Infection
Jack Freedman stifled a yawn as he walked into the control room, his trusty coffee mug held firmly in his left hand, a clipboard in the other. Though he hated it with a passion, Jack somehow always ended up stuck on the redeye shift. So, it was his job to sleep during the day, and, along with his old buddy James Hannon, make sure the command center didn't blow up in the middle of the night.
"Hey Jack, anything new on the schedule tonight?" James asked as Jack sat down at a computer terminal.
"Nope. No, we're stuck with a textbook case of SSDD, my friend." Jack replied, downing some of the blessed coffee that made the redeye shift bearable.
James smirked at the quip. SSDD stood for Same Shit, Different Day, a saying that had long since become standard for the personnel of the command post Alpha Sigma 1. Jack and James went about their duties, prepared for another totally uneventful evening.
Command post Alpha Sigma 1 was on an advanced exploration detail. A little over 2 days ago, the command center had detached from the underbelly of a modified battle cruiser and, an hour later, entered the atmosphere of the presently unnamed planet in the outer rims of Dominion space. Emperor Mengsk had decreed that any newly discovered planets were to be explored for resources at soon as possible. After his little war with the Queen of Blades, Mengsk had all but exhausted his monetary assets. Alpha Sigma was going to land at the first wealthy mineral deposit it found and set up a base of operations for the Planetary Exploration Team on board the orbiting battle cruiser, the Bradley.
About 2 miles away from the orbital position of the Bradley, a rift in space tore open. Out of it poured thousands of Zerg insects. The Queen of Blades had been in on this little discovery, and had sent a Hive group over, planning on destroying anyone who had got there first and set up a mining colony. The space battle that ensued was short, and extremely single sided. The Bradley didn't have enough time to launch an effective counter attack. Any Wraiths that had been launched were torn to shreds by the swarms of Mutalisks. Soon, the Scourge pairs had reduced the mighty cruiser to a smoldering, dead husk. What crew did survive the attack was now trapped on the doomed vessel, loosing oxygen far too fast for there to be any hope or survival. The attack was so sudden that the distress beacon was on for a grand total of 4 seconds.
The swarm began the descent to the planet.
Jack was dosing at his station when a light began to blink. By the time he has focused on it, the blinking stopped. It had been the distress beacon from the Bradley.
"Hey James, you get anything over there? Like, a short distress beacon alert?" Jack called over, wondering what the hell was going on upstairs.
"Yeah, I did, but I wouldn't worry about it. Someone probably slipped, or something. I inspect a call from the Bradley in a moment or two, explaining what the fuck happened." James said. He always saw the relaxed version of non-combat situations.
Instead of a call from the Bradley, warning klaxons began to wail. Simultaneously, Jack and James looked up to the main monitor of the control room. Simultaneously, they saw the radar signatures of the Zerg.
Wasting no time, they both snapped to action. James went to activating the Alpha Sigma 1's automated defense weapons and bringing the command center up to combat readiness. Jack went onto the PA system.
"Attention, we are now entering general quarters. I repeat, we are now entering general quarters. This is not a drill. Zerg have been sighted on radar, in the approximate area of the Bradley. Man your battle stations. Out" Jack spoke into his headset microphone. "Computer, what is the status of the Bradley?" he asked.
"One moment please." Responded the computerized, feminine voice of the standard Terran computer. "I have been unable to make contact with the artificial intelligence system of the Bradley, or any other part of the ship itself. I calculate a 99% chance that the Bradley and all those aboard have been destroyed by the Zerg."
Jack grimaced. He had known a lot of people on the Bradley. By this time, others had arrived at the bridge. Reports were coming in from all around the command center, giving word of battle readiness.
"Automated defense systems activated!" "Entrances covered!" "Marines manning the heavy gun turrets now!" "Command post Alpha Sigma 1 ready for combat!" The bridge was buzzing with tension. Commander Irukia walked in. He was a tall man in his late 50's. Being one of the original leaders in the Sons of Korhal, Irukia had volunteered to lead the exploration.
"Status!" he barked, moving over to the command chair.
"Sir! The Bradley has been destroyed by a Zerg force of unknown origin. They are now headed our way!" Jack called, hammering away at his station, trying to find the origin of the swarm.
