To Resurrect A Giant

by Reaper-Of-Harmony

Chapters

Prologue: The Ark Project
1: Arrival
2: Discovery
3: Extraction, Part 1
4: Extraction, Part 2
5: Spotted

Prologue: The Ark Project

//-----------------//To Resurrect A Giant//-----------------//

By Claymore

Continued by Reaper-Of-Harmony

//WELCOME TO THE U.T.C PANTHER OS

//...

//CONNECTING TO U.T.C NETWORK

//DISPLAYING RECEIVED DATA ENTRY:

PASSCODE: *** ******* ****

//CONNECTING TO U.T.C DATABASE

-RETRIEVING U.T.C MOBILE DATABASE

://OPEN PROJECT ARK.TXT

-RETRIEVING FILE...

-OPENING FILE

//PROJECT ARK:

//DATE ESTABLISHED: 22ND OF OCTOBER, 2093

//DATE ESTIMATED COMPLETE : 14TH OF JANUARY, 2125

//OBJECTIVE PARAMETERS:

ESTABLISH HUMAN PRESENCE WITHIN KEPLER-22 (ESTABLISHING A COLONY ON KEPLER-22B AND IF NEEDED, TERRAFORM KEPLER-22B) SOLAR SYSTEM.

REMOVE CULTURAL BOUNDARIES BETWEEN ENLISTED MEMBERS, AND SECURE A FUTURE FOR THE REST OF HUMANITY.

EQUIPMENT/ORDNANCE SUPPLIED:

ENTRIES DESIGNATED WITH '^' ARE EXCLUSIVE TO THE U.T.C 'RANGER' AS THE '*' IS EXCLUSIVE TO THE U.T.C 'HUNTER' RESPECTIVELY. ENTRIES DESIGNATED WITH '#' REQUIRE DEPLOYMENT BEFORE IMPLEMENTATION. THE U.T.C 'WARRIOR' AND THE U.T.C 'FIGHTER' WILL SERVE AS DRONE SHIPS. NO EQUIPMENT WILL BE STORED WITHIN THEM, AND THEY WILL REMAIN AS SUPPORT DEFENSIVE MEASURES.

MILITARY HARDWARE:

M-34 "LABRADOR" LIGHT TRANSPORT VEHICLE(x200)^

M-54 "SHEPHERD" LIGHT RECON VEHICLE(x100)*

M-22 "PREDATOR" MAIN BATTLE TANK(x25)

ORBITAL ION CANNON(x25)*

M-76 "HAWK" VTOL AIR ATTACK VEHICLE(x20)*

HEAVY ARMAMENT LOAD BEARING SUIT MK III, OPERATIONS VARIANT(x10)^

HEAVY ARMAMENT LOAD BEARING SUIT MK VII, ATTACK VARIANT

M-92 "EAGLE" STEALTH TRANSPORT(x10)*

M-87 "VULTURE" FAST ATTACK GUNSHIP(x25)*

M-23 XRT DROPSHIP(x25)^

ORBITAL INSERTION POD (x25)^

HAM-R MUNITIONS PRODUCER(x2)^#

TNDC MODULE(x3)*#

T-NUCLEAR MISSILE(x10)*

FORGE-FACTORY(x4)^#

CIVILIAN HARDWARE:

CREW QUARTERS(x5000)

M-CREW QUARTERS(x2500)#^

RATIONS VAULT(x2)

FUSION GENERATORS(x4)#

CORE REACTOR(x3)

RESEARCH LABS(x20)#^

COMMUNICATIONS-HUB(x2)#^

RECREATION AREA

HOLDING BAY

IN-ORBIT DOCKING BAY(x2)

ESCAPE PODS

SUPPORTERS OF PROJECT ARK:

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY

THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA

THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

THE STATE OF JAPAN

THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

THE HASHEMITE KINGDOM OF JORDAN

THE STATE OF ISRAEL

THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA

THE CZECH REPUBLIC

THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ALGERIA

THE REPUBLIC OF CAPE VERDE

THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

REASON OF PROJECT INITIATION:

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE UNIFICATION WAR, A DECADE LONG WAR BETWEEN MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES ACTING ALONGSIDE THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF KOREA, NUCLEAR WARFARE WAS TAKING A HEAVY TOLL ON THE AREAS AFFECTED BY THE RADIATION. WITH THE DOOMSDAY CLOCK TICKING DOWN, AND NEAR EXTINCTION IMMINENT, THE UNITED NATIONS FORMED A SUB-DIVISION KNOWN AS THE UNITED TERRAN COALITION. THIS SUB-DIVISION WOULD BEGIN THE COLONIZING OF THE IMMEDIATE SOLAR SYSTEM, AND BEYOND IN AN ATTEMPT TO PREVENT THE ANNIHILATION OF HUMANITY. SEVERAL SOLAR SYSTEMS AND GALAXIES WERE CHOSEN AS POTENTIAL CANDIDATES, INCLUDING THE KEPLER-22 SYSTEM AND GLIESE 581.

THIS WOULD MEAN SIGNIFICANT TECHNOLOGICAL JUMPS WOULD NEED TO BE MADE EXTREMELY QUICKLY. AS THE ENVIRONMENT BEGAN TO WORSEN AND THE POLITICAL CLIMATE BEGAN TO GROW MORE TENSE, HUMANITY HAD SURPASSED ITSELF SEVERAL TIMES TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LACK OF TECHNOLOGY. BREAKTHROUGHS IN ALL SCIENCES TOOK THE WORLD BY SURPRISE, AND IT FUELED THE NEED TO KEEP THAT INFORMATION SAFE. FOR THE NEXT TWENTY YEARS, UNDER PRESSURE OF ADVANCED STAGES OF GLOBAL WARMING AND ATMOSPHERIC INSTABILITY, THE UNITED TERRAN COALITION MANAGED TO CONSTRUCT TWELVE STARSHIPS THAT WOULD LEAVE EARTH TO BEGIN COLONIZATION.

THERE WERE FOUR STARSHIPS PER COLONY-GROUP.

FOR THE COLONIZATION OF BOTH MARS AND THE TERRAFORMING OF EUROPA, THE FOLLOWING SHIPS WERE SENT TO COMPLETE THE TASK:

U.T.C GLADIUS

U.T.C CENTURION

U.T.C LEGIONNAIRE

U.T.C CAESER

FOR THE COLONIZATION OF GLIESE 581 G/B, THE FOLLOWING SHIPS WERE SENT TO COMPLETE THE TASK:

U.T.C CLAYMORE

U.T.C KNIGHT

U.T.C ARCHER

U.T.C FORTRESS

FOR THE COLONIZATION OF KEPLER 22-B THE FOLLOWING SHIPS WERE SENT TO COMPLETE THE TASK:

U.T.C RANGER

U.T.C HUNTER

U.T.C WARRIOR

U.T.C FIGHTER

THIS IS A QUOTE FROM PRESIDENT WILLIAM S. CONNORS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BEFORE THE OFFICAL LAUNCH OF PROJECT ARK:

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

TODAY, I STAND BEFORE YOU, NOT AS A PRESIDENT, BUT AS A PERSON. OUR WORLD IS CRUMBLING AROUND US. WE HAVE, IN THE PAST, COMPLETED AMAZING FEATS. BE IT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENT OR OVERALL PROGRESS AS A SPECIES. WE HAVE OVERCOME BOUNDARIES THAT SEEMED TOO LARGE TO PASS, AND WE HAVE A SPARK. WITH THIS SPARK, A FLAME WILL BE LIT. TODAY, OUR FIRE IS DYING, BUT THIS SPARK WE ARE GIVING TO THESE BRAVE PEOPLE, THIS SPARK WILL REIGNITE THE FLAME. THESE BRAVE HUMAN BEINGS, WILL GO TO PLACES MAN HAS NEVER GONE BEFORE.

THESE HUMAN BEINGS ARE WILLING TO DO AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION. THEY ARE TAKING WITH THEM, THE FUTURE OF THE HUMAN RACE. IF WE FAIL TO ESTABLISH PEACE, TO RESTORE OUR PLANET, THEN SOMEONE OUT THERE WILL CARRY OUR KNOWLEDGE, OUR HISTORY, OUR CULTURE, WITH THEM. WE WILL BE REMEMBERED. THEY WILL BE REMEMBERED.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, PROJECT ARK."

://RUN 'SHUTDOWN.EXE'

-RUNNING 'SHUTDOWN.EXE'

-SHUTTING DOWN SYSTEM

//GOOD BYE.

1: Arrival

Chapter One: Arrival

...

Crewmen scrambled around the deck, alarms blaring in the distance somewhere. Jacob could feel their vibrations around his pod, heavy boots slamming into the metal floor. Sharp cold pain stung his eyes as he opened them, and his first intake of breath since cryo-sleep was like a stab in the chest. He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry and his throat failed to produce any other noise other than a weak wheeze. Shadows moved around the frosted glass panel of his pod, and the cradle lights on either side of him began to strobe rapidly.

