[ALIEN] The Aurora

[Don Harris]

Space.

It's big, you know!

Not as big as you might think, but it's getting there. The invention of the Jump Drive really put things in perspective. As man delves deeper into space, away from his humble beginnings, the big black void gradually loses it's sense of 'outer' and becomes what it really is when you get down to the basics - empty space occupying the area's between chunks of slowly spinning rock and pockets of colourful gas.

Almost every facet of life on Earth has extended out to the stars. Just as Mankind first sailed the oceans in search of exotic lands away from home, so too did Mankind dive into the great beyond, propelled by fire and thousands of tonnes of fuel away from our Blue Mother. And just as those new lands were harvested for their rich vegetation and raw materials, so too did Mankind seek out hospitable worlds on which to settle and live, build and love upon. Then, as the process became cheaper, other services took to the stars, from travel companies offering excursions to Pluto, to the inevitable ugly face of conflict, as military hardware is injected into the dark starry canvas beyond it's petri dish origins on Earth.

Starships are plentiful, but although the Solar System is now very small, the Galaxy itself is getting bigger all the time as companies found new colonies on recently-discovered planets. But not only the nice planets are of interest to humanity. Every world encountered has the potential to offer secrets. Therefore many corporations send out exploration vessels to gather as much information about these 'rocks' as they can. One such vessel is the Weyland-Yutani owned starship, Aurora. Assigned to the L-class planet Rigon, the Aurora is conducting a thorough survey mission of the barren sphere. Though earlier, and briefer, recon's of the planet had written it off as useless, Weyland-Yutani was convinced the Mars-like planet would bear fruits of labour. While the Company itself kept quite as to what was expected beneath Rigon's sky, the crew of the Aurora were hoping to find evidence of past life or even some interesting new ore formations.

But that's not why Don Harris was here.

[Don Harris]

The maintenance access tubes were small, but they weren't really tubes. The Company was pretty ruthless in it's dealings with outside matters, and it knew how to be harsh on it's own employees, but it certainly wasn't ignorant of functionality. The 'tubes were actually a relatively-comfortable space running parallel to all major shipboard systems. Minor or specific systems were accessed via their own ports on the system's unit. But the 'tubes allowed access to things such as power relays and fuel lines, light boards, oxygen processors and other essential systems that allowed the Aurora to carry out it's assignment.

The 'tubes weren't exactly a regular stop for the cleaners, and so they were pretty manky. And as a result, the performance officer turned a blind eye to them in general; Heaven forbid he stain his blue-collar!

But that suited Don just fine. Spending most of his time in the 'tubes, he was rarely bothered by anybody during his shift, aside from his few colleagues who were also part of the engineering team. Though they were all qualified engineers, and thusly all capable of maintaining every system installed onboard the Aurora, including the engines, power generators and sophisticated sensor array, it was Don's misfortune of drawing the short straw and being fobbed off with the 'tubes as his primary responsibility on this particular trip.

The job had it's pro's and con's. Yes, he was never bothered by any of the Command staff or executives, but he would have nobody to talk to for the bulk of the shift, and that left him to thinking. And it never did Don any good to think for too long with nothing on his mind.

So far, after starting his 18-hour shift almost 9 hours ago, the only remotely interesting thing to happen was a leak in the water mains. After sealing the pipe and checking over the intercom, it turned out that five showers in the female officer's bathroom had been left on for too long.

"Mustn't be much work up there for 'em if they can spend all day in the damn showers. I notice they never come down here where all the work gets done, huh!? I'm soaking wet down here!"

"I hear ya Don. Sorry about that pal, I'll be sure to give 'em hell for ya, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Mike. See ya later."

Throwing the spanner down with a clang, Don leans back against the dark, wet wall beneath the water mains. Wiping the sweat from his brow with a cloth, he eyes the spanner once more. Picking it up, he begins turning the pipe's lock again. A thin jet of cold water bursts out, hitting him in the face. He rolls his head around, eyes closed, as he cools down. Quickly, he seals it up tight again.

The intercom crackles on the opposite wall.

"Hey Don, where are you?"

The voice trails off into restrained giggling. Drying himself off with his shirt, Don holds down the intercom button.

"I'm at the third junction, just past the tanks, why? What's so funny Mike?"

"Well dry yourself off sweetheart and get yourself to the elevator - someone's on their way to see you!"

[Corbin McLaren]

The day had started early for Corbin. He woke up at 0400 hours; slipped into his favourite jogging pants, they were torn and crusted around the ankles and felt no heavier than a pound, and he threw on his USCMC hoodie. The door to his quarters slid aside quietly and he jogged out onto the corridoor. Overhead, only every fourth light was lit but even they were dimmed, most of the crew were in bed. At the end of the corridoor there was a lift, he stepped inside and pressed a button marked Deck 5.

