CHAPTER EIGHT

I

"What the hell are you doing here?" Maia demanded once she had collected her senses enough to realise how close she had come to almost killing Corporal MacReady, whom only seconds ago she had taken for a Company worker. MacReady took a few moments to answer as he leaned against the wall, massaging the throbbing area where she had hit him.

"Are you fucking insane!" Maia shouted once she had recovered. "I could have killed you!"

"You almost did." He answered realising that he would now have to provide her with a very good reason for his presence here. There were no stories he could tell, no excuses that would even be remotely plausible, the fact of the matter was; there was simply no possible reason why he could be here unless he followed her. Finally, he decided the truth was going to have to do. "I followed you here Sir," he answered honestly. "I saw you leave the Sparta and I came after you, I thought you might need help in case you ran into trouble."

Maia glared at him furiously, disbelieving what she heard for a minute. Her anger was not solely directed at him, but more at her, for she had allowed him to follow her all the way from the Sparta without having the least bit notion that he was there! Either he was very good or she was getting very sloppy, the consequences for accepting a mission like this.

"I can take care of myself." Maia said sharply. "You on the other hand, should not be here."

"I could say the same for you Sir." He replied looking at her defiantly, which she could not refute because he was right. This entire escapade of hers was highly illegal and they both knew it.

"I am not obliged to answer you Corporal." Maia retorted haughtily, knowing that was a cop out at best, but she was not yet ready to tell him everything about herself and the true nature of this mission.

MacReady looked at her sarcastically, "no Sir, I guess you're not." He agreed, "but still you did break several regulations and protocol when you came on board."

"Well," she remarked looking around the corridor and making certain that no one was coming. After a second, she turned back to him. "You can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs, can you?"

"That don't make it right Sir," MacReady looked at her critically and for some reason made her feel like a child that had been caught red-handed. It infuriated her that he was able to do this.

"I am no interested in what is right or wrong." She declared hotly, "all that concerns me is our mission here and I for one, am tired of getting fucked around by the fucking Company."

"Who isn't?" He retorted, his own calm voice rising an octave itself.

"You'd be surprised," Maia deadpanned as she began walking. "Come on, follow me and don't do anything unless I say," she ordered as he started following her towards the elevator she had been trying to reach initially.

"You might as well tell me," he persisted, "since I'm now in it as deep as you are."

Maia turned towards him with an expression of sarcasm in her face. "I don't have to tell you anything soldier boy, I didn't ask your overwhelming sense of curiosity to follow me." With that, she pressed the button on the elevator controls and the door slipped open for them quietly.

"Soldier boy?" He raised a brow as they both entered the steel car, "coming from a Captain, that's a little intense."

She waited until the doors had closed and they were on their way to their destination before she responded to his remark. "Titles come and go," she replied, her initial anger starting to wane. "The world's still in one piece." Although still annoyed, Maia was coming to terms with the fact that MacReady was here and she still had a mission to complete.

"Why don't you level with me Sir?" He asked earnestly, all pretences and sarcasm having drained from his voice. He looked at her intently, hoping that she would break down the impregnable fortress between duty and friendship and tell him what was going on.

Maia returned his gaze for a few seconds as she decided whether she would or not. What did she have to lose really? From her previous acquaintance with MacReady, she knew that if she asked, he would keep her secret, and her cover had already been blown sky high the minute he had seen her leave the Sparta. Perhaps it would be wise to have a confidant in this matter, or even another mind to utilise in the attempt to unravel the Weyland Yutani conspiracy of Fiorina. Perhaps he might even have some insight that would help her in this situation, because MacReady was by no means dumb.

"Alright," she sighed in defeat. "I'll tell you what I know, such as it is." She saw MacReady smile faintly in pleasure, happy that she was finally going to trust him with the truth. She didn't know why, but for some reason that Maia couldn't explain, she felt good too. "About eighty or more years ago, a Company commercial ore carrier ran into what was an unknown life form on the planet LV437. From the reports, this life form was beyond anything that we have yet encountered, it was so ferocious that within twenty four hours, all but one of the crew was dead. The survivor, Ellen Ripley bundled herself into the carrier's life pod and through some fuck up, was held in stasis for 57 years, while she wandered through the core systems. When she was awakened, the Company held her responsible for the loss of the carrier even though it was the Company who sent them to get this thing years before.

By this time however, a mining colony had been established on LV427, and eventually they ran into the alien. This time, the entire colony was destroyed. The Sulloco was sent to LV427, by now known as Acheron, with a full compliment of Colonial Marines, a Company rep and Ripley, to investigate. All we know is that out of all those people, only four survived and made it back to the Sulloco. The Sulloco was on its way home when something went wrong and an EEV was jettisoned along with the survivors. Only one made it to Fiorina, at the time a prison facility for double Y chromosome lifers. An alien came with it, because once again, the entire population got wiped out and all that was left was one prisoner.

Ten days before we left Gateway, the Sulloco was found. After the EEV was jettisoned, it just wandered aimlessly through space until a deep salvage team found it. We believe that Company may have tried to use the alien for its Bio-Weapons division and we want to know if these aliens still exist. Because there's no good reason why Weyland Yutani are parked here permanently, unless something is on Fiorina they don't want anyone to know."

Her speech concluded when the elevator had brought them to a different level in the station. "And that's why we're here?" MacReady asked her as they stepped out into another deserted corridor. However, there was a sign on the far wall which told them they were approaching the flight deck. "To see what the Company's doing on the planet."

"That's right." She answered.

"So why are we on this station?" MacReady inquired. He was pleased that she had confided in him and now that he understood better the urgency in regards to this mission, he could see why she had been so clandestine in her efforts.

"Foster did some checking for me," she explained, "and found out that in the last six months, they've had almost thirty two ships here, all dropping of what looks like live cargo."

"Thirty two ships?" He looked at her as equally puzzled as she had been when Foster had told her. "Why would a research station need that much live cargo?" He asked. "I mean even for testing, that's a lot of animals."

"That's what I thought," she answered, happier that she had told him because now she had a partner in misery. "It doesn't make sense though, because Fiorina if I'm not mistaken has indigenous life of its own. There would be no real need to bring them from Earth."

"No that's not exactly true," he remarked as if in deep thought. After a second he looked up at her. "If there is a virus on the planet, it might have killed all the indigenous life."

"Not bad for a grunt," she smiled. "You're right, but that story about how the virus had killed all the prisoners is not true, because there was a survivor and he claimed an alien killed the others."

"So the truth of the matter really lies with us going down there." He replied. "And seeing for ourselves."

Maia didn't answer as they reached the end of the corridor and turned the corner of another. The new corridor had two doors on its flanks and one at the very top of it. Maia and MacReady looked for the door that led to the cargo storage centre. Within seconds, they learnt it was the closest one and went towards it. Upon entering the dark room, the first thing that hit them after the door slid to a close behind them was the acrid stench of what Maia was certain was animal litter. MacReady fumbled against the wall, running his hands along the base of the wall until he found the panel that activated the light.

When the room was flooded with illumination, both found themselves staring at rows and rows of animal cages. Inside these cages were trapped dogs and cats. For a moment, they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals before them. They were too numerous to count, all snared inside their cages, barking, mewing, growling and whimpering as they were unable to escape the steel mesh that surrounded them.

To both their surprise, there was nothing smaller than a cat within the cages. Even the dogs that had been chosen were large in their breeding, there was nothing smaller than an Australian blue heeler amongst the canine group while the cats being incarcerated were all full grown and healthily nourished. Were these animals being used as experimentation? Why? Wouldn't it be more expedient to use guinea pigs or mice as experimentation animals?

"I don't get it." MacReady said after a few seconds. "They're using cats and dogs for experimentation?" He was a college graduate and he knew from experience that these large animals were inadequate for testing.

"Don't ask me." She paused at the cage of a golden retriever and found the animal to be pleading at her with its soulful brown eyes. Maia was almost tempted to release it, when she realised that to do so would jeopardize her mission here. "Sorry dog," she sighed, "I can't help you right now." She reached into the cage and patted its furry forehead, wishing that she could offer it more than just a pat.

After a second, Maia turned to MacReady once again. "Mac," she said firmly. "I want you to go back to the Sparta."

He looked at her sharply, "what about you Sir?" He asked automatically.

"I've still got some looking around to do. Whatever's going on around here is big, if anything happens to me, at least you'd have got back to tell the brass what you've seen here tonight." What she didn't want to say, was that she was afraid for him. She was uncertain of how far the Company was willing to go, but the fact that they had violated ICCU quarantine by bringing all these animals here meant that some serious money was being involved. The transport of animals, especially cats and dogs would take some heavy bribes to pass through Gateway Station.

"Sorry Sir," he shook his head in response. "I'm staying here with you. I'm just a grunt Sir, and you're the Captain, if we're to find out what's going on down in Fiorina, then we're going to need you. No one else, Devine couldn't find his ass even if we give him a map and you're the only one that can lead this mission."

"I don't care!" Maia snapped in disbelief, she could take care of herself. She didn't need him to protect her. "That wasn't a request, that's an order. You're going back to the Sparta and that's final, do you hear me. Or else..."

"Or else what?" He looked at her impatiently, once again making her feel like a posturing child. MacReady's calm attitude towards everything could be infuriating at times. Even more so when he had her. "You'll charge for insubordination, while you yourself are violating orders at the same time?" His eyes met hers with challenge and Maia could feel herself bristling with anger. Yet, she had to admit, he was pretty formidable when he shed that quiet, calming persona.

"Are you telling me I'm stuck with you?" She stared at him with an expression of mischief in her eyes.

"More or less," he replied with a smile of amusement on his face as well. For a moment, it seemed as if the fire in her eyes had diminished, but as MacReady stared into their brown depths, he knew that there was still a spark of defiance left within them. Once again, he wished she was anything but his Captain, because he could almost imagine how magnificent it must be to become lost in those eyes.

"Alright Mac," she let out a sigh of resignation, knowing she was going to get around him. "Stick close, keep your mouth shut and let me do all the talking." She instructed as she walked past him, towards the door. It had been a while since she had met a man like MacReady, who was annoying, arrogant, downright infuriating and so damn attractive. She might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

"Yes Sir." He saluted, and promptly followed her out.

II

Maia and MacReady's entrance in the hangar was barely noticed. While the rest of the station had been quiet, the hangar was a hive of activity even at this time of the night. There were so many people walking up and down the place that their arrival was hardly of consequence. The area was filled with techs working on the cargo ships that filled the hangar, while cargo hands moved the cages containing the animals with power loaders into the holds of those same ships. And it wasn't just cats and dogs, Maia and MacReady noticed. There were large cages that had cows, goats and even a few mules. The place was almost wall to wall with livestock that were slowly being herded into the small transport ships which Maia guessed would take them to Fiorina.

"What is this?" MacReady mused, "Noah's fucking ark?"

"Pretty close." Maia admitted and then realising something else as well. She turned to MacReady and spoke softly. "Well, I wanted to know what was happening to the animals. Now I know. " She looked at the helpless creatures being carted away to their questionable fates and wished there was something she could do. However, this was not the time. "This is all we're going to see, and we're not going to know much else until we're actually on Fiorina. So let's get the hell out of here."

"I'm all for that." He agreed. He didn't like what he was seeing any more than she had.

Turning around together, they both retreated the way they came when suddenly, from no where, someone brushed past Maia and sent her falling down onto the floor. Maia cursed softly as she collected herself and saw the tall, bond woman who had knocked her down, continuing on her way, barely noticing that she had collided with someone else. MacReady offered her a hand, which she took and he pulled her to her feet again.

"You okay?" They both heard a new voice suddenly ask. It came from a maintenance tech who was looking at her with concern on his face.

"Yeah I'm fine," Maia answered annoyed, brushing herself off but at the same time studying the statuesque beauty as she moved further away. The woman was at least a full head taller than Maia, with short, cropped blond hair that was slicked back against her scalp. She wore jodhpurs and a white shirt and carried herself like she owned the place. For some reason, she seemed familiar, although Maia couldn't seem to place her face in her own memory.

"Thanks," she turned her attention back to the tech.

"New huh?" He asked.

"Yeah we are," she answered quickly, deciding that if that was the impression they gave, why fight it? Besides, the best lies are often the simplest ones.

"You'll get used to the Queen bitch of the universe," the tech remarked giving the blond who hardly noticed them, a dirty look. "Just because she's security director and the Doc's number one hound, she thinks she owns the place and everyone in it. After a while, she's kind like the junk yard dog next door, you get accustomed to."

"Thanks for the advice."Maia replied as they turned to leave. "See you around sometime."

Very soon, they were taking the route back towards the maintenance airlock from which they had boarded the station. Despite the meagre information that this night time escapade had yielded, Maia felt that the entire trip was not entirely wasted, even though she had blown her cover, well partially any way, to MacReady. Still, her questions were far from being answered, if anything, tonight had only caused more of them.

"I still don't understand." MacReady sighed after walking for a while in silence.

"What don't you understand?" Maia asked casually, "they bring down all these animals to a planet which probably has indigenous life of its own, even though they have declared the planet under quarantine. Makes perfect sense to me."

"I like your sense of humour." He grinned.

"I have a sense of humour?" She looked at him.

MacReady chuckled softly, allowing the tension to ooze out of his body. However, after a few seconds, he sobered up once more and turned to her. "Sir, what do you think is going on, really?'

