Prelude:

Part One

"All most there," she tried to catch her breath.

It's not like she needed to breathe. It was just something that was a habit. It was… part of her programming. Anyone that would have seen her would have thought she was nervous and scared. She was trying not to look suspicious; she had a job to do. She could only assume that this feeling, what she was programmed to feel, was what any real person would feel if they were doing the same thing. Her hands were steady and worked without flaw. That's what separated her from her exterior appearance. She had to be flawless. She had a mission to fulfill.

"Annalee… you almost done?" a voice whispered quietly in her ear.

"Yeah Vriess… almost got it," she whispered back into the communicator.

"Well hurry up girl. There's not much time," he sounded more nervous than what she felt, "That program you got can only keep them busy for so long."

"I know, I know," Call gritted her teeth, "but the security is tighter than I thought."

"Hey you there!" a stern voice called out behind her.

"Talk to you later," she quickly ended the conversation as she pulled the wire out of her arm.

"HEY! Stop there!" the voice yelled after her.

"Sorry," she smiled and turned, "I have to go to another…"

"I said stop," the security officer roughly grabbed her by the arm.

"Sorry Sir," she lowered her eyes.

"Damn techies," the officer cursed under his breath, "Identification Badge," he ordered.

"Yes Sir," she fumbled through her vest, just letting a hint of her bare chest show.

The officer's eyebrow rose nearly off his face in delight at her small peep show. His eyes started to wander up and down her slim figure. He was like most of the military officers on board. She had only been there for a few days, but she could see it in all their eyes… their hungry eyes. They were always sneaking peeks and turning their heads to catch a glimpse of the few women that worked aboard the military ship. She knew that is just the way these kinds of men were. So many times she had to shy away from such burning stares. Unfortunately it was working to her advantage at the moment.

"I'm sorry… still getting use to this kind of life," she pulled out the id badge slowly.

"No problem," the officer was sad to see her pale skin disappear, "Hmm…," he started to look the badge over.

Please buy it, she prayed inside her head.

"Alright Miss Apple Jordan… Apple?" he crooked his head.

I'm going to smack Vriess for that, she sighed, "My mother said I looked like a little apple when I was born."

"Cute," he smiled as he handed the badge back to her, "So… we don't get a lot of civilians on board… you staying long?" he leaned up against the wall.

"Just helping out… the Military just need us civilians to get things up and running," she falsely smiled.

He chuckled, "So I take you'll be gone by the end of the week then?"

"Yeah," she really needed to get out of there and on with her self appointed mission.

"Maybe we could meet up later… maybe my quarters?" he leaned in.

"I don't know…" she shied away.

"All Security Officers, please report to Docking Bay 3 for inspection. All Security Officer to Docking Bay 3," a masculine voice came over the PA.

"Damnit FA-TH-UR," the officer cursed.

"Looks like we'll have to do a rain check," Call was all too happy to hear the monotone voice of FA-TH-UR.

"See you later," he gave her a wink as he turned.

He turned once more and gave her a little wave. She shyly waved back. As soon as the officer was gone, she released a heavy sigh. Another close one… one too many… one more… that may be it…

"I was about to come over there and blow that mother…" Vriess started to rant.

"Vriess… calm down," Call sighed once more, "He's gone and it sounds like most if not all the security will be occupied for a little bit."

"How much more do you have to do?" Vriess questioned.

Call opened the security panel, "I just have one more level of security to get through, and then I should be able to get what we're looking for."

Vriess paused, "I really hope you don't find it… I hope that this is just…"

"I know," Call understood, "I really hope that they don't have more of those things…," she winced at painful memories.

It had been nearly five years since she last encountered them. But the horrors she and the others endured were still very fresh in her mind. Their anorexic ridged bodies curling around pipes and corners, just waiting for their victims to pass by. The glints of silvery teeth just before the victims give their last screaming breaths. They had no remorse as their dagger like claws tearing into weak, delicate flesh.

She shuttered.

There was no time to think of such things. She wasn't even sure if that was what they were dealing with. Rumors in the ports, gargled coded messages, and just an overall feeling that it wasn't over. She couldn't say that she had a feeling or it was instinct, but there was something just not right. She liked to believe it was over five years ago and no more of those creatures existed, but something told her that it would never be over. They were never truly gone. The military would never let them fade. They were too valuable to let go.

"Vriess," she suddenly found a found a file, "I think might be what we're looking for."

"Can you transmit it directly?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"No," she looked around, "I think they'll detect that. I'm just going to download it directly and any file associated with it. It's going to take about five to ten minutes though."

Vriess sighed with worry, "You've got the time for that?"

"I hope so," she felt the same.

Closing her eyes, she began to pull, copy and download the files to her memory banks. They were big files and some of them were heavily coded. She wasn't worried about that though. She was more concerned about getting out of there. They had gone over the plan hundreds of times. Vriess would set off the final stage of the viral program she got. The life support would go out and force an evacuation of all personal on board. She would position herself at a part of the ship where she could slip on to an escape pod with no one getting on board with her. That was plan anyway. There was no way to say if everything would go according to plan. Plans are for the prepared.

