This is an alien-mission vignette inspired by the mission-paranoia film
Alien: Covenant.
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ORAM: So you think there're rogue Xenos running around V-421?
DANIELS: Planet V-421 is a staging-ground for a hunting-game.
ORAM: Why would Xenos leave their colony for a special hunting-game?
DANIELS: We think it's because they're creating a 'survivalism arena.'
ORAM: What the hell are we humans supposed to think about aliens making games/experiments?
DANIELS: I suppose we should treat V-421 as an 'arcade' stage, Captain Oram...
ORAM: Alright; inform the marines we'll engage these Xenos and wipe out this 'hunting arena.'
DANIELS: Are we equipped/ready for this kind of task? We're a basic scouting unit.
ORAM: The marines are equipped to handle this scenario, and Weyland Corp would demand we do.
DANIELS: I'm not in agreement, but I'm not going to protest, Captain...
ORAM: Good.
After Officer Daniels left Captain Oram's chambers (on the space-vessel Prometheus), Oram took out his diary and wrote privately/secretly that he may have agreed with Daniels' estimation that destroying this Xeno hunting-arena on V-421 was a daring and dangerous task but he kept his conviction that Weyland Corp which had financed this space-mission to V-421 would demand the marines on Prometheus scout V-421 and destroy these 'rogue Xenos' who for some mysterious reason had built this synthetic 'hunting-arena' (perhaps to lure countless intelligent species for sport!). Oram had been a Weyland space-exploration captain for three years now, and he was confident that the marines on Prometheus were ready to tackle these rogue Xenos. Oram wrote in his diary that if the crew succeeded in eliminating this hunting-arena, Weyland Corp would be closer to making more meaningful/intellectual contact with these intelligent but savage Xeno aliens who seemed generally interested in expressing forms of great evolutionary dominance/strength. After all, Peter Weyland, head of Weyland Corp, expressed the scientific fascination with the idea of contacting intelligent species (such as Xenos!) to 'share notes' on domination and exuberance.
Daniels maintained her concern that Weyland Corp's 'unnatural curiosity' about engaging with these terrifying and rather ruthless/relentless Xeno aliens would lead humanity towards complete devastation. Daniels disagreed with Captain Oram about most things, but she did for the time being empathize with his heavy duty/obligation to command the crew of Prometheus and ensure Peter Weyland that human space-explorers were doing everything possible to 'compete' and 'engage' with these Xenos. Daniels checked her military-bag and made sure her laser-guns were working and fitted. She also sighed a breath of relief that the marines on board Prometheus (including Jared, Craig, Shelbye, Martina, and Eli) were more than well-trained in targeting and killing the Xeno aliens. Daniels continued to worry however that these rogue Xenos on Planet V-421 were building this 'unnatural hunting-arena' to tempt/dare foolish intelligent species (such as humans!) to forge dangerous 'contact-games.' Daniels wondered if V-421 may even be some kind of larger Xeno-conspiracy arena to prep any contact with humans by luring them towards violence and ruin. Then, the Xenos could 'inform' Weyland Corp that their species had no intention of being 'subjugated' by the arrogance of mankind.
ORAM: No, Daniels; these 'rogue Xenos' are not 'demons'.
DANIELS: Well, I know we're not 'exorcists/priests' here, but I worry about these Xenos' spirituality, sir!
ORAM: Look; we're ordering the crew to destroy this hunting-stage on V-421 and then reporting back to Weyland.
DANIELS: Maybe that's exactly what the Xenos want...to test our vanity.
ORAM: Maybe such a test is precisely the sort of thing that makes human-Xeno contact a symbolic 'mission.'
Daniels worried that Captain Oram was sounding more and more like the ego-inflated Peter Weyland himself, but she agreed with Oram's steady estimation that someone had to destroy this horrible hunting-arena on V-421 so she did not protest Oram's command. Daniels conferred with the marines on Prometheus and assured them that Captain Oram had evaluated all aspects of this mission and was confident that Weyland Corp would see that such a task (destroying this hunting-arena) was a vital stepping-stone towards a more rational contact with the Xenos. One of the marines, Craig, asked Daniels if she thought that these 'rogue Xenos' on V-421 were simply trying to 'test' human species' sense of spiritual responsibility, but Daniels responded that Oram had wisely-concluded that this hunting-arena was not a morality-test but rather some kind of 'imagination stage.' Daniels wrote in her journal that the crew of Prometheus had become 'alien trackers' and that this 'nation of rogue Xenos' on V-421 had built something like a 'militant demon complex' (but surely not a spiritual examination).
The marines on Prometheus were able to engage with at least 6 Xenos on V-421, and they killed 5 of them. Three more Xenos popped up but escaped as they insidiously watched the Prometheus marines obviously try to completely destroy this 'hunting-arena' on V-421. One of the marines, Craig, was killed during the mission when a Xeno cut off one of his legs with its spiked tail and then spit corrosive acid onto his face. When the surviving crew boarded back onto Prometheus, Captain Oram congratulated them for destroying the majority of the Xenos on V-421, and one of the marines, Martina, suggested that wiping out the majority of the aliens had effectively collapsed this 'vain-glorious demon complex' these rogue Xenos has created on the planet. Officer Daniels demanded that she and Oram confer with Peter Weyland himself on Prometheus's radio and inform the company that the mission was a solid success and that humans could be told that this mission was a stepping-stone towards engaging with the Xenos as more 'mature/awakened humans.'
WEYLAND: Congrats to the Prometheus, Oram/Daniels.
ORAM: Thank you, sir.
DANIELS: Thank you!
WEYLAND: So your mission was a stepping-stone.
ORAM: We believe so, Mr. Weyland!
DANIELS: Maybe the Xenos will respect us more now.
WEYLAND: Yes, they know we're willing to engage with them on multiple 'levels.'
ORAM: Daniels theorized that these 'rogue Xenos' were in fact in accordance with their species.
DANIELS: Yeah, I thought V-421 might be a testing-ground for some larger contact-schema.
WEYLAND: That's intriguing; maybe the Xenos want to see if we're not 'idle' or 'childish.'
ORAM: Yes, we're willing to fight when necessary and negotiate/compromise when necessary.
DANIELS: Maybe these Xenos are just like us, Mr. Weyland; maybe they like 'cold wars.'
WEYLAND: I agree with your estimation that V-421 was some kind of 'artificial demon complex.'
ORAM: Yes, having Xenos scurry around and lure humans to play a 'survivor-game' is rather...calculating!
DANIELS: Maybe the Xenos want us humans to think like them and focus on the weight of survival as well as intelligence.
WEYLAND: You two have been idealists, which is good; maybe the company will make a video-game about V-421!
ORAM: What a cool honor, Mr. Weyland...
DANIELS: I never thought I'd be a video-game 'avatar.'
WEYLAND: Never underestimate the value of socialization.
ORAM: Will we find more Xenos who want to work peacefully with us?
DANIELS: If we don't, will the company seek to engage with them purely as marines?
WEYLAND: Only time will tell if these aliens are angels or demons...
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