Inceptum (An original story)

[Gojira21]

Inceptum


Prologue

In the 21st century no one would have predicted that we would actually discover life beyond what is on Planet Earth. It had always been hypothesized that there could be extraterrestrial life among the stars, but all of the eye witness testimonies where shrugged away as people ‘making things’ up or miss identification. One reason why this could have been is because the government, the very power that is supposed to protect us, never really wanted this information to be made public knowledge regardless if it jeopardize our safety. The government has been notorious for creating smear campaigns against people who had a story to tell. But this is nothing new, however. Our government of the United States of America is well known for throwing up conspiracies on anything that could “paint” them in a bad light.

They would never admit there was anything beyond our own surface of understanding. The exact reason for this is not really known. Some believed it was to protect their own advancement in the weapons department against competing foreign powers as the government loves to take something and develop it into a weapon. For example, the Atomic Bomb testings in the Pacific, which had resulted in one of the mightiest terrestrial monsters to have ever grazed the history books: Godzilla. Godzilla, along with other various forms of “Kaiju”, have terrorized the world ever since. Others like to speculate, even if it is one of the more extreme of opinions, that our government is runned by aliens who want to cover up their own existence.

But it was not so much of a stretch to imagine that there could be life out in the cosmos, after all Earth has become the breeding ground of discovery with giant monsters dating back to the 1800’s.

The first alien contact was in 1977 when Roy Neary, an electrical lineman, would have an encounter when an Unidentified Flying Object veers over his truck. But that was not all of it, as scientist’s would experiment with sending messages into space to try and establish communications. This all lead to an incredible, if not scary, close encounter with a supposed ‘mother ship’ in Wyoming, From this point on the cat was out of the bag and the general conscious could no longer ignore the existence of extraterrestrial life.

No more than nine years later, 1987, we had our next encounter with the beings from above. A team of commandos led by Major “Dutch” Schaefer where on a search and rescue mission in the remote wilderness of Central America. However, it was not long before the group would face adversity. A extraterrestrial warrior from space was hunting each member down in a methodical pace that was eerily similar to that of a hunter. The only survivor was Dutch and a Central American Native woman. There was also a similar event in 1990 at Los Angeles that was reportedly from the same organism.

The biggest question the Central American incident uncovered was just how many different extraterrestrial life forms are out in space? The Wyoming and Central America entities were reported to have been significantly different. The possible answer to this thought provoking question could be even more frightening than one may want to ever consider. It has become already hard enough to accept the possibility of ‘we are not alone in this universe’ but to possibly have different species as well?

In the wake of these startling events and from an uproar from citizens on to protect us from future threats, the Space Explorations Act was passed in the late 1990’s. However, when NASA became obsolete in the 2000’s the space exploration became available to the private sector as many corporations saw an opportunity to expand their endeavors. Some corporations wanted to expand humanity’s destiny to control everything, some corporations wanted to explore, and others simply wanted to discover new means to be ahead of the competition in experimental warfare.

One of the leading corporations to arise from this was Weyland Corporations. In 2012, Sir Peter Weyland established the Weyland Corporations, located in San Francisco, which specialized and developing in major advancements in technology such as holographics, off-world colonization, and FTL travel. In the ensuing years, Weyland Corp would merge with Yutani Corporation after a failed lawsuit against Weyland. With this merging, it would make Weyland-Yutani Corp the biggest business in the control and was well on it’s way to dominating the world. It’s power would only be rivaled by that of the Umbrella Corporation, before their untimely demise under a slew of scandals.

The year of 2122, was when the tragic events befell the crew of the Nostromo. At first, the record was not made clear on what happened with Nostromo as the public was only told that the craft had suffered an engine failure after returning home from a mining expedition. The resulting engine failure resulted in a hull breach which imploded the ship. However, it wasn’t until 30 years later when the real cause of what happened to Nostromo and her crew was revealed from inside leaks within Weyland-Yutani. The idea that the corporation, one of the pioneers in advancing space expedition, would be involved with illegal shipping of unknown organisms was an eye opener.

