Crowlus and I wandered aimlessly on this newly discovered planet, the two of us skipping nimbly from rock to rock. It wasn't as easy as it sounds. The stronger gravity was making us work for every foot of distance we put behind us. I was already covered with sweat and Crowlus's beak was hanging open, panting in the heat. We both were carrying canes, but we held them like swords instead of using them to climb.
The planet was as silent as space. Old Bird said the world was still in a passive state, meaning that the life had not yet evolved past primitive plants and microorganisms. There were no birds, no insects, no animals. I felt their absence like a glaring void. There was no sound save for the occasional brush of wind and my own heavy breathing. I jumped in surprise when a rock I dislodged fell crashing off the mountain. It was deafening in comparison to the silence. The crash still rung in my ears long after the boulder had settled. I suppose this soundless world could be considered empty to some, as empty as death. Planets should be alive.
But this place was an Eden compared to some of the rocks I would eventually come to know.
We finally reached a plateau on the mountain. It was hidden, isolated like a tide pool, but covered in a carpet of yellow, noodle-like vines. I looked to Crowlus and he nodded without saying a word. He walked across the field of vines, inspecting it, while I stood where he left me. I did not relax. I knew what was happening next. Without warning, Crowlus leaped high into the air, hanging for a moment like a winged Chozo of legend, and brought his cane down over my head. I defended against his blow in a motion almost too quick to see and rolled to the side, trying to counter with an attack of my own. He saw this coming, of course, and hooked his weapon on mine. He could have pulled it away, but that would have been unfair considering how he was much stronger than me. He let me escape and regain my balance. We stared at each other from opposite sides of the field.
I was getting frustrated. I wanted to impress him by beating him, but I knew I couldn't because I never did. But hell, that's never stopped me from trying.
Crowlus lunged at me again, making his attack very obvious so I could block it. Instead of doing what he wanted, I simply ducked under the blow, taking advantage of my small size, and aimed for the Chozo's ankle. He jerked his leg away just in time, but that left him on one foot, off balance. Gleefully anticipating victory, I brought my cane down hard on Crowlus's remaining leg. He fell forward, about to land on his shoulder, when his knee shot out and connected with my stomach. I would have fallen if a pair of taloned hands had not suddenly caught me from behind.
Old Bird lifted me by my arms and placed me down gently. He seemed to have come out of nowhere, as if he had flown in using the decorative wings he was wearing. "Grey Voice, are you training our Newborn too hard again?" The elder said as he fussingly brushed the dirt off my once-immaculate white tunic. "She needs at least a few victories else she will not develop her self esteem."
I was still coughing from being kicked in the guts. Crowlus ruffled his feathers, causing a cloud of dust to form around him. I smiled and he clicked his beak back at me. Then he cocked his head at Old Bird, as if asking, "Why are you here?"
"Samus-san, I want to show you something." Old Bird said. He took out several documents from his robe and kneeled down so he was at my level. "Grey Voice, you might like to see this as well."
Crowlus came over and peered curiously over Old Bird's shoulder. I squeezed in closer to get a better view of the papers. "Old Bird, what is this?" I couldn't make out what all the writings and symbols were. My face twisted into an expression of thinking, as if I could understand it if I simply concentrated hard enough. It was obviously the schematics for some sort of machine, or at least a blueprint of something.
Crowlus seemed to understand and nodded his head in approval, although he said nothing, as usual. Old Bird explained it to me instead. He shuffled his papers until he found a page with one hand-drawn picture on it, no words or anything. The picture looked something like a robot. "Hatchling, we have been working on this for you for some time now. The research team and I have just completed the calculations needed to convert a power suit built for a Chozo into one suitable for a human. See? Soon this will be yours."
"Oh..." I held the picture daintily by the corners, staring at the rough sketch. Little did I comprehend what reality this image would mean to me in the future. "Old Bird, why do I need a power suit? It's been forever since the Chozo last used these things."
The elder absently stroked my hair. "That is true. But I will not be around to protect you for all time. One day we will be gone, and you will leave to travel far. And you shall see the stars. I have foreseen this. You will need all the protection you can get." But before I could feel too sombre about my predicted future, Old Bird winked at me and said, "Think of it as an early pairing present."
