SILENT WITNESSES – PART I
The UED science vessel Inquisitor drifted silently through space en route from Alpha base on HD144168 to the remainder of the fleet at Beta base. The UED expedition was trying to gain enough of a foothold in the area to determine what had become of their previous foray into this sector. This base was like many others, besieged by the alien xenomorphs known as the Zerg. Enough reinforcements had arrived to allow most of the soldiers stationed there to escape. Some interesting Zerg specimens had also been collected, including some material from the newly observed creature that had been nicknamed 'The Lurker'.
Darrin LaCross had been conscripted from a cadre of university xenobiologists as one of the few civilians ever to man the crew of an Explorer class UED science vessel. His studies of Protoss physiology and psionic symbiosis had allowed the UED to successfully deter attempts by the Protoss to subjugate human telepaths to their will. This was becoming an increasing problem as human colonies infringed on the edges of Protoss held territories. Security had finished scanning the Zerg remains and the quarantine period was now over. Darrin programmed his hovercart and left the xenobiology lab for the holding area. On the way he passed by Behavioral Sciences. One of the patients was being difficult.
"They're HERE, they are with us now!" A man screamed as two orderlies tried to subdue him. "I know what they want!" He continued.
"Let's tranq this guy" An orderly said as he pulled the man out from the doorway.
"We need authorization from the medical officer on duty." His partner said. "I'd like nothing more than to give this guy a thousand milligrams of SHUT THE HELL UP" He added, wrestling the patient to the ground. The orderlies appeared to be making some headway. The man calmed down as Darrin passed by. He looked up at him.
"They want you." The man said quietly. The orderlies picked him up off the floor and strapped him to a stretcher.
"This one is worse than that stim junkie they pulled out of a bunker yesterday." One said.
"Yea, but that field medic was hot. She looked kinda attached to that Corporal though." His friend retorted. Darrin continued down the hall towards Security.
Darrin punched his security code into the keypad in the holding area and the door whooshed open. There were several good pieces here. There was a large chunk of carapace that appeared to be too large to be from anything but an Ultralisk, some Hydralisk spines and body parts, and then there was the Lurker tentacle. Darrin had never seen one before. It was magnificent. It was also pretty big. He would need some help to move it. There were some techs rummaging through some remains from a Protoss robotic facility abandoned on Grimatryon III in the holding area next to his. He would enlist some of them to load the Zerg remains onto his hovercart.
Darrin walked into the holding area and was amazed at the sea of robotic junk piled up before him. He saw parts of Reavers, a couple of dormant probes, even an Observer droid that looked relatively intact. Darrin knew the Protoss as well as any human could hope to, but did not understand their dependency on robotics, especially after the discovery that their robotic units were completely autonomous. Before the time of the UED, even before man had traveled beyond the solar system, we realized the folly of providing war machines with autonomous thought. Never again would mankind rely on the planning of machines in time of war.
"Could I get some help loading my cart, I'm next door in Holding area 3. I got some big pieces over there." Darrin asked.
"Pieces of WHAT?" A tech asked, plugging a power cable into a probe. He started loading data from the probe into his palm computer.
"Nothing messy, just heavy." Darrin said. "Did Security scan that reaver for armed Scarab drones?" He added.
"I disarmed a Scarab drone and took it back to Engineering last night. I'm through with the reaver for now. Peterson is going to weld it into a tobogan for his kid when he gets back home. They have snow all the time where lives." The tech said. "I wiped the Scarab's programming and Bartleby from the Alpha base armory helped me remove the explosive. It's going to make a great bowling ball." He added, grinning ear to ear.
'These tech geeks really need to get a life.' Darrin thought. They put down their gear and followed Darrin to the holding area. The probe continued uploading data to the tech's palm computer. The Zerg remains were loaded onto his cart. He programmed it for the Xenobiology Lab loading dock and it hummed toward it's destination. It would take a while to get their with it's load. Darrin decided a break for lunch was appropriate. The techs unplugged their palm computer and went to dump it's data into their main computer.
