EPILOGUE
An aged, tired-looking old man stared down at the abandoned settlement. Vegetation was beginning to reclaim its lost territory; the old homes now harbored only leaves and vines. But, as if repulsed by it, no plants grew in one specific area, marked by irremovable burn marks.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Adam glanced down from his vantage point on a tree branch. The familiar face of a Space Pirate, almost as wrinkled as his own, greeted him. He raised his hand half-heartedly in greeting.
"Mind if I come up?" Odius asked. Without waiting for a response, the former High Commander hauled himself up next to Adam.
In silence, they stared across the landscape for several minutes before Odius finally said something else.
"You were probably the closest thing she ever came to loving someone, you know."
Adam took a sidelong glance at the pirate. "Don't be crazy," he replied.
Odius shook his head. "I mean it. I may not have known her for as long as you did…but I could tell. If there was one person in the universe that she would love…it would be you."
Adam sat there quietly, an unreadable expression on his face.
Odius sighed and turned back to the view below them. "It's beautiful, in its own way," he murmured. "All these plants thriving here…you'd never think that it was once a battleground…except for…well, that…" He directed his gaze away from the scorch marks.
"…Were you there?" Adam asked quietly.
Odius refrained from looking at the former Federation President. "Yes. I was there."
"Did you…?"
Odius shook his head. "Of course not. I didn't fire one shot during the attack. Lucky I didn't get caught not killing and plundering," he added, laughing uncertainly. At Adam's disapproving look, he immediately stopped.
"What if…" Adam began hesitantly. He glanced at Odius before continuing. "What if things had been different?" He gestured to the burn mark on the ground below.
Odius sighed. "If things had been different, then we'd probably be trying to kill each other right now. If things had been different, we'd probably never have known her."
"Do you really think that?" Adam asked. Odius nodded.
"I don't," Adam replied. He lifted his gaze to the skies. "I think…I think she could have done it anyway. She was special…she didn't need enhancements or technology. She could have done it on her own…"
"You promised you'd never get sentimental," Odius pointed out dryly.
"Sorry," Adam said, grinning and wiping tears from his eyes.
"But it's hard to believe, isn't it? It's been seventy years since it all began…seventy years since the first pirate attack…" Adam commented.
"And how old would she be now?" asked Odius.
"Sixty-two…she was born eight years after the raids began…a pity that so many innocent young lives are born into times of war…"
Adam sighed.
"She told me once that she wanted to return to this place at some point…I don't know if she ever did."
"Maybe it's better that she didn't," Odius mused. "She wasn't one to focus on the past. She always looked to the future."
Adam nodded. "That's true. That's true."
"Do you think anyone will ever live here again?" asked Odius.
Adam shook his head. "No…I made sure of that during my term as president. This is where the protector of the galaxy was forged in fire. It should not be desecrated."
"I spoke to Ridley before he died," Odius said suddenly. Adam glanced at him again.
"I made sure that he knew that he brought about his own downfall. This is where it happened…I just thought it would be fitting for me to mention that."
Adam continued to stare. "Ridley was a monster," he said. "I don't think he was capable of feeling sorry for anyone…even for himself."
"I don't know…" Odius said. "I was there when it all happened, and, before he attacked…it almost seemed as if he felt sympathy for her…even if it was only for an instant…"
Adam shrugged. "Sometimes we see things that aren't really there."
Odius sighed. "I suppose you have a point…but I know what I saw."
Changing the subject, he gestured to the plants. "It's strange, isn't it? It's like they know that the burn mark is a sacred spot."
"Maybe they do know," Adam contemplated.
"Her parents would be proud," Odius murmured softly.
"I'm sure they are," Adam replied. "Prouder than any parents have ever been and will ever be."
"She was an extraordinary woman…"
"Beyond extraordinary."
"Beyond extraordinary," Odius agreed.
Adam took something out of his pocket. "This is the last trace of her," he said. "Once I bury this, it'll be like she never existed…"
"What is it?" asked Odius.
Adam smiled, tears coming to his eyes again. "The chip from her helmet…the one that contained my conscious."
He hopped down from the tree and began the walk to the burn mark on the ground. Once there, he buried it in the center.
"Thank you, Samus," he murmured softly. "For everything."
Hundreds of years passed. Governments toppled, wars were fought, disease raged through the galaxy, and hate ran rampant. But none of it ever reached the surface of K-2L. But the memory of Samus Aran lived on. She became a symbol of hope, and when things were at their bleakest, people would remember her, and they would realize that the darkness would pass…as it did.
One plant managed to sneak its way into the consecrated spot where Samus Aran's mother died and where the Protector of the Galaxy was born.
A lone tree towered above all the others, keeping its silent vigil over the land.