A/N- The Queen's name, Aglaia, is Greek for splendor or beauty
Ali peered through the hole in the wall as the sound of voices grew louder. She hadn't heard the sound of people for a long time and their obnoxious voices bothered her. She heard them shouting and then she heard the sound of a young girl crying out. That meant Newt was still alive. Ali's red lips pulled back in a dark smile as she stepped away from the wall. Newt was the last survivor of the terraforming colony; a group of people who come to an uninhabited planet to make it livable. Ali had never known what the children saw about her that caused them to avoid her; it might have been that her mother died during childbirth or that there was no record that she even had a father. But the aliens had accepted her; they had treated her like one of their own. She had helped the aliens out too; luring the humans into the Hive.
She turned her back from the wall and walked off down the hallway. She laughed softly to herself, the humans had no idea what they had walked into and they would regret it. A hiss to her right alerted her to the alien in the hallway.
"Well Timothy, I guess Newt doesn't have to worry about us anymore," Ali said as the alien joined her at her side, "do you think she will tell on me?" The alien replied with a hiss and shook his head. "Yeah, you're right; she wouldn't even help her own people escape us, why would she want to help strangers? Besides, she's wouldn't want to risk it. She knows what I can do best of all."
Ali thought back on how she had to chase that brat through the air ducts and had almost caught her. But Newt was smaller; apparently she had been the best at playing hide-and-seek in the air ducts.
Ali thought quietly as she and Timothy made their way down toward the processing station where the Queen had made her nest. Ali knew that Newt would be too frightened to warn the soldiers about Ali but she still didn't want to risk it. She had to find a way to get the soldiers to think she was a victim too and hope that Newt's fear would keep her from speaking out.
As they walked, the walls that had once been smooth metal began turning into a hard black coating of resin that looked similar to the inside of an insect. The air also became hot and dry as Ali and Timothy reached the outer layer of the Hive. Bodies of the colonists littered the walls, the majority of them with open cavities in their chests where an alien had already been born.
Ali bowed in front of an alien that was much larger than the others and had a large crest on top of its head. "Aglaia?"
The Queen shuddered slightly and her head came forward out of her crest. What is your report? the motherly voice of Aglaia flowed through Ali's mind like cool water.
"There are a group of humans, soldiers by the look of them, that have just arrived," Ali said. The air was filled with hisses from the aliens. "They found Newt," Ali added.
The human child that escaped you? Aglaia asked.
"Yes," Ali answered.
No matter, she will not be a problem, Aglaia said, What we need to worry about now is what we are to do with these new intruders.
"I was thinking that I could revel myself to them," Ali said.
That is a good idea. But you are not exactly equipped with the skill of acting human. Was there ever an occasion where you acted remotely human? There was a hint of amusement in Aglaia's voice.
"I've been around humans enough to know how to act around them," Ali replied.
It is acceptable, if you think you can do it. How will you approach them? Aglaia asked.
"They will come here," Ali said.
Why do you think that?
"Because, every colonist has a Personal-Data Transmitter implanted in them. The soldiers might try looking for them that way," Ali said.
Do you have one of these trackers too?
"Yes,"
So when they come here, looking for the colonists, you will reveal yourself?
"Yes, and I need to be like them," Ali said, pointing toward a cocooned colonist.
Timothy hissed his disapproval and Aglaia asked, Why?
"Because the humans will think it strange if I am just hanging out in the Hive, they would question me on why I wasn't trapped. This is the only way to get them to trust me."
Fine, Aglaia said reluctantly.
A faint beeping sound was the first thing that warned Ali the humans were close. The second was the sound of careful footsteps. Ali tried to stay as still as possible in the cocoon that incased her. She could hear the ragged breathing of a human nearby and she raised her head slowly.
"There's a live one!" Ali heard the human near her shout. The sound of more footsteps told her that the rest were running up.
"We got another one over here!" a different human proclaimed. The rest of the soldiers ran over to another human while one remained with Ali.
