Crimson Canines (Complete!)

[Zer0]

It has been two million years since we made earth too inhospitable for us to survive. The human race left earth to search for a new home, but no home was found. Now, probes have returned with proof that human life is sustainable again. We came back, and found the earth . . . different. A lot different. The five major factions sent expedition teams in five different places to explore our changed world. You will write the next chapter for humanity as you lead the Crimson Canines to explore, colonize, and shape the face of our new earth.

 

[Zer0]

It's only been three hours since the Crimson Canines touched down on Sector-0, or what the higher ups are calling, Lysaur Valley. All of mother base was buzzing with excitement and activity as The Boss, the commander of Crimson Canines, sent military personnel to scout the region and set up a secure perimeter. The wildlife of Lysaur valley scattered upon the landing of their colony ship, Sanctuary. Herds of colossal beasts not so different from the brachiosaurus from ancient history books thundered away and into a forest of giant trees, these were the Lysaurs, named by the zoologists who were probably squealing like girls over the new creatures that roam our New Earth.


Hovercrafts soared out of the hangars carrying combat units and scientists on missions, mechas patrolled the air herding away another gargantuan flying beast that looked like a cross between a blue-whale and a dragon that was curious enough to swoop down and circle around the mother base observing it with its giant shiny black eyes. If it fell, it could crush a quarter of the base easily, but it harmlessly gave a loud booming whale-cry and floated away.


The 7th Exploration Division, or the "Hurricane" were called to assemble in Hangar 51, they were to be air-dropped in a forest region to the north to set up a communications signal amplifier or C.S.A. Since they had no satellites, communication to and from Mother Base only reached as far as the edges of Lysaur Valley.


@thespacekid , @CkSmalling , @CoconutLeaves

 

[Zer0]

Artemis, the mission leader, was standing beside the hovercraft that was to take them to the mission area chatting with their pilot, Pequod, a thick burly man with a black beard and wearing a suit that had "I LOVE MOM" on a patch on his shoulder.


Pequod was having some quick maintenance done on his hovercraft. His hovercraft too had the words, "I LOVE MOM" plastered on the side with a picture of Pequod and a chubby lady with thick make up and carrying a rolling pin.


"Do they allow you to post pictures on military assets?" Artemis asked him, uncertainly.


"Little lady, my mom was the bulldog in the sky in her day." he said in his deep voice, strutting. "She even saved the Boss once, caught him like a mother eagle catchin' her chick as he was falling from the sky after he jumped out of his hovercraft and sniped an ace fighter dead while falling in mid-air. It was beautiful . . beautiful . . ."


"Are you sure you're not making this up?"


"'Course not! Have you seen mah moma? She can bulldoze any marine you throw at her. I mean, she weighs even heavier than me." said Pequod.

 

[CkSmalling]

"Beep!!Beep!!Beep!!Beep!!" Robert wakes up dazed and confused as he stretched his hand out and switched off the alarm clock. He sits down at the edge of the bed,his face in his hand as he tries to recollect the previous nights events. He looks back and notices that he is alone in his bed "Huh. I guess thats new". He stands up and goes to the shower.


"Its 6:30am, tempertures at 30'C with no chance of rain to-" He gestured his hand at mirror and it went silent. He takes a long, thoughtful shower and wears his gear. He opens his weapons cache and retrieves his beloved Sniper rifle " Goodmorning Sweetheart" He kisses the muzzle and slings it on his back. He retrieved the rest of the items,check if they are functional and heads out.


"Lock Room Please" He hears the locks of the front door engage and walks to the elevator. He retrieves his phone and notices he has a message, "Please report to Hanger 23 for assignment" He puts his phone into his jacketand heads to the Coffee Cafe to get his usual and walks to the hanger.


Upon arrival he happes to overhear a conversation in the hanger, takes a sip of his hot,black latte with whipped cream and walks in the converstion.


" Hahahaha.well is not a nice thing to say about your mom" Robert interrupted as he walked casually towards the Hovercraft. "And might i add that is one fine ship."


He turned his head towards the lady and saluted "Robert King, Firsts class Sniper and the only one who kows how to rock a baret at your service." He stands down and heads towards the supply cargo and sits on them, removing his Sniper rifle from his back and placing it on his lap.

 

[Zer0]

The military doctor nodded at Robert, amused. "Sgt. Artemis. Mission Leader and combat medic. If you ever get hurt just remember, the louder you scream the faster I'll come." she said, winking.


