Metroid: The Unofficial Novelization
by Victorio Osaria
Sorry this took more than a year to continue. This was originally part of a larger chapter, but I decided that there was too much going on in one chapter to focus on, so I decided to split the chapter that I was working on into multiple parts. That's why this chapter is shorter but sweeter. Sweeter than what I was going to do, anyway.
Expect the next chapter to come soon.
Chapter 4: Aurora
It had been six months since Samus was inducted into the Federation Elite Police. Since then, her reputation had skyrocketed across Federation space as being one of the most successful (if very destructive) officers in the force.
She battled the Damaran crime ring on Theyiru, ending their illegal afloraltite distribution... by blowing all the afloraltite up.
On Iridia, she stopped the ages-long civil war between the Hitecks and Goraths... by single-handedly destroying the space bridges to their nuclear weapons.
She ended a Ulain terrorist hijacking of a public airline vessel... by blowing up the cargo bay of the ship and throwing said terrorists out into the stratosphere above Norion.
So Samus Aran received much controversy over her actions; she constantly destroyed public property and repeatedly warped the Federation's orders.
"...Officer Aran, we ordered you to stop the distribution of afloraltite."
And I did.
"We did not order you to destroy the afloraltite."
"And you never said not to."
Whenever Samus' constant altercations with the Federation's council heated to a certain point, the now-Lieutenant Commander Malkovich would intervene.
"High Council, you must understand that Samus Aran was the only officer in our Elite Force available who was capable of challenging the Damarans' power. The Damarans have held their grip on Theyiru for centuries and have repeatedly broken several Federation laws with no interference and have warded off our regular police troops like flies. It's not exactly fair to criticize Miss Aran's actions when she faced such dangerous criminals single-handedly and won. And yet your concern is the smuggled afloraltite?"
Samus occasionally just walked away from the Council while letting Malkovich do the talking. She would get immensely bored from all this pointless talking. She completed the mission. It didn't matter how she did it. It was their fault for not putting in the specifics.
She disabled her Varia Suit when she exited the Council building, wearing her casual and (comparatively) inconspicuous Zero Suit; she didn't need for so many people to come running up to her and asking for her autograph.
Three teenagers, one male human, one male Grell, and one female Nadian, held up an energetic conversation as Samus passed by.
"Hey, did you hear about that elite cop that stopped the Ulain terrorists by herself?"
"Yeah, uh... what was his name? Justin Bailey?"
"Dumbass. Samus is a girl! She's been doing this for months!"
"Who's Samus?"
...Samus returned to her ship, the government-issued Strider, and thought about going to see a movie just to get her mind off of her vexation.
The front console rang; the caller ID had Adam's name on it.
She angrily pierced her finger through the holographic buttons, and the three-dimensional image of Adam Malkovich emerged.
"...Sir."
"Samus, we have an emergency!"
"Get someone else to do it."
"This isn't a time for arguments. You have to head to Jigrad right now!"
"I thought the Council thought I was 'too destructive' to be a reliable asset."
"There's virtually nothing left to be destroyed on Jigrad. All the other elite troops that were sent over there have lost contact as soon as they reached the weapon."
"What!?"
"You're the only one left that has a possible chance to retake Jigrad! You have to go there, now!"
Adam rarely ever raised his voice to Samus, so she knew that the situation must have been FUBAR. She punched in the coordinates to Jigrad, putting the autopilot at full speed. Her ship rose from the platform and left the atmosphere in a matter of minutes.
"What exactly am I going to see when I get there, sir?"
"A Space Pirate battalion has overtaken most of the major cities."
"A whole fleet? Why? Jigrad's just a diplomatic hub planet; there's nothing especially valuable for the Pirates to take."
"The Federation has no idea why the Pirates are attacking Jigrad, but we know that they don't intend to take anything; they aim to totally destroy the planet."
"What!?"
"They've gotten their hands on a Corelian-class planet buster from the Regalian Wars 70 Earth years ago. All attempts to slow down the assault have failed."
"A Corelian planet buster? I thought the Chozo helped disable every one of them!"
"They did. Somehow, the Pirates have bypassed the fail-safe programs the Chozo put on there; only those with Chozo DNA and understanding of the technology could possibly reconfigure those programs. That's why we need you."
"Why didn't you call the Chozo for help!?"
"You know how relations with the Chozo have soured since- -"
"Screw that! This is an emergency! Why didn't you even attempt to ask for assistance!?"
"That's... complicated."
"Complicated my...!"
"We haven't contacted the Chozo because they literally aren't available for assistance; all of the Chozo on Zebes are gone."
"What the hell do you mean, 'gone'!?"
"Exactly what I mean. There is not a single trace of Chozodian life signs on the planet of Zebes."
"No..." She turned away from the hologram, staring dumbfounded on the floor. "...Are they... did the Space Pirates... kill them all?"
"No, Samus. They... they just- -disappeared."
"Bull. People don't just disappear, sir. Where did they go?"
"There was no evidence of any attack or intrusion in the Zebes spaceways. It was like the Chozo just vanished."
"How the- -"
"I don't have a lot of time to elaborate on this issue. Too many things are happening at once. I need to handle things from the fort."
