Chapter Text
Monday, 05/27/2176 08:47:03
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A sudden chill went down J’s spine, their muscles tensing as their previously brisk and purposeful scrubbing slowed to a halt. Their attention turned to scanning the hallway around them carefully, head turning slowly to let them glance up at the vent near the ceiling behind them. Their eyes narrowed as they slowly pivoted on their toes where they were crouching, putting their back to the wall as one hand slid the brush down to silently place it on the ground. Their other hand slowly went to their belt, curling around the dagger they kept hidden behind their radio pocket as they scanned the shadows for movement.
J was working on Level Z - the lowest, highest security underground level - cleaning up small messes from the delivery of a new shipment that had arrived over the weekend in preparation for the head scientists from other facilities who were arriving for a special meeting that afternoon. As J slowed their breathing and continued scanning the area around them with their eyes, they were now wondering if the alarms had been reset properly or if they were simply suffering from an overdose of paranoia. Pulling the knife free silently, their other hand reached up and slowly pressed down on the STOP button on their Walkman, the slight ‘click’ seeming loud in the sudden silence as the music coming from their headphones abruptly cut off. Jaw clenching, J slowly eased their weight forward before going still, listening carefully.
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Angie and Gus had been at this posting together for almost three years now and were practically a single entity when working the cams at this point. Their managers had periodically attempted to split them up so that they could pair them with less competent camera operators, but each attempt had ended up being complete failures so now, instead of splitting their teamwork up, the managers would send a rookie to work with them for a month or so as a way of training them up. Or, weeding them out, as was more often the case.
“D4.” Gus murmured as he took a sip of his coffee and Angie shifted her attention from scanning the hallway monitors to the view on one of Gus’ screens. Scrunching her nose up at the sight, Angie set down her cup of tea and reached over to tug the clipboard of incident forms towards her. Scooping up her pen, she clicked it on and began jotting down the information.
“You’d think they’d learn by now.” She grumbled back and got a huff of agreement from Gus even as his eyes scanned over the monitors in front of her seat, casually trading jobs without even moving since Angie was faster and more efficient at filling out forms like that.
“Are… are they, uh,” the voice behind them cracked in embarrassment as the rookie shifted behind them. They didn’t even need to look to know that her face was a bright red, shoulders raised around her ears and gripping her notebook to her chest as though she could hide behind it and her huge, round glasses. She cleared her throat, trying to look anywhere but at the free show they were getting on the D4 monitor. “Uh, y-you know?” She finished lamely, making Gus chucked in amusement at the juvenile avoidance and Angie’s lips thin in an attempt not to smirk.
“They’re fuckin’, rookie.” Gus’s lips pulled back in a dark smirk at the squeak the rookie let out. “You know. Doin’ the horizontal mambo. Takin’ a trip to pound town. Bumpin’ uglies. Churnin’ the butter. Boinkin’. Dippin’-” He was cut off by the rookie literally lunging forward and clapping her hands over his mouth while squeaking out sounds that might have been attempts at words. Angie couldn’t hold back her loud laughter as she leaned back in her seat, the incident form basically complete and just needing Gus’ counter-signature and then to be filed.
“I get it!” The rookie finally managed to squeak out before ripping her hands away from Gus’ face with a cry as he licked her. Angie roared with laughter, clapping her hands on her thighs as she shook her head while Gus grinned.
“You sure? I could think up some more-” He suddenly broke off, grin wiping from his face faster than lightning as he leaned forward to stare at one of the monitors. Angie noticed and was instantly alert, scanning the monitors quickly to figure out what had Gus on alert. She froze, gaze narrowing in on the view from monitor Z12 even as Gus swore quietly and hit a few keys to bring up the Z monitors onto the big screen. The rookie sank back in her chair, swallowing nervously and clutching her suddenly clammy hands as she worried her bottom lip with her teeth, unnerved by the sudden switch from joking and laughing to deadly serious.
“W-what is it?” She whispered, eyes flashing between the monitors on the big screen… but everything seemed… fine? Empty corridors. The elevator was closed and at one of the higher levels. A few scientists leaning over microscopes. More scientists watching something through a window. The janitor crouched in the hallway, holding a knife. More empty corridors.
Her eyes jumped back to the Z12 monitor, eying the large knife the janitor held with an ease that suggested familiarity. “Where did the janitor get that knife?” She asked quietly, wondering if that was what held their attention, mind already flipping through the forms they would need to fill out to report a stolen weapon or an employee going on a murderous rampage.
“Doesn’t matter where they got it.” Gus muttered, leaning forward and scanning the monitor closely, his words jolting her out of her thoughts about proper forms and report requirements.
“Only matters why J pulled it out in the first place.” Angie finished, scanning the other monitors for that floor, finger hovering over the alarm button, ready to press it at the first sign of a containment breach. The rookie gulped nervously, fingers clutching the notebook tighter as she realized that something might be about to go seriously, horribly wrong and she was unable to do anything but watch the situation unfold on the monitors controlled by Angie and Gus.
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J’s breathing was slow and silent as they remained frozen, eyes scanning the hallway while they listened carefully. Their thighs were starting to burn from how long they had been crouched, the seconds dragging for what felt like minutes, the minutes like hours. As each moment passed without any further hint of something being wrong, J wondered if it had been a fit of paranoia, their imagination running away from themself, their mind playing tricks on them. A whisper of sound made them realize that no, it was unfortunately not a false alarm. Hand tightening around the dagger slightly, they slowly shifted their weight to one side as their head slowly turned.
Instinct had them bursting into action, launching themselves forward and to the side even as they twisted, hands coming up as they slashed the knife diagonally up from their hip. The knife was sharp enough to slice through the leaping facehugger like butter, the spray of acidic blood thankfully following the blade slice and flying to the side as J continued their spin out of the way and towards their cart. The hiss of acid eating through the wall and the knife blade was quickly drowned out by the alarm going off. J didn’t let the alarm distract them as they burst to their feet, arm whipping out and hurling the damaged blade forward down the hall where it embedded into another leaping facehugger, the momentum making the body fall short, legs twitching in death.
“Fuck.” J swore as one hand whipped around to yank the pistol from the back of their belt, firing a trio of shots before they even got the pistol around to the front of their body as they bolted for the cart. Three facehugger bodies fell to the floor behind them, spilling acid across the hallway as J whipped the gun forward, firing twice more. The faint sound of screaming echoed down the hallway from the secured lab as two more facehugger bodies collapsed around the cleaning cart.
One shot left . J was two steps from the cart when another facehugger leaped at them from behind the buckets beside the cart. J spun out of the way, lashing out with the pistol and using it to launch the facehugger down the hall. Their free hand slapped against the cart, fumbling under the top tray even as they fired the last bullet into the vent in the top of the wall next to them, killing the facehugger that had been about to jump down at them.
Their fingers finally wrapped around another blade even as they pistol-whipped another facehugger away from them, ripping the dagger out from the cart and throwing it into the earlier facehugger that had returned to leap at them, killing it and pinning it to the floor even as the acid began to destroy that blade as well.
They grit their teeth as they smashed the pistol into another facehugger and the pale flesh split against the gun, a light mist of acid attacking their hand even as they released the ruined pistol and stomped the injured facehugger with their acid-proof boot. Ignoring the pain, they snatched up the acid-proofed fire axe from its holder on the side of the cart and swung at the last returning facehugger, slicing it in half and spraying the hall with more acid.
Breathing heavily, J held the axe in one hand as they scanned the hallway, reaching for the acid-neutralizer on the cart with their injured hand and - ripping the lid off the large bucket - they dunked their entire hand in. As the seconds passed without another attack, J let out a slow, shaky breath and started paying attention to the alarm.
“ Alert. This is not a drill. Containment breach on Levels; 8, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 24, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z. This is not a drill. Alert. This is not a drill. Chemical fire on Level 12. Follow breach and fire procedures. Repeat: follow breach and fire procedures. This is not a drill.”
“When it rains, it fucking pours.” J muttered even as they pulled their hand from the acid-neutralizer and wiped the excess liquid off on their hip. Keeping an eye on the shadows, J pulled two more daggers from the cart, securing them on their toolbelt before crouching down and pulling another pistol out from where they had taped it to the bottom of the cart. Tucking the pistol into their belt where the previous one had been hidden, they eyed the now-silent (except the alarm and sound of acid eating the floor) hallway, the screams having been cut off.
