Soon after his meeting with the King, the Prince took his own personal craft and shot off to the farthest region of known charts of the galaxy. His destination had never been confirmed by Yautja explorers. It was only a legend, but the Prince was desperate for an answer.
During his trip, the Prince searched for a large space station. To find his target, the Prince scanned for large quantities of gold. Since the element was rare, he figured his target would show itself as a large signature. After a number of dead-ends, the Prince considered going back to Yautja Prime. If he were late for his hunt, the whole fleet would come after him.
As he was about to turn back, his target was discovered. The Prince locked onto the target and discovered a space station as large as a city in space. It was not orbiting a star or planet but merely moving aimlessly in space. The Prince moved his ship towards the space station and found a docking bay.
Getting out of the ship, the Prince was unarmed to avoid a hostile confrontation. Whoever owned this space station was believed to be ancient. With age came greater technology than the Prince could imagine. A pink-skinned humanoid came out to greet him.
"This is the liar of the Collector, Taneleer Tivan. What is your business with my master?" she asked pleasantly.
"I wish to be his guest. I have many things I wish to discuss with him," the Prince said.
The servant girl stared at the tall imposing figure of the Prince. She noticed he was not carrying any weapons with him. "The Collector rarely has guests. Wait here a moment," she said.
The Prince waited and after a moment, the servant girl came back. "Right this way," she said.
The servant girl led the Prince through a large collection of artifacts and creatures from all over the galaxy. Finally, Taneleer Tivan appeared to greet him. "You have come a long way, Yautja," he said amused.
"I come for your assistance," the Prince said.
"Why would I assist you?" Tivan wondered.
"If you assist me in my task, I will help with your collecting," the Prince offered.
"An intriguing offer. What is it that you need?" Tivan asked.
"I am to defeat a Xenomorph Queen and her offspring on an island on Earth," the Prince said. "I believe I will be killed during this task," the Prince admitted.
"Why not simply run away then?" Tivan asked lazily.
"I am a Prince, a son of the King," the Prince answered.
"Ah, royal blood. I would like to take a sample of your DNA," Tivan requested.
The Prince complied allowing the servant girl to take a quick blood sample. "I can give you weapons far more powerful than your plasma cannon, armor that is acid resistant, and drugs that can improve your performance," Tivan offered.
"My people will know I have been given help. They will not allow it," the Prince objected.
"So, you require something that is untraceable," Tivan smiled at the corruption of it.
"Yes, something that cannot be known to anyone else," the Prince agreed.
"I have something in mind," Tivan said and then led the Prince down a number of halls and floors.
The Collector walked over to a number of test tubes of blue liquid. "The blood of this alien creature has tachyon properties. Once this blood circulates through your blood stream, at the moment of death you will go back to the time when you came into contact with the blood," Tivan explained.
"Go back in time?" the Prince questioned.
"It breaks all known laws of physics. It does not create an alternate timeline nor does it allow for time-paradoxes. If you die, you start again continually until the blood is extracted from your body," the Collector said.
"So, if I use this blood and die a hundred cycles from now, I will come back to this very moment?" the Prince asked.
"Indeed, which is why I suggest you extract the blood once your task is completed," Tivan advised.
"How will my comrades experience this from their point of view?" the Prince asked.
"They will only experience the timeline in which you are successful. Therefore, the blood allows you to know secrets, feelings, and emotions from your comrades that they will never remember existed. With each death, you will learn the habits of your allies and enemies," Tivan said.
"What if it is physically impossible for me to succeed?" the Prince asked.
"Then you will repeat the same day for all eternity," Tivan warned.
"I have no choice. What must I do to have this blood?" the Prince asked.
"We can discuss that after you have returned. It has been a long time since I have had an assistant of your...position," Tivan said.
The Prince raced back to Yautja Prime for the beginning training session with his two other comrades. The two others known as Talon and Beast were not of noble blood. Talon was taller but slender than the Prince while Beast was a tall muscular brute. They were all of similar age and hadn't been told the Prince's rank.
An older warrior approached the three. "I don't care who your family is or your rank in society," he began. "You will follow my orders and instruction," he said roughly.
"Yes Instructor," the three said in unison.
"When you get to Earth, you will not have your plasma cannons. You will have to go inside the caves on the island and find them. If you cannot find them or if the enemy will not allow you to, then you will have to fight hand-to-hand combat. As you know, the Xenomorph's skin is an exoskeleton shell, very tough to cut through. Their blood is extremely acidic. Your gear is not acid resistant. Their tail is sharp and powerful enough to slice right through your torso," the instructor continued.
"The Xenomorph has a good sense of smell, so your cloak will not protect you. They hunt in packs and often attack from the side. Do not underestimate them," the instructor said.
"What are their weaknesses?" Beast asked.
"Their intelligence is at a basic level. They are attracted to energy signatures and will often enter blood frenzies to the point where they attack their own. They cannot leave the alien under any circumstances. Command will destroy them and you to ensure this," the instructor said.
The three began their training with the use of the plasma cannon. Wearing their masks, the three shot at moving targets that were strong enough to withstand the blasts. The Prince practiced focusing his mind on the target and firing. The three had difficulty hitting the target and in particular the Prince.
