Ghost: Zero
Chapter 4: Presence
Two weeks after the assassination
A light hum could be heard from the canopy of the trees, and an entire Terran patrol team was nervously listening to the buzzing object move completely around them several times a second. It stirred up enough air for the surrounding branches on the trees to shake.
"Sir, I say we shoot it." One marine recommended.
"Shoot what? You know what command says when we waste rounds. They'll send us to the kennels for a night if we return to report we blew off a few hundred rounds trying to hit some noise." Another replied harshly, gazing into the air for any noticeable disturbance. The members of the squad were all only sixteen years old, and their height reflected that even while their muscle mass defied all logic.
"What ever it is, command will want it. If we miss this chance, we'll be in the kennels anyways. M-TY 7, activate audio tracking for 360 degrees, 180 polar." The squad commander ordered. The marine who was labeled as M-TY 7 complied without further delay and dropped his pack to the ground. After pressing a few buttons, a tracking display came up.
"92 miles an hour. Approximate mass: six to nine hundred pounds. Currently in orbit pattern around TY 3, orbital radius is 31 feet, 23 feet off the ground." The soldier replied with an air of accuracy.
"It's cloaked. There's no other explanation." Spoke up a marine from the back. "Command will REALLY want this one. Let's blow it up."
"Aim for object as directed by readings, men." The commander ordered. The squad raised their weapons. There was no point in undoing the safety: It was never used in the first place. "Fire."
A barrage of rifle fire filled the air as lead tore through it in every direction. The humming could no longer be heard above the gunfire, but the audio tracking system still had a weak grasp on the noise. The object was attempting to move away, but with no luck. Several dozen rounds ripped through its fragile hull. The cloaking field disappeared and the object fell to the ground with a great crash, spewing dirt in every direction.
"No way," commented TY 3, "That thing was orbiting me? I'm no planet."
"No, but your head is a space rock in any case. Don't be dense, it's an Observer. Protoss. They are here. I've been telling all of you they were here all along, but noo..." Interjected TY 4.
"Idiots, its just a probe. They aren't here." The commander brought his hand to the side of his helmet and pressed a button. "Command, this is M-TY 1. We have a Protoss Observer. It has been disabled with rifle rounds. Requesting a transport."
"M-TY 1, a transport is being dispatched. Hold position and keep a log of all activity in the immediate area."
"Will do Command. Holding position. Over and out." The commander dropped his hand back to the barrel of his rifle. "Tonight is going to be a good night, men."
---
"Miira, can you feel it anymore?" Selece asked as they sat on their makeshift bed.
"No, I can't. Those marines must have shot it down... I can't feel the psionic energy. The device is dead. What could it have been?" Miira replied thoughtfully, taking another bite out of her lunch.
"I... I don't know. But I do know that it wasn't made by the Confederacy. It has a strong psionic signature. Could it be... Protoss? I remember learning in my Military Operations: Near History class that the Protoss race was keen with psionic talents, and used that knowledge to imbue machines with the same energy, providing them with nearly unlimited energy for a high capacity shielding system. I also seem to remember... they also had cloak technology." Selece recalled.
"You don't suppose that was why they weren't firing at it, do you? Maybe they couldn't see..." Miira was cut off as Selece had jumped several feet in the air, dropping her meal, and rushing towards her rifle.
"The device had cloaking! Miira, grab your gun, and hurry. The Confederacy must not have that technology. We need to destroy it completely. Oh yes, grab a pack of the J-19 explosives." Selece dashed to grab several lockdown rounds before beginning to dash through the tunnels to the surface, using her psionic energy to prevent herself from running into a wall, to increase the speed at which she was running, and to find her way out. Miira was close behind, although more concerned about running into the wall as she had less experience using the psionic energy to control her movement in narrow tunnels.
Upon exiting the vast network of underground tunnels, Selece and Miira cloaked partway before racing off into the forest in the direction of the crash.
---
"M-TY 1, this is transport Ayelliocron 3, we have entered the area. Please prepare for extraction." The transport had already come into view, although the vibrations emanating from the engines could be felt for many more miles away.
"Yes sir. M-TY Squad ready." The commander reported back. His men were dreaming up promotions already. The transport finally pulled in and landed in a small opening in the forest. As its engines were put on standby, a door opened up and another two squads of marines marched out.