"Gul'Gen!" I cried, using his real name.
"What is the matter, Hatchling?" He teased, his voice laughingly innocent. "Don't you want to raise a nest of chicks some day?"
"Well...I dunno. Maybe, but..." I shifted from foot to foot, distressed. My two teachers watched me intently. "...But what Chozo would ever want to be my mate?" I finally blurted.
Both of them suddenly started laughing. I stared at them, not realizing what was so funny. It would be a while later before I figured it out.
..............
"...est chein to corofarna meri almandeens. Zhe ahshes hagatendo." Aldornis said in a voice that resonated, carrying far to the very edges of the crowd which gathered to hear him.
"...a parting of ways does not truly separate those who are bound by kinship. Such a bond is stronger than any worldly substance." Veaning translated, whispering in Samus's ear. The huntress did not nod in acknowledgement, but discreetly moistened her lips.
"Uman Chozo selebava t'ler eshtina ji puolonuran. Feea leaane co tardaru. Insord ammatii feea unpur." The elder looked very much like a crane with his neck outstretched, eyes focused, and thin beak poised to spear the next unsuspecting fish. He did not actually look at anything, anything material, that is, not when he's this deep in vision.
"A child of the Chozo stands here with us tonight. One whose deeds span time and space. One who risks herself to accomplish what we can not." Veaning and Samus stood on a platform at the head of the crowd, along with the elders and various other assorted individuals. The single human was wearing her power suit, although the helmet was off. Artificial lights were glowing brightly in the hazy blackness of night. But for the first time Samus could remember, the stars actually penetrated the planet's constant barrier of clouds. She suspected that the unusually clear weather was the result of either Chozo technology or ghost magic.
"Yalee, coorraa Metroid histamean a to deb wamonen. Aftin pent just loreen ohn hun. La da Metroid menehir ifaro leaane to Chozo umbrev'ado sharra."
"My brothers and sisters, look upon the Ultimate Warrior who has been returned to us from oblivion. Rejoice in the revival of an old era. And may the Ultimate Warrior watch over the Chozo until the twilight of our race and beyond." Veaning's voice sounded as enraptured as Aldornis's. Her eyes were glazed and her breathing was steady as if she could see the future as well as the elder could. Perhaps she was practicing her own futuresight skills.
The metroid hatchling was resting in a red ceramic bowl, the same bowl Samus had used to wash off its egg fluid. It fit snuggly inside the pottery, it's domed body transparent like a lime-green jell-o with the quivering nuclei inside being pieces of fruit. The infant was comfortably exhausted after an evening of feasting upon gifts of energy. The Chozo had stuffed it until it was too full to go after the local and immigrant fauna, such as the Etecoons and Dachoras, who still kept a healthy radius away from the metroid. Samus was similarly stuffed with Chozo delicacies, some of which brought back fond memories.
The bounty hunter looked upon the crowd and saw more Chozo than she had ever known congregating in one area. She noted several subspecies of bird people, for the ones that hailed from off-planet could differ greatly from their lithe, tree-dwelling cousins. Veaning, Wind Elder, Sharp, and those on this planet boasted extended appendages and long, stiff feathers to slow acceleration when falling. The other races of Chozo had subtle differences, but some varied so much that they appeared to be a completely separate species. For example, the former Zebesian Chozo were a relatively squat variety, with stubby, form-hugging feathers and a hooked, downwards pointing beak. The Tallon Chozo had small, raven-like heads and a rather prominent torso compared to their skeletal limbs. Of course, none of the Tallon or Zebes Chozo were among the audience, but Samus could pick out others who were obviously visitors to the planet. She spotted six individuals who were twice the size of everyone around them, and she found another two whose feathers glowed with a poisonous yellow coloring.
"Gellis tarding Warrior elesher. Elesh'ado kiam." Aldornis sighed deeply, his posture going limp for a moment before it straightened again. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath.
