1800 HRS

The loading bay was abuzz with activity. Dr. Jakob Reuban stood watching the hubbub of people flitter about with his arms folded across his chest. He shifted from one foot to the other, trying to prevent either foot from falling asleep. He felt something vibrate in the pocket of his suede jacket and reluctantly pulled out his visual communicator. He turned the device on and a face flickered onto the screen.

'Celia...' he said as he recognized his sister's face.

'Jakob, did she get there okay?'

'Who?' he asked, absently.

A worried expression crossed his sister's face, and his memory suddenly came back to him. 'Helen! Oh wipe that look off your face, Celia – she's fine. She arrived here about ten minutes ago-' and then out of the corner of his eye he noticed someone and quickly turned to shout out at them. 'No, no! Those cables aren't going to work on that! We need nylon! Tell Harper to get nylon!'

'Jakob, you realize that I'm actually placing my child in your care? That this is a big responsibility?'

Jakob turned his attention back to the communicator. 'Celia, give the kid a break, okay? She's a big girl – she can handle herself.'

'I'm not talking about Helen, I'm talking about you! I'm holding you solely responsible for anything that happens to her!'

'Don't worry. I've been placed in that situation before...I think I can handle it.' said Jakob, as his mind wandered back to his responsibility over Jarreck. 'You have my word.'

Celia Reuban sighed, appeased for the moment. 'Helen told me that you can't really talk about this field expedition...why not?'

'To be honest, I don't really see why it shouldn't be disclosed to the public, but I guess every company has confidentiality measures.'

'Have they told you everything?'

Dr. Reuban massaged his brow with his thumb and forefinger. 'I suspect not. But I could be wrong.'

Celia gave him an incredulous look. 'They haven't given you – the co-chair – all the information?'

'Celia, it's like I said – I could very likely be wrong.'

'I just...I don't know, I feel that if I knew exactly what was going to happen, then maybe I wouldn't feel so worried. I'll know what she's going to be getting into.'

'Helen will be fine. The expedition's not dangerous. Just a little different from what I'm previously used to. Try to take it easy, kiddo. Get some rest while you can – the divorce seems to have made you more strung-out than usual.'

'Alright. Okay. Tell her I said hello, will you? And tell her I love her.'

Jakob smiled. He never had the opportunity to settle down and have children – and at times it seemed like a good choice. Besides, why have children when you had siblings who had some of their own?

'Will do, Celia. Listen I gotta go. The loading supervisor's home with the 'flu on the busiest day imaginable. And I'm the unlucky bastard who gets to take his place. I'll get Helen to send you a message when we've taken off.' With that, he clicked off the phone and walked over to the opposite side of the loading bay.

Dr. Reuban sat bent over on the chair lacing his boots when he saw approaching feet out of the corner of his eyes. Its owner's shoes had aged mud spots, caking the bottom half while part of the shoe lace endings had been worn off, leaving a frazzled array of fine fibers. Only Lexington Mash, thought Reuban to himself.

The man, despite being a well-to-do geologist in his field was better known for his radical field technology methods. He was noted for his unkempt look and attire, but when questioned about this he responded with the answer that clothing was the least of his concerns. He preferred to spend his money on what it ought to be spent on – field equipment. Even if such things hadn't been well-tested or run beforehand. If you wanted to find the latest digging or blasting devices available, there you would also find Lexington Mash, holding a reused bottle of water with days of mining or rock dust covering his well-worn face, watching in rapt attention as part of a rock wall was blasted open to reveal its hidden glories. Recently in the Arizona desert, he had placed a group of geology students in peril when one of his blasting equipments blew a fuse and malfunctioned, nearly bring down the entire camping ground. Fortunately for the company, he had somehow managed to avoid being sued. Yet another invaluable trait the older gentleman possessed.

'Reuban, how much longer till departure? Honestly, I don't think I can stand waiting here in this unforgiving heat.' spoke Lexington in his heavy South African accent.

'I think we can leave in a few minutes. They've already boarded the others.'

'The company people?' asked Lexington, referring to the other scientists who worked more in conjunction with Weyland Yutani than with NASA.

'Yeah.'

'Your niece is on board?'

'No, she's coming with us. I haven't introduced her to everyone yet. I thought it's best that we do that after we take-off.'

Lexington sat down next to Reuban and let out a long breath. 'Tell me honestly, Jakob. Is it just my senility or do I feel as if I've been kept out the loop here?'

'What do you mean?' asked Reuban cautiously. He'd been down this road before, and the last thing he wanted to conjure up was mistrust between crew members.