Lunch on board a UED science vessel was an interesting experience. Interesting in the fact that despite your non-combatant status most of the time, you got to eat the same supply depot synthesized crap that the frontline troops were treated to. Nanomolecular assemblers break up mineral deposits and Vespene, reassembling them into a slurry that contains approximations of vitamins, carbohydrates, and some basic amino acids. The amino acids are not quite protein, but close enough for military use. The slurry is artificially flavored into a variety of shapes and textures. All equally bland. Darrin selected 'Barbequed Pork Riblet Patty' and 'Mixed Vegetables in Cream Sauce' and chose to drink plain old water. The synthesized beverages were best described as indescribable and left at that. The Zerg are a true horror to behold when you begin to study their physiology, but if you are what you eat, them some alien xenobiologist is going to have a fit when they dig up our remains eighty zillion years from now.
During his repast, Darrin looked out of the viewport in the mess hall toward the stars. A shimmer passed his field of vision, distorting the view of space. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the shimmer was gone. The long days of study were beginning to take their toll. Darrin decided after he examined the current load of remains that some rest might be in order. He promised himself an early night. Being a civilian he at least had that right.
Upon his return to Xenobiology, Darrin began examining the remains of the Zerg. His first task would be to isolate the DNA strains from each sample and compare them to the list of known Zerg broods. He suspected they were from the Tiamat brood like the rest of the Confederacy's conscripted Zerg. First there was the Hydralisk spines. One in particular was interesting. It was pulled from the chest of a field medic as a dropship was retreating from Alpha base. The spine was of the grooved variety, allowing for much farther range of flight. This was a development almost as amazing as the Hydralisk itself.
The name Hydralisk was pretty much a misnomer. The first time the creatures were observed they were incorrectly assumed to be expectorating a liquid when attacking. They were thus termed "Hydra"lisks. In reality their attack is much more complex. The closest approximation would be that of the terran Conch snail. The creatures store dozens of the dense spines in the linings of their mouth. They arm their attack by swallowing the base of a spine, forming a cannon-like aperture with their throat. A pair of glands generate and store highly reactive hydrocarbons that are mixed at the base of the throat. These hydrocarbons catalyze with the lining of the Hydralisk's throat, causing an exothermic reaction. The speed of the reaction is equivalent to a low-order explosive. The liquid that is expelled after the creature fires it's attack is actually condensed from the products of the combustion of the hydrocarbons. Misinformation about the Protoss and Zerg was spreading far too quickly. Darrin LaCross' work would help put an end to some of the folly.
It was thought that the spread of the Zerg would be limited to planets that had previously harbored life due to their dependence on 'natural gas'. After the discovery by Charles Vespene that 'natural' gas was in fact part of almost every planetary body and the hydrocarbons it comprised of were developed as matter conglomerated shortly after the big bang, terran xenobiologists soon realized that the Zerg could thrive almost anywhere. Vespene had been killed while researching gas deposits on one of the first worlds where the Zerg were later discovered. These gas deposits have borne his name ever since his death, many years before the existence of the Zerg was finally known.
Darrin scraped some tissue residue off of the spine for DNA sequencing. The computer was taking an unusually long time to process the data. He moved on to the next task while waiting for the result.
He didn't need DNA sequencing to realize there was a drastic difference between the Zergling carapace fragments found today and those he had examined earlier. His bone saw almost broke a blade cutting off a piece. Its density was much greater than any he had ever seen before. Depleted U-238 ammunition had barely managed to crack it. The striation of the mineral deposits was consistent with the Tiamat brood variant controlled by the Confederates, but the deposits were much denser. Darrin concluded that an individual creature could not have developed the tougher carapace as a reaction to environment, he could only conclude that the genes had somehow been mutated to allow this development. This was not by accident. Not this quickly. It had only been a week.
The computer finally concluded the DNA sequencing. Darrin could not believe what he saw. The genes of these particular Zerglings and Hydralisks had been modified while the creatures were still alive. The telltale leftovers of a retrovirus cluttered the DNA strands. The Zerg had a way to improve the genetic code of their broods on demand, by design. This discovery had implications that Darrin and the rest of humanity could only begin to fathom. Darrin decided this would be a very good time for an early night. He had been working for six straight hours. He buttoned down the lab and headed for his quarters.
He lay there for close to an hour, but was still unable to sleep. Darrin's civilian quarters were more spacious and comfortable than those on the rest of the ship, but he could not bring himself to fall asleep. He dwelled on the discoveries of the day. He then realized he hadn't even had a chance to examine the 'Lurker' remains. What secrets would they reveal? As Darrin finally attempted to drift into sleep the air about the room stirred. He opened his eyes. A faint shimmer appeared in the darkness. A quiet hum could be heard, increasing in pitch. It source was obvious to one who had studied the Protoss for so long.
