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Please see my submissions for the completed first chapter. This version is now outdated.

"Name: Dr. Volodymir Ronnovich Velichkov. Time: 0745... I'm starting a bit early today. Project: Nexus... I will begin my tests... now. The first test is in the healing properties of the xenomorph. The test subject - #19 was subjected to massive trauma by Dr. Hartford. In is his most recent experiment he allowed a soldier to beat the restrained xeno for several minutes... not how I would have done it. Uh... the xeno appears to have... nearly healed most of it's wounds, but there's numerous scars... It seems the xeno is unable to fully heal extreme trauma even with it's amazing properties. X-rays taken before and after have shown that the bones of the xeno healed practically overnight, but the flesh seems to remain scarred for some reason. I'll requisition another xeno from Dr.

Hartford soon to continue the project in healing, but for now, I'll move on to the next test."

I take a moment to look over the xeno carefully. It's wounds are rather severe in some places even after a full day to heal. The xeno was well taken care of under my watchful eye, but even so, the xeno seems to have given up on life.

"I am beginning now: test #2. This test is concerning the internal states of the xeno after being subjected to pain, then to care... I have taken multiple CT-scans of the xeno, both before and after Dr. Hartford's tests. It would seem that aside from the obvious changes of the bone structure, due to damage, there is very little change to the internals aside from the brain. The brain seems to have been subjected to extreme trauma, likely due to the blunt for force trauma, and is healing wry slowly. This may be an isolated case, but after more tests with the xenoes I may be able to better understand the minds of the xenoes. Although... heh... I was going to say the brains seem oddly similar to the human brain, that would be a bit ridiculous; there is a lot we don't yet understand about the xenoes and their brains are the main key to our understanding... I will continue the tests in a moment. My damned pager is going off."

The incessant buzzing of the pager is a sound I've come to hate. It's generally Dr. Hartford requesting I send one of the xenoes under my care to it's doom. 'Come to my lab, Ivor' The message is from Dr. Ivor, a friend and colleague of mine. He too is researching the inner workings of the xenomorph, but he receives fresh specimens that haven't been sent through to Hartford. I decide my research can wait. I'll go see what Dr. Ivor has for me.

I sedate #19 and take my leave for Ivor's lab. He's only a few rooms down, so it's not a big deal to take a break from my work to visit. #19 should be out for a while, so I can leave it unrestrained, but I'm leaving it in a cage for now, just in case someone stops by. Wouldn't want someone thinking I was irresponsible or something... heh. I enter Dr. Ivor's lab and find him in the observation section watching something. I walk over to him and find that he's watching a xenomorph... but it seems like it's doing something. "Ah, Dr. Velichkov. Good of you to join me. I have something fascinating to show you!" Dr. Ivor nearly shouts with glee. The man is clearly ecstatic about his research, though, he always was. "I believe we've got a smart one here! This xeno has been solving puzzles all day! I started with just simple stuff, like fitting a square peg in a hole, but look now!" He points down at the xeno whom has begun using a touch screen monitor to... click green dots. It seems to be avoiding red dots with ease. "What's the test?" I ask. Dr. Ivor looks at me like I'm an idiot for but a moment before laughing and stating: "Why, to click only the green dots! She's been at it for hours!" "So, what does she get for doing so properly?" Dr. Ivor holds up a finger and using it, points back to the xeno. We both watch the caged creature clicking away at the screen when a big check mark shows up on the screen. I've never seen a xeno happy before, but this one certainly is. It bounces and bounds around its plexiglass cage as I small door opens up in the corner releasing... a goat. "Where did you get a goat?" I ask a bit confused. "Why I ordered them and the military delivered. Dozens, in fact." I just lean back and chuckle. "You ordered dozens of goats as treats for your xenoes? I love it, Johnathan." Me and Ivor watch the xeno rip apart the goat and feast on its flesh. Both of us are used to blood and gore, in fact, we're big fans of the stuff.

