The Baldie, The Clone, and the Sabre: Chapter 6

[Martzin]

Reno waited and waited, listening to the screaming and yelling of marines who were still aboard the Sulaco in the headset, but nothing popped out from the shadows. It was just the few Marines left on the planet-- the last few, and if the Sulaco was taken they would be the only remnants of their entire platoon and end up starving to death if the aliens didn't get to them first.

"Sentry's up, lieutenant."

"Good! Good," he responded.

"Do we have any medical equipment or anything? My chest is burning..."
Reno immediately looked back at the medic, to which the entire group was glaring at him. They took glances at each other before someone said,
"Are you infected?"

"What?! No, it's just the fucking acid!"

"Take off your blouse, corporal."

The corporal lifted his shirt up, revealing a nasty red blister sprawled across his chest.

"Oh jesus, you need a doctor..." Powalski grimaced.

"I think it's infected," he said while poking his blister.

"What's your name, son?" the XO asked.

"Kazimov Karamov."

"Does anyone have any fucking ointment left?" the XO continued, but nobody said a word.

"Fuck..." Karamov exclaimed, pulling his shirt back down. "Guess this shit's gonna fester."

"There might be something left in the Med-dome..." Suro stated, while simultaneously turning the turret on.

"No, no. We hold here corporal, that's final."
The XO sat back down, rubbing his waist with a wince.
"All the wounded are gonna die unless we don't get supplies," Suro rebutted. "We've got to atleast try and find something."

Weaver looked around with a deep sigh. "Fine, go find your fuckin' meds. But don't go any farther than the Nexus' premises."

"I'll go with her." Reno stated.

"You sure you want that, Reno?"

"Well, uhh.. I myself am hurting a bit, on my back."

"Well go on ahead, Charlie."

The two grabbed their rifles and walked into the Nexus, Foster tagging along.
"This is it," Foster said. "Most of the lights are still going... you think there's still any more of those lizards left?"

"Yes, yes, there always is..." Reno responded, gazing deeply ahead of himself, drool beginning to drip down his lower lip.
Reno's face slowly lost it's expression before Suro snapped her fingers.
Foster's eyebrows flinched in stupification at Renos temporary zone-out, before they both continued walking.
"Check the sec office." Suro pointed towards it. One of the windows was smashed open with a table blocking the path.

Reno approached the table and began to push against it until it eventually flopped over with a loud crash, dust kicking up from underneath.
"Reno, be more fucking careful!" Foster said in a stage whisper, checking the area around him hunched over pointing his rifle forward.
Reno climbed over the table, followed by Suro and Foster. They immediately began to loot the entire room for any sort of useful equipment; be-it tools, batons, tasers, armor, and whatever else could be considered useful.
Suro was swiping out everything from tables and stuffing it into her pack, and soon after began to break down the table with her tools.

"Geez Suro, do you need so much shit?" Foster queried.

"Yes, Foster, I do... you don't want any more lizards ferrying up the Rasp, do you?"
Foster sighed.

"Anyone find any meds?" Reno said.

"All I found is a half-used trauma kit..." Foster raised up the kit, the green bandages dangling from his hand.

Reno took a glimpse through the reinforced window, and could see something gleaming proudly in the pitch darkness ahead. He slowly began to approach it, before his head bumped into the window causing him to stumble back.
Suro quickly grabbed Reno before he lost his balance.
"Fucking hell, Reno!" she cried. "What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

"Huhg... I saw something shiny out there!"

Suro lifted Reno up, letting him stand by himself. Foster and Suro looked at eachother.
"Alright, let's go guys..." Foster said.
The 3 quickly walked out of the room, Suro lugging around a gigantic pack on her with each step followed by the jangling of countless tools and materials she decided to lug around.
"You're gonna reveal our position with all that shit packed, Suro!" Foster whispered.

"Shut the fuck up!" she replied, attempting to keep her voice low and concealed.
And then suddenly, a tile popped out from above, slamming right onto Suro's head as she grunted and fell over.
"Holy shit!" Reno yelled running over, as something from above grabbed Suro and tried to pull her up before Reno and Foster grabbed her legs.
"PULL!" Reno frantically exclaimed, as he could feel the engineer slowly slipping out of their grip as they desperately clenched on. He could hear the hissing of the alien as it slowly overpowered the marines...
Then Foster pulled out his sidearm and began to fire into the open roof, the alien's blood splashing down and dropping Suro.
"FUCK!" Foster cried, checking himself for any more burns. "I'm good, sarge!"
Reno began to examine himself, but couldn't feel any pain. "I'm fine too."
They both looked towards Suro, her head slowly raising up as she looked around.

