Author's Note: This update was a week late due to a short vacation I took, and a few other reasons. But, sooner or later, I get my work done. Read and enjoy. And don't forget to point out any flaws.
Review Responses
Black Cross0: Don't worry. I have absolutely no intention of adapting "Alien 3".
Lancastershipper: Lol, that would be a great one. Either that, or when whoever plays Stanley Ipkis first puts on the mask.
Yang34: Oh, they will be. Even more surprised from watching cartoons existing as sentient beings in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit".
Pharamine- There will be fewer mental scars this time, since Aliens is more action orientated than the prequel. Lol. The reason a wild Clover appeared was because I originally planned to have him play Gorman, but I changed it to Ironwood at the last minute. Looks like I missed one.
060896: This happens sometimes when the poll doesn't show up for some people. But, if it still doesn't come up, PM your vote to me. The choices are as follows: Shrek, The Incredibles Toy Story, The Lion King (1994), Monsters Inc., and How to Train Your Dragon.
I'll look into those martial arts films and see if they interest me for at least a one-shot.
Yawar: Initially, I thought so too. But "Aliens" is such a timeless and acclaimed classic, I decided on it almost as soon as the "Alien" adaptation was finished.
Hawks nest427: Your call is noted, lol. But no spoilers.
Guest, August 16th: Thank you for all those ideas. I'll take them under consideration if I ever get to "The Mask"
scouttroop: Me too. The audience's reaction will be bigger than the queen herself, lol.
Imperial Romance: I'm gonna be honest, I hated "Alien 3". I felt it was a slap in the face to fans of "Aliens" for killing off New and Hicks, and I will NOT be adapting it. As for the other suggestions, I'll think about them. "Planet of the Apes" sounds interesting. Finally, as for the one-shot recommendation, I'll at least add "Gears of War" to a voting poll. Though I can't promise I'll adapt that particular scene.
Armadillo 300: It's good to be back! "Edward Scissorhands" would make a good comedy choice on a voting poll. Thank you.
AmadeusG13: I'm definitely willing to write sequels if they're good. "Dead Man's Chest" will probably be written in the future. I don't know about "Temple of Doom" though.
Roy4: Those are some pretty good casting choices, except for Yang playing the T-1000. Nothing personal, but I can't picture her playing that role. But, nevertheless, I'm planning on doing a series of one-shot "Terminator" viewings for my other multiverse fic. And I agree 100%, the T3 and onwards all sucked! As for Raven playing Dutch, I'll think about it. It's an interesting alternative to Yang getting the part.
RedMist86025949: I've never seen the movie "9", so I'll have to check it out first. Same for the TNMT movies. But thanks for the ideas.
Drenosa: Well, that's tricky, because "Alien: Isolation: would have to be a one-shot adaptation, but my one-shot fic is, in itself, an alternate reality from the full-length cinematic reality. Nevertheless, I might figure something out.
LoamyCoffee: I couldn't have said it better myself. And honestly, Ripley deserved so much better than her ultimate fate in "Alien 3", which I will NOT be adapting.
Gamelover41592: Thank you, but no, I will not be adapting "Alien 3".
Chozin Yi: Hahaha! I never actually saw the movie, but I did see the legendary lever scene. Maybe I can do a one-shot adaptation of it.
Xenozip: Oh yes. I forgot about that. Good point.
Hangman's Gallows: I'm happy to hear your excited. So am I. As for the superhero genre, if "The Incredibles" doesn't win the vote, I'm thinking about posting a voting poll in the future including various superhero movies.
Sithlord8: I'm glad you like it. As for "300" that's a likely one-shot decision I'll make one day.
Inspiration: Aliens
Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit story for entertainment purposes only. "RWBY" is the property of director and animator Monty Oum (RIP) and production company Rooster Teeth, and "Aliens" is the property of director James Cameron, production company Brandywine Pictures, and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Deep in outer space, a small but formidable looking naval starship cruised towards its destination. Written in white letters on the ship's hull was its name: Sulaco.
"So, that's the marine vessel heading for LV-426?" Winter presumed.
"Yes. It's a Conestoga-class light assault ship in the Colonial Marine Corp," Gold-Sith answered.
"It looks pretty cool," Nora commented with a slight smile.
"It reminds me of the airships in our own universe," Ironwood noted, feeling yet another twinge of envy for the onscreen universe for having space travel.
Cut to the Sulaco's cryotube chamber. It was dimly lit, but a row of cryotubes was visible. Each one had a control panel built into it and a layer of frost on the glass canopies, indicating they were occupied.
A nearby computer terminal blinked on, its screen displaying each cryotube occupant by name.
Ironwood. J.
Ebi. C.
Xiao Long. T.
Amin. M.
Bree. H.
Ederne. E.
Zeki. V.
Soleil. C.
Katt. N.
Coal. F.
Ivori. T.
Kobalt. T.
Penny 341-P
Rose S.
Gele. J.
"Look at that, guys. We're all playing marines," Marrow noted excitedly.
