Soldiers were patrolling actively and attentively. A few civilians were going about their jobs in a slight hurry. Some were repairing part of the outer perimeter wall, guarded by 8 soldiers.
Part of the wall had been melted away by the acidic blood of many Aliens, 39 according to the last count. The wall was now being repaired as quickly as possible.
The attack had taken place the day before. There had been many of these small attacks lately, growing more frequent. The base had now been put on high alert as intelligence suggested that a large-scale attack was going to take place very soon.
These attacks began taking place as soon as the soldiers had populated the area two years ago, whose job it had been to make it safe for others to live there. Amazingly during these two years there were only a small number of fatalities and few injuries, these occurring from splashes of acidic blood or just plain carelessness.
The reason for the low casualties was the wall itself, purpose built to withstand Alien attacks. 14 feet high and 8 feet thick, 3 of these solid steel sandwiched with thick solid concrete on either side. It was lubricated with a special layer that stopped Aliens from climbing it. The wall was mounted with turrets. These were heat-seeking turrets which locked on and opened fire on the Aliens heat signature, but did not fire at humans, as the heat signature was very different.
Soldiers were posted at the one entrance, a huge metal 'door' made of 5 feet thick solid steel, and the same height as the wall. It wasn't used very often but was needed to allow workers to work on the outside of the wall. There were soldiers posted inside the towers which formed part of the wall, and many around the inside of the huge base. The base itself was a complex of many buildings, living quarters, laboratories, and other such buildings.
When the Aliens had first struck they were easily wiped out. But each attack became more of a threat then the last. Aliens had watched out of range of the defences and learnt fast.
The defences had been constantly tested. In the attack the day before the Aliens had burst out, without warning, of the thick forest which surrounded the base, into the clearing and with blinding speed moved towards the base.
The clearing had been made purposely but work had stopped early, as it had become too risky. The Aliens had made it to the wall with just 2 of them being killed. They had been running in a zigzag pattern, obviously knowing that they were confusing the autoguns. Once at the wall they had clawed at the concrete and with surprising ease, had dug it. They got through the 2 and a half-foot of thick concrete before finally being destroyed by a grenade. The acidic blood had also melted through part of the steel.
This made the soldiers realise the main weakness of the wall. If Aliens got in about 4 feet then it would be very hard to kill them as they were on the inside and it would be impossible to get an angle to shoot at the Aliens. This was bad.
-----------------------------------------------------------
In space a huge Colonial transport ship is moving fast - Destination: Endora Prime
"How long?" an ageing, battered Colonel Gordon Rayner asked.
"Six days, Sir," came the reply from a much younger, fresher Lieutenant Williams.
"Damn. We need those specimens alive. Especially the new one."
"The one from the crash site?" the young Lieutenant asked.
"Yeah. The Company need that specimen for study. They believe it holds the key to beating the Aliens."
"What's the main objective, Sir?"
"Information. Two years of studying these bastards. We haven't been in contact for a long time with the scientists at Endora Prime. They've collected a lot of data. All vital. Main objective is to secure as much information as possible, and bring it back intact."
"What about those living there?" Williams queried.
"Expendable."
"Expendable sir?" he asked, confused.
"Our main objective is to secure that information. Our second objective is to secure as many specimens as we can, specifically the ones we've enhanced," the Colonel explained.
"You mean the bio-engineered, part machine Xenomorphs?"
"Yes. Release one of them into an Alien nest and it'll kill as many Aliens as possible. It's been programmed to home in on the Queen. You see, the Aliens always know where their Queen is. These Xenomorphs will find it and kill it. They can easily hold off twenty, thirty normal Aliens and if their life signs are dangerously low they'll self destruct, taking a good chunk of the planet with them."
"I see, Sir."
"Our third objective," Colonel continued, "is to rescue as many survivors as possible. They'll be at one of three evacuation points. Most of them will be dead already so we'll have to be ready to see anything, I can't afford to have men sick or their head'll get ripped off while they're busy puking."
"Those are our objectives. What background information were you given?" Colonel Rayner asked.
"Just that the base was used for the study of these Aliens. Looking for weaknesses, their Achilles heel, Sir." Williams replied.
"That's right," the Colonel confirmed.
"Wouldn't the Company have kept in contact with the base to collect information, Sir?" the Lieutenant asked.
"They did, until eight weeks ago. The ship was in constant orbit around the planet, in constant communication with the base. Only minimal information was collected..."
"Why was that, Sir?" Williams cut in.
