Finley wiped away the blood still flowing into his mouth from his broken nose. He continued to point the rifle at the downed Predator that look, which seemed dead, with his other hand.
"It can't be!" Shen said suddenly causing Finley to take a quick glance at him.
"What is it?" Finley asked his team-mate.
"That thing looks like that creature that was brought in a few months back. The one from the crash site"
Finley looked at the Predator, this time taking in the details of its features.
"It does look like the way Tom described it when it was put into quarantine" Finley replied still taking a look at the Predators various features.
"Tom said it had a metallic mask, dreadlocks, over eight feet tall, and these things on its wrist. He said one of had blades like these" Finley continued, pointing the gun towards the Predators wrist blades.
"Except this one's over nine feet tall" Shen said marvelling at the huge creature before them.
When Kra'tak was brought in by Heather and her team he had been quarantined to ensure if Kra'tak was dangerous to humans biologically he could be contained. The cameras in the lab were in need of repairs but there was no equipment available to do that. The evacuation supplies were all that were left.
This had originally worried the scientists so soldiers had been placed around the only exit to the lab in case of problems.
"Inform Raul, make sure he tells Tom" Finley instructed Shen, who replied by picking up the radio from his belt.
Keitaro started to move, coming out of unconsciousness slowly.
"Hold still Keitaro, you may have a broken back" Dena told him.
He did as instructed and stopped moving, understanding the seriousness of the situation but continued to slowly open his eyes.
"I don't feel so good, like I was hit by a truck" Keitaro said, groaning in pain.
"Come on now you know there are no trucks around here" Dena replied, trying to get Keitaro to think of something other then the pain.
Keitaro smiled while lying still "What happened?" he asked. He coughed and fresh blood sputtered out of his mouth.
"You were hit by some creature. Shen and Finley think it's another one of those things from the crash site" Dena replied as she continued to wipe blood from Keitaros mouth with some tissues.
She looked at his body armour and noticed that there were two small rips going across his chest area. She couldn't see any blood but the armour was probably concealing the wounds underneath and the room was dimly lit by a few working lights as most were in need of replacing.
"Relax" instructed Dena, silently hoping for the medic to get here soon.
--------------------------------------
The civilians were still in the mess hall waiting for Kra'tak to arrive. They had been informed over the radio by Tom that they were going there. The children were still playing their own games whilst the adults were chatting, talking about various things. The mood in the room was light, people both worried about the intruder and the eventual Alien attack. Hopefully the evacuation would be complete before that happened, some thought optimistically.
Patia was talking to another woman while Caley carried on playing with the other children. The room suddenly went quite and she turned her head to see what everyone was looking at. The kids stopped playing and let out gasps of amazement, some of the adults doing the same. The soldiers were just as engrossed at the sight before them.
Kra'tak stood at the entrance in all his alien glory. Tom, Amy and Heathers team of four soldiers all stood to his side, looking insignificant in comparison. The sight of Kra'tak alone was astonishing enough but the fact that he looked like he had just come from a great battle, covered in Alien blood, and damaged armour made him look all the more incredible. The helmet added to this incredible sight.
Kra'tak scanned the area through his heat vision, taking in vital statistics and noticing that one human was pregnant. That human was the woman Patia had been talking to a moment earlier.
Heather smiled at the reaction everyone in the room had had to Kra'taks entrance. When Heather had seen Kra'tak coming out of the lab she had started to ask him questions, but Tom had explained that it was best not to just yet. She understood and was happy enough just seeing Kra'tak with her own eyes.
"Hello everyone. This is Kra'tak. Kra'tak these are civilians and our friends" Amy announced, her voice echoing in the almost silent mess hall, save for a few gasps from children asking whether they could touch him.
"This is the mess hall where we eat food" Amy explained moving towards a chair followed by Kra'tak.
"Sit here" she told Kra'tak.
Kra'tak looked at her, although it was hard to tell exactly what he was looking at under the helmet, and stood still. His spear gun was still slung over his shoulder.
