StarCraft: Infection [Begins]

[Pichu Luver]

Kelnari Deciding who is less capable of intelligible speech.

"...Vhat is your name...?" Ordentlicher asked.

Kelnari flicked her hand away, clicking the nails together and mentally snorted at the man. It was a bad habit she had picked up from the humans. The snort they produced when they were dismissive of another of their species was a satisfactory way to express derision. Like they found whatever the other had done or said so dissatisfying they could not keep it internalized. Lacking the ability to expel air, she had memorized the sound and communicated it mentally.

Clickeing her nails and the hand movement was the Protoss way to ‘snort’, but it was unlikely that anyone had picked up on that. She wanted Ordentlicher to know she found him and his claims ridiculous. She hated lowering herself to their level. The Dae’Uhl held that she should watch over them, and given what was about to happen to the human race, perhaps she should show more concern for their wellbeing, but they were so infuriating!

First they had come and used the natural resources of this sector with little regard for the natural environments. Then, the first thing they do when they meet another race of equal—no, greater—intelligence was to attack them and then proceed to slowly torture any survivors.

“: Why should I talk to you of anything? You, the reason I have been treated like a dumb beast and physically attacked for days; when it was OBVIOUS from the beginning I was of at least equal intelligence. Only NOW, a week after I come into your unkind ‘care’ you ask for MY NAME?!? :”

“My superiors vere ze ones—”

Kelnari scoffed. “: Do NOT try to placate me human. As you should know by now, I can read your mind. You feel little remorse for… :” she paused while she searched for a word, “:…experimenting on me. On ME. Where do you find the…justification?!? WHERE!?!

“You are ze first alien ve haff ever found. Zere are kvestions ve need answered.”

Kelnari lurched forward on the restraints as far as she could, praying they would snap this time. Alas she had no such luck. “: Then PERHAPS you should had asked questions FIRST and tortured SECOND. My dignity is NOT a ‘formality’. :”

He made this low, repetitive barking noise that Kelnari had learned meant amusement in humans. “And you vould haff answered?”

“: A week ago you had only attacked me due to a… misunderstanding. Not treated as a dangerous animal. :”

This Ordentlicher was silent for a moment, considering his answer. “Perhaps you are right. Perhaps ve should haff tried communication first.” He shrugged. “It does not matter now, I need my answers, und I vill get zem.”

“: No, you will not. The only reason you seek to talk to me is because you do not have the time to test until you have get answers. You do not see me as anything more than an interesting pet who…conveniently has the ability to talk. So ignoring you, a creature that sees me as nothing but a…curiosity to poke and see if I bite, will be a pleasure. May Adun return to burn you alive you Cerebrate slimed Queen. :”

He only seemed more interested. 'Ah! I zink you are insulting me, but vat is a Cerebrate? Or a Queen?"

Kelnari raised herself up as high as she could and allowed a small amount of satisfaction to enter her thoughts. ": Your death. :"

[Blademaster]

Sup fags.

Now that I'm a bit more fluent in Protoss, let's continue.

Professor Cornelius

Finally, a small amount of progress. The Protoss was stubborn, to be sure, and she clearly didn't want to divulge any information, but in her angry ranting, she had let something slip. Something that Reimund was intent to rip free from the Protoss' mind.

"Vhat is a Cerebrate?" he asked eagerly. "Or a Queen?"

"Your death." was the smug alien's sole response.

'General Duke is a Kveen?' Reimund responded mentally. 'It is fitting, but I doubt it vas vhat she meant...'

"Zat is a very vague answer." Reimund said flatly. "Could you perhaps be more specific please?"

The Protoss uttered something in her native language that Reimund assumed was the species' way of saying something akin to the Terran phrase "Go fuck a ragnasaur.", but her tone made it impossible for him to confirm or discredit this hypothesis. So, Reimund attempted a different approach.

"Cerebrate..." he mused. "Cerebrate... Zat vord means 'to sink,' in my langvage. But your usage of it... It sounded similar to our 'God damn.' Zat makes me believe you meant not ze verb, but ze noun... Is Cerebrate a noun? A God of yours? Somesing worshipped by your people?"

The Protoss didn't answer, but her claws began to clasp and unclasp like an angry human might clench and unclench his fists. Her glare seemed to intensify. She uttered something in her language again... Yes, she was angry, to be sure, but not in the way Reimund had expected. Had he guessed right and she was annoyed by his intelligence...?

No, she seemed to be angered more by Terran stupidity more than she was by deduction.

"...Maybe not." Reimund said aloud. "Perhaps zis 'Cerebrate' is ze 'God' of somevun you do not like...?"

