Fusion: Metroid IV

Chapter One: SR388

"Cryo-circuits disengaged." The ship's automated voice announced. "Life-signs stable."

One would think that spending long amounts of time in cryosleep would be a relaxing experience, but this was not the case as Samus Aran groggily stretched across her reclined pilot's seat. The thing about cryosleep was that it wasn't actually sleep; instead the subject's body functions were brought to such a low temperature and slowed down so much that they simply weren't aware of time passing around them. This also meant that there was no way for the body to actually rest, which was why Samus yawned so deeply while rubbing her eyes.

"What time is it?" She asked while adjusting the seat to make her sit up. "Are we there already?"

"Affirmative." The voice answered. "The time is 0600, and we will arrive at planet SR388 in approximately twenty minutes."

There were some throughout the galaxy, mostly Space Pirates, who believed that the famous bounty hunter Samus Aran was an inhuman machine who was always alert, and ready to leap into battle at a moment's notice. These beings had obviously never seen her first thing in the morning, or else this theory would've been immediately debunked, since she had just as much difficulty getting out of bed as anyone else. In fact, if not for the coffee dispenser that she had installed into the wall near her seat, she would've probably just rolled over and went back to bed.

Unfortunately, she was there on business, so instead she had a cup of coffee, and put her long blonde hair up into its usual ponytail. Next she had to find her clothes, or rather, the ones that she wore underneath her Varia Suit. Hardly anyone ever actually saw her outside of what she wore during missions, which was probably why lots of people used to think she was a man, and yet Samus received almost endless criticism about her choice of attire. It consisted of a pair of boots to protect her feet, and a skin-tight blue bodysuit which never failed to draw the eyes of any men who were around… but honestly, the idea of trying to wear anything else underneath the Varia Suit was just… ignorant.

So she got dressed, and was just starting to enjoy her second cup of coffee, when she saw it. Through the front window of her ship, the green and brown landscape of planet SR388 was coming into view, and a thousand memories flew across her mind as the landing sequence was initiated. She remembered navigating her way through the labyrinths below the surface while on her hunt for any surviving Metroids, and the fear that came along with discovering each new stage in their lifecycle.

The ones that she had previously encountered on Zebes had actually been kind of cute… as far as life-sucking killers went… but the ones that lurked underground on their homeworld… not so much. The situation had been tense the first time she had seen one molt into what would later become known as an Alpha Metroid, and even more so with the lightning-spitting Gamma, but Samus had skillfully managed to overcome them. This had driven up her confidence, causing her to charge even deeper underground, and she would never tell anyone this, but she had nearly pissed herself during her first encounter with one of the massive Omega Metroids.

But the Metroids were gone now. Defying all odds, she had just barely managed to kill what she believed was some kind of Metroid Queen, and that was it. Aside from a single newly hatched Metroid that came to believe that Samus was its mother, they were gone. In fact, so was the baby. Ridley, the flying leader of the Zebesian Space Pirates, had stolen it from the laboratory where Samus had left it, and led her on a chase through the underworld of Zebes… a chase which led to both Ridley's death… and the baby Metroid.

So what was she doing back on SR388? Now that Samus had defeated Mother Brain, the original leader of the Space Pirates, exterminated the Metroids, and finally ended her decade-long rivalry with Ridley, the galaxy was pretty quiet for a change. This led her to seek out less exciting contracts, such as providing a security escort for a research team. Apparently Biologics Space Laboratories, a scientific corporation that specialized in the story of unknown lifeforms, had taken an interest in this remote world. Their plan was to send in specialists to study both the native inhabitants, as well as the ancient Chozo ruins that Samus had discovered during her time there.

"Computer, bring up my contact's information." She said as the ship approached the upper atmosphere."

"Affirmative." The automated voice replied as a profile was displayed. "Your contact for this mission is Dr. Richard Dolan; Professor of Xeno-biology, and leader of Biologics' initial survey team."

He was cute for a scientist, and younger than she would've imagined for a prominent expert in alien life. Of course, when Samus was growing up, all of the scientists were members of the bird-like Chozo race, so it was kind of hard to expect anything else. Either way, she wasn't there for a social call; Biologics had specifically requested her, not because they expected any trouble, but because of the knowledge she possessed concerning both the layout of the caves, as well as the creatures that dwelled within.

"Initiating landing sequence." The automated voice said as the ship entered the planet's atmosphere. "Activating Varia Suit."

