ALIEN: HARD-HEADS

Disclaimer: The ALIEN Franchise and all related characters wherein are the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox.

Funclaimer: The Xenomorph is considered to be the property of Weyland-Yutani.


CHAPTER 01: LIFE ON TAROS


DATE: JULY 14th, 2137

BRANDY-IRON INDUSTRIES MINING STATION TAROS #04, CONTRACTED BY WEYLAND-YUTANI FOR 18-MONTH TOUR, MOON OF TAROS, IN ORBIT AROUND COLONY-WORLD LV-197 AKA "PLANET DALIA", CASPRON PLANETARY SYSTEM, OUTER VIEL REGION

Inside the operations room of Taros Station #04, Operations Director Fred Marcus looked at a read-out on a computer screen. Fred Marcus was a man in his mid-forties, with brown combed hair and a mustache. He wore the standard uniform of an operations director from the Brandy-Iron company, including grey overalls and a hat with a picture of a cartoon moon and a drill-bit on it.

Marcus picked up his coffee mug from its holder in his chair and slowly took a sip of his beverage as he looked at the information on the screen, before using his free hand to access the keyboard and track-ball mouse to open another file, one that held several geology documents and reports. Using the mouse, he dragged the read-out to one side of the screen before double-clicking on the relevant report and opening it up. He then dragged it and re-sized it enough to fit the screen as he looked back and forth between the most recent read-out from the mine's most recent survey and compared the data with what was in the document.

Sitting at a computer terminal on the far side of the room, Chief Communications Operator John Martin was sleeping in his chair. Marcus ignored the man's snores for the time being, as there hadn't been much chatter between the other mining stations on the moon for a while, at least not since one miner at Taros Station #05 had gone stir crazy and thrown himself out of an airlock three months earlier due to the gas mixtures in his work suit not being checked properly for a month. That had been the only incident reported at any station for three months so far. Otherwise, things were relatively peaceful and, in the opinions of the main staff, boring.

INSIDE THE MAINTENANCE GARAGE

Dressed in a grey cargo-pant variation of the standard Brandy-Iron uniform, along with a dark brown flight jacket and a cowboy hat resting on her neck, Alexandra "Alex" Burns let out a sigh as she leaned back in the pilot seat of the main cargo transport's cockpit. Reaching down to her side, she opened an access panel on the floor and pulled out a cooler, setting it to the side before opening it up and pulling out a bottle of whiskey. She lifted the bottle up as she reached over to the other seat and pressed the PLAY button on her antique media player, starting up the CD inside and playing a selected playlist of music.

Burns began nodding her head to the music as she took a sip of her drink. "I'm not talkin' 'bout movin' in. And I don't wanna change your life. But there's a warm wind blowin' the stars around." "And I'd really love to see you tonight!" Burns sang along. Meanwhile, on one of the terminals in front of her, a loading screen with a large green progress bar showed how much time was left before the transport's onboard computer system finished its self-diagnostics run.

THE GALLEY

Ten miners sat around at various tables, having just come back from their shift. The second group of miners had just gone out on the next shift, and so the ten men and women inside the galley were now enjoying their after-work meal. Lining the walls of the galley were several automated food dispensers. Larger facilities with bigger crews and budgets often had an actual cooking staff, while Station #04 was a more modest facility with a crew of just 30 miners and 15 directorial staff, including 4 security officers, the operations director, 2 pilots for transports, a company meteorologist, a company geologist, two physicians, a communications operator, and 3 mechanical engineers or designated maintenance workers.

Much of the bulk work was done by several large drilling machines, piloted and maintained by the miners and the maintenance workers. Larger facilities with larger budgets also had automated machines for mining as well, but they also had more miners to work in areas that the machines were too large and bulky to safely operate inside of until after the miners had cleared them out. The Brandy-Iron company prided itself on rewarding skilled manual labor and remote machine operation equally, touting that its people recognized the values of both worlds.