The radio headset J was wearing was still silent - something that would have been strange a month ago but was now all-too-common since the new management team had decided that the janitorial staff would be on line 2 instead of line 1 with the guards like they used to be. It was for “ease of contact” or some such bullshit reasoning which J honestly didn’t care about. Using their chin to trigger the radio to pick up their voice, J carefully scanned the hallway as they spoke quietly.
“J to cams.”
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The rookie was gaping at the screens, eyes wide enough to see the whites all the way around and skin pale from watching the scientists being taken down so quickly and pathetically and in such a clear juxtaposition to the competency and will to survive shown by the janitor. She flinched as the rough voice came over the extra radio that had been silent compared to the other radios which were filled with chaos. Gus and Angie were both speaking into headsets connected to line 1 and the main radios, briskly telling different guard teams where to go, hands flying across keyboards as they helped coordinate everyone else. The rookie swallowed hard and nervously reached over to pick up the quiet, forgotten radio, clicking it on to reply.
“This-” She had to clear her throat from the horrible squeak that had come out of her mouth. “This is cams, go ahead, uh, J?” It turned into a question unintentionally and she noticed the janitor shift in the monitor, their head turning to look directly up into the camera, making her blush in embarrassment and nerves.
“... You okay rookie?” The janitor asked calmly, making a hysterical laugh bubble out of her mouth before she slapped a hand over her mouth, breathing harshly through her nose. She watched as the janitor’s mouth jerked up on one side. “Silly question, huh? You’re okay. This can be a bit overwhelming, huh? Is this your first containment breach?” The janitor’s voice was soothingly calm and the gentle questioning was helping her calm down a bit.
“Y-yeah.” The soft chuckle that came over the radio in reply surprisingly helped ease her tension as well.
“You’re doing fantastic then rookie. Last one literally ended up shitting himself and hiding in the corner and it was just a false alarm. So, you are doing just fine. Now, I need your help for a bit, yeah? Can you see me on the cams?”
“Y-yeah, I see you.” She replied, looking up and grinning slightly at the sight of the janitor waving at the camera.
“Excellent. Now, do you see the hallways around me? Do you see anything moving?”
“I see the hallways.” She replied, eyes flashing over the videos, watching them carefully. “N-nothing moving that I can tell. E-except, uh, o-one of the things you killed is, uh, si-sinking?” Her voice turned into a squeak at the end as she watched the pale spider thing sink deeper into the hole on the floor its blood was creating.
“Yeah, they’ll do that sometimes. Okay, can you see if the elevator is still working? There should be a panel of lights to the left of the screens.” She got out of her chair to step over to the side, looking at a panel of red and green lights with labels next to them. “There should be one labeled ‘elevator’ near the center-right.”
“I see it, but the light is off?”
“Shoot. Okay, that means the elevator is very, very broken then. Okay, back to the cams please. Look for the L-stairs, Y to Z level. Is it blocked?” She hurried back over to hover behind Gus and Angie’s chairs, peering at the different monitors until she found the one she was looking for.
“Uh, found it. It looks clear…” She frowned and leaned in closer, peering at the video. “There’s something weird on the railing though.” Angie, who she was leaning over, glanced up at her before looking closer at the feed as well.
“Shit! Tell J there’s some of the bug-goo in there. The other stairs are blocked though - see?” Angie reached out and tapped the monitor showing the R-stairs on the same level and the rookie glanced over and shuddered at the sight of so many of the pale spider things scrambling over the rubble that had once been the stairs.
“I caught that rookie. Gonna take my chances on the L-stairs. Ask Angie or Gus if I have permission to change to the guard channel while I try to escape this hell-hole.”
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J stifled a groan as they stalked over to the closest fire-extinguisher box. Elevator down, stairs fucked a half dozen one way and a living nightmare the other. Guards nowhere close to them based on the lack of echoing gunfire. Hefting the fire axe and feeling the comforting weight of the acid-neutralizer bottles against their thighs, J swung forward and smashed the door off the box.
Reaching in, they pulled out the extra fire axe, sliding it over their shoulder into a sewn-in holster across their back for it. Once it was secure, they grabbed the two extra knives they had hidden in the sides of the box, slipping them into their hiding places around the utility belt. Finally they ripped a bag down that was taped to the inside of the top of the box, pulling the three clips of ammo out and slipping them into their pocket.
J started to turn away before pausing and sighing, turning back and reaching in to grab one of the protein bars that they had stashed there, ripping it open and munching on it with one hand while carrying the axe in the other, rolling their steps so they were soundless as they headed towards the L-stairs.
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Back in the cams room, the rookie gaped at the monitor as she watched the janitor eating a snack bar. Angie took a moment to glance up at her and chuckled, making the rookie jump and snap her mouth shut. Angie just nodded and grinned at her.
“Don’t worry about it - you’re still new so you haven’t had a chance to get to see J in ‘ultimate badass mode’. Do us a favor, grab a paper and mark down the type of snack bar if you can and where they grabbed it from - it’ll go to the betting pool.” Angie continued typing away at the computer in front of her as she spoke, eyes flicking over the different screens as they popped on and off the main monitor, following her typed directions.
“O-okay.” The rookie glanced around before picking up their notebook and turning to a new sheet, jotting down the information quickly. “Oh, uh, J asked if they can switch over to the main radio channel?” She asked tentatively and Angie snorted.
“Yeah. Tell J that anytime an alarm goes off, they have permission from us to change over right away. Oh, hey, start jotting down the weapons J uses as well - there’s a new pool about which weapons J is proficient at. That’ll give you something to do while keeping an eye on J.”
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“Uh, cams to J?” The tentative voice of the rookie returned through the radio, making J pause and back away from the entrance of the stairwell, glancing up at the camera and nodding while clicking the radio on and off twice. There was a long moment of silence until J looked up at the camera again and raised an eyebrow, moving one hand up to put a finger over their lips.
“Oh! Right, sorry. Uh, Angie says you have permission from now on to change to the main radio channel immediately when an alarm goes off. But, uh, it might be chaotic so if you need something specific I’ll, uh, keep this channel on as well?” The voice was even more tentative which made J grin slightly and nod to the camera, shooting it a thumbs-up. Then J reached down and switched to the other channel.
The abrupt riot of sound that filled their headset made J jerk and huff out a breath. It was worse than chaotic, it was a cacophony. Incoherent screaming, ear-drum shattering weapons fire, enraged shouts of orders, swearing, the distant sound of Xenomorphic shrieks, and the overpowering roars of challenge from Yautja overwhelmed J’s hearing for a moment before they switched back to the second channel. Taking a couple more steps back from the stairwell door, J pulled out the pistol, aiming at the vent next to the door before using their chin to click the radio on.
“Listening to that shit is gonna get me killed. So, rookie, you’re gonna have to be my guide for this. Think you can handle it?”
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The rookie gulped and glanced up at the screens, trying to follow the cams for J as they flashed over the board as Angie and Gus constantly changed the view settings based on where they needed to look for the various guard teams. Gus was speaking constantly into the radio while Angie listened in and changed the monitors continuously, her own eyes sweeping over the array of video feeds and pulling up anything that caught her eye for Gus to see as well.
“Uh, hang on.” She said into the radio before stepping up next to Angie.
“Speak fast, rookie.” Angie muttered, not looking away from what she was doing.
“I need to access the secondary monitors so I can be eyes for J.” She stated, surprised at the sudden calm she felt now that she had something concrete and helpful to do. Angie shot a glance at her before nodding.
“Boot up the secondary terminal and let me know when you’re ready for the code.” The rookie quickly strode over to the back corner of the office, sliding into the dusty chair and booting up the secondary camera system. As the monitors flickered on, she grabbed a headset and hooked it into the radio she had been holding, setting it up on the charging stand to her right so that it wouldn’t die unexpectedly. Fingers gliding over the keys of the terminal, she used her chin to click the radio on.
“I’m getting set up to be your eyes. L-stairs to Y level still appear clear except the bug goo Angie mentioned earlier. I don’t have eyes on Y to X level yet but I will soon.”