Maia let out a sigh and paused where she stood, before meeting his eyes. "I don't know Mac," she replied honestly. "I feel I should know, but I don't. There are moments, when I think I can almost get a handle on what is going on, like its staring me in the face, but I can't see it. Something tells me though, I better find out fast. I can hear a clock ticking Mac, but I don't have the faintest idea of anything." She found it strangely liberating that she could confide in him, even though the professional in her detested the weakness.

If MacReady noticed the conflict, he certainly said nothing to indicate so "So what do we do now?"

"Right now," she said annoyed, "all we can do is wait for authorisation to come in. I have a feeling though, even if we do get permission to land on Fiorina, Yomato's still going to protest. The quarantine story shows just how desperate they are to keep up from going on to the surface. I want to know why and I'm pretty certain its got nothing to do with the fact that they are afraid we might discover their little zoo down there."

"Could it be the alien?" MacReady suggested. "If they're down on the planet, the animals could be food or something."

"Could be," Maia agreed, "but the report from the prisoner said that there was only one alien that came down on the EEV and that it was destroyed. If there are aliens on the surface, where did they come from?"

**************

They arrived at the airlock and climbed back into their jet suits so that they could return to the Sparta. Maia estimated that they had been gone for almost four hours and it was time to get back. Returning the Company coveralls so that no suspicions would be aroused over their infiltration of the station, Maia and MacReady entered the airlock and shut the inner doors behind them.

"I hate this." MacReady grumbled as he snapped his helmet clasp into place.

"I thought Marines were space rangers at heart," Maia teased, making certain her own suit was secure at the same time. She could see however, that his nervousness was genuine and she couldn't help but find it endearing somewhat.

"I am," he retorted. "I just like being a space ranger from inside a ship."

"You're an old fashion boy." She smiled, not meaning it to be an insult. "Here," she walked towards him and secured her suit to his with a small length of chord which was installed specifically for the purpose. "I'll do the piloting and you can hang on."

"Thanks," he said appreciatively before adding. "I guess all men are old fashion though, " he spoke as she was strapping them together. "Marines are the worst, we join so we can do a little good somewhere, without losing too much of ourselves and still living like we're not all grown up."

Maia didn't speak as she worked, but she remembered when she thought that way. In a time when her own thoughts and ideas weren't so jaded. There was a time when she truly believed in her work like a crusade she had to completed. She hadn't felt like that in too long and when it did surface, it was only for a fleeting moment. She would have loved to have MacReady's idealism, without the realities of life crowding in on her. "I know the feeling," she mused before returning to the matter at hand. "Are you ready?"

MacReady nodded quickly and answered. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Once again, they were thrust to the wilderness of deep space, forced away from the station as the outer doors of the maintenance airlock open to allow the escape of air into the cold outside. Maia could see that MacReady was pleased to leave the navigation back to the Sparta in hands more experienced that his own. The corporal didn't seem at all pleased to be in space like this and she could see he was very much out of his element. Besides, if anything did happen to him on his own, she didn't like the responsibility of explaining to the others how it had happened.

Half an hour later, the two of them were walking back towards the living quarters on board the Sparta. MacReady was glad to be on terra firma again, even if it was on a hunk of floating steel. He was grateful that the Captain had taken charge of their return and was also happy that he had been privy to her night time excursion to the space station. As they walked back in silence, both were content that their trip had remained a secret that only they would share.

"Well Captain," he said once they had arrived at her quarters. "Being under your command is turning out to be quite interesting." He smiled.

"Enjoy while it lasts," she said with a dry smile. "I work strictly alone."

"Things changed." He pointed out with that same challenge in his eyes.

"Not that much." Maia replied firmly. "Not that much."

CHAPTER NINE

I

The next morning saw Maia informing the android Foster, her findings from her previous nights excursion with Corporal MacReady. She told him what she had seen so that he may be able to deliver her a plausible reason to explain those events. The android did not act displeased that she had gotten her information so illegally, but did however, take the opportunity to quote several military regulations to her to emphasize the danger in what she had done. Still, he had remarked, that since she had conducted herself in service of the greater good, he didn't think what she did was entirely wrong.

"So basically," Maia explained to Foster in the confines of the communication centre, "what they were doing was transporting by the hundreds, mind you, animals. Not very indiscriminately either. Dogs, cats, goats, cows and sheep. Other than the fact that these were all domesticated animals, there was no other common factor."

"Are you certain they were taken to Fiorina?" Foster inquired, meditating quietly on what she had thus so far told him.

"I assumed they were." Maia answered, thinking what had led her to that hypothesis in the first place, before voicing them. "All the transports we saw were short range, Fiorina was the only planet in the area they were capable of reaching. The hangar was almost wall to wall in cages filled with animals, where else could they going?"

"True," Foster had to agree with her. Still, the collection of species she had described seemed unusually random and he wondered why this was so. "They could be used as food, I suppose."

"MacReady mentioned that," Maia answered, "but Fiorina has an indigenous population of animals. If they were trying to feed the aliens, why go to all the expense of transporting all these earth type animals when there is a selection already present."

"You are correct," the android replied in agreement. "There is also something else. Why are the species so varied. It hardly seems sensible to bring such an assortment, simply for food. If the alien requires feeding, why not bring it an entire herd of cows, goats and sheep? What use is dog or cat? They're small and they take up the same space a large animal such a cow would?"

Maia let out a deep sigh as she tried to think of a solution. She rose from the chair she was sitting on and started to pace the steel grey floor of the communications centre. Meanwhile, Foster remained seated, lapsed deep in thought, with no inclination that her pacing was bothering him. After a minute, another idea surfaced in her mind. "What about breeding? Maybe the Company wants these animals to be fruitful and multiply?"

"No." Foster shook his head, quashing that particular notion with certainty. "Fiorina's ecosystem is much too inhospitable for any earth type life form to adapt too. There is very little vegetation, the surface of the planet is almost a soup of gases, with a minimal oxygen content that is barely tolerable for humans alone. Water on the planet must be distilled because of the high methane content. Only indigenous life forms can drink Fiorina water to survive, humans and non terrestrial creatures would have to drink a distilled version of it."

"Okay," she sighed, "that idea got shot to hell." She looked at Foster with a faint smile which the android reacted to with only a soft chuckled. "What about testing and experimentation? If they're not doing on the station itself, maybe they're doing it by placing the animals into the thick of the contaminated area to see what would happen."

"That is possible," he nodded and then added. "But highly unlikely. He described the virus as something akin to the AIDS virus of the twentieth century. Originally the virus was a simple SIV strain in apes which when transferred to a human being, mutated into the HIV virus and then later into the AIDS virus. The problem with that virus was always a matter of mutation. If the Company were trying to cure the disease or find a vaccine through the animals then it would defeat the purpose because when the virus enters them, it would mutate into something else. Not the same thing that would develop if it entered a human. But this is all speculation," he looked at her. "We don't know for certain what kind of properties the virus he claims to exist on Fiorina, has."

"It's better than nothing." Maia retorted, feeling discouraged by their lack of progress. "So either way, it still boils down to the fact that one way or another, we've got to get down there and see what's happening for ourselves." She stared at him with her hands on her hips. A posture she usually took when she was frustrated and angry.

"Looks that way." Foster answered, his calm manner a sharp contrast to her irritation.

"Which we can't do until we get authorisation!" Maia declared almost futilely, as she threw her hands up in the air in a show of resignation and further irritation.

All of a sudden, as if it was a sign from up above. One of the communication machines in the room whirred to life with a sudden start. While Maia turned around startled, Foster rose calmly from his seat and with three long strides, found himself standing before the main controls of the communication machines. Maia hurried to his side, hoping that it was what they had been waiting for all these past weeks.

"What is it?" She asked hopefully.

"An incoming message." He responded, working the keyboard in front of him so that the message would be displayed on the large monitor screen before them. "Looks like they heard you, Captain. Its on Alpha beam frequency."

The Alpha beam frequency was used by the military in times of emergency for the speediest delivery of any transmission in space. She was pleased that they had responded so promptly because in normal time, it would have meant them being left without any answer for another three to four weeks. She waited with growing anticipation as Foster weaved his magic over his fellow machines. A few second later, the monitor screen flared to life.

TO: USS SPARTA

FOR THE VIEWING OF CAPTAIN MAIA SANJAY.

HIGH COMMAND HAS INFORMED WEYLAND YUTANI CORPORATION THAT MILITARY JURISDICTION SUPERSEDES ANY REGIONAL OR SCIENTIFIC JURISDICTION TO FIORINA 361. SIMILAR MESSAGE HAS ALREADY BEEN TRANSMITTED TO DOCTOR YOMATO AT THE COMPANY FACILITY ORBITING THE PLANET. HAVE TRANSMITTED HIS ORDERS TO COMPLY OR YOU ARE EMPOWERED TO TAKE COMMAND OF HIS STATION ENTIRELY. PROCEED AT YOUR EARLIEST CONVENIENCE TO PLANET'S SURFACE.

GENERAL S HANLON.

"About damn time." Maia said softly to herself, once she had read the contents of Hanlon's message and absorbed it into her mind. Now, she had all the authorisation she needed to proceed and nothing Doctor Yomato had to say or could do, would deter her from her purpose now. Turning to Foster, she took a deep breath and spoke, "Foster, get me a line through to the good Doctor while I rally the troops."

"Yes Sir." Foster said eagerly, although his own enthusiasm seemed pale next to hers.

Maia walked out of the controls which activated the ship's intercom unit and ran her fingers across the panel which would allow her to speak to the everyone on board the Sparta. "All personnel, prepare for departure to Fiorina. I want combat readiness in two hours for all Marines, we've got our authorisation people, let's use it before those Company bastards come up with another reason to stop us." Even though she couldn't hear them, she knew that all over the Sparta, where ever the Marines were they were as pleased as she was that they would finally be seeing some action.

By the time she returned to Foster, he had patched in the link to the space station and was waiting for her arrival before he turned the screen over to her. Maia nestled herself into her seat, knowing full well that she was going to enjoy this thoroughly. She knew she shouldn't be this relished in her apparent victory over Yomato, but the endless weeks of waiting here because of his excuses had tried even her extended patience.

Foster pressed a button and the screen flickered static for a split second before the familiar features of Doctor Yomato appeared once again. Judging by the sour expression on his face, Maia guessed that he had also received the message from Earth and was none too pleased by its results. Still, she allowed herself no quarter to reveal her own emotions, as far as he was concerned, Maia only wanted to project her professionalism and nothing else.

"Captain Sanjay," the man spoke in barely concealed rage. "What can I do for you?"

"Well," Maia said with a faint smile. "I have just received a transmission from Earth. I trust you would have done so as well. I have been given full authority to proceed to Fiorina under the grounds that our military jurisdiction over the planet supersedes that of Weyland Yutani. I am just paying you a polite call to inform you that within the next two hours, my team and I intend to land on Fiorina and carry out our investigation of the planet's surface."

Yomato seemed like he was on the urge of making a rather unsavoury outburst when suddenly, from the corner of the screen, the blond woman who had knocked her down so unceremoniously the night before, emerged and put a restraining hand on his shoulder. Only when she had done so, did the Doctor calm down a little before addressing her again, with more composure than before.

"Once again," he said evenly, " I must offer my protest Captain, partly because my associate Miss Dorn, has informed me that you can assume control over this station if I refuse to comply. Therefore I have no choice but to wish you luck on your forthcoming mission."

"Thank you." Maia said distracted by the subservience in his manner. At that moment, she was more interested in studying the face of the mysterious Miss Dorn than Yomato's words. She could have sworn that she had seen that face before, now more than ever. She had met or seen Miss Dorn somewhere before and she couldn't for the life of her remember where.

"Sir," she heard Foster call through the haze of her deliberations. "Do wish the line to be terminated?"

"Yes," Maia said snapping back to attention. However, even when the screen went blank, she was left with that feeling of familiarity. It hadn't been so obvious the night before, but now she felt it most profoundly. Despite herself, Maia was starting to get a very bad feeling about this.

************

"We can't let them land on the planet!" Yomato roared in to the face of the very collect Tasha Dorn. He was pacing the floor of his office like a wild man in torment, while she was seated most calmly behind his desk. "The entire experiment could be in jeopardy! Do you know how long we have been cultivating this project? Do you know the struggles I have had to endure? I have spent my life making certain my predecessors work is not destroyed, he laid for the foundation for everything that is here. Everything could be destroyed."

Tasha didn't speak, she allowed that honour to go to the man who had remained in the shadow for the confrontation with Captain Sanjay. "Patience Hikaru," he said calmly, displaying the same cool possessed by Dorn, only with him it was more than an attitude. It was how he lived his life. "Your experiment is safe, your work will continue unfretted."

"How can you say that?" Yomato whirled around to face him. "That Captain is going to Fiorina with her Marines, they will undoubtedly uncover the experiment and when they return they will report their findings to the UNE and we will all be finished."

"The Doctor over reacts so much doesn't he?" Tasha remarked, staring at Yomato like a man who was a child having a tantrum. "But I suppose one cannot expect much from a scientist."

"This is all a joke to you!" Yomato declared almost hysterically.

