Author's Notes: Let me be clear, though this story is set during the events of Other M, I've taken the creative license to change certain aspects of it, some big and some small. Samus, for example, looks more like how she did during the original Prime and Super Metroid; she's tall, she's muscular, and a bit rough around the edges. Also, while Zero Mission established her Zero Suit, I've omitted its canon impact from this story.

And, in light of some...complaints, I feel this needs to be said - how Samus acts in the games and how she acts in my head are two different things. In my head, she's not the all-powerful being the games make her out to be, especially during the Prime series. She's human, and she struggles with herself. She's flawed. She has mental health issues that she doesn't know how to properly cope with. To me, this "Human Samus" is far more interesting that "Game Samus". So if you're expecting to find omnipotent "Game Samus" in this, or any of my work, I suggest you just play the games instead. You won't find her here.

I'd like to dedicate this work to my wonderful Lady - you know who you are! - Legendary Swordsman, JayRain and theeternalrival1. You guys are the best :)

Chapter 1: Trials and Tribulations


Bounty hunter Samus Aran awoke to the painful glow of fluorescent lights and the muffled sound of a female voice calling to her. Her head felt as if it were swimming. Her body felt as if she had just been hit by an Anhur-class freighter. It even hurt to move her eyes as they scanned the rather small room awash in steel paneling. Though the hunter's vision was rather fuzzy, she was able to identify several monitors on the walls and an empty medical pod on the other side of the room. Various monitoring devices were fixed to her body, keeping track of her breathing, blood pressure and pulse rate. A breathing apparatus was strapped to her face. A Medical Officer was approaching her.

The weary hunter was slowly able to identify the officer, now at her bedside. A female of average height, wearing the standard-issue uniform of the Navy's Fleet Trooper. Blue eyes, feminine jaw and facial features. Her voice was calm as she examined the nodes attached to the bounty hunter's body while carefully removing the breathing apparatus strapped to her face. "You're awake. Thank goodness. Samus, my name is Dr. Wells; you're inside Medlab Delta aboard the G.F.S Olympus. How are you feeling?"

Still groggy, it was all Samus could do to reply, "Like I'm going to be sick," as she tried to restrain her gag reflex.

Dr. Wells' eyes briefly skimmed over Samus' form before returning to the data pad she held in her hand. "That's normal considering how long you were in stasis. It'll pass soon. The good news is that your vital signs are stable. Quite an improvement over when you first arrived." With her free hand, Dr. Wells carefully removed the sensors attached to various points on the mercenary's body.

Samus gave the other woman a look of perplexity as she worked. "…Out? How long was I out?"

Dr. Wells removed the last senor attached to Samus' wrist, then looked at her. "About two and a half months. According to the report, your ship was found by a team of Federation Marines while on a training mission in the FS-176 solar system; they found you unconscious aboard your gunship and immediately brought you aboard."

Samus felt truly grateful, yet her voice remained monotone and aloof. "Be sure to give them my thanks, doctor."

Dr. Wells wore a gentle smile. "Of course," she replied as her eyes continued down to the long list of injuries the bounty hunter had sustained. A fractured collar bone, several broken ribs, lacerations and contusions, a bruised lung, internal bleeding... "It's amazing how well you've held up. To survive a battle like that... you must be truly remarkable."

The hunter regarded the doctor's words but did not make eye contact, her voice rather blunt. "...Right, remarkable. The only reason I'm still alive is because I never quit until my mission is deemed completed, even if it takes having to sacrifice myself to do so."

Well, one of the reasons, Samus thought to herself as she reached into her most recent past.

Mother Brain...she'd nearly died at the hands of the reborn Mother Brain, if it hadn't been for the Baby...

She had survived countless near-death battles over the years – violent scuffles with Ridley. Her Phazon doppelganger, Dark Samus. The Metroid Prime, and countless others. And every one of them had been fought with her trademark tenacity and spirit. But the battle with the reborn Mother Brain had all but brought her to her knees both mentally and physically. Mother Brain's power, savage in its existence, seemed unstoppable, her defenses impervious to anything Samus had at her disposal. As she sat back in the medical pod, Samus remembered feeling truly helpless for the first time in her life. Remembered the fear, the desperation, the ominous alarms wailing inside her helmet warning her of certain death. The notion that despite her power, she was still very much a mere mortal beneath that infamous orange armor. In a twist of irony, the same race that had saved her life would also be the same race who would end it.

