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Chapter 28: Nightfall

"Dr. Renpo, I have the reports you requested."

Calvin Renpo's face remained stoic as he took the papers from the young man and began scanning through them. They were standing together in one of the stainless steel bio-labs on the G.F.S. Arcadia . The room was not very large, but it was filled wall to wall with different computer terminals and holoscreens that gave the vital signs of various organisms not currently present. Overhead, the long tubes of fluorescent lighting shone down harshly on the two humans.

The young man who had handed the papers to Renpo looked to be freshly out of graduate school. His tan skin had a youthful glow, and his black hair was neatly groomed and styled. The white lab coat he wore was pristine and perfectly pressed and starched. He had not been in the Federation's employment very long, and he was bright and brimming with ideas often naively bordering on impossible or unethical.

Renpo finished scanning the papers and handed them back to the young man. "So you had twenty successful embryos. That's good, more than I had expected."

"Yes, Sir," the young man said as he turned to one of the computer ports and entered in a few codes. "However, the XR organism's synthesis is still in its infancy, and of the twenty successful embryos, only one of them is still viable."

As the scientist entered the final code, the wall in front of him appeared to disappear, replaced by a two-way mirror spanning its width. Renpo peered into the next room curiously as it appeared. It was a mostly empty room, similar in size to the one in which they stood, but rather than rows of holoscreens and terminals, there was only one computer unit. It was in the far corner of the room, and it displayed the weak vital signs of the room's sole occupant. From the terminal on the wall, a series of wires ran out to a sterile-looking metal exam table in the middle of the room.

On the exam table, there lay a peculiar-looking organism with the wires attached to its body in various places. Had Renpo not been familiar with the Federation's sacrificial test subject of choice, he might not have been able to recognize that the unconscious organism was a Space Pirate. More specifically, it was the head and body of a Space Pirate with its limbs and mandibles removed. Around its head, there was a white, crab-like creature. It's spiny limbs locked around the Pirate's face as its long tail encircled the creature's neck.

"How long until we know if the impregnation was successful?" Renpo asked the scientist, not bothering to look at him as he kept his eyes on the incapacitated Space Pirate and the face-hugger.

"Shouldn't be long now, Sir." The young scientist spoke with pride in his voice as he came to stand beside the doctor. "The hugger should fall off within the hour, and the XR organism will begin gestating in its host creature. It'll only be a few hours until birth after that, and because of its xenomorph traits, it shouldn't take long at all to reach maturity. Although it'll… heh… it'll be a bit bigger than a xenomorph." The young man began to chuckle but stopped when Renpo continued to stare that the pair of organisms entwined in the other room.

"And this is the only viable embryo?"

"Yes, Sir. XR organism embryo number thirteen." He smiled nervously. "We've been calling it XR-13 for short."

"Fair enough," Renpo replied absently.

"But Sir… um. We've been having a few concerns given the specific nature of this organism. Xenomorphs are a difficult and dangerous species on their own, but the other organism who DNA you had us use… well, it's just a horse of a completely different color."

Renpo glanced side-eyed at his companion. "What's your point?"

"Well, it's just… I know that you guys up in command don't have complete control of the Zero Host yet, and this particular strand of DNA you had us isolate from it… well, I think it's a good bit stronger than most, if not all, of the other individual species within the Host. This thing, it's going to be a beast when it hits maturity. A real beast, and I don't know how we're going to control it or utilize it in battle or—"

"Leave that to the military," Renpo replied coldly, shutting the scientist down instantly. "You just focus on the science. Focus on taking their ideas and bringing them to fruition."

"This just feels like overkill. No one's ever made anything like this before. There are a lot more species in the Host, species we've already been working with that won't eat us. Heck, even that Metroid lab we helped Biologic build wasn't—"

"There's been a threat to the security of Project Zero." Renpo kept voice cool as he turned fully to face his companion. "This organism will be our 'guard dog' so to speak should hostile forces breach our standard security."

The scientist stared at Renpo for a long minute, looking like he wanted to say something but then deciding not to do it. Instead, he turned to watch as the face-hugger suddenly unlatched itself from the Pirate's face before falling to the ground as a crumpled husk.

"XR-13 is going to be one hell of a watch dog," the scientist replied.


It was nearly evening by the time Samus stepped off of her ship and back onto the grounds of Blackacre. Though she and Adam had begun working on gathering information that morning, they had not made much headway until the last few hours. Even then, there were still a lot of barriers and dead ends as they searched desperately for anything that would provide any information on the location or subject matter of Project Zero.

Eventually the AI unit had told Samus that he had it under control and she should go back into the house to be with Elisa and the others. Though the bounty hunter had been tempted to make a snarky comment about the computer system's concern for her personal wellbeing, she bit her tongue and accepted it. Hearing Adam's voice as well as things the late General probably would have said had been eerie this entire time, but knowing his daughter was in the house made it particularly jarring. Still, she opted not to mention Abridgette's recent engagement.

As she walked through the cold, grassy fields, snow began to fall. Small flakes landed on Samus's face as she looked up at the grey clouds overhead. Though the cold stung her exposed face, she was thankful for the warmth her blue jumpsuit provided under her clothes. As long as she was out of her powersuit, it seemed to be the solution she needed for her new weakness to the cold.

