The aliens began to retreat back to the shadows as the sound of shell casings hit the floor with a delicate ring through the air. Ivan turned to Baas, he noticed that he was shaking slightly. He quickly raised his hand and gave Baas a large slap on the back and exclaimed "Cheer up laddy they are gone." Baas looked at his friend noticing the sincerity in his voice he let out a small chuckle. A loud thud echoed through the hall as Baas and Ivan spun quickly around to see the large beast resting on the floor and a tired Fox standing over it. Baas slowly approached them with Ivan in toe, not believing what he was seeing he moved in closer to the body and began to search. Ivan moved in to stand next to Fox as he placed a hand on his shoulder and said "Glad to see you are in one piece." Fox glanced briefly at Ivan and said "It fought like some kind of warrior." Baas began to remove the mask as gas seeped from some tubes off the side.
Baas struggled to remove the mask as he pulled he muttered "Lets see what our friend looks like." the mask suddenly gave way as Baas fell flat on his back. Ivan and Fox looked down at the face of the Yautja on the floor. Ivan noticed no scar marks on the body as he began to survey the corpse. Fox curiously watched Ivan and said "what are you looking for?" Ivan stood up wiping his hands with a small piece of cloth from his pocket he said "I believe that this creature Is a greenhorn." Fox took a step back, crossing his arms he replied "A rookie." Ivan nodded and in approval as Baas picked himself off the ground. With a look of concern Baas looked at his friends and said "It wasn't bad enough we have those alien things but now we have these things." Fox quickly turned and around and headed for a door down the hall and said "We will take care of those, but first we have to get to the shuttle." Ivan grabbed Fox's arm and said "I may have a way we can do both." Fox turned to face Ivan who seemed to have a somewhat sinister grin across his face. Fox curiously replied "How?"
Krystal watched as the shuttle approached, she grew more worried for the safety of her friends and more importantly for Fox. The shuttle landed in the hanger as the door flung open and Peppy burst out landing on the platform. With great haste Peppy rushed out of the room leaving Falco and Slippy behind. Peppy burst through the doors to the bridge and exclaimed "What's the plan to get Fox out!" Rob turned to face him and was met with a cold and serious look. He slowly looked toward Krystal who stood near the front of the room. Peppy grew more and more impatient when Krystal said "The comms are down we have not been able to reach him for sometime." Peppy raised a hand to his chin and began to scratch, as Rob began to run several calculations on his computer. Peppy Moved to a small desk on the far left of the room and sat down, he rested his face within his hands and took a deep breath. Krystal scanned the room as if looking for an answer, when Rob stood up and said "Im detecting a ship leaving the hanger now." Peppy sprung to his feet and said "who's ship" Rob quickly checked the signal and replied "Falco Lombardi" Peppy quickly rushed over to Rob's console reaching towards the panel he slammed down on a small green button as a microphone emerged from the desk. Peppy grabbed the mic and said "Falco what in the hell are you doing?" Falco remained silent as his fighter began to charge the Horizon with great speed. Peppy continued to shout through the intercom, Falco flew closer to view the outside of the hull on the far side.
Falco reached for the button on his visor and shouted "Quit shouting in my ear!" Peppy slammed his fist on the desk and said "Why are you out there?" Falco continued to survey the hull and replied "I'm curious about the antenna array." a confused look drew across Peppy's face as he looked out toward the ship. upon further inspection of the array Falco saw four xenomorphs crawling around, as he watched them run around like ants on a sidewalk he saw that the main sicut box was damaged. Falco continued to circle the array as he pressed the button on his comm "I found the problem, It's those alien things again. They have damaged the circuit breaker we will have to get their attention somehow." Krystal quickly grabbed the mic from Peppy and said "shoot at the left rutter." Falco ad Peppy both replied stunned at her sudden suggestion " You want to what?"
A small beeping noise began to echo through the halls as they began to head towards a small door at the end. A small sign on the wall read 'emergency service hatch' and had three small dials on the front. Ivan began to turn the dials as Fox and Baas turned their attention to the hall. After a few murmured swears and grunts of pain Ivan removed the panel, Fox moved to shine a light inside to find a ladder leading up. Fox looked at Ivan and curiously asked "Where does this lead?" Ivan wiped the sweat from his brow and replied "This will take us to right to the bridge" Baas hesitantly looked in the shaft and began to shake. Ivan looked over at Baas and said "You afraid of tight spaces my boy?" Baas nodded slightly, but before he could get a word out Ivan walked over and slapped both his hands on his shoulders and said "well buck up my boy there are worse things to be afraid of now." Baas looked at Ivan and nodded as he took in a deep breath he moved to the ladder and began to climb. Ivan moved to the ladder and watched as Baas began the climb. Ivan reached into his pocket pulling out a small watch as he glanced down he smiled as he returned it to his pocket before he started to climb. Fox took one last look down the hall as he picked up to panel and slid it closed behind him.
