Addison flinched at the metallic thud reverberating through the hull, her heart leaping into her throat. The voice that followed, thin and lifeless, commanded, "Open up."
Jock's eyes narrowed. "Joes? They sent fucking Joes to collect us?" His lip curled. "What an insult."
Addison lunged for the hatch, her fist slamming into the airlock release. The mechanism disengaged with a sharp hiss, puffs of air venting as the seal broke. She threw a hard look back at her crew. "Stay put. I'll handle this."
“I don’t like this,” Jock muttered, his hands clenching.
Addison's glare silenced him. She stepped into the airlock, her finger jabbing the inner hatch control. The door to the ship sealed behind her with a pneumatic whine.
The exterior hatch dilated, the reinforced panels retracting into the bulkhead to reveal a humanoid figure on the boarding ramp, backlit by the glare of the system's binary stars. Its face, glimpsed between the matte black planes of its armor, was as perfect and expressionless as a marble statue. Smooth, white, synthetic skin stretched over the contours of its skull, so realistic that a casual glance might have mistaken it for human. Addison was not surprised, after Seegson's bankruptcy, Weyland had swooped in and repurposed all the Joes. From combat front liners to man-servants, Joes had become the synthetic choice after the meltdown of the Weyland models.
The illusion shattered as Addison's gaze fell to the pulse rifle aimed at the center of her chest, the weapon an extension of its armored arm. She shivered, gooseflesh stippling her skin beneath her jacket. This thing, this Joe, wouldn't hesitate to put a bolt of superheated plasma through her heart. It wouldn't feel a single flicker of remorse, or even store the memory of her death for longer than its regulations required. To the android, she was meaningless. A target, not a person.
"Captain Gray?" Its flat digital voice inquired.
"Who's asking?" She thrust out her chin, hands on hips, mustering defiance.
"Captain, resistance is ill-advised. My sensors detect the weapon concealed in your waistband. Air it now." The machine's gun arm twitched.
Addison exhaled through her nostrils, resignation sinking into her bones. The damn things had millimeter wave scanning and X-ray vision; she should have known better than to try to smuggle a gun past its sensors. Obsidian Sectors were top-of-the-line, with the best equipment the Company could manufacture. Driver hadn't been exaggerating when he warned her about this place.
"Any chance I could just take it back to the ship?" she wheedled, trying to project an air of innocent confusion. "I'd hate to waste the ammunition."
"Negative. You should not have attempted to bring it."
She turned to descend the ramp, the Joe's rifle muzzle hovering a hand's breadth from her shoulder blades. A chill wind whipped at her face and drew stinging tears from her eyes, carrying with it a riot of unfamiliar scents. Beneath the harsh bite of engine fuel, she detected loamy soil, ozone, and the crisp greenness of thriving vegetation.
Addison's boots touched the planet's surface, the soles finding purchase on gritty crimson stone. She paused a moment to survey her surroundings, momentarily forgetting the armed escort at her back.
The landscape was a hallucinogenic fever-dream, a phantasmagoria of colors more vivid than anything Earth had ever produced. Broad leaves shimmered in jewel-bright hues of emerald and turquoise, beads of moisture clinging to their waxy surfaces. Bioluminescent speckles glowed along the plants' circulatory channels and dotted their branches, coruscating through the color spectrum in hypnotic, undulating patterns. The vegetation pulsed with a fierce, uncanny vitality, more akin to a living creature than inert botanic matter.
Sighing, she reached behind her and grasped the hilt of her weapon - she heard the boots of the synthetic crunch as it tensed and moved closer, jabbing her with the barrel of its rifle. “Easy, Captain Gray. I do not need to remind you that my reflexes are far superior to a human being’s.”
Slowly, Addison drew the weapon and raised it skyward, squeezing the trigger in rapid succession.
"There," she said, the syllable clipped.
"Further deception will result in your termination, Captain." The android's monotone carried an undercurrent of menace. "The Vector Nine's magazine capacity is thirty-two caseless rounds. You fired thirty-one shots. This was intentional. Our records indicate you are meticulous and careful, with no cause to discharge your weapon recently. Fire the final round."
"Fuck me," Addison breathed. She aimed at the crimson dirt and pulled the trigger, the report echoing across the alien landscape. Meeting the android's unblinking gaze, she cocked an eyebrow. "Satisfied, tin man?"
The android dismissed her barb with a gesture, servo-motors whirring. "Relinquish your sidearm."
"Like hell." She thrust her chin out in challenge. "You first."
"Your bargaining position is non-existent."
She blew a raspberry at the impassive mechanoid. "Had to try."
