Alan leaned over his drink as a wayward barstool flew past his head. The drink-dispensing cyborg in front of him looked oddly at this protective motion. "You know, it's just booze. You cradle it like a mother protecting an infant." The cyborg said with a tinny chuckle in his voice.
Alan looked up at the cyborg. "I spent nearly forty thousand creds for that docking ticket I just got. So it's not like I can afford to waste a perfectly good drink just 'cus some asshole threw a chair at me."
The cyborg shrugged, making a mechanical noise as he moved. "Good point,"
Alan took the glass and downed the last of the brown liquor it contained. He fished around in his pocket for another credit to pay the cyborg, but came up empty. "And it looks like I can't even afford to pay for that drink either." Alan said. A few moments later, Alan found himself being thrown out of the bar by the cyborg's powerful mechanical arms. This is turning out to be a really shitty day. Alan thought. The massive spaceport that he was docked in was, in reality, a relic from the second war. After Kerrigan defeated the UED, Emperor Mengsk and even the Protoss, all the terran colonies packed up and left the Koprulu sector as quickly as possible. Before the defeat of the Dominion, Alan took part in a battle that would have cost thousands of Terran lives if it had not been for his skill as a pilot. With his tiny, two-man wraith, Alan single handedly killed seventeen Zerg scourges that were headed towards a capitol ship. Alan's craft was crippled and his co-pilot was killed, but he survived to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and wing commander for Epsilon Squadron's wraith battalion. A few months later, the Dominion collapsed under the might of the UED. Alan fought along side the struggling Dominion forces through nearly every major battle up to the final encounter with Kerrigan's swarms. After the crushing defeat of the Terran forces, Alan, along with any survivors he could find, traveled even further from Earth to the outlying star systems outside the Zerg's control. His rank and position in the Dominion navy were exchanged for civilian life. He traded in his custom wraith fighter for a salvage freight, retrofitted it with any weapons he could find, and started his career as a scrap dealer. Until recently, Alan was making large sums of money for salvaging scrapped ships. But there was increasing demands for Protoss technology, and the few places where Protoss ships were still derelict were quickly being taken over by the Zerg. Any ships that passed through those regions were either destroyed or assimilated by swarms of Zerg minions.
As Alan walked to his ship, a billboard add caught his eye. It read: STRONG, HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR SALVAGE MISSION IN THE KOPRULU SECTOR. MILITARY TRAINING REQUIRED. PAY: 90'000 CREDITS UP FRONT, 1'500'000 CREDITS AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION.
Alan pondered this for a while. A mission to the Koprulu sector meant that they would undoubtedly encounter Zerg. And military training meant that they were planning on fighting. But that kind of money wasn't chump change. Surely whoever was behind this mission wanted something in the Koprulu sector badly enough to pay a large amount. After the incident at the bar, Alan knew that he needed money so he read on. SEE EGON MAXSTON IN DOCKING ROOM 408 FOR DETAILS. The employer became clear to Alan. Egon Maxston was one of the wealthiest men alive, having amassed a fortune in the vespene gas industry before the war. But the reason why this man wanted something from the Koprulu sector still remained a mystery. Alan decided that he would find out in person and walked to docking room 408. When he got there, several other people had already shown up. Two black men that looked like twins, a shapely female in a trench coat and a muscle bound man with a crew cut made up the group. Maxston, a gray haired man with a business suit and a handlebar moustache, looked at Alan and smiled. "Ah, you have come regarding the job?"
Alan nodded. "Yeah, the name's Alan Rath."
"Oh yes, the famous fighter pilot -- excellent. This is Lieutenant Jessica Fox," the woman smiled at Alan. "Sergeant Michael Hunter," The muscular man nodded. "And the twins, Sergeants David and Rick Lucent." Alan nodded and shook hands with each person. Maxston spoke again. "We were about to leave when you showed up, Mr. Rath. But given your reputation, I'll make an exception." Maxston continued, "As you all know, this mission will take place in the Koprulu sector, near the former Confederate homeworld of Tarsonis. Some people think that there is a functional psi disrupter that the Confederacy kept underground in case of espionage. Until recently this has been little more than a rumor. But my sources have confirmed the existence of this disrupter. You are to take my ship, the Allegory, to Tarsonis and retrieve the psi disrupter."
Alan was skeptical. "Wait a minute. How could you have sources in Zerg territory? Everyone who stayed behind was assimilated."
"This is an unfortunate truth. As a result, several of my agents actually had to travel to Tarsonis in order to get the information I needed." Said Maxston.
