Chapter 4
"Hey Ripley, you've seen the map layout of the planet and where the colony of Hadley's Hope is, right?" Wierzbowski inquired to which she nodded. "Then how far do you think it is from the derelict? Do you think it's possible they may have found it on a recon patrol?" he added.
Ripley considered the question, as no one had brought it up during the briefing or the last minute prep before the Marines got armed and loaded into the APC. It was a valid idea that the colonist's themselves had found the ship during a recon of the planet. The planet had been colonized forty years after the Nostromo had visited it or at least that was what was what stood in the records of the company, so Hadley's Hope had seventeen years to explore the planet. Depending on how far the derelict was from the colony then they may just have discovered it. But she couldn't help a nagging feeling that the only reason the derelict had been found was because she had been found and something she had said during her review had given someone at the company an idea where to look. She glanced at Burke and wondered if he was really only here as a rep for the company as they had helped financed it.
"It is possible a recon has finally stumbled upon it. I mean if I'm right and it is the Aliens behind the colony going dark then they must have found it," Ripley finally answered quite aware she was now the focus of all the Marines, bar Hicks who remained asleep. "But then again maybe the Aliens found the colony, but that idea is less likely," she mused.
"Why?" Crowe asked listening intensely.
"All the Aliens on the derelict were in eggs frozen in stasis, for any adult Aliens to be born they needed a host to gestate in and from what Dallas, Kane and I saw in our survey of the ship there was no sighs of any adult forms of the things running around," Ripley answered calmly.
"But your report stated that the Alien pilot died from been a host to one of these things, right? So couldn't this thing have created a new nest somewhere closer to the colony and that is what has attacked the colonists?" Hudson inquired, ignoring the startled looks his insightful question evoked.
He knew he was seen primary as a joker within his team and most often he didn't mind that, but there were times for jokes and bullshitting his teammates. Now was not the time, they were facing a potentially lethal enemy and he didn't want to be caught flatfooted.
Ripley had never considered that before, she remembered the corpse of the giant looking alien that had been piloting the derelict, the huge hole in its chest and the strange way it looked like something had busted through its ribcage. She had never once thought after learning about the alien after Kane's death that another could be on the planet thanks to it using the pilot to gestate.
Hudson's insightful question chilled her because she wondered what had hatched from the pilot. An alien similar to the one she encountered on the Nostromo or did different hosts create different adult aliens? 'And would they grow more powerful the older they got?' she wondered.
"I suppose that is possible, I've never considered what became of whatever burst out of the pilots chest," Ripley finally responded, realizing she had been silent too long. "In fact thanks to that question Hudson I think I've got new nightmares waiting for me if I find some way to get to sleep tonight," she said with a very troubled look in her eyes.
"Sorry, it just came to me," was all Hudson could say in response with a slight shrug of his shoulders.
"Probably a good thing I think. It makes us aware of a possible second nest existing, apart from the eggs in the derelict," Frost mused aloud to which no one could disagree.
"Yeah I agree, but if it does exists that just makes our job all the harder," Ripley finally said with a grim look.
"For now that is just speculation people," Gorman shouted back from the command centre, our focus for now is on the ship being the primary source of any alien outbreak," he reminded them. "Ok Ferro I see the atmosphere processor on the cam and the primary docking area. We will unload there then circle until we call the all clear," he ordered turning back to matters at hand.
"Roger that sir," Ferro responded as she guided the dropship over the colony and straight to the large docking area, which was littered with large crates and tractors all laying around abandoned. She brought the dropship in low and then hovered as close to the ground as she could safely bring it, then she nodded to Spunkmeyer who flipped the switch to open the bay door and thus allowed the APC to disembark.
A few seconds later she heard Bishop in her mic. "Ok we are clear Ferro," the android reported.
"Roger that Bishop, be safe," Ferro responded as she then brought the dropship up even as Spunkmeyer flipped the switch to close the bay. She then set herself a patrol route around the colony until the all clear was given and she could land again.
+AMTH+
(APC)
Bishop drove straight for the main hub of the colony which he easily recalled from the maps he had reviewed before leaving the Sulaco. It would give the team the best entry into the colony and would ensure that nothing could sneak up behind them should there be any hostiles within. Of course once inside and past the opening hub that would soon change. The deeper inside the colony they went the more the chance they could be jumped from anywhere, but he knew they were aware of that.
"How're we doing Bishop?" Gorman inquired through the mic.
"Another five minutes and we should be outside the main hub, from there you can disembark," Bishop responded. "I will keep the APC on station outside so we can keep track of the team once they are inside. It also will ensure nothing comes at them from this direction as we would see it first," he explained. "However once they are deeper inside they need to be aware that there are plenty of places these creatures could be hiding should they be inside like Ripley suspects. Considering the colony's transmitter shows no damage I think we have to consider hostile action, which means Ripley's Aliens might be inside," he continued.
"I agree, the transmitter is clearly still operational, but there is no one around to transmit," Gorman responded with a slight frown wondering yet again if such creatures could exist. "Not a good sign. Alright Apone get the company ready," he ordered while turning to look over his shoulder at Apone who stood watching the camera feed. "You deploy as soon as we stop," he added.
"Yes Sir," Apone nodded as he stubbed out his cigar and turned to his people. "Ok people, let's get hot, Drake and Vasquez you two are out first covering our flanks," he ordered to which the two smartgunners nodded their heads as they grabbed their weapons from the nearby racks. "And please will someone wake up Hicks? Man that guy," he added trailing off as he shook his head and Ripley got the idea this was something Hicks had done before.
