Story: Soul Mates (all chapters)

[Author's notes: This story was inspired by the internet fan-film Haloid, just Google "haloid". I'm not sure if it works or not, the plot feels a bit rushed to me. But when I get an Idea I can't not write it. You be the judge if it's any good. I originally wrote this as a single really long chapter but I realize my writings have grown quite long and decided to break this up into four chapters.

Note to Halo fans: Please don't flame me if I got some detail wrong here or there. I've never played Halo, I have nothing against it I just don't have an X-box. I did research it extensively though before writing this, so I'm not completely clueless.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Metroid or Halo character. They are owned by Nintendo and Bungie respectively.

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Petty Officer Second Class Spartan-458 sat in the main control room of the Nassau station stripping down her M6D pistol and then putting it back together. It wasn't dirty, it hadn't even been fired in months; she just had nothing else to do. She was stranded here, in the twenty first century, five hundred years in the past, and all alone. To pass the time she scanned the analog signals from earth from time to time; some of the more interesting fictions amused her, though she scoffed at some of the Sci-fi stuff as unrealistic. The program she was watching now was called the news, she watched it once in a while for the novelty of seeing historic events as they happened. Though what the anchor was talking about now had a little more significance to her than most news.

"NASA scientists tell us this will be the largest solar flare in recent history. It will occur early tomorrow morning. While not dangerous to people, it can cause severe problems with electronics. Expect disruption of global communications, including satellites, cell phones, TV and radio broadcasts, and internet outages. Power grid failures are also likely. Land line phones will most likely be unaffected. If you do have an emergency..."

Ignoring the rest of the broadcast, she rolled her chair over to the console and tuned the stations sensors on the sun. Sure enough they detected the disturbance on the surface, the imminent eruption was obvious. Because the station was operating on minimal power it couldn't shield itself from the radiation and didn't have the benefit of being within Earth's magnetic field. She would make a point to spend the duration of the solar flare deep in the bowels of the station to minimize her radiation exposure.

------

She spent the entire day in the engineering room inspecting the systems. Due to the lack of available reactor fuel in the 21st century she had the reactor running at nominal levels to conserve energy, so half the systems were either shut down completely or operating on minimal power and as such couldn't operate reliably. So they required constant checking to make sure every thing was running. It was a perfect place to hide from the solar flare; it was located in the heart of the station and most of the heavy equipment was radiation shielded already. As she went over each system one by one an alert went off notifying her of the incoming flare.

At first all was normal and she went about her business unconcerned, but things quickly went awry. As she stared down one of the long corridors she could visibly see its shape twisting and distorting. The solar flare was destabilizing the anomaly that had trapped her here in the 21st century. The air it self seemed to glow an eerie blue light and objects started vanishing and appearing at random. Suddenly the entire environment changed, it looked as if the station was under construction, and she found herself in a different section of the station all together. Then it changed again and it was filled with people going about normal operations. As the anomaly faded it went through one final change. She was now in the upper habitat area in one of the main promenades and there were suddenly hundreds of covenant elites on the station, apparently in the midst of an attack. She recovered a BR55 rifle from a fallen marine and readied herself for battle.

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The automated Federation observation outpost drifted casually through space. Its sensors bleeped away aimlessly scanning the heavens for anything out of the ordinary, when something very out of the ordinary happened. Just over two parsecs away, massive space-time fluctuations sent distortion waves rippling outward at superluminal velocities. Every sensor on the observer perked up and focused on the anomaly. An enormous mass was suddenly detected in the center of the event. Then the anomaly faded away and only the object remained. The high resolution cameras zoomed in on the distant object, took some images and sent them off to the Galactic Federation Intelligence Bureau .

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"Admiral! Sir, take a look at these."

"What is this, commander?"

"It appears to be a station of some sort. It just appeared right in the middle of Federation space."

"Could this be a Space Pirate ploy, some kind of weapon?"

"Unknown sir, though it wouldn't appear so, they lack the technology to get something this large that far into our space without being detected earlier... Should we redeploy the sixth fleet to intercept?"

"Hmm... negative, they're patrolling the outer systems for pirate activity... we'll sub-contract a specialist."

"The usual contact, sir?"

"Yeah."

------

The small converted freighter approached the derelict station's position. It was adrift and dangerously close to an asteroid field. The little ship made a pass over the station looking for a place to dock. The station was configured as a large central module with five smaller modules around it in a ring, each with a massive glass dome roof. It appeared as if the smaller modules served different purposes as the interior configuration was different for each one. Yet all had a docking port large enough for the ship to land in. It approached one and landed inside; the doors automatically closed behind it and the lock was pressurized. The ship's pilot exited through the top hatch and jumped to the floor.

Samus Aran stood fully clad in her Chozo powersuit, scanning the new area. Her mission; determine the origin of this station and assess any possible threat to the Federation, payment received in advance as her reputation now allowed her to demand. Detecting no immediate threat she proceeded into the station further. As she entered the main section she immediately noticed the signs of battle. Bodies of aliens she didn't recognize were scattered about, there was evidence of small arms fire and some explosives damage. Then she heard the muffled reverb of shots being fired somewhere else in the station; the battle wasn't over apparently.

She took off in the direction of the sounds, and eventually came to a room that looked to be a cargo storage area of some kind. She stood on a raised walkway that went around the perimeter of the room and formed a second level of sorts. As soon as she entered the room a group of a half dozen of the unknown aliens attacked her. Wasting no time she fired a quick three shot burst of wave/plasma-beam at them, while simultaneously leaping over their heads and landing behind. She fired another quick three shots, her fully powered and upgraded beam cannon made short work of her targets.

Down below on the main deck she saw a bunch more of them swarming about. They were exchanging fire with a lone combatant; an armor clad warrior returning fire and taking cover behind a metal cargo container. The armor wasn't anything she recognized as something the Federation had ever used. Who ever it was he was a very good shot; very efficient and precise. The assault rifle he was using didn't pack near as much punch as her integrated cannon, but he was making every shot count; hitting vital areas and quickly disabling with the minimum number of shots. However the container he used as cover was soon ripped to shreds by their weapons exchange and was not good protection anymore. The anonymous warrior ran in tangent to them, moving along the perimeter of the room, using support beams and other equipment as temporary cover as he fired at the aliens who had clustered in the center of the room.

'Damn fine shooting and use of cover. This guy's a definite pro.'

Deciding she'd watched long enough, Samus jumped down to the lower deck, placing herself behind the horde of foes. Most were dead already due in large part to the efforts of this mystery man in hefty green armor. She walked methodically forward firing slowly and deliberately, though she only had to take out a few before they were all gone. Suddenly the armored warrior noticed Samus and leveled his gun at her. Samus returned his aim but held up her other hand indicating a truce. The soldier moved the gun away from his eye but still had it pointed at Samus. Cautiously they approached each other.

Spartan-458 eyed her new acquaintance suspiciously. Where had he come from all of a sudden? Did the anomaly bring him here? Was this a new type of covenant soldier? It didn't look anything like their technology, nor did it look like anything what the U.N.S.C. had, or even of human origin. Was this Forerunner technology? She crept ever closer till they were about five paces apart. Before she could speak, more elites burst into the cargo bay; several dozen streamed in on the lower level. The newcomer wasted no time in opening fire on them, using some kind of energy beam from the cannon attached to his arm. She began shooting back at the elites herself as even more swarmed in. The two of them stood back to back, holding off the covenant forces, though it quickly became apparent that they were sitting ducks in the center of the room. They split up, she took the bottom level as before, and the red and gold clad rogue leaped nimbly up to the upper walkway, much to the amazement of the Spartan.

'That armor must be pretty light weight to jump around like that. What's it made out of?' she thought. Something about the way it looked and how it moved reminded her of a bird.

The avian warrior ran around the perimeter of the room on the upper level as she did the same on the lower level. Keeping on opposite sides of the room from each other; they worked to corral the elites into the center where they were able to pick them off with ease. Suddenly more broke in to the room on the upper lever near her new ally. He ran towards them shooting, then leaped into the air and kicked off the wall; easily evading their shots, he sailed over their heads still, shooting the entire time, and landed in the center of the room. He immediately jumped again and grabbed onto the railing of the walkway doing a handstand; upside down he fired a couple of rockets at them. He then pushed off the railing sending himself upward and then kicked off the ceiling directly downward and right into the center of the cluster of elites. Doing a somersault as he landed his body was shrouded in brilliant crackling energy, which killed the elites pretty much on contact. The few elites he missed she quickly took out with a few well aimed bursts from her BR55 rifle.

