Metroid: Do you see the sunsets?

by Ahvie Brightsinger

A crossover of Samus and Co. and some familiar AI mechs of Battletech / Mechwarrior. Please Read and Review, Comments are welcome!!!!!!

2. Chapter 3: The Frontal Assault

Chapter 3: The Frontal Assault

While the mechs marched straight across the former U.S. on their way to the nuclear power station, everything going on in the Federation was chaos. Hundreds of troops requesting not to be lined up in battle against the mechs, hundreds other bounty hunters and mercenaries wanting pay for their jobs early as they too were lined up in battle against the mechs. Samus and Houston were easily and coolly called in for battle, with Ridley on the way to the rendezvous point where the mechs were to cross on the way to the power station, which was somewhere in the streets of the city of downtown Chicago itself, with the tall skyscrapers and buildings all evacuated for the confrontation.

The power station was an unimaginable mix of military barricades, fortified walls, turrets, and bunkers, a last-minute airbase and barracks, and an EMP satellite on its way in orbit to be ready for a last-ditch effort during the battle. The skyscrapers became massive headquarters for operations and weapons storage. Even some skyscrapers' floors were barred up to the brim with rockets and laser cannons sticking out the glass windows, pointing down on the streets. Minelayers and tripwires were all over the place, and other minor precautionary measures were taken all over the city, making it a fortress that no being would leave once entering.

Samus and Houston arrived to see Hardy in charge of the Federation ground forces on the very outer rim of the city, he could very likely get his whole regiment destroyed in the first attack. He looked a little nervous and cheered up as he saw them.

"OH! Samus and Houston, I'm thankful you decided to make it – we need all the help we can get with those supercharged mechs on their way here. You both will accompany Ridley to a bunker far out in our so-called 'no-mans-land' out in the highway region. There you will do you best to slow the mech force down, although it might be too futile to work. I'd sooner be in my Flagship right now commanding the battle from orbit with a bit sub sandwich, but this' what comes with the new rank and position." He talked so much about the preparations for battle that Samus and Houston waved goodbye before he could ask if they had any gum. Then they patrolled the city looking for any obvious signs that a particular red dragon might be around here. None.

So they went to Sears Tower to look and see what Keaton might have done with the national landmark. It was barricaded with blast mirrors and barriers, steel-reinforced concrete walls supporting the already massive skyscraper, and even plasma cannon turrets and radar dishes littered the building's perimeter. They weren't even allowed to go in the security was so thick. "Well, that's typical of Keaton to leave us in the dust when he's concerned about his security." Samus complained as they continued to wander the streets of Chicago. They got a bite to eat at the deserted McDonalds, suddenly wishing Hardy had fixed them tomato soup way back then. When they stuffed themselves with crappy food, they returned to the front lines to see all the troops, vehicles, shuttles, tanks, aircraft, and turrets lined up waiting…

"That's funny, where is everyone? They're all on the front lines and…where's Hardy and the others?" Samus inquired looking around, and before Houston could emit an "I don't know", another voice joined them.

"They're all ready for the attack, the mechs are supposed to arrive in 15 minutes within our sensor range. Where were you guys? I've been looking all over for you – I'll be attending you and Ridley to the bunker out in the middle of nowhere for the first wave. I don't know if we can stop them, but we will defend Earth's first stand. If the Federation survives this attack, maybe the Intergalactic Fleet will agree to assist us, but I still doubt both parties." Samus and Houston were caught off guard by turning around to see what would have been a Federation Pilot had it not been for the man's unique helmet with golden visor hanging under his left hand. The rest of his body was in an astronauts' armored flight suit that looked like the one seen on so many lunar photographs, and had a smooth smile that made them cheer up about the whole situation. He must be the famous Rick Riefke that fought at the Pirate War in orbit around Acuar six months ago.

Ridley was behind him like a bodyguard and smiled at Samus and Houston.

