Disclaimer: Starcraft characters and setting are owned by Blizzard Entertainment. OCs belong to me
A/N: The story will begin on Aiur just like in Legacy of the Void. but will diverge on its own soon from time to time to observe characters from all four Protoss factions. Additional focus will also be placed on the Terrans and occasionally the Zerg Swarm during the Protoss campaign.
Chapter 7: "Homefront" Part 2
-Haven, New Jamestown-
"Come on! Load the civilians onto the transports! Hurry!" The white-armored marine turned to some SCVs trying to haul caches of minerals, New Jamestown was a mining town next to a mineral field and two vespene geysers. "Leave room for the people first, worry about minerals later! Let's go!"
The town was in a state of rushed panic as people tried to pack their barest possessions and rush to board a Titanic-class Transport ship, parked on a defensive platform for evacuations such as this. Cries of fright and terror chattered as the dark forms of four black battlecruisers descended from the clouds in the distance.
"Alright, is everyone accounted for-" Glass cracked and blood sprayed, and his friend next to him fell dead with a stray bullet in his skull. Instantly the civilians ducked and cowered in fear.
"Contact!"
"Open fire!"
A defensive perimeter of marines, medics, auto-turrets, and sandbags stood between the civilians and the onrushing wave of dark-red, almost black, marines. The Moebius marines charged openly through the dirt streets, and were gunned down in the droves by the Haven militia. Nonetheless, the Moebius infantry rushed with guns blazing. Spiked armor-piercing rounds tore through several hapless civilians, who cried painfully in visceral sprays of blood and ripped flesh. The medics panicked in distress.
"Damn it! Boys get out here! Protect the transport!" The marines set to evacuate and rendezvous at Fjellhavn wasted no time hopping out of the transport and lining up, hoping to shields the civilians from incoming fire. The onrush of the suicidal, but numerically superior Moebius marines threatened to thin out the overwhelmed perimeter defenses. It ended when a gigantic explosion of tungsten smashed into the perimeter defenses, sending sandbags and perforated bodies flying into the air. The passengers screamed as the transport rocked from the shockwave produced by such raw firepower.
The marine gawked. "Siege tanks!? Hell no! TAKE FLIGHT NOW!"
A medic stood under the doorway leading to the transport. "Sir, what about the soldiers?"
One punisher grenade flew past him and smashed into the medic's chest-plate, the concussive blast sent her broken body flying. She painfully wailed and skidded to a stop near the panicked civilians. The marine whirled around and unloaded his magazine into the head of the offending Moebius marauder. Bullets and grenades slammed into the ship hull, tearing away to reach the meat within.
"LAUNCH!"
The pilot hurriedly fired the thrusters and took off in the direction of Fjellhavn, barely escaping the siege tank shell impact where the transport was seconds ago. The marines left behind were gunned down to the last man.
-Fjellhavn Government Hall-
"New Jamestown has fallen, but the evacuation was a modest success. A list of those who didn't make it will be compiled."
Chief Councilman Harald Strommen nodded solemnly, stroking his blonde beard. "Thank you, continue monitoring our channels."
Strommen sighed and leaned into the tactical projector as the Fjellhavn hall buzzed with activity from nervous officials and officers. Haven's military staff was fortunate to include Dominion military leaders once incarcerated in New Folsom, but unfortunately they and the new recruits haven't experienced warfare since Haven's founding until now.
"Contact Dr. Hanson," requested Strommen. Almost immediately, a video-feed was shown on a holoprojector, showing Hanson's laboratory. Several scientists were busy trying to move lab equipment and specimens, and were aided by, to the horror and disgust of many, infested terrans, whom easily helped the evacuation by lifting heavy loads.
It was moments later until Hanson ran into view, clearly disheveled and panting from running about. She pushed in her glasses. "What do you need, Strommen?"
"The deal you've made with the Dominion," spoke Strommen succinctly. "Have they complied and how long will it take?"
Hanson answered with a disappointed tone. "Yes they've complied, but it will take about three days for a Dominion fleet to arrive."
Strommen let loose another held breath. They likely wouldn't last three days, but at least he knew help was on the way. "Thank you, Dr. Hanson. Good luck on your end."
"I hope everyone makes it out alive." She looked to the side. "Move those super carrots first. And where's Constance?-" The transmission ended.
Strommen composed himself, willing the stress to leave his mind. "Contact the Emperor. See if he's available." After several agonizing seconds, their call received a response, and a video-feed of Emperor Valerian came on display.
"Ah. Governor Strommen."
"Councilman Strommen," corrected the former governor. "I've received word that a Dominion fleet will arrive in three days' time?"
"That is correct, Councilman" answered Valerian, eager to engage in diplomacy with a fellow leader. "Fleet logistics will assemble a garrison force of seven battlecruisers and its complementary army, along with military hardware and developme-"
"There is a Moebius. Fleet. Attacking Haven." said Strommen forcefully. "Four battlecruisers and its complementary army. They are ransacking our towns and terrorizing our people."
"Moebius is attacking Haven!?"
"Yes, the same Moebius that took potshots in Dominion territory. Listen son, if you send over your fleet now, you can smash this invasion and arrest or execute whatever's left, I don't care as long as we're both happy."
"...that does make sense. Do not fret, Councilman Strommen. I will personally compile a fleet posthaste and send it to relieve Haven."
"How long will it take?"
"A few hours, but certainly far less than three days. I'm pulling many strings on my end. Just try to hold for as long as you can."
"We'll try..." He ended transmissions, and let loose another breath of air, eyeing the tactical map projector in front of him.
A young woman with an equal shade of blonde hair approached the elder from behind, standing to attention in fresh military uniform. "Lieutenant Strommen ready to take charge of the defense! I won't let Moebius destroy our home!"
Strommen looked over his shoulder. "Tana Strommen. Young niece. I admire your bravado and desire to take command, but I'm afraid this isn't your place for now."
Tana frowned, her face betraying shock. "Councilman... why not?"
"I understand you are waiting to put your skills to use as a military leader for Haven, but this is our most dire hour. Therefore I hope you are understanding if I assign command to another more experienced individual."
"More experienced? I served the Dominion in fighting the Zerg! And I was jailed for trying to save my men! There's no one more qualified than me!"
"Perhaps I can fill the role?" interjected a whimsical voice. Tana whirled around to see Nathaniel saunter past her, tossing an empty bottle of beer into a nearby recycling can.
Strommen Sr. smiled. "Yes, Nathaniel will fill the role as our commander in the defense of Haven. I have full confidence he will turn the odds in our favor."