"M-TY 1, this is M-C 1. Anything else happen here?" spoke the man as TY 1 and his squad faced the general with rapt attention.
"No sir." Replied TY 1 gruffly. Sweat was already beginning to form on his brow at the sight of the high ranking officer.
"Good. As expected. All men, I am in command now. Spread out. I don't want anyone else within a 500 yard radius or I will personally execute the lot of you. Move out!" Ordered the general before turning to approach the fallen machine. "The scientists will love this one. Get it onboard the ship, now CK! Get off your hands and use those fresh feet of yours."
---
"They're moving it!" cried Miira in her thoughts.
"I know," replied Selece. "We need to do our best. I know you haven't been trained very much, but... we don't have time! God, we should have left sooner! Cloaking will just add to the power of the Confederacy. Another piece in their accursed plans."
"I should have asked you to train me more... I know I should have..." Miira started, but Selece interrupted Miira's thoughts with her own.
"Don't blame yourself. Just do your best. Do your worst. Wipe everything out. We're almost there. Full cloak." Selece said, finishing the conversation of thoughts.
"Aye," Miira replied simply.
The crash site came into view, but the machine was just being sealed away in the transport as the main hatch was beginning to close.
"Miira, crescent pattern. Go right, I'll go left." Selece ordered softly by thought. She could never give a solid order to Miira. She still hated them.
Miira acknowledged the order with a nod of her head.
The crash site was soon a mess of bodies and confused marines. A flash of light from one direction and a marine fell. A flash of light from the opposite direction and another marine fell. Selece and Miira were going around in half circles while aiming and firing using their psionic energy. At that speed it would be difficult to spray a few rounds and expect a hit. Already seven marines had fallen, their heads totally gone. Selece and Miira had no time for second shots at the same soldier.
"Command, this is M-C 1. We are under attack. I repeat, we are under attack. Attackers unidentified. I repeat, attac..." Static was the only thing heard on the other line. The general's head had been swiftly removed by Selece.
"This is command. M-C 1 has fallen. All soldiers, we have the debris. Full retreat. Transport, do not wait for soldiers. This is a direct order. Leave the area immediately." The dispatcher called over into the radios of the remaining marines. The transport began to rise. Several marines tried to board as it lifted from the ground, but only one made it: TY 1. The rest fell back, and into the deadly fire from the C-30a rifles.
"Squad TY and all others remaining. Spray cover fire and retreat. Then pray to God. Come back safe, soldiers." Came the commander's voice over the radio. The remaining ground soldiers scattered into the woods, shooting random shots towards the epicenter of death, which now had claimed thirty lives, nearly eighty percent of the ground forces deployed.
"Miira, get a lockdown round on that transport, quickly!" Selece told her through thoughts. Miira slowed her attack and loaded a round into her rifle, then brought it up to level with the transport, now quite a distance away. She fired.
The lockdown round burnt out just yards from the right engine. The dead round dropped into the trees and disappeared. However, Miira was preparing to fire a second, only to be hit by a shell in the side of her abdomen. Her rifle dropped to the ground.
Selece had seen the whole thing like it was a horrible nightmare. Miira's cloaking was fading fast now. Selece dashed to her side.
"Miira, don't move. Drop your cloak, use your energy to pull together the tissue." Selece whispered, not bothering to speak using thoughts. Miira nodded painfully, a tear escaping her eye.
"There are still three marines. If they saw you decloak, we are in huge trouble... I need to dispose of the... I..." Selece chocked. She couldn't stand seeing Miira in the situation she was in, especially as the first of Miira's blood began to seep through her clothes.
"Go, I'll be... I'll be okay." Miira smiled weakly.
Selece nodded. She had enough faith in Miira to survive while she hunted down the remaining soldiers. Using her psionic talents, Selece terminated all three within minutes, even so she punished herself for not ridding the world of them sooner. Selece raced back to Miira as she tried desperately to control the blood loss with her psionic energy. Selece decloaked and focused her energy on Miira's wound.
"Miira, you can relax. I have your wound under control. Here," Selece whispered as she picked Miira up, "hold on." Grabbing Miira's gun and throwing it over her shoulder with her own, Selece began the trek back to their underground home.