I look back to Ivor, whom is now looking quite satisfied with himself and ask: "So tell me Johnathan, do you think other xenoes are as intelligent as this one is, or is this just an isolated case?" He turns to me and whispers: "I think I've got a special one here." He smiles a big joyous smile and looks back to the xeno. "But, to answer your question, I think they all have a capacity for intelligence, but not all are willing to use their minds. I think they're clouded by rage, or, at least, that's my theory." "Huh, so do you think they can communicate? Like us I mean?" Dr. Ivor pauses for a moment and seems a bit nervous. "Dr. Velichkov... Volodymir... I think they may be very much able to communicate. I've been monitoring brain waves and I've found strange readings while they're conscious... it seems like... they're screaming inside their heads at one another. Other xenoes seem to pick up these same waves and can interpret them, it seems. I think they're scared. They're afraid of being here, but most are just angry... very, very angry. Imagine what they would do if they broke out... what's worse... imagine the pain Dr. Hartford is putting intelligent beings through. I need to do more research, but we may be able to prove their intelligence to the director and get them freed from his clutches, but I fear that the best I can do for now is keep my test subjects out of his hands."

I decide to ask: "Do you think we may be able to communicate with them? Like through some sort of interface?" Dr. Ivor thinks for a moment and mutters to himself: "Perhaps..." He looks up to me and says aloud: "Perhaps, if I had a xeno with some sort of defect in the brain, such that I could see how the brain develops... or if I could get my hands on a freshly hatched specimen... I could have it incubate it until it grows to normal size... I could monitor the brain throughout the process... but that would require that we have access to eggs... which we don't." I remember that #19 had brain damage and was a fairly young specimen. "Perhaps #19 could work? It suffered moderate brain damage during Dr. Hartford's experiments. It may be able to regrow the damaged parts of the brain and could help us to find a way to understand them better." Dr. Ivor seems to meditate on this for a short while as he watches the caged xeno pounce around. "She seems happy doesn't she?" I notice something suddenly. "Johnathan? You keep referring to it as a she? Is that just a thing you do?" I say laughing a bit. He grows very serious suddenly and leans in close to me. "I think we may have a queen in our midst." He whispers. "If my research is correct, #13 is a real keeper." He smiles at me as I ask him: "So, why not use #13 for your inter-species communication research?" Because, I'm not working on it; you are! Project Nexus would be the perfect jump-start for communications! After all, it was your idea." He says with a gleam in his eye. "Listen, get back to your lab, go take care of #19 and see what you can find. I'll send you the data on the brainwaves and let's see what you can find, eh? He says with a quick pat on my shoulder.

3 days later

"Name: Dr. Volodymir Ronnovich Velichkov. Time: 0800 hours. Project: Nexus. Beginning tests... now. The first experiment of the day is in verbal communications with Dr. Ivor's #13, my #19, and Dr. Hartford's most recent test subject, #20. 13, 19, and 20 will be placed in an fMRI... and you wouldn't believe how hard that will be. Anyway... my assistants for this test will be Dr. Ivor, Sgt. Masters and Corporal James. Dr. Ivor will be doing much of the talking while I watch the fMRI for activity. The first test is in names. Each xeno will be told a name of a doctor here in the labs by Dr. Ivor and we'll see what kind of results we get. If you would kindly begin the test, Doctor" Ivor walks over to #13, whom by now has grown to a rather surprising size and has started to grow a very unusual crown of sorts. Had the creature not been under heavy sedation, I don't know if we could possible stop 'her' from doing anything she wants. The marines seem rather on edge about having three xeno, uncaged, and only lightly restrained in one room; not that I can blame them. The test goes on for a short time with minimal results until Dr. Ivor says: "Doctor Jonathan Ivor" At which point I get a spike of neural activity on the fMRI. "Ha, it seems 'she' knows your name, John." Ivor looks up at me and just grins. "Of course my dear would know my name." I'm caught somewhat off guard by his... erm... relationship with #13. I reply: "Your dear? You haven't named 'her'; have you?" "Of course. Her name is Dekatria." Dekatria? Dr. Ivor always was a strange one. I admire the abilities of the xeno and I've even caught myself tracing the body of #19 in my mind, as it does have a sort of aesthetic charm to it... but to go so far as naming it? Ha, no. Even if #19 was shown to be intelligent I doubt I could see myself getting so attached. "Anyway... continue the tests, Doctor." I say to Ivor whom has been stroking the arm of #13... I mean Dekatria.