The young woman couldn't hide her utter skepticism and incredulity. "The musician? The drunk? But he's just a magistrate!"
The musician smiled lazily. "You are right. I am the magistrate. Also I'm as drunk as I need to be, but that's besides the point." He graced his hands over the tactical projector as if they were the keys of a piano. "This battlefield is the theater of which I am the composer. But who is my audience, I wonder?"
As if right on cue, a message was received from Moebius and displayed on the holo-projector. An elderly scarred man, with a large mustache, one cybernetic eye, smoking pipe, in Admiral's uniform, addressed them with a bombastic voice.
"Attention Haven bumpkins! This is Admiral Gestefield of the Moebius Corps! You will surrender immediately...or...be annihilated!" The transmission ended. Expecting more, everyone stared each other in confusion.
"That's it?" inquired Tana. "Wait, didn't he used to be in the Dominion?"
"Gestefield?" repeated Nathaniel. He allowed a wide smile to stretch on his face.
A human adjutant piped up. "Sir! The battlecruisers are heading straight for us!"
Tana nodded. "Everyone's inside the underground bunkers and the enemy is within range of our Longbolt missiles." She popped a fist in glee. "Fire all batteries!"
"No," said Nathaniel smoothly to Tana's dismay. He faced the adjutant. "Only allow turrets 1 to 50 to attack, and to spread their targets randomly."
The adjutant frowned in confusion, but affirmed. "Understood, Sir!"
Four titanic Minotaur-class battlecruisers, decked in black neo-steel, were rocketing over the pine treetop towards the mountain city in the distance. The large warships' hammerheads plowed through the atmosphere, disturbing the leaves and wildlife below with wind torrents and the thundering of thrusters.
Admiral Gestefield exhaled smoke from his pipe as a bridge member turned from his console. "Admiral! Incoming missiles!"
Small trails of smoke flew from the mountains and snaked towards the battlecruisers. They closed in, revealing themselves as hundreds of Longbolt missiles swarming like piranhas to whales against the flying fortresses. The tiny warheads plunged into the ships' armored hide before detonating in smoke and shrapnel. The battlecruisers were peppered all over with direct hits, yet they continued to push, hull strong and gun batteries barely damaged.
The treetops gave way to an expansive field surrounding the city, on which marines and SCVs were constructing layers of trenches, supplemented by bunkers, auto-turrets, and neo-steel Czech hedgehog emplacements to hopefully deter tank movement. The low flying battlecruisers blotted the sun, prompting the shovel-wielding marines and SCVs to stop and stare up in horror.
Gestefield laughed. "Pathetic anti-air defenses. This'll be a slaughter. Commence bombardment, reach their city!"
Haven's army was already shouting and diving for the trenches and bunkers when fire rained from the sky. Burst laser shots strafed wildly, throwing dirt and singed bodies unfortunately caught by the blast. For those hiding in trenches, much of the lasers' explosive force passed over them into the air, protecting them save for shots directly hitting them in the narrow spaces. Bunkers were exposed targets, easily torn apart after several direct hits and immolating the people within. The army was unable to retaliate and at Moebius' mercy.
Tana clenched her teeth as she watched their army being torn apart. Why aren't they driving them back?! "They're fucking killing us!" she screamed. She slammed her fist against the tactical map, flickering the holograms. "Fire all the damn missiles!" She faced every man and woman around her, but no one offered a response. She was not the highest authority here.
Nathaniel broke the silence. "We'll wait until they're on top of us." Watching the brutal bombardment, he took a swig from his beer bottle, eliciting a furious growl from Tana.
"What the hell are you doing? Our military is small enough already. We can't just throw away lives like they're tools. We're not the Dominion."
"No." Nathaniel frowned. "We are not the Dominion. However, young Strommen. This is not just warfare, but an orchestrated game, and a good player knows cost-effective trades."
"Yes..." He was so close. One barrage and the city and its command will be leveled to rubble! The four Moebius battlecruisers flew over the mountain passes and within visual range of the city. Gestefield stared down like a bird-of-prey, and seeing what he saw at that moment, his confident smirk fell with dread. "All ships return to base! Emergency warp us out!"
And officer droned. "We diverted the whole grid to guns and engines. It'll take time to power up the warp drives."
Gestefield's cybernetic eye widened and twitched erratically as every spinning turret swiveled around, pointing their spiky death-spears at the sitting ducks above.
"Now it is time to crescendo. Bring all our arms to bear!"
"Finally!" said Tana. "You heard him! Turrets 1 to 450 fire at will!"
With the order given, every missile turret unleashed continuous streams of missiles, vastly multiplying the initial attack. The battlecruisers struggled to rotate their giant bodies, but could not escape the swarm of armor-piercing warheads. Small but overwhelmingly numerous explosions covered nearly the entirety of the battlecruisers; each missile chipped away the armor for another to dig deeper. Hull failure became apparent as the ships suffered their own external explosions, sending pieces of metal and parts falling to the rocky ground below.
One battlecruiser snapped its neck, having been drilled and blown apart by the onslaught. It lost its anchoring and crashed into the mountains between the outlying fields and the city. The other three managed to warp away, leaving behind falling black clouds of flaming shrapnel and blown bits.
Now with the skies clear, the marines and SCVs crawled out of cover on wobbly legs, moving quickly to rebuild the fortifications.
Sighs of relief resounded. Nathaniel smiled, and faced Tana. "The defensive army took a beating, but we can recover from the damage. What's more important was taking out at least one battlecruiser and crippling the other three."
Tana eased her tense face, but her displeasure remained. "You baited them. Destroyed around a quarter of their forces."
Harald Strommen chuckled after releasing a sigh of relief. "You can stand to learn stratagem from this man. We were right to trust him."
"I don't believe in cold tactics." she spoke with spite. She recomposed herself and held a firm face to Nathaniel. "What's the plan now?"
He set down his beer bottle. "In the short-term, we'll scavenge the battlecruiser and take any survivors. In the long-term..." The tactical map displayed a square view of the landscape from New Jamestown to Fjellhavn. The level of detail featured the hard glass surface showing a detailed colored representation of the terrain and color-coded representations of the forces at play. A pixel mini-map. He graced his finger across the field. "... we'll have to fight Moebius' ground advance. After that attack, they'll be repairing their battlecruisers or just not risk another offensive. To defeat us, Gestefield will need to capture Fjellhavn with his superior ground army."
"There are many terrain advantages we can exploit. And we've almost finished scrambling the Viking Corps. Can you beat them?"
