**Ch. 23 The Queen Doesn't Take Bishop**
As they approached the *Sulaco*, Ripley's voice crackled over the comms from the co-pilot seat. "I have visuals on the mothership. We're almost home, guys."
A sense of relief swept through the team—but not everyone shared it. Biscuit, Xuan, and Zheng kept a wary eye on their surroundings, knowing full well the danger wasn't over yet.
Kris, still somewhat dazed, felt a nudge from Biscuit—a subtle reminder to stay vigilant. Though exhaustion weighed heavily on him, he knew their mission wasn't complete.
The dark, empty stretches of space between them and the *Sulaco* seemed almost hostile, each moment dragging as they inched closer to what felt like an inevitable final confrontation with the alien queen.
Zheng glanced at the weary faces of the remaining crew members. He could see faint glimmers of hope in their eyes, but he knew it was premature. His gut twisted. He couldn't bring himself to shatter their relief with the truth: the nightmare wasn't over.
His gaze met Kris's, eyes pleading. He needed to believe that the man he'd once underestimated had a plan. Kris locked eyes with Zheng, his expression a mix of hopelessness and resolve. He started to shake his head, as if to let Zheng down gently, but to Zheng's surprise...
Kris slowly straightened, dragging himself up along the dropship's wall, despite the strain his recent efforts had put on him. His voice was hoarse but filled with determination as he addressed the crew.
"Listen up, everyone. This isn't over yet," he said, his words sharp, slicing through the tension. "We still have to make it back to civilization. We're going to expose what happened here and seek justice for all the souls lost on that rock."
The words struck a chord. The mounting complacency shifted. Kris could see their faces harden, their resolve reignited. The weight of survival was still heavy, but for a brief moment, hope burned a little brighter in their eyes. Kris could only hope his call to vigilance would be enough to keep them from becoming casualties.
---
After the pep talk, Kris went over to Biscuit and, in a low voice, asked, "Master, could you use your nen to locate the Queen?"
Biscuit exhaled an exasperated sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Ever since we left the facility, I've been using *EN* to monitor the dropship. But I can't detect her when she's not openly projecting hostility toward us."
"Shit! I was hoping we could preemptively attack her the moment we dock on the *Sulaco*."
"It can't be helped. This creature's too... unpredictable. I even tried using *GYO*, hoping to spot her, but honestly, I wouldn't know what to look for."
"Okay, thanks. I guess we have no choice but to do it the hard way. But we need to fix this. We may have prepared, but we're still poorly equipped."
"No amount of preparation or planning could solve everything, brat. The best thing you can do is get strong—strong enough to not flinch when this kind of shit happens."
"You can't count on me too much either," Biscuit muttered. "I'm only as strong as the current amount of Nen I have."
Biscuit's gaze sharpened. "It's only thanks to the experience and control I've honed over years that I can manage this."
---
"Alright, everyone. We're entering the docking now," Ripley announced. "I'll open the hatch in a while so everyone can get to the med bay and hopefully, some of us can get a hot shower."
Before Ripley could do so, Kris cut in. "Belay that, Ripley. I'm still having that bad feeling I got at the facility."
Ripley's voice over the comms was cautious. "What's your plan, Kris?"
"Listen up. I want all injured and non-combat personnel to stay on the ship for now. The rest of us will check the ship."
"Also, Bishop, use the ship's comms to warn non-combat personnel not to approach the hangars. We might need to quarantine this area just in case any of those parasite things tagged along."
Bishop's voice crackled with acknowledgment. "On it, sir!"
---
The moment the dropship fully docked, the marines moved out of the hatch to secure the area. Kris, followed by Biscuit and Zheng, inspected the dropship, checking every corner.
But they found nothing.
Frustration simmered beneath Zheng's calm exterior. "What the hell is going on? Why isn't the alien queen showing up? We even used the life-sign detector."
He leaned in toward Kris and whispered, "Did you get a notification saying you killed the queen?"
"Actually, I didn't." Kris frowned. "That's why I thought she was still alive. But if she died in that explosion... maybe God didn't count it as our kill since we didn't kill her directly."
Kris ran a hand through his hair, tension mounting. "Okay, for now, bring the lieutenant and everyone to the med bay. We'll meet up with the others later. If we truly did kill the queen—even if not directly—why is the mission still not over? Ripley, Newt, and Higgs are already on board. Are they still not safe?"
---
As soon as the main door leading to the ship's corridor opened, the away team was greeted by Jie, Zero, Kampa, and Mr. Nice Guy.
Jie was the first to speak, his tone almost too polite. "I take it your end of the mission did not go as planned, sir?"
Kris studied Jie, a sharp edge to his gaze. *No doubt this little dog-and-pony show is for the movie characters.*
Without missing a beat, Kris responded, "You can say that again. This shit went FUBAR even before good marines started dropping like flies."
Kris glanced around, noting that the rest of Team China was absent. He raised an eyebrow at Jie.
"And everything went smoothly on your end? Still pouting because you couldn't join the turkey shoot?"
A vein popped on Jie's forehead, clearly annoyed—Kris had struck a nerve. While the lieutenant had appointed members to the Away Team, Jie, Lan and Kampa were the only ones from J Squad who hadn't been chosen.
This had irritated Jie to no end, especially after Xuan had humiliated the others. Tensions were high among those left behind.
Kris couldn't help but chalk it up to "God" punishing Jie for not doing his job.
Ignoring Jie's mood, Kris pressed on. "Walk with me, private. As acting C.O., with the lieutenant incapacitated, I want a full debrief on what happened."
Kris enjoyed the roleplay, relishing the moment as he got under Jie's skin. He couldn't resist poking fun at him—especially after Jie had treated him harshly before.
---
The scene shifted to a briefing room. All of Team China was present, except for the troublemakers and the ones injured.
Jie began the debrief, informing the away team of what had transpired during their absence.
"So, you're telling me those slimy bastards thought they weren't in a movie?" Kris said, incredulous. "A mega-power company and a foreign government figured out space travel and kidnapped them?"
"And they thought they could blackmail Li Shuaixi to get a slice of the pie?" Kris clarified, still dumbfounded.
"Those guys were delirious... and they even hired those three hooligans as thugs?" Zheng added, shaking his head.
The others exchanged glances, torn between anger and laughter. The situation was so absurd it was almost hard to believe.
Xuan began narrating what had happened on the away mission, but when he reached the part about the queen and her nest, Kampa interjected.
"Wait, my Mandarin isn't great. Just want to clarify—did you say the queen's nest was in the big terraforming facility? How come Zheng found one under the south facility?"
Kris, a little tired of the constant interruptions, answered for them, his voice steady. "We don't know."
"Maybe they moved their nest after the firefight with the marines."
"That could explain why they stopped attacking when we were holed up in that area."
"There's still a lot we don't understand."
"But the main concern now is... why hasn't the mission ended?"
"And what parameters have we not completed yet?"