The sky had become cloudy by the time Selece reached the entrance to the cave, and her psionic energy was nearly diminished. She pushed on, into the tunnels, however only at a normal pace.
Entering the main cavern, Selece gently laid Miira upon the bed.
"Hang in there," Selece coached quietly as she began to remove Miira's blood stained clothing. Miira nodded, her eyes beginning to feel heavy. The pain had subsided a bit, but she still knew that the slug was in her.
Selece grew weak at the sight of the blood as it stuck to her hands. The wound from which the blood came was small, but the bullet had gone straight threw several layers of muscle. It would be a lengthy recovery time. And, being that Selece was feeling bad about the incident, it wasn't only Miira that had to recover. The shot had struck close to Selece's heart as well, and Selece was stressed and tense with anxiety.
The only way to really fix a wound like this was to inject new cells into the wound. The cells would naturally find places among the broken tissue, and then the cells would attach to other cells to the point it would rebuild the flesh.
"I need reconstructive cells to get you fixed up, Miira." Selece informed her patient, although she was beginning to doubt the situation.
"We... We don't have any of those, do we?" Miira inquired, trying to keep her own fear out of her voice.
"No... I would have to run to Fairhold to get them. That's more then a few hours roundtrip... But you need them." Selece replied softly.
"If you leave my side, how will I manage to hold my body together? I can't focus my energy like this... It's basically gone anyways..." Miira commented, but only in a whisper now. "Don't leave, Selece. Stay with me..."
"And hope for the best. I will hold it closed as long as I can, and let a little bit of the wound go every hour or so to heal... It might work..." Selece whispered, but she was hiding the fact that her psionic potential was nearly depleted as well. Even a few hours would be difficult.
"And hope for the best," Miira finished. They both knew, however, that the chances were slim. Selece, especially, was kicking herself for asking Miira to fire the lockdown round. She was kicking herself for not keeping an eye on where the marines were firing. And even worse those soldiers had made away with the one thing that Selece and Miira couldn't afford to have them take away: the Observer.
No, that wasn't the worst thing. Miira... She might still be taken away as well.
Chapter 4: Presence
Two weeks after the assassination
A light hum could be heard from the canopy of the trees, and an entire Terran patrol team was nervously listening to the buzzing object move completely around them several times a second. It stirred up enough air for the surrounding branches on the trees to shake.
"Sir, I say we shoot it." One marine recommended.
"Shoot what? You know what command says when we waste rounds. They'll send us to the kennels for a night if we return to report we blew off a few hundred rounds trying to hit some noise." Another replied harshly, gazing into the air for any noticeable disturbance. The members of the squad were all only sixteen years old, and their height reflected that even while their muscle mass defied all logic.
"What ever it is, command will want it. If we miss this chance, we'll be in the kennels anyways. M-TY 7, activate audio tracking for 360 degrees, 180 polar." The squad commander ordered. The marine who was labeled as M-TY 7 complied without further delay and dropped his pack to the ground. After pressing a few buttons, a tracking display came up.
"92 miles an hour. Approximate mass: six to nine hundred pounds. Currently in orbit pattern around TY 3, orbital radius is 31 feet, 23 feet off the ground." The soldier replied with an air of accuracy.
"It's cloaked. There's no other explanation." Spoke up a marine from the back. "Command will REALLY want this one. Let's blow it up."
"Aim for object as directed by readings, men." The commander ordered. The squad raised their weapons. There was no point in undoing the safety: It was never used in the first place. "Fire."
A barrage of rifle fire filled the air as lead tore through it in every direction. The humming could no longer be heard above the gunfire, but the audio tracking system still had a weak grasp on the noise. The object was attempting to move away, but with no luck. Several dozen rounds ripped through its fragile hull. The cloaking field disappeared and the object fell to the ground with a great crash, spewing dirt in every direction.
"No way," commented TY 3, "That thing was orbiting me? I'm no planet."
"No, but your head is a space rock in any case. Don't be dense, it's an Observer. Protoss. They are here. I've been telling all of you they were here all along, but noo..." Interjected TY 4.
"Idiots, its just a probe. They aren't here." The commander brought his hand to the side of his helmet and pressed a button. "Command, this is M-TY 1. We have a Protoss Observer. It has been disabled with rifle rounds. Requesting a transport."
