Author's Note – Just an FYI, in the next few chapters, the characters will be way, way out of their normal character, toting modern weaponry and such. Tolkien is probably talking God into sending down a bolt of lightning to fry my sorry hide for deliberately distorting his Lord of the Rings universe. Oh well, I can't help it if I like to see Legolas hefting a twenty pound pulse rifle with a flamethrower and grenade launcher.

Two chapters in one week...I just had to get this one out because I'm all hyped up about chapter 13.

Chapter 12 – Prepped and Ready
In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

The Dropship easily slid into its cradle and anchors locked into place over the struts. Yellow warning lights flashed within the interior of the docking bay as a reminder to keep away from the areas where the floor was marked with yellow and black paint.

Sanchez was working the controls, with Lipinski hanging over her shoulder, as if he didn't trust her to do it correctly. When the Dropship was safely tucked in, the lights stopped flashing. A moment later the ramp lowered beneath it. The first out was Freak, followed by Legolas, Ariedel, Thranduil, Aragorn, Arwen, Gimli and the two tigers.

"Holy shit, we've got tigers," commented Lipinski.

"And a midget," said Sanchez as she shook her head. "I told you, man. A three-ring circus."

Thranduil called to Rhovan and Cail before the tigers strayed too far. "Dar go!" (Stay together)

Freak turned to his crew. "Okay, let's get these people prepped for a bug hunt."

Everyone followed Freak out of the docking bay.

A minute later, when all was quiet, Eldarion poked his head out from the strut opening, hanging upside down to inspect the immediate area. Then he ducked back inside. "They are gone," he told Anwar.

"Where are we?" Anwar asked with concern.

"We are no longer in Gondor, I am quite certain of that." Eldarion helped Anwar down from the space they had occupied during the bumpy ride, of which they had no idea the extent. He glanced around the enormous chamber and all of the strange objects around. "I believe we are in a cave of some sorts."

Anwar quickly moved to catch up to Eldarion when he began to walk away. "What do we do now?"

"We have come this far. Let us explore." Eldarion reached his hand out to Anwar.

Anwar stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before she placed hers into his and allowed him to lead her away. Together they continued to stare awestruck at their surroundings, unable to comprehend what they saw. Yet both were thrilled to be a part of this new adventure.

When they reached the docking bay entrance, they quietly ducked out into the corridor to explore this new world that their parents were somehow a part of. Neither knew that not only were they not in Gondor, but they were currently circling their world from space, which was something the two youngsters would never be able to grasp.

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)
(Legolas's POV)

I had not imagined that there could be such a variety of weapons to choose from. There were the blasters that I had used on Gateway Station and of which Aragorn and Gimli were also familiar with. But there were also weapons that fired deadly projectiles, many all at once. Some could even shoot flames from the barrel. I chose such a weapon. The man named Zion demonstrated to me how the weapon functioned and he even had a name for the weapon. He called it a dragon pulse rifle because it also shot flames.

We were given the opportunity to practice with the weapons. I waited my turn with my father while I watched Ariedel practice her weapon of choice. She seemed rather efficient with it, which was no surprise to me, as she came from a world where such weapons were used on a regular basis.

"If you have any influence on Ariedel, Legolas, you must talk her out of endangering her life. She has three children to think about. Why can she not accompany Arwen and I to Ilmarin?"

I shook my head at my father. "Aside from Freak and his people, Ariedel is perhaps the most experienced in this sort of thing than any of us. I can no sooner stop her from fighting aliens than you were ever capable of stopping naneth from fighting Orcs." (mother)

My father laughed. "Aye, perhaps you are right."

The thought of my mother brought back another memory. I had only been a child, but I was more than positive that the creature I had seen in the valley had been al alien and I even recalled bringing it to my mother's attention. "Tis my fault, you know."

"What is your fault?" replied my father.

"The creature that came in the ship that crashed two thousand years ago in Mordor. I saw it."

"You saw it? How could you have possibly seen it?"

"When we traveled to Greenwood from Udun. I was but a child then. I saw the creature carrying an egg in the valley below the path where we traveled. It struggled in the snow and ice. I could have told you about the creature. We could have put an end to its existence. We could have prevented the attacks when the creature first appeared to us eleven years ago. Those slain then and those in Valinor…they would all still be alive today."

