The Chigusa Corporation suffered record losses
after the loss of a year's worth of harvest and the destruction of the Prosperity Wells colony
on the planet Ryushi. Pilots of the cargo vessel, The Lecter, Standberg and Conover, and the
former colony overseer, Hiroki, along with several other colonists were killed. Thanks to the
quick-thinking and bravery of the newly appointed Overseer, Machiko Noguchi, many lives were
saved. The surviving colonists were reinstated to different roles on frontier installations. Ms.
Noguchi, however, opted to stay on Ryushi, for reasons unclear to Chigusa Corporation. Two years
after the event, the USCM responded to a distress signal, sent from the planet. Upon their initial
investigation, Noguchi was nowhere to be found. Captain Glass led the investigation,
witnessed the entirety of the horror unfolded. "It all comes down to choices. Make the
right choice-- just one time - and you've got it easy the rest of your life....but
the choose wrong... and you pay for it. My squad had been paying for it
since we'd touched down on Ryushi." "Every marine across the
galaxy knew what to look for. After the "Acheron fiasco" and
a couple of other incidents, the corp forced Weyland Yutani to cough up what
they knew about the bugs. The company didn't like it much, but they wanted marine protection for
their colonies. The computer reconsturctions they supplied were extremely detailed -- and
looked nothing at all like what we found." The giant ship, partially buried inside of a
mountain, was unlike anything they'd seen. Not from the company files, certainly not manmade, but
most likely...the source of the distress signal. This was extra-terrestrial technology.
The corp had a playbook for XT encounters, such technology could be invaluable beyond
Research and Development's wildest dreams...and if any XT passengers survived inside, they needed
to be kept alive. The marines found an opening in the massive craft, at least now they wouldn't
have to worry about walking up and knocking. "Let's proceed with caution, Sargeant."
"Alright, ladies, you heard the captain. By the book. PAir up. Safeties
off. Fingers on the trigger." Lt. Lesi looked up into mountains,
trying to shake an indescribable feeling that they were being watched.
"Those cliffs would make a good spot from which to mount an ambush, eh, sargeant?"
"Spose so, lietenant..," SGt. Lesser agreed, "but if I was gonna lay in wait,
I'd do it from inside the ship. ONly room for one man at a time to enter through
that rent, plus, you'd be outta this heat..." "It's hard to say where we made
our first bad decision...maybe it was deciding to enter the derelict ship....or
was it in choosing to come to Ryushi at all?" Reed was the first to step foot inside, his
displeasure at drawing point was obvious, but he did not hesitate. Lesser and Sali
were right behind, and stalled upon entering as they and Reed saw movement, somewhere in
the shadows of the unlit ship. Reed shouted, clearly spooked, pointing out the direction
of he movement, "RIGHT THERE! "RIGHT THERE!" The creature jumped out into the light still
peaking in from the ship's opening, howling a death cry and preparing to lunge at the intruders.
Was this what they read about in the files? Lesi didn't waste any time. "BUG!" He yelled out,
as he fired rounds into the snarling animal. The others quickly joined him, the firing
of their pulse rifles illuminating the deep chasms of the alien ship -- all but Sgt. Lesser.
He was less concerned over the snarling beast, and more over the ammo being wasted. He shouted
loud enough for the rest to hear over the firing. "Cease fire, stop shooting you idiots!" After the firing stopped, the
marines looked toward Lesser, whose face was glowing in a blue emitted from
the screen of an information readout...his eyes calmly scanning the data before him.
Bowen approached, offering a mild protest. "But there were BUGS, sir!"
"If there'd been Bugs, Bowen, you'd most likely be dead by now, the way you
were shooting. The only thing in there was that." "Says here it's a Briar Wolf" indigenous." Glass stepped in, not allowing a
moment's relief at this revelation. "Yeah, Well, this tub sure isn't native to this
rock, Lesser." Take a couple men and check out that tunnel. Sali, you take the other one."
Lesser addressed his men. "You heard the captain, Reed. You stay with me." They moved out, Lesser and Reed cautiously made
their way through the dark, narrowing tunnel of the XT craft. Before them, apparently the ship's
hull had colapsed, leaving a victim beneath. Long dead, the skeletal remains captured the final
dying moments of one of the ship's inhabitants. It had been there a long time - or, had been
picked clean. The sprawled skeleton, was large, but looked - almost human-like. Reed noted as
such. They peered in for a closer look, Lesser directed his shoulder light at the thing's skull.
