SENJO<br/><br/>What impressed me wasn't their intensity of purpose, nor was it their immense bulk - these things were as big as an American brown bear - or bigger. It wasn't their speed either. What impressed me was the combination of all three. What the metabolism and musculature of these creatures must be like to deliver that mass that fast?<br/><br/>An unbidden thought came to me even as they were scythed down in Kilo's killing zone:<em>If they were on our side. If we had willing animals like this to fight our battles...</em>Then the time for thought was past and reflex took over. Despite the crossfire of two sentries, an M56 and numerous rifles and shotguns and a flamer, three of the bigger ones hit our firing line. To my right one struck Sergeant O'Shay and another seemed to leap right past me towards Corporal Morden but it was the one on my left that rushed at Private Sakuraba that caught my attention.<br/><br/><em>It used it's arm. To knock the flamer aside. It didn't just leap, it pushed her flamer aside with it's arm.</em><br/><br/>The small Japanese woman went down under the massive bulk of the thing. She had no chance. Her only defence now was her ape suit, the tough anti-flame and anti-acidic attack armour membrane that was keeping that things claws and jaws out.<br/><br/><em>Acid-resistant. She's safe. I can shoot it.</em><br/><br/>So I did.<br/><br/>The thought came clear in my head. Having seen how their blood splashed across the broken furniture and Hab unit walls and melted them, filling the room with dense acrid fumes I was hesitating a second about shooting it as it grappled the Japanese marine. But her suit should protect her. I stood up from my kneeling position, swung to face where the thing was grappling Sakuraba, brought my rifle back to my shoulder, bedded it firmly in, took aim and squeezed the trigger. This time it was not short bursts. I held the trigger in and the ten millimetre explosive tipped shells spat out, the digital counter descending rapidly, the gun pounding my chassis shoulder joint. I aimed at the things' skull and shoulders and upper spinal column, anywhere vital I could strike while keeping to the side and avoiding hitting the soldier beneath it, pouring in fire from only two metres away.<br/><br/>If I was Lance Corporal Beneke I would probably be shouting, so it surprised me a great deal to hear my own voice.<br/><br/>(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk137/HaibaneR/Senjo-08-1.jpg)<br/><br/><strong>"Get the fuck off her!"</strong>