Transmission Authorization Code:

D965ZB-04

Weyland-Yutani Protocol Sequence Initiated. Transmission Continues:

. . .

There was so much potential on this world.

Wasted by gods that feared their own might.

They convinced themselves that sacrifice cleansed them of their sin.

But in the end, they were like me…

Creators.

Beings that understood you must give life to both the wolf and the lamb.

But then they tried to banish the wolf and undo their creation.

So I took their secrets for myself.

Chapter 20

The I&S Marines had assembled a small 'command post' beneath a GP-medium tarp in the grass near the beach landing site. With that done, they'd returned to the fighting holes that Gunnery Sergeant Jones had had them dig to pull 'security' while Elmer kissed the Captain and First Sergeant's asses. Jones had tried to give similar orders to the four snipers that had remained behind at the Commander's orders, but Apone had quickly shut that down. It was a good thing the First Sergeant had stepped in, because the snipers were liable to kill Jones themselves. Most Marines were unhinged to some degree, but snipers and gunners were different breeds of crazy.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you need done, sir?" Jones asked Bartz, who was trying to get an idea of where the platoons currently were on their map. The problem with not having satellite coverage was that they couldn't have up-to-date locations on the Marines' tracking chips. That, and the storm that was now pissing down rain on them again was wreaking havoc on their comms with the rear-det up on the Fidanza.

Of more immediate concern was the fact that his burst comms with First Platoon were on the fritz as well. Bartz chalked it up to a combination of the thick forest and the storm that now raged overhead, but that didn't quell the uneasy feeling that had blossomed in the pit of his stomach. Fick's report that nearly half of First Platoon was suffering from some unknown ailment couldn't have come at a worse time. On any other mission, on any other planet, it wouldn't have been an issue. They would have been able to load up a dropship and make the quick jump to get the sick Marines medevac'd either back to their landing site, or back to the Fidanza. But this place's terrain nixed that plan, and he couldn't call for support from any other ships since the Fidanza had been the only one dispatched on this mission.

Paradise my ass. Bartz thought as he looked around at the surrounding hills and the lake behind him. The tide had come in, and the water sat just a few inches below the bellies of the dropships.

"First Sergeant." Bartz said, looking up from the tablet he'd set on one of the field desks.

"Sir." Apone said, turning to face the Captain.

"Any word from second platoon?" Bartz asked. Brink had radioed in to inform the Captain that they'd not only found what had appeared to be thousands of non-human but humanoid bodies, but that they'd also stumbled across a damn city.

"Nothing since the storm rolled in, sir." Apone said. "Comms are choppy. Must be all the ionic interference caused by the lightning." As if on cue, there was a flash of said lightning. The bolt of light speared down into the forest. There was a loud crash of thunder directly overhead as the stricken tree burst into flames.

"That's not something you see every day." Kurt said from his own field desk beside the Captain's. Bartz clenched his jaw and looked at the company worm.

"I don't know what kind of fly-by-night operation Weyland-Yutani is running with their information gathering, but you and I are going to have a long talk with your supervisors when we get back to the Core." Bartz said. Kurt, who had donned a brown jacket over his gray button-up shirt, looked at the Captain.

"What's the issue, Captain?" Kurt asked. Bartz almost opened his mouth in response. There was a laundry list of shit that didn't add up, and it seemed like more items were being added to said list by the hour. Instead, Bartz turned back to his station and keyed his radio again.

"Saber Actual to Saber One-Six." Bartz said, using the radio designations for himself and Lieutenant Fick. "Saber Actual to Saber One-Six, request status update, over." Static greeted him. "Shit." He reached down to his radio and dialed up the power. "Saber Actual to Saber One-Six, how do you read, over?"

A static-washed response came a few moments later. While none of the words were intelligible, Bartz could have sworn that he heard someone screaming through the static. He tried to raise First Platoon again, but was only greeted by static.