With the introduction of our first "What if...?" RP, I thought it would be fitting to write an accompanying story to both explain how it is possible and give enough detail to give people a fighting chance, so to speak, within the RP.
I hope you enjoy it.
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2122; The USCSS Nostromo...
“Attention, Attention” a patient and unconcerned voice, accentuated with the occasional meow, called from the speakers throughout the vessel, “The cooling units for the hyperdrive engines are not functioning. Overrides are not functioning. Engines will overload in six minutes, fifty seconds: six minutes, fifty seconds”
“Mother!” Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley thought as was running down B corridor towards the bridge. She picked up small pressurised box. She did not stop to pay any attention to the furry, ginger form of the box’s feline cargo as she made haste towards the Narcissus; Nostromo’s one and only shuttle.
As they neared the shuttle, the ginger cat suddenly started hissing from within its box. Ripley stopped dead in her tracks. For a few moments, she stared at the open hatch trying not to imagine what nightmares lay beyond the threshold. The thrashing sounds of nightmarish creature drifted back at her from within the bulk of the Narcissus. She set the cat down on the B level companionway and turned towards the engine room.
“I’m sorry, Jones” she thought as she sprinted away from the nightmare. Jones, the cat, protested loudly towards the rapidly shrinking image of Ripley. The thrashing sounds stopped suddenly.
As Ripley dashed for the engine room, the patient voice of mother sounded again. “Attention. Engines will overload in five minutes twenty seconds. She crossed into the engine room. A wall of heat hit her as she entered. Smoked had filled the room making it difficult to see. She could not let this stop her. The plan to blow the ship, with the nightmare than had been plaguing them since they left the planet designated LV-426 mere days before, had gone completely awry. Once the countdown hits five minutes, it would be too late to stop the cores going critical. Machinery whined and complained around her as circuits began to overload, spitting sparks about the room. She was relieved to find the control board she needed undamaged by overloading circuits. She fought against searing smoke and beading sweat as she closed the circuits she had opened less than two minutes ago.
‘Core restart initiated. Cooling units’ functionality is returning to normal. Core will restart in 10 minutes.’ The whining started to subside while the odd spark still arced across the room. Ripley allowed herself a quick breather as she slumped slightly against the control board she previously used. Now she had to figure out how to get the creature away from the shuttle. Without the assistance of the rest of the seven-man crew, accomplishing that and still being able to leave the ship unharmed would prove to be very difficult.
Ripley’s musings were cut short as an oozing translucent goo hit her should with a thick splat. She looked at it as her expression went from one of mild relief to one that was fighting a losing battle against the feel of dread she was now overcome with. Slowly she turned her gaze towards the ceiling. Before she could identify the source, something large and heavy fell on her. She closed her eyes as she fell and did not want to open them to see that monster staring back at her from cold, unseen eyes. She could feel the hot breath on her face, even in this oven than was the engine room. She tensed every muscle in anticipation of a killing blow, but it did not come. The weight shifted and disappeared completely. Still, she did not dare open her eyes. There it was again, the powerful grip of the creature. This time, it was round her ankle. She was dragged along the floor towards a large disc set into the floor. Ripley allowed herself to steal a look. Immediately, she had noticed it was closed. Not more than five minutes ago, she had closed it enough to let the pyres below breathe. The creature moved the disc aside as though it were a credit chip.
Ripley twists herself round and notices the incinerating unit mere metres away. She claws at the deck to try to gain purchase enough to fight the pull and hopefully reach the make-shift weapon. The creature rounded on her and shrieked loudly. The shriek chilled her to the bone as she put her hands tightly over her ears. Within seconds, the floor fell away from her as the creature lifted her above the hole leading down into the darkness. She was dropped through the hole and landed heavily on her side. As she landed, her one remaining light bar came to life as the inner tube snapped, and shed a little light about the room. Before Ripley could react, she spotted the now charred remains of the captain, Dallas. The flames from minutes before had been extinguished by the fire suppression system. She had hoped that Dallas, for his own sake, had succumbed to the flames before fire suppression had a chance to act. Not far from Dallas’ inert form was what looked like an urn, its top was open like something had escaped from within. She didn’t need to gaze around the room; she knew full well that there were two more cocoons containing two more of the crew, with two more eggs open nearby. She turned her attention in the other direction, away from the scene. To her horror, her eyes fell on yet another urn, but this one did not have an open top; this one was still occupied. She tried to back away from it as quick as she could. Her retreat was halted as the creature grabbed her behind and held her to the floor. By now she was shaking with panic. The egg pulsed slightly with movement as the nightmare contained within prepared itself for its incredibly short lifespan.
There was no time for dignity; Ripley began pleading with the creature as tears started to stream down her face. Her pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears and her sobs began to quieten down. From behind her, she could hear those dreadful sounds that reminded her of Kane’s death in the mess, followed closely by the same eerie shriek the weight on her back emitted. Thud. Thud. Thud. She heard three of those vile creatures hit the floor.
‘At least I deactivated the self-destruct,’ she thought as the egg in front of her opened, releasing a creature that closely resembled a hand with extra fingers.
