A/N: Thanks to all the commentators who left input regarding Phazon and its role in the games. I'm glad people take so much interest in the story! Unfortunately, I still can't find a way to fit it in the story much, at least the way I have it mapped out. Of course, anything can change over the course of several chapters. Enjoy!

As we traveled toward Ceres Space Colony in Samus' gunship, she got a transmission from the Galactic Federation. It stated that a Federation Marine ship had disappeared near a planet called Aether, while pursuing a Space Pirate frigate. The sender requested Samus' assistance in finding and bringing back the Marines, with a reward that was apparently standard for her. I knew very little about money, but it seemed like a lot of digits.

"I'll take care of this after I drop you off, Dr. B," she said. "Ceres Space Colony is on the way, anyway."

"Understood," I said, even though up till now it hadn't occurred to me that I would be on my own after this. I found the concept a little intimidating, but I knew it was not the Hunter's job to look after me. Samus' I would lead her in perpetual pursuit of the Others, and I had only met her by chance. "Will I be able to speak with you again?"

She turned to me, a little surprised. "Of course, Dr. B. I'll come see how you're doing at the station, once I'm done with this. It shouldn't take long, but you never know."

I nodded, trying not to show the fear that popped up in my mind once more. I could not say what I was afraid of; there certainly would be none of the Others at the Colony.

It was not long before the Ceres Colony loomed large in the gunship's vision. We docked, and Samus put her helmet back on. I wondered for what reason she felt the reason to look intimidating, but decided not to ask. Surely she could not be fearful too; these space stations were inhabited mostly by her own people, by hominids.

The airlock door opened, and we found a hominid man standing there waiting for us. Most of the hair on the top of his head was gone, and what was left had a steel-gray tint to it. His skin appeared covered in small skin folds, especially around the eyes, which were a bright blue. He stood dressed in a white coat with some kind of rough blue material around his legs and black foot coverings. I noticed he was "smiling", both at me and at Samus.

"So this is my new lab assistant, eh, Aran?" he asked Samus. "Harlan certainly knows where to find unusual applicants, doesn't he?" He turned to me. "So you are Dr. B? My name is Dr. Alan Reyman. I'm pleased to meet you." He held up one hand. "Does your species have a greeting ritual, Dr. B?"

I considered this. "Upon meeting a previously unknown member of the Others, the higher-ranking individual states his name and rank. Then the subordinate is given his orders. The subordinate does not speak."

"Ah. Well, there are several different species here, but most of us are humans who trace our ancestry back to Earth. And our ancestors had many greeting rituals, but the one we use is called 'shaking hands'. Ms. Aran, if you could demonstrate, please…"

Samus clasped his hand, and he winced slightly. "It's said that two humans would do this to show that neither one held any weapon, and was not a threat. Though you're not supposed to grasp so tightly, Ms. Aran."

Samus let go of him with an apology. "But you could be holding a weapon in your other hand," I pointed out. Samus did, after all, have her arm cannon.

He laughed. "You're a sharp one, aren't you? It's a ritualistic gesture, like a peace offering. I don't suppose the Space Pirates have many of those."

"No, but I am not a Space Pirate," I said firmly, and grasped his hand just as Samus had done. He looked a little surprised, but nodded appreciatively.

"Good, very good. Come, Dr. B, I want to introduce you to the rest of the team." He beckoned, and both of us followed him down the hallway.

At the end of the hall we stepped through a doorway into a room full of tables and chairs, with a large view screen in front. It looked like a gathering place for subordinates to receive messages from their superiors. I expected Dr. Reyman to step to the front of the room, but he didn't. He walked up to a small group of people and gestured to me. "Everyone, I want you to meet the newest member of our team, Dr. B."

Of the group, about two-thirds were hominids. That did not mean they were all from the same planet of origin as Samus. Hominids are bipedal, and have similar skeletal and muscular structures. That is where the similarities end. They come in a number of different colors, and the tissue covering their bodies comes in a variety of different forms. They can also survive in very different environments, and were susceptible to very different materials. My existence with the Others had taught me little about them other than where they lived and how to kill them.

There were two other species in the group, Armadeans and Dilphii. The Armadeans look reptilian, and often walk or run on all fours, but their front legs have digits like a hominid's and they can perform the same functions. Unlike reptiles, they are warm-blooded. A keenly intelligent species, they are also equipped with long teeth and sharp claws on their feet, and different factions have fought both hominids and Space Pirates for control of the galaxy.