"...What happened...?"

Foster answered, "A piece of the fucking roof knocked you out and you almost got taken by one of those damn things..."

Reno looked at the overfilled backpack, and could see it was falling apart by acid.
"Hey Suro, your backpack's burning in acid."

"Wait, what?" She immediately slipped off her backpack and unsteadily stood up, rubbing her head.
"My shit! All of my shit is in there!" She desperately reached through the burnt holes and tried to grab something, but all she could pull out was chunks of smelted metal.
"No, no, no no! How the fuck can this shit happen to me?!"

"Too late to mourn for that shit now," said Foster. "Let's get the fuck outta here!"
The 3 made their way out of the nexus, Reno trying to keep the engie from stumbling over and smashing her face on the ground.
2 marines ran over towards the group, accompanied by Weaver.
"What the fuck happened out there?! We heard gunshots!"

"One of those... uhh.. things came out from above the roof and nearly got Suro!" Reno yelled.

"Where's her pack?"

"It... fucking melted!" Suro yelled.

"Fuck.." the XO murmured. "Did you atleast find anything useful?"

"Uhh, sir..." Foster walked over to Weaver, holding out the trauma kit.

"This is all you fucking found?"

"Yes, sir... everything else was in Suro's pack."

"Ah, fuck... Kazamov!"

Kazamov walked over, quickly saluting the XO. "Sir?"

"Get to work on the wounded, and uhh... be scarce."
The XO gave the kit to Karamov, who looked at him dumbfounded.
"Did I stutter?"

"No, sir."
Kazamov quickly walked over to the lines of wounded marines and went to work.
Watkins turned back to Reno as Suro limped away.
"So... that's it?" he said.

"That's it."
The XO looked down and rubbed his chin. "...That's it..."
"How long are we gonna last on this fucking rock, Reno?"

"I don't know sir."

"How long do you think we'll go on?"

"Maybe 5 hours... probably 6?"

"For the way things are looking, I think we're facing up to an hour or two."

"I dunno, XO."

"None of us know," Watkins sat down.

"This is it... our last shot."

"You think the men on the Sully are still going?"
The XO rubbed his chin again. "Let's just fucking hope, Reno..."

Reno sat down and leaned against the table, his stomach beginning to grumble.
He rummaged through his backpack which only contained the few things he managed to take from the security room, and promptly began to take them out in search of food, but there was none.

He looked back into the Nexus but knew he was not going to risk going back in there.
"Anybody have any food?"
Powalski threw a donk-pocket at Reno, landing right ahead of his feet.
He leaned over and grabbed it, quickly beginning to munch it down.
"Oh yeah, that shit's probably 2 weeks old, Reno.. I got it from the kitchen in the uhh..." Powalski pointed at the dome. "The nexus."
Reno waved off Powalski and continued to bite down on his meal, occasionally glancing over the table to look for any suspicious activity.

And then suddenly, one of the wounded marines on the floor began convulsing.
Reno stood up, with Karamov quickly rushing to the man and attempting to keep him calm.
The whole group began to uproar as the XO ran over.
"He's gonna pop!" a marine yelled out. "Shoot him! Shoot him before he dies!"
Karamov leaned over, keeping the man steady on the ground as Watkins looked around, thinking of a decision to make...
The man's chest began to rise up and down with a sickening motion, blood spurting out as the man started to scream in pain.
"FUCKING SHOOT HIM!" Suro cried, followed by Watkins swiftly pulling out a revolver from his holster and blowing a hole in the man's forehead with the blood splashing onto Kazamov.
But it hadn't changed anything, for the fanged monster had successfully smashed it's way through the man's heart and out into the world.
Kazamov quickly reacted by grabbing the larva by it's neck and strangling it to the ground, holding it down as it's tail desperately thrashed, shrieking incoherently before Weaver began stomping it's head into a green paste splattered on the ground.
"Oh, fuck! Fuck, that was bad!" Kazamov blurted out as he sat beside the now dead marine and looked at the floor with wide eyes.

"Put the bastard's body on the other side of the LZ," Watkins apathetically ordered.
The rest of the troops stared silently as Kazamov finally stood up and dragged the man by his feet away from the rest of the wounded.
Weaver looked back at his men belligerently. "Any more of you fuckhead grunts infected?!"

Reno was looking in the distance, holding out his sword and rubbing the blade lightly with a stupid expression on his face as he backed up and sat on top of a barricade. The XO grunted and stepped over a wounded marine, taking off his beret and wiping his forehead.