Unfortunately, while Brandy-Iron had been a giant in the manufacturing of machinery and mining, its biggest competitor, Weyland-Yutani, was quickly gaining ground in that area as well. Unlike Brandy-Iron, Weyland-Yutani was a behemoth, tackling almost all venues from which profit could be drawn, meaning that specialized companies such as Brandy-Iron, Seegson, and others were finding themselves looking at a bleak future. While some companies, such as Seegson, chose to directly compete with Weyland-Yutani, Brandy-Iron had chosen the route of selective contractual negotiation with Weyland-Yutani in order to work in similar places while still producing its own product.

As Brandy-Iron had already begun making progress in the Caspron System prior to any arrival or influence from other companies, they were in prime condition to negotiate on their own terms with Weyland-Yutani. All of the equipment and people working on the Taros facilities were from Brandy-Iron, with Weyland-Yutani's only contributions being the paychecks for the materials mined and delivered by Brandy-Iron on the moon and other celestial bodies in the system, and the occasional corporate liaison. The situation was an extremely uncommon inversion of what was seen elsewhere in colonized space, as Weyland-Yutani usually held the upper hand.

As such, all of the miners on the moon of Taros felt relatively safe and comfortable with their jobs, at least as safe as one could feel given the nature of their job. And, unlike Weyland-Yutani, Brandy-Iron had a record of always fixing problems found by safety inspectors, even if that meant spending money on something. 'Workers who know that their employer cares about them won't try to leave for another company,' was the motto often found being espoused by various corporate suits within the company. It was well-known among other companies that Weyland-Yutani often would bribe safety inspectors instead of fixing problems with some of their ships and equipment, especially commercial vessels used for dirty jobs, such as commercial towing ships.

One notable incident, albeit one without any verifiable evidence, occurred in 2122, when a commercial towing ship and an ore refinery disappeared. When inspection materials were found and investigated back on the colony of Thedus, reports made by members of the ship's crew and various inspectors revealed a number of alarming discrepancies in official safety reports, leading most people to believe that the ship was destroyed by a malfunction with the engines, which in turn could have affected the refinery it was towing. While there was no official evidence to support this claim, many people in rival companies used this as an example to shame their competition and make their own employees less willing to leave them for Weyland-Yutani, citing the shrewd and obvious profit-over-people mentality as something to avoid.

Currently, the first shift miners were enjoying their food while the second shift went out to resume their work. When they finished, they would enjoy some personal time. After that, they would head to their bunks and catch several hours of sleep before they would need to begin all over again.

THE RECREATION ROOM

Standing on one side of a pool table, Head Mechanical Engineer Edgar Rains prepared his cue as he lined up his next shot. "Come on. Just hit the ball already," his assistant, Milo Thurgood, said impatiently. Rains scoffed at Milo's attitude. "Patience, Milo. Patience," Rains said as he carefully prepared to tap the ball with his cue.

Edgar Rains was a man of rather modest musculature and build, standing at 5 feet and 4 inches, with a shaved head, brown eyes, and an earring in his left ear. Milo Thurgood was a very lanky man with curly brown hair, stood at 5 feet and 10 inches, and an entire portion of his upper jaw replaced with dentures. Both men had worked together in the Brandy-Iron company for seven years. Rains was in his forties, while Milo was in his mid-thirties.

Sitting around a circular table near a corner of the room, three people sat around with cards. Vernon Shore, the secondary transport pilot; Samantha Goodwin, the Chief of Security for the station; and Carl Brooks, a company geologist. All three of these people were enjoying a card game while they bided their time for something interesting to happen, as the station had not seen anything exciting happen for months.

THE MEDICAL LAB

Chief Medical Officer and Physician Elliot Yulan sat at a computer terminal and looked over the latest test results for the miners as he prepared to add the data to the medical charts in the station's employee medical database. Sleeping on a cot behind him was an injured miner, Jeff Green, who had broken his several hours earlier after slipping on a wet floor. He performed his task rather quietly, very softly humming a tune to himself as he worked, trying not to disturb the sleeping patient behind him.

Elliot Yulan stood at 5 feet and 6 inches in height, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was of average build, and he kept his hair short. He wore the standard Brandy-Iron staff uniform, along with a physician's coat whenever he was on duty.

