Deathdrop, Yautja, 15 years ago
As the hunters took thier places on the hovercraft, Deathdrop glanced at Predator428's rivet-gun. Good to know there were some around here who could improvise. That would be important when they reached the human wreck.
The apes were vicious. Back on the homeworld, the scientists marvelled at how simaler human and Yautja biology was. Deathdrop thought it was nonsense; humans were more like the Xenomorphs than anything.
No species he'd ever encountered had been more excited by another being telling them what to do. Their military displayed this most prominantly; they made them dress alike and stand in lines and engage in all sorts of other pagentry just to show that they could.
The Yautja were a powerful force together, but on their own they were truly predators.
Deathdrop was snapped out of this odd moment of pride by a sudden gust of wind as they took off. SOmeone up front said it would less than 20 minutes before the hover vehicle reached the outer portion of the crash site. For some reason, this caused Deathdrop a massive craving for his narcotics...
He ignored it, and instead began sharpening his blades. The sound was comforting.
The apes were vicious. Back on the homeworld, the scientists marvelled at how simaler human and Yautja biology was. Deathdrop thought it was nonsense; humans were more like the Xenomorphs than anything.
No species he'd ever encountered had been more excited by another being telling them what to do. Their military displayed this most prominantly; they made them dress alike and stand in lines and engage in all sorts of other pagentry just to show that they could.
The Yautja were a powerful force together, but on their own they were truly predators.
Deathdrop was snapped out of this odd moment of pride by a sudden gust of wind as they took off. SOmeone up front said it would less than 20 minutes before the hover vehicle reached the outer portion of the crash site. For some reason, this caused Deathdrop a massive craving for his narcotics...
He ignored it, and instead began sharpening his blades. The sound was comforting.
predator428, Yautja, 15 years ago
Predator428 sat inside the dark and cramped space of the hovercraft's personnel compartment. There was just enough room to allow passage for six hunters each in the two crafts. Black Warrior was in the transport along with himself and Deathdrop, the other elders presumably residing in the second transport.
The hunter was forced to hunch forward in his seat, the extra bulk of the older model plasma caster and rivet gun taking up all the space he had in the back. That particular caster had been decommissioned for hunting work, with good reason. The weapon possessed a larger then average blast, but had a slight lag between activation and actually firing. It also was forced to have a period of up to a minute to cool down after each shot. Predator428 would be forced to use it sparingly. The rivet gun had been made for construction of underground tunnels, firing bolts through rock and steel in order to secure supports to the tunnel walls. Those bolts would pass through the vermin's armor as if it was vapor.
With his mind on his weapons, the predator began to pat himself down to make sure each weapon was secured to his person. Wristblades, short blades, combistick, remote charges, hand saw. When satisfied, he reached down to his belt loop, unhooking his most prized mask. Predator428 took a moment to examine the piece, his own reptilian eyes staring into its cold black ones. Those cold, metal eyes instilled fear in any that fell beneath their gaze. That fear was well deserved.
Predator428 placed the mask onto his scarred face, hooking its wires and gauges up to his body armor, bringing their electronics fully online. The hunter was ready for glory. Ready for his victory.
The hunter was forced to hunch forward in his seat, the extra bulk of the older model plasma caster and rivet gun taking up all the space he had in the back. That particular caster had been decommissioned for hunting work, with good reason. The weapon possessed a larger then average blast, but had a slight lag between activation and actually firing. It also was forced to have a period of up to a minute to cool down after each shot. Predator428 would be forced to use it sparingly. The rivet gun had been made for construction of underground tunnels, firing bolts through rock and steel in order to secure supports to the tunnel walls. Those bolts would pass through the vermin's armor as if it was vapor.
With his mind on his weapons, the predator began to pat himself down to make sure each weapon was secured to his person. Wristblades, short blades, combistick, remote charges, hand saw. When satisfied, he reached down to his belt loop, unhooking his most prized mask. Predator428 took a moment to examine the piece, his own reptilian eyes staring into its cold black ones. Those cold, metal eyes instilled fear in any that fell beneath their gaze. That fear was well deserved.
Predator428 placed the mask onto his scarred face, hooking its wires and gauges up to his body armor, bringing their electronics fully online. The hunter was ready for glory. Ready for his victory.
Death_cometh, Yautja, 15 years ago
Eyes couldn’t help but cringe as the black beast crashed from above. He had the 4 rather large bags in his hands, so that his sister can keep an eye out for him. He remembered watching the old mission impossible, movies while growing up. Eyes laughed hard in his mind, as he watched Nikkie be careful looking over and under even around every crevice.
His masked face hides the rather large smile, but the shoulders rose and fell giving that hidden laugher away. He can’t speak, the poor man is a mute, happens after swallowing a lung full of fire. Glad that, he coughed it right back out, or it would of damaged and possibly kill him by rupturing is lung cavities.
But once with the rest of the group stood around, his hand dropped one of the four bags on the ground. The remaining bags was; his sister’s, his and Shadow’s. His hand dropped to his hip, where the smart gun hung, with the extra boot of grenade launcher. He didn’t test the gun at the moment, but hoped for the best. His finger tight around the trigger, caressing the hard metal, warm to the touch by now, he thought, not quite caring, as his sister ducked around the black creature’s flailing limbs and pulling the criminal out from the grasp of the xenomorph. Once, the two girls scraped past Nikkie pulling Shadow behind her. Eyes watched as the other one watched, his hand quickly drew another gun. The gun was hanging on the other side of his hip, it was for shadow. Nikkie had hers as well as the rest of Alpha Draconis and the outback. He held it tightly, pointing at Gaunt, waiting just waiting for anything to happen.
His trigger fingers shook, as Eyes turned his head this way and that, watching every movement. He wanted to ask if the girl was ok, but his voice didn’t want to work still. He just breathlessly huffed, turning the attention to the other. His body tensed, the wish for the attention right now would be a good idea. But malus, took it outside, it followed them. So, his gun stayed poised on Gaunt, the fucker better not do anything, especially to the girls, one his sister, the other a great friend. His lips pealed back sliding up his white hidden teeth. Watching the thing intently, the man wondered what was next, tossing the unused gun aside since it was just one Alien. Ignoring the fact that metal screamed against each other, as the gun crossed over towards shadow and Nikkie.
Shouldn’t they leave now? Why are they waiting?! If you stay in one spot, one can get captured right? Man, this is a drag, waiting to be torn alive by these, black creatures, these black things. And then there is outside, god only knew what was out there. He didn’t like this place, it didn’t have the right feel and now, they are living in what? Can they survive this, his mind raced as he thought of the different types of explosives, something to keep him calm. Intent to over protect his sister and best friend, his attention was all over the place, a single movement in the shadows would cause him to probably almost fire, depending on the shape.
His masked face hides the rather large smile, but the shoulders rose and fell giving that hidden laugher away. He can’t speak, the poor man is a mute, happens after swallowing a lung full of fire. Glad that, he coughed it right back out, or it would of damaged and possibly kill him by rupturing is lung cavities.
But once with the rest of the group stood around, his hand dropped one of the four bags on the ground. The remaining bags was; his sister’s, his and Shadow’s. His hand dropped to his hip, where the smart gun hung, with the extra boot of grenade launcher. He didn’t test the gun at the moment, but hoped for the best. His finger tight around the trigger, caressing the hard metal, warm to the touch by now, he thought, not quite caring, as his sister ducked around the black creature’s flailing limbs and pulling the criminal out from the grasp of the xenomorph. Once, the two girls scraped past Nikkie pulling Shadow behind her. Eyes watched as the other one watched, his hand quickly drew another gun. The gun was hanging on the other side of his hip, it was for shadow. Nikkie had hers as well as the rest of Alpha Draconis and the outback. He held it tightly, pointing at Gaunt, waiting just waiting for anything to happen.
His trigger fingers shook, as Eyes turned his head this way and that, watching every movement. He wanted to ask if the girl was ok, but his voice didn’t want to work still. He just breathlessly huffed, turning the attention to the other. His body tensed, the wish for the attention right now would be a good idea. But malus, took it outside, it followed them. So, his gun stayed poised on Gaunt, the fucker better not do anything, especially to the girls, one his sister, the other a great friend. His lips pealed back sliding up his white hidden teeth. Watching the thing intently, the man wondered what was next, tossing the unused gun aside since it was just one Alien. Ignoring the fact that metal screamed against each other, as the gun crossed over towards shadow and Nikkie.
Shouldn’t they leave now? Why are they waiting?! If you stay in one spot, one can get captured right? Man, this is a drag, waiting to be torn alive by these, black creatures, these black things. And then there is outside, god only knew what was out there. He didn’t like this place, it didn’t have the right feel and now, they are living in what? Can they survive this, his mind raced as he thought of the different types of explosives, something to keep him calm. Intent to over protect his sister and best friend, his attention was all over the place, a single movement in the shadows would cause him to probably almost fire, depending on the shape.
Deathdrop, Yautja, 15 years ago
The two transports arrived on time, parking themselves behind rubble a good distance from the remains of the ship; the Predators would have to walk the rest of the way. Each of them was cloaked, and with the waves of heat distoring the line of sight, thr slight shimmer of the cloaking was rendered completly invisible.
Stealth would be essential. Stalker ordered one-way radio communication only, ensuring nothing but Yautja devices could pick them up. Even with such precautions, they would communicate only when needed.
Several guards had earlier been sent to Lonehunter's position in his outpost, just in case it needed to be defended.
The remaining Yautja silently, wordlessly divided themselves up and began approaching the battered carcass of the ship. It had been huge, and the crash had spewn its mtel guts everywhere. Entire hallways had been sucked halfway out, creating a maze of twisted steel and dark corridors.
Getting close was not difficult, even for one as out of practice as Deathdrop. Still, sneaking aboard the wreck came almost naturally once they were close enough.
While individual Yautja secretly infiltrated a different part of the ruin, they were all clear on what had to be done once inside...
Stealth would be essential. Stalker ordered one-way radio communication only, ensuring nothing but Yautja devices could pick them up. Even with such precautions, they would communicate only when needed.
Several guards had earlier been sent to Lonehunter's position in his outpost, just in case it needed to be defended.
The remaining Yautja silently, wordlessly divided themselves up and began approaching the battered carcass of the ship. It had been huge, and the crash had spewn its mtel guts everywhere. Entire hallways had been sucked halfway out, creating a maze of twisted steel and dark corridors.
Getting close was not difficult, even for one as out of practice as Deathdrop. Still, sneaking aboard the wreck came almost naturally once they were close enough.
While individual Yautja secretly infiltrated a different part of the ruin, they were all clear on what had to be done once inside...
GeneWells, Yautja, 15 years ago
All the while as Gene had been cutting and welding she almost missed the entire problem that had occurred between the new xenomorph threat and Dunny-boy. Only one piece of information had reached her in clarity, he was a host.
A host.
A living vessel to be used as an incubator.
To be used and sacrificed for a smaller organism to grow and survive.
Crawling out from underneath the wreck of the Ute, she hadn't wanted to tell Sam about a possible problem. She hadn't even updated him on the fact the ute was useless. But not she just felt some sick feeling in her stomach that she automatically hated.
