PROLOGUE
Purr-eeek!
That sound again. Where was it coming from? she wonders as she looks around, out of breath. It is very dark and she can not see anything beyond the hulking skeleton before her. To what does that belong? she asks herself, and why am I out of breath? Where am I? Why am I in my suit? It all seems familiar, but nothing comes to her. She moves toward the only exit she can find, a dark tunnel just beyond the skeleton. As she brushes past, it disintegrates slightly, falling to the rough ground as a powder.
Purr-eeek!
Louder this time. Whatever it is, she knows she is getting closer. Up ahead, faint light begins to appear. Thanks to her visor, the light is amplified, and she can tell it is natural light. I must be getting close to the surface, she thinks, but then, The surface of what? Fighting her impulse to sprint for the light, she knows not what dangers exist between her and the tunnel's end. She relents and quickens her pace anyway.
Suddenly and inexplicably, she is in the open. Intensely bright light surrounds her. Everything comes flooding back in an instant; that skeleton belonged to the Mother Metroid; this is the ventilation corridor to her nest; I'm on SR388!
PURR-EEEK!
She spins around and there is the metroid larva, far larger than it had any right to be. A giant, disgustingly transparent, green mass filled with bright red, spherical organs, and four yellowish, dripping fangs, twitching wildly. It doesn't think, it moves instinctively, floating closer to her, to suck every bit of life from her. She knows that it will kill her, and then grow to be the next hive queen, and energy sucking metroids will fill the galaxy and eventually destroy the universe. She fires her arm cannon, and gets nothing. Her equipment doesn't seem to be damaged, so she attempts to fire a blast missile instead. She does not panic, but belatedly, she notices that her magazine is empty. It's too late. The metroid attaches to her and begins to penetrate her armor with its siphon tentacles. She morphs into her protective sphere and attempts to set off a few flare bombs, but the metroid is too large for that. She stands and attempts to jump and activate her lightning force field but still the metroid clings to her. She can feel her strength disappearing and she begins to stumble. As she falls she almost welcomes the endless sleep that awaits her. Nothing more to worry about, but she knows that her afterlife would be haunted by the knowledge that she didn't stop the threat, and that the universe would be overrun if she were to fail. She hears Adam's words clearly as she collapses to the hard earth of SR388, "You did your best Lady, but it seems you have failed." Those last three words echo endlessly in her mind as she lies her head down and closes her eyes-
Purr-eeek!
That sound again. Where was it coming from? she wonders as she looks around, out of breath. It is very dark and she can not see anything beyond the hulking skeleton before her. To what does that belong? she asks herself, and why am I out of breath? Where am I? Why am I in my suit? It all seems familiar, but nothing comes to her. She moves toward the only exit she can find, a dark tunnel just beyond the skeleton. As she brushes past, it disintegrates slightly, falling to the rough ground as a powder.
Purr-eeek!
Louder this time. Whatever it is, she knows she is getting closer. Up ahead, faint light begins to appear. Thanks to her visor, the light is amplified, and she can tell it is natural light. I must be getting close to the surface, she thinks, but then, The surface of what? Fighting her impulse to sprint for the light, she knows not what dangers exist between her and the tunnel's end. She relents and quickens her pace anyway.
Suddenly and inexplicably, she is in the open. Intensely bright light surrounds her. Everything comes flooding back in an instant; that skeleton belonged to the Mother Metroid; this is the ventilation corridor to her nest; I'm on SR388!
PURR-EEEK!
She spins around and there is the metroid larva, far larger than it had any right to be. A giant, disgustingly transparent, green mass filled with bright red, spherical organs, and four yellowish, dripping fangs, twitching wildly. It doesn't think, it moves instinctively, floating closer to her, to suck every bit of life from her. She knows that it will kill her, and then grow to be the next hive queen, and energy sucking metroids will fill the galaxy and eventually destroy the universe. She fires her arm cannon, and gets nothing. Her equipment doesn't seem to be damaged, so she attempts to fire a blast missile instead. She does not panic, but belatedly, she notices that her magazine is empty. It's too late. The metroid attaches to her and begins to penetrate her armor with its siphon tentacles. She morphs into her protective sphere and attempts to set off a few flare bombs, but the metroid is too large for that. She stands and attempts to jump and activate her lightning force field but still the metroid clings to her. She can feel her strength disappearing and she begins to stumble. As she falls she almost welcomes the endless sleep that awaits her. Nothing more to worry about, but she knows that her afterlife would be haunted by the knowledge that she didn't stop the threat, and that the universe would be overrun if she were to fail. She hears Adam's words clearly as she collapses to the hard earth of SR388, "You did your best Lady, but it seems you have failed." Those last three words echo endlessly in her mind as she lies her head down and closes her eyes-