The Energon Pub

"The G.F.S. Olympus, 3 hours after the incident on SR388."

Maximus walked slowly into the Aurora Unit chamber for trial. It had been some time since the mission on SR388, in which he had lost his entire team, which consisted of all of his closest friends, and the mission itself was incomplete. Admiral Dane had told him about the inconceivable amount of casualties before he left for the planet; he specifically told him that the Federation could not tolerate any more losses, let alone the best Elite Squad in the entire Marine Corp. Maximus was told to protect his squad, and he failed. His orders were to destroy the two generators in the Pirates' base, and he failed. He was supposed to gather as much Intel as possible, and he failed. According to detailed tactical scans that the Olympus performed, the interior of the Pirate base was designed to block transmissions that were not of Pirate origin, in the case that an enemy should ever manage to make it inside the facility. The Pirates were prepared, thought Maximus.

Kolan stood before the large cylinder-like tank, with several council members of the Federation, including Chairman Keaton and Admiral Dane. They were standing on the high walkways above the tank, with their eyes on Maximus. Soon, the fluids in the tank began to clear, revealing the Aurora Unit, 242, which began to speak, "Welcome Maximus Kolan, you are here because of the failure of your mission, as well as losing the rest of your squad." Maximus' gaze lowered to the floor, with great sorrow in his eyes. "As Admiral Dane has told you, the Federation Marine Corp. has lost an exponential amount of lives, and that you could not let your team be killed. Is there anything you have to say for yourself?" "I do not. I had my team split up, which was apparently not a good idea, and it played a key role in my team's demise. I don't deserve to lead another team again." Chairman Keaton spoke up; "You realize now that the Federation is at a severe disadvantage against the Pirate forces now, do you not?" "Yes, your honor." "The Federation is low on numbers right now, and we haven't many Elite Squads left, as well as troopers and officers. If it weren't for Samus Aran, we wouldn't have a chance against the Pirates anymore." The green alien stated. 242 spoke again, "The generators of the Pirate facility were not destroyed, and the information you gathered and attempted to send us was terminated mid-transmission. You failed your mission, and couldn't keep your team alive." Maximus looked up at the Aurora Unit, "Maximus Kolan, you are banned from the Galactic Federation Marine Corp. You are to gather your belongings and leave the Olympus, you have disgraced the Marine Corp. Therefore you will no longer be able to dock with us again. Is that understood?" Maximus looked up at Admiral Dane, he could tell that this was not what the Admiral wanted this to come to, as his eyes were full of reluctance, "Yes." He answered. "Then we bid you farewell." 242 finished. Maximus turned around and left, his back to the chamber, just as his back would be turned from the Federation for some time to come.

About an hour later, Maximus walked out to the docking bay, preparing to leave in a small transport. He looked around, and spotted a gunship that vaguely resembled the helmet that Samus wore. In the past, there were a few missions where Samus worked with the 31st Squad and they made an excellent team. Many of Kolan's teammates, including himself, thought of Samus as unstoppable. Practically everything done to her was ineffective, yet ironically, everything she did caused so much unspeakable destruction, it was hard to believe that one being could do so much. Maximus leaned against the wall he was standing next to; he looked down at the floor, remembering everything that his team went through. He thought of all the good times that he had with his close friends when they weren't on missions. The thought of losing all of them made his heart cringe. His emotional state turned from sorrow to vengeance; he would avenge his team's death if it was the last thing he did.

Suddenly, a large shadow appeared on the floor, it had bulky shoulders and what appeared to be the right arm in the shape of a weapon; Maximus' head looked up to see a friendly sight, it was Samus. "I'm guessing you heard what happened," Maximus said. "Well, you can't win all of your battles…" he finished. Samus stared at him for a minute; she motioned for him to come with her, then turned around and walked off, towards her ship. Maximus paused for a moment; he then got up off of the wall and followed her. They got into her ship, and then took off. Maximus had taken his armor with him in his small cargo crate, he took out the main upper body armor, and then tore off the Federation badges on the shoulders, knowing that he not only couldn't wear them anymore, but because he felt that he didn't deserve to wear them ever again. He then asked Samus, "Where are you taking me?" as usual, Samus remained silent, but to Maximus' surprise, she actually spoke after a few moments, "To Tallon IV, for training..." Maximus' eyes widened, Samus was going to assist him in fighting the Pirates!

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