Kwai kwai nidobak! In case you haven't read my previous stories, that means "hello, friends" in Abenaki. This story takes place between the events of Alien3 and Alien: Resurrection; and the concept of this story has been in my mind for over a year now. Before you start reading, It should be noted that certain Alien movies and games will not be considered canon for this story. Alien vs. Predator (the movie), AvP: Requiem, Prometheus, the 2010 AvP game, and Aliens: Colonial Marines are not a part of my personal canon, as well as this story. The four original Alien movies and Alien: Isolation will be considered canon however. That's all I think I wanted to say. Enjoy the story and remember to leave a review or send me a PM!
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Exobiology was a very common scientific field in the 22nd century. With more and more planets being discovered and colonized, various extraterrestrial life forms were also being discovered. Almost all of these alien species were microorganisms, but a few planets held minor arthropods and even basic plants. This was a very rare occurrence however, but such organisms fascinated the scientific community. And with these new interests, exobiology became a staple field of research for interplanetary scientists and biologists.
With the study of life beyond Earth, mankind has been able to learn how organisms are able to live on other planets. Scientists had to partake in their research with the added help of biology, geology, chemistry, astronomy, and physics in order to better understand these minor organisms. There were many corporations that relied on these fields of science to better their agendas, but none of them were as prevalent as Wayland-Yutani.
Dr. Boris Sarvez was a Wayland-Yutani exobiologist as well as a businessman when the need arised. He was a middle aged man of African descent and he sported a goatee with a graying buzz cut. He wore the average white lab coat, dress pants and shoes of any other scientist, but he was also wearing a purple buttoned up shirt under his coat.
Doctor Sarvez was sitting at his desk in an isolated office with white walls and a tiled floor. His brown eyes never moved away from his computer as he typed in his personal journal. There was also a window on the opposite end of the room he was in that showed the great expanse of outer space. Even though the stars didn't seem to go anywhere, the space shuttle that the doctor was in was in fact moving.
Boris was tasked with collecting some notable people from some moon a few galaxies away from his usual work station. This didn't bother the scientist however; traveling long distance was all part of his job. It still amazed Doctor Sarvez that the company noticed him of all scientists to aid in their research. Being born on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, didn't often get people noticed by big companies. Companies such as Wayland-Yutani often hired some of the brightest minds from Earth or Mars. He only managed to get himself noticed by the company when he met one of the company's CEOs, who stopped on Titan to refuel his shuttle. At the time, Sarvez was working at a flight hanger and he was one of the men tasked with refueling said shuttle. Seeing the Wayland-Yutani logo on the CEO's sleeve, he introduced himself and talked about his experience with biology, chemistry, and business from college, which interested the CEO.
Ever since then, Boris Sarvez has worked for Wayland-Yutani. For most of his career with them, he's been in charge of helping Earthly organisms adapt to the environment of newly terraformed planets. It may not have been the most exciting job in the world, but it paid well and allowed him to travel all around known space.
Doctor Sarvez stopped typing at that moment and closed the document he was writing in. He let out a small sigh as he leaned back in his chair. A lot of things have changed from the norm recently. Two years ago, he was transferred to another planet and he often had to find people who could help with his new team's research, which was why he was out in the ass end of space.
"Can't wait to step foot on solid ground again." Boris mumbled quietly before he reached down and pulled out a drawer from his metal desk.
The doctor reached a hand into the drawer and pulled out a metal flask. He quickly unscrewed the cap and took a swig of the alcoholic substance inside before he pulled the flask away from his dry lips.
"Brother? How much longer will it take to reach our destination?" he asked suddenly before taking another sip of his drink.
"The estimated time of arrival is thirty two hours, Doctor Sarvez." a robotic male voice spoke out from the nearby loud speaker.
"Wonderful. A whole day of sitting around." Boris commented with grim sarcasm and he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The shuttle's artificial intelligence didn't reply to this, but it didn't bother Doctor Sarvez. It was only a prototype computer. He didn't see much point in striking up a conversation with a computer anyway. He liked electronics, but not as much as some people. He'd rather speak with the rest of the crew than a machine that couldn't even pretend to have emotions like synthetics could. With a final swig of his drink, Boris screwed the cap back on the flask and placed it into his drawer before closing it. He then stood up and walked towards the exit. He pressed a glowing red button on the wall nearby and the metal door cleanly slid open. It would be a long while before he could get to work, so he figured that he'd do whatever pointless thing he could do to keep himself occupied. With that, he walked out of his office.
Outer space consisted of a massive black void with various celestial bodies within it. Some of these celestial objects were the various stars that dotted the expanse of space while others were asteroids and planets. One such star was a yellow giant with various planets orbiting around it. One of the planets that orbited this sun was called Osiris D20. The planet was rather large and it had a dark gray surface. Osiris D20 contained no oxygen and various violent storms plagued its surface. It was not habitable for sentient life, if any life at all.