"Look again, kid," he said. "These guys would give ugly a bad name. At least we know
what that BRiar Wolf was eating." "But that thing looked half-starved. Why
didn't it leave the ship to find more food?" Before Lesser could contemplate
this notion, a call from further down echoed through the hall.
"Hey! We found something!" Lesser and Reed quickly joined the
others, telling them of their discovery. "We found a non-survivor. Hull caved in and crush
him. Corridor dead ends." He approached Glass. "What do you have here?"
"A live one - I think.... At least, for now. His....uh, her....ITS
breathing is very ragged, but there are no broken bones I can find. Ugly son of a bitch.
But I guess that won't matter to the boys at XTR. A couple of you build a litter.
Let's get this guy to transport." "Yes. Sir."
Lesser looked down, observing this being compared to his friend back at the hull.
"They look worse with their skin on." "Say, Sarge? Why do you suppose the BRiar
wol didn't eat this one?" Reed asked. Well, I --"
" Captain! Come quick! You won't believe this!" "Now what?" Glass asked, to no one in
particular. The call came from Pvt. Carlston. Glass came to see the new discovery,
and could barely contain his shock when he saw it. "Look what I found, captain!" the
Private bellowed, enthusiastically, not sharing Glass's dread.
"What?? Carlson, get away from that thing!" This was unlike the other body found inside the
doomed craft, a different species entirely....it towered above the two men, with chains securing
it to the wall. One arm was free, sprawled across the floor, in an apparent attempt to escape, or,
perhaps, a result of the less than smooth landing. Was this...thing...a prisoner?
This had to be one of the bugs..... "It's all right, Captain Glass," said Carlston,
assuringly"....She's dead. Whoever owns the ship must be the toughest hombres in the galaxy.
Imagine keeping one of these tied up, like a pet!" Glass kept his weapon aimed at the creature's
slumped head...making sure not get too close. Not as close as Carlston, anyway.
"That doesn't look like a pet. And I'm the toughest hombre you're ever
gonna meet- and don't you forget it. Now, stop clownin around...I don't want anybody
near that thing until Lt. Sali has a look at it." "Aw, captain, you worry like my momma!"
In a swift movement, far too fast for Carlston to react, the beast's free hand grabbed at his
legs, pulling him upside down and thrashing him like a ragdoll. It hissed at his prey. The sound
made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "OH GOD! HELP ME! SOMEBODY
HELP ME!" Carlston screamed. Glass - and the others who followed to see his
discovery - were frozen at the sight - just for a moment - but that was all the captive
bug needed to land its final, deadly blow. Carlston begged, "No...please..." as he
could see what was about to happen to him, and with a loud crunch, and a spray
of warm blood, the begging stopped. "FIRE! KILL IT!" Glass commanded, compsure
regained, and they all let out a hail of fire that tore holes through the bug's skull, and body,
as blood poured and burned through the flooring of the ship so quickly that an eerie mist began to
surround it, and the shooters gave way to reteat. Sali and Lesser were collecting the nearly
dead inhabitant when they heard the gunfire, and soon came Glass's commands to pull out.
"What's going on?" Sali asked. "What's going on?"
"IT's a bug-- a BIG ONE! Get our -- SURVIVOR back to the ATV. We've seen
enough. We're sure not equipped to handle anymore" Sali and Lesser, each grabbing ends of the
survivor and moving as quickly as they could, lifted it and began their retreat with the others. "If there are bugs down this tunnel, that could
explain why the wolf didn't eat this guy!", Lesser noted.
"Yeah, maybe.." said Sali. " But it doesn't explain why the
bugs didn't eat HIM. Come on now, LIFT!" Bowen reached the exit first. He called
to others, still not ready to exit. "Keep moving Cogletti! Get to the
ATV! There're bugs back there!" She responded, "No! Wait
for the others to form up!" Glass, right behind, Cogletti,
shouted at the panicked marine. "Damn it, Bowen! Hold your position!" He was already outside the ship. He
was panting, making a run for the ATV, and not noticing the rumbling
from the ground beneath him. "No, Sir...gotta get to the ATV...and the big
guns...I ain't gonna go toe to toe with no...." BUGS!!!!" he finished, as the alien
leapt at him with blinding speed, and other bugs soon followed. A hoard
had been waiting beneath the surface, and had now revealed themselves, after hearing
the cries of their queen. It was an ambush. "More of em!," Reed called, as
he steadied his pulse rifle and aimed. " This explains why the briar
wolf stayed inside the ship....you can get in...but you can't get out."
