There was a general air of silence after Ellen Ripley’s commentary concluded stretching over a period of several minutes. The lady’s story was macabre, not so much in the encounter of a dangerous life form because one could not feel completely overawed by that aspect of it when one had been in Starfleet. Four hundred years of charting the unexplored regions of space taught humans one thing above all else; it was dangerous out here. For every spectacular experience filling the soul of with notions of cosmic beauty, there was also a dark side to it that reminded one most starkly the unknown was not always safe. Sometimes, it could be downright terrifying, as if had been for the crew of the Nostromo. Perhaps what was so unbelievable about all of this was not so much the behaviour of the alien, but rather of the humans who wanted it so badly, they were willing to sacrifice innocents to possess it.

Chris and his senior staff were well aware of the atrocities committed by the Multinationals of the 21st century. History deemed them as foul a villain as the Third Reich and the Inquisition but to hear it first hand, to listen to a tale that was more than pages in a history book made it all seem so much worse. After the report returned to static, it took a few seconds for someone to find voice enough to speak. Predictably, it was Ezra, who never seemed at a loss for words but Chris could see Ripley’s story appalled him. Perhaps because it was Ezra’s job to ensure the safety of everyone under his care, he baulked so much at the utter disregard for life displayed by the Weyland Yutani Corporation.

"I am assuming by the message we intercepted on the Maverick from this vessel, it would appear only three people made it off LV427 alive," Ezra said leaning against the nearby wall, trying to dispel the tension in his jaw because the anger he felt was pointless. The events provoking his outrage were four hundred years in the past. Still, he felt incensed at what happened to that poor woman and those who were caught in the web of deceit with such tragic conclusions.

"It would appear so," Alex responded, remembering accurately the content of the message. "It appears Hicks made it out alive, so did Ripley. I can’t imagine where they would have found a juvenile but its safe to assume she was probably from the colony."

"That’s a pretty big assumption," Julia pointed out. "If that colony was infested, how could a child have survived long enough for a rescue ship to arrive? I mean it took months, literally months for ships to cross interstellar space. That would mean she would have had to avoid those life forms for all that time."

"It's not impossible," Vin immediately countered, having been marooned himself on a world where a child was not meant to survive and managed even though it was difficult and the foster parents with him had not survived to be rescued. "Children are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Push comes to shove, she might have learned how to get around them."

"This is all academic," Chris finally cut in all the discussion. "The fact of the matter is these people are dead and four hundred years ago, there was some kind of failure which necessitated Ripley and the rest of the survivors being ejected in an EEV to the surface of Fury 361. Whatever threat the life form may have posed is no longer on board this ship, most likely its still on LV427."

"I am not so certain of that Captain," Ezra countered, not that easily convinced. "The evidence in the hangar indicates at least one of those creatures made it on board the Sulaco."

"You’re kidding!" Alex exclaimed, her scientific curiosity piqued because she would love to examine a specimen like this, in the post-mortem of course. Ripley’s description was accurate enough for Alex to guess anyone running into one of these creatures was likely to have a very bad day. "How can you tell?"

"Acid burns on the deck," Chris answered promptly. "We found evidence of molecular acid having eaten through the floor plating but it also looks like the survivors decompressed the landing bay to get it off the ship. I don’t imagine they would have climbed into stasis with it running around loose."

"I’d like to get a look at the planet," Alex remarked, looking to Chris because she had a feeling the Captain was more than intrigued by the notion of his ancestor being directly involved in these events.

"I’d like to fly that dropship," Vin said with a little grin.

"You must be joking." Ezra looked at the helmsman with distaste. "That dropship, as you call it, has been sitting inactive for the past 400 years. You do not know if it will fly."

"Oh, I don’t know," Julia mused, considering the subject. "It might need a diagnostic and a few little repairs but there's no reason why it would be inoperative. After all the ship has been devoid of an atmosphere for the duration of its orbit here. There would be very little degradation."

In truth, Julia would love to see if the smaller ship could fly. In fact, she would be willing to do the maintenance just to give Vin the opportunity to take it out.

"You are both mad," Ezra said sweetly.

"Julia," Chris turned to the Chief Engineer. "Do you think you can go through all the transmissions from the personal recorders, sort through them and put them in some coherent order?"

"I don’t see why not," Julia responded and gave Vin a look of apology that she could not attend to the matter of his drop ship just yet.

"Do that after you give the dropship a once-over." The Captain added a moment later, giving Vin a little smile of indulgence.

"Alright!" The Vulcan grinned with boyish excitement, terribly out of place on his Vulcan features. "Come on," he turned to Julia. "I’ll help you."

"Don’t you just love him?" Alex gave the redhead a playful wink. "In the meantime, I’ll take a look at the rest of the data Captain. What are you and Ezra going to do?"

Chris considered the question for a moment. "We’ll take another look around the ship. I don’t think we have any more visitors on board but I’d like to know what caused that electrical fire."

"So would I." Ezra agreed. "Even in this period, the safeguards to protect those in cryosleep were very extensive. I find it odd suddenly, all those safeguards would have been ineffective enough to prevent an electrical fire precipitating the crew being ejected from the ship."

"Good thought," Alex shrugged, thinking he was right. "Happy hunting."

Instead of receiving a response to her salutation, Alex’s greeting was met with the voice of Buck Wilmington speaking through Chris’s com badge.

"Captain," Buck’s voice delivered its message. "We’ve just been ordered to the Vorlis system. Admiral Donaldson would like us to escort a rescue party to one of its outer worlds."

A swell of disappointment rippled throughout the small room as it became apparent with that one sentence, they would have to abandon their study of the Sulaco for the time being. This did not impress Chris at all. He wanted to go to Fury 361 on the dropship Vin was so eager to fly and learn what had happened to Ellen Ripley and Hicks while they had been on the planet. Something took place after their EEV was ejected from the Sulaco, something that ensured no one left the planet alive except for one lone prisoner. It was very important for Chris to know, far more important than playing ferry boat captain to the Vorli.

"I see." Chris frowned, thinking quickly because he did not want to leave what he discovered here.

"Shall I get Rain to transport you back to the ship?" Buck asked in anticipation of their return.

Chris did not answer for a few seconds, letting his gaze move across the faces around him. Only Ezra seemed indifferent to staying behind but this was his usual expression when dealing with any unknown situation. The others, however, did look as if they would rather remain behind, Julia in particular. The Chief Engineer would not be satisfied until she had stuck her finger in every nook and cranny in this old ship.

"Standby on that," Chris said abruptly.

"Captain," Alex looked at him, forgetting herself as his science officer and facing him now as his second officer. "We should beam back to the Maverick." As much as she would like to remain, the truth was, the Sulaco would still be here when they returned from their mission to Vorlis. The ship had waited four centuries to be discovered, it could wait a few days until they returned.

"I will beam back to the Maverick," Chris looked at her sternly. "The rest of you stay here and carry out your orders."

"But Captain…" Alex started to say.

Chris gave her one of his infamous stares and silenced her immediately. "This is not a democracy Commander."

"Of course not."

"Carry out your orders," Chris said crisply and tapped his combadge lightly. "One to transport."

Without saying another word but still wearing that serious expression on his face, Chris stepped back from the others into the small clearing of space. It took another second before the low hum of the transporter beam was heard and he shimmered out of sight back to the Maverick.

******

"Are you out of your mind?" Buck exclaimed as he stared at Chris from across the desk of the Captain’s Ready Room approximately five minutes after Chris had transported back to the Maverick from the Sulaco. Buck guessed it was going to be difficult to pry the Captain loose from the tasty morsel that was the ancient Earth ship but even he had not imagined just how deep the attachment had become in so short a space of time. In truth, there was nothing untoward about what Chris was asking. Such things were done often. However, Buck just had this uneasy feeling about the Sulaco and the whole business of Fury 361 that the idea of Chris’s suggestion was more than he could stomach.

"I don’t see what’s the problem." Chris eased back into his chair, watching Buck through his crisscrossed fingers. "You yourself said it was a routine mission, five days at the most. I have every confidence you can handle things on your own for that time. The Sulaco is more than capable of sustaining an Away Team for five days, not to mention the fact I will have a runabout there in case we get into any trouble."

"Chris." Buck started to protest, not at all convinced this was wise. He did not like the idea of leaving the Away team stranded on the Sulaco at all. There was just something about the ship that would not let him rest easy no matter how illogical the emotion might be. "I don’t think this is a good idea."

"I think it is." Chris returned promptly, aware Buck had no real reason to deny his desire to remain, not that he could anyway since Chris had complete autonomy on the decision. This discussion was completely at Chris’s sufferance and should he decide to end the argument, there was little Buck Wilmington could do about it. "It’s a rare find. We’re uncovering so much about what happened there and Hicks, Hicks is one of my ancestors, it's almost fate."

"I don’t believe in fate," Buck stared at him. "And neither did you."

"I used to think that," Chris’s gaze dropped away from Buck and shifted instead to the window that gave him a view of the stars outside the ship. "Not any more. Something wants me to find out the truth about that ship out there, something that waited for a long time for me to show up. I’m going to find out what it is. Too many things have been eluding me lately and I won’t stand for it any more. I’m tired of secrets Buck, tired of truths being hidden under supposedly plausible explanations. Those people on LV427 died for nothing because someone felt they were less important than an alien life form that could make a corporation billions. So many dirty little lies hidden, so many lives destroyed because of someone with a secret agenda."

Buck looked at Chris for a long while, having heard the Captain’s words. He did not speak but the words were absorbed into him nonetheless. After what seemed an eternity that made even Chris raise his eyes to him for an answer, Buck finally spoke. "Are we talking about the Sulaco or about Sarah and Adam?"

Chris blinked. "The Sulaco of course." The Captain answered just a little too quickly and Buck knew, without doubt, he was lying. Suddenly, Buck understood all too well what Chris was saying and what he had not. It made perfect sense once he understood.

"It's not your fault you didn’t know there was some kind of conspiracy." Buck offered softly. "No one had reason to think their deaths was any more than an accident. Hell, even I thought it was until Q dropped that bombshell on us."

Chris continued to stare at the surface of the desk, his hands had dropped to the edges, clenching the simulated wood in his fists. "I should have known. I should have known they were in danger. It was my job to protect my family. They died without me even having the slightest clue they were in danger! How could I be so blind? How can I be expected to run this ship if I could miss something as simple as that?"

"You’re human Chris," Buck implored. "You were grieving for a wife and child. You had no reason to think you failed them. Chris, whoever did this to Sarah and Adam were not only good, but they’re also damned good. They’ve covered their tracks so well its almost a work of genius. At the state of mind, you were in at the time, you could not expect to see through that. Hell those of us who were thinking clearly didn’t even see it."

"I should have!" He insisted. "I’m the Captain of a starship. How can I ever be sure about anything if I was wrong about that?"

Buck sighed in exasperation, knowing there were no words to assuage Chris’s wounded confidence. He was right, a starship captain could not have doubts about anything. If he doubted himself, then the problem Chris was facing was a great deal worse than simply having an obsession with his wife and child’s murder. It had to do with his ability to run the Maverick and be responsible for a thousand lives who counted on him to keep them safe in this wilderness.

"Alright Chris," Buck finally conceded. "If you feel you have to do this, I’ll take the ship on to Vorlis but you are not going to be left here alone. I am your first officer and my duty to this ship also means my duty is to you. I won’t give that up for anything? Do you understand?"

Glad to be doing this with Buck’s cooperation, Chris was not about to thumb his nose at any suggestions Buck may have in regard to his personal safety. Besides, he agreed with the first officer. If they were to remain on the Sulaco, far from the protection of the Maverick, then he would like adequate security, not only for himself but for the others who would be staying behind with him. As it was, Chris could already hear the demands Ezra would make once the security chief knew they would not be departing with the Maverick when it made the journey to Vorlis space.

