"He may have used cheese on me in the beginning, but I would use CONDIMENTS on his shiny protoss ass."
-YourRoleModel
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| Phoenix Legion Chronicles: Part V | | | Author: | | | IP: | XXXX | | Date: | 07/25/99 01:07 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | Famous Reporter(1), Starcraft(1), Old Classic(1), Text Only(1), Fan Fiction(1), Series(1) | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 2, Max: 10, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for .Praetor: 8.2877 |   | Well, Enforcerman finally got off his behind and put up Chapter 3 of Phoenix Legion. Hopefully, chapters 4 and 5 will be up next Friday. But who knows.... Anyway, I decided it was a good time to write another installment of this thingy. It's getting to be almost as long as Phoenix Legion. Especially with my other computer down, and I can't write the next chapter without re-reading the previous one... As always, read the other Chronicles installments before this one. They can be easily found by searching praetor or looking in the 'other' section.
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The smell of food is a great thing to wake up to. Roasted chicken, covered in a mushroom sauce, with assorted
steamed vegetables, and and Italian Soda, my favorite. Now, if I hadn't woken up from a fifteen minute nap in the middle of a command center with a crick in my neck from
sleeping in a chair, it would have been a perfect afternoon. I'm bringing the chicken up to my mouth when
Sergeant Ummox turns around. "Sir, we've sighted the Zerg ledge, it appears undefended from this angle, the creep doesn't reach."
The edge of a volcanic slope appears. It is not sheer, but rather rocky and silty. Anything trying to climb up the steep side would immediately fall down as the ground fell out from under them. The Zerg cliffs might actually be harder to climb than the vertical cliffs protecting my base. No worries, I've never seen a Zerg with climbing equipment. I hope the Protoss don't have commandos.
The main screen shows the ground drop out from under the transports, as they cross a channel of lava. "Sergeant, have the transports unload a few meters from the cliff. The troops can walk the rest of the way in." Also better for all the troops to be walking when the Zerg defenses make themselves known. "Then have the transports pull back over the ridge by the lava. And you can take command of those vultures again when they are repaired. Patrol the east and the south, and don't forget to avoid the Protoss base in the north."
"Yes sir."
The troops begin to unload, and I resist assuming one of the tanks' view. It may put me more in the action, butI wouldn't see the whole picture. I deal with the overhead icon view. The dropships unload, not as quick as one could hope, but that is never the case. The two tanks are the first out, facing no opposition. They are followed by the goliaths, who are situated behind them in the transports. The marines are in their own transports, unloading behind the mechanized forces.I patch myself into the troops' headsets through the pad on my chair. "I want the tanks to advance in the lead, flanked by the golaiths, and followed by the marines. Should you meet any significant opposition, halt the tanks and let the other forces advance forward. If you meet a sunken, then use siege mode. Don't change modes unless necessary." The troops begin to move across the plateau. They should reach the infestation very quickly.
"Sergeant?"
"The vul..."
"Sir, big movement."
"Go ahead." My recon officer has a good nose for what is important enough to interrupt with and what isn't.
"Our mine at the east expansion has just killed two hydralisks dropped from overlords. There are multiple overlords in the area, as well as at least two guardians."
I want to swear, but the Praetor has made it clear that is bad form. Guardians already! And transport! "Any drones in the area?"
"Wouldn't know sir."
"Check. Sergeant, keep the vultures moving. Production, I want four more vultures. Set them after the golaiths in progress. Put the attack squad back on screen." The tanks are entering siege mode, with alarge amount of blood on the ground. From the screen readout, it is zergling blood. The tanks are now pounding on a sunken colony. The science vessels are leading the force, providing spotting for the tanks. They spot eggs forming our of larve at the Hive and hatchery in the Zerg base. There are no signs of guardians. The screen flickers. "What is that?"
Sparse static runs across the screen. The communications officer explains as she remains hunched over her screen, franctically directing the computer. "Disruption in the signals from our attack group. Almost as if a signal is attempting to piggy-back. I'll keep working on it."
I want to ask more, but refrain. The officer looks as if she's way over her head as it is. On the screen, the sunken finally implodes, buffering armour deflating and the mass sinking into the underground tunnels that make the colony so effective. The tanks, just out of range of the next sunken, unseige. They move forward a few spaces and seige again, focusing on a sunken colony near the exposed mineral veins. Two more eggs are formed. Strangly enough, the foreign relations officer speaks up. "Sir, I've discovered
what the interference is."
