The Baldie, The Clone, and the Sabre: Chapter 5

[Martzin]

Reno's eyelids slowly lifted open, feeling the cold sensation of liquid surrounding his whole body, lightly floating up and down in a vat of reforming fluid. He had a dull aching in his chest, feeling the gaping cavity inside him slowly being covered up and regenerated.

"So this is what cloning feels like...?"

The only thing visible at this point was the blurred glass that concealed the tub he was afloat in, with the occasional outline of a bubble floating up in his peripheral vision. He could hear the faint muffled voices of people talking, only able to make out the occasional intonations of words they speak...

And then finally, he could hear the sound of water rushing, and he was spewed out of the container onto the ground, butt-naked and covered in green amniotic slime.

"AHH!" Reno yelled at the immediate sight of blinding light taking over his vision, attempting to block it with his eyes.
He felt a hand grab his wrist and pull his hand down. "It's alright now, Reno! You're safe."

"FUCK! WHO'SE THAT?!" Reno cried, thrashing wildly at these unknown figures that loomed over him. Who knows what they could be? Alien abductors, for all he knew!

"Calm down, sergeant! We're just doctors, we just got you back up from the planet. You've missed out on alot, buddy."

"Oh..Okay! Where's my stuff?"
The doctor pointed to the ground next to him, and Reno looked to his own side. He saw all of his stuff there; his backpack, a fresh pair of clothes, and his beloved sabre, all neatly stacked atop eachother.
Reno quickly grabbed his things and hastily dressed himself up, sliding his sabre onto the now clean leather sheath. A broad smile creased across his face as he listened to it slide in.
"Hey, sergeant, you're missing your belt."

"Huh?"

"For your fuckin' pants, sergeant." The doctor put his arm forward, slightly startling Reno. The pant-belt was dangling from his hands, and Reno quickly swiped it and placed it firmly around his trousers.

"And for fuck sake Reno, put your god damn shirt on!"
Reno had been confused at the shape of the shirt and so he left it on the ground, instead simply putting the armor on.
"I don't... the shirt..."
The doctor sighed and said "for the love of god," while he picked up the shirt. "C'mon, take off the chestplate."
Reno lifted the chestplate off his body and dropped it on the ground.
"Don't drop it on the ground willy-nilly you fucking moron, take care of it!"

"Sorry, god damnit!"

"Lift up your damn arms!"
Reno raised his arms straight up, his hands awkwardly dangling to the sides. The doctor forced the shirt down onto Reno, grunting as he struggled to wriggle it into the proper position.

"Now pick up that fucking chestplate."

Reno delicately crouched down and put the chestplate on, before straightening himself and looking back at the doctor.

The doctor sighed and downcastedly said, "I hope God is with you, sergeant. Because if he is not you will surely get butt-fucked beyond comprehension. Remember, get that sitrep."

Reno quickly walked his way out of the medbay, and got onto his comms. "Command, what's the sitrep?"

"Oh boy, you've missed out on alot, Reno..." It was the XO. "Those things that jump on yer face? They put a baby inside you and it pops out. 'Fact, that's what happened to you, before we got you back 'n all that shit! Our boys in Delta found most of the colonists inside the caves that those slimy motherfuckin' geckos were living in, and that baby that bursts out your chest? Well, it's just a baby lizard! Sorry to say Reno, you got mouth-fucked!"
"Well, ain't that just fucking embarrassing. How many men do we have left in my squad?"

"Uh, let me see here..." The XO was quiet for a second. "You, the knuckle dragger and 2 grunts. Your squad's fucked, sarge."
"Shit..." reno sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hands as that emotion of regret filled back in him.
"Don't worry, sergeant. Most squads are like that, we got our asses kicked planet-side... Oh, and we've re-organized and are prepping for a second landing! Get your ass high speed and into the Rasp!"
"Aye aye, sir... How many squad leaders are still kicking, by the way?"
"Just you and Bravo's SL."

"Whoo, boy. Alright, I'm Oscar Mike..."
"Oorah, Reno! Expect to see me down there with you jarheads!"

