Alien: Post-Apocalypse

Chapter 3: Two's company

Specimen 002 barely caught a glimpse of the dark figure on the other side of the rock before it lunged forward directly at him. Nevertheless, he was prepared for such an assault. Just as the other being rammed into him, he began to turn to one side, thus using the kinetic energy of his attacker against it. Both creatures crashed to the dry ground, but not before Specimen 002 had completed his turn in midair and came down on top of his assailant. With lightning reflexes, he seized his brief advantage and poised his tail to drive up from under the other's chin and impale its skull.

A split second before delivering the fatal blow, Specimen 002 halted and held completely still as he realized two things: first, the creature beneath him was the first of his own kind besides himself that he had ever seen, and secondly, the tip of its tail pressed against his rib cage in much the same fashion that his pressed against the other's chin ready to kill. It seemed the other had made the same realization as him; that they were alike.

Immediately, Specimen 002 got up from atop the other xenomorph, stood on his hind legs, and backed away a few steps. He maintained a fighting stance, claws bared and tail flicking side to side in anticipation, but he was almost certain that the fight was over, otherwise one of them would be dead already. He took the opportunity to size the other xenomorph up, as it stood and also took a couple steps back, though it didn't assume a fighting stance as he had. It was slightly smaller than him and had a smooth carapace, as opposed to his ridged one. He possessed strange memories that weren't really his own, but they allowed him to recognize the other as a sentry; similar to a drone but more adapted for combat to defend the hive and hunt for prey. Sentries were also more agile and stealthy than a warrior, such as himself, though not as durable.

Catching the other xenomorph's scent, he could tell that it was in fact a female and that her aggression was indeed receding. At this, he also lowered his guard, dropping his arms and letting his tail just swish softly behind him. As near as he could tell, the other xenomorph was simply examining him as well. It was now established that neither was interested in killing the other, but Specimen 002 wondered how to proceed. As if to answer his question, he began to notice the female xenomorph's presence in his mind.

…

Verexa couldn't help but be utterly stunned. For over two years she had wondered the wastelands alone believing that she was the last of her kind on this planet. Now, just a few strides before her stood a being that she thought she would die without seeing the likes of again. She examined it thoroughly. The plated ridges on its carapace allowed her to immediately recognize the other xenomorph as a warrior. She also noted that it was a male, judging by its scent. More importantly, and rather unfortunately, she could tell that he certainly wasn't from the same long destroyed hive that she hailed from. Wishful thinking, I suppose, Verexa thought to herself, Forget it. They are all dead, and nothing will change that. But it would not hurt to have a companion; even if they don't share a common bloodline with me.

However, the fact that the warrior in front of her wasn't from the same mother as her did pose a problem: there was no pre-established telepathic link between them. Verexa wasn't sure if the establishment of a link between two non-familiar xenomorphs was even possible, but she decided it was definitely worth trying. Focusing her mind toward his own, Verexa projected a simple "Hello?"

The other xenomorph's head twitched slightly in her direction, indicating that he had received her thought to some degree. What she received back gave her an idea of just how well her message had been received, as it was little more jumbled noise in her head. Nevertheless, she tried again. Straining to project her thoughts with absolute focus, she said, "Can you understand me?"

This time, the thoughts that the other xenomorph sent in return were much more understandable. They were not coherent words, but as xenomorph communication carried much more than just speech, Verexa could tell that it was an affirmative. She smiled inwardly at the progress that they had made, and took a couple deliberate steps forward, still focusing her mind on the being before her.

…

Specimen 002 was amazed at what was happening. He had been alive for about two years and had not once communicated so directly with anything or anyone. The sentry in front of him spoke again to him and his mind strained desperately to comprehend. After a short moment of deciphering, he recognized it as interrogative and even managed to catch "... understand...?"

He heard it inside his very mind, yet it sounded so very far away. Thrilled, nevertheless, that he had been able to comprehend at least part of the other xenomorph's speech, he immediately began to struggle to form a reply. He was incapable of sending words just yet, as the other had, but he managed to send what would suffice for a 'yes.' Specimen 002 could tell that his thoughts had been properly received and interpreted, and the sentry took a couple small steps toward him. He felt her presence in his mind already beginning to grow stronger. It hurt slightly, causing a dull ache within his brain, but he ignored it and was eager to continue; communication was completely new to him, and he was anxious to develop his new skill.

…

The warrior made no motion to halt Verexa's advance, and as she came closer, she held out her right hand, palm open, toward him. Deciding that simple words and phrases were best while establishing initial communication, she focused her mind toward his and said, "Friend."

At first, the other xenomorph remained still, but after a short pause, he also reached out is right hand and placed its palm against her own and replied, "Friend." She took a moment to examine his hand against hers. Both of his fingers and both of his thumbs lined perfectly with hers, though his were considerably larger. Again, Verexa smiled inwardly at the fact that their telepathy was growing stronger by the minute, but resisted the urge to grip the other's hand as she might have done with a new friend from her own hive. It had been years since she last spoke to another being, and while she greatly enjoyed it, she still knew next to nothing about the other xenomorph. Still, it felt good to call him "friend," and she was certainly appreciative for having another's company.

Suddenly, the warrior dropped his hand and turned his head away from her. Verexa followed his gaze toward the container of water she had set down just before their little scuffle. Realizing that they were still standing in the hot desert sun, it was quite obvious why it had attracted his attention, so she asked, "Thirsty?"

