Ok everybody reading this, this is unlike any story I have written before. Though fair bit of warning, it will probably not make much sense to anyone who hasn't read my AVP Fics – The Asclepheus or Al'Dan the Pale Hunter, so if you want some context…. read those.

This will be a series of one shots pointing out things of interest to my own AVP Universe, such as historical tid-bits and pretty much anything that I want to point out in regards to my AVP fics as I write them. This will include scrapped ideas, loose ends tied up, explanations on things that I won't be able to go into detail on in my other stories.

WARNING: If you haven't read either Al'Dan the Pale Hunter or more importantly The Asclepheus…NONE OF THIS WILL MAKE SENSE….this story is literally like a history book for the Universe of Asclpheus as I will never get the chance to go in depth with some concepts.

ALSO/NOTE – this first chapter will be in documentary format to add a layer of grit, so try to keep your mind open and do your best to follow.

So…what better way to start this off with one of the biggest driving forces of my fic.

The Origins of the Myrmidon Corps!

DAKKAMAN777 PROUDLY PRESENTS

ASCLHEPHEUS EXPANDED

I am the Ultimate Badass

Words spoken by a Marine whom had no idea of what the future of human potential could bring. When Private Hudson of the Colonial Marine Corps spoke those words to his compatriots on the mission to Hadley's Hope, he had no recollection of what the Human race could become if under enough threat.

The threat of total annihilation.

When Ellen Ripley and Corporal Hicks returned to earth after their cryosleep, they told the United Systems stories of creatures that could wipe out the human race with ease, creatures that killed the best soldiers' humanity had to offer within a day. Creatures that despite the board of directors of Weyland-Yutani's protest, could not be contained or left unchecked.

After much debate, substantial evidence and testimony provided by the ship's Synthetic, Bishop, the United Systems took it under themselves to bring together a special task force, charged with destroying the Xenomorph threat and protecting humanity at all costs.

This task force was designated the Myrmidon Corps, after the Greek warrior elites that followed the great Achilles into battle in the Trojan war.

The first attempts at the task force were not as successful as the United Systems had hoped.

The following interviews are of experts and members of the Myrmidon Corps, providing their knowledge to the documentary team.

Interview – Myrmidon General Robert Haige – Homeland Division

"Thank you very much General, for being able to make it here today" the interviewer spoke behind the camera.

"Let's just try to get this done by 12, I have a long schedule" the middle aged man said in a thick northern British accent as he sat down in front of the camera.

The General was a man in his 50's with the body of a man half his age, he had black hair, 5'0 clock shadow and three long scars across the right side of his face, his left eye was brown while the left was a bright blue.

He wore a light variant of the Myrmidon combat armour, and over it he wore a long, black, sleeveless leather coat that symbolized his rank with the appropriate amount of stripes on his shoulders, along with myriad medals and awards pinned to the chest segment of his coat.

"Perhaps you could tell us a little bit about the first attempts at creating the Myrmidon Corps" the interviewer asked.

"Ah, so you want to know about the first few fuck ups?" Haige asked as he leaned back.

"In a manner of speaking yes, just tell us how the first stages went"

"Well in the very beginning, the corps was barely equipped to fight Xenomorphs in any effective capacity. The only difference between Myrmidons and colonial marines at that point was that Myrmidons were barely considered a military force" Haige began to explain.

"Why weren't they considered a Military force?"

"Well, while the Colonial Marines and the Myrmidon corps both required enlisting and volunteers, the Marines were better prepared for their duties than Myrmidons were. And needless to say, not many people wanted to sign up to get ripped to pieces by aliens that bleed acid and lay their eggs in your chest" Haige said leaning forward, clasping his armoured hands together.

"There was also the fact that Myrmidons at that point were basically undertrained and underequipped Marines in Black armour that barely protected them from Xenomorphs. It was a disaster just waiting to happen, and lo and behold their first mission was an unmitigated disaster" Haige finished as he leaned back.

*INTERVIEW CUTS TO FOOTAGE AND NARRATION

While the Myrmidon Corps were underutilized due to the lack of Xenomorph attacks in the systems nearest to earth. It was all but inevitable that the attacks would start up again once word of the creatures had gone public.

