A/N: This is yet another novel fanfiction I've written, cataloguing the mission played out in Metroid Fusion, the latest Metroid work by Nintendo for the Gameboy Advance. Pure artistic lisence was used. Metroid is owned by Nintendo and the creators of Metroid. So read and enjoy. And please, feel free to leave reviews.
Main Deck
Part I - "Investigation"
"Fear is the static that prevents me from hearing myself."
-Samuel Butler
Upon receiving my briefing and fist set of orders, I disembarked.
"Sensors show a large amount of destruction in the Quarantine Bay. It appears that this is the axis point for the explosion, as well. Uplink at a Navigation room on the way for more information."
The briefing had been short and to the point. As I made my way toward the Quarantine Bay, however, it hit me.
The station was a graveyard. My ship had mentioned no bio-signs, because it was likely there were none.
This suspicion was backed by the reality of the situation. There was no one around. Even in the docking bays.
On a research station like this, there should have been scientists…tech crews…maintenance crews…
I swallowed and punched a fequency into the keypad at the next Nav. room I came to. The computer had more information for me.
"The Quarantine Bay is just ahead," it told me. "Be careful - I'm now reading bio-signs inside, and they aren't human. Go to it."
I swallowed again. I was sure it couldn't be one of the station personnel…they were all human.
The rest of my journey, however, to the Quarantine Bay was just as uneventful as the first half.
The door before me opened noiselessly, and even before I set foot inside I could see that the explosion had indeed happened here. Debris from the holding tanks was strewn across the room in its entirety.
I was still taking in the destruction when a movement at the other end of the Bay caught my eye.
I crept forward and saw a single creature, a hornoad, moving about and sniffing around the ruin.
It caught my scent, snarled, and lunged. One shot from my Power Beam sent the carcass crashing to the ground. I was just about to turn and exit when I saw the carcass dissolve and melt away. The puddle it had become reformed, shifted, and rose into the air.
I hissed out a curse and took a step backward. The Hornoad had been infected by an X parasite…
The gelatinous orange creature hovered uncertainly for a moment and reoriented itself. It had found a new target -
- Me. I tried to blast the parasite from existance, but the single shot that actually connected did no damage at all.
It raced through the air at me and, without the slightest hesitation, slipped through a joint in the glove of my Power Suit - which had only the Fusion layer left - and absorbed itself into my skin, tingling for just a moment against my fingers.
Frozen for a moment, I peered down at my hand, and found it to be shaking.
This woke me from my stasis, and without a backward glance, I turned and ran.
My fear-driven feet led me all the way back to the Nav room before allowing me to stop. With pounding heart, I punched in the frequency to my ship. "Full bio-scan on me, now!" I cried urgently. I couldn't stop the shaking, no matter how I tried. I was infected again, I just knew it, and doomed to a slow, painful death at the hands of this relentless parasite.
"Scanning," the voice replied, dragging my mind back to reality. "No organic toxins or unknown agents detected."
The relief that washed over me was mixed with a little chagrin at the immediate sense of panic that had descended on me. I felt more than a little foolish. "Good," I murmured, deeply relieved, "good. What've you got for me?"
"Nothing good," the computer replied, and I blinked at the wry tone in the machine's voice. "This is unfortunate news…the specimens brought back by the field team were infected by X parasites. The X can mimic its prey; any specimen could have hosted it." This was disturbing.
But knowing that I'd been right…knowing that the station was now likely a breeding ground for these little killers…
Sometimes I hate being right.
"Before the explosion," the computer continued on, "a security sensor scanned one." A little display on the large monitor popped up, showing a moving clip of one X specimen. "The gelatinous X parasites invade and rapidly reproduce, killing the host creature. They also absorb DNA and use it to mimic the host. You were almost killed by an X infection. Only the Metroid vaccine saved your life. It seems the Metroid were the main predators of the X. That's why the vaccine worked so quickly and so well."
And now humanity had met the X.
Ironically, I mused in a somewhat wry turn of thought, humanity had met the X because the Metroid existed no longer. And even more irony existed in the fact that it had been myself that had driven the Metroid from existance.
Only, I had never thought to be trading one menace for another.
"But it has also changed your cellular makeup. You will never be infected by X again…"
I blinked, remembering the fear that had driven me to this little room…and, as I thought about it, a fiendish, wicked grin spread over my face. Never infected again? Those free-folating little bastards had better watch out, then. I planned on making them wish the Metroid had gotten them first.