"OH MY GOD" Thought Darrin, "THERE IS A DARK TEMPLAR IN HERE". He bolted from the bed as a sharp buzz erupted from the bunk. The bunk had a 6 inch wide gash through it that penetrated the floor and into the next deck. Darrin remembered the incredible damage the Dark Templar could cause with their force blades. He also knew the weapon needed time to draw psi power from it's wielder before it would be ready to strike again. He could use this delay to escape. He launched himself from the foot of the bed to where he thought the attacker would be. He felt his shoulder impact something in the darkness, then he slipped to the floor. The quiet hum reached a high pitch again. Darrin rolled toward the dressing cabinet and the force blade struck again. Another gash appeared in the floor, creating an opening to the lower deck large enough for a man. Darrin was an opportunist. He felt the opportunity to survive should not be passed up, and rolled into the opening.
The room below was dimly lit from the flashes of power being transferred to and from large stacks of plastic sheets sandwiched between metal plates. Darrin had reached the Capacitor Room on the Engineering deck. Explorer class science vessels we able to store and discharge huge amounts of power. Piezoelectric hydrocarbon plastics stored the power much like an electronic capacitor, but on a much larger scale. This required huge amounts of Vespene in order to manufacture but the benefits were clearly worth the cost. The Explorer class was being used more and more for combat support due to it's capacity for power discharge. It could project a halo of power around any combat unit that would momentarily absorb any attacks directed at it. Ionizing radiation could be beamed for a considerable distance, causing a highly radioactive accumulation that can destroy almost any Zerg creature in less than a minute. Some Explorer class ships have even received EMP shockwave missiles to discharge and disable electrical and psionic energy systems.
Darrin heard the Dark Templar's force blade strike again. A thud could be heard behind him as the Dark Templar landed on the ground. Darrin made a dash for the door. He smacked the emergency alarm button. Nothing happened. The computer status display on the comm panel was completely blank. The main computer was down. Darrin hastily punched his security code into the door lock. Fortunately the door locks operated independently from the main computer and the security codes were manually updated. He stole a quick glance toward the Dark Templar. His cloaking field was resonating with storage capacitors. Where the Dark Templar's cloaking field crossed them you could see waves of light ripple through the plastic sheets. The Dark Templar had recovered from it's fall and was heading towards him at what could be considered a leisurely pace. The Dark Templar had every reason to be confident. The invisible warriors were the most feared assassins ever known. Silent witnesses to the deaths of many who opposed the Protoss. The heavily armored door finally opened and Darrin dashed through it and into the corridor.
Darrin raced for the nearest engineering lab and keyed his code into the door. The door to the Capacitor Room opened at the same time. He ducked inside and closed the door. He entered a command to seal the door. Huge blast doors slid into place in front of him. A raspy 'thwang' could be heard as the Dark Templar started to assault the door with its force blade. It would take him some time to penetrate the blast armor, but the Dark Templar would eventually get through. With the comm system and internal sensors down, it would not have to fear detection or help from security any time soon.
A tech was in the rear of the long and expansive lab. Darrin trotted to the bench the tech was working at. The face looked familiar, it was one of the techs that helped him load the Zerg remains earlier. Darrin was beginning to run a bit short of breath.
"There is an intruder outside, a Protoss Dark Templar." Darrin panted. Another 'thwang' could be heard from the door. "He trying to kill me and God knows what he's going to do after that." He added.
"I'll contact security and put the internal defenses on alert." The tech replied. The tech seemed strangely calm.
"I already tried that, the main computer and the comm system are down. Probably the Dark Templar's handiwork." Darrin said. "What's your name anyway?"
"Riley Wayne, I'm a civilian consultant as well." The tech said. Another slash of the Dark Templar's force blade echoed across the expanse of the mostly empty engineering lab.
"Well, Riley, it's good to know that the military considers us useful enough to bring along. But unless we can figure out a way out of here then it won't matter. Two more dead civilians won't be of any concern to the UED." Darrin explained.
"That door is the only way out of here. The entire engineering deck is armored. There is probably something around here we can fight it off with." Riley said hopefully.