"I’ll agree to that," Chris responded. "Get a security team ready and supplies for the next five days, including phasers. I’ll take one of our runabouts across to the Sulaco." He answered pushing himself out of his chair to get moving.

"Yes Sir," Buck nodded. He was still unhappy about this entire situation but had no choice but to agree. Chris had the power to veto his suggestions anyway and the only way Buck could take it further was an outright question of Chris’s ability to command. It would be entered into the record and he would have to forcibly relieve Chris of duty. As much as Buck worried and feared for his oldest friends, he was just not prepared to go that far.

Yet.

******

Things progressed rapidly after Chris made the decision to remain behind on the Sulaco. The runabout Perlman was stocked with all the supplies required for the stay on board the ancient ship and Julia launched herself fully into the task of bringing alive the rest of the Sulaco’s main systems, paying particular attention to the vessel’s living quarters. The living requirements for the Marines were extensively provided for from everything to beds, recreation rooms, amenities and a mess hall. It was more than adequate for Starfleet officers who were accustomed to spending their survival training in much worse.

As anticipated, those staying behind were happy for a chance to study the ancient ship. Ezra however, still voiced his trepidations to Chris but was assuaged a little by the fact Chris agreed to accept a security complement that included some of his best officers, including Lieutenant Katovit. Since Julia was busy readying the Sulaco for their occupation, Alex took over the task of deciphering the voluminous data from the Marines personal recorders when the ill-fated squad set down on the planet known as LV427 or Acheron.

After Julia had powered the landing bay, Vin took the Perlman through the massive doors to set down on the deck of the craft,  previously home to only the dropship. He was still eager to take the small craft for a flight but had to wait until Julia inspected the ship and ran a diagnostic on its systems. Captain’s orders, she told him and though Vin felt the impatience gnawing at him, he understood the need for caution. The last thing he wanted to do was be plunging miles into the stratosphere before discovering something was wrong with the ship.

The Maverick remained as long as it could, delivering reports about Fiorina 'Fury' 361, indicating that while the ionised atmosphere made precise sensor readings difficult to obtain, the general consensus indicated the world was uninhabited. While the facility itself remained intact for them to examine when they finally made their landing, there was nothing else of interest on Fury to necessitate a return journey once the Maverick was done with its investigations. Hopefully, five days would be enough to satisfy their curiosity.

"Well that's it, everything's here," Vin said to Chris once all the supplies were stored away and the rest of the crew on board the Sulaco was busily going about their given tasks. Alex was monitoring the data in the Sulaco's data banks, Julia was at this moment having the time of her life while she inspected the dropship, much to Vin's delight, to make it fit for flight. Ezra and his security detail were roaming the large ship, ensuring there were no surprises waiting for them, particularly in the living quarters they would be occupying for the duration.

"Good," Chris nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the small window allowing him a view of the space outside the Sulaco. Vin did not know whether or not it was the Maverick or Fiorina he was really looking at but guessed it did not really matter, Chris was seeing neither.

"Chris," Vin asked after a moment of waiting for Chris to speak and finding he had yet to respond other than that simple acknowledgement. It was easy to forget this was a personal quest for Chris even though the others were finding the Sulaco a historical curiosity. Vin felt a little guilty about being so eager to fly a ship when his best friend was suffering all kinds of turmoil inside. "Are you sure about this?"

Chris looked up at that. "Yeah." His eyes furrowed with confusion. "Why do ask?"

"I don't know," Vin looked away, always feeling uncomfortable when it came to discussing someone's feelings. It seemed doubly hard with Chris even though they were so close. "Maybe you gave me the impression you were having second thoughts about this."

"No," Chris shook his head. "I have to find some truth for the people on this ship, for the ones who died on LV427. I've got to believe that there's justice somewhere."

"Chris," Vin took a deep breath and hope he didn't get thrown out of an airlock for speaking his mind. "Sometimes things happen because they just do and we have to accept it. Maybe the reason why you're so ready to believe Q could be telling the truth is that even after all this time, you're not ready to accept they're gone. Oh you know it in your head they've passed on but not really in your heart."

Chris swallowed and considered Vin's words, wondering if, on some level, the Vulcan was not right because the truth was, Chris was not ready to let Sarah and Adam go, not just yet.

Chris did not see Mary before the Maverick left for the Vorlis system even though he knew he probably should have. However, when the moment came and the Maverick was about to depart, Chris found he could not bring himself to see the lovely protocol officer. He knew his actions were bordering on the dangerous and he risked alienating her the more he continued to behave this way. There would come a point he would push her so far he would never get her back but the irony of the situation was, he was at such a state of mind, he hardly had the will to keep it from happening.

Buck was not at all pleased to leave the Fiorina system with a substantial number of the senior staff absent. However, he understood there were subordinates who could carry out the mission in Vorlis just as well as the senior bridge officers and in all honesty, if the Captain were determined to stay then Buck would prefer it if he were surrounded by officers who would not be intimidated by his rank. While Vin, Julia, Alex and Ezra respected the chain of command; they were unafraid to speak their mind if Chris were to embark on what was potentially a hazardous course of action. Besides, between Alex and Ezra, Buck was certain Chris’s personal safety would be assured.

Everyone took a moment to watch the Maverick making its departure. The great ship offered a spectacular view as it sailed across the indigo sky, the dark canvas of space a stark contrast against the light blue tinge of its hull. Chris felt his insides hollow a little at watching his ship leave without him and for the first time questioned his reasoning to stay when by all rights, he should be on the bridge of the Maverick, taking her to face whatever waited in the Vorlis system. However, that momentary lapse was soon overwhelmed by the insatiable desire to unlock the secrets of the Sulaco and more specifically, the woman who had become so important to him in such a short time, Ellen Ripley.

After the Maverick’s departure, everyone returned to their assigned tasks. Vin, eager to take the drop ship out for a spin, was aiding Julia Pemberton as she went through the ship’s systems, ensuring every aspect of the old transport was examined with deep scrutiny before she gave any endorsement for it to be taken out of the Sulaco. As enthusiastic as she was on working on such a vintage piece of machinery, she would not even consider allowing it to become airborne until she was absolutely certain of its passengers’ safety. This meant hours of work ahead and Chris wondered if Vin’s patience would last that long. It was probably why he was helping Julia, the Captain decided.

Ezra was presently examining the length and breadth of the ship with the four security officers he had sent for from the Maverick. Although the security chief would have like to have had Lieutenant Katovit with him on this mission, Ezra would not be content with anyone else playing his role on the Maverick in his absence. Still, he took the best officers under his command in lieu of Katovit himself. Lieutenant Atwater and Collins were seasoned officers and though Ensigns Angel and Christie were young, they were sensible enough to think first before acting.

However, despite his determination to check out the ship completely, he had to be realistic. The Sulaco was a mile across with nowhere near the technology that allowed the main computer to monitor the ship’s internal systems as was done on the Maverick by its own computer. Thus, Ezra’s search of the ship had to be done the old fashioned way and that was a lot of ground to cover, with endless conduits, ventilation grills, shafts and narrow openings to search.

Alex in the meantime confined herself to the Sulaco’s bridge, viewing all the data to be garnered from the personal recorders of the Colonial Marines who descended upon the planet LV427 in search of colonists. Judging from what she learned so far, it appeared as if the bulk of the Marines died on the surface of that barren world. She observed all the information before her and put them into some order before attempting to make a deeper analysis of what had gone on.

After what seemed like hours upon hours of study, Alex finally reached a point where she was confident enough to provide the Captain with a working theory regarding what happened on LV427, not to mention a description of the creature encountered that caused so much destruction. There was no doubt in her mind the alien she witnessed through the screen of the station she was working from, was nothing less than the stuff of nightmares. As a science officer, she was accustomed to seeing all kinds of life forms, intelligent and non-intelligent. While some were to be viewed with caution, she had never come across one that scared the hell out of her, until now.

She wondered what it must have been like for the Marines, who never faced such an enemy in their lives, being expected to rescue 150 colonists from these things whose life cycle required a human host to perpetuate. Even now, with all the worlds they charted and visited, the Federation had never encountered anything like this Ripley’s alien, added to the fact the species in all likelihood was not a carbon-based life form but rather silicon. Silicon-based life though rare, did exist and the tricorders could be adjusted to detect it if required. James Kirk who was the first starship captain to encounter a silicon-based organism, being the Horta who was now a member race of the Federation, made similar adjustments to his tricorder in order to find the creature to make that first encounter.

Alex also examined the crew manifests and reviewed the internal surveillance tapes of the Sulaco. She made a quick study of the hull of the remaining dropship, hoping it might explain what happened to its sister ship. After gathering all available data on board the Sulaco, Alex was finally ready to deliver her report to the Captain. The senior staff of the Maverick gathered together in the mess hall at Alex’s summons, while the security officers continued their sweep of the ship. Despite the vastness of the search area, Ezra refused to let his guard down and after what Alex saw on the tapes gathered from the personal recorders, she was rather glad for his vigilance.

"So you've completed your analysis?" Chris asked from his seat around one of the long tables they were occupying. There was a hint of impatience in his voice and Alex guessed he was eager to hear what she uncovered.

"I've reviewed all the tapes and put them into some kind of order. However," she added meeting his gaze. "I'm only speculating in some instances and there are wide gaps to what I know, so keep this all in mind when I make my report."

"We are all ears," Ezra remarked with an encouraging smile.

"Thanks," Alex threw the chief security officer a grin and turned her attention to her audience. Vin winked at her from where he was, reinforcing Ezra's vote of confidence with a more personal display meant for her as more than just the science officer. Clearing her throat, she began to explain what she found and hoped it would satisfy the Captain's curiosity until they could go to Fiorina itself.

"From what I've been able to determine, it appears the Marines left the Sulaco in one of two drop ships on board, bound for LV427 or in this case, Acheron as it was known then. The equipment inventory confirms this. The squad was usually deployed planetside from the dropship by means of an armoured transport, called an APC by its members. It’s a small terrestrial vehicle, fully armoured with titanium shielding and capable of carrying the entire squad over short distances through the most adverse landscape."

"That didn't come back either," Julia responded. She saw no evidence of the transport in question though she suspected it shared its fate with the Marines on the world where they had died.

"No," Alex nodded grimly, perfectly aware why not. "The Marines were deployed to the colony called Hadley's Hope and preceded a careful penetration of the complex in order to make an assessment of the situation. As it turned out, the colony appeared deserted. This was a mining facility possessing what was remarkable technology for its time, an atmosphere processor. The entire colony was built around the nuclear-powered processor, which over a period of decades was supposed to turn an otherwise limited oxygen atmosphere into something a little more hospitable to humans. It was a forerunner to the environmental landscaping we now perform prior to colonization."

"If I recall correctly," Chris remarked. "Those processors were often dangerous because of the nuclear component."

"Yes, they were," she nodded, impressed by Chris's knowledge and supposed the Captain could be a veritable fountain of surprises when he desired to be. "Anyway, not to digress." She returned to the subject at hand because she was certain Chris was more interested in the Marines experiences on Acheron rather than the details of the atmosphere processor.

"The Marines found the colony was deserted and proceeded to make a sweep of the living facility and the colony command centre. It was during this time they discovered the presence of Rebecca Jorden. She was an eight-year-old, hiding in the ventilation shafts and access tunnels under the facility. Apparently, her size made it easy for her to fit into the small spaces and this was how she managed to elude the same fate as the other colonists."

"My God," Julia whispered, feeling a great wave of sympathy for that little girl lost in time and history. "The poor thing."

"Well judging from the images taken from the recorders, the little girl stayed mostly with Ripley. I think they both probably understood the situation better anyone else since they were both only survivors."

There was a moment of silence as those in the room imagined the bond that must have existed between little Rebecca and Ellen Ripley. Two tragic souls finally finding comfort and kinship in the endurance of their private hell. In truth, it made a great deal of sense although if he were here, they were certain Josiah would have a technical term for it.

"Go on." Chris prompted her quietly.

"Rebecca was able to tell them very little and in the girl's state of mind, which was to say understandably traumatised after what she experienced, the Marines chose not to press her too hard for information. There were no bodies in the facility at all but it was clear the colonists uncovered the derelict ship Ripley and the Nostromo stumbled upon." Alex said with a pained sigh and a soft hiss followed the room as everyone grimaced in one way or another, feeling saddened Ripley was right about her fears.

"There were alien spores in the colony laboratory and reports indicating surgical removal was attempted on one of the infected colonists. He died in the attempt. There is also evidence of acid burns in the complex and apparently several sections were barricaded from the inside. The barricades did not hold. However because there were no bodies, the Marines were forced to trace them through personal data transmitters every colonists had surgically implanted. The trace indicated all the colonists were gathered at the atmosphere processor, under the primary heat exchange."

"An unfortunate location." Ezra grimaced. " If I am correct, the weapons of the time utilized projectiles. Had they fired any of them while they were under the primary heat exchange they..."

"They would have ruptured the coolant exchange." Julia finished off for him. "They could have blown themselves sky high. Those atmosphere processors were pretty formidable. We're talking about a blast radius of almost 55 square kilometres."

"Fortunately," Alex spoke an octave higher. "That didn't happen. They realized the potential and went in there with flamethrowers. They found the colonists or what was left of them." Alex paused a moment as she remembers the nightmarish images of bodies suspended against the wall, forced into a terrible tapestry of agony and atrocity beyond imagination, of limbs broken in order to fit the mosaic prepared and that was not even the worst of it.

"The aliens got them," Vin said as a matter of factly. It was not even a question.

"Every last one of them." She nodded. "They were used as hosts. The images I saw revealed an opened egg in front of every colonist. They all had the same wounds, sternum exploding outward."

"Jesus," Chris whispered.  What must have Hicks been thinking when faced with all that carnage? He supposed he would never really know, even if he could make an educated guess.

"This is where it gets fuzzy," Alex resumed her narrative after that momentary pause. "It appears one of the colonists were still alive. The Marines found her just in time to see the alien emerge and reacted by incinerating the thing. Unfortunately, it appears these creatures can put themselves in hibernation at will and the sudden commotion woke them all up. There were about 150 colonists, so assuming every one of them were implanted, that number corresponded to how many aliens there were. As far as I can tell, only seven Marines survived the initial encounter. The vital statistics of all the others were terminated then and there. Out of the seven, two life signs readings did not last for more than a few hours. However, these signs were very irregular and I can only assume this was mostly because they were being immobilized the way Cain, the infected member of the Nostromo must have been during embryo implantation."

"What a way to die." Julia gasped again, beyond horror at the nightmare those poor souls must have suffered in their final hours.

"What about the others?" Chris asked. Seven was a lot more than the number of three recorded as having been ejected from the Sulaco much later.

"Well other than the two that were cocooned, the other life signs terminated shortly after belonged to the pilots, Ferro and Spunkmeyer. Spunkmeyer first and then Ferro."

"That is too much of a coincidence." Ezra pointed out. "Both pilots being killed at the same time?"

"Could it have been at midflight?" Vin asked. "I mean that might have explained what happened to the other dropship."

"I think it was. The Sulaco registered a large explosion on the surface about the time Ferro’s life signs were terminated. "I think for one reason or another, she died either piloting the dropship, possibly after it had already taken off. After the disaster in the atmosphere processor, it would make sense the order to evacuate would have been given and I think during the take-off procedure, something caused the dropship to crash, killing both the pilots."

"So they were trapped there," Chris concluded.

"More or less." Alex shrugged because the information after this point was limited. "I’ve confirmed the second dropship, the one that’s on board the Sulaco was launched via remote control from the planet’s surface some hours later. The transmission came from a colony transmitter so I assume what was left of the landing party probably retreated to the colony complex while they tried to bring down the second dropship."

"They must have succeeded," Chris responded. "Three of them made it back here."

"Well the dropship did land on the planet but I went over the hull a short time ago and found residual scorching and radiation levels corresponding with a 40 – 50 megaton nuclear blast. Now the first explosion recorded by the Sulaco was nothing like that so I believe when the first dropship crashed, it damaged the atmosphere processor. As I said, those atmosphere processors were state of the art technology for its time but still limited.   A large enough detonation near the core could cause emergency venting."

"So they got away before the blast but only three of them reached the Sulaco." Ezra mused. "Tragic."

"Four actually," Alex said suddenly.

"Four?" Vin exclaimed. "What do you mean four?"

"Remember we kept seeing the reference to a synthetic being on board?" Alex responded with more than a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Yeah," Vin nodded, recalling. "I was going to ask you about it. What’s that about?"

"I think they were referring to an android."

"You mean a pre-Soong model?" Julia sat up and paid close attention, Alex’s enthusiasm infecting her rapidly.

"Yes," Alex grinned. "I mean a pre-Soong model. During the Eugenics War and the Third World War, artificial intelligence was explored on a much larger scale than it is now. The theory of the time was that if robots, as they were called at the time, could be created to mimic humans perfectly, humans would not have to spend months in hibernation during space travel. The engineers of the time made some incredible strides in robotics, far beyond what is achieved now. The earlier models were different internally of course but outwardly; they were near indistinguishable from humans. The very late models were manufactured down to the genetic level. Cut them open and you would have to put their organs under a microscope to know they weren’t real. That’s how exact it was."

"Jesus," Vin exclaimed. "How come we don’t have more of them now?"

"Paranoia." Chris answered, having heard of the androids of the 21st century from his studies. "By the time the Optimum Movement came to being, the Multinationals were toppled and the new regime saw the androids as remnants of that era. They were ordered destroyed, every last one of them. Not only was the models themselves to be eradicated but all the research work and engineering details required to produce them. One hundred years or research in robotics was effectively destroyed. By the time the Third World War had ended, no one could build one even if they wanted to."

"It’s why Noonien Soong had to start from scratch when he chose to build Commander Data of the Enterprise." Julia explained before turning back to Alex. "So you’re saying there was a synthetic on board the Sulaco when the EEV was ejected."

"Yes," Alex nodded. "We have no evidence the EEV made it to Fury 361 intact but if that ship crashed there, then the synthetic might have been on board."

"You think its still on the planet?" Chris realized what captured Alex’s attention so profoundly.

"Why not?" Alex looked at them. "The facility was shut down a short time after the EEV’s arrival there, with the only prisoner surviving whatever took place down there, evacuated. What’s the point of taking the EEV wreckage back to Earth? Chances are the Company would want what took place at Acheron be kept a secret so they would not want any evidence of their complicity to survive. I say they would have left it on Fury  and if that the case, what’s left of the synthetic might be down there too."

"That’s a long shot," Julia remarked dubiously.

"I know," Alex nodded. "But if it’s down there, then we have an actual eyewitness to everything that  happened, not to mention the only artifact in existence regarding 21st-century robotics."

"Don’t you just love her when she’s all excited." Vin joked and garnered a sarcastic look from Alex.

"So it all comes down to us getting down there," Chris remarked after a brief pause following the completion of Alex’s report.

"More or less." She replied. "We’ve gone as far as we can go on this ship."

"How far away are we from having that dropship prepped for launch?" Chris turned to Julia and Vin.

"A few hours." The engineer answered. "The dropship is in rather good shape for its age. Most of what I have to do now is diagnostic."

"Are we actually going to take that relic down to the surface?" Ezra said distastefully, honestly wishing the idea was not being taken seriously.

"Live a little Ezra," Vin quipped, more than eager to take the ship out for a flight and not about to let Ezra cast any doubts in Chris’s mind regarding the sensibility of it.

"It’s perfectly safe," Julia assured him before giving her lover a devilish look. "Besides, you know I won’t let you get on any ship which I think is unsafe when you could plunge through the atmosphere and burn up into a crispy critter long before you even felt your skin fry." She capped off that colourful description with a smirk just for him.

"Thank you." Ezra frowned sarcastically. "That makes me feel so much better."

"It’s going to make you feel even better to know I’m requesting to stay here." She winked at him. "Captain, I’d like to continue going over the Sulaco. If we intend to tow her back to Deep Space 5 and eventually return her to Earth, I really need to make an in-depth analysis of her systems."

Chris did not know whether he liked to be on the surface without the engineer but then decided there was probably little need for her to accompany them. Besides, in all truth, he would prefer it if someone remained on board the vessel, especially if some misfortune did befall them. With the atmosphere of Fury 361 preventing transporters from being engaged, it was sensible someone stayed behind with the runabout in the instance they required deliverance. Chris doubted there would be anything dangerous at an abandoned prison facility but there was no reason to leave anything to chance.

"Alright," Chris conceded. "Ezra, assign one of your security team to her while she’s on board. No one is staying anywhere alone."

"Are you sure?" Ezra glanced at Julia anxiously, trying not to let personal concerns cloud his professionalism but sometimes it was hard to keep both separate.

"Yes," Julia nodded confidently. "I’ll be fine. Besides, I get to take this place apart at my leisure. How much fun is that?"

****
This was almost mind-numbingly boring, Lieutenant Atwater thought as he and Ensign Angel walked through the endless corridors running through the length and breadth of the Sulaco. Most of the ship was dedicated to the massive engines that took it from one corner of the galaxy to another. It amazed Atwater, ships travelled this way once, spending years just getting to their destination. He supposed part of his problem was the fact he was spoiled by modern conveniences. How could he possibly imagine a trip of years when warp speed made travel across millions of miles take no more than weeks? Still, it did not alter the fact he was required to inspect this ship from head to toe.

Unlike the Maverick with its well-lit corridors and its desire to make its innards as non-claustrophobic as possible, the Sulaco was the exact opposite. Once they moved away from the main areas of the ship, past the bridge, the steel decked corridors disappeared into one filled with gratings, overhanging bulkheads exposed conduits and dark shadows. Lots of dark shadows. The walls seemed to close in on them as they walked along the dimly lit passageway and Atwater wondered if it was just him or did the air seemed to be stale and thin. He knew it was most likely him because the temperature and the air flow in this part of the ship was the same as it was elsewhere. Not to mention, his younger companion seemed unperturbed by it at all.

Angel, she was called by no other was of Asian extraction. She was no fresh rookie out of the Academy and was edging closer and closer to her first promotion. There was just enough idealism left in her to look upon this assignment with enthusiasm. Give it a couple of years, Atwater thought to himself and the job would erode it well away. They were travelling down a maintenance corridor near the place where the dropship was normally stored when suddenly the path diverged into separate passages. Somehow, he was not up to expending the time of searching each one together when the same job could be done by both of them at the same time since the Chief was pretty adamant about leaving no stone unturned during their inspection of the Sulaco.

"We should split up." He stated.

"Is that a good idea?" Angel asked, unhappy about diverging from the Chief’s orders, even a little. There was something in the way he instructed them to stay together which gave the young woman pause in light of Atwater’s decision to split up. Ezra Standish was no alarmist but when he made it specifically clear for them to stay together; there was usually a good reason for it.

"Look," he grumbled showing her the tricorder. "We’ve gone through half the ship and spotted nothing so far. Whatever happened in this place, we missed it."

"Alright," Angel conceded, aware he could make it an order if he wished. "I’ll take the left and you take the right."

