[c] The Hunter's Fall

Story by FestivalGrey on SoFurry

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SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1017

"Against all odds, our enemy, the dreaded Hunter Samus Aran, has fallen into our hands.

High Command and Science Team are at odds over what to do with her. High Command wishes her extermination, but we on Science Team believe that she shows promise beyond just trying to reverse-engineer her suit and ship. She is the greatest warrior in the galaxy; her genetic potential cannot go untapped. High Command has tentatively agreed to our proposal.

The Hunter is to be put into the breeding program."

A commission for anonymous! They wanted a story about Samus getting captured and bred by the Space Pirates, told in the style of the logs from the Metroid Prime games. It was a unique request which I was happy to experiment with!


SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1017

Against all odds, our enemy, the dreaded Hunter Samus Aran, has fallen into our hands.

High Command and Science Team are at odds over what to do with her. High Command wishes her extermination, but we on Science Team believe that she shows promise beyond just trying to reverse-engineer her suit and ship. She is the greatest warrior in the galaxy; her genetic potential cannot go untapped. High Command has tentatively agreed to our proposal.

The Hunter is to be put into the breeding program.

As subdirector of Science Team, I have been charged with chronicling this project, and so chronicle it I shall. What a glorious turn of fate—for the Hunter to finally become the prey.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1026

The past few days have been spent laboriously checking the Hunter’s genetic code. She is far from pure human, as we suspected; she boasts a cocktail of Chozo and Metroid genomes integrated thoroughly into her system, not to mention extensive cybernetic augmentation. Between her altered genome and the cybernetics, I must note with astonishment that less than half her makeup is human.

To breed her outright is a risky proposition—not only because we risk damaging such a valuable specimen, but also because she is excessively dangerous when not under sedative, requiring two full security teams to subdue even without her power suit or weapons. She attempts escape, threatens to bring the Federation on our head, and has already killed three good pirates with her bare hands.

After much debate, we have elected to put her to use as a surrogate. The Federation are not the only ones with Metroid tissue available for cloning. Since she carries the genome inside of her, our belief is that it should be an easy surrogacy that is more natural and nourishing for the creature than being grown in a vial. This ideally would make it hardier in the long run.

The Hunter has not been informed of our plans, and indeed seems both confused and suspicious of why she is still alive. Once the Metroid embryos are ready to transfer, she will be tranquilized and the process will begin.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1041

The Hunter has been made a mother—not that she knows it. The embryo transfers were a success, and she is now pregnant with the very aliens she helped exterminate.

It seems just—that she be the one to bring them back, and that she does so on our behalf, after so many of us met our end at her cannon.

High Command is eagerly watching. If the Metroids do not turn out well or if she does not remain healthy, we have orders to terminate.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1057

The Hunter’s surrogacy is progressing healthily. She is given increased rations and a cocktail of medicines daily (she does not currently accept them without being tranquilized and restrained first) and her stomach boasts a small bump that could be mistaken for weight.

But the Hunter, as we know, is crafty. She reports feeling ill in the morning, having twinges in her stomach, and she has demanded to know what we did to her.

I voted that we tell her immediately—but was vetoed by the Director and by High Command. Fools. She cannot remain ignorant of her own pregnancy forever, and revealing it to her at a time and place of our choosing could be a potent weapon.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY # 1070

The Hunter, curse her name, killed four good pirates today. We thought her secure but she has been loosening a strap, covertly, day-by-day…

When she was finally subdued she was screaming to know what we put in her, asserting that she could feel the movement. Whatever she was expecting, when I told her it was Metroids, plural, she slackened and looked awestruck—momentarily, but enough to strap her in fully.

We informed her that she had been bred, and would be again, and the look on her face brought cold laughter to every pirate in the room.

Would that we could avenge our fallen brothers from her hide… but alas, the Metroids slumbering within her take precedence. We shall have to breed her that much harder next time.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1081

I must admit, I enjoy seeing the Hunter like this. Swollen tight, waddling about, hand on her back. The Metroids within seem perpetually agitated; all last morning she lay down in her cell, clutching her stomach and sobbing, fierce bumps regularly visible on the surface. Many stationed here, from members of Science Team to lowly grunts, come to gawk and leer at her as she waddles through her cramped cell.

