S1-16
Arrival of a bounty hunter
2:47 PM
12/18/2283
Planet Leviathan
IMC Boneyard facility (Scuttled)
Music
Titanfall - OST 01
Michael was investigating a strange signal in the scuttled Boneyard facility, seeing a crashed ship of an unknown design. He was accompanied by Jeeves, who provided protection from the Flyers with his Plasma Railgun. "[Michael, if we stay here much longer, we might cause the extinction of these things.]"
"Copy that, Jeeves." Michael chuckled, approaching the crashed ship. He heard a faint alarm sound. "Jeeves, I might need your strength for this."
Jeeves put away his Plasma Railgun and started picking up the big rocks while Michael removed the smaller ones.
The ship was eventually dug out from the rocky wall, allowing Michael to enter through the shattered front window, with his Spitfire LMG armed and ready. His first sight was a sort of cockpit, with some robotic humanoid entity on the ground, with a sort of arm cannon replacing the lower right arm. It was composed of a strangely smooth orange armor plating, it almost looked like a sort of metallic fabric. "Must be a security drone. I'll check elsewhere."
Jeeves's optic could be seen through the broken window. "[OK, but I'm picking up unidentified bio-signatures further in the ship.]"
"Copy that."
Michael approached a door, pulling it open with the strength of a BRD-01 'Spectre' Combat Drone... because he used his Spectre arm to open it. "Nothing in he- WHOA!" A few strange creatures came out of hiding. "What... the heck... are those things?"
Jeeves's computerized English butler voice could be clearly heard from outside. "[I'm looking through your helmet visual feed, but I don't have a clue what we're looking at.]" Before Michael could examine the creatures, Jeeves got his attention. "[Michael, that drone is showing activity! You might want to get back to the ship's cockpit.]"
Michael turned around and left the second room, seeing the robot leaning against a wall and trying to stand straight up. Believing it to be a possible threat, the Pilot readied his Spitfire LMG, taking aim at the robotic entity. "Identify programming and directive!"
A woman's voice was heard coming from the entity. "I'm... not... a robot..."
"IDENTIFY!"
"My name... is... Sa..." The humanoid fell back over, clanging on the floor. The robotic entity's exterior seemingly evaporated, revealing a woman in a skintight blue jumpsuit with blonde hair tied in a ponytail.
"IMC HQ, this is Michael W Johnson and Atlas-class Titan Charlie-Zulu Nine-Two-Four-Seven, we have located a survivor! Requesting pickup. How copy, over?"
"Solid copy. IMC salvage team Sierra-7 en route."
3:39 PM
12/18/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Medical bay
Music
Titanfall - OST 02
The woman eventually awoke, seeing that she was hooked up to advanced medical equipment. She looked forward, seeing a certain Pilot through the semi-transparent wall between the medical room and the main chamber connected to about fifty more or so medical rooms. The Pilot entered the room, unaware that she was awake as he checked the medical equipment. "Excuse me."
"YAH!" Michael jumped in surprise, his face hidden behind the helmet. "Oh, you're awake. I did not expect that. Could you please not make my heart skip a beat?"
"Sorry about that. Where am I?"
"You're in the IMC HQ's medical center. You were found in a crashed ship at our scuttled Boneyard facility on the planet Leviathan. Who are you?" Michael asked.
"My name is Samus Aran. What's your name?"
Michael introduced himself with a bow. "I'm Michael W Johnson."
"I have a question."
"Ask away."
"What's the IMC?" Samus questioned.
There was silence for a few seconds before Michael responded. "You're kidding... right?"
"No, what is it?"
Michael tried to find a way to explain the IMC. "The Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, or IMC for short, is, uh... How about I let someone else explain it? I'll go get Spyglass." He left the room, calling the Vice Admiral to the medical center.
"What do you need, Michael?"
"Our newcomer's name is Samus Aran, and she doesn't know what the IMC is."
"Wait here. I will inform her." Spyglass entered the medical room Samus occupied while Michael waited in the main chamber.
4:29 PM
12/18/2283
Spyglass opened the door and motioned for Michael to enter. "So, now that I know about you guys, I guess it would be fair that you know about me." Samus surmised.
"OK, let's hear it." Michael said, finally taking off his helmet.
