Aliens LV5 23 (OOC)

[Mike Smyth]

Would anybody be interested in joining a thread based on the Alien francise.

Set on the planet LV5 23, a crew of marines are sent by the wayland yutani company, to accompany a tech droid, due to fix the comms as they were being unreliable and had gone down again. Unfortunatly for them, the comms were knocked out by the very same thing that has killed and impregnated most of the settlers.

The marines do find it strange that there presence is needed to check comms, but they are just following orders. Once the marines land its obvious that something is wrong as no one is around, once security cams are fixed and viewed they discover they are in a whole lot of shit.

 

[Mike Smyth]

Jones

Damien Jones, 28, shaved head. Brown eyes. Muscular build.

Jones had been in the marines for 8 years, and after all those years his team had never been sent out on such a stupid mission, they were to accompany an tech droid to perform a routine comms check, on the planet LV5 23.

"this is bullshit" shouted Private Cooper "why the hell are we doing this? Fucking hate droids"

"you shut your mouth and do your job Private." shouted Colonel Fisher. "this is what you get paid for, so just get on with it."

The team started to prepare the drop ship, filling with the usual weopons, and supplies. Still unknown as to why they would even need weopons following a droid. After about 20 minutes the drop ship was ready to go, so the marines strapped themselves in for the ride.

 

[DormantEvil]

It had started out like any other mission, they had reported for the briefing and listened to the detailed reports on their duties, firing orders and rules of engagement. Standard procedure. Nothing out of the ordinary apart from how bogus it was. Escorting a droid was beneath them. They should have been out fighting hand to hand, face to face with their enemies. A proper battle, something worth waking up in the morning for.

But this...it was just forgettable.

Shelly O'Hara was wrapping a new band of tape around the grip of her standard issue battle rifle. The grip worn away and torn in places from rough, harsh use. The Marines who almost always got sent into the shit places, the dangerous unknown, still suffered the age old 'resupply' problems of their fathers and grandfathers. They more than not had to pay out of pocket if they wanted to survive.

Colonel Fisher reprimanded one of the grunts, a Private as he spoke up. Saying what everyone else was thinking. He was just unlucky enough to be the one who finally said it. She smiled, pushing her pack in under the seat she had taken. Before clipping her helmet up tight and checking her armor was in order. A pistol on her thigh, military blade strapped to her vest, and a webbing of incendiary, smoke and flash grenades dangling yet taped up on her chest. Sitting down she pushed her rifle into the holder beneath her feet before pulling it back to sit upright between her thighs. The barrel aimed down.

The harness for the drop ship seat getting clipped in as she waited for the descent.

"Maybe they are planning a surprise party for us Cooper, in recognition of how much shit we have to wade through for them to earn their moolah." She rubbed her fingers together, giving Damien a smile. Her shoulder length red hair tucked in under her helmet, green eyes pierced the drop ship bay, and her freckles made her look like some orphan in a musical rather than a hardened Marine. But that was PFC Shelly O'Hara for you.

 

[TimberRattler]

Gunnery Sergeant Cuyler regarded the exchange between the CO and Cooper with a wry smile. He pulled Cooper to the side to dispense some "platoon daddy love"

"Coop, WTF over?"

"Gee Gunny I thought this was a democracy, ya know, free speech and all"

"Yeah well you thought wrong shit for brains, keep that hatch of yours battened around the old man, Roger?"

"Aye Aye Gunny"

"Get squared away Marine"

Everyone found their seats and Cuyler moved to the fore of the cabin

"Sound off for equipment check!" he bellowed
The Gunny waited until he got 100% green and then double checked his own load. His beloved trench gun was fully joy andeverything else was in its proper place.

"Well then, if there are no bitched, gripes, or complaints what say we fucking do the damn thing, Oorah?"

He was greeted with a duplicate chorus in response.

"Hey" Walowick piped up "It's Gunny's birthday today!"

"How old are you today Gunny?" L/CPL Kelly Brewster asked.
"45"

"So how old is that in human years?" said CPL Simmons

"Fuck you clown"

"Hey don't be sore at me just because you were the only member of your high school class to survive the Tyrannosaurus attack"

"Funny Simmons, very funny"

"Sorry Gunny. Seriously though, when you were fighting against the yankees at Antietam-"

"-Alright people enough chit chat, we drop in five mikes" Col Fisher interrupted.
"Gunny if everything is good to hook?"

