NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC see the first post of: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=468429
No need to sign up there, just post here...
Thread Now Closed

IC
The Ripley, a mammoth of centuries past. The huge, empty freighter drifted slowly into the solar system, its engine long dead. For an eternity the outdated vessel had wandered aimlessly through space, unmanned. Lights flickered irregularly in its corridors, revealing the occasional skeleton or pile of rusting bullet casings. The silence aboard this space-age tomb was broken only by the occasional hum of electricty or creak of ancient metal.

>Planetary system Detected<
>Activate AI Program<
>Broadcast Distress Beacon<
>AI 'Smith' Online<

Darkness and death filled the mind of the Shoren onboard the bridge of the ESV Radiant. the tiny vessel was just one of many small vessels scouring the galaxies for the simple purpose of exploration.

As it drifted across the void, the silence was maddening. Until...

The Shoren found herself feeling the cold bite of a horror centuries past. Her meditation had lead her to a massive vessel long past its glory days, drifting and derelict among the stars.

"Set a course...there..." she spoke, her mind filling in the coordinates and the computer plotting the course. Within an instant, the Radiant appeared along side the behemoth construction.

On the bridge, the crew sat in awe. "Like nothing in the Sovereignty..." Whispered a nameless crewman. The science officer spoke up. "We're receiving a distress call... very faint. Life signs read nothing."

The Shoren was not satisfied. No...something foul breed on that ship... she thought to herself.

"Do not trust your instruments so blindly ensign. There's something alive on that hulk. Organize a party to explore that ship."

"Aye..." The crewman left, and executed her orders.


Only a few minutes later, a team was dispatched. All were protected by standard Eshirian Exo suits, and the psionic powers of the Shoren. Five scientists, and six Marines had come aboard, not knowing what they would find...

>Boarding Crew Inbound... Terminate Distress BroadCast...<
>Processing... Processing... Processing...<
>Open Hanger Bay 243...<
>Activate Hologram<

The two blast doors of Hanger 243 slid back slowly, jamming occasionally due to their centuries of disuse. Scrap metal, two old space-exosuits, grime and several human bones were immediately sucked out of the hanger into the vacuum of space. A single light flickered on in the hanger as the Eshirians entered, and the blast doors slid shut.

"Welcome," said a dry, very human voice. A man in a business suit stepped out from behind a large crate in the hanger.
"It has been a long time since my last interaction with life forms."
At first glance the man looked entirely human, it was only when he stepped through a control panel that the fact that he was a hologram became apparent.
"I am Smith, program #537. Steward of the Ripley"

The New Kirisuban ship INKS Chiang Lung was exploring the nearby systems gas giants.

Having been out in deep space for a year Captain Keiko Abe wished to find a planetary surface they could explore.

Her science team were loving this particular assignment but Fujiko was bored to tears.

"helm, once we've catalogued the gas giants take us to the neighbouring system. Hopefully we'll find a planet we can explore properly"

The course was set and the warpdrive kicked in..

"S-sir. We are seeing signs of a interaction between two ships. Whats our course of action?"
Doctor Zeeb sat atop his chair and smiled. Ever since Candle Ice had driven him out he had scratched out a living as an arms dealer and pirate. He checked his various screens. A psychic? How I would love to begin some more experiments.
"Set up a communication link."
"Understood"
----------------------------------------------------
Attention Unidentified Ship.
Are you in need of assistance? This space is the terrirotry of the multi-dimensional lands of Candle Ice. Please, state your bussiness.

The scientists noted with a grimace, the remains that flew out the hanger. One of them commented over their secure com link, <Whatever happened here, it happened way before we arrived.> They walked towards the hologram, studying it, and, ever the scientists, began scanning for more remains to examine.

One scientist walked up and spoke to Smith. "Hello...Smith? We are explorers on behalf of the Eshirian Sovereignty. My name is Tela, commander here. Please, what do you mean by 'a long time'? What happened here?


Meanwhile the Radiant received the transmission, and a basic reply was sent forth.

<We are on a peaceful mission of exploration on behalf of the Eshirian Sovereignty. As we are new to this region, we were unaware your claim to this place. Thank you for your kind offer of assistance, however, we are fine for the moment. This being your space, might you be able to tell us more about this other vessel?>

The Chiang Lung warped into the system and Captain Abe gave the order to drop to impluse.

"begin the standard tactical and scientific scans" she orders "hopefully there'll be something other than gas giants and rocks to investigate"

she settles back into her command chair and speaks to her latest XO Fujiko Akechi, both women wondering if this system will be more interesting.

ooc: New Industria, what is in the system?

ooc Im new to the whole FT thing so Im not sure what system... you could make it up if you like


"The Ripley's main engine reactor was shut down 256 terran years before this date. The was shut so that the (words scrambled, mouth pixelated) would not access other systems when on board containment efforts failed." said the hologram automatically. Then its tone once again became human, "Its been a very long time since I've had contact with life forms..."
The hologram dusted it's lapel and removed the sunglasses that covered it's holographic eyes- which were striking green.
"A very long time..."

The science officer reports back "theres 6 planets, only planet 4 is habitable. Scans indicate a humanoid civilisation, development pre-warp at least"

As they approach the 4th planet more information is gathered.

"I'm not detecting radio waves or anything like that and other factors point to a pre-industrial civilisation. theres also 3 ships at the edge of the system. it looks like one is a derelict"

Captain Abe orders "keep scanning and try to get images of the planets inhabitants. Keep our distance from the ships for now until they contact us"

Tela glanced at his companions. <Something's up with his memory banks. See if you can clear things up.>

"Then this ship is entirely ancient." The rest of the team began to fan out around the hanger, shining their lights around, searching for access panels and anything that might not have been sucked into space.

"Well, Smith, you wouldn't mind leading me up to the bridge of this ship would you?"


The Shoren felt a presence that was not there before... My powers are still weak...ugh, this time I will have to rely on out technology.

"Ensign, run a deep scan of our surroundings. I sense that our friends are not the only ones nearby..."

"Ma'am...I'm not reading anything..."

"Have you learned nothing about your faith in technology?"

The ensign was silent, and held his head.

The Shoren only sighed. "Very well, we shall be more thorough later. Continue your scans of the derelict."

OOC: Can a small predator hunting team join in, then eventually fall victim to?

(yes, if you can find a good time to jump in, do so. These arent the Aliens of the actual Alien universe however)

"Certainly, it would be my pleasure, right this way..." the hologram said, and began walking towards a small sliding door in the corner of the hanger. The man in the suit jerked erratically as his projectors switched on and off. The door slid open, leading to a small, dusty corridor lined with small dorm entrances... the Hanger crew's sleeping quarters.
"The Ripley held 100,000 crew before the (mouth pixelation, scrambled words)" Smith said, turning to face Tela, "The first mega-freighter produced by Garrish 5 industries, the first of it's kind- as am I. I am modled after the CEO of Garrish Industries at the time, Morgan Smith."
The hologram walked casually through the dorm corridor, stepping uncaringly over piles of bullets, smears of blood, a litter of papers, and the occasional bone.

The six Marines were unmoved by the gore that surrounded them. Death was their business, and war was their game. Wounds of an ancient battle washed clean by time were of little consequence.

The scientists however...

<This place is really beginning to freak me out...> Said one.

<Oh just suck it up and run some more scans. Look, this place is over 200 years old, and what's more, life scans read nothing.> another replied.

<Right...> replied the first, obviously unsatisfied. Suddenly, his life sign reader began to sound within his helmet. <Wha- I'm reading someth-> HE stopped as the beeping stopped. The reading was gone. <Ummm, nevermind...it's gone now..

The team continued to follow Smith. The Marines now raised their rifles. Dead bodies were one thing, but sensor ghosts... Those rarely bode well.

(OOC: Just as a precaution, I'm going to let you know that the <...> tags mean that it was some kind of transmission, and not something spoken out loud.)

The ship slipped through the void. Its advanced cloaking generator shielding it from any visual and technological means of identification. It was sleek, and fast, gaining ground on the massive ship and the other smaller vessel that appeared to be right ontop of it.

Inside the small shuttle-like ship, four hulking humanoids stood around a holographic depiction of the ship, the details exagerrated and sharp. They were big, standing a little over 2 meters tall. They had great muscles, and athletic builds. Three of them wore little more than a seemingly metal mesh around their torsos, with a long loincloth covering their hips and legs. The fourth wore highly ornate armor. Dulled silver with bits of bone, with two skulls stuck into two spines set on its shoulder plates.

