Edge of the Galaxy: Chapter One: Infestation

[RC 212]

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Unidentified Space Station​

Just Outside of the Lhwek cluster​

Status: Contaminated​

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Musical Accompaniment:​

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https://youtu.be/raUCnM9Tifc?list=RDEMiQebv_fGsmYC1o8gWOBm2A​

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OOC: Anyone can join. As one of the crew, or someone trapped aboard the station.​

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Aboard the Dark Angel: Inbound


Hatred. that was all that ran through Captain Skyrenders veins. It ran like an ice water, deep and vengeful. She had been screwed all her life. right up until this point, where she refused to let her guard down. And it had paid off. Another forty five millimetre round found the flesh of a garish alien, ripping the spiny creature to shreds.

She gritted her teeth as she fired. Spines came whipping by, slicing her helms-mans head right open. Blood, gore bone, intermittent flashes of the gun fire from the bore. Flesh mixed with smoke. these were the smells of the day as the Dark Angel barrelled in full speed, her engines smoking into a vortex of hell.

The mission had been a simple one. A tip had lead her to a treasure trove of information on the place. They were an an old dockyard, rife with brand new vessels. She was intent to scavenge those vessels, but what hadn't been noted was the rampant alien infestation of the surrounding space.

Alien pods erupted across the Dark Angels armor, acid melting the hardened plating. Some of it was cutting lines to the reactor, seething and souping deck by deck.

"I'm out give me a mag!" The Captain roared, ducking to miss another strike from the creatures spiny tail.

A fresh magazine slid across the floor. She slammed the mag release, letting her empty fall and rammed the next one in, riding the bolt forwards. Red hot rounds spewed from the Gauss Rifle, brining new screeches and splashes of acid blood. Some spattered her face, smoking and flash burning her skin as it struck.

"Run!"

"Don't you dare run, come back here you little-"

That was all she got. The tail whipped again. Her weapon ran dry. Her compatriot was ripped off his feet as the spine pierced his chest cavity.

Then her Katana was drawn from back, gleaming in the darkness. She struck once, cleaving flesh. The blade began to melt from the acid blood as well.

"Frak it run! Run Idiots! Get to the center of the ship! Fall behind get left behind!"

She blasted past her crew mates, slamming hatch releases. They were closing every hatch between them and the infesting party as they ran. She checked her belt, sliding under a blast door as alarms and klaxons blared. Two mags of pistol ammo, one grenade and one Rapier.

Hardly a winning proposition.

One of her crew fell behind, sealed in by the door. Another was too slow, crushed in half by the weight of the large sliding steel.

His screams fell on deaf ears. Eyes wide, breaths heavy she drew her Machine Pistol and cleared the Center Cargo bay.

Then it dropped to her side, hair falling to her eyes, plastered in sweat.

"How long till we reach the station?"

"Oh you think the stations any better? Believe me it's not. This entire sector is karked. This was a freaking set up."

"Cap'n you sure."

She pressed the pistol to her crewmans forehead.

"About as sure as I'm gonna blast your skull open if you don't shut it."

"Aliens closing in Cap. We got three layers of doors between us and them. Ten minutes maybe till we impact the station. Got a plan?"

"Yea Survive."

They barrelled on. Some of them were new crew she picked up on the last port call out of First Order territory. Others were Core worlders. she smirked. They'd never seen the likes of this before.....

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He wasn't sure what gods he had to thank for still being alive, but he was thanking them now, muttering softly under his breath as he jogged along with the group. There was safety in numbers in situations like this, and he was extremely grateful for his forethought in bringing his exoskel with him. Down to his last 18 rounds, his revolvers were running a bit low, though he still had his mechanically-enhanced punches.

Against these creatures, though, he doubted those would do much. He had to make every shot count. They looked like a Yuuzhan Vong's magnum opus, and seemed to have bodies of pressurized acid. It certainly was one hell of a defense mechanism - you didn't dare kill it.

Reloading his guns, he holstered them and jogged over to the captain, the headstrong lady who had assumed command. "Uh, ma'am, how can I be of service? What do you need done?"

