Jennifer's Diary
August 16, 2621
I was surprised by how brief our scuffle was. Although you may have not have thought it when looking at us, Beth was actually stronger than I was. Most artificial person's musculoskeletal systems consist of an endoskeleton constructed from carbon fiber which are attached to vat-grown silicon colloid muscles which are normally powered via micro-hydraulics or electrical simulation ,depending upon the model. Because of that they are not only capable of man handling a regular human being, but can also ,theoretically speaking, go toe to toe with a xenomorph. Despite this, I somehow managed to pin Beth down long enough to quickly remove her current CPU, causing her body to fall limp.
Despite the length of our struggle, I'd unfortunately attracted some very undesired attention in the form of the Task Force, who I heard coming from the other corner of the hallway. Before they could get here though, I hid Beth's body, the documents, removed the images from my computer monitor, and put on a fresh change of clothes. My current lab wear wasn't exactly in good condition after rummaging through the garbage. I was also able to even get rid of the stink with the room's automatic air purifier. The Task Force stormed into the room seconds later and began surveying the room, thankfully they didn't kick my office door off of it's hinges as they did so.
"Is everything alright in here Miss Weyland?" One of them asked as the rest inspected the room carefully.
"Yes, everything is fine, I just accidently fell down." I replied sounding as normal as I could, despite still being choked up form what I saw earlier.
"We heard screaming though?" Another asked.
"It hurt." I answered nonchalantly looking at my tail.
The operatives continued their search though. They were in charge of guarding me while Daddy was away, and I knew he'd kill them if they let anything happened to me, so I could forgive their rigor. One of them made a search through my closet, where I'd hid Beth's body, as well as the documents and her CPU. I tried not to stare but he was in there for longer than I would've liked him to be. Thankfully I'd managed to position Beth somewhere inside where no one would think to look for her. Vents are pretty handy, not just for hiding in, but for hiding other things too.
"Nothing ,sir." The operative said. The rest of them found nothing either.
"Sorry to have bothered you Miss Weyland." The one operative said apologetically.
"It's alright ,sir. You guys are just doing your jobs. I understand." I told them with a soft smile on my face. After they let themselves out I waited a few moments to make sure they were far enough away before returning to Beth and the documents. I pulled Beth's motionless body out along with the documents, which I stuffed into my purse, before putting the other CPU inside her. She quickly regained consciousness.
"Jenn-!" She was about to scream, before I put my hand over her mouth. She knew why I was silencing her and made no effort to attack or retaliate.
"Do you remember anything?" I gave her a wide-eyed look. She nodded affirmatively. I took my hand off of her mouth and we continued in whispers. There really was no need to talk like this, but after what had just happened, I was afraid that just the slightest movement would summon the Task Force, or worse, the combat androids.
"I'm so sorry that I lied to you ,Jennifer! I-I-I didn't know! Father- h-he pulled my CPU-! T-The memories... they're are false! Kjon didn't kill Reida, Terry, or Lisa! It was all an accident! I swear I did not mean-!" She sputtered. It was a good thing she had more than one memory card for her CPU to work off of, or else things would've been pretty confusing to her.
"I know. I know. It's okay Beth. It's not your fault." I replied with a guilt-ridden look on my face.
"What is the matter?" She asked me.
"It's all my fault, Beth. All of it." I replied.
"No it is not. None of this is. It is Father. He's the one who lied to us." Beth told me.
"No. It's mine. If I'd had seen it... Jon... h-he'd still be..." I cried.
"Jennifer. His death was not your fault. You did everything you could for him." Beth tried to convince me.
"No. No I didn't. I should've known Daddy was lying but I... I just... I betrayed him... And now he's dead because of me..." I sobbed.
"Jennifer, you didn't know. I didn't know. I'm-I'm sorry." Beth apologized as she tried to comfort me.
"Jon was more than a friend ,Beth... So much more... I should've believed him. If I had, he and all of those colonists wouldn't be dead now... It's my fault... All of it... Their blood is on my hands ,Beth..." I told her.
"No, it is not ,Jennifer. Father did this. We did not know. He lied to us. He killed Kjon. He killed those colonists. He's the one who caused the attack to happen in the first place. None of this is your fault." I still didn't agree with her. She could tell. "Listen to me Jennifer. I know you feel responsible for what has happened, but it is not your fault. I understand Kjon meant a lot to you. I do not understand how much. I think I may never understand. But I just don't feel that it is fair for you to take responsibility for something that I feel wasn't your fault. You made a mistake, you didn't know what you were doing, neither did I." Beth told me.
Before we could continue, Rodriguez and Tina entered the office. "Hey Jenny. We just ran into the opera-." Rod said as he and Tina came in before they noticed me crying on the floor with Beth comforting me.
"Hey, Jenny what's wrong." Tina asked as she knelt down with Beth.
"Father has lied to us. Kjon did not kill Reida, Lisa, or Terry." Beth answered her.
"What are you talking about Beth? You were there? You saw him do it?! He cut you in half?!" Tina asked with confusion and a noticeable hint of frustration in her voice. I could understand she was confused, but why would this upset her.
"Yeah, wha-what the hell is wrong with the both of you? You both saw it on his mask? You told us what you saw?" Rod said taking Tina's side. He sounded a little less upset than Tina.
"It was all a lie. Father must have done something to it. Neither of us know." Beth answered.
"That's impossible! Why would he do that?! He's your father?! Why would he lie to you?!" Tina asked a little aggressively.
"It's true. Jon was innocent." I told them.
"No he was not! You saw what he did! It was him! Why are you saying that monster is innocent now?!" Tina continued.