"The base had been hastily built. Once the perimeter wall was up and running we realised that there was not enough room for ships to land, not even small ones, and don't cut in while I'm talking next time." Colonel Rayner answered.
"Yes Sir, sorry Sir. But that means we'll have to land outside the wall," Williams realised.
"Yes it does, unfortunately. We'll have to deploy by the gate, we know the access codes, once inside we complete our main two objectives ASAP, check for survivors and get out of there. Anyway, as I was saying, the ship was called away to help with the war."
"The war? How are we doing with the wars?" Williams asked.
"Badly. That's why we need whatever information is in that base, especially the specimens. No one knows about this war outside of the military and of course the Company. Families think that their sons and daughters are still in training. Most of them are dead along with millions of others. With this information we stand a chance," Colonel Rayner informed Williams. "Before the bastards make it to Earth."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Back at base, specifically one of the many huge laboratories constructed.
"It's now trying to talk to us," Amy said. She was 5ft 10inches tall, with short blonde hair, and lovely green eyes, and had one of those radiant smiles which made others smile too.
The clean shaven, bald headed scientist, whose name was Tom said "Hello," to the Predator.
It replied "Hell" in a deep voice.
"Yup, that's what it's going to be like around here soon," he said to it.
"Hell - oo"
"It's making good progress," noted Amy.
"We were expecting to be attacked about 40 hours ago according to our intelligence, we may have some more time to communicate with it," she told him.
The Predator lifted its hand and stuck it out as far as the restraints would allow, in a handshake gesture. The two scientists looked surprised at this. It had remembered when they shook hands in front of it two days ago.
"Should I?" Tom asked.
"I'm not sure, but it hasn't shown any signs of aggressiveness," she replied.
"I am."
Tom put his hand out and went towards the Predator. He touched hands and the Predator held his firmly. Amy relaxed when seeing this, and when the Predator let Tom's hand go, he was smiling.
"I think we know the answer." Tom said delighted.
"Should we let it out?" Amy asked.
"We'll notify security, just in case." Tom answered.
"Don't bring them in it might cause it to become aggressive. I've got to go check on our evacuation progress." Amy suggested.
"I'll go tell security. I won't bring them in." Tom replied as he walked off towards the thick solid steel doors.
Amy walked off towards another scientist who was busy moving things to the evacuation areas.
"Everything ready?" she asked.
"Just moving the last enhanced Xenomorph now," he said pointing to a solid steel cage, designed to be acid proof. A low shriek was heard from inside.
"All backed up data?" Amy asked.
"Yup, crates 1 & 2 at evac point Gus 1. A copy of crate 2 and crate 3 at Gus 2, and a copy of 3 and crate 4 at Gus 3," he replied. "All in the specially made crates."
"Good. How about civilians and workers?" Amy continued, going through the mental checklist in her mind.
"Most are at Gus 1, some at Gus 2. Gus 3 is for the soldiers, for when they retreat. All food has been checked. We'll be able to sustain ourselves for at least 14 days. By then we should be long gone from here," he said with hope evident in his voice. "Some are still repairing the wall. They should be done soon, and all communications operators are staying at the communications centre to help organise the soldiers when the attack is taking place."
"Alright. I'll see you at Gus 2 then," Amy replied.
"See you there," the scientist said as he and two others helped move the special crate along.
The wall was now fully repaired. A workman got up and called one of the soldiers.
"Repairs are complete. We can go back in now," the workman said.
"Good, don't wanna stay out here any longer," the soldier acknowledged. He promptly went over to a keypad, punched in a code and the gate parted and opened with a loud rumble. No one seemed to notice a distortion of light as it moved past the gate towards the base. The gate closed with another load rumble and the soldiers went back to their separate internal patrols.
In turret 3A, Privates Adams, Hurst, and Finley were having a little discussion, while Private Smith kept a wary eye out towards the forest.
"So who would you bring along?" asked a well built 6ft tall Finley.
He was the tallest of the four Privates in this turret. Battles scars had taken the place of most of his skin, his face spared. Battles fought many years ago. These battles had taken place in an initiative to take over three Alien infested planets. Millions died, there were hardly any injured. "Aliens don't take prisoners" a Private under his command had once told him. The battle had taken its toll on Private Finley. He had lost most of his platoon, who had been sent in to clear out a hidden enemy cave. The soldiers had had no backup, and were easily wiped out, except Private Finley who managed to retreat with a few of his men.
