Alien vs Predator: A Frozen Hell

[Villani]

Aliens, pt XIII.
A wicked grin crossed her face as she watched. The swarm was cutting through the ice like it was tissue paper.

The Queen looked to the spawning pit below her. Twenty feet below her feet was a icy crevice, lined with hundreds of new eggs. This generation would succed where the last had failed.

In the center of the great pit layed the body of a musk oxe. Its chest heaved as it struggled to breath in the frigid air. It was dying and giving birth to new life in its place.
...
The animal shook violently as it kicked its legs in the air. Its chest buldged and its ribs cracked.
The oxe let out a moan as its chest broke open and chilled blood spilled across the ice.

In her point of view, the beast died to further the hive's cause. The hive was destined to emerge from the icy grave the humans had forced them into.
They would pay, and the hunters would simply be collateral damage.

 

[Villani]

Predator, pt XXIX.
Tar'nithkis stopped at the base of a set of huge, steel doors. They stretched high above his head, nearly to the top of the third floor.
The doors looked as if they could stop a tank in its tracks yet, ten-foot long gashes and a gaping hole in the middle sent the opposite message.

One of Ta'voc's brutes sent a glowing beam of light in through the openings. The rays sent the shadows running, clearing the shroud for them to see. Inside, the hunters could see the insides of the compound main entryway.
The door on the other side of the huge room was broken open and a hole in the ceiling drapped light onto their heads.

Ta'voc was the first to enter into the dark. The broken lights above told him that the bugs were getting smarter. The pack leader looked out into the open hall where he spotted human blood.

At least they would be distracted...

He turned to the rest of the party and motioned for them to file in. The aliens had opened the doors to let them in, and now it was their time to take the opening. Tar'nithkis was just waiting for the trap. The hive was getting smarter.

 

[Vixandra]

Nan-de


I dusted off my hands and watched my fellow hunters spread out to thier chosen enterances. I followed Ta'voc's group inside, second from the rear, tucked in the middle.
I sent a quary up to the ship for an up to date map and bio-scan of the complex as we moved in. If there was anything alive in here, the bio-scan would pick it up. Hopefully the odd material used to make this damn fake cave would allow the signal through, I mused, raking my fingers along a wall, leaving a mark showing the way out.
Shoddy construction and pathetic materials, I scoffed inwardly, though I took in how easy it would be to breach these walls with something big, be it a weapon or one of the KA's.
Shrugging I continued, tossing looks over my shoulder occasionally just to be on the safe side. I knew I was tucked in the middle to keep me safe- with Thei's hand busted, I was the only fully trained pilot the ship would accept without major issues left. I'd tweeked the flight control program a bit... the AI was a smidge off the normal mark for AI's these days. Worked great for me but didn't like new people.
I waited for the scan report as I carefully crept down the hall, listening and feeling around me for the rouge Yajuta and the abomination. I wanted a major peice of one of the two, which it didn't really matter.

 

[Donsehan]

With my arm repaired I slung the head to my back, as it was too large to fit in my pack, using the cord for the disc that the creature destroyed. As they all went off to go inside the complex, I activated my cloaking system and wandered off to pick up my amunition, I kept my disc at hand, just in case. I also patched into the ship to get a birds eye view of my position and used that to navigate to my way to the site where I had lopped off a lot of kainde amedha warriors heads using my spear gun. It felt odd coordinating my movements to a birds eye view of myself, and was somewhat disorienting, but I would shut down the feed if the Kainde Amedha showed up again.

 

[Villani]

I dusted off my hands and watched my fellow hunters spread out to thier chosen enterances. I followed Ta'voc's group inside, second from the rear, tucked in the middle.
I sent a quary up to the ship for an up to date map and bio-scan of the complex as we moved in. If there was anything alive in here, the bio-scan would pick it up. Hopefully the odd material used to make this damn fake cave would allow the signal through, I mused, raking my fingers along a wall, leaving a mark showing the way out.
Shoddy construction and pathetic materials, I scoffed inwardly, though I took in how easy it would be to breach these walls with something big, be it a weapon or one of the KA's.
Shrugging I continued, tossing looks over my shoulder occasionally just to be on the safe side. I knew I was tucked in the middle to keep me safe- with Thei's hand busted, I was the only fully trained pilot the ship would accept without major issues left. I'd tweeked the flight control program a bit... the AI was a smidge off the normal mark for AI's these days. Worked great for me but didn't like new people.
I waited for the scan report as I carefully crept down the hall, listening and feeling around me for the rouge Yajuta and the abomination. I wanted a major peice of one of the two, which it didn't really matter.