The planet itself wasn't notable, but its moon was. Its satellite, which was named Hades V, was at least partially habitable. The storms on the moon weren't nearly as bad as on Osiris D20, but the air was not breathable. The moon's surface consisted of reddish mountains and rocky terrain, similar to that of Mars. During the day, the climate was extremely hot, but at night, the air became freezing cold and almost unbearable. Despite all of this however, basic life did survive on the moon. Bacteria thrived on this satellite as well as tiny insects that lived below ground, which were introduced when humans first landed on the moon's surface.
The year was 2192 and humans were currently living on Hades V. The moon had a large colony on its surface that was used as a prison for those with life sentences. Murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists, and other such undesirables in this part of the solar system were sent to the prison to live out the rest of their lives.
The large prison was built in the shadow of the moon's largest mountain and the entire installation was surrounded by a massive wall with barbed wire. Watchtowers were also scattered around the prison where militarized guards would make sure that no one would escape. Of course, the moon's climate was unforgivable, so escaping was a rather pointless act to begin with without a ship capable of space travel. And due to the unbreathable atmosphere, the prison had a built-in generator that created breathable oxygen. No one could go outside without a gas mask or respirator because of large amount of carbon dioxide in the air outside the prison. These oxygen generators were crucial to the prison's survival.
Within the prison itself, the walls and floors were made of thick metal and the general color scheme was rather gloomy. Blacks, whites, and shades of gray were the average colors found around the prison. Fluorescent lights brightened up the prison's interior and the expansive building was split into various sections that served different purposes.
Within one of the holding cells section of the building, a small group of male prisoners were being led by armed guards out of their cells. The guards themselves wore black uniforms and they were all armed with either a shotgun or a submachine gun. Each one of them was wearing blank masks with dark visors. The prisoners however, all wore dark blue prison jumpsuits with different numbers printed white on their backs. These prisoners all had their own features; some had light skin, dark skin, long hair, short hair, etc. The rules were pretty lenient about how prisoners could look, so long as they wore their jumpsuits.
One such prisoner had his head shaved bald and his skin was slightly tan, but it was a bit pale too due to the lack of sunlight. His eyes were dark brown and he had an average build for a man in his early thirties. The number on the back of the prisoner's jumpsuit was 052579.
Prisoner 052579 kept his gaze downwards as he was ordered out of his cramped cell. He and the other prisoners in his cell block were escorted by the guards towards the shower block. No one really spoke on the way there because there was nothing to say. Their escorts also kept quiet, but alert. The trip there was mostly uneventful and when they reached the changing room, the guards watched as all the prisoners took off their clothes. The guards technically weren't supposed to watch the prisoners change, but due to recent violent activity, the warden ordered the guards to make sure that no weapons were smuggled into the showers.
When everyone was in the nude, they all silently made their way into the shower room and one of the faceless guards closed the doors behind them. No guards had to be in the showers themselves because various cameras watched the prisoners' every move. If anything were to go wrong, then the guards would charge in within a moment's notice.
The bald prisoner let out a quiet sigh as he walked under one of the showerheads and turned the knob, which activated his shower. The water wasn't warm at all, but it wasn't cold either. He supposed that it could've been worse. Prisoner 052579 slowly closed his eyes as he felt the water drip down his skin and onto the white tiled floor under him. Everyone else had activated their showers as well and they all were silent as they washed themselves.
A small thump was heard as the prisoner next to the bald man dropped his bar of soap, so the other man bent down to pick it up. Prisoner 052579's eyes narrowed as many of the others also dropped their soap and bent down to pick theirs up. Only he and one other prisoner, a muscular blonde man, weren't doing this.
'So, they're really going through with it. Fine.' the bald man thought calmly to himself as his grip lightened on his own bar of soap, causing it to fall to the floor.
Prisoner 052579 gradually crouched down to pick up the bar of soap, but instead of grabbing the soup, he reached his hand around the pipe that led to the showerhead. After some fondling around, he felt his hand touch a metal shiv he hid in the shower a few days ago. He gripped the blade's makeshift handle before he slowly stood up again while water continued to drip down his naked body. Just as he rose, most of the other prisoners picked up various shivs and small metal pipes. Almost robotically, everyone turned around to look at the blonde man, who hadn't noticed everyone arming themselves.
The bald prisoner sighed once more as he rubbed the back of his neck with his freehand and he watched as a dark skinned prisoner tapped the blond man's left shoulder. The blonde prisoner turned around to look at the man who got his attention, but his blue eyes widened when he saw the makeshift knife the other man was holding. Before the blonde man could say anything, Prisoner 052579 rushed forward and stabbed the man's lower back, causing the stab victim to cry out in pain. His screaming only increased in volume when the dark skinned prisoner stabbed his lower belly.
