Bossk led the way into the Acheron, as he was the only one who could read the writing throughout the ship. Bumi and Kya looked at the various openings in the ceiling and walls, careful there might be more monsters moving within. Bumi saw a water fountain and moved toward it, before Kya stopped him.
"It might be infected," she noted.
"Well, you could use more water to bend," he told his sister.
"I don't want to risk it, if it has whatever these things carry," Kya replied. As they went through the halls, they saw several droids smashed to pieces, along with multiple nonhumans torn to bloody pieces, partially devoured.
"All the same, I'd not to find out if this is communicable to Trandoshans," Bossk said, worried it might be a cross-species plague. All the sudden, another of the monsters charged out an air duct and pounced on Bossk, who was more wary than normal regarding injury. It scratched at his chest, but it didn't draw blood. Bumi blasted it away with his Airbending, and Kya sent an icicle flying into it, impaling it onto the wall. "They don't have much of a scent," a bothered Bossk said. "And they are colder than normal, so I'm having trouble seeing them."
"We'll spot them for you," Bumi said as they continued down the hall. Kya looked at the various cabin doors they passed. They had been remotely locked from the bridge, sealing the families within while the 'animals' wandered the halls. Unfortunately, these beasts could move through the ventilation ducts. In addition, if Kya was right, their drinking water had been contaminated as well. They very carefully moved down the hallway, trying to make as little noise as possible. At that moment, Bossk sniffed something. Going to a locker, he ripped it open, with his blaster ready. But within, was a small child with red skin, white eye sockets, and what looked like a headdress made of bone on his head. The blocky, bony protrusions extended over where his ears would be, and a third came out on the back of his head. The head-tails had blue stripes over the white bone.
"Hey," Kya said, trying to calm the little boy down. While he didn't speak much of their language, Bossk could still make a few of his words out.
"His parents were turned into those monsters, even though they were never bitten, and ate his sister," Bossk said. He said something back, to say how Kya was now helping him as she took her Waterbending and looked him over for injuries. Thankfully, he was just sleep-deprived and a little hungry, not bitten by any of the creatures. Kya gave him a little water from her bending pouch, as his story likely meant the water was infected.
As they continued forth into the ship, Bossk explained that the boy, named Srinivasa, was a Togruta. A near-human race from the world of Shili, they tended to have bright skin colors, and while they could subsist on fruits and vegetables for a time, they were ultimately a carnivorous species. That is when Srinivasa started panicking, pointing toward an opening in the wall. Before they could hear anything, a monster leapt out of it, snarling at them. Thankfully, Bumi managed to blast it across the room with his Airbending, allowing Bossk to shoot it repeatedly.
"Good thing we have a Togruta," the Trandoshan said. "His 'montrals' as the bony protrusions are termed, are hollow. This greatly enhances their hearing, sometimes to the point of echolocation."
"Like a bat?" asked Kya. Srinivasa spoke up, pointing toward an exit, eager to get off the Acheron.
"Can you ask him where the escape pod is?" asked Bumi. Bossk tried to, as he hadn't practiced the Togrutan language for a while. Srinivasa didn't seem that enthusiastic to answer, and when he did, his fear was evident.
"He says he doesn't know where it is," Bossk said. Bossk sat down in front of the small boy, and explained how they couldn't leave until they made sure the ship was destroyed with all the abominations. Srinivasa calmed down a little and replied. "He thinks it could be in the cargo hold." Bossk brought up the map he had of the ship and began leading the way. Upon seeing a set of directions on the wall, Kya reflected how she and her brother would have to learn how to read the writing used in the wider galaxy.
Cassian Andor awoke in the airlock of the haulcraft of the man who'd recruited him on Ferrix. Standing over him was the same man, whose name he still didn't know. His blaster had been put back in its holster, as well. Cassian looked at where the monster had bitten him, but while the sleeve had been torn off, his hand looked completely fine. In fact, he felt better than ever. He then realized the cut on his head had healed, as well. That Kya woman must have put bacta on his wounds.
"What the hell happened?" the owner of the haulcraft asked. He hadn't wanted to investigate the distress call, but Cassian, already on the fence about joining some rebel group that thought it could fight the Empire, convinced him to.
"There are monsters on this ship," Andor replied. "The whole crew is dead. Where are the other responders?"