Metroids mature rapidly, but even by their standards, this is faster than usual. An anomaly? Or is this some unintended effect of her genetic variables acting in concert with one another?

Regardless, the creatures seem to be doing well despite their quickened development.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1085

The Metroids are delivered. They are hale and hearty, as is the Hunter—hale and hearty and decidedly miserable.

Good. High Command was enticed by her successful delivery, and also by the impressive speed at which we have finally obtained a new flock of Metroids. They have elected to permanently enroll her in the breeding program.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1148

Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the Hunter’s transition from scourge to sow. She has delivered five batches of Metroids, the smallest being seven of the creatures and the largest ten, and is heavily pregnant with her sixth.

She truly is a wonder. The speed at which she develops and pops them out is marvelous. The director believes that the Metroid DNA in her naturally tends towards quick gestations and is being amplified by the Chozo blood. Interestingly, despite having been our captive for almost a year, the Hunter shows no signs of aging even slightly—the Chozo were incredibly long-lived, and Metroids are not known to die of senescence. She is likely to continue giving us young for a good while.

The arrangement would be perfect if not for the Hunter herself. She is still violent, prone to sudden bursts and dangerous assaults even while swollen with Metroids, and excessively dangerous. She still claims the Federation will come for her, but those words betray a sense of unease of late. She can sense it has been a long time here. I wonder if she knows the Federation has a bounty on her head for what she did in BSL.

If they had any intention of rescuing her, it would not be for heroism’s sake. They would breed her too.

I told her that, once, and her expression was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1151

To think this miserably swollen mother is the scourge of all our race. Brought down Mother Brain, shattered Zebes, erased Phaaze. Now reduced to this. A glorified incubator perpetually squeezing out little monsters.

I have come to the opinion that she is wasted as a surrogate. We need her real, biological offspring. We need the Hunter’s genes to serve us. She is malleable; she can carry other things besides Metroids, I know it. Perhaps Zebesian young.

Perhaps even my young.

With the right gene treatments, it can be doable. It will take a few years to get there, of course, and it will need to be pitched in a way that satisfies the rest of the team. But I can picture her now, tight and miserable with my child in her. I would love to stroke that belly, knowing that I planted a seed in the Hunter, hearing the hiss of her breath from the tautness…

I think the first goal to convince them to step away from surrogacy will be to expand our horizon just beyond Metroids.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1152

The director took my bait. I suggested that we see if her advanced surrogacy extends to more creatures beyond Metroids; if our attempt fails, we can always move her back. He agreed.

We have decided to switch her to Parasites. The excuse given is that that they are small and will not strain her, and the natural gestation is quick, so even if my supposition is incorrect, we will know quickly. Not to mention that we can repurpose our old bio-program with them from Orpheon.

This time, we shall tell her. I wonder how the Hunter will feel when she learns that rather than the most feared creature in the galaxy, she is to play host to creatures that skitter in the refuse.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1162

Shortly after she birthed her last batch of Metroids, the Hunter attempted an escape. She managed to get several halls over before being brought down with an electric weapon…

This facility is far more than just a few halls, of course. She will need to get much further than that. Still, it is eye-opening.

High Command chewed out the director. Increasingly, we are viewing the Hunter herself—or her modified womb—as our most valuable asset, should we pirates climb back from the brink.

The day after she escaped, she was tranquilized and the embryos were transferred. She could not hide her revulsion at being forced to carry Parasites. Even now, I look in at her—only a few weeks in and already her belly is bulging, teeming with life and movement. Parasites are naturally skittering creatures, even in the womb, and the Hunter spends most of her day slumped against a wall, sweat on her brow and breaths heavy, clutching at herself. The ceaseless movement of the Parasites can be seen bulging and distorting her.

I just imagine a Zebesian in there and I shudder with bliss.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1166

We strapped her to a table during the birth, as we do whenever we must interact with her. Between hissing breaths as she squeezed the slippery bastards past her cunt, she asked if this was necessary. She was told that given her recent escape attempts, what did she think?

And then the unthinkable happened. The Hunter—Samus Aran herself—asked if she could be left alone provided she was on “good behavior”.

Before the director could speak, I answered that we would first have to see how she handled the next pregnancy. He looked at me but agreed.

