<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong> Chapter 2(1st Squad): S.O.S. </strong></span><br/><br/>With the destruction of the unknown device the sensor jamming that had been blanketing the planet's surface dissipated then quickly disappeared entirely. Apparently FATHER's calculations had been correct and the device, what ever it had been, was the source of the jamming. As the veil was lifted over the planet's surface the three USN ships in orbit were able to scan the surface and identify several automated anti-air facilities. Including those that had been responsible for the destruction of 1st Squad's dropship.<br/><br/>Over the next 20 minutes the sky was filled with the signs of the planet's surface being bombarded with surgical strikes obviously meant to obliterate choice targets with little to no collateral damage.  The contrails of orbit to surface missiles could be seen etching their paths across the sky and a distant rumble, easily confused for thunder, could be heard as each weapon found and struck its target.<br/><br/>It was amongst these these sounds and sights that 1st Squad received its new set of orders, broadcast by FATHER to each member as was the standard operating procedure for a squad who's officer had been lost and who could easily lose who was currently in command. They were informed that a new dropship was already on rout to ferry them to their next task.<br/><br/>A Weyland-Yutani executive distress signal had been detected sending an SOS from a cave system to their Southeast and they were to investigate and rescue the executive should they still be alive. It took no more than five minutes for the dropship to arrive, this time unmolested, and pick up the squad. As it flew them towards the caves anyone listening to their radios would have been able to pick up the chatter from 2nd Squad who seemed to be transmitting on the USMC general communications frequency rather than their own squad's band.<br/><br/>Minutes after their signal went out of range the pilot could be heard informing 1st Squad that they'd arrived at their objective. The dropship's rear ramp opened to reveal that the pilot was hovering roughly 5 feet above the ground with the rear of the craft less than 10 yards from the large mouth of a cave (http://www.pembrokeshirevirtualmuseum.co.uk/main_menu/archaeology/palaeolithic/hoyles_mouth_cave.jpg). "he's somewhere in there" the pilot said "My orders are to fly a holding pattern here, I can't give you any covering fire but if you need to bug out I'll be able to grab you as soon as you get clear of the caves....good luck."<br/><br/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><strong>Chapter 2(3rd Squad): Contact </strong></span><br/><br/>The hall that 3rd Squad was slowly clearing eventually gave way to a spiraling staircase leading straight down. Without any orders from FATHER to the contrary it was obvious that they were to move forward and downward....<br/><br/>At the bottom of the stairs, roughly 4 flights worth of individual steps, a new hallway stretched before the squad. Though this one was quite different than the one before.An oddly thick layer of mistlike smoke seemed to blanket the floor roughly half a foot above the ground. It parted easily enough as each squad member moved their feet to the ground it covered. The lights in this hallway were also nearly non-existent, with only the bare minimum present to keep the entire hall from simply being pitch black. As they moved forward the white walls of the hall began to slowly give way to a black almost bone like material.<br/><br/>As they reached a T junction they found their final attacker. He was laying face up on the floor, his arms and legs splayed out, his weapon no less than a foot away from his hands, and his chest slowly rising and falling. As they drew closer it was revealed to the members of 3rd squad that this was not the only difference between the man's current condition and how they had seen him last.<br/><br/>His faceplate had been smashed in, and a strange creature (http://images.wikia.com/aliens/images/9/94/Alien_facehugger.jpg) seemed to have attached itself to his face. The side's of the beast's yellow body puffed outward and then caved inwards in time with the man's chest rising and falling. Almost as if they were both breathing as one.<br/><br/>Even as the members of 3rd Squad were forced to take all this in, things seemed to worsen even more. The sound of almost reptilian hisses and shrieks could be heard from both branches of the T junction. The high pitched BEEP of their motion detectors began to go off, with movement being registered as coming from their left, and their right. The high speed of the devices' frantic bleeps increased with every second. Whatever was approaching was wasting no time in closing the distance with them!<br/><br/><br/>