XX. Revelations

"Alright." Joanna said. "You've heard our reports. Now lets hear yours."

Lara hadn't seemed surprised that the device was gone, and even said as much. When she was prodded about it, she suggested they get back to the surface, and possibly to the ship, if it was there when they emerged, and that the two should tell her everything they encountered on their separate paths. The two had complied, neither wanting to stay there a moment longer than was necessary, and left as soon as Samus had gathered up the components of her suit and Lara had retrieved the contents of her pack. They took the route Lara had traveled down as it seemed the only one that was even possible to take, all the while reporting to Lara what they had discovered, with Lara not speaking except to ask a clarifying question here or there. They half-expected to run into trouble on the way back, but none came, though the signs of Lara's battles were still there and were now covered by a layer of dust. They emerged to find the ship waiting, Creto reporting their absences to have lasted no more than eighty minutes from its last contact from Samus. Now they all stood on the bridge, Samus and Jo looking expectantly at Lara who was standing uneasily before them. Her arms were crossed and she was staring off into nowhere in thought, her eyes flicking to them, alerting them that she was still aware of their presence and giving an edge to her demeanor which, combined with everything else, told the two women that Lara thought they wouldn't like what she was about to tell them.

"I expected the time device to have already been stolen and activated," Lara began. "because of the time dispersions that seem to be floating about. Such inconsistencies and time-shifting indicated a disaster that could only have been caused by such a device. As we all seemed to be shifting through different time periods, I had hoped we would have a chance to grab the time device and destroy it before we shifted again, thus eliminating the time rifts.

"But it was all rot. Samus activated the panel, we time-shifted, and the intruders we left behind got their hands on the time device. We must have shifted to a time far afterwards. Hence the sudden change in lights and the thick dust on everything. What bothers me most about this situation, is not that we've been jumping to different and seemingly random periods of time, but that we've been doing it together."

The three women stood silent, each chewing on the thought. Samus stared at Lara. Well removed from the Chozo ruins, her emotions had again stabilized and her look had again hardened.

"No." she said at length. "That's not the totality of what's bothering you. There's something you're not telling us, something you don't want to tell us, because it's unsettled you. Something that has to do with what we saw in there. What is it?"

Lara looked back at them and took a deep breath. They really weren't going to like this.

"Since you told me the date you arrived on earth, I've had my suspicions." Lara said. "I saw a connection when I translated the tablet, but I filed it away in the back of my mind. But the more we encountered, and the more I thought about it, the more the connections made too much sense.

"The year you arrived was the same year that Jesus of Nazereth was crucified. He was also supposedly born some time in April, the very month on Earth that Jo and I met. The tablet speaks of an all-consuming and unquenchable fire. According to the Bible, the holy book of the Christian religion, an all-consuming unquenchable fire and the phrase 'He is the light' are both references to the God of that religion and synonymously with His Son, identified as Jesus of Nazereth, who is counted as one in the same God but in three distinct persons, the Holy Spirit being the third. Don't ask me to explain."

The last part she added in response to Joanna opening her mouth for a question. The agent promptly shut it again at Lara's words.

"The narrow way and the way everlasting are references to the way to follow Jesus, called Christ, and the subsequent reward for such devotion. The living waters is what He promises to give to those who follow Him, saying that it will spring up into eternal life. 'It is truth'…well, that meaning is obvious.

"The tablet was found on a Skedar planet, presumably placed there long after the Skedar had been eradicated. I rather doubt they put it there. Yet it was written in at least two alien languages, your Chozo being one of them. Perhaps Old Bird found it and added the last line just before his death, having reached some conclusion about its truthfulness. Then there was the riddle you encountered in the Chozirim chamber."

She hesitated, knowing how this was going to sound.

"In the Christian Bible, prophecy often had double fulfillment, double meanings, if you will. The riddle was: To gain the prize, all must be sacrificed. To know the truth, all must be forsaken. To be restored, blood must be spilled. To attain life, the blood must be pure. For life is in the blood.

