Tweak nodded and began moving back toward the crate. Her idea was put off to one side, mentally, but kept in the forefront of her mind because it was important. If the snow was deep enough, it was plausible that the quahhg had more young buried in a nest deep beneath her feet. Kokuten's remark about not wanting her overrun had brought that idea up...and she really, really hoped it was wrong.

Readying a pair of flashbang warheads in her hands, but not arming them, Tweak moved across the snow to the crate, keeping an eye on the beast and a tracker on the squad members.

Blake nodded once and moved towards Richard and Cassefin with George spread over his rifle. Once he reached them, Blake took one more look at the Quahhg and pushed George towards Richard before he could get any more of his armor off.

"You're bigger." He explained, "You can carry the heavy one. We're about to run somewhere."

With George safely removed from his arms, Blake switched his variable weapon for his HHG and wrapped his free arm around Cassefin's waist while kneeling down. He ignored the fact that she didn't want them using their regular weapons on the station and hoped that protecting her life would be a good enough excuse to do so. While he waited for the right moment to pull the Administrator onto his shoulder, he asked Richard a question-- all the while, writing their escape route in his head.

"Tell me, Have you ever seen a Delsaurian tribal war dance?"

"Alright," Richard said, not really minding the jab or the shouting. He started to dress himself back up and looked at Blake. "Sure." He heaved George up onto his shoulder. "Can't say I have."

"The idea is to lead with the left foot, using the power of the right leg to propel you into a long leap; with both grace and force clearly visible in your pose." Blake explained, examining his HHG from his kneeling position. His thumb cocked the hammer back on the massive pistol and Blake uttered a soft smile at the reassuring nature of the sound.

"Horses are very beautiful creatures." He added, his grasp becoming more firm around Cassefin. "Administrator Montreal. Please hold on tight."

"Well that's interesting," Richard said, trying to sound friendly. "They certainly are." With his variable weapon at the ready and his person secured, he waited for Blake to start moving out.

While Richard and Blake led the rattled Cassefin and the wounded George towards the exit, the rest of the team warily watched on as the quahhg across the snowy drifts made slow movements, strafing to the side with long, careful steps. George grunted in discomfort with each step, causing Cassefin to nervously watch him from the corner of her eye. It wasn't long before they neared the open bulkhead, the red-haired Head Administrator turning her head around to look at the others.

Then, there was an abrupt, thunderous thud. Across the room, the quahhg shook off a heavy layer of snow with a single leaping bound forward, quickly beginning to close the distance gap between itself and Squad 35. Without the white frost clinging to its fur, it looks much smaller. It was not this smaller monstrosity that made the very floor shake, however; it was a much more familiar face.

The adult quahhg had fallen down from the ceiling to almost directly over Blake, Richard, Cassefin and George, the massive amount of white fur and stealthy capabilities allowing it to cautiously approach as the others watch the smaller quahhg from afar. The beast had nearly crushed the four of them, but had landed a few feet away, sending a blanket of snow surging upward as it planted its massive limbs onto the ground as it released a piercing shrill. Before the others could react, the quahhg reared its head to the side, its mouth slightly agape revealing the several rows of menacing teeth.

Cassefin had seen the blow coming. The adult quahhg swung its head in a wide arc, its snout colliding with Richard, Blake and George in short succession while Cassefin deftly ducked underneath the swing by sheer instinct. The force of the strike cause the three men to fly several yards in opposing directions, leaving Cassefin alone in front of the quahhg, squatting with her hands over her head in a protective fashion, oblivious to what had happened.

---

The smaller quahhg had begun bounding towards the closest one it could find. At that moment, it had been Tweak, who was crossing the snowy frontier towards the crate of miniature missile warhead. In a few seconds, the beast would be on top of her, the animal baring its teeth and releasing a bellowing roar.

---

After a short moment, Cassefin slowly began to rise, looking around as she did. She caught sight of Richard, tossed over to her left while Blake and George struggled in a short bank of snow. It took her a second to realize her current position; the adult quahhg behind her had its head turned, the two sets of jet-black eyes peering down at her, a low grumbling grow vibrating outward from the giant's throat. Cassefin quickly turned to face the quahhg, the alarm evident across her face. The two stood that way for what seemed like an eternity. The enormous quahhg breathed in and out heavily, its black eyes occasionally twitching to focus on the other entities in the room, but would always return to Cassefin. The Head Administrator seemed positively dwarfed by the enormous beast, her entire body motionless for those quick, tense moments.

Cassefin's expression had changed part way through their stand off. Before, as she was turning towards the quahhg, her face revealed unrestrained fear, nervousness, annoyance, aggravation... a plethora of harrowing emotions that marred her face and pulled at her features. Now, however, the tone of her expression had changed dramatically. Cassefin stared, speechless and frozen in place, her face contorted in debilitating terror that permeated through her body. The quahhg slowly curled its lip, displaying its fangs at the Head Administrator and the small team of people behind her.