Alan still had questions. "What do you want with the psi disrupter?"
"Mengsk is sure to pay a generous sum for the device. A psi disrupter could mean the defeat of the Zerg if deployed properly." Maxston explained.
Alan still had his doubts, but he put them behind him and accepted the mission anyway. The motley crew of mercenaries stepped aboard the Allegory and strapped themselves into their stations. Maxston sat down in the command chair and pushed a button on his console. The window shield opened and the crew could see out into the vastness of space. The crew felt the surge of artificial gravity kick in, the docking clamps releasing and the gentle vibration of the ship's fusion reactor. Alan took the helm and carefully navigated the ship out of the spaceport. Within a few seconds, the ship was out of the spaceport's range and speeding towards Tarsonis. On the way, Alan decided to get to know his fellow crewmates for the mission. After the course was locked in and his shift at the helm was over, he decided to browse the dossier files for the crew. Mike Hunter was a Master Sergeant in the original Sons of Korhal before they became the Terran Dominion. During that time, he operated a siege tank and was awarded the medal of valor for successfully defending a Korhal base from Confederate forces during the guild wars. His career ended, however when the Terran Dominion was founded and he went AWOL along with James Raynor's crew. Unlike most of the men that aided Raynor's cause, Hunter withdrew from military service and became a security advisor for the Kel Morian Combine Mining Legion.
Jessica Fox was a type of soldier that Alan was not used to seeing. She was a ghost for the Confederacy, but had no telepathic ability whatsoever. Through her test scores and some persuasion by her father, who was a general in Confederate security, she was able to enter the marines as a ghost, holding the rank of lieutenant. Unfortunately, her father was not able to negate the fact that she had no psychic power and she was ejected from the intelligence field back to the infantry division. Ashamed and disillusioned, she resigned her commission as a Confederate officer and went to work as a freelance bounty hunter.
The Lucent twins were as stereotypical as twins get. They both enlisted in the Confederate Marine Corps at the same time, to the same branch of service, and achieved the same rank. They went into the marines as demolition experts and succeeded in destroying each target that they were assigned to, giving them the nicknames "Annihilator" and "Harbinger". The twins were in the marines up until the fall of the confederacy. At that point, they went into the Kel Morian Combine and used their expertise in explosives to become miners.
Alan, having finished the dossiers, got up and walked to the mess hall. The other crewmen were already there, eating a very appetizing meal. All along the walls were murals and other furnishings that gave the mess hall a cozy feel. Behind the kitchen stood a floating robot cooking and cleaning used dishes with it's many arms. Maxston sat at the end of the dining table and greeted Alan with his glass raised. "As you can see, Colonel, I spare no expense when it comes to providing for my employees." Alan smiled and sat down to a plate already made for him. The silverware was made out of platinum, the dishes were fine china and the napkins were spun silk. Alan commented, "I wasn't aware that this would be a pleasure cruise, Mr. Maxston."
"Ah, but why make a dangerous mission even more unpleasant by providing low quality furnishings? Believe me, Colonel, I can afford it."
Mike looked distressed; as a tank pilot he was used to the most basic of rations and utensils. Even when he was on leave at a fancy restaurant he had not seen dinnerware as exquisite as this. Carefully, he chose one of the many forks on the table, being careful not to choose the wrong one and offend Maxston. Jessica let out a feminine chuckle at Mike's dilemma and got up to give her plate to the robot. As she moved, Alan watched and pondered a question that every man in the marines asked themselves: Why are all military women so attractive? The twins sat quietly and ate their meal without so much as a grunt. But when Jessica walked, they immediately turned their heads to watch. Mike would have looked up if it had not been for his silverware calamity. Trying to relieve Mike's predicament, Alan pointed to the correct fork. The large man gave a grin that looked like he played many sports in his youth; several of the teeth in his mouth were replacements.
Alan was about to get up when a jolt rocked the ship, sending the dinnerware flying and everyone off balance. Before anyone had a chance to say "What the hell was that," another jolt hit the ship. Suddenly, the sirens started screaming and flashing red. Everyone ran to the bridge to see several mutalisks attacking the ship. Alan took the helm and pulled back on the control stick, sending the Allegory into a climb. The mutalisks followed with staggering speed. Another jolt hit the ship, this time sending sparks flying across the bridge. Mike worked the shields while the twins ran to the aft section of the ship and manned the burst lasers. Alan saw the flying figures on his aft scope and sent the ship into a barrel roll. Several glave wurms flew past the window and drifted harmlessly into space. David aimed the ungainly laser at the swift mutalisk and fired. Out of pure luck, the laser ripped through the creature's wing and sent the mutalisk flying backward. Rick aimed the laser in the general area of the remaining mutalisks and fired wildly. The spray of energy seared the beasts but did little harm. David aimed again and fired three times, killing two of the creatures instantly. The final mutalisk started to retreat and Alan turned after it. "If that thing gets back to it's hive, we're fucked!" Alan exclaimed.