"Nothing is a joke with what's at stake here." The man retorted firmly, "be calm Hikaru," he ordered and Yomato became silent. "Let them launch from the Sparta, let them touch down on Fiorina with all its secrets. Rest assured, they will not be returning to make a report to anyone. We will deal with them as we have dealt with all the others, like we dealt with the Nostromo, the Sulloco and dear departed Officer Ripley."

II

Victory seemed bitter-sweet now.

As Maia pulled on a clean flight suit over herself, she felt her triumph had been somewhat a hollow one. For some reason, which she was unable to explain and which left her disturbed, Maia couldn't focus herself on the mission ahead. She knew she should have been eager to get moving, to finally land on Fiorina after all these weeks after all of Yomato's attempt to stop her, but somehow she couldn't. He had given up too easily. After all of his excuses, she couldn't just believe that he would acquiesced without even the slightest notion of a fight.

Maia knew she shouldn't really look a gift horse in the mouth, but how many times in her career had her instincts saved her life before? Most of those times, she had had nothing to substantiate her feelings, only the gnawing sensation she had now, and yet each of those times she had been right. Despite her anxiety, Maia knew she had no choice, she had to go through with the mission even though she was uneasy about it. Even though she commanded this team of Colonial Marines, she knew that there was no justification in holding back, now that they had the authorisation they so needed.

Around her, the Marines were throwing themselves fully into the task of preparing for the mission ahead. They were putting on their uniforms and the battle armour that went over it. Battle armour that came complete with breast-plates, shin guards and shoulder pads all made from Kevlar to withstand the hardest projectile from penetrating into their skin. Maia watched them for a moment, before she returned to her own preparations. The Captain of the Colonial Marines did not require armour, but she nevertheless strapped a gun belt around her waist and took her sidearm from its place in her locker. Her sidearm was not military issue, for she didn't like the standard Colts that officers were required to carry. Hers was German in manufacture, ceramic made with the capacity for automatic fire, with a clip that had at least twenty rounds. The bullets that were contained within were almost as large as the projectiles in the clips of the Marines' pulse rifles. This was a weapon for extermination and she didn't try to hide that fact. Checking the sight once before she replaced it in her holster, Maia was satisfied that everything was working well.

A short while later, she walked into the APC, a tank like vehicle whose durability was beyond question. This could drive through the scourging winds of Jupiter without suffering so much as a scratch. As armoured personnel carriers went, this was more than efficient she decided. Foster was already seated in his corner, waiting quite patiently for the arrival of his team mates. Devine in the meantime, had taken the controls of the vehicle. Maia had allowed him the privilege since she felt he needed the experience any way. She had numerous chances to drive an APC during her career so she didn't feel too deprived by giving the young man the opportunity.

The interior of the APC was a maze of high tech equipment. From the complex sensor equipment which could scan everything outside the APC to the very life signs of the Marines it carried, there were monitors that were directly linked to the cameras installed on their helmets. With this kind of equipment, it was almost a foregone conclusion that it was impossible to lose a Marine who was out on the field. And if something went wrong, then the powers that be would have a full appraisal of why.

As she strapped herself into her seat, at the head of the APC, close to where Devine and Foster were, she could hear the thundering of heavy combat boots making a rapid approach towards the APC. Above the sound of this conundrum, was the even louder voice of Master Sergeant Parker he ordered them to keep moving.

"Move it out! Move it out! Move it out!" He yelled in a curious sing song voice that chorused amidst the sounds of marching combat boots, in a synchronised version of the standard, military quick time march. She had to admit, even though she couldn't see them, they sounded highly formidable. Parker was the first one of the Marines she caught sight of, from the doorway when he arrived. "Get your asses in there!" He announced his presence once more. "Don't dawdle, fucking run!"

The Marines moved single filed into the APC both quickly and neatly, even Marin and Quinn who were armed with their bulky and highly restrictive Smart guns, moved with such grace that they hardly seemed to fall out of step with their comrades. Once the last of them had entered, Parker yelled once again for them to get take their seats, of which they had already done without needing to be told. "Pack em in Addison," the black man shouted. "Get them squared away nice and tight."

"Yes Sir," Addison retorted with as much fervour, being caught up by the typical gung ho spirit that was common to soldiers, Marines in particular.

Parker came to her and replied, "Sir, the troops are ready."

"Very good Sergeant," Maia nodded in approval, unable to deny that she was duly impressed by his efficiency. "You better take a seat, Parker, after all that, you gotta be exhausted."

"Thank you Sir," he grinned as he moved towards his own seat.

In the meantime, the Marine Comtech Addison, was busily at working, making certain that all the hardware being carried by his fellow Marines was firmly attached to the Mainframe of the APC sensors and was functioning correctly. This was important mainly because the relay connections in the cameras and life signs stats had to be working in order for any one in the APC to keep track of them. When he had completed this systems check, he snapped their safety locks around their bodies to keep them secure when the drop ship made its departure from the Sparta.

Having been a veteran of several drops herself, Maia could understand the need for caution. It was no small thing when a drop ship made its departure, the turbulence alone could cause serious damage to a person who was not securely strapped into their seats. "Everybody in?" Maia inquired when Addison had secured her own seat.

"Yes Captain," Addison answered with gusto, "they're packed tighter than sardines in a can."

"Good," she replied with a faint smile. "Now at your discretion Corporal, sit down."

"Going Sir." Addison replied good naturedly and made his way towards the other end of the APC before taking his seat next to MacReady.

Once Maia was certain that he had gone through the motions of securing himself, she turned to Devine who was sitting at the head of the APC. She had taken up the seat behind him so she could discreetly see what he was doing. "Devine, we're all set. Lock her up Lieutenant."

"Yes Sir," he said automatically and activated the door controls. With a loud clang, the extended door slammed hard against the door way, sealing them within the armoured vehicle. The interior of the APC came to life with the scanners showing the numerous vital signs of all the Marines, while the monitors revealed their effectiveness by displaying the current field of vision of every soldier in the APC, with the exception of Devine himself, Foster and Maia.

"Hall do you copy?" Maia asked, speaking into the small heat set that sat comfortably over her ears and in front of her mouth. "We're all ready down here. Give us a count down of five minutes to load up into the drop ship. Then let me know when you're ready."

"Aye Captain," the pilots cheerful voice rang through APC. Maia smiled despite herself, remembering what someone had once told her a pilot. The mark of a good and true flyer was always evident in the pleasure he or she felt before she took to the skies. Hall was no exception to that rule. "Hall out."

"Copy that." Maia answered finally.

*****************

The APC rumbled forward, crossing the floor of the hangar in a few seconds, before driving up the enormous rampway of the dropship. It ascended into the belly of the craft quickly enough and found its customary place within it, before waiting for Hall to secure the doors behind it. Even with its thick, steel exterior, the whole APC vibrated with the loud clang when the doors of the dropship closed down hard, steel against steel.

"We're in Hall." Maia informed the pilot once the sound had echoed away.

"I got you Sir," Hall answered automatically. "Prepare for drop sequence."

The huge clamps which had the dropship firmly in its grasp began to move with a loud hiss as the mechanics of its hydraulics began depressing. They moved along the enormous titanium rails that supported the vessel until it was removed from the berth where its sister ship remained and moved neatly to the other side of the deck, towards the drop chute in the centre of the hangar floor.

Once it had reached the chute entrance, all that could be seen of this huge opening was nothing more than fine outlines on the steel floor. The clamps stopped moving with a sudden jerk and those same unseen doors fell open noisily, revealing the illumination of Fiorina, as well as letting all the air in the hangar escape with a loud gush.

"Ten." Hall's count-down to their drop began echoing through the silence of the APC.

"Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Marks away." She concluded with calm, even though everything that happened after would not be. The clamps released the dropship, sending the vessel plunging through the floor into the air below. It would fall for several hundred meters, before Hall would engage the dropship's engine and guide it to the planet under its own power.

Then they would go to Fiorina 361 and to its secrets.

CHAPTER TEN

I

Yomato was nervous.

In the past thirty years of his association with Weyland Yutani, he knew that he would be required to do some unsavoury things. For most part, he had carried out those tasks, with the fierce conviction that what he did was done in the name of science. However, now, as he stood before the monitor screen in a little known about room on the station, he realised that this time, there could be no excuses for what he was going to do. He always left the business of clearing unwanted interference to those who were experts at their craft and denied the moral responsibility of it all.

And now those experts had drawn him into their realm and he did not want any part of it. Tasha Dorn and her companion stared at the readings on the screen before them. The sensor readings of the long range scanner showed that a ship was on its way to Fiorina 361. The man turned to Yomato and noticed the pallor of the good Doctor to be somewhat lacking in colour. It was to be expected, he thought silently to himself, these scientific types did not have stomach for anything distasteful.

"Perhaps you should not be here, Doctor." He remarked. "Tasha and I can deal with what needs to be done."

Yomato saw the look in his eyes, the insinuation that he was too weak or cowardly to face the price his work had demanded. It was not a feeling that Yomato liked and even though he didn't want to stay here and watch them carry out their task, he felt compelled to stay for his own credibility in their eyes. "You need not concern yourself with me, I can manage."

"As you wish." The man replied turning back to the screen.

******************

Within the APC, the mood was charged with electricity. The Marines were eagerly making last minutes checks on their equipment, once the turbulence of the initial drop from the Sparta had faded. After weeks of laying dormant, most of them were pleased to be getting back to work once again and Maia couldn't help but share that sentiment. She herself, hated being idle.

Twenty minutes into the flight, she found herself studying the life signs monitors on the rear wall of the APC. Each screen held the name and strong vitals signs of each Marine in the squad. Above the life signs screen were the monitors projecting the images captured by their in built cameras of their helmets, allowing her to see what they would be seeing no matter where they were. The Marines were equipped with state of the art equipment which was somewhat incidental because the Marines had been trained very much the same way.

"How many drops is this for you Captain?" Marin inquired of her.

Maia turned around in her chair and noticed suddenly that all eyes were trained upon her. She was hardly surprised, after all, she was taking them into a potential combat situation and they wanted to know how experienced she was. Maia decided to give them the truth and lay their fears to rest, although she would not tell them that not all her drops were not entirely for the military.

"Ninety seven." She replied automatically and quickly added before someone asked. "Combat drops."

"Ninety seven!" Someone exclaimed, this came from Private Perry Clark, a dark haired Mid Western with a strong accent. "You must be really lucky Sir." He replied, letting out a small whistle and his awe was a strong indication of how they others felt as well.

"Not really," Maia replied casually. "After ninety seven drops, something higher than luck is working for you."

"Foster, what is that?" Maia suddenly heard Devine behind her ask the android. She turned around and saw the Lieutenant pointing to something on the main view screen of the APC controls. The view screen showed an external view of their departure from the Sparta, with the ship slowly becoming smaller as they began their pass alongside the space station.

Maia unstrapped herself from her seat and walked towards Devine to get a better lock at what he was pointing at. Both he and Foster seemed to be staring at the screen in fascination when she arrived. "What is it?"

"I don't know." Foster remarked not looking at her, but studying the aberration himself. "Look at the underside of the station, those cylindrical tubes. I can't seem to understand what they are for."

Maia leaned closer and took a focused look on the tubes they were talking about. They seemed too large for docking rings and for which their positioning seemed all wrong. Not only that, but they were constructed with what looked like titanium pylons. The only time she had ever seen anything that look like that was during a mission in Altair, a space station that had incorporated something similar, but then it had been for the purpose of defence.

Suddenly, with a stab of clarity, she realised what they were. Missile launch tubes.

*************

"Tasha," he smiled at the young woman who was looking at him patiently, waiting for him to give her the order. "Fire when ready."

Yomato merely turned away from the both of them, unable to watch even though he knew that everything that transpired here was directly because of his work and for his work, he was able to make the sacrifice.

"Certainly," Tasha Dorn nodded, her voice silky smooth even though she was about to commit murder. Her finger searched for the angry red button on the panel and when she found it, wasted no time in depressing it.

**************

"Hall!" Maia almost screamed into the head set.

"Sir?" The pilot replied quickly, her voice full of alarm at the tone of her Captain's voice. "What is it?"

"Shut up and listen," Maia cut her off savagely for there was little time to lose. "That station has been armed with titanium missile launchers. I think they're arming to shoot us down, take evasive manoeuvres, now!"

But it was too late.

Even as Maia spoke, the missile had escaped the launches and had struck the dropship. Only Hall's expert piloting skills caused her to bank hard at the last minute, lessening the impact of the explosion. However, it was still enough. Within the cargo hold, the APC rocked dangerously in its cradle, anything that wasn't bolted down went flying through the air. Maia herself, had been thrown half way across the floor and landed hard on her ribs. Immediately, she heard the sickening crunch of bone as one of her ribs gave way.

"Captain are you alright?" MacReady yanked off his straps and hurried to her side.

For a moment, she was unable to answer as she felt red waves of pain cutting through her sides. Finally, she forced herself to restrain it as much as she was able and looked up at him. "I'm fine," she replied taking his hand as he helped her to her feet. The APC was shaking violently because the dropship carrying it was in trouble. Standing up, she secured her headset around her ears.

"Hall, how bad are we hit?" She demanded, ignoring the pain and hoping that the pilot was still alive to answer her. Within the APC, everyone was in a state of shock and disarray, but for now, Maia had to take control of a large problem, getting them out of this alive.