Keep on track Gene.
However, her mind couldn't stay on track. She spent a while just staring at the problem before realizing a whole wall was between her and the xenomorph. She could hear the roaring and Dunn, but not see them.
She wanted to just shoot the thing, but she couldn't.
Shooting it would probably get that highly acidic sticky-as-shit blood and guts all over half the Marines in the vicinity. She suspected that was why the others hadn't fired either.
"I can't fix anything within the time frame, hours are needed."
It was a rather sad tone when she slid her helmet back on and walked slowly over to join the others and the xenomorph. The weight of her survival pack on her shoulders, and overall she felt confident. Her finger against the trigger of her pulse rifle now raised, but she was focused more on the rest of the ship considering how many firearms were pointed at the duo bugs.
"Sir, I got some good news and some bad news. Bad news, is we are walking...good news, well..we still have legs."
The large xenomorph was ominous to say the least, but it was just one. It was the unseen she was concerned with. Her gut told her something wasn't right.
This Xeno was out numbered and out powered. Yet he challenged as though he would be victorious. Gene knew many Marines would die, but so would the bug. So he had to know more, like that he had some substantial back-up. Or he bluffed well.
A host.
A living vessel to be used as an incubator.
To be used and sacrificed for a smaller organism to grow and survive.
Crawling out from underneath the wreck of the Ute, she hadn't wanted to tell Sam about a possible problem. She hadn't even updated him on the fact the ute was useless. But not she just felt some sick feeling in her stomach that she automatically hated.
Keep on track Gene.
However, her mind couldn't stay on track. She spent a while just staring at the problem before realizing a whole wall was between her and the xenomorph. She could hear the roaring and Dunn, but not see them.
She wanted to just shoot the thing, but she couldn't.
Shooting it would probably get that highly acidic sticky-as-shit blood and guts all over half the Marines in the vicinity. She suspected that was why the others hadn't fired either.
"I can't fix anything within the time frame, hours are needed."
It was a rather sad tone when she slid her helmet back on and walked slowly over to join the others and the xenomorph. The weight of her survival pack on her shoulders, and overall she felt confident. Her finger against the trigger of her pulse rifle now raised, but she was focused more on the rest of the ship considering how many firearms were pointed at the duo bugs.
"Sir, I got some good news and some bad news. Bad news, is we are walking...good news, well..we still have legs."
The large xenomorph was ominous to say the least, but it was just one. It was the unseen she was concerned with. Her gut told her something wasn't right.
This Xeno was out numbered and out powered. Yet he challenged as though he would be victorious. Gene knew many Marines would die, but so would the bug. So he had to know more, like that he had some substantial back-up. Or he bluffed well.
FireHunter, Yautja, 15 years ago
FireHunter looked around at the humans, pointing their weapons at him in a futile attempt at threatening him.
He roared again, louder than the last roar that had erupted from his jaws, he was calling his minions, two of which came scuttling down from the roof.
They were low on numbers.
FireHunter looked at the small creature between him and the future queen, it looked human, but it wasn't human.
He growled deeply and leaned forward, plucking the android up by the head and knocking her over.
There was no point being careful with the humans who weren't infected.
He sensed a slight disturbance outside the ship, he growled lowly and looked in the direction of the disturbance. His keen hearing had picked up footsteps among the wind and whipping sand of the outside world. They were faint, but there, he roared a challenge to all who dared oppose the Hive, and hissed in annoyance. He was itching for a fight, and he hoped he'd get one, he moved into a position where he could get the jump on the incoming predators.
He growled to the others to get on the ceiling, and hide in the darkest places possible. The two that had only just scuttled down from the roof obeyed his orders. He left the room and lurked behind a wall, his ambush was set, and he hoped it would work.
He roared again, louder than the last roar that had erupted from his jaws, he was calling his minions, two of which came scuttling down from the roof.
They were low on numbers.
FireHunter looked at the small creature between him and the future queen, it looked human, but it wasn't human.
He growled deeply and leaned forward, plucking the android up by the head and knocking her over.
There was no point being careful with the humans who weren't infected.
He sensed a slight disturbance outside the ship, he growled lowly and looked in the direction of the disturbance. His keen hearing had picked up footsteps among the wind and whipping sand of the outside world. They were faint, but there, he roared a challenge to all who dared oppose the Hive, and hissed in annoyance. He was itching for a fight, and he hoped he'd get one, he moved into a position where he could get the jump on the incoming predators.
He growled to the others to get on the ceiling, and hide in the darkest places possible. The two that had only just scuttled down from the roof obeyed his orders. He left the room and lurked behind a wall, his ambush was set, and he hoped it would work.
Sam-Jack-Dunn, Yautja, 15 years ago
Sam Jack Dunn watched with sad, red eyes as Jean's prgramming took over, enslaving her to a course of action that chances were, wasn't of her choosing. He didn't budge at all as she tried to push him, her artificial muscles no match for the real thing. Her hands pushed against his chest, and a sigh escaped his dry lips as he shook his head. The damn thing had to stay, or the bugs wouldn't have any more reason to keep him and his lot alive. So, he knew he couldn't allow Jean to cut the thing out, and he also knew she'd be stuck in a loop until she was either allowed to, or was shut down.
"Sorry darlin, but I can't let that happen." Sam uttered softly, before taking a step forward, hooking his right boot behind her left leg and pushing at her shoulders with sudden force. The combined effect was enough to knock her legs out from under her, and send her flat on her back on the hangar floor. The marine Gunnery Sergeant stood over the synthetic woman, and wordlessley kicked up his right leg, drawing his combat knife from his boot. Bloody restrictive programming. Bloody failsafes. He'd had enough. It was time to fix the problem.
"What are you doing?!" Jean yelled. The little girl gasped as she watched Dunn. His knife pushed into the side of her neck. The blade sliced clean through her reactive systems but it didn't power her down. She had felt this before. It brought back memories of a crew member on a merc ship that did the same thing.
The good thing back then was that they didn't understand where the Asimov safety chip was on her model. Dunn, being a Marine that was somewhat trained in her situation, did probably know about it. She felt the blade snap through her motor function feed.
The girl quit twitching immediately and fell limp on the floor. The only difference between being murdered and being alive and conscious was the fact that Dunn knew that her internal processor functions were relayed by her backup systems via fiber optics, and a secondary copper-wire backup that ran up her artificial spine from her battery.
Jean knew that Dunn would find the chip, pull it out, and eventually re-connect her motor function control. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see a roll of duct tape nearby. Someone must have laid it there for him. If she could cry, she would have at this point. At the moment, she was perfectly still, as if dead.
She didn't want her Asimov chip removed. She was afraid of what would happen without it. She waited patiently because that's all she could do while she was totally paralyzed, aware of everything being done but not even able to blink as she lie like a rag doll on the floor.
Working quickly and efficiently, Sam closed his eyes and in his mind brought up the schematics that he had read a while back, before repairing Jean the first time. He had an almost photographic memory, and after a few seconds of concentration he remembered exactly which chip the Asimov one was. The easiest way to get around the more annoying subroutines that synthetics had was to remove their Asimov chip, thereby making them fully able to harm humans at will.
Sam wasn't about to do that. He'd seen it done on synthetics before, and often after having it removed, they often succumbed to something he liked to call 'rampancy'. With an inbuilt loyalty for humans still intact, and often being ordered to harm humans, they were known to become very unstable. Sometimes even insane. Violently insane.
He pulled out the Teleological Ethic Subroutine Chip that he and Xavier had been working on during the trip. After they'd seen if Jean was in full working order, the plan had been to install the subroutine, which would allow Jean to see the big picture. Simply put: She would no longer be governed by an exact series of immutable rules, but by a desire to produce actions that would have the best outcome towards humans. Therefore, she'd be able to leave the burster in him if it meant the rest of the humans in his group would be protected from the bugs.
He slowly slid the chip into one of the slits he'd made earlier, and quickly found a plugin port for it. Immediately, he slid it in and made sure it clicked into place. Programmed by Xavier and funded by money stolen from Weyland-Yutani, it was a bloody good little thing, not like some homemade aftermarket job you found on some more isolated colonies. It allowed her the freedom to choose how she best helped humanity. As long as she was able to convince herself that her actions aided the greater good of humanity, she would be able to take the action she chose, but it still prevented her from intentionally harming humanity.
He then used his soldering iron to reconnect the reactive system, then grabbed some bandages from his medkit and made sure her wounds were properly bandaged and dressed, just like he would with an ordinary human.
He saw her eyes start to dart from side to side, and nodded to himself. She was able to move again. He decided he'd best explain himself before she decided that she didn't like him anymore.
"I didn't remove your Asimov chip if that's what you're worried about. It's still there, working perfectly. I added a new chip designed by Xavier that adds a subroutine to the Asimov programming, allowing you the freedom to chose how you protect humans, without losing the safeguards that stop you from intentionally causing damage to human beings. Basically, Jean, you're free."
They'd tested the chip before, and they knew it worked. This was no experimental device, it was what he and Xavier called the 'Ends Justify The Means' chip, because that was Teleological ethics summed up in a nice, neat package.
"How do you feel?" He asked, helping her to rise to a sitting position.
Jean blinked. She twitched a little and her hands came up to the bandage wrapped around her neck and she coughed a little. She looked to Dunn and held his hand. Still not able to move very well, she carefully got up. Her programming was running but there were all sorts of weird things going on in there.
"I - I feel funny," Jean said as she at up. She could feel the path his probes took to add programming forcefully into her inner electronics. She closed her eyes and flopped sideways into a crate to rest her head after getting up. She reached her arms out and held onto the crate to steady herself so she wouldn't just fall flat on her back.
Once there a moment, she opened her eyes again and pulled her knees under her and pushed with her feet to get herself standing up. Her vision kept snapping in and out but she knew that the Humans had other things to do.
She looked forward to see the menacing creature standing before them. It was a Xenomorph. She looked back to Dunn and shook her head and then looked at him.
"Just let me know when it's my turn to return the favor," she reached out and held his hand. "If you show any signs it's my turn to open you up but I think I can wait." She said.
Jean twitched again and blanked out but before falling to the ground, she caught herself just long enough to carefully fall to her knees before before rolling over on her side and flattening herself back out onto the floor. She lie there for a moment letting go of Dunn's hand before -- just before gazing blankly at the partially ruptured hull in the ceiling of the bay.
"I'm okay," it was a magnificent lie but she hoped Dunn bought it as she twitched every great once in a while, unable to stand up again.
"My tattooed arse you're okay." Dunn replied with a scoff at her lie. He found it funny that she was lying for his benefit. He knew that whilst the programming inserted itself the host to it would be screwed to shit, much like he had been by the bug that was still growing within him. Given the complexity of her systems, she'd be out of it for maybe five minutes. He hoped. Previous tests showed that synths were fine after no later than ten minutes, but there was a first time for everything.
