The low hum of the engines was all that could be heard on board. It was quite soothing actually, and this little excursion might even prove to be relaxing had it been under different circumstances. It would be interesting to take a little field trip back in time, to not only discover the past but to relive it as well. Analee Call sighed heavily. She wouldn't be doing anything of the sort in the near future. No, she was out here chasing elusive shadows, all in the name of saving humanity.
She could do with a good lie down. She knew the shuttle had two levels, and that the one below deck had some bunks. They didn't look very enticing, but all the bare necessities were present, and right now, that's all she cared for.
Her boots clunked on the metallic steps as she made her way down.
* * *
Private Bohr fumbled with her seat belt buckles as she watched Velko get up and make his way into the cockpit. He hadn't spoken much during their journey and she wasn't surprised. He hadn't enjoyed her company before, and he probably did so even less, now that she had forced him to let her tag along. Not that it bothered her. Finally lose of the seat straps, she shrugged her shoulders and followed him to the cockpit.
Without turning around, Velko said, 'You can't even sit still for one minute, can you?'
She ignored his comment. 'Someone's got to keep an eye on you.'
'That's about all you're good at, isn't it?'
'Just what're you suggesting?' she asked, trying to be polite.
He whirled around to confront her. 'Oh come on! Don't think I'm nuts enough to be completely oblivious to your shadowing me around, tailing me, trying to talk to me! You've got feelings for me!' there was no hiding the rising temper in his voice.
A look of surprise registered on Bohr's face. It was her turn to be irritated. Dear God, the kid had thought that all this time, the spying and the following were the results of her being smitten by him. He was seven years her junior. He wasn't even her type. What kind of lovesick fool did he take her for? Her face reddened and she grabbed him by the collar on his uniform. 'Listen to me, Private, and listen good. Your behavior has always been subject to careful scrutiny – but there's not the least bit of romance in it. I'm blowing my cover – but to hell with it, it's either that, or I blow you out of the airlock. Personally, I'd prefer my second option, but you got lucky this time.'
Velko jerked his collar free and stared at her intently. He was stunned. 'What the hell are you on about?'
'Before our briefing, General Call asked me to cover her back, to make sure that no one found out what she was doing. This little stunt you pulled ruined everything. I couldn't let you go along with it alone, and I couldn't inform Lieutenant Mills. If I did, I'd have given everything away. So my only choice was to play dumb and come with you. Do you see now?'
He looked away momentarily, trying to work it all out. 'So you're in on it too, huh. And what kind of side plans do you two have?'
'I'm not at liberty to discuss anything more. I've already told you more than I should have. I'll let General Call tell you herself. Now sit back down and shut up.'
Velko said nothing for about a minute. Not only was he shocked at this revelation, but his pride had been injured. No witty comment came to his rescue. He continued to replay all he'd just heard in his mind. He felt stupid and slow, something he'd experienced little of. Bohr was under the orders of Call. And he had no clue as whether Call was following someone else's instructions or simply her own. Whatever the case, his suspicion and concern for both his safety and that of everyone back on the ship grew rapidly.
'Just tell me this, does Call plan to abort our mission? Is she going to get us all killed with her ulterior motives?' The words sounded silly coming out of his mouth. He felt like he was a character in a spy thriller who had stumbled into the middle of the ring itself. He shook his head to rid himself of the surrealistic feeling.
'Why don't you let her tell you herself?' replied Bohr, looking past Velko.
He turned around to see Call standing behind him.
* * *
'So you see then – that I had no choice.' said Call, after a lengthy explanation of her actions. She felt relieved to unburden this weight that she'd been carrying around with her. Call had plenty of misgivings about revealing anything remotely related to the alien when she confided in Bohr, but it got easier the second time. She needed someone she could count on, and on hearing the conversation between Velko and Bohr the other day, she felt as if Bohr was someone who had more faith in the system and could be trusted. So she had approached Bohr and had described the circumstances succinctly. She made a vague reference to Ripley, and chose not to elaborate. Then she gave Bohr the alternative of either helping her out or forgetting Call's request so she could go about her own business. Bohr chose to join Call. Which made her wonder, would Velko do the same?
Call and Bohr faced Velko as they were seated in the rear end of the shuttle. Velko let out a sigh and leaned forward, clasping his hands together. 'So you're saying that this thing is too much for us to handle? That one of them could potentially kill all of us?'
'No, you're missing the point.' said Call, frustrated. 'Theoretically, with our weapons, we could kill the creature. But I'm not talking single digits here. We have information that makes me suspect that there are hordes of these creatures – eggs, drones and all – down there on LV426. If we bring back this species to earth, we could very likely be driven to extinction.'