"Are we prepared for them?" the oriental man asked, receiving various 'yessir!' and 'aye, captain!' replies from around the room. "Good. Give me access to the PA system." Irukia said. A microphone popped up from the left arm of his chair. Clearing his throat, Irukia began his speech.
"My fellow soldiers and explorers. Ten minutes ago, our mother ship, the Bradley, was destroyed by a Zerg Swarm. As of this moment, I have no idea where they came from, how the got here, or what they're doing here." Irukia began. 8 miles away, the Zerg cleared the atmosphere. Overlords, Mutalisks, several surviving Scourge pairs, and a queen tore towards the hovering command center. "As you remember, when you signed up for the honorable duty of service in the Dominion armed forces, you took an oath. An oath to protect that which is under Dominion rule.
"Now is the time to make good on that oath. While this planet means nothing to us yet, the Zerg are a threat to all that which we live for. Even if we only take 2 dozen of their numbers down that would be 2 dozen less that the swarms have to fight with. We must strike down that which is evil and wrong; we must slay the threat to humanity.
"I am going to be honest with you boys, we will die when the Zerg get to us. Their numbers are too great, our supplies far too limited. But, god dammit, if we are going to die, I say let us take those infernal creatures with us to hell!"
Irukia finished his speech just as the Zerg reached the hovering Alpha Sigma 1. The Mutalisks were the first to reach the near helpless command center. Marines inside the immense structure had turned on the pre-spin for the outer auto-cannons as soon as the call to general quarters had been issued. Now, they unleashed streams death to the airborne Zerg units. The more experienced among them aimed for the wing joints, knowing that was the fastest way to take the mutalisks down.
Strangely enough, the bat-like Zerg wouldn't break the tight formation they were in. Several of them fell, riddled with bullets. One completely exploded after 5 guns locked onto it simultaneously. One tightly packed group of about 6 dodged the gunfire and dove under the building. That was when one marine found out why the mutalisks hadn't broken formation. To his horror, he saw the Mutalisks suddenly break away, revealing a scourge pair. He tried to train his gun on them and take them down, but it was useless, the turret wouldn't move fast enough. The scourge pair was 20 meters from one of the hover pads, then 10. In a panic, the marine shouted a warning to his comrades, and then dove for cover.
The explosion rocked the building, and in the bridge, several crewmen were knocked to the floor. Bleeding from the gash he just received on his forehead, Irukia called for a status report.
"Sir, a scourge pair has hit hover disk 4!" Jack announced, damage alerts and warnings scrolling across his screen almost too fast for him to read. "We've lost 25 percent of our hovering power!"
Irukia grimaced; that wasn't the best news to hear in battle. "Equalize remaining power out between the remaining three disks! Private, I want this building to remain in the air, understood?"
"Yes sir!" Jack replied, sending commands to various parts of the building.
"Proximity alert, proximity alert. Imminent collision with Zerg unit." The computer belted out. The bridge crew watched in horror as the feed from an automated turret popped up on the central monitor. Another scourge pair had snuck under the defenses, and was collided with another hover disk. Warning popped up all over the command room.
"Sir, we've lost too much power! We barely have enough power to land!" James called from his station.
"Commander, we've lost contact with all technical staff for the hover disks!" another soldier called out. Irukia sat leaned back in his chair, his hands crossed in front of his face. He heard a crackle in his earpiece. "Irukia here."
"Sir, if you plan on landing this thing, I suggest you do it now. I've lost a coupla men at their turrets, and frankly, me and my boys wanna die on the ground!" The captain of Sigma Alpha 1's marine detachment said. Irukia closed his eyes and nodded to himself.
"Don't worry, captain, I'm about give the order to descend." Irukia told the marine. "Private Freedman, bring us down. Private Hannon, prepare the reactor for detonation. I'll not let this station become a tool for the Zerg!"
"Aye sir!" the two soldiers belted out as one.
The building set down, and that was then the real fighting started. Marines had been waiting by the doors, and several of them had already stuck themselves with Stim packs. When the hatches opened, they gave a war cry and rushed out to meet the Zerg. And they were well met, for as soon as the overlords had sensed the command center begin to descend, they flew in low over the ground and released the zerglings and hydralisks that had been stowed away within their thick carapace.
The fighting was intense. By this time, the only marines that weren't juiced up on Stim drugs were already dead. For every marine that was killed, 4 zerglings and hydralisks fell with them. One marine, when he received a fatal injury from a spray of toxic spines, pulled the pins from his grenades and dove onto a group of Zerg, the whole time bellowing with a rage that would send chills down the spine of the ancient Norse Berserkers.