Predator, pt XXX.
Nan-de's visual returned with a few moments, bringing a overhead schematic of the base (found at bottom).

The results puzzled her. The colossal abomination had dissapeared right off the map! Surely the ship would have picked up its heat signature...
It appeared that the captured yaujta had also managed to avoid the scan. This would make the hunt a little more interesting.

 

[Villani]

With my arm repaired I slung the head to my back, as it was too large to fit in my pack, using the cord for the disc that the creature destroyed. As they all went off to go inside the complex, I activated my cloaking system and wandered off to pick up my amunition, I kept my disc at hand, just in case. I also patched into the ship to get a birds eye view of my position and used that to navigate to my way to the site where I had lopped off a lot of kainde amedha warriors heads using my spear gun. It felt odd coordinating my movements to a birds eye view of myself, and was somewhat disorienting, but I would shut down the feed if the Kainde Amedha showed up again.

Predator, pt XXXI.
When Thei-de brought up the overhead pictures of the battlefield he was amazed to see all the carnage the hive had caused. The compound was almost completely destroyed except for the series of bunkers in the center of the base.
The wall had crumbled and the towers had fallen and the Kainde Amedha were running all over eachother, trying to escape the daedly incoming fire from the exosuits.

The hive had lost.
Thei-de began shifting the vision sensors to search for his skulls. When the ship brought up a close-up visual of a line of dead warriors near the cliffs, he knew he had spotted his trophies. They were quite a ways away but he could bag them on the way out, no sense in leaving such perfect treasures behind...

He was ecspecially proud of the large skull he held on his back, the skull of the royal Preatorian heir. It's white jaws imbued with dark blood made it still look alive, its teeth still dripping gore added to its ferosity. Even in death, the Kainde Amedha were still the essence of nightmares.

His thoughts ended when he heard the arbiter issue an order.
"We must split up to find Nihkou'te," Tar'nithkis said. "We will split into three groups to maximize our effeciency in the search. Gadaba, Thei-de, and Nan-de," the arbiter pointed them to a corner.
"You three will form the first group." Tar'nithkis then rounded up a Young Blood and Ta'voc's brutes into a second group and finally Ta'voc, himself, and another of his Young Bloods into the final group.

"Ta'voc and I will search the labs for our bounty as he will most likely be there. The second group will search the social quarters and interaction rooms for any remaing marines while the first group searches for any bugs hiding around the base to dispatch us," he said, pointing to Thei, Nan-de, and Gadba.
"
"Be careful. The Kainde Amedha are craft and their skill at killing greatly increases in close quarters. We will be fighting them in the dark in an area they have already become adjusted to." Tar'nithkis looked out the doorway and out into the dark barracks.

"When the hunter is dead and his honor is restored, we will light a beacon from the roof and the ship will pick us up."

With that, the arbiter and his group disapeared into the dark, searching for the target. The second group of Brutes and the barely-Blooded warrior followed after and were quickly swallowed up by the shadows.
So it begins...

 

[MeikaBeans]

Kingston bucked wildly within the confined area of the duct, a panicked attempt at retreating from the sudden threat. She scratched and pulled at the the facehugger with success only in perhaps slowing the bug down, impeding it in a small degree. It's spindley legs were wrapped tightly around her head and the tail was tightening around her throat.

Don't breathe, don't open your mouth to it. Kingston was a synthetic, yes, but who what a Xenomorph egg could do inside her? She took hold of the creature and gave it a hard pull. No use. She was desperate and the facehugger was persistant. It'd would win, unless...

Kingston flung a hand into the darkness, fingers searching for her makeshift flashlight. She couldn't defend herself so well now, but this was her only chance. The droid groped for a moment more before finding the red hot wand. Almost immediately the glowing spike was at the facehugger's back, pressing down. She couldn't be terminated yet. She had more to do.