Hudson shook Hicks awake with a grin, wondering not for the first time how anyone could sleep during a combat drop. What was even more impressive was the way Hicks was instantly on his feet weapon in hand showing no signs of ever being asleep. His friend was as always calm and ready, grabbing his own weapon he quickly prepared to disembark. The APC quickly came to a halt and Apone pulled the door open.
Drake and Vasquez wasted no time in jumping out, one going left and one going right and then Hicks was straight after them with the others following. Hudson was the last out with Apone and they made sure the APC was secure before leaving; it was raining somewhat but nothing too bad.
+AMTH+
(Hadley's Hope)
They headed straight for the large secured door leading to the insides of the colony. Apone quickly tried the control panel, but found it locked down making him let out a grunt of annoyance.
"Hudson, get up here and run a bypass, this thing is locked down," he ordered.
"No problem sir," Hudson responded and quickly moved forward towards the door while pulling his bypass kit out of his backpack after slinging his weapon over his shoulder. He quickly set to work hooking the device up to the door control panel. He noted the green light that came on, showing that he was in and moved to open up the lockdown. A few seconds later they all heard a large creaking sound before the door opened. Hudson grinned as he disconnected the device and nodded at Apone who grinned back. While he sometimes found Hudson to be annoying he would never question his competence as a marine or his skill with tech stuff.
"Ok first squad move in. Hicks make sure to stay in contact," Apone ordered as Hicks looked at him nodded and then moved in with Drake, Frost, Crowe, Wierzbowski, Marks and Dietrich. "Make sure you keep yourself on that tracker. You get a reading you call it in," he added over the mic.
"Roger that sir," Hicks voice quickly came back.
"Okay second squad on me, Vasquez you're on point," Apone ordered to which the Hispanic woman nodded and quickly moved in with Hudson, Cameron, Shepard, Evans and Jackson quickly following. "Hudson, you better keep a damn close eye on that tracker you got me?" he warned as he followed his team in.
"Don't worry sir, I'm on it," Hudson assured him and hoping nothing would go wrong.
+AMTH+
(APC)
Gorman watched as the teams advanced through the hub of the colony both heading in opposite directions once they hit the first main turning point. He sensed that Burke and Ripley came up behind him to watch and he was okay with that as long as they didn't get in the way. He listened and watched, hoping that all this was be an easily solvable problem and that Ripley's monsters did not exist.
+AMTH+
(Hadley's Hope)
Hicks glanced at the tracker in Frost's hand and noted that it was clear as it had been since entering, while on one hand this should be a comforting feeling it was also a very bad sign as it should be picking up the colonist's. Hadley's Hope had been home to three hundred men, women and children and they could not just have vanished. So far they had seen no bodies, but clearly something or someone had attacked the place. He paused suddenly and glanced down as he noted what could only be burn marks right through the metal grating. Bending down he felt the ragged strips whatever had been the cause had left. This wasn't good because it pointed straight towards Ripley's Aliens.
"Sir, looks like someone bagged one of Ripley's critters here. It's completely melted right through the metal and straight through the intervening levels," he reported.
"Any sign of the colonist's Hicks?" Gorman inquired through his mic after a few moments.
"None, no bodies but plenty of signs of a battle," Hicks answered as he wiped at his forehead without dislodging his helmet. "It's like the ancient legends of a ghost town," he added as he looked around.
"If you guys like whatever you are looking at and it sounds great really then you are really going to like this," Hudson's voice broke in through the comm chatter.
+AMTH+
(APC)
Ripley looked at the cam screens and noted what Hudson and his team had found. It was a huge hole melted right through the upper level and ceiling of the colony. Nothing man made could have done it, all she could think was someone had managed to kill quite a few of the Aliens somewhat and it had burned right through. She wondered how it had been done, she couldn't imagine facing so damn many to have made that kind of a hole. The colonist's must have put up a hell of a fight before having been taken.
"What the hell could have done that?" Burke whispered in what sounded to her like awe.
"Only one thing, someone and I don't know how must have caught a lot of the Aliens in an explosion of some kind," Ripley mused aloud. "I mean look how it has cauterized," she pointed out.
"Yeah but I see no corpses of these things you described," Gorman argued listening even though he was keeping an eye on the team's cameras.
"No but then they may take their own corpses away or they degrade faster than our own bodies when we die," Ripley shot back. "Look at the size of that hole Gorman, no way has that been caused by anything man made," she argued. "I think if humans had done that they would be plenty of people still left to send a distress signal. Somehow I doubt the colonists have something here that could do that, do they?" she asked turning to Burke.
Burke considered the question seriously even though he knew the answer already. He had to make himself look competent to the Marines and more especially to Ripley. He knew he had already butted heads with her now due to her insistence on the company being behind the deaths of some of her crew which he had vehemently denied, that did not help his plans for the future because he knew he needed to be on Ripley's good side.
"No nothing I know the colony has in supply could have made a hole like that, not even the seismic charges they used for digging," he finally answered. "We had a list made up of everything that had been delivered to Hadley's Hope in the last year and nothing showed up that could be lethal to the colony itself," he informed them.
"Great, ok Hicks, Apone continue your sweeps, but exercise extreme caution. Do you understand me?" Gorman ordered into his mic.