FOUR of THIRTY-TWO
*NOTE – Hello everybody, it's me, TheManFromMudos, and I'm here today with another chapter of 'Xavier'. I'd like to apologise for the fact that it's been a whole week since the last chapter was added, but I've been very busy with other matters. Those matters, though, are now resolved, and from now until late August, I should be able to keep up a pretty consistent upload schedule. I'd also like to apologise for how dialogue-heavy these first few chapters have been, although, in fairness, I have had twenty-three years of history to catch you up on. That being said, let's get down to business. This should be the last of the 'introductory' chapters anyway, so after this, things will become much more plot-driven, and much less… dialogue-y. So, without further ado, read on, and as always, please enjoy. It's 'Xavier'. THANK YOU!*
"It all started back in the spring of twenty-three nineteen." I explained. "We were on our way back to Earth after successful seeding operations in the Outer Veil Systems. It wasn't our first mission together as a crew. We'd been on two others before, also seeding operations. But this would be our last." I breathed in deeply as I continued to gaze out through the huge window onto the planet below. I didn't want to relive this, to go through the whole sabysmal sequence of events again. But I had to. Katie had the right to know.
"We, uh… we were woken from stasis by the ship's computer sixteen months ahead of schedule." I continued. "He'd received a distress call from a nearby shuttlecraft, belonging to a Jupiter Mining Corporation ship, the XH-12. As we were a sovereign ship, flying under the banner of Great Britain and her Majesty's Astronomical Maritime Corps, we were duty-bound to respond. And so, the next day, three of us went aboard the craft."
"What happened?" Katie asked quietly. She sat beside me with one hand over my own, comforting me as I recounted my tale.
"We searched the shuttle." I explained. "There were no life signs aboard, but we couldn't be certain that there weren't survivors. We… we found bodies. They'd been mutilated, quite brutally. I suppose we should have taken that as a warning, really. Anyway, we carried on our search, and found a hatch that led to a small generator bay above the main deck. We climbed up, had a look around. There… There were…"
"Are you alright?" Katie asked. She smiled reassuringly as she gently squeezed my hand.
"Yeah." I replied, nodding my head solemnly, before continuing with a deep breath. "There were eggs. In the generator bay. Three or four of them, big enough to fit a person inside. At first, we were intrigued. Then our First Technician Ryan – he was ex-Weyland-Yutani – told us not to approach them. Nathan and I stepped away immediately, but Cara… Cara stepped closer to one of them. I tried to get her to come away from it, but she wouldn't listen. It was like she was in a trance. Then the egg started to… ripple, I suppose. Something was moving inside it. Then the top of the egg opened, and…" I sighed deeply, shaking my head from side to side as I remembered the excruciating moment. I couldn't bear to even say it. But as I looked at Katie glumly, she simply nodded her head, and I knew that she had understood.
"We rushed Cara to the medbay as quickly as we could." I continued, my eyes beginning to well up once again. This time, though, I fought back the tears. "She had this… thing, on her face. It was… keeping her alive. She wasn't dead, I mean. Eventually, it fell off of its own accord. We all thought Cara was going to be fine. Then it got to dinnertime. Our Second Technician Brad had made pasta Bolognese. We were all sat around the table, chatting to each other, having a laugh. Then Cara started to look pale. Then her face turned red, and she collapsed onto the floor." I leaned my head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling with tears in my eyes. Katie continued to comfort me, understanding that this was a difficult conversation.
"Something ripped its way out of Cara's stomach." I said bluntly. "Two things, in fact. They looked like big worms. Anyway, they quickly ran off into the corridor. There was blood everywhere, Katie. Cara was dead."
"Did you…" Katie began, trying to phrase her question carefully. "Did you love her?"
"We were close." I replied. "I don't know, I suppose… I suppose I did love her, yes. But that's not the point."
"What is the point, then?" She insisted. I closed my eyes and sighed heavily. I knew that Katie meant no harm with her questions, but it was… difficult, for me to deal with them right now.
"The point is that those two things that came out of Cara's stomach were Xenomorphs." I told her, getting to my feet. "We lost Bradley to one of them later that same day. We eventually killed it, but… obviously it had already made its own nest in the engine bay, and… well, you know the rest."
"So those things that killed Cara," Katie remarked hesitantly, "They killed the rest of your crew after you'd left? They got back to Earth?"
