David's quarters, Gambit transport ship, outside Jorin system
David shifted on the hard cot in his room, staring at the dark ceiling above him, as the clock slowly ticked closer to the ship's day-cycle. So much had happened in the past few days and he finally had the time to sit back and relax. And now, of course, his mind raced with the things that he finally had time to think about.
Sighing tiredly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, and his feet touched the cold, metal floor underneath him. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands as he tried to collect himself.
Suddenly, the ship shook violently, and he slipped from the cot. What in the hell was that? he thought as he stood up and pulled on pants and a shirt. Without time to get fully geared, he climbed up the ladder to get out of his bunk room.
His bare feet slapped against the cold metal as he ran towards the bridge. He looked up at one of the windows out into the blackness of space. It was immediately clear that they were no longer in Hyperdrive. Please tell me it isn't zerg, he hoped. After all, they were flying between protoss and zerg-space right now.
He saw Puck climbing the stairs to the bridge ahead of him and called to him, “Got any ideas?”
Puck stopped and turned towards the captain, waiting for him to catch up. “No idea. Not likely the Hyperdrive went out this fast. It's practically new the way Haley put it together.”
Breezing past Puck and up the stairs, David entered the bridge. “No matter. Check anyway. A problem is a problem and we need to-”
He slowly trailed off and came to a stop as he looked out the bridge windows into the vast expanse of space in front of him. In front of the ship was a massive Terran battlecruiser slowly passing in front of them.
Puck quickly sat in the pilot's seat. “That must have been what pulled us out of Hyperdrive.”
“Hail them and let them know we are here. Then see about getting us out of here.”
Puck punched a few keys on various consoles and was about to request a link when he glanced at their scanners. “Captain?”
David was standing next to him, staring out the window at the battlecruiser. His eyes scanned the ship. What were they doing here? This was far from Terran-space. Surrounded by enemies, it was unlikely that they would be sitting there all alone.
“What is it?”
“I think we've got a problem. Those aren't Terrans.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. And then he saw it.
He noticed the hive structures that bulged out from from the battlecruiser, and the spore crawlers nested in the gun ports. That battlecruiser was zerg-infested.
“Oh shit. Belay that order. Don't make contact. Keep the engines silent. We don't want their sensors to detect us. Have they detected us yet? Are we on a collision course?”
Puck's hands blurred across the pilot's controls. “They haven't shown any signs of contact or detection, and it appears that we will miss them unless they change their course. We will be clear of them in an hour and a half.”
David sighed. “So we wait.” He went over to a console and pushed a few buttons, linking to the ship's intercom. “Attention. This is your captain speaking. All crew personnel report to the bridge immediately.”
It didn't take much time for the rest of the crew to make their way to the bridge.
“As you can see behind me, there is a Terran cruiser here. Turns out, it's zerg-infested,” David said calmly. He waited, letting the severity of the situation sink into each of them. Po'Nath seemed as impassive as ever. Casey narrowed her eyes, obviously not sure what was going on. Haley's eyes widened in fear. Leo sighed, and Dr. Rark got a look of determination.
“They haven't spotted us. They likely won't unless we kick on the engines or Hyperdrive, so we have to wait. We are coasting on by them and we'll be clear of them in an hour and a half. There really isn't much to do if they spot us but hope we can escape before they get a shot off. Puck, you stay here and be ready to kick on the engines and begin evasive maneuvers if they show even a hint of action. Haley, we need you down in the engine so if things start happening you can get the Hyperdrive ready as quickly as possible. Everyone else, go to your bunks and be ready for a bumpy ride. I'll let you know if the situation changes. Dismissed.”
The rest of the crew filed out until David, Puck, and Po'Nath were the only ones left on the bridge.
Po'Nath watched the captain. {Do you plan to tell Executor Khalos of these developments?}
He looked up at the protoss. “You already know I am.”
{I thought it would be polite to ask before saying anything further,} he replied as he made his way to the exit. {I suggest caution when breaking the news. These protoss have been through enough already at the hands of the zerg. They will not take this news very well.} Po'Nath exited the bridge, leaving Puck and David alone.
“I'll keep that in mind,” the captain said under his breath as he left the bridge and made his way to the cargo hold where the protoss were staying. There wasn't enough room in the crew quarters to hold that many people so David had them camp in the hold where they could all be in one place and he could keep an eye on them.
----------
Minutes later, in the cargo hold
David entered the cargo hold to a congregation of the protoss, with Executor Khalos in front, waiting for him. Damned telepathic snakes! he thought to himself and nodded respectfully to the Executor.
Khalos's eyes narrowed, and he realized the protoss had heard his thought. {You have something to tell us?}
David looked to the protoss behind Khalos. He could feel the fear radiating off of them. They knew how unsure he was of their safety this close to the infested battlecruiser.
“We have a situation. There is a zerg-infested battlecruiser in our path. It isn't likely to detect us, but we can't reinitiate the Hyperdrive until we are clear of them or they will detect us.”
One of the crowd stepped forward. {We can't stay here! They will see us! They will come for us. You didn't see what they did! We're all going to die! They will rip the flesh from our bones!} David was barraged by the fear radiating from the protoss, and he saw the fear and uneasiness grow in the rest of the group.
Khalos stepped forward. {I will accompany you to the bridge where we can discuss our options,} he said, smoothly assuming command.
The doom-cryer was still gibbering psionically, but he had backed into the crowd again, and the rest of them were looking to Khalos, drawing confidence from his presence.
“I really don't think that is nec-” David began.
{My experience as an Executor will be invaluable if the worst comes to pass,} the protoss said matter-of-factly and walked past him towards the bridge.
------------
An hour and a half later, on the bridge
“We're almost out of range, captain,” Puck said.
David looked to the executor, who had stood at the back of the bridge, the entire hour and a half, saying nothing. After a moment the Executor nodded to David and then left the bridge.
“Alright then, get us out of here. Haley!” he opened his link to the Engine Room. “Get ready to initiate the Hyperdrive.”
“Out of sensor range,” Puck confirmed. "Ready to initiate Hyperdrive."
“Haley. Ready... Initiate Hyperdrive.”
----------
SoA:
-Filler post: Gambit is pulled out of Hyperdrive by proximity to a Themos Brood infested battlecruiser. Is able to pass by the ship without being detected and gets under way again with only a small delay.
Dr. James admired the body in the capsule, the large blocky X-04 tattooed onto its chest... It reminded him of his previous experiments, X-01 in particular. The man wrestled down a Thor and listened to orders like a real soldier.
Then his mind slipped to X-03... She seemed obedient at first, but on her first assignment, she just disappeared. Such a good specimen, she was truly powerful and mentally stable. The treatment was so efficient they saved millions during her development, and the same went for her training. Moral and ethic codes were perfectly implanted in her head, and yet... She disappeared. He wondered where she was today.
And then he wondered where X-02 was. What a powerful psionic she had been. They had to resoc her twice though, her telepathy literally got to her head. She had been a beautiful specimen - truly beautiful. He could remember the eyes of the Confederations representative when he came to examine their newest ghost. And she disappeared as well, shortly before the Confederation was taken over by the Quantum Legion.
Two out of three gone...
He looked at X-04, and smiled again. Two out of three don’t matter when number four would top them all by far. It wouldn't be long until they would release him, they just had to make sure his mind worked as it should. This body... It responded so well to the treatment that they went overboard with it. They initially wanted to only give him the strength of X-01 combined with the psionics of X-03, but now... He exceed both of them by far. His body weighed two entire tons, double that of X-01, and the energy coursing through his body is almost double that of X-03 and X-02.
If the first 3 X’s were to fight this one, they would lose.
Which was one of the reasons he literally shat his pants when X-04s eyes opened.
“Up the dosage!” He yelled. “Up the goddamn dosage!”
Scientists scrambled around the room to pump more anaesthetics into the tank.
X-04 looked James angrily into the eyes.
Then he blinked and had trouble opening his eyes again.
Grell tapped the 5 number code to the bridge and the door opened, the light glow of the consoles scattered about giving a faint green and red tint throughout the room. Stepping into the familiar setting he looked among the seats seeing only two people here. Mike and third in command Felicia Williams.
“Welcome to the bridge sir.” she said still going over the data from the flight logs.
”Its good to be back.”
Taking a step towards the commanders seat he looked it over. It sat raised above all others in the center of the room. It had been designed that way so that the man in charge could lead from a position of authority, a design that had came with this older ship design. Swinging the chair around he took a seat and set his fingers on the keyboard infront of him. Typing in a list of the commands onto it data began to pour from the computer about the ship status.
“Alright Mike bring us out of jumpspeed in 30.”
“Already set and done, we should see the view soon.”
Grell, was still looking over the ship diagnostics when the lights flickered and dimmed, gravity lessened to less then half the normal, and the feeling of nasua set in from the sudden change in acceleration. In only a few seconds time all went back to normal the frontal screens coming on to show the view. Three Planets were visible, the last being to far away for such a broad capture to see it in any detail. The ones controlled by Tirion Republic were obvious with immense shipyards over them. Space cranes, and stations seemed to be working nonstop on the construction of a new capital ship in the works. Takeing all this in one would believe the death star could have been built there. Residing rather close were they came out of hyperspace, a cool blue planet had only a small space-station atop it, the ground inhabitants below obviously only just beginning to get a colony up.
“Sir we are being contacted by the Tirion BattleCruiser Deathstar, they want to know our business here.” Felicia said now looking at Grell.
Typing in a line of commands he forwarded his info to the battleship.
“Continue towards the planet Tennos, we should have no more trouble.”
“aye aye.”
The old ship moved forward silent in the depths of space. It moved closer to the massive shipyards and planet showing the scope of the operation up close. A zoomed in view of the planet showed it was lush with green forests and covered in oceans. The beautiful scene however was abit ruined by the popping up of cities distributed among the planet. The larger ones had even began a green flow spreading out in the oceans. He looked over the areas on the planet not knowing were they were going due to Mikes secrecy.
“Alrighty Mike, the dropships prepped I know that much, but were the hell are we going?”
The image on his screen zoomed to a major city near the ocean, constant streams of aircraft and ships in the water streamed in and out of the area. Skyscrapers loomed from the center of the city, the edges seemed to be largely used for housing and similar.
Mike began by highlighting one of the taller buildings which was a curved design elevators visibly running the side of its length. It glowed with activity, two of the levels even held their own landing pads.
“This is the building we will be going to, it is the area where much of the trade agreements and higher ups rest with the last say in decisions.”
“Very poetic, take us into a stable orbit-.” he tapped the coordinates into his console “at this location. You will also have the ship till me and Mike get back, take care of her.”
“Yesir I wont crash her into anything you wouldn't.”
“That scares me.” he said to himself now leaving the bridge with Mike at his side.
Dropship Heading towards Tennos
Mike had gotten the cloths ready for this meeting, they now both sat dressed up in suits while riding the dropship meant for soldier down to the planet. Checking it over Grell pulled at the tie abit hating how it hugged his neck.
“Common man, do not mess up your tie. This is an important meeting to get some extra forces on our side.”
“Yea, yea. First time I actually have to wear this suite aswell. If not for the importance of this 'diplomacy' I would of tore it off seconds ago.”
“Well try to hold out atleast till we have a solid deal with the man.”
“Aw so you do know who we are dealing with. So we playing good cop bad cop?”
“Just leave the diplomacy part to me, you can come in with major suggestings. I know you wont fail in that aspect.”
“Ofcourse not, you handle the pretty words I handle the big-bangs.”
They both began to laugh when the speaker for the dropship came on, and a female voice began to talk.
“Alright we are landing, when can I expect to pick you boys up from your little party?”
“I say about 3 hours if we are lucky.” Mike stated as he got up and grabbed the bar next to the bay door.
The ship decelerated steadying out and a light thump was heard as the ship made contact with the pad. Getting up, Grell fixed his tie and joined his friend as the landing ramp extended and they stepped out into the bright world. Looking up one could see flying vehicles zooming by, the sound of work was all around, it was industry at its finest.
Taking a sudden dislike to the world Grell looked at Mike and gestured towards the building.
“Well gentleman first my friend.” and they proceeded in.
Inside Tirion Headquarters
“Mike, we have been waiting here an hour. I understand you have contacts, but aren’t we abit higher than some nobodies waiting for the higher classes as they sip there expensive water?”
“Grell, you and I both know they don't like pirates, they probably would not have even seen us if it were not for the importance of claiming these worlds back from the Outsiders. So don’t complain and wait for us to get in.”
Letting out a sigh Grell stood and went over to a nearby window watching the ships go by. A moment later the door to the office opened and a woman came out to meet them. She wore a black dress, with a pair of exotic red high heels. Grell looked her over and though keeping a nuetral expression, knew she was a trained killer.
“We are sorry for the wait, Mr. Hendman man is now ready to see you both now.”
Walking over to Mike, whom stood up,checked his tie, and gave a curt nod to Grell and they both followed the woman. She led them up a small flight of stairs to a tall area of the building leading to the top.
“Enter through that door there and when you are finished I shall escort you out.” she said opening the door for both of them.
The inside of the office was quiet different then Grell had expected, the walls were lined with components of machinery, gun batteries, even what seemed to be a piece of the original siege tank design. The man sitting behind the desk in the center of the room turned from the open view of the city from the glass window behind and closely observed the two of them. He seemed to be in his older 60's a the beginning of grey showing on his beard and in his thinning hair.
“Please have a seat both of you.” he said gesturing to the two chairs which rose up from the ground in an odd fashion that almost seemed like they hovered. Grell took his seat with Mike close behind.
“Now you gentleman are here for important reasons I know, but I will say I do not expect much of your kind.” he said, taking a cigar out from behind his desk.
“Well I believe we both share a common interest, as you and I both know the recent movement of the Outsiders has not only cost the loss of your world, but of Aranov's, and Magrathean's aswell.”
Lighting the cigar he took a puff of it and thought it over. “Yes, you come to make an offer for our support none the less. I can understand you would like a fleet, but tell me what is it we gain from this?”
“The outsiders have been a nuisance nonetheless. Taking them down here and know will crush any counters they could pursue on other worlds, and get you back the planet you once held. Im sure you can see the strategic value in this aswell.”
“Yes I do, but I have no reason to send my people into such a danger. They took over the three planets that resided in the system and are no doubt setting up defenses against a counter attack of such.” He let out another plume of smoke watching it drift into the air and fade. Grell tired of this mans weakness leaned forward and spoke.
“So you will do nothing but let your own colony be kept by those rouges. I say either you step in to support us or gain us the support we need.”
“So trudge off to war blindly with you and your legion of pirates is the answer? No I don't think I will do that. As of what I have seen you have some pirate fleets at your disposal, and that heap of junk in orbit you call a ship. I will not help you in any way if that’s all you have going for you.”
“You seem to be to stuck on your belief of me and my friend here. Are you to blind to realise that your planet was attacked and ripped from your grasp by the outsiders. I think you also underestimate my ships and mens capabilities. If you refuse to take back this planet, your letting the Outsiders have not only your planet, but your allies aswell. Who says they wont use that as a staging point to gain even more ground.”
“Yet I dont see you and your zealous pirates coming in to take back a planet. Conflicts with the Zerg and Protoss could already cut us short as it is.”
“This will cut into you, allow for them to hit you when your weakest. This war has shone that people don't unite when global conflicts arise, it makes them greedy and separate from others. I am offering a chance to git rid of your Outsider problem, and give you back your land. I am only asking for your support!”
“Then tell me how do you plan on taking back these planets. I don't assume you will gun-ho rush them in hope of winning.”
Mike cleared his throat and brought up some plans on his datapad showing the combined power of the pirate ships and Tirion support.
“I believe that by using the pirates on an assault on there main base of operations, and the support ships along with our flagship leading a second flanking assault on the second planet will allow us to in quick succession take back these planets. The problem is our current numbers will not be sufficient, or will causes more loses than necessary.”
“Also due to the use of bunkers and infantry tanks will give us a significant advantage against the cannon-fodder infantrymen they have. With some precision drops from medivacs having a tanks get into position and a slow push forward with marines and the pirate forces we should be able to quickly move in and lockdown the area.” Grell responded
“I see.” he looked over the plans, checking over the data not twice, but three times to get it through his head. He took another huff of his cigar then looked at the two of them.
“You will have my support, but I do have something on the Outsiders that might interest you.” He tapped onto his desks console sending the specifics of one of the outsider ships to Mikes datapad.
Grell leaned towards his friend to look over the ship, wondering what was in store.
“The ship you see there is a Tirion design, a prototype we were testing before the attack on the system. If possible I need you to board the ship, get any relevant data, then either capture or destroy the vessel.”
Mike checked it over then realized the sheer strength of the ships hull. Though it was lighter on weapons and armor then most ships, the hulls strength was magnificent.
“Mr. Hendman, I believe this will be a hard job to do.” he said seeing the ships defences.
“Yes, but you are pirates and I'm sure you have plenty of ways to crack into a ship and steal. it.”
Grell smirked abit and got up, walking towards Hendman's seat, offering his hand. “We have a deal Mr. Hendman.” And they settled the deal with a firm handshake.
Entering Loading Bay of Gnarled Wolf
The dropship landed and Grell stepped out his suit unbuttoned, his tie no were to be seen.
“I can finally breath again, its good to be back aboard the ship.”
Mike still tapped the commands on his pad making sure everything was in order.
“Sir.” he began.”what shall we do with the Tirion support?”
“They will follow us to the Dinari system so we can get either some Aranov support or push him for more Tirion support. I want to leave system immediately so we can get their soon as possible, this waiting for a battle is killing me.”
“Alright sir it'll be done soon.”
“I know, ill be in my room if you need me, and make sure the new pilot does not ruin the ship, understood?”
“completely sir.”
“Good, seeya Mike.”
SoA: Grell arrived at Fyrad system and finished negotiations with the Tirions. This has gained him 1 Tirion support which is following him to the Danari system. Grell has lost his tie.
Murkag lightly landed in a clearing just outside a small, dilapidated research base and opened its maw to allow Dagganoth’s Avatar, Kenny and Adam out onto the planet.
“Why are we going out to talk to this guy, again?” Adam queried, looking nervously about at the post-apocalyptic landscape about them. “Couldn’t the two of you just talk it out psychicly?”
{Orloth, upon realizing I made regular companions of Terrans, requested a more formal meeting. He is known for such eccentricities, as are all of his kind.}
“‘His kind’ being Infested Terrans?”
{Indeed. The former Prophets of Baal are all quite … odd.}
The Avatar led them to a building, where the closest wall had fallen away to reveal a well furnished conference room in easy view of the Leviathan behind them. Inside the room, sat an Infested Terran in a long grey coat spinning idly in one of the office chairs. As the party entered, the Prophet leapt to his feet and happily welcomed them all.
"Dagganoth! you have quite exquisite taste to make yourself an envoy. I am so pleased that you would make this allowance for me. Quite nice, and your Terran friends, would you mind introducing them to me?"
{Certainly. I believe you might know the man over there. His name is Kenny, and he could be called my acquaintance among Doom's pirates. The younger man's name is Adam. I consider him somewhat of a personal friend.}
Kenny frowned at Dagganoth’s indiscretion, "Well, so much for subtlety"
Orloth slowly circled the terrans, inspecting them closely, ”Cerebrates are not familiar with the social formalities, it is rare to find one that will even participate, but as we’ve already passed the social niceties we may as well proceed? Don’t you think, Kenny of Doom's Pirates? I believe I've heard of them; the Coalition's own rag-tag army of ruffians, no?" Regardless, Dagganoth, I wish to know plainly why you are here. Are you ratting me out to the Terrans in return for their good will now?"
Kenny quickly looked at the Avatar, speaking forcefully, "That'd be awfully rude, wouldn't it?"
{I don't know. That would depend on Kenny and you. Doom has treated me well so far, but so have you - I would not like to have to pick a side here.}
Kenny quickly picked up the conversation before it could get much worse, "Well, there won't necessarily be one to pick. I'm just here ‘cause the Auruleans are making a fuss. I believe you know these used to be their planets? They wanted us to check up on them because of a certain situation that happened in Protoss space recently."
Orloth quirked his head and studied Kenny intently, "Yes, I heard of that; it caused quite the uproar in our circles as well."
Adam couldn’t help but smirk quietly to himself, and continued to watch the proceedings as Orloth turned his attention once more to Dagganoth. "So you led them here in hopes that we might find common ground? Was that your aim Dagganoth?” As the Avatar did not seem to answer fast enough for him, the Infested turned his attention back to Kenny, “Interesting, so Kenny, considering that I might just decide to kill you any way to not have to deal with the problem, what would an understanding with the Pirates get me?" Orloth queried as he lightly dropped into a chair and spun around, clearly enjoying this interrogation immensely.
