It was about as large as Jill expected it to be. She, Roger and the Sarge all stepped into the vault and pointed their rifles towards the slow closing vault door, keeping their eyes out for any discernable movement just in case one of those things tried to sneak into the place. In a small, secluded bunker with the only way out being a heavily fortified door that was at least a good 5…no 6 inches of solid steel? They'd all be easy prey for the slaughter.
Only when the vault's door finally hissed shut an it's powerful locking mechanism heard around them with a few loud clicks sealing everything into place did they lower their weapons and shoulder them. Not completely at ease but more inclined to feel safe.
8 crew, far as Jill could count. 5 female crew and 3 male. 4 Male if you include the captain so 9 people in total. Not many survivors but more than Jill was counting on. She allowed the breath to come out of her lungs when she realized she'd been holding it in and walked towards one of the female bridge crew members. The Brunette on the back of the ID card that she'd confescated from the bridge belonged to her, and it only seemed right to return it.
Reaching into her pocket with a free hand, Jill held out the ID card that belonged to a Kiara Luna and held it towards her. The poor woman looked like a few years had been shaved off her life. More like ten, as lines creased her face in places that her ID card didn't show, and her complexion looked more worn and tired compared to the lively miss that she pictured her to be.
"Miss Kiara I presume? I'm sorry, we had to take your card after we examined the bridge. I assumed you left it there on purpose but by the look on your face…"
"I was panicked…" The voice that came out of the woman was hoarse. Green eyes looking lost, their sparkle lost as she reached for a canteen at her side to take a sip of it's contents before even continuing. "We received the word to evacuate to the emergency bunker for crew and I just bolted. We heard the reports from Sector one with people getting massacred by that…by that thing! And I ran. If I wasn't with Marissa, my coworker that is, I'd probably be dead or hiding under the tables in the bridge."
"I can imagine…This isnt something that was supposed to happen. We'll get to the bottom of it, I promise." With that said, Jill handed the ID card back to the poor woman and took a step back. Both her peers gave her a glace, as though they probably should have kept it but she didn't think that was necessary, besides it was always her intention to return it if they found her alive. A small blessing, if one at all.
The captain, Barry, stood at least a good foot above Jill. And his eyes glanced at her interaction with Kiara before a clearing of his throat, deep and loud was enough for him to command her attention once again. "You and your two bodyguards wanted to talk. You said you're not here to kill any of us. But you work for the company…You DO realize that it was you who got us in this mess in the first place yes?"
"That…is what we want to find out Captain." Jill turned her body to face him. The graying old man may have been advanced in age but his physique told her he was far from feeble. He could probably snap her neck easily, and the only one who could put power like that on a leash was the Sarge. "What do you mean by it's US who got you in this mess? We were simply assigned to Xeris. A full 12 hours BEFORE the outbreak even."
The old man's eyes stared into Jill's, like daggers trying to claw at some answer he was still trying to grab himself before he took a seat on one of the food ration containers that were sitting in the bunker along with them. Enough food to last for another week or so perhaps.
"Some 48 hours ago if my time is right. There was a lone commercial ship that docked with Xeris. Their hull was badly damaged, most of the crew dead or missing, except for 3 people. A woman and two men. At the time we didn't know WHAT to think of it, but when we registered their ship docking with the station it was suddenly flagged by Weyland Yutani as level 10 priority."
"Level 10…? Mind informing me of what that means?" Jill asked but she hd a feeling she already knew what it meant. The Sarge only confirmed it when he answered first before the Captain of the station.
"A level 10 priority call means that whatever is being issued the threat level should be quarantined, safely and securely as fast as humanly possible."
If what they were both saying is true, then SOMEONE at the company knew there was a Xenomorph on board that ship. Why else would they flag this ship much less the station itself and order a full scale quarantine. That would explain why the only ships allowed entry into the station in the 24 hours prior to the outbreak, were military vessals with the clearance to override it. Like ours…
Did Lars know…?