"They left you in the airlock, and then went further into the vessel," the Rebel agent said. "We should never have come here. At least we can make the meeting I hired you for."
"Wait, what about the vessel and the monsters within?" asked Cassian. The other man, who he'd later learn was named Luthen Rael, pulled out a special computer spike.
"I've been saving this," he said. "I'll use it to send this ship into a gas giant, close by." As they went back into the ship, Cassian remained on the lookout for more beasts. After a moment's hesitation, the orphan from Kenari went to the intercom, and turned it on.
After his therapy session was finished, Mako went to his motorbike, put on his helmet, and went on patrol. It was fairly uneventful, as Lin was trying to get Mako to relax again, having given him an uneventful patrol route. But his Force senses detected something, and he stopped his bike. Looking toward an ally, he thought he sensed something familiar. Leaping to the rooftops using the Force, he peered into an abandoned building. Looking inside, he saw twelve people, some of whom he recognized as thugs he'd encountered before.
Looking closer, he saw that they were discussing how to rob a bank. Deciding not to call for backup, having gotten more adventurous thanks to his experiences, Mako used the Force to open a window on a lower floor. Moving silently, he slipped inside, directly under the meeting room.
"So, Jang has scoped out the whole vault," the leader said above, revealing his source. "We will have about two minutes to grab as much as we can, so forget the loose change." As the leader continued, Mako positioned himself directly under the middle of the room above. Taking out his lightsaber, he shoved it upward, and then stood back, letting the thug above crash through the weakened floor. After the crook was split in half by falling onto the outstretched lightsaber, Mako turned it off and rocketed upward with his Firebending.
"What?!" the gang leader exclaimed, shocked to see someone erupt out of the floor. At that moment, Mako kicked another thug down the hole headfirst, before punching another in the chest with his Firebending, knocking him against a wall. Grabbing another by the neck, Mako tossed that thug into a more heavyset one, knocking the two down.
"Damn it, where's some rock?!" one of the goons exclaimed, revealing he was an Earthbender. Another put on a taser glove, while another tossed a bola. Mako used the Force to deflect the bola, before catching the electrical charge from the glove, and redirecting it into a lightning bolt which struck the heavyset thug getting back up, killing the giant. Another foe Waterbent a whip his way, but Mako jumped over it, rocketing up to the Waterbender, placing his hand on the man's mouth, and blasted a massive flame down it, killing him. The leader swung a crowbar at Mako, but he ducked, knocked it out of the man's hands and quickly broke the gang leader's neck. Grabbing the crowbar, he smashed it over one thug's head before stabbing another in the stomach with it. Seeing another thug, Mako Force-Pushed him so hard, that he went flying out a huge plate-glass window at the end of the room. Spotting the last one running away, Mako yanked him backward with the Force into his grip.
"Please," the thug started but Mako didn't give him a chance to try something underhanded, and Firebent a massive blast into the man's mouth, killing him quickly. Looking across the room, Mako saw all his adversaries were dead. He wasn't sure how many people could fit in the local prison in its current state, and their guilt wasn't in question, so it was just as well they were eliminated now. Looking through the hole he made in the floor, he saw that the man he'd tossed down it had landed wrong and died upon impact. As he left the building, he saw the one he'd sent crashing through the window was lying dead on the street. He got back on his motorbike and headed for the closest working phone. Hopefully, he could get Lin to accept a holocomunicator at some point, making his task of calling in far easier.
Korra was in for another day of explaining the technology of the wider galaxy to Asami and other experts but was surprised to see who was awaiting her.
"I thought it was time we talked," President Raiko said to the Avatar. He dismissed his guards, who were rather hesitant to leave him alone with Korra, but he replied "We can trust the Avatar, there is no danger." Korra, however, knew this was an attempt at manipulation, though she still humored him.
"Mr. President, haven't Asami and the others explained some of the things I've revealed?" she asked, deciding to attempt diplomacy.
"I heard how you destroyed her prototype module to prove a point about how to regulate oxygen in the air supply, Avatar Korra," he began, also showing respect he'd lacked in previous meetings with her. Korra, however, didn't think he was genuine. "I was wondering, if it would be possible to repair the fallen spaceships the Hutts used to attack us."
"Well, that depends on their condition," Korra said. "Still, I never claimed to be an expert on starship construction, and it would be far easier with Imperial advisors."
