Drake could hear the company chaplain reading from the Bible to the more religious members of the team. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." The Sergeant tuned him out after that. Their Cheyenne dropship was going to the surface of the moon, along with many others. This first wave would establish a field base, fortify it, and clear out any bug that got in the way.

He glanced down at his arm. The components were acid-proof, and resistant to pistol-caliber rounds up to .454. But it still couldn't stand up to the teeth of a Xeno. Sure, it hurt less than if his real arm was bitten, but it was better than nothing. He rose to his feet, donning his mask. The others fell silent. "The good Lord does work in mysterious ways," he said. "All respect to Him, though, we're gonna be clearing bugs on our own. Someone's gotta do it, and we just happen to be that someone." He cocked the charging handle on his assault rifle.

"For those of you with weapons on full-auto, fire in short bursts," Drake continued. "No need to waste ammunition. And for those of you on a bug hunt for the first time..." He paused. "Use your head. Odds are you'll come back alive. Just remember..." He cracked a wry grin behind his mask. "Marines never die. We just go to hell and regroup."

"Ooh-rah!"



The Queen felt their presence drawing closer. Yes, more hosts had arrived, and just in time. The Warriors and Drones had hunted down every human, every animal that could bear offspring for them-- dogs, cats, even animals in the labs. The Queen let out a telepathic cry, calling out to her offspring. One in particular was ready to hunt. She had been spawned from one of the lab animals, but her intelligence surpassed nearly all of her siblings. Her name came from a scar that had been burned into the carapace of her skull by a lab tech. She had been very thorough in making sure that he had died slowly, in great pain.

Now they would hunt again. All they needed to do was wait until nightfall.



The ship, one of three sent down onto the moon's surface, touched down. The moon's surface was rocky, and bare for the most part, save for the occasional tree, shrub, or cactus. Its occupant was not human, not even close. In fact, his clan had many of them for trophies. He and his clan-mates were here to hunt, and if the human military got in the way, then so be it. They would die just like the serpents. Clicking as he activated his ship's active camouflage remotely, he could see where the human's outer settlement was; according to scans, the rest of the complex was underground.

Combat in a desert or scrub plant didn't have the same advantages as hunting in forests or jungles, but the serpents knew where he would be, even if he deployed his active camouflage. But now, the hunt would begin in earnest.

Varia sat on the right hand side row, two from the front. She was one of two women in the squad. She was relatively inexperienced in combating bugs but she had a brilliant mind. She was also a scientist. She was here to figure out their origin. Their source may lead to their ultimate defeat. She sighs as the Sergeant cracks a joke about Hell. She took it all very seriously. She wasn't your usual marine. She was actually quite a pretty female soldier, unlike her team mate who resembled an Amazonian butcher. But she knew how to handle herself from the male chauvinists in the group.

She had martial arts training, although not overly strong, she was fast and agile enough to make a quick dispatch of you. She had been trained since the age of ten, because her parents wanted her to be able to defend herself in these scary times. Now, she had been thrown into the bug exterminator squadron under orders from the Corporation after 5 years combat training in the field alongside her medical degree. Their orders were to get her to the lab and help her investigate.

"Hey Varia, after this you maybe wanna get a drink sometime?" One of the male soldiers asked her and she just stares at him, unamused. "Really? We're about to go shoot up some aliens and you think that's a good time to ask someone out?" She raised her eyebrows in disbelief then shakes her head, sighing.

The dropship landed, and the back gate opened up. The squad's two Smart Gunners, Hunter and Johnson, went out first. The area wasn't what most had expected. The noobies had expected Xenos as far as the eye could see, while the more experienced hadn't anticipated the near-desert setting. Drake shrugged it off, but knew sand would play hell with his arm. He pulled up the layout of the colony on his datapad. "We're heading for the Wey-Yu armory," he said. "It's well defended, and we can set up the field base there."

Varia placed her helmet over her head and clasped it in place. She cocked her sniper rifle, making sure it was fully loaded and ready to fire. She examines the scope, full battery on her laser sight. She was good to go. At the Sarge’s orders she stands and follows the rest of the drop ship crew out of the shuttle and stepped onto the sandy terrain. That she had not expected. She was smart enough to know that this wasn’t right.

She takes it upon herself to check out the horizon using her scope, examining their surroundings. “Clear.” She remarks and points her sniper rifle down to the floor. She awaits her next instruction.

Two of the Marines carried auto-turrets. They would need them. Drake had seen what Xenos could do. He remembered his first Sergeant had bought the farm because of a Spitter. In a grotesque display of its victory, it had spit acid down the Sarge's throat. God, that sound would never leave his head. Drake shook his head. "Movement," a Corporal said. He was charged with checking the motion tracker. "Fifty mikes."



Moonscar sprinted through the tunnels as fast as she could. She knew most of them by heart, and she was going to take a flanking position. Her sisters, being less intelligent, would probably take a more direct approach



Wyvern froze once the translator in his Biomask repeated the human's words. His camouflage was active, and they couldn't see him. However, he should have known they'd have that technology. As frail and primitive as humans were, they could be remarkably resourceful. That's why they made such prized game, even more so to some than serpents.

