Gabriel Cruz

"For the last twenty years, every time I step into an elevator or any other tight space, I'm right back in that goddamn tube... Pounding on the glass as I feel the Alien in my chest begin to stir. Every night in my dreams, I'm back in the nest...Strung up between the hollowed-out corpses of my teammates...Staring my own death in the face. Lucas was right to be afraid. We should be afraid. I've seen what's out there...And by now, you have, too."

―Gabe to Danny Cruz (from Alien: Bloodlines)

Gabriel Cruz was a former Weyland-Yutani defence agent and survivor of multiple Xenomorph encounters. He was directly responsible for W-Y's first procurement of a Xenomorph specimen after having his Chestburster surgically removed by them aboard Epsilon Station in 2180.^[1]

Thirteen years after the incident on the Hadley, Gabriel was assigned by the Company to neutralize vigilantes who overran Nishimura Station by unleashing an Alien organism.

Seven years after the incident at Nishimura, Gabriel was covertly assigned by the Company to infiltrate a deteriorating Epsilon and retrieve a Xenomorph specimen following a recent outbreak caused by his son, Danny.

Though he managed to save a facehugged Danny from death with the assistance of his Synthetic counsellor, Bishop, he was ultimately killed battling the Alpha, the Xenomorph that was extracted from inside of him.

Biography[]

Early Life[]

Gabriel was originally a member of the Weyland-Yutani Defence Force. At some point he would meet his wife and father two children, Lucas and Danny.

First Xenomorph encounter aboard the Hadley[]

"How do you think the company got these animals? Every time I close my eyes, I'm back in that goddamn hypersleep tube."

―Cruz (from Alien: Bloodlines)

In the year 2180, He and his squad were assigned to investigate the livestock and freight vessel, Hadley adrift in space.

ABAlpha4 — Cruz has the Alpha surgically removed from inside him.

Upon boarding the ship, they encountered a herd of large Corcoran Highland Goats, bloodied with bizarre marks on their faces. The squad was subsequently attacked by a horde of Xenomorphs born from the goats; every other member had either been killed or impregnated, and Cruz was facehugged alongside the others. He was suddenly saved by the squad's Bishop model, and the two retreated back to their dropship, in which Bishop put Cruz in a Hypersleep chamber, mere minutes before his birthing. Cruz was taken to Epsilon Station, where he had his Chestburster surgically removed, giving the Company their first ever Xenomorph specimen - the Alpha.

The outcome of the operation would see Cruz resign from service as a company hero, lauded for his efforts, and he then became chief of security aboard Epsilon. He would also assist the science division in its research. This greatly estranged his relationship with Danny, who went on to despise the company following events that entailed the death of Lucas; during Cruz's mission aboard the Hadley, Lucas and Danny were playing within the depths of Epsilon before Lucas was suddenly caught inside an unmarked maintenance shuttle and fell into a connection shaft, were he ultimately suffocated and died. Cruz's wife sued the Company, but upon his return, they convinced Cruz to drop the lawsuit, causing his wife and Danny to leave him for the United Americas.

The nightmare at Nishimura[]

In the year 2193, anti-Weyland-Yutani vigilantes known as the Second Hand Movement overran Nishimura Station, and the Company responded by sending Gabriel and a select group of soldiers, aboard the USS Francis Marion, to neutralize the coup attempt by unleashing a new bio-weapon, an Alien organism known as the Epsilon strain, to test its real-world application.

Aboard the USS Francis Marion, Chief Cruz prepared for his mission while Charlie secretly initiated his own pre-determined operation by exposing a previously detained human subject to a Xenomorph egg and the facehugger within, impregnating its host with the aforementioned Epsilon strain.

Meanwhile, the Marion had approached Nishimura Station, but was fired upon by a series of offensive anti-aircraft rockets that partially damaged the Marion's radio and homing beacon in the process. Four days went by before the crew successfully sent a distress call, only to watch Nishimura Station get nuked a day later, presumably by the Company, who purposefully left the crew of the Marion adrift in space with the Xenomorph on board.

Over the next several days, Charlie, who had previously hidden the crews arsenal of explosive and incendiary rounds in a locked compartment, went on to kill a number of crew members and ultimately revealed himself to be a Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2 synthetic, designated Ash, ordered to conduct a trial run experiment with the Epsilon strain Xenomorph aboard the Marion.

Before Ash could follow through with its directive, Gabriel, the lone survivor of the entire ordeal, found a weapon and used it to destroy Ash's synthetic body before escaping the Marion, unharmed, in a Type 337 EEV, unknowingly leaving Ash's active AI behind to collect and transmit datalogs on the Xenomorph.

Since then, Gabriel remained incredibly distant with his family, and he would also receive counselling from a Bishop-model synthetic in regards to the incident, detailing strange nightmares he was suffering from. At some point in time, Cruz began suffering from an illness that he deliberately kept from his son.

