"It should be afternoon now!".
Ratchet and the others continued through the planet's forests in search of their new partner's fellow member. The Predator, whom the lombaxes call Sting, had joined forces with them and would now help escort the heroes to the base. The young hunter climbed up the trees and hopped from branch to branch, but kept his pace slow. Rivet followed the movement of the colossus, which her boyfriend also noticed, "Rivet. The mark on my hand is proof enough that he won't hurt us."
"Yeah... I think I just don't like him," muttered the rebel to herself, which only made Ratchet laugh slightly and wrap his arm around her shoulders.
But the white lombax was looking even more closely at her new ally. Sting was still very young for his people, but compared to them, he was hundreds of years old. Now she noticed how powerfully built this species was. The yautja had trained for a strong muscle mass on his body. Despite his stature, he was agile, like an athlete, and the individual muscles did their work. The color of his body was a mixture of brown and yellow tones. His hair consisted of the familiar dreadlocks and finally his claws and helmet, which hid his true face. Rivet took a quick look at Ratchet and thought it was time for a little joke, while she smirked.
"I'm not going to lie...he's kinda hot..."
"WHAT," came out Ratchet indignantly, to which Rivet just laughed, "I'm just kidding, Ratchet! Come on down, haha." The hero turned his back to his beloved for a moment: "Nah, I didn't think he was funny! I... have good muscles too!" The companions stood still for a moment before the rebel wrapped her arms around the hero. She first kissed his big sailor ear and then his fluffy cheek, "And if you were skinny... I love you just as much as you are and even more." Ratchet blushed at this. He always fell for her games, even when she had kissed the ice gangster on the cheek. "Oh, you," he took her hands in his and then turned to place a kiss on her lips.
"There are androids up ahead!"
Immediately the lombaxes were on alert, their ally hunter had also drawn his blade. "I'll go first," Rivet pulled out the weapon, put a final check on Kit, and then quietly strode through the scree. But she was not alone. Sting had made himself invisible and so the predator strode towards the first android. It was a small force, armed and looking for Mr. Iron. The first was then pierced by something invisible, whereupon the hunter immediately became visible. With one move, he tore the machine apart and dropped the remains. A second android caught sight of the young yautja and was ready to shoot.
But then his head was pierced.
Rivet quickly gunned down the synthetic, holding the gun ready to fire. Sting caught a glimpse of the female lombax, before she suddenly broke into a cheeky grin. And for the predator, that spoke a thousand words. It was like a challenge, and Sting would show her who could kill the most victims. The rest of the androids were already closing in on the two, who were already going after the two dead. Fire was opened, but thanks to her skill, the rebel dodged the bullet and fired back with precision. The predator, on the other hand, ran swiftly from one synthet to the other, cutting off their heads or killing them with his spear.
Rivet then jumped onto one of the androids and smashed its head with her hammer. She then used her rifle to shoot the nearby synthetic between the eyes and then dashed back to the next opponent. The androids were down to three when the rebel attacked one and almost smashed the machine's head with her iron fist. However, Sting landed in front of another and a quick slash with the arm blade split one of the three robots in two. The last one took the tactical retreat, but it wasn't enough for the predator. He pulled out a disc-like object and threw it after it. The disk narrowly missed the android. "You missed," Rivet cheekily said and the white lombax lady prepared to take a shot.
But then the disc came back like a boomerang.
It decapitated the android and landed perfectly in Sting's hand without causing him any damage. Rivet narrowed his eyes in annoyance and glared at the large hunter, who also had his eyes on the lombax, "...show-off!"
"I can see you're going to be friends," someone joked. Ratchet and Eric finally joined in, "You've left me nothing. Next time, ask first, before you start flattening bad guys without me."
"Then you'll have to be quicker, Ratchy," the orange hero blushed at this reply. His girlfriend only used this nickname when they were between themselves or in more private situations. Suddenly, Sting made clicks behind his mask that sounded almost amusing before the hunter moved forward again. "Looks like someone's finally laughing at your jokes," said the male lombax, who received a light slap to the shoulders from his girlfriend, "Come on. We should get going." And so Ratchet and Rivet strode on. The mission wasn't over yet, and the group now had to stay together to escape through the forest alive.
They weren't the only ones with a difficult path.
"Keep going...we can't miss the commander," Adrian continued to lead his squad. The Special Force, sweating, staggered along with the older human through the sweltering parts of the jungle. Kenny and Tusk led the soldiers who were still left, while their gray comrade went ahead, "We're getting exhausted. We need a break."
"I agree," the alien with the tusks put down his blaster. Adrian was about to object when Mr. Iron suddenly spoke up, "I... I see a base over there by the waterfall!"
