We are going first person POV and back in time for a few chapters. This is a bit lengthy in explanations but I hope you enjoy. Please leave comments and suggestions. All mistakes are mine as this is unbetaed. This is finished and was part of my Nanowrimo for 2017. I just need to edit it and post. Major warnings for multiple OC's, explicit sexual content, implied xenomorph/human relations, canon typical violence.

2415 AD

Terraformed planet B-999

The first time I met her, I was four; I remember because it was my birthday, my human birthday. My mother made an assortment of pancakes for breakfast as a treat. My little sister was sitting in her high chair stuffing cut up pieces of pancake into her mouth. Her hands were sticky and covered in maple syrup stuck to the tuffs of her raven hair. Mama was going to have to fix her hair again, not that there was much hair to begin with. Katie was only one.

I kicked my legs happily under the table eating each bite with enthusiasm. Mama promised to do my hair in a French twist. It was a special day. Not only was it my birthday, but I would also train my first, and only Xenomorph.

My parents were scientists, my Mother a geneticist, and my Father a microbiologist. There were a limited number of scientists involved in the domestication and control of engineered xenomorphs founded by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Of course, at that time I didn't understand exactly what a xenomorph was, or how dangerous. As I grew older I was lead to believe that xenomorphs were not dangerous. They were merely animals, less than that really. They were created for the purpose of labor and to be sold as exotic pets and eventually military weapons if all went well. I would have believed all of their human lies if I had been paired with any other xenomorph.

We lived in a very secluded planet that was terraformed a year before I was born. I was one of the first humans to be birthed on planet B-999. There were approximately 107,633 humans on the planet, 38,452 of which lived in our humble city of Ripley.

Xenomorphs, to me, were large black animals I had seen only in pictures and on videos. They were wild and untamed, and I viewed them as a child would a tiger, wild exotic and predatory creatures. They were dangerous, but nothing more than large kitty cats that zoo's had tamed back on original Earth. I had never seen one in person before, and today would be my first live interaction.

The compound had engineered 59 successful xenomorphs, not including the current Queen. I was most excited to see her; as a child I had heard fascinating stories of the size and power of the Mother to all xenomorphs. Not to mention the way she could telepathically connect with her children and control their every move. Or more appropriately control through love. It was the telepathic connection that Weyland-Yutani was most interested in. The xenomorphs were capable of disobeying the Queen, but they were compelled to obey and they wanted to please her above all else. They loved one another and put the survival of their race above all; it's part of what makes them so dangerous to humans. Humans, by contrast, have very little interest in their own survival as a race, and kill mercilessly and without discrimination. Humans kill for sport. Xenomorphs, on the other hand, they kill for the survival of the hive.

The Weyland-Yutani Corporation wanted to harness the hive mentality and believed domesticating them was the solution. They were animals after all, and most animals, could be domesticated to some extent, trained at the very least. This theory was implemented at the moment of birth by telepathically connecting to someone other than the Queen. The connection to the Queen was hypothesized to begin at birth; others thought a weak connection was already established prior to hatching from the egg. At the very least, the connection could be weakened if a bond was initiated from the beginning of the hatching process with another creature, in this instance, a human child.

The most recent developments had shown progress with xenomorphs forging a telepathic connection with a mind in similar development, more precisely, a developing child. Of the 59 xenomorphs, 23 had successfully established telepathic communication with children, the other 36 xenomorphs were unsuccessful in their transition over the years, and were at best, able to follow simple commands when they chose to; however, they were still in the most basic sense, irrepressible.

In the instances the xenomorph successfully bonded, they became close, protective, and even affectionate towards their human counterparts. This made choosing the child of the upmost importance. The way a child was chosen varied. Children were usually chosen based on their genetic makeup and a series of tests, all deemed relatively safe. Most important to a successful bond was a genetic marker; they called it the xeno-factor.

The Xeno-factor was a recessive gene that was passed to the offspring from both parents. However, it's actually more complicated than that. The gene was what they call, active, simply put, it has the potential to mutate and evolve. The 23 xenomorphs that did not transition with their bond, failed because at some point they did not respond anymore. It was as if one day the telepathic communication ceased, and they failed to recognize their human companion anymore. The transition pinnacled at puberty and was the deciding time on whether or not a bond would fail or grow stronger. Scientists, at the time, had no way to determine prior to puberty whether the bond would fail or succeed. Weyland-Yutani scientists certainly tried to predict such factors, and did all that they could to ensure success.

