Jennifer's Diary
August 9, 2621
Getting to the incinerator wasn't a very hard task to do. All we ever used it for was for burning our garbage we made during some of our tests, of which we made a lot of. Because of how often we used it to dispose of our garbage it only needed a simple Level 1 access card for entry. But that was for normal usage. I was going to be going inside the incinerator. To do that I needed to go in through the ventilation system. Unfortunately to do that I had to deactivate the vents pressure sensors. We had pressure sensors inside of the vents to help us detect if any xenomorphs were inside of them before or during an outbreak. I would be taking a huge risk doing this, but I had to know what those documents were.
Unfortunately, Dad had left for a business meeting, and as such security had been increased. Because of what happened a year ago, Daddy did this whenever he went on a business trip so nothing would happen to me again. As such the Task Force was more active, and even a few combat androids had been stationed around certain areas of the facility. Needless to say this would make my job a lot more difficult.
Fortunately though ,in the time that I had been working in the underground lab area of the facility, I got to know the monitoring staff, and they often times allowed me to enter Operations and Monitoring, where most of the security systems operation and monitoring was done. Because of that I knew a few things about the systems and how to work them. With that in mind I went over to the monitoring room, waved my Level 4 access card to the Task Force operatives who were guarding the door, and had a friendly chat with the operating monitors. Unfortunately I had to knock them out in order to get to the computer. Believe me when I say I didn't want to do that, but I had to do what I had to do, and for as much as I hated him then, the lessons Kjon gave me were very handy.
After disabling the pressure sensors, I tied the operating monitors up, hid them in a closet and made it out of there nonchalantly like nothing had even happened. With that road block out of the way I made sure that no one was taking control of the incinerator before I entered. Our incinerator was prone to malfunctions and as such someone needed to be at the controls in order to make sure it was working properly. Why we didn't just pay someone to fix it I don't know, but ,eh... Thankfully for me, no one was there to use the thing, so I took the opportunity as soon as I saw it and went inside the vents.
I came out through the ceiling of the incinerator which was also vented. Those vents continued to carry all the way to the surface to allow the smoke to escape. As I went in, I hit with a terrible stench, one that smelled like death and decay. When I turned the flashlight I'd brought with me on, I was stunned by the sight of some of our dead animal test subjects. The sight scarred the crap out of me, and... yeah... let's just say it was pretty disgusting. After recovering from my shock and thoroughly puking my entire intestinal track out, I went down and began my search. I fought for several agonizing minutes through the garbage, dead animal husks, and the awful smell, before all of my hard work paid off and I found my missing document, as well as several others that were with it, along with a few tapes to go with them. At that point I didn't care that they were wet, covered in maggots, and smelled horrible, I was just happy to have them now, and know they were still legible. I also made another discovery when I found a data chip with all of it labeled "Beth's CPU."
Beth's CPU ,or central processing unit, doubles as a memory card which stores all of her memories, and even her own personality inside it, which we also house inside of a computer file which we update on a daily basis, keeping that part of her alive. So long as all of that data stored in the CPU is untouched, it doesn't matter if Beth is completely destroyed. Her body can be rebuilt and those memories we stored in the computer can be placed inside a new CPU. She also has alternative memory cards which can be installed in her, allowing her memory to last indefinitely.
I was shocked to find this sitting in the garbage. Before I could even have time to ask myself questions, I heard the heaters begin to buzz.
"Shit!" I exclaimed when I heard it.
I began feeling the temperature in the room begin to climb instantly. I took every last document, and tape I found that I could carry along with Beth's CPU, and began scrambling to get out crawling and stumbling clumsily through the garbage, before latching onto the walls. Surprisingly I managed to make it out of the incinerator with plenty of time to spare before the room ignited into flames. I took that moment to catch my breath, and stare at the fruits of my labor in disgusted glee. After the incinerator finished it's work, turned off, and cooled down, I crawled to the surface. It was the best thing that I could think of where I could avoid being seen, and smelled while getting out with the files. I was careful for any passing Task Force operatives before I emerged from the underground ventilation system.
