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USCSS Calypso
The creature had jumped down from the ceiling in the middle of their group, a drop of at least ten meters.
There's people all around it; I cannot shoot!
Shiana started to power up her biotics, but the thing was already moving. A swipe of its tail send Mordin Solus flying, his helmet split open as with a sword. The creature leapt forward, landing on top of one of the soldiers. Its tong shot out with terrible force, punching through his helmet.
Clearly, the humans were less worried about friendly casualties, because a burst of gunfire slammed into the creature. It stumbled backward, shrieking, only to be ripped apart, green-yellow blood splashing everywhere, as more of the soldiers joined in.
The soldier with the massive gun attached to his harness turned around and aimed his weapon in Shiana's direction. For one terrifying moment she thought that some form of blood rage had taken over and the humans would now turn on them. The next instant she realized what was actually happening. Out of the corner of her eye she saw two more creatures come charging out of the shadows. Shiana threw herself to the side, giving the human soldier a clear field of fire. The human rifles had certainly proven to be effective, but this weapon took it to a whole new level. There was a deafening noise and a stream of bullets tore through the creatures, literally cutting one of them in half and throwing the other back in a mangled heap. A third one, so far undetected, jumped at Shiana as she lay on the deck. Instinctively, she lashed out with her biotics, sending it flying backwards. Even before it hit the ground, a second biotic field wrapped itself around the creature and lifted it off the ground. Another burst of gunfire and it stopped moving. Then, for a moment, there was silence.
"Mordin!" Liara T'Soni ran toward the fallen salarian, who had not moved from where the first creature had tossed him.
Shiana slowly rose to her feet and looked around. She had hoped not to use biotic powers in front of the humans and now both she and T'Soni had shown their abilities. Still, the response was less extreme than she had feared. Though she couldn't see the expressions of the soldiers' faces, they seemed more concerned with the casualties than with the demonstration of biotic power. One of the humans was down with a hole punched straight through his helmet and, presumably, his head. Another had been splashed with the creature's blood. Even as she watched as second soldier dropped to his knees next to the injured man and ripped the outer layer of the man's armour. It came away easily, as though it had been designed for quick removal. Next he ripped open a small package and covered the soldier's wounds with a white powder. Shiana's gaze crossed that of the human female with the open helmet. She, at least, was looking at the two asari, her face expressionless.
"Captain!" T'Soni's voice cut through her thoughts. "He's still alive!"
Shiana moved to join the younger asari. There would be time to think about the implications of the human's acceptance of biotics later. Mordin Solus was lying on the deck; unconscious, but breathing. The blow from the creature's tail had cut open his helmet taking off part of his right horn, and he was bleeding heavily. T'Soni had opened a first aid package and was trying to apply a bandage.
It could be worse. A salarian's horns are mainly decorative anyway. If we can stop the bleeding he has a chance.
Before Shiana had a chance to do anything to help, she felt a hand on her shoulder. One of the human soldiers had approached and was puling her back. Looking behind her she saw that the humans had already picked up their casualties and were carrying them away. She hesitated. Yes, the wounded had to be evacuated before more of the creatures showed up, but that left one unsolved problem: Moryala.
She looked at her crew member, who was still stuck to the wall. To her amazement she noticed that the creature had fallen off during the fight and was now lying on the ground. Moryala's eyes were open and she appeared conscious.
"Moryala? Can you understand me."
The former commando swallowed, trying to find her voice. When she finally spoke it came out as a hoarse whisper.
"Captain, I can... I can feel it inside me. Please, don't let it... Don't let it..."
Her voice trailed off.
The leader of the human soldiers stepped forward. He grabbed the resin-like substance that was holding Moryala in place and started tearing it off, freeing her right arm. For a moment Shiana felt hope that the humans might actually have a solution to this particular parasite that did not involve killing the host.
-o-o-o-
Anderson hesitated for a moment. Ever since realizing that some of the aliens had been taken he had pondered how to handle this particular problem. He could not, under any circumstances allow an infected host to be removed from the hive. The danger was simply too great. On the other hand, Meredith Vickers had made a good point. They could not simply kill one of the aliens. Not when it was still near-impossible to communicate any but the most basic concepts. The long term repercussions could be devastating. He took of his helmet, despite the danger. Human or not, considering what he was about to do, he owed it to this being to look her in the eye.
Anderson drew his handgun from the holster and worked the slide. The weapons used by these aliens looked at least superficially similar to human handguns, so they would probably understand how a trigger worked. Now, if only the alien understood what he was offering and had the courage to do it... From the corner of his eye, he saw the second alien lift her weapon as if to stop her, but he chose to ignore it, fixing his gaze on the one that was still stuck to the wall..
