Author's Note

This is going to act as a sort of prequel to The Last Metroid. Although I had posted a variation of this story once before, I'd removed it because I didn't like it. However, after finishing The Last Metroid, I felt as if I had to come back and rewrite/finish this one.


Legend below

"Commander on approach!" = Normal speech.

"I hope this message makes it to you..." = Recordings.


CHAPTER 1

Angel of destruction, a savior from above!


Music of the day

Metroid Prime 3 - Crisis


"Datecycle 07.014.2 of the Cosmos. This is Commander Exeter of the GFMC Task Force Herakles." The camera shook slightly, static fluctuating across the screen. "Thirty cycles have passed since we made emergency planetfall, and we have been yet un-successful in establishing a connection with Federation Control…"

The blue glow of a standard Federation power suit visor stared tiredly into the camera, a slow drawn out sigh easily picked up by the microphone. Behind the one speaking was movement, more Federation Marines moving to secure weapons, ammunition, and supplies.

"We had been out on patrol in the Dasha system when we came upon an unknown Space Pirate frigate. It was not heavily armored, but with weapons of unknown origin it attacked immediately."

The footage cut out again, the Commander leaning back as another Trooper appeared from off screen. Something was said that the microphone couldn't pick up, before he became seemingly more tense then previously.

Another Trooper came in from a door behind the Commander. They seemed to say something underneath their helmet, shaking their head frantically before running out the door. The first Trooper patted the Commander on the shoulder before running out after the other Trooper. They took up an assault rifle before the door automatically shut behind them, and then it was again only the Commander.

Exeter turned back to the camera, and although he wore a helmet, his uncertainty was visible. "The Pirate's frigate was crippled in the battle and crashed to the planet it orbited. We gave pursuit immediately, however…" Exeter stopped, from his body language it seemed he was deeply perturbed. "However, our ship was damaged in an unnatural storm and we were forced to make an emergency landing. Our communication systems were damaged by heavy magnetic interference inside the storm, and we were for the moment, stranded."

A screech was heard in the background, muffled by the sounds of weapons fire. Exeter didn't even bother to stop the recording, taking up arms as he ran out of the room. With him gone it was made apparent that the small space was in fact the cockpit of the ship he'd mentioned in his recording.

The camera shook again, the recording going fuzzy. Muffled shouting was picked up, but it was ineligible from the gunfire that echoed out repeatedly.

Eventually Exeter returned to the cockpit, green blood stains were splattered across his silver armored chest plate. He looked like her just suffered through the bad end of a hostile attack, but that much was apparent.

He sat back down, assault rifle still strapped to his arm. He was expecting more opposition to come, and was prepared for the future encounter. The camera fluctuated for a moment, before it cut back to him. It was clear there'd been a small time skip in the recording.

"After we landed I gave the order to split the team into two. One was to secure a site for a base of operations should our stay become… extended…" From his withered sigh and his tired tone of voice, their stay had been anything but pleasant. "While that team was busy with the base, the other was to repair the ship. It had started out so well…"

"But we began to experience setbacks. We were unaware at first, but once we learned of our mistake it was far too late to back out. We'd-" The camera cut out again, returning some few moments later. "-operation site right on top of their hive. But with little room to move there wasn't far we could go… We were stuck here, and the beasts didn't like that."

"The constant raids on our base hurt our efforts, and every attack drained more and more of our limited resources. We took power cells from the Tyr to power gates, automated weapon systems, energy doors, construction systems. But…"

The camera once again flashed, audio cutting out for a brief moment before snapping back. "-if the attacks continue like they are now, we will be out of power and ammo within three cycles. Many of my troops are suffering wounds and armor failures, yet by some miracle they all live…"

"However… I fear that will not remain the case. This is a battle of attrition, and we are losing. Should the Space Pirates find us, we'd be hard pressed to defend ourselves."

"Something else has been made apparent. The storm that surrounds the planet has prevented all outside contact. The interference has proven too powerful for our technology to pierce through. Federation Control has likely not even received our distress call." Exeter's shoulders slumped underneath his armor, the man holding his head in his hands as he looked close to the breaking point.

"By now I am sure that command has noticed our disappearance, and has likely sent out a search party to track us down. But I fear that should that be the case, help will not arrive in time. And if they do, we have no way to warn them of the storm. They too will become stranded on this cursed planet!" He slammed his hand into the console before him, leaving a sizable dent.