Less than a split second later, Hall's reassuring voice boomed through the APC. "If I hadn't bank hard to port, we wouldn't have made it." Her voice was excited and angry, with the strain visible as she spoke. "As it is Captain, we're in bad shape, they're hit the main engine, I can land her on auxiliaries, but we are not going to be able to break orbit."

Maia absorbed this information with a deep breath, trying to decide what to do next. "Alright," she said calming down slightly. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, but for right now, I don't think they're through with us yet. They can afford to let us get away alive so I suggest you dive and get the hell of range before they can take another shot at us."

"Will do." Hall answered wearily and was about to switch off when she suddenly began yelling. "Sir, they've launched again!"

"Dive!" Maia ordered.

No sooner than she had spoken, the angle of the floor dropped sharply, causing both her and MacReady to fall at the same time. The nose of the dropship was plunging through the air almost as if Hall had turned off the auxiliary engines and was letting the craft plummet in a free fall towards the planet. The APC rocked violently and Maia who had landed on MacReady, stayed where she was until the dropship had escaped the range of the missile launched by the station.

She could feel the fear in the air, because even the Marines knew now that their situation had just leaped from routine to downright disastrous. The heat of the planet's ozone could be felt in the air and Maia knew their landing was going to be anything but pleasant. Suddenly, she heard an explosion in the distance that was not far away.

"That was the missile Sir," Hall's voice came through the com unit once again. "We manage to outrun it but Sir," she paused a minute as if what she was going to say would be difficult. "I'm flying on auxiliary engines only, I'm going to need a smooth surface to land this thing. "

That seemed logical, she decided and thought quickly. "Alright, the only place we can be assured of that is the Fiorina Prison. Maintain your course to the facility."

And yet somehow, something told her things were not going to be much safer down there either.

II

The APC landed hard on the ground where the dropship had ejected it from its hold. Maia felt her ribs sting even more when the large steel vehicle landed on the soft, moist sand of a beach near the prison facility. The dropship in the meantime continued forward to the heart of the prison, searching for the landing pad where it could put down safely. It had been decided that the landing would be much safer with a possibility of causing less damage than already expected, if the dropship were to jettison its cargo hold of the APC.

Thus, the armoured vehicle, having been ejected from its mothership, proceeded over the sandy ground towards the prison gates. Having entered the prison walls, it continued towards the landing bay to rendezvous with the dropship. A few minutes later, it made that meeting and the dropship had made a successful landing, as much as it could have managed under the circumstances.

Maia let out a sigh of relief when the doors to the APC slid open and she had a chance to escape the confining walls of the vehicle. She emerged first, walking gingerly out of the door way, with MacReady in close company, trying to ignore the throbbing in her side. Fiorina, she discovered was as dismal as the grey, prison walls that now surrounded them. The skies up above were grey and full of clouds, with harsh, gale force winds attacking her skin. The humidity in the air was apparent by the moisture gathering on her face and skin. The prison was tall and ominous around them, with an ugliness that was more than just structural.

She hobbled towards the dropship, which had landed only a few meters away from where she was. Maia knew that they had suffered extensive damage, but now as she observed the extent of it for herself, she counted them all exceedingly lucky to have made it to the surface alive. The ship's left wing was nothing but jagged metal, the initial missile has almost totally obliterated it. The area where the main engine was located, was charred with large portions of it reduced to not much more than scrap metal

The other Marines emerged from the APC, Parker was the first of them to reach her and MacReady. He seemed relieved that they had made it alive, but Maia didn't t have the heart to tell him that the worst was yet to come. "Hell of ride Sir." He tried to smile, but she could see that it was for the benefit of his squad and not because he felt like it.

"You're not kidding Sarge." MacReady remarked, but he didn't feel any more jovial than Parker did.

"Hall, Daley," Maia spoke into her headset and hoped all the battering it took didn't damage it in any way. "Come in."

After a second's hesitation, Halls voice came through all their headsets. "Hall here Sir," the pilot responded. Whether or not she knew it, her response caused her fellow Marines to sigh in relief.

"How are we doing?" Maia inquired.

"Well," Hall said letting out a deep breath. "Me and Daley are okay, but the ship's had it Sir. That landing was rough, even after we ejected APC. God knows how we manage to stay in one piece."

"Any chance of a launch?" Maia asked, even though she knew the question was futile. The outward appearance of the dropship should have been answer enough.

"Not one Sir." Hall answered firmly. "No way is she going to be able to break orbit. The best I can do is may be Daley and I can work on the engines and perhaps boost the power output of the auxiliary engines. With that, I may be able to get the ship to fly for a short distance, if we need to get out of here fast. But that's all she's capable of and its going to take me a while to rig it to work any way."

"It's better than nothing." Maia replied, not liking the situation that was steadily getting worse. "Get to it Hall, we're going to do a bit of investigating."

"Yes Sir." The woman answered.

Maia turned to her troops and saw the expectant expressions on their faces. They needed direction and she had to provide them with one. At the moment, their situation was grim and too keep morale up, she had to get their minds of it. Even if their mission parameters had just been shot to fucking hell. "Alright," she said quietly and saw their interest immediately focused on her. "I'm not going to jerk you around, we are in serious trouble. The fact that the Company shot us down, means that they're not going to let us get off this planet alive. Therefore, we can expect company very soon."

Suddenly, the air seemed colder and the wind whipping against her skin made her shiver slightly. Maia made a mental note to get some warmer clothing from the APC. "I don't know how much time we have, before they come after us, but we are in the heart of what they've been trying to hide. So I'm going to recommend a full sweep of the area, I want every part of this facility checked and double checked so we can see what it is that's so important, they're willing to shoot down a military ship. Maybe if we find something, we can use it to our advantage. Devine, take the troops and fan out, Foster and I will stay in touch with you while we look around on own and try to figure something out."

Devine nodded slowly and turned to the troops. However, it was Parker who got everyone moving with his loud voice. "You heard the Captain, get moving!"

Maia watched them move towards the prison complex with rising anger bubbling inside of her. She had restrained her outrage mainly because she didn't want to the Marines to see her admit how bad things were. Right now, they needed reassurances more than anything else. Even though they were trained personnel, who could handle quite a bit, Maia knew that no one could be truly prepared for a no win situation like the one they were facing now.

"I knew it." She stated softly, but Foster, with his enhanced hearing abilities, looked up at her when she spoke. "I goddamn knew it."

"Captain?"

Maia looked up at him. Her anger and fury vented itself on the darkened expression in her eyes and on her face. "The damn company!" She exclaimed. "I should have known that Yomato had something up his sleeve. I knew he gave up too easily."

"But surely they can't get away with this." Foster looked at her. Even though the android was exceptionally intelligent with gigabytes of information in his memory core, he was essentially naive in matters of the world, especially when those matters pertained to the darker side of human nature. In particular; greed.

"Can't they Foster?"Maia asked out loud. "They've shot down a military ship, an act that could on its own, if discovered by the UNE, justify the dismantling of their entire corporation. They wouldn't have done it unless they had some very powerful friends that could cover their asses for them on Earth. They shot us down because they couldn't afford to have us report to Earth what they're hiding here. On the other hand, now that they've done it, they can afford to leave any of us alive in case a rescue ship comes here looking for us."

"I don't understand," Foster remarked. "Why?"

Why indeed? How could she make his understand? The Company didn't act with logic or rationale, it held no morale code when it pursued its quest for the almighty dollar. It had no compassion to speak of and human lives were more expendable than their desire for profit. How could any one really understand that kind of greed, moreover, how could she explain it to an android when she herself didn't comprehend it.

"Foster, for them to do this. They must have powerful friends back on Earth. They're going to need them to cover this up. Either way, we are dead unless we find out what's going on here."

*************

"They're still alive!" Yomato roared at both Tasha and her superior.

Tasha Dorn rolled her eyes in frustration and boredom. This self important upstart was really starting to get on both their nerved and she wished that it was in her power to terminate him as easily as they had done so to the Colonial Marines. Looking over to her companion, she saw his display the same things in his eyes and he took a deep breath to calm his impatience over Yomato's outbursts. If it were not for his necessity to the experiment below on the planet, Tasha would have been happy to place him in a torpedo tube and send him into orbit as well.

"They went into evasive manoeuvres at the last minute," she told the man, "there was nothing I could do. Either way, I know they sustained considerable damage, perhaps more than they are able to repair."

"How did they know that we were attacking?" Yomato demanded.

"Maia is very perceptive," the leader replied. "She isn't the best because she walks into ambushes, Hikaru. That's why I selected her for this mission. We had to make this operation look realistic."

"So where are they?" Yomato asked, pacing the floor of his office like a nervous cat.

"They would likely be at the prison." Tasha answered. "The level of damage sustained, meant they required a decent landing pad to put down, or not at all."

"That means they'll find out about the experiment!" He looked at her horrified.

"So?" Tasha's companion looked at him with indifference, unable to believe the Company could have entrusted so much to this fool. "Who are they going to tell? Any transmissions they attempt to send back to Earth can be intercepted by us long before it arrives there. "

"But the sensitivity of the project cannot be dismissed that easily. We have no idea what those people will do to the experiment." Yomato insisted.

"Doctor," Tasha said trying to calm the man down from his dramatics. "Your experiment is safe enough. Sanjay's decision to land at Fiorina has eliminated the need to send our people to the surface."

"I don't understand." Yomato looked at both him and her blankly, not comprehending what they were saying. "What do you mean."

"I mean," he said with a sardonic smile which he exchanged with Tasha, "your project will take care of Maia and the Colonial Marines, all by themselves. Let us say, they'll get a first hand insight into your activities on Fiorina."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I

The interior of the prison was no less redeeming than its exterior.

Whomever had designed this facility had done so with the intention of making the prisoners it housed, feel like this was a place where refuse like them deserved to be. Inside the stone wall, the gloomy atmosphere continued, along the grey corridors and grimy walls. Even though this place had been abandoned for almost four decades, it seemed to Maia that even in its day, it was never a place one would ever call inviting. The air in the place felt dank and musty, with tiny insects crawling against the walls and the floor like a festering disease. It was obvious that no one had been in this place for a great number of years.

Despite its obvious abandonment, the Marines nevertheless made their sensor sweep throughout the facility as if this were any other assignment. However, it became apparent quickly enough, that nothing existed here other than the insects, the cobwebs and the occasional rats they happened along. It didn't take long for the Marines to complete their objective and very soon, Master Sergeant Parker found himself informing his immediate superior, Devine that the area was secure. Devine gave further others to keep searching, for even though the facility was seemingly empty, there must have been something here to warrant what the Company had done to maintain their silence.

Meanwhile he informed the Captain of their current situation and was on hand with Parker to meet her upon her arrival into the complex. Parker had left MacReady in charge while they were conferring in regards to what they would do next.

"We've made a sweep of the entire complex." Devine spoke handing Maia his report on the initial survey conducted by the Marines. "We found nothing Sir, not one living thing."

"Well," Maia said tightly, "the place was supposedly cleared out by Weyland Yutani almost forty years ago. But there's got to be something here." She declared facing the three men in her company with resolve in her eyes.

"Right," Parker agreed, "they didn't shoot us down for nothing."

"We've got to keep looking," Maia said to them. "Whatever it is, it must be here."

Suddenly, the sound of MacReady's voice came through Parker's headset and was sufficiently loud enough for everyone to hear. "Sarge, we've found something."

Parker met their eyes first before he responded to the corporal's statement. "What is it?"

"We found it in the trash compound," MacReady continued and Maia wondered if he had ignored Parker's question on purpose. "I think you'd better see or yourself."

**************

Hurrying through the maze of corridors through the buildings of the Fiorina Prison was like being caught in an endless loop. Every corridor looked the same and the lack of lighting made it feel like they were walking forever. However, with the torch she held in her hands, and the limited illumination it gave off, Maia knew one thing for certain, this structure was a defensive nightmare. It would be almost impossible to keep the Company killers, when they arrived, out of the complex. And despite herself, she didn't want to be forced to take refuge within the wreck of a very damaged dropship. Despite her inherent curiosity the mystery surrounding Fiorina, at the moment, her primary concern was surviving the massacre the Company was preparing for them.

She was glad to emerge in the greyish light of Fiorina's sky when they approached the trash compound. For some reason, the building itself made her feel claustrophobic and she wondered how the prisoners who occupied this place so many years ago, could endure it at all. The trash compound was filled to capacity, with much of the refuse being the obsolete equipment the Company had been unable to sell when the ore factory was shut down. When they arrived there, MacReady, Hawkins and O'Neill were already waiting for them.

"What is it Corporal?" Maia asked, remembering that she had to maintain her distance with MacReady, even though their relationship was a little beyond that of Captain and Corporal. She had to keep herself from the overwhelming urge of calling him Mac, in front of this fellow Marines.

"We missed it first time around," MacReady explained as he led them around the large, incongruous pile of metal and rotting garbage. "It was hidden amongst all the other stuff."

Once they had rounded the epicentre of the heap, Maia could see the faint outline of something that didn't seem to belong amongst the graveyard of obsolete refinery equipment. With a sudden start, she realised what it was MacReady and the others had discovered; the abandoned wreckage of a military EEV.

"We found it when we were coming back through here," MacReady continued. Meanwhile, Maia and Foster took tentative steps towards it. "The Company probably felt it was worthless as salvage material I guess, it looks pretty beat up."

