Engineering Evolution
Within the low dense jungles of Icarus IV, an uneasy alliance had been established between the Umojan Protectorate and the local protoss tribes. The ancient city of Theta served as the region's capital, administering governance while providing its inhabitants with a cultural and community epicenter. It was here, in the city's stiflingly humid climate, that over three hundred protoss and terran were assembled under the great roof of the Council Hall. Justice would be found here.
Chris Cade sat at the back of the crowded Council Hall unable to believe this supposedly advanced species hadn't discovered air conditioning yet. It was as if the jungle itself had become one enormous sauna. Sweat dripped freely from his brow, trickling down a scarred cheek where it disappeared into his long, thick brown beard. The perspiration served to remind him that he was bored.
He looked around at his squad and realized he wasn't alone in that regard.
Big Tony Stahl flexed his enormous biceps as he lit another cigar, his third since they had arrived at the High Council.
Tommy Gustav lay against the wall with his arms folded. His face was expressionless, as usual; the only telltale sign of his boredom was the lack of movement in the toothpick between his lips.
Next was Roland Davidson, who was busy chatting up some pretty young girl – fortunately she didn't appear at all interested in the bullshit he was spinning her.
The easily excited Lane Garrison was whittling a piece of wood, yet another masterpiece that resembled an adult toy for pleasuring a lady.
Benny Taylor was the final member of their squad. Chris had known Benny since their marine training back on Umoja. After the training, Chris had been posted to Icarus IV, while Benny took a posting to Bel'Shir. Despite this being their first mission together, he trusted Benny with his life.
Benny gave him a friendly nod then raised his eyebrows as if to say; not long to go now. Long enough, Chris thought. He yawned, an infectious reaction that spread amongst the other terran gathered there. There'd be no yawning for the protoss though; their hideous faces had no mouth to yawn from.
A tall, thin protoss dressed in exotic garments turned slightly to face Chris. It spoke to him in a barely audible language, guttural sounds which came from its throat and made no sense at all. Chris tapped the side of his head, indicating approval for the protoss to enter his mind.
An unwelcome sensation filled his head as the protoss entered. Then it spoke, its voice deep and reassuring, which made him feel at peace.
'Terran, please remember that although we do not intend to hear your thoughts they sometimes filter through. Does this session not interest you?'
Was it that obvious? Chris surprised the protoss by using his own inner voice.
'Firstly', he said 'I don't give a zergling's nest what you hear in my head. Secondly, I'm not here for all this crap. I came to seek justice for the terran and testify against one of your own.'
The protoss was startled.
'May I ask the name of the one you have come here for?' he responded, his tone more curious than before. Chris felt a gentle push, as though the answer was being extracted even as the protoss delivered the question.
'You call him Alavex. He came here yesterday, so I'm told, and we've been stuck in this cesspit ever since,' Chris snapped. 'If your people had handed him over to the Dominion, as was requested, I wouldn't have had to come here at all.'
His boss, Major Sullivan, had ordered Chris and his men to retrieve the giant protoss warrior, Alavex. As usual there was always some form of local politics that had to be dealt with first. The High Council said they'd only give him up if the terran could prove his guilt.
Chris tried to bring his mind back to the present, but this memory wouldn't fade – or couldn't fade. He had faced this tactic before. The protoss was trying to steal his memory. Using counter-psi tactics he focused on a bottomless pit that absorbed light. Like a door being slammed shut, the presence of the protoss was forcefully locked out of his mind.
Chris eyed him coolly.
'Get what you wanted?' he snarled this time out loud for all to hear. Chris's tone made the whole squad sit up and look his way.
The meek protoss returned immediately, its voice humble and sincere.
'I apologize if I have offended you. I was merely looking for the event while it was fresh in your mind. Do you know what a preserver is?'
'Yes, of course,' Chris curtly replied.
'I am a novice preserver. I swear to you, it was an accident.'
Chris understood. This protoss had violated one of the rights agreed upon in the recently signed Psi Treaty between the terran and protoss. On Icarus IV, a protoss could only enter the mind of a terran if given permission first, and then only for communication.
Searching through memories was an offense punishable by a restriction of terrazine, the very substance the protoss absorbed for their psionic abilities. Many were addicted to terrazine. Like drug users throughout the universe, most would sooner lose a hand than their next fix.
'Let this be a warning,' Chris Cade said slowly. 'If you, or anyone else here attempts to read my memories without my say so, I'll use this C-14 gauss rifle to make you a mouth.' As he spoke he lifted the weapon from his lap to emphasize the point. 'Maybe then you'll ask for permission first.'