Glass steadied his weapon as well, making sure the armed marines held a a steady
parimeter around the two holding their guest. "Yeah, well, the wolf wasn't armed with
a pulse rifle. We move slowly, and we stay together. Shoot anything that moves. We're
leaving and the bugs aren't going to stop us." "GO!" He shouted, firing off into the approaching
bugs, peircing through the chest of one, removing the head of another. Still more
came, with no signs of slowing down. They made they way to the ATV, as quickly
as they could, but Lesser and Sali were beginning to lag significantly due
to the XTs weight. More bugs came. They were no doubt outnumbered. And
pretty close to completely fucked. As one of the bugs approached
Glass, the flash of a blue light momentarily blinded him. A beam of
energy, from a source he could not see, burned through the alien, taking
it to pieces in a clean break. "What the....where'd that come from??"
Glass looked around. He saw a faint outline, a shimmering from above, jumping down into the area.
"More bugs!" Reed screamed. "No! Hold your fire! They're
survivors from the ship!" Another bad decision. I should have let the squad
cut them down. But those weren't our orders. We were there to help. We were on a mission of mercy.
If we'd wandered into the middle of some grudge fight....I wanted no part of it. And it
didn't look like our assistance was required. Armed with the long spear, clad in blue metallic
armor of somekind, the XT tore through the bugs with ease - a trained warrior - as if thing
had more than its fair share of experience. Lacking a right hand, maybe that was
a good bet. As the battle eased down, it turned its attention to the other beings in
the midst of Ryushi's desert, now at the ATV. France caught the creature's gaze from
several feet away...and he warned the others. "Uh, captain, it's lookin our way!"
"Stand tight, France!" Captain Glass ordered. "Don't do anything stupid!"
"Maybe they just want to talk..." France said. "Lets hope, " said Cogletti, as she stepped out
of the vehicle and made an approach the large monster...appearing as diplomatic as possible. **Steady Cogletti*** whispered Lesser,
**As a rock, sir....*** She whispered back. **Don't make any threatening moves...let's
remember the reason we're here...*** She addressed the visitor, clammering to put a
sentence together, trying not to display any fear. "Uh....thanks for the help...we recieved your
signal. We came to help you. We mean you no harm." The hunter stared at the marine for a moment, then plunged its spear into her chest. A
bloodied motion as Glass stood by in horror. The weapon was pulled out as quickly as it went
in, with the ease of a hot knife through butter. The XT raised its weapon in triumph as blood
dripped from the pointed end. Glass let out a scream- if it wasn't clear before it sure was
now...this mission had gone completely to hell. We recieved a distress signal....we
came to help. A first meeting between mankind and intelligent XTs...and we
expected-- what? Gratitude, maybe? But they're as much monsters as the
alien bugs they brought with them. More of the XTs came running toward the
ATV to join their one-handed brother. The marines aimed their pulse
rifles. Lesi called out. "Captain Glass! It killed Cogletti!"
"Get em Megyesi! Blow the sucker away!" from Reed. The ATV began to spring to
life as Glass hopped aboard. The marines fired at the assailant, but missing
their target as it faded into a desert mirage. "He's disappearing!" Lesser called
out, helping Glass get aboard. "It's no good, sir, they've vanished." "No, they're still there, Lesser....We
just can't....see them.... A loud metallic thud met with the ATV as something had jumped atop the vehicle.
