you'll rarely be shooting entirely stationary targets…" The targets began moving, and Ian began adjusting to fire at them. The tester went through multiple configurations before determining that Ian was a very good shot, and more than prepared for the next step in the trial.
"The Gauntlet. Very simple: We will send waves of combatants at you. You survive as long as you can, anyway you know how. The Gauntlet gets gradually more difficult as you go. The all-time record is 50 rounds survived. The average is 10. How will you do?"
Ian made it to round 32 before being gunned down by a Space Pirate on a speeder bike, and only because he was pinned down by sniper fire. In doing so, he took second place all time for rookies, and 5th all-time overall. The testers were amazed.
"Mr. Malkovich… we have to review your results… but I think it's safe to say you passed."
Ian finished watching Adam's briefing, although he only took in the important details. The long and short of the mission is that there was recently a minor pirate attack on a colony somewhere in an outer system. Their job was to investigate the Pirate activity and neutralize any possible threats, but their first priority is to locate and secure any civilians that may be in danger. After watching the briefing, Ian took and appraisal of his fellow squad members. He decided to bring up their individual trooper dossiers.
Subject: Master Sergeant Tahir "Sarge" Aldemir
Planet of Origin: Harran
DOB (Earth Time): 5/15/2782
Age: 36
Height: 6'1
Weight: 231 lbs
Hair Color: None (Formerly Brown)
Eye Color: Gray
Skin Color: Light Brown
Federation ID Number: 7483-75:14835
Specializations (if any): None
Service Record:
1st Cylosian Contact War
Kriken Empire Conflict
2nd Cylosian War
Corr'vahn Uprising
G-9 Pirate Conflict
Accomplishments:
15 Purple Hearts
1 POW Medal
Army Achievement Medal
Ian nodded in respect for the Master Sergeant's distinguished career, then moved on.
Subject: Staff Sergeant Keiji Misawa
DOB (Earth Time): 2/17/ 2784
Planet of Origin: Sakamoto
Age: 34
Height: 5'10
Weight: 205 lbs
Hair Color: Black, Streaks of Gray
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Skin Color: Light Tan
Federation ID Number: 2844-06:62005
Specializations (if any): Stealth and Assassination
Service Record:
(Before Army)
Sakamoto Conflict
Battle for Planet Sakurai
(Army Serivice)
2nd Cylosian War
Corr'vahn Uprising
G-9 Pirate Conflict
Accomplishments:
Sakamoto People's Army High Honors
2 Purple Hearts
Army Good Conduct Medal
Ian noted that Misawa appeared to have seen quite a lot of combat before officially joining the Federation Army, which the Federation clearly took an interest in. In particular, the stealth and assassination specialist part was of certainly questionable. As Ian remembered, the Sakamoto People's Army was against the Federation. Normally, people's previous combat experience is not on their military dossier. Ian made a mental note of that.
Subject: Corporal Anthony Higgs
Planet of Origin: Orion-IV
DOB: 6/18/2800
Age: 22
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 247 lbs
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Skin Color: Dark Brown
Federation ID Number: 1898-07:57940
Specializations (if any): Point Man, Heavy Weapons
Service Record:
Serris System Conflict
1st Moblin Contact War
2nd Moblin Contact War
Corr'vahn Uprising
G-9 Pirate Conflict
Accomplishments:
Army Reserve Good Conduct Medal
Army Good Conduct Medal
Soldier's Medal
Ian noted that Anthony, who he already knows is a really good person, despite being after in the military for nearly five years, and spent most of that time as an active combatant, has never received an award for active combat. This is surprising, typically you need one combat medal just to get in.
Subject: Private First Class Theridza "Terri, TK," Kannapolis
Planet of Origin: Kosmos
DOB: 2/14/2800
Age: 22
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 165 lbs
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Green
Skin Color: Light Tan
Federation ID Number: 6548-68:57218
Specializations (if any): Scouting, Reconnaissance, Fast Attack
Service Record:
1st Moblin Contact War
2nd Moblin Contact War
Corr'vahn Uprising
G-9 Pirate Conflict
Accomplishments:
4 Purple Heart
2 POW Award
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
Ian noted that for the most part, Terri's medals were award because she was in some way damaged by the enemy. Ian wondered why someone who was a two time POW would be able to make it to the 7th Platoon. Then realized that considering the nature of who she was captured by, she likely hated to break herself out before getting killed.
Subject: Private E-2 Lyle Smithsonian
Planet of Origin: Thanatos (Now part of Kriken Empire)
DOB: 10/13/2802
Age: 18
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 195 lbs
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Skin Color: Light
Federation ID Number: 2537-07:51290
Specializations (if any): Demolitions
Service Record:
Kriken Empire Conflict (Home Planet was conquered)
Note- Lyle, despite having no official combat experience, was chosen for Platoon 7 because he led a resistance movement that nearly crippled the Kriken Empire, but certainly devastated their supply chain and turned what was an important tactical asset into a useless slog.
-A. M.
Accomplishments:
No official Federation Accomplishments
Note- Blowing up a Kriken Capitol Warship with homemade nukes is quite the accomplishment if you ask me.
-A.M.
So Adam took Lyle because he resisted against the Kriken Empire. Hopefully he also got a full psychiatric workup.
Subject: Specialist Maurice Favreau
Planet of Origin: Terminus
DOB: 7/9/2798
Age: 24
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 217 lbs
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Light blue-gray
Skin Color: Pale
Federation ID Number: 2975-07:67948
Specializations (if any): Engineering
Service Record:
2nd Moblin Contact War
Corr'vahn Uprising
G-9 Pirate Conflict
Accomplishments:
Army Good Conduct Award
Soldier's Medal
Ian noted that Favreau also did not have many combat medals, but his specialization coupled with his rank led Ian to believe that Favreau did not spend much time in combat. Favreau also had a Master's of Science in Engineering, which basically confirmed Ian's theory. Favreau was a genius, and that's why he was here. Hell- Favreau was not an airman, yet flies the ship.
Ian felt like he knew enough about his team for right now. He noted that despite their differences, every member of the team had distinguished themselves in some way. The only one who had yet to accomplish anything was Ian. He started to wonder if he ever would, if he could ever live up to half the reputation of his older brother. As he did so, his eyelids began to grow heavy, and soon he found himself drifting off to sleep.
A/N: Welcome all to my newest project! For those of you who got this email because you subscribed to me because you liked Halo Prime and now you're sitting there thinking "Hey! When's this jackass gonna put up the next chapter of Halo Prime?" Fear not! Halo Prime is progressing.
But I figured I'd get started on this here Metroid only fanfic because I'm suuuuper excited about it. The Metroid Universe is soooo rich in untapped potential, and I can't wait to explore all those little back stories.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Well okay, is Samus in it?"
And the answer is yes! Samus will be making an experience. No, this one's all about Ian Malkovich and his time in the Galactic Federation. Pretty neat right? And before you kill me, in my head the art style is realistic, so this is nothing like Metroid Prime: Federation Force.
So I'll be working on this and Halo Prime going forward. I hope you guys enjoy both. Until next time, folks.
Maximum Effort.