PROLOGUE
Metroid: The Odyssey
a cinematic, yet personal narrative by Robert Tober
FADE IN.
EXT. FS-176 (STAR / SPACE STATION) – NIGHT
Thick, black ooze covers a Galactic Federation star, giving it the appearance of a solar eclipse. The sludge weakens the light, and paints the space station with its toxicity. Thick droplets hang along the edges of the station. A Gunship approaches.
INT. SAMUS' GUNSHIP – NIGHT
SAMUS pilots her Gunship. She begins to land.
EXT. FS-176: LANDING SITE – NIGHT
Samus lands her Gunship.
INT. SAMUS' GUNSHIP – NIGHT
Samus presses the pink bird-like symbol on her hand, and walks to the exit hatch. Heavy, orange armour, the Varia Suit, digitally replaces her blue spandex body suit. Samus inserts her right hand into her Arm Cannon, near the exit.
INT/EXT. SAMUS' GUNSHIP – NIGHT
Samus rides the hatch, exiting.
The Galactic Federation tasked me with restoring light to this star system. The interior of the space station was calm, but I could sense something was wrong. Shivers trembled down my spine. The elevator to the control room was inactive. The power was out all over the station. I tried to open the doors manually, but they barely budged. It was imperative that I reached the opposite side of the space station, where the giant, black orb rested. When I finally did make it, the full weight of my Varia Suit slowly getting me, the Federation star greeted me with its ooze-dripping tentacles.
Only a dim glow of light peeked from the darkness. I looked around for an alternate path into the control room. Four platforms surrounded the star, each with a round slot of a particular size. I switched into Morph Ball mode, altering my shape into that of a sphere, and activated the platforms with atomic explosions. Each platform raised significantly until they stood erect as pillars. Revealing a second slot, I repeated the process until the pillars grew as tall as the star itself. I then resumed my search.
After walking around a while, I eventually encountered small, round paths along the backsides of the pillars, which led to the control room. Withholding electricity for emergency purposes, the pillars, when connected, would allow me to complete my mission. I followed the instructions in the control room, needing the use of my Arm Cannon in order to extract the virus. A timer appeared, indicating how long the extraction process would take to complete. Rumbling soon followed. The black nectar still toyed with the pillars; my source of power was in danger. I used some of the emergency electricity on the elevator, and returned to the darkened ball of light.
INT/EXT. FS-176: STAR PLATFORM – NIGHT
Samus exits the building.
EXT. FS-176: STAR PLATFORM – NIGHT
Samus gets into a defensive position. She pays close attention to the ooze-dripping tentacles. Three SPACE PIRATE ATCs distract her. She points her Arm Cannon at the enemy spaceships, and begins firing at them. Four AEROTROOPERS fly toward her from behind. The winged Space Pirates surprise her with a group assault. Samus swiftly turns around, and attacks them back.
I wondered what the Space Pirates wanted. The Aerotroopers were the most aggravating of the bunch, so I tried shooting them down first. They would try reducing the size of the pillars by force. The Pirates in the ATCs, however, fired at the star itself, trying to get the molasses to react. Re-thinking my strategy, I fired charged shots at the ventilation shafts, knowing them to be a simple target. I killed them all without breaking a sweat, only to find that this was not the end. The timer reached the end of its count. The remaining ooze evaporated, and a solar storm began.
EXT. FS-176: STAR PLATFORM – NIGHT
A solar flare travels in Samus' direction, snapping her out of her daydream. She bolts for the dock on the other side of the building.
EXT/INT. FS-176 – NIGHT
Samus barely misses the solar flare, running for her life.
Evacuating this place as soon as possible was my top priority. My Varia Suit became so warm; it felt like it was going to melt. My mind raced faster than I could run. I kept repeating the same thought, desperate to escape.
"Ma'am, I'm readying the ship for escape," Tyson, my robot companion, announced.
"You should be in the air by now! We need to get the hell out of here!" I could barely speak; my voice was so low on breath. "Open the hatch! I'll jump!"
INT/EXT. FS-176: DOCK – NIGHT
Samus escapes the space station.
EXT. FS-176: DOCK – NIGHT
Samus watches her Gunship lift off. The underside hatch opens.
EXT. FS-176 – NIGHT
Large solar flares spread in all directions.
EXT. FS-176: DOCK – NIGHT
Samus makes a final sprint toward the Gunship. She leaps for the hatch, when a solar flare makes contact with her. Her Varia Suit disables, returning her to her Maya and Catalina blue Zero Suit. Tyson brings unconscious Samus to Oormine II, which orbits beyond a large asteroid field.
FADE OUT.
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