Glass could barely makeout what it was....but he could see an outline, something in the
shape of the XTs....a camoflauge of some kind. "LOOK OUT!!"" He shouted, raising his weapon,
and firing at the the shimmering outline. Glowing green blood spewed from holes forming in
the once invisible force, and it appeared clear as day before him as it blew back off of the ATV and
onto the hot desert ground. The thing was dead. Invisible....but not invulnerable. That may be important later. What's
important right now is getting out of here. The ATV swevred, knocking away any bugs
in its way, and almost hitting another shimmering outline, which leapt out of the way
before becoming roadkill. It stood and stared at the vehicle as the ATV sped away, further
into the distance, his prey had escaped. For now. The hunt was far from over. This
was the one they called lightstepper. This was his hunt. A blooded warrior,
his word was law. And he was not about to make the same mistakes that hindered him
in past hunts - his own blooding, years ago. In a hunt lasting two planet-days, the young
hunter, with 9 others, were chosen to stalk the most dangerous prey the tribe worlds have
ever encountered - the Kande Admeha - Hard Meat. Two Stripes, another young blood, had suspected
their guide, Old Top Knot, had lost the trail. Light stepper proved him wrong. The Hard Meat were
near. The discovery of the first sign would bring much honor. An honor Two stripes had decided to
claim for himself, this caused a conflict between the two young bloods. Light stepper's honor was
stake. Top Knot broke up the fight. The leader, a veteran of many hunts, his word was law.
The young bloods continued their hunt, and it was Light Stepper who found
the first - hiding in the water. It emergered tail-first, unmasking the hunter.
Lightstepper quickly gained his ground. He raised his weapon, snarling fearlessly at the
Hard Meat, and leapt toward it - a swing of the spear too slow - the swing of the har
meat's tail breaking the weapon in half. Light stepper dropped the useless
spear and bore the blades on his wrist, making a lunge to the creature. Its force
was powerful, bringing him into the water, its second set of gleaming jaws snapping directly
into Lightstepper's face. It tore off one his lower mandibles. The pain was excruciating.
But Lightstepper was not here to die. He took one more forceful motion of his blades,
slicing right across the neck of the hard meat. It screamed a dying cry and its blood
gushed from the wound. The burning Thwei spilled onto Lightstepper, boiling over
his right hand, dissolving into nothing. All as Two Stripes watched from above.
He peered over his fellow hunter, next to the dead hard meat. He assessed that soon, too,
Lightstepper would be dead, if he wasn't already. He took the head of the creature, as well as a
hand, carefully placing markings with the claws, and burning thwei, to give the impression
of a plausible duel. A successful hunt would raise two stripes' standing in the
tribe more than twenty lesser trophies. He returned to them beaming with pride, holding
up his trophy. He would exprect to become blooded this day. What he didn't expect was to see Light
Stepper. Still alive and retrieved by the others, he had told the story of his fight. Top Knot
knew the truth of Two Stripes' trophy. . His dishonor. His failure. Failure on
this hunt almost always means death. But he was given a chance to prove his worth.
No armor. No weapons. Just him, and the Khande Amedha. Lightstepper had learned so much
since that day. About the importance of honor, and setting an example should it tainted. He
learned of the unpredictability of the hunt, and had always heard the stories of the
Soft Meat...The oomans. Before now he had never seen one up close. But he knew of how
dangerous and cunning they were, and how the right ooman could make an honorable trophy.
Lightstepper sensed his was not far off. The marines sped through the desert in the
ATV, still confused and shocked about their XT encounter. And waiting to make the next move.
"What was that all about, sir?" asked Lesser. "Hell if I know, Sargeant." Glass said. But
we're not waiting around for an explanation. We'll head back to the Noguchi Woman's
cabin.....use her antenna array to boost a signal past Cygni Minor's interferrence.
We're calling Murphy for a dust-off." They moved in to set up at the
cabin. Sali brought down the XT. "How's our...uh, Survivor, Sali?"
"How can I know, Glass? His body temperature's much higher than ours, his breathing's ragged,
and he stinks. But for all I know that might be normal for him. Given the trouble we've
already had, I vote we forget about him and just get ourselves off this dustball."
"Come on, Sali. You know we can't do that. The brass at R and D would have our
butts. This is an important discovery. See if we can't keep him alive, at least
until we can get him into hypersleep..." "Captain! We've got an uplink!"
"Good. Tell murphy we want her here yesterday." "Done, sir. She says ETA 20 minutes.
She;s cooking on all burners." "All right, pack up. Let's hit
the L.Z. Keep your eyes open. This is no time to get sloppy."
"Hey, Reed - give me a hand stowing this cable." "Leave it, Megyesi -- you heard the captain.
