Chapter 7: Welcome to the Biosphere
"So Samus," Kreatz asked as the glass elevator descended towards the inter-sector transfer point, "What were you up to all those years? I know that sounds like a dumb question considering that your exploits are known the galaxy over, but at least some of it's got to be exaggerated, right?" It was a reasonable question, one that the three other soldiers had no doubt also mulled over at some point. Out of the whole platoon, only Adam and James hadn't entered the elevator – the former was directing the mission from the control room (which had of course been locked to prevent a surprise Pirate incursion) while James had taken the adjacent door to the elevator to reach the residential block
"No, Kreatz," Samus replied. "None of it's exaggerated. The Zero Mission, Tallon IV, Aether, the Alimbic Cluster, Phaaze, SR-388, the destruction of Zebes; it's all true. And that's why the Pirates are so desperate to salvage the situation through whatever's going on here, and why I've got to stop them for good this time." And why I shouldn't even have to, she added to herself.
"Woah, I'm sure glad you're on our side, that's for sure," Kreatz responded. "not that I don't agree with your reasons for leaving, of course – I wish the Council had taken more action against the Pirates back in the day too." At that moment, the elevator reached the bottom floor, allowing the team to exit towards the next corridor, sweeping it for enemies all the while. However, as soon as the entire group had entered, the door locked behind them, leaving them trapped as two large insectoids leapt up from several open shafts in the floor.
"Looks like we've got company," K.G shouted.
"Hey Samus," Kreatz quipped, "I think I remember these ugly things from Zebes, but I could do with a little refresh." Of course, Samus was an expert on Zebesian wildlife, and so recognised these particular bipedal beasts from the Brinstar cave systems.
"Sidehoppers – focus all your fire on those things before they pin you!" Not needing to be told twice, the soldiers joined Samus in tackling the creatures, K.G. firing with his plasma gun, Kreatz getting up close and personal with his pair of personal laser whips and the others using their SMGs. This hail of fire, combined with Samus' charge beam shots, was able to quickly overwhelm the Sidehoppers, as well as the three additional ones that followed from the same floor vents. Once the last Sidehopper finally fell, the vents closed up and the doors unlocked, allowing access to the inter-sector elevator and the point where most of the group would part ways.
The main elevator that led to the facility's various other sectors took the form of a large pillar in a circular room lined with buttresses and screen displays, many of the latter displaying numerous error messages and schematics. However, the name "main elevator" was actually a misnomer, as the pillar in fact contained three such elevators, one linking to each sector. Of course, one marine each moved off to the Sector 2 and 3 elevators, leaving Samus, Lyle and Kreatz to take the transit to Sector 1. As they entered the enclosed elevator (a civilian-friendly design in comparison to the open-air discs Samus had used throughout her travels), they noticed that the sector had its own name among the BOTTLE SHIP's former crew, as indicated by one of the internal displays; the Biosphere.
"Looks like we're headed for the biological research sector," Lyle noted, "knowing my luck, it'll probably be where those bugs from earlier came from." There was no arguing with that logic, but before the group's attention was quickly drawn to an announcement from the station's P.A system:
"This elevator is bound for Sector 1. A Level 3 warning is now in effect in Sector 1. Please avoid travelling alone and remain armed. Stay alert to your surroundings at all times."
"Sounds like that 'Aberration' you mentioned earlier has caused quite a funk in this sector," Kreatz spoke. "At least it's giving the Pirates problems, on the plus side." It was at that moment that the elevator doors opened, admitting the trio into a smaller, green-hued version of the main elevator room. After exiting into a new save station, the group then proceeded into the Biosphere proper, where new dangers – and hopefully answers – awaited them.
At first, the Biosphere presented little challenge to the group, with several swarms of the insects Lyle had previously mentioned (which Samus was quick to identify as Reos, another species formerly native to Zebes), but these minor pests were quickly joined by strange plant-like avians and another bioweapon like the Asborean, though this time it was a chameleon-like Ghalmanian that had been augmented with a grappling claw on the tip of its tongue and several unusual pieces of armour. Its agility and invisibility made it a dangerous foe, and likely would have been a nightmare for the de-powered Samus if not for her two accomplices providing fire support. All the same, the group were glad of the save room they came across a few moments later, which they used to brief the rest of the group of the situation with the Ghalmanian, the existence of which greatly troubled Adam (No surprise there, Samus thought, he always hated bioweapons as much as the next man). From there, they also received updates from the others; Maurice had made some progress in fixing damaged doors, but had been forced to turn back due to the ferocity of the sector's inhabitants, while K.G. had been unable to so much as leave Sector 3's elevator due to the boiling temperatures. As for James, he'd been unable to enter the residential area due to an unusual blockage at the doorway, and had been stuck in the main sector as a result.
"By the sound of things," Adam summarised, "We should ignore Sector 3 for now and focus on the other two sectors. Kreatz, Lyle, continue deeper into Sector 1 and notify me of anything else you may find. Samus, I suspect that you'll want to join them, so I'll leave you to it. James, K.G., meet up with Maurice in Sector 2 and see if you can bypass those creatures."
