"So...who this Kra'tak?" Finley asked, watching Tom studying the dead Predator.
Tom came out of his scientific concentration and looked up at Finley.
"Kra'tak?" Tom asked, confused.
"Yeah, you mentioned him earlier" Finley replied.
"Oh! Of course" Tom exclaimed, realising that only a few people on the base knew about Kra'tak. "He's the injured creature we've been studying" Tom continued.
"How'd you find out his name?" Finley questioned, his curiosity peaked.
"We asked" was Tom's short and simple reply. He looked back down eager to continue his study of the Predators intact equipment. He was wearing Finley's night vision goggles while Finley was using his own standard issue torch.
Finley knew that he wouldn't be getting much out of Tom right now with him being obviously encapsulated by the Predator lying dead on the cold floor before them. The thought that this was a trait, concentrating solely on one objective without wanting to think about or do anything else, most scientists he met had in common played on his mind.
Harlan continued to attend to the injured Keitaro who was trying to lie as still as possible, made more difficult by the adrenalin still surging through his veins. He was still conscious.
Dena held her flashlight out towards the area Harlan was working on. Her shotgun lay on the ground beside her, fully reloaded and within easy reach.
To anyone looking at the room with a naked eye, even with the door open, all that could be seen were a few dimly lit figures moving behind stacks of indistinguishable storage crates. The result of the earlier fire fight only barely noticeable due to the bright green glowing blood of the Predator painting the walls, floor and ceiling of the store room around it.
"OW!" Keitaro complained in a sudden, pained gasp of voice. He moved slightly because of this.
"We need some more light in here dammit!" Harlan complained, as he fumbled whilst stitching the second major cut slashed across Keitaro's chest by the Predators wrist blades.
Harlan preferred to use the light of Dena's torch as it was closer to natural light, and therefore better, for carrying out the tasks he needed to, to ensure Keitaro's safety.
Keitaro's tough, thick body armour could not be cut by any of Harlan's tools so had to be worked around.
The two deep slashes across Keitaro's chest had been bleeding quite profusely. This had to be stopped as soon as possible to prevent him from dying of blood loss, although it was hard to tell how much blood he had lost without enough light.
Blood itself was in short supply. The blood bank in the medical centre was almost empty. Harlan had decided to stitch both cuts immediately and worry about his back later.
"You'd think by now we'd have found a better way of stitching wounds" Harlan continued his complaining, to no one in particular. "I mean we got interstellar space travel, cloning, and all kinds of other technologies yet still use the good old needle and string" he said as he continued to stitch the wound.
"Seems like technological progress stopped once we could travel large distances over space and had colonised countless other planets. After that what was there left to do?" Dena replied while keeping the concentrated beam of the torch directed wherever Harlan needed it.
"More likely when we encountered the Aliens after we'd colonised one too many planets. After that a lot of resources were, and still are being, put into the war against our new enemies. Technological progress in most areas seems to have taken a back seat to this, except for in the areas that the Company deemed necessary. They forget the dying and concentrate on equipping the living with the latest and greatest, giving them false hope, and sending them unwittingly to their untimely deaths" Finley, joining the conversation, spoke with heavy emotion in his voice.
He had seen countless injured friends and team mates who were left behind to die, as the sea of oncoming hordes of Aliens gave them no time to help them in any way. It was rare for there to be enough time for even a mercy shot.
"Seems like the company hasn't learnt much since we've been fighting these things" Dena continued, "One failed experiment after another. They keep trying to control and study these things only for them to breakout and destroy entire research bases. Much like this base here."
"With one important difference" Tom spoke, looking up from the Predator, "They built this base right."
"It's about time they did get something right and we got some slack for once" Finley added, heavy emotion still evident in his voice.
Keitaro was keeping still, watching Harlan as he finished up the last of the stitches.
"Done. How are you feeling now?" Harlan asked, packing away the stitching kit.
"Better, but that's probably because of the painkillers you gave me" he replied in a weak voice, he was losing consciousness.
Harlan noticed this.
"You must've lost a significant amount of blood. We need to get you to the infirmary immediately" Harlan said calmly, "We'll need to do something about your back first."