"Well, killing me would get you a fleet on your doorstep. This entire conversation is being streamed to my ship at the moment. You'd probably also be called a bastard.” Kenny stated, still quite calm. “Now, we actually are not in favor of picking a fight with the zerg. We make more money if we don't actually have any casualties due to full out war. And we don't like the Auruleans either. So, in terms of what I can get you... I can easily fake info on this system to make it look like something you don’t want to attack, yet won't be a threat if left alone. If you want more, the question is what can *you* offer?"
Orloth stopped his spinning suddenly a leaned forward to watch Kenny closely, "You don't like the Auruleans?"
Kenny shrugged, "Bunch of arrogant pricks, think themselves superior to everyone and just go on and on about the zerg."
"Hmmm.... interesting. I want to show you something." The Infested suddenly leapt to his feat and left the room leaving Kenny and Adam staring blankly. With Dagganoth’s light psionic assurance, the three of them quickly followed into the depths of the building. They didn’t have to go far before they stumbled upon Orloth attempting to boot up an old computer.
Kenny stepped forward to help, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a wrist mounted computer. "I'm an IT specialist, tell me what you need."
"Most of the physical evidence I'vecollected happens to be a planet over, but I can keep what files I have managed to find on this." The infested handed Kenny a small data disc, which Kenny’s arm promptly scanned and started displaying information in the air between the two of them.
"Interesting..." Kenny mumbles as he looks over the data. "Still pricks though."
"I've been trying to figure out that little puzzle for a while now. I can get you the rest of what I've collected, if you are interested. I'd be pleased to know what you think of it."
"I'll gladly help you look into this.” Kenny responded, still going over the data, “Would make perfect blackmail material the next time they try and force me to go scout an infested system. No offense."
"None taken. Consider this then an Olive branch. A little bit of dirty laundry, in exchange for leaving me alone. If my presence here were to become common knowledge, it would force me to make certain moves I am not fond of making."
“Alright then,” Kenny closed up the holographic display.
“And Dagganoth!” Orloth turned to direct the Avatar, “I have reason to believe Lilith may have a spy on board your ship. Find it, pick it up, and make sure it is fed with a silver spoon. I don’t want that witch knowing that I may be talking with the Terrans. She could easily use that information against the both of us.”
{Lillith? On my ship? Doesn't she only deal in infesteds?}
“Not exclusively, No. And it is rather easy for a lightly infested individual to act as a spy. I know she keeps tabs on Terran goings on with a small army of them.”
{Hmmm... perhaps we can use this to our advantage?}
"I've got a *really* good telepath that might be able to spare some time." Kenny suggests.
Orloth nodded, “I could take care of it myself, but it would only be redirecting the psionic link to myself.”
{That may be preferable, It would allow easy communication between us. I do not feel that I could manage to keep the spy as carefully handled as you seem to be suggesting. If I may ask, how did you know about the spy?}
“We still talk. She likes to brag.” Orloth intoned, almost wistfully, earning another smirk from the erstwhile Adam. “You are also lacking a few key components to your brood, we should talk about trading certain strains.”
Kenny broke in, "Well, while you two discuss boring stuff, I need a lift to get an aerial view of things."
Orloth bowed at the pirate in amusement, “It will be done, I will give you an entourage that will see to your needs. Now where were we?”
SOA: Conversation between Orloth, Kenny and Dagganoth.
Orloth has shared his finding on Aurulean genetic experiments in exchange for the Pirates making Dvergar look like a bad place to attack for the Coalition.
Lilith's spy "Adrian" on board Murkag is being psionically readjusted to work for Orloth. Adrian is quite pleased with this.
Dagganoth is purchasing Overseers and Viper's from the Fenguar Brood for 37 points, and allowing the Fenguar access to Swarm Hosts.
He lapsed into consciousness to see a human in a white labcoat outside his tank. He could see the heart rate of the scientist spike as he panicked and called for more anaesthetics.
No... Not again... Don't you dare knock me out again... he thought angrily to himself.
Make them pay... Destroy... Kill... The thought brought forth a wave of rage.
His eyelids felt heavy again as the anaesthetic entered his body.
No. He thought with determination, and let his fury fuel his body.
Fire flowed through his veins, but it did not hurt, it... Felt good.
The water around him heated up, and it did not burn him. It began to boil, and it still did not hurt. The anaesthetic quickly wore off and he opened his eyes again to see the terrified faces of the scientists before the pressure made the tank explode into a million pieces
He stepped out of the shattered tank, his entire body composed of only blue fire. He looked around the room, and saw corpses filled with shards of glass, bleeding out. The sight filled him with malicious pleasure.
A squadron of marines showed up, and immediately started firing at him.
Blood. He thought darkly as he turned to them, and a voice laughed maniacally in his mind.
He pointed his palm at them, and they were flattened against a wall, blood shooting out of cracks in the crushed armor, spraying across the entire corridor.
Burn. He thought, the flames that made up his mouth turning into a grim smile, and set the entire lab on fire.
He walked out of the lab and continued his massacre.
Aboard the Terran transport ship approaching Murkag, Dvergar System
Murkag was again loaded. With the new DNA plans Dagganoth had obtained for both the Viper and the Overseer several of the beings had been created in co-operation with Orloth, and the Garamar Brood was again that much stronger. Kenny boarded the Terran transport ship and looked out of the window as it took off for Murkag, who would in turn make its way back to Domus.
"So, you're basically a computer then?"
Apart from the pilot of the transport ship, only Adam and Kenny were located in it - it seemed Adam had come to pick Kenny up.
"Depends on the definition of "you" and "computer". I'm everything from this body to the entire pirate fleet."
-"That seems like quite a lot... you must be busy then"
"As I said, I'm the entire fleet. There's more than enough processing power to go around. It's hard to truly be busy."
-"I used to be an accountant... it must seem silly for you to have one person just handle some economic functions."
"Nah. People make mistakes, I don't. No mistakes, nothing to exploit. Would make my job a lot harder."
-"If you don't make mistakes, why are you still tied to Waiter, and.... was his name 'Doom'? Especially for a pirate AI, it'd make sense you create your own realm?"
"It does, doesn't it? And it keeps people wondering. I don't know if you've noticed by now, but I like messing with people. If I were to run to show by myself, I wouldn't have anyone to mess with, would I?"
-"Then why do those two trust you?"
"Doom Bonecrusher comes from a family of pirates that can be traced back to the stone age, and the only place where "trust" shows up in that family tree is at "Untrustworthy Bonecrusher", son of "Bitch Bonecrusher" and "Liar Bonecrusher". Darth Waiter is an eight century old protoss ex-ecutor with telepathic powers beyond your imagining, he can manipulate anyone he wants. Then there's me, the super AI that likes messing with people. I think the better question is, why do *you* guys trust *us*?"
Adam smirked.
-"For a lack of better, I'm guessing. Trust seems hard to come by these days. Speaking of which, what d'you think of this Orloth figure?"
"He's odd. But he seems to be a potential ally or asset. No zerg leader would have given me this info and most would have just killed me on the spot. They aren't too fond of the Pirates - While Aranov was playing defense, we were the ones hitting the back lines during the war."
-"Are there any Zerg 'fond' of pirates? Aside from Dagganoth, maybe."
"Well, I'm not really in contact with them, mostly because I assume "no""
-"So how do you feel about Dagganoth? I'd like to say I'm asking you one Terran to another, but eh... still, this'd be as close as it gets outside of our group."
As Adam glanced out of the window he barely caught Kenny's eyes rapidly switching colours as the AI thought for a good ten seconds.
"At the very least, he's useful. Waiter finds him intriguing, and Doom only cares about rum, money and efficiency, and Dagga seems to be doing the latter quite well. I, personally, don't really have an opinion. Not because I'm an AI - I got opinions on lots of things, like cheese and republicans, but I don't really have anything to say. You guys are interesting, but I find the lack of technology awkward while traveling with you."
-"I can imagine... must be akward for an AI to be immersed in a flying sack of flesh. I never thought something like our compartments could be possible, though. I have to hand it to him; his 'symbiosis' seems to work as efficiently as you guys credit him for."
"Yea, I was pretty surprised to see this. Definitely well made, especially when you consider that zerg probably don't have architecture studies."
Adam smiled.
-"Zerg and Terran tech combined... who knows what might come from that."
With that the transport ship flew back into Murkag and attached itself to the third stomach with a sucking sound. Murkag once again came into motion...
SoA
-Dagganoth has bought Viper and Overseer tech from the Fenguar Brood, along with some additional units.
-Murkag is heading back to Domus; 6 posts/days until arrival.
-Flavour: Kenny and Adam talk.
Fear. It was everywhere, lurking just beneath the surface. Like a suppressed buoy, ready to break the water line. Most did not know it: it was just felt, a vague sense of unease and anxiety. But it was omnipresent. Such was the nature of the Khala. Even the centuries of neglect hadn't yet eliminated the almost involuntary pooling of emotion among Khalai. At least, Odranos thought, in the Imperium.
As for those who knew the source and reason of the fear, they were silent. Stunned. Afraid. Indecisive. Everything leaders should not be. The only reason Odranos wasn't criticizing the Council in the privacy of his own thoughts was that those same thoughts were far more preoccupied with what had happened.
Unlike his fellow Councilors, however, he was not dumbstruck. He was afraid, yes. And surprised. And many other things. But centuries of experience allowed him to push such obnoxious feelings out of the way and think.
So the rebels were cooperating with the zerg. It was not a coincidence. Somehow, the two factions had come to some sort of twisted agreement. No permanent alliance: that was too extreme, even for the Order. Perhaps they both wanted Erana out of the Imperium's grasp. Perhaps the zerg had merely wanted to harm the Imperium. Perhaps the zerg were somehow baited into attacking the convoy. It did not matter.
The implications were what mattered. The first zerg attack in four years had attacked ships carrying the one protoss most responsible for their defeat. It happened right in the middle of Imperial space, resulted in the destruction of four Imperial ships, the death of Executor Sevethrun and was coordinated with the Order. This was change. A turning point. Only a fool would think otherwise.
As if to confirm Odranos' thoughts, Khanyr decided to be the first to speak: "{We... we have known for a while now that the zerg could move freely within our space. Even though this latest incident was only a chance encounter it proves that our space is... insecure.}"
Odranos stared at Khanyr. It was amazing. In his fear of decisions, the old fool was choosing one fearful explanation over a worse alternative. He wanted to believe that the attack was a "chance encounter" so strongly that he ignored everything that proved otherwise: the facts, the probability, the obvious. He was so scared of a serious threat that Odranos could smell his fear. He was in denial. And the rest of the fools seemed to be relaxing now, as if they had all wanted to hear the same thing but were afraid of saying it.
For the first time in many years, Odranos felt himself becoming genuinely angry. Angry at the Council's stupidity, at their cowardice, angry that hundreds of protoss had died and these damn fools were attributing it to a chance encounter to avoid the fatal, black truth. Even Umar and Naren, the impulsive "warriors" of the Council, seemed to agree with Khanyr. Even they seemed to fear the zerg. Even they didn't want to face them. Even...
Odranos lowered all of his mental barriers. His rage spread from his being to the Khala like a flood of fire. The rest of the Council turned towards him, alerted by his unthinkable emotional surge. But before they could respond, before they could blame him for what had happened to Erana, as he knew they would, before they could spout more ignorant, imbecilic nonsense, he rose from his seat, violently and purposefully.
But he didn't get far. The ground shook beneath him. The chambers suddenly became cold, the air dry. For the briefest of moments, he could make out a crack in the middle of the room. And then, he was sent flying, almost blinded by brilliant blue light.
The last thing he saw was his shield giving out in a flurry of sparks. The last thing he felt was his body colliding with a wall. The last thing he knew was the briefest, most profound silence. Then the darkness closed in around him.
“Hey, you ok?” A fireman approached the naked white haired figure lying on the ground. It groaned. “Medic!”
One of the ambulances reversed, but before the paramedics could do anything the figure sat up with a loud groan.
He looked around. He was in the middle of the desert, a couple dozen meters in front of large building complex that was burning to the ground. There wasn’t even a proper road here, and he couldn’t even see any buildings in the distance. Then he saw the huge pillar of smoke coming from the burning ruins, and guessed that was how people found this place.
What happened? He asked himself. He thought for a second that he heard a sinister laugh, but he must have been imagining it.
“Hello? Are you alright?” The fireman asked.
The man nodded.
One of the paramedics opened up his bag and got out a little light to check the mans eyes, then a stethoscope to check his heart and lungs, and seemed to be satisfied.
“I have no idea how someone with so much ash and soot on him can be in that good of a condition.” He said with a smile. “What’s your name?”
The man just looked at him.
“Can you talk? Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” The man said.
“Do you have any idea who you are?”
“...no.”
The paramedic grabbed his hand and tried to help him up, but the man weighed over a ton. Before the paramedic really had time to notice, energy instinctively shifted inside the man and he took on a normal weight, then he stood up.
The Flying Drunkman Outside the Dras Lana System
Darth Waiter was bored. He did not like being bored. He prefered enjoying himself, for example by messing with peoples minds, manipulating them, scaring them...
He decided to go for the next best thing: The Khala. If he couldn’t cause fear, he could at least enjoy the fear that others shared.
He walked through the corridors of the pirate ship. They were dirty, but not so dirty that dinosaurs would pop up if left alone for a couple of years. The janitor was really good at keeping the ship just dirty enough, without... Well, without spawning dinosaurs.
He finally reached his personal, dark storage room. The doors closed behind him, leaving him in utter darkness, he sat down in the middle of the room, closed his eyes and reached out with his mind.
What. The. Fuck. Is going on? He thought to himself. He expected fear, but what he found was mass panic. Kenny, set course to Dras Lana. I need to have a chat with the Order.
SoA:
An unknown lab in the middle of nowhere on Deilir burnt down. Survivors: 1
Waiter notices a bit of mass panic in the Khala.
The Flying Drunkman goes off its patrol course and heads towards the planet Dras Lana to contact Erana's Order.
“Deactivating Hyperdrive,” Puck said as the blackness around the ship stabilized into the familiar star-studded expanse of space. This transition was much smoother than the forced deactivation earlier in the trip.
David looked out the windows of the ship into the system of Sindiris. It didn't take him long to see the protoss ships in the systems, and there were a lot of them.
“Cap'n, they've locked on. Something's got them mighty jumpy.”
“I see it. Now let's just hope they ask who we are before they start shooting... Three... Two... One...”
As if on cue, the terminal in front of David blinked as the psychic translators received the signals from the fleet, and he quickly tapped the channel open.
{This is Imperator Madron. Identify yourself, or you will be hunted down and destroyed.} The hard 'voice' of the protoss commanded authority, and David was glad he had a good reason to be there. They weren't likely to shoot him down with their own people on board. He hoped.
“Hey there. This is Captain Kanaro, of the transport ship Gambit. We are transporting some of your people from Domus. They are-”
The Imperator's eyes narrowed, and David cringed a little. Now he'd done it.
{You have survivors from the battle on the edge of the Ilyr system!?} He could feel the anger and out-rage coming out of the terminal. {That is impossible! Prove this.}
David blinked. He quickly pulled up the passenger manifest and sent it across. “I've sent over the-”
{I do not want to see your treacherous 'manifest',} the Imperator said with scorn. {A document can easily be faked or modified. Let me speak to Khalos.}
Once again he was surprised, until he realized the Imperator had read his mind.
“I'll get right on that, sir. Give me a moment,” David said quickly, putting the Imperator on hold. As the screen shrank into the corner of the screen, he stood up and started to move towards the cargo hold. “Damn protoss. Puck, keep us from getting shot until I get back.”
“What do you expect me to do? Shadow puppets?” he asked as David left the bridge and moved quickly down the hallway. Po'Nath stepped out of a side corridor as he passed it.
{Greetings, captain,} the protoss said with the complete calm that always unnerved him. {I take it the negotiations are going well?}
“Well, they haven't shot us yet,” David said as he exited the corridor and out of sight.
------
Interesting, Po'Nath thought as he shifted his gaze to the bridge of the ship. After a moment, he stepped onto the bridge. He nodded to Puck, who nodded back, as he moved over to the terminal. He selected the Imperator's link to the Gambit and opened it.
After a few moments, the Imperator's face reappeared on the screen. Madron's eyes narrowed, {You aren't Khalos. Who are you?}
Po'Nath bowed his head, {I am but a hand in the arm of the Empire.}
This time, it was the Imperator that was surprised, but he knew that the Imperator would not trust him so easily. {I am a member of the crew of this ship. Shall we say... a liaison between this ship and our people.}
{Can you verify this Kanaro's claims? Are there survivors aboard that ship? Are you one of them?}
{I am not. But yes, these are survivors from that.} Po'Nath punctuated the last word sharply, the only time his voice changed it's inflection.
Madron nodded. {Shuttles are en route to bring them aboard. After our people are away, you will be escorted to a dock where you can resupply.}
{En Taro Tassadar, Imperator.}
{En Taro Tassadar.}
Po'Nath put the channel back on hold. Puck was watching him warily. He had carefully shielded his voice from reaching the terran, and he was sure the Imperator had as well.
He nodded to the human, and then left the bridge as David came up the stairs to the bridge, with Khalos behind him. He met eyes with the other protoss as they passed each other, and Po'Nath bowed his head to him. Khalos returned the gesture and then followed the captain onto the bridge.
--------
David stepped up to the terminal again and opened the call. Almost immediately, the Imperator reappeared. He stepped away from the terminal and gestured Khalos towards it. The protoss stepped in front of the screen and inclined his head.
{En Taro Tassadar, Imperator.}
{En Taro Tassadar, Khalos.} Madron returned. {I can see that the captain did not lie, unless you are held against your will?}
{Captain Kanaro was gracious enough to provide us with passage here even though we had nothing to offer him.}
Imperator Madron nodded. {How many are with you?}
{There are 18 of us in total.}
Suddenly the Imperator's eyes widened, and the channel went blank. Khalos seemed to recoil from something, and stepped away from the terminal.
“Is there a problem?” David asked tentatively.
Khalos turned to him, and he took a step back. Is that terror?
The protoss turned back to the terminal as it blinked back on.
{There are shuttles en route to retrieve you and make sure that the captain has been true to his word. Barring an issue, he will be escorted to dock where he will be able to resupply, free of charge. We will also provide an extra bonus of resources in payment for your help. We ask that you do not leave your ship after docking for your own safety. We will contact you to load the supplies.} The screen blinked out almost before he finished speaking.
David blinked. What is going on?
Khalos turned and left without a word, leaving both Puck and David on the bridge.
---------
SoA:
- Gambit arrives in Sindiris and is intercepted by one of the Imperium's fleets.
- Gambit is paid 5 points for the transport of the refugees and they are dropped off with the fleet
- Po'Nath is more than he appears to be
- Gambit and its crew are now stuck in the mass panic
Aboard a Terran transport ship approaching Barkanos, Davir system, roughly 7 years ago from recent events
"...I read ya man, but... Hammer: ya really think it'll be better down there?"
Private Johnson looked Corporal Spazinky in the eyes as he asked.
-"We'll be at a bit of a fringe world, sure. But I wouldn't have taken this opportunity if I didn't believe in it.
Jack Spazinsky had always been a bold and reassuring man. Growing up without a father had made him confident enough to be like that. He knew that if something needed to be done, he'd probably need to do it himself - and he knew he could do it. After this stoic attitude had led him into a barfight on his home planet of Deiliri, an Aurulean offical who saw his handywork had recommended he sign up for the military.
Though Spazinsky's bold and can-do attitude caused him to raise quickly through the Aurulean ranks, he ended up deserting the army looking for a better purpose. In doing so, he had come across newly recruited private Johnson who had followed his example. After accidentally stumbling upon an advertisement that had private defense job openings for a newfound independant colony the two had signed up and left quickly. After a few weeks of travel, they now found themselves approaching the planet that would soon be their home.
"Johnson, we are warriors. You and me... we thrive in situations like these. A new uncharted planet will have to cope with dangers. Men like you and me can deal with those dangers."
-"But don't you ever doubt yaself, Hammer?"
"Look around."
