Sergeant Grey leads the marines through the crowd, yelling as he aims his shotgun, "GET OUT OF THE WAY! MOVE!"
He hates this feeling, but he HAS to get his marines through. He also has something he knows the brass will want. Dumas deduced that the back plate armor of the aliens contains some sort of healing device. If they can reverse engineer the technology, they may be able to make leaps and bounds to catching up to these monsters.
Not to mention, Sergeant Grey has lives he's personally invested in saving; his own included. Yes, choosing himself over all of these people is disgusting, but someone must. And, he watched the wealthy and influential making that choice BEFORE the chaos started.
Sergeant Grey has a mission. He HAS to make it to one of the ships; him and his squad. He is thankful for once that civilian weapons were confiscated, or this situation could be much worse. He's not sure how the aliens haven't found this base yet, but he's thankful for that, too.
It's partially luck that Sergeant Grey spots Tanya waiting in the crowd, bruised and injured, but mostly okay. Her knuckles are bloody, and that fortunately seems to be the extent. She passionately and desperately kisses him before explaining, "They've stopped letting people in!"
Grey licks his teeth. They're running out of time. He can still hear the hum of the elevator station, but even max speed still takes a day to get into orbit. And, he doubts much control was afforded once the panic started. He replies quietly, "Leave that to us and stay close. Are you okay?"
"Yes. I made the horrible mistake of having a water bottle on me. Should'a just gave it up when the toolbag demanded it. I'm fine." She nods at Kenzie, "She with us?"
Grey glances and nods, "We had to head out for at least a while. Found a reason to come back. Two, actually. Let's move. I'll explain."
The group pushes through the crowd. Grey can hear Fisher barking, "We're trying to find out! They'll talk to us!" Grey's glad they're all wearing their armor. People are throwing bottles, cans, and rocks already. And, they think the line is moving.
Grey reaches the base security gate, and he leads his group to the control point guards. He shows his ID, even as the guards threaten him to back off. He shouts, "Sergeant Alexander Grey, Third Platoon! Enemy tech capture! Priority Code Romeo-XRay-Tango-Five-Three!"
The control point snaps back, "Sergeant, I have been given strict orders!"
"To hell with your orders, Rookie! We have their tech! LET US THROUGH!"
The guard's grip tightens on his rifle. Grey thinks quickly, yelling, "You fire on us, and this;" He gestures at the people behind him, 'waiting their turn'. He continues, "Becomes a stampede. You wanna shoot us, go ahead! Saves us the trouble!"
"I'm not bluffing, Sergeant! BACK. OFF!"
Marines only have each other at the end of the day. If they can't trust those at their backs, they have nothing. If one brings their rifle up, they can only hope...
Sergeant Grey's marines don't let him down. He snaps his shotgun up at the center guard threatening him. He hears the shuffles and clicks of Fredericks, Dumas, and Fisher taking aim. He also can hear the pistol they gave Kenzie chattering from her shaking. The guards tense and take a step back. Grey taunts menacingly, "We're going in and nobody dies, or we all shoot, and whoever survives is mauled to death by the crowd behind me. You wanna die a 'hero' getting trampled to death by panicking people, or you wanna..." Grey deliberately softens his voice so only the guard a barrel's length away from him can hear; "actually survive this hellstorm?"
The younger marine's eyes widen in horror. What Grey just said is treacherous, but everyone knows it. Not very many more elevator cars are going up. Dying on the ground won't make anything better.
Fortune has a way of finding perfect timing, it seems. Neither marine being posed with a horrible choice actually has to be the first to pull their trigger. A whir zooms in, and just inside the gate in question, a hulking figure slams the ground. A small, helicopter-sized alien craft races off, and Grey can hear more coming. The guards whirl as the crowd screams. They flee in a startled hurry back down the street away from the gate, tripping over and trampling each other.
Grey and his squad don't hesitate. He bellows, "OPEN FIRE! CONCENTRATE ON ITS BACK!"