"At the time, we could only speculate. But as Weyland Yutani practically bought out Xeris Station, we had to abide by their code of conduct. And so, everyone within the station was unable to leave until the quarantine could be lifted. The three crew that we managed to get out of the ship were placed into secure holding room in the maintenance hall just below Sector 2's main shopping district. Both males were experiencing no symptoms far as we were aware. Vitals all normal, brain waves at normal levels, really the only problem was that they were disoriented. But we got enough out of them to understand the severity of their ordeal."
Two men, Hetsu Takahashi and Ryan Dowski appeared on the monitor that Kyle was towering over. The first was a young Japanese man that looked to be in his early 20's. Ryan on the other hand was showing some signs of aging, but from Kyle's past life he could guess the man was probably in his mid 30's. Both were recorded as being the two surviving crew of a ship only logged as "OTHELLO"
The ship was cordoned off by Weyland Yutani and it's contents scrubbed clean and sanitized. But for what purpose?
Scanning through more of this "Classified Information" Kyle also took note of a third crew member of the Othello. A woman by the name of Lisa Romano. Strange. He tapped on her information but it all came out as scrubbed clean. No information on her other than she was classified as Deceased. But when he looked into more of what was removed from the ship he saw 2 or 3 familiar egg like shapes being carried off.
Facehugger pods…But why were they ON the Othello. And why were personnel on board the Xeres Station being allowed to move them at all if the ship was placed under quarantine.
Hetsu and Ryan were logged as missing in action. They both went missing shortly before the outbreak occurred, then an hour later after they were nowhere to be seen, the first Xenomorph came out from the basement and started it's hunt. That's what some of the earliest log entries of the classified documents detailed anyway.
Drool dripped unceremoniously from his jaws onto the keypad he'd been using. He couldn't stop drooling and Kyle stopped trying a long time ago. He just continued keying in what he needed to know. This was about how the outbreak started. These three. But where did those two men go off to? They only vanished an hour before the outbreak occurred so were they alive prior to the first Xenomorph appearance? Or did they have a part in the outbreak taking place in the first place?
The only thing he knew for sure was that the faces of all three looked vaguely familiar to him. But he knew for a fact he'd not spotted any humans like them during his birth and exploration of Xeres so maybe an inherited memory? If one of those face huggers held his mother, his queen that might explain it. But he had a feeling she hadn't been born from those eggs.
Instead his attention returned to the image of Lisa. Something in his gut told him she died for him. And the systems were hiding that information why? If Weyland Yutani were after Xenomorph samples then why hide the fact one was incubating within a human host? The time discrepancy between the crew's testimony and the initial takeover of Xeris also pointed to her being the queen's host.
According to Hetsu's testimony upon being put into quarantine, he told his observers and doctor that they'd been in hyper space for awhile after leaving their last stop before the drive failed and they were drifting on nothing but their back thrusters for 10 days.
Most Chestbursters will break free of their host within a day or two. Whereas Queens can take anywhere from a couple days to even weeks due to their unique chemistry compared to the typical Drone or Warrior. They were incubating and birthing a queen and didn't even know it. Weyland Yutani probably didn't realize this fact either and assumed they could manage to isolate a few Xenomorphs so long as it was only 2 or 3.
Now most of the inhabitants of Xeres WERE the Xenomorphs. Were his brothers and sisters on this station.
The thought chilled him and at the same time, gave him a sense of pride that his species were prospering. But the way in which they were prosperin was the problem. And the means of how this was all possible.
Humanity. No matter what reasons they had, they were trying to use his kind as bio weapons. That's the only thing that he could gather from the information from this station. Only one more thing bothered him, and that was a classified document even he couldn't access from the communications station on the bridge.
Code-named: Project Goliath. What did that even entail? He could try to click on the classified file but he kept receiving two error popups on screen. One was that he did not have the clearance to access the file, stating the necessity of the Captain's credentials, and the second…was that the file in question could not be accessed here anyway.
He tried looking for any info as to where on the station he could find it, but his searches came up empty. In a rage he nearly shattered the station with his tail but it was his only lead. He also did not need his Queen sensing an unusual sensation of anger. Not when it didn't involve a direct threat to the hive.
