Part 2

Curin waited anxiously for a word from Samus, a word of comfort to warm the ever colder air inside of the tiny stealth pod. The fusion reaction had collapsed more than a minute before and the death that lay outside was anxious to ink its way into the oasis of life that it had discovered, assimilating the warmth, and making all part of the universe once again.

Suddenly, Curin felt a slight vibration and seconds later something impacted the hull of the pod. It sounded like a small asteroid had struck the ship. All was still for a moment and then the pod was pelted with another blow. It was nothing to worry about; such craft, constantly take beatings from drifting space debris, but it was an additional worry to add to the cold solitude.

Just then the silence was penetrated by a welcome voice:

"Curin, I've activated the core and the Hunter's life support is online. It should be warm enough for you to come on board."

Curin knew that it was probably still somewhere near freezing on the ship, but he felt safer with Samus, than alone on a dead escape pod.

"Thank's Samus, I'm entering the umbilical cord now," Curin replied truthfully, the cold snatching his misty breath away as he spoke.

Curin stepped onto the umbilical cord and he felt a slight give in the tension under his feet. He moved into the pathway and instantly felt the pod's artificial gravity release his 300-pound body from its grasp. He pulled himself up with the handles that were neatly placed on all four sides of the umbilicus. Each time he would seize a handle, he could feel the umbilical cord bounce rigidly, suspended between the two craft, a rickety bridge that would lead him to safety.

Once Curin had traversed approximately two thirds of the umbilicus, he heard the same vibration that he had experienced earlier, and moments later, the pod was slammed with more debris. He knew this because the umbilical cord twisted and contorted violently as the pod was propelled by the blow. He was afraid that the pod might be displaced to the point where it would snap the umbilical cord in two but the mere tinsel strength of the cord seemed to steady the pod's inertia.

"Curin, what the hell was that?" Samus called over the short wave transmitter.

"I dunno, it seems like the pod's being hit by something, maybe some drifting asteroids."

"No, they couldn't get this far into the cave. Curin, the Hunter's censors seem to detect that the asteroid field has moved to within a few thousand solar units of a sun called Angelica. This ice rock could be developing some tail activity. In fact, I've detected numerous fissures on the surface. I think the ice is melting!"

Before Curin could say another word, the pod was slammed again, and it seemed as if the Hunter had been struck as well because the cord began to twist in opposing directions.

"Curin, hurry the hell up, you're a sitting duck out there!"

Curin reached the door and grabbed the handle to the hatch. He twisted it and the hatch opened. He was about to pull himself into the safety of the Hunter IV when the umbilical cord took a massive blow. It buffeted wildly and he knew that if he had been inside of it when the ice hit, he would have been dashed against the sides and killed. Another ice shard slammed the cord itself but this time it's razor sharp edges ripped through inner membrane. The great ice spear tore the cord completely in two showering Curin with ice fragments. Then the greedy vacuum that lay outside began to devour the air within the Hunter. The ice that had invaded the umbilicus was sucked back out into the cave along with any air and several pieces of gear from Curin's weapons belt. The hatch door swung wide open and Curin held precariously onto the hatch handle, while the greedy gut of the ice cave attempted to reclaim the rest of his body.

The turbulence became so violent that the rest of the umbilicus broke away and sailed off into the void. The wind pushed past Curin's face and the cold stung his eyes. He tried to breath but his lungs refused to receive the ice air. This was it. It was over. Only feet away from safety and he had lost. The pain was so intense that Curin no longer had the motivation to hold on, and for the first time in his life, he gave up. Letting go of the handle, he surrendered himself to the relentless belly of the cave. He felt it grab his body and twist it and he sailed off into the darkness. His eyes frozen shut from his own tears, he couldn't see, but the void was not as he expected it. He expected to be dead by now, but no, he could feel only warmth and comfort. Had he died and not realized it? Had he reached the Carada Han, the final resting place of his people? A voice; the voice of his savior:

"Curin, wake up, wake up! I almost lost you!!!"

"No, master," he said or thought, "I have tried to lead a good life. Please accept this soul."

"What are you talking about, Curin?"

He realized he could open his eyes and he opened them to see a large metal torso. He looked further up to see the face of a beautiful woman, her hair hanging down towards his own face. She was holding a large helmet with a green visor, and that's when it all came back to him.

"Samus!!! I thought I was a goner!! How did you save me?"

"I got to you just in time, I grabbed you right before you slipped."

Slipped. He let her believe it. Curin Nesmouth was ashamed and embarrassed that he had given up so easily.

Just then, the Hunter was slammed with another ice shard and they could hear the crystal fragments ricochet down the sides of the ship.

"Let's take this thing out before there's nothing left of her!"

· · ·

The control panels shone beautifully. It seemed as if they had been perfectly preserved for all of those years. Monitors flickered, censor grids fluctuated, and all worked smoothly.

"The nav system is a little ancient, but it should get us out of this cave," Samus said with a confidence that could only be the product of experience.

"Take her out."

Samus clutched the control stick and the engines gracefully took hold of the craft. There was a slight hesitation as the Hunter broke away from its anchors. Ice shattered and sprayed out in all directions, tiny bits of frozen water and oxygen bouncing off of any surface they would stumble upon, and then, after 15 years of waiting, the Hunter IV was free once again.

