Chapter 1: The Xeno Slayers
The USS Marvel soared through space, its gun-shaped hull an indication to all that this was a battle ship of the United States Colonial Marines. The name was painted in massive red letters on either side of the hull, displaying that this was the deadliest ship mankind had in its arsenal. On the outside, fifteen mounted guns and four-hundred rocket launchers were ready for use at any given moment, should the ship come under attack. Yet it was not just the armaments on the outside of the ship that made this vessel so lethal; it was the crew on the inside that completed the package.
Five years following the disastrous military expedition to discover the reason for lost communications with the human colony on LV-426, earth's armed forces began a special program with the sole purpose of dealing with any future xenomorph infestations. This was aptly dubbed "Xeno Eradication 101", and was given any and all funding it required due to the discovery of many more infested planets. Soldiers were trained with new weaponry and technology, specially designed for xenomorph detection and neutralization. The program was a success, both in soldier participation and in the effectiveness of the techniques and technology.
The crew of the USS Marvel were the best xenomorph hunters the program had ever trained. They were so good, in fact, that they had been given their own ship, squad and ranks, specializing solely in xenomorph eradication. They were the first military force that people turned to when a hive sprouted up, and they were damn good at what they did. They were nominated for thousands of bravery awards, and yet refused each and every one of them; a one hundred percent mission success rate was the only trophy they required.
This group of xeno-slayers was led by General Malone, the best of the lot and the man who started the program in the first place, twenty-five years ago. Five thousand was the number of xenomorphs that he had killed, before he lost count. Acid burns cover nearly every inch of his body, save for his face; no acid had defiled that yet. He is the deadliest and most feared man in the universe, a fact which allowed him much success in climbing the ranks of the military. A massive cigar was almost always lit in his mouth, great clouds of smoke spewing from it whenever he spoke.
Four others round out this death squad; Mort, a massive Scottish man who loves to curse and annihilate xenomorphs with a double-barrel shotgun; Dawkins, a small, quick witted American who has an affection both for pain and pulse rifles; Leonard, who loves swords and had discovered a coating which would resist xenomorph blood; and Julius, a man whose only passions are women and smartguns. These five are the xeno-slayers, and they have never failed.
The USS Marvel was returning from a successful mission on LV-643, a planet covered with trees higher than earth's skyscrapers. The mission had gone smooth as silk, with no severe injuries or unneeded loss of civilian life. The crew lay peacefully in their cryo beds, asleep until they reached earth, an expected two weeks away travelling at their current speed. However, whilst the crew slept, the onboard machinery was restless. Constant scans were made of surrounding space for any possible threats. Life-signs and health-monitors were constantly checked for anomalies by the computers. The transmission receiver was on high-alert, for random transmissions for redeployment were not uncommon. The auto-pilot was constantly making alterations in headings, for asteroids and planets were extremely common in the vicinity. All was still, all was peaceful.
Yet peace is something that rarely lasts. Wars eventually happen, conflicts eventually arise; something always happens to disturb any peace that mankind achieves. Even small doses of peace, such as the one displayed on the USS Marvel, are always disturbed in one way or another. This is a lesson the xeno-slayers knew all too well, and a random transmission was never a surprise. However, the one they were about to receive would not only change their lives, but the lives of all of mankind. This transmission was a cornerstone in how humans live and fight wars, even if the senders didn't know it yet.