"Accepting our lost hero back is one thing, accepting agents of the Empire everyone is wary of is another," Raiko said, a hint of the same dismissive arrogance she'd come to expect from him. "And if we can build our first starship without them, we can stand as equals. If your father and Kuvira want to take a different route, they can but I know what the United Republic will and won't do."
"There are several things I've yet to explain about traveling through space," Korra said. "But that can wait, right now I'm more interested in what sort of ship you want to build. A research ship, a trade ship, a warship? Those all have different requirements."
"At the moment, I think a warship is the most urgent thing," he said. "Not to pick a fight with the Empire, of course. But to fight off other attackers, like those Hutts, and to show our people we can defend ourselves." Korra doubted that fighting the Empire really was off the table like he claimed, but she decided to switch tactics.
"Mr. President, I need to explain what the rocket science of our world amounts to," she began. "Today, it can take us to the edge of the atmosphere, but not outside. In a year or two, it can take us into orbit, with perhaps three hours of air before needing to come back down. That's not even a full rotation around our world. In five, it can reach the moon over the course of a week. In seven, it can land on and take off from the moon in that time. In perhaps twenty years, we can reach Ares, a trip which could take six months if the planets are aligned, at which point we'd have to wait a whole year before making a return trip. In a hundred years, we can make it to Dis."
"Dis?" Raiko asked.
"A tiny planetoid farther from the sun than any other object orbiting it," Korra said. "It was only discovered a month before I returned. The next system over, will take about seventy years to get to from Dis. And since there is nothing of note there, you'll have to go even further, to the one two hundred years from Dis. But the people of the wider galaxy can get from our world to that one in about half an hour. Because of something they have harnessed called Hyperspace." Korra had already explained what lightspeed and hyperspace were to Asami, so she had an easy time explaining it to Raiko, even if he was an unimaginative politician.
"So, you are saying it's impossible to travel outside our system without hyperspace?" Raiko asked.
"Exactly," Korra confirmed. "There are technically materials which can be used to build hyperdrives, here, but none of the things necessary to refine them. In addition, you'll need a computer far more advanced than anything here which can plot out a course as safely as possible. In addition, unless you want to risk crashing into something, you'll need existing charts from the outside galaxy. All in all, if you want to travel to other worlds, you will need offworld help. And the only offworld help you will get is the Galactic Empire." Just then, a guard entered and revealed Asami had arrived.
"Well, duty calls," Korra added, going out to help her friend. Raiko promised to think over what she'd said, and then left.
Lin had been annoyed at how Mako handled the heist crew alone and directed him back to Dr. Guo. "Mako, I think you should also get Korra to talk to him," the chief said, thinking that Korra hadn't come to terms with all she had gone through.
"I'll get her to try it out," Mako replied, just as he finished writing his report. After the shift ended, Lin returned to her apartment, where her mother was staying for the moment.
"Well, I heard how your favorite detective stopped a bank robbery before it could happen," Toph said. "Glad to know you didn't stamp out his taste for adventure, even if he does have questionable tastes." Lin groaned at the teasing her mother made. Throughout her life, Lin had often heard her mother tell her to 'lighten up' in response to her taking everything seriously, and how she could be half the Metalbender Toph was, if Lin kept practicing. The implication that her mother considered her a poor Metalbender had hung over her for years, ironically making Lin more introverted than she already was.
"I get the feeling Mako's gotten used to operating alone," Lin said. "It makes him working with the rest of the department that much harder. On top of that, he couldn't have known what adversaries he could face, in there. But hey, at least I don't have to pack more people into a bursting cell and could just call the meat wagon."
"Nice to hear you picking up parlance instead of saying everything official-like," Toph joked. "Still, I heard you suspended Saikhan, your own deputy chief."
"Hopefully, this will get him to take the drinking and driving ordinance more seriously," Lin replied, remembering how he'd joked at how they shouldn't have to play nanny to drinkers. "Also, he's not suspended, he's on leave with a broken arm, while his car gets dried out."
"Not sure he feels that way," her mother replied. "What about his brother?"
"What about Zhou?" Lin asked, an edge to her voice.