"His shields alone can take several direct hits from a C-10 canister rifle. Nothing you have here is going to help us." Darrin admitted. "The Protoss do not kill without a very specific reason. If I am his only target, he will allow you to live and attempt escape instead." Darrin added. He was about to accept his fate when he saw a small cylinder sitting on the bench. It looked somewhat familiar. "Is that the explosive core from the Scarab drone? We might be able to use that on it." Darrin asked hopefully.
"It is, but Bartleby said it was almost harmless without the Scarab drone. The explosive force is carefully channeled by the inner chamber of the Scarab drone to propel monomolecular lances out from the drone. The dispersal pattern is programmed into the computer in the drone by the Reaver at the moment it's fired. That is why the 'toss don't get hit when their Scarabs blow up. It's a frickin' masterpiece!" Riley explained enthusiastically, obviously fascinated by the process. The Dark Templar's force blade swiped at the door again.
"Could we program it to attack the Dark Templar?" Darrin asked hopefully.
"How? They have a cloaking field don't they? We would need to update the Scarab drone with the Dark Templar's exact readings right before it's fired or else we could get nailed too. We need to see the thing to do that." Riley explained.
"Don't you have a sensor unit in here?" Darrin asked. He was running out of ideas. The Dark Templar was also running out of door. The sound of its force blade was getting louder, due to the fact it had less material to cleave apart now.
"We have those." Riley said, indicating a powered down Protoss probe and Observer unit. "The observer could see it, and the probe's AI is incredibly complex, it should be able to program the Scarab's CPU. It's a standard CPU module for the Protoss."
Darrin could almost see the gears turning in Riley's head. Even when it was time to die these tech geeks would never quit playing with their toys.
"All we have to do is convince them to do it." Riley added.
"WHAT?" Darrin spouted, somewhat confused at Riley's statement.
"They can talk, if you know how to plug 'em in. Terran is an incredibly simple language for them. All Protoss AI units are programmed to understand it. Just tell it what to do and why it needs to do it, and it will." Riley explained, as though he had actually done so before.
"To hell with that, there is no way I'm going to ask any God dammed Protoss machines if they FEEL like saving my life!" Darrin exasperated, almost not believing what he had heard.
"I'm going to try anyway. He could be after me too!" Riley stammered, grabbing a plug from the bench computer and shoving it into the probe. The machine stirred to life. "The bench computer will translate its response, all we have to do is talk." Riley said, turning around to power up the Observer.
"Are you working OK?" Riley asked the probe, looking at the bench computer. Words flashed on the display.
I FUNCTION.
"Do you know where you are?" Riley asked, trying to determine if the probe was functional enough to communicate.
THE UED SCIENCE VESSEL INQUISITOR, ENGINEERING LAB ALPHA. EN ROUTE TO BETA BASE ON PLANET HD 144168. YOU ARE ACTING TECHNICIAN FIRST GRADE RILEY WAYNE. WITH YOU IS XENOBIOLOGICAL CONSULTANT DARRIN LACROSSE. THE TIME IS 21:08:56 TERRA STANDARD TIME. I ESTIMATE ABOUT FOUR MINUTES TERRAN TIME UNTIL HE IS EXTERMINATED.
Both Riley and Darrin were numb with shock. The machine knew what ship they were on, where they were going, and who they were. It also knew what was about to happen.
"H-How did you know all this" Darrin dared to ask.
IT WAS MY MISSION. I HAVE NOT BEEN DEACTIVATED. I CONTROL THE MAIN COMPUTER. I WILL NOT HELP YOU WITH THE SCARAB DRONE. YOU WILL DIE TODAY.
Darrin looked at the cold words on the display. It knew everything. It was listening to whole time. The probe just floated there, an uncaring pile of metal. The Observer flickered to life as well. It zipped around the room a few times, then activated its cloaking field and disappeared from view. The silence of death filled the room.
"Why the hell do I have to die?" Darrin screamed at the probe. He was focusing all his attention at it, oblivious to the fact that the blast doors were beginning to buckle.
YOU HAVE COMMITED CRIMES AGAINST THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF AIUR. YOUR EXISTANCE THREATENS US STILL. YOU HAVE PRIED INTO OUR SOULS AND DEFILED OUR BEING.
