CHARACTERS

Capt. Falcon

Usually a relentless bounty hunter, Captain Falcon shifts gears to become a race pilot once the F-Zero Grand Prix begins. His beloved racer, the Blue Falcon, can exceed the speed of sound, and he knows how to drive it; he'll go down as one of the all time-greats. Now 36 years old, Captain Falcon wears his F-Zero X visor.

Falcon Flyer

Captain Falcon's speedy midsize star cruiser boasts an on-board computer that allows Falcon to control it remotely Without this ship, Falcon couldn't prowl the galaxy like a lone wolf: the Blue Falcon is a state-of- the-art machine, but it's only used for F-Zero races.

Kraid

Kraid lived in the depths of Brinstar. He immobilised enemies with his three red eyes, and his powerful jaws could crush anything. He could also shoot the three spikes in his belly; it's said he often fired them at his prey. Once Samus defeated Ridley and Kraid, the way to Tourian opened.

Metroid

A parasitic life form that can absorb all types of energy, Metroids have strong resistance to most conventional weaponry. To defeat them, Samus Aran had to freeze them with Ice Beam shots and then blast them with missiles. Mochtroids, which look like Metroids, are weaker, with fewer internal nuclei.

Ridley

The head of the Space Pirates on Zebes, Ridley soars through space on wicked wings. Ridley may look like a mindless monster, but he's actually quite intelligent. After the SR-388 incident, where Samus captured the infant Metroid, Ridley took the Space Academy by storm, annihilating the complex and taking the Metroid back.

Samurai Goroh

A rival bounty hunter, Samurai Goroh has crossed paths with Captain Falcon in many a dark corner of the universe. He also goes head-to-head with Falcon in F-Zero races, so the threads of their fates seem to be deeply intertwined. Samurai Goroh is famous for his katana, and his signature T- shirt is instantly recognizable.

Samus Aran

This intergalactic bounty hunter's full name is Samus Aran. Clad in a Power Suit made by the Chozo race and infused with their enhanced blood, she cleared the planet Zebes of a Metroid infestation. Samus is an orphan, the sole survivor of a Space Pirate raid that destroyed an Earth colony named K- 2L.

Samus's Starship

This compact ship is used by Samus as her base of operations. Of course, Samus can't fly it into the catacombs of every planet she visits, so she leaves it on the surface as her sanctuary. Samus can recharge her Power Suit inside the ship, so it tends to be the only safe and secure spot on inhospitable alien terrain.

Samurai Goroh was lying in a pool of his own blood. A bounty hunter by trade he had visited the planet M-95 in an attempt to track down the increasingly elusive Gruff Hahn, an infamous drug-lord who had a huge bounty on his head. He had failed miserably and was now slowly dying. As he lay there, barely conscious, he thought he saw two bright red eyes in the darkness before him, but then they were gone. He saw them again a few moments later and decided that if it were a ravenous beast pehaps his death would go by quicker. Just in case it wasn't, he croaked "Who goes there?" "A friend" came a soft reply. "What do you want?" asked Goroh "To save your life," said the voice. Goroh was extremely surprised by his response, but money was always the first thing on this greedy man's mind, even so close to death. "At what price?" he asked. "We shall discuss this matter later." Said the voice "But first, let me take you somewhere safe." Out of the shadows came the dragon-like Ridley. "You!" gasped Goroh, before passing out. "Yes, me" snarled Ridley, before picking up the lifeless body of Goroh in his talons, flapping his huge wings and flying away.

CHAPTER ONE

The Galactic Federation police had summoned Samus Aran, bounty hunter and never one to stand on ceremony she was there sharp and on time. She strode through the front door to meet Commander Yukami, a rotund man whom in his prime had been a remarkable and courageous officer and was respected by all. "Samus, glad you could make it!" he said "I'm afraid we have a situation on planet S-694D. You see two months ago precisely today we sent a Bounty hunter out there to investigate a reported disturbance and..well, they never returned!" Samus, never one to lose her cool replied "What kind of disturbance, sir?" "Apparently a gang of outlaws attacked a human colony on the aforementioned planet, sadly many died." Replied the Commander. For a moment Samus felt a pang of sadness and sorrow for that was exactly how her own parents had died before her very own eyes. She did not reveal this sadness though and instead she asked "And the bounty hunter sir?"

Captain Falcon awoke. He was in a huge chamber filled with electronic equipment. He was held to the wall by a metallic structure binding his arms and legs. Standing right in front of him was what looked very much like a wolf-man hybrid. It had the head of a wolf but below the neck it's body looked very much like a human's only it had a dark-brown fur covering it concealing part of it's body a toga. On it's feet it wore sandals. Flanking it either side was a whole army of goons all wearing the identical suits and masks which concealed all their features. "Ahhh, I see the sedation is wearing off." growled the creature "Finally! You have been asleep for a very long time my friend. I think you will find there is no chance of escape whatsoever, the machinery will keep you trapped! Let me introduce myself. I am Raugh, leader of the outlaws who attacked the people of S- 694D, but it's not as if they didn't deserve it." Captain Falcon, who had been rendered speechless by the overwhelming display finally spoke "Where am I?" he managed. "You are in a scientific Citadel beneath the surface of S-694D. I am the greatest creation of one Professor Richards, a human who's extensive projects ultimately resulted in his demise and in his absence I have used the opportunity to corrupt his new men and seize control of the citadel! When I was just a plain wolf the humans mistreated me, simply thinking of me as a dumb animal, locked me up in a cage they did! But now my allies and I will have our revenge, we will conquer the universe and when all is destroyed and enslaved we will rise proudly and create a new order of the world! We will lay claim to the earth and rule for millennia! But first, just to make an example, we have captured you and no doubt soon enough your Galactic Federation police will wend a bounty hunter to search for you, most likely the great Samus Aran! Then, we will also crush her like a bug to show just how powerful we are!" but Falcon, like Samus, rarely lost his cool, and certainly never showed it. "You keep referring to these "New Men" he asked "What are they?" At this question Raugh laughed triumphantly before growling in his hoarse voice, "New Men-remove your helmets. Show our guest the true faces of his captors!" Slowly, each of the men took off their helmets, revealing their true faces. "Oh my god!" gasped Captain Falcon "All of you are." Before Captain Falcon stood all manner of creature, all with humanistic bodies. "Animals." Confirmed Raugh "Yes.products of the experiments of the late Professor Richards. Each of us was once a common mammal, reptile or amphibian until we were subjected to the great evolutionary ray which evolved us countless centuries in mere moments!" Captain Falcon, aghast, scanned the entourage of creatures. Was this the future?

Samus sat in her Starship. Captain Falcon was just about the most supposedly untouchable bounty hunter in the galaxy. She thought to herself. Aside from her there was barely another whom the scum of the universe feared more, for him to disappear while investigating something a routine and trivial as a disturbance of the peace