Disclaimer: I do not own Metroid but all original characters are mine.
The light hum of the ship had lulled Rista to sleep. Curled up on one of the control seats, she had only intended to rest her eyes. Thankfully, Samus had let her doze off. Rista always marveled at her sisters ability to go hours without any shuteye. A light tapping now accompanied the hum. It penetrated the deep bliss of slumber for Rista, and after a moment, her eyes fluttered open to see Samus standing nearby, tapping a screen on the controls.

"Mm, are we there yet?" Rista mumbled groggily. Samus nodded. Rista stood and stretched out. There was a crink in her neck, but she ignored it to lean over Samus' shoulder and stare outside. The ship was about to enter orbit; so, Rista sighed and returned to her seat to strap in for the bumpy ride. "I always hate coming to this planet."

"You've been here before?" Samus asked, slipping a nylon strap over her waist.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't," Rista commented. "Insula is a popular hiding place for us scum. The only government-controlled regions are in the Hiemis archipelago. You get lost out in the ocean; your ship fails or your navigation unit screws up, you're dead meat. You can't even get a signal out there, unless you're near one of the few islands. The planet is ninety percent water after all." The ship became to shake as they broke through the orbit.

"I've heard," Samus said, over the din of the ship gearing itself for the impact. "Federation never sends troops on this planet because of the risks. Besides there's apparent threat of permanent radiation polluting the planet."

"Yeah, there's been rumors of different armies testing out nuclear weapons in the ocean," Rista murmured. "Never had any effects on the locals, though; so, I doubt that we should be in any real danger."

"You're not leaving the ship, though," Samus pointed out. "And my suit filters the air."

"Oh, come on. It's so cramped in here. Can't I at least have a breath of fresh air?" Samus just glared at her, and Rista rolled her eyes, muttering something along the lines of "It's not fair. I'm older."

The ship leveled out as it lowered towards the sea. Samus unbuckled her safety straps and checked the life sign readings on the controls. Rista also stood and stared out the window. The sight of an ever-lasting black sea met her eyes; thick, onyx clouds overhead were booming with thunder as a light rain pattered down. She shivered at the sight of it. This planet always gave Rista a cold and lonely feeling.

"The coordinates you picked up, where the Hamboskis might be, are giving off signs of activity," Samus read. "I think we've found our men." Rista nodded as the ship skimmed over the waves. They had entered at the right angle of the planet, and the trip to the hiding place did not take more than a half-hour. Soon, dark bulges, camouflaged against the darkness surrounding them, appeared. It was a small cluster of islands, with no visible trace of life.

Rista rubbed her arms, which were covered in goosebumps. She forgot to mention one little itty-bitty detail to Samus. She knew that the bounty hunter would make too big a deal of it. The thing was, Rista did not uncover this location on her own. Someone sent it to her, and she had no idea who.

---

Samus stepped out into the rain. The droplets splashed against her helmet, but overall, visibility was not too bad. She took slow, cautious steps through the beach of the largest island, her scanner ready to pick up any signs of unusual heat or the slightest movement. There was nothing, and it continued to be nothing as she traveled several yards inland. The island was small, not more than a mile across; so, there was not a lot of area to search.

Finally, she caught a scrap of metal laying the wide open against the white sand. She examined it. A careless mistake left by those who resided here. Out of character for these men. They took such care and precision in disguising their whereabouts. Then, Samus realized something else was amiss. She chided herself for not seeing it sooner, for it was obvious.

There was a huge, gaping hole in the middle of the sand.

She approached it slowly. Her scanners picked up no sign of life yet, or any trace of explosives. With barely a blink of her eye, she jumped into the total oblivion beneath her. When her feet hit the metal grating below, the sound resonated all around her. She charged up her beam, handy in case something went wrong.

The light of the beam illuminated the corridor, spreading an eerie blue light bouncing off the black steel walls. The hall stretched on for a while, twisting and turning every few meters. There was nothing, save for the exhaust pipes spewing out steam. Finally, Samus reached a large metal door, with two letters, "H" and "B", intertwined, the insignia of the infamous Hamboski brothers. She examined it carefully. There seemed to be no way of entering the door. No panels, no identification scanners, just the foreboding door.

Then, without warning, two orange laser beams shot out from the corners of the door. Samus leapt out of the way, but one of the lasers caught her. It barely singed her, but it left an ashen mark on her suit. Ignoring that, she immediately sought out the source of the beams. They grew thicker with every second and were apt at seeking her out. Her scanners picked up no trace of a security system. It must have a cloaking device.

Samus let out a few random shots towards the what seemed to be the source of the beams. Finally, after a few moments, the beams let up, causing tiny explosions.

It did not help the fact that the door was still closed. Samus sighed, and she switched her beam over to missiles. She let loose one aimed at the door. It dented it, and Samus had no choice but to shoot another missile. This one blew through the door. Samus stepped through it, trying to examine her surroundings at the same time.

