PROLOGUE:
Galaxy Federal Police, Unit M405
Transmission Log Entry #
Transmission Recipient: Samus Aran, Human Female Bounty Hunter
Transmission Contents:
Eight days ago, we intercepted a distress signal from a squad of GF Marines near the planet SR-391 while they were combat-testing various prototype weapons systems (Details classified to Level 5 Clearance) on a known Space Pirate stronghold. We believe there are a minimum of casualties, but injuries and material damage have gotten the better of the squad.
It is known that the Space Pirates are too strong for conventional troopers, so it has been determined that a single lone bounty hunter inserted into the fray would better achieve our goals of extraction.
Contract Agreement: Locate and retrieve the survivors, if any. Also locate and either retrieve or destroy any Federation prototypes before they fall into enemy hands.
Coordinates: [Sol]280-010:10LY Planetary Sector AK-47
Good Hunting, Samus...
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CHAPTER ONE: Mission
A slight jerk accompanied the gunship exiting warp speed and decelerating to normal velocities.
So the old freighter saying was still true, Samus thought, not even the best inertial dampers can stop the jerk of entering or exiting warp.
WARP ENGINES OFFLINE - COOLDOWN COMMENCING
Samus switched the Gunship to its sublight drives and aimed the nose ahead to her destination. What loomed just in front of her (about 100,000 kilometers off the bow) was a mostly blue planet, with splotches of jade green and dusty brown. After double-checking the coordinates, she gunned the engines and set the autopilot. She had much more important things to do than sit there and pilot the ship.
She stood from the cockpit chair and walked out the back hatch, to a compartment in the interior of the Gunship. Here resided a small living quarter and her Suit diagnostic terminal. Tapping the screen on the terminal, she checked the progress on suit repairs.
CHOZO VARIA SUIT - SUIT REPAIR UNDERWAY
PROGRESS - 40%
ETC (Estimated Time to Completion): 4 HOURS
Perplexed, she reentered the cockpit to check on the flight. By habit, she checked her viewport first, but just as she saw what she saw, the instruments squawked to life.
PROXIMITY ALERT. PROXIMITY ALERT. COLLISION WARNING.
Samus cut the engines and fired a quick burn from the retro-rockets as the wreckage from what appeared to be a Federation vessel lingered in the view.
SCANNER DATA: Federation Squad Carrier Inferno: This is the ship of the Galactic Federation Marine Corps, Squad No. 7. This squad has been provided with several classified prototype weapons systems, and have been involved in combat testing. This squad is currently MIA and presumed mostly alive. Last Known Location: Planet SR-391. Scans of the ship indicate the lifeboat has been launched successfully. No bodies, dead or alive, detected within or in vicinity. Lifeboat absence leaves room for the Gunship to dock.
Samus punched the code into the Gunship computer, and it replied, DOCKING SEQUENCE COMMENCING. STANDBY FOR AIRLOCK OPENING. Then she walked to the terminal and decided that it couldn't hurt to don the partial suit, just for five minutes.
The suit pieces materialized in flashes of light, orbiting her body as they integrated into the pieces of the suit. Slowly but surely they slid onto her body as more pieces materialized, getting larger as the process continued. Soon the underlayer was nearly completely assembled, and the larger over layer plating attached over. The layers then, in a very intricate pattern, linked together, tightening around Samus' tall, slender frame. The half-tube that was her arm cannon floated up to her arm, and the other half of the tube closed and locked around the arm. In no time the suit was completely assembled from the neck down.
"Time for the final piece," said Samus to herself as the helmet sides formed around her ears and snapped together around the back. The top of the helmet locked into place above the sides, bringing with it the Oxygen Supply Equipment which formed a mouthpiece and the front of the helmet. Finally, the Visor, being hinged about the sides of the head, flipped down into combat position, forming an airtight seal.
"Let's rock." mumbled Samus as she boarded the lift to the airlock.
