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Alien-Species
By : moviefan
Category: 1 through F > Alien (All Movies) > Alien (All Movies)
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Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
(A/N: I'd like to address something. I know it may seem like Houtras going after the Xenomorph alone made him come across as either conceited or foolish. That wasn't my intent, and I didn't mean for him to come across that way. I was going for him being unwilling to let other people put themselves in danger, even if it put him at greater risk. That's what I was trying to portray when I brought up his backstory and how he saw too many people die in war and wasn't willing to let anyone else die. And truthfully, had the Xenomorph not inherited Alice's regeneration, he actually would have killed it, but they had foolishly not taken that possibility into consideration. Stress and fear can make people not think properly. But moving on, our team has already made some pretty big mistakes with the Xenomorph, what other fatal errors will they make? Let's find out.)
Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7: Stand-Offs
For a long time, no one said anything. This now made two of their group that had met a grisly end at the hands of the Xenomorph, and they’d had the misfortune of having listened to both of them. And Houtras had been meant to be their protection in case things went wrong, and things had gone very, very wrong.
Rogers, who had been standing by the monitors, hoping in vain that the ones that displayed Sector 17 would start working again, collapsed into a chair as Houtras’ cries fell silent.
“Fuck, man,” he muttered with a defeated look on his face. “We’re dead. We’re fucking dead.”
“We’re not dead,” Fritz insisted, her own cold demeanor somewhat shaken. “We can still get out of this.”
Rogers gave her a look of disbelief. “How? That thing would be deadly enough if it was a normal Xenomorph, but now we know it can regenerate. We can’t fucking kill it.”
Scotts looked into Alice’s room. She had regained consciousness since her Chestburster experience, but had been strangely quiet, seemingly deep in thought. He had wanted to go to her to see if she was alright, but knew he wouldn’t be allowed to.
“It must have gained Alice’s regeneration,” he theorized, “and who knows what else it inherited from her.”
Cypher turned to the scientists. “I’m sorry, but we’re not as informed on Subject 4G2A as you are. Is there no way to kill one of her kind?”
Fritz let out a frustrated sigh. “There is, but it’s not easy. Their regeneration is so fast and so great that you have to practically destroy their whole body. There was even a report that a previous Species, a one Patrick Ross, who had the top part of his head blown off and still survived by growing it back. It would take causing extensive damage to the entire body or injuring them in a way that would kill them before they could heal. Long ago, there was a chemical that was did developed that was lethal to their kind, that’s how they killed off Ross and his children, but it’s been lost to time.”
“Fire’s affective,” Ramirez suggested. “Make sure it completely burns up. That’ll put it down for good.”
Cypher glanced at the other two androids, then back at the humans. “We have a flame-thrower on the ship. The Xenomorphs tend to be afraid of fire, so it came in use.”
“Shall I go get it?” Dawn asked.
Cypher gave her a nod. “If you would be so kind. Do be careful though.”
Scotts gave them a look of disbelief. “You’re going to let her go out there with that thing running around?”
The head android cocked his head to the side. “Well, we need more affective weapons, and it would be better to send one of us than one of you. Besides,” he glanced at the monitors, “the ship is nowhere near Sector 17. Now would be the best time to go for it.”
Rogers’ head suddenly shot up from his slumped over position. “Wait, that’s it! Let’s just get on the ship and get the hell out of here. Leave the thing here to rot.”
Fritz glared at him. “We are not abandoning our posts. We can’t allow the specimen to continue to run around, nor can we take Subject 4G2A with us, or leave it here.”
Rogers glanced at Alice, then back at Fritz. “Screw her. She’s safe in there. And let the robots stay if someone has to; this is their mission anyway. But me, I want out of here.”
“We’re not leaving them here,” Ramirez insisted.
“You knew the risks of this job,” Fritz said at the same time.
Rogers stood up. “This was not part of the job description. Nothing about the damn Xenomorph was. But it doesn’t matter, because I’ll do you one better. I fucking quit. Now get me the hell off this station.”
Fritz stubbornly crossed her arms. “The ship you wish to depart in is the property of the Company. If you quit, then you have no right to use it. And if you try to leave anyway, it’ll be considered theft, and I’ll see to it that you’re prosecuted. Don’t forget the terms of your contract. Should you choose to quit, a shuttle will be sent to retrieve you; that was part of the conditions.”
