February 1.

            "Let's see.  This thing says, 'This contract allows                             (enter name) to try out for the position of Commander of the Silver Hawks for two days.  If the signer agrees to become commander, this document may be used in the signing of the permanent contract.  If the signer becomes commander, the person who was commander will become advising officer for the new commander.  Note:  The old commander must be 765 or more years old, and the signer must be between 210 and 490 years old.'  Okay, I'll sign, since I'm 290�."  She got out an ink pen and signed.  "Thank you, Commander Stargazer."  [� - Since they have special biological circuitry, Silver Hawks can live ten to fifteen times as long as normal humans.]

            "Nice going, Commander Steelheart.  This goes into effect tomorrow morning.  It is almost midnight now.  You'd better get some sleep.  You may have a big day tomorrow."

            Steelheart saluted.  "Yes, sir, Commander."  She left.

            * * *

            Penal Planet.

            In his untransformed form, Mon*Star was brooding in his cell.  "Oh, blast that rotten Steelheart!  If I get my hands on that Silver Hawk, I shall kill her!  I shall rip apart that steel suit that protects her measly body!  I shall then rip apart that skin and bone and destroy her!  I shall literally burn her up in the Artificial Sun of Limbo!  I shall GET MY REVENGE!!!"  He noticed the window shutters were closing.  "We must be passing by the Moon*Star now; they are closing up the shutters.  Only one gleam of its energy has to catch my Star*Eye so that I may transform."  Exactly one million photons of the Moon*Star's rays entered Mon*Star's Star*Eye.  "Hee, hee, hee!  Excellent!  Moon*Star of Limbo, give me the might, the muscle, the menace of Mon*Star!"  By the last word, he had been totally transformed!  "Hee, hee, hee!  These puny bars are no match for Mon*Star, the Planet Master!  Hee, hee, hee!"  He ripped out of his cell.  Warden Lockup's guards came.

            The spike-nosed alien guard said, "Mon*Star's escaped!"

            "Let's stop him!" said the robot guard, with a wheel for feet.  His mouth did not change shape; it just glowed when he spoke.  They fired their lasers at Mon*Star, but their weapons did no good.  "Oh, no!"

            "Give me the keys, or prepare for annihilation, you tin-plated idiot!" said Mon*Star.

            The robot said, "No way, Mon*Star."  Mon*Star fired a laser from his elbow-jet and destroyed the robotic guard!

            "I'm getting out of here!" screamed the other guard.

            "Not so fast, spike-face!"  Mon*Star paralysed the alien guard with a Light*Star from his Star*Eye.  "Hee, hee, hee!  You are no match for Mon*Star, the Planet Master."  He blasted through several walls until he found Hardware, one of his evil cohorts.  "Knock, knock."

            Noticing Mon*Star's voice and expression, Hardware asked, "Who's there?"

            "MON*STAR, THE PLANET MASTER, THAT'S WHO!!!  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Hardware as Mon*Star destroyed the door to Hardware's cell with a blast from his elbow-jet.  Mon*Star gave Hardware's backpack, full of wicked devices, to him.  "Let's get the others."

            In an adjacent cell, Yes-Man said, "Mon*Star!  Get me out of here!  Yes, yes, yes!"

            "Have patience, Yes-Man," said Mon*Star.

            "Yes, Yes-Man," Hardware said.  "I'm getting my weapons ready."  With one of his devices, Hardware sublimated the bars on Yes-Man's cell.

            "Thank you, Hardware.  Ooh, yes, yes, yes!"

            "Let's split up.  Hardware, you go that way.  Yes-Man and I shall go the other way."  They went their separate ways.  Within the hour, the whole freed Mob was outside where their captured vehicles were.

            "Just wait until I get my hands on that Steelheart!" screeched Melodia.  "I'll rock and roll her rear into oblivion."

            "I'll blow her away," said Windhammer.