THE MINERS QUARTERS

Nine miners were sleeping in their bunks, with their alarm clocks getting ready to go off in less than two hours time so that they could prepare for the third shift.

LOCKER ROOM & SHOWER BLOCK A-1

Anna Torres, the main electronics engineer and computer maintenance worker, was cleaning herself off after fixing the electrical wiring inside a dirty maintenance duct.


MINE SHAFT C, TUNNEL C-03

A large machine with a drill attached to it moved slowly forward, penetrating the rock in front of it. Dozens of sensors were attached to the machine, and each one sent a relay signal to the computer systems in the station as there were also network nodes spaced apart through the mines for the connections to the machines and the computers. Inside the machine was an empty cabin with an airlock door connecting it to the harsh inhospitable atmosphere of the mine. The cabin was a maintenance cabin with a computer terminal and control panel that would allow for manual interaction with the machine if remote controls failed to work.

Some yards back, near the junction between tunnels C-03, C-02, and C-01, an air station had been set up, consisting of a folding bench and several air canisters with hoses that would be connected to work suits. There were also crates of tools and some light rods along the interior and perimeter. The junction connected to a large tunnel that led back to the main elevator, which was connected to each mining level, and the main station.

As the green lights on the machine near the sensors held steady, the drill's computer system automatically adjusted itself as it neared the end of the estimated depth it had been programmed to work through. The large series of drill bits spun rapidly and smoothly, until an unexpected acquaintance between drill bit and unknown material occurred. The green lights began flashing red, and the drill's control system sent a signal to the remote operation controls, before slowing its drill bits to a halt.


THE OPERATIONS CENTER

Marcus looked over at the computer screen as an error message flashed on and off, along with an annoying chime from the built-in speakers. "What the hell?" he asked rhetorically, glancing over at Martin, who was still sleeping. "Martin. Martin!" Marcus shouted, waking the man. "Huh, what?" John Martin asked groggily and confusedly.

"John, call Brooks on the paging system. I don't know where he's at right now," Marcus said as he made his way over to the remote control terminal. He pulled out a chair and sat down before pulling himself in towards the keyboard, accessing the controls for the drill. "Wait, what am I calling him for?" Martin asked him.

"One of the drills just stopped, and he's responsible for charting the drill paths. I need to ask him a few questions," Marcus replied. "Which drill?" Martin asked him. "Mine shaft 'Cee' and tunnel... come on... tunnel number three," Marcus said. "What about Eastman? He's a field shift manager," Martin asked, referring to Bill Eastman, one of the senior miners. "Call him too, then," Marcus replied snappily as he clicked on the error message box and read the contents of the message held within.

"Unknown substance? Did we just find something new... or are the sensors malfunctioning?" Marcus asked himself. The onboard computers of the drills held a small database containing a periodic table of known elements, and the computers were connected to the sensors on the drills. "Martin, I don't hear you making an announcement," Marcus said.

"Attention, will Mister Carl Brooks and Shift Field Leader Bill Eastman please report to the operations center as soon as possible? Thank you," Martin said, pressing a repeat button on the comm system so that his words were relayed twice throughout the station. "Okay, now we wait," Martin said tiredly.

A few minutes later, Carl Brooks entered the operations center. Brooks was a man of average stature, standing at 5 feet and three inches, with short black hair and glasses, although he sometimes wore contacts. He wore a sky blue variation of the company uniform, along with the cap. "You, uh, called?" Brooks asked with some trepidation in his voice.

"Yeah, get over here and look at this," Marcus said, gesturing for Brooks to walk over to the computer terminal housing the remote controls for the drill. Brooks looked over the data on the screen with a raised eyebrow. "That can't be right," Brooks said. "Really? You're the one who did the comprehensive survey and said it was okay to use the heavy machinery," Marcus said in an annoyed, tone.

Bring up the data I gave you for that section. I wanna see how far into that area the drill is right now," Brooks requested. "Be my guest," Marcus said as he got out of the chair and pulled it back for Brooks to sit down. "Well? Git 'er done," Marcus said as Brooks stared at him questioningly. Brooks got in the chair and pulled up to the keyboard.

