Stars were not distinguishable as Samus' starship hurtled onward towards colony 79-48b. Why Samus had decided to take on this mission was still a mystery to her, perhaps it was because of her loss of memories. She did not want what happened to her as a child to anyone else; 79-48b would be the last attacked by the space pirates.
Samus tried to keep her mind blank. She lay on her small bed thinking, wondering, and worrying about what she was going to find on 79-48b. The only other time that she had felt like this, was before she had landed on Aether. Her mission was to search for any survivors from federation team bravo. Though no survivors were found, she discovered the space pirates and a race in need of saving.
Samus rolled over. Glancing through the small window, she could see the long bright lines that were stars pass by. Counting each star as it went by, Samus's eyelids began to droop. Her memory was wiped clean as she fell into a deep sleep.
Samus was woken for the second time in less than 24 hours by a beeping. Again she didn't realize what was going on until the lights flickered on, telling her she was truly awake. The digital clock beside her bed showed 4:30 am in bright green numbers.
Adam, becoming impatient, moved into Samus's room to tell her the news.
"Milady, we are approaching colony 79-48b."
Samus sighed and pulled herself out of bed, and began to speak.
"Prepare my suit, Adam."
"Yes, right away, Milady." Adam said.
Samus was still very tired, three hours of sleep doesn't help you out much in terms of stamina. Samus stood up, a little too fast for her liking. She stood planted to the spot, waiting for her dizzy spell to evaporate.
"Your suit is now ready, Milady." Adam said.
Walking to the door, Samus steeped out into the small square hallway once again. This time she was heading in the opposite direction.
The room that bore Samus's suit was always kept clean, in case of emergency. The varia suit hung neatly in the glass cylinder placed in the middle of the room. Grabbing a hair elastic from her wrist, she put her hair into a ponytail, using the glass as a mirror. Undressing to her undergarments, Samus pulled on her blue jumpsuit. The rubber of the suit stretched to fir perfectly to her body. A retinal scanner was located near the glass tube. The only person able to use it was the hunter.
Samus steeped back into the hallway, her appearance much bulkier. The ceiling lights shone down onto the newly polished red and orange suit.
"Give me a time Adam." Samus demanded.
Adam calculated the distance and converted it into minutes before beginning to speak.
"Roughly fifteen minutes before visualization occurs, Milady." Adam replied.
"Good. That'll give me some time to research the colony."
Samus gladly took a seat and hacked into the federation database.
Samus controlled the ship perfectly, each movement just as precise as the last. 79-48b's ghostly image slowly moved ever closer. Already Samus could tell none would have survived. No sign of survival could be seen from the outside, but possibly. With every inch bringing Samus closer to the dying colony, she began to remember unnecessary memories. Memories from her dreams began filling her head. Her parent's screams echoed around the main deck of her starship, only for her to hear.
Samus lifted herself from the floor of her ship only to realize the screams were not of her parent's, but hers. The memories she had just recalled were now faded and blurred, giving no resemblance to what they should look like. Her breathing was fast and heavy. A mist appeared after every breath on her visor, disappearing shortly after.
"Are you okay, Milady?" Adam asked worriedly.
Adam's voice passed through her head, but Samus paid no attention to it, she was too preoccupied with something else.
The halls of 79-48b reminded Samus of the underground world of Panire III. Her every step making a click as two metal surfaces made contact. Her echoes carried on further down the many halls, and bounced back toward her slightly softer.
Occasionally a small space creature would scurry across the floor, giving Samus a scare. Whenever she would pass a door, she would peel around inside to see if any had survived. Many times the rooms were filled with bodies that had been twisted into horrific forms. She would unwillingly enter these rooms to search them for survivors – but it had to be done.
A sign caught Samus' eye as she walked. The door on her left was the federation training area. She walked over to the closed and password locked door.
"Damn. How'm I gonna get in there?" Samus said aloud.
She listened to hear her voice echo down the many halls, showing her a small-distorted map in her mind.
"Damn, damn, damn!"
Her words grew softer with each new echo. Samus began hitting the door, each bang echoed down the halls, just as her voice had, but this time it was laughing at her pitiful attempts to force her way into the room.
All that she had managed to do was put a few dents in the door. Becoming frustrated, Samus gave up while she was ahead, giving the door one last punch before continuing down the hall. Minutes ticked by, and still no survivors. Samus began to wonder why she even bothered to come here. All she managed to find so far was a sore hand.
The door across from her was the next room she would be entering.
"I might as well just leave." Samus said. "I know I'm not going to find anyone alive here."
Something inside her told her just to check this one room. Considering the circumstances though, she really had nothing better to do, and went to the door.
The room was nothing special, although, it did look much better than the blood stained rooms she had been in earlier. The room appeared to be an apartment of some kind, possibly a room for rent. A bed, couch, and a few chairs were randomly placed around the room. The floorboards creaked under the weight of the hunter.
"This room must be a copy of and old earth home." Samus thought.
The bed, upon looking closer, seemed to have recently been used. One of the pillows lay nearby on the floor, and the blankets were a mess. It looked as if someone had moved to hide from something. Wherever they were, they weren't here. Samus turned and headed for the door, but a faint sound caught her attention.
"Whose there?" She said, trying to urge them out of hiding. "I'm here to help you. If you would just come out."
Samus was not fooled by the absence of sound, she knew there was a sound and someone was there, and would find them. The closet would have been her first choice to look, but the quick paced breathing coming from under the bed gave it away. Knelling, Samus peeked under the bed, and sure enough, a young man stared back at her.
"Please come out, I'm not one of the creatures that attacked the colony."
Samus half expected him to make a run for it, but he didn't. His dilated eyes surveyed her, seeking understanding. She held out a hand, urging the man out of hiding.
"Please come, please trust me." She begged.
Slowly, the male crawled out from under the bed. At full height he was taller than Samus. She found herself looking up to talk. Now that the young man was in the light, Samus could see what he looked like. He had short dark hair and deep green eyes. He wasn't exactly 'beautiful' but he wasn't ugly either. He was tall and wasn't particularly buff. Just an average guy, living on a not so average colony.
He stared, seeking something she did not have. His world was torn apart, and he wanted more. He wanted to ease the pain, the suffering. Visions of death, torture, and uncertainty filled his mind.
"So…" Samus said, breaking the silence. "Who are you?"
The man shook his head, snapping out his thoughts, back into reality.
"I-I'm Adam..." he said, his words drifting off into mumbles.
Shocked, Samus looked up at him. Adam… wait, there was no way. It was just a coincidence that he shared the same name as her beloved.
"Well, not much point in standing around here. Lets leave this place. I don't see there being any other survivors, I've checked most everywhere else anyway." Samus said.
The two retraced Samus's steps through the colony. Occasionally, Adam would point out that there was a shorter way, in which he would take over the lead. The journey seemed much shorter, possibly because she wasn't stopping at every door.
Samus's ship greeted her with a warm welcome. Adam's electronic voice welcomed the two in.
"Ah, I see you've found a guest." He said, with that same monotone voice, giving no idea that he could possibly have been happy to see them.
Adam seemed to be very surprised by what was stuffed into such a small craft. He wandered around, glancing back at Samus when he thought her eyes stayed on him. Samus looked the other way, hoping he wouldn't think she was watching him. She just couldn't help it. Even if it were to be a coincidence, his movements, the way he carried himself… it was just too much. She knew there was no way that this, this boy could ever be her Adam, but something within him frightened her.
"Well, Adam." Samus said to her computer. " I believe its time we leave."
"Yes, milady, straight away."
4
