The Hunt and Slaughter Begins!

9/20/2010

Dray:

Solemn was the greeting that the group disembarking from the mercenary ship received as they entered the large docking bay within the space station. At every corner, security guards stood watch -- not only at doors, but near ventilation shafts, drainage sluices, and other cracks in the system from which small, dangerous bodies could emerge.

Some of the party were already waiting aboard, and were rendezvousing with offworld hunters in the next wave of fighters. Star City was already fully under lock down, after all: after the first wave of reapings, most every civilian had either scrambled to evacuate the station or had locked themselves in their own homes. Many waves of fighters had entered from this very port, however by the looks of the security guards greeting the party, things were not going entirely well.

The party disembarking from the ship had arrived from Driolo, the dusty, planet-side sister city to Star City's space port; normally offworlders and Nexians could enter the station at various teleportation points, however these had been locked up to avoid any further disasters. From Driolo, they had been shuttled via mercenary ship here, though it seemed as though their pilot and crew were more anxious to join the fighting than to continue ferrying. Such was the wants of mercenaries!

In any case, the Guard who greeted them waited for the last party member to disembark before booming in a loud, ragged voice, "welcome to Star City; you are here to fight xenomorphic dragons -- if you are /not/ here to fight xenomorphic dragons, you are on the wrong ship and I highly urge you to leave, as this station is under complete lock down!

"As you know, the station has been partially taken by these entities, though intelligence on their Queen and Hive are scarce. The density of forces rises as one travels further towards the top decks, however there are Facehugging sons of bitches all the way through down to the Flight decks. We need help at ALL quarters; several elevators have been secured to transport you to each deck, and bases prepared to tend the wounded... but beyond that, it is every dragon -- and man -- for himself. Any questions?"

StarFyre:

Snaedis glanced around the set up with an air of boredom. She was here to pressgang some new hive members, whether or not the people of the Station approved, just like she'd done with Penopir so long ago. Really, the snow-marked Queen could care less what happened to the station, although... ::Alright!:: Rohe gushed, totally enthused with the entire thing, ::Let's go smash us some badguys!:: Penopir kept close to Snaedis' side, growling and hissing at any non-hive-members that got even vaguely close to HER Queen. Snaedis wondered if she'd made the right choices in who to bring....

Shard:

Baeris sat quietly, no - silently, between the two most particularly disparate and opposite Sangers she knew. Atrocity wanted to reach over and annoy Kalkin, Kalkin might have started throttling the much bigger man if not for Baeris's caustic sidelong gaze.

"Stop it, both of you," she said.

Phoenix:

Gavin Vance, the Minister of Security, was not here to take command. Though he stood to the side, recently arrived and watching the latest batch of mercenaries arrive to the greetings and organization of his officers, this catastrophe had seen the Minister abandon his desk and join the fray personally. Yes, he was a man that was now as much a xeno himself as he was human, mentally queen to an entire hive of his own, but Star City was HIS turf and he wanted these motherloving xenodragons off his motherloving station. He'd traded his suit for standard security armor and set his hive to work at rooting out the infection. The only one standing with him now was Gavess, the warrior that was in many ways an extension of himself. As they watched the arrivals, they shifted their stance and attention in unison, like a single mind given two bodies.

Beside them, the most unlikely companion possible, was a yautja in full battle regalia. The /Abstract Destiny/ had joined forces with Star City, and Rhakarndi was only one of many soldiers who had departed the ship (now orbiting rather than attached to the city) to join the fight to reclaim the station. She towered over the man beside her, making low rattling sounds inside her mask, eager to rejoin the fight.

Yakima:

Kesukiath was nearly bouncing in his enthuasim to get going. While Jarel and Aenon, both ready for some 'real work', made sure their daggers (orn Jarel's case a longer, thin knife) were secure and ready, their gear (what litle they wanted to carry into the war-zone) was packed, the wraith dragon was looking like a very excited puppy ready to play ball. "Oh, have a bit of pacients," Aenon grumbled. "We're going..." Kesukiath nearly whinned. "You humans take to long," he grumbled. "I want to go kill some bugs!!!" Jarel snorted. "We all do now sit!" Kesukiath stuck his tounge out at him. "What deck, O Smart One," Jarel asked, beaming at Aenon who rolled his eyes. "Dostn' matter to me," Aenon said. "As long as we get away from the glaring bundle of fur ov erhtier," he said, gesturing to the pouting Iarion who had, grudingly, agreed to help the medicial staff.

Shard:

"Well, since neither of you knows your way around the place," Atrocity said with one of his most snide chuckles, "I'm going to head up to the Housing deck to see if any of my old stuff is still there. Come along if you want... or don't." It was very clear that he was on his way, and rather than be left behind or somehow show that either of them were 'inferior' to the beastly Sanger, Baeris and Kalkin both sped off after him with very little pretext.

Yakima:

"I pick the Housing Deck!" Kesukiath cried and bolted for the portal. Only Aenon's mental rein on his dragon prevented him from leaving. "Hold on, spirit-brain!"

Muttering, Kesukiath returned to Aenon and Jarel. While the elf was laughing, Aenon only shook his head, signling his willowwhisps out of sight. "I can't believe you let them come," Jarel muttered. "Their useless." "Ha," Aenon laughed. "Just wait till they save your sorry elven a$$, pointy-ears. Now," he said resting a hand on Kesukiath's shoulder, "Now we head out." "Xenos," Jarel muttered. "I've heard they'r ugly as hell and scary, too. Well, lets give 'em a taste of Sentran magic!" "I'm not Sentran!" kesukiath growled as they walked off. "I'm a wraith." "Yeah, yeah," Jarel sighed. "Just be aleart. I don't want to end up being healed by Iarion with an 'I told you so'!"

StarFyre:

Having consulted with one of the guards about the available decks, Snaedis reigned her two hive members in and started stalking towards an elevator to take them to the Hatching Bay. As they went, though, Penopir, xenophobic, unfriendly drone that she was, hissed loudly at Rhakarndi from the safety of her Queen's side. Rohe reached over and thumped Penpoir on the head before Snaedis could do anything, though.

Xalia:

Rifan grunted eagerly at the explanation given. He needed no explanation. There were xenos here that needed killing and he intended to do it. Left to his own devices he'd have charged straight to the Hatching Bays, seeking out the highest risk possible, but in truth, living with Garskit on Kilandaia, where /nothing/ ever seemed to happen, had made him softer than he liked and he was all too aware of his bond's frailties here as well. He turned his big head to his bond and raised an eyebrow. Garskit on the other hand looked about ready to crawl out of his skin. "I can't believe you talked me into this, Rif. What am I doing here? These xenos will chew me up and spit me out..." "If they can catch you, Gar," Rifan reminded his bond. "You're fast and you're stealthy, and I'm big enough that they'll be watching me, not you."

Airy:

"I wish we had the rest of the crew with us," Shaine said as she followed Vir and Haroruu into the small crowd of mercenaries. "I never feel like my back is covered without the rest of them."

"Just remember that you wanted to come here," Vir stated flatly.

"We already discussed this," Shaine checked the safety on her rifle. It was off, and the gun was nestled securely in its holster, ready to go. "This is my home. I didn't like the idea of just sitting back and letting it become a xeno hive." Haroruu let out a deep growl of disapproval, but Shaine thought that the Grue looked ready for a fight anyway. Not that he ever wasn't ready for a fight. "We disagree on so many things," Vir pointed out.

"If my home was a giant, rotting squid full of slavers, I wouldn't care about it either," Shaine punched the man to accentuate her point. Vir ignored her. "We don't disagree on too many things." She added dejectedly. As much as she cared about Vir and his blood thirsty bond, Shaine still wasn't sure that she liked working with them. They were too distant, and not familiar in the way her other companions were. She just couldn't refuse Vir's offer to help, even if he thought her reasons for coming were silly. "Where to?" He asked as the three of them came on one of the elevators. "Housing deck," Shaine said without hesitation.