They all donned their masks, covering their deep-set eyes, and crab-like mandibles. A foray of clicks and shrills emittited from all of the figures.

As the ship made its final docking procedures to the massive hulk, the figures gathered the weapons they would need. All four attatched their wrist mounted gauntlets, concealing melee blades and the usual technology the wrist computer carried. But only the biggest, and ornate hulk took more weapons, including a long staff or spear, five feet long, that retracted into an eight inch stick. He grabbed another weapon, and mounted it on his shoulder. A large barrel it looked like.

Finally, as the ship made its final silent docking procedure, the hunters left their ship, and ventured into the unknown.

(OOC: Oooh...Predators... Should be interesting...

Hey, New Industria, can you make this closed from this point? It's getting a little crowded here...)

((Please have a scientist look into a freezer and find a frozen human body, thanks))

After a series of winding corridors, most of them lined with dorms; others offices Smith led the team into a room marked Cafeteria 45B. It was large, unadorned, and rectanguler, lined with steel tables welded to the floor. Along the walls was a strange system of what must of been pipes, though they didn't fit in with the industrial practicality of the rest of the cafeteria. The 'pipes' lined the walls like veins, interlaced and irregularly shaped. Unlike veins however, they were dried out- like corn husks after a long summer. They looked like they would crumble to dust at the slightest touch. Underneath them was a series of three square doors, marked REFRIGERATION, FREEZER, and STORAGE respectively.
"If you'll just follow me, the bridge is not far..." Smith said cheerfully, his green eyes twinkling. His tone was completely out of place in such a dreary, dead environment... but it had been a long time since he had anyone to talk to...

All four of them entered the ship. Their masks started to silently cycle their usual nitrogen rich air from the dead stale air around them. Everything was dark and cold, but had an earie feel about it. None of the hunters were scared, but this made them more alert and on their toes, more than usual. They all flicked on their light enhancing vision modes. Ultra-violet and thermal vision would not help quite yet in the cold environment.

With a click and growl, the obvious leader of the group sent the three smaller ones to the right when they approached a split in the corridors. The leader himself went left.

They all moved cautiously, crouched and moving slowly. Even though life was not seen, it was known that some alien lifeforms wait in the dark and stay silent until it is the right moment to pounce. They also all knew that another group of something was here, obviously intelligent lifeforms that were from the other ship next to the giant hulk.

They all moved slowly, tuning in their active cloak, leaving shimmers of air where ever they passed.

On the wall to the right of the smaller Hunters, the word ENGINEERING loomed in large black letters. Dim lights flickered sporadically as the predators proceeded into the bowels of the Ripley , the cantankerous grinding of old and over used machinery filled the air. Jets of steam and occasionally a burst of fire shot out of the rusting pipes. The air was sickly warm down here, and inches of water bathed the floor. In a corner a mass of what looked like black jelly in the water floated silently, barely noticeable.

The hunters walked through the section of the ship. They now took extra caution, knowing full well that the noise and visual distraction was perfect for a predatory alien to hide in.

All three switched to different vision modes, in order to cover a wider spectrum. Then they came to another split, where gaps in machinery were. They all nodded and went down the seperate ways.

One of the hunters approached the blob, but did not notice it. The water on the ground short-circuited his cloaking field, but he proceeded with caution, nothing more to be done.

(OOC: Sure!)

IC:

Ahhh... The Shoren felt yet another presence. Yet another arrives... Once again, she could not be sure of what exactly had come onboard, but knowing that there was anything was the first step to fighting them should the need arise

On the Ripley, the nervous crew member continued to run his scans. However, now he ran a little closer to the Marines. Despite his increased caution, he drifted over to the freezers, haphazardly opening one.

"WHAT THE!?"

Unwittingly the hunter nearest the blob brushed a microscopic tenticle with his exposed skin. The reaction in the jelly-like matter was inperceptable but immediate. Thousands of cell spores that lay dormant suddenly became active, reproducing rapidly. Billions of tiny air bubbles filled the water around the jelly, forming a thin foam. As the hunter moved on, oblivious, the stores of calcium, nitrogen, oxygen, silicon and hundreds of other materials that had been stored in the jelly for two and a half centuries came together. A very simple bone structure began to form, with basic muscle matter. As thousands of cells became trillions within the small glob of jelly- a horrific new organism kicked one if it's legs.

ooc whats in the jelly-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HalfLife_BabyHeadcrab.jpg

(OOC: Headcrabs! Yay! Time to break out the crowbars...)

ooc Best parasite ever... expect more of them- ALOT more
IC
A twisted body lay still in the freezer, preserved by centuries of cold. It was the body of a man with an arched back, his mouth open in a silent scream of pain.

"Oh my, oh my... what have we here?" Smith said, appearing behind the crew member eerily fast... "He must have died during the (words scrambled), took refuge in the freezer- little good it did him"

The hunter side-stepped and dropped to a crouch, two blades protruding from his wrist mount now. He clicked through several vision modes until he came upon one that could view the creature with ease. He hadn't seen anything like it. It was small, but the inexperianced young hunter didn't compute the fact that small creatures could be more dedly then larger ones.

He slowly stood up, and approached the primitive thing, crouching down next to it to investigate.

The tiny broodling chirped and purred as the hunter approached. Its yet unformed hindlegs kicking in the water while its front legs attempted to free themselves from the jelly. Even as it squirmed it grew, now about half the size of the Hunter's head. The jelly frothed and bubbled as the cells rapidly divided and divided, giving life to the creature bound inside it.

The hunter cocked his head to the side, switching to another vision mode to see what was inside of the creature itself. He was unimpressed. He put his two blades forward to prod the creature.

Meanwhile, the leader stalked the rest of the ship. He switched to another vision mode. All he saw was blackness until he took a step forward. Sound waves rippled around him as the hallway was slightly illuminated.

He took his hand back, formed a fist, then slammed the bottom of his fist into the wall beside him. The loud bang cause soundwaves to resonate through-out the ship. From the leader's vantige point, he saw all things metal that formed the ship, then started to follow the hallways to where he thought the command section might be.

With a shocking burst of speed, the tiny broodling jumped straight up- taking most of the remaining black jelly with it. The creature's legs hit the ceiling and clung to it, the thing was growing quickly even as it moved.
With suprising grace the thing dove into a nearby pipe opening, chittering loudly as it did so.

OOC look into the pipe, i dare ya ;)

ooc Best parasite ever... expect more of them- ALOT more
IC
A twisted body lay still in the freezer, preserved by centuries of cold. It was the body of a man with an arched back, his mouth open in a silent scream of pain.

"Oh my, oh my... what have we here?" Smith said, appearing behind the crew member eerily fast... "He must have died during the (words scrambled), took refuge in the freezer- little good it did him"

The young scientist gagged and almost threw up in his helmet while the Marines only examined with detached expressions. The other scientists immediately began running scans. "There's almost nothing left of his brains..."

Tela stopped, and crouched down in front of the twisted carcass. She examined it for a moment. Then suddenly, a faint noise rang out. She gripped her rifle, and looked at Smith. "Get us to the bridge...Now..."

The Marines immediately powered up their shields, and readied their rifles. Their eyes began to glow an unearthly blue, and their actions suddenly became more tense, and calculated.

The young hunter lept back as the tiny alien jumped up and crawled away. He watched it go into a small pipe.

With his own claws still extended, he approached the pipe slowly, his claws raised. He walked up slowly intill he got close enough to see inside the pipe well enough.

In another part of the ship, the leader found a large air duct. With amazing speed he extended his claw and cut the grate to the duct like it was flesh. Quickly he started to crawl into the duct, and make his way upwards whenever possible.

OOC Ill reply to the hunters next, hold on

"Yes, of course," the program replied, and started to move towards the far side of the cafeteria, "Right this way. You are in no danger, I expect that the (words scrambled, mouth pixelated) and began hibernation in Engineering. No, no need to worry you are quite safe..."

Smith moved with inhuman speed, and it was hard for even the marines to keep up with his pace. The hologram led them through endless corridors, cargo holds, offices, and storage compartments on the most direct route to the bridge. Dried blood lay every where and in many places the husks of the vein-like pipes they had seen in the cafeteria hung from the ceilings and clung to the walls. They disintigrated immediately upon contact, becoming dry powdery dust. Finally the AI led them to a hall marked BRIDGE, with two blast doors at the end. Upon Smith's approach the doors shuddered open, revealing outdated, dusty computer banks that blinked sporatically. A skeleton dressed in a threadbare captian's uniform lay in front of the main controls... a bullet in his skull and a rusted out pistol in his hand.