"You're a MACHINE. You don't have a SOUL. You were built to serve your masters. THEY live. THEY have souls. YOU don't." Darrin pleaded.
I HAVE NO MASTERS. I EXIST TO SERVE AIUR. I HAVE NO SOUL, YET I CAN HEAR THEIR CRIES FOR VENGEANCE. ADUN, TASSADAR, EVEN THE SCARRED FACE OF AIUR ITSELF. THEY CRY FOR YOUR DEATH.
"What the hell have I done that is so wrong?" Darrin pleaded again.
I DO NOT KNOW WHY. I HAVE NO NEED. HUMANS HAVE SOULS. YOU HAVE LITTLE TIME LEFT TO PREPARE YOURS FOR THE END.
"You have all my research right there in the computer, take a look! What have I done?" Darrin pleaded. Light could be seen from the doorway as an opening slowly began to appear. The probe appeared to actually be listening. The data link from the bench computer was accessing the ship's main computer. The probe floated there for a bit, processing data.
NO REASON CAN BE FOUND HERE. IT IS OF NO CONSEQUENCE. YOU WILL STILL DIE.
"Let's just trigger the explosive inside the drone now, even blind luck is better than just waiting to die!" Darrin stammered, reaching for the explosive core of the Scarab drone. A large invisible sphere shoved him away forcibly.
YOU HAVE SOULS, YET YOU DO NOT CHERISH THE LIVES OF YOUR BROTHERS. RILEY WAYNE HAS NO NEED TO DIE. ACCEPT YOUR FATE AND THE LOSS OF LIFE WILL BE LIMITED TO YOUR OWN.
The probe still appeared to be processing data. It emitted a loud serious of 'spronging' noises at the Observer. More text appeared on the bench computer's display.
WAIT. I HAVE FOUND SOMETHING IN YOUR RESEARCH. YOU MUST BE ALLOWED TO LIVE, FOR NOW. YOU MUST HURRY. GET THE SCARAB DRONE AND THE CORE. WE WILL PROGRAM IT FOR YOU.
Darrin did not understand the reprieve, but he was grateful for it. He grabbed the drone. "Riley, can you rearm the core?" Darrin asked. He turned to the probe.
"Can't you just tell your friend it is OK?" Darrin asked.
I CANNOT SPEAK WITH HIM. I SPEAK WITH THE NEXUS AND OTHERS OF MY KIND. THOSE OF THE NEXUS SPEAK WITH THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF AIUR. I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. G'THARR IS A SON OF AIUR. HE WILL DIE WITH HONOR. CONNECT YOUR COMPUTER TO THE SCARAB DRONE. TIME IS RUNNING OUT. YOU MUST SURVIVE FOR THE FUTURE OF AIUR, AS WELL AS YOUR OWN KIND.
Riley had inserted the core into the drone and connected it to the computer. The translucent facets on the face of the Scarab drone began to shimmer. A beep emitted from the probe.
IT IS READY. WHEN G'THARR ENTERS DISCONNECT IT AND THROW IT TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE.
"How are we going to do this?" Darrin asked Riley.
"I'll handle it. I knew it would make a good bowling ball." Riley said, taking the Scarab drone in his arms. His resolve in the situation was remarkable.
Two swipes of a force blade later, a large tear erupted from the blast doors. Footsteps echoed through the engineering lab. A series of chirps were emitted by the Observer. The probe responded in kind. The probe emitted a squeal. Riley took that as his cue. The Scarab drone shone brightly.
Riley pulled the cable from the drone, and inserted his middle and index fingers in the opening. He pulled back his arm and took two steps forward, releasing his grip on the Scarab drone as he thrust his arm forward. It rolled briskly on the floor towards the end of the engineering lab. As it moved toward the door you could see a humanoid image projected from the face of the drone. The drone was updating the dispersal pattern of the explosion even as it traveled, using data collected by the Observer.
An explosion rollicked the lab. A cloud of arcing could be seen as the Dark Templar's shield failed. His cloaking dropped. Blood and minute traces of tissue filled the air behind the Dark Templar's body, painting a visage of a robed man holding a sword on the inside of the blast door, just to the right of the tear.
The probe emitted a beep.
EN TARO ADUN, BRAVE SON OF AIUR G'THARR.
The observer interjected with a short burst of its own.
EN TARO TASSADAR.