“Thanks rookie. Keep breathing and we’ll both get through this, yeah? I’m gonna start heading up, let me know as soon as you know which way I need to head.”
“Will do.” She nudged the radio off again before calling over her shoulder, “Ready for the code.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard as Angie rattled off the 13 digit code and, moments later, video monitors flooded the screen. Quickly shunting the videos for the above-ground levels off to the smallest side possible, she quickly set up the videos on her smaller monitor so that the main focus was on the lowest levels with the next three levels on standby. She froze for a moment as her breath caught, watching J locked in battle with one of the giant black monsters she had been briefed on.
J had the handle of the fire axe shoved into the bug’s mouth, keeping it pushed away from their body even as the bug gripped the axe in its huge hands and tried to shove back. The tail flashed across the screen, embedding in the concrete stairs behind where J’s head had just been before whipping back as J twisted back into the spot, grimacing darkly.
The rookie’s heart pounded as she watched as J jerked one foot back, banging their heel against the stair behind them. A flash of metal appeared at their toes as they kicked forward and up, stabbing the knife in their boot into the bug’s side. The bug fell back and J jerked the axe and their foot back, bracing themself as they shifted their grip and swung the axe down like they were splitting wood. The bug’s neck split open, its oblong head bouncing down the steps as the body followed and the rookie gasped, realizing they had been holding their breath as they watched the battle.
She watched, mouth hanging open, as J glanced around carefully, shaking the acid from the head of their axe and from the knife on their boot before they knocked their heel twice against the step and the knife disappeared back to where it had been hidden. The rookie reached over, dragging the notebook and pen in front of them and jotted down the new weapon into the table she had created for Angie. Even as they wrote, they glanced up at the video feeds to check the next flight of stairs as well as the next level to make sure it was clear for J to escape.
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J forced themself to breathe slowly as they silently climbed the stairs, axe up and ready in their hands. They glanced at the blade and handle of the axe and grimaced. While it had been treated to be protected from acid, the human-made metal needed frequent re-treatment to stay acid-proofed. The treatment process required them to smuggle the axe out for a weekend so their friend could have the time needed to fully protect it before smuggling it back in.
A treatment process , J reminded themself ruefully, that was due to happen three weeks ago but got pushed off because the jerk was out hunting and then didn’t show up when he said he would .
The blade was starting to show signs of acid damage and there was a section near the top of the handle that was smoking as the acid continued to slowly eat away at the metal. J paused on the landing, eyes searching the stairwell above them as they pulled out one of the acid-neutralizing spray bottles and squirted some of the liquid over the head and handle of the axe, resigning themself to the fact that they would need to abandon the weapon before they got out of there. Reattaching the bottle to their belt, they continued up the stairs silently.
Half a flight down, 29 and a half more to the surface…
Chapter Text
Monday, 05/27/2176 09:15:32
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“I swear to every fucking diety in this fucking-forsaken UNIVERSE that I am taking the fucking day off tomorrow.” J snarled, swinging their axe with each iteration of ‘fucking’ that came out of their mouth. The Xenomorphs shrieked as they were killed one by one, their blood spraying the walls of the hallway that J was stomping down. J was heading to the other stairwell across the X level after the rookie had reported to them that the guards had accidentally dropped a cluster of grenades down the stairs while trying to contain the breach and that the flight from W to X had been severely damaged and was now impassable.
According to the rookie on cams, the guards had managed to keep the containment breaches from spreading too much. Floors 8-10 were slowly being cleared out as reinforcements from the surface arrived and pushed downward. The fire on floor 12 had been extinguished but had caused some serious damage, allowing the breach from the floor below to spread to that level as well so the guards on floor 11 were fighting to hold their position as the bugs attacked from above and below. The Yautja from floor 14 were fighting their way upward as well and were taking out a lot of the bugs on their fight upward. The guards from floors 15 had decided to focus downward on the breaches in floors 16-18 after getting word that the Yautja were fighting towards the surface. Floors 19-23 were contained and clear and all the guards were either fighting upwards to floor 18 or were starting to work downwards to clear floors 24-Z. So, J was still 4 levels below any military-trained support and surrounded on all sides by Xenomorphs.
Lovely. J thought as they did a mental recap of the current situation in a brief moment where they weren’t being attacked. Snorting at themself, J snarled and slashed the axe at yet another facehugger as it flew towards them, tail whipping and legs outstretched. J spun out of the way of the acid blood spray and yelped as the tail of a full grown bug lashed out and caught them in the ankles, knocking them to the ground.
“Fuck you!” J roared as they kicked out, using the bug’s momentum as it launched at them to flip it over their head. Scrambling up, J’s muscles burned as they chopped the bug’s head off before it could scramble back up. Leaping forward, J’s boots pounded against the floor as they booked it towards the stairs, hurdling over the bodies of the scientists that had been on this level and had succumbed to being hosts for the Xenomorphs. Shrieks echoed from behind them as they raced down the hallway, the sound of claws scrabbling across the linoleum tiles sending shivers up their spine as they gripped the axe tighter.
Hearing the hiss of a lunging Xenomorph, J twisted their grip on the axe and spun around, using their momentum and letting out a yell as they buried the axe into the side of the bug’s head. Releasing the handle, they continued their spin until they were facing towards the stairs again, continuing their race for the door. They snatched a couple of blades from their belt as they ran and, hearing the scuttling behind them, spun again, launching the knives at the scurrying facehuggers before racing away again.
“J,” The rookie’s voice was panicky as they almost tripped over their words. “There’s a huge bug in the stairs heading down from W level. It looks like it’s heading right for you!” The words had barely registered before a huge chunk of the wall ahead of them suddenly caved inwards, accompanied by a deep roar that made their bones rattle. J skidded to a halt, eyes wide as they swore.
“Of fucking course. Why the fuck wouldn’t they have a fucking Praetorian here?” J didn’t stay to watch as the 12 foot tall Praetorian Xenomorph shoved its way into the hall, its large size forcing it to crawl forward on all fours, long tail lashing behind it as it shrieked after them as J raced back the way they came.
“What the fuck is a Praetorian?” The rookie demanded and J huffed a laugh.
“Baby Queen and protector of the nest. Nasty bitch. Harder to kill than the drones and facehuggers. I’m pretty fucked unless I can get around her somehow.” J yelped and leapt to the side as a drone leaped out at them from one of the vents. Cursing, J ripped the pistol from their belt and kicked the drone’s head away, firing all 6 rounds into its neck and thankfully decapitating it. Sprinting away from the rapidly approaching Praetorian, J reloaded the gun.
“At the next junction, take a left. It will lead you around the back hallway which curves back to the stairs. I see 6, uh, drones, and 3 facehuggers? Right, facehuggers, in the way but that’s better than one of those big fuckers you’re running from.” The rookie’s voice warned and J snapped out a curse as they almost slipped in the red blood of one of the human bodies, quickly righting themself and continuing to run.
“Right, fuck this situation. Tell Angie that someone better tell the Yautja I’m stuck down here so I can get some fucking competent backup quick or I’m gonna quit this fucking job and to hell with the company. And check and see if you can see any other big fucking bugs between me and backup. I’ll need a bit more warning next time” J snarled, not breaking stride as they shot each facehugger they saw, sprinting past the shrieking drones, spinning out of the way of their claws as they lunged and started racing after them.
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“Angie, J says you need to get someone to tell the Yautja they’re stuck down on the X level or they’re going to end up quitting.” The rookie called over their shoulder and was surprised at the swears that erupted from both Angie and Gus. Gus immediately started barking that down the radio line and the rookie risked a glance over, spotting Angie pulling up video feed of J and swearing even louder as she caught sight of the giant fucking bug that was chasing J.
“Who the fuck authorized that big of a bug?! What the fucking hell is that?!” Angie demanded furiously.
“J called it a Praetorian.” The rookie piped up even as she turned back to her own screens, scanning the levels between J and backup and cursing. “And there’s three more of those on the next level up!” The swearing jumped up a level but the rookie ignored it to inform J about what was happening.