Artemis had a red cross symbol on her back, shoulder, and left chest. Her suit was a dark grey with a few yellow stripes. She carried a sleek non-reflective metal pack with the red cross symbol on its front above her M.O.L.L.E. Her suit had many sealed streamlined compartments and the thigh and shoulder areas were bulky. Two magnum karambits hung on holsters on her waist together with the bag that held the Fulton Extraction Device.


"Allow me to synchronize your suit's vital signs reader to my H.U.D." said Sgt. Artemis. The H.U.D. or the head up display is part of the user interface of the helmets of each suit. She stretched out a link chord from a compartment in the wrist area of her suit and offered it to Robert. "The air is slightly toxic outside. It won't kill you, but you'll get sick, so only take it off your helmet if you have to, Robert."


"A-yo, brother." greeted the pilot. "Name's Pequod. This here's Elena." he said in a dreamy voice smiling at his hovercraft. "She's my baby. Ain't no tougher hovercraft than her. She'll get you in and out of anywhere."


"All done." said a maintenance man.


The hovercraft was gently put down by robotic arms and Pequod began carrying equipment inside including a large heavy duty crate labeled C.S.A. "When you find a suitable place for the signal amplifier, call me, light up a flare and I'll drop this sweet thing down. Can't help you assemble it, though."


"That's my job." said Artemis. "So I'll be counting on you to protect me." she said to Robert.


Three other combat personnel arrived in the area. They introduced themselves as "Komodo Rhino", "Assassin Marmot", and "Grizzly Sloth". They were all standard riflemen who wore suits that had tougher armor and increased their strength, the usual grenades and the standard rifle-axe hung at their sides.


"We leave in thirty minutes!" said Artemis after checking everyone's gear was in order. She boarded the hovercraft. "All inside and prepare for take off!"

 

[CkSmalling]

"Slighly toxic. Got it Doc. " Robert takes the cord and inserts into the small AUX port located the breast plate of his armor. He waits for a coulple of seconds and hands it back to Artemis.


Robert offers his hands towards the pilot, " Aye man. So you are the getaway driver? Please remind me when i decide to rob a bank, i should call on you." They shakes hands and laughing like they knew each other since childhood.


Robert looks at the yellow case and turns his attention towards the Captain. "Aye Aye Ma'am. You have my word" He slings his sniper rifle to his back and adjusts his armor one more time.


Robert introduces himself to the other crew members and make some jokes just to lighten up the mood. He hears the captains orders and lazily walks towards the hovercraft. He sits at the second kast chair towards the Cabin,next to Assassin Marmot and begins his usual small talk as he awaits everyone to get on board. He removes his sniper rifle from his back and checks for ammo count and scope calibration. He sets it just arms reach from where he sat and continued to chat with Assassin


"All aboard Captain. Awaiting lift off!!" Robert announced with so much enthusiasm.

 

[thespacekid]

The air was quite damp when Vikram woke up, and it clung heavily on his skin. He headed towards the bathroom and turned on the shower, the cool water bouncing off of him. The shower had refreshed him, and he was wide awake now. In his closet, he pushed the suit aside and pulled out a small book wrapped in a silver cloth.


Vikram sat on his knees in the center of the room, facing the sun, and joining his hands, read a prayer from the open book lying before him. He folded the book back into the cloth carefully and placed it in the back of his closet, hidden from view. He pulled on his suit, a close-fitting armour silver and deep red in colour, checked once to see if everything was in order, and grabbed his swords from the closet. He slid them into sheaths on the back of his suit, locked his room, and headed to the Hangar.


As he approached the Hangar, he noticed a few marines already assembled and waiting. Eyes darting everywhere, taking everything in, he headed into the hovercraft, straight to the woman with Captain's stripes, and saluted. "Good morning Captain. Vikram Tandon reporting for duty." He looked around at the other marines, and smiled at them in greeting.

 

[Zer0]

There was a general sound of chuckling among the crew.


"Sergeant Artemis," said the military doctor, smiling, "mission leader and combat medic."


When the last of the team had strapped down, the hovercraft door shut. "Departing!" said Pequod, and they launched out of the gargantuan hangar doors and into Lysaur Valley.


Mother base quickly dwindled away as they flew north. Pequod kept exchanging jokes and making small talk with Robert and Assassin Marmot-who was a girl by the way, with a broken line tattoo circling her neck and the words, "Cut Here".


