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RPG Lost Souls

PREDATORv2, Yautja, 15 years ago

"Kudos to Predator428 for developing this story, Good job!"


::When the newly founded Weyland-Yutani Corporation had announced the next advancement in space travel back in 2119, the world was ecstatic. The human race had finally come to a state where it could leave its solar system and explore the universe beyond. Untold numbers of new worlds and alien species were just waiting to be discovered, and it was humanity’s duty to explore each and every inch of the vast new ground laid before them. What they didn’t mention was how tedious the process would be.
Technician Laurence Wessinger opened his tech station and began to run through a system check. Just another glorious day in the WY Interstellar Military Mapping and Research Division. The computer quickly finished its start up sequence and awaited Laurence’s command. He began to enter the preplanned coordinates, giving the device the directions as to where to launch their supply of probes this day. He didn’t even think as he ran through the process. Laurence had been working on Research Station KC-118, or the Arizona, for exactly seven months, twenty-six days and forty-two minutes, according to his watch.
The Arizona was just one of thousands of research stations; all scattered throughout space by the WY Corp. Each station held a supply of five autonomous exploration drones, and a crew of four to run the apartment sized “vesselâ€Â. The purpose of these stations was to drift through space, running scans on new nebulas, stars, planets, spatial anomalies, anything. Each one of the crewman had been specially selected from the day they had left school. Every man and woman had excelled in computers, aeronautics, and mathematics. All just a waste of time, any idiot could do his job just as good as he did. His only purpose was to send the launch coordinates to the probes and log all the new data sent back to the station. Laurence opened the log and began to fill in the new reports being sent back to the drones.

\Incoming Data From Probes 1-5
…
…
…
\THREE STARS DETECTED. COORDINATES: LA3503LW908. LA3796LW648. LA5798LW576.
…
\MINERAL MASS: IRON, NICKEL, FROZEN LIQUID. COORDINATES: LA5783LW223
…
\PLANETOID. SIZE: 3224 KM IN DIAMETER. COORDINATES: LA0897LW243

It was all standard stuff; Laurence simply added the data without a second thought. He then turned his attention to the probe control station to begin their recall back to the station. The probes had a very limited fuel supply and needed to be recalled after each scanning, a feature that seemed to exist only to annoy Laurence. He was about to shut off the data receiver when a new message appeared on the console.

\Incoming Data From Probe 3
…
…
…
FOREIGN MASS DETECTED. ARTIFICIAL. UNKNOWN MATERIALS. COORDINATES: LA0921LW284.

Laurence stared in confusion at the data; he had never had a report of something the data files couldn’t identify. Laurence tapped the command board and ordered a more thorough scan of the object.

SCANNING…
…
…
POWER SOURCE DETECTED: UNKNOWN TYPE. NON -NUCLEAR.

This thing was something with a power source? A marine ship perhaps? Laurence new that there were no civilian or commercial vessels in this sector of space. The only explanation he could think of was some sort of deep space USCM operation. Laurence brought the probe’s visual camera on and sent the video feed to his station console. What appeared on the screen amazed him.
It was a ship alright, but not like any he had ever seen. For one thing, it was massive. It had to be at least a third the size of the planetoid detected earlier, a ship of mind boggling construction. How could a vessel this big even be built by the military? As Laurence began to examine the design of the vessel, he began to doubt that it was even made by anything human. The ship had an oddly constructed hull, the basic shape could only be described as some sort of predatory animal. It was nothing like the Conestoga class ships commonly used by the USCM. The plating was constructed of some sort of dark, solid material. Not a single running light or viewport could be seen shinning from it. It was simply a sleek and dark construct, floating aimlessly through space. Something about the vessel unnerved Laurence. This ship gave off a kind of presence, like it was aware that Laurence was watching it. It was almost like starring a wolf right in the face. A wolf that new it could kill you any second it chose. Laurence physically shook his head to rid himself of the feeling and drew his attention back to the scanning data. He needed to see what else he could find about this thing.
As far as the computer could tell, the whole ship seemed to be powered down. The only thing active was the main power supply. The hull was fully pressurized, artificial gravity set slightly above 1 G. The ship was filled with the same atmosphere as Earth, with a few variances in methane and nitrogen. He couldn’t see any holes, fires, or leaking fluids. What ever it was seemed to be in perfect condition. Laurence booted up the com system and sent a simple greeting to the ship. He waited a few minutes as the computer attempted to establish a connecting with vessel.

RECIEVER IS NOT RESPONDING. DATA SHOWS NO ACTIVITY FROM VESSEL SYSTEMS IN THE LAST EIGHTY-THREE DAYS.


Laurence was puzzled by the message. The ship had apparently been offline for almost three months. The only conclusion he could come to was that the crew had abandoned the ship at that time. Or had been killed. But how likely was that? The ship was shown to be fully functional, no indication of any foreign attack or damage. It was a ghost ship, Laurence realized; a vessel built like no other he had seen before. This was certainly something that WY would be interested in.
Laurence started a download of the visual footage and scanning data, packing all the material into a message to be sent straight to the Corp office. As the report was completed, Laurence established a connection with the head WY office and sent the report. As response was soon sent back to his console, addressed directly from WY Command.

