The English language is composed of thousands, perhaps millions of words designed specifically for the purpose of being able to express feelings, thoughts, and opinions to others of English-speaking nature. Dictionaries have been published and re-published to attempt to accommodate all of these words, to place them down in order to be recorded and remembered for the future. Out of all these words, one could very well describe the Zerg's collective future to come out of the scene playing itself out on the surface of Athos-9…
Fucked. Really, really fucked.
10 battalions of troops had surrounded the fourth Zerg base, as they had done to the three before it. Siege Tanks were locked into place in a wide circle, their long barrels extended and loaded, waiting until the attack began. Around the armored behemoths Goliaths, Vultures, Marines, and Firebats were waiting quietly with their weapons and armor checked before the final confrontation. Some distance back within the air, Wraiths and Valkeryies hovered quietly, the pilots studying their consoles and listening to the silence over the air waves. Hidden within the brush, snipers waited with scopes and rifles extended before them; their nerves calm, their minds patient, and their fingers caressing the triggers.
This was the final base. The Teals, as Mykael Zephyr's army had termed them, due to the teal stripes along the Bugs' bodies, had established several Nests. After three days of fighting, one remained, and the Bugs had taken hard blows to their numbers. The commanding Cerebrate was panicking…if it could get its minions to the enemy, the battle would be over in seconds. But, any charge attempted was met in kind by a swift, brutal slaughter of oncoming Zerg. Mykael Zephyr had the higher ground, he had longer range, and he had an army of dedicated fighting men and women who were sick and tired of Bugs attempting to make meals of their ass. It was not looking well at all to be a Zerg.
"You know the drill, people", General Zephyr's voice filled the helmets and cockpits of all the soldiers around him, "Hit fast, hit hard, and let's get this done. No prisoners. Once the Tanks blow that base to hell, we'll move in and mop up whatever's left. Keep your eyes and ears open"
Quite some time ago, General Zephyr had attempted to capture some of the Bugs for a hope of interrogation; but they resisted any type of attempted mind-invasion done by trained Ghost agents, and it only ended with the deaths of several of Mykael's soldiers. That had upset him quite a bit, and he decided the Zerg simply could not be reasoned or talked with in any manner...so he stopped trying.
"Matt, you and your bunch ready…?"
"Ready and waitin', Myk", the Admiral responded promptly from his Valkeryie, "First thing that flies that comes out of that base belongs to us. We have you Groundlings covered…"
Mykael chuckled, "Alright then. Sergeants…commence blowing that shit-hole off the face of this planet"
The Siege Tanks jerked as the shells were launched into the Nest below them, causing the ground to vibrate both from the firing, and the harsh impact. Screams could be heard erupting from the base, and blood began spouting from several of the buildings. Sniper rifles flashed in shadows as the Zerg stepped out into their lines of sight. The entire top of the valley seemed to be raining fiery death upon the enemy base below, and it seemed to never stop. One volley followed another, giving a sort of earthquake effect; every minute meant another shell loaded, and another group of Zerg dead.
Mutalisks and Guardians were launched, and met with swift retaliation from Admiral Chaney's pilots, and worse, from their missles. Science Vessels, standing back, surrounded the planes with Force Matrices, allowing them to butt heads with the flying creatures while taking minimum damage from their acid spits, and prevent the Guardians from getting close enough to hit the Tanks. Modified Wraiths, nicknamed "BOLTs" by their pilots, began circling over the top of the Nest below them. The modifications prevented them from being effective against air targets, but they could terrorize the ground with terrifying power. They were armed with Gattling Guns, Vulcan Cannons, and 7.62 machine-guns armed with depleted uranium rounds. When firing, the air was filled with a loud buzzing roar that sent chills up and down the spine…and tons of rounds through the bodies of their poor targets. Eight of them were currently circling, like deadly vultures, raining hell upon the Zerg.
The scene was gruesome. The dead, cooling bodies of Zerg littered the ground around the base, intestines and large chunks of tissue from the exploding buildings erupted into the air, occasionally splattering some of Mykael's troops and their vehicles. Blood and the excrement from the Zerg bodies mixed with the smell of sulfur and fuel. The troops watched with little emotion, because of all the things Mykael's troops had been sent against, the Zerg were the most hated. They would sometimes go out of their way to kill them, to eradicate their presence from anywhere they had tainted, to crush them all for the terror they had caused throughout the Confederate-controlled sectors.
"Mykael, everyone's reporting a big 'Go' for the move forward once the base is gone", Dan Azure's voice cracked in the General's ear, "The Sergeants are saying a few more minutes of those BOLTs and their Siege Tanks should level it pretty quick. They're eager to let us take over…they say all that firing gives them headaches."
