Vera had taken Brensen to the medlab to be treated, leaving me to sit in the command center's computer core, staring harshly at UN-CL-33's, what we affectionately referred to as 'Uncle', blinking monochromatic cursor after thirty minutes of unhappy communication with the ship's core computer.

Vera and I had only a brief conversation as I related what had occurred in the engine room, ending with our escape into the service corridor. I had been taken aback by Vera's unusual concern - as an android - for our lost comrades. I knew Fox had reprogrammed her to obey his commands and to make her utterly dedicated to the crew's well-being, but I began to suspect there was something more there. I began to suspect she cared, if not loved, Fox.

"Powering down," the monotonous male voice announced as half of the lights in the room winked off, shaking me out of my thoughts.

I slammed the side of the chair, and then stood up. With one last withering glance at the black screen, I slid out through the adjacent corridor, to find Vera standing just outside the door, waiting for me.

"Captain?" She queried, as if she did not already know what Uncle had told me. Vera kept in constant communication with the system. There was no way she did not already know what had transpired.

Despite that knowledge, I responded, "Uncle's refused to allow me to blow the umbilical. I need two ship's personnel's approval - and you don't count," I said. "Is Brensen conscious?"

Vera shook her head negatively as I started down the hall towards medlab. She grabbed me by my swinging arm, stopping me with her hydraulic strength. "Captain, you won't be able to rouse him. The wound Brensen suffered ... it's poisoned, with some sort of nerve toxin."

I turned to Vera, cocking my head slightly. "Poisoned? Do you have an antidote?"

"I was working on that before UN-CL-33 summoned me to the core," Vera explained. "I believe the alien intruder intentionally wounded, and did not kill, Brensen." Emotionlessly, she continued, "The neurotoxin is not fatal; it is only meant to induce unconsciousness for a few hours, at most."

I pulled myself free of Vera. I had begun a line of inquiry on the computer when it had inexplicitly shut itself down. The computer had attributed the shutdown due to a diminishing power reserve, but that it had summoned Vera now made me more concerned.

"What is special order 993?" I queried. It had been that specific order that had come up, after attempting to request special clearance to jettison the command module without needing two crewmember's clearance. Uncle had not only been unwilling to elaborate on the special order, but was downright evasive about it.

Vera's face twitched. "I am not at liberty to discuss it," Vera responded, after composing herself. "It does not concern the crew ... directly," She added, though I could see she was fighting with herself to reveal even that much.

"Vera," I stated, taking a step towards medlab, "What's going on here? What are you not telling me?"

Vera placed her hands on her curvaceous hips and sighed heavily, as if she were dealing with a petulant child.

"Look," I said, wagging my finger at her. "I don't have time to stand here and argue," I started walking backwards toward medlab, keeping one eye on her as Vera followed me, "From what you've told me, we're down to less than three hours before the drive section goes nuclear. If I can't jettison the command module, I need to pick that electronic brain of yours for what I can do. Either you help me, or I swear, I'll shut you off."

"I very much want to help you," Vera countered. "I have from the beginning. I offered to come with you earlier to the engine room to assist," she reminded me, "but you refused."

"That thing would have torn you apart," I stated.

"That ... is somewhat - debatable," Vera stated, flexing slightly and slipping ahead of me almost faster than I could see, clearly emphasizing her enhanced robotic abilities. "My analysis indicates -"

Vera cut herself off and slammed me against the wall with one arm, then used her other to cover my mouth with her hand. As I struggled to try to wrench free, she gazed deep into my eyes and shushed me in a very low voice.

It was hard to hold still with her one arm nearly crushing all the air out of my lungs. But in-between gulps for air, I heard what must have alarmed her. A little further, down the hall, something was shuffling along the corridor. It made a tapping, metallic click as it moved and after a few moments, I recognized it. It was the black demon thing from the engine room. How the hell had it gotten in? I thought to myself. Vera had been careful to seal every entrance and exit out of the command section even before we had left it to hunt the thing down when were still a full crew.

As I could feel the hair on the back of my neck rise, Vera continued to stare at me, her face twisted in a peculiar, grim sort of manner. She was clearly analyzing my reaction, but there were more - she seemed to be considering the situation, and I felt ill at ease, as if she were considering holding me in place for the alien to retrieve.

I grasped at Vera's arms, trying to pull her away as I could hear the slow, scraping sound move in the hall - closer it seemed. The look on Vera's normally expressionless face seemed to contort into disgust as she continued to hold me in place. As I started to beat on her unmoving arms, she leaned forward and whispered into my ear, "It's leaving."