"In fact," the computer drew my attention back, "you can now absorb any free-floating X parasites without a host simply by touching them."
So that's what happened in the Quarantine Bay. It thought it would use me as a host and got absorbed in return.
Poetic justice always did make me smile.
"This will allow you to replenish your health and ammunition for some weapons."
Ooo, I thought. Neat.
"You may also restore latent abilities this way, so pursue free X parasites whenever possible."
I was grinning like a kid in a candy store as I listened to this. It was like open season had just been declared on the X…and I was the only hunter for miles around with the right gun. That computer had just made me a very happy little bounty hunter.
"This station is home to many species," the computer continued, "some violent ones. We must keep the X out of the breeding environments at all costs."
Knowing my luck, however, they were probably already there.
"This is vital, Samus. I am already detecting massive bio-signs in this region. The X are gathering. This may be our chance to exterminate them, but…"
Yes. But. I had only a plain power beam to fight with. No way could I take on anything bigger than a Hornoad. I only hoped the computer recognized this as well.
"You are only at 10% battle capacity." Oh good, he'd picked up on it. "Your chance of survival is extremely low." That was less than reassuring. "The Federation needs you alive and on duty, Samus…"
I wasn't feeling the love.
With a sigh, I checked my target. "Locks on all level zero hatches have been activated. Look for blinking hatches. If you can get here," a room began blinking on the monitor's large map, "the scientists back at headquarters have sent some downloadable weapons data for you. It'll restore missile capacity to your arm cannon. Missile capacity raises your chance of survival to 20%..."
The screen blinked out. Channel closed.
It wasn't until I was in the elevator to the Control Deck that my thoughts traveled elsewhere. That computer reminded me of a gruff Federation CO I served under named Adam Malkovitch. He called me "Lady" on missions; from anyone else it would have sounded sarcastic, but Adam made it sound dignified. Out of respect and with some irony, I named the computer after him.
After downloading the missile software, I went to the Nav. room next door. Just as I linked to my ship, the hum of systems and several monitors in the room faded out. I frowned, uneasy. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Electrical interference has knocked out the elevators on the Main Deck. This may be related to the X. I'll work on it. As for you…try to find another way to the target."
I sighed. Oh good, more complications. I suppose this was better than good news. The universe would probably implode if I had a good day.
I looked around, and after making my way to the second deck, found a maintenance corridor behind a bulkhead. Lacking the patience to remove it with any finesse, I decided to do a bit of a munitions test and shot a missile at it.
I followed the corridor and resulting tunnels and shafts to a large chamber. A large specimen of X I had yet to identify was hovering at the end of the large room, several of the smaller X orbiting the large, translucent sphere. In the spiked orb's interior was a pulsating, gelatinous mass of swirling colors, green and violet. Watching it hover there, I felt as though I was being watched; studied, somehow…
It remained motionless in the air for several moments before lowering itself to the floor; molding and shifting into…
…Arachnus?!
Now there was an acid flashback.
A few missiles and burn marks later - my suit had definitely seen better days - and I'd reaquired my suit's Morph Ball ability.
That made two. There were still many to go.
I uplinked at the next Nav. room I came to and waited for the next catastrophe to be announced.
"Samus, it's as I feared," Adam announced. "The breeding environments have been invaded by X. Sector 1 (SRX) shows several abnormalities on bio-sensors. Sector 1 is a simulation of the SR388 ecosystem. To get there, take the main elevator to the access shaft and use Elevator 1." See? What did I tell you?
I did as ordered and was on the elevator to the access shaft when the elevator rocked from a rather large explosion somewhere above.
And as the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft, it lost power. Nothing I did, no key punches, no rewiring, no swift kick would bring it back.
I peered up into the shaft, but anything I might have seen was obscured in the darkness.
When nothing came down the shaft after me, I turned toward Sector 1 and used the elevator to go down.
Once in the Nav. room, I uplinked to hear the latest bad news from Adam.
"The Main Elevator leading to the access shaft has been severely damaged. It will be totally unusable for some time, unfortunately. Some unknown agent is at work. Something very powerful…certainly not human. I'll report when I know more. Now, listen closely. The X in Sector 1 have invaded the atmospheric stabilizers. They are already reproducing."
