Chapter 1: Threat

Adam knew Samus's ship well. It was uniquely designed, with both unsurpassed efficiency and an elaborate appearance, conspicuous in color scheme and shape. Standing with his arms behind his back in the bay of the G.F.S. Tyr II, named for the infamous ship which met its end on the cursed world of Aether, it took no straining of his eye to recognize the Hunter as it settled down among hundreds of other ships launching, landing, and under repair. He walked nonchalantly down the bay to meet the ship as it arrived.

Samus walked out clad in her Suit without a helmet, and seemed abruptly shocked to see Adam waiting for her. The officer grinned. "You have a certain way of keeping us in suspense, Samus. You really 'ought to start sending us a response, or at least a way of assuring us you got our message."

The former laughed. "Me? So now I am keeping you in the dark? Hey, at least I didn't send you some melodramatic call to make a journey half way across the galaxy without clarifying what the hell it is I wanted."

"Well, then," said Malkovich, "I 'oughtn't to keep you in the dark any longer, should I? Very well, if you insist, follow me. After all, that's just like you: get to the meat of things, none of the chit-chat." Adam turned and walked across the spacious bay to an upward ramp. Samus followed as Adam led her through a labyrinth of hallways and corridors that were as well lit as in a horror movie, to a circular auditorium which received its only light from a hologram hovering in its center. The holo depicted a long-necked, teethed monster that was easily ugly as sin and worse.

"I'm sure you're wholly familiar with the Metroid Queen," said Adam to a wordless Samus, who was still unenlightened as to why she was here and didn't like it. She stared at the projection as if trying to figure out why her acquaintance would be showing her this. Malkovich continued, "As more recent studies have revealed, Metroid Queens do not, in fact, give birth to their young, as we had assumed. In fact, they are completely sterile and immobile.

"Instead, once their life cycle is complete, a "Birth Metroid", as we have come to call the Metroid's reproduction factor, that has passed heat will absorb genetic material from the Queen's corpse and assume its role."

"You've lost me a good ten times so far. What is it you're trying to tell me?"

"There are two factors necessary to create the ultimate biological weapon: Queen DNA and a Birth Metroid. A potentially hostile party has the latter in hand."

Samus was beginning to understand. "And you think they're going to come for the other."

Adam smiled for a second, and then resumed his neutral gesture. "That is correct, Milady. Don't worry; all Queen DNA we are aware of is tightly guarded. Nonetheless, we feel the threat must be neutralized urgently. I would ask you to please understand the magnitude of this; please understand what will transpire if a mistake is made. There are too many fools in the world to keep this in hand forever."

"Great—you've just left one question. The Metroids are dead."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken. I suppose you don't pay much attention to conspiracy theory, do you?" Samus took interest. "We've been covering this up for a while, but we still have a single Metroid left from before the Pirates made their first assault. From it, we have cloned plenty of others. Apparently, they all have the DNA to become a Birth Metroid, but it was only active in one of them. We had this one captive aboard the original Tyr. We'd assumed it had been killed along with the marines, but we assumed mistakenly, for six months later we received an anonymous and untraceable transmission."

"Perhaps I could see it?" asked Samus.

"Indeed," said Adam. "Computer, display Transmission 92187042."

"Please provide password to continue."

Adam gave Samus a grin. "Aran."

"Password acknowledged. Please provide password level two." Just how many passwords are there? wondered Samus. It occurred to her that this had to be a very heavily guarded transmission, full of firewalls. How important could it be?

"Prime."

"Password acknowledged. Please provide password level three."

"Why the hell are you hacking these files?" Samus laughed. Adam gave her a look, and she realized that anyone background noise would disrupt the procedure.

"Please resubmit password."

"Why the hell are you hacking these files?"
"Password acknowledged. Please stand level with the hologram to continue." Adam did so. A laser shot from the wall into his eye. The computer continued. "Blink twice." Again, Adam did so. "Access granted."

The hologram assumed the shape of a shadowed head. It spoke, so abruptly that Samus jumping slightly. Adam didn't notice.

"Attention Galactic Federation officials. Your efforts to keep safe your Metroid program have been in vain. I myself have recovered one of your precious Birth Metroids and intend to use it for my own means. I have cut off all communication between the planet Gearon and the rest of the galaxy, and if you wish to regain contact with your lost colony, you are to surrender all Metroid Queen DNA you have or have access to. Failure to comply will result in the nuclear destruction of the Gearon colony, and with it all hope of ever encountering and studying the ecosystems there. You will have a standard decade to comply. This concludes our transmission." The hologram vanished suddenly into nothing.

Samus stared at where the hologram had been. Adam looked at her. "I suppose now you understand?"