NOTE: Sorry for this chapter being another boring one. I'm trying to go
for a novelesque approach^_^ I wanted to end it earlier, but then I'd have
to push the initial combat into a fourth chapter. Action will start up
next chapter, then ramp up as it goes on. Please stick with it. I might
even have to see about moving this into the R section later, but we'll see.
=====Chapter 2: Leaving and Arriving==========
Back in her room, Samus threw off her robe and opened her closet. She pulled out a tight black leotard that covered everything but her head, hands and feet. After squeezing her body into it, she grabbed an elastic ring and messily tied her hair into a ponytail. She put loose jeans and a sweater over the leotard. She then tossed her long black leather jacket on over it and tied on a pair heavy brown boots. She headed for the door, but paused at her mirror. She stopped and looked at herself for a moment. Not at how she was dressed - she looked into her own eyes. She wasn't sure why she was doing it. Suddenly she could feel her heartbeat increase. She felt as if she were trying to see inside of herself; trying to see the Metroid. Or was it the Metroid trying to look at her? She shook her head violently to regain control and stalked out of the room.
Samus sped through her large house - more of a mini-mansion, really, situated at the top of a low grassy hill with dottings of trees - and through the main doors. She yelled a quick "I'm leaving, Benson!" and closed the door. The air was colder than she thought it might be, but that didn't matter. She turned away from the front of her home and jogged around the side. She headed for a small building with a heavy metal door. A keypad and panel were fixed to the outside. She walked up to it and punched in a long string of numbers that most would never be able to memorized. Benson had trouble with it, but he almost never needed to anyway. Samus sighed as she did it. It took too long to enter, but she was paranoid about people - well, the Federation at least - trying to get in to look at - if not take - her suit or mess with her ship. After the code was done she placed her hand on the panel and let the computer scan it. The panel turned green and the door slid open.
The only thing in this building was a large, rectangular freight elevator. She stepped onto it and pushed the down button. The elevator slowly moved down. Samus stood in the middle with her arms crossed. She was glad for the sweater and coat when she was outside, but she had forgotten how warm it was in the hangar. A sign of just how long it had been since she was down here last. She took her coat off and hung it over her arm. She also forgot just how long this elevator takes. -I should put a chair in here,- she thought absentmindedly, wondering why she never thought of it before.
As the elevator dropped below the ceiling of the hangar, her new ship came into view. It was rather sleek looking, with a pointed nose, swept-back wings and colored an impossibly deep black. Her old ship was very special to her, but now that it was gone all she had was this slightly above- average thing that she didn't really like. The Federation took back the ship they let her use on the BSL station - along with it's AI, Adam Malkovich - and she had to buy a new one quickly. What really bothered her was that she hadn't had a chance to modify it during the weeks after her last mission. Her thoughts lingered on Adam for a moment. She had hoped, assumed really, that she'd be able to keep him, that he'd stay with her; but despite appearances, he was still an officer with the Federation military, more or less. He did promise her that they'd meet again, however. She'd hold him to that.
Samus walked to a metal door against the wall and entered another long access code. The door slid open to reveal her power suit. She had almost forgotten just how different it looked. She ran her hand down the front of it. It was smooth and warm, even after sitting down here for weeks. It even gave when she applied a bit of pressure - rather than being cold and solid like it used to be. It retained the same general shape, but looked much sleeker and more organic; which was exactly what it was - a living combination of tissue and technology. When she lost the armor plating during her last mission, she had to continue on with just the organic layer, which was obviously significantly more vulnerable. However, after absorbing the SA-X, the metal and organic tissue merged together, forming something that was stronger than the organic layer, but still weaker than the old suit. It did have advantages, however. The suit moved more smoothly and was lighter. It also was able to permanently retain some basic abilities which were previously too much of a strain on the organic tissue to hold for an extended period of time; forcing Samus to purge all special abilities after a mission. There were also three sharp spikes growing from the left arm. The new look made her very uncomfortable.
She put that aside and moved the suits helmet to her own head. Holding the helmet in place with a hand, she willed the suit to open as she would to move her own arm. With a quiet crackling sound, the front torso melted away, leaving a gaping hole. She did her standard pre-fight check of the systems and ran a quick diagnostic. Her visor told her everything was in order. Samus willed the torso to regrow over the hole, then replaced the helmet, scrubbing the visor a bit with her sleeve. She then pushed a button inside the room and the track the suit was standing on began to move. The track carried the suit out into the hangar and under the ship. Another button remotely opened a round hatch beneath the ship. Small mechanical arms descended from the hatch, grabbed the suit by the shoulders and lifted it up. The round hatch closed as the suit disappeared into the ship.
