Turn 3: When Least Expected

[Quicksilver]

Giosso pushed away the cot he'd been using as cover as the alien blood started to eat tiny holes in the fabric where the aerosol spray had impacted it. He trained the pistol on the lump of black for a second before it finished registering the creature was truly dead. Heinrich's scream pulled Mark out of his over-focus and back to awareness of the world around. He took an instinctual step back from the splashed ichor and exclaimed incoherently as a half-dozen of the corp's choice expletives vied for use.

Shoving the pistol dropping the pistol on his pack again, Mark pulled his issue NBCR boots over his bare feet. Wash it? No, Neutralize. I need a base. he thought as glanced around the kitchen. Rushing of the refrigerator, he yanked open the door and snatched the 1-liter bottle of milk he'd desperately hoped would be there.

Crossing the floor as quickly as he could without risking splashing any of the residual acid pools, Giosso wrenched the cap off of the bottle and dumped it's contents on the smoking arm of the fallen marine.

[eyeball]

Paulson came down the stairs to the screaming of a comrade, never a good sign. moving past the medic who was treating him he headed outside to form some kind of perimeter in case this was not a lone creature. stepping well clear of the acid pool he went out the other door and pulled up his motion scanner again.
<roll motion acanner and awarness>
"Paulson outiside running another sweep, other pair or two of eyes might be usefull." he requested.
Paulson checked over his flamer and made sure the pilot light was lit and canister full and ran a visual and electronic sweep of the area.

[Medic Guy]

Kal sat up with a start, the sound of nearby gunfire having brought him out of his deep slumber. Heinrich's hand looked burned, and there was a dead creature laying on the floor with stinking liquid pooling around it's now motionless corpse. With the combination of not knowing what the hell just happened or why he hadn't woken earlier, combined with the stink of the creature, he wretched the contents of his stomach.

" What the hell is going on?" he asked his squad mates. "Did somebody spike my drink? Realizing that they seemed to be in combat he quickly secured his boots and pulled on his armor, grabbing his pulse rifle.

[Quinn]

Quinn spotted the fallen form of the xenomorph, and smelled the telltale scent of it's acidic blood chewing away at anything it touched. That in itself made these things a pain in the ass to kill. He heard a Marine howl in pain, and he looked at Heinrich who was cradling his hand. Slinging his rifle, he stepped forward and aided Giosso in neutralizing the acid on Heinrich's hand.

(Roll Medicine)

[Corporal Hicks]

The milk splashed over the wound, fizzing slightly as it mixed with the acid. Heinrich felt a cold splash of relief but then the heat of the burn increased from the chemical reaction. At least it washed most of the acid off of the exposed hand and wrist, long enough for Quinn to arrive and pour his canteen over the affected area. The pistol was history, but the hand was relatively lucky. The flesh was severely burned, and a little bit of bone was visible through the ring finger, but Quinn had good hopes for saving the appendage.

As Quinn slapped a bandage over the injured hand, the rest of the team filtered out of the front door to make a perimeter. The lights were all out except for a few at the mercenary tents, a short distance away. In the darkness, they could hear screams and a few spatterings of gunfire.

[BarbarianMathematics]

Pvt. Ava Blake had everything prepared to go down the stairwell to help the rest of the squad, though in her personal comms device, she received a signal from the mercenary S.Sgt Wesley. Ava stands at the top of the stairs, shotgun in hand, tension coiling in her chest. The radio crackles with S.Sgt Wesley’s voice, but her instincts take over first.

Ava responds calmly, but with a hint of concern in her voice: "Understood. We had contact, so we'll come once we confirm everything’s clear."

She pauses, eyes scanning the area as she listens for any further sounds from below. Gunfire stopped, but silence didn’t always mean safe.

Ava responds once again, "I'm heading down to confirm. If it's clear, We’ll be at the rally point shortly."

She adjusts the shotgun, mentally preparing herself for whatever might be waiting down there. The last thing she wants is to be caught off-guard. Ava takes a slow step toward the stairs, every movement deliberate and precise, ready to react in an instant. She starts moving down the stairs, making sure to do a proper sweep with her firearm to reduce her chances of getting hit.