The Protoss just stared.

Reimund smiled slightly. 'So zat is it...' he thought. 'She is cursing me vith somesing she dislikes... But to use its name in place of 'God?' It must be somsing she GREATLY loathes. Even more zan us... Perhaps it is ze name of her species' ekvivalent of Satan. Yes, Adun sounds like a deity of some kind, considering her usage of ze name...

But vhy use ze name 'Cerebrate' for anuzzer figure in her religion? Her native tongue is very different from ours. Zis 'Cerebrate' doesn't sound like a name her people created. It sounds Terran... But I have heard of no such name ever used in our programs.'

Reimund looked up at the Protoss again.

'...Could zere be anuzzer species her people know of zat she vould view as demonic...?'

It was then that the metaphorical light bulb went on over the professor's head. Of course... It was so obvious! The answer may have been right in front of him the entire time.

"Zis 'Cerebrate' is just zat, isn't it?" Reimund mused. "A god, or a powerful figure, of somevun you don't like. A race, neither human nor Protoss. A race zat vould require somesing zat could indeed sink a lot. Because its followers do not."

The Protoss gave Reimund an odd look. Did she sense he was figuring it out? Was he dead wrong and she was amused by his wild guessing?

"Und zese followers," Reimund continued, thinking back to a certain program he and Caden both had been involved in at some point or another, "also follow a Kveen. A figure of royalty..."

A smile crossed his face.

"...Or... ze ruler of a hive."

The Protoss' head shot up, her eyes widening a bit.

"A hive... und a sinker." Reimund said, looking her straight in the eyes. "Or, more simply, a hive und a mind... A hivemind. Is zere a creature zat you know of vis a hivemind mentality like zat?"

The Protoss still didn't respond, but for the first time, she seemed a bit tense. Not from anger, though.

She seemed almost nervous.

"Vezzer you do or not," Reimund finished, reaching into his coat and pulling out a picture, "perhaps it'd help us understand each uzzer better if I told you zat VE do."

He showed the picture to the Protoss. It displayed a strange, alien creature lying on a white, bloodied table.





"Ve call zem 'xenomorphs.'"

The Protoss yelled something in her native tongue, thrashing against her restraints with renewed vigor, before evidently remembering where she was. After a few moments, she settled down.

"So you DO-" Reimund began.

"Where did you get that?!" The Protoss demanded, interrupting him.

"Zis picture vas taken six months ago," Reimund replied, his smile fading, "in a Terran base right here in Mar Sara."

------------------------------------------

Maybe now she'll feel like talking some more.

[Blademaster]

And now for an actual post.

Professor Cornelius

"Caden!!"

Reimund called his bodyguard's name out over the sound of the just-emptied safe in his office exploding. He'd take to his grave that being prepared for everything had its merits. Hopefully he wouldn't be doing so today - he'd grabbed every record, document, folder, and sample of importance that he could and now needed an escape route. Which WOULD have been Caden's job were she not suddenly AWOL-

BANG! BA-BANG! BANG!

'Not AWOL.' the doctor mentally corrected himself as one of the invading xenomorphs whizzed past his head and slammed against the wall, several still-smoking bullet holes in it. 'Preoccupied.'

"Doctor, we have to go NOW." the Ghost said, her normally-emotionless voice wavering a bit.

Reimund, however, was still a bit shell-shocked by the corpse of the creature that had very nearly just torn his head open. How could Xenomorphs be attacking the base? Had they been the ones behind ALL the recent attacks? "...Vat is going on?" he finally managed to ask. "Vere are ze Marines?!”

Before Caden could formulate an answer, the two of them were quickly surrounded by a Firebat, a proto-Marauder, and... the Protoss?!

"She’s a friend." Caden insisted, quickly taking charge of the ragtag team. Reimund's head was swimming by this point. How could wild Xenomorphs have gotten to Mar Sara so quickly? Why was the Protoss siding with the Terrans who'd been experimenting on her all week against the creatures? And... Who was this strange child that said Protoss was shoving into his arms?!

"Vat ze..." he mumbled as his labcoat began to stain with the child's blood. "VAT- I am not a babysitter! Vhy is zere a child on zis base, anyvay?!"

"We need to hurry." was the only response he got, from the Firebat.

Caden nodded. "Fine," she said, giving everyone their orders, "I’ll take point, Moragat bring up the rear, Teia blast anything that gets past the Firebat, and you..." She was looking at the Protoss at that point. "You kill anything that gets past me."

"Very well." was the Protoss' answer.

"Let's go." Caden reloaded her rifle and led the group down the halls.

