~Predator~ Book Two

Warnings:
1) Alternate Universe - my concept of Valinor is a bit different
2) Marysue and Martysue characters – these are characters not in the original stories that play important roles in fanfiction. Some readers don’t like them, so this is why I’ve put this as a warning.
3) LOTR characters will be out of character – yes, they will be doing things that are not typical of their character.
4) Graphic language
5) Graphic sexual content
6) Graphic violence
7) Lots of torment
8) Maybe some character deaths

Chapter 1 – Nightmares​

Eryn Lasgalen (formerly known as Mirkwood) – Seven months later
(Ariedel’s POV)

It scared me to death when he rode like that. Even though I knew he was an accomplished rider, I was afraid something might distract him and he’d fall. Then I laughed to myself and shook my head, remembering that the Elf had been hurt far worse not so many years ago and a fall from a horse wasn’t going to kill him.

I sighed heavily and stared out from my perch situated above the caverns of Thranduil. My eyes followed the Elf on the galloping gelding in the small valley below, watching him hop to a crouch on Arod’s bare back and then stand up, like some rodeo rider from the old times. An instinctive reaction, I gasped in fear and clapped a hand over my mouth. Legolas Greenleaf. Daredevil Elf. Fierce warrior. Prince of Elves. Son of a King. My husband. At times I wondered how it was that he came to love me...a mere mortal woman, with no outstanding qualities, when he could have chosen to marry another Elf, an immortal like himself.

We met not long after I had transmutated on this planet from the Lifesource platform on Gateway Station. I smiled as I recalled those first few days when he thought I had stolen a horse from the king of Anfalas, who was the father of the real Ariedel, whose identity I had transmutated into and who I continued to possess. It was a long story. But I thought he hated me at the time and then he volunteered to marry me so I wouldn’t have to marry some psycho prince from another land. I think I had fallen in love with him from day one. And it wasn’t just because he was drop-dead gorgeous. Oh, no, no, no. There was something about him that attracted me then and continued to attract me now. I considered myself extremely lucky to have him. There was never a dull moment whenever he was around.

I watched him continue to show off in front of our daughter, Anwar, half-Elven. Or peredhil, as it was called in Elvish. I swore sometimes I thought that kid was smarter than I was and I had degrees in every field of science and mathematics imaginable. She was only eleven years old and she was already fluent in three languages, one of them being Elvish, which I had only recently learned myself. Another was Dwarvish, taught to her by our stout little friend, Gimli, who visited us often. And the third was English, of course, or the Common Speech, as the Middle-Earthers called it. But what really baffled me about my daughter was that she didn’t act like a normal eleven year old Elfing, or at least not like the young girls in our woodland realm. Anwar behaved more like the equivalent of a teenager would back in my world and unfortunately my dear husband didn’t discourage her behavior. In fact, he found it amusing. I had no idea where she developed her behavior from. It was definitely not from me!

Arod slowed his gait and finally came to a stop where Anwar sat atop her white gelding. Anwar clapped her hands in merriment and Legolas reached out to smooth her hair with a smile. He adored her unconditionally, as she did him.

Then Legolas tilted his head up in my direction. He knew I was standing there, watching to make sure he didn’t convince our daughter to do the same daredevil stunts. But I knew he would never do anything to hurt Anwar.

A moment later they began to make their way back toward the bridge over the Forest River. I carefully scaled back down the hill and waited for them to approach.

“Nana!” Anwar called out to me in excitement. “Did you see what Ada did?” (Mom. Daddy)

I folded my arms at the smirk on Legolas’s face. “Yeah, I saw it all right,” I said as Anwar jumped from her horse. “Go find Rhovan and meet us back inside so we can dine with your grandfather one last time before we leave tomorrow.”

“But I do not know where Rhovan went!”

Legolas slid off Arod and walked over. “Do as I taught you, Anwar. He will come to you.”

Anwar gave him a quizzical look that quickly turned to resignation, forcing me to cover my mouth so I wouldn’t laugh. “I will try,” she finally said before running off along the edge of the caverns.

I wasn’t worried about her being by herself. There were plenty of other Elves around and Rhovan was notorious for knowing when the girl was in trouble. When I turned back to Legolas, my arms still folded over my chest, he regarded me with a faint smile, the one that spoke a thousand words. As he slowly put his arms around me, I was forced to unfold mine and wrap them around his torso.

“You were worried about me again,” he said near my ear, sending tingles shooting down my spine.

“I can’t help it, Legolas. When I see you riding like that, I’m always afraid you’ll fall and break your neck or something.”

Legolas pulled back and held me at arm’s length. “You are one to talk, meleth, with the way you ride Blade at times.” (love)

I smiled, knowing he was right. Whenever I was on that black horse’s back, I felt an incredible need for speed.

Legolas tilted his head and kissed me lightly on the lips.

I bit my lower lip, knowing that if he kissed me again we’d end up in one of the many secret alcoves within the caverns.

And he knew it just as much as I did.

The Grey Havens

Círdan stood at the edge of the dock, watching the progress of the Elves making their way through the main road. Sixteen Elves would be boarding the vessel the shipwright had constructed.

He shook his head sadly to himself. The age of Elves was coming to an end. It was only a matter of time before none were left to walk the land of Middle-Earth. Círdan knew of only a few Elves remaining. Most of them lived under the rule of Thranduil, king of Eryn Lasgalen, formerly known as Mirkwood and before that known as Greenwood the Great. Imladris, or Rivendell as Men called it, was no longer occupied. The once tranquil lush landscape had withered away almost overnight when Lord Elrond and his sons sailed west with Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien. They had all sailed together with Mithrandir and two Hobbits, who had both been ring-bearers and thus allowed to enter Valinor. Without the Lord and Lady, Lothlorien was soon abandoned as well and the Elves that had lived there took residence in Eryn Lasgalen.

Círdan wondered how long it would be before Thranduil decided to sail. He knew the king’s son, Prince Legolas, would not sail until his mortal wife, Ariedel, perished. His three children, Anwar, Brendan and Elril were half-Elven and thus immortal. They would sail with their father when the time came.

And then the shipwright himself would undoubtedly sail with them on that very last ship.

The Elves soon mounted the stone steps leading down to the dock. Some carried crates that would be taken aboard, provisions necessary for the journey across the Belegaer. One by one they touched their hands to their hearts and nodded in Círdan’s direction as they boarded the newly constructed ship. All of Círdan’s creations were specifically made to suit the occupants, depending on how many were sailing on the vessel. In this particular case, the Elves wanted more living space on the outside than on the inside, so the ship contained only a small covered structure.

Círdan touched his hand to his heart in response and watched the Elves boarding with their belongings. When the last of them was aboard, he proceeded to remove the wooden ramp with the assistance of Jorian, a young human who was apprenticing as a shipwright.

As Círdan started to walk toward the bow to release the rope holding it, a sound behind him made him start to turn around. Something caught the corner of his eye, something he thought had jumped into the stern of the ship. But when he had turned fully there was nothing. He decided to inspect it anyway and walked to the stern, leaning in to see. He saw nothing but a coil of rope.

“Is something wrong, Master Círdan?” asked Jorian at the perplexed look upon the shipwright’s face.

Círdan shook his head. “Nay, I thought I saw something and it was nothing.” He released the rope at the stern while Jorian walked to the bow and released the rope there. Then both stood together to watch the wind catch the sails of the ship and slowly push it away from the dock.

Minutes later the ship slipped beyond the Gulf of Lune that emptied into the Belegaer. Onboard the ship, the Elves busied themselves with preparations for their journey and for their arrival to Valinor. None knew the length of their journey. It could be days or even weeks.

Hidden beneath the overhanging roof of the only structure on the ship, a small creature watched the Elves. Not with eyes, but with senses that registered the heat of the bodies moving about. Its instinct was to immediately attach itself to a host, but the light of day kept it in the shadows. And so the creature laid in wait.

Valinor

Gandalf often preferred remaining in his Istar form, rather than that of the Maiar, even though he continued to serve the Valar. As an Istar he could indulge in a favorite past time he picked up during his days in Middle Earth. The bowl of the long-stemmed pipe glowed red as he drew on the fragrant leaf and casually exhaled. Beside him sat Frodo Baggins, smoking his own pipe. Together they watched the sun set in the western horizon, beyond the Pastures of Yavanna.

“I wonder what Sam is up to,” said Frodo, breaking the silence around them.

Gandalf removed the stem of his pipe from his mouth. “More importantly, what foul deeds are Merry and Pippin up to?”

Frodo chuckled, recalling the fond memories of his time with his Hobbit friends in the Shire. But his thoughts always drifted to less happy days, when he and Sam had trekked toward Mordor in the company of the deceitful Sméagol. “Will the Valar ever allow anyone other than Elves to come to Valinor besides Bilbo and I?”

“There was a time when Valinor was a part of the lands of Middle Earth,” reflected Gandalf. “A Númenorean rebellion forced the Valar to remove it from the visible world. Now only Elves and a select few mortals are allowed on these shores. Little trust do the Valar have in mortals, my young friend.”

“What if a ship containing mortals approaches, mortals not approved by the Valar?”

“The Sundering Seas know the will of the Valar and prevent such an approach, steering any disallowed ship back east.”

“Who decides which mortals are allowed?”

“Only the Valar.”

“Do you suppose they would allow Sam to come if I asked their permission?”

Gandalf smiled down at the Hobbit. “Sam endured extreme hardship with you on the path to Mordor. You may be surprised to know that the Valar hold him in very high regard.”

“Really?” Frodo asked with a smile. “Gandalf, will you speak to the Valar about Sam?”

“I think I can arrange that.”

“Let’s go back and tell Uncle Bilbo!”

“Now?”

“Aye, now!” cried Frodo in his excitement at learning that his friend Sam might possibly be allowed to sail to Valinor and spend eternity in tranquility.

Gandalf stood up slowly and was about to turn from the setting sun when something caught his eye. Far up in the darkened sky, a star moved. He squinted his eyes, following the progress of the star as it seemed to be moving closer and increasing in size. It was not often that stars moved, unless they were falling.

“Gandalf, come on!”

Gandalf gave the moving star another cursory glance, explaining it as a typical phenomenon. Then he turned and followed Frodo down the small hill and to the path leading back to the village. He was unaware that the moving star continued to fall toward the planet.

An hour later, on the east side of the Pelóri Mountains, just beyond the Wastes of Araman, the USM Orpheus slowly drifted down from the dark sky. The massive ship hardly disturbed the air as it settled its twelve supports down on the ground. Immediately upon touchdown, four large digging drills lowered from its belly and began to bore into the hardened dirt.

Ten hatches opened and dozens of workers emerged, including three large vehicles intended to move dirt from the hole being dug out. Five foremen stood together in a group, conversing animatedly before splitting up and directing the work around the Class A starship.

One of them guided another assembly of vehicles down the ramps. They carried large pieces of a prefabricated building, the typical material used by the colony manufacturers. Colonies were routinely set up off-world in a matter of hours. But this was no routine project. A research facility with multiple underground levels took a bit longer to construct. Especially one that contained the specific structures and functionality required by The Company.

One vehicle carried a piece of prefabricated wall with letters painted on its surface. The letters spelled out: Weyland-Yutani.

Eryn Lasgalen
(Legolas’s POV)

I led Ariedel into the dining hall, finding my father sitting on the floor in a very unkingly manner, playing with my sons, Brendan and Elril. Ariedel’s handmaiden, Alma was seated nearby, diligently watching them. Not that she thought the king would hurt his grandsons, but merely a task she was accustomed to, having watched over Anwar since her birth eleven years ago and Brendan seven years later and then again a year ago when Elril was born. Ariedel and I walked over and I crouched down to pick up Elril, much to my father’s disappointment.

“Is a king not allowed to play with his grandchildren in peace and without interruption?” grumbled Thranduil.

Ariedel bent to kiss Brendan’s face and the boy gagged, much to my amusement.

“Ada,” said the infant in my arms.

I quickly turned to Ariedel in surprise. “He spoke!”

“Of course he did,” added Thranduil. “I have taught him to say that.”

Ariedel made a face in my father’s direction. “You could have taught him to say nana. Why do they always say ada first?” (mommy, daddy)

Thranduil stood up and leaned in to kiss Ariedel on the cheek. “I have taught him that as well, sell nin.” He turned to me and Elril. “Say nana, Elril.” (my daughter)

“Nana,” mimicked the infant.

“You see?” Thranduil stated proudly.

Ariedel laughed and came to hug both me and the child.

“Food at last,” interjected Alma as the servants brought platters of food to the table.

“Where is Anwar?” asked Thranduil as he remained fixed in his place while we all took our seats.

“Here I am, granddaddy!” Anwar called out, just as she ran into the hall with Rhovan at her heels. She rushed into my father’s arms and gave him a hug.

“Have you grown since the last time I saw you, hûn nin?” (my heart)

“I only saw you an hour ago,” she snickered.

Thranduil released Anwar and then reached over the table to grab a large leg of a boar that rested on a separate platter. “Tolo, Rhovan.” (Come)

Rhovan was one of the three white tiger cubs I had rescued over seven months ago. One of them had been killed while protecting Anwar from a spider. The other cub, Cail, was in Minas Tirith with Aragorn and Arwen. Rhovan grew extremely fast and at only eight months old, he weighed more than four Elves put together.

Thranduil held the boar leg up in the air and Rhovan jumped up to put his giant paws on my father’s shoulders. Then the tiger licked his face lovingly. “Aye, Rhovan. A im meleth nin.” (And I love you)

Ariedel sighed. “Stop encouraging him, adar.” (father)

Thranduil lowered the boar leg and Rhovan gently took it from him before carrying it to a corner and lying down to eat. “Tis my right to spoil him as I do my grandchildren since I will not see any of them for the next three months.” When Thranduil took his seat, we all began to eat our meal.

“Eldarion will be so happy to see you, Anwar. Are you excited?” asked Ariedel.

“Aye, nana,” replied Anwar. “But I hope he does not pull my hair as he did the last time.”

The son of Aragorn and Arwen was over a year older than Anwar, but he was quite a wild child, much like his father had been. I smiled to myself as I recalled Aragorn in his youth during my visits to Imladris. As a child, Aragorn had driven Elrond mad and the Elven lord had hardly ever been exasperated before then. “I am certain Eldarion has grown out of that, Anwar. Besides, if he pulls your hair again, then you need to ball up your fist and punch him in the nose.”

“Legolas!” yelled Ariedel, her utensils clattering as she dropped them on the plate.

“What?” I asked innocently. “I am merely implying that my daughter should defend herself. Next week I will have her practice with my long knives.”

“She’s only eleven!” Ariedel reminded me with a hint of shock.

Anwar interrupted, “I am nearly twelve!”

“What about me?” added Brendan. “Can you teach me to fight with the long knives, adar?” (father)

Ariedel whirled in Brendan’s direction. “Absolutely not! And neither will he teach your sister.”

“Awwwww!” cried out Anwar.

“Anwar!” yelled Elril.

All eyes turned to the infant seated on a tall chair and then immediately to Thranduil.

The king sat back in his chair with a proud grin. “I taught him that as well.”

Eryn Lasgalen

…the spindly-legged creature leapt from beneath the overhanging roof and attached itself to the face of its host…

Legolas moved uneasily in the bed he shared with Ariedel when they stayed in the caverns while visiting Thranduil. He had not slept with his eyes closed in years because of the bad dreams that continued to plague him at times. But he had been so exhausted on this night, spending the last few nights in anticipated excitement for the upcoming visit to Minas Tirith, that he had been unable to keep his eyes open.

…sitting in a darkened corner, an Elf clutched at his chest in agony. Moments later he cried out as something burst through his ribcage, blood splattering the floor in front of his feet…

While Ariedel soundly slept, Legolas continued to toss in his sleep. Without waking, he rolled on his right side, his face a mask of misery.

…black lips curled back, teeth bared and dripping, the dark creature waited for the being to investigate the shadows of the corner, moving ever closer. Then the creature sprang out and plunged its inner jaws into the unsuspecting Elf’s forehead…

Legolas rolled on his left side, a moan of despair coming from his throat before he murmured, “Nay…”

…cries filled the darkness of night, unheard by no one except those aboard the doomed Elven ship. Sharp teeth tore at soft flesh. Spiked tail lashed out to sever limbs. The walls dripped with the blood of the Elves who had no weapons to fight the creature that had stolen aboard their vessel. Another cry pierced the still air…

Legolas kicked the sheets in his sleep, rolling back to the right, another moan escaping his clenched teeth.

…flames rose from the ship as the creature dove into the water. Moments later the ship slowly sank, the flames dousing. The creature surfaced and turned in the direction of the west, curiously observing a faint light in the distance…

Legolas began to whimper in his sleep as he rolled onto his back, eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed together, fists clutching the sheet on either side of him.

…the alien drone emerged from the violently churning water and scanned the surrounding shore through senses far superior than eyes. It tilted its elongated black head left and right, observing the tall mountain ahead and the light coming from a lantern within a stone structure. More prey. The alien hissed menacingly, a constant flow of saliva dripping from its parted jaws. Then it slowly began to climb…

Legolas cried out, writhing in the bed before he suddenly fell over the side.

Ariedel sat up when she heard the sound and turned to the other side of the bed just as Legolas sat up from the floor. “Honey, are you all right? What happened?”

Legolas was gasping for air and was shivering uncontrollably. He swiped a hand at the sweat that had formed on his forehead and then stared down at the hand. Sweat. Elves hardly ever sweated, unless they were injured or ill or in deep despair. The dream continued to burn clearly in his mind.

“Legolas?” Ariedel came off the bed and crouched beside him. “What’s wrong?”

“A dream…I think.” He continued to shiver, the vivid images still flashing through his mind.

Ariedel helped him off the floor and he let her lead him back to bed where she wrapped him in her arms. She discovered some time ago that whenever Legolas had nightmares, all he needed was for her to hold him. “Aliens again?”

“It seemed so real,” he said in barely a whisper, as if he were afraid the aliens might come if he spoke of them any louder. “Not like the other times I dreamt about them.”

“What do you mean?” she asked as she gently stroked the length of his hair.

“I am usually battling them. But…this time…” he trailed off.

“What happened this time?”

Legolas shook his head and closed his eyes, willing the visions to go away. “Nay, Ariedel, I cannot speak of it.”

“Legolas,” she insisted, before he shook his head once again.

“Nay, I cannot!”

Ariedel frowned as he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder. This was the first time he refused to share the dream he had. Usually he told her what he had dreamed of and it helped him to talk about it. What had happened in his dream this time? A disturbing thought came to her. Maybe in the dream something had happened to the kids and he couldn’t get himself to talk about it.

Even after nearly twelve years, the dreams still plagued him. It was not uncommon for those who had encountered the aliens. But some managed to cope better than others. Ariedel often had nightmares about the aliens and when she felt Legolas’s gentle comforting hands upon her, the nightmares quickly changed to dreams of happier times. It was no doubt some kind of healing gift he had to make her nightmares vanish. Unfortunately he could not apply it to himself. She wished she could do more for him now, but she couldn’t force him to talk about the dream.

When Ariedel lifted his face with her hands, Legolas pushed his disturbing thoughts aside and preoccupied his mind by kissing her passionately. She responded without hesitation and without question, allowing him to pull her sleeping gown up over her head. Hands and lips met her flushed skin…tickling, teasing, worshipping. He loved feeling her fingers bury themselves in his hair, pulling at it. But as she arched up against him, he reached up and held both her wrists together over her head, to keep her from speeding things up. Legolas was determined to prolong their lovemaking and purposely avoided the places he knew would bring her over the edge. He wanted to lose himself in the sensations, in her scent…in her. This was the one place the aliens could never gain control of his thoughts.

Ariedel couldn’t stand it any longer. Since Legolas held her wrists together above her head, she bent her right leg and tried to push his silk sleeping trousers down with her toes. They had gotten into the habit of sleeping with garments ever since Anwar surprised them one night by barging into their room and demanding to sleep between them. Only managing to push down one side of his trousers, she reached with her left foot as well.

Legolas stopped kissing her torso and came up to hover above her with a smile. “What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to get you out of these damned pants.”

Legolas knew from experience that if Ariedel felt frustrated during lovemaking, she had a tendency to bite extremely hard and in places that were visible for all to see. He had not minded in the beginning of their relationship. But when his daughter started to question the marks, he had run out of fabricated tales to explain them to her. So to alleviate at least her frustration of his trousers, Legolas conceded and stood up fully on the bed, maintaining a smug smile.

Ariedel laughed and sat up, reaching to yank his trousers passed his hips and down his legs. She waited for him to step out of them before she tossed them over the side of the bed. Then before she had a chance to grasp the object of her desire, Legolas dropped down to his knees between her legs and bent to continue where he had left off. But this time he gave her what she wanted as his mouth closed around her nipple. She moaned softly as she gave into his choice of speed. Sometimes he was so fired up that he skipped over the foreplay and went right to the good stuff. And sometimes he moved at a snail’s pace that drove Ariedel out of her mind. Luckily this was not one of those times.

Legolas reached a hand down between her legs and knew she was more than ready. Without further delay, he carefully positioned himself and slid inside her. The sound of her relieved cry sent a shiver up his spine and he drove deeper. He had reached the point of no return, where he lost every measure of control. Ariedel arched to meet his steady thrusts, which soon quickened in his desire to reach completion. But with every ounce of strength in him, he waited for his wife, to hear her soft cries of bliss…a sound that would remain burned in his mind for all eternity...even when she was gone.

Ariedel cried out as she quickly reached her climax and she felt Legolas follow in her wake. So devoted was he to her that when they were coupled in this way, he never thought to find his release before hers. It was either at the same time or immediately after.

When it was over, Legolas’s lips continued to seek comfort from hers. But she soon fell asleep. Alone with his thoughts again, Legolas shivered even in the heat of Ariedel’s arms. Exhaustion had a firm hold of him, but he dared not close his eyes, fearing that it would bring truth to the vision of his nightmare…where one of the vile alien creatures found the light of the beacon that guided the ships to Valinor.

The Mountains of Shadow

The young queen raised her massive head from where she had been feeding on the carcass of a warg. For some time now she had sensed the presence of the drone, but he was nowhere near. Her thoughts had gone out to him and he acknowledged her with excitement as she assigned him status of alpha. In turn the appointed alpha transmitted images of the land he scouted. She casually tilted her head left and then right at the visions presented to her. There would be plenty of hosts for the young she would soon bear after her initial union with the alpha.

Testing her large reptilian wings, an acquired trait of the Fell beast she had incubated within, she beat them rapidly and discovered herself several feet from the ground. With this new advantage, she soon mastered her wings and took to the air, remaining high above the cover of clouds. Instinct told her to remain out of sight from anyone looking up from the ground. There would come a time soon where she would no longer have to worry. But for now, her senses told her the direction she needed to go to find the alpha…West.

 

Chapter 2 – Trouble in Paradise​

Avalon
Earth date: December 12, 2357ad

The planet of Avalon was not in Earth’s solar system, but could be reached by long distance travel in cryosleep chambers. The trip usually took three days in hyperspace, which was an equivalent of four Earth weeks. Lifesource’s Translocation platform on Gateway Station had been a great means of traveling because there was no lengthy flight to worry about. But with the station destroyed, everyone was back to traveling by ship.

When Earth became overpopulated in the late 21st century, they went into space and colonized many nearby planets, using atmosphere processors funded by Weyland-Yutani to bring the atmosphere within limits for human life. Avalon had been discovered in 2204. Its solar system contained three suns that contributed to the year round hot climate, and out of pure luck without the humidity. Avalon was a virtual paradise that had required no alteration in atmosphere. The indigenous plant and animal life were similar to Earth’s. When news of Avalon reached the citizens of Earth, they soon flocked to the planet and purchased land plots. As Avalon became a part of the United Systems, cities quickly sprouted and now the planet boasted a population over ten million.

“They sent a research ship to SR-682 two weeks ago,” announced United Systems Defense Secretary Frederick Rohlwing when someone in the conference room asked what the independent company, Weyland-Yutani was up to lately. “With the intention of setting up a base of operations on the surface of the planet for research.”

In a shocked tone, James Burbank, retired General of the United Systems Colonial Marines (USCM) and President of Lifesource asked, “Under whose authority?”

Rohlwing shrugged. “No one’s. SR-682 is under no colonial jurisdiction. Treaties have not been signed.”

Burbank baulked. “That’s because the occupants of the planet have no technological awareness. They’re the equivalent of what was known as the dark ages on Earth. If we go down there and start waving treaties, they’ll burn us at the stake for witchcraft or something on those lines. There are guidelines that need to be followed when making first contact with a planet that has no technology.”

“You need not remind me of the directive and I fully understand your concerns, General,” replied Rohlwing in a calm voice, attempting to keep a light atmosphere in the room.

Burbank took the calmness of his tone as condescending. “Do you, Mr Secretary?” he scolded in his raspy voice. Despite Rohlwing’s higher rank, Burbank was never one to keep his mouth shut before any of his superiors, not even the President of the United Systems. “Weyland-Yutani’s numerous attempts to domesticate the aliens have all failed miserably. Innocent lives have been lost in the name of medical and military science because they don’t have the brains to conduct their research on dead specimens instead of live ones. Lifesource is capable of conducting the research that will continue to advance humanity, without the need for live aliens. For some unknown reason the board of directors at Weyland-Yutani think it critical that the creatures be kept alive, to study their behavior…it’s bullshit! When will we permanently shut them down, Mr Secretary?”

“Shutting them down is not a possible option, General. They are the largest free enterprise on Earth, with billions in revenue tied to colonies spread across every corner of the United Systems. If we pull the plug on them, millions of people will lose their jobs.”

“What about the millions of people that will lose their lives?” It wasn’t that Burbank was unsympathetic about the lose of jobs. Jobs could be replaced. Lives couldn’t. “It’s been a known fact for years that the experiments conducted by The Company are unethical. They’ve even influenced military facilities to unlawfully kidnap human beings to use in their research. Not to mention unsuccessfully cloning hosts impregnated with the aliens to produce God knows what!”

One of the others sitting around the table of eight lifted his hand. “That’s not entirely true, General. The medical staff of the USM Auriga, under the command of General Perez, successfully created a clone.”

Burbank knew all about the clone and ignored the statement with a wave of his hand as if it were irrelevant, then continued to address the Defense Secretary. “Our cause is not to create a race of super humans with alien capabilities. Lifesource’s mission statement has always been to seek and dispose of any aliens found on inhabited and uninhabited worlds near any of our colonized planets or space stations. We can’t allow Weyland-Yutani to undermine the importance of our prime directive.”

Rohlwing sighed. “I called this meeting to discuss the construction of the Lifesource transmutation and translocation platforms on Columbia Station. Although we don’t have jurisdiction to halt the activities of Weyland-Yutani, we will double our efforts to make certain they don’t have any live alien subjects to work with...or human ones, for that matter,” he added in Burbank’s direction. “Now, you’ve invited members of Lifesource staff that worked on the platforms that were lost with the destruction of Gateway.”

Burbank was not satisfied that Rohlwing would do everything in his power to prevent Weyland-Yutani from using human test subjects in their foul alien experiments. But he conceded to Rohlwing for the time being. “I have asked Lieutenant Seth Schuyler to join us as well. He was a member of the original Lifesource team sent out on field missions to dispose of the aliens when the project first began. Although he’s technically resigned from that position because of family matters, he has agreed to provide his invaluable feedback on the new platforms.”

Seth Schuyler stared at everyone else sitting around the table of eight. They seemed afraid to speak now that the opinions of the two high-ranking officers was known. Seth had decided to keep silent while Burbank said what he wanted to say, not wanting to interrupt his commanding officer. And now that the discussion seemed to be veering away from the subject of The Company, he decided to bring it back. “I’ll do whatever is necessary to help get the platforms up and running, but I have something to add about SR-682.”

Rohlwing immediately held up a hand before Schuyler could utter another word. “Lieutenant, there’s no need to bring up that particular issue regarding SR-682. I’m already well aware of the situation with your sister.”

“Issue?” Seth bristled at the manner of indignation in which this asshole referred to his sister. “With all due respect, Mr Secretary, I don’t think you know shit.” And here it began. When it came to his baby sister, no government prick was going to shut him up. But Seth tried to keep his temper in check. “She was sent to SR-682 to dispose of a single alien, which later turned out to be a hell of a bunch more.” He turned his gaze to Burbank. “The people of the planet are definitely living in the dark ages, but from what she told me, one particular Elf had an advantage and he managed to dispose of a queen and an alpha drone, as well as others in the hive.”

Rohlwing shook his head in confusion. “I thought Crystal Schuyler was killed on Gateway.”

“First of all, she wasn’t killed. I spoke to her weeks before Gateway was destroyed. She was returning to SR-682 to live there.” He didn’t add that Crystal told him she was married to an Elf on the planet. “I did some research on SR-682 and discovered that the races that occupy it consist of Men, Elves, Dwarves and Hobbits.”

“What bearing does this all have on construction of the Lifesource platforms?” asked Rohlwing, suddenly growing impatient, despite the fact that he had tried to maintain peace in the conference room.

“If Weyland-Yutani has set up a research base on the planet, they’ll use the people there for their experiments.”

“I was under the impression that SR-682 was clean of alien infestation. That’s the report I received from you personally General, before Gateway was destroyed several weeks later.”

Seth continued. “That’s right, Mr Secretary, it is clean. But who’s to say Weyland-Yutani didn’t have alien subjects with them when they built their base of operations. Why else would they be stationing themselves there?”

“This is all very interesting, Lieutenant, but I said it once and I’ll say it again. We have no jurisdiction over SR-682 and therefore The Company has every right to do as they please. Now may we please discuss the construction of the platforms?”

Seth exchanged a glance with Burbank. Both had had a feeling the Defense Secretary wouldn’t see things their way. In a silent exchange, they agreed to discuss it further when they were alone.

Valinor

Gandalf watched the rising of the sun, as he did every morning, sitting on his favorite hill and lazily smoking his pipe. His current thoughts disturbed him lately…thoughts of the alien creatures that had assaulted Middle Earth over eleven years ago. It had been that long since he had thought of them, especially after he had sailed to the Undying Lands with Frodo and Bilbo. The threat had been eliminated. He was sure of it. Yet something plagued him of late. Something he could not place a finger on. He intended to consult with the Valar in the morning in hopes that they might enlighten him on why his thoughts dwelled on dark matters when nothing could possibly threaten Valinor.

“Gandalf,” cried a voice from below. He recognized it as one of Elrond’s twins, although he didn’t know which.

Gandalf stood up and waited for the twin to appear. Then he recognized which of the twins it was. “Elrohir, what is it?”

Elrohir placed a hand on the Istar’s shoulder. “Something horrible has happened. Come quickly.”

Gandalf followed Elrohir down the small hill and through the main avenue of their village, founded by Elrond and Celeborn upon their arrival with their families. Gandalf decided to take residence with those he was far more acquainted with and left the other village he had been living in. Granted immortality by the Valar, Frodo and Bilbo had also moved with Gandalf.

Elrohir led Gandalf to the Council Hall, which was crowded with the local villagers. Dozens of conversations were happening at the same time and Elrond was desperately attempting to maintain order.

Gandalf wondered what occurred that could cause such turmoil in a land where there was supposedly none to speak of. He glanced around and spotted the familiar faces of Celeborn, Galadriel, Erestor and Glorfindel. Haldir, restored to health in Valinor by the Valar after his death at Helm’s Deep during the War of the Ring, stood beside his two brothers Rúmil and Orophin. Even Frodo and Bilbo were present, the only two Hobbits among the Elves, who at the moment stood beside Elrohir’s twin, Elladan.

Elrond gave Gandalf a relieved look as the Istar made his way forward to him. “We have a situation.”

Celeborn came to stand beside Elrond. “Something has come to Valinor that has not been present since the days of Melkor.”

“What might that be?” asked Gandalf, already dreading what the answer might be.

“Death,” replied Galadriel from where she still stood standing with Erestor and Glorfindel.

Gandalf turned to stare at her with his mouth open. Death. in Valinor? It was not possible. “Who has perished?”

Galadriel, followed by Erestor and Glorfindel, stepped into the circle of Gandalf, Elrond and Celeborn. “Galdor of Gondolin,” she replied in a haunted tone.

“What happened to him?” asked Gandalf.

Elrond sighed heavily before answering. “He was barely recognizable, his flesh torn by what could only be the claws of some wild beast.” A chill passed through him, making him shiver. “Part of him had been consumed,” he uttered quickly before the bile in his throat threatened to force out the contents of his stomach.

Gandalf frowned deeply. “There are no wild beasts in Valinor,” he said with conviction. “The lands were cleared of such threats long ago. They are protected by Oromë.”

“We must take council with the Valar,” suggested Celeborn. “They will know if we are in danger or if Galdor’s death was an isolated incident that will not be repeated.”

The doors of the Council Hall opened abruptly and a deeply shaken, dark-haired Elf entered. “Voronwë has been killed! I saw it myself!”

The hall immediately erupted in cries of fear.

Gandalf motioned to the Elf that had entered. “Come forth, Dírhavel.”

Still shaken, Dírhavel approached the group where Gandalf stood among. Others in the hall began to crowd around, to listen to what was being spoken by the higher ranking Elves and the Istar.

Galadriel placed a comforting hand on Dírhavel’s shoulder. “Be at peace.”

“I cannot,” Dírhavel uttered in despair. “The creature was black and hideous, with teeth that dripped and it had a head that stretched nearly the length of its body. It killed Voronwë before my very eyes, tearing his throat with those teeth. It saw me and a hissing sound unlike anything I have ever heard came forth from its throat. I ran and did not look back.”

Gandalf exchanged a knowing glance with Celeborn. They had seen such a creature before. “Now that we have established the identity of this threat, we must immediately seek guidance from the Valar.”

Eryn Lasgalen

Thranduil waited for Anwar to mount her gelding before he stepped up and gave the girl a firm embrace and then kissed her forehead. “Na iaun, penneth. I will see you when you return.” (Be safe, little one)

Anwar hugged her grandfather tightly. Even though they would only be gone for three months, she would terribly miss his humor and the games he invented to challenge her and Brendan. “Im meleth nin.” (I love you)

“A im meleth nin.” Thranduil then turned to Brendan who was mounted on a small brown pony. (And I love you)

The seven year old boy was at a stage in his life where the affectionate attentions of the adults just got on his nerves. He cringed at the approach of his grandfather, who laid a wet kiss on his brow. His reaction made the king laugh.

Ariedel approached, adjusting the strap of her bow around her torso. She had become an accomplished archer under Legolas’s tutelage. Even though attacks along the route to Minas Tirith were rare, she thought it best to always be prepared, especially when she and Legolas traveled with the children. She glanced over at Alma who was aided up on a wagon by one of the four guards of Eryn Lasgalen accompanying them. Alma was not comfortable riding on the back of a horse, but she knew how to drive a team of horses hooked to a wagon. The wagon helped alleviate the weight of provisions and clothing that normally would have been added to the saddles. Her next glance went to Lathron, one of the additional Elf nannies employed by Thranduil. Lathron held Elril up for Thranduil to hug and kiss, but the king took the child and excused her.

Legolas led Arod out of the stable. Strapped to his back was his quiver of arrows and a new Galadhrim bow replacing the lost one that had been gifted to him by Lady Galadriel during the War of the Ring. Also attached to the quiver were his Elven long knives, also replaced. Quiver, bow and long knives had been lost eleven years ago when he had gone into the cave of the Mountains of Shadow, pursuing the alien creatures that had threatened Middle Earth at the time. He tried desperately to erase the troubled look from his face. All because of a dream. He had to keep reminding himself, it was only a dream. The aliens were destroyed. His heart fluttered nervously and he occupied himself by checking Arod’s legs and feet, running his hands over the muscles of the horse’s forelegs and hocks. A sudden sense of anxiety overcame Legolas and he straightened to slow down his quickened breath.

“We will see you in three months, adar.” Ariedel gave Thranduil a hug and kissed his cheek. “Don’t get all kingly and order improvements to our house like the last time we were away,” she added with a flick of her finger on his nose. (father)

Thranduil gave his daughter-in-law a genuine smile. “I only want the best for you, mell nin.” (my dear)

Ariedel mounted Blade and Thranduil handed Elril up to her. She had a special saddle with an additional seat and saddle horn in front of her. It had used many times when Anwar and Brendan were much smaller and now it came in handy with Elril. She strapped the ties around her youngest son to secure him. Blade was very well disciplined and was trained to halt should Ariedel accidentally fall from the saddle, leaving Elril alone. “Well, I’m all set,” she said to Thranduil.

Rhovan stalked in Legolas’s direction, clearly sensing his Elven master’s distress and circled around him and Arod in an agitated manner. The white tiger knew when something was not right.

Seeing the anxiety in the tiger, Thranduil walked up behind Legolas. “Le dínen, ion. Man presto le?” (You are quiet, son. What troubles you?)

Legolas squeezed his eyes tightly shut and clenched his teeth for a moment. He then took a deep breath to compose himself before turning to face his father. “Im brand. Im gar faeg ôl.” (I am fine. I had a bad dream.)

“You look exhausted, Legolas,” said Thranduil as he switched to the Common Speech. “You have not rested well in reverie, therefore you are forced to sleep.”

“I rest well, adar. I truly do. I do not know why sleep comes upon me.”

Thranduil studied the distressed look on his son’s face. “Dreams are not reality, son.” Ariedel had often spoken to him of Legolas’s nightmares, so he was well aware of the effects on his son. “I know they haunt your dreams, even after so many years. Do not let them control the way you live.”

“I am trying.”

“They are dead. They no longer threaten our world.”

Legolas nodded and leaned forward as Thranduil kissed his brow. “I know this, yet I cannot let go of the sudden disturbance I sense in the air. I cannot explain it.”

“All is well, Legolas. Be safe and give my best to Aragorn and his family. And Gimli, of course, if he is there.”

“I will, adar,” said Legolas as he turned and mounted Arod. Oddly, he desperately wished that his father was accompanying them on this trip. But Thranduil was needed to oversee the construction of additional housing further south. If it had not been six months since Legolas had seen Aragorn and Arwen, he would have cancelled the trip. Aragorn had sent word a month ago that he was having a celebration for his son’s birthday and Legolas could not refuse his friend. Besides, it would be good to see them again and Gimli would surely be there as well. With so many having sailed West in the last few years, Aragorn, Arwen and Gimli were the only real friends Legolas had left. He sighed and finally turned back to his father. “We will reach Edoras in four days.” (father)

“No i Melian na le.” (May the Valar be with you)

Legolas nudged Arod forward and Rhovan fell in beside him as he took the lead of the small caravan. Ariedel, Anwar and Brendan fell in behind Legolas and the white tiger. Then came the wagon driven by Alma. One of the four guards galloped up beside Legolas while the other three brought up the rear.

Thranduil continued to watch them until they disappeared into the thicket of the woods. The trees around him rustled as a strong wind blew in from the east. A shiver rippled up his spine as he glanced up. There was indeed a disturbance. He felt it and even heard it in the whisperings of the trees. Orcs and spiders were not the threat. It was something else. Something unfamiliar to the trees of these woods. He prayed to the Valar that his instincts were wrong.

Rohan

Six Rohirrim quietly patrolled around their herd of thirty of the best horses of Rohan. The horses grazed on the grass which covered miles of the plains that surrounded Edoras, home to dozens of families and ruled by King Éomer. He and his wife Lothíriel had a five year old son named Elfwine.

Ever since the War of the Ring, Edoras had been fairly quiet. Only half a dozen times in the last ten years did Orcs ever appear in the vicinity to cause trouble for the citizens of Rohan, mainly the small villages on the outskirts and nowhere near Edoras. With the lack of activity, the Rohirrim were less than vigilant as they watched the herd.

A swift breeze in the air spooked the horses and in unison they raised their heads. Some even bolted several steps before freezing and sniffing the air. The Rohirrim patrollers suddenly grew alert. It took a great deal to spook a horse of Rohan. The six of them drew together and glanced around the surrounding plains. There was nothing in sight that could have spooked the horses.

Suddenly, as one, the horses bolted into a gallop. They veered in the direction of Edoras, three miles away. Not knowing what was frightening them, the Rohirrim charged forward on their own steeds, who were only too willing to follow their companions. The sound of flapping of tremendous wings came from behind them, as did a loud screeching none of the Rohirrim had ever heard before.

One of the Rohirrim turned his head to look back. He thought he was seeing a Fell beast, but this creature did not have the typical long neck of the serpent. It was entirely different. The creature swooped down and grabbed two of the horses in its large talons. Then it veered off to the right and disappeared over a hill. The Rohirrim and the herd of horses continued toward Edoras at a hard gallop.

A moment later the creature returned to pick off another horse, this time with a Rohirrim aboard. His screams could be heard for miles as the alien queen disappeared once again.

The Old Forest Road
(Legolas’s POV)

I suddenly found myself on the ground, having fallen from Arod’s back and unable to open my eyes. As I fell to my knees, a horrible vision stirred behind my eyes and I squeezed my fists into them in an attempt to erase it. What was happening to me? Why were these images of death coming to me, so vivid and real, as if they were truly occurring at that very moment.

“Legolas!” Ariedel cried out as she ran up and fell beside me. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

The images continued. Horses being attacked, flesh being torn from bone. Then came the terrified look of a man, screaming in pain as his limbs were pulled from his body. I gasped and cried out, almost feeling his pain. Ariedel covered me with herself as I tried to bury my face in the dirt. Anything to remove the images.

“Nana, what is wrong with ada?”

The voice of my daughter crept into my mind, but I was powerless to stop my reaction to what I saw behind my eyes.

“Go stand over by Alma,” replied Ariedel.

“But, nana…”

“Go! Now!”

I felt Ariedel’s hands rubbing my back and when she tried to turn me over, I felt myself go lax. Her hands were now on my face, but I saw nothing except the violence of the creature tearing into its prey, feeding from the writhing man. It was eating him alive.

“Legolas, honey, look at me…”

The man finally breathed his last breath and I was grateful for it, that his suffering had ended at last.

“Legolas, goddammit, will you just look at me?” Ariedel yelled loudly at me and then finally slapped me hard across the face.

The vision darkened and then I no longer felt the weight of it upon my eyelids. Ariedel’s face came into view as I opened my eyes and the sight of her tears startled me. Then she pulled me into her embrace and wept.

 

Chapter 3 – A Mission in the Making​

Valinor
Weyland-Yutani Research Base

The USM Orpheus had departed days ago, leaving only a single-level structure. Upon first glance it looked similar to an airplane hanger of the old days, a simple edifice commonly used in the 20th and 21st centuries on Earth. But beneath the surface of the ground were six sub-levels, consisting of research labs, ten observation chambers, a medical room, a communications room, a generator room, a dining hall and living quarters for the fifteen members of staff. The small outer structure was purposely well hidden behind several tall hills, to prevent any of the land’s occupants from seeing it.

Dr Jordan Messer, Biogeneticist, exited the lift when it reached Sub-level Six. It was the level that contained the ten observation chambers. She walked along the short corridor, passing through five emergency doors that were programmed to close in a matter of seconds if the need arose. At the end of the corridor was a door made of titanium, ten inches thick. Next to the door was a keypad. Jordan entered a code and then pressed her thumb on a green piece of plastic beneath the numbers. The door slowly cycled open allowing Jordan to enter.

The floor in this room was also made of titanium, as were the walls separating each of the ten chambers. An extra measure of protection…just in case. The ten small chambers were opposite a conglomeration of workstations consisting of computers with advanced technology that recorded everything that happened within the chambers, as well as outside of them.

Jordan stepped up to one of the workstations and checked some readings on a printout. She made a few notes on a piece of paper near the computer and then turned toward the chambers on the opposite side. Eight inch thick clear Plexiglas covered the front of the chambers. Another measure of precaution. Apparently the four inch Plexiglas that had housed the aliens on Gateway Station had not been thick enough. It was actually so thick that whatever was on the other side seemed smaller than their actual size.