"Let us sing a prayer for Warrior. A prayer, and then a prophesy." Veaning whispered hurridly before taking a breath herself. The entire crowd heaved with that breath, simultaneously paused, before easing into prayer. It was the soft sound of a thousand voices in one harmony, gentle at first and growing steadily louder, more intense. Samus didn't sing; she didn't know the words, but felt prayer rise to her lips all the same. The emotion, the joy, and the hope expressed in those thousand voices filled her with wonderment. Her metroid felt it as well and floated curiously about her head. Every eye followed the child as it hovered erratically, squeaking off-key. But to Samus's surprise, the metroid eventually drifted back and forth in time with the rhythm, and it's cries began to match the song's melody. In a strange way, it was singing.
As the voices died down, the metroid made a B-line for Samus's neck. She plucked it off tolerantly and placed it back into the red bowl, where it meekly stayed.
Aldornis had his eyes closed again and there were two attendants holding his arms in case he collapsed. He might be the most powerful seer in this half of the galaxy, but that doesn't mean the act of futuresight was any less exhausting for him. Everyone around the elder stiffened, all of them feeling the ghosts which came at Aldronis's summoning. Samus gazed around uncomfortably, weight shifting from foot to foot. It made her edgy to know that the air was dense with entities which she couldn't see or feel but had a very real effect on the world. When the elder finally opened his eyes, they had an eerie, glazed look, as if those eyes didn't belong to him. He started speaking.
"En stu ar em ka..."
Samus inhaled sharply. Not only was the language Aldonis speaking different than the main Chozo dialect, but his voice was completely warped. Veaning didn't bother translating while he was talking. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration, trying to decipher the elder's cryptic words in an ancient language. When Aldornis finished, he slumped forward and the attendants grabbed him before he could fall. He woke abruptly, his hackles raised in alarm, and sighed when he realized where he was.
The crowd began to talk quietly among themselves and slowly melted away, off to enjoy the rest of the evening. "So what did he say?" Samus asked Veaning. Instead of responding, Veaning gestured with her beak at the approaching Aldornis, who was now flanked by Sharp and Wind Elder.
"A vision is never as accurate as one could wish." Aldornis began. "And with you being such a pivotal figure in the history of the universe, your future is even more convoluted." The elder's normally stiff neck sagged a little, either with exhaustion or disappointment. "I could not see very far. Like any prediction, your future could shift with a sigh of wind or a change in tide."
"I trust your premonitions. Tell me what you can." Samus said, mostly to reassure the old Chozo. She wasn't overly eager to hear what he had to say, for half the predictions Old Bird made for her never came to fruition. And, she hated the thought of any concrete future; her life was not a closed path devoid of crossroads. She'd rather think of it as a myriad of possibilities, as expansive and multi-faceted as the universe itself. To dwell upon the fear or anticipation of a predicted future distracts her from the here and now.
Aldornis paused for a moment, trying to remember words he had spoken while barely lucid, and trying to phrase them accurately from an ancient tongue to Universal. "The stars call to you, return to them with the promise of a new Warrior, Mother Metroid." Samus grimaced a bit at her new name. She didn't think she would ever be psychologically ready to consider herself a mother. And it was interesting how, when the metroid hatched, all the Chozo simultaneously stopped calling her Warrior. "A friend not of flesh awaits you. Listen, but do not trust." The huntress's frown deepened marginally. She didn't know many people she would consider 'friends' in the first place. But while she was mentally going through her meager list for someone who might fit the description, Aldornis made his final prediction. "And do not let your hatred overwhelm you, Hatchling."
"No good news, huh." Samus let her face melt into an impassive mask. She didn't like to be reminded about hatred. The Chozo were always making such a big fuss over it. It was her sustenence, an element coursing through her veins as nourishing to her as her blood. She would like to tell them that she had full control of her emotions, that anger and enmity were her allies in battle, but it would only make them sad.
"There is more to life than revenge." Wind Elder said gently. "Try to focus on something else." His hands were cupped like the day he handed the metroid egg to Samus, but now he held the egg's former occupant. He tossed it lightly up into the air, where it woke up and flew in the bounty hunter's direction, landing first on her cheek and then inched down towards her neck.
