I redid this chapter, as i really didnt like it, but i just couldnt think of anything better. but i went over it again and again, and finally, i think this is better. anyway, R&R!!

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Chapter Three

Admiral Valan hated that damn chair. It was a simple steel piece, no padding, a tiny back, and forced you to look straight at the Military Board. Said board was comprised of three Judges, two of which were from a younger generation, neither more then thirty at the most. With a brief shuffling of papers and clearing of throats, the central man, a robust fifty-year old, a well groomed fellow by the name of Shadwell, began the investigation.

"Admiral Robert Valan, Commander of the 1st Naval Regiment, awarded the Medal of Honor for Bravery, and.."

"Can we please skip all that?" Valan interrupted, more then annoyed by the use of formal protocols in a mere inquiry. I've got a hundred better things that I could be doing right now, and they decide to question my decision to get Samus involved at the time? Idiots! Reining in his emotions, he schooled his face into a blank mask.

With a sigh Shadwell began. "Very well Admiral. On June thirteenth, of the year 2188, at Five-fifteen Galactic time, you contacted Samus Aran, correct?"

"Yes." He carefully replied.

"And is it also true that at that time, you had already seen and reviewed the logs sent to us by the Exodus detailing the attack by the unnamed force?"

Still as stone he said: "Yes."

Glancing over to him, Shadwell spoke rapidly, eager to put this unpleasant business behind them all and go home. "And even with the knowledge that they could very well become a threat to the Federation, still you sent Samus away, without any idea of what had happened, and knowing full well that she would be of great aid to us."

"Correct."

Now looking directly at Valan, Shadwell leaned back and spoke calmly. "Would you please tell us why you made that choice."

Valan closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts. When next they opened he glared at Shadwell like a sun had been placed in his sockets. "Sir's. I have know Samus for almost twenty years, seen her complete mission after mission, suffer wounds and see things you and I could not imagine. Just this past month, she lost Ghor, Gandrayda, and Rundas, all corrupted by the very PED technology that we forced upon them, and all eventually killed by her hands. Right now she is tired, weak, and grieving, even if she chooses not to acknowledge it at this time."

The Judges glanced at one another, the facts that he presented clear to all. "That still does not give us a valid reason as to why you did not inform her to the present situation."

A pitying glance was all he got. "If she did know about it, there would be no chance in Hell of getting her to relax and recuperate. And for your information, it could all be a misunderstanding. Yes, they attacked us, yes, they have made a bee-line for Earth, but there still is the possibility that we can talk to them like any civilized race. And as a Federation, we do have the ability to bring the full military might of a thousand worlds, and over fifty species against the armada."

"So," Shadwell grimly spoke, a laugh now hiding in his tone. "You are giving the greatest Hunter in the galaxy a vacation?"

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth at the thought of giving Samus a vacation, "More like forced her to" But they didn't need to know that. "Yes sir." Valan swiftly said.

Fifteen minutes later

"Very well then Admiral." Shadwell Said, all traces of humor gone. "It is the finding of this court that your decision was within your bounds to make, and that no further action shall be taken against you." All stood and saluted, at Shadwells "Dismissed!" As the others filed out, Shadwell made his way to Valan and clasped his hand in a firm handshake. "God damn it Val! You sure know how to make the Brass throw a fit ya know? Come on, I'm buyin."

Smiling at his old Academy buddy, Valan laughed along with him. "You better be buying, you still owe me one from back on Mars in '76."

"Ah hell, you still remember that?"

"Shad, I don't think anyone who saw you in that pink.."

"Shut up! I'll buy, I'll buy!"

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Wow, I didn't think that this place could change this much in only five years. Staring at the hotel that she had been put up in, Samus was in awe at what civilization could transform in such a short span of five years. Where once stood acer's of deep forests, clean blue water, and rolling hills, now stood a sprawling complex of costly entertainment.

Three buildings lay side by side, surrounded by a circle of six smaller, specialized buildings. The two flanking hotels lay a mere forty stories tall, gleaming metal and shining windows all over its surface. The center-most one towered almost a hundred-fifty stories high, dwarfing everything else in sight with its presence.

