CHAPTER 3
June 21st, 2179. Hadley's Hope terraforming colony, afternoon
Mary Coles ran towards the closing door, covering her head and ears with her jacket's cap. The storm were sudden, cold strong winds blew from the south and although the colony was protected by a storm barrier. Wind, dust and rain lashed the colony at unpleasant levels.
Minutes ago, she was checking the air filters outside the operations module when the storm strike, the clear nocturne sky suddenly filled with clouds and Calpamos, the gas giant around LV-426 spun, darkened. Mary quickly grabbed her equipment and climbed down through a ladder and ran for the Last Chance Bar and grill. On her way she saw two more colonists putting a tarp over a battered Seeker and another maintenance vehicle.
-"Quickly! Get inside, this is a strong one" she cried, over the wind chime. The man nodded and he hurried to finish the work.
Once inside, she and the man brushed the dust over their shoulders. There were a few colonists there; most of them were already inside the complex.
-"Hey Jason, one Aspen please" Mary called Jason for a W-Y brand beer, the bartender and proprietary. "Did you know if there are teams outside? This storm is a class four."
-"Dunno, maybe just the Jorden's, I haven't seen their tractor at the garage." The bartender responded, tossing her a beer bottle, the woman took a big gulp, clearing her throat of dust.
-"Their Daihotai will withstand this kind of weather, they will be fine." The woman said. "What about the outlying homes?"
-"They're fine." He said.
Twenty years after its foundation, not all of Hadley's Hope colonists live on the main complex. When the air became breathable, some of the families made a land run and established their homes in the plateau, not far from the main town and the Atmosphere processor, most of them ranchers and farmers. Using domed greenhouses and cattle sheds, they breed Rynths and other animals exported from Earth and the colonies.
-"Only a fool would make his home outside the storm wall" Mary said.
-"Oh, c'mon Mary, they used the rocks and mountains as cover" a man at her back intervened "besides, there's not much space here inside the colony for a bunch of smelly rynths, isn't?"
Mary saw Marshal Topher Wilson, reclined in a chair, drinking a beer with one of the geologists. He was an ex-marine, member of the Colonial marshal bureau, the organization created for policing and colony security, basically the town's sheriff.
Late twenty first century's extrasolar colonies had become the new frontier, unlike the more populous worlds, terraforming colonies and mining outposts share more in common with the Wild West towns of the ninety century. Not worth a compliment of a marine battalion or even a warship in orbit. The Colonial Marshal bureau was charged instead by the Extrasolar colonial administration with keeping order in the far flung colonies, giving them certain autonomy but following the basic rules: no stealing, killing or destroying company properties.
For Topher Wilson that was good, after having fought in the Tientsin campaign fifteen years ago, the rude ex-marine exchanged the heavy Smartgun for a light revolver and the maneuverable 12-gauge shotgun. In addition, in a mining town like Hadley's Hope where the population was roughly seventy families who knew each other, the incidence of crime was almost cero percent, so the colonial marshal had little or nothing to do.
-"You said that, Wilson, but it's your job to be sure" Mary scolded him.
-"Oh right, Coles." He agreed, and took his radio "Ramirez, are you there? Ramirez?"
-"I'm… re boss… what… pen?" Ramirez responded on the radio, with a lot of interference.
-"Get your ass off the chair and check the status on the outlying farms." Wilson ordered.
-"Give me five minutes" Ramirez responded, and after a few minutes he added. "The… good, all structures… ured, cattle… ide and greenhou… ok"
-"See, everything in order" the marshal said, reclining at the table, taking another drink of beer, Easy job.
In the Marshal's opinion, Coles was overreacting, but that was the way she was, thinking of trouble where there wasn't any. Like her worries about the children playing on the air ventilation system inside the complex, as far as Wilson knew, it was worse if they'll be meddling on the maintenance tunnel, the water treatment plant, or worse, inside the Atmosphere processor.
Life in Hadley's Hope was kind of boring and routine, the only trouble were dust and wind, nothing more and it will be for another one or two decades until the atmosphere will be clean and climate stabilized. Marshal Topher Wilson finished his beer and then he headed for the office.
June 21st, 2179. Somewhere in the Ilium Range, LV-426
The Daihotai heavy tractor skidded in the mix of ash and rain. Russ Jorden held the steer firmly which prevented the tractor falling into a crack in the ground. They were in the plateau were they had found pieces of wreckage from an unknown man-made object the day before. Russ Jorden had concluded a ship had made landfall or crashed there some time ago and the company would be likely searching for it. If that was the case, the ships had emergency beacons which send a GPS signal to be found, but in the thick, dusty atmosphere like this, a search party needs to get a little closer to pick it up. Russ Jorden knew could be days before he found it, but just an hour ago, tractor's sensors detected a huge metallic mass somewhere north of their position, still out of visual range because of the rugged terrain. A lightning stroke the ground ten meters ahead, Russ pushed the tractor's brakes.
-"Look at this fat, juicy magnetic profile. It's roughly two hundred meters long for hundred and fifty wide" Russ told his wife, on the co-pilot seat. "Call Hadley's control, honey"
-"I hope radio works this far and on this storm" Anne hoped, she switched the tractor's radio on and called through the microphone "Hadley's control, Hadley's control, this is Alpha-Kilo-Two-Four-Niner on the Ilium range, come in?"