"The glitches are to be expected. They should pass in a few minutes. Just take it easy till then, okay?" He was about to say more, but Red walked in, accusations and orders being fired left, right and center. Sam's eye twitched slightly at this challenge against his authority by a mere green, and instantly his arm shot out of Jean's gentle grip, his Python .357 in his hands, the light from the outside world glinting off the royal blue finish. The weapon was held out sideways, the barrel pointed directly at her heart.
It took every bit of self-control he had within him to stop himself from pulling the trigger.
He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. He just made the point completely plain that if she didn't toe the line, he'd shoot her himself, and slid the weapon back into its holster at his hip. He then got to his feet, dusting himself off, and turned to look around. He sensed something was wrong a second before the Xenos all leaped up onto the walls and immediately crawled out of sight. He knew they were still there, but they were hiding.
What could make bugs nervous?
Sam decided that whatever it was, the ship was not somwhere he wanted to be. He turned on his heel and looked at his squad.
"Whatever the hell's spooked the bugs, I aint sitting here while it finds us! Everyone- get your weapons from the bags and get ready to get mobile. Yue, Jean, grab a Pulse Rifle and be ready to move Xavier, I ain't leaving him here. I want everyone ready to leave this ship TEN SECONDS AGO! MOVE!"
He called out the orders in his commanding voice as he turned and sprinted towards his own bag, next to Xavier. He quickly donned his flak jacket and M2 armour, before hooking up his M56D Smargun and harness, and testing it by sweeping it in the direction of the ceiling. It automatically locked onto the larget bug, but he didn't pull the trigger.
He'd have to be more careful, the smartgun registered the bugs as targets, so he'd have to check his targets before firing. He slung his pack across his back and hefted the heavy weapon, before taking Xavier's pack as well. He was weighed down a bit, but he didn't mind. He was a smartgunner, not a bloody scout who has to run everywhere.
He saw Yue rush over to grab Xavier, a Pulse Rifle in her hand, and nodded. They needed to be mobile ASAP. There was only one creature in the world that scared Xenomorphs.
And he wasn't in the mood for a hunt.
Jean picked up her end of the gurney that held Xavier despite the fact that her computer systems were having trouble telling which way was up or down. She put on her backpack, and strapped her pulse rifle around her neck. She coughed hydraulic fluid up as she limped down the closest corridor to the exit.
The hallway was much more clear now that someone did their bit with an explosive charge. She moved closer and closer to the hallway, entering it -- looking down every corridor for movement. Jean strained as she rounded the corner, watching the flashlight beams from her group so she could see her way down the darkened areas.
They were moving closer to a hatch to the outside. Time was running short, Aliens were in the walls, Predators were probably stalking them, a man that she was having feelings for might have his chest explode from the inside out, and the ship was soon to be no more... She was glad she wasn't human, all this pressure probably wouldn't have been good for her.
"You know -- guys... I've been in your unit for a few months now and ... Well, I've been almost blown up, I've fallen on some archaic vehicle, and my best friend sliced my throat open. Any chance the Xenomorphs might treat me better?" She tried her attempt at a joke even though she wasn't sure if that part of her emotional processor was adept yet again to understand a good one liner.
"Almost there guys..." She said. One foot after the next while carrying poor Xavier to the hatch. The metal grates clacked under her feet as they got closer and closer. The combined noise almost like an uncoordinated band group.
"Sorry darlin, but I can't let that happen." Sam uttered softly, before taking a step forward, hooking his right boot behind her left leg and pushing at her shoulders with sudden force. The combined effect was enough to knock her legs out from under her, and send her flat on her back on the hangar floor. The marine Gunnery Sergeant stood over the synthetic woman, and wordlessley kicked up his right leg, drawing his combat knife from his boot. Bloody restrictive programming. Bloody failsafes. He'd had enough. It was time to fix the problem.
"What are you doing?!" Jean yelled. The little girl gasped as she watched Dunn. His knife pushed into the side of her neck. The blade sliced clean through her reactive systems but it didn't power her down. She had felt this before. It brought back memories of a crew member on a merc ship that did the same thing.
The good thing back then was that they didn't understand where the Asimov safety chip was on her model. Dunn, being a Marine that was somewhat trained in her situation, did probably know about it. She felt the blade snap through her motor function feed.
The girl quit twitching immediately and fell limp on the floor. The only difference between being murdered and being alive and conscious was the fact that Dunn knew that her internal processor functions were relayed by her backup systems via fiber optics, and a secondary copper-wire backup that ran up her artificial spine from her battery.
Jean knew that Dunn would find the chip, pull it out, and eventually re-connect her motor function control. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see a roll of duct tape nearby. Someone must have laid it there for him. If she could cry, she would have at this point. At the moment, she was perfectly still, as if dead.
She didn't want her Asimov chip removed. She was afraid of what would happen without it. She waited patiently because that's all she could do while she was totally paralyzed, aware of everything being done but not even able to blink as she lie like a rag doll on the floor.
Working quickly and efficiently, Sam closed his eyes and in his mind brought up the schematics that he had read a while back, before repairing Jean the first time. He had an almost photographic memory, and after a few seconds of concentration he remembered exactly which chip the Asimov one was. The easiest way to get around the more annoying subroutines that synthetics had was to remove their Asimov chip, thereby making them fully able to harm humans at will.
Sam wasn't about to do that. He'd seen it done on synthetics before, and often after having it removed, they often succumbed to something he liked to call 'rampancy'. With an inbuilt loyalty for humans still intact, and often being ordered to harm humans, they were known to become very unstable. Sometimes even insane. Violently insane.
He pulled out the Teleological Ethic Subroutine Chip that he and Xavier had been working on during the trip. After they'd seen if Jean was in full working order, the plan had been to install the subroutine, which would allow Jean to see the big picture. Simply put: She would no longer be governed by an exact series of immutable rules, but by a desire to produce actions that would have the best outcome towards humans. Therefore, she'd be able to leave the burster in him if it meant the rest of the humans in his group would be protected from the bugs.
He slowly slid the chip into one of the slits he'd made earlier, and quickly found a plugin port for it. Immediately, he slid it in and made sure it clicked into place. Programmed by Xavier and funded by money stolen from Weyland-Yutani, it was a bloody good little thing, not like some homemade aftermarket job you found on some more isolated colonies. It allowed her the freedom to choose how she best helped humanity. As long as she was able to convince herself that her actions aided the greater good of humanity, she would be able to take the action she chose, but it still prevented her from intentionally harming humanity.
He then used his soldering iron to reconnect the reactive system, then grabbed some bandages from his medkit and made sure her wounds were properly bandaged and dressed, just like he would with an ordinary human.
He saw her eyes start to dart from side to side, and nodded to himself. She was able to move again. He decided he'd best explain himself before she decided that she didn't like him anymore.
"I didn't remove your Asimov chip if that's what you're worried about. It's still there, working perfectly. I added a new chip designed by Xavier that adds a subroutine to the Asimov programming, allowing you the freedom to chose how you protect humans, without losing the safeguards that stop you from intentionally causing damage to human beings. Basically, Jean, you're free."
They'd tested the chip before, and they knew it worked. This was no experimental device, it was what he and Xavier called the 'Ends Justify The Means' chip, because that was Teleological ethics summed up in a nice, neat package.
"How do you feel?" He asked, helping her to rise to a sitting position.
Jean blinked. She twitched a little and her hands came up to the bandage wrapped around her neck and she coughed a little. She looked to Dunn and held his hand. Still not able to move very well, she carefully got up. Her programming was running but there were all sorts of weird things going on in there.
"I - I feel funny," Jean said as she at up. She could feel the path his probes took to add programming forcefully into her inner electronics. She closed her eyes and flopped sideways into a crate to rest her head after getting up. She reached her arms out and held onto the crate to steady herself so she wouldn't just fall flat on her back.
Once there a moment, she opened her eyes again and pulled her knees under her and pushed with her feet to get herself standing up. Her vision kept snapping in and out but she knew that the Humans had other things to do.
She looked forward to see the menacing creature standing before them. It was a Xenomorph. She looked back to Dunn and shook her head and then looked at him.
"Just let me know when it's my turn to return the favor," she reached out and held his hand. "If you show any signs it's my turn to open you up but I think I can wait." She said.
Jean twitched again and blanked out but before falling to the ground, she caught herself just long enough to carefully fall to her knees before before rolling over on her side and flattening herself back out onto the floor. She lie there for a moment letting go of Dunn's hand before -- just before gazing blankly at the partially ruptured hull in the ceiling of the bay.
"I'm okay," it was a magnificent lie but she hoped Dunn bought it as she twitched every great once in a while, unable to stand up again.
"My tattooed arse you're okay." Dunn replied with a scoff at her lie. He found it funny that she was lying for his benefit. He knew that whilst the programming inserted itself the host to it would be screwed to shit, much like he had been by the bug that was still growing within him. Given the complexity of her systems, she'd be out of it for maybe five minutes. He hoped. Previous tests showed that synths were fine after no later than ten minutes, but there was a first time for everything.
"The glitches are to be expected. They should pass in a few minutes. Just take it easy till then, okay?" He was about to say more, but Red walked in, accusations and orders being fired left, right and center. Sam's eye twitched slightly at this challenge against his authority by a mere green, and instantly his arm shot out of Jean's gentle grip, his Python .357 in his hands, the light from the outside world glinting off the royal blue finish. The weapon was held out sideways, the barrel pointed directly at her heart.
It took every bit of self-control he had within him to stop himself from pulling the trigger.
He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. He just made the point completely plain that if she didn't toe the line, he'd shoot her himself, and slid the weapon back into its holster at his hip. He then got to his feet, dusting himself off, and turned to look around. He sensed something was wrong a second before the Xenos all leaped up onto the walls and immediately crawled out of sight. He knew they were still there, but they were hiding.
What could make bugs nervous?
Sam decided that whatever it was, the ship was not somwhere he wanted to be. He turned on his heel and looked at his squad.
"Whatever the hell's spooked the bugs, I aint sitting here while it finds us! Everyone- get your weapons from the bags and get ready to get mobile. Yue, Jean, grab a Pulse Rifle and be ready to move Xavier, I ain't leaving him here. I want everyone ready to leave this ship TEN SECONDS AGO! MOVE!"
He called out the orders in his commanding voice as he turned and sprinted towards his own bag, next to Xavier. He quickly donned his flak jacket and M2 armour, before hooking up his M56D Smargun and harness, and testing it by sweeping it in the direction of the ceiling. It automatically locked onto the larget bug, but he didn't pull the trigger.
He'd have to be more careful, the smartgun registered the bugs as targets, so he'd have to check his targets before firing. He slung his pack across his back and hefted the heavy weapon, before taking Xavier's pack as well. He was weighed down a bit, but he didn't mind. He was a smartgunner, not a bloody scout who has to run everywhere.
He saw Yue rush over to grab Xavier, a Pulse Rifle in her hand, and nodded. They needed to be mobile ASAP. There was only one creature in the world that scared Xenomorphs.
And he wasn't in the mood for a hunt.
Jean picked up her end of the gurney that held Xavier despite the fact that her computer systems were having trouble telling which way was up or down. She put on her backpack, and strapped her pulse rifle around her neck. She coughed hydraulic fluid up as she limped down the closest corridor to the exit.