Music
Metroid: Other M - Briefing
"I'm an intergalactic bounty hunter. I was orphaned during a Space Pirate raid on my home of K-2L, adopted by the mysterious Chozo and taken to Zebes where I was infused with their DNA and raised to become a warrior. Once I reached adulthood, I joined the Galactic Federation where I served under the Commanding Officer Adam Malkovich, but I left to become a bounty hunter, though I was nonetheless recruited by the Galactic Federation on many occasions. Armed in my cybernetic Power Suit, I became famous for my accomplishments on missions others thought impossible. My most renowned achievements are the destruction of the Space Pirate base on Zebes, my role in ending the Phazon Crisis, my extermination of the Metroid species, and my disobedience of orders at the Biologic Space Laboratories research station, where I chose to destroy the deadly X Parasites rather than allow the Galactic Federation to get to them." Samus explained.
"Whoa...! OK, I have a few questions and concerns about some parts of that." Michael said, wanting to learn more.
"What are they?"
Michael listed his questions. "What are 'Space Pirates'? There's no record of a planet called 'K-2L' in the IMC databanks, I should know, I memorized every last bit of it. What are the 'Chozo'? There's no record of a planet called 'Zebes'. Why and how were you infused with alien DNA? What's this 'Galactic Federation' of yours? What kind of 'cybernetic Power Suit' are you talking about? What's 'Phazon'? What are 'Metroids'? And what are 'X Parasites'?" He had a lot.
"I guess I have a lot more to explain."
"Pretty much." Michael wanted to understand.
"OK, I'll answer them in order for you, but just the ones I have an answer to. Space Pirates have been present since the early days of the Galactic Federation. They quickly established themselves as a fearsome force, necessitating the formation of the Galactic Federation Police. The Pirates were notorious for attacking and raiding vessels in one moment, and disappearing the next. The Pirates would also lay claim to planets, establish the now-captured planet as their territory and its natives as their slaves. They were known to be so zealous of their right to rule that they would even refer to themselves as the rightful inhabitants of the planet, taking on the name of the race of the former inhabitants and referring to the true natives as their slaves. The Pirates have been responsible for some of the most disastrous events in Galactic Federation history, such as the Phazon Crisis, and have been responsible for the raids on numerous planets, including Zebes, Bryyo, Norion, Elysia, Tallon IV, Aether, Naishii, Jigrad, and K-2L. Their species is known as Zebesians."
Michael nodded in understanding. "That's the Space Pirates. Now what about K-2L?"
"K-2L is a planet and Earth colony on which I lived at the age of 3, along with my parents, Rodney and Virginia Aran. It was an important planet to the Galactic Federation, as it had large reserves of Afloraltite; a crystal used as fuel. There was a native species known as Rabbilis there, the only native species on that planet, but they were a rabbit-like species; they looked like a cross between rabbits and squirrels. K-2L was 'neighboring' Zebes. I didn't really pay that any mind. While I was living on K-2L, Ridley and his Space Pirates attacked, destroying the colony. I was the only survivor... The Chozo intercepted the colony's distress signal and rushed there, rescuing me. The Space Pirates killed my parents, and I hate them for it."
"If we ever come across any Space Pirates, I'll make them pay for what they've done, personally." Michael stated, popping the knuckles of his left fist.
"Same here. Now, the Chozo were an ancient and highly advanced race of sage-like, avian humanoid beings that inhabited several planets in the cosmos, including Zebes, Elysia, SR-388, Tallon IV, and some others. Countless ruins and technological wonders are littered throughout the many planets they once inhabited. They were a peaceful race, prizing knowledge in all its forms. The Chozo were explorers in every sense of the word, simultaneously seeking scientific and technological advancement, interstellar exploration, and primal shamanistic wisdom. They had an utmost respect of the natural fauna found in every planet they visited, except one: the X Parasites of SR-388. The Chozo often shared their knowledge and wisdom with other races that were equally as advanced as they were, as well as ones that weren't as advanced as them. Another defining trait of the Chozo culture is the balance between technology and spiritualism. Many of their structures were built from stone, although they were capable of using far more complicated materials and building techniques. This is most prevalent in the crafting of their statues, which seem to be present in all Chozo colonies. This form of art was considered a sacred process, reserved only for Chozo with a lifetime of experience in such things."
"Huh. Spyglass, is this going on record?"
"All of it, on a separate record. Please, continue."
"Wait! I just remembered my ship, I think I've got all that information stored on the computer." Samus said.
"We are having difficulties in accessing the ship's computer as the ship itself is heavily damaged. Follow me." Spyglass ordered.
5:18 PM
12/18/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Hanger bay 5
Music
Titanfall - OST 03
The trio ended up in a massive garage, filled with Drop Ships, Widows, and Carriers, including the IMS Sentinel MK2. There was a large ship in the corner, with a purple exterior and a light blue window with the massive hole broken through the left side. Marvins were hard at work attempting to repair the ship, unfortunately making little-to-no progress.