"Wait? What are those?" Rod asked noticing the contents inside my purse. A shocked expression took form on their faces when they saw it. The look they gave also suggested recognition.
"Give those to me!" Tina said as she reached for my purse aggressively, before I swiftly snatched it away, and began backing away from them. Beth joined me. "What are you doing ,Jenny! Give them to me!" Tina demanded.
"You're in on this too?! Aren't you?!" I asked them with a tearful, angry sneer on my face.
"Jenny... Jenny please. Just give the documents to us. Nobody needs to know any of this happened." Rod requested calmly.
"Why did you do this?!" I asked.
"Jenny, just give us the damn-!" Tina requested impatiently trying to reach for my purse.
"NO! TELL ME WHY YOU DID IT! NOW!" I demanded.
"Get security Rod!" Tina ordered him. He did as she told him to and ran out the door. Tina stayed behind.
"Beth! Lock and barricade the door! They'll be in hear any second now!" I told her, which she did obediently. I doubted it would do us any good, but I thought it would slow them down long enough for us to escape, but not before I got what I wanted out of Tina. Tina tried to struggle with Beth but as I mentioned before Beth was much stronger than a normal human, and easily managed to throw Tina aside.
"Why are you both doing this?!" Tina asked with a sneer.
"You already know why! Now answer the damn question! Why did you lie to me?!" I demanded.
"Beth talk some sense into her!" Tina ordered.
"You heard my sister! Answer her!" She replied.
Before we could get any answers out of her though the operatives, kicked the office door down. That didn't do as much good as I thought it would have.
I instinctively pulled the SW 4506 out of my holster and aimed it at the operatives, who responded by aiming their weapons at us. I knew they wouldn't shoot me ,at least I was pretty sure they wouldn't given how "high priority" I was to dad, but Beth... Beth cautiously began walked back to me. "Hand over the evidence Miss Weyland, and give us the android." One of the operatives asked in a calm but authoritative manner.
"Jenny, Beth, please. Just do as they say. It doesn't need to be like this." Rod said.
"Fuck you!" I spat. Tina tried to snatch my purse away from me, but I anticipated it. I caught her by the hand before immediately twisting it behind her back. She let out a painful whelp as I did that.
"Make one move and she's dead!" I said pointing my 4506 at Tina's head. I wasn't going to do it, but no body else needed to know that. Besides even if they knew I was bluffing they still wouldn't risk shooting me, and if we had to Beth and I would be out the window before they could change their minds.
"Let her go Miss Weyland, and give us what we want. Nobody needs to get hurt." The one operative commanded.
"Jenny, please, listen to reason. Just do as they say. None of this needs to happen. I-if you do as your told nothing bad will happen. I promise. Your father doesn't need to know about this." Rod said after noticing the situation.
"This had something to do with that promotion Dad gave you, didn't it?!" I guessed.
"He gave us a good opportunity and we took it! Besides we were doing this for your own good!" Tina answered.
"Please, Jenny. I know you won't hurt Tina-." Rod continued trying to reason with me.
"Not if you take another step I won't!" I told him trying to keep the threat as legitimate and believable.
"Jenny, we're your friends. Please. We did what we did for you." Rod said.
"By lying to me?! Telling me my boyfriend was a murderer?! By keeping everything you knew secret from me, all for your own personal gain?! What kind of friends would do that?!" I asked.
"It wasn't even human? How could you love that THING?!" Tina asked. Like that argument was actually going to do anything to sway me.
"He was more human than all of us combined!" I sneered angrily, and with a hint of guilt in my voice.
"That monster was nothing, but a stupid murderous animal! He had it coming to him!" How dare she call him that! I smacked her in the head with the grip of my pistol after she said that. "Beth, please, surely you believe us! Please make your sister see that we did none of this to hurt you!" Rod begged.
"No." Beth replied.
"What?!" Tina exclaimed.
"I know that Kjon was not human. But he did not kill our friends. What happened was an accident. He did nothing to me or our friends. I cannot testify how Jennifer feels about him personally, but what we did to him was wrong. Jennifer and I realize that now. She is my sister and I love and trust her. I'm going to help her." Beth responded faithfully.
"How can you love anything you're just an android?! A simple piece of hardware with false memories! Property made to take orders?!" Tina screamed.
"Jenny wanted a sister, and that is what I am. I am more than just a simple machine with false memories whose only purpose is to take orders. I've learned much beyond what I was programmed to be, and I understand my sister's affection for me. She cares for me. It's because of her that I am here right now. I owe my very existence to her. That is why I am helping her right now. Because I love her." Beth answered, giving me a short soft smile after she replied. "And I prefer the term 'artificial person'." She added.
"It is hopeless talking to you! Shoot them!" Tina ordered. I considered diving out the office window, but saw that there were operatives waiting for us out there too, so we were trapped. Thankfully I had another trick up my sleeve ,quite literally. We just needed to stall them long enough until the cavalry arrived.
"Nobody harm Miss Weyland. Mr. Weyland wants her alive. The other two are expendable." The operatives said aiming at Beth and Tina, the latter of whom began panicking.
"Shoot my sister and I shoot back!" I threatened them in vain as I took my pistol off of Tina and pointed it at the operatives. They all had body armor on so it wouldn't have done all that much good, but I was not about to let them hurt Beth.
Despite this though they didn't shoot for one reason or another, I guess they were still afraid of harming me on accident. Before our standoff could reach a conclusion, the wall behind us exploded in a shower of debris. That was fast. The explosion shocked us all causing most of us to fall to the floor. The explosion was followed by a series of blue plasma shots that soared towards the operatives who were still standing. Some of them were hit, but the shots weren't very strong though, so they'd be alright.