All of the marines present scatter into cover and fire a hailstorm at the extraterrestrial shocktrooper. Its armor is heavier than the others, and it wields two of the alien guns; one in each hand. Sergeant Grey limps quickly behind a parked troop truck, followed closely by Kenzie and Tanya. Fisher and Dumas fire on it from behind a concrete barricade, and Fredericks climbs stealthily into the passenger side of another truck aimed at the gate.
The truck Fredericks just rigged fires up, and he slams it into gear, nimbly tumbling away as the truck roars toward the gate at full speed. The alien, taunted by the truck fleeing, focuses its attention, firing both weapons at the truck. Grey spots a second alien shocktrooper dropping in outside the gate, lumbering after the crowd fleeing. Then a third joins it.
This is it. If Grey's marines can take out the alien attacking them, they can make it to the station with minimal chaos. Fredericks jogs up from his stealthy route, and Grey waves him into the cab of the truck. Fredericks sets to task. Now, Grey has to deal with the alien. His leg burns viciously from his injury, but he's pretty sure he can run. And, he claimed a couple of the alien grenades when they policed a downed alien's equipment.
Sergeant Grey readies his shotgun and a grenade. It's the size of a tissue box, but the spikes make it easy to grip. He says calmly, "Whatever happens, you two stay with Fredericks. Got it?"
"Alex..." urges Tanya. He kisses her quickly and bolts up, sprinting as the alien's attention is successfully drawn by Fisher and Dumas, as well as three of the six guards. Two of the guards are already dead, and a third is wounded.
Grey doesn't focus on that, though. He primes the grenade, and it blinks. He hopes that means it's ready. He fires his shotgun into the alien's back at point blank range, slamming the grenade into its back. However the grenade sticks with the foam that spurts out, it stays, and Grey stays in a sprint past the alien, diving headfirst over Fisher and Dumas as they duck. He can hear the alien's surprised, "Hruugh?"
The explosion is more akin to a fast, thunderous clap, but much more potent. Grey isn't sure shooting the healing unit was necessary, but he didn't want to take chances. In any case, he turns around to make sure it's dead.
The alien's body is indeed lifeless, and Grey barks, "Move, marines!" Fisher helps the guards carry the injured guard after the other two are confirmed dead. They scramble for the truck, which roars to life as Fredericks hotwires it. Grey isn't sure how warfare would have changed if all vehicles had become electric, but he's thankful for the big, reliable deuce-and-a-half for always roaring when called upon. At least in combat.
Everyone piles into the truck, pulling the injured guard in. Fredericks races for the station. Grey orders, "Don't stop, Fredericks! Drive straight onto whatever car's on the platform!"
"Aye, sir!"
The sergeant looks behind them. Flashes denote the aliens still slaughtering the crowd of people fleeing. A few people who obviously hid are jogging past the gate.
His stomach churns, but he's committed. If he thinks too hard about it, he might try to feel bad for all nine billion people on Earth.
Luck moves in waves, though. As the truck smashes through the garage door of the loading dock, Fredericks yells, "CRAP! Sarge! It's a cargo pod!"
Grey curses under his breath. Cargo pods aren't life-supporting. They hold pressure, but it's unlikely 10 people will survive a whole day in what amounts to a big conex box before air runs out. Grey thinks fast. His marines aren't trained on car changes. It's already risky time-wise whether there are still ships in orbit. Grey orders, "Park in standby!" He hops out, wincing from his leg. Fisher and Dumas stay on him. Fredericks drives the truck onto the platform that will stay alongside the next car that comes.
Sergeant Grey accesses the human machine interface computer, checking the queue of cars behind the one drifting through the station. He sighs relief. He calls out, "Next car is passenger! Be ready, Fredericks!"
"Standing by, Sarge!"
Sergeant Grey opens the intercom interface. He calls, "This is Sergeant Grey. We're boarding in five. Hostiles advancing on perimeter. Last car."