"Oo-fucking-rah, Watkins."
Reno quickly rushed his way through briefing and slid down the ladders, as the CO was announcing over the comms the 2nd drop. Fresh new marines who must've been late-wakers were now filling up the chairs that surrounded Reno, most of them with no guidance other than the vague orders they're given to.

Reno sat down on the chair, and in that moment he figured; Why don't I lead them to battle? He had the wit, courage, and duty to do it. This time, he was determined to lead the USCMC to victory... his sabre in hand.
The Pilot walked out of his cock-pit and yelled, "RASP'S GOING DOWN IN 30 SECONDS! MOVE YOUR ASSES, JARHEADS!"
In the midst of the crowd, Reno could see a particular face: Weaver Watkins. He was shuffling his way to a seat, barking orders at the rest of the boots to get in a chair High Speed.

Opposite of Reno the XO sat, and next to the XO was Powalski.
"Hey, Powalski. What's the sitrep?"

"Don't you see it? We went down, got our asses kicked by a bunch'a over-grown lizards, we reformed and now we're gonna kick their scaly asses back."

"No, I mean what the fucking lizards are like. Medbay is telling me there's snakes popping out of people's chests!"

"Oh! That... Well, you see, those face-crabs you saw earlier were like these little sperm-sacks that put a baby inside of your chest when they get on your face... When you wake up, you live for a little while before the baby explodes out of your chest! And they head back to their slimy fuckin' hive and grow into another one of those lizards!"

"That's a crazy fucking lifecycle..."

"Yeah, ain't it?"

"Quit yer yappin'!" The XO interrupted, his wrinkly face now red. "I need you two to be the spear-heads of the mission, and be mighty damn dutiful while yer at it!"

"Sir yes sir!" they both replied.

Reno quickly jumped back onto the comms. "Suro, Ray, come in."

"We're here, sarge!" Ray yelled back, gunfire and the familiar screams of the lizards in the background. "We're doing our best to hold out! We're stuck in center Nexus, and these bastards are right on our fucking noses!"

"I've got a sentry stood up, it's doing well on keeping the iguana hordes back." Suro calmly responded.

"Outstanding, marines. We'll be landing down to get you two back, and we'll be retaking Hydro."

"Oorah, sarge!" Suro exclaimed. "Oh, and by the way, there's 2 guys from Alpha helping out!"

"Oo-god damn-rah, marines! We're coming down!"

"THE RASP'S GOING DOWN!" the Pilot hollered, and soon enough Reno could hear the engines revving up.
One final soldier, his helmet colored that of Charlie's, sat beside Reno.
And soon after that, the ground lifted up and pressed them both into their seats.
"Sarge?" the soldier said. Reno looked at him, "What's your name, marine?"

"I'm Foster, sarge. The guy who got burnt?"
It had all come back to him now -- the screaming, the burnt tongue, the blistered and peeling skin. He was looking at the face of a man who lived through being a roast barbecue.

"God damn, son. It's good to see you've made it back." Reno reached over and patted Foster on the back, now overcome with joy at the sight of a man recovering from such a horrifying fate.

"Yeah, I'm glad I got back too, sarge."

"Alright now Foster, listen. We're going to be re-taking the planet and pushing those gooey iguana fucks back to the dirt-hole they evolved from, eh?"

"Fuck yeah, sarge! I'm gonna shoot the fuck outta whatever thing turned me into pig-roast... blow these fuckers to extinction!"

"That's the spirit, son. We got lots of marines down there waiting for our help, two of them are Charlie."

"Alright sergeant, just lead the way!"
Reno laid back in his chair watching Foster fidget around, seeming oddly excited, for a man who was once doused in napalm-gas or whatever the hell that was.

Soon enough, the sound of the engines approaching ground was heard, and once the whole shuttle rattled the front sentries lit up and the men sprinted outside.

