Note: This is my longest chapter so far, hope you don't find it tedious. I did while I wrote it, but I felt it was an important part to the story. Read on.
Chapter 5: It's Lonely
"Sir, we have a ship approaching. It requests docking at our station," said the man with dark eyes.
"Have they sent in their ID?" asked the man's superior. He was a tall man, gruff in appearance. He was dressed in mechanic's clothes and they were stained with oil.
"They are right now," replied the understudy. He too was dressed in mechanic's clothes, for this station was indeed a repair show. It was a smaller shop owned for generations by a single family.
"Sir," asked the son. "the ship approaching is Samus Aran."
He said this with awe, the famed bounty hunter was coming to their station for repairs. The father though was frightened. Bounty hunters were sometimes backstabbers and thieves. Or they were running from the law for breaking some law while on a mission. They were mainly bad people and chances were that this Samus was in trouble. The idea of being able to charge a good chunk of credits from this wealthy individual greatly interested him though.
"Grant docking and get ready, she'll probably want this done fast," said the father. "And get moving!" he added.
Samus was relieved when the station she had chosen granted them docking permission. Her ship was in bad shape. No fuel, no water, and it was basically missing a side. The parasites had torn the wires for the ship's scanners, so she had been flying completely by eye. That wasn't so bad considering it was Samus, but she wanted that fixed for future escapes. The giant bugs had severed the pipes for cooling and heating inside the ship. In addition to all that they had also ripped open the vent that carried oxygen through out the ship, and that three hours was almost up.
This station was her destination for two reasons. One, it was the closest, and, two, it was small. The last thing Samus wanted was to be tagged and held up by the Federation. She just wasn't in the mood for that, but she never really was.
Nebulon was a smaller planet of the sector SJ9903. It was covered almost entirely by water. There was one lone continent, dominated by one lone city. That one city was a huge metropolis of corporations and numerous buildings all governed by one government. The city bore the name of the planet, Nebulon, for it was the only destination there.
The repair shop Samus selected was on the outskirts of Nebulon, roughly two miles from where the lone continent merged with the sea. Homing in on it, she docked at the first of only two docks to the repair station. The other one was empty. Not much business, well they'll be busy with this.
Samus shut down the ship and made for the exit. As she came up on the platform, she stood on the top of her ship and surveyed the station. It was a good sized building, with several smaller ones connected. The inside of the actual station was an open warehouse, littered with tools and machines. The dock her ship was in was sheltered by an overhang connected to the main building. It looked exactly like a mechanic's shop.
"Welcome Miss Aran," said a voice from under her. Samus looked down and saw the father and his son with dark eyes.
"I am Geros, this is my repair station," he said while gesticulating. "This here is my son and understudy, Maelos. What can we do to be of service to you?"
Samus liked the manners of this man, but something about Geros troubled her.She turned her hidden eyes to Maelos and summed him up quickly.He was probably her age, maybe younger, strong and hardy like his father. There were his eyes, they were different. Unlike his father's, this man's eyes were dark and thoughtful. Samus thought this but was in no way attracted to him. She had adapted to her solitary lifestyle, and dismissed the idea of a man in her life before any had even come into it.
"Yes, there is a lot you can do for me," she said through her helmet. Her voice came out slightly altered and harsh. "Fix the hole in the side of my ship."
Samus stepped off the side of her ship, her boots sounding on the cement floor. She strolled over to Geros, tall and intimidating.
She stopped in front of him and spoke, "I was attacked on my way here." Geros raised an eyebrow at this.
"By creatures, you don't have to worry about helping a Federation fugitive, Geros," she said before he could ask. "They took my scanners offline, ripped open the heating and cooling, and, most importantly, destroyed my oxygen supply and the ventilation for it."
"Well, that's quite a job," replied Geros. He looked at his son whose face remained the same. When he turned back to Samus, she recognized the look on his face, a look of greed.
"I have plenty of credits, money is not an issue. I am in no hurry, but I'm not the most patient person," she said and tapped her foot for emphasis. "I would like this done as soon as possible. Also I need to find lodging for the amount of time it will take you."