'Damn! What impressive agility. How would you even hit something that moves like that?'

Samus slowly rose from a crouching position surrounded by the bodies of the hostile alien attackers. Though it wasn't over yet, many more of them came from the various different entrances into the cargo bay. Samus decided it was time to leave. Apparently her companion came to the same conclusion as they both started for the same hallway without need for communication. However that hallway quickly filled with the hostile aliens as well. Samus tried to hold them off, but there were far too many. They had to get down this hall now or they'd be completely swarmed. Just as Samus was thinking this she noticed her green armored companion actually lifting a small forklift.

'What the hell!'

He then threw the forklift down the hallway sending it barreling over their assailants, clearing the path.

'Such raw strength, he could rip me in half.'

Getting over her astonishment, Samus launched a missile at the forklift, timing it so it struck just as it reached the end of the hall. It exploded spraying dense metal shrapnel everywhere. They ran down the hall, but before leaving Samus morphed to ball form, planted a power bomb, and then followed her ally out. They climbed over the forklifts burning wreckage and alien bodies at the end of the hall and shut the hatch behind them. As the hatch closed the power bomb Samus left went of off vaporizing everything left still alive in the room.

Once they were through the hatch they were immediately fired upon, but the covenant forces here were light compared to earlier and the two of them mopped up easily. As the last body fell they approached one another, and gave each other a nod, each curious about the other. Rugged Mjolnir armor stood facing the sleek Chozo powersuit, their reflections gleaming off the others visor.

Samus was about to speak when she was interrupted; the station shook violently and they were thrown about. The lights went dim and the loud groan of twisting metal could be heard. The massive explosion that shook the station was an asteroid that had impacted with it. There would soon be more to follow, they had to get out of here now! The roof collapsed in a cascade of burning wreckage, blocking the path back to where Samus docked. The Spartan headed off in the opposite direction and motioned for her to follow. Samus started her ship remotely and instructed it to get clear of the asteroids until she was sure where it could pick her up.

As they evacuated, more of the ceiling collapsed. Samus morphed into ball form and rolled between the debris, however the Spartan was struck by a large support beam and buried under a ton of burning wreckage. Though she picked herself up almost immediately, her armor was severely damaged. She took a step but the joint in her right leg locked up, unable to bend, and she limped and stumbled. Samus came up from behind her and supported her from the right side and dragged her along as she hopped on one foot.

When they reached the end of the corridor they entered one of the five domes that encompassed the station. The Spartan stopped them just inside the massive doorway. She limped over to a key pad beside the door and entered a series of numbers. The large doors slid shut and sealed with a hiss. She then entered another code into the pad and a small service panel opened revealing a manual release lever. She flipped it, and there was a large clunk sound as the dome broke away from the station. A few seconds later a set of boosters fired, slowly pushing the dome clear of the station. Being on the side of the station facing away from the asteroid field it drifted clear of it. Samus now contacted her ship and gave it the instructions to rendezvous with the dome and pick her up.

End Chapter One

Chapter 2

This dome resembled a garden or public park; an place which would normally serve as a recreation area for the station's crew. The Spartan fell to the floor on hands and knees. The armor became too heavy to hold up as its power systems failed. Samus walked over and offered her hand.

"You all right?" Samus asked.

'That voice...' The Spartan warrior took her hand and Samus helped her into a sitting position. Then Samus' own armor dematerialized in a in a glimmer of light and energy.

'A woman?' "You're... like me..." she said too quiet for Samus to hear.

"It looks badly damaged, let's get this off of you," Samus said, to which the Spartan just nodded.

Starting with the damaged leg they dismantled the armored suit. Slowly as the figure underneath began to take shape Samus realized that they were the same gender. As the helmet came off, shoulder length brown hair spilled out, and Samus was met with soft dark brown eyes and full lips. She appeared to be in her late twenties, a few years older than Samus.

Samus was about to make a remark but then realized what she was about to do. Was this how other people felt when they learned her own gender? It annoyed her that people just assumed she was male under that armor and here she had went and done the same thing to someone else. It then occurred to Samus that this girl had just now learned her identity as well, and she was probably thinking the same thing. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't think to form a clear thought. The other woman just gave her a half-smile and nodded. She knew, she understood, the obvious questions at that point didn't need to be asked; the answers were already known.

The sky lit up as the now quite distant Nassau station exploded, torn apart by the asteroid field. They watched as the fireball billowed and pieces of the station were thrown every which way. They both sat silently for quite a while as the explosion dissipated and eventually vanished.

"It's Samus," she said finally.

"What?"

"My name. You have one?"

"Petty Officer Second Class Spartan-458," she barked as if on command. Samus was a bit taken aback by the response. "Uh... N-Nicole," she said hesitantly.

"Nicole hmm, I like that."

"Samus is unusual. That short for Samantha or something?"

"Hmm... No. At least I don't think so. So, Nicole, what are you doing here? Federation send you to check out this station as well?"

"Federation? No, Actually I lived on this station for a while."

"Lived here? This was your station? How did it appear here all of a sudden?"

"No I was trapped on it; caught in a space-time anomaly and sent back to the 21st century. But I guess that solar flare destabilized it and I came back. I suppose that's how it appeared... So... what about you, why are you here?"

"When the station just appeared out of nowhere I was hired to investigate. Nothing more to it than that."

"You're a mercenary?"

"Something like that."

"I'm amazed a freelancer can keep pace with a Spartan like me, its impressive... you're pretty impressive."

"You're not too bad yourself," Samus said casually though it was an enormous understatement. Samus marveled at Nicole's abilities, especially her tactical and strategic reasoning, and at how close in skill the two of them were. She never considered anyone an equal before. She wasn't sure if Nicole was or not, but she certainly came close. "What's a Spartan? Special Forces? Must be classified if I don't know about it."

"Well it was, but not anymore. Spartans are the product of a super-soldier program." Samus gave her a raised eyebrow. "You know... biological enhancement, advanced armor, extensive training from an early age... the usual." Samus was taken aback; it was as if Nicole was describing her. "...you really hadn't heard? Hmm, that's surprising."

"Uh, no... I guess the Federation has more up its sleeves than I realized."

"Federation again. What is that?"

"Wha-... you... you don't know? You're in the military, you work for them..."

"I work for the United Nations Space Command... oh god..." The realization finally hit her. "What year is this?"

"2095 GC. 3115 by the old earth calendar."

"3115!"

"That's not right I take it?"

"It... it's supposed to be 2553." She then glanced up through the dome to where the station had been.

"I don't think you'll be going back there now."

"No... I won't." Nicole didn't sound too bothered by that fact. She had no real attachments back there, and it was apparent humanity had survived, which was all that really mattered.

"Anyway, I remote called my ship. It'll come pick us up in a while."

Nicole just nodded.

The two sat silently staring at the stars through the glass ceiling, though Samus was focused on what Nicole had said earlier. The similarities bothered her immediately, and no matter how she tried she couldn't stop the flood of questions that formed in her mind. Normally she wouldn't even care, other peoples' business didn't concern her, but the questions just wouldn't stop, she was genuinely intrigued.

"How young?" Samus blurted out.

"What?"

"When you started training? You said you received training at an early age."

"What's it to you?" Nicole said somewhat defensively.

"Nothing. I don't care. I was just curious."

Nicole looked away and said nothing, seeming as if she would let it drop there. "I was six." She finally said after a short while.

Samus expected something in the early teens. Not something nearly as young as when she... "You must really have liked the military to begin that young."

"I was... drafted."

"At six?"

Nicole sighed and prepared the explanations that would follow. For some reason she felt like she owed Samus an explanation; normally she wouldn't have divulged her history to any random person, it was none of their business, however... It was odd, but she felt some kind of affinity with the woman.

"I was taken from my family by the U.N.S.C., selected through a genetic screening program."

Samus' eyes went wide with that statement. She couldn't help but take notice of the mounting similarities.

"...They trained me in the art of warfare," Nicole continued. "...day in and day out; it was all we ever did." She got quiet for a bit, apparently thinking something over. "When you're that young and your life is just fighting, combat training, it... you just...ah, never mind. You wouldn't understand."

