They couldn't figure it out. What were the strange marks on Spire's neck? Why didn't I have them? It didn't make any sense.
Ghor made a connection by re-watching the the S-4 tape -and then downloading the tape from the cooling docks- that whatever attacked me, also attacked Spire. Something was after the bounty hunters.
Panic started to rise, and with Spire's powers gone, the scientists on Olympus were thrown out of wack. They were extremely confused and wanted desperately to study him. But Admiral Dane forbade it, still wanting the hunters to train that evening.
It had been several hours since the Spire incident. I was sitting in the cafeteria at around noon, eating lunch with Samus, Gandrayda and Ghor.
I took a bite of my chicken wrap, lettuce on the inside crackling as I bit into it. Ghor was digging into his pizza, Gandrayda was munching a sandwich, and Samus was stirring her soup.
"You haven't touched your soup. Are you okay?" I asked Samus.
She had her eyes turned down. "I just... recognized the holes on Spire's neck..." she muttered, Gandrayda and Ghor looking interested.
"How?" I wondered.
"A long time ago, I made friends with this baby Metroid. It bit me when it wanted attention. Those markings are the exact same as the ones I have on my arm," she dematerialized her wrist armor and undid the zipper on her forearm. A trio of small, faded, circular scars were visible.
We all gasped. "So a Metroid attacked Spire and Rundas?" Ghor said, leaning towards Samus. "But what would a Metroid want with Spire's magma abilities?"
"Or Rundas's ice powers?" Gandrayda added.
Samus fastened the jumpsuit zipper and reapplied her armor, shaking her head. "I'm starting to think that Metroid Prime is coming back. Or worse, Dark Samus."
"Why would either of them attack the bounty hunters?" I asked.
Samus stood. "I'm not sure. We have to warn Admiral Dane and evacuate all the Galactic Federation. They're both very dangerous." She stood, with three of us following her out of the cafeteria.
We ran down the Olympus's halls, dodging workers and troopers that were in our way. I struggled to keep up pace with Samus, for I was right behind her. Man, she was fast!
We sprinted to the main command deck, finding the Admiral talking to a scientists. "Understand this, Charles, I'm not letting you take Spire into your labs," he said sternly.
The other man protested. "But Dane-" "No! I said you can't! He'll heal on his own. He's the last of his kind, he'll survive," he dismissed Charles with a wave of his hand. The scientist stomped away, face red and spitting out curses. Dane saw us approach. "Whoa! What's the rush, guys?"
"We think that Metroid Prime has returned, maybe even Dark Samus," she didn't even sound winded. The rest of us were panting slightly. "we have to evacuate everybody. There's no telling what could happen if we stay up here any longer!"
The Admiral's eyes widened. "You're absolutely sure?" We all nodded.
He hung his head slowly. "Very well." he pressed a communication button on his collar and spoke into it. "Attention all Galactic Federation Starships, this is Admiral Dane of G.F.S. Olympus. Due to the terrible circumstances we have faced today, I am calling a full evacuation of each fleet down to planet Norion. There, we have a large base and will be able to accommodate each and every member of these starships. Make sure nobody is left behind. Thank you. Admiral, out."
He turned to the four of us. "I suggest you get to your fighter, Samus. You three, your ships are still here, right?"
I shook my head. "No, mine's on Bryyo, somewhere. I can't use it because it thinks I'm dead."
He looked to Ghor, and the robot shook his head too. "I used my bigger suit for transportation. It was destroyed when I was corrupted."
"I can turn into a ship, no sweat," Gandrayda mentioned, smiling. "But," she jabbed her finger towards Ghor and I. "nobody's riding inside me this time! Especially guys!"
The Admiral nodded. "Then Rundas, Ghor, you can ride in one of our vessels-"
"Wait, Dane," Samus interrupted. "I think there's enough room in my ship for another person," she looked up to my level. "would you be interested in riding with me?"
I smiled. "I'd be delighted." The Admiral smirked.
"Okay Ghor, Gandrayda, follow me and we'll go down to Norion." As he turned away, I thought I saw him wink at me.
Samus was walking in the opposite direction. "Let's go, Rundas. My ship's this way." I followed her to the shuttle dock labeled 'C', where her hawk like fighter sat in the very middle of the platform. "Open," she said to it, and a cylindrical hatch lowered itself for her to enter.
She approached it, standing on the edge. Samus tapped her foot on the bottom of it, "You coming?"
I nodded, boarding the hatch and standing close to her. Her head came up to about my ribcage. She spoke, "Close," and we rose into her ship.
It was dark in the cockpit, but once Samus and I were inside, the lights came on, as did the consoles. She went to a single chair and sat down in it, pulling a lever and typing in a four digit access code. I didn't know what to do. "Make yourself comfortable, Rundas."
I leaned against the wall and sunk to the floor, hearing the engines purr quietly to life and the ship leave Olympus. Out of the back window, I saw someone on the dock, waving their arms towards us. "Samus! There's a man that was left behind down there!"
"Want to pick him up?" she asked, looking back. I nodded, and she turned her fighter around and landed onto the dock. She opened the hatch, and the ship brought the Federation trooper in.
"Hello again, Phrygisian," said the armored man. He turned his helmet clad head to Samus. "Thank you for not forgetting me. Who knows what could've happened to me if I'd stayed on there with that monster!"
Samus seemed uneasy about her decision. "No problem. You could just sit by Rundas." she closed the hatch once more and we flew out of the bay, joining the rest of the evacuating fleet.
"Rundas is your name, huh?" he asked as he sat down across from me. I acknowledged with another nod. "I'm sergeant Jake." he extended his hand.
I reluctantly took it, not wanting to be rude and reject the human greeting. "Nice to meet you, sergeant."
"Why aren't you with those hunters?" he asked. "The other female and the robot?"
"Who, Gandrayda and Ghor?"
"Yes."
"They're in different ships. There wasn't enough room for more than three in this one." I explained, my stomach churning. I didn't know why I was feeling this much anxiety. Did I meet him in a bad way before? I didn't remember anything happening between me and a Galactic Federation marine...
Samus wasn't so comfortable having him in here either, and stirred in her chair as she piloted her vessel. I couldn't see her face, but I could tell she didn't like this trooper one bit.
It took several minutes and a few awkward conversations later till we arrived with the rest of the Galactic Federation on Norion. There was a massive dock where all the ships were parked, and many hallways that fed into it leading into the GFED ground base. Samus landed on an area near the escapees from the starship Phoenix. The humans filed out, as did Trace and Weavel.
Samus and I abandoned the trooper in the flood of people entering the base. She wanted to stay with me, so she held my hand while we went with the flow. Once on the inside, our living arrangements were separately made, and we went to the cafeteria for our late lunch we never got to finish. There, we found Gandrayda, Ghor, and the rest of the bounty hunters. Spire was there as well, a heat blanket over his rocky body as he ate something soupy.
The entire fleet was inside the lunchroom, all talking to each other about the mysterious creature aboard Olympus. I looked around at the great gathering, noticing that the mysterious Federation trooper was nowhere to be seen.