Suddenly, the panel popped open, a loud hissing sound in his eyes. For a moment, everything went bright and blurry, and his surroundings were obscured by a white fog. A pair of hands took hold of him by his shoulders, and pulled him from the casket. However, his feet flailed madly, and he collided with the cold steel floor. He tried moving his limbs, but they were unresponsive. His lungs felt like they were being squeezed in someone's fist, and he tried to call out for help, but his voice failed him. He was flipped onto his back, his eyes staring up at shapes that were too blurred to discern. Suddenly, a long sharp needle was plunged into his chest, piercing his heart.

Within moments, the fog disappeared, and his limbs finally responded. Shooting up in panic, he grabbed the closest object towards him, and waited for his vision to clear. As his eyes began to refocus, he started to make out what seemed to be a face, and he was pulling it extremely close to his own. Blue eyes managed to come into sight, and they stared directly into his own. His face was scarred in some areas, one running down his left cheek, but his smile hid it quite well.

"While I do enjoy making friends, I believe constricting your saviour might not be the way to go,"

Jacob pushed the man away, his eyes scanning the floor in front of him. He tried to analyze the patterns in the grating to stop the spinning sensation in his head. A deep chuckle caught his attention, and he looked back up to his 'saviour'. Seeing the soldier stare at him, the man smiled, his deep Russian accent echoing through the empty cyro-chamber.

"Do not worry, friend. It is only cryo-sickness. Everyone gets it, but some get used to it faster,"

The man ran a hand through his grey hair, and turned to look at the other crew members awakening in the chamber. Now free from the Cryo-pod, the alarm that was sounding off was more audible, and quite annoying. Jacob looked back at the man in time to see him walk away, but something was off about him. His white jumpsuit was missing a sleeve, and the arm that should have been there was missing.

Jacob tried to get up and thank the man, but his balance was off. He collided with the slanted surface of his Cryo-pod, his head swimming. The swirling sensation returned, and he held the edges of the pod tightly. Focusing his breathing, he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. However, when he opened his eyes, a small little reflective container was held out in front of him, a cheery orange straw pointing out of a little hole the top. His eyes followed the hand that held the container, up the arms, and eventually, to the eyes of the man who had helped him out of his pod.

"Here, drink this, it will help you get back on your feet and clear up your throat,"

Jacob nodded in thanks, and greedily sucked out of the orange straw, a mildly sweet liquid going into his mouth. Jacob did not take anytime to ponder the flavor of the liquid, and drank the juice in large gulps. The cooling sensation travelled down his throat, and he stood up straighter, now holding the container in his own hands.

"Easy there, you will be disoriented for a few, but you will be fine in the next five minutes," The man said.

Jacob pulled the straw from his mouth, "Who are you?"

The man simply smiled, and walked away.

'Odd,' Jacob thought.

Jacob looked out to the rest of the massive room, and he could see that a thin layer of dust coated almost every surface, and multiple pods had been shutdown, shadows of people still trapped inside. A grim realization dawned upon him; they wouldn't wake up. A woman had been hunched over, clutching one of the darkened compartments tightly, sobbing. Body bags were being escorted out of the room, and several crew members were accompanying them. Jacob felt a guilty sense of luck for not having joined them, and a frown found itself upon his face.

Abruptly, the alarm cut off, all of the hustle and bustle of the crew suddenly freezing. With everyone curious as to what was happening, a couple of technicians in grey jumpsuits with black shoulder-pads walked through the crowd and toward the hallway at the end of the room. A voice rang out over the speakers after the disappearance of the grey clad men,

"Rise and shine, people. We've got bad news. Our techies here in the bridge have identified several system crashes, and multiple reroutings in the Nav-Base. Basically; our computers glitched, and sent us back,"

Silence reigned over the chamber.

"Alright, this is Captain Sullivan speaking, we're going to need to make a stop for a moment. Protocol states that if situations become dire, we are to await advising from the other ships, and we're only picking up one other bird out there. We've lost the drones,"

Jacob looked around uneasily, and expressions of panic and scowls were scattered across the members on deck.

"We're patching through to the U.T.C Hunter, and we'll update you on the game plan as soon as possible. In the meantime, all engineering teams report to the core reactor rooms and the thruster engine rooms, all medical staff get to helping any crew members going through cryo-sickness, and all military personnel, report to the barracks immediately,"

'Damn it.'

<<<[o]>>>

"We've just gotten confirmation that 0.3% of the U.T.C Hunter's population died during cryo-sleep, which is a pretty good outcome is comparison to what could've happened, but still grim. We have lost 0.4% of our own crew, and those who have been lost will be remembered. That is a certainty. But that's not why you soldiers have been called to the barracks today,"

The officer pushed himself off of the desk in front of him. He struck a board behind him with a long metal pole, a loud snap resounding across the room.

"This," he began, "is why you've been called here,"

On the board, a diagram of Europa was being displayed, but there was something odd about the picture: the moon was no longer an icy wasteland. A large spot of green covered a portion of the moon, and in the center there was a small silver dot. The officer pointed at the dot once again. Jacob rolled his head and cracked his neck, the joints bathing in relief as they had just been freed from restless strain. The battle-scarred African looked around at the other men standing in the room before returning to his presentation.

"That, men, is the U.T.C Gladius."

A collective wave of murmurs and whispers erupted amongst the crowd of commanding officers, Jacob himself being present as a specialist of a different type of warfare. The whispers died down as the officer raised his hand above the chattering, and he went on.

"On our next pass, we'll be using Jupiter as a slingshot to the Mars colonization site. Before we do so, we will go into orbit and send down a team of scouts to report back to us the status of the operation, and if there are any living souls down there. Our attempts at communication were met with static, but a distress beacon has been transmitting on low frequency."

The beret-wearing black man looked around again. Jacob coughed, the last of the cryo-meds leaking out of his mouth.

"Gentlemen, we do not know what is down there. We do not know if they managed to successfully terraform the planet and start anew, or if they had wiped out each other... or worse. That is why we need to verify the status of that colony before we return to Earth, and the same goes for Mars. We've been gone for twenty million fucking years, and we don't want any more deaths today.

He slammed the board again.

"Is this understood?"

The unit leaders all responded with positive replies, and the mission briefing was over.

"Get sleep, guys, tomorrow will be full of surprises."

<<<[o]>>>

"Ahhhh... shit," Jacob groaned as he lifted himself from his bunk. It had been a week, and that meant they were in range for the reconnaissance operation. Jacob groggily picked up his PDA from the counter-top next to the bed, and looked at the time.".

Six in the morning, huh? Right on time.

Jacob stumbled out of bed and across his small cabin, nearing the closet. Pulling the closet doors open, a number of the same colored jumpsuits greeted him. It was pale, dark green on the bottom half of the uniform, then the upper chest and shoulders were padded and black colored. The U.T.C logo was emblazoned on the right chest area of the clothing, and a zipper ran down the front of the jumpsuit.

Pulling the jumpsuit on over his underwear, he zipped up and readied himself for what lied ahead. Brush hair, eat, brush teeth, floss, rinse, mouthwash, rinse, shave, shampoo. The daily routine. The boring routine. He pulled on his boots, and strapped unused knee-guards and shin-guards over the leggings, the black matte pads fitting on nicely.

Running a hand through his short brown hair, Jacob sat down in front of his personal data console and began to type down an entry, setting his coffee mug to the side.

Lets face the facts; we've been gone a long time. I mean, a LONG fucking time. Its a damn miracle our reactors and generators still work. But that means that this luck will come at a cost. I don't believe in a higher power, and neither am I superstitious, but every time good things happen, a bad thing will happen as well. Murphy's Law; "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." Even if we manage to find some remnants left of the Human race, we'll probably have problems with the populous. Who knows if some sort of deadly pathogen is rampantly spreading down there, and they are immune, but we aren't?

Ah... fuck me. I probably just jinxed myself.

Well, if I die, and some U.T.C moderator is reading this, tell everyone aboard the ship I hate them all. Except this one guy with grey hair, seems like the only dude around here who doesn't have a stick in his ass. Don't remember his name... anyway, he's missing an arm, so its not really hard to identify him. (I'm a bit of a prick, aren't I?)

Well, this is Jacob Wynes, signing off for most likely the last time.

Jacob walked over to the cabin door and paused for a moment, a thought on his mind.

'Was it worth it? Enlisting and dropping everything?'

He could not find an answer. Jacob grabbed his PDA from the countertop next to the door, and left, a trail of steam pouring from the cup left alone on the surface. The lights in his room shut off, and the ambient humming of his computer slowly faded out as it shutdown.

