Interesting; I generally do not consider (the majority of) my chapters to be short. They are roughly the size of the average novel chapter. However, that is certainly a legitimate opinion. I will apologize in advance for some of the later chapters, which are fairly short due to unique circumstances. You probably won't like this chapter ending (I do).

Starfox/Metroid crossovers are off topic and will be addressed after the chapter.

I believe that Samus' personality as I have created it is fairly realistic given her past and profession. However, what you referred to will occur, merely in unusual circumstances.

-

Chapter 9: Eye of the Hurricane

"Sir, there are six unidentified ships approaching the station at a high velocity."

The guard commander raised his head, glancing at the ensign who addressed him; young kid, not bright or good enough to catch much attention. But at the moment it wouldn't have mattered who had delivered the message. Not another d--- problem. It was bad enough he had to miss the party and get stuck with guard duty, but the last thing he wanted was actual trouble. In old age he had learned the valuable lesson that being bored to death was better than taking an actual chance of dying. Wearily he ordered his thoughts and gave the best command he was capable of at the moment.

"Hail them."

"We've already done so, sir. They refuse to respond, and they have armed both weapons and shields."

"Arm our own weapons," the commander ordered. He was a in a bad mood, and these guys had picked the wrong time to piss him off. "The instant they come within range, fire on them with energy based weapons. Get a lock on them while this happens and then fire anti-matter weaponry at them. They should be stardust within seconds."

"Yes sir." Immediately the others scurried about to do as he had asks. The commander watched the visual on screen as the other ships approached. Time to die, idiots, he thought to himself. Just before they entered their firing range, he identified them as pirate ships. Strange, why would vessels like that come near a bastion of authority such as this?

"Weapons refuse to fire, sir!" someone yelled.

"What? Why?" the commander demanded.

"They're transmitting a high level diplomatic code, sir," one of the technicians replied.

"Why the h--- would they have that?"

"I don't know, si-"

"We're being fired upon!" another officer yelled. "They're engaging projectile weaponry as well."

"The codes were stolen!" the commander gasped, now realizing. "Cancel the operations on the station that prevent us from attacking! As soon as you get around those, blast those ships apart with everything we've got! Someone else, get an independent particle weapon working!"

Everyone took a moment to comprehend the order, then grimly set about their work. Putting his head in his hands, the commander shook his head and sighed. He hoped everyone else was having a smashing good time, because the day was about to get far worse.

As much as those commanding the station were not enjoying themselves, Samus Aran was probably enjoying herself even less. Given the choice, she probably would have exchanged positions with them. She'd discovered her continued presence on this station came with a price, and a heavy one indeed. But she'd had no choice.

Which was how the feared bounty hunter found herself at a party. A social event for slimy politicians. In a dress, even. There were some fates worse than death. As everyone around her babbled incessantly about pointless matters and intergalactic stocks, Samus thought up creative and probably illegal ways to torture all of them. Mentally, she made a vow to get off this station before anyone else could even think the word "party" again.

By this point in the evening, most of the guests were heavily inebriated, which just made the situation worse. No one had approached her yet, which was probably fortunate for them, as they might have lost critical appendages. If she'd been allowed to take any of her weapons with her, they probably would have lost more than that.

She would have given almost anything to end the boredom, but dozens of individuals coming into the room firing crossed a few lines. The soft sound of mostly silenced energy weapons immediately caught her attention, and she turned as quickly as possible to see what was going on. From an upper level of the massive ballroom, numerous individuals in scruffy clothing were firing down below.

Stunning weapons, she realized, but still very bad for her. The worst she could do to them was throw something. Taking a jump back, Samus narrowly avoided a bit of fire aimed in her direction. Seeing she had dodged, a few more fired at her. Rolling to the right, Samus managed to evade them, but tripped on her dress as she came up and fell flat on her face.

To her surprise, no one shot her while she was down. Unusual, but she wasn't complaining. Quickly getting to her feet, Samus found that the firing had stopped. Most of the party guests lay on the ground, stunned or possibly worse. People in poor health stood a fair chance of having a heart attack when hit with a stunning weapon. The remaining guests were being herded into a corner. But why had they stopped firing?

It was at that moment that Samus happened to look up. Up the long crystal staircase that extended to the next level. Past all the attackers, obviously space pirates of some sort. Standing at the top of the stair was a figure she recognized all too well, a hand raised, ordering the pirates to cease their fire.

Shilo smiled just slightly, then slowly descended the stairs, coming toward Samus. Gulping, she tried to run, just in time to strike two burly pirates. They pinioned her arms to her sides as Shilo walked closer. Most likely, Samus guessed, she could knock them off her if necessary, if it would help her. Not a great idea with so many guns in trigger happy hands around, though. Best to save her last card for when she really needed it.

"Well, well, Miss Aran, we meet again," Shilo said softly, stopping a meter from her.

"Samus!"

Quickly Shilo made a gesture, and Samus felt a needle sink into her arm. Too late she realized what it was, and by that point the chemical was already seeping through her body. A feeling of immense weariness spread over her. Where had they come across that powerful of a sedative? These were no ordinary pirates, to say the least, they definitely had outside help. Which had been made rather obvious just now.

"You're looking particularly lovely this evening," Shilo went on, voice still cordial. "I'd be happy to speak with you in just a moment, but I fear I have other matters to attend to. Gentlemen, escort the lady to her quarters."