The rest of the guys were complaining about the meager breakfast with the sandwich fillings being as thin as napkins; Sgt. Artemis was listening to music on an ancient walkman.


An hour later, the wide open plains gave way to a sea of giant twisted trees with large umbrella-like canopies. Pequod opened the hovercraft door as he hovered a hundred meters above a very small clearing.


"Let's move out!" shouted Artemis through the noise of the whirring hovercraft blades. "Go, go, go!"


In ones or twos, the Hurricane Squad zipped down through cable ropes and dropped down into the wilds, taking their first steps in the New Earth.


"Robert, take point." said Artemis who was the last to descend. A rough digital map blinked open on everyone's HUDs and an orange dot appeared thirty miles north. "That's our objective, move out."


"Stay frosty guys." said Pequod and the hovercraft left.

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert continues to talk to Assassin as they reminice on childhood memories and what not. I help her pack some assassins while giving her a small portion of my lunch. "I am stuffed and i have some cinnamon buns with me so im cool." She blushes and thanks me for the generosity.


We hover over tall trees and head to a clearing. The cargo doors open and he is the first to jump off, Assassin following him. He lands and immediately go down on one knee,weapon out,adjusted the scope and stands guard while the others deployed.


"Sergeant,the area looks clear." A minimap shows on his display and he studies it carefuly.


He takes a minute to observe the scenery. The thick, dark trees were as majestic as always. He looked at the top of the tree with his binoculars and appreciated the green, thick leaves which serves as a shade for any body.


He turns back and slautes to the Sergeant " Sergeant, requesting permission to scout ahead.Look for potential dangers and hostiles and eliminate them at your command"

 

[Zer0]

"Permission granted." said Artemis. "Assassin, go with him." she nodded at the lady marine. "Robert, you're in charge while you two are out there, call in an give me a sit-rep (situation report) every half-hour."


After the two left, the rest of the squad followed slowly. The air was cool and damp, and the strange unfamiliar calls of wild birds and insects echoed in the forest. The team soon learned that what they had been walking on wasn't moss covered ground, but moss covered bark. They were stepping on the branches or roots of a colossal tree and the canopy of leaves above them were from its smaller branches or other trees thriving on its bark. It was wide enough for two hovercrafts to land on, and it was thicker than the width of the widest hallways in Motherbase. They were walking on a tree bridge.


"Check out that mushroom . . ." said Komodo Rhino. A huge flat brown-orange mushroom the size of a landing pad with white spots protruded from the edge of the great branch. "That's a life-time supply of mushroom soup right there."


Artemis cut a sample and stored it in her pack. "That, or it'll make you high for a year."


"Hey, Komodo," said Grizzly Sloth, elbowing him. "What do you call a mushroom that throws a party?"


"No."


"A fun-gi!" said Grizzly cheerfully. Komodo Rhino walked pass him, shaking his head.


Artemis set up a capture cage every now and then, pinning the location of each one on her minimap. She collected as many plant samples as she could, putting some in Grizzly Sloth's M.O.L.L.E. when hers was full.


There was so much to look at in the forest. Most of the flora were huge, there were bulbous plants the size of old garden sheds, hanging fruits the size of helmets, and ferns and bushes the size of trees. A flock of ordinary looking red birds with silver tipped wings flew away from them as they passed by. Grizzly Sloth looked down the side of the tree bridge and saw that the ground level of the forest was about fifty meters below them-a fall from this height would definitely break bone. The forest floor was darker, with less vegetation, and it was as dim as dusk. The glow of many yellow eyes looked up curiously or hungrily as the team passed above. Whenever Grizzly would flash his light, multiple tails or a chitinous claw would disappear into a bush or hole. "Afraid of the light, gonna' remember that."


"Halt." said Artemis after an hour. She raised a magnum karambit and silently pointed at an intersection in the tree bridge where multiple branches spread out from. There in a hollow, eight large shiny black eyes were staring at them from the black depths. Whatever it was, Artemis had a bad feeling about it and it was in their way.

***

​

@CkSmalling , your character Robert and Assassin Marmot are half a kilometer ahead of the group on another tree bridge. The thing with the eight eyes wasn't in the hollow when you passed it by hours ago.


Two hundred meters ahead of you, in an open area where a grove of smaller fruit trees were growing, you see a dozen large four-armed gorilla-like creatures swinging on the tops of the trees, eating fruit, wrestling, and leaping fifty meters into the air as they played tag. A pair was playing catch with a large rock that looked as heavy as the C.S.A. crate Pequod had hauled into the hovercraft. They haven't seemed to notice the both of you yet, but they were in the way.