The circle of buildings that lay around them carried massage parlors, bars, trinket shops, and everything else that a thriving hotel needed to bring in even more income. The braking thrusters firing awoke her from the daze that had overcome her mind. The cackle of static overcame the holo as the female image of the space-ports AI came online. "Hunter-Class Gunship K-2L, This is Space-port AI Cassie requesting clearance for landing. Please transmit coordinents for landing vector."

"Affirmative." She said as the ship slowly banked into a gentle curve, heading for one of a dozen landing pads. The ships powerful engines roared across the fields as she guided it into a feather soft landing. "Touchdown in three...two...one. Landing complete." With a soft hiss of cooling engines and landing gear locking into place, Samus began locking down her ship. "ADAM. Begin lockdown procedure, voice, retinal, DNA, and fingerprints scans required for entry. Vira suit on standby, and.."

"Samus." ADAM's monotone came over the speakers, concern somehow carrying across his computerized tones. "I believe that Admiral Valan told you to take a vacation. I will take all necessary precautions in case of attack, kidnapping, etc etc. Now go and relax." Falling silent, he refused to speak or reply to her orders.

After five minutes of alternating between pleas, cajoling, and threats of dismantlement, Samus whirled around and grabbed her duffel bag, but stopped to clip onto her left wrist a pale silver bracelet, swirls of gold ingrained in its strong metal. On top of it, inlaid and covered by intricate gold designs lay two green stones, the control through which her suit came and went to her aid. "ADAM, be sure to set the nano's to maintain the armor and ship alright?"

"Yes Samus." He dutifully replied as she slowly backed out, her duffle bag slung over one deep green t-shirt, the long jeans whispering alongside her silent steps.

"And don't forget about the accounts."

"Yes Samus."

"And the..."

The door hissed shut in her face, and what could almost be called a relived sigh could be heard from within as it's lines were sealed by the security.

"Jerk." Swiftly walking down the gangway with her head held high, Samus headed directly for the hotel check-in. Passing by the other races, from the normal humans of various ages, races, and creeds, to the exotic ones. The amorphous forms of the watery Seeqa, whose ever-changeable body structure allowed them to fit into the tightest of spaces, or swim through water with breathtaking speed.

With a screech, a large member of the reptilian race know commonly as Draco's flew high overhead, called such because the races true name contained thirty-six syllables, thus rendering it unpronounceable by most other tongues. Its outstretched wings matching the coloration of the rest of its body, the tinted green with purple striped running vertically across its span. "Oh, great. I get to spend my vacation with a whole bunch of mini Ridleys runnin 'round. Wonderful." Shaking her head as the doors swished open and the cool air rushed out, making her notice the light perspiration that had broken out from the tropical heat.

The desk manager only noticed her when she started rapping her knuckles on the polished wooden top. With the cool composure of one who has done it many times, the man spun around with a bright smile and promptly asked for her name. "Silvia Ara's." She easily replied, knowing that even the bare mention of her true name would most likely send several of the residents running for the space-lanes, certain that they were her target.

Scooping up the card and waving off the bus-boy she entered the elevator, crammed in with all manner of people, all sharing the same goal: getting that one thing that they forgot after heading out for the day. Soft music came from the speakers as quiet conversation came from two people in the back, the others off in their own little dream-world, normalcy in all its glory.

...Samus had never felt more awkward.

The ding of the doors opening was at that moment, the most welcome sound in the whole universe to her ears. Out before the doors fully opened and down the hall as the others had taken three steps, Samus fairly flew into her suite, locking the door as her bag sailed through the air to land squarely on the bed. With a military precision honed after almost forty years of combat, she began checking the room's every nook and cranny before stopping in exasperation.

"I'm supposed to be on vacation! A little R&R for a week, and here I am acting like I'm still in the field." Laying down on the large bed, she stared at the ceiling, her thoughts having finally ground to a halt. "Now what? What do people DO on vacation? A massage? Nah, not quite ready for that yet. Get drunk? Cant, Chozo blood cuts down human level toxins like their nothing. Hmmmm...Beach?" A smile spread across her face, revealing white, even teeth, even though she had slightly longer canines then normal. "Beach."

Quickly changing a one-piece, over which went shorts and a t-shirt, she grabbed a towel and looked out the window for the beach. "Oh great." Hundreds of people covered the sparkling sand, young men showing off for the ladies, young women in outfits that were more string then cloth, and older people who should have left more clothes on. "No way in Grey am I going down there. But maybe there's another spot." Without a second thought she tore down the stairs, not wanting a repeat of the elevator ride.

