+AMTH+
The marines quickly disembarked and began to head down the stairs; on two stretchers carried by two marines each was the portable lights. It was slow going due to carrying the lights but none of them were in a rush to get into the nest, Apone led the way down with Drake with Hicks and Hudson bringing up the rear. Back in the APC Ripley, Kara and Tessa stood behind Gorman whilst Burke and Carl stood of to the side whilst Newt remained in her chair playing with her doll. She watched the screen that showed the squads progress as they finally reached level 3 and made their way to towards the area where the colonists PDT'S were pinpointed. Suddenly Ripley noticed something on the map and began to get a very bad feeling in her gut, glancing at the readout she knew she had to speak.
"Gorman, just what do those pulse rifles fire?" she inquired making him turn to look at her surprise.
"50mm Explosive caseless rounds along with grenades for the launcher underneath" Gorman informed her calmly not seeing the problem or the reason for her sudden concerned look.
"Holy fuck" Carl groaned in alarm.
"You cannot allow them to fire those rifles in there Gorman nor use their grenades" Ripley told him bluntly surprising him even more.
"Why the hell not?" Gorman demanded to know.
"Because if you look where your team is you will realise they are right under the central heat exchanges" Ripley pointed out.
"So why does that matter or have any relation to the rifles?" Gorman inquired.
"Because if they end up firing and hitting something vital they could rupture the cooling system" Ripley stated wanting to scream at the man's denseness even as Burke's eyes suddenly opened wide.
"Oh god she's right" Burke murmured horrified he had not seen the obvious problem.
"So, so what?" Gorman demanded wishing they would just get to the damn point already instead of beating around the bush.
"So she is talking about the fusion containment shutting down and causing a thermonuclear explosion which will kill us all and destroy the entire colony" Burke stated causing Gorman to lean back in his seat with wide eyes and a horrified and uneasy expression on his face.
"Jesus Christ" Gorman finally said before turning back to the monitors. "Apone do you copy, come in right now" he ordered into his mic.
Apone quickly signalled the team to come to a halt by clicking his fingers loudly, and listened as Gorman's voice came through their mics again.
"Listen to me we cannot have any firing in there, I want all rifles slung and under no circumstances are you to use any grenades is that understood" Gorman ordered causing wide eyed expressions on many of the marines faces.
"Is he fucking crazy" Hudson cursed loudly.
"Yeah what does he expect us to use harsh fucking language" Frost inquired bitterly.
"Fuck harsh language man if we dump our rifles all we have left is our flame units and some small arms weapons and that aint going to do shit against these things" Wierzbowski spat as he hefted his pulse rifle.
"Listen to me you stupid fucks you are currently under the central heating vents, if you open fire in there you may rupture the vents causing the cooling system to leak and thus causing the fusion containment to shut down causing a thermonuclear explosion that will kill us all" Gorman explained harshly. "Do you understand me people?" he asked.
"Are you fucking kidding me" Frost said in alarm.
"No I am not joking people now I want magazines collected from everyone sergeant is that clear?" Gorman shot back.
"Well you heard the man people now pull them out and hand them over now" Apone ordered understanding the problem but not liking going into such a dangerous situation with limited firepower.
Slowly one by one the marines gave up their magazines even if some still had annoyed expressions on their faces as they did so, one Apone had collected the magazines from Drake and Vasquez he turned and moved towards Frost with his hands full of magazines. Vasquez slowly reached into her combat jacket and removed two spare clips and slipped one to Drake who quickly grinned.
"Right on Vaz" Drake muttered quietly.
"Frost open that bag and hold these will you" Apone said and the tall marine quickly nodded and opened the bag he wore around his neck.
"Thanks a lot Sarge now I feel all special" Frost said with a grin as most of the marines pulled their flame units around to replace their now empty pulse rifles which they slung to their backs. Hicks however pulled an old antique shotgun from his back and examined hit.
"I like to keep this handy for close encounters" Hicks said grinning at Wierzbowski who grinned right back as he pulled two pistols from his belt.