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

The Captains mind raced. Hatred still in her veins she whirled and shot glare at the newcomer. She didn't yet know his name. Her vessel typically operated on a rotating roster of crewmen, with a bunch dying nearly every mission. She told them that when they signed up. Uncharted waters, unknown dangers, yet still they persisted.

Sweat pouring down her face, cheek melted by the acid her eyes sank into his soul and then she raised her head a bit.

"Jak yes? Yes I remember you. Here's what I need. Keep that gun on the door, kill anything that tries to-"

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Wham, Screeeeeccccchhhhhhh​

"We got two doors left Cap'n."

She lifted the pistol and fired, sending a flesh rending round through the offender. His head exploded in three different directions, blood red spray peppering the bulkhead. Then she glanced cool and calm at her watch. Blood dripped down her arm. The aliens had scored more than one hit. She snarled, beaming Jak with her gaze again.

Then she swept the room.

"Any one else wanna fething talk while I'm giving direction?" She asked, sweeping her arms wide, pistol going across all of them.

"Now as I was fething saying, we survive. Hmm let's see. Jak cover the door. You two barricade the other two with cargo crates. Nothing gets through them. I want one ingress and one egress point."

They trembled in their boots. One of the newbies dropped his rifle. She closed the distance like a bat out of hell and round house kicked him in the face, sending him flying into the wall. He screamed, she roared with anger.

"Weakness and sobbing will not be tolerated! This is life and death. Now do it! NOW"

They scrambled. She drew her rapier, not that it would help and levelled her own gun at the door. They had now only one set of doors between them as claws tore open another set, grinding servos and destroying them in a sickening crunch.

Sweat. Blood. Fear.

"We're gonna crash in one minute. As soon as we barrel into the fething station, I'm going to open this single door. We are going to leave this ship. We are going to kill everything we see. We are going to get another ship. We are going to leave. Who does not understand?"

2 Mags. That was it.

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Every shot counts, or we die.​

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak backed away as she gave him directions, nodding silently, not wishing to incur her wrath. When he took a part-time job as 'hired muscle', he thought he might be treated slightly better than a plywood dartboard. Thankfully he had caught on quick and kept his head down, sometimes literally.

Picking up the now-bloody rifle, he swallowed and reloaded, making an effort to NOT look at the pulped remains of the body. That would be him in sixty seconds if he didn't make an effort. He took the ammo packs as well, clipping them to the waist of his exo. 150 rounds... not much against a horde.

"Captain, do we have info on this station? What's our latest intel on the forces inside?" He stepped up next to her - slightly behind her - and readied his weapon. "If you can get me to a terminal, I can find us a ship."

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

Music:
https://youtu.be/FPQTty7t0RQ?list=RDEMiQebv_fGsmYC1o8gWOBm2A

She glanced sideways as the alien menace ripped at the door. Terror now thundered through her veins, perking up every single hair she possessed. Salty sweat dripped into her mouth and eyes, producing a stinging sensation. She pressed her lips into a thin line and slid one foot back. It was regrettable what she had to do to keep her crew disciplined, but then she did not regret it either. Ruthlessness kept these mercs in line.

"I have nothing Jak. The job was a simple one. My own design really. Get the coordinates of The Warstar and then find it and capture it. I had no idea we were walking into all..... this." She replied, waving her arms around.

The pounding became more intense. The ship rocked hard beneath their feet as the prow met the station. She sheared the outer ring clear off, scattering bodies and fuel into space. The crystallized remains spiralled in all directions. The Captain clicked her heels locking her mag boots to the deck as gravity failed, and grabbed Jak's belt to keep him stable

"Five seconds, hold!"

She counted them. Eternal seconds. Since he was her tech man his life had just moved up on her roster of most valuable folks.

"Ready, set......GOOOOOOO!"

She force pushed the latch. The door whooshed open and three hundred pounds of snarling snivelling alien thundered through. She threw Jak into the wall as hard as she could and fired, side stepping the beast. He met the wall, the beats met the bullets. More acid blood spattered across her arm. She roared in pain and grabbed Jak again, pushing him into the hall.

Three more seconds.

"You got three seconds to get out of here crew! Doors closing!"

