Now we finally reached chapter 4, but what you guys might find will surprise you,
Chapter 4:
The entire group ran out of the med-lab and headed for the cockpit. Once they arrived, Nyn immediately took control of the controls and started slowing the ship down. "Somebody run any scans on it and tell me what the hell is moving in front of us?" Nyn asked, looking out the window. "It's a big thing, like a huge piece of ice," Indra replied, running to the scanner console. "It's not ice; at least it doesn't seem to be." Paul said, walking over to the scanner console and looking at the readings, but they seemed unusual. "It's solid and semi-transparent, but it doesn't seem to be melting." Paul explained, "It must be some kind of organic substance. It seems to be protecting something foreign. It seems to be as large as a human being; we'll have to go to EVA and bring it onboard, then we take it to the medical lab for analysis, but we must follow protocol for 24 hours for decontamination." paul finished.
"Okay, let's get dressed up then. Paul, you are both coming with me, and everyone else stays on the ship." Nyn said, turning to face the others, "Josh, you're staying here too." Nyn added, and Josh looked at him with disappointment. "But, sir, I want to go!" Josh protested. "No, Josh, you are staying here with Andrea." Nyn repeated firmly, "Yes, sir." Josh replied sadly, and Nyn nodded in approval. "Let's go," Nyn said, turning back to the cockpit and opening the door.
Once, Paul and Nyn put on their helmets and checked their spacesuits for any damage or leaks. "It looks like our suits are doing well," Nyn said. "Let's get moving." Nyn finished, and they made their way to the airlock. Nyn opened the outer door, and they stepped out onto the hull of the ship. They carefully made their way to the object that was moving slowly in front of the ship. It was a large, semi-transparent object, about the size of a person, and it appeared to be encasing something foreign. "What do you think it is?" Nyn asked, looking at the object curiously.
Paul just stared at the object, looking intrigued. "I've never seen anything like it before. Let's bring it onboard and see if we can figure out what it is." Paul suggested, and Nyn nodded in agreement, and they carefully tied the object up with a cable, hoping that they might tow the object into the landing strip. They managed to pull it to the landing strip and close the hatch; now all they have to do is wait 24 hours for decontamination.
Once the 24-hour period was complete, Nyn and Paul brought the object into the medical lab by using the medical elevator, and they placed it on the ground. "Okay, guys, engage artificial gravity," Nyn requested. The entire group stood by, waiting to see what was inside the object. As the gravity engaged, the object was held to the ground and thankfully didn't shatter. "What the hell is that?" James asked, staring at the object with shock.
Paul stepped forward and walked over. "It appears to be some kind of cocoon, like a chrysalis." Paul said, "It seems to be alive, but not breathing," Paul finished. "Should we cut it open and see what's inside?" Nyn asked, looking at Paul. "We'll have to take a look at it through an x-ray scan or a sonic ultrasound." Paul suggested, and Nyn agreed. "Okay, let's set up an X-ray machine and take a look." Nyn said
As they worked, Josh watched them curiously. "What is that thing?" he whispered to Andrea. "I don't know," Andrea whispered back, "but I hope it's just some hunk of space junk." andrea finished.
The X-ray chamber was all warmed up; both Nyn and Paul moved the object closer to it and turned it on. They waited patiently for the results. Finally, the images started forming a three-dimensional structure, and they realized it was something humanoid, almost curled up in a fetal position. "What the heck is it?" Nyn asked, looking at the image. "I'm not sure," Paul answered, "but it looks humanoid; why would it freeze itself like this?" Paul finished, and everyone looked at each other, wondering what the creature could be.
"Should we keep it locked up in here?" Nyn asks, "Yes, I believe we could until we know what it really is. Do you want to take a risk and open this up?" Paul answered, and Nyn nodded in agreement. "Okay, you know what? Screw it; let's just take it apart," Nyn insisted.