When Jordan stepped up to the Plexiglas, the alien inside the chamber raised its elongated head and peered back at her. As it tilted its head from left to right, the creature reminded Jordan of a dog trying to understand what its master wanted. But she knew damned well that this beast didn’t think of her as its master. It thought of itself as the master and she was the prey. If given an opportunity, the alien would kill her in a heartbeat, without an ounce of remorse or thought. Without a queen, an alien’s instinct was to kill. Period.

Jordan walked along the clear Plexiglas, peering into five other chambers. Only four were occupied by aliens, brought in by The Company, while two chambers each contained an alien egg. The remaining four chambers were left empty for other prospectives.

A few minutes later the door cycled open again and Phillip Quinn, the base’s resident computer geek, sauntered in. He had a mug of coffee in one hand, a Physics magazine in the other and a donut in his mouth. He mumbled a greeting in Jordan’s direction and took up a seat in front of the closest computer terminal. After taking a bite out of the donut, he placed it on a stack of printouts and immediately signed into the computer. “Hey, did you hear the latest?”

Jordan turned away from the last alien occupied chamber and sighed heavily. “No. What’s the latest?”

“Remember how they said that the alien infestation had been eliminated on this planet?”

Jordan took several steps closer to Phillip, but purposely kept her distance. They had only been on SR-682 for a day and he had already made a play for her. “Yeah. That was eleven local years ago.”

“Well, whoever did the job fucked it up.”

“What do you mean?” she questioned curiously.

“We picked up a trace...”

Jordan didn’t wait for Phillip Quinn to finish whatever else he was going to say. She immediately knew the situation and rushed passed him, quickly exiting the observation room. After taking the lift up to Sub-level Three, she ran down the corridor, her heels clanking loudly on the metallic floor. The door at the other end of the corridor slid open as she approached. There was no need for a security check to enter Lab 3. It wasn’t restricted.

Dr Oscar Leland, Biochemist, was studying the readings of a cryosleep chamber when he heard the door slide open. A quick glance revealed his colleague, Jordan Messer. “Good morning, Dr Messer.”

“Why didn’t you tell me there’s an alien running around out there?” she asked without greeting him.

“I just discovered it myself. Lieutenant Train came to my office first thing this morning and told me he picked up a trace on a drone in the vicinity.”

“Is he out there looking for it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We have four specimens already. I see no reason to get another at this time.”

“I’m not talking about bringing it in here. Why isn’t he out there killing it?”

“Not our problem,” Leland uttered casually before turning back to the display on the cryosleep chamber.

“Oscar, there are people that live around here. It’s going to kill them.”

“Like I said, not our problem. Besides, we’re not talking about people of any great intelligence.”

Jordan was appalled at Leland’s lack of respect for the people of this world. “Are you serious? We can’t just turn our backs and expect them to defend themselves against a creature they won’t know how to deal with.”

Oscar Leland straightened up and turned to Jordan. “Must I remind you of our directive, Dr Messer? We cannot involve ourselves in the affairs of the locals. They’ll figure it out. They did it over a decade ago, they can do it again.”

“But aren’t you the least bit curious as to where this alien came from? It was reported that all aliens on this planet were destroyed.”

“I honestly don’t give a damn. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to finish calibrating this for our first clone.” He turned back to his task, dismissing her completely.

Jordan stared open-mouthed at Leland. The man had no morals. But then again neither did she for allowing herself to be assigned to this base. She turned and stalked back out of the lab.

Project Genesis. That’s what the board of directors of Weyland-Yutani called it. Years ago two scientists, Dr Wren and Dr Gediman, had succeeded in creating a clone of a host impregnated with an alien queen. An alien queen was extremely difficult to come by these days. But it was the clone that truly caught the attention of The Company and they had made every endeavor to locate it. But everytime they thought they had caught up with Ellen Ripley, she skillfully evaded them. Jordan held a great respect for Ripley, even though she had never met her, and didn’t blame her for dodging Weyland-Yutani. So without the live clone specimen to work with, The Company was forced to create their own. And on top of it all, they decided that an Elf would make a much better clone than a human. Jordan wasn’t privy to how they came to that conclusion, but she wondered.

At first Jordan was excited about the project, especially after she read the report on the Ripley clone and the special abilities that were gained from the alien. Although the Ripley clone had taken thirty days to mature, Dr Oscar Leland had discovered the ability to increase the rate of growth by utilizing cryosleep technology, so the clones they intended to create would mature in a fraction of the time. The more Jordan thought about the project, the more she began to find it unethical. But she was already too deep into it and knew that The Company would never simply let her walk away with the knowledge she already possessed of the project. Too many scientists leaving Weyland-Yutani suddenly died from unexplainable circumstances, and nothing to implicate The Company.

So what was it about Elves that drew the attention of Weyland-Yutani enough to build a research base on SR-682? As Jordan stood alone in the corridor, she wondered what she had gotten herself into.

Avalon
Earth date: December 12, 2357ad

Seth Schuyler sat in a dark corner booth of a quiet pub that he and General Burbank had decided to meet in after the meeting earlier. He was still fuming over the carefree attitude of Defense Secretary Rohlwing. Despite the fact that Rohlwing knew the hazards of trying to reform or experiment on the aliens, he didn’t seem willing to put an end to Weyland-Yutani’s campaign.

Known mainly as The Company because they were involved in just about everything on Earth, Weyland-Yutani was responsible for much of the technological advancements, and not just the processors that converted the atmosphere on a planet to suitable levels for human habitation.

Seth thought about some of their accomplishments. Granted, they had achieved some medical miracles, finding cures for hundreds of diseases, just from researching the DNA of the aliens. And Seth himself was fine with that, as long as they used dead alien subjects. Dead aliens couldn’t attack and take human lives. Then there was the fact that The Company was known to use human hosts as well. That part was inexcusable. It had been discovered a decade ago that Weyland-Yutani convinced General Perez of the Medical Research Vessel USM Auriga to commission mercenaries to secretly bring them live human hosts. Whatever results from experiments conducted by Dr Wren and Dr Gediman were not available to anyone except those of The Company. Seth had no doubts that the aliens had a hand in the deaths aboard the Auriga. But he did learn, however, from a reliable source that a human clone was successfully created on the research ship, after seven other failed attempts. The outward appearance of the clone was human, but it displayed alien characteristics that were not readily visible to the untrained eye. For all practical purposes, the clone vanished from existence, or at least she managed to conceal her identity from prying eyes.

What would happen if Weyland-Yutani managed to clone an impregnated Elf host? According to what Seth read about Elves on SR-682, they were superior over the race of Men they shared the planet with. The Elves were immortal and possessed healing qualities, not to mention superior intelligence and skills in battle. To clone an Elf with alien characteristics was one thing, but to clone an alien with Elven characteristics…The board of directors at Weyland-Yutani were all insane. A super-intelligent alien was something Seth thought the universe could definitely do without. At least the aliens he had dealt with when he worked at Lifesource’s transmutation platform on Gateway Station didn’t have the time to learn anything from experience. Seth usually wiped them out before they had a chance to even think about their own existence.

General Burbank entered the pub and spotted Seth immediately, walking over and sliding opposite him into the seat of the booth. Seth nodded to acknowledge his presence. Not a salute because their camaraderie and relationship didn’t require it when they were alone.

A rusted android, not one of the new models, sauntered over. “May I offer you a drink, General?” All androids, from the top models that worked in the government to the lowest grunt that worked as a waiter in a pub, had databanks containing visuals of any government official, whether the official wore a uniform or not. It was difficult to remain anonymous around an android.

“JB on the rocks. Make it a tall one.” When the android walked away, Burbank turned his attention to Seth. “So what’re some of your ideas?”

“Just one, Jim.” Formalities were dropped, much as the salute had been. “We go in and disrupt their base of operations.”

“Disrupt?”

“Blow a few things up, make their operation inoperable.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that, Seth, but it sounds like a good plan to me.”

Seth shook his head in confusion. “I can’t understand how Weyland-Yutani came to the conclusion that they needed to go to SR-682?”

“Jonathon Warner,” Burbank reflected and then glanced at the approaching android who carefully rested his JB on the table and walked away again.

Seth remembered every confrontation he had with the Director of the Lifesource platforms on Gateway. The man was not outright with his sneakiness, but Seth always felt Warner had some underlying intention reserved for just the right moment of opportunity. But Warner went up in flames when Gateway was destroyed by the US Colonial Marines. The station had somehow become overrun with aliens, according to the report of the Bishop unit that contacted Burbank. Whether Warner was alive or not before the station was destroyed, no one would ever know. “What about Warner?”

“He contacted me when he learned that the queen and the Elf she was extracted from could telepathically communicate with one another. He told me he was going to conduct his own research and I warned him against it. Later I received a message from Communications that someone had tapped into the signal during Warner’s transmission to me. My guess it was Weyland-Yutani. At the time I didn’t think they’d actually make plans to set up a research base on the planet.” Burbank took a long gulp from his drink. “Goddammit, Seth, there’s no telling what they’re liable to do to those people there.”

“I know someone who can take care of the job.”

“Mercenary?” asked Burbank.

“Not exactly. He just hates the bugs as much as any of us do. Besides the fact that I grew up with him, I trust him without a doubt. I know the way he operates and he’ll make it look like an accident.”

Burbank frowned. “So he’s done this sort of thing before?”

“I know what you’re thinking, Jim and I can tell you right now that his methods of making things look like an accident have nothing to do with alien infestation. He doesn’t use aliens as the source of the destruction. If you want examples, I’ll give them to you.”

Burbank shook his head. “No, no. I believe you. What about the lives of those on the base?”

“He’s always given innocent bystanders an obvious route of escape. If they choose not to take it, well…there’s nothing he can do about it without compromising his identity.”

Burbank took another long gulp from his drink and sighed heavily before turning his eyes back to Seth. “What of those already impregnated?”

“If it isn’t too late, he might be able to save those lives. From what he’s told me, he has the appropriate facility on his ship and a capable crew that can safely extract and destroy the embryos.”

“And any clones already growing, if in fact they’ve gotten that far?”

Seth looked solemnly at Burbank. “That’s gonna be a tough one. He’s not very partial to killing babies, if that’s the stage of growth they’re in. The one clone that I know of had reached maturity in thirty days.”

Burbank closed his eyes and shook his head. “Then I don’t want to know what he does with them.”

“All right.”

“When is he going to leave?”

Seth sighed heavily. “Well, I haven’t exactly told him yet.”

“We need to stop those bastards before they cause mass chaos on that planet.”

“I’m with you, Jim, I’m just having a hard time getting a hold of him. The last time I saw him was at a class reunion on Luna III about six years ago. But I have a pretty good idea now where I can find him.”

“Good,” said Burbank before finishing the contents of his glass. The liquor warmed his insides and made his thoughts seem less rational. Despite the importance of this mission, it was being done unlawfully and he hated that there was no other choice.

“I have one request,” said Seth a bit unsurely.

Burbank didn’t like the sound of his uncertain tone. “What?”

“I want to go.”

Burbank immediately began shaking his head. “No way, Seth.”

Seth knew it would be a lost cause to plead his case, but he tried anyway. “You know my specialties in electronics. I can disable every power source of their operation and they wouldn’t be the wiser.”

“I know, but I just can’t let you go. Wendy would kill me for allowing it.”

Seth sighed and sat back in the booth. His wife was Burbank’s daughter and like her father, she was strong-willed. She would never understand why he needed to risk his life for others when his family needed him so desperately.

“Think about Wendy and Kira,” Burbank implored. “Think about what would happen to them if something happened to you.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“Have you forgotten the reason you resigned from Lifesource? The reason you’re devoting ninety-five percent of your time to your family?”

“Don’t you think I know that?” he admonished with a deep frown, not looking up at Burbank because he felt as if he were about to burst into tears. His six-year old daughter, Kira had a rare form of cancer and she was obsessed with his presence, always calling for him in the night or at the clinic. When he had been away on missions, he always thought he’d come home to discover that she had died, because he had not been there to support her during her treatments. His thoughts of her and lack of concentration on the job nearly cost him his life one too many times. And so he promised Wendy he’d resign from Lifesource and they would live on his Lieutenant’s commission. Despite the fact that it was not Kira’s fault for her illness, he had resented everything and everyone because he had been forced to give up his career.

Burbank reached for his son-in-law’s hand. “I’m sorry, Seth. I know how important Wendy and Kira are to you. I didn’t mean to imply that you were shunning them. I just don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks. Wendy needs your strength.”

Seth nodded and looked up with a sigh. “I know. I was just…Crystal. I was just thinking of my sister. Some months have passed already, probably equating to years for her, and I thought maybe I could find her and see how she was doing.”

Burbank patted the back of Seth’s hand. “Just because you’re not going doesn’t mean you can’t send along a message to her on the ship.”

“Yeah, I’m sure my buddy would take care of that for me. Crystal knew him too. Who knows, maybe she’ll decide to come back to Avalon. If she’s all right.”

“I’m sure she is. Come on, let’s go have dinner before Wendy sends out the cavalry.”

The Gladden Fields
(Ariedel’s POV)

“You were asleep, Legolas, I saw you.”

“I may have been asleep, but it was no dream, Ariedel,” Legolas stated with extreme conviction. “I saw it as if it was happening that very moment.”

“There are no aliens here. We killed them all. Remember?” I wanted to sound reassuring, but I was more frustrated than anything else. “Randle blew up the mountain and the entire hive.” I watched Legolas as he got up from the ground and began pacing. After his little freak episode, which scared the living shit out of me, Anwar and everybody else in our company, I called for a rest and pulled Legolas away from the others so we could talk alone. But all I got out of him was that he had witnessed the death of some horses and a man of Rohan. He kept repeating that they were back. The aliens were back and what he had seen was no dream.

Legolas stopped pacing and turned to look at the trees on the east side. “They sense the disturbance.”

“No,” I said as I stood and walked up to him. “What they sense are your emotions. They know how upset you are. The trees have always been sensitive to you.” It amazed me that he had this connection with all the living things around him. The trees, the birds, the little critters that spied on us from behind the bushes. Sometimes he sensed things even from the waters of a stream or a lagoon. It creeped me out sometimes, but it fascinated me at the same time.

He looked down as I wrapped my arms around him and leaned my forehead against his. “Something is not right, Ariedel,” he whispered. “I can feel it in the air.”

“I wish Lady Galadriel was still around. She would be able to help you figure out what you’re feeling.” Lady Galadriel had sailed West not too long ago, along with her husband, Lord Celeborn, Arwen’s father, Elrond and her two brothers and Gandalf. With them they had taken two Hobbits. Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo, whom I had only met at my wedding to Legolas.

“Forgive me for frightening you, Ariedel. Let us return so I may assure Anwar and Brendan that I am all right.” Then he leaned in to give me a lingering kiss on the lips, probably to convince me as well.

For as long as I had known Legolas, never had he been wrong about what he sensed. If he felt a disturbance then I was terrified of what it could mean. Hopefully we weren’t going to be attacked by Orcs on our way to Edoras or to Minas Tirith.

 

Chapter 4 – The Valar​

Valinor

Máhanaxar was the place where the Valar held their council in thrones set in a great circle. It was also known as the Ring of Doom and was just outside the gates of Valmar. In all actuality, the Valar had not held any council there since the flight of Melkor early in the First Age. Even though the Mound of Ezellohar upon which the Two Trees of Valinor, Telperion and Laurelin, had grown was no longer there, the beauty that made up Máhanaxar could not be rivaled.

It was not often that anyone except the Valar were allowed to step foot within the council circle. Just the day before Gandalf had asked for an attendance with the Valar to speak to them of Frodo’s request to allow Samwise Gamgee into Valinor. Gandalf was informed at the time by a Maia named Arien and handmaiden to Vána, that the Valar were unavailable. He now pleaded his new case to Arien and gestured to Galadriel, Celeborn and Elrond, who stood just outside the entrance of Máhanaxar. “We bring grave news and seek guidance,” Gandalf told Arien.

Arien nodded. “The Valar are aware of the tidings you bring and will arrive shortly to council with you.” She turned to the three Elves outside the Ring of Doom. “Come forth, Eldar. You will be permitted to attend.” The Maia walked toward an archway leading to the gates of Valmar where many of the Valar dwelled. Instead of passing beneath the arch, she simply vanished.

Gandalf gestured to the center of the circle of fourteen thrones. Galadriel gracefully stepped forward, followed by her spouse, Celeborn. Following them both was Elrond. The four of them stood together and waited for the Valar to appear.

They didn’t have to wait long. With a flash of light and a charge in the air, the Valar came from beneath the arch. But they did not come from the other side of it. They simply appeared, as if the space itself opened up to let them out. There were thirteen of them, each taking a throne that marked the Ring of Doom.

Gandalf glanced at the fourteenth seat of the Valar, which remained unoccupied by Ulmo. He recalled that Ulmo never dwelled in one place for too long and rarely appeared on land, not even to attend the councils of the Valar unless they debated great matters. He had hoped the Vala would make an appearance, for the matter was urgent enough.

“We know why you have come, Olórin.” It was Manwë who spoke first, using Gandalf’s Maia name. Manwë was the king of Arda and dearest to Ilúvatar, the creator of all things. He gave most of his attention to the air, wind, clouds and birds. Although he was kindhearted and wise, he did not fully understand evil and was once deceived by his brother Melkor. He was among a few of the Valar that did not dwell in Valmar. His mansions were called Ilmarin and were high on the mountain of Taniquetil which he shared with his wife, Varda.

Elrond spoke before Gandalf could stop him and the typically calm Elf was extremely flustered. “Why did you allow this evil into Valinor?”

“This creature is not of our Eä,” replied Oromë, the huntsman. As huntsman of the Valar, he watched over all the birds and beasts of the lands, but the servants of darkness hated him. He was the first to discover the awakening of the Elves and later led them to Valinor. “Tis not of our creation. Tis also not spawned from the twisted mind of Sauron.” (universe)

Gandalf nodded in understanding. “And that is why you cannot influence it.”

“Nor can we destroy it,” added Vána. She was the wife of Oromë and a lover of nature. Flowers sprouted and grew at her will and birds sang at her coming. She had beautiful gardens of golden flowers that were tended by her handmaiden, Arien. “This we discovered when first the creature made its appearance in the Sundering Seas and later on the shores of Valinor. We could not speak to it, nor could we sway its intentions. It came by ship from Middle Earth and killed all those that had sailed upon it.”

“How many were on the ship?” asked Celeborn with grave concern.

“Sixteen Elves lost their lives,” Vána solemnly replied.

The sound of thunder was followed by the sudden appearance of Ulmo, one of the most powerful of the Valar and known as Lord of the Waters and King of the Seas. He governed all the seas, rivers, lakes, fountains and springs. Because of this, the Elves said that the spirit of Ulmo ran in all the veins of Middle Earth. “This creature is not alone. I have heard the whispers in the waters of Middle Earth. Another comes with great speed from the eastern sky. Both are drawn to each other and will mate.”

Gandalf began to pace. “When these creatures first appeared in Middle Earth over a decade ago, we discovered the means in which their young are born. I did not witness it myself, but I believed the words of a mortal woman who was not from this world.”

“This mortal woman also came from another Eä,” said Yavanna, who was wife to Aulë and older sister of Vána. As nourisher of the world, she watched over the growth of all living things. The Ents and the Two Trees of Valinor were also her creation. “We have watched her since her coming. She is the wife of Legolas Thranduilion and mother of three peredhil children.” (son of Thranduil. Half-Elven)

“Do you trust the information provided by this mortal?” Vána pointedly asked Gandalf.

Gandalf nodded his response, but was concerned that the Valar might place blame on Ariedel. “The woman is not responsible for the appearance of these creatures. She initially came to Middle Earth in an attempt to destroy them.”

“Do not concern yourself, Olórin,” assured Nienna, known as the Lady of Pity and Mourning. She was the sister of Mandos and Irmo and was among the eight most powerful Valar. She dwelled alone on the borders of the world, going often to the Halls of Mandos where all the spirits of the slain dwelled. Her presence brought strength to lost spirits and her wisdom replaced their sorrow. “The intentions of the mortal woman have always been honest and favorable. We hold her in high regard and have given our blessing to her union with Legolas.”

“What are we to do when this creature appears once again?” asked Celeborn “Besides those on the ship sailing here, it has also killed two others.”

“The spirits of those slain by it have not come to my Halls,” barked Mandos, the Doomsman of the Valar. He was the older brother of Nienna and Irmo and spouse of Vairë. He dwelled in the Halls of Mandos where he called spirits of the dead to him for them to find healing and comfort in repenting any wrongdoing during their lives. “Not even the call of Nienna brings them. Their spirits wander the lands aimlessly.”

Galadriel turned her gaze to Mandos. “I offer my assistance in guiding their spirits to the Halls of Mandos. But will they be restored in body to us?” Many Elves slain in Middle Earth over the millennia were later restored in body and sent to Valinor to live out their immortal lives.

“There is no guarantee for they were not killed by anything within our Eä,” replied Mandos with a solemn shake of his head. “This creature must not be allowed to kill again. We must prevent this above all else.”

“How can we stop it?” asked Celeborn helplessly. “We have no weapons in which to kill it.”

Manwë stood up from his throne and entered the center of the circle where Gandalf stood with Celeborn, Galadriel and Elrond. “You must bring the people to Mount Taniquetil. Within my walls the creature cannot come.”

Elrond gave Manwë a surprised look. “All of the people? There are thousands of them. Tens of thousands. We cannot possibly evacuate all from their homes.”

“Elrond is right,” uttered Gandalf. “We must find a way to kill this creature and its approaching mate.”

Varda had a far off look in her eyes and suddenly turned her gaze to her husband, Manwë. “These creatures were destroyed once by the courageous attempts of an Eldar.” The Lady of the Stars was held in the highest reverence by the Elves for she created the stars to light the way for them when they first awakened in Arda. She had the ability to hear every voice in Middle Earth when she was with Manwë and she was listening at that moment. Her eyes glazed over briefly as she tilted her head, listening to things that no other could hear. “Dreams disturb his sleep and bring visions of what has come to pass. He is unaware of the link that has developed between himself and the creatures.”

“You speak of Legolas,” said Galadriel. “Many years after he had killed the creatures, he came to me and confided that he had been impregnated by them. The embryo of a queen had been removed from him and had been allowed to grow. He learned that the queen spoke to him and often he could see as if he were within her.”

Manwë nodded. “The young Eldar has many of my abilities. He is much like I was when I dwelled in the living world. He senses things that no other can. Perhaps the link was established during the time the creature was inside of him.”

“He knows not if the images he sees are real or dreams,” added Irmo, the master of visions and dreams. He was also called one of the two Fëanturi when he was with his older brother Mandos. “If the visions continue, they will destroy him.”

“The other creature still in Middle Earth, has it killed?” asked Gandalf.

Varda nodded her head. “It has killed for food and will continue to do so until it reaches Valinor. It will soon cross over the sea to mate.”

Gandalf was greatly concerned for those in Valinor. “Then the one already here will be searching for hosts soon. We must warn the people immediately.”

“Remember what I said, Olórin,” said Manwë. “Bring as many as you can to Ilmarin. The rest may seek refuge within the walls of Valmar.”

“I will take the southern routes toward Mount Hyamentir,” said Gandalf, resigning himself to the fact that they had no immediate means to kill the creatures. So the people needed to be protected before anymore lives were lost. “I will send the people to Valmar. Celeborn, you gather the people that live along the River Calacirian and lead them to Mount Taniquetil. Elrond, you head north to Aqualondë and gather the people there. They can also be led to Taniquetil.” Then Gandalf turned to Galadriel. “My Lady, you have the most difficult task. To search for the lost spirits of those recently killed will bring you close to our nemesis. Take whatever precautions you can to safeguard yourself.” With the tasks assigned, Gandalf spun in a circle, to take a final look at the fourteen Valar before him. “We thank you for your audience.”

“Luck be with you all,” praised Nienna, her eyes full of sorrow and pity.

Gandalf, Galadriel, Celeborn and Elrond bowed to the Valar and quickly departed. By the time they reached their village, they would learn that during the council with the Valar, twenty-nine Elves had been taken.

Enedwaith

A wagon drawn by an old gray horse ambled along a dirt road, heading north on the South Road to Thorbad. The man and woman sitting in the wagon laughed as they recalled the time they had spent in a small village within the borders of Gondor. They were heading home after being away for six months. Now they looked forward to the tranquility of their own small town and the company of their family and friends.

High above them, in the cover of the slow moving clouds, the queen whirled in delight. She had already more than doubled her size. By the time she planned to reach her alpha, she would reach adulthood and be ready to produce her eggs. With her added size came a greater hunger and she soon felt the desire to feed. As she drifted down through the cloud cover and emerged beneath it, she felt the presence of prey. Her jaws parted and tasted the scent in the air before she shifted her weight and swooped in the direction of the meat.

Rohan
(Legolas’s POV)

A week had passed since we left Eryn Lasgalen. During that time, on two more occasions did horrible visions come to me, mostly at night. I discovered that during Elven reverie, my eyes would draw closed of their own accord and sleep would come to me. And now I was afraid to submit myself to reverie for fear of falling asleep again. The last vision, or dream, had been just as bad as the others. A man and woman in a wagon were attacked from the sky. I saw them being torn apart, their screams still permeating in my mind. In all actuality, I wondered if these visions were things that happened in the past. The aliens had no ability to fly. So for the attack to come from the sky, it could have been a Fell beast or a dragon. Although I had not seen a dragon in centuries. But why were these visions coming to me? Even if they were from the past, what importance could they have now? And what if the visions were not from the past? What if they were happening in the present time? What was killing the people in my visions? And why was I seeing as if through the eyes of the attacking beast?

As my thoughts continued to wander, I heard the sound of approaching horses and only then did I become aware of my surroundings. A quick glance revealed Edoras in the distance. We were coming upon the River Snowbourn, which was not so deep that the wagon would have been left behind. Within minutes of crossing the narrow river, the riders of Rohan approached.

I recognized Gamling, current captain of the Rohirrim soldiers. We had fought together against the attack of Sauron’s army at Helm’s Deep during the War of the Ring. I had not stepped foot in Edoras since the crowning of Rohan’s new king a little over eleven years ago.

Gamling held a hand up and drew his horse to a stop before us. Ten of his men pulled up just behind him. “Prince Legolas, welcome back to Rohan and to Edoras,” he graciously said with a bow of his head.

“I thank you, Gamling.” I turned to Ariedel on my left who had come up beside me on Blade, Elril still seated in front of her. “This is my wife, Ariedel, holding my youngest son, Elril.” Anwar and Brendan were seated on their ponies to my right. “My daughter, Anwar and my other son, Brendan.”

“I welcome you all on behalf of King Éomer,” announced Gamling.

I noticed several of the Rohirrim nervously glancing around and to the sky, as if they expected something to attack them. “I did not expect an escort. Has there been trouble in Rohan?”

“Aye, there has been. But I will let the king inform you of what has happened.”

One of the men shouted and pointed and when I glanced back over my shoulder I saw Rhovan coming across the river. He had been out hunting and caught up with us.

When I realized two of the men were preparing to fire upon the tiger with their spears, I moved Arod to block their throws. “Nay, the tiger is a companion.” I turned to Rhovan just as the tiger reached the bank. He lumbered out and shook the water from his fur. “Rhovan, tolo.” (come)

Gamling stared at the tiger with his mouth open in surprise. “I never would have believed such a beast could be tamed.”

I smiled at Gamling. “I never said he was tame. As long as my life or the lives of my family are in no danger, then he will be no threat to anyone.” The look on Gamling’s face was priceless.

Minutes later we were headed through the Barrowfield, passing the tombs of the first line of kings on the right and the second line of kings on the left. We passed the gates and began the long climb along the path leading to Meduseld, the Golden Hall of the king. It would be good to see Éomer once again after so many years. The camaraderie the two of us had during the War of the Ring had left us friends and I looked forward to the night we would be spending in Edoras.

When we finally approached the steps of Meduseld, we dismounted and allowed the stable hands to take the horses. Alma took Elril from Ariedel, who then took charge of keeping Rhovan close, so as not to frighten the people or the Rohirrim guards.

Lothíriel, queen of Rohan and wife to Éomer, stepped out of the Golden Hall and jogged down the steps. “Ariedel!” she called out.

The last time Ariedel and I had been to Edoras, during Éomer’s coronation, Lothíriel had been a guest in Edoras and she had become friends with Ariedel, confiding that Éomer had been courting her for two months prior to him becoming king.

She rushed over to Ariedel and they embraced amicably. “Tis such a delight to see you again, my friend. Look at you. Three children and you still look thin.”

“Look who’s talking. You had one of your own and you still look great.”

I ignored the rest of their female ramblings and headed up the stairs with Gamling. Expecting to find Éomer sitting at the throne where he should have been, I was surprised to find him seated at a table, running a whetstone over his sword.

When he saw me enter, he stood from the table and marched in my direction, meeting me halfway. “Legolas! You are a sight for sore mortal eyes.!”

I chuckled at his comment and accepted his embrace, full of back-slapping, which was common in Men. “I am glad to see you are doing well, my friend.”

Éomer dismissed Gamling and led me with a hand on my shoulder. “Come and have an ale with me.”

We sat at the table where he had been sharpening his sword. A female servant quickly approached with a tray holding two mugs of ale. She set them down on the table and retreated.

“I heard you were finally blessed with a son after your daughter,” commented Éomer.

“Aye, two of them. We can meet our children whenever our wives have finished discussing their figures and decide to join us in the Golden Hall.”

Éomer laughed. “Lothíriel is forever talking about her waist. Why do you suppose women have such concerns?”

“I do not know and I truly care not to.”

“Here, here.” He raised his mug and tapped it against mine.

I sipped the ale, recalling the last time I had drank it in this Hall. Gimli had challenged me to what he called a drinking game. Ale was not my beverage of choice, but I found it not unpleasant. “Gamling came out to greet us when we approached Edoras,” I began solemnly, all humor put aside. “He mentioned that there had been trouble.”

Éomer’s expression turned sour. “Trouble, indeed. Not more than three days ago, something attacked our herd, making off with three horses and one man.”

Although I had somehow known what had occurred, to hear Éomer confirm my vision was disturbing. I looked down into my mug of ale and listened to him recount what the other Rohirrim had seen. A large winged creature, like a Fell beast, yet very unlike one any of them had ever seen.

Éomer called to a servant, asking for him to seek out Gambold, whom I discovered to be the son of Grimbold, who had died valiantly in the battle of the Pelennor during the War of the Ring. Gambold had been one of the men who had witnessed the attack outside of Edoras.

While we waited for him, Ariedel and Lothíriel had finally entered the Golden Hall with our children. After more greetings and introductions, we sent Alma away with Elril to find him a suitable place for a nap, and Anwar and Brendan went with Elfwine, son of Éomer, to play an archery game.

I watched Éomer’s expression when he caught sight of Rhovan lumbering to the fire pit in the center of the hall and laid in front of it.

“Could that possibly be…” began Éomer.

“Nay, tis not Cail you are looking upon,” I interrupted. “Rhovan is his sibling.”

“They are very alike in appearance.”

I smiled with affection at the white tiger. “Nay, if you saw them together you would note the differences. Rhovan has a larger frame than Cail.”

After Ariedel and Lothíriel joined us at the table, I informed my wife of what occurred. She was also surprised to hear that the events were the same as what I had described in my vision several days before.

Gambold finally came to the Golden Hall and Éomer bid him to sit with us. I noticed that the young man acted nervously and I knew not if it was the presence of the king that flustered him or perhaps the experience of surviving an attack when he could very well have been a victim himself.

“Can you describe the creature you saw?” I asked.

“It…it happened so fast,” he stammered. “It was not unlike a Fell beast…but…but different.”

I closed my eyes and tried to envision the creature as he began describing it.

“The creature was large, like a Fell beast, but the neck was not as long and its body was not round. It resembled more like the skeleton of the creature, as if it lacked its flesh and muscle. And it was black and hideous.”

“Tis an alien,” I whispered to myself, even though I did not comprehend how one could have come to be in Middle Earth. It was known to all that the very last one of the creatures had been destroyed in the explosion of the mountain containing their lair. And how could it have wings like a Fell beast…Then it suddenly came to me. I understood. Somehow, an alien egg had survived the destruction of the mountain. It had opened and a Fell beast must have been in the vicinity of the facehugger. Ariedel had told me all there was to know of these creatures and if I understood her correctly, a drone could have acquired the wings of a Fell beast, but would not be quite as large as one. The creature Gambold described was large. So it had to be a queen. I turned toward Ariedel. “Tis happening again.” The look in her eyes confirmed that she also believed it.

 

Chapter 5 – A Big Favor​

Avalon
Earth date: December 14, 2357ad

Dane “Freak” Truman stared at the gargantuan hulk of a man waving him forward, not a scratch on him…But all that was about to change. At least that’s what Freak hoped. Behind him, his fellow shipmates yelled out words of encouragement.

“Come on, Freak, you can take him!”

“Rip his head off, Freak!”

“The bigger they are, Freak, the harder they fall!”

“Don’t let him castrate you, Freak!”

That last comment had Freak turning his head back. Then he realized his mistake. The last one that spoke wasn’t one of his friends, but some knucklehead who was rooting for the other guy. The blow came the minute Freak turned forward again. The hulk grinned, revealing a mouthful of missing teeth, except for three. With the force of the punch, Freak couldn’t even get his face to smile back. Shaking his head briefly, Freak swung a right fist and punched the hulk. The hulk flinched for a second. It didn’t even phase him, while Freak’s fist throbbed violently. He cried out silently and started hopping up and down, alternating from one foot to the other, shaking his fist to make the pain go away.

The crowd standing around the dance floor pushed forward. Some cheered him on, while others booed. Bets were tossed around as to who would be left standing. The odds were definitely against Freak. Even though Freak was six foot two inches tall and his frame made of solid, rock-hard muscle, the hulk he fought was twice as wide. The only thing Freak had going for him was that the hulk was also twice as stupid.

“Hey!” yelled Freak. “Look there, it’s Jennifer Lopez!”

Never mind the fact that the singer/actress had been dead for over three hundred years, the crowd went silent and the hulk turned his head anyway. In fact, so did several others in the crowd. Freak slammed his boot into the hulk’s knee and followed up with a left hook into his fleshy gut. When the hulk folded over, Freak sent his knee slamming into the fat face, probably knocking out his remaining three teeth.

The hulk fell backward with such force that the floor actually shook. The crowd went wild. Some were happy, some were pissed. Freak’s buddies rushed up, slapping him on the back. He rejoiced with them and allowed them to lead him to the bar for a much-deserved shot of something fierce. Tequila, whiskey, vodka…anything would do. Even the local sake would be satisfying.

A shot of tequila awaited him as he leaned on the bar. He quickly tossed the shot down his throat and accepted the cold, wet rag from the grinning bartender. The right side of his face felt like the size of a football, but when he looked at himself in the mirror behind the bar, his face looked only slightly swollen with a cut on his cheek. He put the cold rag on the cut and quickly realized something. When he glanced back up at the mirror, sure enough he knew that face.

Freak turned around to face his old buddy, Seth Schuyler. “Goddammit.” Without even thinking, he grabbed Seth in a rough embrace. “Look at you, man. Where the hell have you been? You fell off the face of the universe.” He held Seth at arm’s length.

“I fell off the face of the universe?” countered Seth. “I’ve been looking all over for you, Dane.”

Nobody in their right mind dared to call Freak by his given name, if they enjoyed life. But Seth wasn’t anybody. Plus he knew Seth was saying it just to push his buttons. “You want something? I’m buying.”

“No, I’m all right. Listen, I really gotta talk to you about something.”

Freak’s crewmates didn’t follow as he led Seth to a booth and they sat opposite each other. He continued to hold the cold rag to his cheek, waiting for the blood to stop.

Seth laughed. “I can’t believe you’re still picking fights in bars.”

“Hey, I didn’t pick nothing. That King Kong over there was messing with my head. Ain’t nobody gonna tell me to go fuck a bug.”

Seth laughed again and shook his head. “Same old Freak.”

“So what brings you out to the bad part of the neighborhood looking for me, Sky?” Freak had a nickname for absolutely everyone and had even been the one to come up with his own.

“I need a big favor and there’s cash in it for you.”

“Yeah? How much cash are we talking?”

“Let me tell you about the mission first and then I’ll tell you what it pays.”

“All right.”

“You remember my sister, Crystal?”

Freak grinned. “Do I ever. Man, I wanted to date her and you told me you’d kick my ass if I touched her. So, what is it? Is she interested in me now?”

“No, it’s not like that at all. Besides, she’s married.”

“Ouch, that hurts. You let some other shit take over what should have been my responsibility?”

Seth knew Freak was only joking. She was like a kid sister to him as well. “You know she would have laughed in your face if you asked her.”

“Yeah, and rubbed salt in the wounds, too,” he said sarcastically, but still in good-nature. “So, is something up with Princess?” That was his nickname for Seth’s sister.

“She went on a transmutation mission to SR-682 about a year ago to kill a single alien. Something got screwed up and she had no weapons and no way to communicate back to Gateway. She met some Elf on the planet and got married.” Before Freak could ask, Seth held up a hand to stop him. “I’ll get to that later. Let me just finish with the relevant shit first. The alien must have had an egg, a queen, because the next thing Crystal knew, there were several hundred aliens running around. Without any weapons, she couldn’t dispose of them, but her Elf husband managed to kill the queen. Then Randle Dorian turned up. You remember him, don’t you? He translocated to SR-682, found Crystal and together they blew up the hive and the rest of the bugs. Unfortunately, her Elf didn’t realize he had been impregnated and she translocated him to Gateway to get the thing removed. Long story short, he was fine, Crystal was fine and they were translocating back to his planet, according to her last transmission to me.”

“But she definitely left before Gateway was destroyed,” Freak stated rather than asked, hoping that his friend wasn’t going to tell him that she didn’t make it off.

Seth ran a frustrated hand over his face. “Yeah, I’m hoping she did. Before that she called me from Earth, from Tahiti and told me they were heading back to the Translocation platform on Gateway. I don’t know if the station was infested by that time. I just don’t fucking know.”

Freak made a fist and reached across the table to lightly tap it on Seth’s shoulder. “Hey, man, let’s just think positive, all right? So, you want me to go to SR-682 and check on her? See if she’s fine? You know, you don’t have to pay me to do that. I’ll do it for free.”

“Yeah, I want you to check on her, but that’s not the real mission. The real mission involves Weyland-Yutani.”

Freak closed his eyes and shook his head. “Dammit, I was really hoping you weren’t gonna bring up the fucking Company.”

“Before Gateway was infested by the aliens, the director of the station contacted General Burbank and informed him that the queen they extracted from the Elf was able to communicate with him and vice versa.”

Freak’s jaw dropped. “Communicate? As in, vocally?”

“No, it was telepathically.”

Freak leaned back in the booth and placed a hand over his heart with a sigh. “Jeez, you scared me, man. I thought you were gonna tell me these fuckers can talk now.”

Seth couldn’t stop the smile, despite the seriousness of their conversation. “Yeah, thank God for that, huh? Anyway, somebody at The Company intercepted the transmission and the execs decided they’d resurrect the cloning project started by the late General Perez of the Auriga, thinking it’d be a fabulous idea to clone an impregnated Elf and at the same time use the Elves as hosts for aliens that will have Elf-like qualities. They’ve set up a base of operations on SR-682.”

“Let me guess. A cloned Elf with alien qualities would make a great addition to our military. Is that what that dickhead Defense Secretary thinks?”

“He didn’t exactly come out and say it, but I have a feeling he’s expecting something like that because he’s making all kinds of excuses not to stop Weyland-Yutani’s operations. Now General Burbank and I, on the other hand, want to squash those attempts.”

“You know, I always liked that General Burbank. A real classy guy.”

Seth smiled. “You’re not saying that because he’s my father-in-law, are you?”

Freak returned the smile. “The thought never crossed my mind.”

“I know you’ve done this sort of thing before, Freak. We want it to look like an accident. Get their systems screwed up and nonfunctional. Don’t hurt anybody unless they’re asking for it, if you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I value my life way too much, buddy.”

“And if you come across any clones…in whatever stage of growth they’re in, I’m gonna leave it up to you to decide what to do with them.”

“Understood,” he said as he nodded gravely.

“I’ll send you some databanks on the research I did on SR-682. The planet watchers did a pretty thorough job, even though the data is over ten Earth years old. That’s about two hundred years on their planet. A lot could have happened since then. Maybe not so much for the Elves incidentally, because they’re immortal.”

“So Princess married an Elf, huh? Are they like making little crackers and cookies inside trees now?”

Seth laughed. “You must have really had some foresight when you came up with that nickname for her because she really is a princess. The Elf she married is the son of a king.”

“No kidding!” exclaimed Freak. He had always hoped good things for his buddy’s little sister, but he never imagined she’d marry into real royalty.

“Prince Legolas, son of King Thranduil. When Crystal called me, luckily I had the unit on record, so I keep playing it over and over. I memorized all the details she told me. Oh, that brings up an important issue. On SR-682, Crystal’s name is not Crystal. It’s Ariedel. That’s the name of the individual she transmutated to. So that’s the name everyone knows her by. But I think Legolas knows the truth because he was on Gateway for awhile.”

“Wait a minute. If she transmutated to the planet, what happened to the real Ariedel?”

“From what Crystal told me, Randle Dorian decided he was giving up his womanizing ways and took the real Ariedel down to Earth with him and they’re living happily ever after.”

“This is a really fucked up story, Sky. I’m about as confused as a fly on a pile of fake bullshit.”

“This isn’t bullshit, Freak. It’s all for real.” Seth knew Freak had only made the statement as sarcasm, but truly believed what he was saying. “I assume you still have your ship?”

Freak perked up. “Yeah, she’s on dry dock right now, getting provisioned.”

“Burbank told me he’d pay the mission leader enough to buy a new B-class ship, if you wanted.”

Freak raised his eyebrows. B-class was a much smaller ship than his A-class, but a new B-class was still a lot of money, so he had a rough idea how much the mission would pay him. With that kind of money he could make a bunch of improvements on his ship and provision the hell out of it. “You got yourself a mission leader,” he said as he reached across the table to shake Seth’s hand. “I just need to make a connection with a temporary addition to my crew, someone I think will be useful in this and I’ll be on my way. Is it safe for me to wager that the people of SR-682 have no advanced technology?”

“They have no technology whatsoever. But given the fact that they’ve had their share of supernatural wonders over the last eight thousand years, I think it’s safe to make an appearance without blowing their minds too much. They’ll just think you’re some kind of God.”

Freak chuckled. “Yeah, I’m used to it. I have that affect on the ladies already.”

“Maybe they’ll address you as Prince Dane,” added Seth with his own chuckle. But then the laughter died down and their faces grew serious. “Thanks for doing this, Freak. I owe you big time. If I could go with you, I would. But…”

They clasped hands in a brotherly manner. “Yeah, man. I hear you. I’ll take care of everything and I’ll check on your sister before I do anything else.”

Valinor

The queen flew toward the landmass ahead. She had kept low over the water for the last few miles, skimming her claws over the cool surface. In the darkness she knew no one could see her approach. When she finally reached the surf, she swooped upward to cross over the mountains. With her senses open, she projected her arrival to the alpha. In return the alpha projected his location.

For the last few days, the alpha had been busy with two tasks. One was to build a suitable environment for his future offspring, secreting resin in an underground chamber. The second was to collect hosts. He had over a hundred fixed into the walls. Their cries and pleas were annoying to the drone, but they went unheard. Soon they would be silent, once the eggs began to arrive and hatch.

With the pending arrival of the queen, the alpha drone put the finishing touches in the hive and scrambled out of the chamber to greet her. The sky was dark, but he needed no light to see with. He was able to sense her approach and parted his dripping jaws.

The queen swooped down and landed. After tucking her wings away, she stomped forward and bent to accept the greeting of the drone. Their faces touched and she gurgled her approval of him.

After the introduction was over, the drone led the queen into her new hive. There she selected a place where she could easily produce her eggs. The drone quickly set to work, building a cradle for her to lay in while she secreted the material to make the egg sack.

And the doomed Elves continued to scream as they watched the hideous creatures working. They were unaware of the cruel fate that lay ahead of them.