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“There’s three more of the big bitches on the next level up, two are heading towards the stairs. Gus is, um, enthusiastically encouraging a squad to let the Yautja know you need some backup.” The rookie’s voice crackled in the radio and J let out a breathy chuckle even as they spun around, slashing at a lunging drone with the knife in their hand as they fired at another with their pistol. Spotting that they had a few moments since the Praetorian was struggling to fit around a turn in the hallway, J snapped the knife out on their boot again and kicked it firmly into the head of the closest done, ripping it free roughly with a grunt as they stabbed the melting knife in their hand into the next one’s head. The last went down to the last of the clip in the pistol and J was spinning around and running again as the Praetorian lunged forward, just missing them.
“Just tell me none of them are laying eggs yet.” J panted into the radio as they raced down the hall, pausing to rip the door of another fire extinguisher box open and jerking out the axe and another knife before having to run on as the Praetorian slashed at them again.
“Not that I can see but… hang on…” There was muffled, frantic typing through the radio that J ignored as they shoved the knife into the belt and took the axe in both hands. Spinning around, they swung at the Praetorian’s hand as it reached for them, chopping into the wrist with a roar of frustration. The Praetorian shrieked, pulling its arm back, hand flapping uselessly from the hit as J abandoned the melting axe and spun back around, racing away from the furious Xenomorph.
“There’s a room I can’t see into that the last big one is guarding with about a dozen of those drones.” The rookie finally stated and J almost tripped, eyes widening at the statement before their face twisted with fury.
“WHO THE FUCK GAVE THEM PERMISSION TO GROW A QUEEN !?”
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The rookie jumped in her seat at the furious roar J sent through the radio, almost jerking the headset off in surprise.
“J’s pissed.” She called over her shoulder. “Apparently there’s a Queen on W level.” She added and blinked as Gus literally choked. There was stunned silence behind her for a moment before both Gus and Angie started yelling into their own radios. The rookie glanced over at some of the video feed from the 14th level where a group of guards were yelling down the hall at the Yautja who were fighting the bugs. Something must have gotten through because the Yautja all seemed to roar and literally ripped through the remaining bugs and raced to the stairwell.
“The calvary is on their way J.” She radioed through, one eye watching the quickly descending Yautja while the other kept an eye on J. “Three drones heading your way down the hall and the next Praetorian is almost at the stairwell.”
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J skidded to a stop at the news, breathing heavily as they glanced back. The Praetorian was still working its way towards them but had slowed due to the worthless hand. Cursing, J glanced around before stepping forward and jerking the supply closet door open. Stepping inside, they kicked aside a couple of buckets and yanked out a few mops and brooms before grabbing a pair of swords that they had stashed there - a gift of Yautja-crafted blades that resembled a daisho, or a matched katana and wakizashi.
Not having time to attach the scabbards, J unsheathed both blades and leapt back out of the closet, just in time to slash at a lunging drone. Sidestepping and lashing out, J quickly beheaded the first and second drones before having to kick away the third that leapt while J’s arms were still extended. Whirling around, J used the shorter wakizashi blade to block the drone’s tail from slashing their side before stepping forward and using the longer katana to slice deep into the drone’s neck as it turned back towards them.
The drone collapsed at their feet and J looked up as the Praetorian hissed down at them, tail thrashing and thudding against the walls behind it as it bared its teeth at them. J scowled, shifting their weight and adjusting their grip on the swords as they eyed the towering Xenomorph warily. Acid blood dripped from its wrist as its useless hand hung limply from its arm, swinging slightly as it shifted its weight back as well.
“Come get me bitch.” J growled, muscles bunching in preparation of the battle to come as the Praetorian hissed in response, its inner mouth snapping out threateningly. They both shifted, almost in unison, before they both lunged forward with matching cries. The Praetorian swiped out with its good hand as J spun, both blades slashing down on the wrist, slicing the hand completely off and spraying acidic blood everywhere. The Praetorian lurched back with a pained screech as J hissed and ducked closer, blades crossing before whipping outwards, cutting two deep gouges in the base of its neck, acid blood pouring out and across the hallway.
J lurched backwards, away from the Praetorian as they tossed the swords out of the bloody area and proceeded to tug the smoking gloves and coveralls off with shaky hands, hissing as it started burning through the acid-proofed cloth and to their skin. Stumbling into the storage closet again, they grabbed a bucket of acid-neutralizer and ripped the lid off before lifting it up and pouring it over themselves.
“Fuck that was dumb.” J hissed as they pulled the ruined coveralls off completely, dropping them in a heap with the utility belt and their boots, their tanktop and shorts sticking to their sweat-covered body. Hearing movement in the hall, J shoved aside a toolbox and grabbed another pistol and aimed at the open door, firing and taking down the two drones that tried to sneak in with the higher caliber shots that particular gun carried, the pistol jerking hard from the recoil.
Keeping one eye on the door, J stepped into a spare set of coveralls that were in the closet, zipping it up and clipping on a new utility belt before attaching a new radio and headset. Flipping the radio on, J stepped towards the pile of soggy clothing and boots to salvage what they could.
“What’s it look like out there rookie?” J asked calmly as they tugged their boots out of the pile and shook them off before sliding back into them, lacing them up firmly.
“J? How-? Are you okay?” The rookie’s voice was rough and they heard her clear her throat and could imagine her shaking herself to recenter herself. “Uh, the Praetorian is still moving a bit but seems to be down. The next Praetorian is pissed and in the stairwell heading your way. Eight more drones are ahead of it. The Yautja have reached the U level and are fighting their way down, a couple groups of guards are following about half a flight of stairs back. I think they’ll reach you about the same time as the new Praetorian? Maybe? Okay, uh, the first of the drones is on your floor and - oh shit - you’ve got another three coming up the stairs behind you. They’re smaller than the others though.” J used the time to gather up more of their gear and uncover and collect some more hidden weapons in the storage closet.
“Fuck, okay. Is the Praetorian blocking the weapons cabinet?” J asked as they stepped out into the hall and scooped up their swords, flicking the blood off and sheathing them in the scabbards they had attached to their new coveralls.
“Uh, it’s tail is still moving a bit and keeps knocking up against it.”
“Alright then. Tell me when the tail is moving away from the closet.” J muttered as they stalked forward to the twitching Praetorian, a weak hiss being directed their way as it continued to bleed out on the floor. They pulled out the new fire axe they had picked up and sidestepped the puddle of acid, coming up beside the Praetorian’s head.
“... Now.” At the call over the radio, J slashed the axe down, decapitating the Praetorian as it lunged forward towards them, the body flopping to the ground at their feet and the shoulder shoving them slightly back. Grunting, J dropped the melting axe and pulled themself over the shoulder and onto the Praetorian’s back, casually walking down its spiked back to hop off next to the weapons cabinet.
“I, uh, don’t have the code for that cabinet on hand.” The rookie said over the radio and J chuckled, already putting in the code.
“No need, I got it.” They pulled the door open and quickly loaded their pockets with clips for the heavy-duty rifles the guards stocked. Using the straps to swing two of the rifles across their back, they hefted another two and thumbed off the safeties, turning and firing controlled triple bursts at the charging drones from down the hall. Their smaller bodies were ripped apart by the gunfire and J grinned before whirling around and firing at the larger drones that were appearing from the other side of the Praetorian. Their dying shrieks and the echo of the gunfire was almost loud enough to cover the roar of the next Pretorian… almost, but not quite.
“Which way is it coming?” J asked into the radio, continuing to take out the drones swarming from behind the dead Praetorian.
“It’s following the drones in your direction.” The rookie promptly responded.
“Any more drones?” J asked as they gunned down the eighth drone, watching the now bullet-ridden and acid-sprayed hallway.
“That was the last of them… Where are you going?” The rookie asked as J whirled around and started racing back down the hall, away from the body of the Praetorian. “Wait, dumb question. Smart.”
“Glad you catch on quick.” J quipped as they raced around the back hallway, heading back to the way they had originally been going to get to the R-stairs. Their grin widened as they heard the roar of the arriving Yautja, darting around the last corner and heading straight towards them.
“J!” The one in front called, arms spread wide in greeting. Ze’dtull’s mandibles were spread in a happy grin at having found them, and J slowed to a stop, scowling darkly at him, making him pause and step back slightly.
