Asteroids were hurtling straight toward Earth, only, at a second glance the soldiers realized they were not, in fact, asteroids. They hadn't been trained for this; their leaders had not prepared them to handle something this horrific. As the highly trained soldiers looked at the gruesome sight before them, some wanted to throw up, some wanted to run but they all held their ground as best as they could. No, what they thought to be asteroids were not asteroids; they were something much, much worse. What was falling to earth in front of them were the burning carcasses of their lost comrades. Among them: Captain Leonard Church leader of the 621 Blue squadron; beloved leader…..and brother. With a heavy heart, the commander walked back into the base to the side of a young wounded soldier who did not have long to live. She stood at attention and said with suppressed emotion "We've located you brother" as a single tear slid down her cheek
Alison ran swiftly across the courtyard, ignoring the enemy ships hovering overhead with only one thought on her mind "Where the hell is He?"During galactic civil wars, one doesn't have the luxury of choosing which squadron you get placed in and who you get placed or not placed with. When the war first started Alison packed up and enlisted before they even had a chance to draft anyone. Not Leonard though. Leonard her first love, the only boy stupid enough to put up with her for more than a day. Leonard was supposed to be safe at home and be her thing to live for and come home to but here she was, tearing through a battlefield, searching frantically for a man that should never have been there in the first place and Shooting anyone that got in her way. He wasn't supposed to be in this situation. "Situation: unknown, thought to be critical" was what she had heard in fact.
Leonard was drafted months after Alison enlisted along with his younger brother Michael. When she first saw their scared faces at the training base, she was filled with a fear that she didn't fully understand or had ever felt before. Her mind was jarred from the flashback as an armed soldier jumped in front of her, gun shaking in hand and his legs were obviously about to buckle. Alison was about to take advantage of his scared state, and shoot him where he stood until she heard the soldier say gently "...Tex..? Is that you?" Alison recognized the nickname that her squad gave her on her first day because she had a strong Texan accent. She lowered her weapon to get a better look at the soldier and realized who it was.
"Caboose!" She exclaimed, taking a look at the sorry form of Leonard's little brother. They had begun calling him caboose when they were children and Michael always seemed to be lagging behind them. The scared young soldier was overwhelmed at the sight of Alison, Michael had always come to associate Alison with safety and after what he had just seen he needed a little safety.
Before he could stop himself, he dropped his weapon and wrapped his arms around the her "Its...it's so good to see you Tex" Alison was startled by the sudden, inappropriately timed affection but was tempted to return the gesture until she realized he stood alone. Where was his team? Alison took him by the shoulders and looked hard through his helmet, trying to reach his eyes with hers "Michael, Where is your Captain?" Michael looked away from her which caused her to panic "Michael! Where is Leonard?!"
He looked back at her face and hesitated before replying "We were outnumbered...They would have killed us all...I would have stood by him but he ordered me to run! There was nothing I could do!" Alison's mind started racing at the implications of his words "What are you saying, soldier?!" She gripped his shoulder in winced at the sudden roughness of her touch and struggled to calmly reveal his brother's fate. "They took him, Alli." His breath hitched "He's gone."
The information hit Alison like a ton of bricks but she wouldn't let it show. She immediately released her grip on him, straightened up and said as calmly as possible "Take me to the rest of your team, Michael" He hesitated "Where is the rest of your team, Private?"
"They're not in good shape, Tex."
"Take me to your team, soldier. That's an order" she demanded with all the authority she could picked up his weapon, straightened his poster, and led her to where the remnants of his squadron were left. When they arrived, Alison was overwhelmed with how many losses and injuries the team had suffered. There did not seem to a single solder without blood gushing from somewhere.
When her presence was known, an olive skinned man with a crutch and a head wound came limping toward her "Acting commander Tucker, Ma'am.""What is your team's status, commander?" She asked, getting straight to the man looked deflated at the question but began to explain "There were 200 men in this squadron just an hour ago, Ma'am" He said looking around the room at the few soldiers that remained. "There are 40 of us left, most of us are wounded."
The weight of their loss shook Alison to her core. "What was it, commander? What did this to your team?" The commander's eyes darkened at the memory "It was like nothing we'd ever encountered before. They fought our team like it was nothing, killing without a thought. By the time we got orders to retreat, they had already taken Captain Church. They are thought to be Gulchers"Alison's eyes widened "Gulchers? Command told us there were no natives left on this planet! The canyons have been empty for years!"
The commander sighed "Well if we're wrong then the Reds are doing something different during their training exercises"Alison took off her helmet, revealing her short blond hair and striking blue eyes. "Well then, let's get this team on its feet. If there really are gulchers on those ships, we need to be ready for anything."
Gulchers: Those native to the planet Blood Gulch.
Skills: Extremely powerful and skilled with their own machinery, thought to have extreme intelligence.
Status: Hostile.