After a couple of minutes, he sat back and frowned. "The drill went half a meter deeper than the survey had gone. That's why we didn't realize what was there," Brooks surmised. "Wait, what? Shouldn't there have been some kind of... I don't know, intermittent layer of stuff for the drill to hit before reaching the solid... whatever this is?" Marcus asked him.

"It depends on the type of rock, but this... I don't think this is rock," Brooks said. "You don't?" Marcus asked him. "No," Brooks replied as he looked at the data compiled by the sensors on the drill. The further down the list of elements detected he went, the more confused he became. "This... I don't think we hit something natural," Brooks said.

Marcus blinked at him in confusion. "Eh?" Marcus asked him. "I said... we may have found something new," Brooks said. "Define 'new' for me," Marcus requested. "Well... I want to run the sensor list through a heuristic test environment on a computer to see how these materials may react to the atmosphere of the moon before going any further. Then, if it seems safe, we'll keep drilling and see how far we can go," Brooks said.

"Right. What if this is connected to some kind of... volcanic system or something? What if we're digging too deep and we hit something unstable?" Marcus asked him. "That's why I want to perform a heuristic test on a computer first," Brooks said. "A what?" Marcus asked him. "A simulation. I want to run a simulation of the material interacting with the chemical components of the moon's atmosphere through a computer in order to determine what could happen," Brooks clarified.

"Oh. Well... sure. Go right ahead," Marcus said. "I'm in no hurry to blow myself by accident," he added as he walked over towards the communication system for the miners. "Attention, all field staff in the mine shafts, please report back to home base at once. Please report back to home base at once. A drill in tunnel three on level 'Cee' has encountered a problem and we want all personnel accounted for while we handle things. Over," Marcus said before hitting the repeat button.

"Yeah, that ought to do it," Martin snarked from his chair. "Well, if you can do better, then go ahead," Marcus said to him. Martin grumbled under his breath and turned away. "That's what I thought," Marcus said pointedly before walking away.


THE OPERATIONS CENTER, SEVERAL HOURS LATER...

Looking around at the people who had gathered in the room, all of whom were main staff and a few miners, Marcus cleared his throat. "Okay, people. It's been several hours, and you're all probably wondering why I've called you here," Marcus said.

Burns rolled her eyes, but otherwise kept silent. "We're getting raises?" Vernon asked humorously. "Well, that's the thing. Brooks here has run some simulations based on what the drill sensors have detected, and it appears to be safe for us to keep drilling through this... new material. It doesn't appear to be rock, but it isn't exactly volatile either, at least according to Brooks," Marcus explained.

"So, do we use the machinery, or do we send people inside?" Bill Eastman asked. Eastman had a short trimmed black beard and a receding hairline. He was in his late forties and also had a degree in geology and engineering, making him the de-facto leader for any miners working with him. He answered only to Fred Marcus and Elliot Yulan, who also would take over as a secondary operations director when Marcus was unavailable or asleep.

"For now, we'll use the big drills to make a path, stopping every meter or so to let the sensors search for anything new, before we send in the miners and have them clear the tunnel to make more room. We'll do this slowly, and when we've drilled far enough and collected enough of the material, we'll study it further and then try contacting Weyland-Yutani to discuss what this means for our pay under the contract," Marcus said slowly and carefully, making sure that no one misheard anything and jumped to conclusions.

"So, does that mean we have to collect samples?" Eastman asked him. "Yes," Brooks said in affirmation. "Okay, when do we start?" another miner asked him. "In one hour," Marcus said in response. "Which shift covers this?" asked another miner. "Yeah, our shift was pulled early, so... what does that mean for us?" asked Vince Hoffman, a miner from second shift.

"Third shift will cover it," Marcus said. "What about second shift's pay? We were brought back early," Hoffman asked. "I remember telling you to punch out when your shift was scheduled to end," Marcus said. "Right," Hoffman said sheepishly. "Okay, any other questions?" Marcus asked as he looked around the room. Everyone shook their heads. "Alright, meeting is adjourned. Third shift, prepare to stand by," Marcus said before sending everyone on their way.


