StarCraft: Brain Storm
Chapter 25: Neon Genesis
General Morganholt sighed as he looked down at the readout in front of him. Having thoroughly decimated the Hackdirt base, Colonel Banner had finally taken the time to do the research on their opponents that Morganholt had requested. Now, Morganholt was relaxing at his large oak desk, sipping from a glass of whiskey as he viewed the bios that Banner had collected from the extensive Kel-Morian Information Database.
The first bio showed the small group's leader. Credited with taking part in the fighting at Mar Sara during the First Korpulu War where he was convicted of going AWOL and dropped down to a private, Jim Goss seemed to be a man who hated established governments. Morganholt had seen his fair share of that kind of person. They were always the most determined rebels, which made him slightly worried, because according to this bio, Jim could be a potent threat.
Took part in the Sons of Korhal raid on the Jacobs Installation, took part in the final push on Tarsonis, joined Raynor's Raiders following the New Gettysburg Incident, fought on Char with Raynor, took part in the defense of Aiur and the destruction of the first Overmind. Following that, Jim had stayed on with Raynor during the Brood War, helping to overthrow the UED's grip on the Sector during battles on Moria, Korhal and again at Char.
After that, Jim had gotten a bit tied up in a war of his own by forming a team known as the Dogs of War. Leading the Dogs in conjunction with an unknown UED captain, Jim had waged a pitched and ongoing battle against Dominion, Protoss and Zerg forces. Eventually, this conflict resulted in the total destruction of Tarsonis, quite an impressive feat for a man who started out as a farm boy on Mar Sara.
Morganholt clicked the slider, revealing a gaunt, smirking face topped by longer-than-regulation hair in disarray. The caption identified the portrait as belonging to a man named Nick McCabe.
Trained as one of the very first Reapers during the Dominion's first prototypes before the Brood War, Nick had quickly been picked due to his hectic childhood. Born on Tarsonis, Nick was raised by various parents, and he was in and out of orphanages constantly. He had become a serial killer by age sixteen, praying on sexual predators and killing them with an array of knives.
When he was caught at age twenty, the Confederate authorities threw him in a jail on the very planet he had terrorized. Upon the Sons of Korhal invasion, Nick managed to escape and was found by Korhal soldiers. After helping out a bit in the terrorists' cause, Nick was given a permanent position in the Dominion military as part of their brand new Reaper Initiative.
After being trained in the use of the sophisticated jumpjets, thrown charges, and dual pistols, Nick promptly went AWOL during a battle against the UED during the preliminary fighting on Braxis at the start of the Brood War. He joined Raynor's Raiders in time to fight his former comrades on Korhal. Following the Brood War, Nick joined up with Jim to become second in command of the Dogs of War.
Pondering these first two people, Morganholt realized that they would be threats if they teamed up with what remained of the Confederate First Combined Squadron. He skipped to the next slide, and was rewarded with one eye staring back at him; the other covered in a black patch. Morganholt dropped his whiskey glass, letting it break against the tough metal floor.
"Shit."
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Jefferies fell in line next to Ayanami as they followed Jim and Bill into the Tarsonis' briefing room. He still had his rifle slung across his back, and he unconsciously checked that its barrel would clear the top of the doorway out of habit. Upon entering, Jefferies could see that something important was about to go down.
A variety of high-ranking officers and enlisted men were present, all standing in a circle around a holo-table. Jim took up position in between Bill and Nick at the far edge of the table, looking down at its glowing display. Jefferies wedged his way into a space between two lieutenants. Ayanami pushed into place next to him, their shoulders touching in the cramped confines.
"Well gentlemen, let's get down to brass tacks," Bill said, punching up a star map on the table.
Jefferies glanced at it, immediately identifying it as a map of the Sector. It was overlaid with a slight green hue where the Kel-Morian Combine controlled it.
"As you may have noticed, the green area is what the Combine controls," Bill explained, "An area consisting of around 26 core civilized systems. That's bigger than what both the Confederacy or the Dominion was capable of doing. Now, that's only taking into account their officially colonized and governed worlds. Their projected area of influence is considerably larger."
At the press of a button, the green area expanded outward to overgrow three quarters of the Sector. A murmur swept around the room, signifying the surprise at just how enigmatic the Combine seemed. Bill waited patiently for the swell to subside before continuing.
"Obviously, overthrowing them won't be an easy task. Thankfully, our trusted ally in the medical field, Miss Rei Ayanami, is continuing Dr. Harris's research for a cure to Terrazine poisoning. If we succeed in curing that, we will have taken away the Combine's greatest asset. But that's only half the battle.
"What we still need is a large enough fleet to overthrow Moria itself. And for that, we need allies. Today, I hope to make the first of many," Bill said, and turned to look at Jim, "Major Goss, would you join us in creating a new genesis for our Sector?"
Jim stared at the table in front of him for a long minute, no doubt mulling things over in his head, before looking up at Bill. "You fucking bet I would."