Epilogue:

Samus awakened in the middle of the night in her apartment in one of the massive city blocks on Daiban. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was two o'clock in the morning. She sighed as she then lay back down in bed and tried to fall back asleep. Thoughts surrounding the week's events swirled around in her head. She thought about Adam and her clone, who had only lived for a month before sacrificing herself with Adam so that Samus and the others could live. She only hoped that her clone had made the most of her life before her last mission.

Her thoughts then focused back to the testimony before the Galactic Federation Council on the events of the assault on Research Facility 777 and the testimony as to the Space Pirate attack on planet Z-1A and the reappearance of the Space Pirate general, Ridley. With the destruction of the Space Pirate frigate, Ridley's trail had gone cold. She merely hoped that the technology and information recovered from the downed Space Pirate Transport was everything that the Space Pirates had taken from Z-1A. Federation Research Team was swarming around the planet with the discovery of the Chozo technology and artifacts. The G.F.S. Olympus under the command of Admiral Castor Dane was stationed around Z-1A to provide security for the colony until further notice. The Federation was very interested in the technology and artifacts that had been found on planet. It had taken an even keener interest at the mention of a race known as the Magic Lords, which were stronger than the Chozo were, individually. According to her scan logs, only an alliance between the Chozo, Luminoth, N'Kren, and Ylla had managed to beat back the Magic Lords, or Dragon Lords as they were sometimes called. The Federation Council was already sending envoys to Aether to talk to the Luminoth to see if these Magic Lords were still alive, and if so, the likelihood of facing them in the near future.

As for the testimony about the assault on Research Facility 777; itself, while the Council was relieved that the threat posed by MB and the bioweapons on the research facility were finally eliminated, they were quick to point out that the cost was far too high, which both Samus and Anthony could not disagree with. The loss of the troopship G.F.S. Loki, and practically its entire complement of equipment and troops, was a terrible loss. Thousands of troops had lost their lives in the mission, and for very little gain. What really shocked the Council, and Chairman Elric, however, was the information from Samus's logbook, Anthony's recorder, and from the black box recovered from the station after its destruction. It basically told the Council that Chamolos, Eiden, Drayka, and Elric were all in on the secret projects that were being conducted onboard the Bottle Ship and Research Facility 777. Even worse was the information and recording regarding cloning of Samus Aran and the engineering of her to make her more docile and submissive to Federation orders, a clear violation of multiple Sentient Rights laws, as well as setting up Commander General Adam Malkovich and Platoon 07 to die during the Bottle Ship Incident.

Chairman Elric, of course, said that it was all falsehoods planted by the ringleaders to try to turn the Galactic Federation against itself and its leadership to spite the Federation should their plans be discovered and fail. However, scans using the most acute of Federation sensors and even Luminoth sensors indicated that the data was one hundred percent legitimate. The Council would, of course, investigate further to verify the validity of the information and to confirm it, themselves, but so far, every test they performed said that it was legitimate and not forged at all. Not only that, but a number of witnesses were already coming forward to testify against Chairman Elric and the few cohorts of his that were still alive, not only on the issues regarding the Bottle Ship, but on issues regarding deals that were made with the Space Pirates during the Phazon Crisis. Earth's representative on the Council, Councilman Williams, was leading the investigative panel into Elric's dealings. In addition, he was also investigating Cyrus's potential knowledge of Elric's actions, particularly to see if he had a role in former Chairman Keaton's assassination. All in all, it was not a good few days for the Chairman. But the process was far from over.

Samus then rose from her bed and went over to her computer to check her mail to see if there were any offers for jobs, or if she was going to be called to give more testimony before the Galactic Federation Council, or whatever committee was investigating all of the allegations that were being brought to light in the wake of Samus's deposition to the Council. She found that there was an offer from a corporation called Biologic Space Labs. She clicked on the message and it told Samus that they were planning on sending a research team down to SR388 to study the wildlife down there, and that they needed a guide that was familiar to the planet. Samus smiled. She figured that it would be a good job to get her mind off of the events of the last few days. She also suspected that it would not be as strenuous as her last few missions. Babysitting a group of scientists may be boring, but she knew that there were still dangerous lifeforms on SR388. She decided that she would take the job. She then wrote her response to Biologic Space Labs and waited for them to tell her when and where to report for the mission. Once that was finished, she went about getting some breakfast and readying herself for her next mission.

