Disclaimer: Prometheus is not my material. Ridley Scott owes it.
The static pod hissed menacingly, forcing the sleepy grey humanoid out into the new hostile world. The engineer had no idea of how long his grumpy slumber lasted, for he was assured that his employers further up in the hierarchy had the least negative concern since they could wake him up at any time they want.
While he dreamt of many false realities in his sleep…..worlds in which he altered his history differently, worlds where time was flexible and he gotten a second chance to make up for his sins. The rude opening of his pod insulted him for his crimes; harshly reminding him that time is something even a race so advanced as them could play with regardless of consequences. Consequences will always be nature, once an individual makes a mistake. He can never go back and correct it. Nature taught them that the only way one can fix a mistake is to not commit it for the second time. Despite technology, they were as flesh, bones and blood as every organic life. His appalled reputation is in fact known to a large population of his world, too known. 'Murderer, The devil, soulness scientists,' all are associated to him as his aliases. While his race composed of a largely forgiving and kind people, who didn't share the same nature of self preservation before survival of the group, (a trait he once had glamorously back in the bright and glorious days), his crime was far too much to be forgiven. He will not even forgive himself. Even though the evil path started out of good.
That. Is the reason for this important mission. His personal mission. His redemption. He will not make the same mistake. This is for him. Him only. He had created suffering. To save that he wanted it to be a surprise. The humans wouldn't thank him enough for his service..he would give them…..
Something was missing.
Scratching his head. He suddenly realized a sinister emptiness in his sub consciousness. Something was missing…the transmissions of messages from his superior?
He scurried around his life support. Fear struck him like an arrow. He scanned around to evaluate. His circuit boards were now black with soot. The once super-conductors that was the most advanced of the advanced anywhere he had been too is now a web of useless junk.
His life support still had enough to maintain him for a while. They had learned to keep it separate to the main power since half of their population was decimated due to those mistake millennia ago.
The ship must have been wrecked. His communications beyond repair. All his hearts pounced furiously in his body, shouting to make him check if the others were alright. Worst of all, if he had been here for too long…his mission had failed. He failed to deliver the goods.
He looked out and nearly jumped at the sight if not for his weak body that wasn't used for a very long time. A group of humans…
Immediately his heightened senses of various vision spectrums, a smell that had receptors trillions in numbers more compared to an earthly dog and far more accurate than a great white in detecting blood and life has noticed that among this group, one of them is an imitation.
Humans…they were something he hasn't seen for quite a while now, or rather never saw in his entire life. They weren't really the subject of their creation, more of a side product that evolved out of free will. Since sightings, there have been various accounts of these cryptic extraterrestrials from haunting boogieman that would attack anything near in groups and shred everything, even their own into morsels, to humanoids who very much like their own, evolved a system of communications, culture, morality and guideline, entertainment, weaponry, intelligence, strategy, and even more threatening, a civilization that reach and expands. Like a virus.
An odd mixture of fear and inquisitiveness washed him over from head to toe. Sweat drenched his suit but on the inside excitement as equally drenching. He wasn't sure which one makes the best of the situation.
There was at least 5 of these creatures, standing before him in somewhat of an arc position. To fight instead of cooperation would be suicide. There's no escape route and tales to his race's children often warned that while a single unarmed and naked human is no match for their physical size and intelligence, a group of these animals would turn the table, he inspected their appendages which were similar in shape to his own, Arm of 2 section with pairs of antagonistic muscle on the upper portion, a set of complex muscle in the lower parts, then a hand like appendage with 5 fingers. One of the groups held something which he assumed to be a tool with no purpose other than to destroy; humans are known to be fearful of first encounters. This worried him even more. Weapons + numbers. The game is seriously against him now.
In front of the group were 2 figures similar in size. One was the imitation. The other was thinner, bald and frail. The only rational explanation was either he was some sort of illness that could be contaminable. Or this guy was just reaching his time. He assumed these humans to be fools since always the lower soldiers attack in front while the higher ones operated behind in safe distance and reaction time. Again he isn't too familiar with human culture.
Behind them stood the man with the tool, several other humans, and one human with a chest that was more bulged than others and wider hips, longer hair and iris color he somehow admired out of both beauty and fear.
The curiosity was still not enough to wash away his guilt of failure. He knelt in defeat. Why were these humans here? Were they may be furious or suffered enough to the point where they have seen the truth and are begging him for answers?
He stared at the sick and suffering elder with the kindest expression he can give. Hoping the elder will somehow forgive their 'friend.'
The old man didn't have any anger towards him. Instead he perceived a soft, kind and somehow sad wish this creature was wanting from him. He felt absolutely sorry for his actions. Only if he had delivered the black ooze earlier…..
The man said something like a squirrel. Soon the imitation translated
"This man is here because he does not want to die. He believes you can give him more life."
This only made him gut wrenched even further. All because of his mistake. His one little mistake of a late delivery….maybe their world is already coming to the apocalypse, maybe these little remnants came in a desperate attempt to repopulate. He wasn't sure exactly. The translation was terrible enough that it was like a toddler speaking without even learning grammar or the alphabet and vowels correctly. Though he didn't blame it on them. 2 species weren't in touch for a while….
The Engineer curiously asked "What happened to make this man deserve more life?" To the crude machine. The machine translated it, though it seemed more like "What did this man do to deserve more life?" The Engineer decided that it was close enough, before he decided to give these people medical attention; he wanted to find out what happened really in their world. How bad the disaster is, how largely it has spread.
The sickly creature grabbed David while chucking out speech so quick as if he needs an antidote to fast acting venom. He gestured towards David's face as if to show how familiar they are. The engineer was quite surprised that the man chose to imitate with robotics rather than have a flesh or blood of an offspring. The imitation to his vision of high resolution proved to be crude in a horrifying fashion. While the human may perceive the machine to be same. To the Engineer it was like comparing a bat out of hell with a beauty.
Instead. He was too tired for this. "Fuck this." He said briefly, before shoving the 2 away. He wanted a good rest. The atmosphere needed some time for him to deco pressurize and adapt to. He needed some more time to extinguish his guilt also.
"Because. Because. W're Gods and Gods don't….." Weyland lost his voice as the Engineer shoved him though not to hurt him in any way, leaving the human to only gaze in disappointment as the Engineer mattered something and walked back to his chamber. Everyone froze in confusion.
"David. WHAT did he say?!" Weyland latched onto David's lapels in furious-greed.
David flinched a little. He wondered if this is a good 'joke' the living thing said.
"Mr. Weyland. This may not be the suitable moment for jokes. But I do think he said 'Holy shi-.'
The group jumped as a hiss followed. The giant gray man went back to sleep again