"M-TY 1, a transport is being dispatched. Hold position and keep a log of all activity in the immediate area."
"Will do Command. Holding position. Over and out." The commander dropped his hand back to the barrel of his rifle. "Tonight is going to be a good night, men."
---
"Miira, can you feel it anymore?" Selece asked as they sat on their makeshift bed.
"No, I can't. Those marines must have shot it down... I can't feel the psionic energy. The device is dead. What could it have been?" Miira replied thoughtfully, taking another bite out of her lunch.
"I... I don't know. But I do know that it wasn't made by the Confederacy. It has a strong psionic signature. Could it be... Protoss? I remember learning in my Military Operations: Near History class that the Protoss race was keen with psionic talents, and used that knowledge to imbue machines with the same energy, providing them with nearly unlimited energy for a high capacity shielding system. I also seem to remember... they also had cloak technology." Selece recalled.
"You don't suppose that was why they weren't firing at it, do you? Maybe they couldn't see..." Miira was cut off as Selece had jumped several feet in the air, dropping her meal, and rushing towards her rifle.
"The device had cloaking! Miira, grab your gun, and hurry. The Confederacy must not have that technology. We need to destroy it completely. Oh yes, grab a pack of the J-19 explosives." Selece dashed to grab several lockdown rounds before beginning to dash through the tunnels to the surface, using her psionic energy to prevent herself from running into a wall, to increase the speed at which she was running, and to find her way out. Miira was close behind, although more concerned about running into the wall as she had less experience using the psionic energy to control her movement in narrow tunnels.
Upon exiting the vast network of underground tunnels, Selece and Miira cloaked partway before racing off into the forest in the direction of the crash.
---
"M-TY 1, this is transport Ayelliocron 3, we have entered the area. Please prepare for extraction." The transport had already come into view, although the vibrations emanating from the engines could be felt for many more miles away.
"Yes sir. M-TY Squad ready." The commander reported back. His men were dreaming up promotions already. The transport finally pulled in and landed in a small opening in the forest. As its engines were put on standby, a door opened up and another two squads of marines marched out.
"M-TY 1, this is M-C 1. Anything else happen here?" spoke the man as TY 1 and his squad faced the general with rapt attention.
"No sir." Replied TY 1 gruffly. Sweat was already beginning to form on his brow at the sight of the high ranking officer.
"Good. As expected. All men, I am in command now. Spread out. I don't want anyone else within a 500 yard radius or I will personally execute the lot of you. Move out!" Ordered the general before turning to approach the fallen machine. "The scientists will love this one. Get it onboard the ship, now CK! Get off your hands and use those fresh feet of yours."
---
"They're moving it!" cried Miira in her thoughts.
"I know," replied Selece. "We need to do our best. I know you haven't been trained very much, but... we don't have time! God, we should have left sooner! Cloaking will just add to the power of the Confederacy. Another piece in their accursed plans."
"I should have asked you to train me more... I know I should have..." Miira started, but Selece interrupted Miira's thoughts with her own.
"Don't blame yourself. Just do your best. Do your worst. Wipe everything out. We're almost there. Full cloak." Selece said, finishing the conversation of thoughts.
"Aye," Miira replied simply.
The crash site came into view, but the machine was just being sealed away in the transport as the main hatch was beginning to close.
"Miira, crescent pattern. Go right, I'll go left." Selece ordered softly by thought. She could never give a solid order to Miira. She still hated them.
Miira acknowledged the order with a nod of her head.
The crash site was soon a mess of bodies and confused marines. A flash of light from one direction and a marine fell. A flash of light from the opposite direction and another marine fell. Selece and Miira were going around in half circles while aiming and firing using their psionic energy. At that speed it would be difficult to spray a few rounds and expect a hit. Already seven marines had fallen, their heads totally gone. Selece and Miira had no time for second shots at the same soldier.
"Command, this is M-C 1. We are under attack. I repeat, we are under attack. Attackers unidentified. I repeat, attac..." Static was the only thing heard on the other line. The general's head had been swiftly removed by Selece.
