1:

The Sulaco drifted silently, its proud hull cutting through the dark emptiness of space. The view from the darkened window showed nothing but stars, planets, and darkness so intense it seemed to soak up all other life, and swallow the small ship with its majesty.

The spaceship glided effortlessly, with no pilot or change of direction, and an observer might think it just an empty shell – but the Sulaco was far from devoid of life. The excess power that usually gave out light and heat was diverted to the shuttle clamped to the ship's starboard side; it was used to sustain life-support for the four souls slumbering in hypersleep pods, survivors of the nightmare that took place on LV426. They slept peacefully, believing that it was all behind them, while in the shadows, their worst fear came to life.

A single parasite crawled on eight legs out of the darkness, and scuttled up onto the roof of the first pod. Without stopping to look at the figure inside – the shredded torso of Bishop, the android, complete with plastic wrapping – the creature leapt to the next pod, where the heavily bandaged Hicks slept. It paused, as if in thought, then jumped to the next pod, using its long tail for balance. It seemed to consider the form of Ripley for a long moment, taking in the dark hair curling around her strong, calm face; the long bare legs; the rise and fall of her chest. Then the monster moved on. It landed lightly on the glass above the sleeping girl in the last pod, and if it had a face to speak of it would have leered down at the child. As it was, the parasite settled its body directly over Newt's face and waited for the glass to melt.

Newt had spent so long running and hiding, waiting for the promise of safety and comfort, that as she was dragged from the first deep sleep she'd had in months, she thought to begin with that she was just having another nightmare. The creature hovering in the parasite-shaped hole above Newt gave her a split second to realise that it was real, that it was actually happening, before dropping at her face.

Newt had just enough time to raise her right hand and grab a few of the parasite's legs as they clawed at her face. The creature squirmed and struggled, but somehow, gritting her teeth so she wouldn't scream, Newt brought up her left hand and got hold of it on the other side. She managed to pin it against the roof of her pod, and tried to push it back through the same hole, but the alien had other ideas. It immediately stretched out both legs as far as the cramped casing would allow, and started bashing its think tail against the girl's legs, raising angry welts. Tears sprang to Newt's eyes, but she blinked them away fiercely and redoubled her efforts, lifting a knee to trap the vicious tail. Squeezing the parasite with both hands, Newt risked a glance towards Ripley's pod. The woman's head was turned Newt's way, but her eyes were closed. She was fast asleep.

"Rip-ley…" she gasped as her strength began to fail. Then, with a surge of hope, Newt noticed the release button set into the wall at the head of Ripley's cocoon. There was one on every pod, including this one!

With a fresh burst of adrenaline, Newt gripped the creature with both hands and flung it, as hard as she could, down the pod towards her feet. Surprised, it hit the far end and began to scrabble towards her upside-down, eight legs slithering it across the glass roof. Newt thrust out both feet and squashed it against the roof, cringing in disgust. All the while, the arm was groping through the melted hole above her to the wall behind. Through sheer luck, her palm hit the switch after only seconds, and there came the hiss of all of the pods beginning to open. The roof lifted, and Newt half rolled, half fell sideways onto the floor, taking the parasite with her.

Gasping, sobbing, flopping like a fish, Newt scrabbled away, looking for somewhere small and safe where she could curl up undetected. Then the tail lashed around her neck, and she couldn't even breathe.

Stars flashed in front of Newt's eyes as the alien's tail tightened, squeezing her neck like she had squeezed its body a few moments ago. Newt's breath came in ragged gasps. Her small hands clawed uselessly as it crawled along her chest towards her face.

THWACK! Something heavy smashed into the creature, sending half of it flying across the shuttle. Newt twisted away from the blood dripping from the end of the detached tail, squeaking in terror as it burned through the ground next to her. Stunned, she looked up, and there was Hicks, holding his rifle like a swung club. As the dazed creature staggered to its many feet, he flipped the gun over in his hands and emptied the clip into it. The parasite gave an indignant shriek, and then exploded, spraying green blood against the wall of the shuttle.

Dressed only in shorts, and with bandages wrapped around his torso and left eye, Hicks looked rather comical, but Newt didn't notice, too busy ripping the severed tail from around her neck and taking huge gulps of air. Dropping the empty gun, Hicks fell to his knees beside the child and gathered her in his arms. Newt clung to him, sobbing, quivering like a frightened rabbit.

"Shh, it's OK, I've got you," Hicks whispered, stroking her hair comfortingly and making soothing noises. Finally she settled down and pulled free.

