Call looked up to see Bohr repeatedly pointing to her wristwatch with her fingers. Ripley was gone. Bohr's lips were moving, but try as she might, Call couldn't make out what she was saying. She turned to see Velko fumbling around the computer terminal, but couldn't help him. And Ripley was gone. Just like that. Call's thoughts were scattered, random. They weren't coherent. Logic – something that came naturally to her – was absent, just when she needed it most. So all Call could do was stand motionless, feeling an overwhelming sense of emptiness overcome her.

Bohr walked quickly over to the two of them, glancing worriedly at Call. To Velko, she said, 'Our man's due back any time now. Whatever you have to do – do it fast.'

'Got it, got it...but I need ten minutes to cover my tracks and get out of the system. Go stall him if he shows.'

'Jeez man, what about Ca-'

He cut her short. They would worry about the General later. 'You want this to go smooth? If it doesn't, they're going to have security personnel swarming in here like vultures!'

'How'd you like me to keep him busy?'

'I don't care how. Just do it, dammit!' he snapped. He saw Bohr scowl for a fraction of a second and then walk away to her post. He pushed all extraneous thoughts out of his mind, and focused on the matter at hand. He had to slowly undo everything he had done to get into the computer's mainframe. It was almost like pulling out a brick from under a stack of piled ones – the task was a delicate one. One mistake and the entire load could come crashing down with horrendous results. This was not a job one could pull off in ten ridiculously short minutes.

He stood – because he was too tense to sit back down again – hunched over the control panel looking back and forth from the screen to the controls repeatedly, typing furiously away at the console. Suddenly he stood bolt upright, as if he remembered something.

'Call.' he said, turning to face her. 'We need this in hard copy. I'm going to save this information to disk.' He spoke to her as if he was addressing a child, and he thought this odd. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he wondered why this was so. Perhaps he had subconsciously acknowledged the fact that Call was not functioning as before – that something had affected her badly, causing her to act like this. But what? He quickly brushed the thought away – there was no time for speculation - and proceeded to save the files onto his disk.

Meanwhile, Bohr was having her own case of the jitters. From watching Call and Velko talk in hushed tones earlier, she concluded that they had successfully managed to hack into the company's computer. Even better, they seem to have had come up with some important information. But then Call's demeanor changed dramatically for the worse, and Bohr's heart sank. There was no chance in hell that that could be a good sign. She hated bad news, but it was always better to be in the know rather than oblivion. Her mind was roving over the possibilities of what it could be when something startled her out of her revelry, it was Velko. Bohr stared at him. He looked exhausted. Dark circles were beginning to form underneath his eyes and his usually boyish face looked haggard and worn.  

'Let's go.' he told her.

'What about our man? Shouldn't we at least-'

'There's no time.'

Bohr led Call out by the arm, and as the three of them took the elevator down, exited the building and walked out into the night.

*          *          *

It took them six hours to get back to the ship. Six hours sitting in a large public transport vehicle at night, with nothing to do but think. Bohr sat next to Call while Velko was opposite them, sleeping. She couldn't tell if Call was doing the same, although her eyes were closed. Bohr drummed her fingers on her knee nervously, doing nothing. Not that doing nothing automatically implied boredom – far from it, thought Bohr. Far from it. On their way here, Velko had explained the events she'd missed in full detail. Call's assumptions about Weyland Yutani had proved true – they did indeed have connections with the military. The connections ran so deep that they had actually requested the military to send a team of marines down to LV-426. For reasons that Velko and herself were left to speculate on. But they had one very valuable piece of information: the coordinates to LV-426. What their next step would be was not up to them. For that – under normal circumstances – they would both turn to Call for guidance or direction. After all, she had led them this far without any major mishaps. But at the moment, that was impossible. Call had not spoken a word ever since they'd left Company headquarters – she was unresponsive, and the two had given up on initiating communication with her. But Bohr had seen her share of post-traumatic stress victims, and Call didn't fit the medical profile. Her pupils weren't dilated, her skin wasn't clammy or cold and she wasn't completely unresponsive to certain stimuli. No, thought Bohr, it's gotta be something else. This type of behavior almost seemed to be voluntary – something that maybe Call chose to do.