"It has a profound effect on you, the way you think, the way you view the world... At that age though, it's like a game, the target practice, obstacle courses, tactical maneuvering; it's like play time, its fun. Then when you realize its practical use is for killing... well, you look back on those years in a very different light," Samus said finishing Nicole's thought.

Now it was Nicole who was shocked. "You... you were..."

"I was three... My parents... they were killed in a pirate raid. I was adopted by an alien species; they trained me to fight."

"You... lost your family too... hmm..." She paused, appearing lost in thought. "We're... a lot alike, you and me."

"Mmm..." Samus nodded. "You mentioned biological enhancements..."

"Yes, they used all sorts of drugs and implants, making our bones harder, increasing our muscle density, they even did something to our nerve endings to increase our reflexes... So, you too?"

"The Chozo, the aliens that raised me; they altered my DNA when I first went to live with them. I'm not sure of the effect it had on me, but I know one effect is that I can use that suit I wear. It won't even turn on for anyone else."

"Hmm...It looks really advanced. It can morph and dematerialize... I've never seen anything like it. Are things like that standard issue in the 32nd century?"

"No, it's one of a kind... At least now it is... The Chozo are all gone now... I'm the only one left that can use their technology."

"Where'd they all go?"

"Killed... by the Space Pirates"

"Wiped out? But judging from that suit they were incredibly advanced. How'd they fall?"

"There were advanced, the most advanced race in the galaxy in fact, but they had no warrior's instinct. They had the weaponry, but weren't well suited to using it in battle."

"That's where you come in, huh?"

"What?"

"They used you. Made you into a weapon; they couldn't fight so they trained you to... kind of... like I was."

"I never thought of it like that."

"So, These Space Pirates, they're a threat around here?"

"Yeah, the Federation is pretty much at war with them."

"Are these pirates the same ones that killed your parents?"

"Mm-hmm. That's... It's not something I'll ever forget... or forgive." Samus shrugged, "So I fight them... I hunt them... It seems I alone am destined to... And I'll keep fighting them... I'm the only one that can, the Federation isn't strong enough."

"We had something like that in my time. The Covenant as they were called. You ran into them earlier."

"Those things from before?"

"Yes. We Spartans were the only ones that could stand up to them, at least on our own. So... all that weight was placed on our shoulders--"

"Like you're some sort of savior; invincible, infallible. Doesn't matter if it's true, it's what people expect of you..." Samus spouted off quickly, almost sounding angry.

"R-right..." Nicole was again surprised by Samus finishing her thought. "So you take on the responsibility anyway, what else you can do."

"Nothing. You can't do anything but accept it. To ignore it would... the consequences would be terrible." Samus paused. "It consumes you, though. You become immersed in it. ...lose sight of everything else."

"It's all you ever think about sometimes... fighting... combat..."

"Yeah... it occupies your every thought; ways of improving your skills..."

"How to do this a little faster, how to do that a little smarter..."

"Working out in your head how much damage your armor can take before it gives out..."

"How many times can I get shot by a plasma rifle and still fight on."

"You spend all day devising tactics and strategies..."

"...and matching them to their respective opponents."

"Right, it doesn't leave any room upstairs for much else, no time for it either," Samus took a long pause, "No matter how much... you might want to."

"Mm... It's difficult... a difficult life we lead," Nicole said.

"No one ever promised me an easy life," Samus chuckled.

"Me either..."

"Constantly struggling..."

"...surrounded by violence... dealing in death..."

"...danger around every corner, not knowing if you live to see tomorrow."

"And... and there's the long quiet in between battles... that gets to you..."

"Mm hmm... It's lonely, days at a time with nothing but your own thoughts...

"Devoid of human... contact..." Nicole said, now noticing how close the two of them were sitting to each other.

"Mm... Though it's probably for the best. We wouldn't know how to interact with people anyway."

"Ha. No, we never learned things like that as kids. Wasn't part of standard training."

"We're more like machines than people anyway; just fulfill your function as efficiently as possible; completely the mission and move on to the next, nothing else matters."

"Nothing else..." Nicole repeated lazily, now distracted by Samus' figure.

"The armor helps in that regard. If you're a machine on the outside..." Samus said glancing up at Nicole.

"…It's easy to be one on the inside." Nicole looked up as well, and their eyes met.

"Exactly..." Samus said softly as she trailed off. "But still... it lingers... that..."

"That desire..." Nicole said swallowing the lump in her throat. "...for... human contact." Her eyes now fixated on Samus' lips.

"Ungh... And when the suit comes off... it's not... not so easy to ignore any longer."

"No, its not... but it's best to just... push those kinds of thoughts aside," Nicole said wistfully, her face now drifting unconsciously closer to Samus'.

"Y-yeah... No one needs that kind of trouble."

"Absolutely not..." Nicole said breathlessly, her eyes beginning to close as she got even closer to Samus.

"Uh... my uh... ship should be here soon." Samus said uncomfortably, she backed away and stood up. "I'll give you a lift back to the Federation; you can go where you want from there."

"Uh...t-thanks..." Nicole said a bit staggered herself, unsure of what had just transpired between them, or what had almost happened. She stood and shook her head, facing away from Samus. 'It's best to push those kinds of thoughts aside,' she reminded herself.

End Part Two

Chapter 3

Samus went to sit on one of the benches that littered the park-like enclosure. She sat and stretched her arms out over the back of the bench, leaned back and looked up at the stars through the clear dome. Nicole paced back and forth a few feet away, nervously tapping her fingers on her thigh. The tension in the air was obvious to both of them. Nicole stole a quick glance at Samus then looked away quickly as Samus looked to her then away herself. She bounced her knee while Nicole continued to pace.

"I um..." they said in unison then shut up as they realized the other was talking. But they both forgot what they were going to say and the uncomfortable silence continued on. Samus tilted her head back and closed her eyes trying to focus her thoughts elsewhere. Nicole however dwelled on it.

'What was it that just happened between us? Was I just imagining it or did she feel it too? She must have.' What to do? Should she say something? But what? She couldn't think of anything... she'd been alone for months and she had become unaccustomed to talking. She preferred action to words anyway. Nicole sat down on the bench next to her so that Samus' outstretched arm was behind her shoulders.

Samus' eyes snapped open and she looked to Nicole a bit. What was she doing!? Samus' heart skipped a few beats; she essentially had her arm around Nicole. What was this? Nicole smiled nervously at her then turned her head away and sat there for a bit, again tapping her fingers on her thigh. Then, finally working up the courage, she cautiously reached for Samus' hand that was over her shoulder; lightly just laying her fingers across the back of Samus' fingers at first, and then gently closing her hand around them. Samus turned her head away and froze; her entire body didn't move an inch, like she was a statue. She fought to control the trembling in the limb that Nicole held. Nicole now firmly took Samus' hand in hers, palm to palm. Samus turned to Nicole again, she looked desperately confused, even a little frightened. This, even the simplest of human contact, was clearly new territory for her. Nicole gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Forcibly suppressing her fear and apprehension Samus squeezed back. Nicole couldn't help but smile at the small accomplishment.

Nicole had only really intended it to go as far as that, however, what had started innocently enough quickly snowballed into something else, because Samus now found her arm unconsciously sliding off the back of the bench and around Nicole's shoulders. Almost immediately and without thought Nicole leaned over and rested her head on Samus' shoulder. Samus tensed up when she realized what had just happened; Nicole's soft, warm body rested against hers. She looked down at Nicole, feeling light headed. Nicole's loose brown hair obscured her face. Samus now inexplicably felt she absolutely needed to see her face. Her right hand came up to Nicole's head; and she ran her fingers slowly across her forehead, brushing aside the loose strands of hair, then allowed her hand to trail down the side of her face. Nicole looked up at her questioningly and her soft brown orbs met Samus' piercing azure gems; it was like they fell into a trap, unable to escape each other's gaze. Samus had never been this close to another person before. Why did she feel this way; not in control? Normally she was in complete control of her emotions; calm, cool, collected, some would even call her stone cold. But now she was a maelstrom in side; experiencing a spinning, swirling, dizzying sensation, staring at Nicole like that.

