Chapter 7: Mysteries of The Cryosphere
As she made her way to the Main Sector Transport Hall, Samus had a foreboding feeling that this "rescue" mission would soon become a salvage mission, that there was something very strange going on within this very station. To find Lyle Smithsonian dead was one thing... but now Maurice Favreau was missing. It was no secret that the creatures being kept within the Bottle Ship were dangerous. But most of them should have been a cinch for a unit led by Adam Malkovich. The men within any squad commanded by Malkovich had always been the best of the best. They had to be if they hoped to serve under his command. Adam would accept nothing more than perfection.
As the elevator into Sector Two descended down the shaft, Samus swallowed hard, hoping poor Maurice had not yet met the same unfortunate fate as his fallen comrade.
The Cryosphere was an arctic environment with many of its corridors and rooms covered by thick ice walls, frozen ponds, and dangerous stalactites. The area was reminiscent of Tallon IV's Phendrana Drifts region. And like Phendrana, Samus remained alert to the area's many deadly predators as she made her way through its snow-logged rooms and slippery corridors.
It wasn't long before Samus came upon a dead and petrified creature known as a Gigafraug in an industrial room. Its body looked as if it had been drained of energy. All that remained was nothing more than a shallow husk. A nameless fear suddenly gripped her heart - this creature looked as if it had been the victim of Metroid predation. But the Metroid species was dead. The Hatchling had been the last of its kind. Besides that, Metroids had a weakness to cold; they wouldn't be able to last five seconds in this environment before they froze to death. Samus pushed the ominous thought into the depths of her mind. They're dead, she told herself. And the last of them met its end over my own head…
Samus trekked on until she finally came upon the Cryosphere's Experiment Floor, a large, snow-covered room situated on a cliff. The blowing snow obstructed her vision. Activating her suit's Scan Visor, Samus began to actively search the room for signs of Maurice Favreau.
Target Acquired, she thought gravely.
It was just as she feared. Maurice was dead. Crouching before his stiff and frozen corpse, Samus concluded that he had been shot through the back, execution-style, his armor having been pierced right below the Galactic Federation symbol on his chest armor. Samus reached out to cup his frost-bitten face; as a sign of respect, she slowly closed his still-open eyes as her voice became a mournful whisper, "You can rest now, Maurice."
Samus got to her feet. "Adam, this is Samus. Do you copy?"
"Go ahead, Samus."
Solemnity entered her controlled voice. "I'm inside the Experiment Floor. I found Maurice. Subject is confirmed dead after further inspection. Cause of death is most likely small arms fire sustained at point blank range; if the shot didn't kill him, it's more than likely hypothermia would have sooner or later. Chest armor has been compromised in the back and chest, suggesting he was killed execution-style... You have my sympathy, Commander Malkovich."
Despite the unexpected - and unfortunate - turn of events, including the deaths of two of his men, Adam's calm and almost emotionless demeanor was reminiscent of the unfortunate incident with Ian. Nothing got through. Nothing got out. "Understood, Samus... Continue your investigation."
To anyone else, he would have seemed almost robotic and unfeeling. But to Samus, who more or less knew the man beneath the gruff exterior, she knew the loss of Maurice and Lyle was damn near eating him up inside. Just like it had when he lost Ian. Losing a soldier was very much like losing a brother. And knowing Adam, Samus figured it would be several years before he grieved for his lost men, as well. That was just the kind of person Adam was. A man bound to the duties and lifestyle of a warrior, with no time for tears or emotion.
Much like herself.
"Samus, proceed with caution." Adam advised after a moment of tense silence.
Almost as soon as he said that, Samus felt a sudden presence. The Mystery Creature, come to ambush her again? She stepped lightly as she readied her Arm Cannon. With her visibility hampered due to the snow, she knew she had to exercise extreme caution, as anyone or anything could use the icy fog to their advantage. To be extra careful, Aran activated her Thermal Visor and continued to tread lightly. The snow crunched underneath her feet. With every step forward, she could identify the dark silhouette of a building overseeing the Experiment Floor.
And... something else. Using her Thermal Visor's magnify feature, Samus spotted a high temperature signature some distance away; upon further inspection with her Scan Visor, Samus identified the heat signature to be a young blond woman, her hands pressed against the window of the building; her expression immediately became one of alarm upon being seen. The mysterious girl fled her point of observation, having likely going deeper into the building.
Samus relayed her sudden discovery. "Adam, I think I've located that survivor Maurice mentioned. She just took off. I'm tracking her as we speak."
"Good. Remember, she's probably very scared, so treat the situation with care. We don't want to lose her."
It was tough breaking through the snow drifts, but Samus finally made it into the structure, which was labeled as the Materials Storehouse. Inside, Samus was only able to catch a glimpse of the frightened young girl as she dashed around the corner into the warehouse. Once in the warehouse, Samus keenly listened for footsteps as she moved through the maze of large steel crates.
"Don't come near me! I know why you're here!" cried the young woman.
Samus kept moving. Her voice remained calm as she called back to the frightened woman. "You don't understand. I'm here to secure your safety."
But their game of cat and mouse only continued further into the massive storage facility. And soon, there was no where left for the scared mouse to run; Samus was able to catch her first real look at the frightened survivor. Straight, long blond hair with a simple beret pinned on one side. A youthful and vibrant face. Ice blue eyes. She was wearing a white lab coat, dark, collared shirt, pink capris and simple pink shoes, hardly appropriate clothing for the chill of the Cryosphere. The scared expression on her face reminded Samus of a frightened child.
Her voice trembled as she backed up, "Y-you're lying! I know the Federation wants to silence everyone who knows about our research here!"
The blond woman ran to a nearby terminal in a last ditch attempt to escape the bounty hunter. Her voice continued to tremble as she pounded the door mechanism, hoping the large door - and her only way out - hadn't frozen shut yet. "Besides, how can you expect me to trust you when your soldiers are willing to kill each other? What makes you any different?"
Samus attempted to reason with the hysterical woman. "Relax. Take a deep breath. I am not affiliated with the Galactic Federation - I'm an independent bounty hunter. I'm here to secure your safety and the safety of any other survivors here. Just relax."
The woman calmed just a little bit. She wasn't trembling anymore, at least. With her body posture relaxing, Samus took the initiative and stepped forward, but was quickly stopped when sudden, bright spotlights appeared on the wall and a loud engine sounded behind her.
Fearing for her own safety, the blond woman took refuge behind Samus as she spun around to confront the sounds of danger, her Arm Cannon pointed straight in front of her. A large steel crate thrust toward Samus and the young woman seemingly on its own; Samus quickly pushed the young girl away from the approaching crate, only to jump out of the way herself immediately afterward. The large steel crate crashed into the frozen door, weakening it.
Samus fixed her attention on her attacker, a large vehicle known as the RB176-Ferrocrusher.
And it was being driven by a person wearing a Galactic Federation Power Suit...