Alan put the ship in full throttle and locked on to the final mutalisk. With one well-placed shot, the creature was ripped in half. Alan breathed a sigh of relief and corrected the course for Tarsonis. The damage was fairly negligible, almost as if the mutalisks hadn't intended on destroying them at all. Suspicious began to grow about their mission. By now, they were half way through the Koprulu sector and all the Zerg had done was scare them. Alan pondered this as he headed towards his quarters for the evening. The door to his room was oddly shaped, but then again he was used to travelling on much more basic vessels. As he walked in, the cozy feel of a luxury transport sank in again. His room was generously adorned with paintings and ornate columns. The bed looked like it belonged in a fancy hotel. The sheets were made of a fabric similar to cashmere, the pillows were fluffed and comfortable looking, even the mattress felt plush. Alan turned down the lights, kicked off his boots and lied back on the bed. He was about to fall asleep when someone knocked on his door. Alan rolled over and grumbled. "Who is it?"
A feminine voice responded, "It's Jessica."
"Come in,"
The light outside silhouetted Jessica's figure for a moment before she walked in. Alan looked at her and made himself stare at her face rather than the rest of her. Dryly, he spoke. "W-What's up?" Alan cleared his throat.
"I'm getting the impression that Maxston isn't telling us the truth."
"What do you mean?" Alan asked.
"Those Zerg could have done a lot more damage to us, but they didn't. David and Rick shouldn't have hit anything by the way they were firing, yet they managed to kill nearly all of the mutalisks. I think that those Zerg were trying to convince us that we were going on a dangerous mission when in fact we won't be killed because someone is on their side."
"You mean Maxston?" Alan asked.
"Precisely! Why would he want to get that psi disrupter badly enough to risk his own life? Mengsk would pay a good amount, but surely not enough to cover all this. Our fee alone would more than double the amount that he would get for the disrupter. So that leads me to believe that he is using us to get the psi disrupter for the Zerg so they can destroy it."
"All right, suppose for a minute this is true. Why would the Zerg need us to get the disrupter for them? Why couldn't they just take it themselves?" Alan asked.
"The Confederacy built that underground facility so that it was completely impervious to xenomorphic incursions. The scanner on the door will only read the unaltered genetic signature of a confederate intelligence operative. This leads me to believe that they want me to open the door for them so that they'll be able to destroy the disrupter."
Alan looked astonished. "All right, I'll keep an eye on it. But let's not jump to any conclusions. For now, we stick to the mission as planned."
Jessica nodded and walked out of the room. Alan thought about her theory for a moment before he nodded off to sleep.
The next morning, they arrived within range of Tarsonis. The planet surface looked much different than it did the last time Alan was there. The clouds became thick and purple tinted. The land was constantly moving, no doubt because of the millions of zerg roaming the surface. Maxston narrowed his eyes and said, "Take us in." The Allegory descended into the thick atmosphere of Tarsonis. The window began to build up with tiny, worm-like creatures. Mike chuckled. "Reminds me of summer time at scout camp." The ship carefully landed atop a section not too overrun by the Zerg. Maxston got up and opened the door to the weapons locker. Inside was a cache of firearms and personal body armor that everyone was familiar with. Jessica selected a C-10 canister rifle and donned a suit of Ghost environmental armor. Mike, ever the marine, donned the traditional powered suit issued to grunts and took a gauss rifle along with a flame thrower. The twins also took gauss rifles but wore lighter armor that allowed quick movement. Alan took a lighter version of the gauss rifle aptly named, "Impaler Jr." and also wore light armor. And finally, Maxston took a 9mm pistol, insinuating that he was not going to do a lot of work. Oddly enough though, he did not wear any armor. Jessica picked up on this and nudged Alan, but he brushed Maxston's behavior off as "snobbery".
The way down was harsh. As soon as they were outside the ship's elevator, Zerglings attacked them. Fortunately, the crew had ample firepower to deal with the attack and no Zerglings got closer than ten feet. Since they were unable to land close to the facility, the group had to walk there. Alan looked back at the ship and considered making a run for it. But he swiftly killed that idea and kept walking, unable to shake the feeling that this mission would be a horrible disaster.