<<<[o]>>>

Jacob looked nervously around the room of the drop pod, and saw that his four other squadmates were too busy fiddling with their own equipment to pay him any mind. It looked like they had done this before. Jacob had not. Jacob was an Exo-suit pilot, not a damn flyboy, the way he thought about it. His gut tossed and turned when the pod started moving down the monorail. The pod jolted, and all of the heads of those present rocked back and forth in sync with the motions.

A monotonous drone rang out from the headset strapped to his helmet, the somewhat boring operator soothing his terrible nerves somewhat.

"Drop teams, prepare for the recon-op. Launch in T-Minus ten,"

Jacob wringed his sweaty hands together. His teeth were clenched in anxiety. He felt as if he were on a rollercoaster. But this would not be fun.

"This is Alpha-1 actual, we're about to drop, see you surface-side, assholes!", roared the Captain of the Squad with a grin, his American South accent echoing through the metal container. The blare of the siren rang through the pod as Jacob pulled back the hammer on his assault rifle. The burly captain punched the launch button, and the slightly female voice of the ship's AI began the countdown.

"Sons of bitches! Bravo Team, we're fucking racing these assholes!", came a shout from the same headset, this time with a strong Southeast Asian accent.

Jacobs organs jumped into his throat, and his fingernails dug deep into the arm-guards and chest-guards holding him down. His eyes wide with terror, a continuous groan managed to escape his throat. The pod began to shake quickly as it was fitted into the launch tube, the main boosters firing up.

"This is Charlie, kiss my ass, Alpha! We're getting to the ship first!", came a female voice with a slight French accent, joined by other excited special-ops units.

These people are crazy...

The pod was falling, and the other spec-ops were hollering and roaring in laughter. Suddenly, the pod shook violently, sending little items flying around the room. The Captain was whooping and the shaking grew worse and worse.

Looking out of the small window next to him, he could see the planet approaching. Fast.

The violent trembling rocked the craft once more, the occupants shaking with the craft. A woman sitting on the right-hand side of him began to frown, and slapped a hand to her mouth, her face turning pale. Jacob looked across from him, and saw that the terrible turbulence was not exactly helping the other people as well. They needed to stop this, or the pod would fall apart from the stress.

"Deploy the chute!" Jacob cried, worry evident in his voice.

"Not yet!", yelled the Captain. "We deploy here and we won't make the landing zone!"

The ground was approaching faster, but they were rocketing over a large jungle of sorts, the vegetation passing faster past them as they neared it.

"Deploy the chute, damn it!"

"Not yet!"

The ground was getting closer, and when they were only a mile up, the Captain deployed the parachute. The entire craft shook, and jolted violently, then, began falling sideways. Everyone began to panick now. One of the soldiers beside Jacob vomitted, sending flying food bits around the cabin. Jacob could feel bile rising in his throat, and fought to keep it back down. Everything was spinning. From his spot near one of the windows, he could see they were soaring over the strange jungle, but at a much greater speed. Screaming filled the cabin.

The Captain looked out of the window and roared,

"CHUTE'S LOST! CHUTE'S LOST!"

Jacob gripped the guard-rail as tight as possible, and started yelling at the top of his lungs.

Impact.

Jacobs stomach lurched, and gravity began to twist and turn around him. Terrible vibrations shook the entire structure, the small overhead light cracking from the physical stress.

Everything went black.

2: Discovery

------------------>Chapter 2: Discovery<------------------

Jacob's eyes fluttered open, staring at a dark slate sky above. Pain suddenly washed onto him, and it bloomed from his chest. On his back, he looked down to a small shard of wood lodged within the shallow flesh of his chest. Jacob's hand glided down to his chest, and with a tug and a grunt, the shrapnel was cast away, with a lot of blood. Jacob let his arm fall back to his side, and he continued to stare out to the large orange planet in the sky he could now see, was Jupiter.

He was sprawled out against a dense jungle floor, scrapes covering his face and arms. How his sleeves were torn off was a mystery to him, and he slowly pushed himself off of the ground, dirt pushing past his fingers. He stood up, wiping the dirt off of his hands and going over his injuries. Though his ribs ached, and the scrapes on his arm hurt him, they were extremely minor, and he could now set his priorities. Looking around himself, he was caught surprised.

Green fog hung densely in the air, large trees towering above him. Reeds and tall grass were obscuring his vision of the other side of the river bank, and scorched tree stumps still had embers burning in them. Muddy water ran into the river from where he was standing, and the landscape had definitely suffered from some sort of kinetic catastrophe. Jacob's hand went down toward his hip, and a familiar comfort enveloped him when it met his handgun, but the magazine had fallen out at some point. Refocusing on the scene, he could see a pillar of smoke in the distance, and he remembered his mission. Reaching up to his Comm-Link, he pressed the button, to be greeted by no sound. Assuming radio silence, he proceeded.

Jacob found himself jogging toward the wreckage, his stiff body limbering up and pain seeping out of his chest. He began to wade through the river, but an unexpected pain erupted up his leg. His eyes widened, and he looked back to what appeared to be similar to a leech. However, this was no leech, as small legs were protruding from the back, claws extended from each appendage. His face contorted into one of fear and Jacob did not hesitate for a moment, and he pulled the black-scaled being off of his flesh. Jacob found a nearby rock, and with the creature in hand, he slammed the jagged rock into the monsters tender flesh. Jacob ended it with a final stomp to the head, ending the slimy creature. As his boot slammed down onto it's head, a loud screech echoed throughout the entire forest. Jacob spit onto remains of the insectoid, but he noticed something.

Everything seemed to go silent, even the water flowing down the river. Jacob looked back down at his leg, and little teeth marks went through the fabric of his pants, red soaking the area around it.

Behind him, he heard little ripples in the water, but it slowly began to build up. Soon enough, it was as if a hell-storm were erupting in the water, the sound coming closer and closer. Jacob's heart stopped, and he turned around slowly, the approaching wave of noise striking fear into him. Thousands of the monsters were racing toward him, sharp teeth opening and shutting rapidly, becoming a loud chatter. They all began squealing at the same time, and the sound hurt Jacob's eardrums, but he knew if he stood here any longer, he would surely die.

Jacob turned and ran, his heavy boots splashing in the murky water. His eyes set on the crash site, he intended to make it there before he was drowned in the tidal wave of creepy alien leeches. They approached quickly, and his steps grew slower as he went further into the deep. Cold water stung at his wounds, and dread was rapidly filling his heart. He was going to die.

Jacob knew he would not get any farther, so he cried out in terror and desperation,

"HELP! HELP!"

He turned to face the black-slimy things, and one of them was within biting distance of his face, swimming toward him with hungry glee. He grabbed the creature from the base of its head, and squeezed with all of his strength, the organs of the creature spewing out of the other end.

The rest of them would be upon him in seconds, and he let out a final yell,

"HELP ME!"

Suddenly, the river in front of him became a blood-bath. The creatures began exploding and getting punched back by an unseen force, the water in front of him splashing and rippling all over. His dread washed over, and seeing the last of the bastards sink underwater was of great comfort to the shaking man. However, he began to wonder what could've done that, and began to fear that whatever might have killed them, might turn its sights on him.

"God damn, soldier." said a French woman. "You nearly got your ass eaten"

Looking behind him, a small band of the Special-Operations soldiers from Charlie Team stared down at his form in the water. Jacob saw she stood in front of the group, and her hand extended forward to him. He grabbed her hand himself, and was pulled from the dark water. Cold water ran down his leg-wound as he came up from the liquid, and a shiver coursed through his body. As soon as he stood firmly on the ground, she handed him an assault rifle. Her pretty face had a little scar running down her left cheek, and her blonde hair was cut short. Her features were sad as the weapon was given to him.

"Keep that gun intact, boy. It belonged to a good man..." she said as he looked back up, her eyes pleading.

Staring at the crevices and trenches throughout the metal weapon, he examined the near pristine state of the rifle. It was a shining example of human ingenuity. And danger. He nodded as he met her stare, and she nodded thanks in return. She noticed the pistol at his hip, and quickly took it from him, continuing,

"Think of this as a trade,"

Jacob did not speak, his nerves still shot from nearly becoming a meal. He clutched the gun tightly to his chest, examining the rest of the squad members. They looked like an exact replica of Alpha team, excluding the blonde-haired leader.

"Alright squad, we're moving in to locate the rest of Alpha Team. You're coming along too, son," The blonde haired woman said.

Jacob pulled the hammer back on the rifle, and he set out with the rest of Charlie Team towards the crash site.

<<<[o]>>>

Dear Princess Celestia,

I was using my telescope yesterday evening, and I found some peculiar movements in the constellations. At first, I assumed this was of Princess Luna's doing, but it seems very odd. The 'star' seems to be orbiting Jupiter, and with my knowledge of the movement of our celestial bodies, I no longer can presume it is a planet. It is not a moon, as I was also able to record and document the locations of the other moons of Jupiter as well. As I dictate this letter to you, my mind is racing with possibilities, and I am hesitant to learn the origin of this new intruder.

