She remembered it like it was yesterday…

Samus had been called over to the GFS Olympus for reasons unknown to her. She was slightly distraught, pondering on what could be troubling Admiral Dane. She's known him for a pretty long time. In their battles against the Space Pirates and Dark Samus, he showed valiance and involvement—especially when he escorted his demolition experts to the surface of the Pirate Homeworld. What, then, could be troubling him if he had been submerged in the midst of trouble many times before? She wondered this as she hurried as much as she could, her eyes keen and focused on the empty cosmos before her. The Olympus had at last met her determined gaze.

With delicacy, she landed her ship in Docking Bay 5, exiting the ship not too long after with the intention of reaching the Ready Room as quickly as possible. She was stopped by a Trooper that told her to be careful when venturing the ship. Something funny was going on. She had finally reached the Ready Room, and Admiral Dane was addressing an issue with a fleet trooper. When he had finally noticed Samus, the trooper was dismissed. The room was empty. Samus could only hear the ambience of the Olympus as Dane paced back and forth before her. "Don't know how to tell you this, Samus," he said to her. "Something strange is happening, but we haven't been able to tell what it is. However, I, as well as all the other troopers on this ship, feel that something odd is going on."

Samus raised a brow. "When did you start feeling like this—not that it may help factor in…" she asked. Dane shook his head.

"It's hard to tell," he said worriedly, his arms crossed behind him. He brought his left hand to his forehead and heaved a weary sigh. "I've lost sleep over it."

The hunter followed Dane with her eyes as the Admiral commenced pacing again. "Castor, tell me what's wrong," she demanded subtly and out of concern. He looked at her and shook his head again. "I need time to think," he said to her. Samus nodded slowly and understandingly, and was dismissed from the Ready Room. "Call me back when you're ready to tell me," she called back to him as the door closed behind her. She walked through the Meeting Access with so much on her mind. What could be troubling the Galactic Federation—let alone Castor Dane— so much?

Upon returning to Docking Bay 5, she was greeted by the same trooper, who asked her what was wrong with the Admiral. "Don't know," she replied. She turned to the training drones and commenced shooting. The troopers observed her every move, fascinated (and still honored that the Samus Aran was an ally to them). "I gave him time to think about it," she added as she hit the drone 10 times, consecutively. She gunned for 20. Then 30. Then 40. The troopers never thought she'd stop, but when she hit 50, she turned around to face them and asked, "Do you guys feel… you know… strange?"

The two troopers looked at each other, then at Samus. They nodded quickly.

"Nauseous," said one.

"Head's killing me," said the other (he hadn't uttered a word since Samus landed, and it pained him to do so). Samus sighed and pondered some more. Home sickness? Motion sickness? Every diagnosis she thought of made no sense. They were perfectly fine before the attack from the Space Pirates. What was so different about now? "Ugh, I need some fresh air," she muttered. The nauseous trooper just remembered something when she said that. "Oh yeah! We probably need fresh air!" he exclaimed. "They finished repairing the damages on Norion."

"Took them long enough," Samus whispered as she headed for her ship. "I'll see you down there, I guess."

"Right!" the two exclaimed. The other one grabbed his own head and let out a silent "ow" as Samus boarded her ship.

Upon landing on Norion, Samus took a look around the base where a huge battle was fought not too long ago. All her memories passed through her mind, and again, thoughts of her allies, three other bounty hunters whom were corrupted and whom she had to slay, crossed her conscience. She felt like she did back on Elysia. Alone. Worried. Saddened. But being a warrior at heart, she came to the conclusion that their deaths were not in vain.

She had to come up with something to do to pass the time. She wondered what was taking the troopers she spoke with back on the Olympus so long to get down there. She decided that she'd have a little fun and annoy a fleet mechanic. Those guys were finished their jobs, anyway. She approached a mechanic that was standing against the wall, his eyes focused on the sky as if he were searching for something. "Well look who's busy," she remarked, hoping the guy would hear her. He looked in her direction and quickly looked away, guilty for not speaking to her when she tried to talk to him many years before. "I said look who's busy!" Samus repeated, feeling impatient.

"Uh… yeah… hello…" the mechanic exhaled awkwardly. He didn't dare to make eye contact with her. "You guys got it together fast over here I see," Samus said. She was attempting to compliment him. He glanced at her briefly and looked back at the sky. "Uh… thanks," he said as he squinted his eyes.

Samus shook her head and turned away from him. "You're hopeless," she muttered as she left the area.

Samus sat cross-legged on top of her ship and took in the sights of the gorgeous forest world. The trees whispered amongst one another as the breeze stirred their vibrant green leaves. To her, the calming feeling was amazingly beautiful, and she was happy that she was able to relax for once in her life. "Hey, Samus!" called a man from behind her. She removed her helmet and turned her head to see the nauseous and the headache bearing troopers standing in front of her ship. The headache bearing trooper was admiring it. "Well, what took you guys so long?" Samus asked, a slight smile on her face. The trooper shrugged. "I'm a noob at operating the Stiletto," he called up to her. "Mind if we come up and sit?"

"Be careful," Samus said as she crawled onto the ship's wing and held out her hand. "Grab on."

One by one, she pulled the troopers on top of her ship, and the three sat down and enjoyed the tranquil ambience of Norion.

"Lovely, isn't it?" the nauseous trooper asked quietly. Samus nodded in agreement.

"Wish I could have more times like this," she said. "But… we always seem to get into trouble, huh?"

"Think about it like this," the headache bearing trooper said to them. "All these bad times make you really appreciate the good times, no matter how scarce they may be."

"Yeah, you're right," Samus replied as she looked up into the sky. Thoughts of her brief time with the other bounty hunters and finally, of her times with the Chozo put a strain on her heart.