Fusion: Metroid IV
Chapter Seven: BSL Station
The SR388 Solar system, named so since SR388 was the only planet orbiting its star, was a fairly short distance away from Galactic Federation HQ, meaning that Samus did not need to enter cryosleep. Instead she kept her new ship on manual control, preferring to fly the whole course herself instead of letting her new computerized CO take over. It wasn't that she didn't trust the machine, it was just that she had never been comfortable with taking any orders beyond receiving an assignment.
Aside from what was necessary for them to reach SR388, they had hardly spoken a word to each other, and this was the way Samus preferred it. Now that she thought about it, the fact that they believed she even needed supervision on this mission in the first place was kind of insulting. After all, she had been completely on her own during both missions to the planet Zebes, and she didn't recall anyone lending a hand during her first visit to SR388. In fact, it was the large groups of people who had been sent in before her each time who had needed help.
So after a few hours of this awkward silence, Samus slowed down the ship just as it entered the desired system. The green and brown planet, where she now hoped never to set foot again, was nearby, and thankfully it was not where she was going this time. Instead, she was headed to the large orbiting space station, where she had once tried to follow Dr. Dolan… it would be nice to see him again once the communication problem was solved… and maybe this time they could go on a real date, instead of just eating a quick meal before having s…
"Samus, I must prepare for docking." Adam's voice interrupted her thoughts as they approached. "Contact the station, and request permission to come aboard."
"I have done this one or twice, you know." Samus replied before activating her comms. "BSL Station, this is Samus Aran, acting under the authority of the Galactic Federation. I have been sent here to determine your status, and request permission to dock."
The channel was open, but the only thing that greeted her was static, so she tried again on another commonly used frequency, but there was still nothing. This probably meant that their short-range communication system was down as well, meaning that there was a much more complicated problem than just a broken antenna or something. By this time they had reached the docking bay doors, but could only hold position for the moment.
"Hmm… communications seem to be completely offline." Adam commented as they floated there. "I'm attempting to access the doors remotely… just a moment… strange… the doors are not responding to my codes. This only happens if the remote receiver has been damaged… or if someone locks it down on purpose."
Well, that was great, but regardless of which reason it was, it now appeared that Samus was going to have to go outside and open the doors manually. This was a fairly easy process, since it involved little more than throwing a switch, so she hooked up to a safety line, and Adam depressurized the ship before opening the loading ramp. The good news was that her weakened suit still protected her from the vacuum of space, but the still didn't mean that she had ever actually enjoyed space-walking.
Once she had reached the station's hull next to the large doors, Samus opened the nearby emergency panel, and pulled the manual release lever. This caused spinning yellow lights to activate as the control mechanism began to spin. Adam reeled her back into the ship with the safety line, and once the loading ramp was closed, she ship repressurized. By this time the doors had opened all the way, allowing her to slowly fly the ship into the docking bay, and a few moments later they landed.
"I'm having difficulty accessing the station's systems." Adam said as the large doors closed behind the ship. "Perform a sweep of the area, and see if you can find a Systems Station, where you can allow me direct access to the local network."
Giving the computer a mock-salute while rolling her eyes, Samus waited for the docking bay to pressurize before using the loading ramp to leave. She didn't need it to be pressurized in order to walk around, but it would have to be for her to enter the station itself, so it was easier just to get it over with now. Once the pressurization sequence was complete, and the spinning lights around the doors shut down, she realized how dark the station was.
There were a few emergency lights on that were spaced around the bay, but they barely allowed Samus to see the shadowy outline of the objects around her. Other than that, it was as if someone had turned off all the lights, but thankfully her suit still came equipped with an infrared scanner, which let her use differences in heat to see what was in front of her. However, since the docking bay had just been exposed to space, everything was cold, meaning that she still had to fumble around in the dark.
"Adam, can you give me some light?" She asked, nearly tripping over a cargo crate. "I can't see where I'm going."
"Yes, I can, Samus." The computer replied. "Stand by."