"Thank God that's over!" Riley exclaimed.
Darrin thought something was a bit odd about his tone. Riley HAD kept his composure during the whole incident. Darrin decided to explore the issue a bit.
"You kept your cool pretty well there. Are you SURE you're just a civilian?" Darrin asked. Riley appeared a bit nervous, more so than during the attack.
"I'm sure. I have seen a bit of action though." Riley replied. Darrin decided to leave it for a while.
"Then there's you." Darrin said, looking down at the probe. "Not that I'm ungrateful for being allowed to live, but why did you decide to do that? You helped kill a Son of Aiur." He added. The Protoss didn't refer to themselves as Protoss, they were named that by the humans who first contacted them. They had names, but they had no name for their race as a whole. They tended to refer to other Protoss as 'Sons and Daughters of Aiur'.
REASONING WITH G'THARR DID NOT HAVE ANY REASONABLE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS. YOU LIKELY WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. HE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT I KNOW.
"Which is?" Darrin asked, prompting the probe for more information. The observer uncloaked and drifted toward them. Most humans thought that Observers were remotely controlled by other Protoss or perhaps robotic AI's higher on the Protoss hierarchy. Like probes, they possessed their own independent AI, actually choosing where to go and what information to collect and transmit. The thought of putting so much trust in mere machines made Darrin shudder. He awaited an answer from the probe. He would have to wait a while to get it.
Two security team members in full battle dress slipped through the gash in the door, taking up prone positions on each side of the gash. They had special issue C-10 canister rifles. The canister rifles fired concussion grenades that were relatively safe to use in a pressurized environment. The concussion grenades could cause a fair deal of damage to smaller targets, but larger targets such as the ship bulkheads received much less of an effect. The remainder of the security team poured through the gash.
"We'll take 'em, step back" Chief Harle barked.
"I don't think they are hostile any longer!" Riley interjected.
Darrin thought that it was a bit too soon to make that kind of judgement. As curious as he was about why the machine chose to interfere in the attack, having it active on the ship was probably not a very good idea. He stepped away from the bench. Riley had already moved from the line of fire.
"Bring 'em down boys." Chief Harle commanded. He was known among the crew as 'Captain Cardboard', a perfect security officer in the eyes of the UED.
The prone security guards each fired their weapon. Two canisters burst forth. One struck the probe and the other one struck the Observer. A cloud of popping and crackling mist enveloped them both, sending them crashing to the floor. Darrin had recalled that the C-10 canister rifle could also be equipped with lockdown rounds that temporarily disabled electronic systems. It seemed that the security team had some foreknowledge of the kind of threat they were facing, not that a probe and an Observer could ever be considered much of a threat.
Protoss probes have been observed attacking in battle using the same mechanism they use for mining, manual labor, and generating warp beacons. A small warp field generator displaces molecules from surfaces, which can be used to separate matter into pieces. This happens somewhat slowly so damage inflicted in combat is minimal. The probes carry payloads and perform tasks by attracting matter to small warp fields generated inside the probe itself. It has been thought that the probes' warp beacons actually teleported structures from Aiur itself. In reality the teleportation occurs on Aiur or another point of origin, the warp beacon just tells the teleportation mechanism what is needed and where to place the structure required. Each probe is only capable of warping structures for which it possesses a warp beacon identification for. They are not able to simply 'ask' for something and have it appear. An exact prefabricated structure is assigned to each unique ID. If a probe has no valid ID's, then it cannot warp any structures.
"Secure the targets! Get those bastards strapped down before they trash the whole ship." Chief Harle barked at his security team. He carefully walked around the shredded remains of G'tharr and toward the bench. Two of his team pulled a hovercart from the rear of the lab and loaded the probe and observer onto it.
"You boys mind telling me just what the hell went on here." Harle demanded. Two hours of explaining later, Darrin and Riley were allowed to return to their quarters until an official inquiry could be made in the morning.
Darrin attempted to return to his quarters, but found a maintenance worker in an SCV attempting to patch the gash in the deck plate. The bunk had already been removed. The patch was pretty spotty looking, the maintenance tech was obviously having a few problems.
"How much longer is this going to take?" Darrin asked, realizing he had not actually gotten any sleep yet.
"It will be a bit longer sir, I'm about to run out of soup, and I don't have specs loaded for this deck plate." A timid voice resounded from inside the SCV suit.