"What's wrong guys? Never seen a Federation Special Forces pilot before? This is Rick, I presume you called him in for this battle, since when Keaton called for him, he wasn't home – and when I checked in on him, he wasn't home, and his pizza all over the floor near the phone. I figured you were the only one bold enough to make such an impression Sammy." Samus was slightly embarrassed and Rick noticed and tried to make up for it.

"Cheer up Samus, Me and my boys at the Federation Special Forces will do our very best against these machines, and our aircraft are very likely to get a good punch through their forces. So lets give it a try." So Samus and Houston got on a Federation Attack Helicopter and were taken to the bunker as Rick waved goodbye as he and his fellow pilots climbed into what looked like armored space shuttles with massive gattling guns and laser cannons on them. Ridley followed Samus' chopper and they arrive 3 minutes short of the 'event horizon'. They got off and charged their weapons from the front window open to the wide complex of highways with a cool breeze running in.

A communications signal came through on the P.A. above their wide window.

"…Good Morning Samus! Rick here, the weather's nice up here, and boy will today be a good day to die…" Samus quickly interrupted, "Please just don't say that now, Rick."

"…understood Samus. We'll do what we can to detract the mechs' attention and fire away from your bunker. We're also the only mobile forces away from the city, so let's get coordinated and…"

A loud siren blared off in the bunker and a red claxon flashed on and off as the siren continued to warn them of the coming danger.

"WARNING! WARNING! ENEMY REGIMENT HAS CROSSED THE EVENT HORIZON! REPEAT: THE ENEMY REGIMENT HAS CROSSED THE EVENT HORIZON! PERIMETER UNDER HEAVY FIRE! WARNING! THE ENEMY IS WITHIN THEIR FIRING RANGE!"

Rick cut off abruptly and his strike force of shuttle flew in a formation staright ahead, directly forward from Samus' bunker. Her heart started to race as the horizon was covered with marching mechs coming closer.

* * * * *

Alpha was in the front of the pack and his High Command in a V formation behind him. Timberwolf and the other regiment leaders marched parallel to Alpha a few meters behind, with their corresponding regiments also marching headlong with them.

Alpha was the one who spoke first with immediate commands.

"ATTENTION, WE ARE NOW WITHING FIRING RANGE, FIRE ALL LONG RANGE MISSILES FORWARD TO THE BUNKER AHEAD. THEN SCAN THE SKIES FOR AIRCRAFT AND FIRE AT WILL – THE FEDERATION IS DIGGING IN FOR THIS BATTLE. GAMMA, SCOUT AHEAD AND REPORT WHAT YOU FIND IN THE ENEMY'S CAMP, IGNORE AIR DEFENSES, YOU ARE TOO FAST FOR THEM – GO."

Gamma, the sleek and smaller mech shot off like a bullet without word and headed around the perimeter of the highway complex. And it wasn't long before a roaring of engines was heard and the formation of shuttles flew out of the sky and began their strafing runs in formation with their gattling guns. The mechs were caught by surprise as they attempted to lock on to the speedy aircraft. The first attack had begun as Alpha commanded to the others at the first blows hit him directly.

"IGNORE THEM, THEIR WEAPONRY IS USELESS AGAINST US. TAKE SHOT WHEN YOU HAVE THEM. THEY ARE FEDERATION PLASMA SHUTTLE ATTACK CRAFT, USE LASERS WITH ACCURACY."

He was right, the lasers and gattling guns did nothing at all to the mechs armored beyond comprehension. But the lead shuttle decided to focus its energies on Alpha and knocked him back a step. This annoyed him and Alpha stopped and locked on for a moment and shot a larger missile, (what they call a Pheonix missile in real life), and it took off after the shuttle. The shuttle deftly evaded it and continued to fire on Alpha, only annoying it. Shortly after, several mechs were pummeled with artillery shells for the city.

Alpha saw the strategy in this and got to work right away.