The memories of that heated battle came rushing back to her in vivid torrents. The hunter felt her heart wrench as the sound of the Baby's final cry echoed in her mind. In a twist of fate, the sole survivor of the species she had been ordered to destroy had ultimately ended up saving her life. In some strange way, one that she was sure wasn't exactly healthy, Samus had felt as if she'd watched her own child being ruthlessly murdered before her very eyes.

The finality of it all struck her once again. Never again would she see the Baby. Never. In that moment, she realized with melancholy that yet another thing she'd grown close to had been so cruelly taken from her. It was enough to drive any normal person into a never-ending depression. But as she pushed the tears and pain back, Samus knew she could not change what had happened, but merely accept it and move on.

Samus slowly brought her hand to within inches of her face and stared as if she were looking for something. She looked… different. Something was aesthetically different about her. Glancing down at herself, Samus realized she was wearing a cyan blue body suit adorned with pink Chozo symbols on the breast, left hand and back that all faded in and out as she breathed. The suit was quite different from the usual leotard she was used to wearing beneath her armor, and yet felt oddly familiar as if it were a second skin.

"What is this?" she asked dully.

Dr. Wells beamed. "You've noticed. Just a little something the Science Department has been working on ever since you arrived. Apparently, your previous suit was so badly damaged that they had to redesign it from the ground up."

Samus said nothing in reply. Instead, she merely stood on legs that felt weak and oddly heavy from the extended period of atrophy they had been in. The soles of her boots clicked against the steel floor as her new suit flexed under her movement.

Taking note of the look of concern on Samus's face, Dr. Wells issued calm reassurance. "Don't worry. The effect should wear off quickly once you resume regular ambulatory function "

Samus took a few moments to pace up and down the small room to rid her legs of the strange, heavy feeling and was back to walking normally after only a few passes.

Pleased that the woman was now steady on her feet, Dr. Wells directed her to the Battery Test Area.

On her way out, Samus suddenly stopped before the automatic doors to look behind her. "Thanks for keeping me alive, Dr. Wells. Even if I shouldn't be alive right now."

Next door, Samus stood in the center of the large room covered from top to bottom in thick steel plating looking up at the two Science Officers inside the control room. One of them, a man with wavy brown hair, glasses and freckles on his cheeks, began to speak over the intercom. "Welcome, Samus. I'm Dr. Lawrence, and this is my colleague, Dr. Murphy. What you are wearing is a one-of-a-kind battle suit, a perfect marriage of Chozo and Federation technology. This is its thinnest layer of armor, which we call the Zero Suit, made from an extremely durable, yet highly flexible, mix of polymers and Talloric Alloy for added durability. While you are the most agile within the Zero Suit, you are also the most vulnerable as well. Be aware that your only defense while in the Zero Suit is a simple pistol able to shoot paralyzing shots of energy -"

"We call it the Paralyzer," interjected the stout Dr. Murphy in a nasal tone of voice.

Samus eyed the holster on her right thigh before returning her attention to the Science Officers.

Dr. Lawrence promptly continued, "Yes, quite. At any rate, be advised that the weapon is most powerful when fully charged. However, it is unable to inflict any type of severe damage even in a fully charged state; the weapon is merely meant for basic defense until proper weaponry is acquired. Which brings me to my next point…"

Samus interjected sharply. "Wait! Are you telling me that this pistol is all I have to defend myself with?! Are you guys fucking kidding me?" She was understandably angry, even a bit worried. After all, she was essentially a human tank while in her Power Suit and its various armors. To go from that to nothing more than a skin tight bodysuit and a simple pistol had rattled her to say the least.

Dr. Lawrence calmly reassured the fervid woman. "While in the Zero Suit, yes. The Paralyzer will be all you have to protect yourself with. But I assure you, there is more to this suit than meets the eye, as my colleague here will explain. Dr. Murphy?"

There was a sense of eagerness in the portly man's voice, "The most fascinating thing about the Zero Suit is that it stores all of the data regarding your Power Suit within its fibers. Think of it as a type of second skin. To summon - and maintain - your Power Suit, however, requires that you remain in a state of intense mental focus. Go ahead and try it out, Samus."