He'd need to get those last few sectors powered up. His reason behind not being able to find this Project Goliath's location could be because of the shutdown of other systems on the station. Stations 1, 5 and 6 still needed to be powered on. But to power them on he needed a human's touch, something he didn't have, so he had to rely on his two prospects to get the job done for him.
For now though, he did have at least one lead. The Captain had half of what he needed. And if he wasn't among those who were taken and used for incubation for other Xenomorphs then he was still aboard the station. He needed them, dead or alive.
And then there was that Synth...
"This is all getting to be a bit too weird." Roger was walking around in circles, more so two or three steps before he made a full repeat of the motion due to the lack of space within the bunker, but the story Barry told them was…insane.
"The company bought out Xeres Station a year or so ago from Seegson. And put you in charge of it's operation after the buyout. Then a full earth year later, you get the order to quarantine after contact with the Othello and it's crew. Two of which are still missing but you've got no confirmation of their deaths. But the female of the group…"
"Yes. We had her under the highest level quarantine because her symptoms were worse than those of her crew-mates. During our last check in, we found her lying in a puddle of blood with a big hole in her abdomen, just above her stomach. We'd gone to check the two males of the crew that lived shortly after, fearing that an outbreak of gruesome deaths may occur but there weren't even a body in their rooms. No blood, no signs of struggle, they just…vanished."
The Captain's face grew taut as he straightened out his uniform, which for all purposes it did him now…only served to remind the man how he let all this happen under his watch. "And then…just an hour within their disappearance, the first of those…things came out. From the security cameras that observed the shopping district of Sector 2 we saw it all…Horrible, gruesome sights. People skewered, their heads crushed open by those odd maws…and some of them being dragged away from the masses, kicking and screaming down into the maintenance halls down below…"
"Our best security staff tried to fend off the alien outbreak but they weren't ready for the numbers or agility that the creatures possessed and one by one, on camera…they were either killed or dragged away. I presume…to make even more of those alien monstrosities."
That would explain the data pad with the initial recording that Jill and her team found. How was it that things got so damn bad. And why hadn't the company purged the contaminated ship like protocol suggested they do?
Jill knew why they hadn't done a thing. The same reason she despised the company when she was in her past life, enjoying the horror flicks with more enthusiasm. Nothing enthusiastic about this now.
"They want the Xenomorph." Jill concluded, finger on her chin before the grim smile that came from the captain all but confirmed her suspicions. Which meant… "You're a liability to them. Someone with the information from zero hour to everything that's happened till now. A witness to a crime that they'd rather keep hidden."
Sarge and Roger glanced at one another as though they knew they just stepped into a serious conspiracy. But then one question gnawed at the former as he closed in on Jill and grabbed her shoulder. "If they wanted to leave no witnesses then explain why we're here? We're not an extermination crew…We're an extraction team and were put together to assist Jill in her research aboard the station."
It was a reasonable enough question. Jill didn't quite have enough information to piece that out together. But if what the captain said is true, then Lars knew about the cover up as well. She had a few ideas. One came to mind more than anything.
"I'm the leading expert of Xenobiology. The company knows nobody has more information and insight on the Xenomorphs than myself. But our mission briefing was to retrieve data that you had and to escort the captain and his crew safely off Xeres Station after the breakout. The company may have had to shift priority mid assignment once word of the infestation set in."
"Quarantine. They intended to keep the Xenomorph samples acquired from Othello a secret, and requested the highest quarantine level to ensure it. Hoping to keep their little secret out of the public eye. Get us to examine the creature and transport it most likely, and then get out. Nobody dies, everythings peachy."
"But…" Sarge interrupted, staring at Jill then towards some of the more haggard bridge crew. "That didn't happen. Those things outsmarted whatever quarantine system the company and the station put together and screwed up the plan big time. So now…this is a scrub mission?"
Jill really didn't like that word but the Sarge was right. The pieces fit at the very least. Why else wouldn't there have been a BIGGER response from the company, instead of sending 2 soldiers, a civilian, and a synth to the station?
What came to mind made her sick. This wasn't data recovery…this was a purge.