The tests continue with no real results once more. My name comes and goes without incident as does 'Doctor Michel Hartford'. It's hard to tell what kind of thoughts would be running through the xeno's mind as it's fairly hard to get a clear read on anything given the size and shape of the brains of the xeno. Not to mention the crown getting in the way of the fMRI scan. Wedging Dekatria into the machine was a hell of a challenge, but it wasn't as hard as sedating #20. That spaz was ready to claw anyone that got near him, even after getting gassed several times. "Doctor, let's do #20 next, just so we can get it out of here before it wakes up, yeah?" "Alright, he calls back." it takes us a few minutes to get Dekatria out of the machine and back into her cage, but with the help of the marines it was a much simpler task than it could have been. We put #20 into the machine with relative ease and begin the test. Ivor gets a strange look on his face and gives me a stern look. "I'm going to do something very stupid, Velichkov, Be ready." I look at the screen and give him a thumps up. I motion for the soldiers to get closer to me... just in case. I suddenly hear Dr. Hartford's voice. "Let us begin the experiment." I look over to see Ivor holding a tape recorder and looking a bit pale. #20 has already started to twitch slightly, even under heavy sedation. I look back to the screen and see that it's brain has lit up with activity. "Well that got us some results. Where did you get that recording anyway?" Just as I ask this #20 lurches to life. It begins wildly clawing at the air. One swipe slices across Ivor's chest and immediately, blood begins spurting out.The marines take aim and are about to fire when we all hear a loud crash. I look over to the source and find that... "13 is awake!" Sgt. Masters shouts. He aims his rifle at 13 and prepares to fire. I shout: "No! Kill 20, kill it!" By this time, Ivor has collapsed onto the ground and is laying in a pool of his own blood and #20 is thrashing around and screeching, so too is Dekatria. It occurs to me that #20 must have broken its arm restraints at some point, but I'm not sure how it could have done so, unless the xeno are much stronger than expected... which means that Dekatria, with her size, could break out at anytime... and always could have. There's a loud *Brrt* from the Sgt's pulse rifle as he fires a burst at #20, putting an end to it's thrashing and likely killing instantly. I rush over to Ivor to see if he's still alive. Dekatria has begun making a strange whimpering sound and reaching out to Ivor... which is odd... but likely means that she is intelligent and is able to understand the situation. I guess the test was a success in that regard. Sgt. Masters clambers over various equipment to get to Ivor and me while Corporal James keeps his rifle trained on Dekatria. The Sgt. whips out a first-aid kit from seemingly nowhere and begins cleaning Ivor's chest wound. It takes some time, but we manage to stitch him up on the spot. The whole while Dekatria continued to whine and reach out to Ivor...

2 days later

[WIP]

I'm sick and tired of Dr. Hartford's continued inhuman experiments on the Xeno; they're intelligent, we can learn so much more through mine and Ivor's research. I can feel rage boiling up inside me from his last report on the effects of fire on live xenomorph flesh. It was a heinous thing to read and I'm sure it was worse to witness. I continue stomping my way to his research district, in hopes that I'd find him when he's not doing one of his sick projects. I've already talked to the research director, in hopes that I could convince him of the unethical treatment of the creature, but to no avail. I find myself standing before Dr. Hartford's laboratory. Do I really have the nerve to barge right in? "Of course I do." I say with a twisted grin as I storm into the lab. Unfortunately, I catch the doctor mid-experiment with a few other scientists watching eagerly as he... oh my...

The Xeno is restrained, arms and legs, by massive metal bars, suspending it in mid-air. A tube is being inserted into the creature's mouth and an unspeakable object is inserted into the... rear of the creature. The creature writhes in agony and gives a wheezing screech, but can't escape the torment it's facing. I can barely breathe watching this disgusting, fetishistic display. "Dr. Hartford, what the _ fuck _is this?!" I scream at him, catching the attention of everyone in the room. "Dr. Velichkov? What are you doing here?" He asks inquisitively. "Shouldn't you be off researching the Xeno mating habits or something?" There's a resounding, yet nervous chuckle from the scientists in the room. I feel blood rushing up into my head and my fists clenching in rage. I shout: "I can see you sure as _ fuck _are! This is sick and _ fucking _ wrong! I can't even understand what this 'project' of yours could possibly be for!" He gives me a smug look and says simply: "For science." I'm dumbfounded. 'For science' I repeat in my head over and over again as if it would make more sense if I repeated it enough. The Xeno gives out another wheezing screech which resounds in the closed of room. I look with pure empathy toward the creature and decide there's only one option left before I loose my mind and rip this man to shreds.