To be continued...
Alan looked up at the cyborg. "I spent nearly forty thousand creds for that docking ticket I just got. So it's not like I can afford to waste a perfectly good drink just 'cus some asshole threw a chair at me."
The cyborg shrugged, making a mechanical noise as he moved. "Good point,"
Alan took the glass and downed the last of the brown liquor it contained. He fished around in his pocket for another credit to pay the cyborg, but came up empty. "And it looks like I can't even afford to pay for that drink either." Alan said. A few moments later, Alan found himself being thrown out of the bar by the cyborg's powerful mechanical arms. This is turning out to be a really shitty day. Alan thought. The massive spaceport that he was docked in was, in reality, a relic from the second war. After Kerrigan defeated the UED, Emperor Mengsk and even the Protoss, all the terran colonies packed up and left the Koprulu sector as quickly as possible. Before the defeat of the Dominion, Alan took part in a battle that would have cost thousands of Terran lives if it had not been for his skill as a pilot. With his tiny, two-man wraith, Alan single handedly killed seventeen Zerg scourges that were headed towards a capitol ship. Alan's craft was crippled and his co-pilot was killed, but he survived to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and wing commander for Epsilon Squadron's wraith battalion. A few months later, the Dominion collapsed under the might of the UED. Alan fought along side the struggling Dominion forces through nearly every major battle up to the final encounter with Kerrigan's swarms. After the crushing defeat of the Terran forces, Alan, along with any survivors he could find, traveled even further from Earth to the outlying star systems outside the Zerg's control. His rank and position in the Dominion navy were exchanged for civilian life. He traded in his custom wraith fighter for a salvage freight, retrofitted it with any weapons he could find, and started his career as a scrap dealer. Until recently, Alan was making large sums of money for salvaging scrapped ships. But there was increasing demands for Protoss technology, and the few places where Protoss ships were still derelict were quickly being taken over by the Zerg. Any ships that passed through those regions were either destroyed or assimilated by swarms of Zerg minions.
As Alan walked to his ship, a billboard add caught his eye. It read: STRONG, HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS WANTED FOR SALVAGE MISSION IN THE KOPRULU SECTOR. MILITARY TRAINING REQUIRED. PAY: 90'000 CREDITS UP FRONT, 1'500'000 CREDITS AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION.
Alan pondered this for a while. A mission to the Koprulu sector meant that they would undoubtedly encounter Zerg. And military training meant that they were planning on fighting. But that kind of money wasn't chump change. Surely whoever was behind this mission wanted something in the Koprulu sector badly enough to pay a large amount. After the incident at the bar, Alan knew that he needed money so he read on. SEE EGON MAXSTON IN DOCKING ROOM 408 FOR DETAILS. The employer became clear to Alan. Egon Maxston was one of the wealthiest men alive, having amassed a fortune in the vespene gas industry before the war. But the reason why this man wanted something from the Koprulu sector still remained a mystery. Alan decided that he would find out in person and walked to docking room 408. When he got there, several other people had already shown up. Two black men that looked like twins, a shapely female in a trench coat and a muscle bound man with a crew cut made up the group. Maxston, a gray haired man with a business suit and a handlebar moustache, looked at Alan and smiled. "Ah, you have come regarding the job?"
Alan nodded. "Yeah, the name's Alan Rath."
"Oh yes, the famous fighter pilot -- excellent. This is Lieutenant Jessica Fox," the woman smiled at Alan. "Sergeant Michael Hunter," The muscular man nodded. "And the twins, Sergeants David and Rick Lucent." Alan nodded and shook hands with each person. Maxston spoke again. "We were about to leave when you showed up, Mr. Rath. But given your reputation, I'll make an exception." Maxston continued, "As you all know, this mission will take place in the Koprulu sector, near the former Confederate homeworld of Tarsonis. Some people think that there is a functional psi disrupter that the Confederacy kept underground in case of espionage. Until recently this has been little more than a rumor. But my sources have confirmed the existence of this disrupter. You are to take my ship, the Allegory, to Tarsonis and retrieve the psi disrupter."
Alan was skeptical. "Wait a minute. How could you have sources in Zerg territory? Everyone who stayed behind was assimilated."
"This is an unfortunate truth. As a result, several of my agents actually had to travel to Tarsonis in order to get the information I needed." Said Maxston.
Alan still had questions. "What do you want with the psi disrupter?"
