7 years 5 months before present
the old man stood by, looking on proudly as his creation ran through a maze that was difficult for most humans to complete. It used its four tails to jump from wall to fall, using its hands for balance. It chased down the small deer like animal that had been released into the maze. The man watched as his brain child captured and slaughtered the animal with precision blows. Pressing a button a door to his left opened and the creature walked into. Although it towered over its creator it crouched and purred as he rubbed its head. The man began to cough violently and after a minute he removed his hand from his lips, they were stained crimson. He pulled a bottle from his pocket and swallowed the pills. He didn't have much longer and his mind wandered to what would happen to his creation when he was gone. He couldn't let them get it.
Nera settled into the little cozy vent base she had made her makeshift nest. Over the week since she had snuck on board the ship, she'd been observing the man who had caught her attention. She had watched him through the vents in the shower room, his room, and the cafeteria. She had almost been spotted once when she had left the vents to get water but she had stayed undiscovered. She had remembered more, at first she didn't want to but many of the memories that were popping up were good. She remembered when she was eating something cold and sweet with a brown haired woman and they were both laughing. It was called ice cream. Now she was waiting for the man named Jacob. She heard the door open and Jason walked in. He locked the door before collapsing onto the bed. Pulling the vent cover up quietly she slipped into the room.
Sera rubbed her swollen belly, sending her growing daughter mental images of the world. Sam walked in covered in oil. The old car was dying and they had tried to fix the engine but it was no use. It was probably time they got a new jeep anyways. He saw on the couch next to her groaning, probably from lying under the car for an hour. " You know instead of another jeep maybe we should get a minvan." Sera laughed at the suggestion " Yeah but then what will we use for all our off road needs" Sam made a show of considering it, holding his chin in his hands" we could always get a ATV." Sera pulled him close for a kiss " I'll always just prefer the reliable packhorse." she pulled him in for a tight kiss.
Nera crouched near the sleeping man, looking t his face while he snoozed. He seemed so familiar. She looked at a picture by his bed. It showed the man standing with a older woman and man, probably his parents. An image flashed through her mind of a blond haired woman holding a little girl, both of them were laughing, then a image of fire and blood and rubble replaced it. Nera was looking at the blond haired woman, crying, the woman was slowly being crushed by the rubble on top of her, she was telling Nera "Don't be scared honey don't be scared, helps on the way" then something exploded and smoke filled her eyes. She returned to reality, she realized that she'd been holding her head in both hands so hard that she had started bleeding. But the worse thing was that the man had woken up and was looking right at her, their faces inches apart.
She was the first to act, jumping up and grabbing the vent with her hands. He grabbed her tail and wrapped his legs around the posts of his bed. He had weight on his side, but she was stronger, slowly he was pulled into the vent with her. He pulled back harder, straining his muscles. Nera growled as her tail was stretched, her claws started to slip on the smooth metal of the vents. Jason started to pull her back down, until the door opened. The girl who had come in looked at Jason and the vent with equal confusion. "What the hell is going on." The distraction was all Nera needed. With her full strength she charged through the vent with Jason being pulled along. " Through the vents his words echoed " what the hell is this."
Jason was pulled along through the vents, covering his head with a free arm. He didn't want to hold on yet he was scared to let go. He finally let go when she stopped. In a very dimly lit chamber where she appeared to have made her home, the woman/thing was looking at him from the corner. He pulled out a mini flashlight from his pocket an shined it in her direction. Now that he could see her better he could make out her details. She looked so similar to the bosses cousin in law when she was demonized, as he and his pals called it. If this girl was anything like her then he was royally screwed. For now she seemed content to stay in the corner and watch him. He looked at her face, it was beautiful but there was something else. He knew that face from somewhere. "Hello there, uh may i ask who you are." The girl said nothing just crouched down lower. Jason could see the small spiked going down her spine and the serrated spear like tip on that skeletal tail. He started to see some familiar aspects of the face. The bright green eyes were a different color, but still held that same mischievous glint. Her nose was crooked, in just the way a little girl he knew years ago was, and a missing canine that happened when a prank went wrong. He couldn't believe it. There was no way she was alive " No...Nora. Nora Everlin."
Sera groaned as she got up from bed. She was about 3 months along and she had already started having a sore back. Her mood swings had started kicking in and Sam had started staying away when he sensed through the connection that she was in a bad mood. She went to the kitchen and made herself a sandwich. It was only about 9 at night, with Sam alone at work she was alone. Nearly the whole hive was hibernating except for her praetorian Rook and 3 drones. Tarturus stayed away from the hive mainly. Sera placed her plate in the sink. Her enhanced hearing picked something up as a sound echoed through the vents. She mentally registered where everyone was at. Rook was on the lowest floor and the three drones were all in the woods. She could hear the echoes of footsteps on stairs coming down the hall. Sam wasn't home and the scent she smelled wasn't familiar. That meant that whoever was on this level with her was a stranger.
