"How did you discover this Thing?" Lex asked.
"I first encountered the creature in Antarctica in 1982. It came in a space ship one hundred thousand Earth years ago, but thankfully it crashed in Antarctica where nothing lives. It left its spaceship and was frozen in the ice until it was discovered. It was almost unleashed upon the world, but we were able to contain it," Kate said.
"Kate is the only one to be cured from the infection," the Nobleman pointed out.
"How?" Lex wondered.
"The serum that transformed me from human to Yautja was able to neutralize the infection. When I was inside the creature's spaceship I fell, and was knocked unconscious. That's when the creature infected me. When I escaped, I wasn't even aware that I had been infected. That's what makes this creature so deadly. You don't even know you're changing into it. Once it infects an organism, it copies the DNA of the infected creature. The serum re-wrote the DNA of my cells and that of the creature effectively killing it," Kate explained.
"And now you use it as a weapon?" Lex asked.
"I disagreed with the decision too, but Yautja Prime disagreed. A high ranking Prince authorized the project over my objections. That Prince is now the King. So, I did the next best thing. I applied to be the administrator of this facility. It is better if it is handled by me than any of these other brutes," she said.
"Your safety record has been noted," the Prince said.
"You agree with using this Thing as a weapon?" Lex asked him.
"I agree that it should be used as a last resort against a powerful adversary. The galaxy is a dangerous place," the Prince said.
"If another alien race gets a hold of this weapon it will be mutually assured destruction. Within twenty-seven thousand Earth hours the creature can infect six billion people," Kate said darkly.
"This is the most secure facility within the empire. Even if the creature were to escape, it would be frozen in the ice. There is no permanent population on this planet," the Prince said.
"So, how did you become part of the family?" Kate asked.
"I was on an Antarctic island, but it was against the Xenomorphs. I was involved in expedition to discover an ancient pyramid, and got caught up in their hunting trip," Lex said.
"There is so much the humans don't know about Antarctica. They know more about space than what is below the ice," Kate remarked.
"Tell us about the Xenomorph experiment you ran here," the Prince requested.
"We brought full grown Xenomorphs to the planet. They never told me who the hosts were, but we let them run around on the planet. Then we unleashed the Thing on them. The interesting thing is that the Xenomorphs were able to tell who the false ones were. They would immediately attack the infected Xenomorphs, but of course they would use their mouths or tails to do it. That would often get them infected too. The Thing was able to infect, and take over every Xenomorph within the week, and then they started eating each other. It took some time to account for them all," Kate said.
"This creature is the ultimate biological weapon surpassing the Xenomorphs. The obvious problem is that it could destroy all life on a planet, and there is no way to shut it down," the Prince said.
"I sent a petition to shut this facility down every cycle, but it always gets turned down," Kate said annoyed.
"That is not likely to change," the Prince predicted.
Once dinner was finished, Kate extended her hand to Lex. "Let's take a walk," she offered.
The two walked down the halls of the facility, and then Kate told her story.
Antarctica, 1982
Kate Lloyd had just fried Sam Carter in the driver seat of the snowcat. Carter thrashed about as the flames roared around him. Kate watched in silent horror as he slowly burned to death, and became ash. She knew that he had become the creature because the earring was on the other side, but a part of her mind thought she might have killed an innocent man. Maybe he had lost his earring while in the ship or in a confrontation with the alien, and then put it back on the wrong ear. The scientific part of her training considered all possible ways he could have lost his earring. Still, Carter had not given her any kind of rational reason as to why it had been changed. Somewhat confident she had made the right decision; she threw down the empty flame thrower, and walked over to the second snowcat.
Turning the vehicle on, she turned the windshield wipers on to cast the snow off the window. Taking in some deep breaths and focusing herself, she looked at the gas gauge. It was nearly empty; the creature had only been interested in a one way trip. Horrified, Kate got out of the vehicle and looked inside the interior of the other snowcat. The charred remains of Carter was still in the driver seat and the controls had been fried. She knew immediately that the wiring had al been destroyed; the snowcat was unusable. Her next idea was to perhaps take gas from the burned snowcat and transfer it to the second one, but there were no tools available to her.
With no other choice, she got back into the snowcat, and drove towards the Russian base. She didn't think she would have enough gas to get there, but she had to try. As the snowcat moved through the snow Kate felt fear creep through her as she realized temperatures were dropping. The gauge was already at empty meaning she could run out of gas at any moment. Finally the snowcat stopped ten miles from the alien ship. She was still forty miles away from the Russian base without a radio.
Without the engine running the snowcat became very cold. Kate struggled to think as she could barely stand the cold. If she left to walk towards the Russian base she would freeze in the night cold, but if she stayed until morning she would be starving and cold. She might not even last the night, but if she kept moving she might generate enough body heat to survive. With no good options, Kate got out of the snowcat and walked towards the Russian base hoping that even if she got halfway the Russians might spot her. Maybe a helicopter would notice her or a snow patrol of some kind. Her mind grasp at any possible chance. Another part of her hated herself for the way she killed Carter. Maybe she could have lured the creature out of the snowcat and then fried him. Now, she was going to die in Antarctica.
