<strong>Corporal John Morden</strong><br/><br/>"Tricky bastard-"<br/><br/>Reaper hadn't uttered so much as a single word for nearly an hour now, but the moment that devilish tail plunged between armor plating and struck flesh they hissed out of him like blood from a wound.  Just his luck that it had punctured directly into an old scar, the very same place that Widow had extracted a nasty bullet a few years before.  The bladed tail sent familiar pangs through him.  It was every bit as sharp as a knife, if not sharper, and he'd been on the receiving end of those far too many times to let it phase him.<br/><br/>Though at that point it didn't matter if it broke his calm demeanor.  Staring up into that eyeless face was like staring into an empty pit, its sleek carapace glistening with unnatural luster and multiple rows of teeth gleaming like metal spikes in a too-wide mouth.  It was like something out of the works of Doré or Bosch, given form and malignant intent.  Its hide was a wretched ting of jutting spines, pulsating tubes, and oily curves marred by decorative ridges.  And all Reaper could find himself doing is waxing poetic on just how uniquely hideous the thing about to kill him was up close.  His rifle was too unwieldy to bring up to bear, and with it looming over him he very much doubted that his hand was quite quick enough to grab the combat knife on his vest and make a fatal strike without taking an acid bath.<br/><br/>Thankfully he didn't have to suffer such an ignoble death, as the Leftenant barreled over and blew the thing's braincase apart with brutal efficiency.  That's what being part of a team like Kilo meant: someone always had your back.  It was something Reaper was still getting used to, even after a decade in the military.<br/><br/><strong>"Anyone dead yet?!  Speak up!"</strong><br/><br/>"I ought to talk more!" he shouted gruffly, wrenching the tail from his shoulder and flinging himself backwards before taking aim at the nearest xeno, concentrating, and firing a salvo of shots towards its chest cavity.  "Don't want to be mistaken for a corpse!"