"So is Team FNKI," Weiss added, noticing that practically everyone on the list was Atlesian.
"And me! I finally get to see myself in a multiverse viewing!" Penny bounced gleefully in her seat before Winter placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.
"And dad," Ruby pointed at the screen, sounding surprised.
"Huh. How about that," Qrow said simply.
Yang tilted her head. "And he's accompanying Summer on the mission," she finished, wondering how the two would interact.
With a metallic whine, the cryotubes all opened simultaneously, and the overhead lights flickered on.
In her cryotube, Summer stirred whilst dressed in her underwear. The rest of the crew began to wake up as well, groans and coughs filling the room. Clover, wearing a Marine cap, almost immediately placed a cigar sitting next to him in his mouth.
To Summer's right, Vine sat up. "They ain't payin' us enough for this, man," he grumbled.
"Not enough to have to wake up to your face, Zeki," Neon said smarmily, also sitting up.
Vine looked offended. "What? Is that a joke?"
"Oh, I wish it were," Neon smiled.
Vine bristled. "What's she saying? I'm ugly."
"That reminds me of how sassy she was during the Vytal tournament," Yang recalled from back at Beacon academy.
"Perhaps she and Flynt are friends in this universe as well," Weiss guessed.
"I wonder what it feels like to wake up from cryosleep?" Marrow wondered loud.
"You'd probably feel cold and numb. But, immediately after waking up, the pod or the chamber may warm up quickly to help regulate your body temperature," Penny theorized.
To Summer's left, Taiyang was smoothing his slicked back hair as he sat up from his pod.
"Hey, Xiao Long. Man, you look just like I feel," Vine commented on his teammate.
Marrow coughed heavily over the side of his cryotube.
The Ace-Ops looked a little uncomfortable seeing their counterparts all together onscreen in their underwear. Although, a select few audience members couldn't help but ogle certain members… [1]
"What does Vine mean? He feels cool?" Ruby questioned.
"I guess so. That hairstyle is pretty cool," Yang said with a nod.
"Either that, or he feels like shit and is saying Taiyang looks like shit," Qrow gave his opinion, prompting his nieces to glare at the screen.
Master Sergeant Clover Ebi, now clenching the lit cigar between his fingers, was already out of his cryotube while everyone else was sluggish from just having woken from cryosleep.
"All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed?" Clover asked sarcastically as he walked down the line of cryotubes. "Another glorious day in the Corps! A day in the Marine Corps is like a day on the farm. Every meal's a banquet, every paycheck a fortune. Every formation a parade. I love the Corps!"
"You sure seem livelier and more enthusiastic here, Clover," Vine commented on his commander and his love for the marine corps.
Cover nodded. "Yes. While I admire my counterpart's fondness for the corps, can't say I approve of his smoking habit," he gave some brief input.
"Me neither," Harriet scrunched her nose, never liking the scent of tobacco smoke.
"I noticed that Clover's name was listed directly beneath general- I mean lieutenant Ironwood's name," Penny said observantly, quickly correcting herself. "What rank does Clover have?"
"Clover is a master sergeant and second-in-command of the squad," Gold-Sith answered.
Marrow flinched slightly as his feet hit the floor. "Man, this floor is freezing!" he complained.
Clover approached Marrow. "What do you want me to do, fetch your slippers for you?" he asked sarcastically.
"Gee, would you, sir? I'd like that," Marrow snarked back.
Clover pulled his eye open with his middle finger. "Look into my eye," he growled.
A few people chuckled or snickered at Clover flipping Marrow off.
"Nothing like some witty banter between teammates," Ren smiled.
"That tends to be a good sign of good relations between teammates," Maria agreed.
"Absolutely. Right Ice Queen," Yang smirked at Weiss, the latter rolling her eyes.
"Fall in, people! Come on, let's go," Clover hollered to the marines.
"I hate this job," Flynt muttered as he and the rest of the squad
The marines all entered the adjoining locker room to change into their casual clothes.
"Kobalt! Ivori! On your feet!" Clover ordered the last two marines to get out of their cryotubes.
"I'm talking about breathing, not this frozen shit," Kobalt griped.
"Yeah, Top, how about it?" Ivori added.
Harriet began doing pull-ups from some overhanging bars.
"Good call, Harriet," Penny said. "It'd be wise to makes sense to exercise your stiff muscles after being in cryosleep."
A few male audience members couldn't help but admire Harriet's lithe muscular build.
Harriet growled lightly. "What are you guys staring at?!" she hissed, not wanting to be ogled, prompting aforementioned men to avert their gazes.
"All right, first assembly's in 15, people. Shag it!" Clover announced.
Summer walked straight towards her locker, ignoring the marines. She felt out of place among the marines.
"Hey, Elm. Who's Snow White?" Harriet asked, referring to Summer.
"She's supposed to be some kind of consultant," Elm answered, already in her jumpsuit. "Apparently, she saw an alien once."
