Chapter 3
Lost for Time
Hallgins put his head around the corner then looked at his Tracker. No signal at all. Hallgins had been walking through the Hive for at least 5 hours and he hadn't seen or heard one single xenomorph.
Carefully Hallgins proceeded. He knew the xeno's were smart but he wondered 'How Smart?'
Only another half hour till he had to get out of the hive. Still creeping forward and looking for the xeno's. Always checking the Tracker but nothing. Hallgins thought this was very unusual.
"LT?" No-one's home," Hallgins informed his Commander.
"Guess you finally got some good luck," LT went on, "just keep going and don't look back!"
"Sir, this seems odd. From the reports I have read on the xenomorphs, they don't just seem to build hive's then not use them. Something is going on here!" Hallgins stated with a nervous voice.
"Hallgins I ain't no expert on these bugs," LT exclaimed, "just keep your eyes open!"
Hallgins proceeded through the Hive for another twenty minutes until his motion tracker started to bleep. The Sergeant looked down at the tracker and saw five signals moving towards him. Twenty Metres and closing.
"LT! I got visitors!" Hallgins said into the Radio. Not a hint of worry in his voice.
Looking for an area to crouch, Hallgins readied his P90. Pulling it up to Shoulder height, he switched the Rifle to Single Shot.
Fifteen Metres.....Ten Metres.....Hallgins could hear them. Quickly he turned on the Laser Sight. Resting the P90 on a piece of Resin he was crouched behind. The Green Dot of the Sight rested upon the Wall in front of him. He waited for the Xeno's to come around the Corner.
Five Metres....Two Metres. They where right in front of him. Quickly capping a rounds off into one of the xenomorphs head. The rest backed away from Hallgins view. A minute passed then Hallgins noticed two Signals on his motion tracker. They were heading around and right.
What the Hell Hallgins thought.
Suddenly one of the xeno's shot straight out and towards the other corner to the left of Hallgins! Now one xenomorph at each side of him. Another Xenomorph shot out and to the other corner! They where going back and forth between the Corners.
Switching the rifle to auto, Hallgins fired. The bullets tore through the resin and through one of the aliens as they switched again! The body of a dead Xenomorph fell to the floor while a signal on the tracker quickly ran away!
Sergeant Hallgins heard a floor screech behind. Quickly turning he saw the face of a xenomorph.
Hallgins has been so busy with the other two in front of him, he forgot about the two then ran away as well as that the tracker wasn't a Weyland Yutani 360 Degrees Tracker but a 180 Degrees.
The xenomorph was about to launch its inner-jaw into Hallgins, but at lightning fast speed, Hallgins shoved the barrel of the P90 into the xenomorphs mouth. Quickly picking up his MP5 from the floor, Hallgins pointed the weapon at the other xenomorph coming up be hide the xeno in front of him, then fired both weapons.
Both xenomorphs exploded in fountains of acid. The Sergeant ducked and rolled away from the acid. The motion tracker started bleeping again. Another three signals heading for him.
Hallgins reloaded both his Guns then moved forward. He was going to run at them, not hold his ground. Holding his MP5 in front of him, he ran! He saw the Xenomorphs right in front of him and fired. The in-human screams of the Xenomorphs filled the air.
All three of them dead. The acid burning holes in the Resin covered floor! Hallgins jumped forward over the bodies and into a chamber. Situated in the centre of the chamber was a.....xenomorph Queen!
Surrounding the Queen was a field of xenomorph eggs. The Queen hissed her anger at Hallgins. Hallgins looked at a nearby Egg then back at the Queen. Hallgins then heard soft hisses at the side of him. He turned to see Xenomorph Drones standing in holes in the Wall.
The drone's job was to tend to the Queen and look after the hive, while the warrior's job was to protect the Queen and the hive. The only way the humans can tell them apart are the Heads. Drones had ridged head and the warriors are smooth.
One of the drones started to move towards Hallgins. Hallgins pointed his MP5 at a nearby egg and looked at the Queen. Hallgins then lifted his weapon and fired at a wall, then pointed the MP5 back down at the egg!