They looked out of the main view port and the floodlights revealed the bristly sides of the cave; the razor sharp teeth of a frozen beast. Looking down, Curin saw the remnants of a small space craft, supported by the many crystals that it had fallen onto.

"Look, it seems as if you've had some visitors."

"It's a prospect vessel. Someone was probably interested in mining this comet for hydrogen or oxygen at one time. It may have been here before I found the place…"

Curin continued to look out of the window. At length he asked, "Are we cloaked?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, I thought I was seeing things before, but I'm certain I can see our reflection…"

Samus looked, and sure enough, she saw a thousand gray copies of her ship moving across the smooth virgin sides of the crystal's geometry.

"I saw that before too. The ice must be causing an optical overlap and canceling out the effects of the cloaking device."

Just then, the ship vibrated, as a mountainous space glacier drifted past the viewport, narrowly missing the ship's wing.

"It's melting fast. We gotta get out of here before the censors get confused."

"You sure they're not confused already, Samus." Curin pointed ahead to a wall of ever

moving ice. Giant spikes and rose shaped formations collided with one another, their weak

union with the walls of the cave all but melted away. They violently clashed transforming into smaller crystals, creating an avalanche in weightlessness. The tiny fragments of ice filled the surrounding abyss. It was an amazing sight that no one else had ever seen; snow in space. The floodlight refracted off of the blizzard revealing nothing but a white void. The collisions clasped in the distance, some closer than others, and their constant random rumblings were unsettling to the senses.

The two stared in horror at the impending devastation.

"Oh crap," Samus remarked as the ice grew thicker.

Chapter 022
escape from the zero gravity blizzard by billy chilly

"SAMUS! What are we going to do?!" Curin roared at Samus, unable to control his fear no more.

Samus pulled down a pair of goggles suspended to the ceiling by a mass of knotted wires. She strapped the bulky apparatus around her face, barked at Curin to strap on his seatbelt, and punched the throttle.

"ARE YOU NUTS!?"

". . . Probably." Samus gritted through her teeth, concentrated on negating the twisting, gnarled confines of the asteroid.

Samus had no other choice but to try and navigate the crumbling space rock. Her heat vision goggles wouldn't be perfect for the job, as the twirling crystals of ice would still provide some interference, but it was better the flying blind.

The Hunter IV silently soared through the collapsing caverns when Samus spotted a huge outcropping, lumbering right into her flight path. It would be a tricky manuever, a 290 degree roll to the left, followed immediately by a 175 degree roll to the right and finally a full speed upward thrust. Samus plotted this all out in about half a second.

"Hope you brought a clean pair of underpants, Curin," Samus called out, still focused on the viewscreen. She wasn't joking.

Sweat running down her forehead, Samus flipped the Hunter IV 290 degrees left, then 180 degrees right. Five degrees too many.

"What was that!?" A surprisingly frantic Curin called out as the hull of the craft slammed violently into a craggy black wall.

Samus held on to the stick as hard as she could as the Hunter IV spun uncontrollably through a deluge of ice crystals. Unable to pull up in time, Samus plotted a new course. Through the frozen wall.

The once spotless starship charged through the jagged teeth of ice dotting the corridor and into another tunnel. As the debris ricocheted crazily off of the Hunter IV and the interior of the asteroid, Samus and Curin simultaneously came upon a disturbing discovery. A dead end.

An explosion.

A huge, bellowing, inescapable explosion.

Rock and ice rocketed through the black vacuum of space.

It is said that amidst chaos, order is formed.

This is the case.

The Hunter IV, though bruised badly, triumphed over this force of nature, in one piece, it's inhabitants still alive and well.

"Nothing makes a last minute shortcut like a well-placed missile," Samus beamed.

"What?! You almost got us both killed you idiot!"

"Oooh, what's wrong? Did that little maneuver scare the big tough man?" Samus joked.

"No, it's just tha-"

Curin was interrupted by a violent shudder that reverberated throughout the hull of the craft.

"What?" Samus ran over to one of the viewscreens and, sure enough, just as Curin and Samus were celebrating their escaped death, they were being forcefully docked by a cloaked ship.

Chapter 023
Interlude by Andy

Captain Car'arano Voletia sat on the bridge of the Ark, watching the last of the cargo shuttles come up from the surface of Talese. As he gazed at the large main screen, he idly stroked his new chocolate colored purble - a goodwill and thanks gift from the inhabitants of the planet. He was told it was a fantastic and expensive gift - of the highest quality stock. He still hadn't decided on a name yet. Instead, he thought about all the other purbles that would be left on the surface when the sun went nova. He also thought, with great sadness, about the people who refused passage off the planet on his ship. He wondered if they knew what was coming. He dropped his gaze to his pet. "Hope," he thought as he ran his fingers through the light brown fur. That would be a fine name for his pet. Hope purred - a soft rumble he could feel through his hand, and one last time he wished he could help the people who remained down on the planet.

Chapter 024
aboard the deadship by billy chilly

Samus slid on her helmet as she anxiously waited for the pilot of the docked ship to establish communication.