"Whoopee-fucking-doo! Hey, I'm impressed," Marrow said jokingly.
"How cute," Harriet chuckled as she and Vine started exercising together.
"Hey, Bree. Have you ever been mistaken for a man?" Marrow asked with a smirk.
Harriet finished her chin ups. "No. Have you?" she smirked back at Marrow.
A few marines laughed at the joke. Even Marrow couldn't help but grin a little.
Most of the audience laughed loudly at the savageness of Harriet's counterpart. Harriet herself grinned from ear to ear.
"What?!" Marrow shouted in outrage.
"Daaaamn!" Elm droned out.
"Neither Weiss nor Winter could deliver an ice burn like that," Yang giggled into her hand.
The Schnee sisters shot Yang unamused looks.
Harriet and Vine both gripped their hands together, laughing.
"Oh, Bree! You're just too bad," Vine smirked.
Harriet smirked back and gave Vine a playful smack on the cheek.
Harriet quirked an eyebrow at the dynamic onscreen between her and Vine's counterparts.
Elm smiled mischievously. "Well, it looks like the two of you are pretty close," shewaggled her eyebrows, causing Harriet to blush slightly.
Flustered, Vine cleared his throat. "What exactly is the backstory behind Harriet and I?"
"The both of you were gang members who were given a choice between prison or enlisting after you were arrested," Gold-Sith revealed briefly.
"Gang members?" Vine gasped, never expecting his counterpart to be a former criminal.
Cut to the messhall. The marines were all seated and eating breakfast at a long table.
"Hey, top, what's the op?" Marrow asked Clover as he sat next to him.
"It's a rescue mission. You'll love it. There's some juicy colonists' daughters we have to rescue from their virginity," Clover replied jokingly, eliciting a few chuckles.
"Dumb-ass colonists," Kobalt mumbled.
At a separate table, Summer was eating. She overheard the marines and didn't seem amused by Clover's joke.
Weiss scoffed. "Juicy colonist daughters? Really?" she deadpanned.
"Can't they take this seriously? People could be in serious danger," Clover criticized his counterpart.
"A little levity never hurts," Qrow defended Clover's humor.
Ciel took a bite out of some food. "What's this crap supposed to be?" she complained, throwing it back on the tray in disgust.
"Cornbread, I think," Flynt responded.
"It's good for you, girl. Eat it," Taiyang advised.
"I don't blame Ciel's counterpart. I'm not a big fan of cornbread myself," Jaune revealed.
"I always hated that," Ruby groaned. "When everything I don't like to eat is good for me, and vice versa."
Yang snickered slightly. "That takes me back to when mom tried to make you eat your vegetables when we were little," she reminisced while Ruby shuddered slightly.
Flynt smiled and looked across at Marrow. "I sure wouldn't mind getting more of that Arcturian poontang. Remember that time?" he asked.
Marrow smiled and gave Flynt a low-five.
"But the one that you had was male," Ciel reminded, eliciting laughter from the other marines.
"Doesn't matter when it's Arcturian, baby!" Flynt responded.
"Arcturian? What is that, some kind of sentient alien?" Vine asked.
"I would assume so. And apparently Flynt had…relations with one," Ren said awkwardly.
A few people laughed or chuckled at the revelation.
"If Flynt ever sees this, I can't imagine how he'll react," Yang laughed, imagining Flynt being embarrassed or dumbstruck.
Penny was walking around the table handing out more cornbread to her crewmates.
Marrow pulled out a combat knife and held it up to Penny. "Hey, Penny. Do the thing with the knife.
"Oh, please..." Penny pleaded, almost annoyed.
"Oh, come on, man!" Marrow egged on.
Penny relented with a nod and took the knife from Marrow, doing a little trick with it. Unbeknownst to Marrow, though, Vine snuck up behind him.
"All right!" Marrow whooped, oblivious.
"I don't wanna see that, man," Ivori complained.
Penny placed her hand flat on the table. Then Vine grabbed Marrow's hand and forced it down onto the table underneath Penny's.
Marrow's smile vanished. "Hey, what are you doing, man? What are you doing?"
"Don't move," Vine warned. "Marrow, shut up!"
"What's she doing?" Ruby asked nervously.
"Something called five finger filet," Maria informed the red reaper,
"That's dangerous. What if I hit a finger?" Penny fretted, for herself and Marrow's counterpart.
"I saw some drunken moron nearly lose a finger doing that in a bar one night," Qrow chuckled.
Winter glanced at Qrow. "Are you sure it wasn't you?" she asked, prompting Qrow to wave his hand dismissively at her.
"Quit messing around, Vine! Penny! Hey, man!" Marrow chuckled nervously.
"Do it, Penny," Vine pressed.
"Hey, not me, man!" Marrow protested.
"Yeah, you. Don't move," Vine said, keeping Marrow's hand in place.
"Quit messing around! Come on!"
Penny glanced at Marrow. "Trust me," she said cooly.