TWO HOURS LATER...

The drill spun as it dug deeper into the new substance. The sounds of the spinning metal echoed through the tunnel as the drill moved steadily forward, until the drill finally broke through a wall and entered a hollow area. The sensors began sending signals to the computer to stop the drill bit and a signal was sent to the remote operation controls in the main facility, alerting the mining staff to the drill's status.

After drilling almost one and a half meters, the drill had broken into a large cavernous area, and the gases inside the hollow chamber were analyzed by the sensors and compiled into an electronic list that was quickly sent to the remote terminal. The drill was soon put on low power, and the miners were instructed to hold back for another hour as a precaution, as the mining staff read the compiled list of gases found in the chamber. Soon, they were given a new task, which was to clear away a large enough area to send in a series of probes, which would begin mapping the terrain inside the hollow chamber and collect data in a safe manner.

IN THE OPERATIONS CENTER

"It's hollow," Brooks said in amazement. "Is that bad?" Marcus asked him. "Not necessarily, but... I may not be of much more use for you after the probes are prepared," Brooks replied in a thoughtful manner. "What the hell does that mean?" Marcus asked him.

"Can we access the drill's camera feed?" Brooks asked him. "Uh, sure, but you still haven't answered my question," Marcus replied. "I just wanna get more data before I give you an answer. I've got a feeling," Brooks said vaguely, leaving Marcus confused and frustrated as he walked over and accessed the drill's remote operation menu on the computer terminal, before finally accessing the onboard camera feed.

"Okay, I don't see anything," Brooks said as he looked at a small window on the screen that was pitch black, other than a slight green tint to the side. "Hold on, let me access the lights," Marcus said before activating the onboard light system to illuminate the area in front of the drill. "Can we move the drill back? The drill bit is in the way of the hole," Brooks requested.

"Sure," Marcus said as he pulled up a menu for the drill's wheels. "Let's hope no one left the elevator yet. I don't wanna run anybody over," Marcus said as he began backing up the machine to give the camera a better view of the hole. "Okay, you can stop," Brooks said.

"What do you make of it?" Marcus asked Brooks as he looked at the camera feed. "I'm not sure," Brooks said after a minute. "But... it doesn't look natural," the geologist added. "How can you tell?" Marcus asked him. "I wanna go down there and check it out in person," Brooks said. "Whoa, no. Let the miners go in there and get the probes put inside. Okay?" Marcus said, shooting down Brooks' request.

"Fine," Brooks said reluctantly before he pulled a chair over and sat down next to Marcus to look at the camera footage.


ONE HOUR LATER...

Looking at the holographic display in front of them, Marcus and Brooks watched as the layout began to take shape, showing several tunnels and corridors. This imagery was also being provided on a computer monitor nearby, albeit with a constantly turning 3D model instead of a steady projection. "I'll be damned," Brooks said as he watched more tunnels take shape as the probes moved deeper throughout the new structure.

"What the hell is it?" Burns asked as she sat in a chair nearby. "These tunnels are not natural formations," Brooks said, ignoring the pilot. "Okay, so... unnatural. Got'cha," Burns said dryly, annoyed that her question had been ignored.

"Burns, what are you doing in here?" Marcus asked the pilot. "Watching the light show," she said as she pointed to the holographic display table. "Have you finished running the diagnostics on the main transport yet?" Marcus asked her.

"I finished that hours ago," Burns replied. "Why didn't you tell me?" Marcus asked her in response. "You and Brooks were busy telling us about this... discovery of yours," she replied in a matter-of-fact manner. "Okay, so what did the diagnostic report say about the shuttle?" Marcus asked her.

"Oh, that? It needs a service tune-up at the end of the month, but it can still fly two more trips away and back before then," Burns replied. "Check in with Rains and Milo to see when they can get started," Marcus said. "Hey, I can do heavy lifting too," Burns protested. "Then you can join them. Now, what about the secondary transport? How's its diagnostics checkup coming along?" Marcus asked her.