Curin's big fingers, greasy with sweat, slid across his metallic black plasma rifle as he quietly stepped over to the airlock door. Ten minutes passed. Ten minutes of dead air from the docked space craft.

"What's the serial number on their umbilical?" Samus hissed through the silence.

"What?" Curin was a bit confused.

"Open our door and see what the serial number on their umbilical is."

With some justified hesitation, Curin opened up the airlock door and scanned the small metal corridor.

"aØ 687 24-xLÏ" Curin called over to Samus.

Samus punched in the jumble of letters and numbers into a computer console on the bridge, bringing up full plans and real-time status on the particular ship, another of Samus' special illegal modifications, no doubt.

"Curin, you'd better grab a gas mask, they reported a bad chlorine leak a couple light years back."

"Alright."

"We've gotta see if anybody's alive. Either way, we gotta get this thing off us before we go any further." Samus muttered grimly.

"Well someone must've handled docking procedures, right?"

"S.A.E.M, Standard Automated Emergency Maneuver. Somebody engaged their nav computer to dock with the first functional ship it came across because. . . " Samus trailed off.

Curin adjusted his gas mask anxiously.

"Let's check it out," Curin said, hoping to break the grave quiet.

Curin opened up the other side of the umbilical and quickly spun into the room, back facing the wall in a matter of seconds. Plasma rifle ready in one hand, he waved Samus in with the either. Despite the grim situation, she couldn't help but smile, she'd modeled her bounty hunting career after Curin, and now she was working with him.

Samus' smile drained quickly into a blanched look of horror as she cast her eyes upon the situation. The first room they'd entered was the main passenger cabin. The bodies of the innocent, slumped against the cold blue steel floor. It brought back memories, horrible memories. (more on that later)

The lights in the opposite corridors sparked, then went out. Samus blinked her right eye a number of times, bringing up and navigating a menu within her helmet, eventually brining up an appropriate night vision resolution.

"Curin, cover the door, I'm gonna go see if I can find anything."

"Samus?" Curin asked.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful." He muttered solemnly.

". . . you too, Curin."

Samus started down the black hallways, searching for any signs of life. As she walked, the thick green chlorine fog wafted about, as though trying to follow Samus like a lost puppy. No life whatsoever in the main passenger floor. Eventually Samus made her way down a stainless steel stairway, leading to the engine room. The auxiliary power was on down here, giving an unearthly orange glow to the otherwise mundane surroundings. Samus had hardly walked two feet before almost tripping over the corpse of an engine worker. This one was different though. A thick blue filmy gel covered the body. Samus gently rolled the body face down, immediately looking away in disgust. The spinal column had been torn out. Next to it four Space Pirates, who'd suffered the same fate as the engine worker.

"Must've been a raid. . . but what. . ." Samus couldn't help but puzzle over this bizarre scenario a moment, but felt that infamous bounty hunter gut urge that there were more urgent matters to attend to.

Sadly, over the loud hum of the auxiliary generators, Samus would never hear Curin's pleads for help in time.

When she made her way far enough from the engine room she could just barely hear Curin over a series of fierce clicking noises. She dashed through the thick green vapor drifting about in the frigid black hallways.

The first thing she saw were the three black masses of insect-like flesh. She wouldn't have to take care of the closest one, as Curin managed to get a head shot at point-blank range, sending the now-headless attacker back a good seven feet.

Two blasts in the dark, followed by the corpses of two angry creatures hitting the ground, sending the chlorine mist spiraling away.

"Curin! Are you okay?"

"They dug into my back, Sam. . ." Curin wheezed, "that's what they do. They rip out your spinal cord!" Curin shut his eyes tightly, holding back the tears. "I saw them do it to one of those kids. . ." he pointed over to the mass of corpses, sobbing, seemingly delirious. "They feed on your nervous system!"

"Shhh, I'm gonna get you back on the Hunter IV," Samus tried to comfort him.

"NO! No. . . you can't, it's too late. I rigged the umbilical to blow, you've got to go now. Take this. . ." He held up a tiny cylinder. "I-I can't explain now, you've got to go. Let me die, let me rest peacefully. Please, let me die." Curin hung his head, half in shame, half in solemn salute to Samus, his incredibly gifted protege. The pupil had surpassed the teacher. Samus, reluctant at first, made her way back to the Hunter IV before the umbilical blew apart.

Sitting at the bridge of her craft, Samus kept going over what had happened in her mind. She kept playing out the events, trying to make sense of what had happened. All she had were questions. How could the slimy brown bugs thrive in chlorine gas? Had they caused the leak?

One stood out above the rest though: Why did the Space Pirates, about to raid the shuttle bus, suffer the same fate as the engine worker and eventually Curin?

Samus pulled out the tiny chrome-plated cylinder Curin gave her. She noticed a green button on top and gently pressed it. To Samus' surprise, it unfolded into a paper thin monitor, in flashing green print it read;

THE CURRENT LOCATION OF THE RAGNAROK IS ZETA SECTOR-TALESE STAR SYSTEM

"That crazy bastard!" Samus yelled happily. "He really did have connections in all the right places!! How in the hell did he got a tracker bug on the Ragnarok??"

Samus immediately set a course for the Talese star system. . .

