Hello! Beware: this chapter contains a huge amount of dialogue, but don't tune any of it out; it's very important!

Chapter 5: The Waiting Game

"8-16'Tebral'-He is gaining too much support. This little man from Nebulon cannot be allowed to gain a seat! Medici has organized our plan to kill him, operation Silence…"

"9-13'Zenain'-…the galaxy is full of useless beings. Now, after much argument and deliberation, the Council has decided, for the better of all society, to try for our High Nation. There will no longer be a worthless life- only that with value to society, those that do not tax our resources and valuable people... need for these beings will no longer be required in such a place…"

"11-20'Sharjak'-Contact with the rogue Space Pirate leader had been made and a profitable alliance has been created . Sharjak, their leader, is a fierce individual, but he was pursued to agree with us in our Noble Cause... The plan will start when operation Silence has been accomplished. Meanwhile…"

"2-17'Weapon Fear'-…is the best weapon. It will drive the destruction that will prepare the way for our High Nation…the manifest…derived from Phazon, which we acquired form Sharjak. He is very helpful…Then, like a phoenix, we shall rise from the ashes and restore society to it's proper place. Let it begin soon!

"5-10-Plan Silence has failed! It failed, and with that failure our plans are delayed. A second attempt is being made ready, but Medici has displayed his malcontent. This second attempt will have a higher publicity and failure rate, perhaps we should wait for a different catalyst… This try will have to wait until he leaves that terrible hospital…Sharjak grows impatient…"

"5-11-'Traitors'-There are traitors in our presence! Someone has been sneaking into our files. Luckily, no one has reached clearance 3 on level 5, this very file. It was feared something like this might happen…treason will be met with death. Life to the High Nation!"

These are excerpts of the files Samus found at the Galactic Council Headquarters…

Samus ran through the hallway of St. Thomas Moore's Hospital, unheeding to the shouts from doctors and nurses. Even without her powerful bio-suit she flew through the halls, dashing around corners like a sprinter on the last turn.

Horror and rage fueled her. What she had found about Medici was still fresh in her mind. She had to tell them!

Samus pulled up at Maelos's room, barely panting from her race. She pounded on the door with her fist and shouted "Maelos!"

The mechanical camera emerged and moved towards Samus. Before it could start to speak, Samus had snapped it off of it's metal arm and continued to knock on the door.

Suddenly, rough hands landed on her shoulders and she was turned around into the stare of two GF soldiers.

"Please don't do that, miss," said one through his helmet.

Samus looked at them angrily and said, "I must see Mr.Tebral!"

"How do you know he is here?" the second soldier asked when the door opened.

"Oh, Aideen. There you are!" said Geros.

"You know this lady?" Roscero asked.

"Oh, yes," Geros said, "she is a very good family friend. I'm sure she's just anxious to see Maelos."

Roscero peered at the camera and then at Samus, who tired to look innocent.

"Are you sure Mr. Tebral? You know the current situation."

"Yes, I'm sure!" exclaimed Geros as if Roscero was questioning his sanity. Samus slipped into the room before the soldier could question any more.

"We need some privacy," he told the two troopers in the hospital room.

"Yes sir!" they answered with a swift salute and then left.

Once they were gone, Maelos ripped back the privacy curtain and stared at Samus.

"Samus!" he exclaimed in relief.

"Maelos, I--" Samus began to say when Geros interrupted.

"Samus, do you have any idea what has happened in the last eight hours?" He grabbed the remote off the small hospital room table and turned on the TV, which was the portion of the wall directly in front of him.

Lights flashed on the screen as pictures of a smoldering room filled it. Samus looked closer and saw a message running on the bottom of the screen. It said, "Samus Aran destroys Galactic Council HQ!" in the Common Tongue and then continued on in different languages.

Samus swallowed as a picture of herself in her bio-suit appeared on the Galactic News. It was the same on that she had seen in a magazine while reading "The True Story of Samus Aran: Part I" 8 years ago.

"Oh no," she said softly. They were the only words she could manage to say. All at once it was what she had expected, and, somehow, it was much worse.

"You missed the worst of it," said Geros more calmly, "Joseph got a call early this morning about what happened. Of course he already knew what had occurred, but as Chairman he had to address the public on the problem."

"So he had to go on the Galactic News and discredit you to everyone in the galaxy," finished Maelos.