"Lieutenant!"
"Don't worry, Vickers. I'm not going to shoot her. At least, not as long as I have another choice."
He reversed his grip on the pistol and put it into the alien's hand, wrapping her finger around the trigger. Something changed in her eyes: comprehension maybe, perhaps even gratitude. There was no way to tell. He knew she couldn't understand him, but he felt he had to say something.
"I'm sorry."
-o-o-o-
Shiana looked on in horror as she understood what the human had in mind.
"Moryala, wait!"
A ghost of a smile appeared on Moryala's face.
"It's alright, captain. I saw... I saw what happened to Donal... before that thing took me. Believe me, that is not a good way to go. I was about to ask you to do it for me. Better this way."
She was still smiling as she lifted the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.
-o-o-o-
"We need to talk about what we just saw. Our new acquaintances are full of surprises," Anderson said softly. They had retreated to the after airlocks. This part of the cargo area was much better lit, allowing Zhong to take care of the casualties. The two aliens were tending to their friend, who seemed to be alive despite what looked like severe head-trauma. For the moment neither Vickers nor Anderson had anything to do.
"Yes, fully trained biotics, both of them. As powerful as any human I've ever seen; and with rather better control. And they cannot be that unique if there's two of them serving on a ship in the middle of nowhere."
"I'll take your word for it. I only saw a demonstration, once, as part of training. Perhaps they all have it. You saw what happened with the chestburster. It came from the same kind of alien. Asari, right?"
"Yes, asari, at least I think that's the species name. I didn't want to believe what I saw, at first, but we've always known that the xenomorphs take over characteristics of their hosts. If they can take biotic powers... My god, think about what that would mean."
The squad medic had finished his work and was walking over to them.
"Zhong, report."
"Corporal Ishmael is gone, sir. Bastard punched straight through his skull. Nothing I can do. O'Connor is down as well; some acid burns, but not too bad. I've neutralized the acid. The rest will keep."
"And the alien?"
"You mean Rosswell-guy, or whatever he's called? I don't know, sir. he's actually lost part of the top of his head and there is a bunch of stuff leaking out that I think should stay on the inside. Still, he's not actually dead. He's breathing, or whatever it is he does, and the other two at least seem to think that he can be saved. His helmet is open to the atmosphere, of course, but that doesn't seem to be a problem."
"So, they can survive in our atmosphere."
"At least that one looks like he's managing. Perhaps those blue-girls have a problem with it, but it's not something you can ask with a few gestures."
Anderson thought for a moment.
"It doesn't really matter, right now. What we need right now is to find a way to get him back aboard their shuttle, despite his compromised suit. Any thoughts?"
"Well, sir, we have stretcher units with airtight containers aboard the Viking, but I'd rather not use one of those. They aren't cheap and the procurement office would have a fit we just start handing them out to any alien that passes by. Besides, you need to know how to use them. Honestly sir, I wouldn't feel good about letting anybody fiddle with those things unless I was there to make sure they got it right. Unless you know how to work the locks it takes a plasma-torch to open them. I know of a case where a patient suffocated inside the container, because nobody knew how to get him out. They've improved since then, but it can still happen."
"What are the alternatives? I don't want you aboard their shuttle and their shuttle cannot attach directly to the cargo hatch. Please tell me we don't have to fly this guy back to the crew compartment and have the aliens dock there as well.
Zhong though for a moment.
"Maybe not, sir. There should be..."
He walked to the personnel airlock and opened a cargo container that was attached to the wall. After a moment he came back, carrying something that looked vaguely like a white, partially deflated beach-ball.
"What the...? Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes, sir. A rescue ball. Lot's of these old ships had them stored near the airlocks. Much cheaper than an environmental suit."
"And mostly useless. Even if someone is actually willing to get into that thing, it's not as though he can do anything. You need someone to carry you."
"Yes, sir. Fortunately, there's two more aliens to do the carrying. And it's perfect for this situation. If they cannot figure out how to open it, they can just cut it open. I just hope, that his joints will allow us to put him in there."
"And that he doesn't wake up while inside!" Despite the seriousness of the situation, Anderson had to grin. "Can you imagine?"
-o-o-o-
Taking care of the wounded salarian had proven to be something of a blessing for Shiana as it gave her something to concentrate on other than the horrific events of the recent past. The humans had assisted, a little, but seemed uncertain when dealing with a wounded member of another species. Still, she appreciated their help. Especially, because they had solved a major problem for her: how to get Mordin Solus back to the shuttle despite the damage to his helmet. Of all the things that Shiana had seen aboard the human vessel, this was perhaps the strangest. Initially, she had no idea what the human soldier wanted when he brought the object to them. Now she knew.