Thranduil put a hand on my arm. "Stop this course of thinking, ion. Tis not your fault. None of this is anyone's fault." (son)

I glanced around the strange chamber. It reminded me much of Gateway Station, where everything seemed to be made of metal. Except this ship was much darker than the sterile environment of Gateway. Even though the interior of the ship was more on the cold side, I felt an almost stifling heat. But it was also comforting in a way. The absence of the alien whispers in my head was a relief. "The aliens do not speak to me here," I told my father. "Their visions do not reach me."

"Tis a good thing, Legolas."

"Tis not a good thing, adar. If this ship is the only means for me to achieve solace…to cease the whisperings of these creatures that try to lure me into their way of thinking, I can never leave here." (father)

"They try to force their thoughts into your mind?"

"Aye."

"Why did you not tell me this before?"

"I did not recognize it for what it was until recently. They whisper their intentions, telling me how they will kill my kind. Then they show me what they have done. They want me to join them, to see that there is no other way but to submit to them. They think I can lure more of us to them."

My father turned fully to face me. "Legolas, please tell me that you are strong enough to resist the vile ways of these creatures."

I gritted my teeth as I stared off, my eyes unfocused and dampening with angry tears as I thought of all those that had already been slain by the aliens. "With every last nerve do I resist. They have killed my kin. I will slaughter them with my last dying breath if need be."

"You speak the same words your naneth said to me once, when the shadow was deep in our forests and Orc and spider attacks were a daily occurrence. She risked her life countless times before she succumbed to the evil surrounding our lands and was forced to sail west. She was much like you, Legolas. Her Elven senses were superior over any other Elf in Middle Earth and she suffered greatly with every loss of life in Greenwood." (mother)

I swallowed hard as a question suddenly hung at the edge of my lips. "Will…will we see her in Valinor?"

My father also swallowed the lump that had undoubtedly formed in his throat. "Together we will seek her out. She will be pleased to see how you have grown and to know that you have a wife and three beautiful children."

I had only been an Elfling when my mother sailed, but my memories of her were still strong. More tears stung my eyes. What was the matter with me? Why was I so emotional of late? "I will be pleased to see her as well." In the back of my mind I thought about the possibility that her life might have been taken by one of the aliens and for this reason I truly did not wish to seek her out, to find out that it might be true.

"Tis not a crime for an ellon to shed tears, ion nin. Always remember that." Thranduil reached for my weapon, looking oddly at it. "What do you think of this weapon, Legolas?" (male Elf, my son)

I blinked back my tears and glanced at the weapon I had chosen, grateful that my father changed the subject. "Tis a complicated weapon, adar, but it will do far more damage than a bow and arrow or my long knives." (father)

"How does it function?" he curiously asked as he inspected the weapon.

"Come on over here, Your Highness."

Both me and my father glanced toward the female voice. It was the woman named Ripley. She had a reserved smile on her face, reminding me of someone up to some tricks. But I felt no malice exuding from her. She seemed generally curious. I also sensed a strong loneliness, one of profound desolation.

"I'll show you how to use that weapon like a pro," she added.

Thranduil squeezed my shoulder before he stood up and approached Ripley.

I wondered what my father thought of her. She was attractive enough, in the manner of a dangerous beast. But I knew my father well. He remained loyal to the memory of my mother and since my mother's sailing, had never sought female companionship again.

Ariedel had provided me with a short version of Ripley's story. She was a clone. When she found out she was impregnated by an alien, she killed herself and the alien she carried. Unfortunately from a drop of her blood, others were able to grow a new Ripley, alien and all. Eventually she gained the memories of her former life. It seemed a farfetched thing to me. To grow an individual to be the same as the one whose drop of blood was used. But perhaps it was not so farfetched. Afterall, did Saruman not create the Uruk-hai, a blend of Orc and goblin and grew them from the earth of Isengard? From rumors, Ariedel heard that Ripley had some alien qualities about her, but I saw nothing to suggest it. She looked quite human to me.

Ripley stepped away from my father and allowed him to shoot the weapon. "Very good, Your Highness. Keep it up."

My father glanced at her over his shoulder. "Please, my name is Thranduil."