This waning moment between the two only lasted for so long. As quickly as it had come, their wordless stand-off was abruptly broken as the giant quahhg stretched its neck back once more, tilting its pointed snout downward and swinging it again, the set of menacing horns on the tip of its face at the front of its blow. Cassefin was too far gone to do much in retaliation. The administrator's shoulders tensed and her body turned slightly as the quahhg's head approached her, instinctively anticipating the strike... but it did her little good.

There came a wet, soft shunk as the large, curved horn sunk into the front of Cassefin's body, the woman only able to release a pitiful exhale of breath as her body was pierced. The force of the blow easily carried her light frame forward along with it, her limbs following loosely behind her body as she was gored. When the quahhgs head stopped, Cassefin's body flung in that direction, colliding against the wall several yards to the left of the bulkhead exit. Her collision with the wall jostled an amount of snow that had been accumulating further upwards along the wall; when her body slammed against the flat surface and came to rest on the ground, the snow fell atop her, blanketing her body with a foot or so of fresh, white powder.

Seemingly satisfied, the giant quahhg wasted no time. After it had completed its violent act, the beast began to stampede its way towards where Richard had landed, its gaping maw stretching open as it surged forward, legs thundering beneath it.

Richard felt awful about what had happened to Cassefin. What a way to go. Surely someone as important as her had some form of mental backup in case they died though. At least that was what he thought. At the same time he was relieved that the quahhg had paused for a bit before attacking again and he could confidently say he wasn't at fault for the administrator's condition. Though the air had been knocked out of him he had had sufficient time to recover enough to move. As the beast charged he did his best to stand up quickly and started to run sideways in the direction opposite Squad 35.

"No!" This time, the movie cliche was unintentional. Blake ran with full force towards the snow bank where Cassefin lie within, no doubt reduced to a pile of various organs and tank-top shreds. Blake dropped his HHG and the suits gloved hands went about pulling handfuls of snow away frantically.

"Oh, no!" He shouted, unintentionally over the comms channel while his hands worked hard on the snow, "She's gonna be dead! It's just like they told me! I'm a terrible member of the Care Corps! I can't even bodyguard one person from a stupid horrorfish!"

The color emptied from behind Kokuten's protective visor, the white glare dying down to nothing as the mother Quahhg descended onto his away group. He turned his attention onto them fully, putting his rifle into the direction of the terrible security risk. With his weapon sighted just right, he would put a few shots into the Quahhg's face, even as it knocked away the security personnel from around Cassefin. He just needed to grab its attention...

That was, until his attention was stolen by the other quahhg tearing over to them. He spun around as the beast went to over-take Tweak, caught up in the chaotic movements. With his injuries hampering him, he was unable to keep much balance, and was knocked to the ground. He groaned in pain as fresh waves of it worked up his spine, yet he was aware enough to see the Administrator impaled by the beast, just as the horn plunged into her torso.

Kokuten felt his body ice up as he watched her become tossed aside like some rag doll. Every emotion in his heart, every thought in his mind was as cold and dead as a frozen tundra. Though all of it began to fracture quickly as the cold steel of his mind began to fracture under a new emotion.

Rage.

A brilliant orange glow surfaced under his visor as he pushed himself up, hobbling once more. Though in that same movement he powered the servos in his good arm and cast his rifle out at the Mother Quahhg in a fit of anger. With all 1000 pounds of force behind the object's toss.

He spun around, addressing the nearest most concern, the younger Quahhg, which Kokuten saw fit to recognize with his Hypolathe. As he moved, the nano-sharp blade formed on the end of his medical device. The normally genial, and sharp man threw himself at the Quahhg, sinking his blade towards its head, or at least somewhere to its spine.

He wanted to damage something, break it, kill it. The stress and the pain overtook his whole body and what restraint he had left had let it all seep into his mind.

Richard was able to deftly dodge the enormous, truck-sized quahhg by the skin of his teeth, the cavernous maw of the beast snapping just shy of the man's heel. The giant creature turned its head in his direction, keeping on its prey as it swung its body around to give chase. As it did so, the massive knobbed tail raked against the snow in a wide arc. It struck Blake on the side, tossing him lightly across the snow as his focus was on the small pile of white that Cassefin had been buried under.

Even as Kokuten's discarded weapon sailed in its direction, the giant quahhg remained relatively undaunted and positively angry. The gun bounced off of its hide harmlessly, landing in the snow with a soft thud.

---

The smaller quahhg continued to shamble its way across the snow towards the team, its diversionary mission already completed as the larger of the two beasts flanked the squad. As it was about to reach Tweak, the closest of the group to it, the quahhg began making short bounds, thumping heavily against the ground with each leap. It did not notice Kokuten's sudden charge until the man was right upon it, most of its attention focused on Tweak on the others directly in front of it.

Kokuten collided with the beast's side, clinging on as he stabbed at it with his personal hypolathe. Although the weapon was a bit on the small side to do any real damage to the quahhg, the beast reacted in surprise to Kokuten's sudden assault. It paused it's leaping advance, turning in circles and wildly shook its body to dislodge the Nepleslian from its hide, screeching ear-piercing shrill cries as it did so.