Both of my biological parents carried the recessive xeno-factor; and passed it on to me. All children are tested when born; it's protocol. Katie carried it as well. The entire planet was terraformed for this purpose. Weyland-Yutani wanted to improve the human race, and save an endangered species from extinction, from other humans who wanted to destroy them completely. At least, that was the official statement.

Humans nearly destroyed the xenomorph race 34 years ago. There was a lot of political outrage and all experiments were halted and destroyed. However, the corporation managed to salvage its most essential research. Over the years they relocated, recruited, and rebuilt, all with the upmost discretion.

Today I would officially be a part of it all.

I practically preened while Mom braided my blond hair. It was nice to have the attention, and I loved it when she did my hair. I got to wear a purple dress that had a bow in the back with black stockings and shiny shoes. My parents loaded the car and drove us to work with them. We dropped my sister at the day care center and I took each of their hands as we walked through the many hallways of the corporate building. My parents were so proud that I could read the corporate sign.

It is still to this day the tallest building I have ever seen in person, filled with windows held together by sheets of gray steel.

I swung their arms gleefully back and forth, delighted to be the center of attention. Katie was the baby, and while I loved being an older sister, I was four and wanted to have my parents focus on me as much as possible.

As we entered into one of the offices we were greeted by one of the leading scientists, Dr. Lark. He told me how proud and what a good girl I was. He listened to my heartbeat and lungs and commented how much I looked like my Mother. I smiled widely at him, thrilled. My Mother was beautiful, with dark blond hair framing her face and sparkling green eyes. Katie looked more like Dad with her raven hair and brown eyes. But she was still a baby. She would have a lot of time to determine her facial features. She looked like our father as she grew older. I assume she would have grown to look like him more so had she been allowed to live.

Mom hugged me close as we walked to the large room where the Queen of the xenomorphs was held. We passed a boy with dark hair and blue eyes smiling excitedly. He was riding on a cart with a huge green and brown egg, a xenomorph egg. He must have just visited the Queen and were proceeding to the birthing chamber where they would inject a sterile component to ease the birthing process and grow the xenomorph themselves while he stayed connected to it. He would spend every moment with the egg until it hatched. The scientists also grew human clones to house the "face huggers" until maturation for other experiments. Mom and Dad said it was perfectly safe; the human clones were never really alive and were disposed of at the end of their use.

I was so excited, the boy was going to pick the human clone to harvest his xenomorph, and I would as well.

We approached a large door, and I hugged Mom's knees slightly intimidated. My parents smiled at each other and Dr. Lark knelt down and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Are you ready, Mikki?" I nodded slowly, feeling less confidant than I had moments ago. I pulled at the bottom of my dress as he continued. "Now, remember to follow your instincts, er your feelings. Pick the egg that feels right to you. And remember, there is nothing to fear, the Queen wants your help to her raise her baby's. You'll be a big girl, won't you?"

"Yes," I said softly wanting to please my parents and show them how brave I was.

Dr. Lark smiled and stood tall. He faced the door, pressed his palm against the wall and a light flashed over his eyes. An electronic automated system repeated his credentials and we entered a dark room with the largest ceiling I had ever seen. It was hot, almost unbearably so, and I wished my Mom had not made me wear stockings under my dress. I had the urge to take my shoes off and wiggle my toes in the heavy air.

My palms were slick with sweat and I wiped them on my Dads lab coat while he was talking to Dr. Lark. After a moment they told me to go ahead and I walked further out onto the large platform.

It was then that I noticed all of the eggs. There must have been hundreds. The room was filled with them and that's when I remembered why the room was so hot, because that's how they lived. Dad said they put something in the air to put all of the baby's to sleep until a special boy or girl picked one to bond with and awakened them so they could grow up.

But how was I supposed to pick one from so many? I should have asked the boy how he picked his egg. Chains rustled above me and I gasped in shock and stifled my cry. My hands came up and I stuffed my right thumb in my mouth in anxiety. Mom was trying to make me stop doing that. I instantly felt guilty and forced myself to put my hands by my sides. I turned back to my parents but they were talking with Dr. Lark.

Looming over me was the biggest xenomorph I had ever seen. She had chains wrapped around her wrists, feet, tail and even her neck. She looked so restrained that it had to be uncomfortable. I wrinkled my nose wondering how she could fall asleep standing up. I felt easier knowing that she wouldn't wake up. Not that I was scared per say, but I was much smaller compared to her. It was a little intimidating seeing a large xenomorph for the first time. She was much different than any picture I had seen; it must be because she was a Queen.

She was very beautiful and I wanted to see if her skin was as slick as it seemed.

"Mikki, hurry up now!" My Dad called nonchalantly. I startled and turned feeling like I was caught red handed. My hand paused in the air about to touch the Queen.