"Mengsk is sure to pay a generous sum for the device. A psi disrupter could mean the defeat of the Zerg if deployed properly." Maxston explained.
Alan still had his doubts, but he put them behind him and accepted the mission anyway. The motley crew of mercenaries stepped aboard the Allegory and strapped themselves into their stations. Maxston sat down in the command chair and pushed a button on his console. The window shield opened and the crew could see out into the vastness of space. The crew felt the surge of artificial gravity kick in, the docking clamps releasing and the gentle vibration of the ship's fusion reactor. Alan took the helm and carefully navigated the ship out of the spaceport. Within a few seconds, the ship was out of the spaceport's range and speeding towards Tarsonis. On the way, Alan decided to get to know his fellow crewmates for the mission. After the course was locked in and his shift at the helm was over, he decided to browse the dossier files for the crew. Mike Hunter was a Master Sergeant in the original Sons of Korhal before they became the Terran Dominion. During that time, he operated a siege tank and was awarded the medal of valor for successfully defending a Korhal base from Confederate forces during the guild wars. His career ended, however when the Terran Dominion was founded and he went AWOL along with James Raynor's crew. Unlike most of the men that aided Raynor's cause, Hunter withdrew from military service and became a security advisor for the Kel Morian Combine Mining Legion.
Jessica Fox was a type of soldier that Alan was not used to seeing. She was a ghost for the Confederacy, but had no telepathic ability whatsoever. Through her test scores and some persuasion by her father, who was a general in Confederate security, she was able to enter the marines as a ghost, holding the rank of lieutenant. Unfortunately, her father was not able to negate the fact that she had no psychic power and she was ejected from the intelligence field back to the infantry division. Ashamed and disillusioned, she resigned her commission as a Confederate officer and went to work as a freelance bounty hunter.
The Lucent twins were as stereotypical as twins get. They both enlisted in the Confederate Marine Corps at the same time, to the same branch of service, and achieved the same rank. They went into the marines as demolition experts and succeeded in destroying each target that they were assigned to, giving them the nicknames "Annihilator" and "Harbinger". The twins were in the marines up until the fall of the confederacy. At that point, they went into the Kel Morian Combine and used their expertise in explosives to become miners.
Alan, having finished the dossiers, got up and walked to the mess hall. The other crewmen were already there, eating a very appetizing meal. All along the walls were murals and other furnishings that gave the mess hall a cozy feel. Behind the kitchen stood a floating robot cooking and cleaning used dishes with it's many arms. Maxston sat at the end of the dining table and greeted Alan with his glass raised. "As you can see, Colonel, I spare no expense when it comes to providing for my employees." Alan smiled and sat down to a plate already made for him. The silverware was made out of platinum, the dishes were fine china and the napkins were spun silk. Alan commented, "I wasn't aware that this would be a pleasure cruise, Mr. Maxston."
"Ah, but why make a dangerous mission even more unpleasant by providing low quality furnishings? Believe me, Colonel, I can afford it."
Mike looked distressed; as a tank pilot he was used to the most basic of rations and utensils. Even when he was on leave at a fancy restaurant he had not seen dinnerware as exquisite as this. Carefully, he chose one of the many forks on the table, being careful not to choose the wrong one and offend Maxston. Jessica let out a feminine chuckle at Mike's dilemma and got up to give her plate to the robot. As she moved, Alan watched and pondered a question that every man in the marines asked themselves: Why are all military women so attractive? The twins sat quietly and ate their meal without so much as a grunt. But when Jessica walked, they immediately turned their heads to watch. Mike would have looked up if it had not been for his silverware calamity. Trying to relieve Mike's predicament, Alan pointed to the correct fork. The large man gave a grin that looked like he played many sports in his youth; several of the teeth in his mouth were replacements.
Alan was about to get up when a jolt rocked the ship, sending the dinnerware flying and everyone off balance. Before anyone had a chance to say "What the hell was that," another jolt hit the ship. Suddenly, the sirens started screaming and flashing red. Everyone ran to the bridge to see several mutalisks attacking the ship. Alan took the helm and pulled back on the control stick, sending the Allegory into a climb. The mutalisks followed with staggering speed. Another jolt hit the ship, this time sending sparks flying across the bridge. Mike worked the shields while the twins ran to the aft section of the ship and manned the burst lasers. Alan saw the flying figures on his aft scope and sent the ship into a barrel roll. Several glave wurms flew past the window and drifted harmlessly into space. David aimed the ungainly laser at the swift mutalisk and fired. Out of pure luck, the laser ripped through the creature's wing and sent the mutalisk flying backward. Rick aimed the laser in the general area of the remaining mutalisks and fired wildly. The spray of energy seared the beasts but did little harm. David aimed again and fired three times, killing two of the creatures instantly. The final mutalisk started to retreat and Alan turned after it. "If that thing gets back to it's hive, we're fucked!" Alan exclaimed.