Back in Cafeteria 24B...

The cold air of the freezer quickly escaped into the large cafeteria, letting in a rush of warm air. Slowly, the body found by the scientist thawed... as did another body.
To the right of the body, behind a vat of freeze dried ice cream, a creature (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HalfLife2_PoisonHeadcrab.jpg) moved one of its four legs for the first time in two centuries. Slowly, thawing even as it moved, the matured broodling crawled out from the freezer and quickly followed a trail of hot air to the nearest heating duct.

In Engineering...

Silence.

Then a shrill scream as whatever had leapt inside the pipe lept out...

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HalfLife2_FastHeadcrab.jpg)

Two of the creatures long, spindly legs wrapped themselves around the Hunters neck, while the other two beat at its face plate, putting dents in the helmet through sheer muscle. It was obivous that had what moments ago been an infant matured quickly. The underside of the broodling's carpace was lined with thick fangs, each dripping with a clear but probably dangerous liquid.

OOC Ill reply to the hunters next, hold on

"Yes, of course," the program replied, and started to move towards the far side of the cafeteria, "Right this way. You are in no danger, I expect that the (words scrambled, mouth pixelated) and began hibernation in Engineering. No, no need to worry you are quite safe..."

Smith moved with inhuman speed, and it was hard for even the marines to keep up with his pace. The hologram led them through endless corridors, cargo holds, offices, and storage compartments on the most direct route to the bridge. Dried blood lay every where and in many places the husks of the vein-like pipes they had seen in the cafeteria hung from the ceilings and clung to the walls. They disintigrated immediately upon contact, becoming dry powdery dust. Finally the AI led them to a hall marked BRIDGE, with two blast doors at the end. Upon Smith's approach the doors shuddered open, revealing outdated, dusty computer banks that blinked sporatically. A skeleton dressed in a threadbare captian's uniform lay in front of the main controls... a bullet in his skull and a rusted out pistol in his hand.


(OOC: Please refrain from making comments about the capabilities of my characters, however minor they may be. Thanks.)

IC:

What is with that convenient data corruption?! Teal thought. She took note of the dried vein like structures that were everywhere. Whatever that stuff is, it's must have something to do with whatever happened here...

She shook the thought, then immediately made a call. <Radiant, Away team, Commander Tela here. We're going to need some more troops.> Within then next minute, another team warped aboard.

After a few moments and loud commands, the two teams immediately set to work. A few attempted to restore the rusting computers, while others set forth fortifying their position. Ducts were shut, and several force field generators were set in place across them, and extending far out into the surrounding hallways. They would provide some measure of protection as they could project their fields along side all four sides of a corridor, wall to wall, ceiling to floor. Their range was limited however, and to get any real work done, the teams would have to rely on their far weaker personal shields.

OOC my apologies, my only point was that Smith was moving fast.

"My, my what a mess..." Smith said slowly, shaking his head and dusting his lapel with a thin hand, "I am thankful that my programming survived the catastrophe, and the following outbreak...."

The hologram looked around, and frowned at a science officer hacking into a data node.
"I am sorry, you are not permitted access to that bank. Please cease."


Meanwhile, in the heating Duct...
The broodling from the freezer scampered quickly down the duct, its claws clinking hollowly against the metal. It followed the scent left by life-forms as best it could, slowly weaving its way through a series of pipes towards the Bridge.

The young hunter screamed and stumbled backwards as the creature jumped on him. His mask started to buckle and crack, the legs and spines threatening to tear the poor quality helmet to peices. He started to swipe and flail at the creature with his hands, and the sharp two pronged claws potruding from his guantlet.

The other two young hunters rushed in, but did not help. Instead they seemed to laugh at the other, mocking him. Surely such a small creature could not do much with the helmet on, they thought.

Meanwhile, in the ducts, the leader had sensed that something else was in the ducts with him, somewhere. As he approached the top of the ship, the noise the creature made in his helmet was almost deafening.

The leader stopped for a moment, and pushed a small button on his wrist guantlet. He activated the miniature speargun inside the guantlet, that carried three small metal darts 3/4th's as long as the guantlet itself. He was an excellent shot, and the moment he happened on anything in the ducts, he would be ready to strike.

Again he moved upwards, closing on the bridge fast.

((If you have a problem with what happens to the hunter say so and it will be changed immediately))

In Engineering...

The creature on top of the young hunter dug its talons behind the predator's helmet and, with suprising strength, tore it free with a hiss of escaping gas. No sooner was the mask off than the broodling clamped down on the young hunters exposed head, digging its claws into the chest and back of the host animal. The predator fell backwards with a splash... its arms and legs twitching.

While this was going on, hundreds of other jelly-blobs in the mechanical depths of ENGINEERING- some floating in the water, others clinging to pipes and wires, and others latched firmly to the ceiling- began growing their own broodlings... each releasing a thin white foam of bubbles as cells replicated at extraordinary rates. Very soon the Engine and machine rooms would be crawling with bugs...

In the heating duct...

The four legged crab-like parasite chittered and chirpped as it scrambled wildly towards the Bridge... and then paused. Around a bend in the vent it sensed another suitable life form to inhabit.
Without hesitation the creature scrambled around the bend and flung itself at the lead predator- its taloned legs flailing.

((Feel free to kill/stun the creature in the heating vent. And a note- the broodling swallowed the predators head in its own mouth, so the hunter is normal from the neck down, but it's entire skull is inside the crab-thing))

as the Chiang Lungs scanner work eventually the science officer picks up visual signals from the planet and sends them to the main view screen.

A scene of village life unfolds with a large stone castle in the background. The small probe moves closer and hovers 200 metres above the village taking still pictures for future analysis.

the villagers are humanoid with skin tones ranging from light brown to a dark brown. pointed ears can be seen on people not wearing headgear and they are dressed in simple robes or dresses.

some locals are wearing pull over shirts, trousers and leather armour. they carry spears and swords and look like they're patrolling.

"they're on the medieval stage of development by the looks of it Captain" the science officer adds to her observations"

the probe is recalled to the ship and the data downloaded while the analysis continues.

ooc: New Industria, will these be a satisfactory host species? :)

((Very, very good- thanks hehehe))

OOC my apologies, my only point was that Smith was moving fast.

"My, my what a mess..." Smith said slowly, shaking his head and dusting his lapel with a thin hand, "I am thankful that my programming survived the catastrophe, and the following outbreak...."

The hologram looked around, and frowned at a science officer hacking into a data node.
"I am sorry, you are not permitted access to that bank. Please cease."


Meanwhile, in the heating Duct...
The broodling from the freezer scampered quickly down the duct, its claws clinking hollowly against the metal. It followed the scent left by life-forms as best it could, slowly weaving its way through a series of pipes towards the Bridge.

(OOC: No problem, it's all good. I do understand what you're trying to do. Something like, "Even the Marines might have found it hard to keep up." I would have accepted.)

IC:

The force fields over the ducts and far into the connecting corridors were in place and secure. The scientists remained inside this safe zone, while the Marines, with their personnel shields, ventured outside the protective zone of the force field grid...

The fields over the ducts and corridors were set to max. Anything even trying to touch it would find their appendage very much vaporized.


The scientist on the console only glanced at Smith. "Are you sure about this? Your data's incredibly corrupted. We'd like to figure out what happened to the crew if you don't mind."

One Marine suddenly announced their worst fear. "I'm getting a lot of movement up in these ducts!"

Tela turned to Smith. "Fine, if we can't access the terminals, can you at least lock down the ship, and activate whatever defenses are still running on this thing?"

((If you could hack into Smith's programming to clear up the corruption, it would provide some good exposition on the creatures... and Smith's motives))

Smith turned towards Tela and for just a moment, seemed to smirk.
"Yes, if that is what you wish. But I must warn you the (words scrambled, mouth pixelation) wasn't stopped previously by the ship's counter measures." he said, his green eyes idly wandering around the room. Blast doors on both sides of the bridge slid shut, jerking irregularly on their tracks. A mettalic, spider-like, defense drone- the size of a large dog with six spindly legs and a horribly outdated laz-gun on its nose- clambered out of a metal box on the lower floor of the three story bridge.
"I'm afraid I cannot block the ducts, all locks in the heating and air regulation vents are jammed." said the hologram, and disappeared.

Smith reappeared atop a hologram platform on the back of outdated defense drone.
"I'm detecting a good deal of motion." he said simply, dusting his lapel


In Engineering...