The very organism that Weyland-Yutani was trying to ascertain was one that brought great mystery and even further added to the mystery of what lies in space. These Alien species would prove to be one of the most aggressive species of extraterrestrial beings to have been discovered, rivaling those of the Arachnids from the planet Klendathu.

With the expansion of space travel and off world communities, the unknown has grown. Everyone has the fear of what could become the next biggest struggle in space. The universe is still vastly unexplored as we still have no understanding of where these Xenomorph originate from besides some theories. Plus with the new discovery of two more universes, the chances of encounters with other “threats” have grown. But one thing is clear; our future depends on the advancement of understanding. We must be prepared for what will come next, as well as understanding what has already arrived.

[Gojira21]

Chapter 1


Silence is probably the most disturbing force anyone could possibly experience. When it is quite, and there is no sound to occupy one’s mind, the mind becomes the ever repeating cacophony of static. A person can not escape the thoughts of one’s mind. They can only subdue it, whether it be through music or through reading. But thought’s are not always the only thing that can seep into the wave of noise nor are they the worse.

The worse is when the voices start.

A mind can not distinguish between thoughts and voices other than they are sound. However, the voices can take a precedence over everything else. Like a mighty lion fighting for its place in the jungle, the voice will crawl their way to the forefront of your consciousness and demand to be known. But no one really knows why the voices happen. There are theories but some seem to...outlandish to be considered a legitimate explanation.


The voices start of as a whisper. A rhythmic array of nuisance that bring no meaning. Soon the whisper is joined by a moan and something swirls in the darkness. As some semblance of vision comes to fruition, pain was the first thing to be felt and there was the whispers. If it wasn’t for the pain, the figure would probably be consumed by the whispers.

As his vision slowly returned, he felt a sharp pain travel through his body. His mind screamed from the pain and he felt short on of breath. The source of his affliction was not certain, as the figure could not pinpoint it. All he knew was that his whole body felt as if he had been beaten severely. Then there were the whispers. A moan escapes from him as he was able to finally fight through his protesting body and sit up right.

Slowly, the man tried to look around but it was dark. The darkness seemed to drift away into the unknown making the possibility of discerning where he is nearly impossible. Plus it did not help that along with the pain, the whispers, his head felt like it was spinning. His vision, when he could see, kept distorting making him see ghostly images. Or for his sake, he hoped they were just being caused by the throbbing headache he has right now. Another moan emits from the figure as he finally finds the strength to stand but he did it too fast.

The sudden change of pressure made his head cry out in pain and felt nausea encase his stomach. He stumbled on barely feeble legs and crashed against a wall. However, he was able to support himself with his arms preventing him from falling completely back down. The man takes a deep breath and tries to relax. But the whispers where there once again. Each little fragment of noise seemed to come from nowhere, but also seemed to be all around him. He became confused, how could a noise sound close but not be anywhere?

As he tried to fight through the static of his head and the shearing pain in his body, he pushes himself away from the wall. For a moment he wobbled, and immediately feared he would not be able to stand. However, a moment of clarity arrived and he took his first step. Then he felt some will ascend from within himself and before he knew it, he was walking. Albeit it was a slow, and his body was shaking. The only bad thing about this experience was he had no idea how exactly to leave this place or if he was even in a room.

Blindly, he fumbled around using his hands to guide him. The walls he touched felt oddly cold, and had a metallic feel to it. Some sections he felt what would be considered piping. He tried to remember where he could possibly be but he kept drawing blanks. Plus, he could swear that the whispers are slowly starting to become clearer…

After what felt like a lifetime, the man finally discovered an exit although it scared the living hell out of him. Upon placing his hands on the object, a sudden hissing noise assaulted him with the quick, wisp sound of air being released. Although he could not see, he felt certain that he had activated a pressurized door. What lies before him was not any different than what he had left. Darkness was still enemy. The only difference was the area felt narrower which probably indicated to him that this must be a hallway.

While he numbingly entered to the hall, he tried to yell out but the voice was caught in his throat. He noticed a dry sensation down his throat, it made him feel pain when trying to speak. He tried a second time and all that came out was a whimper. Nothing substantial. Gloomily, he moved to his right and continued his blind pursuit of an escape.

