Chapter 13[]
As Samus and Jane left the planet, far away on the desert world of Nephrim II, an old foe of Samus' was to be found.
Sylux leaped out of the cave entrance, just as it was engulfed with flames from within. Landing on the ground, he then quickly mounted a nearby speeder bike and took off. As he sped through the dunes, avoiding massive rocky spires, several energy bolts whizzed past him. Looking over his shoulder, Sylux saw several marauders behind him on their own speeder bikes, intent on killing him.
One marauder, Nikto, shouted out "We got him boys! He is gonna pay for what he did to Rakium!" before firing off a round of energy bursts at him.
Sylux dodged the blasts and then entered a nearby canyon in an attempt to lose his pursuers. As he sped along, one of the marauders got beside him and raised a plasma pistol. Before the marauder could open fire, Sylux rammed his speeder into his, causing him to lose control and crash into the canyon wall, incinerating him instantly as his vehicle exploded.
Nikto roared "He got Salk!" and then fired several more shots at Sylux, but all were avoided. Nikto then said "Plan B boys, Ako Formation!"
Two speeders then appeared on either side of Sylux, and then began to repeatedly ram into him. Sylux, realizing what they were doing, formulated a plan that involved the rock he saw straight ahead of him. He then waited before they both prepared to ram him once again, and when they did, he quickly hit the brakes, causing both of the marauders to ram each other and become stuck.
One rider yelled "Get off me Milro, your gonna get us both killed." to which his partner said "No, you let go, your the one who got us stuck Zion, if not for... Ahhhhh!!" With that final scream, both crashed into the rock and were obliterated.
Sylux then took the left path, easily avoiding the rock, when suddenly he noticed something up ahead. Camouflaged in the rock wall was a giant Rock Dragon, a massive super predator of the planet. Sensing the vibrations of the speeders, the great beast lowered its head, opening its maw wide and revealing a mouthful of massive razor sharp teeth nearly five feet long.
Sylux pulled to the side, narrowly avoiding becoming the creatures next meal, but the screams behind him indicate at least one of the marauders wasn't as lucky. Suddenly Sylux sees a gorge up ahead, followed by a rock in the shape of a ramp. Deciding to take it, he increased his speed by as much his speeder could take. Hitting the ramp, he was sent flying skyward, followed by the three remaining marauders.
As Sylux landed on the opposite side of the gorge, he stopped his speeder and quickly pulled out his blaster before opening fire on his pursuers. One marauder was hit squarely in the head, causing him fall off his speeder and vanish into the gorge, while the second one's speeder was hit directly in its side, causing it to explode. With this, only Nikto was left, who then pulled out an energy axe. As he was about to throw it at Sylux, a stream of bullets struck him and his speeder, which exploded after becoming engulfed in flames.
Sylux looked to his left, and saw a mechanoid holding duel assault rifles. As the figure lowered them, he turned to Sylux and said "So... are you the fleshbag known as Sylux?"
Sylux slowly readied his blaster, when the mechanoid said "That will not be necessary. I've been hired only to contact you, and to deliver a message to you on behalf of my benefactor... oh I have been rude, for I haven't introduced myself properly yet... I am Kronos, a type..."
"A type Alpha Advanced Imperial Assault Mechanoid model RX-3... you were created by Malfor-Robotics for the Federation, and technically your not supposed to exist." replied Sylux, cutting Kronos off.
Kronos says "You know more than your supposed to, flesh bag... even I'm impressed. I'm guessing your the one who destroyed the Malfor-Federation Syronian Compound... Well then, me employer wishes to hire you." after which he tossed a small Intel pack to Sylux. He then said, while walking away, "We will meet again, so be prepared."
As this occurred, on a far away moon, a hunt was about to come to an end. The moon was artificial, being built originally as a space station before being allowed for civilian use. Known as Tauron, it was perpetually covered in fog due to numerous atmosphere generators.
Slowly a starship, the Dreadlord, passed through this very atmosphere, its cloaks preventing all but the most advanced sensors from detecting it. Eventually it landed on a small, secluded platform among the city tops, miles off the ground. A hatch opened, and out walked a fully armored warrior. His name was Thul, and he had been a hunter for over 20 years. He stared at a massive citadel-like building in the distance, almost entirely shrouded in mist, and he knew his prey, mob boss Hako, waited deep inside of it.
