Timothy Hoenikker

Timothy Hoenikker
Biographical Information
Date of birth	June 7. 2172
Place of birth	Brooklyn, NY
Nationality	American
Rank	Staff consultant
Relatives	Unnamed sister
Affiliation	Weyland-Yutani Corporation United States Colonial Marine Corps
Status	Alive as of 2202
Physical Description
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Brown
Other Information
Notable facts	Survived an uncontrolled Xenomorph outbreak on both LV-895 and the Katanga refinery
Portrayed by	Mark Whitten (Aliens: Fireteam Elite, voice)

"[Just talk into this? Okay.] Hello."

―Timothy Hoenikker addressing the Marine fireteam on LV-895 over video link (from Aliens: Fireteam Elite)

Dr. Timothy Hoenikker was a theoretical archeologist employed by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. After enduring a tragic childhood accident and losing both of his parents, Hoenikker qualified as a scientist and was posted to the world of LV-895, where he became involved with experiments using a mysterious pathogen. Events soon spiraled out of control and Hoenikker found himself trapped on the orbital refinery Katanga surrounded by Xenomorphs. Later rescued by a Colonial Marine fireteam, Hoenikker served in an advisory role to the Marines as they strove to contain the situation on both Katanga and LV–895.

Biography

Early life

Timothy Hoenikker was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 7, 2172, the only son of a well–heeled couple who died in a house fire. He never married and, around the 2180's, had the required grades to get a full ride at university. In his student years, Hoenikker dated Monica Enright; however, Hoenikker ended the relationship over fears that it would affect his future career.

Hoenikker earned a Doctorate in Xeno-Anthropology at Weyland University's Mars campus, taking classes in terrestrial archeology and exo-planetary sciences. During his studies, Hoenikker came to idolize Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, archeologists who had disappeared in 2093 during the Prometheus expedition.

Twenty years later, now a theoretical archeologist and working for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation in an executive capacity, Hoenikker was convinced by his friend Stokes to accept a position studying alien artifacts at the Weyland-Yutani research outpost Pala Station on the jungle planet of LV-895. Hoenikker accepted the post, in part due to his ambition to become a renowned expert in alien anthropology.

Arriving at Pala Station

"Please, call me Tim. Or if you must, just Hoenikker."

―Hoenikker introducing himself to Étienne Lacroix

Timothy Hoenikker

On January 12th, 2202, Hoenikker arrived at Pala Station. Upon arrival, he was greeted by the station's reception tech and veteran Colonial Marine Victor Rawlings, and received a quick tour before being introduced to Med-Lab Section Chief Mansfield and fellow scientists Dr. Erin Kash and Dr. Étienne Lacroix. Hoenikker soon learned that he would not be studying alien artifacts as promised, but instead testing the effects of a pathogen of unknown origin on living specimens Rat-X and Leon-895.

At the science lab, Hoenikker bonded with Kash, who told him about her past as a surgeon at a hospital in a mining colony six months prior. Their conversation was cut short when Cruz arrived, informing them that the acid-spitting Rat-X had melted its way out of its cage. After the incident, Cruz used the compromised containment unit as an improvised shooting range, and taught Hoenikker how to use a weapon.

When rats with implanted PDTs were discovered, the existence of a mole inside the station was mooted. Hoenikker suggested hacking the signal and checking the movements of employees around the site where it was found. Because the rats had been brought to the station recently, Hoenikker was a primary suspect. He was interrogated by Tacker along with Steven Fairbanks, the only staff members who had recently arrived, but as Tacker had no consistent proof of the culprit's true identity, Hoenikker and Fairbanks were both released.

The next day, while Hoenikker and the rest of the lab staff prepared the containment cells for the Xenomorphs due to arrive, Tacker and Howard had found Fairbanks was the mole and had arrived to arrest him. Cornered, Fairbanks released Leon-895. Hoenikker fled, pursued by the now human-sized monster which killed Howard, Mansfield and three others.

Due to the two escape incidents, Thompson was relieved from command by Vincent Bellows, the new station commander, who scolded the lab staff and warned them that a second shipment of Xenomorphs from the orbital refinery Katanga would be shuttling down in the afternoon. Hoenikker was invited by Rawlings to join a group being assembled to prepare for an emergency. Dr. Kash was put in charge of the Xenomorph experimentation; she explained to Hoenikker its life cycle and the backstory of Katanga, which was infected when miners on the planet to which it was assigned encountered Xenomorphs there. She also divulged the fact that Pala Station had been built to study strange artifacts covered in glyphs that Mansfield had procured from an unknown location.

Studying the Xenomorph

"That evolution could create something that needs another creature to survive makes the universe seem cruel."

―Hoenikker evaluates the Xenomorph's reproductive cycle

Hoenikker aboard Katanga

Twelve Xenomorph eggs were received in stasis containers. Hoenikker was introduced to the Xenomorph's life cycle by Kash; she told him they would be working with the plagiarus praepotens only, before Cruz announced Bellows wanted adult specimens. The lab staff protested about using humans to breed Xenomorphs but Bellows implicitly threatened Hoenikker, with emphasis placed on his sister. Hoenikker and the others reluctantly complied as Cruz assured them that the "volunteers" were criminals who had signed an agreement with Weyland-Yutani in exchange for some favors.

