/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\---(Extraction, Part 1)---/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The yellow mech had spotted the two men, its arm-mounted miniguns pointed directly at them. Mud and plants hung off its rusted surface, and its control pod was so badly fogged up that whatever was piloting it could not be seen. Its large circular feet pounded against the swamp as it chased the two men, its slender, nimble legs guiding it over roots and across puddle.

"How th' fuck are we gunna take that down!?" Connor yelled.

Jacob grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, pulling the fabric up from underneath the kevlar plating. He bared his teeth, and hissed,

"Are you insane?! There is no way in hell we'll last a second in a fight against that Exo, you idiot! We try to get close to that thing and we'll be shot to shit!"

Connor's eyes widened and stared beyond Jacob's shoulder, and he began to mouth words, but no sound was coming out. Finally finding his voice, he looked back to Jacob.

"Jake, we're gunna die down 'ere, and the rest of our boys," He whispered, "All of 'em are 'bout to be mowed down by that thing! It went towards the shots! It went towards the base!"

Connor's own hands flew towards Jacob's harness, and tugged him close, "We hafta fuckin' do something, mate!"

Jacob tried to retreat, letting go of the mans jacket, but Connor's grip tightened on Jacob's harness.

"We're th' only ones that can stop 'em before that fuck slaughters th' 'ole lot!"

Jacob pushed the golden haired man down away from him, retreating backwards into a large tree. He screwed his eyes shut, and his head slammed against the wooden trunk heavily. He looked up at the strange icy blue sky, scanning it thoroughly, before he succumbed to frustration and delivered a strong kick to the base of the tree. The thick wood held strong, and was barely affected by his blow. He turned to Connor, who was now on his knees, hands clasped in prayer. Jacob ran his hands through his hair, the once silky and soft dark-brown locks now oily and stiff. He dragged a hand down his face, and his palm brushed through the stubble that was now coming back in. He needed a plan.

He roped his thoughts around in his head, trying to formulate a plan to fight the overly-armed giant killer robot exo-suit that was prowling around, but he could not find any. The armor plating was too thick to penetrate with conventional small-arms fire. Explosives that were not armor piercing would not help much. The optical sensors were caged and reinforced, there was no way to blind it.

Jacob was once more overtaken once more by frustration and stress of their situation, and rammed his open palm into the wood bark behind him, the tree standing strong against his attack once more. Pain echoed up his arm, and a familiar burning sensation spread throughout his hand. Jacob stared dumbly at the open wound that stretched across his hand, and watched as blood seeped out. An idea caught him.

Jacob faced Connor, and yanked him up from the floor, surprising him. His eyes wide, Connor recoiled slightly from Jacob as he pulled him up.

"Connor, listen now and listen well. We CAN take that thing down, but it's not going to be easy," Jacob murmured, "Not one bit. And if the other team is gone..."

Connor frowned.

"We are proceeding to the extraction point, 3 klicks northwest of the base. Alone."

<Initiating Voice Discussion Lobby

<Calling 'MR.RED'

<'MR.RED' Connected

//MR.RED: Has your team managed to collect samples?

Mr.Green: Yes, but they have run into some trouble. I do not think that the drop teams will make it back alive.

//MR.RED: Mr.Green, I am sure you are aware of opportunity that will be wasted here. Think of the countless applications. Military, and Scientific alike! Our understanding of medicine as we know it could be changed with a single dish of the matter! You need to open your eyes. We cannot let this slip through our fingers. When we were awoken before the rest of the crew, you had assured me that this would not end in failure. You know what will happen if this operation runs amuck.

Mr.Green:  I'm completely aware, but perhaps it is YOU who needs to open your eyes. Can't you see that the lives of my men will be lost collecting your fucking science lab samples? I will not waste anymore military assets on your request! When I gave you my support, I didn't think it included letting soldiers die on alien worlds! It's bad enough that both Sully and Rick are in the dark about this shit.