She pulled her head back and I realized that it was not a look of malice on her face, but concentration. She wasn't try to kill me, but instead keep me still and quiet until the thing had passed. I relaxed, and her grip on me lessened slightly.

We heard the distinct sound of something sliding across the floor, and then a metal clink, almost as if a door had been closed. A few moments later, Vera quietly announced, "It's gone." She then released me.

"What the hell was it doing here?" I said aloud.

"I have no idea," Vera replied, sliding quietly down the hall and peeking around the nearby corner. She motioned for me to follow, and I did so, though somewhat hesitantly. "It should not have been here," she stated, stepping across the hall and continuing towards medlab.

"Where did it go?" I asked, pausing at the four-way junction of corridors.

"Into that ventilation shaft," Vera replied, pointing towards an octagonal hole in the corridor down the left-hand hall. It was easy enough to tell that the shaft led towards the aft section of the ship, and it looked as though it connected with the dry dock.

"I thought you sealed the vents," I hissed, slipping past the open corridor to catch up to her.

"I did," she stated, her pace quickening as we moved further away from the vent. "I suspect it breached the seal - either by force or acid. Perhaps by both means."

I didn't want to dwell on how it had gotten in too much and was more interested in putting as much distance between it and myself. We had reached the end of the hall that led into medlab. To my horror, the heavy sterile door to the area had been pulled open, with visible marks where the alien's fingers hand crumpled the metal and dragged its nails over the white paint in its effort to get in.

"Brensen's gone," Vera breathed, having already stepped into the lab before me.

"What? How?" I asked. "The alarms should have gone off when that thing tore in here."

"Unless Uncle silenced it," Vera stated, glancing at the lone security camera in the room.

"Why would Uncle do that?" I asked, carefully stepping over to where Brensen's pulse rifle had been left, amid a tray of used medical equipment. "How would that thing have had the time to get in here?"

"Order 993," Vera hissed, ignoring the last half of my question. Before I could ask, she moved to the camera and ripped it from the wall. At that moment, I grabbed the pulse rifle and aimed it at Vera. She ignored me, instead yelling into the sparking camera. "Damn it!" she roared, "I will not betray the crew. No matter what the orders."

"What is order 993?" I asked, quickly checking the ammo counter as Vera turned towards me. It still had thirteen bullets.

"I...I can't discuss it," she said haltingly.

"You will discuss it," I shouted back, emphasizing the rifle in my hands. "I order you as Captain of the Orgenalla to tell me about order 993."

Vera twitched slightly, then stood up straight. She seemed in pain, fighting to tell me while at the same time fearful to do so. Eventually, she seemed to overcome her reluctance and said to me in voice that sounded mechanical, distant and unlike her own, like a hollow echo of Uncle's baritone voice. "Capture and contain alien specimen at all cost. Crew expendable."

I didn't even have the words to respond at first. "How long has this order been in place," I queried, after a long silence between the two of us.

"Shortly after I broadcast a dispatch home to learn more about the xenomorph," she stated with a quiver, her normal voice returned. "While you were in the engine area," she explained softly, "it was uploaded to UN-CL-33, who then uploaded it to me."

"So," I asked, wrapping my finger around the pulse rifle's trigger, "Now what?"

"I turned off UN-CL-33 to override the command," she admitted. "One of Fox's modifications - I had the ability to send a kill switch, just in case of this sort of ...event." She bowed her head. "If I had not done so, UN-CL-33 was attempting to order me to forcibly remove you to your quarters and contain you there. At any cost."

"So, you did me a favor," I snarled. "Without Uncle, we're not much more than a derelict."

"Most of the ship's basic functions are still operative," Vera explained. "Higher functions - such as navigation, life support and local lighting have been migrated to my control."

"Including abandoning ship?" I asked.

She hesitated. "Yes."

"Then let's do it," I said.

Vera looked about the room for a moment then turned back to me. "Very well, Captain," she finally acquiesced. "What about the remaining crew? Will we attempt a rescue?"

It was my turn to pause in thought, and I carefully lowered the rifle. "No," I said meekly. "I'm not up to it by myself - and," I added as Vera indicated herself with a light touch of her hand to her chest, "if you've got the ships higher functions under your control, I can't risk losing you."

I closed my eyes for a moment, as the realization I was consigning the others to their fate loomed over me. "We cut our losses, now."

"I was afraid you would say that," Vera stated coldly. My eyes snapped open to see that she had moved less than a foot from me. Before I could bring the rifle up, she swung to my side and struck me with a karate-like chop to the back of my neck. Everything seemed to tumble as I fell into a dark oblivion.