It was starting into the night cycle on the Chozodia Plateau. The powered armor was back inside its containment chamber, the main console indicating that it was slowly charging and performing standard maintenance. Within the kitchen of Maru's nest, the Chozo was working on preparing dinner for himself and Samus. "I felt something special tonight," he remarked as he checked on the heating unit. Despite their predatory raptor ancestors and evolution, even the Chozo had long ago come to appreciate cooked foods for the variety of textures and flavors. "You managed to garner approval from Gray Voice within the council chamber. No small task."

She gave a faint smile from the old stone table, but Samus didn't very happy. "All it really did was show how much I'm considered no better than a weapon here." Her nail traced along the etchings on the table, a sigh as she contemplated the aftermath of the council meeting. "And the fact that now, Shaded Whisper is definitely an enemy of ours."

"I'll have no talk of that Crow in our nest, Varia." The amber spheres looked over at Samus with a serious glare. "She's caused enough stress to us, no more tonight."

"You haven't called me that since I was thirteen." Now the blonde human girl had an honest smile on her lips. "Feels good hearing it again."

With the heating unit beeping, Maru tapped a key on the face of the appliance. A moment later, the face of the heater slid open and revealed a large steaming roast of what appeared similar to the meat of a crustacean. "You always loved a good baked Sciser when you were young." He took a pair of pot holder cloths and gripped the tray rack, now bringing it to the table and setting it in the center. Various native vegetables and roots were still steaming, cooked and glazed with a mixture of juices in the roasting tray with the Sciser meat. "You've been home for just under a month now. A celebration after today was in order."

Maru always knew how to bring her mood up. He'd been her father since she had been a toddler, barely older than three, and she really hadn't known anything else. Even if he always reminded her to never forget her real parents, he was her father. And he had proven it time and time again.

"So, what is the deal with Project M?" Samus raised a brow while pulling some of the Sciser meat to her plate, then stabbed a pair of jeda roots with the fork she had brought back with her. Chozo culture being more comfortable or not, human utensils were infinitely more suited to her. "I thought that the Brood didn't develop bioweapons."

Silence. After taking a breath, Maru grasped some of the picks his kind used to pull some of the Sciser meat free, then took a set of roots himself. He was stalling, and Samus could tell. "I'm afraid sometimes even my faith in the Brood has been misplaced." The fatherly Chozo wasn't even going to try to cover the truth. "To be fair, Varia, Shaded Whisper was right about one thing."

His shamed eyes told her enough about what he meant by that. And at seventeen years old, Samus was old enough that she knew it too. "I'm a bioweapon," she muttered under her breath. Maru had never liked her being painted that way, but she knew the truth, and how half the Brood saw her. "I still never told anyone about how I was enhanced with Chozo DNA."

"I know when you're lying, Hatchling.

She was just about to take a bite of a jeda root when Maru said those words. Samus looked from her food to where Maru was looking at her. She could see the disappointment in his eyes, and the fact he knew the truth. "I had to tell Admiral Dane. He knew my biological parents, and he helped me get a foot on Sol-3." Taking that bite, so it could rest there.

"I know about the boy, Varia."

Now she almost choked. Coughing up the piece of root she had been trying to eat, Samus wiped the tears out of her eyes from that violent attempt to breath. She hadn't expected her father to say that. "Um, what-"

"I know about the boy, and I know that his death is why you came home." Maru was calm as he took a bite of his Sciser meat, appreciating the texture and flavors. He wasn't behaving as if he were angry, but more disappointed that Samus would try to hide it from him. "Mother Brain informed me of the entries in your journal that she deemed concerning." When he saw her face begin to curl into anger, the Chozo held a feathered finger up. "I informed her that your private thoughts were your own, and that she was not to invade your diaries again. That's all I know of your entries, so save your anger for proving her belief that you are unsuited for life as my daughter to be wrong."

With a sigh, she settled for making sure she ate, even though her stomach was clenching in distress. She hadn't expected the subjects to ever come up, but apparently Mother Brain just couldn't keep her digitally interconnected eyes out of what wasn't her business. "Thank you."

"He must have been interesting if he warrants that much regard, Little Bird. Please at least tell me about him."

And now choking and coughing again. Was her father trying to kill her and make it look like an accident? "For the love of I'ya'dn, dad! Can I not have a near death experience today?" She was still coughing, much to his bemused expression. She grabbed her root tea, all but chugging it, and very glad it was not freshly made. Maru still had that entertained look in his eyes when she managed to clear her airways and was catching her breath.

"Are you ready to-"

"Gah!" The young woman was starting to behave as Maru was expecting for a teenage human who had grown up among her own species. It seemed some traits were inherent. And despite the fact it clearly frustrated her, it amused him. "Bad enough Mother Brain went through my journal and read it to you."