Alan put the ship in full throttle and locked on to the final mutalisk. With one well-placed shot, the creature was ripped in half. Alan breathed a sigh of relief and corrected the course for Tarsonis. The damage was fairly negligible, almost as if the mutalisks hadn't intended on destroying them at all. Suspicious began to grow about their mission. By now, they were half way through the Koprulu sector and all the Zerg had done was scare them. Alan pondered this as he headed towards his quarters for the evening. The door to his room was oddly shaped, but then again he was used to travelling on much more basic vessels. As he walked in, the cozy feel of a luxury transport sank in again. His room was generously adorned with paintings and ornate columns. The bed looked like it belonged in a fancy hotel. The sheets were made of a fabric similar to cashmere, the pillows were fluffed and comfortable looking, even the mattress felt plush. Alan turned down the lights, kicked off his boots and lied back on the bed. He was about to fall asleep when someone knocked on his door. Alan rolled over and grumbled. "Who is it?"
A feminine voice responded, "It's Jessica."
"Come in,"
The light outside silhouetted Jessica's figure for a moment before she walked in. Alan looked at her and made himself stare at her face rather than the rest of her. Dryly, he spoke. "W-What's up?" Alan cleared his throat.
"I'm getting the impression that Maxston isn't telling us the truth."
"What do you mean?" Alan asked.
"Those Zerg could have done a lot more damage to us, but they didn't. David and Rick shouldn't have hit anything by the way they were firing, yet they managed to kill nearly all of the mutalisks. I think that those Zerg were trying to convince us that we were going on a dangerous mission when in fact we won't be killed because someone is on their side."
"You mean Maxston?" Alan asked.
"Precisely! Why would he want to get that psi disrupter badly enough to risk his own life? Mengsk would pay a good amount, but surely not enough to cover all this. Our fee alone would more than double the amount that he would get for the disrupter. So that leads me to believe that he is using us to get the psi disrupter for the Zerg so they can destroy it."
"All right, suppose for a minute this is true. Why would the Zerg need us to get the disrupter for them? Why couldn't they just take it themselves?" Alan asked.
"The Confederacy built that underground facility so that it was completely impervious to xenomorphic incursions. The scanner on the door will only read the unaltered genetic signature of a confederate intelligence operative. This leads me to believe that they want me to open the door for them so that they'll be able to destroy the disrupter."
Alan looked astonished. "All right, I'll keep an eye on it. But let's not jump to any conclusions. For now, we stick to the mission as planned."
Jessica nodded and walked out of the room. Alan thought about her theory for a moment before he nodded off to sleep.
The next morning, they arrived within range of Tarsonis. The planet surface looked much different than it did the last time Alan was there. The clouds became thick and purple tinted. The land was constantly moving, no doubt because of the millions of zerg roaming the surface. Maxston narrowed his eyes and said, "Take us in." The Allegory descended into the thick atmosphere of Tarsonis. The window began to build up with tiny, worm-like creatures. Mike chuckled. "Reminds me of summer time at scout camp." The ship carefully landed atop a section not too overrun by the Zerg. Maxston got up and opened the door to the weapons locker. Inside was a cache of firearms and personal body armor that everyone was familiar with. Jessica selected a C-10 canister rifle and donned a suit of Ghost environmental armor. Mike, ever the marine, donned the traditional powered suit issued to grunts and took a gauss rifle along with a flame thrower. The twins also took gauss rifles but wore lighter armor that allowed quick movement. Alan took a lighter version of the gauss rifle aptly named, "Impaler Jr." and also wore light armor. And finally, Maxston took a 9mm pistol, insinuating that he was not going to do a lot of work. Oddly enough though, he did not wear any armor. Jessica picked up on this and nudged Alan, but he brushed Maxston's behavior off as "snobbery".
The way down was harsh. As soon as they were outside the ship's elevator, Zerglings attacked them. Fortunately, the crew had ample firepower to deal with the attack and no Zerglings got closer than ten feet. Since they were unable to land close to the facility, the group had to walk there. Alan looked back at the ship and considered making a run for it. But he swiftly killed that idea and kept walking, unable to shake the feeling that this mission would be a horrible disaster.
To be continued...