 

[thespacekid]

The wicked beauty of the place almost dazed Vikram. Even though the multitude of colours seemed welcoming, he felt like something was off. He almost couldn't believe that humanity began here, in this wilderness, so different from the hundreds of metal spires back home. Back home? He mused. Isn't this supposed to be home though?


He caught up to Komodo and asked, "Did we really start off from this planet?"


"Like it or not," Komodo replied as he kept walking.


Vikram tutted, "It's infested. We need to clean it up a little, get rid of some of these grotesques."


The moment he saw the beast that Artemis pointed out, Vikram unsheathed his swords, hesitant to activate the electric charge lest the sudden movement startle it. He spun them in his hands, and sidled up to Artemis. "On your mark?"

 

[Zer0]

"Go." said Artemis.


A large hairy spider as big as a truck emerged from the hollow as Komodo Rhino and Grizzly Sloth open fired. It had thick powerful fangs and crawled fast straight for the group, just from a glance, it was obvious that it cannot be outrun. Their bullets ricocheted off the chitinous armor that encased its legs and cephalothorax. Dozens of spiderlings clung on its fleshy abdomen looking ready to jump.

Artemis threw forward an anti-vehicle mine that flew like a frisbee disk and landed some distance away from a line of thick trees where Komodo Rhino and Grizzly were crouched in front of her, taking turns firing. Five small hooks clamped down on the tree bark from the edges of the mine as on its top a red light turned on.


"Anti-vehicle mine, armed!" said Artemis, as a yellow symbol of a mine appeared on their mini-maps together with Vikram and the rest of the squad who were green arrow heads.


@thespacekid

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert and Assassin were just walking around,eyes on their minimap as they make their way to the objective.


"So Assassin, what is your real name anyway?" Robert suddenly broke the ice. "Its kinda cliche you know that right?"


"Well, first of all i am not going to tell you my real name, cause i dont want to-" Assassin said her hands on her hips


"You are going to make me work for it,are you?"Robert Sighed as he almost tripped on a tree root.


"Yes, yes i am. And second,yes i am fully aware its cliche but i like it. I mean its not thaaat creative but once a nickname gets stuck to you, its yours..permanently. Why dont you have a nickname anyways?"


Robert looks down with a sad face. "I used to have. My girlfriend,God rest her soul, gave it to me and after she passed- " Robert struggles to keep his emotions in check. "-After she passed, i stopped using it."


Assassin places her hand on Robert shoulder to comfort him "Im sorry to pry into your life.I didnt mean to"


"Its okay. Dont beat yourself hard abo-" Robert grabs Assassins arms and pulls her to an overgrown root, taking cover. "12o'clock straight ahead. On top of the treeline. Are you seeing what im seeing?"


Assassin takes her binoculars and takes a peak. "12 hostiles dead ahead. And boy are they ugly. How do you want to proceed? You are the team leader after all."


Robert takes his Sniper rifle and loads incediary ammo. " These bullets are waay effective on flesh and armor. Lets roast the sunofbitches shall we?" Assassin nods as she takes out her weapons. Robert point to an overgrown root in the west. "You see that overgrown root? You take that position and flank them.When i give the signal, through a greanade at their position and then fire. Agreed? If you are overloaded, move positions and fire till your fingers bleed."


Assassin nods and heads to the designated position. She stays put and awaits Robert's signal. I load the sniper rifle and the weapon glows fully red. "Incediary Ammo Loaded".


Robert takes out his grenade. The frenade is white in color with gold wings drawn on the side " This is going to be fun"

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert looks ahead and notices that the beats were a distance away.He motions to Assassin to move forward and they both sneak,passing under and over roots, watching for any sound triggers like twigs and what not and hiding behind the barks of ttees for cover. They reach where the beats were playing and laying low.


Robert clenches his fist and they both stop. Using the scope, he notices that they are both in the same area local. He looks at assassin and nodshis head indicating time for action. He removes one of his grenade and admires it, smiling from ear to ear. He presses the button found on the top and launches it towards the group of monsters.


"HALLELUJAH!!" And the grenade goes off, forming a small mushroom cloud and he hears the sound of wailing and screaming animals.


"BOOM!!" Assassins grenade follows suit and more wailing and screaming is heard. The blast area is covered with smoke and they wait,fingeron the trigger to see who will pop out of the smoking area.