In the far reaches of space, beyond the borders of the Galactic Federation, Ridley's Heavy Assault Transport emerged from warp in the void between star systems. There were few ships that ever went in between star systems so the transport pilot figured that this would be a good spot to stop and get some bearings before continuing. They had been on the run, dodging Federation patrols ever since they had escaped planet Z-1A with a wounded Ridley. The transport pilot looked back at his leader and could see that slowly, but surely, Ridley was healing from his battle against Samus Aran. The co-pilot, a normal Pirate Trooper, glanced at his sensor displays and reported, "We have emerged from subspace in Sector Two-by-Five-by-Alpha. Sensors indicate no Galactic Federation patrol vessels or Kriken Empire vessels in the vicinity."

"Good," Ridley said, weakly as he rose to speak. He knew that there would be no vessels here, though. No one in their right minds jumped back into normal space in the complete void between star systems, where resources were practically non-existent. Any ship that patrolled the area in between stars either had to be very well stocked for the trip, or reliant on supply ships, which were magnets for pirate forces, just like the Space Pirates.

The doctors tending to him ushered him back down onto the bed and advised him, "Don't strain yourself Lord Ridley. You're still healing from the battle against Samus."

Ridley gave a grunt. He did not like being told what to do, but he knew that he was lucky to be alive. Samus really hated his guts and she had really clobbered him in their last battle. It was just like their two fights on Zebes. Had the transport not come to help him when it did, he would have been killed by Samus. He settled back down onto he bed, heeding the doctors' advice when the co-pilot blurted, "Lord Ridley, you're not going to believe this, but I'm picking up a station close by."

This surprised Ridley and he attempted to rise, but a jolt of pain caused him to wince and lie back down onto the bed. "How close?" Ridley asked. If there was a station nearby, then they may have already been detected.

Both the pilot and co-pilot's eyes went wide when the reading came. "Only one million kilometers," they both stammered. "That's within firing range of some starships."

"Well, we're still here," one of the Elite Pirates stationed at one of the tactical consoles commented. "Can you get any scans of the station?" the Elite Pirate asked.

"We'll have to get closer for a detailed scan if the station is shielded, but we should be able to at least get a cursory scan from here," the pilot responded. He then proceeded to take the transport closer to the station, while telling the co-pilot, "Begin scanning now."

"Yes, sir," the co-pilot responded.

The scanners then activated and the display screen soon showed a large station not too far away from the position of the transport. Surprisingly, the scanners were able to get detailed scans of the station. As they got a good look at the scans, their eyes went wide with glee, and they began to shudder with excitement. Once the scans were added to the logbook of the ship, the co-pilot turned back to the Elite Pirate and Ridley, telling them, "Sir and Lord, we've finished our first scans of the station. You're going to love it. This station has no defenses, and has no living crewmembers or active personnel. It's completely automated. Not only that, but I'm getting massive lifeform readings, but they appear to be in a state of suspended animation."

When the Pirate finished his analysis, Ridley was not all that pleased at the curtness of his report. "Anything else?"

"No, my lord. The stasis pods are shielded against bio-scans, so we'll need to board the station to see what's inside. Should we board it to see if there's anything worth taking?"

Ridley considered the co-pilot's request. He felt as if he was strong enough to perform a boarding action if necessary, but he did not want to risk lingering in one place for too long, even if it was a good hiding area. "Sure, why not?" He then called out to the others, "Prepare a boarding party! I want at least one Elite Pirate and a pair of Pirate Commandos in the party. We're going to board that station, but do note, if you get in trouble, retreat immediately. We can't afford anymore losses than we've already suffered."

"Yes, Lord Ridley," the rest of the Pirates cried as they saluted him and began making preparations for boarding the station.

Back on Daiban, in Chairman Elric's office, Elric looked at the reports of the testimony of those who were involved in the projects onboard the Bottle Ship and Research Facility 777. It was looking really bad for him. To be exposed as having violated some of the most sacred laws pertaining to the respect for life, and the use of bioweapons, was bad enough. To be accused of having assassinated the previous Chairman of the Galactic Federation, as well as the source of the information being his own voice, made things even worse. He knew that there was no way that he would be able to survive this, politically. Of course, the Council would not vote immediately. They wanted to hear more testimony and build a rock solid case against him, but it certainly seemed as if the end was coming for him. There were already calls for his resignation by his opponents, and even by some of his allies, hoping that by resigning, he would not expose their dirty deeds. He had declared a galactic wide state of martial law until things seemed to calm down, but that was not being followed in many places, particularly Earth. Even worse was that now, planets were repealing certain laws that gave the Galactic Federation a great deal of power over individual planets and implementing their own laws. Earth was the first to do so, though Earth was not exactly enforcing certain Federation laws such as curfews, martial law, and had already kicked off Chamolos's Internal Security Force agents.

