Aliens: Beyond Time and Space

"Okay! I think introductions are in order!" Najenda exclaims enthusiastically "My name is Najenda. I'm the leader of this band of… misfits."

All the members of Night Raid shook their heads in response to their leader's lousy attempt to cover the group's identity.

Harrigan raises his hand to get their attention "Look. It's pretty obvious that you want to keep your identities hidden. But let me assure you that it's not necessary to hide it from me. You gave us reason to trust you by finding and taking us in. Now allow me the opportunity to return the favor and place your trust in us as well."

Taking the initiative, Ripley stands in front of everyone and began introducing herself

"My name is Ellen Ripley. I'm an employee of the corporation Weyland-Yutani, who was attached to a platoon of United States Colonial Marines, to serve as an advisor in their investigation of a possible Xenomorph infestation on the terraforming colony of planet LV-426."

She lost them. Every member of Night Raid looked at each other in confusion again. Even Harrigan, was stumped momentarily before finally taking the hint

"So you're sort of an astronaut" he reacted, to which Ripley smirked as a yes

One of then spoke up in an irritating know it all tone

"Duh! We already know your name. What we don't know is whatever the rest of that bullshit you said, means." Ripley and Harrigan studied the girl that made that remark.

The girl was young, short, had long pink hair, tied into twin tails and wore a pink dress, complete with a pink shawl and cardigan.

Oh great, the 'smartass' of the bunch. Every group has one. Ripley thought

Huh, just like Cantrell Harrigan reminisces

Ripley saunters up to her and lowers down to see her face to face.

"Well, that's why you have to pay attention and listen to what I say, Sweetie." Ripley explained in a condescending tone "Otherwise, you won't live long enough to see your pubes grow in."

The girl blushed a deep red. The two young men beside her started snickering, which quickly became full of laughter. Harrigan can only facepalm in dismay, though he was clearly holding back his laughter.

Suddenly the girl reached for her firearm, only to see it fly out of her hands as Najenda used her prosthetic hand to hook the weapon and reel it towards her. Harrigan finally stopped holding back and burst out of laughter.

"Haha, you'd get angry over a light joke like that!? you are really a hot-tempered kid" Harrigan mockingly teases Mine

"Mine! Cool it!" warned Night Raid's leader.

Mine began to argue "But she started it!"

"You were asking for that one." countered Najenda "Now, fix your attitude or I'll put you on latrine duty for the rest of this mission."

The genius sniper quickly stopped talking and turned back to Ripley and Harrigan with a loathsome expression.

Najenda turned to speak to Ripley "Miss Ripley, please understand. We're still having a hard time grasping the concept of your vocabulary."

Ripley just shrugs and says "I'll explain the finer details as we go along. Also, you can just call me

Ripley. No one ever calls me Miss, or Ellen for that matter. It's your turn, big guy" she motioned at the armored man, who immediately stood up and took off his mask to introduce himself

"My name is Detective Mike Harrigan. Los Angeles Police Department. I have been investigating a number of killings involving some victim's skulls and spine ripped off. Came across a creature who treats my city as his jungle... and killed it in his own ship"

His introduction was brief, but caused unease among the group. Newt was clearly trembling from what she heard about him and is clutching Ripley as tight as she can.

Leone felt like she's about to vomit the last of her alcohol. As if discovering burnt human remains inside the station wasn't enough, she has to listen to his grotesque introduction.

Akame can only reminisce of Zank the Beheader, who's method of killing almost matches with the ones Harrigan was describing.

Ripley was unfazed by his introduction, rather she was intrigued by where he came from. Los Angeles Police Department? That unit was already ancient history to her. Nowadays it's just Colonial Marines and Weyland-Yutani stuff.

"Nice to meet you, detective." Najenda wryly received his introduction, visibly fazed a little.

"By the way, how did you come to know my name in the first place?"

Najenda reaches into her pocket and hands Ripley a small card.

"This is my ID card." Ripley turned it over, and studied the curmudgeon expression of her photo "It was in my jacket pocket, when I last saw it."