Maia didn't disagree with that sentiment. Even with the age and its undignified locale, the EEV had not weathered the ravages of time well at all. However, there was no denying that it was indeed a find, particularly, if this was the EEV she thought it was. "Parker, get Addison up here, we'll need comtech. Everyone else hold your position, me and Foster are going in."

Even as she spoke, she located a gaping access way through the hull. It was the main hatchway of the EEV, probably left open by the occupants of this prison so long ago. The white hull had turned grey and amber, partially from dirt and also because of rust in this extremely moist climate. Maia entered first, pushing dangling wires and debris out of her way as she made herself a small path deeper into the vessel. The air inside was almost foul, but she was to intent on examining the EEV to care. Also, the temperature within was cold, as her hot breath caused rings of vapour to form in the air.

Inside, almost everything was utterly damaged beyond repair. The cryotubes within had been smashed, their glass chambers wearing shatter lines. One cryotube had been impaled by a support beam, while another had been smashed by the initial crash she assumed. Only one of the freezers were still intact, and Maia took note of that for future reference. She side stepped another piece of wreckage and bumped against its cramped walls as she moved further inside.

"What a mess." She remarked.

"They must have impacted hard," Foster replied. "It just about tore the whole structure apart." The android was standing his ground, examining things from where he was for now.

"Any chance we can get a reading of the computer or the main flight recorder?" She inquired.

Foster raised a brow and shrugged non-commitally. "It's possible," he answered. "But there's been a lot of moisture in here. EEV equipment is usually built to withstand quite a bit, and the computer seems to be the only thing that didn't damaged by the crash, outwardly at least."

Maia nodded in understanding, seeing what he meant. She was almost to the computer console screen when suddenly she caught a glimpse of something sitting on the bench. Approaching it stealthy, she saw what she was certain to be a hand. "Foster," she called out as she moved quickly towards it. "Get over here."

The android was by her side in seconds as Maia stood over the dismembered remains of what she discovered to be an android. All that remained of it, was the upper torso with head and left arm still attached to it. Part of the android's face had been damaged, and it stared lifelessly at them with one milky eye. It was a grotesque parody of something asleep.

Foster seemed to stared at it mesmerized, both with fascination and horror. Maia was certain that this had disturbed him and she couldn't blame him if he was affected by this. If she had seen a human in this state she couldn't say she would be any less upset than he was now. "Foster, are you alright?" She asked putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I am fine." He responded quickly. Although his eyes were still fixed on his more unfortunate predecessor. "I should like to try and revive him if that is possible Sir," he replied after a moment. However, he had difficulty meeting her gaze when he spoke. "He might have information that might be useful to us."

"I agree." Maia said with a smile. "Do what you can for him."

"Thank you Sir." Foster replied looking at her with genuine gratitude in his eyes. "I'll get to work on it immediately."

She didn't doubt that for a minute.

When she emerged from the EEV, Maia saw Parker heading towards her with a serious expression on his face. She wondered what other catastrophe could have possibly fallen now and braced herself for it. She had left Foster and Addison in the EEV, as the android wanted to make further examinations of his older and dismembered counterpart before attempting to move him. Addison on the other hand, was attempting to access all the information in the flight recorder.

"Sir, I think Marin and Quinn have found something." The sergeant announced in a no nonsense tone.

"What ?" Maia looked at him sharply. She wished these army types would just relinquish their information voluntarily instead of expecting an order requesting it first.

"According to Marin," he said with a trouble expression on his face, "she has no idea what it is. That's all they can say for certain."

Maia took a deep breath and released it. Nodding slowly, she looked up at the sergeant after a moment. "Tell them to hold their position, I'll take a look for myself in the APC."

"Yes Sir." He answered automatically as he watched her leave.

II

Less than five minutes after her conversation with Parker, Maia found herself seated next to Devine in the APC. Both of them stared into the monitor screens belonging to Marin and Quinn. At the moment, the two smart gunners field of vision was firmly focused upon one another as she heard snippets of their casual conversation regarding what they had found.

"Alright," Maia said to Devine. "Let's see what we've got." She picked up her headset and secured it around herself so she would be able to speak to the two Marines out there on the perimeter of the prison facility.

"Marin, this is Captain Sanjay," she announced and their conversation was immediately halted when they realised they were in earshot of their superiors. "Give me a visual of what you've found."

"No problem." Marin answered. A second later, Maia saw her camera pivoting sharply to the left, running over terrain that was barren and full of fog. It had begun to rain and visibility was diminished even worse than it already was. Maia saw nothing in the desolate land before her until Marin turned further left.

"It's a fucking beauty." Quinn retorted as the faint outline of his hand pointed something out in the distance. At first, neither Maia nor Devine next to her could make out the shape very well. All they could say for certain was the two Smart gunners were standing on top of a slight hill, looking downwards. However, as she focused harder, she began to see what they were looking at. Beyond them, was an odd structure, its appearance obscured by the fog and rain in front of the screen.

It was dome like in shape. However its construction was undoubtedly primitive, with uneven lines running across it like unfinished seams. Maia could imagine it to be man made, but nothing she had been told about the alien, indicated that it was intelligent enough to build anything either. For some reason, it reminded her of an ant hill, but this was certainly more elaborate and it didn't look like it had been made from any material she'd ever seen. The outer casing reminded her of bone, but she knew that was impossible. It was almost as large as the prison complex itself and the amount of bone collected to build the structure was too horrifying to contemplate. At the moment, the structure seemed quiet with no signs of visible activity. She wondered if there were aliens within.

"What is it?" Devine asked, his voice soft. "I've never seen anything like that."

"Neither have I," Maia replied, her eyes still fixed on the strange building. "Marin, have you detected any signs of life?"

"Not one." She remarked. "Whatever is in there, its either dead or doesn't read on our sensors."

Maia didn't like that one bit. Somehow she doubted the Company would be so determined to keep this place a secret if there was nothing here to find. She took a deep breath trying to decide what their next course of action would be. This situation was getting worse by the minute but she knew her options were limited. Her initial plan of learning what was so important to the Company, was the only one she had. They needed leverage to get themselves from this mess and then there was the fact that the military had sent them here to find out what was happening on Fiorina.

"Marin, Quinn," Maia said after deciding what they would do next. "Rejoin the rest of the squad."

"Yes Sir." The Latino woman answered, seemingly uneasy by their new discovery. Maia didn't blame her apprehension, she herself had a healthy dose of it.

Turning to Devine, she looked at the Lieutenant who was also wearing the same unsettled look. "Tell Parker to bring the squad back here, when they're all regrouped. We're going in."

Ten minutes later, the APC was once again carrying a full complement. The tension level in the air was thick and fast, with everyone painfully aware how dire their predicament was and the extent the Company was willing to go, to make certain it remained that way. Maia looked at their faces and knew that despite their attempts to remain professional and keep their minds on their work and the mission ahead, they had valid fears to address.

"As Marin would have told you by now," Maia stood up and faced them. "We've made a discovery at the North West perimeter of the prison. We do not know what it is, but I have every reason to believe that this might be what we're looking for. We shall make a sweep of the structure and see what we can find."

"And then what?" This came from Hawkins.

"And then, we'll be in a position to dictate terms. At the moment, they think they've got us and they're not far wrong. If we are going to get off this planet alive than we're going to have prove them wrong. Now I warn you, there is a good chance that we'll find evidence of the aliens that the Company's been after and if so, you are to use extreme caution. I only want proof of their existence, not heroics. Just verify that there's some unknown biological life form present and leave. Nothing else."

The Marines took in what she said without saying very much although she could tell they were nevertheless concerned. However, she was confident in their ability. No matter how tense the situation, they were Marines, trained professionals who were very aware that they had a job to do. This one was not different than any other, except for a few minor details that would be solved when they had accomplished this mission.

Maia hoped it was that easy.

***********

Up close, the dome looked slightly more sinister than it had when Maia had seen it through Marin's camera. This was mainly so because its proportions had grown and seemed to overwhelm the landscape and the tiny APC that lumbered towards it. As they approached, the dome seemed to fill the expanse of the windscreen and everyone crowded around her to see for themselves, what they were up against.

"Everyone look alive." Parker ordered quickly, as he prepared himself to disembark from the armoured carrier. His initiative caused the rest of his subordinates to follow suit and within seconds, the Marines were patiently waiting by the doorway of the APC, arranging themselves in their tactical positions.

Maia drove along the base of the dome, passing by the myriad of bone and materials that had been fused together to build this structure. She couldn't help feel amazed by the sheer magnitude of the undertaking, for it had been constructed with materials that would be otherwise considered refuse by man. She could see in the wall, bone, wood, rock and even steel that she assumed came from the prison. Driving past this erected junk yard, she finally located a fissure through the dome that was large enough for humans to enter. Making a sharp turn towards it, she drove to the front of it and pulled the APC to a halt only a few yards before the entry way.

"Look," she turned around in her swivel chair before the APC controls and faced her team. "I don't want any heroics. If Marin's previous readings are to be believed, then there is no life in there or the aliens are in a state of hibernation. We don't want to engage them, we only want proof of their existence. If you even see a flutter on your motion trackers, I want you out of there, do I make myself clear?" Focusing on Marin and Quinn, mainly because they would be the ones most likely to stay if such a thing happened, she reinforced her order with a stern warning, "just do your jobs and get back here. We got other problems to deal with."

"Yes Sir." The chorus of voices was loudest when Parker lent his vocal talents to the whole. It was Clark who took the initiative and depressed the button that opened the APC door. The hydraulics operating the hatchway, sounded their activation with a loud gasp before the door rose to an opening before her.

Maia found her gaze on MacReady as the Marines began to filter out of the APC. She hadn't meant to do so, but now that he was going off to face god only knows what, she found herself feeling profoundly saddened that she had been the one to send him off to face it. MacReady saw her looking at him and even though neither said nothing in response to this, she nodded slightly before dropping her gaze. He reacted with a faint smile and it was enough. He knew that she had wished him luck. With that, he turned towards the doorway again and followed the rest of his comrades out.

Parker took the lead, moving cautiously around the APC as he approached the fissure. As he looked into the darkened passageway, he ordered Quinn to take the point with his Smart gun before him. This was a tactical move, for if there was anything in front of them, then Quinn's weapon would finish it off long before the others would have a chance to move. Upon closer observation, they found that the material that made up the dome had been fused together with resin that had the bonding power of industrial strength adhesive.

"It looks like everything is being held together by some kind of resin," the sergeant spoke into his com unit, informing the Captain in the APC. He touched some of it and felt its sticky texture before adding. "Looks like silicon, but I could be wrong."

"Silicon?" He heard Maia mused from within the vehicle. "Can you tell if its man made?"

"Not really." He replied. "Its pretty clear which suggests it could be man made, but the application isn't very precise, this has been smeared on, not applied."

"Alright then," she replied. "Proceed."

The Marine moved forward, with Quinn taking the lead as he eased the Smart gun carefully through the fissure for the large size of the gun made entering the opening a somewhat tight fit. However, once he was through, the rest of the Marines disappeared through the fissure with more rapid progression. Once they disappeared from Maia's view through the windscreen, she quickly moved to the front of the monitor screens carrying the images projected by their cameras.

"Into the lion's maw," she remarked as she stared at the disjointed images of Marines moving through the darkness, with only the lanterns on their helmets guiding them through.

"I wish I knew what that was." Devine said with a sigh and she could tell that he too, was uneasy. She was just better at hiding it because she had the benefit of experience.

"You and me both," she said drily, hoping that it helped the young man to know that he wasn't the only one feeling apprehension. Foster in the meantime, said nothing. He was at the other end of the APC, sitting at a small work station, conducting repairs on his wounded comrade to even notice what was unfolding just a few meters away from the APC.

*****************

Inside it was dark.

Drops of water rained down on them all, like the soft sprinkling of a spring shower. The Marines switched to infra-red to see in this convoluted darkness as their helmet lanterns did very little to illuminate this place. The ground was soft, almost muddy, yet it had a strange consistency about it that no one care to comment on. Even as they moved, they could feel the squelching of material that was alien to them, underneath their boots.

The place felt cramped even though there were no walls, but they kept bumping into each other because no one wanted to stray very far. There were strange nodular lengths in the ground, almost like unfinished sculptures, tall and dark. The slime and resin were almost everywhere now, and the air inside the dome felt warm and humid, almost alive. Despite the sprinkle of cool water, it felt hot, for MacReady could feel beads of water running down his brow.

"Not exactly the Holiday Inn is it?" Addison spoke, attempting the break the strain of tension that was running through all of them. However, he failed to do so, because right now, his humour felt out of place, even wrong.

"Shut up Addison." Parker hissed from somewhere in the rear.

The others also remained silent, mainly because they agreed that this was no time for levity and also because they were gripped with a kind of gruesome fascination with what they were seeing, especially when they arrived at another fissure in the far wall of the initial chamber. It was even darker on the other side of that entrance way and the faint, distasteful odour they had been smelling since they entered this place had begun to expand in their intensity. It was almost foul.

"We're entering a secondary chamber." Parker continued his narrative to his commanding officer who was listening to each word with growing apprehension.

"Previous orders still stand sergeant." He heard her remind him and realised how concerned she was. That made him feel better, although by not very much. "Proceed with caution," she said.

"Fucking A." O'Neill remarked softly in the background.

