- "This squad is a bad bunch. Any unprofessional behaviour on your part could have grave consequences. I won't allow that. I just thought you should know."
- ―Nyland to Joseph Henry (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Sergeant Gunner Nyland was a member of the United States Colonial Marine Corps. She was assigned to the USS Melville with the reputed 'worst' Marine crew. The mission, initially a hauler job for Alphatech Hardware, would eventually go awry with the squad later involving itself in a war with the Xenomorph species and the mysterious leader of the Bug-Men, Father.
Nyland was killed after being abandoned by Lieutenant Joseph Henry at the Alphatech's research station, the micro-bomb implanted inside of her by the latter detonating.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Not much is known about Sergeant Nyland early life, except that she at some point gave birth to a son prior to her enrolment into the USCM, and that she had an impressive service record prior to her assignment to the Melville.
Mission in SunGun[]
- "I'm aware of the circumstances of your assignment. I have serious misgivings regarding your qualification for command."
- ―Nyland to Henry (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Nyland and her squad fighting Xenos in the SunGun gravity well.
Upon meeting with her new commanding officer, Lieutenant Joseph Henry, she interrupted him when exchanging courtesies with Alphatech executive Beliveau, warning him on the consequences that his behavior could have on the ragtag band of Marines. Once Henry was accustomed with his new team, Nyland and the rest of the Marines go into hypersleep. After Henry’s failure to contact the SunGun, he gave her the order to wake the squad up. However, the squad was despondent with Nyland's orders, forcing Henry to physically discipline them. Once inside the SunGun, the squad discovered that the station had been infested with Xenomorphs. After a fierce skirmish with the creatures, Nyland and the group managed to isolate themselves in the Zero-G well, waiting with the survivors until Henry, alongside Chen, Rake and survivor Dinkel purged the Tox-bay hatch expelling all Xenos in space. The squad subsequently made a safe retreat to the Melville. In the aftermath, the Marines all congratulated their own survival, though Nyland was outraged by their naivety and lectured them before leaving.
Stopover to Bracken's World[]
- "What’s gotten into you? Ever since that firefight yesterday you’ve been playing it very close…"
- ―Nyland questioning Henry’s behavior after his encounter in Alphatech’s outpost (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Nyland getting a micro-bomb implant, unbeknownst to her.
After the squad arrived on Bracken’s World orbit, Nyland was tasked alongside Private Vasquez to escort Alphatech's personnel to the main colony while Henry and the rest of the team were to investigate a rogue signal on the planet. When Nyland lost contact with Henry’s dropship she immediately took the second ship and came to rescue the others stranded in kelp farms by aquatic Xenomorphs and bring them back to colony Sector 1. The next day, after Henry acted strangely during a meeting with the colony’s council, Nyland was suspicious of what Henry saw, and was dismissed by him after confronting him. As Henry reluctantly accepted the colony governor’s request of dealing with the Xenomorphs, Nyland was given the command the Bravo Unit defending the atoll gate, however things go awry when acid blood started to eat through the colony's stormwall. She and the rest of the team finally managed to pin down the Xenomorph threat with the assistance of local legend Herk Mondo but not without ruining the colony. After the battle, under the orders of Henry, Nyland and the others got micro-explosives planted in their neck under the guise of a medical review.
Research station & Death[]
- "Say goodbye to my son for me."
- ―Nyland just before dying (from Aliens: Colonial Marines)
Nyland pointing a handgun at Joliet's steward.
After Henry briefed the team about the comm array being overrun by Bug-Men and telling them that he has implanted them with micro-bombs within their necks to prevent rebelling, Nyland, outraged, told him that they should warn the Core systems instead. Liston suddenly informed them of the Melville's destruction, leaving them stranded.
After arriving at the Joliet Mining Facility, where Beliveau revealed that he possessed a weapons cache hidden and a FTL capable spacecraft, Nyland and Chen got into a fight with the facility Shop steward after Chen mistakenly shot one of the steward's allies. Nyland quickly diffused the situation. After she and the Marines stocked up on their new weaponry, they took leave during a Xenomorph ambush on Beliveau's Alphatech Assaultcraft, with the Shop Steward sacrificing himself to allow the marines safe-passage out of the facility.
Nyland's final moments.
En route to Alphatech's research station Nyland later revealed to Henry, after Beliveau was killed by a psychotic Vormitag and the latter blunted to death by Rosemas, the presence of Royal Jelly onboard to his shock. She tried to confront the Bug-man prisoner going through an even more severe withdrawal. After the Marines reached Alphatech research station #2378, they found out that the base interior had been totally overrun by Xenomorphs. Once Liston downloaded all necessary data, they encounter a large horde of Xenomorphs, but were protected by Liston, who took action and slaughtered them with ease. However, when the squad returned to the assault craft and found it powerless, surrounded by hundreds of Xenomorphs, Nyland separated from the group to look for the power drain located within a control room manned by a Bug-man. She quickly disposed of him and stopped the power drain, allowing the ship to be back online. However, Henry judged the risk too great to go back and retrieve her, and chose to abandon Nyland and leave the station, much to the other Marines' shock. Nyland, sorrowfully accepting her fate, informed the crew to tell her son she loved her before being killed after the micro-bomb inside of her. This action caused the crew to despise Henry even more, creating a larger rift between he and his men.
Equipment[]
Beyond her military fatigues, during the exploration of the SunGun she donned a comm headset and an EVA suit. On Bracken's World she wore a variant of the standard issue M3 Pattern Personal Armor and an M10 Pattern Ballistic Helmet for protection and wore only shoulder pads linked to her belt in the Alphatech research station.
She was first equipped with an unidentified assault rifle equipped with an over-and-under grenade launcher and an unidentified pistol, after the passage on Joliet facility, she equipped himself with an Alphatech assault rifle.
Personality and Traits[]
Nyland was a stern and capable gunnery sergeant who, despite having to deal with a squad of insubordinates, felt largely responsible for them. As such, she was hell-bent on disciplining her squad of Marines, despite the tense relationship they shared. However, it became obvious that she was clearly valued by the marines, as after Henry's decision to abandon her, the squad all began to despise the Lieutenant further.
Trivia[]
- Though possessing blue eyes throughout the series, they appear to be brown in the 9th issue.
Appearances[]
Gallery[]