“You fucking moron.” J spat, pointing one of the rifles at him and making him flinch. “You got locked back up in here this weekend and so guess who’s favorite acid-proof axe and coverall is now sludge, asshole.” Ze’dtull winced and ducked his head slightly. “You should count yourself damn lucky that I’m more pissed off at whichever asshat decided to let the scientists raise four Praetorians and a fucking Queen or I’d shove this gun up your ass right now .”
“Kinky.” Everyone’s head whipped around to stare at the paling guard who had unthinkingly said that aloud. His partner whacked him across the back of the head roughly.
“Ignore him, please.”
“Alright, listen up.” J snapped, causing every single one of them to snap to attention, human and Yautja alike. “We’ve got one pissed off Praetorian on this floor. That’s a big ass motherfucking bitch of a bug to you meatheads. It might end up falling through to the next level down when it reaches the unstable area where I took down the other one but my guess is that we won’t get that lucky and will have to take it out ourselves. Once we get done with that shit show, there are still two more Praetorians on the next level that appear to be guarding a goddamn Queen.” A few of the guards and Yautja sucked in a breath at that and J nodded, “For those of you that don’t quite get it yet, that means that we are up shit creek without a paddle and when we get out of here alive, I am gonna put the fear of God into the assholes who approved this clusterfuck.” A couple of the guards shivered in response to the pure venom dripping from J’s voice and thanked their lucky stars they weren’t the target of their ire.
“Now, I want you two and you two” J pointed at two of the Yautja and two of the guards “to keep this stairwell clear to the next level. You four are gonna head back this way” they gestured back the way they had come after pointing at four of the remaining six Yautja “and see if you can cut the bitch off. Keep an eye out, there might be more drones that attack from below. You four, follow them and be their ranged back up.” J ordered four more of the guards.
“Now, the rest of us are following that Praetorian and taking it down, hard . Got it?” J demanded, looking around and getting nods from the guards and fists hitting chests from the Yautja. “Don’t die or I’ll bring you back just to beat your asses. Guards, switch to line 2 so we can stay in contact with each other without the bullshit from everyone else fucking us up. Move out people!” J roared, turning to jog down the hallway, the guards following with a loud ‘Hoo-Rah’ and the Yautja echoing J’s roar as they charged forward as well.
An answering shriek from the Praetorian ahead of them had them all moving faster, J hefting the two guns up into firing position as Ze’dtull and his Yautja partner raced past, pulling out their combisticks in preparation of battle. They rounded the corner and J ducked as the Praetorian's thrashing tail caught Ze'dtull in the chest and launched him back and over their head, embedding the heavy Yautja into the wall behind them. J was quickly back up and firing at the back of the Praetorian, aiming to the side as the other Yautja roared and slashed at the base of the thrashing tail. The four guards quickly followed their lead and concentrated their fire at the Praetorian, making it shriek in rage and pain.
"Get your ass back in the fight Z!" J yelled over their shoulder as they continued to fire, trying to aim for the shoulder joints of the hulking bug. Any response Z might have made was drowned out by crashing and a pair of screeches as the ceiling was ripped apart, revealing a second Praetorian which was struggling to shove its way through an acid burnt hole to reach them.
"DIOS MIO!" One of the guards screamed as he fell backwards to avoid a piece of falling concrete, firing up at the Praetorian as it clawed in their direction. J swore and backed up, using one gun to fire at the first Praetorian as they aimed the other up and fired at the new one. Jamming their chin to the radio, J barked into their headset.
"Second team, we've got a second bitch cutting in. Distract and take down the one we started for you if you can - we won't be able to back you up. Stair team, pull back and join team two - they’re gonna need some support to take that bitch out. Cams, keep us updated on bug movement, let us know how many are coming to join the party!" As responses filled the radio with chaos, J called out to the guards around them "Pull back to the turn and aim for the bastard's neck! Z, get your fucking ass in gear! Tall Boi, get back here!"
The tall Yautja thankfully realized they were yelling at him and pulled back with them, pulling out his shuriken and using it to drive the descending Praetorian back enough for him to get through. With a resounding thud, the Praetorian landed on top of the rubble in their hallway, hissing menacingly at them as several drones leapt down after it.
"Guards, focus on taking out those drones!" J yelled and the guards instantly responded, taking out the drones with their heavy fire as Z roared and charged past them, attacking the Praetorian with the second Yautja. J carefully aimed and sent controlled bursts between the two Yautja until the guns clicked empty. Cursing, J smoothly dropped both guns and pulled up the second two that were hanging at their sides, slapping off the safeties and resuming fire. A loud curse beside them had J glancing over before spinning out of the way of a lunging drone that had gotten past the guard.
"Damnit Rodriguez!" One of the other guards screamed as they scattered back. J dropped one gun to swing at their side as they ripped a knife out of their belt and hurled it into the base of the drone's neck as it leapt past them. The drone collapsed at another guard's feet and he quickly shot it to make sure it stayed down, dancing backwards to avoid the resulting spray of acid blood. Spinning back around, J yanked the second gun back up as they fired the first at the Praetorian, forcing it to jerk back from where it had been about to bite Z's arm. Z jerked his combistick back, roaring in pain as acid blood splattered across his shoulder from J's shots.
"Suck it up and get your shit together Z!" J yelled back, splitting their focus to keep firing at the Praetorian and at the newly arriving drones from the ceiling. "Rodriguez, Jameson, check our 6 and make sure none of them are coming at us from behind!" Cursing followed which made J grimace even as they continued firing, focusing on the swarming drones.
Z and Tall Boi were holding their own against the Praetorian, working together to get a cord around its neck and jumping back with roars of success as they triggered the tightening mechanism and the cord quickly decapitated the giant bug. The drones shrieked with rage as the enormous head dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, the body following limply. Z and Tall Boi were forced to leap even further back as, with a heavy groan, the damaged floor beneath the three now-dead Praetorians collapsed, sending the bodies tumbling to the level below. The force of their fall broke through the next floor as well, sending the bodies collapsing down to the bottom level of the facility. A few of the guards cheered but most were too busy fending off the last of the attacking drones.
“There are five more drones heading towards you from the stairwell, J. Another two might jump down through the hole above you. Last Praetorian is staying put. I lost cams below you but I didn’t see any more coming from that direction.” The rookie’s voice cut through the screeches of the Xenomorphs through J’s headset as they gunned down a couple more drones that were navigating the rubble in long leaps towards them.
“Second team, head back around and rendezvous with us at the stairs.” J called into the radio, getting an affirmative from one of the guards on the other side of the massive hole. “Rookie, keep an eye on those drones above us and yell if they move.” J turned from the hole, taking stock of the heavily damaged hallway before striding over to where the guards were checking each other over for injuries. “Alright boys and girls, get your shit together and let’s go.”
Notes:
Hope you're enjoying! This was one of the first fics I've written that has focused so much on writing combat - I would love any feedback you'd be willing to give! I won't be changing anything in this fic but I'll definitely keep any notes in mind for future fics that I write that involve combat scenes.
Chapter Text
Monday, 05/27/2176 10:18:34
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“Rookie, you got an update for us on J?” Angie called, startling the rookie from her intense focus.
“Uh, still alive. J’s got a squad of guards and a bunch of the Yautja with them now and they’ve taken down three of the big bugs.” She called over her shoulder, not looking away from her monitors. “J has their squad switched over to channel 2.” She added after a moment.
“Good. I was wondering why we weren’t getting an update from Squad 8.”
“Anything from you guys I need to pass on to J?” She asked even as she watched J on the screen. The janitor had their guns hanging at their sides and was pulling a large picture frame off the wall, tilting it and shaking slightly. The rookie blinked and quickly jotted down the location and that J had stashed three boxes of snacks in the hollow back of the picture - one box of individual packs of gummy worms, one box of mixed nut and fruit bars, and one box of peanut-butter cookies. She glanced back up and also noted down that the back of the picture also had three large hunting knives taped to the back that J was removing and adding to their utility belt.
“So, uh, is there also a betting pool on where J stashes extra weapons? Cuz they have a lot of weapons that they keep pulling out of random places.” There was a long moment of silence before Angie sighed loudly.