Your nervous, and faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

<<<[o]>>>

"Lieutenant Anderson, report!" shouted a commanding British voice.

A nervous deck officer turned to Captain Sullivan, sweat dampening his forehead,

"Sir, we're receiving a signal from Europa, but its not looking good,"

The Captain nodded his head, then twirled his finger, motioning for the Lieutenant to play the signal. Reluctantly, the crewman turned toward the control panel, and selected the play button. Across the bridge, in the dim ambient blue light, the audio file began to play.

"This is the U.T.C Gladius, to anyone that will respond, hell, anyone who can pick up this signal. Stay AWAY from the Europa colony, stay AWAY from Europa, and DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT under ANY circumstances attempt to rescue any crew members. An unknown pathogen leaked through our ventilation systems and seventy five percent of the population has been infected. And that percentage is growing every minute.

It emerged from the waters around our terraformation project, and it only showed initial signs of the common cold. But now, we have seen full on regenerative abilities, coupled with the complete loss of sanity, as well as absurd pysc-psychological mutations as well as physical mutations; the infected are basically becoming plants. *sigh* The animals that we brought with us in our attempt at colonization. They were infected as well and the results were fatal.

Our food sources have been contaminated and the FDU has been damaged. I hated the FDU as well as the rest of my colleagues, but I swear I'll do ANYTHING for a bite of that bland tasteless mush. The infected have excellent motor skills while initially contaminated, but prolonged exposure seems to have completely erased mobile functions, their host bodies becoming some sort of base for a spore-releasant creature."

The crewman stopped the playback, and the entire crew present in the bridge, including the Captain, was rendered speechless. Sullivan rubbed his temples, and then dragged his hand down his face. The other crew stared on in shock, utter unpreparedness taking the entire group present. The Captain stared down at the small moon through the large viewport on the other end of the bridge.

With a sigh, he met the pleading stare of the Lieutenant peering up at him. He was practically begging the Captain not to play the rest of the clip. However, the Captain said in a thunderous voice,

"Play the damn clip!"

"Do NOT land, and do NOT enter the atmosphere. The pathogen is airborne and the spores are spreading like wild-fire. Remember, none of the crew members are to be... none of the crew members, including me, are to be removed from this planet. I have to finish what I started. The only way to stop this infection... is to let us all die out here.

Do not attempt to docking on Mars, they seem to have experienced severe engineering and electrical issues and... they're all dead. All of them. A power outage managed to open up all of the blast doors, the mechanical fail-safes did nothing to stop it. The oxygen was sucked out in the blink of an eye. I saw the security feed. But to do that someone had to override the controls...

*sigh*

I don't think this project is going any better, for the teams that were out to Gliese, and Kepler-22.

I hope you guys made it. I hope someone made it out there.

I hope that the Earth colony managed to somewhat salvage their situation, because this is growing dire. Fast.

This is Doctor Earl Schultz, signing off, at the U.T.C Gladius, f-for the final time."

"Lieutenant?" said the captain.

The meek crewman turned to the grisly old British man anxiously, sweat running down his brow.

"Mobilize Air-Response units. I want those soldiers out of there immediately. Set up a quarantined zone to distribute the operating units in, and have Haz-Mat teams examine the drop-troopers. I don't want that shit happening up here. This is the U.T.C Ranger, and we're fulfilling our mission damn it,"

"Yes sir! Before our next cycle, drop-ships will be deployed and will meet us at the end of the cycle!" The crewman said as he ran off to go give orders to pilots.

"Fly-boy!" The Captain called down the end of the bridge.

"Sir!"

"Plot our next course towards Earth, we aren't staying here any longer than we should,"

"Sir, yes sir!"

The Captain took his coffee mug from the table beside him, and took a long drink.

<<<[o]>>>

"'Ey Charlie? Anyone else feelin' like this might jus' be th' start of a horrible end?" said the Irishman, worry heavy in his voice.

"Shut up Connor,", whispered the blonde-haired squad leader.

"Can ye deny, though?"

"Shut up, Connor," The squad leader hissed.

They had been trekking through the deep forest, trying to locate the U.T.C Gladius for shelter. The majority of Alpha Team were killed in the initial impact, and many were flung outside of the roomy vehicle. However, the ones that managed to survive did not fare well and most succumbed to their wounds. There was only one other living, able-bodied soldier there, a medic. They could neither find the Captain, nor the Sniper among the dead, and the Technician bled to death before they had arrived.

The Irish medic was not taking this well. His entire team dying on their first operation together. Usually a bad sign. However, Jacob's presence did comfort him, the knowledge of knowing at least one of his fellow pod-members actually survived the fall, even falling from the pod after impact. It was miraculous, or so he'd say. Jacob constantly checked his rifle was still in his hands, and not left behind. He had seen from first-hand experience in the Unification War that not keeping an eye on your gun was a bad idea, and a nasty scar running diagonally down his chest served as a grim reminder.

Jacob noticed something; no one was talking. Turning around, he saw that his little band of survivors had disappeared, leaving him standing alone in the clearing. His thoughts had distracted him and led him away from the rest of the team. His boots sunk slightly into the artificial dirt beneath him, and his breathing became irregular. He looked in the direction from when he came, and began to walk back, but a thunderous roaring stopped him from doing so. From being semi-calm, he leapt from his spot and behind a fallen tree trunk, his rifle barrel peaking over the wood. Slowly, his head too came up, eyes darting from side-to-side, checking for targets.

The rumbling came back, but this time, he could see the tree-line beyond change color in a pale yellow glow. Clutching his gun even tighter, he could feel sweat drip off of his chin, the already hot jungle sealing in the heat. The humidity was accompanied by a thick layer of fog, and Jacob struggled to hold himself together. He tried to access his HUD system, but it could not connect to the mainframe, only displaying information on the surrounding area. However, he noticed there was motion several meters away from him, and ushered himself along. A few attempts to hail the rest of the squad helped him see that his Comm-Link must have been damaged in the crash.

Another wave of rumbling shook the loosened floor, and Jacob tried to convince himself that the light was stationary. Reluctantly, his feet were place in front of each other, causing him to awkwardly stumble forward in an attempt to be silent. Whenever the rumbling stopped, he would stop, and vice versa. Jacob could hear leaves rustle behind him, and took cover behind a tree-stump.

Connor came into the clearing, looking in each direction to find another soul to talk to. He found that his situation was worsening with each passing second, and began to talk to himself.

"Connor, ye fucked up pretty good this time,"

Jacob whistled quietly at Connor, and the man stopped dead in his tracks. Jacob's hand shot up from behind the stump, and he waved Connor over. Connor just waltzed toward Jacob without a care in the world, a relieved smile on his face. However, the light behind the trees amplified as Connor made his way toward Jacob, and a loud humming interrupted him, having them both look toward the light beyond the trees. Connor's eyes widened, and he dived over toward Jacob, narrowly avoiding a bright beam of light as it cut through the trees. The area Connor had been standing was a scorch mark on the ground, red embers replacing fallen leaves.

They both held their positions behind the large tree stump, trigger-fingers twitching. Lasers scanned the area above their heads, the red beams going back and forth.

"Connor," Jacob whispered.

There was a small interval of time, wherein a loud explosion went off in the distance somewhere, the rumble meeting them even at the large distance. Connor, turning his head, a fearful expression on his face,

"Yea?"

"We need to move," Jacob whispered again, "We need to find the rest of the squad." An knowing fear was present in Jacob's eyes. He knew what was behind those trees.

A loud ticking filled the area, the ticking slowly picking up the pace. At the same time, a laser began to hone in on their area, and the sound of an electrical buildup was picking up. He scrunched his eyes shut, and gritted his teeth, while Connor was left in utter confusion.

Suddenly, gunfire filled the air, and Jacob looked above the stump, the light seemingly turning away and the strange ticking noise stopping. A deep rumble shook the floor, and it almost seemed like footsteps. A loud booming noise erupted from the tree line, and an aftershock echoed through the floor towards them. All was silent. Then, the pattern of rumbling resumed and began fading away, and Jacob shook his head. He knew what sort of monster was stalking them, hunting them.

'How in the hell is that thing still intact?!' He thought.

Jacob began combing his hair with both hands, and staring forward with wide eyes.

"Alpha-boy, what's th' hell was that!?" Connor almost yelled.

Cursing to himself, Jacob turned to the Irishman, and slammed his fist against the dirt. He tapped his wrist-mounted PDA, and selected a file in his local storage. Selecting a file, he leaned toward Connor, displaying the picture on his wrist.

"That was a fucking Mantis!"

3: Extraction, Part 1

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/---(Extraction, Part 1)---/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The yellow mech had spotted the two men, its arm-mounted miniguns pointed directly at them. Mud and plants hung off its rusted surface, and its control pod was so badly fogged up that whatever was piloting it could not be seen. Its large circular feet pounded against the swamp as it chased the two men, its slender, nimble legs guiding it over roots and across puddle.