Amy sat in the chair and got up again followed by Kra'tak who did the same and sat in the chair. The chair bent and creaked under his immense weight, threatening to break at any moment. Tom noticed this and hoped the chair would hold as it wouldn't be very good for the beginning of a possible alliance with a new species if it did.
"I'll get some food" Tom informed the others.
Heather and her team took up seats around Kra'tak and Amy sat next to him, any previous fear of him now gone.
Tom went to Ande, the head chef, and asked for chicken meat, lots of it, for Kra'tak and some food for himself, Amy and the soldiers.
The room was growing less silent as people started to talk again, all the while looking at Kra'tak in curiosity and amazement. The children decided to play some games that weren't as noisy as they had been playing before.
"Hey Ande" Tom called out.
Ande, who had still been looking at Kra'tak in wonder, snapped out of his almost hypnotic state and looked at Tom with wide eyes.
"Er..What was that again?" he asked having not really paid much attention to Tom the first time.
"Chicken meat, lots of it, for our new friend." Tom replied as he repeated what he had ordered the first time.
A few minutes later Ande and the other chefs brought out food for the six of them. It was all freshly cooked and the aroma the food brought into the mess hall confirmed that. The chicken meat, still smoking, was put in front of Kra'tak as the others received their food.
"This is chicken meat, freshly cooked" Amy informed Kra'tak.
Kra'tak tapped a few keys on his wrist computer, attempting to scan the meat but his helmet could not perform that function either.
"Meat" Kra'tak said.
Some of the adults who were talking to others stopped and again turned towards Kra'tak. They were surprised by the fact that Kra'tak spoke in a voice almost exactly mimicking that of Toms.
Kra'tak continued to look at his meal. He picked a chunk of the meat up and put it down onto his plate. Amy was watching this while the soldiers began to eat their own meals. Their rifles were placed by their sides in easy reach, as they had been taught in training.
Tom wanted to observe Kra'taks behaviour too but he hadn't eaten in a long while and his stomach had been telling him that fact for a few hours.
Kra'tak then moved his hands towards what the scientist could only describe as dreadlocks. Tom and Amy knew a bit more about them after seeing Kra'tak put on his helmet earlier. This time he disconnected them from his helmet, again letting out a hiss of air each time he did so.
This caught the attention of the soldiers around him who watched with curiosity. Kra'tak then placed his hands around the edges of his helmet and lifted it off revealing his true self. This brought some more gasps around the room, mostly from the children.
Kra'tak took another look around the room in his natural red vision and again picked up a chunk of chicken meat and placed it into his mouth. It was soon gone and another chunk took its place.
Toms radio suddenly crackled to life "Tom, this is Raul, come in"
He unhooked the radio from his waist and pressed the send button "Tom here, receiving"
"Finleys team managed to neutralise one of the intruders. They think it's the same thing as the captured creature we brought in".
"Understood. Where is it?" Tom asked
"It's in a storage room, here, in the communications building" Raul replied.
"I'll have to take a look at it. I'm on my way" Tom said.
"Ok, but don't come alone. There's still one of these things out there and it's already killed a soldier" Raul instructed, although he knew Tom wouldn't have come alone anyway.
"Amy, take Kra'tak to the library when you've finished eating. I'll try to get back as soon as possible."
Tom wanted to continue to observe and communicate with Kra'tak. If one of these creatures had indeed been killed, there wasn't much that could be done. Instead a lot could be achieved with the one sitting next to him.
Amy watched as the large amount of meat was quickly consumed, Kra'taks mandibles clicking constantly when he'd finished. She assumed that this meant he was satisfied. She held up a glass of water from the table and drank it, making sure that Kra'tak was watching.
"It's water, it's good for you" Amy said, trying to assure Kra'tak that he should drink it, although she was unsure if he even understood what she was saying.
Kra'tak picked up the glass in front of him from the table and promptly crushed it, pieces of glass and water flying everywhere.
"Maybe we should use a metal cup eh?" Amy said in reply to Kra'taks slightly confused look.
She got a metal cup from nearby and filled it with water.
"Here, try again"
Kra'tak picked the cup up, some water spilling as the metal was crushed under his great strength. He placed the cup by his mouth and started to drink from it, much of the water flowing down his mouth instead of into it. Kra'tak then placed the empty cup onto the table.