We're out of here-- back to air conditioning!" "Sir, you think Murphy will get
here before this guy's buddy's do?" "What're you talking about
France? Why would they follow us? Besides, we put ten kliks
between us and that ship." "The kid's got a point, sir. We stuck our noses
in the middle of something we don't understand. That's for sure. Trying to guess what the
XTs will or won't do is a sucker's bet. And you saw how fast they were. No telling
how quickly they can cover open ground...and don't forget...we'd never see them coming. " "Maybe. I still think you're worrying about
nothing. Come on. Let's get this guy on board." They lifted the half dead creature
and began to move it toward the ATV. Suddenly, a groan of pain howled out -
it began writhing, and Reed lost his grip "Hey's what's wrong with this---" The XT growled louder, now convulsing
wildly, knocking the men back. Glass realized another unpleasant
surprise was about to reveal itself. "Oh no..."
"What is it, sir? What's happen-- The XT's chest ripped open, its howls
now fell silent as it fell dead, and outward emrged a screeching parasite, baring pointed fangs and mandibles,
quickly scattering from its host's body. "BUG!!!!!!" Glass shouted "GET IT!!" Lesser screamed, reaching
for his weapon. The parasite hissed, and looked directly at him.
"Don't let it get away!" He fired as the small, impossibly
quick monster scurried, leaving a trail of blood and
slime from where it emerged. "Come on, France- Move it! get
around on the other side of the ATV! We gotta kill that thing before it--"
The white light of the XT's weaponry blared from the distance. In a quick flash, it tore
through Lesser from the middle of his chest across his left arm. Glass reached out and called to the
Sargeant, who was dead before he hit the ground. "Where'd that shot come from?" Glass
demanded, looking around widly. "No telling," said Sali "Lesser was
right. We never saw them coming!" "I told you!" Reed said. He lifted
his pulse rifle and began firing. "What is it? What are we shooting at?"
"The XTs from the ship - the ones who killed Cogeletti. They're out there
somewhere! THey killed sarge!" "Lay down criss-crossing lines of fire,"
commanded Glass" . Pour it on!" They shot widly into the desert horizon, hoping to hit
something, hoping to catch a glimpse of a shimmering outline and pump green holes
into them as they had done previously. "This is crazy! We've got to
get out of here!" from Sali. "You're telling me!" Glass agreed. "Get them
into the ATV, I'll---" he heard a loud rumbling. "what's that?"
"It's Murphy!" THe ship is coming!!" They ran to ATV, Glass hopped into the driver's
seat, grabbing at the radio. He called the others. "Get in the vehicle! The ship is coming!"
He picked up the headset and urgently warned the incoming pilot. "Murphy,
this is Glass. Do you read me? L.Z. is NOT secure! Repeat -- L.Z. is NOT secure!
Do you copy? Murphy, do you -- oh my god..." He saw now, the XTs were no longer camoflogued.
Their leader - the one with one hand, held up a device- some kind of shoulder-fired
RPG. Big enough to take down....Oh no. he realized what was about
to happen. The weapon fired. "NO!" Glass screamed out, looking outside the ATV
as he saw the projectile hurdling toward the ship. It met is target. The sky burned with fire, and the ship with completely
incinerated. There was no going home now. "Glass, we've got to get out of here!" from Sali. "You're telling me? Get back there
and lay down some covering fire!" Glass sped up the ATV and Reed took
gunning control, he fired at the XTs who had left them stranded, now cloaked
again, leaving him only to chase outlines. The whole mission had gone to hell,
and now our ride back was gone. Twice I had let the XTs take us by surprise--
to control the battle....No more. From now on, we were going to
fight the battle on OUR terms... We were going to show these guys what
happens when you mess with the marines. Reed had spotted one, and once one
bullet hole illuminated the glowing green blood of the Alien bastards, it
wasn't hard to make a target of it. He continued firing, and finally, one
more of the XT murderers was down. Reed sighed with relief, and
with a newly found confidence. "We got one, captain! Let's stay
and fight-- we can take em!!" I understood Reed's feelings. The
monsters had killed our friends...possibly killed us by stranding us here.
I understood the need for revenge, but I also knew the importance of keeping a clear
head. We had to find a place to make a stand. And to make the monsters come to us. Prosperity Wells. Once it was a colony, now it was
a junkyard. If anyone knew what happened to it, they hadn't put the information in OUR computer.
