HALO MOTO!

Its ZF here. Round two with a Metroid Fic. I dont know, I was checking my last one out again, and I thought maybe I could do something else with it. And here we go. This one continues the story, but without the MA content... hopefully. I'm trying to keep that stuff out.

Warning! If you wanna catch up, feel free. BOUNTY HUNTERS REWARD in the M section. Be warned, it's got adult content. You know what I mean by adult.

Also note: i'm planning on retracting a couple lines from one of the later chapters of the original, for continuity purposes. I just had a super awesome idea, and I like it. So theres the heads up. The next chapter should have an update on that.

Okay, I'm done. Read on!

"Hello," I said to the secretary. "I'm here to see the commander."

"Are you Lieutenant Spencer?" she asked, looking up at me.

"I am."

"Can you wait one moment?"

She lowered a single finger onto the com channel, and soon relayed a message to the commander.

"Sir, The lieutenant is here to see you."

"Good. Send him in, Janis," replied the commander.

She removed her finger from the com channel, and then pressed another button on her desk. The door to the commander's office opened, and I could see the natural oak desk at the far side of the room. Quite a rarity these days.

"There he is," the secretary said to me.

"Thank you," I said politely. I then moved forward, my cover still tucked underneath my arm, and then paused in front of his desk. I took my time getting there. My eyes wanted to examine the room, to ensure my own personal safety. Heights were not my favorite subject.

The room seemed right. That is, for a commander. To the right, there was an extensive bar, outfitted with numerous bottles of rums, brandies, and a few bottles of tequila. All synthetically generated, of course. Rum, brandy, and tequila haven't been made naturally in almost two thousand years, not since the earth ozone was ruptured from massive amounts of pollutants.

Behind the commanders desk, and past the commander himself, was the large glass window, which I was grateful that I did not have to get close to. I understand that these windows are manufactured to prevent suicide jumps from employees, though I wasn't about to put that to the test.

To my left was another table. Much like the bar in styling, it was devoid of alcohol and had a music command station, obviously for the commanders listening pleasure. Too bad only commanders had this kind of luxury; I wouldn't mind listening to a song or two during the slow days down in the legal offices.

"Ah, lieutenant, good to see you. Please, take a seat."

There were two seats for me. Both were minimalist, with a small, light weight frame, and only enough of a seat for some minor back support. I chose the closet one to me.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Straight to the point are we? Well, we can hold off on that for now. Care for a drink?"

He motioned to the bar, before rising from his seat and walking over. "No, thank you," I replied. I wasn't much of a drinker. A real light-weight. He continued to pour the two of use drinks of brandy, then walked back over and handed me a glass.

"Come on, it won't kill you."

"No, thank you," I said again. Yet he didn't budge. He continued to hold the glass before me, so I got a hold of the cup and he went to his seat. I then placed the glass carefully upon his desk. He frowned, but he didn't push it further.

While he took his first swig, I took the time to examine the commander. He was an older gentlemen, probably a war veteran from the Belkan war. He was getting old though, his hair already turning grey, though his mustache was still a light brown. The commander wore two rows of ribbons on his uniform, yet like most ribbons and awards, I knew not what they were for. His name tag read Germane.

"I take it your wondering why I've called you here today. Am I right?"

"You are," I said calmly.

"Well, there's something I'd like you to do for me, lieutenant. Something of the utmost importance."

I was a little curious. Normally, whenever I heard the words "utmost importance," it meant I was supposed to pull a few strings here and there, or simply look the other way on certain legal matters. I decided to go the hard route, and stay by the law.

"Sir, is this a legal matter?" I asked.

"No, no. This is something completely different. I have… A mission for you."

"A mission?"

"Yes."

Commander Germane took another swig of his brandy, wetting his tongue. He took a deep breath, and then rested his left hand on his desk before continuing.

"For the last several days, I've been looking at a number of candidates to fulfill this mission. And after plenty of deliberation, I've decided that you would be the best man for the job."

"And what would I have to do in this mission?"