Amy noticed how human he acted whenever mimicking a humans movement.
She started on her own meal which was getting cold while Kra'tak replaced his helmet with some watching in curiosity again.
-----------------------------------------------------
Hurst was looking warily out towards the edge of the clearing when he noticed some movement in the midst of some trees. He lifted the rifle and looked through the attached scope to locate the Alien. Smiths light relaxed snoring was quite soothing he thought subconsciously whilst looking through his scope.
The Alien moved again, this time he located and followed it in between the bright green trees. There were no birds here that would give away an enemies position like back on Earth.
Hurst as always assumed it was an Alien. It never had been anything else, no surprises, just more Aliens. How many of them could there be he thought.
However many there were the scientists had not been able to figure out where the hosts for the Aliens came from. They assumed that the Aliens were using local wildlife which explained some of the strange looking Aliens that had been found occasionally. However, no real proof had ever been found, and no one was intent on looking for it outside of the base either.
Hurst aimed at the area he figured the Aliens head would be and fired a single shot, which was followed by a satisfying shower of acid blood that he viewed through the rifle scope.
He could hear a few familiar shrieks, fading, as the other Aliens around moved away out of his visual range. Another shot rang out from a neighbouring turret.
"What happened?" Smith asked, now awake but still lying on the bunk.
Hurst had already turned to see if Smith had been woken by the sound of gunfire "Just another Alien, get some more sleep. I will wake you if anything happens" Hurst asserted.
"I know, but these guns are so damn loud" Smith replied light-heartedly, "I gotta go to the toilet anyway."
Smith got up from his bunk and climbed out and down the ladder to the toilet. The toilet for each turret was at its base, meaning in bad weather the soldiers would have face it to go to the toilet.
Hurst let out a slight grin and turned back to continue his watch. He picked up a chocolate bar that he had put there earlier and, after unwrapping, began to happily eat it. He had to keep himself comfortable until he could get to the mess hall for some real food.
Hurst was beginning to feel a little lonely, now that Smith had gone, and his other two close friends were still looking for the second intruder.
"It can't be!" Shen said suddenly causing Finley to take a quick glance at him.
"What is it?" Finley asked his team-mate.
"That thing looks like that creature that was brought in a few months back. The one from the crash site"
Finley looked at the Predator, this time taking in the details of its features.
"It does look like the way Tom described it when it was put into quarantine" Finley replied still taking a look at the Predators various features.
"Tom said it had a metallic mask, dreadlocks, over eight feet tall, and these things on its wrist. He said one of had blades like these" Finley continued, pointing the gun towards the Predators wrist blades.
"Except this one's over nine feet tall" Shen said marvelling at the huge creature before them.
When Kra'tak was brought in by Heather and her team he had been quarantined to ensure if Kra'tak was dangerous to humans biologically he could be contained. The cameras in the lab were in need of repairs but there was no equipment available to do that. The evacuation supplies were all that were left.
This had originally worried the scientists so soldiers had been placed around the only exit to the lab in case of problems.
"Inform Raul, make sure he tells Tom" Finley instructed Shen, who replied by picking up the radio from his belt.
Keitaro started to move, coming out of unconsciousness slowly.
"Hold still Keitaro, you may have a broken back" Dena told him.
He did as instructed and stopped moving, understanding the seriousness of the situation but continued to slowly open his eyes.
"I don't feel so good, like I was hit by a truck" Keitaro said, groaning in pain.
"Come on now you know there are no trucks around here" Dena replied, trying to get Keitaro to think of something other then the pain.
Keitaro smiled while lying still "What happened?" he asked. He coughed and fresh blood sputtered out of his mouth.
"You were hit by some creature. Shen and Finley think it's another one of those things from the crash site" Dena replied as she continued to wipe blood from Keitaros mouth with some tissues.
She looked at his body armour and noticed that there were two small rips going across his chest area. She couldn't see any blood but the armour was probably concealing the wounds underneath and the room was dimly lit by a few working lights as most were in need of replacing.