The protoss nodded slowly before turning to face the court proceedings. Sensing his Sergeant's change of mood, Benny came to Chris's side.
'What was that all about, Cade?' his friend asked, curious.
'Just a little misunderstanding is all,' Chris reassured. Benny always had an inquisitive streak. Before he was a marine he had been a pilot who tried to sell top-secret documents to the Moebius Foundation. He had been arrested and stripped of his pilot license and rank. Chris asked Benny what the documents were for but Benny didn't want to discuss it.
For another hour they sat in silence as the court proceedings continued. The time felt even longer, as they couldn't understand a word the protoss council was saying. Every few minutes a new prisoner, be it terran or protoss, was led before the audience and given a sentence. Things livened up when the pretty girl Roland was speaking to suddenly slapped his face and stormed off. He just laughed and rubbed his jaw before making his way over to where they sat.
As he sat down he scratched his groin and released a loud burp.
'How much longer is this crap going to take? I gotta take a piss,' he said.
Chris didn't answer and Benny merely shrugged. Neither had much time for Roland. In fact, if he weren't the best sniper in the company, he would have been dropped from their squad a long time ago. Roland had been convicted of being a serial rapist, something he continued to deny. He did fancy himself as a bit of a ladies man which, coupled with his prior convictions, forced most in the squad to keep a wary eye on him.
Big Tony just plain hated him, probably because Big Tony had been sentenced to life in prison for killing pedophiles and rapists. The authorities claimed he killed thirty-one, but Big Tony has always stated a closer figure was in the fifties. Truth was, he'd lost count. In the year the squad had been together, Chris had never seen Big Tony speak to Roland directly. Everything he had to say to Roland was passed through Benny or himself. Roland never seemed to care though. If anything he went out of his way to provoke the big man. It was a miracle neither marine had tried to kill the other. Yet.
Their strained relationship certainly entertained one member of the squad; Lane Garrison. Rumor had it that Lane went into a police station and shot everyone inside. When asked why, he simply laughed 'I thought they'd put up a challenge!' Chris thought he was either utterly fearless or one of the most suicidal men in the known universe. Lane was addicted to high thrills and danger like a Firebat to a flame. He almost made it into the Reapers until the psyches found out he was scared of heights. Nevertheless, the squad was happy to ignore his shortcomings as he had proven himself in combat a hundred times over – saving all their asses more than once.
Then there was the infamous Tommy Gustav, who was arrested on charges of drug smuggling, fraud, extortion, theft and grand larceny. He was a major figure in the Cosa Nostra, second only to Capo Caravello. Two Ghost teams were sent to apprehend Tommy – the legendary event was televised to a live audience on the national news.
All this reminiscing brought back dark memories to Chris. It seemed like a lifetime ago now – some things were better left buried, he told himself. Despite the counseling and drugs they'd put him on he couldn't suppress those memories. Every day he'd wake up and sweat over how he could have done things differently.
Chris had a family once; a beautiful young wife and two little boys. He was a trusted figure in the community he'd lived in – a member of the council, the president of the local gridiron club and the proud owner of the best diner in town. His father had been a pro football player and his mother had won awards for writing home cookbooks. Their life had been so comfortable and so normal. It seemed like a lifetime ago now; so much had changed since he was arrested and sentenced to Dominion service. Why did he throw it all away? Was she worth it? He'd never know.
He was snapped out of his thoughts by a nudge from Benny. A big protoss guard was summoning them to sit in the plaintiff's chamber. Chris signaled the rest of his men to follow and they all strode forward.
As they took their seats a disturbance could be heard from the cell adjoining the High Council room. Three more guards dashed towards the cell door. As it swung open, the guards could be seen struggling with a giant protoss warrior.
It was Alavex. Before Chris had encountered this goliath he thought all the protoss looked the same. It was comforting to see that even Alavex's own kind had difficulty subduing him. Thick chains bound his arms behind his back and a pair of heavy metal rods connected with chain links braced his legs to prevent him from moving quickly. He was prodded with some kind of pole, a variant of the warp blade the protoss used as weapons.
Reluctantly he stepped forward, more of his own volition than from the pushing of the guards around him. Alavex was physically different to the other protoss in the room. Heavily muscled and at least a foot taller than the others, to behold him was akin to seeing a pro body builder standing alone in a room filled with anorexia patients. He wore only a pair of black leather knee-length pants. On his head he bore one long, jagged scar.