It was not long before the man noticed something. Or not necessarily a something but a multitude of somethings. First thing he noticed was the darkness was actually beginning to subside as a reddish hue color started to vibrant down the hall. Then he noticed the whispers were starting to become clearer, more distinct. The whispers also went along with a strong feeling he had in his chest...as if something was moving. But that was impossible. He swallowed away his concerns and tried to focus on the task at hand-escape. But why exactly he was following the vibrant red light, he was not sure.

As he continued down the long hallway, the darkness was completely gone and replaced by the red hue which seemed to actually grow stronger. Again the man felt nausea swell in the pit of his stomach along with more pain in his chest. It was starting to become hard to breath. Then he noticed something on the wall. He scrunched his eyes just to understand what he was looking at. There was writing on the wall. It said “Only in the end will we begin to understand the beginning.”

What the hell? thought the lone man, trying to consider what this was. Or more importantly who would write this on the wall. But as soon as he tried to back away from the wall, an immense pain shot through his chest. It was excruciating and uncomfortable. He felt something slithering up his chest and panic immediately overtook him. He fell to his knees with a barely audible scream and swiped at his chest. The pain continued to rise and blood was spewed out of his mouth. Right as he felt a bulge from his chest, his mind all of a sudden felt clear. Gone where the inconstant whispering, gone was the confusion and weariness. The only that was left to run through his consciousness was one simple phrase: It is time.

Then his vision went back to darkness.

[Gojira21]

Chapter 2


Earth, 2150


John Leary stands on a hill, lost in a stare that reaches up into the heavens. The sun, just barely coming out from behind a wall of clouds, radiates glorious rays of life down towards him. He felt the warmth and slightly smiles to himself. One can become lost in the warmth of the sun and feel their thoughts and worries just melt away. Even if it was only for a moment, it was enough to put the troubled mind of John to rest.

As he was basking in the brilliance of the sun, a fall breeze drops from the sky and blows across the valley below him. It blew across his face, making him remember just why he loved living alone in the middle of nowhere. The colors of the plants around him, the way the wind dances across the leaves of a branch, the way the animals interact with other give John a sense of life. A natural life without the use of artificial help. The serenity of nature made him feel free, the worries of the world are washed away. Here he is one with nature, and has come to appreciate the beauty, or the beauty of what is left.

Behind him a shadow descends upon him, wiping away the majestic sun. John looks up at the source and lets out a long sigh. As fast as his mind was subdued it was right back to the constant thoughts of his past.

John did not have to look up to know the source of the shadow. It was the strange silhouette of another planet. A planet that represents one of the more darker moments in earth’s history. The planet did not really have a name, but it is commonly referred to as Planet X. It was the last remnants of the Exodium war, one that nearly brought mother nature to her knees. A kid at the time, John does not remember much except that a particular nasty race of beings had almost successfully annihilated every living thing on the earth. If it was not for the incredible will of the human race and the help of the fabled Kaiju, all life would be another echo in the history books.

The vague memory of the war, one that had predated his time, made him realize how much he missed his father. John was just a year old when his father was drafted into the Marines, and his father would stay in that war as part of its memory. His father sacrificed his life to end the war. He was apart of a suicide mission that would thwart the Exodium Empire.

John removes an object from his pocket and looks at it with pride building in his eyes. It was the medal his family received from his father’s efforts in the war. When John turned 18, his mother gave it to him and it has become his most cherished object. However, the memories take him to another thought. A thought that brings more mystery than anything else.

Upon remembering certain moments, another noise echoes through the valley. It sounded mechanical, as the Whap, whap, whap of blades cutting through air was carried with the wind. John glances into the valley and notices a helicopter advancing towards him. He sighs again as he wonders what the meaning of this could be.



U.S.O. Space Station Alpha

Stars, a endless wave of bright, bulbous balls of gaseous material that give light to a relatively dark environment. Each one is similar but yet they seem to shimmer in a different way. One might appear to shine brighter than it’s neighbor, or another one might be shimmering faster or slower than the next. Perhaps the most unique quality of the stars is that they can form certain patterns or constellations that can ignite a onlookers curiosity. There are many of them, perhaps even more numerous than the amount of stars themselves.