At that notion. Varia checks through her sniper scope, yet she saw nothing. They had to proceed with extreme caution.

"What do you think we'll find in there?" The other girl asked Varia, who responded. "Death." She grimaced at the thought. But that was the reality here.

"Johnson, Hunter, are the Smart Guns locked on to anything?" Drake inquired. He aimed down his sights, looking for movement. They both replied with, "Negative."

"Whatever it was," the Corporal with the motion tracker said, "it was big. Nearly human-sized, but big." The Sergeant made note of that before they continued on. The Wey-Yu armory was a three-story structure. On the top floor was communications, where the colony sent and received messages off-planet. The lower floor was a weapon repair shop, while the middle floor was the actual armory.

There were no bodies-- there hardly ever were when Xenos were involved-- but weapons and shell casings told someone had made a stand here... as well as the disembodied armor still clutching a submachine gun.

Varia follows at the back, turning with her scope to the horizon behind them just to make sure nothing ambushed from behind. She thought she saw something move but she shook her head and continued to follow Sergeant Drake. She hadn't known the man long but she sense she could trust his judgement and leadership.

They got to the main entrance of the Wey-Yu building. Some form of slime encased the doorway.

"Damn," Drake growled. "Johnson, Hunter, Jenkins, stay here and watch our six while we clear the upstairs." The two Smart Gunners, as well as a Private armed with a submachine gun. He flicked his wrist forward, and another pair of Privates moved up the stairs with guns ready. He turned to Varia. "May want to lose the sniper, Private. Not much good in a close-quarters fight with a Xeno."

He readied his underbarrel shotgun and went up the stairs.

At that Varia nodded at the Sarge and swaps out her sniper for the Vector CRB gun. Much more suited to close combat, and her trusty dagger at the side. She then followed him up the stairs.

The second floor was clear, save for a disembodied leg nearby. Drake pushed the thought away. "I hate bug hunts," a Corporal muttered. Drake glared at him.

"For that, you're going upstairs first," he ordered. A few nervous chuckles went through the team.



Moonscar stopped. She could detect three hosts just inside the first floor. Many of her sisters had been killed by weapons like their own. She would have to find an alternate route to avoid that fate.

Varia gulps. She was not fond of bugs either. But she had a job to do here. Although her actual mission was to catch a specimen and bring it back to Wey-Yu. She refused to do that. She takes point at one of the side corners.

Gunfire erupted from the top floor. The Sergeant went upstairs, ready for a firefight. Unfortunately, one of the Privates that went in had a Facehugger latched on to him. Someone tried to pry it away, but Drake stopped the Marine. "Nothing we can do for him now," he said, drawing his pistol and prying the man's armor away to reveal his chest. "He'll go quickly." And with that Drake fired a single round through the Private's heart.



Wyvern could tell that the serpents were moving. They sensed hosts, including himself. However he would not fall victim to them. He'd kill himself first before becoming a host.

Varia peered down at the face hugger. "I guess he never saw it coming....gotta keep on our toes huh?" She said with concern. Keeping her gun held close as they continued forward.

A Private moved over to the comms and booted the computer up. "Bringing systems online," he reported. "Looks like they were running on auxiliary power once they sent a distress signal." The lights began turning on across the complex. "We have power."



Moonscar was in an air vent, making her way to the second floor. For now she would scout, see the hosts in action as they killed her sisters. Better them than her.

Varia looks around the room. She spots a keycard she may need and picks it up. "Access card." She informs them all and pockets it quickly. She thought she heard some noises above her in the vents and looked up.

Gunfire erupted from the first floor. "Contaaact!" Hunter shouted. Drake focused, choosing three marines.

"Crest, Cho, you're coming with me," the Sergeant said. Cho had been the Corporal who had griped. Now he was going to fight bugs up close and personal.



Wyvern watched as the first scouts were torn to shreds by the humans' firearms. Many more would come in time, but--

A low growl came from behind the Predator. He turned to see a massive serpent preparing to attack. Wyvern had seen this caste before. They were relatively slow until they charged. However, they made up for it with an armored crest, and a thick exoskeleton resistant to most human firearms. The Yautja flicked his wrist, his arm blades extending.

Crest immediately came to behind the Sarge and Cho with her vector gun at the ready, pulled up close to her chest. She felt the adrenaline rush begin to pump through her veins. She pulls the safety off her latch and aims down the hallway. Her eyes narrow to focus on anything that moved.

Drake opened fire with his Assault Rifle as another Scout burst through the door. Jenkins was down, acid dripping from where his arm should have been. "There's a Spitter out there, sir!" Johnson reported. "Took Jenkins' arm off." He fired as another bug tried to get through the door.

"That bastard'll stay out of the fight unless it sees us," Drake cursed. "Seems like we'll need to take care of it. Volunteers, ladies?"

Varia sighed and stepped forward. "Too scary for ya boss?" She shot him a mischievous smirk. She then puts a thumbs up. "See ya on the flip side!" She ran as fast as she could. This scientific genius was a secretive adrenaline junkie at heart. She dodged the spits and skidded around a table and slid along the floor under it to take cover from more spits. Hopefully that was enough to lure the bastard out for her comrades to shoot to pieces.