Samus was still considering not going. She wasn't part of the Federation military so she didn't have to. Bounty hunters didn't have to do anything the Federation Police said; they were independent. But Samus knew she was the only one that could do the job. She never considered herself noble for doing what she did(others had called her that, but she never did), she just knew that she would feel guilty if she didn't. Maybe being saved by the Chozo is what did it - she was saved and so now she saved others. But there would always people that needed saving and evil forces that needed to be stopped, and she was getting a little tired of it. She almost walked back to the elevator right then, but the waning guilt regrouped and moved her back toward the ship. She jogged to the other side of the ship and lept up to the entry hatch on the side, completly ignoring the ladder. She quickly moved up to the cockpit and sat in the large metal chair. It wasn't padded, making it very uncomfortable to sit in. That was the first thing she new she would change. The control panel was in front of her and she poised her hands over it.
"Let's see if I can remember how to turn this piece on," Samus mumbled.
==========
Once in space, Samus could feel the gravity leave her as she pushed herself off that uncomfortable chair. She floated up and bumped against the ceiling. She had almost forgotten what space felt like. She stretched out on the ceiling and closed her eyes. The ship was in space, but it was not moving; she hadn't programmed it for Federation Police HQ yet. She was considering the situation.
-How could the X have survived?-, she thought. -It really isn't possible. I watched the station explode. I watched SR388 explode. The Federation must be up to something. But what?- A hundred possibilities ran through her mind, none of them particularly pleasant. Samus had always known the Galactic Federation didn't always have the best of intentions, but she never once thought of them as evil. Samus had been so wrapped up in thought that she hadn't noticed that she had drifted down and was now floating upside down with her feet inches from the ceiling and her hair just touching the floor.
She finally floated herself over to the control panel and input HQs coordinates. The ship moved slowly at first but quickly picked up speed. It was about as fast as her old ship, but she was still planning on souping up the engines when she had a chance. She decided not to engage the warp engines; she wasn't in a hurry. The ship estimated that it would take nearly a day to reach the destination at this speed. That was fine with Samus. She went into the back room to get some rest; she did get up sooner than she wanted to this morning anyway.
She kicked off her boots and stripped to her leotard. All her clothes went into a messy pile in the corner. She didn't have time to personalize the sleeping quarters in this ship yet, so the bed was similar to the cockpit chair. She tossed her jacket over the metal 'bed' and laid down on it. It was still uncomfortable, but at least she didn't have to lay on anything cold. She eventually dozed off. She had strange dreams about Metroids and X and the Federation. She didn't like any of them, but they weren't particularly scary. Just strange. Again she felt like the Metroid in her was stirring. It was simply too alien for her taste.
She woke up with a yawn and a stretch several hours later. She floated up to the cockpit and found that she was little more than half way to the Galactic Federation HQ. With some trepidation she pressed the button for the warp engines. The ship first activated it's artificial gravity system for safety and then powered up the warp engines. Samus' bare feet hit the ground hard and she wriggled her toes on the cold floor. She jogged back to her room and put her clothes back on. At warp speed she would arrive in about two hours. She used that time to inspect her suit further. Of course it was in perfect condition, so she went back to the uncomfortable chair with well over an hour before arriving at HQ. She sunk in the chair and sighed deeply. Maybe she fell asleep again, maybe she just zoned out, all she knew what that she came upon HQ much sooner than she expected.
The Galactic Federation HQ loomed over her ship. It was a vast space station with many thin arms that branched off of the main section. A hundred or so ships of all shapes and sizes zipped back and forth from the station. They always did. HQ was a busy place. Most people were impressed with this station, but Samus never was. She just thought of it as a large target. She smiled as she remember that Adam had once said the same thing.
Her monitor beeped and she flipped it on. A pretty woman in a tight suit with brown hair appeared on it. "Name and business, please," she said very informally, not looking at her own screen.
"Samus Aran," Samus told her, still slumped in her chair. The woman's eyes widened and she looked at the screen. "I'm hear to clean up your mess. Again."
