AVP

Armageddon

Chapters

The Mission

Presidential Decision

Wayland Yutani

The Order of Light

Ripley

Fall of the Rebel Core

Revelation

Central City New York

Shoot Out Part 1. Bio Scan; Part 2. Red Signal

The Order

Parasites

On the Run

Panic

The Hive

Ripley's War

The Hunters Part 1. Friend or Foe; Part 2. Hunter's Party

Face to Face

Strategy

Blood and Guts

Death of a Queen

Duel of Honor

Blade Hunter

The Clan Lord's Hunt

Blood Pact

Cyber Alien

Respect and Farewell

Epilogue

Part 1. Ripley

Part 2. Super Soldier

Part 3. Android Rising

AVP

Chapter Mission

The cold silent vacuum of space was disturbed only by the massive impulse engines of the star ship Exocron. The Exocron was colonial military battle cruiser with a sleek design and charcoal hall, mounted with twenty cannons, hundreds of anti-fighter guns; ten massive rocket launchers capable of firing a wide range of missiles from EMP to nuclear. A sophisticated AI controlled the ship and four hangars three of which carried an assortment of star fighters, bombers, and flying fortresses. The forth hangar housed transport ships and troop carriers. The ship carried a crew of one hundred operators and an additional five hundred colonial marines.
The Exocron came to a complete stop driven by the ship's AI computer; ["Scanning surrounding area."] said the computer coming to life, [Ship wide diagnostic activated… Life support systems online…"] the synthesized computer voice was that of a man as one by one it activated the ship systems. The lights throughout the ship came on illuminating the white halls. One deck powered up one right after the other from the bridge to the engine room. Work stations powered up for use the automated chef began warming food for the crew in preparation for their awakening from hyper sleep. The computer also began assigning crew members to their quarters. ["Hyper sleep pods deactivated… injection of stimulants initiated…"] In order of rank the computer began waking up the crew.
"Father… what's our status?" asked an Asian man of Japanese decent.
["Good morning Captain Lee… We are three thousand miles out side the target system… ship wide diagnostic in progress… no hostile or UFO ships detected in the vicinity… awaiting further instructions."] The captain stretched limbs then stood beside his sleep pod, feeling a little dizzy after several months in hyper-sleep. "I hate that feeling…" whispered the captain. ["I'm sorry captain what did you say?"] Asked the computer.
The captain yawned, rubbed his eyes and began cracking his knuckles, "Nothing… perform simulation firing runs all weapon systems, then have all crews report to their stations and go to yellow alert." ["Affirmative…Now here this we are at yellow alert… all crews please report to your stations as soon as possible…"]
As the computer repeated the message over the intercom the ship came to life with people talking, eating, dressing, and checking personal messages. The captain a nine year space veteran had no family to speak of, he was military career minded. In three more years he would return to the academy for refresher courses, then he would take advanced military and finally the test if he passed Captain Lee would finally become Fleet Division Admiral Lee, provided he survived this mission. "Hmm… Humanoids… reptilian like skin…" The captain was reading a report than span from the years, nineteen eighty to the year two thousand and four which gave him an idea of what he would be dealing with. He stopped in front of the doors to his office. "…Shoulder cannons, blades, high powered spear darts…" The door swooshed open and he threw the pad on the desk and went to the food pantry. Lee pressed some buttons and pulled a food tray out then went sat at the desk. The smell of the food made his mouth water. He took a couple of bites and glanced at the pad. "When cornered Humanoids are known to employ a bomb device attached to arm band…"
Lee ran a hand through his hair, set the data-pad down and picked up another concerning xenomorphs. This was Lee's second time reading both reports and he still had a hard time believing it even after the General Secretary showed them evidence during the debriefing. "Executive Officer Maxine Saurito… please report to the captain's command office…" Ordered Lee into the COM board on his desk. "Damned corporation!" He blurted. Captain Lee like most military personnel hated Weyland-Yutani; the Mega Corporation was involved and consulted by the military for the mission. In the end a company executive was sent to asses the situation. The captain had only seen the woman from afar, but when the door opened he felt an immediate attraction towards her seeing her up close. Saurito was tall with dark hair pulled back into a bun, curvy figure of Latin decent. "You wanted to see me Captain Lee…" asked Saurito wearing a gray corporate business suite. Lee didn't answer right away and all though he kept his eyes on her face he was still able to take in the rest of her body. ("Yeah I want to see you… I want to see all of you…") thought Lee to himself. "You are familiar with our mission?" He asked handing her a data-pad. She raised an eyebrow, "I am!" She replied icily. "So!" He returned her cold stare with a mixture of lust and disgust, "Is there something I should know or is there something you want to tell me?" Saurito remained silent studying him. When she didn't respond he continued, "We didn't have a chance to talk after the briefing or before entering hyper-sleep.