I managed to sneak into the facility without being noticed. How I managed to get in without anybody smelling me I don't know ,since I reeked of death, but I'm just thankful no one spotted me. Once I was in my office-yes I had an office-I began looking through everything I'd managed to rescue.
As I read through them I was hit with horrified revelation. Daddy had been lying to me. He'd been lying to everyone. Many of the outbreaks that had occurred at other facilities weren't mere accidents, or safety breaches, a lot of them were releases. Yes, I said releases! He literally let xenomorphs loose, not just in undisclosed locations ,where it would looked like they'd escaped, but he also released them inside other colonies. One of the files hinted that Crimer's Ridge was one such instance. The Sulaco colony I'd funded for the remaining marines on the planet to retire to had been decimated by Task Force operatives. Any and all marines who'd been sent there had been killed. None of the money I'd spent had went to making life better for the marines. I'd meant to do something good for them, but Daddy had just made the whole thing one big execution for 5,000 broken and innocent colonial citizens! And that wasn't even counting the other 2,000 whose trains had been taken to other colonies, where they were confronted and falsely accused of being cultists! Michael Wilcox wasn't even real either! It was all just one big lie hidden under a series of tight cover-ups!
Among a many other recent tapes that had been thrown in the incinerator, I found two that proved it was him. Even more so it proved that he was the cultist all along. There is this tape ,I still have all of these by the way, one that shows him sitting down, staring at a restrained queen inside her enclosure as she laid her eggs. He was going on and on about how "magnificent" and "perfect" she and her "children" were, and how much he admired her species for it, he even apologized to the thing that he was keeping them contained the way he was. He was also going on about how badly he wanted to be like them, how he wanted us all to be like them. He said ,and I quote, "I am tired of looking around myself only to see the clumsy evolutionary dead end we humans are. It is you and only you who are perfect. From your flawless perception of the world you see around you, to your very structure... You... my dear... you are the very essence... the very definition of perfection. If I could only see what it is you see. Feel what it is you feel. When you hunt, when you prey, when you kill, when you do everything you do for the continuation of your species. You are not lazy. You do not rest until your objective is complete and there is nothing standing between you and the survival of your species, your nest, your... family." You couldn't imagine how shocked I felt when I heard all of this. But it gets worse. So much worse.
This is the recording of the other tape. It happened a few months prior to when I found them.
"Alright, what are you going to do? Polish my skull and spine like one of your trophies? Maybe fashion my skin into some fur coat of yours?!" (Weyland asks defiantly as he is surrounded by Yautja)
"Do not speak so disrespectfully to us ,OOMAN! Had we come to harm you, we would have already done so!" (Bri-ci'all spits back in the Yautja language)
"Patience ,my love. Patience." (Zell-oah says to Bri-ci'all) "I apologize for my mate's... brash reaction. He has no understanding of your language like I do. But he is correct. If we had any intent to harm you, we would have done so. I do apologize that we had to resort to such measures with the company of ooman soldiers with you. If it is of any consolation to you ,Mr. Weyland, they made excellent trophies." (She says to Weyland in perfect English)
"So you can talk. I had a feeling you could." (Weyland pauses looking at the other Yautja with them)
"Leave us. You disturb him." (Zell-oah orders the soldier Yautja out) "Is that better ,Mr. Weyland? Charles, if I am correct?"
"How do you know so much about me?! And what do you want from me?!" (Weyland asks with a hint of fear in his voice.)
