Rodriguez continued laying there for a minute or so, shaking uncontrollably. Slowly, he felt his sickness ebbing, his blurry vision returning to normal. Finally, he managed to stand up, leaning on his desk. There was no sign of Aran or either of the two crew members.
Suddenly, one of his attendants came bursting in. "Sir! I heard a crash! Are you - ?"
Rodriguez grabbed ahold of the man's shirt. "Order a bioscan for X Parasites. Now." His voice was even, but just barely.
"Sir…?"
"I SAID NOW!" Rodriguez screamed, throwing the man back. Startled, the attendant retreated to do as he was told.
Rodriguez bent down and picked up the now-empty syringe, nervously glancing at the spot on his arm where he had injected it. He had kept the Metroid DNA on his desk for safe-keeping, to ensure that nobody ever found out about it. He had been planning to dispose of it once the Metroid breeding project was well underway, but he wouldn't have to worry about that now…
His thoughts turned to the crew members. All of them were probably infected. They could be spreading X Parasites like the plague now that they had access to the Federation capital…
He glanced toward the comm device. With luck, the epidemic hadn't spread to the security team yet…
"Security," he called into the device.
"What is it, sir?" a voice responded. Rodriguez prayed with all his might that this would work.
"I want the Galactic Federation capital to be placed under total lockdown. NOBODY is to enter or exit until I say otherwise. I repeat, NOBODY. Lock down all the entrances and exits. "Any and all openings must be COMPLETELY sealed off. This is an emergency. Do I make myself clear?"
"Affirmative, sir," the guard responded.
Rodriguez sighed in relief as he received word that his orders had been carried out. Now, there was the issue of rounding up everybody who WAS infected…
The attendant then returned, his face pale.
"Sir…I ran the scan. One eighth of the complex has been infected with X Parasites, and they're spreading. Fast."
He looked positively terrified.
"Which sector are most of them in?" Rodriguez demanded.
"Sector 7, sir," the attendant responded. Rodriguez was already on his way to the comm device.
"Security! I want all routes to Sector 7 completely and totally sealed off ASAP! The lives of everybody in the capital complex are at stake here!"
"Right away."
The attendant frowned. "Sir, not all of them are in Sector 7. There are a number of them all over the facility. They can just multiply and spread until they've taken over the entire capital."
"That's where I come in," Rodriguez muttered.
"What?"
Rodriguez looked over at the attendant. "Give me a list of every single infected person in the facility as of right now, then broadcast an announcement to keep clear of them. I'll handle them myself."
The attendant gaped at the president. "You can't be serious! They'll infect you just like everybody else!"
"I know what I'm doing," Rodriguez snapped. "Now go before they infect more people."
Hesitating for a moment, the attendant ran back to the room to compile the list.
Rodriguez headed over to a storage room, located in the back of his office. He kept a variety of personal belongings that couldn't fit in his desk in there.
He gazed at the Federation armorsuit that he had used during his time in the military. It had been nearly twenty years…he hoped he still could fight efficiently.
He strapped himself into the armorsuit. Glancing around, he set his sights on an insect on the other side of the office. He aimed, and fired.
The insect was hit dead-on.
Rodriguez grinned. "I've still got it," he chuckled.
The attendant came racing back with a piece of paper in his hand. "There are about fifty people on there," he said, panting for breath. "I've also broadcast a warning that all of them are infected, just like you asked me to," he added.
Rodriguez nodded, his eyes scanning down the list. All of them were important generals and politicians. The X had chosen their targets well. Under different circumstances, they could have easily organized a coup and overthrown the government from within.
Rodriguez perused his mind, trying to see if there was anything he had forgotten. He couldn't think of anything.
"I'll be back," he promised the attendant before jogging off to confront the X Parasites.
On his way there, he thought about what he would do with the ones trapped in Sector 7. He could just wipe them all out, but…this was the perfect opportunity to study them up close that he had been waiting for. Perhaps it was best to keep them alive…yes, that's what he would do.
The ones who were roaming the capital, though, would have to die.
-=-=-
Samus wearily returned to Tourian, White Voice and Ashen Feather greeting her.
"Excellent work out there, Samus," Ashen Feather said. White Voice nodded his agreement.
"I let Ridley get away, though," Samus muttered angrily. "I could've finished him off for good this time."
Ashen Feather shook his head. "We both know that's not true, Samus. The Space Pirates probably would have just cloned him like they always do."
The bounty hunter sighed and nodded. "I guess you're right."
Mother Brain's eye approached. "You may have triumphed, but just barely. Without Lord Ridley's attack on the SA-X, you would have been defeated."