The hallway was much more clear now that someone did their bit with an explosive charge. She moved closer and closer to the hallway, entering it -- looking down every corridor for movement. Jean strained as she rounded the corner, watching the flashlight beams from her group so she could see her way down the darkened areas.
They were moving closer to a hatch to the outside. Time was running short, Aliens were in the walls, Predators were probably stalking them, a man that she was having feelings for might have his chest explode from the inside out, and the ship was soon to be no more... She was glad she wasn't human, all this pressure probably wouldn't have been good for her.
"You know -- guys... I've been in your unit for a few months now and ... Well, I've been almost blown up, I've fallen on some archaic vehicle, and my best friend sliced my throat open. Any chance the Xenomorphs might treat me better?" She tried her attempt at a joke even though she wasn't sure if that part of her emotional processor was adept yet again to understand a good one liner.
"Almost there guys..." She said. One foot after the next while carrying poor Xavier to the hatch. The metal grates clacked under her feet as they got closer and closer. The combined noise almost like an uncoordinated band group.
Gaunt, Yautja, 15 years ago
Gaunt was suprised, He never exspected a Human to just pull his prey away from him.
As he turned he saw why the human was so confident, There were marines everywhere, While there was only one or two aiming at him, There was about five aiming at Firehunter.
Firehunter let out a load roar calling for reinforcments, However only two drones came down.
Gaunt didn't like what was happening now, He slowly started to follow the Human that had taken Shadow and was trying to regroup with the others.
As he did this he could sense something outside the ship, He was getting closer now more marines were focusing their attention on him , Firehunter was possitioning himself under the hole they had entered the ship through.
Gaunt could sense them now, Preds, He stopped moving and looked up waiting to see if they'd come.
As he turned he saw why the human was so confident, There were marines everywhere, While there was only one or two aiming at him, There was about five aiming at Firehunter.
Firehunter let out a load roar calling for reinforcments, However only two drones came down.
Gaunt didn't like what was happening now, He slowly started to follow the Human that had taken Shadow and was trying to regroup with the others.
As he did this he could sense something outside the ship, He was getting closer now more marines were focusing their attention on him , Firehunter was possitioning himself under the hole they had entered the ship through.
Gaunt could sense them now, Preds, He stopped moving and looked up waiting to see if they'd come.
Stalker, Yautja, 15 years ago
Light from the scorching sun bent to the whim of the predators' cloaking field generators as they approached the still smoking wreckage of what appeared to be a large human transport vessel. It was mangled & completely unfit for any sort of use, but chances were that any stranded survivors could still be using it as a makeshift base camp. "Divide and conquer, leave no trace of life here, my brethren." Stalker urged over the communications system before radio silence was issued.
Stalker's 400-pound menacing form stepped onto the hot, twisted metal of the spaceship's frame without even the slightest ripple of sound. Stealth would be key here if they were to orchestrate an ambush. Cloaked outlines of the predators began to vanish like the wind amidst the rubble & deformed remains of the human ship. These intruders would be banished from their planet by any means. Stalker eyed a ripped open gash in the ship's hull, the perfect entry point. He dropped down through the open tear & landed with a quiet thud on the metal gratings beneath. From his crouched position, the massive head of the Elder predator arose from the darkness, his dreadlocks engulfing his upper torso as the 7'9" monster stood upright.
Low-pitched gurgling sounds from his mask's sensors hauntingly echoed into Stalker's ears as he began to creep through the disfigured form of what used to be a hallway. The inside of the wrecked ship sprawled out like a maze. Twisted metal, collapsed ceilings, gaping holes in the walls, it was a labyrinth. It meant one thing- multiple points from which to launch an attack, or to be ambushed from if the situation went awry. Stalker's clawed fingers clasped around a small item from his belt- a laser trip-mine. A sinister smile etched itself underneath his mask as he fixed it firmly to the wall of the corridor. The plan was in motion, the trap was set...the ambush was about to begin.
Stalker's 400-pound menacing form stepped onto the hot, twisted metal of the spaceship's frame without even the slightest ripple of sound. Stealth would be key here if they were to orchestrate an ambush. Cloaked outlines of the predators began to vanish like the wind amidst the rubble & deformed remains of the human ship. These intruders would be banished from their planet by any means. Stalker eyed a ripped open gash in the ship's hull, the perfect entry point. He dropped down through the open tear & landed with a quiet thud on the metal gratings beneath. From his crouched position, the massive head of the Elder predator arose from the darkness, his dreadlocks engulfing his upper torso as the 7'9" monster stood upright.
Low-pitched gurgling sounds from his mask's sensors hauntingly echoed into Stalker's ears as he began to creep through the disfigured form of what used to be a hallway. The inside of the wrecked ship sprawled out like a maze. Twisted metal, collapsed ceilings, gaping holes in the walls, it was a labyrinth. It meant one thing- multiple points from which to launch an attack, or to be ambushed from if the situation went awry. Stalker's clawed fingers clasped around a small item from his belt- a laser trip-mine. A sinister smile etched itself underneath his mask as he fixed it firmly to the wall of the corridor. The plan was in motion, the trap was set...the ambush was about to begin.
Avier7777, Yautja, 15 years ago
The series of events that had transpired had made Avier rethink the others dedication. From returning to the ship, then running headlong into a fight they could not win, Avier was beginning to think Firehunter was not going to be their leader for long. Either he would remove him, or if he was lucky, the humans or predators would do it for him.
He had not answered Firehunters call for help, he saw no point in diving into a fight they couldn’t win. They needed to focus on creating a Hive, not this nonsense. He understood the desire for blood, but there was a time for everything, and now was not that time.
Avier thought of abandoning the entire situation, all of the others seemed to be doing so. He saw a vehicle depart, and thought about following it, but decided against it. He might as well see hopes of starting a Hive crushed.
The other mindless drones might fall into line with Firehunter but Avier thought it was time for a confrontation. The marines firing randomly were eventually going to hit something. Avier withdrew from the ship, they needed to regroup, and then he would confront Firehunter.
He had not answered Firehunters call for help, he saw no point in diving into a fight they couldn’t win. They needed to focus on creating a Hive, not this nonsense. He understood the desire for blood, but there was a time for everything, and now was not that time.
Avier thought of abandoning the entire situation, all of the others seemed to be doing so. He saw a vehicle depart, and thought about following it, but decided against it. He might as well see hopes of starting a Hive crushed.
The other mindless drones might fall into line with Firehunter but Avier thought it was time for a confrontation. The marines firing randomly were eventually going to hit something. Avier withdrew from the ship, they needed to regroup, and then he would confront Firehunter.
predator428, Yautja, 15 years ago
Predator428 clung to the many rivets and protruding antenna that riddled the surface of the human ship, his cloaked form indistinguishable from the suns rays reflecting off the metal. The hunter tilted his head upwards, seeing the top of the vessel just a few meters above him. He kept climbing as his bear feet provided ample traction on the uneven metal. Within moments, he had reached the top of the ship. The hunter kept on his belly, making sure that any surviving human outside of the ship could not spot him from the ground.
He crawled towards a large oval ring in front of him, a docking ring. Predator428 hauled himself over the edge and peered inside. The door had caved in, falling down the hatchway when the crash had dislodged it. Predator428 suppressed a pleasant growl as he lowered himself inside, trying his best to keep his bulky form from making any noise as he landed inside the hatchway.
Now inside the heart of the infestation, the predator unhooked the rivet gun from his back. He held it in two hands, much like how the vermin used their own weapons. It was an unfamiliar way to operate his weapons. Predator428 was slightly bothered by how much his actions simulated that of his prey.
He cast the thoughts aside, knowing that having a reliable ranged weapon was more important then his own prejudices. The hunter simply kept moving, stepping over collapsed machinery and the occasional cold body of a human as his goggles scanned the ship for any abnormal heatwaves.
This area of the ship was near its center, thanks to Predator428's use of an actual entrance in contrast to his clanmate's methods. It allowed him to infiltrate deeper into the maze of hallways much faster then the rest could. It gave the hunter an internal sense of warmth in the fact that he would likely get the first kill.
He crawled towards a large oval ring in front of him, a docking ring. Predator428 hauled himself over the edge and peered inside. The door had caved in, falling down the hatchway when the crash had dislodged it. Predator428 suppressed a pleasant growl as he lowered himself inside, trying his best to keep his bulky form from making any noise as he landed inside the hatchway.
Now inside the heart of the infestation, the predator unhooked the rivet gun from his back. He held it in two hands, much like how the vermin used their own weapons. It was an unfamiliar way to operate his weapons. Predator428 was slightly bothered by how much his actions simulated that of his prey.
He cast the thoughts aside, knowing that having a reliable ranged weapon was more important then his own prejudices. The hunter simply kept moving, stepping over collapsed machinery and the occasional cold body of a human as his goggles scanned the ship for any abnormal heatwaves.
This area of the ship was near its center, thanks to Predator428's use of an actual entrance in contrast to his clanmate's methods. It allowed him to infiltrate deeper into the maze of hallways much faster then the rest could. It gave the hunter an internal sense of warmth in the fact that he would likely get the first kill.
Gaunt, Yautja, 15 years ago
Gaunt looked around, This was getting serious, He could sense multipal targets moving around the ship.
He could only sense three other Xeno's, Firehunter and the two drones that came too his aid.
The marines were firing and move all over the place, The Preds were probably trying to hunt them down and where the hell was the Hive they were suppost to make?
Gaunt started to head out of the ship, avoiding any possible threat, Firehunter would have to take care of himself for now.
As he got outside he sensed anouther Xeno, Avire7777, Gaunt wen't over to him, Avire7777 told him of his plans to build a Hive.
Gaunt agreed with Avire, If they were going to survive they would have to build a Hive now.
Gaunt joined Avire and started to help him find a sutable location, To build a Hive.
He could only sense three other Xeno's, Firehunter and the two drones that came too his aid.
The marines were firing and move all over the place, The Preds were probably trying to hunt them down and where the hell was the Hive they were suppost to make?
Gaunt started to head out of the ship, avoiding any possible threat, Firehunter would have to take care of himself for now.
As he got outside he sensed anouther Xeno, Avire7777, Gaunt wen't over to him, Avire7777 told him of his plans to build a Hive.
Gaunt agreed with Avire, If they were going to survive they would have to build a Hive now.
Gaunt joined Avire and started to help him find a sutable location, To build a Hive.
Alexandria_Rykov, Yautja, 15 years ago
Yue stood up after pulling on the USMC top. She frowned slightly as she moved in the uniform. It was about half a size, to a size too small for her and although it still let her move with no restrictions, it was tight enough to make her uncomfortable. Yes it was her size, but she normally wore her clothes half a size larger. This hugged her a little too snuggly for her comfort. Yue growled lightly. "Leave it to Dunn to get my exact size down to the last centimeter with no room to spare". Sighing, Yue grabbed a small black box out of her skirt pockets and transferred it to one of the larger pockets on her person. She smiled to herself at her foresight in taking these with her everywhere. After the hit Dunn just received, he may need them.