EXECUTE PRECODE: BETA3-5982949
AUTHORIZATION CODE: 6557648JGI3G9D9

-PURGE ALL STATION DATA RECORED WITHING THE LAST ONE HUNDRED DAYS. UNDER PRECODE: ALPHA5-69472W, YOU ARE NOT TO REPORT THIS TO ANYONE ELSE. YOU ARE UNDER AN ORDER OF COMPLETE SILENCE IN THIS MATTER TECHNICIAN LAURNCE WESSINGER. SEND STATION KC-118 TO NEW COORDIANTES: LA99807LW576. FAILURE TO COMPLY WILL INITIATE TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT AND FULL LEGAL PUNISHMENT.

Laurence’s blood turned cold as he read the message. He quickly punched in the precode and authorization number, activating the complete purge of the station data. Transmissions such as this were something that you followed no matter what. Laurence had stumbled onto something big here; something that the company was obviously very interested in. He knew that this was certainly not something he should get involved with.
As the last of the computer data was destroyed by its self-initiated virus, the image of the vessel finally disappeared from his computer screen. His fear didn’t disappear with it though. One thought still sat in the back of his mind, keeping him unsettled. What could have turned a monster like that into a ghostship?
…

Two weeks later
…

A pair of objects cut through space at an incredible speed, soundless bullets cutting through the void. They were vessel, their design not unlike the one discovered by the Arizona research station. The ships had the same predatory shape, one that gave off a murderous presence to any creature that saw it approach. Dark, angular hull structures that were built for speed as well as intimidation. However, these ships were smaller. Their purpose was merely as ferries for the beings inside. They were not the kind of vessels designed for prolonged voyages, very much unlike their larger cousin. The larger ship had been made as a mobile city, a place where entire families of its creators could travel across all reaches of space. This ship was the two smaller craft’s destination.
This ship was of a matter of great importance to the beings aboard the two vessels. It was a matter of honor. For these beings, honor was a life code for each and every individual. Honor through strength, honor through commitment, and honor through the hunt. They were a race of hunters, beings that had collected the heads of a thousand species, and were always looking for more game. A favorite prey of these creatures were the humans. Centuries of hunting on Earth had influenced the culture greatly; the beings were part of legend and myth to the humans. They had been called many things, demons, hunters, gods. But one word described their race perfectly, Predator.
The two vessels were commanded under different clans, but both united as brothers. One of the ships was under the control of the legendary clan Hunter’s Moon, the other lead by the fierce and deadly Balatu. Both groups of these hunters new what needed to be done, the deed was something the two could not ignore. One of the migratory clanships, a home for dozens of entire clans, had dropped out of existence. The Homeland had lost contact with the craft many months ago, for unknown reasons. This did not immediately call any attention; the clanships were expected to have freedom from the High Council. That is what the clanships enjoyed, freedom to go on their own hunts, without constant care from their home. The Council knew something was wrong when the ship failed to rendezvous with a ritual priest for the xenomorph blooding ritual. The ship had recently acquired an alien queen and was eager to test the unblooded against her children. When the clanship failed to pick up the priest, a search was started to discover its location.
It was months before any sign of the ship was found. The clanship had seemed to simply disappeared from existence. The ship was finally found by a small scout ship exactly five days ago. The mystery only continued to deepen from there. The scout sent a report back to the Council that they had found the ship, but it was not responding to any hailing signals. After a report of its coordinates, the scout informed them that they had docked with the vessel and had found no one to greet them. All communication had ceased after that. The Council feared the worst. There could be any explanation for the halt of communication, a downed transmitter, some sort of spatial interference, but the yautja were not a very optimistic race. The ship was assumed the victim of some sort of disaster, an ion storm, an attack by another species, a collision with a rogue asteroid, but the Council had to be sure.
And so the two ships were sent, to find out what had happened to the clanship and to bring it back to the Homeland. Each and every hunter onboard had volunteered to go after the ship. Each one aboard the clanship had been family to them; yautja from both clans had been on the ship when it went missing. The hunters were ready to aid their lost comrades, and destroy any who would threaten them.
As the pair of ships began to reach docking range with the behemoth, the sleeping hunters began to awaken from their stasis…
…
Unbeknownst to the approaching Predators, a different vessel was approaching the clanship from the other side. A ship designated the USCM Constantine. This medium sized vessel had been dispatched from Gateway exactly thirteen days and fourteen hours after the Arizona’s accidental discovery of the seemingly abandoned clanship. The Weyland-Yutani Head Office new that this was an opportunity they could not ignore. A treasure trove of new technologies and data was just waiting for them to take, and the only obstacle was a few possible survivors of whatever had plagued the vessel. The WY office new that this needed to be handled effectively and discreetly. A military division was needed that could handle any of the Predators still aboard, and one that had undertaken private missions for them before. So the Alpha Draconis had been commissioned.
The elite AD division had faced the Predators before, they new how to handle them. But these soldiers were overkill anyway, if the Arizona’s report proved to be accurate. However, the Weyland-Yutani company hadn’t reached this level of influence by taking chances. For this case, overkill was a necessity. The soldiers aboard the Constantine had been given a brief overview of the mission. They were to board the vessel, eliminate any survivors onboard, and secure the ship for transport back to Earth for study. A relatively simple objective, but the Predators always managed to complicate things.
As the military vessel reached a medium distance from the clanship, her engines powered down as retro thrusters brought her to a complete stop. The Constantine was not equipped for a directly forced docking procedure. Instead, the marines would use much smaller ships, fitted with hostile boarding gear, to take the vessel. The humans inside were preparing for launch as the ship got to final range for the capture. Not a single one realizing what awaited both the Predators and soldiers inside the beast…

PREDATORv2, Yautja, 15 years ago

The grim side effects from long term stasis hung over PREDATORv2. 42 years it had been since the Council called him to duty. Before this time he had served on the Council, his greatest goal. If only he would have known what a foolish goal it was. The Council was filled with fools, driven only by the thirst of greed. It made since to him: why they'd send him on this worthless little mission in this backwards part of space, keep him out of their way. Who knows maybe the Council would be delighted with the news of the great PREDATORv2's demise. "Unlikely" He thought to himself, as he pulled himself from the confines of his cramped stasis pod the panel across his chamber, flicked, then awoke to full luminessence.