I take a deep breath and cool off a bit before saying: "Hartford, you've lost your shit. This is completely insane, even for you. Stop this project... please. This has gone on long enough. Turn the Xeno over to me so I can take care of it and nurse it back to health. This is complete madness and-" "I'd rather see it die than give it to you, Dr. Velichkov." He spits at me. "Alright... I gave you a chance." I take another deep breath and begin walking towards Hartford. I get a foot away from him and slug him in the face. " Stop this, or you die!" I bark at him. He looks utterly blown away. Blood trickles down his face from his nose as he rights himself. He cups his nose and coughs a small amount of blood on my lab coat. I look him dead in the eyes and say again: "Stop this." He looks at me for a moment before saying: "No." I take a sharp breath and headbutt him right in the face. There's a soft crunch from his nose as I do so. He falls back on his ass, using his arms to prop himself up. I knee him in the face as hard as I can. Another soft crunch. The other scientists are far from my mind right now, but I still notice them all grouping up like a school of fish, hiding in the corner. Hartford is now laying flat on his back and rolling drunkenly. I stomp his gut to make him stop moving around as much and raise my foot above his head and prepare to crush his skull beneath my heel. "Wait!" He says in a muffled, breathless voice. "What's the matter Doc? You can't handle the pain? You can't handle a little misery? How do you think the Xeno feels?" He chuckles and says: "It doesn't matter..." He suddenly lurches up and pulls out a scalpel from seemingly nowhere and jumps at me. I get a chance to see just how bad my knee hit him as his face is now drenched in blood making him look even more crazed than me... but only for a moment. The sight of blood was always... problematic for me... I grab the blade with my bare hand and with my other hand I grab his free hand. He's entirely blown away by my display, perhaps hoping that I would turn out to be a coward and run from the fight. I use my hand on his to quickly grab a finger and _twist_as hard as I can. A soft pop is heard as I dislocate his middle finger. I let out a howling laugh and thrust myself forward to headbutt him again. He lets go of the scalpel, which is now firmly in my grasp. I spin it in my fingers such that it is facing downwards. I headbutt the doctor again and stab him in the shoulder at the same time.

He stumbles back, continuously coughing blood as his mouth begins to fill with the blood no doubt gushing from his nose. I retain possession of the blade and drive it into Hartford's chest. He sputters for a moment before... shit. Security storms into the room and are immediately greeted to the sight of me ramming a blade into Hartford. I quickly turn the badly bleeding Hartford around and force him to face the guards. The guards raise their pistols and shout: "Hands up, both of you! What's going on?" I reply: "Dr. Hartford attacked me when I objected to his research." The 'Good Doctor' is in far too much pain to object to my version of the story, but the other scientists... One of the guards walks over to us and grabs me, while the other gives Hartford a hand. I hear the other scientists blathering on as one about how I was the aggressor. I've got to think fast if I'm to make it out of this, but what can I do? Just then, I hear the guard's radio buzz to life with: "Warnin' One of the experiments is loose in sector C, R&D. All units report immediately. Orders are to kill on sight!" The guards look at each other and go pale. We've never had one of the experiments get loose before. I guess there's a first time for everything, but even worse, sector C is right next to Hartford's Lab! There's a sudden explosion of gunfire and screams as the experiment doubtlessly makes short work of the guards outside. Another screech comes from mere meters away, though muffled through the glass as I realize the Xeno is still restrained and still in agony. I decide to make my move.