Elric sighed. He had dreamed of taking the Galactic Federation to the next level and transforming it first into a Galactic Empire, and then, an Intergalactic Empire. What was worse was that he knew that Cyrus would almost certainly take advantage of this opportunity. He had used Cyrus to get the position of Chairman, and had made Cyrus the Vice-Chairman after Keaton's death, despite the fact that traditionally, the Speaker of the Council got the position should the initial Chairman die in office. All that he could do now was hope that something happened to keep the other witnesses from testifying. There were too many for him to kill. If they all died mysteriously, then all of the suspicion would fall onto him. And there were too many to kill for their deaths to not look like an accident. Still, there was some hope. He had some supporters left on the Council and in other areas of the government, like the Director of Biologic Space Labs. If they did not do anything stupid, he could likely call upon them for help. With that thought, he merely sat back in his chair and got to work. He was not impeached, or dead, yet. Besides, if it came to a fight, he still had his secret forces that only he and General Cutter had known about: the Special Forces onboard the Space Lab Moreau.

A chime soon rang and Elric asked gruffly, "Who is it?"

"Chairman of Defense, Rickard Lorenz," came the reply from outside the office.

"Enter," Elric barked, recognizing Lorenz's voice.

The doors slid open and Lorenz entered the room, the doors closing behind him. "You wished to see me, sir?" Lorenz asked.

"Yes," Chairman Elric stated. "Take a seat, Rickard," Elric said, motioning for the Chairman of the Defense Department to sit. The Chairman did so and after he was situated comfortably, Elric got underway with his business. "Rickard, as you know, the last few days have been tough, and the next few days aren't looking any better for us."

"I know," Lorenz said, nodding. "The deposition given by Samus Aran, Anthony Higgs, along with the information contained in the black box from Research Facility 777, is damning to say the least."

"That's why I need your help. We have to accelerate our plans, if we are to accomplish our objectives," Elric told him. "Cyrus will almost certainly be against us…"

"Then that should secure Earth in our camp," Lorenz noted with a chuckle.

Elric shook his head. "No, it won't. All it will mean is that Earth will secede sooner than expected, and we'll be too embroiled in a Galactic Federation civil war to be able to devote the necessary resources to bring Earth back into the fold. By then, Earth will have already dealt with Cyrus. After all, Cyrus's primary interest is Earth anyway. Nothing else seems to matter to him. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand, we need to organize our forces quickly and discretely. Earth won't be loyal to us, or Cyrus's people, and neither will many of Earth's inner colonies on the Orion Arm."

"That is unfortunate, since Aliehs III is one of the primary starship manufacturing worlds in the Federation," Lorenz lamented.

"Then you know why we are in a lot of trouble. I'm calling in all of the favors I can, but we can't rely on the Luminoth or any non-ascended Chozo worlds to help us in a civil war, especially with the information that has already gotten out on me, and maybe even on Cyrus as well." Elric then changed the subject a little and asked, "You managed to get the black box and examine it. Did you find any evidence whatsoever that the information could have been planted or faked in any way?"

Lorenz shook his head. "No, Chairman, but I did find something else peculiar. Something that was totally unexpected."

Elric was getting impatient and was already in a foul mood. "What is it?" he barked.

"We found another set of data stored inside the black box. This data was organized in what looked to be memory pathways. Upon further inspection, we found that these memories had once belonged to the now late Commander General Adam Malkovich." Elric did not look interested, but Lorenz was not finished yet. "Another examination found that it was not just Adam's memories or personality that was stored in the black box, but his entire mind and soul as well."

This got Elric's attention. "You're telling me that Adam Malkovich is alive, in a fashion?"

Lorenz nodded. "Yes, sir," he responded. "He is alive in the computer, and apparently, well."

"No," Elric almost lamented in dread.

"Why is this so troubling, sir?" Lorenz asked, not understanding why Elric was so distraught. "With a mind like Commander General Malkovich's on our side, we might have a chance of winning this upcoming battle."

"Adam would never side with me after the Bottle Ship Incident," Elric almost yelled. "If Samus and Captain Higgs got the information that they did, chances are that Adam has it as well."

