Unsure Leadership
In our last battle, we were getting overrun by the zerg. I used my stim-pack, the adrenaline rushed through me and I charged. The overlord, I had to get rid of it. A hydralisk spotted me and stuck a needle spine in my shoulder. I stumbled and spun around, putting an entire clip into the hydralisk, enjoying the sight of its brains shooting out the other side. Thrusting myself onward, I saw the overlord turn to get away from me. I jumped as far as my body would allow, grabbing onto the overlord's skin. I unhooked the grenade from my belt, and thrusted it into the overlord's ventral sacs. As I dropped from the overlord, I heard the explosion followed by a rain of burning flesh. My CO must've been at the comsat station, because as soon as I returned to what was left of the base, he called me in.
"Fredricks, you have been impressing me lately. How would you like to have your own squad." What in the hell do you say to that except yes? So that's exactly what I said. The biggest drawback, I was forced to dawn the suit of a ghost. I loved being a marine, and now that's gone.
Well now you know how I got here, I guess I should say where I'm going. A small outpost has fallen under attack by the zerg, and they have been fighting continuously for 27 hours, we are the reinforcements.
"30 seconds till arrival." It sang in my ears, time for sweet battle. The battlefield is my home, it's where I'm at my best. "Ok everybody, here we go. Clear the dropship, find some cover, and start on the zerg. Keep blasting away until you receive further orders from me."
The landing ramp started to lower, I felt the andrenaline rushing into my limbs. "Go, go, go," I yelled to clear my men from the ship. I flew forward, readying my C-10 canister launcher, rushing to the first bunker I saw. "Where in the hell is your commander?" I asked a nearby marine. He pointed to a bunker about 30 yards away. I turned to run to their leader, but noticed I had no need to. As I turned I saw a needle spine rip through his neck. "Damnit!" I turned to the marine I spoke with before, but he laid on the flood, a glave worm had taken the bottom half of his body clean off. So I asked the next one down. "Do you have any other officers here?"
"Not that are alive, it looks like you just took command of the base."
Why in the hell did this happen to me? My first battle as an officer and I was already in control of an entire base. "If I die, you get command," I figured he was as good a man as any. Enough of this shit for me, I'm getting in the battle. I grabbed the gauss rifle from the dead marine and slung it around my shoulder. Let's see if the cloaking device I was issued works. I flipped it on and became invisible. I stepped out and jumped into a trench. A fresh zergling rush had just started. I started blowing holes into their advancing lines. I glanced over as a zergling ripped the arms off of a firebat. Blowing the zergling off of his body, I let him call for his own medic. I could tell that this was a losing defensive battle, so I decided to go on the offensive. I called for 3 marines and 3 firebats as backup. "We're going for the overlord, we kill him and the swarm will scatter."
I took the stim-pack from a fallen firebat. Plunging myself into a world of pain, I felt myself grow stronger. Rushing from the trench blasting, watching the bodies of zerg be blown apart by my C-10 canisters. "Die you sons of bitches," I yelled as I ran forward. 2 of the firebats had already fallen, and a marine had a zergling feasting on his organs. I was suddenly dropped to the floor by a needle spine through my calf. I grabbed the gauss rifle from my shoulder, rolled over, and punched the neck out of a hydralisk. Pulling the needle spine from my leg, I thrusted myself under the overlord. I started unloading clips into it. "Firebat, get your ass over here," I screamed, thinking up an idea. "Take off your fuel tank."
"Sir?" He was completely puzzled.
"Just do it, now." He handed me the tank, and I threw it as hard as I could. It stuck right below his ventral sacs. I let a C-10 canister loose. It ignited the fuel, immediately setting him aflame. "Time to get back to base and clean up, take this." I handed him my C-10 canister launcher. I started to run, but the firebat wasn't so lucky. As soon as he turned, a zergling emerged from it's burrowed position. It pinned its claws into his shoulders, then ripped its teeth into the poor guys face.
As I returned to the base, the zerg forces were falling back. I took a second to look around at my base. Here I am, only been in a command position for 4 days, and now I have an entire base. To make things worse, most of the buildings were heavily damaged, and over half of my men were injured. The field hospital was overfilled, so medics were tending to men outside. I made my way to the command center. I found a guy who seemed to know his way around.
"Could you point me to the command room, I think I just took over."
"Uh, yes sir," he replied hesitantly.
I followed him up the hall and up an elevator, turning the corner we came to the command room. I walked in, and one of the men came up to me.
"I heard about your arrival, I know you probably didn't plan on this, but you're our new CO." He showed me to my seat, let me review the situation on the multiple data screens before me, then asked, "So, what do we do now sir?"