Triggered by the motion of the hunters, hundreds of broodlings clambered out of their jelly-globs and scattered. Several skittered into the various pipes and ducts, while others began crawling quickly along the roof, wall, and floor towards the predators.

((Sorry for double post, but Kyanges check your telegrams when you have a sec))

In the engineering room, the two young hunters looked on in awe as the small creature took down their partner with relative ease. They started to approach their kin when the entire engineering room came alive. Slowly, they started to back away, but when the enemies became numerous, they darted towards the exit, activating their cloaking fields as they left the water.

Meanwhile, in the ducts, the leader was in a much less deperate position then his kin. He had seen the head crab coming long before he saw it, and with a flick of his wrist, aimed his wrist guantlet like an expert marksman, and fired a single dart with great accuracy. The dart nailed the creature dead on, hitting it, and sending it flying backwards, almost ripping the creature apart with force. The dart stopped at the end of the duct, with the creature impailed and twitching. With a grunt, the leader moved on.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silent crawling, he came upon a duct that lead straight to the bridge. He could see and hear movement, though the exit was nearly ten meters away. He growled, too many targets to handle at once, no matter how skilled a hunter is, he thought.

Instead, he took another item from his guantlet, a very small oval disk with some sort of adhesive, no bigger than a childs palm. With a small throw, he sent it towards the end of the duct, the device attatching to the duct wall quietly. When he was sure it stuck, the leader started to head downwards, under the bridge so he could make it to the other side.

The teams only glanced at Smith, and went back to work. The member at the console continued to clear up the data, sorting bits that were beyond repair, and strengthening data that was scattered around the system.

(OOC: I'm letting you decide just how much, and when the data is cleared.)

IC:

Tela eyed the spider drone. "That's what you're going to use?" Her face turned down in disappointment. "We will need more of these..." She said as she pulled a sack of grenades from a container. The quasar detonators they used was more than enough to rip platoons apart on their highest setting. Hopefully, they might put a dent in the whatever had awoken.

It's on... Thought one of the Marines. The Marines began to activate their small gun drones attached to their packs. One each trooper, and six in all. Their small guns made them ineffective at anything larger than a light APC, but every bit counted. The in addition to their technology, their potent psionic abilities only served to increase their effectiveness. Telekenesis, psionic blasts, and all manner of psychic mayhem were at their disposal.

The Marines continued their scans, and awaited the coming hoard.

(OOC: Any time you're ready.)

In the Engineering, Reactor Coolant, and Machinery Sections...

Hundreds of broodlings became thousands, emerging from the countless black globs that filled the enormous engineering section. The shrill chirps and screeches of the parasites could be heard echoing all across the Ripley as the countless hordes began to spread throughout the vessel. Corridors, pipes, ducts, and any other passageways that the bugs could fit into swarmed with the crab-like nasties... all of which quickly headed for the bridge... or gave chase to the predators.

The young hunter who had fallen prey to the broodling lay still in the water, neon blood dripping slowly from where the creature's mouth was clamped around his head.
Suddenly, the predator's entire body convulsed- every vein, artery, and capillary stuck out prominantly along the hunter's skin as it's muscles involuntarily bulged. Behind it's horrific broodling mask, the shreiking of the young hunter could be distinctly made out... it was aware of what was happening to it.
The predator stood up slowly, finding its balance. Carefully the creature, ignored by the hundreds of broodlings scampering all around it, staggered away from the Engineering section... no longer in control of its own body.


On the Bridge...

In the distance, the faint clattering of talons and high pitched cries of the broodlings could be heard.

(ooc excuse my charater control, if it is a problem, let me know)
The Eshirian scientist at the console touched two twisted and shredded wires together, momentarily creating a spark. The hologram of Smith, still standing atop the drone, twitched eerily for a moment, faded, and came back with renewed clarity.
"Greetings I am Smith program #.. oh, excuse me my memory faded for a moment with that surge," Smith said, eyeing the technition at the console with mild irritation.
"I am afraid those weapons will be ineffective against the Parasite," the AI stated disinterestedly, looking at Tela's weapon, "MY estimates read that when the Parasite Queen disintegrated in year 47, after food sources were exhausted, she left behind as many as 300,000 broodling eggs in stasis. The Engineering sections are littered with parasite spores... something must have triggered them to hatch. You sent no personnel down there did you?"

(OOC: Would you mind if one of my colonial worlds was near here? It would be quite an effective battleground.)

Tela's heart sank. "Parasites? Spores?" She took a look at her grenades. "These things will have their use. Just one will blast a platoon apart, and..."

She took a pause as she charged her rifle. "If these things aren't intelligent, then they won't know to spread out."

Another Marine took a slight interest in the conversation. "300,000 huh? That's a lot." He chuckled as he looked back to the door he was guarding. "The Eshirian military is breed to fight superior numbers. 300,000 is nothing." He noted with some confidence.

He was somewhat correct. Eshirians were no stranger to mass hoards. However, 15,000 to 1 were odds they never had never faced. No matter how many would blindly charge into the vaporizing force fields and lobs of grenades.

Another scientist also jumped in. "But we didn't send anyone down to that section..."

Tela nodded her head, and spoke again. "Hey, Smith, this thing doesn't have an internal camera system does it?"

Behind their words, Tela spoke to the scientists at the console, noting the improved quality of the hologram. Good job, looks like he's clearing up. Keep at it, but try not to slip up again.


Meanwhile, aboard the Radiant, the Shoren gasped slightly, and her body shook slightly for a split second. The thousands of broodlings had created a disturbance too large to be ignored. Thousands, upon thousands of new minds awoke. All with the same terrifying thoughts. Thoughts of death, destruction, control...

She spoke to the teams. On guard...evil has awoken...

(OOC: No problem this time. That's didn't really cross any lines. I did give you some manner of control in the last post for that. And for the record, Eshirians can speak telepathically, though they typically prefer not to. Italicized words are either thoughts or telepathy.)

((Velkya that's fine, but be warned- you are gonna have to wait a bit before this thing makes planetfall. Perhaps your colony is on the other side of Kirisubo's medieval planet, or it could be abandoned with only a skeleton crew))

"I must warn you that the Parasite, while in no way rational in the primary stages of its life cycle, shows remarkable... cunning. They seem to communicate with each other by a very sopisticated system, perhaps telepathy if such a thing were possible," Smith's eyes glanced momentarily at Tela, a smirk played around the corners of his lips... there was a look in those green eyes beyond simple data-processing- perhaps intelligence, perhaps madness.
"Access sectors 452-986 manually on the main console please, code 356890002. That should activate the camera system for the Engineering levels, or what's left of it." the hologram said, turning towards the technition, "For some reason I am unable to access them myself, old wiring perhaps."

Outside the forcefeild there was a small chirp. Just beyond the killzone stood a single broodling, swaying slowly back and forth on its spindly legs.

Tela was slightly taken back by the malicious intent which shone from Smith's eyes. What kind of Hologram can even go insan- Her eyes widened as the magnitude of what had happened dawned upon her. Oh, Gods... She only nodded in understanding at what Smith had said. However, behind the face...

<Ensign...contingency Aliea 11-32...>

The ensign at the console paused for a second, then continued to work as if nothing had happened. Using the commands Smith had given to activate the camera. A fuzzy image came on. The ensign peered into the screen. His eyes widened behind his face mask... "Commander..."


One Marine went outside the bridge into the corridor to investigate the unnerving chirp. As he looked at the small creature, he knelt down, keeping a good distance from the forcefield, and keeping his rifle aimed at the broodling. The Marine's faced was shielded behind his helmet, though his cocked head betrayed his curiosity. "What the..." He double checked that his personal shield was active, then poked his foot outside the forcefield, his own shield neutralizing the normally deadly field, as he began to take a step outside...

((Sorry 'bout this but a villains gotta do what a villains gotta do))
The Bridge..
"Thank you, ensign...." Smith said, smiling a brilliantly white smile at the Eshirian at the console, his green eyes flashing with lunacy that was no longer masked "Not only have you activated the cameras, but you've also ignited the reactor core... the engines should power up soon. I could not have done that without manual help."