"Obviously, the clues led you to know how to activate the statue. But the part about your blood being pure didn't match up. But if you overlay the Bible with the riddle, it makes perfect sense."

"For one who believes in that sort of thing." Joanna cut in, clearly growing impatient.

Lara looked over at her briefly and then at Samus, expecting the same from her. But Samus was just standing there listening, her face unreadable.

"Right." Lara continued, after a moment. "Anyway, the basic belief of the Bible is that man sinned, or transgressed, God's law eating of a certain tree when they were told not to. Basic disobedience passed down through the male to every generation afterwards, thus all mankind is guilty of transgression before, and thereby alienated from, a perfectly good, omniscient, omnipresence, all-powerful God.

"The tenet is set forth early on in Genesis that a blood sacrifice is necessary to atone for the transgression. To be restored, blood must be spilled. But because man is guilty before God, his blood is not pure, thus only the blood of one pure can fully atone for sin. However, because the transgression was against an eternal, infinite being, the transgression is also eternal and infinite. Man can pay for his sins, but because he is finite and sin-cursed, he will spend all eternity doing it in Hell. Thus in order to escape his inescapable fate, man needs a sacrifice that is human, free of sin, and also an eternal being. Since the Bible maintains there is only one true God, this leaves only one option: Jesus the Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God and Man. Because He is man, He can properly represent man to God, just as Adam did. Because He is sinless, his blood is pure. Because is supposedly God in human flesh, He is eternal and thus is an adequate sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. And because He willingly gave up His eternal life by way of a blood sacrifice (the life is in the blood), He can purchase the finite lives of, and thus grant His eternal life to, all who accept it, believe…and repent."

"Well." Joanna said when Lara had finished. "It sounds all jolly well and good for a nice set of coincidences, but I'd like to get to the part where this has anything to do with us or the time device."

Lara gave her a sideways look.

"I don't believe in coincidences." She said in a deadly serious tone. "All the strange things I've encountered, all the religious artifacts and references I've ever uncovered were always hints at a bigger picture. This is not like those. It's exactly what the Bible teaches, often through direct quotes. Even Old Bird's words are too close to dismiss the similarities. There's no bigger picture. Rather, the concept that what the Bible teaches is true, IS the intended bigger picture. That's what bothers me. The whole thing reeks of absolute, unshakeable truth."

"What about the rest of the riddle?" Samus asked, speaking at last. Though, it was hardly the words anyone had expected to come out of her mouth. The Chozo's obsession with holding fast to truth flashed through Lara's mind, and she understood.

"To gain the prize, all must be sacrificed. To know the truth, all must be forsaken." Lara quoted again, "Two passages come to mind, although I am sure there are others. At one point, Jesus tells His disciples, 'He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.' Another passage says that friendship with the world is enmity with God. Basically, the idea is complete surrendering of one's whole life to the truth of the Bible and to Christ as Lord."

"So what about this bothers you?" Samus asked. "You seem to be a woman dedicated to truth…in your own way. Your ideologies seem to be, at the very least, similar to that of the Chozo. If it is the truth, you must accept it. So why does it bother you."

Lara looked at the floor, her body language still betraying the fact that she was very uncomfortable with the matter.

"Because," she said at last in a subdued tone, "if it is true, then that means that we are all under the wrath of an all-power, all-knowing, all-seeing God who created everything and could just as easily destroy it and us in a moment. We murdered His Son with our sins, and unless we are willing to forsake all and follow Him, we are damned to Hell for eternity."

She looked up then, a desperation in her eyes the two women would not have thought could be in her, though there were no other visible signs.

"I don't want to face that." She said. "But I don't want to accept it either. And it's quite clear where I am going if I don't make a choice, because by doing so, I've already made it."