In the lobby and out the door before the rest had even realized she was there, she ran for the forest, easily outpacing the joggers, and the moment she was deep enough that the tree's would hide her, she leapt. Up, up, up, higher into the canopy she climbed, not touching the branches even once as they flew by her. Planting her feet on a thin limb she pushed off again, away from the hotel this time, clearing almost fifty feet with one leap. Overhead passengers and other sightseer's flew by, never noticing the small figure that bounded through the trees and vines of the tropical jungle like the Chozo which had raised her. She covered three miles in under an hour, leaping from tree to tree, sliding across branches, even swinging from a few vines, and only coming close to hitting a tree once.

Laughing as she landed at a quiet, deserted sand-bar, far away from the crowds and the noise and the fake people, Samus felt herself relax for the first time. The sound of the waves gently lapping against the sand, the breeze carrying the scents of salt, seaweed. It was quiet, devoid of the sounds of civilization, leaving nothing but the ocean and the wind to fill it. Falling outstretched onto her back into the sand, she breathed deeply, letting the peace wash over her.

"Ok, maybe I wont kill Val when I get back. This is kida nice." Without preamble she shucked off the short and T, wading into the water, feeling the liquid wash away what sweat had come across her. Diving down into the warm water, her lungs and heart slowing far below most humans limits, she dove deeper and deeper, reaching the bottom easily, gliding along just above the sea-bed, the clear water easily penetrated, showcasing the wonders of the watery world.

The seabed was a riot of color and life, coral and stone of all colors, allowing for a diversity of skins like nothing seen on Earth. Animals swam though it, a garden of life, from twisting worms thirty feet long, but only an inch wide that ate from the vents, to what could be called sharks, only smaller, most barely reaching three feet. Floating just above the floor Samus stared up to the surface, the sun flickering through the water, lighting up the entire ocean for as far as she could see. "Yeah, this might be just what I needed."

Smirking, she began swimming back for the surface. "Of course, Val will never know that." Emerging from the water, her lungs having just begun to complain, she swam for the shore, noticing that it was farther then she had remembered it being. But her speed was such that she covered the distance in little time, and at last she stood up in the surf, the sun already beginning to dry her out. Once more spreading herself out on the sand, only one thought crossed her mind before sleep claimed her: "This is the best day ever."

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"This is the worst day ever." With steam shooting from the ships pipes, the yellow and red klaxons blaring, and the terrified screaming of the lower ranks as Ridleys flagship the Last Bastion, was bombarded by blue-white blasts from the unknown attackers. "Damn it, why aren't we returning fire?!" He roared, hanging on as the entire ship leaned to the side as a blast tore into the hull.

"Their opening volley cut the weapons control systems sir!" Yelled back the weapons officer, followed closely by "Life support as well sir!" and "Engines are down!" and finally "Sir, hanger bay door's are unresponsive!"

"Dark and Dammed, is there anything we still have?!" Ridley screamed, as the view screens showed the silver gleam as the alien ships flashed by, the fighter pickets blasting away at one another as the capital ships jockeyed for position. It was only bad luck that Bastion had been in the opening strikes, and now it was paying the price. "Sir," A smaller techie spoke up, "We still have control of the food dispensers."

All eyes turned to the small Pirate, and he nervously clacked his claws together, realizing that most people would have left out useless information like that.

Ridleys golden eyes focused on the tiny creature, narrowing as he considered what to do. "Thank you Private, I'm sure that when we are boarded, we can launch a counter-attack with the left-overs! Get out of here and do something useful!" The Private scurried off, more then willing to put as much distance as possible between himself and the Dragon. "Weapons, Engines, and Life support, I want a status check on the double, repair crews are to follow you orders at the moment they are given, understood? Com! Get me on FleetCom One, ASAP!"

"Sir!" They said, jumping to the tasks assigned to them.

"Maps, pull up the current battle topography." A boom resounded through the ship, much closer then the last one, rocking the entire ship the left, flinging several of the staff to the right, and forcing Ridley to dig his claws into the durasteel frame. "Now maps!" He roared.

