Athos-9, a planet roughly the size of Earth in diameter, though nowhere near in population, or the particular type of population. A giant floating rock sphere dotted with jungles, forests, deserts, mountain ranges, oceans, islands, a breathable atmosphere for humans, and more important than that-a fortune in Minerals and Vespene Gas. Long ago the possibilities for both of these had been realized by the Terran forces, and they were known to spend countless hours searching for these...the life and blood of their machines and troops.
Of course, the Terrans were not the only ones who needed the resource. There were also the Bugs, the Zerg, a mix of dozens of alien strain enslaved under the Overmind and Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades. They also required Minerals and Vespene Gas to keep their claws sharp, and feed their horrendously advanced metabolisms. Athos-9 had been under their influence for quite some time, that much was obvious from an orbital view of the planet, which could reveal thousands of miles of creep all over the planet's surface. A planet which would be all but impossible to claim from their grasp, all but impossible, save for one Terran General.
"General!", said the young man decked out in Confederate Terran Armor. He stood at average height, and his voice showed both his lack of age and lack of experience on the battlefield. A label revealing him to be "Pr. Stelton" decorated his left breast.
The man beside of him turned to look at the young man, and standing at 6'3" in his armor, he was an impressive man indeed. His armor glistened in the evening sun, and his Gauss Rifle was hung like a sleeping serpent over his shoulder. A label on his left breast labeled him as "Gen Zephyr", General Mykael Zephyr of the Terran Forces. The youngest man appointed to the position of General in the history of the Confederate forces. He was in his early forties, and the brown hair was beginning to show it's peppered gray. The boy hadn't saluted, and neither did he-that was the first thing an enemy would look for on a battlefield, officers.
"What is it, son...?"
"Progress report on the base, Sir. All battalions are reporting a big 'Go' in all sectors. Colonel Azure and his boys and girls are out scouting on their Vultures now, laying out a few surprises in case any a' those Bugs try sneaking in on us", they both shared a grin at that, "SCV's are working at max, and we figure we should be all set up in a few weeks. But, looks like your plan worked like a charm, General. Stupid Bugs haven't even figured out we're here, yet", Stelton said while he rattled off the information he had memorized on the way over.
"Good. I don't want those Bugs to get an early jump on us here, so I want to keep as quiet as we can. If we're lucky, we should be able to get a firm toehold here before anything happens. How is Admiral Chaney holding out with the air support...?", the General asked while he surveyed the immediate area.
All around them vehicles and troops were moving in a constant flow. That was one thing about Zephyr's bunch, nobody sat on their ass when there was work to do. All of them knew that, and all of them did just that-and they made a damn good job of it. Mykael refused to have it any other way, and not even he would weasel his way out of a job if it needed to be done. Everyone worked...officer, private, General, cook, it didn't matter. All of them put in their part, and they felt they were all far better for it. The General wouldn't disagree with that assumption.
"The Admiral got on the horn with the Comm office just about an hour or two ago. He's holding behind one of the moons, keeping himself out of the way until we can get some Starports up-and-running down here. Science Vessels are keeping an eye on things with scanners, and Wraiths are working with Azure to do get some Scouting done from above. He wishes you the best, and told us 'Not to let that bull-headed bastard get his ass bit by any of those Turd-lings'", Stelton said with a laugh, and the General joined in on it. Chaney and Zephyr had been together for years, and they enjoyed poking at each other at any chance they got.
"He's just mad because he has to stare at that Moon's ass all day while we work down here. Once he manages to bite into a piece of those Bugs, he'll be fine...", Zephyr glanced upwards towards the sky, and then back down to the Private in front of him, "Anything else, Stelton?"
Stelton nodded his head, "Yes sir, so far. You'll be updated immediately if anything else occurs."
The Private felt a bit of shock at first when he finally figured out the General had actually said his name. Most officers in the Confederation couldn't give a rat's ass, quite literally, about what a subordinate said, let alone his name. But, that was something else that was unique about Zephyr's army, he had heard. Mykael tried to know all of his troops, tried to be their friend as well as General-he had never liked the idea of his troops being so formal with him all the time. The other Confederate Generals hated it, tried to have him de-ranked for his unique outlooks, but his record showed that his techniques worked. And, as long as they worked, they would let Mykael run his army however he damn well pleased, and that suit Mykael just fine.
"Excellent. And, when Colonel Azure gets back from his scouting mission, let me know. I'd like to talk to him personally about what he's found so far.", Zephyr added with a pat on the private's shoulder.
"You'll be the first to know, sir.", replied Stelton, and then the Private turned and made his way back into the camp. Zephyr watched him go, and then turned to look out at the rest of the camp.
