"...and all those turrets they've been building start to pay off now as the observers pop like a pair of horny frogs during the Fourth of July."
- Eggfoo-young
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| The Starcraft Chronicles: Episode VII The Hunter or the Hunted | | | Author: | | | IP: | gateway.XXXX | | Date: | 12/01/00 06:12 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Monty Pylon: 6.0390 |  | The Starcraft Chronicles: Episode VII The Hunter or the Hunted
The vastness of space usually toyed with the minds of a ship's crew. They would see things that weren't there and start to get edgy and trigger-happy. The Dominion Police Fleet had been deployed for almost a month and was ordered to capture the terran known as Samir Duran. They were at the far tip of the sector rim and far from any reinforcements. They were alone with Duran and the zerg to keep them company. The commander of this fleet is General Matthew Harper. General Harper was a general who had rose through the dominion ranks during the Brood Wars. His fleet belonged was once known as Nova Squadron, but after Mengsk seized control it was converted to the Dominion Police Fleet. To the public, it was a fleet that protected them from dangerous criminals and terrorist factions. In truth, they were used to kill any opposition to the Mengsk throne, by any means necessary. They were now approaching the desert planet of Omega Prime, the site of the defense platform. The zerg had done well in making the platform completely useless. It was unsalvageable to say the least and was nothing but debris. Harper had a feeling in his gut that something was out there and that it was close.
The general was correct in his instincts, for under the cloaking field of an arbiter, a protoss fleet was also hunting Duran. It was lead by Zeratul and he also had the premonition that his fleet was not alone. The two fleet circled Omega prime, completely unaware of the others presence. But there was another who kept watch over the two enemies that wished to imprison him. He watched from his cloaked wraith and knew that his zerg warriors would be eager to feast upon the bodies of the terrans and protoss before him.
"I must say I have outdone myself. Both the protoss and the Dominion are looking for me. No doubt that fool Zeratul is commanding the protoss. But I wonder who is in command of the Dominion ships. I suppose it really doesn't matter, they will be dead soon anyway."
Duran ordered his zerg to attack the two fleets together. Wave upon wave of zerg flew towards the ships and drooled with sick anticipation of their meal. The two fleets orbiting Omega Prime had no idea that an army was descending upon them. General Harper began routine scans for zerg presence in the area as wel as on the planet.
"Private I want scans of the planet's surface and a scan of the immediate area in spacial grids four through ten."
"Aye general. Performing scans now. Surface scans show no sign of zerg on the planet's surface. Spacial grids show no zerg...wait, I have a reading in spacial grid five. It's not the zerg, but it is a non-Dominion fleet. It's the protoss!"
"The protoss? What the Hell are they doing here? Power weapons and deploy the wraiths."
"Sir, I have movement in grid nine. It's the zerg and plenty of them. They are on an interception course with both the protoss fleet and our fleet."
"Damn! Hail the protoss fleet and see if they'll help us take those zerg down. All stations, this is General Harper, all stations prepare to engage the zerg. I repeat, all stations prepare to engage enemy zerg forces."
"Sir the protoss are answering our hail."
"Well dammit patch it through!"
"Yes sir!"
"Dominion fleet. I am Zeratul, commander of this fleet. We have also detected the zerg forces. Perhaps if we work together we can destroy them."
"You and me are on the exact same page. Let's give these bastards Hell."
"The protoss are ready for battle, let them come."
The fleets turned to face their vicious foe. In the distance the zerg could be seen and niether man or protoss could count their numbers. All weapons powered and all eyes searched for a target. Then the zerg struck. Mutalisks swooped down upon their targets and fired their acid bullets into the steel plates of the terran ships. Devourers splashed the hulls of the protoss warships with thick, bubbling acid. Corsairs charged weapons and returned fire with a stream of blue psionic energy. Terran valkeryies unleashed a halo of missiles. The unfortunate zerg caught in the web of missiles were pounded on all sides. The sound of scout fire and scourge screams tore through the air as each took its toll on the other. The carrier released it's deadly cargo of interceptors that targeted the helpless overlords. Wraiths endured mutalisk fire and began to explode the floating detectors. Without proper overlord support, the zerg were helpless to the cloaked wraiths and any ship that took shelter near the arbiter. The zerg forces were shredded and the the few remaining warriors hurled themselves at the capital ships of both fleets. With his zerg decimated, Duran was forced to retreat. He left the battle for the planet Cyrus that was now his temporary base of operations. A few of the wounded zerg escaped, and were able to follow their master.