She then recalled the earlier observation of the coat she thought was left behind.

"How did you guys find it?" Ripley asked.

"That would be thanks to Tatsumi, our newest member." Najenda answered "He and another of ours went inside the atmosphere processing plant, and found it lying in a corner."

She turned to one of the men who laughed at Mine, and motioned for him to step forward. The youth had brown hair and green eyes. He carried a sword on his back with some chain links hanging off the pommel. He also wore a white jacket with a tan vest underneath and black pants.

When he approaches Ripley to offer a handshake, she can see in his motion that he's definitely new and inexperienced. Harrigan caught on to her observation and also came to the same conclusion.

A true Greenhorn. A firm grip, and a little too shaky. A cherry for sure. But one with great potential.

Ripley thought as she shook his hand

"I must be making you nervous." Said Ripley "Relax, kid. Hard work and dedication will make a fine gentleman out of you." She let go of Tatsumi's hand, then turned to indicate Mine

"At least it'll be sooner than Little Miss Pink Eye over there becoming a proper lady." Mine started steaming.

"Thank you Ma'am." Said a grinning Tatsumi, who turned to Harrigan and offer a handshake, only to kindly turn him down

"Don't forget, it's just Ripley," she insisted.

Tatsumi looks down in embarrassment and sees a shy Newt, hiding behind Ripley. "And who might you be? Newt, was it? I'm Tatsumi, nice to meet you."

Ripley stepped aside, and encouraged her "Go on Newt. You don't have to be scared of these people."

Newt slowly walks up to Tatsumi and after a while, finally speaks "I like your vest. You also remind me of Mr. Hicks."

Flattered, Tatsumi rubs the back of his head, happily saying "Thanks". Behind him, Mine groaned and rolled her eyes. Najenda looks at Ripley with a raised eyebrow

"Mr. Hicks?"

"Hicks is a friend of ours, who saved our lives more than once." Ripley explained "He's a really kind person. I'll describe him and the others in greater detail, once we start our discussion."

"So you're not the only two who suddenly came into this world" Harrigan cuts her off, figuring out there's more of her group

"Yes. We were close to barely getting over the dropship when that light came down on us. The next thing I knew, the whole colony suddenly propped itself in this world."

"No shit, I was just about to be toast by the spaceship I came out of when that light shone up on me, then I lost my ground like 'literally', before I blacked out. When I came to, that ship I escaped from also got here too and never made it out of Earth"

Listening what Harrigan's last moments that he can remember, Ripley can only think of one thing that popped out of her mind;

They were also brought here into this world at the same time.

While Ripley and Harrigan continue discussing their experiences, Newt looks down at the mended overalls she's wearing, and looks back up at Tatsumi

"Thank you for fixing my clothes." He shakes his head and apologize

"Sorry. I can't take credit for that one. Lubbock here deserves all the praise."

With a wave of his hand, he invites the other young man over. The person standing in front of the trio had green hair, green eyes, wore goggles and a fur trimmed jacket with jeans, and carried himself in a cool relaxed manner

"It's nice to meet you ladies and gentlemen. My name is Lubbock."

Ripley looks him over "You're the guy who mended our clothes? Quite a handy skill you have there."

Lubbock holds up both his hands to show them covered with odd looking gloves and bundles of silvery thread tied to them

"It's just a small trick, done by my Imperial Arm here."

"Imperial Arm?" Ripley looks back at Najenda. "I'll explain it in due course." she responded.

Harrigan looked at the glove and realized that this guy was the one who set up a perimeter around the colony

"So you're the one who's spreading wires around camp. Neat strategy you got. However, it's best if it's not spread too far out. Otherwise, you might leave out holes that an intruder can exploit" he complimented

Lubbock wanted to retort back at him considering Harrigan was the intruder he mentioned himself, but pondered at his advice. If he's used to sneaking up from a heavily guarded perimeter, then perhaps he has a point on how he used Cross Tails to form a perimeter.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Lubbock by the shoulders and shoved him towards the back of the crowd. In his place stood a voluptuous woman with yellow medium length hair, golden eyes, and a revealing outfit

"Hi there. My name's Leone. I was the other person, who looked inside the processing plant. I saw what was down in Sub Level 03." Ripley gave her a somber look.