Valinor
Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Jordan stared open-mouthed at the monitor in front of her. What kind of weird coincidence was at work? The lieutenant and his four men had gone out looking for Elves and reported back that they had found a set of twins. She watched the screen as the two dark-haired Elves fought their captures, yelling in a language she didn’t know. From the emotion behind the words, Jordan could only think they were cursing the military men.

Beside Jordan, Dr Leland leaned in and pressed the com button. “Lieutenant, why aren’t they unconscious?”

Lieutenant Thomas Train didn’t bother to turn in the direction of the camera. “They were heavily sedated and just came out of it a few minutes ago.” Train retrieved something from his utility belt and inserted it into what looked like a pistol. He stepped up to one of the Elves being held, stuck the end of the pistol against his neck and pulled the trigger. The Elf instantly went limp. The other Elf cried out in shock and tried to get to his twin. But Train reloaded another injection and rendered the second Elf unconscious. “Okay, take them down below.”

Jordan hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath until she suddenly released it. She had been unprepared for the reality of the crimes they were all about to commit. All in the name of science. The only saving grace was that once the blood samples had been taken from the impregnated Elves, the embryos would be safely removed from them. There was no need for the Elves to die. But the problem was that they would have knowledge of what happened. Leland said he had it covered, intending to perform a few alterations to erase current events from their memory. But Jordan was still concerned. She wanted nothing to happen to the Elves.

Tom Train knew he was being watched. Besides the obvious ones outside the ground floor structure, there were video cameras in every room and every section of the underground base. After all, he had supervised the placement of them, so he knew where each one was located. He also knew what he needed to do to disable them…when that time came to be necessary. His orders, as given to him by Defense Secretary Rohlwing, were simple and in no uncertain terms was Train to deviate from those orders, no matter the circumstances.

He watched as his men placed each of the two Elves into a chamber with an alien egg. There was no need to restrain them in any way. The facehuggers would do their job. It was a rare occurrence that any person could ward off the attack of the crab-like creatures which were extremely powerful. Once a facehugger wrapped its reticulated tail around the throat of their prey, cutting off their air supply and forcing them to open their mouth, it was usually a done deal. With any luck, the two Elves would still be unconscious when the facehuggers hatched.

Train walked to the com unit on the nearby wall and pressed the call button. “They’re all set. You want us to hang around and wait?”

“No,” came the response from Leland. “You and your men are free to return to your patrol.”

Train turned to his men and motioned with his head for them to leave. After they filed out, he checked his watch. In two hours the Elves would be impregnated. Two hours after that the blood would be drawn and the embryos removed. This gave him plenty of time to figure out how he would implement Rohlwing’s orders. Once the clones were grown in Leland’s special growth chambers, Train wasn’t going to have much time to think about how he was going to handle things.

 

Chapter 6 – A Large Miracle​

Avalon
Earth date: December 20, 2357ad

Freak stood on a raised platform, six hundred feet from the ground and hanging near the top of his A-Class ship, The Rebel. The night sky was pouring rain and even with the extreme light streaming from a hundred floodlamps around the vessel, Freak couldn’t see a damned thing. He threw a wrench at the mechanic harnessed to the side of the ship. The mechanic had been working on a hatch that kept unsealing during space flight and causing all kinds of problems. “This should have been done sixteen hours ago! Get this thing fixed now or next time I’m taking my business elsewhere!”

The terrified mechanic quickly nodded. “I’ll get it done. I’ll get it done.”

“You have one hour and then I’m lifting off whether you’re still hooked onto the ship or not!” Freak worked the controls of the platform and it slowly swung away from the ship. While he was high enough off the ground, he took the moment to observe the loading of the Armored Personnel Carrier, or APC for short. It was a necessity on a ship the size of The Rebel. Freak had purchased the APC three years ago from the military when they had decided to retire them for newer models. The two Dropships had also been purchased from the military. It had been Blue Light Specials all around that day.

A chirp came from his belt and he retrieved his com unit, pressing it into his ear. “Yeah?” He listened to the voice on the unit, covering his other ear to block out the sound of the rain pinging on the exterior of the ship. “What’s the rendezvous point?” he yelled in response. “Okay, go ahead and confirm the time.” He put the com unit back into a pocket hanging from his belt. All was pretty much set to go, except for the hatch still being worked on. He worked the controls of the platform again, maneuvering it down to the ground. As he stepped off, Max Zion ran up to him. He was one of the crewmen on the ship.

“Dropships are loaded and tucked in tight, boss,” hollered Zion over the rain.

“What about our arsenal?” asked Freak.

“The artillery bay is wall to wall. We couldn’t fit a ship rat in there if we tried.”

Freak slapped Zion on the back. “Good job, Zee. I knew I could count on you.”

The two men hustled toward one of the ramps and went inside to get out of the rain. There was still a lot of activity in the main loading bay. The APC was being parked in its secure spot to prevent it from being bounced around during the takeoff and landing. A variety of forklifts carried crates to different parts of the ship. The crates not only contained the provisions they usually needed during missions, but they also brought provisions to be dropped off at specific colonies that were in dire need of certain supplies. Freak always volunteered to drop supplies off to colonies on his route to whatever mission he was on. He was a sucker for people in need.

While the outfitting of the ship continued, Freak took the opportunity for some quiet time in his quarters. He stripped out of his wet clothing, down to his boxers and teeshirt. Then he sat in his favorite recliner and used a remote to turn on the stereo unit built into the wall. The room soon filled with the sounds of an old 21st century band called Staind, playing “Outside”, one of their mellower tunes. Freak had a soft spot for loud and obnoxious tunes from that era. He preferred it over the stringy synthetic music being played nowadays.

The moment the music began, he pulled out a fat cigar and lit it. Then he reclined back and sang along to the music. “I’m on the outside and I’m looking in. I can see through you, see your true colors. Cuz inside you’re ugly, ugly like me. I can see through you, see to the real you.” He closed his eyes and let the music fill his head as he smoked his cigar.

It was a ritual he performed before leaving any planet. Before cryosleep.

An hour later, with the job on the hatch finally complete and everything loaded, The Rebel’s engines came to life. Powerful thrusters pushed the enormous ship from the ground and it slowly lifted toward the sky. When it reached orbit, the crew prepared for cryosleep, just before the ship plunged into hyperspace.

Avalon
Earth date: December 21, 2357ad

Seth sat in the dark, his attention focused on the small screen in front of him. The image of his sister was speaking to him from the screen. It was a recording of the last transmission she had sent from Earth to Avalon months ago…just before the infestation of Gateway. He had hoped that either she never made it to Gateway and was currently living on Earth or that she had managed to translocate off the station before it became infested with aliens. But he knew that if she hadn’t made it to Gateway then she would have sent him another transmission, telling him that she was safe. Then again, just because he didn’t receive another transmission didn’t mean that she had been on the station when they blew it up. Hopefully she had translocated off and simply had no means to communicate with him.

On the screen Crystal was in the middle of explaining what had happened to her after she had transmutated to SR-682. Seth had watched the recording so many times that he practically had it memorized. But he watched it again and again. It made him feel somewhat secure that she might actually still be alive.

“It was a beautiful wedding. You should have seen my dress. It was white with layers and layers of silk.”

Seth heard himself respond on the recording. “I wish I could have been there.”

Crystal’s expression grew sad. “I know.” Then she straightened up. “But anyway, we were on our way to Mirkwood. That’s where Legolas lives. And we stopped for a couple of nights in this other place where the Elves lived in trees.” She paused and glanced off screen for a moment. “What? Oh, right.” She turned back to the screen. “Legolas says the name of the place is Lothlorien. They had these lights all around, but I couldn’t figure out how they worked because I didn’t see any wiring anywhere. So we were there for two or three days, I think, before we received a message from Aragorn. He’s a friend of Legolas and also the king of Gondor. He lives in this stunning white city with seven levels. God, I wish I could have taken some pictures.”

“So you’re running in pretty high circles, huh?” asked Seth in the recording.

Crystal laughed. “Yeah, how about that. So anyway we got the message from Aragorn, which was accompanied by a wooden box containing, get this, the head of an alien. At first I thought maybe somebody took care of the job I had been sent to do. But when I asked the messenger if it was the only one, the guy shook his head and said there had been others. So that’s how I knew the alien wasn’t alone.”

“How were you able to kill them?”

“Actually I didn’t do any of the killing. Aragorn’s guards and Legolas did most of it. But there were too many. We didn’t think we would last another attack, so Legolas took a group of men to the nest during the day, to try and burn it. From what Legolas told me later was that they were attacked and he was the only one that managed to cut himself free of the resin. Then he killed whatever was alive in the nest, the queen and the alpha drone.”

“By himself? What kind of weapon did he use?”

“Bow and arrow.”

Seth recalled how shocked he was when he first heard Crystal say it. “A bow and arrow?” he heard himself respond with disbelief in his voice. “That’s not possible.”

“Well, it is with Legolas. Anyway, Randle Dorian translocated to the planet, found me and we went in search of Legolas. Randle also had explosives with him which we used later. Luckily I found Legolas when I did. He was messed up pretty bad and Randle got a reading that Legolas was impregnated. That’s the reason I had to get him to Gateway.”

“I know. But he’s okay now, right?”

“Yeah, he’s perfectly fine.”

“So where are you now?” asked Seth.

“I’m on a belated honeymoon in Tahiti on Earth.”

“I’m glad to hear that, but all I really care about is that you’re okay.”

“I swear I’m fine.”

“When are you coming home?”

“I…uh…I’m not sure, Seth. That’s the reason I’m calling. Warner wants to use Legolas in one of his experiments. Apparently Legolas developed some kind of connection with the baby queen before they extracted her from him. Warner picked up on it and thought it would be a great idea to use Legolas as his pawn to communicate with the aliens. I can’t let that happen so I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back or not.”

“You can’t mean that, Crystal. You can’t just disappear.”

“It’s something I have to do. I love him, Seth.”

“I don’t like it, but I understand.”

Crystal motioned for someone off screen and that’s when Seth first saw Legolas. Good-looking with long blonde hair and pointed ears. Legolas was just the kind of guy Seth imagined his sister would fall for. “Seth, this is Legolas. Legolas, this is my brother, Seth.”

“Tis a pleasure to meet you, Seth,” said Legolas.

“I suppose I should thank you for everything you did for my sister, Legolas. I’m glad she ran into you and not someone who wouldn’t have helped her in the situation she was in.”

“There is no need to thank me.” Then he smiled. “She enchanted me from the moment I first set eyes upon her.”

“Yeah, she certainly has a way, doesn’t she?”

Crystal laughed beside Legolas. “Hey, I resent that, dear brother of mine.”

“So I hear you’re a prince. Does that make my sister a princess?”

“It does. She will make a fine queen someday.”

Seth smiled to himself. “Oh God, no. That’s totally gonna go to her head.”

Legolas frowned. “I do not jest, Seth.”

“Yeah, I guess not. Just do me a favor, Legolas. Take care of her for me, will you?”

“Tis no reason to ask it of me as a favor. I do it because I love her.”

“Good-bye then.”

“Good-bye,” said Legolas before he left the screen.

Tears welled up in Crystal’s eyes as she turned back to the screen. “How’s Kira?”

“She’s doing a lot better.”

“Give her a hug and a kiss for me and tell her I love her.”

“I will.”

“We’re going to Gateway tomorrow morning and translocating to Arda…I mean, SR-682. Good-bye, Seth. I love you.”

“I love you, too, baby. Good-bye.”

The transmission ended and the screen went blank.

Seth blinked back the tears that threatened. If Crystal had managed to translocate to SR-682, then by now several years would have passed according to the time difference. He and Freak had calculated for every year that passed in their solar system, about twenty years passed on SR-682. So Seth figured about ten or eleven years had passed in the last six months. He prayed Crystal was alive and living well.

Rohan and Gondor
(Ariedel’s POV)

A week passed since we left Edoras and Legolas continued to have horrible dreams. He desperately wanted to stay awake, but no matter how hard he tried, sleep just seemed to overwhelm him. Afterward he would wake up crying out and mumbling about Elves being taken in Valinor.

We were currently on our way to Minas Tirith and had passed the border from Rohan into Gondor three days earlier. Éomer and Lothíriel had decided to go to Minas Tirith with us, bringing their son, Elfwine and a large procession of Rohirrim, including Gamling and Gambold. I felt safer with the larger company we were in.

I couldn’t believe what I had heard when Gambold described what had attacked their horses and one of their men. None of these people had been in Gondor or Ithilien when the aliens attacked over eleven years ago, so there was no way they could have known what the aliens looked like, especially not a queen. His description confirmed that there was definitely a queen on the loose. Apparently a flying one, which meant it had impregnated what Legolas said was a Fell beast. It baffled me to think that an egg had survived the explosion of the mountain. An impossibility almost. But there was just no other way to explain it.

The fact that Legolas had witnessed the deaths in his dreams was another thing that baffled me. I wondered if he had developed a link with this new queen, just as he had on Gateway when they had extracted one from his chest. But the link between him and the queen on Gateway was explainable because they had developed a connection during the time she was inside him. Legolas had no physical tie with this other queen. How was it that he could sense her and see what she did? The dream he had described was exactly the way Gambold had described the attack. It was as if Legolas had seen it through the mind of the queen as she was attacking.

A single queen was a serious threat in itself. But being isolated, without a drone to breed with, was far more dangerous. It would kill without provocation and not just to feed.

After we had left Edoras, I began to think of ways we could lure the thing into a trap and kill it. A single queen could be killed with a dozen well-placed arrows from some skilled archers. I actually began to think we could easily pull it off.

That is until Legolas began to tell me that he was witnessing Elves being taken, but not killed. There was only one explanation for that. A drone was alive somewhere, which meant that two eggs had survived the destruction of the horde. The drone was undoubtedly collecting hosts and the queen would find him.

Legolas seemed certain that it was happening in Valinor. It was a place where only Elves were allowed to go. A place where they could spend their immortal lives in tranquility. For so long I had assumed he was talking about a place like Heaven. But it wasn’t like that at all. It was a physical place on the planet, a land in the West, a peaceful place.

Well, with a drone and queen roaming around, there wouldn’t be any peace. There would be chaos and death.

When we stopped for the night I helped Alma put the kids to bed in a small tent she shared with them. Our guards put up our tent and when I went inside, I had expected to find Legolas in it. But he wasn’t. I went around the campsite, hoping to find him with Éomer or Gamling. Neither had seen him since he had untacked the horses. The campsite was well-lit, but beyond the perimeter was complete darkness, so I couldn’t even see if he had wandered away somewhere.

I found Rhovan lying near the kids’ tent. “Rhovan, dulu nin rado herdir lin.” (help me find your master)

The white tiger stood up and I quickly grabbed his tail before he disappeared into the darkness. The devoted beast slowed his pace to keep me from stumbling over things I couldn’t see. It seemed like he knew where he was going and I let him guide me. The moon was finally visible when a thick cloud drifted away and the soft glow reached the ground.

That’s when I saw Legolas. He was standing on the very edge of a cliff up ahead, a cliff I hadn’t even known was there.

I released Rhovan’s tail and the big cat plopped down on the ground. “Legolas?” I called out to him.

He turned his head slightly to look in my direction over his shoulder. The cliff was just beyond a steep incline, so he reached a hand down to me and pulled me up with him.

“Are you all right?” It didn’t escape my notice that he had been looking out in a westerly direction.

“Valinor is in unfathomable peril.” He shivered as he turned back in that direction. “I can feel it.”

I wrapped both of my arms around his left arm, looking out as well. Not that I could see anything anyway, but I really wanted to know what he was feeling. “Legolas, what can we possibly do? Can we sail there and see if everyone’s all right?”

Legolas shook his head. “Tis not possible. Only the immortal are allowed upon the shores unless the Valar grant special permission. Such was the case for Frodo and Bilbo Baggins.”

“What about Gandalf?”

“He is one of the Maiar, a servant of the Valar.”

“I’m gonna take a wild stab in the dark here and ask this. If there’s an alien in Valinor, then why did the Valar allow it to be there?”

He shook his head. “I know not the answer, Ariedel.”

“But how did the thing get there? It couldn’t have swum all the way.”

“Do you remember the night back home when I could not speak of the dream I had?”

“Yes.”

“I dreamt that an alien stowed on a ship sailing west and killed everyone aboard just before it reached Valinor. The creature is there now, I know it.”

“All right, let’s just say that it is there. Can’t the people or the Valar kill it?”

“There are no weapons in Valinor. None were ever needed after the evil of Melkor had been washed away from the lands. And the Valar are spirit that can assume solid flesh for only a short time. I know not if their powers have any affect on something not of our universe.”

“Well, we have to do something. We can’t just let this thing kill everyone because that’s exactly what it’s going to do unless we stop it.”

“The queen is with him. I have seen their union and I have seen over a hundred Elves trapped in their resin construct.”

“Oh God, no. She’s going to lay eggs and…They’ll sweep across the land like a tidal wave. There won’t be anyone left to rescue.”

Legolas turned back toward the darkness as if he saw something I couldn’t see. “I sense something else…”

“Like what?”

“Tis almost as if another strange entity has come to Arda.” He shivered again. “With malicious intent.”

“You mean something besides the aliens?”

“Aye…I cannot describe the unease I feel, or where it comes from. Tis a far greater nemesis I sense.”

Just as I was about to ask what could possibly be worse than the aliens, Rhovan suddenly began to roar. I recognized it as one of excitement and not to warn of approaching danger.

Legolas took my hand and led me down the incline.

We followed Rhovan at a jog back to camp and found that another company of Elves had arrived. Dismounting from his horse was Thranduil. We rushed over to greet him.

“Adar, why are you here?” asked Legolas, despite the relief I saw in his face at his father’s presence.

“I felt a strong desire to be at your side, ion,” replied the king. (son)

“I am glad you are here. There is something I need to discuss with you.”

We invited Thranduil into our tent and sat down on the cushions.

Legolas brought him up to speed, telling him about the dreams and visions and his belief that Valinor was in serious trouble. At the end, he asked his father the inevitable question. “What are we to do, adar?”

“We must make haste to the Grey Havens and sail with a company of armed Elves,” replied Thranduil, obviously not doubting his son’s beliefs for even a split second.

I shook my head. “By the time we reach Valinor, we’ll be looking at a thousand or more aliens running around. You have no idea how quickly they multiply. We’re going to need a fleet of ships, with hundreds of warriors.”

Legolas ran his hand over his face in frustration. “We cannot possibly build a fleet of ships in such a short time and we do not have an army to march upon them. We are fucked.”

He often cursed in my language, having unfortunately picked up the words from my occasional tantrums. I think I would have laughed had the situation not been so grave.

“We must find a way and quickly,” said Thranduil, not in the least bit enraged by Legolas’s cursing. “I will send a message by hawk to the Grey Havens instructing Círdan to begin constructing as many ships as he can.”

“Who’s Círdan?” I asked curiously.

“He is the shipwright in the Grey Havens,” replied Legolas. “He builds the ships for the Elves to sail west.” Then he turned to Thranduil. “We will speak to Aragorn when we reach Minas Tirith. I am certain he will send his people to the Grey Havens to help build more ships.”

“How much further is Minas Tirith from here?” I asked.

“Four days if we shorten our rest times.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do. If we’re going to find a way to stop these aliens, we should really head to the Grey Havens as soon as possible. Aragorn will send his men to Valinor, too, won’t he?” I asked.

“That is not possible, Ariedel,” replied Thranduil. “Only the immortal are allowed on the shores of the Undying Lands.”

I stared at him with my mouth open. “So I keep hearing. Does that mean I can’t go with my husband to fight the aliens?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “Maybe it’ll be allowed under these extreme circumstances. We need the help of every abled body.”

“Tis not a possibility under any circumstance unless the Valar themselves were to grant it.” Thranduil looked solemn. “I fear that no matter whatever endeavors we make, they may not be enough. It will take nothing short of a large miracle to accomplish this.”

In Space

The Rebel came out of hyperspace and abruptly slowed to a crawl, or what might have been that. To the human eye, the ship would have appeared to be hurdling as fast as a comet. Inside the ship, the captain and crew was awakened by the computer. Coming out of cryosleep was similar to a bear awakening from hibernation…starved. They filled up on whatever food the processors spit out. Typical military fare. Even though the ship was no longer registered as military, the equipment within it was still standard military.

Freak ate with his crew. He didn’t believe in rank, just as long as they acknowledged who the boss was. While they ate and goofed off, Freak made note of those in attendance. He only had five in his crew, besides himself. They all had their specialty, which was vital to every single one of his missions. Max “Zee” Zion, engineer; Lauren “6-pack” Sanchez, weapons tech; John “Sushi” Takashi, systems tech; and Brian “Loop” Lipinski, communications and medic. Then there was Bishop 52106, the android unit Freak conveniently commissioned for cheap change. Since all of the Bishop androids were named Bishop, Freak liked to be different. So he sometimes called his android Bob. The Rebel was hardly ever piloted on manual. The computer took care of it all, as long as it was programmed correctly. All in all, for his ship, there was no need for a staff of a hundred, not like some other starships of the same class.

“So where’s Her Highness?” asked Lipinski.

“Probably in the quarters that were assigned to her,” replied Bishop in the quiet voice that was typical of the Bishop androids.

Freak knew Loop was referring to the special guest they had picked up halfway to their destination. When they had picked her up, Freak welcomed her aboard, assigned her quarters and a cryochamber. Now she was nowhere in sight. Unless she was waiting for the rest of the crew to eat and leave. His guest wasn’t exactly a social butterfly and he really didn’t blame her.

“She obviously prefers solitude over any of us,” added Bishop.

“So, what’re you saying, Bishop, that we’re not good company?” asked Lipinski in mock insult.

Freak decided the moment was right for his usual speech before each mission. “All right, everyone listen up,” he said as he stood up at the table and waited for the room to grow quiet. “We got two days before we reach our destination. That’s SR-682, for all of you meatheads who didn’t pay attention before we left Avalon. The planet is labeled as non-tech, which means The Rebel won’t be entering the atmosphere, but will remain in orbit. It also means only one Dropship will be going down in the beginning. And I’ll be going alone.” He waited for the rumblings and complaints to end before he continued. “I’ve got a little side job I gotta take care of before we try to infiltrate the Company compound. So while I’m gone, I want you all to work on getting me the following. Get a fix on the compound down to one hundred meters, if not the exact location. I need full schematics of all levels, as detailed as possible. Use infrared and tell me exactly how many people are on the premises. If they own any xenomorphs, I need to know how many and that includes any unhatched eggs.”

Zion leaned toward Takashi. “Xenomorph. That’s another word for aliens, just in case you didn’t know that.”

John Takashi showed no emotion on his face as he turned to Zion and then casually turned back to Freak.

Zion snorted and turned away. The other guy just had no sense of humor whatsoever.

Freak eyed Zion briefly for the interruption, then continued. “Depending on how my initial meeting goes, when I return I may or may not have visitors. I don’t think I need to remind you to be on your best behavior. Let’s use the time we have now before we reach orbit to do our jobs. And I want the other Dropship in ready mode just in case I have a problem down there. Are we all clear?” Freak watched as the crew around the table confirmed their understanding with nods. “Okay, let’s do it.”

With as much silence and grace as a fox in a henhouse, the crew of The Rebel went on to prepare for their arrival.

Freak watched them depart and then decided to go pay his guest a visit, just to make sure she had come out of cryosleep without any ill effects.

 

Chapter 8 – Premonitions​

Valinor
Weyland-Yutani Research Base

“What do you hear?” asked Dr Oscar Leland.

The young Elf sitting in the seat beside Leland stared through the Plexiglas. The alien on the other side seemed to be staring back, tilting its head from side to side, teeth bared and dripping. Even though the alien was hideous, it didn’t frighten the young Elf. “I hear it breathing.”

Leland sighed impatiently. “Let me rephrase the question. What is it saying to you?”

The young Elf tilted his face toward Leland. “I do not know what it says to me.”

Leland grabbed the young Elf roughly by the arm. “Look at it! Tell me what it’s saying!”

The young Elf cowered away from the human man, hiding behind his shoulder length black hair.

“Give it a rest, Leland,” said Jordan. “It’s obvious he doesn’t understand the thing.”

Leland pointed a finger in Jordan’s direction. “No! I’m not giving up on this. They were able to do it with Ripley. That other Elf they had on Gateway was able to communicate with the alien queen extracted from him. I know I can do it with these Elves.” He released the young Elf and ran a hand through his own hair. “Bring me the other one.”

Jordan shook her head. “We’re wasting our time. This entire line of research is a waste of our time!”

“I said, bring me the other one.” Leland gave Jordan a hard look. He was determined to continue this research. The possibilities were endless, if they could only find some way to communicate with the aliens. They could understand them better. Perhaps even train the aliens. Yes, the possibilities were endless and he wasn’t going to give up so easily.

Jordan reluctantly went into the other room and returned with another young Elf, identical in looks to the first one. She held him by the hand and guided him to the empty chair beside his twin. The two Elflings turned to look at each other. An instant connection was made between them. As clones, they were only vaguely aware of their previous life. They were still children and didn’t quite understand much of what was happening around them.

Before Leland had a chance to confront the other Elfling, Jordan held a hand up. “Let me try.” She crouched down in front of both Elflings and looked at each one in turn for several seconds. “My name is Jordan. I know you’re probably frightened and don’t understand what’s happening to you. All we’re asking for you to do is to look right over there.” Jordan pointed to the alien on the other side of the Plexiglas. “Look at that creature in there and tell us if you understand what it’s saying to you.”

The young twins both turned to the alien and concentrated. They truly wanted to do what the woman was asking of them. But they understood nothing, if in fact the creature was projecting anything at all. They turned to one another and both shook their heads.

Jordan nodded. “I want you to know that you can trust me and I will do everything in my power to help you through this.”

“Don’t be giving them false illusions, Messer,” interjected Leland.

Jordan stood up and moved to stand practically nose to nose with Leland. “Do you want this to work or not? If so, then I suggest you start treating these children like they were your own.”

“These pointy-eared freaks are hopeless. We need new test subjects.”

“So let me get this straight. You’re going to keep using these people and growing clones? Do you realize how long it might take before you find one that can actually communicate with the aliens?”

“If they can’t communicate with the aliens then they’re useless to me.” Leland walked away, intending on locating Lieutenant Train and instructing him to go out looking for other Elves.

Jordan crouched back down in front of the young Elf twins. “I bet you’re wondering what your names are. Since we don’t know the names of your originators, I’m going to let you pick your own names. Is that all right?”

The twins turned to each other and the connection was strong again between them. Deep in the recesses of their mind came a small spark of something familiar. Something of their former life. Two names that they associated with.

The first Elfling turned to Jordan. “Elladan.”

The second Elfling also turned to Jordan. “Elrohir.”

Jordan smiled, wondering where they came up with such elaborate names. Then she wondered if the names had been intentional, as if they knew who they originated from. But then she dismissed the idea that they might possibly know they were clones.

Gondor

Aragorn, son of Arathorn, known to his people as King Elessar, stood on the top most level of Minas Tirith and surveyed the surrounding Pelennor Fields from the very tip of the battlement. He wondered when there would come a time that he would look upon those fields and not think about the brutal battle that took place there. Perhaps never in his lifetime. Putting aside the thoughts of battling Orcs, Uruk-hai and the dreaded Haradim with their mumakil, Aragorn searched the distance for signs of Legolas and his family. They were expected to arrive in the early afternoon and still there was no sign of them as the sun slowly began to set in the west.

“What could be their delay?” he asked to no one in particular, eyes pealed to the northeast, where he knew they would cross the Anduin River via the bridge in Osgiliath.

“Perhaps they take longer rests because of the children?”

Aragorn turned to find himself not alone. Arwen came up and easily slid into his arms. “I truly hope that is the reason and nothing has befallen them.”

Arwen slowly pulled away when she noticed a movement down below. Then she pointed. “Look there.”

Aragorn looked to where Arwen pointed and he spotted the familiar white form of his pet tiger, Cail. The large feline was running away from the white city and headed out into the plains. He squinted his eyes and suddenly saw small pinpoints of light approaching. They were torches. If danger approached then Cail would not have rushed into it alone. He quickly deduced that Cail’s sibling, Rhovan was near and he was running out to greet him. What Aragorn found curious was that he saw torches. Elves never needed any light to see in the dark. Torches meant only one thing, that Elves were not all that made up Legolas’s traveling party.

“Legolas and his family finally approach,” stated Arwen. “Come, let us greet them at the Great Gates.”

Aragorn and Arwen headed down the streets of the seven levels of Minas Tirith. It took some time, not only because of the distance, but also because of the delays in greeting the people they crossed paths with on their way down. By the time they reached the main level and the Great Gates, the party was more than halfway through the fields within Rammas Echor, the Great-wall Circle.

“Who rides with Legolas?” asked Aragorn.

Arwen scanned the group with her Elven eyes, seeing further than Aragorn. “King Éomer and Lothíriel,” she replied with excitement. “I have not seen the queen of Rohan for many years. Oh, and do my eyes deceive me, for I am certain I see King Thranduil himself.”

Aragorn frowned. “Tis quite a surprise that he travels here to Gondor.”

Arwen gave him a crooked smile. “And why a surprise? Did you not invite him to our son’s birthday?”

“Aye, but rarely does Thranduil leave the confines of his realm for such trivial matters.”

“Perhaps he has changed his ways.” Arwen doubted it, knowing that Aragorn was right when he commented on Thranduil never attending trivial things, such as birthdays. But she ignored the matter, not wanting to spoil her good mood. Seeing Ariedel and Lothíriel would be great fun. Not often did the three of them get together. She turned her attention to Ariedel, with Elril riding traditionally at the front of her saddle. “Elril has grown since last we saw him. I believe he will learn to walk during his time here.”

Aragorn wrapped an arm around Arwen’s waist and leaned toward her ear. “Perhaps you say such things because of your desire to have another child. A girl, perhaps?”

Arwen giggled as Aragorn kissed the sensitive space behind her ear. “Perhaps.” Her eyes then turned to Legolas and what she saw made her smile quickly fade. “Aragorn, something ails, Legolas.”

Upon hearing her words, Aragorn quickly detached himself from Arwen and moved several steps forward, desperately trying to see what his half-Elven wife saw. “What makes you think that?”

“You will see with your own eyes when he approaches.”

This worried Aragorn. Not often did Elves fall ill, unless they suffered from heartache or a physical wound to their body. He found himself holding his breath, waiting for the party to finally reach a place where he could actually see their faces. Long minutes passed before they finally were close enough for him to see. His eyes found Legolas and a dreadful gasp escaped his throat. “Dear Elbereth, he is ill.”

His long-time friend was paler than he had ever seen him before, with dark circles beneath his eyes. His usually pristine hair was disheveled and matted. Aragorn could have sworn that the Elf looked as if he had not bathed in days. When Legolas’s eyes finally came up to meet his, Aragorn saw great concern in them and…fear.

“Their silence is somber,” said Arwen. In past times, whenever Legolas and his family came to visit, the Elves always approached singing festive songs, their laughter echoing in the valley. There was no singing and no laughter. Arwen quickly glanced about, finding both Anwar and Brendan looking healthy. Even Elfwine, the son of Éomer and Lothíriel, was fine. What could be causing such somberness?

Gondor
(Legolas’s POV)

I could tell by the look on Aragorn and Arwen’s faces that they knew something was wrong. I tried to appear more positive, had even told those in my company to sing and laugh. But none felt the desire to sing or to laugh. Ariedel was concerned for me. She knew I kept myself active to avoid reverie, which I knew would force me to sleep. I felt that if I did not sleep then nothing bad would happen to those I knew in Valinor. And if bad things continued to happen to them, then I did not want to see it. I could not bear to see it. My heart was wounded enough and to see others perish would only bring me closer to fading.

But during sleep was not the only time I saw things in my mind’s eye. Quite often the visions would come to me…luring me into an ominous oblivion that only promised disaster for those I knew. Some I knew not, but their cruel deaths still pained me. These creatures were heartless in every sense. The sorrowful pleas of their victims went unanswered. More were birthed from the chests of those unsuspecting victims. Such a brutal death nearly claimed me so many years ago before the embryo was cut from my chest, thus preventing the creature from bursting through my ribs. I could have been dead…if not for Ariedel.

I turned to my left, to gaze upon the simple beauty of my wife. There was never a moment that I thought of myself alone, without her in my life. For all the millennia I had lived, the times I knew she had not been there, I still felt as if she had been. Through the mines of Moria where we thought we had lost Gandalf, during the attack of the Uruk-hai at Amon Hen and the brutal death of Boromir. She had been fighting beside me at Helm’s Deep and on the very valley where we currently rode, during the battle of Pelennor Fields. She had been with me when I fought against the alien queen and her alpha drone, where I had suffered such injuries as I had never known. In truth she had not been with me at all, for any of that…but to imagine that she had been was comforting to me.

Without her I never would have had the three children that depended on me to be their father. Without her I would have shunned my responsibilities as prince to the realm of my father and grandfather. Without her I would have continued the pointless and irrelevant quests that left me void of any desire to seek the companionship of a female. Without her I never would have known a love that literally brought me to my knees. Without her I would die…

Ariedel drew her horse closer to mine and reached for my hand. “I think we’ll finally get a chance to be alone tonight, Legolas.” She referred to the fact that my father had taken up permanent residence in our tent during our journey to Minas Tirith. Then she reached up to caress my cheek. “I’ll make sure you don’t have any nightmares tonight. I promise.”

I tried to smile, but I knew it was a weak attempt. The slight downward tilt of her brow told me she was concerned. I had not the heart to tell her that I cared not to sleep, under any circumstance.

After a moment I turned my gaze forward again. We were quickly approaching the main gates of Minas Tirith. Too quickly as far as I was concerned. The inevitable awaited me. I had the grave responsibility of informing Arwen that her brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, were dead. That they had been torn to pieces by the very creatures that now threatened every Elf in Valinor. That her father, Elrond, might also be in danger of losing his life. That the infestation would not simply end in Valinor, but would then spread across the seas to inflict its perilous malice on the lands of Middle Earth. Not to mention the other threat I continued to sense, but had no ability to identify. What of it? Would that prove to be a far worse nemesis than the aliens?

Arwen would undoubtedly be able to sense my turmoil. She would recognize the battle that raged within me, to my wit’s end, the lunacy that slowly crept in, threatening to destroy my sanity and all that I held precious to me. There was no way to hide from my kin’s special senses. Of any Elf I had known in my long life, Arwen probably knew me the best. But she would never know of the dark premonition that something terrible would happen to me soon. No one would know it. Not even Ariedel. To tell anyone would tempt fate into bringing them down with me…To my personal hell. If fate dealt me a killing blow, then I wanted no one that I cherished to be near me when the time came. My fate would be mine alone.

Before I realized it, we had reached the Great Gates of Minas Tirith and Ariedel managed to coax me off Arod’s back. What I had wanted to do was spin him around and cry out for him to take me away from there, so I would not have to tell Arwen the news of her brothers. I wanted Arod to take me to the Grey Havens where I would board a ship…alone. I would sail to Valinor and I would kill every alien in my sites, until they were all dead…or until I was.

Aragorn was the first to greet me. “Legolas, mellon nin, I am so glad to see you.” (my friend)

I avoided looking into Aragorn’s eyes. “Aye, tis always good to be back here.”

The greetings continued for several minutes and then we were headed up to the sixth level of Minas Tirith, where we left our horses with the stableboys. The rest of the way was on foot. The walk was not so far to the King’s House where Arwen would have no doubt prepared the usual rooms assigned to us whenever we visited. I remained silent as Ariedel, Arwen and Lothíriel casually chatted about insignificant things. The subject of the aliens would not immediately be brought up. The hour was late and everyone needed rest. My father told me that there truly was no best time for such news, but the subject would be broached in the morning.

Ariedel promised me solace during the night and she did not disappoint. We made love for many hours, as if we had been starved of it for years. It had felt that way the moment we kissed, when our hands roamed each other with familiarity, finding our weaknesses and points of pleasure without abandon. Her joyous cries of fulfillment momentarily erased my worries and I let her take me to the place where the threat of no alien could reach. Panting and releasing the raw desire between me and the woman I loved, body and soul. My own cries of fulfillment echoed loudly in the large bed chamber. When the sensation was over, I discovered Ariedel giggling to herself.

I allowed myself the luxury of a brief laugh, as her laughter was contagious. “What do you find so funny, meleth nin?” (my love)

“They’re going to make fun of us in the morning, I know it.”

I knew she referred to our vocal proceedings. But I did not mind being ridiculed for such reasons. It would keep the mood light in the morning, until the inevitable subject of the aliens was brought up.

We held each other tight during the night and I allowed myself to drift off to sleep.

I sensed the presence of others and when I opened my eyes, I found two beings standing beside my bed. I quickly glanced to Ariedel, but she was still asleep.

“She will not awaken, Legolas Thranduilion,” said the woman. (son of Thranduil)

I turned back to the man and woman whom I quickly sensed to be no threat to me or my wife. My only concern was that they had easily managed to enter my bed chamber without my knowledge. Had I been sleeping so soundly? In the deep recesses of my mind, I felt that I knew who they were, but consciously I did not.

“Have no fear. I am Nienna.”

“And I am Irmo.”

The names rang in my head like the bells announcing the arrival of my father in the Great Hall back home. Nienna and Irmo. These names belonged to two of the Valar. But could it truly be them? What made me so special as to be allowed such an audience?

Nienna smiled graciously, reminding me so much of Lady Galadriel. “You have many questions, young Legolas.”

“Ask what you desire to know,” added Irmo.

I stared with my mouth open, unable to think of what to ask them. But I needed to reassure myself that I had not yet lost my mind completely. “Are you truly the Valar?”

Nienna nodded her head in affirmation.

“Why do I deserve this honor?”

“You know the reason, Legolas,” said Irmo. “Search your feelings.”

I was awed by their presence, yet I suddenly knew why they had come. “You are here to confirm my visions, that Valinor is indeed in peril.”

“Tis true,” Nienna confirmed. “Day by day, the creatures multiply. The Elves that were taken have been hosts to birth the treacherous young. You have seen this before. You know what they are capable of.”

“Aye, I have seen it before and now I am living it. The images come to me at random.”

“There is a connection between you and the creatures,” said Irmo. “We wish to understand it.”

I frowned and sighed. “I, myself, do not understand it. This connection, it should not be. I have no physical ties with any of them as I did to the creature that had been extracted from me long ago. That creature has long since been destroyed. Tis a foul deed to be sure, but I know not why I have this connection.”

“Do you sense their presence?” asked Irmo.

“I feel no physical presence, but I can feel the evil in the air. And when the visions come to me, they are full of suffering and death. I know not how much more I can bear before I lose all sense of reason.”

Nienna sat beside me on the bed and placed a comforting arm around my shoulder. “Have faith in yourself, Legolas. You have family and friends who love you. They will never allow such a thing to happen. You have endured in the past and will continue to do so.”

I wanted to blurt out my premonition, that I felt as if my days among the living were numbered. Soon I would have neither family nor friends to comfort me. The thought brought tears to my eyes, tears that I could not prevent.

Irmo knelt down before me and I found it difficult to comprehend that the Vala could belittle himself so by such an act. I was no one to him. Why would one of such high status genuflect before someone as inconsequential as me? “Do not despair, Legolas. We have come with a special message from Manwë.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words would form. Manwë was the most powerful of the Valar and I always assumed he was somewhat in charge. For him to be sending me a special message…I could not comprehend the magnitude of such an honor. With tears still falling from my eyes, I stared open-mouthed at Irmo, waiting to hear the message.

“Manwë seeks aid from any in Middle Earth that are willing to risk their lives. He asks that you bring weapons. These creatures cannot be killed otherwise.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, thinking of the blasters I used to easily kill the aliens on Gateway Station and knowing the impossibility of obtaining them. “The weapons required are not available to us.”

Irmo smiled and nodded. “Tis not an easy task with the weapons available in Middle Earth, but you managed it once before. You slew them with bow and arrow before. Surely you must recall.”

“I recall it every single day of my life since then.” I wiped at the tears on my cheeks and pulled away from Nienna. Not that I was not comforted by her, but because I suddenly felt guilty and ashamed. Overcoming my fear of the aliens was never an option for me. But I knew that I could make a difference if I was given the opportunity to bring aid to those in Valinor. What kind of Elf was I to reveal my weakness to the Valar before me? “I will bring as big of a legion as I can gather.”

Irmo gave a nod and then tilted his head. “I sense you have other questions.”

The questions seemed to flash in my mind readily enough. “How did this happen? How could such a creature be allowed to land upon the shores of Valinor?”

“As you know, the origin of these creatures is not of our universe. We have no power against them.” Irmo frowned and closed his eyes. “A single creature came by ship. By the time it neared Valinor, it had killed all those aboard. Ulmo was unable to send it away using the power of the Sundering Seas. He churned the waters so violently that nothing could have survived such a deluge of force. Nonetheless, the creature continued to swim to shore.”

The powers of the Valar were limited in these times. Not as they used to be in the days of old. They rarely involved themselves in the dealings of the Elves, much less the other races that comprised Arda, especially those that dwelled in Middle Earth. Their only involvement was to send the Maiar, in the form of the Istari, of which Gandalf was one. And even then, the wizards were not allowed to use their powers to their full extent in order to vanquish any evil. Their role was to advise and occasionally fight, without the use of any special powers. The fact that the Valar were involved now with the aliens only added to the severity of the situation. If all life on Arda was to be extinguished, then only the aliens would roam the world.

“What of the Elves that were slain? Do they currently reside in the Halls of Mandos?” I truly wanted to believe that Elladan and Elrohir still had a chance to be restored in Valinor as they once were.

Irmo shook his head. “Not all the spirits of those slain have found their way to the Halls of Mandos. Only with the help of Galadriel and Varda have some made it. But there are so many. Tis a difficult task Galadriel and Varda face. Yet there is hope that someday all the spirits will be returned.”

I felt little comfort from the news. But if Irmo had hope, then so would I. And yet I still felt an incredible void, knowing that the souls of my friends were lost.

Nienna touched my arm and drew my attention to her. “There is something else, Legolas. Manwë feels that you can sense it.”

I was surprised that Manwë knew I sensed the presence of another evil besides the aliens. “Aye, I sense it, but am unable to understand it.”

“The creatures are not all that threaten the lives of those in Valinor. There is another threat. Mortals have come from the stars.”

From the stars…of course. I had lived enough in Ariedel’s other world to understand what this meant. Ships did not only travel on water. They also traveled in space. Someone had come to Arda from the stars and happened to land in Valinor. I knew better than to think that they could be there to rid Valinor of the aliens. They were there for other reasons. I recalled my brief encounter with a man named Warner on Gateway Station. He had wanted to use me in his experiments, to see how it was possible for me to communicate with the alien queen that had been extracted from me. I imagined whoever had come from the stars was undoubtedly thinking of similar schemes. “Perhaps Ariedel knows who they might be. I will ask her when she awakens.” I had no doubt that the Valar knew the true origin of Ariedel. They knew everything that occurred in Arda.

Nienna nodded. “You have suffered greatly, Legolas and regretfully, I fear that your suffering will continue. Such burdens laid upon you are unnatural. Is there something you might request for yourself when you have succeeded this quest?”

The Vala was confident that I would succeed. It gave me a renewed sense of hope. “A request of what nature?”

“A special request from the Valar. Is there a wish you would want granted?”

I turned to my sleeping wife, lying peacefully beside me. Tears formed in my eyes again at the thought of losing her someday. “I would ask…” My voice sounded strange to me between tears. “I would ask that my wife be allowed to spend eternity with me, that she not die of sickness or old age as mortals do.”

“You request immortality for Ariedel. You ask nothing for yourself? Such an unselfish request,” said Nienna.

I turned to her and no longer felt shame for the tears in my eyes. “You misunderstand. This request is pure selfishness. I ask this because without her I have no desire to live.”

Nienna smiled faintly, her eyes twinkling in the darkness of the chamber. “I will speak to Manwë of your request.” Then she stood up and moved to stand beside Irmo.