"In his defense, he was only reading what the Council had wrote, but now you're public enemy number one," said Geros. "It's kinda of like betrayal, without the actual intent."

A momentary quiet fell. Each person thinking of the paradox they had created. The blade they were walking on was very thin indeed. Torim was so close to the object of their hate and action; he was right under Medici's nose. They had sent him, or he had sent himself, into the lion's den.

"Where is the ship?" asked Geros.

"Cloaked and undetectable, one mile above our heads," Samus said and pointed up, "but I have some things I have to tell you, in private, somewhere safe," she continued impatiently.

"Alright," replied Maelos as he sat up in his bed. He was shirtless; the bandage on his shoulder covering most of his torso. He was also wearing a pair of jeans and his shoes and socks were on the floor near his bed.

"I'm cleared to leave today. I just need one more visit from the doctor to put on the travel bandage and remove this IV. Then I'm out of here."

"Good," said Samus, "it's time we got out of this place, it's like a bullseye."

Suddenly the entrance pad lit up. Maelos glanced at it and then opened the door. Sonilla hurried in, flanked by a doctor and a heavy-set nurse. The soldiers guarding the door peered after them with amusement and chuckles.

"Set aside!" shouted the nurse. Her voice was tinged with a rolling accent, one that had come from Old Earth many years ago.

"Idiotas! Siempre en mi manera!" she cursed, and then pushed Sonilla aside as she headed to Maelos.

Geros quickly moved out of her way, but Samus remained unmoving, who is she to barge her way in here!

"Didn't you hear me?" asked the nurse when she was blocked by Samus.

"Please, Reberta, respect our guests!" exclaimed the tired looking doctor, "I apologize for her," he said to Samus.

Reberta fumed and carefully made her way around Samus, which was very difficult because of her larger size. When she finally reached Maelos, she closed the privacy curtain and started to work.

"Now, Mr. Tebral is cleared to leave. He doesn't any check ups in the future; he is completely healed," said the doctor to Geros. Then to Maelos he said, "you only need to sign here and you can leave Mr. Ambassador."

"Sure," came Maelos's voice. It was then followed by the sound of ripping bandages and a yelp of pain.

The doctor came over to Maelos with the clipboard. While Maelos was signing, he looked at the TV and sighed.

"I can't believe what is happening in our age," he said.

"Well," started Rebeta, "I hope they find that Samus, that bounty hunter, that girl! And when they do…" she smiled spitefully.

"I hope they hang her from a tree like they used to in the Old Earth!"

"Thank you, Reberta, for brightening everyone's day," sighed the doctor, "come on, let's leave these people in peace."

Once they had left, everyone was silent. They all stared at Samus, who was looking out the window, possibly contemplating how best to throw Reberta out of it.

"Don't listen to them, Samus," Maelos told her..

Sonilla stiffened when Maelos called Samus by her real name. Her father had told her about his fears and that Samus was working for him. She had absolute trust in her father and believed everything he said. But now, face-to-face with Samus Aran (who was a killer by any measure) she found it difficult to remain calm and look the Hunter in the face.

"Samus, this is Sonilla Torim, Joseph's daughter," introduced Geros.

"It's nice to meet you," Sonilla said weakly.

"Hi," replied Samus shortly. She had no reason to be mean to Sonilla; in fact, she needed to be friendly with her because of the circumstances, but her impatience was growing. But even in her eagerness to leave, she had to do something.

Samus turned her gaze on Sonilla, immediately sizing her up. Torim's daughter was timid by the way she lowered her head; her body language was also very reserved, but this could be because of my presence, Samus reminded herself.

She was pretty but not vain. Hazel eyes looked out from under her mane of red hair, and it was these eyes that Samus focused on. You can tell alot about a person by looking in their eyes, or the Chozo had always thought so anyway.

And Sonilla tried to look away from those piercingly sharp, searching eyes, but she couldn't. When Samus found what she was looking for, she turned around to Maelos, and Sonilla let out a sigh of relief.

"What is my identity supposed to be, this 'Aideen'?"

"You are Aideen Bridgid, from a wealthy family on Aret," said Maelos as he found a shirt and put it on. He continued while putting on his socks and shoes, "you're visiting me to make sure I'm okay. Mr. Torim even has an identity card and credit account for you. He should be meeting us later tonight, after the Council is finished with its 'public comforting'."

"Alright," said Samus as she took the identity and account card Maelos handed her, "let's go."