"Um... I... haven't started that yet," Burns said sheepishly. "Then hop to it," Marcus said sternly, glaring at her. "Yes sir," Burns said before getting up from her seat and walking away, before stopping just at the precipice of the doorway. "Wait, can't Vernon handle the second shuttle?" Burns asked Marcus. "I asked you to do it," Marcus said in response.

Burns sighed in frustration. "Yes, Fred. I'll get right on it," she said in a tired and mildly annoyed tone before exiting the room. Martin looked away from the door and back over to Marcus with a raised eyebrow. "What's up with her?" Martin asked Marcus.

Marcus shrugged his shoulders. "Well, she did have a point about Vernon. I mean, he is the secondary pilot. But... I asked her to do it, not him. She knows the rules around here," Marcus said in response. "Right. Always point out other options after there's no turning back," Martin said wryly. "Shut up," Marcus said in annoyance, causing Martin to snicker.

Marcus turned to look at Brooks, who was still watching the holographic display. "So, Brooks... what do you think this is?" Marcus asked the geologist. Brooks remained silent as he watched the structure continue to be scanned and formed on the display. "Brooks?" Marcus asked him again. He walked over and put a hand on the geologist's shoulder, prompting the man to look at him in surprise.

"Sorry, sir. What did you want?" Brooks asked him. "What do you think this is?" Marcus asked him. "It's some kind of structure," Brooks replied. "Yes, but... you know, what kind of structure?" Marcus asked him. "I don't know. We'll have to wait until the probes are finished scanning the interior before we can make any determinations about it," Brooks said.

"Okay. Well, do you think it's still safe for the miners to keep working in the other mine shafts while this is happening?" Marcus asked him. "I don't know. We should really wait until the scan is finished, because we don't know how large this thing actually is yet," Brooks replied.

"Right," Marcus said in agreement. "Well, I'll go let the workers know that. In the mean time... just, um, keep watching the light show," Marcus said as he made his way over to the door and left the room. "Where are you going?" Martin asked him. "I'm gonna go get Elliot and have him take over for a while. I'll brief the miners and then I'll get cleaned up and get some sleep," Marcus replied.

"Okay," Martin said before pulling his cap over his face and leaning back in his char. Marcus glared at the communications operator before walking out the doorway. Meanwhile, Brooks was still watching the slow progress of the probes as they continued scanning the interior of the structure.


DATE: JULY 15th, 2137

Returning to the operations center, Marcus saw Elliot Yulan standing near the holographic display table, showing the completed scan of the structure. It was horseshoe-shaped, although the inner curve area was very straight and the apparent arms had a slight curve going upwards as they went out, and it had an odd texture to it on the outside and inside. "Is that it?" Marcus asked curiously as he stepped forward, holding a mug of coffee in his hands.

"Um, I believe so," Elliot said as he glanced over in Marcus's direction. "Is that some kind of... ship or something?" Marcus asked as he looked over the strange structure. "Possibly. I'm not entirely certain," Elliot replied in a thoughtful tone. "When did the scan finish?" Marcus asked him.

"Oh, about three hours ago," Elliot replied. "Huh. Alright, get ready to call everyone up here. We're going to start using gas probes to determine what kind of atmosphere is in that thing, and then we're gonna get ready to call Weyland-Yutani," Marcus said. Elliot nodded his head in response to his boss's orders. Elliot had foregone his physician's coat while taking over for Marcus, instead opting to simply wear his company uniform on its own, including the cap.

Looking over to the other side of the table, Marcus saw Brooks sitting in a chair with a blanket draped over his body, his eyes closed and his breathing even. "He's still here?" Marcus asked rhetorically. Elliot glanced over at Brooks and nodded his head. "Yep. I tried to get him to leave earlier, but he wouldn't budge. I had to give him a protein bar so that he wouldn't starve himself," Elliot said.