There are some main constellations that are well known like The Little and Big Dipper, or Leo The Lion. Then there are ones that are more obscure to the masses like the Omega, or Therein, however, they vary from person to person. Some will have different views as to what they see and this continues to be a constant theme among viewers. The array of constellations that are known have constantly been growing as more systems and galaxies are discovered. However, there are some constellations that are mistakenly taken as something that they are not. What one might observe to be a image might be a group of planets, or moons.

This was no more prominent than in 2045, when a religious sect happened to be stargazing and discovered what they believed was a sign from Satan. They had seen a certain shape of stars that appeared to be a cross...only it was upside down. The sect caused great controversy over the “revelation” and would use it as proof that the end is nigh and lucifer would be the one to walk the earth. However, the foolishness of the religious sect was eventually brought to light when astronomers discovered that what was thought to be a constellation was actually a clustered group of space junk. Nothing more, nothing less.

From a distance, anyone could mistake a object to be a constellation. One such object is the massive space station that is floating through the stars. U.S.O Space Station Alpha could be mistaken for a horseshoe, with its massive U shape. But if one were to view the station from a birds eye view, they would notice it is much more than that. The station is a basic U shape, however, the bend of the U extends outwards with several protrusions. These outlets are all major functions of the station, varying from communications systems to barracks for any one of the several thousand occupants that reside on the vessel. A deformed hand would be a more fitting description of Alpha.

As the gleaming light from the stars reflect down upon the station, a massive port window stares back into the fray with a figure standing in front of it. The darkness was almost an extension of the man’s eyes as they are so dark no one would guess that they are brown. Some speculate that it could be from the man’s coldness as to the reason for all the darkness in the eyes. Afterall, the saying goes that the eyes are the window to the soul. The mystery is exactly what Armando Estrada would love his peers to believe. But what no one really knows is that Armando’s soul is plagued with many dark episodes, some that he would long to forget-but that’s the soul of a marine.

That is one reason why Armando enjoyed his current spot. Staring off into space had a calming factor over the imposing figure. Standing at 5 feet and 6 inches is not very threatening but add in the massive muscular frame, and people’s perspectives change. One would not think that this man, this soldier, would be the one to feel so much regret inside but Armando does and this moment of solitude is what soothes the restlessness.

While gazing at the beautiful expanse of space before him, Armando lets out a sigh and sometimes wonders why he decided to be a Marine. It was because of his mother and younger brother. Life growing up in Cuba was rough, and very few opportunities presented themselves...sometimes you had to out and make your own. It began with a lucky departure from Cuba, without his family. He wanted them badly and longed to be reunited, so Armando started a long career as fighter. Growing up on the streets made him a thick-skinned young boy, so he figured why not put it to good use. But that was not where his true passion resided...he desired to go to school, which was a main influence from his mother. That is, afterall, the reason why she sacrificed everything to get him across the pond to the United States of America; to live the american dream…

So that is what he did. He would go to school and fight with different circuits on the side. It was a long, and hard process but he eventually accomplished his goals. Plus, school surprisingly came very easy for Armando. He breezed through high school, which earned him a full ride to Stanford University where he would major in Psychology as he found a comfort in influencing the mind. Then he would later complete his graduate study and obtain a Master’s in Psychology which was put to use for Criminal and Forensic profiling. By this point in his life, Armando was finally able to pay for his family’s voyage to America. Soon after that, because of his amazing reputation he developed with the force, he was recommended for the Marines. From there, as the old saying goes, the rest was history.

Armando closes his eyes tries to relax his body. He had become tense in the last few minutes and was not sure why. Despite being only 26 and the youngest marine to reach the rank of Captain, he still felt the wear and tear on his body. His whole body has been through enough tours and damage that a 70 year old would experience. The most noticeable had to be his array of scars that align his chiseled face. The amount of scars present was anyone’s guess, even for himself. Armando had the opportunity to remove them but he opted against it because they serve as reminder to him. A reminder of how hard he has worked and how much of a struggle reality actually is.

