Aliens Vs Predator: The Deserters

  

Art by Javier Saltares, Dark Horse Comics

A pilgram colony on a distant world is invaded by a pack of some dozen or more Aliens. No one knows where they came from, but it's clear the colonists are ill-equipped to fight them. Due to their heavily secluded lifestyle, they have no means of communication to call for help.

As the colony prepares for a final assault, a smaller group abandons the complex, hoping to reach a manned communication relay outpost many miles away. Sounds of the battle carry through the stillness of the night, letting the deserters know the colony did not prevail.

On their journey, the group discovers the source of the Alien scourge: a crashed Predator spaceship. An impending storm forces them to take refuge inside. There, they observe the aftermath of an encounter between two species that caused the ship's ruin. The dessicated remains of Alien eggs and facehuggers are found. It is deduced that while the Predators were in suspended animation, the facehuggers escaped stasis and parasitized the crew.  Group members are startled by an unmasked Predator and witness an Alien baby erupting from its body.

Aliens from the colony return to the ship. The Deserters use Predator weaponry to fight back and manage to kill a few, but suffer casualties. As the group flees, two parents stay behind, sacrificing themselves so that their children can escape. The ship's self-destruct is detonated. The whole ordeal is witnessed in thermal vision by a lone Predator warrior, the only survivor of the now destroyed vessel. 

The Predator follows and studies the Deserters, who are being stalked by the Aliens. He eliminates xenomorphs at any given opportunity. A hunter, he attacks at range, scoring kills with his plasma caster, combistick, and smart disc. This makes him a benefactor of sorts to the group, but he also kills a couple of the humans who foolishly attack him, mistaking him for a threat. He skins and hangs their bodies, terrifying those who find them later. 

The group is picked off to the point where only a few young children remain. The Predator approaches them, intending to mercifully end their hopeless plight, but is amused when one brave girl defiantly stands her ground against him, ready to fight and defend the others. He recognizes her as one of the kids of the selfless parents who gave their lives earlier. With limited provisions for his unplanned visit, and interested in a possible rescue option for himself, he decides to escort them on the final stretch of their journey. 

With safety in sight, the Predator must make a final stand against the remaining Aliens to buy the children time to reach their salvation. He unslings from his back a case, the contents of which have been thus far undisclosed. He opens and pulls from it the components to assemble a splendid polearm with an elaborate blade on each end.

The first Alien is killed smoothly and rather quickly, giving the others pause. Two xenos break off to go after the young Deserters. The Predator tracks them with his plasma gun. He takes down the 2nd & 3rd targets, but the distraction leaves him open to attack and the gun is damaged. Twirling his blades, he kills a fourth Alien and injures another.

Just two Aliens remain, but they have now adjusted their tactics. They circle him, keeping just clear of his weapon, reaching with their hands, probing with their tails. One feints while the other darts in. The Predator spins and swivels to keep them at bay, but they wear him down, inflicting numerous wounds.

With luminous blood leaking all over his body, he falls to one knee, dropping his weapon. But he isn't defeated just yet. His polearm on the ground, he discreetly places his foot on the middle of the shaft. When the Aliens close in, he snaps the pole and, with a blade in each hand, thrusts the weapons into each of their chests.

Their attack is slowed but not stopped. Barbed tails dig into the lone warrior's back. His mask protects his face, but their inner jaws puncture his neck and shoulders. Their clawed fingers tear at his chest and abdomen. 

With life fading fast, the Predator summons the last of his strength and jams his wrist blades up through one Alien's neck and into it's brain. Acid blood spills down his arm. As the creature falls, the Predator is able to take a step back and, with his other hand, draw the smart disc and slash deeply across the second Alien's throat. An acid spray douses the warrior's head and upper body. 

A vehicle approaches. The brave girl has led personnel from the relay station there to help. But what they find is beyond help. Or description. 

Dimly, the warrior thinks that he should probably erase evidence of himself and the whole grisly scene. He reaches for his wrist detonator, but realizes his arm has dissolved. 

The girl stares blankly, unsure how to feel about this monster that has saved her life. 

The Predator laughs weakly to himself as his body melts into a heap of smoldering yellow acid and glowing green goop.