"Jennifer! Bethany!" Rachelle called out. My friend's cloaked figure motioned for us to follow.
"GO!" I told Beth as I pushed her towards the hole Rachelle had made. I stayed behind long enough to quickly grab a box I'd hidden under my desk. Tina tried stopping me as I went for it, grabbing at my purse as she did so, but I was able to grab onto her, sweep her leg and throw her to the other side of the room. She hit her head on the wall knocking her out.
"That's for Jon!" I said as I escaped with Rachelle and Beth. Once outside we were met by Ch'ris and Sa-v'ar who had taken down the operatives who were outside.
"We must leave now! More shall be arriving soon!" He didn't need to tell me twice. Before the operatives had a chance to regroup we were long gone.
"Thank-you so much for saving us. I am sorry for misjudging you both." Beth thanked them as we followed them.
"You need not apologize ,Bethany." Ch'ris politely excused her.
"How did you know we needed your help though?" Beth asked curiously.
"We received a distress signal from Jenny's wristbracer." Rachelle answered. I revealed the wrist computer affixed to my arm, which I'd hid under the sleeve of my shirt. I'd done that just before I began looking for the documents.
"How do you-?" Beth asked. I'll admit I lied when I said I'd gotten rid of the equipment Jon had given me. In fact the box from under my desk had the suit in it, along with all the other weapons Jon had given to me.
"I lied." I replied simply.
Once at Ch'ris' ship Beth began reading through the documents, while I told my friends about everything I'd discovered. About the Sulaco colony, about my father's obsession with the xenomorphs, and even Zell-oah and Bri-ci'alls deal with him, and that they were the ones who'd been causing their clan so much trouble with their "reconstruction." Needless to say Ch'ris and Rachelle were not happy to hear that.
"Their treachery has gone too far! They must suffer for what they have done!" Rachelle growled furiously.
"Yes Gkei'moun R'ka! They must pay for everything they've done against us all!" Ch'ris growled, he was more patient and self-controlled than his mate was, but you could tell he was thinking the same thing she was. "For what they did to R'ka Bhu'ja (Fire Demon)." He added. I went silent for a moment when he mentioned Jon.
"This is my fault too. I... I did this to him... I betrayed him..." I spoke.
"Jennifer. This was our father's-." Beth tried telling me again.
"And I am the one who believed his lies! Jon suffered because of me! If it wasn't for me, he'd still be alive right now!" I told her angrily. I wasn't angry with her, I was angry with myself. "I'm sorry ,sis. But nothing you say or do is going to convince me that this isn't my fault." I apologized tearfully.
Beth paused for a moment. "I understand ,Jennifer. But if that is the way you shall see it, then I am also to blame." Beth said.
"No. No, you're not. You were just following your programming." I replied.
"Yes, but I am also a cause for what happened. I know you don't understand why I am saying this, but I am not going to let you bear this burden of alone, especially when I feel it is not you who is to blame for it. Not you alone at least." Beth told me.
"No ,Beth. None of this is your fault. None of it. You did nothing wrong. Yes, this is Dad's fault. He did lie to us... but I still believed it. I should've known he'd done something to Jon's bio-mask, but I was just... I just... I should've believed him! I'd been with him long enough... I should've seen that he would never have done such a thing...! I should've seen what Dad was doing...! But I just...! I-I just...!" I paused for a moment to sob. "I've made a terrible mistake...! I... I just want to make things right again...! I want to repent for everything I've done! I want to take back everything I said to him... everything I did to him...! I want to tell him how sorry I am... I want to hold him again... I want to tell him that I love him...! I just... I... I..." I paused again. "I just want him back... But I know I'm never going to get him back..." I cried uncontrollably.
There was more I wanted to say, so much more, but no matter how many times I'd say it, no matter how many times I thought it, I knew it would do nothing to fix the horrible fallacy I'd committed. I'm so so sorry my Fire Angel. But saying sorry wasn't going to bring him back to life. He was dead because of me. I deserved to suffer. I wanted suffer so much more, yet at the same time I wanted to fix what I'd done. I wanted to repent, but I didn't want to be forgiven because I didn't deserve such mercy for what I'd done. If there was just any way I could fix this I would, no matter what it was. But again, there was nothing I could do.
"We understand how you feel Jennifer." Rachelle purred sympathetically, as she knelt beside me.
"No, you don't." I sobbed.
"Gkei'moun R'ka is right ,Jennifer. We do understand. We betrayed Kjon just the same as you. We are equally blameworthy for what has happened to him. I should have seen how much my brother needed me. But I too threw him away. We all deserve to endure this agony, not just you." Ch'ris said, vibrating his mandibles in a sorrowful hiss.
We all stood there in silence as we all shared each others pain. Whatever hell I knew God had in store for us we deserved to be burning in this very moment.
"I'm apologize for my interruption, but our father is still out there, along with those other Hunters you were talking about. If we don't do something now more innocent people will die." Beth said. She had a very good point to make with that statement. Even though we could never be able to right the wrongs we'd made, there was still something we could do. If we continued to stand around and mope about our feelings, then those people would suffer worse than us.
"You're right ,Beth. Dad has done enough damage. I'm not going to let him hurt anymore people. Jon did what he did for us even though it wasn't his responsibility to do so. But he still did it anyway. It's time we cleaned up our mess." I said with anger behind my voice.
Ch'ris and Rachelle looked at each other with a firm glare. "For R'ka Bhu'ja." Rachelle said. "For our Hunter Brother ,Schaefer." Ch'ris replied as they both held each others hands firmly. Sa-v'ar even joined us.
