"So, the birth of life on Earth really was the work of this so-called Engineer civilization. Weyland's theory was correct, but he got one thing wrong: the Engineer civilization created life on Earth just as a casual experiment. In fact, they don't care about humans at all?" After Josh finished explaining everything about the Engineer civilization, a strange smile appeared on Vickers' face.
Actually, from the very beginning, she didn't agree with this Prometheus expedition. It was all just the desperate gamble of the dying Weyland, who hoped to find a way to extend his life from the Engineer civilization, which he called "Prometheus."
For this, the Weyland Corporation paid an unimaginable price.
After all, this kind of expedition, traveling dozens of light-years away, was Earth's very first attempt. The whole plan cost one trillion dollars.
In the end, Weyland Corporation had to sell almost half of its assets to a rival, the Yutani Corporation, just to barely scrape together enough money for the plan.
Who knows how the old man would feel if he realized that all the time, effort, and huge amounts of money he spent only got him nothing but his own wishful thinking.
Anyway, she felt nothing but schadenfreude. (TL/N: Schadenfreude means Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune)
Although Weyland was Vickers' father, she never felt any fatherly love from him. She was just an illegitimate daughter.
If it weren't for the huge inheritance of Weyland Corporation, she wouldn't care about the old man at all, let alone come all the way to this godforsaken place dozens of light-years away!
"You don't seem worried at all?" Josh asked curiously, seeing the smile on Vickers' face.
"Since you told me all this, it means you must have a way to solve my current problem, right?" Vickers replied with a smile.
Josh had also told her that the planet they were heading to, LV-223, wasn't really a home of Engineers, but a terrifying biological testing ground.
When she first heard this, Vickers was indeed worried about the safety of the trip.
Bioweapons—Vickers knew how scary they could be, especially ones made by a civilization far ahead of Earth.
But then she realized that since Josh said all this, he must have a way to help her. Isn't that what the Dimensional Trading System is for?
Trading what you have for what you need!
No wonder she could run a giant corporation—talking to people like her was just so easy.
So Josh didn't hesitate.
He put all kinds of goods up on the trading list for Vickers to see.
When she saw the descriptions of the items on the list, Vickers was completely stunned.
Is your side really in 1956? Not 6591?
Things like super soldier serum and vibranium were already shocking enough, but what's with the Star Destroyer? Does he think I've never seen Star Wars?
Of course, what she saw wasn't a real Star Destroyer, but a Acclamator-class assault ship . The real starships in the Star Wars universe hadn't even been built yet—our main character Anakin was still just a Jedi apprentice training hard at the Jedi Temple.
"Are all these things real?" Vickers asked in disbelief.
"I have no reason to lie to you, do I?" Josh shrugged.
"So how can I get these things? I'm sure you're not asking for US dollars!" Vickers took a deep breath and asked.
"Haha, smart. But you don't need to worry too much. I'm always very generous. I can let you have a batch of goods on credit. As for repayment, it's simple—the things on planet LV-223 are the best payment, aren't they?" Josh explained his idea right away.
"…You mean you want to use my world as a testing ground for researching those bioweapons?" Vickers' face changed after hearing Josh's words.
"It's a fair deal, isn't it? Even if you don't study those things, once Earth finds out about them, they'll research them anyway. So why not do it yourself? In the process, you can gain more wealth and power than Weyland Corporation ever had. If you want, with my help, you could even rule the whole Earth and start a new interstellar human civilization!" Josh said casually.
Yes, his goal was the Xenomorphs, those strange creatures.
The Engineer civilization's technology was advanced, but Josh thought it probably wasn't much stronger than the Star Wars universe.
But Xenomorphs had huge research potential.
They were just too dangerous and hard to control, so Josh didn't want to bring them to his own world—Prometheus' world was the perfect testing ground.
He would provide resources and technology, Vickers would do the work—a fair trade.
Josh's words made Vickers' face change again. To turn the whole world into a bioweapon testing ground… if those terrifying creatures got loose, she couldn't even imagine the consequences.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much. With the technology I give you, which is far beyond your world's, and even some magical help, you can keep the danger to a minimum. Of course, if you really don't want to, that's fine too. Take this super soldier serum as a gift—if you find anything else valuable, contact me." Josh finished speaking, sent over a super soldier serum, and was ready to end the call.
"No, I agree!" Vickers understood this was just Josh's way of pushing her to say yes, but she also knew that, except for the things on LV-223, she really had no way to bargain with Josh.
She was always ambitious, so she quickly figured it out.
