Chapter Four: Complications
Everyone was seated as Picard and Guinan entered the ready room. Everyone was seated and couldn't imagine why the Captain had such a sound of urgency in his voice. He thanked everyone for coming on such short notice, then said "There was another file folder in the package. I just reviewed it along with Guinan, and she has some interesting and dangerous things to tell us. Guinan, if you will..."
"Thank you, Captain. Everyone in this room has at least heard of the loss of the Nostromo, am I right?"
Data went on..."The Nostromo was an interstellar towing vehicle owned by Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Its last known port of departure was Thedus, in 2122. Its last reported position was near Zeta 2 Reticuli, well off its normal course. The lone survivor was Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley. It was never known why they were so far off course." Data found a parallel from the late 20th century, when for reasons unknown Korean Air Flight 007 somehow went off course and strayed over the Kamchatka Penisula, at that time a part of the Soviet Union. But he said nothing, contemplating how history always seems to repeat itself with the same results time and time again. That incident nearly led to World War 3, the loss of the Nostromo led to the formation of the Federation and Star Fleet.
"Thank you, Data. For the rest of you, Star Fleet has somehow received some very disturbing information which was found in the archives of an abandoned division of what once was Weyland-Yutani." Guinan cued up the files, and the presentation began with the recorded testimony of Ellen Ripley some 57 years after the last recorded information about the Nostromo. While the crew and Guinan digested the information, Data was computing the distance to LV-426 from LV-223 as a subroutine while absorbing the rest of Ripley's testimony as well as reports from the failed rescue mission to Hadley's Hope and Ripley's eventual death on a now-long-abandoned penal colony.
Data was taken aback by the fact that an android, Ash, was primarily responsible for the loss of the Nostromo and her crew. He just couldn't comprehend that one of his "kin" could be complicit to what amounted to a corporation-sanctioned mass murder in the name of profit. "Even the Ferengi would never stoop to that", he silently thought to himself. Then he wondered why Asimov's laws of robotics were totally ignored by that generation of android builders and programmers. Special Order 937 was the icing on the cake, bringing tears from Troi and Dr. Crusher.
You could have heard a pin drop when it ended...
Picard said "I apologize for not having told you sooner, but these files weren't part of our mission. They may become part of our mission, and I need ideas. Out of all recorded contacts with these Xenomorphs, no one has survived."
Guinan looked at Picard and said "That's not entirely correct. There is another ancient spacefaring race involved here. In your language, their name translates to 'Predators'. Star Fleet has never encountered them, either."
"Like the Klingons?" Picard asked.
Worf spoke and said "Klingon mythology speaks of great hunters from the sky who would come to battle our strongest warriors. I will have to search the Klingon database to see if I can find an image, Captain."
"Did any of your warriors survive, Worf?" Riker asked.
"No, not according to the legends. According to the legends, they stopped visiting the homeworld a few centuries before we ourselves took to space."
Crusher was next, saying that from Ripley's testimony these creatures were at least three meters in height and approximately 200 kilograms in weight. "Concentrated molecular acid for blood. Inner retractable jaws. Data, from the testimony and Ripley's descriptions do you think you can create a holographic image of this creature?"
"I believe I can, Doctor. I will begin working on it at once after this meeting has concluded."
Barclay had sat silently all this time, but now the wheels had been turning and he had ideas. "Captain, if I may?"
"By all means, Mr. Barclay."
Barclay stood up and said "This acid has the capability to eat through just about anything short of pure neutronium, and I'm not sure about that either."
Worf said "I could kill it with a batleth!'
Guinan replied dryly "That thing has a 15 foot long tail with a barbed end. It would kill you before you got close enough to have your batleth melt from the acid!"
"It is without honor!"
"It doesn't care about 'honor'! It lives to reproduce, and will kill anything that gets too close to it!"
Picard interrupted Worf and Guinan's "lovefest" and asked Barclay if he had any ideas.
"Yes, Captain." he replied. "I have been working on a modification to the comm badges and tricorders that will give them the ability to function as portable, personal shield generators. In my simulations thus far, they can withstand a phaser on kill for 10 strikes, or deflect a mass equivalent to 10 tons up to 100 times with no problems. Transport is possible while the wearer is protected, and the shield device will function automatically to protect the wearer from a blindside attack."
Picard was clearly impressed. "Let me play 'devil's advocate', Barclay. What if one of those 'facehuggers' gets ahold of one of the crew?"
Barclay was ready..."I have been working on a way to separate a 'facehugger' from a person by using the transporter. The procedure is similar to that used for childbirth distress (looks at Dr. Crusher) but instead of only transporting a baby from its mother's womb you separate the facehugger and its embryo from its 'host' and beam it out into space or into solid rock if we're close enough to a planetary body."
Dr. Crusher looked amazed, but asked if the 'facehugger' wouldn't try to kill the host before it could be removed?
"By the time the 'facehugger' realizes what's happening it's already part of a matter stream and unable to wrap its tail around anything but empty space or solid rock."
"But what if a 'chestburster' gets out? What happens to the host then?" she asked.
"Everyone on this ship has a transporter body pattern on file. Thanks to the Cytherians (he smiled and tapped his head with his forefinger) I have modified the transporters so that while a person is in the energy state the transporter can automatically repair the damage caused by the little critter. Perform CPR on the victim as soon as they rematerialize, and it'll be like it never even happened. Dealing with the nightmares will be Counselor Troi's challenge."
She shuddered at the thought of having to help someone through nightmares like those, and thought of Ripley's struggles with nightmares after having been rescued.
"You seem to have all of the bases covered, Mr. Barclay. But what if we have a full-grown monster roaming the ship?"
"The xenomorph is able to mimic the DNA of its host, so having the transporter lock on to its DNA signature would normally present a problem. But since the 'host' will either be dead, or in Sick Bay after transporter repair, we tell the computer which 'target' to lock on to and beam it out into space, or into solid rock."
"It won't 'roam' very far, Captain."
"How do we protect ourselves from its acid blood?"
"The personal shield will provide sufficient protection, but you don't want to shoot holes in it with a phaser or even try to stun it. Maximum setting if we have to go down there."
Picard looked satisfied as he turned to Guinan and asked "How do you feel now?"
"Better, but still wary. Everyone who encountered these creatures had a 'plan' and no one except Ripley came out alive and at that, it took three tries for her to finally lose her life."
Picard sat back in his chair and said "We're three days out. How are your engines holding up , Mr. LaForge?"
"Better than expected, Captain. We can give you more speed if you need it."
"That'll be quite alright, Geordi. We have five days to think about what we're going to do and what could possibly go wrong. Dismissed."
Picard stood in his room, looking out the window as the stars rushed past the Enterprise. He thought about how spaceflight was once the stuff of dreams, and how it became the realm of astronauts and cosmonauts, brave people who willingly strapped themselves into chemical rockets that blasted them into the heavens, sometimes in the literal sense. Now, he drank hot tea while he contemplated what may await them.
Door chimes. "Come" said Picard, and turned to welcome Data into the room.
Data said "I'm puzzled, Captain. How could humans be so cruel that they would risk annihilation of every life on Earth for the sake of profit?"
"Data, you know as well as I that even today, there are those who put the pursuit of personal gain ahead of any other concerns. They don't think about the consequences of what they're doing until it's too late."
"Have you thought about the consequences of what we're doing?"
"I have, Data. That's why I have an open door and am willing to entertain suggestions, options, and alternatives."
"What do you think we'll find on LV-223?"
"I hope that we find answers, and nothing else."
"I hope so, too. Thank you, Captain."
"You're quite welcome, Data. Dismissed."
(end of Chapter 4)