 

[thespacekid]

Vikram clambered up a tree nearby, making it just in time as the spider charged. As he balanced himself on a branch, he pulled out a small Smoke grenade from his pack, pressed a button on top and dropped it onto the spider below. "Cover your eyes!" Vikram yelled just as the scene exploded in a haze of smoke and a flash of white light, pulling up an arm to cover his own eyes.


Almost poised on the edge of the massive branch, he pulled back switches on his swords and crackling blue electricity pulsed across the length of the blades. He spun them, pointing them downwards, and jumped, aiming to go right at the spiders eyes. He pushed the blades down quick, ripped them out, and kicked himself off in the team's direction just as quickly as chaos erupted everywhere around him.

 

[Zer0]

The giant spider wriggled in pain as spurts of blood gushed out of two of its eight eyes. It clicked its fangs like mad. It stumbled out of the smokescreen dazed, and confused, turning here and there. @thespacekid , your character notices in the chaos that five of the twelve spiderlings on the giant spider's abdomen had disappeared.


"Move out of the line of fire, Vikram!" said Artemis before Komodo Rhino and Grizzly Sloth laid down the heavy fire aiming for the spider's fleshy abdomen. Their spray of bullets punctured it like watermelon, sending green blood flying staining the mossy floor, before the spider, recognizing the direction of the attack, turned around so that the bullets bounced off its carapace, and charged blindly at the group again its giant fangs bared ready to snap shut at the next thing that comes in contact with its face or front legs.

***

​

Seven large apes stumbled out of the grenade smoke, clambering up the trees howling loudly and leaping deeper into the grove, scattering in all directions. They were running away. Two blindly leaped into Assassin Marmot's direction, but didn't seem to see her and passed her by. In the center of the smoke was a larger ape standing over the dead bodies of four others roaring in rage and looking in every direction for the attackers, alert.


@CkSmalling

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert lays on his back against a tree root as he calculates what to do next. "Ohhh crap. We are in deep deep trouble" He mumbles to himself.


"Robert do you have any bright ideas? Looks like we hit the big bad wolf." Assassin relayed to him over the comms network


"I really have no idea how to tackle this beast" He relayed back


"So you just say we just sit down and pray? That's smart"


"Well if you have any bright ideas, please share with the group."


"What if we just shoot the dude?" Assassin replied sarcastically


"Wow. I would give you the slow clap but he will find my location. Lets try with that. Don't go all super hero on me. Fire, change position. I will cover you as you change position.I have adaptive camouflage in my suit."


"Sweet. I like the idea. And throw one of your grenades.I like the Hallelujah part before it detonates"


"That i will. Now on my mark..." I press a button on my left arm and the suit changes color to green, blending well with the surroundings. "Adaptive Camouflage Activated" "...NOW!!!"


Assassin fires a volley of shots towards the beast, it screams in pain as each bullet hit its mark and starts to charge towards her. Robert fires a round at the beast and it roars in pain as the bullet hits its left thigh. The Beast changes its direction and charges my way but stops ,looking to wear the bullet got fired and goes on all fours and searches for him .

 

[Zer0]

The two apes who had passed by Assassin Marmot looked back when they heard the roar of pain from the bigger ape. Then they launched themselves angrily at her, closing the gap in one giant leap. Her back was turned she couldn't hear them through the sound of her gunfire. She was pounded to the mossy bark floor by two pairs of four heavy fists and she didn't get up again.


"Robert, what's your situation?" came Artemis' calm voice through his comms. The sound of gunfire was in the background. "Assassin's vitals just went critical."


The large ape was limping, weakened and bleeding, sniffing the air and listening intently a few feet away from Robert. For a moment, it seemed as though the incendiary round didn't work. Then came panting, then it gave a sharp cry of pain as its thigh caught on fire.


The apes who were pounding Assassin Marmot looked up and gave a cry of fear as the bigger ape went wild, running everywhere as the flames grew larger until it engulfed it. The two ran away for good as the flaming ape fell off the tree bridge in a ball of flames.


Assassin Marmot's body lay motionless in the grove, her helmet slightly dented, her arm in an awkward angle.


@CkSmalling

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert quickly stood up not waiting for the big ape to die and rushed towards Assassin


"Artemis," Robert spoke panting "Assassin is down. I repeat Assassin is down. She just got hit from behind by two apes who we thought were fleeing. Damn apes!!!" Robert loads normal rounds and shoots at their direction. One bullet rips the arm of one ape while another bullet hits the other dead center in the chest.


