In case I didn't say it before, I don't own Starcraft.
Online were two of the friends-
-Dernhelm76-wheres elk?
-UbeRTAnkEr-dunno
-UbeRTAnkEr-chillin w/new friends
-Dernhelm76-who?
-Dernhelm76-that Gary guy?
-UbeRTAnkEr-yea
-Dernhelm76-i wish he'd come on
-UbeRTAnkEr-yea
-UbeRTAnkEr-i guess the games not important
_DarkElk has entered chatroom_
-Dernhelm76-hey elk
-DarkElk-hi
-UbeRTAnkEr-where you been?
-DarkElk-places
-UbeRTankEr-where man
-DarkElk-it doesnt matter
-UbeRTAnkEr-sure does
-Dernhelm76-hey
-Dernhelm76-we gonna play or what?
*5...4...3...2...Game Started*
--------
Renate had been given a new assignment. She was to infiltrate the site of a possible Terran Dominion rebellion. Essentially, some youths had been influenced by Dominion propaganda, and they were going to meet with a spy. Renate's orders were to destroy all of them. It would be quickly done, as she had done similar things before. In less than an hour, those kids would be dead. A typical job, usually considered boring.
She saw them gathering in an old, abandoned building. With patience, she watched them, waiting to see which one would stand out as a leader. Less than a minute had passed when she noticed a white haired boy directing the group. She smiled. It was not a professional operation. The youths went inside, leaving a few boys as lookouts.
Renate cloaked and crept behind those boys, knife in hand. They were dead before they could give even a whimper. She closed in on a large room, where the others were gathered. Their leader was spouting some Dominion propaganda, and Renate paid it little heed, instead preparing to plant a bomb nearby.
She leaned over the orb of destruction, setting its controls to five minutes. She looked up just before she placed it; she saw her son sitting on the side of the room.
"What is he doing here?" Renate thought.
Something had to be done. Renate checked her cloak's mana level. It was running low. She would have to be quick, whatever she did. But then her thoughts returned to something she had said before, almost a motto of the Ghosts, "the mission is more important than the people".
Renate controlled her doubts, and once again forced herself to turn on the destructive machine. She was about to push the last button to set off the timer when she stopped.
"I can't do this."
Suddenly she found herself falling to the floor. Renate turned to see one of the youths, an escaped psionic, preparing to kick her again.
"Run, everybody!" he yelled. "There's a Ghost!"
Most of the youths hastily exited, while a few gathered around to fight the intruder. Renate found most of them to be rather easy opponents, and they soon lay dead on the floor. The psionic boy approached her. A bullet soon found its way into his head.
"Gary!" a voice resounded. Renate was flung back by another, crashing straight into a wall. She brushed away the fallen hair from her face as she rose.
"Mom? You're...a Ghost?"
The two stared at each other for a second, then Renate got control of herself.
"Come on, Allen. Let's go home."
She passed by him, but he failed to follow, just staring at the beast he called 'mom'. Renate grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The ride home was completely silent.
--------
Allen was scared. In all of his eighteen years he had never been scared like this.
"My mom is a Ghost..." he thought.
This did not go by undetected by the mother, but she remained silent as they entered their house.
"We need to talk, son."
"Why didn't you tell me you were a Ghost?" Allen burst out. "Why?!"
"I knew all of the rumors about the Ghost project. I didn't want you to think that I was something to be feared."
Suddenly Allen started. "You knew about dad. You had him killed!"
Renate shook him. "That is not true! You know it isn't!"
"Let go of me!"
Another thought formed in Allen's mind. Renate sensed it, and heard the door opening. Renate had forgotten that Cooter was supposed to come over tonight.
"Hey, y'all, what's going...on.."
"D*** it, Cooter, don't you ever knock?" Renate stormed away.
"Your mom is a Ghost?" was the last thing she heard as she made her way to her room.
Renate lay down on her bed, clearing her thoughts as Ghosts had been trained to do. But one thought, not her own, popped up. It was Chaos.
