Behind Cold Metal: The Price of Failure
It had all happened so quickly.
He had been drifting somewhat aimlessly through space many light years away from the Pirate Homeworld. Its liberation by Galactic Forces had left a traumatic mark on his mind. He had let his soldiers down. He had let himself down. He had let everybody down.
Once, the Space Pirates had a home to call their own. Now, they had nothing but mere installations; space stations, fleets, armadas and bases on numerous planets. Impressive in name, but meaningless without the one thing to connect them all.
A place to call home.
Meta Ridley, whose vision could only spy the cosmos outside the thick window of his escape pod, wondered aloud about the fate of his comrades. He didn't know whether the rest of the crew who had served him so effortlessly survived. There were escape shuttles on the Homeworld's primary base, but whether many of the Space Pirates were able to use them was another matter. Even then, did they even manage to set coordinates for any other strongholds? Meta Ridley himself didn't even set any direct path; just a quick press of the launch button with no extra thought.
And it was all because of her.
Samus Aran.
He couldn't believe he had been so foolish. During his construction, his emotion data cells were installed to allow emotions of anger and hatred to reign in his body. It was meant to harness the energy of hatred to fuel his battle abilities even further. Not even in his wildest dreams did he think that the cells would create other feelings, unknown feelings that had turned him from a brutal, killing machine into a soft, caring…thing.
He sang songs. He acted goofy. He made up excuses for his behaviour to hide it from the Space Pirates. He even made them act as servants for dinner! And she…she ate his finest foods, drunk his finest beverages. He'd even allowed her to sleep in prestigious rooms only allowed for high-ranking Space Pirate officials! There was a malfunction, and before he knew it, he was taking her on trips to Ether, and fell in love with its beauty.
And fell in love with Samus.
It was the fatal mistake that had happened which caused the fall of the Pirate Homeworld. As he escaped, his emotions had been overridden with love, regret, and all the terrible things that dulled his abilities. Now long removed from that final departure, his anger seethed. His rage boiled. His disappointment reigned. It had all been a trap, he thought. He'd allowed her to view the deepest secrets of the Space Pirates…and in turn, she called in the Galactic Federation. He bore all for her to deal that finishing blow she intended to inflict when they battled all that time ago…
The escape pod suddenly creaked. A strange energy seemed to wrap the hull. Meta Ridley's eyes darted open, and as he looked around, he saw the starts outside moving faster than before. The pod was enveloped in a blue light, and a great space station soon came into view. It was a traction beam, pulling him in. And as he spotted the name of the side of the spear-shaped mega-structure, he smiled within.
SS Anubis. Possibly the strongest and most famed of all Space Pirate battle cruisers. And it housed the highest-ranking commander of all the Space Pirates.
But only misfortune awaited.
As soon as the escape pod landed on the platform within the dark, metallic dock, the door was thrown open. Hands grabbed onto a weary Meta Ridley, but instead of helping him out, he was thrown brutally to the floor. Landing on the floor, he yelled as his senses quickly came back to him. The immobility of the pod had enfeebled his limbs; he writhed as a set of arms hoisted him p and dragged him across the floor, his knees scraping. Trying to utter words, Meta Ridley could only groan. The trip had taken its toll on him.
Looking, he saw Space Pirates on either side of him, aggressively dragging him through dank corridors through to an elevator. As he was dragged through crowds in the corridors, they kicked, beat and spat on him.
"Traitor!"
"Heretic!"
What was happening? Meta Ridley's strength had failed completely, but his mind ran circles. Why were they calling him a traitor? Did the news of the Pirate Homeworld's fall spread? In his past failures, he had not been treated like this. He had succeeded at so many other campaigns, but this time, it appeared that the Space Pirates were not on his side.
Emerging at the top floor of the elevator, he was thrown to the ground and shackled against his will. Energy begun to return to Meta Ridley. Clambering up to his knees, he felt cold metal press hard against his side. A huge electric shock coursed straight through him, and his body slammed back down again the floor with a sickening thud. Meta Ridley screamed in pain.
Around him, jeers were being thrown. Meta Ridley knew where he was; the Antechamber. Here, on the top floor of the SS Anubis, crowds and crowds of high ranking Space Pirates could gather and take counsel, directing commands and authorising orders. The chamber was a large, amphitheater-like room, with a great throne sat at the centre of it.
And upon that throne sat the most important Space Pirate alive. The Pirate King.