He never saw his men again, after being taken for psych treatment. But he still blamed himself, and the Corporation. He had known that they stood little chance, but had been sent in nonetheless. He was demoted back to a Private and shipped here as the first soldiers to secure the base. He liked it here, he was part of a close knit family. Everyone knew everyone on this base.
"Superman," was Adams' reply. Another veteran from the wars.
Also well built but not as tall as Finley. His face bearing a scar which went down from the right side of his forehead, missing his eye, to his cheek. A scar which he took pride in. It made others respect him more, as most of them had been fresh out of camp two years ago. He had a crew cut, just like most other soldiers, including the three in this turret. He talked more than the others and was the more livelier of the lot, frequently making jokes to keep others entertained.
"The Aliens would probably melt him, after all he's as hard as STEEL," commented Hurst.
Hurst was a 'freshman' as was Smith. They were both of equal build and height although Smith was more quiet than Hurst. Smith liked to keep to himself but had become more open now, as he had been here for two years.
Smith also had uncanny accuracy, noted in his file from his training days. He liked to pick Aliens off to keep in practice. The others also practiced with the sniper rifle regularly, particularly Adams, whose accuracy had greatly improved over the years here.
Hurst enjoyed it here, just like everyone else. No real danger, heavy protection, no worries. Until now. Still, he tried to show no sign of tension or nervousness to keep morale high. Morale was high, although when the attack came soldiers would inevitably be killed. The base hadn't been designed to protect soldiers once its main lines of defence were breached, although measures had been taken.
"How about the Flash?" asked an interested Finley.
"Yeah, he'd literally run circles around them. He could even get to the Aliens nest, plant a bomb and be out of there in a matter of seconds." Adams said.
"If only they were real."
"If only."
The radio suddenly burst to life, waking the three Privates from their fantasy land.
"This is communications base. I'm tracking two signals on the infrared sensors."
"What? Internal?" Adams said picking up the radio.
"They're right here in the communications base, they're converging on our position," came the reply.
"You got a visual?" Adams asked.
"Negative. Cameras aren't picking up anything, even though sensors say the signals are right there I don't see anything. But there's something weird, all I see on the cameras are some distortions, but that can't be Aliens."
"Alright, we're coming in. We'll come with two groups of four," Adams said, thinking fast.
"Roger that. Be quick. Whatever it is it's getting close."
Part of the wall had been melted away by the acidic blood of many Aliens, 39 according to the last count. The wall was now being repaired as quickly as possible.
The attack had taken place the day before. There had been many of these small attacks lately, growing more frequent. The base had now been put on high alert as intelligence suggested that a large-scale attack was going to take place very soon.
These attacks began taking place as soon as the soldiers had populated the area two years ago, whose job it had been to make it safe for others to live there. Amazingly during these two years there were only a small number of fatalities and few injuries, these occurring from splashes of acidic blood or just plain carelessness.
The reason for the low casualties was the wall itself, purpose built to withstand Alien attacks. 14 feet high and 8 feet thick, 3 of these solid steel sandwiched with thick solid concrete on either side. It was lubricated with a special layer that stopped Aliens from climbing it. The wall was mounted with turrets. These were heat-seeking turrets which locked on and opened fire on the Aliens heat signature, but did not fire at humans, as the heat signature was very different.
Soldiers were posted at the one entrance, a huge metal 'door' made of 5 feet thick solid steel, and the same height as the wall. It wasn't used very often but was needed to allow workers to work on the outside of the wall. There were soldiers posted inside the towers which formed part of the wall, and many around the inside of the huge base. The base itself was a complex of many buildings, living quarters, laboratories, and other such buildings.
When the Aliens had first struck they were easily wiped out. But each attack became more of a threat then the last. Aliens had watched out of range of the defences and learnt fast.
The defences had been constantly tested. In the attack the day before the Aliens had burst out, without warning, of the thick forest which surrounded the base, into the clearing and with blinding speed moved towards the base.
The clearing had been made purposely but work had stopped early, as it had become too risky. The Aliens had made it to the wall with just 2 of them being killed. They had been running in a zigzag pattern, obviously knowing that they were confusing the autoguns. Once at the wall they had clawed at the concrete and with surprising ease, had dug it. They got through the 2 and a half-foot of thick concrete before finally being destroyed by a grenade. The acidic blood had also melted through part of the steel.
This made the soldiers realise the main weakness of the wall. If Aliens got in about 4 feet then it would be very hard to kill them as they were on the inside and it would be impossible to get an angle to shoot at the Aliens. This was bad.