“I’m sure if there isn’t one already, there will be one after today. Good job keeping track of it, rookie.”
“Goddamnit.” Gus’s furious voice suddenly cut across them both as he growled into his radio. “Squad 15, Squad 18, that is the stupidest fucking idea you could come up with. You will stand your fucking ground and hold the fucking bugs back without blowing up the staircases. J is still down there and you will not remove their only way out of that shit hole.” The rookie’s back straightened and her eyes widened as she realized what Gus was saying. Angie was also swearing and adding her voice to the radio channel as the rookie pulled up the view of floor 23 where the two squads were stationed and trying to hold back the containment breach from the lower levels.
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“Cams to J.” J paused just before taking a bite of their peanut butter cookie as the anxious voice crackled over the radio. They had handed off the boxes of snacks to the guards and Yautja, ordering them to eat something to keep up their energy before they made their way to the next level. Lowering the unbitten cookie from their mouth and clicking the radio with their chin, J wondered what bad news would be shared this time.
“This is J, what’s wrong rookie?”
“Angie and Gus are trying to talk them out of it but Squads 15 and 18 are rigging up explosives in both stairwells between levels 23 and 24 and are planning to seal both stairs so nothing can get out of the lower levels.” J stood there, frozen, for a moment before the sound of a guard choking on his cookie and the others swearing spurred them to step into the stairwell and glare up into the darkness.
“What the fuck man?” One of the guards whined as another pounded the choking man on the back. “They’re gonna trap us down here with the bugs?!”
“What the fuck are we gonna do?”
“They can’t fucking do that to us!”
“Fuck.”
“It’s gotta be Carnino, man. He owes me money and now he’s gonna trap us down here so he doesn’t have to pay!”
“Assholes.”
“Alright, shut the fuck up.” J snapped, turning back to them. “We are not gonna die down here. We are not gonna panic.” J stepped back out of the stairwell, eyeing each person in turn, including the Yautja who had realized that something was going on. “We’ll deal with that when we get to it. We still have 4 levels between us and their stupidity that are crawling with bugs. Once they either blow the stairs or back down, we’ll move to the next level and clear it out. For now, finish your snacks before we go squash some fucking bugs.” J finished their impromptu pep-talk by taking a bite out of their cookie, getting quiet hoo-rahs from the guards and nods from the Yautja.
“... We’ll earn a solid hazard bonus for this shit at least.” One of the guards muttered, getting grins and chuckles of agreement.
“Make sure to file complaints about Squads 15 and 18 as well since they’re disobeying orders and putting us in danger.” Another added, getting more sounds of agreement. J ignored them all, focusing on finishing their cookie before grunting slightly as Zed’tull rested his arm on their shoulder and leaned against them. J side-eyed them before focusing back on their cookie, slapping Z’s hand away as he reached to steal some of it.
“Hands off my cookie.” J growled, getting a chuckle from Zed’tull as he leaned even more on them, forcing J to shift their weight to keep from being knocked over. “You definitely don’t need any more cookies, you fat-ass.”
"So, uh…" J and Zed'tull looked over at the closest marine who cleared his throat at their scrutiny before pressing forward, "how did you two get so… friendly?" He wiggled his eyebrows at them suggestively, causing the guard next to him to choke on his cookie. J's face dropped into a deadpan stare while Zed'tull broke into a loud cackle, clinging to J's shoulder to keep from falling over.
"First of all, ew gross. Z here is more of an annoying little brother than whatever you're implying. Second of all, none of your fucking business Santos. Eat your fucking cookie you pervert." J shoved the rest of their own cookie into their mouth, turning their attention to Zed’tull as they dipped their shoulder out of his grip, sending the still-cackling hunter to the ground.
"Jeezus Santos, your timing sucks." One of the other marines grumbled behind their raised cookie, watching as Z tried to yank J to the ground with him, only to be foiled as J easily dodged the larger being.
"At least I was trying to get some answers for the betting pools, unlike you idiots." Santos retorted grumpily only to get scoffs in return.
"It's called observation, idiot."
"What is 'betting pool'?" One of the Yautja suddenly asked, causing the cluster of marines to jump in surprise.
"Keep yer voice down - don't want J learnin' bout it." One of the older guards grumbled, waving the curious Yautja closer. "See, we've a bunch of bets placed on things bout J. Whoever wins each bets gonna get a buncha money so we all tryin' ta find out the answers."
"Ah, you are gambling." The Yautja clarified, nodding contemplative.
"Yeah, like one bet we have is on how old J actually is." Santos suddenly piped up. "Or J's real name."
"What's in their pants." Someone muttered and got shoves from the others.
"In their pants?" The Yautja asked curiously.
"Uh, you know, what J's sex is." The Yautja frowned at the response.
"That seems a bit… inappropriate?" He rumbled and the guard shrugged.
"Doesn't mean we're not all curious."
Their conversation was cut off by a resounding bang and a burst of dust flooding out of the stairwell. As J shoved Zed'tull away and started barking out commands, the Yautja leaned in and rumbled "If you hurt J in your quest for answers, my brothers and I will hunt you down and make you suffer" before turning on heel to join the other hunters, leaving the group of guards shivering at the threat.
"... Well, that went well."
"Shut the fuck up Santos."
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10:27:12
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"Alright J, the dust has finally settled." The Rookie said as her eyes flicked back and forth, watching the few moving Xenomorphs. "The big one and its minions on W didn't move from where they’re guarding that room, but there are about 10 more between the stairs and them to deal with. I also count about 20 more on 24, most concentrated around the stairs or at the elevator shift. You might need to send some of your backup there to prevent them from getting free. No movement on U but there could be some lurking in the vents that I can’t see. V is similar but there are about 10 bugs hanging out in front of another set of doors that are directly above the ones the, uh, Praetorian is guarding?"
“Shit.” The Rookie managed not to flinch at the expletive that J spat over the radio. “Probably a second entrance to the hive. Either the bugs ripped their way through to take over that part of two floors or some fucking idiot gave the scientists approval to make a 2-floor hive for the fucking Queen.”
“I have no video in that area at all so it seems likely they got approval?” She offered hesitantly, grimacing at the exasperated huff J released.
“Of fucking course they did. Like none of this is a fucking Bad Idea .”
“I’ll add it to the list of bad ideas you’ve discovered today.” The Rookie quipped, freezing and blushing at letting that slip out loud as J chuckled in response.
"Thanks Rookie. Keep an eye on the bugs at the elevator shaft - if it looks like they're getting through let me know immediately."
"Will do J."
"How ya holding up Rookie?" Angie called over her shoulder as she and Gus continued directing the rest of the floors in mopping up the different breaches.
"Fine. J and their team are about to start moving up to tackle W and, possibly, 24. Oh, as a heads up, J is worried the bugs might get into the elevator shaft. Maybe don't tell the idiots on 23 though."
"Yeah. Fuck. Okay, just yell the moment it looks like they're breaking through."
"Goddamnit! Angie pull back out that fucking infraction form for Morrison and Biggs - they're at it again." Gus suddenly called out and the Rookie choked in surprise as Angie spat curses.
"Really? Right now?" She managed to garble out and Gus growled.
"Horny fucks."
----------
J looked around at the eclectic group of guards and hunters and sighed.
"Alright, we're gonna split into two teams. First team is with me cleaning out the Praetorian and, possibly, a Queen with a hive. Second team is going up and clearing out 24 and then sweeping back down to clear U and V and will be our backup through the V entrance to the hive. Yes,” J added, raising their voice slightly over the disgruntled muttering, “it seems that someone gave the idiots who call themselves scientists permission to make a 2-floor hive. Now, normally I wouldn't split the team when going against a hive but the bugs are in danger of breaking into the elevator shaft on 24." They paused at the cursing that broke out at that, nodding in agreement. "Exactly. That elevator shaft is our ticket to getting past the fuck up Squads 15 and 18 created, so we don’t want them learning about the bugs trying to get through it. So, Squad 8, I want y'all to split between first and second team. Z, split your hunters as well. There's about 25 bugs up on 24 plus however many are lurking on U and V so don't underestimate how many you'll need in each group."