The drones started to move back into the walls. Hallgins gazed around the chamber then saw a doorway behind the Queen! Still pointing the MP5 at the eggs, Hallgins started to move around the outside of the egg field.
The Queen watched Hallgins carefully as he moved around her eggs. There was nothing see could do because she was suspended to the roof. She was in her laying season.
Hallgins was at the doorway and started to back into corridor past it. Hallgins pulled up the Smartgun. And fired. He tore down most of the eggs and all the drones with the chamber.
The Queen was trashing about on her resin 'Throne'. The bullets from the Smartgun tore through her Ovipositor. She screamed in pain. Hallgins turned and ran. He could hear the sound of tearing and the Queens screams!
"LT," Hallgins shouted into his Radio, "I have just faced the Queen, and blown up her eggs. She seems really pissed!"
Hallgins looked behind him and saw the Queen, chasing him! Hallgins sped up.
"You are almost out of the Hive," LT informed Hallgins, "then another hour to the elevator, then fifteen minutes on the elevator. Then a five hours APC ride from the gate to the drop-ship!"
"Can't you bring the Dropship to the Colony?" Hallgins asked as he exited the Hive.
"No Go!" LT answered, "it's a Hot Zone. Too many xeno's outside!"
"Well send help!" the sound of echoing screams filled the air, "and send it fast!"
"I am waiting at the Drop-ship with Corporal Percival and Private Lomax," LT told him, "want me to send them to you?"
"Sure," Hallgins answered brightly, "but aren't there supposed to all be on the ship?"
A xenomorph flew around the corner; Hallgins pressed the trigger of the Smart gun. The xenomorph exploded. The smartgun was now empty.
"Oh and tell them to bring ammo," Hallgins said as he discarded the weapon, "come in the APC and come quick!"
Hallgins Motion Tracker was going wild, Signals all around him. More xeno's come from every open space. Hallgins was firing his weapons like mad. He was almost out of ammo.
Hallgins saw the elevators cage coming into view. Quickly pressing the elevators call button and then turning. Hallgins kept his finger on the trigger. The cage doors slid open behind Hallgins and he quickly stepped back in. And the door closed.
"Hallgins we are Ten Minutes away from you!" a voice chirped over the Radio.
"Corporal Percival? I though it would take Five Hours to get here?" Hallgins asked.
"Well we brought the Dropship," LT informed Hallgins over the Radio.
"Good! I am in the elevators now. Another ten minutes till I' up there. Then five to get to the Gate!"
"We'll hurry up and meet you at the APC!" Percival stated over the Radio.
Hallgins made sure his weapons where loaded and waited. Seven minutes......Five minutes.....three minutes.....and the Elevators stopped. The door slid open and Hallgins cautiously stepped out. Peering around the corner and watching his Tracker, Hallgins walked out into the cold atmosphere of the Planet.
Hallgins looked around him. There were several building, and beyond the last building on Hallgins's left, was the three metre Gate. Beside the Gate was the small control booth.
The Sergeant then ran, straight to the control booth. Quickly he turned around and saw nothing. Hallgins entered the control booth and spoke on the radio, "Percy? I am in the control booth, which buttons do what?"
Corporal Percival was the tech of their squad. He could do anything with a computer.
"Look around you, there should be a big blue button," Hallgins quickly looked around and saw it.
"I see it," Hallgins grunted.
"Press the button," Hallgins did as he was instructed, "then the computer terminal should light up. Type 'Gate Override Commands' into the keyboard then press the 'Enter' key!"
Hallgins quickly pressed the keys of the nearby keyboard. The computer screen flared up with a single command, 'Push-Pull'.
"Percy, it has one command, 'Push-Pull' what do you want me to do?" Hallgins asked intently.
A noise came from Hallgins waist, the noise of the motion tracker. Hallgins looked down and saw the signals. Over four Hundred.
"Come on, what do I do?" Hallgins asked hastily, "I've got company I don't want to be here for the visit!"