Weaver sat beside Reno, clenching his chest and wiping the sweat from his brow...
"Fucking monstrositiese these things are..." he murmured under his breath.
Powalski approached, looking at Watkins and then at Reno.
"Hey uhh, Reno?"
Reno snapped out of it, wiping saliva from his chin and looking at Garth.
Powalski took some steps closer, and leaned over.
"What the fuck are we gonna do...?" he whispered.
Reno shrugged, sliding the sabre back into it's sheath.
"I don't.. fuckin' know what we gonna do out here."

"We stay put..." the XO interrupted.

"I know we stay fuckin' put, I'm talking about what we do while here?!"

"Try not to fucking die...!" Watkins rebutted.

"How the fuck we not gonna fucking die when we've got THOUSANDS of those fucking things out there, all waiting for us to make the wrong step and snatch us up and face-fuck us!"

"WE DON'T GO OUT THERE GOD DAMNIT!"

"THEY'RE GONNA COME IN HERE!" Powalski paused, turning around and frantically running his hands through his hair, before violently scratching it and turning back toward Weaver. "Think about it! They're already up on the god damn Sully! They're gonna come FUCKING AFTER US! "

"Keep your calm, Garth!" Reno yelled, reaching for his arm.

"FUCK THAT SHIT!" Powalski flung his arm backward, swatting Reno's hand away. "We're sitting fucking ducks here!"

"This is our best chance of survival!" Suro yelled back.

"THEN OUR BEST CHANCE IS COMPLETE FUBAR FOR FUCKSAKE!" Powalski looked at Suro with a desperate look in his eye, violently scratching his head again.

"POWALSKI, CALM YER FUCKING ASS!"

Powalski breathed in, clenching his fists.
"Fuck it, I need to take a break..." he spoke through his teeth, before stomping towards the other side of the LZ, sitting next to the dead marine.

"What the fuck is wrong with him?" Kazamov exclaimed.

"I dunno, but his ass is gonna get busted to private if he's gonna panic like that..." Suro stated.

"Hurrh... Weaver might just," Reno said stupidly.

"You okay, Reno?" Suro asked.

"D-durr... I'm fine, really."

"You don't sound fine..." she responded.

"No, really-- I'm fine!"

"Uh-huh... okay then.." Suro suspiciously turned away, sliding the cigarette pack strapped on her helmet out and flicking a cigarette towards Powalski's feet, followed by a lighter.
Garth unsteadily grabbed the cigarette and quickly lit it, lobbing the lighter back and puffing in nicotine.

Foster shook his head. "This platoon's going to hell in a handbasket, sarge."
Reno looked back at Foster vacantly.
"Yeah, it sure as hell is..." another marine stated. Foster looked at him almost mockingly at how short of a man he was, but Reno knew him well; an old battle-buddy, Jools Kirby.

"What's your name, man?" Foster inquired condescendingly.

"My fuckin' name is Kirby. Sergeant Kirby to ya."

"Hmph. Well, nice to meetcha Kirby." Foster held his hand out, the 2 shaking hands.

"You, I know your name..." Kirby took a long look into Reno's face, rubbing his gruff stubble. "Reno, is it?" followed by a snicker.

Reno nodded his head and looked up at the sky, being able to make out the faint small patch of blankness in the sky as the Sulaco.
He wondered to himself... what's going on up there?

"Yeah, I'm Reno... good to see ya made it this far, Kirbs."

"Yeah, you too. Kinda surprised, honestly. I couldn't tell because of the dirt on your face." Jools looked up at the sky and rummaged through his pocket. "Either of you guys got a smoke?"

"Nah, I don't smoke." Foster responded. Reno reached for his helmet and slipped a cigarette from the box and handed it to Jools.
"Bah, fuck it." Jools put the cig into his pocket, looking up at Foster. "You drink, friend?"
He pulled a canteen from his belt and took a gulp from it, holding it out towards Reno. "Here, take a swig."

"Well..." Reno contemplated, but found thinking too hard so he quickly grabbed the canteen and chugged it down.

"Hey, hey! Don't drink the whole fucking thing!" Reno quickly stopped and looked at Kirby, whom swiftly grabbed the canteen from his hands. "Save some for the rest of us, man!"

"Here." Kirby gave the container to Foster, who took a quick drink and wiped his mouth.
"Ahh, satisfying... I just noticed how dry my throat was!"

"Yeah, good ain't it?" Kirby remarked. He looked through the small opening at the top.

"Shit... this greedy fuck drank down almost the whole bottle." Jools put the container back in his belt.

"Never thought you'd get so gluttonous Reno," Kirby joked. "Well, whatever... just nice to see you around."