She didn’t like that there was going to be a next one, but I couldn’t help but bare my fangs at her in a smile. “You poor fool,” I said, “there will always be a next one.”

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1191

She can squeeze out a whole litter of Parasites in under a month, and it’s been a little over half a year since we swapped her. And wouldn’t you know it—good behavior. The Hunter doesn’t need to be strapped into chairs, doesn’t try to attack us when we administer medicine or check on her young. Sometimes we even affix a little leash on a collar and lead her around the office (with several armed guards following, of course. Just in case.)

The director thinks we’re done with Parasites, and I agree. I would like to move up to trying her out as a surrogate for something larger—about the size of a Zebesian, perhaps?—but he wants to stay safe.

We’re going to stuff her full of Geemers.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1210

Filthy little scavengers, those things. Amazing how many she can squeeze out in just a month and a half. They frequently bite her during the birthing process. The sound she makes… lovely.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1232

A little over two years now, we’ve had her. Amazing. It used to be that every pirate in the galaxy feared that yellow hair and those giant shoulders; now I can barely remember what the suit looked like. In fact, sometimes I struggle to recall what she looked like before getting a womb stuffed full of creatures.

Two years I’ve stared at our people’s greatest enemy swell up time and time again, knowing that it could be my child in there. Enough’s enough.

Geemers keep trash disposals and vents clean, but no one needs this many. I’ll propose we move her to something bigger—a last experiment before we really try to breed her. But what?

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1235

Sometimes the director finds two brain cells to rub together. Grenchlers. We’ll begin almost as soon as she squeezes out the current batch of bugs that makes it so hard for her to move.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1241

Only a few days and she’s already starting to show. The unease she displays when she stares at her stomach… Does she recognize that’s the same fear we lived in for at least a decade? No, she could never find herself to care.

The director thinks that her natural swiftness could be increased. His target goal is to make it so that she can carry and birth something in less than half the typical gestation.

It’s a sound plan, even if he did steal it.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1247

I don’t know if I ever appreciated how truly big Grenchlers can get. She’s only carrying one embryo this time—like all surrogacies, we tempered it in a vial before making the transfer—and already she’s incapable of rising. Her belly isn’t a round globe, it’s a constant sea of movement as the creature inside twists and thrashes and roars.

In all the time she’s been here, I’ve never seen her so miserable.

I want to remember this moment forever.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1255

The Grenchler stretched her so wide she actually begged us to help her. She said she’d do anything if we got it out.

Anything.

As I looked at the tremendously-sized creature standing there, still birth-wet on the lab floor, and then I looked at the scarlet-eyed, grotesquely swollen Hunter, I knew that I was going to hold her to it.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1259

She’s nearing the end of her second Grenchler surrogacy for now. I’ve pitched the idea to try and breed her—actually breed her—but the director is stubborn. He wants to keep up with surrogacy, try a few more Grenchlers, get that gestation time down. He’s managing to do it—already this one is developing faster than the first, and that itself boasted her usual swiftness.

He’s also letting her out more often; the justification is that growing these creatures faster will drain her energy and prevent her from making trouble. We shall see.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1273

The Hunter nearly escaped this morning. She’s been given the run of the facility during the duration of this pregnancy, and despite her massive size (she is scarcely a week from her due date) she made a break for it, dodging stunners and overcoming guards. Only an untimely kick from the Grenchler within made her shudder to a halt in time for us to catch. She will be under lock and key until the monster is birthed.

Incidentally, High Command has informed me that Science Team’s leadership position is now vacant.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1277

No concrete successor has been chosen; I am currently the temporary director. She birthed the Grenchler last night, and without the old director to stymie us, the team agrees that she should be truly bred by a Zebesian. I will pitch the proposal to High Command tomorrow.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1285

I can confirm that the Hunter is now pregnant with a Zebesian offspring, conceived the natural way. We grafted a small part of Zebesian DNA into her genome and treated her to a chemical cocktail meant to modify her body chemistry beforehand, and it all went smoothly.

We considered knocking her out for the act of impregnation itself, but decided that it would be more gratifying for our hated enemy to stay awake. And so the Hunter was strapped to a table, gagged, straining and muffled, doing everything she could to stop it, as one of our security staff squeezed himself into her cunt and filled her with young.