Xalia:

"Fine then," muttered Garskit, "I suppose you want to throw us straight into the most dangerous area available?" Rifan grinned, "If you think you can handle it..." "I'm not so sure /you/ can handle it, Rif," replied Garskit, his tone still tense. "Hasn't life on Kilandaia made you soft, yet?" The echo of his own thoughts didn't change Rifan's demeanor one bit, if anything it made his grin more fierce. "All the more reason to get back in fighting trim here..."

jess:

Magdenai, Omon, and Selien stood in the docking bay at Star City. They'd been exploring one of the more remote worlds when they got word of the xenodragon infestation, and had hurried back. As they hadn't found a permanent home yet, they usually used Star City as their home base. Having it invaded by a hive of xenos was not acceptable. When they got to Driolo, they got a nice room, and Narokith, who was too young to fight still, stayed with Brenthar, safely on the surface, while the other three headed up to give their assistance.

After hearing the current situation, the trio looked at each other. "Well, I don't particularly want to see how badly they've messed up our rooms, so let's not go to the housing deck just yet," Selien commented drily. "I say let's head for the commerce decks for now. Any objections?" Neither Magdenai or Omon had any, so they headed for the elevator.

Phoenix:

(( StarFyre )) Their brief survey made, the trio turned about and returned to the elevator dedicated to carrying soldiers up to the high-risk Hatching Bay areas. They could not dedicate themselves to anything less, of course. Human, xenodragon, and yautja all eyed the other trio of xeno-creatures approaching the elevator with suspicion, but no hostility. Well, mostly none. Rhakarndi lazily tossed a rude gesture at the one that hissed at her.

StarFyre:

(( Phoenix )) Before Penopir could make yet another social gaff, Snaedis whipped her head around and snapped her jaws closed right in front of Penopir's face. So chastized by her precious Queen, Penopir resumed sulking at Snaedis' side. She did not want to be here, but she refused to leave Snaedis' side. Conundrum. Snaedis 'eyed' the other team of three briefly, decided that since they weren't actively attempting to kill her (yet), she wouldn't start anything, and merely nodded her head in a neutral greeting. Rohe, on the other hand... ::Oh! Are you going up too? How bad's it up there?::

Dray:

The motley gathering of fighters made their decisions quickly, and began to break apart as they were guided to the elevators necessary to reach their chosen decks.

Magdenai, Selien and Omon were the first to arrive at their designated location, and as the doors peeled back from the elevator, they were able to take in the Commerce Deck's full, ghostly glory. The rush of noise that usually accompanied life on this deck was strangely absent, as were all the neon advertisements and pulsing lights. In their place, a dull, red glow pervaded the deck from the main avenue at its base, up through the ranks of buildings all the way to the strip of light that helped compose a 'day' and 'night' cycle for the station. The three couldn't spot the tell-tale signs of resin that marked xenodragon Hive building, but that didn't mean much. For the moment, it seemed as though there was nothing here to greet them.

With a startling cry, one of the Security guards came up behind them and clapped Magdenai on the shoulder. "Good to see more fighters," she intoned, and pointed towards the hastily erected medbay. "If you're in trouble, we've got this area secured. Good luck out there, it's not pretty."

JKat:

Terra with Catrin quiet in the back of her mind, and Lahan and Neisan along beside, stood with varying levels of ease along the corridor towards the elevator. Having arrived with the same group that had brought Gavin, they had waited for the mercenary ship to dock with mounting anxiety. It hardly helped that Neisan, having spotted Rhakarndi, couldn't keep his mind off of the shame of being unblooded that mixed painfully with admiration for the yautja whose genetic information he and his siblings carried; at least Lahan's mind was quiet, waiting for the hunt to begin again with the same patience of a hunting spider. That was all inwards, however -- to the naked eye, the trained and experienced trio of Security Officers stood in formation, Terra a little to the front and between her bonds, and the dragons drawn up in stances of alertness. To his credit, Neisan didn't flinch when Rhakarndi passed them for the elevator, heading for the most dangerous of the decks; his eyes merely followed the yautja for a moment, before returning to attention. ~Calm down,~ Lahan told her brother through the bond they shared with Terra, rather than the Huntermind they also had access to; Terra had to smile at the larger female's tone. ~It's not as if she's staring daggers at you, anyways.~ After all, that was reserved for the xenomorphs in the group of mercenaries.

~Why are there even xenodragons IN the fighting groups?~ Neisan griped, shifting his stance just a touch, his mandibles twitching. ~We should not be letting more of their kind on the station. Different hive or not.~ Lahan mentally growled her agreement, but both were too well trained to dwell on the issue. Instead, they awaited the elevator that would take them to the Housing deck, and when it arrived, boarded in good time. Back into the fray.

Xalia:

Garskit shook his head and sighed. "Alright then...lead on...but you better be able to carry me free of danger if I get knocked out!" Rifan's grin got a little fiercer at his bonds words. "Deal, then we head for the Hatching Bays and see what happens!"

Phoenix:

(( StarFyre )) The cheerful greeting from the neon-vibrant xenodragon was...unexpected, but not so hard to be adapted to. Gavin's hive had similarly bubbly individuals and Rhakarndi...well, she lived on the Destiny. That should explain enough right there. While she took note of a few individuals of yautjadragon blood, it was Gavin that answered. "Of all the areas we have access to, it's the worst. Several of my hive have already been wounded and been put out of the fight up there. Good hunting to your hive -- we need all the fighters we can get up there."

Dray:

Meanwhile, it seemed that quite a few people were cramming in to the elevator to check out the Housing deck. So many, in fact, that it would take several trips for them all to arrive.

The three humans, Baeris, Atrocity and Kalkin, were able to fit in with Kesukiath, Aenon and Jarel, and when the six of them exited, they absorbed a similar sight as on the Commerce Deck. The obnoxious advertising was absent, but then so were all of the people. There was obvious damage from gunfire on several of the walls near the elevator, and the avenue that opened up across from it was marked by sand bags and turrets, currently manned. The groans of those in pain were audible from one of the tents set up, and two Security guards nodded gruffly to them, pointing out directions. No one could spot any xenodragon resin from the elevator, but then this place looked well defended. The same might not be able to be said from the alleyways that opened off from the main avenue, nor the stacks of buildings that terraced up and away to the ceiling high, high overhead.

The Sangers, swerving away from the fall-back position, didn't have long to search before a shrill, sharp noise met them: a darkly rose-coloured exoskeleton was peering at them from one wall, extra jaw extended in a silent scream. This creature was /huge/ fully sixteen feet to the shoulder when standing upright. It peered at them almost as one might peer at insects of little worth, as if it couldn't decide what to do with them.

Kesukiath, barging ahead of his human companions, nearly ran into the flying spring-coiled octoscorpian creature which was a facehugger, just barely managing to avoid having the thing strap itself to his face! It landed, skidding and skittering, near the two elves, its darkly turquoise webbing visible for a moment before it attempted to skitter away.

All this happened as the elevator was descending for its second batch. When it returned with Shaine, Vir, and the Grue, Haroruu, several of the guards momentarily stepped back. Xenodragons /and/ Grue?! It was almost too much to bear. When they realized taht Haroruu was relatively contained, however, they relaxed a fraction. One of the guards nodded over and pressed an extra medkit into Shaine's hands. "Might need this, it's rough out there."

StarFyre:

(( Phoenix )) Rohe nodded wisely, ::Thank you. Hopefully the three of us will be plenty. The rest had to stay back to help Akelara against Koshi Keidai.::

Dray:

The odd sextet of xenos, human and Yautja found their conversation interrupted by the elevator coming to an ominous halt. Outside, the constant barrage of weapons-fire could be heard, and when the doors opened, it became apparent that the hall they'd come in to had just barely been won by the humans and dragons guarding it. The walls were coated with resin -- while this wasn't new to the station, it was the first time that the resin had crept out of the hatching bays themselves and into the halls and offshoot rooms that flanked them. Sounds of fighting continued to follow them as they were greeted by a harried looking Star City Mutt wearing a badge of Authority. The dragon saluted when he spotted Gavin, and ducked his head gravely. "The fighting hasn't let up, sir. We keep killing them, but they keep coming!"

