Chapter 2

Arthur Jinkens ran a hand through this jet black hair as he reviewed the database that contained all known information on the Aliens once again. Most of it was common facts that even the lowest grunt or intern knew about, but those didn't help him any with the project he was starting. All the Corporation cared about with these creatures was how they could be used as a weapon, nevermind learning the intricacies of their biology and, Arthur's personal interest, their level of intelligence. He knew as a collective the Alien's were intelligent enough to solve complex problems and have shown in the past tactics that could make a well decorated General jealous, but he was curious about the individual level of intelligence of these creatures.

Naturally the Corporation wouldn't fund such a 'waste' of research and other agencies were more interested in wiping the creatures out then studying them. So getting the support he needed to fund this project had been difficult. Fortunately one of the agencies involved in extermination took him in, on the reasoning that the better they understood the Alien from every angle the better they would be able to exterminate them. Of course this meant they had to capture a specimen or two for him to conduct the research and the Aliens were proving to be difficult if not next to impossible to capture. So far, the squads ended up having to kill the creatures they were trying to capture to prevent one of their own from getting killed. The armor they wore protected them from many of their attacks, but the Aliens were quick to learn to attack body parts that weren't protected if the scuffle went on too long.

The problem was completely subduing them without killing them. The creatures were strong enough to rip through nets and steel restraints with ease, plus trying to apply these devices to such fast moving creatures was next to impossible. Tasers were found to be some what effective at subduing them, but the effect didn't last long enough to be any more then a delaying tactic and sustained application wasn't feasible. On top of that the squads only had a limited number of attempts to capture the creatures per hive before the hive as whole became fully aware of their presence. Arthur has been with this agency for five hive runs so far and he was starting to feel like dead weight. If he didn't get a specimen soon to start his research he may end up losing his backing and find himself dumped off at the nearest colony.

"Professor Jinkens." A voice said, making him nearly jump out of his skin. Arthur turned around to see Captain Halus standing in the door way to his lab. The man looked like he should be a General going by the scars on his face and generally 'worn' appearance he looked, a testament of what must have been years of fighting against the Alien, but apparently a lot of political red tape had kept him from being right fully promoted. Or so he heard.

"Yes Captain?" Arthur replied.

"Those improvised tranquilizers you whipped up did the trick." The Captain said with a smile. "We finally got you a couple of bugs. Bravo team is on it's way back with them right now."

Arthur breathed a visible sigh of relief. "I would like to see them as soon as they arrive if you don't mind."

"I don't think that will be a problem, provided they don't start waking up before we get them to the pens."

He met the team in the hanger as they started to unload their living 'cargo'. Arthur found himself unable to contain himself as he rushed forward to get a better look at them.

"Can't wait to get close to your new pets eh Doc?" One of the soldiers joked. "Got them nice and gift wrapped for you."

Arthur laughed as he strained to get a good look at them, which was difficult due to the netting wrapped around them. This was the first time he's been this close to one and they looked bigger then they did in the pictures. "Were there any physical differences between them?" He asked, knowing they tended to take on some of the physical characteristics of their hosts.

"Damn if I know." The soldier replied. "They all look alike to me. Big, black, and mean looking."

"We'll find out for sure when I examine them. How long have they been out?"

"We packed up and left the planet as soon as we got them." Another soldier replied. "Didn't want to risk them waking up and breaking out while we were paying a visit to their hive, so a little over an hour, no more."

"So it should be nearly another hour before they start to awaken." Arthur mused. I would like to do a quick examination of them before putting them into the pens, if you don't mind."

"Hey, they are your bugs now, so you're the boss."

At Arthur's prompting the soldiers unwrapped the first Alien. This one looked to be a standard hive drone, nothing special at all about it. It was also well marked, meaning it had to be of a decent age for an Alien. This was disappointing to Arthur as, if the Alien's were consistent with other beings, older individuals were more set in their ways and not very likely to give him much in the way of new information. With a sigh he had the soldiers rewrap the Alien in the netting and take it to the pens. He didn't say anything about his disappointment as by this point he couldn't afford to be picky.

The second one lifted his spirits dramatically. Not only was it's body structure different from the first, but it's cowl was still mostly smooth. If findings from other studies were accurate, this meant this one was young, very young. Hopefully, this meant it will be as impressionable as other young animals are. If so, this was the best specimen he could have hoped for.

He had the soldiers carry it to the lab, where he could examine the Alien more thoroughly. Once there he started taking measurements and other readings, noting length, height and weight. He also discovered this Alien wasn't actually black but more of a very dark greyish blue, with large patches of blue green on the underside of it's elongated head, triceps, biceps, calf and thigh muscle locations. It was built like a quadruped and the end of it's tail hinted at a host that may have been partly aquatic in nature. The most interesting feature was when he dared to examine it's mouth.

"What the..." Arthur said as he peered into the Alien's opened maw.

"What is it professor?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Shine a flashlight into it's mouth for me please." Arthur replied.

With a shrug the soldier complied and saw what Arthur saw, or rather, didn't see. "Where's it's second jaw set?" The soldier asked.

"Apparently it doesn't have one..." Arthur said. "Doesn't look like it's missing as a result of trauma. Must have been born this way."

"Well, guess this means it has one less means to kill us..."

The professor managed a chuckle. "You can go ahead and put this one in an empty pen."

"Why not put it with the other one?" The soldier asked.

"That one is going to be my control subject and you don't put your control and test subjects together."

"Whatever you say professor..."

Got a bonus for you readers. Pic of No-Tongue! (http/ You may need to adjust your monitor to see it, as it's a fairly dark picture.

No I am not taking picture requests...