Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid, but all original characters belong to me.

Author's note: I know it is a litte too soon to post the next chapter, but I don't care.

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Samus knew never to give up a good opportunity when it came to her. That was why she accepted Colleen Eurynache's advice. She was not quite sure yet whether or not to trust the woman. For all she knew, it could be a trap, but Samus had been in many traps before, and she found tof her memories. She could not quite place her finger on it. There was a reason that the memories were locked away, and that was because they caused too much pain and emotion. It had taken her Chozo family many months to convince to block them because she did not want to forget, but eventually, she found that she would forever be looking back on them instead of keeping her eye on the future.

'That's what Dad would have wanted' Samus reasoned with herself as she sat in the control room of her ship as it headed towards the coordinates Colleen had given her. They supposedly lead to the base that the Space Pirates had given Bill Werster to command.

She let her thoughts slip back to her father. She was always so close to him, and one of his many sayings was "Never regret the past, for then you will always dread the future." Some of his phrases stayed with her during the years, giving her strength the Chozo training had taken its toll. That was her favorite one, along with "Them Aran girls are strong, independent and stubborn as heck."

Her control panel beeped signaling that they were approaching their destination. Samus stood up and equiped her suit. She then slipped back in the control room as it entered the atmosphere of Berku, the rocky planet in which the base was hidden. She strapped herself in for the turbulent landing.

Samus had only been to Berku once before, on one of her bounties earlier in her career. She knew then that she never wanted to return to the desolate place. Some hostile environments were exciting, with thrills and dangers lurking in every corner. In Berku, in the flatlands you could see everything for miles, but that was where the only real danger was. Berkun Bulls were fierce three horned beasts with nasty tempers, yet they could be taken care of with a single shot her beam. There was no life in the valley's or mountains. The only things that grew were a few patches of grass and some moss here and there, leading Samus to say that the planet was really one big hunk of rock with an atmosphere.

Since there was no natural intelligent inhabitance, bandits and criminals were fond of it as a hideout.

The coordinates that Colleen gave her led her to one of the vast valleys, known as the Treck Ravine. Her ship automatically scanned for anything out of place, such as a discolored patch of rock or metal grating.

"Scan turns up no results," The computer said in it's montone voice. Samus swore. They probably put cloakers around their entrances; so, she would have to do it the hard way.

"Alright, land at the bottom of the valley," She commanded. "I'll search this myself and see if that woman led me to a false start." She opened her safety restraints and walked to the hatch at the top of her ship. The smaller hatch at the side of the ship was a secret, private entrance that would only let a slim form enter, and her armor was not exactly slim. The top hatch was the only one she could use while working.

Making a graceful entry, as always, Samus leapt out of the ship. She examined her surroundings. Nothing much to see, but her visor caught sight of a metal object behind an immense boulder. She approached it cautiously, lest it be some sort of security system. Though Samus knew the Space Pirates were more discreet with their security, she also knew that it could be fatal if she was not cautious.

When she was at a safe distance, just close to scan it, she concentrated her visor on it.

Analysis complete
Standard Gazer Space Craft (Individual Transport)
Damage: It appears that an explosion from an airborne bomb destroyed it. The fumes suggest that it was one of Pirate build.
Salvage: None, the damage is too signifigant.

Samus approached it. It was a Gazer, one used by explorers rather than those on the run, and Pirates had their own design. Why an explorer would want to come here was a mystery to Samus. The planet had been stripped off all research opportunities. Maybe it had been Colleen's ship, and Bill had found her out to be a spy.

'Bye bye to Dad's old friend' Samus thought to herself as if that were truly the case. She studied the wreckage, which had literally been reduced to scrap metal. There was something placed in the center of it, intentionally, as it gleamed with a new silver shine. It was a square sheet of metal, about six by six feet. Printed upon it in black block letters was "RNA MEETS DNA".

"Interesting," Samus mumbled. She traced one of the letters with her hand. Whose ever ship was this, the Space Pirates obviously wanted to get their message across to them, and judging from the lack of a body, no one had been killed in the explosion. They were not attacking to kill; they had some other purpose in mind.