"Where?" asked Geros.

Samus turned to Sonilla and said, "your hotel room."

Samus strolled out of the room and started to talk with Captain Roscero outside. Geros went out and stood besides them, listening and affirming whatever Samus said.

Roscero called for a registered GF vehicle to transport them to the hotel and then led them to the exit along with the other five troopers.

"Mr. Torim gave us very clear orders: we are to protect you and your family at all costs. We follow you everywhere and take you anywhere want," said Roscero as the elevator reached groundlevel.

They stepped out and into the waiting crowd. Cameras flashed and reporters shoved their microphones at them. Sentinel beings of every kind were crammed in the lobby and outside on the sandstone steps. They stared at Maelos and shouted out both curses and blessings.

"V formation!" shouted Roscero above the noise. Immediately his soldiers surrounded them and pushed away the swarming crowd.

They reached the road and found their ride waiting for them. It was a huge hovercraft, boxy and armored. It was painted a sleek black and displayed the GF icon on its sides.

"Get in!" yelled Roscero.

The other soldiers opened the doors and helped them in as Roscero swung around and got in the driver's seat. Then, in a roar of desperate questions and engines, they headed to the Grand Vastial Plaza.

The Plaza wasn't very far from St. Thomas Moore's hospital, only 10 or so miles away. It was late afternoon when they stepped out of the armored vehicle and were escorted into the hotel. Luckily, the people there were used to having high profile residents, so the small convey didn't attract any suspicious looks.

Sonilla led them to the 113th of115 floors, and stopped outside of room 1135. Then she swiped the keycard and led them inside.

The furnishing of room 1135 reminded Samus strongly of her room at Ero's Ocean Resort on Nebulon. Polished marble floors and rich wood workings adorned the main room. Half of the outside wall was glass and led out to a balcony overlooking the city, which was quite a view.

The troopers quickly spilt up and searched each room with professional precision. They returned to tell them it was safe and then Roscero assigned them positions in the room.

It was hard for Samus to be this close to GF soldiers. After her flight from Creto, she had been alone and stranded. New to the galaxy, she'd joined up. It didn't take her long to decide that the Federalized military wasn't for her. Everyone was for the Federation, and it was a terrible master. The views and beliefs they had thrown at her conflicted so badly with the Ways of the Chozo that she had deserted within 2 months. That's when she had become a bounty hunter, I am my own boss.

But it was hard being so close to Roscero and his squad. They were expertly trained and equipped, and she was well aware of what they were capable of. If they realized who she was, and she didn't have her suit...it could get ugly.

Also, that captain, she noted, he is a powerful commander and very efficient. She was almost sad he wasn't a bounty hunter because he would have been good competition.

"Sonilla, you should call your father to see what's going on," she said.

"Okay," replied Sonilla. She pulled out a small, thin cell phone and stepped out onto the balcony. Samus followed her as Geros and Maelos decided what to order for dinner.

"Daddy," Sonilla voiced the word to the phone, and it started to dial.

"Daddy?" Samus raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," smiled Sonilla tentatively, giggling, "Dad? Yeah, it's me..."

Samus tuned out the father-daughter conversation and studied the landscape before her.

The building they were in was taller then most of the surrounding ones. Far below them was a 6-lane street full of traffic. The horns and shouts sounded muffled and soft once they reached Samus's ears though. She liked the semi-quiet.

She left Sonilla and walked to the other edge of the balcony. There she took something out of her pocket. It was a transmitter, barely the size of a ball-point pen. She was aware of a pair of eyes watching her and turned her back to them.

"Creto," she whispered into it, "we're at the hotel, intersection of Alantis and Jones. I have a place for you."

"Where My Lady?" came the response.

"The top of a building I'm staring at right now."

"Samus," came the anxious computer, "that's probably not a good idea. What if it has sensors, or they actually use the roof?"

"How often do people use the roof of a 100 floor building? And you have scanners for a reason. Remember?" Samus said mockingly.

"Alright," conceded Creto.

Soon Samus had her huntership stationed, cloaked and undetectable on a near-by roof. It was exactly what she wanted, in case she needed a quick exit or her bio-suit, all things she hoped wouldn't be necessary.

Samus went back inside, leaving Sonilla still on the balcony. Inside their room, Geros and Maelos sat on the couch, eating delivery pizza and laughing at some show on the TV. Roscero stood by the door and glanced at her when she came back in.