The trio of xenodragons were regarded with uncertainty, however, there being in the company of Minister Vance assuaged the fears of those gathered in the fall-back area. When they split off unto their own, however, who could say if they'd be taken as friend or foe? Whatever the case, Snaedis and her duo slipped away before they could be detained, just in case. It was hard to miss, then, the great chain that was half-embedded in the resined wall. It glowed with a flickering glitter of magic as they passed, especialy as Penopir stood over it. The light almost seemed to resonate with little lightning flickers...

Gavin and his odd pair were immediately confronted with a rearing, snarling brown drone, one that obviously wished them harm!

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Curious, Penopir stopped moving, split away from Snaedis side, and crawled up to the chain embedded in the wall. Carefully using her claws, she dug the chain out of the wall and examined it closely. (12) Snaedis, realizing that Penopir had stopped, went back to also see what the drone had uncovered, while Rohe took a guard stance and watched for any approaching enemies. (16)

Dray:

The two Yautjadragons and their odd bond stepped off of the elevator to a deck that was quite literally home to them, though it had been changed by this most recent set of ravages. They were greeted as acquaintances by the guards around the fall-back point, and wished well as they set out. They would need it, too, as just as they turned a corner, Terra caught sight of the flicker of turquoise armor of a creature most definitely warrior-sized!

(( Xalia )) Rifan and Garskit, taking a deck higher, were privy to all of the damage that xenodragon infestations could bring: resin-coated walls, bullet-spattered /everything/, and tense, terrified soldiers who had been pressed to their limit. And they weren't even in the bays proper, yet, only the hallway skirting the bays! Rifan was given a nod of approval by another yautjadragon guard, though his unblooded status was noted, and so his greeting was not as warm as it could be. The two were sent out with all expectations of death and dismemberment, however, the first creature to cross their path was barely larger than Garskit's torso: a flicker of brown on the body of a snake-like burstling as it spotted them and, terrified, attempted to duck back through one of the resin-coated vents.

Shard:

(( Dray )) Without even pausing, though her eyes were wide as could be and her pupils down to pinpoints of black on the rich peacock-blue iris, Baeris leveled a spray of her super-secret bug bait at the Xeno. She was sure that it worked on SOME xenos, as they had quite a lot of them back on the Healing Den. But those tended to be considerably smaller, and a lot more friendly. (( 13 ))

Dray:

(( StarFyre )) From the chain hung an amulet that sparkled with tiny flickers of light -- it was dragon-sized, strangely enough! (Magic Pendant: Magic+2!) Distracted as they were, they didn't at first spot the deep blue-armored warrior that was stalking up to greet them -- and dispose of them, for that matter!

Xalia:

(( Dray )) Rifan snarled as he caught sight of the burstling and leapt forward in an attempt to both land on it and ensnare it in his claws. (19)

Airy:

"Thanks," Shaine said as she took the medpack from the guard. She glanced back at the rest of the dispersing group as Vir and his bond trotted off into the dimmed deck. "Maybe we should have teamed up with someone," she said uncertainly. Vir paused to give her a confused look, and then, after being proded by his bond, continued walking. "You never wanted to work with anyone else before," he noted.

Shaine knew that Vir didn't like working with other people either; he didn't trust most of them, but he wasn't against shoring up his odds either. "Yeah," the woman said. "But Xenos are a bit different than our normal targets." Shaine made sure to keep a close eye on Haroruu. The Grue was constantly making short bursts of sound that she knew was allowing it to echolocate. Haroruu would probably sense things coming long before even Vir, who had quite an amazing sense of smell for a human, could tell that something was coming.

"Well," Vir said after a while. "What's the worst that can happen?" Shaine frowned at him. "We die..." she said. "Or get impregnated..." The man shrugged. "Doesn't Star City have some nice medical tech?" He asked. "Sure," Shaine said. She tugged her gun out of its holster. "But you never know." Vir let loose a growling sound that Shaine associated with his laughter, and then the three of them continued on down one of the halls of housing deck.

JKat:

(( Dray )) Through the bond, the knowledge of Terra's sighting spread to her bonds in an instant. She was, after all, to be their eyes today -- she could hardly knock out a xenomorph with the kind of bite she'd use to render more humanoid targets unconscious with, she couldn't shrug off the effects of their acid blood like her bonds could. She fell back behind her pair as the yautjadragons moved forward, sweeping the area with sharp eyes ((check 4)). Lahan, eager with bloodlust, moved ahead of her brother towards where the xenodragon had been spotted, on guard ((prepping action; attack xeno if it's spotted again)), while Neisan hung back a little, ready to circle around and flank the warrior ((prepping that action)).

Shard:

(( Dray )) Though Kalkin and Atrocity may have been quite at odds personality-wise, there was one thing they shared: they knew how to fight. Since they were already on opposite sides of 'their' woman, both swung into action as she sprayed the area. Kalkin hoped the spray did stun the beast. Atrocity did not.

Xalia:

((Dray)) Garskit, surprised that their first encounter was with such a small xeno but trusting that his bond could take care of it, decided instead to work on hiding himself in the shadows. He knew his best chance for survival was to stay out of sight and back up Rifan when his bond needed it. (17)

Shard:

(( Dray )) Atrocity's knowledge of how these creatures worked went to his advantage, and his bulk helped a lot as well. He threw himself toward the xeno, attempting to force it out into the hall more fully with just the impact of his blow. (( 18! ))

Dray:

(( Airy )) It seemed as though their chatting was causing some attention: An indigo-domed Warrior dropped from the ceiling, attempting to land upon the Grue that it perceived to be its biggest threat. Despite Haroruu's lightning-fast reflexes, it appeared that the two were equally matched: The Warrior landed a raking blow against the Grue! (4 damage for Haroruu!)

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Rohe, finally spotting the warrior, sent a ::Wake up, you two!:: to her hive members then lunged forward with a shriek, taking a swipe at the warrior with her tail. (9) Snaedis, a bit more on the ball than Penopir, jerked herself around and whipped her ever-present snow into jagged needles of ice and hurled them through the air at the warrior's side. (5) Penopir, clutching the pendant close to her chest, chittered angrily and sent a stream of lightning at the xeno from it's other side. (16)

Shard:

(( Dray )) Meanwhile on the other side, Kalkin watched the creature for any sign of weakness. It didn't look like something that big and that well armored could *have* weaknesses... ((15))

Phoenix:

(( Dray )) "As long as they keep coming, we keep killing them!" Gavin answered the officer-dragon, at the same time that Gavess briefly lowered himself to the ground and allowed Gavin to climb aboard between the second pair of back-spines. "We've held the line and we will STILL hold the line!" His brief and impromptu speech was accompanied by a rallying screech from Gavess as the xenodragon stood again, and then all three marched back into the resin-coated hallways they were now all too familiar with.

(( Dray ))The clustered triple-dots of Rhakarndi's plasmacaster roved the semi-darkness already, her eyes alert behind the scanners of her mask, so she was the first to react to the far-from-subtle appearance of the drone. Silent in comparison to Gavess' return-screech, Rhakarndi fired, a white-hot blast of energy streaking through the air at their attacker! (13)

(( Dray )) Though eager to fight, Gavin and Gavess were of the same mind and waited for Rhakarndi's shot before Gavess leapt forward, bringing claws and teeth to bear, set to tear apart armor and carapace while Gavin lashed out with his very mind, the only weapon he had with him. (Gavess 17, Gavin 3)

Dray:

(( Shard )) The Warrior poised directly in front of Baeris /sneezed/, of all things, but didn't seem to react otherwise to the spray. Atrocity's bull-rush, on the other hand, seemed to do just the trick: The Warrior was shoved, to its surprise, up against a sign-post that had been bent by previous fighting, and the sharp end pierced through its hide, spraying acidic blood in every which direction. (7 damage to the xeno, with 2 natural 20's and a 19 for the acid spray... crap. xD) All three of the humans found themselves spackled with a caustic mixture of blood, which quickly began to eat through their clothes and burn into their flesh. (Acid does 1 damage per turn; Roll 1d20 and add their Resist to it, if it's higher than 13, the damage is ended!)

