There have been great men elected to office, all of them with differing degrees of success. Then there are men who are not great, who have knowledge and power and earned both through lies, deception, and various other insideous means. The man Robert Hurbert Kuldish is just such a man. His history alone could span a large, encyclopedic collection, most of it dark, all of it clouded behind the next untruth. The position this Mr. Kuldish occupied meant he had power over everything the Federation touched. He was God.
When the Space Pirates came to Earth to sue for peace, he knew exactly what they wanted and had started formulating a plot on how to create a profitable outcome from it all. It would begin with this meeting between the two races. Unprecedented as it was, they would talk.
Kuldish stood across from a pathetic-looking Space Pirate. The man was old and lined, but the Pirate was scarred. A metallic device wrapped around his neck spoke for him. He had no hands but metallic pincers where they should have been. He had no eyes except for the cameras mounted to a helmet on his head, constantly feeding information into his brain. He was blind and could not feel, but he could speak. What he said at that momentous occassion was this: "Mr. President, I am glad to meet you." He held out a pincer hand. The human president smiled and grabed the pincer hand. He gave it two shakes and released it. The Space Pirate nodded and made note of it. 'This is a formidable man,' he thought. "My name is unimportant. What is important is that I am the only one among us that can speak in a human tongue, due to, of course, my vocodor device." He waved toward the collar. "I am but a servant. The one I represent is named Hakh, of the family Rraaj, son of Hakh." He gestured to his left to the tall Pirate.
The one refered to as Hakh did not have the battle scars of his companions. He did not look weathered or aged. His eyes were blank. Hakh was dressed in what would be fine battle armor with his culture's technology, capable of standing up to multiple rapid-fire plasma bursts. It shined with a newness that told of how little it was used. He was not a soldier, he did not fight. His people did it for him. He was their prince. He was their God. When he spoke to the translator, it was in a voice every bit as harsh as a battle cry, yet one would get the sense of control, of experience. Kuldish knew that the metal was not his usual armor, it was unusually thick skin and a propensity for the cruelty that goes with a position of power. He was a tyrant. Kuldish found himself able to relate on this one small level.
Hakh reached out a talloned claw and Kuldish grabbed hold. Both had a powerful grip for their species, but Kuldish found his hand in pain. He gritted his teeth and bore through it. He shook the leader of the Space Pirates's hand three times, but was unable to let go. Hakh spoke in several low, gutteral barks, and the translator said, "I give you this ship as a token of our cooperation. It was taken from you in a time of war, and it is returned to you in a time of war, so that peace may be achieved." He released Kuldish's hand in a way that it looked to be thrown like a foul thing. Weapons were trained on Hakh. Kuldish did not grab to massage his hand. He would do it when nobody was looking.
"The people of the Federation graciously accept your gift, Hakh of Rraaj, son of Hakh." He bowed slightly. "Now," he started, "what can the people of Earth do to accomodate you?"
The word that came from the mouth of Hakh did not need translation. It was easy enough to hear. Kuldish wondered if he had practiced it before coming to Earth. "Hunter."
Kuldish nodded and smiled. He knew how big a thorn in the side of the Space Pirates "Hunter" was. Looking to one of his guard, he gave the order to have her arrested and brought to Earth. "Shall we speak in private then?" he asked. The two groups became one and walked together toward the Presidential Office.
The woman bounty hunter was allowed a free shower and a change of clothing before her disembarkment. She had suffered worse humiliations than an eight-day trip, chained like a dog to a wall with nowhere to do her business. But she had not experienced that kind of punishment since before she was taken under the wing of her Chozo family. The police of "Bounty's Bargain" talked of modesty and decency, but the ones who escorted her apparently believed in no such thing. The words kept ringing in her mind, having come from her mind: "That's a good girl. Do as you're told."
After the shower and the change of clothing, she was shackled again, her hands to her waist, her waist to her neck, making her stoop to walk, and her ankles hobbled and chained to her hands. This humiliation was almost worse than being prison cargo.
The place they brought her was a jail in the capitol city. There was a concrete bench in her cell waiting for her and a hole as large as her head in the middle of the floor that served as a drain. She did not wish to go near it. When she was placed inside the cell, her captors placed enough chain to allow her to reach that hole, but not enough to reach the bars. They again chained her to the wall. This was the severity of her treatment.
The guards had left her alone, thinking her helpless bound as she was. She looked across to the next cell and saw a man freely pacing. She could have called out to him, but did not care to talk. She sat on the bench, feet on it so she would not have to stoop so far. The man in the other cell instead called to her while she was making herself decently comfortable. "You know they've been here a couple days." Samus did not say anything. "They're already signing a treaty with the Federation."
"That makes me sick," Samus said in a low, gruff voice.
"What?" asked the man in the other cell. Samus gave no reply. A few awkward seconds went by. "So, what are you in for?"
"Killing them."
The man looked perplexed for a moment, then an expression of comprehension came to his face. "You're a bounty hunter!" he exclaimed excitedly. Samus gritted her teeth. "Oh, but you got caught, eh? Probably not a good bounty hunter then. Hey, you must know Samus Aran, eh? I hear that guy got a whole ship of theirs and a whole bunch of other stuff!"
"Yeah, I heard of him. I even met him once. Seemed like a dumbass," she said.
