Chapter 4

"Behind closed doors, the Galactic Federation was trying to create a special forces unit composed of bioweapons. They were attempting to model it after the Space Pirates, with the zebesians at the center."

Samus listened as the girl spoke. "But… because of a certain… presence… the life forms became ferocious. We were no longer able to control them."

By a certain presence, she must've meant Ridley.

"So you sent out the distress signal even though it endangered your life?" said Samus. "I had to," Madeline replied. "I felt that there was a real danger here that if left as is, the zebesians would continue to evolve and become real Space Pirates."

If what she said was true, then the risk of withholding information to protect herself was too great, surely. And yet, wasn't she the one who set the facility's system to self-destruct? In silence I praised her courage and sense of responsibility. At the same time, her argument had some holes.

Say that the zebesians, under Ridley's influence, became super-aggressive. Would that really lead to the resurrection of the Space Pirates? Without a malevolent force to lead them down that path, wouldn't they just continue to follow their instincts, ultimately becoming no more than a swarm of feral creatures?

Regardless, it was clear the Federation was ready to consign it's enormous mistake to oblivion. And that's why they sent the Deleter. And as for Madeline and the others who knew the secret… but wait. There was another inconsistency in her story.

Why go to such lengths at all? Why not just surround the place with warships and blow the crap out of it? Why go through all the trouble of sending the Deleter when you could just blow the whole place to hell and gone?

Samus asked her that question. "Actually," she said, "There was an even more dangerous plan. Come with me."

She took Samus to the computer mainframe and brought up a file. Samus's heart all but seized up at it.

"WHAT?!" Samus staggered backward, a wave of disbelief rising off of her like steam. "That's not possible! The Metroids were destroyed along with Zebes!"

Yes… and the last of them, the baby, met it's end above my head.

"You're Samus Aran, right? The one who eradicated the Space Pirates?" said Madeline. "Metroid remnants were on your suit when you returned from Zebes. They were used to resurrect the Metroids."

Samus remembered what the quarantine officer had said to her that day.

"I gave your suit a polish so you'd be at least somewhat presentable."

"And Ridley in the same way."

"At first, no one could've ever dreamed that the creature was Ridley," Madeline said. "They didn't think it had potential as a bioweapon at all. They raised it as a pet, calling it 'Little Birdie'. Until one day… it attacked one of the researchers and got away. Ridley had played dead and lured the scientist into his cage. What was left… it was a horrible sight." "I saw," Samus muttered.

"But in order to control Metroids, you need the Mother Brain's telepathy." Horror filled her. "You don't… YOU DIDN'T CLONE THE MOTHER BRAIN, DID YOU?!"

Madeline didn't bat an eyelash. "It's artificial intelligence," she said. "We made an Aurora Unit that would replicate Mother Brain's thought processes. We called it MB." "But it was just an Aurora Unit," said Samus. "It wasn't the Mother herself." "MB evolved as it communicated with the Metroids. It seems as though it began to become self-aware. Much like the real Mother Brain. It's really quite remarkable."

I began to see then just why Madeline was so afraid of the resurrection of the Space Pirates. It wasn't that her theory had holes in it. Through the holes were glimpses at the danger that was right before her eyes. If everything she said was true…

"Where are the Metroids and MB?" she demanded.

"They're in an area called Sector Zero," Madeline said. "It's a unit that doesn't appear in any of our map data. It's a place like Tourian, where we propagate and raise Metroids." Samus was stunned. Not only did they have a Mother, they had made a replica of Tourian!

I began to see what the worst-case scenario would look like: the ultimate weapon, the Metroid, would be mass-produced, and as soon as an AU that could control them was made, the plan to create a special forces unit modeled after the Space Pirates was replaced. But as the AU called MB spun out of control, the facility became a place much like the planet Zebes. If the situation were left as is, galactic society could be put in peril. Even the ringleaders wanted to avoid that, but they still wanted the Metroids. And that's why… they decided to capture the Metroids contained in Sector Zero and "delete" the rest of the facility, including the Space Pirates, Ridley, and everyone who knew the secret.

But before the ringleaders could act, Adam appeared. Adam may have known or suspected the truth about the facility to begin with. Regardless, since the ringleaders were members of the Federation, they could no longer afford to act recklessly. And so the Deleter was installed on Adam's team to destroy evidence and kill off everyone else on the team. But having me added on as a member must have disrupted the Federation's plan.