The other two doors breached at that moment. The bloodcurdling cries of crewmen being ripped apart made even more venom and adrenaline rip through her system. She thought she might have even peed herself.

"Feth it, gooooooo!"

She slammed the door. Jak was safe in front of her. The mag from the chattering pistol was empty. It dropped to the deck with a clatter at the same time as the door slammed shut, locking the creature in the cargo bay.

"We bought ourselves some time! Airlock will be left of here!" She shouted thundering down the hall, vaulting through half open shattered doors.

"Don't ask me if we have any air on the station, I have no idea!"

She rammed the airlock button with her shoulder, while sliding in her last mag.

*Click*​

The door whooshed open, and pressure was still there. Screams echoed across the station. They were crashed into the lower levels. More alien pods were impacting the top, disgorging their spiteful cargo of nightmares. Colonists cried out as they were torn into. Acid blood rained through the roof, sinking down into deck plating.

She was unsure how much more damage her body could take.

Keep pushing. Do you wanna die here?​

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......No......​

"Showtime! Now's your chance. Find a terminal, I'll cover you!"

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He nodded, iron-plated boots impacting the deck with resounding clangs as he ran for the likeliest location of a comm station.

Pulling out his slicer knife, he stabbed it into the panel next to the blast doors, opening it a few feet, just enough for the two of them. "Get inside, I'm locking it after me." Once she had made it through, he closed the door behind him, sealing the creatures off for now, behind two feet of solid durasteel.

He handed her his revolvers. "Take good care of these, please, they've got very powerful rounds." If she recalled, he had used these to great effect earlier - the exploding bullets made short work of alien carapace, and the sheer impact of the magnum rounds was enough to knock them back anyway. "Eighteen rounds left, make them count."

Slinging his rifle over his back, he turned to the comm panel, eyeing it with delight. Oh, how he loved low-budget, low security panels; they made his job so much easier.

After a mere 14 seconds of slicing, he was in, and the station blossomed into holographic view. Alerts and "CRITICAL FAILURE" 's littered the entire east wing, with more and more of them popping up in a slow-moving wave along the station. They were lucky enough to have landed in the southwest section, but it wouldn't be too long before they were overrun as well.

"Alright... let's see. Hangars are completely overrun, that whole section is red. Cams are down completely, and I have absolutely no data on the situation there. Hull breaches are popping up all along the bottom of the station, probably due to the artificial gravity. Not sure how long that's going to last..." He keyed up a spot on the farthest point of the west wing - the hologram looked completely blue.

"However, shipping area is as-of-yet untouched, probably because no one's there. Can't say for how long though, this data is a few minutes old." Sighing, he stepped back a bit, running a hand through his verdant hair. "...and there's no information whatsoever on these creatures." He eyed her. "Any theories?"

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Jak Sandrow"]

Valeria nodded, taking the Revolvers with steady hands. The adrenaline and will to live was counter balancing everything out right about now. Her force rage was rising, crackling around her with purple lightning bolts. The Aliens were thundering down an airlock nearby, she could not only hear them but feel them. Their will to feed.

One materialised from the far side of the bay. She lowered both Revolvers and sent twin rounds flying, exploding in blossoms of flames, smoke and acid as they rent flesh. There was a loud thud as the aliens thundered to the deck, and the revolver clicked, cycling in a fresh round. Both her eyebrows shot up.

She glanced back to see Jaks red covered screen and then snapped her attention back to the bay.

"Yeah the place might have a vessel. Might have the Warstar, might not. Either way we need to get the feth out of here."

She tossed one revolver back to Jak and flipped one to the high ready, wiping the sweat, grime and blood from her eyes. Her whole body reeked and was filthy now. That did not stop her. She could not die. Would not die here.

"You got the map. Lead the way. I'm holding on to one of these. I'm out of rounds."

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He tossed the revolver back, unslinging the rifle from his shoulder. "I've got this, you take the pistols. Until we can get a resupply, hang onto them." Eyeing her lightning, he felt surprisingly better, knowing there was another Force user with him. "... I hope you're good with those sparks," he mentioned wryly, pulling out his knife and heading to the door panel. "If it comes down to it, we may need you to keep them at bay. You got any special secrets up your sleeve?"

