The ship had crashed. The collision had brought about the release of two captive beasts it had hidden away in its secret cargo hold. The first one was a Xenomorph Alien Warrior. Once freed, it wrought havoc among the crew members, killing all but one. That man managed to escape into the control room, and he barricaded the door with everything he could.

While the Alien worked at getting at its last victim, the second beast awoke. It had been frozen in a block of ice, but due to the craft’s rather badly damaged cooling system, the chunk soon melted enough for the creature to free itself. This one was a NightCaria. Many years ago, it had been created by an extraterrestrial race called the Kortahlka. They had only one thought in mind when they finished. This beast was born to destroy Xenomorph Aliens.

And then…the fight…



The Alien charged, slamming against the metal door as hard as it could. The metal buckled slightly, causing part of the door to crack open just a few inches. Its prey cried out on the other side of its barrier, fueling the Warrior’s determination. It backed up, doing another charge-slam against the door. The metal buckled only a little more. Now, the smell of the human was stronger, and the Alien got wilder. It shrieked piercingly, leaping against the door and clawing at the opening. A shiny black nozzle stuck through the parted doors for a fraction of a second, releasing a cloud of white gas in the Alien’s face.

The Warrior screamed again, bringing its tail through the vapor. The spear-tip dug through the opening, widening it even more. The Alien withdrew, and wound up for another strike. Pain stabbed up the length of its tail, and in the next moment, a slight weight threw itself on its back. Claws and teeth dug into its thick hide, successfully penetrating to its veins. Acidic spray decorated the environment, and the Alien’s assailant sprang clear.

The Xenomorph whirled on its adversary, hissing savagely.

The NightCaria stood there, thin-legged and insect-like in appearance. Large red compound eyes stared unblinking into the Alien’s face, and two thin sharply pointed ears were slicked low against its gaunt head. A long sinewy tail extended at its back, tipped with a pinching claw, and a toothed biting stalk extended from its jaws, not unlike the Xenomorph’s in appearance. It shrieked at the Warrior, the four mandibles around its mouth twitching in anticipation. The single row of spinal spikes on its back diminished in size when nearing the base of its tail, and the two front-most ones were rubbing against each other. This produced a rather threatening rasping sound, causing the Xenomorph to grow angrier. The scentless creature crouched down, and the stalk slid into its jaws. It was now or never.

The Warrior sprang; claws and teeth ready to sink into its opponent. The NightCaria flattened into a lower crouch and tumbled to the side, slipping beneath the Alien and coming up behind it. The Alien turned a few nanoseconds too late, and the NightCaria sprang onto its back again, seeking a strike to the back of its neck. The Alien sprang high and far, slamming its back against the ceiling. The force was enough to weaken the NightCaria’s grip, and the Xenomorph flipped in the air, intent on crushing its foe with its full weight on impact.

The NightCaria moved like lightning, switching from the Alien’s back to its chest in midair. The Warrior landed back-first on the ground, but its skin was thick enough to stop it from losing its breath from the collision. The NightCaria reared up, slashing multiple times at the Alien’s face with its fore-claws. The Warrior screeched angrily. Its tail wove beneath the NightCaria’s chest, lashing out and flinging the sinewy creature towards the far wall.

The NightCaria hit the metal surface head on, crumpling to the floor with a pained hiss. The deep slash in its chest was mending quickly, but it still avoided the Alien’s second strike as it came for the final blow. The Xenomorph’s claws smashed into the metal wall, sending sparks flying.

The NightCaria continued to retreat. The Alien screamed and lunged for its opponent, but the creature ducked at the last moment and shot for the control room door. The Xenomorph twisted in the air, digging its claws into the metal floor. It turned and ran after its enemy, hissing. The NightCaria neared the door, slowed for a split second, and kicked out with both hind legs. The force of the attack slammed full on the Xenomorph’s face. The Alien staggered, and the NightCaria’s tail came sweeping low; taking the Xenomorph’s legs out from beneath it. The Alien collapsed with a shriek, and clawed to rise, swiping at the beast’s trailing tail. It missed, and the NightCaria slammed against the door slit, forcing its body through the small gap.

The Alien shrieked its rage, pouncing on the metal. It was going to get in there. No matter what.



The man slowly backed away from the control room door. He had pushed multiple obstacles in front of it, which mainly consisted of metal storage canisters. However, these items were only a few pounds heavier than he was, and could only hold a broken door for so long. He hadn’t been worrying that much about the gap in the door the Alien had made, but then this black sinewy creature had come through. Now he wasn’t sure what to think.

He turned his flashlight on, waving it desperately at the advancing beast. The creature continued to come forward, its movements slow and deliberate. The man backed away further, and suddenly felt the cold metal of the control panel at his back.
Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. He was completely exposed.

“Stay back!” he gasped, shocked at how small his voice sounded.

According to the ship’s specimen log, this beast was known as a NightCaria. He’d never seen such a creature before in his life, not until those rotten biotechnologists dragged its frozen corpse into this ship. He had argued but, no, they’d rather go on about medical breakthroughs and something about humans living longer…all of it was trash. Where were they now? Probably dead.

The NightCaria stopped a few feet away from the man, cocked its head, and then sat down.

The man stared, sweating uncontrollably. He could see his face in every one of its honeycombed eye lenses. Shuddering, he began to flick the flashlight on and off, trying to get it to back off. The beast did nothing. The man lowered his flashlight. What was he thinking? How could a flashlight ward off such a creature? And yet, it had stopped. Did it have any intention of harming him?

