VII. Arboreal hedgehogs
"Can't let him have all the fun", Elissa instinctively leap through the crack while cloacking herself at the same time. Zel'xol thought about turning back and helping them but then realized that he had to lead the fleet to safety. "Stupid Terrans", Zel'xol said unconvincingly.
Time seemed to stand still as Illiawile ran frantically to get to that missle turret. Countless zerglings and hydralisks had poped up and charged after him, only to be cut down by their own strike from the iron maiden. The bone armor spun majestically around the necromancer as he danced around all the unburrowing creatures. Soon a golem appeared out the air following right behind him... then corpses came back to life to serve him. He was almost within arms reach of the missle turret when a spike from the ground came up and went through his shoulder. He was so blinded by those emerald eyes that he didn't see the attack comming. As he fell he fired off bone spirits to track down the offender, but before the lurker could be finished off it sent another spike attack and this time sending excruciating pain through his left knee. He lay there bloodied on the ground while his minions tried to protect him.
"never thought I'd have to use this again", he pulled out an amulet and wore it around his neck. Soon the wounds began to rapidly heal themselves. He got up, ignored the pain, and hobbled up the missle turret. What his eyes revealed to him sent mixed emotions to his heart. There lay huddled in the crack, a woman in white clothing, with a red cross on the front of her armor. She was craddling a child in her arms, it seemed like it was dead for it didn't make a single sound despite the deafening screams all around them. Syringes lay all across their quarter as well as the stench of decaying corpses.
Illiawile felt in his heart, the great void returning, as this woman paladin was definitely not Mina. It couldn't have been, he knew very well, since Mina was no more. "Are you the devil taking us to hell now", the woman asked, devoid of any emotion. She spoke as if she were in a nightmare which she could never awake from.
Words failed Illiawile, but it didn't matter because all sound was trampled out by the footsteps of advancing ultralisks. He came closer towards her, but she cringed away. Then out of nowhere, Elissa appeared as she decloacked right below them. "Don't worry, he's harmless like a baby", Elissa yelling up to the woman. "A medic out here... strange". Her curiousity was interrupted by a transmission from Zel'xol. "A wraith pilot has volunteered to go down there. He should be decloacking anytime now." It decloacked indeed but sooner than it was supposed to, it was about a mile away when it became abruptly visible. An overlord hanged right over it, just a few feet away. At the sight of this, Elissa ran towards the wraith... Illiawile now grabbed the medic, jumped off the turret, ordered his minions to charge the ultralisks, and ran right behind Elissa. Hundreds of zerglings poped up in front of them charging straight at them. There was no time to waste fighting them for the wraith pilot was getting hammered by hydralisks. With the child still craddled in one arm, the medic threw numerous flares at the creatures, blinding them instantly. Illiawile saw what she was doing and cast dim vision on all the ranged fighters. They were able to reach the pilot in time and crammed into the wraith fighter. As soon as everyone was in, the wraith blasted off before any of the surrounding ground forces could regain their vision.
Illiawile should've been relieved but the intense vertical acceleration in the wraith was even worse than the carrier moving into space. He felt that odd sensation again, as he looked down below to where his minions were still battling blow... within seconds they were just dots. He made a heaving noise but held all the matter in... "I swear I'll kill you right now if you puke all over us", Elissa said disgusted. The pilot swiftly handed Illiawile a bag and he peacefully threw up in it.
As they reboarded the carrier, Illiawile sat exhausted at the bridge. However, he could feel but sickened by the tale the woman was sharing. Her name was Melinda Karros, she was the medic for the colony. She was caring for the child in her arms right now when the colony was hit hard with a zerg rush. "There were millions of them, but we were barricaded well" Melinda spoke as if these memories were not her own, "The battle was at a stand still when we heard a broadcast". Lt. Canter told us that reinforcements were arriving to help us hold off the zerg. But, what they dropped was not help but rather, it was a nuke. They took out many of our main structures. After that, the zerg easily came in and destroy the base.
"How did you escape?", Zel'xol, Illiawile and Elissa quizically asked...
"There was a crack on top of a wrecked turret. I took whatever supplies I had and carried this baby with me to hide up there. But it wouldn't stop crying, so I had to feed it sedatives. It's been sleeping for a week now, I don't even know if it will wake up anymore."
Somehow, Melinda was beginning to show some emotion again. The nightmare was finally her reality. She craddled the baby in her arms as she softly teared.
They had finally reached space, and didn't have to fight but just a few stray mutalisks along the way. Melinda was now passed out from exhaustion. Illiawile stood over her watching how she held the lifeless doll of a baby in her arms. He gently wrenched the baby from her, and craddled it. He took it down the hall as if to show him the stars. Elissa watched this strange sight with a slight sprinkling interest. Illiawile carried the baby with great care even though he knew it was already dead, communing with it in a way only a necromancer could.