He walked over to the panel, examining it. A small diagram of their target appeared. "So...we're within scanning range". It didn't appear to have any external damage, PREDATORv2 had forgotten how large the ship was. He had been at it's completion ceremony: it was to usser in a new era of Yautja technology and culture. "Hmmh...a lot of good its doing sitting lifeless in space". PREDATORv2 tried scanning the internal of the ship, it seems the ship has shielding to prevent it. Agitated PREDATORv2 activated and sent a becon to the ghost ship. Hopefully the fool on the other end would respond.

Knowing that it might take some time for a response. PREDATORv2 pushed a key on the panel, with a "hissss!" an invisible wall slid down from the top of his chamber revealing a full selection of Yautja weapons and his scared armor. He apprached the wall reaching for his mask. PREDATORv2 paused... There was this thought that seemed to keep resurfacing in his mind, he shrugged it off. Grabing his mask, maybe this little mission would be more than he bargained for, infact he was counting on it....

delta-boy, Yautja, 15 years ago

Delta yawned as he swung his legs out from the cyro tube.as fully half of the marines on board were still asleep he decided to get himself ready and get some chow down him,he walked to his locker and pulled out clothing and some boots.
once his MARPAT urban where on he put on a pair of nomex flight gloves and pulled a pair of doctor martin boots on.he wryly walked to the mess hall and got some quick grub.

vevlaa, Yautja, 15 years ago

Sergeant Erik Vevlaa of Alpha Draconis stood in his quarters. It had been some years since he saw some action now. The last time he had blown up a Planet when he served on the USCM Faith
Since that, Private Vevlaa became Sergeant Vevlaa and he had been transferred to the USCM Constantine along with others from his old squad.

Vevlaa sighed. This was a blue milk run, according to home, but as always Vev was sure this was way over their capability. He could not explain why, but during the briefing he had earlier this was a Predator ship, and a huge one! He could tell from experience that predators should not be messed with unless needed to. But orders are orders. They were very clear: Search, destroy and recover.
“This is suicide†Vev mumbled and put on his Personal Armor. He also put on his old Red Cross band on his arm knowing that when dealing with other species like Predators and Xenomorphs that didn’t matter at all.

He went over to another locker and opened it with an 8digit code. Inside were his modified M41F. Instead of the Grenade launcher, he had attached a Flamethrower with a hose from the weapon to his backpack where the fuel is stored. He strapped it to his shoulder, loaded 4 magazines with 95rounds. The then loaded the magazine that he had in the weapon with 95rounds and loaded the weapon.

Being a medic, he was happy over any equipment he could have that could save life. However this was limited to a advanced medkit, a stretcher, a field surgery set, and a pair of Defiblerator gloves.
The gloves could be used as a weapon if used correctly, it could easily kill a human, and when used on a Xenomorph its heard had exploded from the shock. He had never tested it on a predator, and to be honest he didn’t want to either.

Vevlaa walked out of his quarters and moved down the hall towards the docking bay. When he rounded a corner, he spotted a group of rookies. They were laughing and bragging of their deeds back at the academy. When Vev passed they stood in attention and saluted. “Hoo-Rah†one of them said. Vevlaa pushed out a “Heh†and walked on. He knew most of them would not return…

Peterson, Yautja, 15 years ago

Standing on the Deck of the USCM Crusier Captain Peterson had a Cigar in his mouth as he stared directly toward the map table that was displaying a yautja ship. "God damnit" Peterson said after about ten minutes of studying the Ship. Walking down the decks Peterson came out on to the Flight Deck. A young Staff Sergeant Yelled out "ATTENTION ON DECK!" "Fall in people" Peterson said taking the Cigar out of his mouth. As the Marines all fell in Peterson threw the what was left of the cigar on the deck of the ship and stepped down on it, then pulled out a can of Chewing Tabacco and proceeded to Add a dip to his lower lip. "Ok men and women listin up! We are going into the hornets nest so to speak! The target is a Predator Ship, We have no clue how many creatures they have or what weapons they have, but we do know we cant give up without doing our job! We will be going in for force One platoon. First Squad Will Follow me in first Second Squad will follow Second Leuitenant Dunn in five minutes after my squad is inside. I know alot of you new people are nerrvous, Hey dont worry about it, you remember your training and you will survive! Thats all gear up and get ready to go we ship out tomarrow at 0740, Carry On!" Peterson said as he turned and walked away spitting on the deck.

predator428, Yautja, 15 years ago

Predator428 opened his reptilian eyes as his stasis pod's electronics brought him out of his chemical induced coma. The chamber mechanism slowly cracked open, only opening halfway. Predator428 actually had to use his hands to raise the door and allow him escape from this artificial coffin. He even had to stoop his head to get out of the undersized construct. This ship and its equipment were not exactly tailor made for the hunter. The thing was a junker, the only craft that the council would spare on this task. Predator428 was annoyed by this obvious lack of thought put into the preparation for this assignment.