            Timestopper said, "I'll stop the clock on her for good."  He was a brown-haired juvenile delinquent with a red band around his hair.  He wore a clock and a jet-pack; the clock would stop time on anyone he wanted for a minute.

            "I'll zap away her strength," Hardware said.

            Pokerface said, "I'll ace her with my clubs.  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "Zzzz!  I'll z-z-zero her tests!" said Zero, the Memory Thief.  He had the ability to steal computer information and wipe computer memory.  He had a rat-like face and a red cape; on his chest were two tape-reel holders to store the information.

            Mumbo-Jumbo snarled, "Grr!  I'll ram her into oblivion!  Grr!  Snarl!"

            "I'll show her the point with my saws," Buzz-Saw said.  He was a large android about Mumbo's size with saws on top of his head, on either shoulder, and on his hands.  He had a mechanical voice and a green-yellow exterior.  He also had handles on his chest to start his saws spinning.  He could launch saws from his hands.

            Mo-Lec-U-Lar said, "Ch-ch-ch!  I'll de-molecularise her atoms!  Ch-ch-ch-ch!  Then, I'll decay all the protons in her measly body."  Mo-Lec-U-Lar was molecularly unstable.  His body was constructed of yellow globes.  He had an angular face and normal-seeming arms and legs.  In the centre of his chest was a picture of an atom, with electron orbits and a nucleus.  His right arm was a bolt; he could spew out tar that would harden and stop anyone or anything in its tracks.

            "I'll destroy her with my Light*Star's strength," Mon*Star said.

            "I can give her the whiplash with my tail," Yes-Man said.  "Ooh, yes!"

            "Let's head for Brim*Star.  We must prepare our fortress for any Silver Hawk intruder.  Ha, ha, ha!  The Metroid games gave me an idea."  They returned to Brim*Star.

            * * *

            February 2.

            Commander Stargazer's Office, Hawkhaven.

            The next morning at Hawkhaven, Warden Lockup called.  Steelheart was in the office when this occurred.  Lockup, an insectian-humanoid, told them of the Mob's escape from the Penal Planet.  ". . .and that's all, Commander Stargazer," finished Lockup.  "They headed for Brim*Star."

            "Okay, Warden," said Stargazer.  "Talk to you later."  He pressed a button on his desk, and Lockup disappeared from the screen.

            "Oh, great," said Steelheart.

            "This is your big chance, Steelheart.  They probably intend to get revenge on you for having locked them up."

            "True.  However, I shall teach them that revenge does not pay.  I should like to see the others."

            On the intercom, Stargazer said, "Silver Hawks, into my office on the double!"  Within seconds, all the Silver Hawks were in the office.

            Hotwing was a dark-skinned Silver Hawk with gold armour that covered his entire body except his face and the lower part of his left arm.  When he used his wings, they were flaming red in colour.  He had a device on his forehead through which he channelled his magic, which he used to the Silver Hawks' advantage.

            Flashback had been so facially scarred that his green armour now covered his eyes and face.  He had a beak-like protrusion above his mouth and had no visor.  His armour covered his body except for his lower left arm.

            Moonstriker had bright blue metal armour, and he was the only Silver Hawk whose hair-colour, blonde, had been painted onto the region of his suit that covered his hair.  He was right-handed.  He rarely used his wings because he had a turbine around his waist that propelled him more efficiently.

            Condor was an older Silver Hawk, like Stargazer.  He wore grey metal armour with an antenna on the area covering his left ear.  His entire right arm was exposed.  He wore a shirt and trousers.  He was armoured before the Silver Hawks were given their own wings, so he had a wing-pack and a visor that did not completely cover his face, just most of it.  He had a talon-gun that he carried in a holster on his left side.  His wing-pack was powerful and economical, so like Moonstriker, he did not usually ride in vehicles with the other Silver Hawks.

            "What is it, Commander?" asked Quicksilver.

            "First, I have some good news, then some bad news," said Stargazer.