"Damnit why didn't I see it sooner." Jill scoweled, for the first time, her face showed not only a fear that she'd felt since this mission began, but an urgency. "Captain. What ELSE was Weyland Yutani doing on this station? A research ward..something. There's more to this isn't there?"
At the mention of a research ward, the tiredness of the Captain only seemed to grow, but seeing the urgency on the young biologist's face gave him a sense of duty. As though he should meet her urgency with his own attentiveness. His back straightened before a hand reached into his breast pocket to take out a key card, one with his own initials and rank insignia on it.
"Xeres Station is devided into sectors that have different functionalities for the people living on the colony. But only two sectors fit the bill for what you might be thinking." The old captain drew in a deep breath before handing his card to Jill before taking out a comms pad of his own.
"Sector 5, the area just beyond this sector is the entire station's Research and Development sector. A place that Weyland Yutani made off limits to civilians and crew without level 5 clearance. Thankfully…my card has just what you need to get past that security limitation. If the company has something to hide, it'll be in there, and likely locked behind my credentials to keep anyone from getting their nose in the companies business."
That was something. Jill didn't expect him to just give her the key that would get them in. Even less so that he divulged that bit of private information. Was he warming up to them? What was the reason when he had distrust for them. "Are you sure you want to leave this key with me? You thought we were going to kill you."
"I don't have a bullet in my head do I?" Barry gave her a wry grin before a soft beep could be heard from Jill's own comms device. "I sent the information regarding Sector 5 to your pad. Cleanup crews don't ask questions, they just clean up the companies mess. You don't seem to be doing that. And judging by the look in your eye, you seem to understand retreiving us probably wouldn't be the best decision now anyway."
Harsh…But he wasn't wrong. If everything the Captain told them was true, then the moment she brought him to Lars and to their own docked ship, he'd probably have a bullet in the head. All of them would. It pained her to think he was safer just staying squared away in this bunker. This of course meant Jill couldn't leave this sinking ship yet. Her heart raced at the realization that the worst was yet to come. Even more so, Lars…someone they all put their trust in was most likely a mole sent to monitor them.
He was a Synth, and programmed in whatever way the Company deemed fit. So if this was really an operation to retrieve the Xenomorphs and eliminate the witnesses, he'd be ideal for it. He wouldn't squeal…and he'd kill just about anyone without a second thought.
"We'll keep in touch. We'll head to sector 5 and tell you if we find anything there that may be able to corroborate your story. For now, keep this bunker sealed tight. If we need you, we'll call."
The captain, Barry pushed a button on the wall, allowing the vault's doors to hiss open, a sound that undoubtedly made him nervous considering how he immediately turned to the crevice that was steadily growing as the vault doors gaped open. "You have my comms address now. Be careful. The R&D sector may already be compromised. You'll likely encounter some of those…THINGS…there. And by your recount, the Working Joes will be hostile to your approach. Research and Development made use of at least a dozen or so of those things to make up for the lack of human researchers."
{Lack of? So there are no human workers in that sector? I guess we'll find out…}
Jill didn't want to delay any further. The moment the vault had enough clearance for her team they rushed out of the Vault. Roger with some trepidation but considering his near death experience that was to be expected. Were marines just built of sturdier stuff?
Once the Vault closed shut after their departure, the sector grew increasingly quiet. Something Jill and the other two weren't thrilled about. They learned about a possible conspiracy and a direction towards their next destination. Sector 5. A place made entirely for the research and development of new technologies. If this were a game then they'd be getting to the spicy part just before a big dramatic boss fight.
Then a loud echoing hiss reverberated throughout the halls and she remembered…there were Xenomorphs in the area. Two by her count, but there could probably be more now.
"We need to rush back to the boarding terminal at the tram station and get our behinds to sector 5. How's everyone on ammo?" Jill didn't want to really know, because if the count was low she might just have a heart attack, but she NEEDED to know what they were dealing with. Thankfully she was able to restock on some of her resources in that bunker.
It wasn't much, but she was able to get her hands on 3 noisemakers and an extra medkit just in case they suffered an injury on the way.
"I have about two clips for my rifle. Six extra rounds for my hand gun and a flashbang, that one of the crew was oh so happy to offer me for my service." The way Sarge said that last part made Jill wonder if it was out of sarcasm. His face certainly didn't show anything like gratuity for the gift.