It couldn't be that easy... Kalkin, watching the creature writhe on the pole, had his weakness... and something more, in fact. The dark-haired man heard a strange, high-pitched 'ping!'ing noise, and traced it to its source: a little screen discarded with a bloody hand still attached, its tech marking off in dull lines the outlines of houses, spots pinging to mark the location of the nearly dead Warrior... Speaking of which, the beast had lashed out at Atrocity, but the pole it was bound to was not allowing it to get any solid hits in against the quickly healing man!

(( Xalia )) The Yautjadragon easily captured the creature, crushing it without a second thought. Acid leaked from between his large fingers, though Rifan of course did not feel its bite. It was lucky, then, that Garskit had slunk into the shadows, for an indigo-armored warrior shrieked in indignation and dropped from the shadows, trying to land on the Yautja--(1! XD) However, in its indignation, it slipped, crashing to the resinous floor. (1 damage to itself!)

Shard:

(( Dray - rolls )) Baeris got a 11+4=15, Atrocity got an 18+ (no need), Kalkin got a 19+ (no need) :D

jess:

(( Dray ))Taking note of the medbay's location, Magdenai nodded at the guard. "Thank you, I'm glad there's somewhere safe we can fall back to if needed!" She turned her attention back to the hall in front of her, where Omon was already pacing forward, alert to any movement ahead (12). Selien moved slightly behind and to the left of the hybrid yautjadragon, carefully watching for anything that may try to sneak up on them from that side (16). Magdenai followed, falling in behind and to the right, keeping her eyes open and focused to that general direction (11). They headed forward into the odd silence of the normally busy commerce level.

Dray:

(( JKat )) It seemed as though Terra couldn't spot any new activity at the moment, which was a thankful thing, given the turquoise-hulled Warrior after her two bonds! It leapt from the shadows again, wings spread wide to attack Lahan, but the two Yautjadragons were on high alert: They sidestepped the creature, and began laying in on it. Lahan managed a strafing blow, bringing the xeno to its knees, and Neisan, with quick precision, severed the creature's head from its body. It was a fight that could only be commended!

Shard:

(( Dray )) Atrocity laughed, taunting the great beast, almost unaware of the acid that spurted around. Almost: he enjoyed it, so it didn't even matter to him. Kalkin gave a quick look at Baeris who seemed to have no trouble herself dabbing at the stuff, while he himself merely shrugged it away onto the nearby wall.

Dray:

(( StarFyre )) The xeno-trio descended upon the warrior with savage glee, slashing and zapping it until it collapsed, unconscious, upon the resin-encrusted floor. From beneath it, a teal-coloured facehugger squirmed and leapt -- not at the xenodragons surrounding it, but in a desperate attempt to flee to safety and more delicious morsels!

Shard:

(( Dray )) Atrocity's only apparent regret was that this massive beast wasn't too likely to survive. "Damn what a pity I can't bring this one home!" He snarled, taking a moment to grab for its tail and pull so it was further embedded on the pole. ( 13 )

Airy:

(( Dray )) Haroruu let out an angry screech, and flashed his wings outwards in an effort to pummel the other creature off of himself. (11) Vir pulled his weapon from its holster the moment the xeno had attacked, and the pain of his bond only drove him to move faster. However, he was hesitant to fire at the creature when it was so close to the Grue. It's acid blood might do more damage than its claws... though that was hard to say. Luckily, Shaine's reflexes brought her own abilities to bare a mere split second behind her companions, and she sent a burst of telekinetic energy at the xeno, hoping to push it off and away from Haroruu so that she and Vir could fire on it. (5)

JKat:

(( Dray ))The spike of adrenaline that shot through Terra as her two bonds countered and moved in for the kill was quickly assuaged by the cool satisfaction in seeing a job extremely well done. Whatever else could be said about them, Lahan and Neisan always worked as a well-oiled team while on the job. Terra and Catrin shared their pride with the two yauties, but it was only for a moment. There was, of course, still an entire station to clean out. Lahan shook her arms, going through the motions of loosening them up after the hardy blow, and Neisan shook xenomorph blood from his talons with grim satisfaction. Terra moved forward between her two bonds, and with a wordless mental prompt, the trio began to move forward in formation once more. Terra's gaze swept left, right, up, down -- keeping a keen eye out for anything moving. ((check 15))

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Content with the way things had turned out, Penopir took a moment to slip the chain of the pendant over her head so that it hung from her neck. Rohe, gleeful with the fighting, pounced upon the fleeing facehugger, her claws fisted so that she didn't slice the thing to shreds while pounding it! It was such a pity Snaedis had commanded they capture as many as possible! (10) Snaedis crawled up onto the ceiling and began to survey the area, looking for the best way to go and also checking to make sure nothing else was sneaking up on them. (17)

Yakima:

"Oh, ugly!" Jarel cried, nearly jumping behind Aenon as if his friend was going to save him from the creature. "That was NOT what I expected!"

"You've gotten soft," Aenon sighed before sending a mental command to Kesukiath. Get your undead tail back over here before I attack YOU! The wraith dragon didn't really need to be told. His pride hurt just a bit, Kesukiath growled and leap toward the facehugger with a snarl. Oh, that's a genius move, Aenon sighed, his blade ringing as it was drawn from the leather sheath. I hope it eats you.

Kesukiath snorted. "Yeah, well, that's what it tried to do or did you miss that while gawking at the war zone?" the wraith snarled...

Dray:

(( Yakima )) As the trio quarrelled, the facehugger turned about and launched itself again, this time going for the girlish shriek of Jarel. (Oh crap, it got a 19!) The elf, catching the brunt of the creature in the stomach, quickly found the facehugger scrambling up his torso with spider-thin legs, reaching hungrily for his face... (Jarel takes 1 HP damage!)

Xalia:

(( Dray )) Rifan roared as the warrior landed beside him and instantly leapt on him, claws, feet, and teeth all seeking to rip into the creature. (15) In the meantime, Garskit, eyes wide in fear at the xeno that almost fell on his bond, inched closer through the shadows, hoping to find an opening that wouldn't expose him to the xeno's fury. (12)

Dray:

(( Phoenix )) Rhakarndi's canon blew the Drone's head from its body in a sickening splatter of acidic goo. It was only that resin coated every available surface that kept the caustic blend from eating holes through the hulls of the deck! The xenomorphic pair ripped apart any last shreds of life of the creature, though on their rampage, they started up a little, cool-coloured burstling. This one, very close to Gavess, shrieked a tiny shriek and attempted to dart back into the safety of the coils of resin from which it had been roused!

(( Jess D )) It seemed as though they were not to be met by any danger at this point: though they passed a couple of shattered glass store-fronts, none could spot any lurking shadows from within. Perhaps if they were to look through the alleys or corridors, they might find more to fight, but out here on the wide, open avenue, the xenodragons seemed to be keeping to the shadows.

(( Shard )) Atrocity's savagery did not go to waste: the xenodragon fell limp as something struck a vital organ, though it did not seem to be completely dead. In fact... at this rate, it seemed likely that the Sanger /could/ take the creature home with him, if he were so inclined!

Shard:

(( Dray )) Baeris saw the look in Atrocity's eye. "You ... are joking, right? Where are you going to KEEP something like that?!"

Atrocity only laughed, "I've got two hydragons and more, remember I keep collecting them since you chased me out of the Den."

Dray:

(( Airy )) The Grue's shaking did the trick, throwing the Warrior from his back and smashing it with brutal force against one wall. (7 damage to the xeno!) Shaine's push dragged it half-way up a wall and, reaching the limit of that terrace, the xenowarrior was flung over the side and up to the street above, making a horrific shrieking noise as it was left out of sight. A moment later, a second shriek came up and a xenodragon boiled over the side -- but this was not the same warrior at all, it was a purple-armored drone, fresh to battle, teeth flashing!

(( JKat )) As the trio (quartet, really) continued through the housing district, Terra noted a first-aid station had been flung open on one wall, all but a single huge needled -- an adrenaline shot -- had been ripped away for someone's earlier use. (Adrenaline Shot, +5HP)

(( StarFyre )) The facehugger squirmed and stung, but did little to hurt Rohe as she carefully captured it. Eventually it went limp under the pressure, ready to steal away. The snow-marked queen could spot the shadows of those fighting further down the hall, cast in stark relief against the red emergency lights, but it was only snake-like burstling that was slithering briefly out into the open to test the winds, as it were, that she could spot definitely.