"As you wish," was her reply. Then she turned in my direction, noticing my stare.

I quickly looked away, turning to watch Gimli firing the weapon that was taller than him, wondering if he would end up shooting his own foot. A moment later I was staring at a pair of black boots. I followed the feet up to Ripley's face.

She had that reserved smile again, like she held a secret. "Mind if I sit down, Prince Legolas?"

I shook my head and edged further away to give her room on the metallic box I was seated upon. "Just Legolas, please."

Ripley sat down beside me and stared out at the others. "Freak told me you're the one the aliens talk to."

I faced forward as well, not looking at her. "Ariedel told me you are a clone with certain alien characteristics."

"They talk to me, too, you know."

Her statement surprised me. "What do they say to you?"

"They try to coax me to them. They want me to be part of them."

"I have yet to understand the meaning they project to me. All I see are my kin being slain as the alien young burst from their chests."

"Hm, I don't have any visions. All I hear are the whispers, not words like you or I would understand. But I do understand the meaning behind the hissing and the screeching. Strange, isn't it?"

I turned to her, visually inspecting her from head to toe. "I see no alien characteristics about you?"

She smiled. "No, you won't see any on the outside."

"Then what is on the inside?" I asked curiously.

Ripley turned to face me, mouth open as if I had insulted her. "Now what kind of a question is that to ask a woman?"

"Forgive me," I said and turned away, even though I sensed she had not been offended by my question.

"I have acid in my blood." She held her hand up. "My fingernails can rip through most anything, except titanium. Other than that, I'm all human."

"What became of the alien extracted from you?"

"Oh, well she went on to give birth. But she didn't lay any eggs. No. She gave birth to some spawn of hell with human eyes. The thing killed her and then found some kind of connection with me. I imagine because the alien queen had no emotions for the thing to feel. It had inherited emotions from me and it felt my emotions." Her tone became dry. "I killed it. Technically, I killed my own child." She was silent for a moment. "Do you have any children?"

I turned to her, sensing the loneliness within her once again. "Ariedel and I have three children. A girl and two boys."

"I had a child once. A little girl. But she died of old age while I was lost out in space. I returned too late and never got to see her grow up, or get married, or have kids of her own. Then on a mission to rescue some colonists on LV-426, I found Newt." Her eyes misted over. "She was around the same age as my daughter when I had left her. I would have taken her in, knowing she had lost her parents to the aliens. But then she was killed. So now I have no one."

"Tis not too late for you to start a new family," I said without even thinking.

Ripley shook her head, the sad smile still on her lips. "No. I don't let anyone get close to me anymore. I can't. It hurts too much to lose them. Besides, the aliens eventually get them. They always do."

I understood why she felt bitter. But I did not know what else to say except to apologize for her empty life. "I am sorry."

She smiled again. "Right." Then she stood up and walked away, exiting the chamber.

I felt the intenseness of her misery and was thankful to have my family and friends. Without them I suppose I would be just as lonely and unfeeling.

Valinor

Galadriel silently walked among the tall trees comprising the forest at the western foot of Mount Taniquetil. Her gaze scanned the space at a level just above her head. There were spirits in the area. She could feel them. Although she did not know the identity of the spirits, she recognized them as Elves.

"Come forth to me," she whispered and closed her eyes.

A moment later she stilled her steps and raised her arms out to her sides. A mist appeared and slowly swirled around her form.

Galadriel opened her eyes and smiled. "Go forth now to the Halls of Mandos."

The mist continued to swirl around her and then suddenly changed direction and shot toward the sky. The spirits that had been lost had finally found guidance from the Lady of Light. Along the way they would see Varda, who would provide them with further guidance. Then they would be in the Halls of Mandos.

Galadriel continued to move forward, seeking more spirits. A noise to her left drew her steps to a halt once again. She stood perfectly still, Elven ears listening intently to the sounds of the forest. Except there were no other sounds. No birds, no fluttering of insects. The forest seemed to have been silenced in a split second.

The noise came again, deep, damp breathing that sent chills up Galadriel's spine. Up until now she had been lucky enough to avoid any contact with the dark creatures that were quickly overrunning the east coast of Valinor. She wanted to continue avoiding them. As she slowly lowered herself to her hands and knees to hide within the thicket of a bush, the breathing sounds seemed to fade. Had the creatures gone away?