A nonchalant voice rises from the audio system in the hallway that Armando was in and momentarily distracted him from his woes. The marine’s ears perk immediately to the calling of his own name, and felt his body tense up once again.

“Would Captain Armando Estrada please report to the briefing room. I repeat will Captain Armando Estrada please report to briefing room.”

Armando could only wonder this might entail and just where he will be sent to next.

[Gojira21]

Chapter 3

New London, United Kingdom


Nicolaus Bergen silently looked out the tiny expanse of a window from his apartment and looks around the city before him. The first signs of a storm roll listlessly down the glass as rain drops slowly begin to drift from the sky. Each pelt disrupts the weary scientist’s image, not that he cared much. His personage was not one he would consider ‘beautiful’, instead it would be more of the undesirable category of looks. However, that did not concern him as Nicolaus had no desire to mingle with the opposite sex. To him, relationships were a bore of his time. It amazed him how many people would spend so much precious time with insignificant annoyances-that's exactly how he viewed women; an annoyance.

Upon that thought, Nicolaus lets out a sigh and drifts away from his perch at the window. There was no point in lingering on something that had no merit to him.

Although Nicolaus was considered a recluse by many standards, there was one thing that he enjoyed the most: Nature. Being in the wild and out in the open gave the strange scientist the only real sense of freedom one could desire. There, among Mother Nature's greatest establishments, one can be separated from the feverish activity of the man constructed fortitudes. Nicolaus could spend hours, if not days, in that type of environment and longed to return to it.

But with the great environmental shift of the late 20 century, the natural solitudes have become scarce. Forced into extinction by the second greatest creation of Mother Nature: humans. It disgusted Nicolaus at how cruel his species have acted toward their environment, the very thing that gave way to their constructed homes and getaways. This was one reason why he liked to disassociate himself with people, because he despised their blatant disregard to anything around them. At times Nicolaus wished he wasn't human so he wouldn't have to be lumped into a classification with the Neanderthals.

All the memories of nature made him remember his faint, little home. Growing up in Poland was a...stressful one, to put it mildly. Because of his unusual intellectual superiority, he was treated with the disdain that always comes with something no one could understand. This gave way to bullying in school, which only led to a not so pleasant living arrangement. Being outside and among the wilderness gave him his escape from the manufactured world.

It was the beautiful, natural world outside of his home that gave Nicolaus peace. The one time he could just enjoy living and be himself. This became his solace, his escape that so many people strive to have. It even provided him a way to hide.

He once remembers a time where he fled into the woods to avoid his abusive stepdad. Since he had a thing for the darker type of clothes, this gave him a strategic advantage that he didn't realize. There were sections of the forest that Nicolaus could blend in easily as the light was fiercely blocked out by a canopy of thickly, meshed together tree branches. It was perfect for him.

So it was no coincidence that being in that world is what led him to want to work in the sciences. He became enthralled with Biology, mainly because it provided him a way to study an organism. Being in nature he observed many unique creatures that had always sparked his imagination and he decided to make it his passion. However, his obsession with studying terrestrial organism was just the beginning.

Ever since Nicolaus learned about extraterrestrial life, he became enamoured with studying alien life forms. It was his goal to become the top most expert on the biological clock work of any and all alien races-and there are a lot of them. Kind of ironic that someone who despises people wants to be the top in his field, which would require the interaction of people. Such a difficult world we live in thought Nicolaus as he approached his work space.

With a swift dance of his finger across a keyboard, his computer module comes to life. A warm, computer generated voice acknowledges its awakening from slumber and blinks to life his desktop. Nicolaus brings up a 3D hologram of his latest observations and smiles to himself. His latest project was the studying of a certain alien species, one that has become the most well known in the universe: Xenomorphs.