"DOUBLE YOUR PACE AND STAY STRAIGHT. COMMANDS ON MY MARK – STEADY…………MARCH!" The mechs immediately stopped standing still to fire at the shuttles and lined up in their regiments and marched neatly forward with much more speed than before, closing in on Samus in about a minute.

* * * * *

"Samus, our weapons are no good, we're getting back to the city! Use your bunker's submerge mode and take the subway to Chicago and get there before the mechs do! Hurry, they've speeded up!" Samus acknowledged this and pressed the large black button on her back console and the bunker slowly submerged into the ground, but not before taking some serious missile hits. Samus and Houston packed up and left the room and through the doors to the old subway system – they would make a stand at Chicago, or the Federation's ground forces would be no more.

* * * * *

The mechs reached the city limits ignoring the bunker earlier and faced thick, nonstop lines of lasers, plasma cannons, missiles and artillery. Those did not stop them and the mechs could trample anything in their way. Alpha was eager for human death and cried, "STEADY, CHARGE! TRAMPLE EVERYTHING IN YOUR WAY BUT ONLY FIRE AT UNITS THAT ANNOY YOU EXTREMELY. AVOID ANY BLOODSHED, BUT TAKE HUMAN LIVES ONLY WHEN NECESSARY! AND TAKE OUT THOSE DAMN SHUTTLES!"

The mechs increased their pace and overran the Federation defenses, trampling tanks and people alike, everything that was in their way. Though the mechs had orders not to fire specifically on humans, Beta was a real sight to see – all his autocannons, lasers and missiles blazing in the battle, blowing up everything in the immediate area.

Meanwhile, the rest of the High Command were plowing a path through the city to the east and ignored the defenses, as the defenses did almost nothing, if any, damage to the mechs. Rick and his fellow pilots were retreating, knowing that if they pursued the mechs any further, they would probably eventually be shot down; so they flew out of the vincity to fight another day. Keaton had already evacuated, and all the ground troops were left to fend for themselves.

Samus and Houston, on the other hand, had been secretly giving the mechs a rough time – Hyper Beam and Super Missiles streaming in their direction, and dodging out of the way before the mechs could target them and retaliate. But nothing ever stopped the mechs, and hours later, the city was silent except for the ground-pounding sound of the mechs marching out of the east side of the city. Chicago was not entirely destroyed, just a visible path of where the mechs had barged through, the rest of the city relatively unharmed.

* * * * *

Keaton was in his office with Samus, Houston, and Rick sitting in front of his desk – Keaton was furious, and wanted someone to blame for all the bloodshed he sacrificed in the futile battle against the mechs, and unfortunately, he found the gang the only ones that survived the attack, and used it to hide his weakness.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED BACK THERE?! WE LOST EVERY-SINGLE OF OUR GROUND FORCES EXCEPT YOU AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN HELP AT ALL! I WANT AN EXPLANANTION FOR OUR LOSS IN THIS BATTLE, AND I WANT IT NOW!" Keaton wasn't normally so unhappy, and for an unusually built being to scream such words from his bottomless plot of his, was almost amusing if definitely not being intimidated by such an oxymoron.

Samus answered for the group and spoke for everyone, "Sir, clearly the mechs were not capable of receiving any damage from us. And since they were in an impenetrable line formation, it was impossible to break them up. Rick, your squad of Special Forces Shuttles did nothing but slow them down and annoy them a lot. Did you see any way of possibly defeating those enemy mechs?"

Rick answered coolly and in Keaton's face, "No, Samus, I did not. And even if I did, by the time the mechs – who are created perfect – committed an error, I'd most likely be shot down a long time ago. These mechs are pure war machines, and they are not to be taken lightly, nor are they easy or worth attacking head on." Keaton, blown away by Rick's allegiance betrayal, retorted, "Is this something the head of the Federation Special Forces would like to admit in front of me? What would you like us to do now that we have lost all ground forces, tell me." Keaton was mocking him and angry at the fact Rick was no longer on his side to back him up.

