version 4 - The Alien Encyclopedia

sure and gravitation. The ATV NR6 featured variable-friction axes for both front and rear threads,increasing security and mobility on a variety of terrain conditions. Weyland first claimed the patentfor this vehicle on February 11, 2052. Later, several ATV NR6 vehicles were used during the LV-223 incident in 2093. (PR:WIW)Auriga: A USM research vessel involved in the Xenomorph outbreak which became known as theAuriga incident in 2381. Spanning over 3,5 kilometers in length, the further specs of the Auriga arekept secret, although a prominent feature is a large docking shaft, opening to the ventral side. In thelate 24 th century, the Auriga was assigned to be the location for a project to clone Ellen Ripley andharvest the Alien Queen that died with her. For this purpose, the Auriga was set on a course in theouter reaches of the Sol system, far outside of the local trading routes. The ship was also equippedwith research facilities customized to hold a limited number of Xenomorph specimens and an artificialintelligence mainframe called FATHER tasked with automating and supervising operations.During the outbreak, FATHER directed the Auriga's course towards the USM home base, Earth, followingprotocol for a case of emergency. However, the android Call managed to access the mainframeand re-direct its course to crash on an uninhabited part of the African continent. A short timelater, the Auriga was destroyed during the impact, taking all Xenomorphs aboard with it. (A:RES)Auriga incident: The events surrounding and including the cloning of Ripley and the subsequentXenomorph infestation aboard the USM research vessel Auriga in 2381.In the aftermath of the Fury 16 incident in 2179, a Weyland-Yutani research team collected geneticsamples of Ellen Ripley from the infirmary of the penal colony and put them into storage for possibleuse later on. After the downfall of Weyland-Yutani, these samples found their way into possessionof the United States Military. By the end of the 24 th century, technology had advanced to a statewhere the cloning of a human being became possible. In order to harvest the Xenomorph organismfor study, the United States Military initiated a project to clone Ripley and the Queen embryo insideher aboard the USM research vessel Auriga. This project was not authorized by the United Statesgovernment, and the Auriga was placed on a location on the far reaches of the Sol system to avoidunwanted attention. While General Perez was assigned as the military commander of the operation,the science was led by Dr. Mason Wren.It took years for the project to succeed. The first seven clones that managed to surpass the microscopicstage were monstrous failures, twisted hybrids of human and Xenomorph biology. As theseclones were nonviable, let alone be able to host the Queen embryo, they were discarded and put intostasis storage. However, in 2381, the science team under guidance of Dr. Wren was successful:Ripley 8 was a perfect replica of the deceased woman, at least on the outside, and due to acceleratedgrowth therapy, she grew from an infant to an adult in roughly a month. However, there were severalside effects: Ripley 8 was stronger and faster than an ordinary human and wounds healed on ahighly accelerated speed. Another legacy of the Xenomorph were genetically stored memories ofthe old Ripley, although those memories only resurfaced slowly. In the end, these characteristicswere of of secondary interest to the scientists, who followed their main objective and surgically extractedthe Queen embryo from the host and put her into a holding facility, where she transformedinto full size within days. On the request of his assistant Dr. Gediman, Wren allowed Ripley 8 to remainalive for further study.With the Queen secured, the second phase of the Auriga project began. General Perez had contactedan acquaintance of his, the smuggler Frank Elgyn, and in exchange for hard cash, Perez struck adeal with Elgyn to procure and deliver human host bodies to the Auriga. Elgyn and the rest of hisband of smugglers proceeded to hijack a passenger liner en route to Xarem and transfer the occupiedcryosleep tubes to their own ship, the Betty. Soon after, the Betty arrived at the Auriga anddocked with the ship. The goods were exchanged, and with Perez's blessing, the crew decided tostay on board for a few days. The scientists immediately began with the impregnation process.Within a short time, a population of twelve adult Xenomorphs was cultivated.What nobody knew was that there was someone among the crew of the Betty who had her very own