"How th' fuck are we gunna take that down!?" Connor yelled.

Jacob grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, pulling the fabric up from underneath the kevlar plating. He bared his teeth, and hissed,

"Are you insane?! There is no way in hell we'll last a second in a fight against that Exo, you idiot! We try to get close to that thing and we'll be shot to shit!"

Connor's eyes widened and stared beyond Jacob's shoulder, and he began to mouth words, but no sound was coming out. Finally finding his voice, he looked back to Jacob.

"Jake, we're gunna die down 'ere, and the rest of our boys," He whispered, "All of 'em are 'bout to be mowed down by that thing! It went towards the shots! It went towards the base!"

Connor's own hands flew towards Jacob's harness, and tugged him close, "We hafta fuckin' do something, mate!"

Jacob tried to retreat, letting go of the mans jacket, but Connor's grip tightened on Jacob's harness.

"We're th' only ones that can stop 'em before that fuck slaughters th' 'ole lot!"

Jacob pushed the golden haired man down away from him, retreating backwards into a large tree. He screwed his eyes shut, and his head slammed against the wooden trunk heavily. He looked up at the strange icy blue sky, scanning it thoroughly, before he succumbed to frustration and delivered a strong kick to the base of the tree. The thick wood held strong, and was barely affected by his blow. He turned to Connor, who was now on his knees, hands clasped in prayer. Jacob ran his hands through his hair, the once silky and soft dark-brown locks now oily and stiff. He dragged a hand down his face, and his palm brushed through the stubble that was now coming back in. He needed a plan.

He roped his thoughts around in his head, trying to formulate a plan to fight the overly-armed giant killer robot exo-suit that was prowling around, but he could not find any. The armor plating was too thick to penetrate with conventional small-arms fire. Explosives that were not armor piercing would not help much. The optical sensors were caged and reinforced, there was no way to blind it.

Jacob was once more overtaken once more by frustration and stress of their situation, and rammed his open palm into the wood bark behind him, the tree standing strong against his attack once more. Pain echoed up his arm, and a familiar burning sensation spread throughout his hand. Jacob stared dumbly at the open wound that stretched across his hand, and watched as blood seeped out. An idea caught him.

Jacob faced Connor, and yanked him up from the floor, surprising him. His eyes wide, Connor recoiled slightly from Jacob as he pulled him up.

"Connor, listen now and listen well. We CAN take that thing down, but it's not going to be easy," Jacob murmured, "Not one bit. And if the other team is gone..."

Connor frowned.

"We are proceeding to the extraction point, 3 klicks northwest of the base. Alone."

<Initiating Voice Discussion Lobby

<Calling 'MR.RED'

<'MR.RED' Connected

//MR.RED: Has your team managed to collect samples?

Mr.Green: Yes, but they have run into some trouble. I do not think that the drop teams will make it back alive.

//MR.RED: Mr.Green, I am sure you are aware of opportunity that will be wasted here. Think of the countless applications. Military, and Scientific alike! Our understanding of medicine as we know it could be changed with a single dish of the matter! You need to open your eyes. We cannot let this slip through our fingers. When we were awoken before the rest of the crew, you had assured me that this would not end in failure. You know what will happen if this operation runs amuck.

Mr.Green: I'm completely aware, but perhaps it is YOU who needs to open your eyes. Can't you see that the lives of my men will be lost collecting your fucking science lab samples? I will not waste anymore military assets on your request! When I gave you my support, I didn't think it included letting soldiers die on alien worlds! It's bad enough that both Sully and Rick are in the dark about this shit.

//MR.RED: Captain Sullivan and Captain Ryker are better left unaware of these exploits, for their duties as leaders will lead them to reject my proposition of experimentation. I will not let you, nor the two buffoons piloting these blasted ships interfere with my research. Perhaps it is better this way, your service record points out that you are seemingly cursed to fail, and would have brought my studies down with you.

Mr.Green: FUCK YOU!

Mr.Green: I WILL MURDER YOU! YOU HEAR ME?

<MR.RED has left the Discussion

Mr.Green: I WILL MURDER YOU!

Jacob grunted as he dropped from a boulder, landing into a patch of more of the strange artificial dirt, the dark grey soil squishing underneath his boots. Connor followed closely behind, taking another path around the large rock jutting from the side of the hill. The very idea of an actual landscape on Europa was something only science fiction writers could imagine, or scientists themselves, let alone the men who would colonize it. However, the unlikeliness of the situation did not stop him from completing his current objective. As he trudged on, the air began to grow thicker, and heavier as well. Sweat practically poured off of his face, and his lips were parted as he panted. It was slowly growing darker, but the fog above them did not give them the ability to see above the canopy.

A flash of blue overtook Jacob's vision, and the feeling of a light headache began to spread throughout his head, but he ignored it to the best of his ability.

Every so often, Connor would drop to the floor, and need to be helped back up. At first, he could pick himself back up off of the floor, but it seemed that his condition was worsening. A sickening cough erupted from nowhere, followed by a phantom fever. The connection with the thick air and the symptoms was too strong for Jacob to ignore, and he kept a close eye on the red haired man. While Connor's lightweight frame trembled and shook, Jacob found a crawling sensation whenever he looked beyond the tree line and into the green fog. It was as if there was something peering back at him. He did not feel welcome

Jacob had lost himself in his thoughts while thinking about Connor, but every time the man tripped, he said he was 'ready to go' and that 'this damn cold won't keep me down'. However, it was becoming painfully obvious that soon, the cold would put him down, and possibly for eternity. The sound of a surprised yelp pulled Jacob out of his own head, and he turned to face Connor's form sprawled out on the dirt. However, instead of struggling to get back up, as he did before, he remained still.

Jacob could feel his heart stop, ice running down his veins. A moment passed, and then another, and he remained still. Jacob was about to spring forward, when another wracking cough shook the Irishman's form. Temporary relief flooded his body, followed closely by realization; Jacob had to carry the soldier from this point on. Sighing, he trudged over to the fallen Marine and lifted him up onto his shoulders, fireman carrying him. With a groan, he steadied himself, and took one hand away to tap the little control panel on the side of his glasses. His HUD flared to life, and set a small waypoint, hundreds of meters away from his position. Once more, a flash of blue filled his vision, and the headache returned with more force, but he dismissed it.

"Hold on, you big smelly baby," Jacob murmured, "we're going to get you out of here, but not before I have to tango with a monster. By myself."

In his heart, Jacob found himself hating the Swiss for making such good military equipment, especially five meter tall death machines. (roughly 16 feet for those who use Imperial) He started walking, and the added weight on his back made it more difficult to put one foot in front of the other. Things had become much darker in the small gap of time that he spent navigating towards the base, and the lack of light suddenly caught his attention, looking up he was greeted by an unwelcome sight.

"Ho-hohoh-SHIT!"

Jacob ran as fast as his legs could with the weight against his back, his eyes wider than a deer's in headlights. His breath began to condense in front of him, as suddenly, all of the heat began to seep away, up towards the blackness of space. His feet crashed down into the soil, leaving deep craters in his path. He needed to go deeper into the forest, deeper into the trees. He needed to find shelter, if not for his sake, for Connor's. He could feel his sweat chill on his skin, and his exposed skin began to numb, his body beginning to give in to the effects of the climate change. A memory flashed in the corner of his vision, an image of his past.

Jacob clenched his teeth together, and a scowl formed on his face. The environment around him melted into a narrow trench, mud pouring into it from the sides. The phantom sounds of dying soldiers filled his mind, and he delved deeper into the forest. His headache became a terrible throb, and the blood coursed through his body painfully.

//Vid-Doc-53522241-BDDGHJ-9//

//Pvt.Aleric.D//DYMONDCMPNY<>//

...

////Mp4 FILE INVALID///

...

//CONVERTED FILE>

//Playing File>

The video shows a densely vegetated clearing, a lone marine walking ahead of the camera. A hand glides toward the camera, and engulfs it in darkness, before the a loud snapping sound is heard, and it detaches from the shoulder pad of a soldier. He holds it in front of his face, the camera focusing on his features, however, a dark shape darts by above him, in the canopy.

He does not notice. A drop of sweat lands on the glass, and he smudges it away with his thumb. He looks into the lens, then flashes it a cheesy smile, his lips pulling back to reveal near perfect white teeth.

"Elise, we've been walking in fucking circles."

The sound of a voice draws his attention away, and he looks to the left, paying attention to some off screen entity.

"No, we haven't Philip. And anyway, you couldn't blame me, my HUD's not working. Anyone got NAV?"

"No."

The man, still holding the camera in his left hand, reaches around to his waist and pulls out a small datapad, tapping the surface with his free thumb, before saying,

"I'm dark."

The corner of his mouth pulled down, half frowning. He then refocused his attention on the camera.

"'No connection to any external hub', Lieutenant."

"Shit. Mine's dead too."