Retirement and return to Earth[]

"Once I settle in on Earth, I hope to spend as much time as I can with my son. It's been way too long for us. I'm looking forward to catching up...Getting to know the man he's become. You're all doing important work here -- crucial work for the survival of our species. Don't listen to the conspiracy theorists, the detractors and the naysayers. Weyland-Yutani are the good guys."

―Cruz (from Alien: Bloodlines)

AGabriel2 — Cruz arguing with his son, Danny.

In the year 2200, due to his illness, the Company forced Cruz into retirement. Cruz would attend a retirement party dedicated to him headed by Wey-Yu executive, Ted Reynolds, in which he gave an inspirational speech about how the company were the "good guys". Gabriel returned to the United Americas, within Earth, hoping to spend more time with Danny. Within his luxury apartment, Gabriel was visited by Danny, who was covertly a member of an anti-Wey-Yu terrorist group known as the Minute Hand Movement, sent by them to retrieve a security card in his father's possession. Cruz attempted connect with his son, but an argument promptly broke out between the two in regards to Gabriel's continued affiliation with the company following Lucas' death. Cruz, disappointed, allowed his son to leave.

Cruz suffered another nightmare the following the night, and discussed it with a new Bishop the next day. Bishop encouraged Cruz to talk to Danny over the Xenomorph encounter, and reveal his illness to him.

Mission aboard Epsilon[]

"This op's off the books. Nobody else is coming, and we're definitely not leaving. They don't even expect us to make it back. They only greenlit the op as a favor to me. But if we try to go home without the thing they sent us here for...We'd be better of staying here. I can tell you that from experience."

―Cruz to Hamilton (from Alien: Bloodlines)

The following morning, Cruz was called by Ted, who informed him that not only of Danny's actions, but that the station had plummeted into chaos and was slowly falling out of orbit. Due to Cruz' affiliation with Danny, he was to travel to the station, retrieve the 'Alpha Embryo', lest he face life imprisonment for corporate terrorism. Cruz accepted on the condition that Danny is given total immunity in court. He also requested five Combat Androids to accompany him, though Ted informed him that he will only receive two human Wey-Yu defence agents - Hamilton and Lewandowski.

Cruz travelled within a dropship to the station. He reminisced on his disastrous mission aboard the Hadley whilst the two other agents arrogantly teased him. They subsequently boarded the station, only to find it in ruins. After exploring the interior, Cruz was shocked to find the Alpha Embryo absent from the lab. The three suddenly encountered the scientist, Dorsey, before they were all attacked by Facehuggers. Lewandowski was subsequently killed by an emerging Drone, his ribcage ripped out with its claws.

Cruz and Hamilton attempted to send the creature back with Pulse-Rifle-fire - stray gunfire from the dying Lewandowski eventually caused the Drone to grab him and retreat into the depths of the station. Hamilton eventually concluded that they were wholly underequipped for the job, and should leave the station immediately. Cruz refuted this, stating that if they were to leave without the Alpha, they would be better off at the station.

Upon fending off two Xenomorphs, the three encounter Mitch, a resident aboard the station and acquaintance of Cruz, mourning the loss of his granddaughter, Trudy. Upon noticing Facehugger facial marks on him, however, Cruz shot him point blank in the back of the head. He suddenly held Dorsey at gunpoint. 'Dorsey' revealed herself to be Iris Humphries, a member of the Minute Hand Movement. She promptly retreated after a Chestburster exploded out of Mitch's corpse and attacked the two.

A Drone suddenly ripped open a door and prepared to attack them. However, the Epsilon Bishop suddenly appeared and saved the two, fending off the creature with an M240 Flamethrower.

Retrieving Danny[]

"I can still feel the Alien flailing around in my chest. I still hear them. Buzzing in my head. And I know it doesn't make any sense...But I swear...Something out there is still looking for me. Danny too now."

―Cruz (from Alien: Bloodlines)

Bishop went on to escort Cruz and Hamilton to the station's hive, but to Cruz's horror, they encountered Danny, cocooned and facehugged. Heartbroken, Cruz tearfully drew his handgun, intending to put his son out of his misery. Before he could do so, however, Iris emerged and held him at gunpoint, desiring to save him regardless of the improbability. Bishop agreed with Iris, but Cruz angrily claimed that it was his decision to make, revealing to them his efforts in giving the company their first Xeno specimen.

Ultimately, however, Cruz was swayed by Iris and Bishop's reasoning, and under the duress of a horde of Xenomorphs, he took Danny with him as the group fled the nest. Cruz and the others eventually reached the docking bay. Hamilton was killed in the chaos, and Cruz subsequently locked the docking bay's hatch, sealing them inside the station. Hearing the sound of the fully-grown Alpha tailing them, Cruz had Bishop and Iris go to one of the station's exec quarters that was outfitted with a life-raft. Knowing that the Alpha was bent on retrieving Danny for the embryo he carried, Cruz opted to take the "long way around" and fled with his son as the Alpha chased after him.

