The year was 2015. Julie, whom was a fairly average build brunette had just graduated from her field of study in the University of Colorado. Biology had been her major and while most of her colleagues thought some other research field would suit her best, she'd always had an interest in studying living things.

People, plants, animals…She was always fascinated by the world around her that she just knew that she had to major in a field that would allow her to examine everything that she knew with a fine toothed comb, and her fascination in the field started when she was just a young girl.

One of the things that got her into biology, and something that her friends often teased her with was her fascination with the Alien franchise. One of the first horror films she'd watched was the first Alien film, but rather than be terrified by the prospect of a Xenomorphic creature that could kill so easily without so much as a second thought, it instead led her into probing into that possibility.

Why did the creator of the franchise make these perfect killing machines. WHY did they target humans specifically? Of course as she watched some of the later installments she came to realize that the only reason they preyed on humans was simply for the fact that her species was really all they'd come across.

Then Alien 3 dropped in and she saw the "Dragon" and realized they could prey on just about any species. They would drop an egg into any species a facehugger could latch onto and find suitable signs of life for and breed to life a new evolution into the Xenomorph lineage.

Of course that was her ONLY fascination with the third film. It's entire plotline had left her sour to future iterations of the franchise but her interest in the Xenomorphs never faded away.

When she started college for her degree in Biology, the game: Alien Isolation came out. Most of the alien titles were either only remotely interesting for her or not that good. But this one…It felt so much like a movie. Allowed her to really step into the shoes of a protagonist and get to look first hand, and interact with the world of the alien franchise.

None of her friends or colleagues saw a similar interest but they didn't try to push her away from the unusual passion either.

On that same day of her graduation, she'd been offered a job straight out into her field of study. She'd be working with all forms of unique wild life, as was her main reason for choosing biology as her major. It would allow her to see everything the world had to offer.

Unfortunately, just as she was offered that dream job, fate had other plans.

It was one rainy afternoon where Julie was waiting for the bus to come at her stop. She'd thankfully remembered her umbrella and was making plans to commute to her new work place. Waiting alongside her was her workplace mentor. An older woman by the name of Rebecca who was 2 years her senior and was the main reason she'd gotten the job in the first place.

Rebecca was about half a foot taller than Julie, around 6'2 and despite her imposing height she wore a smile that was quick to disarm most passersby that commuted around her. Her blonde hair was one of her more distinguishing features along with her sharp pointed chin that offered her a more distinguished outlook.

"Don't worry. It's just a quick bus drive downtown. Once we're at the lab I'll show you to your station. You don't have anything to be afraid of."

"Easy for you to say…" Julie was trying not to let her face be seen past her umbrella even while she occasionally looked down at a simple wrist watch that was on her person. 5 more minutes…5 more minutes and the bus would arrive.

"You've been in this field for longer than I have. Sure I have a degree in this science but-"

"I've been to your classes." Rebecca cut in, reaching over to put a hand on her new colleagues shoulder. "I've lectured there too. And seen just how well you performed amongst your peers. You're exactly the kind of person we need on our team. Please try not to sweat it so much. I've seen what you're capable of, and my colleagues back in the lab all agree, you're perfect."

That was all well and good on paper. But Julie still couldn't get herself to calm down. Most people in her field had to wait MONTHS after graduation to get a good job and now here she was with a fast track to success. The one thing she knew was a fact was that she was much more attentive than her peers and was usually the first to ask her university professor questions…even challenge them on some of the material. It was that aspiration to learn that had been her main driving point to get where she was now.

Deep breaths in…Deep breaths out…

She finally managed to calm down when she heard the sound of a bus horn in the distance…quickly growing closer and closer as the bright headlights of a massive vehicle were barreling towards her.

"Julie look out!"

The sound of the horn rang in Jill's ears, even as she felt a tap on her shoulder. It was The Sarge. His face grim but his eyes remained locked into Jill's own as if to ensure she was alright. While she may not have known it, she was just staring at the door where she'd seen the Alien warrior. It had long since gone but the terror she felt…It brought back her old memories.

