Disclaimer: I don't own Metroid.
XOXOXOXO - denotes flashback
Chapter 2: A Rude Awakening
Drip...drip...drip. The steady patter of water falling could be heard nearby as her state of consciousness returned.
Wh-Where am I? The ringing in her ears threatening to drown out the voice in her head. Slowly, she opened her eyes, but her head was so dizzy it caused her vision to swim making it hard to discern her surroundings. With reluctance she let her eyes fall shut; relying on her other senses to give her an idea of her location. Her body felt strange, heavy, yet at the same time suspended. She tried moving her arms but something held her in place. Panic caused her eyes to quickly open, and she forced them to focus on the bindings around her wrists. From what she could tell she was held up by chains trailing to the ceiling. She cast her eyes downward to find a matching pair around her ankles.
She pulled against them only accomplishing in making her wrists more sore. With her vision becoming blurry once again she closed her eyes and let herself hang in suspension, weariness and fatigue making it all too easy. From somewhere she could hear the slight hum of a running engine; the exact direction masked by the sound of rattling pipes and venting exhausts. She also heard the sound of footsteps as they clanged against metal grating, and through the echo of the vents what sounded like voices, though she couldn't make out any words. It was obvious to her now that she was someones prisoner on a ship, but why, and who, or what were her captors.
The questions gnawed at her mind; the answers covered by a haze. As she tried to remember images floated and flashed behind her closed lids. Images of a battle, of burning buildings, and... Space Pirates. The flood of knowledge was overwhelming, and the abruptly returning memories caused her to feel slightly light-headed. Yes, I remember, I was returning from a mission when I picked up a distress signal over my emergency frequency channel.
XOXOXOXO
Mission accomplished. She finished her report and sent it to the proper authorities. It was one of her more easier missions. A simple capture of a group of rebels plotting against their planets government. This mission however left her with a feeling of unease. It wasn't the thought that she had missed something or that there was a bigger picture she couldn"t see, but rather the child she had torn away from his father. Maybe she didn't do it personally but she may as well have. She could still see the little boys face as tears streamed down and he grew red from screaming for his father to come back. It took every ounce of control not to set the man free, but she knew had she did it would only cause the cycle to begin again. No, she didn't think that Federation law was perfect, nor did she think rebellions would solve its problems. However, she couldn't help think that no matter how much good she does that somewhere it's not always seen that way. How many lives had she destroyed in an attempt to make the galaxy a safer place? Her thoughts were broken by the sudden sound of her onboard computer.
"Beacon distress signal activated, location planet Grey." it droned. She quickly plotted a course and took off; grateful for the interruption to her grim thoughts. Information about the planet was relayed to her during the flight. Grey, such a bland name for a planet she thought, but as she read the description it seemed to fit. It was a pretty bland planet, mostly used for farmland, and not many resources in abundance either. No afloratite, no fuel gel, not even any monetary resources. So what was the reason behind this attack she wondered.
As her mind formed conclusions of rebel factions and terrorist attacks her computer chimed in with an update. "Distress signal location confirmed, initiate landing sequence." it announced. Samus hit the controls to begin landing and closed her eyes. In an instant what had once been a woman now stood a suit of armor over six feet tall, poised and ready for battle. As she neared the planets' surface she saw what remained of smoldering fields and crumbling cities; a patchwork of carnage and destruction. The ship gave a slight jerk as it landed. She stood above the hatch door and was lowered onto the planet. She glanced at her heads up display for any sign of movement...nothing. Her H.U.D showed the source of the signal to be in the nearby city, and after locking up her ship she took off in that direction. Perhaps there will be survivors.
Once she entered the city however her hopes were soon shattered. What had once been a network of streets and buildings was now barely more than rubble. Bodies were everywhere plasma burns adorning almost every inch. Who could have done this? She spun right almost as soon as her motion tracker detected the movement. Her plasma cannon trained on the motions spot she caught a glimpse of a woman before she disappeared inside the remains of a building. She immediately followed suit.
Perhaps there are others, but why did she run? She chased the woman through the narrow corridors of the crumbling structure; her H.U.D. giving away her position. When at last the woman came to a halt it was in a hallway that had been blocked by falling debris. Samus approached slowly, trying to seem as docile as possible. The woman turned and stared in wide-eye terror at the person before her.
"S-Stay back!" she screamed as she searched desperately for a way out. Samus stopped where she was and tried to calm the frantic woman.
"It's okay, I'm here to help." she spoke in a calm, reassuring tone. "My name is Samus Aran. I received a distress signal and came to investigate. What happened here?" She had hope to abate the womans' fears, but to no avail. She had begun climbing the debris in an attempt to reach higher ground when she slipped and fell. Samus took a few steps forward to help the girl, but she had gotten up almost immediately.
"I said stay back you monster!" her scream reverberated around them as she threw a rock at the bounty hunter. Her motion tracker detected the movement, and also the movement of about twenty others just outside the building. She ducked below the rock flying towards her and had intended to grab the woman when a plasma blast shot through the girls chest. The shock didn't even have time to register before plasma fire started burning through the walls in the building. Her instincts took over and she rolled to avoid a torrent of plasma, and then jumped to the second floor as enemy fire peppered the area she had just been in. Her feet had barely touched the ground before she took off at a sprint down the hall; activating her speed booster along the way. She could feel the support structures give way, and the building began to lean as it started to fall. When she reached the end of the hallway she gave one final push and shot through the wall. She flipped through the air and landed gracefully as the building collapsed behind her.
There was the deafening sound of the building crashing to the ground, and the wave of dirt and debris that followed. She stood there regaining her breath when she felt a sudden jolt of plasma hit between her shoulder blades. It stunned her momentarily as she fell to one knee, and as the dust settled she could make out vague images from among the clouds. She checked her H.U.D and realized she was surrounded. Quickly standing she readied her plasma cannon at the figures closest. Once the dirt settled and she recognized her attacker as Space Pirates; more queations arose than what were solved.
Why are Space Pirates attacking this planet? If it was her they were after why are there so few of them? And why haven't they begun attacking? The questions swirled through her mind until her tracker indicated movement behind her. She didn't even get fully turned around before an electric current was sent surging through her body. Her vision blurred and dimmed, she lost all feeling in her entire body, and she collapsed to the ground clinging desperatelyto her ebbing conscious.
The pirates closed in around her. Their cries of victory evident even though their language was foreign. With her strength fading her power suit diminished leaving her at their mercy. She tried to focus, to regain the use of her armor but it was pointless, and as the last of her strength gave way she looked up into the face of her subduer. What she saw was not the face of a Space Pirate, not the face of a human, but the face of a monster.
Authors' Note: Here is the second chapter. I hope you all enjoyed reading it because I really enjoyed writing it. Metroid is my favorite video game series and I want to do it justice. That said if there was something you didn't understand or I didn't make clear let me know. Thanks for reading. See you next chapter.
