Linilya Elf – I'm glad to see that you're still reading this. Which tells me that you have way too much time on your hands and you should be working on yours! Just kidding…

Chapter 11 – The Will to Kill
Gateway Station
(Ariedel's POV)

I had enough of the little queen's presence and backed away from the Plexiglas. Just as I was about to turn to leave, the hatch suddenly cycled open. The sensors had picked up someone approaching and I was about to hide in the corner before I realized that I wasn't violating any ordinance.

When the hatch opened, the last person I had expected to see standing at the doorway was Legolas. He stepped into the room as if he were in a trance. At first I didn't think he saw me standing off to the side. But then I remembered he was an Elf and was aware of everything around him, including me. He was wearing the typical white space station jumpsuit that could be found in every room in Medical. It looked a bit short at the sleeves and was too big around the middle.

"What is this place?" he asked without looking at me. When I didn't answer his question, he kept walking toward the Plexiglas as if drawn to it by some unknown force.

"Legolas, what're you doing out of Medical?" I was about to step in front of him to prevent him from going any further, but the look he gave me stopped me cold in my tracks. He was daring me to stop him and I knew I wouldn't win the battle, despite his injuries. Not this time.

Legolas placed his hands on the clear barrier and the movement of the juvenile queen drew his attention. "This creature was inside me," he stated.

I bit my lower lip, trying to decide whether to confirm his statement. When we had talked about his injuries, I had purposely avoided telling him he had been implanted with an alien embryo and that it had been extracted. Apparently he had figured it out on his own. "Yes," I replied.

"Why is it in here? Why has it not been destroyed?"

"Because the bureaucrats of The Company think they can tame her and maybe learn a few things at the same time."

"Her? I was implanted with a queen?"

"Yes. The Company's never had a queen in captivity."

The alien queenling behind the barrier was focused on Legolas, her head tilting to the left and then to the right.

"She speaks to me," he whispered.

"Speaks to you?" This was something new. I had heard that those who had an alien extracted from their chests always said they felt some kind of connection with it. But none ever reported hearing the creatures speak to them. I was suddenly curious. "What does she say?"

"She wants me to…free her."

My heart jumped to my throat and I feared the worst. Would he seriously harbor thoughts of releasing the alien queen? "Look, Legolas, you can't let this thing out."

Legolas turned to me with a disgruntled frown. "I have no intention of freeing her." He turned back to gaze at the alien, his brilliant blue eyes blazing in the tiny light coming from inside the alien's chamber. "But I will kill her." He glanced at the barrier, inspecting the sides and then the ceiling. "How do I get inside?"

"What?"

"Get me inside there."

I started to panic when he suddenly slammed both of his clenched fists into the thick plastic. "No!" I yelled at him as he slammed the barrier again and winced at the pain in his casted hand. "Stop it! You're not going in there."

Legolas turned to me and that look was on his face again, daring me to deny him his way.

I blinked several times, thinking that I was seeing things. The bruises on his face had actually faded since the last time I saw him, which was only about four hours ago and his face had still been purple then. I wanted to kick myself for doubting he could heal himself. He even seemed to be walking a lot better than three days ago. Why hadn't I believed him when he said he could heal himself?

"If this creature is not destroyed, it will kill everyone in this structure," Legolas warned in an eerily calm voice.

I stepped between him and the barrier, trying to draw his attention away from the young queen. "Look, I know exactly where you're coming from. I don't like the idea of this thing being kept alive either. But it's not up to me. I don't rule the roost here and neither do you."

"It will kill everyone," he repeated.

"A queen usually doesn't do the killing. She sends the horde out. All she wants to do is breed."

Legolas shook his head. "Nay. She wants to kill."

"How do you know this?"

"Tis what she says. We are her enemies and she will kill us."

"But that's not possible…"

"My instincts are to kill my enemies."

He didn't have to say anymore. I immediately picked up on what he meant. Another trait she acquired from him. Killer instincts.