"Who are you," A sharp voice said from behind. Samus turned and raised her arm cannon. There stood a woman, tall and lean. She had long brown hair and sharp blue eyes that stood out from her fair heart-shaped face. Although Samus looked quite imposing her suit, the woman stood straight and confident, unafraid of whatever Samus might be. She was only a few years older than Samus, and without a single bit of armor in her all white jumpsuit.

"I might ask you the same question," Samus said slowly.

"What did you do to my ship?" The woman asked bitterly. Her eyes narrowed, so full of anger and annoyance. "Let me guess, you are some sort of Space Pirate or Space Pirate minion that is here to take me back to Master Werster, huh?"

"Maybe I'm here to kill you," Samus pointed out. The woman just laughed and shook her head.

"I know Bill wants my death to be by his hand," She said. "Having one of his minions do it just would not be satisifying enough." She pursed her lips, staring at Samus expectantly. "Well, take me already. I can't find the stupid way into your base, and you taking me hostage is the best way into the place." Samus laughed.

"Do you always tell your enemies your plan first," She asked.

"Usually not, but Space Pirates normally are too stupid to figure out what I mean," She said. "Speaking of which, I don't think you are one. You know Standard tongue, and usually the only pirates that do know it have a raspy accent. Your figure is also one of a human or humanoid creature. So tell, has Bill finally recruited another human or are you just some outlaw that happened to stumble upon this valley?"

"Neither," Samus said. "I'm a bounty hunter that was directed here by…an old friend of the family."

"Interesting," The woman said thoughtfully. "What is your name?"

"I don't tell that to strangers, especially strangers I don't trust," Samus spoke.

"Well, you're kind," The woman said in a sarcastic tone. "My name, for all intents and purposes, is Rista Nevaria. I don't mind giving it out because the Pirates already know, and my old man is quite famous with the scum of the universe, so many people here already know me."

"Who is he?"

"If you really are a bounty hunter, you think I would rat him out," Rista asked. "Nah, I prefer him alive."

"My name is Samus," She said, leaving out her surname. Maybe the woman would know her and the name Aran, yet her face showed no reaction. "That's all I will tell you." A look of confusion then crossed Rista's face.

"Excuse me for asking, but are you a woman?" Rista squeaked out nervously. Samus laughed.

"Yes, at first glance it is hard to tell, huh?"

"Yeah, but Samus is a woman's name so that kind of lead me on to believe that you were female," Rista said.

"A common misconception, yes," Samus said. She finally lowered her arm cannon. At the moment, the woman was no threat. The only weapon she had on her was a blaster hidden her boot, and that would not cause much trouble to Samus in her suit. "It's not a common name. How would know that?"

"My…great aunt was named Samus," Rista explained. "A crazy woman actually, but a rose by any other name would smell as…well, foul. She lived in a nursing home and had this awful stench about her." Samus gave a chuckle.

"Well, Rista, you might want to see what message the Pirates left for you," Samus said, regaining her former cool composure. Usually, she only laughed at stupidity of others, but there was something about Rista's sense of humor that made her smile. Cold bounty hunters never smiled much, save for when they celebrated victories. Even then, it was all alone for her.

"What the heck does this mean?" Rista exclaimed, running a hand through her wavy locks.

"Maybe you would know," Samus said.

"RNA, RNA," She mused to herself. "Could it be…nah. Maybe…nope. Aw, I give up."

"You only have given it a moment's thought," Samus said. Samus was not the kind of person to give up one something so easily.

"Yeah, well after an entire day of searching this valley, I'm pooped," Rista said, Her choice of words was interesting. "Well, goodbye for now, Samus. It was nice meeting you."

"You have no place to go and you are disapearing just like that?" Rista nodded. "I still don't trust you," Samus stated.

"You shouldn't," Rista told her, backing away. "I used to trust people, and it only led to heartbreak." And somehow, Rista was able to slink back into the shadows, even though she wearing that white suit, and disapear from sight.

xxxxx

Authors note: I was going to wait to introduce Rista later, but I decided now would be a good time. Not many clues to the mystery behind this all in this chapter, but the RNA riddle certainly has something to do with it. Review! Give Advice!