What up? I got this idea after watching Alien and reading the script. I think that you'll enjoy it. I've decided to insert an OC into the plot of Alien, and go from there. His name's Jonathan Crane. You'll find out more about him as you read. Enjoy, and please leave me a review…
Alien: Passenger 8
Prologue: Ship's Shift
Space
Space is a void. Though it's filled with stars, planets, nebulae, and other items, it's still empty. Though around the objects stellar communities form, most of space is empty.
The space between stars is mostly empty. Looking out the window of your ship, you'll see the stars shine like the love of God is seen. Though religious followers will tell you otherwise, to the masses, the stars shine the same way; cold and remote.
They don't even twinkle. The fluctuations in brightness and the fuzz around them are not even there in space. It's all a single steady point of light, barely visible to the untrained eye.
Gliding through the gulf between stars, is the Nostromo. A massive ship, with refinery towers resembling a Gothic Cathedral, it's front section barely intelligible from it.
Currently, it was cold and lifeless. Eight humans and one cat lay in Cryosleep tubes.
Nostromo
Calculating Date…
X9jk28z928ai655….
Translating….
Date…..December 19…Waking Passenger 8
WYCE17…..19A5x….Jonathan Crane…..
The computer shut on half of the lights, and began to whir. The 8th cryotube, the one containing a tall, thin, Italian had begun to warm up, as the computer woke the specific passenger.
Jonathan
Dreams with images of flying and falling. Jonathan was caught between the thin line that divides nightmares from dreams.
He heard a slight whirr, and felt the ability to wake up. He opened his eyes, and looked around.
The lights were dim, and he could see the top of his cryotube lifted up. Along his per feral, he could see the black dividers of his tube's sides.
"They can't pay me enough for this bit." He groaned, getting up out of the tube.
The floor was cold on his bare feet, and the dim lights made him want to go back to sleep. There was just enough to see, but not too much as to wake up the other passengers.
He strode his way to his locker, and opened it.
The metal door flew open, sending an otherwise inaudible whoosh of air past him.
It was quiet. A bit too quiet for his comfort. He felt that the ship was a bit too quiet to be comfortable.
He knew he couldn't dawdle. He had a job to do.
He put on a pair of jeans, skipped a shirt, and put on his Nostromo jacket. He then slid on a pair of lounge shoes, and took a look around.
"Shut cryotube until deadline." He commanded out loud.
At this, the ship followed his order. It shut the tube, leaving a slight hiss in the air.
He took a look around.
Lights only on half power, other cryotubes shut.
"Another week of exploring." He thought out loud.
He made his way down the hall into the galley, and got out some cereal. He wished to death that one of the 7 empty chairs had someone in them.
It was enough to drive you mad, the loneliness was. The only living thing moving around the ship was him at the moment.
He began to eat, mulling over his dream he had. The dreams were simultaneously of falling and flying at the same time.
He looked over at an orange he brought out. The ship had a slight supply of fruit.
He wished to death he had someone to talk to. He currently felt like he was alone.
The entire ship had the slight groans, and the chairs chipped paint started to dig into his arms.
The silence was starting to kill him. It was like the entire world was silently mocking his situation.
He wished to death just to hear a human voice. He could scream all he wanted, yet no one would listen.
"Listen….that's it!" he thought to himself.
He got up, just leaving his cereal at the table. He would come back for it though, he just needed something first.
He went to his locker, and after pulling back his clothes, he found the section that held personal belongings.
In it, there was his music-equipped cellular. Even though he wouldn't get a signal out here, he currently could listen to all of the songs he downloaded.
He grabbed it, and his collapsible headphones.
Slipping them onto his head, he turned on the phone.
After the whir of startup, he was at the homepage. Clicking the button with the Walkman logo, the menu turned on.
His music collection would tell you exactly what he was.
The current song was More Than A Feeling by Boston. It was the first track on his playlist, and it currently was on the start.
Pressing the Play button in the center, he let the acoustic riffs come in slowly in its fade.
I looked up this morning/Noticed summer's gone
Turned on some music to start my day
Then lost myself, in a song
I closed my eyes, and I slipped awaaayyy….
