As John replaced his helmet onto his head, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of longing from deep beneath his war hardened armor. He watched curiously as Samus wriggled her slender frame into the opening of the Dreadnaught; she was skilled at infiltration, no doubt. He managed to slip in, although not with as much panache as he had hoped. As his feet touched the ground with an alarming thud, he noticed that Samus was now in her suit. She gave him a curt nod before walking towards a blue door near the end of the darkened hallway.

Everything seemed so odd; so ethereal in the ship. It reminded him of a sun-kissed room, but the curtains were blocking the entry of the rays. Everything was cast in a monochromic light, the purple-grey walls lined with odd spheres and ruts that seemed to jut out at odd angles. The floor was lined with a string of red bulbs, casting dim lights at their feet.

"Wow, the Pirates sure are good at decorating." Cortana said suddenly, but inaudible to Samus.

"Mhmm." John replied simply. Cortana was quiet once more as they came closer to the door. Samus shot the door open with her arm canon, something new to John. "Why did you shoot the door?" He asked quietly.

"It's a defensive mechanism, mainly to keep intruders out. The doors are covered in a shield that can only be penetrated with a beam weapon with a specific firing frequency." John nodded, in awe at this strange method of door-opening.

"Does the Federation use this technology?" He asked.

"Yes, but their doors are coded with a different frequency," she began. "And since mechanics, doctors and general crew members aren't allowed weapons, the doors can be opened manually as well." She chuckled. "I remember when I had just joined the Federation as young girl. I was always in awe at the Troopers who could open the doors with out having to press in the code," she laughed once more "they always told us during training, 'only one in a million can become a true Galactic Federation Trooper!' I always thought that that was a ruse to get the kids to try harder, guess they were right."

John let out a tiny chuckle. He remembered his training well, but the memories were not good ones.

"Shit..." Samus profaned as she stepped through the door. John looked around cautiously, wondering what had made her curse. He looked up, only to see three Pirates walking around the levels of the ship that separated them from the next door.

"How high can you jump?" Samus asked.

"Six to ten feet, depending on how much leverage I get." Samus nodded. John watched as she jumped into the air once, and then again. The second jump was achieved from the two vents on her back plate, they must have thrust her into the air. She did a few rotations before landing on the platform above.

John took a few steps back, and ran towards the platform. He ground his right foot into the floor, angled his arms behind him, and pushed himself into the air. He landed a few feet behind Samus.

"Are we going to kill them?" John asked quietly.

"No, Pirates have an alert system in their body that instantly tells every other Pirate on the ship if one of them has been killed," she said. "We'll be sitting ducks if we kill even one of them." John only nodded. "Wait..." She said.

He watched as she pulled herself out of her suit, and rested it against the wall. He was used it disappearing with a flash of bright orange and gold. She pressed a different button on her jump suit this time. The suit she had on now looked like a watered down version of the other one. Instead of the large, spherical shoulder guards, these ones consisted of smooth metal that tapered down to a rounded point. It was also lacking the various green markings and large, spiky knee guards.

"What suit is that?" He asked.

"Power Suit. It was the suit I trained in during my time with the Chozo. I was always told that I was to be awarded the Varia Suit after I finished my training, but I left before then. I later found the suit on my first mission back to Zebes."

John watched as she removed each component of the suit from her body, slowly peeling the armor away. The pile grew until there was nothing left on her body besides her jump suit.

"That should distract them for a while." She said.

"Won't they use the technology against you?" Cortana asked.

"No, the suit will return to my ship after a prolonged period of not being on my body." Samus replied. She replaced her Varia Suit, and fired a few shots towards the Pirates. "Go1" She said. He ran through the door, followed by Samus. She pointed to a small alcove that was shaded from view. They waited a few minutes, and returned to the previous room.

"Pirate free." Cortana said.

"Which room are we supposed the meet the Brigade in?" John asked.

"I'm not sure, probably the room Meta Ridley was in before."

---

"What do you mean the Elite Troops are resigning?" Killinger half yelled to Kathy, the receptionist at "Elite Council Chambers". Kathy pursed her lips before replying.

"The Grunts and few crew members have been filling their heads with nonsense about the Space Pirates."

"I thought these bugs were fearless." Killinger replied.

"Have you seen an Elite Pirate? They have every reason to be afraid," Kathy said. "Yet they have every reason not to resign, we need them on the battle field."

"Agreed." Killinger replied. "Any status on Master Chief and that Bounty Hunter?" Kathy chewed on her lip.

"You'll have to talk with Cla'atu in the Squad Com Room. He's keeping an eye on the mission." She said. "Or you can patch in with Admiral Dane." Killinger didn't want to talk with Dane again, after their little fight.

"Alright, thanks doll." He said as he walked off. He watched from the corner of his eye as Kathy twirled her hair and sighed. Killinger took the time to pass through the break room and grab a cup of water before heading up to the fifth floor of the station.

"Cla'atu?" He asked, not knowing which of the Covenant was which.

"Yes?" A voice rumbled from the opposite side of the room. "Ah, Commander Tom Killinger." The voice said.

Tom weaved his way in and out of small computer units until he finally reached the front of the room. He approached the tall figure with hesitation.