There's a pause. A voice calls back, "Sergeant, last car was declared one hour ago. I'm sorry."
Grey snaps, "Who is this!? There's still time! We have hostile technology; repeat, ALIEN technology. We're coming up. You BETTER be waiting."
There's a longer pause. Grey grinds his teeth in frustration. If anyone else captured tech, they're screwed. But, he doubts it. Most of the marines that rode up probably didn't lay eyes on any aliens. He expects his enlisted marines will be outnumbered by officers if they make it through this.
The voice comes back, "Sergeant..." Grey flips off the camera nearby as he holds up the alien grenade. Dumas holds up the huge alien back plate. Grey growls, "Yeah, you see us, right? You gonna be waiting?"
There's another pause. During that time, Fisher and Dumas start aiming their rifles at the loading dock they came in by. Grey looks at the startled woman carrying an infant and a young girl. She cries out, "Please! You have to let us come with you!"
Grey nods gently at Fredericks, and the three marines relax. Fisher whispers cautiously, "This car's gonna fill up fast if more people figure it out."
Dumas whispers back as the woman cautiously approaches, "We should be trying to save more. We know how to beat them now."
Grey growls, "The frickin' good you think that will do, marine, when they start dropping heavies or tanks?"
Dumas pales at the thought of a war vehicle proportionally formidable in keeping with their scouts.
The woman is now close enough on the landing just before the platform. She says softly, "Th-thank you..."
The marines glance at each other uneasily. 'Thanks' aren't very deserved, given the situation.
Tanya perks up, saying, "You came just in time, Miss. Survival's the focus now for all of us that can. Come;" She approaches the woman and tugs her onto the standby platform, explaining, "We have to jump aboard the car when it gets here."
The voice on the computer asks, "Wait, you're bringing more people, Sergeant?"
Grey replies un-movingly, "Whoever's here to board is coming up. I KNOW there's room up there. So tell me, will you be waiting for our captured tech or not?"
A familiar voice comes over the radio; "Sergeant Grey, this is Lieutenant Colonel Hitch. You must understand, we're tempting fate the longer we..."
Grey snaps, "YOU DAMNED COWARDLY WEASEL! I didn't actually say you had already gone up because I thought there was no way. But, there you are; already at the station. Tell me, did you step one foot off base before running to the lift, or did you turn tail the second you shiny pole-smokers sent us all out to die?"
"SERGEANT! Remember...!"
"WHO I'M TALKING TO? I THOUGHT I was talking to a brother in arms! Remember this, Hitch; cowards may die a thousand deaths, but they kill others more than that. So think hard before you kill us a second time, HITCH."
There's another pause. A few more families arrive. Tanya tries to stay warm and encouraging toward them. She even holds the first woman's infant to relieve her a moment.
Fredericks whispers, "Sarge... was that... wise?"
Grey growls, "What should I have said? 'Thank you sir for abandoning us to die. May I have another?'"
The lance corporal replies cautiously, "Yeah, but... they're the go no-go."
"They were talking themselves into it."
The woman asks nervously, "W-we're... we're leaving, right? Please... Please tell me we're..."
Hitch's voice says grimly, "We're waiting. But, Sergeant... If we even suspect there are hostiles onboard..."
Sergeant Grey relaxes in deep relief. He finishes for Hitch, "By all means, drop us. But, there won't be. We know how to kill these grunts. Just a pain in the –uh... cheeks."
"Good luck Sergeant," replies Hitch. "And have your passengers ready to run. We're not staying once you're here."
"Got it, sir. Thank you."
Hitch adds quickly, "Oh, and brace yourselves. They're dropping all the down-bound cars. It'll squeeze a little more speed out of the remaining up-cars. It's a..." He scoffs. "It's a ride, Sergeant."
"Affirmative."
"Hitch, out."
Grey shouts, "Alright, everyone! A car's coming to take us up. You have thirty seconds once the platform we're on starts moving. You want a chance at living, you get across the yellow line to the car before second thirty. Once the doors close, you're staying. Is that clear?"