Velko noticed a slight difference taking place in Call's eyes. Almost as if they were becoming filled with anguish. Anguish at the realization that the human race could be wiped out. He was ashamed that he didn't feel the extent of that pain as she did. But then again, he had nagging feelings of suspicion about Call's accounts. But he didn't let on and said nothing, letting Bohr speak next.
'How do they operate? I mean, is their rate of propagation so rapid that it could really wipe us out that fast?'
'Yes. The eggs contain a living, organic organism. It's uh-' she stammered as recollected the images of what happened on board the Auriga. 'It can implant an embryo inside of the human chest cavity. Which, when the dormancy period is over and the embryo has developed, exits the cavity-'
'Exits the cavity? Uh...how so, exactly?' interrupted Velko, almost afraid of the answer he would get.
'By forcing its way out of its host's rib cage. Eventually killing him, of course.'
Bohr gave a low whistle. What a way to go, she thought.
'Go on.' said Velko quietly.
'Well uh...in less than twenty four hours, the creature matures and grows to more than ten times its original height, and is now...it's um...' beads of sweat formed on Call's forehead.
'Lethal.' finished Velko.
Call nodded. 'There's more. Their species and life cycle is almost similar to that of bees. There's a queen who lays all the eggs – up to about ten every five minutes – and the drones and soldiers protect her and gather food for their colony. They have a complex hierarchy system, but one that ensures their survival. So we're talking about a species that is remarkably adaptable to almost any given situation. This makes them tough game to kill.'
'Great. Just great.' breathed Velko to himself.
'An extreme macroscopic version of a lethal virus.' spoke Bohr in fearful reverence.
'This is why I need to find Ripley. She can help us.'
'You're not serious. Tell me you're not serious. If this thing is as dangerous as you say it is – and that it's a matter of time before our boys back there on the ship locate LV-426, then we should try to beat 'em to it. I say we go to company headquarters first.' said Bohr. She was all for the idea of thwarting the mission, but didn't take to the notion of tracking down some obscure individual who may or may not help them with their plan.
Velko glanced at Call, who was deep in thought. He noticed that all invisible barriers of rank and superiority had vanished in the past three hours. They were functioning as a team of which all members were equals. He was part of that team...or was he? This new consideration didn't surprise him. Compared to what had been revealed, it would take a seismic earthquake to stir him. Or an encounter with one of Call's aliens would do the job. Oh come off it, he thought. This is utterly ridiculous. This sounds just like a cheap sci-fi novel one read as a teenager. But wasn't the notion of time travel in those novels too? Okay, alright, he told himself. Get a grip. Let's think logically here. But logic was hard to come by in the past few hours. Velko didn't want them to suspect that he was having second thoughts – he had to make up his mind, and quickly. He decided to play along with them and get to Weyland Yutani to see if what Call was going on about was really true. After all, some androids had been known to malfunction – although it was rare – so it was likely that all she'd told them had been fabricated. Delusions of grandeur. He had to admit though, he partly believed everything she'd told him – she was so convincing. But now was not the time for him to waver, he'd already made up his mind.
'I agree with Bohr. Let's check out the company files first.' he said.
Call nodded in silent agreement.
* * *
They were startled out of their thoughts by a loud automated voice on the intercom.
"Proximity warning! Proximity warning! Change course to NW45, S40. Change course to NW45, S40. Proximity warning..."
Call rose and walked swiftly towards the cockpit, Velko and Bohr following close behind. While Call was altering course, Velko crossed his arms and looked at Bohr.
'Nice little façade you put up back there on the ship. I guess there's more to you than meets the eye.'
Bohr sighed. This was as close as he came to an apology. Well, something was better than nothing. 'There's always more to something than meets the eye, Velko. You of all people should know that. Never let your ego get in the way.'
He winced, and Bohr took pleasure from seeing it.
Call broke the silence. 'We're entering the earth's troposphere. There are lots of free floaters – other shuttles like us – which is why we had to change course. I've got us landing clearance. Once we're grounded, we locate the Company. And listen, I don't want to let on who we are and what we're doing to anyone. As far as we're concerned we're a couple of tourists foreign to earth. We want as little trouble as possible, because time is short, and everything we do is going to count towards our survival.'
Velko and Bohr looked edgy and tense.
'And keep a cool head while you're about it.' said Call.
'Easier said than done.' muttered Velko inaudibly.