<strong>~ Pvt. Angelina DeSilva - 1st Squad, in the cavernous labyrinth on mission to rescue a Weyland-Yutani executive ~</strong><br/><br/><strong>"Fuckin A, baby girl. This is some fucked up shit, no doubt. FUBAR!"</strong><br/><br/>Rome voiced his agreement with her sentiments as only he could, punctuating his comments with a slap on her ass as he moved to take point position.<em>Baby girl.</em>Angelina shook her head in mild amusement at the nickname their smartgunner had apparently locked on to. Choosing to ignore the ass slap for the moment, she was grateful for his distraction and teased, “FUBAR...Flirty Ultimate Bad Ass Rome?” Grinning mischievously, she puckered her lips and blew him a kiss with a wink.<br/><br/>Stepping closer to the entrance, Angelina peered balefully into the dark mouth of the cave, an uneasy shiver scuttling down her spine. Even in the densest, most remote areas of the jungle, one was never too far from being able to glimpse a steadying patch of sky. She’d never liked caves, but after her last terrifying experience, dislike had made the leap to hate, and now just the thought of descending into the bowels of some cavernous labyrinth was enough to bring an unpleasant queasiness to the pit of her stomach.<em>”I really, REALLY hate caves!”</em>she again quietly groused to herself, as she worked on shoving down the rising low-level panic creeping up on her.<br/><br/><strong>"Put a sock in it, DeSilva! Squad! Watch your corners and lines of fire! I don't want no friendly fire! DeSilva! Cover Zippo! Rome! Bring up the rear! Move out!"</strong><br/><br/>Sarge’s no-nonsense voice barking out commands soothed her rough edges just enough, and she was able to drag her focus back to the mission. Zippo had been uncharacteristically quiet since the blast, and she hoped their flamethrower wasn’t suffering from some kind of impact concussion or something. Taking close flanking position to cover her, Angelina raised her eyebrows at Rome as he passed her.<br/><br/><strong>"Yes, Sarge," Rome said simply, giving DeSilva a wink as he turned to the back of the column, "bringing up the rear..." he muttered as he passed her, flashing her smirk and a wink.</strong><br/><br/>Rolling her eyes, she marveled at the man’s irrepressible personality, and figured the rest of the squad probably appreciated his ability to keep things light as much as she did. Except when it was time to bring the hammer down, and then nobody did it better.<em>Four.</em>Well shit - they were sure as hell a small team, but at least they were a kick-ass team! She bolstered her fraying nerves with that thought.<br/><br/>Hitting her shoulder flashlight and turning her helmet camera on, Angelina grabbed another four rounds from her pack and quickly stuffed them down the throat of her grenade launcher.<em>You never know.</em>Following behind Zippo, she reluctantly entered the menacing yawning hole, glancing back over her shoulder once for one last look at the sky.<br/><br/>Encroaching darkness and disconcerting silence greeted them as they made their way through the winding tunnels, panic gnawing at the edges of her control with every minute that passed. She could feel the weight of the earth above her pressing down as they descended deeper, a disquietingly claustrophobic sensation. As they followed the Weyland-Yutani executive’s beacon, Angelina fervently hoped they would find the bastard soon and get the hell out of this place.<br/><br/>Suddenly, controlled bursts of gunshots rang out, their staccato blasts echoing loudly through the narrow chamber.  As a monstrous shriek bellowed out in response to the gunfire, Angelina flicked off her rifle’s safety and moved forward to close the distance between her and Zippo. Tensing for the expected battle, the sudden silence was unnerving. A moment passed, and the harsh breathing of her team was all that could be heard. Breaking the silence, the distinct sound of two objects moving toward them at a fast clip was announced by their motion detector.<br/><br/>As the beam of a flashlight rounded the corner up ahead and two figures rushed forward, Angelina lifted her finger off the rifle trigger but left it hovering just above it. Between the white lab coat on the one man and the freaky supervillain outfit of the other, these dudes just weren’t right.<br/><br/><strong>"Thank God you're here" he said "those....things are back there!" </strong><br/><br/>Glancing around at the rest of her squad with a wary frown on her face, she listened for their motion detector to alert them of any approaching hostiles. Even if they weren’t being followed at the moment, Angelina was more than eager to blow this hole and figured the finer details of the executive's story could be found out later, topside. “Drop your weapons!” she demanded, “We’re here to escort you safely off-planet, we’ve got you covered.”