Aliens: Earth Hive
From Xenopedia
Contents |
[edit] Author
Aliens: Earth Hive was written by Steve Perry (who has also written other Alien Books).
[edit] Time Line
Precedes:
[edit] History
Before Alien3 was made, a comic that continued the story from Aliens was made. Aliens: Earth Hive is the subsequent novel written about the comic.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Plot
(SPOILER WARNING)
The story opens with a group of young girls camping. One of them is the main character; her name is Billie. The girls are exchanging scary ghost stories and are trying to come up with the best one to scare their friends.
Finally, one of the girls begins to describe the xenomorphs in graphic detail, despite her never having seen one or heard of one. One of the girls says that the story makes her feel sick, and in turn is the folly of the other two's jokes. As the story of the Nightmare Bugs continues the little girl who complained about being sick to her stomach begins to go into a seizure-like state. She goes into compulsions and then her stomach explodes outward. A chestburster xenomorph scrambles for freedom out of her stomach. It then bites Billie's other friend in the neck and kills her. Billie then feels the same pain in her chest and then...
Billie wakes up in a mental hospital, you find out that she has been having this nightmare for as long as she can remember. Billie is one of the two survivors of a colony world called Rim which was decimated by xenomorphs. Every one on the colony, including her friends and family, is dead. The only other survivor, a member of the Colonial Marines named Wilks, is in prison for unelaborated reasons (most likely the fact that he has had contact with the xenomorphs). Billie is distressed by the nightmares and cannot take them anymore. So to keep them down the hospital keeps her drugged on a regular basis.
Cpl. Wilks is being held in prison for having seen the xenomorphs. He is called down to a "parole" hearing, rather unexpectedly, and is confronted by Dr. Orana. Orana is funding an "expedition" to the xenomorph homeworld and needs the help and experience of any one who has been in close proximity to the aliens. Upon being released Wilks is given the rank of Sergeant and is tasked with putting together an elite team of marines to participate in the expedition.
At the same time as he is organizing the team Wilks also breaks Billie out of the mental hospital. Billie, who is convinced that she is crazy and all of the nightmares are fake, is shocked to see the real Wilks. The moment is bittersweet for Billie. On the one hand, she isn't crazy after all, and on the other, everything she remembered actually happend.
Sgt. Wilks, who is now second in command of the expedition, begins to evaluate the training of the marines. He also requests heavy weaponry but is denied because the officer in charge says that they are unnecessary and will damage the specimens.
Soon the ill-prepared, ill-experienced, an ill-equipped team of marines embarks on their journey. It becomes apparent that there is a sabotuer on board when some of the marines end up dead or missing. Then when all else seems to be going wrong, their ship is captured by a ruthless business man out to retrieve an alien sample. The marines are used as cannon fodder to coax out the aliens when they reach their home world.
Billie and Wilks manage to take back the ship and save a few marines, but it comes at a price. Only two of the marines and one crewman make it back aboard their ship.
While all of that was going on, Earth fell into anarchy. An outbreak of alien hives begin appearing all over the world. The humans quickly respond to the new threat with initial success! But after some time the aliens begin to adapt to human tactics and the tide turns in the aliens favor. Dr. Orana, the man who attempted to save the Earth with the aliens, is cornered in his office by a sea of aliens. With no hope of escape he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head.
By the time Billie, Wilks and the other survivors make it back to Earth it is too late. They get separated with the surviving crewman and one of the marines is shot by a crazed colonel. Billie, Wilks, and Beuler (the android/Marine) make it to the last ship capable of escaping Earth's atmosphere and make a speedy escape. The story closes with them going into cryosleep and waiting for rescue.