"Sleep easy"...
"Can't let him have all the fun", Elissa instinctively leap through the crack while cloacking herself at the same time. Zel'xol thought about turning back and helping them but then realized that he had to lead the fleet to safety. "Stupid Terrans", Zel'xol said unconvincingly.
Time seemed to stand still as Illiawile ran frantically to get to that missle turret. Countless zerglings and hydralisks had poped up and charged after him, only to be cut down by their own strike from the iron maiden. The bone armor spun majestically around the necromancer as he danced around all the unburrowing creatures. Soon a golem appeared out the air following right behind him... then corpses came back to life to serve him. He was almost within arms reach of the missle turret when a spike from the ground came up and went through his shoulder. He was so blinded by those emerald eyes that he didn't see the attack comming. As he fell he fired off bone spirits to track down the offender, but before the lurker could be finished off it sent another spike attack and this time sending excruciating pain through his left knee. He lay there bloodied on the ground while his minions tried to protect him.
"never thought I'd have to use this again", he pulled out an amulet and wore it around his neck. Soon the wounds began to rapidly heal themselves. He got up, ignored the pain, and hobbled up the missle turret. What his eyes revealed to him sent mixed emotions to his heart. There lay huddled in the crack, a woman in white clothing, with a red cross on the front of her armor. She was craddling a child in her arms, it seemed like it was dead for it didn't make a single sound despite the deafening screams all around them. Syringes lay all across their quarter as well as the stench of decaying corpses.
Illiawile felt in his heart, the great void returning, as this woman paladin was definitely not Mina. It couldn't have been, he knew very well, since Mina was no more. "Are you the devil taking us to hell now", the woman asked, devoid of any emotion. She spoke as if she were in a nightmare which she could never awake from.
Words failed Illiawile, but it didn't matter because all sound was trampled out by the footsteps of advancing ultralisks. He came closer towards her, but she cringed away. Then out of nowhere, Elissa appeared as she decloacked right below them. "Don't worry, he's harmless like a baby", Elissa yelling up to the woman. "A medic out here... strange". Her curiousity was interrupted by a transmission from Zel'xol. "A wraith pilot has volunteered to go down there. He should be decloacking anytime now." It decloacked indeed but sooner than it was supposed to, it was about a mile away when it became abruptly visible. An overlord hanged right over it, just a few feet away. At the sight of this, Elissa ran towards the wraith... Illiawile now grabbed the medic, jumped off the turret, ordered his minions to charge the ultralisks, and ran right behind Elissa. Hundreds of zerglings poped up in front of them charging straight at them. There was no time to waste fighting them for the wraith pilot was getting hammered by hydralisks. With the child still craddled in one arm, the medic threw numerous flares at the creatures, blinding them instantly. Illiawile saw what she was doing and cast dim vision on all the ranged fighters. They were able to reach the pilot in time and crammed into the wraith fighter. As soon as everyone was in, the wraith blasted off before any of the surrounding ground forces could regain their vision.
Illiawile should've been relieved but the intense vertical acceleration in the wraith was even worse than the carrier moving into space. He felt that odd sensation again, as he looked down below to where his minions were still battling blow... within seconds they were just dots. He made a heaving noise but held all the matter in... "I swear I'll kill you right now if you puke all over us", Elissa said disgusted. The pilot swiftly handed Illiawile a bag and he peacefully threw up in it.
As they reboarded the carrier, Illiawile sat exhausted at the bridge. However, he could feel but sickened by the tale the woman was sharing. Her name was Melinda Karros, she was the medic for the colony. She was caring for the child in her arms right now when the colony was hit hard with a zerg rush. "There were millions of them, but we were barricaded well" Melinda spoke as if these memories were not her own, "The battle was at a stand still when we heard a broadcast". Lt. Canter told us that reinforcements were arriving to help us hold off the zerg. But, what they dropped was not help but rather, it was a nuke. They took out many of our main structures. After that, the zerg easily came in and destroy the base.
"How did you escape?", Zel'xol, Illiawile and Elissa quizically asked...
"There was a crack on top of a wrecked turret. I took whatever supplies I had and carried this baby with me to hide up there. But it wouldn't stop crying, so I had to feed it sedatives. It's been sleeping for a week now, I don't even know if it will wake up anymore."
Somehow, Melinda was beginning to show some emotion again. The nightmare was finally her reality. She craddled the baby in her arms as she softly teared.
They had finally reached space, and didn't have to fight but just a few stray mutalisks along the way. Melinda was now passed out from exhaustion. Illiawile stood over her watching how she held the lifeless doll of a baby in her arms. He gently wrenched the baby from her, and craddled it. He took it down the hall as if to show him the stars. Elissa watched this strange sight with a slight sprinkling interest. Illiawile carried the baby with great care even though he knew it was already dead, communing with it in a way only a necromancer could.
"Sleep easy"...