"Well my choice is not to believe it." Said Jo. "It's all rot if ask me and, if you could get your head out of your theology hole for a minute and think about the time-"

"Yes, Jo, I'm aware that we still need to address the matter of the stolen time device." Lara said, the desperation fading from her eyes. "And in answer to your earlier inquiry, I think our coming together, the time device, and all we've encountered was arranged just to bring us to this point of knowledge and choice. We've all felt like there was something bigger than ourselves directing us through this whole thing. You even said as much, saying there was an intelligence at work here."

"I didn't mean…" she broke off, wanting to deny the words but knowing they made perfect sense. "Oh, bugger-all and rot! Forget it! Can we just get back on task here?"

"Joanna's right." Samus cut in. "What you've discovered should not and can not be ignored, Lara. But right now we need to figure out who took the time device and where it was taken to."

"Thanks you." Jo said, exasperated, though a little surprised at Samus siding with her.

"Right." Lara said, making a mental note to address the matter as soon as this whole mess was sorted out. She rubbed her face, attempting to focus. She was also pretty exhausted. Big surprise. "Alright. Let's take stock of who we're dealing with: Datadyne, the Skedar, and…the Galactic Federation? Who are they exactly?"

Samus was quick to answer.

"The Galactic Federation is an interplanetary, interspecies conglomeration that governs the universe, so far as it has been explored." She said in rote fashion. She then continued in a darker tone. "But they've been involved in some pretty dark and illegal activities. And not everyone agrees that they have the universe's best interests at heart. The military in particular is a hub of corruption, though it may go all the way to the top. I've personally witnessed some of their acts, including cloning metroids, those floating creatures I described to you earlier, as well as other dangerous species. I recently had a mission on one of their experimental genetic research space stations, called the Bottle Ship, where they were involved in precisely this kind of work. If the Skedar species had been eradicated in your time, they may have been resurrected by the Galactic Federation in just such a way as this."

"That still doesn't explain Datadyne's presence here." Joanna pointed out.

Lara shrugged.

"That's simple enough to explain." She said. "Any organization can be maintained or even resurrected by any individual or set of individuals. These could simply have been the Datadyne of Samus' era."

"Except that the weapons they were carrying were from my era." Jo said.

Lara twisted her lip. That was a good point.

"Alright. Here's one theory." Lara said after a moment of thought. "The Galactic Federation managed to get their hands on the device. Their experimentation with it led to the opening of the time rifts through which Datadyne came, bringing the Skedar with them…no, that doesn't work."

She rubbed her face again, stretching it downwards for an instant.

"Ugh! I can't even think anymore." She said.

"It doesn't really matter anyway." Joanna cut in, "The device is either with the Skedar on their holy planet, on earth with Datadyne, or…"

"Or at a Galactic Federation star base." Samus finished her sentence.

"Right." Joanna replied. "We're in your part of space, so I would say the Galactic Federation is our best bet. If that turns out to be nothing we can always explore the other two. What kind of access do you have to the GF's star bases?"

"Legal, or otherwise?" Samus asked.

Joanna gave a smirk.

"I like your thinking." She said.

"Samus, I'm receiving a signal." Creto interrupted. "It's weak and I cannot locate its source, but it's coding is tuned to my receptor frequencies."

"Patch it through." Samus ordered.

Audio static filled the chamber, shifting I intensity and pitch.

"I thought you said it was specifically tuned to you." Samus said as she slid into her chair and began to work the controls. "Why are we getting static?"

"There seems to be some unknown variation in the signal associated with its weak nature. I am attempting to compensate."

"Cycle through every filter. Try and find some combination to clear it up."

The static continued as Samus and Creto worked in tandem to clear up the static.

"…Sa…us…"

"There." Samus called out. "Back up to filters five and three."

The static suddenly died down to a low audio fuzz and a single, whispering voice emerged, cutting through the noise and piercing straight to Samus' heart.

