Other Clone
A Metroid One-Shot
When I received the Bottle Ship's distress signal (Why in the name of the Chozo is there a station that is literally shaped like a bottle?), discovering Adam's platoon was admittedly a nice, welcome surprise.
The imperfect clone made by the Federation was a far different story.
The minute the clone walked into view, I heard several of the platoon members gasp in clear shock. My memories of Dark Samus still relatively fresh in my mind, I aimed my Arm Cannon at her while I let my Scan Visor analyze at full blast.
Morphology: Seria Aran
An imperfect clone of Samus Aran made by the Federation. Agile and strong, but lacks much resolve and confidence.
"Samus," Adam interrupted me. His face was worn and tired, a far cry from his normally stoic look. "Please, stand down." Out of respect for my mentor and former CO, I did as he said.
The platoon members were all murmuring in confusion – rightfully so, as last I checked there was only one me in existence. I turned my head to Anthony, my long-time friend. "Hey, don't look at me, Princess!" he said, holding his hands up in an act of innocence. "I knew as much about this as you did."
I looked at Adam. "The Galactic Federation recently made legal the process of genetic cloning," he offered as an explanation, "despite my and Admiral Dane's continued protests. Many of the higher-ups in response have been going out of control over the process, seeking to create bioweapons out of every creature they could get their hands on. It didn't help that they somehow managed to get some DNA samples of you, which I presume are from your last mission on Zebes."
I looked at the clone – whose name was Seria, apparently – staring off into space as if we hadn't been talking at all. "…how much about this did you know?" I asked carefully.
"Beyond her existence, very little. Knowing that Admiral Dane and I were very acquainted with you and would stand against this, the Federation sought to keep us as little informed about her as possible. I believe they wanted a version with you with absolute loyalty to the Federation and the Federation alone, using your strength to perform a variety of assignments for them."
"The end of the Space Pirates must've made the Federation very confident," I surmised, "to an almost arrogant level." Without the ongoing threat of the Space Pirates, the Federation would be able to focus on other tasks to refine their control over the galaxies. Replicating the properties of my Power Suit would be a very tantalizing task, especially given the improvements of technology in recent years.
"I had been told that your clone was almost ready to go out on assignments for the Federation, though I hadn't expected it to be this soon. And certainly not on this top-secret, high-priority operation."
"Hey, look on the bright side!" Anthony interjected, his trademark easygoing voice seeping in. "The more Samuses there are, the better our mission will go, am I right?"
The awkward tension was immediately broken with a wave of laughter. I chuckled, despite my reservations. Typical Anthony, always finding a way to make everyone in the vicinity laugh.
"I may not be as experienced as you," the clone—Seria, I reminded myself—said to me, "but I can tell you that I can be just as helpful." Reading my Logbook entry on her, I found that she had a large majority of my abilities – my Beam types, the Space Jump, Super Missiles, Power Bombs, et cetera. However, they appeared to be cordoned off until they were 'authorized' for use.
I didn't like the sound of that. It sounded weak and submissive, two things that I strive not to be. I didn't become the most famous bounty hunter by not utilizing my best equipment to its fullest potential, and seeing the Federation putting such restrictions on a clone of myself was just… off putting, to say nothing of how monotone and dead she sounded.
The imperfections caused by the cloning were pretty clear as well – though that may have been just as intentional, for all I know. Seria's suit was much more plastic and metallic, in addition to being less bulky. Her cannon too was much sleeker, and her physique showed far less muscle. It was… strange, seeing my Power Suit with so many differences to it.
Most noticeably, only her basic Power Suit was active, its greenish-yellow sheen sharply contrasting with the dark and drab colors of our general environment. It would at least make it easy to distinguish between the two of us, what with me wearing my Gravity Suit, with its clear blue highlights illuminating the scene.
I just hope that her appearance won't cause any real problems on this self-imposed mission of mine. While I'm no stranger to working with others, this is the first time I've ever truly had to work with someone so similar to me. The Galactic Federation better know what they're getting themselves into with this stunt.
I told her, "So long as you prove yourself useful to us, I don't believe we should have too many problems."
Anthony stated afterward, "Well, shall we get a move on? The Bottle Ship won't investigate itself, you know." The rest of the platoon plus Seria walked on ahead through the corridor, leaving me and Adam still standing in the room.
"…I like this as much as you do, Samus," Adam confided. "Seria is at most only a few months old. The very fact that the Federation saw fit to send her here without letting me know beforehand is… unsettling."
While I had a long-standing alliance with the Galactic Federation, I was no stranger to its faults. Though many in the Federation respect me, I know there are a small few who see otherwise. "…you think this may be a plan on the Federation's part to induce a coup," I deduced.
"I don't want to think so… but I can see the signs. As you've stated, the Federation is growing too confident for their own good. I can tell this is only be the beginning of something more sinister."
"Well, hopefully we will be able to stop it before it gets too far." I smiled. "You're not the greatest military mind for nothing."
Adam smiled back. "And you're not the world's greatest bounty hunter for nothing."
I may not usually like taking orders, but I respect Adam Malkovich. Perhaps together, we can solve the mystery of my clone and the Bottle Ship. It'll be just like old times, before I left the Federation.
Seria's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Hey, how do I open this door?" she said. "I haven't been authorized to use Missiles yet, and I don't know any other way to do so."
The two of us sighed immediately. Then again, if this is how things are going to be, this mission may just as well be a tedious affair.
We'll just have to see.
I just finished playing Metroid: Samus Returns, and by golly was it a pretty fun time. I honestly didn't expect it to be as fun as it turned out to be. It's gotten me thinking about trying Another Metroid 2 Remake too.
And while I was in the mood, I decided to write a quick Metroid one-shot in celebration. Metroid: Other M was a very contentious game, with Samus's characterization being the most decried. So I thought of something funny – what if canon Samus and Other M Samus were forced to go through Other M side-by-side? Sure, it wouldn't feel very Metroid-y, but this IS fanfiction, after all.
This is only going to be a one-shot, so apologies for those who read all this way and still want more. I'm open to anyone basing any fics off of this one, so if you do decide to do that, I can't wait to see what comes out.