J watched for a moment as the humans and Yautja started splitting themselves into two groups before turning their attention to their weapons, consolidating ammo and discarding two of the larger guns that were now empty. By the time they were done and looked up again, there were two distinct groups and J nodded.
“Alright, Team 2 is heading up to 24 to clear out the bugs up there then will sweep U and V clean before joining us in the hive. Who’s leading 2?”
“I am.” Logan Paul, an older, scarred man raised his hand and J nodded.
“Good. Keep ‘em tight and check your corners. Take your team and head up.” J stepped aside as team 2 gave a ‘hoo-rah’ and headed into the stairwell, the Yautja members of the team following, each giving J a deep nod as they passed.
“Why do they do that, you think?” Santos asked the guard beside him, getting a shrug in return.
“Alright team 1, I hope you’re ready cuz we’re skipping the frying pan and heading straight for the fire. For those of you who thought this will be a walk in the park you better rethink that shit cuz this is going to suck. Now, keep it frosty and watch your ammo - guards, target the smaller bugs and keep them off the heavy hitters. Boys, don’t get cocky and take them down fast and hard. Move out.” J turned on their heel and headed into the stairwell, the roars and ‘hoo-rahs’ echoing behind them as they started up the stairs.
----------
“... Do you guys think J practices these types of speeches?” The rookie asked into the security room, getting a snort of amusement from Angie and a chuckle from Gus.
“You know, that is actually a bet in the pool book.” Angie said, grinning wryly before barking some directions to the fire-fighting crew that were finishing up on Level 12.
“Huh. Any idea how they’d come up with an answer for that one?”
“Guess someone’ll have to work up the courage to ask sometime.” Gus replied with a shrug. “Though there will still be the question of if J is telling the truth or not.”
“Hey Rookie, you gonna be okay watching both teams down here?” J suddenly asked over the radio, causing her attention to focus on the screen showing J’s group before refocusing on the fight starting on Level 24.
“I got it J, but if I start feeling overwhelmed I’ll get Gus or Angie to join me.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“J; three bugs on the ceiling around the left corner. Team 2; watch your left flank - I saw a couple bugs dive into the vents and they could pop out there.” The rookie watched as J and two guards easily took care of the three lurking bugs and the members of team 2 shifted to keep watch on the vent she indicated. Nodding to herself, she continued scanning the screens and calling information to them calmly despite her racing pulse.
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11:17:04
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J took a deep, steadying breath and calmly traded out the now-spent guns with new ones from the weapon’s locker nearby. Behind them, the still-living guards panted and swore quietly as they patched themselves up and the Yautja did the same, helping each other with hard-to-reach wounds. Checking their clips, J also restocked their knives and blades before sighing and turning around to survey their remaining backup. They had lost two of the humans in the fight and one of the Yautja was limping horrifically on a mangled leg where the Praetorian had latched its nasty teeth into him.
Hopefully it will be enough . J thought as they gazed over at the sealed doorway that led into what they were sure was the Queen’s hive. They carefully eyed the melted metal on the nearby wall that had once been a vent-shaft. None of them had realized it led into the hive until after a sneak attack of Xenos had leapt out, taking out the two guards that had been near it and wounding another.
“J?” The nervous, watery voice came over the radio and J clicked the radio on and off in response. “The second team has cleared out W and is working through U. By my estimate, they should clear U and V in about 15, maybe 20 minutes and will be able to give you backup then.”
“Shit.” One of the guards behind them muttered.
“15 minutes to hold our own against a hive?” Another griped.
“15 minutes against a Queen…”
“Well, only one thing to do.” The deep, heavily accented voice cut through the chatter, pulling their attention to the scar-covered Yautja. “Kill them faster.”
“...” There was a long moment of stunned silence as the guards just stared while the other Yautja nodded in agreement.
“... insane. All of you are fucking insane, man.” One of the guards groaned while another started laughing semi-hysterically.
“Alright.” J’s voice snapped across the group, eliciting straightening backs and tighter grips on weapons as attention snapped to them. “Check your neighbor’s weapons and armor, make sure they’re good to go.” The guards quickly shuffled around, quietly jostling each other as they followed the command and familiar routine of checking each other. The Yautja did the same amongst themselves. After a few moments of shoulder pats and quiet affirmations of readiness, attention returned to J.
“We’re breaching the hive first. That means that most of the nasties are gonna come straight for us, if they haven’t already. Guards, watch your friendly fire and focus on keeping the smaller ones back from our flanks. Hunters, focus on any bigger ones hanging around but stay with the group - we can’t afford anyone harring off on their own looking for glory. We have a job to do and I don’t want to see even a single bug twitching once we’re done. You two,” they pointed at the two tallest, lankiest Yautja who perked up at the attention, “you’re going to rip the doors open for us. Try to keep your bodies out of line and get back as soon as they’re open. Guards, firing squad formation. Let’s light it up.”
“Hoo-Rah!”
J turned, stepping back as the firing lines formed in front of them, the other Yautja naturally lining up behind the lines, ready to engage if any of the bugs made it too close. Glancing around to make sure everyone was in place, J nodded to the two Yautja who clicked to each other, counting down before yanking the doors open.
The hall quickly filled with the cacophony of gun fire and the death screams of charging Xenomorphs, light flashing from the controlled bursts only adding to the chaos. J let one gun dangle against their back as they aimed with the other, taking down any bugs that tried to evade the firing line. Deafening roars of the Yautja reverberated around them as they prepared to charge forward, waiting for the first of the humans to need to reload.
It almost seemed seamless, the way both groups worked together to take on the wave of bugs coming from the Hive. Yautja would charge forward as humans reloaded before falling back at their calls, fending off the bugs until the carefully aimed gun fire took them down.
A terrifying screech rent the air, louder and more furious than any they had heard yet as the swarm slowed to a trickle and the last few bugs were taken down. J’s muscles tensed and they were calling orders as the sound ended.
“Back line, turn and watch our 6. Front line, split so the Hunters can lead us in. Everyone, final check and consolidate your ammo; we’re in the home stretch now.” Bodies moved around them at the orders and J checked the gun before letting it drop to their side, hands falling to the hilts of their swords. A hand landing on their shoulder made J pause, looking up into Zed’tull’s serious face.
“Not yet.” Was all he said and they stared at each other before J nodded, hands falling from the swords to scoop up both guns again, clicking off the safeties.
“Don’t make me need them.” Zed’tull nodded and strode forward to join the other Yautja, doing a final check with each of them before they all went still, facing the darkness beyond the gaping, distorted opening that led into the hive. J took a deep breath and slowly released it through their nose, centering themself before nodding.
“Go.”
----------
The rookie swallowed harshly as she watched them disappear from camera view, unable to stop the errant thought of ‘I wonder if this is the last time I’ll see them’ from filling her head. A tang of copper hit her tongue as she bit into her lip, blinking back tears as she jerked her hands from the keyboard as they curled into fists, nails biting into her palms.
I can’t help them now. She felt so helpless at the thought, body trembling as she clenched her eyes shut to block out the view of the open, empty entrance to the hive. Her only connection to J and their team was the short calls over the radio amid the background of fighting.
“Tighten up your line Sholtz”
“On your right!”
“Reloading!”
“Get down!”
“¡Derecha! ¡Derecha! ¡Dios mío!”
“Runter!”
“English you fuckers!”
“Team 2 to cams. I’m not seeing any more movement on U. Please confirm.” The gruff voice of the leader of Team 2 had her eyes snapping open and determination filling her. I can’t help J anymore, but I can help their backup .
“I can’t see in the vents but it looks clear to me as well. I’ll keep an eye on it and let you know if anything pops out. Go ahead and start moving down to V.” She was surprised at how even her own voice was, how confident she sounded. Her fingers flew over the keys in front of her as she scanned the video feeds of U and V, watching the team of humans and Yautja make their way down the stairs.
“I count 10 bugs in the open by the doors to the hive. I am pretty sure there are two or three in the vents. And be careful; Team 1 almost got taken out by a swarm of bugs that came from a vent leading into the hive earlier.” She warned and nodded to herself as she listened to the orders the leader started barking to the others.
“What’s the status on J?” Angie called over her shoulder while Gus continued sending instructions through the radio.