"These… Splinters are not the only threat on this planet…" The footage had cut out at some point, only to bounce back when Exeter started talking again. From the crack in his visor it was apparent something had happened in between the recording sessions. "Some… parasite has been seen infesting the Splinters, mutating them… These… Dark Splinters are even more dangerous then before. All of the Privates are out of ammo, and we've been forced to engage in CQC."

"This cannot continue. I'm afraid that our time on this world is quickly approaching its end. Squad Leader Smythe is loath to admit it, but I've seen the look in his eyes. He's put on a front to keep the rookies calm, but he knows that we have maybe a cycle or two left in us…."

"If this message ever makes it back to Federation Control… Well…" Exeter paused, deep in thought. "We put up a hell of a fight…. I only wish that we'd made it through to the end…" The camera shut off immediately afterwards.

Exeter stared at the screen for what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more then a few minutes. It felt like a part of him died with the end of the log, but he chalked that up to knowing that his time had come. His hands shook as he reached for his assault rifle. His eyes were wide, staring at the opposing limb that threatened to announce his fear.

His Troopers couldn't see him like this. Whatever remained of their moral would be destroyed should it be made apparent that even their Commander was terrified. He was the one in charge, the commander of forty soldiers that all depended on him. He couldn't give up now, not until death ripped him from his body and cast him out.

He took up his weapon, leaving behind the cockpit of the Tyr. It was night out, the sun having set hours ago. Standing just outside the ship was 1st Trooper Benet and Monz. Both men sported considerably scarred suits of armor, yet still stood proudly. They knew more then anyone save for the Commander that without outside help, doom was likely at hand. Yet, besides that, they carried their energy bayonets and stood watch, listening intently for anything that dared to threaten the lives of them and their fellow soldiers.

They nodded at him as he passed, still maintaining a level of respect for the man that had gotten them this far. For without a shadow of a doubt, if anyone else had been leading them, they would've all died many cycles ago. It was his smarts and his skills as a commander that got them this far.

Exeter stepped off the ship, his heavy boots kicking up dust as he landed on the cold unforgiving ground below. The Tyr was a large ship, but compared to many other inside the Federation fleet, she was tiny in comparison. Off to his right was a fatal drop, a cliff facing that was easily a two thousand foot fall. Starling, his pilot, had managed to land the ship just atop a cliff side, securing their safety. The world below the grounds they found themselves on was a flooded swamplands that was teeming with beasts three times their size.

Should they have landed in the bog, their quick and painful demise was all but certain. He was thankful to any higher beings that may be watching over them that they were given the chance to survive atop the cliffs. He had nightmares of his death that could've easily been a reality.

He turned away from the ledge, slowly moving for the far side of the camp. Half of the space they landed at was open air, while a larger cliff facing hung partially over them and their ship, offering shade during the later half of the day. The fear that their enemies could be watching them from the ledge high above them was a possibility that each of them had entertained more then once.

They'd be hard pressed to defend themselves should something like that happen…

It could very easily be their downfall…

"You're crazy…" Exeter heard a gruff male voice ground out in the distance.

"You mock me only because you've never seen her. You wouldn't be saying that if she were here." A sharp yet young feminine voice snapped back angrily.

"Listen… You keep telling yourself that, but it won't make it real." The first man continued to antagonize the other woman, ignorant or uncaring to her feelings on the matter, only proving to spur her ire further.

"I'm telling you that she blew up an entire Pirate base by herself! She's better then any other Hunter out there!" The woman practically hissed. The man threw his arms up in surrender, backing off.

"Take it easy Angseth… I'm only pulling your leg…" He sighed. She didn't look ready to let it go, be reluctantly backed off. "You don't have to lose your mind over it…"

"Piss off Grippe!" Angseth snapped.

Tension was high, and people were snapping at each other over little things. When Exeter came across some of his men bickering at mealtime he knew he had to intervene.

"Tell her Commander! I understand if she wants to believe in myths, but she tellin' me that one damn woman blew up an entire base of Pirates, that's insane.."

"Lock it down, both of you." Exeter ordered firmly, staring intently at the man. Grippe groaned, before standing up to leave. He wasn't about to have the commander chew him out.

"Commander, you believe me..? Right..?" He turned to see Angseth leaning towards him, her voice pleading. "Samus could save us if she was here… You believe that.. right?" Exeter's eyes widened behind his visor.

