CHAPTER 2
HUNTER LOG 3853
I could have easily
gone down with the ship that time. I'm still fatigued from the fight
on Zebes, especially from the toxin in Ridley's meson bomb. I guess
my adrenaline was what got me though that one. My shoulder is killing
me, must have dislocated it hanging from the ship.
Who else was on that starship? As far as I knew, I was the only one sent here. No matter, just one stop on the ride...home...I...need a vacation.
Samus ...o...
"Ma'am?"
"Huh, what? Yeah, what is it, Grady?"
"We're approaching SR-388.
"We are?"
"Ma'am, with all due respect, you fell unconscious. You were out for nearly 30 hours..."
"Ugh...I feel like I have a hangover...it must have been the running on the ship...I must have pushed that toxin through my system,"
"Could be, ma'am. We're now in orbit."
"Maintain the orbit, Grady. We're looking for a big rock,"
"A rock, ma'am?
"It's a space station, Grady. I looks like a big rock with a ring around it,"
"Confirmed, ma'am. I have a visual."
"Take us in. I have a package to deliver,"
As the ship grew closer, the "rock" grew larger. As if it recognized the ship, the large space installation opened a large retractable door as a welcome.
Grady took the ship in and landed softly on the pad. The door slid and sealed as gas seeped into the room, creating a breathable atmosphere.
Samus arose from her ship with a canister cradled in her left arm. She stepped down gently, then hopped to the floor. Her knees tried to give way, but she caught herself with her right arm, which caused her to cringe in pain.
"That's definitely not the hunter I remember...The one I remember could stand up on her own," laughed a man entering the room.
"And that's definitely not the scientist I remember...I believe he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut," Samus said as she righted herself.
"Touché'. You would have to agree, though, that you've seen better days," the man said.
"You could say that. I've brought you something, Matthew," Samus said, offering up the canister.
"Ooh, what is that? A new toy? Possibly a pet?" asked Matthew with false excitement.
"I wouldn't give you a dead dog. It's a metroid," Samus said.
"A what!" Matthew exclaimed, fumbling the canister and nearly dropping it on the floor.
"Don't worry, it's dead. It's pretty much all that's left of the metroids," Samus explained.
"So you had to kill them...that's a shame. I do thank you for bringing this one. Just because it's dead doesn't mean we can't study it," Matthew said, shrugging.
"This is quite a different place than the Ceres station," Samus said, looking around.
"Quite. We've managed to create six completely independent ecosystems on this asteroid fragment. It's really incredible. Scientists that desire to preserve life and help humanity, like myself, have always dreamed of a place like this. Now we have the resources to do our best for the Confederation, and everybody else. I'm just lucky I was out gathering supplies for the station during that attack," Matthew explained.
"You have no idea," Samus responded, rolling her eyes.
"Well, just imagine me coming back...or thinking I had come back. I thought I was lost, looking for something that wasn't there. I never thought going for groceries would save my life...or get me a promotion..." Matthew said, smiling.
"Oh please. Spare me. Anyway, I need to you help me repair this suit," Samus said.
"You mean the one that's falling off of you?" asked Matthew.
"Something like that. What do you say?" Samus inquired.
Matthew walked over and ran his hand across the arm, then examined the shoulders and back.
"I can't say I'm familiar with this material. What is it again?" asked Matthew, cocking an eyebrow.
"I really have no idea. It wasn't mine to begin with," said Samus.
"I can salvage a bit of it, but I'll have to 'fill in the blanks' with what we have available," Matthew said, complete with air quotes.
"Do what you can. In the meantime, I've got to find a bed," Samus said, walking past Matthew.
"Hold it, it looks like you took quite a bit to the back. The only bed you're going to find is in the medical ward," Matthew insisted.
"If it has a pillow, it'll work for me," Samus said, waving a hand.
--------------------------------
Samus awoke with a flinch...and a pinch.
"What are you doing to me?" she asked.
"Acupuncture. It'll help the pain in your shoulder. Now please, lie still," said the woman.
"Samus! Good to see you're back among the living," said Matthew as he entered the room.
"Yeah, yeah, who brought this psycho in?" she asked, nudging her head toward the female acupuncturist.
"Don't look at me. I have no control over what goes on in the medical ward. I do however, have creative control over the tech department. I think you'll like your 'new clothes'," Matthew said.
"Okay, I'm coming," Samus said as she got up, pulling the needles out of herself in one handful and dropping them on the floor.
"But your treatment..." started the woman.
"Oh yeah, feels great," Samus said as she left the room with Matthew.
"Right this way. We took the original material and covered each of the major plates on your armor. We used samples to synthesize similar material, which was used for the flexible joints in the suit. All in all, it should be relatively close to what the old armor was, just not as light," Matthew said as they entered a room with the suit on display.
"Is it ready for me to use it?" Samus asked as she reached out and touched her armor.
"As far as I know. Just remember, this isn't that last suit you had. If you get hit with what hit you last time, I can't guarantee that the synthetic material will stop it was well as the original stuff," Matthew warned.
"Hey, don't worry about me. Just take care of your new "friend", and do what you can with it. You know I respect what you do," Samus said as she began suiting up.
"Hey, I'm just as happy as when you brought me the metroid at Ceres, but Samus, you know, I worry about you. You're not your usual self. I know you're hiding something, but it's not my business to ask. So I won't. Just take care," Matthew said.
"I appreciate it, but don't waste your worry on me. You've worried about me before, and I've proved you wrong every time. Just let me deal with this in my own way," Samus insisted.