Phoenix:

(( Dray )) The tiny creel caught the joined attention of Gavin/Gavess, and they were quickly glad that they were nearer than their yautja battle-companion. The adult minds of these xenomorph invaders were hostile and untrustworthy -- but perhaps the younglings could be saved. Gavin was of Star City, but he was no longer wholly human, and if he could save the children of his second species, then he intended to. Gavess leapt again, but this time his many-fingered paws reached out to grab and contain rather than harm (5) while Gavin attempted to stun the juvenile mind with his own (7). Rhakarndi, ill-positioned to interfere, looked around for other threats (8).

JKat:

(( Dray )) Anything was welcome, and as her bonds paused to oblige, Terra swung by the station and picked up the shot of adrenaline. What little it would do for her bonds, it was still something, and hopefully SHE wouldn't need it, given that they were doing the fighting today. When Lahan looked at her impatiently, she tucked the needle away carefully and trotted onwards, continuing their forward progress as well as her vigilance. ((check 4))

Airy:

(( Dray )) Haroruu retreated in a flash once the xeno was off of him, and much to Shaine's surprise it was she that the Grue sought refuge behind. She didn't know if she liked the creature being so close to her, where she couldn't see it, but before she could trip to shoe him away, another xeno was on the attack. Vir opened fire on the creature as soon as he caught sight of it. He hoped that the creature was far enough away for such an attack. (14) Shaine began shooting as well, content to ignore Haroruu for the moment. (13)

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) ::So, uh, Snaedis? Who're we using these 'huggers on?:: Rohe asked warily as she stowed the little facehugger away carefully. Snaedis didn't immediately respond, being intent on the little burstling that had revealed itself. She skittered across the ceiling and sent a blast of wind at the little creature, intent on knocking it out as handily as Rohe had knocked out the facehugger. (14) Penopir, choosing to take the ceiling path as well, skittered up alongside Snaedis again and went on alert, looking for more creatures. (14) Rohe sighed at the lack of response and trotted to keep up, choosing to walk along the floor, also on alert for anything other than the burstling that Snaedis probably had well in hand. (11)

Dray:

(( Xalia )) It seemed as though Garskit need not worry about his bond in the least. Though the two tangled dangerously, Rifan emerged victorious, having cracked the Warrior's spine with ease by grabbing it about the jaw and the back of its great, extended head. He hadn't finished a moment too soon, as a second warrior with a rich, green shell swooped out from a vent and feinted along Rifan's head. Though it caused no damage, it was difficult to get ahold of!

(( Shard, you can say that you've kept that Xeno if you want, and move on to the next; same goes for any time they get a xeno down to 0!)) As they argued, the drone facing Kalkin surged forward, doing no harm to the man but knocking him from his feet. It seemed less inclined to destroy the man as to drag him off... perhaps to a cruel end...? There was something strange about where Kalkin was standing -- er, lying, now. It was slippery, and right next to his free hand was a large, red-stained medpack (+10HP!) which had not yet even been opened. Perhaps they were arguing over the grounds of a recently fallen victim!

Yakima:

Aenon whirled when Jarel cried out, his dagger already drawn he reacted. The blade sparked to life, black light dancing around the hilt and spreading to the dark metal. "Kuzro Centis [Black Strike]!" He cried, plunging the dagger hilt into the creature, if anything to make it let go of Jarel.

Dray:

(( Yakima, so sorry, I mis-read your post! Speaking of which, I had asked if folks could roll a d20 with each action! I'd be very happy if you could add a result for each of your characters if they're attacking or trying to heal, etc!)) Not only did the darkly-sparkling metal of the blade cause the facehugger to release Jarel, it made it fall limp to the ground, thank goodness. The creature twitched once, though it wasn't quite dead yet; if they /really/ wanted, they could even keep it as a pet...

It was very unfortunate that, distracted by the nasty bug, they didn't notice a deeply glistening red-armored Warrior sneaking up on them. Only when it had pounced Kesukiath (5 damage to Kesu! the warrior rolled a natural 20!) did they realize what danger was upon them!

Shard:

(( Dray )) Baeris rolled her eyes at Atrocity, he'd find a place, that was sure. She wasn't too hot on bringing many back to the Den, herself, but they had proven expert at rooting around in the tunnels and even ridding the place of actual vermin. They were welcome as long as they played by her rules. She did make such a good queen after all... Maybe it was time to get her own little hive. She could feel Dulath somewhere far, far away either laughing or screaming incoherent insults. She'd find out when they got home. "Oh what's that?" She asked, as Kalkin rose and shook the blood off both the tracker and the medkit.

Xalia:

(( Dray )) Rifan roared in frustration at his failed attempts to get hold of the warrior and finally whirled 360 degrees in order to deal a blow with his thick tail. ( 7 ) At the same time, Garskit, finally emboldened by his bonds distress, dashed in to slash at the warrior from behind with his dagger, hoping his nimbleness would serve him well... (14)

Dray:

(( Phoenix )) While the joined pair silenced the Burstling -- not to death, but to intimidated subservience, Rhakarndi spotted the glint of a huge Yautjadragon throwing star. This weapon was familiar to her, though its bearer was not nearby. Neon-green blood marked it where it had been held, showing that its bearer had been injured. Though it seemed to have been broken, it was still in partial working order. If she could lift and throw it, it would make a second deadly weapon. (Yautja Throwing Star, +2 Attack/Damage)

jess:

(( Dray ))Omon paused, glancing around. Both of his companions did the same, wondering if he saw something, until his voice sounded in their minds. 'I think they aren't going to come this far into the open, not on this level. We should take one of the alleys.'

Magdenai nodded; she had seen nothing so far, and while that meant less danger, it didn't help the station any! Selien pointed her side. 'There's an alley running beside these shops; it would probably make a great place for the critters to hide.'

Shard:

(( Dray )) Atrocity seemed to have enjoyed that way too much. "Aww, you've got blood on you," he said to Kalkin, and before he could even move, Kalkin warned him off. "No you cannot lick it off," he said, slightly distracted. There was motion on the scanner, and he looked up the hall. "There are more, if you're quite done with this one, let's move on?"

jess:

Omon nodded, and moved to the left, leading the way into the indicated alley, ever vigilant for signs of the enemy (18). Magdenai followed, staying to the right, glancing into the nearest storefront as they passed (18); she hoped no one had been injured or worse in whatever atteck had shattered the window. To the left, Selien kept her eyes moving as she kept pace, making sure to occasionally look up, as the xenos were known as excellent climbers, and would be as likely to ambush from above as from the sides (17).

Dray:

(( JKat )) Terra's good eye-sight was what saved her from the outspread arms of the facehugger that had come gliding at her from higher up on the deck. Instead of latching on to her, it landed with a skittering 'clop' upon the deck a few feet behind her, whirling around to make a second pass!

(( Airy )) The green drone went down with a smoking hole in its shoulder, twitching convulsively, not quite dead but close. As the Warrior came over the edge of the ledge again, Shaine managed to blast it in the chest, so that it was now collapsed across the incapacitated drone. From behind Shaine, indeed, from behind Haroruu, a tiny shriek went up: the Grue had stepped upon a Burstling which was now trying valiantly to bite it on its ankle!

(( StarFyre )) Snaedis blast of wind knocked the burstling free, but didn't knock it out entirely. The little thing shrilled and squirmed, very nearly disappearing down an acid-rotted hole. It was Rohe, then that noticed the midnight blue Warrior who was watching them, jaws parted in a silent hiss. It seemed to be nursing some previously attained wound, and was not immediately ready to leap out and attack.

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Annoyed, Snaedis sent a second blast of wind after the burstling, completely focused on smashing the thing. (19) Rohe shrilled a battlecry and went to meet the wounded warrior head on, claws extended to shred the other! (6) Penopir, less taken with dramatics, simply sent a burst of lightning at the warrior, intent on proving her worth on this little adventure. (Nat 20! Whoohoo!)

