Here's a very fun
Alien inspired vignette comparing a contact experience to the demonic morphology (and dystopian design!) of the fictional folk-robot avatars known as
Insecticons, from Hasbro's very iconic
Transformers franchise. Enjoy!
====
Captain Holden and Daniels were co-commanding the spaceship Nostradamus which was headed to the unexplored fertile organic planet LG-426. They're sent by Weyland Company on this human space-exploration mission after intelligent signals were picked up from there. The signals indicated that two distinct types of intelligent beings were seeking to send communications to draw in visitors. The first signal inferenced a governing being seeking political dialogue, and the second signal inferenced a military intelligent communication about defense procedures and inter-species teamwork in the event of an invasion or attack. Holden and Daniels were excited to commandeer the Nostradamus to investigate the validity and meaning of these two types of signals coming from two disparate alien intelligences. Holden explained to Daniels the reason Weyland deduced the two signals were sent by differing species is that the communication logic of the messages differed so greatly, since one referenced ideas about general governance while the other about absolute panic.
HOLDEN: At least both species are talking about sanity.
DANIELS: Well, the latter seems more focused on pure danger!
Holden was always more conservative and Daniels more liberal, so they complemented each other greatly, which was an asset to the cautious crew of the Nostradamus who secretly hoped both intelligent species on LG-426 were absolutely peaceful or open to normal negotiations. After all, they didn't want to find that one of the species was sending a trickster message intended to simply draw in visitors in a death-trap or hunting game! Holden and Daniels meanwhile negotiated ways to prepare for just about anything, in the off-chance that one of the two differing species really was intolerably hostile. So, Holden prepared his preparation speech to the exploration crew once the Nostradamus safely landed on LG-426. Daniels meanwhile told some of the more militarily trained members of her crew about the need to think of weaponry as life tools and that their Captain Holden was a man of extreme and methodical survival rationality. This wasn't going to be a mission fraught with all kinds of human error, as Holden and Daniels envisioned.
HOLDEN: We stand on the brink of a great opportunity, to at least make contact with potentially at least one peaceful intelligent life-form!
Holden and Daniels excited all the exploration crew members of the Nostradamus. About 15 crew members comprised the LG-426 exploration land trekking team, while about 10 stayed behind to man, watch, and guard the Nostradamus and relay all radio communications back to Weyland. Peter Weyland himself, head of the Weyland Company, declared the Nostradamus mission an envoy or endeavor into the heart of human curiosity --- the quest to discover the multiplicity of intelligent creations in the known universe. However, Holden and Daniels, and especially the more liberal and radical Daniels, considered Peter Weyland somewhat headstrong and secretly wondered if this intelligent-life contact mission was somehow linked to a human arrogance ambitions to just photo the discovered aliens with a certainly profitably expendable human exploration crew. Daniels never considered herself an ambitious expendable space-explorer and didn't want her male counterpart, Captain Holden, to put her in a position where that's what she constantly feared.
When the exploratory land trekking crew wandered around the planet LG-426, they discovered a very large underground labyrinth which led to a giant cavern of illuminated walled pods, each containing eggs of varying colors! These egg-pods carried either red-colored or black-colored alien lifeform eggs! Each egg was about the size of a small toddler. Holden took photographs, while Daniels ordered the other crew members to remain on-guard with their ready-to-fire laser guns, supplied by Peter Weyland himself. This egg-photo session joy would not last, because within 30 minutes, a handful of large parents of these non-hatched baby-eggs came crawling out of the walls. Holden and Daniels now knew these red-colored and black-colored aliens were indeed the two differing species who sent those communication signals that Weyland Company picked up. The red-colored adult aliens spewed a toxic saliva which created instant mini-explosions. The black-colored adult aliens spewed a slime from their hands which was acidic and hence corrosive. Holden named these aliens 'Xenomorphs' since they looked like morphed half-mutated insects combined with man-sized dragons!
DANIELS: Needless to say, neither the Red Xenomorphs nor their Black Xenomorph 'cousins' are peaceful, so this has been a death-trap!
Holden and Daniels ordered the Nostradamus crew to take extreme crisis postures and fire and evade at all costs and rush back to the ship. Daniels had already radioed back to the Nostradamus to inform them to be prepared to fire upon large insect-dragon looking man-sized terrifying intelligent alien creatures running towards them and to start the engines of the Weyland vessel so they'd escape faster and feasibly. As the land trekking crew continued to spray their laser-fire upon the advancing terrifying Red and Black 'Xenomorph' aliens on LG-426, the Nostradamus vessel guarding crew members fired their own lasers on the small number of Red and Black Xenomorphs seeking to crawl onto their spaceship. When they spotted the land trekking crew had arrivec back on board, they began to launch the Nostradamus back into space.
HOLDEN: We saw insect-dragons, sir.
WEYLAND: So, both these Red and Black 'Xenomorphs' were hostile?
HOLDEN: Indeed, sir.
WEYLAND: Why're the Red Xenomorphs more hostile, captain?
HOLDEN: They spew explosive saliva, sir!
WEYLAND: Well, you've had quite an adventure, Holden.
HOLDEN: We lost 5 members of our crew to those aliens, sir.
WEYLAND: We all understand that, captain.
HOLDEN: My co-commander Daniels is rather upset about this.
WEYLAND: No omelettes without broken eggs, Holden.
HOLDEN: I understand that sir, but this is more dire, right?
WEYLAND: No...it isn't!
HOLDEN: Not following here, sir.
WEYLAND: Captain, your duty is to collect information.
HOLDEN: What...and not complain about the Apocalypse, sir?
WEYLAND: This ain't the apocalypse, Holden!
HOLDEN: Sir, we saw aliens that looked like insects or dragons.
WEYLAND: I don't care if you and Daniels think you saw 'Insecticons' on this planet.
HOLDEN: Sir, we tell you truly, these predatory intelligent aliens were robotically-dynamic insect-dragons.
WEYLAND: That doesn't make them automated invaders or 'Insecticons' as you imply, captain.
HOLDEN: It sure as hell doesn't make them diplomats willing to share breakfast, sir.
WEYLAND: We'll consider your complaints, captain, and we'll keep your grudges confidential.
HOLDEN: Thank you, sir, but we insist that these Red and Black Xenomorphs will hunt for human havens.
WEYLAND: We'll note your serious observations that we may require haven construction against these aliens.
HOLDEN: Please do, sir, because I think these Red and Black Xenomorphs are ironically planning for our juvenile curiosity.
WEYLAND: Well, let's hold on these hasty ideas that they may be pickpockets or arsonists, eh?
HOLDEN: Well, no, ha, yes, sir, but Daniels and I believe these intelligent aliens are 'Insecticon' demons.
WEYLAND: Any demon simply requires an exorcist, and we train our explorers to serve!
HOLDEN: We're honored to do so sir, but these aliens are simply intent to destroy us.
WEYLAND: Well, we'll share your caution when we study further their history and intentionality, captain.
HOLDEN: At what cost, sir?
WEYLAND: At the cost of the long and arduous human history of scientific research, Captain Holden!
HOLDEN: Alright, but Daniels and I'd like to officially request not to return on any further Xeno-mission, sir.
WEYLAND: If we deem you two will make breakfast for these Red and Black Xenos, then that's what you'll do.
HOLDEN: Right, sir.
WEYLAND: Never underestimate the power of universal dogma, Holden.
HOLDEN: Right, sir.
====
"Money is everything" (Ecclesiastes)