"Madeline, thanks for telling me all this," said Samus. "I've got to destroy the Metroids and MB in Sector Zero. You have to remain hidden. Don't worry, the Galactic Federation CO who's here now will help you"

"Does that CO happen to be Adam Malkovich?" Madeline asked. "Yes. How did you know?" The girl pulled up another file showing that Adam was credited as the creator of the program report. "The real leader of this operation is Adam Malkovich," she said. "I can't believe that he's here."

Samus was silent for a moment. "Stay here until I return."

Samus entered the coordinates to the entrance to Sector Zero in her map. It was in Sector 2, past what the map referred to as the Gravity Block. That was past the room with the dead antler beast.

As Samus was leaving Sector 1, the crustacean that had tormented her since her first trip to Sector 2 reappeared. "No more running!" said Samus. "Your pathetic existence ends now!" All it took was four Super Missiles for that statement to become a reality.

As she stared at what was left of the thing, Samus saw some of it's integrated weaponry was still intact. Samus salvaged some of it and fashioned it into the Seeker Missile Launcher.

Samus left Sector 1 and entered Sector 2, hightailing it to the room with the dead antler beast. After using the Seeker Missile Launcher to unlock a door, she stepped into the Gravity Block.

Samus had barely gone five steps when it became readily apparent why this place was called the Gravity Block. Samus was plucked off the floor and landed on the ceiling by her feet. The polarity of gravity here was reversed. "Damn it," Samus muttered.

After navigating through the frustrating upside-down area, Samus entered a new area. Here she was rightside-up again, but she was also much heavier than before. So heavy in fact that she could barely jump. Finally she made it out of the Gravity Block. "Finally," she spat.

She was in a large room with several floors leading up. Samus wall-jumped to the door, but before she could go through it, something on the ceiling sprang to life and detached. It was some sort of machine, with a rectangular, oblong body and two drooping arms. It also had a sort of "tail" with a rotating cylinder on the end. This turned out to be some sort of gravity manipulator that made her extra slow and heavy as if she were in water. Samus looked at the thing and said, "Even your space-bending tricks won't stop me!"

Samus fired repeated charged Plasma Beam shots at the gravity manipulator, destroying it. Free to move, Samus fired half a dozen Super Missiles at the thing's face, cracking it. The machine reeled backward, and the faceplate shattered to reveal hideous organic mug that was repulsive to look at. It screamed and whined, while trying to fight back, but it short-circuited and plummeted to the floor, where it lay motionless.

Samus went through the door at the top of the room. As she did so, she felt the Bottle Ship jerk and shudder, and heard the sound of it's hyperdrive engaging. Samus frowned and continued on to the elevator to Sector Zero.

The moment Samus stepped out of the station, she gasped. One by one in rapid succession, the lights went on. The place looked EXACTLY like Tourian!

Samus continued on until she came to a darker room with ornate pillars and blast doors at the end. Samus walked toward them.

Suddenly a squeak pierced the darkness. Samus turned around. And there, right in front of her, was a Metroid hatchling.

Samus was stunned. "A baby…"

Samus knew what she had to do. Even though it sickened her to her very soul, she knew what must be done. She would not make the same mistake twice.

"I'm so sorry."

Suddenly, something hit Samus in the back. Samus turned around and saw Adam standing there. "Samus, move!" he yelled. She moved, and the next shot went past her and hit the baby Metroid, freezing and killing it.

"Samus. Can you hear me?" Samus turned off her suit. "I read you loud and clear… Adam." "You know what lies up ahead: the Metroids and the Aurora Unit that controls them. The fruit of the Federation's twisted project."

"Yeah, so what are you doing here?" "I came to warn you about the Metroids," he said. "What?" said Samus. Adam didn't blink. "Sector Zero Metroids most likely can't be frozen." A cold chill went down Samus's back. "What do you mean?"

"There's a strong likelihood that the Metroid's mortal weakness, the vulnerability to cold, has been overcome through genetic manipulation. And if that's true, they'll be much more formidable."

Samus remembered the dead antler beast she had found. "But that baby earlier… the infant Metroid… you were able to freeze him." "True," he admitted. "My guess is because it was still in a larval stage, but who can say? One thing's for sure: they're definitely propagating Metroids."