If this one works out, I might see about contributing to some more hand-on experimentation myself.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1289

Another escape attempt today, but we learned from last time. She didn’t get too far and started sobbing when thrown back into her cell.

The pregnancy is healthy, and the old director’s treatments are still working—it’s going much faster than usual. She’s already starting to show.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1294

More repeated escape attempts. None of them get far, but it’s becoming a nuisance. I’ve pitched a plan to High Command.

At this point, we have data on how she typically attempts escapes, as well as how they usually go. Since taking the Hunter captive, her life has become one of constant pregnancy; her condition often interferes with her attempts, and she is watched more closely between pregnancies.

My idea is this: what if we engineer a perfect opportunity for the Hunter to escape when she is not pregnant? We can “accidentally” leave a gap in our patrols, show off some “jammed” locks when taking her about the facility. If she tries to escape while at peak condition and fails, she may realize how hopeless it is and cease her attempts. We can have a high-security team ringing the facility’s perimeter in case she makes it all the way out, and it’s also a way for us to test the mettle of our current garrison.

High Command has agreed, and once she is ready, we will allow the Hunter to test herself.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1296

The Hunter has given birth to a healthy Zebesian child. The infant showcases unusual genetic complexity and extreme hardiness. Breeding her was a good idea.

We’re now in the process of covertly showing off the “weaknesses” in our security to her.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1300

Victory.

As predicted, the Hunter made an escape attempt while not pregnant and at peak physicality. My best wishes came true—the high-security team was not needed. Though it was touch-and-go, the security garrison proved enough to foil her.

As a reward, she was given to them for three days.

Our reminders that we needed her alive and intact were unnecessary. Ever since the father of her last child started boasting, every Zebesian on the station has only wanted her for one thing—and they got it.

She was returned to us this morning, barely lucid. We ran tests and, predictably, confirmed that she emerged from the garrison with child.

The Hunter started convulsing when she heard us say that.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1306

As I performed the necessary scans on the Hunter today, I told her that from here on out, any escape attempt will be punished as before: by giving her to the garrison. Last time was three days. The next will be four. And then after, five.

She didn’t respond to the statement, but I can’t help but reflect that she has no longer spoken of Federation rescue as of late.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1311

The Hunter’s second Zebesian child has been delivered without complication. The successful delivery and the fact that her willfulness has evaporated after my plan to set up a botched escape has impressed High Command enough for me to be promoted to director Science Team.

I think that to celebrate, I will use my newfound authority to have the Hunter delivered to my chambers.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1312

The Hunter is chained to my bed, her legs wide, mouth gagged, eyes searching and desperate even as I type this. She looks so ripe. So luscious. So fertile.

I think I am going to enjoy this.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1313

The Hunter is swollen with my child, and all is well.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1350

Fatherhood is quite the chore, but it was well worth it in the end. Science Team spends much time breeding the Hunter. It’s been a few years since she started cranking out Zebesians, and her children age astonishingly quickly. Part of their mother’s Metroid DNA at work?

High Command sees potential in her mothering a race of fast-developing shock troops, and has directed us to increasing her fertility. Now every batch is multiples; she’s moved up to an average of five young per pregnancy. She’s quite popular around the base, and breeding rights with her is used as a treat or reward for good behavior.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1355

Something unusual happened today. While being scanned, she asked, quietly, if she could be moved back to Metroids or Grenchlers. I almost dropped the scanner, I couldn’t believe it. She kept her head down, almost fearful to meet my eyes, and held her globe of a belly in two hands.

I will consider her request, but it’s worth noting this is the first time that she has ever explicitly acquiesced to being bred. It’s the first sign that she recognizes that this is her fate, now: constantly squeezing out new life.

The botched escape attempt, which seems so long ago now, is her last. I don’t think it’s right to call her the Hunter anymore.

As head of Science Team, I am officially redesignating her “the Breeder.”

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1359

The Breeder is slow to acclimate to her new moniker, but she will learn soon enough. After all, even she can ignore reality for only so long.

I had her moved back to the Grenchlers, as per her request, but decided that surrogacy was a waste of strong, malleable genetics. The Breeder was quite distraught when she realized that her Grenchler pregnancy would be a natural conception this time around—as though it matters in the end, as she’ll be having monstrous offspring either way! It seems it was the act of conception itself which bothered her, but once she was chained up, the Grenchler had his way and conception went by without a hitch.

