Mikhail swerved right to avoid the cavalcade of rockets that came at him as
the Valkyrie's descended upon the helpless Wraiths. A rocket sped over his
head, coming within an inch of the crafts top. Mikhail locked onto the
Valkyrie that fired it and loosed two Gemini Missiles. They struck the
Valkyrie solidly, blowing the ship apart in mid-flight. The wreckage
hurtled to the ground, where a ground war was raging. The Kolorian ground
units, who outnumbered the Volamose ground units two to one were unleashing
upon there brethren. Mikhail saw a bullet rip through the neck of a
Volamose Marine, exiting out the back end. The man fell to his knees,
clutching at the gaping hole in his windpipe. Blood flowed evenly through
the cracks between his fingers, and then he fell forward, never to rise
again. Mikhail felt a burst of rage but could do nothing, he had to look
after himself.
"Lieutenant, I've considered many possibilities, and I've decided that I could use a strong man like yourself in my army. It's either that, or you can join your comrades at the gates of hell." Miller said over the comlink.
"I'll meet you there General!" Mikhail yelled angrily. He swerved up as more rockets came at him. --I can't fight these things, I gotta get the hell outta here!-- It was then that he noticed his energy level. It was at a fully charged two hundred-fifty, meaning his cloak could operate on full capacity. He flipped the switch, and instantly his craft disappeared, save for a small blur that moved stealthily across the sky. Mikhail slammed the throttle forward and the plane shot forward like a bullet from a gun. But still the Valkyrie's pursued him.
"Oh please Lieutenant! It's an insult that I haven't predicted your every move!" Miller mocked him. Mikhail then noticed a floating Science Vessel, about fifty yards back. He was about to turn around to take it out when a rocket slammed into his wing. The impact blew the wing clean off, sending the craft out of control. The inside of his craft started flashing red, basking the cockpit in an eerie glow. A computer voice repeated "Warning, Warning. Eject. Eject," over and over again as the crippled craft spiraled towards the seemingly growing ground. Mikhail struggled to keep the plane steady, but it had lost all flight capabilities. The ground was coming up fast, and Mikhail had no choice.
He slammed his palm against the flashing eject button, and he was jolted back as his seat rocketed out of the plane. The Wraith crashed into the ground, sending jets of flame streaking in the air. The seat traveled upwards for a few seconds, and then began its descent, triggering the parachute release. The back of the seat fell open and the parachute billowed out, slowing Mikhail's descent to a float. He looked around and prayed no one had seen him eject, and fortunately, the black smoke from the wreckage of his Wraith swirled around him, encasing him like a blanket. While it protected him from sight, he began to feel woozy as he continued to rapidly inhale smoke. The toxins filled his lungs, and then all he saw was black.
*****
"Good, your finally awake."
Mikhail groaned as he pulled himself up in to a sitting position. He rubbed his weary eyes with the back of his hand, clearing the soil from them. His eyelids fluttered open and he cast his arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield his eyes from the intense light. Mikhail guessed it was dawn, for the blazing rim of the sun had breached the shoulders of the barren land, filling the valleys and plains with light. Purple and red streaked across the sky, an effect created by the mingling of the many colors of the suns rays.
Turning his attention away from the sunrise, he looked at the man who had spoke. Blinking a few times, the mans face gradually cleared up. "Mike?"
"Aye, its me." Mike nodded, passing the dazed Lieutenant a canteen. Mikhail didn't bother to ask what it was, his throat felt like a desert. He tossed his head back allowed the soothing liquid to gush down his parched throat. When he had quenched his intolerable thirst, he passed the canteen back.
"What happened?" Mikhail asked, massaging his temples. His head was pounding, he had never felt so bad in his life.
"Kolorians turned on us. My Ghost team was wiped out, but I managed to get away. I found you here, strapped tightly into your seat, totally out of it. I didn't know if you were going to pull through, your breathing was very weak." Mike explained. He struck a match against a rock, setting fire to the tip. He had collected a pitiful pile of dead wood, but in a few seconds he had a warming fire going. The light danced across Mikhail's fair skinned face, providing him with meager comfort.