"We have to carry him without moving his spine too much. Otherwise we're risking serious, permanent nerve damage if his spine is broken" Harlan informed the others.
He began looking around with his own torch for something to use as a temporary stretcher. He spotted a grey metal table that reflected the beam of his torch. The same tables used throughout the base for various tasks.
"Perfect" Harlan said to himself. "That'll do" he told Dena, pointing towards the object currently illuminated by his torch.
The table legs were easily removed as they were designed in a way to make storage easy.
"Shen, Finley we'll need your help. We're gonna lift you at the same time and slide the table underneath you. Do you understand Keitaro" Harlan asked.
Keitaro mumbled a yes. He was bordering on the conscious.
All four of them lifted Keitaro at the same time, who grunted at the sudden, but slight, movement. Harlan pushed the table underneath him with his free hand. Harlan decided not to remove Keitaro's sword as it seemed to be acting as a brace for his back.
Tom stood up from his cramped, crouching position hopped lightly to get the blood flowing back into his legs. Pins and needles briefly shot up his legs as the blood found itself once again flowing as freely as it was supposed to.
He shook his head whilst thinking to himself. Kra'tak would make a good ally and was a hopeful beginning for an alliance with a new species. However he had no idea how Kra'tak would react to this death.
"Four of us will need to carry him to the infirmary" Harlan instructed.
"Tom you help them carry Keitaro, I'll take point" Finley ordered, bringing up his rifle to a ready position.
Tom would have objected had he been in the middle of checking over the Predator, but he would have no choice but to go. Since there was nothing more to do here he did not object and happily followed Finley's orders.
"I'll need to go back to the library" Tom told Finley, whilst helping the others to pick up Keitaro.
"Once we get him to the infirmary we'll take you there. We haven't got time to wait for another team to come here and take you" Finley replied.
Tom agreed and the six of them moved towards the exit of the room.
"I'll lock the door behind us, so nothing can get in, or out, of there" Finley told the others.
The light illuminated the six figures causing those with night vision to scramble quickly to take them off before they did permanent damage to their eyes. They were too busy thinking about the events of the past day as they walked down the corridor in silence. Finley continued ahead of the rest, his goggles still with Tom.
Finley looked down briefly and put two fingers to the tip of his nose to check for blood. His nose had stopped bleeding but only now was the dried blood around his mouth visible.
"Your nose looks broken" Harlan commented, watching Finley.
Harlan scanned the rest of the group in the bright, warming light of the corridor they were in. Finley was limping slightly but trying not to show it. Shen was alright apart from a heavily bruised and bloody hand. Dena was unscathed, the shotgun slung around her shoulder protectively.
They made their way to the infirmary.
Earth - A Space Transport Cargo Dock
Ships of all sizes and shapes were docked in the awe inspiring dock. The sheer size of the facility was incomprehensible. Dozens of large space travelling ships were docked at any one time, with small buildings dotted in between the ships. Small gunships patrolled the docks providing the necessary security to ensure no one tried to escape after being caught carrying out something illegal.
Each ship had to be thoroughly checked for wanted criminals, illegal cargo and various other illegal activities. Sometimes ships would be carrying documents, chemicals and items stolen from research bases on other planets. Bases that were owned and controlled by the Company.
Some of these stolen items provided clues to the existence of Aliens. Other items gave, without a doubt, enough evidence to prove that these Aliens were real. The individuals who discovered these were quickly silenced before they could tell anyone else information that the Company did not want the people of Earth to know. It was for this reason that all space docks were controlled by them.
Makalo, a cargo dock worker, was busy checking the cargo hold of a civilian transport ship. The ships occupants waited patiently inside the ship with two armoured security guards holding automatic rifles watched over them. Two more guards were at the entrance to the ship.
Makalo was automatically going through the procedure etched into his brain from years of working here, doing the same thing day in, and day out. Like a robot, he often thought during his breaks.
He stopped without thinking and almost reflexively backed away a few steps. Ahead of him he could see the light reflecting of an all too familiar object.