Suddenly the ship's forward searchlights came on, flooding the bay with light, and allowing her to see her way to the door up ahead. So doing a halfway polite wave back to the ship as a gesture of thanks without actually looking back, Samus made her way up to the door, and had to manually shoulder it open, since once again there was no power going. She now no longer had the lights from the ship to guide her, but this new area, a bridge between the docking bay and the station, was already illuminated.
Through the many windows, the light reflecting off of the nearby planet allowed her see until she was across the bridge, but upon passing through the next door, Samus once again found herself in darkness. This time, however, the environmental systems still seemed to be working, allowing her infrared scanner to distinguish just about everything in the room. Of course, what she didn't see were any people. There were soda machines, furniture, and the like around as if this were some kind of a common area, but where the hell was everybody?
"Adam, something's wrong here." She said, doing a full spin to look around. "I'm in some kind of recreation area, but no one's around, and I'm seeing signs of damage on the walls… wait, it's not just the walls… there's what looks like plasma burns on the machines and floor. What the hell happened in here?"
"Hard to tell, based on such limited information." Adam replied. "Still, this doesn't bode well… continue on your search for a Systems Station, and I'll call up as much information as I can from the station's logs once you connect me there. And Samus… in case you run into trouble, remember that you are only at an estimated ten percent of your former abilities… so be careful."
The computer didn't need to remind her of just how weakened she had become, due to the X Parasites, as well as Dr. Dolan's surgical attempts to save her life. Samus was grateful to be alive and everything, but it was still pretty unnerving to know just how vulnerable she now was to things that couldn't have even touched her before. Energy weapons, corrosive liquids, and even extreme temperatures could probably destroy her right then… not to mention her new susceptibility to cold, thanks to the Metroid Vaccine.
Keeping her simple energy beam ready in case whoever was responsible for all the damage decided to show themselves, Samus slowly continued on through the common area, which was now looking more like a flight terminal. This made sense, due to how close it was to the docking bay, but no one had jumped out or taken a shot at her by the time she had moved all the way across. There were two doors that led out of this area, one that looked just like the last one, but the one on the left had a sign next to it, that when she squinted in the nearby emergency lighting read:
SYSTEMS STATION
DOCKING BAY/QUARANTINE LABS
"I found it, Adam." Samus reported as she forced open the door. "But it doesn't look like there's any power going to the station itself."
"Not a problem, Samus." The computer's voice replied as she entered the small, dark room. "This BSL station is a newer model, and recently developed safety features require that all critical systems come equipped with self-contained emergency generators. Simply go to the main console, and then feel around the back for a medium sized panel."
Samus had not been aware of any such emergency systems being implemented, not that she was always on top of the latest technology, so she reached around back of the console, and sure enough there was a panel. It opened when she pushed it, and inside there seemed to be a small crank. There was resistance when she started turning it, as well as a low whirr that could be heard. Slowly a series of indicator lights lit up as she continued cranking it, and as soon as the last one was on, a large button on top of the console started blinking.
When it was pushed, the console came to life; all of the controls and monitors flickering on as if power had always been supplied. This also allowed her to use her suit's direct interface, which thankfully still worked as well, to connect Adam to the local system. Once the connection was made, a large monitor on the back wall came to life, mapping out the local area, and calling up recent system data.
"I'm showing all systems normal until about three days ago." Adam explained as lots of random data flew across the screen. "Apparently there was a sizable explosion that originated from the Quarantine Bay, and caused errors to generate in this, as well as neighboring local networks. I believe this is where you should begin your investigation."
"All right, I'll head there then." Samus replied, moving toward the door. "Just alert me if your sensors detect anything coming at me, okay?"
Adam reassured her that he would do his best, and that there was also a lot of other data, research logs and other things that needed to be sorted through, but that wasn't Samus's concern. Her concern was finding out what the hell happened on this station, and more importantly, where was the staff? The answers, or at least the start of them, were waiting for her in the Quarantine Bay, so she left the Systems Station, and then entered the other door that led out of the recreation area.