They shared a laugh. "Alright. My boys and girls are ready and waiting to go. Just make sure they're careful, Dan. I don't want to have to deal with anymore losses than I have to…"
"I know, General. I'll make sure they know you want them to watch themselves out there"
Mykael had been appointed General against his wishes…he liked being a soldier, he wanted to keep it that way, but the higher-ups and the other soldiers around him wanted him to be in charge. The others around him wanted to follow him…the officers wanted someone else to blame in case something went wrong. He accepted reluctantly, and he did his job the best he could. He wasn't perfect…he knew that, and he didn't expect himself to be. But, one of the things he could never learn to recover from was losing some of his troops. It hurt him, and a small part of him died with each fallen soldier. In his Command Central, a special room was marked as a Memorial, and names of fallen soldiers, pilots, medics, and various other personnel were marked upon the walls. They each died for a cause, and it was Mykael's goal…ultimately his destiny…to ensure that they did not do so in vain.
The constant rumbling and vibrations within the earth continued for what seemed a century. Zerg were falling by the dozens, and as Overlords attempted to escape, they were shot down, sending the Zerg into frenzies. They were cut off from the Cerebrate, they no longer knew what to do, and so they did the only thing they could do. They died in bloody heaps. The Siege Tanks began winding down, and the BOLTs pulled back once their ammunition supplies had been exhausted, leaving smoking bodies behind them.
Sergeants called in that they and their crews were taking a break, and Mykael congratulated them on a job well done, and that they deserved it. Battalion Commanders called down the line, and the troops moved down into the valley. Science Vessels moved forward, calling back any detected Zerg burrowed beneath the ground in hopes of ambush. Wraiths and Valkeryies escorted them through the air, while others finished up the fleeing Overlords, Mutalisks, and Guardians. Mykael, against expressed wishes from Dan, Matt, and the other commanders spear-headed with his group behind Dan's Scouts. In fact, Zephyr's First Battalion was attempting to keep from being showed up by the General…
It was a quick clean-up. Goliaths combined with Vultures, and the infantry moving behind them as cover, crushed the detected groups of burrowed Zerg without trouble, and with minimum casualties. A few of the troops had accidentally fell into some of the inhabited burrows, and were devoured by Hydralisks or Zerglings. Each Battalion had a section to cover, moving from all directions towards the center, where they would take a short break, and then head back home. The entire process took a few hours, and after the recess, all of them were mounting up to head back. That was when the Admiral called in on the frequency…
"Mykael, I have some good news, and some…well, really weird news"
"Okay", Mykael raised a brow, "What is it, Matt…?"
"Well, good news first, I suppose. We think we found why these Zerg have been at eachother's throats, or if not, it's a pretty good guess."
Mykael could tell something was wrong by Matt's tone of voice, so he told him to continue with the rest f the news.
"…You better come see for yourself Mykael."
"Alright Matt, I'll be right there"
He signed off after the Admiral shared his present location, and hopped on his Vulture while the troops were heading out. Dan had stayed behind to see what was wrong.
"Matt said he's got some weird news for us. You better come along, Dan. Tell the rest of them that they can go on home, get some rest, and let Lawrence take care of any wounded we have"
"Holy shit"
Admiral Matt Chaney, Colonel Dan Azure, and General Mykael Zephyr could not come up with any sentence that summed up what they were seeing. It was an Overlord whose side had been torn apart by Anti-Air missles from several Wraiths. The sacs had been pierced, which sent the huge creature plummeting into the ground. Of course, that wasn't what they were stunned about. What stunned them was the huge piles of green powder which had spilled out onto the ground, and the bodies of three dead Infested Terrans. The fall had apparently crushed their bodies before they had the chance to explode…though the mess didn't look that much different.
"What is it, Matt…?", Mykael said while looking at the powder. A Science Vessel had moved close by, and several men in Lab Coats wearing special suits were going through the powder, collecting it, and using field kits to test it out with the help of the more sophisticated equipment in the SV's.
"Not sure, but I think we're about to find out", Matt nodded towards one of the scientists approaching the three of them.
"Admiral, Colonel, General", the man said as he nodded to each of them, "We've collected several samples of this powder, and we've managed to find out what it is"
The three men waited patiently for the scientist's findings.
"It's Vespite. Usually, Vespene is harvested in a gas, and used to make fuel…though there are ways to refine it into a very potent powder. It's a very expensive drug in the Confederacy, killing most people on the first hit. With Ghosts, it harnesses their mental abilities to such a point, that they are essentially paralyzed and thrown into a deep coma. Most never come out of it, but those who do generally go around mumbling about the universe"
"Fucking Christ", Dan said while his eyes widened.
"What did the Zerg want with it…?", Mykael asked while nodding to the fallen Overlord.
