Thomas Kane (Earth-7149)

"I remember some... horrible dream about smothering."

- - Thomas Kane

Thomas Gilbert Ward Kane was the executive officer of the commercial freighter Nostromo, which he served during the fateful last voyage of 2526 when the crew encountered a xenomorph on LV-423, being the first victim, and incubator, of the Alien.

Early life
Thomas Gilbert Ward Kane was born on June 16th, 2522, in Borehamwood,Hertfordshire, on the United Kingdom, on Earth. He became a star student during his childhood, and eventually graduated with tip honors from the Bryce-Watkins Medical University on Eridanus II, where he developed an addiction to medicine, leading to an embolism which left him hospitalized for 107 days. After his plans of a medical career were ruined, he did numerous engineering courses, until he acquired a pilot license.

Afterwards, Kane became the executive officer of the Outreach, a hospital ship on the Epsilon Indi system. Relieved of his post after his addiction to medications resurfaced, he descended into alcoholism. Realizing he would likely die, Thomas sought psychological help, and after two years of treatment, he became free of his addiction to alcohol, and found a job at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation as the executive officer aboard the USCSS Nostromo.

Landing on Acheron
"The pit is completely enclosed, and it's full of leathery objects, like... eggs or something."

- - Thomas Kane describing the Derelict After the Nostromo landed on the moon Acheron after acquiring a mysterious signal, Kane was one of the volunteers to search for its original alongside Captain Arthur Dallas and navigator Joan Lambert. Together, the three tracked the signal down to a crashed derelict spacecraft, where they discovered the fossilized remnants of the ship's pilot. Thomas chose to investigate the ship's lower area, which was accessible only through a hole in the floor. He fell, and found himself in a cavernous chamber with objects similar to eggs.

As he investigated the pits of the ship, he disrupted a blue mist. One of the eggs started opening, and as he slowly peered to see it, a facehugger emerged and leapt to his suit, burning his helmet and incapacitating him. Dallas and Lambert found Kane lying on the ground, and took him back to the Nostromo, despite the insistence of warrant officer Ellen Ripley not to do so in the face of a possible disease. Ash, however, opened the hatch.

Death
The crew attempted removing the facehugger from Kane's face, only to repeatedly fail. Later on, the creature detached itself from his face and died. Thomas awoke from his comatose state hours later, apparently unscathed but thirsty. He described that, after the extraterrestrial attack, he had nightmares where he smothered. Before the crew returned to cryosleep, they decided to have a last meal. However, during their meal, Kane started choking, and convulsed violently in the table. While the crew watched in horror, a chestburster emerged from his belly, killing him instantly and escaping through the mess hall.

Following his death, the crew held an improvised funeral for Kane before jettisoning his body to space.

Personality
Kane was a tense man, and reserved around his feelings. His expertise in engineering and piloting made him a capable second officer, although not enough of a captain, as he lacked any serious authority. He also struggled with medication addiction and alcoholism, something which shaped his career during his initial years.

Equipment
Kane was equipped with a laser pistol while exploring LV-423 and the Derelict, but he was unable to use it in time to defend himself from the Facehugger attack.