She seems distraught but is not acting up. It seems she learned her lesson well.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1366

There was some concern that the Breeder’s first non-sapient pregnancy that was conceived in the typical manner would be difficult or dangerous for her, but I am pleased to write that she has borne a baby Grenchler without issue. The creature is aggressive and hardy and seems quite fond of its mother—it even attempts to suckle from her, though the Breeder seems distressed when this occurs.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1458

A number of years have transpired since my ascension to head of Science Team. There is much to do, and the Breeder is at the center of it all. We have her on a cycle now—a few Zebesian pregnancies (always multiples; typically she’ll have at least seven, and sometimes up to ten) before we have her surrogate a few Metroids. If we need a particular creature bred, then this is when we do it—we’ve done Parasites once, and Shriekbats another. No surrogacies; she lies with the creatures and bears their offspring just like everything else. (It took a few tries, but she’s stopped trying to fight it when we breed her with the critters. She also readily responds to “the Breeder” as a moniker.)

Pleasingly, she remains almost completely unaged since her first capture, suggesting that so long as we take care of her, we’ll have a long time remaining to put her to use. Years? Decades? Centuries, perhaps, of squeezing out alien offspring? Who can say?

The Breeder’s Zebesian children are rapidly expanding our ranks and aging at an increased rate. In a few years, her first ones will be old enough to take the field. The Metroids she bears us are also promising, and we are starting to seriously consider attempting a comeback.

We’ve done a few small raids here and there—tiny outposts, single ships. Usually we kill all inhabitants, but I’ve asked any human females to be spared. None of them will prove as useful as the Breeder, I think, but I believe it will be possible to put them to use as surrogates as she originally was, by using her as a template. I’m to receive my first few test subjects tomorrow.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1462

The surrogacy experiments are proceeding, but still in early stages. A number of my test subjects didn’t make it, either from the gene treatments or because their bodies couldn’t handle the offspring. Still, we are making headway and I expect success rates to rise.

The Breeder, meanwhile, is stuffed so full of Metroid eggs that she’s barely lucid. As I watched her, I started to think:

We cloned those creatures, yes? And brought them back via her womb? What else might we bring back, I wonder?

Ridley is long gone, yet we still have genetic data from him when we underwent the experiments so long ago. We have all heard of the Breeder’s history with him… it seems poetic that she be used to clone his lineage again.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1469

My experiments have borne fruit—or monsters, at any rate. The captive females have successfully been used as surrogates. So far, Sanddiggers, War Wasps, and Geemers have been borne from start to finish.

With this, we should be able to move the Breeder off of creature duty (unless we want a hardier than usual specimen containing her genetics) and devote her to Metroids and Zebesians.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1475

Such exasperation from these human females. The surrogates act as if being made to bear creatures is the worst fate in the world, as though I am not taking care of them, just as the Breeder did when first captured by us.

But even now she retains a few ghosts of her old willfulness. When informed of my plan to bring back Ridley, she exploded into a furious rage the likes of which she hasn’t displayed in years. She was pleading—no, demanding—that she be put to any use but that.

As if she had a choice, of course. She was sedated and impregnated and now finds herself plumping up with the clone of her hated enemy.

I love the way she stares at her belly in despair.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1485

The Ridley-clone’s development is proceeding nicely, and the Breeder has gone from despondency to lovely sort of haunted numbness. In the meantime, we seem to have perfected the surrogacy experiments; we have a steady stream of human females coming in now, and all are helping us increase our monster numbers!

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1489

The Breeder delivered the Ridley-clone with dread and begged not to look at it. It seems he has a hold over her psyche even still.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1495

The sheer number of successes in forcing captive females to be surrogates has drawn positive attention from High Command. They have approved my plan to see if the females can serve as Metroid surrogates next; High Command was also ecstatic to learn that Ridley was successfully cloned.