Penny began stab the knife between both his and Marrow's fingers, picking up speed rapidly as she went until the knife was nearly a blur.
"Aaaaahhhhh!" Marrow screamed in a progressively higher and higher pitch; his eyes widened, the sharp tap of the blade against the tabletop almost drowned out his screaming.
The rest of the squad laughed at the stunt, clearly enjoying Penny's act.
Much of the audience laughed as well, while a few, namely Marrow, gingerly rubbed their fingers in discomfort.
"I would never do something so reckless like that," Penny declared. "Even though, if I missed, I'd be more injured than Marrow."
"Even so, that's nerve wracking," Marrow mumbled.
Finally, Penny stopped, and Marrow stopped screaming, his eyes wide as dinner plates.
"All right, knock it off!" Clover ordered.
"Thank you," Penny smiled as she handed Marrow back his knife.
Vine placed Marrow's tray back in front of him. "Enjoy your meal," he said, giving his teammate a friendly shoulder slap.
"That wasn't funny, man," Marrow said, dumbstruck.
"Oh yes it was~" Elm said in a sing-song voice.
"That look on your face was priceless, Marrow," Harriet teased her teammate.
Marrow crossed his arms and huffed in embarrassment.
Penny walked over and sat next to Summer at the smaller table across from the main one.
"Lieutenant Ironwood?" Penny offered some cornbread.
"No."
"Mr. Gele?"
"Yeah, thanks," Jacques said gratefully as he grabbed some extra cornbread.
"Looks like the new lieutenant's too good to eat with the rest of us grunts," Taiyang said to Flynt in a low voice.
"The boy's definitely got a corncob up his ass," Flynt agreed with disdain.
Winter and the Ace-Ops scowled at Flynt's disrespectful attitude towards Ironwood.
Oscar arched his brow. "Hmm? Did he say new lieutenant?"
"Yes. It would seem this is your first mission with the squad," Ozpin observed Ironwood's counterpart.
Ironwood blinked. "That's a little odd. For a mission like this, I'd expect the squad to be well acquainted with their commanding officer," he remarked before sipping a glass of water.
Penny examined her thumb, which she accidentally cut during her knife trick, a bit of green blood trickling down to her wrist.
"I thought you never missed, Penny," Jacques noted.
"Oh Penny. You cut yourself," Ruby fretted lightly.
"It would seem I'm not infallible at five finger fillet," Penny frowned at her counterpart's wound.
"Your counterpart should get that bandaged up," Winter recommended.
Summer noticed Penny's cut thumb and glared at Jacques. "You never said anything about an android being on board! Why not?!" she asked confrontationally.
"It never occurred to me. It's common practice to have a synthetic on board," Jacques reasoned.
"I prefer the term "artificial person" myself," Penny insisted.
"Right," Jacques conceded with a grin.
Penny looked stricken upon seeing Summer's counterpart suddenly react with hostility towards her counterpart.
"Oh, that's right. After what happened with Oscar…" Jaune said softly, having forgotten about Oscar's treacherous counterpart in the first film.
"Uh-oh…" Ruby murmured in concern for Penny's counterpart.
"Is there a problem?" Penny turned to Summer, concerned.
"I'm sorry. I didn't even..." Jacques stumbled over his words, trying to explain. "Summer's last trip, the syn...the artificial person malfunctioned.
"Malfunctioned?!" Summer said in disbelief.
"Bullshit," Yang clenched her teeth.
Qrow rolled his eyes. "Malfunctioned, my ass," he mumbled.
"I highly doubt it never occurred to him," Weiss said dubiously.
"There were problems and…a few deaths were involved," Jacques finished Summer's tale.
Penny's eyes widened. "I'm shocked. Was it an older model?" she asked.
"Yeah. The Hyperdyne Systems 120-A-2," Jacques answered.
"Well, that explains it," Penny said, looking at Summer, conciliatory. "And the A-2s always were a bit twitchy. That could never happen now with our behavioral inhibitors. It is impossible for me to harm, or allow to be harmed, a human being," she explained.
Summer nodded silently, although she didn't believe a word of it.
Penny's guarantee about her programming created a sense of ease in the audience.
"Do you have any safeguards like that, Penny?" Yang asked curiously.
Penny glanced at Ironwood and Winter and both of them nodded in permission for her to answer.
"Well, I do have built in failsafe's that forbid me from committing certain actions, but that's all I'm permitted to say. I'm sorry," Penny explained briefly.
Penny offered the tray of cornbread to Summer. "You sure you don't want some?"
Without a word, Summer slapped the tray out of Penny's hand, sending it clattering loudly across the floor. The noise drew the attention of the rest of the crew.
"Just stay away from me, Penny, you got that straight?" Summer warned sharply.
Penny stared dumbfounded.
"Guess she don't like the cornbread, either," Flynt commented.
Penny gasped and stared heartbroken at the screen. It wasn't hard to imagine Ruby in Summer's place onscreen since they bore such a passing resemblance.
Ruby gaped in shock at her mother. She could easily picture herself in Summer's position as well.