She interrupted with an edge in her voice, "And just what do you think I'm supposed to be telling you?" "You corporate types are all the same… you have some hidden agenda or secret orders… I've read the incident reports concerning the xenomorphs… the Nostromo incident, how about the incident on LV-426 and let's not forget your company's involvement on Fiorrina 161…" She didn't interrupt, ("Damn… now I'll have to listen to her…') thought the Captain. He was actually looking for an excuse to exclude her from the mission and arguing with him was one way, "…Your Company's disregard for life to capture these aliens is well documented and now we are dealing with what the report refers to as hunters with advanced weapons… So I ask what is your agenda, cause I'm not about to risk my crew or this ship in order to capture one of these… HUNTERS!" She narrowed her eyes, "Captain Lee! I'm not here to usurp your authority or take over this mission. My job here is to asses the situation and make a recommendation… if the colony needs to be blown up then that is what will be done… and for the record I volunteered for this mission… I'm known throughout Weyland-Yutani as the hatchet woman… I've been trying to clean up its reputation for the past three years... They probably agreed to send me on this mission hoping I'd get killed…" She sighed and eased the tension out of her voice, "…Look I'm not your enemy… I am here to make sure the humanoids aren't a major threat to earth…"
He studied her in silence and at the same time went over what she told him, "…Maybe, but I'm watching you…" She blushed and hoped he didn't notice, "Watching me work or are you watching my body…" She replied giving him an open door, because she was attracted to him as well. "Both!" Replied Lee taking the bate. "I'm sorry… I hope your not offended…" She smiled, "Not at all… maybe if there is time we have dinner together…"
"Alright it's a date…" Lee stood up, "…Shall we get on with the mission then?" "By all means!" They left Lee's office together and walked up the captain's hallway to the bridge. "Captain on deck!" shouted the deck officer as Captain Lee entered the bridge. "As you were…" The Captain looked at the deck officer, "…Status report!" He ordered walking towards his captain's chair. The officer handed Lee a data-pad and sat down on his left with Saurito at Captain Lee's right. "Sir ship wide diagnostic complete and confirmed all systems operating at one hundred percent proficiency… all stations have reported in…" "Good lets get this show on the road…" Lee turned his attention to the COM officer, "…COM contact the Leviathan and give them our status…" the Leviathan was another military battle cruiser on standby just in case the Exocron needed help, "…then send a transmission to earth… I want to speak with the President…" With an acknowledgement the COM officer followed the captain's orders. Lee hit the intercom switch on his chair, "All pilots get to your fighters…" As the captain repeated this over the intercom men and women scrambled to put their flight suits on and man their star fighters. "Captain… I have the President on hyper-channel four…" "Put it on the main viewer…" A split screen appeared on the main viewer with the President and his military advisors on the right and on the left Weyland-Yutani executives. "Mr. President, Gentlemen, and Ladies…" said Lee acknowledging them all with his eyes. "Captain Lee… What's your status?" asked the President. "Sir we are three thousand miles outside the target system, the Leviathan is on standby and we are ready to commence with mission objectives…" The President took a concerned look at his advisors, sighed then he returned his attention to Lee, "Commence with your mission Captain… good luck and God's speed." "Thank you sir… Science Officer launch beacon and echo satellite…" From a small port onside of the Exocron shot a silver cylinder space buoy; which then began making beeping sound. Out of the same port shot a more bulky cylinder that sprouted two sets of wings that rotated left to right at the top and right to left at the bottom. The automated satellite scanned the surrounding area for hundreds of thousands of miles in all directions and sent that information to the Exocron. "Captain… both beacon and satellite have been successfully launched…" declared the science officer from his station near the ops station. The bridge had a sunk in floor with a crescent shape to the bridge. The pilot and navigator sat next to each other in front of the main view screen. They shared a counsel with separate displays; to the right sat the weapons officer and next to him the communications officer. "Helm ahead full impulse power…" As the Helmsman acknowledged the Captain's orders he pushed several switches forward with his right fingers then he pressed four buttons that turned from red to green, then he looked to his left, "Navigator confirm, calculate, and plot course…" The navigator scanned the area ahead; he then took a pin and marked the current position of the Exocron to a position five thousand miles from the target planet. Then the navigator placed his calculations into the computer and sent them to the pilot's screen, nodding to him. Four of