"I'm going to get you out of here," the soldier said. Ali pretended to be scared and even managed to get two tears to fall down her cheeks. As the soldier began pulling at the resin that kept her suspended in the air, Ali studied her rescuer. He was an attractive man with short brown hair and hazel eyes. She couldn't see much more of his features due to the helmet he was wearing. As he pulled the resin off, Ali fell forward and he caught her quickly.
"She's going into convulsions!" Ali heard a man shout. She looked around quickly to see that the human who was still alive had begun thrashing around and screaming. Ali had to hold back a grin at the shocked voices issued from the soldiers. The soldier that had saved her turned her head away from the woman just as the third stage burst forth from her chest.
"Flame thrower!" a deep voice shouted, "Move!"
Ali tensed as she heard the sound of fire billowing out and the dying screech of the third stage. Anger flared up within her and she had to struggle to maintain her frightened appearance.
Ali, they have killed one of my children. I cannot stand down right now. Protect the human you are with and let my Warriors take care of the rest, Aglaia's voice was filled with anger which shot through Ali like a knife.
"Hey, hey, we've got movement!" Ali heard a man shouting frantically. He was staring down at an object in his hands that began admitting high pitched beeps.
"What's their status?" another man asked.
"Uh, unknown," the soldier replied, panic edging up in his voice.
"Talk to me Hudson!" the man shouted.
"Uh, it seems to becoming from in front and behind," the man named Hudson said.
A scream and then the golden glow of fire filled the air. A soldier was engulfed in flame and he screamed as well. With that, utter panic erupted.
"Let's get the fuck out of here!" a frantic voice shouted.
"Not that way!"
More screams.
The soldier holding Ali turned away, brandishing a fire-arm in his free hand. A Warrior jumped down from above and landed right in front of them. Ali glared at it, careful to make sure the soldier didn't see her, and the Warrior ran past them. Someone cursed and the fire-arms started to go off again.
A figure suddenly appeared behind them and another solider limped forward out of the smoke.
"Hicks!" a man shouted, Ali recognized him as the one named Hudson, and the man holding Ali turned. He hurried over to his comrade and got behind him, pushing him forward.
"Hold on tight, kid," the soldier named Hicks said. Ali tightened her grip around the soldier's neck and held on tight. There were two more soldiers coming up next and fired their weapons into the smoke.
Ali turned her head as a crash came from the front. A huge military vehicle appeared, crashing through the resin coated wall. Hicks ran up to it, dragging Hudson behind him.
"It's blocked, we got to go around," Hudson said as they got nearer and saw the entrance covered in wall and resin debris.
"Drake!" Hicks shouted as he helped Hudson around the front of the vehicle, "We are leaving!"
When they rounded the other side, the door opened and Hicks pushed Hudson inside and jumped in after him. Ali released him and dove underneath a seat. She peeked out from behind to see Hicks pulling in a female soldier. She fired and Ali could hear an alien shriek. She heard the sound of blood sizzling flesh and a man screamed. Fire filled the opening and Ali covered her face.
"Fire in the hole!" Someone shouted.
"Get that out!" Someone else shouted.
"Drake!" the female soldier shouted.
"He's gone!" Hicks shouted.
"No, he's not,"
Hicks slammed the female into the wall. "Forget it, he's gone!"
Hicks started to close the door when clawed hands appeared to stop it. A girl screamed and Ali looked around to see Newt staring wide-eyed at the clawed hand. The female soldier and another man jumped forward to help Hicks close the door. But against their combined force, the door is still being pulled open. An alien head appeared and it opened its mouth. Hicks managed to get his gun free and shot the alien. It got flung backward and sprayed blood onto one of the soldier's arms. He cried out in pain but remained by the door until it was closed and latched.
"Let's go Ripley, let's go!" Hicks shouted and the woman driving pulled back on the throttle, sending the vehicle shooting backwards.