Alavex stumbled, clearly unaccustomed to being restrained. He glared directly at Chris and his men before moving into place at the defendant's chamber. On the Council were three judges, all from the Judicator caste as was evident by the markings on their skin. The first had a sign under its name that read 'Inquisitor'. The second had a sign that read 'Psychologist', while the third said 'Prosecutor'.
The protoss Council gestured to Chris and his men for approval to enter their minds. Chris nodded as he tapped the side of his head. The rest of his squad followed suit.
As the Inquisitor spoke, all that were involved in the case clearly heard his voice in their minds. His tone was commanding but seemed tinged with an edge of coercion.
Benny felt anxious, sweat beaded over his brow and his hands felt clammy. He wondered, was the Inquisitor using its psionic abilities for questioning? If it were it would be difficult to tell this protoss anything but the truth.
'You have requested that the protoss before us this day, Alavex, be placed in your charge,' the Inquisitor said. 'It is your wish that Alavex be trialed under terran law for a criminal act allegedly committed yesterday. Who among you is leader?'
'I am,' Chris replied.
'Present your case,' the Inquisitor said as it watched him patiently.
'The giant you have before you is wanted for the destruction of a settlement an hour's drive from here. My men and I are the only survivors of the attack. We ask for the right to take Alavex prisoner and bring him before the terran justice system where he will be given a fair trial.' Chris pointed towards Alavex. 'He is a danger to the peace between the terran and protoss. We have come here today to seek justice for the terran who were slaughtered by his hands.'
The Inquisitor turned to face the other two judges. They spoke in Khalani for only a minute before focusing their attention back on the terran group.
'Alavex surrendered himself to us yesterday,' he said to them simultaneously. 'This is the first we've heard of any attack by a protoss against a terran settlement. Please describe the event.'
Lane started to reply but Benny elbowed him in the gut before a word escaped his mouth.
Chris had memorized what he wanted to say and began rattling off the details.
'My men and I arrived after he'd destroyed most of the buildings. No one was alive. We took up a position on high ground and delivered suppressing fire on a building we suspected Alavex was in. He ran from the building towards us and was shot by my man, Roland, three times with a sniper rifle.' Roland nodded knowingly as Chris recalled the event. 'The shots slowed him but he kept coming towards us. I threw a grenade, which he managed to knock out of the air with something I didn't see. Maybe his mind; you protoss seem to be able to do that.'
The Inquisitor interjected. 'He is a Dark Templar; he does not use terrazine and therefore has no such ability. Continue.'
'Anyway, we ran for cover as Big Tony continued to unload on him with his rail gun. The gun was ripped from his hands and bent in two by some telekinetic force – like I said, I didn't see what he was using to attack us.'
'Go on,' the Inquisitor urged.
'We saw a concrete bunker on the edge of the settlement and made our way to it. Shards of metal were hurled at us but our suits soaked up the damage. Big Tony, Tommy and Benny here continued to pepper him with rounds while Lane and I used the stim packs we found in the bunker. He just kept coming at us, though. I thought we were done for but then the miracle came.'
'Miracle?' The Inquisitor asked.
'Yes. Now I'm not a religious man but I was praying for something to get us out of that mess. Suddenly everything went quiet. I could hear Lane trying to squeeze his trigger but nothing came out.'
'I had a full magazine too,' Lane added.
'As the silence grew, Alavex dropped to his knees and started making this God-awful noise. I tried to shoot him, but my rifle wouldn't work. Time seemed to slow down, as if the world was moving without us. This brute kept screaming and clutching his head then he turned and ran off into the jungle. We thought he must have died until we caught word of him coming here and handing himself over to you.'
The Inquisitor took another moment to speak to the judges by his side. He turned to Alavex next.
'Did you do this? Did you destroy this settlement?' The Inquisitor asked.
Alavex raised his head defiantly and spoke; his voice was deep and powerful, resonating virtue and authority.
'No,' he said 'I did not.'
This time the Psychologist spoke. His tone was slow and deliberate yet eloquent and highly educated. Everyone in the squad listened to his words.
'Alavex, I have been to see the preservers to learn more about your history. You were exiled to Bel'Shir after you tried to lead a rebellion against your own Dark Templar. Why have you returned?'
Alavex tapped the side of his head three times. 'Search my memories and find out,' he replied.