            Later, the Silver Hawks took off in their vehicles. . . Copper-Kidd with his Space Racer; Steelheart, Steelwill, Quicksilver, Bluegrass, and Hotwing in the Mirage; Flashback in the new Sprint Hawk that the Steeltwins had made; Moonstriker and Condor with their special devices.  A proud brother to the end, Steelwill said, "Good for you, Steelheart."

            "Yes," Quicksilver said.  "Commander Stargazer has good reason to choose you.  After all, it was you who found their secret hiding place and shattered their plans for conquest."

            "Yes," said Hotwing.  "Were it not for you, they would never have been in the slammer again."

            "Yeah.  Now, we gotta find out what those freaks're plannin'," said Bluegrass.

            "Well, I know that they will try to get revenge on me," said Steelheart.

            Steelwill said, "I'm sure that we shall fix those evil-doers now that you can become commander, Steelheart."

            * * *

            Brim*Star.

            Mon*Star was watching on Brim*Star.  "Grrrr!  I AM ENRAGED!!!" he screamed.

            "Enraged!" repeated Yes-Man.  "Ooh, definitely, boss."

            "As if her being a sergeant is not bad enough, that old relic Stargazer has the nerve - the sheer nerve! - to use his ability to promote that. . . that. . . that. . . that chrome-brained female tin buzzard to being commander in his place!!!"  Yes, one might say that Mon*Star was a bit sexist.  "Well, I shall not let that happen because, thanks to the Mob's hard work, Brim*Star can now destroy that tin maiden!  Ha, ha, ha!"

            "Ooh, yes, boss."

            "Hmm.  You want me to create all the creatures from Metroid and from Metroid II, Planet Master?" asked Hardware.

            "Sure, Hardware," said Mon*Star.  "Then, I want you to put them at specific points in the new Brim*Star underground.  We shall give those Silver Turkeys the adventure of their life."

            "It really ought to be the adventure of their death!"  The three creeps laughed diabolically.  Unfortunately for the Mob's plan, Tally-Hawk, flying high above Brim*Star, was filming this incident.  He beamed the information to Stargazer's office on Hawkhaven.

            * * *

            Commander Stargazer's Office, Hawkhaven.

            "Great galactic ghosts!" exclaimed the commander of the Silver Hawks.  He pressed five buttons on his panel on his desk.  "Stargazer to Mirage, Sprint Hawk, Space Racer, Condor, and Moonstriker.  Come in please."  The screen behind his bookshelf was revealed.  A white line divided the screen into five equal segments.

            Bluegrass's image appeared in one of the segments.  "Colonel Bluegrass here, Commander."

            Flashback's image appeared in another of the segments.  "Captain Flashback reporting, Stargazer."

            Copper-Kidd's image appeared in another segment.  "Copper-Kidd here, Commander."

            Condor's image appeared in another segment.  "This is Condor, Gaze."

            Moonstriker's image appeared in the last segment.  "Moonstriker, Commander."

            "Mon*Star and the Mob anticipated your arrival and are setting up a large trap for you in the centre of Brim*Star, Silver Hawks," warned Stargazer.  "They are re-making all the tunnels and creatures used in the Nintendo games Metroid and Metroid II.  I know that all the creatures and tunnels in those games are very hard to get through, but I have complete maps of the games.  This new machine the Steeltwins created is just the ticket for me to help you keep the creatures off of your back.  Oh, darn it, now I'm sounding like a blasted salesperson with idiotic clichés!  I shall use it to send you the maps to the games."

            "The map may help, but all those creatures are extremely difficult to get around, especially for beginners," said Steelheart.  "I know, because I got through those games.  It was hard, but I got every single thing and explored every tunnel of Metroid and Metroid II by myself within 2.5 hours for each.  I've kept up my practice well.  If the Mob is going to re-make those two games within the centre of Brim*Star, I'll share my knowledge."

            "Good, Steelheart!  I'll just send you these Metroid and Metroid II maps and wish you good luck."  He put the maps in the special device.

            * * *

            Brim*Star.