"You fired him," Toph began. "I know you couldn't take his jokes, but still, he was your friend for many years. He should have been scolded for insulting another officer in a fit of anger, not fired. Honestly, I've always been a bit surprised by your attitude toward Zhou. He's a dependable officer, the life of the party, and a good fri-""Shut up!" interrupted Lin in a fit of anger. "Just shut up! Stop making light of Zhou! He was never a good cop, or a friend!" Lin had been holding these feelings inside for a long time. She'd gotten fed up with Zhou years before and found several people willing to lodge complaints against him, as well. But when she brought it to Toph, the police chief of the time had brushed it off, saying she had to lighten up to her old partner's sense of humor. Then, Zhou got himself maimed by Vader, and Toph convinced her daughter to drop the matter entirely.
"Do you really hate his brand of humor so much you'll fire him?" Toph asked. "That you'll take him losing his temper with your favorite detective as an excuse to get rid of him?"
"Shut up!" Lin yelled again. "You've ignored my complaints about him for years, dismissed his bullying as harmless, and convinced me to let him stay behind a desk after he was maimed. But now, I'm going to talk, and you will listen!" With that, Toph took a breath, surprised that this bothered Lin so much.
"Okay, I'm listening," she said, trying to calm her daughter down.
"At first, I was willing to put up with him, when we were partners," Lin began. "I wasn't going to go crying to you over every asshole I met. Then, he started demanding a date from me. When I refused, rumors started to spread about me. Later, I ran into a rookie who nearly drowned after falling into the bay. He was busy puking up all the shots Zhou and his friends pressured him into downing. Then, I met this guy who wanted to file a complaint over being harassed by Zhou. It was how he was plastering posters all over this man's neighborhood, revealing his secrets and accusing him of being a terrible person, even though there was no evidence of the later. That is what I went to you about, but you just thought 'Lin really needs to lighten up and learn to take a joke' so you brushed it off. A few days later, when I bring it up again, you reveal his legs were cut off when Vader crashed the party on Air Temple Island, and say I shouldn't take his job, since it's all he has left. I figure, if he's behind a desk, he can't still be a problem, so I do so, thinking I might actually get somewhere with you, now. Only, you ignore me just as before until you leave your job and wander off into the unknown, without so much as a letter left behind."
"I thought I'd screwed things up beyond fixing," Toph said apologetically. "He should have known better than to spread rumors about that man, though that doesn't prove he spread stories about you. Still, one or two accidents aside, there needs to be a team spirit. Getting new officers to down a beer or two is just harmless roughhousing."
"While you were hiding from the world in that swamp, I faced one incident of that after the next," Lin continued, gritting her teeth at her mother's attitude. "A fraternity at the university got its members to swim in the bay after dark. An army barracks had an officer lock this wimp in a supply shack for two days with one day's rations. One of those students got ripped in half by a boat's propeller since he couldn't be seen or heard. While the wimpy recruit died from appendicitis begging to be let out. My whole life, I keep running into bullies forcing people into doing dangerous, stupid, or degrading things. Whenever I am concerned about it, or try to stop it, I'm met with the same response, whether it's from a teacher, some dumb frat boy, a drill sergeant, or you, for that matter: 'It's no big deal, it toughens them up, builds moral fiber, encourages team spirit' and all that crap. It doesn't, it's just an excuse to torment someone."
Toph didn't know what to say in response, surprised there was an incident where such things turned deadly. "One of the reasons I like Mako, is that when Zhou and the others tried to force their binge drinking on him, he rejected their attempts, and moved on," Lin continued. "Afterward, they started spreading rumors and lies about him, just like they did with me, inventing excuses not to come to his aid, or to ignore him, no matter the situation. They were downright disappointed to learn he'd saved the president from a threat they'd overlooked. They rejoiced when they thought he and Korra were dead. I'm almost relieved most of these people died in the Hutt attack, as they never should have been police to begin with!"
Toph remained quiet, reflecting on what her daughter had revealed. Toph had a very rough and tumble personality, a leftover from her days of rebelling against her overbearing parents. As a result, she often left her daughters free rein in comparison to her own childhood before joining the Avatar. In addition, she'd encouraged a lax attitude among the police department she helped found. She'd often dismissed what she heard as simple jokes, saying they were cops, not nannies, in response to whoever complained. She thought that Lin just needed to loosen up and get a sense of humor. She'd never realized that what was fine as a child wasn't always good as an adult.