the Exocron's impulse engines roared to life pushing the ship forward. At full power the ship came to its destination within thirty minutes. Throughout the ship nerves of the crew began to be on edge, the tension could be cut with a knife. The feelings of the crew members was a mixture of fear, excitement, and a bit of an adrenaline rush; if the hunters were still in the area there was a chance of combat. History could be made and the crew of the Exocron would become legends especially if they survived such encounter. On the flip side the crew of the Exocron could make first contact with the hunters and establish a line of communication for a peace treaty. "Five thousand miles and mark…" cried the Navigator. "Mark and full stop…" said the Helmsman activating the breaking jets. The captain hit the intercom button on his chair. "All fighters launch and maintain open communications… Stay within the system!" From both sides of the star ship the fighters swarmed out in squadrons of five, flying off in different directions to search the interior of the solar system. "Captain all fighters have launched!" cried the ops officer from his station. "Good…" Captain Lee turned to the science officer, "…Lt scan the planet from the surface of the planet to about two thousand miles around the planet… divide scan grid into four sectors and scan each sector separately…" "Aye, Captain!" While the science officer followed orders the captain hit the com button again, "Commander Brax… what's your status?" "By the time you finish your scans we'll be ready for launch." Brax took his finger off the com switch and returned his attention to his second in command. "Load the automated sentries with the ACAUs… I also want the crawlers about twenty of them…" The Lt saluted and ran to the armory where the quartermaster was issuing weapons. "Pick it up ladies!" screamed Brax from a platform overlooking the hangar, "…We are on a schedule… DOUBLE TIME!" Hangar four was bustling with the activity of one hundred marines arming themselves with m-sixty-five hundred plasma riffles. The M-6500 was a more advanced model than the M-41, it was a combination grenade launcher, flame thrower, and carried two clips of five hundred rounds each. The floor rumbled with the footsteps of All Terrain Combat Assault Units or ACAUs. The ACs were large bipedal battle suits heavily armored carrying arm mounted gattling guns, flame throwers, and rocket launchers. The ACAUs also carried plasma packs for short flights. The ACs were loaded onto two of four AV transports, while a hundred marines lined up in front of the two remaining transports.
"Scanning sector two…" declared the science officer back on the bridge.
"What are you doing?" asked Captain Lee walking up to the science officer. "Uh… scanning the sector sir…" He replied feeling confused.
"Scan each sector twice… these hunters are tricky bastards…" The science officer sighed a little aggravated at being told how to do his job, "…Aye Captain… scanning sector one… again!" "Captain a message from Tango squadron leader…" "Put it on the speaker…" ordered Lee walking up to the com station. There was static then a female's voice came over the com. "Come in Exocron! Are you receiving?" "This is the Exocron go ahead tango leader." "Captain… we found something… satellite debris… colony telemetry sentry…" Captain Lee felt relief at the news. "Is it salvageable?" "Its space junk Sir! I am picking up a plasma energy signal…" "Tow it back to the Exocron" "Copy that tango leader out." Lee returned to his chair sneaking a glance at Saurito, "You seem to be on edge…" she whispered. "In six months I can return to the academy and enroll in the fleet officer program…" "General?" "No… I'm going for fleet division admiral." She leaned in close so that no one else could hear, "And your worried you might end up like that satellite tango squadron found." He was about to respond when the science officer announced from his chair, "Captain initial scans complete… zero across the board… Zero on any subspace or spatial anomalies, zero plasma, ion, or heat emissions, Sir!" "Continue scanning… Helmsman ahead one quarter impulse power… bring us to a parallel orbit with the colony." Acknowledging the captain's orders the navigator plotted a course to the planet and the helmsman piloted the ship. The Exocron lumbered forward at one quarter its normal speed, with its scanners at maximum searching for the slightest thing that indicate the hostiles were in the area. The Exocron was also receiving echo scan reports from the satellite it left outside the system. It took the Exocron an hour to reach stationary orbit. "Captain we are at parallel orbit with the colony." Announced the Navigator. "Still a negative on all scans." Said the science officer. "Commander Brax… this is the bridge… zero on all surface scans… commence with drop deployment…" "Copy that bridge…" replied Brax into his head mike. "Alright ladies… Load em up! Today people today!" At commander's Brax's orders the soldiers fifty to each AV transport ran up the ramps into the hold. Once loaded the AV transports drove up the ramps into the shuttle holds. The pilots two to each shuttle sat down into their pilot seats that raised up into the cockpits. "Bridge this is eagle one do you copy?" "We copy eagle one…" replied the com officer. "Preflight check list done… We are