II: Return of Aran
Samantha quickly spun around to meet Mauk's eyes, which were now wide in amazement. The man in the suit was equally surprised, but not nearly as enthusiastic about it.
"Samantha Aran..."
The commander uttered the words as if they were a curse.
The young girl in question still hadn't fully recovered from the revelation. This was the reason she had no parents. This was the reason her identity was kept a secret. This was the reason she was so skilled at combat.
'Samantha Aran.'
She repeated the name over and over in her head, receiving for the first time the feeling of having a last name, of being part of a family. Suddenly her theories about Samus Aran being propaganda disappeared, replaced by images of her performing heroic deeds in her shining armor and blasting Space Pirates in the face. This was her mother. She then remembered her memory of the woman carrying her in her arms, singing a strange tune. That was Samus Aran. She had the galaxy's strongest bounty hunter as a mother.
"Well?"
Mauk's loud voice snapped Samantha back into reality.
"Uh..."
He expected her to go inside, but she was still too dazzled by the name at the back of the room.
Nervous, she gulped and slowly stepped into the vault that belonged to her mother. The front was filled to the brim with bizarre artifacts from different planets and large fangs, probably from the many monsters she defeated. To the left, a wall was adorned with too many different weapons to count. Samantha could recognize certain things, like Super Missiles and Power Bombs, but others were unknown to her. Finally, at the other side of the room, a large mural that contained nothing but a strange drawing of a large red/orange creature holding a turquoise sphere. There were four blue circles around it as well.
"Dear lord…"
The man in the suit was the first to speak, even though he never set foot in the vault.
"Samus' incredibly vast armory. I wonder if this is where she kept the suit?"
Samantha frowned at the man's question.
"Her suit? Didn't she have it on when she died?"
He exchanged worried looks with Mauk before looking at the ground.
"Well…" He started, eyes still shifting. "I, like most people, don't really know the circumstances of your mother's death, but I've heard that she was not wearing it at the moment."
Samantha's frown sunk lower down her face as she turned instead to Mauk.
"I can tell you someday." He assured her. "But not today. Too many things have happened at once already."
But the new heir to the vault could not take no for an answer. Now that she knew who her mother was, she would never let go. For once, something apart from survival mattered to her.
"Don't bullshit me, Mauk, that was my mother. Tell me what happened."
The commander raised a thick eyebrow and crossed his arms, ignoring the fact that Samantha had grabbed his suit.
"Do not think me your enemy, Samantha. I was a very close friend of your mother and I want nothing else than to give her child the best there is to offer. I just don't think it is wise to cloud your head with the situation of your mother's sad demise."
Samantha shook her head and let go of his suit.
"My head is just fine. It would be better if I knew why the hell I grew up without her."
Mauk rolled his eyes and sighed.
"It had been about a year since the death of your father. We'll get to him another time."
Mauk said, seeing her open her mouth to ask again.
"To put it simply, the Space Pirates acquired a new power that nobody had ever encountered before. The first time it was used, it killed your father. I presume you had only been a few months old at the time. Samus, of course, sprung to action in defense of the galaxy. In a little less than a year, the Pirates grew stronger and stronger, and the Federation could no longer keep up. Even Samus would have found it hopeless, if not for you. You reminded her of what was at stake, and made her realize what she would give for you to live. At the peak of their strength, this power had given them the ability to revive the dead and make them even stronger. Samus alone had to face her greatest enemies, the ones she had already beat before. In a feat of nearly impossible prowess, she managed to defeat them all aboard their ship. Mother Brain, Kraid, Phantoon, Nightmare, even the Queen Metroid. Ultimately, it came down to her and the new all-powerful Ridley. She was already on the verge of death. She had sustained fatal wounds even before facing Ridley. We know all this because she was communicating with the Federation at the time. Eventually, right as she was fighting her nemesis, we managed to connect to the Pirate ship and broadcast from their cameras. We saw her die."
Even through his powerful and low tone, Samantha could tell his voice was cracking. Even his flaring red eyes showed a deep sadness that could not be faked.
"She blew Ridley apart, but ended with his tail driven through her stomach. It was at that moment that her armor flickered away and she was left in her Zero Suit. The source of their power was no more and the ship, like all Pirate ships do when they're damaged, had started its self-destruct sequence. Even to the very end, the cameras were still functional, so we saw her final moments with painful clarity. While bleeding, she stared out the window and gazed into the deep space outside. It was then, at the final five seconds, that she looked upon the stars and smiled. She died as she lived: Samus Aran, Galactic Warrior."
Once again, Samantha's head head rumbled with a thousand thoughts and questions. She wanted to feel sad about her mother's death, but she didn't know her well enough to lament her loss. It was a strange feeling, somehow more empty than never knowing her parents at all. Did she leave her with Kreatz because she knew she wasn't coming back? Were her final thoughts about her daughter? Was that why she smiled? Was she sad that she couldn't raise her or happy that she was safe?
"What happened to this power?"
Samantha asked firmly.
"It was destroyed with the ship and nothing like it has been seen ever since. The Pirates may be as relentless as ever, but they're not all-powerful anymore."