"Let us say I have had... encounters with your daughter before. Jennifer." (Zell-oah replies)
"WHAT?! HAVE YOU HURT MY DAUGHTER?! IF YOU HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO HER, I WI-!" (Weyland begins before being interrupted by a monstrous roar)
"DO NOT DARE RAISE YOUR VOICE TO MY MATE SO INDIGNANTLY! YOU DISGUSTING OOMAN!" (Bri-ci'all roars)
"Bri-ci'all!" (Zell-oah exclaims)
"Why do we waste our time with this disrespectful ooman! We should kill him now and be done with this!" (Bri-ci'all growls angrily)
"Be still ,my love. He is vital to us. Let me speak with him." (Zell-oah says to Bri-ci'all softly ,calming him down) "My apologies ,Mr. Weyland. I will be honest that I have harmed your daughter in the past, but a certain 'Abomination' ,as we call him, prevented me from doing any further harm to her. I also apologize for that as well, and I promise you that my 'associates' and I shall do her no more harm. I give you my word. (Zell-oah promises)
(They pause) "Go on." (Weyland says in an angry, yet curious tone)
"I have learned much of your society, and although it fascinates me, I must unfortunately say that it is of no importance to us. But I understand that you barter. Your people make deals with others who have items of interest. And given your being, I judge you do much the same with other powerful oomans of similar class. Deals that are very important to your work and all that it has established. I also know that much of your work is tied to the kiande amedha or'Xenomorphs' as you call them. We have a certain proposition. One I would like to share, that may interest you." (Zell-oah explains)
(Weyland pauses before answering) "Go ahead."
"Thank-you. I am Zell-oah, and this is my mate ,Bri-ci'all. As of recent years I have devoted much of my time and work to the raising of an army. One so great it may destroy our enemies who exist in our home-world ,including my brother and the loyal remainder of his clan. I shall not go into detail of my plot, but let me say that during the conflict between me, and my brother, as well as those associated with him ,including your own daughter, I was defeated. I may have likely been able to finish them, had it not been for the 'Abomination' I spoke of earlier. The 'Abomination' ,you already know, is one of your warriors. Kjon of the Schaefer oomans." (Zell-oah explains, growling angrily as she does so)
"Yes, he was." (Weyland answers)
"It his intervention that lead to my defeat. In the time I was absent from my army, my underlings had fallen into disarray. Fortunately, my mate rescued me, and with his assistance I have managed to repair much of the damage. However, it shall take much time for me to repair all that I have lost. Which brings us to you. I have learned much about you since my quarrel with your daughter. You interest me, not just with your fascination of the kiande amedha, but also the work you've done with them, which I must say intrigues me even more so. I also know you have many of them. I want them as a part of my army." (Zell-oah finishes)
"Why should I give them to you, after everything you've done to my daughter?" (Weyland questions)
"Again, please forgive me for my transgressions, but I swear, my underlings and I will do no harm to her again." (Zell-oah apologizes)
"Promise?" (Weyland says)
"I promise." (Zell-oah replies)
(Weyland pauses) "Alright. But about this deal? What's in it for me? Besides, how could you control the xenomorphs anyway?" (Weyland asks)
"As I have mentioned before I have learned much about you over the past season, and I also know of your intrigue with our technology. Part of it allows us to take command of them. I am willing to trade a substantial portion of it with you in exchange for the kiande amedha. I may happily offer you proof of it's reliability if you wish." (Zell-oah answers)
(Weyland pauses, mulling over the deal carefully) "Alright. And yes, I would like a demonstration of it's reliability first. But I'm just a little curious. Why your going against your kind? If I may ask?"
"Not all of us hold loyalty to the foolish traditions of our ancestors. The leaders of our home-world banished us wrongfully. Because of it, I wish to see them suffer, just as we have." (Zell-oah explains before continuing curiously) "I understand they have also caused you much strife with your work, yes?"
"Yes, actually. They've been causing problems for me and my company now for quite some time. Not just me even, but also my predecessors before me." (Weyland answers)
We may both get the retribution we rightfully deserve ,Mr. Weyland. I may even spare you a part of my army if you wish. I may even grant you those of my brother's and my mate's clan. They would make interesting hosts for the kiande amedha, would they not?" (Zell-oah postulates)
(Weyland pauses shortly before responding) "Perhaps I judged you to quickly. So long as I have my demonstration, and the device works, and ,most importantly, so long as no one ,and I mean NO ONE, hurts Jennifer again, I'll give you all the xenomorphs you want."
