ALI! The word was so strong in Ali's head that she fell to her knees in pain as the chestburster made a dash for the air ducts. Ali raised her eyes and caught sight of the escaping chestburster as it started to pass by Mike, who let out a moan as the chestburster reached him.

"Mike, grab her!" Ali screamed. Mike seemed to regain his senses and he dropped down to his hands and knees just as the chestburster started to pass him. Mike's fingers closed around the chestburster's waist and Ali could see his grip tighten. The chestburster let out a loud screech as it tried to bite Mike. But Mike had grabbed it in a way that prevented the non-flexible creature from reaching him. Eventually, the chestburster calmed down as the Queen forced her mind into it. Mike dropped it and the chestburster crawled over to the Queen and crouched down next to the first one.

"Thanks, Mike," Ali said and again she got that fluttering feeling in her chest again. TJ, who had been standing silently next to the Queen, gave out a hiss and Ali turned to him. He seemed to know how she was feeling; like a caring older brother.

Now that I have the Lesser Queens under my control, we can begin the process, The Queen said.

"What process?" Ali asked.

The first stage was already completed, getting my mind into the Lesser's. Once I have done that, they can begin their first molting. Normal aliens only molt once before becoming full adults, but Queens molt twice. By preventing the second molting, I prevent them from breaking connection with me, The Queen said.

"How soon will they molt?" Ali asked ignoring Mike's confused looks.

Well, first they need to get their first meal. They can feast on their hosts bodies, The Queen replied.

"And how soon after that will they molt?" Ali asked.

I would estimate around 10 minutes, The Queen said as the chestbursters made their way back to the appropriate host that they came from.

"That doesn't take long at all," Ali said as she looked over at Mike-who opened his mouth- but Ali spoke quickly, "They are going to eat their former hosts so they can molt and then my daughter is going to prevent them from molting a second time and become full grown." Mike closed his mouth and stared at the feasting chestbursters in gross fascination.

The chestbursters ate the two women greedily, letting out occasional screeches. Finally, when they were done they walked back to the Queen and stared up at her.

"And now we wait," Ali said. She sat down on the hard ground and gestured for Mike to sit next to her. Mike walked slowly, keeping an eye on the pink chestbursters. TJ came up and lay down next to Ali. He placed his head in her lap and swished his tail back and forth gently. Ali stroked the top of TJ's head gently; her eyes reflecting deep sorrow.

"Is something wrong?" Mike asked.

Ali looked up at him and smiled, "No, everything is fine. I was just thinking about my life here before Timothy came."

"Who's Timothy?" Mike asked, "Was he a Xenomorph?"

"Yeah," Ali said, "He was what we call a Runner; like TJ. He found me when I was still living with my father and he came to me later when I was living here."

"You used to live here?" Mike asked.

"Well, not here exactly, I lived in a dormitory with the other girls of the orphanage, except they didn't like me. None of the kids liked me; they didn't know what I was but they knew I wasn't normal."

"How did you come to live in an orphanage, what happened to your parents?"

"My mother died during my birth since I forced myself out like a chestburster would. I killed my father when I as six because he hated me and blamed me for my mother's death; even though it partially was my fault she died," Ali said. She was silent for a moment but spoke, "So tell me more about yourself. Do you have any other family?"

"I have a mom, but she never liked me or my father. She thought my dad's work was a waste of time and that he cared more about his experiments then he cared about her, so she left," Mike said.

"I'm sorry," Ali said.

"That's okay, she was a really big bitch," Mike said.

"What's that?" Ali asked.

"You don't know what a bitch is?" Mike asked, slightly shocked.

"Is it a bad word?" Ali asked

"Yeah," Mike said. He was surprised the girl didn't know that word but then he reminded himself that she had lived in an orphanage until she was 'rescued' by the aliens; she hadn't been around people long enough to pick up on a word like that.

She looked up at the ceiling, worry replacing the sorrow in her eyes, and sighed, "When are the Predators coming? They arrived here a while ago, why haven't they attacked yet?"

"They probably don't know exactly where the Hive is. They found the body of their comrade but haven't seemed to guess where the Hive is located. They were heading for the mountains when I came here," Mike said.

"Oh," Ali said. Before Ali could say anything else, the twin chestbursters let out twin screeches. In the few minutes that they had eaten, they had already swelled to the size of a full grown alien. Their skin was pinched and tight over their bodies and they were in extreme discomfort. Their skin was still pink but a slightly darker color could be seen underneath their skin. They both started to writhe on the ground; jerking and twisting. Ali had only seen five molts in her whole life at the Hive. But, for Mike, it was the first time. TJ's head shot up and he stared at the thrashing Lessers, head cocked to the side.

The chestburster's skin was beginning to peel and tear apart as the Lessers began their first molting. Finally, the Lessers pulled free of their old exoskeleton and struggled to their feet. They stood taller than a normal alien but weren't as large as a Queen; in fact, they were about half the size of the Queen behind them. They had a small crest on their head and they had an extra pair of arms tucked close to their body.

"Is that it?" Mike asked, staring at the Lessers. The Lessers screeched again, this time a lot more deeper, and crouched down.