 

[Vixandra]

Predator, pt XXX.
Nan-de's visual returned with a few moments, bringing a overhead schematic of the base (found at bottom).

The results puzzled her. The colossal abomination had dissapeared right off the map! Surely the ship would have picked up its heat signature...
It appeared that the captured yaujta had also managed to avoid the scan. This would make the hunt a little more interesting.

I studied the scan for a moment and grunted, sending it to everyone else's helmates for viewing.
"Looks like the big abomination's gone, though where our fallen cousin is and where that half-thing is, I couldn't tell you. They must be stealthed or behind something the ship's scanners can't breach."
I looked at the scan again. "There's an area ahead that looks akin the scans of our R&D areas, they've probably got the lost blood there or there'll be a clue there. What do you think, Ta'voc?"
I was being nice, share the info I had and such. We'd gone from three full units to only nine of us- if I wanted to get out of this alive and with any honor we were going to have to work together better.

 

[Villani]

Kingston bucked wildly within the confined area of the duct, a panicked attempt at retreating from the sudden threat. She scratched and pulled at the the facehugger with success only in perhaps slowing the bug down, impeding it in a small degree. It's spindley legs were wrapped tightly around her head and the tail was tightening around her throat.

Don't breathe, don't open your mouth to it. Kingston was a synthetic, yes, but who what a Xenomorph egg could do inside her? She took hold of the creature and gave it a hard pull. No use. She was desperate and the facehugger was persistant. It'd would win, unless...

Kingston flung a hand into the darkness, fingers searching for her makeshift flashlight. She couldn't defend herself so well now, but this was her only chance. The droid groped for a moment more before finding the red hot wand. Almost immediately the glowing spike was at the facehugger's back, pressing down. She couldn't be terminated yet. She had more to do.

Marines, pt XX.
The facehugger squirmed towards her face, its long tail tightening around her throat. Kingston had her hands in front of her face, sheilding her from the organism's flailing tendrils.

The synthetic's hands searched madly in the darkness for the wand, her weapon.
The facehugger edged closer towards her face...
Kingston's fingers gripped the cool metal of her weapon and she quickly snatched it.
The small xenomorph broke her pin and lunged towards her face, latching its legs around the back of her head. It's tail tightened and began to pry open her mouth.

Kingston brought the searing hot wand to her face and jammed it into the facehugger's spine.
It's legs immediatly jolted and it began to fail around madly. The tail tightened in response to the burning flesh wounds. Kingston pryed the tip of the wand in deeper, driving the burning edge deep into the deadly parasite.

The facehugger writhed as Kingston twisted her hand. Hot acid bubbled onto her arm and dribbled down the walls of the air duct. The facehugger made its final kicks before she was able to pry it from her face and toss it on its back. It began to flail around madly again, attempting to get back on its stomach.

Oh no you don't!

Kingston brought down the hot wand and impaled the xenomorph with her glowing weapon. The creature twitched violently until the tip of the wand broke entirely through its frail body. It died quickly but continued to twitch sparraticly and swish its tail.
Even in death they were determined...

Kingston wiped her face free of the wet slime the creature had left behind and then looked around the corner, where she was shocked to see a second facehugger lying still on its back. Those damn things were everwhere. Hopefully she wouldn't run into anymore...

 

[Villani]

I studied the scan for a moment and grunted, sending it to everyone else's helmates for viewing.
"Looks like the big abomination's gone, though where our fallen cousin is and where that half-thing is, I couldn't tell you. They must be stealthed or behind something the ship's scanners can't breach."
I looked at the scan again. "There's an area ahead that looks akin the scans of our R&D areas, they've probably got the lost blood there or there'll be a clue there. What do you think, Ta'voc?"
I was being nice, share the info I had and such. We'd gone from three full units to only nine of us- if I wanted to get out of this alive and with any honor we were going to have to work together better.

Predator, pt XXXII.
Ta'voc turned to the huntress as he exited.
"You will be bug hunting tonight Lou-dte Kalei," he snarled. "The arbiter and I will sweep the labs for both the mutant and the dishonored soul. You, your runt of a friend, and the outcast in the corner," he said pointing to Gadaba, "will be looking for signs of the Kainde Amedha."
Ta'voc shook his ldark braids madly and sniffed the air.
"I know you can smell them...they smell you too. You have such a Gkei'moun task, don't be too Zazin to forget what you're fighting." Ta'voc made a spitting motion before turning on his heel. Tar'nithkis stayed behind for a quick word.

