The chorus of ringing ears greeted Samus as she awoke from unconsciousness. Through a flashing Visor shone a bright white light that temporarily blinded her, at least until she managed to move her left arm to shade against the harsh illumination. The Suit had partially powered back up, but large portions of it simply weren't responding. This didn't surprise Samus, who had had to ride out that voltage surge coursing through her prized armorsuit.
What did surprise her was the sight that awaited her when she pushed herself up into a sitting position. A set of four drab, cold concrete walls surrounded her in all directions, capped by a similarly cold and drab floor and ceiling. A large metal hatch adorned one of the walls, this was the only exit from the room. Nestled in one of the upper corners was a security camera, sweeping the whole room and relaying its sight to parts unknown.
The basic movement systems were just now coming back online, and her eyes soon adjusted to the light. It took surprisingly little effort on her part to get back on her feet and walking about, but just as she did, an announcer came over a PA system within the room.
"It appears you chose the hard way, Aran," boomed the baritone voice, "and you still end up in our maximum-security cell. The Federation High Council will not appreciate what you've done.
"Don't even attempt to escape. You're in a double-walled cell enveloped in a blast-resistant force field doubling as a Faraday cage. Even if you did manage to break out, you've got us to fight through all over again."
I swear I know that voice. Samus was sure she knew the voice. Was it someone from her past? Or was it just coincidence?
A different voice picked up, "And that scenario is before taking into account your Suit damage. Nothing works! Almost every circuit in that Fusion Suit of yours is fried. It's best if you remain in your cell and await your trial. There's nowhere to run. There's nowhere to hide. There's nothing to do either one with."
The next several hours were just waiting. Occasionally a system would come back online, such as the Arm Cannon (minus the Missile Launcher), pieces of the navigation and Visor systems, and the blast shield. To try to kill the boredom, she took aim at the camera, then sent a Power Beam shot right at it. The shot hit its mark dead on; were it not for the force field, the camera would have been obliterated.
The same secondary gruff voice replied, "Destructive, aren't you, Aran? Even as your destroying days come to an end?"
Samus remained silent, and so did the announcers. And on dragged the verbal stalemate.
And on. And on. And on.
With the sudden sound of rending metal, a force pulled the armored Samus towards a side wall of the cell. She found herself sliding along the floor, then landing on her back on said wall with an enormous SLAM! As she got up, she realized the wall she was now standing on had turned into the floor. Gravity had somehow rotated itself ninety degrees, and had taken the force fields out as it did so. Well, that's one obstacle down, Samus mused, but it had created quite another. Her suit's musculature hadn't been spared the massive damage the rest of the suit had suffered, it wasn't up to the task of hauling her up through the cell door opening. That very thing also depended on her ability to blow open the door itself.
Another gravitational shift turned the ceiling into the new floor, firmly planting Samus upon that as well. "Okay, what the hell?"
As Samus asked aloud, the door swung open, revealing one of the armored troopers from earlier. With the same voice Samus couldn't quite put her finger on, he called out, "I hope you don't fancy a rubble trap!
Just as Samus exited the door from her cell, both herself and her ironclad savior found themselves drawn straight down the cell block hall to a corner. Standing on a wall once more, Samus followed the mysterious person through the hallways, and as the "floor" wobbled beneath them, the Federation trooper kicked open a hatch. "There's our evac!" he exclaimed.
Samus jumped through the hatch opening, ran a distance away to make sure of her safety, and looked back on what had just happened. Just beyond her rescuer, just running away from the ship as she had before, the ship itself had been overturned onto one of its sides. Before she could look on any further, the trooper grabbed her by the wrist. "Come on! If we get out, we can lose them!"
Samus, following, replied, "Who's 'them' and how did the ship get like that?"
The two of them ran into a trench in the ground, retreating further away from the ship as it took a final tumble downhill into another patch of forest below. Finally stopping, the trooper surprised his charge. He lifted his visor, and the face beneath uttered, "Remember me?"
"I do remember you. I don't remember your promotion." Surprised, Samus could barely react to what she looked upon.
"Well, I was promoted," remarked the soldier. "It's Commander Higgs now. Got my own command and everything."
"Well, good for you, Anthony," replied Samus, with a slap to Anthony's face. "Did you remember the 'Princess' on the receiving end of that command?"
"Yeah, of course I did. That's why I was selected for this particular assignment. They wanted people who knew you personally."
"So they could arrest me for what happened?"
"We both know the Federation's reports of the incident are total bullshit. You saw what happened there, and I trust you enough to take your word for what happened there."
"Then why undertake the mission to arrest me?"
"That was my plan to get to you, to tell you what's up and help you out. Doesn't hurt that I got out of a court martial for doing this."
"What about your men?" Samus asked after a brief pause.
"Unfortunately, I can't reach any of them. There's too much atmospheric interference, and we were all scattered during the fight earlier."
"The same problem prevents me from getting regular contact with my ship." Samus noticed a silhouette in the night sky. "What's that building over there?"
"Central Operations. It's a hive in there now. I don't recommend going in there, especially not in your current condition."
"I know who to blame," Samus quipped. "And a hive of what?"
"Infected," informed Anthony. "Billions of self-replicating nanites that predate our discovery of, and arrival on, this rock. They harvest DNA they come into contact with and eat away at bodies from the inside out. Or at least that's what the briefing told me."
"And the society of nanites, then, is 'The Big One'?" Samus could see the puzzle pieces come together in her head.
"If that's the name they referred to it by, then it sure is. We just call it Dread."
"Adam needs to know this," replied Samus. "Help me find some high ground. The signal has a better chance out in the open."
With about fifteen minutes of effort, the pair found a suitable hilltop. With a wide field of view and relative lack of obstruction, Samus swiveled around 360 degrees as her radio equipment scanned for the communications broadcast.
"Got lock," Samus chimed. "Adam, are you still out there?"
"Samus. I'm glad you got out of there. I was worried you had been killed." Adam had a hint of cheer in his voice, but it seemed something else had mostly pushed that feeling back in him. "Listen, I have a couple of strangely armored Federation personnel right alongside me. They appeared to have been running from something."
"Warmongers?" Samus asked, remembering her earlier scan.
"I wouldn't know who those are. Unless you're familiar with them."
"All too well. Anyway, where are you?"
Adam finished the call just before a wave of interference cut it off completely, "Right where you left me."
Samus checked her map, then turned back to Anthony. "Adam's that way, about a forty-five minute journey." She pointed in the direction her map indicated the last stored landing location.