When the world spilt that the alien race of deadly, acid bleeding monsters that could decimate Marine squads without contest were real, it was all but inevitable that every smuggler, criminal and scoundrel looking for quick and easy money would bolt towards LV426 to get their hands on some of those eggs and sell them to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately, the majority of these smugglers did not know how to contain the Eggs and the appropriately named Facehuggers within them. The inevitable was bound to happen when Smuggler ships began falling from the skies of inhabited planets, and when known Smuggler dens began to go dark.

This lead to the spread of Xenomorph attacks and infestations all over the outer territories, soon many well-known and larger colonies would go dark and the spread of Infestations would worsen.

The Myrmidon corps and Colonial Marine corps together at this time could not keep these infestations from spreading and thousands upon thousands of deaths followed. Entire squadrons of Myrmidons and Marines would be decimated by the Xenomorph threat.

It became obvious quite soon that mere humans were not built to defeat and fight Xenomorphs.

Humans had the drive and intellect, but not the strength, stamina, speed or Physical Prowess to fight the Creatures.

Androids were strong, but they lacked the drive, the capabilities or the intent to survive in order to battle Xenomorphs effectively.

The methods of fighting Xenomorphs became quite varied and many options were considered, until the final option came into being.

*Interview – Professor Nobu Nakamura – Creator and synthesizer of the Myrmidon Strain.

Professor Nakamura was a Japanese man, in his late 60's, with short white hair, a finely trimmed goatee and dressed in a militarized white lab coat, as accented by the military style collar and shoulders.

"There were many ideas about how to solve the problem. Using nerve gas was an option as it wouldn't render the areas unusable, unfortunately the chemicals didn't affect the creatures as their biology allowed them to survive chemicals, toxins and even the harshest of climates" the professor spoke with an intense Japanese accent.

"What about nuclear weapons? Weren't they ever considered?" the interviewer asked behind the camera.

"Nuclear Weapons? By this time the infestation had reached dozens of worlds, all known for having vast resources and perfect conditions for sustaining life…dropping a nuke on those planets would have rendered all that useless. It is hard to mine or colonize a planet when it is being ravaged by fallout" Nakamura chuckled.

"With Nuclear weapons, nerve gas and conventional weapons out of the way there weren't many options that would solve the problem. Orbital strikes couldn't dig deep enough into the hives to do enough damage, androids were out of the question, as were sending in human troops…pretty soon it seemed as if we were running out of options" Nakamura continued.

"Until?" the interviewer asked, as if already knowing the answer.

Nakamura smirked.

"Until we realized that the answer had been staring us in the face the entire time. Genetic Manipulation has always been an inevitability of the human race and their trials against the perils of the beyond. At this point we knew just how pliable the human genome was and how we could manipulate it to serve humanity better. Beautiful things had been done with genetic engineering at this point; birth defects can be avoided during early developmental stages in the womb, cloned organs and flesh have managed to make saving lives all the easier, synthesizing rare blood types has also saved billions of human lives because of the strives we have made in the field. The Xenomorph problem was just that…. another problem that could be solved with genetic manipulation" Nakamura smiled with pride as he leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

"Of course, the genetic manipulation technology we had, didn't come close to completely altering a human body after their birth, and we didn't have time or the knowledge to artificially create super soldiers from scratch" Nakamura continued.

"But you have managed to radically change Humans in the past" The Interviewer cut in.

"You are referring to the Acturians? Yes, to begin with it seems like they are the same thing, but there is a distinct difference in the creation of Omnigendered humans and super soldiers that can battle xenomorphs. The people of the Acturian system were altered to survive the harsh environmental difference in air composition with genetic engineering, their omnigendered offspring were an unforeseen side effect of that. We had never aimed to create Omnigendered humans, but every single settler that was altered to survive the Acturian system eventually had children that had traits of both male and female humans. Of course at the time it was some huge phenomenon that we hadn't foreseen; many people thought it was a leap in evolution, others thought the system's UV rays were harmful and caused mutations, and the worst theories were that god was bringing down 'divine punishment' on those that had taken creation into his own hands" Nakamura explained before letting his words sink in.

