Starcraft: Sins of our Fathers
As Samuel slammed himself against the wall, he knew that his end had come. The marine slowly slid to a seated position against the wall, and yielded into the dank sludge that coated the floor. As he panted heavily to catch his breath, he could hear them approaching. Their roars and shrieks were unmistakable, and he knew that they would find him soon.
…End…Soon…
He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He gathered himself, ignoring the smell of the sewer, the feeling of the damp air on his face, and the sounds of his impending doom. Blocking all senses, he focused on the sound of his heart. It fluttered rapidly, supplying blood to his tired muscles, readying them for their coming battle. Sitting there, Samuel realized it might well be their last.
He reopened his eyes and gazed toward the mouth of the tunnel, where his only source of illumination, a small service light, glowed weakly. He heard the beasts drawing closer, their feral screams echoing ever louder.
…Closer...Louder…
He closed his eyes again. They were gone. His entire team. The civilians. They were all his responsibility and he failed. Their blood was on his hands.
…Gone…Failed…Blood…
Breathing steadily, Samuel checked his Gauss rifle one last time, and glanced at the picture that he had taped to his weapon. Waving at him was a boy, no older than six, holding an ice cream.
He smiled and whispered, goodbye to a son he knew he would never see again.
…Son…Never See…
He could see their shadows approaching, and knew that they had found him.
…Approaching…Found Him…
Taking one last deep breathe, he coolly lifted his weapon and aimed it down the hall.
It seemed like a lifetime of waiting, as Samuel sat there, his rifle leveled at the opening. Samuel wondered how minutes had passed by, and how many he had left.
…Minutes…Passed…Left…
Then, almost as he were in a nightmare, the beast's head slowly peeked out into the opening, its sinister shape throwing an ominous shadow over Samuel. His heart rate quickened as the predator gave out a feral bark of triumph and entered the hallway, exposing itself completely.
…In…Nightmare…
Supported by a thick slithering tail, the creature's torso was wide and leathery, its chest plate protecting the raw sinews of muscles underneath. Its wicked mandibles adorned its nightmarish face, in between them its jaw hung open, salivating at its catch. But what terrified Samuel the most, was its eyes. The pair of beaming globes bore into his, almost as if the monster could see the terror inside of him.
…Eyes…Terror…
The Hydralisk paused as it analyzed Samuel; much like a tiger would its prey. Neither it, nor Samuel moved an inch, both seemingly waiting for the other to strike first. Samuel could feel a sweat droplet forming at the bottom of his forehead, but didn't dare attempt to wipe it. Instead, he let it slowly roll down his face, until it collected at the tip of his nose. Not moving his eyes from the monster, he could see the water droplet fall from his nose, creating a small ripple as it landed into the dark puddle on the floor. As if triggered by the movement, the monster roared and charged, wildly swinging its razor-sharp scythe like arms. Samuel returned the scream and pulled the trigger of his rifle.
…Not Moving…Samuel…
The General paced around nervously, the fires reflecting off his face, tinting it a reddish orange tinge. In front of him, he could see the siege tanks pummeling the interior city. Overhead he could see the Banshees flying across, peppering the already flaming city with their missiles.
He sighed. The day had been won. The majority force had been decimated, and the stragglers were currently being death with. It was almost a perfect operation, with casualty percentages ranging in the single digits. An almost perfect operation.
Rubbing his temples with his fingers, he paced up to the Field Commander.
"Have all squads checked in, Commander?" He asked.
"Almost all of 'em, commander." The marine said. "We're only miss'in one more. They should be here soon-" He glanced to the side to see a medivac transport touching down at the base. He looked back at the General. "That'll be em' now."
The General and Commander walked over to the transport to see it opening, a squad of Marines in Dominion red armor piling out. The General glanced inside the medivac and looked at the Sergeant.
"Sergeant." He said.
"Sir!"
"Where is 4th squad?"
The Sergeant looked down briefly and back up. "They…they didn't make it sir." He handed the General a photo. "This is all that was left of them."
The General looked at the photo and took a deep breath. "Alright, dismissed" The Commander barked.
"Sir!" The Sergeant replied. He saluted and with the rest of the squad marched off. The Commander looked at the General.
"It's all my fault." The General muttered, almost in a whisper.
"Don't feel too bad sir. The operation was a huge success. These are only five more casualties. They don't matter."
The General looked up at the Commander. "I just sent five good men to their deaths. Are you telling me that doesn't matter?" He whispered hoarsely.
The Commander widened his eyes slightly, obviously taken aback.
The General continued. "Because of me, a little boy will grow up without his father. Does that matter? How about when I tell his wife that he died, and when she asks me why, I say I killed him. Does any of that matter?" The General screamed.
He grabbed the shocked Commander's arm and dragged him within inches of his face. "All casualties, no matter how little, are tragedies, Commander." He said in the whispered voice again. He took a deep breathe and calmed himself." As one who feels the burden of leadership every day, I suggest you think about that." He said calmly, and released the Commander.
He turned around and walked into the Medivac. The Commander looked at him with still surprised eyes. "I'm leaving you in charge for the rest Commander. Don't let me down." The Commander hesitantly gave a salute and walked off. The General kept his eyes on him until the moment the ramp closed and walked into the darkness.
The General paced into his room aboard the battlecruiser. He stopped and took off his officer's cap. Throwing it onto his bed, he walked up to his bulletin board. On it were hundreds of pictures, all of them with children of all sizes, ages, and colors. He sighed as he scanned his eyes over them and sat at his desk. He opened up his computer and IDed the deceased marines.
Taking out a marker, he removed the photo from his pocket and flipped it over. On it, he wrote:
Battle of Domitian. Captain Samuel Ingram, 4th Squad, 16th Voluntary Battalion, Dominion Marine Corps.
He picked it up and pinned it to an empty spot on the board. He took a step back. He took a deep breath and looked up to the board.
"You are the true heroes." He said as he scanned his eyes across every face. "Your parents did sacrifice much, yes…But it is you who will feel the true weight of their decisions. You are the true warriors, going through combat every day, with an enemy that cannot be killed or stopped. You did not have the choice as your parents did. You did not sign a waiver or were forewarned. You were simply given your situation and were expected to comply."
The General paused a moment to collect himself.
"I know that nothing I can do or say will bring them back or ease the pain, but if it means anything at all, I swear to you I will not have let your parents died in vain. Every time one of you is transformed into a warrior, it agonizes me, and I carry on by swearing that I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening again."
He stopped a moment to wipe the tears that were forming at his eyes. "And what pains me even more is that, I'm the reason for your loss. I'm the reason you will never see your father or mother again. So if anything, hate me. Don't hate them. It's not their faults. Hate me. I'm the cause of everything." He barely choked out.
He stopped and sobbed. After a few minutes, the general managed to collect himself and took a deep breath.
"You are the true soldiers, and I salute you. I salute for the pain you experience every time you think of yesterday. I salute for the struggle of going through today. And I salute you for the bravery of facing tomorrow." The General finished.
Straightening out his uniform, he placed his hat back upon his head, straightened his back, and placed his fingers at his forehead in salute.
"Your struggles will never be forgotten." He said as a lone tear rolled down his face. "You will never be forgotten!"
…Struggles…Never…Forgotten…