After all, it wasn't her who would die, so what was there to be afraid of?
"Smart choice! So next…" Seeing Vickers agree, Josh smiled with satisfaction.
…
"Ma'am, the mission briefing is about to start. Are you feeling unwell?" The android David stood outside Vickers' cabin, speaking into the intercom.
Earlier, Vickers had ordered him to leave, so he shouldn't have come back.
But now, more than an hour had passed. He had already helped wake up all the crew from hibernation and arranged their meals and everything else.
Next, Vickers was supposed to host the pre-landing mission briefing.
But she still hadn't shown up.
This was very unlike her.
David was worried—not for her safety, but for the progress of the mission. After all, he only took orders from Weyland, who was still in hibernation.
As for the others… they saw him as a tool, and he saw them the same way.
Vickers was no exception.
"Wait a moment, I'll be right there!" After a while, Vickers' voice came from inside, making David feel a bit better.
If there had been no answer, he might have forced the door open—not by breaking it down, but by hacking the electronic lock. Even though he was an android, he couldn't break through a door that thick.
A few minutes later, the door opened.
Vickers walked out, neatly dressed and looking full of energy.
"Ma'am, are you really all right?" David asked, still a bit worried.
"Of course. I've never felt better!" Vickers actually smiled at David, which surprised him.
In his memory, Vickers had never smiled at him before.
"But you might not feel so good next!" While David was still surprised, Vickers suddenly put her hand on his cheek.
"Ma'am?" Even as an android, David was uncomfortable with this sudden closeness. He tried to pull away, but found he couldn't.
How was this possible? He was an android—he should be much stronger than a human.
But Vickers' grip just got stronger, and her face turned fierce.
The next second, she twisted David's head right off his body.
"How did you do that? Why?" Even with his head off, David could still talk and looked at Vickers in confusion.
"Because I've received the true gift of the gods. That old man can't control me anymore. And you, the monster he created, can go to hell!" Vickers sneered and crushed David's head.
She had hated this android for years. He dared to take her place in Weyland's heart—unforgivable!
So after getting her new power, the first thing she did was get rid of this disgusting android.
Next, it's your turn… you old man!
A cruel look flashed in Vickers' eyes, but behind it was a hint of sadness.
Then, a squad of robot soldiers appeared behind her.
"You, come with me. The rest of you, take over the ship, capture everyone and lock them up. If anyone resists, kill them!" Vickers ordered coldly.
Now she had soldiers, she had power, and if needed, she could get a new ship anytime—she had nothing to fear!
"Yes, ma'am!" The robot soldiers replied in unison. Five followed Vickers, while the rest quickly moved in tactical formation to different parts of the ship.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, most of the crew were drinking coffee and chatting about the mission, not knowing what was happening.
"You look a bit nervous, Ellie!" Charlie Holloway teased his girlfriend, Elizabeth Shaw.
"Of course, my legs are shaking!" Elizabeth Shaw laughed.
"What do you think they'll say when they find out our real purpose?" Holloway pointed to some crew members chatting nearby.
"They'll probably think we're crazy!" Elizabeth smiled, but she clearly didn't care what others thought.
"Hey, what are you?!" Suddenly, the captain shouted in surprise.
They looked over and saw the black captain get hit by a red beam and fall silent. Then, a group of armed robots they had never seen before rushed onto the bridge.
"Everyone, you are now under arrest. Do not resist, or you will be killed!"
The sudden change shocked everyone.
"No, you can't do this! Why?" Elizabeth Shaw was stunned by the captain's death.
"Ma'am, please cooperate!" A robot soldier pointed a gun at her.
"Ellie, don't!" Holloway tried to stop her.
"Why are you doing this? Didn't Weyland Corporation bring us here to uncover the secrets? We haven't even landed yet!"
But Elizabeth just wouldn't stop arguing with the robots.
So, with a zap—
The robot soldier fired, and Elizabeth Shaw's head exploded like a watermelon right in front of everyone.
Just like the Engineer's head they found in the original story.
Seeing his lover die, Holloway was stunned too, but the robots quickly pushed him and the rest of the crew into the multipurpose hall.
It used to be for meetings and exercise, but now it was a prison.
Surrounded by armed robots, they had no idea what would happen next.
Meanwhile, Vickers, with five robot soldiers, went to the most secret part of the ship—Weyland's hibernation pod.
There were four crew members guarding Weyland, but they couldn't resist the robots.
"Come on, father, let me show you your creator you always wanted to meet!" Vickers sneered as she touched the pod.
Then she pressed the button to wake him up.
--
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