Again, automatically and without thinking, he followed procedure for dealing with the object he was still staring at. He then went to one of the security guards at the entrance of the ship.
Her name was Jade and she too had been working at the dock for a few years. She wore a strong, serious expression when on duty. Her square jaw added to her fierceness, helping to show those who passed through the docks that she meant business, not pleasure.
Makalo and Jade knew each other well as they had worked together for most of their time here.
"Jade, we've got another one" he said grimly.
Her usual stoic expression changed to a slightly surprised look. The other guard looked on, paying attention to his duty to guard the entrance.
Makalo gestured for her to follow him into the ship. She said a few words to the other guard stationed with her and followed Makalo in.
"That makes four so far this month" Jade said, now looking slightly worried at the object in front of her.
"Yeah, it's only half way through the month. It's getting worse and it's on a civilian ship" Makalo replied grimly.
"Well, you know what to do. Inform the boss. Get the fire team down here. Clean it up" Jade iterated, knowing that she didn't need to.
"I've informed boss. Fire team's on it's way" Makalo replied.
I'll find out where the ship's been in the last few months" Jade shouted as she walked down the corridor.
The fire team entered the room quickly and ready to deal with the object.
Makalo and Jade were originally just another two of the workers here at the dock. That had changed during what had been a normal day. The two of them had been working on the same ship, Jade watching the entrance, Makalo checking the cargo.
Makalo had discovered something odd in the cargo hold of a military ship. He had called Jade in to take a look and the two of them reported it to their boss. The boss knew exactly what the object was and had told them the procedure to follow, without informing them of what it was. Only that it was extremely dangerous and must be dealt with immediately.
They were then also given two choices by their boss. The first was not to tell anybody at all about what they had seen and just been informed about. They would then be allowed to continue to work here but would unknowingly be watched closely whenever they were not working.
The second choice was to be drafted into the army and sent to fight the enemy they didn't know about. In other words, sent to their deaths.
Makalo looked on, deep in thought, as the fire team burnt the object in question until only a few ashes were left. They had done this many times before and would be doing it many times again in the future.
The object in question was an egg.
A sleek, black Alien egg.
Tom came out of his scientific concentration and looked up at Finley.
"Kra'tak?" Tom asked, confused.
"Yeah, you mentioned him earlier" Finley replied.
"Oh! Of course" Tom exclaimed, realising that only a few people on the base knew about Kra'tak. "He's the injured creature we've been studying" Tom continued.
"How'd you find out his name?" Finley questioned, his curiosity peaked.
"We asked" was Tom's short and simple reply. He looked back down eager to continue his study of the Predators intact equipment. He was wearing Finley's night vision goggles while Finley was using his own standard issue torch.
Finley knew that he wouldn't be getting much out of Tom right now with him being obviously encapsulated by the Predator lying dead on the cold floor before them. The thought that this was a trait, concentrating solely on one objective without wanting to think about or do anything else, most scientists he met had in common played on his mind.
Harlan continued to attend to the injured Keitaro who was trying to lie as still as possible, made more difficult by the adrenalin still surging through his veins. He was still conscious.
Dena held her flashlight out towards the area Harlan was working on. Her shotgun lay on the ground beside her, fully reloaded and within easy reach.
To anyone looking at the room with a naked eye, even with the door open, all that could be seen were a few dimly lit figures moving behind stacks of indistinguishable storage crates. The result of the earlier fire fight only barely noticeable due to the bright green glowing blood of the Predator painting the walls, floor and ceiling of the store room around it.
"OW!" Keitaro complained in a sudden, pained gasp of voice. He moved slightly because of this.
"We need some more light in here dammit!" Harlan complained, as he fumbled whilst stitching the second major cut slashed across Keitaro's chest by the Predators wrist blades.
Harlan preferred to use the light of Dena's torch as it was closer to natural light, and therefore better, for carrying out the tasks he needed to, to ensure Keitaro's safety.
Keitaro's tough, thick body armour could not be cut by any of Harlan's tools so had to be worked around.
The two deep slashes across Keitaro's chest had been bleeding quite profusely. This had to be stopped as soon as possible to prevent him from dying of blood loss, although it was hard to tell how much blood he had lost without enough light.