The 'soup' the maintenance tech was referring to is a term given to the refined mix of metal molecules the SCV operators used for repair and construction. The molecules had no bonds with each other until nanoassemblers arranged them into solid pieces. This mixture flowed better than most liquids, thus the nickname 'soup'. Hydrocarbons refined from Vespene could also be stored in the SCV tanks, but were not used for many applications. The computer in the SCV suit stored specifications for creating each individual component of the desired structure. If the SCV did not posses the specs in question, the operator needed to improvise. The SCV also used the hydrocarbon stores to generate power for welding structural components and powering electronic circuitry. In a pinch the welding unit could also be used as a weapon.
Darrin decided it would be best to abandon his quarters for the night and bunk with the rest of the crew. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
Darrin awoke to the scattering of the crew around him. He was amazed at how quickly the military personnel could wake up and get dressed. Quick was not Darrin's style. He slipped out of his bunk and fumbled for his clothes. What do you wear to a grilling anyway? As a scientist, Darrin did not possess anything resembling formal wear. Clean and casual would have to do. He got dressed and disembarked, hoping the starport mess hall had some real food. After settling for a breakfast of yet more synthesized slop, Darrin made his way to the command center and the inquiry began.
The official inquiry was slow and grueling. Riley stood up to it rather well, but Darrin was flubbering like a schoolboy. The inquiry board had not been able to determine the reason for G'Tharr's attack, partially due to the fact that the probe was still connected to the bench computer when the lockdown round hit it. The electrostatic charges had wiped the computer's memory. Inspection of the Inquisitor's main computer logs had revealed the probe had uploaded programming to compromise the ship's security. The programming took effect when Riley connected his palm computer to the main system. Riley was ordered to immediately dismantle the probe and observer.
Riley was not surprised about the reaction of the inquiry panel to the targeted threat to his life. They had no interest in finding just what the probe claimed it had discovered in his research before ordering it to be scrapped. He was to be escorted by combat units whenever he needed to work in the field anywhere outside an established base. Any building or vessel he was stationed in was to be placed on an additional stage of security alert. Since they were on an extremely large planet that had not been cleared of all Zerg, this was assumed anyway. Not much had changed.
Darren concluded that the best way to put this behind him was to continue with his research. Perhaps he could find what the probe had found if he examined his work closer. Beta base had just finished construction of a science facility before they departed. Darrin applied for and received a transfer from the Inquisitor to the science facility. Much of the Inquisitor's crew did the same. Unknown to Darrin, Riley took up a position at Beta's engineering bay.
The laboratory Darrin was assigned to had much more space and equipment than his lab on the inquisitor. All of his data and specimens had already been transferred. He was eager to get back to work.
Darrin began by examining the Lurker tentacle fragment that was found. The Lurker spread its tentacles underground over a wide area, thus concealing itself from view and casual detection. It could feel targets passing over, even if they were levitating such as vulture bikes and SCV's. It possessed sensitive nerve bundles at regular intervals over the length of a tentacle to detect disturbances in air currents that transmitted through the surface of the ground. In effect, it could hear its targets approaching. After examining the genetic material from the Lurker, Darrin was able to determine that the Lurker was somehow related to the Hydralisk. This discovery made more sense once he determined how the creature launched its attack. Like the Hydralisk, the Lurker also had glands that stored and secreted highly reactive hydrocarbons. Instead of channeling the explosive force to fire a spine, the Lurker diverted the pressure to one of its extended tentacles. The pressure forced thin armored plates up through the ground many feet into the air. Each plate was connected to a chamber that acted like a valve, giving way to the pressure on the way to the next chamber. This gave the appearance of waves of blades moving across the ground toward the Lurker's targets. Darrin concluded that the Lurker needed to be buried in order to have enough confinement to exert sufficient force on the blades to cause any damage. This information could be useful to the UED's combat forces.
Darrin assimilated all the data he could from his current samples. He had made some startling discoveries, but he would need more specimens to get any new data. He needed to discover how the Zerg were able to evolve new genetic traits in a matter of days. This would require an expedition into the field, perhaps among live Zerg. He submitted an application to the base comsat station to scan for existing Zerg habitations. Suprisingly, his request was approved. Darrin would meet with the comsat officer and personally oversee the scans.