Paul sighed and nodded. "Fine, but make sure you wear a biosuit and gloves." Paul warned, "And be careful." Paul finished as Nyn nodded in agreement. Both he and Paul put on their hazmat suits and rubber gloves. They grabbed some medical tools and a laser scalpel, and they approached the object cautiously. "Are you ready?" Nyn asked, looking at Paul. "Yes, I am." Paul answered, Nyn nodded, and they began to carefully cut into the object, trying not to cause any damage to the contents inside.
As they cut through the thick layers of ice-like substance, they finally reached the inner part of the cocoon. Inside, they found a humanoid skeletal bio-mechanical creature curled up in a fetal position. Its body was thin and bony, with sharp claws protruding from its hands and feet. Its head was elongated, but there were no visible eyes; its mouth seems to have metal teeth. Its tail was two meters long and segmented, ending in a sharp blade-tipped tip, which was initially a small scorpion-like barb. Most of the creature's body appeared to have suffered second-degree burns.
"What the hell is this thing?" Nyn exclaimed, stepping back in surprise. "I don't know," Paul answered, "but it's definitely not human." Paul finished, and everyone looked at each other, feeling uneasy.
"We need to contact NASA about this discovery," Nyn said firmly, looking at the rest of the group. "And we need to be cautious around this creature; we don't know if this thing is alive or not," Nyn finished. "Let's not be too quick on this, because there are important things that we need to do." Paul spoke up. "First, we need to take a look at its DNA." Paul continued speaking. "Second, we need to send satellite probes to do a three-dimensional mapping of LV-426 to find this alien structure, and third, we need to resume examining the recordings of the nostromo." Paul finished, "After we finish those three things, then we can decide whether to call Nasa." Paul explained, and Nyn nodded in agreement. "Okay, that sounds good," Nyn said. "Let's get to work."
They begin to take a blood sample of the creature, but when Paul tried to draw blood from the creature's arm, the needle started emitting a hint of smoke. "The needle is burning. Take the needle out now!" Nyn said insistently, "I'm trying!" Paul replied, pulling the needle out of the creature's arm. "Why did it burn?" Nyn asked, looking at the needle. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the needle had already melted. "I don't know," Paul answered. "I never saw blood do this to a needle, unless..." Paul paused before he resumed speaking. "The blood appears to be molecular acid!" Paul finished.
"Well, we will have to keep it contained." Nyn said firmly, looking at the creature, "We will need to take some tissue samples without having to cut the creature apart. I'm not risking having acid melt through the floor and breach the hull of the ship!" Nyn finished. "Yes, sir," Paul replied. "I'm afraid I would have to agree with you." Paul said
"Alright, since this creature is partially encased inside this cocoon or whatever, we can't carry it elsewhere, so let's just leave it in the med-lab." Nyn said, "Paul will need to run some tests on it and figure out what it is." Nyn finished, and Paul nodded in agreement.
"Alright, well, I guess that settles it." Nyn said, looking at the group, "We'll need to get back to work." Nyn finished as he left with the others. Paul, meanwhile, resumed examining the creature, but something seemed to catch his eye: a small harpoon hook embedded in the creature's chest. "I wonder where that came from," Paul thought aloud. Later, Paul manages to remove the foreign object from the creature's chest, and the hook appears to have melted due to the effects of the acidic blood. Later, Paul managed to take a small tissue sample from one of the claws on the creature's finger. "Now, let's see what we have here." Paul said to himself as he let the computer analyze the piece of the creature's claw. What the computer found next left Paul speechless. The creature seems to be a carbon-based life form, similar to that of a terrestrial vertebrate, but it was unlike anything else ever encountered before. The skin tissue he took later contained a layer of protein and polysaccharides. Looking under the microscope, he noticed that its cells were being replaced with polarized silicone. It was then that Paul realized this creature might be capable of living in deep space. "How could something like this exist?" Paul thought aloud as he resumed examining the tissue samples. But from behind him, unseen, the creature's hand suddenly twitched without making a sound, and its tail started to move. The creature's injured torso slowly started to heal, and so did the second-degree burns on its body, as if it were reanimating itself somehow.
to be continued