The aliens had a hierarchy that consisted of a queen, an alpha drone who bred with the queen, the drones that went in search of hosts and the assassin drone. The latter was always a solitary being stranded far from the hive. He had no desire to search for hosts because there were no eggs to service, no queen to lay them. He was committed to kill every living thing in his territory.

But for a queen to have those killer instincts? This was something new. I often wondered why the aliens always assumed the bad traits? Why couldn't they assume any of the good human qualities? Like pity and kindness.

I shook my head. What was I thinking? There was nothing good about these creatures. They were evil and would remain evil no matter what was bred into them.

Legolas turned and moved away. He glanced around the cramped space. "Why are there no windows in this place?"

"I think I mentioned this is a space station. But there are windows elsewhere."

He continued to look around, his face troubled. "I need to see sunlight or I will go mad."

I walked up to him and placed a cautious hand on his shoulder, expecting him to move away from me. "Legolas, I'm sorry about earlier. I've just been…" I sighed heavily. "I've been going crazy, worrying about you. And I was really stressed out about how you were going to react. I know better now that you don't need to be protected from any of this. It was patronizing of me to think you wouldn't be able to handle the change in your surroundings."

Legolas turned to face me, his expression softening. "I am also sorry. I did not mean the things I said."

"I know."

"And I do not think you are a lunatic."

I couldn't help but smile. "Well, there may be some truth to that." When he smiled back, my heart melted. It seemed like a millions years had passed since the last time I had seen him smile. "You look a lot better."

He nodded, but didn't say anything.

"How quickly can you heal yourself?"

"I fear the damage is extensive. I have only been able to heal myself on the outside. My internal injuries will take some time to heal." He reached up and touched my cheek. "Forgive me for doubting the reality of what you told me. I understand why you kept it from me. There was no reason for you to explain more than what I needed to know if there was no chance that I would ever see such things. And now that I am here…on this structure with magical doors, I greatly desire that you show me more."

"Come on, I know just what you need to see." I took Legolas's hand and led him out through the hatch. As the door closed behind us, he suddenly stopped to turn back toward it. "Is she still talking to you?" I asked.

"Aye."

I tugged him away by the hand.

§

Legolas was soon distracted by the things around him. I took him to the public area of Gateway Station and walked beside him down the main corridor. We walked slowly because of his injuries, but I was impressed that we had gotten this far without him collapsing on me. There was always a lot of activity in the main corridor and people went about their business. He seemed to be fascinated by the clothing everyone wore. I knew now that he understood he was without a doubt not in his world.

"What is that?" Legolas was pointing to the tram we walked toward.

"It's a transport for those who don't feel like walking. They take the tram to different parts of the station via a network of tracks."

We got into one of the tram cars and sat down on a bench. The tram started to move and Legolas was fascinated by what he saw from the window. I watched the different expressions on his face: fear, fascination, excitement. Then he turned to look at the different people sitting around us.

A young girl behind us caught his eye and she smiled at him. "Why do you have pointy ears?" she asked.

The little girl's mother shushed her. "Lucy, that was not a nice thing to say." The woman looked apologetically up at Legolas. "Sorry."

"There is no need to apologize. I will answer her." He turned to the little girl. "My ears are pointed because I am an Elf."

The little girl giggled and I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the mother's shocked expression.

When the tram came to a stop, I took Legolas's hand and led him out. Up ahead was the Arboretum.

The sounds of chirping birds got his attention and he sniffed the air. "Trees. I smell trees." He sniffed again with a smile. "And flowers."

The main paths were crowded with people, so I took Legolas down one of the side paths. He looked around in amazement and then did something totally unexpected. He went up to a tree and closed his eyes as he hugged it. After a minute he frowned and pulled away from it.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"This tree is sad."

"Sad? How do you know that?"

"It told me."

"The trees speak to you?" I decided not to press it. He had already surprised me in more ways than one when it came to his Elven abilities.

"It does not like this place. There is no heat from the sun and the water it drinks does not taste natural."

"Nothing on this station is natural." Then I saw his eyes widen and freeze at something behind me. I turned around and saw one of a number of panoramic windows in the Arboretum. Outside of the window was the Earth. I watched the expression on his face as he slowly started walking toward the window.