"Anyone else survive?" Mikhail asked.
Mike shook his head sadly, "No, unfortunately. Kolorians didn't want to leave any trace of their betrayal behind. While I was cloaked I overheard two of the soldiers talking. Apparently Miller plans to feed General Gray a bunch of bullshit about a trap by the Zerg."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah. Miller wants to take out Kadnor VI, and I meant take it out. If he has his way, it will be no more than space dust." Mike said.
"We have to warn them! They will be totally unprepared for an attack, let alone one from who they think as an ally!"
"We can't. My communications are out, that Science Vessel sent out an EMP Shockwave, totally fried my communications." Mike explained, presenting the useless piece of equipment. Mike took out his, only to find that it too had been scrambled.
"Damnit!" Mikhail swore, smashing his radio against the ground. "So there's nothing we can do?!"
"Well... there was one thing, but..."
"What? What was it?"
"Well, for some reason my scanners weren't affected by the Shockwave. Don't know why, but it's not important. Anyway, I was picking up all Zerg buildings and then I noticed a small little bit of what looked like a Terran building. I tapped into a satellite orbiting this planet and zoomed in on the area. This is what I found." Mike pressed a button on his scanner and showed the image to Mikhail.
"An Infested Command Center?"
"Yeah. It looks pretty old, it was probably abandoned long before the Zerg took over this planet." Mike said.
"But how could that help us?" Mikhail asked, staring at the image. Purple organisms weaved throughout the building and alien vegetation coated the walls. The walls were basically in ruins, it looked like the vine like organisms were the only thing holding the building together.
"Well, the scanner showed the building as being a Terran one. A fully Infested Center would appear as a Zerg building. The Zerg must've stopped the Infestation before it was complete."
"I still don't understand how this would be of any use." Mike repeated.
"Well, look at it logically. If they didn't completely take over the Center, then there's a possibility that the communications would have been left untouched. So if we..."
"We sneak in and use that radio!" Mikhail exclaimed, leaping to his feet.
"Well that's what I was thinking, but it won't be easy." Mike said.
"Why not? Where's the Center?"
"Right in there." Mike said, pointing to the west. Mikhail looked where the Major's finger was pointing and groaned.
The Command Center was located right in the heart of the Zerg cluster.
"Lieutenant, I've considered many possibilities, and I've decided that I could use a strong man like yourself in my army. It's either that, or you can join your comrades at the gates of hell." Miller said over the comlink.
"I'll meet you there General!" Mikhail yelled angrily. He swerved up as more rockets came at him. --I can't fight these things, I gotta get the hell outta here!-- It was then that he noticed his energy level. It was at a fully charged two hundred-fifty, meaning his cloak could operate on full capacity. He flipped the switch, and instantly his craft disappeared, save for a small blur that moved stealthily across the sky. Mikhail slammed the throttle forward and the plane shot forward like a bullet from a gun. But still the Valkyrie's pursued him.
"Oh please Lieutenant! It's an insult that I haven't predicted your every move!" Miller mocked him. Mikhail then noticed a floating Science Vessel, about fifty yards back. He was about to turn around to take it out when a rocket slammed into his wing. The impact blew the wing clean off, sending the craft out of control. The inside of his craft started flashing red, basking the cockpit in an eerie glow. A computer voice repeated "Warning, Warning. Eject. Eject," over and over again as the crippled craft spiraled towards the seemingly growing ground. Mikhail struggled to keep the plane steady, but it had lost all flight capabilities. The ground was coming up fast, and Mikhail had no choice.
He slammed his palm against the flashing eject button, and he was jolted back as his seat rocketed out of the plane. The Wraith crashed into the ground, sending jets of flame streaking in the air. The seat traveled upwards for a few seconds, and then began its descent, triggering the parachute release. The back of the seat fell open and the parachute billowed out, slowing Mikhail's descent to a float. He looked around and prayed no one had seen him eject, and fortunately, the black smoke from the wreckage of his Wraith swirled around him, encasing him like a blanket. While it protected him from sight, he began to feel woozy as he continued to rapidly inhale smoke. The toxins filled his lungs, and then all he saw was black.