"Yes Sir"

It was plain to see that Gunnery Sergeant William "Wild Bill" Cuyler loved his Marines, there were his only family after all. Career guys like him didn't have time for a wife and kids. Yes, the Gunny loved his Marines and would die for any of them without hesitation. As the drop ship slipped free of moorings and plummeted towards the planet he felt apprehensive. He disliked anything to do with Weyland Yutani. Anytime they were involved bad shit happened. His good friend SGT Carl Apone's unit had been sent to investigate a similar problem on LV4 26 sometime back and no one had heard from them ever again. Official report said the Sulaco suffered a malf and dropped out of orbit, burned up on impact, no survivors. Scuttlebutt said the Sulaco was found drifting sometime later completely devoid of life. An old shellback like him knew better than to trust the rumor mill, but trusted corporate even less. He pushed the thoughts from his mind as the hull vibrations lulled him to sleep.

 

[DeathsKnight]

Checking his assault rifle Private Kevin Bragg wonders what on earth brought him on this mission. Listening to the chatter around him pick up as Sarge takes a seat, he settles his riffle back into position after making sure that the safety is engaged

"Hey Bragg"

He looks over at Shelly O'Hara

"What's with the weapon load?"

"Maybe his daddy had enough money for him to buy his own guns", Simmons pipes up

"Shut up Simmons, you're just sore because you can't carry that much", O'Hara snaps before returning her attention back to Bragg. He pats the GEV Minigun next to him and also the short barreled .50 AM Sniper riffle strapped to the bulkhead

"You never know when you will need pinpoint accuracy over a distance or when you will need an overwhelming amount of firepower", giving Simmons a venomous look, "I bought it with the income I receive from a childhood venture"

"And just to make sure you carry two pistols and a knife"

"Sometimes you do run out of ammunition"

O'Hara laughs, "I doubt you will need that amount of ammunition on this mission, you look like a walking Armory"

Bragg leans back into the jumpstraps

"You can never have too much lead to throw at anything"

"As long as you have the muscle to carry it?"

Bragg chuckles mirthlessly

"Yes ma'am, but I'm bringing it with me any way, I think there is something wrong with us having to escort a repair droid"

"Say Bragg did you actually check out that droid? Man she has one fine ass on her"

Bragg sighs

"Jones keep your mind on the job and what do you want to do? Stick your one incher into it's circuit boards?"

Jones scoffs

"You are dancing on thin ice"

Bragg grins at him

"Yeah bro love you too"

"Okay guys that's enough we are closing in on the LZ, ETA two minutes"

The idle chatter dies down as Colonel Fisher's words wash over them

 

[TimberRattler]

As they neared the planet's surface Cuyler awoke and punched the intercom to the cockpit.

"What's it look like out there chief?"

The musical voice of CWO2 Colleen McManus replied

"Raining cats and dogs Gunny"

"Fabulous"

"Yeah more good news it looks like-HOLY SHIT!"

The nose of the ship flared violently and the tail boom bumped off the surface of the landing pad causing a few sets of teeth to get rattled and plenty of bruises to go around.

"Brakes work" Simmons observed dryly.

"Stow it Simmons," Cuyler growled, punching the intercom again "Talk to me Chief"

"Sorry about that Gunny, I can't be sure but it looked like someone ran across the tarmac as we were about to touch down and I didn't wanna squish 'em"


"What do you mean you can't be sure Chief?" COL Fisher interjected

"Well that's just it Sir, I was about to tell Gunny the lights were out and then I saw the shadow."

"Say again, the lights are out?"

"Roger that Sir, zero illum"

Fisher turned to Cuyler.

"Doesn't sound like too promising of a start to this operation Gunnery Sergeant"

"We're Marines Sir, we'll make it happen"

"Oorah. Still I want you to exercise extreme caution out there, no telling what's going on here. Could be a few tech problems, could be a damn gonaherpasyphilaids epidemic for all we know"

Cuyler snickered at the Colonel's joke

"Aye aye Sir, we'll play this one by the book"

COL Fisher turned to the synthetic

"Ms. Butler there appears to be a massive systems failure within the objective are you prepared for that?"

Persephone Butler replied in a calm even voice

"I am capable of repairing any tech system known to man, however I only brought what was relevant to a communications issue on the drop."

Fisher grimaced.

"Alright Gunny I'll take the slick and return to the Herculus and be back with the rest of Ms. Butler's equipment and some extra supplies in case this turns into an extended stay. Do you want me to bring back the APC?"

"It couldn't hurt Sir"

"Roger that"

Cuyler unbuckled his harness, grabbed his helmet and stood up

"Ok people grab your shit and let's roll. Walowick, drop ramp!"

The platoon piled off and cleared the LZ as the drop ship lifted off. They regarded the darkened facility which was about five klicks away. Cuyler shook his head in disgust.

"Brewster?"

"Yes Gunny?" chirped the 21 year old former beauty queen

"Our external comms good to go?"