Now weak and drained, Samus could only hang limply as the pirates nearly dragged her into a corridor branching from the main ballroom. Though lethargic, Samus managed to memorize their route. They quickly found a room, where the two pirates threw her against a wall unnecessarily brutally, then sat by the door, guns in hand.

Groaning softly, Samus exerted the most energy she could muster to sit up against the wall. The chemical was wearing off, but they probably knew that. If she was going to get out of this one, she'd have to try something just before they gave her another dose. Firing a gun didn't take much energy, she really needed to get her hands on one of those. That wasn't likely to be easy, however. Not easy at all. At the moment she opted to wait, to see if she could find out anything important.

Time blurred together for her, but some time later Samus heard a noise. Glancing up with only medium effort, she saw Shilo calmly stride into the room, that same smile still on his face. At least by this point she had the strength to chew him out. It was the little things in life that made it enjoyable.

"Comfortable, Miss Aran?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Shilo shrugged and put out his arms in a gesture of ignorance. "Why does anyone do anything in this galaxy? They want something. I want money, and I want power."

"You're making an enemy of the Galactic Council! That's asking for a death warrant, they can be here within hours!"

"I've already made plans to mysteriously vanish. They wouldn't dare approach us here, not while we possess so many valuable hostages. First, they will have to concede to our demands... which will consist of a considerable amount of money, I might add. I've already made the official message to the Council itself. And, of course, who would suspect a mere Grand Vizier of plotting something such as this? Much death will be a tragic affair."

"You rat! Have you been planning this all along?"

"You mean, did I plant myself on this station solely to capture it? Exactly, my dear. Before that, my record was as clean as any politician's... making me the obvious choice for the job. It has taken years of work, but today things will finally pay off. This will be quite profitable for my compatriots and I."

Seething, Samus refused to answer him. The dirty b------ had been out for his own good since the beginning. In this galaxy, that didn't separate him from any other politician, but at least most bureaucrats didn't hold innocent people hostage.

"You, however," Shilo continued, quite indifferent to her silence, "have not been mentioned in any of these deals. In fact, your presence here has been completely masked, by individuals about which I do not know nor care. You might as well not be here."

"I don't want to hear it."

"There are two ways this could go," Shilo continued, completely ignoring her. "First, you could try to fight me and get yourself killed." He bent down to her level, then raised her head to look into his eyes. "Or you could come with me and live. I'll be gentle, I promise."

"Frankly I'd rather die by being jabbed with a spork," Samus answered dryly. At this point, she had no idea if she would live or die, and had ceased to care. She might as well be sarcastic when she went.

"We'll see how long you think that," Shilo answered calmly, rising to his feet. "Remember: I'm always available."

The fleet of hastily assembled Galactic Council warships stood poised near the outpost station. They couldn't risk firing, not on such a valuable location. Hundreds of key political leaders were on that situation, and thousands of the bureaucrats that made the government run smoothly as well. It would have taken little effort for them to destroy the station, but they couldn't... and the terrorists knew that.

Cursing under his breath, the commander of the station continued to struggle with his bonds. It was probably hopeless, he knew, but if he just gave up like this he might as well already be dead. Everything had gone exactly as he had expected, and now they were all captured. At least he'd managed to take the station's weapons offline. If that meant the Galactic Council destroyed his station, at least he'd have sacrificed his life for a good cause.

Sitting back in a comfortable chair, Shilo swirled a glass of wine before his face, considering it carefully. Putting an arm over the back of his chair, he took a small sip. The Galactic Council forces said they would give him their answer in two hours. He knew they had no other options.

Samus had long since become bored with the room around her. It was a simple supply room, small and relatively empty. The most recent injection of the drug had worn off, but the guards at the door were keeping guns aimed at her at all times. In her bio suit, the blasts wouldn't have been much of a problem... the same blasts would rip directly through human flesh. This situation was dragging on far too long...

Mr. Divel sat back in his chair. His face remained an emotionless mask, but he was actually beginning to slip. As always, there were backup plans in place. If necessary, he could escape and arrive safely at another Galactic Council location. But so much careful work and planning would be lost. No, it was best to wait it out, see what would happen.

Heaving a deep sigh, the commander of the fleet buried his head in his hands. This was not what he needed at the moment. He was a military general, not a negotiator. But they had proven they had plenty of valuable hostages. They'd have to pay an extreme amount of money to get them back... if the pirates even played by the rules.

Closing her eyes with natural weariness, Samus pressed her back against the cold wall, just to remind herself that she was alive. She'd been motionless here so long her body had become numb and stiff. Though she could have outlasted the guards, they were taking shifts watching her. Maybe it would just be best to submit to Shilo's requests. It would save everyone on the station at least... no. Never. Hell would freeze over before she would let him touch her.

Invisible to the ships' radar, another fleet of sorts floated in space. It was extremely close to the station, but its sensors had been taken offline. Meanwhile, the Galactic Council fleet did not sense its energy, as it was masked by the station. A figure floating in the center opened its eyes slowly.

It was about then that the monsters attacked.

-

I think that perhaps there are no Starfox/Metroid crossovers because the two are different game genres and hence attract different individuals. There is overlap between platform gamers and flight simulation gamers, but it is not incredibly great. Furthermore, this difference in game style would make a crossover decidedly unusual, as one game would be slightly out of its general style (not, however, with the newest Starfox game). Also, perhaps the animal nature of Starfox could be considered unusual.