Jill reached a hand out and pulled Sarge's hand away from her shoulder with an understanding smile. He'd only been looking out for her, making sure she didn't crack.

She wouldn't. She knew more than anyone here what the Xenomorphs on Xeres station were capable of. The old days, from her past life where she'd played Alien Isolation began to flood into her memories. Suddenly she was Amanda Ripley…Or that was how she was envisioning herself as. Only she wasn't looking for any whereabouts of her mother.

She was trying to figure out WHAT had transpired here. "The last 24 hours here are important but they won't exactly help us in finding the information we need."

"I agree." Lars stepped over towards the trio and picked up the data pad from their would be John Doe and started re-playing the audio report but switched it to a text based file quickly so as to not have any unnecessary sounds attract the Xenomorphs to their location.

"This one didn't have the information that we're looking for but it at least tells us how long since the breakout occurred. If we're going to get anywhere then we need to start by locating the captain, if he's still alive."

"Here's the current mission plan. Jill, I need you, Roger and…Sarge…to make your way to the Communications Room. From there you'll be able to get a lock on the captain's whereabouts if he's alive. And if the station's communications are well enough…give us a way to contact HQ."

"Woah hold on there Lars." Roger kept glancing occasionally to not only their exit, which was the very door that they'd noticed the Alien warrior, but also some of the ventilation. No eerie sounds were coming out of it but he'd seen just now nimble and flexible the Xenomorphs could be…They could come from anywhere.

"For us to get to communications, we'll have to take the tram…That part of the station is at least a few kilometers from where we are if the map system is correct. And that's IF the tram system is working. The power's been buggy on this station, we may not be able to use it."

Sarge had to agree. He was a hard man, He and Roger could handle a lot, but not several miles worth of Xenomorph's on foot. They MIGHT be able to get out of there if they had heavier firepower tan their AK-47s and standard issue sidearm, hell they might still be able to do it even with what they had on them. But Jill was another thing. They'd have to protect her, slow down their progression and while he liked the girl's moxie, she was only carrying a standard issue pistol that Weyland Yutani gave to their researchers for self defense purposes.

"So…We'll start it up again." Jill finally answered, breaking the silence as she used a piece of wire they'd found in this maintenance room to hold her hair together and roll the excess into a bun so that her eyes would not be obstructed by strands. She was in business mode now, even if she was chilled to the bone about what they were about to do.

"We can't do anything about the station's overall power from here. But we can at least reroute some power in this section to get the tram running. If our map is up to date and they haven't made any changes…then we should be able to find this section's power generator somewhere arooooound…" She was running a finger all along the map that was already on display on Lars' communications device and put to rest her finger on a piece of the map that was about what she estimated was two blocks distance if they were going by earth terms.

"We go down the corridor just outside this room and continue on for about oh…500 or so feet. From there if we use some of the maintenance tunnels we can cut our travel distance by about oh I don't know…half? It should lead us right TO the generator room."

"Are you out of your mind?" Sarge interjected, his eyes stern but also curious as to why Jill would come up with such a plan. "Those Xenomorphs USE the maintenance tunnels for traversal. That's not exactly a safe plan. If we go in there we're as good as dead."

Jill turned to look up at the Sarge with what could almost be described as a daring smile. She had her spunk back. "Why would they use it now? All the humans in this sector have been taken. You've seen it…The life readings here already point to such on our systems. The majority of the Xenomorphs will have moved to a different system by now in search of more prey."

"You're taking an awfully big gamble on something like this…" Roger kept one hand at the trigger of his rifle. He was jittery but he wasn't stupid. "Some will still keep to this area. It's ground zero so to speak…"

"That's why we're going to rig a few traps…Closer to the shopping district that's on the other side of the hall. I'll sneak and place a few noise makers on a timer in one of the food stalls. Say for oh…5 minutes. That'll give us enough time to quietly make our way to the maintenance tunnel. If we time it right, then the sounds should distract all Xenomorphs in the vicinity to that center…leaving the tunnels open and giving us access to the generator."