"Yeah I hear that man" Wierzbowski agreed as they began moving again.
Apone took note that whilst most carried flame units now there were a few who had some shotguns like Hick's or some pistols, he just hoped it would be enough for what they were about to face.
"Sir we are about to enter the nest, lights will be sent in first then we follow" Apone reported as he looked into the darkness and saw nothing.
"Roger that Sergeant, exercise extreme caution we have no idea what is in there" Gorman reminded him becoming uneasy as they neared their target.
Apone took a breath and then gave the signal and Drake and Vasquez quickly took up positions near the door so their smartguns aimed inside, then Crowe, Evans, Alexander and Frost moved inside pushing the portable lights inside.
"Hey what is this stuff on the walls Ripley?" Hudson inquired as he glanced at their surroundings and noted the sticky alien like substance that coated the walls.
"I don't know Hudson but it bears a striking semblance to the aliens skin" Ripley responded through the comm. "It looks like some kind of bio matter they must secrete" she mused.
"Bishop, are you reading this?" Apone inquired knowing the android was most likely watching the vid feedback in command.
"I am, I suggest you do not touch the walls if possible just in case it has the same properties as the Xenomorth" Bishop advised through the comm.
"You heard him stay tight and away from the walls" Apone ordered as suddenly the portable lights activated and the entire nest was lit up. "Ok people let's move in slowly Marks Jackson hold this exit do not allow us to be cut off" he added as he moved in with the others following.
Gorman and the others gasped as they got their first glimpse of the nest, colonists were strung up all over the place. The same bio matter they'd seen on the outside seemed to keep them stuck to the wall; most of the colonists were clearly dead as they had holes in their chest from where the chest busters had erupted out of them.
"Good god" Gorman gasped horrified as he had never seen anything like this in his life nor heard of anything like it either.
Tessa, Kara, Carl and Ripley had all turned white as they stared at the cocooned colonists and it was only then that Ripley remembered Newt to was in the APC and quickly looked down to find the young girl standing beside her trying to gaze at the screen.
"Newt, go to the front, you do not need to see this" Ripley said encouragingly gaining the young girl's attention. "Go, please this is not something you need to watch" she added finally the girl just nodded and walked away to the front of APC and sat down.
"She's already seen worse Ripley" Kara admitted gaining her attention. "She may look like a little girl but after what she's been through and seen she isn't" she said sourly.
"Maybe but that doesn't mean she needs to see more" Ripley countered before turning back to the monitor.
"Is there any movement on the trackers Apone?" Gorman inquired.
"Nothing sir, and we still cannot see much due to the bio matter on the wall, it all looks the same" Apone admitted as he kept a close eye on his surroundings.
"Sarge, we've got a live one here" Crowe's startled voice gained everyone's attention.
They watched as the marines descended on Crowe's position as she tried to help a woman who was gasping and moaning and begging for help, she was stuck to the wall close to the ground hence easily reachable.
"Shit, we've got to get her out of here" Ripley heard Wierzbowski hiss even as she turned to Kara. "Do you know who she is?" she inquired
"Mary Larson, communications" Kara muttered in response white faced and grim as were Carl and Tessa.
"Oh shit, convulsions" Crowe's shout regained all their attentions.
On the screen they watched as the woman began to scream and buck even though she could not break the bio matter she was encased in, suddenly her chest exploded in a shower of blood. Apone and the marines backed away and raised their weapons and even as the chest buster erupted Apone unleashed a torrent of flame burning it to a crisp. Suddenly the tracking sensors blared in alarm startling everybody; Gorman frowned and turned his attention to the side monitor that showed a small tracking map.
"We've got movement Sarge" Hudson's voice rang clearly uneasy.
"Where Hudson?" Apone demanded to know as he turned from the burning corpse to focus on Hudson.
"I can't fully lock in on it Sir, it's a really weird signal" Hudson responded glancing back and forth before suddenly spinning around as one of the portable lights went out as something struck it. "Shit" he spat.