Ah…

So that's what this was about…

Angseth idolized the well known Bounty Hunter Samus Aran, not only for her skills and reported feats, but the fact that she was a woman only helped her case. Of course, many of her alleged feats weren't taken very seriously by many within the Federation. It was outlandish to go as far as to believe that a single woman, no matter how powerful, could take on an army by herself and win.

It was just unheard of.

Exeter turned to the darkened skies above, getting lost in the sea of stars that met his gaze. Truly, if this Aran was indeed up to the legendary status people mocked her up to be, then he couldn't imagine anyone better to save them.

He could pray…

Hell, praying might be all that he had left.

"Angseth… If what you say is actually true, then I believe you may be right…." He paused. "But why would she deign to use her time on a simple search mission? I doubt someone of her stature would waste their time with a trivial search and rescue…"

"But Commander?! Nothing about our situation is trivial!" She snapped, pleading. She wanted to cry, break down into tears. She was too young for this.

He shot her down with a look.

"The Federation doesn't know that, and that's the problem. If someone comes, they too will be trapped. Then we'll only have more people stuck on the planet…" He hated how grim he sounded, but he felt that she needed to hear this. She had to give up the outlandish hope that a hero would save them.

This was the real world. Hero's didn't exist in the real world. Only soldiers such as themselves existed, and they would have to suffice…

Angseth looked deeply troubled, and he knew that behind her visor tears were streaming down her face in a silent cry. She was the youngest member of his platoon, and she had never truly experienced the heat of battle. His heart was destroyed with the knowledge that her first war would be one of attrition against nothing more then a single hostile species, and it was a war they were on the brink of losing…

He sighed deeply, stepping forward to her. He gently grasped her chin, pulling her helmet covered face up to meet his gaze. Her shoulders shook underneath her power armor as she tried to repress her tears. If she gave up hope in her idol, then what did she have left. The vein reality that she cooked up in her head was all that was keeping her going, and without it she would break.

He knew this, knew that he had to keep her hold on her hope strong in the end times. It was all she had left, he wouldn't take it from her, even if it meant that he had to lie. Seeing her crying made him feel terrible, like a father that had done something horrible to make a daughter shed tears.

The feeling was miserable...

"Listen… This isn't over. We're not finished, not yet." He stated softly, his gruff almost fatherly tone of voice proved to soothe her for the moment. "You can't give up hope until you see hope die right before your own eyes. And unless you've seen it go already, then we still have a fighting chance."

His words felt hollow, even to himself. But she took hold of them like a lifeline, desperately clinging to whatever tether she had left. It was all she could do.

It was all any of them could do…

Exeter left after that, moving to check in with the rest of his platoon. Force two, the troopers responsible for running the base of operations, had been suffering serious issues from the massive Splinter infestation. Before the night ended he'd received more then three reports of gate failure and security breaches before his Troopers again secured the base.

One of his men, Wills, had been trapped when the gate malfunctioned and had barely survived when swarmed by the vile creatures. Only the timely intervention of his team members saved his life.

He was heading down to the base in the hopes that someone had a breakthrough with the gate repairs since then. If the gates failed again, someone was going to die because of it…


"Datecycle 07.014.3 of the Cosmos. This is 1LT W. Smythe, Squad Leader, reporting another log." The camera shook as another gray armored Federation Trooper took a seat, his surroundings cast in a dull mix of brown and green. His armor was considerably worn down, both of his shoulder plates missing entirely.

"Our attempts at burning out the Splinter infestation here at home base has proven rather unsuccessful. At the Commander's orders we were to set up a poison gas trap to hopefully wither their numbers." The man sighed as his hand grasped the back of his neck, looking away with a tired groan.

"His idea worked, but with our resources we can only keep this plan going for another seven cycles or less. The chemicals to make the poison are limited and finding more in the immediate vicinity is extremely dangerous due to the dangers posed by the stupid creatures…"

"Due to many of my team suffering suit breaches from repeated Splitter attacks, I've had to swap members with Squad one more then once. The poison in the air is strong enough to easily take us down if the proper precautions aren't met." The camera suddenly shook as an explosion echoed in the background. Smythe jumped up, looking somewhere past the camera.

The footage cut out, only to return some time later. "We've just lost another power cell due to system overload." The man held his helmet covered head in his hands, shoulders slumped. "A new beast we'd never seen before had appeared and bit through the wires running from the main unit. It took all of my team to safely take it down, but now we're even lower on ammo."