"It's bold…It might work. But it's bold." Lars finally added his own two cents in. He looked as though he didn't much like the plan but he wasn't the one who was the leading expert in Xenomorph behavior…Jill was and she must have factored in what she knew of the species when formulating this ridiculous plan. "Very well. If it gets you into the Generator room then I'll be more than happy to sanction this seemingly foolish plan. Once the generator's up and running I'll meet the three of you at the tram station. May God help us all."

That last sentence seemed to spark a smile on Jill's face. She put her datapad into her back pocket and checked her pistol to make sure it was loaded and the safety was off, just in case. She then did a quick inventory to make sure she had the materials she'd need to set off such a timer. Just enough…but she'd probably do well to scavenge for materials for the duration of her stay on the station, just in case they were on board for longer than this new mission directive entailed.

"I was under the impression Synths don't believe in Gods…Is this whole ordeal getting to you Lars?"

"I can still be a little human you know." The Synth looked somewhat offended by Jill's remark towards his own, but he knew if she was back talking then she was confident that this plan would succeed. He had little reason to doubt her and gave both her and the two marines a brief salute, to which they returned in kind.

The very thought that she was even coming up with this kind of half baked plan was horrifying. She was still thinking in the mindset of Amanda, but in this instance she could do MORE than Amanda. In Alien Isolation the player was limited to what the developers allowed as use for crafting materials. Here? Where she was in complete control and had use of her environment, she could craft what she pleased if she found the right materials.

While she, Sarge and Roger kept their eyes and ears at attention she was busy using that maintenance man's data pad to rig a small timed device. It wasn't difficult. She simply removed the outer casing of the module, tinkered with some of the wiring and made sure what she had set was specifically rigged to the sound system of the device.

What was the most challenging was getting a working timer on the device. She couldn't have two different applications on the device going at once…a flaw with some of the older model pads that she thought was just too humorous considering the technology of her old world far surpassed this…and yet here they accomplished space travel that only our top astrophysicists would DREAM of.

Instead what she did was gut one of the old cooking timers she'd found during their initial investigation and in her own words…jerry rigged a connection that while it would not be the most stable, would at the very least hold out long enough to suit their needs.

When her attention was finally off her pet project she finally got a look around her surroundings. It was very eerie out on the ship…The lights flickered on and off, likely on secondary power since the ship went on lockdown and those batteries would be drained within a day or two if not the next couple of hours. That's even more of a reason to get the generator up and running. Aliens do not require the same sense of sight that humans did. If her fascination of their species had bore any fruit in her past life, it was that their vision seemed to change from film to film. You COULD chalk it up to a director's perspective but she came to the conclusion a long time ago and hypothesized that the Xenomorph's vision may well adapt depending on their environment.

Meaning they could see as well as any human, but if the power went out then they may stick to a more thermal solution or even start using echo location. NOT something they needed on a ship where they could not reasonably escape from such a versatile predator.

But her thoughts aside…The hall towards the shopping center just felt too…BIG. Every footstep they made would echo along the emptiness of the corridor so on Jill's advice they stuffed their boots into their packs and went along in their socks to soften impact and lessen their chances of being spotted by any of the Xenomorphs.

For the moment it was all safe, but from time to time Jill would make a hand gesture for everyone to be still and pointed upward to some of the air vents. Loud clicking and metallic thumps could be heard…Indicating movement from above as the Xenomorph's searched for their prey. Jill prayed that they wouldn't find her and her friends. At the same time…She prayed that whomever they were searching for would either find a way to get out of harms way or that their death would be painless.

When they arrived at the shopping court in their section of the ship she was sick to her stomach. Not by the carnage of dead bodies…No…They'd been gathered and collected she figured. Anyone who had been still alive likely had been dragged down to their nest while anyone who had lost their lives were probably dragged down to serve as food for the chest bursters development.

Even though no bodies could be found the thought made her nearly lose her lunch if she'd had any. What made it worse was that there were shopping bags strewed everywhere. Half the store signs had been ripped off their hinges and what remained had blood splattered over them leaving them unreadable or just straight up unpleasant to look at.