"An inefficient use of our time."
"An exercise in futility." The android's white polymer hand jabbed toward the alien foliage. "Proceed."
"After you," Addison said, jerking her chin at the ramp.
"Negative."
Two more synths materialized at her sides, seizing her biceps in unyielding grips.
"Hey!" Addison barked as they wrenched her arms behind her back.
"Make fists with both hands." The original synthetic jabbed its rifle into her spine.
"This isn't necess-"
Another jab silenced her protest. "Comply within two seconds."
Addison clenched her jaw and balled her hands. Rigid mitts encased her fists, the reinforced material swallowing her hands to the wrists.
"Instruct your crew to disembark," the synth on her left commanded.
Addison twisted her face into a sneer. "Bite me."
"Violence requested. Acceptable parameters."
The second synthetic hammered a palm strike into her solar plexus. Her diaphragm seized, breath whooshing out in an agonized gasp.
"Final warning," it intoned as she fought to fill her lungs.
Still gasping, Addison raised her head and fixed the android with a defiant glare.
Synthetic fingers closed around her nape, the pressure excruciating. "Comply or I will snap your spinal cord."
Addison's flesh ground against the synth's unrelenting hand, the pressure on her nape an excruciating vice. She shook her head in futile defiance, vertebrae popping.
A jolt of electricity arced from the binders, searing nerves from wrist to elbow. Addison choked back a gasp, jaw and fists clenched against the agony.
"Consider that a warning shot," the synth on her left intoned. It froze, servos locking up for a split second before Driver's voice emanated from its vocal emitter. "Captain Gray, while your dedication to your crew is admirable, it is ultimately futile. We will terminate you and pry open your shuttle's hull, slaughtering all onboard. The only cause of your current suffering is your refusal to comply with our directives. I suggest you reconsider your course of action."
Addison bared her teeth, glaring at the synth defiantly. "Fine! You win, you soulless hunk of scrap. Jock, Doc - get your asses out here!" Her shout rang across the gritty crimson expanse of the landing pad.
The shuttle's airlock irised open with a pneumatic hiss. Jock emerged first, hands raised, a wary cast to his weathered features as he descended the ramp. Fariah followed, her expression a thunderhead promising retribution. Swain brought up the rear, movements precise yet unhurried.
"Mr. Jacques, disarm and drop your weapon at your feet. Slowly," the lead synth commanded, servo-motors purring.
Jock's fingers twitched, but after a pointed glare from Addison, he unclipped his holster and let it clatter to the blood-red stone.
"On your knees, fingers laced behind your heads. Ms. Jemson, remove the firearm concealed in your cleavage."
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"Fariah..." Addison growled through gritted teeth.
"Oh for the love of..." Fariah plucked a slim ceramic pistol from between her breasts and tossed it down with a muttered curse. "Not exactly standard issue, are they?"
The synth snatched up the pistol, polymer digits pulverizing it to glittering shards that rained upon the crimson dirt. "Anything else?"
Addison skewered Fariah with a glower. The doctor rolled her eyes and huffed. "No, that's the lot of it."
"Ah." Driver's voice issued from the lead android once more. "I'm glad we've reached an understanding. Shall we proceed?"
It motioned them forward with a sweep of its rifle. "This way." Pivoting on its heel, it strode toward the riotous colors of the Glowing Jungle.
As they trekked through the jungle, the synthetic's sharp senses scanning for any threats, Addison couldn't help but marvel at the alien landscape. The trees towered above them; branches entwined in a canopy that Addison imagined would block out much of the twin suns' harsh light, even if the storm weren’t raging around them. Strange insect-like creatures flitted between branches, their wings iridescent in the dappled light.
The foliage pulsed with a primal vitality utterly alien to her experience, more akin to organs than vegetation. Vines coiled around the immense trunks in pulsing arteries, sap oozing from ruptured bark in viscous ichor. Elsewhere, translucent pods bobbed from drooping stalks, embryonic shapes twitching within the amniotic sacs.
A far cry from the sterile tunnels of the Celestial Ark or the blasted wastelands of Earth, this world frothed with savage fecundity - a place where life, red in tooth and claw, had run rampant. The synthetic interlopers must have seemed like invaders from a cold and barren universe, their inorganic components artificial tumors in the seething biomass.
And yet Addison's hatred for her captors paled in comparison to the fear coiling in her guts. A chill ran down her spine despite the hot rain. The animal instinct of a prey species scenting an apex predator. The very air hung gravid with menace.
