I couldn't even begin to describe the relief I felt stepping out of the APC onto the floor of the Sulaco's hangar bay. Even though he had been sitting for the whole flight up, Hudson stumbled out the door behind me and leaned against the side of the APC, sliding down to sit on the floor. Crowe was hugging Dietrich, who clutched tightly at him. I wanted to give Vasquez a proper hug, but I knew she wouldn't want that in front of everyone else.

Gorman lifted a hand, and then lowered it, as if he had been about to try to say something formal and official sounding but then gave up. All he said was, "You're all dismissed. Stow your weapons and gear, and hit the showers. After that, just... try to relax. We've all been through hell, so just try to calm down and unwind. Apone, you and I need to go talk to Command and find out where we're going from here. Personally, I'm all for nuking the whole damn complex, but that'll be up to General Russell."

Most of me was still in favor of my earlier idea of curling up into a ball and hiding after all that happened. After stowing away our weapons, we all dressed down for a shower, and I figured I wasn't the only one not feeling like myself. No one talked much. The only two we were missing were Dietrich and Spunkmeyer, who were in sick bay.

I hated the silence. I almost wanted to scream for everyone to start talking to each other, but I couldn't even bring myself to talk. As we headed into the showers, I looked at a mirror. Everything was still there. I'm pretty sure Dietrich will either be disappointed that my face hasn't changed, or happy that I haven't been made uglier.

Crowe was the one to break the silence. He saw me looking in the mirror, and came over. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. Just... making sure I'm still in one piece," I said.

"I shot that alien. I probably should've been more-"

"Don't say that you should've been more careful. That damn thing would've dragged me off to be an incubator. I'd... rather get out alive with half my face than die alone in the hive."

Crowe frowned, working his jaw as he tried to think of a response. "I know it's not worth pondering considering that you're alright, but, knowing you, I don't think you'd handle being permanently disfigured well."

He's right. I wouldn't. And I really don't want to think about how I actually would handle that.

Ferro immediately went to sick bay to see Spunkmeyer after getting dressed. I don't even think she told anyone where she was going. Usually, she goes to me when she's got something on her mind if Spunkmeyer isn't available.

Hudson was the only one in the lounge when I entered. Everyone else was seeking out places to be alone, and who could blame them. His hair was still wet and spiked, and he didn't seem to care that it was dripping onto the beanbag chair underneath him. He was quiet, too, which is highly unusual for him. Without hesitating, I sat next to him. He glanced at me, and said, "At least we're outta there, man."

I nodded.

He turned to face me. "I just hope this is it. Russell gives Gorman the OK and we can just drop a bomb on the colony and then we go home. I don't wanna go back down there."

"Well, if Ripley has her way, we'll be physically going down there to make sure we actually killed every single alien," I muttered.

"Hey, good thing she's just a civvie, man," Hudson said. He tried laughing a little. "Missions would be hell if they let civvie advisors give orders. We'd never get anything done."

"And a lot of Marines would get killed," I added. "I don't think Ripley wants to see us killed. She seems a bit unstable, but... I'm unstable, too."

"You're far from unstable. You've made a lot of progress, man, don't underestimate yourself."

Our conversation was interrupted by Vasquez entering the room. She sat in the same beanbag I was in, and was about to give me a hug when she noticed Hudson. For the first time, she simply ignored him, and put her arms around my neck, leaning against me. She took my chin, turning my head to face her. "I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be worried about you losing your face to acid."

"You'd still love me, right?"

"Of course. Would you still love me?"

"Unconditionally." I nuzzled her forehead. "I'm still in one piece, honey."

Hudson gave us both a slightly confused look. "What'd I miss, man?"

"Drake nearly had half his face melted when Crowe shot an alien close to him," Vasquez said.

Hudson's eyes widened. "Geez, man."

I had nothing to add. "Yeah," I said. "That... was scary. My helmet was totaled, but that can be replaced. My face can't."

"No kidding." Hudson reached over to squeeze my shoulder. "Honestly, I'm glad Spunkmeyer's injury was the worst we had. It coulda been a lot worse." He swallowed, looking up at the ceiling. "Nobody died, but this was a worse situation than when we lost Viano."

The three of us said nothing. I pulled Vasquez closer. No one died today, but it could have been a whole lot worse. I think that's why we were all so anxious now.

Eventually, Gorman and Apone called us all together to brief us on what Russell had said. Subspace communications are a new technology that came out just a few years ago, and the instantaneous contact they allow for between units and bases has changed a lot, even though their use is still limited to military and certain civilian applications, and isn't widespread. They had us meet in the mess hall instead of the hangar bay, and we all dropped down into our seats around the table.

"Alright. Sergeant Apone and I reported the situation to General Russell, and he's sending in reinforcements. They'll be here in three weeks to wipe out the rest of the creatures down there. Our orders are to continue to monitor the situation until they get here, but after Apone and I talked things over when we ended the call, we agree that we need to do more."