"I have a full clip in my rifle. I also managed to get a hold of some batteries. I've already changed the ones in our flashlights so we have about 4 left."
Three clips of ammunition, half a dozen hand gun ammo, a flashbang, batteries…and a few noise makers. Add in the scraps she'd mannaged to accrue from some of the crew, they weren't in the WORST of spots. She'd even managed to top off her gun while they were there. Or rather, Barry insisted she take his but now she worried if he would be okay.
Just then, her comms device started beeping, a sound she moved to quickly silence before a message from an unknown address flashed on her screen.
{If yore giong to sectrr 5, you will needd some extrraq gear to ensure yourrr surbival. Headd back tiio the comms rooom.}
That was a suspicious message she received. And it was so full of errors that she believed that the caller may have simply been a spam bot. But then how did it know they were going to sector 5? Extra gear to ensure survival…Is it implying that if they go in with what they have now that they're going to die?
Jill showed her two companions the message so she could get their input, both of whom couldn't discredit the idea of a trap. But on the other hand…
"We're out gunned and from what we know, our weaponry will only last us so long. At best we can survive and eliminate one of those things. But then we'll have a swarm on our backs." Sarge argued, though he didn't want to have to rely on a disembodied voice, or disembodied text from an address they knew nothing about.
"If there's something in the bridge we've overlooked, then it'd be worth taking a look. We need to get some answers from Lars anyway. He's the one who was sent to overlook our team in the first place." Roger kept his rifle in his one remaining good hand as he said so, and took point as they traversed through the eerie halls of the station. The generator restored power to this place, but until all generator units on Xeres were back in order they flickered…a lot…
The good news was, now that they had the Captain's credentials, they could get through that one security checkpoint that was locked before. No need to crawl through the air vents or maintenance tunnels to get back to the Communications station. But that didn't mean they were safe. Far from it as the metal clanking both above and to their sides told that they had company.
The Xenomorphs knew that prey were here. They were hunting for it. In activating the generator less than an hour ago, they led their hunters right to them.
All Jill could advise her team to do is to not make unnecessary noise. Soften each foot fall and be mindful of anything that might be on the floor that could make a sound. If they kept that in mind then maybe…JUST maybe they could get out of this sector in one piece. But the Captain…she worried if the vault would keep them safe. Before the Xenomorphs likely didn't even know of it's existence. But after having opened it not once, but TWICE when the sector was infested, there's no doubt they heard the sound and knew something was missed their first time around.
"Shh."
Jill crouched down low, getting behind an assortment of empty packing boxes. On the other side, by the door they needed to get to was one of those long, slender ebony black Xenomorphs. Small and slender compared to the warrior, but still easily dwarfing any of them. It's tail was raised high, and the low hissing noise that came from it's jaws told her that it was on the hunt.
It circled back, each footstep it took was heavy as it strode in confidence, head haunched forward, inner jaw hanging out of it's mouth as it walked mere inches away from Jill and her crew hidden from sight. Her breath was caught in her throat as she didn't dare make a sound, didn't dare breath for fear of the noise itself alerting the creature to her presence.
Only when it started clamoring into one of the air vents did he decide to let out her breath. Hearing the dull thud of claws tapping along the aluminum tunnels that it was crawling through.
She gestured to the door and gave the Sarge a brief nod, a sign that she wanted him to follow along as she raced towards the door now that the initial danger subsided. Roger followed along, arm raised up, rifle pointed at chest level as he had their flanks. Something left him worried. He didn't know what, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.
There was nothing but bad feelings this whole mission. He'd only start feeling true relief once they got off this station and were back on their usual assignments. Maybe a little vacation on earth, instead of chasing alien monsters.
On Jill's case, she just wanted to get out. But if Lars was trying to sabotage the station then he probably wasn't going to let any of them out alive, so she had to get to the bottom of all this despite her gut telling her to just leave and never come back. "Wait a minute…"
She pressed the Captain's card key towards the door's security system and watched it slide open with an aggressive THUNK like sound. Only giving them just enough time to pass through before it slammed shut again. A sound she didn't like because it would alert that Xenomorph from before and any other that the door had been opened, signifying yet again that there was prey in the vicinity.