locked and loaded… ready for launch on my mark… And launch!" Sirens sounded and the AI repeated clear the hangar for shuttle launch. The floor opened up and the locking arms released the shuttles dropping all four ships into space. "Alright guys form up on my six in a one two one formation… keep it tight… and follow me in." "Copy eagle one." Reported each of the pilots. "We are entering the atmosphere…" "Exocron I'm picking up a southerly wind blowing in our flight path… Do you concur?" Asked the copilot in eagle one. "We concur!" replied the science officer. The four shuttles entered the atmosphere and leveled off just above the clouds, "Eagles two, three, and four we'll hit it from the south and fly in with the wind…" The pilots reached up and switched off the after burners and ran on thrusters. All four shuttles looped around and dove into the boisterous wind. "Commander Brax… we're going to put down a quarter mile from the main entrance!" said the lead pilot. "Very good!" replied Brax into his headset, "Lt as soon as we touch down I want to base camp set up and the perimeter secured…" "Yes sir!" replied the Lt a five foot blond female. The lead pilots voice came over the com, "Touch down in ten seconds…" The first shuttle lowered its landing gear and set down then the second shuttle designated eagle two landed next and so on. As soon as the shuttles landed the ramps came down and the AVs rolled down the ramps and onto the ground. "Get those motion detectors and sentries up… Now!" ordered the Lt following Commander Brax down the ramp. Twelve teams of four men carried large metal crates and evenly placed them around the shuttles. Then one man would detach a remote and enter a code into it. Spikes extended into the ground as an anchor then twin barrel guns unfolded out of the crates, while another team began setting up the motion detectors. The ACAUs were unloaded by forklift arms attached to the AV transports, and then the sides of the AVs opened up to reveal manned guns.
"Exocron this is Commander Brax… we've touched down, base camp is up, and perimeter is secure…" "Copy that commander…" Responded Lee, "…still no answer from the colony…" "Copy that Exocron… we're heading out… we'll contact you we reach the colony…" Brax spun two fingers in the air then pointed to his AV transport. "Eagles two and four get back in the air and give us some cover to the main entrance… then do a circular pattern flight over the colony… report anything out of the ordinary." At Brax's orders the two shuttles took off and flew overhead, "Randel… you remain here… Alright lets move out!" Randel was an ACAU pilot. He walked the perimeter of the camp to provide extra support. The ACAUs were capable of three hundred and sixty degree turns above the waste which is where the operator sat in the chest of the fifteen foot tall machines. The three remaining ACAUs folded up at the legs and jetted off following the two transports from twenty feet in the air. The transports stopped where rock and dirt gave way to concrete which was the front landing zone of the colony. The AV transports lowered there ramps and the marines deployed.
"Marines switch on your helmet cams… Base camp come in." "Base camp here... Commander we read you and we are receiving all cam signals." Replied the Lt. "Exocron are you picking us up?" "We got you commander…" It was the voice of Captain Lee. "Alright move out… Lex you cover the entrance." "You got it commander!" Lex was another ACAU pilot. He lumbered forward and stood just off the concrete guns pointed at the main entrance. The ACAU pilot sat in the chest of the fifteen foot tall machines operating it. "Dayton you take point…" Dayton saluted and broke out into a run with twelve marines following him in a two by two cover. Brax then pointed at another ACAU pilot and it followed Dayton and his men to the entrance "Corporal take your platoon around the side… get to the main generator and restore power… Parker go with them…" Parker was the last ACAU pilot who folded his AC and followed the corporal's platoon from the air. "Burn it!" ordered Brax when his men reached the front entrance.
An eye patched soldier ignited a blow torch and cut into the door locks, he then took a remote and plugged into the door controls to release the manual locks. "Lamps!" barked Brax switching on his shoulder lamps. The marines followed suit and the ACAU switched on his lights. There was an unearthly calm as the marines entered the main building. "Talk to me corporal…"
"Commander we are inside… twenty minutes to the generator over…" Replied the corporal over his head set. Ten marines took up overlapping firing positions in the left hall, the ACAU remained in the door way for cover. Another four marines set up gun sentries, while Brax took the rest of his unit down the right hall. He dropped to one knee and made a fist, a signal to his group that made some drop to their knees as well and others stood with their guns at the ready.
"Hartley! Motion detectors!" Hartley dropped next to Commander Brax; the blemp, blemp, blemp of the motion detector was the only sound being made. "Big bupkiss sir… Nada!"
"Switch over to locator…" "Massive signal coming from the auditorium… they're… they're not moving… sir if I'm reading this right then all three hundred and seventeen colonists are in the auditorium…" "Lets move." Ordered Brax.

