Disclaimer: I don't own Aliens. Story concept and characters belong to me.
Chapter 3
Clean Up
"The hostages appear to be unharmed," Ralph continued his report to Lila.
"How many guards are there?" Lila asked.
The three peered out at the cavern and counted the robed men.
"I got three," Ted said.
"Five," Ralph added.
"Two by the generator," Jessie finished.
"So ten of them then?" Lila sighed.
"The room's too brightly light," Ralph reported. "We could take out the generator, but we'd need a distraction to give us a chance at reaching it."
Ted groaned as an idea came to mind. "Remember Ben's crack?"
"I knew you were one of those," Jessie muttered dryly.
"No!" Ted snapped, glad none of the humans in the cavern could hear his telepathic outburst. "I mean he said the cultist might worship us if we revealed ourselves to them. We might be able to distract them that way."
"Or they might panic and gun you down," Lila said. "They might worship the normal xenomorphs, but they're still human and still have self-defense instincts."
"We'll be careful not to startle them," Ralph said.
"Only one of us should go," Ted said.
"The other two will try to knock out the generator and the sentry guns," Jessie finished Ted's sentence. "Who wants to play the part of alien messiah?"
"It's my plan, I'll do it," Ted volunteered.
"Be careful," Ralph said, placing a clawed hand on his shoulder.
Ted nodded and climbed through the narrow opening. He dropped to the sandy floor without a sound. A circle of light eliminated the area directly in front of him. He slowly made his way around the side of the cave, pressing close against the rock wall. The plan wouldn't work if he drew the Sequatos' attention to the opening.
The shadows shielded him all the way to the side of the cavern. Ted crouched down and examined the hostages from a closer distance. Thick ropes bound their hands and ankles together. He marveled at their inability to see him through the darkness.
"You guys ready?" Ted asked. He felt their reply rather than heard it. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the light.
The first reaction came from the hostages. A man gasped, a woman shrieked, and several small children burst into tears. The guards noticed him next. The closest one, less than three feet away, turned and raised his gun. Ted tensed up, ready to dive to the side.
"Oh, my God," the man whispered, eyes wide beneath his hood.
Two more guards joined the first, all three pointing their weapons at Ted. He tried not to display any fear, he had to act as much like an alien as possible. He hissed lowly, not a threatening sound, but more of a warning.
"Lower your weapons, damn it!" one of the cultist, this one wearing a large ornate hat hurried over to the surprised guards. When they didn't obey him, he grabbed the barrel of the lead guard's weapon and shoved it down. "We must not threaten the Holy Matriarch's children."
"That doesn't look like any alien I've ever seen," the lead guard said.
"What else could it be?" the cult leader snapped.
Ted tilted his head to the side and hissed. The echoing sound waves gave him a picture of the room. Everyone's attention had focused on him. A pair of hybrids snuck along the wall toward the generator.
"It's some kind of trick," the guard said. "The thing looks too human. Look at it! A true child of the Matriarch would not act like that. Why doesn't it try to carry us off?"
"Guys, I think I might be in trouble," Ted said, remarkably calm despite the weapons still aimed at him.
"Hang on a second," Ralph replied.
Gunshots sounded from the other side of the room, bullets tore through metal and circuitry. The generator whirred loudly and then the lights blinked out all at once.
Ted's vision adjusted to the sudden darkness in seconds. The humans in front of him weren't so lucky. They whipped their heads around, rendered nearly blind.
The hybrid leapt forward, flipping over the three guards. He spun around and drove his fist into the back of one's head. The man grunted and collapsed to the ground. The other two spun toward the source of the noise. Ted drew his gun and shot the one to his left in the leg; he screamed in pain and went down. He leapt back as the one to his right opened fire, the spray of bullets caught the cult leader. He screamed as his own comrade gunned him down. A blow to the face from the butt of Ted's gun took the third guard down.
Ted heard the sound of crushing circuitry followed by Jessie's voice. "The sentry guns are down. You can let the grunts know they're clear to enter."
He glanced back to check on the hostages. None of them had moved and they were still unharmed.
"How many Sequatos have you taken out?" Lila asked.
"I got four of them," Ted said. "Two unconscious, one wounded, and one dead.