Almost immediately, Reimund's attitude took a nosedive. He was one of the Confederacy's finest minds, yet he had to be escorted to safety by his own test subjects... It was bearable if they at least acknowledged him, but they instead had to give him a wounded boy to hold on to... He did nothing but slow the group down.

"Vhy are ve - und by 've,' I mean 'I' - carrying zis child around?" he asked angrily. "If zese 'Zerg' are anysing like ze local predators, his bleeding carcass vill do nussing but attract zem to us more kvickly!"

"Would you rather leave him to be eaten by those monsters?" the proto-Marauder asked in a sour tone.

"If it means saving ze rest of us, zen YES."

"You disgust me." the Protoss in front of him grumbled as the group ran down a staircase. Somewhere behind him, the familiar whoosh of a flamethrower and the unfamiliar scream of burning Zerg filled the air. The Firebat cursed over the horrible sounds, before they were silenced by a sudden explosion.

"Get moving!" Caden barked, kicking open a door. "The dock is only a few hundred... yards.......... .........oh, fuck......"

Reimund stepped around the giant alien in front of him to get a better look at whatever had broken her stride... He immediately wished he hadn't.

Stretching out in front of the five of them was the civilian's quarters. Temporary housing structures and Supply Depots covered the ground for several hundred yards, but the normally peaceful grounds had become a horribly one-sided warzone. Human bodies, many torn to shreds, were haphazardly strewn everywhere across the terrain. What few humans were still alive were running for their lives, screaming for help or for death as the Zerg attacked them and tore them open alive and kicking. Hundreds of the accursed creatures were scrambling around, chasing, feeding, destroying. Amidst them were larger creatures, snakelike in shape but bigger than Vultures, with giant pincers like a mantis' and skull-like faces lined with dozens of needle-like teeth.

"We can't go through THAT!" the proto-Marauder cried out.

"That's our only way out of here!" Caden yelled back.

"OUT OF THE WAY!"

The group was split apart for a moment as a gruff voice yelled out; several dozen Marines began pouring out of the doorway, rifles at the ready. The small battalion lined up in a cluster at the edge of the encampment.

"TAKE 'EM OUT!"

Immediately, the base was illuminated by what looked like lightning as a hundred rifles began to fire. The Zerg nearest the Marines were shredded instantly, their screeches of pain and death signalling the rest of the swarm to divert their attack.

"That's our cue!" Caden hollered, running after the Marines. "Let's go!"

Reimund followed Caden, the Ghost meeting little Zerg resistance as she bobbed and wove between Supply Depots. Now and then a few stray Zerg would pop up, but the Marines' and Caden's rifles quickly disposed of them.

"How much furzer?" Reimund called.

Caden didn't answer at first, the labyrinth of depots, soldiers, and corpses blocking most of her view. After a few more twists and turns, she finally answered: "Less than a hundred feet!"

Relief washed over the professor, but it was short-lived - a second later, a stray Zergling leapt from the roof of the depot beside him and onto the boy Reimund was carrying. He cried out and dropped the boy and his briefcase, falling back as the alien beast tried to orient itself, momentarily squashed under the boy's body.

"DOCTOR!" Caden cried out from somewhere ahead.

"Shoot it!" the Protoss' voice ordered.

"I can't - I'll hit him too!"

Reimund reached into his pocket and pulled out his C-7, barely bothering to aim. He unloaded three bullets before hitting the creature in its back, causing it to shriek in pain. More Zerg began to encroach on the area.

"We have to move!" one of the Marines ordered.

"But the boy-"

"Forget ze boy," Reiund snapped, grabbing his fallen briefcase and pocketing his gun, "he is dead veight!"

Any dirty looks the Doctor may have gotten went unnoticed by him as he urged Caden forward, towards the landing dock. The survivors finally got out of the maze of Depots and ran for the staircase, gunshots still ringing out almost constantly as the Zerg continued to fall. Despite outnumbering the Marines by more than 10 to 1, they fell surprisingly easily...

"Dead weight?" the proto-Marauder said angrily. "Those things are dropping like flies! We could have saved him!"

"They're nowhere near beaten yet." the Protoss warned.

"They look pretty dead to me." one of the Marines replied, the gunfire gradually lessening as one of the larger, scythe-handed creatures fell and crushed a burning Supply Depot.

"Indeed they do." the Protoss replied, looking up. "They, however, do not."

The Marines - and everyone else - looked up. Their eyes all went wide - dozens of creatures the same color as the Zerg were descending from overhead. They resembled floating crabs or lobsters, with humongous, bloated bodies covered in twitching spines.