Chapter 025
In which weapons are fired and many dreadful things happen by Andy

Car'arano sat lounging in the captain's chair on the bridge of the Ark and idly stroked Hope. There had been some mix-up with one of the shuttles earlier so today all he had to do was get to know his new pet. Well, that and write up reports, but that could wait for later.

"Sir?" the comm officer asked.

"Yes?"

"Umm.. we're being hailed."

"What? Who's hailing us? Besides the shuttles, the Ark is the only ship in this system."

"The comm signature says Ragnarok sir."

"Hmm never heard of her. Well, put her through."

"Connecting sir." the officer replied.

There was silence on the other end. "Sir?" the comm officer asked, after about 10 seconds of silence.

"Let me talk," he replied. "This is the E.E.S. Ark requesting response from craft Ragnarok, do you read Ragnarok?"

More silence, then a strange voice: "Ein con jennin Ragnarok el inder ESS agon."

What the hell? "We do not read Ragnarok, please restate your last message," he said over the comm, in hopes of getting some sort of understandable response.

An unearthly screech sounded over the comm, chilling Car'arano to the bone. Then the connection went dead. The flustered comm officer looked up for advice. "Sir?" he asked. "Sir…" his voice trailed off as his head came up to see the main viewscreen. The captain was already staring his own unbelieving stare as, on the viewscreen, the Ragnarok uncloaked in a bright shimmering and twisting of space.

Captain Voletia recovered first, but only to say, in awe, "My God, are those all weapons?"

This seemed to snap everybody else out of the trance, and the tactical officer quickly inquired as to why he had so many blinking lights on his panel. "Uhh sir, those are all weapons, and they're all powering up."

Car'arano turned white. "Get our shields up!"

"Sir, shields going up!"

It wasn't a moment too soon, for as soon as the shields went up, a bright beam of plasma reached out and engulfed the ship. The Ark rocked violently, and the lights flickered as the shields drew enormous amounts of power from the reactors.

"Activate procedure Omega-5A!" he barked. "They won't underestimate our shields again." The tactical officer pressed a button and the computer chimed, "Authorization for Procedure Omega-5A."

"Voletia 49F3L," he said and the ship went dark. Red auxiliary lights came on and the main screen powered back up. Outside, space and the Ragnarok and two approaching missiles twisted and spun and slowly stretched and stretched out until there was nothing. It was entirely black outside.

"What the hell?" the tactical officer asked. "Is it supposed to do that?"

"Aye," Car'arano answered, letting out a large sigh. "We're inside a subspace rift. Safe - for now." His purble, Hope, yawned widely and looked around, seemingly oblivious to the activities around him. The captain smiled a small smile and stroked his pet lovingly.

-Andy

Chapter 026
Alpha Convergence by CapCom

It didn’t take long for Curin’s eyes to adjust to the darkness. His people abhorred cybernetic implants, so he lacked the sophisticated technology that aided Samus in her hunts. But what was even more impressive than a Power Suit was Curin’s physical abilities. He could run faster than a normal human, leap higher, was twice as strong, and taller than most other life forms. He could think faster, hear better than most electronic equipment, and, most importantly for him at the time, his eyes adjusted to the darkness faster. Even in the pitch-black of the deadship, he could make out dark forms swirling about him as they tried to get an opening to attack. He was not about to give them that chance. He could see well, but not THAT well.

“ALL RIGHT, YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!!” Curin screamed into the night. “You wanted a piece of me, now COME GET SOME!!!”

Curin’s Zeus 49 pulse rifle spat in rapid fire as he pulled down on the automatic trigger. The high-powered volts kicked his gun back with each shot, a minor inconvenience for such a massive being. The dark creatures exploded one by one, raining the ground with charred slag and green-black phosphorescent ooze. Each pulse was enough for him to discern the creature’s last agonizing moments as they vaporized into oblivion.

He heard a shriek of rage from behind him, and quickly turned to face two more creatures from behind, blasting several more on the way around. The first one took a hole straight through it’s chest area, leaving a gaping hole that quickly spread outwards to consume the rest of its body. Only charred remains splattered over Curin’s face, white-hot from plasma burns. He wasn’t fast enough to hit the second one; even with his reflexes, it was still too close to him for him to hit them both.

The creature landed on his chest like he’d been hit by a hovercar; he fell on his back, right on his spine where they’d ripped into him earlier. Curin screamed a curse at the dark, twisted face in front of him, and tried to bat it aside with his heavy rifle. The creature clawed at his chest, raking long red lines across him, four in a second. Each hit threw him back to the metal floor like he’d had a storage crate dropped on top of him.

He couldn’t get it with his rifle, but he kept firing anyway; he could hear faint screams from around him as one or two more of those things was hit. Adrenaline kicked in, and he ripped his sidearm out with his right hand where he had concealed it since Samus had picked him up and he fired over and over again into the thing on top of him, forcing himself into a crouching position as he did so, aiming for what he hoped was the same spot, a little to the left of it’s stomach. Again and again he shot at it, his trigger finger flying at lightning speed, a dozen bolts per second for each strike he’d taken. His hand cramped and yet he fired, the creature’s face contorting into a mix of rage and pain.