Static crackled and then a voice was heard: "Alpha-Kilo-Two-Four-Niner, this is Lidecker in Hadley's control, Whassup over there?" the assistant administrator called.
-"Tell him I need to talk to Simpson" Russ told Anne.
-"Is Simpson over there? We need to talk with him about the search order from the Company" Anne called "We picked up something in the mountains and are in route to check it up"
-"Yeah, there's something pretty big there and I want to know if that asshole on Gateway would honor my finding fee" Russ snatched the micro from Anne.
The radio broadcasted static, whether the guy hesitated to answer or had gone to look for Simpson, who shouldn't be far away. Either, two minutes later Assistant administrator Lidecker responded.
-"Simpson assures you as far as he's concerned, the claim is all yours Russ"
-"Music for my ears, It's mine, mine, mine" He said, excited.
-"Half mine, dear, don't forget that" She responded.
-"And half mine too, you two better don't forget that" Newt yelled behind them. "When are going back?"
Anne had brought Newt and Timmy with they after she had catch them playing inside the ventilation system that morning. Not the healthiest or safe place but at least she can watch them.
-"When we get rich, Newt" Russ told his little girl.
-"You always say that. I wanna go back. I wanna play Monster Maze."
-"You cheat too much" Timmy jumped from the back seat, putting his face close to her sister's
-"I Don't. I'm just the best." She clarified.
-"You do! You go in places we can't fit." He complained.
-"So? That's why I'm the best!" She said, in a triumphant tone, and stretching her arms up.
-"Knock it off! I catch either of you playing in the air ducts again" Anne scolded them, in an angry tone. "I'll tan your hides."
-"Mom. All the kids play it." Newt complained "Besides, you'll never catch us if weren't for Ms. Coles who tipped you off…" Before Anne could respond, Russ interrupted them.
-"Folks? Folks knock it off, we scored big this time!" He announced.
Through the tractor's windshield a huge silhouette stood before them, was shaped like a twisted horseshoe and was partially covered by a lava flow. The extension of the left, which ended in a kind of hammerhead, was detached by the action of magma, which broke it almost from the base.
In general, the hull's appearance –Russ wasn't sure it was a ship –looked almost biological, like the bones of a large animal. There was no doubt the structure or whatever it was, wasn't built by humans.
Russ was excited; discovering evidence of intelligent life in the universe was always a safe pass to a determined life, the pure salvage rights were worth millions. Proof of this was the Trenton brothers in Vega, whom discovered an entire city belonging to a civilization that mysteriously disappeared and whose members were very, very similar to humans.
The Trenton had made millions overnight just for the discovery. There were only ruins: Stone and dirt, but no tech, if this was a Ship and has functioning technology, the finding fee will multiply hundred fold.
-"Should we call in now?" Anne said.
-"Wait, we need to claim this place first, grab something, you know the drill" Russ clarified. In order to make any claim, they had to take something from the place or it'll be invalid.
-"Mommy, want to go now, I… Casey is scared, this place… she doesn't like it" Newt begged from her seat.
-"Tell Casey we're going in a minute, Mom and Dad just need to make their claim." Anne said.
-"What if there's monsters inside there?" Newt insisted.
-"What I'd tell you? There are no monsters, Newt. Not real ones" Anne said with a smile, the same she did when the girl was afraid of the dark back on the colony.
A few later, Anne and Russ Jorden were suited with their environmental suits, harsh climate clothing designed for low temperatures and rough use. Anne tossed one metallic sphere to her husband
-"There! Don't forget this, we need to map the place" Russ catched the Parameter Uplink Spectagraph or PUP for short, a mapping device standard for planetary survey.
-"You kids stay inside. I mean it! We'll be right back" Anne told her kids "And don't touch anything!"
They trudge toward the alien derelict.
Tim was curled up in the driver's seat, sleeping. Newt shook him awake.
-"Timmy...they've been gone a long time" She said.
-"It's been only two hours. It'll be okay, Newt. Dad knows what he's doing" Tim consulted the wrist watch and groaned.
All of the sudden, the tractor's door opened and Anne Jorden rushed inside, panicking and terrified. She took the radio and called, almost hysterical.
-"Mayday! Mayday! This is Alpha-Kilo-Two-Four-Niner calling Hadley Control. Repeat. This is..."
Newt peered outside over her mother's shoulder and saw her father lying on the ground, unconscious or worse ... "Maybe he fell, or was bitten by an animal" Newt, knowing that out there, on that desolate moon there were no wild animals. The answer to his question was more horrible than he thought, on his father's face there was something, a thing similar to a pink-yellow spider that wrapped his head with long bony legs and a segmented tail clenched his neck. Newt let out a high-pitched scream that vanished in the howling wind of LV-426.
Hello readers, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Aliens: They mostly come at night. This time, I write a little about the life inside Hadley's Hope as we knew Hadley's Hope had a colonial marshal and some of the colonists had their home outside the perimeter and raised cattle, this has a motive I assure you. Also I had shown an extended version of the events in the deleted screen of Aliens were Newt and her parents found the derelict. Based on the script I changed the dialog a little to get in line with the other events from Prometheus and Alien Isolation game, also with my earlier stories Prometheus: New Discoveries and Alien Isolation: Monster Maze. Don't forget to review and if any of you wants to beta read the story, just ask me on PM.