The Chozo gave a shrug. "I'm more curious now as to why you felt the need to tell this boy, Ian, about where you really were for thirteen years, and about your Chozo blood. I understand Castor Dane, but anyone else-"

She sighed. It was hard, but it hurt less now that it was three months later. She was also less bitter at Adam Malkovich, since she'd had time to cool off, and to think about what he'd no doubt been going through. And maybe, talking about it would help her a bit. If she and Adam couldn't settle things out, at least her father knew how to help her.

"We met at the academy, when I was getting moved into the dorms." Samus paused as she started twisting her hands together. Another deep breath. "They typically pair new cadets with classmen a year ahead of them, so, turns out Ian was assigned as my roommate."

2972.179

Mountain Point Military Academy
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Her bags had been set against one wall as she walked into the two room dorm. The first day of her time here, the next four years. And if she didn't somehow screw up, then an officer in the Galactic Federation Army, just like her father. There was a mix of emotions as she took a deep breath; excitement, a bit of fear, nervousness.

But she was here. That had been the first big step, and it wasn't the last. With a sigh, another deep breath, and her hand pulling a small red ribbon from her pocket, the fourteen-year-old girl named Samus Aran pulled her hair back into a short pony tail, tied it into place with the ribbon, and braced herself for what was coming.

And then she heard the approaching voices. Two males; one sounded younger than the other. She brushed herself off, put on her "social face", as Admiral Dane put it, and turned with almost perfect precision on her heel just in time for the dorm room door to open.

"You're the one setting an example from here out, Ian. Make sure you show this kid the ropes like you got, and you'll do-"

The source of those words stopped as soon as both human figures stood there, staring in surprise at Samus waiting there, waiting by her few bags of belongings. He was tall, probably over six foot, with dusky black hair and dark brown eyes. He looked to be in his late twenties, and he wore the marks of what Samus had learned was a captain in the army. The other male was younger, probably a year or so older than her, his own dark brown hair in the typical male cadet buzz cut.

The fact they looked very similar told her that they were likely siblings, or cousins.

"Uh, is this the right dorm?"

She blinked, cocking her head to one side as she often did when a bit confused. "I just came to where they brought my bags and told me I would be meeting my roommate today."

The taller and clearly older of the two checked his data tablet, glancing a moment later the brass tag pinned to her dress uniform. He raised a brow himself after noticing that she had already been fully ready, unlike most first years. "You're S. Aran?"

"Samus Aran," came the practiced reply. She'd been making sure she did her best to speak as other humans did. Despite being taught Terran Standard English all her life, even after being taken in, Samus was still awkward when it came to actual conversation. "I actually just got into Cheyenne today."

The older of the two men standing in the doorway glanced to the younger, then tucked his tablet under his arm and walked over to her with a hand held out. "Captain Adam Malkovich, this is my little brother, Ian. We thought that S. Aran was going to be a Samuel Aran., not a..." He stalled, his eyes looking to be unsure of what to say next. "What kind of name is Samus, anyways?"

"I'm not exactly sure, to be honest," the girl confessed as she relaxed her posture a bit, then realized she was supposed to shake the offered hand, and quickly finished the gesture. "My dad was fighting in the Kromus war when I was born, but he and my mom were from Riverside in…Iona?"

"Iowa," came the amused correction from Ian as he noticed that Samus was a bit behind on her reactions to things most people wouldn't even have to think about. "Funny, the only Aran I heard of from Iowa was-"

"John Aran was your father?"

That was Adam, who was sudden staring at her in awe and surprise. "John Rodney Aran, the Hammer, hero of the Battle of Kromus...that John Aran?"

And now Ian was having to resist slapping his own face in embarrassment. "Because, if you say yes, I'm pretty sure my big brother is going to start having a total freak out at your father being his hero, idol to his entire class, and pretty much worshipped by half the army that was still teenagers back then." He was waiting for that expression that told that this was nothing to her. The fact she was tilting her head to one side, almost like a hawk or some kind of raptor...

Did she somehow not know?

"Um...yeah, my dad's name was John Aran. I don't know about...being called the Hammer, or being a hero...but I know he was a captain in the army, and he was on Kromus when they drove the Space Pirates out."

That was enough. "She's his daughter," Ian remarked as he slapped Adam on the shoulder. He quickly caught the data tablet before it could drop to the floor, grinning a bit while he watched his older brother look to be having a total mental lockup. "And she's my age, and you're married. I call dibs on taking her to dinner after basic."

The head cocking was one thing. But when Samus gave a confused noise that sounded like a bird chirping, the Malkovich brothers both stared in surprise at her. Another such chirp, before she realized what she was doing and went red with embarrassment. "Let me try that again…what's dibs, and why are you calling it for…taking me to dinner?"

Ian was about to answer when Adam held up his hand to stop him. It wasn't confusion now, it was surprise, and the way he was looking at Samus made her realize it was more than just an unexpected slip...he knew exactly what she'd been speaking in. And he was not going to just ignore it.