As Samus stepped through the front door and walked through the old house, she could hear chatter coming from the living room and decided to head over that way. She moved stealthily, however, because as much as she liked everyone individually, there were more people in the house that she cared to interact with at once. Rather than make her presence known, she opted to stand by the doorway to the living room and peer in to see what the others were doing.

There was a great fire roaring in the hearth, and almost everyone was sitting around it. Elisa appeared to be talking to Morrigan while Maggie played on the floor with Buck. Hector and Abby sat curled up together on the couch, and Samus smiled as she watched them. There had never been a time in her life where she would have guessed that she would live long enough to see her son get engaged, and she was happy with his choice in a partner.

She felt strangely peaceful covertly watching the people she had come to know as friends and family, but she noticed there was something missing from the scene. Chance and Calline were nowhere to be found. Samus thought about going off to find them but decided to leave them for the time being. There was something else much more important that she had to do.

As she walked into the living room, everyone turned to look at her and smile. It was not a way she was used to people greeting her when she entered a room, but it felt good, and it filled her with a sudden overwhelming feeling of gratitude that she was able to see them all again.

"Good evening, Samus," Morrigan said as the mercenary walked over and took a seat on the couch beside Hector and Abby.

"Good evening, Morrigan," the bounty hunter replied with a smile. "Chilly night out there."

"Indeed." The old woman smiled but turned her attention back to her conversation with Elisa, understanding what Samus had come in to do.

Samus took the opportunity and turned to her son as he still sat cuddled up with Abby. "Hey, Spawn."

"Hey, Mom." Hector smiled as Abby leaned forward and waved at Samus.

"So," the bounty hunter began, "I hear you've got some big news to tell me."

The young man grinned as Abby held out her hand with the engagement ring. Samus took her hand and inspected it.

"It's absolutely lovely," Samus said quietly as she could feel the emotion welling up inside her once more. "I'm so happy for you both."

As Samus was trying to figure out the proper way to congratulate her son and his fiancée on their engagement, Hector reached out and threw his arms around her in a giant hug.

"Thanks, Mom. It really means a lot to me that you're here and we could do this in person."

A couple of tears rolled down Samus's cheeks as she hugged her son back. "I know. I still can't believe how close I came to never seeing any of you again." As she pulled away from their hug, she looked over to Abby and smiled. "Your father would be so proud to see the amazing woman you've grown into, Abby. And I couldn't be happier to know that you and Hector found each other."

Abby just smiled and nodded, clearly trying to hold back tears. Samus understood the young woman's silence and didn't press for anything more.

The Chozo had not had any sort of marriage equivalent by the time Samus had come to live with them on Zebes, so she had never understood why humans were so attached to the concept and its associated symbols. Although she and Elisa considered themselves "married", there had been no ceremony, and they had never exchanged rings or anything of the sort. There was something about seeing the ring on Abby's finger, however, and knowing that her son must have worked hard to save up money for such a ring, that made Samus understand why people might choose to use such symbols. Until now, it had not occurred to her that perhaps Elisa felt like there was something missing in their lives together given Samus's previous dismissal of anything remotely symbolic.

Samus turned to her partner and looked at her, and Elisa smiled back. The bounty hunter was not sure if she was just projecting when she caught a bit of sadness in her eyes and felt guilty for the first time about never having gotten her a ring or anything. Samus had never been one for jewelry given her profession, and it had just seemed more practical not to bother with such things.

"Elisa," she began but was cut off as the other woman threw herself into her arms, and Samus's doubt faded as she wrapped her arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"Congratulations," Elisa said with a laugh as she looked up at Samus. "You're getting a daughter-in-law."

Samus smiled, recalling how she had once teased Adam that someday the two of them would be in-laws and have grandchildren together. It was bittersweet to see it coming to fruition now.

"Samus," Morrigan said suddenly, "Marjorine and I prepared dinner, and right before you came in, we were going to head into the dining room. I wasn't sure what time you were coming back to the house, but you are welcome to join us."

Samus smiled as she stood up. "Thank you, Morrigan. I would be happy to."

"Yes," Elisa added with an accusatory glare at Samus. "I imagine this one hasn't remembered to eat anything since I had to feed her those croissants yesterday morning."

Samus shot her a look back. "I drank coffee. That's like a food."

"No, dear. It's really not."

"Samus," Morrigan said as she and the others all stood up. "Would you mind going and getting the others? They went upstairs. I believe it's just Calline and that nice little fellow with the tail."

"Sure thing," Samus replied. "Which room are they in?"

"The room across the hall from yours."

Samus nodded, remembering how that room had once, unofficially, been Adam's room when the two of them first came to this place. Up until his death, it had often been referred to as such before becoming just "the room across the hall." She had not been able to bring herself to look in it since his passing.

The bounty hunter left the group and headed up the old wooden staircase, the one up which Adam had once carried her when she had been severely injured. She remembered that day clearly as he had laid her down on her bed and proceeded to cut two deeply embedded poisonous bullets out of her body. Then he had sat up watching her all night as she slept and recovered.