Curin charged forward like a bull, knocking the thing over onto it’s back, then crunching its face in with his boot. He felt two more of the creatures jump on his back clawing at him, and he aimed the sonic blaster into one of the creatures’ sensor spots, and fired. It fell back to the ground, shivering.

The second one began grabbing at his spine, and Curin tensed, his right arm going slack and dropping the sonic blaster, paralyzed. He twisted about, trying to butt it with the back of his head and twisted his left arm around, pointing the heavy blaster rifle behind his back. He fired, and the creature vaporized.

Curin fired a few more shots that glanced off the walls of the deadship, casting white light around him. None of the creatures could be seen.

These bastards were too damn quiet; unless, of course, you got them mad. It was unnerving that he had been taken by surprise twice now. It was even more frightening that he had tried to give up hope so easily back on the Hunter. His hunter’s instincts should never have let him do that. Perhaps he was slacking off in his later years.

One thing was certain, though; things were about to change, and real fast.

Curin lowered his rifle and put it under the stunned creature’s chin, then blasted it’s head off before wrapping his shirt around his waist as a tourniquet. He activated the blaster rifle’s search light and gathered his gear before walking deeper into the deadship as chlorine gas started to swirl about him.

Chapter 027
Enter The Abyss by FN

Curin sat in the chlorine filled vessel. He was afraid, but hopeful.

He rubbed the chlorine gingerly off of his bioport. Damaging it was not an option. If his plan was to work, he needed it.

Taking the cerebral copier/transmitter out of his pocket, he attached it to his bioport. He set it for destructive transmit, and opened a link to the Hunter's main computer.

As the transmission began, he thanked his stars that he had saved his genetic material onto this thing. It'd be transmitted with his mind. Of course, it was all going to the hunter's med bay computer. The hunter's regen pod was going to create his new body.

He soon forgot the hunter existed. Then, he began forgetting events, facts. Who was the first US president? What was the US. When did the GFed come into existence? What WAS the GFed?

He forgot all the math he had ever learned. What is the Pythagorean theorem? Recite the multiplication table. You can't? You don't know?

He forgot names. Who was the woman he was working with? What was his name? What was his mother's name, his father's?

Within two minutes, the copier beeped. His eyes rolled into his head almost instantly. The last signs of life escaped from the injured, now dead, body.

Outside, the Hunter entered hyperspace. Only ten seconds after, a fireball engulfed the ship, charring the dead Curin, and creating a debris field where this ship once rested.

This Curin lay forever in the abyss. Maybe the new one would meet a more glorious fate. Or, maybe he would end in much the same way. The only way to know, is to watch, and see.

Chapter 028
Hell Within the Ragnarok by billy chilly

Note that the language of the Space Pirates has been pre-translated.

A pair of anxious space pirates guard a thick red steel door. The door is warm, and leads to the engine room, where a number of KI Hunters had entered, but never returned.

"Damn, what time is it?" The first Pirate asked, hoping to break the unsettling silence.

"Uh. . . I dunno, our shift probably gets over pretty soon," The other, slightly older Pirate responded coldly.

The two pirates imagined just what things must be like within the engine room. The Pirates had no idea just how the Metroid-powered drive system worked, or why the KI Hunters were drawn to it, like moths to a candle. Nor did they really care.

There was an endless silence, and the two absent-minded Pirates stared at the stainless steel walls around them, daydreaming.

The guards were a necessity, because several troops had reported the appearance of strange black, insect-like like creatures. Several Pirates had already been slaughtered by the unknown beasts in the less-traversed regions of the Ragnarok. The Ragnarok's computers reported a dangerous chlorine gas leak within the engine room, leading the Pirates to airlock all openings to and from the engine room.

There was a tense air of paranoia among the Pirates, though none would admit to their fear. Internal surveillance systems had been destroyed by the Pirates when they initially hijacked the Ragnarok, leaving this flesh-eating threat to roam the cold, red corridors unchecked.

Deep within the dark recesses of the engine room, a number of KI Hunters lay sprawled in front of the Metroid-powered drive system. They weren't dead, but rather. . . changing. The black bug-ish beasts (who are a more advanced form of the mutated KI Hunters) had slashed open several pipes, unleashing a thick green mist of chlorine gas to facilitate their comrades' mutation. Within the noxious chlorine these disgusting creatures gained an incredible sort of agility were gravity seemed to be an afterthought. As the bodies of the KI Hunters bubbled and oozed in front of the faint blue light given off by the engine system, their more developed cohorts were gaining a hunger for spinal columns. . .

The inept guards still held their tiresome vigil. The two snapped out of their daydreams to a muffled roar behind the heavy red door they were guarding, followed by several dents in the steel.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" The pirates yelled in unison. . .

Chapter 029
Memories of Past by Shabadage

Samus looked around, completely unfamiliar with her surroundings,...then she regained her senses...she was in the hall of evil, the breeding chamber of the Mother Brain. In the dim light she could see the bodies of several pirates, and one that was very familiar. Curin...what the hell? Wasn't he dead on that derelict ship they had come across. She was deeply confused, and she didn't like it, for the first time she had no idea what was going on. Samus looked again at the body of Curin, only now the body was twitching...no, not twitching, but the skin was splitting. Blood poured from the splits, and through the blood, she saw something metallic gleaming. Just as she closed in for a closer look, Curin's body erupted, and blood splattered on Samus' visor.