Nathaniel offered a weak smile. "I can compose an elaborate concert of defense-in-depth and guerrilla warfare. But this is beyond my skill. I'll do my best to delay them until they reach the capital."
"Are you that sure?" 'Even he can't beat them back?' she thought.
"I am certain. We only have to delay them for a few hours until the Dominion cavalry arrives. Stall them until the final stand in the mountains - that is our objective. Fortunately... I've done battles like these before."
"Hrm... I'll go join the defence," said Strommen. "Will any of you join us? We need all our manpower mustered."
"It would be nice to step down as composer and be a musician, but I'm needed here."
"Wait," called Tana. "If I'm not the commander, then I might as well join in and fight!"
"No, Tana." urged Strommen. "Stay here and learn. If we do survive, I need you here in case I fall. Our leadership must persevere for the future of Haven."
"Sigh."
Gestefield scowled, surveying the construction of his base in New Jamestown as a staging point from within the lead battlecruiser. All three surviving battlecruisers, smoking and heavily scarred, had landed after decimating a large clearing in the forest. He was pissed - most of the resources in this area would be wasted on repairing the capital ships instead of fueling his ground offensive. But he shouldn't have needed a ground offensive! How did the dirt-farmers build so many turrets?! He turned to an overseeing figure behind him, hiding his turmoil. "There will be slight delays, but soon, this world and its dirt-farmers will be under our control."
"Excellent, you conquered a small mining town with a sloppy infantry wave attack." responded the figure sarcastically. "On top of that, you failed to scout the capital before charging in. It will take more than gloating. Your performance will not be satisfactory until you've successfully taken the Haven capital."
"I had the advantage of numerical superiority, I knew what I was doing." Gestefield grunted and moved to observe Fjellhaven's heavy defenses. He grimaced. "Why are we even here anyway?"
"Consider this a test of skill, Admiral, regarding your ability to lead our God's armies. We have many more ships at our disposal, but for now you should see if you can accomplish your objective with the forces given. I am certain that with your ability, you can conquer this dirt-farming society with the army you have now."
"Well, I'm going to be brutally honest here. Three battlecruisers ain't gonna cut it against those missile turrets."
"They will be taken care of shortly. That is why it's imperative you do not fail when the opportunity presents itself."
Gestefield laughed. "Then that changes everything. I can assure you now, victory will be ours!"
Samir Duran stared down the admiral from his elevated platform in the bridge. "We shall see."
"You know this is incredibly risky?" said William as he piloted the Phantom across the treetops towards where they guessed the militia would congregate. "Anything could happen, and we'll die just for being ballsy."
"I know." responded Lexi. She was encased in a Dominion-issued medic CMC-armor, which she was currently busy adjusting its fit and the delicate surgical auto-laser. The albino protoss did a double-take after realizing she suited-up, stood up to examine the protective armor, noting how her eyes reached his chest thanks to layers of neo-steel.
"Wait, I thought we were just going to drop them off and stay in the ship."
"And sit here while someone else dies? How can I live with that?"
"We owe them nothing. This may not be worth it."
"You can stay if you want. There's nothing wrong with that."
William dipped his head lower, feeling no need to bow to establish equality in body-language. "...you're going to fight with them?"
Brown eyes gazed into red ones. She recognized the tone he used, it was controlled and leveled, unlike the jovial and energetic one he'd use when they're alone and he wanted to jest or simply chat amicably. He wasn't going to challenge or stop her, he simply wanted affirmation. "People are bound to get hurt; one medic can always make a difference."
"I'll join you then."
She smiled, jabbing at his stomach where he flinched: he was ticklish. "So does this mean you get to have all the fun?"
William laughed awkwardly, not feeling the humor he knew she was trying to make. From his experience, he knew her point had merit - Medics were infinitesimally valuable in any dangerous situation. "Just be careful. I mean... of course you're a very intelligent and capable person, with experience, quality armor, a nice shield." he sighed, rubbing his temple, his eye-brows creased. "I think we'll be okay..." this time he leaned in at face-level and placed his palm on her shoulder armor. "...and the best part is that I've gotchu."
"And I'll watch your back too, like always." she smiled, rubbing his skull's crown with gloved fingers to soothe his worry with rhythms.
"What will be our course of action?" asked Khalis to Val'idin and Kaldalis; now thinking to trust their superior experience. Lexi and William entered the "dorm bay", so they were included in the conversation.
"Before we devise our plan," said Kaldalis, sitting on the couch as the others stood around him. "We must confirm a few questions." He turned to the two that entered the room. "Will you two be joining us in this defense?"
Khalis took a second look at the two, noting how Lexi was inside white terran armor supporting a large shield adorned with a red cross and William was holding an elongated rifle, similar to the terran ghost Nova's weapon, except larger befitting his size.
"I can offer healing to you guys and the other soldiers."
"I have experience hunting and operating within fire-slash-kill zones. Perhaps you firstborn understand the importance of fire support?"
Khalis scoffed while Val'idin clapped his hands together. "Thank the Void you terrans invest in training medics." He faced William. "So you know how to use a gun. I take it you're skilled in stealth and guerrilla tactics?"
"Stealth?...pft. Not anymore. But I do understand that and guerrilla warfare at its finest points."
"That'll do. Kaldalis, perhaps William and I can operate well if the fighting takes to the forest."
Kaldalis stroked his chin. "Indeed," his gravelly voice spoke, thinking. "If William is truly skilled in picking targets as he says, he can work with your stealth to strike them from the forest shade. However, I am concerned as to how Khalis and I will contribute. I must admit I have little knowledge of terran warfare aside from when Friend Raynor fought alongside my judicator comrades against the Overmind." His single blue eye turned. "Dark Templar; Doctor, what say you?"
Indeed, how would they fight? Val'idin looked to Lexi, who shrugged with a face that said 'idk'. "Well, I have no idea what the terrans will do. Given that you and Khalis are shining golden targets with major handicaps, our best option would be to coordinate with each other and the terrans."
Oh no, so they're cooperating with more terrans now? "These terrans lack honor and valor. We can not trust them as stalwart battle compatriots."
"Girl, I'm standing right here..."
"Ignorant firstborn."
"But it's true!"
Val'idin facepalmed, and opted to discuss that topic with Khalis later. "How about telepathic communications?"
Kaldalis nodded, "That would be prudent. I will establish the psychic link." Despite being a zealot, Kaldalis was a venerable protoss, and almost every protoss had at least decent psionic potential. Forging the link would be simple. He closed his eyes. "Answer to my voice."