"Yes." I nodded, slowly walking over to Xena's side. "Well, one of them did anyway. The other… is right here."
"She's… she's one of them?" Katie asked, slightly taken aback. Xena frowned in annoyance, not appreciative of being classed as 'one of them'.
"Now listen here." I responded in an agitated tone. "Xena might be a Xenomorph, but she's nothing like them. She's… I can't explain."
"She's belongs to a species that led to an entire planet being blown up." Katie replied bluntly. "Not to mention that she killed the woman you loved."
"Not by choice!" I said, astonished by Katie's sudden change of tone. "And she wasn't the one that built the nest in the engine bay, either."
"So let me get this straight." Katie said, getting to her feet with almost visible disgust on her face. "You came across a ship that had been attacked by a killer alien, and then when said killer alien came on board your own ship, instead of trying to kill it, you 'fell in love' with it? And then, and here's the icing on the cake, one of them laid eggs on your ship and it's descendants went on to kill millions of people, and you're still in love with it?"
"Yes!" I shouted angrily, glaring coldly at Katie as I spoke. "She's not a murderer, Katie! I know, as a species, the Xenomorphs are killers. And I know that they caused one of the greatest disasters in human history. But Xena wouldn't hurt a fly. She's… kind, she's caring, and… Yes, I love her." I turned to Xena and smiled up at her with elation, which she returned twofold. After everything that had happened, that was the one thing I was still certain of. I looked at Katie again, who now stared down at her feet awkwardly. I could tell that she already regretted her outburst.
"I'm… sorry." She mumbled, looking me in the eyes apologetically. "I know how you feel about her. I just… I'm shocked, that's all."
"You're shocked?" I scoffed, chuckling slightly. "Imagine finding out that an entire planet's been destroyed because of you."
"Don't talk like that." She replied sympathetically. "There was nothing you could have done and you know it."
"But I could have done something." I muttered. "You just said so yourself. If I hadn't let myself get so involved with Xena, I could have stopped this."
"No, Matthew." Katie insisted, shaking her head with regret. "You know I didn't mean that. I was just in shock."
"It's true though, isn't it?" I remarked glumly. "A billion people, maybe more, have died. If I'd stayed behind, I could have done something about it."
"No, you couldn't!" She exclaimed, insistent on the matter. "And you can't go on thinking like that. Andi told us that the crew of the Archimedes were found dead in their hypersleep booths. If you'd stayed behind, you'd have ended up the same. Surely you realise that?"
"I suppose you're right." I said truthfully. "I just… can't shake this feeling of guilt. So no, maybe I'm not responsible. But I feel it, Katie."
"Then look at it like this." She began with a reassuring smile. "Perhaps if you'd stayed behind on the Archimedes, there was a chance, a tiny, insignificant possibility that you could have saved the world. But if you had done that, nobody on this ship would be here right now." Admittedly, I did feel better about the situation when she put it like that. Then again, if I'd stayed on the Archimedes, the Constantinople disaster would never have happened anyway, and Katie and the children would have survived regardless. Technically speaking, all I'd done was resolve a situation that I created.
"Me and my daughter owe our lives to you, Matthew." Katie continued. "You saved our lives, as well as a little baby boy whose parents most likely abandoned him in their panic. And most importantly, you saved your girlfriend. Twice. So before you beat yourself up over what happened back on Earth, just think: we are all alive because of you. We're all relatively happy and healthy, and we're all safe, thanks to you."
"Safe?" I chuckled sarcastically as I slowly shook my head. "We might all be alive and well, but I don't think we're particularly safe."
"What do you mean by that?" She replied. Of course, Katie hadn't quite realised yet just how much danger we were all in.
"There are nearly ten million people on the planet below." I explained. "Most of them are refugees, who fled from Earth after a Xenomorph outbreak." I looked up at Xena with a sad smile, which she returned whilst slowly putting her arm across my back. She knew, as I did, what was going to happen.
"The second we touch down on that planet," I continued, gesturing out of the window as I spoke. "They'll kill Xena. They'll lock us up as sympathisers, unless they kill us, too. The kids'll be taken away, most likely into care, or put up for adoption. Now tell me, Katie: do you still think that we're 'safe'?"
"Then we'll go back into hypersleep." She tried. "We'll find somewhere else to live, somewhere more remote."
"Don't you see, Katie?" I asked, shaking my head. "There is no 'remote' anymore. Everywhere we go from now on will be exactly like this." I peered through the window once again, looking down at the blinding lights of what was once a humble village. There was nowhere left for us to go now.