As she wiped the blood off, she saw the form that stood in front of her.

The Mother Brain

Chapter 030
Memories of Past (Continued) by Shabadage

Samus raised her cannon, only to see a form move from the shadows towards the Mother Brain. A small metroid, making sounds, sounds like the hatchling had made when it had first seen Samus. As the metroid hovered near the metallic Mother Brain, both started to change, the metroid into a strand of DNA, and the Mother Brain into something completely different. It resembled the bug like creature Samus had seen earlier, only bigger. The creature that had once been the Mother Brain took a long step towards Samus.

· · ·

Samus awoke in a cold sweat, the panel in front of her counting the time down, the time until she reached her destination, the Ragnarok.

Chapter 031
Transit by FN

The Hunter IV came out of the hyperspace rift in the landing zone designated for Zela port. Over two hundred ships of all shapes and sizes resided in the cheapest, and arguably best, port in this sector.

She watched out the window as the ships came in and moved, and remembered her job. Moving towards the com, she noticed a new piece of programming on the computer. It wasn't virulent, so it would be dealt with later.

She hailed the director of the of the port. This was urgent, and she wasn't sure if a jump to Telese would be allowed.

"Communications channel opening" Stated the digitized voice of the computer, emotionlessly.

The face of a man in his forties appeared on the screen. He looked friendly, and Samus recognized him. Her helmet on, she waited for the standard greeting.

"This is director Tai Marilline of Zela port. State your business." the director said in a friendly matter to the screen.

"Well, director, I was thinking of running a brothel out of my ship here," Samus replied, "and, I decided to ask first."

"Hello Samus, "the director stifled a laugh." What can I do for you? And I see you have a different ship."

"The ship is a long story. Anyway, Director, the problem is, I need to get a trip to Telese."

"I can't do that Samus, it's off limits. That sun will go Nova any day now. Do you realize the implications of such a nova on us, if a warp happens to be open?"

"I understand the implications, Tai. But I'm stuck. The ship I'm chasing has a built in space port. I need to stop it. There is a huge bounty. I can make it worth your while."

"How do you plan on returning? Telese is kind of a long way from a port. Six months hyperspace."

"My ship can sustain me for that time. But I have other connections. I'll be fine. Now, will nyou let me through?"

"Okay, but I want five thousand credits over price. Deal?"

"You have a deal. Pleasure doing business with you."

Samus and Tai exchanged credits and passes, and Samus moved toward the port. The portal to Telese opened, and Samus went in, not knowing quite what to expect.

· · ·

In the med bay, a biomass began forming in the regen pod. The computer screen said 14% complete.

Chapter 032
House of Cards by CapCom

20% Complete

Captain Car'arano Voletia stroked his purble as he glanced at the sensor image on the viewport. She was huge; over a mile long, and almost the same size as the Ark. Cylindrical in shape, the bow tapered forward while seven large engine housings followed the sides of the craft like flower petals. Towards the back, they sunk down and then radiated outwards around what appeared to be the craft's main engines. Two smaller engines were attached to both sides of the ship. And looming above all of that were hundreds of gun turrets of every shape and size; a mobile fortress.

Despite being located in a static warp field, the Ark was still able to get sensor scans of the Ragnarok. The Ark was very fortunate that hyperspace magnified sensor capabilities twofold, allowing them to get a lock on even some of the most shielded of craft. He stole a glance at his first officer as he read the sensor readouts. Albert Crish's face was ghostly white as he handed his captain the plastic data sheet.

Designation: Ragnarok

Affiliation: Unknown, presumed hostile

Hull Integrity: Presumed 100%

Crew Complement: Unknown

Fighter wing capacity: Unknown, estimated at fifty wings

Mass Tonnage: Estimated at 37523 Tons

Cubic Size: 1552 meters x 321 meters x 338 meters

Weapons Loadout: Estimated 562 plasma cannons, 333 missile ports, 43 beam

cannons (presumed to be anti-fighter beams), 12, [Jesus, TWELVE!!!] anti-cruiser

beam cannons

Cloaking Device equipped.

There appears to be hints of organic technology on board the craft as well as

several devices of unknown purpose.

Note: Sensor-jamming from the Ragnarok means that systems scans rely heavily on

visual data prior to activation of Omega. Because of this, the preceding data is 80%

accurate, at best.

Car'arano scratched behind the purble's ears thoughtfully, raising not even an eyebrow. A craft of this size and firepower would be able to take out an entire military base in under five minutes.

"Any idea as to who built this?"

Cresh shook his head. "Design is very different from anything I have ever seen before. She could be from an entirely new race we have never encountered; I would bet that from the traces of organic technology."

"There are no craft allowed into the Telese system, so she must have used a jump port not affiliated with the Galactic Federation. However," Car'arano motioned to the sensors officer to magnify a small section of the ship's hull, "this looks like a GFed Police insignia on what appears to be a forward engine housing. She's one of ours, all right, or built from pieces of our ships. The serial number beneath it rules out the second possibility; there is no such craft in our databanks."

"Could she be a new ship of the fleet?"