"Good girl," Atwater responded with just enough condescension in his voice to ensure the young woman would be eager to leave him behind. Without saying a further word; Angel took off down the right corridor. 

Once she was gone, Atwater made rapid progress down the corridor on his own. The usual readings emerged, indicating nothing but emptiness. As he progressed forward, nearing the hangar bay, the corridor became larger with higher ceilings and he could see the light emanating from the flight deck. He looked down at his tricorder to study the readings of his sweep when suddenly; he saw something that made him freeze in his tracks. At first, he was uncertain of what it was, except it was attached to some large conduits and only a fluke of light allowed him to see it at all. 

He took a stealthy step forward and examined the object, which he knew without doubt to be some kind of an egg. A thin film of moisture rested on its leathery surface and though it was dark, the translucence of the texture made it possible for him to see its innards. He could make out very little except a vague shape that seemed to pulse with life at his attention. Fascinated, he glanced at his tricorder, wondering why it had not registered. Perhaps the device was malfunctioning and he shook it just for good measure. However, instead of correcting himself, he was rewarded with a hiss of sound resembling gasses escaping from some pent-up location.

Atwater looked up and saw the egg had unsealed. Thick rivulets of noisome material were oozing out of the open orifice and Atwater stared mesmerized by the pulsing life piercing its long digits through its biological sheath. It occurred to him at that instant this was probably what had the Chief so anxious and started to withdraw. Whether or not the creature about to emerge realized the reason for his retreat, it was not about to take the chance of letting him leave. With almost lighting reflexes, it sprung out of its enclosure and landed squarely on Atwater’s face.

Atwater barely had time to scream and scrambled frantically for his phaser when he felt the creature’s tail began coiling around his throat and its digits pressing harder into his skull. It was only when he felt something wet and slimy sliding towards his mouth, he was reduced to raw panic but by then it was too late.

Far too late.

Time seemed to edge faster to its destination when one did not wish it to arrive. This was the way Ezra Standish felt the more it drew closer and closer for the dropship launch. Although he still lived with the hope the powers that be, specifically, the Captain would come to his senses and take the runabout, the hope never materialized and as the hour neared to their departure, Ezra resigned himself to the situation. It was not that he did not trust Julia’s ability as an engineer when she claimed the dropship was flight worthy but rather because his internal senses were telling him, there was danger.

Despite the fact that everything Ellen Ripley claimed to have taken place on LV427, occurred almost four hundred years ago and on a planet far away from here, there were still some aspects of this curious tale that felt unfinished. The fact the prison closed shortly after the EEV arrived was too much of a coincidence for Ezra, not to mention the electrical fire that caused the ejection to begin with. 

The Sulaco was old and constructed of outdated technology but Ezra did not have to be an engineer to know for its time, it was state of the art. Electrical fires did not start without good reason and as of yet, he had not determined what caused the fire. The cryogenic section where the fire took place was no good to him because much had been jettisoned when the capsules were moved into the EEV. Ezra examined the cryogenic chambers and found nothing out of the ordinary other than the fact a few of the capsules were missing which correlated with what they knew already. What disturbed him, however, was what he found on the floor of the cryogenic chamber floor. It was enough to take him straight to the Captain with his discovery.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Chris stared at the security officer sternly; aware Ezra had more than a few objections about going to the surface in the dropship and was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt he was not overreacting just a little.

"I would not bring it to you otherwise," Ezra remarked, hiding his annoyance at Chris even asking him that question. He would not have brought anything to Chris if there were any doubt in his mind about the validity of his information. "There was definite evidence of molecular acid in the cryogenic chamber. I do not know exactly what happened but obviously, an alien presence caused the fire and the EEV to eject."

"Have your security team found any signs of this alien, assuming it exists after 400 years?" Chris asked sceptically. They were in the hangar bay and even as he was having this discussion with Ezra, the others were packing the dropship preparing to leave. While Chris was not about to dismiss Ezra by any means, he felt the security chief might be a little too cautious in this instance.

"No Sir but Ripley’s narration declared the eggs in the hold of the Nostromo could have been there for quite some time. These creatures may be extremely long-lived. It might explain why the prison facility was abandoned."

"Ezra," Chris took a deep breath and tried to hide his impatience with the subject. "If there was a living specimen down there, do you honestly think the Weyland Yutani corporation would have left it there? They were determined to gain possession of the alien and were willing to kill to get it. I seriously doubt there is anything left there to find and even so, we are not going down there with old style projectile weapons, we’re going down there with Starfleet phasers. Whatever is waiting down there, we can handle it."

"I am certain your ancestor and his companions felt the same way," Ezra found himself retorting even though he knew he was pushing too hard. "Let's hope it does not end the same way for us."

"Any other objections Commander?" Chris said coldly, ignoring Ezra’s insubordination because of their friendship.

"No Sir," Ezra responded tautly.

"Good," Chris turned away sharply, not wishing to continue this conversation any more. He knew Ezra was right to be cautious but nothing could be learnt if they stayed up here and unless they made a surface landing of Fiorina, they would never uncover what happened to Ellen Ripley and Chris really needed to know. It was necessary someone knew the truth for justice to be done because of late, there did not seem to be much of it going around.

For such a noble cause, a little risk was worth the price of the paying.

****

It was almost time to leave and Ezra gathered his security team together in order to select one of them to stay behind with Julia. After what he just discovered in the cryogenic chamber, there was no way he was leaving her on board the Sulaco alone without any protection. Even though the Chief Engineer was more than capable of taking care of herself, she had a less than suspicious nature that could place her at a disadvantage should she be in trouble. Ezra preferred she remained in the company of someone a little more cynical about taking things at faith value and was trained to look into the shadows because Julia clearly preferred the light.

"Ty," Ezra looked in the direction of the Lieutenant who seemed somewhat distracted, not to mention he was sporting a fair bruise on his forehead. "What pray tell happened to you?"

Atwater shifted uncomfortably on his feet and met Ezra’s gaze a few seconds later. "I bumped my head while I was searching through one of the hanger bay corridors. Must have hit it on a large conduit or something. The place is full of them."

Ezra stared at him a long time, feeling something tickle at the back of his mind but unfortunately, his own patience was stretched thin with the Captain’s behaviour and did not give it much credence, taking took Atwater at his word. "Next time, be more careful. We will not be in the vicinity of a surgeon for some time. Do you think you are up to remaining on the ship?"

"Sure Chief," Atwater responded unable to deny the opportunity to remain on board the Sulaco was not unwelcomed. His head was throbbing and his stomach did not feel very good. Though he could still do his job, he would prefer it if he did not have to face the ordeal of landing on Fury 361 on that relic of a dropship, the Captain intended taking down to the surface.

"Good," Ezra nodded. "Chief Engineer Pemberton is staying on board to conduct further analysis of the Sulaco so you are to provide her with an escort. I do not want her going anywhere on board this ship alone, is that understood?"

Something tried to resurface through the fog of Atwater’s memory but it refused to come. Something about not being alone. It slipped out of his grasp the more he tried to remember and in the end, Atwater merely decided if it wanted to stay buried so desperately perhaps it was not worth worrying about anyway. "Yes, Sir. I’ll make sure she’s safe." He said with some measure of pride a second later.

Everyone knew the relationship Ezra Standish shared with Chief Engineer Pemberton and Ezra would only leave someone behind he really trusted to guard her life. To think the Chief thought of him first gave Ty Atwater a good feeling.

"I will hold you to that Mr Atwater," Ezra threw him a confident smile. "The rest of you will accompany the landing party to the surface. The Captain," Ezra paused as he forced his anger towards Chris to someplace a lot less obvious because it did not do for a senior officer to reveal his doubt regarding the Captain to junior crewmembers, before speaking again. "The Captain believes the facility is unoccupied. While there is no evidence to indicate he is wrong, there is no evidence to prove he is right either, so we will proceed with extreme caution."

Atwater barely heard the words his commanding officer was speaking because his mind returned to the same place it had been revisiting ever since he woke in that empty corridor, feeling this hoarseness in his throat and the sore contusion on his head. He remembered entering the darkened confines and seeing something, he was not sure what, before the world suddenly enveloped him in darkness so potent he could not breathe and then there was nothing. Yet instinct told him it was vitally important he remembered before it was too late. 

If it was not already.

The engines hummed as much as something requiring high-octane chemical fuel to burn could hum. It was a harsher sound than the warp engines which had a more fluid feel to it while this had edges and definite vocal shape.  Vin would be hard pressed to explain what that meant to someone who did not know how to listen. Like every pilot who ever sat behind the controls of their chosen mode of travel, Vin accustomed himself to all the nuances of the dropship’s rumble as the engines finally kicked into life. Like most vehicles, this one did not appreciate a cold start and so the process of taking off had to be gradual. It did not take him long to study the controls and though this craft was no starship, it was nonetheless a complex business to master. Fortunately, being Vulcan meant he was able to process information a great deal faster than humans and nowhere was the trait more useful than in instances such as these.

His fingers moved over the controls swiftly, having memorized where everything was and what it did prior to this moment. His enthusiasm made him an even faster study than usual because Vin did not care so much about going to Fiorina, but rather getting there. He knew it was important for Chris to go to the surface of the planet and therefore encouraged it, aware something needed to take the Captain’s mind from the dark place it was presently inhabiting. Although, he was not entirely certain a prison facility with too many secrets of its own was the best idea. Nevertheless, he conducted the pre-flight preparations while hearing the movement of the others behind him as they set up inside the main passenger bay.

"Hey." Alex suddenly appeared next to him as she entered the small cockpit and slid into the co-pilot’s seat. "How’s she doing?"

"She purrs." He grinned, feeling even more complete now Alex was at his side.

"You do love your toys." She smiled at him as she shifted into her seat as if trying it on for size. "I might stay up here with you when we take off. To tell you the truth it’s getting a little frosty back there." She glanced over her shoulder as if she could see through the closed cockpit door.

"Chris and Ezra?" Vin hazarded a guess.

"Yeah." She nodded with an unhappy frown on her face. "Ezra’s not happy about going down there in this but I don’t think it’s just the dropship," Alex said quickly before Vin felt guilty about insisting they take the dropship to the surface. "I think he’s uneasy about what’s waiting down there for us. You know Ezra, he sees danger in unanswered questions."

"I know Ezra," Vin nodded and started to wonder if perhaps he had been a little bit foolish about taking the dropship to the surface. He would love to take this craft out but not at the expense of the crew, especially if Ezra was right and he almost always was. "Thing is, he usually has a good reason to be." Forcing away the disappointment, Vin turned to Alex. "Maybe I ought to talk to Chris about taking the runabout."

"No," Alex stopped him before he went any further. "I don’t think it will do any good. We’re barely here for him as it is. All he’s been doing since we heard that narrative of Ripley’s is to go through her things and Hicks. Its like he’s searching for something."

"He needs to know he’s doing something right Alex," Vin explained, understanding the Captain a great deal more than anyone because of their close friendship. "He couldn’t save Adam and Sarah. Hell he can’t even prove their deaths were not accidental. You’ve seen the communication logs. He’s been talking to investigators and anyone who will listen at Starfleet Headquarters about the possibility of it being murder. So far, the most he’s got from them is an acknowledgement of something peculiar taking place on board the shuttle before the accident but nothing that could be considered murder. This is something he can prove, something he can show Starfleet, happened. It’s not because he’s obsessed, its because he feels if he can’t do right by Sarah and Adam at least he can do right by those people who died at LV427."