"Should more of the beasts return to avenge their fallen, we'll be forced to leave the base behind. Let's hope it doesn't come to that…" He sighed, before throwing his empty assault rifle across the room. The weapon impacted with a metal gate system, but no one payed him any mind.

"This is Smythe signing out…" With that the footage cut out, leaving the man to sit in silence.

"Smythe!" Smythe nearly jumped, twitchy as ever. Just across from him came one of his Troopers, one he easily identified as Grippe. In his shaking hands was a pda, of which he wasted no time in showing the contents of to the man. "I've just picked up the signal of a ship exiting slip-space!"

Smythe felt his heart skip a beat as the other man's words echoed out like a gunshot inside the base. Anyone within earshot stumbled, some dropping whatever they were holding. The Trooper practically shoved the pda into his Lieutenant's hands.

Although damaged and faulty as it had been, there was no mistaking the blip that had appeared on radar. There was indeed a ship hovering just outside the planet's atmosphere.

"I've checked the low comm data, and it's different. Whoever's up there isn't a Pirate nor is it the Federation." Grippe spoke up.

"Bounty Hunter…?" Smythe breathed. "Could it be?" He almost whispered to himself. He glanced up, eyeing the other Trooper. "Make out any I.D.? Ship design? Designation?" He asked in hurried succession. His mind was running a mile a minute. "Fuck, Color?!"

"No sir." Grippe responded shakily.

"Damn!" He tossed the pda back to Grippe, moving to leave the base. "We've got to warn them. If we let them come down they'll get taken out just like we did!"

"Lieutenant! It's…" Grippe stopped him. On the pda he saw his hopes die. The radar blip showed their potential savior approaching the planet, only for it to vanish a few seconds later.

The storm had seemed to have taken them…

"Lieutenant…?" Grippe muttered lowly. The other man was shaking, hands clenched tightly by his sides. The metal components of his armor suit creaked underneath the strain.

"We've got to inform the Commander. If they survived the storm then they might need our he-"

The caves that made up their base shook, a loud and terrible roar echoing out. Following the roar was a second, much louder sound. The ground shook, over and over, loud powerful thumping echoing throughout the entire compound.

Smythe felt his heart stop as his face went white behind his visor.

It couldn't be…

That roar…

He knew that terrible sound…

"Oh god!?!"

"Haley, Brouda! Get the hell out of there!!"

"Crany! Move your ass!!"

"They're breaking through the gates!"

"It's too late to-"

Smythe and Grippe looked up as the power fluctuated throughout the base, lights turning on and off. Far down the main tunnel, deep into the inner workings of the site was a crash.

He didn't wait around, taking up his assault rifle as he ran for the sound. "What's going on in there?!" He ran around a cave corner, only to stop in shock as the men he heard yelling only a second ago came flying at him, literally.

Two gray armored bodies came flying his way, the Trooper's having been flung across the room like they were nothing more then paperweights.

"Crany!! Wills!!" Smythe turned at the sounds of shouting, heart stopping as he eyed what he feared was the source of the attack. Standing down the farthest end of the hall, having breached both MK III security gates was two massive beasts. Their heads were nearly the size of his body, massive jaws lined with hundreds of razor sharp fangs. Like ancient raptors of death, the beasts stared down his men, maws dripping.

Lying underneath one was Brouda, the Trooper pinned down by a massive powerful leg. His chest was punctured by one of the beasts claws, but he wasn't dead. "L-Lieutenant! H-Help me! Don't let me die!!" The practically dead man screamed, blood staining his visor. He screamed as the beast bent down to tear his head off, only stopping because of the hellfire that the soldiers sent its way.

"Grenchlers!!" Someone shouted in horror. Smythe barely had time to react to the bolt of lightning fired at him, ducking behind a wall as the attack slammed into a vent behind him. The horns atop the alien's head's lit up with a vibrant energy, ready to fire a second energy bolt.

"Watch out! Wh-" A body was flung, flying back his way. He identified the body of Haley as he crumbled against a wall, unmoving. Blood was leaking from puncture wounds in his chest plate.

Everything had suddenly gone completely downhill.

He had to get them out of here.

"I'll hold them off!!" He salvaged Haley's assault rifle, firing off rounds at the massive beasts. His blood froze as both beasts turned to him. With that distraction having worked, he shouted to the rest of his men. "Grab the wounded! I'll distract them! Get the hell out of here!"