Rick, who was waiting for the perfect response to get a funny look on Keaton's face, responded quickly and surely. "We draw a cease fire between us and the mechs, then we give them their power and end this war."

Chapter 4: A Cease Fire

Keaton wasn't happy at all and lucky for Samus, wasn't demoted, dismissed or even arrested for her ignorance in assisting Rick in his strategy. Keaton, now alone in his office felt much better after firing Rick, stripping him of all his medals and rank, and labeling him as a 'traitor'. Now that the problem was solved, he wanted revenge on the mechs that destroyed his ground forces.

Keaton punched a button on his phone system, "Hardy, are you there still?"

Hardy, who after the attack, was in solitary confinement and being held responsible for the Federation's losses, nobody but Keaton blamed though.

"Hardy, when you're ready to admit that you were responsible for the thousands of lives that died out on the field earlier today, I will let you go, and maybe let you retain your position as a Federation Officer." No answer, as many of Keaton's falsely accused prisoners soon learned not to answer or else bad things would happen.

Keaton got even more frustrated and was about to yell at Samus to feel better when he remembered she was off on some plan of hers; better not be that cease-fire plan, the mechs would never go for it – and there's no vengeance, Keaton thought.

But little did Keaton know the situation out in the dark night of the Appalachian Mountains past the security of his base perimeter. The mechs were about to encounter a human unlike the ones they fought against in battle.

* * * * *

Alpha looked around the camp of mechs he had assembled on a flat plateau of the Appalachian Mountains and nodded in admiration – he had sent some mechs to patrol, and others to charge their sensors to track for enemy scouts. Meanwhile, the other mechs were charging their weapons, running simulations of the battle in their networks, and just charging their energy tanks as they were shut down.

Beta returned from a patrol, "SIR, THE IMMEDIATE AREA IS CLEAR, AND THE MECHS ARE RESTING EASY. SHALL I SEND OUT A SCOUT COMPNAY TO SERACH THE AREA AHEAD OF OUR CURRENT PATH?"

Alpha, who had no problem with this, answered coolly and with little demand,

"AFFIRMATIVE, BETA. SEND OUT GAMMA, FIREMOTH, AND TIMBERWOLF. ORDER THEM TO SEARCH FOR ANY SIGN OF ENEMY DEFENSES, AND IF THEY DO – CAPTURE THEM AND DO NOT KILL THEM AT ALL COSTS, WE'VE SHED ENOUGH BLOOD FOR ONE DAY, OR FOR ALL CREATION FOR THAT MATTER…" Beta was about to protest boldly, but then stopped with a waver of Alpha's largest autocannon in its direction shut it up. Beta nodded without reluctance and ordered the mechs off to the east side of the mountains.

On the patrol, Gamma was moving at its one-sixth pace in order for the other mechs, Firemoth and Timberwolf, to catch up. Later after much annoyance, Gamma spoke to the two. "THIS IS WASTING OUR TIME; SPLIT UP, WE CAN COVER MORE GROUND QUICKER AND WE ARE JUST AS POWERFUL ALONE AS TOGETHER. SIGNAL IF THERE IS MUCH TROUBLE. MEET BACK AT CAMP IN 4 HOURS, GO." And so the mechs split up and Timberwolf slowed its pace to observe its sensor ranges at best when at a slower pace. It stopped short after the first hour, and heard some humans talking and it quietly loomed over the hill and spotted a human camp, with what could be soldiers, but with no uniforms of war vehicles. So Timberwolf sat their with his engines turned off and listened in, appealed by the way they talked. Without much time passed, the group got into an argument and one of its members, a female with some special armor on stormed off in his direction, away from the camp. Timber wolf quietly backed up and charged its weapons.

