- "I din' join the marines to dig no ditches, lieutenant."
- ―Carmen Vasquez to Joseph Henry (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Private Carmen Vasquez was a member of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. She was the younger sister of Jenette Vasquez. Carmen was part of the undisciplined squad of the USS Melville, reputed as the "worst", that saw themselves waging war against the Xenomorph species and the mysterious Bug-Men.
Carmen died in a brief last stand against a horde of Xenomorphs that eventually overpowered and killed her.
Biography[]
First encounter at KL-7[]
Carmen was part of a highly undisciplined squad of marines who were recently assigned the "lowest detail in the corps" - docking KL-7, an Alphatech 'sungun' (stellar incineration mass driver) toxic waste disposal facility and not only delivering refuse to the facility but also transporting Alphatech executive Beliveau and his security team to the station. Lt Joseph Henry was also recently assigned as Commanding Officer to the squad. Before cryostasis aboard the vessel USS Melville, Carmen and the rest of the squad meet Henry, supervised by Sergeant Nyland. Carmen initially acted hostile and acts cocky towards Henry in front of her squadmates, though she is later shut down after Henry brings up her "long list of insubordination and screw ups" and clear inferiority to her now deceased older sister, Jenette Vasquez.
Carmen waking up after hypersleep.
Due to the Melville receiving no reply from the facility, as well as Beliveau's security who had boarded the facility to investigate, Henry decided to wake the marines up from hypersleep. Still in her chamber, Carmen dreamed of the advice her older sister once gave her of being "ready to kick some ass and take some. Anytime, anywhere" before suddenly waking up. However, she and the rest of the undisciplined marines refused to gear up and comply, despite Nyland's outrage. Henry soon enters the room and, after hearing the news, physically disciplined Vasquez and the poorly trained marines, hoping sarcastically that they would now be feeling more disinclined.
Carmen frozen in fear.
The marines entered the facility and soon encountered a Xenomorph corpse. Despite Carmen initially acting tough, she is clearly horrified by the deceased creature she sees before her. Suddenly the marines are ambushed by a group of Xenomorphs and Carmen, too petrified to do anything, is frozen in fear. Fellow marine Cvercko eventually pulls her back and reunites with the squad. After a Xenomorph assault, Carmen and the squad managed to isolate themselves in the Zero-G well, waiting with the survivors until Henry, alongside Chen, Rake and survivor Dinkel purge the Tox-bay hatch expelling all Xenos in space. The squad subsequently make a safe retreat back into the Melville after suffering numerous losses, though not before taking a mysterious humanoid individual hostage and retrieving one of Beliveaus's security members Vormitag.
In the aftermath, the marines all congratulated their own survival, though Nyland is outraged by their naivety. After she leaves, Carmen and the others all laugh at her authoritarian attitude.
Bracken's World[]
Later, the Melville arrived at the aquatic planet Bracken's World for reconnaissance purposes. During briefing, Cverko from behind taunted her and called her a coward. The marines dropped onto the planet and investigated a seemingly abandoned base, only to discover that the station was inhabited by the cultist Bug-Men and the sector infested with aquatic Xenomorph creatures. The marines escaped and sought refuge in the small colony Sector 1, though their salvation did not last long, as they are later caught up in a horde of aquatic Xenomorphs attacking the colony. Vasquez seemed to have overcome her fear of the Xenomorph creatures and was no longer afraid of their presence. With the assistance of mercenary Herk Mondo, the marines successfully defended the colony.
War against the Bug-Men[]
Henry later briefed the marines and gave them the grave news that Sector HQ had been overrun by an army of Bug-Men. Due to anticipating insurrection, Henry revealed much to Carmen and the other's shock that he implanted them with micro-bombs within their necks.
With the Melville suddenly being destroyed, Beliveau directed the marines to the Joliet Mining Facility to properly equip them with adequate Xenomorph-killing weapons. After arriving at the facility, the marines were greeted by the shop steward, a synthetic previously tasked by Beliveau to ensure the security of the facility. As such, he had been leading a small army of prototype synthetics and robots who have successfully defended Joliet from Xenomorph attacks for several weeks. After Carmen and the marines stock up on their new weaponry, they took leave during a Xenomorph ambush, with the shop steward sacrificing himself to allow the marines safe-passage out of the facility.
Last Stand[]
Carmen's death.
The marines finally reached the Bug-Men's primary base - Alphatech research station #2378. The base interior has been transformed into a giant Hive and is infested with Xenomorphs. Carmen and the marines storm the sector using APCs and other armored cars, shooting at every Xenomorph they see. However, after driving over a Xenomorph, the acid blood that exploded from the creature caused Carmen and fellow marine Boston's car to flip over and crash, the other marines leaving them.
Bloodied, Carmen managed to climb out of the vehicle and carry Boston out as well. As the critically injured Boston begged her to mercy-kill him, preventing him from being impregnated, Carmen noticed a large horde of aliens approaching her. Accepting her fate, she brandished a smartgun and unloaded into the oncoming swarm. Her final stand did not last long, however, as the horde quickly overpowered and killed her.
Personality[]
- "You need to be like me, little Carmen. Be ready to kick some ass and take some. Anytime, anywhere."
- ―Pvt. Jenette Vasquez (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Although just as brash and arrogant, much unlike her older sister, Carmen was highly undisciplined, lazy, and lacked Jenette's daring and plucky attitude. In retrospect, Carmen seemed to ironically share many traits with Jenettes's friendly rival Hudson, having an initially audacious presence before breaking down into a more panicked state after her first Xenomorph encounter. However, she eventually recomposed herself in the wake of further battles with the creatures and was able to hold her own against them, eventually being killed in a valiant last stand against the creatures. Carmen also seemed to hold a mutual dislike towards Sergeant Nyland, citing her as a "lesbiano puta" and the latter calling her a "chickenshit little greenhorn".
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