Irmo added, “You will find most of the Elves are in Ilmarin, home of Manwë, on top of Mount Taniquetil. Others may be found in Valmar. We anticipate your arrival, young Legolas and wish you great luck in your journey to rid Valinor of this threat.”

Both Nienna and Irmo bowed before me and I was awed that they would do such a thing. Thus I bowed my head before them in return.

I woke with a start, sitting up and scanning the chamber for the presence of others. No one was there. Had Nienna and Irmo truly been there or had I dreamt the encounter? I closed my eyes and frowned to myself. Was I that desperate? Then I recalled a fact about Irmo. He was afterall the master of visions and dreams. If he were to communicate with me, then it would have been in my dreams. But I felt some disappointment that I did not actually witness their departure.

The skies outside the window reflected faint lights of purple and blue. Dawn was near. I turned to Ariedel and laid down again, moving as close to her as possible and enfolding her in my arms. She stirred and mumbled several incomprehensible words before she was silent and still again. Recalling my special request to Nienna, I wondered if such a favor had ever been granted. Immortality was not something bestowed. One was born with it, as an Elf. My children were half-Elf, they were immortal and also had the right to choose a mortal life, as Arwen had. Ariedel was my life. Without her I would die…

 

Chapter 9 – The Alien Threat​

Gondor
(Legolas’s POV)

As I predicted, Ariedel and I were the brunt of many jokes during the morning gathering in the dining hall.

“I could have sworn a pair of wolves had managed to sneak into the halls,” said Aragorn.

To my horror, my own daughter scrunched her face. “That is sooooooo gross, Uncle Aragorn.” Anwar gagged while the boys laughed.

I gave Aragorn a warning look. Now was not the time for such discussions in front of the children, especially my daughter, who I discovered knew a lot more than I wanted her to know.

Aragorn smiled and turned to Anwar. “Nay, Anwar, I truly believe we had wolves. They were howling and howling.”

This time Ariedel intervened and threw a bread roll at Aragorn. It bounced off his forehead and landed in his bowl of porridge, which splashed the front of his tunic. That scene caused great amusement among everyone, including Arwen.

Sometime during the meal, Faramir, the Steward of Gondor arrived. With him was his wife Éowyn who was Éomer’s sister. They apologized for their tardiness and joined in the merriment around the table.

I was disappointed to learn from Arwen that Gimli was not in Gondor. He spent a considerable time in the Shire with Sam, Merry and Pippin and was there now. My Dwarf friend planned to travel to Gondor with the Hobbits to attend Eldarion’s birthday in a month’s time. I had so hoped to see Gimli sooner. His good humor always distracted me from any dark thoughts.

When the meal ended, the children scampered off to play somewhere in the palace. Alma took Elril for a walk in the garden, taking the two tigers with her. This left me, Ariedel, my father, Aragorn, Arwen, Éomer, Lothíriel, Faramir, Éowyn and Gamling still seated at the table. I had hoped to speak to Aragorn and Arwen alone, but decided that everyone needed to hear the story at the same time.

My tension had been eased somewhat with the merriment earlier, but I knew it was short-lived. The news about the aliens needed to be told and action was required. To initiate the announcement, I asked for everyone’s attention. I turned to face Aragorn, Arwen, Faramir and Éowyn, for they were the ones that did not know of the news. “I regret to inform you that the alien threat has returned.”

Aragorn’s jaw dropped, quickly understanding the magnitude of my statement. “What?”

Faramir and Arwen were equally surprised. They had been at the battle when the aliens attacked Minas Tirith long ago. Éowyn was perplexed, for she had not been present at the time and knew nothing first-hand except for perhaps what Faramir had told her.

I went on to tell them that an alien queen had been birthed by a Fell beast, thus giving her the ability to fly. In the meantime another alien had stowed aboard a ship bound for Valinor, killed all those aboard and managed to safely make it to the shores. The alien and the queen were united sometime after that. Since then the queen laid eggs and Elves in Valinor were abducted to be used as hosts for their young. The spread of the creatures was quickly growing.

“How do you know all this?” asked Aragorn.

“A man of Rohan was attacked and killed.” I turned to Éomer, who nodded as confirmation of my statement. “Others also witnessed it and described the creature to me. It was the alien queen, now capable of flight.”

“But…” continued Aragorn, shaking his head in disbelief. “How do you know what’s happened in Valinor?”

“I have seen the attacks in visions and in dreams.”

“What are we to do?” he asked.

I had expected Aragorn to question my visions, but was grateful that he did not. Yet I still had much to say. “I was honored last night with the presence of Nienna and Irmo. They are two of the Valar.” I knew not how much Men understood about the Valar and was prepared to answer any questions they would have. Ariedel had asked many questions when I had told her of the incident before we attended the morning meal. The only thing I did not mention to Ariedel was the possibility of a ship from the stars landing in Valinor. I would bring up that topic to her alone later. Besides, there was no use mentioning it now to those that would not understand.

“What did they say?” asked Arwen.

“They will allow anyone to enter Valinor to help defeat the alien threat. They want us to bring weapons.”

“They have no weapons of their own?” asked Faramir.

“Nay, there has been no need for weapons for millennia. They are defenseless and are in dire need of our assistance.”

“Why do the Valar not crush the creatures themselves?” asked Éomer.

Of those that were seated at the table, only Arwen and I truly understood the ways of the Valar. She spoke before I could. “The Valar are extremely complicated beings. They have powers, but choose not to use them in some circumstances. Remember, when the threat of Sauron spread across Middle Earth, the Valar could have intervened. But they had confidence in us to allow us to fight our own battles. There are certain events we are intended to handle on our own, without the influence of the Valar.”

“The alien creatures are not of our universe,” I added. “The powers of the Valar are also limited in this capacity. If they had been able to stop them we would not be having this discussion at the moment.”

Aragorn rubbed his chin thoughtfully and I knew he was thinking of ways to accomplish the impossible in such a short timespan. “We will take our armies to the Grey Havens and board as many ships as are available. Then we will sail West and confront the aliens as we did before.”

“I have already sent word to Círdan to begin construction of as many ships as he can handle,” said Thranduil. “We may need to make time to help build more, depending on how many Men we can fit into each ship.”

“Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of a lot of time,” said Ariedel to those around the table. “These creatures grow extremely fast and they multiply like you wouldn’t believe. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

I remembered something else that Irmo said. “Irmo mentioned that most of the people made it to Valmar or Ilmarin, which is Manwë’s own home. Manwë is another of the Valar, one of great leadership. Although most have found sanctity, there were many that were lost before they could make it to either Valmar or Ilmarin.”

“When we arrive upon the shores, we should make haste to locate Gandalf,” said Aragorn. “He will have more information for us.”

“An excellent idea, Aragorn,” complimented Thranduil. My father was not one so quick to praise anyone, especially not a mortal. But I knew he truly was quite fond of Aragorn, in his own way. “He may also be able to help us locate the queen’s nesting grounds.”

“We should make preparations for our journey to the Grey Havens..” Aragorn turned to Faramir. “See to it that every able-bodied Man prepares to join us. I want us ready to depart at dawn.”

A few minutes later everyone stood from the table and disbursed. I glanced in Arwen’s direction. She was actually smiling broadly.

“I cannot believe it. I will be able to see my father and brothers again,” she told Aragorn.

Aragorn gave her a stern look. “Now, Arwen, you know it will only be for a short time.”

“I know this is obviously not such a joyous time, but I cannot help the excitement I feel. And I want to take Eldarion. It will be wonderful for him to have the opportunity to see my father and brothers after so long. ”

Ariedel exchanged a glance with me. “Legolas, she’s really getting her hopes up. You have to tell her.”

I glanced in Arwen’s direction again, unable to mask the sorrow I felt so deep inside. It was such a difficult thing for me to have to tell her that her brothers had been slain. “I know. I will tell her when she and Aragorn are alone.”

Gondor

Anwar stepped back from the upright flat stone she had been painting upon and admired her work. For the last couple of hours she had been painting a grey horse with a masculine rider. As the painting progressed, she found the face of the rider looking quite like that of Eldarion. It had not been intentional…but perhaps it was due to the fact that he seemed to suddenly occupy much of her thoughts. Ever since they had arrived. Eldarion seemed different than the last time she had seen him, which was only a little over six months ago. Perhaps it was because he was turning thirteen years of age. Not yet an adult, but that age brought on additional lessons in life. It was something Anwar could not wait for. She smiled at the image on the stone, thinking that it looked just as handsome as Eldarion. Then the thought brought a blush to her cheeks as she suddenly realized the meaning of such a thought.

“What are you painting?”

Anwar jumped at the sound of Eldarion’s voice so near. She quickly moved to stand in front of the painting and turned to face Eldarion. “Oh, tis nothing.”

“Let me see it.”

She shook her head, her cheeks feeling as if they had been set aflame. When he tried to look over her shoulder, Anwar raised an arm to block the view. Then when he tried to look over the other side, she moved there. Only he did not go there as she had thought. Instead he moved in the opposite direction and tickled her waist. Anwar burst into giggles and tried to fight him off, momentarily forgetting about the painting until she saw that he was looking at it.

“Tis a likeness of me, I think.”

Anwar chewed on her lower lip, not at all sure what to say.

Eldarion gave her a sideways glance and a smile. “But that is not my horse.”

When he walked away, Anwar sighed in disgust of herself and retrieved her brush with the intention of painting a purple blob over the rider’s face. But she found herself pausing and staring at the image again.

Brendan and Elfwine were spying from the center of the room where they had been engaging in a mock battle with wooden swords. They both burst into fits of laughter.

“Anwar and Eldarion, sitting in a tree…” sang Brendan.

Anwar frowned at her younger brother. “Stop it.”

“K-i-s-s-i-n-g,” continued Brendan.

“I said stop it!”

Brendan began kissing his own arm in an exaggerated manner while Elfwine laughed hysterically. “Oh, Eldarion…kiss me, kiss me.”

Anwar grabbed her wooden palette of paint. “Shut up, Brendan!” She threw it at him.

Brendan ducked at the last second and the palette slammed into the far wall. He raised his eyebrows in Elfwine’s direction.

“I do not think she likes you teasing her,” commented Elfwine.

Anwar would have leaped on her brother if Eldarion had not re-entered the room. He carried a basket of sweetbreads. Both Brendan and Elfwine rushed over to grab some.

“Something big is happening,” said Eldarion. “I saw my father’s Steward gathering some of the guards and instructing them to begin mustering the Men.” Eldarion sat down at a table.

Anwar reluctantly joined in after Brendan and Elfwine had taken a seat, purposely leaving the one beside Eldarion for her.

“What does that mean, mustering the Men?” asked Elfwine. He was only six, a year younger than Brendan.

Eldarion spoke with his mouth full of sweetbread. “It means that they are being called to arms. I think they are going to battle.”

Anwar gave in and decided to take a sweetbread from the basket. “ Battle against whom?”

Eldarion shrugged. “Not Orcs. Their numbers are not so large that they would dare to stand up against my father’s army.”

Brendan shared a glance with Elfwine, then turned to Eldarion. “We heard the adults talking one night. I think there is a new nemesis that challenges us.”

Anwar gave Brendan a look. “Like what? What did you hear?”

“We heard nana talk to Uncle Éomer about a creature that dripped saliva from its jaws. It has lots of teeth that can easily tear through flesh.” Brendan scooted closer to the table and glanced left and right, as if he wanted to be certain no one else was around to hear. “She told him that when their eggs hatch, the youngling attaches itself to the face of its prey and plants another youngling inside its mouth. Then this new youngling later bursts from the chest and becomes this creature with the dripping jaws.” (mommy)

Anwar frowned. “That is such a big fat lie, Brendan. You heard no such thing.”

“I swear it to be true.”

“Tis not!”

“Tis so!”

Eldarion held a hand up to silence the siblings. As the oldest of the four, he felt it was his duty to bring peace. But there was another reason he wanted them to stop their silliness. “Wait a minute, I think I heard my father talk about such a creature not long ago and the battle against them. The battle occurred before I was born…before any of us were born.”

Anwar turned to Eldarion. “Do you truly believe that such a hideous creature can exist? Bursting from the chest of its prey? I have heard better stories coming from trolls.”

Eldarion gave Anwar a smile. “Am I to understand that you have had conversations with trolls then, Anwar?”

“Well…” Her face reddened. “Not exactly.”

“There is only one way to find out,” said Eldarion. “I will ask my father when I see him next.”

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

The Rebel slowly orbited the large planet. To anyone looking to the stars, the dark ship would be invisible against the darkness of space.

Freak entered the Bridge and walked over to the control center where Lipinski and Zion were hovering over the digital map. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Zion shook his head in what appeared to Freak as disbelief. “You’re never gonna believe this shit, man.”

“Never gonna believe what?” Freak looked down at the map and the numerous blinking red lights. He didn’t need to be told what he was seeing. The red lights meant aliens. The ship sensors were picking up a whole mess of alien signatures, definitely in the hundreds. “Oh fuck, are you kidding me?”

“The sensors don’t lie, boss,” replied Lipinski.

Freak covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath before looking down at the map again, unable to control his frustration over this new situation. “I thought this planet was bug-free.”

“We thought wrong,” said Zion nonchalantly.

Freak thought for a moment. The planet had been clean of bugs. The Company later decided to set up a research base. There was no doubt in his mind they obviously had brought with them a specimen or two to work with. Did the aliens escape? Did they multiply after that, and how without a queen? If the aliens escaped from the research base, then were the scientists killed? Freak turned to Zion. “What about the base? Are there any signs of life?”

“Oh yeah,” replied Zion. “All is well down there. I’ve got fifteen humans, two unknowns four adult xenomorphs and two undeveloped chestbursters within the compound.”

So if the aliens didn’t escape from the compound, then where did they come from? He frowned when he realized something Zion said. “Wait a minute. Unknowns?”

“Yeah, not human. Don’t know for sure.”

There was no way to find out how many aliens the scientists had to start with when the base had been set up. They had four now and the two undeveloped chestbursters had to be specimens extracted from impregnated hosts. But did the damned idiots release aliens to wreck havoc on the population? What the hell was the point of that? And what were the unknowns? Could they be clones? “This is fucking unbelievable. I wasn’t expecting this shit at all.”

Lipinski straightened up. “So does this mean we’re going bug hunting sometime soon?”

“I hadn’t planned on it, but yeah, I suppose we’re going bug hunting. But I got a few things I gotta take care of first.”

Zion looked up, a half smile on his cleanly-shaven face. “This wouldn’t have something to do with a certain Avalon citizen down there, would it?”

Freak turned to Zion. The engineer had obviously found something Freak hadn’t assigned him to look for. But it was too late now. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was doing something illegal. He was just looking up an old friend, nothing more. So he played along with Zion. “Tell me more, Zee.”

“I picked up an Avalon Identifier Chip…quite by accident, really.”

The simple fact of the matter was that Zion had saved Freak the trouble of having to find it himself. The engineer had been far too efficient for his own good. “I take it you read the AIC.”

Zion punched a series of buttons on a panel off to the side. A new image with some text cut into the image of the map. “Crystal Schuyler. She’s on file as an employee of Lifesource with an unknown status as to whether she’s dead or alive because she hasn’t checked in to update her chip in the last seven or eight months. Hey, mystery solved. She’s definitely alive.”

Freak studied the image of Crystal. It was from a few years ago. She wasn’t smiling in the picture, her hair was cropped short under a military cap. “Yeah, right. That’s her. I’m supposed to make contact with her.”

“What’s she doing down there?” asked Lipinski.

The idea that Crystal was alive lifted a heavy weight from Freak’s shoulders and he was elated and feeling playful. “Top secret, man. If I tell you, then I’m gonna have to kill you.” Freak glanced back down at the map, at the blue flashing light. Luckily it was nowhere near any of the red ones. In fact the bugs looked like they had amassed on another continent. “Patch that signal to Dropship One. I’m heading down in a couple hours. In the meantime I wanna know how many bugs we’ve got to deal with.”

After Freak walked out of the Bridge, Zion turned to Lipinski with a smile. “Whatta you think, Loop? Old girlfriend?”

Lipinski shook his head as he studied the image. “Nah, not his type. He likes the book-smart ones. Besides, you know he’s never gotten over whatserface.”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Where is whatserface nowadays?”

“Don’t know. Last I heard she was running experiments on some micro-organisms on Alpha Zeta 3 for The Company.”

“So, are you gonna help me count them or what?”

Lipinski began to count the red lights and paused when he suddenly realized he didn’t have to do it manually. He gave Zion a sneer.

Zion snickered and went on to punch several buttons on the console. Somewhere on the digital map another small window opened, revealing a number representing the red lights and unfortunately the number kept increasing as the seconds ticked away…1,367...1,368…1,369…1,370...

 

Chapter 10 – What Could Be Worse?​

Gondor

Arwen methodically packed several articles of clothing in a satchel, all the while thinking about the moment she would see her family again. In all the years that passed since she had made her choice to be mortal, she knew that once her family departed to the Undying Lands, she would never see them again, even after her death. The souls of mortals were never restored to life. She only knew that mortal souls resided in the Halls of Mandos and from there she knew not where they went. Her only consolation was that she would eventually be with Aragorn in those Halls. Despite the gravity of the situation, that it was the dreaded aliens that brought this profound opportunity to see her family once again, she could not help but feel overjoyed.

The door to her bed chamber opened and Aragorn stepped inside. His face was ghostly white.

“Eldarion,” she whispered. Arwen immediately thought something had happened to their son.

Aragorn stepped aside and turned back to the doorway as Legolas entered.

Arwen turned her attention to Legolas. He wore a similar expression as Aragorn. But he would not have been the one to bring news of her son, if something had happened to him. She studied his face, to see if she could read the ill news he obviously bore. All along she had known that something was not well with Legolas. He exuded an unconditional sense of sorrow and despair. After hearing the news of the aliens earlier, she had assumed it was the creatures that weighed heavily on his mind. But now she knew there was something else…and it had to do with her. “What is it?”

Legolas slowly made his way across the room and he felt a knife in his heart as Arwen collapsed onto the edge of the bed. He could tell that she knew he was the bearer of bad tidings. There was just no way to hide his sorrowful expression from her. “Arwen,” Legolas began. Then he knelt down before her, taking both of her hands in his.

Arwen felt tears beginning to sting her eyes before she even knew what it was Legolas would say to her. In her attempt to stem the flow of her tears, she sacrificed her steady breathing, which soon became harsh. The news was horrid, she knew it. She was witnessing Legolas’s usually solid resolve deteriorate before her very eyes, along with her own.

“Arwen, I had not the heart to tell you during the morning meal.” Legolas took a deep breath. “Your brothers…” His voice faltered, the words hanging in the air before he finally managed to force them out. “…have been slain.”

Arwen continued breathing heavily, letting the news sink in. Tears quickly filled her eyes. Elladan and Elrohir. It could not be. Without warning, anger surfaced from within her. “Nay, it cannot be. You are wrong!”

Legolas remained still, knowing Arwen had not meant the words. To believe it made it true. He knew the feeling so well. He had so often denied what his mind’s eye saw in the visions and dreams that plagued him. To believe it made it true.

She wailed out in misery and Legolas wrapped his arms around her, fighting with every bit of strength in him to hold back his own tears.

Aragorn would not remain left out. Elladan and Elrohir had been his foster brothers. He had known them all of his life. It had been bad enough to know that he would never see them or Elrond, his foster father, again after they sailed to Valinor. But to know that they were slain. It was too much for him to bear. He sat on the bed beside his wife and wrapped his arms around her and Legolas.

Valinor

Upon the mountain of Taniquetil, within the safety of the high walls of Ilmarin, Celeborn stood with Elrond, their faces grim as they stared at the lengthy parchment that contained the names of those reported missing. It was worse than they had originally thought. Thousands had disappeared.

Gandalf’s expression was just as dismal. He knew the true depth of the meaning, aside from the fact that they were gone, it meant that same number of alien creatures now walked the once peaceful lands of Valinor. Nay, they did not walk…they stalked. Their only purpose was to find hosts for the continued growth of their species…until all manner of life vanished from existence and the only species to survive would be the aliens themselves. What then? Would they kill each other for food? It would run out eventually…in a year, perhaps. And then Arda would be no more.

The voice of Galadriel broke him out of his disturbing thoughts. “It has become increasingly difficult to seek the souls of those departed. I fear that the longer they wander, the more likely we will lose them forever.”

Elrond swallowed the lump in his throat, unable to spill out the question he had wanted to ask since Galadriel had returned several hours earlier for some much needed rest. His sons.

Galadriel felt his unease and raised her brilliant sapphire eyes to Elrond. “If they passed indeed, then I would sense their lost souls, but I feel nothing.”

“Do I dare hope they are alive somewhere?” asked Elrond in almost a whisper to no one in particular.

Galadriel frowned. It was an expression her face was simply not used to. Elladan and Elrohir were her grandchildren and she loved them dearly. To lose hope was to condemn them to their death. “So quickly do you lose hope, Elrond?”

Elrond had always been a sentinel of strength and serenity, a blend that many Elves envied. To see him so broken was painful for those that knew him well. He was plainly on the verge of losing control of that solidity. All that he once had was now lost to him. His wife Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, ravaged by Orcs, had never found her way to Valinor when she died and thus he had come to grips that he would never set eyes upon her again. His daughter Arwen, whom he cherished more than life itself, had chosen a mortal life. And for that she could never set foot in Valinor and thus he would never set eyes upon her again either. Now his sons… “I will hold onto hope for as long as I breathe.”

Gandalf thought the air felt thick with sorrow and quickly turned the conversation to another topic. The more serious topic. “The lights of the Istari hold back the alien creatures from advancing upon the safehouses. But their numbers are large. We cannot possibly continue to hold them off indefinitely. If there are no hosts for their breeding purposes, then hunger will force them to take chances and soon they will come over the walls, despite the lights..”

Celeborn turned to Gandalf. “What do you propose?”

“We must dig a moat around the walls, far enough away. Then we must fill it with oil and set it aflame. It will be an added measure of security.” His lips formed a thin line for he knew that his next statement was farfetched, at the least. “With any luck, if enough time passes, they will just kill each other off and we will be rid of them.”

The others appeared skeptical, but the thought of hope clung in their minds. If one did not have hope, then there was nothing. A black void.

Galadriel reached for her husband’s hand and he looked up at her. “I must return to my task. Varda summons me forth.”

Celeborn was reluctant to release Galadriel’s hand. He sensed a dark omen and hoped it did not spell disaster for his beloved.

Osgiliath
(Ariedel’s POV)

I knew where he had gone. It was the one place he sought out whenever he was depressed or wanted to be alone in the busy white city. That was the one thing that bothered me about Legolas. Whenever he was depressed, he never wanted to show it in front of me. I asked myself why all the time. I was supposed to be the closest person in his life. His wife. But he still kept things bottled up inside him, afraid to show his weaknesses. It pissed me off to no end.

Mounted on my trusted horse, Blade, I followed the wall of Rammos Echor that surrounded the Pelennor Fields, heading northeast where I knew it ended at Osgiliath. As I slowed Blade down to a trot, I spotted Arod right where I knew the horse would be.

The city of Osgiliath, once a thriving metropolis, was in ruins and had been for hundreds of years, according to Legolas’s stories. It reminded me of some cities on Earth that had been destroyed during the wars of the 22nd century.

In Osgiliath there was a certain broken down piece of a building that Legolas liked to climb. On the rooftop, he would stare at the sky until the sun set and then he would stare at the moon. Frightening, to say the least, because I could only imagine the thoughts twirling around in his head. Did he think about all the battles he had fought during his twenty-nine hundred plus years of life? Did he think about the one battle like no other, where he single-handedly killed a queen. Not once, but twice. Besides the one in Middle Earth, there had also been the one on Gateway Station, the one extracted from him, with her tiny Elven ears. He had been the one to kill her in the end.

I dismounted from Blade’s bare back and skillfully climbed the broken pieces of stone pillars to the portion of the broken rooftop that was still upright. Legolas was there, sitting at the very edge of the roof, legs dangling over the side. He was staring off at nothing in particular, brows crinkled together. He didn’t acknowledge me, but I knew he knew I was there. His acute hearing would have warned him of my approach when I was probably still a mile or so away. I took a seat on a piece of stone, staying behind him. If he wasn’t going to talk to me, then I was just going to sit there and be with him, like it or not. Besides, the sun felt good and I needed to work on my tan anyway.

I realized I must have drifted off to sleep when something woke me. It was a hushed, but harsh voice. When I glanced forward I saw Legolas still sitting as he had been when I first arrived. The sun had moved a bit, so I imagined an hour or more might have passed.

“Nay…you cannot…”

His voice had been so faint I thought there might be someone below. But then I heard him again.

“…Leave them…leave them be…”

“Legolas,” I called out to him first before I started to move toward him. If he forgot I was there and became startled, I was afraid he’d fall forward off the rooftop.

“…You have no remorse. Why must you be so cold-blooded…”

His voice was taking on a menacing tone. “Legolas,” I called again, moving closer.

“I hear you, Ariedel.”

His response startled me. I thought he had been asleep or in some weird trance. He slid away from the edge of the roof, much to my relief, but still kept his back to me. I came up behind him, wrapping my arms around him and burying my face in his hair. “Come back to Minas Tirith with me. I hate when you come out here by yourself.”

“The solitude invigorates me,” he said quietly.

“That is such bullshit,” I said light-heartedly. “You came out here because you didn’t want me to see you cry.” I knew he had earlier gone to tell Arwen about her brothers and it had been a huge weight on his shoulders.

Legolas wrapped his arms around mine. “If I shed tears before you, what kind of ellon would I be?” (male Elf)

“I’m glad you didn’t say ‘man’ because then I’d really worry.”

“Why do you love me?” he asked unexpectedly.

“What?”

“Why do you love me?”

I let out a half-laugh. “That’s a stupid question, Legolas. You’re asking me this eleven years after I had our first child?”

“Would you still love me if I were different?”

I moved around to face him and sat straddling his lap. “Whatta you mean different?” When he remained silent, I put my hands on his face and turned it toward mine. “Hey…”

His eyes finally shifted to meet mine. They looked haunted and even more so because of the circles under his eyes. He was still so exhausted from lack of rest, even though he had gotten a few hours the night before.

“What’s going on in your mind, Legolas? Please tell me.”

“If I knew it…if I could identify it, I would tell you.” He swallowed hard. “I simply know that if I did not have your love…I would fade.”

I leaned my forehead against his and he closed his eyes. “You never, ever have to worry about that, baby. I love you now,” I kissed his face in different places. “And forever.” I kissed him on the lips. “I don’t care if you cry or swear or throw a tantrum.”

Legolas pulled back and raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow at me. “Even if you knew that I wear your undergarments when you are not around.”

I smiled because I knew he was pulling my leg. He always seemed to know when to lighten the mood. “Mm, sounds kinky.” I kissed him on the lips again. One kiss led to another and before I knew it we were making out on the broken rooftop.

And we would have kept on going if a very distinct sound hadn’t forced us apart. It had started as a low drone and soon escalated until Legolas covered his ears. My eyes automatically searched the sky. There were things I could have imagined to make such a noise, but what I saw made my jaw nearly hit my chest.

It was a Dropship.

“Holy Christ Almighty!” I didn’t know what else to say.

The Dropship hovered about fifty feet from the ground and then circled slowly, probably looking for a safe place to land. Both Legolas and I stood up and stared at it. I recognized the type. It was from an A Class starship, a long distance vessel. But why was it landing in a populated section of the planet? If a Dropship was here, then a starship had to be orbiting the planet. Why was the pilot breaking the rules of not allowing the planet’s inhabitants to see technology that was beyond their comprehension? And more importantly, what the hell was he or she doing here?

Legolas and I quickly climbed down from the rooftop. While he started in the direction of the horses, I went the other way, following the movement of the Dropship. I ran across the bridge over the Anduin River to the other side.

“Ariedel! Where are you going? Ariedel!”

I heard Legolas call me, but I kept running. While the Dropship slowly settled on the ground, I ran behind some fallen arches. Legolas caught up and I noticed he was now wearing his weapons. We both peered out from behind our hiding place. Then he decided he was going to step forward, but I grabbed his arm before he could do so. “No. Wait until we see who it is.”

Legolas unsheathed his twin long knives. We watched as a ramp of steps lowered beneath the belly of the Dropship. The person that hopped down was perhaps the last person in the universe I would have thought to be visiting Middle Earth.

“Freak!” Without any regard to Legolas’s apprehension, I rushed over to the tall black man and threw myself into his strong arms. “Holy shit!” I released him and stepped back to get a good look at him. “What in the hell are you doing here?”

Freak gave me one of his gut-wrenching smiles. “Hey, Princess,” he said and mock-punched me in the jaw. “A certain brother of yours is a bit concerned about his little sister.”

Before I had a chance to say anything further, a silver blade appeared from over my shoulder and the tip of it touched Freak’s throat.

Freak froze, but didn’t appear phased.

I turned to Legolas. “Legolas, no. I know him.”

Legolas had an angry look on his face and didn’t remove the blade from Freak’s throat. “How dare you touch my wife?”

“Whoa, whoa, easy there, Lego,” said Freak in amusement.

I reached up and removed Legolas’s knife from Freak’s throat and gave Freak a warning glance. He was so notorious for his nicknames. I didn’t think Legolas would appreciate his name shortened. In fact I found Elves didn’t like that at all. “His name is Legolas,” I corrected Freak. Then I turned to Legolas, who had not taken his eyes off Freak. “Legolas, this is Dane Truman, a very good friend of my brother and I.”

Freak held his hand out to Legolas with a smile. “Nice to meet you, man. You can call me Freak.”

Legolas stared down at the hand held out to him and hesitated only for a moment before he finally reached out to shake it. “I am not a man. I am an Elf.”

Freak raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, I think I got that.”

I couldn’t believe he was here. “How did you find me?”

“AIC,” Freak said as he lightly tapped my left shoulder.

Avalon Identifier Chip. Every resident on Avalon had one implanted on their left shoulder, either at birth or upon becoming a citizen. The chip recorded the person’s identity and on certain occasions, a record update was required. The last update on my chip was before I went on the transmutation assignment to Middle Earth. “So you flew millions of light years just to see how I was doing?”

“Well, yeah, there’s that. But I came for a couple other reasons.”

I glanced over at Legolas briefly before turning back to Freak. “Let me take a wild stab. We’ve got some aliens on the planet.”

“Yeah, you’ve got a hell of a lot of aliens here and something even worse you’re not gonna like hearing about.”

“What could be worse?”

“Weyland-Yutani.”

I frowned at the name that just plain made my skin crawl. “What? How? When?”

“According to my calculations, they’ve been here over a month.”

I instinctly reached for Legolas’s hand. “Here? Why?” Even after I asked it I somehow felt that I already knew the answer.

“We’re certain they’re cloning impregnated Elves.”

When Legolas shook his head in confusion, I felt I needed to explain. “They’re taking a blood sample from an Elf who has been impregnated with an alien. Then they can grow an exact replica of the person from the blood.”

“For what purpose?” asked Legolas.

“I’m thinking it’s to see if the clones can communicate with the aliens.”

Legolas’s eyes widened. “Where are these people?” His voice sounded urgent.

Freak glanced from Legolas to me and then back to him. “Near the eastern coast of the continent on the other side of the ocean, out west from here.”

Legolas turned to me. “Valinor.”

My heart sank. First the aliens, now The Company. What more could those poor Elves be subjected to?

Legolas suddenly turned in the direction we had come. He was listening, which meant that someone was approaching. “Horses, two of them, coming this way.”

I glanced at the Dropship. “Looks as if we weren’t the only ones that saw you coming, Freak. You better take off.” Just as he was about to turn to run back to his Dropship, I remembered something and reached out to grab his arm. “Wait a minute…shit, I’ve got it.”

“What?” Legolas and Freak asked at the same time.

I turned my attention to Legolas. “This is it. This is exactly what we need to reach those people in Valinor. There’s a ship the size of a city floating in orbit.” Then I turned to Freak. “How many more Dropships do you have?”

Freak shook his head. “Now wait a minute, Princess. Whatever it is you’re thinking of, get it out of your head. It’s bad enough Lego here saw the ship. You know the directive. I can’t let anybody else see any of this. I’ll take the two of you and nobody else.”

“Too late now,” said Legolas.

And it was too late. Coming toward us from across the bridge were two horses. Mounted on one was Aragorn and the other was Thranduil. Aragorn’s look of surprise matched the one on my Elven father-in-law’s face.

“Damn, I am in such deep shit, it’s not even funny,” Freak whispered to me.

I knew what he was referring to. By allowing the inhabitants of this planet to see technology that they didn’t even know existed was breaking a major rule in the United Systems. But only if someone told on Freak.

“Legolas, what goes on here?” asked Thranduil in a voice only reserved for the times he acted the king that he was.

Legolas took a deep breath as the two kings pulled up before us and I could read the frustration on his face at how he was going to explain this one. “This is…Freak.” He hesitated before continuing. “He comes from the stars. Or rather…from another star.”

Thranduil turned his eyes toward the Dropship. “What is that?” He was obviously not buying Legolas’s explanation. Heck, if I had been Thranduil, knowing someone came from the stars would have blown my mind.

Freak decided to do his own explaining. “That, my friends, is my chariot.” He seemed pleased with himself. But his smile dropped when he realized nobody was smiling with him. Then he leaned closer to me and spoke from the side of his mouth. “What the fuck do we do now?”

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

Legolas and the two kings followed Freak, while Ariedel brought up the rear. Freak was leading them through the main corridor of the starship and they all stared in awe-struck wonder at everything around them. It had been a traumatic trip in the Dropship. Thranduil thought it was some illusion he saw in the small window nearby as they lifted into the sky, passing through numerous clouds of various heights.

Freak stopped at a large window in the corridor, allowing them an opportunity to look down at their planet slowly circling below them.

This was in fact the first time Legolas was seeing Arda from space as well. The blues and the greens and the browns, some cloud cover here and there. It was a spectacular sight and something he would remember for all eternity.

Even though Aragorn had been to Gateway Station, he had never once thought himself not on his own planet. He had assumed it was someplace he had never been to in Arda. Now he stared at his world, clearly seeing lands he knew from the maps made of them. “Tis true. We are among the stars then.”

Thranduil seemed reluctant to believe, but he could not deny what his eyes saw and he gave Legolas a harsh look, which soon softened as he realized that none of this was his son’s doing. So why should Legolas be the brunt of his suspicion?

After the view from the window, Freak continued leading them through the main corridor and then through one of three corridors that branched off to other parts of the ship. Along the way he explained that he had been called upon to aid in the efforts to destroy the aliens. He told them that story for the time being, even though in truth he had been sent to deal with The Company research base.

“How did you know they were here?” Aragorn asked Freak.

“We’ve got devices that tell us where they are. Which planets and so on.”

“So they are also on other stars?”

“They spread around pretty quickly somehow. Most of the time some person unknowingly impregnated by them ends up somewhere and I’m sure you know the results of that. It doesn’t seem to be indigenous to any planet. It just manages to somehow find its way around and causes all kinds of havoc.”

Thranduil shook his head in bewilderment. “What I do not understand is how this creature came to be here in Arda in the first place. If it is not indigenous, as you say, then where did it come from? How did it get here?”

“Let me show you,” said Freak, indicating for them to continue following him.

Although Ariedel had never been on this class of ship, she knew Freak was taking them to the Bridge, which contained most of Operations. She wondered how the others would react to all of the equipment, remembering how Legolas had reacted on Gateway long ago.

Freak motioned to an open doorway. “In here, if you please.”

Legolas walked with his father, quietly trying to explain some of the things the older Elf was seeing. Even though Legolas was not familiar with all of the equipment, he explained it to his father as machinery that had special functions much like a wizard’s staff or a palantir. Thranduil listened intently to his son, his wide eyes staring at the colored lights and balking at the occasional voice that came from the computer.

Freak moved to the control station, the same one Zion and Lipinski had been working at earlier. He waited for the others to gather around before he punched some data into the keypad on the side. An image appeared on the large viewer at the center of the tabletop. Everyone jumped at the sudden image, even Legolas. Ariedel was the only one not surprised by the colorful map.

“You probably recognize this formation of mountains, right?” asked Freak.

“The Mountains of Shadow,” said Legolas as he pointed on the map. “And here is Mount Doom, or whatever is left of it.”

“So this image represents a map of Mordor,” concluded Thranduil as he stared at the image.

“That’s right.” Freak pointed to another place on the map. “I’m going to enlarge the image of this formation over here.” He quickly punched more keys on the keypad and the image moved and expanded on what appeared to be hills and craters situated in a ragged circle. “This is what remains of a Class A-type starship, similar to the one we’re on. It crashed here some two thousand years ago, according to the accumulation of rock around it. Two thousand of your years, to be precise. In my years it was about a hundred. I wasn’t even born yet, cause if I was, then I’d be pretty old by now, right?” He laughed, but then coughed when he realized no one else shared in the joke. “I’ve calculated that for every year that passes on my planet, approximately twenty years pass here. But anyway, I was able to find the transmission records of this ship. The crew had gone down to a planet known as LV-426 to confirm the destruction of an atmosphere processor which had been overrun by the alien species.” Freak didn’t think they understood any of that, but he forged on. “Apparently one of the bugs had survived and managed to steal aboard the transport back to the orbiting ship. The captain began to report that the crew was disappearing one by one. Through visual devices, he discovered the creature in one of the ship’s compartments, encasing the crew it had captured. The captain also saw an egg in the alien’s possession. Knowing the significance of the alien’s intentions, the captain set out to kill the creature and probably got himself captured as well. Without a pilot or crew to program the ship, it eventually came in proximity of your planet and was dragged in by the gravitational pull.” Freak pointed to the circle where the ship had crashed. “Parts of the ship were burned away as it entered the atmosphere and then of course it crashed here.”

“This captain had no weapons in which to destroy the creature with?” asked Aragorn.

“Yeah, well, the alien coincidentally created its hive inside the weapons room, as it was reported by the captain. And being a simple survey ship, the crew didn’t carry any weapons on them all the time. They were all stored in the weapons room. These bugs are a lot smarter than people give them credit for.”

“So the alien and the egg survived the crash, while everyone else on the ship didn’t,” Ariedel said. “How ironic.”

“Are these creature’s immortal?” asked Legolas suddenly as if the thought had only just occurred to him. If the ship had crashed two thousand years ago, for how long did the alien live?

“We have nothing to base their longevity on.” Freak shrugged. “There’s just no way to study them for any great length of time. Everytime one of these things is kept in captivity for research, something bad always happens, resulting in a hell of a lot of deaths. It’s just inevitable.”

Aragorn sighed heavily. “For all we know, they can live thousands of years.”

Freak nodded slowly. “That seems to be the case with the bug that came here on that starship. But then again, there’s also been speculation that they can go into hibernation for extended periods of time, so I’m laying my bets on that theory. The alien probably found himself a hiding place and went into hibernation until something came along for him to use as bait for the egg. The resulting chestburster turned into a queen and with the drone, they started their family.”

Legolas frowned at the idea of the creatures being immortal and closed his eyes, recalling a time in his life when in his younger days he quite possibly had seen the creature that had crashed in the ship. He had been traveling with his mother and father in Udun, heading for Mirkwood, which was known as Greenwood the Great back then. He had seen the creature in the snowy valley.

“You said you have devices that tell you where to find the creatures,” said Thranduil.

Freak glanced at Thranduil and nodded. He punched some buttons on the keypad and the image changed to the land of Valinor. “Each red blinking light represents an alien.”

Thranduil stared open-mouthed at the image and raised a hand to his forehead, unable to utter a single word to express the thoughts running through his mind. He had imagined there would be many aliens to deal with, but not this magnitude. If they had been Orcs, Thranduil would not have blinked twice at the numbers. But these creatures were not Orcs. They were worse than any Orc or troll put together.

Legolas’s mind came back to the present and he also stared at the image, his brows crinkled together. He knew there had to be thousands, which meant that many Elves had lost their lives in Valinor. Thousands of souls were drifting, desperately trying to seek the path to the Halls of Mandos and unable to find it. Thousands. These creatures were threatening the existence of his race and all life on Arda.

Even Aragorn seemed to be in a state of shock, staring at all the red blinking lights. “How are we to slay this many when our weapons are barely enough to ward them off?” His thoughts went back to the time the aliens had attacked Minas Tirith so long ago and his army had barely managed to hold them off then when there had only been no more than three hundred aliens. “We need an army of ten thousand.”

Freak shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think an army’s gonna really be necessary. We’ve got weapons that can kill a lot of these fucks…I mean…these aliens, all at the same time.”

“That’s right,” exclaimed Ariedel.

“Then let us go forth to Valinor,” commanded Thranduil, “and be rid of them before they take any more lives.”

Freak held his hands up to curb Thranduil’s sudden enthusiasm. “Yeah, but let me just mention one other thing, something that concerns me a hell of a lot more than aliens.” He waited for everyone to give him their attention. “We’ve got some people taking up residence in the coastal region over there. They’re not there to destroy the aliens. They’re not there to make nice and be all neighborly and stuff. Their purpose is to conduct research on your kind after they’ve been impregnated by the aliens.”

Thranduil had a headache for once in his long life. Everything he had seen and heard was enough to put him into a mental coma for the rest of eternity. “What are we to do then?” he finally asked, directing his question mainly to Freak.

The fact that Freak had broken the main directive was already besides the point. ‘Do not allow inhabitants of a world without technology to ever see what they cannot understand.’ That rule went right out the window when the two kings had ridden up on their horses and saw the Dropship. It didn’t matter anymore. “Infiltrate the compound and sabotage their efforts.”

“How many will it take?” asked Thranduil.

“Besides myself, I have five others in my crew. I don’t need anyone else.”

“I wish to be part of this,” Legolas jumped in.

“As do I,” added Aragorn.

“Okay.” Freak accepted them. It was their planet afterall. Then he turned to Ariedel. “I suppose you want a piece of the action, too?”

“You bet your sweet ass I do.” Then Ariedel glanced at the curious looks she got from Legolas, Thranduil and Aragorn. “It’s just an expression. Really.”

Freak called his crew to the Bridge. They each filed in within minutes of each other and introductions were made.

Then Bishop entered the Bridge and Legolas’s eyes widened in surprise. “Bishop!” He rushed over to the android, whom he had known on Gateway. “You are alive.”

Bishop allowed the Elf to squeeze his shoulder, but was a bit embarrassed by it, for an android. “Do I know you?” he asked quietly, wondering if one of his crewmates was playing a joke on him.

Ariedel tugged Legolas away. “Legolas, that’s not the same Bishop from Gateway.”

Legolas looked at Ariedel as if she had completely lost her senses. “What then? A twin?”

“Remember what I told you about him? You know, not being human and all? Well, there are many like him and they all have the same face.”

Legolas didn’t bother to ask because he knew it would only prompt a hundred questions from his father.

Zion, who was standing beside Thranduil, studied the regal robes on the Elf, noting the array of colors that didn’t necessarily match very well, the suede boots and then the crown of thorned reeds on the Elf’s head. Nothing about the Elf made any sense to him. To Zion, Thranduil looked like someone wearing a bad Halloween costume. “So what’s your story?”
Ariedel covered her mouth to conceal her smile.

 

Chapter 11 – Serious Trouble​

Valinor
Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Outside of the structure, two aliens edged closer, leery of any trouble. When nothing around the single-story building moved, they mentally communicated with each other and ran together toward the side closest to them. It took them about twenty minutes to evaluate the walls, looking for a way inside. There were no windows and the door on the far side was solid. After finding no possible way to enter, they decided to climb the structure and investigated the flat rooftop.

Finding nothing but a satellite dish and a cooling unit, the aliens ripped at the protruding objects, fighting each other for the best pieces. While tearing the satellite dish from the rooftop connection, the severed wires snapped and sparked, momentarily frightening the aliens into dropping the dish over the side of the building.

After a while more aliens came to investigate. They could sense the presence of prey and also those of their own kind. Four of them. The prey would need to be captured and their fellow aliens released.

But first they needed to get inside.

Valinor
Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Dr Leland paced the floor along the side of the table in the Mess Hall on the second sub-level. Jordan was seated at one end of the metallic table while Phillip Quinn sat at the other end. Also present were five other renowned scientists hired by The Company.