"Nan-de," he said. "I forgive you, Ta'voc is eager to hunt. Stick to you task and keep your distance from him. Though it is likely the pack leader or I will encounter Nihkou'te in the labs, you may find him wandering elsewhere. Give him an honorable death if he is still living." The arbiter paused and cracked his knuckles.

"He is near. What puzzles me is that I sense in him a terrible amount of pain," Tar'nithkis said. "Is it possible that they still experiment on him even though the Kainde Amedha crawl down their corridors? Something is very wrong." The arbiter swivled abruptly and ran down the hall after the pack leader.

Nan-de took a deep breath, letting the essence of life around her pulse through her veins. She felt what the arbiter's words ment. The captured one was in pain and anguish. Something was very wrong indeed...

 

[Villani]

Alien, pt XIV.
The ventilation cover snapped off easily with the hunter's blow. Nihkou'te panted heavily as he threw the grated duct door to the floor. The hunter placed a heavy hand over his heart. It was beating loudly and rapidly, churned up by the sudden turn of events.
The hunter peered out into the dark before him. He was now in what appeared to be the sanitary waste facilitys, or, according to the sign on the wall, the bathrooms. The room was very large and empty, its white tiled floors as pale as the snow outside. His feet touched the cool tile and he wearily stood on his two feet. Nihkou'te grunted as his hand shot to his side. His ribs burned from their heavy burden...

He looked around, his vision blurred and his concious fuzzy. He was so very dizzy...
He spoted the nearest stall door and crawled to it, his breathing quickened. He puished his way inside, practicaly ripping the door off its hinges.
Behind this door was a hall that led to an area labled "Showers", towards which he limped quickly. The hunter collapsed to his knees beneath a dripping faucet.

Nihkou'te raised a shaking hand and turned the faucet on, letting cold water drench over his face. Maybe it will ease the burning...
The hunter's sides lurched again. When the hunter removed his hand from his chest, blood began to trickle down his breast plate.
Nihkou'te began to remember...

When he left the labs to search for the traitor he ran into a spider-like Kainde Amedha near the garage and it had given him its horrible seed. He feel victim to a dark sleep in the mess hall and the rest was all just minutes ago...

It was inside him...
His lungs burned as it ignited from the the sizzling pain inside him. There was a sound as loud as thuder as his ribs splinted apart. The bones in his stomach parted and opened the way for the fully-grown embryo inside.

Nihkout'e bowed his head to the ground, green blood spilling from his chin. Thick ichor flowed forth from his open chest in a final spliting of bone and marrow. The slithering xenomorph chestburster, entirely snake-like in apereance, burst from the hunter's chest and coiled to the ground. The chestburster lifted its head and emitted a horrible shriek, opening its Predator manibles it had gained from its host.
The link was forged between Alien and Predator. There was now a Predalien to continue the lineage of the hive.
The chestburster shook its small head and quickly slithered into the shower drain and out of sight, leaving behind a sticky trail of slime and gore.

The hunter was dead and the Queen's will fufilled. The rise of the new hive would be a glorious one...

 

[Donsehan]

I put a hand on Nan-de's shoulder and shook my head and turned toward Gadaba, even though I lifted my head in a sign of anger I said to them "We have other matters to attend to, I don't fight very well in such close quarters, and we'll need to work together to survive, don't mind Ta'voc the arbiter will cool him, we have our duty to protect the Arbiter and the others from the Kainde Amedha." With that, I pulled out my disc, and attached it to the cord on the right side, so I could use it without damaging my left hand even more, while it slowly connected itself together again. The brace on it would help keep it together, but probably would not hold under high stress. I felt like decapitating Ta'voc but I knew it would not help, there were not many of us left, and if the hive could do that much damage, we might not be able to survive if we squabbled even more.