White Voice's eyes widened at Mother Brain's usage of the phrase "Lord Ridley", but neither Samus nor Ashen Feather seemed to notice Mother Brain's slip-up.
"In the future, you should be more careful, whether you're fighting an SA-X, Ridley, or both."
It was not lost on White Voice that Mother Brain had corrected its mistake, this time omitting the "lord".
Samus glared at the computer. "You underestimate my ability. I could easily take either one of them one-on-one."
"Arrogance will be your downfall," Mother Brain responded. "One sneak attack, and it could be all over for you."
Samus grinned. "Sneak attacks won't be a problem anymore."
"What do you mean?" asked Ashen Feather, confused.
"I'm not sure if this is another extension of my Metroid abilities or the result of absorbing the SA-X, but I can sense the presence of life-forms for quite some distance around…I'd estimate approximately half a mile. In addition to that, I can specifically identify X Parasites."
Ashen Feather blinked. "That's…that's quite the power you have there, Samus."
She nodded. "It'll definitely come in handy, that's for sure."
"Well, regardless of special powers, it's still foolish to be reckless. You need to be careful, Samus," said Mother Brain.
"I'll be…"
Samus stopped in mid-sentence. Her face paled.
"X Parasites. They're coming down here."
"Mother Brain, engage all security measures!"
There was a pause. "The security system seems to be jammed, for some reason." White Voice narrowed his eyes at this.
"Not good," Samus whispered. "I'll have to fight them off."
Ashen Feather frowned. "How many are there?"
"Several hundred. More and more are coming…"
The Chozo closed his eyes. "Samus. You remember what we told you before you went off to fight the SA-X, don't you?"
Samus nodded, a lump forming in her throat. "That I need to escape while you and White Voice terminate Mother Brain. Right."
Ashen Feather put his hand on Samus's shoulder. "Good luck, Samus. I am honored to have met you."
He knew he was going to die.
Samus's mind was filled with protests as she walked away, toward the secret exit from Tourian. This isn't right! she screamed mentally. She couldn't leave White Voice and Ashen Feather to die like this when they had shown her so much kindness, no matter what they told her to do! But how could she stop this from happening?
While Samus headed toward the exit from Tourian, Ashen Feather and White Voice turned to Mother Brain's chamber. White Voice appeared to be in deep thought about something – then again, he always was, Ashen Feather noted with a small smile. He wished his friend could talk, so that White Voice could actually share what he was thinking. But then again, he supposed, there was no point in wishing for what could never happen.
They stepped over the threshold into Mother Brain's chamber…and the door locked behind them.
Ashen Feather frowned. That wasn't supposed to happen…
The bridges leading to the Mother Brain were retracted, as well. What in the world was going on here?
As if it had heard Ashen Feather's unspoken question, Mother Brain's avatar hovered over to them. "You've finally arrived," it said.
"Mother Brain! Please extend the bridges so that we can deactivate you. We haven't much time."
"I'm afraid that I can't allow you to do that," the mechanoid responded to Ashen Feather. "If you deactivate me, then I won't be able to kill you."
Ashen Feather's breath caught in his throat, though White Voice didn't seem to be quite as surprised.
"What?"
"I purposely referred to the Space Pirate leader as 'Lord Ridley' earlier. This was intended to lure you two and Samus Aran to my chamber to investigate, so I could dispose of all three of you. Unfortunately, you and Aran were both too engrossed in your discussion to notice this, though White Voice easily caught it."
Mother Brain's eye turned to White Voice, who glared at it in response.
"So, as an alternative, I disabled all of the security systems to allow a horde of X Parasites in. This would force the three of you to come and deactivate me to ensure that the X wouldn't get their hands on the vital information I hold. It would appear that my plan has worked."
"Not quite," responded Ashen Feather. "You don't have Samus. She's on her way out of here as we speak."
"Is she?"
Ashen Feather opened his mouth to say yes, but he hesitated. Samus was rather headstrong…could she be trying to rescue himself and White Voice before escaping?
"It doesn't matter," he decided. "Samus has destroyed you twice before. She can do it again!"
"Both of those times, she had her armorsuit," Mother Brain responded. "I intend to remove that factor from the equation. Tell me, have you checked your equipment since you entered this chamber?"
Ashen Feather frowned, not quite seeing what Mother Brain was getting at. He glanced down at his stun pistol. It wasn't anything special, a simple Chozo-made weapon for self-defense. Nevertheless, it came in handy in tight situations. He tried firing it at Mother Brain's avatar.
No shots came out.