"Where's Ripley?" she wondered, and the two of them stood up and turned to look.

Newt screamed. Ripley was still lying in the opened pod, but where her face had been, now there was a parasite clamped tight on her head, its tail wound around her neck. Hicks could only stare in horror, but Newt tore herself out of his arms and ran to Ripley's side.

"Newt, no!" coming to his senses, Hicks sprinted after Newt and dragged her backwards, slapping the switch on the wall by her head. The pod closed, trapping Ripley and the alien inside.

"No!" Newt wailed, fighting free of him and beating her hands on the glass. Tears streamed down her face. She spun to face Hicks, screaming at him, "Get it off her! Hicks, do something!"

All he could do was shake his head. There was nothing he could do. Newt buried her head in his chest, making his wounds from the previous fight throb, but he barely noticed. He couldn't believe it, not Ripley, who had always been so strong. Taken down as she slept by such a small thing. There had to be someone, somewhere he could take her…

"That's it!" Hicks pulled Newt free and crouched down in front of her. "Newt, listen. Listen! We can save her, I know how we can save Ripley."

"You can?" Newt sniffed.

"Yes, but it's a long way away. I can get us there, but you'll need to go back into hypersleep - "

"No!" Newt's eyes widened in terror at the thought of being so helpless, at the thought of it happening again. "No, you can't make me!"

Hicks nodded, secretly relieved. It was a long way, and he didn't fancy spending that amount of time in hypersleep, so it was either say yes to Newt, or spend all that time on his own.

"All right. I'll call them. But there's something I have to do first."

"What?"

Hicks took a deep breath. "These parasites must have hatched from somewhere on the ship. There might be more eggs waiting to hatch. I have to find out where they are, and destroy them."

The ship was different in the dark. Hicks edged along an empty corridor, eyes twitching left and right for any sign of movement. He held the flame-gun ready in both hands. Despite his dark combat pants and black sleeveless T-shirt, he felt horribly exposed, and it was only the thought of Newt, alone in the shuttle, that kept him going. He had left her his pistol, though he hoped she wouldn't have to use it, and just the thought of her made him speed up.

The way Hicks saw it he had three choices. He could set the ship to self-destruct, and make a run for it in the shuttle – he vetoed this at once; he had read Ripley's report, and knew the Company was unlikely to see his side of the story if he destroyed such a valuable ship. He could unhitch the shuttle and fly them to safety, leaving the next poor soul who found the ship to reap the consequences – as a soldier, Hicks dismissed this also. The only other option he could see on such short notice was to find the nest, or nests, and flame them, then escape in the shuttle. As long as the fire was sealed off, with no way of getting to the engines, the Sulaco shouldn't be completely destroyed. So that was his plan; to search the ship for any eggs, and set them alight.

Hicks turned a corner, holding the flame-gun in front of him. He longed to use a flame to light up the tunnel, but the gun was only half full, so he couldn't afford to waste any. Even so, his finger squeezed the trigger gently, ready to let out a blast of flame at a second's notice.

The corridor stretched before him, looking unfamiliar and foreboding in the darkness. The air felt to be getting warmer. That could mean he was getting close to the nest – but then again, it could just be in his head. In the heavy silence Hicks's footsteps seemed uncomfortably loud, and his heart was thumping in his ears, making it almost impossible to hear anything else. There could be a parasite behind him, and he wouldn't be able to see or hear it…

Hicks spun round, heart in his mouth – but the tunnel was empty. Feeling foolish, he slowly turned – and something brushed against his face. Letting out a yell, Hicks's finger tightened on the trigger and flames streamed along the corridor. In the sudden light, Hicks saw what he had walked into – a cobweb. He cursed himself under his breath; now every alien on the ship would know exactly where he was, if they weren't already tailing him. Hicks took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

Dammit! You're a soldier, so act like it! Hicks snapped at himself, trying to pull himself together. He continued down the hallway.

It wasn't his imagination; it was definitely getting warmer. Then, without warning, a door loomed out of the shadows directly in front of him. Hicks knew, without a doubt, that his greatest fear lay behind it, waiting for him. But he was a soldier, and Newt was counting on him. He sidled up to the door and pressed his ear against it. There was no sound from inside, but warmth seemed to radiate from the door, burning his ear. Hicks flinched back, his fears confirmed. He didn't know how, but there was a nest in the next room. And he was the only one left who could do anything about it.

Hicks stepped back, raised his gun, and reached out to open the door.