She paused on the staircase, holding the worn wooden handrail as she imagined for a moment that she could hear his footsteps and smell his scent, a mixture of coffee and a lightly musky soap. She could almost see his form beside her as other ghosts of his memory flickered across her senses.

The sounds of missile fire. The smell of Typhlorian gas. The heat of the explosion.

Samus closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Adam's last moments flashed through her mind with enough force to nearly throw her off balance. She kept climbing the stairs, but the ghosts of the late General continued to flicker across her senses as the images aboard that derelict space vessel played over and over like a song she could not get out of her head.

The bounty hunter grunted and gripped the handrail tighter.

Fucking emotions, she thought to herself. My fucking brain has to ruin what should be the happiest moment of my life so far.

She could feel her body tensing as a wave of dizziness and vertigo came over her, the same way she had felt when she had suffered the heat stroke in the pyrosphere, the same condition that had rendered her unable to fight and stop Adam from making the ultimate sacrifice. Her breathing increased rapidly as anxiety took hold in a way it had not in a very long time. She could feel her chest constricting as the smells of burning flesh and explosive gases filled her senses.

She tried to hold onto the rail as the full effects of the flashback gripped her, but the ground seemed to give way under her feet and the room was spinning too fast for her to regain her balance as she felt herself topple backwards down the stairs, hitting each step until at last she was flat on the floor and gripping it for dear life.

Her head hurt, and she was certain other parts of her must have hurt as well, but she was too dizzy to be certain. When she tried opening her eyes, she had to close them again quickly as the room spun around her. Her breathing was too fast, and she felt like she wasn't drawing in enough air. She could hear people running toward her and nervous voices calling out in the distance, but they were drowned out by the sounds of the explosions as her super missile had detonated the gas and set off the chain reaction that caused the entire station to self-destruct.

As people rushed from the living room to where Samus lay at the bottom the stairs, Elisa ran ahead of the group and made it to the bounty hunter's side first. As Samus's eyes opened for a moment before closing tightly, Elisa had a feeling she knew what was going on. The wild look in the hunter's eyes combined with the way her body was tensed up and trembling made it clear that she was in the throws of a severe anxiety attack, possibly even a full-fledged flashback.

"Samus," Elisa called softly as she knelt beside her partner and extended a hand tentatively toward her. The mercenary seemed completely unaware of her partner's presence, however, as she curled herself tightly into a fetal position and trembled. Gently, Elisa stroked her hair and said her name a few more times until she was able to maneuver Samus's head enough to pull it onto her lap.

Samus was muttering something incoherent, but Elisa continued petting her hair and speaking to her softly. She was certain now that Samus was having some kind of a flashback, and a very bad one at that, but she had no idea what had triggered it.

"Hector," she called out, turning to the group of onlookers that had gathered. "I need you to bring me her medicine."

His eyes grew wide as his mind started to race. "Where is it?"

Elisa could picture the drawer where Samus usually kept its bottle in their beside table at home, but there was no way to get there now. If she had brought it with her on her mission, it would have been on the ship that exploded near SR-388.

"I don't know," Elisa said after thinking about it for a while. "Find something. I haven't seen her this bad in a long time."

I just wish I knew what triggered it, Elisa thought as Samus's shaking became more violent and she sobbed into her partner's lab. She was hyperventilating so badly Elisa was not sure if she was going to pass out. She looked around, desperately trying to figure out what could have sent Samus into such an episode, but she was coming up blank.

"It's okay, Love." She brushed Samus's hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. The hunter's skin was clammy, and she was sweating and seemed terrified. "You're okay. I'm right here, and you're safe. All of us are safe. Everyone's all right, Love."

Samus opened her eyes and looked up at Elisa. She was just starting to come around when they suddenly heard frantic footsteps coming down the stairs as Calline raced toward them.

"Samus!" she cried out. "Oh my god, what happened to her?!"

"Calline—" Elisa tried to shout, but it was too late as the girl ran down and flung herself at Samus.

Within an instant, the disoriented bounty hunter lashed out and clawed the girl across the arm, throwing her backwards as she screamed.

"Samus!" Elisa yelled as she grabbed the bounty hunter around the shoulders and tried to calm her down. "Stop it! You'll hurt her!"

"Calline!"

Chance shouted as he rushed down the stairs and tried to tend to the girl's arm. However, she pushed him away as she jumped up and tried to run, but Chance grabbed her other hand and made her stop as Elisa was still trying to subdue Samus.

"Calline," he repeated as he held onto the girl's hand. "Don't run away! Let me see your arm!"

"No!" the girl shouted as she tried to pull away from Chance's grasp, but it was too late as several drops of blood ran down her injured arm and fell to the floor, burning holes in the wood where they fell.

Everyone in the room froze and turned to stare as steam rose up from where the acidic blood ate through the wood. Even Elisa glanced over as she finally got a struggling Samus to give in and lay back down with her head in her lap as she pet her.

"Calline…" Chance said as his eyes grew wide looking between the girl and the holes in the floor. "What's going on?"