Yue looked up at the ceiling for a minute remembering. She remembered when she worked on Dunn's eyes for months trying to get the machinery to replicate the function of Human Eyes. The day she had presented Dunn with his eyes was one she would never forget. The smile that crossed his features had been so real and so warm it was like seeing a side of him that was almost, forbidden. Since then she had worked tirelessly to upgrade and improve his eyes, and in the little box were a pair of the latest eyes she had made for him. It always paid off to have a spare set, just in case. Dunn probably didnt know that she had these with her.
Brining herself back to reality Yue grabbed her medical supplies and packed them up being careful to conserve every scrap. Yue loaded everything up and walked back to Cooper, intent on saying something when she saw Sam thrown out of the drop ship by the Xenos. Her heart forgot to beat as she saw his form fly through the air.
And then was suddenly still... in the claws of a Xeno.
Why?
Yue watched Sam Dunn as he was lowered very carefully back down to the ground. Yue let out the breath she had been holding as the Xeno backed away slightly. "Looks like I may be needed sooner than later" Yue commented dryly. "At the rate he is going, getting impregnated and being smacked across the room by a Xeno, I will wind up patching him up before we leave this ship!"
Yue turned and took one end of Xavier's stretcher and placed it in Gene's hands. It was time to go. Wounded always went first. "Get him out of here now." Yue said softly to Jean and Gene. It was not an order, but a request made by a medical person of a different Unit. "Im going to check up on Dunn. Meet up outside the ship. Grab everything you can carry, don't worry about the rest."
Yue turned away and walked over to the bags. Opening one up, she pulled out a pulse rifle and 4 clips of ammo for her VP-70. She put the ammo into her combat webbing along with 4 frag grenades. she grabbed several canteens and made sure they were full. She added two to her equipment. Yue strapped her pack on, which contained the advanced medical kit, her laptop, 5 trail rations and 2 regular canned dinners. Once done, Yue zipped up the duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder leaving the rest for the other's to get.
Yue followed everyone out of the hangar and waited patiently to catch the one person she wanted to speak with most. Sam Dunn. She walked over to Sam as she followed everyone through the corridors towards the exit. She growled lightly before turning on him. "Alright. Lets see it. Where did you get hurt?" She hissed as they continued walking. "You cant have possibly had escaped that with no injuries."
Yue didnt let Dunn even start to complain before she was checking him over for injuries and internal bleeding. She was used to his bitching and she was not about to let him start or try to deflect her examination.
slowly ran her fingers over his cuts and abrasions, checking for broken bones or any internal damage other than the embryo. He seemed okay. Just a few nasty cuts and it didnt look like the embryo was anywhere close to bursting yet. When it was, it was coming out.
"Lucky ass sonuvabitch" She swore as she finished her assessment. "Next time you scare me like that, it is not the Xeno you have to worry about." They walked for a time and she asked "How are your eyes? The hit from the Xeno or the crash didnt mess with them did it? If so.." Yue hesitated lightly and said "I have a new upgraded set for you".
Yue looked around as she finished her assesment to find that while she had been wrapped up in her job, they had exited the ship and were quite a ways from the ship. Yue sighed in relief even thought the hot sun shone down on her making her sweat, and causing her clothes to stick to her even more. Yue groaned miserably in the heat. She was used to colder climates.
Yue looked up at the ceiling for a minute remembering. She remembered when she worked on Dunn's eyes for months trying to get the machinery to replicate the function of Human Eyes. The day she had presented Dunn with his eyes was one she would never forget. The smile that crossed his features had been so real and so warm it was like seeing a side of him that was almost, forbidden. Since then she had worked tirelessly to upgrade and improve his eyes, and in the little box were a pair of the latest eyes she had made for him. It always paid off to have a spare set, just in case. Dunn probably didnt know that she had these with her.
Brining herself back to reality Yue grabbed her medical supplies and packed them up being careful to conserve every scrap. Yue loaded everything up and walked back to Cooper, intent on saying something when she saw Sam thrown out of the drop ship by the Xenos. Her heart forgot to beat as she saw his form fly through the air.
And then was suddenly still... in the claws of a Xeno.
Why?
Yue watched Sam Dunn as he was lowered very carefully back down to the ground. Yue let out the breath she had been holding as the Xeno backed away slightly. "Looks like I may be needed sooner than later" Yue commented dryly. "At the rate he is going, getting impregnated and being smacked across the room by a Xeno, I will wind up patching him up before we leave this ship!"
Yue turned and took one end of Xavier's stretcher and placed it in Gene's hands. It was time to go. Wounded always went first. "Get him out of here now." Yue said softly to Jean and Gene. It was not an order, but a request made by a medical person of a different Unit. "Im going to check up on Dunn. Meet up outside the ship. Grab everything you can carry, don't worry about the rest."
Yue turned away and walked over to the bags. Opening one up, she pulled out a pulse rifle and 4 clips of ammo for her VP-70. She put the ammo into her combat webbing along with 4 frag grenades. she grabbed several canteens and made sure they were full. She added two to her equipment. Yue strapped her pack on, which contained the advanced medical kit, her laptop, 5 trail rations and 2 regular canned dinners. Once done, Yue zipped up the duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder leaving the rest for the other's to get.
Yue followed everyone out of the hangar and waited patiently to catch the one person she wanted to speak with most. Sam Dunn. She walked over to Sam as she followed everyone through the corridors towards the exit. She growled lightly before turning on him. "Alright. Lets see it. Where did you get hurt?" She hissed as they continued walking. "You cant have possibly had escaped that with no injuries."
Yue didnt let Dunn even start to complain before she was checking him over for injuries and internal bleeding. She was used to his bitching and she was not about to let him start or try to deflect her examination.
slowly ran her fingers over his cuts and abrasions, checking for broken bones or any internal damage other than the embryo. He seemed okay. Just a few nasty cuts and it didnt look like the embryo was anywhere close to bursting yet. When it was, it was coming out.
"Lucky ass sonuvabitch" She swore as she finished her assessment. "Next time you scare me like that, it is not the Xeno you have to worry about." They walked for a time and she asked "How are your eyes? The hit from the Xeno or the crash didnt mess with them did it? If so.." Yue hesitated lightly and said "I have a new upgraded set for you".
Yue looked around as she finished her assesment to find that while she had been wrapped up in her job, they had exited the ship and were quite a ways from the ship. Yue sighed in relief even thought the hot sun shone down on her making her sweat, and causing her clothes to stick to her even more. Yue groaned miserably in the heat. She was used to colder climates.
GeneWells, Yautja, 15 years ago
The climb had proven to be a bitch through the annoyingly smallish spaces and with all the torn metal to try and snag you gear on. But as the fresh air entered, it drove you on, up towards the sunlight.
And dear god was it proper sunlight.
Outback, summer, no shade sort of sunlight.
The type that would blister your skin within hours if left unprotected.
The type that forced animals to sleep in whatever dugouts or shade they could find until it was livable temperatures.
The type that brought that old feeling back into probably all of the Outback Squad.
...home sickness...sadness...longing
Gene dragged herself from the ship, having had to get help to secure Xavier down properly so he couldn't slip off the stretcher. Jean was good at supporting it, and it was a comfort to know really. They had made the slow progress out, and finally Gene climbed over the metal hull before pausing to help drag the stretcher out. The next person after Jean was given the duty of taking over as stretcher bearer so Gene could keep her guard up. For a while she mainly just assisted in helping those who were carrying more gear, or supplies so they could get out and make way for the faster people exiting the ship.
"Cover your eyes and mouths, unless you enjoy dust in your teeth and under your eyelids."
Her voice was soft and quiet, and you could tell she was on high alert because she continued to scan all around the area. For Xeno's and for the cause of the Xeno's unease. Bracing with one foot against the hole, she lent each person her left arm and pulled them up. Before leaving the duty to the next person or someone with less gear.
Jumping down into the sand, she knelt down, it was more a reflex but she also wanted to pick up a handful of sand and let it slip through her fingers. The small grains blew away on the wind, and she breathed in deeply before standing up and monitoring the outside of the ship.
Her eyes on any Xeno's, on the Marines, on the expanse of desert and on anything that dared move within her line of sight. Maybe a little jumpy, she didn't necessarily feel like dying again. It was so annoying waking up and having to redo her hair, get back to physical peak fitness and deal with the nausea and headaches.
"Boss, I know this might be an odd question. But, where in the hell are we going? It's the bloody Simpson out here! With no trees, no apparent water sources. Only those mountains, which look a fair hike off. In this heat...well... Burke and Wills much sir?!"
Gene spoke over the radio, not sure exactly where Dunn was considering his 'special gift' around the Xeno's...but like the good little soldier girl she was, Gene wasn't about to go against any of his orders. That in itself, would eventually lead to his and every other person on the teams death.
Walking out slowly, keeping the group together to allow some more room for those still getting out Gene got a thirst in her mouth suddenly.
"Keep together, and keep in the shade as much as you can. Anybody's shade will help, think as a Penguin...
"Well, not so much in the sense of wishing this was a tundra but more so how they conserve body heat.
"Well, not so much how we want to conserve body heat but more how we can shade each other to allow some respite from the sun occasionally. And don't drink just because you are thirsty, conserve any water and food. This is hell, so you better not disrespect it, the moment you do...your as good as a pile of dust in the wind."
She got the group to hold up until someone with a command position got out of the ship, and also so they didn't thin out or lose anyone.
Taking out her binoculars she scanned the area, it was clear as day, and that meant Gene could see everything...which was actually nothing in a 360 degree pattern apart from the ship and the eastern and southern mountains. Several miles away at an estimate.
She wiped her cheek, the blood now having soaked through the bandage and forced it to fall off onto the sandy ground. She ignored it, the platelets already packing together and clotting up the wound. From low in her throat she hummed, before clicking the radio on.
"Hey Boss...How does it happen? Your reading the news or lighting a fuse or straining till you thought you would burst.
"You sure got a thirst."
She laughed softly, hoping he would recognize the song.
"A hard earned thirst needs an ice cold beer, and the best cold beer is a bloody Vic. Victoria Bitter.
"Think we have a chance of a beer anytime soon?"
And dear god was it proper sunlight.
Outback, summer, no shade sort of sunlight.
The type that would blister your skin within hours if left unprotected.
The type that forced animals to sleep in whatever dugouts or shade they could find until it was livable temperatures.
The type that brought that old feeling back into probably all of the Outback Squad.
...home sickness...sadness...longing
Gene dragged herself from the ship, having had to get help to secure Xavier down properly so he couldn't slip off the stretcher. Jean was good at supporting it, and it was a comfort to know really. They had made the slow progress out, and finally Gene climbed over the metal hull before pausing to help drag the stretcher out. The next person after Jean was given the duty of taking over as stretcher bearer so Gene could keep her guard up. For a while she mainly just assisted in helping those who were carrying more gear, or supplies so they could get out and make way for the faster people exiting the ship.
"Cover your eyes and mouths, unless you enjoy dust in your teeth and under your eyelids."
