Introduction
The USCMC Ortega drifted through the inky darkness of space, the outer hull awash with the faint and luminous glow of the nearby twin suns. Amidst the light that shined off the metal, other lights joined the symphony of color.
The were warning lights and they flashed curiously in silence as holding clamps released, preparing to eject the Emergency Escape Vehicles with their respected crews unknowing and in the safe slumber of hypersleep.
Four EEVs released from the hull and plummeted through space, their programmed destination being the planet below.
LV-318.
Prologue
Laura Masters drove the sturdy jeep over the dusty plains, heading to where an object that a mere hour before had hurtled through the atmosphere and crashed on the planet's surface.
She sighed and looked over to the passenger she had with her. "What's the status of the beacon?"
The passenger looked over his console with a flat expression and turned back to Laura. "The signal's strong. We should be close."
Laura cringed at the emotionless response and rolled her eyes. "Couldn't they have programmed you with a personality?"
Leo smiled in a crude attempt to reassure her, his eyes never leaving the monitor. "Just over this pass."
The jeep bounced up the rocky hill and Laura brought it to a stop, overlooking the swamp below. A channel had been carved through the thin tree line, leading up to a smoking wreck in the stagnant water.
Leo met the driver's gaze then they both looked back out through the windshield. Laura ran a hand through her shoulder-length blonde hair and pointed behind Leo's seat. "Grab my med-kit, will ya?"
Leo gave a quick nod as the youthful woman climbed out into the hot sun and squinted behind her sunglasses. The two of them made their way down the hill into the shallow valley and Laura smiled as the trees provided mild cover from the harsh sun.
They dropped down into the long channel and Laura cringed as the water came up to her knees. Softly she cursed herself for wearing shorts and Leo chuckled slightly.
The EEV sat in the marsh, tilted slightly with the hatch just barely above the water. Leo approached it and looked over the registration on the outside. "It's from a military ship."
Laura swore. "What the hell, are they doing way out here?"
Leo shook his head and activated the release, causing the hatch to slide away and revealing the dark interior beyond. Carefully they entered, spotting the solitary cryotube and Laura made her way over, examining the status. "He's still alive."
A faint beeping noise caused the two of them to look down to their wrists, to the timers. Leo looked back up to Laura who was deactivating the sleeper. "We have an hour until blackout. We'd better hurry if you want to send a report."
She laughed lightly in exasperation. "This will go a lot faster if you actually help me."
~~
The haze lifted slightly and the world around became clear once again. He tried to speak but the only noise that came out was a groan.
A woman approached him and fixed the pillow under his head, helping him to sit up. He could see the room clearly now and looked around, confused.
The woman smiled, knowing the question that was undoubtedly plaguing him. "You're in the infirmary. Your EEV crashed."
The man shook his head and groaned then suddenly coughed. The woman reached over and grabbed a glass of water and passed it to him, urging him to drink.
The water felt nice and cold and after he managed to calm himself, he slowly tried to speak again, his voice a bare whisper. "What EEV? Who are you?"
She smiled. "My name's Laura. I'm the doctor here. Leo is looking over your flight recorder now."
The man sat back. "I remember being back on earth, but everything's kinda fuzzy."
Laura nodded. "We'll have to get the black box decoded before I'm able to tell you anything."
"What about the Company?"
"We have just over thirty-six hours before we can use the comm. relay. We're in blackout right now because of the solar interference."
The man shook his head. "I don't understand."
Laura sat down on the edge of the bed, looking the man over. "First we should get you something to eat, then I'll show you around."
~~
Peter Masters led a group of men into the cave, just on the other side of Mako Ridge. The mining team had found the cave the day before, but by the time Peter had found out, he only had the time to send a brief message back to Weyland-Yutani before blackout.
He removed his hat and wiped the sweat that gathered on his brow and turned to Cortez beside him. "How can it be hotter inside the cave than outside?"
Cortez shrugged. "Don't ask me. I just work here."
Peter looked over the walls around him, his flashlight casting an amber glow over the carvings. He nodded in amazement and smiled. "This is probably the most important find in the last decade. Absolute proof that this planet was settled, long before us."
He looked back to the other six men and nodded, continuing down the tunnel and deep into the mountainside in complete awe of the architecture around him. It seemed almost like ancient ruins on Earth, though the carvings and hieroglyphs were unprecedented in Earth's history.
The tunnel split into two and to the left it ended with a barrier. Peter examined the carvings with the scrutiny of his years as an archeologist. They depicted ancient hunters and the overall feeling he got was that of ritual. One such carving stood out from the wall, an almost spiral shape with the likeness of a serpent. Slowly he reached out and ran his hand over it and remarked at how it gave beneath his touch.
Peter stepped back and looked around to the six others and swallowed. Carefully he reached for the serpent again and pushed it in as far as he could and satisfied finally when he heard a heavy click behind the wall.
Silence fell over the cave-like tunnel and Peter shrugged. "It doesn't feel like stone. More like warm metal-"
His sentence was cut off by another hidden sound and he looked on in astonishment as the barrier parted into three triangular segments, sliding away into the walls and ceiling.
The humidity was almost unbearable and a thick mist filled the tunnel. The flashlights did little to pierce it and Peter pressed on nevertheless.
He knew he was in a large chamber and blindly stepped forward, stumbling over something in his path. He crashed to the floor and looked up, shining his light to see what he had found.
It was ovoid and leathery and he examined it carefully as Cortez took his arm and helped him to his feet. With the barrier open, the mist thinned out and soon he realized there was over a dozen of the pods, spaced neatly in the chamber.
Cortez approached one and flinched when it seemed to twitch. The top of the pod split into four and Cortez leaned closer to peer inside.
Peter looked over to him and swore. "What did you do? Don't touch anything!"
Cortez shook his head. "I didn't do anything! It just opened!" He turned back to the pod and struggled to scream as something lunged at him, wrapping a thick muscular tail around his neck. He stumbled backwards as he felt something force its way down his throat, then everything faded to black.