"Select the option. A lever should come out of the floor. You need to keep pulling and pushing the lever until you hear a giant whining noise," Hallgins pressed some more keys, and then got it.
An opening in the floor appearing and a small lever rose out of the opening. Quickly grabbing the lever, Hallgins started pushing the lever and then pulling it.
The signals where getting closer and Hallgins could hear it, but he kept on pulling and pushing the lever. Suddenly a whining noise could be heard and Hallgins stopped.
"Great job, Sarge,"
Percival congratulated Hallgins, "we're coming now!"
Hallgins heard an explosion, and saw the Gate burst from in the outside. Hovering above the ground was the Drop-ship, with its ramp down. balanced on that ramp was the APC. The APC just drove straight off of the ramp and towards Hallgins.
As the APC stopped, the door slid open and the familiar figure of the LT walked out, holding a Pulse Rifle. LT was about forty years old, with a rough beard. He was built well with big muscles.
He started firing, and Hallgins turned to look at what the LT was firing at. A whole swarm of xenomorphs.
Hallgins swung up his weapon, and started firing. The turret on the back of the APC started to move and fired. A fireball streaked in front of Hallgins and the LT and imploded with a group of the xenomorphs.
While the fight was going on, the Drop-ship landed, and Corporal Percival came running out with his Pulse Rifle firing.
"We are ready to go back, and I am ready to set up our 'present'," Percival informed LT.
"Set it up, we will cover you," LT turned to the Dropship, "Lomax, as soon as we back into the Ramp, take-off!"
Percival pulled out a small package from his pocket and stuck it onto the frame of the Gate. Once he had done that, Hallgins, LT and the Corporal ran back into the APC. Quickly the APC reversed onto the ramp of the Drop-ship, and the Drop-ship lifted and started to move towards the sky.
The ramp closed and the Dropship headed into the Planet atmosphere.
"Give them our 'gift'!" LT ordered.
Corporal Percival pressed something he was holding in his hand and below them, the Colony exploded.
Lost for Time
Hallgins put his head around the corner then looked at his Tracker. No signal at all. Hallgins had been walking through the Hive for at least 5 hours and he hadn't seen or heard one single xenomorph.
Carefully Hallgins proceeded. He knew the xeno's were smart but he wondered 'How Smart?'
Only another half hour till he had to get out of the hive. Still creeping forward and looking for the xeno's. Always checking the Tracker but nothing. Hallgins thought this was very unusual.
"LT?" No-one's home," Hallgins informed his Commander.
"Guess you finally got some good luck," LT went on, "just keep going and don't look back!"
"Sir, this seems odd. From the reports I have read on the xenomorphs, they don't just seem to build hive's then not use them. Something is going on here!" Hallgins stated with a nervous voice.
"Hallgins I ain't no expert on these bugs," LT exclaimed, "just keep your eyes open!"
Hallgins proceeded through the Hive for another twenty minutes until his motion tracker started to bleep. The Sergeant looked down at the tracker and saw five signals moving towards him. Twenty Metres and closing.
"LT! I got visitors!" Hallgins said into the Radio. Not a hint of worry in his voice.
Looking for an area to crouch, Hallgins readied his P90. Pulling it up to Shoulder height, he switched the Rifle to Single Shot.
Fifteen Metres.....Ten Metres.....Hallgins could hear them. Quickly he turned on the Laser Sight. Resting the P90 on a piece of Resin he was crouched behind. The Green Dot of the Sight rested upon the Wall in front of him. He waited for the Xeno's to come around the Corner.
Five Metres....Two Metres. They where right in front of him. Quickly capping a rounds off into one of the xenomorphs head. The rest backed away from Hallgins view. A minute passed then Hallgins noticed two Signals on his motion tracker. They were heading around and right.
What the Hell Hallgins thought.
Suddenly one of the xeno's shot straight out and towards the other corner to the left of Hallgins! Now one xenomorph at each side of him. Another Xenomorph shot out and to the other corner! They where going back and forth between the Corners.