As the guitar chords came in, he made his way back to the table. Hearing Classic Rock would be the perfect way to keep his mind off his worries.
As he sat back down eating, he didn't think it was so bad. Unfortunately, he still had no one to talk to.
xXx
After breakfast was done, he made his way to his station. His job on board was a simple one.
Charting stars. The galaxy was full of them. Weyland-Yutani paid him good money to look at the stars through the ship's telescope and essentially chart them.
He was in the telescope blister, listening to his music as he scanned the horizon.
He had the computer cross reference star arrangements with previously known and confirmed.
The computer spat out a line of Confirmed's and Unidentified's rapidly. The scan would take up the entire section of the sky.
If I could turn the page
In time then I'd rearrange just a day or two
Close my, close my, close my eyes
But I couldn't find a way
So I'll settle for one day to belive in you
Tell me, tell me, tell me lies
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet, little lies
(Tell me lies, tell me, tell me lies)
Oh, no, no you can't disguise
(You can't disguise, no you can't disguise)
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
As Fleetwood Mac's Little Lies was blasting its way into his brain, the scan finished.
The computer let out a low, moaning "Beep" and the readout came through.
Readout Complete…Would you like a 3D display?
Jonathan pressed Y. The screen lit up with Loading…Rendering…Starmap Complete…..
He looked around at it. Currently, it showed the confirmed stars of the Hectate Sector, the farthest known mapped starspace.
However, there was something different about the stars. Currently, there was a cluster that seemed to have been made up of Unidentified stars, highlited in bright orange against the green of the Confirmed.
There's a hole in the wall
With a light shining in
And it's letting me know to get up
It's time to begin
Oh there is nothing to lose
'Cause it's already lost
In a runaway world
Of confusion
I'm not gonna take it
That's why I fight fire with fire
Oh I'm burning inside and my heart is a-cryin'
Fire with fire
I don't want to lose this flamin' desire
As Fight Fire With Fire by Kansas was blasting it's way into his ears and throughout the ship, he felt a bit of a surprise. Almost a mild one.
Unconfirmed Cluster Detected…Would you like to claim cluster?
Jonathan knew exactly what he wanted to do. He pressed Y on the keyboard.
Preparing naming prompt…
This had made the voyage for Jonathan. He had been wanting to use this name he had for a cluster.
He counted the orange dots. "1..2…3….4…..5….6….7…8…9! Yes!" he cheered after counting out loud. This was the best discovery he'd made all voyage long.
Please select a star to name…
He took the first one in the center, and typed in L…A…M…B…E…R…T… for the center one.
He put it on pause. Just naming the star made him seem lonely about his situation.
He usually had something he could do. He left the blister and went to the table, where he picked up his sketchpad. It was mostly tracing paper, and he had a number 2 pencil.
He took it, and went into the Hibernacula. He figured he'd have time on his hands, and he decided to take some drawing.
He made his way in front of Lambert's tube. He could see her sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the outside world.
He knew who he had to draw. Setting the drawing pad and pencil on the floor, he made his way back into the kitchen.
He picked up a chair, and made his way back into the hibernacula. He set it down in front of Lambert's tube, turning it to where he'd be looking straight at her.
He picked up the pencil and paper, and sat down. He figured that Art helped with this, more than most people could realize.
He drew an imperfect circle, and the frame in a sleeping pose.
Then, he drew the skin-tight outfit that she was wearing around her.
Next, he focused on the face. He drew her lips first, then her nose, and finally her shut eyes.
After adding the hair, he was done drawing her. Now he had to place her.
He drew the frame of the cryotube around her, and then the glass curve. He shaded the area around her, and then wrote Beloved Lambert on the side, before signing it J.I.C., which he set inside a triangle.
He sighed, looking at his handiwork. It was perfect, the representation of her and her setting.
He got up to take the chair back when he noticed the occupant of the tube next to Lambert's.
His half-sister, Ellen Ripley was currently sleeping in her pod, oblivious to the outside world.
He figured he had some more time to kill, so he moved the chair in front of Ellen's pod, and turned to a new page.
He repeated the same process in drawing her. He knew that there was a certain glimpse of readiness, even while she slept.
It was one of the things he admired about her. He knew that she wouldn't give up while there was still hope.
