A New Breed: Jungle of The Damned

Chapter 1: Descent

"Cap, we're coming in hard on the landing; storms are causing absolute fucking havoc with the systems. We're gonna be flying blind here in a minute."

"Got it, Jock, just get us there in one piece. Please try not to ram us into a mountain." Addison replied. "Got a lock on that signal yet?"

"Negatory, Cappo," Jock shouted over the alarms. "Swain, got anything over there on your doohickeys?"

"Nope. Just the same steady SoS we've been seeing for the past twenty million clicks." The ship shuddered around them, bucking against the thunderhead clouds they were descending through. Addison threw out a hand and steadied herself against the rocking and swaying.

"God damn," she muttered to herself. "This is one hell of a storm."

"How's a signal even get through something like this?" she called to Swain.

"Can't say cap, honestly, shouldn't be possible. I think it's bouncing off some satellites in the atmosphere, but I can't say for sure."

"Why are we out here anyway," Jock shouted.

"As our sponsor, Weyland Yutani requires all distress signals to be investigated," Addison shouted back, the howling of the wind growing louder around the Turtle, their lovingly named shit show of a shuttle. "Weyland Yutani reserves the right under UA Regulation Two Forty-Eight Dash Three Subsection Eight to claim any and all remaining cargo and salvage as their own!"

"Fucking regulations, man!"

"You know what really blows?" Swain interjected. "If there are survivors, and they are rescued, they are legally obligated to repay the debt to Weyland Yutani Industries, up to and including but not limited to the cost of diverting resources, the cost of their transportation, and the cost of hauling what remains of their cargo, as well as any costs for hypersleep."

"That's some bullsh -"

Suddenly, the Turtle plummeted downward, falling several hundred feet in a matter of seconds. Addison felt a weightless sensation in her stomach and her ears popped from the sudden change in altitude.

"Put your fucking harness on, Cap!" Swain yelled. "This is gonna get bumpy!"

Addison strapped herself in as best as she could, her eyes wide with trepidation. "Jock, why the fuck are we falling out of the sky?" she screamed over the intercom.

"I'm on it cap, I'm on it!" Jock screamed back. "We hit a cold pocket, lost lift, fuck! This thing is fighting me like a wild tiger out of its cage!"

The Turtle dropped again, this time even lower, and Addison swore she saw treetops brush past the windows of the cockpit, bright and blue swirls of light twisting among the leaves. "Jock!" she screamed again.

"I got it, I got it!" Jock yelled back. He wrenched the controls to the left, and then right and then left again. Inside the Turtle, Addison's stomach didn't quite follow. The Turtle was jostled left and right like a rag doll in a dog's mouth. Addison closed her eyes, clenching her fists and grinding her teeth as another almighty boom shook through the hull of the shuttle, followed by an ominous grinding sound as they scraped something below.

The Turtle lurched to one side, and Addison felt her stomach lurch as they careened through the air, maybe flying, maybe falling. She didn't know anymore. Suddenly, they jerked violently, and then... nothing. The world outside fell silent.

"We're down, pussy cats!" Jock said, his voice a little too chipper for Addison's liking. Silence greeted her as she collected her thoughts and tried to steady her racing heart.

"Everyone OK back there?" she asked.

"Never been better, boss lady," Swain groaned. "Though I might have broke my dick bracing for that landing."