Private Johnson looked around himself. To his left was a man seemingly lost in thoughts - mindless distractions that he knew could cost you your life on the battlefield. Next to him were two men: a burly seated character with a large moustache and a scrawny standing person. The first looked incapable of fast movement while the second would be knocked out by a simple Gauss Rifle's recoil. On the benches across from the thinking person were three Terrans discussing the applications of hair located on hindpaws. Johnson finished his round and looked back at Spazinsky, seeing a sharp aware glance in his eyes, arms ready to grab and throw the nearest object and a body that looked like it could easily endure a car crash. He didn't reply but grinned instead. He understood.
As the transport ship set down, the pair of talking men left first, followed by the man who had seemed lost in his own thoughts. As Spazinsky saw Johnson walk out, he noticed the private's body weaken and his stride disolving into a lazy stroll. Spazinsky knew Johnson well enough to immediately knew something was wrong - the man never let his guard down this sudden in a situation like this one. In less than a second, his sidearm was in his hand and he lurched out of the transport in order to make a break for the nearest piece of cover. As soon as he left the relative safety of the metal ship, the harsh sun shined brightly into his eyes as Jack Spazinsky felt his thoughts fade from his mind.
SoA
-Flavour: fleshing out Jack Spazinsky through his original arrival to the mind controlled colony on Barkanos.
((Akka, I'm glad you joined. Your posts are awesome to read and I'm loving your story. Keep it up!))
He was sitting in a chair in the police office, waiting for the officer to get back. He looked around.
It was a fairly simple office, filled with mostly grays and whites and many men in uniforms, and even the occasional woman. There was an open file on the desk in front of him, and his mind instinctively flipped the image, corrected the angle and then read the entire page in a second. Apparently no one knew what the hell burnt down - The desert was supposed to be empty.
He looked around once again. He saw heat coming from the far corner, and when he focused on it he could hear someone complain about how long it took to cook the coffee. He immediately noticed a large box that was cold - He guessed it was a fridge.
“Hey Nick, ready for the raid?” He heard someone yell at the watercooler, and immediately looked at the men.
“Yea, I’ll be right there.” The man called Nick answered. He saw that the man was scared. How he knew that, he didn’t know. He guessed he knew it because he saw the heart speed up and some of the heat shift around a bit. The man was hiding something, he was sure of it.
How he knew what was what surprised him. He had no memories whatsoever. As far as he knew, his life started two hours ago in front of a burning building. What he also didn’t know was why... He wasn’t supposed to be like he was. He knew what a human was, how a human should see, hear, smell and feel. He didn’t even know what made him alter his weight using his... He didn’t even know what it was.
He raised his hand and pointed at a pen, and with a single, simple thought the pen shot into his hand. Another thought and it started spinning in the air. A third thought and it disintegrated. What the hell was he?
“Hey, sorry I took so long.” The officer said.
“No problem.” He answered.
“So, you have no idea what your name is?” The officer asked.
“None whatsoever.”
“And where you came from? Anything?”
“Not a clue. No hits in the database?” He asked. The man from earlier worried him a bit. Whatever he was hiding wasn’t going to end well.
“You’d expect that an albino would be easy to find, but no, no hits.”
“So...”
“I need you to sign this statement, but you don’t have a name... I talked it over with one of the lawyers here, and he said that I should just make you a new ID.”
“Sounds reasonable.” The man called Nick left through the backdoor. He was certain that something was going to go wrong in the raid.
“What do you want your name to be then?” The officer said and opened a program on his computer.
“Uh...” He thought for a second, then said the first two things that came to mind. “Nick Raid.”
“Alright.” He said and started typing. “Hey, how about a fancy spelling for “Raid”?”
“Sure, why not.”
“There we go. Nick Raid. R-E-Y-D.”
“Sounds good.”
“Alright, I’ll go print out this form, head over to immigrations and ask them to get me an ID for you. Shouldn’t be more than half an hour.” The officer said as he hit print and stood up.
Nick took a pen and signed the statement, then handed it to the officer.
“Almost forgot that, thanks.”
“No problem.”
The Illuminus Deiliri Orbit
“Captain, I think we have a problem.” The yeoman said.
“What is it?” The ghost asked.
“Multiple reports are coming in, something burned down in the middle of the desert, only one survivor--”
“Why am I not surprised.” He said. “Bring us down, we need to secure the survivor.”
“How bad do you think this is?”
“Let’s just hope he’s sane and rational. Contact headquarters, tell them what’s going on.”
SoA:
Nick Reyd got himself a name.
The Auruleans have been notified about what happened to their research facility. One of their spec-ops ships is going to secure Nick Reyd.
Dimitri grinned, the poor suckers that had entered his poker table tonight had brought most of their savings and he had made sure they would not be leaving with them, then just as he was about to reveal his hand the door exploded in green flames and a sour acidic smell filled the room.
His guests vanished out the back door with their money so fast; he could have sworn they had just warped out of there.
Looking towards the destroyed doorway however Dimitri wished he could have gone the same way, but his obligations to Runa kept him in his chair as she stepped through the wrecked doorway.
“You have gone far above the 5 days I gave you Dude, now where are my information?”
“Runa what a pleasant surprise do you want some-“
Dimitri never got to finish the sentence as Runa grabbed him by the throat.
“I have been more than a bit patient with you Dude, now where are my information”
Gasping for air, Dimitri pulled out a small folder and dropped it on the desk, at which point Runa dropped him to the floor, grabbed the folder and started to read the folder.
“Is this all you managed to dig up?”
“Not much information lying about on that thing, it is at least partially Protoss after all”
Runa shrugged and kept reading.
“So this is materials used in its construction I guess, seeing as most of this is shipping manifests for a ridiculous amount of metal and ammunition”
“That would be correct, notice how they don’t have a destination?”
“Classified, seems like I need to talk to someone in the know, which could be problematic”
“Afraid I can’t help you there, only reason I can still operate in this cesspool are because I am the only entertainment these fools have access to, the local big wigs would stamp me out instantly if they found out I were here”
“Obviously... hmm? What’s this, it looks like a...”
“It’s the Arken during early construction”
“I still think it looks like a-“
“I know”
“Dude, do you think they realized-“
“Pretty sure they did”
“That’s just-”
“I know”
Runa cleared her throat.
“Anyway, clearly I need to locate someone with stronger connections, consider the fact I don’t kill you right here and now for your delays, repayment for the information in full, and then some”
Dimitri clenched his fists in anger but nodded in agreement.
“Oh, one last thing Dude”
“Yes?”
“I need a space worthy craft, don’t need to be big nor fast, but it needs to have clearance to leave the planet”
Dmitri’s mood lightened immediately.
“Consider it done!”
“Good, I will be back for it tomorrow”
With those parting words Runa left and headed back to the abandoned shed she used as a hideout, as she contacted Ferrog about her imminent departure.
SOA:
Talking, talking and more talking, I need some action....
Yet again Murkag approached the asteroid city of Domus, staying just outside of detection range to hide behind a particularly large meteor. As it got into position, the Terran transport ship left to drop both Adam and Kenny back, also holding a large part of the Terran crew. Kenny had wired more 'funds' to Adam's newfound 'account', allowing the Brood to restock on supplies.
Back inside the behemoth, something different was going on. Jack Spazinsky was working out in the small but empty gym. He had been present on the last visit to Domus, but by now everyone seemed to have gotten acquinted enough with the situation to go there in small groups. Sarah had joined Adam and Spazinsky knew they'd be able to handle themselves. Jack had decided he wasn't needed right now and figured he could take some time for his own activities. It was at that moment the door opened and a somewhat old man came in.
"Corporal Spazinsky?"
"Jack, Bob. That, or Hammer. I've told you before."
The old man snickered.
"I don't know what it is with you soldiers and your nicknames."
"You wouldn't understand. No offense. What's up?"
"You should come with me. I've got something you might like."
As the old man left, Jack got up and followed him to the laboratory.
"Dagganoth has been a good host. He has been trying to keep track of us and find ways to keep us all individually busy. If you ask me, he may have gotten tired of the fact that Zerg don't need to take much action to keep them busy when traveling."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, the Cerebrate has been psionically monitoring us from time to time, and he seems to have conversed with several members of our group in order to make our stay more interesting when we're not exploring or researching. He knows for instance that Adam has a knack for diplomacy and an interest in exploring, and that's why he has turned him into this kind of spokesperson."
"Great... what does this have to do with me?"
"He's been trying to do the same for you, he's just had a hard time doing so. He knows your heart is in the right place, but he also knows you're a fighter. After some time he eventually asked my help..."
Jack didn't respond. Bob Gentry flicked a switch and through some pulses in the wall a light went on behind him. As Jack turned around, he noticed some kind of odd contraption lying on the table. It mostly resembled some kind of robotic hand with pulsating veins growing throughout it. Jack blinked and looked a tad stupified.
"Not the reaction I'd been hoping for... Why don't you try it on?"
Bob moved over to the table, picked up the contraption and held it in front of Jack. Some kind of handle that was clearly meant to be held by a hand stuck out and Jack instinctively grabbed a hold of it. Immediately several things happened at once.
He felt a cold chill slither quickly from his neck to the back of his head. The metallic skin of the object rapidly grew up his arm and over his shoulder. Jack suddenly felt like his arm had completely transformed as the ending of the robot hand now turned into a gun barrel. He also immediately knew what this was, as the whole thing suddenly made sense - it was as if he had suddenly been reminded that this was a bicycle and that he could cycle. He spun the arm around, aimed it at the distance and instinctively shot out something green and small. The apparently living organism stuck out a limb, caught itself on a microscope standing on a table and used the momentum of his speed to fly right back at Jack, jumping onto his shoulder.
"Brilliant...", was all Jack could utter.
"You get it now? It's a biological form of Terran technology. I've been working with Dagganoth to create this prototype and have dubbed it 'biosteel'. It works only on you, through the parasite living in your body: it allows the biosteel to detect your unique Terran-Zerg physiology. The gun has two modes; it either launches bullets like a standard issue Gauss rifle you'll be used to, or you can store and launch a number of what I've dubbed Terlings."
Bob held out his hand and the small green organism jumped on it, allowing Jack to get a better look at it. It looked mostly like a terrifically mutated monkey - its body was green and slimy and it had a round mouth full of teeth. It didn't look too threatening in its current state though, and seemed to contently jump up and down.
"These little fellows were mostly Dagganoth's work, and I have to say I admire them from a scientific point of view. They can spit a corrosive acid that burns through weaker armor, heal wounds by secreting slime and generally assist you in battle. They're also very cute and I've found they make great lab assistants. In fact, there's nearly nothing they can't do".
Bob grinned.
"They're grown -"
"In the ammo compartment of the arm. I know, Bob".
Jack looked up at Bob. He seemed like he had missed out Bob's entire story admiring his 'new arm'. He knew everything being said - the arm just felt so natural to him.
"Yeah... I guess you do. Anyway - Dagganoth figured that to keep you happy, you'd need to see the ocassional battle and figured this was the safest and best way to put you to use. This arm's only a prototype, but given time and resources I think we can fashion an entire armor out of biosteel. Imagine what you could do behind a line of Dagganoth's Zerglings!".
When he had first arrived on Murkag, Jack had still found the co-operation with the Zerg somewhat odd. Not anymore. As he released the handle the biosteel retracted and went back to form the strange, robotized hand. Dagganoth had found a way to make infestation temporarily and voluntary. If there was any good cause, this'd be it. He would be proud to back up a line of Zerglings, the like of which he had once dreaded. As he turned to Bob, words failed to describe the gratitude he now felt for the old man and the ever-present Cerebrate. They weren't needed though - they knew. Bob smiled as Jack slowly nodded and left the laboratory.
Domus
As the crowd near the Terran transport ship started to dissipate with everybody going off for a little 'shore leave', Adam turned to Kenny.
"Kenny, there's something more we need to talk about."
"Well, I've got all day, possibly longer."
"Alright... this should be something you and your crews could be interested in - money."
"Yes, that does sound fairly interesting. Continue."
"Imagine, hypothetically, that we've got information about supply drops heading towards an 'empty' point near Imperium space that is seemingly of some importance to the Protoss. Now imagine that we didn't know what could be found there, but that we did know there'd probably be something of value around. How interested would you be in providing some... military support to explore the place in order for both of us to make a decent profit?"
"Well, we possibly already pissed off the Imperium with the 'indirect' support we provided with the breakout, and this would be far more direct... But on the other hand, something is going on over there that Waiter noticed in the Khala, so they may be distracted. I'll have to discuss it with Doom and him first, but he's on his way to talk with Erana's Order at the moment."
"Very well, let us know when you've come to a decision. Don't wait too long though - I don't want us to lose the opportunity."
"Should be fairly quick, he should be there already."
"Alright. I'll talk to you soon then, I guess."
With that, Kenny walked off and Adam turned to Sarah.
"Busy days, don't you think?"
"Indeed... care to get a drink?"
"You read my mind, girl."
SoA
-Dagganoth receives 10 points worth of money from the pirates as payment for the scouting mission.
-Bob Gentry reveals 'biosteel' to Jack Spazinsky - a Zerg-Terran hybrid technology that interacts with the parasite in Jack's body to make him a literally walking weapon. Only an arm has been made and it is still in prototype, but Bob will continue his research with the aim of eventually turning Jack into a proper hero character that can fight in battles.
-Adam petitions Kenny in regards to checking out an apparent 'point of importance' in Protoss space that Dagganoth knows about from one of the survivors. The Pirates' reaction is pending and the Garamar forces are hanging out in and around Domus to wait for a response.
"{And you have no way of making contact with them?}"
"{Or him. Or her. We can't-}"
"{Ya don't even know how many there are? Or who they are?}"
"{No, of course not. The occupation is dangerous-}"
"{Then so is the information you get, mon.}"
"{Are you saying we're being lied to?}"
"{No. I'm saying it's a possibility.}"
"{The information has proven reliable so far. How else would we have rescued the Praetor?}"
For a second, Erana wandered which Praetor Rassyr was referring to. And then she realized he was talking about her. She tried to hide her embarrassment at her momentary ignorance. But then the ever present pain at the back of her head reminded her that she didn't have to. There was no longer any way her emotions could be read, just like there was no longer any way for her to know exactly what Rassyr meant when he said something. She was cut off from him. Him, and all other Khalai, including Waiter.
Nonetheless, the change in her thought pattern was noticed by both of them, if only vaguely.
"{Is something wrong?}" Rassyr asked, turning to her. For a second, Erana was taken aback by his tone. It was as if he was annoyed, asking only for the sake of getting a nuisance out of the way. And then she realized that he was probably genuinely worried. She simply couldn't feel it in the dullness of his voice.
And she also couldn't reply adequately. Normally, she would simply send a short burst of emotion that would not only say that she was fine but would also quickly explain the cause of the disturbance. "No, nothing's wrong and I am fine and I was simply interested in this small thing you mentioned but it is trivial and let's continue discussing the matter at hand." All in the space of a microsecond. Now, however...
"{No.}" It was like talking to a terran. Short, detached and with words that were hard to find. Primitive, mundane and completely insufficient: the speech of an infant. Rassyr's eyes narrowed slightly and Erana wandered if he was echoing her own thoughts. He turned back to Waiter who was watching the pair with a face that was blank even for a protoss. The pirate's eyes focused on Erana for half a second and then went back to staring at Rassyr.
"{In that case, we'll have to enter their Khala,}" he said.
"{Why would we do that?}" Rassyr asked. Erana guessed he was taken aback by the suggestion but she couldn't be sure of anything.
"{Because something is going on and we need to know what,}" Waiter answered. He was probably annoyed and losing his patience. But again, Erana couldn't tell. Not that she would be able to do so anyway. Even though he retained his nerve cords, Waiter's voice was as neutral as any Nerazim's. Perhaps more so.
"{It can't be that important,}" Rassyr said, dismissively. Or at least she guessed he was being dismissive. What she knew, however, was that it was the wrong thing to say because, suddenly, Waiter changed. She didn't know exactly what made her realize it. The slightest change in posture, a flicker of the eyes, a subtle movement of the wrist. All put together and suddenly the pirate was someone else entirely.
But he didn't say anything. Erana waited, certain that he was building up tension before telling Rassyr just how wrong he was. But then two seconds passed. And then three. Four. Five. Nothing. It was only when Rassyr took an involuntary step backwards that she realized that the two were talking through emotions rather than words: the type of conversation she could not hear and would never be able to hear again.
A few more seconds passed, Rassyr took another automatic step backwards and then it was over. Waiter returned to his usual, less intimidating stance as suddenly as he had left it and Rassyr straightened himself, although his eyes didn't seem to meet Waiter's anymore. What had happened between the two, Erana didn't know and suspected she never would. What she did know, however, was that Waiter had chastised or intimidated or impressed Rassyr to the point of making him submissive.
"{How would we do it, then? We can't simply fly into Imperium space to investigate,}" Rassyr said.
"{Your ships were made by the Imperium,}" Waiter replied.
"{Yes. So what?}"
"{I will need a crystal from one of the ships. Any crystal. Anything that was made in the Imperium.}"
"{Why?}"
"{Just. Bring. It.}"
For a second, it looked like Rassyr was about to protest again. But then he nodded and left the room, leaving Waiter and Erana alone. She wasted no time in striking up a conversation.
"{Psionic signatures?}" she asked, struggling to form a complete sentence without the Khala to talk through.
"{I'm glad to see that the Imperium doesn't deal exclusively in arrogant fools,}" the pirate answered. She ignored the insult.
"{But as far as I know, psionic signatures can only tell you about a crystal's origin and maker. No one alive should be able to use one to ignore distance and connect to the creator's Khala,}" she continued. For some reason, the words had suddenly become more accessible, as if continuously talking made it easier to find them.
"{Not ignore. Mitigate. Make negligible. Distance itself is not a limiting factor when joining the Khala. It's the effort required to find other Khalai. I'm good at doing that on my own. But when a crystal is made by a Khalai, and they usually are, it is infused with the Khalai's thoughts and it becomes connected to him... or her. It's not just a signature. It's a pointer.}"
"{I still don't think I could do something like that. And I don't think I know anyone who can.}"
"{And that, sistah, is why I'm a pirate and you're a soldier,}" Waiter said cryptically and turned around to leave the room, presumably tired of waiting for Rassyr.
Supercarrier Hawk, Engineering Deck
"{You're certain that he won't be able to learn anything from it?}" Rassyr asked the engineer as he looked at the small crystal in his hand. It had been over two hours since he had left Waiter and he intended to wait a while longer before returning to the damn pirate. Let him wait, he thought, it's the least he deserves.
"{Of course not. It is a power crystal, not a storage device.,}" the engineer answered.
"{And besides, I am not interested in any of the information stored in your computers. You need to relax, mon.}" Rassyr and the engineer almost jumped as Waiter made his presence felt.
"{W-W-Waiter? How did you...?}" Rassyr asked, utterly confused. He was in space! On his own ship! How could Waiter have followed him? But his question went unanswered.
Waiter made a point of ignoring the pair and made his way towards Rassyr from the entrance to the engineering bay. It was best that way: keep them dumbstruck and they would become even more dumbstruck later.
The pirate took hold of the crystal and examined it redundantly. It made him seem... Intelligent, knowledgeable, superior, which was exactly why he performed the useless action. Others would think there was some meaning, some purpose to it, while the purpose was them thinking that.
But there was nothing to see on the crystal, what he needed it for was to feel through it. He closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Khala the same way he usually did - By hiding pretty much all of him from it and projecting false thoughts instead. No one would enjoy finding the true him in the Khala, probably not even he himself. Actually, he'd probably enjoy it quite a bit.
He once again felt the mass panic, the mass fear, that he had felt before, but it was still distant and vague. He focused on the object in his hands, finding a connection so thin that even he almost missed it, and was able to follow it closer to the source of the massive wave of fear.
He stayed silent longer than necessary, mostly for dramatic effect, before he opened his eyes again and turned to Rassyr.
"{There's fear, mon. Lots of it. Fear of fire, fear of pain, fear of death. But most importantly... Fear of chaos. I take it ya didn't do somethin' crazy like bomb da council?}"
SoA
-Waiter, Erana and Rassyr have a little chat.
-The Order and Waiter are now aware that something has happened to the Imperium's Ruling Council. The exact details are still unknown but the role of violence is known.
-Waiter does his job.
As the pirate templar walked onto the bridge, Kenny’s hologram appeared.
“So, what’s going on?” Doom asked as he spun around in his chair and knocked a rum bottle over the edge of his platform, shattering it. He shrugged and pulled a new one from the crate.
Shit’s happenin’. Waiter said. Someone seems to have blown up the Imperium council, but I wasn’t able to find out much.