Her voice was soft and quiet, and you could tell she was on high alert because she continued to scan all around the area. For Xeno's and for the cause of the Xeno's unease. Bracing with one foot against the hole, she lent each person her left arm and pulled them up. Before leaving the duty to the next person or someone with less gear.
Jumping down into the sand, she knelt down, it was more a reflex but she also wanted to pick up a handful of sand and let it slip through her fingers. The small grains blew away on the wind, and she breathed in deeply before standing up and monitoring the outside of the ship.
Her eyes on any Xeno's, on the Marines, on the expanse of desert and on anything that dared move within her line of sight. Maybe a little jumpy, she didn't necessarily feel like dying again. It was so annoying waking up and having to redo her hair, get back to physical peak fitness and deal with the nausea and headaches.
"Boss, I know this might be an odd question. But, where in the hell are we going? It's the bloody Simpson out here! With no trees, no apparent water sources. Only those mountains, which look a fair hike off. In this heat...well... Burke and Wills much sir?!"
Gene spoke over the radio, not sure exactly where Dunn was considering his 'special gift' around the Xeno's...but like the good little soldier girl she was, Gene wasn't about to go against any of his orders. That in itself, would eventually lead to his and every other person on the teams death.
Walking out slowly, keeping the group together to allow some more room for those still getting out Gene got a thirst in her mouth suddenly.
"Keep together, and keep in the shade as much as you can. Anybody's shade will help, think as a Penguin...
"Well, not so much in the sense of wishing this was a tundra but more so how they conserve body heat.
"Well, not so much how we want to conserve body heat but more how we can shade each other to allow some respite from the sun occasionally. And don't drink just because you are thirsty, conserve any water and food. This is hell, so you better not disrespect it, the moment you do...your as good as a pile of dust in the wind."
She got the group to hold up until someone with a command position got out of the ship, and also so they didn't thin out or lose anyone.
Taking out her binoculars she scanned the area, it was clear as day, and that meant Gene could see everything...which was actually nothing in a 360 degree pattern apart from the ship and the eastern and southern mountains. Several miles away at an estimate.
She wiped her cheek, the blood now having soaked through the bandage and forced it to fall off onto the sandy ground. She ignored it, the platelets already packing together and clotting up the wound. From low in her throat she hummed, before clicking the radio on.
"Hey Boss...How does it happen? Your reading the news or lighting a fuse or straining till you thought you would burst.
"You sure got a thirst."
She laughed softly, hoping he would recognize the song.
"A hard earned thirst needs an ice cold beer, and the best cold beer is a bloody Vic. Victoria Bitter.
"Think we have a chance of a beer anytime soon?"
shadowatching, Yautja, 15 years ago
Feeling an arm tighten around the joint of her wrist, the girl was going to pull and kick their head in, who ever it was. But, this felt soft, it was someone’s she didn’t care who’s, just wanted to get out of there. Out of the position she was in, it feared her and excited her at once; as one would feel after jumping out of a plane going what felt like a hundred miles ‘n hour.
Grunting, as she helped propel herself backwards, with the help of who she found out a moment later was Nikkie and Snake watching over them. The sound of metal upon metal screaming at her caused her hardened blue and silver speckled orbs to flash down on the ground. The fingers shot out, with a soft gasp from her lips. She didn’t expect herself to feel the pain in her back by now. Did she forget her breathing? Shit she hoped not, the breathing was as important to her as life was to each individual.
Curling her fingers around the familiar grip of the pulse weapon, she didn’t like it; but she didn’t hate it either. She moved ever so slowly, keeping close to the ground. One hand remained on the ground, the tips of her finger’s brushing the hard metal of the crumbled floor. She cocked her head from side to side, listening around. She saw one alien, which Snake held back via gun. The eyes scanned any dark points, looking for anything out of place, she could of sworn she saw something but flicked it away just as briefly as it can. She wanted to get out of here, “Nikkie†She whispered softly, her fingers curled around the ankle of Nikkie’s foot. “We have to leave soon†Shadow’s words held a slight panic in it, something wasn’t right and she didn’t like it. Doing the duck walk, as she slowly shifted her weight fro one foot to the other, moving back. Picking up the booted foot just high enough to take a step back, shift and repeat, keeping the weight on the back foot. “Shit†She muttered, her eyes held a slight panic, but everything about her never moved from the calmness she seemed to claim within her.
Walking out, with the second command of alpha D, in to the sunlight unknowingly there is more out outside, than was inside. "keep her safe shadow, while I am not around. There is something about Nikkie, I can't seem to put my finger on it. Protect her for me, she is special" The leader of alpha draconis, said pulling her side a few weeks before the inevitable. Here shadow is, doing her promise; pulling the second outside, in to the outdoors.
Grunting, as she helped propel herself backwards, with the help of who she found out a moment later was Nikkie and Snake watching over them. The sound of metal upon metal screaming at her caused her hardened blue and silver speckled orbs to flash down on the ground. The fingers shot out, with a soft gasp from her lips. She didn’t expect herself to feel the pain in her back by now. Did she forget her breathing? Shit she hoped not, the breathing was as important to her as life was to each individual.
Curling her fingers around the familiar grip of the pulse weapon, she didn’t like it; but she didn’t hate it either. She moved ever so slowly, keeping close to the ground. One hand remained on the ground, the tips of her finger’s brushing the hard metal of the crumbled floor. She cocked her head from side to side, listening around. She saw one alien, which Snake held back via gun. The eyes scanned any dark points, looking for anything out of place, she could of sworn she saw something but flicked it away just as briefly as it can. She wanted to get out of here, “Nikkie†She whispered softly, her fingers curled around the ankle of Nikkie’s foot. “We have to leave soon†Shadow’s words held a slight panic in it, something wasn’t right and she didn’t like it. Doing the duck walk, as she slowly shifted her weight fro one foot to the other, moving back. Picking up the booted foot just high enough to take a step back, shift and repeat, keeping the weight on the back foot. “Shit†She muttered, her eyes held a slight panic, but everything about her never moved from the calmness she seemed to claim within her.
Walking out, with the second command of alpha D, in to the sunlight unknowingly there is more out outside, than was inside. "keep her safe shadow, while I am not around. There is something about Nikkie, I can't seem to put my finger on it. Protect her for me, she is special" The leader of alpha draconis, said pulling her side a few weeks before the inevitable. Here shadow is, doing her promise; pulling the second outside, in to the outdoors.
black_warrior, Yautja, 15 years ago
Humming noises carried on heavy winds as the hovercrafts sped across the barren heatbaked landscape. Dark particles and dust were kicked up into flurries, sending thick sheets to the wind.
.....
The small metal beasts stopped, the engines that helped them hover over the ground died, and with a small thud, the metal fell to the sands beneath.
2 teams of hunters stepped forth from the 2 metal hovercrafts. Black Warrior, Deathdrop, Predator428, Stalker, and a small group of hunters activated their cloaking devices. Their surroundings sprang forth, engulfing them in bending lights and terrain. The shimmering was masked by the heatwaves, and the teams spread out.
Black Warrior and The Doctor, before stepping from their ships, locked their crafts. Each following the procedure. A small cord was connected from the wristcomputer to the screen next to the steering column, lifesigns were fed into the database, and the warrior's hands were scanned. Only the hunters aboard the hovercraft and in the hunting parties would be able to have their prints verified. And even then, only those with a pulse would have access, as the cold dead hands of a yautja were useless to a mechanism which required live interaction.
The Doctor remained in his vehicle, contemplating his next course of action.
Black Warrior then sprang to the sands, taking light steps at a quick pace to the metallic shell of what was once a proud marine transport vessel. Thick suffocating smoke still seeped from the far ends of the crashsite, and the crater beneath the craft created many pits and holes.
The God of Death scaled the structure, his clawed boots taking hold of the mangled steel. Finally he came across an outvent, the grating laying buried under feet of coarse sand. He carefully stepped into the vent, his towering build having the crouch in the metal corridors that wound throughout the ship.
Humidity and moisture amplified till the vents resembled an oven. Bullets of sweat trickled downward from the stalking beast, hanging on the thermal netting as his hulking form silently walked the metal...
.....
The small metal beasts stopped, the engines that helped them hover over the ground died, and with a small thud, the metal fell to the sands beneath.
2 teams of hunters stepped forth from the 2 metal hovercrafts. Black Warrior, Deathdrop, Predator428, Stalker, and a small group of hunters activated their cloaking devices. Their surroundings sprang forth, engulfing them in bending lights and terrain. The shimmering was masked by the heatwaves, and the teams spread out.
Black Warrior and The Doctor, before stepping from their ships, locked their crafts. Each following the procedure. A small cord was connected from the wristcomputer to the screen next to the steering column, lifesigns were fed into the database, and the warrior's hands were scanned. Only the hunters aboard the hovercraft and in the hunting parties would be able to have their prints verified. And even then, only those with a pulse would have access, as the cold dead hands of a yautja were useless to a mechanism which required live interaction.
The Doctor remained in his vehicle, contemplating his next course of action.
Black Warrior then sprang to the sands, taking light steps at a quick pace to the metallic shell of what was once a proud marine transport vessel. Thick suffocating smoke still seeped from the far ends of the crashsite, and the crater beneath the craft created many pits and holes.
The God of Death scaled the structure, his clawed boots taking hold of the mangled steel. Finally he came across an outvent, the grating laying buried under feet of coarse sand. He carefully stepped into the vent, his towering build having the crouch in the metal corridors that wound throughout the ship.
Humidity and moisture amplified till the vents resembled an oven. Bullets of sweat trickled downward from the stalking beast, hanging on the thermal netting as his hulking form silently walked the metal...
Jean, Yautja, 15 years ago
Jean continued pulling Xavier on the gurney. The surface of the planet was much like Earth on a dessert during a sandstorm. The ground was dry with rocks and sand mixed and the wind was picking up. There was a tree line not too far from them, but all the trees were dead with only stubs and dry branches left mummified from the planets better days but she assumed that they would want to stay away from trees. At least in the open sand fields, they can see a Xenomorph coming from a long way out.
"Where are we going?" Jean asked while limping toward the open clearings, hoping that she would be heading in the safest direction with Xavier.
Laughing at Gene's earlier joke, Sam grabbed a can of Boag's Draught from his combat webbing and tossed the beer to the soldier, with a grin on his face. "That'll sell beers." He remarked as he lowered his dust goggles over his metallic red eyes and grabbed long strip of cloth from the same pocket he'd grabbed the beer for, taking a few moments to wrap it around his lower face.
It was the same camouflage pattern as his uniform, and covered his lower face completely, right up to the point where they reached the dust goggles. His nose and mouth were completely covered, the cigar sticking out from between the fabric. Yes, Sam Dunn was smoking through a dust mask. Hilarious. He gripped his Smartgun with gloved hands and surveyed the area with an expert eye.
The sand was red, the rocks were red, everything was red. Even the sun above them was bloody red. Just like home. "Well, the sun is heading north, so if we want to conserve energy I reckon we should head south so we get the most of the night." He said, nodding to himself as he looked down at the woman who'd asked the question. He'd stopped thinking of her as a robot a while back.