“I’m not giving up on this,” said Leland. “We’ll just have to keep trying.”

“Come on, Leland,” exclaimed Jordan. “You’ve seen for yourself what’s happening out there. We’ll be lucky if we can find another living person with those aliens running around. If you had instructed Train to go out there and kill that goddamned alien like I told you, we wouldn’t be looking at two thousand of them right now.”

“I’m not concerned about the aliens out there.”

“Oh really? You’re not concerned that they might get into this compound and kill us all?”

Quinn raised a hand. “They won’t kill us. They’ll just take us to their nest and cocoon us for their eggs.”

“Oh shut up, Quinn.” Jordan angrily folded her arms and turned her attention to the others in the room. “We have to contact HQ and tell them to send a ship for us.”

Lieutenant Train suddenly appeared from the metal staircase at the far end of the Mess Hall. “I’m afraid that’s not going to be possible.”

“Why not?” asked Jordan.

“The aliens pulled the satellite dish off the roof.”

Jordan stared at Train with her mouth open. Then she turned to Leland who was still pacing. “Are you hearing this?”

Leland was in his own little world, talking to himself. “Cloning is just too inconsistent. There’s got to be something else…something in the genes…something in the DNA strand itself. If I could just…”

“Leland, are you listening to anything we’re saying?” Jordan gave up when Leland continued rambling and she turned to Train. “I saw two satellite dishes in the storage room on Sub-level Four. Someone’s going to have to go out there and hook up another one to the roof.”

Train walked to the wall and pushed a series of buttons on a panel beside a large screen. An image appeared, showing the rooftop, aliens crawling all over it. Beyond the roof, the shapes of more aliens approached the building.

“They’re trying to get in,” commented one of the other scientists, his voice full of panic.

Train pointed to the screen. “If anyone steps one foot out the door, it’s all over. But the compound is secure. Even if they get into the outer hangar, there’s no way they can get into the sub-levels without going through the lift and that’s made of titanium.”

“So what now?” asked Jordan. “We can’t just sit here and wait indefinitely.”

“They’ll give up sooner or later. When they’re gone, I’ll go out and hook up another satellite dish. But someone’s going to have to keep watching this monitor.”

Everyone began to murmur to each other, thinking of who the best candidate would be. Just then on the screen an alien approached the camera, its jaws parting in a silent hiss, saliva dripping. In the next instant, its inner jaws struck out at the lens, blacking out the image.

The conference room immediately grew quiet when it began to dawn on everyone that they no longer had the means to see what was outside.

Train stared at the blank screen for a moment, his hands on his hips. Then he turned to look at the expectant faces looking back at him. He was in charge of security. They expected protection from him and his men.

“Any other bright ideas?” Jordan asked sarcastically.

Without answering the question, Train silently walked toward the door leading to some of the crew quarters.

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

Freak stared at the two Elves and the man as they argued about who they would bring to Valinor. For Christ’s sake, they talked about bringing their kids on the Dropship. He shook his head and stepped forward, holding his hands out. “Now hold on a minute, I’m drawing the line on rugrats. It’s bad enough all of you folks are involved. You need to cut your list down, please.”

Ariedel also stepped in. “Freak’s right about the kids. We can’t bring them with us. I’m not risking their lives if something goes wrong.” Then she turned to Freak. “But we’re talking about over two thousand aliens, Freak. We need every hand we can get.”

“My team and I are quite capable of handling the bugs. We’ve done it plenty of times before.”

“Hell, two thousand bugs is a walk in the park for us,” added Lipinski.

Freak ignored Loop and continued to address the others. “With two Dropships, we can exterminate the bugs topside easily enough. Then we can take an APC to the hive and go underground to finish off the rest. This also gives us a chance to look for any survivors that might need emergency alien embryo extraction. Loop’s the best extractor in the field. After that, if we have any stragglers, then we can recruit help to form teams of two or three to help wipe out the rest.”

“What about The Company base?” asked Ariedel.

“I’ve got no doubt in my mind that they’ve got surveillance on the outside. We’ll have to check it out and figure a way to get inside.”

“You’ve given me the impression that your special weapons are powerful,” said Thranduil. “Can you not simply obliterate the compound with them?”

Legolas replied before Freak had a chance. “Some of our kin might be in the compound. We will need to rescue them first.”

The crew of The Rebel watched from the sidelines. They weren’t used to having others onboard the ship, especially those that didn’t understand the technology.

Lauren Sanchez leaned toward Zion. “This is gonna turn into a goddamned three-ring circus.”

Lipinski nudged Zion from the other side. “Hey, what’s with Sushi.” The three of them glanced at John Takashi.

Takashi’s eyes were fixed on Legolas, or rather on the weapons strapped to the Elf’s back. He admired the white-handled long knives, which were similar to a set he had in his quarters and was quite proficient at. When this was over, he planned on asking the Elf if he wouldn’t mind a friendly challenge. It had been a long time since he had dueled against a worthy opponent.

“So when were you planning to invite me to your little party?”

Everyone turned in the direction of the Bridge entrance, where the voice had come from.

“Ripley,” said Freak. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Ariedel frowned at the name spoken by Freak and she glared with renewed interest at the woman clad in black leather. Ripley was a name she knew well. She didn’t exactly know her personally, but she knew a lot about her. She was the clone created from the blood cells of the real impregnated Ripley who had jumped to her death in the correctional facility of a planet known as Fiorina “Fury” 161. So the rumors had been true. The Ripley clone truly existed. But more importantly, what was she doing on Freak’s ship?

Freak introduced everyone to Ripley, making sure to emphasize the regal titles of the two kings and the prince on the Bridge. After that the room grew unusually quiet.

Ripley observed the newcomers and a smile spread across her usually stoic features. “Elves and kings. Sounds like a fairy tale to me.”

Ariedel grabbed Freak by the arm and dragged him away from the others. “What’s she doing here?” She leaned slightly to glance at Ripley from behind Freak. Ripley was eying Thranduil with some interest.

“She’s here strictly as a consultant. A subject matter expert.”

“A subject matter expert on what?” Ariedel knew just as much about the aliens as anybody else.

“Crystal, she’s a clone. If we find any clones in that Company base, she’ll be able to tell us what to expect.”

“Can we trust her?”

“She’s the one that looked me up a while back. We did a few jobs together before I got my own ship and crew. So yeah, I trust her. I asked her to come on this one because there’s a highly probable chance that we’ll be running into a clone or two, at some stage of growth.”

Ariedel sighed, glancing toward Ripley one last time before meeting Freak’s eyes. “Okay.” Then she playfully punched his arm. “And stop calling me Crystal. It’s Ariedel, remember?”

“Yeah, I know. I keep forgetting.”

Legolas stood watching Ariedel and Freak talking together. He could clearly hear their words and was put off by the fact that his wife was not including him in their discussion. He knew there was nothing to hint that Freak had any romantic intentions with Ariedel, but he could not help the jealousy that reared up inside him, that she should depend so heavily on someone else.

When they returned to join the others, Ariedel glanced at Legolas and noted his frown. She purposely moved to stand beside him and reached for his hand. He squeezed it and his frown disappeared.

Freak glanced at everyone. “If there aren’t anymore questions, then let’s get it going.”

Gondor
(Ariedel’s POV)

Anwar looked at me with an expression that would have normally brought tears to my eyes. But the urgency of the situation didn’t leave me much time for sympathy. “How long will you be gone?” she asked.

“I don’t know, honey. Maybe a few days, maybe a week.”

“Where is ada?”

“He went with…uh…a friend to go pick up Gimli.” I had almost slipped and said ‘Freak’.

“And both Uncle Aragorn and Aunt Arwen are going with you?”

“Yes.”

“This is the pits, naneth. Who will entertain me?” wailed Anwar. (mother)

I wanted to laugh at Anwar’s quip. This is the pits. Where had she picked up that line? Obviously from me. I reminded myself that I needed to watch my mouth around the kids and Legolas needed to do the same. “Well, there’s Eldarion.”

She looked at me with such shock, as if I had hung her underwear outside the city windows to dry.

“Oh, come on, Anwar, I know you like him.”

“I do not like Eldarion!”

“Sweetie, I’m your mother. I know these things.”

Anwar plopped herself down on the edge of the bed and covered her face in shame. I couldn’t help myself. It made me smile. She was only eleven, going on twelve. But I knew how I had felt about boys when I was her age and a crush was a pretty serious thing. I also knew that I hadn’t wanted anybody to know about it, so I understood Anwar’s embarrassment about her own mother bringing up the subject.

The door swung open and Legolas walked in. “Are you ready, Ariedel?”

Anwar uncovered her face and frowned, turning to me. “I thought you said ada was fetching Uncle Gimli?” (daddy)

I turned to Legolas and tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for how quickly he had gone to get Gimli. I couldn’t exactly tell her that he flew to the Shire and back in a Dropship, which took maybe a half hour, at the most.

Luckily Legolas saw my dilemma and replied. “I ran into him in Osgiliath. Imagine that. He was already here.”

I sighed in relief. Good thinking, baby. “Look after your brothers while we’re gone.”

Anwar rolled her eyes. “Is that not why we have Alma?”

“You know what I mean, Anwar.” I pulled her into an embrace, hugging her tightly and then kissing her forehead. “Be good, okay?”

“I am always good,” she retorted. Then she turned to accept a hug and kiss from her father.

The three of us walked out of the chamber together. We headed out to the street where the horses and the others waited for us. Aragorn had been left with the task of explaining to Arwen, Éomer and Faramir about the situation. Arwen was the only other one accompanying us. Éomer and Faramir were being left in charge of Minas Tirith during Aragorn’s absence. I felt bad for them because they were probably wondering why the plans had been changed. We weren’t marching to the Grey Havens with Aragorn’s entire army. Aragorn informed them that only a small party was going to the Grey Havens and boarding a ship bound for Valinor. In truth we were returning to Osgiliath and boarding Freak’s Dropship which would head up to the starship orbiting the planet. Some things were just better left unsaid.

Alma stood on the street, holding Elril. Brendan and Elfwine were standing with her, as was Eldarion. Legolas and I walked up to them and took turns kissing Elril and then Brendan.

“Listen to Alma, Brendan. I do not want to return to hear that you have misbehaved,” warned Legolas. Then Legolas took my hand and we walked together to the horses.

After I mounted Blade, I turned my gaze back to Anwar, who was now standing with the others. She still had that worried expression on her face and my heart literally ached. But I couldn’t take her with me. There was no way in hell I would expose her to the cruel and vile world that represented the aliens. I wanted to protect her and my sons from anything that was evil, no matter how badly I wanted to keep them by my side at all times. I gave Anwar a reassuring smile before I turned Blade around to follow Legolas and the others down the street.

Rhovan and Cail joined our party, startling some of the horses that weren’t used to the presence of the white tigers. It was decided that the tigers were coming with us because they would be able to sniff out life, if there were any Elves alive in the hive.

I turned one last time in Anwar’s direction. She held a hand up to wave and then quickly lowered it when Eldarion came up to whisper something to her. I smiled to myself. It was funny to see her act so shy whenever he was around. Hopefully he would keep her mind preoccupied so she didn’t think about me or Legolas too much.

Osgiliath

Freak and Zion patiently waited near the Dropship. So much time had been wasted just waiting. But they both knew the importance of keeping the Dropship away from prying eyes. They couldn’t exactly have landed in front of the gates of the white city they had seen from the air.

A short while ago, Freak and Zion had flown Legolas somewhere to the northwest to pick up someone Legolas insisted on picking up. They landed the Dropship a short distance away on the other side of a grove of trees and Legolas had gone alone. Moments later he had returned with a Dwarf.

From a distance, Zion had watched Legolas and the Dwarf approach and he leaned toward Freak. “What’s with the midget?”

Freak had raised his eyebrows and shrugged with a shake of his head. “I don’t know, man, but this is getting pretty fucked up.”

So now they waited for the others to return from the white city because Ariedel insisted on seeing her children before they embarked on their mission. And Aragorn needed to leave instructions for some people while he was gone because he was afterall a king and without his presence all hell would certainly break loose.

But soon enough Freak and Zion heard the sounds of hoof beats on concrete.

Then more time was wasted explaining the Dropship to Arwen. And then Freak had to calm down after hearing that he was also taking along two full-grown male tigers.

As everyone strapped themselves into their seats, Freak left Legolas to strap the tigers in because the big cats wouldn’t let Freak anywhere near them, much less touch them.

Unknown to any of the occupants of the Dropship, over the Osgiliath bridge came two additional horses, each carrying a half-Elven child. Eldarion and Anwar quickly dismounted and ducked behind a fallen pillar.

Anwar stared with wide eyes at the Dropship. “Do you see what I see, Eldarion? It looks like some great metal eagle.”

“They have gone inside of it,” said Eldarion, also staring wide-eyed.

Anwar raised herself from her crouched position and began to move toward the Dropship.

“Anwar!” Eldarion called out. Then he stood up and rushed after her, grabbing her arm. “Where are you going?”

“I am going inside, where do you think I am going.”

Just as they reached the ramp, it quickly lifted and closed, making Anwar jump. Eldarion eyed the feet of the Dropship and the opening beneath them. He grabbed Anwar by the hand and pulled her toward the opening of the rear strut. Then they quickly climbed inside.

The Dropship engines started and minutes later it lifted into the air.

Eldarion and Anwar huddled together as the Dropship struts pulled into the cramped space, not leaving much room for them.

“Maybe this was not such a good idea afterall,” said Anwar, shivering not from the cold, but from the bold move she and Eldarion had made.

“We must remain hidden, Anwar. If our adanadar discover we have followed, we will be severely punished.” (fathers)

“Alma will worry when she realizes that we are missing.”

“Faramir will send out the guards to search for us.”

Anwar fixed her eyes on Eldarion. “We will definitely be in serious trouble.”

 

Chapter 12 – Prepped and Ready​

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

The Dropship easily slid into its cradle and anchors locked into place over the struts. Yellow warning lights flashed within the interior of the docking bay as a reminder to keep away from the areas where the floor was marked with yellow and black paint.

Sanchez was working the controls, with Lipinski hanging over her shoulder, as if he didn’t trust her to do it correctly. When the Dropship was safely tucked in, the lights stopped flashing. A moment later the ramp lowered beneath it. The first out was Freak, followed by Legolas, Ariedel, Thranduil, Aragorn, Arwen, Gimli and the two tigers.

“Holy shit, we’ve got tigers,” commented Lipinski.

“And a midget,” said Sanchez as she shook her head. “I told you, man. A three-ring circus.”

Thranduil called to Rhovan and Cail before the tigers strayed too far. “Dar go!” (Stay together)

Freak turned to his crew. “Okay, let’s get these people prepped for a bug hunt.”

Everyone followed Freak out of the docking bay.

A minute later, when all was quiet, Eldarion poked his head out from the strut opening, hanging upside down to inspect the immediate area. Then he ducked back inside. “They are gone,” he told Anwar.

“Where are we?” Anwar asked with concern.

“We are no longer in Gondor, I am quite certain of that.” Eldarion helped Anwar down from the space they had occupied during the bumpy ride, of which they had no idea the extent. He glanced around the enormous chamber and all of the strange objects around. “I believe we are in a cave of some sorts.”

Anwar quickly moved to catch up to Eldarion when he began to walk away. “What do we do now?”

“We have come this far. Let us explore.” Eldarion reached his hand out to Anwar.

Anwar stared at his outstretched hand for a moment before she placed hers into his and allowed him to lead her away. Together they continued to stare awestruck at their surroundings, unable to comprehend what they saw. Yet both were thrilled to be a part of this new adventure.

When they reached the docking bay entrance, they quietly ducked out into the corridor to explore this new world that their parents were somehow a part of. Neither knew that not only were they not in Gondor, but they were currently circling their world from space, which was something the two youngsters would never be able to grasp.

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)
(Legolas’s POV)

I had not imagined that there could be such a variety of weapons to choose from. There were the blasters that I had used on Gateway Station and of which Aragorn and Gimli were also familiar with. But there were also weapons that fired deadly projectiles, many all at once. Some could even shoot flames from the barrel. I chose such a weapon. The man named Zion demonstrated to me how the weapon functioned and he even had a name for the weapon. He called it a dragon pulse rifle because it also shot flames.

We were given the opportunity to practice with the weapons. I waited my turn with my father while I watched Ariedel practice her weapon of choice. She seemed rather efficient with it, which was no surprise to me, as she came from a world where such weapons were used on a regular basis.

“If you have any influence on Ariedel, Legolas, you must talk her out of endangering her life. She has three children to think about. Why can she not accompany Arwen and I to Ilmarin?”

I shook my head at my father. “Aside from Freak and his people, Ariedel is perhaps the most experienced in this sort of thing than any of us. I can no sooner stop her from fighting aliens than you were ever capable of stopping naneth from fighting Orcs.” (mother)

My father laughed. “Aye, perhaps you are right.”

The thought of my mother brought back another memory. I had only been a child, but I was more than positive that the creature I had seen in the valley had been al alien and I even recalled bringing it to my mother’s attention. “Tis my fault, you know.”

“What is your fault?” replied my father.

“The creature that came in the ship that crashed two thousand years ago in Mordor. I saw it.”

“You saw it? How could you have possibly seen it?”

“When we traveled to Greenwood from Udun. I was but a child then. I saw the creature carrying an egg in the valley below the path where we traveled. It struggled in the snow and ice. I could have told you about the creature. We could have put an end to its existence. We could have prevented the attacks when the creature first appeared to us eleven years ago. Those slain then and those in Valinor…they would all still be alive today.”

Thranduil put a hand on my arm. “Stop this course of thinking, ion. Tis not your fault. None of this is anyone’s fault.” (son)

I glanced around the strange chamber. It reminded me much of Gateway Station, where everything seemed to be made of metal. Except this ship was much darker than the sterile environment of Gateway. Even though the interior of the ship was more on the cold side, I felt an almost stifling heat. But it was also comforting in a way. The absence of the alien whispers in my head was a relief. “The aliens do not speak to me here,” I told my father. “Their visions do not reach me.”

“Tis a good thing, Legolas.”

“Tis not a good thing, adar. If this ship is the only means for me to achieve solace…to cease the whisperings of these creatures that try to lure me into their way of thinking, I can never leave here.” (father)

“They try to force their thoughts into your mind?”

“Aye.”

“Why did you not tell me this before?”

“I did not recognize it for what it was until recently. They whisper their intentions, telling me how they will kill my kind. Then they show me what they have done. They want me to join them, to see that there is no other way but to submit to them. They think I can lure more of us to them.”

My father turned fully to face me. “Legolas, please tell me that you are strong enough to resist the vile ways of these creatures.”

I gritted my teeth as I stared off, my eyes unfocused and dampening with angry tears as I thought of all those that had already been slain by the aliens. “With every last nerve do I resist. They have killed my kin. I will slaughter them with my last dying breath if need be.”

“You speak the same words your naneth said to me once, when the shadow was deep in our forests and Orc and spider attacks were a daily occurrence. She risked her life countless times before she succumbed to the evil surrounding our lands and was forced to sail west. She was much like you, Legolas. Her Elven senses were superior over any other Elf in Middle Earth and she suffered greatly with every loss of life in Greenwood.” (mother)

I swallowed hard as a question suddenly hung at the edge of my lips. “Will…will we see her in Valinor?”

My father also swallowed the lump that had undoubtedly formed in his throat. “Together we will seek her out. She will be pleased to see how you have grown and to know that you have a wife and three beautiful children.”

I had only been an Elfling when my mother sailed, but my memories of her were still strong. More tears stung my eyes. What was the matter with me? Why was I so emotional of late? “I will be pleased to see her as well.” In the back of my mind I thought about the possibility that her life might have been taken by one of the aliens and for this reason I truly did not wish to seek her out, to find out that it might be true.

“Tis not a crime for an ellon to shed tears, ion nin. Always remember that.” Thranduil reached for my weapon, looking oddly at it. “What do you think of this weapon, Legolas?” (male Elf, my son)

I blinked back my tears and glanced at the weapon I had chosen, grateful that my father changed the subject. “Tis a complicated weapon, adar, but it will do far more damage than a bow and arrow or my long knives.” (father)

“How does it function?” he curiously asked as he inspected the weapon.

“Come on over here, Your Highness.”

Both me and my father glanced toward the female voice. It was the woman named Ripley. She had a reserved smile on her face, reminding me of someone up to some tricks. But I felt no malice exuding from her. She seemed generally curious. I also sensed a strong loneliness, one of profound desolation.

“I’ll show you how to use that weapon like a pro,” she added.

Thranduil squeezed my shoulder before he stood up and approached Ripley.

I wondered what my father thought of her. She was attractive enough, in the manner of a dangerous beast. But I knew my father well. He remained loyal to the memory of my mother and since my mother’s sailing, had never sought female companionship again.

Ariedel had provided me with a short version of Ripley’s story. She was a clone. When she found out she was impregnated by an alien, she killed herself and the alien she carried. Unfortunately from a drop of her blood, others were able to grow a new Ripley, alien and all. Eventually she gained the memories of her former life. It seemed a farfetched thing to me. To grow an individual to be the same as the one whose drop of blood was used. But perhaps it was not so farfetched. Afterall, did Saruman not create the Uruk-hai, a blend of Orc and goblin and grew them from the earth of Isengard? From rumors, Ariedel heard that Ripley had some alien qualities about her, but I saw nothing to suggest it. She looked quite human to me.

Ripley stepped away from my father and allowed him to shoot the weapon. “Very good, Your Highness. Keep it up.”

My father glanced at her over his shoulder. “Please, my name is Thranduil.”

“As you wish,” was her reply. Then she turned in my direction, noticing my stare.

I quickly looked away, turning to watch Gimli firing the weapon that was taller than him, wondering if he would end up shooting his own foot. A moment later I was staring at a pair of black boots. I followed the feet up to Ripley’s face.

She had that reserved smile again, like she held a secret. “Mind if I sit down, Prince Legolas?”

I shook my head and edged further away to give her room on the metallic box I was seated upon. “Just Legolas, please.”

Ripley sat down beside me and stared out at the others. “Freak told me you’re the one the aliens talk to.”

I faced forward as well, not looking at her. “Ariedel told me you are a clone with certain alien characteristics.”

“They talk to me, too, you know.”

Her statement surprised me. “What do they say to you?”

“They try to coax me to them. They want me to be part of them.”

“I have yet to understand the meaning they project to me. All I see are my kin being slain as the alien young burst from their chests.”

“Hm, I don’t have any visions. All I hear are the whispers, not words like you or I would understand. But I do understand the meaning behind the hissing and the screeching. Strange, isn’t it?”

I turned to her, visually inspecting her from head to toe. “I see no alien characteristics about you?”

She smiled. “No, you won’t see any on the outside.”

“Then what is on the inside?” I asked curiously.

Ripley turned to face me, mouth open as if I had insulted her. “Now what kind of a question is that to ask a woman?”

“Forgive me,” I said and turned away, even though I sensed she had not been offended by my question.

“I have acid in my blood.” She held her hand up. “My fingernails can rip through most anything, except titanium. Other than that, I’m all human.”

“What became of the alien extracted from you?”

“Oh, well she went on to give birth. But she didn’t lay any eggs. No. She gave birth to some spawn of hell with human eyes. The thing killed her and then found some kind of connection with me. I imagine because the alien queen had no emotions for the thing to feel. It had inherited emotions from me and it felt my emotions.” Her tone became dry. “I killed it. Technically, I killed my own child.” She was silent for a moment. “Do you have any children?”

I turned to her, sensing the loneliness within her once again. “Ariedel and I have three children. A girl and two boys.”

“I had a child once. A little girl. But she died of old age while I was lost out in space. I returned too late and never got to see her grow up, or get married, or have kids of her own. Then on a mission to rescue some colonists on LV-426, I found Newt.” Her eyes misted over. “She was around the same age as my daughter when I had left her. I would have taken her in, knowing she had lost her parents to the aliens. But then she was killed. So now I have no one.”

“Tis not too late for you to start a new family,” I said without even thinking.

Ripley shook her head, the sad smile still on her lips. “No. I don’t let anyone get close to me anymore. I can’t. It hurts too much to lose them. Besides, the aliens eventually get them. They always do.”

I understood why she felt bitter. But I did not know what else to say except to apologize for her empty life. “I am sorry.”

She smiled again. “Right.” Then she stood up and walked away, exiting the chamber.

I felt the intenseness of her misery and was thankful to have my family and friends. Without them I suppose I would be just as lonely and unfeeling.

Valinor

Galadriel silently walked among the tall trees comprising the forest at the western foot of Mount Taniquetil. Her gaze scanned the space at a level just above her head. There were spirits in the area. She could feel them. Although she did not know the identity of the spirits, she recognized them as Elves.

“Come forth to me,” she whispered and closed her eyes.

A moment later she stilled her steps and raised her arms out to her sides. A mist appeared and slowly swirled around her form.

Galadriel opened her eyes and smiled. “Go forth now to the Halls of Mandos.”

The mist continued to swirl around her and then suddenly changed direction and shot toward the sky. The spirits that had been lost had finally found guidance from the Lady of Light. Along the way they would see Varda, who would provide them with further guidance. Then they would be in the Halls of Mandos.

Galadriel continued to move forward, seeking more spirits. A noise to her left drew her steps to a halt once again. She stood perfectly still, Elven ears listening intently to the sounds of the forest. Except there were no other sounds. No birds, no fluttering of insects. The forest seemed to have been silenced in a split second.

The noise came again, deep, damp breathing that sent chills up Galadriel’s spine. Up until now she had been lucky enough to avoid any contact with the dark creatures that were quickly overrunning the east coast of Valinor. She wanted to continue avoiding them. As she slowly lowered herself to her hands and knees to hide within the thicket of a bush, the breathing sounds seemed to fade. Had the creatures gone away?

Galadriel stood still once again, listening. There was no sound, no movement, no breathing. She waited for as long as she could before she turned with the intention of continuing her search for the remaining lost Elven spirits.

She came face to face with a gaping set of sharp teeth, jaws dripping. The creature’s hands reached out to grab her.

In Orbit Around SR-682 (Arda)

Freak walked into the docking bay and scanned the line of people before him. They stood in front of the Dropship they would be occupying on the ride back down to the planet.

In front of Dropship One, which was Freak’s ship, was Lipinski, Takashi, Bishop, Legolas, Ariedel, Aragorn, Ripley, Gimli and the two tigers. They held a variety of weapons. In additional to the modern weapons, Legolas had his knives, bow and quiver of arrows strapped to his back. Aragorn also had his sword on their belt, while Gimli had his axes. Ariedel had exchanged her usual gown for military fatigues she borrowed from Sanchez. They all wore heavy titanium armor that would protect them from any acid blood spraying at them.

In front of Dropship Two was Zion, Sanchez, Thranduil and Arwen. None of them carried any weapons or wore any armor. Their mission was not to engage the aliens underground like the others would. They would be going to Ilmarin in hopes of finding Gandalf.

Freak wanted to take a picture. He didn’t think he’d ever see such a mix of beings on his ship ever again. Humans, Elves, tigers and a Dwarf. He felt as if he was watching a bad classic movie from the late 20th century. “Okay, this is how it’s going to happen. We go back down to the planet and with the missiles on the Dropships, we obliterate as many aliens above ground as we can. Then we’ll split up. Zee’s Dropship will take King Tut and Sweet Pea to look for some old wizard named Gandalf. The rest of us will take the APC to the underground hive and take care of those in the nest. After that we’ll see what kind of stragglers we have, which I’m sure there will be when we’re done bombing them.” He scanned the faces. “Who over here has control of these tigers?”

Several hands went up. Legolas, Thranduil, Ariedel, Aragorn and Arwen.

“All right, I just wanted to make sure we’ve got enough coverage in case they scatter while they’re looking for survivors.” Freak walked to a table and picked up one of two devices. He turned it on and held it up “These are motion sensors. If there’s anything moving or coming your way, you’ll know it and be ready for it.”

Takashi walked up and grabbed both motion sensors. He handed one to Lipinski and kept the other one for himself. Bishop and Sanchez started handing out communication devices. Besides Ripley, the only other one familiar with it was Ariedel and she immediately placed it on her ear, adjusting the microphone close to her lips. Then she helped Bishop and Sanchez help the others with theirs.

“These are communication devices. All you have to do is speak into it and everyone else can hear you. It’s important that we stay in communication with each other when we go underground. Especially when we’ve got movement on our motion sensors, let’s check where everyone is before we shoot. There’s a button over here to turn it on and off.” Freak turned to his crew. “Are we set?”

“Dropships are ready and APC is in place,” said Zion.

“Missiles are loaded and locked tight,” said Sanchez.

“All systems are functional,” said Takashi.

“The Rebel is ready for lock down,” said Bishop.

“Okay,” said Freak as he clapped his hands together. “Let’s go hunt us some bugs.”

As everyone started to move toward the Dropship ramps, Rhovan suddenly broke away from the others and ran over to the rear strut of the first Dropship, rumbling deeply in his throat.

Legolas watched the tiger with a frown. He knew Rhovan would not have moved away without a good reason. But there was no time to see if he was chasing something good to eat. “Rhovan, tolo si.” (come here)

Rhovan paced around the strut in an agitated manner, then reluctantly returned to his master’s side, moving up the ramp with him.

As everyone began to settle into their seats, inside the cramped space above the front strut, Eldarion and Anwar sighed in relief, knowing that if anyone had come to inspect what Rhovan had been agitated about, they would have seen the two Elflings hiding inside.

Moments later the cranes holding the Dropships in place came to life. Yellow lights flashed and maneuvered by the ship’s computer, the Dropships began their trip to the center of the docking bay where the floor panels slowly parted to reveal the blackness of space. One by one the Dropships were released into space for the long decent to the planet below.

 

Chapter 13 – Demolition Team​

Somewhere Over Valinor

Eldarion and Anwar huddled together in the cramped space occupied by the rear strut of the Dropship. Both felt nauseous because of the constant bouncing and jarring of the vessel. Several times they had to hold on for dear life to something stable to prevent them from getting tossed about. In all actuality, they had no idea that the vessel was traveling through the atmosphere. When they had first hidden in the compartment and then found themselves in the starship’s docking bay, they had assumed the vessel had just taken them to another part of Arda.

“What is happening, Eldarion?” asked Anwar.

“I wish that I knew. Let us hope it ends soon.”

“When it does, I am getting out and returning to Minas Tirith. As much as I desire an adventure, I feel that we do not belong here.”

“Agreed. We shall return to Minas Tirith.”

Somewhere Over Valinor
(Legolas’s POV)

I knew the moment we were approaching Arda. The whisperings of the aliens quickly came to me and I tried to ignore them by gauging the reactions of the others as the ship continued its motion of falling. This was the second time I was experiencing the trip. The craft in which Ariedel and I had escaped Gateway Station and then returned in was far more comfortable of a ride. Ariedel called it a shuttle, whereas this vessel was a Dropship. The name itself said much about its intention.

In all actuality, the moment the Dropship left the belly of The Rebel, one felt as if their stomach had been left behind. The sensation of falling was disturbing, as was the intense jarring of the vessel as it entered the space above the clouds. Ariedel had explained it all to me the first time I had experienced the drop. It was not something one could easily get used to.

Gimli looked very pale in color, with a tinge of green. He looked about to lose the meal he had eaten onboard Freak’s ship. I wanted to ask him how he was feeling, but I knew he would only snap a response, not wanting me to see his weakness. Aragorn had his eyes closed tightly. This was also the second time he was experiencing the trip and the king of Gondor was not finding it to his liking..

“Why is the trip going down far worse than the one going up?” asked Thranduil, his voice coming over the devices attached to everyone’s ears. He was on the other ship with Arwen.

“Dropping from the ship saves on fuel.” I recognized the voice. It belonged to the woman named Sanchez. “Once we’re through the atmosphere, then we engage engines to steer.”

A moment later I felt the surge of power as the Dropship engines were engaged. A screen hung near the doorway leading to where Freak steered the ship. The image on it revealed our decent. At the moment all I saw was white, which meant we were within the clouds. In the next moment the clouds vanished to reveal a large body of water. It had to be the Sundering Seas. At first it appeared as though the vessel was about to crash into the water, but at the last moment it leveled. Straight ahead was a faint image of land.

“Let’s keep this course and speed, Zee,” came Freak’s voice.

“I copy, boss,” came Zion’s reply.

I stared wide-eyed at the land mass on the small screen. “Valinor.”

“It hurts to look upon it,” said Arwen, her voice also coming through the device. She was obviously watching the screen on the other ship. “I feel as if I am endeavoring something completely forbidden. Tis not the will of the Valar that we approach the land.”

“Nay, Arwen,” I replied into the device. “The Valar have given permission for us to come.”

“Aye, but not in this manner. Are they aware of these flying vessels we come in?”

I had no answer. When the Valar had come to me in my dream, it had been before I met Freak and not known that we would be approaching Valinor in a very different kind of ship.

“Zee, let’s swing wide to the left to keep out of sensor range of the Company base, just in case they have a tracking system in place,” said Freak. “Then we’ll come up north to where most of the bugs are concentrated.”

“Swinging wide to the south,” replied Zion.

The ship pulled to the left and the motion was felt by us all. I glanced at Rhovan beside me on my right. The poor beast was strapped uncomfortably to a seat not meant to be occupied by a full grown tiger. His mouth was open, teeth slightly bared, breath coming out in great gasps. I reached out to grasp a handful of his fur, just below his ear. “Na sîdh, Rhovan.” (Be at peace)

“Yo, Lego, I’m gonna need you up front here in a minute,” came Freak’s voice in my ear device.

I grimaced at the shortened version of my name and witnessed Ariedel rolling her eyes. She knew I abhorred my name shortened in any manner. I unbuckled the straps holding me to the seat and ruffled Rhovan’s fur once more before I stood and moved carefully down the short aisle to the door in front. The movement of the ship made it difficult to maintain my balance and twice I nearly toppled over Aragorn and Gimli. “I am here,” I said to Freak as I entered the small space. There was only one other seat and it was occupied by Takashi. The man immediately left the seat and motioned for me to take it. I quickly strapped myself in while Takashi went in back with the others.

Freak glanced over his shoulder briefly. “Yeah, I’m hoping you might be able to fill me in on the lay of the land.” He turned forward again.

“The lay of this land? Tis not familiar to me. Except perhaps the name of the tallest mountain over there.” I pointed into the distance to the mountain in question. “That is Mount Taniquetil, where the most powerful of the Valar lives. His home is Ilmarin.”

“I can’t say I understood any of that, but that’s okay.”

“I was told that many of the people went to Ilmarin to seek sanctuary within the walls. Perhaps that is where my father will find Gandalf.”

“Let’s hope whosever there is safe.” Freak pushed a variety of buttons on his console. “Bishop, what’ve you got for me?”

Bishop’s voice came over the device on my ear. “I’m picking up a large concentration directly west of that mountain.”

“Any other life forms?” asked Freak.

“None above ground. Just xenomorphs.”

“Okay, time for a little mood music.” Freak touched the controls of a device attached to his seat. “Music helps me concentrate on the task ahead,” he said over his shoulder in my direction.

I shrugged indifferently.

“Let’s see, I’m in the mood for some Chevelle. An Evening With El Diablo sounds like an appropriate tune.” He punched several buttons and the cabin was suddenly filled with loud music. “Zee, let’s move in for the kill.” Then he moved the controls and the ship turned inland.

Although I was not familiar with the specific song blasting through the cabin, I was in fact familiar with the style. Ariedel had played a lot of it during our stay in Tahiti, but not at the volume Freak had it.

I glanced out the window and saw that we would soon pass within close proximity of Manwë’s mountain. I wondered if anyone could see us approaching.

Mount Taniquetil

Gandalf stood on the balcony of a tall tower. His gaze was not on the land which the aliens continued to ravage, but out to the sea. With the sun slowly setting in the west, the sky was a mixture of purple, pink and orange. The Valar had told him to look to the sea at precisely this moment. They had been enigmatic as to the reason for it, only that he needed to set his eyes in that direction.

Celeborn stepped out onto the balcony and moved to stand beside the Istar. “Galadriel has not returned. I sense something has happened to her.”

Gandalf did not remove his eyes from the sea, but he acknowledged Celeborn’s presence with a slight tilt of his head. “Have faith, my friend. Something is about to occur.”

Celeborn frowned and looked in the direction the Istar looked. “Why do you look to the sea?”

“It comes now.”

“What comes?”

“Salvation.” A smile graced Gandalf’s aged features. “And it comes in the form of great metal vessels that fly through the air.”

Seconds later two black objects flew from the direction of the sea and headed inland. They were moving so fast that Celeborn could barely distinguish what they were. And then the vessels slowed and circled around a quarry of rocks. “What are they?”

“I cannot fathom it, but they are here to rid us of these hideous creatures that have threatened our peace and existence.”

At the end of Gandalf’s words, a flash of light was emitted from both vessels. The lights touched the rocks and the ground was immediately engulfed in flames, followed by a deep rumbling in the earth

“Woooohooooo!” Freak cried out. “Look at them bugs burn, man!” He spun the Dropship around in a narrow arc and let several more missiles loose. From his view he could see hundreds of aliens scrambling to run from the onslaught of destructive arms. Damn, he felt good whenever he killed them. He was actually getting high off of it as he loudly sang along to the song blasting through the Dropship. “Wish I had your faults. Nothing seems to phase you.” He hovered the Dropship and panned around in a circle, letting loose hundreds of rounds of artillery. Alien body parts scattered all over the ground as they were hit with the hollow-pointed arsenal. “Yeah, eat that shit, mother fuckers!” And Freak continued to sing. “Some say we can never know. From just how far down this beast has come.”

Legolas watched with wide eyes. With this ship and its weapons, they were able to kill hundreds at a time. He could hear the aliens screeching in his head and it ached relentlessly. But he knew there was panic infiltrating into their collective minds. Their only instinct was to flee and it gave him a sense of satisfaction.

“Hey, Lego, you want a piece of this action?” asked Freak. He knew the Elf had had a rough time with the aliens in the past.

Legolas turned to Freak in surprise. “Aye, I do.”

Freak reached behind his seat and pushed a few buttons on a panel in front of Legolas. A handle raised up from a hole, startling the Elf for a moment. “Okay, see that little screen right in front of you? All you gotta do is move this stick around until that small box in the middle is over a target. Then squeeze that red button on the tip of the stick. Got it?”

Legolas nodded and mimicked his words in reply. “Got it.” He concentrated on the small box as he moved the stick. When the box was directly over a retreating alien, Legolas squeezed the button. The alien seemed to burst apart from the inside. Legolas grinned and aimed for another target.

“That’s it. You got it.” Freak faced forward again and programmed in another tune as the Chevelle song came to an end. Coldplay’s Speed of Sound soon filled the cabin. “Oh yeah, baby.” Freak spun the Dropship in a wide arc and sent another missile into a herd of aliens running for their lives.

The other Dropship chased hundreds more, using its automatic guns to chop them to pieces. In contrast to the loud rock music playing in Freak’s Dropship, Zion had another tune playing.

“Feelings. Nothing more than feelings. Trying to forget my feelings of love,” sang the mild-voiced singer over the cabin’s intercom.

Thranduil and Arwen turned to look at each other. Then the Elven king turned to Sanchez.

Sanchez shook her head. “Don’t ask.”

The two Dropships circled the immediate area, searching for targets. From Freak’s Dropship, a gun mounted just below the right strut flashed as artillery was fired. The rounds made triple lines on the ground as they finally hit two aliens, tearing into them, acid blood spraying in every direction.

After awhile nothing moved. Not anymore. But Freak wanted to make sure, so the Dropships slowly flew in grid-like patterns.

“Bishop, you picking up anything?” asked Freak after turning down the music.

In the back, Bishop was sitting in front of a computer console and he typed into a keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen. Hundreds of lines of script scrolled upward. “I’m scanning a five kilometer radius. Negative on any xenomorph signals in the immediate area. The next signals are coming from the south, thirty of them. I’m also picking up signals north, east and west, but a little further away from our vicinity. Other than that, the next big concentration is the hive.”

“Zee, you can go ahead to the mountain.”

“Aragorn, be careful,” Arwen said into the microphone of her communication device.

“I will see you soon,” replied Aragorn.

“6-pack, you can disable their comms,” said Freak. “They won’t need to be on line anymore.”

“Will do,” said Sanchez as she unstrapped herself from her seat and went to retrieve the com units from Thranduil and Arwen.

“Keep in touch, boss,” said Zion. He turned Dropship Two around and aimed it in the direction of the tall mountain several kilometers away.

Legolas felt elated after so easily killing dozens of the aliens. He felt as if he was going to jump out of his skin with excitement. “Let us pursue more of them, Freak.”

Freak chuckled. “You like that weapon. Kind of addicting, isn’t it?”

Legolas wanted to wrap his hand around the weapon stick once again, to fire more projectiles. He wanted to kill more aliens. And then suddenly his vision blurred. Too late he realized he was having one of his spells. An image emerged in his mind’s eye and he saw a slender figure encased in alien resin. As quickly as the image came to him, it vanished. His eyes widened and his mouth opened to speak. But nothing would come out as he took several gulps of air before turning to Freak. “She…she has been taken! We must hurry!”

Freak turned to look at Legolas. The Elf had a look of desperation on his face. One minute he was fired up and ready to kill more bugs and the next he was panicking about some girl being taken. “What’s up with you all of a sudden?”

Right at that moment Ariedel appeared in the doorway of the cockpit. “Legolas, what is it?”

Legolas grabbed Ariedel by the arms. “Galadriel. I just saw her.”

“Where?”

“In the hive.”

Ariedel turned to Freak. “Freak, we have to get to the nest right away.”

Freak pushed several buttons, deciding that it was just easier to agree than to try and figure out what Ariedel’s Elf husband was jabbering about. He’d ask Ariedel about it later. “We’re on our way. Go strap yourself back in, Princess.”

Dropship One, with its four missile launching wings still unfurled, spun around in place and headed northwest.

Valinor
Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Leland stared intently at his computer screen, which was nearly twice as large as any of the others. Right beside it was another screen, this one smaller. Both screens were flowing with images as he suddenly had an idea and began typing feverishly on the keyboard. Then he stopped typing and tapped a finger at the image on the larger screen. “This is the strand right here. It has to be.”

No one else was in the room, so he was talking to himself. At least no human was in the room. Four aliens occupied four of the attached observation chambers. With nothing of interest for them to see, they were currently dormant and camouflaged within their resin walls.

Leland grabbed a pencil and jotted something into a spiral notebook. He stared at it for a long time, then turned back to the large screen. For the next few minutes his eyes jumped from the large screen to the small screen and then down to his notes. “If these dictate the skin structure…what would happen if…” His thoughts were like scrambled pieces of information that needed to be put together. In an instant it all began to make sense. His brilliant mind knew what the pieces meant. But could it possibly work? Maybe if he used the cryosleep chamber, the one he had modified to create an accelerated growth tank for the clones. “Yes, yes…it’ll work.”

The cloning had been a wasted effort. With the correct modification to the cryosleep chamber, the right programming, a restrained alien and another Elf, he could create something far better than a clone. So now he had a new plan…an exceptional plan.

Valinor

Freak softly landed Dropship One on the ground, its missile launching wings slowly folding back over the top of the body. Two kilometers north was the hive. He wanted the Dropship to be safely away from the nest in case the alien queen happened to get out before they could exterminate her. An alien queen was capable of quite a bit of damage when she was pissed off and he didn’t want to lose a Dropship. “Bishop, let’s get everybody into the APC.”

Bishop quickly finished his task of switching control of the computer to the APC cradled inside the hold of the Dropship. Then he got up and jumped down into the hold. As everyone else followed him down, Bishop slid open the door to the APC and motioned for everyone to get inside. Freak was the last one in after the tigers and he slid the door closed.

“Am I driving or you?” Freak asked Bishop.

“I’ll drive.” Bishop went in front and took a seat on the left side of the APC’s cockpit. He punched several buttons and moved levers. The APC engines started and a larger ramp lowered beneath the Dropship. Bishop spoke into his com. “Hold tight everyone.”