I sighed and headed off after downloading the sector map to the visor in my helmet.
This just kept getting better and better.
Main Deck
Part I - "Investigation"
"Fear is the static that prevents me from hearing myself."
-Samuel Butler
Upon receiving my briefing and fist set of orders, I disembarked.
"Sensors show a large amount of destruction in the Quarantine Bay. It appears that this is the axis point for the explosion, as well. Uplink at a Navigation room on the way for more information."
The briefing had been short and to the point. As I made my way toward the Quarantine Bay, however, it hit me.
The station was a graveyard. My ship had mentioned no bio-signs, because it was likely there were none.
This suspicion was backed by the reality of the situation. There was no one around. Even in the docking bays.
On a research station like this, there should have been scientists…tech crews…maintenance crews…
I swallowed and punched a fequency into the keypad at the next Nav. room I came to. The computer had more information for me.
"The Quarantine Bay is just ahead," it told me. "Be careful - I'm now reading bio-signs inside, and they aren't human. Go to it."
I swallowed again. I was sure it couldn't be one of the station personnel…they were all human.
The rest of my journey, however, to the Quarantine Bay was just as uneventful as the first half.
The door before me opened noiselessly, and even before I set foot inside I could see that the explosion had indeed happened here. Debris from the holding tanks was strewn across the room in its entirety.
I was still taking in the destruction when a movement at the other end of the Bay caught my eye.
I crept forward and saw a single creature, a hornoad, moving about and sniffing around the ruin.
It caught my scent, snarled, and lunged. One shot from my Power Beam sent the carcass crashing to the ground. I was just about to turn and exit when I saw the carcass dissolve and melt away. The puddle it had become reformed, shifted, and rose into the air.
I hissed out a curse and took a step backward. The Hornoad had been infected by an X parasite…
The gelatinous orange creature hovered uncertainly for a moment and reoriented itself. It had found a new target -
- Me. I tried to blast the parasite from existance, but the single shot that actually connected did no damage at all.
It raced through the air at me and, without the slightest hesitation, slipped through a joint in the glove of my Power Suit - which had only the Fusion layer left - and absorbed itself into my skin, tingling for just a moment against my fingers.
Frozen for a moment, I peered down at my hand, and found it to be shaking.
This woke me from my stasis, and without a backward glance, I turned and ran.
My fear-driven feet led me all the way back to the Nav room before allowing me to stop. With pounding heart, I punched in the frequency to my ship. "Full bio-scan on me, now!" I cried urgently. I couldn't stop the shaking, no matter how I tried. I was infected again, I just knew it, and doomed to a slow, painful death at the hands of this relentless parasite.
"Scanning," the voice replied, dragging my mind back to reality. "No organic toxins or unknown agents detected."
The relief that washed over me was mixed with a little chagrin at the immediate sense of panic that had descended on me. I felt more than a little foolish. "Good," I murmured, deeply relieved, "good. What've you got for me?"
"Nothing good," the computer replied, and I blinked at the wry tone in the machine's voice. "This is unfortunate news…the specimens brought back by the field team were infected by X parasites. The X can mimic its prey; any specimen could have hosted it." This was disturbing.
But knowing that I'd been right…knowing that the station was now likely a breeding ground for these little killers…
Sometimes I hate being right.
"Before the explosion," the computer continued on, "a security sensor scanned one." A little display on the large monitor popped up, showing a moving clip of one X specimen. "The gelatinous X parasites invade and rapidly reproduce, killing the host creature. They also absorb DNA and use it to mimic the host. You were almost killed by an X infection. Only the Metroid vaccine saved your life. It seems the Metroid were the main predators of the X. That's why the vaccine worked so quickly and so well."
And now humanity had met the X.
Ironically, I mused in a somewhat wry turn of thought, humanity had met the X because the Metroid existed no longer. And even more irony existed in the fact that it had been myself that had driven the Metroid from existance.
Only, I had never thought to be trading one menace for another.
"But it has also changed your cellular makeup. You will never be infected by X again…"
I blinked, remembering the fear that had driven me to this little room…and, as I thought about it, a fiendish, wicked grin spread over my face. Never infected again? Those free-folating little bastards had better watch out, then. I planned on making them wish the Metroid had gotten them first.