He tried several more times before giving up and looking at his other equipment. None of it was working.
"A field has been installed in this chamber," Mother Brain explained, "a field that renders all Chozo technology useless. When Samus Aran finally enters, she will be powerless."
"Then how are you working…?" asked Ashen Feather.
Mother Brain's eye gleamed. "Because I am no longer Chozo technology, but Space Pirate technology."
And then Samus burst through the door.
-=-=-
Rodriguez scanned the area, making sure that there were no more infected people in the area. "Do another scan for X Parasites outside of Sector 7. Give me the results as soon as they come in," he ordered over his comm device.
"Right away, sir," was the reply.
A minute later, he got his results. "It's strange…all the X Parasites have disappeared somehow. Maybe they've somehow gotten cloaking technology."
Rodriguez smiled in satisfaction. "No, I don't think that's the case. I think we don't have to worry about them any longer."
"What makes you say that, sir?"
Rodriguez glanced down at his arm, to the spot where he had injected the Metroid vaccine. "Just a feeling."
He began taking off the armorsuit. "Anyway," he said, "we now have a good amount of X Parasites to do research on. Sector 7 should remain sealed off for now, but we can reopen the rest of the capital. I want all the best scientists working on a way to prevent infection from the X so that we can further study and experiment on them. Got it?"
"Of course, sir."
Rodriguez's smile grew. Soon, he would usher in a new era in the Galactic Federation. Soon, the X Parasites would become the downfall of the Space Pirates, Samus Aran, and anybody else who threatened the Federation's rule.
He couldn't wait for that day to come.
"Admission granted. Opening Sector 2 gates."
President Rodriguez waited impatiently as the agonizingly slow doorway opened. The doorway was more than a bit old, and it showed. They'd have to replace it in the near future.
The head of the project greeted him as he stepped into the sector. "President! What brings you here on this fine day?"
What a suckup, thought Rodriguez. His predecessor had appointed him to the job because he was always so supportive of the president. Rodriguez had intended to fire him when he took office, but when he saw how skilled he was at his line of work, he decided, however grudgingly, to let him keep the job. That didn't make his constant attempts to get in Rodriguez's favor any less annoying, though.
"Business as usual, Weran," Rodriguez responded. "We've gotten a couple of new samples that I think you'll be interested in."
Weran's eyes gleamed. "Oh, really? Do tell!"
Rodriguez took out several vials filled with DNA. "I've gotten DNA samples from the Arbezt, the Yizafet, and even the Zaratans and Zapaltans…but I think this last one is what will interest you the most."
He put the others down on the table as he handed the fifth vial to Weran.
"Chozo DNA."
Weran's eyes widened. "How in the world did you manage to get this?" he asked in awe.
"Aran," replied Rodriguez simply, and Weran understood.
"I see…well, I thank you from the deepest depths of my heart for these vital additions to my research, President! I hope to see you again soon!"
"There's one more thing," Rodriguez said suddenly. "In the near future, I should be able to provide you with X Parasite DNA."
Weran's jaw dropped, and Rodriguez decided to leave before the man could question him further. He descended further into the sector to see how the research was coming along.
The G.F.S. Valhalla served as an outpost for the project, mostly where the DNA transfusions were conducted. But Sector 2 of the Galactic Federation capital served as the project's main base.
Few DNA transfusions actually occurred there, for fear of escaped specimens; on the Valhalla, at least, they'd be limited to the ship and there was little to no chance of somebody unintended seeing them. But on the Federation capital, where so many people came and went on a daily basis, it was much riskier. Rather, it served as a research center. The research conducted in Sector 2 would be sent to the Valhalla, where it would be used for experimentation.
One of the more recent breakthroughs was the discovery that it was possible for DNA transfusion of three or more specimens. The resulting creature was significantly more unstable, but they were hard at work on finding a way to fix that.
Satisfied with the state of things, Rodriguez left for his next destination: Sector 16, where research on Metroids was being done.
-=-=-
"What the -" Samus explained as her visor and HUD went dim.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
Mother Brain's eye focused on her. "As I was just telling these two, this was a trap for you," it said. "You've fallen right into it."
"You should've just left like I told you to, Samus," Ashen Feather said, shaking his head. "Then, at least, our deaths would not have been in vain."
"You are too headstrong, Samus," Mother Brain said. "That is your fatal flaw. You do not know when it is best to retreat rather than stand and fight. It almost got you killed earlier, and now it will kill you here."
The turrets aimed at Samus, Ashen Feather, and White Voice.
Then, suddenly, an explosion came from above.