“Our zergy friends seem to know about something interesting on the edge of Imperium space,” Kenny said. “A supply drop point if I understand right.”
“And why’s that of interest to us?” Doom asked.
“They want to go there, but not alone.”
“I see...” Doom said and thought for a second. “Grab one of the ships on Domus and go there. The Imperium should be too busy to do anything, and even if we get caught, it seems they are without leadership. It will be far easier to talk our way out of it with a new council if this one truly got blown up, and they will have far bigger problems than a single terran ship that may or may not belong to the Coalition showing up in their neighbourhood and causing some minor mischief. Also, while you’re there you could find some info on whatever is going on.”
Dagganoth seems to be becoming a useful asset. Waiter said, and Doom knew exactly what he meant.
“Kenny, tell Kenny we’re coming to Gallifrey, there’s something I need to discuss with Keeva and Neal. In person.”
“Aye aye, cap’n.” Kenny said.
“Oh, and--”
“I’m not he--”
“Then tell Kosh!”
SoA:
Kenny is told to accompany Dagganoth on his next mission, taking a Pirate Patrol with him from Domus.
The Flying Drunkman heads towards Gallifrey, Myrym. 2 IC travel time.
OOC: This one is a bit short, wanted to get it done so that Mozared can continue, so I decided not to continue the Nick Reyd side story in this one as it would take too long for me to write the next part.
Adam took another sip of his drink and smiled at Sarah. The two had had an hour of enjoyment in talking and drinking - the latter of which supplies were low inside Murkag. Suddenly he heard the scraping sound of a stool being pulled back next to his table. As he looked to the side, Kenny sat down next to them.
"Talked to Doom. We're on. I'll accompany you and bring a seperate ship."
"Very well. Just one condition - we do not harm innocents. Dagga gets the last say when it comes to the lives of anyone not firing bullets at our heads".
"Now where's the fun in that?", Kenny answered.
"While we might be alike, keep in mind that we are not pirates like you.", Sarah responded.
"No offense meant.", Adam quickly added.
Kenny snickered.
"I'm not sure what you are, but fine. As long as we don't lose efficiency. Or profit."
"It depends on what we find there. But whatever that is, leave it to Dagga to find some way to make profit of it".
"I guess the big one does have a knack for making things work to his advantage, yeah. Well... I've justed recalled your men - we leave in an hour".
With that Kenny got up and left Adam wondering how he could recall his crew. As he himself got up he noticed that some of the billboards littered all across the asteroid city were now displaying the sentence "Travellers of the ZSF Murkag please report to your transport ship promptly". As Sarah caught his gaze, they both snickered and started their return towards the docking bay.
SoA
-Dagganoth sets the deal with the pirates; Murkag along with one pirate patrol ship will explore the Protoss point of interest in order to make a mutual profit (the split on the profit still needs to be decided and depends on what is found). Dagganoth gets the final say regarding the lives of anyone not hostile/damaging towards the combined Pirate/Zerg forces.
-Murkag and one Pirate Patrol Ship have left for an 'Imperium point of interest' located 5 hexes directly north of Davir. 7 IC's/days until arrival. Kenny is aboard Murkag.
OOC: @Mozared: I am happy to be participating. This is great practice for me and I'm glad you are enjoying it.
Gambit Cargo Hold, Docking Bay of the Capital Ship on the edge of the Sindiris System
David watched as the protoss in the docking bay loaded the supplies onto his ship. It had been a very interesting few days aboard the Imperium ship. Every one of his crew had spend the days huddled in their respective bunks, trying to block out the waves of fear and panic that washed over the ship. No contact had come from the outside, and only in the past day had the terror diminished to a barely contained tension.
While he had seen the rest of his crew at some point throughout the days, mostly at meal-times, Po'Nath had not left his bunk since they had touched down in the docking bay. He had not been able to get any answers from him about the general panic in the protoss, or anything else.
David no longer cared about picking up another job and just wanted to get out of the system as soon as possible. He'd rather cut his losses than still be around when the tension finally broke.
He watched a group of protoss approaching his ship. They were obviously military, their crisp movements in perfect unison as they changed direction towards him. There were five of them, one leading, with the other four fanning out in a v-shape behind him. David recognized Imperator Madron.
“Imperator!” he called, moving to meet them. “I was wondering if you were going to be seeing us before we left. What can I do for you?”
{I would speak to Po'Nath,} the Imperator answered shortly.
“Sorry, Imp, Po'Nath is holed up in his bunk like a rabbit in a den. What can I help you with?” David smiled, trying to keep his suspicions from the front of his mind.
He had no idea if his efforts were successful, as the protoss' faces never showed expression that he could discern. {You will tell Po'Nath that Imperator Madron summons him.}
“I will what?” he couldn't help himself.
{You will tell Po'Nath-}
“Oh I heard you just fine. You don't seem to realize that you are on my ship, and you are talking about my crew. I don't know what has you twisted up, but you will discuss with me first anything regarding my crew, and you will not barge into my ship and throw orders around no matter how big your ship is.”
David and the Imperator squared off. David saw Leo stand up from where he was helping load supplies and put his hand on his gun. The zealots flanking the Imperator tensed up. This could get real ugly, real fast.
The two captains locked eyes. David could feel the push of dominance into his mind from the other. He steeled his gaze and refused to budge. He wouldn't be pushed around by anybody on his ship.
Moments passed. They felt like hours for David. Finally the Imperator withdrew his mental presence. {You may sit in on the meeting, and you will be consulted.}
David nodded and relaxed his stance. “Good enough. For now.” He raised his voice, “Leo! Tell Po'Nath that Imperator Madron wants to talk to him. Tell him we will be in my quarters. And make it quick!” Leo waited for a nod from David before running to comply.
He turned back to the protoss. “Now. Some of your boys will have to wait here, but if you would follow me.” He led the Imperator and two of his guards out of the cargo hold.
David's Quarters, Docking Bay of the capital ship on the edge of the Sindiris System
“You want me?...” David asked.
The Imperator nodded.
“To track down a zerg cerebrate?...”
Nod.
“So you can kill it?...”
Nod. {If necessary. It was at least one of the parties involved in the plot that freed Erana, as you have already found out. And you will, of course, be supplied with appropriate support. What we really want is information from him. And you will be paid handsomely for the information that you are able to gain.}
David looked to Po'Nath. He had barely said anything the entire time. Unless he and Madron were having a private conversation, which was entirely possible.
{It would be a good opportunity to form a lasting friendship with the Imperium. They are not the type of people you want to make into your enemy.} Po'Nath said pointedly. {Especially right now.}
He darted a glance at the Imperator until he realized that the thought was sent only to him.
He turned back to Madron. “I have some conditions: I am the captain. You're people will take their orders from me, and I will decide how best to handle the situation.”
The Imperator's eyes narrowed in what David guessed to be fury. He quickly went on before the protoss could interject.
“And secondly: If this requires me to go into zerg-space, the deal is off. I'm not equipped for that kind of journey. At that time, I'll find your people a ship they can take wherever they want to go, into the lion's mouth or back here. Hell, I'll even bring them back if that is what they want.”
{On the second point, your escort will be small and difficult to detect. I do not think you will be in danger unless you bring attention to yourself.}
“Doesn't matter. I'm not going to risk my ship in zerg-space. If this job takes me into one of their systems, I'm done. I'm not having it.”
{Under those circumstances, you will only be paid the advance sum, and you will not be paid for any information you may have gathered.}
“Fair.”
{And on the first point, our team has their orders. With respect, they are much better equipped and trained to handle this situation than you are. You get to command your ship and what risks it will take, and they will decide what risks they will take and how they will take them. If they ask you to risk your ship or your crew, you may decline. With the same condition that you will not be paid for your services. If not, then they have the authority to act in whatever way they see fit. Does that sound fair?}
David extended a hand. “Fair enough.” The protoss looked down at the hand, and after a few moments, David withdrew the hand awkwardly.
{I will have your advance payment loaded onto your ship along with the rest of the supplies. The 'ambassadors' will be ready to leave whenever you are.}
“Sounds good to me.”
{One other thing. Don't call me 'Imp' again.}
“Sure thing, maitre,” David answered.
SoA:
-Gambit is hired by the Imperium to track down Dagganoth and retrieve information or kill him.
-Paid 10 points in advance, more to be paid conditionally upon completion.
-'Ambassadors' Vardanis and Asala board Gambit with their escort of 5 dark templar, 3 observers, and 2 scouts.
-Gambit leaves Sindiris, heading back to Domus... Once again 8 ICs
Sorry for the long gap between posts. Life got hectic... Plus I had to wait on Vjetar XD
Edit: Correction... That is 7 ICs... I forgot David blew up the ship before the departure from Domus so there was a post delay. No delay this time.
A point in space just outside of the Great Wave...
As Murkag pulled closer to the coordinates, a somewhat familiar sight appeared in front of him. Slightly resembling Domus, some kind of Protoss research station built inside or out of an asteroid came into view. It looked like it had a few weak defensive cannons, and there were two hangars that provided entry to the station - a small one and a larger one. The pirate support ship had stayed back for the time being, prefering to remain unseen in this region if possible. With very little information available to him, Dagganoth weighed his options. If this were some kind of research station, it was bound to have interesting data. The fact that it was in such close proximity to the great wave made it even more promising. He knew what the Imperium was like, but also thought about the innocent Protoss that may be inhibiting the facility.
His first step was to reach out to the lifeforms he knew existed on the station psionically. No response. He told Bob Gentry to try a mechanical Terran hail. No response either. He would have to take more drastic steps. He sent our several bursts of thought as Murkag fired a ball of corrosive acid at the door of the smaller hanger, breaching it open rather quickly. As Murkag got into range to fire off a couple of spore pods with, the station's defenses started shooting at him, which is when the battle really broke out.
As soon as the spores hit the ground at the entrance of the hangar, Zerglings emerged and immediately found themselves engages with a small line of Zealots and some Dragoons. As Swarm Hosts joined the battle with their Locusts, the small force quickly fell and the Garamar Brood forced its way through another door. At the same time Murkag was circling the station to avoid the blasts from its cannons, returning fire with its own weak corrosive acid and taking down several of them in the process. Several Mutalisks also took off, agilely avoiding cannon blasts and directing their glaive wurms at any form of the Space Station's defense.
When one of the Zerglings jumped at the second door, he seemed to get caught in midair by a forcefield. The entire room blinked as the Zergling suddenly fell down in two pieces, cut cleanly apart through the middle. It was clear the Protoss were operating their scientific equipment in some form of clutch defense. As more Zerglings streamed towards the second door, several photon turrets came out of the ground. Though they were protected by shields appearing left and right, the Zerglings eventually surrounded and managed to destroy them, allowing the forces to renew their efforts at breaking the door towards the research center's inner sanctum.
As the station's second door broke, Locusts streamed through the new opening and immediately found themselves head to head with a this time somewhat larger force of Zealots and Dragoons. Though the Protoss force held the small invasion force at bay relatively easily at first, making good use of the choke, the overwhelming numbers of Locusts eventually proved too much for them as several Zealots fell. As they did, A wave of Zerglings streamed through the opening and begun their advance towards the Dragoons.
All in all, the battle was a quick one. After a mere ten minutes the station was rendered completely defenseless. Zerg forces had been diminished, but the primary casualties were Locusts, with only the lives of a small umber of Zerglings having been lost. A few bodies of dead or unconscious Protoss and Zerg warriors were scattered throughout the primary hall of the research complex, and smoking disabled photon cannons and shield emitters were located at several points in the room. This is the sight Adam beheld as he stepped into the hall. He looked around thoughtfully as Jack stepped through the door behind him, wielding his experimental Biosteel arm.
"Some sight", he said.
"Some sight indeed...", Adam replied.
{Brotherss: while I too would have preferred to avoid this conflict, we did come here for a reason. There seemss to be a laboratory through the door on the left, and I am detecting chaos and panic inside it. These Protoss aren't fighters. See if you can make contact with these survivorss... do not harm them if you can}
With that a group of Terrans walked towards the wall and planted a simple explosive charge. With a loud explosion the door opened up, and as the smoke cleared, Adam walked into the room, gun raised.
"Please, do not be afraid. We don't mean any harm!", he shouted.
Suddenly, several foodsteps reverberated as Adam looked around and saw four plainly dressed Protoss running at him. Not wanting to shoot the unarmed Protoss, Adam cringed and took a step backwards. The first scientist to reach Adam lunged at him, but in one quick flash Jack jumped forward and stuck out his biosteel arm, catching the scientist across the the chest and knocking him flat to the ground. As another scientist jumped at Jack from the left, the Terran ducked and in one fluent motion caught the Protoss in mid-air and used his momentum to throw him into the third approaching scientist. Weaponless civilians were no match for the well trained ex-corporal. Impressed by this show of force, the fourth scientist clumsily halted his approach, raised is hands above his head in fear and scurried backwards, falling flat on his behind.
"You gonna listen now?", Jack yelled out at the remaining Protoss scientists hurled up against the walls of the complex. None of them made a move.
Adam quickly explained the situation to the scientists. He told them Dagganoth wasn't a violent Cerebrate and had merely come here to find out about the Protoss research. He added that the Cerebrate had tried to talk to them before launching his attack, and mentioned how survivors had been left alone, as a group of Zerglings and other Terrans dragged the few surviving Protoss warriors into the room and laid them down on the sides. None of this seemed to make much of an impression on the scientists until he lowered his gun: this seemed to cause the scientists to ease up a little. To add to his point, Adam informed the scientists that this Terran contingent had been traveling with Dagganoth for a while in a voluntary fashion. He then promised the scientists they wouldn't be hurt if they didn't attack any of the Garamar forces, and asked them plainly whether they were talkative enough yet in order to tell him something about their research.
Most scientists still looked very reluctant, but one Protoss got up and approached Adam.
{In fact, I think I will.}
Adam nodded at him. "Thank you, your goodwill is appreciated".
Immediately after Adam finished his sentence, multiple other Protoss got up and glared at the scientist that had approached Adam. At first, the Terrans didn't realize what was going on, but they quickly came to the conclusion that the scientists must be having a mental conversation. The lone Protoss looked somewhat amused.
{They are telling me not to give out any information. But I am through with this. We have been doing research on a new type of shielding for our capital ships. Through rotating the shield generators we figured out that we could create shields powerful enough to perhaps eventually let our ships enter the great wave, which would've given the military a great strategical edge in the region.}
Adam noticed the Protoss 'pronounced' or rather 'declared' the words "the military" in a bit of a negative way. He was not at all versed in the ways the Protoss held their psionic conversations, but it was very clear to him that the Protoss had some kind of negative connotation to the Imperial military.
{I do indeed}. Adam remembered they were mind readers.
{The Imperium council has been pushing us to complete these shield modifications as soon as possible so they can outfit their capital ships with the technology and possibly assault the nearby Zerg systems. I have filled in multiple requests to allow us to try these modifications out on civilian ships that could provide us with a great deal of exploration, but the council does not want to 'let the information fall into hostile hands'. There's so much irony involved it's almost funny; I don't think any non-Protoss can make use of this technology, yet here you are.}
Jack shrugged. "Sounds like your typical Imperium, yup."
"So will you help us collect samples of your technology? It's all we came for"
{I'll do better than that. Under the condition that you let me send the critical data back to the Imperium, I'll share our research with you.}
"Deal", Adam said. The Protoss went up to a console and took only a few minutes to proceed according to plan. As he finished up he walked back to Adam, who looked at him and the rest of the scientists and spoke up:
"Alright. Knowing your military, they aren't going to be too happy this information was leaked. If any of you want to come with us either temporarily or permanently - to become spokesmen and researchers like we have - speak up now."
The lone Protoss immediately stepped up, but all of the others remained silent and simply glared at the group.
"Suit yourself then. I'm sorry this didn't work out better for both of us. Next time you see a Zerg trying to contact you, please consider simply answering."
With that, Adam nodded at someone outside the room who dragged in a small pack of Terran medical supplies in, as the entire group including the lone Protoss left the room. The scientists near the wall still looked apprehensive, but Adam smiled when he noticed some of them slowly make their way towards the medical supplies from the corner of his eye. The Zerg forces had been retreating slowly over the course of the conversation, and it was now just the small Terran contingent left. As the group made their way towards the hangar in order to board their transport ship, Adam turned to the lone Protoss.
"How may we call you?"
The Protoss looked at Adam.
{My name is Amar.}
SoA
-Dagganoth arrives at his destination and finds a Protoss research center. After trying to make contact, he decides to fight his way in, taking some Zergling losses (30) in a battle with a small group of Zealots and Dragoons.
-After the area is cleared, the Terran contingent along with some Zerg backup troops force their way into a laboratory and encounter a group of frightened Protoss scientists. Adam promises they will not be harmed and one scientist named 'Amar' comes forward and sends the data of their research to both the Terran systems aboard Murkag and the Imperium. This causes Dagganoth to retrieve the Protoss 'Rotating Shield Array' upgrade, which is in its current state unusable by him but which is worth 30 points.
-Amar decides to, for the time being, join the Garamar Brood and is taken aboard Murkag to live within the Terran compartments. The rest of the Protoss science team along with survivors from the battle are left in the laboratory along with some Terran medical supplies.
-Murkag sets back off for Domus, the Pirate Patrol Ship right behind him. 7 ICs/days until arrival.
Sorry for not posting in a while, but to make up for it, here's a nice 2k word post. But I wrote this starting at 2 AM, so please forgive any terribleness :p
The giant, sleek black ship drifted out of warpspace almost undetected. It was clearly a protoss vessel, yet it looked extremely different. It was far more angular and followed none of the traditional designs, it’s shape somewhat similar to the terran battlecruiser, yet without the hammerhead front and wings more similar to that of the protoss carrier. And it was black, a color almost never seen on protoss vessels. It was so black, it was only possible to see it with the naked eye if something less black was behind it. Combined with the fact that it was undetectable by scans made it the perfect stealth craft.
But this was not a stealth mission. Spotlights lit up on the outside of the hull, painting a skull’n’bones logo onto its sides. The Flying Drunkman, the second most powerful ship in the Coalition’s fleet, drifted towards the most powerful one: The Arken.
Triangular in shape and of silver color, there was only one more thing to say about it: It was fucking huge. The Flying Drunkman itself was a good deal larger than the Aranov Heavy Battlecruisers, but was still dwarfed by the Arken. Doom and Kenny knew all too well that under the massive array of metal plates was hidden a just as massive array of powerful weapons, and near its back-center lay the famous Graviton Cannon that shattered the planet of Apoca.
As the Drunkman came close and slowed down, a single medivac flew out of its side and towards the Arken, landing inside its fighter bay a minute later. Keeva Lane was waiting for it, and out of it stepped Cap’n Doom Bonecrusher, who prepared for the meeting with this beautiful woman by not washing his hair, not combing it, not trimming his beard, not brushing his teeth, not changing his clothes, and to keep this short, not doing anything out of the ordinary.
“Keeva, ya still look great.” The pirate that was over two feet taller than her said.
“Wish I could say the same about you.” She smirked. Doom smiled back and took a large gulp out of his large bottle of rum. Keeva nodded at the second bottle in Doom’s belt. “That one for me?”
“Wha? No. I know no alcohol’s allowed here, so I made sure to take a spare in case I ran out before I got back.”
“Only one spare?” Keeva smiled and raised an eyebrow.
“What makes you say that?” The pirate said and turned slightly, revealing four more bottles around his waist, totalling in about fifteen liters altogether.
“Why am I not surprised...” She mumbled. “So, to what do I owe this meeting?”
“Let’s go somewhere more... Secure.” Doom said, lifting up his eyepatch and looking through the entire room - and the back of his head - with the robotic eye hidden underneath.
“This is the bloody Arken, Doom. If anyone here even thought about leaking information, I’d have their balls. Possibly literally.”
“I’m not really worried about leaks, but reactions.” Doom said.
“Fine, Neal’s lab should be perfect.”
“Aye.”
The two of them walked through the squeaky clean corridors of the Arken for over half an hour before they reached the lab, and Doom had already finished two of his bottles. While the lab was much tidier than it used to be, there were multiple crates of apples in a corner, Kenny and Neal were covered in apple innards, and Kenny was standing beside a large pile of cleaning supplies. And there were still dozens of taken apart machines strewn across the room.
“Three... Two... One... Go.” Neal said and flipped a switch, an apple on a small platform in front of him was enveloped in green energy.