Legs.

Legs attached to small, quadrupedal bodies.

Small quadrupedal bodies that began to drop like a deadly rain.

"...It's time to go." Caden said, running for the cockpit of the Dropship. "Everyone get in, NOW!"

No further insistence was needed - Reimund was the first one inside the dropship bay. The Protoss was right behind him, followed by the proto-Marauder, Firebat, and a few dozen Marines and surviving civilians. The Dropship's main door began to close, when a gigantic pair of claws suddenly reacheinto the narrowing gap, grasping at the door and pulling it open again.

"FIRE DAMMIT FIRE!"

The Marines began emptying what little ammo they had left at that opening. If the door was damaged too heavily, it couldn't be sealed. If that happened...

Thankfully, the Firebat leapt into actions before Reimund could think too much further along that line. His flamethrower incinerated the intruding claws while doing minimal damage to the door. With a howl of pain and anger, the alien monster withdrew. The door closed and sealed the cabin as the Dropship hummed to life and lifted off the ground, the land-bound alien invaders unable to assaulting it any further as it took off for a safer haven.

Wherever THAT was...

------------------------------------------

WE'RE ALIVE!

Or, at least, most of us are...

[Pichu Luver]

Kelnari Perturbed

‘Freedom at last.’ Despite having only barely escaped the Zerg, and having no idea where she was headed, Kelnari was relieved. She was free of restraints and in a position to deal with the humans. Their thoughts concerning her ranged from uncertainty to near murderous anger, but that was fine. She would die by her own choices again, and not some tinkering physician.

She wished she had found him before the female had helped her. The one scientist that had been left behind to get her ready for transport had been nervous and made mistakes. Chiefly, trusting her suddenly good behaviour and undoing her legs to speed movement. It had been more than enough to kick him, press the button to turn off the Abyss cursed helmet, and completely free herself.

After learning where her gear was stored from his mind she had killed him and run to the area. A few shots had come her way, but mostly the humans were too shocked and confused to shoot at one rapidly moving being that was not attacking them. Once she had regained her armour however, she had rained lightening and vengeance upon all she could find who had helped in her confinement. The Zerg too, but she was doubtful she could get out of here and wanted only to take all her tormentors down with her. At least until ‘Caden’ had shot in her defense. She apparently had a plan to get out and with that shot, said was willing to take her along.

Temporary allies it would seem; so no killing Ordentlicher.

Kelnari turned to stare at said ‘doctor’. He was seated near the front, talking to Caden, who was currently plotting their course. She greatly wished to kill him, but doing so now was not likely to lead to her continued existence. He apparently was of some import to the other humans on this ship. Even if they too, did not like him, they would apparently defend him.

If as proof that humans carried a latent if not always active psychonic talent, Ordentlicher looked over his shoulder and met Kelnari’s gaze. He was not afraid of her, for all he was repulsive life form, he was not stupid. He knew she could do nothing here. However, the second she could manage it…

“Is zere nozing ve can do about her?”

“I could try to shoot her again sir, but she’d probably kill us first. Confined space and all.”

Ordentlicher glared at the female, apparently affronted at her reply. Kelnari did not respond, though it did amuse her slightly. The only reply she found appropriate would likely have found her trussed up again. For now, due to helping save their lives, she was nominally trusted.

Currently she stood in the centre aisle of the dropship, holding on to a bar running the length of the ship. For obvious reasons the human vessel had not designed its seats for 2.8 metre aliens with retrograde legs, so Kelnari was forced to stand. Thankfully the ship was tall enough she was not forced to crouch.

“Why exactly did we let that… thing, board anyway?” One of the marines, the one with the murderous thoughts toward her asked. He was not the only one wondering though.

“You’re missing something marine.”

“The question still stands, SIR. How do we know those things weren’t more of its kind? That they were there to rescue it, and now it’s—”

Irritated, Kelnari cut him off. :Idiot creature. I look NOTHING like the Zerg. Do you not have eyes to see? A brain to think?:

Instead of responding the ‘marine’ reached for his gun. Before he could do more than touch it she psychically yanked from him and raised it to point it at his temple.

Of course this had the consequence of having everyone else immediately pointing their weapon at HER.

“EVERYONE stand down! Alien, drop the gun if you don’t want to be riddled with holes. Marine, fucking use your brain, if she had wanted you dead you would be. Now, can I please fly the God damn ship and not have to deal with you children?”

Grumbling, Kelnari let the gun drop to the floor. The soldier, a little whiter than he had been a moment ago, snatched it up. With varying degrees of quickness the others lowered their weapons.

