Samus' eyes opened slowly as she awoke from her slumber. Her head throbbed as a fog began to lift in her mind. As she began to become aware of her surroundings, she realised that she was strapped into a chair in her zero suit. She also took in where she actually was: she was in a poorly lit room that was either in a facility or aboard a ship. She had to squint her eyes because, although the room was poorly lit, what little light there was made Samus' head feel like it was about split open. Her hangover level headache was made all the worse by the heavily synthesized voice that began to boom in the room.
"It's about time you woke up." Samus would have clutched her aching head had her arms not been restrained.
"W-where am I?" she asked quietly so as not to made her headache worse, hoping that whoever had abducted her would hear her question so she wouldn't need to raise her voice any further.
"You are aboard the Head Shot space station. You are here to be reintegrated into the Galactic Federation." What the hell did he mean by 'reintegrated'? "It's no secret that you're the best at what you do and the Federation wants you back in its service."
"I left that life behind long ago."
"Regardless, you have no choice in the matter. You will be reintegrated in to Federation." She could hear a machine starting up above her. She looked up and could just make out what appeared to be a red helmet descending from the darkness and being place on her head. The helmet had a visor on the front that blocked her entire field of vision. While this did wonders for her headache, she was worried about what was going to happen to her in this vulnerable state.
The visor, as it turned out, was a screen that lit up, burning Samus' eyes. She squinted to keep out as much light as possible but her eyes were pried open by the helmet and no matter how far she looked, she couldn't see anything other than the screen; which began to display a spiral of purple and orange. This was accompanied by speakers next to her ears playing relaxing music. It was clear that they were trying to brainwash her with this thing. She never thought the Federation would go this far to recruit her.
A sudden thought popped into her head: Watch. She wasn't sure where the thought came from; it certainly wasn't one of hers. Listen. It was clear that either the display or the music contained subliminal messages. She tried desperately to keep her eyes moving and block out the sound by thinking about something else. Surrender. It wasn't working. Since her eyes were still darting around and she couldn't really see the spiral anymore, it was most likely the music that contained the subliminals. Her eyes slowed down as she put more focus on blocking out the sound. Sleep. Her eyes grew even slower. She could feel herself becoming tired. She was beginning to lose this battle and she could see no way to win. Submit. Her eyelids felt like they were made of lead. She could barely keep them open now. Obey.
Samus' head dropped and the helmet's internal camera showed that her eyes were closed too. Now that she was under, the head of the program initiated Stage 2. The headphones began deliver messages into Samus' subconscious as she slept. These messages told her to forget everything she knew: her past, her name, her very identity. Bit by bit, Samus' memory faded from her mind until she was left a blank slate.
Following her mind wipe, she was taken to an office and left there. She was soon joined by a man dressed in a well-kept uniform that consisted of a sailor-like blue and white hat and a blue military jacket with a white chest and torso, falling to a triangle below the pelvis. He sat down next to her and smiled warmly. "Hello, do you know who I am?"
She looked at him with lifeless eyes and replied, "No."
"Do you know who you are?"
After a few seconds of silence, her eyes widened and she replied, "No."
"I know who you are." Samus looked at him desperately. "And I can help you. My name is Adam Malkovich. I am your commanding officer. Do you know what that means?" Samus shook her head. "It means that your purpose is to follow my orders. Do you understand?" She nodded. "If you follow my orders without question, I will help you to remember who you are. Shall we begin?"
"Yes, sir." Adam walked into the middle of the room and she followed.
"Good. I'm going to give you an order and if you follow it, I'll tell you something about yourself. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"In that case, I want you to do a sexy pose."
Normally, she would have at least hesitated for a second, even if she was desperate to find out something about herself. But in her current state, she didn't know any better than to obey any command she was given. Even so, Adam's approach was to act like her friend instead of just her commander; it would make her want to follow his orders to repay him for his kindness.
"Yes, sir." She placed her hands behind her head, force her chest and hips out and puckered her lips. Adam walked around her, observing her. Making her do something like this was the best way to test her obedience. Then he could start moulding her into the soldier the federation wanted.
"As promised, I'll tell you something about yourself." Her face lit up at this and she stared at him liked a puppy. "Your name is Samus Aran."
"Samus...Aran. I'm Samus Aran!" she sounded like a child that had just been given the toy they desperately wanted.
"I'll tell you something else if you do another pose for me."