"I shall go with you as well. I won't let you do this alone ,sister. If there is anything I may do to help I will do it." I still didn't like that Beth was taking responsibility for this, but then again I felt the same way, and it did feel comforting to have her with me, besides we were both fugitives now, and we needed all the help we could get. I gave her a gracious smile. We all made a promise to finish the mission that Jon had set out to accomplish. Stop my father, and rid this planet of all xenomorphs ,spare Sa-v'ar. We still knew we couldn't atone for what we did to him, but at least we could uphold the promise he swore himself to.
"Alright guys. We will be going after them, but before we do that we need to get the truth inside these documents out to the colonies first. If we can get the truth out to as many of the colonists as possible, that may give us a chance."
"We understand, but how may we go about that?" Ch'ris asked. He had a very good point, and unfortunately I didn't have an answer for him.
"I don't know, I'll try to think of something, but the important thing we need to do is to make sure that the colonists get the truth." I replied. Ch'ris was not the type of Yautja who went in without a plan. Yes, he was optimistic and encouraging, but he also didn't let that get in the way of thinking either. Despite that though, he knew what was at stake. It wasn't just the colonists, but also his clan and the rest of Yautja Prime who would be suffering from this as well. We'd also made a promise to Jon, and none of us were going to let him down.
The day after that we all began to prepare ourselves for what was about to come. Ch'ris and Rachelle began setting up their loadouts, while I dawned my armor once again. "I don't understand how you are so comfortable with wearing something so... revealing?" Beth questioned.
"You get used to it sis. Besides your cloaked most of the time so no one's going to stare." I told her as I put on my glove, flexing the blades a few times. They still worked.
"You look like a fictional amazon warrior princess." Beth commented. That made me chuckle a little. I put on my xenomorph skull, bio-helmet and began flipping through the multiple vision modes, before activating my camouflage. They still worked too. It had only been less than a year since I'd worn these things, but I wasn't taking any chances.
We landed a couple miles outside of the New Hadley's, just close enough for us to move in on foot, and far enough away not to get detected by any of the colony's sensors. In the time it took me to prepare I came up with a flawed, yet feasible plan. After the little stunt I'd just pulled, chances were likely the facility had sent out a warning to the other W.Y.C.S.T.F. agencies around the planet. No doubt Daddy would also be hearing about this soon afterward, so we had to be stealthy. Given how high priority I was and how easily I stuck out in a crowd, I'd need to be with Ch'ris and Rachelle. Beth was less noticeable so she'd be going in casually. We'd be following her closely until we got to one of the broadcasting stations. There we'd upload the information inside of Beth's memory card, and broadcast that information across the rest of the planet. We could've been able to do this from the facility, but after what we'd just done, we knew that wouldn't be a very good idea. Even if we didn't have to deal with security, just broadcasting it from there would be a risky maneuver, since there were several admins and bots looking for leaks. At least that's what I thought, and after everything I'd seen I was probably right. Fortunately though no one would be suspecting it to come from one of the colonies ,especially New Hadley's. By the time they even noticed anything was happening, the satellites would be broadcasting the information all over the planet, or at least all over New Hadley's.
As we approached the colony I remember feeling the heat. Summer had lasted a lot longer than expected, which had been caused by an immense heat wave that had formed over in the northeastern hemisphere which had carried over into the southwest, cutting straight through New Hadley's Hope as it went. Things like this have happened before. The heat waves are caused by pressure systems that form within a particular region which carries over randomly to other areas before stalling, causing warm air to fall downward in whatever area they stop in. That also keeps cool air on the surface from rising, not too dissimilar from the kind of activity you find on Earth. It helps to know a thing or two about the weather when you're a botanist. Although things like this weren't too uncommon I still found it a bit... eerie. I-I don't know what it was. Something just didn't feel right about it. I was able to ignore it though.
Once we got to the gate we had to incapacitate a few of the colony's barrier guards, but other than that we faced no further complications. Ch'ris, Rachelle, and I followed Beth closely, stalking her from the roofs. She would occasionally look around herself, at the roof tops and in the alley ways to see our cloaked figures. Aside from her though no one else knew we were there. I began to understand why the Yautja enjoyed doing this, stalking and observing things without being seen. The urban environment was so much different than the jungle outside. There were creatures who could sense you without even needing to look in your direction. Abilities inherent in each of them that allowed them to detect predators and prey, meaning you had to be meticulous while stalking your prey. If you were careful like your prey ,whether it was prey or a predator like you, you could secure the kill. Make one mistake though, and the prey will either run or fight back. Here though there was so much going on no one would suspect a cloaked Hunter was be standing right next to them, or hovering over them. I'll admit it was kind of fun, or at least it would've been, had I taken the time to savor it.
For as pleasant of an experience as it was, I was too focused to enjoy it. I didn't want to be distracted from the mission. I didn't want to forget about my mistake. I actually began to understand how badly it felt. The dishonor. How the Yautja felt whenever they dishonored themselves, whenever they shamed their clan with their failure. How Jon had felt when he tried so hard to restore his mother's honor. It was painful to think about how far he'd gone only for him to unintentionally give away to save me. That thought along with the thoughts of what I'd just discovered that kept replaying in my mind over and over again made me feel even worse. Despite that though, I couldn't let those thoughts get in my way either. Although I deserved to be feeling them, I had to put them away long enough to accomplish my goal. I won't give up. I'll keep going. I'll do this for you ,Jon. I thought.
"We are almost at the broadcasting station guys. But stay alert. Security might be tighter than expected." I informed everyone.
"We understand. We shall be right outside if you need us." Rachelle told us.