Blood itself was in short supply. The blood bank in the medical centre was almost empty. Harlan had decided to stitch both cuts immediately and worry about his back later.
"You'd think by now we'd have found a better way of stitching wounds" Harlan continued his complaining, to no one in particular. "I mean we got interstellar space travel, cloning, and all kinds of other technologies yet still use the good old needle and string" he said as he continued to stitch the wound.
"Seems like technological progress stopped once we could travel large distances over space and had colonised countless other planets. After that what was there left to do?" Dena replied while keeping the concentrated beam of the torch directed wherever Harlan needed it.
"More likely when we encountered the Aliens after we'd colonised one too many planets. After that a lot of resources were, and still are being, put into the war against our new enemies. Technological progress in most areas seems to have taken a back seat to this, except for in the areas that the Company deemed necessary. They forget the dying and concentrate on equipping the living with the latest and greatest, giving them false hope, and sending them unwittingly to their untimely deaths" Finley, joining the conversation, spoke with heavy emotion in his voice.
He had seen countless injured friends and team mates who were left behind to die, as the sea of oncoming hordes of Aliens gave them no time to help them in any way. It was rare for there to be enough time for even a mercy shot.
"Seems like the company hasn't learnt much since we've been fighting these things" Dena continued, "One failed experiment after another. They keep trying to control and study these things only for them to breakout and destroy entire research bases. Much like this base here."
"With one important difference" Tom spoke, looking up from the Predator, "They built this base right."
"It's about time they did get something right and we got some slack for once" Finley added, heavy emotion still evident in his voice.
Keitaro was keeping still, watching Harlan as he finished up the last of the stitches.
"Done. How are you feeling now?" Harlan asked, packing away the stitching kit.
"Better, but that's probably because of the painkillers you gave me" he replied in a weak voice, he was losing consciousness.
Harlan noticed this.
"You must've lost a significant amount of blood. We need to get you to the infirmary immediately" Harlan said calmly, "We'll need to do something about your back first."
"We have to carry him without moving his spine too much. Otherwise we're risking serious, permanent nerve damage if his spine is broken" Harlan informed the others.
He began looking around with his own torch for something to use as a temporary stretcher. He spotted a grey metal table that reflected the beam of his torch. The same tables used throughout the base for various tasks.
"Perfect" Harlan said to himself. "That'll do" he told Dena, pointing towards the object currently illuminated by his torch.
The table legs were easily removed as they were designed in a way to make storage easy.
"Shen, Finley we'll need your help. We're gonna lift you at the same time and slide the table underneath you. Do you understand Keitaro" Harlan asked.
Keitaro mumbled a yes. He was bordering on the conscious.
All four of them lifted Keitaro at the same time, who grunted at the sudden, but slight, movement. Harlan pushed the table underneath him with his free hand. Harlan decided not to remove Keitaro's sword as it seemed to be acting as a brace for his back.
Tom stood up from his cramped, crouching position hopped lightly to get the blood flowing back into his legs. Pins and needles briefly shot up his legs as the blood found itself once again flowing as freely as it was supposed to.
He shook his head whilst thinking to himself. Kra'tak would make a good ally and was a hopeful beginning for an alliance with a new species. However he had no idea how Kra'tak would react to this death.
"Four of us will need to carry him to the infirmary" Harlan instructed.
"Tom you help them carry Keitaro, I'll take point" Finley ordered, bringing up his rifle to a ready position.
Tom would have objected had he been in the middle of checking over the Predator, but he would have no choice but to go. Since there was nothing more to do here he did not object and happily followed Finley's orders.
"I'll need to go back to the library" Tom told Finley, whilst helping the others to pick up Keitaro.
"Once we get him to the infirmary we'll take you there. We haven't got time to wait for another team to come here and take you" Finley replied.
Tom agreed and the six of them moved towards the exit of the room.
"I'll lock the door behind us, so nothing can get in, or out, of there" Finley told the others.
