Chapter Text
My name is Samus Aran. Though I am a bounty hunter, maybe the best one in the galaxy, I'm not usually in demand. My prices are as high as my standards and most jobs don't require someone like me. Three messages in one day, especially to my private inbox, is uncommon.
The first one was an automated all-call to any Federation-associated Bounty Hunters. I still have the forwarding from my public inbox set up for these. I really need to disable that, because they're usually nothing. A facility on the planet Sargas in the TS-008 system has gone dark. No check-ins within the allotted period. A bounty has been offered for information directly from the system. I've done a bunch of jobs like that. They're easy money. It's cheaper to hire a bounty hunter to relay information and set up long-distance communications than it is to have dedicated pilots take care of that. It's simple. Boring, but simple. Not my speed at the moment.
The second one was from an anonymous sender. I've gotten maybe a dozen anonymous messages in my lifetime of doing this. Interstellar messaging systems are tightly regulated and spoofing a message to have no identifiable sender is tough. Not impossible, but generally not worth the effort. Purchasing a throwaway account is usually more effective. Unless you're dealing with government bodies, actually tracing back the identity and location of a sender is hard. So, this caught my interest before I had even read it. It was short, to the point. "There is a metroid on Sargas."
I had to laugh, if only a little. A good deal of my life has been heavily consumed by metroids. You'd think they absorbed time as well as energy. Metroids aren't exactly a widely publicized species. Outside of the Federation's science divisions, they're relatively unknown. An extinct curiosity from SR388. My precise... relationship with them shouldn't be widespread knowledge among humans. The fact that it said "Sargas" is what made me suspicious. It could be another bounty hunter messing with me. I'm sure I've told a few of them about my 'fun times' with metroids over drinks.
I thought about it for a while. I paced around my temporary starship, the pile of scrap I've been forced to use for the last few months. There were rough seams, dust in the corners. What I wouldn't do for a Hunter-class gunship right about now. I lost access to another one of my accounts a few weeks back. Still haven't figured out why, but it's left me short on funds. The Feddy job would be a step in the right direction. Plus, if there was a metroid there... I would have to go. I'd joke about it, but I'd have to. I wouldn't feel comfortable sleeping another night without knowing.
The third message came shortly after I'd made my decision. A civilian living on Daiban. Her letter was long and heart-felt. I read the entire thing twice. She first apologized for contacting me. Always nice. Apparently, a broker gave her my inbox address. I hadn't spoken with him since before Zebes, but I guess he hadn't forgotten my contact info. She was desperate. Her wife was a federation scientist on Sargas. She'd not heard from her in a while and had grown worried. Then, after she caught wind of the Federation Bounty Hunter all-call to Sargas, she panicked. She needed to know that her wife would be safe.
The woman included a photo of the two of them. They looked happy.
I'm not the sentimental type. The reward was good. Better, if she was still alive. Kind of a grim thing to specify, but bounty hunters can be cold. She doesn't know me. She can't assume the best.
Too much all at once. I'd have to be stupid to call it coincidence. It smelled bad, but I couldn't say no.
I set course for Sargas.