I grab the pistol from the guard holding me and immediately shoot him in the leg. The other guard looks at me just in time for me to shoot both him and Dr. Hartford in the chest. I wished Dr. Hartford had seen a more gruesome end, one fitting for his crimes, but there's simply no time for that. I turn and face the crowd of scientists and bark at them: " Out!" and I point towards the door, in some small hopes that they would serve to be something the experiment outside would have to snack on while I worked. The scientists all run for the door in various states of panic and insanity, though one picks up the injured guard from the floor. I quickly run to the control panel near the Xeo's glass cage and start turning off everything in hopes that it'll be that simple, but it never is. The restraints are manually activated and the Xeno is expected to be asleep during transport, which means I have to go in with it, try to rescue it, and hope it doesn't kill me in the meantime. I find that the only entrance is over on the other side of the room and I don't really have time for that, knowing the experiment outside is likely headed this way, especially after the scientists left dragging a bleeding meat sack with them. so I take aim at the glass and open fire. It may be Xeno proofed, but not quite bullet proof.

The glass cracks a bit with each shot, but doesn't really shatter, so I grab the nearest large object, which happens to be a metal crate the Xeno was likely carried in, heave it back and ram it into the cracked glass. Once clearly isn't enough, as the glass is hardly broken, but does start to break away in some places. I ram it again and again before it finally breaks away enough for me to climb through. I approach the Xeno, which is now breathing heavily and hissing slightly with each labored breath. I pause for a moment to look over the beauty of the creature. The exoskeleton is dented and scarred in many places, a sad sight to see. It's tail is held firmly to the ceiling by one of the restraints as are all the other limbs. The Xeno seems to be trying not gag on the tube in it's mouth... I hesitate to imagine just how deep the tube goes, but if I am to help the creature, it must be removed. I reach near it's mouth and begin tugging on the tube. The Xeno gags slightly at this and thrashes around, but to no avail. I say, somewhat pointlessly: "I'm trying to help you! Please don't kill me for this shit." I give it another tug, more thrashing and gagging, but still no end in sight. One last firm tug and the tube comes out just in time for the Xeno to dry heave violently. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." I say to the creature over and over again as I decide which restrain to loose first. I have to decide carefully, as if I don't the Xeno may be able to bite me, claw me, or crush me with it's tail. I have to hope that it isn't strong enough to let loose it's rage towards me. So I grab a leg restraint and unlock it.

With a click, the leg is set free, only to fall limp and drop to the floor. The poor creature must be utterly exhausted. I reach over and unlock the left arm restraint causing the arm to flop to the ground too. I carefully work my way past the head and over to the other arm. Click, and the other arm is free. The Xeno is now being held up by it's right leg, tail, and neck. I decide that the Xeno is likely going to be strangled if I don't release the head next, but as I do so, I notice that the arms and leg are moving a bit. Click. The room suddenly turns upwards as my feet are pulled from underneath me. Just as I'm about to scream, I hit the floor, thus knocking the wind out of my lungs. I somehow manage to not crack my skull against the floor, but I'm left somewhat groggy. A feeling of terror nearly overwhelms me as I realize that the Xeno has grabbed me and now has me dragged beneath it. I look up into the void of darkness where it's eyes would be, if only it were human. The Xeno opens it's mouth with a weak hiss and slowly reveals it's second mouth. I shout: "Damn it, no! Don't kill me! I have to get you out of here!" I raise my arms into a somewhat defensive position, though there's no way I can block it if it really decides to kill me. A hand is placed on my face, but the Xeno can't really seem to grab hold firmly. It must be in dire pain. I imagine it used up it's strength dragging me down without a plan of what to do when it had me. I notice the restraint on the neck isn't fully released and is choking the Xeno slightly. I slowly reach up and with another click the restraint is fully released. The Xeno collapses onto me and takes a deep breath. It doesn't seem to fully understand what's going on as it slowly pushes itself off the ground. The Xeno looks at me for a moment before allowing me to stand. It watches closely as I release it's final leg, leaving only the tail left hanging. I slowly reach over and release the final restraint. With that the Xeno whips around and tackles me to the ground. I shout" Why?" at it as I slam into the glass wall. It opens it's mouth again and shows off it's second mouth again. Its saliva dripping all over my lab coat. The Xeno simply watches me for a moment before climbing off of me and slowly walking on all fours to the break in the glass wall.