"Coming up now sir!" and in an instant a three-dimensional holo appeared before him, the red arrows enemy craft, green Pirate. The red far outnumbered the green, and had the upper side of space above the Pirate fleet, leaving the Pirates square in the gravity well, like fighting with a wall to your back, but cutting off any escape attempts. "Damn it. As long as we're in the gravity well, we cant get enough speed to attain Rift! What to do, what to do!" Sudden as a bolt from the skies, it hit him. "That's it!" He crowed, turning to the staff. "Com, is that patch ready yet?"

"Aye Sir, line ready!"

"Battle Group Titan, This is General Ridley. I want the all Cruisers and Destroyers to enter into a blanket formation from coordinates twenty-forty-five to sixty-seven, providing cover for the Frigates and Carrier's as they begin a slingshot orbital escape." The red lines of energy blasted out from the three-pronged Destroyers, balls of plasma from the Cruisers, missiles and rays slamming into the attackers, fireballs lighting up space as each one exploded against shields and hulls.

"Status!"

"Sir, Weapons still need another two minutes!"

"Shields online sir!"

"Hanger bays almost there sir!"

"Engines are hot and primed sir!"

Looking back at the Holo, Ridley studied it, even as the shields flashed with every hit and the engines rumbled back to life. In a second he highlighted a destroyer near the battles edge, speaking over the com "Falters Not, I want you to lead the convoy and provide covering fire while they attain Rift velocity. All other ships, continue with the blanket, targeting any enemy craft that approach." Cutting the connection, Ridley barked out "Status!"

"Hanger's have opened and fighters are deploying and awaiting orders sir!"

"Tell Flights One through Five to assist the blanket, the remainder are to break by squads and screen the enemy fighters. Weapons, Status!"

"We have ten seconds to Plasma cannons, but missiles are down, guidance chips fried by some sort of EMP mine!"

"Damn, can we still fire by LOS?"

"Aye sir!"

Quickly running the numbers, Ridley typed in a series of commands to the missile crews, priming them for the launch. "Helm, bring us about to seven-seven-nine-two-four, with a two second declination of point-zero-three-one. As soon as LOS is engaged, launch everything we have."

"Aye sir, seven-seven-nine-two-four, with a two second declination of point-zero-three-one, engaged Line-Of-Sight. Time to vector twelve seconds."

As the Bastion turned to the target coordinates, facing directly at the enemy fleet, out in space, Pirate single-ships fought and died, trying to buy as much time for their fellows to escape. Destroyers and cruisers moved before frigate's and carriers, taking the fire meant for them, giving the vastly more populated ships a chance to slingshot around and achieve exit speed.

A thin blanket of defense was established, the destroyers and cruisers forming up to provide a tiny blanket of protection for the escaping ships, which were picking up more ships from the planet itself, all carrying families and friends, trying desperately to escape the coming fire. In a second the attackers saw the plan, and began focusing everything on the barrier ships, which were soon aflame, venting air and gas, bodies and equipment, but returning fire all the same.

The destroyer Falters Not raced at the head of the convoy line, protecting the fleeing ships on the last leg of the journey, Captain Uzze'e watched as the other three destroyers in the guard detail split off, ready to delay any pursuers. "Helm, time to the exit vector?"

"Sir, two minute's to vector, and thirty seconds till we enter the planets shadow."

Hands clasped behind his back, Uzze'e stared determinedly out the viewport, looking for any sign of opposition. "The last steps are often the most deadly." He thought, knowing that when your closest to safety, your guard is the lowest. Therefore he would double his. "Sensors, continue active sweeping with both radar and EMC. Guns, Status?"

"Plasma charged and ready sir, missiles primed and awaiting courses."

"Excellent."

"Aye sir, we're ready for anything."

As Falters edged into Merran's shadow, the entire bridge crew held its breath in anticipation, waiting for something to happen. For a long moment they waited, and almost as one they breathed a huge sigh of relief. Of course an instant later the sensors blared a warning, all manner of alarms going off, from radar to proximity, they warned of an enemy.

A Super-carrier was waiting in the planets shadow. It dwarfed Falters, even the next seven ships in the line behind it. The glow of powering weapons could be seen, one, two, three, a dozen, a hundred, too many to be counted, all bearing down on the little ship.