“In the hive. The 2nd team is almost there to give backup. No visual on anyone in the hive.” She called back after muting her mic.
“Fuck. Okay, let me know as soon as you have an update.”
“Will do.” She let out a shuddering breath as she continued to watch as Team 2 quickly took care of the awaiting bugs. They paused only long enough to consolidate ammo before breaching the hive. There was no swarm of bugs to greet them so they cautiously made their way inside and the Rookie shuddered as she listened to the radio and stared listlessly at the empty videos, waiting for any sign of movement.
Notes:
“¡Derecha! ¡Derecha! ¡Dios mío!” = "Right! Right! My God!" (Spanish)
“Runter!” = "Get down!" (German)
Apologies if these are incorrect - I speak neither language and relied on Google translate.
Let me know what you think!
Chapter Text
Monday, 05/27/2176 15:34:29
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“...” The exhausted superior officer huffed out a sigh and rubbed his hand over his face as he slumped back in his chair. Across the table from him, five of the eight surviving members of Squad 8 were sprawled and had just finished giving him their initial report. Several of them were being treated by the emergency medical staff for the smaller acid burns while the three that weren’t currently meeting with him were in the medical bay for their larger wounds. Dragging his hand down his face, he pinned the elected spokesperson of the squad, Harrison Sholtz, with a deadpan stare.
“... Ya really expec’ meh tah believeh tha Janitah did all dat?” He growled through his hand, making his thick accent even harder to understand.
“Look Sarge, that’s the truth. J is a certified badass. We all thought so even before this shit. Now, well…” He glanced around at the others before shooting the Sargeant a wry grin, “Now I’d rather have J at my back during an emergency than even you, sir.”
“Hoo-rah” Santos murmured, wincing when the medic wrapping their shoulder hissed at him to stay still.
“He’s right Sarge,” Anderson grinned, “J is an ultimate badass.”
“THE ultimate badass.”
“Regardless,” The Sergeant cut in, nearly grinding his teeth in frustration. “You’re trying to tell me that one person, one single person , who is not even military trained , took charge of not only a squad of my finest soldiers, but also a ragtag group of rampaging steroid-stuffin’ alien bastards and led y’all into a mothah-fuckin’ hive to take down a Queen Bitch Bug? And only lost two of the squad in tha process? You really expect me to believe that shit?”
“You forgot that they also killed one of the big bitches by themself before we all got there. Sir.” Drawled Jameson who was looking loopy as the pain-killers started kicking in for the clawed mark on his side. The Sergeant forced himself to take a slow, deep breath to keep from throwing something at him.
“Look, sir.” Sholtz leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees to stare at his CO, “If you don’t believe us now, I know cams got J on video for everythin’ ‘cept the hive. You can give it a look, see if what we told ya matches up. Then, well,” he shrugged, leaning back again, “guess you’ll either have to believe us or check on what J says in their report.”
The Sergeant’s left eye twitched hard enough to make the soldiers look at him warily as he reached to a pile of papers and dragged the top folder over. Swiping it open, he scowled and flipped the single sheet of paper around to show Sholtz.
After quickly scanning through the document, Sholtz carefully put it back down on the desk, struggling not to laugh. Clearing his throat, he fought to keep his face composed as he looked up at the fuming Sergeant across from him.
“This, uh, is very… succinct.” How Sholtz managed not to laugh, he would never know, especially as he noticed the vein in the Sergeant’s forehead pulsing.
“ Succinct is not the word I would use, soldier. Useless is much more accurate.” Behind Sholtz, Anderson snorted which set off the rest of the squad and Sholtz had to cover his mouth to hide the wide grin he could no longer keep off his face.
“U-useless, sir?” He managed to get out, only having to clear his throat once to keep the question from being a squeak from his suppressed laughter. The Sergeant glared at him.
“Not only is there no information, as you saw , it is also the wrong fucking form! ” The guffaw broke from Sholtz’s lips and the squad was lost. The mix of the situation, adrenaline crash, and the good pain-killers made the entire situation hilarious, too hilarious for them to bother trying to act professional any more. The Sergeant eventually stalked out to interrogate a different group after his attempts at getting anything else from them led to just more laughter.
In the hallway, the Sergeant was stopped by a tall, dark-haired man in a suit whom he saluted to.
“Any word yet from the recovery teams?” The man asked and the Sergeant shook his head.
“Nothing’s salvageable. The few things that mighta been have been… collected by the Preds. None of mah boys were in any sort of shape to try to deny or stop ‘em.” The man let out a low, displeased hum, lips pursing in frustration.
“And the janitor?”
“Only thing I got from Squad 8 is that they’re a ‘certified badass’ and they’d rather have ‘em at their back than me. Security’ll have the videos but nothin’ from in the hive.”
“They’re report?” The Sergeant huffed.
“Useless unless yah want a laugh. Doubt you’ll get much more from talkin’ tah them.” There was a long pause before the Sergeant saluted and turned to walk away, “Gotta check in with the otha squads. You’ll have mah report in the mornin’, sir.” The man stood in silence as he walked away, glaring down the hall at the closed supply closet door before he too turned and walked away, hands clasped behind his back.
----------
“Fuck off Zed’tull, I’m going home.” J grumbled, not looking up at the looming presence beside them as they continued walking down the sidewalk. Zed’tull huffed beside them, the only indication of his presence the sound and soft clicking of his claws on the pavement.
“No. I’m kidnapping you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Am too!”
“No."
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No.”
“But we need to restock your weapons.” J scoffed, kicking a rock off the sidewalk.
“We can’t.” J deadpanned, raising their head to glance at how far the intersection was.
“Why not?” Zed’tull whined, making J roll their eyes.
“The place is swarming with suits right now. We couldn’t get my weapons or gear for an update even if we wanted to. Which I don’t.” They paused at the stoplight, waiting for the walk to turn green.
“But we already got everything out for you!” Zed’tull explained happily, causing J to shoot a glare at where his head probably was.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“When we went back for our trophies-” J let out an exasperated sigh and fought not to face-palm “- we also grabbed your weapons and a bunch of the fire axes you like! I know you have the next 6 days off so you can come and work on your weapons and updating your trophy room!” J gave in to the urge and face-palmed with a groan.
“I told you, I don’t need a trophy room .”
“Yes you do. And you have one. It’s very nice.” Zed’tull wheedled and J could just imagine that they were bouncing in glee, a mental image that made them want to hit him.
“... I need a fucking nap.”
“You can take a nap on the ship while we fly to a hunting planet! Then we can hunt together! And get more trophies! And I promise to get you back before you need to return to work.”
“... You’re not going to let me sleep unless I agree, are you.”
“Nope!”
“Fucking- Fine! I’ll go with you.” J was about to add something about going home first but was cut off with an oomph as they were abruptly picked up by a happy Zed’tull as he chattered about the hunt and who would be there as he carried them up the side of the building next to them. Groaning, J went limp and decided to just let it happen.
----------
“... uhhhh…”
“... did you see that?”
“Was that J?”
“Should we call somebody?”
Pam, Susan, and Julie glanced at each other as the other upper-floor ladies they had lunch with continued discussing what they should do after witnessing J get abducted by an invisible force. Pam sighed and tapped the table, drawing the others’ attention while Susan sent a quick text to J.
“J will be fine. They have a week off after this incident and, if they are a little late in returning, their vacation days will cover it.”
“... but they just got kidnapped?” One of the newer ladies asked timidly and Julie smiled gently, patting her hand.
“This isn’t the first time. We have a protocol for it now.” She reassured them, getting nervously relieved looks.
“Goodness, I didn’t realize being a janitor here was so stressful.” One of the older ladies said, glancing out the window again. Pam and Susan exchanged a look and sighed in exasperation at J’s response to their text making sure they were alright.
“Typical J.” Pam muttered, causing Susan to giggle as she put her phone away.
Notes:
Yes I had fun creating the images, especially the incident report form. No, I did not have fun figuring out how to add the images to this story. Not sure if I'll do something similar in the future... depends on if I get a bunch of negative comments about it I guess. So, if you don't like it, let me know so I don't do it again in the future.
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed the story! Fingers crossed life will give me a break so I can do more writing!
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