They then worked on tracker hardware that could be used to scope out the caves. Talon became the specialist in charge of tracking targets using a small flying drone. With his mind, he could move the drone around. However, inside the cave he accelerated the drone too quickly and crashed it inside destroying it.
Beast spent his time lifting heavy weights but often failed to run at the same level as the others. He fell out of the running sessions and required a mask to increase his oxygen levels. All three of them were easily defeated by their instructor in hand-to-hand combat.
"You're all going to die. Accept this and prepare for your demise," the Instructor said disgusted.
At night, the three had time to think about their mission before going to sleep. "I heard death is painless when their mandibles slice through your brain," Talon remarked.
"Unless it decides to scrape your flesh off first," Beast said bitterly.
"We will survive. I guarantee it," the Prince said.
"We have failed all of our trials. How can you say that?" Talon asked.
The Prince said nothing. "An optimist," Beast muttered. "Best to get inside and detonate our bombs. At least it will kill the aliens without needing command's help," he added.
"We must all agree before we use that," Talon said sharply.
"Unless you two are already dead," Beast said.
The Prince listened silently as two argued. His mind was on the blue blood he planned to use.
September 21, 1979
The Yautja ship arrived at Earth and sent a smaller craft into the atmosphere. The Prince, Talon, and Beast were in the craft ready for the drop. All of them were wearing parachute gear. Once the craft approached Prince Edward island, the bottom opened up. The three unhooked and fell towards the island. Immediately their parachutes opened allowing for a slow descent.
The Yautja command watched their progress as all three managed to land on the island as opposed to the ocean. The three landed on the volcanic island and quickly stored away their parachute into packs. The three sensed a colder environment than what they were used to. The wind was strong and it was raining.
"I already hate this place," Talon commented.
The Prince used his wristband to create a red hologram of the island. He pointed to the entrance to the cave on the map. He then took a needle injection and shot it into his leg. "What is that for?" Beast asked.
"A stimulant," the Prince lied.
The three then cloaked themselves as they walked towards the entrance. Yautja command triggered the ancient machinery in the caves. The Xenomorphs and their queen started to warm up. The ice around their bodies melted freeing them. With screeches, the Xenomorphs ran in all directions through the cave.
The three found the cave and went inside. Using their masks, they scanned the cave walls for any Xenomorphs. They knew that the alien monsters often crawled on the ceiling. The three stayed silent but send messages to each other through their masks. The Prince concentrated on where their plasma cannons were hidden in the cave. That would be their only hope in defeating the alien enemy.
Talon activated his probe and sent it down the cave to scan the area. The three used night-vision to look around since the Xenomorphs lacked heat signatures. Finally, they found a Xenomorph hugging the cave wall. It appeared as part of the rock but its body shined more than the rocks around it. The Prince pointed out the Xenomorph's location to the others. Beast extended his blades and walked towards it. The Xenomorph heard Beast's blades extending and became active on the cave wall. Beast fired his net gun but missed the target. The net pinned itself to the rock instead.
"How could you miss?" Talon insulted.
Beast stared at Talon outraged. The Xenomorph whipped its tail knocking Beast to the ground with a thud. The Xenomorph then leaped onto Talon with its jaws opened. Talon struggled with the alien as its second mandibles shot out towards his face. Placing his hands on the Xenomorph's head, Talon kept the alien at bay. The Prince noticed the Xenomorph was working its tail for a stab. Using his knife, the Prince sliced off a tip of the Xenomorph's tail. Acid blood sprayed onto Talon's leg cooking it. Talon's leg collapsed and he fell to the ground with the Xenomorph on top of him. Beast took the Xenomorph from behind and wrestled it off of Talon. With his great strength, Beast lifted the Xenomorph off the ground even as acid continued to spray everywhere. The two struggled and then the Xenomorph and Beast slammed into the cave wall. The spikes on the Xenomorph's back punctured Beast's chest severely wounding him.
The Xenomorph escaped Beast's grasp and attacked Talon again. In vain, Talon fired darts at the Xenomorph puncturing its chest. The Xenomorph came close to Talon and punctured through his mask into his brain. The Prince unloaded a spear and sliced through the Xenomorph's midsection. The acid immediately began to dissolve the spear. The Prince then quickly sliced through the Xenomorph's head killing it. The Xenomorph corpse fell to the ground with the spear still inside it. The Prince eyed a dead Talon and mortally wounded Beast. Green blood poured from his chest wounds. The Prince could tell both lungs had been punctured.
A few more Xenomorphs arrived and hissed at the Prince. With his blades and spear melted, the Prince lacked a good weapon to defend himself.
"Damn you Tivan if you misled me," the Prince said as he charged up his detonator. The Xenomorphs began to swarm as the countdown continued. The Prince readied himself for a fight as he needed to stay alive up until the countdown was over. The Xenomorph's attacked from all sides hitting the Prince's vital organs. The Prince felt greater pain than he had ever experienced as secondary mandibles broke bones and punctured organs. The countdown finished and the resulting explosion blew a crater sized hole in the island.