HADLEYS HOPE
Hadley's Hope was a human terraforming, research and mining colony that was established on LV-426 in 2157. The settlement was co-financed by the Extrasolar Colonization Administration and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and by 2179 maintained a constant population of 158 colonists. It was subject to a major Xenomorph infestation that ultimately all but destroyed the complex.
Overview
Hadley's Hope was largely assembled from pre-manufactured modular structures subsequently installed on LV-426's surface, for ease and speed of construction. At least part of the settlement's living areas were assembled from materials recycled from the first starships that brought the colonists to the moon. As a terraforming colony, the settlement's main function was ensuring the continued operation and maintenance of the nearby Atmosphere Processing Plant. Named after its founder, Curtis Hadley, the colony itself was fairly small, home to some 158 workers and their families and overseen by administrator Al Simpson. Despite the now breathable atmosphere created by the Atmosphere Processor, the planet's surface was still an unpleasant place to be, racked by savage winds and electrical storms, and as a result most of the colonists tended to remain indoors. The complex itself was centered around the operations center, and featured a small medical facility in the main building and a bar for recreation in one of the outlying structures. There were also garage facilities for maintaining the colony's fleet of Daihotai Tractors and other vehicles. To offer some protection from the ferocious winds that raged on the moon's surface, a large storm wall was built to shield the colony — however, as the winds only ever blew from the same direction, the wall was only built along one side of the complex. The colony was linked directly to the Atmosphere Processor by means of an underground tunnel that allowed travel between the two locations without having to venture into the often severe storms outside.History
Origins
Hadley's Hope was established some time in the late 2150s. Shortly after the establishment of the colony, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation sent in a scientific research team consisting of Dr. Bartholomew Reese, Dr. Elena Hidalgo, and Dr. Mori, to be stationed at the colony. On March 15, 2173, the colony welcomed its first newborn on the moon in the form of Rebecca Jorden, nicknamed "Newt."Infestation
Following Ellen Ripley's rescue from deep space, Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke contacted Simpson with orders to investigate the co-ordinates Ripley had provided for the location of the derelict Engineer spacecraft, although he withheld the nature of what the colonists were likely to discover. Simpson subsequently dispatched prospectors Russ and Anne Jorden to investigate the ship, wherein they discovered thousands of Xenomorph Eggs. Russ was immediately impregnated by a Facehugger. Russ was returned to the colony's med lab, while a second team dispatched to investigate the derelict was also subdued and impregnated. Some 24 hours after he was first attacked, the Chestburster inside Russ hatched. The creature, along with the Xenomorphs born from the second team sent into the derelict, soon began abducting more colonists, moving them to the colony's Atmosphere Processor where they had begun to construct their Hive. An armed team sent in to find and rescue the missing colonists was quickly overwhelmed and used as yet more hosts. Conditions deteriorated early in the fighting, when the link to the colony's communications uplink was severed, leaving the inhabitants unable to call for assistance. With the situation quickly escalating out of control, many survivors found themselves holed up in various parts of the colony, constructing barricades from scrap metal and sealing doors in an attempt to keep the Xenomorphs at bay. However, the entire colony was soon overrun and virtually all of its inhabitants either killed or used as hosts for more Xenomorphs, save for several individuals who managed to escape on the few available ships at the colony, including Captain Brackett, Lieutenant Paris and young colonist Luisa Cantrell, who fled aboard a Weyland-Yutani shuttle with scientist Dr. Mori, and Derrick Russell, Genevieve Dione, Nolan Cale and several other colonists, who escaped aboard the cargo freighter Onager. The only survivor left at the colony was Newt, who had managed to evade capture within the settlement's ventilation system. Evidence was later found that even as events unfolded, active research into the Xenomorphs was being carried out at the colony, at least during the early stages of the outbreak.Investigation
With all contact with Hadley's Hope lost, the United States Colonial Marine Corps dispatched a ship, the USS Sulaco, to investigate. Upon arrival, the Marines found the colony damaged and deserted, and soon discovered Newt hiding within the extensive ventilation system of the operations building. After tracking the other colonists to the Atmosphere Processing Plant, the Marines moved in to investigate, but were quickly overwhelmed and most of them killed in the ensuing chaos. When attempting to extract the survivors, the crew of their dropship was killed by a Warrior that had snuck on board, causing the ship to crash. With no way to evacuate the planet, the survivors subsequently took up refuge in the operations center, setting up sentry guns to help defend the area.Destruction
While the survivors of the incident — now reduced to three humans and a synthetic — were ultimately able to escape, the colony's Atmosphere Processor was badly damaged and eventually went into meltdown, exploding with the force of a thermonuclear weapon. While some of its structures remained standing, the colony was essentially destroyed, and the Hive inside the Atmosphere Processor was obliterated with the loss of many of the Xenomorphs there. Weyland-Yutani would go on to blame the Union of Progressive Peoples for the destruction of the site, citing that they nuked it from orbit.Second infestation and second detachment
Another unit of Colonial Marines, aboard the USS Sephora, was subsequently dispatched to LV-426 to investigate the loss of the Marines from the Sulaco. When the Sephora was destroyed in orbit, they too were forced to seek refuge within the increasingly ruined Hadley's Hope, now ridden with a second Xenomorph infestation headed by a new Second Acheron Hive now being battered further by the Sephora debris raining down on it. In a repetition of earlier events, the Marines were all but overrun as a Second Acheron Queen had emerged from the as they attempted to make their escape, and only a few survived the ordeal to successfully evacuate the planet.Rumors
After the destruction of Hadley's Hope, rumors spread that the Union of Progressive Peoples was behind the disappearance of the USS Sulaco and the colony's demise, in response of a Weyland-Yutani bioweapon development. To cover their implication in the incident, Weyland-Yutani even accused UPP's Space Operation Force for having nuked the site from orbit and denied all accusation of bioweapon development.Inquiry
In 2180, following the loss of the colony, ICC Executive Paul Van Leuwen launched an inquiry into the incident, and could frequently be seen at Anchorpoint Station as he furthered his investigations into the events on LV-426.Third detachment
Several years after the incident, Xenomorphs that were not obiterated by the Atmospheric Processor's explosion and the destruction of Origin Facility managed to establish a new hive in the heart of the colony while Weyland-Yutani reprogrammed synthetics to capture Alien specimens to repurpose them as bioweapons. Two Marine squads from the USS Diomos were dispatched to the colony to investigate. After fighting their way through the colony defective defenses, W-Y's synthetics, and swarms of Xenomorphs they ended up in the Queen's Hive. The Marines arm a nuclear explosive device to destroy the colony, annihilating it once and for all.
Founding Date
2157
Type
Outpost / Base
Location under
Owning Organization
Comments