Rogers gave a bark of laughter. “If you think that bullshit logic is going to stop me, you’re crazy. I’d rather spend several years of my life in jail for theft than be dead. And under the circumstances, I think a court might find my actions to be rather justified.”
The clearing of a throat drew their attention, and they looked to Cypher. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to agree with Dr. Rogers. At this point, the situation has become dangerous to the point where it would be best to have you all return to Earth and allow Lana, Dawn, and myself to deal with the situation.” He nodded at Alice. “And to watch Subject 4G2A.”
Rogers immediately motioned to him. “See, even the computer thinks this is the best course of action.”
Scotts shifted uneasily as he glanced at Alice. She was more than likely safe in there; the room was almost impossible to get in or out of without clearance. The other rooms in the station though…
“How long do you think you’ll last?” he asked uncertainly. “That thing is hunting us. All of us. It’s going to get in here soon enough.”
Cypher sighed. “That is our concern. Right now, the greatest priority would be getting you all to safety. The rest of us will just have to endure until help arrives. We’ll send a message to the Company explaining the situation and telling them to expect you.”
Ramirez shook her head. “This is crazy. We can’t leave you here. You’ll die.”
Cypher gave her a sad smile. “While I appreciate the concern, you forget that we are, at the end of the day, mere machines. While we do preserve our lives, our programming is also the purpose of our lives. And our purpose is to oversee the specimen. And if we cannot kill it, then we must continue to try to neutralize it another way. And, of course, watch over the other specimen.”
He looked at Alice once more, as did the others. The blonde alien woman had been watching them talk, wondering what they were discussing. Now with them all looking at her, she cocked her head to the side questioningly.
Scotts continued to stare at Alice with a whirlwind of emotions going through him. Not only did he not like the idea of leaving her here, even from within the safety of her room, he was fully aware that if he did leave that he would more than likely never see her again. Even knowing that she was part alien, the thought made his heart feel heavy.
The sound of Fritz slamming her palms down on the counter brought him out of his thoughts. “Goddammit! I suppose you’re right. Very well, but I’m taking charge of things when we get back. I’ll not have this incident be the end of my involvement in this program.”
Ramirez gave her an incredulous look. “An ‘incident’? People are dead!”
“And we will be too if we don’t get out of here,” Rogers pointed out. “So let’s go before that alien S.O.B. makes its way over here.”
He and the others began going about to get ready to leave. Scotts, however, just continued to stare at Alice. She looked at him as well, and a frown crossed her face. She slowly got up and made her way over to the window, coming to a stop in front of it. She seemed to realize that a decision had been made amongst the group, and that it was going to be one that she didn’t like.
Sighing, Scotts walked up to the window as well, and the two of them stared at each other, with only the glass separating them. Finally though, he mouthed the words “I’m sorry” to her. Alice’s eyes widened, and then became sad as he saw understanding dawn on her. Her head hung for a few moments before she looked at him again and pressed her palm to the glass. Scotts looked at it for a moment before bringing up his hand and placing it over hers. The moment felt very much like a permanent goodbye, and perhaps they both knew it was. Even so, Alice still managed to give him a sad smile.
“Dr. Scotts,” Fritz snapped at him, “that is highly inappropriate. You’re falling for its act again. We are leaving now, and Subject 4G2A is no longer your concern.”
A look of irritation crossed Scotts’ face, but he knew she was right. The longer they waited, the greater the chance of the Xenomorph reaching them got. Slowly, he backed away from Alice. She gazed at him with a look of longing, bring her other hand up against the glass, as if she wanted to reach through it and grab him. But she couldn’t, and he kept moving away from her, telling himself that this was indeed all an act on her part; it was the only way he was able to bring himself to leave. Even so, continuously looking over his shoulder until he was gone.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
The walk to the ship was utterly nerve-wracking. Even with the androids watching them on the monitors, they knew they weren’t safe. They hadn’t been able to see where the Xenomorph had gone after it killed Houtras. It could very well, even likely, have gone back into the air ducts. In which case, it could be almost anywhere on the station.
But no news was good news it seemed, as they heard nothing through the com-links on the androids’ end, meaning they didn’t see the Xenomorph anywhere near them, which meant it very likely was in the air ducts somewhere, or in some of the other parts of the station that didn’t have any cameras.