'Oh come on...you know. They feed us with the regular horse shit of expedition protocol and then include a completely new set of instructions – this bloody addendum – to which I can relate to nothing relevant. What the hell are they talking about – emergency security measures?'

'Just your standard precautions, I suppose.'

Lexington gave Reuban a sour look. 'What is this EVAC CODE 101? Did you hear about that one?'

'No...' said Reuban truthfully. He suddenly felt his hands grow colder. 'Could it have something to do with the others, maybe?'

Lexington smiled. 'I think it has everything to do with the others. I didn't hear about that one through, how shall I put it – proper channels. But its wording is enough to give me a serious case of the jitters.'

'Mash Lexington gets the jitters?' chuckled Reuban. 'Now there's a first!'

'I'm not pulling your leg man! I don't like the feeling I'm getting from this. It seems...more hush-hush than usual. But then again, I am getting old and cranky, and I don't like the feelings I get from anything anymore.'

'Let's just leave our ramblings to paranoid delusions, shall we?' suggested Reuban with a grin. 'Come on, let's get on board. After hypersleep, I'll pour you a nice scotch to calm your aging nerves.'

1900 HRS

The three of them – Reuban, Lexington and Helen sat in the jeep in silence as it rolled smoothly along the huge tarmac up to the docking bay. Surrounding the bay was a rocky outcrop of mountains, selected not for their beauty in particular but for the protection and elusiveness it provided for the company's operations. The sun was already beginning to sink beneath the smoky red horizon, casting simultaneously eerie but striking shadows on the uneven surface of the mountains.

Helen stuck her head out through the open window of the jeep and stared ahead of her. Her uncle had told her that the craft itself was partially situated underground – mostly due to the fact that it was large and required a huge amount of energy to provide it with enough velocity to leave the earth's atmosphere. The device that did so was built several meters underground and covered a large surface area. As the jeep drew nearer, Helen could make out a large yet smooth protrusion out of the ground. It made a striking contrast with the jagged edges of the mountains that surrounded them, and almost seemed menacing – a potential threat – guarded by the towering hills in the area.

'It's big...' was all she could say.

'Far too big for this expedition,' answered Lexington.

Helen turned to him quizzically and he continued to explain. 'We've never really gone on out on short two month trips often. If we do, it's usually for meteorological or air survey purposes and even then – we use a smaller vehicle. God knows what possessed them to stick us in the Aurelius.'

'The Aurelius?' asked Helen.

'That's her name.' said Lexington nodding towards the ship. 'Beautifully built though – streamlined features, latest observational equipment...' he licked his lips.

Reuban chuckled. 'Just your cup of tea, huh?'

Lexington laughed at himself along with Reuban. 'Well...nevertheless, it does seem a bit excessive, don't you think? That thing for only eight people?'

Mash Lexington stared into Reuban's eyes. It was obvious that he was trying to convey his suspicions about this expedition to Reuban without alarming the girl. He did so by simply commenting on this matter in a trivial fashion – as if one would if it snowed too early in the year.

Helen turned away and looked out the window again. 'If we're transporting only eight people on board that thing, and six of you are scientists – then does that mean that only two people pilot it?'

'The Aurelius can actually run on its own...we don't even need one pilot, if you're looking at it that way. But it's standard procedure, and looks like it will remain that way for a while to come.' Reuban paused to reach into his pocket and bring out a wad of chewing gum. 'You know, Helen, most of us are actually trained pilots ourselves. Because we sometimes have to work alone and the experience can come in handy when you do.'

'So there's no need to panic if one of us conks out,' quipped Lexington.

Helen's eyes widened momentarily. 'Why would anyone conk out?'

The jeep came to a stop and Reuban got up from his seat, slinging his knapsack onto his shoulder. 'Ah, he's just pulling your leg kiddo. Don't listen to him.' He shot a warning look at Lexington. 'The only thing some of us are in danger of conking out on is an excessive amount of alcohol.'

He gently nudged the girl out of the jeep. They stepped out into the cooler evening air and stared ahead of them. There were a few people around the large ship, and some floodlights illuminated the entrance brightly making it look even more grandiose that it actually was.

'You nervous?' asked Reuban looking down at his niece.

'A little,' she admitted.

'Don't be. Think of this as a somewhat larger...cruise ship.'

With that, they walked up to the gateway, up the platform and into the craft.

2100 HRS

ABOARD THE AURELIUS DISCOVERY CRAFT

THIRTY MINUTES PRIOR TO DEPARTURE

'I'm feeling a little groggy...' said the girl as she stood in her pajamas next to a cryo-sleep tube.

'It's just the sedative, Helen. We find that it's really best to give rookies a dose of that little cocktail before hypersleep.'

