To complete the data set, we need the pants

"You were the only one who could bring out the anomaly, Samus. Not clear why, but it had to be you," Korpus continued, still withholding his answer to the question at hand. "Those are my directives: have Samus bring out the anomaly and then secure what we can."

"I hope you're not telling me that I need to take off the rest of what I'm wearing."

"No, not quite. There's a stopping point-- a certain quantity we have to secure in order to have a perfect data set. We have to go a little further, though. You can understand now the need for all of this secrecy-- if we'd told you what we were looking for here, no way you would have come this far."

"You're right about that," Samus sighed. "This is like a bad joke."

"I'm not entirely satisfied, either. I was led to believe the Strip-a-thon would end in... you know... everything bare," K messaged her.

"Strip-a-thon? What?" Samus questioned, lowering her eyebrows and pressing two fingers to her ear.

"That's a funny word for it," Korpus laughed dryly, not fully understanding who she was talking to or what she was saying. "Good to hear you have a sense of humor."

"I'm surprised you do," Samus admitted, now beginning to step out of her socks. "You know... I've competed in contests with extradimensional beings in jungles, on icebergs, in elvish kingdoms, and I don't know that I've ever been as confused as I am right now," she added, handing over the pair.

The captain nodded, showing far less enthusiasm for that subject than most people tended to. "Keep going."

Samus looked down at what she had left: a sports top (with nothing under it, as far as she knew) and the shorts. "Are you serious?"

"I am. The shorts. They're part of the anomaly," he elaborated. "Those have to come off too."

For the first time, Samus noticed one more piece of decor here in the otherwise featureless room: security cameras. There were more here than anywhere else and they were positioned at odd angles: shooting upward from the ground behind her, overhead like they were trying to look down her blouse, and just about everywhere else. "K... Is that why you're telling me the footage is being broadcast outside the base? Because I'm beginning to think I understand the reasoning now."

"What?" the captain asked, looking genuinely aggravated for the first time.

"It's so that I wouldn't think they were getting away with whatever they're doing here, making a fool out of me by having me take off all of my clothes. Is that it?" Samus questioned, crossing her arms and facing one of the cameras. "Well, you can stop the broadcast. I'm not taking off my pants if people across the galaxy are watching-"

"Remember your orders!" K responded, cutting her off with a buzz in her ear. "You don't need to question the why, just drop them! Then you get the money and the intel about what's really going on here!"

Samus frowned, then hooked her thumbs into the sides of the shorts. She reminded herself that there was really no need to be concerned: the entire Galactic Federation was watching, and it seemed like the end of their part in all of this was the anomaly investigation. K was the one to worry about, but with the entire Federation having eyes on this, he couldn't be that dangerous, could he? If she appeased him for just a bit longer, she'd get her answers. She was a bounty hunter, described as "fearless" by many of her peers. There was no shame in flashing her panties to get to her goal here.

Slowly, while the camera behind her scooched closer, she shimmied the pants down past the curve of her hips. Underneath was about what she'd expected from what she could feel: fairly low-riding booty shorts, black, in the same color as the top. They certainly weren't modest, but they weren't as bad as they could be. She handed the camo-print shorts over while the older man watched, his face unreadable. When she was done, she turned, bending her knees to look into the camera behind her.

"Government property..." Korpus muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he cast his eyes downward.

"Yeah, I know. The camera is government property, so I can't take out my frustration on it," she responded.

"No, I mean, your pants. On the back. It says 'Government Property,' all block text, across the width."

"You're serious?" Samus questioned, red-faced for the first time. She instinctively reached her hands to her buttocks to cover the obscene message.

"This anomaly is someone's idea of a joke. They're getting a laugh out of it," Korpus mused.

"No, not a laugh. I think they're getting... something else out of it," she spoke through her clenched teeth, now wary of which side was facing the camera. "They know how to push my buttons and they're getting a kick out of it. I think they have been all day."

Another message came through. "It's a game, Samus. You're almost done. Just finish playing your part. All you've got to do now is accept the bonus round, then you get the money and you can go home. If you resist or walk out now, I can funnel all of the money you're expecting to a different account. You won't receive a credit for any of this."

"And the secret of the Federation Base?" she questioned.

"You'll have that too, if you cooperate. I do like that face... keep it on, Samus."

"Is that part of the Strip-a-thon? I have to wear that face or I lose?"

When he didn't answer, Samus saw the answer for what it was: it wasn't a condition. She could fix her face and he couldn't do a thing about it. The famed bounty hunter put back on a cold frown, then crossed her arms, losing the embarrassment about her outfit and replacing it with firm resolve. "Let me have that bonus round. You aren't going to get that reaction out of me a second time, K."

Roll 6!

Outfit durability: 11/28 (sports bra, booty shorts)