"Yes, sir!" Samus sounded very happy at having relearned her name. She leaned forward and supported herself with a hand on her knee. Adam stood directly behind her and stared at her butt. His orders were so flexible, he could do pretty much anything and it would fall within the mission parameters.
"Very good. The next piece of information is: you are a bounty hunter that fights space pirates wherever you go."
"Bounty hunter?"
"That's right. You take on jobs that would be impossible for most people but you have the skill and cunning to survive." She smiled at the compliment. "Now I want one more pose from you for the next piece of information."
"Yes, sir." This time, she bent forward and touched her toes, buttocks raised into the air. Adam was doubtful she would do this without the mind-wipe.
"Alright, Samus. The next fact is that you hold romantic feelings toward me." As if the revelation spurred her true emotions deep within, she began to blush. This confirmed that she really did have feelings for him. He'd had an inkling that such was the case for years but she wouldn't react like that if she didn't. He then noticed the vertical pole by the wall and had a great idea for a test of obedience. "Okay, this is the final test. Go to that pole over there and perform a pole dance then I'll tell you something really important."
"Yes, sir." She walked over, hips swinging intentionally, and began her pole dance. Adam was taken aback at how well she performed, as if she'd done it before. He enjoyed watching the bounty hunter doing these things in her skin-tight blue outfit. He couldn't go too far since the whole thing was being observed by the higher ups. Plus, he had too much respect for the woman to make her do anything too degrading. What he was doing was for the greater good; the Federation needed Samus.
"Very good. As I said, this next fact is very important." She listened intently. "Although you are a bounty hunter and will work for almost anyone, you will often lend a hand to the Federation and follow the orders of the commanding officer in the mission."
"So, if I was helping you in your mission, I'd follow your orders?"
"That's right. I'm glad you're picking up on this so quickly." She beamed at him. He felt somewhat guilt about manipulating her like this but it had to be done. He spent the next few hours giving her facts that she knew deep down were true along with new ones that, while a part of her may doubt them, the fact that he'd given her so much truth would convince her subconscious that all of it was true.
The purpose of this whole process was to make Samus want to serve the Federation willingly because, if they simply took away her free will, she might break free of their control and come for revenge. Making her want to do it willingly was the best choice. The program was split into four stages; Stage 1: Sleep, Stage 2: Forget, Stage 3: Trust, Stage 4: Restore.
When he felt she was the was the way the Federation wanted her, he escorted her back to the memory alteration suite and told her that all of her memory would come back once she was in the chair. He'd planned an explanation about how she needed to know a few things about herself for it to work in case she asked why he'd spent the time telling her thing when they could just use the machine. However, she didn't ask that; she obediently sat in the chair and allowed the helmet to lower onto her head.
Once the helmet was on, Samus heard Adam leave. She was going to miss him. He'd been so kind to her after she'd lost her memory and he hadn't tried to take advantage of her. As the machine started, a spiral appeared in the visor and she could hear Adam's voice over the intercom. "Samus, can you hear me?"
"I hear you, sir."
"Good. I need you to relax. Just watch the spiral and listen to the music in the speakers." Soothing music began playing in the speakers next to her ears. She began to feel sleepy as she did. Adam had told her to relax so she welcomed this feeling and fell into a deep trance rather quickly.
Now that she was under again, Stage 4 could begin: she would have her memory restored and she would forget everything that had happened aboard this ship but retain the feelings of love and loyalty that had been instilled in her while here. Adam was glad it was over now; he felt disgusted with himself for doing it. He'd only agreed to make sure someone more despicable didn't do it.
Samus awoke in a panic. She quickly took in her surroundings as she gasped for breath. It took her a moment to remember where she was: she was inside a Galactic Federation HQ, which he had returned to for evaluation and recuperation following the deaths of Mother Brain and the baby. It clearly wasn't working. She'd dreamt about Adam Malkovich dominating her mentally. She hadn't even thought about Adam in years. Sure, she'd once had feelings for him but she'd gotten over it and moved on with her life. Or so she thought. Her feelings seemed to be resurfacing stronger than ever. She needed to find somewhere else to recuperate from recent events.
She decided to head to a planet resort she'd been to years earlier. Her trip was interrupted when her starship suddenly caught a signal. Code name: Baby's Cry. A common S.O.S. with the urgency of a baby crying. The nickname comes from the fact that the purpose of the signal is to draw attention. The signal was coming from a remote part of space. She altered the course of her ship as if this detour had already been part of her flight plan. Baby's Cry - it was as though it was crying specifically for her...