Chapter 3

Chapter 3

An hour later the entire squad filled into the loading bay for the mission briefing. Gorman, Bishop, Ripley and Burke watched as the men and women took back seats or stood in very relaxed postures. This bugged Ripley as they had no idea as to the danger they were about to encounter. She had little hope they would take her report any more seriously than the Board had done. She hoped they would or there was little chance any of them would survive first contact with the Aliens. Her crew had been decimated by just one of these things. Kane and Brett had died before they even knew they were in real danger. Dallas, Parker and Lambert had perished fighting it while Ash had forced them to kill him when he tried to murder them to ensure the Alien lived.

"Ok Sergeant, call the roster. Let's make sure everyone is here," Gorman ordered breaking Ripley's thoughts.

"Yes sir," Apone nodded having gotten used to the fact their new CO liked to do the roster before any briefing since taking over the company a month before. This would be their first combat deployment under Gorman's leadership and he hoped the man knew how to effectively command during combat or this drop would go to shit. "Hicks, Hudson, Drake, Vasquez, Frost, Crowe, Wierzbowski, Dietrich, Spunkmeyer, Ferro, Marks, Jackson, Shepard, Cameron, Evans."

Every time Apone called a name there was an instant response from one of the Marines allowing Ripley to finally learn the names and faces of her new comrades. She noted the squad contained five women in total and ten men, but the squad looked tough enough. She prayed they would prove tough enough for what was to come.

"Everyone is accounted for Sir," Apone reported with a quick salute which Gorman returned before removing his cap and stepping forward to face his men.

"I'm sorry we had no time to brief you before we left Gateway, but this mission is top priority and both the Corps and the Company want answers as to why Hadley's Hope has gone dark and has been for three weeks," Gorman stated. "Some believe it is only a downed transmitter, if so it is easily fixed and we come home to some early leave," he added which quickly caused the Marines to yell in surprise. "However things may be a little harder than just a downed transmitter, there is the possibility of a Xenomorph being involved," he explained.

"A what sir?" Wierzbowski inquired with clear confusion in his tone which was matched by the looks on some of the others faces.

"A Xenomorph, another kind of life beyond human," Bishop was the one who answered.

"It's a bug hunt," Hicks said as he blew smoke from his cigarette after taking a large intake. "Should have known.

"It's not a bug hunt, because that implies there is nothing more dangerous than a simple animal as the cause," Ripley cut in stepping forward. "This is no simple animal soldier, this is the ultimate nightmare," she stated coldly.

"This is Ellen Ripley our civilian adviser and expert on just what we might encounter once we hit the colony," Gorman said introducing her to the company. "Please continue," he said to Ripley before stepping back.

"I'll tell you what I know, fifty seven years ago I was part of the crew of the hauler Nostromo and we were on our way home when our ship intercepted a beacon that triggered an instant awakening of our crew from cryosleep," Ripley started as calmly as she could. "Only one of us knew the real reason for being woken up to check out this signal, our android, even though as far as I know none of us knew he was an android until he tried to murder those of us left on Company orders to preserve the life of the Alien we had unwittingly brought aboard," she continued before Burke interrupted her.

"There is no proof of any of that Ripley and I take offence to you trying to make the Company look like murderers. Your android simply malfunctioned and due to the trauma you experienced in your fight you just remember things wrong," Burke insisted and tried to ignore the burning look of anger Ripley shot him at his words.

"Somehow I doubt it," Ripley shot back before turning back to the squad. "We were ordered to set down on LV-426 to check out the signal's source. What we found was a derelict spacecraft that contained thousands of eggs within some kind of stasis," she paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "Kane, our first officer, went into the egg chamber and somehow woke up one of the eggs which opened and allowed what could only be called some kind of face hugging parasite to latch itself into his helmet. Acid, it produced, burnt right through and allowed it to encircle his head. He was brought back by myself and Captain Dallas, for a time he lay in medical as any attempt to remove the thing caused it to bleed acid which burnt through three decks before stopping," she went on. "A day or two later the thing seemed to die by itself and fell off. Kane seemed fine and we decided to have one more meal before going back into cryosleep," she trailed off as the horror of that memory came back to her. "Somehow it implanted some kind of embryo inside Kane, he became sick and started to convulse," her voice broke as the memory became more and more vivid.

