He hopped from tree to tree.

The young Predator was finally sure he was far enough away from the lombaxes who could manage to wound him. Fortunately, their weapon projectiles were lodged in his flesh, making it easier to treat the wounds. He sat down on the branch, deactivated the cloaking mechanism and began to take out his small kit. He quickly dressed the wound with a few stitches before getting back on his feet and moving on, but for now he checked the surroundings. There was no sign of the lombaxe or any other life. His companion had now contacted him to continue searching for their third member and so he took off in the direction of his partner.

His chance against the lombaxes would come.

And while Ratchet and Rivet followed the two humans through the jungle, the Predator was on his own again and the Xenomorphs were looking for hosts, the large ship of the galactic rangers was still hovering over the planet, where the dangerous mission was taking place. Qwark was still on the radio with Skidd, while Helga and Elaris stood waiting beside them. Cora was slightly off to the side, checking on the surviving soldiers who had reported back to duty. "Okay, so spread out through the ship and hold the line. We have to be prepared for anything," the soldier sent the fighters off, who saluted once more and then departed.

Cora herself then joined the others, but even as the hoverboard champ groaned in annoyance, she realized that the attempted radio message had failed again. "Really? We've circled half the planet and still no sign of life from our friends," Skidd slapped both palms against his face. He had been exhausted, but Qwark, on the other hand, remained upright, "We can't give up now...and with me I mean you, Skidd! Keep trying, the lombaxes must be saved!" As the green-masked hero was about to leave, Elaris interrupted him: "Qwark, I've found something interesting. Come with me!"

"Taco Tuesday exists again?"

The smarter of the two shook her head, laughing slightly, "No, about our slimy little friend. The blood is all acid, and despite the lack of eyes, it can hear its surroundings! I've never seen anything like it," the blue one was almost enthusiastic about the creature's structure as she continued to walk through the corridor with Qwark, "It's... a perfect killer organism. That's all I can say about it..."

"If that's really all you've found out, then these things really are more mysterious than anything else." The captain was also pleased with this, despite the limited information. The two of them walked to the lab where the baby was still being kept. Then Qwark started again with his sayings and broad grin, "It's really hard to find out what these things are... just like finding out what race Angela i..."

But then he bumped into his smaller partner.

Elaris simply stopped in front of the open door of the lab and even dropped her tablet. Qwark was confused for a moment before he looked her in the face. Her expression was one of great fear and despair, and now Qwark knew why. In front of them, the glass box that had kept the alien locked up had been broken open. Splinters all over the floor and a strange, peeled skin underneath. Scratch marks all over the wall that led to an air vent that stopped at the opening. The two heroes had a huge problem, and it had to be reported immediately. "I...didn't expect...it to grow out in a short time," Elaris stuttered out, before Qwark took to his heels again, "Quick, we have to warn the others".

And so the heroes ran off. The horror has begun.

Somewhere in the freighter where the weapons and ships were stored, a guard was standing alone. The soldier yawned loudly and rubbed one of his yellow eyes, "Oh man, I'm tired." The Kerwan resident walked on until he stopped near an air stand. He paused and stretched briefly before clutching his rifle, "I wouldn't mind a cigarette now."

Then something dripped at his feet.

Confused, the soldier looked down and saw a large drop of water, or something like it. Now the man dared to get down on his knees and tapped the drop with his finger. It wasn't water, but felt more like saliva. "Urgh...do we have a leak," as he questioned himself he didn't notice something crawling down behind him towards him. Then the beast reared up and let out a low but audible hiss. The soldier had noticed it immediately and turned slowly, only to stare at his end. One of the things that had caught the rest of his group stood there, opening its fanged mouth wide. The xenomorph's second mouth didn't quite pierce his forehead, but it got a good distance through. Now bleeding and screaming, the soldier fell to the ground before the alien mauled him with its mouth and claws. There was little left of the soldier, but his screams had attracted attention. Several units rushed in, causing the xenomorph to crawl back into the air shaft.

"Oh my God," the creature heard before it disappeared through the shafts.

On the deck, the crowd was already tense as the soldiers brought the dead comrade before the colonel and Qwark in sheets. "It's fully grown! And now it's hiding on our ship," Cora banged on the nearest table, which only made Skidd sweat more than the creature. "I suggest we kill it before...," but then Sevenfold intervened, "We need it alive to find out what it is."

"It's a monster," Helga had had enough and grabbed the gray alien up, "And if we leave it alive, more of us will die!"

"EVERYONE SHUT UP NOW," Qwark and Elaris put an end to the situation before it escalated, "Thanks to Elaris, who had already done some research, we can locate the thing on her tablet!" The crew were a little more reassured by the words, but nothing more. The researcher tapped on it briefly and the screen immediately showed a map of the inside of the ship and a green dot that was moving. "Okay, then," Elaris pointed to the dot, "That's him! He's crawling through the air ducts and is on his way to the... sleeping quarters..."

And the Q-Force's alarm bells went off, "Brax!" Cora ran off first.

In the quarters, the big ranger lay asleep in his bed. Only one other soldier was still here, keeping watch, but quietly enough not to wake the taller one. "Ouch... that looks really bad," the soldier whispered to himself when he saw Brax's burn marks under the bandage. But suddenly the alien heard something. There was something scratching on the walls, which immediately brought him to his feet. He searched the room for any movement, but found nothing there. Had he just imagined it? The soldier then went back to the square to keep an eye on the ranger.

Before two black hands grabbed his face and pulled him up.