"Did he eat it?" Marcus asked him. "Mm, part of it," Elliot replied with a shrug. Looking back over at the communications terminal, Marcus saw that Martin was nowhere to be found. "I take it Martin went to his quarters?" Marcus asked. "Presumably," Elliot replied. Marcus raised an eyebrow at the response. "I told him to go get some sleep and he left. He didn't exactly confirm where he was going," Elliot explained.

"Well... I guess you're dismissed for now," Marcus said. "Huh?" Elliot asked him. "Go check on Burns in the secondary transport shuttle and make sure that she's finished the diagnostic check-up on the shuttle," Marcus said. "Got it," Elliot replied before making his way out the door.


DATE: JULY 27th, 2137

WEYLAND-YUTANI CORPORATE OFFICE, ORANGE BAY CITY, COLONY OF THEDUS, OUTER VIEL REGION

Sitting in his chair, corporate executive Marvin Garfield re-read the report that had been sent to him from the contracted mining facility on Taros. Marvin Garfield was a man in his late forties, with sharp features on his face, short black hair, and a smug smile that would make even hardened killers unwilling to be in the same room as him. Garfield stood at 5 feet and 3 inches tall, and he possessed a ruthless cunning that made other executives wary of him.

Looking at the image of the structure found by the miners, Garfield sucked in a breath. The vessel in the report matched descriptions of other, similar vessels found and reported by various company teams in the past, although these were rarely found intact. Now, however, such a vessel had been found by a mining team... that wasn't owned by the company. This mean that there would have to be negotiations and legal work if he wanted to acquire the Engineer ship.

Engineer, the term that the late Doctor Elizabeth Shaw had used when describing the beings who she believed were responsible for humankind's evolution. Beings who Peter Weyland had hoped could give him immortality, and whose various artifacts had been left behind on different worlds, allowing the Weyland-Yutani corporation grow into its monolithic size as different relics were found and reverse engineered in secret by company scientists. Now, someone else had found one of their toys, and Marvin Garfield knew he had to act fast if he wanted to prevent another company from growing large enough to compete with Weyland-Yutani.

Looking over at the list of crew for the mining station that had found the ship, Garfield soon found the additional personnel section, eyeing the name of the Weyland-Yutani liaison who had been assigned to that moon, and who was currently still on Thedus until his next scheduled field check-up on Taros. "Trent Bowman," he said quietly to himself as he looked at the contact information provided by the sheet. Accessing his desktop computer, he quickly looked up the office's employee roster and searched for Trent Bowman, grinning when he found him.

Grabbing his desk phone, he quickly called up the office cubicle that Bowman occupied and waited for a response. "Hello, this is Trent Bowman speaking," the young man said as he picked up his desk phone. "Hello, Mister Bowman, this is Mister Garfield. I'm an executive here at the corporate office, and I'd like you to meet me in my office ASAP," Garfield said.

"Well, I have a report that's due in-" "You can finish it later. I'll explain things if your supervisor throws a fit," Garfield said. "Um, okay then. Uh, where is your office located?" Trent asked him. "The twenty-ninth floor, office number zero-two-nine-B. It'll have my name stenciled above it," Garfield said. "Okay, I'll be right up," Trent said nervously before hanging up the phone. Garfield placed the phone back in its holder and smiled to himself. He now had a way to get to the mining station.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. "Yes?" Garfield asked. "Uh, sir? It's me, Trent Bowman. You said you wanted to see me," Trent said. "Yes, please come in," Garfield said, prompting Trent to open the door and enter the room. "Close the door behind you," Garfield said. Trent nodded his head and did as instructed.

"Please, take a seat," Garfield said, gesturing towards one of the chairs in front of his desk. Trent nodded his head and grabbed a chair before pulling it in front of Garfield's desk, nervously glancing around the room. "So, um, have I done something wrong, Mister Garfield?" Trent asked him. "No. Nothing wrong," Garfield replied.

"Oh. So, why did you want to see me?" Trent asked him. Trent Bowman was a very scrawny man and only stood around 4 feet and 5 inches in height. He was in his mid-twenties and had blond hair and brown eyes. "Yes, I just received a report from one of our contracted mining stations in the Caspron System. Taros Four, I believe," Garfield said.