"Developing bioweapons with an obvious and fatal flaw would be suicide. It's hard to imagine the military mass-producing defective weapons. Then again," said Adam, "none of this makes sense. Metroids are lethal. Their extinction was a wise decision. And now, since few have the firepower to defeat them, they cannot be allowed to exist."

"Hold on Adam," said Samus. "First I need to know why you're credited as the creator of the Metroid military program report."

Adam was silent for a moment. "I received the request to write the report from GFHQ. In that report, I outlined the potential dangers of such a program, and explained categorically why it shouldn't be attempted. HQ did listen, but a small group within the Federation coopted my report for it's own purposes."

At that moment, the lights turned on in the room. "Samus," said Adam. "There's not much time. I found this while I was running down here." He handed her what looked like some sort of chip. "It's a gravity manipulation chip. You should be able to make the Gravity Suit out of it," he said. "I have several new objectives for you. This facility appears to be on an intercept course with Galactic Federation HQ on Earth. If what Madeline Bergman said is correct, there's a distinct possibility that this is the start of an attack by MB against the Federation. One way or another, some sort of attack is clearly imminent. You need to find a way to divert the ship off it's intercept course. I've located a survivor in Room MW, toward the rear of the bioweapon research center. Whoever it is will be a key witness. Secure the survivor's safety. And kill Ridley. He's as much of a threat as the Metroids. And one last word of warning: Madeline Bergman is no ally."

"Hold on Adam," said Samus as he turned his back to her. "What are you planning to do with the Metroids here in Sector Zero?" "Leave it to me. I'll deal with this place," he said. "You have a plan for dealing with Metroids that can't be frozen?" said Samus. "Sector Zero has a self-destruct protocol," said Adam in a flat voice. "If the sector receives a significant amount of damage, the unit is programmed to detach and self-destruct. A powerful explosion will eliminate the Metroids and MB without leaving a trace."

Samus reeled backward as if from a physical blow. "Don't you DARE, Adam!" she said. "Let me go in. I'm the only one who has a shot against the Metroids! We have to take the chance! Please, Adam!" she begged. "You have to trust me! You have to trust me, just give me a chance!" She grabbed hold of his arm.

Adam sighed. "Samus, I wish I could kill Ridley, but I can't," he said. "Unlike you, I'm no galactic savior. But I can save you. Good luck, Samus." He turned and walked away.

For a moment, Samus just stood there, numb with shock. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't just… walk away like this. "Wait!" she cried. "Adam!" she ran forward, but the blast doors closed and locked behind him. Samus slammed herself into the door, banging on the clear denzium. "ADAM! WAIT! ADAM! ADAM! ADAM! ADAAAAMMM! Samus pounded the door, screaming, not even able to breathe. Horror. Anguish. Loss, aching wrenching loss. No, no, he mustn't go, he was everything, everything…

Adam turned around and stared at her. "No objections, right Lady?"

Samus glared at him for a second, then gave a thumbs down. Adam turned around and walked into Sector Zero, another set of blast doors slamming shut behind him.

Samus collapsed to the floor, convulsing, racked by uncontrollable sobs. Overcome with despair, she pounded the floor with her fists, sobbing and screaming with blinding, smothering fear and fury. What could she do? How could she go on? Alone, alone, so alone…

Adam vanished. My best friend. The person who understood me most. The closest thing to a father I had. For a moment, I couldn't come to grips with what had happened. Such a cruel way to say goodbye. I was the only one who witnessed Adam's lst moment, and though it shook me, I was calmer than I usually am. I think Adam granted me that eye-of-the-storm clarity, his final gift to me. There was no time for me to grieve his death, but there was time enough for me to say "Adam… thank you. Leave the rest to me."

Samus turned on her new Gravity Suit and ran out of the room. As she ran down the adjacent corridor, the great doors sealed shut, and the sector detached. Samus ran down the collapsing corridor as the air rushed past her. Ordinarily she would've been sucked out into space with it, like the time she'd ended up in the trash compactor of the GFS Olympus, but now her Gravity Suit prevented that. Samus Made it through the huge doors at the end just as they sealed shut, leaving Sector Zero behind forever.

After taking a short rest at the station, Samus headed back up the elevator to the Gravity Block in Sector 2.