They haven't reached home; instead, Mother has intercepted a mysterious transmission from a nearby moon, Acheron (LV-426). Bound by company protocol, they are forced to investigate.
Below is a retelling of the harrowing events aboard the USCSS Nostromo .
Deep in space, the commercial towing vessel Nostromo is carrying 20 million tons of mineral ore back to Earth. The seven-member crew—Captain Dallas, XO Kane, Warrant Officer Ripley, Navigator Lambert, Science Officer Ash, and Engineers Parker and Brett—are awakened early from cryosleep by "Mother," the ship's AI. Alien(1979)
is snatched while searching for the ship's cat, Jonesy.
Back on the Nostromo , Ripley attempts to enforce a 24-hour quarantine to prevent the creature from coming aboard. However, Ash violates protocol and opens the airlock, allowing the team and the specimen inside. They haven't reached home; instead, Mother has intercepted
The facehugger eventually dies and falls off, and Kane appears to recover. During a final meal before returning to cryosleep, the crew is horrified when Kane begins to convulse. A small, phallic creature—the —shatters through his ribcage and escapes into the ship's dark corridors.
is cornered and taken while navigating the cramped ventilation shafts. Deep in space, the commercial towing vessel Nostromo
As the crew attempts to hunt the creature, they realize it is growing at an impossible rate, transforming into an eight-foot-tall apex predator with concentrated acid for blood. One by one, the crew members are picked off: