Xena

*NOTE- Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and today I'm back with a brand new story. If you've read my other stories, or have been reading my work since the start, then you're in for a surprise. This story will be very different from the K rated works that I have written so far. It's rated M, for language, violence, and other stuff. Furthermore, the concept itself is a little… strange. It's an idea that was suggested to me by a friend a few months ago, and I thought it seemed quite an interesting one, so I decided to give it a go. Please don't judge me too harshly; like I said, this is a drastic change of tone from my usual stories. Just read on, and try to enjoy. It's Xena. THANK YOU!*

*DISCLAIMER – I do not own, nor have I ever owned, nor will I ever own (although it would be pretty great) the Alien franchise or any of the people, places, objects or entities that exist within it. I am, however, the proud owner of the DSPSCV Archimedes and the JMC XH-12. This story may also contain references to other franchises, which I also do not own. Try and find them all! THANK YOU!*

I

Galactic Standard Date/Time Stamp: 19th March 2319

Deep Space Planetary Seeding & Colonisation Vessel Archimedes - Reg no. 115935103

- Mainframe AI: Alpha Iota Systems Central Intelligence Unit 42 - 'Archie'

- Crew: 6 – Commanding, Navigational, Admin, Medical & Technical (2)

Current Assignment: Return to Earth following successful seeding operations in Outer Veil Systems

Expected Time of Arrival: 13th July 2320

Heavy. That was how my eyelids felt as I slowly lifted them open. I didn't know how long they'd been closed for. How long I'd been asleep. I gazed upwards at the cocoon of thick glass that covered my bed. Reaching my arms over my head, I found two handles attached to the glass near its base. I clasped my hands around the handles, and after looking around for a green flashing light, I tugged upwards on them. With a loud click, the mechanism unlocked, and the glass slowly began to slide over my head, until its edge was far enough down the bed for me to sit up comfortably.

"A-" I began, attempting to speak for the first time in God knows how long. Sadly, I failed, and began coughing violently. Clearing my throat, I tried again.

"Archie?" I announced aloud, although my room was empty. Nevertheless, a slightly synthesised voice did reply, originating from a small speaker on the wall.

"Good morning, Senior Navigational Officer Matthew Jones." Archie said plainly. Truly the voice of indifference, was Archie. Intelligent by design, but sadly boring by his own vocation. I got up out of bed and went over to my desk, which was scattered with scraps of paper and pens without lids.

"Thanks, Archie." I told the unseen man, sitting down at the desk. "Can you give me a date/time stamp, by any chance?"

"Certainly, sir." He replied. "The date is the 19th March 2319, and the time is 0815 hours, GMT." I sighed, and nestled my head in my hands as I tried to understand his words.

"2319?" I eventually said. "We're not due to reach Earth until July next year. Why have you woken us up?"

"With respect, sir, I am unauthorised to divulge this information at the present time." Archie said calmly. "Senior Lieutenant Grike has asked that all crew members attend a meeting in the Briefing Room at 0830 hours for full details. He also asks that all crew members wear full uniform and are equipped with their timecards." And with that, the speaker buzzed and fell silent.

Groaning, I got to my feet, and went over to the wardrobe to change. 'Woken up a year early', I muttered to myself. 'This better be worth it.' Sliding open a large panel in the wall, I pulled out a pair of plain black trousers, a black shirt with a white band around the right arm, and a white tie with a small logo in the centre. In my desk drawer was a pair of white socks and a white belt, which also bore the same logo. Finally, beside the hypersleep pod were the black parade shoes. The full uniform of Ashbridge Industries International. A few minutes later, I was fully dressed, and stood before the mirror adjusting my tie. I reached into my breast pocket and pulled out my rank slides, two black squares which bore the text 'SenNav' and the Ashbridge Industries logo. After attaching the rank slides to my shoulder epaulettes, I was finally ready to go.

Grabbing my timecard from the desk drawer, I stepped out of my living quarters and into the corridor. The blue-white strip lights on the ceiling lit the place ominously. Turning to the right, I walked along the corridor until I reached a junction, where I turned left. I followed this corridor to the end, which brought me onto the observation deck. I stopped for a while and gazed out of the huge, sweeping window into the depths of space. Haunting, but beautiful. We really were nowhere right now. Nothing but the faint glow of distant stars. For several moments, I simply admired it, taking in the vastness of it all. Then I realised that I was wasting time, so I continued on.

To either side of the observation deck were staircases. These both led to the upper deck, but to get to the Briefing Room it would be quicker to take the starboard-side stairway, so I did. Heading up the steps, I was met with another short corridor, along which was the door to the Briefing Room. Without further hesitation, I went in, and saw that everybody else had already arrived. Well, almost everybody else. Around the table in the centre of the room sat three men and a woman. The first man was Nathan Smith, who bore the words 'SCI/MED' on his shoulders. He was the ships Science and Medical Officer. Next to him was Ryan Goddard, who wore a black jumpsuit rather than a uniform. He was an engineer, 1st Technician. Ex-Weyland-Yutani, too, Ryan was.

"Alright, Matt?" A voice came from the third man at the table. 2nd Technician Bradley Nicholson. The lowest-ranked crew member aboard, but he didn't let that bother him. I nodded back at him and smiled.

"Not really, Brad." I answered. "Some bell-end woke me up a year early." Everyone chuckled slightly as I sat down. Of course, the last person at the table was Warrant Officer Cara Holmes. Being the only woman aboard, Cara was constantly being pestered by the men (regrettably including myself), yet Off-World Association Regulations somehow permitted it. After slotting my timecard into the nearby machine, I sat down at the table, and inevitably asked about the one crew member that wasn't present.

"Where's his highness, then?" I asked. Although Grike was technically the highest-ranking officer on the ship, he was generally disliked by everyone else aboard. He was notorious for his fear of long-haul spaceflights, any form of spacewalk, hypersleep or suspended animation, and basically anything else to do with space travel. That being said, he didn't let it show, and instead masked his fear by being a complete and utter dickhead. In fact, just as this thought was going through my head, he waltzed in to the room, late of course, and began to mouth off.

"Less of the sarcasm, Jones." The angered man said sternly. "And that's Senior Lieutenant Grike, to you lot."

"Oh, would you give it a rest, Alan." I sighed, drumming my fingers on the table. "Archie's clearly woken us up a fair distance from home, so just tell us why and we can go back to bed for another 16 months." Alan bit the top of his lip and shot me a look of disgust. But really I could say whatever I liked to him. I was only one rank below him, and I knew the others agreed with most of what I said. Except Ryan, of course, who was a suck-up.

"Maybe you should pay your superiors a little more respect, sir." Ryan interrupted, right on cue.

"Take your own advice, mate." I said jokingly. "Just remember, we wear the ties, you wear the overalls." Ryan, thinking I was serious, almost got up from his chair, before steeling himself.

"Alright, alright." Alan said, trying to bring order to the group. "Let's get serious now, people. I'm sure you're all wondering why Archie's woken us up so far from Earth." A resounding 'Yes' rippled through the room. "Go on then, Archie," Grike continued. "Show us the message."