Cora Lanning was a research volunteer at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation's Menhit Biowarfare Science Facility. During a Xenomorph outbreak at the facility, Lanning was infected by a Xenomorph facehugger and implanted with a Xenomorph embryo. Dr. Martin Fowler injected Lanning with an experimental serum designed to slow the embryo's growth, and she was taken to the nearby Hygieia Colony alongside several survivors. However, despite appearances, Lanning was unaffected by the serum, and the Xenomorph chestburster inside her emerged at the colony, with the adult creature killing several colonists.