"Tighten up people go to infrared, Hudson talk to me god damn it" Apone demanded again.
"There's multiple signals in front and behind us sir" Hudson answered.
"Where man I don't shit up here" Frost called out.
"He's right there's nothing back here Hudson" Hicks said his eyes focused and wary.
"God damn it guys I'm telling you there is something moving and it ain't us" Hudson insisted.
Suddenly the other portable light went on as it was shattered dousing the marine into almost pitch black, the bleeping from the trackers got louder as and the marines grew tenser.
"Pull them out of there now Gorman" Ripley insisted. "Pull them out of there now before it's too late"
"Shut up Ripley and let me think" Gorman shouted cutting her off which was right when Dietrich let out a shout of alarm as something grabbed her from behind and hefted her upwards.
In response to been grabbed she accidently activated her flamer just as Frost ran to help her setting him on fire, Frost screamed loudly as he ran wildly around dropping the ammo bag before falling over the railings to his death. That was the moment all hell broke loose as the aliens seemed to explode out of the darkness and attack, Drake and Vasquez immediately opened fire with their smartguns which easily tracked the targets due to the autofinder attached to it. An explosion ripped through the area as the ammo bag Frost had been carrying and dropped in the melee exploded sending Hicks and Wierzbowski flying even as Cameron was ripped apart by it, a scream ripped through the system and the life signs for Evans quickly flat lined. The next to fall was Crowe who whilst trying to retreat was jumped by one of the aliens, they tumbled over each other but Crowe was no match for the alien and was quickly carried away before anyone could react.
"God damn it who the hell is firing in there?" Gorman demanded for the fifth time having been trying to establish contact with Apone while chaos broke. "Apone, listen to me I want you to fall back using the incinerators squad by squad to you copy" he ordered.
"Say again sir" Apone responded clearly having trouble hearing his superior.
"I said I want you to fall back using the incinerators squad by squad" Gorman repeated but a closer look at him revealed the man was in shock by how fast the situation had escaped his control.
Apone continued to try and regain some kind of order even as Hicks helped a clearly injured Wierzbowski towards Jackson and Alexander who as ordered remained near the exit, Hudson was covering him. Suddenly movement got his attention and he turned to look up but far too late to defend himself as an alien dropped right on him, before he could try and do anything he felt a sudden sharp sting and his entire body froze up. He could only lay there as he was dragged away, all he wanted was to pull his pistol and shoot himself because he knew what awaited him thanks to Ripley's report but he could not do anything not even scream.
"Where's the Sarge?" Alexander shouted over the comm as Gorman froze up completely.
"Get them the hell out of there Gorman now" Ripley screamed at him.
"Fall back, fall back now" Hicks ordered as he unloaded his shotgun even as Jackson told hold of the injured Wierzbowski.
"They're going to fall back" Gorman stuttered unable to think or focus on what to do.
"We're cut off damn you" Ripley growled before spinning away and running for the wheel of the APC, before sitting down she strapped Newt in knowing what she planned was going to be a bumpy ride.
It took her a few seconds to figure out how to power up the APC and quickly set about doing it, once it was powered she put her foot to the pedal and drove straight for the ramp intent on getting to level 3 as fast as possible.
"Ripley, what the hell are you doing?" Gorman demanded as he finally snapped out of his shock.
Kara, Tessa and Carl had already managed to sit down whilst Burke followed Gorman as best he could, Gorman tried to stop Ripley causing the APC to skim the wall twice as it passed level 2 and headed straight for level 3. A barricade soon appeared and Ripley knew it was the only way through to the team if any had survived, putting her foot down the sent the APC crashing into the barricade smashing it apart. Quickly grabbing her headset she tried to contact the team.
"Hicks, can you hear me the APC is at level 3" she called out.
"Marines we are leaving" she heard Hicks scream through the comm.
"Burke get the door, make sure you have some weapons just in case" Ripley ordered as Gorman knowing there was nothing he could do to Ripley right now moved to assist.