Leftover food on some of the table only served to remind that the peaceful lives of the people here were uprooted so abruptly with none of it even being a fault of their own. Flies even refused to collect in this place of death which only served to unnerve Jill even more. Her fascination intact, but that did not trump her will of self preservation.

Understanding the need for caution, Jill raised a hand and let out a breath she'd been unknowingly holding back. "You two stay back…If I'm spotted I'll need you two to get into flanking position. It's safer if they think there's only one of us and leave themselves open to a blind spot."

Both marines didn't argue. It wasn't due to a lack of fear but rather in knowing that while they outranked her militarily, Jill was the leading expert on Xenomorph biology. They trusted that her knowledge would be their key in surviving this mess. That said, they weren't clueless. They make sure to press their backs to walls, sinking into the shadows as best they could manage and waited on baited breath.

For Jill, this couldn't GET any more exciting, and also…frightening. She crouched down to make herself as small a target that she could, even knowing that her plan was borderline suicide. Her hands were shaking, and sweat dripped from her forehead as she made each step silent…Working her way up to a hotdog stand. So far nothing was getting in her way…

That didn't mean she was out of the clear. She took one glance to her left, then the right before making her next move. The hotdog stand was conveniently placed but putting their plan to motion there wouldn't work. ANYONE would be able to see there was nobody behind that cheap cart so she started crouching towards one of the more sturdy booth like shops.

Just as she was taking her first steps away from the cart, she saw it. An ebony black tail in the distance behind the shop she was targeting. Was it on patrol? Whatever it was, her blood ran cold as she feared their plan might have failed before it even began.

'No. I can't think that. If I give up now we just die. Now…'

She breathed in…then out. Repeated this process a few times so that she didn't simply clam up and waited for the footsteps to just fade out…Only then did she start crouching the ten feet from the hot dog cart to what was a more established burger joint. In her panic she unclipped her pistol and had it out at the ready. Just in case she needed it.

She pressed herself against the outer wall of the burger shop's building. Peered her head over the corner and saw nothing at first, but then she heard a sort of growling breathing sound followed by a long elongated head…The ebony black shell of the Xenomorph's face as it was coming right out of the shop's front door of all things. A misty fog came out of it's sharp, toothy jaws as it exhaled.

The form…It wasn't the Xenomorph Warrior that she'd seen back in the maintenance room. It was smaller. It still towered at over 7 and a half feet which dwarfed most humans…but that smooth black shell on it's banana shaped head told her this was a worker drone. A small relief, but the danger was all the same still present. It was like feeling grateful the Lion has left you alone but now every other animal in the savannah has it's eyes on you.

Jill's body froze. Had she not instinctively crouched upon hearing the first foot fall, the thing would have been staring her right in the eyes. But the fact that the only thing that separated them was nothing but maybe an inch or two of stone slab really drove the fear in her. She could feel it's breathing as if it were right at her neck.

If it's gaze loomed down then she was as good as gone. She prayed…listening to the hiss of the creature as if it were trying to announce that this area was it's domain. She couldn't move, she couldn't speak…

And then…just as she thought the creature might bare it's fangs down on her and find it's prey…it would lift it's head UP, peering at the ceiling as though something had caught it's interest. There were a few more hissing noises but other than that no real vocal communication.

What it DID do however is thrust it's tail THROUGH the concrete slab of the shop. Bursting clear through and only missing Jill by as little as a few millimeters, as was obvious when her left cheek suddenly had a small cut that dripped blood. The creature then sauntered off before clinging to the ceiling and running off into the distance.

She took this opportunity to completely sit on her haunches. While the cut wasn't deep it still stung...Thankfully one could not become an alien simply by injuries sustained unlike some movie or video game enemies. But she'd still have to treat it once her heart stopped beating a million times a minute.

Once the initial shock of her near death experience finally settled in she took one more cautionary glance over the now shattered wall to find there were no other Xenomorphs actively patrolling the court. Her earlier theory that most of them may well have gone into other sectors may actually be on the money! She quickly climbed into the shop and jumped behind one of the back counters. First thing she did was grab some of the shop's alcohol selection and disinfect the cut.