"I would suspect as much. But that last transmission rules out that it is currently piloted by Federation personnel."

Communications officer Garcia spoke up, "It sounded like Pirate jargon. When I was piloting craft in the Outer Territories, we came across a band of Space Pirates. This is very similar to their dialect."

"Have you been able to contact GFed yet?"

"Negative. They are still blocking all transmissions. If I could get through, I would tell you."

"Keep trying."

The Ragnarok's engines flared up, and the craft turned sideways.

"What's she doing?"

It was the sensor's officer who spoke up first. "Captain, the craft appears to be powering up some systems. Looks like she is deploying a sensor array. Probes are surrounding our last position."

"Has she made any moves towards the other evacuation craft?

"Negative, though she could be locked onto several of the craft scrambling towards the spaceport, I can't tell."

Car'arano Voletia thought for awhile. "Move us and the rift alongside her secondary engines. If she's trying to do what I think she is, we'd better be ready. I still have a few cards left up my sleeve. Maybe this will buy us time while she tries to lock onto sensor ghosts."

"But captain...what is the Ragnarok doing in this system?"

"That, my friends, is what I plan to find out. We are inside a house of cards, and I want to be in the right position when we knock it over. Move us in."

32% Complete

Chapter 033
Genesis by nameless

71% Complete

For a moment, there was only blurriness. It stared into a field of soft white light. No tangible figure could be distinguished within the void of whiteness. Momentarily, the being's brain was blank, no thought occurred, no memories triggered, it was a clean slate. The first thing to enter it's mind was the sensation of existence. Yes, it was quite aware that it was something alive. But what was it really? It could not tell. The next thing the being became aware of was a strange sensation. At first it was a dull throbbing numbness and it was an interesting feeling. Then, a thought and a word became associated with it. Pain... The being screamed out from the depths of its soul. Upon the activation of thought, the being began to form images within the void. Was this the beginning of perception? For a moment, the white swirled around like snow dust in the wind but then memories began to manifest themselves in the void. At first they were a soft trickle, but then they began to flood in at an overwhelming rate. As the synapses and neurons began to reconfigure themselves, the memories became more clear and understandable... Nesmouth... Nesmouth is my name...

84% Complete

Suddenly, a strange notion entered the beings mind. It had recalled that it once had the ability to perceive something other than itself, that it could visualize its surroundings. With this thought, the white void began to fade away. No... he was afraid to leave the Caradda, but he could not stop it. Suddenly, an image entered his mind. It was a metallic vertical bar. He tried to reach for it, but realized that he lacked the ability to probe into this new world. He tried again, but this time realized that he must first lift something. It was heavy and seemed to be located downward from his current position. He tried even harder and saw a large object move into his field of vision. He soon identified it as an arm... his arm. Yes... he remembered, there was a body connected to him, and he was a part of it as much as it was a part of him. He wondered what he could do with the arm. He tried to move it further up but it it seemed that it could not move it any further. He withdrew the arm and extended it again, this time more forcibly. This time it released a sound. Thump. Giving up, he allowed the arm to rest. By this time, he realized that more memories had come into his mind and that they seemed to be increasing at an alarming rate. Knowing that he could achieve nothing without understanding his existence, he lie there and attempted to make some sort of sense out of them...

89% Complete

· · ·

"I am very displeased," the dark space pirate hissed in its own language. "This little inconvenience could be detrimental to our mission!"

"Yes, master, we have done everything possible to keep the Ki Hunters away from the core. We cannot stop them. We are beginning to loose control of the Ki Fighters as well. It seems to be influencing their energy channels, they cannot fight it..."

"Something must be done. We shall allow all of the Ki Forces to enter the core, and there we will allow them to be destroyed with the ship."

"Yes, master"

"And what of the core, have you monitored its integrity? Is the biological matter remaining at stable levels?"

"Yes, the bio core has not been compromised although the chlorination has dropped to insufficient levels. We are attempting to repair that problem now."

"Excellent, now all we must do is wait for the flag ship to come out of hiding. The secondary mission must not be compromised. They will make a move, and when they do, we shall be ready."

"Yes, master"

The dark pirate looked out into space. The beautiful red giant loomed in the distance, an unstable fireball of infinate distruction. It's size seemed to comfort him, it's massive shape looked as if it were forever. But he knew that it could go at any minute, destroying everything in it's wake. Telese lie below and he could imaging how the inhabitants must feel watching their last sunrise, the rise of a sun they had never seen before, a sun that rose only because it must. He looked into space and he knew that the Ark had to be there hiding, somewhere, waiting... it was only a matter of time before it showed itself once again.

Chapter 034
Am I evil?, Part 1 by Pandemonium: Metroid Hunter

The pirate turned about and went to the astronavigation console, considering the thought of blowing up the red giant. This would destroy the creature, and any others of it's kind that existed in this solar system. He could probably escape using the hyperdrive, but the Ki Hunters were far to sensitive to survive hyperdrive.

Checkmate, he thought grimly. And he considered blowing all the planets to rubble, but remembered that plant Kanbaris was a very profitable planet which he made great amounts of money off of in the past. And he could not jeopardize any future profits. Checkmate. Than the solution came to him suddenly. He could always reactivate that Android he had found on that desolate planet, Genosine. And reprogram it to hunt down that creature. After all, the creature could only drain natural sources of energy as far as he knew.