After a few moments of tense silence one of the soldiers asked, “Sir, where are we headed?”

“Mar Sara City, it’s the only settlement still responding to hails.”

‘Grand, more humans…’

[Mew Master]

Tracer
Location: Outpost 29, Civilian District, Personal Quarters
Date: 4.17.2500, 0023 Hours
”I don't care if it's not outfitted with a repulsor! It's either we get this tin can off the ground or join the rest of the corpses out there!”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~

Ethan was woken up, not by the sounds of the exploding minefield, the rockets at the edge of the base launching and hitting their targets, or the alarm. It was the sound of his computer kicking on with a pre-programed response.

“Notice! Notice! Multiple explosions recorded around the exterior perimeter of Outpost 29. Repeat: Notice! Notice!”

After just barley nodding off and getting some needed rest, Ethan rolled out of bed, nearly landing on the floor. He scrambled for a foothold as his computer screen went wild with information about the current situation.

“Re-report?” He mumbled sleepily.

“Scanners indicate that 70% of the minefield around Outpost 29 have detonated. Average time between detonations was 0.35 seconds. Rocket turrets along the north and east walls have activated and multiple hits have been confirmed. Analysis suggests a large force is moving towards Outpost 29. Defensive perimeters have been holding.”

“Ethan!” his father banged on the door. “Ethan wake up!”

“I'm already up dad,” he ran to the door to his room, throwing it open. “What's going on? Are we under attack?”

“I don't know, but alarms are going off all over the place.”

Their conversation was cut short by the sound of metal being bent back and torn. Gunfire erupted at the other end of the Outpost, between them and the main base, followed by screaming.

“Come on, let's move!” his father exclaimed. Ethan grabbed some clothes, changing along the way. Granted, while his father had been at the bottom of the barrel back on Tarsonis, he had managed to have several contingency plans for his families well being.

He started hearing screams through the walls after the gunfire went silent. This time they were closer, part of the civilian district. There was no sounds of mass explosions or heavy machines. There were screeches. Loud, high-pitched shrieks that almost split his ears, sounds of high velocity objects flying through the air and hitting objects like massive darts.

Light shone in through the windows as the entire base went on high alert. Through the windows Ethan caught glimpses of people running from their homes, and being taken by either large shadowy creatures or mobbed by smaller things.

“Move son!” his father screamed. Downstairs was Ethan's mom and younger sister, already huddled together with what they could carry. Ethan grabbed a few things form his computer stand, a small pad with ties to the computer system, a few pictures, and a set of tools. Have to pick up the pieces again somewhere.

Ethan's father creaked the front door open, but then shut it, his face pale and afraid. “Out the back way,” He started to move away from the door, just as something slammed into it, causing the metal to bend and crack. The Vasil family started running through their home, once a place of serenity now a maze to navigate.

The front door burst apart as a small pack of ugly, red, brown,and yellow quadrupeds with no eyes entered. Shreiking, their mandibles and clawed extremities gnashing together in excitement, or hunger, it was hard to tell. Ethan's father got them to the back door first, but not before Ethan's sister was snagged and dragged off, covered in a swirling mass of claws, teeth, and membrane. His mother wasn't close behind, as she held onto the young girl, but only pulling back part of her arm, before she too was swarmed by two of the rampaging creatures.

Ethan saw both his mother and sister devoured as his dad pulled him out the back door.

Chaos. It was the only thing that could describe it. Bullets flew even as the civilian quarters were overrun. Overrun by a moving swarm of nightmarish horror. People tried to flee in terror, before being out paced by the small pack-like animals. His father was pulling him, his son half in shock and fear, as they tried to out-maneuver the carnage now surrounding them. Shrieks and roars pierced through the night in response to the explosion of bullets.

The ground beneith them erupted as something burrowed under the father and son. A massive monster with a skull-like face and lower-hanging mandibles separated Ethan from his father. Ethan hit the ground hard, skidding along the ground, which was starting to become slimy. Whether from blood, oil, or something else, he didn't know.

“Ethan, RUN!” He tried to pick himself up, adrenaline rushing through his system. He ran, ran for the millitary hanger, for some kind of escape route.

Snarling, the beast arched its back at the running human, and dozens of sharp blades blasted out from its back. The blades whizzed by Ethan, missing him by feet for some, inches by others. He hit a block in his path, and turned around to see his ground. The beast was still at the entry way it had carved, and what un-nerved Ethan the most, was that it was staring at him, like a cat does with a cornered mouse, about ready to make the killing blow.