"Maelos, take Miss Aran to the main office and help her while I take an estimate," said Geros. The man with the dark eyes motioned for Samus to follow him, and she did. He wove a path through the discarded equipment to the main office. Entering the office, Samus saw it was small with a desk in one corner and a wall sized TV installed in the other. The desk was covered with bills and documents, and the TV, displaying the Galatic News, was muted.
Maelos went to the wall with the TV and pressed a button on a panel. A second panel slid out of the wall horizontally. It was very much an information panel like the ones Space Pirates used.
The muted TV went blank then lit up with a search engine that Maelos used to bring up data on lodging in the area.
"Miss Aran, we just installed this. It's pretty new technology, but I bet you're already seen it. Haven't you?" Samus nodded and Maelos thought, I wish she'd take off that helmet. She's really intimidating and probably good looking too.
Pausing a moment to sum up his courage, he asked, "Miss Aran, you don't have to, of course, but could you please take off your helmet? It's kinda creeping me out."
Why do you hide Samus? echoed the young child in Samus's mind. Why do you hide?
Slowly, Samus raised her hands and took off her helmet. She ignored Maelos's stare as her now dried hair spilled out.
"Is that better?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you," replied Maelos who tried to hide his attraction, than turned to the task at hand. "What kind of place would you like to stay at? Probably the best right?"
"Right," replied Samus. "How about somewhere near the ocean?" Maelos started a search which brought up instant results. There were 3 high-class hotels on the ocean. One was full. The second was dismissed after Samus learned they were holding a convention there. The third and final prospect, Eros's Ocean Resort, was chosen as Samus's temporary home. Not that I have a real one.
While Samus was studying the room around them, Maelos stole a look at her. There was something about her. Not only was she beautiful, she was engaging. Her words were few, and though her eyes were cold they betrayed a depth of thoughtfulness. He decided to break the silence.
"So is it true, Miss Aran, that the Chozo made your suit?" he asked while studying the gleaming device.
"Yes," was her simple response as Samus continued to observe the TV screen.
"Okay," Maelos said and looked down at his hands. He continued typing in the information for Samus.
"Miss Aran," he questioned. He had decided to brave the cold replies, his curiosity was too great. "What's it like to be a bounty hunter?"
"You are very nosy," Samus said as she turned her gaze on the man with dark eyes. Maelos looked up, discontinuing his job, and looked her full in the face.
I might as well tell him. If he's interested in becoming a bounty hunter, he'd better be discouraged. He wouldn't make it, thought Samus.
"Being a bounty hunter is tough," she sighed. "It's lonely. You spend weeks tracking and scrapping by to find your bounty. Then you kill it while it tries to kill you. Space is cold, and your fellow hunters are just as cold. People fear you, and you begin to alienate yourself. Then, when you're like me, people hound you. Some want an autograph, some shout at you and tell you that killing is evil. Still others are enemies trying to kill you. You shouldn't be one if that's what you were thinking about."
Maelos was taken aback by what Samus had said. He finalized the booking as Geros walked in.
"Miss Aran, have you found a place to your liking?"
"Yes, Geros, I have," said Samus.
"Good. My estimate is that the repairs to your ship will take about a week or so. That's the max anyway. I have to order some parts, quite a few actually. They're coming from Aret, so they're going to take a while. But Maelos and I can fix all the damage, after we get those parts. Now, speaking financially…" he trailed on, the greed showing.
Geros headed Samus a paper form listing all repairs needed and the estimated price. Greed is an ugly thing, thought Samus. She knew how much her repairs should cost her, and it was not that much. She merely nodded in agreement though, he will be dealt with later.
"Now, if you'd like to get your things from your ship, Maelos can take you to your hotel," said Geros with a motion to the door.
Geros and Maelos followed Samus to her ship, and as they walked Samus noticed Maelos's submissive behavior towards his father. Geros shouted at him to pick up the mess of a shop. He gave out orders without hesitation, and Maelos submitted to everything. She felt a slight pang of pity for Maelos, why is he like this? It is not my business though.