"Cadet Aran, I was unaware any human could understand Chozo, let alone speak it." Adam looked at her inquisitively, now walking around her and giving her a closure examination. "Now that I recall, Captain Aran was reported killed along with his family on the K-2L mining colony in a Pirate related massacre."

She flinched at the name of colony planet, something that Captain Malkovich missed as he glanced back at his brother. "You would have been about three, maybe four years old at the time. How did you survive and get off planet?"

"Adam..."

A silencing hand again, but Ian did not look ready to just let his brother pull rank. "Cadet Aran, I asked you a question. You have to know how you survived the K-2L massacre, especially since your father was a military engineer and former special forces."

"Adam, I would really not push this."

He glared at his younger brother, then realized that he was hearing something else. It took Adam a moment to realize that Samus was breathing heavily, and her face was red with what, as he saw her eyes and the death glare aimed right at him, was pure fury. He had pushed the wrong button, he quickly figured out. "Cadet, I'm sorry. I clearly-"

"Admiral Dane was briefed on the circumstances of how I survived when I was brought to Earth five months ago." It was smooth, without hesitation. The reply was almost perfect. Practiced even. The fact she was clearly ready to kill him for pushing on an obviously sore subject proved that it was a response she was well versed at giving. "If you need to know what happened, request that information from him, the Admiral has been designated my caretaker until I reach age of majority."

A low whistle caused Adam to snap out of his shock. As he turned, it realized it had been Ian, who was looking a bit impressed at how his new roommate had shut his brother down. "So, my stuff should be here soon, and you have a wife with a bun in the oven to get back to." Now taking his older brother by the shoulders, turning him, and showing the older of them out the door. A moment later, the door panel slid shut, leaving the two newly acquainted roommates to themselves.

"I'm really sorry about Adam. He really does mean well, but he does have a bit of a habit of putting his foot in his mouth."

"How would he be able to talk if he did that?"

She wasn't joking, Ian quickly figured out. So far, as he'd noticed, this girl had proven slow to respond to the basics of human greetings, and didn't understand some of the simplest of metaphors. Judging from her mannerisms, and the fact she spoke what he assumed, as his brother said, was Chozo, it left little doubt why Admiral Dane was handling all questions about this girl and her past.

"It's a figure of speech." He walked over to the bedroom door marked with his name, glanced at her, then tapped the name plate off the mag-strip and gestured to the door opposite that bore her name. "Let's switch."

That bird head tilt again. This was confirming his suspicions more and more. "Why switch?"

"Because as the senior cadet between us, they gave me the bigger room." He gave her a broad smile as he walked over to her room, tapped off the magnetic plate, then put his in its place. "But, considering who your dad is, and what you probably went through..." Now back to the first door and putting the plate with "ARAN" laser etched on the face on the mag-strip. "I don't mind giving you a little extra. Especially since you were raised by the Chozo and probably molt."

She was silent. That was enough to confirm it. And then she reached up to the back of her neck and pulled out what looked like little fluffy blonde-white feathers. That had been a joke. "How did you know? Admiral Dane classified all information about my arrival."

"I did a thesis on precursor races and xeno-civilizations as part of my entrance exam," Ian replied as he took a chance to walk over and get a look at the fluff in her hands. It was, in fact, a clump of small golden-white feathers as he'd suspected. "Adam and I both studied the Chozo, but to think that they actually took a human into their culture-"

"Can we talk about this another time?"

He hesitated, but slowly nodded. "Basic starts for six weeks tomorrow. Like I said, I call dibs on taking you to dinner afterward, before the academic term starts. We can talk about it after that, because I expect to have earned saying that I'm your friend by then."

Samus gave him that perplexed expression he was recognizing as her peculiar mannerism. She wasn't sure how to respond. More so, she wasn't sure if she quite understood what he was saying. "My...friend?" came the shaky question. "I've never really just had a friend before."

"Were there any Chozo kids, or…chicklets, or whatever they call their children?"

She shook her head again. "Hatchlings, and no. My...adopted father was the last of their kind born before all the females had gone sterile. The Chozo really have burned out their racial lifespan."

The look on Ian's face expressed regret, sympathy, and a certain sadness. He could tell that Samus considered the Chozo who had taken care of her to be her family, and to know that they were on the way into extinction had to be hard. But there was an obvious question that would solve their issue. "They haven't explored cloning to revitalize their race?"

Again, that flinch. "The Brood doesn't believe in cloning as a method of reproduction for a race." She looked even less comfortable talking about that. "They never really explained why, but Maru, the Chozo who raised me, told me that it was seen as a corruption. There's a few Chozo who have pushed to make exception to the law, but..."

"You don't need to explain, I get the gist of it." Ian do have a soft smile, trying to help the girl relax. "We're going to be roomies for the next year or so, after basic. I just don't want us butting heads too much, and we may as well get along. So, friends at least?"

She hesitated, but then slowly nodded and held her hand out to mimic the gesture Adam had given her before. "I'd like that. Never had a real friend before. So, friends."