The three judges began speaking to one another again. Chris couldn't hear what was said; even if he could he it would have been unintelligible. He glanced at his squad. Benny appeared nervous, as did Big Tony. Tommy had stopped twirling the toothpick between his lips – which spoke volumes to Chris. Lane had a wicked grin on his face and actually looked excited, while Roland's hand was inching closer to the rifle beside him.
The three judges reconvened the session. 'So be it,' said the Prosecutor, 'let the record show that Alavex has given consent to this.'
The three protoss judges focused on Alavex and for a few minutes there was silence in the Council Hall while they read his mind. Alavex didn't move; he stood with his fluorescent green eyes locked on the judges before him. As the minutes wore on, Chris's squad became more and more uneasy.
Inside the memories of Alavex, the three judges viewed the events recalled for them. Never before had they viewed a memory that held such clarity and detail.
Alavex took them back to when he was exiled on the jungle-covered moon of Bel'Shir. Protoss were disappearing and all the Bel'Shir tribes suspected foul play from the terran – yet there was no way to prove it. When Alavex's mate, Calandris, did not return from gathering terrazine – Alavex did not hesitate to find out why.
High in the Bel'Shir Mountains was the terran laboratory where much of the terrazine was transported. He cloaked himself and entered the compound in the dead of the night to seek answers. Deep inside the laboratory were chambers filled with dead protoss, their heads sliced open, their brains removed. Moving quickly from room to room, Alavex finally located his love, Calandris. His spirit felt numb as he dropped to his knees and cradled her lifeless body in his arms.
All three judges felt a pang of heartache as they relived the event with Alavex. His love for Calandris was intense. It was also his downfall. As he held her one last time, a squad of marines entered the chamber and captured him.
While a prisoner in the facility, Alavex discovered the terran were conducting psionic augmentations on their elite covert operatives, the Ghosts. The test subjects had all died from the introduction of terrazine to their neural pathways.
The scientists had been unsuccessful in reverse engineering protoss brains to see how the terrazine assisted their psionic energies. He watched as, one by one, his fellow protoss were sliced open and subjected to increasingly larger amounts of terrazine. All had died before Alavex was chosen.
As a Dark Templar, Alavex had no immunity to the effects of terrazine. Unknowingly, the terran gave him an overdose with their first injection. In the deepest recesses of his mind, Alavex's subconscious enacted an ancient self defense mechanism long thought destroyed by the Xel-Naga.
Alavex could feel the dark corridors of his mind light up as electricity charged the neurons within. He freed himself and released a psionic blast that was powerful enough to buckle metal. The scientists in the room burst and were splattered against the walls like hastily thrown red paint. Instinctively his mind opened a warp gate which he immediately entered. The gate brought him back to Icarus IV – the very planet he was exiled from.
As a novice of his recently acquired abilities, Alavex found that he was unable to actively direct the energy inside his mind. For now, the psionic power only reacted defensively when he was threatened. Although he tried, he was unable to create a warp gate away from Icarus IV. Believing it was the terrazine injection that had enabled his abilities, he traveled to Theta to explain all that he'd learned on Bel'Shir. He hoped the knowledge might gain him a pardon for his crimes but instead he was jailed for returning from exile.
The Prosecutor finally broke the silence with a long, loud sigh.
'Deep is the pain I have just witnessed. No being - be it protoss, zerg or terran – should have to endure what this protoss has had to endure.' The Council Hall erupted with noise as the Prosecutor stood and leveled one of its four digits at Chris and his squad. 'Guards, arrest the terran!'
Chris grabbed his rifle as he crouched behind the plaintiff chamber wall. Three guards were gunned down by Roland as the squad found cover beside him. Tommy shot another guard between the eyes then let loose a burst of fire at the judges before him. Warp blades flashed as a dozen protoss from the audience charged. Big Tony had assembled the pieces of his chain gun and was laying down a barrage of rounds, forcing the protoss into cover. Chris reached for a grenade on his belt but it fell as Benny knocked him clear of a protoss attacker. With a machete, Benny severed the head from the protoss as it turned on him. The room fell into chaos as terran fought protoss and the sound of booming gunfire echoed from all sides of the Council Hall.
In the confusion, Chris screamed out orders to his men.
'We have to get to the siege tank outside!' he yelled. 'If we can get to the starport up the road we can steal a dropship and get the hell out of this place!'
'Roger that!' Benny replied, firing off a quick burst of rounds as he flanked Chris.