"You all heard the Captain." Parker barked over the darkness and his voice seemed to cut through the stillness of the air.

His words were heeded, for as they entered the depths of the secondary chamber, he noticed they were moving slower, taking care as they forged onwards, which was a good sign he supposed. The odour that had been foul had now become rancid. It flared up venomously in their nostrils and was near suffocating. However, that was nothing in comparison to the contents within the chamber and for a moment it almost seemed like they had stepped through a gateway.

A gateway into hell.

CHAPTER TWELVE I

"Jesus Christ."

Someone whispered in the darkness and Maia thought it might have been either Private Hawkins or Corporal Addison. Either way it didn't matter. Even if Maia was a safe distance away, when she stared at the screen within the APC, that showed her what they were seeing, she could share their sentiments. When they had entered the second chamber and discovered what its contents were, no one could speak. They were all too gripped with horror to be able to verbalise what was running through their thoughts. For Maia at least, one part of the mystery was solved, little comfort that it was.

The animals she had seen on board the station were here.

What was left of them anyway. Their rotting and decomposing carcasses covered the ground. Dogs, cats, the whole array of animals she had seen in the cargo hold had been sent here to share the same grisly fate. Their broken bodies lay still and unmoving, the life that had been theirs once had escaped through the large, gaping holes in the middle of their bodies. Almost as if they had exploded from inside out. The carcases were rapidly deteriorating in the moist climate, the warmth of their festering flesh could be felt in the room, along with the rancid order of their decomposition. Insects and slugs, slimed over the pulpish flesh, hastening the process of decay that was overcoming them.

The Marines could only stare, for the scene before them looked obscene and stomach turning even for their solid constitutions. No one could speak and in the darkness, the sounds of retching could be heard. Maia herself couldn't imagine a more gruesome scene. However, as they looked closer, there was something else that was out of place, something that they had missed initially.

Next to each of the carcasses, or in very close proximity to them, were large, round leathery objects, located on the ground near them. All of these objects were open at the top and seemed very alien in their appearance. As Hawkins approached one closely, he observed them and found that the round objects were empty inside and for a moment, he drew a strange comparison of it with an egg. Suddenly, he spotted something else, lying on the ground, half hidden by the upright egg.

"Sarge!" He called out.

"What is it?" Parker replied, himself gripped in horror of their gruesome find within this chamber. The sergeant hurried over to the young private, the newest addition to this squad to see what the young man had found.

Hawkins was standing in between the carcass of an animal that was too decayed to be recognised, and one of those round leathery things. Yet, the young man was not looking at either, he was instead pointing to something that was directly underfoot. Parker focused his eyes and wondered for a moment if it was someone's severed hand. However, on closer observation, he realised that there were too many fingers and then it struck him, that was he was looking at was the infamous alien who existence the Company had frantically been trying to hide.

"That's it?" MacReady remarked as he stood by the Sarge, staring at the thing.

"I guess so." Parker replied quizzically. "It looks dead."

The Marines began to find more of these small, dead aliens and always in close proximity to the egg like objects it might have come from and to the dead carcass of an animal. They also began to discover that not all the animals that lay in this gruesome graveyard were earth type animals, there were even the carcasses of animals that were indigenous to Fiorina itself. Whatever had happened to these animals after their capture, was not held in discrimination by the aliens whom had caused their deaths.

"Are you reading this Captain?" Maia heard Parker ask. By this time, all three of the remaining Sparta compliment, herself, Devine and Foster were fixated firmly on to the monitor screens.

"Yeah I am, but I don't understand." She replied honestly. "I can't see these little aliens as having the ability to destroy an entire colony. And if they're all dead, why is the Company trying so hard to keep it a secret? Other than the fact that they attempted and looks to have failed in trying to breed a nest of aliens here."

Parker couldn't answer her, in fact no one was able to. They were just as confused as she was.

"Keep looking around," she ordered. "If you keep finding more of the same then pull the team out. We're wasting our time here."

"Yes Sir," Parker answered, not exactly displeased at the order. He didn't like being in this place any longer than he had to be. Something about it made him feel uneasy.

Maia eased back into her chair, a thousand questions running through her head. A part of her was disappointed at what they had found. After all the deceit and subterfuge she had crawled through to get here, what they had found was an anti-climax. Was this the alien creature that Ripley had described and despite the dead carcases of all those animals, how could it devastated an entire human colony and colonial Marines? Why all the subterfuge? What was it that she was missing?

Meanwhile O'Neill found an unsealed egg in the corner of the chamber. He approached it stealthy, fascinated as he saw the sluggish movements within thick, opaque gelatinous material of something inside of it. He could even spy the alien itself, pulsating slowly with life, within its protective shell. He stared down the mouth of it, prodding it with the barrel of his gun while his comrades behind him, looked around the chamber. All of a sudden, it opened. Releasing a gust of hot, organic gashes into the air at the same time. O'Neill stepped back and placed his hands on his pulse rifle, preparing to shoot in case it tried to attack.

However, it did nothing.

It remained in its shell, almost afraid to emerge. O'Neill kept his vigil on it, watching it intently and waiting for it to move. He jabbed it again with his rifle which engendered nothing more than a startled shudder before remaining still once again. Finally, his patience got the better of him and he turned to the Sarge to alert his comrades to this find. Maybe Foster would be able to find something interesting about this as a possible specimen.

"Hey Sarge," he called out. "I got a live one here."

No sooner than he had turned his back to utter those words, he heard a sudden snap, very much like an elastic band being snapped hard. Turning around sharply, O'Neill was just in time to catch a face full of the alien. It landed hard on his face, almost toppling him over, its leather tail quickly coiling itself around his neck. He tried to scream, but the sound wouldn't escape his throat and in panic, his fingers tightened around the trigger of his rifle, releasing a full round into the egg the alien had escaped from. It tore the egg apart, splattering liquid everywhere, liquid which immediately began eating into the moist ground.

"Richard!" Yates screamed as she saw him go down.

But there was something else happening. As Yates ran towards O'Neill with the Sarge next to her, the other Marines felt a sudden shift in the air. In the corners and in the darkness, heavy gusts were heard, almost like the place had came alive somehow. Crackling noises tore through the air, sounding even louder than Yates' frantic voice as she tried to help O'Neill. Something was tearing, coming apart in the shadows they couldn't see.

"Mac,” Addison spoke up, staring at his motion detector. "I've got movement."

MacReady stared at the small tiny screen on the device and saw that movement markers were all over the screen. He looked up at Addison before looking around the place to see if there was any evidence of this at all, or whether the Junior Corporal was starting to get spooked by this place and seeing things. Aside from the Marines, there was no sign of anything else around or even approaching. "You're reading us." He declared, feeling an uneasy tightening in his chest.

"No, no," the comtech shook his head vigorously. "It isn't us." He knew enough not to be able to make a mistake of that magnitude. However, just for good measure, he shook the tracker hard, in case something was wrong with it. Even state of the art equipment was not entirely infallible. "There's movement," he insisted, "and its all around us!"

"Calm down!" MacReady snapped angrily. However, that uneasy feeling was becoming stronger and he knew Addison didn't get jumpy this easily. Still, he could see nothing moving and that scared him a little, because he was beginning to believe that something was coming.

Meanwhile, Parker stood next to Yates as she tended to O'Neill who was on the ground. At the moment, he was oblivious to the drama between MacReady and Addison, but even he was, he trusted his senior corporal's judgement. They couldn't see O'Neill's face, but they could see the alien which had wrapped itself around the young man's head. It seemed to tighten its grip at their approach. "Is he alive?" He asked the medic.

"He's alive." Yates replied after making a preliminary examination. "But unconscious. And I can't seem to get this thing off him. It keeps tightening up whenever I try to pry its legs or whatever they are, off." Her voice was shaky and afraid, mainly because of O'Neill. Had it been any one else, she could have been able to handle it, but O'Neill had been like a brother to her.

"Steady private," Parker ordered, realising her difficulty but not having the time to deal with it at the moment. "Hawkins, Clark, get over here!" He barked.

The two privates hurried forward, their eyes looking at O'Neill with concern. While Clark had the experience to cope with this, Hawkins had not. He was the newest addition to the team and he was yet to deal with losing comrades.

"Get him up," Parker ordered, deciding on a course of action. "We're taking him back to the APC."

"Hey," Addison called out, his voice more nervy that before. "They're still closing in on us man!" He looked around his surroundings apprehensively, but still could see nothing. However, he would swear on his life that something terrible was coming for them. "This is one big fucking signal."

"I don't see a thing." Hawkins replied as he leaned down to pick O'Neill up. He stood at the furthest corner of the group and yet could see nothing of what Addison was talking about. All of a sudden he heard something behind him and turned around quickly. For a moment, Hawkins knew not what he was looking at. Because it almost didn't seem real. It stood well above his head, with a strange, elongated shape and was almost jet black in colour. It had no eyes, none that Hawkins could see any way and a set of widening jaws that contained teeth that were dripping in slime and almost an inch in length. It stared at him or through him, with no emotion and once it made certain of Hawkins' potential as a threat, it attacked.

In pure terror, Hawkins reached for the Pulse Rifle slung around his shoulder but never managed to get a shot off. The alien lunged at him and felled him in less than a second. As he hit the floor screaming, he alerted Yates, Parker and Clark to the creatures presence. The last thing he saw as those enormous teeth bore down on him, were their frantic attempts to reach him before it was too late. The alien tore out his throat after that, with blood spurting out from a shredded jugular vein. Yates began screaming as Clark reacted more constructively by firing at the alien, without a second thought.

Bullets tore through the alien, causing its greenish blood to spray in all directions. As the fluid made contact with other material, it began hissing loudly as its acidic properties began to take hold. The air became thick with corrosive and noxious fumes. "Jesus Christ!" Clark exclaimed in horror. "It's got acid for blood!" Suddenly throughout the entire chamber, everything went insane.

Maia watched this in mounting horror, once she had turned away from the flat line of Hawkins' life signs on the screens and the faint coma like ones belonging to O'Neill. Through the cacophony of flurrying images on the screens of all Marine cameras, Maia became certain of one thing, this was Ellen Ripley's alien. The warrant officer had been the one who was sane and the company were the mad men. The same mad men that had trapped her and her team in this nightmarish place.

"Parker, get out there now!" Maia almost shouted into the com unit. She couldn't hear them very well because someone had started firing, which naturally caused all of them to as well. Amongst the sound of gun play was the unfamiliar screeching of something savage and primeval. Then there were also the screams. Maia couldn't let them die in there, no one deserved that. She had to be calm, she had to offer them the leadership that would get them out of this alive.

"Lay down a suppressing fire and retreat!" Devine was shouting.

A suppressing fire? Maia stared at him in disgust, this was no time to hold back the hordes. "Belay that order!" She shouted into her own com unit. "Parker listen to me carefully, place Marin on left flank and Quinn on right. I want everyone else ready to fire. I want you to fall back by squads and if anything gets in your way, kill it, understood."

"Yes Sir!" Parker yelled in response, sounding relieved at that someone had some idea what they were doing.

Inside the dome, the Marines attempted to comply to Maia's orders, but the signal that Addison had been tracking on his motion tracker was all around them, some had even broken through their defensive perimeters, such as it was. All over the place, Marines were firing their weapons in a desperate attempt to stay alive to be able to fall into any line. The strange, nodular lengths that they had passed by earlier on were coming alive where they stood and coming at them with force they couldn't withstand. Both smart gunners Marin and Quinn were firing their weapons at full capacity, leaving no quarter as they laid waste to the alien barrage as best they could.

But the aliens were still coming.

Parker was getting anxious, he couldn't seem to get the squad together. The aliens were coming off the walls and closing in on them and the team was starting to descend into panic. They had lost Hawkins and as Yates and Clark carried O'Neill the way they came, he remained in the rear, covering their backs, while he tried to exert some control over the situation.

"Reload!" He heard Quinn yell. "Someone cover me!"

"I got you!" MacReady's familiar voice cried out over the firing.

All of a sudden, something grabbed Parker from the shadows above him. The alien's claws sunk deep into his shoulders and began dragging him upwards, out of the reach of his fellow Marines. He never even had time to fire as he disappeared into the darkness, the shock of being borne upwards causing him to drop his rifle. All that Master Sergeant Parker could do was scream as he saw the massive set of alien jaws coming for him.

"Parker!" Maia screamed.

For a moment, she stared at the sergeants' life signs on the monitor screen, bearing almost identical readings to O'Neill's.

"Why aren't they falling back!" Devine demanded, in wide eyed terror, completely overwhelmed by their situation and for once Maia couldn't really blame him for that. She was a seasoned professional herself and yet she was floundering, unable to help the Marines she had come to know and respect.

"They're trapped!" She replied angrily, trying to think of a way to help them. She supposed the easiest thing to do would be to leave them, after all, no one would blame her if she walked away. The situation was beyond control now, a rescue could get her and the remaining crew of the APC killed. But something in her couldn't do it. She couldn't just leave them to be killed, not after getting to know each and everyone of them personally. They were her friends, no matter how much she hated to admit it. She couldn't leave them, especially when she knew she would never be able to close her eyes again to sleep, without having to face the nightmare of their screams in her dreams.

