Aliens Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  The Complete Alien™ Library from Titan Books

  Title Page

  Leave us a Review

  Copyright

  Dedication

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  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Also Available from Titan Books

  THE COMPLETE ALIEN™ LIBRARY FROM TITAN BOOKS

  THE OFFICIAL MOVIE NOVELIZATIONS BY ALAN DEAN FOSTER:

  ALIEN

  ALIENS™

  ALIEN 3

  ALIEN: COVENANT

  ALIEN: COVENANT ORIGINS

  ALIEN: RESURRECTION BY A.C. CRISPIN

  ALIEN: OUT OF THE SHADOWS BY TIM LEBBON

  ALIEN: SEA OF SORROWS BY JAMES A. MOORE

  ALIEN: RIVER OF PAIN BY CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN

  ALIEN: THE COLD FORGE BY ALEX WHITE

  ALIEN: ISOLATION BY KEITH R.A. DECANDIDO

  ALIEN: PROTOTYPE BY TIM WAGGONER

  ALIEN: INTO CHARYBDIS BY ALEX WHITE

  THE RAGE WAR SERIES BY TIM LEBBON:

  PREDATOR™: INCURSION

  ALIEN: INVASION

  ALIEN VS. PREDATOR™: ARMAGEDDON

  ALIENS: BUG HUNT EDITED BY JONATHAN MABERRY

  ALIENS: PHALANX BY SCOTT SIGLER

  ALIENS: INFILTRATOR BY WESTON OCHSE

  THE COMPLETE ALIENS OMNIBUS, VOLUME 1

  BY STEVE AND STEPHANI PERRY

  THE COMPLETE ALIENS OMNIBUS, VOLUME 2

  BY DAVID BISCHOFF AND ROBERT SHECKLEY

  THE COMPLETE ALIENS OMNIBUS, VOLUME 3

  BY SANDY SCHOFIELD AND S.D. PERRY

  THE COMPLETE ALIENS OMNIBUS, VOLUME 4

  BY YVONNE NAVARRO AND S.D. PERRY

  THE COMPLETE ALIENS OMNIBUS, VOLUME 5

  BY MICHAEL JAN FRIEDMAN AND DIANE CAREY

  THE COMPLETE ALIENS VS. PREDATOR OMNIBUS, VOLUME 1

  BY STEVE PERRY AND S.D. PERRY

  ALIEN: THE ARCHIVE

  ALIEN: THE BLUEPRINTS BY GRAHAM LANGRIDGE

  ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY BY ARCHIE GOODWIN AND WALTER SIMONSON

  ALIEN: THE SET PHOTOGRAPHY BY SIMON WARD

  THE ART OF ALIEN: ISOLATION BY ANDY MCVITTIE

  THE ART AND MAKING OF ALIEN: COVENANT BY SIMON WARD

  ALIEN COVENANT: THE OFFICIAL COLLECTOR’S EDITION ALIEN COVENANT: DAVID’S DRAWINGS BY DANE HALLETT AND MATT HATTON

  THE MAKING OF ALIEN BY J.W. RINZLER

  ALIEN NEXT DOOR BY JOEY SPIOTTO

  JONESY: NINE LIVES ON THE NOSTROMO BY RORY LUCEY

  ALIEN: THE COLORING BOOK

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  ALIENS™: INFILTRATOR

  Print edition ISBN: 9781789093988

  E-book edition ISBN: 9781789093995

  Published by Titan Books

  A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd

  144 Southwark Street, London SE1 0UP

  www.titanbooks.com

  First edition: April 2021

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  © 2021 20th Century Studios.

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  To the fourteen-year-old boy and his date who saw

  the original movie in theaters and was

  blown away by the experience

  1

  PALA STATION LV-895 JANUARY 12, 2202

  He dreams of storms and flames, the heat of a thousand suns turning everything into molten nightmare. He screams, but the roar of the superheated beast drowns out his cries. His mother, his father, everything he ever knew consumed by something so hungry it cannot be stopped. Even as far away as he is, the heat blisters his face and burns away the hairs on his head. His tears prism his vision until his small universe is a kaleidoscope of fire.

  * * *

  The shuttle jolted him awake.

  “Welcome to Pala Station,” the pilot announced as the shuttle landed. The announcement could not have been delivered with less enthusiasm. Still, the welcome was a punctuation to a long journey for Dr. Timothy Hoenikker, who’d traveled too many light years, all at the chance of investigating a cache of newly discovered artifacts.

  Alien artifacts.

  For a theoretical archaeologist, who up until now had depended on modeling in order to advance his research, examining actual components of an alien race’s past was beyond remarkable. This could be, he hoped fervently, the opportunity of a lifetime.

  Wiping the dream from his eyes, he shoved the familiar fiend to the back of his mind.

  His shuttle partner sighed heavily.