"GO! GO! GO!" The XO yelled, as the troops charged their way into the Nexus, screaming bloody murder. Reno and Powalski attempted to catch up to the front, but alas they couldn't.
The Nexus was quiet, with nothing but 4 marines and a beaten fort at the center.
The marines quickly slowed down and began to scout around the rooms, checking for any hostiles.
Reno approached the 4 men, each one of them bruised, bloodied, grimy and in tatters, and with a bad case of the thousand-yard stare.
"Thank god you got here!" one of the Alpha marines exclaimed. "We thought we done for! Those fucking things, man... they're everywhere! They're in the walls!"

"It's alright now, marine. We got you."
Suro was sitting against the sentry that faced west, watching as the back-up force was clearing out the area. Reno hopped over a table and approached the shell-shocked engineer.

"Oh, Reno... glad to see you made it back." She lifted her head from the sentry.

"Yep, I'm here... and Foster, he's here too."

"Foster? Oh, that's great. Where is he?"

"Bah, probably clearing out the kitchen or some shit..."

"Do you know where Dubi might be?"

"Yeah, over there." Suro lifted her chin behind Reno, whereupon he turned. Ray was leaning on the wall, one of his knees wrapped in a dirty red bandage.

"Thanks for the help, Suro. Are you gonna stay or leave?"

"The fight's not over yet, sarge..." a weak smirk spreading across her face.

"Still got that fighting spirit, I see."

"I'm a marine, aren't I?"

"Yeah, you damn sure are if you're still trooping. I gotta check on Ray."
Reno made his way to Dubi, who was chugging down his canteen, having just splashed some on his face.

"Good to see you, Ray."

"Who- shit!" Dubi exclaimed, quickly standing up and pointing his rifle forward. "You fucking scared me, sarge!"

"Nice reflexes."

"S'cause I've been stuck in this fucking hell-hole for like 17 hours, man! Fuckin' Koster, man! They ripped his head right off!"

"I take it you're leaving for the Rasputin, then."

"Leaving? You're god damn right I'm leaving. This shit's gonna keep me sleepless for weeks..."
Ray quickly got up and limped his way towards the Rasputin, Reno turning around to face the mustering marine force.
"Well that's that, then."

"Alright marines, rally the fuck up in center Nexus! The assault begins now! SL's are with me, your XO!"
The rest of the force quickly formed up into a neat column, most of the troops looking fresh and eager with a couple of marines who must've been left behind based on their appearance, their dark and empty eyes accompanied by their shambled clothes and countless bandages...
Reno and Powalski made their way over and stood next to the XO, all facing the men who would be their one and only chance at beating back the lizard menace.

"Alright marines, listen up and listen up good. We are the last this Platoon has to offer. The Admirals and CentCom are watching you, God is watching you. God himself is depending that we prevent this alien threat of slimy fucking lizards from spreading across the galaxy and putting Humanity into extinction as we know it! The whole god damn world is depending on us! We are marines, and our goal is to keep the cradle of civilization safe from whatever pests wanna tear it down! You get me?!"

"We get you sir!" The whole row of men erupted.

"We are going into the Hydroponics dome where we will begin our extinguishing of the Lizard Menace! After that, we will fortify the Hydroponics dome and continue to push across the river into Tablefort! Afterwards, we will make one final assault onto the caves where we will squash the two-mouthed sons-a bitches under our boot! You get me?!"

"WE GET YOU SIR!" The marines yelled, stepping it up a notch.

"Delta's men follow Charlie Squad, Alpha follows Bravo! Now fuckin' move, Jarheads!"

"DELTA AND CHARLIE, ON ME!" Reno hollered, and a sizable amount of men formed with Reno. Suro was the only one with Charlie's colors on.
Reno ran outwards to the Nexus with his new squad following closely behind him, his sabre pulled out and pointed forward. Powalski led his men out through north Nexus, where the air was filled with marines screaming wildly as they ran forward.

Reno made it to his destination, where he halted his squad. They could see faint silhouettes of the lizards moving about in hydroponics, and saw Powalski's squad encroaching from the East...