The Balatu and Hunter's Moon clan were the fiercest of all the yautja! They were the destoyers of worlds, the fear of a hundreds of species, not some damn surveilance team for checking up on a clanship! The Council seemed to have it in for them, it had been months before our clan had been allowed to partake in any kind of conflict. And what had broken our boredom? Investigating a clanship that probably just had a downed transmitter! Of course, Predator428 did take solace in a chance to visit this particular ship. He had spent many of his down time aboard this ship, made alot of good friends and met many great hunters. Maybe Predator428 couldn't have a chance for honor on this assignment, but he could atleast take some time to socialize with some of the more distant clans aboard.

As Predator428 made his way to his weapon case, he passed the Elder PREDATORv2. He was very gratful to have a member of the Council accompaning them on this trip. PREDATORv2 was a legend among the clan, a hunter of great honor and prestige. At the moment he stood near the communication console, most likely trying to make contact with their target. Predator428 gave a polite nod to the Elder. He gave a grunt of acknowledgement and went back to his task. He seemed to be in a foul disposition and Predator428 knew it would be best to leave him to his duty.

He climbed down the ladder the lower decks and made his way to the weapon storage. Predator428 came to his unit and typed in the appropriate sequence with a clawed finger. The large case slowely opened to reveal his personal store of armor and weapons, all constructed by his hands alone to fit his needs. Predator428 applied each piece of armor quickly and diligently, making sure that each section was fully locked in place. There could be no mistakes, even if his assumptions about this assingment were correct.

Lastly, Predator428 placed his spiked mask onto his face and completed the image of the precise and deadly hunter he was. He was ready for whatever the galaxy could throw at him.

Kidd, Yautja, 15 years ago

"Captian, I disagree." said a voice as a man appeared approaching Peterson in a USCM grunt's attire. Standing before the captain to his full height of six feet, two inches tall frame, he looks at the officer with his dark brown eyes.

Kidd Junior, the old officer of Alpha Draconis before he resigned from the military armed forces to achieve his dream only to be called back into service by Weyland Yutani Corp. to act on their behalf. Although the crew does not know of his intentions, he does not plan on revealing it, anytime soon.

The old officer wears his M3 Personal Armor with pride, with no special markings on it what-so-ever except for a few black tiger stripes on the hips and breast of the cuirass. His clamshell greaves however were plain and simple, just like a standard USCM armor piece ready to be fitted along with the torso. Slung over his shoulder is the WY official's personal M41A1 Pulse Rifle, nothing to fancy besides its slightly more up-to-date than the M41.

"Peterson, if I may make a suggestion, we should board this ship, ASAP, so that we can get back home as quickly has possible, and besides, they are not paying us by the hour." said Kidd, as he attempts to persuade the captain to take his suggestion. Kidd still feels for his old comrades, but the old veteran seems to have fallen from military life and into personal greed.

DeathWraith, Yautja, 15 years ago

--- about 4 hours before the arrival of the Alpha Draconis ---


A very low pitched husky voice hit the doctor right in the face after hours of waiting and sweating in pitch black darkness, fear and discouragement building up in his chest, driving him to the point where he almost burst into tears. This sudden disclosure of someone being there right in front of him triggered a violent startle as he started to shake.

"I love these stations, don't you? Only 4 civillians on them, how much easier can it get? Doesn't this make you wonder about the price they put on your life? They send you out here, unguarded, knowing what you could stumble upon... Ha-ha-ha but few are those brave enaugh to defy the great Weyland-Yutani Corporation-"
"IF YOU ARE SO BRAVE..." - the doctor yelled, no longer able to cope with the stress, by now every breath hurting his lungs - "If you are... so brave... why do you mask your voice and keep me in darkness... why don't you... show yourself... and just... say what you want... and just... let me go... i am of no use to you..." the doctor said in a smaller and smaller voice as he continuously lost faith in the thought that talking was a good idea. His words were followed by a few moments of silence, but then whoever was in front of him spoke again.
"The voice you hear is not going through any filters. This is my real voice. Melanie, please turn on the lights so the good doctor can see who he is talking to! But not too fast, we don't want him to go blind."
"Of course." the ship responded as the lighting in the room started to gradually grow. The doctor's eyes were closed tight, but as the light hit his eyelids, they relaxed and slowly opened up. And so did his mouth at the sight of his abducter: in front of him was standing a 6ft tall man, with long, silver hair and beard, but with an unsettling charcoal coloured skin and some unusual facial features that reminded him of a certain type of insects. Even more unsettling was the smile on his face and the stragely benevolent look in his eyes.
"What are you?" the doctor eagerly asked, forgetting that he had been tied up and left in darkness by this man for the past few hours. "Are you an alien? Are you from that ship?"
"No, i am not an alien. My name is Xeuss. But my story is of no concern to you now. I see you know of the ship. That is what i'm interested in. Tell me all you know about it."
"Is that why i'm here? That ship?"
"Yes. I've been following that ship for almost two months. I assumed it was abandoned, but i couldn't risk losing my own ship. Melanie's sensors are not working propperly, she cannot recieve any data about the interior, but she picked up one of your drones in proximity to the ship, so figured you'd know something. I looked through the station's logs, but there was nothing of use. That is why i had to question the crew."
"Y-you questioned everyone? Where are the others? Are they here, on your ship?"
The smile on Xeuss' face faded.
"They wouldn't tell me anything. So i killed them. Now quickly spit out everything you know about that ship or you die too."
"Yes, sure" - the doctor said while his face went through a grimasse, as he quickly went from excitement back to anxiety, and the words rushed out of his mouth - "it's, it's barren, but there's atmosphere, and artificial gravity, e-everything you need. Bu-but i spoke..." - he stopped for a moment to breathe, and then continued at a slower pace, looking Xeuss in the eyes - "But i already spoke to the Corporation. They will probably send someone to collect it. It's all classified, i'm not supposed to tell anyone about it..."
"ARE YOU SURE?" Xeuss shouted, adopting an intimidating pose over the doctor's face that made him retract his head between his shoulders.
"Y-yes, yes, i've told you all i know, now please, let me go, i won't tell anyone, i swear!"
"If what you say is true, then i must hurry. Melanie, prepare two shuttles and start moving closer to the Yautja clanship. It should take about 5 hours to get there from where we are now with the little fuel the shuttles have, so i'm going right ahead to see what i can find. You are to get Lucifer out of statis as soon as i tell you to." - Xeuss instructed his ship while untying the doctor, and a quick response came from the feminine voice of the ship's operating system - "Shuttles powering up."
"The others are safely back on the station. I will get you there and i advice you go all the way back to Earth, because if something happened to that ship, the Corporation won't be the only ones looking for it!"
"What...? Really? Thank you!"
"Yea, move!"