He held his breath, and kicked a little in the beast’s direction. The NightCaria sprang away, soundless, and then returned to its spot. It resumed its sitting position, coiling its tail around its legs.

Okay, it wasn’t going to kill him…yet. Moving as slowly as he dared, he began to reach for the creature’s head.

“Nice…NightCaria…” he tried, trying to keep his voice from trembling.

The beast watched his approaching hand, pricking its ears forwards. The man continued to reach, and all of a sudden the control room door flew apart with a metallic shriek. Sparks sizzled from the broken door mechanism, and the Xenomorph Alien crawled into view. It looked directly at the man. Fear seized him anew as he suddenly realized the NightCaria had somehow vanished into thin air.
He was helpless again.

The Xenomorph charged at him, its shriek mingling with his scream of pure terror. He threw himself down to the ground, hoping that through some miracle he’d survive this experience. The Alien’s breath washed over his head, its teeth were inches away, and he tensed for the feeling of claws and teeth sinking deep into his flesh. It never came.

Like a shadow torn from the midnight sky, the NightCaria threw itself on the startled Xenomorph with a piercing screech. Its claws sunk into the Warrior’s shoulder, throwing it off balance. The two monsters rolled on the metal floor, slashing and biting each other furiously. The Warrior freed itself first, kicking out with both hind legs and sending the NightCaria slamming against the control panel.
Before the creature could rise, the Alien was upon it, holding its head in place as its tail came down for a final strike. The NightCaria could not break free and screamed angrily, opening its inner mouth wide.

A thin, pointed, razor-sharp tongue whipped out of it; lashing deep into the Xenomorph’s snarling mouth. The Alien drew back instantly, coughing and spitting acid blood all over the place. It swung its head back and forth, testing the state of its lacerated throat. Suddenly it leaped back at the NightCaria, throwing itself on its assailant’s back.

The monsters landed heavily beside the man, who flinched and stumbled to the other side of the room, weak with fear. He turned back, and saw the NightCaria, pinned under the Alien’s crushing weight, arms and legs pinned, unable to move. The Alien crouched on its foe, breathing heavily, letting its acidic blood drip into the NightCaria’s face.

The NightCaria wailed in agony, freeing one arm and reaching pitifully for the man. The man felt his like his heart had been rent from the inside. This beast wasn’t scary anymore. He was helpless still. What could he do? He looked at the flashlight in his hand, thinking of throwing it. But then, how would he see properly? This part of the ship had the emergency lights on (through some miracle), but they were very dim and he doubted he’d see anything if the flashlight went out now. He blinked the perspiration out of his eyes and crouched down, scooping up a scuffed-up notebook. He poised to throw, trembling.

The NightCaria wailed again, and the notebook went flying through the air, glancing off the Warrior’s scratched up head. The Xenomorph didn’t even flinch. The man did, and put his hands over his head, whimpering.

The Alien brought its jaws down, plunging its attack tongue into the NightCaria’s head. The creature’s mandibles twitched a few times, and its eyes darkened. The Xenomorph began to rise, and suddenly the NightCaria’s spinal spikes sprang straight up reflexively, cutting deep into the Alien’s chest. The Xenomorph shrieked in pain and anger, backing away from the corpse. The NightCaria didn’t move. The Alien looked up at the human, shaking its head back and forth, snarling. A few bits of its opponent’s shiny black body went flying to the other side of the room, landing near a working heater.

The man straightened up, clutching his flashlight with white-knuckled hands. The Alien took one step in his direction, and he raised it above his head.

“Get back!” he squeaked, his throat contracted with fear. “I’ll kill you!”

The Xenomorph continued forwards, picking up speed. All that fighting had made it hungry. This human would do as a food source until later.

Too frightened to scream, the man’s legs gave out, and he fell to his knees. The flashlight clattered to the ground, flickering on impact. Well, he was doomed.

Suddenly the Alien’s claws dug into the metal floor, and it ground to a halt, hissing. An answering hiss came from behind the man, who slowly turned his head in that direction.


The three glossy black bits of flesh were changing. They twisted like amoebas, stretching and expanding into quadruped forms. Large red compound eyes swelled to life, and thin long tails swept free of their growing bodies. Four mandibles unfolded around each mouth, spreading wide as the creatures screeched. Spikes stabbed up from between their shoulders, continuing till the base of their pinching tails.

Three new NightCaria. Their spawn time had accelerated due to the heat they’d been exposed to. Now they all stood silent, their eyes locked onto the Xenomorph Alien Warrior.

The Alien was still, and then it crouched low, preparing for a spring.

The NightCaria didn’t wait, and one grabbed a large metal storage container with its forearms, heaving it at the Xenomorph with all its strength.

The Alien leaped aside, and was struck by another box thrown by the second NightCaria, and the third leaped for the Xenomorph’s head, wrapping its arms and legs tightly around it. Its tail wound around the Warrior’s wrists, and its siblings sprang for the enemy’s back.

Swaying beneath the weight of the three creatures, the Warrior collapsed heavily with a scream, and the NightCaria went into a frenzy. Within minutes, the Alien was quite dead, shredded beyond recognition. Its three killers stood around the remains of the corpse, and then as one, they looked at the man.

The one nearest to him crawled over, picking the flashlight up. Then it walked over to him, its palm outstretched in offering. The man was stunned again. He reached out, taking the flashlight from the NightCaria’s hand, and then all three turned and began to walk away. When the man didn’t follow, they turned around and came back, pointing at the broken door.

They wanted him to leave with them.

For the first time since the crash, the man began to relax. He strode confidently out the door, led by the three most amazing creatures he’d ever known.

NightCaria. The Xenomorph killers.