"Any marine with 'nades left, shoot one through the doorway..." Reno whispered, looking back at the squad.
The sound of a switch being toggled could be heard, and after a second of heavy suspense and anticipation, one shot was launched.
The windows were immediately blown into pieces as the doorway filled with smoke, whereupon Reno charged his men forward, leading them with his sword in hand. He could see the wild thrashing of the xenomorphic beings, as they jumped and crawled their way into some crevice in search of safety. The troops slowly advanced, pushing the few living lizards into a small corner.

And suddenly, one of those small crabs was flung out of the wild crowd of creatures, planting itself right onto the face of a marine standing next to Reno.

He quickly kneeled down and went to work on ripping the face-spider from the marine's face, as it desperately clung onto the man's skull to accomplish what it was made for, but alas it couldn't hold on longer and was thrown up into the air. The thing splattered and it's blood smeared across one of the walls. Reno grabbed the man by the collar and shook him violently until his eyes popped open, shocked and dazed.
"GET YOUR RIFLE AND START FIRING!" Reno ordered. The marine's instincts kicked in and he snatched up his M41A, stood back up and went back to firing.

By the time Reno had kneeled up the lizards were breaking down a window in a desperate attempt to escape, and out of the firing and screaming a marine called: "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

He heard the distinct low *bwomp* of a grenade being shot out of it's launcher, and Reno yelled "GET DOWN!" before the whole crowd of lizards was blown apart into a thousand chunks, followed by acid flying everywhere and raining down in droplets.

The ensuing flesh chunks and melting acid blood had splashed across all the soldiers, the majority of them getting large enough doses to keep them on the ground desperately flailing to get their boiling chest-plates off before it stuck to them. Reno was far back enough to only get a few droplets fall on his back and burn his skin.

Reno stood up, being surrounded by rows of piled marine masses all burning and screaming in agony, a cacophany of pained yelling filling the air and drilling into Reno's ears, himself trying to cover them in hopes that the horrifying screams might become more bearable.
Suro lifted her head up and crawled her way out of the 2 burnt marines she was sandwiched in, quickly standing up herself.
"WHO THE FUCK SHOT THAT GRENADE?!" Powalski exclaimed, and waited for an answer.

"The fucker who shot the 'nade is probably one of the assholes melting in acid!" Foster responded.

"MEDIC!" Reno yelled. He looked around hoping to see someone trying to help the wounded troops, but nobody was. It was just tons of standards.
"Fucking shit!" Reno uttered in frustration and terror, as he hastily looked around for something to patch up a few of the dying marines next to him. He saw a bloody backpack with the unique red cross plastered on it's front pockets, and Reno quickly jumped over to grab it.
Powalski ran to Reno's side in aid, and Reno unzipped it, only to see it was nearly completely empty apart from some bandages and ointment.
"FUCK!" Powalski and Reno both cried, knowing that things were not going to improve. They grabbed what little supplies was left and quickly went to work on healing a few marines, with other lucky ones taking the chestplates off to help.
Reno began to smear ointment on the legs of one soldier, and promptly bandaged it. "Wait here," he said to the groaning man. The pain would become bearable eventually.

Reno did the same to a few more, before he eventually ran out of supplies. Powalski had ran out a long time too, and soon the last few men who could still fight were stuck, alone, with their only friends dying on the ground.
Powalski was leaned against a tray that was now engulfed in the black weeds, looking defeatedly at the melted away assault party.
"We fucking lost..." he said, his tone dejected and quivering. "And to our own fucking self! How can this shit happen?"
Reno was watching as the few burnt marines with their chestplates removed attempted to get up or in some sort of sense get off the ground. Some crawled their way to a tray and leaned there.