--- 4 hours later ---

Xeuss was still 1 hour away from the ghost-ship when a transmission from his ship woke him up. The USCM were on their way too. As he got up and off the bench he had been resting on he instructed his ship to get Lucifer out of statis and get away as soon as he was on the shuttle. This was about to get dangerous, but there was no way he could get back to the ship and leave without getting detected. Ther was still a chance he could either negociate for the parts he needed, or kill his way to them.

nikkie_murray, Yautja, 15 years ago

Nikkie wearing her uniform, the strips on her side. She may not of been here this long, nor did she even expect to stay for so many months and days. But it seemed her level headedness shows something for her to go from Rookie towards the second in command. She was proud of her self and how she stuck to this. Not that it was a bad thing mind you, just the fact that she was in more of a wanderer then a stickler to something. The computer snug in her lap as she sat on one of the many wings of the birds. She listened to every person that was in the immediate area.

Peterson, speaking of leaving tomorrow morning, or was it night. Being up for the past few days, trying to help settle the men down long enough to even have then acknowledge of the new ship's presence she sighed and closed her eyes. Another voice entered her ears and caressed her mind. Kidd, one of the oldest and apparently respected EX-A.D member of the group. She knew another, by the name of malus was in the ship as well. Even older then she was by joining up standards. She gave him the same respect as she does everyone else. The fingers clicked on the new keyboard she painted on the keys herself. Military style with a touch of home. A picture of a tree on the touchable mouse. She sighed and thought of home, how she longed to be there. Agreeing with kidd, she looked up and spoke her mind as well. "If you think of it, what if another military group is being sent out as we speak" She said with a nod and a flick of a smile at Peterson. She adored him as well as others, but she is in conflict of her own self of her heart.

Ducking her eyes down she went back to studying the last time the group went head to head of the Predators. She saw there was one, a human. "Does anyone know who she is?" Nikkie asked as she held the computer up and sent the hologram in to the middle of the room. Wondering what everyone has to say, maybe she can find a way to get this female away from the predators and in to the group and study her, she has to try has to know how to make the group stronger and better.

Waralien, Yautja, 15 years ago

Waralien jerked awake. It had been a long slumber since the last time he'd been active. Slowly he lowered himself from the ceiling that he'd perched himself upon and slumbered all this time. His clawed feet echoed silently on the floor as he reached the ground. The newly developed queen had just arose from her slumber and was busying herself in awaking the others. Waralien knew nothing of family and therefore only heeded the call of the queen when it was of the urgency.

All around him the others awoke. Each hungering for flesh. Their hunger would soon be satisfied. War took the moment to stretch himself. His body stretched to its fullest length. Several scars were visible in the dim light of the chamber. And in this chamber hung the spoils of his previous encounters. Predators hung dead along the walls. Some used for breeding, others to feed the queen.

Waralien suddenly felt something he never felt in awhile. His claw reached around to his right dorsel tubes. Which were gone. Gone due to a battle long fought in his youth. His teeth bared and his anger grew. He knew who was coming. But he learned from his mistake last time. He was too naive. This time he would not make the same mistake.

The others from the hive were awakening. He needed to move to the upper chambers to ensure himself that the guards were up and about.

Yes, prey was coming. Lots of it too. Enough to satisfy the queen's drive to populate.

With a quick-start, War ran to gather the rest of the warriors.

Edward_Fletcher, Yautja, 15 years ago

Edward FLetcher, best of the best. That is what he was. Always did he think himself better than any other military alive. This was it, the time was now. "Now to prove myself right..." Fletcher stood, his bunk was cramped, he had roomed with maybe six other guys, they left their shit everywhere. "Damned amateurs..." He muttered. He had become a veteran, and resented new recruits greatly. Though he himself hadn't been active long he felt that with all of the combat and near civil war he had seen he was veteran enough.

Edward looked along the corridors after poking his head out of the small bunk room. "Sweet! Bathrooms free!" He said and raced to it. Coming out a few minutes later he sighed, content. Once in his room he opened up his small locker. Without wasting time he slid on everything he needed. Combat armor, helmet with HUD, and even put his belt on, in record time.

Now Fletcher grabbed his most essential things. Pain killers, his knife, Desert Eagle Handgun .50 caliber (he had bought this in lue of using one of the standard pistols) and his Smartgun. Everything in its place and ready to go Edward smiled. He no longer needed his harness, he was strong enough to carry and hold the things, even while firing, without support. With one hand he slung it under his arm and started down the passageways.