"What is it Jill? Something have you worried?" Roger walked closer towards her right, arm and rifle raised in an almost protective gesture. He wouldn't let her down, or at the very least he'd always do his damned best not to. "You're not regretting using this door are you? The Comms room is just up again. Surely we can get there in one piece no?"
If that was his way of trying to lift her spirits, Jill had to give him an A for effort, but she didn't think she liked anything about this. But he was right. "The message knew we were going to sector 5. And they told us to return to the comms room for something to help us get through the research department. Lars wouldn't want us going snooping around in a place that might incriminate the company though…right?"
"Yeah? So maybe there's nothing there to begin with and he just thinks the Captain's files are stored there right? I mean we couldn't get them in the comms room."
If you wanted to believe Lars was innocent that might make sense. But Jill wasn't buying it. She worked for the company but she never really believed they weren't the bad guys. Her whole reason for joining the company was for…other reasons after all.
Heavy footfalls began to sound above them. And she urged them to begin walking away from the door as quick but as quietly as they could muster. A half run, as she might call it. But eventually, they arrived back at the comms room. The door quietly hissed open and allowed them into it's safe confines. Or rather it SHOULD have been safe.
The Working Joe's that were stationed here on their last visit were all severely damaged. One had been cut clean in half around the abdomen. Another's head was lobbed clean off and another had several holes in it's chest. Their circuits buzzed and cracked with broken electrical connections, telling Jill that this destruction only happened recently. Not only that, almost every computer system in the room had the distinct claw marks of an Alien behemoth having torn through them. How there hadn't been a station-wide fire from this mayhem she didn't know.
What's more, Lars was nowhere to be seen. Had he been killed by whatever caused this destruction? Did he escape? She saw his comms pad by one of the consoles so that might explain why he hadn't radio'd them in some time. But that also meant now THEY couldn't monitor him either, and vice versa.
Right by that very console she could see the remnants of a very broken down keyboard. Several of the keycaps had just sprang right off their housing, others with clear holes through them and lots of drool that made the device practically unusable for the forseeable future. "Okay…that confirms one suspicion…"
"What? That these monsters are chewing up machines as well as people?"
Whether it was sarcasm or a genuine question from Roger, Jill decided to ignore it in favor of picking up Lars comms pad that was left behind. Trying to find anything that she might be able to use within it. "Lars didn't send us that message."
"Would you mind running that by me again love?"
"I aid…Lars didn't send us the message to come here. This comms devices last known call was 35 minutes ago to an unknown caller. Not us. And the address from Lars's device doesn't match the one on the message we received."
That got the Sarge's attention at least. He walked in closer and with careful delicacy, grabbed the pad from Jill and started scrolling through it's contents. His eyes scrutenized the contents of the device as if he were trying to find anything that might make sense to him, until he took another look at the address to the caller Lars had talked with.
"That's a company address."
"How can you be certain?" Jill didn't doubt that one of the Synth's contacts might be from the company. He was created and programmed by them so it would make sense that they would have him frequently in contact.
"Because Lars has no friends outside the company. He doesn't mingle with people outside of work. For as long as I've known the man, he's been all business and if he's not…it's usualy so he can get Intel FOR his business."
"ookay…So we have a mystery caller who has my contacts…A mystery COMPANY contact trying to get in touch with Lars…and a missing Lars that could be anywhere on the ship. IF he's still alive. As if the plot to this story couldn't get any more convoluted…"
That reminded her. The address who messaged her on her OWN pad mentioned something that could be useful here. "Let's look all over. Check under the stations and in the cubboards. There could still be something we overlooked the first time" It was a long shot, but they were promsied something that could make their trip into Sector 5 a little easier. And so far…they weren't getting a whole lot on that promise.
The Sarge put the pad down and began his search. Most of the computers wouldn't have anything for them to use anyway. What with the sparks flying out of the broken monitors so that wasn't a good place to start. But he DID at least start pulling the cabinet doors BELOW the work stations, opening them only to find spare bolts and a sensor. He pocketed the sensor as they might need it but saw nothing more that could be useful.