His exo whirred as he shifted into battle mode, and he cracked his neck. "We could use a bit of a miracle right about now."

- - -

The doors opened, an alien screeched, and its head was blown off by a three-round burst. Jak jumped back from the spray of acid, mindful not to knock into the captain, and made a left turn, running down the hallway at a blistering speed. He could run faster, but he wanted to make sure he didn't leave her behind. "How fast can you go?" he asked, boots slamming off the floor like an alien dinner bell. "Cause we need to haul ass!"

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[B1-A-90]

"I didn't sign up for this!" The voice of an unidentified B1 droid rang out nearby, along with the screeching of aliens and the repeated noise of blaster fire. To any that cared to glance, a lone metal figure held back a small group of these unknown creatures. Conveniently enough such an oversight would have left the two running by at danger.

Roger Dodger looked back to see this motion blur of something that wasn't evil, tearing a piece of metal from the wall and throwing it down to halt the advance of the creatures.

"Hey! Wait up!" Dodger called out, legging it after them with an even louder sound of slamming as it ran, like an angry AT-ST.

[member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[Formorta]

"....... your a droid, at least the aliens will target you last", her voice was dry and muffled under one of the many masks Formrota carried around with her. Her back arms firing off the duel blaster pistols while the other 4 reloaded her Kisteer and DC blaster rifle, so much fire power but so little time.

Once reloaded she bolted out into the hall way, keeping close behind the group, the sound of their droid counterpart echoing all over the statoin. Most might have said that said droid was drawing attention, but Formorta had a sneaking feeling that the Xenos would find their location no matter what.

As they ran she climbed a top of [member="B1-A-90"], truing back and taking aim at the incoming hordes behind her, the DC blaster rile letting of whines as the red bolts speed and impacted their targets, "Anyone know were the nearest ship is, I can only shoot so many things at once". She hated aliens soooooo much right now.

[member="Jak Sandrow"] l [member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="B1-A-90"] [member="Formorta"]

Location: Moving to the lower Hangar Deck

She glanced at Jak as he spoke.

"No I'm afraid the sparks are just a byproduct of my rage at this particular moment. I was a Jedi before I fell, I never delved too deep into the Sith curriculum."-

Her little snippet was cut short as sounds arose from behind them.

More folks had joined them just as Jak opened the door and her jaw tightened again. Her eyes narrowed and both Revolvers came down level with the alien. she let fly the last of the rounds, shouldering past Jak. Every muscle in her body tensed up as she fired, fully expecting to be speared by the hideous monsters tail at any moment.

Except her round flew true and impacted right at the base of the creatures skull. Acid sprayed across the door and the walls, sizzling as it melted the durasteel into dripping pools of nothing. the lights continued to flash of an on at a rapid pace as the power was slowly drained from the station.

"Were almost out of time. If you want to live follow us!" She roared, using a force enhanced spinning kick to push the wounded alien back. He thudded against the deck, more of his carpace cracking as his body met the wall and crushed even more circuitry within. The lift itself was stuck, but she had an idea.

She spun the cylinder of one of the revolvers, checking to see what she had left. Three rounds between the two of them.

"Feth me. Hold on."

With nimble fingers she plucked the single round from one, sheathed it and placed it in the cylinder of the other. Her wrist flicked hard, snapping the cylinder shut, and she jammed it into the maw of the creature, angled towards the floor. Her finger depressed the trigger and she roared, as more acid blood landed in droplets on her face and legs, burning pinholes in it.

Her tactical gambit paid off though. The blood melted a sizeable section of the floor away, letting them get just about two bodies wide of an entrance into the shaft below. She sheathed the empty Revolver in her second holster spot, tossing her Blaster through the hole.

There was almost an immediate clatter. Which was a good sign.

"We're close. Very close. About a ten foot drop. Land with your feet and knee together, let's go!"

She charged, jumped and dropped through the hole, rolling as her feet impacted the floor of the deck below, balls first....

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He nodded, leaping down with her. "Thank you for not tossing my revolver as well," he noted wryly. "You got, what, four rounds left?"

His gun was up, scanning the so-far-alien-free hallway. It was very, very dark, so he flicked on the light on the gun. Empty... that was a good sign. "Alright, let's move."