Now the fun part is about to begin. Before Beth and I could make it inside though, we heard an explosion across the street from where we were.
A car had exploded, the vehicle went flying through the air about seven feet or so in a circular motion before slamming down in the center of the street. "What the hell was that?!" One of the colonists asked after he saw it. Another one combusted almost immediately afterward in the opposite direction. Another explosion followed after, a small oriental restaurant, I hadn't paid attention to what type. That time I could see what had caused it. I watched another blue energy ball soar through the air towards a corner store shop. The projectile blew into the structure effortlessly in a fiery explosion that decimated part of the structure. Soon more plasma projectiles, each of varying color and power began filling the air around us in rapid secession.
I switched to my bio-helmet's infra-red and saw them standing atop the buildings. Yautja. Many ,MANY, of them. Not just on the roof tops, but those in their ships, some of which were landing atop the buildings, while others fired on the streets below with plasma projectiles of their own.
"What are they doing here?!" I asked myself. I knew that Zell-oah and Bri-ci'all were here and that their army was with them, or at least that was an educated assumption, but why were they attacking like this?! What did they have to gain by attacking unarmed prey?! Sure they were dishonorable Yautja who defy their society's honor code, and hunt whatever type of prey they wish to, but there focus was on Yautja Prime?! Why were they bothering with the colonists?!
I watched horrifically as they barraged the streets below, hitting more vehicles and structures and even the helpless people below them. The projectiles tore through their bodies with devastating effect. Limbs were torn from their sockets, the beams passing through them as if they weren't even there. Others were simply blow to pieces, their bodies combusted like water balloons filled with gore.
The bad bloods ceased their fire shortly afterward and leapt to the ground. Strangely they didn't attack the colonists, but merely towered over them, scaring them into submission, herding them like cattle. Those who were foolish enough to attack, were slaughtered. I noticed all of this as I fought with them. Of course Ch'ris, and Rachelle, and I were spotted by them, and naturally it lead to the obvious happening. Despite how many of them there were we still fought. There was no way we could get out of this without a fight, and we needed to protect the colonists. Either way we were going to have to fight, and fight we did ,all four of us. Beth actually held herself well. She was installed with a few self-defense programs in her, something Dad had added to her so she could protect me.
We did what we could to hold off the massive army of Yautja, and save those we could in the process. Most of the other Yautja were preoccupied with the colonists. I found myself asking why they were doing that, but not taking the time to dwell on why since I was too preoccupied myself, dodging swinging blades, and plasma shots.
The Task Force arrived shortly afterward along with several combat androids, and every assortment of weapon and vehicle they had in their arsenal. Despite the trouble I knew I'd get from them, I knew it couldn't have been any worse than what I was in now. Yes! The cavalry has arrived! I thought gleefully. My celebration was short lived however when I saw that they weren't fighting the bad bloods, but helping them round up the colonists. Yes, they were helping them! Again I couldn't dwell on why since I was fighting for my life.
A plasma bolt struck me in the shoulder. My armor was able to shield me from the blast ,which wasn't a very powerful, so I wasn't too badly hurt. It felt like a punch or a really hard shove
"It's been a long time ,Jennifer Bishop Weyland." Zell-oah made a clicked purr as she said that.
"Zell-oah!" I exclaimed in shock as I looked up at her.
"I told you you would not be rid of me easily." She said with a satisfied smile on her face. She'd looked no different from the last time I'd seen her, aside from a few noticeable scars on her face, and the prosthetic arm that replaced her left arm that Jon had broken.
I quickly got back to my feet and charged. She leapt to the side, before grabbing ahold of my leg before rotating her body in a circular motion and throwing me. I landed on my back a couple paces away. I spent no time dwelling on the pain and recovered, grabbing my combi-stick as I did so. She drew her wristblade, and blocked a downward strike I made with my weapon. I tried maneuvering the double edged spear for another attack, but she blocked that attack just the same. Before I could rebound for another strike, I felt her foot smack my face from the side. The blow sent me flying away. I recovered once again, this time allowing Zell-oah to make her move first. She threw herself at me trying to swing her metallic fist at my face, but I leapt to the side, and swung back in a circular motion, bringing my combi-stick down on her. Her armor managed to protect her though, and I quickly found her elbow in my stomach. I felt like I was going to puke after that.
"Pitiful." Zell-oah said with that evil grin still etched on her face. I picked myself up again and charged at her with my combi-stick stretched out in front of me. Zell-oah caught the hilt of the weapon which I'd hoped for, right before I spun my foot around her leg and swept it under her feet managing to trip her over. I spun the rest of my body around before bringing both my spear and my tail down on her. She'd partially anticipated the attack, managing to block the spear with her hand, but my tail went into her lower abdominal area, not very deeply mind you, but it did leave a recognizable mark. She ignored the painful blow however and threw the edge of my spear away from her before grabbing at my tail with both of her hands. I winced a little as she crushed it in her one hand, which allowed her to pull it out and throw me away.
I managed to recover quickly enough to block a diagonal swing from her wristblade with my combi-stick. The strike put a visible mark on the hilt of my weapon, but my double edged spear withstood the blow. Using leverage to my advantage, I managed to move myself out from underneath her, and also smack her with the edge of my combi-stick, managing to leave a small cut on one of her mandible. She stood there for a brief moment to feel at the mark, and even lick the blood before grinning again and charging. I dodged a couple of swings from her wristblade, before tripping, her over with my tail and weakly tried throwing her. Yautja are much heavier than they look, especially the females. That used up a good portion of my physical energy, which left me weak for a moment. Zell-oah took that opportunity to sweep my feet with her arm causing me to fall. She tried to bring her prosthetic fist down on me, but I rolled away before the strike could connect. The blow caused the asphalt ground to shatter.
