Author's Note

Thank you to everyone who followed so immediately, and to everyone who reviewed. Yes, I've seen and read all your reviews, especially the long ones. To those who pointed out a few silly mistakes I've made, I have corrected them accordingly.

I hope that I can do the UNSC and the Spartan's justice, but I will likely butcher their typical mannerisms and what not, since I have very little experience with the military and military situations in general. But I'll continue to correct oddities in my writing if they are pointed out.

Uploaded

09/25/2022

LEGEND BELOW

"Chief, that's not a good idea..." = Normal speech.

''You're you, don't let it control you...'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 2

A proper introduction/Still adrift on the Dawn

Rated-M

M rating for blood, eventual mentioning of gore and other body parts, language, and certain anatomy that hasn't yet come into play...

"Chief, I don't want you to get close to her. I'm not sure your suit could handle her as she is now."

"I'll be careful."

"I know you, Chief. Being careful isn't exactly your strong suit." The A.I. laughed lightly, amusement tinting her tone.

"I don't think I have to worry about her."

"Oh? Why are you so sure?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Because if she were hostile-"

"Which she is."

"-then she would have already come after me."

"She has."

"She showed restraint."

"…"

"For now, I'm willing to leave her alone."

The back and forth between Spartan and A.I. ended at that. Chief didn't need her to explain herself, or the way she was treating the woman. He knew she was concerned for his safety, a concern that was well warranted for his past escapades, and the blatant danger this woman's existence posed.

But, he wasn't about lock her up because she was dangerous. He was a Spartan II, he could handle himself if she got rowdy. His real concern, besides her strange abilities relegated to her left hand, was her currently unused right limb. What it was used for, he hadn't a clue.

Speculation was his only option, and that wasn't one of his stronger suits, Cortana could attest…

However, speaking of the woman in question, he hadn't seen her since he left her alone before. An hour later he'd returned to the place he left her, only to find her missing. Although the light levels in the ship were low, he was still able to pick up discoloration in the walls, leading in a line towards the place he'd found her.

Whatever she was up to, he hoped it wouldn't result in them both getting sucked out into space…

Some time after the warrior left her, she found herself feeling marginally better. She'd given her body a break, allowing it to acclimate to the low level of energy she was running on, before forcing herself to do more.

Although she was weak now, she had no intention of sitting around on her ass all day like a newborn. She could either whine about all her problems, or stand up and face them headfirst.

And headfirst was her strong suit.

So roughly forty minutes after he'd left, she found herself standing once more. She found it a bit easier to move now then before, but she didn't plan on leaving the side of the walls too soon, still using them to support herself if needed.

The man, she hadn't caught his name, hadn't bothered explaining what had happened. He didn't tell her who he was, how she got here, or why they were alone. She knew they were on a ship, that much was obvious. But where that ship was, and the condition of it, she did not know.

For the moment being, she had one goal.

Adam…

If the man had rescued her from her ship, then she was praying her ship was still around. She needed Adam…

Maybe he could tell her just what was going on inside her body, before it took control of her for the worst.

The energy weapon the stranger gave her was enough to make it easier to ignore the Metroid in her mind from forcing her to eat him, but it hadn't satiated her hunger. Not even close.

She shook her head, banishing the mental image of the man her mind had conjured up. Thinking about him was only going to make it worse.

She had to focus…

Walking down the abandoned halls of the ship found her eventually stumbling across an open and empty elevator shaft. From where she stood now, she could pick up a weak signal that she recognized immediately. From here, the only way was up.

Unlike a Federation Trooper, climbing a vertical wall was trivial for her, especially with some of her more recent upgrades.

Her eyes narrowed as she jumped across the gap left in the wake of the elevator. She landed against the opposing wall, her feet and cannon magnetized to the wall, preventing her from falling. Although climbing now would be more difficult, seeing as she was incapable of using her left hand.

Still, even in her state, it didn't take long to reach the top of the shaft. It was through another doorway that she found the remains of her ship. She felt her hope dwindling as she took in the sorry state it had been left in.

It was obliterated. Little functionality would likely remain in it, everything ruined. Across from the floor was a large cross beam, and it was covered in bright green blood. She absentmindedly brought her hand to her chest, touching the old wound.

