First of all, I don't own Starcraft; any characters and places are totally
out of range of my monetary expenses. (I couldn't afford them if they
were.) So with that out of the way, on with the story.
Once there were many of us, now we are but two. We were a strike unit composed of Firebats and Marines. There were twelve of us, an even mix. We were sent to guard this base hidden within enemy lines, we were the last line of defense, just us in our bunker against an endless wave of Zerg we held out longer than the others, we were the elite, but even the elite have their limits. Our base fell a few days ago, there was a full on attack on our side of the base, but that was just a diversion. As we were defending the line, a second group of attackers rushed our rear lines, decimating them, before we could react they had brought a queen in and infested out base. We were forced to turn our guns against our own as they poured out of the base, misshapen and distorted by the mutations forced on them. In the end it was us against a whole species bent on our extermination.
Our first casualties were the worst. The one of the Firebats caught some acid from a hydralisk, we found out the hard way that that gunk is flammable, there was guts on the wall before we could react, all that was left of three Firebats was a funny smell and a dispersing pink mist. That left us with nine men, eight if you don't count the man wounded by shrapnel. That man fought until he was bled out, a dry husk wracked with rigor mortis holding the trigger even in death. Over the next few days we were whittled down to just me and a wounded Firebat. I think it was worse for me than the Firebat, I was their commanding officer, and all I have done is watch them die by themselfes or in groups, the Firebat , Keith I think his name is, told me his going to go soon. "I know I don't have long left cap. I want you to know that we don't blame you, never did, you held us together as the other bunkers fell." His voice was low and halting. "We are the last. I wont last the hour, as it is I cant move a finger, while I have the strength I want you to know that it has been a great time serving with you." His voice was now a whisper. "If you don't mind, could you give me a light?" I watched as he puffed on his beloved cigarette, I watched as the red embers glowed. I saw when they ceased to glow as the man who gave them life lost his, I was alone, no one else was there to witness our passing. No one else would know what acts were done, the sacrifices made, the lives lost. We were just going to be a statistic. I sat in the darkness for who knows how long, deciding my own fate.
I will not fade away as the embers of the cigarette, I will not die on my back, I decided then and there that I will die as I lived, on the battlefield, as a warrior. I gathered as much ammo as my weapons would hold. I checked what I had: Two .45's my Gauss rifle, and my last resort. I stood at the door of the bunker, looked around at the place that would be my final home, and hit the latch. As I stood in front of the door, I could feel their eyes on me, I could not see them, but it diddnt matter anymore, I stood ready and waiting for what I knew would come next. I was almost caught by surprise when it did happen. The single Zerg came at me, lightning fast, soundless. Nonetheless I drew a bead on him and turned him into a smear on the ground, next came 4, they met the same fate as the first one. Then the ground began to shake and they came at me in force, too many to count, I depleated my rifle, threw the spent weapon into the mass. Next I pulled my pistols and opened up into them, still they did not reach me, at last they were spent, so I went for my last resort, my only truly personal item in the whole world, a relic out of our distant pass. Handed down through the generations of our family, it is a weapon of mysterious origins, a long bladed sword, my last resort.
As I pulled the blade from the sheath, something happened, I couldn't figure out what it was, then it struck me, Silence. Not from the Zerg, they were warily circling me, showing more intelligence than I thought that they possessed. Instead the silence came from within, a calming force that chilled me, I relished it, it gave me strength, I took one last look at the place that would mark my last stand, blood and mixed parts of the creatures that had destroyed, enough, it ends now.
I stand tall, the sword held above my head. I look at the ones that would take me away from myself. I unleash a battlecry that was dredged up from the depths of the human mind where there is still something left of the primitive creatures that we once were and rushed the line of Zerg closest to me. I tear through a few of them before I take a hit, the pain sears through me, but I ignore it, soon I hurt all over, finally my vision begins to dim. I feel no more pain, no more rage, only a calming peace my last thought is a happy one: I have died well. A smile creases my ruined face as everything goes dark.
