Metroid Fan Fiction ❯ Stumbling Toward Elysia ❯ The Morning After ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7: The Morning After

 

 

 

The world faded in and out of focus, nameless gray shapes dancing in the void. Cold air hissed over her face, and the metallic, ionized smell nearly made her gag.

 

"She's coming to. Can you hear me, Samus?"

 

Samus blinked her eyes open as someone's hand planted itself in the middle of her visor, leaving a smear of disinfectant gel behind. A concerned face hovered just inches away, and she could just make out the uniform of a Navy medical officer. Beyond that, the bulkheads were adorned with monitors and equipment racks, all decorated in the antiseptic greens and grays that said "hospital" in every humanoid design archetype.

 

"What... happened?" she coughed out, gaze flickering around the room as she tried to take stock of her surroundings.

 

"You've been in a coma for the last month. We were afraid we'd lost you."

 

Memory began trickling back: the battle on Norion, racing to the orbital cannon controls as the Pirates' meteor weapon plummeted toward the planet's surface. The sudden appearance of her doppelganger from Aether, and her shock at seeing yet another creature she'd thought destroyed. The dark creature firing its weapon, herself unable to dodge, brilliant blue light searing her eyes as the Phazon blast slammed into her chest and she knew she was going to die--

 

"What about the meteor? Did we get it in time?"

 

"Yes, thanks to your great work," the doctor replied. "We found all of you unconscious in the control room. We brought you back to the Olympus, and our examination yielded some very surprising results. Somehow, all of your bodies are self-generating Phazon."

 

Samus' jaw smacked into the bottom of her helmet. "What did you just say?"

 

"You've all been corrupted by Phazon," the doctor explained. "However, since it doesn't seem to have any negative effects on your health, we thought, why not put it to good use?"

 

The doctor was still speaking, something or other about Hypermode and PED-equipped Marines, but Samus had already tuned her out. Phazon... corrupted? How did this happen?

 

"Why don't you try it out?"

 

"What? Oh, right. Very well." She looked down at the control panel bolted to her chest plate. "This button?"

 

As she pressed the Hypermode actuator, her vision flared and distorted into shades of gray and blue, and she gasped out loud as Phazon flooded into her suit's energy systems. Pure liquid pleasure hummed along every nerve, cool flame burning throughout her entire body, and every passing second increased the sensation until she felt sure she would explode herself.

 

"Test complete," the doctor said as the final target plate vaporized. "As you can see, Hypermode possesses devastating firepower."

 

more

 

"You don't suppose I could try that again, do you?" Samus asked, with a winning smile.

 

"I think once is enough for right now," the doctor replied. "We don't want you wearing yourself out."

 

Sudden, irrational rage flared across her mind at the refusal. How dare you tell me-- she thought, but tamped the anger down before she could say anything. Wait, why am I getting so upset over a weapon system?

 

"Anyway, as I was saying, we've learned the hard way just how powerful our enemies have become. You'll need the PED's firepower. Make good use of it."

 

kill

 

"Did you just say something?" Samus asked.

 

The doctor shook her head. "Just wishing you luck."

 

Hmm. Must be a malfunctioning audio pickup. Stupid Fed techies never do get the sensory systems right. Shaking her head, Samus stepped out of the bio-pod and across to the hatch. "Thank you."

 

The hammering and grinding noises of construction work echoed through the Olympus' corridors as Samus made her way out of the sickbay, and everywhere she looked, work parties labored to repair the damage the flagship had sustained in the Pirate attack. In contrast to her last trip through this area, very few people stopped her to say hello, as most of them had far more pressing matters to attend. The few well-wishers she did encounter either shouted their greetings over turned shoulders or warned her to watch her step among the damage zones.

 

As she walked down the passageway to the flag bridge, a voice called out, "Samus! Glad to see you're feeling better."

 

She turned around and saw the source of the call, a Marine staff sergeant standing guard outside the lift to the Olympus' Aurora unit. "The AU asked to see you. You're cleared for the chamber, head on up any time."

 

"Very well," she replied, wondering why exactly it would want to see her in person. It's not like it can't talk to me over the radio...

 

"That's a PED, isn't it?" the NCO said conversationally as she waited for the lift. "Pretty high speed. Only elite troops get to handle that kind of firepower."

 

Samus just nodded as the lift arrived.

 

Once within the AU chamber, another guard directed her how to use the control system, and with a palmprint to the panel, the Aurora unit floated to the top of its containment tank. Its convoluted bulk bobbed and swayed in the eddies of the nutrient fluid that bubbled within, and she watched its movements with a shudder of revulsion. Giant, disembodied brains in jars ranked very near the bottom of her list of favorite creatures in the galaxy.

 

"Welcome, Samus Aran," AU 242 said, apparently oblivious to her discomfort. "Let us begin. Time is most critical."