Captain Lee paced back and forth on the bridge of the Exocron, "Time!" he asked. "Sir we are one hour and forty-nine minutes into the mission…" responded the ops officer. Lee stopped pacing and looked at the Saurito, "Perhaps you should get to your shuttle… I'll have your pilot meet you in the hangar…" "Getting tired of me Captain?" He smiled at her as she got up and left the bridge. "Captain… tango squadron has returned with satellite debris." "Have the science team analyze the debris immediately." "Aye Captain!"

"Set two up sentries down both halls…" cried Brax. His unit was outside the main auditorium, "Corporal where's my power?" "Standby commander…" he replied over the com. The lights suddenly came on and the systems could be heard coming on throughout the building. "Get ready!" ordered Brax, "Cover the door!" Ten marines dropped to their knees and another ten stood behind them guns pointed at the door. "Open it up!" The doors to the auditorium opened and it was as if someone had knocked the air out of the marines and the bridge crew of the Exocron. "Mary Mother of God!" cried Dayton. "We were too late." Said Brax. The floor of the auditorium was covered in blood and the walls had blood splashes and burn marks on them. The most horrifying thing was the colonist themselves, strung up by the feet to the ceiling like pieces of meat, their bodies had been skinned.

On the bridge of the Exocron everyone stood up eyes stuck on the screen which displayed several cam views. "I hope those ugly mother fuckers are still in the system, because I'm going to tare them a new one…" said Lee. "I know how you feel captain…" said the President, "…but I don't want to lose the crew of the Exocron… don't go looking for trouble…" "Yes sir…" The fear and anxiety felt by the crew of the Exocron was replaced by a desire for revenge, all doubts about the mission were thrown out the window by every operator and marine. This was an act of war and the crew of the Exocron was willing to oblige the humanoids.

"We should cut them down." Said a marine. "Negative on that… Commander Brax secure the colony first." Ordered Lee over the com channel. The colonist men, women, and children had been slaughtered like animals. It was evident to Brax and his men that the colonist put up a fight, but in the end they were put down. Bullet casings were found in places where fighting had taken place, certain doors had been blown apart by a powerful energy weapon of some kind. The vehicles in the hangar were destroyed and when Brax tried to access the main computer, the AI it didn't respond. "Exocron come in…" Brax was working hard to keep his cool, but the edge in his voice was unmistakable. "Go ahead commander…" "Captain colony secure all colonist accounted for… all three hundred and seventeen are dead… no sign of the hostiles." "Good work commander… the XO will be taking point…she is shuttling down now." "Aye captain!" Brax and his marines collected what samples they could and readied the med bay for the XO. Meanwhile the Corporal's platoon searched the living area for more clues as to what happened. Brax and five marines stood outside the front entrance of the colony as Saurito's shuttle landed. As the ramp lowered Saurito ran down and was greeted by Brax. "Ma'am! Welcome to Pholor colony… we have the med bay set up for you…" "The auditorium…" interrupted Saurito, "…take me to the auditorium…" "Ma'am I don't think…" "The auditorium!" she repeated firmly. "Alright…" sighed Brax, leading her through the building. "…but this may shock you." "I don't shock easy commander." Brax kept a close eye on Saurito as the doors to the auditorium opened. Her face remained expressionless as she beheld the grim scene. Marines were cautiously lowering bodies to the floor. Saurito closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You alright ma'am?" asked Brax from her side. She opened her eyes and took five steps forward just short of stepping in some blood. She turned to Brax, "I'm fine… I want this one and these three…" Saurito was pointing to some bodies as she spoke, "…and these two brought to the med lab immediately." "Yes ma'amm…" replied Brax. The bodies were brought to the med lab in sector B of the colony and laid them out on several tables from youngest to oldest. Saurito studied the bodies first then she examined the samples Brax's marines collected. After an hour and eight minutes Saurito put a head set on given to her by Brax. "Exocron can you hear me?" "Loud and clear!" Replied Lee. "Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen can hear me?" She asked staring into a holo-cam. "We can see and hear you…" said the President. "This is Executive Officer Maxine Saurito for Weyland-Yutani… As theorized Pholor Colony was lost due to humanoids on record…" She paused then continued. "…The humanoids have followed hunting pattern on record with a slight variation… all three hundred and seventeen colonist have been killed. Men, women, children, both combative and non-combative personnel…" she paused to drink some water, "…colonist have been skinned their spines and skulls have been left intact… which suggests the humanoids were not hunting…" she walked around the table of each body. "Metallic rope was found tied to the victim's feet from the ceiling… metallic rope has a metallurgical composite… elements not found throughout our known galaxy… this supports the theory that the humanoids have a home world outside our known galaxy…" Saurito went to the table and picked up a data-pad that had a report of the colony status. "The colony itself has been ransacked, the AI has been erased and the main computer down loaded which suggests that the humanoids were looking for something… this ends my report."
"Well Saurito what do you think?" asked the President. "Is this a prelude to an invasion?"
"I don't think so sir… these humanoids have been visiting our planet for millennium… I'd say this attack could have been provoked…"
"What makes you say that?" asked the General Secretary. "They killed everyone sir… and then they ransacked the colony which suggests they were looking for something… what that could be I do not know…" "But that doesn't suggest a provocation on the part of the colonist…" said a Weyland-Yutani Executive. "Take a look at the facts I've just presented… We know the humanoids only hunt armed individuals and yet they killed women and children. They've never been interested in our technology, but they have downloaded our computer and erased the AI… all this points to an act of revenge."
"What is your recommendation?" asked a Presidential advisor. Before she could answer the chief executive of Weyland-Yutani spoke up, "We should try to salvage the colony…" "I was asking her!" replied the admiral. "My recommendation is to nuke the colony…" As soon as the words left her mouth the executives went into an uproar. Screaming their objectives and outrage. The President raised his hand, "Ladies and gentlemen please…" "You can't just…" "Mr. President…" Yelled Saurito interrupting the chief executive, "…My colleagues want to salvage the colony, but what they fail to realize is that if word gets out that pholor colonist were murdered by an alien race. It will start a panic… people will start flocking back to earth by the hundreds of thousands… I stand by recommendation. Nuke the colony!"
The Weyland-Yutani executives were even more angrier and a couple of them voiced their objectives and Saurito argued back that it would be irresponsible of Weyland-Yutani.