Samus reached her ship before the rest and entered via the platform. She headed to her Chozo suit storage room and set her helmet on its shelf. Entering the container, she voiced the commands for storage and power down. The wires, once limp, fused to the suit, and it disconnected from Samus's body. She was released from the suit, her body tingling with a sensation of slight pain. The suit lay suspended as she headed to her sleeping quarters.
"My lady, how long shall you be gone and I here with the repairs?" asked Creto while Samus packed her duffel bag with clothes.
"About a week, Creto. You know what to do, help the mechanic, Geros, and his son Maelos. Guard my suit. Don't worry, I'll stop by to check up on things," replied a confident Samus.
Her ship's eternal computer, Creto, was the ultimate security. You could power down the ship, completely sever energy, but Creto would remain online. The only way to remove its presence would be to destroy the ship itself. And the chances of that are slim to none.
She slipped on some street clothes, blue jeans and a red long-sleeve shirt on over her body suit. Strapping on a pair of black tennis shoes, her only shoes, she shouldered her pack and made to leave.
"Samus, your hair…" said Creto.
"Thanks Creto," Samus as she set her bag down and finally found the much looked for scrunchy. She put her messy hair in a low ponytail and left Creto to watch her ship.
Geros was already getting to work on the ship when Samus asked him where Maelos was. Geros said the second dock without looking up, and Samus made her way to it.
Maelos was waiting for her in a small, convertible, hovercraft. He sat at the controls and started the engine as Samus approached. When Samus sat down in the passenger's seat next to him, those dark eyes widened at the sight of Samus outside of her suit. Samus again ignored the young man's stare, men, strange creatures, she thought with amusment.
Maelos took off from the deck and merged with the light traffic below the dock. Weaving through the other craft with practiced ease, Maelos struck up a conversation.
'Miss Aran, I don't know what to say, but for some reason I feel I can confide in you. I have to talk to someone about this, and for some strange reason I feel I can trust you. Despite your reputation," he said. My rep, what does that mean? And what can he confide in me for? Thought Samus.
"Back in the office, when you said I shouldn't be a bounty hunter, that's not what I meant," said Maelos. "You see, the only person I know is my father. I work and live with him. My mother died three years ago and father hasn't been the same since. I know you can see it; he is greedy. He was never like that before, and I can't stand it anymore."
They came up to a traffic light, and Maelos guided the hovercraft to a gentle stop.
"I want to leave him and go my own way. But he has me under an employee's contract for the next cycle. He's my father, otherwise I would have op-ed out."
The light changed and they moved on.
"Miss Aran-"
"Samus, call me Samus," she interrupted. This man was emptying his heart to her, the least she could do was to bring him to first-name terms.
"Samus," repeated Maelos with a brief smile. "You travel a lot, that's what I want to do. I want to see the universe and learn its secrets. Then, when I'm done, I want to be an ambassador for Nebulon to the Federation." Turning to Samus he said, "I want to help people and leave my mark, like you."
After a second or two Samus spoke, "that's quite a dream Maelos, and I hope you make it come true. I'm glad you think I help people, but does killing count?"
"Samus, I don't know much about what or whom you've killed," Maelos said with his eyes back on the road. "But what you did by defeating the Space Pirates makes you a hero. People look up to. They think of you as their protector. Yes, I think you help people."
Breaking from the flow, Maelos maneuvered up a steep hill. The hotel could be seen on top of it. The waves crashed in the distance as brisk winds carried the smell of salt water to them.
Maelos stopped the craft in front of the hotel, the doorman coming to help Samus.
"I will do it, Samus," he said as she got out. "I will leave this place. I like being a mechanic, but I am meant for greater things," he paused. "Have a good stay and stop by to check up on us anytime." Then Maelos drove back to the station.
Later, as Samus lay in her bed wearing nothing but a plain T-shirt, she tried to settle her thoughts. Secrets of the cosmos…It's lonely…Help like you…Chozo made my suit…Their protector…
She lay for hours before the sound of the sea carried her off into a dreamless sleep.