I lift my hand. The eggs are hatching. Just out of the range of the tanks, six hydralisks hatch, and retreat behind the hive. "Pull the science vessels back, over the tanks." A few minutes later, presumably after reinforcements from the Zerg valley have arrived, the hydras come back into view. Eight hydralisks surge forward, and two zerglings are destroyed by the first volley before I can tell the tanks to focus their fire on the hydralisks.
"Sheild the tanks."
The science vessels power up, glow a bit, and shimmering energy appears around the tanks. One of the shimmering spheres is flashing and bending, under assualt from hydralisk spines. The hydralisks had already shredded the
left tank's frontal armour with their projected spines. I shake my head, considering humanity's luck. Only fifty years ago had soft armour been invented, transforming the
Confederacy into a major power. With old armour types, one hydralisk volley would have cracked even foot-thick neoseteel, probably killing the occupants as well. The
revolutionary soft armour absorbs most shocks, and shells that penetrate it stay there, adding protection. The armour had also led to two new attack classifications. Explosive
damage is designed to nullify the soft advantage after it's attack, by forcing away the compressed armour surrounding the round. The effect is a shredding, as the padding-like
armour is thrown from the unit after being hit. The explosive force is extrememly effective against heavily armoured targets, but is relatively pointless against small units which don't benefit from the use entirely softened armour. Concussive weaponry is designed to nullify the soft advantage by exploiting the properties of new armour to shake, or destabize the structure beneath the armour. Virtually usless versus reinforced structures like tanks, but extremely effective against infantry. Hydralisks have explosive-type attacks, and the eight enemy hydralisks had shredded the front of the left tank's armour. Perforated metal, neosteel, and spines on the ground belie the degraded front of the tank. After a few useless volleys fail against the defensive matrix, the hydralisk surge forward again, targeting the left golaiths. Both goliaths fall, one's power core overloads, the other has both legs shot out from underneath. The tanks and marines finish the hydralisks and begin seiging the sunken colony by the minerals again. At least one pilot got away. "Bring the dropships up by the attack force, and let the pilot in."
The science vessels begin spotting again.
"Sir?" The foriegn relations officer speaks up again.
"Ok, go ahead."
"The interference is actually a Zerg signal. I think we are being hailed. Fairly sure, actually."
Surprised, I shift my legs, and almost spill my coffee. I look down at it frowning. I almost never drink coffee, but I'm very tired. I take a sip, grimacing, and bring my food
up to my lap. "Put, um, it on."
The screen shifts, and a human face forms on screen. Almost
human. If one squinted, it could be human. On the excellent screen present in a Legion command center, the green veins are clearly visible. So are the extra membranes around the eyes, the fleshy hair protrusions, and the Zerg appendages extruding from the back of the infested terran.The voice is surprisingly normal, unlike what reports have said about
infesteds. "I speak for Ensel..."
I am enraged, and yell, "Get that abomination off the screen! Whether you know it or not, she is highly offensive!" Before my officers can cut the transmission, the screen changes, becoming black for a few seconds, then showing a small, grotesque bag-like creature, looking cancerous, with gas escaping from holes. It is inside what must be the Zerg hive, since the, well, room, looks closely like the inside of a body, with dim lighting."I thought cerebretes were larger than that, and lived above ground."
The creature hisses as it speaks, presumably making speech with its' own organs. "They are. Cerebrates proper, as you have seen and known them, are quite large and capable. Each
Cerebrate, however, has several lesser beings of a similar type, like myslef. They serve as Cerebrates eyes and ears, and there must be at least one in every system a Cerebrate
wishes to send minions to. Unlike Cerebrates, we are mobile. I am a..."
"Caretaker." Having no natural language, one cannot expect Zerg to name themsleves. Caretaker sounds like a good name.
"I am the Enseldraees Caretaker, belonging to Daggoth."
Sounds like Kerrigan's trickery to me. "I think not. Daggoth led the Cerebrates who formed the new Overmind. As such, it ceased to be an independent entity."
Enseldraees releases gas out of several openings. Giving up? A negative? Anger? "No. Daggoth led lesser Cerebrates to create the new overmind. Daggoth planned on being its' greatest servant. He, and Daggoth is masculine, felt himslef to be the greatest of the Cerebrates, and thus
neccessary to train and lead new Cerebrates."
"And now subservient to Kerrigan, I'm sure."
Again the gas release. A sigh? "No. Since the rise of Kerrigan, Daggoth has let wild his minions close to her, and regrounded himslef in more remote, and unusal systems, such as this one. Daggoth himslef noticed the existence of Terrans who should have died entering this system."
I cock my head. "Yes. The Fourriers."
"Is that the Terran name for those in the northeast?"
"Yes."