Hicks slowly made his to the APC with Hudson and Shepard hot on his heels, Alexander and Jackson carried the injured Wierzbowski between them and bringing up rear was Vasquez and Drake still laying down covering fire with their smartguns.
"Shit it's blocked we gotta go around" Hudson groaned as and quickly moved to follow wanting to get out of this nightmare as quickly as possible.
"Drake we are leaving move it" Hicks shouted as Drake stopped and gunned down multiple aliens as they closed in on him until his smartgun finally ran dry.
"Shit" Drake cursed as he quickly unhooked his weapon and let it drop to the floor and pulled the flamer he had slung around his shoulder, he then began to back away again laying down a curtain of fire.
Hicks reached the APC first and took up position near the door and allowed Alexander and Jackson to get Wierzbowski on-board, thankful that Gorman and Burke were near the door to help both armed although clearly Burke was out of his element with the way he held the gun. Hudson quickly boarded just as Vasquez called out a warning to Drake causing them to glance back to see an alien spring up behind Drake. Drake spun even as Vasquez let out a burst of fire from her smartgun which still had ammo, whilst her weapons fire killed the alien it had the unfortunate side effect of causing its blood to spray all over Drake. Drake screamed out as he fell, his finger compulsively pulling the trigger of his flamer. Hicks just barely managed to pull Vasquez inside the APC to avoid the flame, Vasquez struggled in his grip but he shoved her against the door.
"He's gone Vaz it's over" he shouted at her as he moved to get the door. Just as he began to close it an alien launched itself at the door squeezing inside and lowering its jaws. "Secure the goddamn door now" he ordered.
Hudson grabbed Hicks's fallen shotgun and stuck it inside the creatures mouth and fired blowing a hole right through its mouth but also causing some its blood to hit his shoulder, the alien died quickly allowing Hicks to slam the door closed with help from Vasquez and Alexander.
"Ripley, go go go" Hicks shouted up front.
Ripley did not need any more encouragement and quickly put the APC into reverse and began to back away, once pointed in the right direction she again flawed it and headed back up to level 1 and the exit. As she drove an alien dropped onto the APC and smashed its tail into the window, she slammed on the brakes and sent it flying forwards however as she did so a bunch of ammo boxes broke loose from the overhead and nailed Gorman on the back of the head knocking him cold. Seeing the alien getting back to its feet Ripley drove forward and crushed it underneath the powerful wheels causing a horrible cry to erupt from it before it died.
+AMTH+
Soon the APC smashed through the doors of the processing plant and onto the hard surface, Ripley get going even though she could a loud scraping noise coming from under the APC. Soon Hicks joined her up front and slowly reached out and took a hold of her hands and began to try and ease up her hold on the wheel, slowly very slowly Ripley allowed Hicks to slow them down.
"You've blown the transaxle Ripley we're just grinding metal now" Hicks informed her. "Now ease it down and pull over" he told her and Ripley complied.
Leaning back in her seat for a few seconds before getting up to check on Newt, she found the little girl missing for a few seconds before she heard a cough making her look to the side to find her sitting in the small space between the driver's seat and the first backseat. She kneeled down to check on her; the small girl coughed again but looked physically fine.
"You okay Newt?" she inquired and was sorely tempted to smile as the little girl looked at her then raised a thumb at her indicating she was fine.
Nodding her head she went into the back of the APC to find Shepard working on fixing up the injured and unconscious Wierzbowski, having been caught in the explosion of the ammo pack Frost had been carrying she was not surprised to see the man was in bad shape. Hudson was sat in one of the seats holding his arm which was clearly burned; Vasquez was leaning against the APC hull in clear anger. Alexander and Jackson sat with their heads in their hands clearly distressed, the colony survivors all had pale faces which was no surprise given the fact their rescue had quickly turned into another nightmare. Burke was trying to tend to Hudson but the private kicked the man away with a hard glare, Ripley couldn't blame Hudson as far as she was concerned this was all the company's fault and Burke represented the company.
"How is he?" Ripley asked as she knelt next to Shepard.