"S-Samus?" the woman stammered. "I heard you quit the hunting business."
"I just took a vacation," Samus said off-handedly. "Can I dock?" The woman looked down and began scanning another screen and typing.
"Yes, you can dock at Bay Nine," she told Samus. "Just follow the yellow lines. And I must say, I have idolized you fo-." Samus flicked the monitor off in the middle of her sentence and lazily steered her ship between the two sets of yellow lines that appeared in space and lead to an opening with a '9' over it on one of the station arms. She slid the ship into it and landed as gently as she could. She wasn't used to the ship yet and landed a little hard, jarring the ship.
"Bad omen," Samus muttered as she turned off the engines. The whole station had artificial gravity and Samus was glad that it was set lower than that of her ship. She got out of the chair and opened the port hatch. This part of the ship was about ten feet off the ground, but Samus again ignored the metal rungs attached to the side of the ship and dropped to the ground lightly. A few people coming and going saw her and thought she fell out at first, but her controlled landing made them think differently. She pressed a button by the rungs and the hatch closed. A few more button presses activated the security system. Not that she really trusted the system since it was yet another thing she hadn't modified herself yet; but it would have to do for now. -I might just build a whole damned new ship.-
Samus walked up the long ramp to the main deck people used to access the docking bays. There was a large doorway for getting to other sections of the station, as well as a number of elevators. Only one went to the main office. The other elevators went to civilian enterprises; offices for large corporations seeking protection mostly, but the occasional small, family business existed here and there. The station wasn't designed for any of it, but things had a way of just happening.
Samus thought about delaying for a few more minutes, but decided to bite the bullet and board the elevator to the main office. That particular elevator wasn't used as much as the others since it only had few stops at vital areas on the way to the main office. Few had business at any of those places, so it was almost completely empty. There were only two young, uniformed men in the elevator standing behind her. They both gave her a lewd smile that made her want to hit them. Thankfully they got off at the next stop, but they seemed to brush passed her on either side a little too closely. She thought she heard them start laughing as the doors closed. Samus wasn't in the mood to deal with immature young men - although the thought of kicking their asses was rather strong - and hoped the elevator didn't stop until it got to the top.
The walls of the elevator were silver and shiny, like a mirror. She avoided making eye contact with herself, remembering what happened with the mirror at home. She forced her eyes to fixate on the red floor indicator. -Just a few more floors,- she thought.
But it didn't make it. The elevator stopped and opened at the next floor.
"Samus!" a gruff voice from outside the elevator exclaimed pleasantly. "It's good to see you again." Samus took her eyes off the indicator and looked at the large, aging, dark-skinned man in an admirals uniform stepping into the elevator. Samus stepped back and to the side to let him in.
"Captain Gloval?" Samus asked happily.
"Ah-ah-ah," Gloval said, tapping the bars on his uniform.
"They actually made you an admiral? The Federations standards must be slipping," Samus joked. They both laughed and hugged tightly. "I haven't seen you in over a year." Samus said when the separated and the elevator started moving again.
"Yeah, I've been hunting Pirates along Sector Six," Gloval told her. "Protecting the mines. It's harrowing work, but we've been coming up on top lately - due in no small part to you taking out the Mother Brain and destroying Zebes." Gloval said it with a smile, but Samus didn't enjoy a bit of it. She never did and hoped she never would. She instantly felt depressed. "Why so down all of the sudden?"
"I'm getting sick of all the fighting," Samus said, looking at the floor. "I know they're evil, but I still don't like it. It's an endless war that I'm not sure if I want to be a part of any more."
"But it's necessary," Gloval reassured her. "Lots of people would be dead if it weren't for your efforts. The Pirates were preparing for an attack on this station when you attacked Zebes."
"Lots of people are still dead despite my efforts!" Samus said, punching the wall and denting it slightly. Tears began to stream down her face. "The Metroids were a threat so I exterminated them; exterminated to save lives. But what happened then? I freed the X; they have already killed many and are potentially a bigger threat than the Metroids. If I can't destroy the X then I'll have made things worse and have utterly failed." She let her arm fall and slumped her body against the wall.
"Stop doing this to yourself," Gloval told her quietly, pulling her away from the wall. "Your efforts have not been for naught. People depend on you. Besides, for all you now the universe will finally know peace after you destroy the X." That didn't make Samus feel any better.