"Relax" instructed Dena, silently hoping for the medic to get here soon.
--------------------------------------
The civilians were still in the mess hall waiting for Kra'tak to arrive. They had been informed over the radio by Tom that they were going there. The children were still playing their own games whilst the adults were chatting, talking about various things. The mood in the room was light, people both worried about the intruder and the eventual Alien attack. Hopefully the evacuation would be complete before that happened, some thought optimistically.
Patia was talking to another woman while Caley carried on playing with the other children. The room suddenly went quite and she turned her head to see what everyone was looking at. The kids stopped playing and let out gasps of amazement, some of the adults doing the same. The soldiers were just as engrossed at the sight before them.
Kra'tak stood at the entrance in all his alien glory. Tom, Amy and Heathers team of four soldiers all stood to his side, looking insignificant in comparison. The sight of Kra'tak alone was astonishing enough but the fact that he looked like he had just come from a great battle, covered in Alien blood, and damaged armour made him look all the more incredible. The helmet added to this incredible sight.
Kra'tak scanned the area through his heat vision, taking in vital statistics and noticing that one human was pregnant. That human was the woman Patia had been talking to a moment earlier.
Heather smiled at the reaction everyone in the room had had to Kra'taks entrance. When Heather had seen Kra'tak coming out of the lab she had started to ask him questions, but Tom had explained that it was best not to just yet. She understood and was happy enough just seeing Kra'tak with her own eyes.
"Hello everyone. This is Kra'tak. Kra'tak these are civilians and our friends" Amy announced, her voice echoing in the almost silent mess hall, save for a few gasps from children asking whether they could touch him.
"This is the mess hall where we eat food" Amy explained moving towards a chair followed by Kra'tak.
"Sit here" she told Kra'tak.
Kra'tak looked at her, although it was hard to tell exactly what he was looking at under the helmet, and stood still. His spear gun was still slung over his shoulder.
Amy sat in the chair and got up again followed by Kra'tak who did the same and sat in the chair. The chair bent and creaked under his immense weight, threatening to break at any moment. Tom noticed this and hoped the chair would hold as it wouldn't be very good for the beginning of a possible alliance with a new species if it did.
"I'll get some food" Tom informed the others.
Heather and her team took up seats around Kra'tak and Amy sat next to him, any previous fear of him now gone.
Tom went to Ande, the head chef, and asked for chicken meat, lots of it, for Kra'tak and some food for himself, Amy and the soldiers.
The room was growing less silent as people started to talk again, all the while looking at Kra'tak in curiosity and amazement. The children decided to play some games that weren't as noisy as they had been playing before.
"Hey Ande" Tom called out.
Ande, who had still been looking at Kra'tak in wonder, snapped out of his almost hypnotic state and looked at Tom with wide eyes.
"Er..What was that again?" he asked having not really paid much attention to Tom the first time.
"Chicken meat, lots of it, for our new friend." Tom replied as he repeated what he had ordered the first time.
A few minutes later Ande and the other chefs brought out food for the six of them. It was all freshly cooked and the aroma the food brought into the mess hall confirmed that. The chicken meat, still smoking, was put in front of Kra'tak as the others received their food.
"This is chicken meat, freshly cooked" Amy informed Kra'tak.
Kra'tak tapped a few keys on his wrist computer, attempting to scan the meat but his helmet could not perform that function either.
"Meat" Kra'tak said.
Some of the adults who were talking to others stopped and again turned towards Kra'tak. They were surprised by the fact that Kra'tak spoke in a voice almost exactly mimicking that of Toms.
Kra'tak continued to look at his meal. He picked a chunk of the meat up and put it down onto his plate. Amy was watching this while the soldiers began to eat their own meals. Their rifles were placed by their sides in easy reach, as they had been taught in training.
Tom wanted to observe Kra'taks behaviour too but he hadn't eaten in a long while and his stomach had been telling him that fact for a few hours.
Kra'tak then moved his hands towards what the scientist could only describe as dreadlocks. Tom and Amy knew a bit more about them after seeing Kra'tak put on his helmet earlier. This time he disconnected them from his helmet, again letting out a hiss of air each time he did so.