Aleric looks towards someone, presumably Elice.

"Ok, keep it tight, no one wander off or they'll be-" Elise paused, "Where is the Alpha boy? Where's Connor?"

Silence. The man looked up and scanned the area around him, then mounting the camera on his shoulder once more. He faces the blonde haired squad leader, then sighs.

"Well, there we have it. Two people are already lost. We aren't going back, just so you know, guys. No one wander off, or you'll be left behind."

"Ma'am, I'll wait for them here, just give me a NAV beacon, and I'll catch up."

The camera turns to a man with a shotgun, and dark hair. His helmet is in his free hand, and he is concerned.

"No Mitch, you can't sit here, in a couple minutes, the Europa will do a heat cycle. All of the humidity and heat now'll dissipate into nothing. The atmosphere isn't stable, so we need to reach the site immediately, and get in doors."

Suddenly, a loud whirring sound circled around the small group, sending all of the troops into cover, including the camera-man. For a moment, all was silent. Then, from nowhere, an ear-splitting roar shook the ground beneath them, the camera shaking from the noise. Aleric popped his head up from behind a boulder, and watched as 'Mitch', the dark haired Caucasian fellow with a CQB vest, takes off into the tree line, leaving the rest of his squad behind. His shotgun dangling behind him, he set toward their original drop zone, but a large swollen yellow forearm slammed down on him, his form exploding into a mist of red and purple pulp.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?!"

A grey fog rolled in, and all around them, ant like creatures with bulbous pustules crawled towards them. The camera man unholsters a pistol and begins firing at one, green-yellow liquid spurting into the air. The creature dies after multiple shots to the head, it seems, and then the camera shakes erratically before stabilizing once more. The number of insectoids encircling them has multiplied.

"FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

"THERE'S TOO MANY! RUN! RUN FOR YO-ARGH!" Aleric turned to the side, and the camera focuses on the sight of a fellow squad member being disemboweled by a large plant-like creature.

"PULL BACK! PULL BACK!"

Suddenly, a large blurred shape lunges at the Private, and the camera is hit by the attack. The playback ends.

//VIDEO CORRUPTED//

<:Rewind

//REWINDING

<:Stop

<:Play

As the video begins to play, the blurred image is about to attack Aleric.

<:Stop

<:Enhance Render

<:End video

//TERMINATING PROCESS//

4: Extraction, Part 2

01010101010101---)Extraction, Part 2(---10101010101010

"Hold the line!" A man shouted over the overwhelming sound of gunfire.

'Stay close to the wall, stay hidden in the trench,'

An explosion rocked the floor, and several soldiers fell from their places up on the trench wall.

"MEDIC!"

Blood sprays as fine mist into the air, caking the men in a blanket of red.

'Stay alive,'

Screaming.

'Stay the fuck alive.'

<<<[o]>>>

"All pilots assigned to the rescue operation, report to Shuttle Bay E-1D, immediately! This is not a drill, I repeat this is not a drill!", a gravelly voice commanded over the intercom. The lower decks of the U.T.C Ranger were filled with activity, whether it be crewmen anxiously awaiting the return of the drop teams, or operators sending out status reports back to the bridge via consoles, the atmosphere was tense. In the lower reaches of the ship, towards the tail,

"Fueling Darkstar-1!"

"Darkstar-2 is all gassed up and ready to go!"

"Technician! We've got some problems on this bird here!"

"Prepare for chamber conditioning sequences, fuel up, then standby!"

<<<[o]>>>

"Push them back! Push them back damn it-" A sniper round pierced the Sergeant's skull, cutting back his barking of orders. Artillery rocked the world around them, and the shrieking of missiles filled the air, dancing with the constant drumming of automatic weapons.

"MAN DOWN!"

I can see my feet slap the muddy floor beneath me. My gun is bouncing in my hands, my irregular breathing the loudest thing I can hear.

"I'm reloading! Keep up the pressure!"

A man is beckoning towards me, I do not recognize him. He is a higher rank than me.

"Private, get that AR up on the wall and pin them down!"

Climbing a rickety wooden wall, my gun peeks over the dirt. The ground beneath my gun is torn apart by heavy calibre bullets, I fall.

"Get back up there, soldier!"

I feel my body act on it's own accord. I am not in control. This has happened before. I do not want to see. I cannot close my eyes.

My head goes up, I see enemies.

I do not want to do this.

My arm aims, my finger fires.

Bullets spew from the barrel, hitting the targets.

"Shoot the targets, private," Someone says in my head.

Shooting the targets.

The targets go down. They hide behind barriers.

"Throwing grenades will help to suppress enemies, and eliminate hostile units in the blast radius," I hear it again.

My arm lobs a grenade over the wall, a second goes by, I hear an explosion, cries of pain. I pop up above the wall, and I see a man, lying in the center of the field, his legs have been removed from his body. Blood gushes out of the wounds, and it pours openly on to the floor. He wails in agony, and on instinct, I raise my weapon up toward him.

He looks toward me, his eyes pleading not for it to end like this. I swallow.

Finger.

Trigger.

Fire.

"You got one!" Someone next to me shouts, slapping me on the back.

"What's it going to be? Hm?"

Decide.

"Are you a killer?"

"You're going to become a professional murderer?"

Murderer.

"Are you going to kill people?"

"Monster...?"

Monster.

"Are you gonna go out there and kill for your country?!"

"Killer...?"

Killer.

No...

"Answer me, Private!"

No.

"Jacob, don't enlist..."

Why?

"Private, you're gonna give me an answer!"

What?

"Stay here, with me, with your family!"

I want to!

"Answer me!"

I can't!

"Answer me Jacob!"

I CAN'T!

"ANSWER ME,"

Voices, surrounding me, chanting. I cannot understand.

"JACOB!"

<<<[o]>>>

"Jacob!"

Jacob's eyes shot open, and he leapt up from his former position on the dirt, his hand darting toward the combat knife on his thigh. In the blink of an eye, the knife shooting up to the figure on top of him. He kept the knife at the throat of the figure, and growled like a dog. Jacob's eyes adjusted to the light, and the blurriness faded away, revealing a terrified Connor, the blade pushing into his jugular.

All was silent.

"C-Christ Connor, you scared the life outta me!"

Connor choked for a moment, before yelling, "Outta you?! Yer not th' one with a knife on his throat!"

For a moment, the intense panting and the strained breathing was all that was heard, before the two simultaneously broke down into laughter. Jacob was laughing hysterically, and even if the situation was not a comical one, it felt good to laugh. Jacob couldn't remember the last time he had laughed. They both sat there laughing at the moment, and they savored it, for that may be the last time they ever register a moment like that.

Wiping away tears from their eyes, the both calmed somewhat, and Jacob's eyes scanned the trees around them.

"Connor," he murmured , "Where are we?"

His reply was a blank stare, and after a few moments, a shrug. The walls of a cave surrounded them, and hastily pitched tents were erected on the doorway, along with strewn-about thermal-wraps. They both climbed up from their positions on the floor, and began to dust themselves off. As Jacob did so, he noticed that Connor's movements were sluggish, and ill-coordinated. For a second, Jacob saw a expression of fear on Connor's face as he studied a non-existent entity in the distance.

A small little 'beep' got Jacob's attention, and his hand darted to his waist. Clicking a small little button on a round, black device, Jacob's HUD reactivated, and he could see that they were only a klick away from the rendezvous point. Along with that bit of good news, connection to the U.T.C Ranger had been reestablished during their little nap. His hand snapped up toward his radio, and he pressed down the button.

"This is Alpha, anyone out there?"

Static.

"I repeat, this is Alpha-4 actual, we're in the dark here, guys. Homeplate? Anyone home?"

More of the same.

Jacob sighed, and brought his hand down roughly against his-

"Alpha! Alpha, do you read?", crackled a staticky voice.

With renewed vigor, Jacob clutched the radio.

"Roger, roger, this is Alpha-4, we are requesting immediate evac. The operation is a strike-out, I repeat, its all's gone to shit."

"Confirmed, birds are already in the air, breaking atmosphere in ten, ETA to Rendezvous Point 2, Homeplate, out."

Jacob smiled, then pulled his hand away from the device. Help was coming. Hope was not lost. He turned toward the darker side of the metallic cave and found his rifle, slinging it around his waist. Quickly collecting all of his own gear, he rolled his head around, then popped on his helmet, and tightly secured it into place. Checking his time on the PDA, he looked up towards Connor and noticed that he had suddenly vanished.

"Connor?"

Moments past, then Wynes flew into the tent and tore it open, his eyes darting around the area. Nothing.

"Connor! This isn't funny!"

He stepped up on a rock, and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"CONNOR!"

An embarrassed cough from behind several trees away got his attention, then he heard, "Can't a guy jus' take a piss in peace?!"

Jacob drove his hand into his face. Hard.

<<<[o]>>>

"Thank you for calling me here, General, Command has been riding my ass on the H.ARM-"

General Alexei raised his hand to silence the scientist.