Samus drew closer and closer to Nicole, compelled by some irresistible force. She paused when she felt Nicole's breath on her, but only for a moment. With mouths slightly agape and eyes intently locked on each other, Samus nervously closed the remaining distance, and gingerly took Nicole's lower lip between her own lips, whilst Nicole took Samus' upper lip between hers. They pursed their lips together softly, held that position for but a second, then ever so slowly slid apart from one another, maintaining eye contact the entire time. With their faces still less than an inch apart Samus stared dumbfounded into Nicole's eyes, a flood of emotions she'd never felt before threatened to completely overwhelm her. Nicole was feeling quite flustered herself. Unable to take it any longer Samus pulled back and away; sliding to the end of the bench, she turned her back to Nicole.

"I... Sorry, I... I shouldn't have... I'm sorry." Samus spoke in a quiet, nervous voice.

"Don't apologize." Nicole slid up next to her again. She took Samus by the chin and turned her head around so they were facing each other again. "It's ok, don't be afraid." she spoke softly. Their eyes met again and Nicole leaned in for more, not content with that brief contact. Samus attempted to speak but was unable to force any air from her lungs. Nicole took Samus' hand in hers, and placed her other hand around the back of Samus' neck. "It's ok." Nicole repeated reassuringly as she drifted closer.

Samus had never been this nervous in her life; the anticipation of facing a horde of Space Pirates, or the prospect of plunging head first into a pool of boiling lava and trusting her suit would protect her somehow paled in comparison to this. Samus knew this was what 'normal' people did, and she was fairly sure she wanted to, but she still wasn't fully capable of accepting the reality of the fact that it was her doing these things and having these feelings. It was like it was something exclusively for those other 'normal' people and had no place in the life of someone like her.

That thought train was thoroughly derailed when Nicole finally kissed her again. Their lips meeting with the softest of pressure, kissing ever so slowly, both still very timid about the situation; Samus still deeply confused. She was attacked by a slew of new emotions that she didn't even have words for, as well as new physical sensations; her brain racing to incorporate, to understand it all. Yet at the same time she didn't want to think, to analyze, she just wanted to let it be. Those feelings that threatened to overwhelm her earlier finally did and she gave herself over to them. She leaned back against the bench, sighed softly and relaxed. Closing her eyes, she shut out the rest of the world, the only sensation was Nicole's lips on hers and the heart pounding in her chest. And for a moment that's all there was.

Though the moment then ended when Nicole's lips were no longer there. Samus opened her eyes and slowly came back to reality, she now heard the whooshing sound that had distracted Nicole. The airlock at the far end of the dome opened revealing her ship docked inside.

Samus stood from the bench now feeling a little embarrassed, she looked at Nicole with a nervous smile. "We, uh... we should... go now."

"Oh...all right..." Nicole sighed, disappointed. Why couldn't that ship have taken longer to get there?

"Need help carrying that?" Samus said referring to the pieces of Nicole's armor lying in a pile on the floor.

"Thanks." Nicole nodded.

They collected the bits of her armor, one by one tossing them into the ships top hatch. Samus jumped in the hatch first, Nicole jumped in after her. As she landed, instinctively, Samus partially caught her, with her arms winding up around Nicole's waist.

"Uh, thanks..." Nicole said.

"Yeah... no problem," Samus said uneasily as she released Nicole.

She climbed into the pilot's seat and lifted the ship off and left the station once and for all. She set course for the Federation's capital world and engaged the ship's autopilot. Since the pilot's seat was the only place to sit Nicole stood leaning against the wall, though she had to lean to the side a little and duck because the ceiling wasn't very high. A while passed in silence as Nicole stood there. They occasionally traded glances and timid smiles at each other. A long tense moment passed before finally Samus spoke.

"You don't have to stand. You'll get a crick in your neck."

"I'll be fine. Besides there's no place to--" Nicole didn't have a chance to finish as Samus had grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into her lap. Nicole was a little startled at first but she relaxed and accepted it. Samus hugged her from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder.

"This is... all right?" Samus asked.

Nicole turned her head to the side to face Samus. "Yeah... it's ok," she said and stared at Samus with those beautiful brown eyes of hers.

She couldn't resist that look Nicole gave her; Samus was drawn in and kissed her delicately once again. Nicole sighed softly and reached up behind Samus' head as she kissed back. At that point they really started to get into it; what was gentle and exploratory, more experimenting than anything else, quickly changed to something more passionate and intimate. Nicole pulled Samus by the back of the head, firmly pressing into her as they began deep open mouth kisses.

Nicole turned over, kneeling in the chair and straddling Samus. She held Samus' face gently between her hands, tilted her head up slightly and resumed kissing her passionately. Soon, wandering hands began groping, massaging, and slipping beneath clothing. Breaths became deep and labored, a thigh pressed against a place it shouldn't have, and kisses were not just on the lips any longer. Nicole started pulling Samus' top off.

"Wait." Samus said breathlessly, breaking their kiss. She put her hands on Nicole's shoulders and held her away a little. "What... what are we doing? This is... very sudden ...we hardly know each other."

Nicole looked down seeming to ponder this fact. "I've always lived life in the moment; I know... I can tell you're the same. For people like us... there might not always be a tomorrow." Samus timidly nodded in agreement, yet looked away not making eye contact. "You don't want to? ...it's ok... I get it..."

"I- I do... I do want to... it's just, well... I never... I've never done anything like this..." Her eyes cast downward, "It's pathetic, I know..." she sighed, "...I ...I hadn't even kissed anyone before."

Nicole smiled and caressed her face "I know... me neither... This is... It's all completely new to me too."

"You're kidding, right? You... you just seem so confident."

"Well I just know what I want."

"What-- what is it you want?"

"Right now... You."

Samus half smiled at that and allowed Nicole to start kissing her again, and this time when Nicole tried to remove her clothing Samus didn't object.

------

Nicole awoke to a beeping sound; where was she? She looked around still groggy... a ship? Suddenly she realized she was half naked. "What the..." She sat up in the bed... or was it a chair? Then she realized she wasn't the only one in the chair. She was sitting on top of another woman who also happened to be only partially clothed. "Uh..." Slowly the previous night's events came back to her as she became more alert. "Samus?" A smile crept across her face as she recalled all the things they had done. She looked out the ship's window to see where they were. The ship had set down on a landing pad beside a small structure. There were many other similar buildings scattered about the landscape, set amongst lush trees. On the horizon was an expansive cityscape of countless skyscrapers; ships formed endlessly flowing streams going to and from the city.

Nicole's stirring and the continued beeping woke Samus as well. "It's Kortalth, the Federation's capital world." Samus said, seeing Nicole looking out the window. She sat up and put her hand on Nicole's shoulder. "I live here. This is my house."

"Oh..."

"So... Nicole, what are you going to do now?"

"I guess I don't really know."

"I mean this is a whole new world for you."

"Yeah..."

"Everyone you knew and everything you were part of is long since gone. So... where will you go? How will you live?"

"I guess I'll... find something... start over. Maybe I'll do what you do. It's probably all I'm cutout for anyway."

"You'd be good at it... uh... It could take sometime to get started with that. What will you do till then?"

"Hmm... I'll be alright. You don't have to worry about me."

"Well, you can... stay here if you want."

"Hey, listen..." Nicole slid Samus' hand off her shoulder and scooted off of her and onto the edge of the chair. "...about last night... It was great but--"

"Yeah, no, it's ok, I get it. It was what it was, but that's all, nothing more." Samus said quickly with a nervous vibration in her voice, while scratching the back of her neck.

"Right, let's not make anything out of it that it wasn't. Ok?"

"I know. I wasn't... I didn't mean anything like that... uh..." Samus said glancing to the side. "It's just that you have no place to go really, no job, no money, so... just stay here until you get yourself together, that's all, ...just a temporary thing."

Nicole still seemed unsure.

"I'm not even here that much." Samus added a bit hastily. "I live on this ship mostly."

Nicole seemed to think it over some then finally relented. "Just a temporary thing," she said nodding her acceptance. She really did have no place to go after all.

Samus showed Nicole in, and gave her the tour of the place, if it could be called a tour that is; the house was fairly small. The front door opened onto the kitchen, which served as a hallway of sorts to the rest of the house. Beyond that was a single room, with a bed in one corner and a desk and computer in the other. On the far wall was the door to the bathroom. There was a large bay window by the bed with a view of the city.