JKat:

(( Dray )) Terra ducked lightning-fast and weaved away from the face-hugger, turning away from it as Neisan darted between her and it. The two yautjadragons had it in their sights; she would keep an eye on their backs as they did away with this much smaller threat. ((check 10))

Neisan had lunged the moment he'd realized what was going on from Terra's point of view, faster by some degrees than his sister in the process of trying to sink his claws into the facehugger ((11)). Lahan in the meantime kept light on her (admittedly large) feet, keeping a mental eye on Terra's doings while also ready to lunge the instant she saw the 'hugger trying to escape her brother's attacks ((action prepped; attack the 'hugger if it tries to get away from Neisan, 5)).

Phoenix:

(( Dray )) A furious, hissing rattle escaped Rhakarndi and she stalked towards the disc. Gavess followed her while Gavin coiled the quiescent burstling into a knapsack affixed to Gavess's bony back-ridges with resin for that express purpose. ::Rhakarndi?:: he asked silently.

(( Dray )) "Chakt-ra," she growled, a guttural rasp. "To you, a smart-disc. From one of my children, or Dtande's." Hissing, she pried it from the resin where it had been embedded by whatever throw had cast it there. Perhaps she could use it herself, or perhaps not, but she refused to leave it where it lay. Weapon thus recovered, the trio moved on, alert for whatever would come next. (‘vin 6, ‘vess 4, Rha 12)

Dray:

(( Shard )) It seemed that all three Sangers were blind to the drone leaning above them, as it did its darnedest to drag Kalkin away. It has picked the man up between its jaws, as careful as its needle-sharp teeth could be, and was turning on its heels to trot the man off through some vent or other. A moment later, a deeply lustrous red warrior drifted down through the air from somewhere high above, looking upon its dead kin, seeing just what tiny creature had managed to disable it. Noticing Atrocity posturing dangerously, it took no pains (by rolling a natural 20, of course!) to land squarely upon the relatively tiny man, and a huge, red, xeno-butt crushed him for 5 damage!

Airy:

(( Dray )) Shaine pulled up once the two attackers had fallen. She was oddly fascinated by them... even if she had come here to help eradicate the dangerous things. She knew that she shouldn't feel sorry for them in any way either, but she couldn't help it. One didn't gain anything without taking risks. She wouldn't have found Vir if she hadn't believed that wholeheartedly. Vir wasn't going to let up unless she said something. He was firing into the drone, aiming for its head. (10) Shaine could see that familiar violent fire that often raged behind Vir's gaze. He had packed enough ammo to keep him going for days, and his weapon didn't overheat like her own. Not wanting to attract any more of the creatures, she placed a hand on Vir's shoulder- hoping to stop him. She kept her weapon trained on the xenos at the same time, knowing that she was treading on dangerous ground... Meanwhile, Haroruu slashed at the little xeno with one if his sharp bony growths. (9)

Shard:

(( Dray )) Baeris was suddenly aware that one of them wasn't making noise ... even the soft footfalls that she was used to in the Den. She turned to see not only Kalkin being dragged away abruptly, but another shiny xeno attacking Atrocity. She knew immediately which direction she needed to head: toward Kalkin with purpose, because Atrocity could take care of his own damn self. ... There could be more of the things, Baeris's arm hair stood on end, listening for the pinging of the little device ... and hearing it...

Dray:

(( Xalia )) The warrior collapsed, acid dripping from its wounds and pooling in the wrinkles and folds of the resin-coated deck. It was Garskit, though, that gave the final blow, piercing through its skull and leaving it quite dead. Behind him, a drone hissed warning, getting ready to leap the human and shred him!

(( jess )) As they slipped into the valley, something webbed and tiny slipped after them: a facehugger. As they watched carefully for danger, Omon managed to avoid having the creature wrap about his face, though it landed back in the darkness, making it difficult to spot. Magdenai, before being distracted by the facehugger, caught sight of a deep blue carapace that was currently turned away from her -- surely a warrior, and one who hadn't yet spotted them!

Xalia:

(( Dray )) Rifan hissed menacingly as he leapt to protect his bond, slashing at the drone with claws extended. (15) Meanwhile, Garskit yelped, slashing blindly with his dagger as he tried to scurry back into the shadows. ( 9 )

Dray:

(( StarFyre )) The burstling fell limp, now, edge dangling over the vent, tail keeping it in place so that the Queen could collect the little thing and return it to the rest of their growing pile. Rohegukess slashed at the warrior, but her claws glanced off of its blue-hued armor and it snarled a warning at her, distressed and enraged. Lunging forward and biting at the green warrior, it got ahold of one of her forearms and crushed past the armor, drawing blood. (Rohe gets 4 damage!) It was Penopir that saved the day, then: Her lightning sizzled along the Warrior's body, leaving a horrific burning smell and causing it to jerk erratically before collapsing, still.

(( JKat )) What a horrific turn of events! As Terra spun away from the facehugger, her bonds were intent upon it, and a much larger, blue-skulled Warrior faced her from out of the shadows. Before Terra could do anything, it had seized her in its jaws, though her high-grade armor prevented it from piercing through her flesh. The warrior flung her aside, screeching a battle-cry at the two Yautjadragons.

Neisan made short work of the facehugger -- it wasn't even really an issue to their much larger bodies, but they weren't quite fast enough to whirl around and destroy the Warrior. Lahan, at least, was able to break his bond's fall!

(( Phoenix )) It was Rhakarndi who caught the flare of pink. Bright pink. /Fuschia/ pink. A burstling, tiny and bright and impossible to hide, was coiled tightly around a resin-built stalctite, looking at a loss for how else it could possibly blend in!

(( Airy )) The Grue was stabbing madly at the ground, though the burstling was dodging, shrieking, from each attack and managing just barely to avoid getting skewered. It seemed as though the drone was well dead, though the Warrior that Shaine had shot twitched here and there, still faintly alive!

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Snaedis swooped down and gathered up the little burstling with surprising gentleness, given her previous attacks against it, then continued on in search of more! ( 18 ) Penopir kept pace with her queen, alert and growing in confidence with every 'kill' she was in on. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all! ( 19 ). Rohe harrumphed deep in her throat, pried the unconscious warrior off of her and scurried to catch up, also on the lookout for more. ( 17 )

JKat:

(( Dray )) As the two yautjas realized their bonds were in such sudden, dire danger, twin roars thundered through the halls of the station. Thank god and the Ministry of Security for standard armour! The moment was over almost before Terra realized that it had begun -- the moment she turned and was grabbed, every sense went into overdrive, though, and as she was flying through the air she saw with a kind of detached amazement just how FAST Lahan dived to catch her in her huge forearms. Neisan was supposed to be the fast one! She managed, on adrenaline alone, to hop out of her bond's arms and back onto her feet, her whole body thrumming with action.

Neisan, having dispatched the facehugger, used his momentary rage and scare to throw himself at the midnight-blue warrior, ((12)) his mandibles splayed wide in challenge. "I'm alright," Terra told Lahan, soothing the usually stoic yautjadragon and firmly reinforcing the fact. With one more look, Lahan gathered herself back up and, roaring a second time, dove in to the fray, forepaws splayed wide in an attempt to tackle the blue beast ((19)). Terra, in the meantime, made use of her adrenaline-jitters and scanned the darkness madly ((check 9)).

Shard:

(( Dray )) Kalkin was suddenly aware that he wasn't moving forward any more. In fact, he wasn't sure where the floor had gone. He tried twisting around to see what manner of xeno it was that had him, ( 1 lol ) and failed.

Atrocity was taken a bit off guard by the new creature, but he was so full of himself he just let it come at him. There was always time to fight. ( 9 on his heal roll, so nothing comes back this round)

Dray:

(( Airy )) The Grue was stabbing madly at the ground, though the burstling was dodging, shrieking, from each attack and managing just barely to avoid getting skewered. It seemed as though the drone was well dead, though the Warrior that Shaine had shot twitched here and there, still faintly alive!

(( Shard )) Baeris, following the pinging sound and growing closer to it (in a twist of events?!) found the green-hued drone merrily trotting away, Kalkin still merrily resting between its jaws, possibly distracted with his new toys? The drone, unaware of Baeris trailing it, seemed to be heading towards a wall, which it would very soon be ascending. The warrior, on the other hand, was quite thoroughly pinning Atrocity (and rolled a 1 to attack, LOL!). With its hind-legs raised up, its tail trailing behind it, it pulled itself forward on its front legs, dragging the huge man along beneath it.

