Acheron (LV-426)

Acheron (LV-426) Astrographical information Location Zeta II Reticuli, orbiting Calpamos Classification Moon Physical information Diameter 1,200 km Terrain Rocks Mountains Lava Temperature -60 - +40°C Points of interest The Derelict Hadley's Hope Chronological information First appearance Alien Last appearance Alien: Isolation

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LV-426 is one of three known moons orbiting the planet Calpamos, which is located in the Zeta II Reticuli system, 39 light years from Earth. The moon is christened by human colonists as Acheron.

Geographical features

The Ilium Range is a mountain range on the Acheron moon where the USCSS Nostromo discovered the Derelict in 2122.

Terrain & Climate

File:LV-426 terrain.png

The surface of LV-426.

Located at quadrant points QBR 157 052, LV-426 is a planetoid with 1200km diameter, rotation period about 2 hours and surface gravity of 0.86. Its surface is lava base rock and has volcanic activity.

Before human colonists began atmospheric processing, the moon's atmosphere was reported by Nostromo crew member Ash to be primordial and inert, containing nitrogen, high concentration of CO₂ crystals, methane and trace elements. Originally the atmosphere was deep cold. Dust and turbulence created a murky atmosphere with little surface light and poor visibility.

Originally, LV-426 was a cold, dead planetoid incapable of supporting life. It had no indigenous life, however the moon was the site of a crashed alien derelict vessel.

History

In 2122, the commercial tow freighter Nostromo touched down to investigate a mysterious signal on the planetoid per company protocol. Though the Nostromo was severely damaged while landing on LV-426, the crew's exploration team consisting of Captain Dallas, Kane and Lambert proceeded to explore the planetoid's surface and eventually discovered a Derelict spacecraft that was responsible for transmitting the signal. While exploring the Derelict 's interior, the crew came across the fossilized remains of the ship's pilot and thousands of eggs stored within the ship's cargo hull. Kane was impregnated by a facehugger that emerged from one of the eggs and was taken to the Nostromo for treatment. The Nostromo soon lifted off again, but the creature implanted an embryo in Kane which birthed from his chest in space, eventually leading to the Nostromo 's destruction.

Approximately thirty-six years after the USCSS Nostromo made contact with LV-426, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation established the terraforming colony, Hadley's Hope, on LV-426, using an atmospheric processor to make the planet's atmosphere breathable and up to habital temperatures.

Another twenty years later, the Jordan family sent to investigate a set of coordinates on company orders, discovered the Derelict, apparently untouched since the Nostromo incident fifty-seven years earlier. A facehugger impregnated the father, Russ, when he and his wife explored the Derelict. Under orders from Carter Burke, the colonists investigated the Xenomorph eggs and a large number of colonists were 'facehugged' so that the species could be studied. Four dead facehuggers were kept preserved, and two live ones were removed before embryo implantation, at the cost of the lives of their hosts. However, the humans who were impregnated released chestbursters which matured and established a hive in sub-level 3 of the Hadley's Hope atmosphere processor. The Xenomorphs killed or captured, cocooned and impregnated many of the colonists, and one of the Xenomorphs molted into a Queen and started producing more eggs. The remaining humans barricaded themselves into the colony complex and fought with small arms and the colony's seismic survey charges but to no avail. The Aliens captured or killed outright all but one of the colonists, a little girl.

A short while after this, a Colonial Marines squad, including Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, arrived on LV-426 to investigate the loss of communication. After many battles with the Xenomorphs, the hive was destroyed when the atmospheric processor's power source exploded. Ripley, Newt (the sole surviving colonist), Corporal Dwayne Hicks, and an android ("Bishop") escaped LV-426 in time onboard the USS Sulaco. Unknown to them, the Queen and a facehugger had managed to get aboard; the former was ejected into space by Ripley through the airlock.

Trivia

• The name "Acheron" is likely a reference to the branch of the river Styx in Greek mythology.
• Source materials differ widely on the diameter of the planetoid: A figure of 1,200 km is given in the movie Alien, the film's shooting screenplay, and in the accompanying novel. The Aliens: Colonial Marines Technical Manual (a supplementary book to Aliens) gives a figure of 12,201 km, which is essentially the same size as Earth and would hardly make it describable as a "tiny planetoid" as in the Alien movie and script. The original script by O'Bannon and Shusett before rework by Hill and Giler has the diameter at 120km.

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