Samus was skeptical to say the least, if only because she was more accustomed to far more advanced Chozo technology as opposed to Federation technology. Samus squared her feet and crossed her arms out in front of her. She closed her eyes and began to focus. The Chozo symbols on her back and hand began to glow as her focus intensified, and soon, a blinding flash of light shot out from the Chozo symbol on her breast, shrouding her in tiny cubes, each one of them a fragment of her Power Suit. Within a matter of seconds, her Power Suit materialized over her body, with the helmet the last to appear. Her skepticism quickly turned into slight admiration over what the Federation was able to produce. It was something even the Chozo would be proud of.

Dr. Murphy smiled, pleased with her flawless execution. "That's exactly how it's done. You're quite the quick study."

Dr. Lawrence took over. "You will immediately notice that this version of your Power Suit has been slightly modified from the previous version; when you arrived here, your suit was heavily damaged and needed to be redesigned from the ground up. Though this new version is still very much a product of Chozo design, it is far lighter in terms of material and implemented with advanced Federation technology, namely a system that allows you to refill energy tanks and weapon systems using mental kinetic energy - a process we refer to as Concentration - it works very similar to the way you just activated your Power Suit. It is designed to activate upon the detection of critically low energy reserves. This technology is still in its beta stage, but we hope to incorporate it into Federation Marine and Army Power Suits within the next few cycles."

"So I'm your guinea pig, is that it?" Samus deadpanned as she examined herself. Though this "new" version of her beloved suit still retained the overall look and feel of the original, it didn't feel quite as bulky as she remembered. It felt a lot lighter, almost as if she wasn't wearing anything at all. It also appeared to be more stream-lined than the original. Other than that, she was pleased to see that it hadn't changed too drastically. Though she would never let the Federation scientists see it, Samus was actually a bit excited over her redesigned suit despite her stoic expression.

Dr. Lawrence chuckled and adjusted his glasses, amused. "I wouldn't think of it that way, Samus. Think of it as being the first to usher in a new era of technology. A pioneer, if you will."

Samus, however, remained unmoved by his optimism. "…Right. So, now that you've briefed me on my new suit, is my Gunship ready?"

Dr. Murphy smiled. "Yes it is. But first, we would just like you to run through a quick exam to confirm that you are fit to proceed. I understand you're anxious to be on your way, but this should only take a few minutes. Shall we get started?"

Samus was put through a series of tests that measured her reflexes, accuracy and awareness, as well as testing out the suit's new recharge ability, while within the confines of her revamped Power Suit. As was true to her nature, the bounty hunter attained perfect marks on the test battery and was cleared to proceed to her awaiting Hunter-class Gunship.

Samus watched as Dr. Lawrence looked at her with a grin on his face and adjusted his glasses again. "Impressive as always, Aran. Looks like you're ready to go. You're wanted at Galactic Federation HQ. Proceed to Docking Bay Twelve."

Samus couldn't quite put her finger on it, but the grin plastered across his face suddenly made her feel a tad uneasy. Then again, she had never been a very trusting sort. But she did have a way of being able to read people, and right now, the look on the wavy-haired man's face was enough to make the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Putting the uneasiness aside, Samus calmly walked out of the large room and proceeded down the tight corridor.

Inside Docking Bay Twelve, Samus entered her Gunship and set her flight path for Planet Earth.


Samus stood within the large rotunda of the Galactic Federation Assembly Hall where she was to be questioned about the destruction of Planet Zebes. What's more, they wanted to question her in regards to the illegal transporting of the infant Metroid to the Ceres Space Colony, as well as the colony's sudden destruction. Present for the hearing was none other than the Supreme Chairman of the Galactic Federation himself, a short, green-skinned alien named Keaton. With a single pounding of his gavel, Keaton ordered the hearing to begin, but not before chastising the bounty hunter about her choice of attire. "You will show this rotunda some respect and power down your armor immediately, Ms. Aran."

Samus defied the green-skinned alien. "No, thanks. I'm quite comfortable the way I am, Chairman."

The large hall soon erupted into a cacophony of astonishment and disgust as members began to talk among themselves. They knew well of Samus Aran's brash reputation (among other things), but never had they seen anyone show such disrespect to the Supreme Chairman of the Federation before. By refusing to comply with Chairman Keaton's request, it was almost as if Samus was challenging the entire Federation itself.

Chairman Keaton pounded his gavel with thunderous authority and instantly silenced the rotunda. His usually calm voice was now filled with hints of admonition. "Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Aran. If you do not comply with this order, I will have no choice but to find you guilty of contempt and terminate your contract."

