Rising over a small knoll, a Marine surveyed the landscape, then motioned his companions up. Seven more Marines joined him, and coming up behind them was a Goliath combat walker. The squad's lieutenant, standing at the forefront of the group, activated the binoculars in his helmet. There was nothing around for several kilometers, and motioned the squad to move forward.
No sooner had the team set forth then a huge explosion ripped right into the middle of the unit. The lieutenant did a duck-and-roll off the hilltop and looked back. Two of his men were gone, the rest trying to find cover. The Goliath pilot scanned the area and found the attacker: a Protoss Dragoon, which had come over the next rise in front of them. He armed the twin 30mm Autocannons and fired back, retreating behind the hilltop. The bullets impacted against the Dragoon's shields, doing little damage to the actual machine.
The lieutenant ordered his men to move, just as another energy bolt from the Dragoon slammed into the hillside. Looking off to his right, he spied an outcrop of rocks, located at the end of a gully connecting the hill to another. He commanded his men to take up positions in the pile, telling the Goliath pilot via radio to swing around behind them. Taking his place behind another rock, he hunkered down as another bolt blew away the rock next to him, and the trooper behind it. As the smoke cleared, the lieutenant looked around at the Dragoon, and saw several Protoss warriors charging him.
The Protoss' commander, a highly decorated Templar warrior, was just as surprised to find the humans as they were finding him, except he had the element of surprise. Peeking over the mound, he had moved the Dragoon to the top just as they began descending. It had pre-charged its Phase Disruptor, and released the bolt it when it came into view. The commander watched as the humans scrambled for cover behind several rocks, losing at least two warriors. Feeling the humans were retained enough, he led his five Zealot warriors in a charge on the position.
There was little fire coming from the human warriors, and what projectiles that were on target impacted the Protoss' shields. A Zealot went around either side of the rock pile, making a quiet advance up the hills. The rest plowed dead on for a frontal assault. The Zealot in front of the commander jumped up on top of a large rock, and was blown away by an detonation. The humans carried an underslung explosive shell launcher under their weapons, something which the young Zealot had just been educated on. He would survive, but his shields were lowered drastically.
The Protoss commander, next in line, hoped clear over a smaller rock, landing right behind a human warrior. Activating the Psionic Blades on his arms while in mid-flight, he did a complete 360°, slicing the human in half with the grace of a swordsman. He rounded another rock, coming "face to face" with another human. Towering over the petty fool at nine feet, the commander came down on the surprised combatant with his blades, cutting the creature in half vertically. His other two Zealots came upon the rest of the enemy, and at the occurrence of hearing the humans' screams of pain, figured the battle was over. But then he was startled to hear the sound of more weapons fire.
The Goliath pilot, coming around behind the Marine position, was horrified to see his fellow teammates hacked to pieces. Firing up the Autocannons, he let loose on the two Protoss in his sights. The Autocannon fire at such close range was too much for the Protoss, bringing down their shields in a matter of moments. The warriors were literally blown to bits, huge chucks of flesh and armor all that was left of them. Unfortunately for the pilot, the two Protoss that had gone up the sides jumped off their perches right on either side of the Goliath. Their blades had a much rougher time getting through the machine then it took to go through a human, but the two disabled the Goliath and, filled with rage at the lose of their brethren, insured the pilot a slow but painful death.
The Templar commander, deactivating his weapons, went over what had transpired in the few moments of chaos and the report he'd have to give. Gathering up the remaining Zealots and the Dragoon, and giving last respects to the fallen warriors who fulfilled their duties to the Khala, he continued on with his patrol of the sector, ever more on the watch for enemies of the Empire.
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General Graeff sat deep inside the Command Center, starring at the hologram projection. It was the latest reports from the field, most notably a video feed on the lose of Hill 24. The images replayed over and over: the Siege Tank, firing it's massive shells into the distant background, being blown to pieces by a pair of incoming Protoss Scouts; then the Zealots charging the position, taking few casualties; and then static.
The video was like a playback of the entire war in the Alcinous system. It all started five years ago when the 5th Terran fleet fought the Protoss in the Battle of the Belt, a ring of asteroids surrounding the system. Both sides had taken heavy losses, but the Terran fleet was annihilated, a few picket ships and some other small craft escaping. Nothing could stop the Protoss from destroying any of the planets.