Alex stared at him and realized how different he was from the shy man who first arrived on the Maverick months ago. He shed the insecurity of being different and now embraced the person he was without fear of recriminations from either the Vulcans or the humans he served with. With his new sense of confidence, he had come out of his shell dramatically and though he would always be a quiet personality, he was also the bravest, most sincere, not to mention unswervingly loyal being she ever encountered. It was good to know part of his awakening had to do with their friendship. When they first met, it was she who provided him support through those difficult formative months on board the Maverick. Now it was he who kept the demons away from her and around Vin at least, Alex did not feel the need to be quite so tough.

"When did you get so wise?"

"We Vulcans mature a lot faster." He grinned turning back to the controls. "Of course, I still don’t get Buck’s fascination with seeing a woman in a thong but I figure it will happen soon enough."

"And we all wait in anticipation for that day. So, how long until take off?" 

"Another twenty minutes or so and we’re ready to go." He replied, now that the tender moment between them had passed.

"I’ll go tell the Captain," Alex said pushing herself out of the chair, uttering a slight groan of displeasure as she did so because she was starting to get comfortable. "He wants to get underway as soon as possible."

****

She was right.

Chris did want to leave immediately. No sooner than after Alex informed him the pre-flight preparations were almost completed, Chris was barking orders left right and centre to the landing party to move at double time, so that they could be ready to leave as soon as the Vulcan was done. Ezra restrained himself from showing any more opposition to their plans because it appeared the Captain was not about to change them on his account. The security chief took personal charge of the weapon cache they would be taking to Fury 361 because he was leaving nothing to chance. If indeed the facility was what it was meant to be, abandoned and benign, then he would be the first one to concede to the Captain he overreacted. If however, it was not an over reaction, if there was something down there, then they would at least be prepared to face it. Not only did Ezra fill the drop ship with phaser rifles but he also restocked the drop ship from the Sulaco’s arsenal. 

The weapons he found in the armoury, though primitive in comparison to the phaser and phaser rifles he brought from the Maverick, were still very effective. The lack of atmosphere in the ship kept the weapons well preserved with almost no deterioration taking effect on the metal or any of the chemical compounds making them function. Ezra checked each one carefully before putting them inside the dropship as a contingency if anything should go wrong. For the duration of their pre-launch preparations, Ezra and the captain gave each other a wide berth.

"I'll be fine," Julia reassured Ezra as he was about to board the dropship with the others. She could see through the facade of cautious and indifferent warnings he was issuing her, just how uncomfortable he was about having her stay here. However, the persona of Commander Standish would not allow him to show it. Still, Julia knew ever since their encounter with Q where she had been for a few hours dead, Ezra was doubly protective of her. Julia still had difficulty envisioning for a while she had been dead to her friends and chose to deal with the whole episode by thinking of it as little as possible, but she could not expect Ezra to forget how it must have felt. 

"I promise," she said taking his hand and holding it to her heart. "I will not go anywhere without Mr Atwater here." She glanced at the somewhat pale Lieutenant who offered Ezra a salute to indicate he was just as determined to follow that order.

"See that you do," Ezra said gruffly, not wanting to fuss but could not shake the feeling there was danger in this whole situation.

"Julia," Chris made himself heard as he ushered the rest of the security team into the craft. "You sure you're going to be okay here?"

"Like I said," Julia sighed. "I'll be fine. You guys get going. See if you can land us that synthetic."

"You bet. We can write our paper together." Alex winked as she walked up the ramp. "Captain, I'm going to take the co-pilot's seat if that's okay with you." She asked as she prepared to disappear into the hull.

"Sure," Chris nodded. "Go ahead."

"Hey," Vin's voice spoke up once more through the combadge, with more than a note of playfulness in it. "Do I have to start honking the horn? Daylight is a wasting."

A small ripple of laughter followed suit and Chris rolled his eyes. "Hang on to your britches there pard, we're coming."

"I might remind you, Lieutenant," Ezra retorted as he started walking towards the ramp, sealing his departure from Julia with a little kiss on the lips as she waved goodbye. "That there is no daylight on board a spaceship."

"Killjoy," Vin muttered back.

"Good luck!" Julia called out as she and Lieutenant Atwater watched the rest of the Maverick's crew disappear up the narrow step ramp into the belly of the dropship. She could see Vin through the cockpit window. The helmsman smiled at her and waved, just as Alex moved past him and placed herself into the seat by him. Despite herself, Julia felt a sense of loss at not accompanying them and knew she was being foolish. She had work to do and so much of it she probably would not even have time to miss her friends and Ezra.

Besides, they would be back before she knew it.

****

"We're in Vin," Chris informed the helmsman by way of his combadge after pulling the ramp and hatch close, sealing them inside.

"Everyone strapped in?" Vin's voice filled the passenger bay through his communicator. "This will be a bumpy ride so I'm not going anywhere until everyone is secured." As much as he wanted to begin this flight, he was absolutely serious about that statement. He was risking no one's life just to satisfy a personal whim.

Chris, who was last to be seated, immediately fastened the safety belt around his body and noticed everyone else checking their fastenings in one way or another, following Vin's statement. A few seconds passed before it was decided everyone had taken the necessary precautions.

"We're secure," Chris spoke up on all their behalf a moment later.

"As much as anyone could be in this crate." Ezra frowned.

"Where's your sense of adventure Chief?" Lieutenant Sue Collins grinned at her commanding officer. The blond was a veteran security officer whom Ezra rescued from a lesser assignment on one of the colony worlds and was one of the few people who ever played him to a draw. Her quick thinking secured her a place on the Maverick and Ezra liked her because she was never afraid to speak her mind. 

Although he had yet to decide whether that was always such a good thing.

"I must have left it in my other uniform." The security officer remarked dourly.

"Prepare for drop sequence," Vin announced once more and everyone fell silent with anticipation as the journey prepared to begin. 

Though they could see none of it happening, they could hear and feel what was taking place outside the passenger bay. The huge clamps gripping the dropship firmly began to move with a loud hiss, shaking them in their seats for a moment before they accustomed themselves to the forward momentum of its mechanics and depressing hydraulics. The ship slid along the enormous titanium rails supporting it until it was removed from the berth where it had remained for the better part of four hundred years. The rails carried it swiftly and smoothly to the other side of the deck, towards the drop chute in the centre of the hangar floor.

By now, Julia and Atwater would be continuing their observation of the craft's departure from a pressurized viewing room on the other side of the hangar wall. The dropship soon reached the chute door. Previously, all that could be seen of this huge opening was nothing more than the fine seams on the steel deck. However, as the dropship prepared to leave the Sulaco, the clamps holding the small craft came to a standstill with a sudden jolt and those previously unseen doors slid open loudly. Once they were fully apart, the opening revealed the illumination of Fiorina below them as well as creating something of a whirlwind as the deck began to depressurize. 

"Ten." Vin's countdown to their drop began echoing through the insides of the small ship.

"Nine. 

Eight. 

Seven. 

Six. 

Five. 

Four. 

Three. 

Two. 

One. 

Marks away." Vin concluded with calm, even though everything happening after would not be. 

The clamps released the dropship, creating a great explosion of sound as the vessel plunged through the floor into the air below. It would fall for several hundred meters before Vin would engage the engines and guide it safely to the planet under its own power. 

To Fury 361 and all its secrets.

When the dropship entered the atmosphere of Fury 361, it was quickly discovered to be no less redeeming from the surface as it was from space. Penetrating the thick shield of cumulous encasing the world, the skies surrounding them were just as grey and dour as the clouds left behind. The landscape below seemed as colourless and from the air, it was difficult to tell where Fiorina's brackish seas began and where the barren landmasses ended. Both seemed to be painted with the same pallid brush and one could imagine how easy it was for those first surveyors of Fiorina to deem the only appropriate use for it was as a prison facility.

The dropship performed remarkably well for a craft not seen use in almost four hundred years. The ride from the Sulaco was anything but smooth but this was to be expected with the method of departure from its mother ship. Once entering the atmosphere, the dropship managed to give them a tolerable ride which was no easy feat considering the instrument read high winds sweeping through the atmosphere outside. Not to mention the perpetual rain storm that always seemed to be coming down hard on the planet, no matter what corner of it a visitor may choose to take shelter. The climate of Fiorina was a mix of rain, humidity and wind creating a lusty amalgam of sweltering heat that could be imagined by all members of the crew before they even stepped out of the dropship.

The smooth descent evolved into turbulence the closer they reached the surface. Using the coordinates found on the Sulaco which detailed the exact point of landing for the EEV, the dropship had little trouble finding the prison facility on the grim world. The EEV was programmed to choose its landing site based on its proximity to human civilization and though the trip through the atmosphere was fraught with disaster, for the most part, it completed its mission successfully. The dropship struggled against the rushing winds, determined to make them pay for every inch of air as it attempted to land. Fortunately, for one such as Vin who was accustomed to flying more than a million tons of starship whilst wrestling with spacial phenomena, gravimetric disturbances and close encounters with the event horizons of everything from neutrons stars to black holes, this was moderately challenging, nothing more.

As the dropship lowered them into the prison complex, they managed to get a vague view of it. The mining facility was closed but evidence of it still remained in the abandoned foundry and steel works. The prison itself was a small part of the facility and it appeared most of the space was relegated to the commercial activities taking place here. However, a precise view of everything was not possible because the sheets of rain battering the abandoned structures, made visibility poor and the humidity obscured everything beyond the immediate range of their landing site. The landing pad was located well away from the mining centre and was a short distance from the prison itself.

Landing struts extended outwards as the craft slowly descended onto the bitumen paved landing pad, now overrun with cracks from centuries of disuse and neglect. The heavy indentations of the struts dug into the crumbling tar for a few seconds before the weight crushed it as far as it would go and then allowed the ship to steady itself after. The wind was momentarily drowned by the sound of powerful engines roaring and across the complex, its arrival echoed through the empty rooms and silent corridors. Twenty minutes after the ship finally made its landing, the hatch opened and its occupants started to make their exit.

Chris wiped the rain from his face once he stepped out of the dropship into the open air. His eyes immediately began to survey the area and found things no different from when he had viewed it from aloft. It was just as humid and the rain was still as heavy, only now he had a chance to experience it first hand. It was coming down hard but the heat of the place was such the water against his skin felt pleasant rather than cold. The facility looked every much as abandoned and aged as he imagined, he could hear what was probably an unlocked door swinging close back and forth somewhere and the shutters belonging to a window in the nearest structure to them was swaying pendulously in momentum to the wind.

"Captain," Alex called out as she descended behind him. The rain plastered jet-coloured hair to her face and she had to brush errant strands from her eyes as she tried to focus on her tricorder. "There's some kind of airborne parasite in the air." Her face wrinkled with distaste.

"Charming." Ezra Standish followed closely behind, after giving his security officers instructions to survey the immediate area. Angel, Collins and Christie spread out across the tarmac, their phaser rifles before them as they proceeded to ensure the area was secured for their Away Team. "Are they harmful?"

"Not really," Alex continued to study the readings on the tricorder, squinting the rain out of her eyes. "But they apparently feed on keratin, specifically the type found in human hair. We'll have to be vaccinated against it or they'll start feeding on ours."

"Cannot we simply offer them Lieutenant Tanner as a smorgasbord offering? With those long locks of his...." Ezra grinned.

"I'll let you tell him that." Chris gave the security chief a look. "Are they harmful in any other way?" He asked, instinctively wiping his face as if he could feel the microscopic parasites on his skin already.

"No," She shook her head. "They're mostly composed of keratin. I don't detect any requirement for human tissue. I don't think they can process it."

Ensign Ian Christie, a tall young man almost as solidly built as the Canadian forests he called home, emerged from the nearby building and immediately approached the command officers. "Chief, the primary vicinity is clear."

"Thank you," Ezra responded and turned to the Captain. "Shall we Sir?"

To no one surprise, Chris was already on his way there.