"Come on, come on," she gritted her teeth as she kept moving files.

She never liked going into computers… though she was one. It was cold. There was no feeling. It was artificial. There was everything and yet nothing. She could touch, but not feel. That's when she truly felt her artificiality. That's when she was reminded of her plastic skin. That's when she thought of the circuits and wires that filled her constructed body. That's when she wondered if her life truly meant something.

"You doing alright Annalee?" Vriess brought her back to reality.

"Yeah… just one more file that's attached to the main one," she was more than happy to get out of cyberspace.

She downloaded the last of the files and pulled the wire from her arm. That part was over and now she needed to go on to the next.

"Vriess, I'm heading to the escape pod now. Start the viral attack," she calmly walked down the narrow hallway.

"On it," he seemed relieved.

The lights above suddenly turned red. An alarm sounded. White lights located just above the floor started to show the way to safety. It was a warning to the crew that something wasn't right. Though it was a fake emergency, she still felt an uneasiness growing in her body.

"All personal, please proceed in a calm manner the nearest escape pod for emergency evacuation," FU-TH-ER came over the speakers.

So far, so good, she was happy with the way things were going.

Just up ahead there was a large opening with a ladder leading down to a spherical pod. All she had to was climb down the ladder and fire the pod into space. Then she had to hack the navigation system and program it to go to the pickup sight. Vriess would come in and retrieve her from there. It was simple. It seemed to be working.

The people on board would be safe. The emergency was just a glitch in the system. The life support was fine and there was no threat of anyone dying. That is the way she wanted it. There was already too much bloodshed in the universe. She wanted no part. She wanted the nightmare of those monsters not to spread. She wanted to come to the end… of her program.

She started to climb down the ladder when she heard someone calling out to her. It was the security officer from before. She cursed to herself as she skipped the last few rungs. Pulling the panel open she activated the hatch to close and lock.

"Hey! Hey! Open up," the officer banged on the metal door.

She had to play it up, "The hatch is locked!" she yelled up to him, "I can't get it open! I think something is wrong with it!" she tried to look like she was trying to get it open.

"Please clear the launch pad," FA-TH-UR's composed voice announced, "Pod is ready for launch."

"Get back or you'll be sucked into space!" she warned him.

"Don't worry!" he called down to her, "We'll make sure that you're picked up in no time!" he disappeared from view.

Thank goodness, she was relieved that he got away just in time.

The pod detached and was released into space. She strapped herself in after she reprogrammed the pod's navigation. For once everything was going according to plan. So often plans were meaningless and had no purpose. She learned very quickly that you have to think on your feet, but that was difficult for her.

"You got everything?" Vriess voice echoed in her ears.

She smiled, "Yeah… but I'm not sure if we really want to look into it."

"Ha," he laughed, "It ain't exactly an easy life we chose."

"I chose," she felt guilt building up inside of her, "for you. You can just drop me off at the next port and I can go on from…"

Vriess growled, "Don't start with that again. We've gone over this. I'm not abandoning you… not after all we've been through… we're both wanted and we both decided that we would stick this through. Just do me the favor and let me help you."

She smiled, "Thank you Vriess… thank you for everything. I'll see you in half an hour."

"See you then Annalee," he answered back.

She closed her eyes to let her mind wonder. She was curious to see what the files contained. She could have started to decode them while she traveled to the rendezvous point. However, she knew there would be time for that when she got back on The Betty. Instead, she thought of all that had happen over the last five years. The close calls. The moving from port to port, colony to colony; there was no stopping when you were wanted by the United Systems Military. There was barely time to think. She had some time now though.

Her mind thought of all the faces that had come and gone in the past five years. She stopped at one. It was Johner. They hadn't heard from him in nearly three years. He stuck around for the first few years and seemed like he would stay. But if there was no money to be made, there was point in him sticking around. His departure… there seemed to be more than just the issue of money. She thought he just seemed too tired to carry on. The last time they saw him, he disappeared into a crowd port on Earth. He said that he would be fine. He just smiled and turned. No sad goodbyes. No tears were shed. He wasn't that kind of person and either was Vriess. She hoped that he was okay and that the military hadn't found him… his wanted poster was still up anyway.

She tore her mind away from the uncouth mercenary.

There was one other person she always kept in the front of her mind, Ripley. It's strange to think of the bond that formed between the two in such a short time. She was a machine that felt like she should be human and Ripley was human clone that wasn't sure what she was. They were similar in that fact; either truly understood their part in the universe. They just knew that they were supposed to be doing something. Ripley didn't stay long after they landed on Earth. She only stayed until she was sure that the others were okay. She just disappeared one night. She left without a word or note. The Ripley clone was never comfortable around people. They weren't like her… they could never nor should they ever understand what she was. She was her own kind… the only one of her kind.

"Or so I hope…," Call thought once again about the files she had risked her life to obtain, "I really hope that she is one of a kind…"