Robert almost trips making his camouflage wear out "Adaptive Camouflage Deactivated" Robert continue to run towards Assassin.


When he reaches Assassin's body, all he did was freeze in place. Never has he saw a body so beaten up. He snapped back to his senses and knelt down besides her body. "Artemis, i request immediate medical Evac. I repeat Immediate medical Evac." Robert places two fingers on her neck. "She has a pulse but its weak. Her left arm has been twisted 180' clockwise, helmet has been slightly bashed in but no blood. Must have a concussion. What is your ETA Sergeant?"

 

[Zer0]

"No estimate yet, Robert." said Artemis getting ready to detonate the anti-vehicle mine as the spider came closer. "We're currently engaged with a hostile. Leave Assassin-do not move her-and climb up to get a good vantage point of our position on the double."


"Your rifle has an effective range of more than five hundred meters. Shoot the giant spider." said Artemis.


(OOC: @CkSmalling, @thespacekid, time to coup de grace the giant spider)

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert looks down at Assassin and he kisses the back of her hand and places it on her chest, watching it rise and fall at a slow but steady pace. He takes a knee and composes himself and stands up.


"Yes Sergeant. kindly inform me of its weakness and i will utilize it to the fullest. " He loads his rifle with incendiary rounds and the whole rifle goes red. He look around only to see normal trees.He looked behind and notices the tree where the apes were living.


"Hmmm this will do just fine." He looks one last time time at Assassin and climb the huge tree,the long sturdy branches as support to climb. He reaches the flat top and takes a second to appreciate the view. He goes prone and releases the support of his rifle and looks through the scope.


"Waiting on your orders Sergeant"

 

[thespacekid]

Racing across the giant tree floor, Vikram sneaked up behind the giant spider. He indicated to Artemis to kill the three spiders that have jumped off. A pulse of electricity charges across his blades and he runs and slides under the spider, trying to slash at it's soft underbelly. He catches himself near the apparent heart and jumps up, twisting into the abdomen of the spider, his blades sending screams of pain through it.

 

[Zer0]

"The head." Artemis told Robert as she blasted away the little spiderlings that had been slowly creeping up to her from behind and underneath the tree bridge. "There are two eyes on the top. It's a small target, but shoot through one."


The spider stumbled, stunned, as Vikram slashed up, slamming him down on the floor as its heavy body fell on top of him.


Komodo Rhino and Grizzly Sloth switched to their axes and chopped off the dying spider's hairy flailing legs as they circled around one side to get to Vikram.

 

[CkSmalling]

Robert stayed put on top of the tree, motionless composing himself. He looked down at Assassin's body on last time before he heard a voice in the intercom.


"There are two eyes on the top. It's a small target, but shoot through one" He heard Artemis say with the sound of gunfire and shrieking in the background.


"Understood Sergeant" Robert replied. HE looked through the scope and searched till he found one big spider and its little underlings on the body.He pressed a button on top of the scope and digital readings of wind speed and direction appeared in the scope.


Wind Speed: 1.2 km/h Wind Direction: South Target Distance: 410m


HE adjusted to the rifle accordingly and searched for the eyes. He waited until the spider was facing his direction and mumbled "Alright Baby lets make this quick and simple." The hum of the rifle was in the air as he jept his breathing slow and steady and he pulled the trigger.

 

[Zer0]

BANG


The boom of the sniper rifle came after the head of the spider burst into flames, splattering the two other marines in spider goo.


"Ew!" said Grizzly. The spider's legs stopped flailing. He and Komodo Rhino gripped the underside of the spider's belly and heaved up with a grunt. "Vikram you still alive?" asked Grizzly.


"You have a death wish? That was a crazy stunt." said Komodo Rhino, shaking his head. "But it was really cool."


Artemis disarmed her mine and placed it back in her pack. "Take care of him." she said as she sprinted past them to the grove where Artemis was lying.


"Robert, climb higher and cut away the tree tops above Assassin." said Artemis as she carefully placed the wounded girl on a stretcher that inflated and swallowed her like a cocoon. "The extraction device will snag if there are obstacles in the way."


After Robert had cleared the forest roof, Artemis pressed a button and a bright orange balloon attached to the cocooned lady marine inflated and floated upwards carrying her. A red light emitting a soft ringing sound blinked on and off as it rose to the sky.


"Pequod will pick her up and bring her to HQ" Artemis assured Robert. "Let's go back to the others."