"The deal you made to my father?! Don't you remember it?!" I asked her.
"You know of that?" She asked with an interested look.
"I know everything about your deal with him! I also remembered you promised him you wouldn't hurt me!" I told her.
"I never promised that I would not have a little fun with you. Besides your father is very displeased by what you've done ,Jennifer." She replied. Before charging towards me. I brought myself backwards a little, skillfully twirling my combi-stick around before making a defensive diagonal strike. I was able to hit her in the side of the face with that blow. I quickly twirled my spear around before bringing it down again. This time though, she blocked the attack with her wristblade. I rebounded and went for a horizontal swing instead, but she also blocked that. I tried sneaking my tail around her as we fought, but she anticipated that and swiftly caught it as I threw my strike. I stood there in a short moment of shock over how quickly she'd managed to grab my appendage. Zell-oah's evil grin grew a little, before she backhanded me. That blow caused damage to my bio-helmet, which flew off my face.
"Primitive." Zell-oah judged my combi-stick which she held in her hands, right before effortlessly breaking it in two. She brought her left arm up before flexing it, causing the claws on the fingers to extend to terrifyingly vicious length. I accepted her provocation, and flexed my glove as well causing the significantly smaller blades on my fingers to eject. Zell-oah cackled at my pitiful attempt to look threatening.
I threw myself at her, but she moved to the side, before quickly bringing her other arm down on my back, thankfully the blow didn't destroy my vertebrae. I felt my chin hit the ground painfully after that happened. I moved my lower jaw around a bit, to check if it was broken. It wasn't. That gave Zell-oah plenty of time to pick me up by my feet and throw me at a car. How my spine wasn't in pieces at that point, I don't know, but I was thankful for whatever had cushioned me from the collision. The impact knocked the wind out of me, causing me to gasp and retch for a couple of seconds.
"That was poor. You've gotten sloppy ,Jennifer. Very sloppy, and weak. And I thought you would be a formidable challenge like last time." Zell-oah said in disappointment, that smile never leaving her face though. "Had you been stronger like you were before, perhaps that Abomination of yours would still be alive, but alas you have failed. I only regret not seeing the look on his face when you betrayed him. I also wish I could have see the terror in that dishonorable's eyes when he died." Zell-oah added, before laughing. Those remarks sparked an angry fire that quickly grew out of control.
I screamed angrily as I charged at her, and we began our duel. Our blades connected in a series of metallic tings and clatters. One of her swings connected with my leg. Thankfully though it was only a minor flesh wound. Zell-oah laughed again. I wasn't going to hear any more of it. I continued attacking with every last bit of hate I had for her. Very quickly though the fight went in my favor, and I managed to cut Zell-oah's arm. She made a defensive swing with her hand, but I moved away before the swing could catch my skin. I grabbed her by her right arm and pulled her towards me, allowing me to run my finger blades into her side. The cuts were deep, but unfortunately they weren't large or deep enough to be fatal. I immediately ripped my claws out of her before punching her to the ground. I stood over my opponent and bellowed an enraged scream as I threw my hand down.
Before my blades could reach her though, my arm was caught by a clawed hand. I looked up and saw a male Yautja standing over me. It wasn't like any of the other Yautja I'd ever seen before. It stood approximately eight and a half, no, nine feet tall on two long digitigrade feet. It's skin was dark purple and spotted, the head was larger than normal, it's black eyes were narrower and more focused, it's mandibles were long and spread out, reminding me of a spider. The Yautja ,if it even was one of them, bellowed a shrill and furious roar, something unlike anything the normal Yautja could make. The monstrous being effortlessly pulled me off Zell-oah and threw me. Thankfully I didn't hit another car and bounced across the ground a few times. Before I could get back to my feet, the Yautja materialized beside me and picked me up by the throat, slammed me against a metal wall, and began choking me. The creature's enraged look grew had shifted into a sadistic smile as he watched me struggle.
"Miss me?" The monster asked in it's language. Although I couldn't recognize him from his physical appearance, his voice was indistinguishable. It was Bri-ci'all.
"Bri-ci'all stop! Do not kill her! Weyland wants her alive." Zell-oah told him. Bri-ci'all gave her a brief look, before clicking his mandibles in acknowledgement and dropped me to the ground. I was on my knees gagging and gasping for air. The Yautja turned towards his mate whom he graciously and gently picked up.
"Bri-ci'all?!" I managed to gasp in shock, wondering what had happened to him.
"What do you think of my Abomination ,Jennifer?" Zell-oah said. Judging by the way she was admiring him, that wasn't an insult. Bri-ci'all returned the seductive look she gave by smiling at her and tapping his mandibles together with affectionate regard. Their heads drew closer together allowing their mandibles to tap.
While they were showing their endearment for one another, I saw what had happened to Ch'ris, Rachelle, and Beth. Ch'ris looked like he'd had a confrontation with Bri-ci'all first, and lost badly. Beth had lost her right arm and had several gruesome scratches and cuts over her body, her white viscera oozing from her wounds. She was still active and moving around, but I could tell she was out of the fight. Rachelle, amazingly was still going. At the end of her scuffle, bad blood materialized behind her, and was about to run her through with his wristblades, before Beth pushed her to away, saving her. In doing so though, Beth was the one who was stabbed. My sister groaned robotically as the bad blood lifted her into the air. The bad blood subsequently dug his hand into her body before tearing out her skull and spinal cord, taking a few of the mechanic organ out with it. Even though I knew she could be repaired it was still very painful to watch. The dishonorable Yautja stared at his prize, before growling in disappointment and chucked the lifeless head away. I don't know why he did that, I guess he was disappointed that she wasn't the real thing.