"That's what I always let you do. Now here. The doc gave me these pills. Make sure you take them as he prescribed. It'll detoxify your system. They said that nerve toxin really took a toll on you," Matthew said.
"I try not to remember. I'll see you around," said Samus as she walked out of the room and down the hall.
"Yeah...see you around..." Matthew trailed off.
Samus strode back into the hangar to her ship. She leapt on top of it with a renewed sense of energy. She felt virtually no pain in her shoulder, a sharp contrast to when she arrived. She jumped back down into the cockpit and flopped down into her seat, an action that reminded her that her back was still a bit tender.
"Good to see you back, ma'am."
"Good to be back, Grady," said Samus.
"Back to the combine?"
"You got it. Are you too tired to drive?" asked Samus.
"You know me, ma'am. The hard working insomniac."
"Then let's get to the combine," Samus ordered.
"Yes, ma'am. The trip will be two hours in hyperspace."
"That's good, Grady, it'll give me time to record my post-mission report,"
Z:ENTRY:PMREPORT.FLE
Z:LOGIN
Z:USERSAMUSARAN
Z:PASSWORD
Z:ACCEPTED
WELCOME SAMUS.
BEGIN RECORDING IN 3...
2...
1...
0...
My first objective was at the asteroid base Orpheus. President Marcusson sent me there with no particular orders. Upon arrival, I encountered another hunter, a Paul Silverwolf. The hunter quickly initiated an attack, and I had no choice but to defend myself. In the process of the fight, the station was damaged, and Silverwolf was lost into space.
After leaving Orpheus, I received orders to revisit Zebes. Reports showed evidence of it being rebuilt by Space Pirates and rebel hunters. On the way to Zebes, I stopped at Alpha Outpost to have modifications done to my ship. While I was there, it was assaulted by a hunter ship. The blasts completely destroyed the outpost. The weapons were obviously Space Pirate technology. I followed the ship into a hyperspace jump, which strangely ended in my destination: Zebes.
The planet was held together by large beams emitted from a center location. There were five massive planet fragments still in tact, with obviously smaller pieces in between, still held there by gravity.
I managed to infiltrate the installation and discover many secrets of the Space Pirate base. They used the Chozo to power the planet. They also subjected them to harsh torture and sacrificial rituals.
When I went into CV-10962, I discovered
a completely independent ecosystem in the reactor core that sustained
the lives of thousands of metroids. They had seemingly been 'tamed'
by not having animals on which to feed. They managed to learn how to
draw energy from the reactor for nourishment. It was here that I
encountered the Pirate leader Ridley. I also saw a vast army of Space
Pirates, and among them were hundreds of hunters.
As I explored
more, I encountered large laboratories. All had several sizes of
tanks containing test subjects, alive, deceased, comatose. It was
here that I had another attempt on my life, once again, by another
hunter. I fought her to the death, but it was only after I had given
the decisive blow that I discovered that she was just a young
teenager...and unwilling participant in this whole conflict.
Marcusson would deem it an 'acceptable loss'. Regardless, I pressed
on, encountering genetically engineered pirates and freeing the Chozo
from their imprisonment.
I eventually made it to the center station, the control for the entire planet. There I encountered an old friend. Lieutenant Commander Malachi Jefferson was at the center of the rebuilding effort. He had betrayed the Confederation out of jealousy. My conflict with Malachi resulted in his death.
Shortly after my meeting with Malachi, I returned to the surface to take the Chozo into battle against the Pirates and rogue hunters. The battle was massive and bloody. Many lives were lost, wasted, but the threat was eliminated, thanks to the Chozo, as well as the metroids.
After the battle, I released the small remaining squadron of hunters, and was ordered by Marcusson to dispose of the remaining metroids. As it turns out, I only had to destroy a handful. Most burst into puddles of jelly from being outside of the sustained radioactive environment that supported them for so long.
My report concludes with a request. Give me my vacation...
End report.
REPORT CONCLUDED.
ARCHIVE? Y/N?Y
REPORT ARCHIVED. RETRIEVE DISK.
DISK RETRIEVED.
END PROGRAM...
GOODBYE
Samus reached forward and removed the disk from its slot and placed it into a case. She relaxed her hands in her lap and stared out the window.
To look so peaceful at a glance, the universe was such a hostile place. Those that lived back on Earth in the days of the industrial empires and pollution must have really suffered. In their limited scope, they only had a single planet to sustain them, and a single planet to wreck. Always fighting over petty differences of races and beliefs, they never once thought of everyone as humans, and as equals in rights to life. Any person from that era would probably go into cardiac arrest at a hunter combine.
"We've come a long way, Grady," Samus said.
"Yes ma'am, nearly a light-year."
"That's not what I mean. I mean civilization. Those from Earth. Views have changed so much," Samus remarked.
"It's been a long time."
"Yes, it has. I wonder how much more time we'll have to change even more..." said Samus.
"You know what they say, ma'am. Change starts at home."
"That's a good saying...if you have a home...but I know what you mean," Samus responded as she shut her eyes.
"Approaching the combine, ma'am. They're attempting to contact us. I'm opening up the line."
"Hello?"
"I see you have nothing better to do, President," said Samus.
"Blasted technology. I wanted to see to it that you completed your objectives personally,"
"I feel so special..." Samus sighed.
"This meeting will not be as formal as the last. Feel free to come as you are,"
"I think I will. It ought to be better that way," Samus said.
"And I already have another job lined up for you, I hope you don't mind,"
Samus quivered and spoke through a toothy smile, "Mind? Me? Never, it's always a pleasure," she said.
"Excellent. I'll see you in the conference room. Marcusson out,"
So much for vacation...
