Chapter 1

A poke on the arm woke Mark Wolfe out of his slumber in the transport.

"Whaddayou want, Francis?" He looked over in annoyance at his friend.

"Mark… look." Francis was looking out the window, his craggy face split with a grin. Mark leaned over to get a better view and was treated to a gorgeous view of an orange planetary ball, backlit by the sun around which Chau Sara orbited.

"Huh. Pretty view," Mark grunted. "Probably won't be as pretty once we hit the cloud cover though."

"Aw come on, Mark," Francis protested. "You're not even a little excited about this? It's CHAU SARA, Mark! The planet where the Zerg first showed up!"

"Yeah, Francis, but there's probably not much left there. I mean, yeah, there's a whole pile of minerals that got bombarded by radiation, but the Protoss turned this place to ash doing that, there can't be much in the way of actual civilization."

Francis rubbed his bearded chin and looked thoughtful. "That's true, Mark. What'd you think of these new Zerg reports though?"

Mark shrugged, his thin body a dark form in the dim light. "I'm hoping they're not true, obviously. Getting caught down here in another Protoss incineration zone would really ruin everyone's day. Actually, I'm hoping that the infestation is minor enough that we can clear it out ourselves; would be fun to get to shoot up some more of those nasty buggers."

Francis grinned wolfishly. "That it would, my friend, that it would. Nothing like a nice tidy Zerg hunt."

Mark grunted. "If it's ok with you, I'm gonna sleep some more till we hit planetside?"

Francis nodded. "Sure Mark, go ahead."

As Mark nodded off again, Francis Wall considered his friend, one of the only ones left that he had. They had known each other since they were kids, growing up on Antigua Prime, and met in their first year of elementary school. The black hair around Francis's face twitched in a small smile as he remembered some of the mischief they used to get into. Five years in the Terran Marines had changed both of them, but they were still good friends and often sought each other's advice.

Francis was starting to get worried though. Mark had been drawing more and more into himself ever since he came back from Ghost training. He was distant and aloof at times now, especially in the field. It was concerning to Francis. Mark always had a bit of a loner streak, but now it seemed like he was untrusting of the rest of the scout squad they were a part of. A soft chuckle escaped Francis's lips. Just like old times, he thought. I always did have to look after you, Mark.