Airy:

(( Dray )) Haroruu let out a frustrated snarl and continued his attack. (11) Vir turned on the little xeno, and took aim. Shaine pulled her hand away from him as quickly as she could. He was angry at her, she could see that easily enough, and she wasn't sure why he was listening to her.. but he was- just not in quite the way that Shaine would have liked. If she was going to stop him from outright killing the larger xeno, than he was going to sure as hell help his bond crush this little nuisance. He started to fire at the burstling. (13) Shaine inched her way towards the warrior xeno, unsure of what she should do. It could easily kill her, she was certain of that much. She kept her gun aimed at it, and was ready to use a telekinetic attack on it, if it should hint at attacking... not that her reflexes were any match for it's own. Her eyes flicked up to check the hall behind the two fallen xenos. She could see nothing, and she wished that Haroruu was in front of her again. Finally as close as she wanted to get to the xenos, Shaine turned most of her attention to the creature that was still slightly alive. What did one do in a situation like this?

Phoenix:

(( Dray )) Color was a strangely skewed thing through the scanners of Rhakarndi's mask, but even she could tell something was off about the burstling curled about the resin spike on the ceiling. With a rattled warning, the laser-guide of her plasmacaster came to rest upon it, and such did Gavin and Gavess finally notice (the former with eyes, the latter with those senses unique to xenomorphs). Grudgingly aware of their priorities, she allowed them to hurry forward and attempt their doubleteam capture once more -- except this time Gavin had to quickly drop to the ground while he sent his mind up around the burstling's (12) while the wall-crawling Gavess took a twisting leap to the ceiling to attempt to snag it (14) and Rhakarndi resumed her vigil on their surroundings (9).

Shard:

(( Dray )) Atrocity thought this was just stupid. The alien had got it into its head to take HIM away? Leaving him an open invitation to dig around in its underside with his eager and highly sensitive fingers? Oh joy! Of course it'd hurt. But... what didn't? (( 16 ))

Meanwhile Kalkin was getting even more frustrated, as he spotted Baeris down there on the floor... where the hell was this thing trying to take him? Wait... Something in the back of his mind told him to hold out - it was taking him somewhere. Not killing him. He'd just have to find out where to, and then... (( 18 rolled on general principles.))

Dray:

(( Xalia )) Now that he was aware of the drone, Rifan slashed it until its head was a mere mess of acidic pulp. It was Garskin, then, who stumbled backwards over a ridge of resin and landed so that his hand felt something cold and sharp -- but not piercing. Looking down, he spotted an arm bracer made of gold or brass. A red cross was inscribed across it, along with several other symbols. When he touched it, it seemed to glint with an ethereal glow. (Red Cross Pendant -- Heals 1d3 damage per use.)

(( StarFyre )) On the lookout, now, it wasn't surprising when more xenodragons came out of the woodworks after these alien aliens! A drone leapt for Penopir, its dark red armor glinting from her jewel, and smashed into her with painful force. (4 damage to Penopir!) Snaedis, on the quest for more subjects, found herself the focus of one dark blue burstling who had managed, of all things, to fasten its little jaws around one of her toes. (1 damage to Snaedis!)

(( JKat )) Maybe it was her nerves, or maybe it was just that they were given a moment of respite, but Terra for once didn't spot any new dangers. It was almost an anti-climax that the two Yautjadragons made quick work of the warrior, killing it without so much effort as would bring them to a sweat.

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Penopir yelped in anger and pain, then lashed out instinctively with her lightning. The damn thing was touching her! It wasn't part of her hive! IT NEEDED TO DIE! ( 20 0.o again.. these internet dice love Penopir) Snaedis, if she had eyes, would have arched an eyebrow in amusement at the insolence of the little burstling even as she brought her paw up and smashed it back onto the resinous ceiling (15). She wanted to keep it, that sort of courage was worthy, but... really. Did it have to nibble on her toes? Rohe screeched in anger and lunged at the drone that had attacked her hivemate, slashing at the thing with her tail. (18)

jess:

(( Dray ))Magdenai peered into the shadows, trying to find the face hugger before it leapt for them again, her spear at the ready (8). She sent a quick thought to both her companions. 'There's a large one, warrior maybe, over there, deep blue, I think. Hard to tell in this light. It wasn't looking this way; maybe you can take it by surprise?'

Omon immediately turned his attention to the suspected warrior, considering for a brief moment how best to attack the beast. Making up his mind, he leaped towards the blue carapace, intending to land on its back (8).

Selien eyed the shadows, then the direction of the warrior, before deciding to move after Omon. Warriors were usually the toughest of the xenodragons, and if this one was one of the really big ones, even a yautjadragon hybrid could stand to have some back-up. She kept her sword ready, as she moved closer, but as Omon appeared to choose a brawl for his first attack, held back until she had an opening (4).

Dray:

(( Airy )) finally, the Grue managed to catch the burstling by the very tip of its tail, skewering it in place and causing it to fall limp -- it had fainted out of fright. Vir's blasts vaporized the burstling so that nothing but a thin black stain covered the walk-way. Shaine was watching the unconscious warrior carefully, and remembered overhearing some of the mercenaries speaking about taking spoils of battle -- in this case, in retraining beasts to be put to use for them. Was it possible that this Warrior would fall in line when removed from its Queen?

She had no more time to ponder, however, as a deeply purple drone dropped from the next terrace again upon her, pinning her and crushing her shortly before leaping away again (4 damage for Shaine!)

Xalia:

(( Dray )) Garskit picked up the Red Cross Pendant and blinked in surprise. Since the xeno was dead and it seemed they were in the clear for the moment he took a heaving breath and, still keeping to the shadows, said quietly, "I hope you're having fun. At least I got /something/ out of this mess. What's next?" ( 1 ) Rifan snarled savagely and grinned ferally at his bond, xeno acid-blood dripping from his jaws. "I am having fun, thanks. Let's keep moving the direction we've been going, it's served us well so far." As he spoke, Rifan scanned the path ahead for threats. Fun he may be having but seeing his bond being attacked didn't sit well with him at all. He intend to keep that from happening again... (15)

JKat:

(( Dray )) If Lahan was panting a little as she stood, dripping xeno-gore on Star City's no-longer-pristine corridor, it was only from momentary emotion, and if Neihan returned more rapidly than usual to Terra's side it was only because she called him back. A moment of respite was hardly needed, as all three were untouched and the blood-pounding battle ferocity that was running through both xenos was hardly sated by tag-teaming two xenomorphs and stepping on a facehugger. Terra, not a stranger herself to the workings of battle passion, brought a hand up to touch Neisan's forearm. "I think perhaps we should give them a hand downstairs," she told her two bonds, speaking aloud to give vent to some of her remaining jitters in a way that telepathy never seemed to. "Two warriors and a face-hugger? It seems as if things are more or less in control up here."

Neither yautjadragon could argue -- nor did they want to. Neisan stepped close to her brother and bonds and Terra reached up to touch the larger yautjadragon as well, and all three took a deep breath, steeling themselves for whatever might be on the other side ((prep actions; Terra, dodge anything that might come at them, Lahan attack anything she might see of the xenomorph persuasion, and Neisan flank)). Neisan did the honors of teleporting them a level down, using their knowledge of the station and its corridors.

((Oh, rolls -- Terra 11, Lahan 14, Neisan 12))

Dray:

(( Phoenix )) The Fuschia-coloure burstling dropped limp into Gavess's hands, almost swooning in its befuddled state. Rhakarndi spotted a deeply blue face hugger prepping to leap at her, from out of a crevice along the wall.

(( Shard )) The Warrior made a noise very akin to a yelp and leapt, bum-first, off of the Sanger (6 damage to the xeno! XD) Xenodragons just weren't /built/ like that! It whirled on Atrocity, both jaws opened wide in shocked anger.

As Kalkin allowed the Drone to carry him away, he noticed a nearly black Burstling watching him from the wall with much perplexity, and then spot Baeris. It fled from its hiding spot and into another, afraid for the woman who might come after it. He noticed with some pain that the drone's needle-sharp teeth could not easily bear his weight, as they were beginning to draw blood. (4 damage for Kalkin!)