"I hail you, Kaldalis", responded Val'idin.
"Acknowledged," hissed William.
Lexi held her gloved index and middle finger together to the side of her helmet. "...Am I in the call?"
"S'up."
That left Khalis silent from the link. The high templar rippled with frustration and exertion. Even the non-psychic terran could do what she's struggling to do!
"I still can not connect." growled Khalis.
"Try doing that," suggested William with a blank face, gesturing to Lexi's fingers against her 'temple'. "It helps with pitifully weak terran psionics, creates a psychic dish or loop or I don't know..."
Khalis raised an eyebrow. "...are you taunting me?" She lifted her fingers to demonstrate the futility of such a simple technique. "It is inconceivable the extent terrans misunderstand psion-" Briefly after her clawed fingers touched her temple, her eyes widened. She was instantly aware of the psychic link bridging her to the four others, as if a part of her had reawakened. It wasn't the Khala, no emotions and companion thoughts to soothe her, but it would do. "...how?"
"It's best not to question." said Val'idin as William laughed at her bewildered face.
"That will do for now," said Kaldalis vocally. The presence of the link remained in their minds, ever-present. "How long until we reach the field of battle?"
The adjutant pinged. "Long range sensors report: Haven's militia army has formed a blockade on the main road leading to Fjellhavn. Moebius forces are moving to break the blockade and attack nearby locations. *BEEP-BEEP* Alert! The nearby town of Riverwood is under attack."
"Take us there, Adjutant!" commanded Lexi.
The Phantom raced to Riverwood and shortly arrived overhead. It was a logging town situated on a river powering a primitive water-wheel lumber mill, situated in a valley. The town was surrounded on both sides by packs of marines and marauders tearing away at defending militia and sandbags. The dire situation became more apparent: their transport ship was destroyed by a prior attack given the smoking wreckage and corpses lying about.
Flying low, the dropship armed its front auto-turret and strafed over the Moebius line at the North side, gunning down several marines and suppressing the armored marauders. Haven's white armored marines paused momentarily to cheer the stranger ship as it hovered over the town, continuing to fire as its rear passenger doors opened.
"Khassar de Templari!" With order comes justice. Kaldalis leaped from the three-story height of the ship, his metal feet solidly stamping the ground. His long enhanced legs just finished bending to disperse the force before he burst forth towards the North perimeter.
"My blades will face the enemy there."
"I shall join you, honored one!" Khalis eyed the drop's height nervously, unable to levitate for descending. The dark templar simply blinked to ground-level, and turned to watch her hesitation.
"Khalis, let's go!"
"Oh my god..." growled William from behind with a disgusted expression. "It's not that high, grow a damn spine!" Khalis suddenly felt clawed metal boots slam into her spine, throwing her light body off the ship. She screamed as she plummeted to the ground, and would have landed painfully on her back had Val'idin not caught her in his arms.
"You're alright, let us move." the Dark Templar shimmered transparent and ran to the South perimeter as Khalis recovered and raced to join Kaldalis.
William stood at the edge, preparing his HEV rifle. Lexi ran past him and dropped to the ground, her fall absorbed by the power suit and fall-boots designed for such drops. Instantly spotting wounded civilians and marines pulled from the defense, and noting the disturbing lack of medics, she rushed over to her relieved patients.
Kaldalis nimbly sprinted past the startled white-marines; straight toward's Moebius' guns. Three marauders shielding the front line, like lifeless robots, raised their grenade launches and fired a salvo of concussive grenades rocketing at the approaching zealot. In one swift motion, the warrior leaped high over the grenades with enough momentum to land on a marauder, slashing the armored skull mid-takedown.
"Aw hell no!" The second marauder fired another grenade, which Kaldalis spun low to dodge, causing the projectile to knockdown the third marauder. He closed the gap and sliced into the second marauder's thigh, who dropped to its knee screaming as Kaldalis pulled at both arms from behind. Trained natural protoss strength and psionic muscle enhancements overpowered the terran powered exoskeleton as the marauder's screamed, his arms bent back at an awkward angle.
With the zealot being the closest threat, most of Moebius' marines pointed at Kaldalis as he hid behind his armored meat-shield.
"No man! I'm on your si-" He wailed helplessly as countless rounds embedded themselves into his body.
"Khalis, now is your chance!"
"The enemy will fall!" Khalis stood at the center of the sandbag line and launched glaive discs as fast as she could. With the enemy focused on Kaldalis and emboldened by the rescuing protoss, Haven's marines stood out of cover and unleashed their fire on the enemy. Bullets and glaive discs mowed down most of the wave, and Kaldalis threw away the perforated remains of the marauder as the last marine was disemboweled by a glaive disc to the ribs.
Meanwhile, the South perimeter was on the verge of collapse, there were too many Moebius soldiers breathing down on the dying defenders. A white marine ran out of ammo, and was about to turn and run when something pushed him down from above? He scanned his visor around, confused.
The first Moebius marine was suddenly bisected. He screamed as his upper body plopped to the ground, his two halves separated by a clean burn cut. Realizing an unknown threat as another marine's visor imploded and melted in fiery sparks, they panicked, halting their reckless march. One by one they were being cut down like wheat to a scythe, their armor almost useless against the unseen attacker. Some fired blindly, grazing the light of a plasma shield.
A loud bang boomed across the valley, preceding the sudden explosive gibbing of a marauder's head. William took advantage of Val'idin's disruptive attack to take potshots and snipe at the exposed, panicked soldiers. A marine raised his rifle and returned fire, but was promptly silenced when the hidden blade chopped his rifle, then his thinner waist. Without any opposition suppressing him, William was free to chuck away a heavy spent shell and fire another shot.
Without any help from the tired Haven militia, the two protoss wiped out the last remnants of the Southern attackers.
With the threats eliminated, the Phantom descended next to the destroyed transport ship, eliciting cheers from soldiers, medics, and farmers as they came out of hiding from the town's barricaded buildings. Khalis gathered with the others as Lexi ushered Riverwoods' people into the spacious dropship.
A marine approached her and addressed, "We didn't expect the protoss to show up, but we sure as hell ain't complaining. Thanks for the assistance."
These terrans are actually thanking her? Not wanting to disrespect their gratitude, Khalis waved her hand up, "No thanks and adulation are necessary. It is the Templar's code to help the innocent."
The marine saluted, then rushed to join the others in the Phantom. Khalis followed suit, entering the passenger bay crammed with countless stranger terrans.
"I just finished cleaning the floor..." groaned William as he handed Lexi a medical tong, seeing dirt and blood staining the carpet floor.
