I would apologize for the length of time between the previous chapter and the posting of this one, but that would be dishonest, as I am not really apologetic. However, it seems that few people cared, so it should be relatively harmless. With a reviewer questioning what was about to happen, I determined to add more of the story for their sake.

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Chapter 7: A Series of Unrelated Events

The ship lifted off, a bit shakily, true, but it was a miracle that it even got off the ground at all. Escape pods were designed to get a person to a planet, not to get them off. Somehow, this ship was actually flying, and flying better than a few of the crates Samus had seen in her lifetime. While she broke orbit, she had been very busy making sure everything was running properly, but now as she went about her long journey to Bounty Hunter HQ all Samus could do was think.

Leaning back in her chair, Samus sighed heavily. She began running through all the facts in her mind, to avoid the true confusion she was struggling with. There had been so many hints, but she hadn't ever caught on. Then again, she could be forgiven for that, as it would be unnatural to assume anything that bizarre.

Her first clues should have been Tal's unnatural recovery rate and resistence to low temperatures. This planet was hardly habitable, yet he'd lived in it easily. If that hadn't been enough, there was always his heightened sight and hearing.

His story also made a few other things come together, she realized. He had been unwilling to talk about details of why he was on the station... small wonder. That also explained why he had been so afraid of her at the beginning. She had, after all, thrown him off a catwalk. It was amazing he survived that fall, though he was evidently much tougher than a normal human.

What did all this mean about his story? Was it the truth or just a clever deceit he'd invented? Then again, it had seemed fragmented, and he seemed to be searching for the truth as well, so Samus decided to give him that one. He'd seemed honest enough.

The instant the thought entered her mind, Samus realized the danger and tried to force it away. Too late. Tal had seemed so honest and open, yet he had been far from it, apparently. Again, she couldn't really blame him. Still, she was completely in the dark about his motives. Why had he been on the station? Why had he helped her? It was obvious, considering that he had wings, that he didn't need the ship to leave. Any time during the days they had been building the ship, he could have killed her, Samus realized grimly. So his motives were probably mostly pure, if a bit confusing; that fit with her image of him.

Of course, that image had just been forced to undergo serious revisions. Whatever he was, it certainly wasn't human. Almost like a bizarre cross between alien life forms and human, Samus decided. Maybe that was part of his connection to the stations. It was possible that he had once been human. Then again, what made someone count as human?

In any case, he was far more than a simple scientist. However bad his aim may have been, his personal weapons seemed to be quite effective. Those momentarily took up her thoughts. When she'd first met him, he seemed basically like an armored human. This time, he'd been able to do far more. If he could do that much, why hadn't he when they fought on the station the first time? Then again, it was also possible he couldn't then.

Slowly Samus began to piece together some of the scientific reasoning behind things. Tal had appeared to be saturated in nega-photons, probably because he was. They were an intrinsic part of his being. That also explained why he was able to fire energy cannon like shots from his fingers; he must have obtained the alien ability to manipulate nega-photons. When he'd used them, it had obviously been pretty devastating.

And the wings... Samus shook her head, not wanting to think about the physics involved with that. How his exoskeleton could be beneath his skin and then slide out was beyond her. In retrospect, she realized his shoulders had been extremely well muscled, quite abnormal for a scientist. If he had wings, that made perfect sense.

That raised another entire question. Most of the time she had known him, Tal had appeared completely human, and acted normally. Either he'd originally been human, or gotten good acting lessons from somewhere. But which form was normal for him: the human or the alien? Did both then count as human or alien? At this point, did the distinction even matter?

With a deep sigh, Samus shook her head and pushed the thoughts out of her mind. Most likely, she'd never get any answers. Not unless she went after them herself, anyway. In this case, it just might be worth it...

Nearly dropping his coffee, David Anez rubbed his eyes and glanced at the screen again. It couldn't be. Completely bloody impossible. Setting down his mug, he checked to make sure the screen was working properly, then sat back in his chair in amazement.