They could still hear shrieking, both human and alien, in the distance, and the station rumbled under their feet as it began to fall apart. That was not a good sign. "We'll need a resupply soon, I only have one magazine left."

As he led the group, his Force signature slowly began to make itself known, and he closed his eyes as he scanned the hallway in front of them. "It seems clear... but these could be Vong, so that doesn't say very much. If they're not Vong, they're not in front of us... if they are... who knows."

They came to a thick door, and Jak pursed his lips in thought. "I could hack it, but it would take time... or I could put a breaching charge on it, and signal our location to every alien on the station."

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[B1-A-90]

The droid didn't even seem to understand why its new passenger had even pointed that out, its head tilting to try and get a fix on whoever was weighing it down but failing pretty hard. At least it seemed like a friend and not a super intelligent alien.

"That's a welcome difference." Dodger spoke in a slightly saddened tone before returning to the standard whiny tone that was common with later model B1 droids.

"I'm no personal taxi! Take your own legs to the ship!"

One particular individual seemed to have a hold on the situation, despite how battle-scarred she seemed to be. This was so interesting that Dodger forgot about [member="Formorta"] in exchange for following [member="Valeria Skyrender"] . She took another hit primarily to open up a hole in the floor that could have easily been made with some application of blade, but organics liked to be valiant.

"Glad I'm battle grade metal!" Dodger exclaimed as the acid hit.

The droid let everyone else fall down the hole first as the aliens presumably had no interest in Dodger themselves, then proceeded to hop down into the hole... Or that was the plan at least, instead getting stuck on the wings that protruded from the side of the lifting apparatus.

"Oh come on! Always the droid that gets the short end of the stick."

Easy fix though, just a bit of shuffling and... Dodger fell to the floor less than gracefully, but at least it was a landing. Then, looking up to see [member="Jak Sandrow"] instead taking a lead in the pack with regards to a door. The battle droid had only one opinion on the matter;

"Blast it!"

 

[RC 212]

[member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="B1-A-90"]

Her breaths came heavy as they thundered through the halls, her boots slapping the floor in sloppy form. She ran behind them in unison, both hands pumping. Jak mentioned something about resupplying. She grunted, skidding to halt in front of the door. One hand reached back and clasped the hilt of her knife near the small of her back. She ripped it free, twirling it into a reverse grip and raising both fists in a high guard.

"I'm completely dry."

Her hips opened up and her knees bent, lead foot backwards. Her legs felt like the acid blood of the aliens itself was blasting through them. Every part of her body felt on fire as her shredded nerves shouldered the onslaught of the terror and adrenaline ripping through her veins.

"I agree. We don't have time for a resupply. Blow the door Jak, and quick. Before something else comes this way."

 

[Jak Sandrow]

He nodded, eyeing over her wounds and wishing he had time to heal them... No matter. There would be time later.

"Alright, you're gonna want to stand to the side."

Pulling a rather large device from his backpack - it was about the size of a nuna-ball, and then some - and he placed it to the door, where it magnetically sealed itself to the surface. He typed in a few numbers, then activated it by pushing in the lever. "Move!" He jogged to the side and put his hands over his ears.

There was a soft hiss, then the door exploded into the hangar, mangled beyond relief. Jak's ears still rang, but he could hear clear enough to know that there was no way the aliens didn't hear them. "Alright, move it! There's got to be a ship in here somewhere."

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[Formorta]

She just stayed silent at the robot as they continued down, the hall, she didn't give at rats ass what he though, her method work as it allowed her to stay still and shooting while still moving, dozens of xenos falling to her blaster fire, but also starting to fun short on ammo. Formorta had not really planned to go up against an army of aliens, so she did not really think yo bring her in battle amount of ammo.

The sound of the others talking didn't really reach her ears, concentrating solely on the fight, but instincts told her that a ground exit would be made soon. Slowly on by one the other dropped through, the B1 getting a bit suck, earning a mental sight from the veteran sniper, 'droids'. She was to be the last though, but would give the xenos a run for there money, holstering her weapons she let lose a thermal detonator, before jumping down the hole, arms spread wide, landing like a sniper as a thump was heard from above, indicating the explosive had done its work.