Some holes release gas. "I see. It did confuse many Cerebrates when Terrans attacked each other."
I shift in my chair. "Bet it confused you more when one of your own Broods turned on you."
"You are knowledgeable. Indeed it did. But my point, avoiding more of this torturous intercourse, is that Daggoth does not wish defeat here, and I am instructed to do what I can to prevent that. Noticing your double attack on my forces.."
I glance at Sergeant Ummox, who nods and whispers, "Three Hydralisks and several drones are being engaged. There is also a growing hatchery."
I cover my ear, the signal to cut audio. "Good enough. Move the vultures back to the mineral-only base and have them repaired. Move them back after this conversation, unless opposition appears. Scan the center."
The center appears on an alternate screen. Two massive guardians are being torn apart by a Fourrier wraith attack. The central chamber disentegrates, and the remains fall to the ground. They've done their job, though. Three piles of rubble mark the points where missile turrets once rested. One bunker is also burning at several points. Giving the wraiths new targets, several fast overlords approach
and hydralisks begin to depart. Probably enough hydralisks to finish the Legion drop.
I tap my ear. "Go ahead Enseldraees."
"Yes, noticing your double attack on my forces, I decided to contact you with the intention of informing you we are not of Kerrigan's forces, and are indeed probably in a worse situation than most of your pirate militias."I try to hide my surprise. Apparently the Zerg don't just grow on trees.
"Well, Enseldraees. I am, as you probably anticipated, skeptical and amazed. I shall extend to you the fullest offer I am authorized to. You are still Zerg, and as such, an enemy of humanity. The Legion is unwilling to share
any part of this rich moon with you, however, we will not hinder any evacuation of forces, and will also defend mining operations that would cover the cost of your standing
buildings. I believe that would result in a net gain."
"Interesting. It would indeed, but I am afraid I am also under orders to take the moon."
"Of course you are."
Gas release again. "It has been enlightening discussing this situation with you."
"Indeed. You have returned the favor." The screen suddenly goes black. I look at the foriegn relations officer."Yes, sir. The transmission did end."
"Hmmm. You did record that?"
"Yes."
"Send it directly to the
Praetor."
"He is still on Aiur. The beaurocrats will block any message."
"Give it a Anden tag." The Praetor, in his wisdom, had provided one way to get past beaurocratic tape. Should any officer wish to send him a message with such a tag, it will
be relayed to him, immediately. Of course, people have been sacked for misuse of a Anden tag. High-ranking people have.
The officer looks at me for a few seconds, and then jerks. "Yes, sir."
The recon officer interrupts again. "Sir, Protoss movement over the minefield surounding the center valley expansion." The screen shifts and there are two archon icons heading around the mines. It takes me a few seconds to remember that they hover like SCVs and so the mines don't attack them.
"Give me vision from the closest mine." The screen shifts again, and a strange ground vision appears. I am looking up at a god. A god walking away from me. The body is clearly visible, carved as a Greek statue, perfect. Protoss perfect, but perfect. Energy crackles around it, a vaguely defined sphere that no matter can enter. A foot walks on the camera. The foot looks the same from up close as the other body had looked overall. Detail is missing, despite the proximity. Energy lines run across it, entering at specific points. When I try to look at any point of the entity besides the body, bright light stares at me, burning with the power of the sun. I know now what the mean when they say an archon can be looked through, but not at.
With the thundering power before me, it takes awhile to register that the view is changing. The mine, and one slightly infront of its' view, pop out of the ground, clearing the rock by about two inches before landing again, scuttling backwards. Backwards? My thought ends when the closest archon turns, and points at the other mine. Energy arcs, forming a solid bridge, and pours into the mine, destroying it instantly. The view goes black. On the main
screen, the icons come back up, showing two archons moving back towards the Protoss base. Two mines are gone.
The western base officer speaks up. "The archons were
apparently escorting a templar, for unknown reasons. The mines popped up after the archons passed."
I nod. How do you fight that? It.. gestured... and destroyed. Teenagers worlds over dream of that sort of power.
I rub my temples, reminding myself of the sauce on my fingers from the chicken. I wipe it off relatively well with a napkin, and set in on my meal. It is exactly room temperature. Great.
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My thumb doesn't feel nearly as bad this time. Probably becuase I'm using a newer keyboard and am not typing this after finishing a chapter of Phoenix Legion. Speaking of Phoenix Legion, Enforcerman resides at www.sclegacy.com . Thank you, of course. If you finished it, you either found it halfway decent, or wanted to see just how bad it could get. I figure more of the former. Should anyone want to message me, I can always be found at praetor@sclegacy.com . |
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