She blinked, turning away from it. She was here for one reason, one reason only. She pushed her way into the wreckage that was once the cockpit, searching for the main computer.

Everything was destroyed, the systems pulled from their mounts and thrown to the sides. She forced her way past the rubble, deep into the confines of her ship.

There she found it.

Her shoulders slumped, body filled with relief. "Adam…"

There, laying on the ground before her was a hardened storage capsule. Within it the A.I. she so sought. Without thinking, she reached for it, claws nearing the container.

"Don't." A heavily synthesized voice chirped, stopping her only inches away. "You'll drain my systems of my power." Adam informed sharply. Although the case didn't seem to have any outside camera system, she could still tell that he was looking right at her.

She stared right at him, eyes shaking. She felt her arm struggle in place, wanting to reach out and grasp him for his energy.

''No! Stop!'' The Bounty Hunter recoiled sharply, yanking her hand back. She pressed her hand to her chest, holding it down with her arm cannon. ''Not again…! Not now!''

"Lady, you must get yourself under control. You're going to lose yourself if you do not." Adam's words echoed.

She wanted to tell him that he was stating the obvious, but she was too busy keeping herself under control.

Breathe.

In and out.

In and out…

Regain control.

Maintain yourself.

"Adam… What is happening to me…?" The Hunter breathed, hands shaking. "I can't control it… It won't shut up…" She grit her teeth, what used to be straight now all pointed. Large dangerous fangs poking free from her lips. "I'm so hungry… I'm going to go crazy…" She muttered quietly, clawing at her head, as if to shut the voice inside her head up.

"Your dna is in a frenzy. You must calm down, before it takes control of you. The Metroid dna inside you has taken root, and is trying to overpower your humanity. It cannot be reversed, but you can maintain your humanity. If you do not, it will accelerate and you'll lose yourself permanently." Adam's words were harsh, cold and concise, but pointed.

She could feel herself slipping away, animal instincts trying to break in and replace her humanity. If she let go, if she gave in to her Metroid side, she lose herself. She wasn't sure she could recover from that if she did.

She was in control…

She had to be in control…

She was herself, not a heartless bio weapon.

She would not lose herself to this sensation, this mind altering energy.

She retained control when she'd been infected by Phazon, not allowing it to cloud her mind. She did it then, she was going to do it now with this predicament.

She drew in a deep long breath, eyes closed. Her heartbeat slowed, the sporadic thrum in her ears calming.

Breathe...

Focus…

Do not give in…

Do not succumb to your weakness…

You are in control…

You are yourself…

Maintain your humanity.

She breathed out a sigh, eyes opening once more. She raised her left hand, watching at the pink energy slowly dwindled until it was gone entirely.

She could feel it immediately begin to start up again, but she managed to hold it at bay.

For the time being….

With it momentarily handled, she reached out for Adam's storage module once more. Tentatively, she rest her claws against his case. She'd pulled them back immediately out of fear she'd begun degrading him, but after a moment, she realized that she hadn't. Carefully she grasped him, picking his case up.

She stood up, nestling his container against her breastplate. She threw one last glance at her ship.

There was nothing left in it to be saved. It had been completely and utterly destroyed.

Her shoulders sagged slightly, before she turned away. There was nothing left for her here anyway…

A short time later saw Samus once again returning to the holographic room, Adam carried gently in her arms. The A.I. was not pleased to know that she had been reduced to using walls to support herself, but he also knew that there was little to be done about it for the time being.

The dark gray halls was the only thing that met the Bounty Hunter's gaze, the walls of the ship's hull looking as unfamiliar as possible.

She'd been on many different Federation ships in her time, and they all carried a similar feeling. This ship, did not.

Federation insignias were nowhere to be found. Through usage of her scan visor informed her that the ship was also made out of many different materials then commonly used by the Galactic Federation.

The ship wasn't Space Pirate in origin either.

It was just different.

Like it had absolutely nothing to do with the things she'd come to know.

It had only left her feeling more unsettled then before.

Now that she had a little more control over herself, it was time to start asking questions. The only other person on the ship was the armored man from before, so she quickly tracked him down with her Thermal Visor.

She limped into the holographic display room, easily finding the Spartan before he even came into view. She wasn't sure what sort of power armor he wore, but it gave off a low signature. If it were anyone else, it wouldn't have been picked up, but her gear was a few steps above anyone else.