Why would anyone design a pressurized ball to carry people in? What possible purpose could it serve?
The humans had helped them to put the unconscious salarian in the strange device and demonstrated how to pressurize it. The former proved to be rather difficult. It was fortunate that salarian bodies tended to be flexible, or they might not have been able to fit him inside, which made her wonder how the humans themselves had ever intended to use it. An asari dancer would probably have been able to twist her body sufficiently to get inside, but from what she had so far observed humans tended to be rather taller and heavier. Carrying the strange device had proven to be a problem as well. The object was either designed for people much stronger than the average asari, or exclusively for use in zero-gravity. Even together she and T'Soni could not carry it with the salarian inside and dragging it seemed like a bad idea. Two of the soldiers had helped them to carry the ball into the airlock. Fortunately, once outside in the micro-gravity environment of the outer hull, the problem disappeared.
As quickly as they could they manhandled the ball to their shuttle. Mordin Solus seemed to be stable for now, but the sooner they could get him back to the Light of Dawn and get him proper medical attention, the better. Besides, the humans had been very clear. Before their departure they had shown one more presentation; the two shuttles departing from the ship, followed by an image of an explosion. Whatever the relationship between the humans and the creatures in the cargo module was, the humans clearly didn't intend to let any of them escape.
-o-o-o-
Anderson looked around the cargo-bay. The aliens had departed and his marines were in the process of transferring both Ishmael and O'Connor to the dropship for transport back to the Anzio. It was time to put an end to this situation once and for all.
"That takes care of the wounded. Now let's finish this."
"You still plan to blow up the ship?"
"Yes. All of the aliens are accounted for, so that is no longer an impediment. Sergeant Zim and his squad have already departed and are waiting for us before they return to the Anzio. As for the Calypso, the decision is simple enough. A nest like that means that there is almost certainly a queen on board. Probably in the cargo module beyond the one we were just in. And you know the regulations as well as I do. If there's even a hint of a queen. We have to sterilize the area completely. Blowing up the ship is the only certain way to do that."
"What about that little display of biotics?" Vickers asked. "A biotic xenomorph... I still have trouble believing it, but if that is possible-"
"What exactly are you suggesting?"
"I won't lie to you, Anderson. Part of me wants to recover it. We still know so little about biotics. If they really can be transferred to a xenomorph, that alone would give us new insight. Studying it... The potential is enormous." She sighed. "... But you're right. We have these rules for a reason. That still leaves the question: how are we going to report it. On the one hand, people have to know that this can happen. On the other hand..."
"What?"
"I'm scared Anderson. Very scared. There are some very unscrupulous people involved in the biotic projects. The little that has been exposed is only the tip of the iceberg. If one of those people hears of the possibility to create biotic xenomorphs... We've just about managed to convince everyone that messing with them is a VERY bad idea. But if this becomes public knowledge, it'll open up a lot of possibilities. There is bound to be some bastard somewhere who wants to give it another try."
Anderson sighed.
"That's... not a good thing to hear. Unfortunately, I don't see what else we can do. We cannot hide it. Apart from the fact that the others saw it too, and will certainly talk about it, this is too important. I guess we'll have to trust in humanity's good nature and hope that nobody is crazy enough to try this. In any case, there is nothing we can do about it now. Let's go. The sooner we're off this ship, the better."
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And that's how Mordin lost that one horn.
Once you actually start thinking about it, there is a lot you can do to prepare for a confrontation with xenomorphs. E.g.: a quick release system for your body armour. If it gets splashed with acid, you can rip it off. As for the powder, I'm thinking of some PH-buffer (sodium-bicarbonate comes to mind) that neutralizes the acid. Since they have dealt with the xenomorphs before, it only makes sense that the marines would have specialized equipment to deal with this particular problem.
The humans know the basics of biotics, at least enough to recognize them. After all, they've known about eezo for nearly 50 years and exposing unborn children to it is just the sort of thing that Weyand-Yutani would do. You know, for SCIENCE!
The ball used to move Mordin actually exists. It's called a personal rescue enclosure. These things were designed for use aboard the space-shuttle to evacuate personnel if they didn't have their own space-suit. In many ways it was an incredibly impractical concept, but I thought it a funny idea that it had somehow survived. (Putting a severly wounded person, who may have a back-injury from being tossed around, into it seems like a rather bad idea, but it's better than nothing.)