"Except that." Uzze'e said. Fear and excitement shot through the bridge, the Super's weapons already beginning to fire.

"Brace for impact!" Uzze'e shouted into the com, only a few seconds before the almost solid wall of deadly energy rained down on the destroyer. Shutting his own red eyes, Uzze'e said a final prayer, asking that he meet his end swiftly.

The energy rain never struck Falters. When no sudden impacts or fiery pain immolated him, Uzze'e cracked open his eyes to see a wondrous sight.

Over the Com came a voice that all within the pirate legions respected, even if they had never before met. "Falters, This is the Bastion, continue with the evac, we'll handle this bitch." With that, Bastion slid into view, obscuring the ports as it fell into place over the exit vector, its bulk allowing the others to escape beneath it. The thundering response of its cannons firing at last onto the Super was a welcome change from the sizzling of the attackers weapons.

Multiple portals opened as the runners escaped into the safety of the Rift, more and more opening and closing with every second. Monitoring the Super before him, Ridley watched as she began to dive. "Weapons! Bring the topside cannons to one-five-nine, and hullside to zero-zero-one-point-one, overload charge."

Mouths gaping as they regarded him, the crew was needless to say, startled. "But, sir.. That would..."

"I know what it does Weapons! Just do it!"

"Aye sir. Topside cannons to one-five-nine, and hullside to zero-zero-one-point-one, overload charge."

With only a moments notice the shields of both ships continued to flash as the cannons of both pounded away, the Bastion shaking with every hit, rumbles sounding throughout the superstructure. The Super dropped below the Bastion, but as the Super did, she turned on her side, placing the full complement of the topside guns square on the Super. Her broadside and topside cannons began tearing into the Super, missiles chipping away, leaving coattail's of vapor as they raced through space.

Then the Super's hanger bays opened, and streams of Manta fighters poured out, making a bee-line for Bastion. "What's our status on point defense?" Ridley shouted, hoping that the forty sixty-millimeter guns would be enough to hold off the fighters.

"Sir, PD is online and acquiring targets."

"Good. Maps, status of the evac's?"

A loud bang resounded across the bridge, causing all to grip the consoles tighter, and Maps to shout out: "Sir, three minutes till last ships attain Rift, a few stayed behind to get the last refugees."

"Continue station holding, and return fire, we stay until the last escape." The sparks flying by and bouncing off his black scales, Ridley stood still as stone, watching the tiny blips of the last five evac's racing for the shadow, and only a handful of the defending ships trailing behind. "So, this is what we have become. Refugees, fleeing before the Federation and these new bastards. Why did they come here? Are they new allies of the Fed's? Old enemies of the ancestors? Damn and Dark, it does not matter now! We have to escape, rebuild, and take this place back!"

"Sir, topside shields are failing!"

"Begin roll, and keep hullside cannons on station, overload blasts on hold until missiles impact on their shields."

"Sir! Another fifteen capital ships are coming over the northern hemisphere! ETA two minutes!"

"WHAT!? Why didn't we pick them up?"

"There's a radiation flux over the poles sir! It was shielding them until now."

Over the poles came a mixed group of the mid-sized enemy ships, soaring like a flight of birds, eager to alight on the weak flesh of their prey. "Damn it, their going to have a full minute of open fire on us."

It only took a thirty count before the leading ships began bombarding the Bastion. In seconds the shields power dropped drastically, blue-white blasts cutting into the armor, severing system's and collapsing compartments. Doors sealed automatically, preventing air from escaping and pirates from being sucked away.

Onboard the Bastion, Ridley was trying not to breathe, the air so filled with smoke that even his space-faring lungs were hurting. Sparks shot out from many torn wires, blood spattered the viewports, and dead Pirates lay across the consoles that they had dutifully died at. Glaring at the Super before him, Ridley knew that this was not a battle they would win. "Com," He shouted over the noise, "Get me in touch with Falters!"

Nodding, the Com officer patched in the line and nodded to Ridley. "Falters, Do you read me? This is Bastion, come in!"

"We read you sir, loud and clear." The voice came in over the speakers, fear and excitement vying for position in his tones.