Ethan's mind started to recognize the analogy. The next thing he knew was that his left arm wasn't responding, and he heard the clinks and thunks as blades rammed into the blockade he had run into. Time almost slowed down for Ethan, as he looked down at his left arm, and saw it laying on the floor, severed just past his shoulder. Blood was slowly pooling around the laceration, and even in the night he could see the bone and muscle, cleanly cut like a fresh cut of meat.

Then the pain set in, an intense and nearly overwhelming lightning bolt of neurons firing off and informing his brain that his arm was no longer part of his body. The pain dropped the young man to his knees, as blood started to soak his body.

Ethan wasn't aware of much, shock setting in. He felt, but didn't hear, the shots fired into the creature, hitting it's elongated skull first, then two more slicing through the rest of the face and body, dropping it. He didn't see his savior at first, but he started to become aware of the sensation of being picked up, or hauled up.

Lightning struck everywhere, and Ethan's inattentive gaze tried to focus, tried to find out what was going on. His vision was coming and going, he thought he saw a tall blue creature, controlling the forces of nature against the monsters around. Some things were said, some dialogue, but Ethan couldn't hear it. The only sounds he could remember were his mom and sister dying, and his dad telling him to run. He was being held up, high above the ground by the blue alien, by the scruff of his collar.

The next few moments were a haze to him. Being held, moving across the ground as the world whirled around in motion. Being dropped, on the back of something screaming before sonic vibrations ended its pain, the impact vibrations the only feeling Ethan had at the moment.

A fleeting feeling.

Ethan suddenly felt very alone, as he laid there, his head on its side. His gaze looking almost through the open jaw of the creature he was dropped on, the same kind that took his mom and sister. Through those open jaws he saw the fires and blasts of gun-fire unleashed by fleeing marines, even as civilians, some he knew, were running past, and being dropped like flies. Swarmed over by predators, ravenous and emotionless.

I'm going to die. The first cognizant thought Ethan had since the beginning of this hell. Since his mom and sister were torn apart, since his arm was sliced off and left for dead on top of an alien corpse.

“Ethan!” A voice cut through the silence. It was his father, as he saw the familiar face, stained with blood and scratches. “Oh my God Ethan.”

“D-dad?” Ethan's voice was breaking.

His father offered no other words except carrying his sun, and running. Ethan's father was a large man, with a decent amount of strength and stamina for his build. If he had gone into sports, he would have been a lineman or a blocker. Now he used his mass and momentum to get him and his injured son to the drop ship that was currently powering up. Ethan barely recognized this even as the world blurred around him as his body was being carried, like a football, down to the wire for a last touchdown to win the game. Even the strange creatures in the sky with their crab-like legs looked like balloons cheering on one team or the other.

So frantic and burly, his father pushed through even the small crowd of civilians making it to the ship. The engines fired up and Ethan and his father were the last ones on. A few of the medics that had managed to escape the carnage were called over, and started to stop Ethan's bleeding. Ethan's mind was starting to come back to him, even as all voices but his father's were filtered down.

The ship shook, causing Ethan and his father to slide down, back to the doors. He felt his momentum stopped and looked. He saw a pair of massive claws start to pry open the drop ship doors, and smaller ones clamoring for whatever they could. Ethan's father had a hold of him, even as Marine's marched to the doors and started to fire. Their bullets ricocheting off of the metal as much as the creature bringing the ship down.

He felt his weight being pulled up, as his father tried to hand him off to someone, anyone. Ethan, and everyone else, were surprised when the blue alien grabbed him and hauled his body farther into the deck. Ethan tried to reach for his father, not wanting to let go, even as two smaller claws grabbed his father, puncturing his torso, causing blood to spurt out from his mouth.

“Ethan...” his dad struggled as his son's grip started to slip. “Sur... vive.” His grip slipped, Ethan grabbing onto the bracelet his father had worn as a gift from his mother after the birth of his sister. He could only watch, as the Firebat soldier stepped forth and unloaded two jets of flame at the creature, causing it to let go of the ship, taking Ethan's father with it.

With shock, finally setting in, Ethan felt the sensation of the ship moving, but not it's acceleration. He heard the voices talking around him, but knew not what they said. The people around him he saw, but he did know know who they were. He felt his body being patched up as best they could, but did not care.

His family was gone, and he was alone.

