The Ershos Dirtlands swathed a great many secrets. On the surface, were high-speed gales, whipping specks of brown grain through the air, sometimes circling, forming a small, bronzed cyclone spinning off in various directions. The direction of the wind was completely messed up by the gravitational concentration of the Ershos Dirtlands, which contained a certain metal ion element named 'Durias', which was packed with negative energy, causing a large magnetic push and pull around from other parts of the same material. Even rocks had a hard time nesting in one place, as they were forced by the wind too. This wind force caused frequent landslides from nearby dormant volcanoes, topping up the amount of grain that wreathed the cliff sides and plains. Life was impossible in the Ershos Dirtlands. Rarely did even aerial wildlife pass over the area, and when it did, it could take hours just to endeavor through the challenge of the winds. The fierce whaling of the twists and coils of the wind blocked out all other sound, not even a nearby landing Space Pirate ship could be heard by anything but the ship's occupants; it could barely even be seen through the blanket of dirt sweeping through the lands. The Space Pirate ship was a small grey craft, blinking with a few bright yellow lights at various parts of the hull. The entrance/exit ramp of the ship lowered with a low hum, which could not be heard by the figure waiting at the top of it. A few seconds after the ramp had come to a halt, forming a triangle along with the ground and the ship's landing gear, and a silver glistening boot pressed down, and halted parallel to the ramp for a moment, before the rest of the foot landed. Another strive forward and the right leg came forward, and then the steps became fluid. A dark cape fluttered after the being, changing direction rapidly from wind forces, and followed its master into the darkness of a sheltered cave.
Executive Officer AX7-45, commonly referred to as AX7 without formalities, sunk into the rather larger grey console chair, pressing a few buttons on a control panel on the right armrest. The Space Pirate's roach-like appearance was distinctive against the surroundings of the silver and grey computer consoles and projectors placed around Monitor Station. A red and yellow hologram popped up with Space Pirate encoded figures scrolling downward through the image, and the electronically produced light reflected of AX7's auburn, rubbery face, black-clawed mandibles and goggled violet eyes. Black, mechanized shoulder plating wrapping around under his arms, strapped tightly to his torso, with energy tanks resting on the structure connected to the covering. Signature Space Pirate laser-powered projectiles rested not far away from AX7 on a desk, within his reach if he extended his arm enough. With delicate, skeletal clippers, the chief Space Pirate of the Ershos Base scraped the base of his scalp pinnacle, which splintered through his skin, as it did with all mature Space Pirates. A croak came out from the needle curving out of a blackened opening deep and low in his face.
"Resuscitation proceeding as planned" he spoke into a voice diary. "Soon our remaining mainstay will be fully functional with the aid of imported Phazon. I am indeed looking forward to it,"
As his log finished, AX7 spawned a grin, holding carnage close behind it. An alert from a comlink nearby removed it. He grabbed the comlink, quite aggressively and held it up to his mandibles. "AX7-45, this better be good,"
"Sir, he's arrived" came a higher pitched voice, crackled and broken up slightly from frequency static. What remained of AX7's grin soon decayed into a snarl. He dropped the comlink next to an activated holographic projector and clenched his mandibles tightly around his mouth needle, creating what was a Space Pirate equivalent to a grimace. After a few moments of brutal thoughts, AX7 reached out to turn the comlink off completely, so it would be unable to receive transmissions.
"I won't let this self-appointed fool take over what I've worked so hard toward building" he muttered to himself. Enforcer-Z9, referred to by AX7 as En-Zee, broke into the terrace of Monitor Station a couple of meters away from the console chair, through a blue hexagonal doorway. The bulky Space Pirate, similar to AX7 in base appearance but boasting much more weaponry, armor and combat equipment, and his skin was tanned more so, nearing the blacker side of the spectrum. A sapphire colored backpack hunched over the chief's personal bodyguard jarred from side to side as En-Zee made his way to his leader.
"Sir, I believe the Commander requested that you personally…"
"I know what the Commander, ordered. But I am the executive of this base, En-Zee. And currently, with the destruction of Zebes and Tallon IV, I have authority over the Space Pirate military, is that clear with you, Captain?" AX7 explained tightly, pulling rank.
"I understand, that sir, but what you're saying is out of sight. I'm afraid to admit that the Commander is my direct superior now. He controls everything within the Space Pirate military forces, you can understand that,"
AX7 gritted his inner jaws against what he could, and croaked a long, annoyed gurgle. He lowered his head, almost dipping it into the abstract hologram, and shook it from side to side slowly.