"Always Gunny"

"That's my girl, okay people get your intervals and move out"

They began the long hike towards the Terra forming compound. They were about half way there when Brewster informed Cuyler that there was an urgent message from the Colonel. Cuyler took the handset

"Gunny there's an electro-magnetic storm front building around the planet. We barely made it off world. This will knock out comms and prevent us from returning planet side for several hours."

"Understood Sir"

"Best of luck son, we'll be in as soon as she lifts"

"And roger"

He handed the handset back to Brewster.

"Alright people, looks like we're in for a blow better pick it up, let's go assholes and elbows"

They practically ran the rest of the way to the facility until they came to the massive clamshell door of a loading dock. Simmons tapped the access button a few times.

"No go Gunny, she's locked up tighter than frog pussy and they're not liable to hear us knocking so now what?"

"No time to walk around and find another door, gonna have to blast our way in. Demo team up!"

"Just a moment please Gunnery Sergeant" Butler said laying a staying hand on his arm"May I attempt to gain access for us?"

"By all means be my guest"

She opened a service panel in the door and began to work dilligently

"Main power is offline, but the auxilary appears functional. I believe I can reroute it and- ah yes, there we go"

She stood back as the jagged teeth of the door began to rumble apart. Without warning the door stopped about three quarters of the way open looking for all the world like the maw of some giant beast ready to devour them all. Cuyler's earlier uneasiness returned with a vengance.

"Simmons take point"

"No way Gunny, I've seen this movie before, the black dude dies first!"

"Simmons you're not even black"

"Regardless I'd rather not go in first"

"Would you rather wait out here in the storm?"

"Curse your undisputable logic Gunny"

CPL Todd Simmons grudgingly led the way

"Isnt it Jones' turn to walk point?"

"Yeah but he's too valuable to lose, you on the other hand? Not so much"

"Thanks Gunny love you too"

"Just get moving funny man"

"K but what if we run into someone in here?"

"That's sorta the point "

"C'mon Gunny you know what I mean"

"Oh, well in that case I expect your charming personality will lure them to our side in no time"

"Touche' Gunny touché"

They had walked about a klick when they came to a large circular intersection with tunnels branching off in all directions. They paused to consult their maps.

"Man, where the fuck is everyone?" Cooper wondered what they were all thinking aloud

Cuyler didn't like this one bit, but he had to make a decision.

"Kimball, Santos, Lauckner, and Cromwell on me. We're gonna head to engineering and see about fixing the power. Jones take the rest of the platoon and hit the ops center. Set up a defensive perimeter and get the synthetic to work when we flip the switch. Challenge is Thunder, countersign is Crash. Stay on the internal net, though the storm may interfere. If we're not back in an hour, sit tight, wait for the storm to pass, then head back to the LZ and get ahold of the CO. Questions?"


"Negative Gunny, good luck"

He nodded solemnly

"Alright, stay frosty people. Hit it"

 

[DeathsKnight]

"Bragg"

Bragg snaps his attention to Jones

"Take point"

Bragg slips his assault rifle's safety off and flicks the barrel mounted flashlight on then off

"Roger that"

He double checks the route and takes the point, sweeping the nooks and crannies. He glances over his shoulder and find that Jones is behind him.

"This clearly isn't cut and dried sir. Where is all the people?"

"I know private, just keep your mind on your job"

"Aye sir"

Bragg wonders why he brought the sniper rifle along, in this confines not the best weapon there is. Sweeping the area he hears a soft sound and he stops, it was not from behind him, it came...from the ceiling? Instinct takes over and the flashlight is throwing a bright glow on the vented ceiling within a heartbeat. Running the beam across the ceiling he doesn't seem to find anything out of the ordinary.

"What is it private"

"I could have sworn I heard something above us"

A few lights also washes over the ceiling

"It must be the storm that is running interference with some of the equipment causing it to make some sort of sound"

Bragg suppresses a snort of derision

"Allright marines, keep it tight, Bragg move out"

"Yes sir"

Bragg forces himself to calm down, a nervous trigger finger is a dangerous trigger finger. He slowly walks forward again, ears pricked and weapon searching for a valid target

 

[TimberRattler]

It didn't make sense. Where the fuck were all the colonists. Only the back up system was running and there wasn't a soul in sight. Something bad had happened here, and Cuyler guessed the perfumed princes at Weyland-Yutani Corps new more than they were letting on. The whole thing stank. Why had there been no second attempt on LV 426 after Apone's unit had perished. And what were the chances that a similar distress situation would arise on another corporate world? No, therewas definitely more than meets the eye here. But what? Cuyler wandered to himself almost to the point of distraction, and then they were at the access tunnel to engineering. It was a narrow, dank affair and there was a nauseating stench coming from the other end. Death that's what the five Marines smelled, they'd smelt it before and would it's cloying essence anywhere. Cuyler made a radio check

"Jones, how we looking?"