"If I may be permitted to interrupt, sir?" Andi announced suddenly. "I believe there is another option."
"What's that, Andi?" I asked, becoming intrigued by her remark.
"Allow me to explain." She replied courteously. "After the Earth was destroyed in twenty-three twenty-five, populations swelled on every planet and moon in the Solar System, and indeed beyond. Sedna, however, was one of the most badly affected planets, certainly of the dwarves. Evacuees wanted to distance themselves from the Earth, to get as far away from the Xenomorph threat as possible. So they came here."
"Why are you telling us this, Andi?" Katie interrupted impatiently. She seemed less than impressed with Andi's focus on the history of the planet.
"To deal with the overwhelming population issue, the Sednan government sought help from the Off-World Association." She explained. "A proposal was made whereby a series of immense ships, capable of carrying populations well in excess of a million people, would be constructed, in order to alleviate the population. The ships have no destination, serving quite literally as mobile colonies rather than transportation vessels. As a result, and in credence to their appeal as 'flying countries' rather than super-sized vehicles, the interior of the ships are designed using a 'world in a bottle' approach, as opposed to the conventional solid-stacked floor design, with the inner landmass encompassing both rural and urban communities."
"Hold on a minute." I said hastily as I processed Andi's words in my mind. "Are you saying that these ships literally have countries inside them?"
"That is correct, sir." She replied. "Complete with modern towns and cities, as well as rolling countryside and villages." It seemed almost too good to be true. An actual country inside a spaceship. I'd never heard of such a thing. But if it was true, then… maybe we could seek refuge there.
"Where are these ships, Andi?" I asked, eager to learn more.
"So far, only one such ship has been constructed, with plans to build three more underway." Andi explained. "It is called the Roaming Colony Ship Angelica, built by Omicron Alpha at Titan Shipyards in the latter half of the twenty-three thirties. Late last year, it made it's maiden voyage from Titan to Sedna, and since February of this year, it has remained docked in the Greater Manchester Ship Port, collecting passengers."
"So it's still there now?" Katie interjected, looking out through the window in an attempt to spot the gargantuan ship on the planet below.
"Yes." Andi replied in her usual, slightly-sarcastic tone. "The port is on the far side of the planet. By lucky chance, the departure date just so happens to be… one week from today's date, on the seventh of August, twenty-three forty-two. Passenger boarding closes in three days."
"Three days?" I repeated, now very much invested in this idea. I looked up at Xena, who simply nodded her head with a smile, seemingly quite excited about the premise of living aboard this… Roaming Colony Ship. Then I turned to Katie, who still gazed out of the window onto the bustling city below, and saw that her attitude towards this idea was very different. There was sorrow in her eyes, misery, even. This was her home, after all.
"What's up, Katie?" I asked stupidly, as I already knew perfectly well what was troubling her.
"Nothing." She replied with a weak smile. "It's just… I was so eager to come home, to see the village again at last. But now it's gone. Forever."
"I know it's difficult for you to give up on this place." I assured her warmly. "But we have to do this, Katie. This opportunity is one we can't afford to miss. I mean, everything's practically fallen into our lap. And it leaves in a week? What are the odds?"
"You're right." She said hesitantly, beginning to look slightly less distraught. "This could be our one chance at starting over." I nodded my head in agreement, and saw that Xena did the same. She knew as well as I did that that ship was our only shot at safety. We had to get on board.
"So…" I began, stepping closer to Katie slowly as I spoke. "Are we going to do it?"
"We're going to do it." She replied with a grin. "Andi, take us down to the Greater Manchester Ship Port."
"Now hang on," I interrupted hastily. "Perhaps we should land somewhere where we won't be tackled to the ground by port security as soon as we leave the ship."
"Good idea." She agreed with a curt nod. "Andi, takes us down in the least populated part of the city."
"I'm sorry," Andi replied bluntly. "But I cannot accept orders from passengers. Only a registered crew member may issue such a command." Katie looked at me with a smile, knowing that I was the only such crew member aboard. I turned to Xena for conformation on her part. She nodded eagerly, only too happy to get down to the planet below and get on board that colony ship. Then it was decided. We were going for it.
"Do it, Andi." I announced, a beaming smile across my face. "Take us down to the city."
"Roger that, sir." Andi replied chirpily. "Beginning our descent now."