Captain Lee stood on the bridge of the Exocron arms folded across his chest, impressed by Saurito's stand against the money grubbers. "Captain Lee…" the president's voice silenced everyone, "…get your people off the planet, nuke the colony and return to earth." "Yes sir Mr. President…" Lee returned to his captain's chair, "Commander Brax get your people back to the transports…" Lee turned to his right. "…Com Officer contact all fighters and tell them to return to the Exocron…" The com officer acknowledge the captain's orders and began contacting the pilots. "Father!" ["Yes Captain Lee"] responded the computer. "Arm nuclear warheads and target the colony… fire on my command only." ["Please enter authorization code."] "Authorization bravo nine two nine seven dash echo four zero four." ["Code accepted… Nuclear missiles armed… target locked…"] "Captain… Commander Brax's away team is launching from the planet!" announced the com officer. "Tell me when they dock… Gunner confirm lock on…" The gunner sat at a separate station in a high backed chair, there was a scope above his head and a monitor in front of him. The manual aim he operated was controlled by a large gray pad that he waved his hand across. When he locked on the cross hairs went from red to green. "Captain manual lock confirms auto-lock… ready to fire on your command."
"Captain the shuttles have docked." "Fire on my mark… and Five four three two one mark and fire!" From the forward missile port a twenty foot long missile shot towards the colony. The crew of the Exocron watched the screen as the missile rocketed through the atmosphere. When the missile hit there was a mushroom cloud and then the blast wave which destroyed the entire facility covering up the deaths of the colonist at the hands of the humanoids. "Captain… Target has been destroyed…" announced the gunner in a sad tone. "Captain all fighters have returned to the Exocron…" Lee hit the com button on his arm chair, "Now hear this… we will be preparing for hyper-sleep… you have one hour to shut down." "Captain Lee… good work. We'll be monitoring you until you enter hyper-sleep." Said the President. "Yes sir… Father set course for earth, hyper-sleep in one hour…"
["Affirmative… all crew members you now have one hour to hyper-sleep…"] At the announcement the crew of the Exocron began checking systems, filing reports, and making their way to the sleep pods. After everyone was secured in the pods the AI began shutting down the unnecessary systems and placing the crew in hyper-sleep. Once in hyper-sleep the massive ion engines fired up and the Exocron left the system.

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