M3T10

[Nick]

2179 AD, 6th October
Location: Sol system, Earth, United Americas, New York
Mission timer: 00:55:33

More and more people crowded around the Marines. Seeing fully combat equipped soldiers on the streets of new york was uncommon, not to say unique. Most people had seen the Colonial Marines on the different holovid shows that circled "Hell yeah" and "Bring it on" for example - Which both followed Marines on the field through their shoulder cameras. Although all USCM personell knew that they were either staged or heavily edited for increased drama. Despite the rain a crowd of around twenty people had gathered. "Whats going on?" a brave citizen dared after a few minutes. "Is it something dangerous?" another filled in.

A police hovership with a strong light hovered a hundred meters above, it's turbines whining and struggling in the wind blasts. The weather of the 21st century had not exactly improved after the Chinese started with their massive industrialazation with all pollution that followed.

The Marines APC came down the street and if the crowd had not been gawking before they were now. The big and heavily armored vehicle came to a halt next to the Marines.

The sliding door opened and Lt Moore stepped out. He instinctively ducked his head down in the downpour. "Sergeant! Get these men loaded ASAP. This mission just went down the drain! HQ wants us out of here before we rise anymore attention. We are loading up and heading back to gateway for debrief!"

"Ok Marines, You heard the man and You know the drill. Assholes and elbows. Move it!" Dugan shouted.

>

OOC: On to cyprus for a week. Then R&R and the next campaign will start shortly - And yes this mission was this short originally.

The next campaign will pick up right on earth and will start when I get back!

Until then

//N

[Jean]

Jean walked into the back of the APC that was already loaded back into the dropship and she sat down in the back. There really wasn't any good way to drive an APC anymore with a few missing fingers on her right hand. She was eager to order another hand and reattach it as soon as she got home. She was, however, more worried about the City of New York, and the Planet Earth in general, now. One person got away and he might have been infected by the Xenomorphs. This wasn't a good thing; it weighed heavily on her mechanical conscious.

Jean hoped that Patch or Sam would sit next to her on the flight back to the ship, or, wherever it was they were going next. It was more than likely that they would be back soon but she hoped for some shoreleave time so she could attempt to get to know some of the other marines, and to also get her hand replaced.

Jean set her backpack between her feet while she pulled the safety bar over her shoulders. She reached into the pack, past the teddy bear and Xenomorph samples she collected, and pulled out a computer. It turned on instantly and she was able to type on it right away. Jean was easily able to compensate for the loss of a few fingers and it didn't effect her typing whatsoever.


To: Weyland Yutani
From: Unit #406-6-092 - Jean Wey

I have aquired one chestburster stage Xenomorph (dead) and will prep it for transport just as soon as I receive the ICC quarantine license to do so.

Awaiting reply...

Jean shut the lid and locked her computer and slid it back into her pack. The next thing she pulled out was the teddybear she had found in the stormdrains. She looked down at it while the marines were loading up. She was amazed she made it alive. Jean smiled, actually smiled, if only for a moment.

There was a beep and Jean put the teddybear back in her pack and pulled out the portable computer.

From: Weyland Yutani
To: Unit 406-6-092 Jean Wey

Good work, Wey. Please package and send the item. The company will aquire all ICC licenses during it's transport.

Jean gave the screen an odd look, something her personal programming etched into her. She shook her head at the screen and replied.

From: Unit 406-6-092 Jean Wey
To: Weyland Yutani

No. It is against the law to send an item such as this without first aquiring proper government licensing prior to transport.

This time, Jean shut the computer down before sliding it into her pack.

[maxvale76]

Sam felt incredibly tired, frustrated and just icky; from both the long and fruitless trip through the sewars and the idea of aliens popping out of civilians in a huge city. She did her best to stay away from the volatile Morse, who had seemed quite eager to blast thier poor android into a hundred pieces; and from Jean the android; whose recent actions towards Patch had Sam shaking her head in annoyance at the teen-age like 'look at me' behavior.