He didn't wait for them to respond as he rushed headfirst towards death. Energy rounds echoed throughout the compound, the weapons burning into the twin beasts.

But to his horror, they didn't back off. As he approached in a full sprint, firing off nonstop bursts, he slid to cover behind a thin wall. He managed to make his way into the security room, wasting little time as he rushed through console commands.

Directly above the alien's, the powerful yet primitive base defense turrets whirred to life. After bringing weapons online he finally tripped the system wide alert.

If anyone was making it out alive, the rest of the Troopers at the Tyr needed to know of this attack immediately.

"Lieutenant! Behind you!" Smythe froze as the gate that blocked him from the Grenchlers was torn down, sending it right into him...


"Datecycle 07.014.3 of the Cosmos… This is comms specialist Angseth of the GMFC Task Force Herakles." The camera spun to life, a twitchy video feed coming from a PDA she held aimed up to face her. Behind her was the mountainous crag that hung over the ledge where the Tyr had crashed. The sun still hung high in the sky, casting a large shadow behind her.

"I heard the Commander last night was all scared of something… What's new…?" The woman sighed, bringing her hand to her helmet covered face. She was one of the lucky ones, as many of her team had thrown themselves in harms way to protect her many a time. Whether it was out of some manly form of mindset or their instincts to protect the only female of the entire platoon, she didn't know, but because of that her armor systems were completely untouched.

She was easily the youngest member of Task Force Herakles, and the smallest. Perhaps that had something to do with it.

The young woman sighed, turning her attention skyward. High above in the clouds of Aether the sky flashed a dark purple, lightning flashing across the skies. The storm that raged above now was the very same that took them down a month ago now.

Too bad that it seemed that this hell hole of a planet was the last she'd ever see…

"Y-You know, I joined the Federation Marines because I thought that maybe I-I could be like her some day…" Her voice cracked as she gazed upwards. "I realize now that if this is anything like what Samus has to go through every mission… Then I don't want to be a soldier anymore…" Her gaze finally tore away from the massive space storm, eyes drifting lifelessly across the cliff side.

"Mom… If this ever finds its way back to you… I'm sorry I didn't listen to you.." Her voice went quiet, the girl struggling for words. "I'm sorry I joined the Federation Marines…."

"I thought that I'd be fighting those damn Space Pirates.. Not these… things.." She pulled her legs in close to herself, the metal of her power suit clicking with the movement. "Yesterday Vonda saved me from a huge beast, Commander is calling it a Grenchler… But now Vonda is stuck in bed on the Tyr. He's lost a lot of blood, and he can't move his legs…" She sounded defeated as she recounted the events of the day prior. "If only I'd hav-"

Angseth stopped suddenly, her head snapped to the side. In the background was the sound of a blaring alarm. Other Troopers were already moving to investigate, grabbing their weapons along the way.

An explosion echoed out, shaking the ground. She dropped the PDA, the camera suddenly facing up towards the cliff side. Dark shadowy creatures could be seen rushing from the cliff, their numbers in the hundreds.

"Hey guys?! They're moving in fast!!" Someone from atop the Tyr screamed. "We need backup!" Hundreds of Dark Splinters poured out from the mountainside, rapidly rushing the Troopers in a suicidal and bloodthirsty charge. "We need backup!!" He cried out.

Within seconds, the entirety of the camp was overwhelmed with unending numbers of infected Splinters. Angseth felt her heart thrumming in her throat as she fired her weapon, pouring everything she had into the vile creatures.

But there was simply too many to stop.

"Oh god!" Someone hit the ground, body covered in black stabbing limbs.

"Don't stop shooting!!" Exeter shouted from somewhere.

"I-I'm dry! Someone get me some amm-" 1st Trooper Benet and Monz were swamped, the men getting pulled from their positions atop the Tyr.

"Commander! Behind you!!"

"Get them off me! Someone save me!!" There was a throat wrenching scream that echoed out as the first of her teammates ran out of ammo, a weakness that the beasts immediately capitalized on as he was taken down.

Angseth rushed her team, energy bayonet charged to rip straight through the head of a Splinter that pinned her teammate down. They pinned his arms down as they tried to stab him to death, sharp limbs piercing his armor. "Get away from him!!" Angseth screamed as she tore the beasts off.

The man scrambled backwards, one of his legs seemingly refusing to move. Blood leaked from his neck, a suit breach from an attack that just barely missed his arteries.