"Hmm... It suits you," Nicole commented.

"Eh... It's not much I know. I'd get a bigger place but I don't even use this one that much to begin with. ...Uh... I have to go out again, I'll be back tonight. Use whatever you need."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to report back to the Federation what I found to complete my job... I..." Samus paused, apparently thinking something over. "It'll probably be alright, but they might want to question you... I don't know, they could make trouble for you, but maybe not. Just be aware of the possibility."

"Oh... yeah ok. Thanks."

"I... I could not tell them about you."

"No. You don't have to--"

"Right, yeah. That was stupid. I don't know why I said that... I'll see you later."

"Mmh..." Nicole nodded.

And with that Samus was out the door.

Nicole sighed. 'Inviting me to live with her, offering to lie to protect me... I hope she isn't getting any funny ideas... This was probably a mistake.'

End Part Three

Chapter 4

[Author's notes: All right. Last chapter here. I realize now that this was probably way to short for this kind of story. But I had only intended to write a one shot in the first place, it's just that it grew too long and I had to split it up into four. Any way I hope you enjoy the conclusion of Soul Mates.
-]

-
When Samus got back late that night she found Nicole's armor on the floor in pieces, apparently she had been attempting to repair it. Nicole herself was asleep in the computer chair so she was all scrunched up and looked terribly uncomfortable. Samus nudged her awake.

"Huh... what... what is it?" Nicole said groggily.

"What are you doing?"

"What? What did... I do? You said use... use what I need... Did I do something wro--"

"Why are you sleeping in that thing?"

"I didn't... know where else--"

"Sleep on the bed."

"Ugh... what... what about... you?" Nicole muttered, still half asleep.

"Like it matters at this point... after what we did."

"Uh... ok..." Nicole said as she stumbled out of the chair.

Nicole had been sitting with her legs folded beneath her, so they had fallen asleep, and she fell when she tried to stand from the chair. Samus caught her in her arms before she went down. They were face to face once again; Samus gazed at her, then closed her eyes, and slowly moved to kiss her. But apparently she moved too slowly; Nicole was sound asleep on her shoulder now. Samus sighed then dragged Nicole over to the bed and laid her in it, then climbed in herself and went to sleep.

Later that night Nicole awoke to find herself in the bed with Samus sleeping sprawled out next to her, and was a bit confused as to how she got there. She stared at Samus sleeping, listening to the sound of her breath, watching her lungs rise and fall; she got a soft expression on her face. She saw Samus' hand outstretched on the bed, palm up, and decided to take it. That was how this all began, holding her hand... She smiled and drifted back to sleep again.

Not too long after Samus awoke and attempted to roll on to her side but found her arm caught and discovered Nicole hanging onto her hand. She looked curiously at her. Nicole had such a soft and gentle looking face; one would hardly expect her to be the battle hardened soldier that she was. Samus slid up next to her and rolled onto her side like she had intended, though now pulling Nicole's arm around her in the process.

------

For the following few months the two of them lived there together. For Nicole it was a time of change; she no longer was in the employ of the UNSC, she worked for herself now. Taking after Samus she took up bounty hunting for a living, once she had repaired her armor. She mostly just tracked down small time criminals on Kortalth. She spent her days looking for bounty heads in the police databases, which she accessed from Samus' computer, attempting to get enough recognition to where she could get bigger jobs like Samus got so she could support herself, and eventually be able to leave and strike out on her own; as was their agreement when she first started staying here.

For Samus however not much changed. She still didn't spend much time there, only now when she was home Nicole was there. Her favorite activity was still to mope about the house like usual, only now Nicole was there, and she didn't have to mope alone. She still showered right away when coming back from a long mission, only now sometimes Nicole was in there too. She still slept in her bed at odd hours, only now Nicole was there as well, the two of them engaging in the occasional lurid escapade, satisfying each others' more base desires. Life was pretty much exactly the same for Samus, only now Nicole was there.

One night, however, something was different.

Nicole was laying in bed reading when she heard the front door open and close and then Samus came walking down the hall/kitchen. She had been away for a few weeks on a long job. Nicole sat up when she saw her and right away could sense something was wrong. It wasn't anything in particular, just minute changes in Samus' body language. Samus glanced at her but their eyes never met.

"Uh... hey Nicky," she muttered out of habit then walked past her straight into the bathroom.

"Hey Sammy," Nicole said cautiously.

They had taken to calling each other Sammy and Nicky at some point during the past few months, but neither was sure when or why it happened. Nicole sighed and laid back down as she heard Samus turn the shower on. Nicole thought about joining her in there; it had been a few weeks now and she had been getting restless and desired release. Though she decided against it based on Samus' mood. Samus was always moody and brooding, it was just her nature, but this was different somehow. When she came out of the shower she walked over and sat on the edge of the bed and just stared blankly into space.

Nicole slid up and hugged her from behind. "Something wrong?"

Samus didn't answer though. She just turned to Nicole giving her an odd look, then pushed Nicole down to the bed, fell on top of her, and started with their usual routine. Neither of them were timid about physical intimacy any longer, however that night as they made love Nicole could again sense something was amiss. Samus just wasn't into it this time; her body was doing all the right things but it seemed like her mind was elsewhere. Nicole wanted to question her about it but she had no idea how. She had no experience talking about such things in the context of a relationship and was very insecure about even bringing the subject up. She wouldn't know how to ask or what to say once the conversation had been started. She thought it would be better to let Samus tell her on her own.

-----

Later that night Nicole awoke suddenly. She was usually up at this time anyway, so she wasn't really tired. She only went to sleep because Samus had been on a different cycle when she was away off planet. She looked over to Samus sleeping next to her. What had been bothering her? Nicole caressed Samus' arm lightly then leaned over and kissed her softly before climbing out of bed, being careful not to wake her. She went over to the computer and flicked it on; the holographic screens appearing in the air in front of her. She logged on to the Galactic Federation Police's criminal database and began looking for potential bounty heads. She still had to actively search out work in this manner, as she hadn't made a name for herself yet as Samus had.

Out of curiosity she opened Samus' inbox. Fourteen job offers lined up and ready to accept, and most were from the government: Terrorist situation on Galvana III; Illegal arms traffickers in the Kapocii sector; Space Pirate activity near the galactic core; Prison transport ship taken over by escaped inmates; Protection duty for a biological research team on SR-388; the list went on and on. And the bids were astronomical; people were willing to pay a small fortune for her services. Nicole knew she could do all those things as well; it was just that no one was willing to pay a complete unknown like her for such big jobs.

"Hmm... I think I'll do that protection job next; sounds like easy money." Samus said from behind her.

"Oh! Sammy! I uh... sorry. I didn't mean to pry, I just..."

"It's fine, I don't care." From her tone Nicole could tell that the something from earlier was still bothering her. Samus glanced at her screen then back to Nicole "You know... I could recommend you. If you want to do stuff like that. They'd probably listen to me."

"No... That's ok. I... I don't need help."

Samus leaned over her and closed her inbox, revealing the search Nicole had been running before. "We agreed... just... just until you get on your feet..." Samus said with a sigh.

'Is that what this is about? I've been here forever... her patience must really be wearing thin. You really want me gone?' "Sorry it's taken so long."

"How... how much longer do you think.?"

'She's really irritated... I'm such an idiot... How could I have thought that we...that she and I could be...uhh... we're just not those kinds of people. I knew this was a mistake.' She sighed. "I just need a week, maybe less."

Samus sighed heavily then reached over and shut off the computer.

"Hey."

"Would it be so horrible if you stayed here? Do you really find me unpleasant to be around? Are you that anxious to leave?"

"Sammy?" Those comments were entirely unexpected from Samus. Nicole spun the chair around to face her as Samus knelt on the floor in front of her.

"I see you searching... every day searching on that computer... looking... for a way out. All the time you're looking for a way... to get away from me."

"No, Sammy, I--"

"You have nowhere to go..." Samus ranted on, talking over Nicole "…no military to take orders from, no obligations to fulfill, no family to go back to... You have no one... I... I have no one..."

"Sammy, listen--"

"I've been alone my whole life..." Samus continued on, "I can live like that if I had to... but I'm tired of being alone... I don't..." She took Nicole's hands in hers. "I don't want to live like that anymore. These last three months... they... they've been..." Samus trailed off, unsure how to put words to what she felt.