"This is command. M-C 1 has fallen. All soldiers, we have the debris. Full retreat. Transport, do not wait for soldiers. This is a direct order. Leave the area immediately." The dispatcher called over into the radios of the remaining marines. The transport began to rise. Several marines tried to board as it lifted from the ground, but only one made it: TY 1. The rest fell back, and into the deadly fire from the C-30a rifles.
"Squad TY and all others remaining. Spray cover fire and retreat. Then pray to God. Come back safe, soldiers." Came the commander's voice over the radio. The remaining ground soldiers scattered into the woods, shooting random shots towards the epicenter of death, which now had claimed thirty lives, nearly eighty percent of the ground forces deployed.
"Miira, get a lockdown round on that transport, quickly!" Selece told her through thoughts. Miira slowed her attack and loaded a round into her rifle, then brought it up to level with the transport, now quite a distance away. She fired.
The lockdown round burnt out just yards from the right engine. The dead round dropped into the trees and disappeared. However, Miira was preparing to fire a second, only to be hit by a shell in the side of her abdomen. Her rifle dropped to the ground.
Selece had seen the whole thing like it was a horrible nightmare. Miira's cloaking was fading fast now. Selece dashed to her side.
"Miira, don't move. Drop your cloak, use your energy to pull together the tissue." Selece whispered, not bothering to speak using thoughts. Miira nodded painfully, a tear escaping her eye.
"There are still three marines. If they saw you decloak, we are in huge trouble... I need to dispose of the... I..." Selece chocked. She couldn't stand seeing Miira in the situation she was in, especially as the first of Miira's blood began to seep through her clothes.
"Go, I'll be... I'll be okay." Miira smiled weakly.
Selece nodded. She had enough faith in Miira to survive while she hunted down the remaining soldiers. Using her psionic talents, Selece terminated all three within minutes, even so she punished herself for not ridding the world of them sooner. Selece raced back to Miira as she tried desperately to control the blood loss with her psionic energy. Selece decloaked and focused her energy on Miira's wound.
"Miira, you can relax. I have your wound under control. Here," Selece whispered as she picked Miira up, "hold on." Grabbing Miira's gun and throwing it over her shoulder with her own, Selece began the trek back to their underground home.
The sky had become cloudy by the time Selece reached the entrance to the cave, and her psionic energy was nearly diminished. She pushed on, into the tunnels, however only at a normal pace.
Entering the main cavern, Selece gently laid Miira upon the bed.
"Hang in there," Selece coached quietly as she began to remove Miira's blood stained clothing. Miira nodded, her eyes beginning to feel heavy. The pain had subsided a bit, but she still knew that the slug was in her.
Selece grew weak at the sight of the blood as it stuck to her hands. The wound from which the blood came was small, but the bullet had gone straight threw several layers of muscle. It would be a lengthy recovery time. And, being that Selece was feeling bad about the incident, it wasn't only Miira that had to recover. The shot had struck close to Selece's heart as well, and Selece was stressed and tense with anxiety.
The only way to really fix a wound like this was to inject new cells into the wound. The cells would naturally find places among the broken tissue, and then the cells would attach to other cells to the point it would rebuild the flesh.
"I need reconstructive cells to get you fixed up, Miira." Selece informed her patient, although she was beginning to doubt the situation.
"We... We don't have any of those, do we?" Miira inquired, trying to keep her own fear out of her voice.
"No... I would have to run to Fairhold to get them. That's more then a few hours roundtrip... But you need them." Selece replied softly.
"If you leave my side, how will I manage to hold my body together? I can't focus my energy like this... It's basically gone anyways..." Miira commented, but only in a whisper now. "Don't leave, Selece. Stay with me..."
"And hope for the best. I will hold it closed as long as I can, and let a little bit of the wound go every hour or so to heal... It might work..." Selece whispered, but she was hiding the fact that her psionic potential was nearly depleted as well. Even a few hours would be difficult.
"And hope for the best," Miira finished. They both knew, however, that the chances were slim. Selece, especially, was kicking herself for asking Miira to fire the lockdown round. She was kicking herself for not keeping an eye on where the marines were firing. And even worse those soldiers had made away with the one thing that Selece and Miira couldn't afford to have them take away: the Observer.
No, that wasn't the worst thing. Miira... She might still be taken away as well.