Switching the rifle to auto, Hallgins fired. The bullets tore through the resin and through one of the aliens as they switched again! The body of a dead Xenomorph fell to the floor while a signal on the tracker quickly ran away!
Sergeant Hallgins heard a floor screech behind. Quickly turning he saw the face of a xenomorph.
Hallgins has been so busy with the other two in front of him, he forgot about the two then ran away as well as that the tracker wasn't a Weyland Yutani 360 Degrees Tracker but a 180 Degrees.
The xenomorph was about to launch its inner-jaw into Hallgins, but at lightning fast speed, Hallgins shoved the barrel of the P90 into the xenomorphs mouth. Quickly picking up his MP5 from the floor, Hallgins pointed the weapon at the other xenomorph coming up be hide the xeno in front of him, then fired both weapons.
Both xenomorphs exploded in fountains of acid. The Sergeant ducked and rolled away from the acid. The motion tracker started bleeping again. Another three signals heading for him.
Hallgins reloaded both his Guns then moved forward. He was going to run at them, not hold his ground. Holding his MP5 in front of him, he ran! He saw the Xenomorphs right in front of him and fired. The in-human screams of the Xenomorphs filled the air.
All three of them dead. The acid burning holes in the Resin covered floor! Hallgins jumped forward over the bodies and into a chamber. Situated in the centre of the chamber was a.....xenomorph Queen!
Surrounding the Queen was a field of xenomorph eggs. The Queen hissed her anger at Hallgins. Hallgins looked at a nearby Egg then back at the Queen. Hallgins then heard soft hisses at the side of him. He turned to see Xenomorph Drones standing in holes in the Wall.
The drone's job was to tend to the Queen and look after the hive, while the warrior's job was to protect the Queen and the hive. The only way the humans can tell them apart are the Heads. Drones had ridged head and the warriors are smooth.
One of the drones started to move towards Hallgins. Hallgins pointed his MP5 at a nearby egg and looked at the Queen. Hallgins then lifted his weapon and fired at a wall, then pointed the MP5 back down at the egg!
The drones started to move back into the walls. Hallgins gazed around the chamber then saw a doorway behind the Queen! Still pointing the MP5 at the eggs, Hallgins started to move around the outside of the egg field.
The Queen watched Hallgins carefully as he moved around her eggs. There was nothing see could do because she was suspended to the roof. She was in her laying season.
Hallgins was at the doorway and started to back into corridor past it. Hallgins pulled up the Smartgun. And fired. He tore down most of the eggs and all the drones with the chamber.
The Queen was trashing about on her resin 'Throne'. The bullets from the Smartgun tore through her Ovipositor. She screamed in pain. Hallgins turned and ran. He could hear the sound of tearing and the Queens screams!
"LT," Hallgins shouted into his Radio, "I have just faced the Queen, and blown up her eggs. She seems really pissed!"
Hallgins looked behind him and saw the Queen, chasing him! Hallgins sped up.
"You are almost out of the Hive," LT informed Hallgins, "then another hour to the elevator, then fifteen minutes on the elevator. Then a five hours APC ride from the gate to the drop-ship!"
"Can't you bring the Dropship to the Colony?" Hallgins asked as he exited the Hive.
"No Go!" LT answered, "it's a Hot Zone. Too many xeno's outside!"
"Well send help!" the sound of echoing screams filled the air, "and send it fast!"
"I am waiting at the Drop-ship with Corporal Percival and Private Lomax," LT told him, "want me to send them to you?"
"Sure," Hallgins answered brightly, "but aren't there supposed to all be on the ship?"
A xenomorph flew around the corner; Hallgins pressed the trigger of the Smart gun. The xenomorph exploded. The smartgun was now empty.
"Oh and tell them to bring ammo," Hallgins said as he discarded the weapon, "come in the APC and come quick!"
Hallgins Motion Tracker was going wild, Signals all around him. More xeno's come from every open space. Hallgins was firing his weapons like mad. He was almost out of ammo.