Galadriel stood still once again, listening. There was no sound, no movement, no breathing. She waited for as long as she could before she turned with the intention of continuing her search for the remaining lost Elven spirits.

She came face to face with a gaping set of sharp teeth, jaws dripping. The creature's hands reached out to grab her.

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

Freak walked into the docking bay and scanned the line of people before him. They stood in front of the Dropship they would be occupying on the ride back down to the planet.

In front of Dropship One, which was Freak's ship, was Lipinski, Takashi, Bishop, Legolas, Ariedel, Aragorn, Ripley, Gimli and the two tigers. They held a variety of weapons. In additional to the modern weapons, Legolas had his knives, bow and quiver of arrows strapped to his back. Aragorn also had his sword on their belt, while Gimli had his axes. Ariedel had exchanged her usual gown for military fatigues she borrowed from Sanchez. They all wore heavy titanium armor that would protect them from any acid blood spraying at them.

In front of Dropship Two was Zion, Sanchez, Thranduil and Arwen. None of them carried any weapons or wore any armor. Their mission was not to engage the aliens underground like the others would. They would be going to Ilmarin in hopes of finding Gandalf.

Freak wanted to take a picture. He didn't think he'd ever see such a mix of beings on his ship ever again. Humans, Elves, tigers and a Dwarf. He felt as if he was watching a bad classic movie from the late 20th century. "Okay, this is how it's going to happen. We go back down to the planet and with the missiles on the Dropships, we obliterate as many aliens above ground as we can. Then we'll split up. Zee's Dropship will take King Tut and Sweet Pea to look for some old wizard named Gandalf. The rest of us will take the APC to the underground hive and take care of those in the nest. After that we'll see what kind of stragglers we have, which I'm sure there will be when we're done bombing them." He scanned the faces. "Who over here has control of these tigers?"

Several hands went up. Legolas, Thranduil, Ariedel, Aragorn and Arwen.

"All right, I just wanted to make sure we've got enough coverage in case they scatter while they're looking for survivors." Freak walked to a table and picked up one of two devices. He turned it on and held it up "These are motion sensors. If there's anything moving or coming your way, you'll know it and be ready for it."

Takashi walked up and grabbed both motion sensors. He handed one to Lipinski and kept the other one for himself. Bishop and Sanchez started handing out communication devices. Besides Ripley, the only other one familiar with it was Ariedel and she immediately placed it on her ear, adjusting the microphone close to her lips. Then she helped Bishop and Sanchez help the others with theirs.

"These are communication devices. All you have to do is speak into it and everyone else can hear you. It's important that we stay in communication with each other when we go underground. Especially when we've got movement on our motion sensors, let's check where everyone is before we shoot. There's a button over here to turn it on and off." Freak turned to his crew. "Are we set?"

"Dropships are ready and APC is in place," said Zion.

"Missiles are loaded and locked tight," said Sanchez.

"All systems are functional," said Takashi.

"The Rebel is ready for lock down," said Bishop.

"Okay," said Freak as he clapped his hands together. "Let's go hunt us some bugs."

As everyone started to move toward the Dropship ramps, Rhovan suddenly broke away from the others and ran over to the rear strut of the first Dropship, rumbling deeply in his throat.

Legolas watched the tiger with a frown. He knew Rhovan would not have moved away without a good reason. But there was no time to see if he was chasing something good to eat. "Rhovan, tolo si." (come here)

Rhovan paced around the strut in an agitated manner, then reluctantly returned to his master's side, moving up the ramp with him.

As everyone began to settle into their seats, inside the cramped space above the front strut, Eldarion and Anwar sighed in relief, knowing that if anyone had come to inspect what Rhovan had been agitated about, they would have seen the two Elflings hiding inside.

Moments later the cranes holding the Dropships in place came to life. Yellow lights flashed and maneuvered by the ship's computer, the Dropships began their trip to the center of the docking bay where the floor panels slowly parted to reveal the blackness of space. One by one the Dropships were released into space for the long decent to the planet below.

Get ready for some serious alien butt-whooping in the next chapter.