Taking a deep breath, she made a decision. Maia rose to her feet and sat herself down at the controls of the APC. Turning the ignition hard, the engines roared to life and she worked the gears quickly, before jamming her foot hard onto the accelerator causing the armoured vehicle to lunge forward. Devine regained his composure when he felt the APC moving and hurried to her.

"Sir, what are you doing?" He demanded standing shakily next to her.

"We're going in there!" Maia said coolly, while he was almost to the point of hysterics. Amateurs, she snorted. "We've got to go in and get them, they're cut off. They'll never make it out alive."

"Neither could we!" He retorted. However, Maia could see that it was his fear talking, that he was terrified of facing what the Marines were. If she bothered to care, she would have told him that it was a part of a commanders job to wade in the same shit his men had to.

"I'm willing to take the risk." She answered. "Now sit down, because we're not leaving them. Is that understood?" She glared at him.

"Yes Sir." He said finally, swallowing his anger with difficulty at the same time. However, he decided it wouldn't be wise to voice it at this moment, and sat meekly down in the nearest chair.

II

The aliens were beginning to overwhelm even Quins and Marinas barrage of smarten fire. They emerged from every corner of the room, from the walls, from the ceilings and even coming to life where they had been waiting all this while for someone to happen upon them. Only god knew how many of them there really were, because to the Marines there seemed to be hundreds of them in a never ending swarm that was quickly outnumbering them.

Even with their state of the art equipment, the aliens were winning.

"We've lost the Sarge!" Addison shouted at MacReady. The Marines had made little progress in their attempts to escape the alien hive, managing only to reach as far as the entrance to the second chamber. The aliens had attacked with the surgical precision of a crack military outfit themselves and had succeeded in keeping the Marines in disarray and enclosing them in a ring of steel. The Marines were fast running out of ammunition and it would only be a matter of time, before those supplies remaining, were also exhausted. Somehow, the aliens seemed to know it too.

"Move it!" MacReady shouted in response, trying to get the others to hasten their pace. If the Sarge was gone, then he was in charge and thus responsible for his tame. He had to do something, anything to get them out of here alive.

"MacReady!" Maia's voice came through the com unit and he had never felt more relieved to hear an officer's voice.

"Captain!" He called out. "we're pinned down. They're coming off the walls and ceiling. We've lost the Sarge and Hawkins, O'Neill is down too."

"I know." She answered. "I'm coming to you in the APC. Get as far out as you can and get ready to jump out of the way in a hurry."

"Thank Christ." He whispered to himself. With that news giving his confidence a well needed boost, MacReady turned to the slow moving group. "Move your asses! The Captain's coming through with the APC."

Maia swung the steering wheel of the APC around hard, driving a short distance away from the dome before turning it to face the structure once again. Taking a deep breath to steel herself, she slammed her foot on the accelerator and caused the vehicle's engine to roar forward. Gaining speed as she moved forward, she braced herself for impact. Maia didn't know how heavy or thick those silicon and bone walls were held together, but she was going to put as much force behind the APC as possible.

In front of her, the distance between the APC and the dome was quickly decreasing and Maia pushed down on the pedal harder. The vehicle shuddered with power and she closed her eyes as it struck the fissure wall. The sheer velocity of the APC, cracked open the side of the dome like an egg, tearing through its silicon walls as if it were made out of paper. The APC shook violently, bumping its passengers about with similar force. However, the sheer weight of the vehicle crushed any obstacles before it, with relative ease. Relentlessly, Maia flattened the accelerator once she had recovered from the impact. The APC rumbled through the first chamber and reached the entrance to thee second quickly. Through the windscreen, she could see Addison and MacReady struggling to get through.

"Devine!" Maia shouted. "Open the damn hatch!" The lieutenant nodded wildly before staggering to his feet and hurrying to the door.

The sound of the APC's engines was almost the sweetest sound that the Marines had ever heard. Seeing it before them was an even sweeter moment. Addison and MacReady hurried through the debris of silicon, bone and resin that had been crushed by the APC upon its arrival, towards the open hatchway of the armoured carrier.

"Get in here!" Devine shouted as he looked through the fissure for the others to emerge. MacReady and Addison stumbled into the APC's hatch, falling down on the floor as they reached safety and tried to catch their breaths.

Next to arrive from the nightmarish second chamber was Marin. The Smart gunner was firing at the aliens, that were trying to keep her from making it to the APC. Devine removed his sidearm and began firing, giving the young woman some measure of protection as she made her way forward. Which was just as well for her Smarten chose that vulnerable moment to exhaust its supplies of ammunition. Marin reacted by releasing its harness and allowing the massive gun to fall noisily to the floor. Freed from the bulky attachment, she ran past the hail of suppressing fire offered by Devine and entered the safety of the armoured vehicle.

"Fuck!" Marin swore as she leaned against the side of the APC. "I never want it to be that close again!"

"Where the hell are the others?" Maia demanded from her seat in the front of the APC.

However, even as she spoke, Quinn was paving a way for the remaining Marines to reach them through the horde of aliens that would keep them from doing so. Murderous hails of bullets hurled themselves at the aliens, keeping them at bay, for as long as possible. If the truth be known, Quinn was pleased to see the APC himself, for once he was forced to admit that they were in a situation that was too much for even his gung-ho tastes. Behind him, Yates and Clark were struggling with O'Neill's unconscious form.

"I can see the APC!" The smart gunner announced almost euphorically. It was true, he could see Marin on the floor of the APC through the open hatch, gasping for breath. He let out a silent sigh of relief at seeing that she was still alive. Quinn was aware that they had lost the Sarge and Hawkins, but he had lost touch with Marin and had been praying that she wasn't one of the casualties.

"Come on Quinn!" Marin shouted upon sighting him. Staggering to her feet, the young woman came to meet him as he reached the doorway of the APC. She helped him through the entrance way because his bulky smarten was too large to fit through. Meanwhile Devine was reloading his weapon while MacReady took up the lapse and provided the last three Marines cover as they approach.

Yates and Clark were only a few meters away from the APC, Addison had emerged from the vehicle to assist them with carrying O’Neill’s body. However, for most part they were safe, after all the APC was only a few meters away. What could possibly happen?

"Careful!" Yates declared as she supervised the two men carrying O'Neill's body through the entrance way. The Private was still very much unconscious with the monstrous alien obscenity still attached to his face. Suddenly, what was a still part of the wall, came alive with savage intensity. Yates saw the alien approaching Clark, who was carrying O'Neill's feet. It was sneaking past Devine's suppressing fire with ease.

"Clark, look out!" She shouted on top of her lungs.

The private swung around, dropping O'Neill instantly and going for his pulse rifle. The alien was less than a meter away when he pulled the trigger of his weapon and let loose a hail of bullets that promptly tore the creature apart. Bullets tore through the hard exoskeleton and splattered its acidic blood in all directions, thoroughly soaking Clark in it.

Yates and the rest of the Marines watched in helpless horror as Clark shook his body, trying frantically to shake off the corrosive acid from his skin. Whether or not it was a futile gesture never came into mind as he threw back his head and screamed in excruciating agony as the acid began to eat through his skin.

"Clark!" Yates screamed out loud. She almost went through the door after him, even when he had collapsed on the ground, very much dead. However, Marin dragged her back into the APC, kicking and screaming as the others brought O'Neill into the vehicle. Behind them, MacReady slammed its door shut, locking them up safely within its armoured walls.

"Captain go!" MacReady shouted towards Maia, signalling that everyone was here that could be. The others were gone.

Maia reacted quickly, throwing the APC into reverse and jamming her foot on the accelerator as he lurched backwards the way it came. She was unconcerned if she hit anything, all she cared about was getting the hell out of this nightmarish place. The APC crashed through another wall as it left the dome and Maia swung the steering wheel around so that the vehicle would be facing forward when she drove. Once out into the darkened sky of Fiorina, Maia began to breath a little easier as she drove away from the dome. At least they were out of the nest, she thought as the distance from it kept increasing, they further they drove.

At least they were safe.

If only for a while.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I

The only place that Maia could think to go was back to the dropship. Even though it was temporarily grounded, at least it was an environment that was fully self contained. It could totally isolate them from the outside for the time being, where else the prison was wide open, allowing infiltration through dozens of air ducts, heating vents and miles of underground maintenance tunnels. She and the Marines needed sanctuary from their current predicament to think of a way out of this situation, because when they had escaped from the dome, they had done so with luck. The next time, she doubted if any of them would escape with their lives.

As the APC approached the dropship, Maia activated the automatic doors for the APC's entrance into the vessel. She prayed silently that the doors were damaged during the crash, for she did not relish having to get out of this safe haven to venture outside in order to wrestle with a manual release button. However, after a moment trying to decide whether its systems could do the task, the doors hissed loudly and opened up for APC. Maia sighed in relief and thanked the maker for small comfort, before driving the APC into the safety of their mothership.

But their problems were far from over.

Maia began to realise that there would be no hired mercenaries coming for them now. Why waste the effort and the man power. The alien monstrosities that the Marines had encountered only minutes ago, were more effective a predator than any assassins that Weyland Yutani's money could buy. The aliens would be coming for them, she was sure of it. They were exceedingly aggressive and they had levelled an entire colony before, she doubt they were going to let her and her Marines go that easily.

Once the APC was safely nestled inside the hold of the dropship, Maia took a moment to catch her breath. Behind her, she could hear nothing, mainly because the Marines were in a state of shock at being caught so unprepared. But she could hardly blame them. Who could have foreseen any of this? It was more than just being caught unprepared, she guessed, it was also losing the Sarge. Although Maia wasn't certain that he was dead, for his life signs though weak, were still indicating that he was alive somewhere in the alien stronghold.

Maia rose to her feet and went out to face her troops. They needed to hear that all was not lost, that they still had a chance to survive. The fact that Yates was sobbing uncontrollably did not help matters much and sometimes Maia had the strongest urge to shake the girl out of her naïveté. As she looked at Yates, she saw the medic with an expression of total fear in her eyes.

This was no time to be scared.

A little healthy fear could be the decider in whether you lived or died. Fear could either help you or drown you, Maia told herself. It was up to you to make the choice. And there was certainly no in betweens. She walked up to Yates, for her manner was not helping anyone and Maia needed their confidence boosted right now. "Stop it." She ordered.

But Yates kept sobbing and Maia noticed she was receiving discerning looks from the others. "Sir," Addison spoke in the young woman's defence.

"Shut up." Maia said sharply and turned back to Yates. "Cassandra," she said firmly. "Every battle has its dead. Those are the rules. If we were on our way back to Earth, I'd allow you your time to grieve, but we are not on our way back to Earth. At the moment, we are trapped in hostile territory, with an enemy that wants to eat us and our chances of getting home are not good. If we are going to make it out of here alive than I'm going to need everyone alert and steady and that includes you. If you don't pull yourself together, none of us is going to get out of here alive. Is that understood?"

Yates stopped crying and took a deep breath to stifle any more tears. After a second of composing herself, she looked up at Maia and nodded in comprehension. "Yes Sir, I do understand."

"Good," Maia gave her a smile of encouragement before getting down to the matters at hand. "Now, I want you to tell me what happened to O'Neill."

Yates glanced at the prone form of O'Neill who was currently lying on the floor of the APC with Foster examining the creature that was attached to his face. "He found an unsealed egg and for some reason it opened when he went near it. When it didn't do anything, he turned his back on it and that's when it attacked. I don't think Rich even knew what hit him. It just wrapped around his neck and wouldn't let go. I tried to get it off, but it seemed to keep holding tighter when I tried."

Maia nodded and looked at Foster. "Foster, can you tell what its doing?" She asked the android.

Foster looked up without saying a word and merely shook his head. "I won't be able to tell until we get him to the Sparta's med lab."

"That's not going to be very soon,” Maia replied quickly. "You're going to have to make do with the mediscanner on the dropship. You and Yates get him there now and start thinking up a way to get that thing off him." Foster nodded in response and Yates made her way to him to assist in carrying O'Neill out of the APC. When they were gone, Maia faced the others.

"How many did we lose?" She asked quietly.

MacReady wiped the brow of his sweat and swallowed hard as he took a quick body count. Maia knew some of the Marines, but not all of them. "Sergeant Parker, Hawkins, Clark, Jankowski and Doran."

Jankowski and Doran were good men and as MacReady mentioned their names, he saw their life signs on the screen as being flat lined, meaning they were dead.

"Jesus,” Maia whispered as she remembered Parker, Hawkins and Clark. Of Jankowski and Doran, she had never met them face to face, although she had seen them around the Sparta. Now she never would and for some reason, that pained her. But this was not the time for regrets, they had bigger problems to contend with. "Did you get a good look at what the aliens were? I only saw distorted images on the screen."

"They were fucking bigger than we were!" Addison shouted. "They bleed acid, you should have seen how it disintegrated Clark when he got soaked it . We're fucked!" Maia didn't blame the junior corporal for his hysterics, but she didn't have time for it and she wasn't about to give the same speech she had given Yates a few minutes ago, again.

"Just shut up!" Marin snapped angrily, the Latino's patience becoming severely strained. "Those fucking things killed the Sarge and a lot of our people! I don't care whether or not we're fucked, but I'll be damned if I'm going anywhere before I take a few of those bastards with me!"

"Right on Marin." Quinn voiced his agreement.