Legolas reached his hands up to the glass as if he wanted to touch what he was seeing. Some puffy clouds covered parts of the planet. At the moment the continents of North and South America were visible. "I cannot grasp what it is I see before me."

"It's Earth."

"Middle Earth?"

"No, just Earth. The third planet from the sun. We're actually pretty far from Middle Earth." What I had really wanted was for him to see my home world, Avalon. But that was a long way from the station. "Picture yourself so far high in the sky that you can see everything. The land and the water below."

"People live there?"

I figured it was a rhetorical question so I didn't answer him.

He continued to gaze at the planet for a long time before he frowned. "It spins. How do the people not fall?"

Trying to explain gravity to an Elf was going to be difficult. "We'll save that for another time."

"Tis breathtaking." Then he turned to me and tugged at my hand to pull me closer.

I wrapped my arms around him. "Hey, when you're up to it, I can take you down there. I know a nice little beach where we can swim in the water and then lay in the sun."

"The sun?" Legolas leaned toward my lips. "I want to go now." He kissed me.

I returned his kiss with a lot more passion than I had intended. My desire for him was just overflowing. He brought his hands up to my face and I wrapped my arms around his waist as he deepened the kiss. And then he grunted in pain before I realized I had been embracing him too tightly, causing him pain maybe to his broken ribs and the incision where they had pulled the queen from. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

He ignored my comment and turned back to the spinning planet below the station. "Ariedel, I am serious. I want to go now."

"But what about your injuries?"

"Do not fret about my injuries. I am fine."

"Are you sure?"

He gave me a frown. "Please, I loathe the idea of anyone coddling me, especially you."

I put my hand on his face and smiled. "Oh, right. My fierce Elf warrior doesn't want anyone feeling sorry for the state he is in. I'm beginning to actually believe you've never been hurt before in your life."

"Well, there was one other time," said Legolas. "During a raid, I was stung by a spider and paralyzed for several hours."

I laughed. "You were paralyzed from a spider sting? A little itty bitty spider?"

He frowned at me. "Itty bitty spider? It was the size of a cave troll."

"Oh. Sorry." I stood up on my toes and kissed the scar on the side of his forehead. It was the only scar that was still clearly visible. "Are you sure you don't want any sympathy?"

"What will it get me?"

I smiled at him. "Anything you want."

"Anything? Hm…I can think of many things."

Gateway Station

Director Warner walked into Lab 36 with the grace of a bull in a china store. "Don't you people have anything better to do than to bug the shit out of me when I'm in the middle of important business?"

Hawke ignored Warner's tyrant demeanor. "You're not going to believe what I just overheard. I've got it on video." He pushed some keys on his computer keyboard and the image on the screen changed. "Take a look at this."

Warner leaned over Hawke's shoulder and stared at the screen. It was Schuyler and the Elf and they were in the alien queen's observation chamber. He listened to the conversation.

"Because the bureaucrats of The Company think they can tame her and maybe learn a few things at the same time."

"Her? I was implanted with a queen?"

"Yes. The Company's never had a queen in captivity."

"She speaks to me," whispered the Elf.

"Speaks to you? What does she say?" asked Schuyler.

"She wants me to…free her."

Hawke froze the image and turned to Warner. Warner's mouth was hanging open. "How about them apples? The thing is talking to him and he actually understands her."

Warner's expression changed and he suddenly grinned. "This is huge, Hawke. Huge." He rubbed his hands together. "We can finally know what the hell these aliens are saying to us."

"So are we keeping the queen then?"

"Hell yeah, I'm not giving her to Weyland-Yutani for them to get all the credit on this one. Imagine what we can accomplish if we know what these aliens are thinking. Where is he?"

"Who?"

"The Elf?"

Hawke called up a computer printout and scanned it. "Schuyler's in the Arboretum. I'll bet one month's salary he's there with her."

Warner started to walk away. "Send someone over there to pick him up."

"I'm on it."