"My entire life I have awaited this position, En-Zee. A few weeks upon finally obtaining it, a senseless leader-figure enters the fray, and unofficially deems me useless. Who does he think will run the brains of his forces, hmmm? Look!" AX7 exclaimed, gesturing an arm toward the massive viewport before him, overlooking a giant circular room below. "Does he think this would have been possible without me?"
The captain Space Pirate, littered with spikes, various markings and combat scars all across his surface, stepped slowly toward the viewport, looking down upon the monstrous wonder that AX7 had revived more or less on his own. He turned back to the chief, sympathetically. "And now he'll be stronger than ever, able to resist any ground-forces the Galactic Federation throws at us. Your precious ground-troopers whom you speak of so highly won't have to risk their lives nearly as often as they currently do. Can't you see the potential?"
En-Zee couldn't agree more with the chief's statement.
"I lost two good troopers with that last wave of recon forces. If my men could be placed in more secure positions…"
"I would assure you that!" AX7 cried desperately. "This is a mistake! The Space Pirate Alliance is in shambles, and one of us got lucky,"
"That would be the Commander" En-Zee nodded. As AX7 gazed at his bodyguard, one of his eyes seemed to grow larger than the other.
"You will stay true, won't you En-Zee?"
En-Zee sighed, and didn't think it pleasant of the executive to put him in the position he just had. Desperate times… En-Zee started to think. He gave AX7 a blank nod, and turned around to leave the room. Heading toward the door, he spoke up once more.
"You should see the Commander now,"
The hexagonal door closed inward after En-Zee had stepped through, and AX7 was left watching after him.
"Blast!" AX7 finally shouted as he stood up from his chair.
The Grand Hall of the Ershos Base was almost magnificent enough to accommodate royalty, and the Commander certainly thought he was worthy of that. The metallic boots marched through the hordes of Space Pirate troopers, all saluting and remaining in a completely frozen position. AX7, standing on a pedestal at the end of the stretched blue strip of carpet, refused to salute even though it may have been respectful, and didn't drop his gaze from the Commander's terrorizing stride. The new military leader, replacing the command Ridley had amongst the Space Pirates, finally arrived before AX7's position, and finally the executive decided to deliver the Commander a salute. It was something that delivered a piercing blow to his pride soon afterward, and it seemed almost as if his rival knew. He preyed upon it. Below AX7 the Commander stood, but it wouldn't be for long. AX7 ran his eyes over the Space Pirate he knew planned to kick him downward from his position in the alliance. A deathly black helmet hid his face, roughly in the shape of the default Space Pirate head shape. The humanoid was armored even more than En-Zee could support, boasted more weaponry around every square inch of his suit, and on the whole, was a lot more masculine and taller. As he stepped up toward the pedestal, and came alongside AX7, the Commander towered over the executive. The Space Pirates, already rivals, exchanged locking stares, and then turned to their crowd. A profound and jagged growl emerged from the Commander, somehow shaping into words.
"Proud members of the Space Pirate Alliance, I am Commander Phexris. We may have suffered the loss of the great Commander Ridley, our limitless potential of Mother Brain… but we are still here!" he yelled. With a quick motion he grabbed one side of his black cape and swiped it across his front. Slowly, he arced an upper clipper across the rows of faithful Space Pirate troopers. "A new leader is here, confident the Space Pirates will succeed in their uprising against the Galactic Federation, and with a strong and powerful concept of how it is to be done" Phexris explained. AX7 stood by him uncomfortably, realizing his words were just what the military needed to hear, and that he was feeding them fuel. He listened carefully as Phexris continued. "When I stand here, I see soldiers ready to spill their blood for the succession of the Space Pirate endeavor. I see each and every one of you just as important as the next warrior to bring about the Space Pirate way throughout the galaxy. When our race sends all opposition fleeing for dark corners of the universe and our offspring are brought up in a galaxy when we were just mere freedom fighters, we'll all be seen as historical martyrs! We must not fight for the past, not for now… but for the future! There, our destiny awaits. The future is our goal" Phexris continued. AX7 grinned to himself; he understood that lowly troopers would perceive any old trash as a motive to fight. They were bloodthirsty brutes, and the Galactic Federation had been their enemy for as long as anyone could remember. Behind his mask, Phexris pleasurably smiled to himself. "Are you with me?"
