Chapter 7- Clones and Aliens

A large dropship descended out of the sky and came to a hover just above the ground. Three clones jogged across the clearing to meet it. A tall man in a dark blue suit stepped out of it.
"Hello commander." he said in his sly voice.
"Sir, my men are having a hard time finding Hanz and Dels." said the clone.
"They are probably trying to get to the complex under the palace and escape. Do not let them do that commander. No witnesses."
"Yes sir." he said and turned to the other two. "Move your troops into the palace."
"Sir!" said one of them. He turned and ran back through the brush. The commander turned back to the man in the suit. "Would you like me to take my men and join him?"
"I would, under no circumstances do you let them get to the transport room."
"Sir!" he said and also turned and ran back through the brush. The third clone looked at him and stayed silent. He had a red stripe around his arm.
"Take your team and kill Dels." The clone slowly nodded and turned. "Unit three, kill him yourself. That way I know it will get done." The clone again nodded and simply walked away.
The man climbed back into the dropship and signaled the pilot to take off. The dropship raised into the sky and disappeared into the sun.

Several dropships roared over the city and dropped clone paratroops into the streets. The behemoth was still tromping around and the ships were dropping troops with rocket launchers so they would at least stand a chance.
Clouds were moving in and covering the sun making the city seem more like a ghost town than a thriving city. Most of the citizens had either fled or been killed by the aliens and clones. The royal guards had been doing well against the aliens until the clones arrived and massacred them all.
Clone Unit 127 sat in the dropship and waited for it to land. He didn't really think at all. His orders were his orders and it was his duty to follow them.
"Hostiles at seven!" yelled one of the gunners. The dropship turned and decelerated.
"Take them out!" The dropship landed and 127 jumped out with the rest of the troops in the dropship. Several Vortigaunts turned and shot blasts of electricity at them. Three cloned went down and the rest opened fire with their powerful rifles. The Vortugaunts hit the ground and died.
A loud hollow roaring came overhead and 127 looked up to see what it was. A thick laser left a blue and orange flier and the clone dropship exploded, throwing many clones to the ground and engulfing several others in the fire.
Out of the twenty to start with, only eleven were left. Another hollow roar and four alien grunts dropped from the weird ship and landed on the ground. They immediately opened fire with their wasp guns and the clones fired back. another clone dropship flew overhead and fired a heavy chain gun into the grunts. They were ripped apart by the bullets and the ship landed on the ground. The clones got in and the ship took off.
The alien dropships and fighters flew over the city now and engaged the clone ships for air superiority. The dropship flew over several buildings and as 127 looked out the window he saw clones and aliens battling in the streets below. His allies were falling left and right and taking just as many aliens with them. Explosions from lasers and missiles were bringing down buildings. The building collapsed into the street crushing the fighting sides.
"Let's go!" said a commander. He led three para-troops to the back and they bailed out into the war torn city. Two more clones got up and jumped out. 127 looked out and watched their parachutes deploy. The ship started to descend and finally came to a hover. Twenty more clones got in and the ship took off again. It flew over the buildings and sharply turned, just avoiding one of the alien lasers.
The ship fired missiles which impacted into the weird looking ship. It exploded sending alien grunts and vortigaunts falling to their deaths. Several more clone fighters surrounded the dropship and engaged another alien dropship as soon as it appeared. The dropship landed in front of the palace grounds and the clones got out. It lifted off again fired more missiles in the direction of some alien fighters. The clones set explosives on the gate lock and blew it open. Five more dropships landed inside the grounds and let out more troops. Gunfire started immediately as the clones smashed their way into the palace interrupting a battle between aliens and royal guards. The clones efficiently cleared the main chamber without losing a single soldier.
They kept entering the palace in an endless stream and spreading out into other rooms of the palace killing royal guards and aliens alike.
127 waited outside the gates with about fifty other clones. They were patrolling and making sure that aliens wouldn't sneak up behind the soldiers in the palace. An alien dropship roared overhead and dropped several grunts and vortigaunts into the street before being blown up by two clone fighters. The troops fired and the grunts and vortigaunts fired back. The street erupted with gunfire and bugs from the grunt guns.
127 turned and fired into a pack of head crabs. They splattered all over the gravel and several more took their place. Two para-troops opened fire from the air and killed most of them. Green electricity arced through the air at them and they fired at the assaulting aliens. Another alien dropship flew overhead and dropped yet more Xen troops into the street.
The clones were slowly dying from the armored grunts. Three clones fired at one grunt and finally took it down. A second one fired wasps which impacted into a commander killing him. A volley of automatic gunfire left the line of clones and tore through vortigaunts and three grunts. Grenades also flew and vaporized a couple of grunts.
Yet another dropship flew overhead and let only one vortigaunt out before it was destroyed by a volley of missiles from a dropship. The clones easily dispatched it and the dropship dropped a bomb into the crowd of aliens killing them all. The street went quiet for a moment and the clones took the moment to reload and let another load of troops out of a dropship.
"Unit 127, join commander 329 in the palace." said a voice over the radio. Gunfire made it hard to understand . 127 climbed into the dropship which lifted off and landed him close to the main door, which would have taken much more time if he'd run across the grounds. He got out and sprinted into the palace. A commander pointed him to a door and he ran into it.
Two clones were setting explosives near a wall. They rushed back and triggered them. The wall exploded and showered the clones with rubble. A team moved in and quickly walked down the staircase beyond. The commander pointed toward the opening and 127 rushed into it followed by twenty more clones. The stair case lead down and finally came to a spot at what was a door and now was a jagged piece of metal on the ground.
Already, clone bodies were scattered on the ground and destroyed chain guns were smoking in the ceiling. Zombies, caused by head crabs, were wandering around and some looked to be security guards. 127 opened fire and the rest of the clones followed. The fighting for this small facility had only just begun.