"Bet they are all on the bridge again...." Fletcher muttered. SO on he went. He stepped in just as Peterson showed up. "Here come the peacock." He muttered under his breath. He saluted and stayed standing after Peterson spoke. He listen as well closely to Nikkie's words, however few she spoke. THe woman was an enigma to him, but he did like her a good deal. About to open his mouth Edward was suddenly seeing Kidd, his old idol. In amazement Fletcher listened. THen he quietly stepped more to the front. "I agree with Kidd sir!" He said loudly. All attention was now on him. "And also sir, I know that you most likely never recieved my formal request, but I am saying right here, right now that I plan on going with Kidd as a two man group...or squad should more wish to come."

Fletcher fell silent now. But another thought came to mind, it was a great reason. "I mean, because if I am with Kidd he and I can easily recover what need be recovered as a two man team! Squads will draw huge attention, so in my opinion..." It was time for his gamble. "In my opinion sir, I think it would be much better for the squads to be providing cover and diversion."

Now truly Fletcher went silent. And in doing so said his bit. "THis is for you to decide sir, otherwise I will follow you in your squad." He nodded and backed to the back of the room. His heart raced a little. He was known for speaking up, but he had never done so like that to Peterson.

Lone_Hunter2, Yautja, 15 years ago

lone hunter continued to stare at his newly cloned limbs, they felt wierd, but it was that or try and live a new life without a whole left arm and right leg...no choice really... he looked back up at his armour and thought about the ship the were sent to retrive...it was a large ship, the largest he had ever seen only the current orbital space ports back at the home planet dwarfed the ship...but what caused it to disapear?..Lone hunter had made a few friends on that ship, warriors that had seen many battles against bad blooded rouges...Lone hunter began to put his armour on, the Hunters Moon clan had been sent along with Balatu to find out what had happened to this grand ship and LH would do his part.
...

as LH left his "room" he was stared at by the rest of the young bloods and the unbloods, after he had proved himself at that planet they began to show a little respect...just a little as he was making his way to the lift he stopped to stare at the hologram of the ship...it had been missing for months and now it finally showed up...lone hunter began to wonder again... "Why?" deep in his gut he knew the answer...they were transporting a Xenomrph queen for a blood ritual...what else could have happened?...lh began to move again he hopes against everything that THAT didnt happen... but as always Lone Hunter was'nt going to go to the ship expecting a knocked out transmitter...

Sam-Jack-Dunn, Yautja, 15 years ago

-=A DAY EARLIER=-

If you thought space was cold, then you hadn't spent much time in cryosleep. Now THERE was something to freeze your balls off, as Second Lieutenant Sam Jack Dunn knew very well. He always had his chamber wake him up a day before the others did, to thaw him out nice and slowly, for a damned good reason. He tended to get hybernation sickness, and he tended to get it badly.

Even now, as the pod cracked open and revealed the Australian soldier, clad in his full USCM M2 armour and uniform, he felt like shit. He coughed, gagged, and deposited the last thing he'd eaten before they'd gotten frozen over the side of his pod. There was a damned good reason no-one but him ever slept in thier gear, and it was called freezer-burn.

Accordingly, Sam was in something akin to agony. Every covered bit of his skin burned and itched, but he ignored it. Pain kept him sharp. His armour kept him alive. It was one of his paranoid little habits that had caused him to fail USCM boot camp the first time he'd tried. The second time, they'd learned to live with it.

Therefore he hopped out of the chamber, landed on the side that his excavated food was not on, and walked to the nearby janitor's closet. As the unit's designated Weapons Officer, looking after and maintaining the ship and it's gear was his responsibility. He took his job seriously.

After he'd mopped up the spew, he headed over to the armoury to pick up his weapons. His machete was already strapped to his leg, so he simply slung a M41A Pulse Rifle over his back, placed a VP70 pistol in it's holster, and strapped himself in to a M56D Smartgun harness, although he didn't connect the Smartgun yet. He'd do that as he boarded the APC.

After that, he headed down to the mess hall. The lights were still off, and other than him, everything on the ship was silent. And cold. He enjoyed it like this, when he was on his own. Reminded him of the old days. He had been known in another life as Malus Jay Darkblade, and had a few of the soldier's memories.

Therefore, he was most at home on a ship.

After getting something to eat, he headed over to the hangar to re-fit and refuel the dropship that they would be using for the mission. He strapped himself into his Exo-Suit, grabbed a missile from the stack he'd set up before going to sleep, and got to work.

By the time the others were up, he'd finished giving the ship a jet-black, non-reflective paint job that would make it invisible to most optics once it hit space. Not a useful idea on a planetary mission, but in space it paid to not be seen.

As everyone started to pile out of the hangar, Sam looked down from his spot on top of the ship and grinned. "G'day there, what've you lot been up to?"

Not exactly professional, but everyone in AD knew each other, and most of them were friends. Still, he had a report to make.

He jumped down from the ship and walked over to Peterson, saluting as he did so. "G'day sir. I've refitted and refuelled the ship, she's ready to go. I didn't think we'd need an APC for the mission so I stowed a pair of Combat Exo's aboard, as well as a lot of sentry guns and ammo. Once the others are ready, everything is go, sir." His Aussie accent was out of place here, but added to his charm.

He looked around. There was Fletcher -what the hell was wrong with him these days? Nikkie, the only other AD soldier of higher ranking than him, and a damned good fighter. Alpha, whom if he knew him, was still polishing his weapons, and of course Delta and Vevlaa.