"Samus…don't trust…"

Lara and Jo watched in amazement as Samus' eyes went wide at the sound of the voice. Her face gained an uncharacteristically shocked expression as the bounty hunter leapt to her feet and replied in an astonished tone, "Adam?"

The static increased and Samus frantically worked the controls.

"Creto!" she called out.

A moment later, the static again died down and the ghostly voice filled the chamber.

"Samus…don't trust him…making alliance…seeking metroids…long as I can…get here fast…were right…more to it…stop to it…objections…"

The static increased and Creto spoke before Samus had a chance to react.

"I'm sorry, Samus, but I've lost the signal."

Samus slammed her hand down onto the console

"Friend of yours, I take it?" Lara inquired.

Samus breathed out a breath, allowing her frustration to pass for the time being, understanding their circumstances.

"Commander Adam Malcovich." Samus replied in a steady tone. "He was my former commanding officer when I was a soldier in the Galactic Federation armed forces. He was also a close friend."

"Was?" Joanna asked.

"He died on the Bottle Ship mission." Samus replied matter-of-factly, "Which explains the static and the weak, shifting signal. It was probably coming from and through several time rifts. But it's not right."

"What's not right?" Jo asked.

Samus turned around to face them.

"I've never received any such transmission from him." She said. "If he sent it, it would have to have been from some time in the past, but how could it be if he never sent it?"

"Maybe that's just it." Jo suggested. "Maybe it got sent, but got lost in the time rifts and never got to you."

Samus shook her head.

"I saw him moments before he died." She said. "He never mentioned it. And it didn't sound like it was something that was unimportant."

Lara rubbed her face.

"Let's just figure it out later." She said. "I assume he had someplace where he was regularly stationed?"

Samus nodded.

"GF main headquarters, planet Daiban." She confirmed.

"Good." Lara replied. "That sounds like as good a place as any to start searching for the time device, or any information on it."

"Agreed." Samus replied. "I'll lay in a course-"

"Hold it." Joanna said, drawing both women's attentions. "Look, no one is in more of a hurry to get this thing done and over with than me, but we've all been through some pretty harsh stuff in the last…well, we've just had to fight off an army of soldiers and walking death statues. I'm for getting some rest before we head into another fray."

"Hmph." Lara replied, moving away. "I'll second that."

She walked over to her former resting spot and took up her former position, sliding her glasses over her eyes and allowing her head to drop.

"Agreed." Samus replied, and she too headed off to her small bedroom in the back of the ship. The words, though sound, sounded uncharacteristic of Joanna and Samus suspected there was something behind them. But she had learned how sharp the young woman was. She probably made that comment about the Chozirim just to prod at her. She wouldn't do anything to let her know of her suspicions. A simple command for Creto to keep tight surveillance on her once she was inside her bedroom would be well enough. Besides, Joanna had been telling the truth. They did all need some rest. If her history with Galactic Federation was any indicator, they weren't anywhere near approaching safe waters.

Her door secure, Samus issued the order to Creto, and then lay down on her bed. Resting in the fact that her advanced ship would alert her of any danger, and that with her suit reactivated, she would have no trouble fending off most anything that came at her, she allowed her drowsy mind to drift slowly into her dreams.

Before Samus' door slid shut, Lara was already snoring. Joanna looked around the bridge.

"Guess I'll take the chair." She said to no one in particular.

She walked over and swiveled it around to face her. It wasn't a particularly welcomed prospect, but it was padded and looked comfortable enough. Plopping down, she swiveled around to face the control panel and windshield that acted as a viewscreen. Odd as it was, she didn't feel particularly tired, but nonetheless resigned herself to relaxing, and sleeping if she could. She allowed her hands to slide down the exterior of the chair until they reached the underside. They then flopped back up to her lap.

"Do you play chess, Creto?" she asked aloud.

There was no answer. Rolling her eyes and crossing her arms in response, Joanna mumbled out, "Figured as much."

She then crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and sat back, allowing herself to settle into an uneasy sleep.