Was the fact that her Thermal Visor was stolen Space Pirate technology a hit to her pride?

No.

No not at all.

"Find what you were looking for?" The man spoke from his place across the room. She couldn't see his face through his visor, but she knew that he was staring straight at her.

His body language seemed too relaxed, almost deliberately so. It was like he forcibly trying to look like he wasn't on guard, as if to trip her up.

He was on edge around her, that much her trained eye could see clearly.

It didn't make her feel comfortable at all.

Unconsciously, her shoulders squared up just a bit, her eyes narrowed. Her grip on Adam tightened slightly.

"I did." She responded shortly, her short pointed words making the tension in the room that much more palpable.

"Who is this?" Adam spoke up from her chest, silver container lighting up blue as he spoke. "What is his affiliation?"

"I don't know." She responded lowly. She had no misconceptions that the man could likely hear their conversation.

Unlike before, the Spartan kept his distance. Perhaps he was taking her prior warning to heart.

"Space Pirates?" Adam further questioned.

"…" Samus didn't respond, unsure.

"Federation?"

"…" The alien hunter didn't speak.

"Another Bounty Hunter?"

"…" Her silence spoke volumes to the A.I. His master knew very little about their situation, where they were, who this man was, and the condition of the ship they were on.

"Another A.I.?" A fourth voice spoke up. Between the two of them, on the main holographic table appeared a woman. She was blue, wearing absolutely nothing, with a body that would draw many's attention.

"Who are you? Are you the one in charge of this ship?" Adam spoke up.

"I guess you could s-say that. I'm Cortana, A.I. assigned to the Master Chief, UNSC." Cortana said, a hint of pride filling her voice. Samus just stared at the blue A.I., unblinking.

"I am Adam, A.I. issued by the Galactic Federation to the Bounty Hunter Samus Aran." Adam announced clearly.

A hefty silence ensued, the two opposing parties staring at each other. Dwelling on the words of both A.I.'s brought something to a head immediately.

"Who?" Samus asked.

"The what?" The Spartan grunted.

…

"I'm sorry? Did you hit your head while you were out?" Cortana jumped in, confusion written all over her face.

"Do not disrespect her." Adam defended sharply. "I think you are confused. The Galactic Federation has maintained the peace in the galaxy for the last century. And without aid from Samus, the galaxy would have fallen to ruin long ago."

"The Galactic Federation?" Chief questioned sharply, stepping forward. Samus took a step back, arm cannon raised slightly. She wasn't aiming at him, but it was a warning.

She didn't trust him. She felt threatened.

"Peace? What peace?" Cortana snapped. "Humanity has been at war with the Covenant for nearly forty years now. Where have you been?"

"What are you talking about?" Samus questioned sharply. It was her turn to be confused. And she never liked being the one left in the dark. It was also the most she'd spoken in an hour.

"Don't try playing stupid with me honey." Cortana snarked, crossing her arms under her bust.

There was an audible crack as Samus' hand clenched around Adam, his titanium housing splintering. "Excuse you?" Samus said lowly, a dangerous tone filling her voice. She stepped forward, approaching the suddenly distressed A.I.

Cortana learned very quickly that it didn't take much at all to set the other woman off. In fact, it took astronomically little to do so. She was so used to dealing with people who took quite a bit to rile up, the moment she was dealing with someone a polar opposite, she was caught off guard.

"That's enough!" The Spartan quickly interjected, putting himself between the irate Metroid and his A.I.

Samus felt her hunger urges displaying themselves once again at such a close proximity to the Spartan, but she managed to hold it back long enough to switch Adam's container to the crook of her arm instead, free from her hand.

"Explain, from the beginning." The Spartan said, holding his hand up to show he meant no ill intent. Samus stared at him for a hard long moment, before backing down.

But first…

"Take him…?" The alien woman asked in a weird way, glancing down to her arm where she had Adam pressed against her side. Her hand was once again out of her control, and she was afraid of trying to set him down on her own.

The Spartan glanced at her companion, eyeing the glowing hand she had forced open.

He knew getting close to her wasn't the smartest idea, but if they were going to not be at each other's throats the entire time, then he needed to start showing some trust. Her asking that of him was her taking the first step at doing so, so he decided to reciprocate.

