--- NOTE !!!

Edit: Changes - Just one word. The word FOUR towards the bottom of the page (in reference to the space pirates) was changed from the word SEVEN, for continuity purposes with my next work. Read FINDING SAMUS to understand (that is, when I'm finished with it.)

"Welcome to Terra Firma. Please, enjoy your stay."

The automated speaker voice was an unwanted welcome to me. I have been here before, and I never came here for any pleasantries. Like today, I came for one thing, another job.

I looked at my left forearm, inspecting the arm PDA that I had. Quickly, I searched it for the copy of the file that had been sent to me days before. I looked about the file for my destination, finding a small paragraph with it. 'Southern Horizon Inn, 4th and Central.' This was what the message said, and this was my destination.

"Michael, I don't think this is a good idea."

"You always say that Cassandra. Don't worry so much, everything will be fine."

"I sure hope so."

Cassandra's voice disappeared from the small earpiece I had, allowing me to hear all around me once more. I talked quietly to myself, or so it would appear to most people. Fortunately, insanity was misplaced by the A.I., as talking to one's self was now talking to your PDA or A.I.

I was outside the star port now, finding that it was still a breezy night here on Terra Firma One. The city was known as 'Tif one', as the creator of the city was very… original. This city was the smallest city among the three largest on this planet, but I still found the city gigantic. I had never found the time to travel the city, though I am sure I would scour the city if I did.

"Cassandra, how do I get to Southern Horizon Inn from here?"

"Hold on, I'll get a map from central intelligence right now."

Central intelligence, another galactic program I didn't care for. It was just an automated response that every planet had. True, it was helpful at times, but I still preferred to speak with people.

"Michael, just head down this road three blocks, then make a right and continue until you find 4th street."

"Sounds simple enough. How long will it take to get there?"

"About twenty minuets."

"In walking distance? Wow, its pretty close."

"Surprising, huh? Well we better get going if we want to meet the contact."

The time accuracy of this estimate was surprisingly good too. I made it to the inn in exactly twenty minuets. I stood in front of the inn now, finding a very expensive looking hotel. Slowly, I walked over to the main window of the hotel and looked in, and I could easily see a very large and expensive glass chandelier hanging just above a group of people in the center of the lobby. Large, rotating doors allowed people access to the hotel, and an automated voice bid the new members a fair welcome.

I moved into the rotating doors, and not a second after I made my way out through the doors, I could hear the message playing. "Please enjoy your stay," it said, though I didn't plan to stay for long.

Once inside, I noticed a lounge area just to my left. The lounge was dimly lit, giving an aura of relaxing quiet. A small plasma screen played the nightly news in the far corner, and though I wasn't in the room, I could tell it was very quiet. I moved into the lounge and sat down on a stool by the long bar. A golden light lit up the bottles behind the bar, and a single human wearing a white shirt, bow tie, and black pants stood behind the bar, cleaning a glass mug with a white rag.

"Can I help you?"

The man's voice seemed quite young, making him seem to be in his twenties. 'He must have noticed me as I sat down,' I thought, looking into the man's eye.

"You serve a double mocha frappuccino?"

"Sure, just give me a second."

The bartender pulled out a large blending cup, and soon a few more objects. Ice soon came into the cup, as well as some coffee, and a few shots of a dark substance, my guess liquid mocha. Afterwards, the bartender kneeled down and placed the cup into a hidden object. Little sound came afterwards, though my ears picked up a very quiet whir. Metallic blades were spinning just where the bartender had placed the cup, giving me the impression that there was a silent blender just under the bar. These were common these days, and though a hi-tech microphone could not pick up the sound, or lack of it, coming from the blender, I could. This form of increased hearing is just something I have picked up over the years, and something most people would never understand.

The silent blender stopped, and the bartender then poured the blended drink into a mug that he retrieved from under the bar. He then poured two spiral shaped shots of mocha into the mug, and the pushed it across the bar to me.

"Here it comes, sir."

The bartender's notation was informative, but unnecessary. I let the mug slide into an open hand, stopping it in its tracks. "Thanks," I responded, giving him a nod, and a large tip on the bar. The bartender then moved over to me and picked up the galactic credits I left him (in the form of three small digital cards with $1000 notations on them). Upon inspecting the creds I left him, he seemed shocked, which is understood, considering a single frappuccino wasn't even enough to break a twenty.

"Uh, sir, I can't take this."

"Don't worry about it; I'm sure you've earned it."

"But sir, this is-"

"Kid, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Alright, well I'll just give you another for the tip. On the house of course."

"Sure kid."

The bartender pulled out the same blending cup once again, as well as a straw for me. He placed the straw down by my hand, and then went to work on the second frappuccino. I took the straw and placed it into my drink. I did little more then that, as I started to look about the room. There was one other person in the room. He sat in the far corner under the screen, his head stuck in his arms. I take it he was drunk and passed out, though I decided to ask the bartender to make sure.