The cameras. That was another alarming mystery. Someone had set them on loop, and it had likely cost Sanders her life. It also meant that someone was likely, trying to protect the Xenomorph. Who had done it, however, still remained to be seen. And, unfortunately, it hadn’t occurred to any of the humans until they were well on their way to the ship that it could very well have been the androids. And if it was them, then there was the possibility that they wanted them dead, and so wouldn’t tell them if and when the Xenomorph was on top of them.
But no, that couldn’t be the case. Even if it was their mission to bring back the Xenomorph, they wouldn’t be able to override their default programming of not allowing harm to come to humans. After a few bad cases involving androids having actually harmed people, that had been established as an absolute rule when it came to building and programming them. Of course, there were rumors of robots built by other robots that did not have such programming, but those were just rumors. And even if they were true, that wouldn’t be the case with Cypher, Lana and Dawn, as not even the Company could override their programming.
“Shit!” Rogers suddenly exclaimed, bringing the others to a halt.
“What is it?” Fritz asked impatiently.
Rogers nodded forward. “Take a look.”
They glanced down the hall, a hall whose lights were flickering on and off. A door to a room was open, and there appeared to be a fungus around it.
“What the hell is that?” Scotts asked.
Ramirez shook her head. “I don’t know.” She spoke into the com-link. “Cypher, do you see anything here?”
They waited, but there was no response. She tried again, but still there was nothing. Rogers tried his next, then Fritz on hers, but there was still no response.
“Why aren’t they answering?” Scotts asked.
Ramirez looked around. “I don’t know, but I don’t think there are any cameras around here anyway, so they can’t see us.”
“That still shouldn’t stop them from answering,” Scotts pointed out
“Backstabbing buckets of bolts,” Rogers growled. “I knew they were behind the cameras being looped.”
Not wanting to jump to conclusions, Scotts immediately backtracked. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“Then why the hell aren’t they answering?”
To that, Scotts didn’t have an answer. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that the androids somehow found a way around their protective programming and were simply not telling them if the Xenomorph was close to them. And just as badly, he didn’t like the idea of leaving Alice alone with them if they were capable of such things.
But there was nothing that could be done about it now. As for the path ahead of them, this was the most direct route to the ship, and circling back with the Xenomorph roaming around did not sound like a good idea.
Ramirez seemed to mirror his thoughts, for she said, “Come on, let’s just go quickly and carefully.”
With great reluctance, they pushed onward, their pace slowing as they approached the open door with the fungus-like substance covering the frames and area around it. And as they came up to it, they saw that it wasn’t a fungus at all, nor was it just around the door. Looking into the room, they saw a grotesque sight. The walls, floor, and ceiling were covered in a strange substance, like some kind of slimy webbing that had been spun around it. It made the room look like some kind of insect lair… or nest.
“Shit, man,” said Rogers as he looked around the room. “Our visitor’s been busy.”
“Of course,” Fritz replied. “This is what they do. If separated from the rest of their colony, they start to form a new one.”
“Looks like it works fast,” Scotts added. “Let’s not be here when it comes back.”
He received no complaints from anyone, and they once more resumed their trek to the ship, feeling more on edge than ever after having come across the Xenomorph’s lair. Thankfully, they had no encounters, and a few minutes later, they came to the terminal leading to the ship.
“Hello, beautiful,” Rogers exclaimed, and rushed to the door, pressing the button to open the door and darting down the tunnel, the others close behind him.
They hurried onto the ship, sealing the doors behind them, ready to fly away from this nightmare. They rushed to the flight room and took seats as Ramirez and Scotts began to start up the ship.
“Thank God,” Scotts muttered as he strapped himself in. “We are so out of here.”
Fritz fixed them all with a glare. “When we get back, no one say anything to anyone. Let me do the talking first, and you all follow my lead. We’ll try and salvage the situation as much as possible.”
“Salvage my ass,” Scotts mumbled, just loud enough for Ramirez to hear.
“Two people are dead,” she pointed out. “They’re probably going to question us individually.”
Fritz’s eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Then we should rehearse what to say to make sure our stories are the same.”
Rogers snorted. “Yeah, screw that. I quit, remember? I don’t work for you or them anymore, which means I can finally say this without consequences. Fuck you, Fritz, you’re a fucking bitch.”
The head scientist’s eyes flashed dangerously. “I’m not going to allow you to jeopardize the project unnecessarily.”