* * * * *

Samus was having a lazy night, as she, Houston, Ridley, and Rick sat around a campfire in the darkest night in the Appalachian Mountains ever, with only the stars their only entertainment, and the occasional remark and conversation about the previous battle. Samus wasn't comfortable with all the talk about war, but she had been a galaxy-wide star, so maybe she had to get interested in it again…

"It wasn't my fault! The mechs were only slowed down by our fire and they continued to shoot the biggest homing missiles I've ever seen! What would you have done, dropped a nuke on them?!"

"No, but you could've at least told me about their resistance to damage, before they shot a part of my tail off, I have to spend all night healing now! And my cloaking ability didn't even work! You call that a warning?!"

"Well geez, mister Ry, you shouldn't expect so much attention and information sent to you in the middle of battle! I was busy evading the mechs' missiles! You were out in the city trying to become invisible, and it's your fault you got hit!"

Rick and Ridley were having another quarrel about whose fault it was when Ridley's tail was singed in battle. Houston, who never really paid attention, woke up when Ridley roared shortly in front of all of them.

Rick was not intimidated, "Oh, you want some barbecue boy? Come and get some, right now, right here!" Ridley, who loved duels, was about to fry the poor man when Houston interrupted, "Hey guys? Where'd the two cheeseburgers we ordered ago, didn't we have two cheeseburgers two hours ago?" Ridley and Rick stopped and turned their heads to Houston, who had a funny innocent look on his face. "What?!"

Rick retorted the interruption, "You ate them all yourself, remember how crappy we told you McDonalds food is, well, you had two whole rounds of it, and oh – that's why you woke up two hours later – oh, sorry mister ex-Aran, we're busy here!"

And so Houston got enflamed by this, and got involved in a nasty 3-way argument between him, Rick, and Ridley. Samus couldn't do a thing or else she would be yelled at too, and decided it not her business.

Men, she thought, always looking for someone to blame and someone to put down just to make themselves feel better. I think I'll go take a walk in the woods to the west, just to get some peace in my day – if that's possible.

So Samus walked up in the middle of the argument and stormed off and up the hills to the western forest at the top of the next bump of hills. It was when she heard some rustling in the brush did she charge her arm cannon and rolled through the brush and aimed at the being spying on her.

* * * * *

"FREEZE, HUMAN, YOU ARE UNDER MY TARGETING ARRAY AND WILL FIRE IF YOU DECIDE TO DISOBEY THE ONE LAW GIVEN TO ME TO KEEP YOU ALIVE. GET UP."

Samus reluctantly got up from her position and decided not best to fire on the mech, who was after all, invincible. It backed up from her, and focused its cannon on her and spoke again to her.

"NOW, WHY ARE YOU HERE? WERE YOU SENT BY THE FEDERATION TO SCOUT THE PERIMETER FOR US? WHO ARE YOU?"

Samus, who also didn't like her peace interrupted, answered back smoothly, "Who are you to ask me why I was here? You were the one spying on me and my friends, that's my question: why are you here and who are you?"

The mech took this pretty hard, since no one ever stood up to it, and it paused for at least 30 seconds, then lowered its cannons and spoke softly, but coldly to her.

"I AM A MECH BY WHICH YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED, MY 'JEESH' CALLS ME BY TIMBERWOLF. I AM A PART OF THE REGIMENT THAT DESTROYS PRIMARILY FOR OBJECTIVES. I DOUBT YOU WILL TRY TO ESCAPE, YOU KNOW WELL ENOUGH BY NOW WHAT WE ARE CAPABLE OF. WE CAN EXCHANGE INFORMATION AND FIND OUT SAFELY WHO EACH OTHER ARE, AND THEN WE CAN WORK FROM THERE.

"NOW, FOR YOUR PART OF THE DEAL – WE WILL WORK THIS WAY – WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT POSITION DO YOU SERVE IN THE FEDERATION?" Timberwolf leaned in to hear Samus' answer and listened.