"Get over it, Willie." said Lexi. She carefully pulled out a bullet from a marine's leg, then focused her auto-laser over the wound. "You can always clean it later. Adjutant, take us to the battlefield and drop us off."
Haven's militia had gathered outside the edge of a forest, with the main highway, around two siege tanks wide, winding through the trees. The white marines waited anxiously amidst a field of wheat as Moebius marched towards them, their boots and siege tank treads trampling the crops underfoot. Seeing the approaching heavy-armor divisions, further escorted by the towering forms of armored goliath walkers, Haven's marines and medics retreated into the forest cover.
Gestefield had assessed his plan of approach. Duran promised the missile defenses will go down, but that sounded sketchy. He needed siege tanks to besiege and hopefully break through Fjellhavn's entrenchments without battlecruiser support, but logistical problems needed to be addressed. Without dropships or the battlecruisers, the tanks will have to travel all the way to the capital on land, and the highway was the only feasible option, lest they get bogged down trying to plow through thick trees. Luckily there were no bridges to sabotage and impede the tanks' advance, but his main concern was the militia lurking within the forest darkness. Enemy infantry could harass the tanks and run for cover before any retaliation was given. No, he had to do this thoroughly - spread his forces across the forest and hunt down all and any guerrilla fighter to secure the tanks' path. It would take time to smoke the dirt-farmers out, but he couldn't risk losing his momentum to rebuild his army. He already underestimated them once; he will not make the same mistake twice... they needed to check for potential mines and traps on the highway anyway.
The siege tanks slowed to line up and funnel into the highway. Moebius' marines and marauders trekked the forest undergrowth and the goliaths maneuvered past the large ancient moss-covered pine trees with enough space to comfortably turn; the walkers had no trouble striding over the uneven terrain. They formed a loose wave advancing across the forest, taking free territory to safeguard the tanks' advance. The leafy canopy was thick and cast a dark enough shadow to necessitate the need to utilize the built-in searchlights of power armor and the goliath frame for optimal visibility. With the moss covering the ground, rocks, and trees, and with the sun low in the sky, the air had an almost green glow in the atmosphere.
It only took nearly a minute of searching until the first shots were fired, sending birds and rodents fleeing from the devastation about to unfold. Camouflaged militia, conscripted farmers and civilians wearing nothing more than green or brown jackets, emerged from the rocks, bushes, and trees to strike at the lights of the noisy power armor and walkers. Their weapons were random and no heavier than an antiquated Brood-War era gauss-rifle - they couldn't use standard marine gauss rifles without the strength of power armor. Nonetheless, despite their obsolete and downgraded quality,the automatic weapons barking and firing armor-piercing slugs were enough to stagger and fell the first wave of Moebius' soldiers. With the ambush sprung, the desperate battle for Haven had begun.
Further down the highway beyond the front of the tank line, the Phantom descended onto the spacious asphalt, unloading all Protoss and Terran combatants. Lexi ran out of the ship and activated her helmet-comm. "Adjutant, take the civilians back to the capital and stay there until we summon you."
Running on autopilot, the dropship closed its door and took off with precious cargo inside. Khalis turned to her companions and the Terran marines and medics they had rescued earlier. "Where will we meet the enemy in battle?"
After the roar of the Phantom's engines died out, the party picked out the sounds of gunfire amidst the ambient forest noise, providing the answer. Haven's soldiers were the first ones running into the trees to aid their comrades, with the protoss following behind.
"The forests will easily enable William and me to fight at our maximum advantage," said Val'idin telepathically over the sounds of trampled branches and grasses. "What of the rest of you?"
"We still do not know their full army composition," said Kaldalis. "Khalis, stay by my side so I may cover you should we lose ground."
"Understood." Khalis noted William holding a smaller rifle, just like the one the ghost Nova uses, and it looked puny and weak in his hands. "William, why not use your other rifle?"
Khalis heard the red-eyed albino scoff. "Do you have no idea how the Terrans fight?" He quickly explained. "Unlike you, we don't enjoy the luxuries of advanced energy-efficient and psi-based weaponry. Most our weapons require mass projectiles, and there's only so much we can carry. I can hold the HEV rifle no problem, but not enough ammo to be reliable in this battle. A good friend of mine taught me to conserve my resources in times of scarcity."
Indeed, Khalis noticed the bandolier of ammo wrapped around the armor under his trenchcoat. She could help but rub it in his smart-ass face. "Well, how unfortunate for you. Such a liability like 'ammo' can only come from an infantile society."
"Funny coming from a hypocritically primitive culture such as yours... doesn't stop the space monkeys from pub-stomping your 'advanced race' time and time again!"
"For Adun's sake Khalis," yelled Val'idin, annoyed with the comments thrown. "Don't pick a fight with him. I see the enemy ahead!" The dark templar cloaked, yet still transparently visible for his allies, and dashed ahead.
Looking ahead, Khalis could see the militia struggling to stop Moebius' advance. After the shock from the ambush faded, the tables were turned on Haven as the armored marines were difficult to gun down and suppress and could easily fire-back. The marauders were even worse - brood war rifles were horribly inadequate at penetrating their armor. Trees can only protect so much against gauss rounds and marauder grenades, killing some conscripts who couldn't find more cover in time.
A goliath pilot laughed as his cannons sawed through a tree and slaughtered militia behind it. The goliaths were a serious force to be reckoned with, standing tall over the rocks and bushes that were supposed to cover the militia. They couldn't hide from his heightened view and his advanced Ares-class targeting system. Trees and bushes provided no protection against the anti-armor 30mm twin autocannons, and the walker's supposed weakness to close-proximity due to the spread of its twin guns were instantly negated by the chin-strapped machine gun underneath its torso. Any militia attempting to flank him and attack his blind-spots were flushed out by escorting marines. To him, it was little more than a shooting gallery.
He felt a jerk backwards, and the vehicle registered extra weight suddenly imbalancing the walker. Before he could dismiss it as a fallen branch, an unknown force began slicing into the plexi-glass front. "Ey! What gives?!" The glass was ripped from its frame, exposing the pilot as something plunged into his chest like a hot-blade. Eyes popped, he rasped an airless gasp as the walker fell forward, crushing the dying pilot underneath. Val'idin leaped from the falling strider and eviscerated its confused marine escort with shadow fury. The militia peeked from cover and cheered to the transparent alien David who felled Goliath and gave them enough breathing space to counter-attack in greater force. The dark templar paid no heed to their jubilation and rushed towards the next goliath.