“Hey, screw you, you psycho. Trina’s dead, and so is Houtras. As long as the thing that killed them is put down, I no longer give a shit what happens when we get back.”
A deep frown suddenly crossed Ramirez’s face as the ship refused to start up properly. She tried a few more times, but still wasn’t getting anything. A glance at Scotts told her that he had picked up on the problem as well.
“Um, we may not be going back,” he said nervously.
Rogers’ brow furrowed. “What? Why the hell not?”
Ramirez pushed a few more buttons, dread coiling in her gut. “Because it looks like the ship has been disabled.”
Fritz’s eyes narrowed. “That’s impossible.” She unstrapped herself and went over to the controls, grabbing hold of Scotts and pulling him out of the seat. “Move. You can’t trust a man to do anything.”
The others ignored the sexist comment as Fritz went about trying to get the ship started, barking orders at Ramirez in the process. It was all for not though, as the ship refused to cooperate.
“Goddammit!” Fritz shouted in frustration, slamming her hands on the dashboard. “The ship is completely unresponsive.”
“We said it was,” Ramirez told her.
They sat in silence for several long moments as the realization that they were stranded on the Atlas with the Xenomorph settled in. Before, in the back of their minds, they had subconsciously been aware of having the option of leaving the station in the ship if they needed to, but now that was no longer an option; they were well and truly stuck.
“What now?” Rogers asked, his tone sounding rather resigned. “What do we do?”
Scotts let out a deep sigh as he realized what their only option was. “We have to go back. We need to send an emergency message and hope we last long enough for the Company to send someone to pick us up.”
Ramirez looked at him with panic-filled eyes. “That could take several hours, maybe even days. That thing could come for us at any time.”
Scotts sighed again. “I know, but we don’t have any other choice. We’ll have to hole up and do our best to keep it at bay.”
He didn’t receive a response. They all knew he was right. Even Fritz didn’t contradict him as she frustratingly got to her feet. “Then we better get going, and hope the specimen isn’t on its way back to its nest, otherwise we might run into it.”
“Wait,” said Ramirez, and quickly unstrapped herself. “I’ll be right back. Wait for me.”
She rushed out of the room, leaving the three scientists behind. Rogers glanced at Fritz, then at Scotts, before holding up his arms questioningly, to which Scotts just shook his head that he didn’t know. Fritz began muttering under her breath and fiddled with the ship’s controls a bit, but still couldn’t get it working.
A few minutes later, Ramirez returned. There was no need to ask her where she had gone, as they saw it for themselves. She was now holding the flame-thrower Cypher had mentioned earlier.
“Let’s go,” she said.
(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)
Cypher gave the scientists a bewildered look as they returned. “You have not left? I’m rather surprised.”
“I’ll bet,” Rogers growled as he marched over to him and grabbed fistfuls of his shirt. “Just like I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find that your ship is disabled.”
Cypher’s eyebrows rose. “What do you mean it has been disabled?”
Ramirez crossed her arms. “So you don’t know that either? Then maybe you can tell us why you weren’t responding when we spoke to you over the com-link.”
The android cocked his head to the side. “That was my question. I was going to ask why you were not responding.”
Scotts’ eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
It was Dawn who answered. “We attempted to contact you and tell you that your path was clear, but you never responded. No matter what we said, we heard nothing from you.”
Rogers pushed Cypher away. “Bullshit. It was you who weren’t responding, not us.”
“No,” said Lana. “We did try to contact you. If you did the same, then it is likely that our com-links are no longer working.”
The scientists exchanged looks, then Rogers took Cypher’s com-link and tested it out. He then tried out each of theirs, only to find that none of them were working. In a fit of rage, he threw them to the ground.
“Fuck!” he shouted. “What the hell is going on? Why would they all stop working?”
Appearing unconcerned with the man’s former accusations, Cypher calmly straightened out his clothes. “The most likely scenario is that something is jamming the signals. It’s the only explanation for why they would all stop working at once.”
Fritz crossed her arms. “First the cameras are looped, then the ship is disabled, and now the com-links are being jammed. Someone is doing this.”
Rogers let out a humorous laugh. “Yeah, and my money’s on either you or the tin cans.”
Fritz glared at him. “Why would you suspect me?”