Energy rounds echoed across the battlefield as the Commander came rushing to her aid, obliterating the creatures that had snuck around her. Angseth hit the ground as five separate Splinters tackled her, biting and stabbing at her armored form. "G-Get off me!" Her eyes widened in horror as she was pinned to the ground by the screeching beasts, her suit cracking and crumbling underneath the heavy assault. "Commander?! H-Help me!!" She cried out, reaching her arm out as if to grasp his own.

Her ability to move was cut short when they stabbed her legs.

"Get away from her!" Weapon fire hailed death upon the creatures as Exeter rushed to her aid. But his help too proved useless as something swept his legs out from underneath him, face slamming into the dirt. He felt them pin him down, armor failing as they attempted to stab him to death.

More and more of the beasts poured out from the mountains, overwhelming the Troopers. For everyone that the soldiers attempted to save, more were injured or worse. The Splinters were too strong, their numbers too many.

Exeter screamed as he was pinned to the ground by razor sharp talons.

Somewhere in the background, coming from the direction of the base was a second explosion. The Troopers of Force Two poured out of the base, screaming in terror as some of them were flung through the air, landing with painful crunches.

As if their situation at the ship couldn't possibly get any worse, two massive Grenchlers tore their way through the base, trampling any that got in their way.

Amid his attempts to prevent himself from being stabbed to death, Exeter realized that he was going to die. Perhaps it was the excruciating pain radiating from his back, or the terrified shouts coming from his squad as they were beaten and played with by the hostile aliens.

But this was where he and his men would meet their end…

Angseth's bloody screams echoed across the mountainside. The Troopers that tried so desperately to help her having been pinned down and forced to watch as the Splinters stabbed her, keeping her still as the Grenchlers rushed towards her.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see it happen. He tried to block out her screaming, but he couldn't. The image of her being eaten alive burned away at his mind.

There was a deafening crack that echoed throughout the cliff side. The Splinters that pinned the only female of the squad down erupted into a pool of blood and gore. Purple arches of energy jumped across the ground in a thick purple and blue beam, snapping to the creatures and ripping them apart limb from limb.

The men that were pinned down were suddenly and unexpectedly freed as their attackers were literally vaporized.

But with the Splinters killed, Angseth could only watch, too injured to move as the giant maws of death approached her, ready to bite her in half.

Only…

An earthquake rattled the ground as the Grenchler nearest her stopped only mere inches from her face, an explosion near its feet stopping it. The beast seemed confused too, as it tried desperately to snap out at her. But it's legs had been entirely encased in solid ice, preventing it from doing so.

She wasn't going to sit around and wait to be eaten alive.

She was going to live!!

She wouldn't die here! Not to these beasts!

"Someone get her out of there!!" Exeter, also having been freed by the strange multi colored beam, roared as he fired on the stunned beast.

Angseth desperately crawled away, her legs unable to hold her weight. However, more and more Dark Splinters rushed her position, ready to kill. The Troopers watched in horror as they assumed her death was at hand.

Only…

Another earthquake shook the ground as a powerful missile slammed into the group of dark beasts, turning all of them into nothing but a gathering of bloody limbs. Dust and blood shot into the air in equal measure.

The ground shook over and over, as explosion after explosion rocked the ground, groups of Splinter's dying by the tens with each missile barrage. Within moments the horde had been reduced to mere remnants of what once was an army of Dark Splinters.

The second Grenchler was also frozen in place as a second super missile slammed into its feet, preventing it from ripping a badly wounded Trooper in half.

With most of the Splinters having been reduced to ashes or sparking bloody limbs, the Troopers could focus on saving their allies from the remaining few.

Benet and Monz were seemingly unconscious only a few feet from the Grenchler twins. But the ice that held them in place was not strong enough to keep them forever, and they quickly brute forced their way free.

However, before they could tear the men apart, something from behind stopped them. A thick beam of energy shot out, grabbing onto one of their horns like a lasso. Before the Grenchler could move forward it's head snapped backwards as the owner of the grapple beam pulled, hard.

A super missile slammed into its rear, sending its organs flying. It died a moment later.

"Angseth!! No!!" A scream belonging to the Commander echoed out as the woman was stomped on by the last remaining Grenchler. All remaining Troopers weapons stopped, ammo completely and utterly empty. Exeter rushed forward to attempt to stop the beast, but he wouldn't make it in time.

