Old Blue, also called Ol' Blue, was a captive Xenomorph used as a tracker by MedTech in Aliens: Music of the Spears and Yvonne Navarro's novel adaptation. Security chief Phillip Rice had captured him on the Xenomorph homeworld and later used a harness, muzzle, and sedatives to direct him through Manhattan in search of a stolen egg. Old Blue killed two people during the investigation, located the Apiary beneath Presley Hall, and was taken back to MedTech alive.
Biography
Capture And MedTech
Old Blue was an older, larger-than-average Xenomorph drone from the Xenomorph homeworld. Phillip Rice encountered him during the final mission of his military service with an army Special Operations Detachment. Rice tagged and captured the creature, but a claw strike nearly killed him. The resulting soft-tissue damage prevented Rice from traveling in pressurized compartments and ended his ability to serve off-world.
The army sold the captive to MedTech's Research and Development Division. Rice followed the transfer through computer records because he wanted to know where the creature that had injured him was being held. After working for the New York Police Department, he joined MedTech and developed a restraint harness with the company's funding. The arrangement allowed the security team to move the Xenomorph outside its enclosure and use its ability to recognize hive scents.
Tracking The Stolen Egg
When Ahiro stole a Xenomorph egg from MedTech for Synsound, Rice selected Old Blue to track it through Manhattan. He expected the captive to recognize pheromones associated with its own hive. Rice waited until after midnight before taking the creature onto Fifth Avenue, hoping to avoid the crowds leaving concerts and other evening events. Eddie McGarrity and Ricardo Morez accompanied him, each taking one of the harness's three guidepoles.
Old Blue wore a titanium mesh jacket that held his arms against his sides and an alloy muzzle that restricted both mouths. The guidepoles gave the men leverage, but steering him required all three handlers and did not prevent sudden changes of direction. He repeatedly tried to turn west while the team attempted to continue along Fifth Avenue. Pedestrians crossed the street or moved into doorways, while some onlookers approached for a closer view.
The Alley Attack
Near West Forty-sixth Street, Old Blue crouched and then reared up, throwing the handlers off balance and wrenching the guidepoles from their hands. He ran into an alley with the poles trailing behind him. His pinned arms and the loose equipment interfered with his balance, but the men could not catch him before he reached two people at the far end. Despite being unable to bite or use his claws, he killed both victims by repeatedly striking them with his head.
After the attack, Old Blue withdrew from the bodies and allowed McGarrity and Morez to recover their guidepoles. Rice found an empty jelly vial and concluded that the victims had been a dealer and a customer. He attributed the attack to the scent of royal jelly from another hive, drawing on his military experience of territorial fighting between Xenomorph colonies. With witnesses gathering, he abandoned the search for that night and ordered the creature returned to MedTech.
Sedation And The Second Hunt
Old Blue was held in a room at the rear of MedTech's Sublevel Three, where his harness was secured to six alloy floor anchors. Before the next expedition, Rice added a remotely operated sedative system. Steel tubing connected a control box to a surgical implant behind the creature's final incisor. The air-powered injection system delivered Surgealyn, a human anesthetic modified to remain effective in a Xenomorph's acidic bloodstream.
MedTech's engineers increased the drug's concentration and added an accelerator to make it act rapidly. Rice attached the control box above the handgrip of his guidepole so he could administer it without approaching the creature's mouth. Although weeks had passed since the theft, he believed the egg or its offspring would retain a recognizable scent. The sedative gave him an additional way to restrain Old Blue when the team resumed the search.
Presley Hall And The Apiary
Old Blue led the team to Presley Hall, where Synsound security personnel accompanied them through the building. He followed the scent through staircases, elevators, and corridors for roughly half an hour before reaching a restricted entrance on Level 1A. As they approached the Apiary, his agitation increased and he pulled toward the laboratory. Rice administered a small dose of Surgealyn, which rapidly calmed him enough for the men to continue inside.
The team discovered the remains of Damon Eddington and an enclosure containing the remains of animals and people. The stolen egg had produced Mozart, which had escaped toward the concert above. Rice ordered his men to put Old Blue in the vacant enclosure and administer a triple dose expected to last about three hours. They left him harnessed and sedated while they went upstairs to pursue the escaped Xenomorph.
Return To MedTech
Old Blue remained in the Apiary while Rice's team confronted Mozart in Presley Hall. The security officers destroyed the escaped Xenomorph and returned to the laboratory, where Rice questioned bioengineer Michael Brangwen about the stolen egg. Old Blue survived the operation inside the enclosure; he did not accompany the men into the concert hall or take part in Mozart's destruction.
One of the officers suggested giving Old Blue another dose of anesthetic if the questioning continued. Rice instead ordered the team to collect him and return to MedTech. After warning Brangwen against another attempt to steal the company's property, the men maneuvered the captive out using the harness and guidepoles. Old Blue left Presley Hall alive and in MedTech's custody.
Comic And Novel Differences
Old Blue appeared in the original comic as a muzzled, harnessed Xenomorph whose tracking instinct was redirected by the smell of jelly from a rival hive. The novel expanded his background by describing his capture on the Xenomorph homeworld, the injury he inflicted on Rice, and Rice's development of the restraint system. The comic identified the men putting Blue into the Apiary cage as Phillips and Andrews, while Navarro's account named Rice's companions Eddie McGarrity and Ricardo Morez. Both versions separated the restrained tracker from Mozart, the escaped creature pursued upstairs.
Behind The Scenes
Ol' Blue appeared in Chet Williamson and Tim Hamilton's four-issue Aliens: Music of the Spears, published by Dark Horse Comics in 1994. Yvonne Navarro developed his history in the 1996 Bantam Spectra novel adaptation. Rice's nickname and his use of the creature as a bloodhound described its tracking role; his handlers relied on physical restraint and chemical sedation to limit his movements and aggression.
The Killer Predators also used Xenomorphs as hounds in Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War. Their tusked creatures attacked the clan's enemies, whereas MedTech used Old Blue primarily to follow a stolen egg's scent. Both groups directed Xenomorphs against targets, but Old Blue required a muzzle, guidepoles, and sedation, and could overpower his handlers despite those restraints.
Conclusion
Old Blue helped MedTech trace its stolen egg to Synsound's laboratory beneath Presley Hall. His strength overwhelmed three handlers during the first expedition, and the deaths in the alley prompted Rice to add chemical sedation to the harness. The search ended with Mozart's destruction, while Old Blue survived and was returned to MedTech as a captive tracker.
Appearances
- Aliens: Music of the Spears (Dark Horse Comics, 1994).
- Aliens: Music of the Spears by Yvonne Navarro (Bantam Spectra, 1996).
Tag Categories: Individual Xenomorphs | Xenomorphs From The Comics | Xenomorphs From The Novels | Xenomorph Appearance | Alien Lore