The other prisoners acted immediately after that. They all raised their weapons and took turns stabbing and bludgeoning the blonde man. Some of them yelled profanities and other insults at him as they brought him to the ground with their constant onslaught.
"Die, you bastard!"
"See you in hell, motherfucker!"
"Bitch!"
Those were some of the comments the prisoners yelled as they savagely beat and stabbed the poor man. The blonde man was covered in blood and bruises as he lay on the tiled floor and all the water was stained red as it made its way down the drains within the room. A loud crash was heard as the room's double doors were kicked open and the masked guards charged in with their weapons drawn.
The majority of the prisoners stopped their onslaught, including Prisoner 052579, but some of the others kept attacking the blonde man's now dead body. As the guards tackled the attackers to the ground and forced the prisoners out of the shower, the red water continued to flow into the drains.
Prisoner 052579 remained silent as the security recording was paused just as he and many of the other prisoners were taken out of the shower room. He was currently sitting in an office room with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was wearing his blue jumpsuit again and he had dried off since the incident in the shower. The room he was now in was the warden's office, who was sitting calmly behind his desk. The warden was an older man with a receding hairline and a brown mustache. There were also two armed guards standing by the office's doorway, each holding pump action shotguns.
The warden was silent as he rewinded the video and paused it again. He paused it at the moment where the bald prisoner stabbed the blonde haired man's back. The warden then set down his remote and glared at the man on the other side of his desk.
"I hope you know that your actions killed this man." the warden stated calmly, yet sternly.
"He would have been killed even without my contribution." Prisoner 052579 stated just as calmly and his dark brown eyes traveled up to meet the warden's bluish gray ones.
"That doesn't matter, Linwood. You participated in the killing. Hell, you were the first to attack. You don't usually get yourself into trouble. What provoked this?" the warden asked, revealing the bald man's name.
"That man was a child rapist. A baby fucker. He didn't deserve to live." Linwood stated simply as he leaned back in his seat, making it creak.
"And do you think you deserve to live after murdering your ex and her boyfriend?" the older man shot back with a glare.
"Maybe not, but your justice system keeps me alive." prisoner 052579 commented and he leaned forward again. "I am here to stay for life. This place is horrible with terrible food, terrible people, and you fuckers keep me caged up on some rock like unwanted trash. I was making real scientific discoveries on the outside before I was forced here. Do you expect me to happily spend the rest of my life here with a smile on my face?" he asked harshly.
"I expect you not to go around committing unwarranted vigilantism!" the warden replied with a raised voice.
There was a moment of silence between them as the older man rested his elbows on his desk and rubbed his temples. The bald man stayed silent as he watched the other man slowly reach into his pocket and took out a small box of cigarettes before taking one out. He then placed the yellow end of the cigarette into his mouth and lit the other end with a zippo lighter.
"Linwood, if these conditions were normal, then I'd have you spend a month in solitary confinement, but things aren't normal right now." the warden stated as he took out a file from his drawer and set it on the desk.
"What do you mean?" the prisoner asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked down at the file, which had the Wayland-Yutani logo on the cover.
"What I mean is that you're being transferred tomorrow. First thing in the morning. Some eggheads on the other end of the universe need some test subjects for some biological studies. You and twenty three other inmates are being transferred to their facility." the warden explained calmly while he opened up the document to a page that had a picture of Linwood's face on it, as well as various personal information.
"Excuse me? You can't just transfer me to some other place without my consent. That's illegal!" the bald man stated angrily with a hard glare and his hands clenched into fists behind his back. "I'm not going anywhere without my lawyer's involvement." he added sternly.
"Your lawyer has been notified about the transfer and everything is already set to go. You're a prisoner who's been sentenced to life. Not only that, but you're in a self-governed system. You're practically my property and I am having you sent away." the older man replied with smugness barely hidden in his voice. "Besides, you just complained that you weren't making scientific progress during your stay here. This transfer will make sure you contribute to science." he added and smiled.
Linwood stayed dead silent as he glared at the warden. None of this was legal; it didn't take a genius to figure that out, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. No colonial marines or private militaries patrolled or governed the Osiris System, so he couldn't report this to any authorities. He was trapped like a cornered animal.
"Where am I being transferred?" he asked begrudgingly as he slouched in his seat in defeat.
"Some planet called err… Aipaloovik VII." the warden answered after he quickly skimmed the file that was resting on his oak desk. "It's an ocean planet according to this document. And it gets better. Wayland-Yutani has a facility there that studies astrobiology; exobiology to be specific. If I'm not mistaken, you were an exobiologist yourself before your incarceration." he explained and exhaled a small cloud of cigarette smoke.