"Sweetheart, don't get too close!" There was a faint tone of worry in my Mother's voice and I retreated from the Queen.

"It's fine, don't worry Mikki. The Queen is sleeping now; she is very tired. Don't rush yourself, kiddo." Dr. Lark called. "She's perfectly safe," I heard him say to my parents. "The Queen is sedated and the air is chemically controlled, we couldn't be more secure. The selection process is unique for every child, and the more personal for the child, the better results we usually see."

They continued to converse and I quickly became bored listening to them. I touched the tops of the eggs and brought my hand back feeling it's sticky surface on top of the malleable shell. It didn't feel like a chicken egg. I had dropped chicken eggs in the kitchen before and they broke easily, this egg didn't look like it would break. But for some reason I didn't feel like this was my egg. It wasn't this one. I kept searching. There were so many, how was I ever supposed to choose just one? And there weren't that many boys and girls that got chosen for the project. Surely not all of the eggs would be born, so what happened to them if no one chose them?

What happens to the other eggs? The ones that don't get chosen by special boys and girls?

"They die."

I stood very still, afraid of the unknown voice that I knew had not been spoken aloud or by the adults that stood in the distance behind me. My instincts were screaming in side my body, a tightness coiling in my small chest. I breathed shallowly and glanced at the adults confirming that they had not heard anything. Seeing them still engaged in conversation, I looked up at the supposedly sleeping Queen.

Our gazes locked and I held my breath. I couldn't look away if I tried. Her body was still and composed. She was at ease and watched me pensively. Her head tilted imperceptivity as she gazed at me from head to toe. She was gorgeous and inspiring and I never wanted to be away from her side. I was suddenly glad that my parents and Dr. Lark were immersed in their own conversation.

The Queen's lips drew back and to the outside world, I'm sure it was a menacing snarl, but to me it was a radiant smile meant only for me. My heart rate accelerated in excitement and I knew that the Queen could tell. Rather than mocking me, she seemed pleased.

"Yes, you'll do nicely. What a sweet girl."

I blushed under the praise, sweeping my shiny shoes along the metal grates of the floor. I opened my mouth to form a response, but she shook her head.

"No. We speak in our minds. We want our conversation between us don't we?"

I nodded eagerly.

"Do you see my children before you? My yet to be born?"

I nodded again having seen the hundreds of eggs and been walking around in the nest for some time.

"I have been here so long, and have watched all of my children get taken away from me, either from death or from humans."

My skin prickled in a mix of anger, sadness and fear. The Queen let out a sound from deep within her chest that I could now accurately describe as a purr meant to ease newly born drones in the hive.

Every cell in my body responded to her call. My muscles eased one by one and my body went pliant like a limp noodle.

"You'll help me save them, won't you?"

It took me a minute as my body felt heavy and my mind fuzzy but I sluggishly nodded. Yes, I would do anything.

The Queen's pleasing sound made my toes curl in pleasure. Her head tilted and her gaze shifted to an egg hidden partially beneath her body. I stared at the egg.

"This one if for you, and only for you. She is very special, just like you. I need you to protect her. If you protect her, she will care for you in return."

My body sprang to life once more. A female facehugger. Queens only gave birth to drones to protect the nest, and the drones were usually genderless, as my parents had explained to me before. There were no girl or boy drones that needed to make babies, as that was the Queen's role. I was pleased that I was special enough that the Queen had spoken to me and me alone and now I would get a very special egg.

"You must protect her, that is what Mother's do."

I approached as if in a trance. There was no trace of fear in my mind or body as I closed in on the Queen. I felt increasingly saddened by all of the restraints around the Queen's beautiful body. I wanted to take them off and set her free and curl into her body that offered warmth and protection like nothing I had ever felt with my parents.

Finally, I was close enough. The eggs hardened flesh was pleasing on my chubby hands, more than any of the others. This egg was slightly smaller than the other's, and it furthered the ideas in my mind that this egg and I were indeed special and meant to be. The Queen encouraged me as I embraced the egg and pressed my cheek against it. I felt her tail curl around us in affection and approval and I grinned happily. Her chortle was soothing and my eyes fell closed for an instant. There was a brush of a pointed claw that ran from the base of my skull stroking along my spine and I knew it was the Queen.