Giant bellows are war cries exploded from the crowd, yelling out Phexris's name with all their lungs could muster. Amongst the cheering and the huge confidence Phexris had congregated within all of them, AX7 dropped his head, unseen next to the new leader figure. Already he had lost, and he knew it. None of the Space Pirates had ever cheered for AX7 like that before, simply for the fact that he wasn't a military figure, and preferred to take down the Galactic Federation with brains instead of brawn. And we think of ourselves as the superior species, AX7 thought pitifully.
The three Space Pirates gathered around a black tabletop desk with customized Space Pirate seating, and relaxed into place. The room was completely sound-proof, so anybody that wasn't meant to hear anything of the upcoming conversation couldn't. En-Zee punched in a six-digit code adjacent to the door, and then seated himself next to AX7, whom was on the opposite side of the table from Commander Phexris.
"There's much to discuss" Phexris announced with his demented, almost electronic voice. If you could call it that, AX7 wanted to say. He nodded silently. Phexris disliked the refusal of acknowledgement to who was effectively AX7's immediate superior, but he discarded it for now. Until AX7 was on his knees, begging for his life before the wrath of Commander Phexris, AX7 would continue his pointless struggle for control of the Space Pirate Alliance. "Firstly I would just like to clarify my supremacy over the Space Pirate military. With all due respect, AX7-45, I have dealt with a life full of hostile situations involving the Galactic Federation. It would only be proper, if the soldiers were lead under my command, agreed?"
En-Zee swallowed hard as the executive shuffled slightly in his chair, uncomfortable with the statement.
"Commander Phexris, Ridley is dead. That means further leadership of the Space Pirate military will not proceed as it did beforehand. We all know Ridley was a work of art, created by our science division. His mind worked ingeniously, by no possibility could any of us compete with his legacy" AX7 explained.
"Then all we can do is offer our troopers the next best thing!" Phexris objected, raising his voice. AX7 crossed his alien arms, and leaned back into his chair.
"Are you aware of the redevelopment of our only remaining mainstay?" AX7 questioned, cocking an eyebrow. Phexris responded without hesitation.
"Of course, I was informed during my trip here" he answered. "You don't expect a monster to lead the Space Pirate armies, I hope" Phexris said with a grunt of laughter. AX7 kept a firm face.
"No, but I expect such a powerful bioweapon to be used first and foremost, regarding opposing ground forces, before we put good troopers to waste, wouldn't you agree?"
"It all depends on the situation,"
"The same situation that the Galactic Federation has been using ever since they opposed us!" AX7 barked.
"What are you talking about?"
"The Galactic Federation will do one of two things if they plan an assault. One, they will send squads of Federation troops, or they'll send in the bounty hunter,"
"You mean Aran" Phexris said with certain distaste. "You do not need to worry about the bounty hunter this time, rest assured, Executive. We have a plan of action this time,"
"That's been said before" AX7 said with a chuckle. "Ridley couldn't take her down. Our precious Mother Brain couldn't take her down. Not even Metroid Prime was capable of destroying Samus Aran, Commander. The woman is an anomaly. Never has anything defeated her!"
"Quite true, Executive. The hunter is quite different from any of her kind. Her technology surpasses anything we can muster; hordes of Space Pirate soldiers are unable to stop her… So I'm sure by now, you are asking what possible plan of action could I have?"
Phexris tapped his clawed scythe in place of a hand onto the black tabletop, producing a piercing clicking clatter, and allowed AX7 to wonder for a few moments. The Commander muttered under his breath and then chuckled. "We need to destroy Aran from the inside, Executive. Spread a plague through her Human body, surely it won't be much of a challenge for your scientific abilities,"
AX7 heightened a mandible, bringing it under his left goggled eye. "Yes, that's right" Phexris smiled, leaning forward. "I'm not going to throw you out of the picture contrary to what you may think. There's no need to worry,"
"You'll have me working for food!" AX7 snapped. En-Zee's needle retreated into his mouth, evidently uncomfortable with AX7's hostile attitude. At this stage, it would be best just to take what he could get from Phexris.