 

[Villani]

I put a hand on Nan-de's shoulder and shook my head and turned toward Gadaba, even though I lifted my head in a sign of anger I said to them "We have other matters to attend to, I don't fight very well in such close quarters, and we'll need to work together to survive, don't mind Ta'voc the arbiter will cool him, we have our duty to protect the Arbiter and the others from the Kainde Amedha." With that, I pulled out my disc, and attached it to the cord on the right side, so I could use it without damaging my left hand even more, while it slowly connected itself together again. The brace on it would help keep it together, but probably would not hold under high stress. I felt like decapitating Ta'voc but I knew it would not help, there were not many of us left, and if the hive could do that much damage, we might not be able to survive if we squabbled even more.

Predator, pt XXXIII.
Thei was right about them worrying about close quarters. Nan-de was also a primarily ranged fighter making two of their three-man squad a lot less effective inside the compound. Where they lacked, the Kainde Amedha were dangerously proficent. The tight halls would surely be their playpen ecspecially with the power out and the hunters in small groups.
The hunters would have to develop tactics to move through the halls and survive...

As the squad preped for close proximity combat, one of Ta'voc'c brutes called to them as his squad jogged out into the dark.
"Are you going to move or will you hang like dead meat for the bugs?" he hissed. Thei watched his back as he disapeared from sight. They would be next. Time to take the plunge...

 

[Vixandra]

Nan-de

My eyes narrowed behind my mask angrilly. True, I was better at ranged combat but my first experiance with the K.A. was as a relative child with only a kitchen knife and spear, not flying blades.
I embraced my anger, pulling it around me though the edges were cooled by reason and calculating thoughts.
"I am not totally reliant on my shuriken and you'd do well to remember it," I growled at the males. I turned my anger outward then, to the real enemies here. "But enough of this non-sense. Fine, Thei, Gadaba and I will leave the R&D areas to you, oh mighty one," I said, sarcasm dripping from my voice at the mocking praise, "and we'll go and kill some bugs. Will end up being a higher bounty anyway. Have fun with your abominations."
I turned my attention back to Thei and Gadaba and spoke with them on a private channel. "Let him have his abominations, we'll go kill the K.A's until we find that giant one. Spear it with a group of explosive timed spears, I've got a few left still, and detonate them with you two out of the way. My cloak will keep me safe from the acid blastings. Then we take the head, mark it with a beacon and kee0p on prowling around. What do you think?"

 

[MeikaBeans]

The burning rod came down hard on the second Xeno seedbearer. It certainly looked like the thing was already dead, but Kingston would be taking no chances. She pressed hard on her weapon, an instrument once used to save soldiers' lives in the heat of battle. She continued to lean on the tool until her hand suddenly jerked away, an uncontrollable spasm forcing her fingers to splay out straight. Close inspection and a diagnostics test revealed that the facehugger's corrosive blood had manage a circuit in her wrist. She would be prone to more involuntary hand twitches until she could be repaired.

Face scrunching together in the synthetic equivalent to determination, Kingston took hold of her cauterzing wand once more and continued on much like before. She moved with more caution this time, refusing to let any sound be taken for granted. Before rounding any turn Kingston would listen and the glowing spike would always round the corner first. She had to be catching up to her Predator. Soon she would be able to redeem herself. She couldn't undue the damage she'd done, but she'd could stop more from happening. The hunter would be shown no mercy.

 

[Donsehan]

Switching over to the same private channel, I sad "Well, if you want, I have this," I said, as I pulled out the extra nuke, not stripped of its computer, I brought, "I rigged this so I could trigger it with either a laser, or through a communications setup, or of course the old fashioned timer that we all have on these things. I'm pretty sure, we can tag the thing with this and just let it blow up on some vital place." Turning to Gadaba "Do you have any other close ranged weapons? or are am I going to have to use the ship to carve open this can up so don't have to worry about the confines too much?

 

[Villani]

Switching over to the same private channel, I sad "Well, if you want, I have this," I said, as I pulled out the extra nuke, not stripped of its computer, I brought, "I rigged this so I could trigger it with either a laser, or through a communications setup, or of course the old fashioned timer that we all have on these things. I'm pretty sure, we can tag the thing with this and just let it blow up on some vital place." Turning to Gadaba "Do you have any other close ranged weapons? or are am I going to have to use the ship to carve open this can up so don't have to worry about the confines too much?

