Char Beta wasn't a particularly welcoming planet. The database showed it as a remote, volcanic world similar in almost every way to the original Char. The minute difference being that Char Beta had a barren, desert band around its equatorial zone. Countless volcanoes pump thick plumes of smoke and ash into its thick atmosphere, creating a powerful greenhouse effect.

As if the world wasn't hot enough.

The only benefit to Char Beta was that it lacked the sufficient amount of Zerg that Char itself was plagued with. It was an oddity, as all sorts of factions from the enigmatic Protoss and power-hungry Terran vied for control of Char Beta. It was littered with resources, from geysers of vespene to high-density mineral resources.

But the taint of the Swarm knows no bounds.

An independent scientific research monopoly had, three months ago, taken up residence on Char Beta. 'Anschluss' it was called, led by a Professor Reimund Cornelius – an ex-confederate scientist. He privately funded three mining outposts on the desert band, and used the credits pouring in from those exploits to finance the creation of Anschluss Station, a growing town with its own private military.

Deep under it, Cornelius had a massive secret laboratory constructed. The only hint of its existence was the equally large communication dish protruding from the side of 'Maskar's Cliff' – a rather treacherous rock face that overlooked the entire settlement and the large exhaust vents permeating the ground. This had, however been explained as ventilation for the settlement's underground generator.

And it is here, where all hell begins…

CHAR BETA

The quaking that re-entry caused always put Gaul on edge. For four years had had dealt with it as a loyal Dominion marine, dropping into hot zones that were crawling with either nasty Zerg creatures or unwavering Protoss Zealots. In those four years, he had convinced himself that eventually he'd stop caring. He'd realize that the shaking was natural and really he should be far more concerned with what was waiting for him planet-side, but it never worked.

He never shook his fear.

Funny thing that his fear eventually caused his abandonment of the Dominion.

And somehow it had landed him under the employment of Professor Cornelius, a man that a great many considered mad. Gaul didn't put much thought into that though, he was under the impression that everyone in command these days had a screw loose or two, primary example:

Jim Raynor, the leader of Raynor's Raiders – was rumoured to be working on a full scale assult on Char. He was going after the Queen of Blades and planned on ending the Zerg threat.

As if sensing his thoughts, the cargo he and a few others were ordered to guard snarled from inside the one and a half meter long, solid neosteel container in the center of the dropship's bay. Gaul frowned inside his helmet and lightly kicked the side of the large box.

"Shut yer trap." Gaul growled, and went back to his thoughts.

The Queen of Blades – there was another loony.

Her appearance would suggest she was an infested human, but she wasn't like the others Gaul had had the 'pleasure' of running into. Most he saw were the bulbous, puss-eyed freaks that groaned and haphazardly charged at anyone they deemed a threat (which was anything) and the slightly more sophisticated ones that had recently been appearing on the battlefield. Nope, she was all sorts of different. She would almost be attractive if it wasn't for that mad look in her eye and her sheer determination to rip a man's face off.

Another low growl from the cargo, and Gaul found himself once again drawn back to the dark grey box.

It was just over a meter tall; with a small control panel on what was presumably the front of it (though to be honest most of the box looked the same). On either of its long sides, it bore the logo of Anschluss; an eagle designed in a very basic, military way with its head facing the right, its wings stretched upwards and curving into a circle. In the clutches of its talons was a solid ring, with a smooth figure-eight infinity symbol inside that.

Almost everything nowadays in the backwater reaches of the Koprulu Sector had that eagle on it. Cornelius had been quick to get his hands into everything, ensuring funds for whatever he did with his spare time.

Gaul's frown turned into a grimace. If the 'precious' cargo was any hint of Cornelius' interests, he didn't want to be on Char Beta for any longer than necessary.

The dropship bore no colourization associated with the popular factions. It was a crisp white, with the Anschluss Eagle boldly displayed on top of that paint job in a matte black. It hurried down through the sky, going unnoticed by the relatively reclusive Protoss tribe inhabiting the band with their wary Terran neighbours and swung wide, disappearing into a canyon.

This wasn't standard approach for vessels usually seeking to touch down in Anschluss, the pilots didn't announce their presence to any control tower, nor seek permission to be in the Professor's airspace – it was just generally accepted.

If the ships approach from the north, and disappear into the canyon – they are to be left alone. No questions asked.

The two pilots didn't speak to their passengers, and barely even noted each other's existences. They weren't paid to make friends – they were to make a quick drop from the battlecruiser Beschützer to the landing bay at the rear of the science facility and nothing else.

"Erschaffer Facility, this is vessel T-7, Anschluss dropship APOD-33 class. We are requesting permission to land." The pilot's voice was flat and to the point, she had a no-nonsense vibe about her.