Not wanting to think about any of it for a lest a few minutes, she took a corner seat, and leaned her head back against the wall of the vehicle and closed her eyes and let the memory of warm, ocean-front weather from her home colony of New Kingston wash over her...if only for a moment or two.

[Caparzo]

As Colwell entered the APC he noticed the driver Wey had strapped herself in due to her damaged hand.  As he stowed his M56 for transport and then strapped himself in, he was glad they hadn't encountered any of the aliens the vets had been talking about. "Man I can't wait for a shower!" he thought to himself while catching a whiff of himself and his fellow soldiers.

[Kurosaki, Ichigo]

Kurosaki was in the middle of the crowd, with many New Yorkers gawking at him. Kurosaki looked quite out of place, and he had never felt so... different from everybody else. Kurosaki was the first onboard, stowing his M41 Pulse rifle and his PRC-252 radio set. He leaned back as he strapped himself in, directly opposite of Colwell.

"Colwell, why do you need a shower? With a face like yours, a girl will never fall for you!" Kurosaki grinned to show he was just kidding.



Kurosaki was happy that he didn't have to face those Aliens, but it bothered him that one got away.

[Morse]

Morse watched the crowd forming up around them. Seeing 'Damnyorkers' come closer to them put him on edge worse then he was. He kept the M41A-E2 in his hands, watching the crowd. They'd already been shot at underground, God only knew if one of them would plan on giving that a shot up here. He started to take steps backward. That was when the APC arrived. The new Lieutenant was quick to tell them that it was essentially a mission abort. That didn't bother Morse much, at least someone was accepting that this was hopeless.

When the crowd started pressing in, murmering to each other, and asking questions, Morse yet again took another step back. He turned around and started back to the APC "Damn Yorkers" He said to himself.

He got up to the APC and stepped up through the breech in the side. It was dry inside, but somehow seemed colder then it did outside. That would change once the rest of the platoon got inside, but for now he'd deal with it. Moving towards his seat at the center left, Morse didn't look at anyone. He just sat down, keeping the M41A-E2 in his hands and was eager for once to hear a debriefing of a mission.

[Dirk Pitt]

Dirk took off his helmet and let the rain fall on his head. Wipeing the water off his face he watched as the others filed into the APC. He didn't know how to take the abort. On one hand it would be good to get clean and dry. On the other hand a dangerous alien could be loose in the city. He couldn't think about that right now. He jumped up into the APC and found his seat. Sitting down he listened to the others talk.

[Quinn]

"You heard the man, first squad, get rollin." Sixtus growled at the other soldiers, standing by the door as Kurosaki went in first. Counting off his squad with Seth, Gaz and Colwell, following in after them.

"First squad loaded." he growled into the mic over the platoon com net. He snapped his weapon into the holding section next to his seat and strapped himself in.

[Obi]

The rain was not letting up at all as the platoon held their positions in the street.  Obi was soaked through, however at least one benefit of the rain was that it was sort of washing away the accumulated grime from the sewer.  Standing up Obi rolled his head around and shifted his body armour to relieve the pressure on his right shoulder.  There was still a slight twinge every now and then from where that alien thing had him pinned against the safety grate in that nightmare of a facility.    Damn medics, might have to get a physio to have a look at this when the mission is over.  Obi thought grimacing as he rolled his shoulder back and forth.  

Despite the rain a crowd of around twenty people had gathered. "Whats going on?" a brave citizen dared after a few minutes. "Is it something dangerous?" another filled in.

Turning to his right Obi looked at the two civilians who had approached him.    Why yes Sir, everything is fine, there is a manic on the loose with a gun who is harbouring an alien that can rip you apart in the blink of an eye. Have a pleasent evening.  Obi thought as he looked at the man.   Quick think fast O'Brien!
Smiling he nodded at the two civilians.

"Everything is fine Sir, we are conducting a joint exercise between the USCMC and the New York Police Department."