Helen rubbed her eyes. 'Why?'

'To prevent you from puking up all over the place when you wake up.' He ruffled her short hair. 'We have entomologists, geologists and geneticists on board, but no cleaners, I'm afraid.'

'Uncle Jakob, is that your idea of a joke?'

'Pretty pathetic, huh.'

'More than pathetic. We're gonna have to work on your punch lines.'

Helen Reuban looked around the immaculate whiteness of the ship and sat down cautiously on the edge of one of the cryo-sleep tubes. Its transparent lid was open, the other end hitched up to something, sort of like the hood of a car's engine when it was open. She felt the interior of the tube's bed padding with her hands. Soft and comfortable, but it possessed that unmistakable smell of pristine chemical spray. She wondered if the odor would affect her ability to fall asleep. She turned up her head at the sound of approaching footsteps. About four or five people, dressed similarly to herself, approached the sleep pods. Helen noticed that already, the crew had formed segregated groups – there didn't seem to be much intermingling. Two of the crew were Japanese. The only other female crew member on board (apart from herself) was a Japanese woman who was conversing with another man. She was gesturing with her hands, trying to describe something and Helen was trying to figure out what that something was when someone's form passed in front of her, distracting her attention.

'This cryo-tube taken?' asked the individual before her.

'No,' began Helen when she noticed that he was quite good-looking. Her pulse quickened, she felt another one of her pre-pubescent crushes bubble underneath the surface. If only she were a few years older!

'I know your uncle pretty well – well enough to know that he probably didn't introduce you to anyone on board yet, huh?' he said as he started fiddling with some controls on the side of his chamber.

'No. But they look pretty busy anyways. I wouldn't wanna disturb anyone.'

'Ah, don't let 'em fool ya. Scientists like to have this shroud of mystery envelop them. They won't be busy until they get to working in their labs. They're probably talking about the wasabi hot sauce they had for dinner.'

Helen laughed.

'I'm Jarreck, first flight officer on board.' he offered out his hand.

Helen shook it while speaking. 'You're not a research scientist?'

'Well...that's just something I'd rather not get into at this point in time. Maybe later,' he started to remove his shoes and socks. 'I like to keep my footwear handy. When you wake up – the floor's icy cold, nice warm socks helps to ease the transition.'

Dr. Reuban approached the two of them and smiled. 'Alrighty then folks, what say we all get neatly tucked into our beds for tonight?' He turned towards Jarreck. 'Did Yuya set the stasis settings already?'

'Yeah.' confirmed Jarreck. 'The coordinates pan out pretty clear too. I figure about two weeks – tops – until we're there. Suits are prepped for wear in case we're heading outside.'

'Thanks, Fox.' said Reuban as he turned to Helen. 'Hey kiddo, you ready for your first flight?'

'Yeah...'

He bent down and leaned forward towards the girl. 'Listen, sometimes it might take a while for the hypersleep to go into complete effect. It all depends on the individual's metabolism. Might be about one hour at the maximum. You might feel like you're being jolted around – that's just take-off movement – nothing to worry about. But don't try to fight the sleep, just try to ease into it.' He watched Helen's face carefully for any signs of alarm. There were none, so he continued. 'If you feel panicked or claustrophobic in any way, there's this red alarm button right above your head. You can push it – that interrupts stasis and let's you get out of the chamber.'

'Will it disrupt stasis in the other pods too?'

'Yeah, but don't worry about that. I'm just telling you all this for precautionary reasons. My first trip – I slept like a baby. Most people do.'

'Just you, Jakob!' winked Jarreck while lying down on his tube.

Reuban smiled. 'Seriously. You'll be fine.'

'When do we get to start work?' asked Helen.

'When we reach our destination.' He eased her down gently into the sleeping pod and patted her hair. 'Sleep well, kiddo.'

Helen lay down quietly, rubbing her fingers together nervously. Five minutes later, she watched in slight apprehension as the transparent lid lowered itself down over her, effectively sealing her shut in this plastic coffin. She heard the steady hiss of gas coming from somewhere inside, but tried to ignore it. She looked over at her two nearest companions, Jarreck and some other man – both of who were already asleep. Or so it seemed. Don't fight the sleep, came back her uncle's words. Easier said than done. She forced her thoughts onto other topics. In her mind's eye, she saw images of her mother, working at her desk, worrying over something or the other and realized for the first time in a few hours, how much she missed her. But it was only two months, she told herself in consolation. They'd fly by rapidly. Her mind wandered over to what she would tell her friends at school after this trip and before she knew it, her eyelids drooped shut and everything faded into a silent set of black.