But whatever had caused its destruction, we felt better for having it at our backs. It meant the
monsters could come at us from only one direction. "I want a wall, shoulder high, here....We'll put the motion detector fifty yards out.
The row of mines goes right behind it. " By the end of the long Ryushi
day, we were ready for them. Glass stood watching out
into the distance. Waiting. Anticipating the next move. Sali approached.
"Maybe we should let a couple of troops catch some Zz....they're looking pretty ragged."
"Okay, Sali. Megyesi and France first, then you and reed."
"What about you?" "I can't sleep. Not after what happened....all
I can think about is making them pay. I want to be here to detonate the charges
when the motion detector goes off. I don't want anymore surprises...." A loud hissing caused Glass, Sali, and the others
to turn, and look upon the giant creature moving in on them. The hideous beast shot out its
bladed tail, ripping through Sali's throat, opening his jugular allowing a fountain of blood
to erupt as he fell, taking precious few wet gasps before darkness fell upon him. Simultaneously,
the creature had grabbed reed by the head, clasping it entirely with one clawed hand
- then closing it, crushing reed's skull. The creature was a nightmare hybrid
of a bug and XTs from the crash site. Maybe that was why the Xts were after
us. We allowed this monster to be born. We'd let it out into the world.
Maybe it was something they've encountered before, something capable of taking
down their entire species, killing them as easily and indiscriminately
as it's been killing us humans. Maybe it was against their
religion....an abomination. I knew we couldn't allow it live. Megyesi shot wildly at the creature as it
turned back, France ducked out of the line of fire, covering his ears as Megyesi
continued to let out rounds, screaming. "It KILLED REED! GET IT!" If any bullets did
hit the giant, they didn't seem to have much effect. It ran outside the barricade and only
heightened Megyesi's fury. "Come back here, you -- The tracker suddenly went into a frenzy. A steadily increasing series of beeps indicated
that the XTs were close by, and coming in fast. "MEGYESI!! GET DOWN!!" Glass yelled. The warning was too late, and Megyesi was shot
with the hunter's weapon. They were there. They couldn't see them, even less so in dark of
night...but they had come to finish the hunt. Glass reached for the detonator. He looked
out, still no sign of any shimmering outlines. "I can't see you monsters...but
I know you're there!" He set off the charges, the black of night lit
up in firey vengeance - the shadows of bodies being knocked back, some blown apart,
could bee seen. The plan had worked. He'd sent the fuckers straight to
hell. Only Glass and France remained. "C'mon, kid. We can't stay here."
Glass told the young, shaken marine. "But-- w'where?"
"Away." Smoke encompassed the dark desert plains,
bodies of the hunters were strewn about, save for one. Lightstepper, coughing up blood
which seeped through his mask, pushed against the ground to get himself to his feet. He stood,
steadying himself, and clasped his biomask. He pulled it off, and surveyed the damage. All
were dead. No one left to lead in this hunt. The Oomans were as dangerous and crafty as he
had been warned. Still regaining composure, Lightstepper slowly walked to the marine
barricade. No living prey prey to found. He looked over the dead body of one of the Oomans.
He inspected the wounds. This was not from any of his tribe's weaponry. This did not seem to
the doings of just any Khande Amedha either. Based on the wounds this was something bigger.
It was true, then, that the fallen yautja had been compromised...infected with impurity.
The abomination could not be allowed to live. Lightstepper vowed if this were to be
his final hunt, then he would kill it. At all costs. It was then, that he heard gunshots.
The oomans, and the abomination, were close. Glass and France stopped to catch their breath.
They were tired, scared, and panting as they looked around to see if the beast was in pursuit.
"I don't hear it, Captain." France said. He took a deep breath. "Maybe we
should stop and make a stand." Still looking from all directions,
Glass called back, panting. "How many rounds you have left, France?"
"Three." He continued gasping for air. Glass checked his own. He was out. Megyasi had
let out a lot more than three rounds onto the giant monster and that didn't seem to help them
much. Making a stand here wouldn't be an option. "Keep running" he called, picking
up the pace as much as he could. France followed, still gasping
in the dry, Ryushi night air. "We gotta find our way back to the ATV--
And put some kliks between us and--" Before he could finish the thought,
Glass's boot caught a jagged rock, it sent him tumbling to the ground. France
stopped. "Sir!! Are you all right, sir?" Glass brought himself up. "Fine. I just tripp--"
The rumble of steps in the sand echoed nearby, skuffing slowly, and getting closer.