"Oh, I know them. I'm a liaison between them and the company," Trent said. "That's why I wanted to see you," Garfield said. "Have you read the report that they've sent to us?" Garfield asked him abruptly. "Uh, yeah. I was actually-" "Good, then you know how important this is," Garfield said, cutting Trent off.

Trent opened his mouth to speak again. "Well, yes. They found a-" "It's very important that we make sure this is handled properly. How long have you been in the company?" Garfield asked Trent. "Um, about six years," Trent replied. "How long have you lived on Thedus?" Garfield asked him. "My whole life," Trent replied.

"How far away from our system is the Caspron system?" Garfield asked him. "Only about three weeks of travel at light speed, if you're leaving from the ridge of the system," Trent replied, having already taken two trips to the mining facility as a liaison. "And why does it take less time for messages between systems to arrive?" Garfield asked him. "Relay stations and relay satellites posted in orbit around various moons throughout each system, allowing signals to bounce from one to the next," Trent replied.

"Good. So, when will you be ready to leave?" Garfield asked him. "L-Leave? I still have to finish my report explaining what the miners sent to-wait, how did you get ahold of this report? I'm the liaison," Trent asked him suspiciously. "I'm an executive, Mister Bowman. I have access to all servers in this office, and I am also above you in company rank. I've been in this company for twenty years, so I have a lot of connections to get what I want," Garfield said.

"Well, as soon as I finish typing up my own report, I'll be submitting a request to leave for the mine so that I can speak to the miners in person and see this thing for myself. I'll bring back photographs," Trent said. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but our company has a policy regarding any structures, signals, or other objects of possible intelligent origin. This must be investigated, and as we both are aware of it, we both must go," Garfield said, stretching the truth to a degree, knowing that this policy was only made privy to company employees who were in certain departments, had reached certain positions within the company, or who asked about it for one reason or another.

"So, to make things short: I'm going with you to the mine. I want you to finish up your report by the time your shift ends, and then we'll prepare to leave tomorrow," Garfield said. "To-Tomorrow? I don't think that's enough time to submit a travel request and get myself prepared for a trip, or to even book a flight," Trent protested.

Garfield smiled in response. "Don't worry. I'll have it all taken care of. Just let me know when the report is finished, and I'll get started on the other stuff," Garfield said. "Are you sure?" Trent asked him. Garfield's smile faltered only slightly. "Absolutely," he said, making Trent nervous. "Now, go back to your cubicle and finish your report. I'll start getting things ready ahead of time, so that we can get everything taken care of efficiently," Garfield said as Trent stood up.

"If you aren't an official liaison, will they let you go?" Trent asked him as he stopped in front of the door. "Mister Bowman, do not make me repeat myself," Garfield said coldly. "R-Right. I'll be going then," Trent said nervously as he opened the door, closing it quickly behind him as he left Garfield's office.

Garfield looked back at the report on his computer. He quickly set to work on preparing the necessary documents and travel requests, before he began searching for the earliest transport heading for the Caspron system and smiled to himself. Trent Bowman would probably receive a promotion for being the liaison attached to the miners who found the ship, but he would be the one in charge of negotiations, and so he would receive the big bonus... and perhaps even more.


Author's Notes: Hey, it's the first chapter of ALIEN: HARD-HEADS. I'm going to put this out there now: I prefer slow build up to horror stories, as opposed to fast action right away. Anyone who's read THE THING II: Hawke Station, will know what I mean.

Unlike my Zootopia stories, which I deliberately set after the movie to avoid conflicting with currently existing canon, this story is set in line with the ALIEN franchise canon, but is done in a way that does not interfere with established canon. I'll try to adhere as closely to canon as possible. That being said, the passage where I describe the "official" fate of the Nostromo as far as public awareness goes was done to show how it was covered up by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, or how I think they would try to cover it up, should anyone learn about the ship's disappearance.

Also, as with nearly all ALIEN works, both canon and fan-made, at least one named character is an android, but I won't say who it is until the next chapter.

So, the next chapter will have the corporate suits arriving at the moon of Taros. Until next week.