To celebrate, I’ve invited the Breeder to my chambers again. It’s been long enough… I think I could do with another child of my own. I do love seeing her chained and helpless as I stroke my finger down her spine.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1498

I’ve made the Breeder live up to her name. I’ll have a second child soon.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1528

Luck must truly be on my side—mine, and all pirates. Shortly after the Breeder bore my second child (she is currently on Metroid duty again), a security breach occurred. Several of the creatures we used to impregnate the Breeder with—Grenchlers, Sanddiggers, Parasites—got loose and invaded the quarters where we keep the human females.

Had the creatures indulged their predatory instincts, I likely would have gone the same way as my predecessor. But as fate would have it, the creatures didn’t want to feast, they wanted to fuck, and fuck they did, every single woman in that chamber being gangbanged by alien lifeforms. That alone would be no harm, but those women who had received treatment to prepare them for surrogacy but were not yet with child reported strange feelings in the day afterwards.

Amazed, considering this development almost impossible, I checked it only to find that it is true—the women have been impregnated the old-fashioned way by the creatures.

Surrogacy is one thing, but to truly breed them? The principle of ‘hybrid vigor’ indicates that this will result in far superior offspring in the long run. Already I am modifying the breeding program so that I might impregnate women en masse with the offspring of these creatures.

I wonder… it worked for the Breeder. Could we do the same for Zebesians?

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1549

The Breeder has been bred by a Sanddigger. It seems a waste, but High Command wants to compare the genetics of her offspring with that of the captives. In the meantime, we are moving forward with Metroid surrogacies on the captives through reverse-engineering the DNA splicing performed on the Breeder.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1552

I wonder… how many years has it been since the Breeder has been the Breeder? How many years since her life become nothing more than endless fucking and bearing alien children? Metroids, Zebesians, Ridley clones. She truly does not age.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1573

The Metroid surrogacies are coming along nicely! Amusingly, the captive females have started circling rumors amongst themselves that “the Hunter” will rescue them. Now that is a name I have not heard in a long while! Feeling piquant, I allowed the Breeder to overhear such a conversation. It seemed to get her worked up, but alas—eight Zebesians in her belly!

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1590

Truly good news! We performed our first large-scale raid on a colony and were largely successful. Per my entreaties, they captured as many females alive as possible. But the true prize came after. The Federation sent a cruiser to intercept—and we took that as well! The tech salvaged from it will jump us forward immensely once reverse-engineered. The Metroids birthed by our Breeder were a big help in putting down the troopers, as was the Ridley-clone—who has recently completed his metamorphosis and led the charge, decimating Federation troops.

The Ridley-clone has requested a go at breeding the Breeder, and High Command demands that I accept. Though she carried him, the clone is a genetic mirror of the original Ridley, and thus there shouldn’t be any risk of backcrossing.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1601

She enjoyed that even less, but it hardly matters. The Ridley-clone had his fun, the Breeder is bearing another dragon, and best yet, her Zebesian offspring will soon be ready to hit the field.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1604

More good news! We have continued using captive humans as surrogates in the vein of our original Breeder, and they can consistently carry and birth Metroids! Our shock troop numbers grow.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1605

Success piles on success. The Breeder’s Zebesian children have hit the battlefield, and they prove savage fighters and cunning thinkers, outmaneuvering Federation troops.

But that is not their greatest benefit.

As often happens in times of war, our soldiers treated themselves to some of their female captives. We have often done this with humans, but this time, the ones who were birthed from the Breeder ended up impregnating their captives—no experiments or gene treatments necessary! Looks like they inherited enough humanness from their mother to be viable.

What this means is astonishing. We could breed shock troops through the Breeder, use those troops to capture outposts and colonies and breed the women there for more shock troops… it will compound upon itself.

No more creatures. Since critters can be bred with normal captives and surrogates will suffice for Metroids, the Breeder is being moved to round-the-clock breeding duty for Zebesians and Ridley. I’m going to build on my predecessor’s work and try to increase her productivity even more—hopefully we’ll soon have her at a dozen young per litter! She’s already swollen enough that she’s borderline sessile halfway through her pregnancy, but it hardly matters at this point.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1697

Our momentum increases. Outposts, stations, whole colonies… we are nibbling up the Federation by dint of numbers alone. Every human taken means dozens more shock troops as fast as we can. Their roles are split: a full half of our captives are given to the Breeder’s Zebesian offspring to make as many as we can, and another third are used to surrogate Metroids. The few remaining are treated and given to the critters, for we can always find some small use for War Wasps, Geemers, Sanddiggers.