She welcomed the thought, which served as a distraction, considering the grave situation they were in. Call's behavior simultaneously intrigued and disturbed her. Emma Bohr had always been more accepting of people's differences in society. Especially when it came to artificial people. She felt that humans were stupidly and carelessly granted the power to create by some higher deity for reasons unknown. Their creations could be terrible, beautiful, or both. But it seemed to her, that whatever humanity could make was automatically considered to be devoid of its own thought or feelings - that morality always came secondary to control. Androids existed for the sole purpose of serving humanity. But the saddest part of all was that they too could understand this twisted relationship and yet took the responsibilities issued to them very seriously, as if self-concern was unimportant. Bohr had been able to observe this since she was a child.

Her father died when she was four, and her mother had to take on two jobs to maintain a steady income flow. So Bohr's mother had to hire a full-time nanny to take care of her child while she was away. But nanny agencies were expensive, so she had to hire one from a company that actually constructed synthetic, programmed versions of them – which were relatively inexpensive and easier to come by. So Bohr was raised by an artificial person who was as loving and caring next to her mother. And she was more like a mother than she was a nanny. She would worry about Bohr's grades and goings-on in school, correct her when wrong and most importantly be there for her when needed. Their relationship was a close one – but Bohr soon discovered that she had taken it for granted. Three years later, something went wrong with the android's programming, and she would often repeat tasks several times in one day. Bohr's mother grew worried that this matter could grow worse and complained about it to the company she'd purchased her from. Their solution was a full refund and the disposal of Bohr's closest friend. Disposal. Bohr shuddered at the very word. This person they termed artificial, she could feel, couldn't she? She could cry. She could laugh. But she had one fault in the eyes of humanity. She wasn't of flesh and blood. Therefore, she wasn't human. But what does it take to be human then?

Bohr gazed out the window as lights outside streamed past the vehicle like large fireflies. It takes murder to be human. It takes a cold, calculating mind. It takes the capture of a terrible organism – like the alien - to use as a biological weapon against one's own species. Bohr's heart started racing. She had subconsciously pushed out any thoughts of the creature into the back of her mind, and now all her anxieties came back like a rampaging flood. Without Call, Bohr felt lost. What now?

As if in answer to her question, Velko lifted his head while still lying down and spoke. 'Any brainstorms on what the hell we're supposed to do next?' He had apparently been up for some time now, but had just lain there, thinking. Worrying.

She said nothing.

He continued to talk. 'I've been thinking though. Unless Call has anything to say, we'll proceed with the next most logical step.'

 'Which is...?' asked Bohr, eyebrows raised.

'We have to go back and sabotage the equipment on our main ship – the Amadeus.'

'You know what this means, don't you? We won't be able to get back home.' she said quietly.

'I know. But it also severs the only means of getting to the organism. Think about it, this is the only damned contraption our boys back home have. Without it, they can't get back to the past any more.'

'I'm sure they'll build another one though...'

'Not for a long time. And frankly, I'm willing to take that chance. It's the best shot we have.' he said, looking her in the eye.

'No it isn't,' Bohr and Velko jumped slightly. The voice was Call's. 'There's another.'

*          *          *

They stared at her. Bohr sat still, wondering what proposition Call was going to make now. Her curiosity was piqued and she also felt a simultaneous sense of relief, now that Call was back in the game. Velko on the other hand, felt his stomach churn. A feeling of dread – he felt as if he already knew what Call would say – was gradually overcoming him. Yet, the two of them said nothing, leaned forward and waited expectantly for Call to speak.

'First, let's analyze what's wrong with your suggestion.' she said lowering her voice, looking at Velko. 'Like Bohr pointed out, they will definitely build another facility, and they'll start all their goddamn plans again, but this time there'll be no one around to stop them, because they'll make doubly sure that nothing goes wrong the second time. One thing you have to keep in mind about the military is their unrelenting persistence. Secondly, supposing we did back to the Amadeus, what do you think Lieutenant Mills is going to do – welcome us back with open arms? Sure, I could say that the two of you ultimately come under my command because of my seniority, but he's not stupid. He's going to want a full update of our activities...this will take time. Thirdly, the transport generator's located in the ship's hull. It is highly radioactive, very well guarded and huge. It's going to take a hundred tons of explosives to blow her up – and if by chance, we do succeed, we're not going to live to talk about it. But what I want you both to understand is that if we really want to destroy the creatures, we're going to have to go all the way. In other words, I want to get rid of them for good. Not for the moment, not for a hundred years – I want them to disappear forever. Whatever we do now changes what the future will see. And if there are no monsters now, there will be no monsters then, got it?'