Lane hurdled over the rail and began popping off shots at both the terran and the protoss in the room. A protoss guard tried to hit him with a warp blade but he cut the hand off with a quick swipe of the rifle bayonet before gutting the protoss with an overhand thrust. Chris used the distraction as a chance to get closer to the exit. They had thirty meters of protoss to kill before they'd be free of the Council Hall walls. He flung a grenade into the mass of protoss and terran that battled in the middle of the large room. The explosion sent body pieces flying. Flashes of light filled the room like a disco as dying protoss warriors joined their ancestors in the Khala.
Tommy was up next. He ran from pillar to pillar, snapping off shots as he went. A group of protoss guarded the exit, their warp blades drawn. He tried to break through their shields but there were too many of them. Chris added his firepower to the assault and was soon joined by Benny and Lane. Like a series of lightning bolts being cast down from the heavens, one by one the protoss fell. As the squad made it to the doorway they saw the siege tank in the distance. They ran, pausing only to gun down the pursuing protoss as they spilled out of the Council Hall.
Chris pulled the pin from another grenade and hurled it at the entrance of the hall. The explosion brought down the two front pillars holding the doorway, giving them time to escape.
They were five meters from the siege tank when something materialized before them. As it lost its ethereal form Chris recognized it. A Dark Templar. Very few things frightened Chris but this adversary was one of them. The squad spread out and rained fire upon it. While their bullets chewed at its plasma shield, the Templar unsheathed the warp blade on the end of a long thin, metallic staff. This glowing blue blade looked more lethal than the angel of death's scythe.
The Templar leapt forward, slashing at Benny who parried with his machete. The rest of the squad continued to weaken the shield but Benny was no match for a Dark Templar's speed or strength. With a scream of fury, Tommy ran in and struck the Templar in the back of the head with the butt of his rifle. It spun on him, burying its blade deep in his stomach. As Tommy fell he grabbed the weapon with both hands, disarming the Templar. It spun on the rest of the squad, unaware that its plasma shield had long been destroyed. The squad cut the creature down with their gauss rifles; bullets ripping through it like fish gliding through water. When the flash of light came and the body disappeared, Benny knelt before Tommy and took his hand. Poor Tommy was trying valiantly to put his entrails back inside but his hands slipped on the blood oozing out of him. Gore caught and spluttered in his throat as he tried to speak. His eyes rolled back in his head, a grimace of pain etched on his face as he died.
'Let's get out of here!' yelled Roland. He mounted the siege tank and levered back the lock on the roof hatch before dropping inside. Benny grabbed the dog tags from around Tommy's neck and ripped them clean before joining the others inside.
Inside the tank Roland took control while Big Tony sat in the main gun turret. Chris raised the periscope and directed Big Tony's attacks as Roland made their escape. Siege tanks were not fast, but they were virtually impenetrable by ground units. As the last of the protoss fell to the barrage of rounds from the tank, Big Tony aimed his turret at the Council Hall.
'No!' Benny screamed and tried to stop Big Tony from firing. Too late.
Chris felt anxious as he watched the building explode into flames, the walls collapsing inwards. He looked through his periscope and saw the most extraordinary thing. Inside the burning building was Alavex, standing where they'd left him. He hadn't moved an inch. There were marble pillars lying against some kind of telekinetic barrier that protected him from being hurt. Although a fiery inferno surrounded him, inside his invisible cocoon he stood completely unharmed.
'Do you see that, big man?' Chris asked Tony.
'Aye,' Big Tony replied, 'but we're not going back to take him prisoner.'
'The Major is going to be madder than a cut snake when he finds out about this.' Chris watched Alavex snap his bonds casually as if they were made of cheap plastic. Once his arms were free he reached down and broke the steel bars holding his legs.
Benny breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Alavex walk out of the burning wreck. 'Remember,' he said, 'we have orders to take him alive.'
Chris Cade gave him a grin. 'We couldn't kill him if we tried. We're going to need backup for this, head to the compound – and avoid drawing any more attention.'
For a while they drove toward the terran compound, avoiding major roads. They weren't followed but a number of protoss were seen rushing towards the smoking ruins of the High Council. It wouldn't be long before a survivor explained what happened. Through his periscope, Chris saw the compound ahead. It was guarded by a team of War Pigs, mercenaries that worked for the highest bidder. As they neared the entrance a dozen guards aimed their guns at the tank. A stout ginger haired man with a handlebar moustache opened the guardroom window and eyed them from behind the scope of his rifle.
'Halt!' He shouted. 'What business do you have here?'
'Open the gates!' Chris shouted back. 'My men and I need a dropship for an hour or so. Do you have one ready to go?'
