Quick Note: I just edited the end so the marines aren't allowed to watch the wipe, this is so the next chapter makes sense!

Chapter 3:
What Colony?

Slowly the Sulaco drifted through the silent space channels of Gateway station. Gateway was a large space station, made up of hundreds of connected facilities. Each facility serving a different purpose. Living quarters, business centers, shopping malls, entertainment facilities.
Gateway orbited the Earth, and was a family place, a business place, a place for everyone. The Sulaco slowly headed towards the section of Gateway which was owned and run by the United States Colonial Marines, or the Corps as it is effectually called by the marines who worked for them.
The Sulaco, came to a slow stop besides a massive block. It was the docking block. It was massive, almost 300 km high. It had a number of mechanical arms extruding from it.
One of the arms moved towards the Sulaco, and clamped onto a large door on the ships side. As they joined, particles of gases shot from the arm and into the vastness of space.
Inside the Sulaco, myself, Newt, Ripley and Bishop, sat in the Command Deck, finishing up some procedures necessary for the docking, it hadn't changed much but I had only ever done this on a number of occasions, all with a full command crew at hand.
"Ok, we're done, let's go freshen up," I said with a smile.
We all left the command deck, to get ready. Ripley and Newt went towards the sleeping quarters, Bishop went straight to the airlock, to await us, and I went to get showered.
The shower was a large room, built to let whole squads shower together, but now it was me alone. As the warm water cascaded over my back, I glanced along the metal grated floors and walls lost in thought.
What is going to happen with me?
I was worried for my future, worried for Ripley and Newt. After I had finished my shower, I got dressed into my dress uniform, and headed towards the airlock, where the mechanical arm joined the Sulaco.
By the time I had gotten there, Ripley, Newt and Bishop where already there. Waiting for me.
"Ok Bishop open it," I instructed.
"Just got to confirm the compression, and…." Bishop continued talking about some other various techno mubo-jubo.
After almost a minute, the airlock door opened, and admitted us to the long arm that served as a corridor to Gateway, our footsteps echoed silently around the arm, while Bishops metal feet, clanked upon the metal surface of the arm, which was only covered by a thin material carpet.
When we reached the other side, there stood a USCM general, surrounded by a small squad of four marines, and several company officials.
"Welcome home marines…." the general was almost fifty years of age, a small cap covered what little grey hair he had. He face covered in the wrinkles of age and years of frustration. He wore a standard marine uniform, a forest green, and his name tag said: "General T Wilks". He stood curling his grey beard with his for-finger, "where are the rest of your squad?"
"Dead sir, myself and Bishop are the only ones left from our squad," I informed him.
"And these are?" he asked nodding towards Ripley and Newt.
"Ellen Ripley, the civilian consultant and Rebecca Jordan, sole survivor of the colony."
"What colony?" asked one of the officials.
I started to speak, when the general cut me off.
"Get them to quarantine, scan them, then send the marine and the robot to be debriefed," Wilks told the four marines.
The marines raised their Pulse Rifles and motioned us forward, two took up the rear behind Ripley, and the other two lead us, in front of myself. They where only Privates. By the book boys from the looks of it.
They lead us into a white room, a medical room. The leading marines went into the room, with us in tow, and the flanking privates stood guard outside the room.
The room was decorated by various medical equipment, scattered throughout the room. There where a number of computers, and electronic microscopes around the room, operated by workers in long white over-coats.
One of the workers came over to us, a young female, in her twenties, long sweeping blonde hair.
"If you'd follow me, we'll get you started."

The image of myself and the rest of us lead through the medical room, floated in the air, the footage being fed from a camera in the medical lab, and displayed with a holographic projector.
The projector sat in the center of a huge rectangular table, and sat around the table where people wearing marine outfits, medical over-coats and business suits. At one of the ends of a table, a marine stood up.
"We are currently checking the humans to see if they carry embryos, the droid's been ripped in half, repaired himself."
"What about the colony?" shouted one of the company officials.
"According to the ships logs, destroyed," sighs and shouts of anger came from a number of officials, "the processor went nuclear and destroyed the colony."
"What about the alien ship?" asked one of the medicals, "we need some specimens."
"Unknown as of now," Wilks told the men, "we shall send a vessel to check if the derelict is intact, and if so we shall establish a facility to do research."
Nods and comments of agreement came from the men, and then the holographic image in the air, changed to a date screen. They where cat-scans, three of them. Splashed across the top of them in red writing: NEGATIVE-NO FOREIGN TISSUE.
Sighs erupted from the company men's mouths as this happened. A number of people where shaking there heads whispering to the neighbours.
"Well onto the next phase," Wilks sighed, "time to debrief our marines. Get the corporal and the droid," he nodded to a marine sat next to him.]

Bishop and I where being led to a conference room, after we'd been scanned at the med-labs. We where being led by a colonel, from the looks of it, fresh meet from the special programs. Never once on a mission, much like that fool Gorman.
We came to a small silver door, which opened to admit us into the room. There was a small table, big enough to seat four, square in shape, and sat at one of the four seats was General Wilks.
The doors closed behind us, and the colonel took a seat next to Wilks. Wilks motioned for us to sit down. I silently pulled back the seat and sat down, Bishop mimicking me.
"Now tell me about your mission," instructed Wilks, twirling his beard with his fore finger.
"Well we set off from Gateway….." I told him all about Ripley, the Sulaco, the colony, the aliens…everything. After about an hour or so, we stopped.
"So the colony, total destruction?" Wilks inquired?
"The colony is gone!"
"What colony?" Bishop and I exchanged puzzled looks, "under the TOS of the USCM, you are going to be forbidden from speaking of the mission, it never happened. Hicks you will receive a 5000 credit compensation, Bishop you shall be restored."
"Now I'm being lenient with you, I could just wipe your memory Bishop, or give you a brain wipe Hicks. You're both going to be laid off for an indefinite period of time, in which you may be re-called to active duty. And the civvies are going to get total brain wipes."
"No you can't they've been through enough," I protested.
"All the more reason to wipe them…."
I cut over him again, "you can't do that."
"I can and will," Wilks stated with a tone of annoyance in his voice, "now I suggest you can it before I get you wipes as well."
I said nothing.
"The wipe will be at the Med-Lab tomorrow at 0800," the colonel spoke, "you two are not permitted to attend."
"Dismissed!"