“You’re the only one who doesn’t want us to kill the damn alien or leave the station, and the cameras were looped so we couldn’t find it earlier, and now the ship is disabled. And you’re clearly more concerned with your career than with any of our lives. Hell, do you even care that Trina and Houtras are dead?”
The head scientist’s nostrils flared. “Need I remind you that I put my own life at stake by going out there with you. I value my position, yes, but not at the cost of my life.”
“And need I remind you of our programming to not let humans be harmed,” Cypher pointed out.
Rogers just scoffed. “I don’t buy it, nor do I trust any of you.”
“You need to calm yourself,” Fritz told Rogers. “I understand that you are stressed from the situation and distraught from the death of your lover,” she spat the last word like an insult, “but you need to keep your senses.”
“Enough!” Ramirez practically shouted. “Look, all that matters now is that we survive. If one of us is attempting to keep that… thing safe, then congratulations, you succeeded; we can’t kill it. But that means you’re stuck here with us, so your life is also at stake. Now we all need to stay alive until help comes. So let’s send a message, and then-”
“I’m afraid that will not be possible,” Cypher interrupted.
A disbelieving laugh escaped Rogers, and he ran his hand over his face. “Oh, God, what now?”
“We attempted to contact the Company and inform them of everything,” Lana told them. “Only we could not get through. We attempted to inform you, but got no response.”
The scientists exchanged looks, then rushed to the controls. A few minutes later, they concluded that they could not reach anyone on Earth. The true horror of the situation hit as they realized that unless someone on Earth discovered that something was wrong when no one was able to reach the Atlas and sent a rescue team, then their only other option was to wait for the supply shuttle to come, and that wouldn’t be for months!
Rogers slumped down into a chair, a look of defeat on his face. “Well, that’s really it then. We’re completely screwed. Do you know how long it will be before the next supply shuttle gets here?”
Ramirez was trying her best not to panic, and began pacing. “No. No, there has to be something we can do. Some way to let someone know that we’re in trouble.”
Scotts glanced at the androids, and an idea occurred to him. “Maybe we don’t need to wait that long. The Company will surely be expecting updates and reports on the Xenomorph. When they get nothing, and when we don’t respond when they try to contact us, they’ll send someone to investigate.”
Ramirez stopped pacing and looked at him. “That may be true, but it’ll likely take a few days. We’d have to survive that long, and Ripley’s report said that her first encounter with one resulted in her entire crew getting taken out in less than 24 hours.”
Scotts nodded, but felt determined. “I know, but we can do it. We can seal off all the entrances in here. We’ve got the flame-thrower too. We’ll keep that thing at bay until help comes.”
Looking somewhat reluctant, Cypher slowly raised a hand. “I do hate to rain on you parade, but I must remind you that Xenomorphs are rather intelligent and very resilient. It will never stop coming for us. Or, to be more precise, you humans.”
Scotts resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Thanks for that, but we need to come up with some kind of plan. We can’t wait for that thing to just pick us off one by one.”
“I have a plan,” Rogers said quietly. Suddenly, he sprang up from the chair and snatched up the flame-thrower Ramirez had set down, pointing it at the others. “Don’t anybody so much as blink.”
The others all stepped back. Behind the window, Alice sprang to her feet and rushed over, pressing herself against the glass. No one even took notice of her though as they all kept their eyes on the flame-thrower.
“Jason, what the fuck?” Scotts exclaimed.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Fritz demanded.
But Rogers appeared to be beyond reason. His eyes were wide, half-crazed with fear, yet a deranged smile spread across his face. “What am I doing? What am I doing? No, no, it’s what you’re doing. One or more of you. The cameras, the com-links, the ship, the communications. Someone is doing this. I don’t know who, I just know it’s not me, so I’m not taking any chances.”
Dr. Rogers-” Fritz snapped at him.
“Oh, shut up, you frigid bitch,” he interrupted, sounding close to hysterical. “You’re pretty much at the top of my shit list of suspects. You and the androids. But at least they have an excuse for coming across as practically emotionless. So don’t fucking tempt me right now, because as you yourself pointed out, I’m very distraught right now, and prone to do something really stupid.”
He fell silent, breathing heavily as he kept the flame-thrower level with them. Scotts recognized the signs of a mental breakdown, and Rogers was close to one, if not already there. Fear, stress, and grief were pushing him close to the edge, making him paranoid and irrational, and he just might do something dangerous.