The guard considered this for a moment before turning to speak with someone inside the guardhouse. He returned to the window, his rifle lowered.
'You black ops?' he asked them.
'What do you think, numb nuts?' Lane yelled back at him.
The guard's rifle slowly raised until it was pointed at them once more.
'What's in it for us?' the guard asked - his tone more steely than before.
Big Tony turned the gun turret on the guard room.
'You get to survive,' he growled. 'Now open the gates before I open them for you.'
'You'll need a pilot to fly the dropship,' the guard replied as he reached for the lever to open the gates. 'We can't spare none, they're all in a work safety meeting today.'
'Never mind about the pilot, I brought my own,' Chris snapped. 'Now point me in the direction of your nearest starport.' The guard indicated the road to the right and Roland didn't hesitate in taking it, pushing the tank into its highest speed. Chris peered back through his periscope and saw a dozen protoss stalkers heading their way. Behind the stalkers he could just make out the huge form of Alavex, striding purposefully beside them.
'Damn it!' Chris cursed. 'Let's hope the mercs can hold them off long enough for us to get airborne.' They all appeared doubtful, except Lane who wore a grin from ear to ear.
Three medivacs were parked on the runway outside the flight line. The squad clambered from the tank and bolted for the nearest of them. Behind them they heard gunfire as the mercs desperately tried to repel the hoard of protoss at the gates. A giant explosion heralded the arrival of a Phoenix aircraft which launched a rocket at an anti-air missile turret just a hundred meters from the squad, rocking them on their feet with the impact.
Benny was their pilot; he had over one hundred hours of flying experience in the banshees. It was the banshee that cost him his job and forced him into working as a marine. He'd lost his pilot license and rank when the Dominion discovered him trying to sell the aircraft's cloaking technology to the Moebius Foundation. For Benny, flying a medivac was the equivalent of a rally driver being asked to drive a bumper car.
As soon as they were on board Benny powered the ship, ascending them skywards and away from the battle raging behind them. The mercenaries were supported by airborne reinforcements that fired upon the protoss units below. In the distance, Chris could see the bright glow of a warp gate opening and the unmistakable form of Alavex stepping through it.
'He's gone, at least for now,' Chris breathed a sigh of relief. He registered the datacom link inside the medivac and punched in the code for Dominion headquarters. The phone was answered by a sexy female voice.
'Good afternoon, you have contacted the Dominion headquarters. My name is Alison Fairchild, how may I be of assistance to you today?'
'Patch me through to Major Sullivan of the Marine Corps!' Chris said urgently.
There was a small pause before a male voice bellowed back. 'Yes, who is this?'
'This is Sergeant Chris Cade, sir. The mission is code red. Repeat, code red. Request new orders. Over.' Red meant the mission had been compromised.
'Where is the subject now?' the Major asked.
'Walked through a warp gate, sir. Current location unknown.'
'Return to base immediately, Sergeant,' the Major ordered curtly.
'Roger, out.'
Chris killed the link and grabbed Benny's shoulder. 'You heard him, Benny, let's get there ASAP!'
'Co-ords punched in, Cade. Should be there in thirty minutes.'
Chris nodded and was turning away when he saw three red dots appear on the radar, one much larger than the other two.
'What the hell is that?' He gestured at the radar picture.
'Shit! Incoming hostile - one's a cat five!' Benny yelped as he began descending to a lower altitude. He pulled the medivac into an evasive dive.
Roland jumped from his seat and searched for something then slammed his fist into the wall. 'There ain't no guns on this piece of crap.' He spat.
Chris calmed them. 'Get me a picture on the monitor; I want to see what we're up against.'
Big Tony was on it. 'I've got one carrier flanking two phoenix. Line of intercept in less than a minute.' He adjusted the angle of the monitor so Chris could see.
'Can you out run them, Benny?' Chris suspected the answer before Benny gave it.
'No way in hell can a dropship out run a phoenix – let alone two phoenix. They'll come head on and box us in so the carrier can take us out,' Benny sighed. 'Or at least that's what I'd do.'
Chris made a decision. 'Alright, men, get ready to bail out. Benny, bring us in low – we'll take our chances on foot in the jungle.' His men responded with a quick nod.