Falco continued to circle the horizon as he shouted through the comms "Are you out of your mind!" Krystal looked out at the ship, as she firmly held the mic in her hand she shouted "Just shoot the damn rutter!" Falco quickly turned the ship around as his visor began to glow a lightish blue crosshair in the centre. He quickly fired two shots that sailed and nailed both the left and right rutters. Falco quickly jerked the controls back and diverted the fighter away from the horizon as he said "I hit the rutter. No damage reported." Peppy turned to face Krystal holding a rather confused look he said "Why did you have us do that?" She moved to a nearby console and sat down she began to type on a nearby keypad as the Horizon appeared on the monitor. She pointed and said "There is a ship on the far end. I figured it may be the source thats blocking the comm signal to the horizon." Peppy moved to the console to view the readings. He examined the screen when he noticed that apart of the ship appeared to register life. He reached out to touch the screen as it zoomed in on the location. Krystal grew curious and said "What's wrong?" Peppy reached out and grabbed Krystals hand resting on the console as he looked up mustering everything he could into words "Engineering has registered life signs." Krystal looked and said "could it be survivors?" Peppy looked at the manifest and said "The crew on the ship reported ninety when we arrived." He placed the manifest on the table and added "Thats how many of those things onboard."
Baas kept moving up the ladder, as he looked up he noticed that no sign of the end was in sight. Ivan slowly kept pushing him to the top as Fox followed behind. As they kept climbing they heard a loud noise echo through the ship. Baas stopped and clung to the ladder as if it were a child's toy. Ivan let out a loud huff and said "Keep moving boy we are almost there." he slowly loosened his grip on the ladder and continued to climb. Fox froze for a moment, as he looked down he shined a small light down and could not see anything. He returned his attention to climbing as he heard a small rumbling noise. Fox noticed that Ivan a light shine from above as Ivan's voice echoed "We made it." he quickly climbed the ladder as the rumbling grew louder. Ivan moved to the controls and began to examine them. Fox leapt out of the shaft drawing his gun as he landed on his back pointing intently at the access hatch. Baas moved to his side as the two pointed their weapons at the hatch. The sound began to grow louder is it seemed to approach Baas and Fox waited for the creature to emerge.
The sound stopped and as a small blue toad hopped out of the shaft. Fox returned to his feet as the toad stood on the entrance hatch staring up at them. It let out a small croak as its belly flickered as if nothing was wrong. Without warning the frog exploded in a sea of blood and blue smoke, Fox quickly jumped back as Baas dropped to the floor with a crash. Ivan lowered his gun with a chuckle and said "I thought I got rid of that mischievous bugger." Fox turned sharply "Why did you do that?" he shouted. Ivan pointed to Baas as he was passed out on the floor. Ivan rested his gun on the console and added "We landed on some planet that had these blue toad things that exude a gas that make people sleep for a few minutes." he looked up at his friend and added "but its not as bad as this ones that infested the ship on some other unknown world we visited." He continued to type as he muttered to himself "Lousy Gizka." Fox looked at Ivan with confusion for an instant then returned his attention to Baas.
Ivan clicked away at the controls quietly for several minutes. Growing ever more frustrated at the status of the ship he suddenly slammed both hands on the console. He looked over at a nearby monitor as it displayed a series of numbers indicating power flow. He glanced at the screen and noticed that the labs were drawing abnormal amounts of power. Ivan grew curious and began to type away. Baas slowly awoke rolling onto his side, springing to his feet he looked around the room to see Ivan at the helm. He staggered toward a nearby monitor as he staring at the display, he reached out pressing a few keys as his head began to clear. Ivan looked at Fox for an instant before returning to his work he muttered "You two lads better take the escape pod." Fox looked at Baas with a concerned look and replied "Why do you say that Ivan?" the lights suddenly switched off as red light began to swirl. A voice could be heard over the intercom as it read 'T-Minus Two minutes to self destruct.' Fox rushed over grabbing Ivans shirt and shouted "what are you doing!" Ivan reached a hand out placing it on Fox's shoulder he replied "Im gonna take these bastards out." he move his hand releasing Fox's grip from his shirt as he added "Now you two get the hell out of here." Fox moved towards Baas as the doors to the bridge Flung open as a massive alien entered the room. It stood on it hind legs as it hissed and whipped its tail. Ivan drew his gun off the table and began shooting at the beast. He moved towards the main console and shouted "Go! Get to the shuttle!" Fox and Baas quickly ran past the alien as it moved to Intercept Ivan continued to fire at the creature to draw its attention. It turned its large head and let out a loud shriek and rushed towards Ivan. Quickly darting out of the way Ivan fired two more shots. Staggered the beast whipped its massive tail connecting with Ivans stomach sending him flying across the room.