"We do not know what could render your ship in such a catastrophic condition, but we will require your assistance in either repairing it or recovering anything of use." Spyglass stated.
"Let's head inside. I can access the ship's computer from there." Michael and Spyglass followed Samus into the ship through a hatch in the bottom of it that was pulled open by a Spectre.
The interior was still sparking from the severe damage, with panels having fallen from the walls and ceiling, and loose cables everywhere.
Samus led the two to the ship's cockpit, where the computer was located. "Now, I should get Adam out of here."
"Huh?" Michael was confused.
"Adam died on the Bottle Ship, but his mind was uploaded into my ship's computer. I'll get him out." After a bit of digging, Samus got to a small compartment in the base of the ship's computer, with the computer acknowledging this action and ejecting a small device which Samus pulled out.
"Is the computer's AI- uh... Adam in that thing?" Michael asked.
"Yeah, he's in here."
"Perhaps we can provide a specially modified BRD-01 'Spectre' Combat Drone for installation."
"Thank you. I think that'll be a big help."
5:41 PM
12/18/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Technical development laboratories
With Samus's help, the AI within the recovered CPU was transferred to a customized Spectre. "Good to see you again, Lady." The newly installed AI greeted.
"Is that Adam's nickname for you?" Michael chuckled.
"My past has left me with an uneasy soul, and as a result, it touched me on some level that he would acknowledge that past by calling me something delicate, like 'Lady'." Samus explained.
"I see. Well, it's an honor to meet you, Adam Malkovich." Michael extended his prosthetic hand as the modified Spectre, inhabited by the AI that is Adam Malkovich, returned the gesture with a handshake.
Music
Metroid: Other M - Title Screen
"The Galactic Federation is not what it once was. They've been hunting Samus down ever since she destroyed the BSL Research Labs. She did the right thing, but now she's the Galactic Federation's most wanted."
"How is that the right thing?" Michael questioned.
"If she didn't destroy the BSL, and SR-388, the X Parasites would absorb the memories and knowledge of the Galactic Federation, then spread and absorb everything. All life would be assimilated."
"OK, that's a VERY good reason."
Spyglass then stepped in. "Agreed. Samus Aran, for your acts of heroism, I hereby place you under the protection of the IMC."
"You can read up more about the IMC, then you can decide if you want to join our ranks or not. Until then, you will be allowed to stay here as long as you like." Michael added.
"Thank you, both of you." Samus was touched by Michael's desire to protect those who rightly deserve it.
"And Adam? Same with you, and you can once again become a Commander, giving orders to your squad from HQ."
"It'll be good to be back." Adam stated, saluting the Pilot.
"Right. Samus, if you decide to become a Pilot, you can create your very own Titan."
"What's a Titan?" Samus asked.
"You'll read about that while reading up about the IMC. You can also learn some new skills in one of the IMC's Training Pods, if you decide to join our ranks."
"We'll see what happens." Samus stated. No promises.
"OK. You choose what you want to do. Same with you, Adam. Oh yeah, Samus, what are those creatures I found on your ship?" Michael questioned, recalling the strange alien life forms.
"Those creatures are Etecoons and Dachoras. In the past, they've helped me unleash abilities I didn't know I had. The Dachoras taught me the Shinespark, an ability I can use with my Speed Booster. The Etecoons taught me how to jump from wall to wall to reach great heights. The Etecoons are the blue, monkey-like creatures, and the Dachoras are the ostrich-like animals."
"Now I know what they are and which is which. Since they helped you, we'll take good care of them."
9:53 PM
12/18/2283
Planet Vez-2 - IMC HQ
Briefing room
Music
none
"I'm ready to make a decision." Samus stated.
"As am I." Adam added.
"Let's hear it." Michael was standing by.
Music
Metroid: Other M - Samus Appearance Fanfare
"We'll join the IMC's ranks." Samus and Adam had joined the IMC.
"Very well. Welcome to IMC squadron Eagle-Eye 9-1, Pilot Samus Aran. Your first mission will be in two days. In the meantime, you may acquire your skills in the Hammond Pilot Certification Simulator, and you can train with other Pilots in the War Games simulation." Spyglass briefed her in on her new task.
That was the most I've ever had any single character explain anything! I'm actually surprised.
Anyway, give a humble greeting to IMC Pilot and now former-bounty hunter Samus Aran. She does not fight for profit, if any of you are thinking that. She's not in it for the money. (This goes for those of you who are unlucky enough not to know about Samus Aran.)
We'll soon see how well she does in the Training Pod and in the War Games simulation.
See you next time.