Predator, pt XXXIV.
Thei-de's nuke was threatening. Contained inside the tiny cylinder was a deadly remote-triggered explosive equivelent to the sonic compacity of the M.O.A.B. (the human counterpart the Mother Of All Bombs). All he had to do was punch a button and the whole valley would become a frosty grave.

Gadaba seemed to be unaware at the moment, his thoughts of the hunt going over in his head. He was an easy target...

 

[Villani]

The burning rod came down hard on the second Xeno seedbearer. It certainly looked like the thing was already dead, but Kingston would be taking no chances. She pressed hard on her weapon, an instrument once used to save soldiers' lives in the heat of battle. She continued to lean on the tool until her hand suddenly jerked away, an uncontrollable spasm forcing her fingers to splay out straight. Close inspection and a diagnostics test revealed that the facehugger's corrosive blood had manage a circuit in her wrist. She would be prone to more involuntary hand twitches until she could be repaired.

Face scrunching together in the synthetic equivalent to determination, Kingston took hold of her cauterzing wand once more and continued on much like before. She moved with more caution this time, refusing to let any sound be taken for granted. Before rounding any turn Kingston would listen and the glowing spike would always round the corner first. She had to be catching up to her Predator. Soon she would be able to redeem herself. She couldn't undue the damage she'd done, but she'd could stop more from happening. The hunter would be shown no mercy.

Marines, pt XXI.
Kingston crawled as quitely as she could down the metal air duct, careful not to bump up against the walls. Her dark tunneling lead her to a junction in the ventelation system and she noticed that the blood was no longer pointing the way for her. The hunter must have stopped the bleeding some time ago, maybe she just had not noticed after her run-in with the xenomorphs earlier on.
Whatever the case was, the trail was gone and she had a choice-go left or right?

 

[Orlanth]

Switching over to the same private channel, I sad "Well, if you want, I have this," I said, as I pulled out the extra nuke, not stripped of its computer, I brought, "I rigged this so I could trigger it with either a laser, or through a communications setup, or of course the old fashioned timer that we all have on these things. I'm pretty sure, we can tag the thing with this and just let it blow up on some vital place." Turning to Gadaba "Do you have any other close ranged weapons? or are am I going to have to use the ship to carve open this can up so don't have to worry about the confines too much?

Gadaba looked right back, half of his mask had broken off and the other half was burnt and scratched so bad tht it looked as ugly as the skin's thought of him. "All I have is my Combat Staff for close hand-to-hand."

 

[Vixandra]

I looked from Thei to Gadaba and back with a growl. "We're not little troglings to go hiding behind a mama's feet for lack of weapons, are we? No!"
Kneeling down, I pulled one of the closer KA's to me and began to slice and dice. A few moments later, I tossed a working spear to Thei and another one to Gabada.
"I know, they're not that good for throwing but they're okay for hand to hand and since they're made from the KA's flesh, they'll not be melted by thier blood." I stood up after pulling a shuriken from one of the near by KA's. It wasn't mine, bit too dull for that, but it would do. I closed it and slipped into one of my empty sheaths. I was missing about a third of my blades, lost into my enemies flesh. I pulled out a pair of blades, smaller then my normal ones but better for indoor combat.
"My scans are showing clusters of hoomans to the north and northwest of us, away from the eastern areas that his Niftyness is going to explore. Lets go clean those out. Thei keep a sharp eye out for the KA since Gadaba's mask is out of order."
I moved to let Thei take point and Gadaba follow him. Threats from the rear should be minimal and at a distance, more my speed. The boys could handle anything from the front and I could throw past them if nessesary.
Made sense to me at least.

 

[Orlanth]

Gadaba ef Carnd Nork - Stalker of Pray

With a gowl, Gadaba shot back: "My mask might be out of order but I can still fight! Let us go hunt!"

 

[MeikaBeans]

Left or right? Kingston had taken enough turns with the ventilation system to be disoriented. If she could only figure out which way lead to what, she could probably make a correct guess at which direction the Predator had turned. Long moments were spent trying to remember the twists and turns her hunt had taken her, but the Xeno facehugger had disoriented her horribly.

Her decision to turn left in the end was completely arbitrary, a random decision made simply because she had nothing to base her choice on and could see no change in that fact forthcoming. Kingston quickly wormed her way down the duct, wand and gun at the ready.

