Chapter 15: Aftermath

Inside the medical bay of her Gunship, Samus lay on the small exam table while Adam took inventory of her injuries in spite of his own. In addition to the bruises and lacerations she had sustained during her battle against Ridley, a lengthy diagonal swath extended from her left breast to her hip where the queen had slashed her, and though clotting had already begun, parts of the piercing laceration still wept thin rivulets of blood onto the stainless steel table. Her Zero Suit, tattered and torn, was caked in both dry and fresh blood, and he knew it would need to be removed at least partially in order for him to gain a concise evaluation of her injuries.

"Samus, I need to get you out of your suit to properly analyze the extent of your injuries." he stated gently, "Are there any objections to this?"

"No. None." Samus replied hoarsely before adding, "But I'll be fine – you're the one who should be sitting here right now, not me. I couldn't help but notice you wincing earlier when we were in the Control Center."

"Understood." Adam replied calmly, "And don't worry. I've been through worse." he added before reaching behind the hunter's back to unzip the skin tight body suit, only to slowly pull it down to her hips, revealing the mercenary's svelte, athletic – battled ravaged – form beneath and take in the extent of her injuries, the magnitude of which would have surely been mortal to a mere human. Her body was covered in various shades of bruising, puncture wounds and scars that served as painful reminders of what she'd been through to get to this point in her life. The dangers, the near-death experiences, the traumas she'd sustained in order to keep the galaxy at peace. Adam briefly checked the injuries he'd been able to dress moments after Samus' encounter with Ridley and the Sector Zero mission and was pleased to find them healing well before redressing them in fresh bandages and moving on to address the deeper wound to her chest and abdomen. Adam promptly cleaned and treated the affected areas before readying the body scanner fixed to the roof of the medical bay to check for any internal damage or bleeding.

Samus snorted, a quizzical look on her face. "Really, Adam? That's your excuse?" she laughed behind the gentle hum of the scanner. "I'm pretty sure I've been through enough shit for the both of us. For the rest of our lives, I might add."

The General looked her over, his eyes shifting between her and the scanner. "While I don't doubt that for a moment, somebody has to worry about you, Lady." he replied softly. "Don't worry, it keeps me busy." As the scan finished, an uneasy sigh escaped him. "So, what's next for you?"

As he asked this question, knowing full well of her occupation and all it entailed, Adam prepared himself for the very real possibility that he would likely never see her again, that the moments they had shared together were merely born out of fear and solitude, not love and the desire for completion.

Samus ran her fingers through Adam's black hair. She could find no better word to capture this simple, albeit unconventional, moment between them. "This." she replied, gazing into his deep gray eyes. "You and me, just like this – but without all the blood and near death battles. Maybe." she chuckled.

For a split second, Adam thought he was hearing things. Then again, he knew Samus wasn't one to deceive others, especially him. And yet, the skeptic little voice within him just had to ask, as his heart hungered for the truth. "What do you mean?"

Samus couldn't help but chuckle softly despite her injuries. She knew what he was up to. "Don't play stupid, Adam. You know exactly what I mean."

"I do, you're right. But, you're the last person I expected to hear that from, Lady. I'm just wondering what changed." he replied before looking over the results of the body scan. Save for a fracture of her sternum, left collar bone and upper rib cage, Adam was relieved to find no traces of organ damage or internal bleeding. "Scan looks clear for any internal damage. You do have quite a few fractures."

"Just another day at the office." Samus shrugged before responding to his earlier question with an honest evaluation of herself. "...I changed, Adam. I can't explain it. Though I initially hated the way you made me feel, I'll admit. I felt that if I lowered my guard, I would forever be looked upon as weak by Grey Voice and Old Bird and a mockery to their legacy. And I couldn't let them down. That's one of the reasons I left the Army and chose to become a solitary bounty hunter. I wanted to be free of attachment because I was afraid of becoming weak. But now I realize it's these feelings – and you – that keep me from losing what's left of my humanity. I guess what I'm...trying to say is..."

"I know, Lady." Adam replied, noticing the look of atypical shyness on the hunter's face. "...And I would be honored to, Samus." he smiled gently before taking her hand in his, knowing full well of the consequences should their relationship be discovered. The repercussions of such a relationship would be disastrous, more so for him than Samus, but disastrous nevertheless. And was the love for a woman really worth risking his military future for? In short... Yes. Yes it was. Because Samus Aran wasn't just any woman. She was his Lady, his entire world, especially now that he no longer had any living family left. She was his family, all he had left in this cold, lonely universe. And he couldn't imagine his life without her.

As far as Adam Malkovich was concerned, he had reached his pinnacle of military service. He had already become the youngest officer to reach the rank of Lieutenant General at the relatively young age of 35, and later to the rank of full General at his current age of forty, had amassed practically every medal known to exist within the Federation Army, and had served in more campaigns than these young recruits nowadays would ever see. The military had, more or less, been the only thing he had ever known for roughly half of his entire life. He had nothing left to prove, to himself or the Federation.

"As soon as you heal. And you will because I'm going to watch you like a hawk." he chuckled.