Over the Devil Dawgs' channel, she announces, "Message from Staff Sergeant Wesley. He wants us to rally at the tents as soon as we can people. I don't hear any more shooting... are we good to move or are there more?"

At this point, she finally is down at the bottom of the stairwell.

[Pale Rider]

Soles, looked around at his half dressed marines. He knew things were not going to be easy on this mission, not with a half-wit in charge.

Over the Devil Dawgs' channel, she announces, "Message from Staff Sergeant Wesley. He wants us to rally at the tents as soon as we can people. I don't hear any more shooting... are we good to move or are there more?"

"Alright, you bunch of knuckle draggers, get your gear on and stow whatever you are not wearing on the APC. I want everyone loaded in 2 minutes."

<Tag Marines>

He reached out and tapped Paulson on the shoulder, "Good job soldier, I've got this while ypu grab the rest of your gear.
Then you can releave me and I will grab my gear."

<Tag Paulson>

[eyeball]

after being relieved paulson raced back in the building to finish getting his gear and armour on. it was an often practiced drill so only took a minute before he was back down to swap over.
"good to go" he reprted tapping soles like the man had done to him.
even with more people coming out paulson still kept up his visual of manual and electronic sweeps, better safe that sorry.

[BarbarianMathematics]

Ava gives the area one last sweep, still listening for any signs of movement. Satisfied that the coast is clear for now, she shifts her focus to the next objective.

On the radio, back to S.Sgt. Wesley, she calls out "Staff Sergeant Wesley, Sir, this is Devil Dawgs. Everything’s clear on this end for the moment. We’re en route to the rally point now. We'll be heading out ASAP. Over."

She gives one last look around, double-checking her surroundings, before slinging the shotgun and moving toward the exit. She’s ready to move out, but her training doesn’t let her relax just yet. She does manage to see some of the damage and As she starts making her way to the rally point, her fingers remain close to the grip of her shotgun, every sense still on high alert for any signs of trouble. As Ava moves through the building, her attention sharp and her instincts on high alert, she steps into the next room and sees it—the xenomorph. The sight of the creature, twisted and alien in form, causes her to freeze for a split second. It’s unlike anything she’s ever seen before.

Ava murmurs under her breath, her voice tinged with disbelief, "What the...?" She doesn’t waste any time. Ava keeps moving, but there’s a slight tightening in her jaw, her mind running through the possibilities. She doesn’t let the sight of the creature shake her, but the question lingers in her mind. She starts toward the APC, having geared up already.

Deciding to call back on the squad channel, she responds, "Loud and clear. Let's not keep him waiting."

<Tag Marines>

[Bullet42]

Torres trembled after firing his pulse rifle, his shot successfully putting the creature down. But the nervous energy still clung to him as the screams of his fellow Marine echoed in the chaos that had erupted in mere minutes. The adrenaline still surged through him.

He watched anxiously as the medic worked on his wounded teammate. The whole situation had unfolded so suddenly, so violently. He had never encountered this kind of action—nor this kind of creature. Disoriented from the brief but brutal exchange, he forced himself to snap out of it. Shaking, he carefully avoided the pools of sizzling acid, its corrosive effects eating away at his teammate’s gear.

Outside, his fellow Marines had already advanced, securing the perimeter, checking for any more of the abominations. Torres kept his rifle steady as he followed. He found Lance Corporal Paulson outside, the Marine scanning the area with his flamer and motion tracker. Torres moved to his side, providing cover, his sharp eyes sweeping the surroundings for any sign of movement. He muttered "what the fuck?" and then said to Paulson " I got your back, fucking things can be anywhere." (tag Paulson)

(Roll Perception)

[eyeball]

Paulson thanked Torres for his back up and answered his half question "oh yeah these things can come from anywhere and fast too!"
"was not fun last time and looks like its not going to be good this time, i thought we set up sentries how the hell did they get in?" Paulson questioned half to himself.