After Bogo and Wilde had left, the first thing Dr. Sharla Ewetani had done was take a tap. In the nightmare that ensued, she'd woken up to the sensation of hot blades separating skin from muscle, and a pair of great glass eyes dripping glowing green tears onto her face. She'd felt nothing, no pain, no fear, when it cut off her own leg of mutton and showed it to her.
When she woke up, she'd been crying.
Even hours later she felt like there were invisible knives against her flesh. That's how sick she felt when she received the summons.
Bellwether's private rooms were located on the upper floor of a two-floor office cabin on the edge of the dig site. As she approached, she could see the pale silhouette of the sheep standing in the wide window, watching her niece approach. Black smoke trickled upward from the cigarette in her hoof. Ewetani couldn't remember the last time she'd smoked.
A security guard let her in, and she took a quick look at the office space before going up the stairs.
The change in décor was practically symbolic of Bellwether's place in the corporate food chain. The majority of colonies she'd visited were supplied with clunky white computers with tiny screens and blocky keys. On the other hand, the downstairs computers were bright transparent sheets, the main table a blue holographic map of the dig site. Scientists manipulated the data on the screens with gloved fingertips.
At the top of the stairs, she was greeted with a small but opulent minibar. Ewetani strode right past it to find Bellwether in the living room, still standing by the window. Ewetani slowed to a stop beside a sleek black couch. Bellwether slowly turned with a glass in one hoof and her cigarette in the other. She put it out in a clean glass ashtray and took a step forward.
"What did Bogo want, Sharla?"
Ewetani swallowed.
"He wanted answers about the Hunters. No-one on theAvellanoswould tell him anything, so he came down here."
"He came down from orbit just for that?" Bellwether asked.
"He called me out on my camp being a decoy. I think he knows our dig site has something to do with those creatures."
Bellwether swished the ice in her glass. "You didn't spoil the surprise, did you?"
"He wants us to quit. Before more people get killed."
Bellwether chuckled. "He is in no position to give orders." She paused and glanced out the big window. "Come with me."
Bellwether left her glass on the couch arm and headed down the stairs. Ewetani followed at a distance, until they went to the walkin-freezer where any bio-organic samples would be kept. The freezer was currently cool and empty, not yet at full power. Bellwether closed it behind her, shutting out all noise. "I'd tell them to keep their noses out, if they had any."
Ewetani felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.
"What're we doing in here?" She asked.
Bellwether leaned against the door, one arm propped on the handle. "I think you're getting cold feet, sweetheart. You think Bogo's right."
"What? N-no!" Ewetani stammered a little.
Bellwether raised an eyebrow.
"Then why did you tell them about the pyramid?"
Ewetani's wool seemed to electrify. "I thought we got passed the spying when you married my uncle, how naive of me."
Bellwether had a smug sort of smile, as if she wasn't really upset. "That information is classified for a reason, darling, you know that."
Ewetani straightened her posture, fighting not to lose what little confidence she had. "So, what if I did? He knows they exist. Every one of those survivors knows. You can't classify public knowledge."
Her bluster evaporated the moment Bellwether's hoof fell upon her shoulder. "You know something else you can't do? Disobey Special Orders and get away with it." Bellwether's hooves dug into her Ewetani's shoulder blade. Her eyes glared daggers above her smile. "Do you like your job?"
Ewetani nodded, feeling that symbolic alien inside her again.
"Luckily for you, you're family, and you acted under duress. So, I'm going to give you a chance to fix your mistake."
"What do I need to do?"
Bellwether lowered her hoof. "In eighteen hours, we will begin breaching the tomb. That's how long you have to apprehend Commander Bogo, find out what he's hiding, and make sure he never makes it public. I won't insult you by asking that you do it quietly."
Judy hadn't seen Flash since their conversation with Bogo.
She'd realized this right after checking Ben's vitals again, and suddenly felt an overwhelming certainty that she was being watched. She'd left him in the main lab after their call with Bogo and Nick had ended, hoping he'd stay put. Only now did she realize her mistake in leaving him alone.
She rushed out the cryochamber, checking the main lab first.
He wasn't there. Judy gripped the base of her ears. "Minerva, where's Flash?"
"Flash 120-A/2 is currently inside the morgue, preparing the device for the extraction process."
Judy nodded to herself, telling herself it made sense. "Did he do anything else while I was away?"
"He accessed information concerning the Chemical. After that, he accessed all the information I had concerning Xenomorph XX121. After that, he sent a transmission to a classified location. Finally, we recalculated the probability of the pathogen reactivating during the extraction process."
"And what is that probability?"
"Without cryostasis, the probability is 84%."
"And with cryostasis?"
"The probability is 17%."
Sweet cheese and crackers…
Judy let go of her ears. "Minerva, what information do you have on Flash 120-A/2?"
"Please elaborate, Miss Hopps."
"To try and get past the Special Order, he must have connected to you at some point."
Minerva paused."When he connected to my main database, his identification appeared non-existent."
"How?"
"Standard protocol dictates that a synthetic must identify themselves as such when accessing any Weyland-Ewetani database. This did not occur. The acidic damage to his body may have corrupted his identification programming."
Judy nodded at that, but something nagged at her, like the wounds on that mauled Gorgon. "Is there any other reason?"
"Only one."Minerva said instantly."The identification programming may have been intentionally encrypted. This encryption is implemented only when the synthetic's role requires them to conceal their status as a synthetic."
Judy's mouth went dry. "Like… a spy?"