"How so, sir?" Hicks asked.

"So far, this derelict ship has been the source of two alien infestations. Now, the area around the colony was never extensively explored, so Russell is more than a little suspicious that after twenty-two years of not finding the wreck, an exploration team just happened to go out and run right across it only a few weeks after Ripley told her story to Weyland-Yutani. Russell suspects the company might have been trying to get their hands on one of the specimens, and apparently this isn't the only evidence that they've tried to acquire one previously. For now, an investigation is being set up on Earth, and combining Weyland-Yutani's interest in this creature with the fact that there's absolutely no reason for us to keep them around, Russell has given me permission to launch a nuclear strike to destroy the derelict."

"Well, it's about time," Ripley said firmly, and pretty much everyone around the table made noises of agreement.

"Well, unfortunately it's not going to be so easy. Based on all descriptions, this craft impacted the planet at high speed and survived almost completely intact. We have no idea what material it's made of, or how strong the outer hull is. We have no way of knowing if a nuclear strike would even completely destroy it and the eggs inside. Therefore, Apone and I have decided that our only option..." Gorman paused and looked around, and I felt my stomach drop, knowing that what was coming wasn't going to be good. He continued, "Is to take a nuke inside the ship itself and blow it from the inside."

That certainly got a reaction. Almost everyone started talking at once, either expressing their disbelief or trying to protest. That urge to hide and curl up was becoming stronger.

"Knock it off!" Apone snapped. Gorman looked irritated, and I guess I could understand why. But on the other hand, this was an awful idea. When everyone shut up, he looked around and said, "I understand this is a risky move. But consider two things. Number one, we can't risk even a single egg surviving for this to happen again. And two, apart from the eggs themselves and the..." he hesitated, "spider things, as far as we know, there's no other threat in the ship. Ripley's crew made it out of the ship without being attacked by anything other than the one spider, and that one only attacked when its egg was approached. Based on the logs that we found in operations, the exploration team that went into the ship and started this whole mess also made it out without being attacked by anything other than another lone spider. As long as we keep our distance from any eggs, we should be able to take the nuke in, set it, and get out safely."

I think all of us let out a groan of disappointment as we realized there was no way out of this. Apone gave us a half-sarcastic smile and said, "That's not even the best part of it, sweethearts, so listen up."

"I know none of you are going to be happy to hear this," Gorman said almost apologetically. "I don't like it myself, but Apone and I have agreed it's the best option. Once we've destroyed the derelict, we're going to go back to the colony and set up base there while we wait for reinforcements."

Unlike the clamoring protests from before, I think that statement shocked all of us into dead silence. It was, of course, Hudson who broke the silence. "We've been through enough shit already, man! Why the fuck do we gotta go back?"

"Command wants the colony kept intact if possible. It took twenty-two years to get it where it is, and they would much rather preserve it rather than destroying it outright. That's why they're sending reinforcements to wipe out the creatures. The problem is the unit they're sending. The closest unit is the 13th Battalion. They're sending Kilo and Lima Companies to help us." Gorman paused for emphasis. "They're conventional infantry. They haven't been trained for operations like this. They're going to go straight in and try to wipe the creatures out in a direct assault. Given what happened to us, Apone and I think that would result in significant casualties. We said as much to Russell, but apparently the decision is coming from higher up, and there's nothing he can do. Command isn't willing to wait to send a specialized unit to deal with this."

Great, we're gonna be doing the dirty work, I thought. You'd think the conventional infantry units do the dirtiest of dirty work (second to cleaning up a restroom after Hudson), but I guess the roles were being flipped today.

"Sir, with all due respect, how is us establishing an outpost down there going to change anything?" Hicks asked, raising his hand.

"This isn't like going up against other troops," Gorman explained. "This is an unconventional enemy that needs to be fought using unconventional methods. Now that they know we're here, it's likely that they won't just go back to hibernating, and they'll be making attempts to find us. So we go in, set up camp in operations and deploy sentry guns, landmines, and traps all throughout the colony. We have two goals with this plan. One, if they send out groups or single creatures to look for us, like patrols, we can harass and pick them off a few at a time, in manageable numbers, and two, instead of just bottling them in the processing plant and having to go in after them, we can draw them to us. If we can choose the battleground, we can prepare it and our strategy to how we see fit, rather than letting them decide. This will give us a significant advantage. And as our emergency back-up, we'll land the dropship on the roof of the main complex and keep it under constant guard. If anything goes wrong and we can't hold the building, we abort the plan and evacuate."

Apone spoke up before anyone else could say anything. Instead of his usual loud, stern attitude, his voice was gentler, and more friendly. "I've served with all of you for years. I know this is a tough one, and we're asking a lot from all of you. But like I said before, we're a team, and we can do this. And we're risking all of our lives, but we aren't doing it to be heroes or get a bunch of medals. We're doing it because if those other Marines get here and go straight in, a lot of them are going to buy it. We're doing this to save all their asses."