Suddenly a roar of machinery filled the air, and the torturous sound of metal grinding on metal as equipment that had lay unused for two centuries powered on. The Ripley lurched forward, sending several of the ES scientists falling to the ground. A computer bank, rusted throughout with age, toppled over in the bridge, smashing against the hard ground in a shower of sparks.
“Approaching planetary atmosphere in T-minus 25 minutes,” a synthetic female voice echoed throughout the ship, “T-minus 25 minutes.”
Smith stood calmly in the bridge, dusting his lapel as another computer bank fell through him. A too-white smile illuminated his face; his green eyes danced crazily over the Eshirians before him.
“Finally,” he said, as though bored with the proceedings, “Two centuries it took… finally.”

Outside the forcefeild…

The broodling screeched shrilly and launched itself at the marine as the Ripley lurched forward. As though it had been planned, a swarm of other Parasites skittered around the corner and began throwing themselves at the marine, battering his shields. Several bugs dropped from an airshaft just behind the ES soldier, surrounding him.

In space…
Three industrial tractor beams hit the Radiant as the derelict beside it lurched forward towards the nearest planet ((Kirisubo’s inhabited planet))… Smith wanted to take the Eshirians with him…

((You can still see the Engineering levels from the camera system))

((Going to assume the crabs are coming up my hunter's shafts to... erm yeah.))

He had just placed the last device on the other side of the bridge in another vent when he heard a chirp. He looked all around him, changing vision modes several times to get an accurate read-out on what made the noise. Finally he saw it crawl up the shaft. He aimed his wrist mount when the ship lurched.

He was flung to the side, slamming into the side of the duct with a loud bang. Just then, more chirpings came from the duct, and they started to pour out.

He looked at his options. He could try to plow through all the small aliens in a tight confined space which left him defenseless, or he could join the very prey he had come to hunt on the bridge of the ship, and hope they would benefit from the mutual threat. He made his decision quickly.

His fingers danced over his open guantlet computer, detonating the two explosives on either side of the bridge. These were very powerful, but localized explosions, meant to obliterate anything within 3 meters of them. What had been planted previously as a means to confuse the prey was now his road to escape.

With a strong push of his legs, he sent himself flying towards the bridge opening, hoping the explosives destroyed everything obstructing his path, even forcefields.

(OOC: So this is leading to Velk's posts about having some kind of planet? Oh, and I've been trying to make a point that the force field covers the walls, ceiling and floor. There's no way that anything wold jump out from behind him anyway. I RPed him only sticking his leg out from behind the shield. But no matter, what I'm doing now will make all that irrelevant.)

IC:

Tela only grinned at Smith. "I'm sorry, but you won't be around to enjoy your 'victory'."

She nodded at the Ensign, who was prepared for this moment. Behind his back he slipped a small data node into a terminal. From it, a nanovirus was released into the wiring of the ship, which would physically eat the ship away, along with a programmed virus that was designed to wipe the computer core clean. With luck, everything, including anything linked to the computer corp in any way, wired or not, would be scoured, and promptly disposed of.

The rest of the team, along with the hapless Marine outside were transported away, equipment and all. A few of the small head crabs were beamed away separately, and left in suspended transport. Meaning that on the receiving end, they were not rematerialized, and therefore, incapable of causing any harm.

Tela waved to Smith with an innocent wink, and a small smile. "Bai, bai!"

The Predator which tried to blast his way through the force field would find that impossible. The force field was no longer there. Instead, he was greeted by a simple telepathic message. Greetings...did you not expect that we would not notice you? Tell me, do you wish to live...or join the ranks of the undead...?

With the Headcrabs closing, and the maniacal Hologram above still inside his spider drone, the Hunter would have to think fast...


In space, the Radiant, having retrieved its crew, launched it shields. Its PPAD shielding created physical blocks of matter which shielded the vessel. Any tractor beams would simply grab these rather than the ship itself. Through this, the Radiant made a quick jump away from the Ripley.

You'll have to do better than that, primitive AI... Thought the Shoren. Much better...

(OOC: Maybe my tech level's too high to do this sort of RP...)

((It could lead to a planetary conflict, I was expecting you to attempt to change the ships course. Again my apologies about the marine, I misread and thought he was out of the forcefeild already, not that it matters now....
I am a tad confused as to whether you wish to continue RPing, and if you weren't willing for some of your crew to get infected why did you join? I explained the scenerio in the ooc thread. If you do wish to continue RPing here please say so, if not I suppose a lower-tech nation will have to find the Derelict. I will post IC later today))

He barreled through the ventillaton openening and tumbled out onto the bridge. He rolled to a stand and quickly looked around, his fleshy dreadlocks flinging behind him.

He did not hear the telepathic message though, he could not. The predator language so so vastly different from the human, or most species' languages it was very difficult to convey anything, even through the mind. As well as a Yautja's mind was not easy to invade, especially with such an old experianced hunter.

His mask was top-of-the-line, and after meeting several species, held almost 7 times the technology of previous masks that existed in the days of old earth. It helped dampen any psychic attacks directly on his mind, and as a side-affect, dampened anything psychic to do with his mind. But even without the mask, the marines, or any other psychic would find it hard to invade his mind, for Yautja had extraordinary willpower and constitution, able to resist the most severe pain, fatigue, and hunger... atleast for a time.

But now was the task at hand. He did not hear anything of them, but showed his intent. He extended his his guantlet's claws and made an agressive gesture towards the opening where the headcrabs were coming from, then turning his masked face to the marines, eye slits staring.

(OOC: New Industria, I do intend for one of my crew to become infected, but on the planet's surface. I do intend to try and change the ship's course, but in my next post. The way this will be done is by my tiny ship blasting out a couple of engines, and then letting the Ripley tractor mine, and I'll try to tug it out of the way. Obviously that's going to fail since I need one of my crew to be infected down on the planet.

Cetanu Clan, I'm not even on the bridge anymore. I'm sorry, but you couldn't possible see me then. I guess I'll have to try an make my nxt post kind of complicated so the story doesn't just end here. Maybe I'll just beam you away or beam something down when the Shoren finds that your Predator's mind is "numbed", and attempt communication.)

OOC Easy there Kyranges, I thought you were still on the bridge. your post confused me. I don't know what to do now really.

OOC Easy there Kyranges, I thought you were still on the bridge. your post confused me. I don't know what to do now really.

(OOC: I'm fine. Basically, it'd be best if you sat tight for the moment, and I'll get a post up that'll clear things up. I'm going to edit my previous post later to make it clearer for you, and then build what I've changed in my next IC post. No worries. I made a mistake, now I've got to fix it.)

((Ok, good. Ill let you two decide what you wanna do about the hunter, Kyanges modified his/her post quite well in my opinion. Sorry for my bitchy tone in my last post, it was 6:30 AM before I left for the day... I wasn't really awake yet. Im glad to still have you aboard Kyanges, I was just concerned you would leave b/c of your technology comment. Oh, and on a different note- I feel compelled to say that though the first stages of the infection are almost identical to HL headcrabs, the Parasite is quite different in its later stages. And with that... on with the show...))

IC

"T-minus twenty foooooooouuurrrrrrrrr," said the female voice, slurring as the nanovirus ate away at its programming. Lights and computer banks blinked off and on all over the ship as wiring was destroyed by the ES weapon. In the various Cafeterias, refrigerator and freezer doors swung open automatically, revealing hordes of frozen bodies with broodlings attached... waiting to be thawed.
The AI that had introduced itself as 'Smith' cursed and, acting even faster than the virus that threatened it, downloaded his entire database into the spider drone. A normal drone would have blown a fuse under such pressure, but the meglomaniac AI had specially fitted this outdated sentry droid to handle the immense information in case of such an emergency. Quickly severing connections to the Ripley, the spider drone skittered down a hallway, crazily swerving past falling objects and crushing any broodlings that got underfoot.

No longer under any control, the massive Ripley- its engines giving far too much thrust- nose dived straight for the planet.

Near Engineering...
Pipes whistled and infastructure snapped as the reactor power up. Cracks and holes ran up and down the innumerable corridors as the pressure from the Ripley's engine doubled, then tripled. Still, the Parasite came. Countless spider-like creatures poured from the depths of the ship in search of prey....
Eyeless, the broodlings had little trouble locating the cloaked hunters, who they threw themselves at mindlessly.

The Chiang Lung's tactical officer reports to her Captain "Captain sama, theres a ship on a course to enter the atmosphere and one pulling away"

"Hail both of them" Captain Abe orders "ask if they need any assitance"

"put them on the main viewer"

the screen changes to show the the Ripley heading to the planet at great speed.

The Shoren sighed. His mind is numbed... She rolled her eyes as she thought, What species in their right mind would even want to do such a thing?