"Sub Level 03? What's in Sub Level 03?" Harrigan curiously asked, to which neither Leone nor Ripley could even answer properly. From their expression, he immediately took the hint

She checked to see Newt wandering around the tent, and replied "Then you should know that's exactly how we'll all end up. If my fears are true and the Aliens came to this place along with us, then your whole world may be doomed."

Leone solemnly nods in agreement "I'm one of the veteran members of this group. I'll convince my friend to help me argue your point to our boss, so that we may leave sooner."

"And who's your friend?" asked Ripley.

"Akame!" Leone called out to her teammate who was keeping an eye on Newt, as the little girl walked towards the back of the tent. Akame turned to Leone and walked up to her and Ripley.

"You expect me to believe your friend here can help convince Najenda? She was about to cut Newt's head off!" Ripley argued.

"And you were about to blow us all to smithereens with your gun!" Interjected a young woman, whom Ripley first met and aimed the pulse rifle to before

"I'm Chelsea by the way." She introduced herself, and Ripley sized her up.

She had long reddish brown hair and wore a headset, a white long sleeve shirt beneath a black vest, and a checkered skirt. Ripley could have imagined her as a famous pop singer, back on Earth.

"I wouldn't have shot you." Ripley said defensively "I was trying to save all of you. If you have a problem, talk to Harrigan. He's the one who tried to shoot someone"

"Don't look at me, I was trying to save a kid. That's anyone that would've done too." He responded defensively as Chelsea looked on him

"In this world, it's kill or be killed. Everyone here is fighting a nation that has thrived on those principles which made it corrupt and evil, and we're trying to make it a better place. And I have a feeling that you also want a world in which people can live happily and freely."

Ripley looks at everyone thoughtfully "It seems I have a lot to learn about all of you. Alright. Who's left that hasn't been introduced yet? I would like to start exchanging information."

After that inquiry, a tall man with a pair of horns on his head and wearing a white robe, stepped forward and made a bowing gesture. "My name is Susanoo and I'm-"

Harrigan instinctively raised his clawed glaive and pointed at him, causing everyone to put their guard up. In response, Susanoo grabbed his poleaxe and pointed it at him

"Harrigan, calm down. Whoever you faced back there, it's not the same" urged Ripley while trying to calm him down

It took six seconds for the former to register what she said before he drops his glaive

"Sorry...I mistook you for someone else" Harrigan apologizes

"I can assure you Mr. Harrigan, I mean no harm-"

"Why is there a red disc on your chest? And why is everyone in their underwear?" Ripley can hear Newt behind her, asking weird questions.

She turned to look at her and noticed on her forehead, was some sort of headpiece that resembled a large metal eye.

"Newt? What is that, and where did you find it?" asked Ripley.

"Back there. In an open metal box." Newt confessed.

"Take it off kid! You don't know what that is, or what it can do!" Harrigan demanded

"Hold on a minute, Harrigan!" Najenda places a hand in front of him

"She's not in any danger, so humor me. If she can use that Imperial Arm, it'll be much easier for you to protect her."

Intrigued, Ripley stands behind Night Raid's leader.

"Now, Newt." Night Raid's leader inched towards the little girl "Tell me, how do you feel?"

"A little tired, " Newt replied "But, it went away just now."

Najenda places her normal arm behind her back "Okay. Now try to guess how many fingers I'm holding up behind me. Look at where my hand is and focus on it."

Newt stares at her and concentrates "5, 2, 3, 5, 1, 4, you keep moving your fingers and changing the numbers."

Impressive, this kid is able to tell the number of fingers Najenda was holding up without looking over it. Perhaps it must be that headband, that 'Imperial Arm' they called it? Harrigan was completely amazed

"That's alright, we're done with it." Najenda brought her arm around

"Please, tell me how you feel now?" Newt shrugs, and answers "The same. I keep feeling a little tired, then the feeling quickly goes away."

