Chapter 11 - THE VAULT

Horner, as usual, put his hands on the star map, thinking various thoughts and things in his head. At the moment, his cloud was filled with X-rays. After more digging, he found an information. One that gave him a horrible itch.

2015. The Invasion Day.

It was the day the X-rays attacked Earth, and the day the Earth's Extraterrestrial Combat organization named XCOM was activated to battle the space invaders. Terror and chaos erupted all over the planet. There were abductions and attacks committed by the aliens. The Sectoids, the Thin Men a.k.a. Vipers, the Chryssalid, th3 Mutons, and more... The war lasted a year or so, with XCOM as a victor.

But that victory was short lived. XCOM were soon betrayed by the council of Earth. They backed on an alien-loving coalition named ADVENT. The aliens settled down on Earth, and Humanity was under their subjugation.

Further data was still being analysed and studied. Horner wasn't sure to put trust in these aliens. All of the species on the Exodus were a match to those on the list. They had invaded Earth before. If they had almost put Earth on their knees, who knew how much the X-rays are capable of.

He might have to file the report later once all the database had been decrypted. Now, Raynor came in with a command. "Matt. Tell our friend to set the course for Xil" he ordered. "Let's grab ourselves another artifact"

A Mobius base set upon the cliffside. A titanic size cannon set on the edge, its gigantic barrel pointing straight at a structure on the far side of the chasm below.

No one were present at the base until the rumbling sound of the Siege Tanks drove into the base. They set themselves up near the two entrances, and dug in. Their treadmills lifted. Clamps extended and punched into the ground.

But Gravac also had his own surprises. Two Berserkers were sent down. Unlike the Hellfire variant, these ones were equipped with a pair of powerfists, with a brownish color scheme. They camped near the Siege Tanks, and dug in.

Horner then took control of the Drakken Laser Drill. The massive red hot ray launched forward directly at the structure, drilling the vault.

"There she goes" Swann whistled. "140 gigawatts. The power of the sun at your fingertip"

But the drill attracted attention. When some Protoss came across, the Siege Tanks were aiming. These Berserkers then roared and smashed the ground. Seismic tremor and cracking ground staggered the Protoss squad, bringing down its shield by little. Slowed, the Protoss could not evade the massive firepower of the Siege Tanks.

"Berserker Tremors" Gravac commented with pride in his chest "Thank you, Dr. Vahlen"

With the defense all set up and reinforced, the drilling proceeded normally. Scouts were sent to survey around and they found structures similar to the ones they were drilling. Because Horner was still in control, neither Raynor nor Noah could use it to burn the door down.

But then the scanners rang. A massive Protoss unit came. Biggs and Noah observed it, and was startled by it.

If the Terran database were right, this thing was called an Archon. Said being looked just like their Archon, only lacking the thrusters and flesh. They seemed to be pieces or armor holding together by the massive psionic energy it emitted.

Fearing of its high shield capacity, Horner gave over the controls of the laser drill to Raynor. As soon as he did, Raynor redirected the cannon, and fired at the Protoss Archon, vaporizing it in mere seconds.

The front door were yet to be breached. It was going to be a long day.

Out of sight of everything, a Void Seeker flew towards the Hyperion. On board, Dark Prelate Zeratul looked at the nearby ship. Nothing in the Protoss archives had anything about it. Another visitors to the Kropulu sector, just like the Terrans before them.

Since both the ship and the Hyperion were idle, it could be assumed that they were allies. Nevertheless, Zeratul had something to discuss with Raynor, not with the newcomers. He gripped his wound on his arm tighter, feeling that the future he saw was drawing nearer.

The one that could determine the fate of the Kropulu sector as a whole.

-0-

"Aww hell" Raynor groaned. "That ain't no flyers. That's Warp Prisms! Take it down before they warp more Protoss in!"

Warp Prisms expanded itself, radiating its aura of power. On the ground, Protoss Zealots were warping in, getting pounded by Siege Tanks and Berserker Tremors. THe defense still held, but bunkers were getting scratches.

That wasn't all. The Protoss began to attack in stronger numbers, and some came with Colossi. Those massive robots were grazing grounds with their incinerating lasers.

Raynor didn't readjusted the Drakken. He was focusing on getting the last door breached. The other vaults were taken care off, the Protoss artifacts secured in the lab.

The final door slowly melted, and soon the path to the Xel'Naga artifact was clear. They called in extractions, and left the site immediately with the artifact in tow.

New Unit unlocked: Berserker Tremor

Cost: 125 Minerals, 75 Vespene

Requirement: Proving Ground, Berserker Arena

After looking into the Berserker Queen's powerfists, I managed to build a replica that should functioned the same. However, the Berserkers must be injected with muscle stimulants to produce massive strength. The Terran's Stimpaks were the best to offer so far.

However, the side effect of the Stimpaks cause us to restrain these Berserkers at maximum security on the ship. Apparently, they were literal berserk now unless being constantly given.

It was a short chapter, I know. It is always a long way before the scene that I really wanted to do would come.

And for those who are wondering, this story is not dead. It just that I have a lot of story ideas, and I tried posting it down to see how it goes. I will try to make it to the Legacy of the Void. I promised.

That would be all for now. NamThunder, signing out.