"He'll live but he took most of the explosion in the side" Shepard answered darkly. "He won't be up and about for a long while" he added.
"He's luckier than most" Tessa stated as she watched the marines try and come to grips with what had just happened to them.
"True enough, what happened to Gorman?" Ripley inquired as she noted Hicks checking the unconscious body of Gorman.
"Looks like he's suffering from a concussion after the ammo boxes fell on him" Hicks said with a sigh.
"He's fucking dead, wake up pendejo I'm going to kill you" Vasquez snarled as she grabbed a fistful of Gorman's shirt and tried to pull him up so she could slug him but Hicks quickly intercepted her hand.
"Back off Vasquez right now" Hicks ordered staring at his fellow marine heatedly and slowly Ripley and the others watched as Vasquez backed down. "He's not going to wake up anytime soon" he said with a shake of his head.
"Hey guys look the signs for the Sarge and Dietrich aren't flat lined they're real low but they ain't dead" Hudson suddenly said into the intervening silence drawing their attention to the monitors.
"Then we have to go back in and get them" Vasquez said heatedly.
"Like hell, I ain't going back in there" Hudson immediately shot back and backing away from the suddenly furious Vasquez.
"We do not leave our people behind Hudson you know that" Vasquez spat.
"We can't get to them Vasquez and you damn well know it" Hudson argued back. "Those fuckers will be on us in seconds, we can't see them and in case you didn't notice we lost yours and Drakes smartgun in the retreat and they were the only real effective weapon against them" he snapped.
"He's right Vas we can't help them now" Alexander grunted finally raising his head from his hands so they could see the clear anger in his face. "We are in no shape to mount any kind of rescue, Wierzbowski is injured and Gorman is unconscious and the rest of us including yourself is in shock" he stated. "We go in we end up just as dead, then this has all been for nothing" he spat.
"He is right we can't help them because right now they are just been cocooned just like the colonists you saw" Ripley put in.
"You stirred up the nest which means they will be on their guard now and you will not get anywhere near them, it would be like trying to enter a bee hive" Kara told them blankly as she gazed at Alexander with some concern showing in her eyes.
"So what now?" Carl inquired having quickly lost his attitude in the wake of what he had just seen.
"Let's just bug out and call it even" Hudson said quickly. "What the hell are we even talking for, we should get the fuck out of here" he spat.
"We have four canisters of CN-20 I say we roll them in and gas the entire nest" Vasquez suggested having regained her calm.
"We have no idea if that will even affect them, all we may do is cause them to move from the nest straight to wherever we are" Shepard countered with a shake of his head.
"It's worth a shot at least" Vasquez insisted.
"The only sure way is to take off and nuke the entire site from orbit, that is the only way you will ensure you get them all and save Apone and Dietrich from a painfully slow death" Ripley's calm statement quickly brought the entire APC into silence as they all turned to stare at her.
"You can't do that Ripley, this is a multibillion dollar installation" Burke protested immediately.
"Then they can fucking bill me Burke just like they tried to bill me for destroying the Nostromo" Ripley countered hotly glaring at the company rep.
"You cannot exterminate what seems to me to be a far more intelligent species that first described" Burke shot back knowing if he wanted to get a specimen and make a lot of money he could not afford to allow them to carry out Ripley's insane plan.
"Wrong on all counts" Ripley argued.
"Yeah watch us" Vasquez growled liking Ripley's suggestion as it clearly would ensure to get the majority of the creatures that had just killed half her unit and more importantly her friend Drake.
"Listen to me this species may be far more important to study than just simply exterminating them" Burke put in. "They could open up whole new worlds of scientific exploration" he exclaimed.
"You son of a bitch" Ripley snarled as she launched herself at the company rep as he showed his true colours and went back on his word just as she had thought he would. Hicks caught her around the waist and with a little help from Tessa managed to push her back. "You promised me if we found out the aliens were behind the colony going dark we would wipe them out" she spat.
"And you believed the little corporate weasel, ha don't make me laugh" Carl spat as he watched the company rep spit on the deaths of his friends and the rest of the colony.