  “Back to the shit,” the man said. He’d introduced himself earlier as Logistics Specialist Steve Fairbanks. His eyes were haunted, his gaze far away, and he had the world worn look of someone who’d been in the thick of it, and still hadn’t found a way out. Probably just short of thirty years old, he was average height and had black hair cut close to his bullet-shaped head. His nose was too thin for a flat face, but that wasn’t his fault.

  “Can’t be as bad as all that,” Hoenikker said hopefully, hiding his discomfort at being spoken to, and with the information.

  “Just wait, sir,” Fairbanks replied. “You’ll see what Pala is about in no time.”

  The station was out on the edge of the known systems—but then, weren’t all the places where new discoveries were possible? When Hoenikker had been recruited, he’d convinced himself that leaving the luxury of
his cushy Weyland-Yutani corporate job was going to be worth the effort. Before leaving, he’d researched the jungle planet LV-895 and marveled at its exotic life. Sure, the living arrangements might not be what he’d been used to, and the day-to-day luxuries might not be there, but the payoff would be to lay hands on that which he’d only previously imagined.

  This could be the opportunity, he knew, to become one of the foremost experts in alien anthropology. His pulse quickened as he imagined the data he could provide to those who would come after, his name synonymous with the greatest archaeologists of all time. Layard. Carter. Jones. Leakey. Evans. Schliemann. Navarro.

  Hoenikker.

  “Pala Station personnel should be waiting for your arrival,” the pilot announced over the intercom. “One minute until doors open.”

  The thrill Hoenikker felt was tempered with a sick feeling that everything was going to go terribly wrong. He’d always been this way—feeling the desire to experience new things, yet dreading that reality wouldn’t live up to his expectations. As had happened all too many times before, was he going to be disappointed, or would this be the greatest adventure of his life?

  His friend Stokes, who he’d probably never see again, had argued long and hard for him to take this assignment.

  “You might never get this opportunity again,” Stokes had said. “Sure, you could stay here at your nine-to-five, going out for dinner on Fridays, seeing your therapist on Wednesdays. Or you could travel to the edge of the known universe, discover wonders no man has ever seen, and be better for it. Be boring and stay here. Or be dangerous and travel far.”

  Stokes always did the dangerous. He’d been a Colonial Marine, then a scientist traveling for the company. Always the center of any conversation. Even Hoenikker looked forward to listening to the outrageous stories the man continually shared—assuming they were all true. This was his chance, Hoenikker knew, to walk in the footsteps of his friend. But in reality, he could never be the person Stokes was capable of being.

  The red flashing light switched to green. The rear door of the shuttle opened, revealing a single man waiting for them, holding a pad. He had dark skin, bald, about forty. Part of his right arm was a prosthesis.

  Fairbanks was first off.

  “Fairbanks. Steven,” he said to the man. “Log. Back from emergency leave.”

  After making a few marks on the digital pad, the man nodded, but didn’t say a word.

  “Best of luck,” Fairbanks said over his shoulder, then he hefted his duffel and disappeared around the corner.

  “You must be Dr. Hoenikker,” the man said. “I’m Reception Tech Rawlings, Victor, and I’ll be inprocessing you. Is that all your luggage?” he asked, nodding to the single large bag on the deck.

  Hoenikker nodded. Rawlings stepped over and grabbed the bag.

  “This way please.”

  Hoenikker followed, noting that the air in the hangar was humid. But that was soon replaced by the cool forced air of the interior, the buzz and hum of environmental equipment immediately making him at home. Facilities he knew. Jungles he did not.

  “As you know, Doctor, Pala Station’s existence is classified,” Rawlings said. “I’ve been here a little over a year, and things don’t hardly change. We prefer it that way. So, you’re with the scientists?”

  “Yes.” Hoenikker didn’t know how much he could reveal.

  Rawlings laughed. “What you all do isn’t a secret to those of us on the station. What with the black goo and all. We just don’t like when your research subjects get loose. You understand.”

  “Does that happen often?”

  “Once is too often,” Rawlings said. He held up his prosthesis. “I’ve seen enough action. I’m just trying to get my retirement creds now.”

  There was the sound of rapid footsteps and three men rushed around a corner. As they did, the third knocked Hoenikker roughly into the wall. The man grunted, but kept going without saying a word. They all held long wooden rods.

  “Sorry about that.” Rawlings steadied Hoenikker. “We have a rat infestation. Station commander has us on a schedule for extermination duty, and no one is particularly happy about it.” He nodded toward where the men had disappeared. “Their turn.”

  “Rats?”

  Rawlings shrugged and gave a good-natured smile. “We’re on the edge of nowhere, on a godforsaken jungle planet. Rats are the least of our worries.”

  They continued on their way, and Rawlings indicated several doors as they passed the various staff sections. Staff Section 1—or S1—was Manpower. S2, Security. S3, Engineering. S4, Logistics. S5, Med Lab. S6, Communications. And S7, Fabrications. He counted them off as they passed.

  “Being as far out of system as we are, we can’t just order a part. So S7 is in charge of producing everything we need to operate, from a knob, to a screw, to a laser-guided ass missile.”