"B-b-but I…I…" Penny stuttered as she began to tear up. [2]
Barely holding back tears herself, Ruby got up from her seat to give her robot friend a comforting hug. "It's all right, Penny. I would never talk to you like that," she promised her friend.
Penny sniffled and returned the hug with a grateful smile before wiping her eyes.
Later, down in the ship's large cargo bay. A couple of bulky UD-4 class dropships stood still on their landing gear. Nearby, the marines were all assembled, waiting for Ironwood to arrive and brief them. Neon and Flynt were sparring, Elm and Ciel were chatting, and Marrow was reading a magazine.
Just then, Ironwood showed up with Summer and Jacques following him.
"Squad! Atten-hut! Officer on deck!" Clover shouted, and the rest of the squad stood at attention.
"As you were," Ironwood said as he removed his cap.
"Quickly, quickly. Settle down," Clover ordered as the marines gathered in front of Ironwood. "All right, listen up!"
"Time for a briefing, I'm guessing?" Nora assumed.
"Probably, if the marines haven't heard Summer's story yet," Ren answered.
"They're in for quite a tale then," Maria said.
"Morning, Marines," Ironwood greeted.. "I'm sorry we didn't have time to brief you before we left Gateway sta-
"Sir?" Marrow interrupted, raising his hand as he hung from a chain.
"What is it, Xiao Long?" Ironwood asked irritably.
"Amin, sir," he corrected before gesturing at Taiyang. "He's Xiao Long."
Beside Marrow, Taiyang lit up a cigarette.
"He doesn't even know all of our names," Marrow muttered.
Ironwood blanched. "My counterparts distant and shallow relationship with the squad is concerning," he said.
"You're right, Jimmy. Something is off..." Qrow agreed with Ironwood.
Weiss and Winter both eyed Jacque's onscreen counterpart, already suspicious.
"What's the question?" Ironwood asked.
"Is this gonna be a stand-up fight, sir, or another bug hunt?" Marrow questioned.
Ironwood paced in front of the troops. "All we know is there's still no contact with the colony, and a xenomorph may be involved," he said concisely.
"Excuse me, sir. A what?" Flynt asked.
"A xenomorph."
"It's a bug hunt," Taiyang muttered towards Marrow.
"A bug hunt? A xenomorph?" Weiss questioned in puzzlement.
Penny shrugged. "I don't know what a xenomorph is. But I suppose a "bug hunt" is an operation involving the elimination of parasitic aliens," she assumed logically.
"That makes sense. Camilla did mention that humankind has surveyed over three-hundred planets, so they must have encountered extraterrestrial lifeforms," Ironwood recalled from Summer's inquiry.
"But I highly doubt they've ever encountered aliens like the ones on LV-426 before," Ren finalized.
"What exactly are we dealing with here?" Taiyang asked the big question.
"Summer?" Ironwood encouraged the woman to give her report.
Summer stepped forward to tell her tale: "I'll tell you what I know. We set down on LV-426. A crew member was brought back with something attached to his face, some kind of…parasite. We tried to get it off. It wouldn't come off. Later, it seemed to come off by itself and die. Ren seemed fine. We were all having dinner," Summer began to stumble over her words, clearly discomforted at talking about Ren's death. "It…must have laid something inside his throat, some sort of embryo. He started…um…he..."
The mention of that horrible and nightmarish scene from the first "Alien" film made more than a few audience members grimace, especially Ren and Nora.
Everyone else hoped to the Brothers that they'd never have to see another chestburster emerge again.
"Please don't say any more," Oscar whispered, suddenly feeling guilty for his counterpart's betrayal.
"Look, man, I only need to know one thing: Where they are," Harriet boasted as she put her hands together in the form of a pistol and let off a "shot".
"Go, Bree, kick ass!" Vine encouraged his friend.
Harriet nodded. "Anytime, anywhere."
"Somebody said "alien". She thought they said "illegal alien" and signed up!"
"Fuck you, man," Harriet gave Marrow the finger without turning around.
"Anytime, anywhere," Marrow replied smartly.
Harriet shot Marrow a deadly look while the latter quickly held his hands up defensively as if to say: "That's not me!"
"So unprofessional," Winter shook her head. "They're just cracking jokes like a bunch of children," she said disapprovingly.
"I doubt they'll be joking once they get a load of those things," Blake predicted grimly.
"Are you finished?" Summer asked, annoyed.
Harriet silently locked her steely gaze with Summer's as the latter took a few steps forward.
"I hope you're right. I really do," Summer said sternly.
"Yeah, OK, right. Thank you, Summer," Ironwood said as Summer turned and stepped behind him.
"We also have Summer's report on disk," Ironwood informed. "I suggest you study-"
Summer spun back around. "Because just one of those things managed to wipe out my entire crew in less than 24 hours," she interrupted Ironwood, dead serious. "And if the colonists have found that ship, there's no telling how many have been exposed. Do you understand?"