Nicole still got her meaning though, she smiled and nodded. "I know."

"See? You get me. You understand me, better than anyone... Better than anyone ever could... And," Samus slowed her speech and looked to the side, "I... well I... I feel safe with you..."

"Safe?" Nicole found that last statement odd coming from someone like Samus.

"I... I want to be able to just relax, not be on edge all the time, and not worry... about what would happen if I let my guard down, about all the ...the bogeymen out there..." She trailed off getting a bit quiet. "I can feel that way when I'm with you."

"Sammy... Samus, where's this all coming from?"

"...I uh," she sighed. "...I stare death in the face all the time. It's never fazed me once. But this last mission... I had a close call... and I... I got scared... I was afraid... afraid to die, for the first time I can remember..." Her voice was very emotional. "This time... this time I had something to lose; I had something... someone... to live for." There were tears in her eyes as she spoke. "In that moment... the only thoughts in my mind were of you." She laid her head in Nicole's lap and put her arms around her waist. "I... I can't lose you Nicky. I love you." She squeezed Nicole and took a deep wavering breath. "...and that's not something I ever thought I'd say ...to anyone ...so ...I don't say it lightly."

Nicole put her hands on Samus' shoulders, and spoke softly. "We both said... right from the beginning, this was temporary... not to make more out of it than it was." Samus looked up, distraught at those words. "But..." Nicole continued. She smiled and ran her thumb over Samus' cheek wiping her tears away. "...things have changed since then. Things have changed... between us. We've changed." Samus looked questioningly at her. Nicole slid off the chair and knelt with Samus. "I'm sorry I didn't make it clear to you before, I... I thought it was understood... I love you too. And I'm not going anywhere, not if you don't want me to."

Samus looked into her eyes. "Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise." Nicole said, pulling her into a hug.

Samus let herself be enveloped by Nicole's warmth, curling up in her embrace. She'd never felt this way before; trusting in someone else so completely and giving herself over to them; it was in total contrast to how she lived her entire life up to this point... and she was relishing it. Samus allowed herself to go completely limp, letting Nicole support her entirely, her physical state matching her emotional one. This caused Nicole to lose her balance and they slowly tipped over so they were lying on their sides on the floor. Nicole held Samus to her, kissing her cheek and neck over and over.

"You meant what you said earlier..." Nicole said after a while. "...that stuff about understanding you and feeling safe with me?"

"Yes..."

"Tell me again...tell me how you can be at ease and not worry... I... I liked that part."

Samus smiled and hugged her tighter. "I... I've always been the strong one, the warrior, the protector... the one who is expected to be responsible for handling everything... always the one to carry that weight on her shoulders... it gets so heavy... I... don't want to be that person all the time."

"You don't have to."

"I want to feel safe and protected for once... I've never had that... except when I'm with you... you're the only one who's strong enough."

Nicole stroked her hair. "I'm pretty sure you're stronger than me," she said with a soft smile.

"That doesn't matter... you're the only one... you could face my demons without faltering. No one else could... I can rely on you." Samus suddenly became concerned at how that might have sounded. "But I'd never do that to you! I'd never put that huge burden on you. I'm just... I mean...It's nice to know you're there...that's all."

Nicole smiled "I wouldn't mind if you did..." Nicole said as she cupped Samus' cheek in her hands and touched foreheads with her. "If it was for you... I wouldn't mind at all. That's a battle I'd gladly fight..."

Samus gazed at her in amazement as tears ran from her eyes. If it was possible she fell even more in love with Nicole. Samus kissed her tenderly then buried her face in her chest, crying softly, silently.

"Hey... what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Samus shook her head "...nothing at all." She looked up at Nicole smiling, then kissed and hugged her again and stayed that way for a long while.

"You hungry? Let's go out." Samus finally spoke after the long silence.

"This is new; you never want to go out." Nicole looked at her inquisitively "And besides, it's the middle of the night, nothing's open."

"I know a place."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah... in the city."

Nicole nodded and smiled "Ok, yeah... I'd like that."

-----

They called for and air cab to take them into the city. They couldn't help but be a little affectionate with each other in the back seat of the cab, much to the distraction of the driver. Nicole noticed as they approached their destination that it was in one of the worst parts of town, known for its high crime rate. In fact she'd collared many bounties in this very area.

"I take it this isn't one of the nicer restaurants around."

"I suppose not..." Samus said coyly.

They arrived and paid the driver then walked into the place. It was a dark and smoke filled bar at the end of a dead end street. "Aren't there any better places than this we could have gone?" Nicole questioned.

"Probably..."

"Hmm…" Nicole mused. 'Something's up.'

They sat and ate at a table in the back of the bar. The food wasn't bad but wasn't particularly good either. Samus didn't say much the entire time, she just kept looking around the room like she was searching for something. When they left Samus looked to the sky then to Nicole and gave her an unusual half smile.

"It's a nice night, why don't we walk back?"

"It's kind of far, you sure?" Samus just nodded in response and started walking. By now Nicole was more than a bit curious at Samus' odd behavior.

As they walked, Samus lead the way and took a meandering path, instead of walking straight out of the city. Nicole was now dying to know what Samus was doing. She was going to say something but decided to just observe for now. Suddenly Samus started walking at a very brisk pace and crossed to the other side of the street getting a bit ahead of Nicole.

"Hey..." Nicole called after her. She crossed the street as well and then noticed some people up ahead; three unsavory looking guys, basically street thugs. In fact Nicole had seen them around before; this was their turf. Definitely the criminal element, though they didn't have prices on their heads so she'd left them alone in the past. But now Samus was walking right in the midst of them.

As Samus approached they immediately took notice, chatted amongst themselves briefly, then the three of them stepped out to completely block the sidewalk. Samus tried to step around them but they wouldn't allow it, getting in her way again.

"Hey babe, where you going in such a hurry, stay and keep us company," they taunted her.

Nicole at that point expected them to at best wind up in the hospital. They were going to get it now, she thought, they had no idea who they were harassing. But Samus didn't do anything to them, she just stood, looking down at her feet timidly.

"Hey what's wrong with you? You ignoring us? That's not very polite," the lead thug said then shoved her, once, then twice, pushing her back up against the wall. He put his hand on the wall just over her shoulder and leaned over her, blocking her escape. She just turned her head, refusing to make eye contact, and acting very docile.

'Hey, what the hell!' Nicole glared as she caught up to them. What was she doing?

"Hey look, another one," one of the sidekick thugs commented on seeing Nicole. Their stupid grins widened thinking they'd won the lottery. Two of the thugs turned their attention to Nicole. "You want to join our party too?" they said as they blocked her approached.

Nicole ignored them, looking past to where Samus was. 'What's wrong, what's she doing?' Samus raised her eyes to look only at Nicole with the most incredible sense of longing in them. 'What? ...what's that look supposed to mean?' Though her bewilderment gave way to rage when the lead thug started touching Samus in inappropriate places. "Hey!" She shouted. "Get your goddamn hands off my girl!" Almost at the same time, she kicked the thug to her left in the knee cap, bending his leg the wrong way, and grabbed the one to her right by the arm and flipped him over her shoulder, dropping him on his head.

"What the..." The lead thug turned to see his flunkies fallen to the ground. He pulled out a knife but Nicole was on him before he could get a solid grip on it and it was knocked from his hand. She kneed him in the groin, repayment for touching Samus, and as he went down she drove her elbow into his face, breaking his nose.

"Samus! What the hell? What were you thinking?"

Samus grabbed onto Nicole's arm and leaned against her, resting her head on her shoulder. "You saved me... thank you." She said softly.

Nicole sighed in frustration. "Sammy, you idiot." She put her arm around Samus and pulled her close. "Was that what this was about?"

Samus nodded.

"What's wrong, huh? You didn't believe me? That's what this whole night was for? You had to... put me to the test?"

"NO! No, that's not... I... I just wanted... I wanted to be protected by you... I wanted to know what it felt like... just this once. Are... are you mad?"

"No..." Nicole shook her head "No. It's ok... It was just kind of a dumb thing to do. What if you were hurt?"

"I'm Sorry. But... I knew you wouldn't let that happen. Besides I wouldn't let things get that far." Samus glanced back at the fallen ruffians. "They're lucky you did step in, I wouldn't have been so gentle about it."