"Maybe I should just quit," Samus said dryly. "Go home and forget about all this."
"This is the life we chose. Not seeing it through will make you feel even worse."
"I didn't choose this," Samus said quietly.
=====Chapter 2: Leaving and Arriving==========
Back in her room, Samus threw off her robe and opened her closet. She pulled out a tight black leotard that covered everything but her head, hands and feet. After squeezing her body into it, she grabbed an elastic ring and messily tied her hair into a ponytail. She put loose jeans and a sweater over the leotard. She then tossed her long black leather jacket on over it and tied on a pair heavy brown boots. She headed for the door, but paused at her mirror. She stopped and looked at herself for a moment. Not at how she was dressed - she looked into her own eyes. She wasn't sure why she was doing it. Suddenly she could feel her heartbeat increase. She felt as if she were trying to see inside of herself; trying to see the Metroid. Or was it the Metroid trying to look at her? She shook her head violently to regain control and stalked out of the room.
Samus sped through her large house - more of a mini-mansion, really, situated at the top of a low grassy hill with dottings of trees - and through the main doors. She yelled a quick "I'm leaving, Benson!" and closed the door. The air was colder than she thought it might be, but that didn't matter. She turned away from the front of her home and jogged around the side. She headed for a small building with a heavy metal door. A keypad and panel were fixed to the outside. She walked up to it and punched in a long string of numbers that most would never be able to memorized. Benson had trouble with it, but he almost never needed to anyway. Samus sighed as she did it. It took too long to enter, but she was paranoid about people - well, the Federation at least - trying to get in to look at - if not take - her suit or mess with her ship. After the code was done she placed her hand on the panel and let the computer scan it. The panel turned green and the door slid open.
The only thing in this building was a large, rectangular freight elevator. She stepped onto it and pushed the down button. The elevator slowly moved down. Samus stood in the middle with her arms crossed. She was glad for the sweater and coat when she was outside, but she had forgotten how warm it was in the hangar. A sign of just how long it had been since she was down here last. She took her coat off and hung it over her arm. She also forgot just how long this elevator takes. -I should put a chair in here,- she thought absentmindedly, wondering why she never thought of it before.
As the elevator dropped below the ceiling of the hangar, her new ship came into view. It was rather sleek looking, with a pointed nose, swept-back wings and colored an impossibly deep black. Her old ship was very special to her, but now that it was gone all she had was this slightly above- average thing that she didn't really like. The Federation took back the ship they let her use on the BSL station - along with it's AI, Adam Malkovich - and she had to buy a new one quickly. What really bothered her was that she hadn't had a chance to modify it during the weeks after her last mission. Her thoughts lingered on Adam for a moment. She had hoped, assumed really, that she'd be able to keep him, that he'd stay with her; but despite appearances, he was still an officer with the Federation military, more or less. He did promise her that they'd meet again, however. She'd hold him to that.
Samus walked to a metal door against the wall and entered another long access code. The door slid open to reveal her power suit. She had almost forgotten just how different it looked. She ran her hand down the front of it. It was smooth and warm, even after sitting down here for weeks. It even gave when she applied a bit of pressure - rather than being cold and solid like it used to be. It retained the same general shape, but looked much sleeker and more organic; which was exactly what it was - a living combination of tissue and technology. When she lost the armor plating during her last mission, she had to continue on with just the organic layer, which was obviously significantly more vulnerable. However, after absorbing the SA-X, the metal and organic tissue merged together, forming something that was stronger than the organic layer, but still weaker than the old suit. It did have advantages, however. The suit moved more smoothly and was lighter. It also was able to permanently retain some basic abilities which were previously too much of a strain on the organic tissue to hold for an extended period of time; forcing Samus to purge all special abilities after a mission. There were also three sharp spikes growing from the left arm. The new look made her very uncomfortable.
She put that aside and moved the suits helmet to her own head. Holding the helmet in place with a hand, she willed the suit to open as she would to move her own arm. With a quiet crackling sound, the front torso melted away, leaving a gaping hole. She did her standard pre-fight check of the systems and ran a quick diagnostic. Her visor told her everything was in order. Samus willed the torso to regrow over the hole, then replaced the helmet, scrubbing the visor a bit with her sleeve. She then pushed a button inside the room and the track the suit was standing on began to move. The track carried the suit out into the hangar and under the ship. Another button remotely opened a round hatch beneath the ship. Small mechanical arms descended from the hatch, grabbed the suit by the shoulders and lifted it up. The round hatch closed as the suit disappeared into the ship.