The marines seemed taken aback by Summer hammering her point.
"Hopefully they'll start taking her claims more seriously," Ruby stated.
"The company didn't take her claims seriously," Blake frowned. "I don't think the marines will either until they see for themselves what they're up against."
Maria cupped her chin. "And Summer brings up an excellent point. Watts did say there could be 70 families living on LV-426. That's over a hundred people, easily."
Maria's words caused feelings of dread to fall over the audience.
"Anyway, we have it on disk, so look at it," Ironwood concluded.
"Any questions?" Ironwood asked; Marrow raised his hand again with a grin. "What is it, Private?"
"How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?" Marrow asked.
"You secure that shit, Amin!" Clover retorted, pointing at Marrow.
Ironwood became fed up. "All right. Now listen up," he said in a low but irritated tone. "I want this thing to go smooth and by the numbers. I want DCS and tactical database assimilation by 0830. Ordnance loading, weapons strip and drop-ship prep details. We have seven hours," he instructed angrily.
The marines let out scoffs and grumbles at Ironwood's strict and harsh orders.
"No offense, Jimmy, but your counterpart is a hard ass here," Qrow said. "Moreso than usual."
"I'm not maintaining a very good relationship with my troops," Ironwood conceded Qrow's point.
"That's definitely a bad thing. Positive relations between soldiers and their commander is important for team cohesion," Clover stated.
"Now move it, people!" Ironwood shouted as he stormed off.
Ivori flipped off Ironwood once the latter's back was turned.
"All right, sweethearts. You heard the man, and you know the drill! Assholes and elbows!" Clover barked, looking angry. "Amin, come here. Come here!"
"Uh-oh, it looks like Marrow's gonna get reamed," Elm said teasingly.
"Great…" Marrow sighed sarcastically.
"To be fair, you were being a smartass," Harriet defended Clover's counterpart.
In space, the Sulaco had just exited light speed and entered the Zeta-Reticuli system and was beginning to circle around the gas giant that LV-426 orbited.
"They're almost there..." Oscar said softly.
Meanwhile, inside the cargo bay, the crew was busy preparing ordinance for a UD-4 class dropship.
"I don't care if you are short, Amin. Get it done!" he commanded as he walked across the deck.
"Hey, sarge, you'll get lip cancer smoking those!" Marrow said jokingly as he attached a nose-cap onto a missile.
"Short? What does that mean?" Yang asked aloud, resisting the urge to make a joke.
"That means his service in the armed forces is nearly over and he'll be returning to civilian life," Ironwood answered.
"Let's hope I make it to that point," Marrow said, before rephrasing. "Hell, let's hope we all make it to that point."
Most of the audience nodded in agreement.
Clover passed Neon as she was securing the inner airlock. "Corporal, I want this loading lock sealed! Now!"
Neon nodded, picked up the control box for the hatch, and closed it.
Soleil was operating a power loader, an exoskeleton with forklift-like claws for arms, short legs, and a built-in roll-cage to protect the driver. All four of the machines' limbs moved correspondingly with the operator's movements. She was loading ordnance into the dropship.
"Look at those. They look like Paladins mixed with forklifts," Winter pointed at the screen.
"Perhaps father could draw up some plans for such a machine," Penny said hopefully.
"Possibly," Ironwood said. "A civilian version of the paladin to assist in construction work sounds feasible."
"How many more you got, Soleil?" Clover questioned as he approached the airship.
"Last one," Ciel replied.
"Good. Take it away."
Using the loader's tremendous strength, Soleil lifted a bulky missile with one claw and inserted it into a UD-4 class dropship.
"Clear behind," Ciel said as she reversed the loader, its heavy feet thudding against the deck.
"It's refreshing to see everyone hard at work," Oscar
"And considering they only have seven hours and there's fewer than twenty of them, it's impressive too," Ozpin
Summer, now dressed in a work jumpsuit approached Clover and Taiyang as they were talking.
"Did you check number three? Is this the non-op?" Clover asked Taiyang before he noticed Summer.
"I feel like kind of a fifth wheel. Is there anything I can do?" Summer asked.
Clover shrugged. "I don't know. Is there anything you can do?"
"Well, I can drive that loader. I have a Class Two rating," Summer looked over her shoulder at another power loader.
Clover chewed his cigar for a moment. "Be my guest," he granted permission.
Ruby smiled. "It's good to see she's keeping busy and helping out the crew."
Yang nodded. "And it'll help her build up a good relationship with them," she added.
"It's not much, but it's a nice step forward to recovering from the Nostromo," Ozpin said.
Summer got to work. She climbed into the loader, strapped herself in, and activated it. She did a few quick function tests before deftly driving the loader over to a supply crate and lifted it. She then turned to Taiyang and Clover both of them impressed by her performance.
"Where do you want it?" Summer asked with a smirk.
Taiyang and Clover exchanged glances and laughed. "Bay twelve, please," the latter replied.
Later, the Sulaco had just exited light speed and began to orbit LV-426, the barren, grey planet shining a few hundred miles down below.