Green energy appeared on a platform on the other side of the lab, and then quickly turned into a ball of plasma ready to explode. Before any damage could be done, Keeva thrust her palm at it and a sphere of purple energy contained it.
“Kenny, how the hell are you allowing this?” Keeva said angrily as she worked on turning the ball of plasma into something... Less explosive.
“The last time I tried to forbid him to do something, he sent me out to fetch a sandwich and did i anyway.”
“Then don’t get him a sandwich!” She said.
“I tried that too.” Kenny said. “Then he ended up just rushing the experiment and pressing the button before I could stop it. I just decided to give up.”
“Would never happen with my Kenny.” Doom said. “Cheeky little bastard would just shut the power off.”
“Nice to see you too, Doom.” Neal said and extended his hand.
“Listen, kid, I’m no real fan of personal hygiene either, but I think you’re taking it a bit too far.” Doom said, looking all the apple remains, half of which were covered in burn marks, strewn across Neal’s lab coat and hair.
Neal looked down, only now realising what a mess he was. “Sorry, I keep getting carried away.”
“When did you last eat?” Keeva asked in a way a mom or babysitter would.
“About an hour ago?” He said, shrugging.
“He’s off by eight hours.” Kenny added.
Keeva mumbled a string of swears that made even Doom raise an eyebrow.
“Gotta write that one down.” He said, and surprised everyone by actually having a pen and some paper with him.
“Before I die of disappointment, Doom, what did you want?” Keeva asked.
“Well... There’s this asset I have.”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s not really a normal asset. It’s been pretty useful, got us some protoss salvage at first, then helped out with that Erana job we had absolutely nothing to do with, used ‘em to scout Dvergar, and right now Kenny’s off on a little field trip with them, which could end up fairly interesting.”
“What are you not telling me?” She asked.
“Well, first of all, he’s a great guy. And by “he” I mean “it” and by “guy” I mean “cerebrate”.”
Keeva gave Doom the death glare. She actually tried attacking him psionically, but generations of permanent intoxication altered the Bonecrusher’s brain and thought structure so much that they had become immune to psionic attacks from people that weren’t equally intoxicated, and no one could drink as much as Bonecrusher.
Keeva kept the death glare up for a full minute. Doom returned the gaze casually, and finished another bottle over that time. Neal’s and Kenny’s eyes darted from one to another. Eventually Keeva gave up, pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked Doom back in the eyes. Well, eye.
“A cerebrate.” She said, far too calm.
“Yes.” He answered, casual as always.
She got up, put the chair back where it belonged, walked up to Doom, stood tiptoe, and slapped him hard enough to send him stumbling back a step. He in return pushed at her chest, sending her stumbling backwards and crashing into a steel table designed to hold heavy machinery, and it crumpled beneath her as she and it damaged the floor with her weight.
“Shouldn’t have done that.” Keeva said quietly as she stood back up.
“What did you say?” Doom asked, genuinely not having heard it.
“I shouldn’t have slapped you.” She said. “I forgot about your inherited barfight reflexes.”
“Yea, sorry ‘bout that. Also, you need a diet. You must weigh a bloody ton.”
“Seven hundred kilos.” She said. “Diet won’t fix that.”
“It’s a joke, girl.” Doom said and laughed. “What’s up with you?”
“Sorry.” She said and rubbed her eyes. “It’s just... First these two almost get themselves killed.”
“I can’t die.” Kenny corrected.
“And then you tell me you’re working with a cerebrate?”
“Right, yea, that. I’m here ‘cause he’s useful. Or it. Or she for all I know.”
“Have you talked to the cerebrate?”
“Directly? No. Kenny and Waiter have, I’ve been too busy doing your patrols and whatnot, and psionics are Waiter’s job anyway.”
“What does he think?”
“Trustable. The cerebrate is different, he’s far more... Peaceful.”
“...and he works with pirates. Why does that sound strange?”
“Hey, we’re the only ones who don’t give a damn about anything but profit, and all they offered was profit.”
“Point taken. So... Why are you informing me of this? Don’t we have an agreement?”
“Yes, yes. I don’t tell you anything you don’t want to know. As far as you are concerned, we aren’t working on things we shouldn’t be.”
“So why are you telling me this?”
“The cerebrate was the one that organized the zerg attack on Erana’s convoy as a distraction for us. It itself did not participate in the fight and instead chose to collect protoss escape pods to save them. That’s where the protoss on Domus came from. The reason I’m telling you all this is because I want this kid to become official sometime, so that we can give him more support and protection. He'll be far more useful if we can make sure he has all the resources he needs.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Keeva said.
“If done right, it is.” Neal interjected. “It shows the zerg can be peaceful. And I’m sure Aranov wouldn’t mind having someone working for us that can easily infiltrate zerg systems. Yes, this is a really delicate matter, but it might be very beneficial.”
“Point taken.” Keeva said. “So... What now? I guess I should talk to him?”
“Sounds reasonable. Kenny’s with him right now. Once their business is done, I’ll see if he can organize a meet.”
“Also, what did you really find in Dvergar? I’m fairly certain that the footage Kenny gave us is only what you want us to see.”
“As you said, you don’t want to know what we’re up to. Delicate matters and all that. The important thing is that we don’t want to touch that system. Maybe the reasons I gave you aren’t the real ones, but you don’t have to worry about it.” Doom said with a smile as he opened the next bottle. We may have also found some information on the Auruleans, and possibly you... He thought to himself, knowing that revealing that information would only cause problems right now.
Regon City Deiliri, Rasalin System
Nick Reyd was walking down the streets, minding his own business, as he saw a broken down car on the side of the road.
“Sir, could you help me perhaps?” A woman asked. She wasn’t too young, nor too old, and Nick decided to walk over to her.
“Thanks.” She said. “It won’t start anymore.”
Nick looked at the open engine, and for some reason it all made sense to him.
“Can you try and start it again?” He asked, and the woman walked back into the car and started it up.
The engine rumbled and coughed as he examined it. He could see all the heat and energy shift, forces being created, destroyed and counteracted. And yet he knew what was wrong without having to rely on those senses.
“You got a tool kit?” He asked and the woman stopped trying to turn it on.
“Yea, right here.” The woman said and got a toolbox from the trunk.
He opened it, and somehow knew exactly what tool he needed. And it wasn’t some form of supernatural sense.
Maybe it’s my past? He asked himself.
He took the... Tool, used it to unscrew the... Thingy, so that he could look at the... Other thingy which connected to the... Stuff, which led to him finding the problem in the... Third thingy. He took out another tool, hammered the other stuff a bit to loosen a whatchimacallit inside the whatitsname connected to the third thingy, and then he put it all back together.
“Try turning it on now.” He said and looked at the woman, who was staring at something behind him in fear.
He turned around, and saw a dozen of marines. Anger welled up inside him, and he could feel the forces of the universe around them, ready to obey his command, and the insane laughter in his mind returned.
Kill them. The voice called, but he ignored it.
“You’re coming with us.” A ghost uncloaked and said.
“Who are you?” Nick asked, ready to destroy them all.
“Commander Arcus.” The ghost said. “I’m sure you have many questions about... Yourself. If you want answers, you’ll come with me.”
No one tells us what to do. The voice said angrily. Kill him!
No. Nick thought to his... Other self? I want to know what the fuck is going on. Once I have that, then we see what has to be done.
SoA:
Doom has a talk with Keeva and Neal of the Quantum Legion.
Nick Reyd is found by the Aurulean Spec-ops team.
Somewhere between the Protoss research station and Domus, aboard Murkag...
"Kenny, you got a minute?", Adam asked from halfway across the Terran common room.
"Sure. Maybe you can fill me in on what exactly happened, and who your new friend is."
The two headed off into Kenny's room. Even though the AI didn't need to sleep, he had been assigned a room with a bed as his own. It had a Terran computer terminal in it, allowing him easy access to the network. It took Adam about five minutes of non-stop talking to explain exactly what happened, when Kenny asked a question regarding the only thing relevant to him:
"So, this data... what is it, exactly. What did you gain from all this?"
"Apparently the tech describes some kind of 'rotating shield frequency' to strengthen the shields of Protoss ships... with some more work, it could allow them to travel through the Great Wave. That's all I know about it, Amar knows the details, but they're also in our database."
"What do you plan to do with this... 'upgrade?' "
"Well, it's of fairly little use to Murkag, so Dagganoth figured we'd best sell it."
Kenny's eyes flickered for a second.
"Good to hear. I've got you a buyer."
Adam looked confused. "This fast?"
"We've got someone who has been looking for tech like this for quite a while... they'd be sure to pay well for a speedy delivery"
"Very well", Adam replied. "Make it so, then. We'll discuss the details on Domus."
Meanwhile, in another bunk, Amar was sitting by himself on a bed. He did not fit in very well with these Terrans. Their research and habitat was interesting, but he knew this was not the end goal he had in mind.
{Then what is, my newfound Protoss companion?}
Amar felt somewhat delighted at such a swift response. He had anticipated the Cerebrate hearing his thoughts. He had wanted to discuss this.
{While your... Brood is extremely interesting and I've found some companionship in the one they call Bob, I think I prefer being with my people. I have thought about this for a long time now, and I want to join the Wandering Tribes.}
Dagganoth only answered after a couple seconds of silence.
{Very well. It seems you know clearly what you want. I can promise to drop you off among them as soon as is possible. However, this may be quite some time, as it is common knowledge that the Wandering Tribes are hard to be found and I may not have time for such a lengthy detour anytime soon. If you prefer, we can let you leave at Domus so you can conduct the search yourself.}
{That's alright. I can wait. I'm sure your Brood and you will keep my curiosities well satisfied. There is no hurry. Just know I do not intend to make my stay aboard your... companion-vessel permanent.}
{Very well - the choice is yours to make. I can assure you I will do my best to make your... 'stay' a pleasant one.}
With that, the psionic conversation ended. Amar laid down on his bed. Even though it felt strange and alien to him, he felt like getting some rest - recent events had tired him, as interesting as they had been.
SoA
-Adam informs Kenny what happened at the Protoss science station.
-Kenny says he's got a buyer for the Protoss shield tech; details are to be settled upon arrival at Domus.
-Amar informs Dagganoth he does not plan on staying aboard Murkag and intends to join the Wandering Tribes as soon as the situation allows it.
David's quarters, Gambit transport ship, outside Jorin system
David shifted on the hard cot in his room, staring at the dark ceiling above him, as the clock slowly ticked closer to the ship's day-cycle. So much had happened in the past few days and he finally had the time to sit back and relax. And now, of course, his mind raced with the things that he finally had time to think about.
Sighing tiredly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, and his feet touched the cold, metal floor underneath him. He leaned forward, holding his head in his hands as he tried to collect himself.
Suddenly, the ship shook violently, and he slipped from the cot. What in the hell was that? he thought as he stood up and pulled on pants and a shirt. Without time to get fully geared, he climbed up the ladder to get out of his bunk room.
His bare feet slapped against the cold metal as he ran towards the bridge. He looked up at one of the windows out into the blackness of space. It was immediately clear that they were no longer in Hyperdrive. Please tell me it isn't zerg, he hoped. After all, they were flying between protoss and zerg-space right now.
He saw Puck climbing the stairs to the bridge ahead of him and called to him, “Got any ideas?”
Puck stopped and turned towards the captain, waiting for him to catch up. “No idea. Not likely the Hyperdrive went out this fast. It's practically new the way Haley put it together.”
Breezing past Puck and up the stairs, David entered the bridge. “No matter. Check anyway. A problem is a problem and we need to-”
He slowly trailed off and came to a stop as he looked out the bridge windows into the vast expanse of space in front of him. In front of the ship was a massive Terran battlecruiser slowly passing in front of them.
Puck quickly sat in the pilot's seat. “That must have been what pulled us out of Hyperdrive.”
“Hail them and let them know we are here. Then see about getting us out of here.”
Puck punched a few keys on various consoles and was about to request a link when he glanced at their scanners. “Captain?”
David was standing next to him, staring out the window at the battlecruiser. His eyes scanned the ship. What were they doing here? This was far from Terran-space. Surrounded by enemies, it was unlikely that they would be sitting there all alone.
“What is it?”
“I think we've got a problem. Those aren't Terrans.”
“What do you mean?” he asked. And then he saw it.
He noticed the hive structures that bulged out from from the battlecruiser, and the spore crawlers nested in the gun ports. That battlecruiser was zerg-infested.
“Oh shit. Belay that order. Don't make contact. Keep the engines silent. We don't want their sensors to detect us. Have they detected us yet? Are we on a collision course?”
Puck's hands blurred across the pilot's controls. “They haven't shown any signs of contact or detection, and it appears that we will miss them unless they change their course. We will be clear of them in an hour and a half.”
David sighed. “So we wait.” He went over to a console and pushed a few buttons, linking to the ship's intercom. “Attention. This is your captain speaking. All crew personnel report to the bridge immediately.”
It didn't take much time for the rest of the crew to make their way to the bridge.
“As you can see behind me, there is a Terran cruiser here. Turns out, it's zerg-infested,” David said calmly. He waited, letting the severity of the situation sink into each of them. Po'Nath seemed as impassive as ever. Casey narrowed her eyes, obviously not sure what was going on. Haley's eyes widened in fear. Leo sighed, and Dr. Rark got a look of determination.
“They haven't spotted us. They likely won't unless we kick on the engines or Hyperdrive, so we have to wait. We are coasting on by them and we'll be clear of them in an hour and a half. There really isn't much to do if they spot us but hope we can escape before they get a shot off. Puck, you stay here and be ready to kick on the engines and begin evasive maneuvers if they show even a hint of action. Haley, we need you down in the engine so if things start happening you can get the Hyperdrive ready as quickly as possible. Everyone else, go to your bunks and be ready for a bumpy ride. I'll let you know if the situation changes. Dismissed.”
The rest of the crew filed out until David, Puck, and Po'Nath were the only ones left on the bridge.
Po'Nath watched the captain. {Do you plan to tell Executor Khalos of these developments?}
He looked up at the protoss. “You already know I am.”
{I thought it would be polite to ask before saying anything further,} he replied as he made his way to the exit. {I suggest caution when breaking the news. These protoss have been through enough already at the hands of the zerg. They will not take this news very well.} Po'Nath exited the bridge, leaving Puck and David alone.
“I'll keep that in mind,” the captain said under his breath as he left the bridge and made his way to the cargo hold where the protoss were staying. There wasn't enough room in the crew quarters to hold that many people so David had them camp in the hold where they could all be in one place and he could keep an eye on them.
----------Minutes later, in the cargo hold
David entered the cargo hold to a congregation of the protoss, with Executor Khalos in front, waiting for him. Damned telepathic snakes! he thought to himself and nodded respectfully to the Executor.
Khalos's eyes narrowed, and he realized the protoss had heard his thought. {You have something to tell us?}
David looked to the protoss behind Khalos. He could feel the fear radiating off of them. They knew how unsure he was of their safety this close to the infested battlecruiser.
“We have a situation. There is a zerg-infested battlecruiser in our path. It isn't likely to detect us, but we can't reinitiate the Hyperdrive until we are clear of them or they will detect us.”
One of the crowd stepped forward. {We can't stay here! They will see us! They will come for us. You didn't see what they did! We're all going to die! They will rip the flesh from our bones!} David was barraged by the fear radiating from the protoss, and he saw the fear and uneasiness grow in the rest of the group.
Khalos stepped forward. {I will accompany you to the bridge where we can discuss our options,} he said, smoothly assuming command.
The doom-cryer was still gibbering psionically, but he had backed into the crowd again, and the rest of them were looking to Khalos, drawing confidence from his presence.
“I really don't think that is nec-” David began.
{My experience as an Executor will be invaluable if the worst comes to pass,} the protoss said matter-of-factly and walked past him towards the bridge.
------------An hour and a half later, on the bridge
“We're almost out of range, captain,” Puck said.
David looked to the executor, who had stood at the back of the bridge, the entire hour and a half, saying nothing. After a moment the Executor nodded to David and then left the bridge.
“Alright then, get us out of here. Haley!” he opened his link to the Engine Room. “Get ready to initiate the Hyperdrive.”
“Out of sensor range,” Puck confirmed. "Ready to initiate Hyperdrive."
“Haley. Ready... Initiate Hyperdrive.”
----------SoA:
-Filler post: Gambit is pulled out of Hyperdrive by proximity to a Themos Brood infested battlecruiser. Is able to pass by the ship without being detected and gets under way again with only a small delay.
Inside The Gnarled Wolf's Bridge
Grell tapped the 5 number code to the bridge and the door opened, the light glow of the consoles scattered about giving a faint green and red tint throughout the room. Stepping into the familiar setting he looked among the seats seeing only two people here. Mike and third in command Felicia Williams.
“Welcome to the bridge sir.” she said still going over the data from the flight logs.
”Its good to be back.”
Taking a step towards the commanders seat he looked it over. It sat raised above all others in the center of the room. It had been designed that way so that the man in charge could lead from a position of authority, a design that had came with this older ship design. Swinging the chair around he took a seat and set his fingers on the keyboard infront of him. Typing in a list of the commands onto it data began to pour from the computer about the ship status.
“Alright Mike bring us out of jumpspeed in 30.”
“Already set and done, we should see the view soon.”
Grell, was still looking over the ship diagnostics when the lights flickered and dimmed, gravity lessened to less then half the normal, and the feeling of nasua set in from the sudden change in acceleration. In only a few seconds time all went back to normal the frontal screens coming on to show the view. Three Planets were visible, the last being to far away for such a broad capture to see it in any detail. The ones controlled by Tirion Republic were obvious with immense shipyards over them. Space cranes, and stations seemed to be working nonstop on the construction of a new capital ship in the works. Takeing all this in one would believe the death star could have been built there. Residing rather close were they came out of hyperspace, a cool blue planet had only a small space-station atop it, the ground inhabitants below obviously only just beginning to get a colony up.
“Sir we are being contacted by the Tirion BattleCruiser Deathstar, they want to know our business here.” Felicia said now looking at Grell.
Typing in a line of commands he forwarded his info to the battleship.
“Continue towards the planet Tennos, we should have no more trouble.”
“aye aye.”
The old ship moved forward silent in the depths of space. It moved closer to the massive shipyards and planet showing the scope of the operation up close. A zoomed in view of the planet showed it was lush with green forests and covered in oceans. The beautiful scene however was abit ruined by the popping up of cities distributed among the planet. The larger ones had even began a green flow spreading out in the oceans. He looked over the areas on the planet not knowing were they were going due to Mikes secrecy.
“Alrighty Mike, the dropships prepped I know that much, but were the hell are we going?”
The image on his screen zoomed to a major city near the ocean, constant streams of aircraft and ships in the water streamed in and out of the area. Skyscrapers loomed from the center of the city, the edges seemed to be largely used for housing and similar.
Mike began by highlighting one of the taller buildings which was a curved design elevators visibly running the side of its length. It glowed with activity, two of the levels even held their own landing pads.
“This is the building we will be going to, it is the area where much of the trade agreements and higher ups rest with the last say in decisions.”
“Very poetic, take us into a stable orbit-.” he tapped the coordinates into his console “at this location. You will also have the ship till me and Mike get back, take care of her.”
“Yesir I wont crash her into anything you wouldn't.”
“That scares me.” he said to himself now leaving the bridge with Mike at his side.
Dropship Heading towards Tennos
Mike had gotten the cloths ready for this meeting, they now both sat dressed up in suits while riding the dropship meant for soldier down to the planet. Checking it over Grell pulled at the tie abit hating how it hugged his neck.
“Common man, do not mess up your tie. This is an important meeting to get some extra forces on our side.”
“Yea, yea. First time I actually have to wear this suite aswell. If not for the importance of this 'diplomacy' I would of tore it off seconds ago.”
“Well try to hold out atleast till we have a solid deal with the man.”
“Aw so you do know who we are dealing with. So we playing good cop bad cop?”
“Just leave the diplomacy part to me, you can come in with major suggestings. I know you wont fail in that aspect.”
“Ofcourse not, you handle the pretty words I handle the big-bangs.”
They both began to laugh when the speaker for the dropship came on, and a female voice began to talk.
“Alright we are landing, when can I expect to pick you boys up from your little party?”
“I say about 3 hours if we are lucky.” Mike stated as he got up and grabbed the bar next to the bay door.
The ship decelerated steadying out and a light thump was heard as the ship made contact with the pad. Getting up, Grell fixed his tie and joined his friend as the landing ramp extended and they stepped out into the bright world. Looking up one could see flying vehicles zooming by, the sound of work was all around, it was industry at its finest. Taking a sudden dislike to the world Grell looked at Mike and gestured towards the building.