Jill walked towards the Captain's station. Both the Chair and the computer were busted to all hell, it was almost as though someone tried to sit on it but they were too heavy or their body just wasn't meant for the posturing. More drool caked the keyboard, telling her perhaps a Xenomorph tried to make out something of the computer systems before ultimately giving up.
{Or they got what they were looking for. Are they intelligent enough TO use a computer…? I don't remember if there was anything in the movies about that…}
But then…there were many instances in the films where the Xenomorphs would defy understanding. Just when you thought you understood most of their biology they would flip the rules around and turn your whole understanding on it's head, making you rethink your whole reasoning behind them. Still…Wait what's that?
Under the seat's cushion. It was faint but she did detect a bulge underneath the worn and busted fabric. "I think I have something!"
"Yeah…me too!"
That came from Roger. But what could HE have found? It didn't matter. Well it DID, but she needed to figure out what was under this cushion so she grabbed her handy knife and started cutting through the seat cushion. {Sorry Captain…I'll buy you a new chair if we all get out of this alive…}
What she found was something of a surprise to her. It was a stun baton. A long, metal rod like weapon that as far as she could remember, was a useful little gadget in Alien Isolation to beat down on the Working Joes. They definitely helped to incapacitate a number of them during her runs in her past life. But why did the captain have one of all things?
{Maybe the Joes were prone to malfunction…I'd want to keep something like this on me for self defense.}
She quickly slipped the baton onto a belt loop and decided to go check out what the commotion was with Roger. She'd already found something that would help them deal with some of the threats they'd find on this ship. And without having to waste a bullet when those bullets will be more readily on hand for the Xenomorph threat. Or other humans…She certainly hoped that wouldn't be the case.
When she stepped down from the captain's desk, she could see Roger holding what looked like a makeshift metal detector. No…Not a metal detector…if what she was thinking it was, then that might be what the message was telling them about.
She took a step towards him, and heard the familiar beep of a sound she heard all too often in old films and games she played in her first life and for the first time since their insertion, she felt a bit of hope. "A…motion tracker. There was a motion tracker here this whole time?!"
"I found it behind a few of the Working Joes." Roger held the device close in hand with his good arm pointed it outward, the device catching the footsteps of both his companions, relief on his face. "With this we'll be able to hear when those things are coming after us. I think we'll be able to avoid a majority of our problems with this thing on our side."
"But it also makes a bit of noise itself. So make sure to turn off the sensor when you're not using it. We need to use it sparingly."
"That's true…" Roger clicked the motion tracker off and strapped the device to his side. "But it was caked in drool when I found it. Like something slobbered all over it. I think one of those things might have tried chewing on it then gave up when there wasn't a whole lot of give."
{If you knew how strong their bite strength was you'd say otherwise. They could easily puncture a skull. Something like this would be broken in two if they wanted to really destroy it. But if they DID have it…why leave it here…and behind a bunch of Working Joes…?}
None of this made any sense. But she had a suspicion that whomever left the motion sensor did so with the intent that they would use it on their excursion ahead. That made her worry that the next sector was riddled with the Xenomorph. But then why not mention the baton she found too? Maybe they overlooked it because it was hidden in a spot where only the captain should really be sitting. And for that matter how DID he sit with such thing protruding from his seat…ow. But that was a question for another time.
"Alright…We have a stun baton for the joes…and we have a motion tracker for the Xenomorphs. Now if we just had a flamethrower we'd be just peachy." Truthfully, Jill was just happy things were staring to go their way. Now they just had to make a beeline for the station's tram network and then they could get to where they needed to be. And hopefully not die
Returning to the door, the Sarge took point, his rifle in hand as the door slid open and they crossed back into the flickering halls of Sector 4, with Jill following close behind, pistol in hand herself, scanning her left and then her right in quick succession every few moments even as Roger covered their back. Motion tracker in hand, he would activate it in short bursts, just enough to get a general view of their surroundings and ensure everything was quiet.