"Of course." (Zell-oah agrees)
(After a successful demonstration of the pheromone glove.) "Zell-oah. You've got a deal. This was more than I even thought it was. Hell, I'll even throw in something extra for you and your mate here." (Weyland replies satisfied)
"Perfect. Now there is still a matter of the 'Abomination' ,Kjon. He shall be a powerful detriment to our plans, but I shall be willing to offer you my support for his destruction. We have done much to damage his reputation with our kind, but I imagine he still holds loyalty to some of you oomans." (Zell-oah adds)
"There is no need for that ,my dear. He's dead." (Weyland replies)
"He is?!" (Zell-oah asks in gleefully amazement)
"See for yourself." (Weyland says as he shows Zell-oah the ending of the New Hadley's Hope Attack)
(Zell-oah growls pleasantly) "This deal of ours has been even sweeter than I imagined it to be." (The footage ends)
Jenny cries a little before she ends the tape.
I couldn't believe it. Daddy was not only lying to us and causing us harm, but he was even willing to cause harm to the Yautja. Even for how much I despise most of them, I couldn't believe he'd do this. I-I-I-I couldn't. I was just... Why? Why?
Obviously though, all of that paled in comparison to what I'd done. What I'd not just done to the planet, by believing in my father's lies, but what I'd put my poor Fire Angel through. I went through the footage on Beth's memory file and found that Jon hadn't killed Dr. Reida, Lisa, Terry, or any of the operatives during their experiment. He wasn't even there. There had been a security malfunction that had gone unnoticed which allowed the xenomorph queen ,as well as some of her subjects, to escaped. They are the ones who killed my friends. Even during the New Hadley's Hope Attack, there weren't nearly as many deaths as all of the other sources related to the incident said there were. In fact many of the deaths were accidental, and another large portion of the colonists that had died in the attack were killed by Task Force operatives, most of which were lead by Massey. They were there just to make him look bad. He didn't even instigate the fight, it was the Task Force. He'd been one of the unfortunate few to be taken over to New Hadley's and had been 'misidentified' as a cultist, along with several other marines who'd been with him at the time. The operatives ,who'd also been lead by Massey, along with several colonists beat them all to death ,all except for Jon. One of the operatives cameras caught him trying to save a female marine ,a friend of his I guessed judging by how emotional he was at the time. He was unsuccessful in treating her wounds. I could see him holding her body in his arms, tearfully crying over it as the operatives aimed their pistols at him. That is what instigated his violent reaction. That is what had caused him to act with such hateful aggression.
The end was the most heart-breaking to see. I watched the real footage that had come from Spears' body camera when Jon was gunned down. He didn't attack first, he didn't roar, he didn't even have a weapon in his hands. He just stepped out and looked at them with this tearful frustrated look in his eye. He did nothing. He just stood there and took it. The scene continued horrifically as Massey and most of the other operatives continued shooting him, before they began to beat. They tormented him like a helpless dog, before finally Spears did the merciful thing and put Jon out of his misery.
"What have I done?!" I whispered to myself, horrified over what I'd just seen. How could I have done this to him?! Why could I not see any of this?! How had I not seen it?! How could I have been so blind. Dad had admitted everything to me! The lies, the cover-ups, all of it! Even though he made it look like what he was doing was for a noble purpose, how could I have believed him?! How?! Why?!
The only thing more horrifying I was thinking and feeling, was the thought of how much pain my Fire Angel had been in before he died. How much pain I'd put him through. How much pain we'd all put Jon through. Me, Ch'ris, Rachelle, His own family, Hadrick. He didn't deserve any of this. And all of it was because of me. He wasn't the monster. I was. I began to cry tearfully thinking about all of this, before I heard someone knocking on my door. It was Beth.
Before I even had a chance to say anything she entered. "Jenny what's wrong I heard you-." She said noticing the documents and the images on the screen.
Before she had time to react, I grabbed her CPU and leapt at her.