"I need to know the status of the current mission." He asked. The voice rumbled.

"I just received word from the Arbiter that the Pelican they were dispatched with has been attacked." Cla'atu began. "Three Spartans were killed, two bodies confirmed and one missing. The Bounty Hunter, Samus Aran, and the Master Chief are now on their way to meet with the Pirate Brigade." Cla'atu turned on his heel to lock eyes with Tom.

"Have you received any news from 117?" He asked.

"No, Cortana is out of contact range."

"I thought--"

"It's the space they're in, it must prohibit the use of her transmitter." Tom nodded.

"Thank you, I'll be back soon." Cla'atu nodded and returned to his position beside the window, his arms tucked behind his back.

Tom sighed as he sank down into his chair. He sipped tenderly at the burning alcohol, boredom soon taking over. Having nothing better to do, he typed in "Samus Aran" into the UN database. Not getting anything, he tried the Federation. Her picture shocked him. He had no idea that she was a woman, Admiral Dane hadn't hinted towards what gender she was, and even her name was remotely unisex. She had startling, in-orangic blue eyes and blonde hair. Her jaw was slender and her mouth small. She was beautiful, well, compared to Kathy at least.

---

Memories of screeching metal and articulate, robotic screams entered her brain as they progressed through the large room. Samus couldn't see anything, or anyone yet as they continued walking. Had the whole thing been a set up? The Pirates would have to be incredibly stupid to pull that off. Finally, a rust coloured light could be seen at the end of the room. As they got closer, she could make out a long table with three beings sitting accordingly. As they approached, Samus's heart nearly sunk to the floor.

A Luminoth, a Bryyonian and a Chozo.

"Hello, Samus." The Chozo said quietly. The Luminoth nodded slowly, perhaps in respect. The Bryyonian gave a terse flick of the neck. She only stared, wide eyed.

"How--"

"As a precaution towards the extinction of my race, I and a few other select Chozo were Cryogenically frozen." As if reading her mind, it replied "we were kept on three separate planets. Tallon lV, Zebes and Elysia. Hidden deep underground in ceremonial chambers, we were to be un-frozen by a bot sent by the Aurora Unit on Elysia."

"What about the Bryyonian? I thought they were long extinct?" She asked.

"As you probably remember, there were many statues depicting our alliance with the Bryyonians on Bryyo. When Bryyo entered the Golden Age of Science, we offered them the technology of cryogenics."

Samus already knew the Luminoth were thriving after Dark Aether was destroyed. Although their race mainly kept to themselves, she wasn't surprised to see it.

"We called upon you for help." The Luminoth said. Its voice sounded oddly female, light and airy compared to the other Luminoth Samus had encountered. "The Pirates have segregated themselves between good and evil, much like light and dark Aether."

"What are they segregating themselves from?" Cortana asked.

"The Covenant and Dark Samus." Samus almost choked on her own breath.

"I killed her; destroyed Phaaze." Samus said.

"Sadly, the Pirates managed to detect her left over Phaazon signature and managed to clone her. She know lays dormant in a phazon crater specially designed for her needs." The Bryyonian said. Samus pondered this for a moment before replying, her mind strictly set on the Chozo.

"Wh--what are the rest of the Chozos' names?" She asked, almost oblivious to the previous comment about Dark Samus.

"I myself am re-named after Grey Voice. They other two are Stone Child and Kitras." Samus instantly knew that any Chozo name that started with a word depicting earth was female.

"Where are they?"

"Elysia." Samus nodded.

"Back to the Pirates..." The Bryyonian said, it's voice filled with annoyance.

"Yes," the Luminoth began "the Pirates that have sided with the Covenant are set on destroying Dark Samus. As for the earlier transmission you received, that was from the other Pirate Brigade; the one siding with Dark Samus."

"Why would they lead us to you instead of them?" Chief suddenly asked.

"Their channels were possibly encrypted, our transmission could have been broadcasted along with the other one."

There was a long pause before the Luminoth said anything.

"U-Mos said to give this to you--when he..."

The Luminoth extended its long, spidery arm and handed Samus a feather like object. She recognized it to be the ear tuft of the male Luminoth.

"He's dead..." Samus said quietly.

"Yes."

The Bryyonian sighed heavily, the Chozo merely sat there, observing.

"Why K2L?" Samus asked.

"We knew this planet holds great significance to you, and you wouldn't pass up the chance to come back." The Chozo said. Samus nodded.

"What's our next course of action?" Chief asked.

"You need to meet with the Commander of the UN Dreadnaught, 'Queequeq'."

"Queeqeug?" Cortana asked.

"Something to do with an ancient Earth story." The Chozo said.

"Who's the Commander?" Asked Samus.

"Tom Killinger."

-----

AN-

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I HOPE THAT CHAPTER MADE SOME FUCKING SENSE.

Anywho, I really do hope it's not confusing or anything, I'll explain some things in chapter 11.

OHOHO~ we finally know who this Killinger guy is. As .Shamaylan would say, "WHAT A TWEEEEST!"

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REVIEW!!

~Chestnut

((More sexual tension will be released next chapter, along with a shower sceneeeee!))