Author: Johannes "Jergen[K]" Cruz			Viewing: Chapter 11

At just past midnight the raiders began to move away from the facility. Through the scope of his rifle Aegis had been watching the mob while Dachande slept in the ventilation shaft behind him. When they had initially returned to the site of the attack they had been surprised to find the attackers still milling around in what appeared to be confusion. After observing them for two hours it became apparent that something was very wrong with this group. They didn’t speak, nor did the eat or relieve themselves. Although it was common for a very well trained group of military to not speak or waste time with food or comforts when on a mission, it was not normal for such a force to maintain that level of discipline for hours after the enemy had been neutralized. On top of this they were not sending out patrols for the survivors. Then, as if by some unspoken command the entire group wandered off into the darkness. They did not march or form any kind of noticeable formations, they were simply a mob moving across the sand to some unknown destination. Aegis shook Dachande awake when the raiders were gone. With the thin atmosphere, and amount of exertion both men had been through, the decision to rest at every opportunity had been second nature. Dachande blinked twice and then forced his body to alertness. “They’re gone Sergeant.” “Okay, we’ll head back to the forward camp and see if we can locate any of the dropships. I just hope they didn’t bug out when the firing stopped on the assumption we were all killed.” “Shouldn’t they have our transponder signals?” Aegis asked, sliding out of the ventilation shaft and dropping into a crouch near the wall of the corridor. Dachande dropped down next to him, his head sweeping left and right because of the limited peripheral vision provided by the goggles. “Yes, but the range is too limited for the ship to pick up, and if the dropships were destroyed no one will know we are here. When we get back to camp I will try and send a burst transmission to the ship. I lost my gear back in that damn lake.” With this Aegis moved out in the direction of their campsite, Dachande following close behind running the tracker. *** The impact of the small vessel rocked the ship badly. Reaver listed to port at first, then tried to regain level flight along her current trajectory, but failed. The assault ship had hit her in the belly, driving into her bays and coming to rest there. Atmosphere blew out into space as the airlocks were ruptured before the ship’s damage control could compensate. “Airlock breaches from the impact area Sir!” Stevens called from his console, leaning closer to read all incoming data. “An assault team from that ship?” Nealson asked, leaning forward against his gravity harness. “I don’t know Sir, they could have been blown free from the impact itself, I doubt it’s pretty down there.” “Sir, engineering is under attack, they are reporting the Xenomorph in the ship!” Green piped up from his console. Thumbing a switch the communications channel came over the bridge speakers. “Damn it, where the hell did these things come from?” “They’re everywhere!” Shots rang out, but in seconds nothing was left but the churning sounds of the engineering department and the stereo drawl of the warning claxons protesting the rape of their ship. “Get to the planet, very low orbit, we’re scuttling her.” “Captain?” Stevens asked from his console. “We can’t kill these things and it’s not in the best interests of anyone involved to let them take the ship. When Mother realizes the ship is not under our control she will begin the long burn back to her home port, and if those things are still onboard..” Nealson shook his head. “Send out the beacon Green, someone will pick us up in a few days.” “Aye aye Sir,” Ensign Green said from his console. Thumbing a few switches he depressed a red and yellow button. Forward of the bridge a small port opened on the ship’s hull. A second later a small device launched. The Emergency Transmission Probe would speed ever outward, transmitting a signal the entire time until it reached the maximum distance of it’s burn. It would then be adrift in space sending out the distress call and last known location of it’s mother vessel. “ETP away Sir.” “Get to the escape pods, I’m going to set the destruct sequence. Stevens, start a disintegrating orbit with 477.” With this the Captain released his harness and headed just aft of the bridge. He wasn’t sure how long he had before those things reached them, but he knew the ship had activated the emergency damage control protocol and dropped blast doors at most intersections. Although that wouldn’t stop them, it would slow them down. The destruct mechanism, located ten meters behind the bridge behind a locked console, was utilized to critical the fusion engines of any crippled or derelict ship. Enabling it caused the ships computer to override all cooling protocols to the reactors, and thus bring the engines to a level of heat detrimental to the safe operation of the ship. Nealson inserted a special key to open the panel. Inside were another set of two keys and a keypad. Breaking the glass seals on the key cases he inserted the keys into the respective slots and turned them counter-clockwise. This lighted the keypad to the unit, allowing him to enter the access code needed to activate the sequence. Each Captain had a set of numbers, and even though the need to have a second person enable the system had been removed from the sequence, it was not an easy process. No one would ever be able to say they had accidentally set a ship to detonate. After punching in the code the soft voice of mother began to broadcast. “Fifteen minutes until engine meltdown.” The countdown would continue until one minute prior to detonation, at which time it would begin to account for each remaining second until critical. Turning to face the bridge Nealson paused. The passageway he stood within was dimly lit at best, and with the strobing yellow and red lights flashing in circles along the bulkheads it was leant a nightmarish quality. Every hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he slowly approached the hatch allowing entrance to the bridge. Slowly, nearly painfully so, he eased up to the porthole and peered inside. What he saw caused him to jerk his head down by reflex. Slamming his hand down on the hatch lock Nealson spun around and retreated back down the passageway. How the creatures had gotten to the bridge so quickly was well beyond him, but there was absolutely nothing he could do for Green or Stevens. *** Their camp was a ruin. The tents lay haphazardly about from the chaos of what must have been the same Raiders that struck Dachande’s squad inside the complex. Both dropships had never left the ground, their pilots lie executed in their seats. At least three dozen raiders lie about in various signs of disarray. Oddly enough several weapons and boxes of ammunition were still intact. Dachande quickly replaced his lost M41A1 Pulse Rifle and loaded up on magazines of ammunition. Sadly there were no grenades, but Aegis did find a small box of armor piercing 7mm shells for his long rifle. The communications gear was in place, but no calls to the ship were returned. The link light to show that communications did exist from the ship to the surface was lighted, indicating that a signal should get through. Yet, there was no traffic coming or going. “The ship is down,” Aegis spoke. “Maybe she got jumped as well, but I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.” “Don’t worry about it Aegis, I know where the ship is.” Dachande’s voice was disturbingly unfamiliar. The defeat the day before and the loss of so many men were taking a toll. What he saw now was certainly the last straw. Aegis stopped in his tracks. Far above them, amidst the backdrop of the milky way, Reaver was beginning her descent into the atmosphere. A spear of light across the sky, she plummeted down into the unforgiving gravity of a hungry world. Seconds later both men turned away quickly as the brilliance of her death made a small sun in the night sky. Had they been wearing their goggles it might have been a problem, but as it was it was merely painful. Both marines turned back to look up into the sky, watching larger pieces of debris tumble down in fiery streaks. “Maybe that wasn’t her,” Aegis said, turning back to the communications gear in time to see the link light wink out. Dachande looked back at him, “we should start a search for survivors, the tracker can help.” Nodding, Aegis flipped the toggle to his tracking device. There was a signal broadcasting from the west. Both marines began to walk away from their destroyed camp. *** The Assault Gunboat Vengeance came about on a new heading as her pilot thumbed communications gear, “We have a signal and are closing.” “How long until we reach the planet?” Came the reply across the line. The voice was very soft, almost gentle. “Twelve hours Sir.” “Very well, alert me when we are near orbit.” “Aye aye Sir.”