//MR.RED: Captain Sullivan and Captain Ryker are better left unaware of these exploits, for their duties as leaders will lead them to reject my proposition of experimentation. I will not let you, nor the two buffoons piloting these blasted ships interfere with my research. Perhaps it is better this way, your service record points out that you are seemingly cursed to fail, and would have brought my studies down with you.

Mr.Green: FUCK YOU!

Mr.Green: I WILL MURDER YOU! YOU HEAR ME?

<MR.RED has left the Discussion

Mr.Green: I WILL MURDER YOU!

Jacob grunted as he dropped from a boulder, landing into a patch of more of the strange artificial dirt, the dark grey soil squishing underneath his boots. Connor followed closely behind, taking another path around the large rock jutting from the side of the hill. The very idea of an actual landscape on Europa was something only science fiction writers could imagine, or scientists themselves, let alone the men who would colonize it. However, the unlikeliness of the situation did not stop him from completing his current objective. As he trudged on, the air began to grow thicker, and heavier as well. Sweat practically poured off of his face, and his lips were parted as he panted. It was slowly growing darker, but the fog above them did not give them the ability to see above the canopy.

A flash of blue overtook Jacob's vision, and the feeling of a light headache began to spread throughout his head, but he ignored it to the best of his ability.

Every so often, Connor would drop to the floor, and need to be helped back up. At first, he could pick himself back up off of the floor, but it seemed that his condition was worsening. A sickening cough erupted from nowhere, followed by a phantom fever. The connection with the thick air and the symptoms was too strong for Jacob to ignore, and he kept a close eye on the red haired man. While Connor's lightweight frame trembled and shook, Jacob found a crawling sensation whenever he looked beyond the tree line and into the green fog. It was as if there was something peering back at him. He did not feel welcome

Jacob had lost himself in his thoughts while thinking about Connor, but every time the man tripped, he said he was 'ready to go' and that 'this damn cold won't keep me down'. However, it was becoming painfully obvious that soon, the cold would put him down, and possibly for eternity. The sound of a surprised yelp pulled Jacob out of his own head, and he turned to face Connor's form sprawled out on the dirt. However, instead of struggling to get back up, as he did before, he remained still.

Jacob could feel his heart stop, ice running down his veins. A moment passed, and then another, and he remained still. Jacob was about to spring forward, when another wracking cough shook the Irishman's form. Temporary relief flooded his body, followed closely by realization; Jacob had to carry the soldier from this point on. Sighing, he trudged over to the fallen Marine and lifted him up onto his shoulders, fireman carrying him. With a groan, he steadied himself, and took one hand away to tap the little control panel on the side of his glasses. His HUD flared to life, and set a small waypoint, hundreds of meters away from his position. Once more, a flash of blue filled his vision, and the headache returned with more force, but he dismissed it.

"Hold on, you big smelly baby," Jacob murmured, "we're going to get you out of here, but not before I have to tango with a monster. By myself."

In his heart, Jacob found himself hating the Swiss for making such good military equipment, especially five meter tall death machines. (roughly 16 feet for those who use Imperial) He started walking, and the added weight on his back made it more difficult to put one foot in front of the other. Things had become much darker in the small gap of time that he spent navigating towards the base, and the lack of light suddenly caught his attention, looking up he was greeted by an unwelcome sight.

"Ho-hohoh-SHIT!"

Jacob ran as fast as his legs could with the weight against his back, his eyes wider than a deer's in headlights. His breath began to condense in front of him, as suddenly, all of the heat began to seep away, up towards the blackness of space. His feet crashed down into the soil, leaving deep craters in his path. He needed to go deeper into the forest, deeper into the trees. He needed to find shelter, if not for his sake, for Connor's. He could feel his sweat chill on his skin, and his exposed skin began to numb, his body beginning to give in to the effects of the climate change. A memory flashed in the corner of his vision, an image of his past.