"Impressive dark templar."
"Thank you, Khalis."
Kaldalis sprinted forth, trees whizzing past his view as he leaped over some militia crouched behind a log and landed on a marauder, slicing its helmet under his feet. Khalis positioned behind the log and used it as cover to fire glaive discs at the marines in sight. Her actions emboldened the militia beside her to rise from cover and continue fighting. One man addressed her. "What a day. Moebius' being a pain in the ass, then the protoss rescue us. You're all a sight for sore eyes."
The last sentence confused her. "Are you thanking us?"
"Hell yeah." He paused to shoot a marine straight through its visor. "Captain Zack Hai, honored to fight alongside you."
Khalis recognized the value of respect forged through combat, and waved. "Honor to fight alongside you as well. Captain Zack Hai."
He nodded with a smile, then turned his view to see Kaldalis taking on a squad of marines. "Alright boys and girls, lay down suppressive fire for that zealot over there!"
Meanwhile, Lexi soon caught up after the protoss charged ahead. William had left to skirmish elsewhere, leaving her to find and rescue the wounded. She spotted a victim of the previous goliath attack wirthing in pain from perforations and wood shrapnel in her leg. She rushed towards her with shield up to deter small arms fire and dragged the downed militia behind a rock formation. Her visor quickly scanned and relayed information on the wounded area.
"Jesus Christ... multiple puncture wounds and a definitely shattered leg," she said to herself, not wanting to distress the relieved but still pained soldier. "Don't worry, I can still save your leg." Lexi quickly administered a morphine shot and worked to surgically remove foreign objects and setting the leg before she could use the auto-laser.
Her patiently suddenly screamed and pointed to the side. From Lexi's peripheral vision, a Moebius marauder had spotted them behind the rocks. She calmly hushed. "Shh-shh, calm down. You'll make your leg worse."
The soldier could not calm down. Does this crazy medic not see the danger they're in!? The marauder raised an arm to fire a grenade almost point-blank. With a sudden bang, the spot between its eyes was holed by an unseen attacker, and it fell dead. The crying soldier continued whimpering from the fright as Lexi continued her work.
Gestefield huffed on his pipe, impatiently observing his two freshly assembled factories constructing the war machines within. He then observed his tactical map, his mustache bristling in fury. "The attack is slowing. Why is the attack slowing?!"
"Admiral, we report multiple protoss contacts attacking our forces. They appear to be aiding the Haven army."
"What... that's absurd. The protoss have no reason to even be here!" Their raven had finally exited assembly and arrived at the battle, giving him an aerial view of the battle in the trees. He saw handful of protoss managing to resist his superior army. "Damn absurd!" He slammed his fist against the tactical map, flickering the holograms. "Send in the hellions!"
At that order, the two factories discharged nearly two dozen hellions stored within. The lightly armored buggies zoomed across the farms and roads from New Jamestown towards the battle.
"And... on a side note, why haven't I heard from the SCVs sent to that outlying rich mineral field?!"
"Uh... sir? I scanned their last reported location. They may have ran into a slight problem..." A video-feed was displayed, showing the camera feed from the P.O.V. of an SCV
"Aw Heck yes!" cheered an SCV among half a dozen, escorted by marines and a land transport filled with enough minerals and materials to construct a new command center. "Look at all dem rich minerals. It's like a gold mine'n here! Not to mention several construction goods, an abandoned science lab, and the town's abandoned. We don't even have to fig- OH JESUS CHRIST UGLY MOTHERFUCKERS!." The sounds of gunfire were drowned out by the droning and snarls of hundreds of infested terrans unburrowing from the ground right under the expanding party. "They're all over me! HAAAALP!" The infested terrans had climbed over the large SCV frame, and the last image of the footage was a clawed hand disabling the camera, leading to static."
"First the protoss, then infested terrans? The hell's wrong with this crappin' dirtball!?"
This was way too easy.
William sniped an offending marauder trying to slow Kaldalis' killing spree with a concussive grenade. Good, the old man can continue shitting on these poor weaklings... didn't he have heart problems? Questions for later. The albino's lack of cover and abundance of loud rifle noises attracted the attention of many marines trying to gun him down. He simply blocked their shots with his shield and, with a loud crack, sprinted across the forest and quickly repositioned himself in a random spot, easily losing the sights of his pursuers. He quickly reloaded and after again sensing his surroundings fired another shot into a unaware marine trying to catch Khalis' position by surprise. It didn't kill it, but its cries of pain alerted Khalis and the others who quickly dispatched it.
"Pay attention noob. You're about to be cut-off. I suggest falling back, unless you're the stupid 'stand-and-fight' type."
"He's right Khalis," said Kaldalis, who's posture slouched as exhaustion took its toll. He had been using psionic "valor" to empower his endurance and keep him fighting, and even that was reaching its limit. "The enemy is still gaining ground, we have to fall back and regroup. You as well, Val'idin."
"Understood. Just let me finish slaying this goliath. Can't let it rampage the terrans any further." Val'idin dashed towards his 8th goliath, cloaked from its sensors and its marine escorts. He slid to a stop when suddenly, the walker and every marine suddenly turned their weapons to him. Trained reflexes saved him as he leaped to the side before a hailstorm of bullets impaled the ground where he stood.
'Maybe they predicted my movements?' He poised to strike, but had to blink away upon being discovered again. He reappeared on a pine-tree branch behind the goliath, but they all turned about face to fire at him, forcing him to dodge and leap across the treetops to avoid their attacks.
"They can detect me! I'm pulling back!" Jumping nimbly across the branches, the dark templar noticed a dark black-red raven hovering over the battlefield. "Damn!"
William had also noticed the raven and turned to snipe it out of the sky. He took aim, but stopped to hear the distant buzzing sound of engines and track wheels. They sound just like hellions coming towards them... in a forest full of trees.
"Oh shit!" He called out, both telepathically and through his voice echoing through the trees. "Hellions incoming, everyone fallback!"
"Hellions!?" cried Captain Hai. "Oh no we've got to move!"
"Wait, hellions?" inquired Khalis. "The wheel-based vehicles?" She followed Captain Hai as Kaldalis joined them, dodging and deflecting bullets. "Why are we running? They can't reach us in the forest, right?" She'd done her fair share of military research on the militaries of all three races. Wouldn't the forest terrain be unsuited for primitive wheels?
"Oh they can ma'am!" said Captain Hai. "And they're about to light'up this place hotter than a barbecue on Raynor day!"
