A Federation Briefing Room

Samus stood in the dimly lit, windowless room at the Galactic Federation Marine Corps Base on the planet Mannus. She had been waiting for more than an hour now, wearing her fully upgraded power suit, and expecting some sort of dangerous situation or crisis that the Federation needs her to deal with (since apparently NO ONE in the higher echelons of government or the military can seem to do anything without feeling the need call her to pull their collective asses out of the fire). When she arrived, she received a lot of looks from the soldiers stationed at the facility, most of which contained a slightly fearful expression; no surprise there as the sight of her in a Chozo power suit decked out with a ton of alien tech can intimidate even the most hardened of marines, not to mention her fierce reputation as a bounty hunter.

As she was deep in thought the one door into the room she was in opened, and in stepped an officer (judging by the uniform's insignias, he was a major). The officer to a seat at the table in the middle of the room, and laid out a series of documents and a data-pad.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Aran," the officer stated, "please, take a seat."

"I'll stand," Samus said coldly.

"Well at the very least, take off the helmet," the officer requested, "I'd like to make this briefing 'somewhat' formal."

Rolling her eyes, Samus decided to do as he said, taking off her helmet and putting it on the table, while adjusting her hair to make herself a little presentable. "let's make this quick," she said.

"No promises," the officer said, "I'm Major Sullivan Gage, GFMC. It's nice to finally meet the legend in person." He took a moment to take in Samus's expression, which was not a very patient one. "*AHEM* Let's get right to it." He then slid the data-pad he had across the table for Samus to take, and as soon as she did, the information contained in it presented itself. "A few weeks ago, we learned about a secret gathering, a party of sorts, of several of the galaxy's most wanted criminals, terrorists, and enemies of the state. The party in question is hosted by one Scalba Del-Vanka. I'm sure you've at least heard of him."

Indeed Samus has heard of Del-Vanka: a well known businessman in the galactic fringes, he deals in the purchase, sale, and brokering of various commodities, including, but not limited to, weapons, armor, warships, soldiers for hire, robotic labor and security, and of course, slaves. He as various connections to a variety of groups, from the Galactic Association of Freelance Forces (GAFF), to the anti-government anarchist group known as the Hate Mongers, to, of course, the infamous Space Pirates. The way Samus sees it, Del-Vanka is the reason the Space Pirates and organizations like them continue to exist and terrorize the galaxy despite her best efforts. As much as she wants to hunt the money grubbing bastard herself, the task is easier said than done, primarily due to the fact that Del-Vanka is so elusive and cover's his tracks so well, that it is near impossible to find him.

"According to what information we were able to piece together," Major Gage continued, "Del-Vanka is personally hosting this party, inviting all of his regular clients, and offering a chance to buy "exclusive merchandise" that's being auctioned off. While we don't know what's being sold, or who exactly will be there, we do know where and when it will all go down."

"So why call for me?" Samus asked while looking through the data-pad. "If you wanted me to bust up with party, and possibly capture or kill Del-Vanka, why have me come here instead of putting just sending the mission details to my ship like with every other mission."

"That's... a little complicated," the major meekly said. "Normally we wouldn't even call for you at all, and this would just be a mission handled by the Federation Intelligence Bureau. That being said... there've been some complications. Complications that have **** us to solely rely on you, and due to the secrecy of this op, we couldn't afford to send any messages to your ship, even coded ones. The biggest complication is your involvement in of itself. This isn't a smash and grab, or anything that you're used to doing. This is an infiltration job."

An "infiltration job"? That's definitely something Samus isn't used to. What does it entail? It definitely wouldn't involve her being in her power suit since it would attract a lot of attention. She was almost lost in thought when Major Gage continued talking.

"Now I, and several other officers in this base, have been racking our brains for a feasible solution to this problem," he said, "and we're on a bit of a timetable here. This party Del-Vanka has planned starts in less than a standard month, and we're running out of time. Now I've called you because I recalled a conversation I had with an old Chozo friend of mine. I'm sure you remember a Madame Sparrow."

Samus suddenly froze at the mention of that name. Madame Sparrow: one of her teachers in her lifelong training to become who she is now. The Madame, however, was different from the other Chozo who put her through intense training since her childhood. For one thing, she didn't show up until Samus turned Eighteen, and as for the training itself... well it wasn't combat training per se... hell it wasn't even combat related at all. Madame Sparrow was on Zebes for the purpose of teaching Samus to get in touch with her "femininity" and her "inner woman". The idea being that not all battles can be won with ****, but with words, or simply alternative forms of physical action. In truth Samus was grateful for the skills she acquired from the Madame, since during the rare periods of down time between missions, she was able to socialize and act like a regular woman, and feel comfortable wearing something other than her power suit and zero suit. That being said, just thinking about the Madame made her think of how intense and uncomfortable she felt during those awkward training sessions, from the various awkward positions, to the... various tools used on her; stuff she often represses.

"You knew the Madame?" Samus asked, her face turning slightly red.

"I did," the Major replied, "She helped me with a few problems involving my marriage a few years back, and my wife and I have been grateful for her ever since. Every now and again she visits us to gripe about certain things, and occasionally she talked about a human girl who she "trained" some time ago, and considering your history, it wasn't hard to put two and two together."

"I see," Samus said. "So you want me to put the Madame's training to use to sneak into that arms deal slash party Del-Vanka is hosting."

"Exactly," Major Gage confirmed, "and once inside, your objectives are twofold. First, you need to identify what it is that's being auctioned off to Del-Vanka's clients, and second, you must identify and find a way for us to track said clients so that they can be dealt with after the party; and if you feel you have a chance to apprehend Del-Vanka himself, then take it. He's serving as a lifeline to several hostile organizations, and with him gone, they won't last long."

After taking a moment to process all of the information given to her so far, Samus asked, "How do you want me to infiltrate?"

"This is your job, Miss Aran," the major replied, "you handle it in any way you think is best, and everything we know about the party itself is on that data-pad; from the security, to the entertainment, to the floor plans. How it will be handled is up to you."

After a moment of pause, Samus simply nodded to Major Gage, took her helmet to put it back on, and left the room, taking the data-pad with the mission details with her.