-----------------------------------------------------------
In space a huge Colonial transport ship is moving fast - Destination: Endora Prime
"How long?" an ageing, battered Colonel Gordon Rayner asked.
"Six days, Sir," came the reply from a much younger, fresher Lieutenant Williams.
"Damn. We need those specimens alive. Especially the new one."
"The one from the crash site?" the young Lieutenant asked.
"Yeah. The Company need that specimen for study. They believe it holds the key to beating the Aliens."
"What's the main objective, Sir?"
"Information. Two years of studying these bastards. We haven't been in contact for a long time with the scientists at Endora Prime. They've collected a lot of data. All vital. Main objective is to secure as much information as possible, and bring it back intact."
"What about those living there?" Williams queried.
"Expendable."
"Expendable sir?" he asked, confused.
"Our main objective is to secure that information. Our second objective is to secure as many specimens as we can, specifically the ones we've enhanced," the Colonel explained.
"You mean the bio-engineered, part machine Xenomorphs?"
"Yes. Release one of them into an Alien nest and it'll kill as many Aliens as possible. It's been programmed to home in on the Queen. You see, the Aliens always know where their Queen is. These Xenomorphs will find it and kill it. They can easily hold off twenty, thirty normal Aliens and if their life signs are dangerously low they'll self destruct, taking a good chunk of the planet with them."
"I see, Sir."
"Our third objective," Colonel continued, "is to rescue as many survivors as possible. They'll be at one of three evacuation points. Most of them will be dead already so we'll have to be ready to see anything, I can't afford to have men sick or their head'll get ripped off while they're busy puking."
"Those are our objectives. What background information were you given?" Colonel Rayner asked.
"Just that the base was used for the study of these Aliens. Looking for weaknesses, their Achilles heel, Sir." Williams replied.
"That's right," the Colonel confirmed.
"Wouldn't the Company have kept in contact with the base to collect information, Sir?" the Lieutenant asked.
"They did, until eight weeks ago. The ship was in constant orbit around the planet, in constant communication with the base. Only minimal information was collected..."
"Why was that, Sir?" Williams cut in.
"The base had been hastily built. Once the perimeter wall was up and running we realised that there was not enough room for ships to land, not even small ones, and don't cut in while I'm talking next time." Colonel Rayner answered.
"Yes Sir, sorry Sir. But that means we'll have to land outside the wall," Williams realised.
"Yes it does, unfortunately. We'll have to deploy by the gate, we know the access codes, once inside we complete our main two objectives ASAP, check for survivors and get out of there. Anyway, as I was saying, the ship was called away to help with the war."
"The war? How are we doing with the wars?" Williams asked.
"Badly. That's why we need whatever information is in that base, especially the specimens. No one knows about this war outside of the military and of course the Company. Families think that their sons and daughters are still in training. Most of them are dead along with millions of others. With this information we stand a chance," Colonel Rayner informed Williams. "Before the bastards make it to Earth."
-----------------------------------------------------------
Back at base, specifically one of the many huge laboratories constructed.
"It's now trying to talk to us," Amy said. She was 5ft 10inches tall, with short blonde hair, and lovely green eyes, and had one of those radiant smiles which made others smile too.
The clean shaven, bald headed scientist, whose name was Tom said "Hello," to the Predator.
It replied "Hell" in a deep voice.
"Yup, that's what it's going to be like around here soon," he said to it.
"Hell - oo"
"It's making good progress," noted Amy.
"We were expecting to be attacked about 40 hours ago according to our intelligence, we may have some more time to communicate with it," she told him.
The Predator lifted its hand and stuck it out as far as the restraints would allow, in a handshake gesture. The two scientists looked surprised at this. It had remembered when they shook hands in front of it two days ago.
"Should I?" Tom asked.
"I'm not sure, but it hasn't shown any signs of aggressiveness," she replied.
"I am."
Tom put his hand out and went towards the Predator. He touched hands and the Predator held his firmly. Amy relaxed when seeing this, and when the Predator let Tom's hand go, he was smiling.
"I think we know the answer." Tom said delighted.
"Should we let it out?" Amy asked.
"We'll notify security, just in case." Tom answered.
"Don't bring them in it might cause it to become aggressive. I've got to go check on our evacuation progress." Amy suggested.
"I'll go tell security. I won't bring them in." Tom replied as he walked off towards the thick solid steel doors.
Amy walked off towards another scientist who was busy moving things to the evacuation areas.