"Hey I only need to know one thing and that is where they are," Vasquez boasted confidently instantly breaking through Ripley's broken memories of that horrible event. She stepped right up to the hard faced woman and locked eyes with her unafraid, much too many of the other Marines surprise.

"I hope you're right about that, I truly do or you'll end up just as dead as my crew or worse," Ripley spat in a cold decisive tone.

"Thank you Ripley, I think we can leave it there," Gorman tried to intercede as he sensed this could get ugly real fast. "We have her report on disk so I suggest your all study it, our lives and the lives of any surviving colonists should a problem exists may depend on how well you remember what Ripley has put into that report," he ordered as he looked around at his people.

"Just one of those damn Aliens managed to wipe out my entire crew in less than forty eight hours. It was fast, it was intelligent and it was deadly and if the colonists have found that damn ship there is no telling how many may already be dead and worse how many may now be nothing but hosts for those creatures," Ripley spat out, locking eyes with each of the Marines as she did so trying to make them feel her horror. "Do you understand me yet?" she asked once more locking eyes with Vasquez who could only stare back in shock.

Vasquez stared into eyes that looked hard as steel and that was impressive, usually most people backed down from her, even fellow Marines. But this civvy was standing her ground and glaring at her, while it was clear her memories troubled and even haunted her, but that didn't stop her from having a core of steel when needed.

"Yeah chica I got you," she finally said and Ripley nodded.

"Good because if you want to survive and not become a host for one of these things I suggest you pay close attention to the record of my report. It might just save your life," Ripley finished before she turned and walked away.

"Anyway we have it on record so I suggest you all study it closely before we deploy to the planet," Gorman said in surprise at what had just gone down. He would have to revaluate Ripley because clearly she could be dangerous when necessary. "Now are there any questions?" he inquired.

"Yeah, how the fuck do I get out of this chicken shit outfit?" Hudson inquired sarcastically.

"You secure that shit Hudson or I will personally kick your ass all over this ship until you remember your manners," Apone warned and no one was surprised when Hudson quickly shut up and settled back down. '

"Ok people listen to me. I want this operation to go smoothly and by the numbers. I want full DCS and tactical data-base assimilation by oh-eight-thirty." A few groans rose from the group, but nothing in the way of a strong protest. It was no less than what they expected. "Ordnance loading, weapons strip and checkout, and dropship prep will have seven hours. I want everything and everybody ready to go on time. Let's hit it," Gorman ordered before he turned and left.

The Marines quickly dispersed to begin their preparations for the mission ahead. They also knew they would need to make some time to listen and study the recorded report of Ripley so they knew what to expect should they encounter anything nasty. Bishop headed for the APC to ensure it was in working order. Burke scratched his head unsure what to do before deciding to just find somewhere to sit down and try and plan how to ensure he came out ahead in all this.

+AMTH+

(USS Sulaco, five hours later)

Hicks listened to the recording for the second time, still finding it hard not to hear the agony of what Ripley had clearly gone through. She was clearly not faking that she was somewhat traumatized by the events that had transpired on the Nostromo, but it had not broken her and she was willing to face it again should these creatures be the cause of Hadley's Hope going dark. He wondered why it was only now that the colony was at risk from these things, considering the supposed derelict Alien ship had been on the planet even longer than the Nostromo's visit fifty seven years earlier. He wondered who had crewed the ship? According to the report the remains of a rather large Alien had been discovered in what seemed to be the pilot's chair. It clearly died from the same creatures it was transporting. Rubbing his chin he wondered just how well their weapons would work on these things should they be down there. Getting close to them was out of the question due to their acid like blood that would kill them should they get it on them. No the success of this mission would depend on them keeping the things at long range, considering the speed implied by the report that would be difficult.

"Yo Hicks. How's it going?" Hudson inquired as he entered the bunk room and sat down pulling the recorder off his bunk where one had been left on each for them to listen to.

"Let's just say this, my friend. If these things are down there and have overrun the colony we are in for a very dark time," Hicks responded as he removed his headphones and shut of his recorder as he knew his break time was over.