Kill Pattern:Unspecific; Animalistic and cruel.
Alison thought of all the things she'd heard about the Gulchers in her Military career and shuddered. If the Gulchers had gotten a hold of Leonard, she had a hard time holding out hope that he was still alive. But if he was alive, and she didn't do everything in her power to get him back, Michael would never forgive her; she would never forgive herself. She reported the massacre to her commanding officer that night and when informed of Captain Church's disappearance, she was ordered to take leadership of the team. No, his exact words were 'Poor bastards, Get those rookies out of there in one piece as best you can.' She intended to do just that.
The soldiers that were well enough to fight defended their makeshift base while the team recovered and regrouped. After two days, Alison grew discouraged by how much progress they still had to make but aided the medics with medical care and morale. Alison was checking on the soldiers, when all of a sudden there was a scream and what sounded like a pig that had just been gutted. Suddenly, Commander Tucker came in holding a younger soldier who was bleeding profusely. Alison immediately went to help him carry the soldier in. The soldier was letting out muffled screams as they carried him to a cot to care asses his condition. There were two very deep wounds on his right leg that were visible and though he still had his armor on, Alison suspected one had hit an artery. When his helmet was removed, Alison had to contain the gasp of shock that threatened to escape her lips when she recognized those dark blue eyes and dirty blond hair so unlike his brother's black hair. "Michael." She immediately stood up, unable to look at his pained face any longer. She turned to Commander Tucker and said firmly, her jaw clenched "What happened?"
"We were patrolling when-" he hesitated "we found a Gulcher, all alone stalking around the area and before I could stop him, the kid charged at him and attacked. The private killed him but, he got slashed with the creature's sword." He paused and then continued "Gulchers don't usually go solo, that was probably a spy. We need to be prepared to accept the fact that they know where we are and they're coming, in hoards this time"
Alison's fist clenched "Thank you commander, go get checked out by a medic." Tucker walked away cautiously as Alison stood there, gathering enough strength to go back and face the young boy she thought of as a brother. 'This is my fault' she thought 'I kept sending him out on patrol so I wouldn't have to be reminded that Leonard's gone. I should have kept him safe; he's all I have left.' After what seemed like an eternity, Alison walked slowly back to Michael's cot where they were done bandaging his wounds.
Before she could reach him, Alison was stopped by one of the medics "Excuse me commander"
"What is it, Doc?" demanded Alison.
"Just a caution, this soldier is very ill." He stopped and Alison took a deep breath, bracing herself for the next bit of news. "A main artery was hit and he lost a lot blood. On top of that we've seen the beginning signs of infection."
"What are you trying to say?" Alison demanded angrily.
"It would be a miracle if he lived through the week." Although Alison had been expecting the news, hearing them from the medic made her chest clench and she was at very high risk of shedding a tear. She refused to cry. She lost soldiers all the time and she would deal with this one just like the others. Except this one was different, this was Michael.
"Thank you, Doc" she replied as she pushed passed him toward Michael. She knelt by his cot and looked at his young face. 'He's too young' She thought sadly 'They both were.' Before her thoughts could take her down a darker path, she heard Michael moan softly. "Michael?" she asked hopefully. He moaned in response. She so badly wanted to comfort him but she didn't know how. She never really knew any of the soldiers that had died and even if she had, she was never by their bedside when it was happening. "I'm here, Michael " Alison reassured.
"Leonard…." moaned Michael
"What about Leonard, Michael?
"Do you think he's still alive?"
Alison paused, unsure what to say to such a straightforward yet difficult question "I don't know, Caboose" she said let a tear fall and then reached for Alison's hand. She didn't pull away when he reached for her but the contact was unusual for her. "Find him Alli, he's still out there, I know it" he took a deep breath and then continued with "I'm dying, aren't I?"
Alison gulped, touched the hand that covered hers and said "Yes." They both looked away from each other, each trying not to cry in front of the other.
The next week was the hardest for both of them. Alison visited Michael every day and every day she had to deliver the news that Leonard was still missing. Alison was not sure how many times Michael understood her or even knew she was there. Sometimes he addressed her as Sheila (His girlfriend back home) or sometimes even Leonard. Every day Michael slipped further and further away from her and Alison didn't know how to call him back again. Toward the end, it took a lot for Alison to leave Michael's side, not necessarily because she was taking care of him but because she wanted to be there for him when he passed. She wanted Michael to die peacefully but Commander Tucker's words haunted her mind and kept her alert and on edge 'We need to be prepared to accept the fact that they know where we are and they're coming, in hoards this time."
The medics had said Michael would die within the week and none of them could explain why he was still alive. After three weeks had passed with no incident with the Gulchers, Alison began to forget about Commander Tucker's words. While Alison was at Michael's side, the base got reports of strange and possibly dangerous asteroid activity. Asteroids were hurtling straight toward earth….