"Fine boy. I just hope he manages to make it back in one piece...", Zephyr thought while he made his way towards the small series of buildings that were functioning as temporary bunkers and garages for the troops and vehicles. Even though Zephyr sported some of the smallest casualties of the Confederation's Army, there were still casualties, and nothing hurt him more than knowing he was very possibly sending men to their death every time they went out. It was a heavy weight to bear, and any one who said different had no idea what they were talking about.
A few hours later, Zephyr was inside of the small building that was functioning as Command Central. In the main back was his personal office, while the rest of the building was dedicated to Radio Operators, Communications Experts, and walls of charts that monitored the base. No one had slept since they had landed a few days before, well, no one except Rosey and her bunch. She was in charge of all the Dropships and their crew, and had led the first Dropship through the atmosphere. They had managed to sleep in a few hours while every one was busy camouflaging the vehicles, and starting to set up camp. Mykael didn't say a negative word about it; "I sure don't want to be flown around by a pilot who hasn't slept in the past week" was all he commented.
He sat on the edge of his bed thinking his way through the current situation while rolling one of the few cigarettes he allowed himself these days. He lit the tip with a lighter, and then pocketed it in his gray shirt. The front was unbuttoned halfway, it didn't look like a General's attire, but he was comfortable. His eyes drifted toward the far wall, where a map of Athos-9 had been mounted. There were various pins to designate their base, an off-location of Chaney's ships, and the known locations of the Bugs. The latter took up a much larger portion of the map.
"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us this time...", he muttered under his breath while he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth.
"Sir!", came the voice of a blonde woman in uniform as she opened the door to the General's office, "Colonel Azure and his Scouts have just came back from their little trip."
"Thank you, Suzy", the General said as he stood up. The girl smiled, nodded, and left. She had hoped to catch him undressing-it was common knowledge, among the women anyway, that almost every girl was attracted to Mykael in one way or another. They didn't know if Mykael knew or not, but if he did, he didn't show it, and that made it all the more interesting.
Zephyr headed out the front door of the CC to meet Azure personally and discuss how the trip went. The General always liked to know what was going on with the enemy, it allowed him to begin work on a strategy ASAP, and in this particular situation, he was going to need every strategy he could think of. But, the General had a pretty vivid imagination when it came to thinking up some effective strategies, and none of the Terrans were worried about it. They were all convinced they would come out on top, they wouldn't think of anything else. Losing was all in the mind and Winning was all in self-motivation, and they would never consider the first...and had more than their share of the latter.
End
Well, this is my attempt at introducing a character I've been rattling around in my head for a while. Not exactly packed with action, but trust me, it'll come later. Any types of comments are more than welcome.
Of course, the Terrans were not the only ones who needed the resource. There were also the Bugs, the Zerg, a mix of dozens of alien strain enslaved under the Overmind and Kerrigan, the Queen of Blades. They also required Minerals and Vespene Gas to keep their claws sharp, and feed their horrendously advanced metabolisms. Athos-9 had been under their influence for quite some time, that much was obvious from an orbital view of the planet, which could reveal thousands of miles of creep all over the planet's surface. A planet which would be all but impossible to claim from their grasp, all but impossible, save for one Terran General.
"General!", said the young man decked out in Confederate Terran Armor. He stood at average height, and his voice showed both his lack of age and lack of experience on the battlefield. A label revealing him to be "Pr. Stelton" decorated his left breast.
The man beside of him turned to look at the young man, and standing at 6'3" in his armor, he was an impressive man indeed. His armor glistened in the evening sun, and his Gauss Rifle was hung like a sleeping serpent over his shoulder. A label on his left breast labeled him as "Gen Zephyr", General Mykael Zephyr of the Terran Forces. The youngest man appointed to the position of General in the history of the Confederate forces. He was in his early forties, and the brown hair was beginning to show it's peppered gray. The boy hadn't saluted, and neither did he-that was the first thing an enemy would look for on a battlefield, officers.
"What is it, son...?"
"Progress report on the base, Sir. All battalions are reporting a big 'Go' in all sectors. Colonel Azure and his boys and girls are out scouting on their Vultures now, laying out a few surprises in case any a' those Bugs try sneaking in on us", they both shared a grin at that, "SCV's are working at max, and we figure we should be all set up in a few weeks. But, looks like your plan worked like a charm, General. Stupid Bugs haven't even figured out we're here, yet", Stelton said while he rattled off the information he had memorized on the way over.
"Good. I don't want those Bugs to get an early jump on us here, so I want to keep as quiet as we can. If we're lucky, we should be able to get a firm toehold here before anything happens. How is Admiral Chaney holding out with the air support...?", the General asked while he surveyed the immediate area.