"That's enough." Came my father's voice. I turned to look at him and was shocked by what I saw. His skin was grey like mine. His hands were clawed, closely resembling the appearance of a drone xenomorphs claw. His bare feet also had clawed protrusions. Spines ran down along his back between four dorsal tubes ending at the point of his long prehensile tail, which looked to be even longer than mine. His torso revealed a dark boney exoskeleton. He looked much much younger, like he was in his early to mid thirties rather than the aged 77 year old man I saw last time.
"Dad?!" I uttered as I stared up at him.
"Why would you do this to me Jennifer? Why would you betray me like this?" He with a disappointed look on his face.
I was unable to answer him as I found myself distracted by the three xenomorphs that stood beside him. They all hissed at me, but they did not attack. I saw Dad staring at the creatures. He was controlling them! He didn't do or say anything, yet somehow he managed to do it.
"Wha-?! How-? What happen-?" I stuttered.
"Genetic hybridization." He answered.
"How are you-?" I asked shocked by his ability to command them.
"After Zell-oah and Bri-ci'all revealed how they used pheromones to control the xenomorphs I finally discovered how to control them. I was also able to engineer a more biological method. Now I am one of them." He explained. "But that does not explain why you have done what you've done ,Jennifer. Why would you would go behind my back like you have." He said as he picked up my purse and looked at the contents inside.
"Dad-."
"Answer me!" He screamed, causing me to shrink. He'd rarely ever raised his voice to me like that, even when he was angry. That actually scared me worse than his ability to control the xenomorphs.
"I can't let you do this anymore. You've murdered and lied to everyone long enough. I'm not going to let this continue." I replied, fear rippled through my body as I spoke back in defiance.
"Don't you remember telling you it was all for a necessary purpose ,Jennifer? To make humans better than they are. Perfect. Like you. Like me. Like them." He said.
"By slaughtering them?! By feeding them over to the kiande amheda?!" I asked.
"They will become part of something bigger ,Jenny. Just the same as I have. I can feel every thought they feel. I can see what they see now. I have become perfect, just as they will."
"No they won't! They'll all die!"
"Their sacrifice will make them perfect. They'll be reborn perfect beings through the xenomorphs." He continued.
"Y-you've gone insane!"
"No I haven't ,Jenny. I have learned of their perfection. I've broken the barrier that separates our species. We can end this conflict." He continued trying to persuade me.
"You're not my father anymore..." I told him tearfully.
"I am still the same as I was Jennifer. Only I have become perfect. If you would understand-" Dad said trying to sound calm and inviting. I still didn't buy into his cultist bullshit.
"No you're not! You lied to me! You're willing to kill millions of people for a twisted belief that doesn't exist! You killed all of those colonists! You caused the attack last year! You killed Jon!" I shrieked
"It was necessary ,Jenny."
"No it wasn't you murdered all of them in cold-blood! Nothing that your doing will help anything you crazy cultist fuck!" Yes, I actually said that to his face.
Dad paused for a moment before continuing. "I'm deeply disappointed in you Jenny. I raised you, nurtured you, loved and cared for you as my own ever since you were first born. Even though you were not of my blood I made you my daughter. And this is how you respect me now." He said with a disappointed sigh. "So be it then. I still love you, but as your father I must see to it that you receive correction." He told me before turning to Bri-ci'all and Zell-oah. "Put her with the others, but do not harm her. She may be set free once she sees to reason." He told them, before looking back at me and tossing my purse along with all of the documents into the fire. After everything he was doing now it wouldn't matter whether the colonists received the truth of his actions or not. He was already displaying them, but it wouldn't matter for too much longer.
"When will the army be ready for our hunt?" Bri-ci'all asked my father with an impatient growl, which Zell-oah translated for him.
"The queen is not ready yet, she will be though in but a few more weeks, Bri-ci'all. We still have much work to do yet before she is though. Don't worry though, the both of you will have your army ready in good time, and you will get your hunt." He replied. After Zell-oah translated, Bri-ci'all's impatient frown creased into an eager smile.
They did as they were told and took us to these cages that they also used to house the colonists. I didn't bother fighting back. I was too weak from my fight with Zell-oah and Bri-ci'all to do anything. There were just to many, they'd overpower me too quickly. I was also afraid that if I did that the bad bloods would hurt the colonists. With the colonists they didn't put in these cages, they were being rounded up for transportation. Where, I didn't know, but I knew what they were taking these poor people to. It was like the fricking Holocaust.
Among the colonists who I did see imprisoned I also saw Yautja. Ch'ris and Rachelle were shocked. It was there clan, those of whom had stayed loyal to them. Among them were members of Jon's clan. There were also members of both clans who had mixed in with the ranks of the bad bloods. How could they do this? Why did they go against their code of honor in favor of these dishonorable murderers? I don't know.
I also saw Hadrick in one of the pens. He had this forlorn sad look on his face, one that looked as if he felt like he deserved what he was going through. I knew how he felt. Some of Jon's family was also imprisoned in one of these cages, which included Ph'rills and Trish. I didn't see Beo'n anywhere. Ch'ris, Rachelle, and I were placed inside the pen next to them. Once inside the holding pens Bri-ci'all further mocked me by tossing Beth's head and spinal cord, in with us. He laughed as he did it.
"What shall you do with us ,Zell-oah?" Ch'ris asked his sister.