"The thing is, at this point, there are many officers who have similar feelings about Zhou," Lin continued. "But thanks to that Code of Silence you advocated, that Zhou and his brother ran with, I had a hard time getting them to come forward. Eventually, though, they realized they could get him fired and compiled a new file that is more than enough to see him dismissed. After the alien attack, however, I initially thought I couldn't fire anyone, not even him, due to the casualties. I was reminded that, no, he's a cancer on the department no matter the circumstances, acting all smug and superior to Mako, and using a slur about Firebenders. That is why I fired him!" Lin stood up and went to her desk.
"Mako and Korra have entrusted me with finding a way to keep their children safe, in this city," Lin changed the subject. "I should look into that, now. I'd ask you to think about what I told you, for now." As she sat down, she looked at a photo of herself, Tenzin, and his siblings. They were the only friends she had, growing up, and even now, the only people she was as close to as them, were Mako, Korra, and Bolin. At that moment, she wondered what Kya and her brother were up to, in outer space.
Kya held little Srinivasa's hand, helping him be brave as they moved further into the ship. As they headed further, Bossk came across a computer terminal, and opened it. Inside, was a single security recording of the air and water processing room. It showed several crewmembers being torn to shreds by the creatures, but the ending was more surprising. It showed one of the monsters deliberately spitting into the water distribution tank.
"Looks like you are right about the water being bad," Bumi told his sister. "Also, they know their drool is bad for us. Creepy." Kya agreed, she'd treated people infected with disease spread from an animal that bit them, but this was the first time she'd seen something that actually wanted to infect people. Then again, perhaps these creatures weren't just dumb animals, given how they were created.
"Any idea of what these things are, Bossk?" she asked their Trandoshan friend.
"No," he answered. Going into the storage area, Srinivasa pointed out the monsters heading for them, as he could hear their footsteps. Bumi blasted one backward while Kya conjured a wave to freeze the rest in place. Bossk shot several headed his way, before killing the ones the Benders had knocked back. Spotting the escape pod that had started everything, Bossk handed his blaster to Bumi, telling the two siblings to protect him while he read the writing on it.
"Anything useful?" asked Bumi.
"Okay, this came from an Action 6 transport," Bossk said, noting the model number. "Alright, the ship it was launched from is called Rebirth, got the serial number of the ship. The B.O.S.S. should be able to find it, and the Imperials will send in a biohazard team to deal with it." Right after Bossk got out of the escape pod, the intercom turned on.
"My friends, this is Kassa," they heard. "Thank you for saving me and healing my injury. This ship is a lost cause. I've taken control of the navigation and directed this ship to crash into a nearby gas giant. Whatever you're doing, you need to get out of here in seven minutes!" With that, the party started running back the way they came, but soon, a doorway in their path slammed shut.
"If only we had a lightsaber, this wouldn't be a problem," Bumi commented. Forced to go to the next hallway, they saw a silver droid very slowly attempting to move.
"Right this way," the droid said in a woman's voice. Following her was a Twi'lek woman, a Human man, and what looked like their children. The droid then bumped into Kya. "Oh, excuse me, I didn't see you there."
"We have a ship to get out of here, want to come?" asked Bossk. The Twi'lek woman quickly nodded, as she was too terrified to speak. "We need to get to the bridge!"
"Oh, well, please follow me," the droid said. "I can access a service corridor to the bridge." With that, she went to a door with an access panel and inserted her hand. Confirming the droid was part of the crew, it flew open, and Bossk immediately looked around to see if they were any monsters within. Moving swiftly upon the door opening, they tried to make their way as fast as possible, but the droid hadn't been built for speed. Knowing time was of the essence, Bumi lifted the droid up and Bent an air scooter for himself to ride, even as he strained under her weight. Reaching the end of the hall, Kya Bent Ice Shards at the monsters in front of them, skewering the creatures.
"Hooray!" one of the half-Twi'lek children said. "Darth Vader's Bending Corps has come to save us! It's a dream come true!" Kya was bothered at how the little girl and her brother associated Benders with Darth Vader personally, but now wasn't the time to gripe about that. Looking at the opposite Airlock, Bossk saw that Kassa's ship was now gone. Bumi pointed him to their own ship, and Bossk handed his blaster to the Airbender while he worked on getting the door open. Srinivasa pointed out where the monsters were coming from, thanks to his enhanced hearing, and Kya tossed a grenade at one of the Airvents, blowing up the creatures within. Bumi shot several more of the monsters coming from a different vent. Bossk managed to open the airlock and get to the door of the Hound's Tooth. Overriding the standard procedure, he opened the door, and Bumi blasted everyone, including the droid, into the ship with his Airbending.
