The USCSS Renaissance may have been one of the most important space stations ever developed by Weyland-Yutani. Before it too, crashed.
Is Weyland-Yutani capable of designing a space-borne vessel that doesn’t crash and burn? We may never know. But the trend continues, even with ships that were never designed to even try to land—even then Weyland-Yutani engineering finds a way to pull flaming wreckage out of the void of space. Is it corporate greed? Cutbacks? Or a bit of Xenomorph-induced chaos? In the case of the Renaissance space station, home to both the Romulus and Remus modules, it’s a little bit of all three.
The Renaissance Space Station – Romulus and Remus Weren’t Built in a Day
The USCSS Renaissance was originally designed as a Weyland-Yutani scientific research space station. And while we all know what that means vis-a-vis its propensity to end in fiery spectacle, it did for a while boast some of the most advanced technology in the corporation’s disposal. Some, being the operative word.
The Renaissance station was originally built in 2112. Presumably it was a Rush job. Which isn’t just a clever musical reference, it also ties into the fact that construction of the ship wasn’t complete until 2131. In 2112, only one of the station’s two primary modules was complete: the Remus Module.
The Remus module was built with the usual array of Weyland-Yutani lab equipment. It ran for nearly 20 years, with a spate of bio-organic research labs onboard. Though as the decades progressed, better technology was developed. And the Romulus module, finished in 2131 was the pinnacle of tech at the time. The difference was not only visible in terms of the aging equipment, but the subject matter researched.
The Remus Module was originally for reverse-engineering the Xenomorph and study of smaller forms of the Facehugger variant. It had cryopods and other security features that would later become a little outmoded. While the Romulus module was intended to research the “Prometheus Fire” a substance known as Z-01.
Both modules were outfitted with a MU/TH/UR 9000 computer system, a complement of F44AA Pulse Rifles, minitrucks, Hypersleep Chambers, and breach sealing systems—of all the features in Renaissance station, it was this last one that may have been most important.
Headed For Disaster At LV-410
It all comes to a head in 2142, when the Echo 203 space probe retrieves a cocoon from the wreckage of the Nostromo. Bringing its subject aboard, researchers create a new batch of Facehuggers and store them in the Remus Genetic Lab and Cryo Chamber. This in order to extract an alien pathogen and experiment with it in the more advanced Romulus lab.
However, as you might expect, the older technology proved to be no match for the Xenomorph contained within the cocoon. It then became active and killed everyone aboard the station, creating a Xenomorph hive aboard the ill-fated space station. Which then was drifting towards disaster over the ringed world of LV-410.
Meanwhile, on LV-410, after the Weyland-Yutani corporation forcibly extended the work contract of one of its workers, Rain Carradine. She and her adopted android brother, Andy, as well as a crew of other colonist misfits commandeer the space hauler Corbelan IV in order to reach the abandoned station before it collides with debris in the planet’s rings. Their goal is to steal the hypersleep chambers. This will allow them to make a nine-year journey to a planet unaffiliated with Weyland-Yutani.
However, aboard the station, they quickly unleash dozens of facehuggers, completely unintentionally. This should tell you something about the secure design skills of Weyland-Yutani’s engineers. You get what you pay for, apparently.
Needless to say, the motley crew is all but wiped out by the Xenomorph infestation aboard the Renaissance station. During the course of their escape, they learn that Z-01 is a compound designed to rewrite and adapt human DNA for space travel. But what it actually does is cause you to give birth to alien-human hybrid babies. They go on to kill anyone they can get their rapidly-growing exoskeletal claws on. And then of course, it all comes to a head when the Renaissance station goes crashing into LV-410’s rings.
The first time Weyland-Yutani has a successful landing, it’ll be a celebration for days (and then everyone will die from Xenomorph attacks)!
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