DNA

Aboard the science vessel, Attara, scientists were in their lab, working on an experiment.   There were seventeen scientists in there, but seven of them were standing around a cryotube.   A metal concealment was surrounding the cryotube.   The scientists were taking notes on their hand-held computers.   The scientists' names were: Dr. Michael Scareo, Dr. Drake Norek, Dr. Kenneth Morrow, Dr. Henry Jacobson, Dr. Jessica Larue, Dr. Mora Masegro, and Dr. Jacqueline Jaker.   There were three female doctors and four male doctors.

        "Dr. Morrow," asked Dr. Jaker," will you open the concealment?"

        " Of course," answered Morrow, tapping commands into the keypad he was standing behind.   With a hiss of air coming from the concealment, it opened, revealing a female child, arms across her chest, eyes closed, floating in a green liquid.   Everybody looked in amazement at the child.  

        " Fascinating, " whispered Dr. Morrow, touching the glass.   The child's eyelids fluttered, indicating she was sensing things around her.   Within the next few days, the child was a full-grown woman now, with shoulder-length black hair floating like dandelions in the wind.   Her skin was cappuccino-colored.   There was a screen above her that was monitoring her, and the creature inside her, vital signs. The next day, the scientists took her to the sickbay.   Once she was in there, she was on a table, with her gown open from her chest down to her stomach.   Robotic arms were surrounding her.   Dr. Morrow had his arms in gloves so he wouldn't harm his patient.

        " Laser scalpel," said Dr. Morrow, as a laser scalpel was handed to him.   With

careful movements, he turned on the scalpel.  

        " Easy. Careful not to cut too deep," suggested Dr. Larue, who was standing

beside him.   A drop of sweat dropped in his eye, but Dr. Larue wiped his eye and his

forehead.   He put the scalpel above the patient's chest.   Carefully, Dr. Morrow made a long, thin line that was as long as her sternum.   The patient breathed slowly, her chest rising and falling.  

        When Dr. Morrow had finished, he put a clamp on each side of the cut.   He took

a pair of large tweezers and tried to pick up the creature inside.   He finally got the bloody creature out of her.   Then, his assistant gave him a metal scalpel to cut the tendons that the creature attached itself to the host with.   One by one, he cut all six of the tendons off.   All of a sudden, the creature woke up, bared its silver teeth, and shrieked.       

        "Hurry and get it in the tank, Morrow, " said Dr. Jaker, as she walked over to the

tank.   Morrow put the alien in the tank filled with a green liquid.   She took it away to a holding cell.  

        " Sew her up." Norek told Morrow, as he handed him a regeneration scalpel.  

Morrow carefully sewed up her cut.

         The next day, she was in a circular cell, with no furniture and no windows, accept for a circle of glass above her.   She was in a translucent bag, naked and writhing like she was being born.   She finally tore it open.   As she was examining herself, she saw a screen with her name, number, and ship name on it.   Her name was Weber, Carmina, number 455098; crewmember aboard the vessel Dragon.   She also saw her age, height, and weight; 23 years old, 5 foot 6, and 107 pounds.   My name is Carmina? I was a crewmember aboard a vessel?   She thought to herself.   Finally, she went back to examining herself.   She felt for her scar.   Carmina found it, and started to rub it lightly.   It was still tender, but she didn't care.   As she was rubbing the scar her nails distracted her.   Her nails were long and sharp.   Carmina felt wet.   She started to scratch her face because she was itchy.   Then her hand distracted her again.  

        I have five fingers?   Why? Maybe I'll ask one of those humans when I get out of

here, she thought.   Then, she rubbed her fingers against her forearm, and she saw a smallish black number.   It was the number nine.  

        Suddenly, one of the doctors, Masegro, opened the heavy steel door and threw

in some clothes for Carmina to wear.

        " Here Weber.   Put these on and report to the mess hall/recreational room."  

Then, Masegro left, locking the door with a metallic clang.   Carmina eyed the clothes lying there on the floor.   She crawled over to the clothes.   She picked them up and studied them.   She fingered the top, which was an open, lace-up top.   The material was soft, like....

        Silk?   Where have I heard that?   I like this material a lot.

        The pants were long and they were made out of the same material, too.   The

clothes were silver in color.   The doctor had left her some silver boots that tied up, to match the outfit and some underwear.   Putting on the underwear, she wondered....

        I don't need a bra?   I guess they need to see my scar.   I feel empty all of a sudden.   I know they didn't... Oh no!   They did!   They took it!   Wait.... Once she grows, she'll kill all of them.  

        As she was kneeling to lace up her left boot, she could feel a presence.   She looked up and saw boots, boots of a soldier.   The soldier, Jefferson, was watching her, making sure she didn't try to escape.   Finally, she got up and walked to the big door.   Looking down at her chest, she saw she didn't tie up her top.   She quickly tied it, and she knocked on the door.   The two soldiers that were standing out there turned and looked at the door.   Another loud knock came again.   One of the soldiers, O' Toole, keyed in a command, and the door opened with a little peep.   She walked out and stared into the hard, square face of O' Toole.   After a few seconds, she turned to the left and walked on down the hall.  

        As she was walking down the hall, she saw a big room divided down the middle.  

She saw a platinum-haired woman talking to a black-haired man.

        "....and then she just sat there and stared at me.   I thought she was gonna bore a hole through me."   Suddenly, Weber walked in, looking around at the chairs and tables.  

        " Ah, Weber! Come in and sit down!" Masegro shouted across to Weber, signaling to her.   Weber shuffled over to the table and sat down.   Her cappuccino-colored skin was aglow in the bright light.   Her honey-colored eyes were darting from Masegro to Morrow.   A metal tray was in front of her.   It contained a mug of tea, soggy pasta, and a hard-looking breadstick.   She picked up the bread and took a small bite.   It tasted like ashes, but her stomach was protesting, so she fed it.   The soggy pasta was sitting on her fork as she popped it in her mouth.   Her eyes wandered from Masegro to Morrow.   They were watching her intently as she chewed.   She sipped her honey-colored tea, which was still warm.   Norek, Jaker, Scareo, Larue, and

Jacobson came in.   They all sat down around Weber.   When Weber was finished, she got up and pushed in her chair.  

        " How did you...? she started to ask when they looked at her.

        " How did we create you? Morrow spoke up.   She nodded.  

        " Well, we gathered blood, skin, and some of your tissue off a planet when we

were investigating about how you died." He explained.

        " And," added Masegro, "you have some alien DNA, and we removed an alien

from you. Want to see it?"

        " Yes, yes I would," Weber replied.   They took her to an observation room.  

There was a control panel in front of a large window.   The window was dark.   Suddenly, a shadow moved.   An ugly thing moved toward the glass.   It was drooling clear saliva.  

Then, it opened its great maw and a fanged tongue emerged, snapping wildly.   The teeth were long, sharp, and silver.   They were like mirrors, reflecting everything.   Weber twisted her mouth into a smirk.

        " It's the Queen.   She'll breed.   You'll all die," she said, with an evil tone in her

voice.

        " What do you mean?" questioned Masegro, looking at the grotesque alien.  