“Ok,” Ramirez said carefully, coming to the same conclusion, “so you’re in charge now. What do you propose we do?”
Rogers didn’t reply. His eyes went from one of them to the other, but he appeared to be thinking.
“I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do,” he finally said. “We’re gonna find out which one of you is trying to kill us, then force them to fix whatever they’ve done to the Atlas and the ship.”
Cypher cocked his head to the side. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but how do you plan to go about that? Surely you’re not suggesting torture to get a confession.”
A feeling of dread coiled in Scotts’ stomach. Though he didn’t think that Rogers, even in his current state, was capable of such a thing, he knew that fear could make people do crazy things they would normally never do. How crazy though, that remained to be seen.
It was clear though that Rogers hadn’t fully thought this out, because he appeared to become uncertain before regaining his composure. “I don’t know, robot. Would torture even work on you? Are your senses all functioning properly?”
Scotts lowered his hands from the air and dared to take a step forward. “Damn it, Jason, this isn’t you! Will you just think about what you’re doing?”
Rogers fixed him with a glare. “And what about you? Maybe you’re actually behind this. Maybe you’re being manipulated with the promise to finally get to screw your alien girlfriend there once we’re all dead.”
He gestured at Alice with the flame-thrower, and Scotts moved the second it was off him. He lunged forward and threw a punch, catching Rogers in the side of the face. And while he hadn’t been in a fight since he was a child, and while Rogers was bigger and stronger than him, he caused his fellow scientist to stumble back.
Seizing the opportunity, he dove at Rogers, tackling him to the floor and wrestling with him over the flame-thrower. A stream of fire burst out of it, fortunately not hitting anyone or setting anything ablaze. Scotts somehow managed to deliver another punch, disorientating Rogers enough to pull the flame-thrower out of his hands and tossing it aside. He then grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and slammed him against the ground.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” he shouted down at him. “What the hell is wrong with you!?”
With a bloody nose and lip, Rogers lifted his head up and shouted back at him. “It’s not me! Don’t you see that someone here is trying to kill us!?”
Scotts shook him. “We’re all in the same boat, you stupid son of a bitch! All of us! Humans and androids! That thing will kill indiscriminately!” He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. “Someone did something here, I agree with you on that, but it’s also safe to say that things have gotten far out of hand, because unless we can get out of here or stop that thing, we’re all dead.”
Rogers stared at him for several moments, then let out a whimper, and his head fell back. Sensing that the moment of madness had passed, Scotts got up and offered Rogers his hand. His fellow scientist took it, allowing Scotts to pull him to his feet.
“I’m sorry, man,” Rogers told him in a defeated tine. “I don’t know what came over me.”
Scotts sighed and clasped his arm. “It’s alright, I get it. We’re all on edge, but we’ve got to keep our heads.”
The clearing of a throat drew their attention, and they turned to see Fritz glaring at them with her arms crossed. “Overlooking the fact that you just threatened to kill and interrogate us through torture, for which I will be pressing charges for upon our return, if the two of you are finished with your testosterone-filled squabble, then perhaps we can discuss what to do next.”
Ramirez bit her bottom lip. Now that the tension filled moment had passed and her brain began working properly again, a crazy outlandish thought occurred to her, it was beyond reckless, utterly foolish even, and could, in all likelihood, increase the threat to their lives tenfold, if not flat-out sign their death warrants. But it could also be the best chance they had to survive.
Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward. “I have an idea.”
All heads turned to her, and she shifted uncomfortably. She knew how crazy what she was going to say would sound, but they had to consider all their options.
“Yes, my dear,” Cypher encouraged. “Tell us what you’re thinking.”
Ramirez took a deep breath. “With that thing’s regeneration, we don’t stand a very good chance of killing it, if any at all. But maybe someone else can.”
Scotts’ brow narrowed in confusion. “Who?”
For an answer, Ramirez glanced at Alice, who was still watching from the window. One by one, the others looked as well, and it slowly dawned on them what she was suggesting.
“You cannot be serious,” Fritz hissed in disapproval.
A sigh escaped Ramirez. She had known that that would be the head scientist’s reaction. “Alice is the only one that can stand a chance against that thing. She’s the only that might be able to kill it. And she has her own regeneration, so it’ll be very hard for the Xenomorph to kill her as well.”
Rogers’ eyes widened in disbelief. “You want to let her out? And what, have her fight that thing? Like this is some kind of versus movie?”