"There it is," Ren announced, not happy to see the moon again.
"After more than half a century, Summer's back at that Gods-forsaken moon," Qrow said.
"It must feel like only yesterday for her," Maria said sympathetically.
Ironwood nodded. "Yes. But this time, she's got soldiers with her. This time it's war," he stated. [3]
Inside the armory, Flynt was loading and inspecting a row of M41A pulse rifles and a couple of flamethrowers. Patriotic snare drums played concurrently.
Nearby, Harriet and Vine were loading and warming up with their bulky M56 smart guns. The drumming became louder.
Ruby was in awe of the sheer amount of weaponry the Marines had while everyone else watched with eagerness.
"I can't wait to see our counterparts take on the aliens with those bad boys, eh Vine?" Harriet said.
"With such firepower on our side, I'm confident we can handle the alien threat," Vine agreed with his teammate.
"Or at least contain them so they don't escape the moon, Gods-forbid," Maria said, though she was still as unsure as most of the audience.
Out in the cargo bay, Elm and Ciel, the former now sporting a pair of aviators, were prepping the dropships engines. Down below, Ironwood gave them a thumbs-up, signifying they were ready to go.
Nearby stood Summer and Jacques. Ironwood joined them just as a bulky, 4-wheeled, M577 Armored Personnel Carrier rumbled into the room and got into position.
"Sweet aviators, Elm. They look like mine," Yang complimented.
"It looks like they're only taking the dropship and APC down to the surface," Oscar pointed out.
"That's probably the wisest decision. Given LV-426's rough landscape, landing the Sulaco on the surface may damage it like the Nostromo," Ozpin said sagely.
"And that APC looks like it's built for traversing over rocky terrain," Ren concluded.
Nearby, in the locker room, the marines were finishing up with strapping on their regulation woodland camouflage armor and placing on their similarly colored helmets.
"All right, now. We're a team and there's nothing to worry about," Clover gave the squad a pep talk. "We come here, and we gonna conquer, and we gonna take some. Is that understood?"
"Yes sir," the marines answered in the affirmative.
"That's what we gonna do, sweethearts. Gonna go and get some."
"I wouldn't say there's nothing to worry about," Ironwood said cautiously. "We have no idea what the colony's status is or how many aliens the marines will be facing."
"Well, if things get hairy, they could always call in the dropship for dust off," Elm suggested. [4]
"Or call for reinforcements if they're outnumbered," Jaune added as he munched on a handful of popcorn.
"All right, people, on the ready line!" Clover began to rile up the squad. "Are you lean?"
"Yeah!" they chorused in response.
"Are you mean?"
"Yeah!"
"What are you?!"
"Lean, mean Marines!"
Marrow bobbed his head slightly in anticipation. "This is really hyping me up," he grinned.
"Me too," Yang seconded, looking forward to seeing the marines fight the aliens.
"Your counterpart sure knows how to inspire his troops, Clover," Qrow complimented.
"Every leader must be able to motivate their troops," Clover stated, feeling a bit of pride for his counterpart.
"Outside! Get on the ready-line, marines!" Clover shouted. "Get some today! Get on the ready line!"
The marines all scrambled to finish putting on their helmets and retrieving their weapons while Clover went on.
"Move it out! Move it out, Gods-damn it!"
Flynt quickly passed out weapons to the squad as they fell out.
"Get hot! One, two, three! Get out! Get out! Get out!" Clover barked as if the marines were in a pitched battle, a cigar clenched in his teeth.
The squad jogged out of the locker room and towards the parked APC nearby where Summer, Ironwood, and Jacques all waited. Clover continued verbally pushing them.
"Move it out! Move it out! Move it out! One, two, three, four! One, two, three!"
The marines all quickly lined up and stood at attention beside the APC while Clover marched past them. [5]
Clover gave an approving growl. "Absolutely badass! Let's pack 'em in! Get in there!" he shouted, yanking the APC hatch open.
Most of the audience felt as excited and pumped up as Clover sounded.
"Look at them," Ruby awed at the marines.
"They're gonna kick those aliens asses!" Nora whooped with her fists raised.
"Easy Nora! Don't get too worked up," Ren calmed his partner.
"Move it!" Clover ordered as he entered the APC first. "Let's go, let's go! One, two, three, four, five, six!"
The marines all piled in one after another and took their seats while Clover counted them off one by one. "Good. All right, I want combat seating. You know your places."
Summer and Jacques climbed inside as well, a somewhat edgy expression on the former's face.
"Mom's already edgy," Ruby pointed out as she chowed on a cup of strawberries.
"I can't blame her. But there's no turning back now," Oscar said.
"It's the only way she'll be able to move on from the Nostromo incident," Vine stated.
Qrow nodded. "Maybe she'll even get a waste a few aliens herself," he expected.
Yang held up a finger. "Now that I want to see!" she declared.
"Get those weapons stowed. Let's go!" Clover ordered. "Come on, settle down, people."