"Is nice to see you, Jools."

Jools' face gradually became befuddled, nodding his head. "Yeah... you too."
An awkard silence slowly creeped up on the three.

Foster put his hands behind his back, and looked at the two. "Well, I got some shit to attend to, sooo... see ya guys later." He quickly walked off.

"So, you in Delta, yeah?" Reno asked.

"Yep, I'm Delta... lost a shit ton of guys."

Reno looked into the distance, quickly coming up with the names and faces of the men who died in his squad.
"I lost me spec, medic, and jist 'bout everyone else in one go."

"Yeah, one half of my squad got killed and the next half got killed later..." Kirby stopped to rub his eyes. "It was, uhh... they kept picking us off."

The 2 ceased talking for a second.

"Least, I still got my smartgun... yeah?" Kirby despondently spoke.

"Maybe," Reno took out the bullets from the M44 cartridge and began to count them.

"I probably have the best gun out of everyone here."

"How much ammo do you have for that smartgun?" Reno began inserting the bullets back into his revolver.

"Uhh... I have no packs left."

"That won't do out here,"

Jools sighed. "No shit, Reno..."

Out of the blue, Reno was suddenly lunged backwards by the back of his collar, his head smashing on the concrete ground. He was in full fight-or-flight mode as he attempted to reach for his sword while being hauled along the concrete, the sentry lighting up and the marines desperately sprinting after him, firing back the whole way. Yet the creature still refused to let go, and before long Reno was in pitch darkness. He could see the troops running for him with their head-lamps on, only suddenly for the roof tiles to fall and for the creatures to swiftly pop out like whack-a-moles and snatch them up.

Before long Reno could feel the handle of his sword and jabbed it into what appeared to be the xenomorph's achilles tendon, the acid spurting out. He forced it through as the xenomorph screeched in pain and dropped Reno, himself quickly standing up and booking it back towards the men who were filling the roof with lead in a terrorized frenzy.
"HEY! HEYYY!" he waved at the marines, pulling out his revolver and firing blindly behind himself.
"I GOT YOU COVERED!" Kirby yelled, shooting into the darkness. Reno and the rest of the men retreated back to the LZ, one of them in the process getting facehugged and dragged off into the night. Kirby finally backed out from the nexus.

"I GOT THE FUCKER THAT SNATCHED RENO! I GOT HIM!" Kirby cried.

"One hunter for the price of five god damn men?!" Suro yelled.

Garth was clenching his rifle near one of the cargo containers. He glared at the rest of the troops which now only numbered 10, about the size of a single squad.
He walked over, flicking a cigarette butt to the ground, the weary men hoping for some small moment of rest from the relentless paranoia and attacks...

The group was slowly cracking at the seams.

[Eenkogneeto]

Isn't that how it always is?
'Oh shit they got frank'
>10-20 marines run after him into the jungle
>3-4 die to FF
>atleast 6 are wounded from FF
>Hunters lurking nearby grab another 3-4
>Frank gets saved but gets acid burned to fuck, Stands up and gets a burst to the face
>Everyone starts limping back, Hunters grab another 3-4 wounded
'Oh shit they got bob!'
Good work as always, Too bad nobody gave you any clonefix. Fuckin baldie doctors.

[Karmac]

Can't stop waiting for the next chapter.

>realization that everything is horrible

>not really okay with that

>aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[Monoo]

Ayylmao

love it man, keep up the good work.

[Jay Burns]

damn just read all the chapters, good stuff.

[Martzin]

Isn't that how it always is?
'Oh shit they got frank'
>10-20 marines run after him into the jungle
>3-4 die to FF
>atleast 6 are wounded from FF
>Hunters lurking nearby grab another 3-4
>Frank gets saved but gets acid burned to fuck, Stands up and gets a burst to the face
>Everyone starts limping back, Hunters grab another 3-4 wounded
'Oh shit they got bob!'

Atleast Marines have that 'No Man Left Behind' mindset... I guess.

Can't stop waiting for the next chapter.

>realization that everything is horrible

>not really okay with that

>aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Ah, don't worry Carmac. Soon everyone will be like this.

Ayylmao

love it man, keep up the good work.

Welcome to the cast lad.

damn just read all the chapters, good stuff.

Thank you Jay. Good to see another person reading.


I just wanna give a quick shout-out to the Mildly Military guide on the forums. I've used it before while writing this story and will definitely use it again, and not to mention the original Bay12 Post it's based off of, which honestly I rely on more because it updates itself.

So there's just an honorable mention for 2 guides I find very convenient.