Kira's SORIA unit had been salvaged by the WY teams dispatched to contain the situation at Bishop Tower. Despite its motherboards being damaged beyond repair from the 10mm bullet, the hard drives, as well as the xenomorph telepathy receiver, were relatively unscathed, and some simple data recovery allowed for all her data prior to destruction to be ported to a new set of motherboards.

SORIA's restoration was provided free of charge to Kira, as compensation for her effort to stop Meyers from executing his plan to sterilize the world of all life. When the refurbished unit was delivered to her home, Kira booted her up, upon which SORIA nonchalantly greeted her. Kira, despite being annoyed with her the first time she made use of the automated assistant, was extremely relieved the second time around, when she was working properly again.

Kira spent some time reconfiguring SORIA's settings, more optimized for potential future use.

"General settings," SORIA spoke as Kira accessed the specified menu. "Please state desired operating parameters."

"Honesty parameter..." Kira briefly trailed off, "...ninety-five percent."

"Confirmed," SORIA acknowledged.

"Humor parameter..." Kira thought about a better setting, "...seventy-five percent."

"Confirmed," SORIA spoke.

Kira briefly scrolled through more settings, until the computerized assistant spoke up again.

"Auto-destruct detonation, T-minus ten, nine, eight-"

"Alright," Kira said, "let's bump your humor setting down to sixty-five percent."

"Confirmed," SORIA said, briefly trailing off. "Knock-knock..."

Kira glanced back at webcam module, smirking with narrow eyes and raised brows. "...You want fifty-five?"

SORIA remained silent for a brief moment. "...Boo."

Kira shrugged. "Okay, fifty-five for humor it is."

"Confirmed," SORIA responded.

(XXXX)

A few weeks after the death of Meyers, the Sykes, Ripleys, and Sam all received news that Baldwin, after standing trial for aiding and abetting, escaping prison, attempted genocide, kidnapping, and numerous other charges, he was extradited to Earth, whereupon he was then transferred to the ADX Florence supermax in Colorado.

"So glad they put away that obnoxious character," Kai said, skimming over the news article on his tablet, Kira and Sam reading over his shoulder, all of them gathered in Kira's living room.

"Yeah," Sam said. "And no way he's gonna be getting out this time."

Kai shook his head. "Nope, absolutely not. Not even drug kingpin, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, was ever able to escape that place like he did other prisons before. And that was nearly a century ago; the prison's been fortified and refurbished many times over the years."

Kira sighed in relief. "So glad we can finally put all of this behind us..."

At that moment, the doorbell rang. Aster, Sugarcube, Star, and Chase, present in the same room, all jumped at the sound and started hissing.

"Hey, settle down!" Kai urged the xenos.

"Just stay here," Kira said, making her way to the foyer, "I'll get the door."

With that, the homeowner made her way to the front door, and upon opening it, she was greeted by two familiar people, a man and a women, both of whom shared a resemblance with the young woman herself.

"Kira, hi!" The woman said.

"We drop in on anything important?" The man asked.

Kira froze, overwhelmed by both surprise and confusion. Regardless, a smile spread across her face as she held her arms wide.

"Mom! Dad!" She said, hugging them both simultaneously, one arm each.

Mr. and Mrs. Sykes returned the hug to their daughter.

"How's my little girl been?" Mr. Sykes said.

"To think it's been years since we last saw each other..." Mrs. Sykes remarked.

Kira then broke off from the group-hug. "So... what are you doing out here?"

"We came out here to see you!" Mrs. Sykes said.

"So," Mr. Sykes clapped his hands together, "we good to come inside, out of the heat?"

Kira bit her lip, realizing she had completely forgotten to prepare for a possible arrival of her parents.

"What's the matter?" Mrs. Sykes asked.

Kira sighed, knowing there was no way around it. "Listen... there's something that I... need to show you..."

"Oh?" Mr. Sykes uttered. "Like what?"

"You'll see, but..." Kira hesitantly turned back toward her house, "...promise you won't freak out?"

"Sweetheart, what's going on...?" Mrs. Sykes asked.

"Just follow me..." Kira said, reluctantly stepping inside.

Her parents followed behind, into the living room, where the four xenomorphs all caught sight of the two newcomers. Upon seeing the aliens, Kira's parents both froze, eyes wide and breathless. The remained like this for a good long while. Even Kai and Sam did not make a sound.

"Kira...?" Aster spoke. "...Who are they?"

"Wait," Mr. Sykes said, "who just said that?"

Mrs. Sykes herself glanced around. "I don't know, but... it sounded like it came from... inside my head or something..."

"Wait..." Kira said, "...you can both hear him?"

"W-who?" Mr. Sykes asked, still nervous.

"Let me explain..." Kira began.

She introduced Kai and Sam, both of whom became involved with her situation, after Aster escaped from a Weyland lab, and chose to live with her after making first contact during their very first encounter. She then went on to explain how Kai ended up taking Sugarcube as his own, and that both xenos were their respective human's... mates, and that the two younger xenos, Star and Chase, were their... children.

Mr. and Mrs. Sykes were both quite flustered and confused by what their daughter had just told them. Of course, Kira omitted all the life-threatening parts of her story, just to avoid putting her parents on edge.

"Listen..." Kai spoke up, "...I know it sounds crazy, but I can assure you both it's the truth."

"But why can both of you hear the xenos telepathic voices?" Sam asked, folding her arms. "I swear, I'm starting to feel really left out..."

Kira pieced it together, however. "...I guess they both had the same type of brainwaves, and I just happened to inherit it?"

"W-well..." Mrs. Sykes stammered.