“Alice is just as dangerous as it is. Maybe even more so since she’s smarter.”
“Which is precisely why she is locked up,” Fritz told her. “She’ll kill us the moment we let her out.”
Yes, there was actually a good chance that she would. It was one of the reasons why Ramirez had hesitated to suggest this. Of course, if she did kill them, what then? She’d be stuck on the Atlas with nowhere to go. Anyone who came to the Atlas would know who she was, and if they saw her out of her room, they would kill her on sight. Unless she managed to kill them all first. But then she’d still be stuck, not having the clearance codes to fly the ship, even if she was able to use her ability to learn how to work things through touch.
There was also the chance that she could keep someone alive and force them to take her to Earth. Even though anyone who came knew that Alice must never reach Earth, even if it cost them their life, there was always the chance that she could torture or threaten them into doing what she wanted.
But somehow, Ramirez didn’t think it would come to that. Although she was pretty sure that Alice would kill Fritz, and maybe even her and Rogers as well, possibly even the androids, she wasn’t so sure about Scotts. Logically, she knew that the whole interaction between them was likely nothing more than manipulation on Alice’s part, all done so she could get out of her prison and have a mate to breed with, but Ramirez wasn’t so sure that was completely true anymore. These last several hours, with their lives hanging in the balance and death occurring all around them, had forced her to look at things in different ways.
She had always been turning a blind eye towards Alice’s, for lack of a better word, humanity, constantly telling herself that Alice was an inhuman creature, and that everything human about her was fake, an act, a deception, nothing more than camouflage. And any time doubt crept in and she began to sympathize with her, she would tell herself of all the good their research was doing. Not only were they learning how to combat an alien threat, they were also learning things that could benefit humanity medically.
She thought about all the diseases they could possibly learn to cure, maybe even finally finding a cure for cancer. Ramirez had lost her own father to brain cancer. It hadn’t been pretty either. When she was a child, she had watched him slowly waste away, helping her mother to take care of him as he suffered until his dying breath. She thought of him, and hoped and prayed that one day her research might spar other people from going through what she and her parents had in the future. Not just from cancer, but also other currently incurable diseases. Thinking of all the ways her research on Alice would benefit humanity was her way of justifying what was being done to Alice, and helped her to ignore the humanity she portrayed.
She couldn’t do that anymore though. Alice’s behavior showed signs that she did care for Scotts as more than a means to an end. While her interactions with him could have been staged, Ramirez had seen footage of her smile and show enthusiasm to his presence, even when he wasn’t looking, and she seemed to be genuinely down when he wasn’t around. There would be no reason to keep up the act if he wasn’t looking or there to see it. Not unless she was acting for the cameras, which would be a twenty-four seven job. But would she really have gone that far? It was possible.
Coming out of her reminiscing, Ramirez focused back on the present. “She might kill us,” she admitted, “but if she does, she’ll be stuck here all alone. She’ll never get off the Atlas alive, not if we’re all dead, and she knows it. She’ll eventually die as well if she kills us. And in the end, she’ll still have to face the Xenomorph at some point anyway. At least with us here, we can help her.”
Rogers seemed to be considering her words, but Fritz shook her head. “I will not have it. With her on the loose, even if she does manage to kill the specimen, we’ll still be in danger from her. We’ll likely be in more danger from her.”
Scotts, however, shook his head. “Not true. Unlike the Xenomorph, Alice can be talked to and reasoned with. She’s also not as violent and bloodthirsty as the Xenomorph.” He felt like he had a bitter taste in his mouth at his next words. “And if it comes to it, we have ways to capture or subdue her that won’t work on the Xenomorph. I hate to say it, but Samantha’s right, Alice is our best chance for survival.”
He hated himself for what he was saying. If he were honest with himself, he was deeply against the idea if sending Alice out to go face that monster. But he also knew that if anyone could beat it, then it was her. If the rest of them died, then Alice would starve to death in her room without anyone to feed her. This truly was the best option.
Fritz didn’t seem to agree with him though, and fixed him with a glare. “Of course you would feel that way. She’s got her claws in you. I’ll bet you’ve just been waiting for an opportunity like this.”
Cypher cleared his throat. “I actually find myself in agreement with Dr. Ramirez and Dr. Scotts. Our chances of survival are indeed higher with Subject 4G2A on aiding us.”