The Dilphii are not carbon-based organisms. They can take a number of different forms, and adapt to various levels of gravity and chemical compounds in the atmosphere (or lack thereof). Like the Chozo, they dedicate themselves mostly to the pursuit of knowledge, but their sheer adaptability has allowed them to escape the Space Pirates where the Chozo have failed. They have no digits but can wrap parts of themselves around things much like ameobas, and communicate through telepathy. These had taken on a form that made them look more or less like hominids. Neither the Armadeans nor the Dilphii had any need for clothing; in addition to their toughness and adaptability, neither one had any external reproductive organs to keep hidden.

As I mentioned before, Space Pirates do not have expressions, so I had a bit of a handicap when it came to recognizing emotions. Most of my knowledge had been acquired recently from watching Samus. Among the group, I recognized fear, anger, and curiosity, with two or three often mixed together. One of the Armadeans stepped forward.

"I won't allow this," he said in the harsh voice typical of Armadeans that have had their vocal cords modified ,so they can articulate hominid speech. I knew it was a male from the slight ridge on his head. "I didn't spend years researching them to make friends, Alan. I put my life on the line to exterminate the damned bugs, regardless of what any bounty hunter might have to say."

He stepped up close to Samus, and suddenly I realized why she had put on her helmet; it was not for her protection, but for mine. If the fabled Hunter had no issue with a self-aware Space Pirate, then why should anyone else? But the Armadean seemed to have an answer to this question.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't report you to the Federation Council," he said, and I began to wonder if the harshness in his voice could be caused by just the vocal cord operation.

Samus, who had stood relaxed but alert during the entire exchange, turned to me. "Dr. B. Would you please tell the group what happened to your missing arm."

"Oh?" I wasn't sure what this had to do with the Armadean's question, and once she said it I immediately wondered if the Colony would want a one-handed lab assistant. "I lost it while fighting Ridley. He tore it off."

The Armadean sneered. His lip curled over his sharp teeth. "This one fought the Space Pirate captain? Ludicrous!"

"Are you saying we are lying?" Samus asked him.

"I did not lie," I said. "I don't think I am capable of lying. In any case, I can't think of any reason why I should lie."

"Oh really." The Armadean turned to me. "Then what is your greatest weakness in a fight?"

I suppose he thought I would not answer. That technically would not be lying. But my weaknesses seemed pretty apparent. "Well, as you can see, I am missing my weapon arm. Also, I am a Science Team drone, so I am not really built for fighting. But I took this infrared sensor from an Elite Pirate…"

"A what?"

"An Elite Pirate…a modified version of the Others that had been designed on Tallon IV, using Phazon. In addition to the infrared sensor, they all had body armor that was immune to such sensors. I used part of the exoskeleton of one as a shield from weapon fire and hunting Metroids. Also, I took a missile launcher, but Samus told me that I should take it off because it was intimidating to the hominids at the Federation station…"

Samus interrupted. "Would you like to see an image of the Elite Pirate? I gave my information to the Federation, they should have uploaded it onto their Security Research servers by now."

All of the scientists, who had been staring open-mouthed since I began my rundown of the Elite abilities, took little square objects out of their pockets or storage appendages and began tapping on it.

"Well," the Armadean said after a long pause. "I suppose that's a bit much to be making up…"

Dr. Reyman smiled as he addressed the group. "Well, then, do we have any objections to Dr. B joining the team?"

All members of the group shook their heads. Samus put her hand on my shoulder. "I'll be off, then," she said. "I'll come back to visit once I'm done with this next mission, all right?"

I nodded. "I wish you victory in your next mission."

She turned and left. I must admit that for the first few moments I wanted to follow her.

The little group dispersed, and Dr. Reyman said to me, "It's almost rest period, but I'd like to show you around first."

We walked through the halls and he told me the names of the different rooms. Lab rooms. Conference rooms. A room for eating. Rooms for hominids and Armadeans to deposit bodily waste and clean themselves. (Dilphii and the Others require neither.) Rooms devoted to group exercise and entertainment. Dr. Reyman pointed out the lab where I would be working as his assistant. "There are three others that work directly under me in that room, and I'll introduce you individually tomorrow."