        " I mean she'll breed and make her warriors come after you," she answered,

walking away.   She went into the recreational room, and picked up a basketball.   In the

recreational room's doorway, there were six people standing there.   Weber shot a basket while they were standing there.

         The six people were: Denier Logan, Anna Halowski, John Franklin, Katy Jasek,

Gregory Kingsley, and Mark Hulagon.   Logan was a tall, muscular black man with dreadlocks, Halowski was a petite woman, Franklin was another tall, muscular man, Jasek was a semi-muscular woman, Kingsley was a stubbly-faced, muscular man, and Hulagon was paralyzed from the waist down, but he had a lot of upper-body strength.   They were the crew of the vessel Ptolemy.   They all had guns, but Hulagon hid his in the high-tech wheelchair he was sitting in

        " Hey girl!   Come here!" shouted Franklin.   Weber ignored him, and she shot a

hook shot.   Halowski tried to stop him, but he just ignored her.   Franklin walked up to

Weber and tried to knock the ball out of her hands, but she blocked his hand.

        " Come on hon.   Give me the ball," he ordered.   She held it above her head and he tried to swipe it.   All of a sudden, she threw the ball in his face.   His nose started bleeding.   Then, Logan dropped his gun and picked up a 30-pound weight and threw it at Weber's face.   She winced, but she didn't get mad.   Her nose just bled a little.   She wiped it and flung it on the floor.   The blood started eating away at the spot where she flung it.

         She dodged the next weight, and then she lunged at him.   He fell to the floor with a loud thud.   As she stood back up, Jasek jumped on Weber's back, but Weber threw her off.   Jasek landed with a splat on the floor.   After all that commotion, O'Toole walked over to her and slapped a pair of handcuffs on her wrists.   Then, he led her back to her cell.  

        Weber was lying there, in a fetal position.   She was shivering from the cold steel of the cell.   All of a sudden, she heard a metallic clang from the door.   She ignored it.   Halowski, the petite woman, came in.   She pulled a knife from the inside of her boot.   Halowski stealthily walked over to the sleeping woman.   When she kneeled down, she noticed a scar on her chest.   She pulled back a part of the bodice with her knife.

        A scar?   Why does she have a scar?   She must have had surgery.

         " Well?   Are you gonna stab me or what?" asked Weber, sitting up.   Halowski gasped.  

        " I won't stab you, but I want to know what the heck is going on here." said Halowski.   She thrust the knife blade in the older woman's face.

        " Get that knife out of my face!" Weber shouted, causing the younger woman to back up.   Halowski got back in the woman's face.  

        " I'll tell you what's going on.   They found some of my blood and tissue samples on a planet where I died trying to save earth.   Then, they recreated me in a lab," Weber explained, looking at herself.  

        " Ohhh, so that's how they did it." said Halowski, nodding her head.   She asked a question.

        " Is there a thing here on this ship?" she asked.

        " A thing?   You mean, my baby?"   Weber answered, smirking.   Then, Halowski thrust her knife back in Weber's face.   She rubbed the blade, like she was touching a child.

        " I could kill you right now, but..." Weber grabbed her neck and started strangling her.

        " You can't kill me, not if I kill you first!" she shouted in Halowski's face.  

        " I'm...sorry...I...said that...to ...you," Halowski choked out.   Weber let go of her neck and shoved her to the floor.   Halowski was gasping for air.

        " Go.   There looking for you," Weber finally said.

        " Who?"   Halowski asked.

        " Morrow, the soldiers, and the rest of the scientists," Weber replied, lying back down.   Halowski quickly walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the hall.   She looked around, and a gun barrel was pressed against her head.

        " You’re not going anywhere, little girl," whispered Morrow.

        After a little while, Norek was at an observation tank, looking at two aliens.   When he wasn't looking, a third alien creeped up to the window, growling.   He looked up and gasped.

        " Oh!   You startled me, you grotesque alien you."   Norek said, writing a note on his clipboard.    The alien was dripping saliva everywhere.   His brothers were lying on the floor, asleep.

                This, thing, this human, is watching me, taking notes.   I'll give him a real scare.   My Queen will be pleased.

        The disgusting alien walked up to the glass.   It opened its dripping maw, and its fanged tongue came out, dripping, too.   Norek was mimicking it, when the alien snapped its tongue at him.   He jumped away, frightened.   Then, he opened the control box beside him and pressed a big, glowing red button.   Jets of nitrogen sprayed from the sprinklers, dousing the alien.   The alien was screaming with agony.   Finally, the nitrogen stopped shooting out.   Norek let go of the button when it stopped.   Then, the alien just stared at him, snarling.   The alien was walking towards the window when Norek placed his hand over the red button.

        " Fast learner, eh?" he questioned.   The alien stepped back, snarling.   Then, the alien turned its back to Norek.   Norek had a puzzled look on his face, so he walked over to a monitor to busy himself.   The alien's brothers were slowly waking up when they saw their older brother towering over them.   The older brother was sending a telepathic signal to both of them.

        We must escape and alert the Queen, our mother.   Brother, what do you think we should do?   He turned to his middle brother.   His second oldest brother sent back a telepathic message.

        I think we should sacrifice our smallest brother to get out of here, for our Queen.   Their smallest brother was already standing up, protesting with grunts, hisses, and foggy breath.

        NO!   NO! Don't kill me!   I want to live to see our mother!  

        Soon, his older brothers were already on top of him.   They shot their tongues out, rupturing his sides, spilling acid blood and guts everywhere.   Immune to his acid blood, they were sprayed with it every time they scratched and bit at him.   Finally, their little brother was twitching in his death throes.   Their little brother's acid guts were melting the metal floor.   When Norek got back to the window, he saw a mass of blood and guts lying on the floor, slowly falling through a hole they had made.   He saw a skeleton tail disappear down the hole.

        " Masegro! Get over here!" Norek shouted.   She ran over, staring in awe at the hole.   Then, Norek walked carefully inside the cell.   Kneeling by the hole, he burnt himself on the lip of the hole.   Suddenly, a hand shot out.  

        Six fingers!   Long, spidery fingers!   Reaching... Before he could think his last thought, he was snatched down the hole lightning quick.

        " NOREK!" shouted Masegro, banging on the window.   She rushed in there, yelling down the hole.   Suddenly, an alien hovered above the open control button.   It shot its fanged tongue out, pressing the red button.   The jets of nitrogen startled Masegro.   The nitrogen was freezing cold as she was writhing in the spray.   Her arms were frozen in the air.   She gasped one last time, then she was silent forever.

        The alien jumped to the ground.   It roared a deep, powerful roar.   As Weber was biting through her handcuffs in her cell, she heard the roar from the warrior.

        " Oh no!   They're out!" she whispered to herself.   She finally bit the last part off the cuffs.   Putting on her boots, she looked up and saw boots running across the glass.   She got off her knees and ran to the door.   Putting her ear to the steel door, she heard loud footsteps.   Then, a loud bang rang throughout the cell.   It was the alien coming to get her!   Halowski, Jasek, Franklin, Kingsley, Hulagon, and Logan sped down the hall, carrying their guns and other deadly weapons with them.

        Back in her cell, she was kicking and punching at the panel on the side of the wall.   Finally tearing open the pummeled metal, she found a tangle of wires and circuits.

