Author's note:

Well, here it is. A story set in "Alien" universe, which I hope will grow further. It took my a lot of courage to start this thing, and I am very pessimistic about it. But, nevertheless, noone will blame me fo trying, right?

The prologue I wrote is quite small, further chapters would be larger, of course, so prologue have only one purpose - to make you interested in story and get acquaint with some characters on basic level.

And by the way, I read many fanfic's here, and found out that it's pretty hard for me to distinguish direct speech from indirect one. I am aiming for style of russian literature to make it much easier and less confusing to read.

Have fun. Chapter one will be released...one day.

The office was quite small – it could barely hold a desk with computer and two chairs. Cold white colors were dominating in furniture and walls, the only exception was black computer monitor and the corporate greyish-green uniform of the man at the monitor. In opposite white plastic chair was a young man with well-groomed "Van Dyke" beard on his face. Young man looked fine with his short black hair, brown intelligent eyes and orange uniform with light reflectors strapped into it.

- Name and surname?

- Carl Simmons.

- Birthplace?

- Io, Hender's Landing.

- Age?

- Twenty four.

- Education?

- Complex engineering.

- Position?

- Senior engineer.

- Real reason why you want this?

That question got Carl stumped for a while. He was looking right at the man in greyish corporate uniform across the desk, and didn't even know what to say. He had all questions answered in his mind, but he didn't expect this one. Carl clenched his fists a little, trying to calm himself down and get the right question for the man, who can turn him down any moment right now.

- Everyone want this, because it's best chance to leave this rock, - just as "corporate" opened his mouth, Carl quickly responded with honest answer, - I gained a position here not because of my connections, but because I am good at it...and I want more, but here? It's impossible, - Carl took a short break and sighted, as he saw the face of "corporate" – by the look of it, he was interested in what Carl was saying, - I already done for this colony everything I could, and I need to move on, find myself new challenge, new ways to learn and get experience.

- Honesty is one of the many qualities we appreciate, mister Simmons, - said "corporate" with a little smile on his previously stone-cold face, - Because we need better people to build better worlds. I really liked your profile while I was searching for a candidate, and I had to see you in person to make up my mind, - "corporate" leaned back in his white chair, while he was searching for something in his desk, making small paper noises, - But no relatives?

- Yeah, - Carl sighed with relief, seeing that conversation took desirable route, - Dad got KIA in some civil interplanetary war, mother followed him months after.

- My apologies, - "corporate" took a serious look at Carl, as he was seeing something new in him.

- No need to, I got by it long time ago...so, what's next? - asked Carl, changing subject.

- Next is you have to start packing up, - "corporate" grinned with edge of his mouth and placed some papers on the desk, nodding to Carl at them, - And you need to fill those up and bring them in my office tomorrow morning, as soon as possible. We will start your transfer to your dream.

- ...whoa, that fast? - Carl was shocked a little by what he just heard. He can finally leave this forgotten place!

- It's rare opportunity that only rare men can have, - "corporate" turned on his monitor and started typing something on keyboard, indicating that conversation was over, - Any questions, mister Simmons?

- Just one. Can you change your advertising video? It's a little...cringy, - Carl even shrugged his shoulders a bit just from the fact he remembered that awful video he watched.

- Ask the PR-department, they fucked it up again.

As Carl shortly nodded and grinned at the "corporate" answer, he opened the office door and walked outside, to the loud sounds of working colony. It was barren planet, with dust-storms and lifeless landscapes, where humans landed nearly twenty years ago and started terraforming process. Carl reached suspenders on his engineering uniform and unfastened them, rolling part of the uniform down and exposing dark-green shirt. He reached his cigarette packet with lighter inside it as he walked past by spaceport tower, and started to smoke as he was walking towards living sector.

It was the age of slow, but steady conquest f space by mankind. Giant ships travel months to reach their destination, while well-trained crew was in cryo-pods, sleeping from one destination to another. Colonies on other world attracted many volunteers, who spent several years in service just to get terraforming process started. Space stations were constructed in key positions as science outposts, docking bays or mining facilities, holding hundreds of personnel in small claustrophobic compartments. Humanity even designed sufficient AI systems and developed androids, which were in most cases not different than man, while being stronger and better in many fields. Of course, the golden space age was not without it's darker side – such were violent uprisings in many worlds across the universe, unknown dangers on new frontier worlds...but mostly the man itself manifested the darkness.

Weyland-Yutani, multi-trillion corporation that has everything to develop colonies and lead humanity into space, also had desire to study something dangerous, illegal, even performing very serious science experiments on humans and other organisms. Of course Wey-Yu had some bad reputation because of many rumors about "black projects", and Carl new those rumors from crew-members of large trade ships, who were talking about Company in low voice and in lower decks, while Carl was performing maintenance check. Carl was a very cautious man by nature and because of his profession, so he carefully decided where he can apply for transfer. He waited whole year for the right offer, and he decided to act quickly as he saw one – there was a position for engineer for one colony, located in some polar world. Low oxygen, temperature goes down to minus ninety degrees Celsius (minus sixty in equator), dangerous wildlife...but it was a mining colony. There were deposits of valuable metals on the planet and it's three moons. It was simple logic – no human being in sane state of mind will wipe such complex installation that cost Company millions of millions dollars. And, of course, in that installation there will be no "black projects" – colony was frequently visited by various trade spaceships, and there was a constant presence of USCM Colonial Marines Corp., plus the risk to lose valuable colony. By the look of it, the only danger would be to freeze his ass off or get eaten be some of those giant worms with fur, that were living underground.