A few heads nod. But, most of the people waiting are weary, scared, and numb to the world. A few more marines have showed up, but Grey doesn't see Hancock, the stranger or Little Bird yet. He scoffs at the realization that he doesn't know either Little Bird's or the Stranger's names yet. But, he hopes they got here before him. He focuses on his current group. He shouts, "IS THAT CLEAR!?"
Startled, everyone murmurs, "Yes sir..."
"That's better. One minute. Be ready." The marines organize all of the refugees into ranks, explaining that all they have to do is file in smoothly, and they'll be okay. Grey watches the entrances for Hancock and the other two. He's beginning to worry. Sure, humanity might escape the jaws of these aliens by a shred today, but he worries about the future.
Fredericks calls out, "Car entering station! Get ready!"
Grey can feel relief washing over him. He smiles at Tanya. But, a horrifying sight and sound snatches it away. A flash and a distinctive energy blast snatches the life of a man that found the loading bay entrance. He drops the little girl and trips the little boy running with him on accident.
Grey sheds his backpack, tossing it to Tanya as she looks at him in terror. He barks, "Get that to Hitch!" He kisses her quickly before bolting for the loading bay. She calls desperately, "ALEX!"
"GO! PLEASE!" He storms across the station, his leg throbbing from his injury. But, he's not about to let his work go to waste. He WILL save Tanya, Kenzie, and his marines at ANY cost; especially himself.
He yanks the girl to her feet, yelling, "RUN!" Just as he turns to shove both kids, Tanya is right behind him, along with Kenzie AND his squad. "What are you doing!?" he roars. Tanya scoops the boy up, as Kenzie grabs the girl. She starts to retort sassily, but her face pales in horror.
Sergeant Grey whirls. The alien shocktrooper lumbers casually around the corner. It chuckles deeply in its menacing voice. However, a mechanical cough precedes an explosion; a grenade launcher. Grey knows it has to have been one of the straggler marines that showed up. The alien stumbles back, surprised. It howls and takes cover around the corner.
Grey whirls to Tanya, begging, "Please go!"
"What about...!?"
"TRUST me!" She hesitantly jogs with Kenzie and the children in tow, wrestling to hold the squealing and horrified children. Grey whirls back to task. Dumas is posted around the corner from the alien as Fisher stays low. The alien knows the grenade launcher is the bigger threat. Fredericks and Grey stack close in a crouch. They have to scatter and take out its healing unit. And, failing that, simply distract it enough for the car to leave the station.
One of the straggler marines calls from the car, "Sergeant! Fall back! I've got you covered!"
Grey curses his marines for being so loyal. He knows they won't make it back to the elevator car before this shock trooper kills several and possibly compromises the elevator car.
Sergeant Grey makes the call. He barks back, "Falling back!"
He steadies his grip on his shotgun, waiting. Dumas was the only one to glance at him, just to be sure. The split second that seems to last an eternity finally ends just before the marine covering them can call again. The alien shocktrooper whirls skillfully and eagerly around the corner. Dumas springs into an explosive shoulder charge.
Dumas connects, slamming the alien's left forearm and causing it to miss its first shot, which misses wide of the car as it cruises along the platform. Grey fires his shotgun straight into the alien's helmet visor. He already knows it won't do much beyond blinding it for a brief moment, but those seconds, as tiny as they are, are precious. He'll trade his life for ten if it's that simple. But, they have to work harder and more desperately than their lives combined for each one.
Second One.
The alien recovers its balance. It launches Dumas off of its arm with a backhand, and he slams the nearby wall. It wasn't absurd force, so he should be okay. And, his injury was worth another second.
Second Two.
Fisher, already in a sprint at the surprised extraterrestrial warrior, spears as hard as he can into the alien's abdominal region. Again; his possibly-broken collar bone or shoulder is a price paid for the most precious commodity a marine will ever have. It is more precious than gold to anyone who has ever tried to claim even one.