"Well, we're not sure. Though, from what we've seen, it could have some devastating effects on Zerg if it were to be introduced to their systems. As you all probably know, Zerg metabolisms work at insane highs. Vespite would simply make them all the much deadlier; faster, stronger, more insane. However, it would render them with almost no intelligence beyond "Slash, kill"…though how far that is from their normal state I have no idea. It would appear all of these warring Zerg factions wanted the Vespite, and decided killing each other was the only way to get it."
"I'll be damned. Looks like all these Zerg were just a bunch of druggies…", Matt said while he laughed at the mental image of a Zergling attempting to snort the Vespite off a mirror.
"So…you said this stuff had to be manufactured specially, right…? Nothing we've seen so far would let the Zerg have that sort of capability. Which leaves one question; Where the hell did they get this Vespite from?"
"And what are these Infested Marines doing here? None of our troops have been Infested, and they all know to NEVER allow themselves, or anyone else fall to the Zerg like that…"
The questions went unanswered, and the three all went back to the Command Central in order to tackle these questions with a quick Skull Session, and share the newly-acquired information with the rest of the Battalion Commanders.
"Mr. Mengsk…?", a small device on the edge of a wooden desk relayed the woman's soft voice, "Your Communications Officer is here to see you"
"What the hell does he want…?", Arcturus muttered to himself while he punched a button, "Yes, yes. Send him in"
The door opened, and a young man stepped into the office looking rather worried, his arms barely holding the stack of papers against his chest.
"What the hell do you want…?"
"Sure, we have a situation that has just arisen on Athos-9"
"Athos-9?"
The young man blinked, "Yes sir. You sent General Zephyr there some months ago to take on the planet due to it's large infestation of Zerg."
"Oh, yes, I remember now. That moralistic bastard. Is he dead…?", Arcturus didn't bother attempting to hide the hint of hopefulness in his voice.
"No, Sir."
"Sir…?", Arcturus turned around to face the man fully.
"…Forgive me. No, Emperor Mengsk. General Zephyr is still alive, though it would be far, far better if he were dead", the boy dropped the stack of papers on the desk, "One of the spies we have in his group just contacted us on the frequency, and Zephyr has found the supply of Vespite we were forced to leave behind after Project: Backstab failed. As you know, Emperor, when we first encountered the Zerg, we attempted to turn them to our side using Vespite. Athos-9 was our largest site, and after luring a small horde of Zerg there, we introduced the Vespite to their systems. It drove them mad, and destroyed the laboratories we had set up on the planet for testing. We left the Zerg there, hoping they would leave, or kill themselves off. Unfortunately, they just continued spawning, and began their own war on the planet. Zephyr was sent in to take care of the Zerg, and hopefully any evidence of that project."
"I know all of this, don't insult my intelligence. Why are you telling me this…?"
"Sir…I mean, Emperor, if word were to get out of this project, the public's opinion of you would drop astronomically. There could be a rebellion, a Civil War could erupt…"
"And that would not be good for the Confederacy. We must stand together, and fight as one! Only with unity can we purge our sectors of these vile Zerg and Protoss!", Arcturus stood and pounded his fist onto the desk. The officer noted a very slight, and very scary glint somewhere in Mengsk's eyes. He, and many other members of the Confederacy, were convinced Arcturus was slowly losing his mind.
"Yes, Emperor, through unity. Now, I suggest that we…"
Arcturus cut the man off before he could finish, "Not another word, officer. You've done your duty. Go back to your post, and tell no one anything of this. Erase any records of that transmission."
The officer nodded, and left the office, heading back to his communications post. "Crazy bastard", he thought to himself while walking past the secretary.
Mengsk picked up the phone on his desk and hit one of the various buttons adorning it's face, "Susy…? What do you mean this is Mary…? Whoever you are, I need Colonel Simms in my office immediately. I need to instruct him that his Purple Falcons have a new assignment"
Outside the atmosphere of Athos-9, the stars shone quietly, and debris floating on it's eternal path through the cold, empty void of the universe. The only hints of life were hiding behind Athos' moon, the hulky BattleCruisers sitting like sleeping giants against the gray, dusty surface miles below them. Inside, the crews were watching their monitors carefully, watching for any disturbances along the usual pattern they had become used to over the weeks they had been stationed behind the moon. Unfortunately, that very moon was what prohibited their sensors from detecting a very small ripple moving along through space.
The Observer clicked and whirred as it slowly orbitted the planet, it's lens focusing and zooming in on a specific site; a large Terran base on the surface of the planet. It had been there for several days, and it had been silent, only watching, filming, waiting for the correct moment to act as it had been programmed to do. Then, as the lens focused upon the Terrans gathering up green powder from a fallen Overlord, a small antennae extended from it's back.
"En Taro Adun, Executor. The Terrans continue their bitter war against the Zerg, but they have discovered something of great interest to us…"