"Doctor Rossman, do you know why I have called you here?"

The doctor sat back, and stroked a long scar running down the side of his face in contemplation. After a moment, he opened his mouth to speak, but seemingly contradicted himself in his head and shrunk slightly. After another moment, he snapped his fingers together.

"You finally found me an ART arm?" He asked in hope, smiling brightly.

The General smiled back, glanced at the place where the Doctor should have had a right arm, but then said, "Sorry son, we are still getting it ready,"

"Then why am I here General?"

Alexei stood from his black leather chair, and turned back to the holo-screen behind him. After examining it for a moment, he spoke, "You do realize that us arriving here, in one piece, after over twenty-million years, is a statistical improbability, correct?"

"Yes, I am aware,"

"This craft wasn't even predicted to reach Kepler. We were shooting in the dark,"

"I am aware of that as well," Doctor Rossman murmured, "What's your point?"

"My point, Ger, is that that we haven't come this far, to die now,"

They sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm not quite sure I understand,"

Alexei turned back to face him, his face cast in shadow.

"On that moon, some bad things had been happening. We had the project file, before launch, and we thought it was a bad idea. Those men on the surface confirmed this. Radio contact with Charlie and Bravo has been lost, and Alpha has taken severe casualties."

"They went through with the project anyway," Alexei growled.

Doctor Rossman stepped forward, "What project, Alex?"

The General sat back in his chair, creaking under his weight. From underneath the table, he exposed a small brown box, and gently set it down on the table counter. Staring at it for a moment, he lifted off the lid and cast it to the side, then wheeled his chair around to the cabinet on the far side of the room.

Doctor Rossman began to read the file within, and his face paled.

"General, this... why?"

"After the Unification war, a rogue division of Korea's military began to research a neurotoxin known as VBH-22, also known as, 'Virenhem Mortem', or plant death. As part of the assassination attempt on President Connors before the launch, they were to release the toxin into the air at the ceremony at the conference hall, but they were caught before anything could happen.

"Instead of arresting the agents, the three men went missing, and all evidence of their existence was erased. However, three new men joined the colonization roster going for Europa. It wasn't hard to tie two and two together, and I sent a formal letter to the President of the U.T.C for resignation. Things didn't go my way, and I was informed they would use their knowledge of the toxin to increase crop production on the surface. Bullshit. We don't know what happened, but the other crew on the surface thought it was in the crust of the ice when it had melted. At the moment, thats what the rest of our crew believes, and it is going to stay that way," coming back from the cabinet, he took a long drag of a cigarette, then shot out a cloud of smoke into the air.

"Why are you telling me this, General?"

Another drag.

"Because one sick motherfucker on this ship wants to copy it," he growled.

"Who, Alexei?"

Suddenly, the General coughed harshly, but it didn't end there, his body began to convulse. Doctor Rossman stared in horror as the General fell to the floor, and various bodily fluids began to rush out of his eyes and mouth. The light in the room went off, and the sound of footsteps slapping away at the floor outside got his attention. Rossman reached into his labcoat, and revealed a small-barreled pistol, then ran to the door. The person had already gone.

General Alexei was fading away as he heard Rossman yelling in the hallway for a medic.

<<<[o]>>>

"Thank CHRIST WE MADE IT!" Connor yelled to the skies, grinning like a mad man, but then coughing.

Jacob set down his pack, and looked up to the now pale blue sky. Something was not right. Where were they? Jacob looked down to the floor and noticed several etchings into the frosted dirt, but the most prominent one was;

Help.

"Connor... we're at the extraction point, right?"

Connor looked back to him, but the ground rumbling caught them off guard. It was not terrible, but it was going to be, soon. They looked at each other nervously, and readied their rifles, Connor muttering several curses under his breath.

"Can you feel that?" Jacob whispered.

The rumbling intensified.

Trees were uprooted.

Stones were shifted.

Leaves fell.

Ground cracked.

"Ah shit."

Everything exploded.

Jacob was sent flying, and collided with the ground, but switched to a roll, then sprung up. A wave of dizziness rushed him, but there was no time. His gun sprung up like he, and he was staring down the sights, to quite possibly the most horrifying sight he had ever seen.

Through the clouds of smoke, a single red eye glowed, then it slowly inched upward, towering above him. Lasers shone through the thick clouds, and flew to his chest. Gears whirred. Pistons pumped. Wheels turned and steam hissed. The sound of revolving metal reverberated through the emptiness, and Jacob's heart stopped. His gun lowered. His breath caught, and his blood froze. Gunfire shook him from his stupor, and somewhere in that cloud, a terrified Connor let loose with his rifle. The metal monster turned to face him, and before Jacob could act, the sound of an explosion followed.

"ARRGGHHHHHH!"

Bright yellow illuminated the cloud, and Jacob dashed forward, spraying his gun at the Mantis. Heavy caliber rounds exploded behind him, and quickly, Jacob dove for cover. From behind his stump, he could hear the beast pounding away at the wood with the gun. Within seconds, his cover would be compromised.

Jacob knew he would be dead if he didn't do something, but what was there to do? Suddenly, Jacob remembered the Semtex. He reached for a small pouch on his vest, and pulled a small handful of white powder, then cast it into the air around him. While the powder was in the air, the lasers shone through it, and the barrage of gunfire was lifted. Jacob ran.

He ran in an arc, but inched closer to the metal abomination. He grabbed a tightly strapped pocket on his chest, and ripped it off violently, tossing it into the air above the machine. It landed on the roof of the Mantis, and got caught on the railing. He transitioned into a crouch, and took aim. Before he could fire, it was in his sights.

Jacob was once more cast into the air, but it was noticably different. He could feel nothing. Impacting a tree, and no feeling. He rolled lifelessly on the floor, and his head lolled, but somehow, he rolled it into place. He stared at the menace, and he knew that this would be the end. And he was so close.

Jacob thought about Connor, then grimaced. So neither of them would make it.

As the robot inched closer, Jacob thought about what might have set it off. It didn't matter though.

The whirring of the minigun was all he could hear now, and he bared his teeth. Then, he pulled his handgun from his holster, and angrily aimed at the beast, but he noticed a faint red flash on the top of the form.

The semtex.

He put effort into controlling his gun, but it failed, and his hand fell. He tried again, but it would not move. He yelled, and screamed at his hand, but it did not move. He then looked back to the machine, and prepared to die, but something cut him short.

A strangled cough.

The machine spun around, and if it could feel annoyance, it would certainly be displaying it. Stalking ever closer to Connor, it revved the guns for good measure, and was about to go.

One shot.

Go.

Finger,

Trigger,

Fire.

<<<[o]>>>

"Darkstar-2, we've got clouds of black down there, you seeing any survivors?"

"Negative, negative, we got- wait. We see movement."

"Confirmed, survivors found, touching down."

<<<[o]>>>

Twilight paced nervously around her bedroom.

This happened frequently, but tonight, there was ample reason for doing so. Yesterday, the strange 'star' had disappeared from her telescope, and she was quite relieved.

Tonight, it had returned, but not only had it reapppeared, but it was closer. No longer was it a star, but quite possibly, an asteroid, or meteor. And if it was to continue its path, it was going to collide with Equis. Ruffling her feathers lightly, she sat on her bed.

Not good.

Not good at all.

"Spike!"

Silence.

"SPIKE!"

A loud bang resounded from the lower part of the library, followed by a pained moan.

"What?"

"We need to send a letter to Princess Celestia, immediately!"

5: Spotted

-----<<>>-----<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Murder.

The Medical Wing of the Ranger was rife with activity. Men in labcoats urgently dashed from room to room, medical technicians popped in and out of doors, and the occasional uniformed crew member ran through the halls. Military personnel were present in almost every corridor, and high ranking officers kept up stoic and stern faces. Major Rooke was not pleased, and walked with a presence, many people clearing for him to walk through.

Murder.

"Doctor Braxton, you have conclusive evidence that the suspect fled the sce-" Rooke did not catch the rest of the dialogue between a corporal and the labcoat, and neither did he want to. They hadn't even set their boots on the ground and they were already tripping. Striding into the 'autopsy' room, he cleared his throat, gaining the attention of three medical examiners. Quickly, the went stiff and saluted.

"Gentlemen, at ease,"

At that one phrase, they all snapped back to the corpse on the table. The entire room smelt of death and bleach.

"What do we have here?" the Major inquired.

One of the men stood forward, "Well Travis, some sort of membrane-dissolvant, somehow used to replace tobacco in his cigarettes, killed him in less than two,"

One of the examiners snorted.

Rooke stepped closer to the table, and even though the body was underneath the wraps, the putrid smell of burnt flesh and sourness made him retreat. The Major raised his hand up to his grey beard and gave it a light rub, then turned to the cabinets to pull on a pair of gloves. He returned, and took a deep breath, then lifted the rags.