Nine men and three women were placed in the containment rooms with an Ovomorph. Hoenikker was reunited with his college ex-girlfriend Monica Enright, who was one of the human test subjects. He was given the chance to talk to her by Rawlings and Cruz; she revealed to Hoenikker that she had signed up to avoid a life sentence in a terraforming prison due to her crimes as a serial killer. She later gave birth to Test Subject #3, a Xenomorph with dark and leathery striped skin. Hoenikker described it as malevolent, hypothesizing that the albino Seven was a kind of super-drone, capable of leading others in the absence of a Queen.

Afterwards, Hoenikker helped Cruz and security hunt the missing Leon-895, which had attacked and killed an operator. Cornering it in one of the corridors, Cruz was finally able to wound the creature, and Hoenikker finished it off.

Outbreak at Pala Station

"I've been modeling what we know of their society. They need a mother. A leader. They want a leader. Without one they're nothing more than a wolf pack without an alpha. Renegades."

―Hoenikker summarizing the Xenomorph social structure

Hoenikker aboard the Endeavor

Matters went awry when a mutated Fairbanks rampaged though the station, killing anyone in his path, and the Xenomorphs started attacking their enclosures. Kash and Hoenikker fled the lab and hid in his room as the specimens escaped into the station. He and Kash were later found by Cruz, who planned to escape to the San Lorenzo in a shuttle. Hoenikker, Cruz, Cash and Étienne crossed paths with a group of Bellow's men and informed them that Seven was turning the mess hall into a makeshift Hive. They decided to hook up with Rawlings and his group, who were heading to Engineering. En route, Hoenikker managed to kill a Xenomorph before reuniting with Rawlings, McGann and Buggy. The group decided to look for a hunting lodge somewhere two kilometers from the station.

Thirty six hours later, the station's power was deactivated by the Xenomorphs, leaving the place in darkness. Hoenikker guessed that the xenomorphs had used southern access routes and destroyed a nearby power node. When the lights were back on, the mess hall was empty and the Xenomorphs had destroyed the security cameras. The group geared up to reach the shuttle bay, killing several Xenomorphs as a unit of Marines.

Less than a hundred meters from the shuttle bay, they heard a short-lived fight between a group of humans and Xenomorphs. The group was attacked by the surviving creatures; Buggy lost an arm to an adult Xenomorph and Rawlings used acid blood to cauterize the wound. They entered the laboratory where they found Étienne, who had survived by dint of a pheromone-based deterrent he had invented. They were joined by commander Bellows, the only survivor. Bellows explained that Seven was holding the area just outside the shuttle backed up by other Xenomorphs, and seeing no other option, he reluctantly gave them the shuttle's access code.

Hoenikker and the others made one last fight against Seven and eleven Xenomorphs. Rawlings and Buggy fell first, Hoenikker fired at Cruz' flamethrower under the latter's orders, sacrificing himself to finish off Seven. Bellows tried to abandon them and run towards the shuttle, but was dragged into the flames by a dying Seven.

Escape from LV-895

Hoenikker, Kash and Étienne then boarded the ship and left Pala Station bound for the San Lorenzo in orbit. Hoenikker shot the Leon-895 which had stowed itself inside the escaping shuttle and killed Étienne. The shuttle prepared to dock with the San Lorenzo when suddenly, Test Subject #3—dubbed Monica after its host—appeared and attempted to force its way in. Kash and Hoenikker managed to board the San Lorenzo; Hoenikker was able to send an emergency message from the ship's bridge while Kash watched his back.

Kash was killed by Monica, and Hoenikker, with no other place to go, boarded Katanga through the umbilical pursued by the Xenomorph. He escaped into the refinery and barricaded himself in the facility's Bashi Tower complex, removing his own PDT and setting up traps for the Xenomorphs along the way.

Aftermath

"Anybody out there. Anybody. This is Dr. Timothy Hoenikker from Pala Station. Everyone is dead. Please come. I am on San Lorenzo. We have an infiltration of—"

―Dr. Timothy Hoenikker's emergency transmission from the San Lorenzo

In March 2202, the Colonial Marine warship UAS Endeavor received Hoenikker's transmission, and a three-Marine squad was dispatched to find and rescue Hoenikker from the Katanga. The operation was ultimately successful, with Monica being eliminated by the fireteam. Once rescued, Hoenikker remained aboard the Endeavour to serve as an advisor to the Marines during their investigation on LV-895.

Behind the scenes

Concept art of Hoenikker

Timothy Hoenikker first appeared in the novel Aliens: Infiltrator, which served as a prequel to the video game Aliens: Fireteam Elite. The novel was written by Weston Ochse and released in April 2021.

Appearances

• Aliens: Infiltrator
• Aliens: Fireteam Elite