“Well gentleman first my friend.” and they proceeded in.
Inside Tirion Headquarters
“Mike, we have been waiting here an hour. I understand you have contacts, but aren’t we abit higher than some nobodies waiting for the higher classes as they sip there expensive water?”
“Grell, you and I both know they don't like pirates, they probably would not have even seen us if it were not for the importance of claiming these worlds back from the Outsiders. So don’t complain and wait for us to get in.”
Letting out a sigh Grell stood and went over to a nearby window watching the ships go by. A moment later the door to the office opened and a woman came out to meet them. She wore a black dress, with a pair of exotic red high heels. Grell looked her over and though keeping a nuetral expression, knew she was a trained killer.
“We are sorry for the wait, Mr. Hendman man is now ready to see you both now.”
Walking over to Mike, whom stood up,checked his tie, and gave a curt nod to Grell and they both followed the woman. She led them up a small flight of stairs to a tall area of the building leading to the top.
“Enter through that door there and when you are finished I shall escort you out.” she said opening the door for both of them.
The inside of the office was quiet different then Grell had expected, the walls were lined with components of machinery, gun batteries, even what seemed to be a piece of the original siege tank design. The man sitting behind the desk in the center of the room turned from the open view of the city from the glass window behind and closely observed the two of them. He seemed to be in his older 60's a the beginning of grey showing on his beard and in his thinning hair.
“Please have a seat both of you.” he said gesturing to the two chairs which rose up from the ground in an odd fashion that almost seemed like they hovered. Grell took his seat with Mike close behind.
“Now you gentleman are here for important reasons I know, but I will say I do not expect much of your kind.” he said, taking a cigar out from behind his desk.
“Well I believe we both share a common interest, as you and I both know the recent movement of the Outsiders has not only cost the loss of your world, but of Aranov's, and Magrathean's aswell.”
Lighting the cigar he took a puff of it and thought it over. “Yes, you come to make an offer for our support none the less. I can understand you would like a fleet, but tell me what is it we gain from this?”
“The outsiders have been a nuisance nonetheless. Taking them down here and know will crush any counters they could pursue on other worlds, and get you back the planet you once held. Im sure you can see the strategic value in this aswell.”
“Yes I do, but I have no reason to send my people into such a danger. They took over the three planets that resided in the system and are no doubt setting up defenses against a counter attack of such.” He let out another plume of smoke watching it drift into the air and fade. Grell tired of this mans weakness leaned forward and spoke.
“So you will do nothing but let your own colony be kept by those rouges. I say either you step in to support us or gain us the support we need.”
“So trudge off to war blindly with you and your legion of pirates is the answer? No I don't think I will do that. As of what I have seen you have some pirate fleets at your disposal, and that heap of junk in orbit you call a ship. I will not help you in any way if that’s all you have going for you.”
“You seem to be to stuck on your belief of me and my friend here. Are you to blind to realise that your planet was attacked and ripped from your grasp by the outsiders. I think you also underestimate my ships and mens capabilities. If you refuse to take back this planet, your letting the Outsiders have not only your planet, but your allies aswell. Who says they wont use that as a staging point to gain even more ground.”
“Yet I dont see you and your zealous pirates coming in to take back a planet. Conflicts with the Zerg and Protoss could already cut us short as it is.”
“This will cut into you, allow for them to hit you when your weakest. This war has shone that people don't unite when global conflicts arise, it makes them greedy and separate from others. I am offering a chance to git rid of your Outsider problem, and give you back your land. I am only asking for your support!”
“Then tell me how do you plan on taking back these planets. I don't assume you will gun-ho rush them in hope of winning.”
Mike cleared his throat and brought up some plans on his datapad showing the combined power of the pirate ships and Tirion support.
“I believe that by using the pirates on an assault on there main base of operations, and the support ships along with our flagship leading a second flanking assault on the second planet will allow us to in quick succession take back these planets. The problem is our current numbers will not be sufficient, or will causes more loses than necessary.”
“Also due to the use of bunkers and infantry tanks will give us a significant advantage against the cannon-fodder infantrymen they have. With some precision drops from medivacs having a tanks get into position and a slow push forward with marines and the pirate forces we should be able to quickly move in and lockdown the area.” Grell responded
“I see.” he looked over the plans, checking over the data not twice, but three times to get it through his head. He took another huff of his cigar then looked at the two of them.
“You will have my support, but I do have something on the Outsiders that might interest you.” He tapped onto his desks console sending the specifics of one of the outsider ships to Mikes datapad.
Grell leaned towards his friend to look over the ship, wondering what was in store.
“The ship you see there is a Tirion design, a prototype we were testing before the attack on the system. If possible I need you to board the ship, get any relevant data, then either capture or destroy the vessel.”
Mike checked it over then realized the sheer strength of the ships hull. Though it was lighter on weapons and armor then most ships, the hulls strength was magnificent.
“Mr. Hendman, I believe this will be a hard job to do.” he said seeing the ships defences.
“Yes, but you are pirates and I'm sure you have plenty of ways to crack into a ship and steal. it.”
Grell smirked abit and got up, walking towards Hendman's seat, offering his hand. “We have a deal Mr. Hendman.” And they settled the deal with a firm handshake.
Entering Loading Bay of Gnarled Wolf
The dropship landed and Grell stepped out his suit unbuttoned, his tie no were to be seen.
“I can finally breath again, its good to be back aboard the ship.”
Mike still tapped the commands on his pad making sure everything was in order.
“Sir.” he began.”what shall we do with the Tirion support?”
“They will follow us to the Dinari system so we can get either some Aranov support or push him for more Tirion support. I want to leave system immediately so we can get their soon as possible, this waiting for a battle is killing me.”
“Alright sir it'll be done soon.”
“I know, ill be in my room if you need me, and make sure the new pilot does not ruin the ship, understood?”
“completely sir.”
“Good, seeya Mike.”
SoA: Grell arrived at Fyrad system and finished negotiations with the Tirions. This has gained him 1 Tirion support which is following him to the Danari system. Grell has lost his tie.
Murkag lightly landed in a clearing just outside a small, dilapidated research base and opened its maw to allow Dagganoth’s Avatar, Kenny and Adam out onto the planet.
“Why are we going out to talk to this guy, again?” Adam queried, looking nervously about at the post-apocalyptic landscape about them. “Couldn’t the two of you just talk it out psychicly?”
{Orloth, upon realizing I made regular companions of Terrans, requested a more formal meeting. He is known for such eccentricities, as are all of his kind.}
“‘His kind’ being Infested Terrans?”
{Indeed. The former Prophets of Baal are all quite … odd.}
The Avatar led them to a building, where the closest wall had fallen away to reveal a well furnished conference room in easy view of the Leviathan behind them. Inside the room, sat an Infested Terran in a long grey coat spinning idly in one of the office chairs. As the party entered, the Prophet leapt to his feet and happily welcomed them all.
"Dagganoth! you have quite exquisite taste to make yourself an envoy. I am so pleased that you would make this allowance for me. Quite nice, and your Terran friends, would you mind introducing them to me?"
{Certainly. I believe you might know the man over there. His name is Kenny, and he could be called my acquaintance among Doom's pirates. The younger man's name is Adam. I consider him somewhat of a personal friend.}
Kenny frowned at Dagganoth’s indiscretion, "Well, so much for subtlety"
Orloth slowly circled the terrans, inspecting them closely, ”Cerebrates are not familiar with the social formalities, it is rare to find one that will even participate, but as we’ve already passed the social niceties we may as well proceed? Don’t you think, Kenny of Doom's Pirates? I believe I've heard of them; the Coalition's own rag-tag army of ruffians, no?" Regardless, Dagganoth, I wish to know plainly why you are here. Are you ratting me out to the Terrans in return for their good will now?"
Kenny quickly looked at the Avatar, speaking forcefully, "That'd be awfully rude, wouldn't it?"
{I don't know. That would depend on Kenny and you. Doom has treated me well so far, but so have you - I would not like to have to pick a side here.}
Kenny quickly picked up the conversation before it could get much worse, "Well, there won't necessarily be one to pick. I'm just here ‘cause the Auruleans are making a fuss. I believe you know these used to be their planets? They wanted us to check up on them because of a certain situation that happened in Protoss space recently."
Orloth quirked his head and studied Kenny intently, "Yes, I heard of that; it caused quite the uproar in our circles as well."
Adam couldn’t help but smirk quietly to himself, and continued to watch the proceedings as Orloth turned his attention once more to Dagganoth. "So you led them here in hopes that we might find common ground? Was that your aim Dagganoth?” As the Avatar did not seem to answer fast enough for him, the Infested turned his attention back to Kenny, “Interesting, so Kenny, considering that I might just decide to kill you any way to not have to deal with the problem, what would an understanding with the Pirates get me?" Orloth queried as he lightly dropped into a chair and spun around, clearly enjoying this interrogation immensely.
"Well, killing me would get you a fleet on your doorstep. This entire conversation is being streamed to my ship at the moment. You'd probably also be called a bastard.” Kenny stated, still quite calm. “Now, we actually are not in favor of picking a fight with the zerg. We make more money if we don't actually have any casualties due to full out war. And we don't like the Auruleans either. So, in terms of what I can get you... I can easily fake info on this system to make it look like something you don’t want to attack, yet won't be a threat if left alone. If you want more, the question is what can *you* offer?"
Orloth stopped his spinning suddenly a leaned forward to watch Kenny closely, "You don't like the Auruleans?"
Kenny shrugged, "Bunch of arrogant pricks, think themselves superior to everyone and just go on and on about the zerg."
"Hmmm.... interesting. I want to show you something." The Infested suddenly leapt to his feat and left the room leaving Kenny and Adam staring blankly. With Dagganoth’s light psionic assurance, the three of them quickly followed into the depths of the building. They didn’t have to go far before they stumbled upon Orloth attempting to boot up an old computer.
Kenny stepped forward to help, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a wrist mounted computer. "I'm an IT specialist, tell me what you need."
"Most of the physical evidence I'vecollected happens to be a planet over, but I can keep what files I have managed to find on this." The infested handed Kenny a small data disc, which Kenny’s arm promptly scanned and started displaying information in the air between the two of them.
"Interesting..." Kenny mumbles as he looks over the data. "Still pricks though."
"I've been trying to figure out that little puzzle for a while now. I can get you the rest of what I've collected, if you are interested. I'd be pleased to know what you think of it."
"I'll gladly help you look into this.” Kenny responded, still going over the data, “Would make perfect blackmail material the next time they try and force me to go scout an infested system. No offense."
"None taken. Consider this then an Olive branch. A little bit of dirty laundry, in exchange for leaving me alone. If my presence here were to become common knowledge, it would force me to make certain moves I am not fond of making."
“Alright then,” Kenny closed up the holographic display.
“And Dagganoth!” Orloth turned to direct the Avatar, “I have reason to believe Lilith may have a spy on board your ship. Find it, pick it up, and make sure it is fed with a silver spoon. I don’t want that witch knowing that I may be talking with the Terrans. She could easily use that information against the both of us.”
{Lillith? On my ship? Doesn't she only deal in infesteds?}
“Not exclusively, No. And it is rather easy for a lightly infested individual to act as a spy. I know she keeps tabs on Terran goings on with a small army of them.”
{Hmmm... perhaps we can use this to our advantage?}
"I've got a *really* good telepath that might be able to spare some time." Kenny suggests.
Orloth nodded, “I could take care of it myself, but it would only be redirecting the psionic link to myself.”
{That may be preferable, It would allow easy communication between us. I do not feel that I could manage to keep the spy as carefully handled as you seem to be suggesting. If I may ask, how did you know about the spy?}
“We still talk. She likes to brag.” Orloth intoned, almost wistfully, earning another smirk from the erstwhile Adam. “You are also lacking a few key components to your brood, we should talk about trading certain strains.”
Kenny broke in, "Well, while you two discuss boring stuff, I need a lift to get an aerial view of things."
Orloth bowed at the pirate in amusement, “It will be done, I will give you an entourage that will see to your needs. Now where were we?”
SOA: Conversation between Orloth, Kenny and Dagganoth.
Aboard the Terran transport ship approaching Murkag, Dvergar System
Murkag was again loaded. With the new DNA plans Dagganoth had obtained for both the Viper and the Overseer several of the beings had been created in co-operation with Orloth, and the Garamar Brood was again that much stronger. Kenny boarded the Terran transport ship and looked out of the window as it took off for Murkag, who would in turn make its way back to Domus.
"So, you're basically a computer then?"
Apart from the pilot of the transport ship, only Adam and Kenny were located in it - it seemed Adam had come to pick Kenny up.
"Depends on the definition of "you" and "computer". I'm everything from this body to the entire pirate fleet."
-"That seems like quite a lot... you must be busy then"
"As I said, I'm the entire fleet. There's more than enough processing power to go around. It's hard to truly be busy."
-"I used to be an accountant... it must seem silly for you to have one person just handle some economic functions."
"Nah. People make mistakes, I don't. No mistakes, nothing to exploit. Would make my job a lot harder."
-"If you don't make mistakes, why are you still tied to Waiter, and.... was his name 'Doom'? Especially for a pirate AI, it'd make sense you create your own realm?"
"It does, doesn't it? And it keeps people wondering. I don't know if you've noticed by now, but I like messing with people. If I were to run to show by myself, I wouldn't have anyone to mess with, would I?"
-"Then why do those two trust you?"
"Doom Bonecrusher comes from a family of pirates that can be traced back to the stone age, and the only place where "trust" shows up in that family tree is at "Untrustworthy Bonecrusher", son of "Bitch Bonecrusher" and "Liar Bonecrusher". Darth Waiter is an eight century old protoss ex-ecutor with telepathic powers beyond your imagining, he can manipulate anyone he wants. Then there's me, the super AI that likes messing with people. I think the better question is, why do *you* guys trust *us*?"
Adam smirked.
-"For a lack of better, I'm guessing. Trust seems hard to come by these days. Speaking of which, what d'you think of this Orloth figure?"
"He's odd. But he seems to be a potential ally or asset. No zerg leader would have given me this info and most would have just killed me on the spot. They aren't too fond of the Pirates - While Aranov was playing defense, we were the ones hitting the back lines during the war."
-"Are there any Zerg 'fond' of pirates? Aside from Dagganoth, maybe."
"Well, I'm not really in contact with them, mostly because I assume "no""
-"So how do you feel about Dagganoth? I'd like to say I'm asking you one Terran to another, but eh... still, this'd be as close as it gets outside of our group."
As Adam glanced out of the window he barely caught Kenny's eyes rapidly switching colours as the AI thought for a good ten seconds.
"At the very least, he's useful. Waiter finds him intriguing, and Doom only cares about rum, money and efficiency, and Dagga seems to be doing the latter quite well. I, personally, don't really have an opinion. Not because I'm an AI - I got opinions on lots of things, like cheese and republicans, but I don't really have anything to say. You guys are interesting, but I find the lack of technology awkward while traveling with you."
-"I can imagine... must be akward for an AI to be immersed in a flying sack of flesh. I never thought something like our compartments could be possible, though. I have to hand it to him; his 'symbiosis' seems to work as efficiently as you guys credit him for."
"Yea, I was pretty surprised to see this. Definitely well made, especially when you consider that zerg probably don't have architecture studies."
Adam smiled.
-"Zerg and Terran tech combined... who knows what might come from that."
With that the transport ship flew back into Murkag and attached itself to the third stomach with a sucking sound. Murkag once again came into motion...
SoA
-Dagganoth has bought Viper and Overseer tech from the Fenguar Brood, along with some additional units.
-Murkag is heading back to Domus; 6 posts/days until arrival.
-Flavour: Kenny and Adam talk.
New Aiur, Imperial Council Chambers
Fear. It was everywhere, lurking just beneath the surface. Like a suppressed buoy, ready to break the water line. Most did not know it: it was just felt, a vague sense of unease and anxiety. But it was omnipresent. Such was the nature of the Khala. Even the centuries of neglect hadn't yet eliminated the almost involuntary pooling of emotion among Khalai. At least, Odranos thought, in the Imperium.
As for those who knew the source and reason of the fear, they were silent. Stunned. Afraid. Indecisive. Everything leaders should not be. The only reason Odranos wasn't criticizing the Council in the privacy of his own thoughts was that those same thoughts were far more preoccupied with what had happened.
Unlike his fellow Councilors, however, he was not dumbstruck. He was afraid, yes. And surprised. And many other things. But centuries of experience allowed him to push such obnoxious feelings out of the way and think.
So the rebels were cooperating with the zerg. It was not a coincidence. Somehow, the two factions had come to some sort of twisted agreement. No permanent alliance: that was too extreme, even for the Order. Perhaps they both wanted Erana out of the Imperium's grasp. Perhaps the zerg had merely wanted to harm the Imperium. Perhaps the zerg were somehow baited into attacking the convoy. It did not matter.
The implications were what mattered. The first zerg attack in four years had attacked ships carrying the one protoss most responsible for their defeat. It happened right in the middle of Imperial space, resulted in the destruction of four Imperial ships, the death of Executor Sevethrun and was coordinated with the Order. This was change. A turning point. Only a fool would think otherwise.
As if to confirm Odranos' thoughts, Khanyr decided to be the first to speak: "{We... we have known for a while now that the zerg could move freely within our space. Even though this latest incident was only a chance encounter it proves that our space is... insecure.}"
Odranos stared at Khanyr. It was amazing. In his fear of decisions, the old fool was choosing one fearful explanation over a worse alternative. He wanted to believe that the attack was a "chance encounter" so strongly that he ignored everything that proved otherwise: the facts, the probability, the obvious. He was so scared of a serious threat that Odranos could smell his fear. He was in denial. And the rest of the fools seemed to be relaxing now, as if they had all wanted to hear the same thing but were afraid of saying it.
For the first time in many years, Odranos felt himself becoming genuinely angry. Angry at the Council's stupidity, at their cowardice, angry that hundreds of protoss had died and these damn fools were attributing it to a chance encounter to avoid the fatal, black truth. Even Umar and Naren, the impulsive "warriors" of the Council, seemed to agree with Khanyr. Even they seemed to fear the zerg. Even they didn't want to face them. Even...
Odranos lowered all of his mental barriers. His rage spread from his being to the Khala like a flood of fire. The rest of the Council turned towards him, alerted by his unthinkable emotional surge. But before they could respond, before they could blame him for what had happened to Erana, as he knew they would, before they could spout more ignorant, imbecilic nonsense, he rose from his seat, violently and purposefully.
But he didn't get far. The ground shook beneath him. The chambers suddenly became cold, the air dry. For the briefest of moments, he could make out a crack in the middle of the room. And then, he was sent flying, almost blinded by brilliant blue light.
The last thing he saw was his shield giving out in a flurry of sparks. The last thing he felt was his body colliding with a wall. The last thing he knew was the briefest, most profound silence. Then the darkness closed in around him.
Relief.
SoA
Ka-boom
Bridge of Gambit, Sindiris system
“Deactivating Hyperdrive,” Puck said as the blackness around the ship stabilized into the familiar star-studded expanse of space. This transition was much smoother than the forced deactivation earlier in the trip.
David looked out the windows of the ship into the system of Sindiris. It didn't take him long to see the protoss ships in the systems, and there were a lot of them.
“Cap'n, they've locked on. Something's got them mighty jumpy.”
“I see it. Now let's just hope they ask who we are before they start shooting... Three... Two... One...”
As if on cue, the terminal in front of David blinked as the psychic translators received the signals from the fleet, and he quickly tapped the channel open.
{This is Imperator Madron. Identify yourself, or you will be hunted down and destroyed.} The hard 'voice' of the protoss commanded authority, and David was glad he had a good reason to be there. They weren't likely to shoot him down with their own people on board. He hoped.
“Hey there. This is Captain Kanaro, of the transport ship Gambit. We are transporting some of your people from Domus. They are-”
The Imperator's eyes narrowed, and David cringed a little. Now he'd done it.
{You have survivors from the battle on the edge of the Ilyr system!?} He could feel the anger and out-rage coming out of the terminal. {That is impossible! Prove this.}
David blinked. He quickly pulled up the passenger manifest and sent it across. “I've sent over the-”
{I do not want to see your treacherous 'manifest',} the Imperator said with scorn. {A document can easily be faked or modified. Let me speak to Khalos.}
Once again he was surprised, until he realized the Imperator had read his mind.
