Lyra's POV:
All the marines were called into a room. Gorman stood at the front of the room. "We're here to talk about your mission. Obviously." He started. Hudson raised his hand and said "sir?" "What is it, Hicks?" Gorman asked. "Hudson, sir. He's Hicks." He replied as he gestured to Hicks. "What's the question?" "Is this gonna be a standup fight sir, or another bug hunt?"

"All we know is that there's still no contact with the colony and a Xenomorph may be involved." Gorman replied. "What is that?" Drake said. "A Xenomorph. It's an alien. Of some sort." "Yep. It's a bug hunt." Hicks said as he inhaled on his cigarette. Vasquez sighed and said "look, man. I only need to know one thing: where they are." "Go, Vasquez. Kick ass." Drake said to her. "Anytime, anywhere, man!" Hudson smirked and said "right, right. Somebody said 'alien' she thought they said 'illegal alien' and signed up." Hicks sniggered and Hudson nudged me. I chuckled a little and Vasquez flipped him off and said "fuck you, man." "Anytime, anywhere." Hudson replied.

Once the laughter was over Ripley began explaining how dangerous they are. I didn't listen because I already knew how dangerous they were. "Sarko, don't wanna listen?" She asked. I looked up and said "I already know how they are. I don't need your education." Hudson oohed and Hicks stared at Ripley. "Because you researched them?" She asked. "No. Because they fucking attacked us. The Covenant. You ever heard about that ship? That's the one we were on. And they killed half of our crew." Billy said. "Exactly. I've killed them myself. I don't need your education or your help on killing them." I said as I sat up. Hudson looked at me and said "you're badass." Hicks patted my shoulder and Vasquez gave me a high five. I turned to look at Hicks, who was smirking at me.

"You wanna act like a rebel in front of them that's fine, but don't abuse your knowledge." Ripley said. I shrugged and said "I'm not." I sat back in my seat and the subject was changed. "Any questions?" Gorman asked. Hudson raises his hand and Gorman said "what is it, Private?" "How do I get out of this chickenshit outfit?" Hudson said. Apone pointed his finger at him and said "you secure that shit, Hudson!"

Gorman and Ripley dismissed us and made Blue stay. "We need to talk to you." Blue sighed and Drake said "how come he gets special attention, huh?" Vasquez pushed him and we all began walking away. I turned around to look at Blue. He took a deep breath and looked nervous. Jax and Roxy went to sit in the corner of the room. Billy had his arm around me while we walked out of the room.

Hicks grabbed a tray of food and began to eat. Hawk and Max ran in front of me, Billy yelling at them to stop running. Hawk ran around Hudson and he said "get lost!" Hawk looked at him and said "dipshit." Hudson went to step to the child and I stopped him. "Leave it. He's a kid." Sarah looked up and Logan stood with Halo. "Leave him alone." Sarah said. Hudson nodded and walked over to Vasquez. Billy walked over to the weights across the room. He began to lift them and I put my hair in a bun.

Blaze climbed into his cryotube and fell asleep. I walked over to him and covered him up with a blanket. I pushed his wavy hair out of his face, admiring his beauty. Small snores escaped his lips and Halo walked over. "Can I nap with him?" She asked. I shrugged and said "Blaze." I shook him and he rolled over. Halo climbed in and tapped him. "Who is it?" He asked. "Halo. I'm napping with you." She said. Blaze rolled back over, putting his arm around her. Halo laid her head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek. Blaze hummed in response and fell back asleep. I played with Blaze's hair and I felt eyes on me. I turned to see Billy looking at me. He immediately turned around and acted like he wasn't looking at me. "He was totally staring at you." Calypso said. I rolled my eyes and said "I know. I think he's obsessed with me." "Probably." She replied.

Maia walked into the room and she watched Billy lift weights. "Why does he do that?" She asked. "To be strong." I said. Maia nodded and Hudson said "he's literally the buffest person in here." Calypso nodded in response and Billy muttered something under his breath. "Don't mumble, its not nice." Maia said. Billy huffed and David said "Billy, have a happy attitude." "Yeah, Hargrove." Hudson added. "Shut the fuck up, Hudson." Billy said as he brought the weight to his chest. Hudson laughed and David said "you're very annoying." Billy dropped the weight and said "who?!" "Hudson. Not you, Billy. I've quite grown to like you." David replied. Billy nodded and Maia walked over to the weight. "Maia, please don't touch it." Billy said. Hudson looked at David and said "why the fuck are you so weird?" "He's an android." I said. Hudson's eyes widened and said "so there's two?" "I'm the third one." Call said as she walked by. "What in the hell, man?!" Hudson said. David rolled his eyes and said "once again, you're annoying." A smirk was plastered on the android's face as he saw Hudson's reaction. "Billy, I've had the greatest idea. Since Zander died and the two of you don't fight him. We can avenge him." David said. Billy looked at him crazily and said "David, that's the stupidest idea you've had yet." Maia looked at her father and said "you can't bring people back to life."

Billy looked at the half android, half human little girl. He gave her a fist bump and David rolled his eyes. Hudson went back over to bother Vasquez, bored with us. "Hey Vasquez. You ever been mistaken for a man?" Hudson asked as Vasquez did pull-ups. "No. Have you?" She said as she hopped down. Hudson smirked at her and she pushed him out of her way.

"Lyra. I've decided I'll bother you." Hudson said. "Great." I retorted. Billy eyed the other marine and Hudson said "Hargrove, I know what your problem is. You're too tense. You need to loosen up." Billy scoffed and walked over, moving Maia out of his way. He picked her up and set her behind him. Maia stood in front of the weight, unbeknownst that it was directly behind her. Calypso noticed and said "shit. Billy!" He turned around and Maia tripped. My eyes widened and Billy turned around, catching her swiftly. Maia gasped and saw that she was inches away from the ground. "Fuck." Billy mumbled as he lifted her up. Hawk and Max stared at Billy. Maia said "sorry." "It's ok. I shouldn't of set you there." Billy replied. Hudson clapped and said "he's a fucking hero." Billy rolled his eyes and set Maia in front of Calypso. "Thanks." She said. Billy nodded and pushed Hudson out of his way. "Get out of the way." He grumbled. Hudson began to follow him and I knelt down to Maia's height. "You're lucky you weren't another kid. Billy must like you." I said to her. Maia smiled really big and I noticed Max in the corner of my eye. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest. I saw that she was jealous. Maia was keeping Billy's attention instead of her. "The drop is tomorrow. Everyone get rest. Immediately." Gorman said. I sighed and stood up. Blaze's legs hung out of his cryotube while Halo had managed to get on top of him. We had some sleeping quarters and that's where everyone retreated to.

In the next chapter, shit goes down.
~skylar☁️✨☁️✨