Najenda kneels in front of Newt, and looks into her blue eyes "Okay, Newt. I want you to look inside my head and try to see what's in my mind." Newt closes her eyes and concentrates.

Suddenly images began coming into view.

A young woman who resembles Najenda, turns down a marriage proposal offered by a handsome young man.

Another image shows the same young woman standing in front of a burning village. Mountains of dead bodies surrounded her, and at the center of it all, stood another woman.

She had long blue hair, a white caped uniform and her eyes were blue too. But her eyes had something else also, they looked evil and cruel. It's as if she was enjoying the destruction and suffering that was happening all around her.

Last image shows young Najenda looking up from below a hill, at the blue haired evil-looking woman who conjures hundreds of shards of ice with a wave of her hand.

She sends the ice shards flying through the air and into the bodies of people who where near the young Najenda. One of the shards comes at Najenda and pierced her right eye-

Newt opens her eyes and lets out a scream. Ripley was instantly holding her, trying to calm her down

"It's okay Newt! You're alright! Najenda! I thought she wasn't in any danger!" she complains.

"I'm fine Ripley!" assured Newt "You were the one I was seeing, right Najenda? You worked with really Bad People, who tried to hurt you when you ran away."

Najenda looks down at her prosthetic arm "You don't know the half of it." She looks back at Newt

"Okay Newt. Last one, I promise. You get to return the favor for scaring you." She signals all of Night Raid to gather in one spot. "Gaze upon us and think about what you fear the most. Show us what one of these ALIENS look like."

"Hey come now, isn't this too much you're asking to a kid?" Harrigan expresses his concern. The fact that a girl below 10 years of age witnessed Najenda's dark past unsettles him

"I understand your concern, Harrigan, but I know Newt more than you think and it's merely a day that we've been together." Ripley assures him

The little girl looks at Ripley, who nods her approval "Do it, Newt."

She closes her eyes and thinks hard about the giant monster that chased her and Ripley through the processing station. She can hear everyone in front of her, let out a multitude of frightened gasps. All the members of Night Raid staggered back, as they gazed in horror at the creature in front of them.

It was big, maybe two or three stories high. But crouched, so as not to hit the tent's ceiling. Its body was an exoskeleton, black and insect-like, with slime running all over. A long tail uncoiled from behind, at its end was a large blade. Spikes ran in pairs along its back and it had two grotesquely muscular pairs of large and smaller arms. Each came equipped with razor sharp claws. And lastly was its massive crested head, resembling a broad, reinforced shield. Beneath the shield-like head, extended a large mouth which parted to let out a foreboding hiss. Afterwards, the monster opened its fang-filled jaws even wider to produce a loud ear splitting shriek. At the same time, a second set of jaws with sharp teeth shot out of the primary mouth, in a ferocious snapping motion.

Akame drew Murasame from its sheath and assumed a battle stance. Beside her Tatsumi and Leone transform into Incursio's armor and Lionelle's beast form, respectively. Chelsea was cowering behind Susanoo, who was brandishing a polearm with sickle blades at its end. Mine began calling at Najenda to return Pumpkin to her, but the leader of Night Raid stood in front of everyone with her arms spread and shouted

"Stand Down, All of You! It's just an illusion! That is still Newt in front of us!"

As if on cue, the image of the giant Alien creature faded into nothing, leaving a worn-out Newt held steady by Ripley, at where it once stood. Only Harrigan squinted his eyes at the monster, showing no sign of fear in his eyes. he was focused at the shape of its skull, looking rather curious

Ripley took notice of his behavior and expressed worry for a second. She had thought that he was fascinated by the creature, just like how Ash was fascinated by it before. However, there's no sign of admiration in Harrigan's eyes, instead his face was showing a mix of curiosity and familiarity.

As if he had seen the Xenomorph somewhere before.

It was not a second that she finally got her answer. Harrigan turned to her, and what came out of her mouth filled her thoughts with shock

"Ripley, I've seen this monster before"