The light illuminated the six figures causing those with night vision to scramble quickly to take them off before they did permanent damage to their eyes. They were too busy thinking about the events of the past day as they walked down the corridor in silence. Finley continued ahead of the rest, his goggles still with Tom.
Finley looked down briefly and put two fingers to the tip of his nose to check for blood. His nose had stopped bleeding but only now was the dried blood around his mouth visible.
"Your nose looks broken" Harlan commented, watching Finley.
Harlan scanned the rest of the group in the bright, warming light of the corridor they were in. Finley was limping slightly but trying not to show it. Shen was alright apart from a heavily bruised and bloody hand. Dena was unscathed, the shotgun slung around her shoulder protectively.
They made their way to the infirmary.
Earth - A Space Transport Cargo Dock
Ships of all sizes and shapes were docked in the awe inspiring dock. The sheer size of the facility was incomprehensible. Dozens of large space travelling ships were docked at any one time, with small buildings dotted in between the ships. Small gunships patrolled the docks providing the necessary security to ensure no one tried to escape after being caught carrying out something illegal.
Each ship had to be thoroughly checked for wanted criminals, illegal cargo and various other illegal activities. Sometimes ships would be carrying documents, chemicals and items stolen from research bases on other planets. Bases that were owned and controlled by the Company.
Some of these stolen items provided clues to the existence of Aliens. Other items gave, without a doubt, enough evidence to prove that these Aliens were real. The individuals who discovered these were quickly silenced before they could tell anyone else information that the Company did not want the people of Earth to know. It was for this reason that all space docks were controlled by them.
Makalo, a cargo dock worker, was busy checking the cargo hold of a civilian transport ship. The ships occupants waited patiently inside the ship with two armoured security guards holding automatic rifles watched over them. Two more guards were at the entrance to the ship.
Makalo was automatically going through the procedure etched into his brain from years of working here, doing the same thing day in, and day out. Like a robot, he often thought during his breaks.
He stopped without thinking and almost reflexively backed away a few steps. Ahead of him he could see the light reflecting of an all too familiar object.
Again, automatically and without thinking, he followed procedure for dealing with the object he was still staring at. He then went to one of the security guards at the entrance of the ship.
Her name was Jade and she too had been working at the dock for a few years. She wore a strong, serious expression when on duty. Her square jaw added to her fierceness, helping to show those who passed through the docks that she meant business, not pleasure.
Makalo and Jade knew each other well as they had worked together for most of their time here.
"Jade, we've got another one" he said grimly.
Her usual stoic expression changed to a slightly surprised look. The other guard looked on, paying attention to his duty to guard the entrance.
Makalo gestured for her to follow him into the ship. She said a few words to the other guard stationed with her and followed Makalo in.
"That makes four so far this month" Jade said, now looking slightly worried at the object in front of her.
"Yeah, it's only half way through the month. It's getting worse and it's on a civilian ship" Makalo replied grimly.
"Well, you know what to do. Inform the boss. Get the fire team down here. Clean it up" Jade iterated, knowing that she didn't need to.
"I've informed boss. Fire team's on it's way" Makalo replied.
I'll find out where the ship's been in the last few months" Jade shouted as she walked down the corridor.
The fire team entered the room quickly and ready to deal with the object.
Makalo and Jade were originally just another two of the workers here at the dock. That had changed during what had been a normal day. The two of them had been working on the same ship, Jade watching the entrance, Makalo checking the cargo.
Makalo had discovered something odd in the cargo hold of a military ship. He had called Jade in to take a look and the two of them reported it to their boss. The boss knew exactly what the object was and had told them the procedure to follow, without informing them of what it was. Only that it was extremely dangerous and must be dealt with immediately.
They were then also given two choices by their boss. The first was not to tell anybody at all about what they had seen and just been informed about. They would then be allowed to continue to work here but would unknowingly be watched closely whenever they were not working.
The second choice was to be drafted into the army and sent to fight the enemy they didn't know about. In other words, sent to their deaths.
Makalo looked on, deep in thought, as the fire team burnt the object in question until only a few ashes were left. They had done this many times before and would be doing it many times again in the future.
The object in question was an egg.
A sleek, black Alien egg.