****

A short time later, they set up camp in what appeared to be an office of some type. There was office furniture left behind, ravaged and deteriorated in the humid weather despite being away from the harsh rain and wind outside. Papers covered the floor and personal effects like a coffee mug and some pictures were left behind. The picture was faded beyond sepia and made those who were figured prominently in them seemed rather jaundiced. There was a communications terminal of some sort but the state of it did not give Alex much hope for garnering anything useful from it.

During this time, she took the opportunity to vaccinate everyone from the ravages of the micro-organism threatening to leave them devoid of hair if allowed to rampage unchecked. Fortunately, Nathan had been adept enough to provide every kind of protection he could possibly imagine they might need and Alex was never more grateful to find a remedy that could be injected through means of a hypospray to discourage their keratin feeding assailants. Ezra had asked Alex to vaccinate his security officers first so that they could be sent out for reconnaissance while the Captain decided his next move.

"They left in a hurry," Vin remarked as Alex pressed the hypospray to his skin while he was reading one of the yellowed papers in his hand. "They didn't even bother to clear out the files. I'm reading what looks to be some prisoner's record." Vin's blue eyes moved over the page. "Clemens. A medical technician or something."

"There is no way they could get a doctor out here," Chris responded automatically. "Too far away from a holo-golf course. I guess they had to make do with what they could get."

"Most of these sentences were commuted," Ezra added, going through the same papers himself. "According to the dates, a lot of these men served their time in these fair surroundings but chose to remain after their sentences were done."

"That's weird," Alex commented, moving onto the Security Chief who offered her his arm without taking his eyes off the documentation he was reading.

"Not necessarily," he explained. "These men were double Y chromosome offenders, rapists, serial killers, multi-homicide criminals. Their opportunities on Earth with that attached to their record would have been most inconvenient. They may have chosen to remain here simply because it would be less daunting than attempting to reintegrate into society."

"Ezra's right." Chris agreed with the security chief's assessment. "The penal system in those days was next to barbaric. There was no such thing as rehabilitation, not really. Maybe what they couldn't find on Earth, they found here, where no one could bother them."

"I suppose." She shrugged and vaccinated herself finally. Once she depressed the hypospray's contents into her arm, she turned her attention to the computer terminal that might hold some of the answers to what had happened here after the EEV crashed.

"Do you think you can get that thing working?" Chris asked as he saw her pull the CPU from its niche in the wall.

"Ewww!" She jumped back startled as her efforts sent some rather big, large roaches scurrying about from the place where she dislodged the terminal. "I hate those things."

Vin looked at her in astonishment. "You're kidding." The urge to smile was overwhelming but he held his amusement in check, aware it could land him a knuckle sandwich.

"I don't like bugs," Alex complained. "Especially big ones."

"You are a science officer!" Ezra exclaimed just as stunned. "You were the one who dissected that one-foot slug on Primus 2 with green ooze all over your hands and you are complaining about insects, especially small insects?"

"Sometimes I even hate the ones in uniform." She looked at him sweetly.

"As riveting as this conversation is," Chris cut in impatiently, "can we get back to business?"

"Sorry Sir," Alex apologized and returned to her examination of the CPU. Pulling the metal case off the internal works, she surveyed the state of the components and their levels of degradation. "I'll have to change some of these wires," she remarked, talking more to herself than the others. "There's been a lot of moisture deterioration. I think the chips are fine though, these things were made to last, especially out here. They're also made to accept generic parts, nothing too specific for the sake of expediency I suppose. Nothing worse than being so far from Earth and not have any spare parts."

"So we'll be able to get something off them." Chris was encouraged by this news.

"I think so." Alex fingered the collection of wires and damaged components attached to the faded circuit board. She was certain she could scrounge out the parts needed to repair the device to retrieve the data from the hard disk. However, in the event she was unsuccessful, Alex did not believe all was entirely lost. If necessary, she would rig the hard disk directly to the tricorder and let the sophisticated instrument create the interface necessary to download all the information necessary to answer the Captain's burning questions. The tricorder's strengths were its ability as an adaptive interface and were equal to the task with even the most complex alien hardware, far more formidable than this relic from another age. "If I can't get this thing going, I'll just link a direct interface from the CPU to the tricorder and download the information. I would prefer to try and get it running first though."

"Fine," Chris responded although he was eager to learn what happened to Ripley and her companions after coming to this desolate place. Still, there was a great deal of prison to explore and there was no reason to let the present obstacles prevent him from the beginning that particular tour. "I'm going to take a look around."

"Where you go, so shall I fearless leader," Ezra remarked as he stood up from the desk on which he had been sitting reading the hard-copied remnants of the prison records.

"Ezra," Chris grumbled wishing the security officer were not so damn adamant about these things sometimes. Chris wanted to make his explorations alone but the look in Ezra's eyes told him plainly Ezra was not going to let him wander about alone. "I'll be fine. There isn't anything here to worry about."

"With all due respect Sir," Ezra met his gaze directly and the set of the southerner's jaw was one Chris recognized as bald stubbornness to relent. "I do not believe we have the data to make that kind of determination as of yet."

Vin chose wisely to stay out of the confrontation, deciding the best way to remain friends with both was to remember the chain of command. He ranked below Chris and Ezra and was not about to meddle in what was clearly an issue of protocol. Besides, he did not think Chris ought to be walking around on his own either. While his fears were not based on an alien creature jumping out of the shadows, he was always in favour of someone watching the Captain's back. Since Ezra had volunteered, Vin could stay close to Alex because he was not eager for her to be alone here either.

"Ezra, you sound like my mother." Chris pointed out.

"Well Captain, your behaviour is somewhat chi..."

Fortunately, Ezra was interrupted before he was allowed to finish that particular remark. Lieutenant Collin's voice echoed through from Ezra's com badge. "Commander Standish, come in."

All discussion was cut short as three sets of eyes turned to Ezra as he tapped on his com badge to respond. "Standish here." He said shortly. "What is it, Sue?"

"We found something."

"Well do not leave us in the dark," Ezra returned sharply. "What pray tell have you discovered on your wanderings through this charming facility?" His sarcasm was lost on no one.

"The Emergency Ejection Vehicle Sir," Collins responded promptly. "The EEV."

****

She did not know how long after they were gone that she finally ventured from the bridge.

The first order of business once she had the place to herself was to run a diagnostic program on all systems on board the Sulaco. Since their arrival on the old Earth ship, Julia had activated the primary systems like life support and climate control to serve their immediate needs. However, now time permitted, she could conduct a more detailed inspection of the Sulaco and see how capable the vessel was to make the journey home to Earth. There was no doubt in her mind the Sulaco would make its final trip home after so many centuries lingering in the wilderness. Historians and engineers alike would be clamouring to see the ship, a remnant of a bygone era. So few of the vessels from the mid 21st century survived the Third World War which was part of the reason Zefram Cochrane was forced to construct his warp ship from an old ICBM.

Julia could not deny she was excited to work on the Sulaco because once the vessel returned to Earth, it would be thrust into the hands of so many others and out of her reach forever. More specialized teams would be assigned to study it and her own responsibilities on the Maverick would ensure Julia would never get the opportunity to study the ship as she did now. This was her one chance of touching a piece of history and though she denied herself the chance to accompany the Captain on his quest to Fiorina, Julia was convinced she made the better choice for herself. Besides, she doubted anything Chris Larabee could find on the abandoned mining facility of Fiorina 361 could compare to the Sulaco itself.

Although Ezra had instructed Ty Atwater to stay close to her, Julia had given the security officer permission to get some rest. Shortly after the dropship had gone to Earth and Julia received a transmission from Vin Tanner informing her they had arrived safely at their destination, she noticed that Atwater did not at all seem well. Julia was fairly confident they were alone on the Sulaco and doubted anything was going to emerge from the shadows. Nevertheless, she promised to carry her phaser on her at all times and sent Atwater to the runabout to lie down. His colour seemed off and though he was trying his best to hide it, she was certain he was feeling a lot worse than he let on.

Her diagnostic of the main systems indicated there were minor failures in some areas caused mostly by the lack of maintenance. Interfacing with the computer self-maintenance routine, she was able to discern what needed doing and discovered a healthy supply of components were available in the Sulaco's stores. Like every military organization throughout history, the Colonial Marines bureaucracy operated in more or less the same way; never pay for one when you can get two. Leaving the bridge, she went to the storeroom and found a wealth of supplies for every possible failure the Sulaco might experience.

Julia collected what she needed and set out on her personal quest to conduct repairs on the systems registering malfunctions. Setting out with her toolkit, she began replacing components in sectors needing it. A fuse here, a blown circuit there, the list was really quite minor. Julia had to commend the engineers of the day who had put the Sulaco together. They had built the craft to weather any kind of storm and despite its age, the Sulaco had the last four centuries in relatively good shape. Time slipped past without her even being aware of it and before she knew it, she had completed all but one item on her repair list.

Entering the narrow passageway near the hanger, she could see the bright glare of the fluorescent lights emanating from the deck as she stood in the dimly lit passenger deck. According to her list, there was a blown power relay somewhere along the lines of electrical conduit that might go some way to explaining why the lights were so dim. The level of luminance was so dark that everything was covered in shadows and in a corridor composed mostly of cast iron, it was just plain dangerous to go bumping into things.

Julia found the malfunctioning power relay and spent the next ten minutes installing new components in place of the old. Her fingers moved swiftly through the tangle of wires and switches as she conducted her repairs and suddenly the narrow passageway was filled from end to end with clarifying white light. Shadows disappeared and the strange lengths that bounced dark as some things bounced light, suddenly gained definition. Under the cold glare of artificial lighting, it seemed nowhere as sinister and Julia felt infinitely proud of her accomplishment.

Until she saw the unsealed egg attached to a bulkhead.

At first, she did not understand what it was. The engineer in her still tried hard to identify the shape as something connected to the ship. It was not until she had drawn close enough to be able to stare down the emptiness of the biological container, did she realize the full magnitude of the situation that had suddenly come out of nowhere and swallowed her whole. Julia felt her heart pounding in her ears as she studied the unsealed egg, covered in greasy resinous material that reminded her of the clear lubricating grease she sometimes used in her work. It trickled down the sides of the egg, hardened to almost the strength of epoxy.

Her palms were sweating when she reached for her com badge and tapped it lightly. "Lieutenant Atwater."

There was no answer.

The fear started to become more palpable. It became something she could feel pressing up against her almost as closely as the corridor around her. She could feel it snake up her spine like icy tendrils and for the first time, she began to develop an acute empathy for Ripley's terrifying ordeal.

"Atwater!" She hissed.

It occurred to her he might not answer because he was unable and suddenly her fear rescinded momentarily for a stronger emotion; fear for his life. She left her tools where she stood and bolted out of the corridor, her hand clutching her phaser tight in her palm as she emerged into the hangar. Her eyes searched the deck and found her destination soon enough. The runabout was sitting inconspicuously in the middle of the hangar, which seemed a great deal larger now the dropship was gone. Julia noticed the doors of the runabout were closed and wondered if Atwater sensing danger had sealed himself inside. Impossible. She told herself. He would never do that without her. Julia quickly arrived at the vessel and activated the hatch. The doors slid open and she entered without thinking twice. In retrospect, she supposed she should have prepared herself.

"Oh Ty," Julia stared at the grisly scene before her and asked mutely. "Why didn't you ask for help?"