            Yes-Man heard an alarm and screamed, "Boss!  Boss!  The Silver Hawks are here!"

            "Melodia, how is our little plot coming?" demanded Mon*Star.

            "The construction is finished, boss!" Melodia answered.

            "Excellent!  Those Silver Turkeys are here!"  All the Silver Hawks landed at Brim*Star Fortress.

            "I'll go in first," said Steelheart.  "I know the inhabitants of Metroid and Metroid II.  I have played the games so much that I practically know them by heart."

            Steelwill laughed.  "I can attest to that!  Video games are all you thought about when you were nine and ten."

            "All right, Will; that shall be sufficient."  They entered Mon*Star's control room.

            "Hello, Silver Hawks," said Mon*Star.

            Pressing a button, Hardware said, �Do svìdánìà {Dah svih-dah-nih-yah} [Russian] (Good-bye), Silver Hawks!�  "Ha, ha, ha!"  A trap door opened under the Silver Hawks.  The Silver Hawks all landed in the very centre of the new maze.

            Pressing another button, Timestopper said, "We can view the Silver Hawks' every movement with the cameras Mo-Lec-U-Lar installed in the maze."

            "My tuning fork is active, so I can change the weather conditions in the maze whenever needed," said Windhammer.

            Down in the tunnels, Steelheart felt a chill go through her back.  "Brrr!  The tunnels of Zebes and SR388 are much scarier in person than on the game screen.  I even feel a slight chill here in Brinstar.  Back there, we should find the Morphing Ball."

            "You know these tunnels the best, sister," said Steelwill.  "You go.  We'll stay here."

            "Fine.  Will!  Above you!"  Steelheart instantly fired her shoulder laser above Steelwill's head.  She destroyed a Zoomer before it harmed Steelwill.

            "Gee!  Thanks, Steelheart."

            "If you see any creatures, blast them as soon as they appear.  I'll get the Morphing Ball."  Later, they arrived in the cavern leading to Norfair.  "We want to travel this tunnel, but not as far as Norfair.  Let's go."  On Steelheart's warning, the mentioned Silver Hawk destroyed the creature or creatures.  "Quicksilver, look out for that Skree above you.  Bluegrass, that Rio probably means business.  Copper-Kidd, watch those Zebs.  Hotwing, that Zoomer is about to hit you.  Here we are!  The Missile power-up."  Much later, after dealing with Kraid, Ridley, countless Alpha Metroids, Gamma Metroids, Zeta Metroids, and Omega Metroids, the Silver Hawks arrived in the Metroid-infested Tourian.  "All the Metroids that we have faced so far have been mutations of the Metroids we are about to face," said Steelheart while they were still on the lift.  "The least sophisticated Metroids have been Alphas, the second-least have been the Gammas, the second-most have been the Zetas, and the most have been the Omegas.  However, the non-mutated Metroids are among the least altered and the most dangerous.  They will cling to a victim's body and draw out the victim's life energy, destruction being inevitable unless the victim literally gets the Metroid off its back.  To destroy a Metroid, you must freeze it with an Ice Beam and blast it with five Missiles.  They look like huge floating jellyfish."  A Metroid came up behind her.  All the others gasped.  "Any questions?"

            Moonstriker said, "-Gulp!-  Yeah.  Like that creature behind you?"

            "Yes.  What?!?"  She turned around.  She shot the Metroid with a freezing blast from her shoulder laser, then destroyed it with Laser-Missiles from her shoulder laser.  Rather emphatically, she said, "Thank you, Moonstriker!"

            "It was nothing."  Hardware and the rest of the Mob were still watching.

            "No, no, no!" shouted Hardware.  "What in heck is wrong?  They should be destroyed by now!  Instead, thanks to that rotten Steelheart, those Silver Hawks are still unbruised!!!  Well, my Queen Metroid and MotherBrain will give those good guys the boot."  Later, in the tunnels of Tourian, Steelheart forced open a door among the countless other doors in their adventure with her shoulder laser.