The terran and protoss fleets had prevailed, but the price was heavy. Both armadas had lost at least half of their numbers. General Harper's battlecruiser was too damaged to give chase to the fleeing zerg. Zeratul sent an observer to follow the zerg back to their hive. The protoss and Dominion landed on Omega prime to both repair and negotiate a temporary alliance. The scv's set to repairing the fleet and General harper met with Zeratul.
"I am Zeratul of the Dark Templar."
"General Matthew Harper of the Dominion Police Fleet."
"You fared well in battle general."
"You boys didn't do too bad yourself. I wish to negotiate a temporary alliance until the capture of Samir Duran."
"You are also after Duran general?"
"Yeah. Emperor Mengsk has ordered his capture for crimes against the Dominion."
"I have been sent to kill Duran and the zerg he controls. He must not be allowed to live."
"My orders are to bring him in alive. But if he should force me to, let just say, deal with him. I am sure the emperor will understand."
"I see. Then it is agreed. My fleet shall fight alongside yours, but do not dare test me. You will find that I am more than willing to, deal with a betrayl."
"Perish the thought protoss. Perish the thought."
The two commanders had formed an alliance, but they did not trust each other for one second. Zeratul ordered all his troops to watch the terrans closely. Harper kept an eye on the protoss ships and sought the advice of his second in command, Major Chris Warrick. Warrick and Harper had served together for years and there was nobody Harper trusted more. The two talked about their current situation over a few glasses of whiskey.
"I don't trust that protoss Chris. Mengsk wants Duran alive not dead. He wants to know how Duran still has control over the zerg and he can't tell him if he's dead."
"I don't see what the big deal is. We find out what we want to now then hand the guy over to the protoss. Let them do whatever the Hell they want to do to him."
"I'm sure the protoss will be happy to put the zerg under Mengsk's control. They would kill us first and you know that."
"Relax, I'm sure the old SCV will think of something."
"What did you just call me?"
"SCV. Oh, you don't know that they call you that do you."
"Who calls me that?"
"All the other generals use that nickname for ya. You know, General Matthew "SCV" Harper. He can fix anything. You get it, fix like a scv. You're the head of the police fleet, you fix problems."
"I get it Chris, I'm drunk not stupid. I don't care what those idiots say. If it weren't for me the Dominion would be in ashes right now. They have no idea the kind of work we do. I'll bring in Duran and then I retire. That's it for me, no more zerg or protoss for this general. Tell the men we move at first light. That observer the protoss sent out should have found the zerg and Duran by then. I'm going to get some sleep."
As Harper took in the last of his whiskey, Duran was busy planning defenses against his hunters. Cyrus was the only planet where Duran was able to conduct his experiments. If this base were compromised then he would have to start over. His zerg forces had been destroyed and a new force had to be grown. For now, Duran relied on the mercenary forces of Citizen Kane. Kane at one time, was Albert Candell. He was a general in the Confederate army. He was a part of the Confederate Ghost Program, but a malfunction had caused a nervous breakdown. He was rejected from the program and stripped of his rank. Albert wandered the sector for years in a state of delusional madness. It wasn't until he met Duran that he regained his mind. He abandoned the persona that was Albert Candell and became the anonymous entity known as Citizen Kane. Kane gathered together a group of militias and formed a mercenary for hire business. Duran called upon Kane to assist him and Kane gladly gave Duran control of his army. That army was now the only thing separating Duran from the Dominion and the protoss.
"Kane, I want every inch of this base protected by as many man and turrets as you can scrape together. Nothing can be allowed through, do you understand?"
"Yes Duran, I understand perfectly. My men will hold their ground without question."
"They had better. My zerg forces were decimated and it will take time to rebuild them. I can give you some zerg support but it will not be much."
"I can handle the Dominion and protoss by myself Duran. My men will do just fine."
"You are confident, but do not be so eager to fight. They still have a powerful army and they will come after me. The only question is when. The time is near Kane and I will succeed. When my zerg are ready we will leave this place and then we will attain the ultimate goal."
"And what exactly is that Duran?"
"Something that Kerrigan could never do and something the Overmind could not do. The invasion and complete domination of Aiur, and the end of the protoss."
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