CHAPTER TEN
"They're coming, sir," Horner said, his eyes never wavering from the monitor. Quickly confirmed by his officers.
Taking on something like this was a risky venture, but even riskier to wait to try and bring Valerian in. They had an opportunity, and they were about to take it. That's why they got paid the big bucks. Not that they got paid, exactly.
I'm going to bill Valerian for these nukes.
The explosion was sufficiently spectacular. They saw it on the scanners first. Massive, instant heat spots that bloomed within the thing, then visibly, on the outside, massive boils appeared as a red blushed over the inside surface. Then massive distension as the organic flesh burst and tornadoes of fire emptied out into space, along with black clouds of seared zerg, in endless streams.
And it was coming their way.
The explosion threw them all off their feet, as crates and various unmentionable items flew about the halls and cabins, shaking up the crew but good. Horner stumbled and fell, but not with too much damage to himself. Raynor had kept his feet, having plenty of practise at it.
The Hyperion escaped the fiery maw, and the zerg super-structure was left, disabled, bleeding and wounded. None of the Leviathans gave chase. And the rattling was gone.
Jim found a beer. Two. Undamaged. Brought one over.
"Just what the hell was all that?" Horner said finally, as if it were finally sinking in. "We keep running into these things."
"We've seen the end of more wars than I can count, Matt," Jim replied as he tossed him one, and sat down beside him. "What's a few Leviathans between friends?"
Horner laughed, looking at him, resting easy against the storage crate. He accepted the beer, for once, the loose and untidy jacket, and he cracked the can open. It made a satisfying hiss.
"Sometimes I wonder how we're still alive, sir."
THE END, BUT NEVER THE END