In the shaft, his scream was muffled as the alien pierced his chest and the blood just flowed down the shaft. The xenomorph climbed down and crept towards the sleeping Brax. The alien immediately heard the soft hissing and when he gently opened his eyes he saw the eyeless face. With a swift reaction, he turned from the bed before the alien's second mouth could pierce him. The fall to the floor, however, kicked his burnt side, which the hero held painfully and cramped, "Damn..." There was no time to complain as the xenomorph crawled back towards the defenseless soldier, unable to reach his dead comrade's blaster. Now nothing stood in the way of his end and inwardly Brax was already giving up, "Okay... I dare you, you pissant!"

Then the door opened.

Cora fired her blaster, but the alien dodged the shots. It shrieked and dived back into the shaft, escaping the Q-Force that had gathered. The colonel and two of his men were also here, looking at the chaos and then seeing the blood dripping down the air shaft. "It's okay, partner," the heroine helped the taller one up, who nodded in agreement. Sevenfold, on the other hand, knew it was one of his men who had killed the alien. "He's crawling all over the ship again," Elaris followed the monster's trail, and then the colonel approached you and Qwark, "...You were right..." They raised their brows in confusion before he continued, "The beast must die... I will do it!"

"But if we finish him off with gunfire, his acid blood will etch the floor and the ship could take a lot of damage," reminded the smarter of the troop, but this gave Cora an idea, "I've got an idea! Lure him to the hangar and then open the hatch," the soldier began, before Qwark finished the sentence, 'That'll shoot him out into space!' The colonel understood the plan and immediately agreed, "Then I'll lure him there. You two: Follow me!" And so Sevenfold and two of his Special Force soldiers walked down the corridor to the hangar where the decisive phase of their plan would take place.

And the xenomorph was still crawling around in the shadows.

There stood the older alien. Armed and with two soldiers at his side. At that moment, the war hero pulled out one last cigar before the monster would appear. "Sir..." one of them was about to say, but Sevenfold stopped him short. Elaris now spoke into his ear through a radio to reveal the creature's position, "Colonel, he's here! Watch out and don't do anything reckless!"

"Understood," the radio ended. The soldiers reloaded their weapons on command and went ahead. The older one took a few last drags before the cigarette ran out and he also reached for his weapon, "Come out, you beast!"

"I SEE IT", one of the two soldiers found the tail dragging on the ground and now the blaster shots followed. The alien escaped in time and disappeared back into the shadow of the ships. The second soldier made the mistake of following the xenomorph, despite the warning cries of the other two. The beast grabbed the soldier with the sting of its tail, leaving a huge hole in his chest. "NO", the other one fired, but missed the target, which was now running towards him. With one bite, it severed its throat, and now the alien and the colonel were the only ones left. The gray one with the moustache reloaded the pistol angrily and aimed at the monster before the blaster shots followed.

"COME AND GET SOME!"

The xenomorph dodged the fire, climbed up the ships and skillfully avoided being hit. Now the gun's plasma ran out, leaving Sevenfold naked against the alien, who also noticed the empty gun. The black creature crawled back down and slowly approached his victim. Sevenfold pulled an old war knife out of his boot, and fearlessly shouted at the beast, "Come on you bastard...LET'S DANCE!" The xenomorph rammed into the colonel and was now on top of him. Despite the old man managing a few stabs at the creature, he was finally cut down by the alien's claws. The acid etched away the blade and now the xenomorph got up from the dead leader to continue its murder.

Before he heard footsteps behind him.

Cora was standing there with a blaster in her hand pointed at the beast, which immediately caught his attention. The alien hissed loudly again and, just like with the colonel, was about to ram the soldier and strike her down when...

"QWARK, NOW!"

The hatch behind the xenomorph opened. Cora quickly activated her helmet, which gave her oxygen, and held on to the nearest ship. Next to the corpses that unfortunately shot into space as a result, the creature was slowly pulled by the vacuum of space before it reached out and grabbed the fighter's foot. Cora opened her eyes in shock and tried to shake the xenomorph off with kicks. But there was no reaction, and the alien was already preparing to put an end to the member of the galactic protection forces with its other claw.

"CORA, HEAD TO SIDE," Qwark held on to the terrain opposite and his partner did as told. A blaster shot followed, not piercing the creature, but the impact caused it to release its victim and be pulled screaming into the dark space. The green hero hit the button again as quickly as he could, and the hatch closed again. Both heroes breathed a heavy sigh of relief before stepping to the small window and watching the colonel's body float away from them. "Rest in peace," Cora saluted, followed by the captain as they paid their last respects to the colonel. "Come...we'll let the others know," and so the triumphant soldiers strode back to let the rest of the Q-Force know.

Their ship was safe again.

Back on the planet, the Predator swung from tree to tree again. It had finally found its destination, whereupon it landed immediately. An old ruin in the middle of the jungle that had once belonged to his ancestors. He was here because his hunting companion had chosen the meeting point, and so he waited for the other Predator. At last, a second landing sounded behind, even as he briefly prepared to attack. His conspecific quickly revealed himself and even clicked slightly in delight. The young Predator always enjoyed worrying the eldest's son, as he always did in hunting training.

The son, on the other hand, was now growling angrily at his partner. A short roar back and forth followed before both young bloods pulled themselves together again. Their third had been out alone and the yautja wanted to look for them next. But both suddenly stopped. They could already feel it in the surroundings without even using the thermal images of their masks. They were being watched. The change of view followed, which now revealed their targets. A pack of xenomorphs had been lurking in the ruins, now slowly snarling and catching sight of their mortal enemies. Their spears and arm blades drawn, the Predators stood ready for the big fight. If they came out alive, they would not only have cleansed the place of their ancestors, but also preserved the pride of the people.

And with a roar, the battle began.