Fleeing from the Alpha[]

"I don't care about the Alien. I'm not giving up another son for this. I gave everything to this goddamn place. My marriage...My kids... My entire life. Their damn bioweapon can burn up in the atmosphere, along with everything else I sacrificed here. I choose Danny. And we need to get this thing out of him."

―Cruz (from Alien: Bloodlines)

Cruz retreated from the Alpha, impaled in the shoulder by its tail during the struggle. Eventually, Cruz managed to reunite with Bishop and Iris at the entrance of the life-raft, the Alpha and a horde of Xenos following closely behind. The three quickly entered the executive quarters, and Cruz threw a belt of grenades in his wake towards the Alpha.

Though safe from the Xenomorph threat, Cruz was devastated to discover that the pod's hypersleep tube had been destroyed, and desperately attested to Bishop to perform a manual surgery on him to save him at any cost. Suddenly, Iris shot Bishop in the head, presumably destroying him and briefly knocking out Cruz.

Escaping the station and Sacrifice[]

"I thought I'd see her again at the end. The one in the dark. But I don't. I see an old family photo that I haven't seen in years. Lucas, Danny, their mom, all looking happy and beautiful. It makes it all worth it, seeing them one last time like they were...Their whole lives ahead of them...In a world without monsters."

―Cruz moments before his death (from Alien: Bloodlines)

Whilst Iris was contacting her superiors on a terminal, Bishop, who survived the attack, disabled Iris by breaking her neck with the butt of a Pulse Rifle. Cruz was shocked to see that Iris actually a synthetic who possessed her own free will. She subsequently informed Gabriel on the female figure he kept seeing in his dreams; that she was the "inevitable end result" of what happened when humans attempted to tame the Xenomorph species - "Prometheus' cleansing fire" that "keeps the universe clean". She went on to blame Cruz for humanity's downfall, and that it was he who doomed the human race for finding Prometheus' fire and bringing it home, before subsequently deactivating.

ABBishop11 — Cruz begs Bishop to save Danny.

Cruz continued begging Bishop to perform the surgery on Danny, but before they could proceed, they were interrupted by Ted Reynolds. However, Ted contacted Cruz on a terminal. Despite knowing Danny since he was a child, Ted blackmailed Cruz and stated that if they attempted remove the embryo, he would remote lock their pod and deliberately initiate a fall from orbit, killing him and Bishop. Conversely, if he left Danny as he was, he would receive full immunity, be compensated handsomely and receive "the undying gratitude of the company." Cruz angrily rejected Ted's blackmail, before observing that Ted, a former Defence Agent, had called in sick prior to his squad's fateful mission twenty years ago; he subsequently asked him if he knew all along about the Xenomorph presence aboard the Hadley. Ted hesitated, before signing off and disabling the station's engines.

ABCruzdeath — The Alpha and Cruz are killed after being propelled into space.

With the station plummeting, Cruz donned a compression suit to manually detach the life-raft from the station. However, whilst separating the line from an air tank, he was attacked by the Alpha who had stowed outside the raft. With the Alpha charging him, Cruz plunged his Maintenance Jack into the Alpha's head, the resulting acid blood coming into contact with the air tank, causing an explosion that propelled both the Alpha and Cruz into space. Though Cruz believed that he would see the 'one in the dark' once again, he instead saw a family photo of his wife and sons, taking solace his last moments. Both Cruz and the Alpha ultimately burned to death after being propelled into Earth's atmosphere.

Personality and Traits[]

"The Alien isn't the monster. It just does what it does. Just an animal protecting its young I can't hate it for that. But Danny's my son, too. And I already gave up a son so this thing could live. I won't do it again."

―Cruz (from Alien: Bloodlines)

Gabe was a conflicted individual. Through lifelong servitude to the Company, Cruz was ultimately led to believe Wey-Yu to be the "good guys", with their efforts in the progression of the human race. He also cared deeply for his son, in spite of the tumultuous relationship they shared following his decision to drop his wife's lawsuit against the Company - it was largely his will to save his son that motivated his survival aboard Epsilon, and he ultimately gave his life to save Danny.

However, despite his hero status within the Company and amongst its personnel, his association with Weyland-Yutani acquiring their first Xenomorph specimen deeply scarred him, and he was more than aware of its underhanded and morally ambiguous side, also knowing full-well that he was ultimately a corporate pawn in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, Cruz was content with the comfortable life he had chosen under Company supervision, and was naturally opposed to enemies of Wey-Yu that could upset this life, namely the Minute Hand Movement.