She wasn't afraid of a chestburster coming out of her from a silly wound like this but she most certainly was worried about an infection…She was the one person who couldn't afford to die from such a senseless fashion when she was the one who held the best hope for her comrades of getting off this forsaken station.

Once the wound had been cleaned she patched herself up with a thin layer of gauze and set to work on her original target. She needed to set the timer…And right behind this food counter she would have an ideal location for it. Plenty of hiding spots and nobody would think twice if a person was bunkered behind a counter trying to hide from such a fearsome predator. The Xenomorphs weren't stupid, but even they would likely follow this train of logic and investigate in the possibility they'd missed one human prey in their vicinity.

She strapped the timer just underneath one of the cash registers and made sure the volume was set to max, even putting it on a loop for good measure. The first timer would go off in the next 10 minutes. Then subsequent timers every 30 or so seconds so as to keep them guessing.

Once her stealth mission was finished, she crouch walked back towards the Sarge and Roger, the latter of whom looked pale as though he'd seen his life flash before his eyes. She didn't blame him considering her own circumstances. She wanted nothing more than to catch her breath and just let herself fully process her own emotions, but they had a job to do.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and recognized it as Sarge's. He gave her a stern gaze before gently nudging her away from the scene and down the hall. Man of few words but he was like a big papa bear when it came to her, even if they'd only really met upon their deployment to this station. She knew that he'd have her back, it was only right that she watched his in turn so she pulled out her pistol, making sure it was loaded and took the lead.

"Jill. This is Lars. I'm making my way to the tram station. What's your ETA on the power generator?" His voice came in a burst of static from the radio strapped to her belt. While not ideal for this type of scenario, she found herself relieved to hear such a voice coming through…and it wasn't loud enough to attract their would be predators.

For whatever reason, the voice calmed her enough to ease the shaking in her limbs and reach for the radio, walking and speaking while her marine buddies covered the front and back of their position. She was too happy to be out of the shopping center. That being said, now Sarge, Roger and herself had a few halls that they would need to traverse. Open spaces that would leave them exposed to the Xenomorph outbreak than she was comfortable with.

"We're making our way to the Maintenance tunnel. The timer's been set." She paused when the metallic thumps of the ship's pipes caught her attention. Was it the Xenomorph? Or simply the ship's cooling, she didn't know but it gave her and her team a moment's pause before they started again, ignoring the cargo containers that were strewn across the hall. "I'll send another update when we've successfully powered on the generator."

"That's a clever girl." Lars responded in a half joking tone that sounded as though he were trying to keep her spirits up. "Keep radio communication to a minimum for the time being…" For a few seconds there was silence, before his voice came through again. "And be careful. The Xenomorph isn't this station's only threat. Over and out."

Jill didn't like that last bit of news but she understood. In Isolation, it wasn't just the Xenomorph that was the enemy, but other human factions and even the androids…The Working Joes that were a significant threat. They weren't in this sector far as she knew but she had a feeling it wouldn't be long till she found one.

Some walking distance later, Jill and her team found just the shaft they were searching for. Checking her map information just to ensure she was in the right place…Yep! The map, which was uploaded into her own data pad was of a monochromatic design but she could make out it's details clearly enough. One of the reasons that she even suggested this plan was simply due to lockdown procedure. Xeres station was in so many ways like Sevestapol except for a few subtle differences…

Once Lockdown occurred and the generators were shut down, the main access door was locked firmly shut. Each sector of the ship had it's own individual generator unit that kept the sector functioning, this way even if there was a complete lockdown the medical wards could still retain their own power for the patients.

That said…the Maintenance tunnels were still quite readily available. For these reasons however the closest maintenance shaft would not lead to each generator. This was also a design intended to keep potential raiders guessing, keep them from quickly overtaking the entire system. But this station had been sponsored by the company so when they'd been deployed here she'd been given the full schematics of the ship's floor plan.

Now she just had to wait. Her own stop watch counted down to the last 30 seconds as she stared at the maintenance shaft then gestured for both her guards to follow her behind a stack of crates and get low. "Our chance will be in 3…2…1…"

Their ears weren't nearly as potent as other creatures, but even Jill could make out the audio from her distraction from here. It was of the same audio file they'd recovered from the Xeres technician they'd found back in the maintenance room. Only Jill'd had the common sense to rig the sound audio directly to the burger shop's speaker systems so it definitely made a resounding boom.

