M O L T E N B L O O D
The beast lashed out, scattering the troopers like puppets, strings cut, bodies broken. The leader leveled his rifle and fired a volley, the energy blasts scorching its mottled flesh. It replied with a shuddering convulsion, belching a burning ball of lava back that struck the human in the chest and exploded, scattering burning limbs and gobbets of liquid fire across the clearing. The other scattered, some even dropping their weapons. The Drole howled in furious happiness, the hunt was on - it had prey. He charged forward, picking one trooper up in a tentacle and breaking his back in one easy gesture and without breaking pace trod heavily on another who had fallen, crushing his skull with its cloven hoof.
On the hilltop the machine priest watched dispassionately, leaning crookedly on his staff. They'd have to upgrade the combat software they were uploading to these idiots. Luckily he was recording the debacle below so it could be played back and analysed. They worked well against humans but against big targets with allot of power they were easily mown down. "Sir, we have lost almost the entire squad - it is unlikely those remaining will be capable of continuing your plan", intoned the lieutenant behind him. Then get down there and you do it. The trooper seemed to hesitate, as if his staple was fighting against his instinct of self-preservation. Then he about faced and marched down the hill.
The lieutenant charged forward and past the Drole, surprising the creature which dropped one feebly struggling trooper whose legs were smashed and turned awkwardly to charge after the impudent figure. The man ran onwards, his battle programming and mind staple augmented by old fashioned fighting experience. He jumped over a small rise in the ground, the creature within a foot of his back, and dropped into a prone position. The Drole was going too fast to change direction and flew overhead, the lieutenant quickly springing back to his feet and charging in the opposite direction. The creature howled again in an ear cracking cacophony.
The priest nodded, impressed despite himself. Down below the lieutenant charged through the gap in the cliff wall, the Drole right behind him. He threw himself to the side at the last moment and the steel net fell onto the Drole, quickly enclosing it in near unbreakable bonds, howling and raging, its prey a few scant feet away, almost within reach.
The priest descended to examine the prize. "Well done, lieutenant. I will make sure to mark this feat on your genetic history - you will almost certainly have descendants." "Thank you, Sir."
The priest turned and looked at the Drole, raging in its trap. He prepared his staff for the extraction procedure. As he was distracted the Drole broke free, one line snapping from its mooring in the cliff face. It lunged, half caught in the net, yet managed to smash the lieutenant against the wall, a dull crack and spray of blood as his armoured helmet cracked open. The Drole shook itself fully free and reared above the priest, ready to crush this puny creature.
The priest twitched slightly and the injector pod on his shoulder fired a burst of spines into the creature, knocking its huge bulk back. A swift whirr as it reloaded and fired again. He had no toxins that would work on the creature, and didn't want to pollute its fiery blood anyway - that would destroy the reason for the exercise. He continued firing, his studies of the morphology allowing him to cripple the beast in only four volleys, both knees, upper dorsal and lower spinal stem. He fired an extra one into it lower cerebral cortex, where its pain centre was controlled - just for its impudence.
He turned his attention back to his staff, completing the preparations. The internal housing had been modified to hold the boiling liquid but he wanted to be sure it would work. Finally satisfied, he leant forward and stabbed the base of his staff into the mewling, paralysing bulk of the Drole. The extraction began and went like clockwork, several pure samples of its blood being contained. The priest turned to go, leaving the creature in its death throes, but as he did so he noticed the lieutenant. Hmm, shame to let a worthy specimen go to waste. He was a lover of knowledge and couldn't bear to waste resources. But his staff was full and wouldn't be able to sample the trooper's DNA.
Returning to the telepad with the severed head hanging from his belt he considered the mission a success, Drole DNA collected, video footage of squad / large animal combat and DNA plus memory sample from a highly effective soldier. Job well done.