Hudson paused and glanced at Hicks knowing the man was not prone to making idle comments, thus if he said it was going to be bad then you could count on it to be bad. "That bad huh?" he asked.

"Bad enough, I think I agree with Ripley, these things seem like something out of a nightmare," Hicks responded as he got up and headed back out to finish prep work. "I don't like it, and her accusations against the Company during her last time out make me very edgy," he admitted.

"Yeah, it sounds shifty doesn't it? Even though that jerk Burke insists she's just confused due to her long cryosleep," Hudson agreed with a snort. "My sister fell afoul of the Company's shit a couple of years ago. I wouldn't trust them as far as I could throw them," he said. "I wouldn't trust that Burke if he was the last guy alive," he added to which Hicks nodded.

"Yeah me neither, but we have to play nice as he is the Company rep for this mission and so far he's done nothing for us to be wary of. Except maybe piss Ripley off for dismissing her concerns about the Company," Hicks said with a chuckle. "My gut says we can trust Ripley," he said before he left Hudson to go over the briefing.

Hudson considered his friend's last statement and had to agree. Ripley seemed like a straight forward person and committed to the task at hand with no secret agenda that he could see at the least. Putting his headphones on he pressed play and sat back on his bunk to listen to the report Ripley had made. At least now he could relax after the shit load of work he had done prepping for this mission.

Hicks found Apone going over a check list and nodded in greeting and taking no offence when he got nothing back. Apone was focused on his task and nothing would break his concentration. He was almost surprised to find Ripley suddenly by their side looking somewhat bored if he was right. He glanced at Apone and noted that he too had finally noted their guest.

"Hey, I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help out?" Ripley inquired, having finally got fed up of sitting on her bunk or wandering the rather large Starship.

Hicks and Apone exchanged surprised expressions having suspected her to sit out any hard work much like Burke and Gorman, clearly they had been wrong. "I don't know, is there any way you can help?" Apone inquired.

"I do happen to have a class two dock rating hence I can drive one of those loaders," Ripley shot back. It was the only work she had been able to get since her review hearing.

"Then please be my guest, we still have a few heavy items to load and while my people know how to work those things they are marines first, not dock workers," Apone finally replied with a grin.

Ripley needed no further encouragement and moved straight for the loader and quickly got in and powered it up within a few minutes, this surprised Hicks and Apone who knew it took the team more than that to get comfortable in the loaders. Ripley seemed to meld to the damn thing. They watched as she powered the loader over to one of the big crates still waiting, moving the huge arms of the loader she quickly clamped down on the crate and picked it up. "So where do you want this thing?" Ripley asked somewhat smugly.

Hicks grinned in surprise while Apone let out an approving chuckle. "Bay 2 please," Apone said as he watched the large loader move easily out of the bay. "Impressive," he mused.

"Guess she isn't one for standing around," Hicks commented before moving to get back to work.

Apone just nodded in agreement before moving to go check on the dropshipload up and prep, once the bird was ready he could order his people to arm up and get ready for dropping. At least Ripley seemed to be a useful civilian beyond her knowledge of what they were facing. She didn't seem to mind getting her hands dirty unlike Burke and even Gorman wasn't doing much to help in preparing for the drop.

+AMTH+

(USS Sulaco)

Ripley watched as the troops lined up one after another with their armor and weapons on, now they looked fully like marines and ready for war. They would need to be ready, they were about to step into a real nightmare if those damn aliens were running loose down on that colony. Gorman and Apone walked up and down the line inspecting the troops and seemed to find them ready. A noise gained Ripley's attention and she watched as a large APC drove up close to the dropship.

"Ok… get in there, you know where your seats are," Apone commanded as he pulled open the door to reveal the insides of the APC. "Move it," he added to speed things up. Ripley and Burke were the last two inside and they quickly made their way to the two empty seats. Once seated Ripley looked around as she felt the APC move into the dropship.

"Now we just wait for the big drop," John Shepard said with a big grin.

"Yeah express elevator to hell going down," Hudson shouted with a loud whoop of joy as the entire ship seemed to lurch before falling at a breakneck speed towards the planet.