"…please…" She muttered with difficulty. It seemed as though she struggled deeply to bring herself to ask, an inner battle with her pride nearly preventing her from asking for help.

Deciding not to mock her pride, he trusts her and takes hold of her A.I. Her hand twitched, claws curling up, but she didn't lash out. He pulled the container to his side, holding it with one arm.

"Now, explain." The man said.

Samus sighed, averting her gaze.

"In our galaxy, the Galactic Federation police the Milky Way. All worlds have fallen under their jurisdiction, and because of that, problems brought forth by differing species living alongside one another have become far and few." Instead of her speaking up, Adam spoke up for her. He could tell she was struggling with her new condition again, so he took it upon himself to explain for her.

After a moment of silence, the Spartan realized that the her A.I. wanted him to start as well.

"As of right now, humanity is currently at a multiple decade long war with an alien collective known as the Covenant. The UNSC, the United Nation's Space Command, is the conglomerate of all nations on earth combined." The Spartan started.

Samus' eyes narrowed behind her visor, coming to a realization.

That was it, wasn't it…

It had to have been.

"Earth is the home world for the Galactic Federation, and is the center of all order in the galaxy." Adam stated clearly, speaking what was clearly on the Hunter's mind.

…

…

…

"How did you arrive here…?" Cortana spoke up slowly, drawing the attention to her.

"We had initiated a slip space jump in orbit above an exploding planet. My theses is that the resulting release of energy had thrown us out of slip space, landing us here." Adam interjected, humming from the Spartan's hands.

"It… It doesn't seem possible…" The blue A.I. breathed quietly, mind running a mile a minute. "If what you are saying is true, then you aren't from our universe."

"Obviously…" The green armored Bounty Hunter responded.

"How is this possible?" Chief spoke up, turning to his companion.

"This is not the first time she has traveled between dimensions." Adam spoke. The A.I hummed, recalling a prior mission of hers from a few years ago. "Do you have a planet on the far side of the Dasha Region?" Adam asked. He supplied her with the coordinates for the planet, hoping that they used the same mapping system as the Federation did.

Although it seemed like such an odd question, it held much significance. Chief glanced to Cortana for answers. She ran a quick check in her database, before coming up with an answer.

"We had a planet there until two years ago. It had been designated as unsuitable for any life, and had been quarantined a while ago… But recently it had just exploded, nearly took out a passing fleet too…" Cortana explained.

Samus didn't say anything, turning away. For some reason she couldn't look the A.I. in the eye, clearing her throat unnaturally.

"That was her doing, two years ago." Adam spoke up, shedding light onto the many questions brought up by the Bounty Hunter's silence.

"I-I-?! You-?!" Cortana nearly guffawed, staring at the alien.

"How do you blow up a planet?" The Spartan asked in his own calm confusion.

Samus didn't answer, opting to speak as little as possible. Whether that was by choice, or a trait she couldn't control, neither A.I. nor Spartan would likely ever find out. Instead she glanced away, refusing to utter a word.

"Irrelevant. The truth of the matter is simple. We do not belong here…." Adam jumped in, annoyance seeping into his tone, if that was possible.

After the matter of how they got here was no longer a point of contention, they had the question of where exactly here was. That was unfortunately, something they couldn't answer.

Because the fact of the matter was, they too had initiated a slip-space jump, but their ship had been cut in half through the jump. One half of the ship returned to earth, while the other got lost along the way.

And they were stuck on that half, drifting through space aimlessly until someone would come to rescue them.

The reality that the Master Chief and Cortana had been stuck out here for nearly five years was not a comforting thing to hear.

While Cortana and Adam busied themselves with asking endless questions from each other, Master Chief found himself interested in asking the Bounty Hunter a question that had been nagging at him since he first saw her.

"You aren't human, are you?" It was the green giant's words that pulled the green armored woman's attention away from staring blankly at a wall, the thing she'd been occupied with for the last hour.

She wanted to snap at him with a sharp retort, as he stated the obvious. But she calmed herself, turning her attention to him. "No."

He wanted to ask more, but he didn't just yet. It didn't take him long to learn that she talked even less then he did.