"What was that? It came from over there!" France aimed toward the direction
of the noise, He began firing. Shots went out without a clear view
of what was advancing upon them. "NO!" Glass shouted. "Don't SHOOT!"
France disobeyed. Gunshots blazed loudly still, until nothing but smoke remained, and
the faint clicking of his empty weapon. From out of the smoke, the figure began to
emerge. France's finger was still on the trigger. It still clicked uselessly, as if he hadn't even
noticed. The poor young man must've lost it now. It advanced, staring France face to face. It
opened its jaws and began tearing into him. He let out muffled calls for help, but Glass
knew he was far beyond that at this point. He continued to run. He stopped at the
sight of another figure before him. It breathed heavily, raising its metallic
claws, which glimmered in the moonlight. It let out a roar, a battle cry, but looked beyond
glass, and toward the other figure, now behind him. He was betwen two monstrous giants...in
the middle of a war between honor and atrocity. It didn't seem like this was his fight any longer.
Glass ducked out of the way as Lightstepper jumped at a speed and distance impossible for any
human, baring his teeth and disfigured mandibles, directing his his blades at his target. Both
beasts growled hideously, and all Glass could to was watch, mouth agape at the sight. The two
monsters struggled, and Glass's instict told him to go back to France, and pick up his weapon.
The abomination was now on top of Lightstepper. It looked like he may be losing. This didn't sit
right with glass, he wanted the bastard creature dead almost as much as the hunter did. He had
no bullets, but, maybe he could buy some time. With all of his strenghth, Glass swung down
on the monster, using the rifle as a club. It barely fliched, barely seemed affected at
all, but it did buy some time, and he had its attention, narrowly avoiding the deadly swipe
of its tail as it turned to him and hissed. This was enough of a distraction for Lightstepper,
who had a clear shot at it now, and tore at its neck with his wristblade. He had learned all
too well to move his arm away after this motion. He stepped back, slightly, as he rose to his
feet. Glass took another swipe with his weapon, right across its head. This time, it screeched
in pain. The hunter took another jab at it, this time in the chest - more screeching. In
turned, anticipating another blow from the club, and this time Lightsteper thrust the blades
into its back with all of the force he had left. One final blood-curdling screen of pain, and
then no more. It fell to the ground. It was dead. Both human, and hunter let
out their sighs of exhaustion, and looked over to be absolutely positive. Like I said, it comes down to choices.
Good or bad -- life or death....Sane or crazy..... Sometimes you don't know why
you make certain decisions.... But sometimes, crazy choices
are the right ones....at least in the short run. Together, we'd taken
out an enemy that would have killed us both, and maybe at that moment we came
to some kind of understanding. Or maybe we're just too tired
to fight each other anymore. Either way, there's nothing to do now but
wait...and see whose people show up first. While Machiko Noguchi was nowhere to be found,
there was unfinished business on the planet of Ryushi. This was explored in the follow-up
story to the original Aliens Vs Predator comic, Duel. It was written by Randy Stradley, with
art by Javier Saltares, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Jim Sinclair. This landmark comic was notable
not just for continuing the tradition of Dark Horse's crossover, but for being the very first
story to include the PREDALIEN hybrid, a creature explored in much more Alien and Predator media to
follow. For more on the Ryushi conflict, and the Trials of Machiko Noguchi, please see the playlist
on the endscreen and in the description below. As always, I'd like to Thank
you very much for watching. I really appreciate it, and If you enjoyed
this video, please make sure to give it a like, and you can also subscribe for all
the latest videos from the channel. A very, very special thanks goes out to
Weyland Yutani Executives EmYaruk, Mark Fox, and in the Ellen Ripley Tier of Excellence, Lady
Anne. My thanks also goes out to the Hive Queens, Ronni Jensen, Alyssane, and Jackson roesch-- all
part of the Patreon Hive. If you'd like to join the hive and support the channel, check out my
Patreon page for exclusive posts and contests. In the meantime you can catch up with Alien
Theory over social media- follow @Alien_Theory on Twitter, and @AlienTheoryYT on
Facebook and Instagram for more. And until next time, this is
Alien Theory, signing off.