Nakamura smiled before continuing.

"The people that believed it was divine punishment later ended up becoming cultists that worshipped Xenomorphs as divine messengers" Nakamura almost snickered.

"So creating the Acturians was a mistake?" the Interviewer asked.

"Mistake!? Science doesn't make mistakes, Acturians are just people like you and me…and they continue to thrive in our culture to this day, if I'm not mistaken an Acturian is in running for the position of President of the United Systems, and from the vids I think she would have a great president" Nakamura smiled.

"So…how did you manage to create the first Myrmidon strain?" the interviewer asked, returning to the topic.

"I was stationed on the Jungle world designated Ares 5, my research team and I had heard from recon scouts that the creatures that lived on the planet were unlike anything we had seen up to that point. Naturally I couldn't resist, being apart of the team that was tasked with creating the solution to the Xenomorph problem. What we found was everything that we had been looking for and more" Nakamura explained, visibly getting excited at the memories of what their discovery was.

"The Chimera of Ares 5 were our first discovery, at first they just seemed like any other alien beast, sharp claws, razor sharp teeth, armour plated hide and heightened senses, yet not much brain power to back it up. At first we thought their amazing strengths were because of the atmospheric difference of the air, but it turned out that the planet had created many special herbs and plants that produced some very curious bacteria" Nakamura smiled, clasping his hands together.

"What was this bacteria?" the interviewer asked.

"The bacteria that the planet's herbs and plants produced had the traits of performance enhancers that would make normal earth steroids look like a child's cough medicine by comparison. It explained the Physical prowess of the Chimeras, so naturally we studied it, broke it down to its minor elements and reverse engineered it into a strain that could be used on humans without causing any deformations" Nakamura spoke, reminiscing the old days.

"Where there any setbacks in the early days?" the Interviewer asked.

"We…went through many stages before we came with the first strain, it was difficult to adapt the strain to the Human genome so that it wouldn't tear a human body apart. The first testing stages went unbelievably well with all subjects showing increased strength, speed, agility, cognitive abilities and overall vitality…but when it came to human trails that's when things became…..complicated" Nakamura paused as if to gather himself.

"Complicated? Can you elaborate Professor?" the interviewer asked.

"…the first tests were done on Inmates that were set up for death row…men who no-one would miss if they had died in the testing…they had signed contracts that if the strain successfully worked then they would be allowed to live and help us with physical tests and equipment tests" Nakamura paused before he picked up a nearby cup of water and took a sip.

The Japanese scientist paused until he began to speak again.

"What happened was…. much worse than simple death"

*Documentary footage of tests of the first Myrmidon Strain

The first Myrmidon strain, theoretically should have been able to latch onto the human genone and DNA strands and improve them, to create a sudden growth of proteins that would exponentially increase the Pysichal and mental prowess of those it was used on.

However, the results of the preliminary tests were…. far from what Nakamura and his research staff had expected.

For some reason the Strain did not have positive effects on the inmates.

The strain instead mutated the muscle mass and bone density of the inmates' bodies in a disorderly proportion. Their arms would mutate unevenly to their legs, their lungs would implode, their spinal columns would collapse in on themselves and rip their brainstems to pieces, their muscles would rip through their skin and even their organs would implode or absorb each other inside their bodies.

After every test it almost became evident that there was something wrong with the brain chemistry of the subjects that caused the strain to go into overdrive and kill the user.

If the testing of the strain was at a different time, then it would have quickly been disbanded.

But reports of Xenomorph outbreaks and attacks were getting more and more frequent, refugees and survivors from outer colonies were pouring into the inner worlds closer and closer to earth, and the Myrmidon corps needed to be put into motion fast.

The Colonial Marines and the United Systems military did what they could, but nuking the surface of planets was more of a determent to humanity than a solution to the Xenomorph problem.

It wasn't until the solution was found in the most unlikely of places.