Alcinous III was the Zeda Squadron's last stand, after Alcinous IV through VII were destroyed via planetary precision bombing. In a stunning, yet suicidal move made by the surviving Wraith squadrons, the Protoss' bombardment ships were destroyed, along with most of their Carriers. All pilots were lost, but their efforts crippled the Protoss, forcing them to invade rather then rain destruction on Alcinous III. Yet on the ground, the Protoss were near impossible to stop. All major cities and industrial centers were destroyed, along with most of their civilian population. After that, people began escaping off planet in anything they could fine, but were shot down while exiting the atmosphere until there were no ships left. And all that remained of the "mighty" Zeda Squadron were a few remote outposts, and "HQ".
Reports from the rest of the Koprulu sector have been just a depressing. It's predicted that the Protoss will make a major push for Tarsonis, the capital of the Confederacy. Several planets have been overrun by the creatures known as the Zerg, and a new rebellion against the government is seriously beginning to challenge the Terran Army. Further more, to fight all these attackers, no Squadrons can be sent to relieve Zeda. This did not help the General's situation.
During the first wave of attacks, only the Command Center, with it's numerous inner levels deep behind Neosteel armor, survived initial aggression. Although with most of its outer shell blown away, the Command Center was still functional, if not always on the move to avoid the Protoss. There was always a lot of noise, from the grind of machinery to falling debris, and the General figured nobody would notice an extra sound.
Pulling his prized antique Colt .44 out of its decorated box, a relic far older then when the "colonists" left Earth, he cocked the hammer back and brought it to his head, pointing the barrel inwards to his brain. It's been said that this was the least painful way to commit suicide, and the brain matter was easier to clean up before the officer next in line took command. Figuring the situation hopeless, and it's outcome inevitable, he decided to join his family and pulled the trigger.
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Executor Apollyon stared out into the night sky from the observation deck of his command ship and the last remaining Carrier, the Apostle of Khas. The arrangement of the stars were not the same as on Auir, though he had gotten use to that a long time ago. Turning his gaze downward, he examined the Protoss main base. A good deal of it had been damaged or destroyed in the first cycles of the ground war, a wholehearted but desperate move to repulse his forces.
He had concluded long ago that the Terran's greatest strength was their determination, even in the face of total destruction. They were also crafty, resourceful, and, at this point, incredibly lucky to have survived. The Terrans would've been an honorable foe if not for their underhanded and foul nature. Including rude manners.
But he was letting his mind wander again. Apollyon receded back into his chambers, focusing on the situation at hand. Indeed my Templar forces have the upperhand he thought, but even now we are nearing the brink of defeat. If not for the engagement in the asteroid field and the attack by the human fighters, we would not have had to invade in the first place. The Conclave won't even send reinforcements, sending troops elsewhere to "cleanse" the rest of the Terran sector of the Zerg infestation. There probably never were Zerg in this system, just a figment of the Conclave's imagination.
Apallyon started re-reading reports of his remaining Templar warriors. Even though he was gaining ground by the day, Apollyon realized they still were taking heavy casualties. The Terrans were making them pay for every footstep into their territory, and soon Apallyon would not be able to afford it. He always ordered Scouts to take out positions before ground troops came in, but he could not afford to lose a single one. It was the ability of his invisible Observers to track escaping Terran ships that gave the humans a sense that he still had as big an air force as he used to have. At present Apollyon had eight Scouts, a plethora of Observers (although he was losing them more frequently due to Missile Towers) and his own Carrier with full compliment of short-range Interceptors.
Apollyon knew one thing that would end the conflict: the destruction of the Terran's Command Center. It had survived the attacks made by Scouts when the invasion began, and although the rest of the Terran main base was destroyed, he lost many pilots in the raids. Now it is reported to be on the move constantly, although he still hasn't found it, even with all of his Observers searching the area. Once the Command Center was destroyed, the Terrans would lose all contact between themselves and the rest of the sector. Walking into his hologram room, he pulled up a map of recent sightings, and began analyzing the information. If he could find a pattern, then lay a trap for the mobile headquarters, they could destroy it in a swift, precise blow. Thrilled at the thought, Apollyon began searching the map vigorously, feeling the end for the Terrans was nigh.