Chapter 1
The rather small land cruiser ground its way across the barren dust-drifts and bodies, a mechanical growl seeping from its serrated sides. Despite its size, it proved rather commendable at plowing through the gruesome tar-colored corpses scattered about the front of the ship. Lacking any form of sympathetic hesitance it continued toward the bitter-tinged horizon, wheels scurfing against fleshy skulls.
"I know I wouldn't want to live here." Ripley steered the cruiser onward, eyeing both the landscape and carnage with a detatched expression. Her eyes moved back towards the center of the windshield and she noticed the faint etch of a structure in the distance. Mountains, perhaps? "And where the hell is Call?"
"I didn't see her get on the cruiser." Chip stated mildly, leaning over Ripley's shoulder.
She turned at the voice. She didn't currently have anything against the man, and he seemd like a decent leader to his men, so she chose not to channel her frustration at him. She'd save it for Terc. Or that sniveling lab-tech...
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Call rose to her hands and knees slowly, shaking her head against the whining in her ears. Her hand moved to the side of her neck instinctively, eyes already narrowed. Ivory fingertips brushed across something sharp. A needle or a pointed microchip of somesort. What was it? Had it always been there? A quick look around the room induced no recollection. Flat-top counter to the right overhung with glass cabinets. Shelves galore. Shiny floor tiles. A lab.
In the corner, a man. Slimy grin.
"Welcome back to conciousness, miss Call. How are you feeling?" Mr. Slime asked. He walked importantly over to her. Grasping her hands, he pulled her to her feet.
"Where am I?"
"Why, where you passed out of course."
Call looked up at him uneasily. He nodded at her confusion and pulled a pen from his coat pocket, scribbled something on a tiny notepad. "You are confused, no doubt. Let me explain..." He set the notepad on the countertop and ruffled through the pile of papers resting there. "You have just been through another diagnostic. All of your functions appear normal, of course. You seem to have blacked out from some inner resistance to the scan, however." He eyed her suspiciously. "But it was merely a malfunction within the system, I have been assured. Now that you have awakened, there are things to be done."
Call backed away slightly. She couldn't recall having ever seen this man before, but something about him made her shudder.
He noted the distaste in her eyes, warily. Was the injected override chip not functioning?
"Follow me."
Despite her better judgement, Call followed. She didn't know why, except for the overwhelming urge resounding within her processor to obey all vocal commands . Mr. Slime looked back at her and smiled. She wanted to shove past him suddenly. Pausing, she stared at the back of his head, thoughts becoming angry. She raised an arm.
"Is something wrong, miss?" Slimy, slimy voice.
A searing prick of pain at her neck.
"No." Call looked at her hand. Why was she holding it up like that? She lowered it and followed the lab-tech into the main chamber of the docking bay. He nodded to a geared up team of techs beside the air lock. They returned the gesture and opened the hatch, exiting single file.
"You are to accompany them, miss Call. You will be needed." He waved her away.
She walked after the retreating forms of those she was to follow. She liked doing as she was told.
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Lur'eksh groaned and tried to sit up. He fell back screaming.
After a long while, he raised himself on his elbows to inspect the damage he was presently feeling, ignoring the spots dancing across his vision. What had just happened?
He pushed a xenomorph corpse off him, grimacing as more of its acidic blood poured onto his side. So that's why it burned...he looked at the skull-splattered creature, crumpled beside him in the dirt. Well, he was better off than it was, at least. But...how did it die? Did he do that?
Lur'eksh glanced around where he sat. More hard meat. No way he killed that many without remembering. And what was that flash?
He tried to stand up, but ended up sprawled once more on the ground, back moist against the dirt. His head felt like it was a seperate entity, floating lazily above his body. A trickle of blood ran into his eye, and he closed it, frustrated. His mask was cracked, no doubt. His arms refused to support his weight again. It looked like he'd be here for a while...
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Call stood watching as two of the lab techs examined the mangled corpse. Why did it look so familiar? Uneasiness nibbled at her mind. She stared at its head, missing vital sections, mucuc-like blood still sizzling from the wounds.
"We'll come back to this one. There might be one a little more...intact..somewhere around here." Murmurs of agreement. Steps toward the next mutilation. Call hugging herself, looking at her feet.
Something shimmered about ten inches from her boot. Call knelt down, dust blowing into her eyes. She ignored it, touching the silver speck. It was something metallic, blanketed by dust. A quick wipe uncovered more of it. A rod of somesort. She grasped for it, knuckles now hidden. There. She had it.
Call lifted on the rod, watching in fascination as it pulled from the dirt currents, becoming longer than she expected as the biting soil slid off its surface. A sharp tip leered at her once it was completely free. It was surprisingly light, yet thick. It looked like tightly packed sinews of a foreign metal braided into what resembled a spear. There was a latch on the side. Call pressed it lightly.
The long spear-like object folded in upon itself, becoming no longer than her forearm, as she grasped it, amazed. The whish it made upon closing up caught the attention of the tech to her left. He padded over to her, snatching the alien contraption from her hands.
"What's this thing?" he inquired. His fellows crowded around. Scientific babbling and expressions of mild curiosity. A half-glance at Call. "Where'd you find this?" the tech currently cradling it asked.
Before she could even point to the ground in response, the air was penetrated with a loud burst of sound. It sounded like a scream, although it was far from human vocals. Call detected the pain in it.
"What the hell was that?"
"Sounded like a scream."
"Someone's hurt." Call began walking back toward the ship, in the direction of the sound, curiosity ablaze. The other techs divided themselves into two groups. One to continue the present scavaging. The other to chase after Call and find the owner of the spine-chilling shriek.
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Lur'eksh snapped awake at the sound of a footstep. He couldn't get his arms to budge, and his back screamed with raw pain. He managed to turn his head in the direction of the sound. It brought flashes to his eyes. A slight murmur rose.
She stepped over another miniature sand-drift and paused. She could see the form clearly now. And it wasn't human.
Call took another step toward the unmoving creature. It turned its head in her direction. The techs behind her began whispering to one another. None seemed willing to go any farther, without the synthetic female testing it out first. She got the hint and continued, finding no fear within herself for an unknwon reason.
She walked slowly over to it, sidestepping another of the lustrous black corpses. One lay inches from the now visibly large being. A puddle of neon green was collected beneath a wound of the same color in its side. Just a few more steps...
Lur'eksh growled furiously at himself. It was dishonorable to be helpless like this! He glared at the small creature approaching. From the heat signature and shape he could make an educated guess that it was human. A female, most likely, due to its small size. He tried once again to lift his arm. He failed to even clench his fist.
The human was standing over him now. His helmet refused to change vision modes, so he looked for the heat siganture of a weapon. There was none.
She knelt beside him, taking in his condition. Reaching towards his helmet, she ran a finger along deep gash above the right side of the mask. His mandibles clicked in fury at the touch. She seemed to sense this, and slowly started to lift her hand away before she was shoved aside.
The lab tech, upon seeing that the creature was not currently a threat, pushed Call way roughly, and began expecting the most intriguing find. Unlike Call, he was neither gentle nor kind. Lur'eksh howled in pain at his probing. The tech grinned, motioning for the others to come closer. A most interesting find indeed...