Velko leaned back and let out a long breath. 'You're not saying what I think you're saying...'

Call looked back at him, eyes unblinking. 'Listen, your participation is not mandatory. If you want to walk out on this, be my guest. But now's your only chance to do so. I need to know whether you're in or out before I tell you anything more.'

Bohr spoke up quickly. 'Whatever it is, I'm in for the long haul.'

Call smiled at Bohr and looked back to Velko. His expression was blank, and it took him a minute to speak. When he did, he averted Call's gaze and spoke slowly. 'I've never made an unselfish decision in my life. I guess now would be the right time...' he slapped his seat hard with the palm of his hand. 'Yeah...I'm with you.'

Call nodded as if she expected this. But inwardly, she was smiling. She hadn't expected him to make such a decision – she didn't think it was in him. But he had helped them get this far, hadn't he? And now, it seemed, he was prepared to make a very valuable sacrifice – all in the name of the survival of humanity. Maybe there was some good in the world after all.

'Okay,' said Call. 'You have the coordinates to LV-426, right Velko? As soon as we get back to the shuttle, we're going to gather what gear we have and start planning. And remember, there can be no word of this to our regiment back on the ship.'

As soon as Call had finished talking, as if on cue, the vehicle came to a halt.

*          *          *

Back on the shuttle, Velko stood alone, gazing outside the window at the stars floating in the darkness. He had made his decision; there would be no turning back now. But something still perturbed him. It wasn't the thought of the alien – that simply scared him stiff, it didn't even need to disturb him before doing so. No, it was something else. He didn't really have any regrets about his decision, but he did find himself thinking about its consequences. If something – God forbid – did happen to him, that would mean that he would never return home, to be with his family again. At that moment, he fully realized how much simple, little things meant to him. And how much he missed them. He remembered the burnt smell that would emanate from the kitchen after his mother had attempted to make yet another elaborate meal. The way his father would always hug him, proudly, in the presence of his friends, embarrassing him to the point where he would squirm uncomfortably in his grip. The way his younger sister, Sydney, would nag him about things – little things, like when he didn't shave or stayed in the bathroom too long. His throat tightened. He had never been in the middle of heavy combat before – he was just a tech op. Sure, he had been trained for that very ordeal, should it take place, but it hadn't as yet. And he was afraid. Sebastian Velko had never prayed before in his life – despite the insistence of his parents – but now, he felt compelled to do so. He prayed to anything or anybody out there who would listen. He prayed that they would be able to succeed. Lives, not just his, depended on it. He prayed that he would see his family again, and promised that if he did, he wouldn't complain about their idiosyncrasies. Ever. He opened his eyes and put his fist to his lips. He saw Call's reflection in the window, walking towards him. He turned to face her.

'You know,' she began, 'they say that courage is not simply having the gall to do something risky. Courage is knowing that there's a large possibility for failure, but you go ahead with the job anyway. I see that in Bohr and yourself.' She smiled to herself, 'Given the situation, I couldn't have asked for two better companions.'

He smiled back. 'Well, that's if you're willing to put up with my sophisticated sense of humor, of course...'

She gave a short laugh and turned to go. Suddenly Velko spoke. 'Hey Call,' she turned around as he continued. 'Back at the company – what happened? I mean, what got you so upset?'

She took a deep breath before speaking, and when she did, she looked down at her feet. 'I might have lost someone. For the second time.'

'It's Ripley, isn't it?'

She nodded. 'We had a bond...uh...it's not what you would think, of course. It's just that we shared something in common. We were both different.'

'You knew her? How can that be?' he asked.

'The Ellen Ripley I know is...was, a clone. Cloned from the Ellen Ripley you just read about back at company headquarters. She's part human, part alien-' then on seeing the disturbed look on Velko's face she quickly explained, running to Ripley's defense. 'But she saved my life and two others from her own kind. She feels pain and emotion too. She knows where her loyalties lie...she didn't ask to become who she is...' Suddenly Call felt as if she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. It felt like a dam was about to burst – giving way to the pressure. She started sobbing, withholding nothing back. Her shoulders shook rapidly. She sat down, buried her head in her hands and cried. The sound went right to Velko's soul, twisting it. Her cries were that of a child, a child who was unwillingly placed in the midst of complete sadness, loneliness and fear. They were the cries of someone without hope. He wanted to comfort her, but his body was rigid, stiff. Finally he bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

'Wherever she is now...I believe she knows exactly what you're doing. That it's right. And that you're going to make sure that she doesn't have go through all the pain again. I have faith in you, Call. That's the god-honest truth. If anyone can stop these things, and the destruction they'll bring, it's you.'