So very alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~

Dead weight?! Why I outta.... *fist shake *

[Samchu]

Teia
~~~~

The briefing over, I made my way over to the barracks. I didn’t bother to communicate with any of the others, not out of rudeness, but because my mind was distracted. Shepard. How long had it been since I’d last been on a mission with her? The chill in my bones told me that it hadn’t been long enough. What’s she doing here? We’d shared missions in the past, enough for me to know that the only time they sent her was because they anticipated a shittier shit fest than most missions managed to cough up. Which means there’s more going on here than they’re letting on. I didn’t like it. This was supposed to be a nothing mission and we had a nothing team to work it with. It was supposed to be simple, quiet. But now…now I had to reconsider everything. I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit.

I found the duties roster and sought out my name. Apparently I had evening patrol with a Corporal Bryant. A part of me was annoyed to be given such a mundane task, especially in light of my new concerns, but it was to be expected. I was supposed to getting back into shape, not running into the middle of conflict. Of course with Shepard here, that’s still very much a possibility. I frowned and headed for the bar. I needed a drink for my newly rattled nerves and who knows; maybe someone would start mentioning something interesting once the alcohol started loosening their tongues.

~~~

The Corporal and I met outside the barracks once the fading light signalled the start of our patrol. To my relief, he kept conversation short and formal. The last thing I needed was to miss something important because I’d been saddled with an over-talkative partner. That being said, perhaps a slightly more talkative partner would have been a hidden blessing. Nothing happened on this outpost. Even as the night grew darker and the alcohol ran thicker in the miners’ bloods we were met with no hostility; no brawls, no vandalism. I was almost starting to believe it was going to be a quiet night.

Almost.

When the first explosion sounded the Corporal and I turned to face one another. No words were said but we knew what the other one was thinking: did that really just happen, or are we so bored here we’re starting to think it did? But then there were more explosions. For a moment, I thought maybe they were fireworks; their bursts were so close to one another. But there was no denying the reality of the situation, no misplacing the vibrations we felt in the ground beneath our feet.

We ran.

We hadn’t even made half way to the minefield when we saw them, the stuff of nightmares, an all-consuming swarm with the fires of hell burning behind them.

“Sergeant…”

We can’t fight them. A civilian ran out of a nearby home only to be knocked down by one of the creatures. Growling, it pinned her, tearing at her throat as the others circled her body and closed in, devouring her. I’ve never seen anything like it. Never. We can’t fight this. Not here, not with so few.

“Sergeant! What do we do?”

I looked at the Corporal. When one can’t fight one runs. You run, you regroup, and you win the next round. “Evacuate.” As I had done so often in the past, I let fear and panic fall beneath the feet of instinct. Years of training piled on top of generations of breeding knew the right course of action to take. “We split up and head for the dropships. Any civilians we find between here and there we take with us.”

“Is it wise to split up?”

“Against those things, no. But we stand no better chance together. This way, more innocent lives might be saved. Just try not to die, okay?” I saluted him quickly. “See you on the other side, Corporal.”

We went our separate ways. Him towards the more populated areas of the outpost and me towards the taverns. By the time I reached the first one, it was already too late. Screams tore through the open windows. The lights were off but even the shadow betrayed the horror that was going on inside. Nothing to hide the sound those monsters ate as they fed. I sighed and fired a grenade into the bar. The walls tore apart as the explosion ripped through the building. A terrible way to die. But a mercy compared to being eaten alive by those things.

Turning, I caught sight of Shepard and some others. Whatever my feelings towards the ghost might have been, there was no denying that the best place for me right now was probably with her.

“Shepard!” I called out as I neared the group. That was when I noticed it, the thing that was no right about the situation. The thing that was large and blue. What the fuck is going on here? “What the-” The thought in my mind tried to force itself out of my mouth but Shepard was quick to cut me off.

“She’s a friend.”

From there we made our formations and our plans to continue on to the dropships. Our assailants were also finally given a name, Zerg. I turned the name over in my head as we battled on. Had I seen it before? Heard it passing maybe? Was there anything, anywhere, somewhere back there, that might give us some insight into these terrible things? But I could think of nothing. Not even one of those stories made to scare children in their beds. Could something so terrible really have escaped our notice for so long?

The smell of burning Zerg grew strong enough to turn my stomach but even in that stench there was comfort. At least we can burn them. The Firebat cursed above the screeches of roasting Zerg and I put another grenade to work. Little Zerg limbs flew across the landscape. And blow them up. They’re not immortal. Maybe, maybe we can find a way to beat them.

* * *

We had made it. Somehow, I didn’t know how but somehow, we were safe. For now at least. Even the boy, the one we had been forced to leave behind, had made it to us. But his father had been lost in the process. How many lives had we failed to save to today? But what could we have done differently? We were too few to fight them. I looked at the survivors. But is this really it? Is this really all we could save?