He walked over to the two, and grinned. "And how are you slackers gettin along?"

vevlaa, Yautja, 15 years ago

Vevlaa went over the docking bay and looked around. “Ah there you are†he said quietly and looked up at his Dropship “The Waffle†It was the same Dropship that dropped the PK on the last mission, saving two other AD members!

He walked into the ship and looked around. A loader was loading some ammo crates and stuff into the cargo area, Vev walked up to the cockpit and started to do the preflight checks. All looked good and The Waffle was ready for liftoff.
He looked at the fuel check ad noticed that Sam had fueled up the ship!

“Thanks sir. All good on this end†he said over the ships speaker system “Now board that APC so we can get goingâ€Â…. “Sirâ€Â

(a little short but I have limited time atm)

DeathWraith, Yautja, 15 years ago

Xeuss was still in the shuttle, minutes away from the docking bay of the enormous clanship. He had lost all communication with the Melanie soon after his last orders. He assumed that Lucifer had shut down all systems to avoid detection. It seemed to have worked, as there were no signs of a battle taking place. The marines' ship was nowhere in sight, but then again, the clanship was very big and could hide tens of those behind it. He had no memmories of the marines. In fact, he had more memmories from the short life of the Xenomorph drone who had been cloned to be one with him. Memmories of being inprisoned, of being tortured and cut apart... Failing the hive... Failing the queen... This was probably why he had such strong compassion for the other aliens and why the times he needed to defend himself against one were less than the fingers on his left hand. Usually he would just help hives expand into human teritorry, in return he could take all the resources he needed for his ship, and as many humans as he could salvage. The aliens didn't need the food or power supplies anyway, and the old men and women were good enaugh to them. He didn't like doing it, but it was necessary. He and Lucifer both had their own ways of dealing with things... These marines though... He knew they were no joke, nothing like the ones guarding the colonies they would usually plunder. He was not sure how they would react to him, or he to them.

Xeuss was almost there. He could already see the docking bay. It was open, but there was something strange about it. There was something there... He could see only a strange shape, shadowed bu the ligt of the star shining behind it. It seemed to be waving at him. He turned on the shuttle's frontal lights, curious as to what it was. What they revealed it to be was not as much a surprise as the thing it was hanging from. The waving shape was the mutilated body of a Predator, blown like a flag by a flow of air from a leakage in the docking bay doors. The part that was constantly in the flow of air had eroded and looked like it was ready to fall to pieces at the most gentle touch. The rest of the body was frozen stiff. But what was holding him was of more interest. It was a hand. A black hand with four long finger, black claws in stead of nails, holding the predator's dead body. The hand of a xenomorph. This would explain the missing crew, but also raised more complications. He lowered the shuttle, preparing to dock, but the doors were not responding to any of the signals from the shuttle. The Melanie had both human and Yautja codings installed and he had learned to bypass both sides' security measures, but this time the bay doors were not responding. He moved the shuttle closer and saw the problem. The doors were jammed. The alien holding the Predator's body was stuck between them, still holding onto it with his life. Xeuss turned the shuttle to have a better look. The alien looked at him and silently screeched in that constant flow of air. He was badly hurt. The bones trapped between the heavy bay doors were broken, the body contorted into a disturbing, painful way. "Sorry..." Xeuss whispered as he blasted the alien into pieces with the shuttle's canon and watched the Yautja's body be blown lifelessly into the vacuum of space.

The acid from the alien's body ate a big ehaugh hole through the docking bay's doors to release them. Xeuss took the shuttle inside, landed it and closed the secondary doors. To repressurize the room. That part had not yet been turned into a hive. Most of the systems were still intact and functional.. There were many intact Yautja shuttles there, few bodies and a few holes, clearly the result of xenomorph blood being spilled. It did not look like a battle ground, more like a playground. Obviously few had managed to get there, who knows if any survived...

He had still to recieve word from Lucifer, so he hid his shuttle between some of the Yautja shuttles and waited...

delta-boy, Yautja, 15 years ago

"Im good sam,how are you"? he quizzed, he looked over the squad himself and nodded.kidd was back and he didnt know why but WY seemed to take quiet a shin for him,warrant officer delta kept out of the conversation and continued to pack his gear.When everything was in place he sat down,but grimaced in pain as he did as the scars of his last battle with a predator didnt fare well,his stomach was torn to shreds,LITERALLY!.
He went over to the weapons locker and asked quartermaster and armourer sam,"a slight gear change for this mission,instead of a shotgun,im gonna change to a grenade launcher(non lethal rounds version) stun version sam if you could please?".

alien-drone, Yautja, 15 years ago

alien-drone looked up after finishing putting in the last host on the wall, ready for the next batch of eggs to arrive.He went outside to see if he could find any hosts and noticed something better, a lone human being dragging a foot along the floor as if he had snapped it.Alien-drone crept silently down the hill trying not to make any noise and when he felt the time was right he would pounce and kill him.

Just as the human lay down to sleep alien-drone pounced from the dusty side of the hill, landing on top of the man stunning him as he rolled onto to his side trying to shake alien-drone off.They both wrestled in the dust and wind for what seemed like a short time when out of nowhere a gun blast flew by, scaring them both.A second human had appeared firing a .30 calibre chain gun, enough to smash open alien-drones head.