"Mmmm." Samus smiled fondly as her child chirped and wriggled, tickling her throat. "How are you enjoying things tonight, Warrior?" She could focus on her metroid; it was distracting enough by its own right. "Hey... wha, aaah!" The baby tried to squeeze itself into the narrow space between her suit collar and neck, succeeding only in getting itself hopelessly stuck, half in, half out.
Veaning helped her remove the suit so the metroid could get out. The little parasite shrieked indignantly, scolding the Chozo as if it was her fault it was stuck. Then it forgot what it was doing and blithely floated back towards its mother.
"The night is still young, Defender." Sharp gestured with a hand at the field before her, cluttered with booths bearing food and artworks and machines on display. "Enjoy the rest of the celebration. It is your night. Yours, and your child's." Samus nodded curtly at the elder and hopped off the platform with her infant in tow.
The location which the Chozo had chosen for the hatching ceremony was interesting, to say the least, made of architecture which Samus had never seen before. First of all, the location consisted of a wide open field, rare on this forested planet, with ample space for the booths set up like a fairgrounds. There the Chozo made a show of whatever it was they were willing to display, be it delicate tapestry, an intricate dance, a jeweled Arrist grown from seed, or the latest technological achievement, all were held in equal regard. Surrounding the field were several immense trees, although not nearly as big as Sheltering Trees. They were devoid of leaves and the branches were all of the same thickness and length. What was unique about the trees was that every inch of their surface was decorated with Chozo carvings. The reliefs ranged from abstract, to symbolic, to representational, to narrative. Images chased each other around the cylinder of trunk, sprouting feathers of branches and bleeding sap from insect inflicted injuries. Some were sculpted with the most delicate of lasers, while others were probably pecked into existence by an individual with a sharp beak and a thick skull. Apparently, carving into the tree didn't damage it. Samus put a hand on one of the totems and felt the subtle power inside. It was different from the power of statues, which drew their energies from prayers laid over every stone and tool. The power she felt was the life force of the tree itself.
The night wore on and the flock of Chozo dissipated until only a few stragglers were left. Occasionally, an individual would walk near Samus, gaze at her curiously, and seeing that she was in no mood to talk, continue on his or her way. The bounty hunter stood in the center of the field, staring at nothing in particular, stroking the sleepy metroid in her arms as one would pet a kitten. The whole ceremony in her and her child's honor had brought about a sense of peace and belonging with her odd, bird-like half-family. But as soon as she achieved this feeling, she knew it would not last forever. She was under no illusions; she knew that the ceremony doubled as a farewell ceremony for her. Many Chozo had given her presents this day, such as extra rations, new clothes, a living battery cell, and other items useful for the long space voyages she frequents. When they spoke to her, they wished her luck and wished her health. There was nothing more for her to accomplish here, not when the mission to deliver the metroid hatchling was uncompleted.
The next morning, Samus stood at the docking bay in front of her sleeker, newly painted, souped-up ship, courtesy of the Chozo. It seemed as if the entire planet had come out to watch her go, for feathered individuals stood on every surface and perched on every tree, leaving only enough room for the hunter class gunship to lift off. The three elders and Veaning came up one by one to ritualistically brush their beaks against Samus's face, the pointed tips resting for a moment on her nose as a gesture of farewell.
"Sister..." Veaning said as her gem-like orbs of eyes stared into pale blue human ones. "Do not forget. When you face hardships, remember that you are no longer alone."
The huntress smiled, nodding once with her eyes closed. When she opened them, she saw that the metroid had shoved Veaning slightly to the side, fighting to be in its mother's line of vision. It squeed for attention.
"You bully." The mother said tolerantly. "Of course I haven't forgotten you."
Veaning pecked the metroid's rubbery flesh, both wishing it goodbye and nudging it gently away. The little parasite didn't know how to react to the gesture and wandered off, peeping in mild confusion. It followed Samus as she ascended to the open hatch of her ship and squeezed itself against her when a chorus of Chozo voices sang their final farewell. Human and metroid watched from the cockpit window as the gathering shrank from view, watching until the planet that had once sheltered them became lost in the perpetual darkness of space.