Released before him, Meta Ridley looked up weakly at the robed, disgusting figure sat upon the throne, a glowing sword in one hand. The Pirate King was the ultimate leader of all the Space Pirates in the universe. Everybody answered to him. He decided the fate of every Space Pirate he had control of. He was a god. Limbs and body shaking from the electric shock, Meta Ridley shivered and coughed as the Pirate King looked down at him pitifully. The crowds of officials continued to jeer and boo, until suddenly…
"SILENCE!"
The Pirate King's roar turned the crowd deadly silent. It reigned within the room for what seemed like an eternity. Only Meta Ridley's panting and groans pierced the silence.
"…Do you know why you're here?" he said slowly, his voice low, grim and menacing. Meta Ridley, wracked with pain from head to toe, couldn't answer.
"The Pirate Homeworld is lost" the Pirate King continued. "It was the most important establishment that our army had. It was integral to very many of our plans…and now it is gone. Taken by Galactic Federation scum…and it's all because of you!"
The crowd started to roar. Finally, amidst the noise, Meta Ridley found his voice.
"…P-please…" he begged painfully. "Spare…me…" The Pirate King, however, couldn't hear him.
"It is bad enough that you are to bear responsibility for the loss of our great planet!" The Pirate King bellowed. "But what is worse is that you had the perfect chance to finally rid us of the curse that is Samus Aran!" More jeers were thrown at Meta Ridley as he managed to get to his knees, the muscles in his arms and legs burning heavily from the shock.
"I…I didn't…" Meta Ridley protested.
"Quiet, you traitor!" the Pirate King yelled. "Instead of dispatching the pest, you allowed her to live. You allowed her to see everything. And you allowed her the opportunity to strike the Homeworld when it was most vulnerable! Meta Ridley, it is you who have allowed the Pirate Homeworld to be lost!"
The jeers reached their pinnacle at this moment. Booing and hissing reached eardrum-breaking levels. But the Pirate King continued to roar over the noise, bathing in the hatred.
"Therefore, Meta Ridley, you must face the ultimate punishment. You…"
The crowd fell silent as they waited to hear the punishment.
"…will be marooned!"
Marooned. A fate worse than execution. Banished to the outer limits of the cosmos, cursed to wander the stars alone forever. Meta Ridley's heart sank upon hearing the world. It gutted him and took the words out of his mouth. He couldn't react; he was crushed. Giving up, he fell to the floor, closing his eyes. It was over. This is how it was going to end.
"Take him to the transport bay and launch his ship as far from here as possible!" the Pirate King ordered. "Cut all the electricity, the communications and controls! Let this pathetic excuse for a commander fade away into nothing, once and for all!"
As soon as the order was given, Meta Ridley was dragged away. Giving no fight, he allowed his face to stretch against the unforgiving steel floor. It didn't matter. Every ounce of pain he felt was numb. His heart and mind were numb. Everything, numb.
Thrown into a ship, he watched as the door closed behind him, locking him within the small, cramped craft. His wings didn't fit and bent awkwardly against the edges of the cockpit. He could hear the jeering Space Pirates outside cutting the wires. The lights vanished inside the cockpit.
And with a great force, the useless vessel was jettisoned into space at speed. Crumpled, battered and beaten, Meta Ridley lay on the floor of the cockpit, feeling the force of the moving vehicle as it threw itself through space quickly, before slowing, slowing, slowing…
And then, he drifted. Only the gentle forces of space controlled his fate. This was it. Meta Ridley, excommunicated, humiliated, marooned. Not in his wildest dreams would he have ever thought his end would come to him like this. He knew he would die in the spacecraft, looking up at the dark roof, with only the light of the stars and the planets to assure him whether he was still alive. And behind the cold metal, the heart that beat would only beat for so long. Everything indicated that the end was nigh for the great Meta Ridley.
Days passed. Weeks passed. And in the vast distance of space, a blue light glimmered. Through this blue light, Meta Ridley's final hope would come. His salvation, and with it, a shot at redemption.
In the distance, a Galactic Federation scout ship spotted a drifting, unmanned aircraft some long distance away. Mapping its coordinates, it turned around and flew back to its mothership to report the unusual finding…
So it's been in my mind for a long time to write a sequel to Behind Cold Metal, which has seen quite a bit of popularity ever since I wrote it some years ago. Although I haven't fully gotten around to it, this one-shot tease sets up the story for a sequel when I get around to writing it. Hope you enjoyed it, do read the original story if you want to (it's a little dated now, hahaha)! You can also check out my other stuff too :)