*****
"Good, your finally awake."
Mikhail groaned as he pulled himself up in to a sitting position. He rubbed his weary eyes with the back of his hand, clearing the soil from them. His eyelids fluttered open and he cast his arm over his eyes in an attempt to shield his eyes from the intense light. Mikhail guessed it was dawn, for the blazing rim of the sun had breached the shoulders of the barren land, filling the valleys and plains with light. Purple and red streaked across the sky, an effect created by the mingling of the many colors of the suns rays.
Turning his attention away from the sunrise, he looked at the man who had spoke. Blinking a few times, the mans face gradually cleared up. "Mike?"
"Aye, its me." Mike nodded, passing the dazed Lieutenant a canteen. Mikhail didn't bother to ask what it was, his throat felt like a desert. He tossed his head back allowed the soothing liquid to gush down his parched throat. When he had quenched his intolerable thirst, he passed the canteen back.
"What happened?" Mikhail asked, massaging his temples. His head was pounding, he had never felt so bad in his life.
"Kolorians turned on us. My Ghost team was wiped out, but I managed to get away. I found you here, strapped tightly into your seat, totally out of it. I didn't know if you were going to pull through, your breathing was very weak." Mike explained. He struck a match against a rock, setting fire to the tip. He had collected a pitiful pile of dead wood, but in a few seconds he had a warming fire going. The light danced across Mikhail's fair skinned face, providing him with meager comfort.
"Anyone else survive?" Mikhail asked.
Mike shook his head sadly, "No, unfortunately. Kolorians didn't want to leave any trace of their betrayal behind. While I was cloaked I overheard two of the soldiers talking. Apparently Miller plans to feed General Gray a bunch of bullshit about a trap by the Zerg."
"Anything else?"
"Yeah. Miller wants to take out Kadnor VI, and I meant take it out. If he has his way, it will be no more than space dust." Mike said.
"We have to warn them! They will be totally unprepared for an attack, let alone one from who they think as an ally!"
"We can't. My communications are out, that Science Vessel sent out an EMP Shockwave, totally fried my communications." Mike explained, presenting the useless piece of equipment. Mike took out his, only to find that it too had been scrambled.
"Damnit!" Mikhail swore, smashing his radio against the ground. "So there's nothing we can do?!"
"Well... there was one thing, but..."
"What? What was it?"
"Well, for some reason my scanners weren't affected by the Shockwave. Don't know why, but it's not important. Anyway, I was picking up all Zerg buildings and then I noticed a small little bit of what looked like a Terran building. I tapped into a satellite orbiting this planet and zoomed in on the area. This is what I found." Mike pressed a button on his scanner and showed the image to Mikhail.
"An Infested Command Center?"
"Yeah. It looks pretty old, it was probably abandoned long before the Zerg took over this planet." Mike said.
"But how could that help us?" Mikhail asked, staring at the image. Purple organisms weaved throughout the building and alien vegetation coated the walls. The walls were basically in ruins, it looked like the vine like organisms were the only thing holding the building together.
"Well, the scanner showed the building as being a Terran one. A fully Infested Center would appear as a Zerg building. The Zerg must've stopped the Infestation before it was complete."
"I still don't understand how this would be of any use." Mike repeated.
"Well, look at it logically. If they didn't completely take over the Center, then there's a possibility that the communications would have been left untouched. So if we..."
"We sneak in and use that radio!" Mikhail exclaimed, leaping to his feet.
"Well that's what I was thinking, but it won't be easy." Mike said.
"Why not? Where's the Center?"
"Right in there." Mike said, pointing to the west. Mikhail looked where the Major's finger was pointing and groaned.
The Command Center was located right in the heart of the Zerg cluster.