Thicker than blood

I do not own any film in the Alien franchise.

Chapter 3

The human emitted an odd scent, one that intrigued her. Leaning over him, Cres'sa opened her mouth, taking in the air that floated around the human, tasting it. She moved closer to her assigned protector.

Ed Wheaton was lying on his side, just beginning to rouse from a restful night's sleep. He yawned twice, then rolled over onto his back and rubbed his eyes. He felt things must be ok, since his innate instincts would not have allowed for such a deep sleep had danger lurked. Opening his eyes, he yelled aloud as he found himself staring up into the snout of his charge. Cres'sa was hovering over him, as if she were examining him. He scrabbled backwards until he bumped into the headboard.

Rushing into the room, rifle in hand, Jennie Philips was prepared to fight an unknown assailant, but instead, found her comrade-in-arms facing an inquisitive xenomorph. Suppressing a smirk, she turned to tip-toe out of the room, before hearing her friend call out to her.

"You're not leaving me here with... Hey, Jenn!" he hollered at his giggling friend as she turned towards him.

"Are you afraid of her, Ed?" Jenn asked, re-activating the safety on her rifle.

"No, no, she just startled me." Looking at the female xenomorph, he pointed a finger at her, saying, "Don't do that again!"

Cres'sa backed away, her head lowered. She emitted a soft mewling sound.

"Aw, now you've hurt her feelings, Wheaton." Jenn shook her head and left the the room.

Ed slid off the bed, keeping an eye on Cres'sa. He held out his hands, apologising as sincerely as he could. "Look, I'm sorry. I mean it. But you really shouldn't get in people's faces. It can...bother people. You don't want to upset people. Do you understand?"

Cres'sa hissed low, but Ed swore he had heard 'yes'. "Why don't you...uh...go out front and join your brother. Major Tanner will be here soon. I'm going to..." He pointed toward the bathroom, them waving his hand in slight frustration, he said, 'Never mind', walked in and shut the door behind him.

Cres'sa was only curious about the human who was her guard, and never meant to harm him. She didn't know why she needed a human to protect her. Her brother had always been there for her, as she had been for him. But Jonathan had indicated that they could be in danger from an unknown threat here on their mother's world. Should that threat choose to make themselves known, Uncle Tanner would do anything to make sure they were safe. Cres'sa would never do anything to upset the human with whom the Queen her mother was good friends with. Still, her curiosity compelled her to want to study the human male up close. He obviously had no such feelings about her.

Ed stood over the sink, leaned down and splashed water on his face. Grabbing a towel, he dried off, brushed his teeth, and ran comb through his thick dark hair. The nice thing about being in special forces was certain perks, like being allowed to grow one's hair a bit longer than the ordinary grunt.

His thoughts went to the xeno. Why was she giving him such regard? It unnerved him. But if Major Tanner trusted him, he had no choice but to be worthy of that trust. Maybe he could teach the xeno how to behave in public. He still swore he heard a word come from her, but how could that be. They had been told xenos didn't speak.

Cres'sa's sense followed the human into the small room she had slept in, then left the bedroom, and went in search of her brother. She found him communicating with the human female. She envied how easily he mixed with humans, but that was not surprising, considering his looking like them. It left her in a strange place between her world and that of her mother. She was smarter than her brethren, and just different enough for them to regard her as apart from them. Yet she looked nothing like humans, whom she feared would give her little, if any, chance to know them. Uncle Tanner was the only human with whom the xenomorph nest had had close contact.

When Jonathan saw Cres'sa enter the living room, he excused himself from Jenn, and went to his sister. No words were spoken between them, yet they were speaking mentally.

Ed came into the room and headed for the kitchen, where he found a pot of steaming hot coffee. "Thanks, Jenn," he called to her, pouring himself a cup. His eyes watched the xeno over the brim of the cup.

A rap at the door, followed by a shout out from Tanner, gave warning to the two soldiers. Their instant movement toward their weapons stopped mid-action.

"Morning, everyone," Tanner said, his eyes scanning the entire room. He made note of where everyone was standing or sitting, seeing that the twins were off by themselves, while the humans were doing what humans tend to do in the morning. He had hoped to find them interacting more.

"Hello, sir," the two soldiers called out in acknowledgement. Tanner nodded, then went over to his charges. "Today, we're going to visit several places I hope you'll enjoy. There are some...people I want you to meet."

"Uncle Tanner, these people...they'll be studying us, I presume?" Jonathan knew that eventually, it would come to that.

Clasping the boy's shoulder, Tanner reassured his suspicions. "If anyone asks you any questions, you're free to answer them or not. Don't worry, just trust me," Tanner said. "You can trust me, can't you, Jonathan?"

"Of course, Uncle Tanner." The human-xeno hybrid smiled.

"Ok, everyone, let's get ready. It's going to be an interesting day."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Across the city, in one of many nondescript glass towers, a special meeting was going on in an office between an executive with much power and influence, and an underling with little power but lots of survival savvy.

"What do you mean he has full command of the Special Forces team? Who gave them authorization?"

"I'm not sure, sir. Major Tanner has friends in high places."

The man behind the large, ornate desk rose, and walked around it. Leaning back against the edge, he folded his arms and looked down at his assistant, who wasn't feeling too comfortable being under scrutiny. "What if we use a similar method as we did at the colony."

"Infiltration by an android?"

"No, idiot! That's been done to death. I mean simply buy off one of the soldiers in Tanner's unit."

The assistant shook his head. "It won't work, sir. It's been tried. Not one of them could be bribed. They're all, to the last man, loyal to Major Tanner."

The executive sighed heavily. That would have been the easiest thing, but obviously something else would have to be considered. "Alright. I want you to contact our operative at Weaverton. IF Tanner goes there, make sure his every move, his every word, is reported back to me. We have to get those twins. Our hands are tied, or else it would be much simpler just blasting our way in. This operation will have to be more subversive. We can't be linked to their kidnapping at all."

The assistant rose from his chair. "Understood, sir."

"Remember," the executive called out to the departing assistant, "money is no object, and everyone is expendable."

The assistant suddenly wished he worked anywhere but here, yet nodded briskly and left the room. His mind raced with ideas. Heading to his own small and less ornate office, he began calling in some markers. Not in his name, of course. He was no one important. His boss, on the other hand, was.

A/N: short chapter, I know, but setting the scene for a coming confrontation. And then...lemon alert! But not right away. Read my "review" post to see a hint of my plans. I am writing a Supernatural story that has a completely different tone from this, and I'm having more fun with it right now. It's taking up my time for now, but I am trying to keep this one going, as I almost had decided to delete it. So please hang in there, and I hope the muse will give me a major boost soon, so I won't have to dump this one.

Thanks!