The ship closing in on Bounty Hunter HQ was a small one; a heap of junk, from what he could tell. With the number of bounty hunters who came here, that wasn't at all unusual. What made this ship unique was the fact that it was broadcasting Samus Aran's docking codes! A more than healthy obsession had caused David to memorize them, and now he saw them once more.

After mysteriously disappearing on a job she refused to tell anyone about, everyone had assumed that Samus was missing in action. Certainly, the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy would have finished the job by now. Rumors had began to circulate, as they always did, and for some time David ignored them. Eventually even he believed she had died.

Apparently he had been wrong. They had all been wrong. Wherever she had been, she was back, evidently now in a lemon ship. Getting up from his seat, David bolted for the door, heading for the loading docks. With any luck, he could be the first person to greet her when she stepped off the ship. Couldn't hurt.

"Holy c---, guys!" a voice came from behind him, one of the other bounty hunters who were watching all incoming ships. "Samus Aran is going to dock soon!"

Cursing, David picked up his pace. The idiot had to go and let everyone know about it, now they'd all be there to welcome her home. He had hoped to be the only one. Later on, when there were less important things on hand, he'd have to beat him for that.

There was no doubt that David Anez considered himself in love with Samus Aran. That put him in a rather massive group. He thought he was special... which pretty much put him in the same group. Like all of them, David was ignored completely. It was common knowledge that Samus was wedded to her work... which didn't really stop anyone.

"Where the h--- are you going?" a voice asked from the side. David let himself slow to a walk, he needed to do so anyway. Leaning against one of the pillars in the main lobby of Bounty Hunter HQ was Veronica. The very last person David wanted to see.

"Samus is coming!" another guy in David's footsteps piped up. Slapping himself on the forehead, David sighed at his stupidity. Veronica was the last person they needed to get involved. She and Samus had always had a fierce rivalry, but they'd never actually fought, so no one knew who was better. Any reunion would be much more sour with Veronica present.

Any other day, David would have been more than happy to have an extended conversation with Veronica, but not today. She was hot, sure, but Samus was hotter. All of them rushed onward.

By the time Samus actually docked the modified escape pod and opened the door, there was a small crowd waiting for her. The legendary bounty hunter raised an eyebrow, then calmly stepped from the ship, parting the crowds by force of will. As always, she was completely clothed in her bio suit, save for the helmet, which she held in one hand.

Instantly admirers converged on Samus, as she knew they would. Activating her jet packs, Samus burst out of the crowd, landing some distance away. It was against regulations to use jet packs in here, but Samus was important enough that she could get away with it. As soon as Samus hit the ground she continued walking, now behind the group. They were used to Samus' cold nature, however, and not the least put off.

None of them managed to keep up with her fast pace, and Samus quickly outdistanced all of them. Good. The Bounty Hunter Headquarters served a useful purpose, but Samus still hated going there. Hated most of the people on the station, too. That, she knew, only made her more interesting. An infuriating circle, really.

Reaching the repair center, Samus shouldered her way to the front of the line, flashing a rank A ID. Everyone parted quickly. The swarthy man at the counter was tinkering with a mechanical device on the table, and merely grunted at her approach.

"Wait yer tu-" his eye caught hers, and he straightened instantly. "Welcome back, Samus. What are you needing?"

"This suit was damage, particularly in the left arm. I want it repaired and restocked, as soon as possible."

"Certainly. Err... you can pay for this, right?"

"Put it on my tab, Bartholomew. It'll transfer from my account in a few days."

Nodding, the man gestured around the counter, waving her inside. Most of the time he was too cynical to accept anyone's credit, but Samus had never done him wrong. Unlike some bounty hunters, she adhered to her own moral code.

Stepping around the counter, Samus moved into the back room, where all the major repairs were performed. Undoing all safety latches, Samus deactivated the bio suit, carefully removing it and setting it on one of the somewhat clean tables. This left Samus clad in a simple grey body suit, which felt very exposed compared to armor.

Moving into the lobby, Samus sat down in one of the chairs. He would probably get around to repairing her bio suit pretty quickly, and once he got started it wouldn't take too long for it to be finished. Then it was back to the Galactic Council, for some answers. Until then, what could she prepare?