He had finished the drawing and titled it Dearest Half-Sister. He signed it his same way.
He still had a job to do though.
He made his way back to the blister, and sat down.
On a Dark Desert Highway
Cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of Colitas
Risin' up through the air
Up ahead in the distance
I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
I was thinkin' to myself
This could be heaven and this could be hell
Then she lit up a candle
And she showed me the way
I heard the voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
There plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year Any Time of year
You can find it here
He started to name the stars while Hotel California by The Eagles was playing. He knew exactly what he wanted to name the nine stars.
He typed in everyone's name, R…I…P…L…E…Y… on the next one. Then he typed in P…A…R…K…E…R…. He then typed in A…S…H…, before moving on to K…A…N…E…, next, he did D…A…L…L…A…S… before he did B…R…E…T…T… next to J…O…N…E…S… before finishing on the one closest to the first on he named; he typed in C…R…A…N…E…
He then received Would you like to name the cluster?
He typed Y.
The computer then went Loading…Preparing naming prompt…Ready
There was a blinking underscore that waited at the moment. It blinked on and off, just mocking him.
He typed in N…O…S…T…R…O…M…O… to the word Cluster.
"That's what I call a cluster." He said out loud.
There was an echo, which ran through five times.
It was empty, hard, and cold in the ship. He knew that naming a cluster just didn't seem like enough.
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from hell
Blue skies from pain
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail
Did they get you to trade
Your hero's for ghosts
Hot ashes for trees
Hot air for a cool breeze
Pink Floyd's Wish You were here was playing it's melancholy sound throughout his head.
He paused the player and went to the hibernacula, before resuming while he stood in front of Lambert
How I wish
How I wish you were here
We're just Two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl
Year after year
Running over the same old ground
And how we found
The same old fears
Wish you were here
As the wind fade came, he knew just how lonely it was. He wished he had someone to talk to during his time.
He knew that he'd have another three days out of the tube. He set up a hammock, and went back to the kitchen for dinner.
He fixed a meal of Spaghetti and meatballs, and began to eat. He knew it was nowhere close to the real thing, but it was something.
"Shoot, sure smells a hell of a lot like it" he thought to himself, reasoning it.
He knew that it was something. He turned to another song.
Come in here dear boy, have a cigar
You're gonna go far, you're gonna fly high,
You're never gonna die, you're gonna make it if you try
They're gonna love you
Well I almost have a deep respect I mean that most sincere
The band is just fantastic that is really what I think
Oh by the way, which one's Pink?
And did we tell you the name of the game boy
We call it ridin' the gravy train
He loved this song. Pink Floyd's Have a Cigar was the perfect representation of the treatment they got from the record company. It reminded him a bit of how he was received by Weyland Yutani, but it was ultimately something he didn't want to remember now.
Making his way to the hammock, he shut off the song. He set the alarm to play it out loud when it was time to get up.
xXx
Well we're just knocked out
We heard about the sell out
You've got to get an album out
You owe it to the people. We're so happy we can hardly count
Everybody else is just green; have you seen the chart
It's a helluva start,It could be made into a monster,
If we all pull together as a team
And did we tell you the name of the game boy
We call it ridin' the gravy train
Jonathan woke up with a violent start, falling straight out of the hammock onto the cold steel floor.
He knew that the thing would turn off and restart his progress in five seconds.
With the end of the guitar solo and the Whoosh that came, he put his headphones in and shut it off.
Making his way into the galley, he found a weird sight. It appeared that there was a black sharpie next to the orange. It was then that the idea struck him.
Grabbing the citrus fruit piece and the marker, he took off the cap and quickly got to work.
Drawing a smiley face on the orange, he smiled at the companion he created.
"Hello Jim." He said to the orange, giving it a name on the spot.
To the outside world, the orange said nothing.
To his imagination, it replied "What's up Jonny?"
"Don't call me that Jim. Just call me Jon, or even Crane like how the crew calls me." He replied
"Well, whatcha doin'?" the orange asked in his head.
"Well, I was hoping to make some new discoveries in terms of star clusters."
"That's swell! Any luck so far?"
"Well, I found this nine-star cluster and named it after the crew."