“I'll get right on that, sir. Give me a moment,” David said quickly, putting the Imperator on hold. As the screen shrank into the corner of the screen, he stood up and started to move towards the cargo hold. “Damn protoss. Puck, keep us from getting shot until I get back.”
“What do you expect me to do? Shadow puppets?” he asked as David left the bridge and moved quickly down the hallway. Po'Nath stepped out of a side corridor as he passed it.
{Greetings, captain,} the protoss said with the complete calm that always unnerved him. {I take it the negotiations are going well?}
“Well, they haven't shot us yet,” David said as he exited the corridor and out of sight.
------Interesting, Po'Nath thought as he shifted his gaze to the bridge of the ship. After a moment, he stepped onto the bridge. He nodded to Puck, who nodded back, as he moved over to the terminal. He selected the Imperator's link to the Gambit and opened it.
After a few moments, the Imperator's face reappeared on the screen. Madron's eyes narrowed, {You aren't Khalos. Who are you?}
Po'Nath bowed his head, {I am but a hand in the arm of the Empire.}
This time, it was the Imperator that was surprised, but he knew that the Imperator would not trust him so easily. {I am a member of the crew of this ship. Shall we say... a liaison between this ship and our people.}
{Can you verify this Kanaro's claims? Are there survivors aboard that ship? Are you one of them?}
{I am not. But yes, these are survivors from that.} Po'Nath punctuated the last word sharply, the only time his voice changed it's inflection.
Madron nodded. {Shuttles are en route to bring them aboard. After our people are away, you will be escorted to a dock where you can resupply.}
{En Taro Tassadar, Imperator.}
{En Taro Tassadar.}
Po'Nath put the channel back on hold. Puck was watching him warily. He had carefully shielded his voice from reaching the terran, and he was sure the Imperator had as well.
He nodded to the human, and then left the bridge as David came up the stairs to the bridge, with Khalos behind him. He met eyes with the other protoss as they passed each other, and Po'Nath bowed his head to him. Khalos returned the gesture and then followed the captain onto the bridge.
--------David stepped up to the terminal again and opened the call. Almost immediately, the Imperator reappeared. He stepped away from the terminal and gestured Khalos towards it. The protoss stepped in front of the screen and inclined his head.
{En Taro Tassadar, Imperator.}
{En Taro Tassadar, Khalos.} Madron returned. {I can see that the captain did not lie, unless you are held against your will?}
{Captain Kanaro was gracious enough to provide us with passage here even though we had nothing to offer him.}
Imperator Madron nodded. {How many are with you?}
{There are 18 of us in total.}
Suddenly the Imperator's eyes widened, and the channel went blank. Khalos seemed to recoil from something, and stepped away from the terminal.
“Is there a problem?” David asked tentatively.
Khalos turned to him, and he took a step back. Is that terror?
The protoss turned back to the terminal as it blinked back on.
{There are shuttles en route to retrieve you and make sure that the captain has been true to his word. Barring an issue, he will be escorted to dock where he will be able to resupply, free of charge. We will also provide an extra bonus of resources in payment for your help. We ask that you do not leave your ship after docking for your own safety. We will contact you to load the supplies.} The screen blinked out almost before he finished speaking.
David blinked. What is going on?
Khalos turned and left without a word, leaving both Puck and David on the bridge.
---------SoA:
- Gambit arrives in Sindiris and is intercepted by one of the Imperium's fleets.
- Gambit is paid 5 points for the transport of the refugees and they are dropped off with the fleet
- Po'Nath is more than he appears to be
- Gambit and its crew are now stuck in the mass panic
Aboard a Terran transport ship approaching Barkanos, Davir system, roughly 7 years ago from recent events
"...I read ya man, but... Hammer: ya really think it'll be better down there?"
Private Johnson looked Corporal Spazinky in the eyes as he asked.
-"We'll be at a bit of a fringe world, sure. But I wouldn't have taken this opportunity if I didn't believe in it.
Jack Spazinsky had always been a bold and reassuring man. Growing up without a father had made him confident enough to be like that. He knew that if something needed to be done, he'd probably need to do it himself - and he knew he could do it. After this stoic attitude had led him into a barfight on his home planet of Deiliri, an Aurulean offical who saw his handywork had recommended he sign up for the military.
Though Spazinsky's bold and can-do attitude caused him to raise quickly through the Aurulean ranks, he ended up deserting the army looking for a better purpose. In doing so, he had come across newly recruited private Johnson who had followed his example. After accidentally stumbling upon an advertisement that had private defense job openings for a newfound independant colony the two had signed up and left quickly. After a few weeks of travel, they now found themselves approaching the planet that would soon be their home.
"Johnson, we are warriors. You and me... we thrive in situations like these. A new uncharted planet will have to cope with dangers. Men like you and me can deal with those dangers."
-"But don't you ever doubt yaself, Hammer?"
"Look around."
Private Johnson looked around himself. To his left was a man seemingly lost in thoughts - mindless distractions that he knew could cost you your life on the battlefield. Next to him were two men: a burly seated character with a large moustache and a scrawny standing person. The first looked incapable of fast movement while the second would be knocked out by a simple Gauss Rifle's recoil. On the benches across from the thinking person were three Terrans discussing the applications of hair located on hindpaws. Johnson finished his round and looked back at Spazinsky, seeing a sharp aware glance in his eyes, arms ready to grab and throw the nearest object and a body that looked like it could easily endure a car crash. He didn't reply but grinned instead. He understood.
As the transport ship set down, the pair of talking men left first, followed by the man who had seemed lost in his own thoughts. As Spazinsky saw Johnson walk out, he noticed the private's body weaken and his stride disolving into a lazy stroll. Spazinsky knew Johnson well enough to immediately knew something was wrong - the man never let his guard down this sudden in a situation like this one. In less than a second, his sidearm was in his hand and he lurched out of the transport in order to make a break for the nearest piece of cover. As soon as he left the relative safety of the metal ship, the harsh sun shined brightly into his eyes as Jack Spazinsky felt his thoughts fade from his mind.
SoA
-Flavour: fleshing out Jack Spazinsky through his original arrival to the mind controlled colony on Barkanos.
((Akka, I'm glad you joined. Your posts are awesome to read and I'm loving your story. Keep it up!))
Apoca, Dimitri’s Hideout
Dimitri grinned, the poor suckers that had entered his poker table tonight had brought most of their savings and he had made sure they would not be leaving with them, then just as he was about to reveal his hand the door exploded in green flames and a sour acidic smell filled the room.
His guests vanished out the back door with their money so fast; he could have sworn they had just warped out of there.
Looking towards the destroyed doorway however Dimitri wished he could have gone the same way, but his obligations to Runa kept him in his chair as she stepped through the wrecked doorway.
“You have gone far above the 5 days I gave you Dude, now where are my information?”
“Runa what a pleasant surprise do you want some-“
Dimitri never got to finish the sentence as Runa grabbed him by the throat.
“I have been more than a bit patient with you Dude, now where are my information”
Gasping for air, Dimitri pulled out a small folder and dropped it on the desk, at which point Runa dropped him to the floor, grabbed the folder and started to read the folder.
“Is this all you managed to dig up?”
“Not much information lying about on that thing, it is at least partially Protoss after all”
Runa shrugged and kept reading.
“So this is materials used in its construction I guess, seeing as most of this is shipping manifests for a ridiculous amount of metal and ammunition” “That would be correct, notice how they don’t have a destination?”
“Classified, seems like I need to talk to someone in the know, which could be problematic”
“Afraid I can’t help you there, only reason I can still operate in this cesspool are because I am the only entertainment these fools have access to, the local big wigs would stamp me out instantly if they found out I were here”
“Obviously... hmm? What’s this, it looks like a...”
“It’s the Arken during early construction”
“I still think it looks like a-“
“I know”
“Dude, do you think they realized-“
“Pretty sure they did”
“That’s just-”
“I know”
Runa cleared her throat.
“Anyway, clearly I need to locate someone with stronger connections, consider the fact I don’t kill you right here and now for your delays, repayment for the information in full, and then some”
Dimitri clenched his fists in anger but nodded in agreement. “Oh, one last thing Dude”
“Yes?”
“I need a space worthy craft, don’t need to be big nor fast, but it needs to have clearance to leave the planet”
Dmitri’s mood lightened immediately.
“Consider it done!”
“Good, I will be back for it tomorrow”
With those parting words Runa left and headed back to the abandoned shed she used as a hideout, as she contacted Ferrog about her imminent departure.
SOA:
Talking, talking and more talking, I need some action....
Inside the asteroid field near Domus
Yet again Murkag approached the asteroid city of Domus, staying just outside of detection range to hide behind a particularly large meteor. As it got into position, the Terran transport ship left to drop both Adam and Kenny back, also holding a large part of the Terran crew. Kenny had wired more 'funds' to Adam's newfound 'account', allowing the Brood to restock on supplies.
Back inside the behemoth, something different was going on. Jack Spazinsky was working out in the small but empty gym. He had been present on the last visit to Domus, but by now everyone seemed to have gotten acquinted enough with the situation to go there in small groups. Sarah had joined Adam and Spazinsky knew they'd be able to handle themselves. Jack had decided he wasn't needed right now and figured he could take some time for his own activities. It was at that moment the door opened and a somewhat old man came in.
"Corporal Spazinsky?"
"Jack, Bob. That, or Hammer. I've told you before."
The old man snickered.
"I don't know what it is with you soldiers and your nicknames."
"You wouldn't understand. No offense. What's up?"
"You should come with me. I've got something you might like."
As the old man left, Jack got up and followed him to the laboratory.
"Dagganoth has been a good host. He has been trying to keep track of us and find ways to keep us all individually busy. If you ask me, he may have gotten tired of the fact that Zerg don't need to take much action to keep them busy when traveling."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, the Cerebrate has been psionically monitoring us from time to time, and he seems to have conversed with several members of our group in order to make our stay more interesting when we're not exploring or researching. He knows for instance that Adam has a knack for diplomacy and an interest in exploring, and that's why he has turned him into this kind of spokesperson."
"Great... what does this have to do with me?"
"He's been trying to do the same for you, he's just had a hard time doing so. He knows your heart is in the right place, but he also knows you're a fighter. After some time he eventually asked my help..."
Jack didn't respond. Bob Gentry flicked a switch and through some pulses in the wall a light went on behind him. As Jack turned around, he noticed some kind of odd contraption lying on the table. It mostly resembled some kind of robotic hand with pulsating veins growing throughout it. Jack blinked and looked a tad stupified.
"Not the reaction I'd been hoping for... Why don't you try it on?"
Bob moved over to the table, picked up the contraption and held it in front of Jack. Some kind of handle that was clearly meant to be held by a hand stuck out and Jack instinctively grabbed a hold of it. Immediately several things happened at once.
He felt a cold chill slither quickly from his neck to the back of his head. The metallic skin of the object rapidly grew up his arm and over his shoulder. Jack suddenly felt like his arm had completely transformed as the ending of the robot hand now turned into a gun barrel. He also immediately knew what this was, as the whole thing suddenly made sense - it was as if he had suddenly been reminded that this was a bicycle and that he could cycle. He spun the arm around, aimed it at the distance and instinctively shot out something green and small. The apparently living organism stuck out a limb, caught itself on a microscope standing on a table and used the momentum of his speed to fly right back at Jack, jumping onto his shoulder.
"Brilliant...", was all Jack could utter.
"You get it now? It's a biological form of Terran technology. I've been working with Dagganoth to create this prototype and have dubbed it 'biosteel'. It works only on you, through the parasite living in your body: it allows the biosteel to detect your unique Terran-Zerg physiology. The gun has two modes; it either launches bullets like a standard issue Gauss rifle you'll be used to, or you can store and launch a number of what I've dubbed Terlings."
Bob held out his hand and the small green organism jumped on it, allowing Jack to get a better look at it. It looked mostly like a terrifically mutated monkey - its body was green and slimy and it had a round mouth full of teeth. It didn't look too threatening in its current state though, and seemed to contently jump up and down.
"These little fellows were mostly Dagganoth's work, and I have to say I admire them from a scientific point of view. They can spit a corrosive acid that burns through weaker armor, heal wounds by secreting slime and generally assist you in battle. They're also very cute and I've found they make great lab assistants. In fact, there's nearly nothing they can't do".
Bob grinned.
"They're grown -"
"In the ammo compartment of the arm. I know, Bob".
Jack looked up at Bob. He seemed like he had missed out Bob's entire story admiring his 'new arm'. He knew everything being said - the arm just felt so natural to him.
"Yeah... I guess you do. Anyway - Dagganoth figured that to keep you happy, you'd need to see the ocassional battle and figured this was the safest and best way to put you to use. This arm's only a prototype, but given time and resources I think we can fashion an entire armor out of biosteel. Imagine what you could do behind a line of Dagganoth's Zerglings!".
When he had first arrived on Murkag, Jack had still found the co-operation with the Zerg somewhat odd. Not anymore. As he released the handle the biosteel retracted and went back to form the strange, robotized hand. Dagganoth had found a way to make infestation temporarily and voluntary. If there was any good cause, this'd be it. He would be proud to back up a line of Zerglings, the like of which he had once dreaded. As he turned to Bob, words failed to describe the gratitude he now felt for the old man and the ever-present Cerebrate. They weren't needed though - they knew. Bob smiled as Jack slowly nodded and left the laboratory.
Domus
As the crowd near the Terran transport ship started to dissipate with everybody going off for a little 'shore leave', Adam turned to Kenny.
"Kenny, there's something more we need to talk about."
"Well, I've got all day, possibly longer."
"Alright... this should be something you and your crews could be interested in - money."
"Yes, that does sound fairly interesting. Continue."
"Imagine, hypothetically, that we've got information about supply drops heading towards an 'empty' point near Imperium space that is seemingly of some importance to the Protoss. Now imagine that we didn't know what could be found there, but that we did know there'd probably be something of value around. How interested would you be in providing some... military support to explore the place in order for both of us to make a decent profit?"
"Well, we possibly already pissed off the Imperium with the 'indirect' support we provided with the breakout, and this would be far more direct... But on the other hand, something is going on over there that Waiter noticed in the Khala, so they may be distracted. I'll have to discuss it with Doom and him first, but he's on his way to talk with Erana's Order at the moment."
"Very well, let us know when you've come to a decision. Don't wait too long though - I don't want us to lose the opportunity."
"Should be fairly quick, he should be there already."
"Alright. I'll talk to you soon then, I guess."
With that, Kenny walked off and Adam turned to Sarah.
"Busy days, don't you think?"
"Indeed... care to get a drink?"
"You read my mind, girl."
SoA
-Dagganoth receives 10 points worth of money from the pirates as payment for the scouting mission.
-Bob Gentry reveals 'biosteel' to Jack Spazinsky - a Zerg-Terran hybrid technology that interacts with the parasite in Jack's body to make him a literally walking weapon. Only an arm has been made and it is still in prototype, but Bob will continue his research with the aim of eventually turning Jack into a proper hero character that can fight in battles.
-Adam petitions Kenny in regards to checking out an apparent 'point of importance' in Protoss space that Dagganoth knows about from one of the survivors. The Pirates' reaction is pending and the Garamar forces are hanging out in and around Domus to wait for a response.
Planet Dras Lana, Dras Lana System
"{So ya don't know anything?}"
"{No. Why would we?}"
"{Ya've got no spies, no informants?}"
"{We do. They are... silent.}"
"{All of them?}"
"{Yes.}"
"{And you have no way of making contact with them?}"
"{Or him. Or her. We can't-}"
"{Ya don't even know how many there are? Or who they are?}"
"{No, of course not. The occupation is dangerous-}"
"{Then so is the information you get, mon.}"
"{Are you saying we're being lied to?}"
"{No. I'm saying it's a possibility.}"
"{The information has proven reliable so far. How else would we have rescued the Praetor?}"
For a second, Erana wandered which Praetor Rassyr was referring to. And then she realized he was talking about her. She tried to hide her embarrassment at her momentary ignorance. But then the ever present pain at the back of her head reminded her that she didn't have to. There was no longer any way her emotions could be read, just like there was no longer any way for her to know exactly what Rassyr meant when he said something. She was cut off from him. Him, and all other Khalai, including Waiter.
Nonetheless, the change in her thought pattern was noticed by both of them, if only vaguely.
"{Is something wrong?}" Rassyr asked, turning to her. For a second, Erana was taken aback by his tone. It was as if he was annoyed, asking only for the sake of getting a nuisance out of the way. And then she realized that he was probably genuinely worried. She simply couldn't feel it in the dullness of his voice.
And she also couldn't reply adequately. Normally, she would simply send a short burst of emotion that would not only say that she was fine but would also quickly explain the cause of the disturbance. "No, nothing's wrong and I am fine and I was simply interested in this small thing you mentioned but it is trivial and let's continue discussing the matter at hand." All in the space of a microsecond. Now, however...
"{No.}" It was like talking to a terran. Short, detached and with words that were hard to find. Primitive, mundane and completely insufficient: the speech of an infant. Rassyr's eyes narrowed slightly and Erana wandered if he was echoing her own thoughts. He turned back to Waiter who was watching the pair with a face that was blank even for a protoss. The pirate's eyes focused on Erana for half a second and then went back to staring at Rassyr.
"{In that case, we'll have to enter their Khala,}" he said.
"{Why would we do that?}" Rassyr asked. Erana guessed he was taken aback by the suggestion but she couldn't be sure of anything.
"{Because something is going on and we need to know what,}" Waiter answered. He was probably annoyed and losing his patience. But again, Erana couldn't tell. Not that she would be able to do so anyway. Even though he retained his nerve cords, Waiter's voice was as neutral as any Nerazim's. Perhaps more so.
"{It can't be that important,}" Rassyr said, dismissively. Or at least she guessed he was being dismissive. What she knew, however, was that it was the wrong thing to say because, suddenly, Waiter changed. She didn't know exactly what made her realize it. The slightest change in posture, a flicker of the eyes, a subtle movement of the wrist. All put together and suddenly the pirate was someone else entirely.
But he didn't say anything. Erana waited, certain that he was building up tension before telling Rassyr just how wrong he was. But then two seconds passed. And then three. Four. Five. Nothing. It was only when Rassyr took an involuntary step backwards that she realized that the two were talking through emotions rather than words: the type of conversation she could not hear and would never be able to hear again.
A few more seconds passed, Rassyr took another automatic step backwards and then it was over. Waiter returned to his usual, less intimidating stance as suddenly as he had left it and Rassyr straightened himself, although his eyes didn't seem to meet Waiter's anymore. What had happened between the two, Erana didn't know and suspected she never would. What she did know, however, was that Waiter had chastised or intimidated or impressed Rassyr to the point of making him submissive.
"{How would we do it, then? We can't simply fly into Imperium space to investigate,}" Rassyr said.
"{Your ships were made by the Imperium,}" Waiter replied.
"{Yes. So what?}"
"{I will need a crystal from one of the ships. Any crystal. Anything that was made in the Imperium.}"
"{Why?}"
"{Just. Bring. It.}"
For a second, it looked like Rassyr was about to protest again. But then he nodded and left the room, leaving Waiter and Erana alone. She wasted no time in striking up a conversation.
"{Psionic signatures?}" she asked, struggling to form a complete sentence without the Khala to talk through.
"{I'm glad to see that the Imperium doesn't deal exclusively in arrogant fools,}" the pirate answered. She ignored the insult.
"{But as far as I know, psionic signatures can only tell you about a crystal's origin and maker. No one alive should be able to use one to ignore distance and connect to the creator's Khala,}" she continued. For some reason, the words had suddenly become more accessible, as if continuously talking made it easier to find them.
"{Not ignore. Mitigate. Make negligible. Distance itself is not a limiting factor when joining the Khala. It's the effort required to find other Khalai. I'm good at doing that on my own. But when a crystal is made by a Khalai, and they usually are, it is infused with the Khalai's thoughts and it becomes connected to him... or her. It's not just a signature. It's a pointer.}"
"{I still don't think I could do something like that. And I don't think I know anyone who can.}"
"{And that, sistah, is why I'm a pirate and you're a soldier,}" Waiter said cryptically and turned around to leave the room, presumably tired of waiting for Rassyr.
Supercarrier Hawk, Engineering Deck
"{You're certain that he won't be able to learn anything from it?}" Rassyr asked the engineer as he looked at the small crystal in his hand. It had been over two hours since he had left Waiter and he intended to wait a while longer before returning to the damn pirate. Let him wait, he thought, it's the least he deserves.
"{Of course not. It is a power crystal, not a storage device.,}" the engineer answered.