        As she was reaching in to disconnect the wires, she cut herself on the twisted metal.   Wincing a little, she heard the loudest bang she ever heard coming from outside her door.   Looking at her cut, she squeezed out more blood, and then she put it on the wires.   With a flicker of sparks, the wires caught fire instantly.   It's a good thing she had acid blood!

        Beside her, a small door, small enough for her to squeeze through, opened.   Weber went through it, and out to an open hall.   The door closed behind her, just before the alien burst through the door.   Dazed, Weber ran down the hall and tried to find the people she encountered in the recreational room.

        The crew of the Ptolemy was running down the hall, when Kingsley saw a gun lying on the floor a little way ahead of them.  

        " Hey, look!   A gun!" Kingsley shouted, reaching to pick it up.

        " No.   We already have enough guns with us," Logan said, pointing at Hulagon, who was fiddling with a control panel on his chair.

        " Well, it'd be good to have extra guns, now wouldn't?" Kingsley said sarcastically, picking it up.   It was stuck to the floor with some kind of goo.   He pulled harder, and he fell to the floor.

        " Man, that smarts!" he said to himself.   The others were already halfway down the hall, when the floor was pulled right out from under him.   He fell, stopping himself with his arms.   The thing that pulled him down was an alien.   Its elongated head tilted back.   Then, its fanged tongue erupted from its mouth, straight through his back.  

        " Uuugghh," Kingsley uttered for the last time.   Blood flowed down his chin like a waterfall.   When the others heard the commotion, they rushed back.   When Jasek saw him, she gasped and kneeled down beside his lifeless body.   Hulagon was pulling a mechanism out of a compartment in his chair.

        " What's that?" Franklin asked, scratching his cheek.

        " It's a heat sensor," Hulagon responded.   He tapped a key sequence into the keyboard.   It beeped, then spit out information.

        "Uhh, guys?" he uttered, tapping Logan, " we should get outta here!"   Everybody glanced at him, puzzled.

        " Why?" they inquired in unison.

        " Because there's something coming for us straight ahead!" he responded, turning his chair around.   They looked ahead, seeing a figure running like the wind down the hall.   Weber was panting when she stopped in front of them.  

        " You!   Your children killed my boyfriend!"   Jasek spat out, getting in her face.

        " Well, your beau shouldn't have been here in the first place." Weber spit back, finally catching her breath.   Jasek was speechless at that remark.   Then, she stepped back, a tear rolling down her shiny cheek.

        " We should find some soldier guys so we can get outta here," Franklin suggested, walking towards Weber.

        " What do you want, Franklin?" she questioned, stepping back a little.  

        " I want to know if you could help us."

        " Well, I saw an open shaft down that hall." she responded, pointing down the long, brightly lit hall.

        " Thanks," Franklin said.   Then, Hulagon put his heat sensor away, clicking it on the side of his chair.   He then turned to Logan, who was flexing his guns.

        " Logan?   I think we should follow Weber to the shaft," he suggested, wheeling over to her.   Weber started walking down the hall, beckoning to the rest of them.

        " Come on!   This way!" she shouted, looking about for the shaft.   Hulagon started to follow her, then Logan turned to the rest of them.

        " Well, we gonna follow her or what?"   Jasek spat out a mean remark.

        " I'm not following her!   She might send one of her children to come and kill me!"   Weber slowly turned around when she heard that.   She had an evil sneer on her face.   Finally, she said, " Alright Jasek.   If you don't like me, we'll leave you behind on this alien-ridden vessel."   Jasek had a look of hurt on her face as she stepped up to Logan.

        " Logan?   I'm scared of that woman!"

        " Don't worry Jasek.   She won't hurt you.   Unless she has to."   Now, Jasek had a look of shock on her face.

        " Now what are you doing?   Taking sides?"

        " No.   I'm just saying that you might do something to anger her."   Jasek stepped back.   Hulagon was down the hall with Weber, looking at the shaft.   Suddenly, a man in fatigues walked up to them.   It was O'Toole.   He had a helmet on.

        "O'Toole!   I'm glad you made it!   exclaimed Weber, patting him on the shoulder.

         " How did you know my name?" he asked, eyeing the other people.

        " Let's just say I know things, OK?"

        " OK."   he answered, walking over to Logan.

        " What's with this chick?" O'Toole whispered in his ear, pointing to Weber.   Logan asked O'Toole about where the shaft led.

        " So?   Where does that shaft lead to?"   O'Toole answered.

        " It leads to the cooling tanks.   Which are broken.   Those things must have ruptured them."   Meanwhile.....

        Underneath the metal grates, in the deepest, most dank, most dark part of the ship, the Queen was building her crèche by extracting a fluid from her pouch on her Abdomen.   The drones were using her fluid to build cocoons for their victims.   On the floor was a pool of flesh, guts, and a mixture of decayed human bodies.   Then, the Queen was sprawled on her back, tail thrashing in the pool, arms flailing, head rocking back and forth.         

        Her drones were tying her in place with her own fluid.   Her stomach started swelling to an enormous size.   She was shrieking in pain and agony.   Her drones were walking back into their own private crèches, preparing for their final attack.

        Suddenly, Weber heard a shriek in her head.   It's the Queen!   She's in pain! she thought, hurrying down the shaft last.   Hulagon's chair had turned into a small robot, and it was leading the group down.

        " How do you do that?"   Logan asked, repelling down the shaft on a rope with Hulagon strapped to his back.

        " Do what?" Hulagon replied with a question.

        " Turn your chair into a robot?"

        " Oh!   I just created a robot brain and put it in my chair."   Logan nodded, accidentally hitting him on the head when he did that.

         Finally, they reached aqua-colored water at the bottom of the shaft.   The robot chair was magnetized onto the side of the shaft.   Halowski was second to drop in the water.   Franklin third, Jasek fourth , Logan and Hulagon fifth, Kingsley sixth, O'Toole seventh, and Weber eighth.   With a click, clack, and a hiss, the chair turned into a submarine big enough for one or two people.   It was halfway in the water.   Everyone stared in awe at the chair/submarine.   Hulagon started unstrapping himself from Logan's back.   Logan helped him swim over to the submarine.     

        " Only one person can come with me if they can't swim," Hulagon announced, looking at Jasek.   She started to whimper because she couldn't swim.

        " Come on Jasek," he beckoned, opening a hatch.   Jasek climbed in and Hulagon climbed in next, closing and locking the hatch.   As she climbed in, she saw colored keys and two tall-backed chairs with headrests.   Weber's long, black hair clung to her shoulders, dripping with water.  

        " O'Toole?", asked Weber, looking at a closed door, " What's behind that door?"   He gulped and answered in a scared voice, " The kitchen, but it's flooded with water."  

        " How long a swim to get to the other side?" she asked, as she gracefully walked over to the metal door.  

        " Two hours," O'Toole answered in a more calm voice.   Everyone moaned.  

        Meanwhile, on the submarine, Hulagon turned on a computer.   Jasek was fascinated by the chair/submarine.   When Hulagon accessed the visual components, he saw everybody on the screen.   Then, he accessed the sound components.