The hellions quickly caught up the main battle line. One rammed into a jutting rock and flipped into the air, transforming in a quick motion of servos and shifting metals to land on its feet as an armored powerful infantry/walker. The others transformed as well, easily walking over the forest terrain, and quickly breathed forth intense yellow flames several meters ahead of them. The flames wrapped around trees and seeped through moss and bushes to engulf those unfortunately caught in searing napalm. As the stragglers died in their fiery death throes, the hot and sticky napalm solutions easily set the ancient pines on fire. In seconds a firestorm had erupted, flushing out the protoss and militia as the Moebius' armored marines, marauders, goliaths, and hellbats marched through the inferno like unflinching robots set to terminate their targets.
'Great, more transforming mechs from the Terrans!' bemoaned Khalis to herself.
With the hellbats literally hot on their heels, everyone was in full retreat. "What do we do now?" asked Khalis. She desperately wanted to know if they can make a comeback and hear if everyone was still alive.
"We must make a tactical withdrawal with the Terrans!"
"And get the hell out of here!"
"Calm down, Willie!"
"Be silent!" urged Kaldalis. He turned to Captain Hai. "What is your strategy?"
"Believe it or not." Bullets traced over them, and he turned briefly to shoot back and silence the offender. Satisfied, he resumed running. "This is sorta going all according to plan."
"How so?!" yelled Khalis. She spun to fling a glaive disc, missing a marine by a wide shot. She growled and resumed running.
Twin explosions suddenly slammed into the raven tailing them above, knocking it from the sky. Khalis looked up, seeing Terran starfighters flying over the treetops.
Captain Hai whooped. "Hell yeah! It's the Viking corps!"
"One bogey down. A thousand more to go." Hawk-1 exclaimed as his rip-wave missiles made short work of the raven. He adjusted his controls as his black-hull, white-striped viking made a wide pass over the trees, searching for any more flying targets to kill.
"There's no more bogeys for you to chase Hawk-1," said a blonde woman, with a stern calculating expression as her heavily armored dark blue, white-striped viking searched for possible landing spots amidst the trees. "Focus on the ones below. Our people down there need help."
"Ah, right. On it Eagle-1." said Hawk-1.
The Viking squadrons are the Haven Republic's main punch and the pride of their military. Inspired by Raynor's defense against the protoss commanded by Selendis, Haven adopted donated vikings and their schematics to build and maintain these complicated war machines. It was commonly known that the viking was a high-skill machine that could potentially become one of the deadliest Terran weapons in the hands of a skilled pilot, so any ace pilots were openly welcomed to pilot the ships and raise new recruits under a fledgling training program. It made tactical sense to invest heavily in vikings and their advanced hardware: they can provide air-superiority to cover the still inadequate ground army, fly over Haven's rivers and forests, and may be Haven's only defense against Dominion or Protoss capital ships beyond the range of Fjellhavn's long-range defenses. The best advantages of the Viking were seen in the long-term: the population can only support a small fleet of vikings, but with enough skill, those numbers can match fleet and manpower many times their actual worth.
Every viking could be custom-colored to the pilot's preference, provided that a uniform white-stripe be painted over their wings for identification in case the IFF system malfunctioned. As of now, the rest of Eagle and Hawk squadron, numbering a dozen each, had arrived and raced to approach the fleeing ground army. Moebius' goliaths detected the incoming aircraft and acted to fire their hellfire missiles, which were notoriously effective against aircraft of all sizes. Fortunately, the tall pine trees and leaves blocked and disrupted the view and pathing of the missiles, and the Vikings were free to slow and transform into their ground-based assault mode, easily landing between the trees as powerful leg servos stomped onto the forest floor.
Revving up their twin gatling guns, they instantly began belching deadly slug rounds into the advancing Moebius army, easily mowing down infantry and hellbats while shrugging off small arms fire. The only threats were their goliath counterparts, but concentrated fire from the numerically superior vikings were enough to tear down the walkers. Hawk-1 and Eagle-1 landed with the other vikings, forming a solid line of gatling-guns and metal.
With the advent of the Vikings, Khalis rushed beside them and contributed to the volley of machine gun-fire that had enough volume to drive back a rampaging ultralisk. Soon the retreating militia doubled back and reinforced the defensive line, taking cover behind legs or natural formations to ensure Moebius will not break through now.
Kaldalis rushed to Khalis' side. "This seems like a pleasant turn of events."
"Indeed," Val'idin had blinked to their side. "I'm surprised they hadn't shown up earlier."
"William, Lexi, where are you two?" asked Kaldalis.
"I'm with William escorting the wounded to the back lines. There are a lot of them to tend, so I'm doing my best to help the medics."
"Understood," Kaldalis sat down. "I am afraid I cannot continue the battle any further..."
"Rest now Kaldalis. Val'idin and I will hold them here. Not one step backward!"
"How many have we lost?"
"Judging from the lack of status reports given. Our casualties are in the hundreds. I'm sorry Lieutenant Strommen."
Strommen Jr. slammed her fist against the tactical projector while Nathaniel stood unresponsive, his eyes still watching the map. "How long until the Dominion arrives?" he asked coolly.
The communications officer spoke up. "It's been almost two hours since Valerian promised us our fleet. Who knows how much longer it will take."
"I see..." said Nathaniel, stroking his clean-shaven chin. "Then it's fortunate our defense-in-depth strategy is lasting longer than I anticipated. We haven't even gotten to the final perimeter outside Fjellhavn."
Tana spoke up, "The protoss from the reports. Do you think they're to thank for that miracle?"
Nathaniel smirked. "I believe so. I've fought the protoss before. Once, I've seen a handful of zealots decimate an entire armored division specifically deployed to counter them. Their presence on the battlefield must never be underestimated, and based on what I've seen... they seem quite capable."
Khalis was honestly enjoying herself. Deep in the glory of battle, the beating of gatling guns as war-drums, she was a Templar immersed in glorious combat, fighting for a righteous cause.
So why were the militia starting to break off and run away? One by one they stopped firing and routed, leaving the Vikings to fend for themselves. Did these terrans easily break from the stress of risking their lives for only a few short hours? Such sad beings that needed to be saved by her, and she'll gladly do so.
It wasn't until Captain Hai, a terran she'd already come to associate with bravery and respect, suddenly decided to give up that Khalis became infuriated. "Alright men, let's fall back now!" Already he and his soldiers were quick to run away
"No! What are you doing!? We were holding our ground just fine!" Now more exposed than ever, Khalis had to divert more attention to counter attacking the seemingly endless waves of Moebius marines. Just how many did she already kill, let alone their allies?