Nicole sighed heavily and shook her head. "You're something else you know that... Come on, let's just go home now."

"Home..." Samus looked longingly at Nicole. "Our home?"

"Uh-... yeah..." Nicole smiled. "Yeah, our home."

Samus sighed and closed her eyes, she clung to Nicole's arm as they started to walk off.

"You know... when you yelled at them to take their hands off me... and you called me your girl... well it... it felt really good."

Nicole smiled. "It felt nice saying it too."

"Mm... Nicky?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you want to do when we get home?"

"Hmm...I can think of a few thi-- uh!"

The rapidly increasing high pitch squeal of a blaster charging up was the only warning they had; they both recognized the sound instantly. One of the thugs apparently was armed and was not too happy with the beating he received. Samus spun around placing herself in front of Nicole just as the shot rang out, striking her in the chest.

"Samus!" Nicole called out horrified.

Fortunately, from the moment she heard the gun charging she instinctively had begun materializing her armor. The bastard had just tried to shoot Nicole in the back, Samus wasn't about to let that slide. Her outstretched arm was already aimed at him as the cannon materialized over it. And when she fired, with a deathly cold stare, she was looking him square in the eye.

End

Chapter 5

[Author's notes: Since a lot of people have been pestering me with requests to continue this, I present you this:]

OK, since a lot of people have been pestering me with requests to continue this, I present you this:

Soul Mates: Anniversary

--x--

In the pale blue light that came in through the window from the city on the horizon, Samus sat on a chair by her bed. With a heavy heart she watched over the sleeping form resting within, wondering if this was reality or a dream. If she climbed back into bed would she be alone again when she woke up in the morning? She wasn't sure why it bothered her so much; she'd been alone her whole life, so it shouldn't be any big deal. But the loneliness she had experienced after knowing what it was like to be with someone was far worse. It was a crushing, inescapable feeling.

She remembered the day that feeling began like it was yesterday even though it was six months prior. She had come home, not from a long job, but from a twenty-minuet run to get some food, only to find her tiny house suddenly felt much larger. Now empty, this hovel of a home was far too big for her alone, she felt almost lost in it. Nicole was no longer there.

The only evidence she'd ever been there was the note left on her pillow. "I'm sorry" was all it said. And even though it hurt like nothing else she ever experienced, Samus wasn't surprised. Things weren't as simple as just declaring their love for each other. Managing a relationship turned out to be a difficult thing, which neither was prepared for. They certainly had their fair share of problems. Things were complicated by that fact that neither of them were home much; bounty hunting took up long stretches of time, especially for Samus.

Nicole's initial concern turned out to be well founded; the type of people they were, while very compatible with each other, simply weren't compatible to living like that. Though they lasted a lot longer than either expected, Nicole had stuck around for five months after they first met, two months after they realized they loved each other. That was a generous period of time, Samus thought. She should feel lucky they had that much at least.

Samus took a deep breath, and sighed out slowly. If this was a dream she didn't want to wake. She reached down and ran her hand through the sleeping woman's shoulder length, light-brown hair.

"You really came back to me," she whispered, half asking, half making a statement. Of course there was no response.

Nicole had come back into her life just as suddenly and in a similar fashion to how she had left. Earlier that day, Samus headed out to restock on food. When she opened the front door Nicole was there again. Just like that.

She stood there facing Samus, not two feet away, looking exactly the same as the day she left, exactly how Samus remembered her. She wouldn't look Samus in the eye though. And it seemed like an eternity before either of them spoke.

"How long have you been there?" Samus asked finally.

"A while..." Nicole sounded sad. "I couldn't bring myself to knock," she said, and the silence continued for a second eternity as Samus just stared at her blankly. Why wouldn't she say anything?

Nicole bit her lower lip and looked contemplatively at Samus. Why did she come back? What was she thinking? This was probably a mistake. Nicole could feel her eyes moisten... no! She wouldn't cry! She was a SPARTAN, she was stronger than that.

"I'm sorry," she choked out finally.

Samus winced, then hung her head and turned around, heading back inside. "You said that already."

This was definitely a mistake. Nicole had to fight not to completely break down.

"Well... come in already," Samus said flatly.

"Uh, r-right... okay." Nicole swallowed the lump in her throat and walked back through the door she'd walked out of six months ago.

"Want something to drink?"

"Thanks..." Nicole said. Samus had never heard her sound so disheartened before.

She got them a couple of drinks from the refrigerator and handed one to Nicole. "So... what have you been up to?" Samus said as she sat at the counter.

Nicole followed suit, sitting as well. "The same... hunting. You?"

"Same. You got yourself a place now?"

"Uh... well... it's mostly been motels. I move around a lot."

"Oh..." Samus responded and took another long pause. "Where's your armor?"

"Rented storage. It's cheaper, more secure than most places." Nicole said. The silence returned as Samus only stared at her again. Unable to take the silence she continued the meaningless conversation. "I've been modifying it. Making upgrades using federation technology. The shields are stronger now, and I improved the..." she trailed off, and sighed. "Samus, I--"

"I know why you left." Samus interrupted. "I might have too... This... domestic life just doesn't suit us."

"What?" Nicole talked on top of her.

"I'm sure you felt so confined here, held back, limited... maybe like you were dependent on me." Samus continued.

"N-no... Samus... You're wrong, that wasn't it at all," Nicole said shaking her head. "Samus I... I worry about you. I know it's ridiculous but I do. I've lost people in combat before. It's terrible, but we all know the risks and accept it. But..." Nicole sighed and stared at her glass.

"I- I couldn't accept it if something happened to you," she said and glanced at Samus.

Samus still only stared blankly at her.

"What we do is dangerous... so dangerous. And I know you. You- well I know you're a better warrior than me... but... you're reckless... You take unnecessary risks and endanger yourself needlessly. Every time you went out on a job..."

She again looked to Samus to see if she would give any sign of what she was feeling. Nothing.

"Sometimes... sometimes I worry so much I make myself sick. Actually, physically sick. Waiting here at home for days, sometimes a week, not knowing if you'd ever come back. I couldn't take it. I'm used to doing something about things like that. But what could I do? I could never follow you; I could never keep up with you. I thought if I left, if I distanced myself from you..."

Nicole took a deep breath. Suddenly becoming aware of how dry her mouth was, she took a drink from her glass.

"I was okay for a while... but I... I ended up only worrying more in the end... and not just about you're safety but about... you. How you... felt about the whole thing... and... ugh..."

Samus still stared at her, with her typically impossible to read expression. At least she hadn't changed any.

"I'm sorry--"

"Stop saying that," Samus snapped.

Nicole recoiled a bit. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "You probably hate me now... I understand." She stood and sighed. Samus looked down at her glass and said nothing. Nodding, Nicole turned and walked away.

"I did... I did hate you..." Samus said softly "...for about an hour. Then... then I just missed you."

Nicole turned to face her again and Samus stood from the counter.

"I missed you so badly," she continued. "And I worried about you too. Every night I went to sleep and I couldn't hold you and know how you were doing, I'd worry too! I'd worry if you were taking care of yourself, did you have a place to sleep, were you earning enough to support yourself, were you...were you still alive... If something happened to you... I couldn't accept it either."

Nicole ran up to her but stopped short of trying to hug her like she desperately wanted to. She wasn't sure where things stood between them, but Samus answered that when she hugged Nicole first. The blond let out a single sob as she rested her head on the other woman's shoulder.

Nicole put her arms around the huntress and squeezed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't." Samus shook her head. "Don't say that to me."

"But I--"

"It's what you said...what you wrote that day," Samus mumbled into her shoulder. "I hate hearing those words now. It just reminds me of then."

"I... I won't then. Just... I never meant to hurt you."

"You did," Samus said sadly.

"I'm s-- I feel terrible about that."

"Why didn't you just tell me all this instead of running away?"

"Yeah right." Nicole huffed. "How could I? How could I possibly say something like that? How could I tell you, the Great Samus Aran, than I'm worried you aren't good enough and might screw up and get hurt? Who the hell am I to criticize you?"

"The Great Samus Aran?" Samus shook her head. "I'm not that person... not with you. I'm just Sammy... your Sammy."

"Samus..." Nicole hesitated. She wanted to apologize desperately, but knew she couldn't. "Where do we... where do we stand? I mean, are you and I--"

"Why did you come back?" Samus cut her off. "What are you expecting? Would you want me to change? To quit? To not be a hunter any more?"