Fritz waved her arms outward. “This is not up for debate! We are not letting her out, and that is final!”
Rogers scoffed. “Yeah, well, too bad for you, but I’m with them. If we’re all going to die, then I’d rather die by Alice’s hand than by that thing’s. Especially if it means it will die along with us. Majority rules, Fritz. We’re letting her out.”
“No, we are not!” Fritz practically shouted, and to everyone’s shock, she pulled out a gun and pointed it at them. “And I will hear no more of this!”
Everyone stepped back as she pointed the gun at them. This was the second time a weapon had been pointed at them in the last few minutes, albeit under different circumstances.
“Where’d you get that?” Ramirez gasped.
Fritz pointed it at her. “Seeing as I was in charge, Houtras gave it to me in case he didn’t make it back, so we would have a way to defend ourselves in case the specimen came along. I didn’t expect to have to point it at any of you, but it seems you’re giving me no choice.”
“What the shit, Fritz?” Rogers exclaimed. “You’re going to kill someone.”
Fritz let out a humorless laugh and leveled the gun at him and removed the safety. “As if you have any room to talk. You were the one who pointed a flame-thrower at us not five minutes ago. You’re lucky Dr. Scotts made a move to disarm you when he did, because I was moments away from shooting you where you stood.”
Cypher inclined his head. “I’m afraid you will find that quite impossible. That is a new military brand weapon with an extra precautionary safety feature, and I’m guessing Lieutenant Houtras didn’t show you how to disable it in order to use it properly.”
A frown crossed Fritz’s face and, as if on reflex, she glanced at the gun in her hand, slightly turning it to the side. Taking a leaf out of Scotts’ book, the moment her eyes left them, Cypher moved, rushing forward. Fritz’s attention immediately returned to him, and she fired. Surprised cries rang out from Scotts, Ramirez, and Rogers as they ducked for cover.
The bullet tore straight through Cypher, sending a spray of white fluids splattering across the floor. He kept walking forward though, reaching out and grabbing Fritz’s wrist. He turned it to the side, bending it in the wrong direction, and Fritz cried out, dropping the gun. Cypher pulled her away, then bent down and picked up the gun.
“Such actions are unbecoming from one of your station,” he told her, as if he hadn’t just been shot.
Fritz stared at him furiously, eyeing the gun in his hand. “Give it back.”
He held up his chin, almost looking smug, despite being an android. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Unlike Dr. Rogers’ brief moment of madness that was a result of fear, I’m going to have to classify you as a potential threat to the rest of us.”
Fritz didn’t reply, and simply continued to glare as Dawn came up behind Cypher. “You are injured.”
Cypher looked down at the hole in his chest as it seeped fluid. “Yes, I will be in need of repairs. However, all functions are still working normally. I can currently function as is.” He handed Dawn the gun before looking back at the others. “Seeing as neither myself nor Dawn nor Lana can harm a human, I think it best if we hold onto all weapons unless the time comes to defend ourselves. Do you agree?”
Scotts, Ramirez, and Rogers exchanged uncertain looks. They didn’t fully trust the androids, but it was true that they wouldn’t be able to use any of the weapons against them. And with two of them having raised said weapons against each other already, perhaps it was best that they hold onto the, Plus, Cypher had just risked himself to save them. He may be an android, but a bullet to the head or one that hit a critical part of him could put him down.
Scotts gave a small nod in agreement. “Yeah… maybe that’s for the best.”
“Splendid,” Cypher replied, then turned to look at Alice, who had been watching what happened with what looked to be a look of worry on her face. “Now then, let’s see to Miss Alice’s cooperation.”

(A/N: Things are just getting worse and worse. Not only is someone sabotaging things, now everyone is trapped and cut off. Paranoia and suspicion is setting in, causing them to start to turn on each other. Any thoughts on who might be sabotaging things? And they're now forced to take drastic measures in order to survive. But will Alice be willing to put her own life at risk to save the people who had been holding her captive and doing horrible experiments on her? Will she refuse to help, or become another threat they'll face once she gets out? There may very well be two monsters trying to kill them soon. But even if Alice does agree to help, will she be a match for the Xenomorph? There's a lot at stake, so stay tuned to see what happens next.)
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Alien-Species	By : moviefan Category: 1 through F > Alien (All Movies) > Alien (All Movies) Views: 2131 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
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