The APC pulled out from the Dropship and moved over the smooth terrain ahead.

Freak got up and glanced out a small portal, checking to make sure the ramp of the Dropship went back up. Then he took a seat next to Ariedel and motioned with his head toward Legolas. “You mind telling me what’s going on?”

“You know what’s going on, Freak,” replied Ariedel.

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Lego said he saw her in the hive. Saw who? And how did he see her if we haven’t even been to the hive yet?”

“Legolas is able to communicate with the aliens.”

The others in the APC, including Legolas, listened in on the conversation.

“Yeah, I know. Seth told me about that,” said Freak. “But there’s more, isn’t there?”

“The aliens project images to him.”

Freak turned to Ripley. “Does that happen to you, too?” he asked her as an afterthought.

Ripley shrugged indifferently and shook her head. “Can’t say that I’ve received images from them. All I get from them is a constant temptation to join with their hive.”

“Which is why you’re staying in the APC,” Freak pointed out to her.

Ripley shrugged again with a smile. “Fine by me.”

Freak was always unnerved by her carefree attitude. But he had worked with Ripley before and at certain critical times, she had been a wealth of information when he needed answers. He turned to Legolas. “So what exactly did you see?”

“Galadriel, the Lady of Light,” exclaimed Legolas, as if the human should have known who the infamous Elven maid was.

Freak figured it wasn’t really necessary that he know who she was, so he decided not to ask for an elaboration. “Is she still alive?”

“She is.”

“Bishop, how much longer?” Freak shouted toward the front.

“Three minutes.”

Freak turned back to the others. “From experience, the hive will probably be scattered in different caverns, so we’ll have to split up into two teams when we’re down there. Lego and Princess, you’re with me. Loop and Sushi, you’ve got Awgie and Kibbles.”

Aragorn frowned at the name Freak called him.

“What about me?” Gimli asked quickly when his name had not been mentioned.

Legolas grinned at the Dwarf. “You are Kibbles.”

Gimli did not have a chance to react to the name.

“You all decide which tiger goes with who,” added Freak.

“I will take Rhovan while Cail should go with Aragorn,” said Legolas. “Can you not tell them apart?”

Freak looked from one tiger to the other, noting that the one closest to Legolas did have a slightly thicker coat. “Yeah, okay, Tiger 1 and Tiger 2. Just keep them close. They’re no good in a fight against an alien. If they try to bite into limbs, they’ll only get sprayed with acid blood.” He glanced at the white handles sticking out from the quiver on Legolas’s back. “You really need those knives?”

“I do not leave home without them,” was Legolas’s response.

“I should’ve known you’d say something like that.”

Two minutes later Bishop announced, “We’re fifteen seconds from the target.”

Freak clapped his hands together. “Okay. Let’s go kick some alien ass.”

When the APC rolled to a complete stop, Freak slid the side door open and motioned for the others to get out. Then he turned to Bishop and Ripley who were both remaining in the APC. “Keep the engine running. We’ll be out in a flash.”

Valinor

Eldarion and Anwar walked together through the grassy terrain.

“Where can we possibly be?” asked Anwar as she stopped and scanned the unfamiliar environment in every direction. The sun had gone down and the only light came from the moon up above.

Eldarion also stopped. He crouched down to inspect the blades of the grass. “This grass might belong to the Gladden Fields.”

Anwar shook her head. “Nay, it cannot be. We would see the outline of the Misty Mountains to the west and the trees of my realm to the east.”

Eldarion glanced back at the distant image of the Dropship they had vacated. “If I knew which direction our adanadar went, we could follow. But I see no tracks…except…” He stared at something strange. The grass was crushed along two identical lines running parallel, as if something heavy on wheels had passed. (fathers)

Anwar crouched down beside him and inspected the same tracks. “They obviously went in a wagon with extremely wide wheels.” She stood up and began to run between the tracks on the grass.

“Anwar, wait!” When she didn’t stop, Eldarion ran after her.

Valinor – The Alien Nest
(Legolas’s POV)

I walked in front with Rhovan. Ariedel was directly behind us, with Freak bringing up the rear. The interior of the underground labyrinth was pitch black and it was deathly silent, except for the sound of dripping water, Rhovan’s heavy breathing and the constant pulsing of the Motion Sensor in Ariedel’s hands. Freak held a beam of light that illuminated the path ahead of us for about ten feet, but I was able to see into the darkness even beyond.

When we had first entered the hive, we discovered two passages that seemed to go in opposite directions. Freak, Ariedel and I took the one on the left, while Lipinski, Takashi, Aragorn and Gimli took the one on the right. Along the way, we come across dozens of corpses, each encased in alien resin, chests blown out from the inside, faces contorted in the pain they had undoubtedly felt. After seeing the first one, I avoided looking into the faces of any others, afraid that I might recognize someone.

Rhovan sniffed each one for signs of life, even though it was visually quite evident they were dead.

“Loop, you copy?” Freak asked into his device.

“Yeah, boss.”

“How’s it going? Find the bitch yet?”

“Negative, but we came across deceased encased in the walls and a bunch of empty eggs.”

“Yeah, same here. Over and out.” Freak pointed to something up ahead.

I had seen it well before he had. The passage narrowed and dipped ahead.

Rhovan stepped in front of me as we entered the passage one by one, having to duck to avoid the jutting stone ceiling. He bounded forward, growling deep in his throat.

“Rhovan, dartho!” I did not want him to attack an alien and burn his jaws on its blood. But the tiger continued on. (wait)

It was not but a moment before the passage opened into a large chamber. Freak’s beam panned around to the corpses hanging from the walls and the giant eggs in the center.

I searched for Rhovan and found him resting his front paws on the wall beside a faint glow I was able to see even in the darkness. It was Lady Galadriel. “There!” We rushed forward and I unsheathed one of my long knives to immediately start hacking at the material holding Galadriel to the wall.

Freak pulled out a device and ran it over Galadriel. “She’s clean. No embryo.”

“Whoa, whoa, Freak! We found her! Repeat, we found her!” came Lipinski’s voice. “Mother fucker!” The sound of heavy weapon fire followed over our communication devices.

“Loop!” Freak waited for a response. “Loop, you copy? Sushi, you copy? Goddammit!” He turned to Ariedel and I. “The others found the queen. We haven’t seen any aliens around here because they’re probably all over there protecting her.”

Ariedel took the long knife from my hand. “Go. I’ll get her out of here and into the APC.” Then she activated a beam similar to the one Freak held.

I motioned for Rhovan to stay with Ariedel. Then I briefly exchanged a glance with her, not entirely sure it was a good idea to leave her alone. But the alien queen needed to be destroyed. I turned and followed Freak as we rushed out of the chamber.

 

Chapter 14 – Bug Hunting​

Mount Taniquetil

Zion circled the Dropship over the city, looking for a suitable place to land. Every inch of the land within the high walls surrounding an enormous castle seemed to be occupied by a tent. Thousands of them. People poured out of the tents and were gathering together, pointing up at the vessel in amazement.

Sanchez shook her head from the seat behind Zion. “Shit, we’re never gonna hear the end of it if they find out back home that we’ve totally railroaded over the directive.”

“Hey, half a dozen people or ten thousand, what difference does it make now?” replied Zion.

“Don’t land on top of anybody. Wouldn’t be good for relations, you know.”

Zion grinned and brought the Dropship lower toward the center of a large plaza, which seemed to be the only place unoccupied by a tent. People quickly scattered to get out of the way.

When the Dropship finally settled and the engines died down, the people began to gather again, excitedly pointing and discussing the strange hissing and steam-belching vessel that had appeared in the night sky.

As the ramp lowered, the people moved back once again, unsure of what to expect. Zion and Sanchez stepped out, followed by Thranduil and Arwen. The crowd went from low, uncertain whispers to all out cheering at the sight of the Elven king. He was most recognized by his attire and the crown of reeds on his head. Even those originally from Lothlorien or Imladris knew well the king of Mirkwood.

Zion nudged Sanchez with his elbow as they watched many of the people bowing before Thranduil. “Hail to the king, huh?”

There was further commotion in the crowd as someone pushed through.

When the crowd parted, Gandalf stepped forward, holding an illuminated white staff. He stopped in his tracks as he saw the Dropship and then again when he saw Thranduil. The Istar clasped arms with the Elven king. “Thranduil, I had not expected you…” Gandalf’s eyes narrowed as they turned back to the Dropship. “…to be in such a vessel.”

Thranduil grinned. “Neither did I, my friend.”

The crowd parted once again and Elrond appeared. But his eyes were not on the Dropship or Thranduil. He looked upon his only daughter. “Arwen,” he whispered.

Arwen rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck.

Elrond embraced her tightly, unable to contain the tears that flooded his eyes. “You should not have come,” said Elrond, when he finally released her and held her at arm’s length. “Tis not safe here. Your brothers…” he trailed off, not able to continue.

Gandalf watched the reunion briefly before turning back to Thranduil. “Have any others accompanied you?”

“Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli and Ariedel. They are pursuing more of the creatures. Many have already been slain using this vessel, of which there happen to be two.”

“Aye, I witnessed the destruction from afar. But I must inform you that there are more than two thousand of the creatures, for that is the number of Elves that were not accounted for. You must be aware that the creatures were birthed from the bodies of those here in Valinor.”

“I am aware.” Thranduil nodded with certainty. “Has everyone come here to the mountain?”

“There are others who found sanctity in Valmar,” replied Gandalf. “The mountain was too far for them to trek and, as you can see, not everyone would have found a place for their tents.”

Thranduil looked around, noting the number of tents in the immediate vicinity. Then he noticed Gandalf glancing toward the ship and he turned, following the Istar’s gaze. “Tis my pleasure to introduce Master Zion and Lady Sanchez. They are…”

Gandalf interrupted with a smile. “From the stars. Aye, this I know.”

The Alien Nest

Legolas was the first to arrive into the mammoth cavern that housed the alien queen. She had disengaged herself from her egg sack and was swinging her tail at Takashi. The others were shooting their weapons at the aliens that seemed to be pouring out from holes in the walls. Flares had been ignited and were lying on the ground. But they hardly gave off enough light to illuminate the entire interior.

Freak came up behind Legolas and didn’t miss a beat. He immediately charged forward, a blaster in each hand, firing at the dark shapes as they attacked.

Screeching filled the air as the aliens were killed.

Legolas had his sights on the queen and he blasted the aliens coming at him as he ran around the piles of carcasses, avoiding the pooling acid blood. One came up to him from the right and he had just enough time to raise his pulse rifle as the creature parted its jaws. Legolas rammed the muzzle of the pulse rifle into its mouth and squeezed the trigger. The alien’s head erupted acid blood from multiple bullet holes and Legolas scrambled backward to avoid the spray.

Coming up beside Takashi, who had ducked several times to avoid the swinging tail, the two of them together aimed and fired at the queen’s left wing.

The alien queen screeched loudly, then swung her right wing at the assailants, knocking both Legolas and Takashi off their feet. She signaled for help and half a dozen drones came to assist her.

Legolas barely had enough time to stand before he was assaulted by three aliens. Takashi fired the smartgun strapped to his waist and Legolas rolled out of the way as the three aliens burst open, acid blood spraying in every direction. Lucky for him he had armor protecting his chest. He regained his feet and turned to launch a grenade from his pulse rifle toward a row of alien eggs just as they were beginning to open. The eggs exploded, sending a landslide of rocks coming down over them.

Lipinski was also armed with a smartgun and standing together with Takashi, they sprayed bullets at the openings in the walls, getting any of the aliens that were trying to emerge. A smartgun was capable of firing hundreds of armor-piercing rounds in a matter of seconds. Two of them did considerable damage.

Freak was trying to go into his pack to light up several more flares when a sound from above made him look up. He had just enough time to raise his blaster before an alien jumped on him from the ceiling. Its inner jaws shot out, missing his head by a fraction of an inch before something bowled over the alien, sending it rolling away. Freak stared with his mouth open at the white tiger that had saved his life. “Get out of the way!” he yelled at the tiger. Just as the tiger retreated from the furious alien, Freak fired his blaster at it.

Legolas scanned the chamber, looking for the alien queen. She seemed to have vanished in the dark recesses of the resin-covered cave walls. He instinctly reached behind him and unsheathed his long knife, while he held the pulse rifle strapped to his right shoulder.

There was an alcove in the wall, completely immersed in darkness. He edged closer to it, his ears cutting off every sound behind him to focus ahead. He squinted his eyes, trying to penetrate the blackness. Where are you? he asked in his mind.

Somewhere behind Legolas, Freak blasted alien after alien that came out of the holes in the walls. Alien bodies piled higher and higher until it was difficult for any others to emerge. Then Freak grabbed the flamethrower strapped to his shoulder and sent a line of flame across the piles of carcasses, setting them on fire and burning those still trying to come out of the walls. He turned the flame to the center where several more eggs were just starting to open.

Aragorn circled in place, finding no other targets to shoot at. His white tiger, Cail, had stuck close to his master’s feet, guarding his back and alerting him of anything approaching. Then a sudden sharp pain seized Aragorn’s ankle. When he looked down a pale serpent had sunk its teeth into his boot, all the way through to his flesh. Before he had a chance to do anything about it, Cail grabbed the snake-like chestburster in its jaws and thrashed it from side to side. Aragorn panicked. If Cail broke the chestburster’s skin with his teeth, the acid blood would burn into his mouth. “Cail, leithia ha!” (release it)

The tiger immediately released his prey and Gimli came up from behind and swung his axe, cutting the creature in half. The Dwarf had spent many years forging mithril blades for his axes, which seemed impervious to the alien blood.

Even though the incident had only occurred within a matter of seconds, some damage had been done. The tiger suffered a touch of acid that ate into the side of his face. Aragorn tore a piece of his tunic off and wiped at it. It helped just enough to stop the acid from burning the tiger’s flesh any further and quickly dissolved the rag. Aragorn inspected the rest of the tiger’s face. He seemed to be fine, except for the burn on the left side of his face. Aragorn knew the tiger’s fur would never grow there again.

Legolas edged closer to the dark alcove, pulse rifle aimed forward, long knife raised in his left hand. Suddenly he received a strange image in his mind. He was seeing himself moving forward, from another perspective. He realized that the queen was projecting the image, but he was too late to react as she charged out of the alcove toward him. With lowered head, she rammed into his chest with the force of a bulldozer, sending him flying across the chamber to land on several burning eggs.

Luckily Lipinski was there to pull Legolas off before the flames did any serious damage. “Are you all right, man?”

Legolas didn’t answer. His eyes were focused over Lipinski’s shoulder where he watched the queen’s tail disappearing through the tunnel they had come in from. “The queen is escaping!” yelled Legolas, pointing to the passage and trying to ignore the intense pain in his chest.

Freak turned to Lipinski. “Loop, set a charge and let’s get the fuck out of here!”

Ariedel finally managed to pull off enough of the resin to free Galadriel. “My lady, can you hear me?”

Galadriel moaned softly, but she was extremely weak.

Ariedel knew that Elves were a lot lighter than they looked, so she pulled Galadriel out of the wall and slung the Elf maid over her shoulder. Just as Ariedel turned with her load, she heard a familiar sound, followed by Rhovan’s warning growl. “Rhovan, u-caro rinc.” Ariedel slowly panned the beam of light around over the unopened eggs situated in the center of the chamber. The beam hit one that was just opening. She struggled with the beam and moved it to her other hand, as she tried to keep Galadriel from falling off her shoulder. With her right hand freed, she grabbed her pulse rifle and fired at the emerging facehugger. “Ed, ed!” she called out to Rhovan. (Do not move. Get out, get out)

Dragging Galadriel with her, Ariedel followed Rhovan out of the chamber. Behind her she could hear more of the eggs opening. The squishing, crackling sound was so distinctive that she could have picked it out if a crowd had been standing around cheering. She also knew that alien eggs were sensitive to the stress levels of living things around them so it wouldn’t be long before more hatched.

Ariedel knew the entrance to the hive was close, but the clicking sound of pursuit was directly behind her. She had no idea how many facehuggers were chasing her, but she needed to get out in the open so she could get a good shot at them. And then the opening was up ahead. She saw Rhovan slide to a stop, his body facing the passage where the others had gone. He held his head low, teeth bared and was roaring aggressively at something, lashing out with his claws. She had never seen him behave in such a hostile way.

Then Ariedel heard it. A deep hissing, almost labored, like an antique steam train. She drew to a stop behind Rhovan and shined her beam to see what the tiger saw. The light illuminated a set of massive teeth. It was the alien queen. Ariedel backed out of the cave, trying to pull Rhovan with one hand, while holding Galadriel on her shoulder with the other. “Rhovan, tolo,” she whispered. (come)

The queen took a cautious step forward and Rhovan obediently backed up with his mistress, intending to protect her with his life if it came down to it. But he continued to roar and lash out with his claws.

Ariedel needed to free her hands so she could get to her pulse rifle, but she didn’t trust putting Galadriel down on the ground for a facehugger to get to her.

Once they were several feet out of the underground opening, Ariedel released Rhovan and pulled her pulse rifle free.

The queen emerged from the tight opening, straightening to her full height of fifteen feet and extending her wings. An army of facehuggers emerged from the cave, scrambling forward through her legs.

Ariedel aimed and fired at the facehuggers, picking them off one by one.

The queen screeched in rage and began to stumble forward toward Ariedel. Her left wing was perforated from blaster hits and her right leg was severely damaged. Before she could move forward, Rhovan blocked her path, lashing out in warning. The queen was momentarily distracted by the furious tiger. She snapped at him with her teeth, but the tiger avoided her.

Ariedel continued to kill the facehuggers and fired several shots at the queen’s chest to keep her from catching Rhovan.

The queen screeched and forgot about the tiger. Then something blasted her from behind. In the next instant, she took to the air, flying off balance because of her damaged wing. But she still had enough power to stay above the ground.

Legolas charged out of the opening and continued to shoot his pulse rifle at the fleeing queen. When she was too far to hit, he dropped his weapon on the ground and ran toward his wife. “Ariedel!”

Ariedel gently lowered Galadriel to the ground just as Legolas came up, his hands on her face, looking her over from head to toe for injuries. “I’m all right,” she finally said.

Legolas was gasping for breath and then he found himself falling to his knees, the pain in his chest almost unbearable. He knew from experience that more than one of his ribs were broken. But he considered himself lucky this time around. The queen could have done him more damage.

Ariedel went down on the ground with him. “Legolas…”

He shook his head. “I…I am fine.”

A minute later Freak and the others came running out. “Everybody into the APC, on the double. This place is gonna blow in two minutes.”

Ariedel helped Legolas back up on his feet while Aragorn picked up Galadriel. They all hustled to the APC. Ripley had the door already open.

As soon as everyone was inside and the door closed, Bishop stepped on the accelerator. Sixty seconds later the ground behind them erupted in flames shooting a hundred feet into the air. The earth trembled from the blast and some debris fell all around the APC as it continued back in the direction of the Dropship without pause.

Eldarion and Anwar had managed to walk almost a kilometer before they felt the earth shake and saw the flames erupting from the ground not far away. Both Elflings lost their balance and fell to the ground, unsure of what could have caused such an event. Eldarion tried to be the brave one. Afterall, he was thirteen while Anwar was only eleven. He felt that he needed to be the braver of the two as he scrambled over to Anwar to make sure she was unharmed.

Just then another sound reached their ears. They both poked their head up in time to see a strange vehicle pass them at great speed.

Eldarion quickly determined that it was the vehicle that had made the tracks on the grass, therefore the vehicle in which his father was in. He jumped up. “Wait! Stop!”

As Eldarion gave chase, Anwar jumped to her feet and followed him.

As the APC neared the Dropship, Freak glanced at everyone, visually inspecting them for injuries. Takashi had a bloody nose, which he refused to wipe. Lipinski had a shallow gash on his forehead that ran from his right eyebrow upward to his hairline. The Dwarf’s beard was slightly singed and he fussed about it like a woman who had torn her best dress. Aragorn had some blood on his ankle and it dripped from his torn boot and down to the floor of the Dropship. Ariedel had some cuts and scrapes on her face, but nothing serious. Legolas also had a few scratches and was holding his chest as if he were in some kind of pain. His hair was also slightly singed. Besides the woman they had rescued, the only one that seemed to have suffered the worst damage was one of the tigers, the one that had saved his life. The left side of its face was missing fur and the skin beneath was charred and black, but Freak was glad to see that the acid hadn’t made it to the tiger’s eye.

“The queen got away,” said Ripley, breaking the silence as her eyes roamed Freak’s face.

Freak broke out of his thoughts and turned to her. “I know.”

“She’s wounded,” added Ripley. “She’ll be more dangerous.”

“Think we were lucky enough to kill the alpha?” asked Lipinski, absently wiping at the gash on his forehead.

Freak shrugged. “I guess we won’t know that until we kill every last one of them.”

Ariedel frowned. “Can’t your computer tell you if the alpha’s still alive?”

Freak smiled without humor. “This isn’t Lifesource, Princess. I don’t have that kind of equipment. If it was sold in the market, I would have bought myself one of those scanners a long time ago. I’m lucky I’ve got a system that can pick up an alien signature. When we get back to the Dropship, all I can tell you is how many are still alive.”

A few minutes later the ramp of the Dropship lowered upon receiving a signal from Bishop and the APC slid back inside. The ramp closed once again. Everyone exited the APC and took their seats back in the Dropship cabin. Aragorn placed Galadriel, who was still unconscious, beside Ariedel.

Freak took his seat at the controls and patched a signal to Zion. “Zee, are you there?”

“What took you so long, boss?” came Zion’s reply over the com device.

“We found one survivor.”

“Just one?” Zion sounded seriously disappointed.

Freak sighed heavily. “Yeah…just one.”

“I heard the blast. Is everyone else okay?”

“We’re alive, let’s just leave it at that. You’ll need to scrounge up the local doctor for the survivor. She’s gonna need some medical attention.”

“I’ll talk to the man in charge here.”

“We’ll be there in a flash.”

“I’m quivering with anticipation. Over and out.”

Freak set the Dropship in motion and it lifted from the ground.

As the Dropship slowly headed in the direction of Mount Taniquetil, no one noticed the two young Elves running toward them, waving their arms, trying to get their attention. Their arms dropped when they realized the vessel was not going to return and the two Elflings slumped down on the ground, exhaustion finally claiming them.

 

Chapter 15 – Reunions​

Somewhere Over Valinr

Ariedel carefully tended to some of the cuts on Galadriel’s face. The blood was caked in certain places and she had to dampen the cloth to let it soak on the cuts.

“Hannon le,” Galadriel whispered. (thank you)

Ariedel pulled her hand away to look fully at Galadriel, who slowly opened her pale blue eyes. “Buion na ‘ell,” said Ariedel, remembering an appropriate response to someone as revered as Lady Galadriel. (I serve with joy)

Galadriel shifted her eyes to those around her. Besides Ariedel, she saw Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli. There was two other men that she did not recognize, but somehow knew were not any men from Middle Earth. She could feel movement around her as if she were being transported in a wagon. The surrounding walls, however, were not made of cloth as would surround a wagon, but were made of metal. For the moment she decided to ignore the surroundings and shifted her eyes to Ariedel. “You saved my life.”

Ariedel didn’t know what to say at first. Her contact with Galadriel had been limited before the Lady sailed to Valinor, so they really didn’t have much of a comradeship. But Ariedel respected Galadriel because of what Legolas told her about the Lady of Lothlorien. Ariedel also knew that Galadriel was an indispensable person to her kind. Regardless, she would have been just as willing to rescue anyone from the clutches of the aliens. The fact that it had been Galadriel made the situation seem more crucial. “I couldn’t let you fall victim to what the aliens had in store for you.”

“But you risked your own life to save mine,” Galadriel added.

“You are safe, my lady. Let’s leave it at that.” Ariedel wasn’t sure what else to say.

Galadriel glanced at Legolas and for some unexpected reason, she felt a strange sense of dread about him. A sort of premonition…of something. Perhaps of something to come. As hard as she tried to understand it, the answers simply wouldn’t come to her. And she knew that he felt it as well. His eyes were haunted, fearful and distant as if he were listening to far away voices that he desperately tried not to hear. “Legolas…” she whispered in his mind.

Legolas immediately raised his eyes from the floor he had been staring at and he met Galadriel’s gaze. But she did not say anything more to him. She simply stared sympathetically at him before finally closing her eyes.

Freak maneuvered the Dropship passed the high wall of the compound on the mountain. It wasn’t long before he saw where the other Dropship was resting. There wasn’t much room with all the tents around, but he calculated that he could land right next to the other ship if he timed the landing just right. “Bishop, how am I looking?”

The android was sitting in the seat behind him in the cockpit. He glanced at some readings on a screen. “Turn the tail fifteen degrees to starboard. You’ll be clear.”

Freak nudged the controls slightly and then gently set the Dropship down, seemingly in the midst of a crowd. Since the APC was blocking the ramp in the main hold, a smaller ramp on the side of the Dropship was lowered and everyone exited.

Reunions soon followed.

Thranduil greeted Legolas and Ariedel and was quickly concerned about the injury to his son’s chest, especially after hearing how he had received it. “I will have Elrond attend to you.”

“I assure you, adar, I am fine. Just a bit shaken. Lady Galadriel needs Lord Elrond’s aid more than I.” (father)

Celeborn took Galadriel from Aragorn’s arms and quickly headed for the palace with Elrond, Aragorn and Arwen at his heels. During that moment Arwen realized that Cail had been injured and was devastated at the sight of the tiger’s scorched face.

Frodo Baggins emerged from the crowd and greeted Gimli and Legolas. “Tis good to see you again.” Then he smiled at Ariedel, remembering her from their wedding he had attended long ago. “And you, my lady.”

Legolas placed a hand on Frodo’s shoulder and momentarily glanced toward Thranduil, who was busy conversing with Freak. “So tell me, Frodo. What was the mood like when my father and your uncle Bilbo saw one another again?”

Frodo rolled his eyes, knowing that past relations between Thranduil and Bilbo had not been favorable. “Do you really want to know?”

Afterward Freak met with the others on a private balcony. “We’re still not out of danger yet. The hive may have been destroyed, but the queen is still out there and so are four hundred and sixty-two drones scattered around a two hundred mile radius.”

“What do you suggest?” asked Thranduil.

“We go out in small teams of maybe three to four people. We hunt down the aliens and exterminate them.”

“Two hundred miles in any direction is quite far,” stated Celeborn. “It will take months to cover that kind of ground.”

Freak shook his head. “With my ships, the teams can be dropped off in certain spots a lot faster than the teams can walk there. There seems to be a lot of people on this mountain which we can recruit and I’ve got a lot of spare weapons I can hand out. We’ll get it done.” Freak turned to Thranduil. “My biggest concern right now is the research base on the east coast.”

Thranduil took a moment to inform Gandalf, Celeborn and Elrond about the Weyland-Yutani research base. Although none of them truly understood the magnitude of the threat The Company posed, they knew that the presence of anyone without the Valar’s permission was a serious matter that needed to be dealt with.

“You mentioned earlier that you did not know if the alpha was alive,” said Aragorn. “What is the role of this alpha?”

“The alpha drone basically fathers the young,” replied Freak.

“How crucial is the death of this father creature? Do we need to be concerned about killing it first before any other?”

Freak shrugged at Aragorn. “It doesn’t matter anyway. If the alpha is killed, the queen’ll just pick another one. She’s not very picky about who fathers her spawn.”

“Let us continue to discuss these matters in the morning,” suggested Gandalf. “You are all in need of much deserved rest.”

Freak nodded to the others and left. He and his crew would sleep in the Dropships. Gandalf informed Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli that special quarters had been assigned to them, so they would not be required to sleep in tents as most of the masses had been.

Thranduil went with Legolas to the quarters Gandalf had directed. When Legolas entered with his father, he found Ariedel standing in the archway that led to the balcony. She looked as if she was nervous about something.

“Ariedel,” Legolas called out. “What is it?” Legolas saw her glance at something unseen out on the balcony. Something was wrong. Before he had a chance to question his concern any further, someone stepped into the archway to stand beside Ariedel. Legolas recognized her immediately and heard his father whisper her name.

“Alfirin.”

Legolas stared at the elleth beside Ariedel. His mother. With tears in her eyes, she stepped away from Ariedel slowly and then broke into a run toward Thranduil, jumping into his arms. For a moment Legolas watched the affection between them. As a child he had many times seen his mother in an emotional state. But to see his father so overwhelmed was almost disturbing. ‘Tis not a crime for an ellon to shed tears, ion nin. Always remember that.’ His father had spoken those words to him before they had left the ship in space. (Elf maid. Male Elf. My son.)

After a moment, Alfirin pulled away from Thranduil’s embrace and turned to face Legolas. With huge tears in her eyes, she stepped up to him, her hand extended to touch his cheek. “Legolas.”

Legolas gazed into his mother’s eyes and all of his inhibitions suddenly melted away. She embraced him and he cried like he had not done in ages.

Ariedel watched from the archway as Thranduil joined in the embrace. The three of them seemed to glow brighter as they stood together. She almost felt as if she should leave, to give them the chance to be alone. But then she saw Alfirin lift her face and look directly at her. She seemed so happy. Alfirin raised a hand, beckoning Ariedel forward. Tears welled up in Ariedel’s eyes. To be included in this family reunion suddenly seemed extremely important to her. She moved toward them and they accepted her into their family circle.

Somewhere in Valinor

Eldarion and Anwar sat huddled together among a small grove of trees. They had grown weary from walking and decided they needed to rest before they continued on in the direction the metal eagle had gone. It had headed for the tall mountain in the distance.

“I do not recall ever seeing such a mountain anywhere in Gondor,” commented Eldarion as he glanced up at the night sky between the branches of the trees. “We will continue again when the sun rises.”

Anwar studied Eldarion for a moment as his face was still tipped upward. Despite the fact that they were lost, she felt completely safe being with him. There were other Elflings closer to her home that paid her much attention, but she felt that they indulged her because she was the king’s granddaughter. There was no one she could truly call a friend. But with Eldarion, she did not feel any false illusions. He simply behaved as himself, and was not out to impress her in any way. Maybe it was the reason she adored him. A flush came to her cheeks as she finally admitted to herself that she indeed had feelings for the prince of Gondor. And there was no other place she would rather be at the moment than in his company, sharing in this unexpected adventure.

Eldarion felt Anwar’s eyes on him and despite the fact that she was a year and a half younger than him, he liked her. She was a pretty elleth and one that did not treat him in a manner befitting a prince. He hated when others his own age acted differently in front of him, just because he was the king’s son. They pretended to enjoy his company, when he knew they were jealous of him and all that he had. Anwar treated him as an equal. He knew she liked him as well. He wondered how she would behave if she knew that he shared her feelings.

When Anwar turned away with a shiver, Eldarion finally lowered his gaze. “Are you cold?”

“A little.”

Eldarion slid an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Anwar briefly shifted nervously and then finally settled against him. “Hannon le an mellon nin,” he said to her. (Thank you for being my friend)

Anwar shifted to look at him again in surprise. “I did not know you spoke Sindarin.”

“Naneth taught me. But I know adar can speak it as well. They often speak to each other in Sindarin when others are around and they do not want them to know what they’re talking about.” (Mother. Father)

Anwar smiled. “Hannon le an mellon nin sui mae.” Then she felt a sense of comfort surrounding him. With that feeling she boldly curled up her legs and pressed herself against him for added warmth. (Thank you for being my friend as well)

Eldarion smiled to himself, thinking that when they were older, he would enjoy courting Anwar Greenleaf.

Ilmarin
(Ariedel’s POV)

I wondered what the kids were up to as I stared out at the moon from the balcony of the luxurious suite Gandalf had kindly assigned to us. Hopefully they weren’t driving Alma nuts or Éomer, Faramir and the others for that matter.

Brendan had a tendency to go a little stir crazy when he had nothing to do. I smiled to myself as I pictured Brendan’s face whenever he was told he couldn’t do something. He reminded me so much of my brother Seth when we were kids, the way he pouted. It was the reason I named him Brendan, which was my brother’s middle name.

My youngest son, Elril was still a baby, so I knew he couldn’t get into too much trouble.

Anwar was the one that worried me the most. She was at that age where she was curious about everything, including the opposite sex. She denied it at every opportunity, but I knew her a lot more than she thought. Had I been that much in denial at her age when it came to boys?

The moon became partially obscured so I turned to look down at the surrounding grounds below. This castle belonged to two of the Valar and it was huge. It was even bigger than Aragorn’s palatial residence in Minas Tirith. But what impressed me the most was the sheer size of the property within the high walls. It was obviously big enough for thousands of tents to be pitched up for all those seeking shelter from the aliens.

I had asked Gandalf if I could see the owners of the castle, to thank them personally for their hospitality. But the old wizard said it wasn’t necessary, that in their own way the Valar knew I appreciated it. So I let the matter drop.

My thoughts drifted to Alfirin, who had been quite a surprise to me. Legolas hardly ever talked about his mother, so I had no idea she would be in Valinor. Earlier when I was waiting for Legolas, Alfirin came to me, telling me she would have sought out Thranduil or Legolas, but she couldn’t find them. She knew I was Legolas’s wife before I even said anything to her. She explained that she and Galadriel were very close friends.

“Galadriel’s description of you was exact,” Alfirin had said to me with a smile that reminded me so much of Legolas. “And quite honestly you are exactly whom I imagined my son would choose.” She had caressed my cheek so lovingly that I felt as if I had known this woman all my life.

I had lost both of my parents when I was young and Seth was the only family I had left. After marrying Legolas, I gained Thranduil, who was like the father I never had. King Alexor Draconir, the father of the real Ariedel had died not long after Brendan was born, so I didn’t have him either.

So now I had a mother. Not only was I excited for myself, but I was so overjoyed that Legolas got to see her again. And Thranduil, I couldn’t imagine what was going through his head, seeing his wife again.

I snickered to myself, wondering what they were discussing right at the moment…or maybe doing.

“What are you giggling about?”

I felt Legolas come up behind me and as he wrapped his arms around me, he bent to sink his teeth into my shoulder. “I’m just wondering about Thranduil and Alfirin,” I replied, still smiling.

Legolas turned me around to face him. “About what?” he asked as he began to suck on my face.

“I bet they’re doing it,” I giggled.

Legolas smiled. “Of course they are. My father has not had relations with anyone for over two thousand years.”

“Are you serious? Two thousand years? That’s a hell of a long time to go without sex.”

“I would be surprised if he did not ravage my mother as I am about to ravage you.”

“Hm, keep talking.” I tilted my head to give him access to the side of my neck.

“Where would you like me to start?” He kissed my neck. “From here or perhaps from your toes?”

“Mm, I think my toes could use some extra attention.”

Legolas reached for my hand and began kissing my fingertips. “Or I can start here.”

“Yeah, fingers are always fun.”

His eyes traveled down over me. “Must you choose such attire?”

He was referring to the black military trousers, teeshirt and Kevlar vest I had on. All of it had been provided to me by Lauren Sanchez. “What’s wrong with what I have on?”

Legolas brought his lips to mine, kissing me hungrily. “It conforms to your…body so well. It makes me crazy.” Then he lowered himself to his knees and proceeded to yank open the Kevlar vest. He pushed the hem of my teeshirt upward to uncover my torso which he soon began to lave with his tongue. “This is where I shall begin.”

“Sure, I’m all for that.” I closed my eyes as Legolas tugged down my trousers. Within seconds he had me naked. I was pretty sure that he made a science out of taking off my clothes, the more complicated the layers, the more challenging it was for him. He picked me up and sat me down on the balcony’s stone balustrade, which was incredibly cold on my bare butt. Pulling my left leg over his shoulder, Legolas buried his face between my legs and it took everything out of me to keep from crying out. I also had to hang on for dear life. It was a long way down if I happened to fall off the balcony.

Ilmarin – the next morning

Thranduil observed the demonstration of the weapons Freak had retrieved from the Dropships. Then he watched the faces of those others that also watched. Most of the Elves in the chamber had seen many wars in their lifetimes, but never one such as this, and never with such weapons. There was much confusion on their faces, but they fully understood the magnitude of the enemy.

After the weapons demonstration and they had been passed out, Gandalf called for silence. “Let us hear the words of the Elven king of Eryn Lasgalen.”

Everyone turned in Thranduil’s direction and he waited for the room to grow quiet before he began. “The first thing I request is that everyone in this hall divide into groups of three or four, but no more than five.”

There was mass confusion for a few minutes as everyone found who they wanted to be teamed up with.

When all was quiet again, Thranduil surveyed the room. He counted ten groups of four Elves. Forty warriors being sent out to eliminate the remaining aliens.. There would have been more if Freak had had more weapons to distribute. “Designate a leader in your group for they will be provided with a communication device to periodically check in with what I am told will be called homebase.”

Thranduil walked over to stand with Zion and Sanchez. “You all witnessed the arrival of the metal ships that fly. Some of you will be transported in them by Zion and Sanchez.” He moved on to Lipinski and Takashi. “And some will be going with Lipinski and Takashi. Your designated drop off point will be based on the number of creatures in that vicinity. On foot your team will deal with the creatures that have scattered upon the land. Tis vital that group leaders communicate with home base.” Thranduil turned to Freak. “Is there anything you wish to add?”

Freak stepped forward. “Yeah, just one thing. If any of you happen to encounter the queen, I suggest you set your weapon sites on her and keep shooting. It takes a lot to take her down, but it can be done.”

“What does the queen look like?” asked someone in the crowd.

“About fifteen feet tall, ugly as hell, big head with a ten foot long crest behind it, mouth full of teeth the size of daggers. Yeah, you can’t miss her.”

Thranduil nodded. “When all of the creatures have been destroyed, we will know it. And then we will anticipate your safe return to celebrate victory and to celebrate the approaching restoration of the slain members of your families from the Halls of Mandos!”

The chamber erupted in cheers.

“Let us depart!”

The cheering continued as the groups exited through the double doors, each giving Arwen and Ariedel the name of their group leader and each taking a communication device that was briefly explained by Gimli. Then the Elves followed Freak’s crew to the Dropships.

Thranduil, Legolas and Freak stood together for awhile, watching as everyone boarded the Dropships. Soon the two ships were airborne, turning to head out from the mountain, each taking a different direction.

Then Legolas teamed with Glorfindel, while Aragorn teamed with Haldir. Their duties were to scour the immediate area of Mount Taniquetil.

As much as Freak wanted to be out where the action was, he needed to scout the Weyland-Yutani base and determine how best to approach without being seen by security.

Bishop had a portable computer that was patched via satellite with the Rebel and his job was to keep track of the numbers and receive the communications from the team leaders.

When Legolas, Aragorn, Glorfindel and Haldir entered the room where the remaining weapons were, they found Ariedel and Ripley arming themselves.

Legolas frowned at his wife. “Ariedel, where do you think you are going?”

“I’m going out there,” Ariedel nonchalantly replied, as if she had every right to be out fighting with everyone else.

“There are plenty enough out there to finish it,” stated Legolas.

Ariedel shook her head as she slid a dagger in her boot. “I need something to do or I swear to God I’m going to flip out.”

Not wanting to argue with Ariedel in front of the others, Legolas gave her a stern look and proceeded to retrieve his weapons. But he continued to watch her stashing daggers and small pistols wherever she could find a place on her. He did not doubt her ability in a fight against an alien, he just did not like to see her endangering her life. Then his attention went to the doorway where his father and mother stood. He met his mother’s eyes and from their expression he knew she was telling him to allow Ariedel to fight the battle. It was important to her. He looked away and stepped over to Ariedel, reaching for her hand.

Ariedel stopped what she was doing and turned to him. “Legolas, please…I’m not staying behind!” she quipped angrily.

“I do not ask you to remain behind. I only ask that you to be careful.”

Ariedel felt bad for snapping at him. “I’m sorry.”

Regardless of who was around them, Legolas brought his hands up to Ariedel’s face and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you,” he whispered.

Ariedel accepted his kiss on her forehead, but then she demanded one on the lips. “I love you too and I’ll see you soon.”

Legolas released her and grabbed his quiver and long knives before walking out with Aragorn, Glorfindel and Haldir. He was not sure how long they would be apart, but he prayed to the Valar that she remained safe.

 

Chapter 16 – Where Is Everyone?​

Minas Tirith

Alma was out of breath as she rushed up the cobblestone roadway to the Citadel. When she entered the great hall, she could barely breathe.

Éomer and Faramir were conversing near the Steward’s throne when they noticed Ariedel’s handmaiden bent over in agony. They both rushed forward to aid her.

“What has happened?” asked Éomer.

Alma took a long gulp of air. “Anwar…”

“Legolas’s daughter? What has happened to her?” urged Éomer.

“Gone…I…I cannot find her.” Alma suddenly broke into tears between gasps of breath.

At that moment Éowyn rushed in, an expression of panic on her face. “Eldarion was not in his bed when I went to wake him.”

Éomer handed Alma over to his sister and turned to Faramir. “They must be here somewhere. Does the son of Aragorn have places he often goes?”

“There are some that I know,” replied Faramir. “I will call the guards.”

Valinor

Eldarion knew they were no longer in familiar territory. Somehow or another, the winged metal beast they had hidden inside had taken them to a location that neither he nor Anwar had ever been before. When the sun had risen, he determined which way was east. With that in mind, he climbed one of the tallest trees and looked in that direction, seeing a large body of water quite a distance away. At first he thought the reflection of the sun played tricks on his eyes. But then there was no mistaking it. He only knew of a body of water to the west, having gone to the Grey Havens once with his father.

But he knew nothing of what lay to the east, much less if there was any water there. He was convinced that they had gone to the east, beyond even the Lonely Mountain and Rhûn. Not for a single moment did the thought of Valinor come to his mind.

“What business does my adar or yours have to the east?” asked Anwar. “And besides, how could we have traveled such a great distance in so short a time?”

At the moment they were continuing their trek in the direction they had last seen the metal beast fly. It had gone to the tall mountain in the distance. “If I knew the answers, then we would not be lost.”

Anwar jogged forward as they reached what looked to be the crest of a hill and came to a screeching halt. “Eldarion, look!”

Eldarion came up beside her and looked down at what lay ahead.

Just beyond a smaller hill was a village comprised of several stone buildings of Elven architecture. A large fountain rested in the center of a courtyard.

Anwar turned to Eldarion with a smile. “They will have food and water.”

Eldarion smiled in return. “Then let us greet the people and hope they will welcome us.”

The two Elflings ran down the hill and over the next one. When they came upon the main road of the village, they slowed their steps and walked hand in hand.

“Do you notice something odd, Anwar?” asked Eldarion as his eyes darted left and right, inspecting the silent buildings on either side.

“Tis awfully quiet.” Anwar figured it was mid-morning. There should have been some people about, some kind of activity. “Where is everyone?”

Eldarion began to notice other strange things. Various articles of clothing or personal objects lay strewn about doorways, as if they had been accidentally left behind. “This village is abandoned.” He noticed a wagon with a broken wheel, left in the center of the road. “The people that lived here left in a great hurry.”

Anwar tightened her grip on Eldarion’s hand. The fact that these people had abandoned their homes in a rush left her with a frightening thought. What had forced them…an entire village to flee? “Could Orcs have attacked?”

“If that were so then these buildings would not be here. Everything would have been burned or demolished. Orcs destroy everything in their path and leave nothing standing. There are no signs of an attack. Something frightened these people into leaving.”

Chills ran up and down Anwar’s spine. But as frightened as she was, hunger soon took control of her thoughts when she spied a bakery. Without thinking, she released Eldarion’s hand and rushed to the doorway.

“Anwar, wait!” yelled Eldarion before Anwar disappeared inside. He quickly scanned the area a final time before following Anwar into the bakery.

Anwar found bread still wrapped in cloth on a shelf. It was still soft. She quickly pulled pieces of it apart and devoured whatever she could fit into her mouth. When Eldarion entered, she tossed a piece of bread to him.

Eldarion sniffed the bread before he ate it. It was still fresh, perhaps only two days old. He glanced around the small room, recognizing it as a place where breads were sold. There were two tables with several chairs. On one of the tables rested a clay jug. He reached for it and gave it a shake. Something sloshed around inside. After sniffing the contents and realizing it was full of wine, he took a long gulp from it.