Samus looked at the food. In all honesty, she'd never eaten pizza. She couldn't believe the recipe and popularity of an Old Earth food could have survived this long, but it had.

"Try some, S-Aideen," said Maelos, almost letting her name slip. He glanced at Roscero, who hadn't taken notice, shook it off, and handed Samus a slice.

"Fine, why not?" said Samus as she took a bite. Not bad..

Samus sat down and began to watch TV with them. Roscero hadthings under control, and he could have the watch for right now. Samus was waiting for Torim to return, then she would take over. She was sure she'd need the rest.

A few minutes later Sonilla came in. She said her father was about 1 hour away and then sat down too.

Everyone was laughing at the show soon, but Samus knew better. They were all just as anxious as she was, thoughts of what Medici might do in their heads too. And their anxiety was only augmented by the presence of the soldiers. Right now was the waiting game, which she had always disliked. Where is Torim?

When Torim finally arrived, the city outside was an explosion of night lights and reflective surfaces. He walked in looking terrible, head down and moving slowly.

"Dad," exclaimed his daughter as she ran to his side.

She threw her arms around him and his face brightened up momentarily. Then he looked up and saw all of the eyes on him, especially Samus's.

"Hi, darling," he told Sonilla and then said, "so everyone made it. And Aideen, I haven't seen you in a while."

"It's nice to see you again," said Samus.

"Darn," muttered Maelos, " the pizza's gone. Joseph, do you want anything to eat? I'm going to order something."

"Thank you, Maelos. I'd like an Isirh baskery meal please," said Torim, "I'm not sure where you'll find it though."

"That's okay," answered Maelos as he got up to order.

Samus then stood up and walked over to Torim.

"I have some very important things to discuss with you," she whispered, "but only when they leave?" she gestured to the soldiers.

"In approximately 20 minutes Roscero will receive an order to return to base. So, soon it will be safe" he answered.

Samus sat down again, and sure enough, in 20 minutes Roscero got a call.

"I am sorry Mr. Chairman to have to leave you like this, but all personal units are

being called in for redeployment. We need to be going, the curfew is almost upon us," he said, quite genuinely too.

"It's okay, I'm sure we'll be fine, captain," nodded Torim.

"Alright, men, let's move out!" commanded the captain, and then they were gone.

"Curfew?" asked Maelos as they left.

"Yeah," sighed Torim, "all businesses close at 10:30pm Polarian time, and everyone has to be inside their homes by 10:45."

As they were speaking, Samus took out a microdisk and called everyone around the TV. She inserted the disk and began reading the files, one by one.

Everyone sat mesmerized as the information flooded their minds. The focus was only broken when a shabby-looking teenager arrived to deliver Maelos's order and Torim's meal. He was quickly dismissed with an amazingly large tip.

45 minutes later, the slide show was over. They were all silent, developing their thoughts.

"Okay," said Geros, leaning forward on the sofa, "Medici convinced the Council to go with this "Noble Nation", where they are, basically, going to kill everyone they don't like. Did I get that right?"

"There's a lot more to it Dad," said Maelos, "this Sharjak, he's a Space Pirate. Why would they work with the GF, even for a common evil?"

Samus sighed and said, "Sharjak leads a group of rogue pirates who broke off from the other Space Pirates just before I went on my last mission. They had disagreements, Sharjak and Ridley did, mostly on how galactic takeover could best be achieved. Sharjak's a little more diplomatic, so the Federation might have given him rights to a couple of planets or systems, or maybe membership in the Noble Nation. I'm not really sure, but I know Sharjak gave them Phazon."

"What is Phazon?" asked Maelos hesitantly.

"It's mutagen. I found it on Tallon IV over 8 years age. I was there by myself, no GF commands. Anyway, the Pirates were using it to create Phazon Elite Pirates and other weapons of mass destruction. I destroyed their base and closed off all the mine entrances," here she looked at Maelos, "but I didn't tell anyone because I feared the Feds would get it. And now they have."

"And they used it to make their weapon," stated Torim.

"I don't quite see how this all fits together," Geros said nervously.

"I know what Phazon can do," said Samus, "the way I see it, they've probably formulated a gas from it, and are going to use it to get rid of the people they don't want."

"But who do they want to get rid of?" asked Maelos.