A few miles away from the snowcat and still thirty five miles from the Russian base, Kate collapsed in the snow. She was so tired she could barely move her muscles, and the cold had taken away her body heat. As she was dying, she took solace in that she had saved the world from the alien. She didn't know if the story of the alien would ever be uncovered by scientists later, but at least God would know. Her body stopped shivering, and she knew then that she would die soon.
The air suddenly became electrified as a being appeared near her. Kate was so bad off she couldn't tell what the thing was as it came closer to her. Two additional figures appeared out of the air. Kate moved her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. One of the creatures grabbed her coat lifting her out of the snow. Her body hung lifeless as she was carried away into a ship. Kate fell unconscious as she entered the ship not knowing what had happened to her.
Kate awoke inside a dark room with equipment that glowed red. She looked over at her right arm, and saw that it was connected to some kind of IV system. She didn't feel cold like before; the room felt warm and humid like she was on a tropical island. Her bed was metallic with equipment she had never seen before. Her room resembled that of the alien spacecraft she had just been, and that realization filled her with fear. To make matters worse she realized she was completely naked.
The door to the room opened abruptly and three large figures walked in. Kate stared at them wide eyed as they approached her. They were seven foot tall humanoids with large heads. Kate gasped in horror as she saw their mouths and reptilian eyes. As they got closer, she struggled with her restraints and tried to move away from them.
The alien humanoids ignored her apprehension, and looked over her now warm body. The alien then spoke to her with clicks from the back of its throat. Kate somehow was able to translate it from knowledge she had never had before. "We are Yautja. We will not harm you," he said.
Kate simply stared timidly at the creatures. "Why am I here?" she stammered.
"You were dying. We saved you," the Yautja said.
"Why?" Kate wondered.
"You killed formidable prey. It impressed us," he said.
"You mean you're a different kind of alien?" Lex asked.
"We are hunters. We preserve species in the galaxy. We watched to see if the alien would escape," he said.
Kate slowly realized that had she failed to destroy the alien these aliens would have killed it. "Why didn't you stop it earlier then?" she asked outraged.
"We do not interfere unless necessary," he said.
"Well, it's dead," Kate said relieved.
"Not all dead. It still survives," the Yautja said. A hologram from his wrist band showed a dog running in the snow.
"Please kill it. Everyone could die," Kate asked them.
"If necessary," the Yautja said.
The Yautja displayed a hologram of Kate's body. Kate watched silently as it indicated something about her brain and organs. The three Yautja then left the room leaving Kate to wonder what they had found.
The three Yautja gathered on the bridge to discuss what they would do. "She's infected. She must be killed immediately. No part of her body can be used as a trophy. The body must be completely destroyed and the room sterilized," the leader said.
"I concur," the second one said.
"This could be the opportunity to test the experimental serum. It would rewrite her DNA and kill the infection," the third one said.
"That serum can only be used in very rare cases," the second one objected.
"Give us your reasoning," the leader allowed.
"She killed the alien, which is impressive for a human. I believe she is worthy," he said.
"The killing of the alien is impressive, but we do not know if the serum will work," the second one said.
"If the serum works she could become a valuable asset," the leader considered. "If the serum doesn't work, we shall release her and then hunt her," the leader said.
The other two were satisfied with the judgment. The three then went back inside the room where Kate gave them fearful looks. "I sense fear in her," the second one observed.
"Fear can be a powerful ally," the third one said.
"Is there something wrong with me?" Kate asked.
"No," the third one lied.
The third one administered the serum into the IV system. "We will release you soon," the third one said.
Kate felt sleepy and dozed off.
The three watched Kate's progress. Her pale skin had turned yellowish and Yautja patterns were starting to form on her skin. Her fingernails had grown half an inch, her hair had rescinded, and her jaw was starting to change.
"The infection has been eradicated," the third one reported.
"Wake her," the leader ordered.
Kate awoke and felt different. She was sitting up in the bed and could move her arms. She stared at her arms and then felt her face. "What have you done to me?" she asked stunned.
"You were infected. We are making you one of us," the leader said.
Kate looked at the Yautja horrified. "I couldn't have been…," she thought. She then remembered the time she was unconscious in the ship. She had been led to believe she had not been infected when she had been attacked. She would have reached the Russian base and killed everyone there, and then possibly escaped.
"Change me back," she said meekly.
"No change back. You will be one of us," the leader said.
"I am human. I can't be like you," Kate protested.
"You will learn," the leader told her.
Kate was finally released from her bed and continued changing into a female Yautja. She grew a foot taller, added muscle mass quickly, her brain cavity increased dramatically, and her jaw changed. Her feminine face and figure had been replaced with that of an alien monster. The Yautja observed as the alien attacked an American base. The humans managed to kill the alien manifestation, but the survivors were dying in the cold.
"Let them die," the leader said.
The Yautja ship then headed out into space and gave a report of what they had discovered to Yautja Prime.