"I got two of them by the generator," Ralph said.
"We've got four remaining in the center behind the crates," Jessie reported. "Oops, looks like one's trying to get to the hostages."
"I see him," Ted said. The human came toward him, hunched over. He could see the lights of their reinforcements through the cave tunnel. The three Sequatos opened fire on the source of the light.
"You guys protect the hostages," Ralph said. "I'll take care of the remaining three."
"Got it," Jessie said. He seemed to emerge from the wall and charged towards the guard making his way to the hostages. Jessie slammed into him and knocked him into a crate. The hybrid leapt away leaving the human to glance around in confusion.
"Don't play with him, Jess," Ted sighed, leaping forward. The man gasped as he managed to make out the shape coming towards him. A foot slammed into him and catapulted him backwards. He slammed into a crate and lay still.
Ted stood up and saw Ralph, standing across from him. Ralph reached for his vest and removed a grenade. He pressed his thumb against the detonator and tossed the cylinder toward the three remaining Sequatos. White smoke trailed after the grenade and it exploded into a large cloud. The humans caught inside the gas coughed loudly and ceased firing.
"Okay, the rest of the squad can take it from here," Lila said. "You guys retreat back to the crack. No reason to let the hostages see anymore than they already have."
"You got it," Ralph said. "Move out guys."
Later…
"What have we got?" Lila asked.
"Not much," Ted replied, tapping a claw against a container. The face hugger inside ignored him. "Serial numbers on the containment equipment's been filed off. Whoever gave them this stuff was smart."
"Let's hope he wasn't too smart," Lila said, sweeping her flashlight around the cave. "Time to see if the Sequatos know anything. Who's up for some interrogation?"
"No thanks," Ted said. "I just want to get back to human form and enjoy the sun a bit."
"I'll go," Ralph said.
"All right," Lila said, pulling three syringes from her pocket. "Load these things into the transport and the rest of the day is yours to waste as you like."
Ted walked up to her. Lila didn't flinch as he stood in front of her and took a syringe. He headed toward the cave exit. Jessie and Ralph caught up with him a second later.
"Ben wants to have a game of catch when we're done loading," Jessie reported. "Too bad you volunteered to help sweat the suspects."
They glanced around outside the cave. The sun was setting on the horizon and already the air felt colder. The wind had died down at least. The transport ship sat a short distance away.
The group entered the ship and picked up their clothes. Ted slid his underwear on and stabbed the needle into his arm. Changing back to human was usually easier than the change to alien for some reason.
His fingers cracked as they shrank, claws retracting into fingernails. His chitin softened into flesh as the tubes on his back shriveled away. His head shrank next, tongue softening, teeth dulling. Facial features returned last, first his nose, and then the skin over his eyes separated into eyelids. Ted blinked as his eyes adjusted to the bright cargo hold.
"Time to get back to work," Jessie sighed, pulling on his shirt. "Do us a favor, Ralph, and make the interrogation last as long as possible huh?"
"No promises," Ralph said.
Two years ago, Lunar Military Research Base.
Ted glanced around the room. Unlike the present day, he possessed a head of bright red hair. He wasn't the strongest looking marine, but he wasn't thin either. He sat up straight in the chair, hands resting on the armrests.
General Baxter and Professor Tachibana entered the room. Baxter approached him and held out a handful of papers. "Everyone who volunteers for the project must read the terms and conditions and fill out a brief questionnaire. Then we'll run tests on your DNA see how compatible it is and you'll be evaluated by our top psychiatrist."
"Is all of that really necessary?" Ted asked, taking the papers and examining them. It appeared to be at least seven sheets.
"Of course, it is," the General growled.
"There are a lot of factors we have to consider here," Tachibana explained. "This is all for your own safety."
"Guess I can't argue with that," Ted said, glancing down at the first page.
"Why did you volunteer?" Tachibana asked. "Your profile mentioned nothing about you having an incurable disease."
Ted glanced up from his reading and frowned. "I guess you could say it's for the same reason I joined the marines. I want to serve the people and being part of a special unit puts me in a better position to do that than my current job as a guard."
Tachibana nodded a thoughtful expression on his face. "In that case, I wish you luck."