The bartender returned to me, bearing yet another frappuccino. I looked at him and asked my question.

"Young man, can you tell me about the man under the screen."

"Oh, Mr. Mitchell. Yeah, he has been here since yesterday. He told me he was staying for the week, and since he is the owner of Grunder industries out in the Celta sector, I'm sure he has some business to take care of here at Tif one."

"Grunder huh? I suppose there is no need for me to know him." I looked back at Mr. Mitchell, who was still out cold from his drink. "What happened, he got drunk and passed out?"

"Exactly. I told him he shouldn't have had that last tequila, but he wouldn't have it. He gave me a nice tip, though it wasn't anywhere near yours. Speaking of which, where are you from? I haven't seen someone dressed like you in years."

"I don't really have a home."

"Then what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a bounty hunter."

"You! A bounty hunter!"

"Yeah. What of it."

"In the last three years, I've seen bounty hunters come and go, but I have never seen one give me a tip like you did."

"Not surprising. But I fought in the last war twenty years ago, so the Galactic Federation gives me a pension every year. A big one too."

"What were you, a colonel?"

"No, just your average fighter pilot who got stranded behind enemy lines."

"Really? Those Belkans must have treated you horribly. I heard most of the captured didn't survive the torture camps they had."

"Yes well, that was the first time. Off course, I eventually escaped and started dealing death like a professional. Hell, I even got a medal for it."

"Michael, you shouldn't tell your life story like that."

I ignored Cassandra's comment. Though she had a point, there was no need to worry; this was the obvious truth that I didn't care for. Besides, it would be kinda hard for someone to blackmail me with that info, there was no secret plot behind it.

"I see. Well, if you have the money, then why do you wear those antique clothing from Earth?"

"Simple, it's more comfortable then the current day clothing that most people wear."

"But sir, its jeans, a t-shirt, and a brown leather jacket you are wearing."

"Hey, I like it, and that's all that matters."

I smiled at the bartender's confusion at my choice of clothing. But it was true; these clothes were a lot better then the skin tight garbage that was produced these days. Besides, my muscular body was more then enough to make me look thirty again.

I heard footsteps coming past me. They were quiet and gentle, giving me the impression of someone in one of the jump suits most people wear when they go into space. The footsteps continued for a bit, but they stopped next to me, and soon a person sat down, a single seat between us.

"Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Bahama mama please."

"Coming right up."

The bartender went right to work on his order, but that was of little concern to me. I quickly began to guzzle the frappuccino in front of me, all the while taking a quick glimpse of the woman next to me. She had long blonde hair, and a full, lush body under a blue full body jumpsuit. And though I know I am a bit old, I must say, she is very attractive.

My glimpse was soon cut short, as I soon noticed that the lady was checking me out as well. Our eyes crossed, and embarrassment decided to take over our minds. There was a small giggle coming from the lady, while I gave a quiet snort, trying to contain my laughter. I noticed a hint of red upon her cheeks, and the warm sensation on my cheeks gave away the reddish tint I tried to hide many times.

"Here you go ma'am. That's 13 creds."

"Alright, just let me…"

There was a pause as the young lady reached for her small pocket book. Unfortunately, there was no pocket book to be found. One word could be heard in my ears, though the lady only mouthed the word. "Shit," was the word, though it mattered little. I just silently laughed it off.

"It's on me," I said, nodding to the bartender. He nodded back, and then went to the far end of the bar, where he picked up the mug from before and continued to clean it with the rag.

"Uh… Thanks," said the young lady. I looked into her blue eyes, noticing a young, but fiery spirit in her.

"No problem. If you want another just tell him it's on me."

"Michael, stop hitting on her. She is too young for you."

"Ma'am, can you excuse me for a second?"

"Sure."

I turned away from the young lady, and then quietly spoke to the PDA on my arm.

"Shut up."

"Fine, whatever."

I turned back to the lady, and started to speak with her again.

"Sorry about that."

"Why were you talking to yourself?"

"Wait, you heard that?"

"Yeah."

"I see. Well I wasn't talking to myself, but to a friend of mine."

"Really, and who is this friend of yours?"

"Her name is Cassandra."

"Cassandra?"

"Yes, Cassandra. She is the A.I. for my ship."

"I see. So what is it that she said?"

"Cassandra told me to not hit on you."

The young lady began to laugh aloud, though the sound was kept to a bare minimum. I joined a little in the laughter, though barely. "That's a good one," were the only words she could muster while laughing.

Just then, I felt a tap on my left shoulder. I look around, finding a man about forty five standing. He nodded gently, signifying that he wanted to speak with me. He then went on to tap the young lady on the shoulder as well, who slowly stopped laughing and looked over. The man nodded, and then began to walk to one of the stalls against the wall behind me.

The young lady and I stood up with our drinks and followed the man. He sat into one end of the stall, the seats giving him the comfort he desired. I allowed the young lady to sit down before me, and I followed her to the seat across from the man. Just as I placed my drinks down, the man began to speak to us.