Anwar walked up to him. “What is in it?” she asked, her mouth still full of bread.

“Wine.” When she reached for the jug, Eldarion pulled it away from her. “You are not old enough to drink wine.”

“And neither are you,” she countered and reached for the jug again.

This time Eldarion handed it to her and watched as she also took a long gulp. “If there is wine then there must also be water.”

Just then a sound came from outside, followed by the crashing of something breaking. Both Eldarion and Anwar froze and then slowly walked to the window. Something caught Eldarion’s eyes and he quickly pulled Anwar down to the floor.

Anwar frowned at him. “What are you doing?”

“Shhh.” Eldarion slowly raised himself enough where he could peer just over the edge of the window frame. More crashes were heard from across the main road. But what caught his eye was something moving on all fours. It was black with a long tail and an extremely long head. At first he thought it was some kind of large lizard. But it looked as if it lacked any skin and its dark bones were visible.

Another one came out of the building where the crashing sounds had come. When the two creatures confronted each other, it was a duel over a basket, which they eventually tore apart.

Anwar could no longer stand the wait. She also raised herself up to see what Eldarion stared at. Her eyes narrowed upon seeing the creatures. “Are they Orcs?” she asked in a whisper.

“Like none I have ever seen.”

Both of them quickly ducked back down when one of the creatures suddenly turned its elongated head in their direction.

(Ariedel’s POV)

Ripley and I were making our way down a narrow dirt road. So far we hadn’t run into any aliens along the way. I was actually itching to confront some, wanting to rip their hides to pieces with the pulse rifle slung over my right shoulder.

“Does he always try to prevent you from risking your life?” asked Ripley, breaking the silence.

I knew she referred to Legolas. She had been in the room when he tried to keep me from going out. “Most of the time, yeah.” I sighed heavily. “He worries a lot. I suppose its justifiable. He was left without a mother at a young age. He doesn’t want the same for our kids.”

“So who was that woman I saw with Thranduil earlier?”

“Oh, well…that’s Legolas’s mother.”

“So she’s not dead.”

“No.”

“And she lives here, instead of the eastern continent.”

“Right.” I had a feeling Ripley didn’t really understand why that was the case, so I felt compelled to explain further. “This continent here in the west is called Valinor. It’s where the Elves come to live out their eternal lives. Kind of like holy ground. From what I’ve been told, many Elves who suffered great hardships sailed here to the west.”

“I can understand needing to find peace after suffering a hardship. But why leave behind your family, those you love?”

“Good question. In truth I never knew Legolas’s mother was even here. He hardly ever talked about her. I’m thinking either because it hurt too much to talk about her or that he was so young when she left that he hardly remembered anything about her. When this is all over, none of us that came on the Dropships will be allowed to remain here.”

“Why is that?”

“Only Elves are allowed here.”

“So that rules you and Aragorn out, right?”

I frowned a bit, remembering that I would not be allowed to sail here if Legolas ever decided he had had enough of Middle-Earth. Would he leave me behind? Would he take the children with him, leaving me to die alone? Somehow I didn’t think he’d do it.

“What about Thranduil and Legolas? They’ll have to leave too?” she asked.

“Traditionally, Elves can only come to Valinor by sea. This planet has a lot of strange customs.”

“But then again so do some of the races that came from Earth. If you’ve been to any of the outland colonies, those that are really far out there, you’d know what I’m talking about.”

“I’ve been to some, mostly while I worked at Lifesource. But that was over a decade ago.”

Ripley gave me a crooked smile. “You were a bug hunter?”

“Yeah, imagine that. Incidentally that’s how I ended up here on this planet. I was pursuing a drone, who happened to have an egg. Well, you can figure out what happened next.”

“The aliens multiplied.”

“Legolas single-handedly killed the queen and whatever was left of the horde after we fought them when they attacked. He was hurt pretty bad so I took him to Gateway.”

Ripley laughed softly. “Good old Gateway. Great memories from that place,” she added sarcastically.

“It’s no longer there,” I told her.

“I know. I read about what happened.”

I decided not to bring up the fact that Legolas and I had been there before the USCMs destroyed it. Maybe she knew and maybe she didn’t. I didn’t know how much information Freak might have passed on to her. It wasn’t important anyway. The station became infested with aliens because of a greedy director. Legolas and I had nothing to do with it.

“You miss technology? You know, plumbing and ovens that cook in three seconds?”

I laughed. “Plumbing. Now there’s something that’s lacking around here. Flushable toilets. And showers. Oh God, the kind that washes and then dries you.”

Ripley laughed again.

I studied her as she laughed. She was human afterall. And she was actually attractive when she smiled. I still wasn’t sure what to make of her. Her presence had disturbed me when I first met her on The Rebel. I wanted to trust Ripley and that’s the reason I decided to team up with her, to have an opportunity to feel her out. Something about her continued to leave me uneasy. It wasn’t because she was a clone, I could live with that. But the idea of her having alien traits was bothersome. Her blood was red, Freak told me, but it burned like acid. What else was alien about her? “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“How about you ask it and I’ll let you know if I can answer it?”

I wasn’t sure why I wanted to ask her such a question. It wasn’t anything I was that concerned about. “How is it that you have memories from…you know?”

“You mean before I was cloned?”

“Right.”

“I didn’t in the very beginning. Then as time passed I began to remember who I was, the things that happened to me. I didn’t understand it fully when it was explained to me, but they told me that remnants of certain brain activities were passed on to me. All this from just a single drop of blood. Hard to believe, isn’t it.” Ripley looked away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable. I’m just listening.” She looked to her right. “If we head that way we’ll run into a couple of them.”

(Legolas’s POV)

I waited until I could see their black heads emerging from the bushes below. Glorfindel was crouching on the branch directly above me, in the tree we had chosen to use as our scouting perch. Two more steps and three aliens were in full view. “Now!” I dropped from the branch and landed in a crouch, remaining in that position. The startled aliens hissed and moved forward. I raised my pulse rifle and pressed the trigger, spraying dozens of projectiles at once. Screeching filled the air as the aliens were torn apart.

Glorfindel landed softly behind me and fired his pulse rifle over my head. Together we slaughtered the dozen aliens that had been lurking in this small section of forest. When nothing else moved, we stopped firing.

I stared ahead and reached my senses out, feeling for any others that might still be hiding. “No others approach.”

We made certain that those lying on the ground were indeed dead before we moved on through the forest. The sound of birds chirping lightened my mood. There had been none when I had sensed the approaching aliens. Now that the threat was removed, the birds had returned to sing.

I turned to glance at Glorfindel, the infamous Balrog Slayer. Stories of his countless accomplishments even reached Mirkwood back in my younger years. I had only met him once when I attended Lord Elrond’s council during the discussions of the One Ring. He spoke highly of my grandfather, telling me that he had fought side by side with Orophor. The thought of my grandfather brought a twinge of pain in my heart. Why had Orophor not appeared to greet me or my father? Although I was afraid of the answer, I asked the question nonetheless. “Tell me something, Glorfindel. Where is Orophor?”

Glorfindel halted his steps and I turned to face him. “Do you truly wish to know, Legolas?”

The expression on his suddenly solemn face told me all that I needed to know. But I think that I had known it all along. I could not remember my grandfather’s face for I was but an infant when he left Middle-Earth. So many faces had I seen in the visions projected to me by the aliens. One of them could very well have been Orophor. “Aye, I wish to know.”

“Your grandfather sacrificed himself so that others could flee.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, pondering my grandfather’s noble act of selflessness. I made a mental note to remember to tell my father when next I saw him. Thranduil would be proud to know that his father was not such a selfish tyrant afterall.

When Glorfindel resumed walking, I fell into step beside him. “You are lucky to have a wife such as Ariedel,” he said. “She is righteous and spirited.”

I smiled at the mention of my beloved and glad that Glorfindel chose to change the subject. “She is that indeed.”

“You could have gone with her instead of me?”

I shook my head and continued to smile. “The fact is, her presence is a distraction to me. Besides, she is a formidable fighter. We fought Orcs together many times, when they were still a threat. Her abilities are never in doubt.”

“Then why did you not want her to fight now?”

I frowned at the question. Why indeed? “Orcs are one thing. But these alien creatures…they are…” I searched for the words to describe what I felt. “I truly fear them. Even more than the Balrog we encountered in the mines of Moria. I fought them once with just my bow and my knives. And now, despite these modern weapons, I still fear every single encounter.”

“Your fear is justifiable, Legolas. They are unlike anything anyone of us has ever encountered. I have heard that the way in which they multiply is loathsome and I hope I never have to experience it. Tis the worst kind of torture for any being of this earth.”

“Aye,” I said quietly, recalling the few times I had actually witnessed the birth of the creatures from the chests of those that had accompanied me to the horde from Minas Tirith so many years ago. “I have seen it firsthand. Once a creature has started to break through, there is nothing anyone can do to save the victim. Except perhaps to end their life quickly before they feel the ensuing pain of their chest being ripped open from the inside.”

Glorfindel nodded in sympathy. “Let us find more to kill and rid ourselves of them.”

We took up a steady jog through the forest along the base of Mount Taniquetil and continued on until we heard something strange. Someone was singing and it sounded like a child. Glorfindel and I rushed forward toward several bushes and crawled behind them until we were closer to the source of the sound.

I slowly parted the leaves and peered out. Several feet away, in a clearing and sitting together near a grouping of rocks, were two Elflings with dark hair.

“What do you see?” asked Glorfindel.

“Two male Elflings.”

“Alone?”

I glanced around the immediate area. “Aye. I see no one else.”

“Let us take them back to Ilmarin.”

I grabbed Glorfindel’s arm before he could move further. “Nay, something is not right.” Glorfindel gave me an odd look. “We are near the human base that Freak spoke of. I sense something amiss here. Go back to Ilmarin and return with Freak.”

“And you?”

“I will remain here until you return, to make certain the Elflings are not attacked by the alien creatures.”

Glorfindel placed a hand on my shoulder. “I will return swiftly.”

I watched Glorfindel crawl away and when he was far enough, he stood up and ran. Then I turned back to look through the leaves of the bushes. The two Elflings continued to sing, each taking a turn. I could not shake the feeling that there was something oddly familiar about them. Their voices sounded as identical as they appeared. They giggled when one could not remember the words to the song. What were they doing out here…alone? Where did they come from?

“Who do you suppose will come for us?” asked one.

“Perhaps with luck, it will be our adar,” said the other. (father)

I frowned at the familiarity of their voices and delved deeply into my mind, trying to recall where I had heard them. Without thinking of the consequences, I decided to approach them, even though I had told Glorfindel I would wait until he returned with Freak. As I stepped through the bushes and stood up in the clearing, the two Elflings jumped and turned in my direction.

“Legolas?” uttered one.

I was surprised to hear my name coming from a child I did not know. “How do you know my name?”

The one who spoke first stood up. “I am Elladan.”

The other stood up. “And I am Elrohir.”

I stared at them with my mouth open. How could these children possibly be the twins I had known all of my life? It had to be a trick of some kind. I could not believe it so I halted my steps, cautiously glancing around. There was no sound except a strange humming. I continued to feel that something was not right. Even the air around me felt wrong.

“I know we do not look as we did when we last parted, my friend,” said the child who called himself Elladan.

“You cannot be who you say you are. I saw Elladan and Elrohir die by the hands of an alien creature.” Even as I tried to convince myself that they were not my long time friends, I wondered why these children would say such a thing. What did they have to gain from this lie?

The two Elflings shared a glance and the one who called himself Elrohir spoke next. “Although we do not understand the meaning, we have been told by our new friend Jordan that we are a product of the original. Our memories come to us randomly. We immediately recognized you, Legolas. Why are you here in Valinor?”

“Did you sail here alone?” asked the other. “What has happened to Ariedel?”

The mention of my wife’s name brought a lump to my throat. How did they know of her? I glanced toward the area behind them, looking for anything that might prove that these children before me were illusions…perhaps a figment of my imagination. Things were not as they should be and the sense of my impending doom quickly emerged in my mind.

“He said someone would come for us,” said Elrohir.

I turned back to the twins. “Who said?”

“The man who brought us here,” replied Elladan.

There was a sound behind me and before I had a chance to turn, something struck me on the back of the head. The excruciating pain blurred my vision and I fell forward.

“You said you would not hurt anyone,” said one of the twins.

I tried to get up, but found that my strength had left me and I slumped back down. All I could manage to do was turn my head to see a pair of dark boots in front of me. The owner of the boots crouched and I could barely make out his face as my vision soon began to fade.

“I lied,” he quietly said.

That was the last thing I heard before blacking out.

 

Chapter 17 – The Real Nemesis​

Valinor

“Hurry!” yelled Eldarion from the top of the staircase.

Anwar ran as fast as her feet could carry her up the stairs. She reached the top just as an alien appeared at the bottom. Her eyes widened as the creature parted its jaws and hissed menacingly. Then the second alien appeared.

Eldarion grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her down the corridor to a heavy door at the very end. He pushed it open, pulled Anwar inside and slammed the door shut. Just as he rested his back up against it, the door started to buckle from the impact of the aliens on the other side.

Anwar let out a scream and backed away.

Eldarion scanned the room as he tried to keep the door from breaking open. Luckily it was made of thick wood. But he knew it would not last long. He spotted a window. “Climb out the window! Quickly!”

Anwar rushed to the window and pushed the glass panels open. The room was on the second floor and the drop to the ground was far. She screeched when she felt something grab her, only to discover that it was Eldarion.

He helped her climb out the window and waited until she scrambled up the side, heading for the roof and using the loose-fitted bricks as hand and foot holds. Just as the door in the room crashed open, Eldarion jumped out and began to climb. At the top was a pile of bricks, stacked neatly in a square. He grabbed one and leaned over the rooftop.

An alien appeared at the window. Just as it turned its head upward, a brick smashed into its face. It let out an ear-piercing screech and nearly toppled out the window.

Eldarion grabbed another brick and threw it as the creature came out of the window. It struck the alien in the head again, causing a gash that started to smoke. The alien screeched again and shook its head, its acid blood splattering out of the gash. Anwar also grabbed a brick and together they threw them at the alien. The multiple hits caused the alien to loose its grip on the side of the building and it fell, crashing through a wooden portico and impaling on a thick post.

When the second alien poked its head out of the window, Eldarion threw another brick. The alien quickly learned to avoid the flying bricks.

Eldarion pushed Anwar forward and they ran to the rooftop of the adjoining building. Beyond that was a narrow stone archway, barely wide enough for them to balance themselves and forcing them to slow their steps to cross over it.

Just then Anwar lost her footing and fell with a scream.

Eldarion caught her wrist as she dangled over the side. “Reach with your other hand!” From the corner of his eye he saw the alien moving toward them. “Come on, Anwar!”

Anwar also saw the approaching alien and reached to grab Eldarion’s arm. He quickly pulled her back up on the narrow ledge and together they continued on, occasionally glancing over their shoulders to see the progress of their pursuer.

The alien used its tail to balance itself as it moved across the ledge on all fours. It did not intend to let its prey get away. After the hive had been destroyed, the queen mentally projected deadly force. No one was to be left alive.

Eldarion and Anwar reached the other side of the ledge and hopped onto the next rooftop. After that there was nowhere else to go. The far side of the last building had a smooth surface and there was no way to scale down to the ground. Jumping was not a good option without sacrificing a limb or two. They soon realized they were trapped as the alien reached the rooftop of the building they were on. When Anwar gasped in fear, Eldarion bravely moved to stand in front of her, reaching for a dagger he always carried in his boot.

Anwar turned to her right and noticed something. A chimney. “Eldarion, look!”

Eldarion chanced a quick glance. “Go!” Then he turned back to the cautiously approaching alien, holding his dagger up.

When Anwar rushed over to the chimney and slipped inside, the alien turned its head in her direction and hissed.

Eldarion waved his dagger, attracting the attention of the alien. Then he slowly backed away toward the chimney. Just then Anwar screamed, followed by the sound of crumbling stone. “Anwar!” He could not turn away from the alien. A loud thump echoed up from the mouth of the chimney. “Anwar!” he called out again. When he received no reply, he backed up into the chimney and carefully climbed up.

The alien charged forward as it realized its prey was escaping. It reached the chimney just as the prey disappeared inside.

Eldarion used his hands and feet to scale down the narrow chimney, which was barely wide enough for him. He glanced up and saw the head of the creature, jaws parted and hissing. He ducked away as saliva dripped down on him and then he quickly scrambled further down as a clawed hand reached down to grab him, missing him by inches. The angry alien screeched and hissed, unable to squeeze into the opening. Eldarion looked down the dark shaft. “Anwar?”

“I am here.”

As Eldarion crawled further down, the shaft began to widen. “How much further are you?” Then he felt her hand touch his ankle.

“Be careful,” said Anwar. “There is an opening in the center which is too small for me to crawl through.”

Eldarion glanced down and noticed a bit of light coming through the opening. It led to the fire pit. But as Anwar said, the opening was too small for either of them to crawl through. He glanced up just as several bricks came down from above. He threw himself over Anwar and the bricks struck his back. When he glanced up again, he saw the alien trying to break into the chimney.

“Are you injured?” Eldarion asked.

“Nay, I am fine. What are we going to do?” asked Anwar, her voice full of fear.

Eldarion inspected the brick around the opening. Then he took his dagger and began to chip away at the mortar along the wall. “If I can make this opening larger, we can crawl through.”

More bricks came down on them and they ducked and used their arms to protect their heads.

The alien above continued to angrily screech, bent on getting to its prey for the kill.

Glorfindel ran toward the iron gates of Ilmarin. “Open the gates!” He had been running for the last half hour, yet as an Elf, he was not out of breath. When he reached the gates, they slowly parted outward. He waited for them to part enough before he slid himself through.

In the main hall, Freak, Thranduil, Celeborn, Elrond and Gandalf looked over Bishop’s shoulder, staring at the screen of the computer where he worked.

“Current number is 286,” said Bishop.

“The number has decreased dramatically over the last two hours,” commented Gandalf. “And no loss of life among the teams. They are doing well using your modern weapons.” He turned briefly to Freak.

Freak raised his eyebrows. “You all realize that I’m going to catch hell if the bureaucrats governing the United Systems find out that I’ve purposely broken every rule of First Contact.”

“They would not discover this from any of us,” Thranduil quickly said and looked at the others. “Correct?”

“What is this United Systems?” asked Elrond.

Freak wanted to kick himself for even bringing it up. How could he explain to these people what comprised of the United Systems when they wouldn’t even be able to comprehend the number of colonized planets out there in space? Before he had a chance to open his mouth, Glorfindel walked into the room, approaching them in a rush.

The first thought on Thranduil’s mind was his son. “Where is Legolas?”

Glorfindel met the Elven king’s eyes. The news he had to relay was not good. After he had left Legolas, he thought about what the prince had said. Something was not right, he had said. The thought troubled Glorfindel and he had turned to go back. What he found was an unconscious Legolas on the ground with several men surrounding him. They gathered him up, along with the two Elflings and stepped through a doorway that had appeared out of nowhere. Just as Glorfindel was about to rush forward, the door vanished. Then he noticed the air shifting as if something moved through it. Not only that, but two tracks appeared on the ground and continued moving away.

“Glorfindel,” said Elrond, interrupting the Balrog Slayer’s thoughts.

Glorfindel sighed heavily. “Legolas was taken by several men.” He went on to explain everything he had seen.

“They must have an APC with a stealth device,” said Freak when Glorfindel was done speaking. They all stared at him as if he was speaking a different language and he decided it was better to just let it go and not try to explain. He stepped over to the table containing his weapons and began to arm himself.

Thranduil walked up to him. “What will they do to him?”

Freak turned to Thranduil, a serious look on his face. “There’s a hellova lot they can do. They’ll stick him in a cell with a facehugger, get him impregnated. Then they’ll take his blood to clone him. And after all that they’ll probably kill him. That’s why they set up that research base. For cloning.”

The Elven king stared at Freak with is mouth open. They could not possibly do such a thing to his son.

“I question who the real nemesis is,” commented Gandalf. “The aliens or the people in that base.”

Freak walked over to Bishop. “Where’re the Dropships?”

Bishop punched some keys on the keyboard. “Dropship One is at the far east end of the battle zone. Dropship Two is at the far northeast. Both have weapons engaged.”

“Goddammit.” Freak could have used his team right about now. But he wouldn’t pull them from their current task of killing aliens. “I gotta get over to that base right now.”

Right at that moment Aragorn and Haldir stepped into the hall, followed closely by Gimli and Frodo.

Gandalf came up behind Freak, who glanced over at Aragorn and the others who had entered. “The King of Gondor and our stout, red-bearded friend are well-suited to aid you.”

Freak turned to Gandalf and narrowed his eyes. “No, you don’t understand what’s going on. The guys that took Legolas are professionals. They probably have visual devices facing outward from the compound. Do you follow me, bro?”

“As far as I would like to,” Gandalf said dryly under his breath and then cleared his throat. “And you believe Aragorn and Gimli are not capable of sneaking?”

Freak turned back to Aragorn and Gimli as they walked up.

Aragorn noted the look of panic on Thranduil’s face and then turned to Freak. “Has something happened?”

Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Train stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the Elf they had brought in an hour ago. The Elf’s wrists and ankles were tied with binding, the kind that tightened further with every move. Then more binding was wrapped around his throat and tied to the back of the chair he sat on. There was a thick piece of metal tape covering the Elf’s mouth, preventing him from speaking. He was totally immobile and there was a valid reason for it. During the trip back to the base, the Elf had suddenly awakened and nearly beat the hell out of three of Train’s most dangerous men before finally being subdued. Now Train wasn’t taking anymore chances with this one. Train turned toward his men. Riggs, Beck and Tucker were covered in bandages from the injuries suffered by the Elf.

Then he turned back to the Elf, who couldn’t move a millimeter. “How does it feel now, hotshot?” The Elf stared back at him, pale blue eyes piercing Train down to his core. Train thought he recognized a look of satisfaction and smugness in those eyes.

Legolas fought the urge to move because he quickly realized that every time he did so, the binds around his wrists, ankles and throat tightened even more. The man before him was named Train. Legolas heard one of the other men call him that. Train feared him and so did the others. He felt great satisfaction in knowing he had caused them injury.

“Here it is,” said Quinn from across the room where he was seated in front of a computer. “Take a look.”

Train stepped away from the Elf and walked over to Quinn, leaning over his shoulder. There was an image on the screen with a digital caption that read: Gateway Station – Visitor Scanning. The image moved every few seconds, revealing people moving beneath a scanning device the size of a doorway. In the next instant someone with long blonde hair and wearing a white jumpsuit passed.

Quinn froze the image. “See?”

Train looked up from the screen and glanced in the Elf’s direction. “Roll him over here.”

Two of the men moved toward Legolas and pushed the wheeled chair he sat on toward Train.

Train moved the chair further around so that Legolas was facing the screen. “Is that you?”

Legolas stared at the image of himself on the screen. He even recalled exactly when it had happened. Ariedel had been taking him to the Arboretum on Gateway Station, to be with the trees.

“Well? Is it?” Train asked again.

Legolas gave a slight negative shake of his head and looked away from the screen.

Train grabbed a handful of the Elf’s hair and pulled hard on it, forcing him to look at the screen again. “Looks like you to me.”

Legolas tried to pull himself out of Train’s grip and he mumbled angrily into the tape covering his mouth.

“What, you got something to say?” Train gripped the edge of the tape and ripped it off, sneering with satisfaction as the Elf cried out in pain. “What’s that you wanna tell me, huh?”

Legolas took a deep breath of air which he had been denied with the tape over his mouth. Then he glared at Train and spoke through clenched teeth. “Medi eru nin.” (Eat my shit)

Train exchanged a glance with Quinn. “Didn’t sound very nice, did it?”

“No,” agreed Quinn. “Not at all.” The computer whiz punched several keys on the keyboard and the image on the screen changed to several lines of information. “Legolas Greenleaf, resident of SR-682. Brought to Gateway Station on Earth date March 15th, 2357 for alien extraction. Alien queen extraction, to be exact.” Quinn glanced over his shoulder at the Elf in question, then at Train. “I told you it was him.”

Train smiled to himself. Things were really starting to get interesting. This was the same Elf that Defense Secretary Rohlwing spoke to him about, the one that could communicate with the aliens. “And he happened to just walk right up to our doorstep. Of all the luck.” Train turned to Vaughn. “Go get the nutty professor.”

Vaughn quickly left the chamber.

Train smiled again. “He wanted an Elf to try out his new experiment. Well, we’ve just delivered him the missing fucking link.”

Legolas did not like the sound of the man’s words. Experiment? “Release me at once.”

Train turned to Legolas. “Oh, so we speak English afterall.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Me? I don’t want anything. But a certain doctor has some serious plans for you.”

Several minutes passed before Vaughn returned with Dr Leland in tow.

“What’s going on?” asked Leland.

Train stepped aside to reveal the Elf. “I’ve brought you a gift, Dr Leland.”

Leland smiled. “Ah, another Elf. Wonderful.”

“No, not just another Elf,” reasoned Train. “This is The Elf.”

“The one capable of communicating with the aliens,” Quinn elaborated.

Leland’s eyes widened. “You don’t say.” He walked over and crouched before the Elf tied tightly to the chair. “So you’re the one.”

Legolas returned the man’s stare, seeing madness in his eyes, sensing the unstable mind behind them. This Dr Leland was hanging on to sanity by a thread. Legolas suddenly sensed his impending doom drawing ever closer. His fate was in the hands of this oppressive man and there was no escape.

 

Chapter 18 –Genetic Engineering​

Minas Tirith

Éomer tried to control his spirited horse as he waited for Faramir and Éowyn to ride up. He knew from the looks on their faces that the children of his friends Aragorn and Legolas had not been found. He had searched Osgiliath from one end to the other, resorting to turning over rocks in hopes of discovering a burrow where they could have crawled into. Their horses had been found wandering in the fields. But their masters were nowhere to be found.

“Nothing,” said Faramir as he drew his horse to a stop before Éomer. “The guards have searched everywhere.”

Éomer turned in the direction that led away from Minas Tirith. “Could they have possibly followed the others when they left for the Grey Havens?”

Éowyn shook her head. “Not without horses.”

Éomer gave his sister a thoughtful look. She looked haggard and exhausted. “Then they must have been picked up by Aragorn or Legolas. To be sure I ride for the Grey Havens within the hour.”

“I will ride with you,” said Faramir.

Éowyn frowned at them. “I yearn to ensure that the children are safe as much as anyone, but it is my duty to point out that Minas Tirith cannot be left unattended.”

“My dear sister, you and my wife are quite capable of seeing to the needs of the city,” countered Éomer. “I leave Gamling here for you to rally the men if there should be a need.”

Valinor

As Eldarion continued to dig his dagger into the mortar holding the bricks in place, Anwar wished she had a dagger of her own to help him. All she could do was watch with unbridled fear as the creature screeched and hissed and broke more bricks from above.

At long last one of the bricks at Eldarion’s feet came free. But he quickly realized that with the amount of time it had taken him to free just one brick, it would take far too long to break off enough bricks to widen the hole for even Anwar to crawl through.

Suddenly Anwar stiffened. In her misery, she did not realize the frantic distress call she had subconsciously released and was just then sensing the presence of someone close to her. “Naneth.” (mother)

Eldarion abruptly stopped and glanced at Anwar. “Did you say something?”

Ariedel stopped in her tracks and frowned, her eyes glancing left and right. “Anwar.”

Ripley paused when she realized Ariedel had stopped. “Are you okay?”

Ariedel looked in the direction of the village just beyond the hill. In the next instant she raised her pulse rifle and started running down the hill.

Ripley shrugged and followed, trusting that the other knew where she was going. When they reached the main road of the village, Ripley scanned the area and noticed movement along the rooftop of a building several hundred meters away. “Over there.”

Ariedel stopped running and turned to where Ripley was pointing. The lower half of an alien was just barely visible as it frantically dug through the bricks of a chimney.

“Something’s down that chimney,” said Ripley.

Ariedel couldn’t understand why she was thinking of Anwar at that moment. There was a sick feeling in her stomach and all she knew was that she needed to find out what that alien was after.

Together Ariedel and Ripley rushed into the building with the alien on the rooftop. They gave each room a cursory glance, looking for the fireplace that belonged to the chimney. Then they found it in what looked like the kitchen.

A brick struck Eldarion on the head, but he ignored the pain and the warm feel of blood dripping down the back of his neck. He needed to concentrate on breaking more bricks free. Another had finally come loose, but there were three more layers to go through.

Anwar glanced up and her eyes widened when she saw the creature had broken through and was beginning to crawl down toward them, head first and using its limbs to support its decent. Its progress was fortunately slow, due to its bulk. But Anwar realized that the creature would reach them before Eldarion could break enough bricks.

Ariedel walked up to the fireplace as a brick fell down into the ashes at the bottom. She dropped to her knees and crawled forward into the fireplace, looking up into the chimney. What she saw shocked her beyond reason. There was her daughter, Anwar, with Eldarion desperately trying to widen the hole for them to crawl through before the alien above reached them.

“Naneth!” cried Anwar when she saw her mother’s face appear below them. (mother)

Ripley handed Ariedel a metal rod that looked like a poker, which she quickly handed up to Eldarion.

With this heavier instrument, Eldarion was quickly able to break more bricks free. The hole soon widened and the alien continued its decent, screeching at the possibility of losing its prey.

“Climb down!” Ariedel reached up to grab Anwar as she slid head first through the opening. When she was through, Eldarion jumped into the hole. Ariedel grabbed both children and dragged them away from the fireplace, pushing them behind Ripley while she turned back and raised her pulse rifle.

Seconds later the alien emerged from the opening, parting its jaws in glee at finding more prey. Instead of two, now there were four. But it didn’t have a chance to think any further. Ariedel pulled the trigger of her pulse rifle and delivered more than two dozen rounds into the alien, acid blood splattering everywhere.

When the alien was dead, Ariedel whirled around to embrace her daughter. Then she pulled Eldarion into their embrace as well. After the initial moment of relief was over, she held them both at arm’s length. “Where did you two come from? How did you get here?”

Eldarion and Anwar exchanged glances. They wondered if they would have been better off with the alien rather than to feel the wrath of their parents.

Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Jordan handed the twins each a mug of hot chocolate. “Here you go. Tell me how it tastes.”

The twins took sips and at the same time looked up and nodded with smiles on their faces.

“I promise you that Mr Train won’t bother you again,” she said.

Elladan looked up from his mug. “What will he do to Legolas?”

“Legolas? Who’s Legolas?”

“Our friend from Middle-Earth,” continued Elrohir. “We grew up together…although we are now Elflings again.”

“Wait a minute, are you trying to tell me that Train brought another Elf into this compound?”

The twins nodded.

Jordan got up from the table. “When I leave, I want you to lock the door the way I showed you. Don’t open it for anyone except me.” Then she walked to the door.

Leland frantically typed on a keyboard attached to a screen, which was in turn hooked up to a large unit with dozens of wires. The wires ran along the ground to a pair of cryochambers. Thick tubes transferred various substances from one cryochamber to the other. “This is brilliant. I can’t figure out why I didn’t think of doing this sooner.”

Phillip Quinn sat working at another terminal. Every once in a while he would glance up in Leland’s direction, trying to determine where the doctor was in the process. Quinn just shook his head, thinking how like Dr Frankenstein the man looked at the moment. Two hours ago, Leland had Quinn running around, giving him orders to do this and do that, menial tasks that should have been assigned to persons of lesser status. Then when Quinn asked to help on the more interesting parts of the experiment, Leland physically pushed him away and glared as if Quinn had attempted to steal his secrets or something of that nature. Well fuck him, thought Quinn.

Jordan walked in several minutes later. She tried to appear as casual as possible, only because she wanted Leland to believe that she was interested in what he was doing so she could get information out of him. “Hey, this looks like a great set up. Anything I can help with?”

Leland turned to Jordan. “I’m glad you’re here Dr Messer. You’re about to witness history in the making.”

“Great. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.” Jordan strolled over to the cryochambers and peered into the first one. It contained an immobile alien drone. The other cryochamber contained a blonde-haired Elf, completely alert and twitching as if he had no control over his own nervous system. The fact that the Elf was conscious troubled her. She walked over to Quinn and casually showed interest in what was on his screen. “What the hell’s he doing?” she whispered from the corner of her mouth.

Rather than speaking, Quinn blanked out his screen and began to type: HE’S CREATING A HYBRID. HE’S FIGURED OUT A WAY TO ALTER THE ELF’S DNA AND INTRODUCE FOREIGN BODIES INTO HIS SYSTEM. SAYS HE’LL TURN OUT BETTER THAN A CLONE.

“And do what with him?” she whispered again.

Quinn typed: WHO THE FUCK KNOWS. HE WON’T LET ME TOUCH ANYTHING. SAYS I’LL SCREW SOMETHING UP, LIKE I’M SOME IDIOT.

“How did he get the Elf?”

Quinn typed again: TRAIN BROUGHT HIM IN A COUPLE HOURS AGO. UNFORTUNATELY I MADE THE MISTAKE OF IDENTIFYING THE ELF AS THE ONE FROM GATEWAY THAT COULD COMMUNICATE WITH THE ALIENS.

Jordan cringed at the news and walked away from Quinn. She came up behind Leland. “So what’s the game plan, Leland?”

Leland continued to type, speaking with his back to her. “You know how we’ve been able to take certain traits from the alien and add them to the human physiology when we create a clone?”

“Yes?”

“Well, I’ve discovered a way to actually alter those same traits in an existing specimen.”

“Sounds intriguing. What’re you working on right now?”

“Trying to decide what I want to give him.”

“What’re the options?”

Leland moved away from the screen to give her a chance to read what was on it.

Jordan faked a sincere smile and leaned forward to look at the screen. As she saw the items on the list, her brows drew together in concern. Could Leland truly give the Elf all of the traits listed? It was by far many more traits than could have been accomplished through cloning. Some would be easily distinguished at first glance. But there were many internal traits that would never be seen from the outside. She pointed to one on the list. “How is this one possible?”

Leland make a tsk sound. “Dr Messer, I’m disappointed you don’t already know that. It was accomplished on the Ripley clone.”

“That may be so, but with the clone it’s like starting from scratch and everything is altered from the very beginning. What you have here is an existing specimen.”

“Very well. Allow me to explain.” Leland typed on the keyboard and the image on the screen changed to a set of DNA strings, both different in every aspect. “By altering this section of the DNA string on the Elf to match the one of the alien here, the arteries go through a drastic change on a molecular level, thus making it impervious to the acid being introduced to the blood. Using that same technique, I can also alter the molecular structure of the internal organs, as well as the epidermis.”

Jordan was appalled, but impressed at the same time. The man was beyond a doubt a true genius in the genetic engineering field. She thought about how this could benefit humankind. Soldiers could be altered to withstand the acid blood of the aliens. They could think like them, move like them, maybe even look like them. To what end could human beings be altered? Would they no longer exist in their current form? The idea quickly began to sicken her. This was too much. It just needed to stop. “You’re truly insane,” she said in barely a whisper because she didn’t trust her voice enough to speak louder with the sudden outraged emotion she was feeling. Jordan had expected something bizarre, but she truly hadn’t expected Leland to come up with something so farfetched.

At Jordan’s statement, Leland’s excited expression changed to a look of bitterness.

After composing herself, Jordan turned to Leland. “You can’t expect our society to accept mutated human beings. This is not what our research is meant for. As foul as these aliens are, through our research, we’ve been able to find cures to diseases we never thought curable. Aside from that, we’re looking for ways to communicate with the alien race so we can understand them better.”

Leland grimaced. “Understand them? What’s to understand?”

“Where do they come from? Why do they do what they do?”

“Don’t you know that by now? They do what they do because that’s all they know. They’re like bees, with not an ounce of reasoning.”

Jordan waved her hand in the direction of the cryochambers. “But that Elf can communicate with them right now. Did you at least try to get them to communicate before you started messing around with his system?”

“I’ve learned something rather important in the last couple of days. I’ve learned that no matter what method we use to try to communicate with these things, there’s nothing we can say to them to alter their way of thinking.”

“And what exactly are you trying to accomplish by doing all of this?”

“I’m trying to find ways to improve the human race, so we can beat the aliens at their own game. Why should we have to live in fear of them?” he spat. “They should be living in fear of us. We’re the superior beings in the universe. Humankind must prevail over any other lifeform we encounter!” Leland turned away from her in disgust.

Jordan shook her head, thinking that Leland actually sounded as insane as she thought him to be. “You can’t continue what you’re doing.”

“It’s too late,” he said over his shoulder.

“No, it isn’t.” Jordan walked away from him and moved toward the cryochamber containing the Elf.

(Legolas’s POV)

Muffled voices reached my ears, but I was unable to discern any words due to the constant buzzing that sounded in my head. Every part of me felt so utterly cold that I shivered, while at the same time, I was burning from the inside, feeling an intense pain entirely engulf me. Above all I was unable to control the continuous twitching of my joints as if an invisible force pulled at my neck and my limbs.

My vision was slightly blurred from the involuntary watering of my eyes, but I could see the face of a woman looking down at me. She had a pleasant face and seemed genuinely concerned upon seeing me. Her lips moved as if she were speaking to me. I would have tried to respond if I could get my lips to move the way I wanted them to.

Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and I could see that she was struggling to free herself. Then she was gone and I was left alone again with thoughts of the pain, the buzzing, the twitching, the cold and the burning.

And then I wondered who I was…or what I was.

Jordan was tossed into one of the empty observation chambers. She rolled on the floor and hit the far wall. When she sat up with a groan, she discovered she had a gash on her forehead. “Train, goddammit!” Jordan stood up and rushed to the entrance just as the door slid shut, sealing her inside. From the other side of the Plexiglas, Jordan saw Train grin at her. She slammed her palm on the barrier in anger. “Let me out of here!”

Train turned away from the observation chamber. “We’ve hooked the satellite back up and there seems to be an urgent message from headquarters for you, doc.”

Leland sighed heavily, reluctant to leave during the critical point of the mutation. Then he shook his head and followed Train toward the door.

“Anything you want me to do?” asked Quinn from his terminal.

Leland whirled back around. “No, you blithering fool! Don’t touch anything!”

After Leland disappeared out the door, Quinn’s docile expression turned hostile. “Don’t touch anything, huh?” He pushed a button to release a tiny disk from his CPU drive. He took the disk and walked over to the terminal Leland had been working on. After placing the disk in the drive, Quinn began typing commands. “Let’s see how you like me messing with this shit, cock sucker.” The image on the screen changed and thousands of data strings scrolled rapidly.

Jordan watched from behind the Plexiglas. “Quinn! Get me out of here!”

Quinn looked over his shoulder at Jordan. “Can’t do it, Jordan. Just stay put and when this is over, Train’ll let you out.”

“Oh come on. Do you really think after all of this is said and done that Train is going to let any of us walk away? Think about it, Quinn. Weyland-Yutani owns their own security people. Why would they hire a man like Train, an ex-USCM, to play security man for a bunch of scientists? He was hired to deal with us when our work was finished.”

Quinn continued to watch the data scrolling on the screen, but he was also thinking about what Jordan was saying. It made perfect sense in a way. “So what’re you saying? He’s going to kill us all?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“And what’re we supposed to do? We can’t leave the base without getting attacked by the aliens outside. We have no weapons.”

“Let me out of here, Quinn and we’ll figure it out.”

Quinn waited until the data stopped scrolling and the disk drive slid open. He took the tiny disk, typed on the keyboard to bring Leland’s original screen back up and then he turned toward the observation chamber containing Jordan. He quickly walked over, pushed the button to cycle the door open and stepped aside to let her out.

Jordan immediately went to Leland’s terminal. “We have to stop this.”

“If you do, you’ll kill him. It’s too late.”

Jordan turned to Quinn. “Don’t you think he’d be better off dead?”

Quinn grabbed her by the wrist. “Come on, before Leland comes back.”

Freak peered through electronic binoculars, scanning the immediate area of the small building cleverly concealed in the shadow of the mountain. There was no movement outside the structure. But he did see a set of tire tracks from what looked like a heavy APC. Obviously a new model and from the way Glorfindel described what he saw, the APC had a cloaking device, making it virtually invisible.

Aragorn was lying on the ground to Freak’s right. To Aragorn’s right was Gimli.

“Blazing Balrogs, tell us what you see already!” grumbled Gimli.

“Way too quiet,” said Freak. “But the good news is, the lens on their exterior surveillance camera is busted.”

“What does that mean?” asked Aragorn.

“They won’t see us approaching.” Freak pushed his left sleeve up. “Synchronize watches.”

Aragorn and Gimli both stared at Freak in confusion as they watched him make an adjustment to the black band with the metallic circle on his wrist.

“I do not have one,” Aragorn said unsurely, hoping that it was not critical to the mission that they all had one of the devices.

“Nor do I,” added Gimli.

Freak turned to the two and rolled his eyes. “Never mind. Come on.”

The two men and the dwarf moved out from behind their rock cover and headed for the compound, weapons held ready in case of any trouble. Their mission had two objectives. The first was to rescue Legolas. The second was to destroy the base.

 

Chapter 19 – The Greatest Achievement​

Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Dr Leland returned to the laboratory after reviewing the message from Weyland-Yutani headquarters. They wanted a progress report on the cloning project. He gave them some results, but he purposely left out the details of his current project. If things didn’t go well, then there would be no one to ridicule him. He would wait until he knew everything was going according to his vision. Then he would send another message back to headquarters, this one providing all the details of his experiment and that he was the sole person responsible for it. No one else would get any credit.

Everything was as he had left it. A quick glance revealed that Quinn was no longer in the chamber. Leland didn’t care. He didn’t need anyone else’s help in this. When he walked back to the computer terminal where he had been working, he began typing the final sequence of data, pausing after a minute. He dug into the pocket of his lab coat for a piece of paper he unfolded several times. On it was a scribbled drawing. Leland placed the paper next to the keyboard and began typing again.

Some time went by before he stepped toward the cryochamber containing the Elf. He crouched and punched a series of buttons on a keypad. When he stood up, he waited until the transparent lid frosted over completely. Then he walked back to the computer terminal and continued typing.

What he had failed to notice was that Dr Jordan Messer was no longer in the observation chamber Train had tossed her in.

Freak popped open a panel near the door. He went in one of his pockets and produced a device with several wires hanging from it. While he clamped those wires to the wires in the panel, Aragorn watched over Freak’s shoulder.

“What is that you are doing?” asked Aragorn.

“Running a bypass to get this door open,” replied Freak. When the wiring task was complete, Freak pressed a button on the device. The red LED light should have turned to green. Nothing happened. Just as he was about to try something else, the light changed and the door creaked, finally sliding open. He drew his blaster and cautiously passed through the doorway.

There were no windows in the compound, so there was no light filtering through. Freak switched on a beam and panned it around. Resting in the center of the warehouse-like structure was an APC. He had been right about it. The APC was definitely a first class newer model. He had visions of stealing it. No one here would be needing it anyway when he got through with this base.

Aragorn and Gimli remained with Freak, as he had the only source of light in the darkened compound. They continued to search for a way into the sublevels and finally found a heavily armored panel on the floor, cleverly hidden behind some crates. Freak ran another bypass and the panel cycled open, parting at the center. Just before he was about to drop into the opening, he heard someone coming. The three of them quickly hid behind several other crates.

Freak waited until he heard footsteps on the compound floor before he jumped out from behind his hiding place. “Freeze!” He raised the beam of light into the face of the first person.

Jordan ducked from the bright light in her eyes. “Hey!”

“Jordi?”

Jordan raised her head, immediately recognizing the nickname only one man ever used. “Dane?”

“What the hell’re you doing here?” asked Freak.

“I might ask you the same question,” she replied in anger.

Train jogged down the corridor and met up with Riggs and Vaughn.

“The twins are gone,” said Riggs, his arm and half his face still covered in bandages, due to the injuries inflicted to him by the Elf.

Train was furious. “Whatta you mean they’re gone?”

“We checked the mess hall,” said Vaughn. “Nothing.”