"The poor, alien races they have prejudices against, political enemies, the list goes on," replied Samus, "they want to strip the galaxy and rebuild it to their liking, with them in complete control."

"But that's where I think the Council will get the bad end of the stick," said Torim, "I know Medici. If he gets that much power...he won't share it."

"You think he'll kill off the other Council Members and proclaim himself king?" asked Geros.

"If I know him at all, yes," answered Torim.

"But, again, what about Sharjak?" Maelos nearly shouted, "He's got to be more involved. The Federation could use other poisons. Why this Phazon?"

"It's a diversion," Sonilla said softly. She'd been quiet nearly the entire time, and everyone was surprised she'd spoken up.

"Don't you see? Medici will have Sharjak be the enemy. The Pirates will use the poison to exterminate parts of the galaxy because 'they've trying to take it over", but in reality they're carrying out Medici's genocide. He might even set up fake battles between the Pirates and his forces to make it more believable. And the curfews are so no one can be out and see differently. It's the perfect cover-up."

"Great," moaned Maelos, "we're looking at mass genocide within numerous planet systems with a new mutagen. Then, after that, the Noble Nation with Medici as a dictator and Space Pirates as members. And we," he thrust out his hands at the five of them, "are the only ones who know and can stop him. Can this get any worse?"

"It will get worse," said Torim negatively.

"How can we stop them?" Geros stood up and started to pace.

"What about the blueprint?" asked Sonilla. Samus looked at her. Again she was showing a high aptitude for scheming, interesting.

"I can't tell what it is," said Samus as she brought it up on the screen. "It's not a weapon; it almost looks like a layout of somewhere, but I can't tell. I need more time with it."

"What do we do?" asked Torim desperately.

"We have enough evidence against the Council to demand an investigation," said Samus, "but I don't know how we could get it out. The next Unity Ball is all I can think of. If Maelos could get up there--"

"What?" exclaimed Geros, " and almost get killed again?"

"Dad, calm down," Maelos told his father. "But he has a point, Samus. Medici would be there, along with a bunch of GF troopers. He'd just tell them to point their guns at me and shoot if I didn't shut up. And I'm not too keen on the whole getting-shot-again-thing."

Samus walked over to the balcony entrance and stood, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"I have an idea, but I'd need to pick up a couple of things," she said.

"What is it?" asked Torim.

"A couple years ago I was, ah, shopping for supplies, and I saw something we could use now. A wave EMP," said Samus.

"How will that help?" questioned Geros.

"It's an electromagnetic pulse, so it can disable their weapons," said Samus.

"But it'll also knock out the cameras and transmitters we'd need," said Torim.

"I wasn't finished," Samus said defensively. "This is a wave EMP, very important note. It works within wave transmissions of any medium, and you can set it to the medium and frequency you want."

She walked back over and stood in front of them.

"The Federation's troopers all use weapons that have a centralized source of energy. They're all on the same frequency and use the same power. So, we set the wave EMP to that source and when we detonate it; it will knock out only the GF used equipment."

"Okay," Torim said carefully, "now we just have to get one."

"I can do that," Samus answered him.

"We have 2 days before the next Unity Ball Convention," said Maelos, "you do it in three days?"

"Yes," she replied confidently, a sliver of a smile appearing on her face.

"But how are we going to pull it off?" asked Sonilla, "if we're all at the ball, who will detonate the EMP?"

"Ha, good old Creto will do that, right," Maelos said mischievously as Geros sighed.

"Probably," replied Samus.

"But what if someone has a weapon not on the GF frequency?" asked Sonilla, who was now really into the discussion.

"Dearest," said Torim, "do we have to plan everything out right now?"

"Well..." Sonilla trailed off"we could."

"I don't think so," said Samus, "we need to see what happens tomorrow and then we can plan some more."

"I think it's time for us all to get sleeping arrangements, and then go to sleep," said Torim sleepily.

"I agree," yawned Geros.

"Alright," said Maelos, who couldn't help but yawn too. He stretched out on the couch, "we'll need some sleep if we're going to save the galaxy in 2 days."

Wow, this was a long chapter, and I pretty much gave you the entire plan. Hopefully you believe it because if you don't, uh, the story won't be as real. So tell me if it was believeable, if it's not, tell me why and I might fix it.

If all goes well, then the next chapter will be pretty low-action, and I'll focus on character development. This and chapter 6 are pretty much the "calm before the storm". Just settle in and relax while you can...