Samus didn't make it far from the ruins of SR388 and the BSL, now the grave of the X parasite threat. The federation caught her in the end, but they had no option but to believe her words about the dangers faced, especially when shown footage Adam had recorded for her. The video was conclusive evidence that the federation were wrong in their assumptions about the SA-X and the parasites in general.
Still they punished her for her disobeying orders, and confiscated most of her weaponry, leaving her only her standard power beam, Varia suit, and morph ball. The upgrades were placed on a carrier ship bound for the new federation outpost of Creon.
They never arrived.
P.L. Hunter was the captain of the carrier ship. It was heavily armoured and filled with storage crates carrying food, supplies and weaponry. The Plasma, Ice, Wave, Wide and Charge beams, Ice, diffusion and super missiles, Power and morph ball bombs, as well as every other upgrade Samus received on the B.S.L.
Hunter was thrown from his chair as a space pirate charge breached the hull, supposedly impossible to be breached. Zebesian space pirates were all-but unheard of in the galaxy, and attacks were infrequent, if not non-existent. He pulled his freeze gun and rifle from their holsters, stopped the ship, and ran down to face the boarders. As soon as he entered the containment bay he was assaulted from behind, stabbed twice and left for dead. He saw no attacker, only a haze jumping from crate to crate.
They came thick and fast, but few in numbers. Heavy armour brushed off all shots that were fired, and bladed weapons dispatched the crew as efficiently as a poison. They stormed through the containers, seeking a specific one in particular. The door was wrenched off, and the pirates swarmed Samus's weaponry. Anything that would work in their guns was equipped, and anything that wouldn't was thrown into shoulder bags and carted away. The pirates didn't need to worry about any more troops arriving. They were all dead. The pirates departed with what they came for, leaving behind anything else. Other pirate vessels would find the rich supplies and transport them to the last pirate outpost in the galaxy.
Vol Paragon.
Samus was called to the Olympus for an emergency meeting, but not about the loss of her equipment. The second Pirate frigate, Siracius, had been discovered. It was one of the three that escaped the first fall of Zebes, when Samus had destroyed Tourian and the metroids within. Siracius was in the same orbit as the Olympus, exactly matched in speed around the planet that was covered in sprawling headquarters for the federation. However, the orbit of Siracius was deteriorating, and soon it would fall to the planet below. Over ten billion people would be at risk, as the violent, thermonuclear explosion caused by the impact would be enough to trigger a massive tectonic chain reaction, leaving the entire planet vulnerable to ash storms, lava and pyroclastic flows from volcanoes, as well as planet-scale earthquakes.
"We shall vote on what to do. Any suggestions?" Admiral Dane stood in the briefing room, addressing seven top generals and Samus.
"Send me there, I can reboot the engines and move it from orbit, as well as search for survivors. There were life signs from the last reading." Said Samus. It was unlikely and unusual that she should go and attempt to rescue survivors, especially since they were most likely space pirates, but since the B.S.L. incident, she had taken a new outlook on life.
Her idea was swatted down by a new member of the Federation, but had climbed the ranks faster than any other had. He had dyed red hair, wore white armour, even to peaceful discussions, and had an arm cannon, like Samus. He was like a brother she never had, but only in appearance, as he bitterly resented her. His name was Draid Mage, not from birth, but the name he chose.
"Samus. Your plan is as futile as it is foolhardy," he sneered, twisting a stray lock of hair back into his helmet, "as the only survivors likely to be out there are space pirates. I suggest a single missile to end the threat here and now. Since when did you start caring about the life of space pirates, anyway?"
"After the BSL I decided to value all life more."
"Let's see if that lasts, Sam."
"I'm seriously considering undoing that decision."
"Samus, Draid, please." Dane's voice was the only thing between peace and a fully-fledged fire fight. "We have two options. All in favour of Draid's raise your hand."
Seven hands went up. Samus' was not among them.
"This is madness. There were three frigates, and Siracius could hold the coordinates to the location of the third."
"Samus, it has been decided. We will arrange for a missile to destroy Siracius in twenty-four hours, earth rotation time. Samus, you are not to intervene, do you understand? I have already arranged for your ship's computer to send you to Elysia."
Samus inwardly smiled. Adam would no doubt let her investigate Siracius, and she suspected Dane wanted her to do so as well. Twenty-four hours was a long time.
Adam piloted the sleek, purple ship to the Siracius, unaware that a figure was watching from the Olympus.