Samus was still considering not going. She wasn't part of the Federation military so she didn't have to. Bounty hunters didn't have to do anything the Federation Police said; they were independent. But Samus knew she was the only one that could do the job. She never considered herself noble for doing what she did(others had called her that, but she never did), she just knew that she would feel guilty if she didn't. Maybe being saved by the Chozo is what did it - she was saved and so now she saved others. But there would always people that needed saving and evil forces that needed to be stopped, and she was getting a little tired of it. She almost walked back to the elevator right then, but the waning guilt regrouped and moved her back toward the ship. She jogged to the other side of the ship and lept up to the entry hatch on the side, completly ignoring the ladder. She quickly moved up to the cockpit and sat in the large metal chair. It wasn't padded, making it very uncomfortable to sit in. That was the first thing she new she would change. The control panel was in front of her and she poised her hands over it.
"Let's see if I can remember how to turn this piece on," Samus mumbled.
==========
Once in space, Samus could feel the gravity leave her as she pushed herself off that uncomfortable chair. She floated up and bumped against the ceiling. She had almost forgotten what space felt like. She stretched out on the ceiling and closed her eyes. The ship was in space, but it was not moving; she hadn't programmed it for Federation Police HQ yet. She was considering the situation.
-How could the X have survived?-, she thought. -It really isn't possible. I watched the station explode. I watched SR388 explode. The Federation must be up to something. But what?- A hundred possibilities ran through her mind, none of them particularly pleasant. Samus had always known the Galactic Federation didn't always have the best of intentions, but she never once thought of them as evil. Samus had been so wrapped up in thought that she hadn't noticed that she had drifted down and was now floating upside down with her feet inches from the ceiling and her hair just touching the floor.
She finally floated herself over to the control panel and input HQs coordinates. The ship moved slowly at first but quickly picked up speed. It was about as fast as her old ship, but she was still planning on souping up the engines when she had a chance. She decided not to engage the warp engines; she wasn't in a hurry. The ship estimated that it would take nearly a day to reach the destination at this speed. That was fine with Samus. She went into the back room to get some rest; she did get up sooner than she wanted to this morning anyway.
She kicked off her boots and stripped to her leotard. All her clothes went into a messy pile in the corner. She didn't have time to personalize the sleeping quarters in this ship yet, so the bed was similar to the cockpit chair. She tossed her jacket over the metal 'bed' and laid down on it. It was still uncomfortable, but at least she didn't have to lay on anything cold. She eventually dozed off. She had strange dreams about Metroids and X and the Federation. She didn't like any of them, but they weren't particularly scary. Just strange. Again she felt like the Metroid in her was stirring. It was simply too alien for her taste.
She woke up with a yawn and a stretch several hours later. She floated up to the cockpit and found that she was little more than half way to the Galactic Federation HQ. With some trepidation she pressed the button for the warp engines. The ship first activated it's artificial gravity system for safety and then powered up the warp engines. Samus' bare feet hit the ground hard and she wriggled her toes on the cold floor. She jogged back to her room and put her clothes back on. At warp speed she would arrive in about two hours. She used that time to inspect her suit further. Of course it was in perfect condition, so she went back to the uncomfortable chair with well over an hour before arriving at HQ. She sunk in the chair and sighed deeply. Maybe she fell asleep again, maybe she just zoned out, all she knew what that she came upon HQ much sooner than she expected.
The Galactic Federation HQ loomed over her ship. It was a vast space station with many thin arms that branched off of the main section. A hundred or so ships of all shapes and sizes zipped back and forth from the station. They always did. HQ was a busy place. Most people were impressed with this station, but Samus never was. She just thought of it as a large target. She smiled as she remember that Adam had once said the same thing.
Her monitor beeped and she flipped it on. A pretty woman in a tight suit with brown hair appeared on it. "Name and business, please," she said very informally, not looking at her own screen.
"Samus Aran," Samus told her, still slumped in her chair. The woman's eyes widened and she looked at the screen. "I'm hear to clean up your mess. Again."
"S-Samus?" the woman stammered. "I heard you quit the hunting business."
"I just took a vacation," Samus said off-handedly. "Can I dock?" The woman looked down and began scanning another screen and typing.