‘F**k the company...’ she thought as she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was the “palm” of the previously encapsulated hand-creature as it leapt for her face. The last thing she felt was worse still...
I hope you enjoy it.
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2122; The USCSS Nostromo...
“Attention, Attention” a patient and unconcerned voice, accentuated with the occasional meow, called from the speakers throughout the vessel, “The cooling units for the hyperdrive engines are not functioning. Overrides are not functioning. Engines will overload in six minutes, fifty seconds: six minutes, fifty seconds”
“Mother!” Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley thought as was running down B corridor towards the bridge. She picked up small pressurised box. She did not stop to pay any attention to the furry, ginger form of the box’s feline cargo as she made haste towards the Narcissus; Nostromo’s one and only shuttle.
As they neared the shuttle, the ginger cat suddenly started hissing from within its box. Ripley stopped dead in her tracks. For a few moments, she stared at the open hatch trying not to imagine what nightmares lay beyond the threshold. The thrashing sounds of nightmarish creature drifted back at her from within the bulk of the Narcissus. She set the cat down on the B level companionway and turned towards the engine room.
“I’m sorry, Jones” she thought as she sprinted away from the nightmare. Jones, the cat, protested loudly towards the rapidly shrinking image of Ripley. The thrashing sounds stopped suddenly.
As Ripley dashed for the engine room, the patient voice of mother sounded again. “Attention. Engines will overload in five minutes twenty seconds. She crossed into the engine room. A wall of heat hit her as she entered. Smoked had filled the room making it difficult to see. She could not let this stop her. The plan to blow the ship, with the nightmare than had been plaguing them since they left the planet designated LV-426 mere days before, had gone completely awry. Once the countdown hits five minutes, it would be too late to stop the cores going critical. Machinery whined and complained around her as circuits began to overload, spitting sparks about the room. She was relieved to find the control board she needed undamaged by overloading circuits. She fought against searing smoke and beading sweat as she closed the circuits she had opened less than two minutes ago.
‘Core restart initiated. Cooling units’ functionality is returning to normal. Core will restart in 10 minutes.’ The whining started to subside while the odd spark still arced across the room. Ripley allowed herself a quick breather as she slumped slightly against the control board she previously used. Now she had to figure out how to get the creature away from the shuttle. Without the assistance of the rest of the seven-man crew, accomplishing that and still being able to leave the ship unharmed would prove to be very difficult.
Ripley’s musings were cut short as an oozing translucent goo hit her should with a thick splat. She looked at it as her expression went from one of mild relief to one that was fighting a losing battle against the feel of dread she was now overcome with. Slowly she turned her gaze towards the ceiling. Before she could identify the source, something large and heavy fell on her. She closed her eyes as she fell and did not want to open them to see that monster staring back at her from cold, unseen eyes. She could feel the hot breath on her face, even in this oven than was the engine room. She tensed every muscle in anticipation of a killing blow, but it did not come. The weight shifted and disappeared completely. Still, she did not dare open her eyes. There it was again, the powerful grip of the creature. This time, it was round her ankle. She was dragged along the floor towards a large disc set into the floor. Ripley allowed herself to steal a look. Immediately, she had noticed it was closed. Not more than five minutes ago, she had closed it enough to let the pyres below breathe. The creature moved the disc aside as though it were a credit chip.
Ripley twists herself round and notices the incinerating unit mere metres away. She claws at the deck to try to gain purchase enough to fight the pull and hopefully reach the make-shift weapon. The creature rounded on her and shrieked loudly. The shriek chilled her to the bone as she put her hands tightly over her ears. Within seconds, the floor fell away from her as the creature lifted her above the hole leading down into the darkness. She was dropped through the hole and landed heavily on her side. As she landed, her one remaining light bar came to life as the inner tube snapped, and shed a little light about the room. Before Ripley could react, she spotted the now charred remains of the captain, Dallas. The flames from minutes before had been extinguished by the fire suppression system. She had hoped that Dallas, for his own sake, had succumbed to the flames before fire suppression had a chance to act. Not far from Dallas’ inert form was what looked like an urn, its top was open like something had escaped from within. She didn’t need to gaze around the room; she knew full well that there were two more cocoons containing two more of the crew, with two more eggs open nearby. She turned her attention in the other direction, away from the scene. To her horror, her eyes fell on yet another urn, but this one did not have an open top; this one was still occupied. She tried to back away from it as quick as she could. Her retreat was halted as the creature grabbed her behind and held her to the floor. By now she was shaking with panic. The egg pulsed slightly with movement as the nightmare contained within prepared itself for its incredibly short lifespan.
There was no time for dignity; Ripley began pleading with the creature as tears started to stream down her face. Her pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears and her sobs began to quieten down. From behind her, she could hear those dreadful sounds that reminded her of Kane’s death in the mess, followed closely by the same eerie shriek the weight on her back emitted. Thud. Thud. Thud. She heard three of those vile creatures hit the floor.
‘At least I deactivated the self-destruct,’ she thought as the egg in front of her opened, releasing a creature that closely resembled a hand with extra fingers.
‘F**k the company...’ she thought as she closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was the “palm” of the previously encapsulated hand-creature as it leapt for her face. The last thing she felt was worse still...