"Everything ready?" she asked.
"Just moving the last enhanced Xenomorph now," he said pointing to a solid steel cage, designed to be acid proof. A low shriek was heard from inside.
"All backed up data?" Amy asked.
"Yup, crates 1 & 2 at evac point Gus 1. A copy of crate 2 and crate 3 at Gus 2, and a copy of 3 and crate 4 at Gus 3," he replied. "All in the specially made crates."
"Good. How about civilians and workers?" Amy continued, going through the mental checklist in her mind.
"Most are at Gus 1, some at Gus 2. Gus 3 is for the soldiers, for when they retreat. All food has been checked. We'll be able to sustain ourselves for at least 14 days. By then we should be long gone from here," he said with hope evident in his voice. "Some are still repairing the wall. They should be done soon, and all communications operators are staying at the communications centre to help organise the soldiers when the attack is taking place."
"Alright. I'll see you at Gus 2 then," Amy replied.
"See you there," the scientist said as he and two others helped move the special crate along.
The wall was now fully repaired. A workman got up and called one of the soldiers.
"Repairs are complete. We can go back in now," the workman said.
"Good, don't wanna stay out here any longer," the soldier acknowledged. He promptly went over to a keypad, punched in a code and the gate parted and opened with a loud rumble. No one seemed to notice a distortion of light as it moved past the gate towards the base. The gate closed with another load rumble and the soldiers went back to their separate internal patrols.
In turret 3A, Privates Adams, Hurst, and Finley were having a little discussion, while Private Smith kept a wary eye out towards the forest.
"So who would you bring along?" asked a well built 6ft tall Finley.
He was the tallest of the four Privates in this turret. Battles scars had taken the place of most of his skin, his face spared. Battles fought many years ago. These battles had taken place in an initiative to take over three Alien infested planets. Millions died, there were hardly any injured. "Aliens don't take prisoners" a Private under his command had once told him. The battle had taken its toll on Private Finley. He had lost most of his platoon, who had been sent in to clear out a hidden enemy cave. The soldiers had had no backup, and were easily wiped out, except Private Finley who managed to retreat with a few of his men.
He never saw his men again, after being taken for psych treatment. But he still blamed himself, and the Corporation. He had known that they stood little chance, but had been sent in nonetheless. He was demoted back to a Private and shipped here as the first soldiers to secure the base. He liked it here, he was part of a close knit family. Everyone knew everyone on this base.
"Superman," was Adams' reply. Another veteran from the wars.
Also well built but not as tall as Finley. His face bearing a scar which went down from the right side of his forehead, missing his eye, to his cheek. A scar which he took pride in. It made others respect him more, as most of them had been fresh out of camp two years ago. He had a crew cut, just like most other soldiers, including the three in this turret. He talked more than the others and was the more livelier of the lot, frequently making jokes to keep others entertained.
"The Aliens would probably melt him, after all he's as hard as STEEL," commented Hurst.
Hurst was a 'freshman' as was Smith. They were both of equal build and height although Smith was more quiet than Hurst. Smith liked to keep to himself but had become more open now, as he had been here for two years.
Smith also had uncanny accuracy, noted in his file from his training days. He liked to pick Aliens off to keep in practice. The others also practiced with the sniper rifle regularly, particularly Adams, whose accuracy had greatly improved over the years here.
Hurst enjoyed it here, just like everyone else. No real danger, heavy protection, no worries. Until now. Still, he tried to show no sign of tension or nervousness to keep morale high. Morale was high, although when the attack came soldiers would inevitably be killed. The base hadn't been designed to protect soldiers once its main lines of defence were breached, although measures had been taken.
"How about the Flash?" asked an interested Finley.
"Yeah, he'd literally run circles around them. He could even get to the Aliens nest, plant a bomb and be out of there in a matter of seconds." Adams said.
"If only they were real."
"If only."
The radio suddenly burst to life, waking the three Privates from their fantasy land.
"This is communications base. I'm tracking two signals on the infrared sensors."
"What? Internal?" Adams said picking up the radio.
"They're right here in the communications base, they're converging on our position," came the reply.
"You got a visual?" Adams asked.
"Negative. Cameras aren't picking up anything, even though sensors say the signals are right there I don't see anything. But there's something weird, all I see on the cameras are some distortions, but that can't be Aliens."
"Alright, we're coming in. We'll come with two groups of four," Adams said, thinking fast.
"Roger that. Be quick. Whatever it is it's getting close."