The woman's mouth opened in a silent scream as she was pinned to the ground, forced to watch as the beast toyed with her. And as it bent down to take a chunk out of her midsection, something with the weight of a train slammed into its side, knocking it over. Angseth felt her heart skip a beat as a towering orange and yellow armored figure shoved the beast off of her.

The entirety of the Troopers were left dumbfounded as someone in large and extremely powerful armor grabbed the same beast that could send them flying by the teeth, shoving their left hand up the roof of its mouth while their right foot slammed down on the bottom of its jaw, forcing its mouth wide open. The mystery figure shoved their right weapon arm in the beast's mouth, and a moment later fired an earth shattering blast.

When the dust settled and the men attempted to regain their bearings, what met their tired and wounded gaze's might as well have been an angel that descended from the heavens, wearing the mightiest of power armor's with ancient alien design. All that remained of the beast from before was its jaw, the rest reduced to a puddle of blood.

A sharp green gaze turned their way, the powerful image burned forever in their minds. The men stopped, staring in slack jawed awe at their savior, sunlight glinting off of her legendary chozo battle armor, the blood of her enemies covering her orange and yellow suit.

Angseth turned her head to the side, eyeing the newcomer with tears pouring down her cheeks behind her helmet. She knew that silhouette anywhere, and as she cried out in relief, the rest of the men felt their fates take a turn for the better.

"I-It's you! Y-You're really here!"

"Samus Aran?!"

The name echoed out like a gunshot, pulling each and every Trooper's attention. Her very presence demanded their full attention as she stood tall and proud, arm cannon smoking with the recently fired beam attacks that rendered the army of bugs nothing more then piles of corpses.

The woman of literally legendary status didn't speak, slowly scanning her surroundings. Each Trooper felt a tingle shoot up their spines as her gaze would pass over them, as if she was sizing them up. Her gaze stopped on the wounded Commander, gaze locking onto the man.

Exeter felt his heart freeze as she suddenly raised her arm cannon at him, and without saying a word fired a missile. The explosive soared right over his shoulder, slamming into the body of a Dark Splinter as it attempted to kill the man. With her last part done she confirmed the area was finally secure with a small nod to herself.

She turned on her armored heels, suit whirring and clicking lightly with each shift of movement as she moved for the downed woman. Angseth watched with baited breath as the legendary Bounty Hunter approached her. She bent down on one knee, staring lightly at the horribly wounded soldier. She still hadn't spoken a word, but there was a glow that suddenly surrounded her visor, and the woman got the distinct feeling that she was being scanned.

Finally Samus nodded, turning to stare directly in the other woman's eyes. "This will hurt." If Angseth was surprised by the voice that finally spoke to her, that surprise was washed away as her wounds lit up with a newfound burning pain. She screamed in horrible agonizing pain, thrashing underneath the Bounty Hunter's grasp as Samus held her down. The Hunter's arm cannon had at some point shifted into a longer weapon, streaks of red hot plasma pulsing up the weapon.

"The hell are you doing to her!?" Samus paid little mind to the Commander as he came running to the younger woman's aid. But when he got close he saw it. Samus' Plasma Beam cauterized the woman's wounds, painfully but efficiently stopping her blood loss.

"Saving her life." The Hunter responded in a neutral tone, still not facing him. Angseth screamed and thrashed still, but slowed as Samus finally pulled away. Angseth cried, clutching at her chest in an attempt to block out the pain. "If I do not stop the bleeding now, she will die."

Once Samus finished she stood up, only stopping as the woman reached out to weakly grasp her savior's hand. She gently grasped her gray armor hand with her own, before Angseth promptly fainted, the experience and blood loss finally getting to her. It only took a couple seconds before the woman was swarmed by her caring companions, who wasted little time before carefully carrying her away to the safety of the Tyr.

Samus watched with a seemingly cold expression on her face, more and more Troopers appearing from the woodworks after all the threats were eliminated. Many of them stopped to gawk or stare in poorly concealed awe, but too surprised by her sudden appearance to speak up.

Many hushed whispers could be heard, but she paid them little mind. Without having said anything at all, she could feel the Federation Commander's gaze on her back, the man expressing more without speaking up then if he had done so.

It took a second to sink in as Exeter stood back, his wandering gaze drifting across the entirety of his Platoon. They were alive, every single one of them was alive. And as he turned back to the silent Bounty Hunter, he knew that he only had her to thank for his rescue.

He, alongside everyone of the GMFC Task Force Herakles had her to thank for their lives…


Chapter

1

End