It took a moment for Samus Aran's laughter to settle enough for her to form coherent speech.
"He's your captain!?" Samus scoffed, "He's what, twelve!?"
"It would be exceedingly foolish to compare me to a normal child. I was created through bioengineering, made to have super-human intelligence. Despite the relatively short duration of my life – 14 years, by the way – I am more than capable of commanding this ship," Captain Alexander Thunderstorm calmly replied. The boy stood around one and a half meters tall, the top a thick mass of an unnaturally yellow hair. His eyes were a similar color, and it gave him an almost inhuman quality. The confident expression Alex gave Samus almost spoke for his competence by itself; it was as if he were daring her to compare him to any human, let alone a child. The fifty persons making up the crew of the Generator called the expression Alex's 'Diplomatic stare', a face that, throughout the dozens of species and cultures he had seen, had served him exceedingly well.
"Okay, I… think I understand," Samus said, "So… ah, Cathy… Cathy said that you guys came here because of me. What, then, do you need me for?"
"We came here for the same reason almost everyone else – besides pirates – seeks you out," Alex answered, "We wish to hire you."
"Of course," Samus replied, "Who needs beating up?"
"Our version of the Space pirates," Alex said, "They are experimenting with phazon."
"And you need me to stop them, because my exposure five years ago gave me a resistance," Samus reasoned.
"I tried several variations of protection from Phazon radiation. All the simulations failed," Alex said, "I'm beginning to think there is no way to block it."
"And I was on another mission before I was attacked..."
"We were already aware of the pirate lab," Alex replied, "It's no longer a problem."
"I see. Well, I do loathe that stuff, but Hunters never never work for free," Samus remarked, "Or were you thinking that saving my life would be an apt payment."
Alex caught the hint.
"I was wondering if you would think that. It is a logical conclusion; you have no reason to trust me," Alex responded, "Samus, I do not know how your Space Pirates got a hold of our technologies. I was not counting on it. No, I had prepared a payment for you before hand, and you will still receive it."
Samus finished putting on the last plate of her suit. It was markedly different now. This suit was, for the most part, a light orange, with sections of the original hue scattered asymmetrically. The wide, v-shaped viewing window, originally green, was now a robin's egg blue, and was more transparent. The entire suit was now more form fitting, and decidedly more feminine than the Varia suit. The helmet had an opening at the back of the neck, allowing Samus' blond hair to topple onto her shoulders. Samus looked at herself in a mirror within the large, currently barren laboratory Alex had led her to.
"It's stylish, I'll admit," Samus said, "But I think you're smart enough to realize that I'm looking for more than aesthetic changes."
"You won't be disappointed," Alex replied, "Begin training sequence."
Four metal, tennis-ball-sized spheres lifted off the metal-tile floor of the lab, and began flying around wildly. One fired a red energy pulse at Samus. She backflipped out of the pulse's path, surprising even herself with the agility displayed. The spheres continued firing, and Samus took to the offence, and fired four thin, blue beams at the drones. The beams made contact, and the spheres dropped to the floor.
"Your 'Chozo' were excellent engineers," Alex remarked, "However, I was able to make a few improvements to even their work. I have added artificial muscles to enhance your own athleticism. Your 'Power Beams' I have removed – you now posses an… you could call it an energy beam, though this isn't entirely accurate… capable of incapacitating opponents, and Relative torpedoes; pulses effective against solid structures and force fields.
"The suit now possessed an artificial intelligence," Alex continued, "It's designed to work with your own mind, directing the muscles to perform athletic feats. You will also find it an exceptional auto target."
"And the Pièce de résistance," Alex finished, holding what looked like an old electrical fuse in his hand, "This is a cloaking device, capable of bending light in such a way that it completely conceals your image. It draws power from your weapons systems, so you can't shoot while cloaked, but I believe this will prove invaluable to you none the less."
Samus reached for the fuse. Alex backed his hand away.
"This is my true payment for you," Alex stated, "The cloaking device is yours after you complete my mission. Is that acceptable to you."
Samus stuck out her armored hand, "You've got a deal, Captain."
Alex grabbed Samus' hand, and they shook.
Author's note: I have no idea why this chapter was in bold font. Has this happened to other people?