"All set here Gunny, dug in like a tick"

"Good, we're almost to engineering, call you back in a few"

"Roger"

"Out here"

Cuyler took a reassuring grip on his shotgun and lead the way. When they reached the door it was locked. They used the power redistribution algorithm Persephone had provided to gain access, nothing happened. They tried twice more before frustration set in. A closer inspection revealed that the door had been welded shut.

"Jones"

"What's up Gunny?"

"We've reached engineering but the door is welded shut, we'll have to cut our way in, it'll take a minute or two."

"Read ya loud and clear Gunny, you need some extra hands?"

"Negative, hold what ya got"

"Wilco"

After thirty minutes of cutting they gained entry

"Alright kids, look sharp, this place was sealed for a reason."

The pitch black of the room seemed to swallow even the light of their shoulder lamps as if itwas a living, evil presence. They searched the room for the console that operated the enormous generators that filled the cavernous enclosure. They found it but it looked like acid had been poured on it. Cuyler set down his shotgun and took off his helmet. He knelt and removed the access panel, and begin to jury rig the salvageable circuitry to try and restore power. After an hour the generators began to hum with life again. A few minutes later all power was restored as evidenced by a single bare light bulb above them. That's when they saw the bodies. There were four of them their chests apparently blown wide
open. There were rifles lying near the bodies and bullet holes
pocking the walls. What the fuck? Had they all killed each other? HM3 Pilar Santos, the platoon corpsman, stooped to examine them.

"This is really weird Gunny" she said

" Whatcha got Santos?"

"The wounds originated in the subdermal wall of the chest cavity"

"In English?"

"They were made from the inside out"

"So they had something explode inside them?"

"More like burrow it's way out"

"Okay you've lost me"

"Well none of them show burns or other signs of severe ballistic trauma. There's just a hole in the sternum and the bones show tool marks as if something had ground through them."

This was just too fucking weird for words. They needed to get the fuck out of here and how. Jones was yelling in his hear.

"Gunny I found 'em, I found the colonists!"

"What condition are they in?"

"I don't have video but the bio readouts say there all alive"

"Well thats good because the ones we have here are dead"

"Say what?"

"Yes apparently these four gents had their chests spontaneously errupt"

"Do you realize how crazy that sounds?"

"Yeah, tell me about it"

"Some other time, you probably should head back this way Gunny"

"I was just thinking the very same thing"

It came skittering out of the darkness. The spider like creature was on Kimball before any of them could react. It wrapped itself around his head and toppled him to the ground. Before any could help Kimball several more of the things surged out from behind a generator.

"Lauckner, Santos, get him out of here, head for ops! Cromwell, cover me!"

Kimball was rescued as Cuyler and Cromwell began a running firefight with the unknown things. No matter how many they slew the creatures just kept coming. It was about then that Cromwell triggered the grenade launching attachment on his M41-A pulse rifle. The resulting detonation filled the tunnel with flame, incinerating the remaining critters and flinging them through the air where they landed in a heap atop one another.

"Cromwell, please don't ever do that again" Cuyler said as they rose and untangled themselves

"Sorry Gunny"

"Don't sweat it kid, c'mon let's get to operations"

 

[DeathsKnight]

"Sarge?"

"Yes Jones"

"We heard shooting"

"Ran into something weird Jones, stay where you are, we are en route"

"Roger that Sarge"

A slight beeping sound makes Jones look over at Bragg who is scanning the entrance corridor with his assault rifle and looking at a small gadget in his right hand

"Bragg stay sharp"

"Doing just that sir"

"Then what is that contraption in your hand?"

"Heartbeat monitor sir"

"What on earth?"

"It picks up the electric impulses from the heart and displays the position on the screen sir"

"Why is it beeping then"

"It has a 360 degree pulse, so it's picking up our heart beats as well"

"Just keep your eyes peeled as well, Sarge is on his way"

"Roger that sir"

Bragg snaps the monitor onto the barrel of his rifle and keep scanning the entrance corridor, again that faint sound catches his ears. He looks over his shoulder and find O'Hara standing to one side of the room, looking at the droid as it works.

"O'Hara"

Hefting her gun she comes closer to his position

"Yes?"

"Do you hear sounds from the ceiling as well?"

She looks at him like he is losing his marbles

"You are obsessed with the ceiling aren't you?"

He sighs

"Yes I guess you're right, but would you humor me a bit?"

"Want me to sit here with you and check the ceiling?"

"If you are not needed elsewhere"

"Sure, but I still think you are crazy"

He grins up at her and then turns his attention back to the corridor, not able to shake the uneasiness from his mind