"{And besides, I am not interested in any of the information stored in your computers. You need to relax, mon.}" Rassyr and the engineer almost jumped as Waiter made his presence felt.
"{W-W-Waiter? How did you...?}" Rassyr asked, utterly confused. He was in space! On his own ship! How could Waiter have followed him? But his question went unanswered.
Waiter made a point of ignoring the pair and made his way towards Rassyr from the entrance to the engineering bay. It was best that way: keep them dumbstruck and they would become even more dumbstruck later.
The pirate took hold of the crystal and examined it redundantly. It made him seem... Intelligent, knowledgeable, superior, which was exactly why he performed the useless action. Others would think there was some meaning, some purpose to it, while the purpose was them thinking that.
But there was nothing to see on the crystal, what he needed it for was to feel through it. He closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Khala the same way he usually did - By hiding pretty much all of him from it and projecting false thoughts instead. No one would enjoy finding the true him in the Khala, probably not even he himself. Actually, he'd probably enjoy it quite a bit.
He once again felt the mass panic, the mass fear, that he had felt before, but it was still distant and vague. He focused on the object in his hands, finding a connection so thin that even he almost missed it, and was able to follow it closer to the source of the massive wave of fear.
He stayed silent longer than necessary, mostly for dramatic effect, before he opened his eyes again and turned to Rassyr.
"{There's fear, mon. Lots of it. Fear of fire, fear of pain, fear of death. But most importantly... Fear of chaos. I take it ya didn't do somethin' crazy like bomb da council?}"
SoA
-Waiter, Erana and Rassyr have a little chat.
-The Order and Waiter are now aware that something has happened to the Imperium's Ruling Council. The exact details are still unknown but the role of violence is known.
-Waiter does his job.
Inside a bar on Domus
Adam took another sip of his drink and smiled at Sarah. The two had had an hour of enjoyment in talking and drinking - the latter of which supplies were low inside Murkag. Suddenly he heard the scraping sound of a stool being pulled back next to his table. As he looked to the side, Kenny sat down next to them.
"Talked to Doom. We're on. I'll accompany you and bring a seperate ship."
"Very well. Just one condition - we do not harm innocents. Dagga gets the last say when it comes to the lives of anyone not firing bullets at our heads".
"Now where's the fun in that?", Kenny answered.
"While we might be alike, keep in mind that we are not pirates like you.", Sarah responded.
"No offense meant.", Adam quickly added.
Kenny snickered.
"I'm not sure what you are, but fine. As long as we don't lose efficiency. Or profit."
"It depends on what we find there. But whatever that is, leave it to Dagga to find some way to make profit of it".
"I guess the big one does have a knack for making things work to his advantage, yeah. Well... I've justed recalled your men - we leave in an hour".
With that Kenny got up and left Adam wondering how he could recall his crew. As he himself got up he noticed that some of the billboards littered all across the asteroid city were now displaying the sentence "Travellers of the ZSF Murkag please report to your transport ship promptly". As Sarah caught his gaze, they both snickered and started their return towards the docking bay.
SoA
-Dagganoth sets the deal with the pirates; Murkag along with one pirate patrol ship will explore the Protoss point of interest in order to make a mutual profit (the split on the profit still needs to be decided and depends on what is found). Dagganoth gets the final say regarding the lives of anyone not hostile/damaging towards the combined Pirate/Zerg forces.
-Murkag and one Pirate Patrol Ship have left for an 'Imperium point of interest' located 5 hexes directly north of Davir. 7 IC's/days until arrival. Kenny is aboard Murkag.
OOC: @Mozared: I am happy to be participating. This is great practice for me and I'm glad you are enjoying it.
Gambit Cargo Hold, Docking Bay of the Capital Ship on the edge of the Sindiris System
David watched as the protoss in the docking bay loaded the supplies onto his ship. It had been a very interesting few days aboard the Imperium ship. Every one of his crew had spend the days huddled in their respective bunks, trying to block out the waves of fear and panic that washed over the ship. No contact had come from the outside, and only in the past day had the terror diminished to a barely contained tension.
While he had seen the rest of his crew at some point throughout the days, mostly at meal-times, Po'Nath had not left his bunk since they had touched down in the docking bay. He had not been able to get any answers from him about the general panic in the protoss, or anything else.
David no longer cared about picking up another job and just wanted to get out of the system as soon as possible. He'd rather cut his losses than still be around when the tension finally broke.
He watched a group of protoss approaching his ship. They were obviously military, their crisp movements in perfect unison as they changed direction towards him. There were five of them, one leading, with the other four fanning out in a v-shape behind him. David recognized Imperator Madron.
“Imperator!” he called, moving to meet them. “I was wondering if you were going to be seeing us before we left. What can I do for you?”
{I would speak to Po'Nath,} the Imperator answered shortly.
“Sorry, Imp, Po'Nath is holed up in his bunk like a rabbit in a den. What can I help you with?” David smiled, trying to keep his suspicions from the front of his mind.
He had no idea if his efforts were successful, as the protoss' faces never showed expression that he could discern. {You will tell Po'Nath that Imperator Madron summons him.}
“I will what?” he couldn't help himself.
{You will tell Po'Nath-}
“Oh I heard you just fine. You don't seem to realize that you are on my ship, and you are talking about my crew. I don't know what has you twisted up, but you will discuss with me first anything regarding my crew, and you will not barge into my ship and throw orders around no matter how big your ship is.”
David and the Imperator squared off. David saw Leo stand up from where he was helping load supplies and put his hand on his gun. The zealots flanking the Imperator tensed up. This could get real ugly, real fast.
The two captains locked eyes. David could feel the push of dominance into his mind from the other. He steeled his gaze and refused to budge. He wouldn't be pushed around by anybody on his ship.
Moments passed. They felt like hours for David. Finally the Imperator withdrew his mental presence. {You may sit in on the meeting, and you will be consulted.}
David nodded and relaxed his stance. “Good enough. For now.” He raised his voice, “Leo! Tell Po'Nath that Imperator Madron wants to talk to him. Tell him we will be in my quarters. And make it quick!” Leo waited for a nod from David before running to comply.
He turned back to the protoss. “Now. Some of your boys will have to wait here, but if you would follow me.” He led the Imperator and two of his guards out of the cargo hold.
David's Quarters, Docking Bay of the capital ship on the edge of the Sindiris System
“You want me?...” David asked.
The Imperator nodded.
“To track down a zerg cerebrate?...”
Nod.
“So you can kill it?...”
Nod. {If necessary. It was at least one of the parties involved in the plot that freed Erana, as you have already found out. And you will, of course, be supplied with appropriate support. What we really want is information from him. And you will be paid handsomely for the information that you are able to gain.}
David looked to Po'Nath. He had barely said anything the entire time. Unless he and Madron were having a private conversation, which was entirely possible.
{It would be a good opportunity to form a lasting friendship with the Imperium. They are not the type of people you want to make into your enemy.} Po'Nath said pointedly. {Especially right now.}
He darted a glance at the Imperator until he realized that the thought was sent only to him.
He turned back to Madron. “I have some conditions: I am the captain. You're people will take their orders from me, and I will decide how best to handle the situation.”
The Imperator's eyes narrowed in what David guessed to be fury. He quickly went on before the protoss could interject.
“And secondly: If this requires me to go into zerg-space, the deal is off. I'm not equipped for that kind of journey. At that time, I'll find your people a ship they can take wherever they want to go, into the lion's mouth or back here. Hell, I'll even bring them back if that is what they want.”
{On the second point, your escort will be small and difficult to detect. I do not think you will be in danger unless you bring attention to yourself.}
“Doesn't matter. I'm not going to risk my ship in zerg-space. If this job takes me into one of their systems, I'm done. I'm not having it.”
{Under those circumstances, you will only be paid the advance sum, and you will not be paid for any information you may have gathered.}
“Fair.”
{And on the first point, our team has their orders. With respect, they are much better equipped and trained to handle this situation than you are. You get to command your ship and what risks it will take, and they will decide what risks they will take and how they will take them. If they ask you to risk your ship or your crew, you may decline. With the same condition that you will not be paid for your services. If not, then they have the authority to act in whatever way they see fit. Does that sound fair?}
David extended a hand. “Fair enough.” The protoss looked down at the hand, and after a few moments, David withdrew the hand awkwardly.
{I will have your advance payment loaded onto your ship along with the rest of the supplies. The 'ambassadors' will be ready to leave whenever you are.}
“Sounds good to me.”
{One other thing. Don't call me 'Imp' again.}
“Sure thing, maitre,” David answered.
SoA:
-Gambit is hired by the Imperium to track down Dagganoth and retrieve information or kill him.
-Paid 10 points in advance, more to be paid conditionally upon completion.
-'Ambassadors' Vardanis and Asala board Gambit with their escort of 5 dark templar, 3 observers, and 2 scouts.
-Gambit leaves Sindiris, heading back to Domus... Once again 8 ICs
Sorry for the long gap between posts. Life got hectic... Plus I had to wait on Vjetar XD
Edit: Correction... That is 7 ICs... I forgot David blew up the ship before the departure from Domus so there was a post delay. No delay this time.
A point in space just outside of the Great Wave...
As Murkag pulled closer to the coordinates, a somewhat familiar sight appeared in front of him. Slightly resembling Domus, some kind of Protoss research station built inside or out of an asteroid came into view. It looked like it had a few weak defensive cannons, and there were two hangars that provided entry to the station - a small one and a larger one. The pirate support ship had stayed back for the time being, prefering to remain unseen in this region if possible. With very little information available to him, Dagganoth weighed his options. If this were some kind of research station, it was bound to have interesting data. The fact that it was in such close proximity to the great wave made it even more promising. He knew what the Imperium was like, but also thought about the innocent Protoss that may be inhibiting the facility.
His first step was to reach out to the lifeforms he knew existed on the station psionically. No response. He told Bob Gentry to try a mechanical Terran hail. No response either. He would have to take more drastic steps. He sent our several bursts of thought as Murkag fired a ball of corrosive acid at the door of the smaller hanger, breaching it open rather quickly. As Murkag got into range to fire off a couple of spore pods with, the station's defenses started shooting at him, which is when the battle really broke out.
As soon as the spores hit the ground at the entrance of the hangar, Zerglings emerged and immediately found themselves engages with a small line of Zealots and some Dragoons. As Swarm Hosts joined the battle with their Locusts, the small force quickly fell and the Garamar Brood forced its way through another door. At the same time Murkag was circling the station to avoid the blasts from its cannons, returning fire with its own weak corrosive acid and taking down several of them in the process. Several Mutalisks also took off, agilely avoiding cannon blasts and directing their glaive wurms at any form of the Space Station's defense.
When one of the Zerglings jumped at the second door, he seemed to get caught in midair by a forcefield. The entire room blinked as the Zergling suddenly fell down in two pieces, cut cleanly apart through the middle. It was clear the Protoss were operating their scientific equipment in some form of clutch defense. As more Zerglings streamed towards the second door, several photon turrets came out of the ground. Though they were protected by shields appearing left and right, the Zerglings eventually surrounded and managed to destroy them, allowing the forces to renew their efforts at breaking the door towards the research center's inner sanctum.
As the station's second door broke, Locusts streamed through the new opening and immediately found themselves head to head with a this time somewhat larger force of Zealots and Dragoons. Though the Protoss force held the small invasion force at bay relatively easily at first, making good use of the choke, the overwhelming numbers of Locusts eventually proved too much for them as several Zealots fell. As they did, A wave of Zerglings streamed through the opening and begun their advance towards the Dragoons.
All in all, the battle was a quick one. After a mere ten minutes the station was rendered completely defenseless. Zerg forces had been diminished, but the primary casualties were Locusts, with only the lives of a small umber of Zerglings having been lost. A few bodies of dead or unconscious Protoss and Zerg warriors were scattered throughout the primary hall of the research complex, and smoking disabled photon cannons and shield emitters were located at several points in the room. This is the sight Adam beheld as he stepped into the hall. He looked around thoughtfully as Jack stepped through the door behind him, wielding his experimental Biosteel arm.
"Some sight", he said.
"Some sight indeed...", Adam replied.
{Brotherss: while I too would have preferred to avoid this conflict, we did come here for a reason. There seemss to be a laboratory through the door on the left, and I am detecting chaos and panic inside it. These Protoss aren't fighters. See if you can make contact with these survivorss... do not harm them if you can}
With that a group of Terrans walked towards the wall and planted a simple explosive charge. With a loud explosion the door opened up, and as the smoke cleared, Adam walked into the room, gun raised.
"Please, do not be afraid. We don't mean any harm!", he shouted.
Suddenly, several foodsteps reverberated as Adam looked around and saw four plainly dressed Protoss running at him. Not wanting to shoot the unarmed Protoss, Adam cringed and took a step backwards. The first scientist to reach Adam lunged at him, but in one quick flash Jack jumped forward and stuck out his biosteel arm, catching the scientist across the the chest and knocking him flat to the ground. As another scientist jumped at Jack from the left, the Terran ducked and in one fluent motion caught the Protoss in mid-air and used his momentum to throw him into the third approaching scientist. Weaponless civilians were no match for the well trained ex-corporal. Impressed by this show of force, the fourth scientist clumsily halted his approach, raised is hands above his head in fear and scurried backwards, falling flat on his behind.
"You gonna listen now?", Jack yelled out at the remaining Protoss scientists hurled up against the walls of the complex. None of them made a move.
Adam quickly explained the situation to the scientists. He told them Dagganoth wasn't a violent Cerebrate and had merely come here to find out about the Protoss research. He added that the Cerebrate had tried to talk to them before launching his attack, and mentioned how survivors had been left alone, as a group of Zerglings and other Terrans dragged the few surviving Protoss warriors into the room and laid them down on the sides. None of this seemed to make much of an impression on the scientists until he lowered his gun: this seemed to cause the scientists to ease up a little. To add to his point, Adam informed the scientists that this Terran contingent had been traveling with Dagganoth for a while in a voluntary fashion. He then promised the scientists they wouldn't be hurt if they didn't attack any of the Garamar forces, and asked them plainly whether they were talkative enough yet in order to tell him something about their research.
Most scientists still looked very reluctant, but one Protoss got up and approached Adam.
{In fact, I think I will.}
Adam nodded at him. "Thank you, your goodwill is appreciated".
Immediately after Adam finished his sentence, multiple other Protoss got up and glared at the scientist that had approached Adam. At first, the Terrans didn't realize what was going on, but they quickly came to the conclusion that the scientists must be having a mental conversation. The lone Protoss looked somewhat amused.
{They are telling me not to give out any information. But I am through with this. We have been doing research on a new type of shielding for our capital ships. Through rotating the shield generators we figured out that we could create shields powerful enough to perhaps eventually let our ships enter the great wave, which would've given the military a great strategical edge in the region.}
Adam noticed the Protoss 'pronounced' or rather 'declared' the words "the military" in a bit of a negative way. He was not at all versed in the ways the Protoss held their psionic conversations, but it was very clear to him that the Protoss had some kind of negative connotation to the Imperial military.
{I do indeed}. Adam remembered they were mind readers.
{The Imperium council has been pushing us to complete these shield modifications as soon as possible so they can outfit their capital ships with the technology and possibly assault the nearby Zerg systems. I have filled in multiple requests to allow us to try these modifications out on civilian ships that could provide us with a great deal of exploration, but the council does not want to 'let the information fall into hostile hands'. There's so much irony involved it's almost funny; I don't think any non-Protoss can make use of this technology, yet here you are.}
Jack shrugged. "Sounds like your typical Imperium, yup."
"So will you help us collect samples of your technology? It's all we came for"
{I'll do better than that. Under the condition that you let me send the critical data back to the Imperium, I'll share our research with you.}
"Deal", Adam said. The Protoss went up to a console and took only a few minutes to proceed according to plan. As he finished up he walked back to Adam, who looked at him and the rest of the scientists and spoke up:
"Alright. Knowing your military, they aren't going to be too happy this information was leaked. If any of you want to come with us either temporarily or permanently - to become spokesmen and researchers like we have - speak up now."
The lone Protoss immediately stepped up, but all of the others remained silent and simply glared at the group.
"Suit yourself then. I'm sorry this didn't work out better for both of us. Next time you see a Zerg trying to contact you, please consider simply answering."
With that, Adam nodded at someone outside the room who dragged in a small pack of Terran medical supplies in, as the entire group including the lone Protoss left the room. The scientists near the wall still looked apprehensive, but Adam smiled when he noticed some of them slowly make their way towards the medical supplies from the corner of his eye. The Zerg forces had been retreating slowly over the course of the conversation, and it was now just the small Terran contingent left. As the group made their way towards the hangar in order to board their transport ship, Adam turned to the lone Protoss.
"How may we call you?"
The Protoss looked at Adam.
{My name is Amar.}
SoA
-Dagganoth arrives at his destination and finds a Protoss research center. After trying to make contact, he decides to fight his way in, taking some Zergling losses (30) in a battle with a small group of Zealots and Dragoons.
-After the area is cleared, the Terran contingent along with some Zerg backup troops force their way into a laboratory and encounter a group of frightened Protoss scientists. Adam promises they will not be harmed and one scientist named 'Amar' comes forward and sends the data of their research to both the Terran systems aboard Murkag and the Imperium. This causes Dagganoth to retrieve the Protoss 'Rotating Shield Array' upgrade, which is in its current state unusable by him but which is worth 30 points.
-Amar decides to, for the time being, join the Garamar Brood and is taken aboard Murkag to live within the Terran compartments. The rest of the Protoss science team along with survivors from the battle are left in the laboratory along with some Terran medical supplies.
-Murkag sets back off for Domus, the Pirate Patrol Ship right behind him. 7 ICs/days until arrival.
Somewhere between the Protoss research station and Domus, aboard Murkag...
"Kenny, you got a minute?", Adam asked from halfway across the Terran common room.
"Sure. Maybe you can fill me in on what exactly happened, and who your new friend is."
The two headed off into Kenny's room. Even though the AI didn't need to sleep, he had been assigned a room with a bed as his own. It had a Terran computer terminal in it, allowing him easy access to the network. It took Adam about five minutes of non-stop talking to explain exactly what happened, when Kenny asked a question regarding the only thing relevant to him:
"So, this data... what is it, exactly. What did you gain from all this?"
"Apparently the tech describes some kind of 'rotating shield frequency' to strengthen the shields of Protoss ships... with some more work, it could allow them to travel through the Great Wave. That's all I know about it, Amar knows the details, but they're also in our database."
"What do you plan to do with this... 'upgrade?' "
"Well, it's of fairly little use to Murkag, so Dagganoth figured we'd best sell it."
Kenny's eyes flickered for a second.
"Good to hear. I've got you a buyer."
Adam looked confused. "This fast?"
"We've got someone who has been looking for tech like this for quite a while... they'd be sure to pay well for a speedy delivery"
"Very well", Adam replied. "Make it so, then. We'll discuss the details on Domus."
Meanwhile, in another bunk, Amar was sitting by himself on a bed. He did not fit in very well with these Terrans. Their research and habitat was interesting, but he knew this was not the end goal he had in mind.
{Then what is, my newfound Protoss companion?}
Amar felt somewhat delighted at such a swift response. He had anticipated the Cerebrate hearing his thoughts. He had wanted to discuss this.
{While your... Brood is extremely interesting and I've found some companionship in the one they call Bob, I think I prefer being with my people. I have thought about this for a long time now, and I want to join the Wandering Tribes.}
Dagganoth only answered after a couple seconds of silence.
{Very well. It seems you know clearly what you want. I can promise to drop you off among them as soon as is possible. However, this may be quite some time, as it is common knowledge that the Wandering Tribes are hard to be found and I may not have time for such a lengthy detour anytime soon. If you prefer, we can let you leave at Domus so you can conduct the search yourself.}
{That's alright. I can wait. I'm sure your Brood and you will keep my curiosities well satisfied. There is no hurry. Just know I do not intend to make my stay aboard your... companion-vessel permanent.}
{Very well - the choice is yours to make. I can assure you I will do my best to make your... 'stay' a pleasant one.}
With that, the psionic conversation ended. Amar laid down on his bed. Even though it felt strange and alien to him, he felt like getting some rest - recent events had tired him, as interesting as they had been.
SoA
-Adam informs Kenny what happened at the Protoss science station.
-Kenny says he's got a buyer for the Protoss shield tech; details are to be settled upon arrival at Domus.
-Amar informs Dagganoth he does not plan on staying aboard Murkag and intends to join the Wandering Tribes as soon as the situation allows it.