        " ...we need to get the door open," suggested O'Toole, walking over to where Weber was standing.   She touched it, as if she could communicate with it.

        " Okay!   Weber?   Do you have enough strength to bust the door open?"   asked O'Toole, as he scanned her muscular arms.    Weber looked at him.   She turned towards the door.   With a loud pound, she pummeled the middle of it.   The middle of the door was caving in as if it was hit with a battering ram.   Continuing, she finally made a hole the size of your head.   Weber pulled it apart with inhuman strength.   Finally, she ripped the pummeled piece off and pushed up the remaining top of the door, cutting herself in the process.

         " Owe!" she winced, squeezing more blood out.

        " Well!   Shall we?"   Franklin asked, beckoning towards the ravaged door.   In the last few seconds, Weber's wound regenerated, leaving a small scar on her palm.   Everybody started to dive in the water, when they heard a booming voice.

        " Wait!   I need to give you something." Hulagon said, as everybody whispered to each other.   Finally, Weber said something.

        " Hulagon!   You can hear us and see us?"  

        " Yes.   I accessed the sound and visual components so I can both hear and see you."   Weber nodded.   Suddenly, glass helmets came out of the sides of the chair/submarine.   Everybody was surprised.   After a little while, Weber told everyone to get a helmet.   They reached for them.

         " Hulagon's a weird guy, I'll tell you that," mumbled Franklin, as he slid the helmet on.   On the inside of each helmet, there were two speakers, beside the ears, and a microphone, which was connected to the left speaker.

        " Can everyone hear me?"   Hulagon questioned into his microphone.  

        " Yes!" everyone answered back in unison.   Hulagon was tapping keys on his keyboard.   Jasek was looking at the panel in front of her.

        " Hulagon," she whispered, " is this thing water tight?"

        " Yeah," he whispered back, looking up at the screen.   Finally, everyone dove into the aqua water.   Hulagon pulled the steering wheel up from the bottom of the keyboard.   Then, he steered the chair/submarine through the door and under the water.   Jasek was amazed at the wrecked kitchen.   She spoke up.

        " This reminds me of that one movie, 'Waterworld'."   Franklin heard her voice first.

        " 'Waterworld'! That movie was dumb.,” he said into his microphone on accident.   Jasek opened her mouth, as if she were going to yell at him.   She closed her mouth, and she leaned back.   As they passed a floating microwave, Hulagon turned on a rearview screen.   Behind them, there were two aliens following.   They were swimming gracefully, using their long, skeleton-like tails as rudders.   Unaware of the aliens, Franklin, Weber, Logan, Halowski, O'Toole, and Kingsley were all swimming ahead of the chair/submarine.   Hulagon shouted into his microphone.

        " Guys?   Could you swim a little faster?"

        " Why?" O'Toole asked.

        " Because we're being followed by a couple of aliens!"   At that remark, everybody swam faster, pumping their legs.   Weber said something to Hulagon.

        " Hulagon?   How far are they behind us?"

        " They're right on my tail."   When everybody was two feet ahead of him, he activated the rocket boosters.   Jasek and Hulagon were flung back on their seats as they were propelled forward.   A burst of fire blew up one of the aliens, but the other dodged the fire.   It snarled, baring its teeth.   Hulagon pushed a button.   All of a sudden, a machine gun popped out of the back of the chair/submarine.   Then, he pressed another button to activate the shooting mechanism.   Jasek jumped when she heard a loud clacking sound of the gun.   The alien that was gracefully following them dodged some bullets, but one hit it in the shoulder.   It screeched, swimming faster.

        When Hulagon looked at the rearview screen, he saw that the alien had

disappeared.   Jasek tapped Hulagon's shoulder when she heard a scratching noise.  

        " Hulagon, I think it's on the roof!" she whispered with a scared tone in her voice.   He paused, hands poised over the keys.   Then, he pressed a series of keys.   Jasek watched his hands as they flew all over the board.   Suddenly, she heard a clanking noise from above.   Outside the chair/submarine, on the roof, the alien clung to it like a fly on flypaper.   It continued scratching at the surface.   He couldn't puncture through it.   With a shriek, it was impaled by a spear-like mechanism, its blood flying everywhere.  

        Then, the alien was knocked off the roof by the pull of the water rushing past it.  

        Finally, after two agonizing hours of swimming, they came to a hole in the ceiling.

Halowski was first to reach the hole, but she couldn't go through it!    Franklin, Logan, Kingsley, O'Toole, and Weber got there last.   Halowski kept on pushing at the blockage on the hole.   It was the aliens' eggs webbing.   The aliens had set a trap!   The chair/submarine finally came up to them.   Hulagon told them to move.

        " Move out of the way!   I'm gonna cut through!"   He pressed a button that made a laser gun come out of the front of the chair/submarine.   Everybody floated to the side as the gun was creeping up to the webbing.   Then, a reddish-orange beam shot out, cutting a line as long as their middle finger.   Weber swam up to the webbing and pulled at the line Hulagon just made.  

        With a tear, she finally ripped the webbing apart.   Hulagon pressed a button on the control panel that made their helmets come off as soon as they hit the metal decking.   Halowski saw eggs everywhere.   Suddenly, an egg opened with a, wet, squishy noise.   When the rest of them came up, they gasped when they saw the eggs.  

        Suddenly, a creature slowly climbed out of the egg.   It had six legs and a long tail.   It jumped on Weber's face.   She went back under, struggling to rip it off.   Logan saw more eggs opening, so he pulled out his grenade gun.   When he looked up, he saw a mirror.   It was the bottom of an elevator, so he cocked the gun and shot four cylindrical grenades.   They bounced off the shaft and landed in three of the eggs.   The last one fell in-between two eggs.   As they went back under, they heard a loud explosion from above.   Pieces of eggs and facehuggers flew everywhere.   Weber was still down there struggling.   Finally, she bit the tail off and ripped its legs off.   Then, she swam back up.   The rest of them were already up on the grating.   Hulagon's chair turned into a ten-foot tall robot.   It had a glass window in front.   He was already inside, fiddling with some controls.   Franklin leaned down, looking at the water.   He saw Weber swimming frantically.  

        " How does she swim without holding her breath?"   Suddenly, she burst up out of the water, knocking him on the grating.   She answered his question.

        " You want to know how I do it?   I can breath underwater."   She got off him, pulling him up with her.   He had a puzzled look on his face as she walked over to O'Toole.

        " O'Toole?   Does this ladder lead to anywhere?"   He answered her question, eyeing the three-sided ladder.

        " Yeah.   It leads to a door, which leads to a hall."   She nodded, walking towards the ladder.   She began to climb it.   Logan followed.   Hulagon was typing commands into his console.   With a metallic clang, the robot started climbing after Logan.   Jasek followed Hulagon, eyeing the robot with a look of bewilderment.   Finally, O'Toole, Halowski, and Franklin climbed up last, glancing behind them.   Weber got to a small ledge.   There was a large door.   She saw a small control panel beside it.   When the rest of them were finally up there, she asked Hulagon a question.

        " Hulagon?   Can you open this door?"   He tapped commands into his console.

        " No.   You have to access the ship's computer in order to do that."    Halowski was twitching all of a sudden.   Franklin asked if she was okay.