Letting out yet another sigh, Kira knew she had to ensure that her parents would not let this get in the way of their current relationship.

"Mom, Dad, look..." she began, "...I know that this is... very much out-of-the-blue, but... the thing is... Aster and Star, they're my family. Our family."

"Yes," Aster said. "I give my heart only to Kira, as well as my little Star."

Star stepped forward from her distant spot from Kira's parents. "And I really can't thank my Mom and Dad enough for giving me everything... especially my life..."

Mr. and Mrs. Sykes exchanged concerned glances for a moment... but the two lightened up from their initial shock.

"Kira..." Mr. Sykes said, "...you know that we will always love you, no matter the choices you make, or the things you want. You're our daughter, and you'll always be our daughter."

"Your father's right," Mrs. Sykes added. "As long as you're happy... that's all that matters to us. Granted, we never thought we'd get a son-in-law, let alone a granddaughter, in this way... but I suppose that's just life... some of the most unexpected things can happen."

"And..." Kira spoke up again, "...do you promise to keep this a secret?" She walked over to Aster, hugging him while still looking at her parents, "I don't want everyone to panic if they found out about this. Weyland-Yutani already knows... which is why they need it to stay secret."

After a bit of pondering, her parents agreed to it. Clearly, they knew previously about the xenomorph projects WY was involved with, but after seeing how docile the four presently in the room were, as well as intelligent, it was more than enough to convince them that their daughter was not being irrational.

"Gotta say, Kira..." Mr. Sykes said, "...seems like your college life has really given you quite a lot on your plate. But like we said: as long as you're happy, it's all that matters."

Kira smiled "Thank you so much!"

Mrs. Sykes interjected once more. "And also... did anything else happen since you've been gone?"

Kira pondered for a moment, but shrugged casually. "...Nothing I couldn't handle."

Kai and Sam both laughed.

"Yeah, you could say that," Sam said.

"We had our ups and downs," Kai said. "But at the moment, we've got everything under control. And in any case... I admit it's a real honor to meet you two!"

After setting aside the matter that there were alien creatures in their daughter's house, Kira's parents managed to get along greatly with the xenos, as well as Kai and Sam, over the course of their visit. By the end of it all, they did indeed consider Aster and Star part of their family.

(XXXX)

Several months later, Kira and Kai were both given their first space-based assignment. They both had been coincidentally stationed aboard Gateway Station for two weeks. Aster and Sugarcube, both having learned how to care for themselves and their children, stayed behind at their human mates' residences, after the places had been stocked with basic necessities for them.

Kira and Kai had both been assigned as systems technicians for a brand-new starship Weyland-Yutani recently commissioned for deep space operation. They were tasked with ensuring proper functionality of the ship's hardware components before her maiden voyage. It had been less than a week since she left drydock.

The two, along with the rest of their team, got a pretty good view of the vessel from the large viewport of the station's docking hub.

"It's definitely the new Lockheed Martin M-class CM-88B Bison freighter," Kai said. "One of the newest and most efficient and versatile space tugs ever developed. Plus, they're equipped with the cutting-edge MU/TH/UR 6000 artificial intelligence for all automated functions."

"This is perhaps our greatest achievement from funding thus far by Weyland-Yutani." the scientist said.

"Pretty nice ship, it looks like," Kai commented.

"Yes. It is the USCSS Nostromo, and it will be one of the most efficient commercial interstellar vessels ever constructed when it is finished." the scientist said.

Kira examined the M-class starship. "...It's huge! When will she set sail?" she asked.

"From our estimate..." the scientist began. "...the vessel will be fully underway in 2101 as an interstellar cruiser, equipped with a highly-advanced computer mainframe, and state-of-the-art lightspeed motivator. No doubt, this is a ship that will be in service for many decades to come..."

And so, the two spend eight hours per day at work on the various components of the ship, testing the hardware to ensure it was in good form, and running various tests of the software to ensure all found bugs would be patched. Overall, though, it was truly an exciting assignment for them, getting to work on a brand-new star freighter. And the two of them had the same hope for the future...

I sure hope whoever uses this vessel for research purposes won't have any bad encounters with the xenomorph, they thought to themselves. It would surely ruin the image of the ones that are actually nice.

(XXXX)

Following the assignment, Kira finally returned home late one night, whereupon Aster and Star both pounced her as she made her way inside, hugging her ever so tightly.

"You're finally back!" Aster said.

"Welcome back, Kira," SORIA spoke. "I have ensured that Aster and Star were alright in your absence."

"Oh, Mom..." Star said, "...we missed you!"

Kira hugged them both. "And I missed you both, too."

As much as she wanted to spend time with them... she was too tired after such a long stay aboard Gateway Station. However, she was looking forward to some good family time the following days, when she would get some time off. Being a Weyland scientist did pay well, and give her the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with them.

After a quick meal, Kira, Aster, and Star all went to their respective beds, the former two cuddling for a good long while under their covers before finally drifting off to sleep, in the late hours of night. There was absolutely no doubt in their minds that the future was definitely bright for them, and the same could be said for the Ripleys as well.

And concerning Star and Chase... they became almost inseparable, never willing to easily leave each other. They, like one of each of their parents... were of the few xenomorphs to ever experience something as pure and sweet as true love.

Okay... IT'S DONE! Finally, after all this time, I've completed this story! Again, I'm real sorry about the unannounced hiatus, but there was a lot on my plate at the time it happened, in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic. In any case, thank you all so much for sticking around regardless. I'll catch you all later! Until then, this is midnightwolfGX, signing off! Keep holding on...