In the back of the APC, Ironwood sat at the command post consisting of helmet camera monitors and life readings for each squad member.
"Lock 'em in, Amin!" Clover ordered.
"Ready to get it on? You know it!" Amin shouted and began locking each passenger into their seats one by one.
"OK, Penny, let's go," Ironwood instructed into his headset.
Penny sat behind the wheel of the APC. "Roger," she replied as she began to reverse the APC onto the dropships loading ramp.
"I'm ready, man," Marrow said. "Ready to get. It. On! Yo!"
Harriet held out her hand and received a low five from Marrow.
"You sure are eager," Harriet noted Marrow's counterparts' enthusiasm.
"He did say he'd been hoping for a stand-up fight," Marrow reminded with a sip of his soda.
"Well, it all depends multiple factors," Ironwood said, secretly feeling tentative about his counterpart.
The APC finished reversing and the dropships ramp retracted upwards.
"Stand by. Cross-locking now," Elm said over her headset. "Pre-launch auto-cycle engaged."
The dropship's landing gear retracted; its headlights illuminated. Beneath it, a large airlock slid open.
"Primary couplers released. Hit the internals," Elm continued with the launching sequence.
The dropship was lowered into the airlock, the headlights flickering off. With a heavy bump, it stopped.
Jaune blinked as he realized something. "Wait a minute. Is everyone on the Sulaco heading for the colony?"
"It would appear so," Ren said, seeing Jaune's point. "So that means they're leaving the ship unmanned."
"That doesn't sound very wise to me," Blake shook her head.
"To be fair, the higher-ups may believe it's only a downed transmitter, as Jacques said," Winter reminded everyone. "So, this team is merely being sent to investigate before any further action is needed. In which case, as Oscar said, they could always fall back to the Sulaco."
Penny nodded. "And they may have a way to transmit to the Sulaco," she followed up.
Inside the APC, the passengers jolted slightly in their seats.
"Shit, man," Marrow muttered.
"Confirm cross-lock and drop stations secured," Elm requested over the radio.
"Affirmative. All drop stations secured," Ironwood confirmed.
The first airlock hatched closed and sealed itself above the dropship.
"Stand by. Ten seconds," Elm informed.
Beneath it, the secondary hatch gaped open, revealing the barren, rocky landscape of LV-426 far below.
"Stand by to initiate release sequencer. On my mark," Elm said as she and Ciel gripped the controls.
Jaune frowned. "I don't even want to imagine getting on one of those dropships and flying all the way down to a planet," he mumbled while rubbing his stomach.
Yang laughed. "At least not without a bucket, vomit boy."
Jaune sighed and slumped in his seat while a few people snickered at his nickname once again.
"Five. Four. Three…" Elm counted over the radio.
"We're on an express elevator to hell! Going down!" Marrow announced with a grin.
"I've got a feeling Marrow is absolutely right," Oscar said ominously, and he wasn't the only one.
"Two, one, mark!"
Finally, the internal couplers let go of the dropship, sending it falling from the Sulaco.
"Whoooo-hooooo!" Marrow hollered as the entire dropship shook.
The dropship tilted downward, its nose facing the moon while the Sulaco receding rapidly above it as it began its descent towards LV-426, engines glowing white hot as it flew with tremendous speed.
"There they go. May the Brothers be with them," Ozpin bid everyone on the dropship good luck.
Author's Note: I hope you all like my casting choices. In a couple of weeks, I'll be posting another poll for the one-shot multiverse, which I'll return to once "Aliens" is finished.
Cast
Taiyang Xiao Long as Corporal Dwayne Hicks
Marrow Amin as Private First-Class William Hudson
Harriett Bree as Private First-Class Jenette Vasquez
Penny Polendina as Bishop 341-B
Clover Ebi as Master Sergeant Alexander Apone
Vine Zeki as Private Mark Drake
Elm Ederne as Corporal Collette Ferro
Ciel Soleil as Private First Class Daniel Spunkmeyer
Neon Katt as Corporal Cynthia Dietrich
Flynt Coal as Private Rico Frost
Ivori as Private Trevor Wierzbowski
Kobalt as Private Tim Crowe
Author's Points
[1]- Whoever was ogling whom is open for your own interpretation.
[2]- I'm assuming Penny has functioning artificial tear ducts. If not, she sure does here. Poor girl :( Also, while I could be wrong, I'd also assume she possesses programming that is beyond her control which prohibits her from engaging in certain behaviors.
[3]- Sooner or later, someone in the audience was going to drop in the tagline, lol. And it's an awesome one.
[4]- A bit of foreshadowing for later when the heroes wind up stranded on LV-426 when the dropship crashes.
[5]- I still remember first watching this scene and thinking "Look at those badass marines and all that firepower they have! The aliens aren't gonna stand a chance!". Boy, was I mistaken. In fact, for those of you who believe that "Aliens" is an allegory for the Vietnam War, this is exactly what James Cameron was going for.