The room she entered was a mess. Computer terminals were crushed, their screens shattered. Wires laid cut and sparking on the ground. The lights had been blown out, and the only system left intact was the security controls.

"Figures," Samus muttered under her breath.

"Sammy, what's going on," Rista's voice entered her helmet.

"Nothing," She replied. "At least nothing I can see." She pressed a few keys on the security computer. A hologram popped up, a list of checks and detections scrolling in front of Samus. Her intrusion had been recorded as well as- "Seems like someone beat us here."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rista asked. "All the other hunters gave up months ago on this trio. I mean, we've practically had dibs on them."

"Money is always an incentive, and you have to remember that catching criminals is a race for most hunters," Samus told her. "But I don't think it was another bounty hunter."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"If it was another bounty hunter, they would have destroyed the security system as soon as they arrived. It would be number one on their list. However, whoever came here purposely left it working."

"Strange."

"Yeah. I'm going to explore it some more," She mumbled. "Samus out." She did search the place, thoroughly in fact. It was just ruins, with no clue as to where the trio disappeared to or who had intruded their property. At last, her search turned up a small grating caging a switch. She shot at it, blasting the weak bars away and placed her palm on the round button. She pressed down.

A small hissing noise echoed through the chamber. Samus looked back over her shoulder and saw that a small door had opened on the opposite side. She made her way over to it, and when she neared it, she heard someone breathing, the sound magnified by the chamber.

She looked in. There was a ladder leading up to another door, but this one had a panel that was already shot away. It opened as Samus climbed up the rungs. She hoisted herself in the upper room. There was a dim pink light overhead. With it, Samus was able to make out a small, huddled shadow in the corner. She turned her outer speaker on.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"D-don't hurt me none," The person pleaded. His voice faltered. "Please don't hurt me none."

"Who are you?" She repeated, but he paid her no heed.

"You can't hurt an unarmed man," He said.
"Prove to me that you are unarmed," Samus stated coolly. The figure fidgeted, fighting against some restraint.

"I kinda can't," He mumbled. "I'm all tied up." Samus approached him with chary. Indeed, someone had bound him tightly with chains. He continued. "Y-you must be that lady he wanted. He told me that he had a message for you."

"Who did?"

"I don't know him," He whimpered. "Came bursting in like it was his business and chased my brothers off. Tied me up like some fool, then destroyed our equipment. Then told me what I got to tell you. But there was suppose to be another."

"Rista," Samus murmured under breath. She took the man by his collar, still unable to make out his features by the light, and dragged him along. She was confident that the other two were long gone. Just to be sure, though, she patted him down for weapons. As he had said, he was unarmed.

---

"So, which one of ya'll is Rista?" He whimpered. The two women had confirmed this was Karl Hamboski, the middle child of the trio, that had been caught.

"Why does it matter?" Rista challenged him.

"Don't get all defensive on me," He said. "That man said I was a gift for Rista."

"A gift?" Samus asked. He nodded, sweat beads rolling down his forehead.

"Yep, said that I was a gift, and that only good little girls get gifts," He relayed. "He said that Rista wasn't being a good little girl, but he would give her a gift anyways because she's his little girl." A strange look crossed Rista's face.

"Darryl…" She breathed.

"Said though that unless Rista came a better girl, he would take back her gift and everything he gave her," Karl continued. Samus stared over at Rista.

"This could become a problem," She commented. Rista nodded in agreement. She turned back to Karl. "Anything else?"

"Well, nothing I was meant to say," Karl mumbled. Rista whipped out her gun and pressed the cold metal to his forehead.

"Anything else, period?" Karl whimpered.

"He said something else, real quiet like," He confessed. "Something else like, Rista should not be hanging out with that maliiv anymore."

"A maliiv?" Rista asked. "Samus is not a mali-"

"It wasn't this missy over here," Karl cut her off. "Said it was a man. Called him Nevy or something. Can't be sure."

"Is that all?" Rista asked, pressing the gun harder against his skull. He nodded quickly and sharply, and Rista removed her gun. "Throw him in the bounty's hold."

"Since when do you tell me what to do on my ship?" Samus said in a light tone. Rista tried to crack a smile, but she couldn't. Samus dragged the man away.

"What is a maliiv?" She asked when she returned. Rista sighed.

"Contrary to belief, even criminals are loyal to someone," Rista began to explain. "Without loyalty, without a support group, it would be hard for them to do anything. Most creatures can't be evil one hundred percent of the time. You just can't survive without love, no matter how cheesy that sounds."

"A maliiv is someone who goes against that. Someone who betrays someone they love, someone they truly care about to save their own necks or for greed. It means no one can trust them. It's a mark you're branded with, at least in most circles."

"I don't think I'll ever fully understand the underground world," Samus commented. "Any idea who this maliiv might be?"

"Nope, but I'm going to find out."

Author's Note: Finally an update. Another mystery is posed. Personally, I think this one is easy, but that's just me. I want you guys to guess like last time. What are your theories? No reviews means no updates. Lemurian-Girl, signing off.