Jean walked in a hurry. She looked over her shoulder while she walked, and talked to whomever was helping her carry Xavier with her. "I have unlimited endurance so if you get tired, you have to let me know." She said while she continued.
She looked to Dunn, "Where are we going?"
"Me? Tired? Aw, come on, nothing can wear me out. I'm experienced." He said with a grin as she overtook him and headed out into the desert. He turned and looked back the way they'd come, covering the ship and walking backwards. She repeated the question, and he realized he hadn't properly answered it. Grimly, he said "As far away from the damn bugs as possible.
They'll leave me alone, but damned if I let them get you." As he said it, his smartgun automatically moved upwards towards the ship's roof. From his Smartgunner's eyepiece, he could see the outline, and it chilled him to the bone. He was about to open fire, but then the target disappeared over the other end of the ship, out of view. Cold fear crept into his stomach.
"Predators." He hissed to himself, his teeth clenched as adrenaline kicked in. "Okay people, we got preds! Double time, let's get the fuck out of here!" He ordered tersely as he started to ramp up his speed, almost running backwards.
Jean stopped to take a look. Her sharp 20/05 Vision caught it clearly over Gene's shoulder. She dropped her end of the gurney Xavier was in and she picked Xavier up. She could move Xavier easier than any human and she wouldn't get tired although it wasn't good for her synthetic muscles to do so. "Come on.. Maybe they didn't spot us." Jean said.
She started out in a double-time. They were making good progress this
way. She would help her human friends out and in turn they could fix her later when the danger was over. "Do you think they saw us?" She asked.
He immediately caught the other end of the gurney, making sure the packs and other supplies they'd placed on it didn't fall off. "Lets hope so." He responded, one hand on the gurney and the other on the smartgun. "Best put him back. His skull's fractured, I'd rather not have his head bang against your butt and lose some brain cells." He added with a wink, jogging as he used his smartgun to hold the gurney in place, hooking the handles through the cooling rigging then holding the gun out by his side with both hands. "He'd better wake up bloody soon." Sam growled to himself.
Jean sighed and placed him back on the gurney. "Sir, might I request that we have an extra android if we survive this?" Jean picked her end of the gurney back up. "No offense but a human can't carry wounded like I can." Jean turned and looked over her shoulder again to see a dark forum of a drone after them. In a quick movement she dropped the gurney and caught it in the center of it's fabric with
one arm, and she squeezed off a round. The round skimmed it's target causing the Xenomorph drone to change course and vanish behind a row of rocks, probably running back to it's group. "Does anyone else see it?" She asked. Mark was well enough out of the way for her to have safely fired the gun, otherwise, even with Dunn's additional programming -- she would have had trouble squeezing that trigger. She was, however, surprised at how quick her reaction was. It was unexpected, even for herself to fathom prior to her upgrade.
"The bugs have...other priorities. They'll save us for last." He said to her, not knowing at all how he knew this. He just did. Maybe the Queen was feeding him intel. That would be nice. He saw the Xenomorph as it darted back inside. "Hopefully, they'll slow the preds down." He remarked to himself, letting Jean take back the gurney so he could use his Smartgun again.
"Why'd I need another synth? You're doing a great job." He assured her as he jogged backwards, the hell away from the ship.
Jean's lips curved up slight as she looked at him. Her eyes were set to dialate and let a lot more light in than the average human, so she wasn't sure if Sam could tell that she smiled at the comment a little. If at least her hard-drive survived, she would be able to thank him over a computer system or something. For now, even she had some priorities as soona s they were clear enough to have
some sort of break. She looked to Sam and then to his chest, "Do you think, maybe as soon as we get a break, I can perform some surgery on you?"
"Hmm...I dunno. I almost feel sorry for the Queen. Not her fault her daddy picked me to go for. Besides...I think its better that we give the bugs as few reasons to follow us as possible. Maybe later." He said, his gaze still on the ship. Nope, no more preds or bugs to be seen. They would probably be killing each other inside the ship like all good monsters did. He saw her looking at his chest, and grinned. "Hey, I feel fine. The headaches haven't even started yet. I got a few days at the very least." He said, trying to reassure her that he'd be okay.
Jean suddenly stopped and looked to Sam, "Did anyone bring the sentry guns?"
"Mark packed two, I've got ém. He responded immediately. He'd forgotten to ask Mark to pack any, but the marine had delivered regardless. The bloke had been doing really well. Now, he seemed a bit out of it. He decided to let the bloke alone for a bit and see if he bounced back.
"When are we going to get off this planet? How?" She asked. "If it's going to be a while, I volunteer, once we're safely far enough away, to run back to the ship and get more supplies." Jean said. Her programming was still there, always wanting to help.
"Predators are here, that is confirmed. They were too quick, so they were already here when we showed up. Therefore, they live here. Chances are, there's a ship somewhere we can steal." He thought for a moment, stroking his chin with his free hand whilst the other held the smartgun. "Fortunately, I'm a top pilot."
The android laughed for a moment. She picked up the pace and continued on but she couldn't help but smile at the futility of it all.
"I'm the only one even qualified to remote pilot a ship properly and I know I couldn't fly something alien. You have some balls, sir." Jean said.
"Darlin, there are some things about me that ya haven't learned yet. I can fly it." He said confidently, nodding to himself. He may not be qualified, but he had all the skill and experience he'd need. The ship grew smaller and smaller as they made good distance. It was now too far away to see if there was anyone on it or not. His breathing started to get heavier. Carrying a smartgun and
two packs was no easy task, even for him.
Jean kept pulling at the gurney as she talked. She nodded to his comment.
"As the android, I must inform you that I can conclude that one major thing shall happen if we pull this off..."
"And what's that?" He asked, his eyebrow raised, wondering what she'd say. When she said something 'as an android', it was always interesting. He then finally found something after walking backwards for so long. A rock. He fell flat on his arse, and sat there for a moment, bewildered.
Jean laid the other end down and walked over to help Sam up. When she had him on his feet she replied, "... the one thing that will happen is that I will have made friends with the one man that ever humiliated a planet full of predators." She smiled. "Are you sure you want to piss them off this much? It might be safer to die." Her smile was broad enough, even in the darkness for him to see it.
Aw, she was sweet. He felt a bit dizzy, and promptly sat down again. "Lets take a quick break." He said, unstrapping the packs from his back and stretching out on the sand. "Aw, darlin, that's the sweetest thing anyone's said to me." He said with a grin that he was annoyed she couldn't see thanks to the dustmask. When she mentioned dying at thier hands, he shrugged. "Already done
that. I prefer being the man who humiliated a whole planet of ém more. And being your friend."
Jean smiled a little and took the opportunity to wrap another strap of duct around her neck. She cut it off with a knife and packed the roll back in her pack. She then knelt on one knee and kept her pulse rifle toward the horizion while pulling her portable computer from her bag. She brought up a system display of the ship’s computer. She tapped, one handed, on the machine until the ship’s internal security feeds flickered on. She handed it to Sam.
“One of these will display the exterior, if there is a working camera out there. It could be useful.â€Â
"Where are we going?" Jean asked while limping toward the open clearings, hoping that she would be heading in the safest direction with Xavier.
Laughing at Gene's earlier joke, Sam grabbed a can of Boag's Draught from his combat webbing and tossed the beer to the soldier, with a grin on his face. "That'll sell beers." He remarked as he lowered his dust goggles over his metallic red eyes and grabbed long strip of cloth from the same pocket he'd grabbed the beer for, taking a few moments to wrap it around his lower face.
It was the same camouflage pattern as his uniform, and covered his lower face completely, right up to the point where they reached the dust goggles. His nose and mouth were completely covered, the cigar sticking out from between the fabric. Yes, Sam Dunn was smoking through a dust mask. Hilarious. He gripped his Smartgun with gloved hands and surveyed the area with an expert eye.
The sand was red, the rocks were red, everything was red. Even the sun above them was bloody red. Just like home. "Well, the sun is heading north, so if we want to conserve energy I reckon we should head south so we get the most of the night." He said, nodding to himself as he looked down at the woman who'd asked the question. He'd stopped thinking of her as a robot a while back.
Jean walked in a hurry. She looked over her shoulder while she walked, and talked to whomever was helping her carry Xavier with her. "I have unlimited endurance so if you get tired, you have to let me know." She said while she continued.
She looked to Dunn, "Where are we going?"
"Me? Tired? Aw, come on, nothing can wear me out. I'm experienced." He said with a grin as she overtook him and headed out into the desert. He turned and looked back the way they'd come, covering the ship and walking backwards. She repeated the question, and he realized he hadn't properly answered it. Grimly, he said "As far away from the damn bugs as possible.
They'll leave me alone, but damned if I let them get you." As he said it, his smartgun automatically moved upwards towards the ship's roof. From his Smartgunner's eyepiece, he could see the outline, and it chilled him to the bone. He was about to open fire, but then the target disappeared over the other end of the ship, out of view. Cold fear crept into his stomach.
"Predators." He hissed to himself, his teeth clenched as adrenaline kicked in. "Okay people, we got preds! Double time, let's get the fuck out of here!" He ordered tersely as he started to ramp up his speed, almost running backwards.
Jean stopped to take a look. Her sharp 20/05 Vision caught it clearly over Gene's shoulder. She dropped her end of the gurney Xavier was in and she picked Xavier up. She could move Xavier easier than any human and she wouldn't get tired although it wasn't good for her synthetic muscles to do so. "Come on.. Maybe they didn't spot us." Jean said.
She started out in a double-time. They were making good progress this
way. She would help her human friends out and in turn they could fix her later when the danger was over. "Do you think they saw us?" She asked.
He immediately caught the other end of the gurney, making sure the packs and other supplies they'd placed on it didn't fall off. "Lets hope so." He responded, one hand on the gurney and the other on the smartgun. "Best put him back. His skull's fractured, I'd rather not have his head bang against your butt and lose some brain cells." He added with a wink, jogging as he used his smartgun to hold the gurney in place, hooking the handles through the cooling rigging then holding the gun out by his side with both hands. "He'd better wake up bloody soon." Sam growled to himself.
Jean sighed and placed him back on the gurney. "Sir, might I request that we have an extra android if we survive this?" Jean picked her end of the gurney back up. "No offense but a human can't carry wounded like I can." Jean turned and looked over her shoulder again to see a dark forum of a drone after them. In a quick movement she dropped the gurney and caught it in the center of it's fabric with
one arm, and she squeezed off a round. The round skimmed it's target causing the Xenomorph drone to change course and vanish behind a row of rocks, probably running back to it's group. "Does anyone else see it?" She asked. Mark was well enough out of the way for her to have safely fired the gun, otherwise, even with Dunn's additional programming -- she would have had trouble squeezing that trigger. She was, however, surprised at how quick her reaction was. It was unexpected, even for herself to fathom prior to her upgrade.
"The bugs have...other priorities. They'll save us for last." He said to her, not knowing at all how he knew this. He just did. Maybe the Queen was feeding him intel. That would be nice. He saw the Xenomorph as it darted back inside. "Hopefully, they'll slow the preds down." He remarked to himself, letting Jean take back the gurney so he could use his Smartgun again.