            "Now," said Steelheart, "we must get by a MotherBrain and a Queen Metroid."

            "After what we've been through, that sounds easy," said Bluegrass.

            "Trust me, Bluegrass, it's not over until the fat brain screams.  Flashback, look out for that Rinka."  Flashback destroyed the Rinka approaching him with his shoulder laser.

            "What is this, open season on Silver Hawks?" asked Quicksilver.  "There are tons of those Rinkas about!"

            "We are getting close to MotherBrain," said Steelheart.  "I can tell by that Zebetite."

            "No problem!  You're talking to the king of country music here.  Yee-haw!"  Bluegrass played music on his Laser Guitar to decimate all the Zebetites by shattering their nearly indestructible glass.  "Yee-haw!  That was a blast!"

            "Yes, quite literally!  Good work, cowboy; I never smashed the Zebetites that quickly!  Let's go.  There is MotherBrain."

            Hotwing said, "That big cerebrum looks like it could use a haemorrhage."

            "We'll give her a headache.  Shatter her jar, hayseed."

            "With pleasure, Steel-lady," said Bluegrass.  "Yee-haw!"  Bluegrass shattered a part of MotherBrain's glass jar with music from his guitar.  The Mob was still watching.

            "No!" shouted Hardware.  "Those Silver Pests!"

            Back in Tourian, Steelheart said, "Someone blast that huge brain already!"

            "I'll blast her!" said Steelwill.  He leapt up to right in front of MotherBrain's jar and fired one million photons of his laser at the huge cerebrum.  Throughout Brim*Star, a huge scream was heard.

            "What in the world was that?" demanded Mon*Star.

            Hardware whimpered, "That was the MotherBrain."

            "WHAT?!?"

            Steelheart said, "Hit her again, Will!  Everyone hit her!"  Steelheart, Steelwill, Quicksilver, Copper-Kidd, Flashback, and Moonstriker fired their shoulder lasers continuously at MotherBrain.  Bluegrass fired a continuous music laser from his guitar at her.  Hotwing fired a continuous magical laser from the magical triangle on his forehead at her.  Condor fired a continuous laser from his talon device at the brain.  Throughout Brim*Star was heard an extremely long scream until the Silver Hawks destroyed MotherBrain.

            "Uh, oh!" Hardware said.

            "What?" shouted Mon*Star.

            "Never mind.  They may have gotten past MotherBrain, but they will never get past Queen Metroid!"

            Steelwill said, "We did it!"

            Steelheart said, "Uh, oh!  Will, get off there!  I think that's where Queen Metroid is coming in!"

            "Queen Metroid?  Uh, oh!"  He leapt up to the other Silver Hawks as a quake began.  Up came a large, almost mechanical-looking monster. . . the Metroid Queen!  "It's. . . it's. . ."

            Bluegrass said, "It's huge, hideous, and - yuck! - it smells like it ain't never brushed its teeth within 10 billion years!"

            "Wouldn't surprise me any," said Steelheart.  "Look out!  It's trying to bite!"  The Silver Hawks scattered as the Metroid Queen tried to bite them.  "BLAST A LASER IN HER MOUTH!!!  IF YOU HIT HER RIGHT, THERE WILL BE TIME TO FIRE A CONTINUOUS LASER IN HER MOUTH BEFORE SHE SNAPS BACK!!!"  Steelheart herself made that correct hit.  All the other Silver Hawks continuously fired their lasers in Queen Metroid's mouth and destroyed it!

            "NO!!!" screamed Hardware.  "IT CANNOT BE!!!  THEY'VE BEATEN MY METROID QUEEN!!!"

            "What?  You idiot!" exploded Mon*Star.

            "Wait!  Don't blast me!  I had no knowledge that they would beat my Queen Metroid!"  In came all the Silver Hawks - except Stargazer, of course - by way of elevator.

            "We must go now," said Steelheart.  "Don't think it's been fun. . . 'cause it hasn't."

