Chapter 14
Quothos felt a soft nudge on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see a suit of armor standing over him. His initial reaction surged forward, causing him to call out.
"Quothos, it's alright. It's me." She called, grabbing his arms. He stopped thrashing around and paused.
"Samus? Oh. Sorry about that." He breathed. She chuckled a bit, and then stepped out the hatch. He followed her slowly, securing his helmet, then leaping out the hatch. He gasped softly as he saw the numerous different species walking around the station. Suddenly the entire hall went quiet as they saw him. As if on cue, each and every one of them ran screaming for cover. A squeal from his shoulder told Quothos why. These people still feared metroids, and figured he was just its meal.
"It's okay everyone. This one won't hurt you!" He tried, but to no avail. Four armored guards appeared and surrounded him.
"Hold your position while we eliminate that creature." One ordered as they raised their weapons. Quothos growled and raised his cannon.
"You make even a single shot, and you'll regret the rest of your VERY short existence." Came a female voice from behind them. They turned at the newcomer and gasped.
"Ms. Aran, you have returned." One of the guards gasped.
"But of course Leo. You expected me to die out there?" She asked, mockingly. The guard gave a soft chuckle, obviously nervous.
"They were gonna off the hatchling Samus." Quothos called, jumping down.
"That thing is a threat to everyone here." A second guard growled.
"That 'THING' is a far less threat then I'll be should it come to any harm by you four." She glared. The guards lowered their weapons.
"Then this is the hatchling I've heard about. The one you rescued from SR388?" Leo asked.
"I see you've been keeping up on my reports. I expected as much from you Leo." Samus said.
"Hey give a guy a break. I can't help how I feel." He countered.
"You're so hopeless." She said, throwing up her arms. The other three guards burst out into laughter. Leo dropped his head, sighing. Quothos grinned, as he knew what was happening. Leo must have been one of Samus' many admirers and maybe even more. But Samus didn't see him that way. Did she even have someone waiting for her to come back home?
"How good it is to see you again Samus. I trust you were successful." Came a new voice from behind them. A big man, roughly six feet high, and as big as a boulder stood there eyeing them. The hatchling lifted off Quothos shoulder and gave a soft cry that would have been similar to a dog's growl.
"Commander Mantel. Nothing less than complete demolition." She said, flashing him the thumbs up. He chuckled heartily, his entire body bouncing. As muscular as the man was, he seemed to carry a lot of 'cargo' around his middle.
"And who is this one with you?" Mantel asked. Quothos removed his helmet.
"My name's Quothos sir. I helped Samus on her last mission." He offered, giving him his best salute. Mantel gave him a quizzical glance.
"Quothos eh? Well if Samus trusts you, you must be okay. Come with me boy. You too, Samus." He said, turning and heading towards what Quothos guessed to be an elevator. With Samus' nod of approval, Quothos jumped down and followed the big commander. The hatchling hesitated only a moment before re-attaching itself to Quothos. He smiled softly as the little creature wrapped its mandibles around him. They entered an elevator and soon found themselves entering a very lush and fancy office.
"Have a seat you two. I want a full report." He said, sitting in his chair and activating a recorder. Samus started going into full detail about everything that had happened on Zebes. Even the parts that Quothos didn't think were all that important. Eventually, she got to the part where they were escaping from Zebes' and she came to a finish. Commander Mantel sat back in his chair and seemed deep in thought.
"Quothos, do you have anything to add to Ms. Aran's report?" he asked. Quothos went over everything she had said, and nothing seemed to have been missed.
"I think she got it all sir." He said, looking over at her. Mantel nodded.
"Very well then. Samus, you look beat. I suggest you go take a nap while I have a talk with young Quothos here." He said. Samus nodded and got up to leave. Quothos was about to speak up when she looked at him with a smile.
"Don't worry, he won't bite. Commander Mantel is really just a big teddy bear once you get to know him." She giggled. Mantel gave a gruff snort, which caused Samus to laugh harder and Quothos to grin.
"Alright Samus. But how will I find you when I'm done?" He asked.
"You won't have to." She said, pointing to the hatchling and giving it a soft stroke. "Just ask this sweet little thing. He'll guide you to me." The metroid let out a happy cry and jumped over to her. She giggled softly, picking it up and putting it back on Quothos shoulder before leaving. Quothos sat nervously in his chair as Commander Mantel looked him over.
"You must have done something to really impress her son. She doesn't take to others too easily." He said. Quothos shrugged.
"Well she didn't trust me at first. But saving a persons life with valuable info can have that affect I guess." He said. Mantel nodded slowly then motioned towards the hatchling.
"If it's alright with you and Samus, we'd like to continue studying the metroid species. Ever since Ridley's destruction of the space colony we haven't had much data on it." He noted. Quothos gave a short shrug.
"It's okay with me, but we'd have to check with Samus and this little guy here first." He replied. Mantel clapped his hands together.
"It's settled then. You find Samus, and then report back to me. Oh and don't worry about the paperwork. I'll take care of it personally. Welcome to space station 'Free-zone', Hunter Quothos." He said with a wink. Quothos grinned and left to find Samus.