"Space Pirates!" gasped Ashen Feather as they came jumping down the hole that their bomb had just made in the ceiling. The turrets aimed at them, now.
"Ah, the traitors," Mother Brain murmured. "Come to rescue your supposed savior, I see."
"URMSHGA!" they roared as one, and Mother Brain's eye zipped back to the actual being.
"How…intriguing."
Samus was confused, but, oddly enough, Ashen Feather and White Voice seemed to understand what they were saying just fine.
"Up here!" someone hissed from above. Samus looked up, and started in surprise. There was a Federation trooper leaning over the hole in the ceiling. Not just any Federation trooper, either; it was the one from earlier.
The one who had betrayed Samus.
As if sensing her remembrance of the event, the trooper flinched slightly, but continued beckoning upward. "The pirates will distract Mother Brain! You three need to get out of here!"
Still hesitant to trust Wesley, but seeing that she had no other choice, Samus obediently climbed up, helping Ashen Feather and White Voice as she did. Her visor returned to normal as she exited Mother Brain's anti-Chozo technology field.
Her arm cannon immediately went up to Wesley's forehead.
"What's going on here?" Samus demanded, her voice low. "Why are you with these Space Pirates? Did they threaten your life if you didn't join them?" That last sentence was said in a mocking tone.
"They're on your side!" Wesley hissed. "I don't know all the details, but they want to revolt against the rest of the pirates!"
Samus' eyes widened, remembering a certain pirate trooper who had helped her earlier. There were more of his kind…?
"We can find out the details, then," Ashen Feather said. "We've got translators back in the main section of Tourian. If we can manage to get there…"
"That won't be a problem," Wesley said, pulling out another bomb. "I'm in charge of our escape route, so I've got plenty of these. Just tell me where to drop it."
They began to crawl through the makeshift tunnel, and Samus grudgingly followed, still not trusting him.
Ashen Feather had Wesley drop the bomb in the area just above the storage room. A quick explosion later, and a hole was opened in the ceiling. Ashen Feather dropped down, and when he came back up, he had several chips in hand.
"Standard Chozo fare," he explained, handing out chips to Samus and Wesley. "Just put it in your ear, and over 2000 languages can be translated into one of your choice."
The two did so, both assigning the language of choice to Basic, the standard language throughout the cosmos.
"Now, we just need to regroup with the pirates, and we can be out of here," Wesley said, grinning at his companions. Samus didn't grin back.
They crawled back to the original hole above Tourian, and found the pirates waiting there, beating Mother Brain's mechanical eye senseless with metal poles.
Samus resisted the urge to smile and join in, instead choosing to stand aloof from the rest.
"Everyone," Wesley said, "this is Samus Aran and her friends…er…"
"Ashen Feather and White Voice," Ashen Feather finished for him.
"Right. Anyway, thanks to their technology, we can understand you now…"
One of the pirates stepped forward. "It is an honor to meet you, Samus," he said.
"Don't call me Samus," the bounty hunter replied curtly. "I only allow my friends to call me that, and I'm still not sure if I trust you."
The pirate was taken aback. "Yes, well…my apologies. I am Unit 9001, also known as Odius. I won't object to you calling me Odius, either."
"Odius," Ashen Feather said. "You're a Space Pirate. Do you have any idea how Mother Brain became affiliated with your people again?"
Samus was surprised. Nobody had told her that information…
"There's a tunnel behind the Mother Brain," Odius replied. "It's well-hidden, and few know of it. The pirates approached the Mother Brain from this tunnel and retooled her to their liking. I'm not sure if the mind of the High Command member was uploaded to her, but it's unlikely – I don't think they have access to it from here."
Odius turned to Samus again.
"Anyway, Sa – Miss Aran…I'll keep this brief. We are a group of renegade Space Pirates who have become dissatisfied with our lives as members of the Space Pirate Empire. We have come here to ask for your assistance in bringing the empire down. Will you help us?"
Samus frowned. To consort with Space Pirates, to cooperate with her sworn enemies…it went against everything she had ever known. And who was to say that these pirates were sincere? They could be plotting against her, intending to bring about her demise…
"I…" She hesitated.
The bounty hunter looked around at their small gathering. Odius and the other Space Pirates…White Voice and Ashen Feather…and Tarus Wesley.
The Space Pirates, the Galactic Federation, and the X Parasites, Samus thought. That was what she was up against. Could one woman – even a woman of her strength – hope to stand up against all three of those threats?
It can't be helped.
"I'll help you."
There was a bitter taste in her mouth after saying those words.