        " You alright?"   he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.   She pushed his hand off.

        " I'm fine.   Leave me..." she said, gasping for breath, clutching her chest.   All of a sudden, she fainted, leaning on Franklin.   He lifted her up, trying to make her wake up.   Hulagon stomped over to the door, frantically pressing keys.   Suddenly, a saw came out of the front of the robot.  

        With a loud buzzing noise, he proceeded to cut a man-sized hole.   The hole fell into the hall.   Franklin carried Halowski inside, while the rest followed.   Hulagon's robot turned back into a chair again.   He laid her down on the floor.   Weber leaned over her, pushing some of Halowski's cropped black hair away from her face.   Her eyelids fluttered open.   Her honey-gold eyes stared into Weber's face.

         " Wh-what happened?   Where am I?" she asked, her voice crackled, as if broken.

        " You're in a hallway.   You fainted."   Weber answered, moving Halowski's hand away from her chest.   When she opened her black jumpsuit, it revealed a white T-shirt.   Straight through the shirt, there was a piece of metal.   As Weber lifted the shirt, a milky-white substance oozed out, spreading over Halowski's exposed belly.

        " You're a robot?" she asked, beckoning for the rest of them to come over there.   O'Toole gasped, with a sickened look on his face.   Jasek almost puked when she saw the substance oozing out.

        " Announce it to the whole world why don't you?" Halowski shot back sarcastically, wincing in pain.   Franklin spoke up, eyeing Halowski's stomach.  

        " Great!   She's a toaster!"   Halowski struggled to talk, wincing.

        " I'm not a toaster!   I'm an Auton!   A 34,000-gigabyte model!"   Hulagon wheeled over to her.   She looked at him, her " blood" continued to ooze out of her wound.   Weber asked Hulagon if he could help Halowski.

        " Hulagon?   Can you help her?"

        " Yeah.   But it'll take a while."   A pair of pliers and a laser came out of his chair.   The laser crept up to Halowski's wound.   With precaution, he tapped keys on his armrest.   The laser flashed on, slowly creeping towards the razor-sharp piece of metal that protruded from Halowski's stomach.   She closed her eyes, contemplating her death.   The laser cut through the middle, width-ways, of the metal, as the pliers were poised over the cut metal.   Finally, with a snap, Hulagon pulled the metal off.   Halowski opened her eyes, thinking she was dead.

        " Is it o-o-o-over?" she struggled to say, glancing at her wound.   The rest of the metal was squared off from where Hulagon snapped it off.   Then, he pushed the metal back into her stomach with the tip of the pliers.   Halowski tried to sit up, but Weber told her not to.

        " Don't move.   You might ravage your matrix."   Jasek kneeled on the grating.  

        " Move Weber!   You don't know what you're doing."   Weber didn't move.   Lightning quick, she turned around and grabbed her face.

        " HEY!   Listen you sarcastic little girl!   You don't tell me what to do when I'm trying to help somebody!"   She pushed Jasek's face and made her fall on the floor.   Jasek sat up with an angry look on her face.   Then, she pounced on Weber.

        " You stupid woman!   I hate you! I HATE YOU!"   Jasek was beating Weber with her fists.   Suddenly, Weber was enraged.   She threw Jasek off her, then she picked her up by her neck.   Weber tightened her grip on Jasek's neck.   Jasek tried to talk but couldn't.   Weber walked over to the door that Hulagon cut open.   The others stared in awe at Weber.   She stepped onto the ledge with an angry look on her face.   Jasek was squirming.   She looked down at the messy grating.  

        " Don't...drop...me...Weber," she struggled out.   All of a sudden, Weber threw Jasek in an arc.   She was screaming her head off as she was plummeting to her death.

        " AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"   Then, she fell with a smack on the aqua water below.   She struggled to swim, but failed.   Her lungs were taking on water from her mouth being open in a scream.   Her long honey brown hair was floating around her head like a halo as her limp body sank.   Weber smirked as she walked back into the hall.

        " Why did you kill her?" Logan asked, getting in her face.

        " She was getting on my last nerve.   Want me to throw you off, too?"

        " No," he answered, stepping back.   Franklin opened his mouth in awe.   Halowski and Hulagon came up to her.

        " Personally, I think Jasek was a pain myself.   I think she was ticked off because her boyfriend, Kingsley, died."   Halowski spoke up, her voice crackling.   Hulagon had turned a part of his chair into a side cart for Halowski to sit on.   Weber heard a voice in her head.

        Look at you Weber!   You killed one of their crewmembers!   Good job!   I thought you would never kill her!   She thought she was all that just because she was a pilot!  

        " No!" she gasped.   The others gazed at her with bewilderment.   O'Toole leaned over and asked Logan a question.

        " What's up with her?"

        " I have no idea."   Logan walked over to Weber and patted her back.

        " What's up?"

        " I hear voices in my head!   They're telling me things that I don't understand!" she sobbed silently.   Logan walked away, calling the others over to where he stood.

        " Okay!   O'Toole!   Where do we go from here?"

        " Well, the docking bay is on deck twelve and the computer room is on deck fifteen.   We should go to the computer room first and access Chrissy, the main computer."   Weber closed her eyes and saw the Queen.   She was writhing on the floor, her stomach as large as a small circuit conduit.   The Queen shrieked an ear-piercing scream.   Weber's eyes flew open.

        Oh no!   She doesn't have a massive ovipositor anymore!   I gave her a human reproductive system as a gift!   She held her ears as the screaming continued.   Halowski stared at her with confusion.   Finally, the screaming stopped in her head.   She let go of her ears.   Out of breath, she started walking down the long hall.   Looking at her walking away from them, the rest of them followed.  

        She glanced from door to door, wondering which door led to an elevator.   Weber walked up to a door marked 1-8.   She pressed a control panel and the door opened.   As she walked in, she saw clones of her that failed.   She opened her mouth as if she were going to speak.   She abruptly closed her mouth as she saw cryotube number 4.   Inside, floating in a green liquid, she saw herself skin almost a black metallic color.   Her face was on the elongated head of an alien.   A clawed, six-fingered hand was on her arm.   Weber felt a tear rolling down her bronze cheek.   What is this?   Water?   I remember now!   It's a tear.   I used to cry when I was little.  

        She touched the tear with trembling fingers.   She brought her hand down back to her side.   When she got to cryotube 7, she heard a moan coming from the next room.   When she walked in, she a clone lying on an operating table, hooked up to a life support system with IV tubes coming from her arms and legs.   Suddenly, her clone spoke softly.

        " K-k-kill me." she said, her face twisting into a grimace of pain, her eyes pleading.   Hulagon and Halowski wheeled up to her.   Halowski was holding a flame-thrower in her hands.   She held it out to Weber.   Weber grabbed it and turned it on.   A little flame popped out the front of it.   She was sniffing as she pointed it at her clone.   The clone slobbered, the saliva was silver and stringy as it rolled down her chin.  

        A burst of fire spread over her clone, smothering her.   Weber ran out of the room and set fire to the cryotubes in the room she was currently in.   As she finished demolishing the room, she walked out into the hall, throwing the gun on the grated floor.   She wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands.   Logan walked up to her shoulder.