This caught the attention of the soldiers around him who watched with curiosity. Kra'tak then placed his hands around the edges of his helmet and lifted it off revealing his true self. This brought some more gasps around the room, mostly from the children.
Kra'tak took another look around the room in his natural red vision and again picked up a chunk of chicken meat and placed it into his mouth. It was soon gone and another chunk took its place.
Toms radio suddenly crackled to life "Tom, this is Raul, come in"
He unhooked the radio from his waist and pressed the send button "Tom here, receiving"
"Finleys team managed to neutralise one of the intruders. They think it's the same thing as the captured creature we brought in".
"Understood. Where is it?" Tom asked
"It's in a storage room, here, in the communications building" Raul replied.
"I'll have to take a look at it. I'm on my way" Tom said.
"Ok, but don't come alone. There's still one of these things out there and it's already killed a soldier" Raul instructed, although he knew Tom wouldn't have come alone anyway.
"Amy, take Kra'tak to the library when you've finished eating. I'll try to get back as soon as possible."
Tom wanted to continue to observe and communicate with Kra'tak. If one of these creatures had indeed been killed, there wasn't much that could be done. Instead a lot could be achieved with the one sitting next to him.
Amy watched as the large amount of meat was quickly consumed, Kra'taks mandibles clicking constantly when he'd finished. She assumed that this meant he was satisfied. She held up a glass of water from the table and drank it, making sure that Kra'tak was watching.
"It's water, it's good for you" Amy said, trying to assure Kra'tak that he should drink it, although she was unsure if he even understood what she was saying.
Kra'tak picked up the glass in front of him from the table and promptly crushed it, pieces of glass and water flying everywhere.
"Maybe we should use a metal cup eh?" Amy said in reply to Kra'taks slightly confused look.
She got a metal cup from nearby and filled it with water.
"Here, try again"
Kra'tak picked the cup up, some water spilling as the metal was crushed under his great strength. He placed the cup by his mouth and started to drink from it, much of the water flowing down his mouth instead of into it. Kra'tak then placed the empty cup onto the table.
Amy noticed how human he acted whenever mimicking a humans movement.
She started on her own meal which was getting cold while Kra'tak replaced his helmet with some watching in curiosity again.
-----------------------------------------------------
Hurst was looking warily out towards the edge of the clearing when he noticed some movement in the midst of some trees. He lifted the rifle and looked through the attached scope to locate the Alien. Smiths light relaxed snoring was quite soothing he thought subconsciously whilst looking through his scope.
The Alien moved again, this time he located and followed it in between the bright green trees. There were no birds here that would give away an enemies position like back on Earth.
Hurst as always assumed it was an Alien. It never had been anything else, no surprises, just more Aliens. How many of them could there be he thought.
However many there were the scientists had not been able to figure out where the hosts for the Aliens came from. They assumed that the Aliens were using local wildlife which explained some of the strange looking Aliens that had been found occasionally. However, no real proof had ever been found, and no one was intent on looking for it outside of the base either.
Hurst aimed at the area he figured the Aliens head would be and fired a single shot, which was followed by a satisfying shower of acid blood that he viewed through the rifle scope.
He could hear a few familiar shrieks, fading, as the other Aliens around moved away out of his visual range. Another shot rang out from a neighbouring turret.
"What happened?" Smith asked, now awake but still lying on the bunk.
Hurst had already turned to see if Smith had been woken by the sound of gunfire "Just another Alien, get some more sleep. I will wake you if anything happens" Hurst asserted.
"I know, but these guns are so damn loud" Smith replied light-heartedly, "I gotta go to the toilet anyway."
Smith got up from his bunk and climbed out and down the ladder to the toilet. The toilet for each turret was at its base, meaning in bad weather the soldiers would have face it to go to the toilet.
Hurst let out a slight grin and turned back to continue his watch. He picked up a chocolate bar that he had put there earlier and, after unwrapping, began to happily eat it. He had to keep himself comfortable until he could get to the mess hall for some real food.
Hurst was beginning to feel a little lonely, now that Smith had gone, and his other two close friends were still looking for the second intruder.