Overhead, across the barren mountains of Char a star streaks across the heavens.
Once there were many of us, now we are but two. We were a strike unit composed of Firebats and Marines. There were twelve of us, an even mix. We were sent to guard this base hidden within enemy lines, we were the last line of defense, just us in our bunker against an endless wave of Zerg we held out longer than the others, we were the elite, but even the elite have their limits. Our base fell a few days ago, there was a full on attack on our side of the base, but that was just a diversion. As we were defending the line, a second group of attackers rushed our rear lines, decimating them, before we could react they had brought a queen in and infested out base. We were forced to turn our guns against our own as they poured out of the base, misshapen and distorted by the mutations forced on them. In the end it was us against a whole species bent on our extermination.
Our first casualties were the worst. The one of the Firebats caught some acid from a hydralisk, we found out the hard way that that gunk is flammable, there was guts on the wall before we could react, all that was left of three Firebats was a funny smell and a dispersing pink mist. That left us with nine men, eight if you don't count the man wounded by shrapnel. That man fought until he was bled out, a dry husk wracked with rigor mortis holding the trigger even in death. Over the next few days we were whittled down to just me and a wounded Firebat. I think it was worse for me than the Firebat, I was their commanding officer, and all I have done is watch them die by themselfes or in groups, the Firebat , Keith I think his name is, told me his going to go soon. "I know I don't have long left cap. I want you to know that we don't blame you, never did, you held us together as the other bunkers fell." His voice was low and halting. "We are the last. I wont last the hour, as it is I cant move a finger, while I have the strength I want you to know that it has been a great time serving with you." His voice was now a whisper. "If you don't mind, could you give me a light?" I watched as he puffed on his beloved cigarette, I watched as the red embers glowed. I saw when they ceased to glow as the man who gave them life lost his, I was alone, no one else was there to witness our passing. No one else would know what acts were done, the sacrifices made, the lives lost. We were just going to be a statistic. I sat in the darkness for who knows how long, deciding my own fate.
I will not fade away as the embers of the cigarette, I will not die on my back, I decided then and there that I will die as I lived, on the battlefield, as a warrior. I gathered as much ammo as my weapons would hold. I checked what I had: Two .45's my Gauss rifle, and my last resort. I stood at the door of the bunker, looked around at the place that would be my final home, and hit the latch. As I stood in front of the door, I could feel their eyes on me, I could not see them, but it diddnt matter anymore, I stood ready and waiting for what I knew would come next. I was almost caught by surprise when it did happen. The single Zerg came at me, lightning fast, soundless. Nonetheless I drew a bead on him and turned him into a smear on the ground, next came 4, they met the same fate as the first one. Then the ground began to shake and they came at me in force, too many to count, I depleated my rifle, threw the spent weapon into the mass. Next I pulled my pistols and opened up into them, still they did not reach me, at last they were spent, so I went for my last resort, my only truly personal item in the whole world, a relic out of our distant pass. Handed down through the generations of our family, it is a weapon of mysterious origins, a long bladed sword, my last resort.
As I pulled the blade from the sheath, something happened, I couldn't figure out what it was, then it struck me, Silence. Not from the Zerg, they were warily circling me, showing more intelligence than I thought that they possessed. Instead the silence came from within, a calming force that chilled me, I relished it, it gave me strength, I took one last look at the place that would mark my last stand, blood and mixed parts of the creatures that had destroyed, enough, it ends now.
I stand tall, the sword held above my head. I look at the ones that would take me away from myself. I unleash a battlecry that was dredged up from the depths of the human mind where there is still something left of the primitive creatures that we once were and rushed the line of Zerg closest to me. I tear through a few of them before I take a hit, the pain sears through me, but I ignore it, soon I hurt all over, finally my vision begins to dim. I feel no more pain, no more rage, only a calming peace my last thought is a happy one: I have died well. A smile creases my ruined face as everything goes dark.
Overhead, across the barren mountains of Char a star streaks across the heavens.