"Get us out of here!" Bumi yelled, noticing how they had entered the gas giant. The father of the family they had with them closed the door, with Bumi narrowly getting inside ahead of the monsters. Bossk charged to the cockpit and detached from the Acheron, leaving the airlock open and sending several monsters flying out, plunging into the abyss beneath them. Bossk fired up the engines quickly and flew upward. As the Acheron fell into the gas giant's core, it imploded under all the pressure, rupturing its reactor. The Hound's Tooth narrowly escaped the explosion from below.
"Thank you," the father of the family said. "I am Sander Lambert, this is my wife Sofia, and our children, Daniel and Nadia." The Twi'lek woman tilted her head respectfully in appreciation, while her children thanked the people who'd saved them.
"I am TC-14, a Protocol Droid once owned by Captain Kane, before he was turned into one of those horrible abominations," the droid said. "This is even scarier than when Viceroy Gunray sent me to serve tea to Jedi he wanted to gas to death. I thought such days of madness were behind me, after I was sold in the aftermath of the Naboo Blockade. Still, I never expected anyone to save me from a horrible death!"
"Well, I wasn't going to let you get compacted, TC," Bumi said, remembering how heavy it was to carry her. Bossk talked over the intercom at how he was catching up to Kassa's ship.
"He might be infected, we can't let him go," the Trandoshan said. Bumi was about to go to the front, when Srinivasa pushed him to the side in a panic. A monster leapt out, narrowly missing Bumi as it snarled.
"Bossk, there's one in here with us!" yelled Kya. At that moment, the Trandoshan pilot got up and charged out of the cockpit, grabbing an electrical prod close by. Bumi sent an Airblast it's way, but the monster dodged and tossed a box at them, knocking Sofia to the side. Sander ushered his children out of the room, with Kya moving to protect Srinivasa. Before the monster could flee to a vent, Kya lashed her Water Whip around it and yanked it backward. Bossk arrived with his stun stick and jammed it into the monster's back, tasering it into unconsciousness.
"Bumi, help me get it out of here!" Bossk yelled, with Bumi levitating the stunned creature with his Airbending, though he wasn't sure why. Bossk led them to a different part of the ship, and got it placed in an energy cage. "That's the most secure cell on the Hound's Tooth," Bossk said. "Maybe the scientists will be able to study it, later." Bossk ran back to the cockpit and saw that Kassa's ship was now gone. It could be headed anywhere, so there was no point in trying to find it. Instead, for the next three hours, the party and rescued passengers searched the Hound's Tooth very thoroughly, to make sure that the caged creature was the only one onboard.
"So, what happens now?" asked Kya when they were done.
"We head to the nearest Imperial outpost, and submit to proper quarantine," Bossk began. "We tell them about Kassa, and where that escape pod came from. And if all is well, they let us go in two days. Or they don't." Bumi heard the deadly undertone Bossk said regarding decontamination. Hopefully, they'd come out of this, no worse for wear.
"So, where are we going?" Bumi asked, taking watch of the captive monster while Bossk went to the cockpit.
"A quiet little world called Aldhani," the Trandoshan answered. "It's where Baatar and his division are, so we'll be in good company. Just in time for some local celebration, I hear."
So, those of you paying attention will have seen this coming: Cassian Andor and the Benders are on a collision course. I thought I'd show how Mako is bringing his Imperial training and attitudes with him to the job. Also, it's hard to believe Raiko could be so utterly lacking in tact, so I decided to show some, though Korra is wise to it. Lin is rather fed up with hazing, and given Toph's attitude throughout her life, I can totally believe she would have considered it harmless. I named the Togruta after an Indian mathematician, just as Ahsoka is named after an Indian Emperor. Some of you might be surprised to see the protocol droid from the start of Phantom Menace here, but the ship she met Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon on, was not the control ship, as shown by how it was missing one of the towers the one Anakin destroyed had. I hope I captured the behavior of a protocol droid, well. I hope you all enjoyed the references to Aliens and Predators.