Why were the terrans running? The Vikings were enough to hold the line against Moebius, so shouldn't they stand and fight to make this defense even stronger? She just couldn't understand what possessed the terrans to cower and flee!
And to top off her annoyance, she hated how whenever she peeked out from behind a Viking to fire a glaive disc, she'd have to stand near their sides, which were vomiting endless streams of heavy metal casings that rained on her head several times.
Casings?... wait.
"Stupid, inferior, idiot! Unlike you, we don't enjoy the luxuries of advanced energy-efficient and psi-based weaponry. Most our weapons require mass projectiles, and there's only so much we can carry..."
It suddenly made sense. They were nowhere near supply depots where the terrans can replenish their precious 'ammo', and seeing the pool of bullet casings building around the vikings, they were spending a lot of ammo. Perhaps she should leave with the others.
On cue, the vikings' gatling guns suddenly went silent, save for the clicking from empty chambers. That signaled the mechanical beasts to transform and take off into the sky. The defensive line practically vanished, and Khalis was quick to retreat. She liked to think she was proud, not stupid.
After several long minutes of running, she broke free from the forest into the light of Haven's sun, rejuvenating her protoss spirit. She saw the militia from the forest running towards the trenches and bunkers, where the actual marines and medics had entrenched themselves. Sensing Kaldalis, Khalis ran towards one of the bunkers within the second line of trenches. The terrans allowed her in, and she stopped to rest within the safety of the metal structure.
So this is what the inside of a bunker looked like. It was deceptively spacious from the inside. Kaldalis was currently sitting against the wall, resting as well. He spoke. "Good, you have managed to survive this battle. The others are safe elsewhere."
"Well there's no time to sit on our asses," said Captain Hai, who was in the bunker with them. "They're already here and packing the big guns!"
As the marines, marauders, and goliaths emerged from the forest, so did the siege tanks as they rolled in from the highway. It was still too far to effectively strike Fjellhavn's defenses, so Moebius would have to destroy the defensive perimeters before besieging the city. Instantly the din of gunfire and artillery echoed from outside the bunker, pushing Khalis to rise towards the windows and desperately fire her glaive cannon against the enemy.
The two lines of siege tanks from he highway split apart from each other, moving to join the attacking forces surrounding the defense perimeter and creating a semi-circle of armored 90mm plasma cannon death machines. They weren't invulnerable to gauss rifles, but they were definitely extremely tanky, to the point that they simply plowed over the first wave of trenches and busting bunkers as they passed through them. Explosions of dirt and fire erupted all across the trenches, and Moebius' numbers were overwhelming to the point that their marines reached the trenches and began brawling Haven's marines in close-quarters-combat. Not even the Czech-hedgehog emplacements could deter the tanks, as the marines and marauders quickly destroyed them.
This was extremely demoralizing, even to Khalis. Her glaive discs barely scratched the tanks' armor! The one she was targeting just wouldn't go down! That is, until something sliced through its cannon, carved its way to the diver's seat, and started gutting the tank inside-out.
So Val'idin was still alive. What about William and Lexi? She didn't have time to raise her hand to her temple to check, she had to stop these tanks before they steamroll them!
"Khalis! Kaldalis! The tanks are about to overwhelm us. You have to fall back to the city!"
"Understood, Nerazim. Khalis, we need to leave now."
Khalis hesitated to respond. Personally, she did want to leave, to save herself and Kaldalis from such an overwhelming attack. But yet... if she ran with the others. Their siege tanks will be free to siege up and fire on the city, breaking away at rock and stone to kill everyone within, and all their fighting would be for nothing.
She didn't want to die fighting for terrans, she wanted to die fighting for her people. To stop Amon and save her brother. But... as inferior as the terrans were, they were people too.
Ultimately, she was given no time to decide. She saw a siege tank turn its gun to her bunker; it's dark mouth lighting up for a split second before a deafening shockwave and the sounds of tearing metal knocked her unconscious.
Meanwhile in the government hall as everyone nervously observed the battle right outside their city, Dr. Hanson suddenly ran in with her boots smacking against the floor, and looking completely distressed. "Constance! Where are you?"
Nathaniel's cool demeanor vanished as he eyed the disheveled doctor. "Glad to see you're finally here, but what's wrong Dr. Hanson?"
"Nathan! Have you seen a little girl? Dark skin? Seven years old?"
"Chill man. Constance? I know who she is, but sadly I haven't seen her."
"Oh no... I don't know what happened. One moment she was behind me as we left our ship, but when I turned around, she's gone!"
"Maybe the girl's playing hide-and-seek?" suggested Tana, annoyed by so much commotion over a trivial problem.
Hanson shook her head. "She's usually more mature than that. I think someone took her, she's crucial to my infested research and more importantly... she's just a kid. She should be here with us!"
"Just. Chill." said Nathaniel, making calming gestures. "I'm sure someone will find her. No one's coming in and out of this city. Our lockdown and security will make sure no misfortune happens."
A deafening alarm wailed across the government hall. One officer yelled. "Commander! Power to the defense grid has been cut off! Our missile turrets are deactivating!"
"Huh..." said Nathaniel with a slightly inquisitive expression, with barely a hint of surprise. "I stand corrected."
"What happened?" demanded Tana. "Contact the people manning the grid!"
"I'm trying," said an officer. "But no one's responding! An inspection team's already been sent!"
"Unfortunate," mused Nathaniel. "It would seem something spectral is haunting our defenses. Without the missile turrets, we're in a pickle."
"No!" screamed Tana as the horrible realization entered everyone's minds. "It means we're fucked!"
"Ah yes... " Gestefield allowed a smile to break, flashing his bare teeth under his mustache. The missile turrets were disabled. And while battlecruiser repairs weren't 100% complete, they were still ready to wreak havoc, and he couldn't afford to waste his opportunity...
"All ships, take off and prepare to flatten their capital city. We will destroy their armies and end this once and for all!"
Author's note: Sorry for a month's worth of waiting. I just had to figure out how the battle of Haven should play out. I suppose it's worth it since this chapter's over 10,000 words, which took hours to formulate and write ; u ;. Thank you for waiting and please leave a review, they really do help with my story-writing and the way this plot develops.
You'd probably have noticed I enjoy writing battle scenes. I am concerned about writing too long battle scenes that'll drag on and on and bore the reader. If you think that'd be the case, please leave a review for consideration.
Gestefield is based on the terran commander from Starcraft II's Demo video. I say based on because I couldn't tell if this is the correct spelling based on the Audio. I hope.