"Fucking bastard, our friends are dead, our families are dead and all you care about is what these things might be worth to you" Kara snarled.
"I didn't say that, I am talking about scientific advancement" Burke countered in defence.
"Bullshit" Ripley spat. "I should have known, either way it doesn't matter what you say Burke this operation is under military rule hence it is down to them to pick a course of action and whilst Gorman maybe out I do believe Corporal Hicks has authority as next in the chain of command" she added heatedly. "Am I right Corporal?" she inquired turning to the surprised Hicks.
"Yeah you're right" Hicks finally responded after a few seconds.
"Are you kidding, he can't make a call like that Ripley he's just a damn grunt" Burke protested before suddenly realising the insulting nature of his statement and how it might make Hicks respond. "No offence intended" he said.
Hicks stared at the company rep for a few seconds making him start to fidget a little before Hicks looked away. "None taken, Ferro you copy?" he said into his mic.
"I'm here Hicks but I am still having trouble with what I just heard, are they really gone?" Ferro inquired.
"Yeah this mission is over, I need you to come get us as the APC is fucked we can pick Bishop up last to give him time to wrap up things in command" Hicks responded. "Bishop pack it up and meet us at the west end entranceway" he ordered.
"Roger that Corporal" Bishop responded through the comm.
"I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit" Hicks told them calmly. "It's the only way we can deal with these things" he stated doing his best not to look at Ripley because if he did he knew he would end up laughing due to the startled look Burke now wore.
"Fuckin A" Hudson swore in agreement.
"Ok marines we need two stretchers for Gorman and Wierzbowski, make sure you are all armed and this goes for you four too" Hicks ordered turning to the others including the colonists and Ripley.
"You can't do this Corporal" Burke protested one last time.
"Yes I can as Ripley stated I am next in the chain of command and the call is mine backed by the authority of the Colonial Marine Core command" Hicks shot back. "Now move it people" he ordered as he hefted his pulse rifle and slipped a new clip into it from the ammo boxes and opened the door to the APC and jumped out.
Within the next few minutes the others had joined him and begun improvising some stretchers, Burke was give no option but to help.
+AMTH+
(Hadley's Hope)
Ferro hit the switches that began the powering up sequence of the Dropship, it would take a few minutes but they had time at least she hoped they did. Having listened to the entire missing through the comm she was still somewhat in shock at what had transpired in the nest, half the platoon had been ripped to pieces by the aliens including Apone. It was a damn nightmare right out of the worst case seniors she could think of, in her book the minute they were ordered to drop their mags for their pulse rifles the mission was doomed. Oh she knew the reason behind the order was solid, they couldn't risk causing the atmospheric plan going critical or they'd all end up dead.
"Move your arse Spunkmeyer we're rolling" she snapped into her mic.
"Yeah yeah give me a break Ferro just delivering the last of Bishop's supplies then I'll be right with you" Spunkmeyer responded with a sigh.
Ferro shook her head knowing delivering the supplies Bishop had requested was no pointless as they would be leaving shortly, still she couldn't fault Spunkmeyer for doing his job. A few minutes later the dropship was ready for take-off; glancing back she heard the ramp closing up which meant Spunkmeyer was on board.
"Ok Ferro ramp closed but there is something very strange here" Spunkmeyer told her as he looked at his hand which was no encased in some kind of slime.
"Get up here Spunkmeyer, I don't care what has you all worried" Ferro ordered.
Spunkmeyer frowned somewhat but moved to comply before sensed movement from his side and looked up just in time to see a black monstrosity drop from the ceiling, horrified Spunkmeyer went for his service pistol but the thing moved faster than he could and in seconds the creatures second set of teeth ripped into his head. Unable to even cry out Spunkmeyer dropped his pistol and dropped to the ground as his blood pooled around him, his last image was the teeth coming for him again. The alien pulled away from where it had just killed its latest victim before moving to the cockpit door, it opened once it was close enough the alien heard its prey speak and then glance in its direction.