"Why'd I need another synth? You're doing a great job." He assured her as he jogged backwards, the hell away from the ship.
Jean's lips curved up slight as she looked at him. Her eyes were set to dialate and let a lot more light in than the average human, so she wasn't sure if Sam could tell that she smiled at the comment a little. If at least her hard-drive survived, she would be able to thank him over a computer system or something. For now, even she had some priorities as soona s they were clear enough to have
some sort of break. She looked to Sam and then to his chest, "Do you think, maybe as soon as we get a break, I can perform some surgery on you?"
"Hmm...I dunno. I almost feel sorry for the Queen. Not her fault her daddy picked me to go for. Besides...I think its better that we give the bugs as few reasons to follow us as possible. Maybe later." He said, his gaze still on the ship. Nope, no more preds or bugs to be seen. They would probably be killing each other inside the ship like all good monsters did. He saw her looking at his chest, and grinned. "Hey, I feel fine. The headaches haven't even started yet. I got a few days at the very least." He said, trying to reassure her that he'd be okay.
Jean suddenly stopped and looked to Sam, "Did anyone bring the sentry guns?"
"Mark packed two, I've got ém. He responded immediately. He'd forgotten to ask Mark to pack any, but the marine had delivered regardless. The bloke had been doing really well. Now, he seemed a bit out of it. He decided to let the bloke alone for a bit and see if he bounced back.
"When are we going to get off this planet? How?" She asked. "If it's going to be a while, I volunteer, once we're safely far enough away, to run back to the ship and get more supplies." Jean said. Her programming was still there, always wanting to help.
"Predators are here, that is confirmed. They were too quick, so they were already here when we showed up. Therefore, they live here. Chances are, there's a ship somewhere we can steal." He thought for a moment, stroking his chin with his free hand whilst the other held the smartgun. "Fortunately, I'm a top pilot."
The android laughed for a moment. She picked up the pace and continued on but she couldn't help but smile at the futility of it all.
"I'm the only one even qualified to remote pilot a ship properly and I know I couldn't fly something alien. You have some balls, sir." Jean said.
"Darlin, there are some things about me that ya haven't learned yet. I can fly it." He said confidently, nodding to himself. He may not be qualified, but he had all the skill and experience he'd need. The ship grew smaller and smaller as they made good distance. It was now too far away to see if there was anyone on it or not. His breathing started to get heavier. Carrying a smartgun and
two packs was no easy task, even for him.
Jean kept pulling at the gurney as she talked. She nodded to his comment.
"As the android, I must inform you that I can conclude that one major thing shall happen if we pull this off..."
"And what's that?" He asked, his eyebrow raised, wondering what she'd say. When she said something 'as an android', it was always interesting. He then finally found something after walking backwards for so long. A rock. He fell flat on his arse, and sat there for a moment, bewildered.
Jean laid the other end down and walked over to help Sam up. When she had him on his feet she replied, "... the one thing that will happen is that I will have made friends with the one man that ever humiliated a planet full of predators." She smiled. "Are you sure you want to piss them off this much? It might be safer to die." Her smile was broad enough, even in the darkness for him to see it.
Aw, she was sweet. He felt a bit dizzy, and promptly sat down again. "Lets take a quick break." He said, unstrapping the packs from his back and stretching out on the sand. "Aw, darlin, that's the sweetest thing anyone's said to me." He said with a grin that he was annoyed she couldn't see thanks to the dustmask. When she mentioned dying at thier hands, he shrugged. "Already done
that. I prefer being the man who humiliated a whole planet of ém more. And being your friend."
Jean smiled a little and took the opportunity to wrap another strap of duct around her neck. She cut it off with a knife and packed the roll back in her pack. She then knelt on one knee and kept her pulse rifle toward the horizion while pulling her portable computer from her bag. She brought up a system display of the ship’s computer. She tapped, one handed, on the machine until the ship’s internal security feeds flickered on. She handed it to Sam.
“One of these will display the exterior, if there is a working camera out there. It could be useful.â€Â
the_doctor, Yautja, 15 years ago
The Elder sat in the craft meditating, feeling the air around him. Thinking of how he would persue the new prey on this rock. For the first time since they arrived they had a reason to lock the hovercrafts. He had been holding is mask in his hands, looking into the cold eyes that his prey usually saw. to them they were the eyes of death. he wondered what they ment to him and this question was what he was meditating on.
Experience had taught him what his brothers would find in there and how the next stages of engagement would follow. it was this that made him think twice about going straight in with the others.
He trusted that his brothers would not require him just yet. He knew how much Stalker and the others thirsted for blood and some honourable kills. Also the Elder needed time to think and plan. to calm himself.
He closed his eyes and exhaled with a growl.
Experience had taught him what his brothers would find in there and how the next stages of engagement would follow. it was this that made him think twice about going straight in with the others.
He trusted that his brothers would not require him just yet. He knew how much Stalker and the others thirsted for blood and some honourable kills. Also the Elder needed time to think and plan. to calm himself.
He closed his eyes and exhaled with a growl.
predator428, Yautja, 15 years ago
Predator428 was moving through the ship, slowly making his way to the outer hull as he traced the faint heat signatures inside. Some humans were definitely alive and inside of the ship. The hunter put all his efforts into keeping a quiet step as he walked through the debris, careful not to dislodge any wayward pieces of metal that could give away his location.
As he passed through another broken down hallway, the outer layer of the ship was finally revealed to him. He had made it to the other side. This section of the ship possessed a series of emergency hatches, each spread out a few meters from each other. They were meant for anything from docking procedures to emergency exits for the crew in case of disaster. All of these doors were still sealed.
Predator428 slowly swept his gaze across the bulkhead, his goggles attempting to detect the slightest hint of life. His head snapped to the left as something was spotted, the faint outlines of multiple humanoid shapes just visible through a damaged section of the hull.
The hunter pressed his side against the broken metal and brought up his mask's enhanced auditory sensors. The humans were talking among each other. He heard a creature say "Think we have a chance of a beer anytime soon?". Predator428 thought about his next course of action.
He desperately wanted the first kill of his brethren, but judging from the heat signatures, there were at least three of them in a group. Their combined fire would certainly be a threat. Even if he did manage to just grab one and drag it back inside before its companions could help, every predator would have to deal with a group of alerted humans instead of unaware ones.
The hunter made his choice. He would follow these humans, far enough away to allow the metal walls to disrupt the signals of their motion trackers. Predator428 flexed his grip on the rivet gun. Soon, there would be blood.
As he passed through another broken down hallway, the outer layer of the ship was finally revealed to him. He had made it to the other side. This section of the ship possessed a series of emergency hatches, each spread out a few meters from each other. They were meant for anything from docking procedures to emergency exits for the crew in case of disaster. All of these doors were still sealed.
Predator428 slowly swept his gaze across the bulkhead, his goggles attempting to detect the slightest hint of life. His head snapped to the left as something was spotted, the faint outlines of multiple humanoid shapes just visible through a damaged section of the hull.
The hunter pressed his side against the broken metal and brought up his mask's enhanced auditory sensors. The humans were talking among each other. He heard a creature say "Think we have a chance of a beer anytime soon?". Predator428 thought about his next course of action.
He desperately wanted the first kill of his brethren, but judging from the heat signatures, there were at least three of them in a group. Their combined fire would certainly be a threat. Even if he did manage to just grab one and drag it back inside before its companions could help, every predator would have to deal with a group of alerted humans instead of unaware ones.
The hunter made his choice. He would follow these humans, far enough away to allow the metal walls to disrupt the signals of their motion trackers. Predator428 flexed his grip on the rivet gun. Soon, there would be blood.
Deathdrop, Yautja, 15 years ago
Deathdrop had no idea why he'd bothered to go on this stupid hunt. He could have been back at the base getting high, but instead was stuck climbing the stupid wreck of the stupid ship crashed by the stupid humans becasue they were too damn stupid to avoid meteors.
But no, he'd had to go on a "hunt of redemption" to "regain his honor" or some such nonsense. He thought the preparation for the coming battle would get him back to his old ways. As it turned out, the long drive had had the opposite effect; he was looking forward to very little as he climbed the melted steel and twisted wires.
Looking up, he saw that there was a gash along the side that he could slide into. It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to make it without cutting himself on the jagged edges, a feat that he could not have accomplished only a few hours previous.
The electricity had gone out in this part of the ship, making it darker than a homeworld tomb. He switched vision modes several times before finding the blasted night-vision. He was almost sorry he had.
The still-warm remains of the ship were brought to life in a disturbing way. Humans always put so much comfort and life into their rooms that they took on a sense of wrongness when abandoned.
As he made his way through the hanging wires and leaking coolant, the room terminated into a crushed hallway. He'd have to crawl on his hands and knees to get through. "No doubt the gods having their fun with me, the bastards..." he thought to himself.
Eventually, he reached the end of the passage and righted himself. Jumping across an area where one part of the ship had been nearly torn form the other, (and wincing from the brief flash of sunlight) he at long last began to see signs of life.
Jumping into a hanging vent (and hoping it could hold his weight) he began making his way through, stopping when he saw a viscous slime. "Don't tell me the bastards have been mating in here-" he said nearly aloud, when he remembered the last time he had seen slime like this. It ended... Poorly. He switched to Xenovision, and his eyes widened.
"Xenomorphs!" There were xenomorphs on the ship. How many had already been born? How many had reached full size? And worst of all, how would their mining opperation survive a Xenomorph infestation?
But no, he'd had to go on a "hunt of redemption" to "regain his honor" or some such nonsense. He thought the preparation for the coming battle would get him back to his old ways. As it turned out, the long drive had had the opposite effect; he was looking forward to very little as he climbed the melted steel and twisted wires.
Looking up, he saw that there was a gash along the side that he could slide into. It was a tight squeeze, but he managed to make it without cutting himself on the jagged edges, a feat that he could not have accomplished only a few hours previous.
The electricity had gone out in this part of the ship, making it darker than a homeworld tomb. He switched vision modes several times before finding the blasted night-vision. He was almost sorry he had.
The still-warm remains of the ship were brought to life in a disturbing way. Humans always put so much comfort and life into their rooms that they took on a sense of wrongness when abandoned.
As he made his way through the hanging wires and leaking coolant, the room terminated into a crushed hallway. He'd have to crawl on his hands and knees to get through. "No doubt the gods having their fun with me, the bastards..." he thought to himself.
Eventually, he reached the end of the passage and righted himself. Jumping across an area where one part of the ship had been nearly torn form the other, (and wincing from the brief flash of sunlight) he at long last began to see signs of life.
Jumping into a hanging vent (and hoping it could hold his weight) he began making his way through, stopping when he saw a viscous slime. "Don't tell me the bastards have been mating in here-" he said nearly aloud, when he remembered the last time he had seen slime like this. It ended... Poorly. He switched to Xenovision, and his eyes widened.
"Xenomorphs!" There were xenomorphs on the ship. How many had already been born? How many had reached full size? And worst of all, how would their mining opperation survive a Xenomorph infestation?