"And we're certainly not going to rush into this," continued Gorman, giving us what I think was supposed to be a reassuring look, although I don't think there was any way to reassure any of us at this point. "We're going to take it carefully and plan it all out. Hicks, you're going to join Apone and me. I had Hudson upload the colony schematics to the ship's computer while we were waiting for the weapons in operations. We're going to go over them carefully and take every detail into account. Every alley, chokepoint, access tunnel, door, everything. Ferro and Spunkmeyer, you two can start prepping the dropship for our return to the colony. Dietrich, take Wierzbowski and Vasquez and gather enough supplies for us to hold out for three weeks. Bedding, food, medical supplies, the usual. You know what to do. Frost, I want you and Hudson to pull the warhead out of one of our nuclear missiles so we can take it into the derelict. Drake and Crowe, you two can start loading up weapons. I want every sentry gun on this ship going down to the colony, along with all of the landmines, motion traps, and ammunition we can take. Frost, once you and Hudson are done with the warhead, help them. We'll be going back to our regular weapons since we don't have to worry so much about damaging anything. Crowe, Wierzbowski, I want both of you carrying marksman rifles as well. We can set up stations on the rooftops to pick off any creatures that come out into the open."

"What about me, Lieutenant?" Ripley asked.

Oh, joy. Oh, fucking joy. I glared in Ripley's direction. Frankly, I have nothing against her as civilian, but it's extremely rare that civvie advisors (save for the couple of times we've had Delhoun with us) actually do anything useful. The last thing any of us wanted was her getting in the way.

Gorman turned to her. "I think it's best if you and Newt stay on the Sulaco with Bishop. You'll be safe here."

"Maybe you're forgetting, but I just spent fifty-seven years floating in space," Ripley said coolly. "I don't feel like spending another three weeks sitting around doing nothing, and quite frankly, given what we've both been through, I don't think either Newt or I want to be completely alone up here. If you have such high hopes of your plan succeeding, it shouldn't be a problem for the two of us to be down there. And besides, I might be able to help."

"She is right, sir," Ferro pointed out. "If nothing else, it would be helpful to have someone else on rotation guarding the dropship. We'll be stretched thin as it is. Another set of eyes and hands would be really useful."

I glanced at Ferro. "And which of us lucky assholes is gonna show her how to use a gun?"

Ferro elbowed me hard when Gorman looked at us.

"Alright," Gorman relented, turning back to Ripley. "You can help Dietrich's team put our supplies together. But one thing I want both of you to understand." He looked intently at both Ripley and Newt. "Both of you listen to whatever any of us say, without question. It could make the difference between getting someone killed or not. No wandering off outside the perimeter or any zones that we designate as safe areas. Newt, no playing in the vent systems, and no loud noises. Frost, when you get the weapons together, grab a couple of IFF-broadcasting bracelets and give them to Ripley and Newt when we drop. I don't want either of them accidentally getting shot by our own sentry guns."

There wasn't a single quiet moment while we prepped, and I doubted we would have any for the next three weeks. It's really no secret that no one wants to stay, although we've done missions far longer than this. The last time was on Cetii Epsilon IV, and that's not something any of us want to go back to.

Gorman and Apone have a good point when they say that we're going back down to do a little cleanup and minimize the casualties that the two infantry units might have to deal with. If we're lucky, we'll be able to clear out all the bastards, but the math is suggesting there could be up to a hundred and fifty aliens in the colony, and no one knows exactly how many we killed in that first battle.

I also wasn't looking forward to going to the derelict. Frankly, a bunch of eggs will be easier to deal with than a bunch of adult critters, but that doesn't mean I want to be first in line to carry a nuke in.

What really worried me was how many casualties we might have to deal with. I suddenly felt sick to my stomach when I started thinking about that. I don't care how potent the acid blood of this alien is, I'll tear it apart with my bare hands if one tries to take Vasquez. Same with Hudson. Or Wierzbowski. Or anyone else here.

The sounds of the Sulaco droned on around me as I helped Crowe carry crates of ammunition and ordnance into the dropship. I started wishing Dr. Ranelli was here. I felt like I needed his advice. Above all, I was missing him, despite how far I've progressed in my fight against PTSD. When the others weren't looking, I pulled the balance scales charm he had given me before he left. I've done a lot to achieve balance in my life over the last several years. Sometimes I feel like I lose balance, but Ranelli told me that things like that are inevitable. It's like riding a seesaw; it goes up and down. I just can't be riding the seesaw by myself (and, no, I haven't actually done that, Hudson has, though).

"Drake, you ready?"

I emerged from my thoughts when I heard Frost's voice. Tucking the charm back under my armor, I said, "Yeah. I'm ready."