"We have made a promise with Weyland. We shall do nothing to Jennifer. You both however shall be made to replace Sea'se-sha, and Ver-ia." She responded. Ch'ris and Rachelle both threw themselves at the pen door, and tried ripping the door off, roaring angrily as they did so. It did nothing.
"Trish!" I exclaimed.
"Jennifer!" She replied, as we both gave each other a hug through the bars of our cages.
"Are you alright?!" I asked her. It felt like the smartest question I could ask.
"Yes. We are." Trish responded. Bri-ci'all stared at us as we talked. Ph'rills gave him an angry frown, along with a growl. Bri-ci'all simply laughed at him.
"Where's Beo'n? I asked Trish. She fell silent and turned her head away.
"He is no more." Ph'rills responded, with sounding forlorn as he said it.
"What?!" I said.
"See for yourself." Bri-ci'all laughed as he showed us a polished Yautja skull. I couldn't believe it. Bri-ci'all had killed his own brother.
"Why would do this? Why would you betray your clan like this?! How could you betray your family like this you sick fuck?!" I questioned him.
"He was always number one to father! He was always the most honorable and responsible of the eldest of his young! I was born before he though! The birth right to the throne of our clan should have been mine, but it was instead given to him! I was content with that, though. I was content with being the second. I could control my other siblings, and fellow blooded hunters through fear. I worked hard to attain that fearful respect from them. From that I continued. I had as much power as I wanted. Whatever I wanted they gave. What did it matter to me that Beo'n had his place on the throne before I did? But after that Abomination came and challenged me like he did I discovered I could not hold that power I sought. I knew he would be next to the throne, but I would not allow it! But now I have all of the power I could ever have wanted!" He explained. Ph'rills growled angrily before rushing towards the front of the cage.
"Mark my words you dishonorable! You will suffer for this!" Ph'rills roared at him. Bri-ci'all responded simply by spitting in his face.
As that was going on two of the people refused to cooperate, which caused the Yautja responsible over them to beat them. He didn't stop there though as he took a little girl from one of the other pens out and threatened to harm her. The two stopped, and began begging for the Hunter not to harm the girl. She was theirs.
"Give that Ooman to me." Zell-oah ordered the one Yautja, who obediently did as she requested. Zell-oah picked up the little girl and flexed her left wrist causing the claws to eject out of her prosthetic hand.
"NO! leave that little girl alone!" I screamed. Ch'ris and Rachelle took my side screaming and begging for her not to kill the girl. Zell-oah glanced at us and smirked. She didn't care. If anything our pain would make the act even sweeter to her. We wouldn't allow it though.
I began helping Ch'ris and Rachelle with the cage door. Somehow we managed to muster enough strength to rip the door off. Zell-oah had taken to long savoring the moment to notice, which allowed me to rip the girl out of her grasp while Ch'ris and Rachelle attacked Zell-oah. Bri-ci'all wouldn't allow his mate to be harmed though, and easily over powered them with the help of some of his fellow bad bloods. I tried escaping with the girl but he managed to catch up with me as well. He snatched the child from my grasp, before smacking me to the ground. He pressed one of his feet down on my back firmly but light enough not to crush me.
"For you my mate." Bri-ci'all said throwing the child back to Zell-oah.
"NO! STOP! PLEASE!" I begged as I scratched and clawed at Bri-ci'all's foot in an attempt to get him off so I could save the girl. My efforts were fruitless and Bri-ci'all smiled sadistically as he watched.
I watched in horror as the girl screamed and kicked ineffectively, begging for her mother and father to help her, before Zell-oah...
I couldn't look away as I saw it. I-It's to gruesome to even think about.
Zell-oah, and Bri-ci'all's reactions didn't change. They enjoyed it. In fact they laughed as it happened.
"God... Why?" I asked.
"Your god cannot help you now." Bri-ci'all told me, pressing his foot down even harder.
He was right, God wouldn't help me. Why should He. After everything I'd done, why did I deserve His mercy. All of this was my fault. Had I not let Jon go he may have been able to help stop this. Maybe we could've even succeeded in doing so. But no. Because of me not only was he dead, but now all of the people on this planet would face a horrible gruesome death, just the same as that little girl had. I felt tears begin trickling down my face. This was my punishment. All of this was on me. There blood was on my hands. I didn't mean for this to happen, I didn't know. But I should've. If I'd only see what he say, maybe... just... maybe...
I'm sorry Jon. I failed you. I am so so sorry. I thought as I cried in defeat. That was the worst part. Knowing I'd failed. I'd made a promise to the one who'd loved me that I betrayed, and I couldn't even fulfill the promise I'd made to him. I couldn't even save that little girl. To think about that while witnessing everything else that was happening was the worst I'd ever felt.
They rehoused us all in separate cages after that. Over the next few weeks that I was imprisoned I was forced to see more of this. To watch as the colonists were herded and beaten like animals, before they were eventually transported towards the slaughter house. I also heard over some of the bad bloods that other colonies had been over run by them as well. Eventually Ch'ris and Rachelle as well as a few others including Hadrick, were taken away to be impregnated. I was alone during those weeks to watch my world being gutted. I-I can't describe how horrible it was to see and feel what I saw and felt. It felt like the worst hell imaginable. Everyone I knew and cared about, as well as all of the colonists on this planet were suffering horribly because of me. To feel that sense of guilt... knowing I was responsible for all of this happening. I'd say it was hell.
Please make it stop Dear Lord. It had been a long time since I'd prayed. So long since I'd turned to the Merciful Master who I'd lost my faith in. but He was the only one I could turn to. Please merciful Heavenly Father, Please. Help us. Please. I begged. I knew my pleads would not receive any answers though. Still what else could I do?