All around them vehicles and troops were moving in a constant flow. That was one thing about Zephyr's bunch, nobody sat on their ass when there was work to do. All of them knew that, and all of them did just that-and they made a damn good job of it. Mykael refused to have it any other way, and not even he would weasel his way out of a job if it needed to be done. Everyone worked...officer, private, General, cook, it didn't matter. All of them put in their part, and they felt they were all far better for it. The General wouldn't disagree with that assumption.
"The Admiral got on the horn with the Comm office just about an hour or two ago. He's holding behind one of the moons, keeping himself out of the way until we can get some Starports up-and-running down here. Science Vessels are keeping an eye on things with scanners, and Wraiths are working with Azure to do get some Scouting done from above. He wishes you the best, and told us 'Not to let that bull-headed bastard get his ass bit by any of those Turd-lings'", Stelton said with a laugh, and the General joined in on it. Chaney and Zephyr had been together for years, and they enjoyed poking at each other at any chance they got.
"He's just mad because he has to stare at that Moon's ass all day while we work down here. Once he manages to bite into a piece of those Bugs, he'll be fine...", Zephyr glanced upwards towards the sky, and then back down to the Private in front of him, "Anything else, Stelton?"
Stelton nodded his head, "Yes sir, so far. You'll be updated immediately if anything else occurs."
The Private felt a bit of shock at first when he finally figured out the General had actually said his name. Most officers in the Confederation couldn't give a rat's ass, quite literally, about what a subordinate said, let alone his name. But, that was something else that was unique about Zephyr's army, he had heard. Mykael tried to know all of his troops, tried to be their friend as well as General-he had never liked the idea of his troops being so formal with him all the time. The other Confederate Generals hated it, tried to have him de-ranked for his unique outlooks, but his record showed that his techniques worked. And, as long as they worked, they would let Mykael run his army however he damn well pleased, and that suit Mykael just fine.
"Excellent. And, when Colonel Azure gets back from his scouting mission, let me know. I'd like to talk to him personally about what he's found so far.", Zephyr added with a pat on the private's shoulder.
"You'll be the first to know, sir.", replied Stelton, and then the Private turned and made his way back into the camp. Zephyr watched him go, and then turned to look out at the rest of the camp.
"Fine boy. I just hope he manages to make it back in one piece...", Zephyr thought while he made his way towards the small series of buildings that were functioning as temporary bunkers and garages for the troops and vehicles. Even though Zephyr sported some of the smallest casualties of the Confederation's Army, there were still casualties, and nothing hurt him more than knowing he was very possibly sending men to their death every time they went out. It was a heavy weight to bear, and any one who said different had no idea what they were talking about.
A few hours later, Zephyr was inside of the small building that was functioning as Command Central. In the main back was his personal office, while the rest of the building was dedicated to Radio Operators, Communications Experts, and walls of charts that monitored the base. No one had slept since they had landed a few days before, well, no one except Rosey and her bunch. She was in charge of all the Dropships and their crew, and had led the first Dropship through the atmosphere. They had managed to sleep in a few hours while every one was busy camouflaging the vehicles, and starting to set up camp. Mykael didn't say a negative word about it; "I sure don't want to be flown around by a pilot who hasn't slept in the past week" was all he commented.
He sat on the edge of his bed thinking his way through the current situation while rolling one of the few cigarettes he allowed himself these days. He lit the tip with a lighter, and then pocketed it in his gray shirt. The front was unbuttoned halfway, it didn't look like a General's attire, but he was comfortable. His eyes drifted toward the far wall, where a map of Athos-9 had been mounted. There were various pins to designate their base, an off-location of Chaney's ships, and the known locations of the Bugs. The latter took up a much larger portion of the map.
"Looks like we've got our work cut out for us this time...", he muttered under his breath while he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth.
"Sir!", came the voice of a blonde woman in uniform as she opened the door to the General's office, "Colonel Azure and his Scouts have just came back from their little trip."
"Thank you, Suzy", the General said as he stood up. The girl smiled, nodded, and left. She had hoped to catch him undressing-it was common knowledge, among the women anyway, that almost every girl was attracted to Mykael in one way or another. They didn't know if Mykael knew or not, but if he did, he didn't show it, and that made it all the more interesting.
Zephyr headed out the front door of the CC to meet Azure personally and discuss how the trip went. The General always liked to know what was going on with the enemy, it allowed him to begin work on a strategy ASAP, and in this particular situation, he was going to need every strategy he could think of. But, the General had a pretty vivid imagination when it came to thinking up some effective strategies, and none of the Terrans were worried about it. They were all convinced they would come out on top, they wouldn't think of anything else. Losing was all in the mind and Winning was all in self-motivation, and they would never consider the first...and had more than their share of the latter.
End
Well, this is my attempt at introducing a character I've been rattling around in my head for a while. Not exactly packed with action, but trust me, it'll come later. Any types of comments are more than welcome.