Chapter 36

No Time For New Allies

I've met the Kriken before. They're a scourge among scourges. Worse than the Metroids. I know what has to be done.

The Hunter's Secret Cave - Min Bassa's Planet

The Hunter from the cave had left us alone as Excolo and I got Adam up to speed. I wasn't particularly concerned about what the Hunter was up to, although I should have been at that point. I just cared that my ship was okay, that Adam was okay. I had my head on a swivel, checking my peripherals, my radar, when need be. That was enough.

"It's all hard to believe," Adam finally said. "But it seems most of what we get into these days is, Lady." I couldn't have agreed more.

Excolo turned and nodded with his head back into the cave. "So what do we do with our new friend?"

I wasn't exactly looking to expand our circle. Trying to make new allies carried a heavy risk. We had no idea what his allegiance was or what his plans were. And we could never be sure, no matter how long we trusted him or kept an eye on him. I still wasn't completely sure about Excolo, but we were in too deep with him at this point. I didn't want to have two of him running around.

The animals trusted the Hunter of the cave, sure. But the situation was dire. Their home had been upended. The Dachora and Etecoon were smart, but I couldn't rely on them to be a barometer of trust for every new individual we met.

Even Adam, well, Adam Jr. I just couldn't understand this new Adam. He said he was his father's son. But he acted just like the Adam I knew. He called me Lady just like the Adam I knew. I didn't understand him. I needed to before we did anything else.

I looked around the dank, wet cave the ship was housed in, that we were all standing in. It was hard not to feel a little…hopeless.

Hopelessness was not something I ever felt comfortable feeling. Or proud of. There was always hope, that's something I could hold onto if nothing else on my previous missions. But lately, things felt dire. Truly hopeless.

Here we were in this cave. I had no idea if Min Bassa's Hub could help us, if the Chozo were out there to help me, if the Garden still existed. Or ever existed.. I had no idea what the Federation planned to do with me. I didn't fully trust Adam, or Excolo. The X parasites were still around. And little did I know, but the Space Pirates and Ridley were still mucking things about. It was like all my demons had been reborn and were back to haunt me.

It was time to get things in order.

I turned to Excolo. "Can you give Adam and I a minute? Go check on our new friend." Excolo shrugged and did as I asked.

I went inside the ship. Sat back down at the cockpit, as I ever did.

"We need to talk," I said out loud, to no one in particular. But Adam knew I was talking to him.

"What would you like to discuss, Samus?"

"You just called me Samus. But you've been calling me Lady, too."

"I'm not following," Adam responded.

No time for this. I had to cut to the chase. "Earlier, you told me you were not Adam. You were his son. But you still call me Lady. You act just like your father. If you hadn't said that, I would have thought you were the actual Adam. But you said you were not. I need you to tell me the actual truth."

He took a moment. Then finally – "It's hard to explain. But I am Adam. The Adam you know. And his son."

I sat up straight. "I said to be honest."

"I am the Adam you know. I am your former CO. I am the Adam that was with you on the BSL. The Adam that's been with you this whole time," he said."

"So why did you say you were your own son? Do you even have a son?"

"I did. But he died young. At a certain point, his young consciousness was uploaded and merged with mine. So I wouldn't be without him."

He was stark, matter-of-fact, as usual. But even through his digitized voice, I could hear the sadness in him.

"It's hard to explain. It's not that there are two of us. Two separate personalities. The process wasn't clean. But I have his memories, his experiences, all wrapped up into mine as well."

I didn't know what to say. I let him keep talking.

"I'm sorry I misled you, Samus. It is hard to explain to anybody. And I misjudged our relationship. I thought you would have a harder time trusting me after the events on the BSL. So I said that I was not who I was, so you wouldn't think about that, so that you could trust me again. I thought that if I instead appeared to be his son, that baggage wouldn't come with me. You wouldn't have second thoughts about my allegiances. But I should have known better than to try to instill trust by lying to you. And I couldn't help but fall back into my old ways, calling you Lady. It was a desperate attempt, and I apologize."

I didn't have the energy to argue. I could tell this was hurting him. I didn't fully understand why he would do this, such a weak ploy, such a hard story to buy. Why he thought he felt the need to deceive me, and then fail in doing so. But I was tired. Do AIs get tired?

"Adam," I finally said. "I need to trust you. You're the only person that I can have faith in trusting in. I need to know that what you're telling me is the truth. You have to give me your word."

Adam didn't hesitate. "I'm giving you my word, Lady. I am the Adam you knew. The Adam you know. I'm sorry for misleading you."

I sighed. I had to take his word. That's all he had. "I trust you, Adam. You don't need to do these things. If there's anyone that I need to be able to be completely honest with, and them with me, it's you."

"I know that, Samus."

"Okay," I said. "I won't pry any further. But no more of this. I need you to be you, Adam. I need the leader that I know. The ally that I know. The friend that I know. I can't have you second guessing yourself, or me. We're out in the trenches as it is. This stops now. Are we clear?"

Now I felt like his CO.

"We're clear, Samus. Crystal."

For a moment, I felt relief. I believed him. I knew it was Adam. It was good to know that I still had him with me. And it felt good to finally figure something out, to solve something. Even something as nonsensical as that was. I just hoped Adam found his nerve again soon. I needed him.

"Good," I said. "Let's leave it at that."

"Samus!" It was Excolo, outside the ship. So I went out to meet him. The Hunter of the cave was with him.

"Our friend's been asking what our next move is," Excolo said.

"When are we leaving?" The Hunter seemed impatient now.

"We can leave your cave when you wish. You've done us enough of a service here," I replied.

"I don't think you understand," The Hunter said. "The reason I helped you fix your ship is so that we could all get off this planet."

"I appreciate your help, Hunter. But we're not leaving the planet."

"We're not?" Excolo asked.

"No, we're not," I jabbed back. "The Kriken are here. We're not leaving them unattended. Our mission was to get to the Hub and decipher this lore or otherwise find the location of the Garden. But now we know the Kriken on this planet. Likely, they've found a way to the inner core of this shield planet, or are planning to do so. Even if we don't fulfill our main mission, we're not leaving without taking down the Kriken threat first."

"You can't face the Kriken," The Hunter said. "None of us can. To even consider how much they outnumber us would be unfeasible."

"I've taken on greater odds. I know what the Kriken are capable of. We can't leave them unchecked."

The Hunter stepped forward. "Then I'm afraid we're at an impasse. Because I'm getting off this planet. And your ship is the only way I can do so."