"About damn time Spunkmeyer, what the hell took you so long?" Ferro demanded to know as she turned before paling as she saw the snarling alien creature.
Turning she moved to grab her pistol but the alien was on her in seconds and she screamed as its teeth ripped into her throat, blood spurted everywhere as she lost control of her limbs and in turn the dropship. The dropship tilted badly not that Ferro really felt it as the alien had already torn open her throat, she gurgled once before expiring leaving the alien to search for more prey before it was killed as the dropship crashed in the APC and exploded sending huge chucks careening into Atmospheric processing plant.
+AMTH+
(APC, minutes before)
Hicks stood next to Ripley and Newt who was clinging to her legs, behind them Hudson and Shepard carried Wierzbowski and next to them Gorman was carried by Burke and Carl not that either had been happy at been volunteered for the duty. However they preferred to have actual marines standing watch whilst they waited for the dropship to arrive, Vasquez stood on the left flank and Alexander stood to the right both armed and ready should they be attacked. Tessa and Kara were next to Alexander also armed with the smaller submachine gun variant of the pulse rifle, soon the dropship appeared and their spirits rose thinking that soon they would be of this rock and the nightmare would be over. Sadly it was not to be as the dropship quickly banked wildly before nose diving right at them, horrified the group scattered as best they could. Seconds later the dropship smashed into the APC and exploded heavily damaging the APC even more, Hicks slowly removed himself from where he had thrown himself over Ripley and Newt to cover them and looked at the wreckage in horror.
"Oh god, what the fuck happened?" Hudson spat as he sat up.
"Ferro wouldn't have lost control unless she was badly injured or dead" Alexander protested as he moved of Kara who he had moved to cover and helped her sit up. She smiled gratefully at him but it quickly faded, she glanced at Tessa who slowly sat up and rubbed her shoulders clearly in pain from where she had thrown herself.
"You think one of those things got on board?" Shepard inquired.
"More than likely which means Ferro and Spunkmeyer are dead" Hicks groaned as he rubbed his forehead.
"Well that's just great man" Hudson said somewhat hysterically. "What the fuck are we supposed to do now man?" he demanded to know as he climbed to his feet.
"Maybe we can build a fire and sing some songs" Burke suggested sarcastically.
"Fuck you man" Hudson spat back before settling as Tessa got up and moved over to his side clearly concerned by his behaviour.
"Calm it down Hudson" Hicks ordered. "Ok we need to salvage whatever we can from the APC and get out of here" he added.
"You heard the man get to it" Vasquez snapped and quickly the others quickly began to grab what they could from the ruined APC.
Ripley stared out over the landscape trying not to think about her first visit to this planet, not that her second visit was looking to be any better considering the last few hours. She glanced down to the little girl clutching her leg, she sighed wondering just how much this set back would affect her.
"Guess we're not going home are we?" Newt inquired.
"I'm sorry Newt" was all Ripley could say hoping it was enough.
"It's okay, it isn't your fault" Newt responded feeling only slightly disappointed by this turn of events.
She had already witnessed the deaths of her Mother, Father and Brother and had seen countless other colonists dragged away by the aliens. She had seen real horror up close and personally, whilst she had not been totally alone she still felt isolated and cut off from the others who had survived with her. However there was something different about Ripley, a sense of protective concern she had not felt since her Mother had died.
"We should get back now as they mostly come at night mostly" she finally told them.
"We will be going in just a few seconds once we've got all we can salvage" Ripley assured her.
"Bishop we're coming back on foot, the dropship is gone along with Ferro and Spunkmeyer" Hicks said into his mic as they finished gather what stuff they could and began to head back. "Get medical secured, we have two injured including Gorman" he ordered.
"Roger that Corporal, I'll be waiting" Bishop responded after a few seconds processing the new information.
Once they had recovered everything they could salvage from the now wrecked APC they began the trek back to the main colony and the command centre, it was a slow journey due to the stretchers and boxes they now carried.
+AMTH+