At this point, Samus didn't say anything, but she sincerely doubted that the three soldiers would be able to make too much more progress; the Pirates seemed to have dedicated an awful lot of resources to this place. More than should be possible considering their disorganised state, she mentally added. They likely started using this place prior to Zebes, but why? Was this supposed to be some secret supplement to their Metroid-multiplying plan? Whatever it was, she decided, she had to put an end to these experiments before Vistler used them to retaliate against the Federation forces. As such, there was no time to waste, and so she prepared to continue through the Sector, leading Kreatz and Lyle to come with her, ending the meeting.
Unfortunately for the trio, they almost immediately ran into more complications. The first of these was a group of clam-like Wavers (What's with this place and Zebesian wildlife? Samus thought. The Pirates never tried using them as bioweapons before, so either they're really desperate or these things were the work of some very eccentric Federation researchers from back when it was still in service), which took to the air and swooped down at the group, though they were quickly taken care of. However, these foes paled in comparison to what awaited them in the next room, which certainly helped the Biosphere to live up to its name. While some of the previous rooms had conformed to the sector's apparent jungle theme, from hallways covered with moss and vines to a room dominated by a giant tree directly prior to the save room where they'd spoken with the others (come to think of it, the 'eccentric researchers' theory seemed more and more likely), this new room was essentially an artificial rainforest, with countless exotic plants filling what would otherwise have been a vast antechamber. However, the group had little time to take in the scenery, for all the doors in the room locked automatically before a loud screech filled the air, heralding the arrival of a large, armadillo-like beast. As soon as it caught sight of the group, it curled into a ball and began rolling towards them, though Samus was easily able to stop it with a charge beam shot. From there, the three were able to bring it down with a withering hail of fire, which it tried to burrow away from, but failed due to having only one full arm. Once the strange beast died, Samus quickly scanned it, finding out that it was a genetically modified Griptian, they were usually small, peaceful herbivores, so this one was likely a bioweapon of some kind. Concerningly, the team quickly found the bodies of two other such creatures, the scan visor indicating that they'd been killed by a combination of galvanic accelerator cannons and energy scythes; the Pirates had been through this way, and were likely heading deeper into the sector. However, the door leading onward was still locked, and so the group needed to find another way out. Luckily, they were able to find another doorway in one of the rainforest's corners, and thus went through it, unaware that they were being observed by a small pair of eyes from the foliage.
"This is one messed-up place, right Samus?" Kreatz griped. "I know you've been through much worse, but I wonder what was done to make those Griptians so big and aggressive. Besides, that one back there likely lost an arm to the Pirates earlier when they killed its mates, so it certainly wasn't under their control. Why'd anyone turn a Griptian into that?" At this, Samus sighed slightly – Kreatz, for all his battle experience, was always the optimist, and so was sometimes blind to the worst the galaxy had to offer.
"You already saw what they did to the Ghalmanian, and hopefully you never see how they augmented that Asborean earlier. The Pirates don't care for any life beyond that which they view as either 'evolved' enough to live with or can use, you know that. Considering that my assignment to destroy the Metroids on SR-388 likely forced Ridley's hand, I'd assume they'd planned to replace their Metroid breeding program with all the bioweapons on here, or at least the strongest of them." Kreatz and Lyle said nothing more – the disgust in Samus' voice was more than enough indication that they shouldn't be focusing on the subject any more for the time being. Soon afterwards, they reached a small room clearly designed for observation of small animals, with several branches, plants and a tree simulating a jungle environment. However, the group's eyes were drawn to the corpse of a human scientist that looked to have been mauled by whatever had once occupied the room; a creature that appeared to have escaped into the undergrowth in the previous rooms.
"What were they keeping in there?" Lyle asked, clearly horrified by the corpse and the bite marks it displayed.
"I don't know Lyle," Samus replied, "but it looks like it escaped relatively recently – the corpse has barely started decaying."
"What does that mean? That it could still be nearby?"
"I was thinking more along the lines that either the Pirates were using Federation scientists as hostages or else this station was being used illegally before they got involved." The latter notion was admittedly a difficult one to understand; why would the Federation, or at least a rogue element of it, be running illegal research for years in such a veil of secrecy that the Pirates were able to take over without being detected? However, Samus' contemplation of the situation was interrupted by a female voice over the room's P.A. system:
"You're right, Samus – there was a good deal more going on with this place than any of you realise."
Author's note: One of the advantages of redoing Other M as a prose story rather than as a video game is that it's easier to get the members of Adam's platoon to be part of the story rather than just be plot devices, as well as to make some of the early fights in the Biosphere like the first Griptian and Ghalmanian (the pink, long-tailed lizard things from the game) encounters shorter. No need for mandatory fight filler in a proe work, after all.
The presence of companions also allows for Samus to have some conversations about the altered creatures she runs into, which should help to get some theories going. And speaking of theories, the next chapter's going to be a lot of backstory, though how reliable said backstory is might be up for debate, to put it lightly.
And with that, I'll be disappearing back into the ehter for a bit before resurfacing with another chapter at some indeterminate point in the future. See you round, and hopefully you like this chapter in the meantime.