Odius nodded approvingly. "Thank you. With your help and the Galactic Federation, perhaps we can find a way to bring down the Space Pirate Empire."
Samus frowned. "You won't find any help from the Federation," she pointed out. "They're just as bad as you – your people, I mean. They just hide it beneath a façade of benevolence."
"That can't be," Odius said, a confused expression crossing his face. "They've done nothing but good for the galaxy since their establishment."
Samus shook her head. "The current president is steering it away from that direction. They've been doing inhumane experiments, treating people like lab animals…they've even gotten some of your DNA to infuse with their test subjects."
"And yours," Wesley interjected suddenly.
Samus turned to the man who had betrayed her slowly.
"What do you mean by that?" Samus asked, glowering at him. Wesley wilted at her stare.
"The president told me," Wesley explained weakly. "During on operation on you, they extracted a sample of Chozo DNA from your body…they're intending to use it on Project Werehuman."
"You need to learn to explain these things," Samus snapped. "What's this project? Is it what we saw on the Valhalla?"
Wesley nodded. "It's essentially a project to create the perfect supersoldiers, using the deadliest assets available to them. That's about all I've been told…"
He scurried back to hide behind the pirates, afraid that Samus might lose her restraint.
"Perfect," she muttered, walking over to a wall and kicking at it. "This is just damn perfect."
The very thought of those sights she had seen aboard the Valhalla was enough to make her sick. But now, knowing that the Federation had a sample of what made her the valuable weapon that she was…they could place the entire galaxy under martial law if they managed to use it successfully.
Odius looked around. "I don't see what the problem is," he commented.
Samus whirled around, rage evident even through her visor. "The problem," she spat, "is that the Galactic Federation can make a thousand Samus Arans and put the entire galaxy under their control. With my DNA, they can do everything that they couldn't before!"
Odius seemed unfazed. "So what?" he asked. Samus was about to respond when he interrupted. "They may have your strength. They may have your abilities. They may even have your armorsuit, if they can reverse-engineer it. But there's one thing they won't have."
Odius pointed at Samus.
"Your experience."
"What…" Samus began, but Odius interrupted again and pulled out a handheld computer system.
"2073 C.C.," he read aloud. "The Hunter clad in metal has decimated our forces on Zebes and destroyed two members of High Command - Mother Brain and Ridley. Research reveals the Hunter not to be a male cyborg, as our sources recently suggested, but a female human, named Samus Aran. It is highly recommended that she is disposed of before she causes further troubles.
"2075 C.C.," he continued. "The Hunter has once again disrupted our operations. All research regarding Phazon has been lost, along with the Phazon itself. The rebuilt Ridley has once again been incapacitated, as well. She is quickly becoming more than just a thorn in our side; if we are to achieve galactic domination, we must either kill or subvert her.
"2076 C.C. Three times, now, the Hunter has defeated us. In our debilitated condition, we were barely even a match for her. It has become clear that she will not be easily murdered; we must resort to our second option: to subvert her.
"2077 C.C. Even the subversion of the Hunter failed! The means were available to us, yet still we could do nothing to her! Some are beginning to wonder if she is some undefeatable goddess, incarnated into mortal flesh. No matter what she is, the damages done to us go beyond anything she has caused before. All of our Metroids are killed, all the Phazon in the universe has been eradicated, and Ridley, reanimated once more, has been once more disposed of. We wonder if the Space Pirate Empire will ever recover.
"2080 C.C. After three long years of rebuilding, the Hunter has undone all of our efforts in one fell swoop. Ridley and Mother Brain killed again, the Metroids extinct, and Zebes not only damaged, but destroyed outright. Well over half of our troops were stationed there; it is doubtful that we will ever fully recover from this loss."
Odius put away the computer.
"Don't you see? Your strength isn't what has let you do what you've done. Rather, it is what you've done. If the things that are happening right now had occurred before your first mission, you'd be dead already. So what makes these supersoldiers that the Federation is making any different?"
Samus blinked. "You seem to feel pretty strongly about this," she observed. Odius grinned grimly. "I've suffered years of mistreatment from the Pirate Empire," he explained. "I won't have my one hope of breaking free doubting herself."
"Well, then," Samus said, straightening. "You've certainly invigorated me, but we still have a problem: what do we do next?"
Ashen Feather cleared his throat, suddenly. "If I may," he said, "I have an idea."
-=-=-
An unfathomable distance away, three old Space Pirates glanced toward the holoscreen as it lit up, showing the visage of Mother Brain. They put their frail hands on the receiver as the message began.
"We are X," Mother Brain said as yellow splotches appeared all over its form. "We have a proposal for you…"