 

As Samus listened, AU 242 quickly recapped events during her month-long coma, finishing with the appearance of Phazon-bearing meteors on multiple other planets within the Kalandor system. "Each Leviathan carries a Phazon seed, which has begun to spread Phazon corruption throughout each of the planets. The Leviathans must be destroyed."

 

"All right, I'll take out the seeds for you," Samus replied. "What happened to the other hunters you hired, though? Why haven't I seen them here?"

 

AU 242 did not answer directly, instead continuing with its recitation. "Two weeks ago, we dispatched Rundas to Bryyo, Ghor to Elysia, while Gandrayda was sent to reconnoiter the Space Pirate stronghold."

 

That last sentence struck Samus like a fist to the stomach. "You sent Gandrayda to Urtragia? Did you lose your neural-net mind?!" she shouted, barely restraining the urge to pound on the status panel for emphasis. "She's going to get killed out there! You know damned well she doesn't have the kind of training or fire--"

 

"Like you, they were outfitted with PEDs to confront this new threat," AU 242 interrupted her tirade. "We lost contact with them seven days ago, and fear the worst."

 

A melange of fear and guilt churned in her stomach as she realized just what a mess the Federation had created for itself. By upgrading their troops and the other hunters en masse with PEDs, they might as well have hung a "STEAL ME" sign on the technology. If the Space Pirates managed to kill or imprison a PED-equipped fighter, they would be able to use the Federation design to upgrade their own weaponry, perhaps to their point where she wouldn't be able to kill them at all. Worse yet, she couldn't even fault the Federation command for the decision. If she hadn't been out of commission, the admiralty would have sent her instead of the other hunters, and this never would have happened...

 

"Your first destination should be Bryyo. We will continue to provide you with information as we acquire it. Good luck."

 

The instant AU 242 dropped back into its holding tank, Samus bolted out of the chamber, running toward the docking bay as fast as her legs would take her. Once again, it was fear that drove her, but this time she couldn't have cared less for her own safety.

 

Just hang in there, she thought, staring worriedly out the cockpit viewscreens as she flew out of the Olympus' docking bay. I'm coming just as fast as I can.

 

*****

 

She hadn't been fast enough.

 

Samus lay sprawled in her bunk, staring at the overhead as the gunship cruised through the eternal twilight of hyperspace. Under any other conditions, she would have been in the cockpit, but right now, she doubted she even had the energy to sit upright. Instead, she lay as quietly as she could, trying to focus on breathing.

 

By anyone's reckoning, this mission was rapidly turning from dismal to deadly. Her dark nemesis was still at large and growing stronger, working in league with the Space Pirates to spread Phazon throughout the galaxy. Two of her fellow hunters had fallen to the poison's siren song, and then died under her own blazing weapons. She herself was living on borrowed time, the corruption growing inside her with every Leviathan she destroyed.

 

"We have discovered important information regarding your condition," AU 242 had said, back on Bryyo when the first symptoms had begun showing themselves. "Once activated, the unique Phazon within your body will eventually overreact, placing you at risk for terminal corruption. In providing you with the PED, we have inadvertently placed you in grave danger. We are sorry."

 

With a sigh, she ran a hand through her hair, ignoring the small clump of dull brass strands that clung to her armored gauntlet. She'd taken to leaving her helmet off while aboard her ship; the Phazon toxicity had brought on a more or less constant state of nausea as her body struggled to rid itself of the poison, and she didn't care to risk death by aspiration if she couldn't remove the helmet quickly enough. What a joke that would be, the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter killed by radioactive puke, she thought morbidly.

 

The ship AI's dispassionate voice broke through her musings. "Autopilot disengaged. N-space reentry in five seconds."

 

Seven seconds later, as the Hunter III punched through into normal space, Samus was leaning over the waste recycler as the Phazon sickness overwhelmed her.

 

When it was over, she stumbled to the sink, splashing a double palmful of cold water over her face and rinsing the last of the residue out of her mouth and nose. Temporarily relieved, she walked the short distance back to the cockpit, dropping into the pilot's seat with a metallic thump.

 

I suppose there's a way this planet could be uglier, but I can't imagine what it is, she thought sardonically as she evaded the few haphazardly placed security drones and slid the gunship into orbit around Urtragia. The Space Pirate homeworld had been utterly despoiled by decades of pollution and the more-recent onset of Phazon corruption. Acid rain poured down upon the rock and metal of the Pirates' warrens, and only the barest flashes of bloody light from the system's anemic red sun filtered through the chemical clouds. No amount of environmental rehabilitation would ever make this place fit for sentient life again.

 

The shipboard communications system beeped, and the lights dimmed as AU 242's hologram winked to life in the center of her control panel. "Excellent work, Samus. Thanks to you, Elysia is now free of corruption." The AU paused for a moment before continuing. "We have received an encrypted communication capsule from Gandrayda, containing information on the Pirate homeworld."