They were all on edge and Maia wished she could indulge their need to blow off steam, but she couldn't. They were still alive and she was determined to make certain they stayed that was. "Alright," she spoke up calming they all down. "I know things look pretty bleak, I'm not going to lie to you or give a pretty inspirational speech. We're in the shit now and we're going to have to get out of it ourselves. But we're not done yet, I swear to you, we're not finished by a long shot."

*****************

"Are you sure you want to talk to these bastards?" Addison asked as he sat at the console screen of the communications panel in the APC.

"Yes," Maia answered as she took the seat next to him. The first order of business was to talk to their jailors and let them know that she had a winning hand to play. If she could convince the Company, then they would have something to bargain with that could save all their lives. "If we're going to get off this planet, then I'm going to have to talk to them."

The face that appeared on the screen was the one belonging to the statuesque blond that acted as the stations' security chief. Tasha Dorn, Maia remembered the name that Yomato had mentioned earlier. When Dorn saw her, the blond merely smiled as if she knew something that Maia didn't and that made her very uneasy.

"Officer Sanjay, I'm glad to see you're still with us."

Alarm bells immediately sounded in Maia's head. This woman knew who she was! How the hell did this security chief out in the middle of nowhere, know who she was? She glanced over her shoulders and noticed that the Marines were staring at her intently, waiting for her response. "You have the advantage over me, Miss Dorn, do I know you?" Maia asked, hiding the fact that Dorn had surprised her by blowing her cover.

"I am a merchant of enterprise." She said with a faint smile. "A freelancer if you will. In our business, it so easy to turn to the private sector, isn't it. But never mind that," she brushed the subject aside quickly. "How does Fiorina suit you, Officer Sanjay?"

"Officer Sanjay?" MacReady demanded suspiciously.

"Shut up." Maia said quickly, silencing him with a look. Pieces were beginning to fall into place, forming a picture she didn't like. There were only two people who knew who she was in this entire mission. And one of them had cleared himself when he gave Maia permission to land on Fiorina and authority over the Weyland Yutani station. Which left the other person and that was the part that hurt the most. The light of understanding shone on Officer Maia Sanjay and revealed to her how cruelly her fate had been sealed. How callously she had been betrayed.

"Is Max there," she asked softly, "or is he leaving you to do the dirty work?" Maia wasn't looking when Dorn stepped away from the screen, she didn't have to look when he stepped in front of it in Dorn's place. Maia didn't have to look because she knew. The moment Dorn had revealed knowing her identity, she knew.

"Hello Maia."

Maia nodded, recognising his voice and having her suspicions confirmed. The pain in her eyes, had she chose to look up at that moment, would have revealed to him how much he had hurt her. However, she took a moment to compose herself before she raised her chin with magnificent pride and stared into his face. "Okay Max," she replied evenly, allowing her features to betray none of the hurt. "Tell me what's going on."

Max was also the seasoned professional, hiding his feelings under a mask of secrecy. "First of all," he said to her with earnest, "I never wanted it to be you. You must believe me, but the directive was clear, they wanted my best officer and I had to make the Army believe that my efforts to clear up this situation was sincere. Therefore I sent you, Maia, my best man."

"How much?" Maia asked, her voice still quiet. Max Remar could not see her fingernails digging into her chair, even if her Marines could. But Maia was determined to maintain her composure at all costs. He had stripped her of everything, he wasn't going to take her dignity as well.

"Ten million credits." He answered her honestly, deciding that was no harm in telling her. After all, who was she going to tell? "It was more money than I'd ever made in my entire UNE career. I guess its true what they say, every man has his price."

"You used to say that justice had no price." Maia mused out loud. "You used to say justice had its own rewards, didn't you?" Her eyes glared at him at his weakness. "We in the UNE Security Division do questionable work, we murder, we assassinate, terminate, we spy and we infiltrate more organisations than rightly so. We do things that make us no better than the scum we are trying to put down, but we did it because you told us that it was the right thing to do. We're the ones who do the jobs too dirty for the cops or the soldiers because we're willing to step over the edge. You were the one Max, the one we all wanted to be, the one who was untouchable, the one on whom the idealism for our work was personified. We used to say that you were the prototype for all the others than came after you. I knew that we had a business relationship, but I still thought we were friends. Damn it you son of a bitch! How could you sell out like that!"

"Goodbye Maia." Max said hastily, deciding that she had nothing to say that he wanted to hear. But Maia wasn't finished yet. Max had been the one to throw down the gauntlet and even though she was late in picking it up again, she had done so and now he would have to face the consequences for it.

"I'm not finished yet Max." Maia retorted, with a tone of voice that made him sit down again. "I must admit, the Company has outdone itself this time. An entire colony of potential bioweapons. The ultimate soldier. How long have they been cultivating this little project of theirs?"

"Thirty five years." Max answered, seeing no danger in telling her what she wanted to know. After all, for the death she was going to get, it was the least he could do for her. "Ever since the clean up crew left here to scrap the facility found the eggs left by the alien that was destroyed by the prisoners. The Company decided to leave them here and give them all the necessary requirements for them to grow."

"Astonishing."Maia nodded. For a moment she mediated, after all it was Max who had taught her the all important lesson, that the game wasn't over until the enemy was dead. She was far from that and she had a card to play. "Let's get to the point," she said calmly, facing him again. "As you know these dropships come equip with quite an arsenal. I have here three tactical nuke missiles. I know they are not of a threat to you up there, but down here, its quite a different story. You should also know that part of my training for the UNE was demolition work and if I felt so inclined I could build myself a nice little bomb, one that would explode with a blast radius of forty miles, equalling maybe fifty megatons. I could annihilate your little project while me and my team sat comfortably out of range while we wait for the rescue ship to get here. The dropship may not be able to break orbit, but its quite capable of taking us to the other side of the planet where we could sit out the aftermath."

"You're bluffing." Max said with more than a trace of uneasiness. Maia smiled at that.

"How long have we known each other?" She asked, meeting his gaze with a hard stare and a brow raised to drive her point home.

"What do you want?" He inquired slowly, while only Maia could see how furious he was.

"I haven't decided yet Max," Maia remarked smoothly, "but I'll let you know when I'm ready to make good my threat."

With that, she terminated the line, letting him sweat for a change.

II

Now she had another problem.

As she turned back to face the Marines, she realised that she did so now with them possessing the full knowledge of who and what she was. Maia supposed that eventually it would come to this, although now was a bad time for them to make the discovery. They needed to be a unified whole now more than ever and she didn't want to be forced to return Devine his command, because he was inexperienced and he would get them all killed.

"Will he buy it?" MacReady asked her then added, "Captain?" He didn't look at her with as much suspicion as the others. For him, he had suspected that there was something different about her the minute she came on board the Sparta.

"He might," Maia answered truthfully. "He knows that I've got to get us out of here or else we're dead. Besides I had to try something, no matter how insane it was."

"Can you rig up the nukes?" Addison inquired this time. "Or was that just a bluff."

"I've done it before." She replied firmly. "He knows that."

"Who are you?" Devine finally asked the unspoken question that was on all their minds.

Maia knew she would have to answer them and answer them with sincerity. Whether or not they would follow her after, depended on the response she gave them. Considering their situation, she felt they deserved the truth. "As far as any of you are concerned, I am your Captain. I was given the rank and the command of this Colonial Marine platoon from General Hanlon himself of UNE Army High Command to lead this mission and that has not changed. But before that, I was Officer Maia Sanjay of the UNE Security Division. I was assigned to the military because the Army wanted someone who was experienced in covert intelligence to lead this mission, what I didn't know however, was that this mission was supposed to fail from the start."

"But why send us out here?" Addison asked confused. They all seemed to have accepted her response and had more or less decided to follow her lead since she was still in command, even if the establishment of her rank was somewhat unusual. Besides, it was either follow her or let Devine lead and that was not a possibility any one liked. "Why all this shit?"

"Because the Company couldn't afford to get the Army suspicious. They are trying to sell these aliens as a possible bioweapon. Do you realise what kind of implications that has for planetary security. These things are dangerous and judging from what we saw a while ago, damn near unstoppable. Can you imagine what would happen if they got loose on a populated planet? They destroyed the Acheron colony and the Colonial Marines that went out there to stop them. What's a farmer in the middle of the Mid West going to do when he meets one of these things? It takes armour piercing shells to kill one as it is, what's he going to do with a damn pitchfork? The Company has buyers for these things, that much is for sure. But if the Army gets wind of it, they'll shut it down and give the UNE ammunition it needs to break the Weyland Yutani Corporation. I'd say that's worth one UNE agent and a platoon of colonial Marines."

No one said anything, because there was nothing left to say. Maia had presented them with a scenario that was not only horrific, but terrifying because it was true. For them, their survival was not only for their sakes, but for the families they had left behind on Earth and the people who relied upon them to be protected. The thought of an alien colony being established on Earth was as close to Armageddon than anyone of them could ever imagine.

"Sir," Foster's voice shattered the silence of the moment as it came through the com unit.

"Yes Foster, what is it?" She asked. "I've run an analysis on the creature," the unseen android explained. "I would like to brief you when you are ready."

"Alright," she answered with a weary nod. "I'll be there in about twenty minutes, I've got a few things to tend to right now."

"I understand Sir." He replied politely before signing off.

Maia faced them again, unable to miss the disillusionment on her face. They needed her to do something decisive, now that they had decided to accept her, be it Captain or as a UNE Officer. "I don't think it will take very long for those things to figure out where we've gone. They are going to be coming for us and we're going to have to be ready for them. We don't have much time." No one spoke, but their grim silence showed their agreement.

"Lieutenant," she turned to Devine. "I want you to get those sentry robots out from the armoury and deploy them in a defensive perimeter, around the dropship. Marin, Quinn, you'll help him"

"Right." Marin said firmly, feeling better now that they had a purpose and a plan to which they could fight.

"Addison," Maia cast her eyes on the comtech. "I want you to pull up a technical schematic of the dropship. Then I want you to study it and find every possible orifice through the hull. No matter how small, I then want it cordoned off and sealed with plate steel. Tear off wall panelling from non essential areas if you have to, but one way or anther, we're going to have to fortify this ship. Get Yates and Daley to help you. I'm sure Hall can carry out the repairs on her own."

"Yes Sir." The comtech answered eagerly, pleased that they would be able to defend themselves and not be trapped like cornered rats when the aliens finally came.

"Alright people, get to it." Devine took the initiative to get everyone moving and very soon the Marines were on their way out of the APC.

"MacReady, Maia called out, "you're with me."

"Where are we going?" MacReady asked as he followed her out of the APC.

"We're going to see what the hell that is on O'Neill's face." ***********

They arrived in Sick Bay, a small area on the dropship that came equip with minimal medical supplies and a mediscanner. O'Neill was still unconscious as he lay down on the gurney with Yates and Foster standing above him, watching the readings of the mediscan. They had stripped the private down to his briefs for the examination and although the alien was still attached to his face, he seemed to suffer no other ill effects.

"You wanted to see me Foster?" Maia asked.

"Yes Sir," Foster replied turning towards her. "We've determined that at the moment, its keeping Private O'Neill alive under some kind of stasis. Apparently its extended some kind of tube down his throat, and through it, is feeding him oxygen and glucose, keeping him alive."

"I don't get it," MacReady remarked, looking at the scanner himself. "Why?"

"I haven't been able to determine that yet," the android replied unhappily before adding. "And neither can the mediscan."

"Great." Maia frowned. She stared at O'Neill's unconscious face and winced at the fact that she could only see that alien obscenity instead. Maia's face tightened in revulsion. "Take if off." She said finally.

"I don't think that would be a wise idea." Foster advised quickly. "We don't know how it could react."

"I don't care," Maia retorted. "It could be killing him anyway. I say take it off. I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"The Captain's right." Yates spoke for the first time. "We don't know anything about that thing, it could be slowly killing him and we wouldn't even know it. Right now, we don't have a choice."

All of a sudden, without any warning, the creature went into a spasmodic convulsion. It's long fingers jerked violently and the four people in the room moved away from it, startled. It heaved itself off O'Neill's face, its long proboscis slithering out of his mouth as it withdrew altogether. It seemed to struggle as it ran up the length and breath of O'Neill's body. However, by the time it reached his feet, it strength seemed to wane and it fell of the table on to the floor. Once there, it turned on its back for a moment, before all its digits curled into a ball.

"What's happening to it?" Yates squealed.

"I don't know." Foster answered genuinely perplexed. He reached for glass rod on the nearby instrument table and fearlessly approached the alien.

"Be careful." Maia warned.

"I will." Foster answered and kneeled down next to the creature, before jabbing it in the dead centre. The alien convulsed once more before it relaxed again, this time it didn't move any more.

"I think its dead." He announced.

"Dead?" Maia looked at him suspiciously. "Why?"

"I don't know," Foster replied, prodding it further to see if he would get a reaction. He didn't. "I don't know, maybe it requires specific environmental conditions to survive that being inside the dropship was unable to provide. I'll run some tests to find out if you like."

"No." Maia said firmly. For some reason, her gut instincts were telling her they were missing something important, something vital. "Foster, I want you to continue repairs on that android you found. I have a feeling that it can answer all our questions."

"I will get on it immediately," the android responded with conviction in his voice.

"And Foster," Maia added as she kneeled down to take a good look at the alien herself, "I want you to put this little bastard in stasis, I want him stored in the APC until you have time to run some tests."

TO BE CONTINUED...