*Professor Nobu Nakamura interview

"The amount of Xenomorph attack survivors that poured into the inner worlds was astounding. Naturally every survivor was interviewed to get us more information as to how to beat them, but everything we were told was everything we already knew from Lieutenant Ripley and Corporal Hicks. The survivors mainly consisted of children, the Xenomorphs seemed to go after full grown adults rather than children every time, probably because the offspring would be stronger if it were birthed from a human in their prime, but lucky for us this began to open whole new possibilities" Nakamura continued as he lit up a cigarette and began smoking.

"You didn't immediately begin testing on children did you?" the Interviewer asked.

"Of course not! The first volunteer from the attack survivors was a veteran of one of the outer colony civil wars, a man around the age of 70 whom had numerous things wrong with his health, his vision was poor, he had a weak heart and had the early signs of dementia" Nakamura replied.

"An Old Man with Dementia was the first volunteer? Why would you accept someone in such poor condition?" the interviewer asked.

"At this point we knew that the problem was mentally related…but even with the early signs of dementia…this man had something all the failed inmates didn't…..he had a stronger drive within him, he had seen true horror in the face of the Xenomorphs, he had lost his entire family, his wife, his son, daughter in law, his grandchildren…everything he had ever known and loved had been taken from him. I could tell when I first saw him, that this man had a determination that none of the inmates had…. he said he had nothing left to live for but vengeance…so….who were we to refuse?" Nakamura took a long draw of a Cigarette.

"I'm assuming that the results were different?" the Interviewer asked.

Nakamura smiled before puffing out the smoke of his cigarette "Oh yes…..they were different"

*Documentary Footage with Narration.

The difference in the patient's mental state was discovered to be the most vital part of the process of becoming bonded to the Myrmidon strain. The subject had to have a strong will, a need for revenge or justice for those they lost, a drive to keep them going, something to live or if necessary to die for.

Xenomorph attack survivors usually had an abundance of these after seeing their families torn to shreds or taken away screaming. This left an abundance of rage, anger and a lust and need for revenge against the Xenomorphs…and most of all the drive to make sure it never happened again.

The rest of what happened once the first volunteer was injected with the strain is history. The strain was a complete success and soon afterwards, other volunteers began to step forward, mothers and fathers that had lost their children, young adults who had lost their brothers and sisters, children whom had lost their families.

These early volunteers became the first Myrmidons. At this point in history the Myrmidon corps were not nearly as effective as they would become, as the integration of SAS, Spetznas, Green Beret and other special forces training were given to the future commanders, Generals and the future generation of Myrmidons.

The first few operations of Missions that the Myrmidons were put on were absolute successes. They had been educated in how Xenomorph hives and Xenomoph's in general worked. The Xenomorphs hadn't yet seen human soldiers as strong, fast, agile or as deadly as the Myrmidons.

Entire hives were burned to ash.

Queens were slain and whole egg clusters were destroyed.

There was a speck of hope in the hearts of humanity once again.

That speck was the Myrmidon corps.

And in the coming years that speck grew brighter and brighter until it was a blazing beacon of how far Humanity had emerged from the dark.

The Myrmidon corps evolved in the coming years; training became more advanced, weaponry became deadlier, the acid-proof hides of the Chimera of Ares 5 was harvested and converted into a synthesizable material that would be used in crafting the armour and combat gear that Myrmidon troops would wear into combat.

Soon the Myrmidon corps became the Elite fighting force of the human race, formed from children of all races, ethnicities, nationalities and genders that would grow to form the one thing standing between humanity and certain death.

A force that became a deciding factor in the conflicts to come.


OK, EVERYONE, WELCOME TO THE FIRST ENSTALLMENT OF THE HISTORY OF ASCLEPHEUS! My god is it going to be a long ride with the insane ideas in my mind.

Seriously, I had to force myself to stop at 3000 odd words for this chapter, otherwise I would have kept typing until this chapter would have reached quadruple digits and I don't want to scare people off for this series.

Quick, brief and compact chapters….that is what this will ideally be.

Now please don't skimp out on the reviews, be as long as you guys want, tell me what you want the next chapter to be on. Please let the reviews be long as you guys want.

More reviews means more likely I can get another chapter done :)

Dakkaman777 saying, see ya next chapter