         " You okay?   Are you in pain?"

        " Yes.   I just saw failed clones of me."   She slowly walked past him.   Suddenly, she stopped, as if stopped by an invisible wall.

        Come warrior Weber!   Come and rule earth with my drones and me!   FOREVER!

        " No!   Not again!" she screamed aloud, clutching her head.   Logan and O'Toole ran up to her, grabbing her arms and holding them down.

        " STOP!   Let me go!" she shrieked, tearing away from them.   Suddenly, she heard a loud, echoing heartbeat.

        Thump, thump, thump!   It was the horrible beating of the Queen's heart!

        " NOOOOO! Stop torturing me! I don't want to join you!" The others looked at Weber clutching her ears, screaming in rage.   O'Toole ran up and smacked her on the back of her neck with his fist. She didn't fall or stagger.   Without turning around, like a flash, she smacked him across the face with her forearm.   His nose burst, spilling blood all over himself.   She slowly turned, glaring at him clutching his nose.

        " Why did you hit me?" Weber asked, with anger in her voice.   O'Toole opened his mouth, but blood dripped into his mouth instead.

        " I...tried...to...knock...you...out," he struggled to say, blood running into his mouth.   Suddenly, Weber broke a panel on the wall beside her.   As she pressed keys, Hulagon and Halowski came up to her.

        " Whatcha doing, Weber? Trying to find Chrissy?" Halowski asked, her voice crackling from strain.  

        " No.   I'm going to kill O'Toole for hitting me."

        " You can't just kill him for a little hit like that!"

        " Yes I can."   Suddenly, a razor-sharp, twelve-inch long spike protruded from the wall.   It was an identification spike.   Weber had turned off the alarm system so she wouldn't get caught. She pressed her hand forcefully on to it, until six inches of the spike protruded from the back of her hand.   Her acid blood rushed out, melted the spike's middle.   She winced when she pulled her hand off the spike.   Hulagon yelled at her.

         " What're you going to do?"

        " I'm going to smear my blood on his chest."   O' Toole had fixed his nose by using a regeneration scalpel.   Weber walked over to him, holding her hand up.  

        " What're you doing? No! Don't!"   She smiled an evil smile as she walked over to him.   She leaned over him and ripped his shirt open.   Then, she smeared her blood up and down his chest.   A monstrous roar came out of O'Toole that echoed off the walls.   His cream-colored skin deteriorated quickly, revealing his ribcage and his red, beating heart underneath.   Then, she broke his ribcage open.   He shrieked.   With one squeeze, Weber made a big, red drop of blood drip out of her hand.   It landed right smack on his heart.   O'Toole's heart exploded, spraying blood on everybody except Weber, who walked away, snickering loudly.   O'Toole's face was frozen in death's grip.   A drop of blood trailed down his chin.   His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling.   Halowski stood on wobbly legs.  

        " You experiment!   You aren't the person I knew 2,000 years ago!"   Weber just kept on walking, ignoring her shouts.   Halowski ran after her.   When she caught up with her, Weber pivoted on her left foot and grabbed Halowski's neck.

        " You are a robot!   You're an Auton!   A 34,000-gigabyte model!   I could disconnect you right now!"   Halowski's eyes closed.   She went limp in Weber's grasp.   Hulagon wheeled up to her.

        " Oh no!   Her circuits didn't reboot themselves as fast as I thought I they would!   Give her to me!"   Weber threw Halowski on the side cart like a rag doll.   He saw a door was open.   Logan walked over to Weber his guns were out.

        " I'll shoot you for killing O'Toole!   He could've led us to the docking bay, but you had to kill him!"

        " He hit me," she said calmly.

        " You didn't have to kill him!"   He pointed his guns at her head.

        " Go ahead!   Blow my brains out!   See if I care."   When he put his fingers on the triggers, she ripped the guns off his arms with inhuman strength.

        " What are you gonna do now that you don't have your little toys?"   Logan was fuming, pacing frantically, his dreads swinging like pendulums.   Hulagon wheeled into the room he saw earlier, with Halowski twitching slightly.   The lights were flickering like a strobe light.   Weber was swinging Logan's guns on her index fingers.   Franklin was over in a corner, the whole time, sobbing, when everything happened.   Finally, Weber stopped toying with Logan and threw his guns on the floor.   Logan was joyous when he reached for his guns.  

        Franklin came from the corner, wiping his eyes.   Weber strutted over to Franklin,

grabbing his face comfortingly.

        " Have you, a big, strong man like yourself, been crying?"

        " Uh-huh," he answered, pouting like a three-year-old who had done something bad.

        " Well grow up!   We don't want a crybaby with us!"   Logan was laughing softly.

        " Heyyyy!   I thought you liked me for a second there!"

        " Well I don't!" she said, strutting away.   When she walked into the room Hulagon was in, she saw it was the utility room, stocked with guns of all kinds.   Logan and Franklin finally walked in, surprised.   Hulagon had Halowski on a table that was in the middle of the room.   Logan was over looking at the flame-throwers, Franklin was over looking at the grenade launchers, and Weber was over looking at the big uzis.   She picked up a large, black backpack.  

        It had snappers on the vest part of it.   Franklin picked up a grenade launcher and saw number on a little screen.   The number was zero zero.   Two large boxes filled with 100 grenades were on the table beside him.   The grenade launcher could only hold fifty grenades.

        " Cool man!   I'll take two of these babies!" Franklin exclaimed.   Weber strapped on the backpack, getting the feel of it on her back.   Logan picked up the largest flame-thrower on the table.   He saw fifteen cans of gasoline.   Hulagon was working on Halowski, rebooting her circuits.   He had a pair of pliers in his right hand, and tweezers in his left.   He was connecting Halowski's wires.   Her eyes fluttered open.   Suddenly, her arm shot into the air.   Hulagon pushed her arm down.   Then, she spoke in a booming voice.

        " All scientists are dead except Morrow, Larue, Jaker, Jacobson, and Scareo.   They are still sustaining life in sector twelve.   The aliens have cocooned them up with some form of webbing.   Attara will come in contact with earth in eighteen hours.   Morrow turned on the warp engines just before he was captured by the aliens."   Her eyes closed.   When Weber heard sector twelve come from Halowski, she gasped.

        " Oh no!   The Queen's drones are going to sacrifice them!" she said to herself.   She turned and picked up five uzis.

        " Come on guys!   We have to get to deck fifteen and access Chrissy!"   She threw the guns at the others.   Hulagon had already finished rebooting Halowski's circuits.   He wheeled away and picked up two uzis, a flamethrower, and a grenade launcher.   He clicked them onto his chair.

          With two clicks, he pressed keys and his chair turned into a robot again.   This time, he was still sitting down, but it had tank wheels on the bottom.   In front of him, he had an acid-proof window and a console.   The robot had four arms in front.   At the end of them, there were large pods containing the guns.   The guns were already loaded.   Franklin and Logan loaded Weber's pack with all the ammo they could find.   Halowski was slowly sitting up, blinking.   Weber was strapping her pack on when she heard a scream.

        " AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!   GET IT OFF ME!"   Halowski was trying to fight off a facehugger.   It was on her chest, trying to get to her face.   Weber ran over and ripped it off with her hand.   The facehugger was squirming, wrapping its tail around her wrist.   She pulled its tail off her wrist and asked for a knife.   Halowski jumped off the table and pulled out her knife.   Weber put the facehugger on the table and grabbed the knife.   She thrust the knife in it.   It shrieked as the metal pushed through its soft tissue.   Its acid blood started to melt the middle of the table.  

        Hulagon wheeled over and said:

        " Ready to leave guys?"

        " YEAH!" everyone else shouted in unison.   Franklin was loaded with five guns: three uzis strapped to his back and two guns he held.   Logan was loaded with five guns, too: three flame-throwers strapped to his back and two large machine guns in his hands.   Weber had three flame-throwers in her pack, ammo strapped around her, and an uzi in each arm.   Halowski grabbed a large uzi and a flame-thrower.

        " That's all you're gonna carry?" Franklin asked.

        " Yes.   I can't carry three more guns like you, Weber, and Logan," she answered, looking him square in the face.   Hulagon   wheeled slowly out into the deathly quiet hall.  

        " The coast is clear, guys," he whispered back to them.   Weber, Logan, Halowski, and Franklin walked slowly out into the hall.   They powered up their weapons.   All of the guns have a control panel on the side.   Logan was first, Franklin second, Halowski third, Hulagon fourth, and Weber bringing up the rear.  

        Suddenly, Weber stopped.   She turned her head and saw one of the Queen's drones right behind her.   It held up one clawed hand.   She turned her body and shot one bullet at its head.   Its head exploded, spraying blood and brains everywhere.   Then, she saw the others turn and look at her.   They were unaware of the commotion behind her.   They just turned back around and started walking.   Weber followed them, glancing over her shoulder occasionally.   Finally, they reached a freight elevator.   Hulagon wheeled up and tapped controls on his panel.   Suddenly, a wire flew out of the front of his robot.   The wire went into a hole beside a keypad.   With a tap of a key, a jolt of energy flowed through the wire into the hole.   The elevators' doors opened, and they all

filed in.  

        " Deck fifteen," Hulagon told the computer.   The elevator obeyed, flying up the tube.   As soon as they got to deck fifteen, the computer said:

        " The main computer is on this deck."   The doors opened, revealing a room filled with control panels, and, in the center of it all, the torso of the main robot, Chrissy.   Chrissy was gold, with silver eyes, wires coming out of its head, sides, and back.   When they walked in, Chrissy came on.

        " Welcome humans.   Can I help you?"   Hulagon wheeled up and said:

        " Yes, Chrissy.   Scan for xenomorphs on this deck."

        " Scanning........... No lifeforms under that name on this deck."   Hulagon then said:

        " Locate the warp engines of the Attara and the vessel Ptolemy."

        Location of warp engines: deck nine.   Location of Ptolemy: docking bay twelve."   Hulagon wheeled over to Weber, Logan, Halowski, and Franklin, who were hunched over a console, and reported the news.

       " Warp engines are on deck nine and the Ptolemy is in docking bay twelve."

        " Alright!"

        " I can't wait!": were the replies of Logan and Franklin.   Halowski and Weber Didn't say anything.   They just stared out the door, watching for any stray guards.  

        Suddenly, Weber got a telepathic message:

        Warrior Weber!   You gave me a wonderful gift!   I will thank you when you come to me!   HAA!   HAA!

        " NO!   Don't take me away!"   she screamed, covering her ears.   Logan ran over and grabbed her arms.   He forced her arms to her sides.   He turned her to face him.

        " Weber!   It's okay!   Don't worry.   We'll protect you."

        " I gave her a gift!   I didn't want to, but I did!"   Logan was puzzled, so he asked her a question:

        " What?   What gift?"   Weber just stared into his stern face, with a blank expression on her face.   Logan let go of her arms, turned, and walked back to the console.   She turned around and walked slowly out the door.   Hulagon was shouting for her to come back but she ignored him.   As she walked out into the hall, she heard a shriek in her head:

        AAAWWWHHHHHHHHWWWRRRGGGHHH!   Then, she saw the Queen in her birthing position:   laying on the floor of her crèche, her stomach swollen to the size of a small shuttlecraft, shrieking her head off.  

        " Oh no!   She's about to give birth!"   After she said that, the grating was pulled out from under her feet by two clawed hands.   She plummeted onto a mass of writhing aliens.   Chrissy reported Weber's fall:

         " A person that was with you fell under the grating on a large, writhing mass."   Halowski ran out into the hall and kneeled on the lip of the hole.

        " Weber!   Can you hear me?"   she shouted down at her.   Suddenly, Weber was sucked down into the mass like a vacuum cleaner picking up dust.   In the arms of a drone alien, Weber was being carried someplace.   She pressed herself against its body, almost hugging it, for she loved its presence.   Then, she smiled.  

        The next thing she knew, she was lying on a bloody floor, face up.   Suddenly, a big glob of slime fell onto Weber's cheek.   Her eyes fluttered open.   She lifted her arm to her face and swiped the slime off her cheek.   As she struggled to stand, she looked about and saw the rest of the scientists glued to the walls with some kind of webbing.   Suddenly, one of them spoke:

        " Weber's finally arrived to see the birth of her granddaughter.   You gave the Queen a human reproductive system.   Weber spoke up:

        " What?   My granddaughter?   What granddaughter?"

        " The Queen's daughter.   Do you remember Ellen Ripley from 'Alien Resurrection'?"

        " Yes, yes I remember her.   She was so cool."

        " Well, look behind you.   You'll find your daughter, the Queen!"   Weber pivoted and looked behind her and saw the Queen.   It's just like that one part of 'Alien Resurrection'! she thought.   She covered her mouth with one trembling hand.   Then, the Queen's stomach heaved, up and down.   Finally, her stomach stretched until it formed a point at the top.   The Queen screamed one last time before her stomach was torn open by a long, clawed finger the color of goldish-brown.   A creature emerged, about six-feet tall, with an elongated head, long, spindly legs, a long tail, and a nose and eyes.  

        The Newborn alien stood in the remains of its mother's stomach.   Then, it took its first steps to the Queen's head.   The Queen cooed softly, content with its Newborn child.   The Newborn eyed its mother, occasionally glancing over at Weber.   With a swipe, the Newborn clawed the Queen's face off.   Then, it devoured the remains of her head.   After it finished eating, the scientist that was talking to Weber said something else:

        " Look at you!   You're a beautiful butterfly emerging from your cocoon.   Beautiful, beautiful butterfly."   Then, the Newborn stepped out of the stomach and walked over to the rambling scientist.   Unaware of what was going to happen to him, the scientist glanced up and saw the Newborn in his face.   Suddenly,   it opened its jaws as wide as a snake's jaws, and bit the top of his head off, revealing the pink brain matter.   The scientist twitched in his death throes.

        After the Newborn finished devouring his brains, it turned and walked over to Weber.   She started to back up against the wall, afraid the Newborn might hurt her.   She closed her eyes.   Then, the Newborn touched Weber's hair with a clawed hand.   She opened her eyes again, and stared up into the Newborn's face.   Then, she heard a faint voice in her head:

        Grandma!   I look more like you than I did my mother.   Do you love me?  