A police hovership with a strong light hovered a hundred meters above, it's turbines whining and struggling in the wind blasts.

Talk about superb timing by the boys in blue!  Obi thought with relief as he pointed out the hovership for the benefit of the two civilians.   "Now Sir if you will just step back and go about your business the Corps would be most grateful for your cooperation."


As Obi was herding the civvies away from the Section, the rumbling purr of an APC rounded the corner.  The troop door slide open and the LT stepped out into the rain.

"Sergeant! Get these men loaded ASAP. This mission just went down the drain! HQ wants us out of here before we rise anymore attention. We are loading up and heading back to gateway for debrief!"

Giving the civvies a final gentle nudge Obi turned around and shouted at Two Section.

" Alright lads you heard the man!  The quicker we get aboard the quicker we get out of here and stuck into some beers! Now move it Marines!"



Slinging his rifle, Obi fell in with the rest of Two Section as they made their way over to the APC.  Looking around at the platoon Obi could see the relief on their faces as they realised they were being pulled out.    Talk about short and sweet, though at least we are all coming back from this one.

[Jean]

Jean felt the rumble as the dropship took off. She never caught info on whether they were going someplace planetside, or back to the ship. She was thankful for being one of the few WY Androids that got to see Earth, even if it was just a nasty sewer under unfortunate circumstances. The stars were inevitably where she belonged. After-all, all she was made of, came from the stars, and to the stars she would return. There was much people took for granted that she thought about.

The copper in her wires were merged in the corona of a star at some point, the gold, and the iron, from supernova explosions that occurred trillions of years ago... But than again, her human counterparts had the same going for them. Bacteria, skin, carbon, and water --- all from the stars at some point. Not much in them were created from heavy metals like supernova's.

Her secret joke about herself was that, this meant, she was just a blast! But that would be a joke only another android would get, or maybe, a scientist. It occurred to her that she was thinking random thoughts.

is this -- part of my programming?

Jean shook her head and unwrapped the bandage from her right hand to observe the damage. She was still pumping hydraulic fluid all over the brand new shoes that she requisitioned from an army navy store. She had to fix that fairly quickly so she fidgeted her tiny body under the restraint harness to get her sleeve rolled back. She took a field knife and dug into her skin, peeling off the synthetic epidermal layer just above her wrist. She reached into her backpack and pulled out several clamps that looked like something someone would use to keep a potato-chip bag shut. She pulled out several transparent hose-like veins in her arm that were pumping white hydraulic fluid forward into her hand, and she clamped them off.

What she did next might turn a Marine's stomach.

She stabbed right into her wrist and peeled the blade around until the calcialsynthetic bone snapped and her whole hand dangled by the last bit of her synthetic skin a piece of skin still hanging on to her forearm. She took her left hand and pulled until there was small snap. Her skin broke off at the base of her wrist and she looked into the stump to inspect the cut.

Jean reached into her pack and pulled out another plastic bag. She put her right hand into the bag and sealed it up, tucking it neatly next to the teddy-bear, her computer, and the alien specimen. She then reached in further, pulling out another bag and wrapping it around the stump. She zipped the bag up, pushed her sleeve down and relaxed. She could have a new hand, and repaired synthetic skin in just under an hour when they land. She would look like a normal untouched human being again, in no time...

[Raider65]

Stormhurst just followed the orders.

He stored his gear quickly and found a seat.

First thing he was going to do was getting a warm shower as soon as possible.

[Dugan]

Simovic was fuming when Lt Moore ordered the platoon to abandon the mission, when he got aboard the APC he headed over to him. He was sat in front of the Tactical Operations Post, a large bank of monitors which displayed each Marines helmet camera output as well as bio readings and motion tracker HUD's. He tried to contain himself as he spoke to the man but his voice showed obvious signs of anger.


"What the hell do you think your doing pulling us out now? We can get a lock on this guy now with the motion trackers sweeping for his PDT. I hope you realise that when that creature bursts out of his stomach it'll cause untold amounts of deaths in a heavily populated place such as this. We need to be dealing with this situation now, not go back to base for a coffee and debrief!"

