Prologue




Samus watched as the BSL station dipped down into the planet. The station faded out of view, and for an instant, it seemed as if her gamble would be all for nought. Then, suddenly, a pinpoint of golden light appeared, then grew into the whole cosmos was awash in amber. Samus squinted against the harsh light as the planet began to fissure and crack, canyons splitting and magma bubbling out through the cracks.

Then the massive hunks of the smashed world drifted away, out of sight, tiny islands in the vast expanse of space.

"You did it, Samus," said Adam.

She undid the seals on her helmet, shaking her golden hair down. Her face glistened with sweat, and her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. "No, Adam, we did it."

The transformation of the computer Adam to the "real" Adam had been amazing. Amazing indeed, that a computer developed the capacity to take on the personality of it's programmed knowledge. Adam Malkovich was reborn in the circuitry of her ship's computer.

"Were to now?" asked Adam.

Samus shrugged, "Somewhere that I can rest. And rest for a long time."

Suddenly a klaxon went off, blaring noisily through the cramped cabin of the ship. Samus whirled around, fingers massaging the trigger of her arm cannon. "What's going on?" she yelled over the din.

"There was some damage to the ship from the debris! We're losing power to the navigation and propulsion systems."

Damn. Without those two systems, the ship would float aimlessly through the universe and never, ever be found. "Anything we can do?"

The ship bucked violently as the pitch thrusters gave out, sending the craft in a roller-coaster like maneuver. The computer didn't reply. Red warning flights began flashing over the console. "Adam?" she shouted now.

"Yes, I can stop it."

"Well let's hear it!" she said expectantly.

"I can reroute power from my system to the propulsion and navigation systems. That should restore full functionality to the ship. But..."

"But what?" demanded Samus as the ship tipped into a long, slow roll. "Come on, Adam, we're running out of time!"

"If I reroute power from my system, all data in my hard drive will be lost."

Samus gritted her teeth as the ship suddenly shot downward. She latched onto the bulkhead, hanging in midair as the ship careened haphazardly about. "Adam, we're both going to die if you don't do something."

She could almost hear the sound of Adam's silicon mind cranking away at the problem. She hoped that his newly rediscovered humanity would overcome the gross-rationlization of the computer.

Another violent buck and she lost her grip on the bulkhead, flying back into the far end of the cabin. She fell face down on the floor, struggling to stand. "Adam!" she yelled.

The computer's voice crackled. Samus swore she could hear sadness in the tone. "Samus. You're right. I saved your life once before. No reason I shouldn't do it again. I'll transfer power over to the systems. And don't give me a second funeral. I never really wanted the first one. Any objections, Lady?"

"No, sir," Samus barely whispered.

The bucking stopped.

She stood up. One by one, the alarm lights blinked off and the klaxon ceased its cacophony. The ship stabilized and adjusted itself on a proper course as the navigation computer kicked in, righting the craft and ceasing its mad tumble.

"Adam?" she whispered, hoping for a reply, but realizing there was no hope. Adam Malkovich had given his life twice for hers. A tear rolled down her cheek, the first one to sprout from her eyes in many years. She found herself wishing she knew how to pray.

"Lights off," she said, and the ship interior turned pitch black. She found her way to her bunk and curled up in the sheets. Samus cried a long, long time.


"Landing in three, two, one," the zero-g pod settled down roughly on what was known as SR99A. It was one of the many pieces of SR388 that had drifted away after the world's destruction.

Maxon Zell undid the clasp of his harness and floated up to the top of the pod. He checked the seals on his space suit, then checked them over again, and then a third time. His oxygen and heating systems all registered as functional. "Sojourner 1 to Control. Request permission to begin op."

The reply filled his domelike headgear, "Roger that, Sojourner 1. Proceed with operation as planned."

"Wilco, command," answered Maxon as the pod's hatch hissed open, "Sojourner 1 out."

He hoped out and was confronted with a totally barren landscape. Many years before Maxon had walked upon the surface of Luna, and that was the only place that compared to SR99A's desolation. Anything that had once lived on the planet was totally wiped out, either by the explosion or the intense cold of space.

Maxon flipped his light on and peered around. Near his landing site was a large entrance to a tunnel system. He examined the area around to ensure it's safety, then hopped down.

It was dark below, so dark his headlamp barely illuminated the area around him. What he could make out was the solid rock walls of the tunnel. He pressed his palm to the side of the tunnel. Even through his thick space suit he could feel the smoothness of the tunnel. This was no natural phenomenon. The explosion would've made a jagged wall, not the smooth, straight corridor he was standing in now.

Something had dug this tunnel.

Instantly he was reminded of the tunnels made by the Space Pirates on Zebes. But this wasn't made by them, there were none of the UV markings they used to identify their tunnels. He clicked his radio to transmit, "Control, Sojourner 1 reporting in. Have located fabricated subterranean tunnel on SR99A. Will report in with further investigation."

He began trudging down the arched tunnel. It sloped ever so slightly downward. The grade was so minuscule he barely noticed it during his transit.

Maxon stopped abruptly as his foot bumped against a hard, immobile something. He only noticed it because it was a departure from the uniformness of the tunnel. He brought his light down to see his foot was now encased in a gelatinous, greenish goo. Aghast, he yanked his foot from the goo. The stuff hardened as his foot withdrew from it, turning into what seemed to be a green brick of ice.

He brought his light back up, discovering a gargantuan mass of the same greenish ice, but also an equal amount of red and yellow chunks scattered about, forming a grotesque kind of abstract painting. "My God," he said.

"Say again, Sojourner 1? Sojourner 1, please repeat."

In his surprise he had inadvertently transmitted his radio. "This is Sojourner 1," he said. "I have located the object that created the tunnel. It is a large, multi-colored mass of frozen, apparently organic, material." He paused and shuddered as the chunk slurped back and joined with the main mass.

"Get a containment team down here, ASAP," he said. "I think I found the X."