From the rear of the medivac Chris grabbed three parachutes for his squad and buckled on his own. The ship shuddered from a rocket strike and lurched sideways. Everyone in the back of the craft was knocked from their feet. They regained their footing, donned a backpack and prepared to jump. Chris checked them over before giving the final word to evacuate. As Benny left the medivac on auto-hover they opened the floor hatch. One by one they dropped through, pulling their parachute cords as they fell. Chris was last to go. As his chute pulled from his pack the medivac took a direct hit. A roar of fire and wind was heard seconds before the blast sent chunks of burning wreck thundering into the ground between him and his men. Lane laughed with glee; Chris had never seen him so happy. His heart was racing and yet this lunatic was behaving like a kid at a theme park.
'Let's get out of here!' Chris shouted. Dropping their packs they scrambled through the jungle. They'd managed no further than sixty meters when a thunderous noise reverberated through the trees. The very ground beneath their feet shuddered as the jungle fell into silence. The musty smell of the brightly colored fungus that dotted the wet forest floor was suddenly overpowered by a rotten, putrid stench.
THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.
The squad immediately moved into defensive positions, drawing their weapons as they fanned out. Soldiers reacting like soldiers. In the distance they saw enormous trees bending, then snapping like twigs as the sound of the repetitive pounding drew nearer. Then they saw it. Chris's mouth dropped open with a mixture of fear and awe. This creature was the stuff nightmares were made of.
A giant ultralisk, five meters tall and almost twenty meters long charged into the clearing. Giant bones shaped like blades protruded from its spine. The squad opened fire, strafing down its side and bringing forth gouts of thick orange and green liquid. The stench of the mucous that oozed from each hole was almost unbearable to breathe in. It bellowed in an ear shattering response to their attack and, tucking its head down, prepared to charge. The enormous iron-like carapace protecting the top of its head deflected their bullets like rain drops on a tin roof.
It was futile to attack. 'Run!' Chris ordered. He leaped a boulder and retreated into the jungle. The ultralisk charged. Big Tony took cover behind a boulder and continued to unleash hell on the giant beast. His stance was unwavering, eyes unflinching.
'Tony! Retreat! Retreat!' Chris provided covering fire to allow Tony to escape. Then Benny joined him, soon followed by Lane and Roland - all trying to save Big Tony. It was too late. The ultralisk slammed the boulder aside and speared its two ghastly incisors into Big Tony's chest. In rage, the squad continued firing ineffectively at the armored creature. Big Tony's death spasm tightened his hand on the trigger of his chain gun, sending a spray of bullets into the jungle until the ultralisk made a fatal mistake. It swallowed Big Tony whole as the gun continued its uncontrolled fire.
The vulnerable insides of the ultralisk burst open as a myriad of gunshots tore through its soft inner flesh. The ultralisk howled, collapsing in agony and thrashing in its death throes before them. Roland ran forward and put two bullets in it for good measure, one in each delicate eye. It let out one long mournful screech before it died.
There was no time to grieve over Tony. As the squad regrouped Chris heard the low buzz of rotor-blades over head.
'What in the blazes -' he started to say.
Benny interrupted him, his face breaking into a grin. 'I'd know that sound anywhere! It's a banshee; it's one of the good guys. Roland, do you still have a flare handy?'
Roland rummaged in his magazine pouch and drew a flare. He shoved the round down the chamber of his rifle and locked it in place. Stepping into the middle of the clearing he fired the round skyward above the jungle canopy. A column of orange smoke created an arcing cloud of hope in the teal blue sky. The banshee banked and came to hover over their position.
Rappelling ropes uncoiled from the banshee and the squad was quickly airlifted into the sky. Lane seemed reluctant to go and took the last rope. Never had Chris known a man so eager to face death. Two of his squad members had died in less than an hour yet this seemingly had no impact on Lane. Right now, Chris envied the man.
The Major met the squad outside the command center thirty minutes later.
'You better have an explanation for this, Cade,' the Major barked at him as he cast an eye over the squad. 'Where are the other two?'
Lane answered before Chris had a chance to respond.
'Let's see, one was gutted by a Templar and the other is in the dead belly of an ultralisk.'
The Major said nothing more as they walked into his office. Once they were seated at his elaborate red wood conference table he offered them chilled water. They all accepted and gulped it down.
The Major took his position before them at the head of the table.
'Sergeant Cade, report,' he said while sipping on a glass of wine like a seasoned critic.
'The mission was a failure, sir. Alavex is far stronger than we first anticipated. We destroyed the settlement, making it look like a protoss did it. Then we got the call that a protoss matching Alavex's description had entered the city.' As he explained, the Major cut himself a piece of fine cheese and placed it on a cracker. Chris hadn't eaten anything in days and would have killed for a bite. 'Apparently Alavex was wanted for other charges so they locked him in a cell. We requested he be released into our custody but we were ordered to appear at the Council Hall to state our reasons. During the hearing the council of judges read his mind.'