Alouran, Yautja, 15 years ago

Alouran looked around the ship, she had never been on a mission before, slowly her green eyes adjusted to the dim light compared to outside, fellow soldiers moved around her like ants in a ant hill. She however was told to sit down and shut up since she was a green horn. Take off was a couple hours away so the thought of sitting with nothing to do on hard seats didn't make her smile. Looking around from her seat she watched vets move around the ship like it was home and sighed.
Take off time came, she wasn't buckled in all the way and was screaming her head off till the person next to her clapped their hand over her mouth. When she was told to get into the tube she looked at the higher up like they where crazy but where dumped in by the guys.

That had been about 13 days ago. she slowly came around from cryo sleep, freezing cold and confused of where she was. The hiss of her door opening made her jump and slam her head into the top. Groaning she pushed it up before sitting up. Yawning she looked around, no one else seemed to be awake. Not sure if she should get up or not she looked around before crawling out of her tube. Looking over she saw the tube next to her read 'time left. 12hrs' With a sigh she looked over at her locker, clean unfrozen clothes where in there. Walking over with the grace of a drugged up cat she couldn't help but laugh at her self. Grabbing her clothes, urban camo pants, Short sleeve T-shirt and what not. taking her clothes off and slipping into the new ones she sighed, might of been room temp but they where warmer then her. "Food." she thought to her self with a giddy smile before tucking her shirt into her pants and adjusting the belt she slinked out of the room. Halls dimly lit and seemingly dismal she found maybe one or two others eating but did not talk to them. Grabbing her food she ate silently in a corner of the room. Her mind slowly became less fogged as she ate and started to think. "I wonder where Nikkie is.." she muttered to herself softly before dumping her tray and walking threw the halls of the ship. How to kill a few hours on a ship she knew nothing about with people she didn't know? "Sometimes i hate this job.." She sighed stretching out as she walked almost like a lazy cat.
Hours passed and soon others where awake and getting ready but she hung back out of their way.

Sam-Jack-Dunn, Yautja, 15 years ago

Sam Dunn looked at Vevlaa and laughed, a harsh cackle that chilled those not already used to it to the bone, despite the fact that the ship's heating was now on. From on the back of the Dropship, a paint bucket still in his hand, Dunn laughed again, laughing around the cigarette he was smoking.

"Vev mate, an APC on a boarding mission? Seriously?" Dunn asked with a wry grin as he threw the empty paint bucket into a corner and hopped down once again. He's just repainted 'The Waffle' wording on the flanks of the Dropship so that it was clear which droppy it was. The Waffle. Made him think about Malus's old Grim Reaper. Where was the old cheese, anyway?

Probably in a retirement centre.

"All right people, I've set up the seats in the Droppy's cargo hold, you'll have to pile into there since we won't be taking the APC...seriously, Vev... We're dusting off in five, with or without the rest of yas, so get your asses inside the ship!" He ordered in the way only he could, as he stepped up the loading ramp into the ship.

After checking that everything was strapped down, he slipped into the cockpit, sitting down in the co-pilot's seat. Strapped to the arm of the seat was a stuffed Koala dressed in USCM attire, his own mascot. The 'Drop Bear' as he called it.

He thought he heard the sounds of the others piling in, though it might have been his imagination. He fired up the systems that were his responsibility, and waited for Vevlaa to join him, and get this ship moving.

Hopefully the argument between Peterson, Kidd and Fletcher would stop when they boarded. If not, he'd inspire some discipline. The dropship was his territory. He was getting fed up of the constant arguing, and if it kept up he may well just snap. Where was the teamwork of old?

And there was Nikkie, with her question about Shadow. The others had been so caught up with thier bitching they'd ignored her. So had Dunn, but he had a reason. He wasn't ratting on Shadowatching anytime soon. Still, as she boarded the ship he turned back to her and said.

"That there is Shadowatching. Half-Pred, Half-Human. Don't mess with her, she'll rip you to shreds mate." It was no idle warning, either. Sam had seen Shadow fight, and knew damned well that Nikkie didn't have a chance. She may be an officer, but as far as Dunn was concerned, she was a greenhorn. Hadn't been in the shit yet.

And Shadow would destroy any greenie.

Alouran, Yautja, 15 years ago

Green eyes, brown hair, tan skin the second girl in the whole marines unit and she had no idea what was going to happen. 19years old and still partially cold from the tube earlier she was decked out in her normal gear. M41A rifle in her left hand and helmet in her right she looked at "The Waffle" and a small smirk crossed her face. "Oh baby a ship named Waffle... My dream has come true!" She said sarcastically to herself. Walking up the ship's stairs or ramp she sighed and walked amongst the seats to the front near the cockpit. The back seats where filling up almost like a school bus without a seating arrangement. Sitting down in the rather airline like seat that was a hall seat she could see into the cockpit if she wanted to but let her head loll back against the seats high back. She could see and hear the two marine buddies talking. Some guys named Vev and Sam if she heard correctly.

Waralien, Yautja, 15 years ago

War heard a distant sound echo in the diserted halls. That sound wasn't natrual. War knew because he made sure to know what things made sounds if they were knocked down. This sound was different. Almost like a blast. But that couldn't be. The prey had not even neared the ship. If they had, his intelligence runners would have alerted the hive in that instance.

No something different entered the ship. Something unlike the humans he had grown accomstumed to. This new presence was something different. It felt almost like family but at the same time it wasn't.

What it was wasn't dire enough to split his offence group thin. The inital take over of the ship was price too great. Many of his fellow warriors had died trying to take it. Until the Predaliens matured enough, he couldn't take chances. He stationed a majority in the central access of the hive. The rest would follow him to the main chambers above. From there they would all split into teams. Although War favored hunting and fighting alone, the queen forced this tactic upon him and had no choice less be attacked by kindred.