The human had seen the facility shortly before the stop. It was next to a waterfall and appeared to be deserted. An ideal place to rest before continuing on. " You sure it's not full of these things," The bird-like Kenny looked at the building suspiciously, but the older human assured him of its safety, "It was just a colony facility. Trust me, there's food in there too." The Special Force thought for a moment. The human was native here, but using any place as a refuge was risky. "Let's go, I'm hungry," Tusk was the first to stand up, and even the soldiers followed the pink man. Adrian and Kenny hesitated briefly, but then decided not to abandon the troops.
The next destination was the waterfall.
The unit arrived at the base after only a few meters, where Mr. Iron took the lead. They noticed that there was a small base nearby. "We only store medicine and technology there, nothing special," the moustachioed man opened the large door and the team entered. It was dark for a moment before the lights came on and showed the large corridor with the stairs. "Hey...where's the human," Kenny looked around. Mr. Iron had gone ahead and walked up the stairs, to the surprise of the aliens. For a colony facility, however, there were many labs on display, storing some stuff and even weapons. "Guys...look," Tusk suddenly shuddered as he revealed the shocking discovery. The others were now looking through the large window as well and their breathing stopped.
A gang of Xenomorphs was being held captive there.
They were back in the circular cages and seemed to be asleep, which was difficult to see. Adrian immediately took initiative and turned to his squad, "We need to find the human and get out of here now!" Then an alarm sounded. The power went out briefly, but then there was a loud sound of falling metal. The cages were opened and the aliens now noticed the other creatures. Snarling, they ran towards the glass, which was cracked and would soon break. "NO NOT AGAIN," Tusk suddenly ran out in panic back to freedom.
"TUSK, COME BACK! Damn it...Kenny, go after him," the metal-like alien loaded the gun, "We'll get the human and meet you back outside!"
"Roger that," the bird-like one ran after the pink man, and Adrian's unit was now running up the stairs before the glass finally shattered from the xenomorphs. The aliens hissed and then set off in pursuit of the victims. They had already heard their queen's command, but were unable to free themselves. In the meantime, the Special Force reached the top floor, shooting downwards in the hope of catching one of the xenomorphs. At the end of the corridor was a large door that was open and their target was standing inside.
"MR IRON," Adrian and the others ran towards the human.
He was in some kind of contact center again, with screens and radios everywhere. But the human had an ice-cold look on his face, when he saw the aliens approaching, almost caught by the xenomorphs, "WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!" And before the troops could enter, the armored door suddenly closed. Iron himself had pressed the button and was still standing in front of the peephole with an icy cold stare, where a horrified Adrian looked into the bearded man's eyes, "No...OPEN THE DOOR!" Now the troops were banging on the armored door, but it was too late. The aliens had reached the unit and began to pounce on it.
The last thing the human heard were the cries for help as the xenomorphs abducted their victims.
"...Now that's done," Mr. Iron tapped a few buttons on the large system. The screens showed locations everywhere, recorded by the security camera, before the older man entered a number. It was a contact person he dialed and the call was quickly answered, "Who is this?"
"It's me, Mr. Weyland. Christopher," the voice of the company boss could be heard on the other line, who was delighted, "So you survived. I thought the androids had overdone it."
"It was all planned. After all, I created them," the redhead smiled slightly as he scanned the security cameras. Finally, he saw his target, which was important for the company, "There you are!"
"What else can you offer me that hasn't been destroyed," Weyland had become impatient before his employee found the words again, "The queen is still alive, and she's still laying eggs." On the screen of a camera that had not yet been destroyed, the large alien mother was back, still laying eggs.
"Bring her to me, Christopher! Alive, and no matter how long it takes," the CEO on the other line had given the order coldly, which made the red-haired man grin, "A ship will arrive tomorrow that has a suitable drive. I don't even have to go into hypersleep."
"Then we'll see each other again soon," Weyland ended the call. All Mr. Iron had to do now was figure out how to get to the queen. She was in the main base, but he didn't have the security key, and this one carried...
"Eric," the man whispered coldly.
At that very moment, however, his eye met the nearest monitor. He must have been extremely lucky, because the lombaxes and his partner were getting closer and closer to the base. But then the human stared at his new companion, one of the hunters. "Damn... he's going to kill me," the man with the moustache had to act quickly when a brilliant idea came to him. It would not only kill the yautja, but also the two hairy aliens. They had done their part in his plan and now he no longer needed them. "Eric needs to be near me...he'll always save me, so," the human wanted to put himself in fake danger, which would then immediately bring his companion into action. Then he had a chance at the keycard the younger man carried...and then his purpose was served as well.
"I'm sorry...you were always like a son to me," Mr. Iron whispered as he reloaded a pistol under the table.