Train pointed to Riggs. “Find me those brats right now.” As Riggs rushed off, Train turned to Vaughn. “Time for you and Darwin to start cleaning house. Am I clear on this?”

Vaughn gave Train a nod as he unholstered his blaster and checked the emission charge on it. Then he moved his com device up to his lips. “Darwin, meet me on sub-level 2.” With a final glance at Train, Vaughn headed for the metal stairway beside the elevator.

Train went into the elevator, hitting the button for the lowest level. Things were getting out of hand. He needed to start getting rid of the problems. The twin clones were no longer of any use, so he needed to get rid of them. Then when Leland was done screwing around in the lab, Dr Jordan Messer and Phillip Quinn would be the next to go. Train needed to make sure Leland wasn’t suspicious of the missing staff because the nutty professor needed to finish his experiment and run some tests. After that then Leland would be history and everything on his computer terminal would be confiscated by Weyland-Yutani. Train just wasn’t sure what Leland was currently doing so he needed to wait a little longer and discover what it was before Leland could be eliminated.

Freak, Aragorn, Gimli, Jordan, Quinn and young Elladan and Elrohir sat in a circle behind crates, the only light illuminating them coming from the beam in Freak’s hand. It had taken Jordan a total of three minutes to quickly summarize to the others everything that had happened until the moment she and Quinn were making their escape with the twins.

Aragorn was in a state of complete denial when he was told that the Elflings before him were Elladan and Elrohir, his foster brothers. He would have continued disbelieving it had they not called him Estel, the Elven name he had been given as a child when his mother brought him to stay with Lord Elrond in Rivendell. The twins had called him nothing else all of his life. They even brought up memories about him that only Elladan and Elrohir would have known. But there was no time for emotions. According to the woman named Jordan, Legolas was in serious trouble and he needed their help.

“How many in security?” Freak asked Jordan.

“Six, including the team leader. His name’s Train.”

Freak groaned at the mention of the name. He knew Train and what the man was capable of. “Who else?”

“Besides Quinn and I, there’s Dr Leland and six other technicians. The only other one you might have to watch out for is Leland. I don’t think he’s playing with a full deck right now, if you know what I mean.”

“I’ll take that into consideration.” Freak glanced at Aragorn and Gimli. “I need someone to get these people safely to Ilmarin.”

Gimli turned to Aragorn. “I will take them. You go with Freak and rescue Legolas.”

Aragorn placed a hand on Gimli’s shoulder, silently thanking the Dwarf for volunteering.

Jordan recognized the name the young Elves had mentioned to her earlier. “You all know the Elf down there?” she asked.

Aragorn turned to her. “He is a close friend.” He did not like the troubled expression on her face. “What have they done to him?”

“Physically and mentally, your friend will never be the same again,” she replied sympathetically.

Before anyone could truly digest what she meant, Freak stood up and touched Gimli’s arm, wordlessly motioning toward the door.

“Tis time for us to go,” Gimli said quietly, unable to stop thinking of what could have befallen his Elf friend and what he could possibly tell Ariedel in Ilmarin when he arrived with the others.

Jordan stood up and walked up to Freak. “I’m sorry, Dane.”

“For what?”

“For all of this, for all the reasons I left Avalon, for leaving you…for everything.”

For the first time in his life, Freak had no words to describe what he was feeling. Jordan Messer was the only woman he had ever loved. She chose a lucrative job with Weyland-Yutani, telling him that she didn’t want to live in space, in a cold ship while they went from job to job. He hadn’t blamed her then…not for that. But he hated The Company and if she had worked for anyone else, it would have been fine. “I’ll see you back at the fort.” He watched as she left the compound with Gimli, Quinn and the two Elf youngsters. Then he turned to Aragorn. “Come on. We’ve got business to take care of.”

Train stared at the camber where he had tossed Jordan into. It was empty. Then he turned to Leland, who was oblivious to everything except his experiment. “You didn’t notice she was gone?” The other man didn’t show any sign that he had even heard Train ask a question. Train walked out of the lab in disgust. Things were already in motion and time was running out.

Leland typed the last string of data and released a heavy sigh. “Well now. Let’s see what we have, shall we?” He first walked to the cryochamber containing the alien. The creature was dead, as Leland expected. Then he stepped over to the other cryochamber and wiped a hand over the frosted transparent lid. The Elf inside was unconscious, but according to the display on the panel below, all of his stats were at normal levels. Although he was a bit unsure as to what an Elf’s normal levels would be, Leland just gauged them against what a human’s normal levels were. He also initially fed a code into the computer that would render the Elf docile in his presence. He needed that small measure of control, in case the Elf had plans of his own.

After activating the release mechanism of the cryochamber, a hiss followed before the lid slowly lifted. There was a thin layer of frost on the Elf’s skin that began to thaw the moment warmer air entered the open cryochamber.

Leland verified the two visible traits he had programmed. The more obvious trait were the fingernails. Once they had been the color of flesh and now they were the color of cold steel…cold titanium, to be exact and a hundred times stronger than normal fingernails.

To verify the second trait, Leland carefully raised a corner of the Elf’s upper lip, revealing an elongated, nearly transparent tooth. At first he had thought to give the Elf a full set of alien choppers, but then he realized how ridiculously hideous that would look, so he opted for altering just the canines, upper and lower.

For the next check, he picked up a small scalpel and placed a small incision on the Elf’s bare chest, just below his collarbone. A tiny stream of red blood oozed onto the tip of the scalpel. The metal quickly began dissolving.

Leland smiled and looked down at the Elf. “Perfect. You will be my greatest achievement. The one thing no one else has ever dared to accomplish. I, Oscar Leland, have done that and even made a few improvements.” His smile faded and he took on a look of mock sincerity. “But I hope you understand why I did it. The human race needs a bit of a boost and you are the proof that it can be done. Granted, you’re an Elf and not a human being, but I think you’re close enough. So…no hard feelings, right?”

Leland stepped away momentarily to place the melting scalpel into a glass of water to stop it from dissolving any further. When he turned back, he came face to face with the Elf, who had silently jumped out of the cryochamber. Before Leland had a chance to utter a single sound, the Elf wrapped his hands around Leland’s throat and squeezed. The last thing Leland would see was the wild, wide-eyed glare of pale blue eyes before he heard the sound of his own neck snapping.

(Legolas’s POV)

The man named Oscar Leland slumped lifeless and I released his neck, watching him crumple to the floor. Not giving the dead man another thought, I instinctly glanced to the corners of the chamber where I knew the surveillance devices would be, oddly determining that I needed to destroy them. I also spotted clothing, neatly folded on a chair, along with a quiver of arrows and a bow. These articles looked familiar to me, yet I did not recognize them as mine.

But what was mine? What did I own?

I walked to the chair and dressed in the clothing, wondering how I knew they would fit me. Then I picked up the bow and notched an arrow into it before turning to one of the cameras mounted in a corner. I released the arrow and the camera shattered. After notching another arrow, I destroyed the second camera mounted on the opposite corner.

The weapon was familiar to me. If it was not mine, then I would make it so. I strapped the quiver to my chest and drew the twin knives from their sheaths. These also seemed familiar to me.

Sounds coming from the other side of the chamber drew my attention. I walked over and discovered three strange creatures on the other side of a clear partition. They spoke to me, demanding that I release them. With a quick glance, I found the mechanism to open the door, only briefly wondering how I knew it. As the door hissed and slid open, I slowly backed away, lowering the knives to my sides.

The three creatures cautiously stepped through the doorway, one at a time. They hissed at me, first thanking me for their release and then telling me they would have to kill me now.

When the first bounded toward me, I crossed the blades of the knives. The creature approached and I held it back with the knives. As it reached out to tear at me with its claws, I pulled at the knives and slashed at its throat. It screeched loudly and tossed its head from side to side as its blood sprayed out in every direction. Some of it struck my face and I wiped at it with my hand. Then I noticed the nearby table smoking and dissolving where the blood had landed. But it did nothing to my face or my hand. It fascinated me.

The other two creatures attacked at the same time. I took a step forward and slashed both knives as they approached. They screeched and tried to move away. One fell in a heap as I sliced at its hands first and then its arms. The other tried to sink its jaws into my shoulder. But before it got the chance, I brought my hand to the side of its large head and slammed it into the wall beside me. The creature’s skull caved in and I stepped away before any of its blood could get on my clothing.

With nothing left to do in the laboratory, I headed for the door. Once I stepped out into the corridor, I concentrated on feeling the vibrations all around me. I quickly learned that I could control how I felt and heard them. And when I accomplished it, I was able to determine exactly where the movement came from. The levels above…Time to go hunting…

Ilmarin

Alfirin stood together with Thranduil on the balcony outside of their chamber. The evil that brought Thranduil and Legolas to Valinor was now attempting to destroy their son. Thranduil tried to console her as she spoke of time lost, time that she would never see again. Nearly three thousand years had gone by and never once in all those days did she not think about her loved ones in Middle-Earth. She had often wondered if Thranduil had found another companion and what her son Legolas was like as a grown Elf.

“What was he like growing up?” asked Alfirin, wiping at her tears.

“He was very quiet, very reserved. But whenever he lost his temper, he was an uncontrollable force to recon with. So much like you.” Thranduil held her tightly in his arms.

“He grew into a fine warrior.”

“A warrior that was a vital part in the destruction of Sauron. I have never told him, but I am proud of everything he has accomplished in his life. When he returns…” Thranduil explicitly refused to believe that Legolas would not be returning, so there were no ifs. “…I will make a great effort to express my thoughts to him.”

“What will they do to him?” Alfirin finally asked in a whisper.

“I do not know the answer to that, Alfirin. But I am confident that our friends will find him before anything happens.” Thranduil heard the door inside open and he released Alfirin. He turned in time to see Anwar running into his arms. “Anwar!” Then he looked questioningly up at Ariedel as she stepped out onto the balcony. “How is it that she is here?”

Ariedel folded her arms over her chest. “Apparently she and the prince of Gondor snuck onboard the Dropship and then wandered off while we were out hunting the aliens. Ripley and I found them in one of the villages not far from here.” She moved closer to where Thranduil hugged his granddaughter and she placed her hand on Anwar’s head. Her anger quickly faded before she spoke again. “If we had gotten there an hour later, it would have been too late.”

Thranduil did not need Ariedel to explain what she meant by that statement. He immediately understood that the aliens had threatened the children. He gently pried Anwar’s arms from around him. “Anwar, look. Tis your grandmother, Alfirin.”

Ariedel shook her head with a smile as Anwar threw herself into the arms of Alfirin. The child didn’t even know her grandmother, but with her emotions running high after her near-death experience with the pursuing alien, Anwar was ready to hug just about anybody. “Have you heard from Legolas?” asked Ariedel. “Is he having any luck exterminating the aliens?” She looked from Thranduil to Alfirin. The expressions on their faces worried her. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Alfirin decided it was best that Thranduil speak to Ariedel alone, so she looked down at Anwar. “Come Anwar, let us go inside and you can tell me everything that happened.”

Thranduil waited until his wife and granddaughter disappeared inside before he turned back to Ariedel. “Please sit, Ariedel,” he said as he gestured to a stone bench.

“No, I don’t want to sit down.” She gave Thranduil a stern look. “Did something happen to my husband?”

 

Chapter 20 – Intruder Alert​

Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Beck slowly eased down the metal stairway, stepping on the landing of Sub-Level 5. His face was covered in bandages similar to Riggs. He and Riggs had suffered injuries when the Elf they had brought in earlier, and thought to be unconscious, attacked them. Beck drew his blaster and checked the corner around the stairway. His last order from Train had been to find Dr Messer and the little Elf twins and dispose of them, no questions asked.

To the left was a storage room, mainly used for medical supplies. Beck cycled the door open and entered the darkened space. After turning on the light, he scanned the corners and any other places where someone might think to hide. The room was empty. He turned off the light and walked out, making sure to cycle the door closed.

His next destination was the Medical facility further down. Beyond Medical was the Surgical chamber, which was mainly used for alien extractions. Beck almost reached the door leading to Medical when he heard a faint swoosh. Something slammed into his back with enough force to push him forward into the metal wall ahead of him. Intense pain quickly followed. Beck turned around to face the elevator and stairway at the other end. Someone emerged from a shadow on top of the elevator car. He recognized the Elf…and he was notching an arrow into a bow. Beck could barely feel his hands as he desperately tried to raise the blaster up to shoot.

Legolas raised the bow and stared down the shaft of the arrow aimed at the man. His instinct told him that this man had been looking to kill someone. Legolas did not know if he had been the target or someone else. But he sensed nothing good about the man.

Beck’s eyes widened as the arrow was released and it impaled into his chest, directly into his heart. The force of the arrow sent him backward and the arrow that had impaled his back now broke completely through the front. Beck didn’t have a chance to think about his dilemma because he was dead before slumping to the titanium floor.

Legolas was about to hop off the top of the elevator car when it suddenly began to move, heading up. Voices reached him and he quickly flattened himself, remaining in the shadow.

The elevator stopped at Sub-Level 3 and Legolas peeked out from above as two men entered the lift.

“Did you see the face on that last one, pleading and crying like a baby?” said Vaughn.

The lift began to descend.

“Yeah,” said Darwin as he laughed. “Oh please, please, don’t kill me! I have a wife and three kids…Boo hoo hoo!”

When the lift stopped on Sub-Level 4, the two men walked out.

Vaughn pointed to the two storage chambers on either side. “While we’re on this level, check those storage rooms. I’ll report to Train in Communications.”

As Vaughn walked down the corridor toward the door leading to the Communications facility, Darwin entered the storage room on the left.

Legolas waited until both men were out of sight before he silently hopped off the elevator car. He unsheathed one of the knives and moved toward the storage room, leaning back against the wall beside the door. The man inside was moving things around, making enough noise to wake the dead.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” Darwin pushed crates out of the way to uncover hidden areas. “I know you’re around here somewhere, you meddling bitch,” he mumbled under his breath.

Legolas waited until he could feel the vibration of the floor moving closer to the door. Then he jumped out in front of the door and buried the long knife in his right hand into the middle of the man’s throat, cutting off any further sound. Legolas anticipated a struggle, but Darwin just stared at him in shock.

Blood trickled out of Darwin’s mouth as he tried desperately to cry out for help. If he could only make a sound, Vaughn would surely hear it. He raised the blaster in his left hand, but the Elf grabbed it before he could get a shot off.

Legolas yanked the blaster out of the man’s hand and then pulled his long knife out of his throat. He watched the man stumble backwards, his hand over his bleeding throat. He fell over several crates and then stopped moving. Legolas stepped forward and stared, just to make sure he was dead. Then he wiped the blade of the knife on the man’s trousers before placing it in its sheath on his back.

There was an inkling of a memory that told him there were seven men he needed to deal with. He had killed three so far, including the one named Dr Leland. That left four more. Time to finish off the rest of the bad guys.

Blasts struck the walls and floor around Freak as he bolted down the corridor and hurled himself through the doorway of the Electrical Room of Sub-Level 1. Across the corridor was the Generator Room where Aragorn currently fired his blaster in the direction of the two Weyland-Yutani security men at the opposite end near the elevator.

Freak stuck his arm out into the corridor and fired his blaster a dozen times. Then he pulled his arm back and turned to Aragorn. “We gotta get to that elevator before they call reinforcements.”

Aragorn had no idea what an elevator was, but he figured it had to be something located near the men they were shooting at. “What do you propose?”

Freak went into his tool belt and produced a small canister. “Smoke bomb.”

Aragorn fired several blasts before staring at the item in Freak’s hand. “And what do you do with it?”

Freak fired off several blasts of his own in the direction of the security men. “You throw it and when it hits the ground, a thick smoke fills the surrounding area and makes your eyes sting.”

Aragorn ducked as two blasts struck the wall near him. “Toss it to me. I will throw it and go.”

“No way. I’ll go.”

“Let me go.”

“Fine. We’ll toss a coin.”

Aragorn frowned in confusion. “What is a coin?”

Freak rolled his eyes. He kept forgetting that the people on this planet didn’t have a clue about a lot of things. “I don’t suppose you know rock, paper, scissors?”

Ilmarin

Ariedel was staring out the window. At the sound of the door opening, she spun around and found Legolas stepping into the room. “Legolas!” She ran to him, flinging her arms around his neck and tightly embracing him. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“I have returned,” replied Legolas, nuzzling his face into her hair.

Ariedel pulled away and looked him over. “What did they do to you? I don’t see anything different. Are you all right?”

Legolas smiled. “I am fine. They did nothing to me.”

“Really? Nothing at all?”

“Nothing at all,” he repeated. Then he took her hand and led her to the bed. “Let us celebrate our reunion.”

Ariedel went through the motions of undressing and then reclined on the bed. She watched him undress, visually inspecting him for anything to indicate that the Weyland-Yutani scientists might have impregnated him with an alien, or done anything worse. A moment later he joined her on the bed, wasting no time in moving on top of her. “Legolas, can’t we talk about what happened to you before we do this?”

“No talking,” he angrily said.

She frowned at this sudden change of attitude. He forced her legs apart and started to mount her. Something didn’t seem right to Ariedel. Something about him had changed. She pushed at his shoulders. “Legolas, stop. I don’t think I want to do this right now.”

Legolas forged onward, ignoring her protests. “Do not fight me, Ariedel. It will only hurt more.”

“What do you mean hurt more? What’re you saying?” She continued struggling to push him off.

Suddenly he raised his head up and arched backward. What followed next scared the living daylights out of Ariedel.

Legolas started shivering and then he opened his mouth to release a painful cry. When he raised his hands and looked down at them, the skin began to crack in different places.

Ariedel’s eyes widened as she watched Legolas’s face suddenly split open. She screamed and tried to get out from beneath him. But his weight continued to hold her down to the bed. Bloodied pieces of flesh fell from him and landed on the clean sheets. She was repulsed by it and by what was exposed. Beneath the falling flesh was a grotesquely misshapen alien, with jaws far too large for his own face. The creature bent toward her, his foul breath nauseating Ariedel. He opened his jaws and hissed near her face. She turned her face away in fear and revulsion.

“Ariedel.” The word uttered by the creature had barely been audible.

Ariedel slowly turned to face the creature that had once been Legolas. Just then his inner jaws shot out to strike her head.

Ariedel released a scream as she sat up in bed. A quick glance around revealed that the only other person lying beside her was her daughter, Anwar, who surprisingly hadn’t been woken by her scream. The dream played over in Ariedel’s mind and she wiped at the tears spilling from her eyes. It was obviously prompted by Thranduil’s news of Legolas’s capture.

Something terrible was happening to Legolas. She just knew it. The fact that Freak, Aragorn and Gimli had gone to rescue him didn’t ease much of her concern. The Company was capable of anything, even in a matter of hours, especially if they thought it was going to benefit their overall picture of the future. Hopefully the worst case scenario would be that they had impregnated him with an alien and drew his blood to clone him. Lipinski could easily extract the alien onboard the ship.

Ariedel was more concerned that the Company scientists would kill Legolas after they had taken his blood. She nearly gave Glorfindel a seizure when she tried to get the exact time of Legolas’s capture out of him. A little over two hours might have passed before Freak, Aragorn and Gimli would ever reach the base, not to mention the time it would take for them to enter the compound and perhaps deal with security and anyone else there. If Legolas had indeed been impregnated, then they would be cutting it close. They would have to hurry to get him to the ship for extraction surgery.

If he had been impregnated with an alien embryo…

Ariedel laid down again and rolled over on her side to face Anwar, who continued to sleep soundly curled up on her side in a ball. She reached up and brushed the hair from her daughter’s face, gently caressing the girl’s flawless Elven skin. “Everything will be all right,” whispered Ariedel. “It just has to be.”

A knock on the door drew Ariedel’s attention and she quickly got up to answer it.

Arwen stood in the corridor, an anxious look on her face.

“What’s going on?” asked Ariedel.

Arwen sighed before responding. “Gimli has returned and he is not alone.”

“Legolas?”

Arwen solemnly shook her head. “Nay, not Legolas. Others are with him.”

Ariedel walked out of the bedroom and followed Arwen.

Weyland-Yutani Research Base

“One…two…three!” yelled Freak as he tossed the canister down the hall while Aragorn let loose a volley of blasts from his pulse rifle.

The corridor at the far end quickly filled with smoke.

Riggs and Tucker began firing their blasters aimlessly, hoping to pick off the two targets down the hall.

Riggs activated his com. “Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Sub-level 1! We’re taking on heavy fire! Someone get the fuck down here and help us!”

Train’s voice sounded in Riggs’ earpiece. “Beck and Darwin, make your way up there. Do you copy?”

There was no response.

Train’s voice came again. “Beck and Darwin, do you copy?” There was a short pause before Train responded again. “Vaughn’s on his way up.”

Riggs and Tucker continued to fire as they stood side by side to avoid shooting each other. Just then something came at them on the ground and bowled them over.

Freak and Aragorn quickly stood up and each took one of the men. A brief scuffle followed, with some punching and pushing before the two men were rendered unconscious. Freak and Aragorn dragged the men into the Food and Refrigeration Storage chamber and then Freak shot into the panel near the door to disable the mechanism so they couldn’t get out.

With that task complete, they headed for the stairway.

Legolas jumped down from the ceiling grid after the elevator carrying Vaughn headed upward. A moment before that, Legolas had felt the vibrations in the floor and jumped up into the metal framework of the ceiling just as Vaughn had exited the door. Now Legolas faced the door leading to Communications, knowing that the man on the other side of the door needed to be killed. He searched his memory but found nothing. He had no memory of the man, yet Legolas somehow knew he was responsible for something foul, just as he had known Leland was responsible.

Raising the blaster to inspect it, Legolas checked the strength of the power element and found it full. Once he terminated the life of the leader, any others would be fairly simple.

 

Chapter 21 – Under Control​

Weyland-Yutani Research Base

Train spoke into a microphone at the communications station. “That doesn’t sound like a survey ship to me based on your description.”

“We hailed it and got no response,” said a voice coming from a small speaker.

“And you say it was here before you arrived?”

“That’s right.”

“Okay, just stay put for now. Leland is almost done and I just want to make sure he’s got the Elf under control. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”

“Fine. Just send us word when you’re ready for pick up.”

“Train out,” he said before pressing a button to end the transmission to the Company ship currently orbiting the planet. Then he tapped the com device on his ear. “Let’s complete our tasks quickly, gentlemen. Our ship has arrived.” He waited for a response. “Anyone out there?” Still no response. “Goddammit,” he said with a sigh and turned toward the door. When the door slid open, Train came face to face with a blaster, aimed directly at his forehead. He glanced at the individual on the other end. The Elf. If he was here, and fully dressed and armed, then that meant Dr Leland was either unconscious or dead.

Legolas pressed the barrel of the blaster against Train’s forehead, forcing him backward into the room and away from the door, which immediately slid shut behind him. “You must be the one in command.”

“Where’s the doc? Did you kill him?”

“I know not who you refer to, but I will tell you that I have killed three thus far.”

Train’s eyes narrowed. “He would have been the one in the lab.”

Legolas remained focused on his eyes as he reached his free hand to take the weapon from the man’s belt. “Then the answer is affirmative. I killed him.”

That meant the other two killed were his men. But the real problem was that the doctor was dead, which meant that the Elf was under no one’s control. From the looks of him, he meant business.

“I also killed the three creatures kept in the chamber with the glass partition.”

Train had no interest in the aliens. “So, what now?”

Legolas motioned to a chair. “You tell me.”

“Tell you what?” asked Train, not moving.

The Elf grabbed Train by the front of his shirt and roughly shoved him backward.

Train fell into the chair, nearly toppling backward off of it. “Whatta you want from me? I’m just doing my job.”

“What exactly is your job?”

“Security. I’m here to protect the people in this compound.”

The corner of Legolas’s mouth twisted upward, revealing a lethal canine. “Protect? And what about your men?”

“They follow my orders.” Train glanced around, looking for anything he could use as a weapon.

“Your orders were to kill everyone in this compound.”

Train couldn’t figure out how the Elf could have known that. “No, that’s not right.”

“I heard your conversation with the ship in orbit. I stood out in the corridor and heard you through these walls.”

Train frowned. First of all, the walls were solid steel and virtually soundproof. And secondly, how could the Elf have known he had been talking to a ship in orbit? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Legolas poked the blaster barrel against Train’s head. “Stop testing me, human. I am no imbecile.”

“Yeah, right. You’re some kind of genius.”

“Tell me why I was brought here.”

“You should have asked the nutty professor before you killed him.”

“Well I am asking you now.”

“If it had been my choice, I would have dissected you.”

Legolas moved the blaster downward and fired it.

Train’s right kneecap erupted from the blast and he howled out in pain before turning to the Elf. “Mother fucker!” he spat out. “You’re not getting anything out of me, so fuck you!”

Legolas aimed the blaster as Train’s head again and leaned toward the man’s ear. “I ask again, why was I brought here?”

The pain in his knee was blinding, but Train found his voice. “You hear through steel walls but you can’t hear what I just said? Let me repeat it. Fuck you!”

“Your attempt at valor does not impress me.”

“You might as well just kill me because I’m not planning to cooperate with you…” he paused as a bout of intense pain gripped him. As soon as he was able to breath again, Train continued where he left off. “Not…not in any way, shape or form, Elf.”

“There is no doubt you will die, human. I just have not decided the manner in which to kill you.”

The door suddenly slid open and Legolas whirled his head around to see who entered. At that exact second Train reached to push Legolas’s wrist up. The blaster discharged harmlessly into the ceiling. But Train misjudged the Elf’s reflexes. With his free hand, Legolas drew one of the long knives and plunged the blade into Train’s stomach. Train grunted and stared in shock. After extracting the knife, Legolas pulled Train to his feet and held the man in front of him before turning to face the doorway.

Train felt the blood rushing from the wound in his stomach and he covered it with both hands. But between that and the blood flowing from his knee, he knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. His eyes lifted toward the doorway as Vaughn entered, followed closely by two other men. He immediately recognized one of them. Dane Truman, better known as Freak. “Look…look what the…cat dragged in,” he managed to say before he died.

Legolas felt Train slump and he quickly grabbed him around the neck to continue using him as a shield while taking aim with the blaster.

“Don’t shoot!” yelled Vaughn.

Legolas pulled the trigger, releasing several blasts into Vaughn’s chest.

Freak and Aragorn dropped Vaughn and quickly ducked back through the doorway as Legolas fired upon them.

“Legolas,” yelled Aragorn. “We have come to rescue you!”

Legolas looked into his memory, trying to recall the familiar voice. “You should be asking who will come to rescue you,” he called back.

Aragorn shrugged toward Freak when the man gave him a look. “Do you not recognize your own friend?” continued Aragorn.

“I do not recall having friends!” He dropped Train and held the blaster with both hands, aiming it at the doorway.

Aragorn turned to Freak again and before the other had a chance to stop him, the king of Gondor stepped out of cover. He slowly entered the other room, seeing his friend holding the blaster, aimed directly at him. “I am still your friend.”

Legolas scanned the man’s face. Nothing came to him. Not a single memory. He watched the man lower his weapon to the ground before straightening again and raising his hands. “I do not know you,” said Legolas.

Aragorn frowned and took another step forward. “Do you not remember me? I am Aragorn, your friend.”

Legolas clenched his teeth in anger as he continued to search his mind for this man. “You have ten seconds to convince me or I will kill you.”

Aragorn was startled by the sight of canine teeth in Legolas’s mouth, but he continued anyway. “You have known me all of my life. Estel, they called me. We have been on many journeys and battled in many wars together. You have many friends. And you have a wife and three children. Do you not recall them either?”

Legolas looked away, desperately searching his mind to confirm what the man said. He had friends and a family. No images greeted him. There was nothing. As he turned back to the man, he sensed no deception coming from him. The man was being sincere.

“Please, Legolas. Allow us to help you.” Aragorn looked Legolas over, trying to see if anything else had changed about him.

“Why am I here?” asked Legolas.

Freak stepped through the doorway at that moment and he kept his weapon facing up and non-threatening. “I’ll answer that. You’ve been used as a science project for some Company assholes who think merging an alien with another being is going to solve all of our goddamned problems.”

Legolas shifted the blaster toward the other man. “What do you mean by merging?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but in a nutshell, they gave you a bunch of alien traits.”

“Alien?”

“Ugly black creatures with lots of teeth.”

Legolas remembered the three creatures he had killed. So the doctor had altered his DNA. Then he frowned at the fact that he understood what it meant. Genetic Engineering came to mind. He slowly lowered the blaster in resignation before turning to the one named Aragorn. “You say you know me?”

Aragorn nodded. “I know you well, my friend.”

“Why do I not remember anything? Why do I not know who I am?” he asked in frustration.

Aragorn cautiously moved closer to Legolas and finally reached a hand up to squeeze his shoulder. “We will find the answers, Legolas.”

Freak moved toward the door. “Look, I wish we could sit around and figure this all out right now, but I’ve got a job to do here. This place needs to be history before the damn Company ship comes to claim you.”

“The ship is already here,” said Legolas and then he pointed to Train lying on the floor. “I heard him communicating with it.”

“Shit, then I suggest we get going.”

“What must we do to destroy this place?” asked Aragorn.

Legolas stepped toward a console opposite the communications station. He looked down at it and then began to type on the keyboard without even thinking. Thoughts formed in his mind and his fingers followed what he did not understand.

Freak raised his eyebrows and took several quick steps toward the console. “What’re you doing?”

“Self-destruct sequence.” The words had formed on his lips before he realized he had no idea where they had come from.

Freak turned to Aragorn with a frown and then back to Legolas. “So you know what you’re doing?” he asked, scratching the back of his head.

Legolas continued typing on the keyboard, watching the commands scrolling on the screen. “Apparently so.” Then he walked over to Train, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him toward the console. He took the man’s hand and placed it on a flat panel. A light scrolled beneath Train’s hand, scanning it thoroughly.

“Self-destruct sequence initiated by Lieutenant Thomas Train,” said a mechanical voice. “All personnel must evacuate within ten minutes.”

Freak turned to Aragorn again and they looked at one another in confusion. Both knew that Legolas should not have known to do what he had just done.

The mechanical voice spoke again. “You have four minutes and forty-five seconds to reach minimum safe distance.”

Before Aragorn could say something, Freak held up a hand. “We’ll debate it later. Let’s just get the fuck out of here.” While Legolas followed Aragorn out of the room, Freak glanced down at Train lying dead on the floor. “And don’t let me catch you on my side of the universe again, you got that, man.” Freak headed for the doorway, then turned one last time to the dead man. “Oh, and one more thing. I’m taking your APC.”

Two minutes later Legolas, Aragorn and Freak emerged from the circular door on the floor of the outer compound and ducked through the open door of the APC.

The mechanical voice of the central computer sounded loudly through the base. “You have two minutes and nineteen seconds to reach minimum safe distance.”

Freak sat at the controls of the APC and glared at the unfamiliar console. “Okay, let me see here. This one’s definitely different than the one I’ve got. Give me a minute here while I figure out where the damn starter’s at?”

“Freak, we have less than two minutes,” warned Aragorn.

“I know, I know!”

Legolas leaned forward and pushed a button on the steering handle. The APC came to life.

Freak glanced over his shoulder at Legolas, wondering how the hell the Elf figured it out before he did. Then he looked out the front window. “Shit, forgot to open the door.”

“Who needs doors?” Legolas leaned forward again and flipped a switch, then pushed another button. A missile shot from the APC and struck the opposite wall of the compound, creating a large hole.

Freak stared at Legolas and then shook his head. He set the APC in motion, driving it through the hole and around to the other side of the compound.

Several minutes later, when the APC was speeding down a dirt path, the Weyland-Yutani research base erupted from the ground like a volcano, flames and black smoke belching into the sky. Debris of varying size rained down around the fleeing vehicle.

In the APC Aragorn turned to Legolas and threw an arm around his shoulder. “Tis good to see you alive, my friend.”

Legolas struggled to find Aragorn in his memories, but everything prior to his awakening in the cryochamber was shrouded in an impenetrable fog. He did not even know his own identity, much less anyone calling him friend. Not knowing how to respond to Aragorn, Legolas simply looked away.

Aragorn tried not to feel hurt that the friend he had known all of his life did not remember him. Would he eventually regain his memory?

Ilmarin

“But it’s not possible,” said Ariedel. She desperately tried to remain calm after hearing what someone in The Company research base had done to Legolas.

“I saw the code,” replied Jordan. “Leland’s a genius.”

Ariedel gritted her teeth. “A genius? He alters my husband’s DNA, turns him into a fucking alien and you call the man a genius?”

Jordan shook her head, glancing at those in the room. “That’s…that’s not what I meant. I’m sorry.”

Ariedel turned to Thranduil and buried her face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, but she was far from feeling any kind of comfort.

Gandalf glanced around at the others. Celeborn was seated with Galadriel, who was recovering from the wounds inflicted upon her during her capture. She had regained much of her strength in the last few hours, but had yet to speak of her ordeal. Elrond and Arwen were seated nearby, Eldarion and the cloned adolescent forms of Elladan and Elrohir sitting between them. The initial appearance of the twins had brought Elrond to tears. Even though, the twins were not adults, he was thankful that he had his sons back. Gimli and Frodo stood together, arms folded near the window while Glorfindel and Haldir stood at another window. Ripley and the Company man, Quinn were near the table where Bishop continued to monitor the alien activity with his tracking equipment. Alfirin sat on another couch, arms wrapped around Anwar, who was weeping silent tears over the news of her father. Gandalf finally sighed heavily after seeing the somber looks on the faces of everyone. “If we lose all hope, then how will Legolas be expected to survive this ordeal?”

Anwar suddenly wailed outloud. She pulled away from Alfirin and ran to her mother.

Ariedel drew Anwar into her arms with Thranduil. “It’s okay, baby. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Bishop raised his head and listened to the voice on the com device attached to his ear. “It’s Freak. The Company base has been destroyed and they’re on their way back.”

Ariedel turned toward Bishop, her eyes red from tears. “Legolas?” she asked in a whisper.

“They have him,” he responded in his usual quiet voice. “He’s alive.”

Ariedel took Anwar by the hand and the two of them rushed through the door.

The gate opened to let the APC within Ilmarin’s boundaries. It slowly crawled along a path through the hundreds of tents, the Elven people moving aside to let the strange vehicle pass.

Freak glanced up through the windshield, seeing one of the Dropships hover near the other one briefly before slowly landing. He had earlier contacted his crew for a status on the number of aliens. Bishop mentioned picking up only five more signals and because no one reported back that the queen had been eliminated, it meant she was one of the five remaining. It was getting dark and for the time being, he wanted everyone back at Ilmarin. They’d go after the queen in the morning.

As Freak drew the APC to a stop near the Dropships, he spotted Ariedel standing with a young girl who resembled her. This had to be her daughter. It didn’t dawn on him then to wonder how the girl have gotten to this side of the planet. His main concern was more centered on what would happen when Legolas stepped out of the APC. To make matters worse, Arwen, Thranduil and Alfirin joined them. The whole family was there to welcome back someone who wasn’t even going to remember any of them. He reluctantly switched off the APC’s engine and sighed heavily before getting out of the seat.

Aragorn stood with Legolas near the door, waiting for it to open. During the ride to the mountain, Aragorn had told Legolas everything there was to know about him, about his family and friends.

As Freak approached, both Aragorn and Legolas turned to him.

Outside the APC, Ariedel held Anwar close to her, terrified about what might step out of the vehicle. The door slid open and she held her breath. The first to step out was Freak. Just from the expression on his face, Ariedel knew something was terribly wrong. Then Legolas appeared, nudged along by Aragorn as if he had been reluctant to leave the APC.

“Ada!” cried Anwar as she pulled away from her mother and ran to embrace her father. (daddy)

Legolas did not move as the young girl hugged him tightly, burying her face into his chest. He searched his fogged memories. Nothing.

Ariedel’s heart sank. She watched as he just stood there, as if he didn’t have a clue who Anwar was. His daughter, his own flesh and blood. Why was he not returning her embrace? She glanced at Freak who raised a finger to his temple, hinting that something was not right in Legolas’s head. When she turned back to Legolas she immediately knew what he lacked. His memory was gone.

Darkness fell over Valinor when Ariedel met with Freak, Aragorn, Jordan, Zion and Quinn in her bed chamber, discussing the current state of Legolas’s mind.

“He told me I looked familiar to him,” said Aragorn. “But he cannot seem to locate the memories.”

“Something about a fog in his head,” added Freak.

“But there’s still a chance he might regain his memory,” Ariedel insisted, turning to Jordan.

“I honestly don’t know,” replied Jordan. “We’ve only got three other cases to base anything on. Ripley and the twins. But they’re clones. What Leland did to Legolas has never been done before. Only Leland himself might have known what results to expect.”

“And he’s dead,” said Freak.

None of them were aware their conversation was being heard by someone on the rooftop. Legolas was crouched at the edge, eyes looking toward the reflection of the moon in the sea, but seeing nothing as he listened to the words drifting up from the balcony below.

“What went on down there?” asked Ariedel. “I thought the plan was to sabotage, not kill everyone.”

Freak exchanged a glance with Aragorn before turning back to Ariedel. “Yeah, that was the plan. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the head of security decided to send out his death squad. His name was Train. He obviously had no intention of letting anyone walk out of the base alive once they created whatever they had set out to create. Everyone was pretty much dead by the time we got there.”

“But why would Train kill Leland if the man wasn’t even done with his experiment?”

“Train did not kill him,” replied Aragorn. “Legolas did.”

“You know, none of this shit really makes any sense,” said Freak. “He was doing things he couldn’t possibly have a clue about. Like initializing the base’s self-destruct sequence on the central computer.”

Ariedel frowned. “What’re you talking about? He doesn’t know how to do that.”

“Well, he did, so you tell me. How much did he learn while he was on Gateway?”

She shook her head in confusion. “He may have learned a thing or two, but nothing as complicated as using a computer to initialize a self-destruct sequence.”

Jordan glanced at Quinn standing beside her and noticed his eyes darting nervously around the room. “I think I know the answer.” She pointed a finger into Quinn’s chest. “You did something to Leland’s computer. I saw you.”

Quinn looked around at the others staring at him. They waited for him to answer. “Leland programmed the Elf to be docile for him. I guess he wanted to make sure he had some kind of control. I…uh…I sort of overrode all of that and programmed certain other traits. Technical traits.”

Freak sighed heavily as he walked up to Quinn. “Such as?”

“Well, pretty much everything.”

“Whatta you mean everything?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

“So, what’re you telling me, that he can hotwire a Dropship? Program a starship computer? What? What’re you telling me?” he yelled at the end.

“Yeah. All of that.”

“Shit!” Freak started to pace in agitation.

“Are you crazy, Quinn?” yelled Jordan. “What in the hell possessed you to do that?”

“I…I wasn’t thinking. I was just really pissed off at Leland. I wanted to sabotage his work.”

“So you get back at him by messing up somebody else’s life?”

Freak grabbed Quinn by the front of his shirt. “Do you even realize what you did, you stupid fuck?” He shook Quinn for good measure. “With all that data in his head, and I mean stuff he doesn’t have a clue about, he’s gonna have a goddamned meltdown.”

Quinn tried to pull away from Freak’s grip. “Hey, what I did to him is the least of his problems.”

Freak released him with enough force to propel him several feet backward. “Get this piece of shit out of my face, Zee or I swear to God…”

Zion grabbed Quinn and dragged him none too gently toward the door. “Let’s go, shit for brains. You move wrong, I’ll shove this pulse rifle up your ass and blow the top of your head off.”

When they left the room, Jordan turned to Freak. “Was that really necessary?”

“Well, what the hell do you expect me to do?” yelled Freak.

“I honestly don’t think Quinn meant any harm by what he did.”

Freak gaped at her. “The prick programmed the entire technical database of a fucking android into the brain of an Elf. Right now he’s a walking wunderkind, but in a few months his brain will likely hemorrhage from all the shit he’s not meant to understand.”

On the rooftop, Legolas listened to them talking about his condition. He understood what was being said and was deeply disturbed by it. No longer able to tolerate the fact that they had not included him in their discussions, Legolas stood up and hopped off the rooftop. He landed in a crouch on the balcony and was oddly gratified to see everyone in the room jump in alarm at his sudden appearance.

Ariedel cringed at the disgusted look on Legolas’s face. When he stood up and started walking into the room, she suddenly felt an overwhelming fear of him. What was wrong with her? This was Legolas…her husband for the last twelve years. She had given birth to three of his children. There was nothing about him to fear.

“I see you have all congregated without me,” he said bitterly, glaring at each of them, one at a time.

When his eyes turned to Ariedel, she nearly gasped. They no longer held the warmth she was used to seeing. These eyes were cold and unfeeling…the eyes of a predator. Her heart sank at the possibility of him never remembering the love they had shared.

“My own wife shuts me out,” he continued. His gaze remained on Ariedel. Everything about her seemed familiar…her eyes, her face, her scent. But he simply could not find the memories that linked this woman to his life. “You all stand about, deciding what is best for my well-being and have not the decency to include me?” Legolas turned away from Ariedel and approached Jordan. “Will I ever regain my memories?” he asked before stepping toward Freak. “What kind of trouble will I get into, having the technological knowledge programmed into me?” He did not wait for an answer before moving to stand in front of Aragorn. “What reason do I have to trust those who call me friend?” He moved away from him and finally approached Ariedel. There was a sense of fear and uneasiness in her. “What physical traits did Dr Leland feed into my DNA strand that makes me more alien than Elf?”

Ariedel was unable to look away from his cold eyes. When he gave her a crooked smile, revealing a sharp, nearly transparent canine tooth, she nervously stumbled backward away from him before stopping herself. He was no longer the Elf she had fallen in love with. This Elf had no memory of his former life. He felt nothing but bitterness and contempt. He trusted no one. Not his wife. Not even his own parents. “Legolas,” she quietly said. “We’re just trying to figure out what happened to you and what we can do to fix it.”

Legolas turned to the others. “Leave us.”

Freak folded his arms over his chest and glanced at Ariedel. He had no intention of leaving unless she wanted it.

When Legolas turned back to her with a scowl, Ariedel nodded toward Freak. “It’s okay.”

Freak waited for Aragorn and Jordan to walk toward the door before he followed them. He looked to Ariedel one last time before he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Ariedel turned back to Legolas. He continued to scrutinize her as if she was something other than the woman he loved. “You remember nothing of us?” she asked him.

Legolas shook his head, unable to look away, searching his fragmented mind for the missing pieces of his past. This woman was his wife and they had three children, one of which had greeted him with open affection when he arrived in the city. He found no memories of them, as relentlessly as he tried.

Tears began to well up in Ariedel’s eyes. “We’ll just…we’ll find a way to make things right.”

“Tis too late to undo what has been done. Even if I were to regain my memories, would you still feel the same about me, knowing what I have become?”

Her lips trembled as she tried to respond. “Yes.”

Legolas’s brows narrowed angrily. “Is the truth so difficult to speak?”

“I am being truthful!” she shouted through her tears. When Legolas started moving toward her, she fearfully backed away until her back was against the wall.

Legolas placed a hand against the wall, above her shoulder and blocked her from escaping. Her scent invaded him, the scent of fear, of revulsion. He lifted her chin, but her eyes remained closed as she trembled. “You are not even capable of looking at me,” he hissed.

Ariedel couldn’t open her eyes as tears continued to slide down her cheeks. As her breath came out in sobs, she clung to the love she felt for him. She loved him with all her heart. Then why couldn’t she get passed what had been done to him? If ever he needed her, it was now. But no matter how hard she tried, the fear just wouldn’t go away. She was even unsure why she felt this fear. She didn’t think he would hurt her in any way, or the kids. What was it about him that scared her so much? Alien blood flowed through his veins. What else was alien about him? Would he forever forget all that he was and eventually turn into the creature they had made him to be?

“Would you even allow me in your bed, Ariedel? I think not,” he said in disgust before abruptly drawing away from her.

She opened her tear-blurred eyes and watched him disappear through the balcony, the way he had come in. Her legs weakened and she slid to the floor. Then she covered her face with her hands and continued to cry outloud.