There was a low hum of energy as an orange and yellow light began to form around her body, and then it appeared; the armored battle suit of Chozo origins that Samus had become known for. Like any other protective suit, the Varia allowed her to survive both under water as well as in outer space. However, it was capable of installing several weapons and upgrades, again mostly of Chozo design, and the suit's systems also integrated with her body on a biological level, granting her better control and faster reaction time than someone who was using another model.

Well, she was dressed and ready for action, the start of which appeared to be a small base camp in one of the mountain valleys. As her ship came in for a landing, she saw that the base camp was positioned near the entrance of a large cave, and then it hit her… this was the same place where she had landed during her first visit to the planet. It made sense if she was going to be the research team's guide, since it was a location that she was familiar with, and it also meant that it would be easy for her to protect them, provided that they stayed pretty close to the surface during the expedition.

The upper section of the main building's docking bay opened as the ship approached, and then closed again once she was through, allowing the bay to be purged of the planet's toxic atmosphere… well, toxic to humans, anyway. The native inhabitants seemed to do just fine in it, but this was probably just one of the many mysteries that the research team was there to solve.

"Landing sequence completed." The automated voice said when the ship came to a stop and powered down. "Welcome back to SR388."

"Gosh, thanks." Samus replied with bubbly sarcasm before shaking her head. "Well, at least you don't say 'any objections, Lady?'."

The loading ramp opened and lowered a few moments later, allowing her to exit the ship, coming down the ramp just as a group of what looked like scientists were coming out to meet her. There was no need for them to wear suits in there, since the docking bay was sealed, which made her feel a little awkward for wearing hers when it wasn't necessary, but still it was what people had come to expect.

"Ms. Aran, I'm glad you could make it." The obvious leader of the group said, offering his hand. "I'm Richard Dolan, Chief Researcher of the SR388 project, and this is my team. Thank you, from all of us, for taking this contract, and… I know that my team will be a lot safer with you around."

Instead of making a reply or shaking his hand right away, Samus reached up and slowly removed her helmet. Dr. Dolan was just as cute as in his profile, and even more so with the beard stubble that came from field work. Not that she was looking for a date or anything, it was just nice to know whether or not he found her attractive as well… signaled positively when his eyes widened a little upon seeing her face.

"Samus Aran." She replied, trying not to crush his hand with her suit when they shook hands. "Don't worry, Richard, I'll keep your team safe, but SR388 is no controlled laboratory. Even with the Metroids gone, there are a lot of nasty creatures down there, and the Chozo ruins are full of traps and sentry robots that still work… so stay together, do what I tell you, and most importantly don't wander off… and everything should be fine."

Although obviously intimidated by the seriousness of her warning, the research team was cooperative, and didn't seem the type to do anything rebellious. They had already been getting ready to begin the expedition, stopping work only to greet her, so the team resumed gathering their equipment, and Dr. Dolan did the same. Samus didn't want to hold up their progress, so she stayed in the docking bay with him while he did last minute checks on his equipment.

"You know, Samus, worked together before… indirectly." Dr. Dolan said while calibrating a sensor. "I designed the sensor unit that you used to home in on the Metroids during you're, um… hunt here a few years ago."

Now that did impress her. After all, that little wrist-mounted sensor had been instrumental in tracking down the Metroids, and more importantly, preventing them from ambushing her down in the deepest parts of the labyrinth. Suddenly feeling a rush of fear as she remembered the first time one of the lizard-like Zeta Metroids had leapt at her from the darkness with claws outstretched, the flashback was stopped when Dr. Dolan finished his checks and opened a large cargo trunk.

"Where did you get that?" She asked, stepping forward and looking at it. "This… this looks Chozo."

"It is Chozo." He explained, picking up the purple helmet. "Or at least, it's based on their designs. I've spent a lot of time studying their ruins on Zebes, and other worlds, and this suit is my attempt to recreate their technology. It's only a prototype, and currently no better than the suits my team will be wearing, but someday I hope to solve the friction-loss problem and attain complete freedom of movement underwater."

Samus already had that function built into her Varia Suit, but as far as she knew, hers was the only one that worked. There had been several attempts by others to recreate Chozo technology, including a disastrous effort by Space Pirates to recreate her Morph Ball function, but all had failed. She didn't believe that Dr. Dolan would be any more successful, but at least he had the design correct, although it was missing a beam canon when he put it on. By this time the rest of the team had gathered their equipment, and were assembling near the docking bay's loading ramp, meaning that it was time to get moving.

"All right, now remember to stay close to Ms. Aran." Dr. Dolan said once they joined the team. "SR388 is still listed as a hostile world, so stay together, and try not to disturb anything while you take scans. After you, Ms. Aran."

"Thank you, Doctor." Samus replied before putting her helmet back on. "Lower the ramp."