Second Three.
Grey fires again, once more battering the alien's field of view for the briefest of moments as it hits Fisher back with its knee. Fisher expected it and softened the blow by hopping, but it still launches him a few yards away.
Second Four.
Fredericks has reached position. He dives around behind the alien, firing a fully automatic burst of rounds into its back. His rifle patters away. Sparks fly. The alien is just leveling its left weapon with Fisher when it realizes what's happening. It straightens up in surprise.
Sergeant Grey smirks.
Second Five.
Grey fires his shotgun again; this time, deliberately for the alien's exposed neck. At least some of his pellets hit as the alien cranes to look at Fredericks. He knows this because it howls in agony as it flinches.
Second Six.
The alien snaps its right arm up, aiming at Grey. He is only barely fast enough to dive away. Its shot explodes the concrete. It pivots, snarling angrily.
Second Seven.
A thunderous collision outside causes both Grey and the alien to pause. It sounds like a train car was just dropped. It dawns on Grey what it was. And, the next one shouldn't be far behind.
Second Eight.
The alien flinches when the Earth shakes from the next impact. It feels to Grey like a giant fist just punched the Earth, but didn't do enough damage to shockwave.
The alien seems to realize it's not specifically in danger, aiming at Grey and Fredericks. Fredericks tosses his rifle aside, empty, and draws his pistol. Grey aims his shaking arms holding the shotgun right back at the hulking shocktrooper.
The alien taunts menacingly, "Hoomen weak. Pafedeek. {Human weak. Pathetic.}"
This time, the falling car slams the Earth, causing the alien to flinch again. Grey thinks quickly. He taunts, "Not too weak to kick your leathery ass, huh!?"
The alien growls. It glares hatefully at Grey.
The tense moment ends abruptly. A blur flashes in, and then a purple lightning arc pierces through to crackle and hum as it protrudes from the alien's abdomen. It coughs, stricken with shock and paralysis. Its arms slump to its sides, and its curved knees buckle. The alien collapses, leaving behind a human form which seems to claw its way out of hell no matter how far in it is dragged. His armor is no longer white, but instead, deep brown, black, and grey with blood, mud, and soot. Dried blood is caked to his cheeks.
Sergeant Grey has never been so relieved. But, it quickly fizzles when he glances over his shoulder. The car is successfully ascending, and no zealous other marines stayed behind foolishly. This is good, but now the squad is stranded. And, worse than that are the two zealous girlfriends standing by nervously.
Grey can't believe it. He can't form words of anger just now. He knows why they did it, but he can't believe it.
But, Hancock jogging in through the door carrying a little girl lifts his spirits some. Like the stranger, both of them look like they've crawled through a mud pit, a chimney, and then an actual fire. Dumas is the first to cheer, "Rookie!? Holy crap! Good to see you!"
Hancock scoffs and nods, but he pants, "A-a dr-dropship..."
The stranger needs no other cue. He simply hefts one of the shocktrooper's guns and heads back for the door. Fisher steps out of his way curiously. The stranger posts up on the door, rather than charging out. Fredericks asks Grey, "What's the plan, Sarge?"
Sergeant Grey makes eye contact with Little Bird. He puts on a brave face for her, and he says as warmly as he can muster, "Hey Little Bird. Good work keeping the Rookie and the Stranger alive. I'm proud of you, marine." He salutes her, and her eyes widen in surprise. The other marines are a little thrown off, but all four, including Hancock, shift to salute her. She buries her face sheepishly into Hancock's collar.
Grey answers Fredericks' question next, "We're marines. We draw a line and keep the bad guys back. So," He hefts the other alien gun. "Time to take a few yards and draw a line."
Fisher sighs. He says grimly, "Sarge... How long can we keep this up, though? If the Stranger's right... what happens when the real invasion shows up?"