Warner walked out of the lab, unable to wipe the grin from his face. At long last his name would finally be associated with something substantial. He would get the credit for discovering the ability of this Elf. What he needed to do quickly though was to relay his intentions to the President of Lifesource, General Burbank. It needed to be documented or Weyland-Yutani could take the credit before Warner even had the chance. He would tell the General that he intended to do extensive research on both the queen and the Elf.

Maybe he could put the two in various situations, to get them to communicate and the Elf could translate what the queen said. Warner thought about the book contracts that would come in. Everyone would want to know all about the experiments. He excitedly rubbed his hands together. The possibilities were endless.

Gateway Station
(Legolas's POV)

"We need to get you a different color to wear," Ariedel pronounced as she inspected my clothing.

I looked down at what I had on. "What is wrong with white?"

"You look so much better in green."

"What happened to my clothes?"

"You mean what you had on when you got here? It was all torn and full of holes from the acid blood. The only thing worth saving were your boots. They're in my apartment."

I was disappointed that my clothing could not be saved. But I could not go around with holes in my tunic. My Elven tunic, shirt and leggings would probably be difficult to replace here in this place. This meant I would have to wear the local clothing.

"I'll set you up with some better clothes. We can pack a bag and take a little trip down to Earth."

I took her hand and held it, a thought suddenly coming to me. "What do I call you?"

"Pardon?"

"Do I call you Ariedel or do I call you Crystal?"

She smiled. "I like when you call me Ariedel."

"Then I shall continue to do so." I was glad that she chose Ariedel. It would have been difficult for me to call her by any other name. But I would continue to remember her real name…Crystal Schuyler.

We turned away from the window and were about to head back through the path we had come. Suddenly three men stepped into the path ahead of us. I felt Ariedel suddenly squeeze my right hand tighter. When I turned to her, her expression revealed anger.

"What the hell do you want, Hawke?" she asked the men.

The dark-haired man in the center smiled. "I have orders to accompany the Elf."

"What for?"

The man shrugged.

I sensed something insincere about him…something devious. When Ariedel started to step forward, I tugged at her hand to stop her. I did not need her to fight my battles. "Where will you be taking me?"

"Legolas, you don't have to listen to this asshole," she advised.

I boldly stepped forward. "I await an answer."

"Well," replied the man named Hawke. "If you must know, we're taking you to the lab."

The lab? Was that short for laboratory? Why would they be taking me to a laboratory?

Then Ariedel jumped in front of me. "Over my dead body are you taking him to the lab."

Hawke shook his head, making a sound with his lips and then suddenly backhanded her hard across the face, sending her to the ground.

I lunged at him and grabbed him by the throat with my right hand. As I pushed him into a tree, I easily lifted him off the ground. "You will die for that!" Then I heard Ariedel yell out behind me before I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head.

§

When I awoke I could not move. My hands and legs were bound to a chair, metal clasps holding them down. I looked around and found that I was in the chamber on the other side of where the young alien queen was.

A man stood near the barrier. "It certainly takes a long time for you Elves to come around."

I glared at him. "Where is Ariedel?"

"Ariedel?" He looked confused at first. "Oh, right. You must mean Crystal. She'll just have to return to her duties since she's not of any use to me here. You, on the other hand, are of great interest to me."

"Where is she?" I asked again, frantic to know that she was all right.

"She's fine. But where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Jonathan Warner. I'm the director of Lifesource. We're in charge of off-world missions to eliminate the alien threat. But I'm also greatly interested in finding out all there is to know about these beings and how we can use them to better our own lifestyles."

"These creatures provide nothing of use to the human race."

"Now there's where you're wrong. A large company named Weyland-Yutani has discovered hundreds of breakthroughs in medicine because of their research. All that aside, I've decided to keep the queen here instead of transferring her into the hands of Weyland-Yutani."

"And what interest am I to you?"

"I recently found out that you, my friend, can understand what they're saying."

"They? Who?" I knew who he meant, but I asked anyway.

"The aliens."

I wondered how this man had found out? Had he been standing outside the door at the time Ariedel and I had spoken of it? Surely I would have heard him if he had been.

"I need you to tell me what she is saying," he said as he folded his arms.