Shard:

(( Dray )) Kalkin realized that he might not make it to wherever these things wanted him, and that just wouldn't do. He put his mind to opening the medkit, not quite sure how it was going to help him while the thing's teeth were still clutching on to him. But, he stuck with it until he felt a little better.

Phoenix:

(( Dray )) Gavin and Gavess reunited again, tucking the pink burstling in the bag with the other (a pink burstling, somehow Gavin suspected Keren would never let him hear the end of it once the madness across the station had settled -- as it of course world!), while Rhakarndi barked an actual laugh at the audacious little facehugger. "N'dhi-ja!" she laughed, ‘farewell' in her tongue, and didn't even bother with her shoulder-gun -- instead she whipped out the twin acidproof blades mounted to her wrist and darted forward to spear her some kiande amedha shish-kebab! (19 Rha, Gavs on lookout 16 and 5)

Dray:

(( StarFyre )) The drone that had been attacking collapsed, another searing hulk to be dragged back to the hive when this was all said and done with. The burstling, too, was flung like a slinky up to the ceiling and back into Snaedis' hands as she knocked it unconscious. Rohe', accidentally putting a hole through the well-cooked drone, slipped upon its now quite-dead blood and into a pile of jagged claw-sheaths that the drone might very well have been guarding. They were not only jagged... they seemed to sparkle with tones of fire! (Magic claw sheaths, +2 Fire Damage)

(( jess )) Magdenai readied her spear just as the Facehugger leapt again from the shadows. Shoving her spear forward, she gouged it through its center, though a spurt of acid jolted forward across her body. (1 damage, take 1 acid damage ongoing; roll vs 13 to save!) It twitched a little, not quite dead but slowly sliding down the Charigon's spear.

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Rohe was far too excited over the find of claws sheaths, which she immediately equipped, to pay much attention to Snaedis' growl of annoyance over the very-dead drone. Still happy, Rohe started prancing down the hall, singing The Song That Never Ends over Hivemind communication-link... Penopir groaned aloud, then slunk back to Snaedis' side and resumed looking for more attackers ( 8 ) Snaedis facepalmed, slunk onto the ceiling, and let Rohe play bait, while looking for more to capture. ( 2, far too distracted by THAT DAMN SONG ) Deep inside her black little heart, Snaedis secretly hoped Rohe got killed.

Dray:

(( Xalia )) Rifan didn't have far to look: a grassy green drone was ducking out of one of the doorways, shrilling sharply as it leapt. With a cat-like twist, it put all of its claws outward as it strafed along the Yautjadragon, drawing blood. (Rifan gets 4 damage!)

(( JKat )) As they teleported, they showed up not in the familiar hatching bay ((I'm assuming you mean to go there!) from whence many of Star City's merry ceremonies had come, but a cramped, resin-encased bay divided in many places by neatly squared off raised ridges. In the dips between those ridges, the three of them immediately took note of egg beyond egg, currently with tops folded neatly up. Along the walls, several moans could be heard from victims dragged back to these macabre hatching grounds, but most were unconscious, covered by xenomorphic masks, or dead -- ripped brutally apart. One of the eggs folded back even as their weight came down upon one of the ridges, and Lahan crushed it with one, big foot before the Facehugger could even escape its confines. But they were far from being out of trouble, now.

(( jess )) Omon, leaping forward, gouged the Warrior deeply in a spray of acid that ate through the ceiling and walls all around it, but had little effect upon the Yautjadragon. With all of the caustic blood flying, Selien didn't quite have an in to attack, though it seemed that the Warrior was thrashing less violently by the moment. Its tail came up behind the Yautjadragon and stabbed at his back, drawing viscous, glowing green blood. (Omon gets 4 damage!)

That blasted song. It seemed that, on all decks across the entire station, xenodragons halted what they were doing for a moment. Each of them split its jaws and hissed a snarl of disdain and extreme prejudice, mantling and ready to kill. Burstlings shrilled and ducked into holes. Eggs about to split around the yautja pair folded back up again, if only to avoid that terrible song. Facehuggers leapt, not at faces, but back at the walls to scrabble away into the darkness. Only Gavess and his bond had any idea of why the creatures were recoiling, but at what cost?

Over the announcement system, a blare of recall sounded; around the fall-back stations, sighs of relief were at full strength. They had a moment of relative peace... but that would not last for long!

JKat:

(( Dray )) Lahan shook xenomorph-baby ooze from her foot and looked around, taking stock in a pragmatic fashion ((check 15))... but of the three, she was the only one who wasn't given pause by the sight. Terra, old as the sea and having seen a great many things in her life, was nonetheless silenced for a moment by the sight of row after row of eggs, and of victims; Neisan, too, gazed across the bay with wide eyes, and a growl began deep in his throat, half-conscious, until he caught it and stilled himself only by drawing upon years of discipline.

Lahan looked at her bondmate and brother in mild disgust, sending to the both of them, ~Pull yourselves together. We've got work to do.~

Terra and Neisan looked at one another and Terra nodded; Neisan shook off his momentary awe and flexed his claws, scanning the area in the quick, methodical manner that was his ((haha, 2)) and Terra, stepping forward so she was precisely between her two bonds as they moved. Stirrings of bursters, drones, warriors, moving eggs... almost any movement here would be something dangerous ((7)).

But nothing seemed to be moving, nothing at all... to the point where the two yautjas were discussing between themselves going egg-stomping pre-emptively, there being no larger prey. That is, until the loudspeaker -- muffled by layers of resin -- voiced a recall. Sharing a disgusted look that Terra couldn't help but privately share, the yautjadragons stepped alongside their small bond and teleported out of the hatching bay, heading back to the fall-back station on the floor below. They had this place marked, though, all of them -- they would be back.

Xalia:

Rifan let out a snarl of outrage when the xeno connected but before he could deliver a return blow the bugger had turned tail and left. He roared, making ready to chase after the thing when Garskit hollered at him. "Rifan! That's the recall, we're done." Rifan felt the blood rage draining as his bond's words, followed by the alarm, penetrated his thick warrior skull. He nodded, looking angrily in the direction the xeno had gone one more time before plodding along behind his bond.

Phoenix:

Rhakarndi's aim was true but her strike struck nothing. The facehugger's leap was aimed not at her mask but at a sudden retreat up the wall, vanishing into the resin coils. The yautja hissed annoyance and turned back to her companions as they raised their voices in shouts, expecting another tide of battle -- but finding only that they now cowered on the ground. Gavess whined miserably, many-fingered hands pressed to its elongated skull in pain and scrabbling its feet uselessly on the ground as if there were something to flee. Gavin, by comparison, was a dumbstruck sprawling lump on the xenodragon's back, eyes wide and glazed at a terror unknown. She stared at this sight incomprehensibly as the recall summons came. How in the world was she going to drag them back?

StarFyre:

(( Dray )) Snaedis was going to KILL Rohe. She swore it. That stupid, preppy, hyperactive warrior would be the death of her yet! Grumbling threats and plans of death and doom under her breath, Snaedis gathered up her brand new hive members with Penopir's help and started dragging them back to a convenient place to leave them. Rohe, meanwhile, skipped along at their side and merrily continued singing THAT EVIL SONG as loud and happily as she could.

jess:

Magdenai winced as the acid hit her and burned through her clothes and fur (5, acid save failed), but tried to ignore the burn. She shook her spear lightly, but the 'hugger seemed well skewered, and she didn't want any more acid to spray about. Well, it seemed subdued, and if that announcement was any indication, she had time to find a way to remove it without hurting herself more.

Holding her spear at an angle that would keep the thing from sliding down onto her hand, she turned to see how the attack on the warrior had gone. Omon was bleeding from a nasty looking back-wound, but the warrior he had pounced seemed to be weakening quickly. Selien was poised for action, but had not needed to come to the dragon's aid afterall. 'We should head back; you two could stand a trip to the medbay, I think, before more of these things show up.' Selien's mental tone was dry.

Omon looked from his now-twitching foe to the spidery thing on Mag's spear. 'You're not keeping that.'