The Major cut a grape in half and added it to his cheese before graciously offering them more water. They all declined.
'We barely made it out of there alive, sir.' Chris said as he watched the Major chomp away at the morsel in his mouth. Roland's stomach growled like a predator.
'What of those that read his memories?' Major Sullivan asked them, fixing himself another cracker, adding a scoop of caviar and a dusting of pepper.
'All dead, sir,' Chris replied. 'We destroyed the Council Hall on our way out. Alavex was its sole survivor.'
The Major rose and paced, contemplating. Swallowing his caviar, he opened an ornately carved box and produced a thick cigar. Lighting it, he blew pungent smoke all over them.
'We have ourselves a small problem now, don't we?' He said, casually drawing on the cigar. 'I want that protoss. He is the key to our Ghost program.'
'What are you talking about?' Roland asked as he eased himself back into his chair, hands behind his head.
To everyone's surprise, it was Benny that answered for the Major.
'The Ghost program is the next step in terran evolution,' he said, looking to Chris. 'I couldn't risk the protoss reading your mind so I never told you.'
Chris was dumbfounded. Benny continued to explain.
'The Ghost program was designed to enhance a marine's psionic abilities – on a level with the protoss. Alavex was so much more, though. We awakened an area of his brain which made him far more powerful than the other protoss – and best of all, he didn't need terrazine to utilize it. He's our miracle, Cade – through him we can engineer our own evolution.' Benny had a mad look in his eyes as he spoke. 'We need that brain.'
Chris' mind was racing with questions that needed answers. He had trusted Benny with his life. But how much of the Benny he trusted was a lie? As he slowly looked around at the rest of his men, he asked one more question of the Major. 'Why were we chosen for this?'
'Because you're the most dangerous marine we have, Cade,' the Major answered. 'And because you owe us, or do I have to remind you?'
A sudden rush of dark memories overwhelmed Chris, flooding his brain with the horror of his past. He'd tried to forget. He tried every day. Who was he to judge the likes of Lane Garrison, Roland Davidson or even his friend Benny? Their crimes were petty compared to his.
He recalled the night clearly now. His sweet, trusting wife was ignorant of his affair with their son's teacher, Laura. No one knew, until they were spotted one night when she came to visit the diner. He had loved Laura with all his heart but the romance was too scandalous for a small town like his to accept. He tried to keep it a secret but eventually Billy Thornton and his boys found out. That night as she left the diner, Thornton and his boys had jumped her. They beat Laura senseless and then carved the word 'whore' in her back, leaving her semi-naked body out in the parking lot near the trash. Chris found her too late. She died in hospital a few hours later without waking. He never got to tell her goodbye.
His hometown had stolen his love from him, turning him cold and numb. Grabbing his shotgun and a box of bullets he drove out to the factory on the edge of town. Shooting anyone that tried to stop him; he stole a flat bed truck loaded with canisters of mercury chloride. He drove the truck to the town's reservoir and shot each canister before sending the truck rolling into the water.
Within hours half the town was dead or dying in agony, including his sweet wife and beautiful sons. Chris hadn't thought of them when his rage took hold, when he wanted nothing more than the death of everyone in the town, guilty or not, to pay for Laura's death. He hadn't thought of how he had betrayed and murdered his innocent family in his need for vengeance. He thought about them every waking moment since.
The Major was right – he owed his own kind this much, he had to make amends.
'Still with us, Cade?' the Major yelled in his ear. 'You look like you're in another world!'
'Yes Major,' Chris replied automatically, wishing he truly was in another world – one where he could take back his actions and make everything right again.
The Major eyed him as he puffed on his cigar. 'Let me be perfectly clear about this – all terran will be destroyed if the Xel-Naga return. Our only chance for survival lies in the head of Alavex.'
'All due respect,' Benny said as slowly stood up from the table. 'We're going to need a lot more men for this mission.'
The Major extinguished his cigar in the bowl before him. 'Take what you need Taylor but be quick about it. If the Xel-Naga realize Alavex is awake, they may take a personal interest in him.'
As the squad left the command center, Chris suddenly felt as though he had a new purpose in life; a purpose to right the wrongs of his past by doing his best to save the terran race. He would either capture Alavex and secure his brain - or die trying.
17