            Mon*Star snapped, "One minute!  You are not going anywhere, my pretty!  Ha, ha, ha, ha!"  He fired a Light*Star that hit her before she could move an inch!

            "Steelheart!" shouted Steelwill.

            Steelheart was actually moving within the Light*Star.  "Okay, ugh!  So you want to play rotten, eh?  Well, - grr - I can break out of this!  Grrr!"  In a few seconds, she had broken out of the Light*Star.  This was a surprise to everyone in the room, including her!

            "What?!?  I can smell defeat coming!  Yes-Man, prepare for transformation!"

            "Yes, boss.  Yes, yes.  Certainly."  Steelheart blasted the transformation controls before Yes-Man got to them.  "Oh, no!"

            "I hate to win and run, but I really must get my friends and myself home," said Steelheart.

            As the Silver Hawks were exiting the room, Mon*Star screamed, "Stop them!"

            Steelheart blasted a device to make the doors to the chambers of all members of the Mob crash shut.  "That will not be so easy.  Bye, bye."  She and the other Silver Hawks walked very casually to the Mirage.

            "Hey!  You can't just walk away like that!" shouted Mon*Star.  "Come back here!  Come back!"

            * * *

            Command Centre, Hawkhaven.

            "Well, Steelheart, I must congratulate you," said Stargazer.  "You sure humiliated the devil out of that damned Mob by just walking out of there so casually!"

            "I feel honoured, but I was just doing my job," said Steelheart.

            "Ha, ha!  You led all the Silver Hawks through that damned maze like a hot knife through butter.  You gave those horrible Metroid and Metroid II bosses a run for their money.  You don't even cuss half the time!  You are truly worthy of the position of Commander of the Silver Hawks."

            "Oh, okay, if all of you insist."  Everyone was smiling at her, even Tally-Hawk.  Boys! she thought.  But where would we be without 'em?  "Okay."  Smiling, she signed the form making her Commander of the Silver Hawks.  "Now, there are a few slight little changes I would like to make.  I would like to give the four Silver Hawks with whom I came a rank promotion, since they have been, along with the others, valuable to our success."

            "You do not need to do so, Steelheart," said Quicksilver.

            Steelheart said, "I feel it only appropriate, Quicksilver.  I promote Sergeant Steelwill, my brother, to the position of Lieutenant."

            Steelwill began, "Oh,. . ."

            "Come on!  You deserve it.  I promote Copper-Kidd to the position of Sergeant."

            "Thank you!" said Kidd.

            "You're welcome.  I promote Lieutenant Quicksilver to Colonel."

            "Well!" said Quicksilver.  "Thank you, Steelheart."

            "You're welcome.  Finally, I promote Colonel Bluegrass to Captain-Minor."

            "Gee, thank ya, Steelheart," said Bluegrass.

            "You are all welcome, my friends."

            * * *

            Brim*Star.

            Mon*Star and his ten idiots were watching on the monitor.  "NO!!!  NOT ONLY HAS THAT DAMNED STEELHEART BEEN PROMOTED TO COMMANDER OF THE SILVER HAWKS, BUT SHE IS USING HER PRIVILEGES TO PROMOTE HER FOUR BEST FRIENDS UP!!!  IT'S A DARNED CRIME!!!"

            "A darned crime!" agreed Yes-Man.  "Yes!"

            "YOU TEN INANE IDIOTS GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT THIS VERY INSTANT!!!"  He fried the fools out with Light*Stars.  They left while yelling.  Sly-Bird, the Spy-Hawk, Stargazer's yellow-coloured robot bird, was above Brim*Star and beaming this little episode to Hawkhaven.

            * * *

            Command Centre, Hawkhaven.

            The Silver Hawks were watching this comedy.  Steelheart said, "Finally, Mon*Star is giving those ten fools of his what they deserve!"

            "Too bad he won't do it to himself as well!" said Steelwill.  All the Silver Hawks laughed.