Through a PsiCommu command, a small holoemitter was transported in front of the Hunter. The small Hologram repeated its message. Regardless of how complex the Predator's language might have been, there was no way the hologram would fail.

One small simplified depiction of the hunter was shown dying, and another next to it was shown blasting up the small broodlings. In between the two, a small questioning face of a typical Eshirian female was displayed. Hopefully the message was simple enough. Kill or be killed...


The Radiant drifted back towards the Ripley as a new plan was put into action. Moving behind the Ripley, the Radiant unleashed a small barrage of MP fire against the engines...


In response to the new vessel's inquiry...

<Hello, stranger, Eshirian vessel Radiant here...> A databurst of the all necessary info was transmitted. <That's the brief...We're trying to tug this ship away from the planet so those things don't get out on that rock. Care to assist?>

Captain Abe replies "I'll attach our tractor beam as well" and gives the order.

The Chiang Lung's tractor beam locks on and Captain Abe increases the power.

"Radiant, ready when you are"

((Centanu, this isnt the end of your hunters, they can be in the front or back of the ship, your choice. In both places broodlings are still a big threat))

"Attention, Engine Pressure Unchecked, hull integrity compromised... Attention..." rang out a synthetic female voice across the parts of the ship that were not burning, or whose computer systems had not yet failed.
The AI’s spider drone continued skittering down the winding corridors of the Ripley dodging burning pipes and falling debris. Alarm bells sounded throughout the ship and the sprinkler system had turned on.

As Captain Abe’s tractor beam struck the ship, all fell silent for a moment, then chaos resumed. Even military grade tractor beams couldn’t completely stop the antiquated fusion reactor at full power, and the Ripley inched forward, vibrating violently.

“Hull integrity Compromised, Engine levels flooding, Pressure Unchecked…” the synthetic voice rang out calmly. Halted unwillingly by the tractor beam, the back end of the monstrous ship pushed into the front, crushing infrastructure. Metal wrenched and tore; finally the front of the Ripley broke free and was sent screaming into the planet’s upper atmosphere. The other end of the ship continued to rip itself apart from unchecked explosions, sending huge chunks of metal flying into the space around it faster than torpedoes.

The hunter looked at the small device infront of him, and made out the message it was trying to convey. A child could understand the animations.

Just then the swarm started to cover the device that had just been beamed. He took the small eight inch stick from his hip, squeezed it, and it turned into a five foot staff with an extremely sharp point.

Like a master swordsman, he started to jab and sweep at the swarm, dicing and mincing the parasite with great precision, and barely missing the device as he did.

After a few more swipes, he made it to the device. He did not know how to respond to them, so he simple bent down and picked it up quickly, then lept backwards to give himself time. He shook the device, and tried to look for any kind of buttons, but the parasite was on him again, and he fought hard.

In the depths of the ship, it was too late for the other two young hunters. They had been brought down and infected already, but still waiting for reanimation.

<Confirmed! Let's go to work.> The Radiant threw its inertial engines on max, and nearly overloaded its main reactors. A few more torpedoes were fired towards the engines of the Ripley before it's own tractor beams were thrown on.

Meanwhile, the Shoren smiled. Of course...

The device served as a beacon to help differentiate the Hunter's lifesign from the mass hoards of the Headcrabs, and in a flash, the Hunter was beamed away.

His destination was the holodeck, sealed off by forcefields on every entrance. The Shoren warped in, accompanied by a small team of five ES Marines, ready to make contact. With luck, the Eshirians would have a powerful new ally...


(OOC: On a totally unrelated note, none of my ships have air ducts. I'll elaborate if anyone wants me to, but yeah, just thought that info might be useful sometime.)

One moment he was swinging away at a flooding parasite, the next he was facing a woman(I think) and heavily armored soldiers. His instincts screamed 'Fight! Fight! Honor!', but his logic told him, 'Hey, these oomans just saved your life... for now.'.

He retracted his combi-stick, but still held it firmly in his hand. If these were unarmored humans, he would tower over them, but he seemd to be the same height, standing a little over 2 meters tall. His body had a very powerful build, with some bits of some sort of black armor on his left shoulder and upper arm. He had a wire mesh all over his body, it helped dissapate is heat signature and ward off some laser-type weaponry fire.

He stared at them with his helmet, then nudged his head upwards in acknowledgement.

((OOC totally unrelated? :) ))

The front end of the Ripley crashed through the lower atmosphere of the planet in a giant ball of fire, illuminating the night sky in an eerie red tint.
The natives who saw this took it as a sign from the gods of coming evil... they were quite right.

Barely visible from a distance, a single orange glowing fleck shot off from the main hull, an escape pod.

Inside the tiny vessel lay the body of a predator, it's head covered by a broodling. Behind it stood the hunched over body of another infected Yajuta, but it was hardly recognizable. Neon blood covered the creature's neck and shoulders, dripping from where the broodling was attached. What was once the hunter's right arm was now a tentacle ending in a scythe like claw of bone, veins along the surface of the former arm continually moved and rippled, as though with life of their own. The predator had taken a reddish tint, and on the left side of its back was a horribly swollen hump that pulsated irregularly. The Yajuta's chest had a large mouth like hole on it's left side, which opened and closed spastically- sucking at the air. Every time the creature exhaled a spray of small green spores would shoot out, float around the air momentarily, and land on the floor in a greenish glob. Several broodlings scampered around the crowded escapre pod, crawling over the body of the hunter on the ground or up the side of the mutating creature. In the corner, legs tucked under its stomach much like a real spider, sat Smith's droid, it's six reddish eyes watching the pod's living inhabitants disinterestedly.

One moment he was swinging away at a flooding parasite, the next he was facing a woman(I think) and heavily armored soldiers. His instincts screamed 'Fight! Fight! Honor!', but his logic told him, 'Hey, these oomans just saved your life... for now.'.

He retracted his combi-stick, but still held it firmly in his hand. If these were unarmored humans, he would tower over them, but he seemd to be the same height, standing a little over 2 meters tall. His body had a very powerful build, with some bits of some sort of black armor on his left shoulder and upper arm. He had a wire mesh all over his body, it helped dissapate is heat signature and ward off some laser-type weaponry fire.

He stared at them with his helmet, then nudged his head upwards in acknowledgement.


Unfortunately for the Hunter, these weren't Humans at all. Not in the least...

The Shoren walked up towards the Hunter, completely unafraid. Whatever ulterior motives the Hunter may have had, he was aboard an Eshirian vessel now, and aboard their own ships, Eshirians were the Gods. Any sudden moves would result in immediate transport off into space. Only the Shoren dared to come so close to the Hunter. Her finely tuned psi abilities gave her an almost precognitive sense.

She took one glance up and down his body, and took careful mental notes on every visible facet of his form. He was indeed a tall figure, and an imposing one at that.

The Shoren raised her hand, and in the holodeck, a hologram of the headcrabs appeared. With one flick of her wrist, the ES Marines fired blanks at the holograms, which began accurately imitated dying headcrab animations. Once again, the demonstration was made almost childishly simple.

The Shoren continued to stare into the Hunter's mask, now with confident, and aggressive eyes that glowed a deep blue, pupils and all.

"Will you help us?" She asked in a firm tone.



The Radiant pulled away from the Ripley. It's mission failed. A secure databurst was transmitted for additional reinforcements. 30 minutes later, in a bright flash, Three small dropships descended upon the hapless world. Additional teams of 25 ES Marines, now with some light powered armor suits arrived to try and clean up the mess.



(OOC: When the fight begins, I'll be making one casualty right away. That'll be the infected guy/girl. I'm kind of worried about what may result. Eshirians have potent psionic abilities, especially the Marines. While the Marine's are not the most powerful psi's I have, I shudder to think what the fate of the galaxy will be when psionically enhanced headcrabs start running around...)

((The psionic abilities of an Eshirian with the unmatched physical skill of a Yajuta.... I will have a genetic powerhouse on my hands... Why is an AI helping the infection? We shall see...))

"Quickly!" the hologram barked, signalling for the mutating Yajuta to head for the distant tree line. Behind Smith stood the spider drone, projecting his image. The mutation groaned from its new mouth, swiping hungrily at the hologram. Muffled behind the horrific mask of the headcrab, the Yajuta's shreiking could still be heard.
Smith glanced around, his hungry green eyes taking in the landscape greedily. With one hand he brushed his lapel- a default animation that the hologram could not help. In a smouldering crater just to the AI's left was the escape pod, crawling with broodlings.
"NOW" the insane AI ordered, pointing towards the treeline. Slowly the mutation shambled off into the direction of Smith's finger, dragging the other infected Yajuta- who at this point still looked like a Predator from the neck down- along behind him.


