Boom!

The lights in Earth colony K-2L turned off.

Boom!

Glass and debris flew overhead as three year old Samus Aran remained crouched behind a garbage can. The room went silent. Samus peeked her head around the can and waited for her eyes to adjust. She couldn't see anything or anyone. In the distance she heard a faint rhythmic thumping that sounded as if it was getting closer. Then the thumping stopped.

"Commander Ridley, we have survivors."

"Take care of them quickly. We need light if we're ever going to find anything."

"Yes sir, it's already being worked on."

"Good. Post two men at the entrance and send the rest for supplies. I want to be off the ground in an hour."

"Yes, sir."

Samus squinted, but she could still only make out shadows. She saw a huge figure walk into the room.

A whisper from somewhere nearby, "Samus."

"Mommy?", she whispered back.

"Samus where are you?"

"I'm right here mommy. What happened?"

"I don't know honey but stay where you are and don't talk, ok?"

"Ok."

There was a low hum and the lights in the room began to turn on one by one. As her eyes readjusted to the light Samus could begin to make out the features of the large figure in the center of the room. It was a silver dragon about ten feet tall. Samus was mesmerized.

"Wow", she said out loud.

The dragons head turned quickly as he localized the sound. He was staring at the girl. Samus emerged from behind the garbage can and walked towards the dragon.

"Hi."

The dragon sneered.

"Do you want to be friends?"

"Silly girl", he laughed, "I'm here to kill you."

He raised his giant clawed hand and prepared to strike the girl.

"Samus, run!"

Virginia Aran sprinted to her daughter and pushed her out of the path of the swiping arm. The force of the dragon's claw broke her back and the mist of blood that supervened covered Samus in a fine layer of red.

"Mommy!!!", Samus cried, her tears causing the blood on her face to run.

The dragon roared in fury and raised its arm again.

"Don't move Ridley!"

Four armed Galactic Federation soldiers entered from a hallway at the back of the room.

"Federation scum, do you honestly think you can stop this?"

Ridley roared again and hurled Virginia Aran's lifeless body at the soldiers, narrowly missing. The soldiers fanned out and opened fire on Ridley, their bullets ricocheting off his metallic skin rained down onto Samus burning her skin. Samus ran out of the room, not looking back, not wanting to see what remained of her mother. She ran until her legs burned; she could run no further. She collapsed to her knees. At her side was a partially opened vent. She pried it further and crawled inside, continuing until she had gone far enough that she figured the dragon could no longer reach her. Samus curled into a ball and cried herself to sleep.