"You are to find the bounty hunter Samus Aran and give her this data log."

After he says this, he lifts a small data pad off his desk. The screen is blank, shut off for the time being. He held it forward, and I take it from him with careful fingers.

"You want me… to deliver this… to Samus Aran?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, but that's classified."

After another glance at the data pad, I placed it back down onto Commander Germane's desk. I didn't like this word, classified, but I wasn't sure what to think just yet, and I still had questions.

"No, I mean why do I need to deliver this? Can't it be relayed to her or something?"

"Unfortuantely, we can't find her. That's why I want you to deliver it."

"But why me? I'm a legal consultant."

"There are several reasons why I chose you. First, your character. From all the reports I've read about you from your superiors, you never cease to amaze. You have followed protocol to the T, and you have gone above and beyond to get results. This ties into the second reason. You're a hard worker."

"No offense, sir, but don't flatter me."

I didn't like this. I've taken flattery from superiors before. All have tried to butter me up for some foolish decision. I hate it when they do that, acting like I'm some idiot who doesn't know anything. I'm not going to break the law, not over flattery. Especially over flatter.

"Now, why did you choose me?" I continue.

"You really are a lawyer…" He pauses. He raises his spare hand to his forehead, where where he rubs his temple slowly. The frustration is beginning to show. "Lieutenant, I chose you because of your detective skills."

"My detective skills?" I say. I just can't believe he said that.

"Precisely," he says, matter of factly. "I've read the reports you and your superiors turned in. Going out of your way to find the truth, it's very noble of you."

"Flattery."

"No, really. The Raigar case comes to mind. Working so hard, just to help the defendant, even though you were representing the plaintiff."

"I couldn't let him go to prison. He was being framed."

"I know. There are also the other cases, such as Bale versus Walton, Denton versus Mancini, and before I forget, there was the case between the Federation officer and the Belkan that you assisted greatly in as a consultant and witness."

"The Belkan was innocent. I couldn't let him get an execution sentence."

"And why is that?"

"Because it would be wrong."

"You stood up for the Belkan, even though the plaintiff was a Federation officer. One of your colleagues."

"Saunders was lying! He was gonna send an innocent man to his death, even if he was a Belkan. I couldn't let him get away with that!"

I remembered that case. The day before my testimony, I overheard Saunders telling the whole truth before his lawyer. It was disgusting, how he had killed all of those innocent people, and then placed the blame on the Belkan. Bastard. Good thing I had my recorder on me, or I would never have been able to have proved it in court.

"Even though-"

"I took an oath to uphold the law when I became a member of the Federation," I said, pride and truth in my voice. "I swore I would help people, not detroy innocent lives. I'm not about to go back on that oath, sir."

"And that's why I chose you. You do what's right. You do what you have to do to make sure things go right."

"And what does that have to do with this mission, sir?"

"When you leave this office, I know that you're going to do your research. You're going to look for as much information as you can before making a good, decisive judgment."

I was finished with this. The commander was just trying to butter me up. I wasn't going to be someone's delivery boy. With a quick thrust of my arm, I pushed myself up to my feet and started for the door. Proper etiquettes were gone, I wasn't going to say goodbye, not until I at least got to the door.

"Wait, lieutenant."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not interested."

I continued for the door. I had almost read the doorway, almost put my foot through, but he spoke those three words. Three words, and I froze.

"Seventy five thousand."

"What?"

"The pay. Seventy five thousand credits, and we'll pay for all expenses."

"Seventy five thousand, plus expenses…"

Now we're talking. That's more then my yearly salary. But even if I accepted, I didn't know where to start. I didn't know where Samus was. I didn't know what he was doing. I didn't know where he was even on a mission at the moment.

"… Is there anything you can tell me about him? Last where abouts maybe?"

"Last I heard, Samus was given mission to help with the destruction on a planet known as Eigen. Perhaps that may be of some use to you."

"Perhaps…"

"Oh, and Samus is female."

"What? She's a woman?!"