They waited and waited, and after maybe 15 minutes the only men who didn't move were those who were dead or on the verge of it.
Weaver had also been burnt in the explosion and had only recently recovered, his waist splattered with the sizzling acid.
"Fuck...!" The XO blurted out, grabbing onto a tray. "The whole fucking force... by a-- fuck..fucking grenade!"
Reno grabbed onto the XO's arm, and pulled him up to his feet, having him rest on the tray.
"Help the rest of the fucks, sergeants! Fuck!" The XO grunted, still grasping onto the tray. Reno took a few steps and helped the few marines who could still stand up to their feet.
"Remember marines, there is an order of no retreat. No surrender. The only direction for us is forward, so keep moving, men!"
"Uhh... we need 3 men to grab the wounded and take them back to the LZ. Uhh... Cole, Werner, and..."

"I'll go with 'em, sir." Foster interrupted.

"Well then, get to work marines." The 3 troopers set to work, dragging the critically wounded outside of the dome and back to the nexus.

"Now what...?" one of the burnt marines sternly said.

"We keep movin', marine! There ain't no going back now!" Watkins said. "So get your ass in gear and keep going!"
A loud uproar of pained moans and grunts followed, but nonetheless the remnants carried on. Reno did a quick headcount- 20 marines, 8 of which are wounded which makes 12 fit for combat. 3 of those 12 is Reno, Powalski, and Watkins.

The remaining column of men trudged on, making their way through the thickets of the jungle and the sprawled weeds, luckily not being bothered by any crabs or lizards along the way. Eventually they made it to the southern bank of the river, where the XO halted the advance.

"Marines, I just want you to say your final prayers and gather into your respective squads. After this is the point of no return..."
The men ominously looked at eachother's faces, the crowd now grown quiet. Many of them chose to say their final words to God before they walked into Hell itself.
Reno took his moments of silence for his squad, and prayed that the last few men would make it out alive. He looked at his sword one last time-- it was remarkably clean. Not a speck of dirt or dust, the metal gleaming in the moonlight, but soon it would be drenched in the blood of countless alien creatures to the glory of Reno.

"This is it, marines." Watkins sternly said. He turned around and stepped into the waist-deep water, his revolver aimed forward. Reno and Powalski followed close behind, accompanied by their men. They managed to get a few steps across, until a line of acid was shot forward into the crowd, striking a marine with no armor dead in the chest. He quickly slumped over with a sizzling hole in his body.
"Stay in position, marines! Don't fucking scatter!" Watkins yelled. The marines maintained a loose position, their guns ready to fire, their minds racing with the horrors of the night-lurking monsters...

And then a whole gaggle of crabs was thrown from the midst, latching onto multiple marines, followed by the small red dogs leaping from out of the night and onto any unfortunate soul in their way. They quickly attempted to claw at their necks, attempting to tear their heads off. The rest quickly responded with fire and screaming, but it was too late. 4 men now lay dead in the column, as the rest ripped the crabs off their comrades and fired blindly into the night, hoping to keep the lizards at bay.

Soon enough, they made it to the caves, the rigid rocks connected to one of those pointy side-leaning mountains as tall as a skyscraper. The entrances were blocked with a membrane with a slit down the middle, and the men began to stab it with their boot knives, Reno himself cutting it open with his sword. They continued their unsteady and timid advance through the caves, expecting for something to pop up...

At some point, the troops made their way into a room lined with thousands of leathery pods, all of them opened. The walls and roofs were covered with the dead bodies of marine and colonist alike, with that similar punched hole in their chests. This was a hatchery.
"Jesus fuck man..." a marine exclaimed, gawking at the walls of bodies strapped side-by-side.
"Keep moving..." Reno quietly ordered. "And stay frosty, it's too quiet in here..."
The men continued their move, walking through multiple more rooms of caves, and burning down any unopened egg they stumbled upon.

In the middle of their little 'advance' they could hear someone struggling and straining, the sound of the mucous being stretched and torn...
"Hold," Reno ordered. He slowly walked forward with his sabre, and jumped into a small chokepoint.
On the wall was a marine still breathing, struggling to work her way through the resin. Reno's lamplight shined straight into her face.
"Help me out of the mucous for the love of god!" the marine pleaded. Reno quickly sprung into action and began to saw his way through the resin with his sabre, now knowing who she was.
Eventually the resin was weakened and she plopped out, Reno quickly grabbing her to stop her from faceplanting on the ground.
"How the fuck are you still alive, Prevatt?"