Then I got my first pleasant surprise. He brought me into the sleeping quarters, where the others had already retired. "These are your quarters," he said, opening a door.

"My quarters?" I stepped in and looked around. In it was a smaller cleaning room, a desk with terminal, a square hole in the wall I could not determine the purpose of, and a large square piece of furniture that yielded slightly when I touched it. I could not believe it. All this space, just for me!

"What is the purpose of this furniture?" I asked.

He gave me an odd look. "That's a bed, for sleeping."

"Oh." The Others sleep standing up, for only a few hours at a time, and usually at whatever post they are assigned. "I see."

Dr. Reyman pointed to the terminal. "Here is a communication station, you can use it to contact others outside Ceres, but of course you'll have a hard time getting hold of Ms. Aran anyway. It also functions as a workstation and entertainment center. And over here," he pointed to the hole in the wall, "is a personal replicator. It doesn't serve fresh food like in the kitchens, but it's useful if you're hungry and the kitchen is closed."

He stepped back to the door. "Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. If you need anything, just use the communication station. Have a good rest, and in case I forgot, welcome to Ceres!"

I slept for a few hours, first trying out the "bed". I did not find it comfortable. I was not used to sleeping in a horizontal position, and did not like the way the soft material yielded under my body. So I stood and slept like I always had.

Once I finished, I decided to examine the "replicator". Unsure how it worked, but figuring it was probably voice-activated, I said, "Er…I would like a cheeseburger, please."

A cheeseburger materialized before my eyes. I could not believe it! Food whenever I wanted, and whatever kind of food I wanted, too! Or at least, I thought there would be every kind of food. I had few things to test it with. I obtained some chocolate and three more cheeseburgers. I thought they were delicious enough alone, but when I put them together…

It didn't respond to "elite rations" , but I decided that was no loss.

I left my quarters and headed to the lab where Dr. Reyman said we would be working. There were two Dilphii in the lab, as well as a female Armadean. "What do you want?" she demanded. "It's not time for your shift yet. Dr. Reyman is sleeping right now."

"I'm sorry. I don't require much sleep," I answered.

One of the Dilphii walked up to us. "We appreciate that you can work long hours, but on your first day you should probably wait for Dr. Reyman. You can go to the entertainment center if you want to pass the time." The Dilphii extended one of its appendages. "I am Rilphis. My companion over there," he gestured to the other Dilphii, "is Atrun. We specialize in chemical analysis."

"I'm Tirza," the Armadean said gruffly.

"And what do you do?" I asked.

She gave me a surprised look. "Heh, I'm actually lead scientist under Dr. Reyman. You didn't automatically assume that I'm security or bio-form maintenance?"

I shook my head. "I don't really know much about the Armadeans. Are most of them assigned those duties?"

"Yeah, even though most of them can do better. " She motioned for me to follow her. "Here's your lab station, but we've got nothing to give you yet. Do you recognize all the tools? I don't know what Space Pirates use."

I examined the machinery and glassware. "I can determine the purpose of all these things," I answered. "They are different, yes, but not greatly."

Giving me a calculating look, she asked, "Do you have an ethics code?"

Puzzled, I replied, "I don't know what you mean."

"I figured Space Pirates wouldn't have a code of ethics. Here, you can look this over," she said as she gave me one of the square objects the others had used to look up Elite Pirates on the Federation servers. "The Ceres Ethics Code is stored here, see? It's essentially a set of rules. You understand rules, right?"

"Yes, of course."

"Okay. You have to follow the ethics rules if you want to work here. Go back to your quarters and look it over, so you're prepared for your first day."

I thanked her and left. Once back in my quarters, I looked over the 'ethics' list. It forbade things I would never thought of (like stealing a colleague's work), but also things that had been standard when I was with the others. One of the forbidden things was causing research organisms pain, and I remembered Samus' anger toward the Others for their experiments. On the whole, though, I did not foresee any trouble in following these rules.

I still had a few hours until Dr. Reyman reported to work, so I investigated the terminal on the desk. It had a great deal of items dedicated to 'entertainment', which I knew little about, other than it was a way for bio-forms to pass the time. Such a concept did not exist among the Others.

I must admit I did not see the point, either. I found strange rhythmic noises, written accounts of fictional hominid exploits, simulations of various kinds, and images of both hominids and Armadeans copulating. None of it interested me, so I merely went over the 'ethics' list again and waited for the day to begin.