Nera was in agony. It felt that something was trying to push its way out her throat, images flashed through her mind. Images of mangled, crushed, burned bodies. She could see men and women screaming as they burned alive, a person in a strange suit holding a gun shooting people, and her own mother trying to push the rubble crushing her away as the flames approached. Then when all the fire had died and she was the only one left in a cold dead wasteland, that was when her new mother appeared, guiding her to a waiting ship all while she stayed silent. The thing in her throat pushed its way out, and for the first time in 9 years she spoke. It was a sad whisper as her throat could barely make the word out. "Mommy, mommy, mommy." Jason wrapped his arms around her as her clawed hands tore the skin of her scalp, as if she were trying to claw the images from her mind. They sat there for a long while until Nora fell asleep from exhaustion. Jason looked at her wondering at what she had been through. "How the hell am I going to explain this to my boss."
The intruder entered her ans Sam's living room through the door and started looking for the light switch. Sera flicked the safety off on her colt and lined the sights up on the persons chest. It was a woman from the scent and her figure. Just as the woman flipped the light switch, Sera fired. Her first shot hit the woman but didn't get through the vest she was wearing, her second shot grazed the woman' arm. At that point the woman was firing back with a shotgun full of buckshot. A pellet stuck in Sera's arm and her pain woke the whole hive. Normally they wouldn't have rushed to her aid because she was able to deal with this problem. But Sera was pregnant and was not as agile or fast as she normally was. Rook charged up the stairs while a dozen drones rushed through the vents. The woman fired again, the pellets shattering the dining ware on the table and counter top, among them her favorite mug with a picture of her and Sam on their honeymoon. "Oh its on now bitch!" Sera edged her gun around the chair she had taken cover behind. Seeing the the woman's foot from the edge she fired. The bullet hit the girls foot and sliced through the material of her shoe. The girl collapsed and was immediately set upon by the drones who had just leaped from the vents. They immobilized her arms, legs, and head. Sera walked over, setting her gun on the table. "I want to know why you attacked me, who you are, and who sent you." The girl stayed silent a defiant look in her eyes, but it was obvious she was scared. Sera could tell she knew nothing about the xenomorphs. " I'm just gonna take a look inside your head. I won't break anything. Promise."
Jason had set Nora on his better while she slept. He then went to the captain and explained what he knew. The cap seemed pretty accepting of the situation, he had even said he'd had a similar experience (except without the alien girl part) he had recently met and old friend from his past. He had called up the boss and handed the phone to Jason. "Now Jason, Rolo says that you have a girl similar to my cousin in law, I want to hear all about this. " Lucas his boss was actually a pretty nice guy... if u didn't make him mad. The cap left the cabin and Jason began to tell his side of things.
Sera could see the girls memories. Her name was Chloe, she had lived by herself on the street for years. She had recently been picked up by a man who trained her a bit then sent her here. Personally Sera thought the man had just sent her on a suicide mission. Chloe had just been told to attack her and nothing else really. The drones released the girl who was still stunned. Sera left her mind and looked at the young caucasian girl. She didn't deserve to die but Sera didn't know what to do with her. Sam was on his way having sensed trouble. The door opened and Herbert, the leader of the people who lived in the hangar, came in. she was distracted for a second and the girl pushed him aside. Sera saw her hobble to the elevator. "Sera who was that, was she the one shooting?" Sera sensed Sam pull into the hangar, he was worried and the hive could sense it. A minute later he barged in "Sera are you alright, what happened?" She quickly told him and Herbert of what she had learned. Sam grabbed a broom while Herbert went up top. " Do you know where she went" he asked through the link. Her hive was getting agitated so she had probably taken the elevator down. She just hoped she hadn't gone to the very bottom level. She was distracted when the phone started ringing. It was Lucas.
Chloe started hobbling as fast as she could when the elevator doors opened. She was scared didn't know where she was, and worse it was pitch black. She regretted taking that mans offer back on Lazran (desert planet) he had offered her food, and warm clothes, in return she had trained and then come here. She was suppose to kill the woman with silver hair. Unfortunately, he had never told her about those things. Her ribs hurt from when the bullet hit the vest, and the light from her little pocket light was all she had. The walls were covered in some black material, she heard something moving just out of the edge of the light. That's when she found them. Large greenish, eggs. She tip toed through them hoping nothing would happen. She was so nervous she didn't notice the egg in front her until she bumped it. She gasped, but nothing happened. She looked at it closely, noticing it was different then the other eggs. It had a dark blue color with white cracks spreading through the blue. Curious she tapped the flap looking top with her hand then rested the whole palm on it. She felt something move inside.