"You're thinking too far ahead, marine. We hold this station. If we have to flee, then we flee and hold onto our lives. We do that as many times as we can until our numbers run up, the aliens give up, or we build a damn spaceship of our own. Little Bird, that can be your job. Learn how to build a spaceship. We'll keep you alive. Right marines?"
Dumas says gently, "Hoorah." Fredericks adds, less enthusiastically, "Hoorah..." The little girl looks down in disappointment though.
Fisher stays at it, though, retorting, "But Sarge... We're beat to stuffing already. And, it's only been a day."
Grey scoffs, retorting dryly, "Then why'd you get off the elevator, ya idiots?"
Fisher chuckles and looks down. He replies without looking at Grey, "You ain't led us astray yet Sarge. Not about to get a new squad leader now."
Grey chuckles. He then says calmly, "Hancock, you and Little Bird find cover. You'll be our fallback position. The rest of us will help the Stranger hold them off as long as possible. Hopefully, they'll give up."
Hancock asks nervously, "Uh... c-can I borrow a mag or two?"
Grey looks at the rookie, surprised. Hancock replies, "I'm... I'm completely out, Sergeant."
Grey chuckles and replies, "So, you're a marine after all, huh? Here;" Grey hands the rookie a rifle magazine, left over from his own lost rifle. "Last mag."
Hancock nods and carefully lets Little Bird reload his rifle, demonstrating that he's already been doing everything he can to keep the little girl from panicking or shutting down. And she, accepting of her sudden surrogate family, is trying to stay as positive as possible.
Dumas asks, "Uh... where is the Stranger?"
Grey looks around. With all the noise and chaos still apparent in the distance, no one noticed the mysterious supersoldier disappearing. Did he engage the hostiles? Alone?
Grey calls out, "Let's go!" He charges as fast as his injuries will allow, carefully peering around the wall to the outside. Once more, the stranger doesn't disappoint.
Walking across a circle of felled aliens, the stranger has a less-armored alien by the collar, dragging it mercilessly. One of the smaller alien craft is parked idle on the ground behind him. This alien, unlike its shocktrooper compatriots, is much smaller by comparison, and it panics, flailing and kicking as the stranger mercilessly drags it toward the marines. He tosses it onto the ground and holds it at sword point.
The stranger growls, "IFF code."
The alien glances at the group of humans, saying nervously, "No s-spick hoomen. {No speak human.}" It's strange for Grey to finally see terror on one of the aliens' faces. It's also relieving.
The stranger steps, jabbing the blade into the alien's armor and touching its skin. It winces from pain.
Thinking quickly, the rookie marine blurts out something rather surprising. Hancock says, "Wow. I'm just glad he didn't say 'parlay', right Sarge?"
Grey doesn't get it right away. It's so far off topic, he can only stare blankly at the young marine. But, Dumas apparently gets it. He replies, "You're right, Rookie. If he said that, we'd have to hold back and bring him to our commander. He'd have to decide what to do then."
Hancock adds, "Yeah. We'd spend all night just trying to get this bug to the command post."
Fisher chimes in, "Good thing these stupid space gators don't know anything about our rules of engagement and parlay."
Grey stares at the marines with a stone like expression. His actual thoughts are that this extraterrestrial warrior, member of a race so advanced, it kicked humanity's teeth in with just one single attack, couldn't possibly fall for such a simple ruse. It makes sense what they're doing, but there's no...
"P-parr-lay," growls a deep voice with excellent pronunciation, but no human traits to such. Apparently, it WAS that gullible.
Fredericks growls, "So, you DO understand us fine?"
The alien growls in retort, bearing its teeth in an impudent smirk. It retorts, "Take to leader. Dee code, law."
"Code?" asks Fisher, confused.
Still surprisingly fast for his youth, Hancock replies, "The pirate code. Our sacred human texts, sir. If... this were a movie."
The alien furrows its leathery brow, trying to understand. The stranger replies to the invader's confusion, "We have no such code outside of fiction. This is an active battleground and we have no evidence that we captured to you. You'll be 'just another casualty'. Code to your mother ship. NOW."