He sneaked along one of the catwalks, pulling out his duel daggers. He saw up ahead one of his targets guards, a Thrycin. The alien wore full blue armor, with only his face visible, including such features as two head horns and a long elephant-like nose with three finger-like projections on its tip. The guard stopped, lifting his pulse musket as he looked back and forth, thinking he heard something. Seeing nothing, he continued walking forward along his patrol route.
Thul moved forward silently before leaping, and within moments he slit the guards throat and quietly tossed him over the edge. As the body vanished into the darkness, Thul suddenly saw two guards. Pulling out a bow, a weapon considered primitive by some, it was, however, reliable and deadly in the right hands... such as his. Aiming, he fired a shot, piercing one of the guards in the back, completely penetrating his armor. The second guard saw this and began to run when a second arrow felled him too.
A forth guard appeared out of the mist, raising his musket as he fired a shot. Thul rushed forward, dodging each energy projectile until he was inches away from his foe. A pair of wrist blades appeared out of his gauntleted fist that he then jabbed deep into the gut of the Thrycin. Quickly a poison secreted from a gland on the back of Thul's neck was pumped into the blades, and then into the Thrycin.
The Thrycin suddenly began to gag as the poison reacted to the oxygen in his body... dissolving him from the inside out. As his flesh liquidated, he collapsed in pain, a greenish liquid pouring out of his mouth. In minutes all that remained was a pool of acidic liquid, which began to slowly congeal.
Meanwhile, inside the building, having been alerted to Thul via his security drones, Hako ordered his men to seal all entrances and to place guards on all corners, for he wanted this bounty hunter dead at all costs, no matter how many had to die in order to accomplish it, due to his very own life was at risk. He grinned as the door into his office was sealed shut, and several guards within the room aimed forward, preparing to open fire on whoever entered.
As this was occurred, Thul looked upward at one of the drones before pulling out his duel machine pistols and entered the building. As he turned a corner, he opened fire, killing three guards in a hail of gunfire. He then moved forward, quickly reaching a recently sealed door. Pulling out a small vial of liquid, he poured it along the hinges of the door before taking cover. After a few moments the door exploded, sending a wave of smoke into the guards on the other side. As they attempted to move forward, Thul moved in, pulling out his daggers as he did. As he weaved back and forth, his daggers constantly found their marks, felling guards at a ridiculous speed. Within a few minutes the only two beings left alive were Thul and the mob boss Hako himself.
Hako was a Gralak, a large gorilla-like species with a leathery hide and a mandrill-like head. As he rose from his chair, he pulled out a plasma pistol and shot a bolt before it was knocked out of his hands by a swing of Thul's plasma whip. Hako grabbed his burnt hand as he moved backwards as Thul pressed onwards, saying "What... What do you want... spare me... I'll give you whatever you want if you spare me... please, I have money, power... anything you desire... WHAT DO YOU WANT!?"
Thul simply leaped forward and stabbed Hako in the chest, and then said "I have no need for such material items... I only honor... the hunt." He then pulled the dagger out of the corpse and pulled out a communicator, alerting his contractor that the job was completed. After finishing up, he headed back to his ship, where he found an Intel pack in his ship.
Thul turned on the Intel pack, and a cloaked figure appeared, saying "Hello... hunter. I have a... job for you... I need a hunter of your skill... to eliminate a certain threat... a powerful bounty hunter... who needs to die... she is named... Samus Aran... will you take the job... for if you succeed... you will be rewarded greatly..."
Thul stood there for a few moments, and then said to himself "She will not live much longer... the hunt has begun." before throwing back his head and roaring like some savage beast.
Sylux just watched the message given on the Intel. He grinned at the prospect of eliminating the Federations legendary bounty hunter, Samus Aran. He then activated his ship, the Delano Seven, and took off into space.
He would unknowingly soon join numerous other hunters from across the galaxy, all of who had received a similar Intel from a similar shadowy benefactor. The hunt was about to begin.