"Well..."

"I wouldn't know what else to do with myself. This is all I know. And I can't change the way I fight. You say I'm reckless, but I only do what I think is best; what ever I think is the best course of action. I wouldn't even know how to begin to change that." She pulled back to look Nicole in the eyes. "Are you okay with all that?"

Nicole was silent for a moment before answering. "I... I am," she said hesitantly. "I wouldn't want you to change who you are."

"Then stay... Stay with me. Please."

"Mmm... " Nicole nodded. "If I'm close to you, if I can keep an eye on you... well then maybe I won't worry so much."

Samus wiped the tears from her eyes and took another long look at Nicole who was sleeping peacefully. She lay on her stomach with the sheets only half covering her. Samus observed the lines of her back change ever so slightly with the rise and fall of her lungs. Skin highlighted by the gentle blue glow form the city had an ethereal quality to it. She again ran her fingers through the other woman's hair. Enticed by the vision of beauty, she let her hand trail all the way down her back, enjoying once again the feel of warm skin instead of cold, empty bed sheets. She had missed this terribly.

Samus climbed back into bed and snuggled up against her lover, kissed Nicole on the forehead and put her arm around her bare shoulders. "You really did come back," she whispered again. This couldn't be a dream, her dreams were only ever nightmares, terrors from her past; she never had pleasant ones so this must be real.

--x--

The two picked up where they had left off and things returned to pretty much normal for them. However it was about a month later, when Samus came home from a short stint of hunting that something was unusual. She landed her ship and entered the house. Calling out to Nicole didn't get her an answer, and she though she mustn't be home. She went in to the bathroom for a shower, as was her custom after coming home from a job. She wanted to wash off the literal and figurative filth from her work.

When she entered the bathroom she was pounced on by Nicole, who wasted no time or words in making her intentions known. Their clothes hit the floor in a frenzy as they stumbled into the shower, limbs and tongues intertwined. It wasn't unusual for them to make love in the shower, however the level of enthusiasm and passion Nicole displayed was. She pinned Samus against the back wall of the shower and practically assaulted her with kisses and ministrations. When it was over she left the huntress a shaking wreck, slowly sliding down the wall until she was sitting, and left the room without a word having been spoken between them.

Normally they were equal partners, but this time it was apparently all about her. Samus wasn't selfish; Nicole simply never left her a chance to respond. The former solider had clearly won this round. She achieved her objective with professional level efficiency and escaped without the enemy having fired a shot.

When Samus got out of the shower Nicole was already dry and dressed, and had one of the huntress's outfits in hand. Nicole snatched the towel off of her, tossing it to the floor.

"Hurry and get dressed," she said and handed Samus half the articles of clothing, then started dressing her in the other half on her own.

"Why? What's going on?" Samus asked cautiously as Nicole fastened her bra for her.

"I have something I want to show you."

She had them board Samus' ship and take off. Nicole gave her a set of coordinates a few light-minuets away and they were off.

"Want to tell me where we're going?" Samus was now more than intrigued; Nicole wasn't usually one to play games like this.

"It's a surprise."

Nicole stood behind the pilot's seat, playing with Samus' hair and occasionally nibbling on her ear or neck. It only took them a few minuets to get where they were going, but when they approached their destination something suddenly blinded Samus. Nicole had wrapped a small cloth over her face so she couldn't see.

"Nicky! What are you doing!?" Samus said quite alarmed.

"Don't worry, I've got the controls. We won't crash." She slipped her hand into Samus' and squeezed. "You trust me, right?"

Of course she did; with her very life. It didn't need to be said; she only squeezed Nicole's hand back. She slouched in her chair as a wave relaxation washed over her. This was why she loved Nicole; no one else was capable of making her feel like this.

They set down somewhere and Samus heard the alarm that signaled external pressurization. They must have entered an air lock.

"Let's go." Nicole led her by the hand as they exited the ship through the top hatch. As they stood atop the ship Nicole suddenly grabbed Samus and lifted her up, catching her up from under her shoulders and beneath the knees. "It not safe to jump down if you can't see," she explained.

With her girlfriend cradled in her arms, Nicole leaped to the ground and started walking. Samus could hear a set of doors hiss and slide open.

"You can set me down, I can walk now," Samus complained, though she didn't mind it one bit.

"Hmm..." Nicole hummed and gave her a kiss on the cheek "I could... but I don't want to."

Nicole carried her a short distance more and eventually set her on her feet. "Sit down," she said.

Samus felt around behind her and found there was a solid object there. As she sat down she asked, "Can I take this off now?"

"In a while." Nicole said and sat beside her. Samus could feel her hair being played with. "First, can you guess what today is?"

"Tuesday?"

"Guess again..." Nicole said softly, and Samus felt fingers run up the length of her arm.

"The eighteenth?"

"Sorry..." Nicole whispered in her ear, then there were lips on her neck.

Samus quivered, every touch was a surprise and the sensations were heightened in her sightless state.

"Is it your birthday?"

"That's not it."

Her face was caressed and a thumb ran delicately across her lips.

"Is it mine?" Samus asked, now completely at a loss.

"No, but I did get you a present."

"Well, I don't know then."

Nicole leaned up against Samus and put her head on her shoulder. "Exactly one year ago today..." she said as she began to remove the blindfold from Samus' eyes. "We met for the first time." Nicole drew her close as her eyes were uncovered. "And you kissed me... just... like... this," she said as their lips met in one of their softest kisses since that day; though this one lasted far longer.

Samus' eyes were wide with surprise as she realized; Nicole was reenacting their first time together. She quickly melted into the moment, wrapping her arms around her lover. This was almost perfect; now if only they were... wait a minuet... Samus' eyes darted from side to side, taking in her surroundings. Her mouth had forgotten to continue kissing.

Nicole couldn't help but grin as their lips parted, realizing what Samus had noticed. "Like it?"

"This place is..."

"Where we met." Nicole finished her sentence.

They were sitting on a bench is a small park under a glass dome roof with a view of the stars. "You... you recreated it... We're in a holo-room? I had no idea you could be so romantic."

"Well I'm not really. I saw it in a movie," Nicole admitted. "The blindfold, the reenactment, all of it. I just thought it would be a good idea to try. But this place isn't an illusion. Something much better..."

"What do you mean?"

"It's the real thing."

"Real? This is the actual module from that station? But how did..."

"It wasn't easy," Nicole explained, "but I eventually tracked it down. Once the Federation was done examining it they were just going to scrap it for materials. They were going to tear it apart! But I bought it... it's ours now. We can come here anytime we want."

"Bought it... How did you afford this... even if it was just going to be scrap?"

"You don't think I only lived out of motels these past months because that was all I could afford?" Nicole asked.

"You were saving for this? All that time?"

"I was saving, but I didn't expect to buy this. I just... I don't know... I couldn't bring myself to settle someplace else. My home was... even when we were apart, it was always with you."

"Oh... Nicole," Samus sighed. She laid her hand on Nicole's cheek and stared into her eyes with a soft smile. Their lips met once more, and Samus maneuvered Nicole on to her back so they were lying on the bench.

"We've come a long way since then, haven't we?" Samus asked, tucking a strand of Nicole's hair behind her ear.

"Mm-hmm," Nicole nodded. "This place sure brings back those times. Remember?"

"I can never forget."

"We were so timid and nervous with each other then," Nicole said, blushing as she remembered.

"That's not how I remember," Samus disputed. "I was nervous... you... you always seem so much more confident than me."

"I was nervous too... I guess I just suppress it better. In the military they teach you to hide your fear during basic." Nicole said, kissing Samus again briefly. "You never answered my question."

"Hmm?"

"Do you like it? Your present?"

Samus nodded, "I love it... I love you." She brought herself down on Nicole with renewed passion, and soon found her hands wandering of their own accord. Her touch was deceptively soft, Nicole never saw it coming when she...

"Samus!?" Nicole gasped.

The huntress smirked and let a small chuckle escape her throat. "You thought your little sneak attack in the shower would go unanswered? I have a score to settle." Nicole saw that warrior's instinct flash in her eyes; a look she infrequently saw, a look that even scared her a little. "You'd better be prepared; I won't be taken lightly."

End

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5