Dangerous Prey is a 2017 short story written by Scott Sigler, published by Titan Books as part of the anthology Aliens: Bug Hunt. Presented entirely from the point of view of several Xenomorphs, it depicts a deadly infestation on a colony world from the other side of the lines.
Plot[]
On an unidentified planet, a Hive of Xenomorphs have overrun a human colony and have now come into conflict with a group Colonial Marines dispatched to deal with the situation. One of the Drones has just survived a battle with the Marines that has claimed the lives of nine of its brethren. Badly wounded, it waits until it is sure the coast is clear, before collecting a wounded Marine and carrying them back to the Hive to be host for a Chestburster.
Arriving at the Hive, the Drone alerts the other Xenomorphs to the presence of the Marines and the threat that they pose. The Drone takes its captured prey to the Egg chamber and cocoons them to the wall. Now overcome by its injuries, the Drone heads to the Queen's chamber. Presenting itself before her, it sacrifices itself so that she might feed on its body and stave off her own impending death. Back in the Egg chamber, the cocooned host is subdued by a Facehugger.
Meanwhile, a large group of Drones have tracked the Marines to their camp. Realizing the need to rush through their superior firepower, the Xenomorphs attack from multiple sides at once, swarming into the camp and killing or capturing any that they find. Back in the Hive, a new infant Queen erupts from the cocooned Marine's chest. It is carried to the Queen's chamber, where the dying mother passes on her knowledge and feeds the infant vital nutrients so that she may grow large and strong.
Trivia[]
- The short is one of the few Alien franchise stories in which events are depicted from the perspective of the Xenomorphs. Other examples include the comic Do Aliens Dream?, the novelization of Alien Resurrection and the novels Alien: Sea of Sorrows and Alien: Prototype. Of these, Do Aliens Dream? and Dangerous Prey are the only ones in which the entire story is told from the Xenomorphs' point of view.
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