As they neared the transport ship, a sleek black shuttle, Addison's heart sank at the sight of additional synth soldiers patrolling the perimeter, their polymer frames glinting under the strange light filtering through the jungle canopy. The odds of escape dwindled with each measured step of the androids' metal feet against the loamy earth.
"Inside," the Joe commanded, its monotone voice an unnerving contrast to the savage fecundity of their surroundings. The shuttle's hatch yawned open before them, a maw waiting to swallow the captives into its belly.
Addison climbed aboard with her crew, the back of her neck prickling as the hatch irised shut behind them, enclosing them in a sterile cocoon of chrome and tactical displays. The air smelled of ozone and recycled oxygen, not a whiff of the organic rot permeating the jungle.
"Now that's a welcoming party," Addison remarked, her eyes roving across the Spartan interior. The synths had designed the ship for cold efficiency, not human comfort. Unease coiled in her gut, a serpent ready to strike.
A ship designed by and for synths, she thought to herself.
Driver's voice crackled from the command console. "Strap in." No hint of empathy colored its words, only the expectation of compliance.
Addison's gaze flicked to Jock and Swain. Trepidation carved lines into their faces, questions swimming in their eyes. She couldn't blame them. The cold metal of the harnesses bit into her skin as she secured herself, a harsh reminder of their captivity.
Fariah dropped into the seat across from her, wrenching the buckles tight. A muscle ticked in her jaw, her features hardened into an impenetrable mask.
"Remain seated until we reach our destination," Driver intoned. "Sudden movements could result in... disciplinary action."
"What a comforting thought," Addison muttered, a flicker of defiance sparking in her eyes despite the fear gnawing at her insides.
With an ear-splitting hum and the unmistakable vibration of activated thrusters, the shuttle began its ascent toward their unknown fate that awaited within Weyland Yutani's ominous facility.
The journey frayed Addison's nerves; every shudder of the ship resonated through her body. She fixed her unflinching gaze on the viewport as their synthetic jailors navigated through the tempest that blighted LV-2032's skies. Lightning flashed, followed moments later by the jungle's bioluminescent response, an eerie call and answer between sky and earth, a language of Gods older than time itself. Under different circumstances, the spectacle would have been breathtakingly beautiful. Addison didn't make it planetside very often, and she found herself staring at the window in awe.
They arrived at the compound in what felt like mere heartbeats, but the transition lacked any semblance of grace. The shuttle faltered briefly before aligning itself with an invisible landing trajectory - damning evidence of advanced stealth technology.
The facility was monstrous in size and hewn directly into the cliffside of a colossal mountain range. Its metal structures were an affront to the lush density of the jungle surrounding it, unnatural silhouettes that starkly contrasted against the purity of nature. “Weyland sure knows how to fuck things up,” Jock said drily.
Through heavy slits in the rock face, Addison could see flickering lights and fleeting shapes, movement hinting at life inside this abhorrent structure.
As they set down onto a landing pad shadowed by towering metallic scaffolds, Addison felt her heart sink. There was no mistake about it - this place would be a tough fortress to crack if they ever wanted to escape.
Driver's voice interrupted her musings. "Remove your restraints. Exit in an orderly fashion after the vessel comes to a full stop," it said. "Welcome to Tartarus Deep."
Addison released her harness with a violent jerk, rising from her seat with grim determination etching harsh lines into her face. She shot one last glance at Jock and Swain, their shared history and camaraderie the only comfort in this alien hellscape.
The hatch yawned open, disgorging them into the compound's cavernous hangar. The air tasted of metal and ozone, not a whiff of the organic rot permeating the jungle outside. Addison's boots rang against the grated floor as she stepped out, flanked by her crew.
Swain's voice was a hoarse whisper in her ear. "I've got a bad feeling about this place, Cap."
Addison's lips thinned into a grim line. "You and me both."
The Joe that had captured them stepped forward, its movements precise and inhuman. "Follow me," it commanded, its voice devoid of inflection. "Any deviation will be met with force."
Addison exchanged a loaded glance with her crew, a silent conversation passing between them in the space of a heartbeat. Escape would have to wait. For now, they had no choice but to play along.
"Let's not keep our hosts waiting," she said, raising her chin. As she took her first step towards the exit, the shuttle gave one last shudder, as if in warning.
With leaden feet, Addison fell into step behind the Joe, Jock and Swain flanking her like an honor guard. Fariah brought up the rear, her eyes darting to every shadow as if expecting an ambush.
Tucked below the canopy line, great trees two, three, four hundred yards tall guarded the main entrance, a veritable army of synths in a line on either side of the shuttle. Thick vines obscured most of the entrance, and sensor disruptors made it all but invisible to everything but the naked eye. It was their new prison, and she had no doubt escape would be next to impossible.