Nicolaus's eyes glowed with admiration and determination as no one has been able to fully understand such a delicate organism. To him, the creature was beautiful. More beautiful than any other creature he has seen, including the ones that inhabited Earth. What was more impressive was the model he was looking at; it wasn't some cheap end generated diagram that can be purchased but a fully detailed, panorama that could only be viewed to the military. How he received this model is only known to him nor did it mattered. The only thing that mattered was that he had a lot of work to accomplish.

[Gojira21]

Pintà Colony, Outside orbit of Planet Horizon


From the backlighting effect of the sun just sinking behind the planet Horizon, a circular object is illuminated. A dazzling array of colors danced across the vast expanse of space. Each ray of color jumping at a chance to reach out and away from their domain only to be met with external darkness.

On first inspection one would have thought the object was just another piece of space junk, the one of many that litter the systems. However, this metallic ring was something much more than that. This was something special, it was the Pintà Colony. Special because this colony was one of the very first to have been established as part of the Universal Space Expansion.

Unlike most of the colonies, however, Pintà was settled next to a planet that was to be terraformed. For whatever reasons that are not known to the public, the USO government shutdown the project only a few months into the terraforming. With the enforcement of the Colonial Marines, majority of the planet is off limits. Despite this setback, the parts of Horizon that have been retrofitted for life are open for the scientific community for study. Not that it mattered too much, as the Military kept a strict limit on to where the scientists could venture too.

Originally, the Pintà Colony was a mixture of your average colonist. Now it has become the temporary or permanent (depending on how want look at it) for scientist, the military, and one or two corporations. One of those corporations just happened to be the infamous Weyland-Yutani. There were very few "non" essential colonist left here.

The very presence of the nefarious Weyland-Yutani brought up many questions among the scientific body aboard the colony. One of those scientists who distrust them was Tempest Hills. Tempest Hills was, by comparison to the other scientists, different. Manly because she had the personage of someone who should probably be an actress or a model. To put it simply, she was beautiful and that was rarely something you would attribute to someone who lives in a lab coat.

With a stunning crop of red hair that ends at her shoulders, and the body of sprinter who wouldn't be stunned at her beauty? Or could just be the fact that she towers over most of her colleagues. At 6'3 Tempest was probably the tallest woman some of these men have ever seen. That brought a smirk to her face just your luck Tempy.

However, that beauty sometimes took others by surprise, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person. Some people would regard beauty coming with a price: that is they have a crummy attitude. While others would feel intimidated. It was rare to find someone who would not think so shallow of her...which is one of the reasons she despised being at this station. Everyone seemed to act different around her, as if she was inferior to their intellects. When, in theory, she was probably far superior than half the knuckleheads here. However, she had no choice on the matter as she was contracted by Weyland. Therefore she was obligated to be placed anywhere at their discretion.

Tempest takes a deep sigh of breath and tries to bury away her frustration at her employer's with the thought process that they pay for her bills. But it wasn't easy and neither was working for them. She always dealt with the constant feeling of being watched nor wasn't against the idea that Weyland-Yutani was spying on her. With a quick shake of her head, Tempest regains her focus and looks back at her reading layouts. After all, she didn't have time to poke at such ludicrous thoughts when she had important work to attend to. Being a Biochemist was a hefty duty, one that required her utmost attention.

A few minutes later Tempest releases a yawn and rubs between her eyes. She had been studying these chemical results for sometime now and it had started to take its toll on her. It was at the moment a sound rumbled from her bottomless pit, reminding her she hasn't eaten since breakfast. With a wondering expression she glances at her time stamp on her computer and gasps at how much time has passed. She had been looking over these sample readings for over three hours. Where did the time go? she quietly thought to herself and realizing just stiff her body has become from sitting in one spot for so long.

With a stretch of her arms, Tempest slowly pushes herself away from her desk and briskly heads for the exit of the lab. Just before exiting she glances over her shoulder back towards her work. For whatever reason she had this strange feeling about her work. Among all of her observations she almost forgot about how she noticed something...unusually about them. It wasn't anything too major, certainly not to point that she should report it but still something...

Another furious roar from her stomach brings her back to reality and she laughs at herself. She really need to get out more. With a slight chuckle, Tempest turns and leaves for the mess hall.