It was a nice way of saying she would be thrown in jail and not get paid. Reluctantly, Samus powered down her armor and stood before the senate in her Zero Suit.

Satisfied, Chairman Keaton continued. "Ms. Aran, it is clear by your presence that you did in fact accomplish your mission to SR-388. But what isn't as clear is the reason behind the sudden destruction of Planet Zebes and the Ceres Space Colony. However, we have reason to believe, given your reputation, that you were behind its demise. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Samus recalled the events right after defeating the Metroid queen on their homeworld in which she stumbled upon a lone Metroid egg that hatched right before her very eyes and, being she was the first thing it seen, imprinted her as its mother and started following her like a confused child. She had decided to keep it within her ship's quarantine bay until eventually deciding to entrust the creature to the researchers at Ceres station, where they later discovered the Metroid larva's powers could be used to the benefit of galactic civilization. After collecting a sizable amount of credits for the creature, Samus left the station in search of a new bounty when she suddenly picked up a distress signal from the colony.

Upon her return, with the station now running on auxiliary power, Samus was shocked and horrified to discover the still warm corpses of the researchers strewn about the length of the main deck as she ran through corridor after corridor searching, hoping, for any sign of survivors and wondering who - or what – had attacked the station. Having found no trace of survivors, Samus came upon a large, darkened room, only to discover the Metroid larva floating within its containment pod, its nuclei pulsating.

"That's when Ridley appeared," Samus recalled, her voice full of contempt for the space dragon. "I watched him grab the Metroid in his talons before quickly engaging him in a brief battle. At one point, I thought I'd managed to drive him away because I saw him drop the Metroid pod and attempted to recover it. But I was too late. Not only did Ridley regain control of the Metroid, but he'd also activated the colony's self-destruct mechanism before retreating. I barely escaped with my life."

Keaton nodded slowly and appeared to be mulling the hunter's account over in his mind. She might have been a bit brash, but she cut no corners when it came to the truth, unlike many of her fellow hunters who were willing to pretty much lie through their teeth in order to get paid. And this Keaton found to be respectable. But he needed to know more. "Understood, Ms. Aran. But, how then do you explain the sudden destruction of Zebes?"

Samus went on to explain how she'd tracked the dragon to the planet, but had lost the signal shortly after landing in the middle of Crateria. The planet appeared unchanged on the surface, but upon exploration of its many sub-levels, Samus knew the Pirates had been busy ever since their first defeat on the same planet years ago. They had built a new Tourian, submerged within the core of the planet, and were yet again propagating Metroids within its corridors.

"After the battle with Mother Brain, due to her chamber being close to the planet's core, the explosion triggered an imminent collapse of the entire planet. I was barely able to escape with my life before the planet exploded."

The entire hall soon fell into silence as representatives from all walks of life deliberated within the private confines of their hearts and minds the very distinct possibility that the mercenary was, in fact, telling the truth.

After moments of deliberation, Keaton had finally reached a decision. "While we are in your debt for having eliminated the Metroids, the Space Pirates and their organization, we cannot overlook the fact that an entire planet and research facility had to be sacrificed in the process, whether it was your intent or not. Nor can we overlook the fact that you chose to engage in the unlawful act of illegally transporting Class-A contraband in the form of a sentient lifeform. Therefore, it is with regret that I hereby sentence you to six months in jail and order you to pay a maximum fine of one hundred-thousand credits for failure to abide by the law regarding the transportation of illegal cargo. Are these charges understood, Ms. Aran?"

Samus felt like she'd just been stabbed in the back by the decision. She'd risked her life to put an end to the Metroid menace and end the war, had sacrificed everything, including her fragile mental health, just so these talking heads around her could stab her in the back and sweep her accomplishments under the rug? "No! No these charges are not understood!" she yelled, her temper flaring. "You ran my ass ragged during the war, and goddamn it, I accomplished every mission you assigned! And what did it get me? Six months in the brig and a fucking fine?! Fuck that!"

Keaton slammed his gavel. "You will conduct yourself in the proper manner and respect the Hall's ruling, Ms. Aran!"

"Respect? You want me to show you respect, after what you just did to me?! I don't think so!"

Keaton's voice dripped with authority as he went to strike the gavel again. "Take her away!"

Before Samus could react, the hunter found her wrists shackled with a pair of energy binders and being promptly escorted out of the room by a pair of military police officers.