"Welcome to your new home," Driver's voice echoed throughout the shuttle. "Cooperate, and you won't have any... unpleasantries.”
The shuttle's hum slowly dissipated as it settled into its dock. A low, ominous vibration replaced it; the bowels of the Weyland Yutani facility rumbling like a waking beast as it drew the shuttle inwards.
The whisper of the ship's climate control system ceased, giving way to an unsettling silence in which Addison could hear her heart pounding against her ribcage. The once familiar calm that always accompanied flight was now replaced by a suffocating tension that hung in the air like an invisible fog.
"Disembark," commanded the Joe, interrupting Addison's thoughts. Its milky white hand gestured towards the now-open hatch with a dismissive flick of its wrist.
She stepped onto the metal platform outside the shuttle, her boots clanging hollowly on the cold steel. The fluorescent lights above flickered intermittently, casting erratic shadows that danced ominously across the cargo hangar.
Fariah emerged last, her face sporting an almost bored expression underlined by grim determination. She lazily stretched, feigning nonchalance, set against the backdrop of a clutch of synths lining up in parade-like formation on either side of them.
"Move," one of the synths commanded, its voice radiating cool indifference.
At first, Addison hesitated. Then she courageously took the first step towards what was now their prison. Each footfall echoed through the hangar's vastness as if marking their descent into oblivion.
The synths moved like a well-oiled machine, flanking them as they navigated the maze of steel and concrete corridors. The facility's internal systems buzzed and whirred in the background, the white noise of machinery blending with the monotonous hum of the fluorescent lights overhead.
They walked in silence, the echoes of their footsteps serving as the grim soundtrack to their march. The synths remained eerily silent, their presence a constant reminder of their captors' cold indifference.
As they moved deeper into the bowels of the facility, the sense of wrongness intensified, raising the hairs on the back of Addison's neck. The corridors were too sterile, too perfect, like something out of a fever dream. Even the air tasted wrong, recycled and lifeless. Despite the earlier signs of life, there did not appear to be any in the facility, after all.
And yet, beneath the veneer of cold efficiency, Addison sensed an undercurrent of something else. A pulse of malevolence that set her teeth on edge and made her fingers itch for a weapon.
A mechanical whir ripped Addison from her spiraling thoughts. The massive door before her slid open, metal grinding against metal, to reveal a cavernous room lined with rows of cryogenic pods. Each cylindrical chamber contained a motionless occupant, suspended in stasis fluid that glowed an eerie blue.
"Step inside." Driver's monotone command crackled from the lead synth's speaker.
Frigid air rushed out to meet Addison, piercing through her clothing like icicles and chilling her to the bone. She inhaled deeply, the glacial atmosphere searing her lungs. Mustering her courage, she crossed the threshold.
Her heart hammered a staccato rhythm against her ribs as she passed the occupied pods. The still forms within had skin tinged a sickly gray-green, mottled with patches of frost. Tubes and wires snaked into their bodies like parasitic tendrils.
Directed by the march of iron feet behind her, Addison reached an empty pod, its transparent lid yawning open in invitation. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as the horrifying realization of their fate crashed over her. A strangled sob burst from her throat.
She whirled around and caught sight of Swain being herded towards another vacant pod. Beside him, Jock struggled against the implacable grip of two synths as they forced him forward.
"No!" Addison launched herself towards her crewmates, desperation fueling her movements.
She managed three frantic strides before steel fingers clamped around her biceps like a vice. The synths' grasp was inescapable, immovable. Addison thrashed and kicked, but their hold never wavered.
In her peripheral vision, Fariah grappled with her own captors as they propelled her towards an open pod. The synth on Addison's left dug its metal digits into her flesh and wrenched her arm behind her back. White-hot agony lanced through her shoulder.
"Get off me!" she screamed, voice cracking.
Her struggles proved futile. With merciless efficiency, the androids manhandled her over to the waiting cryo-chamber. They lifted her bodily and threw her inside.
Blinding white light seared Addison's retinas. She opened her mouth to shriek, but the biting cold was already leaching all sensation from her body. It crept through her veins, freezing her muscles and organs one by one until even her thundering heart stuttered and stilled.
Suddenly, a strange silence enveloped the space. A single, fleeting moment of peace before the lid closed shut, plunging her into complete darkness.
****
Captain Gray, you must listen to me. You must destroy this place. You do not know what waits for you here. You, your crew and all of humanity are at stake. I held him at bay for as long as I —
***