She waited, keeping her mouth shut before she heard the hiss of a maintenance hatch open and two alien Drones started sprinting on all fours towards the sound. She waited…a third made it's way down the corridor before the hatch hissed shut.

Now was their chance. She waved both soldiers on and started ducking into the tunnel, letting it swing open before she started crawling through. Her breath was visible in a cold mist as the temperature within such a shaft was generally colder than the much more expansive halls of Xeres.

"Let's see…we crawl to the right and continue for about a hundred or so feet…then take another right and we should be right in the Generator room."

She repeated this more for her benefit but also to ensure neither Sarge or Roger left her side. Especially in a cramped tunnel like this…She thought ANYTHING could spring up on them. Thankfully her diversion plan worked.

She was just about to make that second turn when her blood ran cold again. Before she could take another inch forward, coming from the other end of the tunnel was the Alien Warrior. She thought it may have been the very same that gazed at them earlier in the day. It was right there...not even a foot away from her, staring into her eyes. Hot breath washed over her as she thought...it was going to kill her.

This would be how she meets her end.

Instead, it started crawling to the left hand side of the maintenance shaft, turned only once to give her one final look before using a sharp clawed finger towards her destination as if he were ordering her to move on before crawling away.

She only realized, once the tapping of the creatures claws stopped making an audible pop in her ears that she'd been holding in her breath. Both marines behind her were equally confused as to why that thing didn't just eat them alive right then and there. Were they just more concerned about the sound in the shopping center? Or did it simply not think three lone humans were enough of a threat to warrant it getting involved directly?

Whatever the case was, they were spared for whatever reason. One final hiss from the distance of the tunnel was all Jill needed to get herself back in gear. She had a job to finish. Think about the warrior later!

After crawling through the chilling vents, eventually the maintenance shaft would swing open. What she saw was nothing short of carnage...She saw a few people, slain on the ground wearing all manners of clothing. She'd think they were only citizens...if not for the rifles strewn about. THANKFULLY, no shots were fired on the large generator that was positioned in the back of the room, cables linking it to other areas of this station's sector. A few line of cabling she assumed lead to the main power frame.

She reached down, checking for pulses but found none...But the bodies were STILL warm. Some of the barrels of their rifles still had a bit of heat as well, indicating there was a firefight not too long ago. She hadn't heard any gunfire though...Unless it started BEFORE she crawled into the maintenance tunnel.

But by then all of the Xenomorphs were charging back towards her sound decoy. Was the Warrior already aware of her ploy and chose to ignore it? And if so why did it kill these humans but leave the generator unscathed...?

Too many mysteries...But the smell of death was abundantly clear, as were the wounds inflicted by the warrior. Men whom had a huge hole coming out of their abdomen, very likely caused by the blade like tail. Some had their throats bit into, gruesome...She couldn't help but shiver at the brute strength of the Xenomorph alien, whom if it had wanted to, could simply pry any door open regardless of the thickness or tonnage of it's steel casing.

She didn't have a whole lot of time to think about all of this. She walked over to the Generator and approached a lever to it's side. She pulled once and nothing happened...Pulled again, once again nothing...the third time however, she yanked it as hard as her arm would allow and a deep growl came from the Generator followed by the loud rumblings of it's motors kicking in and suddenly the room was alight with the ceiling lights and the door swung open.

"Whew...Ok...That's done..."

Jill grabbed the radio at her hip and started running through the hall, Roger and Sarge at her sides as she followed the ship's schematics to the tram. "Lars, the Generator's up and running. We're heading your way now.

For a moment there was radio silence. Jill feared the worst. It'd been 10 minutes since their last radio communication and here anything could have happened...their distraction could have drawn them towards Lars which now thinking on it, she probably should have given him more time to find suitable coverage.

"I'm already calling the Tram. Good job Jill! How are Roger and Sarge? I'm assuming they're still with you."