The scene before her was nothing less than grisly. There was blood across the panels, on the floor and on the seats. Atwater was lying on his side against the floor, his face a rictus of unbelievable agony. His gold-coloured uniform was blood red and lying near his stomach almost like some vile afterbirth, was what was left of his internal organs from the beneath the sternum. The scent of blood was overpowering and Julia almost wretched in disgust. The runabout was made to keep its occupants safe from a warp field. Sealing oneself inside was as close to a self-contained environment as one could get. She could imagine him coming in here, attempting to find a reason for his failing health. Sometime after sealing himself in here, the alien chose to make its emergence and the agony Atwater must have endured would have kept him from contacting her as well as trapping his screams inside the runabout. Through the sheer panic of her thoughts, Julia wondered if he knew what was growing inside him.

Growing inside him.

The instant the thought emerged inside her mind, she heard it. No more than a foot high at the moment, it was covered in blood and flesh, most of which was Atwater's. Julia could hardly make it out except to note it had no eyes and it moved with surprising speed. It lunged out of nowhere, spiriting straight past her and bearing its serrated teeth in defiance as Julia stumbled out of its way in shock. The creature, having waited for its chance to escape the runabout, did not waste it and scrambled out of the open hatch. Julia fired her phaser at the last minute, impacting a few inches behind it and being rewarded with another angry screech before it disappeared from view.

She raced after it, cursing her poor response at allowing it to leave the runabout.  She exited the craft just in time to see the newborn entering an open grill in the floor and disappearing into a maintenance shaft.

"Damn!" Julia swore angrily, unable to keep chiding herself for the next few seconds at her lack of performance. However, when her recriminations with herself ended; Julia realized she had a bigger problem on her hands.

The alien was loose on the ship.

It was possible it was raining even harder than before when the Away Team gathered in what passed for the mining facilities’ refuse dump after Lieutenant Collin’s announced what she found during her reconnaissance sweep. Large heavy droplets consistent with a storm gaining momentum pounded the surface of everything as they emerged out into the open, splattering as they made hard contact. The wind sweeping through the air created waves of water in mid-air and they could see its current by the angled descent of rainfall. Overhead, the clouds appeared thicker until no part of the pale sky could be seen at all and it felt not like morning as it was on Fiorina, but rather late afternoon, almost twilight.

Alex looked up at the sky with a troubled expression on her face, particularly after she took readings of the storm brewing. High energy particles in the atmosphere were creating an unfortunate mix she did not at all like, particularly in regards with what it would do to their communication equipment. Suddenly Alex had a good idea why Fiorina was never considered a world worthy of colonization. Tapping the com badge on her uniform, she made an exploratory attempt to contact the Sulaco.

"Julia, come in." She spoke up and captured the attention of everyone around her.

She was greeted with nothing but a near incoherent cackling sound. "Julia," Alex rose her eyes to meet Ezra’s. "Come in."

Once again, there was only that burst of static crackling away into nothingness. To be certain it was not merely her com badge that was malfunctioning, Ezra made a similar attempt to contact the ship. He too was greeted with the same silence marking the end of Alex’s last attempts.

"Why can’t we contact the ship?" Chris asked when it became clear their communications with the Sulaco was disrupted.

"Its nothing serious," Alex immediately responded wanting to diffuse the situation before it escalated everyone’s concern into panic. "The same atmospheric properties that make transport impossible is a little more pronounced because of the present weather patterns. I would say the storms are part of it. Our communications blackout will last as long as the storms. Once it clears, it should dissipate to normal levels again."

"What if there is an emergency?" Ezra asked immediately, not to be deterred by the simple explanations because even if it was a natural phenomenon, it did not change the fact they were cut off from the Sulaco and the runabout until the storm ended. 

"We can always use the radio on the dropship," Vin suggested.

"That would only be effective if Julia is listening in on the radio. She would expect us to contact her via our com badges." The security chief retorted, pressing the issue.

"Look," Chris let out a deep breath, not about to turn back when the EEV was only a short distance away. "Let’s not panic." He gave Ezra a warning look and continued. "The situation is far from dangerous. Communications is out but its only temporary, yes?" He glanced at Alex for confirmation.

"Yes, Sir." She nodded in response. "I estimate we should have communications online once the storm passes."

"We have no idea how long that could be and in the meantime, we might run into danger." Ezra countered quickly.

"If that happens," Chris bristled, not at all liking the adversarial stance Ezra was taking with him. "Then we will abort the mission and return to the Sulaco. However," his voice filled with open menace as he delivered a scathing rendition of the Larabee glare towards the security chief, "for the moment, there is no reason why we cannot continue our investigations. Is there not?"

"No Sir," Ezra muttered unhappily and the tension was so thick between the senior staff for a brief instance no one spoke. 

"That EEV is in pretty bad shape," Vin spoke up after the pause, playing mediator as he attempted to soothe the escalating tempers between his captain and the security chief. 

The helmsman could tell Ezra was fast reaching a point where he would refuse to back down, protocol or not. Vin knew it and Alex knew it too. When that happened, he would come right up against the brick wall of Chris Larabee’s worst and no one wanted to see that in all its horrific glory. However, one thing had come out of this. Vin secretly came to the decision it was time he and his best friend had the conversation he had been putting off because Chris was also his captain. Even Vin could not ignore the erratic way Chris was behaving. Under normal circumstances, everything Ezra pointed out would be taken with due consideration, not regarded as some obstacle to circumvent for Chris to get his way.

Most of the biological refuse had been taken care of by decomposition and other natural causes, so the remainder of garbage was composed mostly of plastics, metal and other miscellaneous items found to be obsolete when the facility was being dismantled. The EEV suffered the same climatic wear although there was little evidence of rust across the hull because of the nature of the metals it was constructed with. Where there was a largely iron component, oxidization had done its worst with rust almost completely engulfing it. There was a gaping hole in the hull that told the Away Team something of the landing it made on Fiorina. Large dents and torn metal across the titanium hull indicated a severe crash and it was a miracle if any of its passengers survived the landing.

"It's been sitting out in the open for the last four hundred years," Alex responded, braving the rain as she strode into the middle of the junk pile. "In this climate, it’s a miracle it isn’t a rusted out piece of scrap."

"I beg to differ," Ezra grumbled as he strode in after the science officer, ensuring she did not enter the transport alone. Chris and Vin followed closely behind and the Captain felt slightly annoyed once again, his overprotective officers had gone in ahead of him, in their efforts to ensure the area was safe enough for his presence. Collins remained outside in the rain, her eyes keeping a close watch on the surrounding area, while the senior staff made a close inspection of the dilapidated building.

"This was one hell of a crash," Vin observed as they stepped inside the small space and were immediately confronted with the metallic smell of rust in the air. The inside of the craft was mostly dry beyond the gaping hole in its side but the rust penetrated deeply into the structure nonetheless. Evidence of the crash was everywhere, in the wiring draped loosely over their heads, the shattered cryotubes and torn superstructure. A support beam had crashed straight through one of the tubes and the brown discolouration on the broken glass around it could only be one thing; blood.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ezra asked as they stared at the faded residue of dried blood, now seeped well and truly into the glass that not even time could erase. When it was fresh, it must have splattered against the glass with great force and suddenly the support beam that crushed the cryo-tube became the leading suspect in the death that must have resulted from so much blood being spilt.

"Yes," Alex confirmed it with her tricorder and then discovered something else. Her expression turned dark and for a moment she tried to think of how to relay what she saw on the readings she had taken. Prior to leaving the Sulaco, she downloaded all the personnel records into the tricorder, in case they needed to refer to it while they were on Fiorina 361. It was nothing more than a bit of meticulous foolishness and Alex hadn’t really thought she might need it until now. 

"What is it?" Chris caught the look in her eyes a fraction faster than Vin and Ezra.

"I’m sorry Captain," she swallowed thickly, trying to word her next sentence carefully. "The DNA residue of the blood in this cryotube matches one of the Colonial Marines."

Chris sucked in his breath. There was no need for her to explain. The only passenger of the EEV who was a Colonial Marine was Hicks. Turning away from her, Chris stared at the cryo-tube as everyone fell silent, trying to imagine what must be running through his mind or his heart. The Captain of the Maverick felt a deep sense of loss and futility for his ancestor, who he had never given more than a second thought before they had encountered the Sulaco.

After everything that he endured on Acheron, Chris found it incredibly unfair Hicks would meet his end in an accident like this. Fighting aliens and escaping a thermonuclear explosion only to be crushed to death when their EEV crashed. Chances were good Hicks probably had no idea what hit him. He would have gone to sleep in his cryotube, expecting to get home unaware he would never wake up again. It was a far more merciful end to his being awake when the end came.

Chris supposed that was something.

"It would have been painless." Alex quickly spoke up, having no evidence to that conclusion but feeling the need to say it nonetheless. "He was probably still in hypersleep when they crashed."

"I know," Chris said quietly. "I had hoped he made it."

It was always going to be an impossible hope in regards to what facts they had about Fiorina and only one prisoner having left here alive. There had been no mention of any other survivors so whatever took place here, it had not only taken Hicks but everyone who managed to reach Fury 361 alive on the EEV, including Ripley. 

"I’m sorry Chris," Vin responded while Ezra moved deeper into the vehicle, hoping no one else met their end as violently as Chris’s ancestor. 

"Its okay," Chris let out a deep sigh. "I never knew him to be able to mourn him."

"Oh Alex," Ezra suddenly sang out to the science officer. "I think I may have found what you were looking for." The security officer was at the far end of the EEV, standing before what appeared to be the only undamaged console panel in the entire craft. Chris could not see what Ezra was studying so closely from where he was and quickly advanced next to the security officer for a better look like the others were doing at this moment. 

"Hell," Vin whispered as they came upon the sight of what looked like the upper half of a human body. The head, neck and one shoulder still remained intact but the rubberized skin making up its face was distorted as if melted by heat, creating an ugly swelling around one eye. The effect was quite gruesome indeed and though they all knew it was the fabled synthetic Alex was so eager to find, they could not help but be a little repulsed by its remains.

"I take it that is one of your synthetics?" Ezra ventured a guess as Alex approached the thing.

She nodded mutely as the remnants of her shock began to slip away and the scientist in her went to examine the find she was speaking of so enthusiastically to Julia earlier on. She was probably the first person in four hundred years to cast her eyes on an android of the 21st century to fully understand its significance. "He's probably the synthetic from the Sulaco." She mused, remembering the passenger manifest that stated his presence on board the ship.

"Looks like he didn't survive the crash any better than Hicks did," Chris responded, staring at this construct who had probably known Corporal Dwayne Hicks in person. Despite its ruined state, one had to marvel at the intricacy of the construction. When it was in its prime, Chris did not doubt this android was capable of blending completely into human society without notice. The Optimum Movement who had called such constructs abominations had certainly believed it and feared the unseen enemy capable of existing in a form so capable of being indistinguishable from humans. 

"Wait a minute...."Alex's eyes narrowed as she saw the wires and plugs attached to the ruined android's exposed innards. She followed their progress and saw the attachments were in place in order to resurrect him, even in his damaged state. While the EEV was most likely drained of power by now, the connections were all in place and possibly capable of functioning.

"Someone tried to power him up." She announced as she glanced over her shoulder at the Captain. "Someone may have tried to reactivate him. All the connections have been established. He was wired to the main power grid and then deactivated." She responded, scanning the makeshift connection with her tricorder. The readings indicated while the wires and conduits were aged, they appeared to be operable. 

"Four hundred years ago." Vin returned. "It couldn't possibly still work after all this time. Could it?" There was so much this android could tell them. They were all aware of that fact. Every question regarding the Sulaco’s mission could be answered by this remarkable piece of damaged technology.

"Let's find out." Alex grinned; forgetting all about the state of the android and being more focused on reanimating it. Without wasting any time, she began transferring the attachments from the power grid of the EEV to her tricorder. The deutronium core powering the device was more than capable of bringing this piece of 21st-century hardware to life.

"What are you doing?" Chris asked even though it was more or less a foregone conclusion what she was attempting. 

