"Is this going to be a stand up fight or another bug hunt?"
- Pte Hudson, 'Aliens'
- Pte Hudson, 'Aliens'
A previous encounter in which another Colonial Marine squad encounter some Aliens whilst under the command of their new platoon leader, Snr. Lt. G.L. Vyshinsky
1) Snr. Lt. Vyshinsky (assault rifle)
2) Sgt. Carroll (assault rifle)
3) Cpl. Lewis (assault rifle)
4) Pte. Hidalgo (smart gun)
5) Pte. Siwek (assault rifle) +
6) Pte. Lindgard (smart gun) +
7) Pte. Cromwell (assault rifle)
8) Pte. Mayer (assault rifle) +
9) Pte. Hargreaves (assault rifle) +
10) Pte. O' Brian (assault rifle) +
11) Pte. Nguyen (assault rifle)
Scenario :
A squad of Colonial Marines are tasked with recovering a radio beacon in the ruins of the Shangwen monastery on Taiko III. A flyby scan from the Marines' shuttle reveals it to be resting in the underground cellars of the monastery but the same scan also indicates the presence of unidentified xenomorphs in the subterranean complex. Owing to the proximity of the beacon the Marines' normally reliable MT-24 motion trackers seemed to be picking up contacts which faded and reappeared at various locations.
A squad of Colonial Marines are tasked with recovering a radio beacon in the ruins of the Shangwen monastery on Taiko III. A flyby scan from the Marines' shuttle reveals it to be resting in the underground cellars of the monastery but the same scan also indicates the presence of unidentified xenomorphs in the subterranean complex. Owing to the proximity of the beacon the Marines' normally reliable MT-24 motion trackers seemed to be picking up contacts which faded and reappeared at various locations.
Following a landing by the Marine's Cheyenne, Lt. Vyshinsky moved his squad forward into the first cellar. They proceeded further into the cellars with an advance guard of Cpl. Lewis and Ptes. Cromwell and Hidalgo. The corridors leading to the next cellar were clear but Lewis' motion tracker picked up a possible contact inside the cellar. Cromwell pushed open the door and Hidalgo and Lewis slipped inside, ready for action. This caution was fortunate as a large, obviously hostile xenomorph was heading straight for Cromwell. Hidalgo and Lewis opened fire and a hail of 10mm AP rounds shredded the advancing creature's torso. As the xeno staggered and fell a spray of some unknown but extremely corrosive acid splashed from it smoking noxiously and pitting the cellar floor.
After a tentative examination of the xeno the squad moved on with Pte Mayer taking point. This proved to be unfortunate as, upon opening the door into the corridor, he and Cromwell were attacked by a pair of xenos. Cromwell managed to elude their clutches but Mayer was engulfed in a pair of talons and decapitated. His shrieks of anguish plus the sight of his head falling to the floor spraying arterial blood over the room caused his unnerved comrades to fall back and, in a couple of instances, flee towards the exit. The more steadfast of them immediately opened fire on the two xenos and they both slumped to the ground but not before the larger of the two had attacked and gruesomely killed Pte O'Brian.
The squad paused to take stock and wipe the blood off their faces and flak armour while Lt. Vyshinsky collected up the identity discs from the unfortunate Mayer and O'Brian. A certain amount of murmuring from the squad encouraged Sgt. Carroll to suggest a change in tactics whereby one marine would open the door and then spring back while the rest of the squad formed a firing line in the room. Snr. Lt.Vyshinsky, only having been recently 'seconded' to the Colonial Marine Infantry following some 'unexplained issues' in his role as Assistant Battalion Paymaster ("The money was only resting in my account") readily agreed to follow the experienced Sgt. Carroll's advice.
This change in tactics, however, proved to be a little late as the scanner Lewis' faulty motion tracker faded briefly and only sprang shockingly to life as Pte. Siwek was opening the door into the next corridor. Lewis was halfway through his shout of warning when the door was pushed open, Siwek knocked to the ground and the xeno (one of three) fell on Pte. Lindgard crushing his throat. Unable to fire initially because of the prone Siwek, Cpl. Lewis, Cromwell and Hargreaves swung the butts of their AR-46 rifles at the first xeno knocking it to the ground and turned to face the third xeno just as it was shredded by a hail of fire from the rest of the squad. The sight of Siwek staggering to his feet the trio to open fire also and the consequent volley of fire downed another of the xenos and knocked down the third which was also despatched a few seconds later.
With the squad down by three troopers there was another pause as the remnants took stock. More muttering by the shocked and grieving squad resulted in Cpl. Lewis (pointing out the contacts appearing and fading on his tracker in the rest of the underground complex) suggesting that the squad move back out to the shuttle and drop a 1 kiloton neutron bomb on the monastery from orbit. This was refused by Lt.Vyshinsky who replied that a) the beacon had to have been taken into the cellar complex by a person or persons unknown and they were possibly still nearby and b) that the Mark IV Interstellar radio beacon "had a substantial dollar value". Muttering that he could guess which one mattered most, Lewis gathered the squad together and moved on.
The squad, led by Pte. Hargreaves taking point, made its way down two more corridors and then took two turns to the right without incident coming right to the door of the room where the tracker said the beacon was resting. Unfortunately the tracker was also picking up multiple signals from possible xenos in the room.
Taking a collective deep breath the squad, led by Hargreaves opened the door. Luckily for the squad the xenos were away from the door and appeared to have been trying to open a large metal door at the other end of the room. The squad quickly deployed but not in time to save Hargreaves who was pounced on by the nearest xeno and as the squad attacked it with rifle butts the following xeno attacked the still rather dazed Siwek killing him outright.
Taking a collective deep breath the squad, led by Hargreaves opened the door. Luckily for the squad the xenos were away from the door and appeared to have been trying to open a large metal door at the other end of the room. The squad quickly deployed but not in time to save Hargreaves who was pounced on by the nearest xeno and as the squad attacked it with rifle butts the following xeno attacked the still rather dazed Siwek killing him outright.
Hidalgo shot down the third xeno while Lt. Vyshinsky and Sgt.Carroll shot and knocked down the one who had killed Siwek. The xeno attacking Hargreaves killed the unfortunate marine but was itself battered to death by Lewis, Nguyen and Cromwell who were liberally sprayed with the creatures acidic blood. Luckily for them most of it splashed on their body armour which they quickly unclipped. Vyshinsky and Carroll fired again at the downed xeno and again sprays of acid pitted the flagstones as the creatures torso was shredded.
As the squad breathed a collective sigh of relief a loud banging and shouts could be heard from behind the thick metal door. Gingerly opening the door Sgt. Carroll asked the unseen character who he was and what he was doing there receiving the reply that his name was Collins and he had been the comms. engineer on board a scavenger ship which had landed nearby trying to salvage the beacon for scrap but the rest of his crew had been killed by the xenos. He had grabbed the beacon and fled into the monastery cellars pursued by the xenos but had managed to get the beacon working before they appeared and then locked himself behind the sturdy steel door awaiting a possible rescue.