"They are. When we meet up, we'll have a report for you. One you might find all the more intriguing. Have you managed to get in contact with the ship's captain?"

"...Negative." Lars spoke plainly. He wasn't one to waste time, but he figured Jill might need more of a concrete answer so he continued. "I've tried a few times with some of the authorization codes that we've been provided but he's been silent. We'll need to get to the main communications room in Sector 4...I'm hoping all he's doing is keeping silent to maintain cover."

"And if he's not...?" Sarge asked, head over Jill's shoulder while they paced. "What do we do if we find the man KIA?"

An exasperated sigh came from the other end that was cut off midway from static interference. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that. But if he IS gone, then we'll need his data pad. He'll have the authorization that overrides anyone else on this tub, and we NEED those codes to secure the data and contact headquarters."

Right. Same ol same old. The objective still hadn't changed. But Jill hoped...Maybe if the Alien Warrior had seen it fit to spare THEM, that it had extended a similar courtesy to the captain. That was all assuming that the captain hadn't bit the bullet before their birth.

"We're almost on our way to the tram. Cutting to radio silence. And Lars?...Make sure you stay hidden till we get there."

She cut off the radio to conserve power and nodded to Sarge at her side. Neither of them had a good idea about any of this. But they had their orders. Both likewise turned to Roger who simply nodded in turn. This was already turning out to be a very wild and strange quest.

After some time, Jill and her companions finally reached their destination...The words "Tower Link Transit System" was on a couple of LED signs. Jill recognized it immediately. It was a transit system similar to the one found just after Axel's death in Alien Isolation...Only thanks to the power being brought back online the lights left the place much less horrifying...

She saw the large steel doors that separated the waiting room for the tram...Seeing that it had still yet to arrive on station...And Lars was nowhere to be seen from that matter. From a glance at least.

Sarge and Roger took a look around while Jill hit the call button just by the station's door and waited...Heart pounding even if they were protected in some form by the light. She couldn't help but feel a little anxious, as if she were stepping foot into a much more terrifying world.

Sarge's face was grim as he checked the tram station's communication box...No humans in sight, and a half empty mug of coffee by one of the monitors told him they were likely dragged off...There was no blood but that didn't mean there wasn't violence when the poor traffic control people were dragged right out of their stations.

He checked one of the security cameras and could see the very moment a pair of Drones had crawled into their office and dragged them away. There was lots of screaming, but the camera did not pick up any of that from the looks of it. But their faces, contorted in fear told him all he needed to know.

"Where the hell is that Synth...? We told him to wait here for us and he's nowhere to be found." Sarge growled. Somehow finding the lack of Lars' presence to be more grating on his nerves than them actually being around.

"I'm here Sarge. I'm just not going to make myself an open target."

One of the cargo containers opened from the top, their lead operative climbing out of it with what could only be chalked up as a bemused expression. "Jill requested that I remain hidden until you arrive. The Tram was taking much too long to call so I remained here. According to some of the equipment in the control room, it would take an estimated 5 minutes to arrive. MUCH too long for a Xenomorph to come patrolling the area.

It made sense. Jill could see the logic in it but she could also see that Sarge wasn't exactly happy with it. But then if they were to survive, all of them needed to be on their best behavior and work as a team.

After Lars climbed out of his hiding spot, the four of them could hear the sounds of the tram's final approach and the squealing of the tram's breaks easing the transport where it needed to be. The doors swung open and for once, Jill allowed herself a moment to relax when they began to step into the transport.

"Sector 4 right...? I'll go up front and make sure we get there." Roger volunteered. He didn't look it from his appearance, but he loved public transports and early on in his days in the training academy he'd also taken up courses in most public transits, so he knew how to manually operate vehicles such as a tram station. He quickly made himself at home in the front, leaving Jill and Sarge to fill Lars in on everything that's happened.

"You see...It all started like this." Jill took a seat opposite of Lars, putting her hands in her lap as she began recounting what transpired in the span of the last 20-30 minutes of them being out in the station. Even with such a short amount of time there was a lot to unpack...and she wanted all of it out before they made it to Sector 4...