  Hoenikker balked. “Laser-guided ass missile?”

  “That was a joke. Sorry, military humor. Just know if you need something, they can make it. Anyway, you’ll be dealing a lot with S7. Just don’t get in the way of their feud with S3. It can get vicious.”

  They passed through a door and entered an office like many others he’d seen. The setup was familiar. A desk. Two chairs. A camera attached to a terminal.

  “Sit there, please.” Rawlings gestured. “We’ll take your picture, retina display, biometrics, fingerprint, and DNA. Need to make sure you are who we think you are, and give you access to where you need to be later.”

  Hoenikker sat in the chair across from the camera, eyeing the cradle made for his hand. He could see several dozen minute needles, almost invisible to the eye, and didn’t relish the idea of embracing it. Still, bureaucracy. He sighed.

  “I think it started two years ago,” Rawlings said, oblivious to his hesitation, “when Fabrications ran out of materials and there were no supply shuttles for six months. They were forced to take what they needed from everyone else. It wasn’t that bad really, but Engineering—who feel self-important because they keep the lights and air running—began calling Fabrications by all sorts of names, to get under their skin. ‘Acquisitions,’ ‘Infiltrations,’ ‘Reparations,’ ‘Thieverations,’ and my favorite, ‘Mastications.’”

  Rawlings pointed. “Eye here, please. Thanks.”

  Hoenikker placed his right eye in front of the reader, and stared into the light.

  “I know. I know,” Rawlings continued. “It seems like a small thing, but all day every day for six months became too much. That’s it. Thanks, Doctor.”

  Hoenikker leaned back.

  “So, when Fabrications had the chance to turn the tables, turn them they did. Engineering needed Fabrications to create a water pump for the commander, which they did—but they put everything in backward so the pump exploded, and then they blamed it on Engineering. Even pulled out instructions they had clearly fabricated—pun intended—to imply a design flaw. Meanwhile, Engineering is completely overwhelmed, dealing with the effects the environment has on the station, not to mention the rats that are getting into the wiring.

  “We’re so far away from any supply depot, Fabrications is constantly fixing things that medlab needs, or producing the special glass used in the containment areas for your experiments.” Rawlings rolled his eyes, and Hoenikker thought he detected a note of resentment in his voice. “I could tell you about the other staff sections, but we don’t have that sort of time. Your fellow brainiacs will have to brief you up.”

  He gestured at the hand cradle. “Now for this. It won’t hurt at all. I promise. Each needle is coated with a local anesthetic. You just have to press firmly.”

  Hoenikker held out his hand, but hesitated.

  Rawlings reached out, gently but firmly grasped Hoenikker’s hand, and placed it in the cradle. The reception tech’s prosthesis was cold against his skin.

  Hoenikker sucked in air, ready to shout out.

  The tech was right. No pain.

  Rawlings maintained his grip a
s he made a few selections on the display with his left hand.

  “And don’t get me started on the commander,” the reception tech said, and this time his ire was obvious. “He’s completely useless, spending more time trying to get the hell out of here than trying to do his job.” He glanced over, and nodded as if Hoenikker had said something. “I know. I know. The deputy should step up, but he’s oblivious—too in love with the flora and fauna outside to pay attention to what’s going on.” He sighed. “It’s our own fault, really. We’re all professionals—if we weren’t, the place would really fall apart. The fact is, each section operates on its own, without supervision. It’s not like this is brain science, you know? But no one’s paying attention to the big picture.”

  He released the hand, and Hoenikker hoped it meant he could go. So much gossip…

  “Alright. You checked out, and you’re checked in.” He handed Hoenikker an ID badge on a fob. “Wear this at all times, and Security will leave you alone. Same goes for the synths, but I doubt you’ll even see them.”

  “Synths?” Hoenikker asked, realizing upon hearing his voice that he hadn’t spoken in a long while.

  “Sure. You know, ‘state-of-the-art,’” Rawlings said, delivering air quotes. “Special Security Chief Wincotts maintains them, but we’ve never seen them in use. No need, I guess. Probably stacked in a closet somewhere, covered in glass with a big sign that says, Break In Case of Emergency.” He laughed.

  “It all sounds a bit intense,” Hoenikker said.

  “Oh, no—not really,” Rawlings said, standing and urging Hoenikker to do so as well. “I’ve been in units where the tension is so thick you’re worried someone’s going to pop off a pulse rifle. Or we could be crawling in mud, on patrol on a new LV. Hell, I could be on sentry duty! No thank you, sir. I’ll take the politics of Pala Station anytime.” He looked Hoenikker square in the eye. “Just know where you are and who you’re talking to before you say something you can’t take back.” He patted Hoenikker on the shoulder. “But hell, that’s the same everywhere, no?”

  Hoenikker nodded as he felt himself being guided gently out of the room.

  “Now, let’s get you situated.”

  They passed several more doors and went down enough corridors that Hoenikker lost track. Then they came to a door with his name on it.