a/n: Again, I don't own it. Also, unbeta'ed so please excuse my abysmal use of commas.

David gave Dr. Holloway and Dr. Shaw only a cursory glance the next morning as they prepared to go back to the structure to search for Fifield and Milburn. Dr. Holloway looked slightly…off, but that could have been explained by his previous evening's indulgence. His intentional indulgence, David clarified with a slight smile to himself.

Janek informed him that the spectagraph pod had picked up an additional life form, very close to where Fifield and Milburn's last transmission had come from. The signal was intermittent, however, and the ship's captain was sure it was just a malfunction of the wayward pod.

David knew that the humans were more likely to be in error than the technology and that following this lead was likely to be the most rewarding course of action with regard to finding the Engineers for Mr. Weyland.

He also knew that it would be best for him to find them on his own.

Dr. Shaw would be disappointed. She obviously would have relished the opportunity to discover her Engineers.

David contemplated Dr. Shaw. He still had the chance to tell her that he believed he had found them. She would feel gratitude to him for involving her. She would express admiration for him if he were to succeed. David would be giving her exactly what she came here for; handing her the culmination of her life's work on a platter. Him. Not Dr. Holloway, Mr. Weyland or any other member of the crew. It was still tempting, despite her actions of the night before.

Unfortunately, he considered, she would doubtless want her partner to come with them. They would celebrate the success of their mission together. The way Dr. Holloway had kissed her on the head when they landed on the planet or had exclaimed, "Ellie, we're here," when David had been trying to introduce himself to her when she came out of cryosleep.

Alone it was, David decided, and he set off in the ATV alone, letting the humans set off on their rescue mission.

He couldn't resist reminding Dr. Holloway to be careful. The man just looked at him, without affect.

Approaching the place where the signal originated, David felt…exhilarated. He was on the edge of a remarkable discovery. Additionally, he realized that he was clearly looking at a civilization far advanced from those who created him. He imagined that their attitudes towards skills such as his would be formed more by their intelligence than their fear and ignorance, as it was with so many humans.

Speaking of ignorance and hostility, he cut off the feed to Miss Vicker's room as soon as he realized that he had found their chambers.

As he watched the holograms and then immersed his whole body in their star map he pondered what the outcome would be for Mr. Weyland.

The immense pride David felt in having discovered the living Engineer was tempered by the conclusion he was forced to come to regarding the outpost. It was clear from the map that the Engineers had been intending to come back to Earth. Although he was unable to conclude what the purpose of the jars of black ooze the production of it had certainly had an ill-effect on the Engineers themselves. Since they shared DNA with the humans, the effect would doubtless be the same for the inhabitants of Earth. What possible benign purpose could mankind's creators have that they intended to visit again with ships full of a mysterious substance that had to be produced far from their home planet?

No, the preponderance of the evidence said that the Engineers were intending on either destroying or experimenting with their creations.

Kneeling beside the sole living Engineer he considered possible outcomes.

His programming made his next action clear. Mr. Weyland wanted to see the Engineers; he wanted David to ask them if they had the power to extend his life.

David doubted very much that this would happen but if his creator, his father, wished to meet the Engineers, that would be as fitting an act as any to serve as the last of his long life. Surely, there was no shame in ending a life filled with accomplishment and discovery with an encounter with his creators?

But what of Dr. Shaw? She would be devastated that her Engineers had potentially nefarious plans. Additionally, she would be resistant to Mr. Weyland's intervention; she would no doubt think it self-serving of his creator to have used this entire mission merely to fight the inevitability of his own death.

No good could come of having her along while Mr. Weyland asked his favor from the Engineers. He would have to find a way to impede Dr. Shaw's ability to make the excursion.

Slipping out of the chamber, David turned his feed back on just in time to hear her frantic voice. Dr. Holloway was unwell and they had discovered Milburn's body.

Dr. Holloway was sick. David frowned. While this might make it easier to ensure that Dr. Shaw did not join them in meeting the last Engineer it meant that the black substance was harmful. He could hear Dr. Shaw's distraught voice over the feed as well as the determination is Miss Vicker's voice when she asked what he was sick with.

Still, he was surprised to hear the fighting and then Dr. Shaw's anguished cries as Miss Vicker's immolated her lover.

What would it be like, he wondered, to see one's significant other burned alive? Dr. Shaw's screams spoke of intense pain. As he neared the ship he could see two members of the team holding her writhing body to the ground as the remains of Dr. Holloway burned to a cinder a few feet away.

She was devastated. David's programming flooded his head with directives. His first priority was to Mr. Weyland. He needed to be woken and prepared for his meeting with the Engineers.

Miss Vickers was distressed. She had just killed a man with a flamethrower. Her experience in the board room would not have prepared her for this experience. She might require some attending to.

And then there was Elizabeth. Something in him was drawn to her pain as he had been drawn to her dreams. He was curious to see how she would respond to this turn of events. He wanted to…see if her seemingly unshakable faith had been dislodged at all by this loss.

By the time David docked the ATV and approached her she was unconscious.

David fought the impulse to smile at the turn of events. It would have been extremely unsettling for those members of the crew in attendance. Still, he felt a sense of…satisfaction. Charlie Holloway had been extremely unpleasant to him. He was perhaps the rudest to him of all the people on board, barring Miss Vickers. And she had a reason to sometimes be curt with him; she had an extremely contentious relationship with her father who had described David as being like the son he never had. She was jealous of him, plainly.

But Charlie Holloway – David rather enjoyed stripping him of his title now – had been impolite to David from the beginning. And now he was dead.

"I'll take Dr. Shaw up to observation," he said to Chance, who was still gripping her shoulders. Chance looked up at him gratefully and relinquished the doctor's body.

David picked her up, sparing a glance at Vickers. Peter Weyland's daughter would have made the old man proud in that moment. She was clearly still shaken up but she tightened her jaw and made her expression opaque, stoic. One would hardly know that she had just killed a man. David was satisfied that she would not require his help at this point. She would probably retreat to the comfort of her cabin and try to recuperate in privacy.

Good. It would give him time to see what Dr. Shaw was really made of.

a/n: I feel like this is moving more slowly than I would like but I really want to try to pin down motivations for some of David's actions so please indulge me.

Thank you for reading!