 

[Villani]

Predator, pt XXXV.
Thei-de and Gadaba were the first to step out of the entryway and into the dark, griping their freshly made spears forged of the flesh of their enemy. Thei took point, having no argument with Nan-de's strategy.

Thei-de stepped out into the shadows, combined with his light-bending cloaking system to be completely invisable. The combination was what his old mentor had called the "Dhi'ki-Guan" or perfect dark.
The hunter moved quickly and quietly, his left hand feeling more and more able every step. He squeezed his fingers into a fist, noticing that the reflexes seemed to be reliable but lacking nerves.

Gadaba fell in place behind him, pacing the corridor with a watchful eye. Even though his mask was inopertable, his own two eyes were fully funnctional and alert...

Nan-de was to take the flanking position as planned. She was the last to enter the dark hallway.
The group made their way quietly along in the dark, heading towards the Oomans to the north. As the hunters moved stealthily through the base, a sound to the front of the trio caught Thei-de's attention.
The hunter lowered his spear, hearing the noise again. The sound of hissing and scuttling reached his ears.
Something was crawling around in front of him...
What happened next even startled the hunter. There was a crackling as the lights above flashed on for a split second and then the beast made its appearence.
There was a flash of black under the bright lights before they flickered into darkness, revealing the lunging form of a Kainde Amedha runner. The creature moved with amazing speed and pounced onto Thei's chest, knocking him on his back before he could react.

The hunter's reflexes were lightning fast and he managed to kick the runner from his chest back into the hall before him. The beast made a deep hiss as it landed gracefully on all four of its agile legs.
Thei was on his feet quickly, raising his weapon just as the runner lunged forward again, teeth snapping...

 

[Villani]

Left or right? Kingston had taken enough turns with the ventilation system to be disoriented. If she could only figure out which way lead to what, she could probably make a correct guess at which direction the Predator had turned. Long moments were spent trying to remember the twists and turns her hunt had taken her, but the Xeno facehugger had disoriented her horribly.

Her decision to turn left in the end was completely arbitrary, a random decision made simply because she had nothing to base her choice on and could see no change in that fact forthcoming. Kingston quickly wormed her way down the duct, wand and gun at the ready.

Marines, pt XXII.
Kingston continued left at the junction making her way down the dark shaft. She crawled for approximatly two minutes and thirteen seconds before reaching an opening in the shaft where the venthilation cover had been ripped free.
No doubt the work of her friend...

Kingston stared out the opening into the bathrooms. She had been in restroom facilities before but never visited them much as she never experinced human basic bodily functions.
Kingston scanned the room with her eyes for the hunter. She immediatly spotted green blood at the base of the air duct opening where the hunter had surely taken a hand off the wound to climb down.
She hoisted herself down from the ceiling to the tiled floor, careful not to make any noise. The synthetic walked towards the back of the facility where the showers were.

She pushed open the swinging door with the tip of her pistol and prepared herself to gun down the beast behind it. The doors swung open and revealed another unexpected scneario.
The hunter was lying on his back under a running facuet in a pool of green ichor. The most shocking peice of the picture was the gapping hole in the hunter's chest where she immediatly recognized her greatest fear.
From her studies she knew xenomorph activity when she saw it. There was now an Alien running around in the base, only, if her studies were correct the beast would be like nothing she had ever seen before-it would have adapted traits from the hunter to become the most dangerous hybrid she'd ever imagined.

Kingston approached the body cautiously, keeping her gun trained on it as if expecting it to move. She noticed that the drain next to the corpse had been chewed open, surely the work of the hybrid.
Damn. She had enough to worry about as it was but now she had a xenomorph on her hands that she knew nothing about.
At least she would have an hour or two before it would reach adulthood-assuming it functioned like the standard xenomorph...

 

[Vixandra]

Nan-de


Walking backwards to cover our rear, I looked over my shoulder at Thei and his apparent new "friend."
I shurgged and turned back. Thei could handle the runner but if he got attacked from behinnd, it would be truely pathetic.
Still...
I shifted my mask over to a green-light looking area (not sure what its called) that specifically picked up the KA's bodies, no matter how still they are. I scanned the hall and the ceiling above and behind us.