Jacob clenched his teeth together, and a scowl formed on his face. The environment around him melted into a narrow trench, mud pouring into it from the sides. The phantom sounds of dying soldiers filled his mind, and he delved deeper into the forest. His headache became a terrible throb, and the blood coursed through his body painfully.

//Vid-Doc-53522241-BDDGHJ-9//

//Pvt.Aleric.D//DYMONDCMPNY<>//

...

////Mp4 FILE INVALID///

...

//CONVERTED FILE>

//Playing File>

The video shows a densely vegetated clearing, a lone marine walking ahead of the camera. A hand glides toward the camera, and engulfs it in darkness, before the a loud snapping sound is heard, and it detaches from the shoulder pad of a soldier. He holds it in front of his face, the camera focusing on his features, however, a dark shape darts by above him, in the canopy.

He does not notice. A drop of sweat lands on the glass, and he smudges it away with his thumb. He looks into the lens, then flashes it a cheesy smile, his lips pulling back to reveal near perfect white teeth.

"Elise, we've been walking in fucking circles."

The sound of a voice draws his attention away, and he looks to the left, paying attention to some off screen entity.

"No, we haven't Philip. And anyway, you couldn't blame me, my HUD's not working. Anyone got NAV?"

"No."

The man, still holding the camera in his left hand, reaches around to his waist and pulls out a small datapad, tapping the surface with his free thumb, before saying,

"I'm dark."

The corner of his mouth pulled down, half frowning. He then refocused his attention on the camera.

"'No connection to any external hub', Lieutenant."

"Shit. Mine's dead too."

Aleric looks towards someone, presumably Elice.

"Ok, keep it tight, no one wander off or they'll be-" Elise paused, "Where is the Alpha boy? Where's Connor?"

Silence. The man looked up and scanned the area around him, then mounting the camera on his shoulder once more. He faces the blonde haired squad leader, then sighs.

"Well, there we have it. Two people are already lost. We aren't going back, just so you know, guys. No one wander off, or you'll be left behind."

"Ma'am, I'll wait for them here, just give me a NAV beacon, and I'll catch up."

The camera turns to a man with a shotgun, and dark hair. His helmet is in his free hand, and he is concerned.

"No Mitch, you can't sit here, in a couple minutes, the Europa will do a heat cycle. All of the humidity and heat now'll dissipate into nothing. The atmosphere isn't stable, so we need to reach the site immediately, and get in doors."

Suddenly, a loud whirring sound circled around the small group, sending all of the troops into cover, including the camera-man. For a moment, all was silent. Then, from nowhere, an ear-splitting roar shook the ground beneath them, the camera shaking from the noise. Aleric popped his head up from behind a boulder, and watched as 'Mitch', the dark haired Caucasian fellow with a CQB vest, takes off into the tree line, leaving the rest of his squad behind. His shotgun dangling behind him, he set toward their original drop zone, but a large swollen yellow forearm slammed down on him, his form exploding into a mist of red and purple pulp.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?!"

A grey fog rolled in, and all around them, ant like creatures with bulbous pustules crawled towards them. The camera man unholsters a pistol and begins firing at one, green-yellow liquid spurting into the air. The creature dies after multiple shots to the head, it seems, and then the camera shakes erratically before stabilizing once more. The number of insectoids encircling them has multiplied.

"FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!"

"THERE'S TOO MANY! RUN! RUN FOR YO-ARGH!" Aleric turned to the side, and the camera focuses on the sight of a fellow squad member being disemboweled by a large plant-like creature.

"PULL BACK! PULL BACK!"

Suddenly, a large blurred shape lunges at the Private, and the camera is hit by the attack. The playback ends.

//VIDEO CORRUPTED//

<:Rewind

//REWINDING

<:Stop

<:Play

As the video begins to play, the blurred image is about to attack Aleric.

<:Stop

<:Enhance Render

<:End video

//TERMINATING PROCESS//

Next Chapter: 4: Extraction, Part 2 Estimated time remaining: 21 Minutes