Tapping one of the communications panels next to the chair, Samus quickly tapped in the code for the main docking bay. There was a few seconds pause, then Samus heard a scuffling sound, probably indicating someone was coming. She raised the microphone to her lips and waited.

"Docking Bay A."

"This is Samus. I want my ship's arsenal restocked, and any repairs completed. It needs to be ready for takeoff in a few hours, at most. Set the main drive on insulate until I can get down there and handle it myself. There had better not be a scratch on it," Samus rattled off the order at surprising speed. It was one she had given many times before.

"Certainly, ma'am!" At least he was quick about it. Severing the connection, Samus allowed herself to sink into the chair and closed her eyes. What she really needed now was a bit of time to relax. Things would probably stay pretty intense as soon as she got to the Galactic Council outpost. It was time to straighten this situation out once and for all.

"Samus! Glad I caught up with you!"

Opening both eyes, Samus nearly growled in annoyance. This was not what she needed. Flickering a glance up, Samus realized that David had followed her all the way here. She remembered his name solely due to his tenacity and obnoxiousness. Her icy gaze managed to make him falter for a few minutes, but he just didn't give up.

"What happened to you?" he asked, dropping into the chair beside her.

"That's none of your business." Like that would stop him.

"No, really, I'm concerned for you!" Uh huh.

"Most of it's classified. After that, I got stuck on a deserted planet, and couldn't get off until I rigged that junker I was flying earlier." Best keep Tal out of this. No need to make things excessively complicated.

"Oh." David paused for a blessed moment, but Samus knew he would start running his mouth soon again. Some people just couldn't shut up. "Things have been pretty crazy here, too. Everyone seems to be doing short little missions, and people tell me it's like they're only doing part of a job. I've only done a fe-"

"You know," Samus cut him off, "I really don't care." He looked crestfallen, then rebounded and looked as though he was about to speak. "At all."

Getting to her feet while he was still momentarily put off, Samus quickly left the room. Surely she could get a bit of relaxation someplace...

The soft hum of the ship's engines quickly calmed Samus' nerves. Everything seemed to be coming together to put her at ease. This was her ship, and it was familiar: same engine tone, same soft chair, same console and instruments. It had been far too long since she'd been aboard her own ship, and now she felt at home again.

Just getting away from the Bounty Hunter HQ contributed to Samus' sense of well being. She always forgot how much she hated most people until she went back to HQ. Unfortunately, she had to work with people; the very nature of her job depended on it. At least most of her clients were business like: they needed something done, and she could do it. But everyone who lingered at HQ for a lengthy period had too much time on their hands, in her opinion. The few staff members onboard closest to being her friends were the ones who annoyed her the least.

Now that everything was as it should be, Samus felt much more comfortable making plans. First off, of course, was to get some answers from the Galactic Council. They had a lot of explaining to do, especially about the exploding ship. While she would have liked to believe no one would destroy so easily, experience taught her differently. Most likely, that project would take quite some time. But she wouldn't rest until it was resolved.

After that... things were more open. Eventually she'd take another job, though she could have lived off of only the money from this job for months. It was more about doing the work than the money. No... Samus decided that she had more important things to do at the moment, like going after Tal.

She assumed he was still on that planet, though as the thought occurred to her she realized that she could be wrong. Was it possible he had left? All normal humans needed air to breath... but Tal was hardly normal. He'd been able to handle extreme temperatures as well. Assuming that he could propel himself through space somehow, and nega-photons served that function nicely, he was probably as capable of going anywhere as a starship. It all depended on how fast he could move, and how much he needed to eat.

Useless speculation; Samus put it aside. She would handle that when it happened. Once more fully stocked and repaired, Samus felt prepared to take on just about anything. Which is why what followed was bad timing for someone else.

A warning light lit up on the dash, and a siren blared through the cockpit for a split second before Samus turned it off. Glancing at the screen, Samus discovered that she was being intercepted by three other ships. They'd be within firing range in about ten seconds, and the computer said their weapons were ready.