[Jean]

It took several hours to get situated after landing aboard the ship. Jean stood in the shower room, flexing the newly molded and synthetic sprayed hand that was lazed onto her arm with surgical precision. Even for a machine, her programming was sending signals of enjoyment and pleasure as she stood in the stream of hot water. Jean turned to face one of the many nozzles in the room, eyes closed, allowing the barrage of droplets to blast past the soft features of her skin.

There were a lot of misgivings about the mission. Simovic was steaming hotter than what the nozzle put out in the shower when it came to the mission being scrubbed. She went over it all in her head while she walked over and came back with the teddy-bear she found. No one else was around so she didn't have to feel self conscious about sitting nude on the tile, scrubbing an inanimate teddy-bear with soap.

She ran her new hand's thumb over the black eyes of the teddy, wondering who it might have belonged to while she scrubbed soap into it's dirty fur. As the water hit her back, she felt as if everything she had been through was getting washed away. She ignored the fact that she could recall real-time video of everything in an instant and just concentrated on the here-and-now.

Right now... She was free of everything, sitting under a stream of water in a 80x100 empty shower room, feeling clean and refreshed. Her programming told her it would be more embarrassing to be seen with a teddy bear in the shower room, rather than to simply be caught nude. She finished cleaning the bear up and then placed it on the tile just under the soap container.

It was odd, but she felt happy about taking something that would have been trashed, and restoring it, especially something so cute. Now that all the dirt was out of it, she could see it, as it was when someone owned it. It had light brown fur, shiny dark little eyes, cute round ears, and a smile that the dirt hid. It was like the bear was happy again.

what funny thoughts I'm programmed with... Jean thought it, but she didn't care. She smiled to herself, and the bear; her new companion.

[eyeball]

patch stood nervously outside the showers he was not sure how to proceed, normally he would be confident and assertive he knew he wasn't bad to look at and obviously being a marine he was in pretty good shape, but jean wasn't exactly a normal woman. oh she looked normal infact better than just normal, but patch had just watched her calmly cut her own arm off whilst in the npc and that was just plain scary.

finally patch figured that there was just no second way to guess this and walked into the huge unisex shower complex.

jean was sitting on the floor apparently soaking up the warm water, patch looked in her direction and noticed a small bear just bellow the soap holder. "nice bear" patch said not sure what else to comment on.

patch took a shower occasionally making eye contact and just enjoying the feeling of the warm water and watching a naked woman, let her make the first move he thought to himself, jean had mentioned something about software she might need and patch was not sure what they may entail.

[Jean]

nice bear...

Jean looked up to see Patch standing under the water. Jean stood up with the bear in her hand and smiled at Patch. It turned out that none of it bothered her. She assumed Humans might be a little skittish about birthday suits, showers, and opposite genders in one room, but things seemed to be going okay.

"Yeah. I picked him up in the sewers... I actually felt sadness when I saw it down there. I couldn't leave it.  I guess I wasn't as much of a help down there as I was hoped to be but -- At least I saved something..." She jokingly wiggled the bear in front of Patch and gave it a little dancing motion with her brand new arm.

Jean looked perfectly normal again and she was happy about that, and the fact that she was clean and being around one of the friends that she made, all at the same time.

"I was wondering, if we had time, if you could help me with the discs on relationships..." She asked while pulling the bear back in and walking to a corner of the shower room. She pulled a towel and began patting the bear down before herself. "I don't have in information port, it's all audio-visual. The data is on a flashing screen that sort of digitally inputs it to my hard drive. It's only supposed to take a few minutes but I need someone to hold my head still while I input the info. It's not supposed to be pleasant on the processor but I feel I need the education."

She started drying her hair with the towel once she tended to the teddy-bear first. It was in her nature to help others, before herself. That was part of her programming. She never knew that it pertained to cute inanimate objects as well as human beings, but she learned something new all the time.