"My name is Samus Aran, I am a Federation Bounty Hunter and the probably the most well-known one in the galaxy at that. I serve a position in the Federation that calls me in to serve whenever there is a dire crisis or situation that they, or even the galaxy, may need my help and me. Okay, I ask one now – what is the name of your leader…uh...mech, and what are its intentions?"

Timberwolf was amused to see the woman try to take advantage of him, and answered grimly and surely. "WE HAVE NO ONE LEADER, WHEN WE WERE CREATED, A HIGH COMMAND OF FOUR MECHS WAS MADE TO SERVE AS OUR COMMANDERS OR SUPERIORS. THEY ARE SIMPLY LABELED AS ALPHA, BETA, GAMMA, AND DELTA. OUR INTENTIONS ARE TO OBTAIN THE NUCLEAR ENERGY CORES AT THE FEDERATION OUTPOSTS SO WE WON'T HAVE TO RECHARGE SO OFTEN. THEN WE WILL DECIDE TO FIND MORE…PRODUCTIVE WAYS FOR OUR CREATION.

"AND YOUR END OF THE DEAL, SAMUS."

Samus was getting confused, and tried to figure out why she was fighting something that wanted only to live without always fighting wars for humans. So she proposed this along with her introduction.

"My superior is Federation Chairman Keaton, not a human, but has stubborn intentions, and I do not think he will believe your intentions to go along for a life meant for more than war. But most of us in the Federation want a cease-fire to stand to give you, the mechs, a chance; and maybe end all the bloodshed we've brought upon ourselves. How about it, a cease fire?"

Timber then realized he was talking with a Federation human that actually wanted to end this war and provide true meaning to the mechs' existence. Then he quickly agreed and responded. "EXCELLENT, WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY, AND NONE AS GOOD AS THIS HAVE BEEN IN OUR HOPES. WE MUST RETURN TO OUR CAMPS IMMEDIATELY AND REPORT OUR FINDINGS. PLEASE TRY TO MAKE EVERYTHING WORK OUT WITH THAT 'KEATON' OF YOURS. WE WILL SEAL OUR END OF THE BARGAIN, WE ARE TRUSTING YOU." And before Samus could say goodbye or try to invoke some chitchat, the mech jogged off into the underbrush, making little noise as he disappeared from sight. Just then a message appeared in the green text of her helmet's internal Comm. System.

"AGREED THEN. I WILL USE THIS CHANNEL TO YOUR HELMET TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU WORLDWIDE. I REALLY DO HOPE THAT ALL THIS WORKS OUT. US MECHS ARE NOT LIFELESS OR MONOTONOUS LIKE OUR VOICES APPEAR, WE DO HAVE WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE EMOTION, AND FOR ONE – I LIKE YOU SAMUS, YOU ARE THE ONLY HUMAN I HAVE MET TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS, I WILL REMEMBER THAT. I DOUBT WE WILL MEET AGAIN IN PERSON, BUT WE MIGHT SEE EACHOTHER AT THE CEASE FIRE CONTRACT IN A FEW DAYS. GOOD LUCK AND TELL THE FIGHTER PILOT LEADER OF YOURS THAT HE FOUGHT QUITE VALIANTLY IN THE PREVIOUS BATTLE. I MUST BE GOING, GOODBYE SAMUS."

And she heard no more of him, and ran back to her camp, where everyone was staring at her in wonder of who she was talking to. Oooops, a little too loud back there, oh well, they have to believe this or we all might lose this war. Samus thought as she sat down in her spot around the fire and explained all that happened just then.

Rick, who was quite amused at this, cried out, "Infernal machines think they can make an amendment to the Intergalactic Constitution admitting man-made machines?! Brilliant! And did you hear that, they thought I actually DID do a great job out there. Ridley, sorry, but the best opinion of your skill in battle, is from your enemy himself, brilliant! Get me another hot chocolate!"