"Yes, you can dock at Bay Nine," she told Samus. "Just follow the yellow lines. And I must say, I have idolized you fo-." Samus flicked the monitor off in the middle of her sentence and lazily steered her ship between the two sets of yellow lines that appeared in space and lead to an opening with a '9' over it on one of the station arms. She slid the ship into it and landed as gently as she could. She wasn't used to the ship yet and landed a little hard, jarring the ship.
"Bad omen," Samus muttered as she turned off the engines. The whole station had artificial gravity and Samus was glad that it was set lower than that of her ship. She got out of the chair and opened the port hatch. This part of the ship was about ten feet off the ground, but Samus again ignored the metal rungs attached to the side of the ship and dropped to the ground lightly. A few people coming and going saw her and thought she fell out at first, but her controlled landing made them think differently. She pressed a button by the rungs and the hatch closed. A few more button presses activated the security system. Not that she really trusted the system since it was yet another thing she hadn't modified herself yet; but it would have to do for now. -I might just build a whole damned new ship.-
Samus walked up the long ramp to the main deck people used to access the docking bays. There was a large doorway for getting to other sections of the station, as well as a number of elevators. Only one went to the main office. The other elevators went to civilian enterprises; offices for large corporations seeking protection mostly, but the occasional small, family business existed here and there. The station wasn't designed for any of it, but things had a way of just happening.
Samus thought about delaying for a few more minutes, but decided to bite the bullet and board the elevator to the main office. That particular elevator wasn't used as much as the others since it only had few stops at vital areas on the way to the main office. Few had business at any of those places, so it was almost completely empty. There were only two young, uniformed men in the elevator standing behind her. They both gave her a lewd smile that made her want to hit them. Thankfully they got off at the next stop, but they seemed to brush passed her on either side a little too closely. She thought she heard them start laughing as the doors closed. Samus wasn't in the mood to deal with immature young men - although the thought of kicking their asses was rather strong - and hoped the elevator didn't stop until it got to the top.
The walls of the elevator were silver and shiny, like a mirror. She avoided making eye contact with herself, remembering what happened with the mirror at home. She forced her eyes to fixate on the red floor indicator. -Just a few more floors,- she thought.
But it didn't make it. The elevator stopped and opened at the next floor.
"Samus!" a gruff voice from outside the elevator exclaimed pleasantly. "It's good to see you again." Samus took her eyes off the indicator and looked at the large, aging, dark-skinned man in an admirals uniform stepping into the elevator. Samus stepped back and to the side to let him in.
"Captain Gloval?" Samus asked happily.
"Ah-ah-ah," Gloval said, tapping the bars on his uniform.
"They actually made you an admiral? The Federations standards must be slipping," Samus joked. They both laughed and hugged tightly. "I haven't seen you in over a year." Samus said when the separated and the elevator started moving again.
"Yeah, I've been hunting Pirates along Sector Six," Gloval told her. "Protecting the mines. It's harrowing work, but we've been coming up on top lately - due in no small part to you taking out the Mother Brain and destroying Zebes." Gloval said it with a smile, but Samus didn't enjoy a bit of it. She never did and hoped she never would. She instantly felt depressed. "Why so down all of the sudden?"
"I'm getting sick of all the fighting," Samus said, looking at the floor. "I know they're evil, but I still don't like it. It's an endless war that I'm not sure if I want to be a part of any more."
"But it's necessary," Gloval reassured her. "Lots of people would be dead if it weren't for your efforts. The Pirates were preparing for an attack on this station when you attacked Zebes."
"Lots of people are still dead despite my efforts!" Samus said, punching the wall and denting it slightly. Tears began to stream down her face. "The Metroids were a threat so I exterminated them; exterminated to save lives. But what happened then? I freed the X; they have already killed many and are potentially a bigger threat than the Metroids. If I can't destroy the X then I'll have made things worse and have utterly failed." She let her arm fall and slumped her body against the wall.
"Stop doing this to yourself," Gloval told her quietly, pulling her away from the wall. "Your efforts have not been for naught. People depend on you. Besides, for all you now the universe will finally know peace after you destroy the X." That didn't make Samus feel any better.
"Maybe I should just quit," Samus said dryly. "Go home and forget about all this."
"This is the life we chose. Not seeing it through will make you feel even worse."
"I didn't choose this," Samus said quietly.