That would would be a good idea, and even if it failed, the pirate would have lost nothing but a derelict robot. "Computer, take object 33RX9X to the repair bay immediately." hissed the pirate. Now was the time for revenge...

Chapter 035
Memorial by nameless

More memories, painful memories, memories of greed, deception... torture. What strange visions were these that seemed to overflow from his unconscious? A mission. Yes, it was clear now. He could see it, see it almost as if it were happening at that very instant....

But wait, something was not right. How could he be there now, remembering those things? He probed deeper into the cold ethereal void of his memories.

Chapter 036
Am I evil?, Part 2 by Pandemonium: Metroid Hunter

The pirate paced impatiently in the bay as the repairs on the derelict android were under way. He was lost in thought, trying to figure out if he could make a profit off the android.

Than a systems specialist interrupted his thoughts (gotta go to class!)...

Chapter 037
Beneath the Surface by Shabadage

The MedBot awoke as the regeneration capsule hissed open. It hovered over to the display readout.

The MedBot looked at the information, and was about to close the capsule to try regenerating Curin again, when Curin jumped up and ran out of the MedStation.

"Shit, I gotta find Samus"

· · ·

The MedBot abandoned the idea of a second regeneration, and looked over the information. Just as the last PowerCell in the MedBot lost power, the robot caught a glimpse of the error. It was the DNA it was slowly growing a third....

And with that, the MedBot died.

Chapter 038
Am I evil?, Part 3 by Pandemonium: Metroid Hunter

"A thousand pardons, master, but I have the status report for you." said the specialist. "Go on."

"Well, despite it's current condition, the android can be repaired with are current technology, or lack of. But apparently this android was already programmed to hunt down the creature. And it's memory circuits refer to the creature simply as 'Phantoon'."

"So? How long before repairs are complete?"

"Eight hours at the very least."

"Good, do what you can."

to be continued...

Chapter 039
People Change by Shabadage

Samus sat alone on the bridge, wonder what the hell she was going to do. With only one person piloting the ship taking the Ragnarok down was going to be tough, if not impossible. A noise behind her startled her into action, she whipped around to face the noise. "That's a great way to greet your friends, Samus." said Curin.

"Curin? What the hell? Where'd you come from? Why is your skin that weird color? And lastly, why don't you put some clothes on.

· · ·

On the flickering display in the MedStation, the third had stopped right after it had started, and now a fourth one grew...

Chapter 040
Hunter Droid by CapCom

Green and blue Zebesians swarmed over the giant android like ants, attaching wires here and there and reactivating systems in a blur. The specialist turned back towards the repair crew to see his toy be brought back to life.

There was a slight hiss of gas as repairs were completed, and the droid reactivated; cables snapped and snaked about, hissing through the air and impacting on the titanium inner hull of the Ragnarok, sometimes meeting with the back of an unwary technician who was in turn reduced to a smear on the wall.

Glistening with oil, the droid flexed its servos, bringing itself to a standing position in the repair bay. The droid was a modified version of the derelicts found on the wrecked spacecraft of Zebes; it seemed to have served a purpose other than those of the smaller, humanoid robots. This one was far from the shape of its brethren.

The droid had four sets of spindly arms placed in a structured formation about the droid, apparently having a purpose other than that of walking. It slashed easily through the restraining cables, letting out a hiss of steam and coolant, the lifeblood of the electronic creature once again flowing through its veins after so many years of negligence. A klaxon sounded, reverberating through the chamber filled with gear, repair equipment, and Space Pirates, who scrambled for cover before the wrath of the mighty droid. It brought itself to its full height, filling the small mesh cage it had been placed in for service and shattered the durafiber bars like glass.

The droid was strangely silent, save the hissing and whirring of servos, antique, but still operable, and it charged forward with a tremendous speed, bounding off the walls of the repair bay, using its arms to propel itself towards one wall, then rebounding again to strike the next. Space Pirates lowered their rifles at the thing, but before they could do anything, it had already escaped out of the bay door, intent on its purpose.

The Space Pirate captain turned to the technician; the two of them hidden safely away inside an observation platform. They didn't bother to watch the clean-up droids pick up the bodies from the repair room. As far as h was concerned, they had technicians to spare. An excellent piece of work, he thought. Much profit there is to be made here, indeed!

"But how do you turn it off?"

The technician frowned, then scowled. "Turn it off? There is no need to turn it off! Since there was no need, we didn't program it in, nor try to locate the codes to do so!"

The captain glared at the specialist, but saw his reasoning. If there was no need to do something, then why should one do it? Should the need arise later on, they would certainly find out how to deactivate it. If worse came to worse, he could just order his minions to chase after the thing in the battle suits stowed away in the Ragnarok's weapon's holds and fry the thing with ion beams. Not only that, he thought, glancing at the specialist, he would also have a brand new trophy for his wall. The specialist's right leg would make an excellent addition to his collection.

"Then let the hunt begin." The pirate smiled, showing a layer of teeth.

· · ·

Deep inside the medical bay, the fourth emerged, and a fifth began to grow in its place.