Some would find that surprising…

She stared at him for a long moment, before relenting. She reached up to her helmet, pressing a few invisible buttons, before the seam around her neckline hissed as the air inside her suit escaped. Not a moment later she pulled her helmet off, setting it in her lap.

The Spartan had seen some of her face before, but she was unconscious then and her eyes had been closed. After she had awoken, her visor had become a one way, and he could no longer gauge her expressions.

So when she pulled her helmet off, color him surprised when he said he wasn't expecting what he saw. Her lightly tanned skin had a faint green hue to it, while her eyes were a powerful glowing red, sclera black as the space that surrounded them. She had long blond hair tied up in a ponytail, but that too was tinted an unnatural green.

Her black lips parted, exposing her large and lethal incisors, four in total. Between the bangs that covered her forehead, he could make out what appeared to be a third eye, though currently closed. She stared at him, glowing eyes making the air unnerving.

"I'm…. A Metroid." She said slowly, eyes never leaving his. "They probably do not exist in your dimension."

"Are Metroid's a subspecies of your version of humanity?"

"No. Unrelated."

"Then how?"

"…" Samus didn't say anything, looking away. He didn't need to be told anything more, he understood now.

An experiment…

He could relate to her on that level…

Although, she looked like whoever had done this had gone far beyond what ONI had done to create the Spartan's…

Wisely, he didn't pry anymore into that line of question. Unfortunately, being stranded here in space, there wasn't much he could do besides talk to her.

The chance that they could be here for a long time was something they both had constantly taunting them from the back of their minds.

"What do you eat? Metroid's, I mean." He was a super soldier, not a people person. Give him some slack on his clear lack of ability to start a normal conversation.

She glanced up to him, eyes glowing a baleful red. "You." She said simply. "We can eat anything with energy…"

"So that plasma weapon earlier?"

"Yes."

"My shields as well." He stated. He eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring. Her heart rate suddenly increased, breathing speeding up. "What happened? What's wrong?"

She placed a hand over her armored stomach, a strange sensation filling her. She'd been ignoring it for a while, but the sensation that just filled her made it return to the forefront of her mind.

She felt something wriggling around inside of her, more then one. And it responded when the mention of his energy shields came up, almost like it was hungry.

Her eyes widened when she felt it respond to the presence of her hand, the sensation of it trying to move closer to her hand through her belly.

She didn't want to believe it to be true, but there was only one way to be sure. Quickly, she put her helmet back on, switching to her x-ray visor. She blinked for a moment, before staring at her own armor covered midsection.

Her breathing slowed, eyes widening. There was no mistaking the presence of three tiny infant Metroid's wriggling around inside her womb, all fit tightly inside her. Even now, as small as they were, she could feel them ever so slightly stretching her belly.

"Unbelievable…" She muttered, blown away. It almost didn't seem possible.

It must have been the reason why she was so hungry. She was hungry for four instead of one.

It made sense now…

As to why she was pregnant in the first place, she had no idea…

"What's wrong?" She looked up as the Chief asked her again, his tone tinged with concern.

She closed her eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath. For a moment she contemplated telling him…

But she didn't.

"It's nothing." She suddenly stood up, backing away from the Spartan. "I can't stay near you… It's making it harder to ignore you." She stated, moving to the far side of the room.

He watched her go, noting that her hand was swirling with that strange pink energy again. She didn't say anything, but he knew something had upset her.

She walked away, hand pressed against her visor as if she'd been hit with a sudden and powerful headache.

"Lady, where are you going?" Adam, busy with his conversation with his fellow A.I., noticed her leave. She didn't stop, nor say anything, shuffling uncomfortably out of the room.

The moment she was out of sight she leaned against a wall, her heart pounding beneath her breast. She had to calm down. She wanted to freak out, the reality of her, the last Metroid in existence, suddenly charged with the responsibility of mothering three more.

How did this happen…? How had she gone from being tasked with the extermination of the species, to becoming the mother of them? It just felt surreal…

And…

If help never arrived, if the so called Master Chief's people never came to rescue him, then she was going to give birth to triplets here on this ship.

And they wouldn't hesitate to go after the only other food source around.

She bit her lip hard, blood trailing down her chin. Everything had just become so much more problematic…

And for the first time in a while, she didn't know what to do…

Chapter

2

End