        " Oh, no!   It sent me a message!"   Weber said, astonished.   The Newborn towered over her like a building over a park.   Without warning, it stuck out its tongue, a serpent-like tongue, dripping with saliva.   It breathed in Weber's face, its breath smelled metallic.   Its tongue licked her face, cleaning the slime off like a mother cat licking its kittens.   Weber tried to squirm away, but the Newborn grabbed her arms.   It put its tongue back in its maw.   Then, it grinned, showing long yellowed teeth.

        As the Newborn turned around and walked over to a crèche, Weber turned around and looked at the wall.   It was covered with stringy slime.   She started to grab handholds and climbed upward.   The Newborn turned back around and saw her climbing up.   It shrieked an ear-piercing scream.

        Meanwhile, back at the main computer room, Halowski, Hulagon, Logan, and Franklin were huddled over a control panel.   They were looking at schematics of docking bay twelve.

        " There's the Ptolemy," Logan pointed out.   Franklin stepped back and walked over to Chrissy.

        " Chrissy," he asked, " can you clear a path for us to the docking bay?"

        " Affirmative.   Opening all doors now." Chrissy said, closing its eyes.   Suddenly, they all heard clicking noises coming from Chrissy.   It was forming a pathway for them.  

        " Pathway is cleared.   You may leave now."

        " Thanks, Chrissy." Hulagon said, wheeling towards the door.   Logan, Franklin, and Halowski followed him.   He wheeled into the elevator and the rest were in before the doors closed.

        " Docking bay twelve," he told the computer.   The computer obeyed, and they were on their way.

        As Weber was climbing to the top, she looked back down and saw the Newborn climbing up after her.   Lightning quick, she pushed the flooring above her up.   Then she front flipped into a brightly lit hallway.   The Newborn was almost at the top when she slammed the panel of grating on its head, melting the front of it with her flame-thrower, then she pushed the melted piece onto the floor in front of it, sealing it.   The Newborn banged on the grating.   As she turned around to walk down the hall, she heard an explosion behind her.   She turned around slowly and saw the Newborn.   It walked towards her, cooing.

        The Newborn was towering over her now.   Weber looked up into its eyes; they were like dark pools of honey.  

        " You disgusting creature.   I don't like you.   I never will!" she said, raising her uzi

and her flame-thrower.   It looked puzzled, gazing into her eyes.   All of a sudden, she clicked on her guns and fired!   Bullets and fire were flying at the Newborn.   It shrieked as she backed down the hall, still firing.   The Newborn extended a long, gold-bronze arm, reaching for her.   Weber stopped firing, watching as it was bleeding and burning.   She stepped over to it, sobbing.  

        " I'm sorry!   I had to do this!   Your mother would have been proud!" she choked out, walking away.   As she walked down the hall, the Newborn exploded, sending a spray of blood and guts everywhere.   Then, Weber broke into a run as she looked in every door, searching for Hulagon, Halowski, Franklin, and Logan.

        On docking bay twelve, the crew saw their ship, the Ptolemy.

        " Home Sweet Home!" exclaimed Franklin, walking on the catwalk.   The rest of the crew followed him.   Halowski stopped as she saw a blank monitor.   There was a keyboard underneath it.   She pulled it out and started tapping commands.   Franklin called back to her when he was at the end of the catwalk.

        " What're you doing?"

        " Trying to find Weber.   She better hurry up." she shouted back to him.   Hulagon, Franklin, and Logan were already at the door of the Ptolemy.   When Halowski finished typing in commands, she saw a screen pop-up.   It was Weber sprinting down a hallway!   Halowski typed in "speaker" onto a word box and it accessed to the speakers lining the top of the hall.

        " Weber!   Weber!   Can you hear me?"

        " Yes!   Loud and clear!"   Weber shouted, still running.

        " Alright!   Now listen to me.   Do you see an elevator?":

        " Yes!   It's on the right-side!"

        " Okay. Go to it and get on."   Weber stopped running and turned to the right.   She pressed a button.   The doors opened and she stepped in.

        " Can you still hear me?"   Halowski shouted.

        " Y-y-yes,'' Weber said, out of breath.

        " Say to the computer, 'Docking bay twelve'."

        " Docking bay twelve." she said.   The computer obeyed and she started to go up.

        Halowski closed out the screen and shutdown the monitor.   She ran to the ship, got on, closed the door, and locked it.   Hulagon had moved the first pilot seat out of the way and clicked his chair into place, strapping restraints on from his chair.   Halowski sat in the second pilot seat beside him.   Franklin and Logan were sitting behind them, turned to control panels that were on the sides.  

        " Everybody strapped in?"   Hulagon announced, pulling out a steering wheel from under the panel in front of him.  

         " Yes." the rest of them said in unison.

        " Power up systems." Halowski said, flipping switches.   Everyone obeyed.

        When Weber was off the elevator, she saw a catwalk in front of her.   She strode down the catwalk towards the ship.   When she got there, she pounded on the door.   Halowski unstrapped herself and walked to the back.   She opened the door and saw Weber.

        " Glad you made it." Halowski greeted her.   Weber stepped inside, closed the door, and locked it.   Halowski walked back to the front and strapped herself in for the second time.   Weber found a seat near the front of the large ship.   It was larger than a shuttlecraft but smaller than a warship.   She sat beside Logan.   He glanced at Weber, smiling.   She smiled back, twirling a long, black braid around her finger.

        " Glad to see you.   I really like you now."

        " You didn't like me before, when I met you?"

        " No.   I thought you were mean."

        " Oh. Sorry I threw you down."

        " That's okay.   I won't anger you again."   They ended their conversation and Logan turned back to his console.   Weber forgot to strap herself in but she remembered and did it.   Hulagon pressed keys on his console that made the hatch of the docking bay open underneath them.  

        " Initiating demagnetization process." he announced, pressing another set of commands.   The large magnet that held them in place demagnetized and they floated over the hatch.

        " Take us down Halowski."   She nodded, pulling the wheel towards her.   The ship slowly descended.   Finally out of the docking bay, the ship floated forward.

        " Warp ten, Hulagon?   Straight for earth?" Logan asked, index finger poised over the warp key.

        " Yes, Logan."   Hulagon said, ready to steer.   Logan pressed the warp key and the stars were streaking past them.   Weber looked behind her and saw a porthole.   She stared out it as they came to a stop in front of earth, the homeworld.  

        " Magnificent.   Is this earth, Logan?"   she asked him, staring at his profile.

        " Yes, Weber.   This is earth."

        " I've never been here before."

        " Me neither."   Halowski chimed in, gazing at the blue, green, and white surface.   Halowski and Hulagon steered the ship through the atmosphere and they cruised through the clouds.   Weber asked Logan a question:

        " Will I live here?"

        " Yeah.   I'll show you and Halowski around when we get to a city called New York."   Weber nodded and continued to look out the window at the wispy clouds whizzing by.

        " I'm a stranger here."   Weber said, looking down at some lights from a city below.

" Me, too, Weber.   Me, too."   Halowski said, staring awe-struck at the peach and pink sky.