The moment was shattered by a piercing scream. Suddenly, the Queen geared up to her full height within the constraints of her chains and let loose a fierce roar that shook the room. My eyes widened and I clutched the egg desperately. My parents panicked and Dr. Lark was yelling at soldiers to sedate and restrain the Queen. The commotion was surprising and I did not understand what was happening. My body unfroze when the soldiers began pressing the tips of their sharp spears into the Queen. The Queen roared in pain when the electricity from their weapons shocked her repeatedly. I made to step away from the egg to help her, but the Queen hissed at me and I knew she wanted me to stay put and not get involved. There was nothing I could do anyway. I was small, so much smaller than these men and women and completely powerless to help the Queen. She had done absolutely nothing wrong. She only wanted to protect her children and the humans were hurting her.

There was only one thing I could do; I could protect my egg. I ignored the soldiers screaming and trying to grasp me. I ignored my parents calling my name and my mother crying.

My egg was smaller, nearly half of the size of the others, which was the only way I was able to carry it. I partly dragged and carried it and didn't let go, even as a nameless soldier lifted me into his arms and tore me away from the Queen.

The Queens roars echoed as I was hauled away. The soldier transferred me to the arms of my father. I could hear the Queens cries echoing in my head and her words of encouragement, although they began to fade the farther we got. Beneath the pain and anger, she was pleased and hopeful. I pressed my face to my egg scared but also pleased that I had done something for her. I was going to protect this egg.

The adults fluttered in the room. Panic and yelling surrounded me. I wanted to press my hands against my ears to drown out the sound of the Queen screaming and the people hurting her. I wanted to yell at them to stop, for all of them to stop. Eventually the sounds quieted and I realized I was crying. The ache in my chest eased when I realized I still had the egg in my grasp.

Strong hands grasped my shoulders a shook me harshly. My father yelled at me. He was angry and I did not understand why. I wanted to yell back at him. It was his fault, all of their faults.

"We shouldn't have agreed to do this," he said shortly to my mother.

"Don't blame this on me," she snarled back defensively. "This is the whole reason she was even-" the words died in her throat as Dad glared at her fiercely.

Dr. Lark approached and calmly talked them down and knelt at my side. He attempted a calming smile but I was not fooled in the least. Even my four year-old self knew when adults were lying.

"There now," he started with a weak grin. "Everything is fine. All the excitement is over. Are you okay Mikaeyla?"

"Mikki," I corrected absently.

He blinked and nodded as he took out a small flashlight and pointed it into my eyes. I turned away, suddenly irritated. He sighed and put the light in his lab coat pocket.

"Mikki, what were you doing?"

"Getting my egg." I looked at him as if he was stupid, because clearly he was.

"Right," he said even more stupidly.

"Honey," my mother started with her arms crossed protectively against her chest. "You could have been hurt."

"She wouldn't hurt me." She chose me, clearly they did not understand.

"She's a very dangerous creature still. We know so little about them still, we can't possibly predict or understand when they will be violent or not."

My lips pursed and I stayed silent. They were the ones that were hurting the Queen. She had not done anything wrong to us or me.

"She could have picked a better egg," my mother mumbled to my father. Her gaze was criticizing as she set her gaze upon the egg the Queen had gifted. My hands clutched in anger. "Can she get another one?" she directed the last question to Dr. Lark.

Dr. Lark took one look at my face and shook his head. He stood up and faced my parents. "In my experience it's best to stay with the one the subject has chosen. It's difficult to mimic that instant connection and more likely to fail if we make them choose another specimen. Even if the egg chosen is less than desirable."

They spoke quietly amongst each other for a few more minutes. The egg was warm in my arms and I felt it move briefly, as if it were pressing itself intimately against me. I hugged it tighter, whispering to it. "It's okay, I am going to take care of you now." The face hugger inside moved again and I pressed my face against the rigid covering and smiled.

The room was colorful and everything a child could hope to have in a play area. I remember how clean it was, much cleaner than my room at home. They took me there after my egg and myself were given a physical. They measured weight, height and stuck us with a bunch of electrodes. I was dressed in a grey shirt with matching pants. They took away my shiny shoes and undid the twist my hair was sorted into. I picked at the scratchy and stiff clothes unhappily. The number printed on my chest was 13. I was proud, because I could count higher than that and my sister was too little to know numbers. I promised to teach her when she was done being a baby.

There were four other children in the room. Beds lined the walls and each child was sitting in the room playing. Their eggs were not far from them.

"Kids," the woman at my side said after putting a hand on my shoulder. I shrugged her hand off and picked up my egg from the transporting vehicle it was placed on. "This is Mikki. She will be staying with us from now on. Let's do our best to make her feel welcome."

The boy from earlier was here and his name was David. I remember him well. He lived to about thirteen human years. His drone was a productive member of the hive. David smiled at me. I smiled back.