Chapter 7:
By the time they reached the hanger, the rest of the ships had landed and the ponys inside were unloading and truning the hanger into a tempory command center.
She walked back to where Viper 2-3 was landed, ignoring the stares of the ponys around her.
"Is that her?"
"Ya'll just leave her alone"
She quickened her pace, rushing past everypony untill she reached the assulte ramp and jogged up it.
inside the ship, Goldroot was hunched over the a computer terminal looking over the data they had sent to him.
He looked up as she walked over to him "Good work on getting this data" he commented as she and Lightning sat down opersit him "We've already found a elevator leading up to the bridge"
As he said that, a section of the map he was looking over lit up "I sent a squad of ponys to go check it out" his eyes didnt leave the screen.
I know where this is going, she though as the Captain continued.
"They say that its wothout power and they can't get past the elevator car"
"So you need us to go reboot the main core?" He nodded and replaced the map of their deck with another "The main engineering is here..." he pointed at a large room "Also I found the main data core on the same level, I want you to split into two teams to get both objectives"
"I'll get my teams ready" Midnight said as she got up.
"Yea, it'll be a breeze" Lightning said as she hoverd away.
"any intell before we go?"
He smiled "Its dark down there, bring lots of flares"
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Well he'd been right about the flares.
Midnigth ducked under a fallen bulkhead and lit another flare.
She'd split up with the rest of her squad to head to engineering, Midnigth had brought some ponys from one of the other dropships and let Oats lead the others to the computer core.
there had been more bones on this level then the others, most probably becuase it was one of the most inportent decks, she knew what the cretures race's name was after finding some sort of rescearch notes.
Humans.
"It stinks" one of the ponys with her complained.
he had a point, it did smell bad on this level and it was getting worse the closer they got to their destination.
ever since they had split off with Oats delta team, Midnight had been getting a sickly feling about the deck that made her mane stand on end.
they came to a large closed door that dwarfed before it.
Midnight levitated two flares from her saddle bag, lit them and threw them on both sides of it and looked for a way to open it.
"Oh look, A big door"
She checked her holographic map again, it showed her team infront of a large door, byond it was a large room with what looked like a long bridge going straight in the middle of the room to the other side of it.
"Map says that theres a large room byond this door, looks like it leads to engineering" she told her team "now we just need to get past this door".
Everypony sat there in thought, then she heard the click of a missle luancher being primed.
"Lets blow it up!" said a orange stalion as he stood on his hind legs and aimed the launcher.
"NO!" They all yelled in unusion and Midnight pulled iit off him and levitated it over to one of the other ponys.
She pointed at it "Keep that away" she pointed at the orange stalion "from him".
After seeing the pony nod a few times, she walked over to a small computer pannle byside of the door and tapped it experimentaly.
just like the one in the hanger control room, this one lit up, but only had one option.
She selected it and steped back as the door grinded open.
byond it was a sight she had hopped not to have seen for a good while.
The walls and bridge was coverd with the black web like substance of a Xenomorph hive.
"She tapped her ear bloom quickly "Alpha to Delta and Recon actual"
"Recon Actual here" Goldroot's voice came over her radio "report Sargent"
"Be advised, we've just confirmed a Xeno hive on the ship!" informed him "I think there just on this deck though"
He swore outloud "have you made contact with any Xenomorphs?"
"No but I don't think that will last long though sir"
"Delta here" Oats piped in "We're in the Data core, there's more of that black hive stuff futhre down the hall, I got Trevor and Buttercup keeping an eye on it while we get the data".
"Ok, Midnight continue with current tasking but stay alert"
"Affirmitive, Alpha out" she turned to her team "Ok combat stance everypony".
She levitated her rifle infront of her and began advancing across the bridge.
They moved across the bridge quickly and quitelty, not willing to make a sound incase they brought the inhabitants of the hive upon them.
Midnight took a quick look over the edge of the bridge and regreted it.
The drop went on forever and it made her head spin just looking at it.
she shook her head and continued one, quickening her pace to get off the bridge as soon as she could.
Just as they reached the other end, they heard a loud screech followed by a number of hissis and screechs.
"Eyes forward boys and girls, we got incoming"
all five ponys stood in a line and pointed their weapons down the hall way, as the first creture came into view.
It was different then Xenoporphs she had fought before, it was larger and less ony like and more human like.
Midnight pulled the trigger and started pelting the thing as it came closer, aided by added fire from her team.
the creture stagerd before falling, its blood hissing as it melted through the decking.
more of the things came at them, 12, 17, 20, she lost count as they began swarming them.
"FALL BACK!" she yelled "ALPHA UNDER HEAVY ASSAULT, NEW XENO BREED, WERE FALLING BACK!"
"Alpha, give me a siprap, what new breeds!"
"THERE SOME SORT OF LARGER VERSIONS OF XENO WARRIORS, WE CAN'T HOLD THEM!"
"Delta inbound to your position now Alpha, meet them at your last transmission location!" Goldroot orderd her.
"Alpha 2 and 4 give us covering fire!" she yelled at the ponys at the back of the group.
they took position at ether side of the bridge and continued fireing as ther rest of the team ran past them and took posiotions for them to fall back, they did this untill they reached the door.
the rest of the rushed past it, with Midnight trailing, but before she could get off the bridge a Xeno droped from the celing in her path.
She shot it in the face and watched it topple down into the dephths below.
She didnt hear the warning of her team, or the other Xeno coming up behind her.
She felt something hit her side, folowed by an agonising pain which made her rare up and lose her balance.
She fell.
Midnight barley registered sompony calling her as the blackness took her.