She reached the ground just in time to hear Jak yell about hitting the deck, taking cover behind a pillar as the door was busted through, "I still have some shots left, want me to take point". It was less of a statement then question, no xenos were gonna stop her, acid breath or not, she'd fight them bare handeded if need be.

[member="Jak Sandrow"] l[member="Valeria Skyrender"] l[member="B1-A-90"]

 

[B1-A-90]

The B1 never really was concerned with loud noises such as metal screeching or big explosions, so it stood still instead of diving for cover like some others, only being slightly pushed away yet standing ground.

"That would be a good grenade." Dodger silently remarked, whilst slowly advancing into the hangar bay with weapon arms up. The Droid could hear the aliens scampering around now, probably to search them out and kill them.

No problem for the Droid though since Dodger had almost nothing to offer them, not even food.

[member="Formorta"] [member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="Valeria Skyrender"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Jak Sandrow"] [member="Formorta"] [member="B1-A-90"]

Her eyebrow raised at the sniper and she scowled a bit, annoyed with the woman waiting till now to speak up.

"You have ammo? Give me some. And yes, take point."

Jak blew the doors, sending them careening off their hinges. She glanced back over her shoulders, noting that the droid stood stock still. She nodded to him and motioned for him to take point with Formorta as her eyes scanned this way and that. She spotted what she was looking for. It was no WarStar, but it was a ship. Corvette class about two hundred meters long mounted with mass drivers. She liked that.

"That one there! Go!"

She took off, following Jak and motioning for the other two to run blocking action as aliens swarmed in. They ran in a tight group, boots thundering for the ramp. She calculated angles of trajectory in her mind, trying to discern which way the aliens would intercede from. They swarmed in from every vent and open space now, hungry for the fresh prey that had exposed itself.

Every minutiae of her being focused to turning over legs as fast as her physiology augmented by the force would allow. Everything melted into a blur as the flood closed in on both sides and waves of them fell in behind the space the group had just occupied. No matter how much ammo they had, there was no standing and fighting now.

"Run! Faster! Don't look back!

They had to make the ramp, or they would die.....

 

[Jak Sandrow]

Jak drew in a breath, pushing out with the Force in a rudimentary barrier. It was no impenetrable wall, but it would hold back the aliens just long enough for them to get on board. He grunted with the effort, and gritted out, "... move it!"

Holding the barrier in place took a lot of work for the inexperienced user, and Jak was feeling the toll quite heavily. He couldn't move much faster than a brisk walk, and the barrier kept slipping nonetheless.

He was about 20 meters from the ramp when the barrier dropped, and he collapsed to his hands and knees. He was very out of practice, and it showed. The aliens were 100 meters away now, and closing fast. Looking up from the deck, Jak could see their saliva as they hungered for their meal, right in front of them.

"... help...."

[member="Valeria Skyrender"]
[member="B1-A-90"]
[member="Formorta"]

 

[Formorta]

Her head turned slightly to look at the other woman as they made their way through the door, "Does your weapons take .57 caliber slugs? if not I'm down to my last clips". Her blasters were both half full and her Kister and DlC only had a few shoots left, the only weapons with a decent amount of ammo was her APAR, but firing an anti armor sniper rifle inside a space station was the definition of bad idea.

Soon the sound of screeching reach her ears as the group made haste to the corvette, the xenos swarming out of hole vents and what ever opening they could fit though. "Id rather be going up against a Sith lord", her arms sprang back to life, firing widely into the mass of oncoming horde of aliens as she backpedaled towards the ship. The force barrier keeping them at bay but only for a bit, it was close, too close, and for once in her life Formrota started to worry slighly.

She was around 10 meters away from the ramp, when her Kisteer ran out of rounds and her DLC clicked it, "Fuck, I'm almost out". She holstered the two rifle not resorting to just her pistols, unsheathing two vibro blades in preparation for close combat, sure taking on one or two in CQC would be easy, but dozen upon dozens, they would be ripped apart in now time. "get that door open".

[member="Jak Sandrow"] l [member="Valeria Skyrender"] l [member="B1-A-90"]