Seeing the empty rooms lined up on the wall however was just plain eerie. Clothes strewn about and boxes haphazardly thrown around. No blood, but she wondered how many of the crew on board Xeres were taken away. She counted over 62 rooms in the sector, yet only 8 of the surviving crew were in that vault. That wasn't even a fifth of the crew that remained.
The only thing that brought a bit of relief to Jill was there were no more foot steps, or the telltale signs of a Xenomorph nearby. But that also meant the Aliens were deeper in Sector 4, closer to the vault which added a whole other level of worry. But she couldn't worry about that now.
Without too much hassle, the trio made their way back to the tram station. And the relief on their faces couldn't be any clearer. Jill was about to press the call button for the tram system when a thought crossed into her head. "Why wasn't the Tram here in the first place…? Did someone call it while they were on their trip? Or was it set to just automatically go to each passing sector on a timer? With the power off in half the station she couldn't imagine that being the case.
{Lars must have bolted the second the Xenomorphs broke into the comms room. He came here and made a dash for it. But where was he now…?}
The Sarge took one step towards Jill, about to urge her to call the Tram system when he heard something to his right, at the guard station and quickly brought up his rifle. What he saw was a tall man, marine, with short black hair and sharp green eyes as their own rifle was lined up towards the Sarge. "Lower your weapon. I won't have you shooting our girl up."
The man, his green eyes showed clear hostillity but the Sarge couldn't tell if it was towards them, or if he was just naturally distrusting due to the situation on the ship. That's when he took notice of the Captains insignia on the man's uniform. "You're a soldier…Just like us."
He didn't speak for a moment, but he glanced up and down over Sarge's own uniform, lacking any sort of military identification but he could see that the man had the same formal training as him. Former marine? Maybe hired gun? He kept his gun level but took his hand away from the trigger at the very least. "Captain Samuel of the UACM. Lower your weapon and I'll lower mine…"
Both men locked eyes with one another, as if daring each other to make the first move, but ultimately the Sarge put his weapon down first, taking a breath before formerly introducing himself as Sam put his own weapon at ease. "Sargent Kurt Hawkins. My friends call me the Sarge…Former Marine Corp officer too. We're Weyland Yutani Private Military. Man with the sling is Corporal James Scottsdale and Xenobiologist specialist Jill Sharon."
"You're a company man…?" That didn't sound too good. His tone was almost accusatory, but as the tram vehicle sped into view, his tired eyes took his eyes away from the trio and glanced to their ride. "Whatever. Get in the Tram. We can't stay here, those things are going to eat us alive if we stay any longer."
It all sounded good to Jill. She waited for the transports doors to swing open and took one last sweep before she climbed aboard. James followed behind, already heading towards the front to operate the thing himself like last time, leaving the Motion tracker with Jill. Sarge and Sam however, remained locked in a staring contest for several moments longer before they both filed in, taking seats on opposite sides of the car before the usual feeling of acceleration kicked in after the doors shut.
"Now then…" Sam took the time to unsling his rifle and stare at his two new visitors. "What is the company doing skulking around this place? You realize there's a stationwide lockdown."
"Well…How much time do you have…?" They managed to get themselves out of Sector 4, but now they had another person here. A survivor, and one who obviously had a problem with Weyland Yutani. "Listen, confidentiality be damned. If we're going to get out of this place, we need to work together, and we need to do it now."
The glare from Samuel's eyes was hard to miss. It said 'If you do something I don't like, I'll kill you.' But hs stance soon relaxed as one of his legs came to rest on his knee. "I'm listening…I'm assuming you're the ones who sent me that message?"
"Wait…message?"
Both Jill and the Sarge exchanged a look before they decided to inquire, almost in unison. "What message?"
"Ah…so I guess we both have something to share then. Alright. You first. Then I'll tell you mine."
An information trade…well it'd take them at least a good twenty minutes to make it to sector 5 anyway. Why not make proper use of that time and debrief before they thrust themselves back into the horrors that the station had to offer. Jill slung her pistol into it's holster and started recounting the tales that she heard from Barry back in the vault, the rest of the transport silent, as it rode the rails to their next destination.