I glanced in the direction of the clear barrier. Even though I could not see the young queen, I sensed her presence. And the moment I reached my mind out to sense her, she spoke to me.

"What is she saying?" asked Jonathan Warner.

Without turning my face to him, I shifted my eyes up in his direction. "She tells me how she wants to eviscerate you so she can feed on your heart and entrails."

He smiled. "How interesting."

I glanced at the barrier behind him and saw the queen moving toward it. She suddenly slammed her head into the barrier, causing Warner to jump out of the way. He turned toward her and tapped the barrier with his finger, angering her further as she slammed into it again.

"You must destroy this creature," I insisted.

"Not until I get everything I need to know out of you and her."

The queenling spoke again and my eyes narrowed as she conveyed the desire to be reunited with something…others of her kind…here in this facility. I turned to Warner in shock. "There are others here."

Warner turned to me and raised his eyebrows. "Others?"

"Other creatures. They are here in this facility. Where are you keeping them?"

Warner looked from me to the creature and then back to me. "Can she sense them? She told you they were here?"

"Aye. And they must also sense her. It is dangerous for them to be here."

"We have things under control. They can't escape and neither can she." He walked to the wall.

I watched as he pressed something blue and spoke into a black circle.

"Computer, what is the current location of Raymond Hawke?"

A voice responded from the black circle. "Raymond Hawke is in his quarters."

"Patch me through."

"Patching through. Please hold."

Another voice replied. "Yeah, this is Hawke."

"It's Warner. I need you up here in the observation chamber containing the queen."

"Yeah. Give me a few minutes to get dressed."

"Just hurry up, goddammit." Warner walked away from the wall.

I attempted to bring this man to his senses. "They want to be united and will stop at nothing to get what they want. You must destroy them before it is too late."

"I would have agreed with you…maybe yesterday. But today, no. What we have here is something extraordinary. The ability to communicate with them has been something we have all strived for. To know their thoughts, to know why they do what they do."

"I do not have to know their thoughts to answer that. They kill and breed. What else is there to know?" I seriously questioned the sanity of this individual, or the sanity of any other who thought they could somehow tame these creatures. They would never bend to the will of a human. Or Elf or any other being.

"So tell me, how does she communicate with you? Do you hear her words to you?"

"She projects images into my mind. There are no words."

"Does she understand you if you talk to her?"

"I do not know."

"Well, talk to her. See if she responds."

This was my only chance. I had a distinct feeling that this man did not have the best intentions in mind for me. "Untie me and I will cooperate."

Warner looked skeptical. "No, I don't think so. You're a savage. You'll probably try to kill me when my back is turned."

His reference to me as a savage was grounds for me to show him just how savage I could really be, but I gave him the most sincere smile that I could muster without any scorn. "I will not kill you."

"Do I have your word?"

"I will not kill you," I repeated and then quickly added, "You have my word."

Warner approached and pressed something on the side of the chair. The metal clasps raised, releasing my wrists and ankles. Before he could blink, I lunged at him and wrapped my arm around his neck from behind. As I tightened my grip, he gasped and struggled briefly before collapsing.

I released my hold and let him fall to the floor. "You mentioned nothing about not rendering you unconscious." I walked over to the wall with the blue button and pressed it. Remembering the way Warner addressed the voice in the wall, I cleared my throat. "Computer, what is the current location of Ariedel?"

"Ariedel is not a name in my database," came the immediate response.

I wanted to smack my forehead for not thinking. "I mean, Crystal. What is the current location of Crystal Schuyler?"

"Crystal Schuyler is in her quarters."

"Patch me through to her," I said, using Warner's own words.

"Patching through. Please hold."

A moment passed before a voice replied. "This is Crystal."

I touched the black circle where her voice had emitted from. "Ariedel, is that you?"

"Legolas?"

"Aye."

"Where are you?"

"I am in the chamber with the queen. A man named Jonathan Warner had me strapped to a chair. But I am free now."

"Did he let you go?"

"Nay."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" she asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

"Nay, I rendered him unconscious."