On Deck 5, there was nothing but science labs and a medical bay, and there was not a soul to be seen. Even the physician on call was absent, she was probably in the mess hall sucking up her fifth cup of black coffee. Stale white light from the medical bay poured into the dark grey corridoor, and everytime he past it, Corbin glanced in through the glass. He was on his sixth lap of the deck so far, and after two days of familiarising himself with the Aurora, today was the day he would be assigned his duties. He expected to find himself stationed in the medical bay first of all and then hopefully, he will later be assigned to one of the small science labs. He couldn't wait to get started. Another fourteen laps and he was done. He enjoyed a good shower then returned to his quarters to read until the rest of the ship's crew began to stir.

After a quick breakfast with Doctor Moss, who was now on her seventh coffee, Corbin made his way to Deck 2 Section 12. He squeazed into an elevator full of crew members all on their way to work, most of whom wore a smart pressed suit, shirt and tie like him and only a couple wore regulation overalls. Corbin arrived at a small office in Section 12, there was a glass window which gave the occupant of the seat behind the desk a clear view of all who passed by. He was a man in his late twenties, he wore a grey suit and a black shirt, and sat back comfortably in his large leather chair, he motioned for Corbin to enter. He stood at attention before the desk.

"Corbin McLaren reporting for duty, sir."

"At ease, crewman. Take a seat."

For a moment, Corbin watched the officer rifle through a series of files on his desk. He discovered a file labelled MCLAREN, C. and opened it. He scrutinised the contents, tore a form from a series of pages and straightened things out on his desk.

"Good morning, Mister McLaren. My name is Corporal Durbin. How are you?"

"Eager to start work, sir."

"Glad to hear it. I have before me orders issued by the ship's First Officer, who regretted to inform me that the Captain is unable to meet you before you commence your duties onboard the Aurora but has rescheduled a meeting with you for 1800 hours. He is currently bogged down in a meeting with his commanding officers. Ah!"

The door to the office swished open and in walked a tall, attractive woman in a black suit, Corbin stared at her as she made her way over to Durbin's side of the desk. Her legs seemed to go on forever but eventually disappeared behind a skirt that was definately too short for regulation clothing, her blonde hair was tied back tight into a long pony tail and she wore thick-rimmed black glasses. Her lips were a vibrant red. She arranged a stack of files neatly on the desk.

"Mister McLaren, this is my assistant, Miss Tress."

There eyes met, he nodded in acknowledgement and she managed a thin smile. She stood alongside Durbin while he finished his briefing, never once breaking her silence. The corporal handed him the form.

"Now, crewman, your orders are as follows..."

Corbin felt his chest tighten and grasped for the pen on the desk. He read the form while Durbin spoke.

"You are to report immediately to engineering where you will rendezvous with Warrant Officer Harris. Your orders are to assist Mister Harris in all facets of his duties, and follow his orders to the letter in servicing all systems in the maintainance access tubes. You-"

"But sir..."

"You will start with twelve hour shifts, which begin at 0600 hours and terminate at 1800 hours. Today will be your only exception, you will have to inform the Warrant Officer that you will have to leave early for an audience with the captain. After a week, you will work eighteen hour shifts just like everyone else in engineering and will continue to assist Mister Harris until further notice, is that understood?"

"Sir, I have to draw your attention to the fact that I have had little engineering experience, and that my abilities are much better suited for medical and scientific roles on this ship."

"That is not for you to decide, crewman," Durbin snapped. "You were fortunate enough to be given a position onboard the Aurora in the first place. You came here to study and gain experience in the field so let's hope you are a quick study. Now, if you have no further objections, sign the form and report to engineering."

"Yes, sir."

Corbin muttered through clenched teeth, he stared down at his contract and studied the dotted line. This was his only chance ane he knew it. He had to take it. He shoved the pen against the page and scribbled his name. He stood up immediately.

"Oh, and kid, you won't be needing that suit where you're going. Better slip into some nice overalls. It gets a bit hairy down there."

Durbin smiled and watched him leave his office and pass out of sight.

[Don Harris]

Don emerged from the maintenance tubes into a square corridor. It was the engineering hub where the elevator sat embedded in one wall, with various doors leading off to the other engineering sectors and up to the cargo bays. The middle of the hub housed a small, walled office - or at least as close to an office as an engineer would ever require. Don entered the room and sat down behind the bare desk.

A ladder next to the desk led up and down to two small crawlspaces above and below the room. The upper floor was empty whilst the lower was cluttered with various boxes and small crates containing various spare parts for the general ship systems. The thought crossed his mind to go down and sort things out when a ding came from outside. Don walked back into the corridor just as the elevator doors opened and out stepped a young man. Don stepped forwards, holding his hand out...

"Hi, I'm Don, You must be Corbin."