Baas and Fox ran as quickly as they could down the hall until they reached a small door with a metal latch. Baas ran to a nearby panel and began typing as the alarm continued, as the lights flashed. The door cracked open as Fox gesture to Baas to enter the small shuttle. Baas leapt into the pod as he moved to the controls and began to start up the system. Fox quickly slammed the door shut as he could hear the sound of the alien in the distance screaming after each shot.
The beast flung its tail wildly about the room as Ivan continued to fire. His gun suddenly stopped firing as he moved to the console he noticed that the shuttle was indeed prepping. The alien let out a loud shriek as its tail flew across and drove into Ivans shoulder pinning him to the console. Ivan dropped his rifle onto the ground letting out a thunderous roar of pain. The beast slowly moved closer to face him as its lips began to tremble and drip with saliva. Ivan quickly reached behind him and quickly drew an old magnum and drove it into the beasts mouth. He stared into the face of the beast as he pressed a large red button releasing the shuttle, He grinned slightly as blood dripped down his lips he exclaimed "Get off my ship you bitch!"
The shuttle suddenly launched forward like a bullet as it flew out of a small hatch on the side of the ship. As it flew out the hanger into the open air of space, a metallic voice began to echo out of the console "This is the great fox do you require assistance?" Fox quickly slammed on the console and shouted "Rob quickly pick us up now!" Baas began to steer the ship toward the behemoth barreling toward them. Falco quickly moved his ship to the rear of the shuttle and began to push them faster into the hanger bay. Baas looked out his window and noticed small explosions begin to erupt on the horizon. The shuttle crashed into the hanger bay as Falco landed his ship next to them. Fox slammed his fist onto the console as he shouted "ROB! GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!"
The great fox sharply turned away from the horizon as it began to grack and seep fire. The engines began to flares a bright blue as they began to speed away. The horizon suddenly exploded into a sea of fire and debris, Baas looked back at the ship he once called home. Fox hoped out of the shuttle as the doors on the far side of the room flung open. Falco looked up to see Krystal and Jasmine running into the hanger. Krystal leapt forward landing on Fox as she threw her arms around him, she smiled as she was happy to have seen him return safely. Jasmine stood near the stairs watching as Baas exited the shuttle. Falco hoped out of his ship with a carefree tone he said "Rob we have them lets go." Krystal loosened her grip on Fox as he shifted his weight to adjust to her weight. Baas began to head to the stairs as Fox moved a hand to his side he whispered softly into Krystals ear "We must contact the Cornerian Army as soon as we can." Krystal nodded as her head slowly moved from his shoulder. Falco placed a hand on Baas' shoulder as he nodded in relief, the air drew a sense of safety.
Jasmine moved toward Falco when she suddenly stopped and began gasping for air. She clutched her chest desperately trying to understand what was happening. Falco paused with a concerned look as he watched her cough blood. Fox quickly bounced to his feet, he grew more and more curious as she leaned back and her chest burst in a sea of blood. Falco took a step back as Jasmine began to lift slowly into the air. The blood poured down as each drop that fell began to draw an outline of something that was not there. A shape bagan to form as the body collapsed to the ground, the figure was large in stature with a grey mask. Krystal froze as she view the various scratch and burn marks layered on its armour and body. The creatures mask was covered in blood only to be underscored by the scars and markings that were weathered with age. Fox stared at the creature and remembered the one from earlier, he paused to examine the beast noticing the array of weapons it had on its person. He saw that this creature was different from the one before and surmised that this one was more experienced. Krystal rose to her feet slowly as she noticed the greyish coloring on the strands on its head. The beast raised a hand muttering untangable grunts, as it pointed towards Fox the blades on its arm extended and began to burn a faint reddish glow.
