Chapter 22: Reasons

How did the X evolve to become what they are today? What potential do they have? That there is the million-dollar question – the same one that the Federation wanted to answer back at the laboratory. Will it ever be answered? Can it be answered? It's quite possible that, if it is, we won't be around to witness the results. As a race, it's likely humanity, maybe all sentient life, will be just part of the means to reach an end, an end no one but the X will realize.

It felt as if I had been eaten by an enormous monster, as if I was being thrown around by the walls of the stomach, thrashing in acidic goo that only spelled out my demise as I tried my best to writhe my way out of it. This was something I had no experiences to look back to – the gigantic, golden blob that had formed around me was almost majestic, but equally as terrifying.

I began to power up my boosters once again, and after a few shots of my cannon, I set my sights on getting out of this mess. Several globs began to stick to the exits of my jets and cannon, throwing my trajectory way out of line. I resorted to punching at the goo, but all it would do was jiggle and shake at my futile attempts.

Before it was merely a large blanket that seemed to occupy the area around me, but now it became a solid mass, almost like gelatin, that suffocated space. Every single part of my suit was now in contact with the stuff.

"Samus," Adam said, "you need to get out of there before it creeps into your suit. It won't be long before external systems will begin to fail."

Heeding his warning, I quickly scraped at the opening of my arm cannon, managing to get a small pocket of space wide enough to allow my power beam to fire. A blast went off and ripped through the mass, but the path it left behind was quickly filled in as fast as it was made.

Alright, this is my last shot. I rolled into morph ball mode and immediately engaged a power bomb. It sank into the gelatinous mass as the countdown progressed toward zero. The mass began to muffle the ticking of the bomb.

"There's a good chance it might not detonate!" Adam shouted. But just then, a deafening boom shattered my train of thought. Vibrations carried throughout the mass, in reaction it wriggled and shook violently, throwing my body around helplessly.

As the giant blob pulsed, I found myself being slowly forced towards the outer areas of the blob. I wretched my body around and fired as rapidly as I could at the middle of the mass, causing more ripples and waves.

Finally, just as I could see the untainted space around the mass within reach, I charged up one final blast and shredded a gaping hole in the blob. The hole began to close up, but not before I ripped myself out from its innards. The mass grabbed at my leg, but I shook myself free.

The blob shrieked. It began to pull at itself and bulge, with several long masses resembling tentacles began to shoot out of the mass. But they had no intention of attacking me. They acted almost independently of the rest of the mass, trying desperately to rip themselves away from the entire ordeal. They almost seemed to wreathe in pain before diving back into the mass, either being pulled in by the mass itself or unable to will themselves free from the control of the hive. Or whatever this gelatinous thing was. It was certainly an X, but never one I had seen before. At the very least, none that had ever acted this way before me. Or was this large.

Pirate Carrier Ultimatum Ready

Weavel cast an intimidating shadow down the corridor that forced other officers to stand straighter than the previous. His boots clanked against the metal floors of the ship with a severe indifference to the surrounding operations. Hunched over, insectoid workers slaved over several monitors and installations that streamed data of ridiculous amounts. In several other rooms, workers put the finishing touches on categorizing and managing stockpiles of weapons. The tall figure, however, continued to walk indifferently.

Weavel Xeron had no time to stop and take a look at what was going on around him. The hub ship, dubbed Ultimatum Ready, was a marvelous piece of engineering, very much outclassing most Space Pirate vessels. Pods continually shot out of and returned to the ship, resembling an ant hill subtly floating in space while the nastiest of plans were being created within its depths.

"So I see that you do not necessarily agree with the plans I have in store for this mission, is that correct General?"

Weavel fully stepped into the room. The door slid closed behind him as Superior Trirun gave him a stern look that shot through his golden visor.

"Relax Weavel," said Trirun. "There are reasons for everything."

Weavel stepped forward, getting right into the face of the Superior. Trirun's breath fogged Weavel's visor. "Please, tell me the reason then."

Trirun grunted and stepped backward. He then made his way behind his desk and sat at his chair. Weavel, however, maintained his position, clenching his fists.

"Weavel, you're a soldier. You are not one of the people that is behind our strategies, and with good reason. This is not who you are. The simple fact of the matter is that we are going to lose soldiers on this mission. Most likely, the squadron you leave this ship with will only return with less than half of its members, if we're lucky. Sending you by yourself is asking for you to never to return. We need you to return alive, even at the cost of your fellow men."

"It's atrocious that you can sit here and tell me that. You've trained many of them."

"And I've trained you. We cannot afford to lose you as we rebuild our empire. That is why you will not be handling the dirtiest of the work. You are being sent to make sure everything goes according to plan, and if it does not, then you are there to correct it," Trirun said.

"And you don't mind losing these fellow soldiers?"

"You will not get sympathy from me, Weavel" Trirun said. "I do not want to send anyone to die. But when a mission calls for it, I have to abide. So do they. Unfortunate, maybe, but necessary? Absolutely. And you know a thing or two about sacrifices, don't you?"

The room fell silent.