I looked at the scientist and felt a surge of anger within me. How many had he left to die on that outpost? How many might he alone have saved? If he hadn’t abandoned the boy, might his father have survived to? Stop it. I forced myself to look away. He was no more selfish than most humans. Look at yourself. Who did you save? Wasn’t it you who sent Bryant off on his own? He’s probably dead now. Dead because you failed to understand the gravity of the situation. He’d be alive if he stayed with you.

But there was no time for self-loathing. The other creature had taken hold of one of the marines’ guns and had it pointed towards him. There was the collective sound of the guns being aimed. I found myself on my feet, unable to fire but ready to act if necessary.

“EVERYONE stand down! Alien, drop the gun if you don’t want to be riddled with holes. Marine, fucking use your brain, if she had wanted you dead you would be. Now, can I please fly the God damn ship and not have to deal with you children?” Shepard’s voice came from ahead. The alien dropped the gun and the humiliated marine retrieved it quickly as his comrades rested their guns. I returned to my seat.

“Sir, where are we headed?” I didn’t see who spoke as I was too busy mulling over something in my mind.

“Mar Sara City, it’s the only settlement still responding to hails.”

Still responding? How bad is it? Idiot. It’s probably really bad. You know better than to assume that was the only force those creatures had. I looked across at the alien, standing like a blue tower above us. She knew their name. What else does she know?

“Those things those…Zerg. Do you know how many are out there?” It was hard directing a question towards something you didn’t have a name for, and somehow I expected calling her ‘alien’ or ‘blue’ was more likely to get me killed than listened to. This creature, whatever she was, was intelligent. Maybe she had the answers we’d need to defeat these things.






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tag Rio.
Sorry it cuts off the recap randomly in the middle but I got to 1500 words and got lazy.

[Pichu Luver]

Kelnari Weary

“Those things those…Zerg. Do you know how many are out there?”

Kelnari turned to the female in—to her anyway—a very bulky suit. These humans seemed to have to bulk themselves up to ridiculous proportions in order to be semi-effective fighters. Kelnari wondered how she managed to move in the thing. In her estimation there was no grace in fighting afforded to these creatures.

With a brief brush into her mind she saw she called herself Teia, but with a confusing mesh of a last name. She did not understand their practice of last names, a being had a name and what did one need another for? These warriors also had the habit of calling each other by said last name, when that was not what they called their’ given’ name. It was beyond confusing.

In any event this human was one of those who were merely uncertain about her, and to Kelnari’s amused satisfaction, worried about offending her.

:I am uncertain as to their total number, but my people estimate their number in the billions…and you are correct my hrmmm etiquette has been lacking. I am Kelnari of the Sargas Tribe, Templar Caste. My ‘race’ as you say, calls itself the Protoss:

“BILLIONS?” Teia looked shocked and slightly white at the thought. The rest of the people, those not preoccupied with saving the young male humans life, looked equally as dismayed. Even the doctor looked a bit worried. However—

“Ze Protoss?” he asked, looking like one of the Conclave who had gotten a choice bit of information about a rival. It had been a quiet statement, mostly to his self. He looked nearly the most pleased she had ever seen him.

‘Queen…’ she thought to herself and turned her attention back to the others, they were asking more questions.

“Is there anything worse than… whatever those were?” Teia asked. She seemed to have become the spoke person for this group, at least when it came to talking to her.

:Much worse. They were merely first wave troops. They have flying creatures that can actually attack, unlike what we saw today. Those flying beings merely transport their fellow brethren. There are other land based creatures that are truly monstrous, and would make those today look small by comparison. Thankfully they are relatively rare:

The cabin went quiet for a minute, then the man who had flamed the door asked, "Do you have names for sese creaturrres? Seirrr types I mean.”

:We do, though they are not vocally easy to say. The hmmm ‘hell crickets’ are most easily translated to Zergling. The bladed ones are… do you have a name for a creature of many deaths? Many multiplying?”

Nothing was immediately forthcoming until, “There was the hydra in ancient Earth mythology. You chopped off one head and two more came back.” Caden called from the cockpit.

:Yes. Hydra…lisk would be a close translation then.”

“And ze flying ones?” asked Ordentlicher.

Kelnari glared at him, but deigned to answer. :The flying creatures are… a kind of overseer, making sure they do the will of the Zerg whole. They are near useless except in the capacity of sighting invisible things and, as you saw, transportation.:

“Offerlord zen,” stated Ordentlicher. “Lords are useless.”

There might have been more questions but Caden spoke over the com, “We’re approaching Mar Sara City, prepare yourselves for landing.” Kelnari could feel the ship slowing down, and wondered how exactly she was going to get off this ship without getting shot at.