Prisoner 052579 didn't reply and continued to glare at the older man in front of him. He was glad that he'd finally be leaving this moon so he could go to a place of study in his own field, but he didn't like the reasoning behind his leaving. Something wasn't right about this, but once again, he could do nothing.
"So, you and the other chosen prisoners will be transferred tomorrow morning. Better say your goodbyes now or forever hold your peace." the warden joked dryly.
"Whatever you say, boss." Linwood replied casually with a cold look in his brown eyes.
The older man's eyes narrowed and he quickly stood up before pointing a finger at the prisoner on the other side of the desk.
"Don't think I'm unaware of the slang you prisoners use. Guards, take this piece of shit out of my office and bring him back to his cell." the warden ordered bitterly.
Both armed guards nodded before they walked up to both sides of Linwood and they grabbed his forearms before forcibly lifting him up to his feet. The warden grumbled something under his breath as he sat back down in his chair and watched the prisoner being escorted out of the room. Once they were all gone, he dumped his half-used cigarette in his ashtray and went back to his paperwork.
The night sky was dark over the prison on Hades V, yet despite it being the middle of the night, the prison was still rather loud with activity. This wasn't unusual however since the night watch were making their rounds. The custodians' massive vacuums and other equipment also made plenty of noise during curfew. Most new prisoners had trouble sleeping because of the constant noise, but the majority of them learned to deal with it.
Linwood was currently laying face up on his bed within his dark cell within B Block. His hands were resting behind his head as he stared up at the gray ceiling. He couldn't stop thinking about what transpired at the warden's office. Instead of being sent to the shoe, like he expected, he ended up discovering that he would be taken against his will to some other system in the universe. And there were rumors going around that other inmates were sent to the warden's office, even prisoners who had nothing to do with the killing in the showers that morning. There was no doubt in his mind that the other prisoners were also informed of the upcoming transfer.
The bald man let out a sigh as he turned over in his bed and closed his eyes to sleep. But no matter how hard he tried, his body just wouldn't let him sleep. He let out a quiet mumble of a curse as he sat up in his bed and swung his legs over the side. He sat there in silence for a few moments, but he felt the unmistakable feeling of being watched. So, he quickly looked outside the bars of his cell. He immediately saw the darkened silhouette of the man who occupied the cell on the other side the hallway from him.
"Having trouble sleeping?" the silhouette spoke with a mixed Boston and Russian accent.
"Yeah…" the bald man confirmed with a nod and his eyes narrowed at the shadowed over man.
Linwood knew who this man speaking to him was, but he couldn't quite remember the guy's name at the moment. All he could recall was that this man was a scientist from Earth who studied gene splicing. He didn't know why this biologist was imprisoned here of all places, but he heard plenty of colorful rumors about that subject. This scientist didn't speak to Linwood very much, so he found it strange that they were speaking now.
"I've heard about what you did at the showers this morning. Quite the messy deed, but I doubt a spot of murder is what's troubling you. No, I bet it has something to do with your transfer to Aipaloovik VII." the shadowed figure spoke calmly and Linwood could practically feel the other man's grin bearing down on him.
"How did you know about my transfer?" Linwood demanded as he stood up and approached his cells bars.
The silhouetted man let out a small chuckle before he mimicked Linwood's actions and stepped into the light. This man wore a dark blue jumpsuit, just like all the other prisoners. He was a tall man with an average build that sported a handsome face for an older gentleman. Unlike Linwood, this man had a full head of short, black hair. He also had piercing green eyes that seemed to be writhing with knowledge and wisdom, yet no emotion.
"I have been scheduled to be transferred too." the good-looking man answered smoothly with a wolfish grin.
The bald man was a little surprised to hear this, but he was also a little relieved that he wouldn't be alone with this. Having someone so close being transferred with him comforted him a little, but he didn't like the other inmate's expression. He made a mental note to keep an eye on this man.
"Um, forgive me for asking, but what is your name?" Linwood asked awkwardly as he lightly grabbed one of his cell's bars.
"Aaron Makov. Pleased to meet you." the other man answered with a slight bow. "You really should get some sleep though. We have a big day tomorrow." he stated.
Not another word was spoken and Aaron went back into the shadows of his cell to rest. Linwood stared at the other man's cell before he backed away from the cell bars and sat down on his cot. He didn't even get the chance to introduce his name. Whether Aaron already knew his name or simply didn't care wasn't clear, but the fact that they were both chosen to be transferred was intriguing. Why were they of all people chosen to be sent to Aipaloovik VII? Who else were chosen?
The bald man let out a quiet sigh and laid down on his cot, just like he had before. There was no telling what would happen during the transfer, but he wouldn't get his answers until it happened. So, he closed his brown eyes and did his best to clear his head despite the constant noises emitting from around the prison. Over time though, he finally managed to fall into a dreamless sleep.