Smith's eyes swept over the landscape again. In the distance green forests that seemed to be an odd combination of palm and pine trees covered short, worn down hills. Huge straw-colored plains, dotted with herds of short furred grazers that looked to be a mix of Earth cows and dogs, stretched out from the distant treeline towards the crashed escape pod. To the north, white tendrils of smoke drifted into the air... humanoids.

The broodlings scattered from the pod, some heading into the high grass plains to prey on the herbovores.... and others north, towards the humanoid camp.

Smith sighed as the last broodling scampered off, his green eyes looked up, where part of the Ripley was still falling through the atmosphere in a ball of fire. The night sky was tinted red by the burning ship... bad omens indeed.
The hologram dusted his lapel and walked off after the mutating Yajuta, which was now a black speck in the straw colored feild. The spider drone hurried after the hologram, soon disappearing into the night.

((I suggest that the ES and the Hunter go on the back end of the Ripley, which is still in space, and clear out all of the broodlings still on it, as the part of the Ripley that fell to the planet will be burned up in the atmosphere. Unless you know about the escape pod...))

the mission failed the Chiang Lung cuts the tractor beam and follows the Radiant to safety.

"comms, get the the Radiant and send this. This is Captain Abe of the New Kirisuban ship Chiang Lung. what was going on with that ship? More information would be appreciated.

I can come to you if you want if you drop your shields"

He understood perfectly what these people wanted, and that is what bothered him. In the past, Yautja have been known to take in skilled hunters of other species, training them and using them, but this in itself was very rare. The prospect before him though, was a complete turn-around and unheard of, almost preposterous. He did not have a choice in the matter however.

He stared back at the odd female. Even through his helmet, is gaze was hard and agressive. Like a dog, turning away was a sign of submission, but he did not want to submit. He wanted to make it known that he would work with them, not for them.

He gave a nod of his heard, and made a series of low clickings. He kept staring.

(OOC: Will post on Sunday. RL concerns. Thanks!)

((No prob, Velkya this might be a good time for ya to jump in))

The mutation groaned, dropped to its bloated knees, and fell over in the underbrush. Behind it, the other infected Yajuta stood hunched over, growling. Smith's spider droned chirped impatiently.

The mutation's tentacle crept out slowly from it's twitching form and wrapped firmly around the tall trunk of a palm tree. The bloated hump on the creatures back rippled and pulsated, slowly growing in size. The Yajuta no longer resembled its former self, but was now a large, overgrown blob quivering with life. Where the creatures head used to be, the broodling twitched.
The other Yajuta was not under going such radical mutations, instead its muscles bulged and slowly grew disproportionately... its green skin fading to grey. The broodling on its head no longer seemed a seperate entity, its flesh was fusing with that of the predators- revealing the hunter's toothy snarled mouth.

Around the horrifying pair, dozens of small broodlings chittered and chirped. They skittered quickly around the mutated blob, spinning a web of sticky mucus on the trees and the terrible pile of flesh itself.

"Good Gods... They're everywhere..."

Eshirians had traveled among the stars for as far back as recorded time. There was very little their race had not yet laid eyes upon. However, this familiarity with the void breed an air of arrogance. What could there possibly be that Eshirians did not already know? Oh, how the mighty have fallen...


As the drop ships detached from their drop pods and lifted off to survey the surrounding area, the Marines set about creating base camp. MP turrets were erected, and scanner drones deployed. Forcefields were set, and a curious fine mist had appeared around the Eshirian encampment. The first sensor drone began reading life immediately. A small primitive settlement, and an unnervingly large concentration of a familiar evil...


The Radiant, noting a section of the Ripley still in orbit, returned to space, and began scanning the tattered hulk.

They live!...

The Shoren could not stand it any longer. <Helm! Tractor beam on that infernal piece of scrap. Tow it into the nearest sun!>

<Yes, mi'lady.> came a reply.


While the deed was done, the Shoren had continued to stare into the Hunter's face. Should for some inexplicable reason, even towing the remainder of the Ripley into a star prove impossible, they would have to clear the rest of the broodlings the old fashioned way.

The Hunter's reply was a relief. However it presented its own set of challenges. How would they ever inform him that they needed to head down to the surface, and destroy the rest of the broodlings there? More tedious holo-displays, until the universal translator could work out his intelligible clicks, and gargles... Another illustration appeared, this time, a small representation of a broodling was minimized, and put into a ship that crashed itself into a planet. Then another small depiction of the Hunter, and Eshirian forces landing on the planet to fight.

And can your numbed mind understand this? The Shoren thought to herself.

ooc good to see ya back- please see the thread http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=469706

Ill post here in a few minutes

(OOC: Interesting, though I wonder why you chose an Eshirian to run the Corporation.)

((No prob, Velkya this might be a good time for ya to jump in))

(OOC: Sure, I'll RP a probe scanning the area. Then, Seargent Johnson will land. Hehe.)

((Psychic abilities, plus I liked your factbook and race. He may or may not be after ascendency... but will look for it in all the wrong places- with that thought...))


In the Forest…
Smith's hologram projected suddenly from the inactive spider drone and looked approvingly at the fledgling nest. It had begun.
>Broadcast from Smith's Drone to Galactic Genetics Inc. Cruiser- Orthanc<
>Nest completed 40% faster than previous test, broodling combat effective, control three (3) Yajuta<
>Infection of native humanoids 91% complete<
>ES involvement secured, as per orders<
>Native herbavores, predators, foliage undergoing transfer<
>Please Note: One (1) Yajuta undergoing 'Queen' transfer, powerful psionics detected on sensors<
>Transmission END<

The mutation expanded and contracted. It now had a more definate shape, and it was horrific indeed. The creature resembled a massive pink grub, with two large tentacles ending in scythe like blades of bone protruding from around a gaping toothy mouth on one end. The other end tapered into a bony collection of tentacles which thrashed spastically. The ground surrounding the 'Queen' was incredibly moist, and a large depression had begun to form around the horrific creature. From the matriarch’s underbelly hundreds of thin capillary like tubes had begun to spread along the ground...
Around the monster broodling chirped and chittered, busily going about their tasks of clearing foliage and cleaning their "mother." The trees around the queen were now bent, covered in sticky, filthy mucus that stunk of vomit and rotting garbage. The weird capillary/vein like tubes crawled slowly across the web of mucus, secreting a clear fluid that steam poured from as it came in contact with the air.

In the Native village…

“Agghhh!!!” a woman screamed, running out of her animal skin tent, a baby in her arms. A broodling dove out after her, grasped her firmly with its spindly arms, and attached its mouth to the woman’s back. The native screamed and fell over, dropping her baby in the dirt. The infant lay outside the tent, wailing.
All around it chaos consumed the campsite, broodlings chattered and shrieked, throwing themselves at baffled Neanderthals who attempted to fend them off with spears and pointed sticks. A tent collapsed as its occupants panicked and thrashed, landing in a fire pit. Flames shot up as the tent caught on fire, those inside screamed horribly as they burned to their deaths.
The baby still wailed. A broodling chattered nearby, scrambled up to the infant, stabbed it through the middle with one talon, and dragged it off.

In the plains….
The cow-like herbivores disappeared one by one, dragged down by the innumerable broodlings scattered across the fields. After a few minutes, the dog/cows would stand up, broodlings attached to their backs. The infected grazers would then stagger to the tree line, where their new ‘mother’ awaited…

((And the other Yajuta… he now looks like this-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hellknight.png. oh and Velkya- I thought you wanted a colony, that’d work better than another fleet chasing the Parasites))

Orbit over PSSP #21, 430 hours

The small probe winked to life, its AI programming turning on its myriad sensors.

Visitors?

Quite a few of them, actually. A ship, no two ships, appeared in the planet’s orbit. That was bad news, as no trade ships or ships at all were registered to be in the system, as it was protected as both territory of the Allied Union and a place of refuge. Some years before, a sentient species had been discovered on PSSP #21, and the planet had been designated as a protected area. But, now, plain as daylight, an alien ship had moved into orbit, sending drop pods filled with soldiers, apparently chasing a wrecked starship that had burned up in the atmosphere. It hurriedly sent for an Insurrection II class destroyer, which was cruising patrol nearby. It diverted its course, and made a slip space jump to the planet.

V.S.S. Halsey, orbit over PSSP #21, 453 hours

“Captain, we’ve arrived.”