"We have to get you off this station, Legolas. I think he's going to try to use you for some unethical experiments. The idiot doesn't have a clue what he's doing."

"Then let us be on our way. How do I find you?"

"Do you remember how to get to the tram?"

"Aye."

"Take the tram and wait for the exit to the shuttles. I'll meet you there."

"What is a shuttle?"

"Just listen to the voice in the tram. It'll say ' Next Stop Shuttle Bay'. When you hear that, get off at the next stop. And hurry up. If Warner wakes up, he'll try and stop us from leaving the station."

"I am on my way."

I moved away from the wall and was about to leave the chamber. But I stopped to take one final look at the young queen. She seemed agitated. Did she know I was leaving? She slammed into the barrier again and again, projecting images of freedom to me, ordering me to release her. The need to destroy her overwhelmed me, but I did not know how to get into her chamber and I did not have the time to figure it out. I turned and rushed out of the chamber when the door slid open.

Remembering the path Ariedel and I had taken earlier, I followed the same one and ended up in the main corridor. The tram was up ahead. I glanced around at the people walking about, minding their own business. Not wanting to draw further attention to myself, I walked as casually as possible toward the tram.

Gateway Station

The queenling continued to slam her head into the plastic barrier until a crack suddenly appeared. She paused to study it briefly, her crowned head tilting from side to side. Freedom was on the other side of this barrier. Freedom and prey. She called out to her kind, telling them that she would be coming soon.

In another part of the station, three drones simultaneously detached themselves from the resin they were camouflaged in. This drew the attention of the lab technician manning the observation chamber. He glanced at the aliens beyond the plastic barrier. The drones began squealing and hissing in a menacing manner. The crewman hadn't seen them act this way since they had been brought in two months ago. Normally they just hid among their resin and paid no one any attention.

The technician watched curiously as the aliens gathered together, facing one another and hissing. The technician went to the wall monitor and asked the computer to locate Director Warner. The computer informed him that Director Warner was in Observation Room C. He was about to ask the computer to patch through when a blood-curdling screech vibrated through the room.

On the other side of the plastic barrier, two of the aliens attacked the third, tearing into it and throwing the pieces at the Plexiglas. The acid blood ate through the four inch plastic like it was made of tissue.

The two remaining drones leapt through the opening in the barrier and lunged at the screaming technician. They subdued him and raised their heads to call to their new queen. Their first host was available. They immediately sensed that the queen was displeased with them. She didn't want hosts. Not yet. The drones had new orders. They hissed at each other, then proceeded to rip the unconscious technician apart.

The queen was bubbling with excitement. She slammed her head into the barrier. It cracked further. With one final blow, the barrier came down in chunks. The queen crawled through the hole and approached the unconscious body of Warner. She sniffed him and was about to take a bite when a sound drew her attention. She quickly scrambled up the side of the wall to the ceiling.

Hawke casually waited for the hatch to cycle open. Then he walked through the opening. "Okay, I'm here." His eyes came up and he froze in his tracks. The barrier had a huge opening in it and Warner was lying on the ground. "What the fuck…" He started to walk to the wall monitor and from the corner of his eye, he saw the movement too late.

The queen jumped on him and tore off his head before he could utter a sound.

The two drones on the other side of the station sensed that their queen was free. One of them would soon assume the role of alpha. They didn't know which of them it would be, but for the time being, their main task was to eliminate any threats to their existence.

Warner came awake and slowly raised his head. He heard gurgling sounds and hissing. There was a movement in the shadows in front of him. A glance to his right and his eyes widened. The barrier. Something had broken through it. But he didn't care how it had broken. His only concern was the thing that would get out…or perhaps was already out.

The queen sensed the other living presence and turned from her feeding. She scrambled out of the shadows and approached.

Warner saw the young queen, blood mingled with her saliva dripping from her open jaws and he began scrambling backward. In a panic he turned and stood up to run toward the hatch. The hatch opened, but he never made it.

The queen was on him, sinking her sharp teeth into the back of his head. She slashed at his throat with her claws, preventing any further sound. Releasing the dead human, her head came up to curiously inspect the open hatch.

Freedom…