"Relay your authorization codes."

The pilot who spoke looked nearly indistinguishable from the rear pilot, who was focusing on the three screens in front of him that were displaying real-time updates of the terrain and communication channels. Both wore flight suits that were black and their faces were hidden behind large helmets with what looked like cumbersome heads-up displays. They nodded to each other.

"Codes being delivered now."

"Stand-by."

This was something else Gaul hated, the ominous delay between the codes being sent and the facility authenticating it. The marine always felt like one day, the codes would be wrong, and they'd be blasted out of the sky.

This entire canyon was rumoured to be a minefield of anti-aircraft weaponry.

"The landing platform is being extended. You are permitted one hour to rest and refuel."

"Acknowledged."

The APOD-33 dropship was, in short, a brick with two engines strapped onto the sides. And it flew just about as well as that image implies. Landing was considered successful if the aircraft didn't break, and if everyone survived it. Gaul had been in plenty of crashes that he swore were smoother than the actual 'landings' these birds were capable of.

Gaul looked at his team, three others like him. Brutish marines with just enough brains to abandon the Dominion as the Emperor decided to throw all he's got at the Queen of Blades.

He supposed that like the pilots, they were indistinguishable to the untrained eye as well. All of them wore CMC-300 powered combat suits, and their colourization was the same. Mixed in with the cool steel of most of the armor were white plates, their right shoulder mounts all displayed the Anschluss Eagle proudly.

"Alright," Gaul spoke finally as he felt the dropship touch down with the same amount of grace as a crashing space station. "Y'all know the drill. Deliver the cargo, get back to the ship. Don't. Touch. Anything." Gaul looked towards the farthest marine; he had a black star on his left shoulder plate. "Got that Earl?"

"I didn't break nuthin'."

"I'll break your god damn face if you wander off again, understood?"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Skiv, you keep an eye on him."

The largest of the four simply bowed his head; Skiv had never been big on words. Gaul looked at the one guy he probably count on, Red. There was a slight reddish hue to his friend's visor, which was the only differentiation from the rest.

"You alright Red? You've been quiet the whole ride down."

Not that anyone could tell, but Red had been eyeballing the cargo the entire trip. This was wrong, everything about this was wrong. Every shipment they delivered here was strange, but this…

This reminded him of the Jacobs Installation.

"Talk 'bout it later boss, right now, we gotta deliver our lil' friend 'ere."

Skiv assigned himself and Earl to carry the container as Gaul took the lead and Red brought up the rear. Earl complained about the weight of the cargo, as if he actually felt any of its heft – Red was quick to silence him. Their powered suits did all the heavy lifting; all they had to do was operate it. Earl had apparently never worked in a space construction vehicle, otherwise known as an SCV. The rest of them had, they had long stopped complaining about the weight that made an alarm beep in their suits and instead picked up bickering over the inevitability of war and the Zerg.

Every time they delivered something, it was the same procedure. They departed from the APOD-33 and went straight for the main entrance. Sometimes the bulkhead door was up, blocking any view into the interior, other times, like this time, there was a large door with a metal frame holding thick, blast proof glass. Inside were the 'personal guard' of the facility, marines with slightly better armor and black visors. They were perfectly still, never moving unless it was required.

Unlike every other time though, in this instance a woman greeted them.

Specifically a ghost operative. Her sex was only revealed because the hostile environment suit she wore clung to her toned body. Her lithe frame was covered in a sleek, white skinsuit with glowing psi-sensitive bands interlaced. Silver 'armor' portions covered her chest, lower legs and arms. Her face was hidden by an eerie mask that was white, most of it probably made out of the same material as the rest of the suit. Around her eyes and nose seemed to be harder, specialized goggles with high tech lenses and sensor equipment.

The reticles of her eyes glowed blue. Like the psi-sensitive bands they were a bright, vivid near-aqua.

Gaul frowned. He didn't like when things differentiated from the usual plan, especially here. As the massive glass blockade hissed and began to lower, he could feel the tension not only from his squad, but from the woman.

He could have cut it with a knife.

Not one to be intimidated, even by a ghost, Gaul stepped forward and was followed by his men. He paused only when he was a few feet from the woman.

She moved her head ever so slightly, but he could tell she was now staring at the cargo. Then her stare flicked back to him with another subtle movement.

"There's a lift at the end of corridor, turn left and you'll see it." Her voice was distorted by the mask, it sounded autonomous Almost like an adjutant.

Gaul hesitated. "Our orders were to drop it on yer doorstep."

"Your orders have changed." The way the sentence left her tongue meant there was going to be no argument. Either they did it, or they died.

"Yes ma'am." He conceded to it, and issued the men to follow.

Something was wrong here, but he knew it was too late to do anything about it now.