"I'm seeing if I can bring him back." Alex returned as if it were the most natural thing in the world for her to be doing. 

"Alex, is that the wisest course of action at this point?" Ezra asked cautiously.

"You wanted answers, Ezra," Chris quickly cut in to keep him from interrupting the science officer’s work. "This thing is an eyewitness to what happened to the Sulaco and very possibly what might have taken place here. If we're going to get to the bottom of this, we need to access what he knows."

Ezra could not fault that part of the Captain’s reasoning and supposed a story told by an android bound to obey humans was not entirely untrustworthy or unreliable information. Any response he was about to make was cut short by a sudden burst of electricity. The charge scented the air with noxious odours as energy flowed through the aged wires, burning out some, rerouting others. When the fingers attached to the android’s good arm began twitching spasmodically, Ezra knew Alex succeeded in bringing it back to life, in a manner of speaking.

The android continued to twitch as energy flowed through what remained of his senses. He tilted his head back slightly as a gush of white ooze flowed out of his mouth. The action made him cough, almost as if he were alive and the humans stood back as bio-mechanical fluid sprayed lightly from his mouth. The android did not seem to notice them at first as his eyes were closed. It took a few seconds for him to recover himself enough before he opened his eyes and focused on them. One of his eyes was milky white from damage and the rubber around it was swollen, making him look even more grotesque than before as he slowly took stock of everything around him. 

"Jesus." Chris found himself whispering.

Despite the majority of its systems being damaged, the android proved capable of having good hearing as he reacted to Chris’s voice by shifted his gaze towards the Captain. Visible surprise flowed through his misshapen features as he cocked his head slightly and stared at Chris. There was recognition in his eyes but also confusion. 

"Hicks?" The raspy voice, watered with fluid asked after a momentary pause.

It took Chris a second to realize the android thought him to be his dead ancestor. The android could not be blamed for that of course, having seen the picture of Hicks in the computer records on the Sulaco, Chris too was quite amazed by the likeness between them. Except for their differences in age, Chris Larabee and Dwayne Hicks might have been twins. 

"No." Chris shook his head.

"You look like him but..." the android's eyes narrowed as he tried to explain himself. "You’re older."

"My name is Chris Larabee, Hicks was an ancestor," Chris explained, seeing no reason to keep the truth from the android who was hardly in the position to do anything.

"The resemblance is striking." The android observed. His voice was soft, reminding those present a little of Josiah's with its tones of sympathetic tenderness. "I don't recognize the uniform," he said perplexed as he studied all of them. "Military?"

"United Federation of Planets," Chris replied. "You're four hundred years from where you started out."

The android paused for a moment, absorbing this information. Chris would have sworn he saw sadness if he believed it possible for a machine to feel but then he was certain Jean Luc Picard thought his second officer, Commander Data quite capable of emotion too.

"Ripley is dead?"

"Yes." Chris nodded because however she met her end, it was still four centuries in the past. 

"So she never made it off Fury?" He asked.

"Did she survive the crash?" Vin asked. "By the looks of it, it was pretty bad."

"She survived." The android answered and regarded him for a moment. "You’re not human."

"No," Vin said with a little smile. "I’m Vulcan."

"A planet that revolves around Eridani," Alex explained. "Vulcans were the first aliens to make contact with Earth."

"There is so much missing." His gaze shifted away. "I must be a relic."

"Actually," Ezra corrected. "You appear to be something of a find. We have not seen the likes of you in almost four hundred years. You are going to be quite the celebrity when you return to Earth."

"It's still there?" The android asked quietly, with a trace of hope in his voice.

"Do you know what happened to Ripley?" Chris interrupted his musings and asked. "You said she made it down here."

"Yes." The android nodded. "She was the only one who lived. The others died in the crash." He paused a moment as he looked at Chris. "Hicks died in his cryotube. A support beam impaled him in the chest. He never regained consciousness."

"I guessed." Chris nodded. "What about the little girl?"

"She drowned in her tube." The android responded, holding back nothing. "The EEV crashed in the sea. Newt’s cryotube filled up with water, by the time the rescue people found her, it was too late. I doubt she woke up either."

The android closed its eyes for a moment and a grimace, Chris was certain was sorrow filled his features. The synthetic thought about little Newt, stranded on Acheron for all that time, avoiding the aliens, to be finally rescued, only to die on the way home in a crash. Sometimes, this thing the humans called fate could be extremely indifferent.

"I’m sorry." Alex found herself saying, feeling the same sadness over the tragedy.

"Ripley never left here alive," Chris spoke up again. "She died here."

"There was an alien with us." The android explained. "It attempted to get to us in stasis when the Sulaco’s security systems kicked in and a protection grid killed it. The acid it uses for blood caused an electrical fire which was why the capsules were moved to the EEV. Unfortunately, it was not alone. There was another spore on the ship with us and it came down all the way. The last time I talked with Ripley, I think she suspected someone here of being infected."

"How did it get on the Sulaco in the first place?" Ezra inquired. "If I was not mistaken, you left the colony on Acheron shortly before a thermonuclear explosion."

"Yes," the android nodded. "The girl was taken by the aliens to the hive. Ripley went in after her and discovered the alien queen, the egg layer. The morphology of these creatures is very similar to bees, with a single female ruling the entire hive. Ripley retrieved Newt and somehow caused enough damage for the queen to escape her egg sac. She managed to cling to the dropship when we returned to the Sulaco. It was she who left me in my current state and Ripley managed to get her off the ship by throwing her into the airlock."

"That explains the acid burns." Chris glanced at Ezra.

"But not how there could be eggs on board." Ezra turned back to the android. "Are you saying in the short amount of time she was on board the Sulaco she managed to lay more of her progeny?"

"Their ability to breed is prolific." The android continued to explain. "They are made to survive at all costs."

"Wonderful," Ezra muttered. "Well, I believe I understand why this place was so quickly abandoned and why only one prisoner left here alive."

"Yeah," Vin nodded grimly. "One of those aliens must have got lose."

"Ripley said there was something very unusual about this alien." The android explained. "She had not quite seen one like it before."

"Unfortunately," Alex sighed. "We’ll never really know."

"Perhaps you ought to access the EEV systems, it was the only sophisticated piece of equipment here," the android suggested. "It was far more efficient than anything else they had in the prison facility. If you’re after facts.  That might be the place to start."

"Thank you," Chris said genuinely meaning it. "You got a name?" He asked the android, not wishing to call it nothing especially when it had been so helpful.

"Yeah," the android nodded. "Bishop. They used to call me Bishop."

****

When Julia found she was unable to contact the Captain and inform him of what was presently occurring on board the Sulaco, she decided very quickly she had only one alternative left to her. She had to go to Fiorina herself. Julia had no idea how long the maturing period of the alien lasted but she was not about to wait long enough to find out. As soon as she made her grisly find, being that of Lieutenant Atwater’s body and after her subsequent efforts to contact the Captain had met with failure, Julia knew if she did not get off this ship, it was very possible the alien might come looking for her. Logic dictated the creature could not evolve in a space of a few hours so she made a few more attempts to reach the Away Team on Fury with little success.

After realising she had no choice but to leave the Sulaco to find them, Julia returned to the runabout and found herself faced with the bloody remains of Lieutenant Atwater. For a second, Julia almost considered abandoning the idea of going to Fiorina so she could avoid being inside the runabout but forced herself to remember if it were she lying there instead of Atwater, she would want to be regarded with a little more consideration herself. Taking a deep breath, she began the process of cleaning up the remains of blood and tissue across the surfaces of the runabout, before replicating some kind of body bag to store Atwater’s body for the duration. Julia stored his body in the back of the runabout, trying not to think about those horrifying moments before his death.

Once she tended to Lieutenant Atwater, Julia returned to the task of ensuring the runabout was unaffected by the alien birth and the security officer’s violent death. There appeared to be no damage even though she was certain the stench of fresh blood was still in the air despite the filtration system. She tried to contact the surface again and was met with little success and wondered if the Away Team was in trouble. Sensors on the runabout indicated there was an atmospheric disturbance taking place on Fiorina, which would account for the communication blackout. Still, after what she had seen, Julia could not help but worry about her friends, in particular, Ezra. She did not want what happened to Atwater befalling him and this hastened her determination to leave the Sulaco.

When it was time to depart Julia placed herself at the helm controls of the runabout and began powering up the required systems for launch. The floor beneath her began humming reassuringly as the engines ignited and light began to illuminate across the previously darkened panels and console screens. Julia placed her hand on the controls and prepared to launch when something dark slithered past the corner of her eye at the bow of the runabout. Through the glass of the cockpit window, she saw something curling upright that was no longer one foot in height and hissing at her in defiance. The creature in front of her was nowhere that small, it was almost man-sized, if not a little more. For a second, she watched in mesmerized horror as it’s lifted its smooth curved head, glistening with slimy fluid as it raised its eyeless gaze towards her and hissed. The teeth bared were razor sharp and ooze glistened off the inch-long fangs, pooling on the glass.

For a moment, neither human or alien reacted as both regarded each other with diametrically opposing views; prey and predator. It was anyone’s guess which was which.

There was an instant of clarity when she knew it was going to attack, despite the barrier of plexiglass between them. In space, with the shields between it and space, there was very little capable of penetrating the screen of glass making up the cockpit window. However, the shields were not up and as the alien hissed and pulled its bony hand up, preparing to strike, Julia realized she could not even shoot it without destroying the cockpit window and make it impossible for her to launch the runabout. It terrified her beyond belief when Julia considered whether or not the alien knew this as well.

Julia fell out of her chair when its fist went straight through the plexiglass. The alien shattered it easily and moved so quickly to push its way through the glass before she had a chance to react. However, her reactions in proportion to her enemy were slow and when she reached for her phaser, the creature had already maneuvered its spindly tail through one of the fragmented holes left in the window when it had broken through. Like a whip, it swooshed through the air and struck her hand above the wrist. Julia let out a terrified scream as she felt bones snap and her hand released the phaser. It skittered out of reach somewhere. She had no time to suffer her pain because she looked around and saw the alien forcing its bulk through the breaking glass of the cockpit window.

Knowing if it entered the confined space with her, she would be good as dead. Julia leapt to her feet and immediately bolted for the runabout's hatch. Slamming her fist against the door panel, she saw the creature’s head turn to her as the door started sliding open. It started to pull out of the narrow passageway with the intention of meeting her at the door. Julia pushed herself through the opening hatch without wasting a moment. She could hear the breaking of glass behind her as the alien pulled itself free. Escaping the runabout, she ran harder and faster than she ever done so in her life, racing towards the heavy door behind which the powerlifters were kept, ignoring the sounds of the alien breaking free of the runabout and coming after her. She could hear the sound of its tough exoskeleton against the steel deck and the screech it made as it came after her in pursuit. Julia's hands activated the control panel of the massive door even before she went through.

She dared to turn around only after she heard the low whine of the hydraulics bringing the door down. Beyond it, the alien screeched angrily, realizing she was about to elude it. Julia's back was pressed against the wall as she watched in terror, the alien's hand clawing at her impotently through the closing gap of the door, trying to reach her. She could hear its furious hissing before the metal door lowered completely and the creature was forced to withdraw or risk losing its entire arm. Its retreat was by no means surrender and Julia heard its furious pounding against the steel door even after it closed. Finally, the pounding stopped but Julia did not allow herself the luxury of thinking the creature had given up.

It had not given up. It was merely seeking another way in.

As Julia started moving again, she realised she was wasting precious seconds by remaining where she was because the alien was no doubt finding an alternate way of reaching her. As she exited the door taking her to rest of the Sulaco, in particular, the armoury, she found herself thinking one thing;

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