The Breeder, of course, has been pumping out Zebesians left and right. Every victory invites the garrison to ‘celebrate’ with her.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1765

The Ridley-clone led an assault on a world, a full world, backed up by commandos and shock troops and hordes of Metroids—and he won.

A world is ours once more. A whole world, its resources and tech and women as spoils.

He was offered anything he wanted, and he asked for exclusive rights to the Breeder for a year. He did so while she was in earshot, already swelling up with more Zebesians. I expected her to argue—but she said nothing, only stared ahead in a dead fashion. This means, I suppose, that it really is the end for her. Samus Aran is dead, and all that remains is the Breeder.

I have negotiated time for Ridley with High Command. It will hurt to lose her productivity, but her children remain compatible with humans when fully grown, and with a whole world to impregnate, we should be fine.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #1857

A year has passed, and our Breeder is back again. She seems even more hollow than before; I am told she bore Ridley many, many children. We have seized two more planets in her absence and are churning out Zebesians and Metroids at rates thought impossible, all thanks to reverse-engineering her genetic code.

Of course, I had to take her aside for a private celebration upon her return.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #2021

Her movement is more or less completely unrestricted. It has been a long, long time since she ever even tried to fight back. She wanders our facilities in a daze, holding her belly, the target of leers and snickers from passing soldiers.

Recently, at rationtime, I overheard a group of young recruits discussing her. They question whether the legend of “the Hunter” was ever real at all, or just propaganda made to spur them on against the Federation. The Breeder, or so they claim, is too quiet, too docile—too broken to have ever deserved such a moniker.

“But just think if it was true!” said one. “I’d have a warrior’s blood!”

“So would half the garrison,” came the retort.

Nowadays, breeding requests for her are slowly waning—but still competitive. Still, I do sometimes approve of requests of low-level troopers to lie with the one who kickstarted our program, if only out of impishness.

*****

SCIENCE TEAM ENTRY #11308

How quaint these old records proved. I’m glad we moved to more efficient logs. Still, as the newest head of Science Team after that old bastard died, I will log one final update in the old files, just for old time’s sake.

The Federation is broken, and two-thirds of human planets are in pirate hands. The rest are fleeing on the edges of the galaxy, and will be ours within a generation.

The humans themselves prove nearly as useful resources as their planets and technology. My predecessor’s experiments have been refined, and thus all females are divided into categories.

5.5 billion human women are used as “Matrons”—they deliver Zebesians by the cartful. The vast majority of Zebesians are humanborn, now, nearly 2/3rds of us (including myself) and nearly all can trace our lineage back to the Breeder.

3.5 billion women are “Hatchers”—Metroid surrogates. Metroids are our shock troops and attack animals, and as integral to our conquering strategy as any weapon of war. Just under 2 billion women serve as “Calvers,” constantly bred with and producing creatures which we find useful.

Human men are shock troops or hard laborers, those who do not resist. Any who do are vaporized. Before beginning her role in the breeding program, every human woman is required to have two babies of her own species before she begins—this keeps their numbers self-perpetuating.

Of the Breeder herself, most of the original High Command is gone. Very few even remember the legend of “the Hunter” anymore, and those who do doubt her existence. It’s strange to think that the immortal Breeder quietly producing more offspring for us is that same one.

I had her retired from the program, cogent that she’s done more than enough for us over the ages—we can take it from here. (Not to mention that I might feel a son’s affection for her even if we have barely interacted.) Surprisingly, she seemed distressed at being taken off of breeding duty, almost frightened. Perhaps she needs something growing in her belly to distract her.

She asked if she could choose her paramour, and I acquiesced. She wanted a “dog” (a strange kind of human animal of little use; there are hardly any left anymore.) When I asked why, she claimed only that “there is an old human term for what I am. I would like to live up to it.” She is now round with the dog’s offspring, and sometimes even smiles at it.

The Breeder has indicated that she might go back to Metroids after this; if she wishes, it’s her prerogative. In the end, I suppose it matters little to flatter her.

Her role in this conflict is over. She kickstarted our glorious ascent—and soon enough all the galaxy will share her fate.

As they should.