"Then all we have to do is reveal all of the dirt we have on Cyrus when the battle begins," Lorenz stated. "That, as well as a download to another computer and a little reprogramming should allow us to keep Adam's mind and knowledge, but not his personality and soul in the process."

"Then do it," Elric commanded. "We can't let anyone discover that Adam Malkovich is still alive. Take the box with Adam over to the Main Research Center and have him downloaded into a detachable computer unit. If after the additional programming is added, a little too much of Adam Malkovich's personality seems to resurface, send him on a suicide mission."

"Understood, sir," Lorenz answered, saluting the Chairman.

"Dismissed!" Elric barked.

Lorenz then proceeded to rise and leave Elric's office. Elric then slumped back into his chair. All of his plans were coming crashing down, but it was not over yet. He could still achieve his full takeover. After all, he did not need Earth and its colonies. While having colonies like Aliehs III was important, it was not essential for his Galactic Federation, or Empire, to survive. If he had to lose a few planets, then so be it, just as long as the rest of the Federation planets did not get any ideas, he was fine with it. Besides, he could always reconquer them at a later date.

Meanwhile, on planet Earth, in a non-descript looking warehouse in Veilstone City in the Sinnoh Region of Japan, Cyrus stood alone, flanked by two guards that were wearing gray uniforms with a stylized "G" on their chest. He did not like the fact that his personal guards had taken to wearing Team Galactic uniforms so close to the public, but he did not admonish them. He knew that they did so to show him that they were loyal, no matter what. The side door to the warehouse soon opened and a short, overweight man with gray hair walked down a few steps and came to Cyrus. Cyrus had been expecting his Police Chief. Charon merely gave a smile.

"It's been a long time since we met here," Charon said, noticing the surroundings.

"It's essential that we are not being recorded, and people won't take notice of a warehouse that has few stores inside," Cyrus answered. "Is it done?"

Charon nodded. "Biologic Space Labs is sending a research team to planet SR388. They're almost certain to encounter the X Parasites and discover some of their properties. Even better, Samus Aran is going with them."

Cyrus's eyes lit up at that statement. "Then we'll be killing two birds with one stone!" he exclaimed. "And once the universe is suffering due to the rampant spread of X infestation, then we will be able to convince the Original Pokémon to remake the entire universe in our image."

"You'll still need the help of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn for this to have the best chance of success," Charon advised.

"That won't be a problem," Cyrus assured him. "Once I'm Chairman, I'll use my executive powers to free Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn from prison and then, our work will begin once more."

The two men then gave a grin as they walked out of the warehouse to discuss other things.

Back in space, the Space Pirate boarding party had already breached the station and was well on its way to the control center of the station. The corridors and rooms were lined with massive numbers of stasis tanks and pulsating pods. The Pirates walked slowly in the corridor, as if any sound would awaken everything surrounding them. Each of the Pirate Troopers had peered into the stasis tanks and found Zebesian Space Pirate Troopers inside them.

"Lord Ridley, you've gotta come see this!" one of the Pirate Troopers exclaimed. "This is a veritable army, here."

Ridley came up from behind the first group of boarding Pirate Troopers and gazed in awe at the army that had been assembled in the stasis tanks in merely one cargo bay. It was as if he were celebrating his birthday. "My goodness," Ridley exclaimed in wonder. "There must be over a thousand of them. And this is only one cargo bay."

"So far, we've found over a quarter million of them throughout the station!" another trooper cried in excitement from a console in the corner of the room. "And we've only explored half the station, so far. Also, as of yet, the soldiers in stasis, but they're not scheduled to be awakened for a while." He then checked the console again and called back to Ridley, saying, "According to the computer, these Pirates are supposed to be commanded by a Federation clone of Mother Brain. This clone, however, is not stationed here. In fact, the computer indicates that the clone was located first on a ship called the Bottle Ship and then relocated to Research Facility Seven-Seven-Seven. Contact with the two facilities, however, has been lost and the station's computer was in the process of shutting this project down before we came onboard."

"Don't let the computer shut this project down!" Ridley commanded. A grin then crossed his face as he held a small data crystal in his hand. "With the Chozo technology we downloaded onto this crystal, we have the perfect means of controlling these soldiers. I think we can put them to good use," he said with a sadistic grin.

"Yeah," the Pirate Trooper answered, echoing Ridley's sentiment.

"Watch out galaxy," Ridley said in a low, cold voice. "The Space Pirates are back in business."