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In Super Metroid, Samus flies her Starship straight to the Ceres Space Colony to deliver the baby to the researchers there. After Proteus Ridley is defeated, Samus and the baby use the Gunship to leave SR388, inadvertently allowing the X Parasites to take control of SR388. During the fight with Proteus Ridley, the Gunship is moved to the background of its landing site. Unlike Return of Samus, Samus will come across Teleport Stations throughout the game, which make backtracking to the Gunship much easier. In Samus Returns, Samus's Gunship restores Samus' health, ammo, and (after obtaining her first Aeion Ability Artifact) Aeion Gauge, indicating that its systems are somehow able to generate Aeion energy. At the end of the game, after eliminating the Queen Metroid and finding the baby, Samus re-boards the ship and leaves the planet. Due to the more linear structure of Metroid II, if Samus wants to revisit her ship to recharge her health and missiles, it will require a large amount of unnecessary backtracking. After landing on the planet, Samus leaves the Star Ship and ventures into SR388. It returns in one of the next chronological entries of the series, Metroid II, where she is sent to SR388 to eliminate the Metroid threat forever. The ship is missing in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Metroid Prime: Federation Force, where Samus has a new, custom-built Gunship that she designed herself. The ship remains there and slowly repairs itself over the course of the game. The ship suffers damage after it is struck by a bolt of lightning composed of Dark Energy during its descent to the surface of Aether, and it subsequently crash-lands in the Temple Grounds Landing Site. What may be the ship's control screen is seen at the beginning of the game, scanning Aether for a landing site before selecting a flight path. This Gunship is chronologically first seen in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, where Samus is sent on a mission to Aether to find out what happened to and assist Galactic Federation troopers who had crashed onto the planet earlier. Samus enters the ship by standing on the topside hatch and pressing down, allowing her to save her game and recharge her energy and ammunition. The ship has three Landing Gear Legs which help it land. The cockpit's advanced machines and monitor panels are derived from Chozo technology. Samus can be seen using a ball pad to control the Star Ship during a cutscene in Metroid: Other M, with the seat body linking directly to Samus. The Gunship sets a flight path with coordinates, such as 78.67.863 in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Ancient Chozo script is inscribed on its hull. There is no other ship like it, so the distinct hull lines mark it to friend and foe alike. It was custom built for her on Aliehs III.
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It was first seen in Metroid II: Return of Samus, and its design has largely remained the same ever since. This Gunship is easily the most recognisable of Samus' ships. 4.13 Metroid: Samus Returns Strategy Guide.4.3 Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide.
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