Hallgins saw the elevators cage coming into view. Quickly pressing the elevators call button and then turning. Hallgins kept his finger on the trigger. The cage doors slid open behind Hallgins and he quickly stepped back in. And the door closed.
"Hallgins we are Ten Minutes away from you!" a voice chirped over the Radio.
"Corporal Percival? I though it would take Five Hours to get here?" Hallgins asked.
"Well we brought the Dropship," LT informed Hallgins over the Radio.
"Good! I am in the elevators now. Another ten minutes till I' up there. Then five to get to the Gate!"
"We'll hurry up and meet you at the APC!" Percival stated over the Radio.
Hallgins made sure his weapons where loaded and waited. Seven minutes......Five minutes.....three minutes.....and the Elevators stopped. The door slid open and Hallgins cautiously stepped out. Peering around the corner and watching his Tracker, Hallgins walked out into the cold atmosphere of the Planet.
Hallgins looked around him. There were several building, and beyond the last building on Hallgins's left, was the three metre Gate. Beside the Gate was the small control booth.
The Sergeant then ran, straight to the control booth. Quickly he turned around and saw nothing. Hallgins entered the control booth and spoke on the radio, "Percy? I am in the control booth, which buttons do what?"
Corporal Percival was the tech of their squad. He could do anything with a computer.
"Look around you, there should be a big blue button," Hallgins quickly looked around and saw it.
"I see it," Hallgins grunted.
"Press the button," Hallgins did as he was instructed, "then the computer terminal should light up. Type 'Gate Override Commands' into the keyboard then press the 'Enter' key!"
Hallgins quickly pressed the keys of the nearby keyboard. The computer screen flared up with a single command, 'Push-Pull'.
"Percy, it has one command, 'Push-Pull' what do you want me to do?" Hallgins asked intently.
A noise came from Hallgins waist, the noise of the motion tracker. Hallgins looked down and saw the signals. Over four Hundred.
"Come on, what do I do?" Hallgins asked hastily, "I've got company I don't want to be here for the visit!"
"Select the option. A lever should come out of the floor. You need to keep pulling and pushing the lever until you hear a giant whining noise," Hallgins pressed some more keys, and then got it.
An opening in the floor appearing and a small lever rose out of the opening. Quickly grabbing the lever, Hallgins started pushing the lever and then pulling it.
The signals where getting closer and Hallgins could hear it, but he kept on pulling and pushing the lever. Suddenly a whining noise could be heard and Hallgins stopped.
"Great job, Sarge,"
Percival congratulated Hallgins, "we're coming now!"
Hallgins heard an explosion, and saw the Gate burst from in the outside. Hovering above the ground was the Drop-ship, with its ramp down. balanced on that ramp was the APC. The APC just drove straight off of the ramp and towards Hallgins.
As the APC stopped, the door slid open and the familiar figure of the LT walked out, holding a Pulse Rifle. LT was about forty years old, with a rough beard. He was built well with big muscles.
He started firing, and Hallgins turned to look at what the LT was firing at. A whole swarm of xenomorphs.
Hallgins swung up his weapon, and started firing. The turret on the back of the APC started to move and fired. A fireball streaked in front of Hallgins and the LT and imploded with a group of the xenomorphs.
While the fight was going on, the Drop-ship landed, and Corporal Percival came running out with his Pulse Rifle firing.
"We are ready to go back, and I am ready to set up our 'present'," Percival informed LT.
"Set it up, we will cover you," LT turned to the Dropship, "Lomax, as soon as we back into the Ramp, take-off!"
Percival pulled out a small package from his pocket and stuck it onto the frame of the Gate. Once he had done that, Hallgins, LT and the Corporal ran back into the APC. Quickly the APC reversed onto the ramp of the Drop-ship, and the Drop-ship lifted and started to move towards the sky.
The ramp closed and the Dropship headed into the Planet atmosphere.
"Give them our 'gift'!" LT ordered.
Corporal Percival pressed something he was holding in his hand and below them, the Colony exploded.