Samus took his commitment to her well-being in stride, but also couldn't help but feel a bit surprised by Adam's earlier remark. "You're serious, aren't you? About...us, I mean." The bounty hunter took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I'm a bit fuzzy when it comes to Army Code of Ethics, but isn't there a rule against willfully associating with people like me? Suppose they found out about us? I don't think I could live with myself, knowing I ended your career, Adam." Her eyes, intense and piercing, locked with his. "I'm not in the military, so what happens to me over this is no big deal – but you, Adam, have a great deal of influence within the Federation; you have a dedicated record of service, prestige, and a reputation. I know what you had to go through to get to where you are now. Are you trying to tell me you would put all of that at risk... just for me?"

Adam gave a slow nod. "The Federation has had their time with me, Samus. So yes, I guess that's what I'm saying – I would risk it all for you, my Lady."

Samus could do nothing but stare at him. For a moment, she felt as if this whole moment was nothing more than a dream, or one of those classic black and white romance films from centuries ago she would occasionally run into during a fit of channel surfing during her rare moments of downtime between hunting down criminals or missing persons and saving the galaxy for the umpteenth time. The ones where the women oozed grace, strength, dignity and beauty and the men were gallant, handsome, and gentlemanly in their courting. While it was endearing to think about and wish for, Samus had never bothered to dwell on it much, knowing it to be nothing more than a slice of the ideal life she knew she would never have in this or any other life. Protecting the galaxy, missions to dangerous planets and harrowing escapes, that was her life, would forever be her life, so long as she lived.

"I...should be fully healed once I wake up. Shouldn't take long. Then we can see where this whole thing goes." Samus said finally.

Adam became curious as he reached for some Army Battle Dress pads and medical tape from a nearby compartment against the wall behind Samus. Sure he could argue that he'd known Samus for years and knew her unlike anyone else. But he didn't know absolutely everything about her. Even now, he was still trying to unravel the mystery that was Samus Aran. "What do you mean once you wake up? Is that a normal occurrence every time you get injured?" he asked while cleaning the deep claw marks on her chest.

To be fair, Samus trusted Adam. Probably more so than anyone else in the known universe. But even so, she had yet to tell him about the deeper workings of her modified DNA and how it affected her recovery time from injuries. Given the situation though, and the fact that he had asked, she figured now would be as good a time to tell him as any. "My DNA...it extends far deeper than athletics, strength, and my ability to bond with my Power Suit. It also effects my recovery time after suffering an injury. It mainly depends on how extensive the injury is, though. Basically, short recovery times for trivial wounds, and longer times for more severe injuries. It may sound great being able to heal within hours after a superficial wound or common illness, but it has its drawbacks."

"Specifically?" Adam replied while preparing the dress pad.

"While I usually don't undergo a regenerative coma for things like lacerations or contusions, the drawback comes from having to recover from more severe trauma. An example would be during the Space Pirate attack on Norion. Three other hunters and myself were hit by a blast of pure Phazon from my doppelganger, Dark Samus and knocked unconscious. When I came to, they said I'd been in a coma for a month. So you can see where the drawback would be."

Adam knowingly nodded before carefully placing the pad over the deepest part of the wound and securing it with the medical tape. "Right. A longer recovery time would help you, but also make you more vulnerable to attack."

Samus, too, nodded before drawing a shallow breath. "Exactly right."

"Thank you for telling me all this, Lady. That being said, I'd feel better knowing you were aboard the ship as opposed to being here alone aboard your Gunship while you recovered."

Normally, Samus would have argued to the bitter end with Adam, but given everything that had happened, both to her and aboard this vessel, she was simply too tired to protest the General's concern, and merely gave a slow nod of her head before closing her eyes and taking a deep, painful breath. "H-hurry then... I'm getting tired. And once I'm out, I'll stay out – and whatever you do, don't let the medics remove my Zero Suit. It has to stay on so my Power Suit can repair itself."

"Understood, Samus. Now you just focus on healing – I'll be there when you wake up, don't worry." Adam replied before carefully hoisting the hunter into his arms and coming from the interior of Aran's Gunship, only to board the GFMT Hygieia and make contact with the Vixin IV to notify the Infirmary of the incoming arrival while Madeline attended to Samus and kept watch over her as she fell into her regenerative sleep. As the military transport's engines roared to life, Samus heard the ship leave from the edge of her consciousness. Suddenly, everything seemed so clear to her. With some apprehension, she would give this thing called Life a try; it had been lost to her for what seemed like eons. Roaming the stars until she was needed, that had been her life. She couldn't even remember a time where she wasn't involved with some planetary conflict as a mercenary, or tracking criminals and missing people as a bounty hunter; the concept of rest and relaxation was almost alien to her. There would be some serious adjustments ahead, that much was clear. But as daunting as the concept of living a normal life was to her, Samus strangely felt rather exhilarated and eager to accept such a challenge.

With the coordinates for their destination set, Samus and the crew of the Hygieia fled the doomed station. And for the first time in her life, she did so with hope for the new future ahead of her.