The mission was simple: Go to planet LV-426, re-establish contact with the colonists, find any hostile xenomorphic life-forms on the planet and destroy them. Entry to the colony complex itself was done in the M577 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), with a team of nine Colonial Marines, two civilians and one artificial person, under the command of Lt. Gorman. When tracking devices located a large cluster of colonists in a remote part of the complex, Lt. Gorman commanded the mission from the APC while the Marines proceeded on foot.