"So...what about the suit?"
Mauk glanced at the man outside the vault.
"Only the few that were close to her know how it works. As one of those few, I can tell you that it's gone. Contrary to what many people think, her suit doesn't teleport instantly, it simply appears and disappears at will. Now come, there's still much to see."
As the two walked out the vault and the door closed, Samantha stared back at everything that used to belong to Samus and wondered what she'd do with it. She also wondered what would happen now. Mauk knew for sure that she was Samus' heir and the vault was opened, but he didn't take anything. What was he after, exactly? He had mentioned giving "the best to offer" to Samantha, but she didn't know what that meant.
The pair exited the bank and headed left, towards the gigantic building that Samantha guessed was the Federation Headquarters.
"You were there this morning, weren't you?"
"Huh?"
Samantha's head spun to look up at the commander.
"You were one of the people watching from the rooftops."
She frowned.
"One of? I wasn't the only one?"
Mauk answered with only a smile, opening the door to the inside.
"We're Federation officers. I don't think there's a single inhabitant of Sector 47 that can hide from us. The other one was a little harder to spot, as they used a low-tech cloaking device."
'Great.' She thought. 'Not only did I get caught hiding, I also didn't find the other one.'
"If you were there, that means you heard my speech."
Samantha rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, looking down at the blue carpet that covered the floor inside the HQ.
"Yeah. Great speech."
"Sarcasm was something your mother only reserved for her friends, does that mean you don't hate me?"
This time she chose to stay quiet. Mauk chuckled to himself, remarking how similar mother and daughter were.
"Samus Aran had a way with silence. Oftentimes all she needed was to stay quiet and everyone around her would understand perfectly. None of my roaring or threatening scared people as much as Samus did when she said no words and instead stared at them with those piercing eyes of hers."
Suddenly, once they reached the main hall, Mauk stopped and knelt to Samantha's level.
"You have those eyes."
She blinked, unsure of what to say. Before she could think of an answer, Mauk rose again said:
"Welcome to the Galactic Federation."
She then realized that they were at the center of a vast room with several doorways and elevators at the walls. The place was mostly white and gray, with a dark blue carpet running along the floor. In the heart, where they were standing, was the symbol of the Galactic Federation. People walked around with armor she had only ever heard about, holding lethal weapons at their sides. Soldiers and other employees of different races traversed the hall without so much as a glance her way.
"I only mentioned the speech because if you heard it, then you know the situation that we're in. The Space Pirates have had more than 15 years to recover and wreak havoc across the galaxy again. Without Samus, the Federation isn't strong enough to defend the galaxy on its own. We need another warrior. We need you, Samantha."
The young girl in question blinked and darted her eyes between Mauk and the other soldiers. She was clearly taken aback by his words as she frowned and looked away, clenching her fists.
"You...need me? When has anyone ever needed me?"
She looked down at her palm, still dirty from parkouring around the city. No doubt it would have gotten dirtier if she went down the sewers.
"I get it. I'm the lost daughter of the greatest bounty hunter in existence and the galaxy is in danger. But I'm still just a girl from Sector 47. I never cared about Samus, I never cared about the galaxy, and I most definitely never cared about the Federation."
She shook her head, looking around at the armored soldiers.
"I don't belong here."
She made a move towards the exit corridor, but Mauk stopped her with a large hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe not. But you don't need to."
Samantha turned around with another frown.
"Your mother never belonged here either, but the time she spent here was necessary for the wellbeing of the galaxy and her own training. The Chozos weren't exactly military experts. You-"
"Chozos?"
She interrupted.
"Another story for another time. What I mean is you don't need to belong here, you just need to pass it by. For the Federation, for the galaxy, for your mother, and most importantly,"
Mauk said, putting his hands on her shoulders.
"For you."
Samantha Aran looked down and sighed, her arms crossed and her brow furrowed. The Federation wasn't exactly her dream home, but she wanted to get closer to her Samus. She needed to know more, to make the connection she never had. She wanted to be able to care about her the way a daughter would care about her mother. Samus cared enough about the galaxy to die for it. Shouldn't she do the same? Getting actual military training would be a bonus, seeing as she had always wanted to get better at fighting. Finally, Mauk's last words rang in her head.
'For you.'
What did that mean? For her? What could this place ever give to her? What could she ever want out of it? Samantha didn't know, and it bothered her.
"If...If I stay here...will I be alone?"
The commander shook his head after a light chuckle.
"No, I will always be nearby. Besides, you'll have other cadets around your age to keep you company. I advise you make friends quickly. They're not easy to come by in this place."
The blonde scoffed, blowing the hair strands off her face.
"Friends. I never had any and I don't think that'll change in here."
Mauk stood up and smiled, showing his large pointy teeth.
"Samus Aran claimed she never had any friends either, and yet here I am. You have no way of knowing what's in your future, so it's best you keep a positive light. Come, I'll introduce you to your quarters."
He gestured toward one of the elevators and extended his hand out.
Samantha stared at his palm and sighed, furrowing her brow and crossing her arms gain.
"I'm not holding your hand."