Ripley held on to the cross bars across her seat as the dropship rocketed towards the planet. She felt her stomach roll in protest as the drop was finally pulled into some kind of controlled descent. She noted quite a few of the marines were still crowing in delight, but she noted strangely that Hicks seemed to have fallen asleep much to her sudden amusement. 'How the hell did he manage to fall asleep during such a drop?' she wondered. Of course her mind suddenly decided to remind her that she was about to descend back to the place where her nightmare had begun, LV-426. Suddenly she felt slightly sick as she recalled the harsh planetoid she had first stepped onto fifty seven years ago. The howling wind and cold biting atmosphere still caused her to react in a cold sweat even all these years removed from that moment.

"Hey, Ripley," Hudson said taking note of her sudden ashen look before she seemed to regain control. She glanced up at him, expressionless. "Don't worry, little lady. Me and my squad of ultimate killing machines will protect you. Check it out." He slapped the controls of the servocannon mounted in the overhead gun bay, careful not to hit any of the ready studs. "Independently targeting particle-beam phalanx gun. Ain't she a cutey? Vwap! Fry half a city with this puppy. We got tactical smart missiles, phased-plasma pulse-rifles, RPGs. We got sonic ee-lectronic cannons, we got nukes no flukes, we got knives, sharp sticks—"

"Knock that shit off Hudson, your voice is annoying me," Alexander Marks shouted before Apone shoved Hudson back into his seat and gave him a glare of warning. "Man he gives me a headache," Alex moaned aloud rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah I know exactly how you feel, for once I wish he'd just keep his mouth shut," Sara Evans agreed with a nod of her head.

"Ah man…. now you've gone and hurt my feelings Evans," Hudson shot back sarcastically making her glare at him in response to which he grinned.

"Like I give a shit Willy boy," Evans shot back with a darker glare.

"Knock it off you two. God… you're beginning to sound like an old married couple," Drake growled out in disgust.

"Ewww as if Drake," Evans responded in complete revulsion at the very idea.

Drake grinned as he glanced at Vasquez who smirked back at him and then they smashed their fists against one another, they loved annoying their comrades. It proved to be so entertaining, at least for them.

Gorman ignored the voices in the back of the APC and focused on bringing up the secure camera link. Each marine's helmet had a mini cam attached to it which allowed him to see what they would see. It made gathering the necessary picture of what was going on without leaving the APC easier, until he knew the Colony was secure enough for him. Burke and Ripley he intended for them to stay within the safety of the APC with Bishop ready to go at a moment's notice.

"Drake, check your camera please. I'm getting a lot of static from it," He ordered into his mic and was rewarded with the camera suddenly jerking downward before clearing. He guessed Drake had smacked the camera against the cross bars, but whatever he had done it had worked. "Ok that's done it, now pan to the right," he said and watched as the picture changed and showed most of the company in their seats including Ripley and Burke.

"Sir, we are through the clouds and homing in on the colony's beacon," Ferro reported a few seconds later through the mic. "So far no radio transmissions are being received or sent from the colony, however the transmitter does appear to be online," she added and he could hear the worry in her tone at this turn out. A total black out of all transmissions from the colony, yet the transmitter seemed undamaged pointed more to Ripley's Aliens than transmitter failure.

"Roger that Ferro, keep trying just in case someone is on the toilet and can't come to the comm system," Gorman said in response, trying for some humor even though he knew it would fall flat and he was correct as all Ferro did was close the link between them.

"How many drops is this for you Lieutenant?" Ripley decided to ask deciding to find out what kind of man their supposed leader was.

"Thirty eight simulated," Gorman answered with a shrug.

Vasquez shared a look with Drake and decided to ask something more pertinent to the mission.

"How many combat drops?" she asked with a slight frown.

"Er…two maybe thee including this one," Gorman reluctantly answered not wanting to lie and seen as his back was facing from his team he failed to see the frowns and looks of surprise his answer provoked.

Ripley stared at Burke but he just shrugged his shoulders as if the man's obvious lack of experience meant nothing. She suddenly had an even worse feeling about agreeing to come, but still lives were at stake and that was what she had to focus on.