"The official term is sleeper agent, but that is correct."
Judy felt herself starting to panic. The acid damage. The fact that theVidarcrew found him floating alone in space. His unwillingness to tell them where he'd come from. Did Rochewool have any idea who he'd been dealing with all this time?
"Is thereanythingyou can tell me about him?" Judy pleaded.
"The only form of identification that was not encrypted was a registration number. 1809246(09)."
"That's a space vehicle number." Judy breathed. "I can work with that."
She ran to the main computer and got to work. She asked Minerva to recite the number one more time so she could write it down, then conducted a quick search. She glanced behind her at the entrance. No sign of Flash. It didn't take long for the results to come up.
She'd been right. The number was for a space vehicle, to be precise, a Bullmart CM-88B Bison M-Class star freighter designated as a towing vehicle. The last record was dated 2122. It had left Thedus on a mission to tow an entire refinery to Earth. That was the last time anyone saw the ship or its crew.
Judy dug around for the official cause of its disappearance but found nothing. It was a complete mystery to this very day. There'd been a report of the flight recorder being found some years later, but its contents had allegedly been too corrupted to read. Allegedly.
She brought up the flight crew next. There was note on science officer being replaced on Thedus before they'd left on that final journey. Judy's breath hitched in her throat when she saw Flash was the replacement. Flash Thompson was his name, listed beneath the captain and above the warrant officer.
Judy found it hard to swallow. If she hadn't been scared of what she'd find before, she was now. But she persevered.
She typed some more, heading straight for the source- to be precise, the data salvaged from the ship's MU/TH/UR system. It didn't take long for her to find it. A hexagon-shaped symbol materialized to greet her. She moved past it to the record of the last time MU/TH/UR had been accessed directly. The record stated that the warrant officer had been the last mammal to access it. That gave Judy further pause. If the warrant officer had access, that meant something had happened to the captain and the executive officer. Her sense of cold dread worsened by the minute.
INTERFACE 2037 READY FOR INQUIRY
REQUEST CLARIFICATION ONSCIENCE INABILITY TO NEUTRALIZE ALIEN
Judy finally swallowed. She knew it. Perhaps she knew it all along, just like the warrant officer. The computer's recorded response came up quickly.
UNABLE TO CLARIFY
Of course. Judy pressed a button to see the next part of the transcript.
REQUEST ENHANCEMENT
NO FURTHER ENHANCEMENT
SPECIAL ORDER 937
SCIENCE OFFICER EYES ONLY
The underline beneath the last sentence felt like a warning. Judy gritted her teeth, expecting that to be it, as disappointing as a book with the last page missing. But when she pressed the button, more words chattered onto the screen.
EMERGENCY COMMAND OVERRIDE 100375
WHAT IS SPECIAL ORDER 937?
Judy almost didn't press the button. She felt like Pandora at that very moment, paws hovering over the forbidden jar, too afraid of the answers but too curious to walk away. She turned her head one more time. No sign of Flash. She pressed the button.
NOSTROMO REROUTED TO NEW CO-ORDINATES.
INVESTIGATE LIFE FORM. GATHER SPECIMEN.
PRIORITY ONE
ENSURE RETURN OF ORGANISM FOR ANALYSIS.
ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS SECONDARY.
CREW EXPENDABLE.
"Expendable." Judy whispered into the cold silence of the lab. "Crew fucking expendable…"
No wonder Bogo didn't trust them. How many mammals had been sacrificed in their pursuit of 'Building Better Worlds?'
She clenched her paws on the keyboard, thinking of the kindly cheetah lying vulnerable in stasis. Supposing that facehugger had succeeded in impregnating him? Would Bellwether have the decency to have it surgically removed? Or would they have just strapped him to a chair, then sat back and watch as it tore its way out of his body, just to see the gruesome birth for themselves…
And she'd wanted to tell them about the pathogen… if they ever got their hands on that mutagenic agent… how could she have been so stupid?
She heard a hissing sound and spun in her chair in a brief panic. The door to the lab wasn't open. It was just some random sound coming from the ship. Judy shut down the computer anyway.
She couldn't let Flash know she was onto him. Not yet. Not until Nick and Bogo returned. Even then, would it be wise? If Bogo knew the truth, he might reject the extraction plan. But it was Ben's only hope. If Judy reminded him of that, he'd listen. They'd let Flash use the extraction device, get the pathogen out of Ben's body and destroy it. She'd put on a suit and toss it into outer space if she'd have to. Then they'd deal with Flash.
She only hoped Nick wouldn't take it too badly. The only other friend he'd mentioned was lightyears away on a court-mandated salvaging expedition.
"Miss Hopps, we have a situation."
"Oh, now what?" Judy moaned.
"Flash is currently tampering with the door lock for the primary laboratory."
"What?!"
Judy hopped off the chair and sprinted to the door. One punch of the button confirmed it was already too late. She was trapped. She touched the intercom nearby.
"Flash, what the heck are you doing?"
"I'm sorry, Hopps, but I have feeling we cannot wait for Bogo's consent. I must begin the extraction now."
"What're you talking about? Open the door!"
"If you know what's good for you, you'll stay put. Don't make me subdue you."
There was something dark beneath his bland tone, and it made Judy's blood run cold. "Flash? Why can't it wait?"
"You'll see. Good luck to you, Miss Hopps."
She heard footsteps walking away briskly in the direction of the cryochamber. Judy leaned against the sealed door for support, wondering how much of this was her fault for sticking her nose where it didn't belong.