The warrior looked back to her and sent her another affirmative, but this one was accompanied with a distant sounding "Yes."

Verexa immediately strode toward the container, picked it up, and proffered it to him. True, water was an extremely precious resource in the wastelands to just give freely to someone. Verexa had survived for the past two years by finding water in small pools inside of shallow caves, which were often dry by the time she returned for more, or by finding containers similar to the one she now carried among the supplies that humans carried. She had seen it rain less than a dozen times in well over two years since the great war. The warrior was hesitant and seemed to understand the rarity of that which she was offering freely, so he asked, "Are you sure?"

Slightly surprised at the improvement in his speech, Verexa nevertheless took another step toward him and extended her arms a bit more. "Yes. Please, drink."

At this, he took the container from her, albeit with a hint of reluctance, and began to satiate his thirst. Careful not to waste any or to drink too greedily, he carefully lowered the water container and held it out for her to take back. After setting the container back on the rocky ground, she said to her new friend, "I am named Verexa, and what are you called?"

…

Specimen 002 understood what she had said, and immediately committed Verexa's name to memory. However, the second part of her statement confused him. As he thought about it, he realized that "Specimen 002" was a designation assigned to him by the human researcher's in The Citadel, and it was certainly not his name. In fact, it seemed that in his entire life he had never been given a name and hadn't chosen one for himself. Realizing that Verexa was still patiently waiting for him to reply, he focused his mind on their telepathic link so as to form a more coherent sentence, seeing just how well his communication had developed so far. "It is pleasing to meet you, Verexa. Though to answer your question, I have only ever been called 'Specimen 002,' and do not have a name." he said, conveying a hint of embarrassment with his thoughts. Nevertheless, he was extremely impressed with his relatively complex yet clear reply.

…

Verexa tilted her head slightly to one side mostly in astonishment that her friend was suddenly speaking so coherently after struggling to speak at all just a short while ago, but also out of curiosity at the fact that he had such a strange designation and no given name. She would seek to learn more about that later, but for now she said, "I am sorry to hear that, but it is also pleasing to meet you all the same."

The warrior lowered his head slightly, unsure of what to say next, before returning his gaze to Verexa and asking, "Could... you give me a name?"

She was slightly taken aback by his request. Only a queen had the right to name her children, and Verexa would never be a queen, nor would the other xenomorph ever be her child. However, her queen was dead, and given the situation, Verexa decided it was safe to assume that his queen had suffered a similar fate, even though she knew so little about him or where he came from. Tentatively, she asked, "Would you not prefer to name yourself?"

"No, I place my trust in you to name me," the warrior replied, sounding noticeably less distant in her mind.

Verexa made a note of the fact that he had specifically said "I place my trust in you," and indeed, it was a significant gesture for him to allow, and furthermore, request for her to give him a name. Deep in thought, Verexa sat cross-legged with her back to one of the boulders they were between until her four dorsal tubes rested against the stone and gestured for her friend to sit next to her, also indicating this via their telepathic link. He complied, assuming a similar sitting position a distance away from her that was respectful of her personal space.

A short while passed as she thought. He obviously needed a male's name, so she went through a mental list of the names of her hive-brothers that she remembered. Some of the names that she thought of belonged to friends who were now long dead, and the memories that came with them were pleasant yet very painful when coupled with the knowledge of their death. No! she thought to herself, neither those memories nor those names have any place in my mind any longer. So, she began trying to invent an original name. After another short while, she had one.

"How do you feel about 'Thoulux'?" she inquired. As xenomorph names go, it was indeed masculine, and she had never met another of their kind who bore it, so it would suffice so long as he accepted it.

…

Specimen 002, or rather Thoulux, was very pleased with the name that his friend had given to him. He quickly responded, "Yes, most definitely!" then, more composedly, he added "Thank you, Verexa" He also conveyed warmness along with his appreciation. He had, however, caught the subtle discomfort and distress which came from the sentry while she was still thinking about his name. He wasn't sure what had caused it, but it was gone now. He decided that he ought to ask her about it later.

"It's my pleasure, Thoulux." she replied politely, relieved that he was satisfied with the name she had given him. The sun was rapidly sinking in the sky by now, and both xenomorphs decided that it was time to continue moving to find a place to stay for awhile. "I wouldn't mind if you accompanied me. In fact, I think I would like that... if that's what you want as well." she offered.

Thoulux was completely new to the world outside the Citadel, and therefore had no objective or place to go. Not to mention that between giving him water and a name, he felt at least somewhat indebted to Verexa, though it didn't seem she thought that way. With that, he replied a confident and non-hesitant "Certainly. Lead the way."

Together, they stood, and Verexa began walking toward the north-west. Before she made it far, Thoulux picked up the water container and the gallon or so of the precious liquid that it still contained, and caught up to his friend. Once he had joined her at her side, he immediately handed the container back to her, which she accepted with an aura of embarrassment emanating from her due to almost forgetting it. He would gladly have carried it for her had she asked him to do so, but as far as he was concerned, it was still hers.

The pair of xenomorphs soon picked up their pace as they set out on the desert wasteland with the sun sinking just to their left.

Author's Note: I know, not much action in this chapter, but character development is a lot more important in my mind, and now that our main characters have met, the plot and conflict can start to pick up a bit more. As always, please comment with constructive criticism, suggestions, ideas, etc., and thank you very much for reading. Also: WOO! 100+ views!

I do not own anything in this story except the plot and characters.