Strapping herself into the seat, Samus activated her manual controls. Wrapping her hands around the control shafts, the bounty hunter smiled malevolently. If they wanted to fight her, a fight they would get.

The instant they came within range, Samus dove directly down, avoiding the fire that lanced through the space where she had been. Spinning the ship around as quickly as possible and cutting her engines, Samus continued to hurtle backward, now while strafing the ships with fire of her own.

All three were shielded, and survived the blast. Again activating thrusters, Samus propelled her ship up, away from the ships. They were pirate vessels, she recognized now. Probably stolen from somewhere and heavily modified. Like most serious pirates, they were too well protected for her computer to scan them, but Samus was willing to bet all three were heavily armed.

Shifting power to forward shields, Samus broke into a barrel roll, breaking through the group of three ships. She took relatively little damage along the way, as she'd managed to surprise them. Curving upward, Samus doubled back over herself and let loose another burst of fire. Before they could fire in response she broke into another barrel roll, getting out of range.

They were sporting some impressive hardware, but their pilots didn't seem to be the best. At least, nowhere near as proficient as she was. Targeting one of the ships with missiles, Samus managed to get a lock and then fired. The instant her projectiles were off, she dove from her position, fire from one of the ships barely glancing her own.

It dove down at her, and Samus began a brief and vicious dogfight with the ship. This pilot seemed to be a bit better, and lasted for a while before Samus managed to break down his shields. Firing a missile without guidance, Samus sent him up in flames, then rolled back into the fight again.

One of the ships was still mostly undamaged, and the other had managed to survive her missile, though the pilot hadn't been able to dodge it. Enabling the thrusters on the side of her ship, Samus skidded in a new direction, strafing the ships as she went. Whirling, Samus activated her ship's tractor beam.

The surprise move worked, and one of the ships was momentarily caught. Caught long enough for Samus to lock on and fire. Anticipating the last pilot, the one with the most able ship, would attack, Samus immediately spun away, narrowing avoiding further fire. Circling, Samus found that the other pilot had circled as well, and their ships now faced each other.

Having no time for evasive action, Samus continued to fire as their ships swiftly bridged the gap between them. Her eyes narrowed; he was barely using his ship's full power, as if he was distracted by something else. She was destroying his shields, too. Their ships narrowly missed each other, and Samus dropped a bomb that quickly attached itself to her opponent's hull.

Abruptly Samus realized what he had done. Why would he be willing to do a sacrifice tactic? What did pirates have to fight for other than their own lives? In any case, there were now five missiles hot on her trail. Jerking her ship hard to the right and wincing as internal wheels ground together, Samus attempted to shake the projectiles.

A bit of fancy flying later, she'd managed to get rid of all but two. They were of a new variety she'd only read about, and some of the most sensitive homing missiles in the galaxy. Fortunately, that sensitivity was gained at a sacrifice of speed. But she could only keep ahead of them for so long.

Setting her ship on a straight line, Samus unbuckled herself from the chair and bolted toward the back. Entering the airlock, she switched her right arm to energy cannon mode as the air rushed from the chamber. Seconds later the elevator took her to the outside of the ship. Immediately activating magnetic boots, Samus stepped fully outside.

She couldn't see the missiles following her ship with her bare eyes, but she knew they were there. Since the ship wasn't shifting anymore, it was relatively easy to plot their trajectories... abruptly Samus fired a half dozen times behind her ship. Two explosions in space signified that she had been successful. Nodding to no one in particular, Samus moved back down into her ship.

Now the computer said she was alone again. Returning to autopilot, Samus leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head. Not too much of a problem, really, but it raised quite a few issues to think about. Could they have been mercenaries? Unlikely, as she was certain the ships had been of the typical space pirate variety. Then again, anything was possible. There was also a chance that they weren't pirates, just people someone wanted her to think were pirates. It would have been pretty tough for pirates to get their hands on weaponry like that.

More questions were the last thing she needed. With a sigh, Samus repositioned herself in the chair and tried to get a bit of rest.