The alien pauses nervously. It starts to reply, "N-No s-spick h-h..."
"Take his hands," growls Sergeant Grey. "Life gets hard real quick without hands."
In a flash, the stranger swings, halting at the alien's wrist. He snarls, "Last chance. Tell me, or you lose them both."
The alien stares at him. Its jaw trembles, but it summons the defiance to hiss at him, like an actual alligator would. The stranger says coldly, "Your martyrdom is noted." With that, he swiftly slices off the alien's hand, and it groans, trying to suppress its screams. It instinctively clutches its wrist. It tries to focus to block out the pain. However, its second wrist is separated from it just as swiftly, and this causes the alien to cry out. It bellows in a growling howl and hiss of agony.
The stranger steps on its chest to reaffirm his presence, calling out, "Listen! We'll take you with us, and our scientists will experiment on you for the rest of your life! Which, they will ENSURE is long and painful!"
Grey suddenly realizes something. Why do they even need the codes? Does the stranger somehow know the ship won't fly without them?
The alien squirms and groans, hissing in pain as it tenses its arms, trying to stop the pain. The stranger snarls, "Last chance! A lifetime of suffering, or one ship!?"
The alien strains. It finally grunts out, "N-ne-nuhvuur beetree! {N-ne-never betray!}"
The stranger visibly pops his lips at the corner of his mouth, teeth tightly clenched in calm anger. He says coldly, "So be it." He says calmly to Grey, "Sergeant; you and your men clear that craft. I'll bring our guest."
Grey nods. "You heard him. Check your corners, marines." The stranger says to the two women and Hancock –who still has Little Bird-, "Go with them. Please. It's safe."
Hancock nods, following Fisher, Dumas, and Fredericks. Grey watches a moment as Hancock asks, "You remember what I taught you about checking corners?"
The little girl nods wearily, and Kenzie quickly joins them. Tanya hesitates longest. The stranger gestures for her to go using his head. She walks away hesitantly, joining Grey.
As the two walk, the alien howls in an agonized scream the likes of which had still yet to have been heard by Grey. He knows, because it ALMOST makes him feel bad for the off-worlder. But, only for a fleeting moment.
Break 1
The alien craft looks and feels as fantastic and science fiction as Grey could imagine, with a huge windowed view of the sky over the top and sides, like the deceptively solid walls of the exterior are transparent one-way mirrors. Further aiding this notion, they can't see any sort of pixelation, back lighting, or anything else consistent with a computer screen, but the scope feels absurdly impossible. The main bay is roomy by human standards, with huge, simple benches and cargo netting –the most familiar part of this alien ship to a marine-. Some sort of control console has a glass-like vertical planning board, but with tiny metal replicas of the ship he's on moving all on their own. Some sit or drift slowly perfectly on the circular perimeter of the grid, while others drift at different locations between the outside circle and the center, which contains a stationary ship replica.
Out of curiosity, Grey looks through the wall at the angle that seems to make sense, and sure enough, the tiny ships correspond to actual craft of the invasion force. It is an active GPS of all friendly units, with little metal bearings Grey suspects represent the troopers, given their numbers.
The cockpit is recognizable in a sense, and it's in the front of the ship, but the signals, alien words, and strange displays combine into a sensory-overloading swarm of information.
Most importantly, though, as expected; the ship is clear of hostiles. Fisher checks a 'closet' he found, calling out, "Clear!"
Fredericks drops a deckplate he lifted, calling, "Clear!"
Little Bird, her head peeking into an overhead space with the assistance of Hancock as she stands on his shoulders, calls out from her perch, "C-Clear!" Hancock carefully lowers her, and Grey asks pseudo-intensely, "Are you sure, marine? Our lives depend on there being none of the space crocs up there."
Little Bird nervously nods, fidgeting with Hancock's collar. Grey retorts gruffly, "I can't HEAR a nod, marine."