She looked back up at him, but said nothing. He continued. 'And who's to say that the real Ripley isn't alive? She could still be down there - don't you ever give up hope. Because that's when you really die. And I don't think it's your time yet.'

A flicker of something alive came into her eyes. She brushed away at the tear stains on her cheek. 'Yeah...yeah, you're right. Let's um...get it together then, huh?' She gave a wan smile. 'Have you set our coordinates for LV-426?'

Velko rose. He was amazed at how quickly she recovered – she had put aside her own concerns in order to get the job done. It was admirable. 'Uh, no. You said that we need to organize ourselves first. You wanted another forty-eight hours before we go in.'

'Yeah, I did say that. Alright, let's go onto top deck and see how Bohr's doing with our weapons check.'

*          *          *

The climbed a set of stairs onto the next level, and walked to the back of the shuttle. Before them lay several opened crates, and Bohr sat kneeling on the ground in front of one dealing with its contents. On the side of her lay several objects. Some of them looked like weapons, others were canisters – probably containing pressurized gas of some sort, and some were compact boxes whose contents were unknown.

On seeing them approach her, she looked up and spoke. 'Well. I've sifted through some of the stuff we have on board,' she pointed to the things beside her, 'and I've got good news and bad news.'

'Bad news first.' said Velko. 'Always.'

'Alright...see these small boxes here? They contain vacuum-sealed food. Cereal bars, protein bars, you name it – we have it. But this bunch is only gonna last us about four days. And that's if we implement some rationing.'

'What about water?' asked Call.

'Water we have plenty of. But the food problem worries me. The shuttle is only meant for transportation back and forth from the Amadeus. It's not intended for um, vacations on distant planets.'

'We'll manage.' said Call, anxious to move on. 'How're we doing with the weapons?'

'Ah, that's the good news. See this puppy here?' she picked up a medium-sized gun that looked streamlined and efficient. 'Laser blasters. These knobs here adjust the intensity, meaning you can set it to stun or to gun. And it's got the ability to lock on to its target once you press the secondary trigger here, so once you're locked on, your victim doesn't stand a chance. But they're liable to heat up if you use them too often within a certain time span, so you might wanna give them a rest once in a while.'

'How many of those do you have?' asked Velko.

'Five. I can stuff them into one of those large duffel bags over there once we land, and carry it with us.' replied Bohr. 'And let's see...we have your standard motion detectors that can be equipped with these little gadgets that you can attach to it – improves its function.' She pulled a small rectangular object out of her pocket with a macro-chip on one side of it. 'Your conventional motion detector looks for microscopic changes in air density...moving high pressure, low pressure areas, right? But with this little gizmo you can even detect still life forms. Meaning, if something's waiting to pounce on you around the corner, you got the upper hand. We have two of these detectors, gadgets included.'

'That's it?' questioned Velko.

'Well, I haven't finished scrutinizing every crate on board...there are two more over there. Go take a look and see what else we've got.'

Velko walked away from them, leaving Call and Bohr to discuss things.

'See those packages packed in aluminum over there?' Bohr nodded towards the side of the shuttle where they lay. 'That's enough explosive to blast a crater the size of San Francisco. The only problem is, I'm not an explosive-wiring expert. And from the looks of it – they need to be manipulated from afar by a computer. So we're gonna have trouble there.'

'Let's hope it doesn't come to that.' said Call.

'What's our ETA?'

'Forty-eight hours from now. We can technically get there in slightly more than twenty four hours but I want us to all get some decent rest before we land.'

Suddenly Bohr's eye caught a flickering light at Call's side. She brought it to Call's attention.

'Yeah, it's my comm link with our ship. It's been flashing for quite a while now. Must be urgent, but if I answer it, I give away our position.' explained Call.

'Don't you think it's worth it to check though?' prodded Bohr. 'Maybe it's Mills telling us he's changed his mind about the alien and wants to help us get rid of it.' said Bohr jokingly. 'And heaven knows, we could use the help.'

Call thought about it. The flashing message obviously wouldn't be about a change of plans, but it would at least let them know what the troops back on the ship were planning. Whether they were simply waiting or had proceeded with another route of action. And yes, although it might give away their position, the coordinates would be meaningless unless Mills knew where they were headed and what they were about to do. She opted to play the message, and held it out for Bohr to see as well.