"In fact," the computer drew my attention back, "you can now absorb any free-floating X parasites without a host simply by touching them."
So that's what happened in the Quarantine Bay. It thought it would use me as a host and got absorbed in return.
Poetic justice always did make me smile.
"This will allow you to replenish your health and ammunition for some weapons."
Ooo, I thought. Neat.
"You may also restore latent abilities this way, so pursue free X parasites whenever possible."
I was grinning like a kid in a candy store as I listened to this. It was like open season had just been declared on the X…and I was the only hunter for miles around with the right gun. That computer had just made me a very happy little bounty hunter.
"This station is home to many species," the computer continued, "some violent ones. We must keep the X out of the breeding environments at all costs."
Knowing my luck, however, they were probably already there.
"This is vital, Samus. I am already detecting massive bio-signs in this region. The X are gathering. This may be our chance to exterminate them, but…"
Yes. But. I had only a plain power beam to fight with. No way could I take on anything bigger than a Hornoad. I only hoped the computer recognized this as well.
"You are only at 10% battle capacity." Oh good, he'd picked up on it. "Your chance of survival is extremely low." That was less than reassuring. "The Federation needs you alive and on duty, Samus…"
I wasn't feeling the love.
With a sigh, I checked my target. "Locks on all level zero hatches have been activated. Look for blinking hatches. If you can get here," a room began blinking on the monitor's large map, "the scientists back at headquarters have sent some downloadable weapons data for you. It'll restore missile capacity to your arm cannon. Missile capacity raises your chance of survival to 20%..."
The screen blinked out. Channel closed.
It wasn't until I was in the elevator to the Control Deck that my thoughts traveled elsewhere. That computer reminded me of a gruff Federation CO I served under named Adam Malkovitch. He called me "Lady" on missions; from anyone else it would have sounded sarcastic, but Adam made it sound dignified. Out of respect and with some irony, I named the computer after him.
After downloading the missile software, I went to the Nav. room next door. Just as I linked to my ship, the hum of systems and several monitors in the room faded out. I frowned, uneasy. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Electrical interference has knocked out the elevators on the Main Deck. This may be related to the X. I'll work on it. As for you…try to find another way to the target."
I sighed. Oh good, more complications. I suppose this was better than good news. The universe would probably implode if I had a good day.
I looked around, and after making my way to the second deck, found a maintenance corridor behind a bulkhead. Lacking the patience to remove it with any finesse, I decided to do a bit of a munitions test and shot a missile at it.
I followed the corridor and resulting tunnels and shafts to a large chamber. A large specimen of X I had yet to identify was hovering at the end of the large room, several of the smaller X orbiting the large, translucent sphere. In the spiked orb's interior was a pulsating, gelatinous mass of swirling colors, green and violet. Watching it hover there, I felt as though I was being watched; studied, somehow…
It remained motionless in the air for several moments before lowering itself to the floor; molding and shifting into…
…Arachnus?!
Now there was an acid flashback.
A few missiles and burn marks later - my suit had definitely seen better days - and I'd reaquired my suit's Morph Ball ability.
That made two. There were still many to go.
I uplinked at the next Nav. room I came to and waited for the next catastrophe to be announced.
"Samus, it's as I feared," Adam announced. "The breeding environments have been invaded by X. Sector 1 (SRX) shows several abnormalities on bio-sensors. Sector 1 is a simulation of the SR388 ecosystem. To get there, take the main elevator to the access shaft and use Elevator 1." See? What did I tell you?
I did as ordered and was on the elevator to the access shaft when the elevator rocked from a rather large explosion somewhere above.
And as the elevator reached the bottom of the shaft, it lost power. Nothing I did, no key punches, no rewiring, no swift kick would bring it back.
I peered up into the shaft, but anything I might have seen was obscured in the darkness.
When nothing came down the shaft after me, I turned toward Sector 1 and used the elevator to go down.
Once in the Nav. room, I uplinked to hear the latest bad news from Adam.
"The Main Elevator leading to the access shaft has been severely damaged. It will be totally unusable for some time, unfortunately. Some unknown agent is at work. Something very powerful…certainly not human. I'll report when I know more. Now, listen closely. The X in Sector 1 have invaded the atmospheric stabilizers. They are already reproducing."
I sighed and headed off after downloading the sector map to the visor in my helmet.
This just kept getting better and better.