"Nice. I'm just sitting here with a worm in me!"
At this, he dropped the orange right from his hand, straight onto the floor. The orange splattered, making a huge mess.
In this however, there wasn't a worm.
"I think oranges are a bit too cheerful." He noted to himself. He then looked around.
He had another two days of staring at the sky and keeping himself from going mad. Work helped a little, but ultimately made things a bit more hard to deal with.
However, work was what they woke him up for. He could keep busy in here, but ultimately, he had to work. He was put on this ship to do a job.
He made his way back to the telescope blister and took a seat. He had a job to do, and it was a three day job. However, he was supposed to get the entire sky around him scanned, charted, and claimed in 72 hours.
He set up the computer; which gave Telescope scanner on line…Please enter sky grid reference(s)…to scan multiple references…please enter [Command]M147a[enter]{shift}…
He followed those instructions immediately. He typed in the prompt, lightning fast in his sure keystrokes.
Processing…Please wait…Processing…Please wait…
He sighed, and put on his headphones. Turning on the music, he began to listen to the song
Hey, I've got no place to be
And no one I'd rather see
I won't mind
If you can't find
The time to stay with me
The computer gave a "DING" and spat out
Please select global reference…Requesting grid size…Would you like to do all?
Jonathan punched Y
Processing…Please wait…Estimating time…
Jonathan sighed. The company discouraged him from doing the entire sky around the ship at one time. It wasn't because of the time it took. They designed the system to be able to do it in under 36 hours as a single sitting. The computer could handle it.
However, he got paid by the charts. The Network was essentially a system of stars that were charted, and ultimately figured into as a system which manages all ships.
Moreover, without people like him aboard, navigators would be using old charts, data would grow old fast, and ultimately, galactic expansion would grind to a halt.
His job could be done by a robot, or an android even. The artificial people could do this all the time.
However, the surveyor's guild had other things to say. They were people who got paid to survey, whether it is planets, stars, or even systems.
Jonathan Crane was guild member 1706. He was entitled to union wages, and healthcare because of collective bargaining.
Time estimation complete…Estimated scanning time…20 Hours, 15 Minutes, 25 seconds…Would you like to start?
He pressed Y and the computer buzzed.
Scanning sky…Please wait…
Out of the blister, he could see it start to move. It slowly could gaze. The computer kept on spouting out Confirmed's and Unidentified's for a good five minutes while it was still scanning.
He figured that the computer could wait. He wanted to get some more drawings.
He went to where he left his sketchpad, picked it up, and made his way to the hibernacula.
He sat in his chair, and proceded to get a still-life of the room.
He drew the pods at his angle, their occupants, and the walls.
When he was done with that, he decided to draw the other five people.
Making his way in front of the pods, he drew the portraits one by one.
It took him the rest of the day to finish all of them. By this time, his playlist started over.
When he was done admiring his handiwork, he went to his hammock and lay down.
xXx
When he woke up, he made his way to the galley, and made some cereal.
He figured that it had taken long enough.
Sitting down at the blister, he looked at the computer. The screen read:
Seventeen Unidentified Stars found…Unidentified Constellation group…Star Count…16…Would you like to claim?
He slammed Y, and typed Starmap Request [shift]17a12{enter}.
Processing Request…Loading…Rendering Starmap…
Within seconds, a 3D starmap came up on the screen. It was a simple cluster of 16 unconfirmed stars. Jonathan knew exactly what to do.
Turning the view mouse, it revealed a constellation that was a cat if you connected the dots right.
With that, he set out to give the stars names that he felt fit them. He named them things like Knight's Star and Soldier's Star-feeling that they were proper names. They gave him hope, naming stars such names.
When he was done, he looked at the time. He currently had one hour left to be awake.
Starcharts complete…Would you like to send data?
Jonathan mumbled "Finally" and typed Y.
Sending…Data sent…See you in nine months Crane…Shutting Down…
With that, the computer shut down. He knew exactly what it would be like if he stayed up. He shut off the music on his player, got up, and made his way out from the blister.
He then made his way to the locker room. He stripped down, removing first his jacket, and then his pants, revealing him in boxer shorts.
He then took to the tube, and went to sleep. He had finished his shift, he might as well get some rest.