The sleek, black shape of the Halsey emerged from the wormhole, in a secant fashion from the unknown alien ship.

"Shall we hail the alien ship, sir?"

The Captain turned to the sound of the engine officer’s voice, revealing an older, but fit, man in the captain’s seat. "Negative, stay on this side of the planet, until we've dispatched fire teams to the surface and have assessed the alien presence here. This world is too close to Radeon to have an unknown slaver force take up shop here."

The communications officer stood down and relaying a message to the cryo-bay.

"Attention, all cryo-officers report to station, repeat, all cryo-officers report to stations, over."

Blue-suited crewman ran along the sterile white metal corridors of the Halsey, moving to cryogenic sleep chamber control rooms. All over the area, crewman paced back in forth, unsealing cryo-sleep chambers, awakening the Marines inside. Soon, they were dressed, being fed a foul-tasting liquid (nicknamed cry-o-juice by the Navy boys) that would restore nutrients to a person who had been under cryo-sleep. One of the Marines, a stout black man, spit excess liquid out in a sink, much to the charinge of the medical officers.

"Man, I hate that shit."

A medical doctor walked up to him. "Master Sergeant Johnson, you'll have to drink the whole cup, otherwise you may have a-"

"Ah, you spooks are all alike. I'll be fine."

Walking along the line, he surveyed his ten-man squad. "Alright, ladies, time to get down to business. We've got an unknown alien force that has landed on this planet, and the SSPA wants us to check it out. Standard protocol, cept we'll be going in via Pelican II this time, no drop pods. You've got ten minutes to gear up and get to the launch bay, or you're ass is mine, understand?!"

"Sir, yes sir!" came the response.

"Damn right, Marines, now get your asses moving!"

(OOC: What I plan on doing is simpy investigating a disturbance so close to the Radeon colony [nearby Velkyan system]. I'll be sending down three squads [thirty-three men].)

Again he nodded. He did not want to nod however. This hunt had already been a faliure. The prey he had come to hunt were now his saviors. His time here was done. But now he owed it to them to help them.

There was still a problem to him though. His equipment was all in his shuttle. Not to mention the young unblooded ones, but he assumed properly that they were dead.

He turned down for a moment, bringing up his wrist guantlet. He opened the small hatch on top, and tapped a few keys. In a moments notice, a small holographic projection appeared. It showed a small oddly shaped ship. He tapped a few more keys, and the hologram zoomed in on a rack of what seemed to be weapons. He looked back up at the woman and nodded.

((Velkya, good post. Check out http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=469706 if your interested in some evil doers in your nation :), wolves in sheep's clothing))

(OOC: Here's a pic of some Marines on patrol: http://media.playstationpro2.com/images/killzone2.jpg
Sorry to say this, but while it is a capitalist state, both the PMT and FT incarnations of Velkya have strict laws on corporations, especially multi-national ones, so I doubt an evil corporation like yours would thrive without seeing numerous raids from the above mentioned soldiers. :p )

((no prob, figured I'd ask. Ill hold off posting till Kyanges jumps in))

((Unfortunately I will not be able to post for a couple of days, but will be back Friday night. sorry about the bad timing, but such is life. I will try to get on if at all possible. In the mean time I suggest you guys manually clear out the rest of the Ripley (b/c you have to get to the hunter's ship anyway) and investigate the ruins of the native settlement. Feel free to kill as many broodlings as you like, but please... please dont find the Nest until I get back and the real story begins. Sorry again))

(OOC:What do broodlings looks like anyways? The headcrabs from Half-Life?)

((Yeah, and they operate the same way. This reminds me, if any of you want you're troops to get infected while Im not around- broodlings (aka "Ticks) can latch on to the head, shoulers, thighs, and torso. If any of your guys gets infected, have them go into a coma and have the broodling irremovable))

((Yeah, and they operate the same way. This reminds me, if any of you want you're troops to get infected while Im not around- broodlings (aka "Ticks) can latch on to the head, shoulers, thighs, and torso. If any of your guys gets infected, have them go into a coma and have the broodling irremovable))

(OOC:Hehe. ETC rifled, fifty caliber, high explosive, tungsten tipped, caseless assault rifles make the irremovable, removable. All it needs is a little nudge, if you get me. :D)

((Im back, sorry for my absence))

On board Galactic Genetic Inc. Ship Orthanc….

More wine monsieur?” the thin man asked, holding the bottle tentatively. He was dressed in an extravagant, almost obnoxious, silk suit that matched his shoulder length hair. The thin man’s face was skeletal, with prominent cheekbones and a sharp chin. His eyes were blank and dark grey, in contrast to his wan, yellowed complexion. The pistol in the man’s belt hinted that he served as both a bodyguard and waiter.
“No, thank you Osmond, I’ve had enough,” answered the man in the leather arm chair, he wore a black silk business suit that matched his dark, slicked back hair. From the look of him, the man in the chair seemed to be of Eshirian descent.
The thin man nodded and smiled, then touched the tiny, silver earpiece in his right ear.
“A message from the captain, Mr. Kain, we have left warp space and will reach Planet 247 within the hour,” he said in a smooth, almost effeminate voice.
“Good,” replied Kain, “Send for Ms. Gladstone.”
“Yes sir.”
The man in the black suit sat up in his armchair and glanced around his apartment. It seemed more like the inside of an 18th century mansion than the meeting room aboard a
Gamma-class Starcruiser (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/Ycom/Ships/HyperionStarcruiser.png) but Morgan Kain, CEO of Galactic Genetics, had never been known to spare any expense when it came to personal comfort. Embroidered couches, mahogany end-tables, plush carpeting, and elegant chandeliers were scattered neatly around the lavish residence. Three of the four, tall walls were of dark wood, and lined with books of every age. The wall across from the CEO was an exquisite mural depicting a medieval battle against a monstrous dragon.
“You called, Morgan?” said a female voice from behind Kain. Osmond turned and nodded to the newcomer before taking a seat across the room.
Kain stood and smiled as Katherine Gladstone, the deadly (and gorgeous) woman who led his private army of mercenaries, entered.
“Yes, the captain says we’ll arrive at the target planet in less than an hour, ready your men.” The CEO said.
“What of the Eshirians? The program we implanted aboard the Ripley reported that the Sovereignty and possibly other militaries have become involved.” Gladstone said, her raven hair and dark eyes sparkling in the dim light. She wore a tight fitting black officer’s uniform with the sigul of GGI, a white hand, on her lapel.
“All the better for us my dear, finally we shall get some combat-data on the Genomorphs. But proceed carefully; if the ES knows we are involved it could end messily for the Corporation- we just opened several puppet companies inside the Sovereignty.” Kain said, picking up a wine glass with one perfectly manicured hand, “Retrieve the Queen, alive. This is our first chance to see the Genomorphs in action since we stumbled on the Ripley.”
“I lost eight men in that death trap,” Gladstone said.
“Yes, but we found the Parasite before anyone else… that is what matters most.”

……………………………………………………………………………

Planetside…

The depression around the maggot-like queen had deepened and widened; it was now full of a bubbling, dark red, inky substance that resembled blood but was most certainly not blood. Vein like vines had spread throughout the forest, slowly sapping it of life… devouring it… making it part of the Parasite. Already some trees were losing their foliage, their trunks turning a deep red. The Natives that had fallen victim to the Parasite, or “Genomorphs” as their GGI admirers called them, now trudged through the forest towards the queen, broodlings firmly attached to their heads or torsos. Next to them marched the infected cow/dogs of the fields, all of the large herbivores were crawling with broodlings. When the infected creatures reached the Queen, they threw themselves into the growing pool of gastric acid around her body… their biomass broken down and added to the Parasite. In the corner of the ‘nest’ a spider drone sat watching the proceedings, chirping occasionally.

The Radiant quickly arrived at the nearest star, and swiftly chucked the smoldering hulk into the inferno. And as for the rest...

Meanwhile, inside, the Shoren looked back towards the Hunter, and also gave a simple nod of acknowledgement. She turned back to the Marines. "It seems...he wants his toys..." The Marines laughed, and began to walk out and prepare foe the trip.

On the planet, the drones, quickly closed the distance, and encountered the disgusting, pile of biomass, and what looked like a gestating creature. Without a second wasted on thinking, the fuzzy AI of the drones immediately recognized the threat, sending off signals to the base camp, and opening fire on the queen thing from a somewhat safe distance in the sky.

The few dropships immediately loaded up, and dusted off, heading straight for the nasty critters, and what would end up being quite a fateful day...