"Captain, listen closely. As it stands, this battle is lost. You are to take the remainder of the fleet and retreat to the Alpha site, where you shall affect repairs and regroup. Call in all border and scout parties, and bring in Battle groups Leviathan and Implacable. I want our training facilities and shipyards at full swing. And Captain, one last thing. If the Alpha site is compromised, you are to head directly for Federation space, understood?"

"But sir!"

"Listen Uzze'e! If the Alpha site is lost, then we only have a few planets left! Lead them to Fed space, draw them away from the populated planets! And if worst comes to worst, and the other planets are in danger, and it looks as though these guys are not allies of the Fed's, forge an alliance with the Feds to gain their aid in fighting these bastards! Now, we have one more minute until the last ships reach Rift, and I have a plan to get us that time. Get yourself out of here Uzze'e, and remember what I said."

With that Ridley broke the link and turned to the Com. "Crew of the Bastion, we need another minute of time, and we're not going to get it like this. We are going to overload all cannons and ram the Bastion directly into the Super. The ensuing explosion and radiation will either kill them or block the radar enough for the last ones to escape. Now begin abandoning ship."

Hanging up the intercom, Ridley turned to his crew. "Weapons, begin an overload sequencer in all remaining cannons. Shields, divert power to the cannons until overload is attained. Engines, cut coolant to the reactors and push them to the red lines. Once your done, evac."

All eyes turned to him, and the helm officer spoke up, his eyes wide. "Sir, what are you going to do?"

"I'm the only one here who can survive in space, and I can take a hell of a lot more damage then any of you. Therefore, I'm the best one for the job of ramming that ship. Now get going, all of you." Nodding respectfully as they passed by for the escape pods, Ridley began entering coordinates into the Nav computers. "Allright, the Nav' should deal with the remaining time until impact, but the weapons overload will need more time." The cameras showed escape pods jetting away form the ship, troop transports and fighters speeding out of the bays, eager to get away.

As soon as the last one had gone, Ridley punched the throttle, the whole ship lurching forward, gaining speed as it raced for the Super. It had begun to shift, trying to escape from the inevitable hit. The Super had left itself open when it had begun its broadside, leaving a huge target for the Bastion to strike.

The Bastion slammed into the Super, the shields breaking like eggshells before the huge mass of both ships. As the nose crunched into the outer hull, Ridley was thrown forward, is claws and talons digging into the steel, stopping him from being torn out as the air rushed into space, clawing his way back to the command chair, the wind whipping all manner of debris by his body, shrapnel bouncing off his strong scales. A scream of tortured metal was al the warning he had before the blast doors came flying at him, torn from their mornings by the rushing winds.

Barley dodging the doors, he continued his climb back to the console, where the overloading cannons awaited firing. At last he reached it, stretching a arm and just brushing the button.

All hell came loose.

Each of the Bastions hundred and seventy cannons seemed to glow a bright red and yellow, before every one of them overloaded and exploded in the space of a heartbeat. The flames reached the missile pods, each one containing twenty HE warheads, and over three hundred of them lined the walls. A ripple cascaded across the outer hull, the metal warping and shifting before the pressure inside its frame. Far below, the reactor's coolant pipes had been shut off for a full minute and the engines in the red lines, leaving them ready to blow.

The two ships had mashed together, the overload melting the outer hull of the Super, the missiles tearing apart the guts of the ship. Blue and black bodies could be seen as the entire Super came apart at the seams, parts of it hanging on by only a few beams. The remaining ships watched as they burned, only moments before the reactor, broken, leaking radiation, and pouring particlesinto the area, went critical.

The Last Bastion exploded, taking the Super with it as the two titanic frames fused together from the heat and impact, a shockwave racing out and throwing the others about like reeds before the wind. The last evac ships escaped just before the wave hit, the attackers bearing the full brunt of it. Almost twenty of them were forced into the atmosphere, a burning death all that awaited them. Many trailing thick, black smoke as they plunged to the earth.

But on the other side of the planet, the remaining fleet watched as over sixty Pirate vessels burned in space, a funeral pyre for a way of life...

And far away, the Warlord looked on from his Flagship, Shin'Tro and the fleet's of his worlds grew and grew and grew, every conquered world from their galaxy, the full military might of a hundred thousand world's, bearing down on the tiny factions of the Federation and the Pirates. The battle of Marran was just a taste of what was to come...