Despite the marines' valiant attempt, the battle was pointless. There were too many Zerg, and the flyers hadn't even bothered to attack the marines; the Mutalisks and remaining scourge continuously pounded the command center. Walls collapsed, fires erupted. Half the bridge crew was dead. Worst of all, one of the Glave Wurm volleys had penetrated the core of the building. It bounced around the room, killing technicians and damaging vital equipment. In the last bounce before it lost energy, the Wurm severed the conduit that connected the core room with the bridge. The bridge crew no longer had any control of the core.
On the bridge, the situation was as hectic as the battle outside. Smoke billowed from many terminals, crew members lay dead everywhere; some missing faces from when their terminals had exploded in front of them.
"Commander Irukia, we've lost all contact with the core crew; I think an attack penetrated the hull and killed them. Additionally, our connection to the core has been severed. We cannot self detonate." Jack said, an eerie calm washing over him. Irukia nodded.
"We've done all we could do, son. I suggest you……"
The commander was cut off when the ceiling collapsed in around them. A queen had plowed through the roof, and wasted no time in spraying a sticky green substance all over the room. Jack, Irukia, James, everyone in the room, knew what was about to happen. Next, a purple substance oozed out from hidden pores in the queen's carapace. Not long after the fumes hit him could Jack feel the darkness surrounding him.
That was when Jack had his first and last taste of pure, unbridled terror. This wasn't the fear of dying, but the fear of living without conscious thought; living without free will that terrified Jack so much. In his last act of free will, his last act of true life, Jack released all the terror from his soul in one blood curdling scream.
He lay beneath the surface, buried not only under several meters of soil, but surrounded in the thick, flesh-like substance known as the Creep. It nourished him, kept him alive, and occasionally brought him pleasure. Yet, despite this, he still felt depressed, somehow, as if something were missing in his life. He spent what felt like many days pondering this enigma.
Eventually, the answer moved into the light. He felt a searing pain in his head, but only for a moment. When it passed, nothing could describe the euphoria he was in. he knew there was something else in his mind now, and he also knew it was this presence that delivered him to his blissful paradise. Then, he heard the presence speak.
Awaken, my child. Long have you slept in the earth, unknowingly guarding that which is crucial to our survival. Now, the Hive is in danger! Our enemies attack with the intention of destroying your, nay, Our existence. Rise up from your tomb, and destroy those which embody all that we hate! The voice was deep, resonating, echoing for an eternity in his mind. Each syllable gave his a pleasure that knew no ends.
As you command. He replied. Feverishly, he began to dig at the ground above him. The soil was no match for his clawed hands. In seconds, he breached the surface and was standing in sunlight for the first time in he didn't know, nor care how long. He turned and saw soldiers that were somehow recognizable to him. Then, he realized they must be the enemy that the presence had spoken of.
Go, attack in the name of the Overmind! The voice said.
"FOR THE SWARM!" he bellowed, the his voice as mangled as his body. He broke into a sprint, dodging some shots taken at him, and letting others hit him, knowing they would only speed the reaction that was to take place inside of him. He was so close to the enemy lines now, no more then 30 meters.
20 meters.
10 meters.
5 meters.
…………….Then, right as he dove the last 2 meters, his memories rushed back to him in a horrible jolt. Time slowed down, and he examined himself. He gasped when he saw his hands; they had become insect claws. A second pair of arms grew from his shoulder blades. He knew his insides had completely changed. What was worse, he felt a burning sensation in his gut; a sign of the explosion he knew he was to cause. At first, he tried to stop it, he tried to save his fellow Terran soldiers. Then, he realized that if he let them live, there was the possibility that the same would happen to them. They would be infected by the Zerg and out through the same nightmare he was living. He wanted this fate for none of his comrades.
So, once again Jack felt that eerie feeling of calm wash over him. With one last breath, he landed amongst his former comrades and surrendered to the darkness once again. Only this time, he felt at peace.
Well, to anyone who is reading this now, you caught the revised version of this story. This is just sort of a warm up for me; I'm finally getting off my ass and writing again. Feedback would be very nice, as I need to know how rusty I've become. Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed it.
Rock on,
The Big Fisch