"I take it the two of know each other already."

The young lady responded before I did, saying, "No, we just met."

"I see," said the man. "The sir here is Michael Lindel, one of many heroes in the Belkan war twenty years ago. The young lady is Samus Aran, the young lady who destroyed the Space Pirate base about four years ago."

We looked over at each other, our eyes crossing for a moment, and then quickly looking each other up and down once more. After a quick look, we looked back at the man, and then spoke at once,

"You're kidding."

"No, I am not. I asked you two for a reason. I have a job here, and although you two are very well known in your line of work, this job will require more then one person."

"So, what do… We, have to do?" I said this, trying to find out why we were here. I almost said I for a moment, but I managed to catch myself and instead said we.

"The Space Pirates have apparently established a base on planet Eigen. Their base is inside a frozen wasteland, where a major battle of the Belkan war took place. Michael, you were shot down there once and had to take orders from command while on foot, correct?"

"Yes, I had to deal a decisive blow to their command center by planting explosives by the power generators they had."

"Good. The Pirate base is the same base as the one you attacked years ago. The fortifications have been strengthened, but our intelligence indicates that most of the base is similar to that of the one you and the federation soldiers destroyed years ago."

"Then why do you need me?" Samus's Question seemed to be in the right place. After all, the current description of the mission seemed to indicate that only I was truly needed.

"We at the federation have been through the many reports you have filed about the Space Pirates. We feel that you are more then a match for them, but Michael has never had to deal with Space Pirates in close quarters."

I cut into the conversation, adding a bit of unknown information to the table. "That's not entirely true. I had to fend the Pirates from raiding a friendly ship I was escorting about five years ago. Fighting got ugly, and when they boarded, I managed to fight them off, as well as destroy the boarding equipment they had."

"I see, well then the odds of this mission have just increased."

Samus raised her voice this time. Her voice seemed somewhat worried this time, and her question was well placed. "I have a question though. If this is a simple base destruction mission, then why hire the two of us?"

"Well, our intelligence has led us to believe that the Space Pirates are building some sort of weapon at that base. Unfortunately, one of the automated scouts we sent was shot down, so we could not get accurate details on the weapon. We believe it to be some sort of hi-tech laser cannon capable of firing upon planets and ships from a greater distance then the laser weaponry we currently use."

"So basically, this is a mission to keep the Federation superior to the weapons of the Space Pirates, correct?"

"You are correct, Michael. The truth is, there are few people we can trust to get this mission done. It will be dangerous, and if worse comes to worse, we may have to destroy the planet before the Pirates can use the weapon on us, or any other planet."

"Actually, blowing up the planet may just be the better of any plan at the moment."

"You may be right, Michael. But right now, current galactic policies keep us from doing that unless it is the last resort in a dangerous war. This is all the information we have on this, so the question now is whether you will accept."

"I'll do it." Samus seemed completely wrapped into the mission, while I was still on the edge. True this mission may help the universe, and right now I wasn't worried about the money, but I did feel a bit threatened for my own life.

"HEY, HOW MUCH ARE WE GOING TO GET PAID!"

I was shocked by Cassandra sudden outbreak. My tone with her was somewhat angry. "Cassandra, keep it down!"

"Who is that?" asked the man, who began to mess with the collar of his shirt. Apparently he didn't like being confined to a suit and tie.

"Uh, this is the A.I. for my ship. I call her Cassandra."

"I see. Well, I suppose she does have some say if she is programmed like that." The man paused for a moment, as he began to clear his throat. Afterwards, he began to speak again, now ready to talk. "You two will be paid five million galactic credits each."

"FIVE MILLION!"

These words quickly escaped from both Samus and Cassandra.

"Cassandra, it's a lot of money, but please keep it down. Sir, My A.I. and myself will take the job"

"I will also take the mission. Now how do we contact you when we are done?"

"Simply come back here within two weeks. Otherwise, we may nuke the planet."

"Alright, then we'll be on our way." After saying this, I quickly chugged both glasses of Frappuccino, though a quick cold shivered through my body. Samus did the same with her Bahamamama. Afterwards, I walked to the bar and placed my glasses onto the bar. Samus did the same, and then followed me out of the inn.

"Well, I guess we should get going."

"Yeah…"

Samus was somewhat quiet during the walk to the space port. She seemed very involved with the mission, as she looked quite serious already.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, I better ask anyway. Do you mind if you give me ride to my ship?"

"Didn't you park it in the port?"

"I never do. It's safer for me to simply leave it space with autopilot while I stay on the planet."

"Alright, no problem."

"Hey, what did I say about hitting on her, Michael."

"I'm not hitting on her, Cassandra."

I could hear Samus chuckling next to me. She must have found that very funny.

"You know, you two sound like an old married couple."

"Very funny, Samus."