"S-sir yes sir!" She squeaks, imitating what little she knows. He smiles and replies, "Good work, Little Bird." She summons a faint smile, even through all of the fear and surreal despair swirling around them. For better or worse, they are all they have in the world.
The stranger appears suddenly, tossing the last alien into the ship's troop bay. Grey quickly realizes everything; the alien is still alive, hissing, growling lowly, and squirming faintly. Additionally, it's wrists have been cauterized. The stranger intends to keep his threat true.
The stranger says calmly, "Tend to any of her other injuries. I'll see if this thing can make me a pilot or I can guess."
"'Her'?" asks Dumas skeptically. "How did you divine that?"
"She told me."
Tanya defensively snaps, "You can't seriously be still considering torturing HER can you!?"
The stranger glances at her distantly. He says nothing, but his presence seems eerily tranquil and gentle. He simply steps forward into the cockpit. He refuses to answer. Tanya barks, "You can't do this! He can't do this! Alex! Please! Don't let him do this!"
Grey looks at her and then at the alien slipping in and out of consciousness. He glances out at the once-great city being ransacked. He can still hear the screams, though it is finally only the haunting memory instead of ongoing actuality.
Fredericks offers gently, "She's right, Sarge. Scientists can study a corpse. We should put it... 'her' out of her misery."
Dumas growls, "Screw that! Look at our home! OUR home! These... THINGS still have theirs to return to!"
Tanya shouts, "That doesn't justify torturing her! It wouldn't justify torturing anyone!"
"Stop treating IT like it's a person! It's a monster!"
"SHE is a sentient living thing!"
As Tanya and Dumas descend into heated debate on the morality of their prisoner's treatment, Grey notices something else. The alien female is staring at Little Bird with watering eyes, and Little Bird, in turn, is matching her gaze. Little Bird is sitting between Kenzie and Hancock on the bench as the two rest their eyes. The little girl climbs down off of the tall seat, and she approaches.
Grey hopes the alien understands what nightmares will be inflicted in the present if she harms the little girl. After all, the aliens seem cautious about harming children in the first place for some reason. His own curiosity burning, Grey watches closely. Little Bird approaches the alien and studies her closely. Hancock finally notices, but Grey gestures for him to hold. Tanya and Dumas are nearly screaming now, and Grey states, "Quiet." His brain is locked on the little girl and the alien. He yells, "Quiet!"
Everything halts. The ship falls eerily quiet as everyone but Little Bird and the alien look at him.
Little Bird's eyes water. She chokes out, "W-Why?"
The alien's misty eyes avert, and she tries to look away.
Little Bird presses, asking more passionately, "W-Why did they hurt my mommy and daddy!? Why did your friends hurt US!?"
The alien tries to close her eyes, but tears still escape them.
The alien chokes out, "Yuu cool heeve been nobuhl. L... like preensense. {You could have been noble. L... Like princess.}"
"Preensense?" asks Fisher. "You mean Princess?"
The alien nods reluctantly. Dumas snaps, "HOW!? By exterminating us!? You scale bags worship death!?"
The alien growls, "Not you!" Her expression softens, and she nods at Little Bird.
Kenzie asks, "What did you want with the children?"
The alien looks away, hurt.
Little Bird squeaks, "I didn't want to be a princess. I just want my mommy and daddy." The young girl quickly dissolves into sobs, and she runs to Sergeant Grey. He reacts quickly enough to scoop her up into a hug. She bawls into his collar.
The alien looks up at them briefly; longingly. But, she quickly looks away. The reptilian face is surprisingly expressive, and Grey senses there is a far deeper reason behind the motivation than simple galactic conquest.
Sergeant Grey asks gently, "What happened to your people?"
The alien looks at him square in the eye. Her eyes are a fiery shade of amber, with cat-like-slits for pupils –but with one distinction; one is vertical and the other horizontal. She says quietly, "Hoobreece. {Hubris.}"
********