Chapter Four: The Pirate's Laboratory
"So, where is this?" Saria asked.
"Not sure." Samus said. "It's somewhere in the Prime Quadrant."
"That doesn't help at all." Saria said.
"Well" Samus said. "I don't know what else to say. I don't even know the name of this station the Pirates have overtaken."
"Kelsior." Saria said.
"How'd you know that?" Samus asked, looking over at the transparent girl.
"I remember it from notes I got from a scientist I once infected." Saria said. "They built it to hold Phazon."
"Why would they want to try to contain Phazon?" Samus asked. "That stuff is dangerous."
"Why would the Chozo try to contain it?" Saria asked. "It's a similar question."
"No." Samus said. "It's not. The scientists tried to take it for research. The Chozo locked it up to prevent it from escaping and contaminating the rest of the galaxy."
"True.' Saria said. "But, in all honesty, Phazon isn't that different from the X.'
"How so?" Samus asked.
"Well" Saria said, crossing her arms. "Both of them have been in one way or another been attacked by the Chozo in some way to eliminate the threat of them. They've also both been taken into scientist's interests, both times failing to bring good in the end. The only real difference is that the X are sentient."
"The same could also be said of the Metroids." Samus said, the ship arriving at the station.
"True.' Saria said. "Well, this place is definitely different than the notes described."
"The Pirates took it over." Samus said. "They probably changed it to fit their species."
"Yeah." Saria said. "Though, there's an ominous air to this place."
"Yeah." Samus said. "I should probably be careful in here."
"No duh." Saria said, rolling her eyes. "I'll also be lookout."
"How so?" Samus asked.
"I'll use your senses." Saria said. "I can do that without impeding your use of them. Plus, I can use the skills I learned from the other species I've infected as well, including you."
"You make it sound as if you'd do a better job in my body then I would." Samus said.
"Well" Saria said, grinning. "Let me take control for a bit and we'll see."
"Nah.' Samus said, not biting the girl's challenge. "I prefer to be in control. Or, if not, at least able to get it. Wait, you can take control of my body?"
"Well" Saria said. "In this state, only with your permission. The only control I can take is enough for you to see and hear me outside your body. But, if not stronger and faster, I'm definitely more intelligent."
"Well" Samus said, entering the facility. "After god knows how many different species, you're probably pretty intelligent."
"Yep." Saria said. "So, how come we haven't seen any Space Pirates yet?"
"Don't know." Samus said. "They must be hiding."
"Yeah.' Saria said.
Suddenly, an alarm blared throughout the facility, dozens of Space Pirates swarming into the room.
Elsewhere
"Oh no!" a Space Pirate said, looking at the screen. "It's the Hunter! Sound the alarms!"
His comrade punched the alarm button, the alarms blaring.
With Samus and Saria
"This is unexpected." Samus said. "But, my kind of activity."
"Have at it." Saria said, grinning.
Samus fired her Normal Beam (non-upgraded), taking out a few Pirates.
"So" Saria asked. "Why don't you have all those Beam upgrades like when we fought?"
"I had to run the ship's maintenance on my Power Suit." Samus said. "It deactivates any upgrade that isn't one of the basic upgrades the Chozo originally put into it due to their power consumption. Those would be the Charge Beam, the Morph Ball, the Bomb, the Space Jump Boots, and the Grapple Beam, but sometimes, the Boots and Grapple Beam are deactivated due to their malfunctions they sometimes have. The Missiles are part of it too, but those are depleted during the maintenance since they run on a quantity. The equipment reactivates on its own after some time, but the stuff I find on planets helps jumpstart the process."
"Interesting." Saria said. "That explains so much.'
"Yeah.' Samus said, kicking one of the Pirates in the head and taking off in a run down the hallway.
"You're running?" Saria asked.
"I need to find a better vantage point." Samus said. "There were too many of them to fight back there with my current arsenal.'
"You mean you don't carry any missile tanks on the ship?" Saria asked.
"No." Samus said. "Used too. They got used up pretty quick though."
"I'll bet." Saria said.
Samus continued running, stopping at a door marked with strange symbols.
"Laboratory." Saria said. "we should head in here."
"How did you read that?" Samus asked, pushing the door open and taking out the few Pirates that were inside.
"I once infected a being that spoke it." Saria said. "Came in handy when the Zebesians arrived on the BSL."
"I'll bet.' Samus said. They looked around the lab, locking the door behind them.
"This place is all focused on that over there." Saria said, pointing to a fogged over tank in the back of the room.
Samus walked over to it, looking at it. She noticed several powerups that were being scanned into it. Among them were Missiles, the Super Missile Stabilizer (in this fic, it's what helps Samus' Arm Cannon be able to handle the force of a Super Missile), and some Beam upgrade Samus had never seen. She equipped the Missiles and Super Missile Stabilizer. She reached for the strange Beam upgrade, but Saria stopped her.
"I wouldn't." she said. "It's emitting a light trace of Phazon."
"What?" Samus asked. "What do you mean?"
"It's got something to do with Phazon." Saria said. "Just like whatever's in that tank. But, that thing's not emitting much. It's like a subtle amount."
"What do you suppose it could be?" Samus asked.
"I don't know." Saria said. "But, whatever it is, it's alive."
"Alive?" Samus asked. "Really?"
"Yeah." Saria said. "And, there's an ID number with it: D-SA."
So, they've found this experiment. What is it? And, what does it spell for them? Will they escape and figure it out? Find out soon.