Carl actually read about the story about how the first colonists died here. It was not pleasant – initial research and scan did not reveled those giants, and only after several months they awakened. Initial colony didn't have any means of repelling those creatures, so the whole colony suddenly fell down into the oblivion, because worms bursted everywhere. No survivors. It was a big tragedy, but after that – and some big reparations from Company – new colony established repelling methods to keep those creatures at bay, and so the expansion continued. Now only what Carl needed to do – is to survive next five years in that place, get some money and move to another world.

He never liked to stay anywhere for long time. He already finished academy when his father died somewhere for some reason. Mother tried her best to leave on, but she just couldn't, despite Carl's attempt to help her. When she died, his last tie with Io was broken, and he got opportunity at some mining station far away from home. He sold his apartment and left, heading nowhere and seeking nothing but moving. No ties, no bounds – just moving, and trying to figure things out on his own. He didn't complained, it was his choice, and some years later he decide that it wasn't a bad one. Carl wanted to see other worlds, which he could call "home" one day, and if he must spend decades to fined one, he will.

When he gathered his belongings and sold some stuff to his neighbors on his floor, he was ready to leave...mentally. He still needed to deliver the papers to Company office tomorrow morning, and the sleep wasn't coming for some reason.

At least he got that magazine with smut content that could help his sleep problem.

Meanwhile, far-far away and later in time...

- Readings?

- Pulse normal, breathing...steady, brainwaves...same pattern as yesterday, temperature...normal.

- But, of course, it doesn't feel itself normal.

It was a giant room with a several layers of best steel man can manufacture. Inside the room was empty space with some creature in it, that was held by complex and smart system of restraints. The creature lowly hissed in painful tone, legs shaking and it's body weak for unknown reason.

The man, that watched creature via monitor, started to rub his chin slowly, puzzling with sudden change of behavior. Nearby the observing man was a woman in white science coat, that was looking at monitor with mixed expression on her face.

- Did we done something to it?…, - asked observer from his colleague in slow tone.

- I have no idea, but I guess that she…

- It.

- ...that it is in process of evolving, just as a regular xenomorph. Remember, director Emmerich, we are walking somewhere no one dared to even take a peek. We don't even know what is normal and what is not for h...it.

- If it dies, get autopsy right away, doctor Pierce, - said director with scientific disinterest in his voice, turning away from the monitor and walking outside of observatory room, - And doctor...no compassion towards the creature, remember it.

- Yes sir, - woman got paled for a moment, but quickly gathered herself as she returned her gaze back at the monitor.

There was a creature in pain. Restrained for month, experimented on, she didn't know love, rest or anything outside of her chambers. She tried to escape to no avail – doctor Emmerich anticipated her escape attempt and even planned it in some sort of sick experiment.

Before restraints, there was some freedom to her movement. She was locked in her cell, true, but she could roam it as long as she wanted...and since she didn't have anything to do between experiments, she roamed endlessly. But as she began to notice patterns and paying attention to people, who sometimes visited her during experiments, doctor Emmerich understood her desire to escape. So he made a "malfunctioning" door, and as soon as she ran away from the room on all fours, she got many taser shots to the face by PMC. After that Emmerich conducted new experiment several months later, trying to test her intelligence and memory capabilitie by repeating exact situation. Of course she deployed new tactics, so they had to fill room with non-lethal smokes to take her out. After that director conducted another experiment more months later with same situation, and there everything went downhill. Firstly she surprised PMC and director by using their own weapons against them in order to deal with them quickly and effectively. With greater speed, reaction and agility she was able to perform almost – she still got some shot landed to her chitin – perfectly. Most PMC's died because she sliced their throats and aimed for weakest part of their battle armor, only several lucky souls got tased and knocked down. Secondly, she used tasers and acid to make her way out of the room, and she began her killing spree. Later Emmerich noticed, that she was mostly after someone she could recognize, paying little to no attention to panicked personnel. She killed at least ten people she had contact with before her escape, and mostly unpleasant one. But she showed capacity for something, that irritated director down to his core when he realized it.

Mercy. A xenomorph in his original state is a prefect biological killing machine, that has no interest but only to preserve the Hive and make it larger. It has no capacity for such emotions, it know only killing and hatred. But she...she showed mercy to some people, doctor Pierce for example. When she broke free, Pierce was in observatory room with some of her assistants, and they had zero chance to escape from the wrath of their project. And yet, as she entered room, she recognized Pierce and walked past her just a meter away while fully aware of Pierce. Pierce, of course, was afraid of her, but she had a soft heart for a scientist, much softer then Emmerich possessed. Her relationships with experiment lead to her survival and also closer attention from director.

He knew, that one day, doctor Pierce with enough courage and support could do something really stupid, like helping experiment to escape one more time with greater chance of success. She never had it to do what they conducted here, despite her best attempts to hide disgust. But he can't just fire her, no, he will wait for right opportunity, giving doctor Pierce a second chance.

But as of now, Pierce will watch Emmerich slowly break this creatures will and making her forget about mercy and other unnecessary emotions. To start the process he needed new personnel, which should arrive next month with a shipment of new materials and equipment.

And Emmerich already had list of possible candidates for his experiments.