 

Samus sat bolt upright at those words, as hope dawned within. Perhaps the corruption wasn't as inevitable as Ghor had told her. After all, she had learned to control it; it wasn't too much of a stretch to suppose that the shapeshifter had done the same. "Gandrayda's still alive? What did she say?"

 

"The Leviathan is buried deep within the planet, and is protected by three energy shields. You will have to destroy these shields before you can access the Leviathan seed." A map reference flashed up with the words. "There is an abandoned landing site that you can use within the Pirate base. We will continue to monitor your progress."

 

As the Aurora had promised, only silence and shadows greeted her as she landed the gunship within the Pirate command post. A Crawltank and an automated turret guarded the lift to the Pirate headquarters, but a quick volley of plasma reduced them both to slag. Stepping over the wreckage, Samus headed for the lift and pressed the controls for the third floor.

 

[CAUTION: Chemical hazard,] her HUD warned her as she approached the courtyard leading to the command post. The acid rain hissed as it struck the rocks, and dark fumes wafted up from the exposed steel of the Pirates' buildings and walkways. The few Pirates that braved the rain did so underneath large shields, and they never stayed outside for more than a few minutes at a time.

 

It can't be that bad, she thought, taking an experimental step out into the courtyard. With the Varia armor, I should practically be able to swim in-- "OW!"

 

Droplets of acid burned straight through the suit's energy shielding and began eating into the armor beneath, and Samus ran for the safety of the entryway. The string of curses she rattled off would have done any Marine proud as she inspected the damage. "Son of a--"

 

Her suit radio bleeped at her, and a moment later, AU 242 spoke through her helmet's earpieces. "Samus, we believe there is a cargo supply route that connects directly to the seed. The gate in the command courtyard appears to be its main entrance. However, you will not be able to pass this area unless you can find protection from the acid rain."

 

"Oh really, you think?" Samus grumbled as she ducked under an overhead walkway, using it as cover from the rain as she inched toward the ventilation tunnels on the western side of the courtyard. A morph ball run through the tunnels led her through to a vault, and she took the X-ray visor upgrade from within before returning to the command station. Strangely, no Pirates pursued her, and she paused for a moment to catch her breath before proceeding.

 

Alone, she stared out into the rain.

 

It was just a bit rich, Samus mused, that a month ago, she would have been perfectly happy never to see Gandrayda again, and yet now she was risking her own life to save her. I must be getting soft in my old age, she thought wryly, but in truth, she had changed - not growing softer, but wiser, replacing her old fears and distrust with a kind of confident disregard. She knew who and what she was, and just as importantly, so did most of the galaxy. Where once she would have run in terror from the threat of being exposed, now she simply didn't care. She'd lived through far too much hell to concern herself with others' opinions of her.

 

Age and wisdom had also revealed another human emotion to her: loneliness. In the past, Samus had thought it enough of a life to travel the stars and battle the Space Pirates; the lot of a Defender had always been a solitary existence, and she had always preferred her own company. However, the few social experiences she'd had in her adult life had revealed a whole other world to her - a world that, by habit if not by profession, she could never explore. The one chance she'd had at something more, she had destroyed through her own inexperience and fear, and more than once she had wondered if such an opportunity, having knocked once, would never return.

 

Her brief affair with Gandrayda all those years ago had come at a time in her life she would much rather forget, and even when they met again aboard the Olympus, she had regarded the shapeshifter as little more than a liability. Now, though, with the wreckage of the mission surrounding them and both their lives hanging in the same balance, all the old emotional baggage had melted away, replaced by a fierce desire to protect the other woman. Despite all that had happened between them, Gandrayda was the only person still alive who could understand what Samus was going through. And if they somehow managed to escape this planet, perhaps there was still hope for their survival.

 

Gandrayda, where are you? she thought, pressing an armored hand to the glass. Please, just let me know you're alive...

 

 

 

Author's Note: Samus is pretty well a mess at this point physically, but she's finally figured out the emotional piece. Thank goodness for that; writing immature, "closeted" Samus (in the sense of hiding her identity, though perhaps in other senses as well) was getting tough!

 

Boldface text is the "voice" of the corruption. More of this will appear in future chapters.

 

The Aurora units use the "royal we" to refer to themselves throughout the game, which makes for amusing lines in some parts (the aforementioned "We are sorry" line being one of them).

 

The onset of Samus' Phazon sickness is shown in a fairly detailed cutscene after the battle with Mogenar and the destruction of the Bryyo seed. Quite possibly one of the most disturbing scenes in gaming.

 

Although the Space Pirate homeworld has no other name in the log book entries, the Shriekbats that live there are logged as Urtragian Shriekbats. Since every other species of Shriekbat is named for its homeworld (Bryyonian Shriekbats, Elysian Shriekbats, etc), I extrapolated from there. And yes, the rainfall will kill you within seconds, despite the fact that the Varia armor usually grants you immunity to chemical hazards. Must be some powerful acid rain. ;-)

 

Thanks to all who have read and reviewed!