The letters glowed green on the screen. "To: General A. Call. Secondary consideration: Two missing troops. Primary consideration: Interception of data readouts successful. Located LV-426, a.k.a. Acheron. Sending coordinate data via this msg. Can no longer wait for further orders. ETA: 1900 HRS. Location unknown. Signed: Leitenant Mills."

Call and Bohr looked up at each other. General Mills and the other had already left for a planet, with a head-start of about a day. Apparently, they'd proceeded without Call's consent, and there was no telling if they would be successful in acquiring the alien there or not.

Call's face darkened. Things were getting worse by the minute. 'Get Velko. The situation's gotten more complicated – and we've got no more time to waste. We're going in now.'

*          *          *

They sat in the cockpit strapped down, once again, in their seats. The tension was palpable. Velko felt the butt of a standard revolver with his hand, as if that sole piece of machinery could offer him comfort. He'd found seven of them in the remaining crates and had gathered all the ammunition he could take as well as some body-armor suits. Bohr was too optimistic about the superiority of their weapons. Sure, they were high-tech and all, but the way Call talked about those creatures, it didn't make a difference. We're screwed, he thought. Severely screwed.

From the information that Lieutenant Mills had sent them, Call had gathered that LV-426's atmosphere was hospitable enough for their requirements. Which meant that they didn't need their O-2 tanks and breathing suits. That would have probably caused lots of difficulty moving around, and resulted in easy-picking targets. Thank God that wasn't so. Velko ran through the plan in his head repeatedly. They intended to look for any signs of their troops' drop-ship, and land a couple meters away from it. Then they'd use the shuttle's computer to see where the troops had set up base, because Call didn't want to run into them. She wanted to find the nest, and perhaps by listening in on the troops' communication lines, she could do that. There was no need to speculate on what her next move would be. Velko's mouth was dry.

*          *          *

The landing drop was as bad as it got. Winds were as high up as seventy knots, and what with the dense clouds covering LV-426, the turbulence shook every single bone in their bodies. When they had touched down, they breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately Call unfastened her straps, got up and started looking for signs of any life forms on the cockpit computer console. Velko and Bohr started putting on their body armor as quickly as possible. It was light, yet strong, unlike those used in the past. It was made out of a strong, malleable hybrid of metals. They pocketed the ammunition, and slung their weapons into their holsters and over their shoulders. Velko strapped on the backpack containing food whilst Bohr grabbed the duffel bag containing their weapons.

They then walked over to Call.

'Oh my God.' she said. 'Look at this. The computer can only detect infra-red – that means it can search out human life forms only. But...we've got quite a few folks down here.' She pointed to the screen, 'Three main groups. Some are in this sector close by, in a compound. The second group's under some levels of construction – a tower I think. The third – I count around seventeen blimps – those are our boys. They've set up base a couple miles from the main compound.'

'How many people – total?' asked Velko.

'My guess is about forty – forty five, it's hard to tell. Some of them overlap.'

'Shit.' he breathed.

'Your regular holiday resort.' quipped Bohr.

Call's head popped up briefly, as if deep in thought. Then she said, 'Right. We're heading into sector J5. The compound. Now I want you two to listen up closely. What you're about to see goes beyond all those horror stories you've heard from seasoned POWs. It's going to be real bad, but I want you to keep your heads. I'm not sure whether we're walking into a nest where these people are being contained as hosts or whether we're just about to encounter two-hundred and fifty year-old marines. Whatever the case, stay alert, stay sharp. There can be absolutely no room for error. Bohr, you're in the lead. Velko and I will cover you. Let's go.'

They lowered the platform and walked cautiously down the ramp into a swirling wind. Large dust particles whipped about their heads, the wind making a mockingly eerie sound that was almost painful to hear. Call pointed towards their target location, and Bohr stepped off the ramp with Velko and Call following her, taking their flanking positions. A dim light emanated from the compound through the whirling dust, and the three of them made their way toward it.

Velko blinked his eyes repeatedly to rid them of particle debris. He gripped his revolver in his right hand, and glanced back and forth continuously from his motion detector to his surroundings. Visibility was low, but not low enough for him to be unable to discern the dark outcrops of rocks, the jagged terrain and the hostile weather. What he saw merged together with the thoughts in his head made his heart pound.

So it begins, he thought.