The body was utterly devastated. Black roots burst out its eyes, and its gut was torn open by a huge growth of plant life, branches and leaves jutting out at strange and twisted angles. Its arms were overgrown with leaves, and it was impossible to even know who or what this thing had been before it expired.

"Christ..." Rooke whispered, then recoiled backwards into the wall.

The other examiners looked back to him empathetically, and gave knowing nods.

"Who the hell did this? What kind of sick, demented fuck would do this?!"

"We aren't sure, Major, but hopefully someone will find out. Soon," The smaller one said. They all looked the same, talked the same and moved the same: like perfectly programmed robots.

Rooke pulled off the gloves, deciding he did not want to be a part of this any longer, and spun to the door, sliding open the metal wall, and rushing out. As he entered the hallway, there was slightly less activity, but not very much so. Rooke's head hurt, and he leaned against the wall.

'What happened to his eyes?', thought Rooke.

Further down the hall, Doctor Rossman scanned the Major with his icy blue eyes, taking in every detail, then departed into the lobby. He was going to see to it that justice would be found for his old friend, and he was going to be the one to bring the culprit to the light.

<<<[o]>>>

"Hey, Applejack!" Spike called. As he tittered over to her, he noticed that she seemed anxious, cautious even. She had not even acknowledged his call. He frowned.

Drawing closer, he stared around her toward the object of her fixation.

At least forty Royal Guards marched around the streets of Ponyville, their hoove steps rumbling through the paved roads. Spike halted in his tracks, 'What is going on?'

"Sugarcube, Ah'm think'n it'd be best if ya made yer way back home about now, there might be trouble,"

She looked at him and ushered him away, and for the briefest moment, Spike could see genuine fear in her eyes. Applejack had frequently visited the Library the past week, and Twilight was ecstatic about her new report on the 'unidentifiable celestial cruising object'.

A large shadow loomed over them, and his eyes were cast upward, squinting at the shape of a chariot descending towards the guard. Spike then noticed, they were marching away from the marketplace, and he sped off to see what was happening. Arriving to the corner of the street, he peered around the wall of a small cottage.

They seemed to be marching into the heart of town.

Spike could see the chariot touch down somewhere further out, near... The Library.

Spike ran.

<<<[o]>>>

"I's telling you Ross, there ain't nothin' else to be seen on these cameras. Culprit managed to avoid all th' damn surveillance, only way he coulda done that is if he came in through maintenance, an' that cam has been down for a while,"

"Then can you not bring up tapes from the entrances of the maintenance department?"

"There 'er at least a hundred goin' in an' out of maintenance a day, it'll take too long ta-"

"I said, can you bring up the tapes from the lobby of the maintenance hub?"

The technician sighed. This is why you don't accept dessert in the cafeteria from strangers.

"I guess, but I ain't goin' through 'em, I'll e-mail 'em to you, that's yer problem now,"

"Thank you, Rick," Ross smirked as he strode out of the room.

"Fuckin' asshole." 'Rick' murmured.

<<<[o]>>>

Princess Celestia was seated beside Princess Twilight, and hushed whispers were shot back and forth. Royal Guards took up positions along the upper floors, the entrances and windows of the entire treehouse.

"Celestia, if what readings and measurements I have taken are correct, we have a monumental national security issue to deal with,"

"National? This incident will, without a doubt, be on a global scale! The griffons are searching for reasons to attack our soil as is, but this? This will spark an all out war amongst the creatures of Equuis!"

A loud banging resounded on the door, and the Guard sprung up from their collective posts and readied their spears, all pointed toward the oak slab. For a moment, all was silent, but the banging resumed.

"Private Welting, you're up,"

"Me?!"

"Yes, you!"

"Can't Corporal Pine go first...?"

"Move your sorry flank!"

"Yeah, Welt! Get a move on!"

"Shut up you Tree def-"

More banging.

"Twilight, open up! What's happening?" Spike called.

Princess Twilight stood from her chair, and made he way toward the door, "It's okay Shining, it's just Spike," and opened the door with her purple magic. Spike then bolted in and tackled Twilight.

"Twilightohmygoshwhatishappeningthereareguardseverywhereand-" Twilight nearly smacked Spike with the ferocity she covered his mouth with. Another Pinkie Pie-rate conversation? Not today!

"Spike, its okay. Calm down, nothing is happening,"

Spike calmed down slightly, and peeled off of Twilight, but then took into account of the massive amount of Royal Guards in the area. Usually, when Princess Celestia visited, two more Guards would be posted to the 'Library Guard Duty', but this was far more significant.

Something was up.

Spike narrowed his eyes.

"I'm serious, we're fine,"

Spikes eyelids inched closer.

"Something fishy's going on, and you're in on it,"

Spike raised his claws toward his eyes, and then pointed at Twilight, quietly slinking away. Princess Celestia's brow creased, and Twilight chuckled nervously.

"I guess he's been hanging out with Pinkie too much...?"

"No he hasn't silly!" Pinkie spontaneously appeared from the rafters. "Hey Twilight, when are the aliens coming?" Pinkie grinned. Spike peered around the kitchen corner,

"You are hiding something!"

Twilight facehoofed. Keeping this a secret was going to be much harder than originally thought.

<<<[o]>>>

Curse existence. Life is not worth this kind of pain.

Was I struck in the chest by the Hammer of Thor or something?

Actually, it kinda feels like I've had 500 pounds of fat-ass on my chest.

I can see white lights.

God? Is that you?

Oh wait...

No, I can feel someone's hand resting on my arm.

PAIN. LOTS OF PAIN. WHAT THE FUCK. IT FEELS LIKE MY CHEST IS ON FIRE.

IF THIS IS A MEDICAL PROCEDURE, I AM GOING TO GIVE THE SURGEON A THOROUGH CLOCK CLEANING. WITH HIS DISMEMBERED ARMS. WHILST SINGING IN GERMAN.

...

I wish I had a book to read or something to distract me from the- *OH SHIT. SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT***

The hell is going o- *FUUUUUUCCCKKKKKKKKKkkkkkkk*kkkk....

<<<[o]>>>

It had been two weeks since the operation, and the U.T.C Fleet was nearing ever closer to Earth. The Warrior and the Fighter were lagging behind and were due to reach the planet in one more month, so that meant that all of the array-equipment and the accessory-deployment-colonization units were not present. For Jacob, these two weeks had been hell on... the ship? Taking an insane amount of shrapnel to the chest is bad enough, but couple that with several instances of internal hemorrhaging and a mild concussion, and you've got a recipe for a terrible life.

To make matters worse, Jacob's personal friend and CO was horrifically murdered, and his 'savior', as he coined himself, was suspect number one. Every team that was sent down to Europa had been slaughtered by unknown resistance, and had activated the "We're fucked" beacons, Connor had apparently been put into a coma, then had a heart attack, or so they had called it. His body reanimated on the recently made morgue, and he took an nice big chomp out of the head researcher.

After he was put down again, some mysterious figure came to the researcher's private quarters and unloaded a full magazine of a stolen Armory weapon.

The crew was getting suspicious of each other, and fights escalated quickly. However, before it could become too much for the Captain, the Medical Wing came out with a discovery. From Jacob's lungs, they had extracted a highly potent and lethal spore, one that had completely overtaken the mind of Connor prior to his death and had grown into his mouth cavity. They suspected that due to the nature of what the bite could have done, someone had known about the spore prior to the incident.

General Alexei's office had been compromised once more during the week, and a Staff Sergeant Hazem Al-Horami had been found burning classified files that had been hidden away. While unrecoverable, the files were identified as the very same that had detailed a biological terrorist attack. The Sergeant was interrogated, but due to the restrictions against how he should be handled, he was rather uncooperative, and instead was issued a death penalty by the Council of Military Justice, which humorously had been created just for the purpose of making sure he would not get away with the crime.

Connor, Hazem and Alexei had been cremated last Monday, and things were still somber around the ship. There weren't any more fights, but there were no celebrations either.

Jacob tried as he might to ignore the soreness and achenes in his muscles and his chest, but in the end, it permeated into his brain, and even his music could not help to stave the pain.

"God damn it!" Jacob growled as he threw his body off of the bed, wincing in pain as his muscles screamed at him.

Lying there, he relaxed, the coolness of the metallic floor calming him. He finally was going sleep without the damn medication.

But then his PDA starting blaring.

"WHAT IS IT NOW?!" He roared, standing slowly and hobbling over to the table beside the porthole.

Picking up the annoying device, he read a message;

Look outside your windows

-Captain Sully

Jacob turned his head to the large glass plane on the wall of the medical suite.

Earth. The globe hung in the void, its massive blue oceans mixing with the verdant green land. White, wispy clouds drifted across its surface, and small bursts of wind blew them over the tall mountains and the deep canyons. The moon lay beyond it, the grey ball shining onto the dark part of the globe as Sol shone brightly behind them both.

"Oh."