"Just hold on a min- -"
"Samus, trust me on this. Please."
She paused. Adam has never said the word 'please' to her during the entire time she was under his command.
This day was just full of surprises.
"...Understood. Over and out." She clinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
Jigrad was an Earth-hour away.
"We've sent enough space carriers and battle cruisers to wipe out the whole Pirate fleet, but... Nothing will get past the planet-buster's shield. It won't matter how many enemy ships we eliminate; that weapon is all they need to destroy the planet. How did the Pirates invade Jigrad so easily? The Federation would have immediately noticed such a large-scale invasion from light-years away had Jigrad actually contacted us."
"Intel from Vothan agents revealed that the Space Pirates obtained a powerful software virus that silenced all communications with the Federation for one whole cycle."
"A computer virus took over Jigrad's communications so easily and so completely? Unbelievable."
"The virus was supposedly Chozodian in origin, originally an anti-virus designed to eliminate threats on a planet-wide scale. It is evident that skilled Pirate hackers have discovered a way to invert its effects."
"Chozodian? Gods, no... Their technology's so alien to even us."
"Indeed. The Chozo were known to have combined their hardware and software with their own spirituality and language. They believed that everything they ever made must also be combined with the wisdom their own faith and understanding of themselves. Even if the reversing of the Corelian device's failsafes did not require Chozodian blood, the best hackers may still find great difficulty in reversing the virus' effects if they neither understand the language nor their own essence. Sending Miss Aran was a wise decision; not only does she have Chozo DNA, but she also has experience with their technology and an understanding of their religion."
"...For an artificial intelligence, you seem to have a great understanding of how the spirituality of Chozo technology works."
"I may not be able to emulate the faith, but I may understand the logic behind such an aspect being used on technology; because many do not understand it, it makes Chozo technology almost impossible to imitate or mass-produce."
"On another note, exactly how long until Jigrad is completely overrun?"
"At the end of the planet's cycle, the Pirates will have destroyed 65.87% of the planet's surface."
"Then... that means the planet will be totally dead in three days at most..."
"Chairman, even if we somehow manage to destroy the Corelian device and drive the Pirates out of the planet without the assistance of the Chozo, which is a 25.76% probability at best, Jigrad will become uninhabitable in a matter of hours."
"I see... so the focus should be on evacuation of the entire planet, hm? Jigrad itself is doomed."
"...There is another way to save Jigrad, Chairman Keaton."
"I... no. That's too risky. How do I know if- -"
"What risk is there? The Galactic Federation can always keep a close watch over Aurora Units like myself."
"Aurora Units are merely supercomputers. What can they do to re-populate a planet and re-create its natural resources?"
"I am no mere supercomputer, nor are my fellow units. With the right equipment and environment, Aurora is capable of terra-forming destroyed geography, return hydration to the planet, and therefore make the planet habitable once again."
"Even if that was possible for you, which I still doubt, doing so would reveal Aurora to the public and result in... in panic, in outrage... it might even lead to another war. Considering your appearance and your origins..."
"Then is it not simple to just keep quiet about our origins?"
"Except it's not that simple. People will find out. People always find out. Aurora has been a tremendous help to the Federation for years, yes, but the mere fact that... that..."
"...Chairman?"
The green-skinned Keaton placed his webbed hand over his forehead. "It's... the K-2L invasion. It seems to be coming back to haunt us. This armada... it's the same Space Pirate armada that attacked that human colony, yes?."
"Affirmative; Pirate ship specifications reveal that this is indeed the same group."
"We blamed the Chozo, our trusted allies for centuries, for allowing their own Mother Brain to fall under the Space Pirates' control. This vilification was followed by their total banishment, of course. But now, the same Pirates have come to possess a superweapon that only the Chozo, with their great knowledge and shamanistic powers, were able to stop decades before. Now that the Chozo are completely gone... our use of them as scapegoats has come to 'bite us back,' I see... What was it that the human Hindus called it?"
"Karma, sir."
"Ah, yes."
"Even so, Chairman Keaton, I believe that the risk of political back-lashing and controversy is worth bringing back a battle-torn world. Perhaps people will care more about our current actions rather than our original background."
"...I suppose so."
Keaton stepped closer to the holographic news screen looking down from above him...
(JIGRAD INVASION REACHING MONUMENTAL HEIGHTS-ALMOST 3/4 OF PLANET'S SURFACE GLASSED)
"...Unit 583."
"Chairman, sir?"
He took out a file from the sliding cabinet underneath his aluminum desk, then he placed it within the computer's slot drive.
"Send the bill to the Federation Legislation requesting for an Aurora Unit to be planted on Jigrad post-glassing. It's not likely to be approved, under the circumstances, but at the very least I'll have the solace of knowing that I... tried to save the planet."
"Understood."
To Keaton's right, a computer monitor two feet long viewed a loading bar, above it the words "BILL PROCESSING."
"Would you like to review the bill before sending?"
"I have reviewed it several times. I'm sure the Legislation will get the idea."
"Understood. Sending bill. Purpose: Approval for Aurora Unit 313 on Jigrad."