"Now, now" Phexris said calmly. He had expected this result, and was rather pleased about it. One way of driving AX7 from his position would be to convince the people he was uncooperative and unsupportive toward the Space Pirate cause. "I can understand your reasons for not trusting me. I enter your colony, I take over the minds of what you thought were your men, and now I'm giving orders,"
AX7 nodded furiously.
"You'd better come up with something good!"
"I do not have a superiority complex, AX7-45. What I have is a vision for the future. I know I can grasp that vision in due time, but sooner than anyone had expected. All I want is the wellbeing of our people,"
"Of course. That's exactly why you were brainwashing them up there, right?"
"I wasn't brainwashing them," Phexris uttered despicably, "the soldiers need confidence. They weren't getting any with you sitting up here working on your bedroom projects!"
"I want our people to be free! I want them to learn to think for themselves! With some self-appointed bighead entering the picture it'll just delay the time it takes for them to become functioning, living beings,"
"I cannot talk like this" Phexris declared abruptly, his voice a deep bellow from behind the mysterious dark mask. "You're letting our personalities clash and putting beside the point,"
"Welcome to politics" AX7 sardonically cracked. Phexris clicked a mandible under his helmet, and then stood up from his chair. He brought his head up to both En-Zee and AX7.
"In time, AX7-45, I'll get your support, like it or not. This is a military issue now,"
With that, Phexris departed the room and the door zipped close behind him. En-Zee gnarled his mandibles and shook his head glumly.
"He's done his homework, sir,"
"We don't know that yet" AX7 snarled.
Commander Phexris arrived at the large underground entrance to Barrack A2, attending some ordering issues that were in a mess due to AX7-45's poor leadership. A Sergeant, slightly smaller than Phexris, came to his left side and handed him a datapad.
"Rosters ten through seventeen sir, as you requested. I uploaded the information to this datapad specifically" the Space Pirate said, accommodating a brown and black military uniform. Phexris gave a short nod of appreciation, and accepted the bottle green card into a clipper. The Sergeant didn't move a muscle and looked at Phexris rather strangely; for a Space Pirate.
"Is there something else?" the Commander inquired.
"Just like to say what an honor it is to have you with us, sir. We'll show those Federation fascists what freedom means to us!"
Phexris chuckled. As insignificant as this soldier was to the Space Pirate cause, Phexris would need to resume his act of courage to give the military confidence, which could have very well been false hope.
"That's exactly the attitude our military needs, Sergeant" Phexris complimented. The Space Pirate nodded proudly, struck by awe at the new Commander's presence. Before leaving, the Sergeant spoke up again. Getting annoying, this was.
"Commander Ridley would be impressed" he said. Mandibles gritted against each other behind the mask, and Phexris clenched his clippers together. He swung around to face the Sergeant, his cape following suit, and Phexris struck the Sergeant in the throat. The Space Pirate dropped to his knees, grasping his neck, begging for redemption. Phexris considered sparing the Sergeant for a brief moment. Perhaps he had not realized what he had uttered in the presence of his new example. But in order to succeed, examples needed to be made. A crowd of lower ranked militants gathered around the exhibition, amazed by Phexris's display of combat toward their Sergeant. Not even aware of the squad leader's name, Phexris circled around his loyal soldier, probably with a full history of brave combat experiences; and hear he was, begging for mercy at the clutches of the Space Pirate Alliance's new Commander.
"Commander Ridley is dead, Sergeant" Phexris started. He didn't wait for a response. "His name will be written in the books, printed across the walls of the Great Hall, but, he is dead. As is Mother Brain, and all our other late heroes. They're all dead,"
The main thing of focus on the soldiers' minds was whether their Sergeant was going to be spared or not. They all had relationships with their immediate superior on a personal level, and if the Sergeant were to be terminated, faith would be lost in Phexris.
"Please, sir! I didn't mean any offense!" cried the choking Sergeant, bobbing from left to right on his knees, trying to give him something else to concentrate on, instead of the sharp pain. Phexris shook his head sympathetically.
"I know, soldier. I know you didn't mean any offense, but you must understand in order for the Space Pirate's to work as one, we must all think as one. You're death will show them that" he stated, making his voice clearer than usual so the others could hear. The Sergeant shook his head in objection, so desperate to preserve his own life.
"No, sir! Please! Don't do this, you told us we were all as significant as each other!"