"Naw. I'm sure he'll be here soon and talk to those guys. He'll say something like, 'You assholes are screwing with my shit again' or something like that." Samus turned away from the man in the other cell and lay down. She wished the guy would take it as a hint to shut up. He kept on talking. 'Maybe,' she thought, 'this is worse than the ship'.
There was a moment, less than a second, when Samus felt a familiar something. Perhaps the proper way to put it would not be that she felt it, but rather the thing in her that aided her felt it. There was a little bit inside of her saying "Enemy." She could feel Enemy coming close, then not at all. There was an instant where her mind was in panic. Fear struck her and clouded her mind. She grabbed hold of her chains and ratled them like an animal. The smell of imminent death choked her.
"Hey!" came the man in the cell across from her own. "What's going on?"
Samus stoped rattling her chains. Her sentience returned to her. A plan. She needed a plan, and her power suit. With those two things, she could deal with this new threat. The Space Pirates were one thing, this-
"What's going on?" asked one of the prison guards.
"Just testing my limits," she said.
"So the famous bounty hunter is in my jail. It does seem a damn shame. Personally, I'd let you go to kick those Space Pirates asses, tell them to go back where they came from. But I got a wife and kids I gotta think about."
"The one for the many," she replied. "I understand completely."
The guard looked at Samus, huddled in her cell. "Wait a second. I don't mean it like that. I mean, I can't have you out stirring up shit and getting us all blown to hell. That's all I mean."
"I know what you mean. It's alright. I don't blame you. But I don't ever want to see you again after this."
The guard was going to reply, but swallowed instead and left.
"You're Samus Aran?" asked the guy in the cell across from her.
"Yeah."
"The real Samus Aran? I thought you were just a legend that they came up with. 'Hey, didja hear Samus Aran took out a whole Pirate base! Another pirate base! A ship!' Did you really get those guys like they say?"
"That and a few other things. Stuff that's classified." She felt Enemy again. It was getting closer. "I think you might even get to see some of that classified stuff here real soon, too."
It got closer. Enemy made her heart beat faster. Adrenaline was injected into her. Her instincts became that of a Hunter.
Samus' hand flexed, missing the weight of her arm cannon. What she wouldn't give right now just to have a single shot. Anything. Enemy was getting closer.
There was the sound of boots and metal descending concrete stairs. There were voices, some she could hear as human, some she could not mistake for anything other than Pirates. They were all in quick bursts of information. Those did not matter. Enemy was getting closer.
The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She followed heir lead and stood as best as she could. Her teeth were bared. She almost snarled like a feral dog. Her hands rubbed each other. She felt he prickling of something below the palms. Small shoots had grown from beneath the skin, drawing blood; a reaction to the presence of Enemy. In her mind the words repeated themselves: "Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. Enemy. Enemy." The intensity grew in her throbbing head, in her chest, her hands and arms. She was a weapon against Enemy. She was what the Chozo had named Hunter. She was becoming what her human saviors had put into her to save her from the parasite that was to soon stand before her. Her mind was becoming Metroid, and her body wanted to become one too.
Enemy stood before her at last. Enemy looked like the Space Pirate prince. Enemy looked like everyone. Enemy was in front of her, and she was chained to the wall like a feral beast. Her eyes blazed at the sight. Her hands were at the ready to kill and absorb. Enemy was in front of her, and it was silent.
"Samus Aran," said a man in high officer's uniform, "you are hereby charged with the following war crimes-"
"I know your war crimes," she snarled, not taking her eyes off what looked like the Space Pirate prince. "I want you," she said to him.
Hakh gave a grunt of acknowledgement and nodded, but did not move to enter the cell. Just as much as Samus could feel his presence, he could feel hers. He felt the Metroid inside of her. He knew of her abilities. He could not help but feel proud of his conquest. He had brought two species together in one day, and in the next had captured both species main source of terror. The mind that was Hakh was saying, "Kill her, KILL HER!" The mind that was the parasite knew how to get rid of their last and deadliest foe, and that was not Samus Aran. She was only the key to it.
"Will you come peacefully?" asked the high officer. Her growled response could never be mistaken for a yes. "Sedate her." Hakh screamed his discontent. A pair of officers drew weapons that looked like plasma pistols from their side hosters, and fired upon Samus Aran. What her her were darts. She could feel the sedation drugs being pumped into her system, but they did not faze her. She had too much adrenaline in her system, and it cancelled out the toxins. "Again," said the high officer. The pair reloaded and shot her again. She did not move. Her growl became stronger. "Again." The pair reloaded and shot her a third time.
Samus Aran's growl became a roar. She pulled at her chains and broke them as if they were mere plastic toys. The high officer had never seen a human being break chains that were meant to hold much larger things. His face displayed terror. Her rage drove her to the bars and she reached her hands toward Enemy. The Space Pirate prince stepped forward. Then, her mind broke. Concentration was shot to hell, and her animal instinct left her. She fell into a heap at the bottom of the bars.
The sentient mind of Hakh said to the parasite there would be another chance. Let this one go and await the next opportunity. It was calculating. It's moment of murderous desire was just a moment. It was thinking rationally now. The parasite agreed. It was becoming smarter.
The two officers opened the door to the cell and grabbed Samus Aran. They picked her up and loaded her like human cargo into their transport. She was going to await trial.