"I dunno, sarge...! But I'm really hurt, and my chest hurts..."

"Well shit private. We have no medics or medical supplies left, you've just gotta bear through it all..."

"I-I can do it, sarge. Not the worst I've been through, heh..."

"Good luck, private."
Prevatt limped her way out, pulling a pistol out from her pocket right before turning the corner.
"You think they're waiting to ambush, Reno...?" Powalski whispered.

"I'm.. not sure... they were at the river but they're completely gone."

"They're in the walls, man!" another marine yelled hysterically.

"They just pop out and getcha... and then they do THIS shit to you!" he continued, pointing at a dead man on the ceiling.
The other marines began to look around, uproaring in fear as they began to form a closely-knit group while aiming at the walls.

"They blend in with the weeds! They're all around here... all of 'em! Hundreds, thousands! On the walls!"

"Calm yourself, soldier! If they were here, they would've attacked us by now... we're too deep into the caves!" Reno yelled back, hoping to reassure the men. But soon after, someone on the comms yelled:

"The lizards are at LZ2! They've taken the fucking pod!"

"What the hell?!" Reno yelled. The marines' terror only grew as they broke apart their column and simply clumped into a giant ball of meatshields, Reno and Powalski trying to get them back into position. But soon after an automated voice stated:
"Unknown biological entity has accessed the shuttle console!"

"OH HOLY SHIT!" Powalski screamed in utter fright, Reno following with a "Dear God!" of his own.

"GET BACK TO LZ1, MARINES! THOSE FUCKERS ARE GONNA BOARD THE SULLY!"

The marines quickly sprinted out of the caves, attempting to make their way back to the Nexus. Along the way they could see all the domes were once again filled with weeds, even the battleground of Hydroponics with it's blood and bullet-casing covered floor had now been encased by the infesting membranes that covered it's steel foundation.

They continued to frantically run back, Reno in the middle of the group trying to keep up. They ran through the Nexus which luckily was spared from the weeds, and eventually made it to the LZ where Foster had been waiting with the wounded, soon realizing the Rasputin was gone...
"WHO THE FUCK CALLED THE RASP?!" Reno yelled into his headset.

"Some dumb fucker in Command did!" Foster yelled back.

"Command, can I call the Rasputin down?!" Reno cried on the comms.

"It's in mid-flight and won't be able to come down for a while now..." responded the CO.

An unbridled rage was now building up inside Reno, clenching his fists in pure fury...
"FUUUCKK!!"

"Soldiers on the ground, HOLD LZ1!" The CO was broadcasting on the radio. "It is our LAST dropzone and our only chance of escape! Marines, this is our finest hour!"

"YOU HEARD HIM!" The XO shouted. "SURO, SET UP THAT SENTRY! WE HOLD HERE AND DO NOT LEAVE UNTIL COMMAND SAYS OTHERWISE!"

"Aye, sir!" Suro began to unload her equipment and started piecing the sentry back together, as the rest of the men mobilized into position to watch their flanks. A couple of troops took cover behind some barricades that had been there since the beginning of the assault, with Reno watching the horizon for any movement, knowing that this would be their last hope for survival...

[Martzin]

So here's Chapter 5, pretty long one if I say so myself.

So since it's the holidays and I'm going around spending time with family, I'm going to be mostly inactive from December 16-December 26. I'll try and add to the next few chapters in the mean-time, but for now I leave you with this.

[Eenkogneeto]

Damn. Thats good stuff, Best one so far.
Oorah to ashes.

[Monoo]

Very nice, as always

[solidfury7]

I do enjoy stuff like this. Good work.

[Karmac]

Man I won't need to buy books again if you keep this up.

A pleasure to read, as per usual, like you said it was a lot longer, and I appreciate that, gives me plenty to reread while I wait for the next chapter. Maybe I'll get my dossier done at some point too.