"Exactly, exactly" Phexris nodded. "And if you are equal to your men, or anyone in the military, the same consequences will occur for them. I am your leader now. Until the day I die I want full support from the Space Pirate military! I want you to look forward, into the future, thinking of our day of freedom at long last, and using that to motivate you to fight for what you want! Until this age of struggle is over you will honor me! You will honor what I stand for, and you will not look back. You will never look back. I don't want to hear conversation about the great Commander Ridley. I don't want to hear comments about him, I don't want to hear comparisons involving him, because it's in the past, and we look forward!"
The Space Pirate troops, goggling over their dying master soon sucked in Phexris's words, paying attention to them more than they were to their dying Sergeant. "Is that clear?" Phexris questioned finally. The Sergeant, at the stage where he would do anything for life, offered all he could, and that was a nod and a positive gurgle. Phexris grabbed one of the Sergeant's shoulders which was within arm's length, and yanked him up to his feet. "Good" he said softly. He then turned to the Corporal of the squad. "Get your leader some medical attention; he won't die for another three minutes,"
"Yes sir!" the Corporal said, simultaneously amazed and horrified.
AX7 took in a deep breath, running his deep violet, pupil-less eyes over the green holographic text characters, scrolling both horizontally right and vertically downward before him. He brought a brown, hairy clipper up to select a specific category of information, which brought to him a list of radio signals transmitted from Zebes shortly before it was destroyed. After a minute of further reading, AX7 swung around on his routable chair, quite impressed with Enforcer-Z9's discovery.
"If it hadn't been for your decision to investigate the area with everything possible a week after Zebes's destruction, this information would have been floating through space for eternity" AX7 acknowledged with a hint of relief. "Furthermore, you found it. I am very astounded at both your thinking ability and your quick decision making En-Zee. If it were up to me, you would be promoted,"
"Thank you, sir" En-Zee said expressionlessly. AX7 had finished with his applause and dived immediately straight into business.
"I guess there's no denying the authenticity of this information. Space Pirates are Space Pirates. You realize what this means, don't you?"
Standing staunch with his arms extended behind his back, En-Zee couldn't help but grin.
"Our Phexris will be defecating Metroids, sir. It would be quite hysterical to see his reaction,"
"Maybe we could get the upper hand here, En-Zee" AX7 said quickly, not thinking ahead; only of the possibilities.
"I wouldn't get too cocky, sir. Let's just concentrate on the matter at hand" En-Zee replied quite plainly. AX7 pressed up from his chair and started wandering around the screened terrace that overlooked the restricted project area below. The Executive retold the information to make sure he had everything correct.
"Commander Ridley sends a transmission toward this base, minutes before Zebes is destroyed. Obviously, he was gambling on the speed of the transmission, but hoped like hell it would get here before the radioactivity of the explosion distorted the communication waves… right?"
"Yes sir, meaning Ridley somehow survived his encounter with Samus Aran… Yet again,"
"Except, he was killed not long afterward when Zebes exploded,"
"Yes sir, however when the bomb was set off Ridley attempted to escape Zebes, from the depths of Norfair,"
"Right" AX7 nodded, connecting the pieces of the puzzle together. He briskly headed back to the hologram, and swiped a clipper through the characters. More writing came up, and the Executive leaned closer. "His transmission was as follows: This is Commander Ridley, Samus Aran has infiltrated our base and destroyed Mother Brain. All Metroid activity on Zebes will be destroyed in a matter of minutes. Commence protocol B7-452987C on Ognosis. Confidentiality is no longer needed; this is our last hope as Space Pirates,"
AX7 stood up straight and exhaled, somewhat baffled and intrigued by Ridley's final transmission before his death.
"He said confidentiality is no longer needed" En-Zee noted confusedly. "Do you know of anything confidential regarding this particular protocol?"
"I doubt I've heard of the protocol, because I know of no confidential program here in the base whatsoever, and I've been the Executive for four years,"
En-Zee clicked his mouth needle over fleshy exterior surface.
"And as the lead science officer, you certainly would know. There was nobody else left,"
"Who was Ridley's second-in-command?" AX7 asked quickly. En-Zee frowned.
"Commander Ridley was a one-man army. He had no second-in-command, sir,"
AX7 felt a black, cold substance shroud over his lower intestine. He hated mysteries. He hated unsolved ones more. AX7 suddenly swung around in his heavy endurance boots to face his bodyguard.
"I don't know who this was directed at, En-Zee. But they were here around the time when Zebes exploded. As much as I hate to say it, this scares me,"