"I know what happened at the wharehouse. You failed."
"Yes, there was a psionic boy there, and he detected me."
"The young ones detect only overt thought patterns. Couldn't you keep your mind quiet?"
"There are no excuses."
"Very well. But I have trouble trusting you. There is significant evidence that your son has recently been participating in Dominion activities. You must terminate him. This shall be the test of your loyalty to our program. And destroy the Jones boy as well."
"By your orders?"
"By Sapphire's."
Renate got up, took her gun, and went to the living room, where the boys were talking. She stayed away in the shadows, and aimed the rifle at Allen. But she did not shoot.
Why was she doing this? She already lost her husband, and now she must lose her son. Yet what would be the point of life once he was gone? The Confederacy had ruined her life, and it was no pleasure to serve this government. She lowered the rifle.
"Get in the car. Both of you."
--------
Raymond Sapphire watched as Chaos mentally conversed with Renate Grey. The two were in his office, going over the evidence damning Renate's son.
"She has received her orders, Sapphire," said Chaos as he finished. "though I doubt she will follow them."
"I had expected as much. She loves nothing as much as she loves her son. It is truly a pity such a lovely thing must be destroyed." Sapphire turned towards his Ghost. "Also terminate the boys. Oh, and get George's parents while you are at it. I don't need them to suspect where their son could have gone."
"Orders acknowledged."
--------
"I know where we can go." Allen said as the three drove. "Yates can get us to the Dominion."
"Todd Yates?" Cooter said incredulously. "You know him? Dang, Elk, he's like a major rebel."
"How do we find him?" asked Renate.
"He's not far. First, turn left up ahead."
--------
The car parked near a field of grass, obviously uninhabited. They got out. Allen pulled his overshirt tight, regretting that he didn't bring a jacket.
"Hey Elk, are you sure this is the place?" Cooter asked.
"It is."
"Then where's Yates?"
"He should be around here somewhere..."
"Hey, Elk. What brings you down here?"
Everyone turned to see a short man. He was athletic, and the small fringe of hair that was left on his bald head shined a pale blonde.
He jerked his thumb at Renate. "Who's the ghost?"
"That's my mom. We all need to get out of here; the Confederates are after us."
Yates grinned. "You've been caught, huh? Well, y'all c'mon to the craft. It just so happens, we're gonna be taking some others. It's just over there, hid in the trees, all ready to go. Y'all got lucky today."
Suddenly Renate started. "Chaos is here. I can feel him-"
"S***, y'all follow me!"
They ran quickly to the shelter of the trees. Yates yelled to the craft's pilot, "Hey Jackson, get ready to go, man! Engage the engines!"
"Shut up!" Renate hissed. "You don't want him to hear you."
"Where is this guy anyway?"
Renate paused, sensing. "He doesn't see us yet, but he will in a matter of seconds--oh crap."
They entered the ship, watching through a window as Chaos suddenly got into a strange postion.
"What is he, crazy?" exclaimed Renate. "He's starting a nuclear launch!"
"No, he's not!" Allen yelled as he ran off of the craft, just as the doors were closing. He ran up to the Ghost and grabbed his rifle, pulling at it with all his might. He succeeded, because this interrupted the nuclear sequence. He failed, because he had no chance against the Ghost. Chaos flung the boy to the ground and smashed him in the head with the butt of his rifle. Allen Grey was out before he could notice that the vessel escaped, and his mom and friend were safe.
--------
A young adult was contained in a stasis cell, in some sort of science facility. He heard, but did not comprehend, a cold, robotic feminine voice say, "Resocialization process complete".
The stasis cell opened, and out emerged the youth. He was greeted by two doctors.
"How do you feel today?"
"Okay, I guess."
"Good. Now, do you remember who you were?"
"I was called...Dark Elk."
"You don't remember your name?"
"I am Dark Elk, and nothing else."
One doctor turned to the other. "Eriks, what's wrong with his mind?"
The second smiled. "Robinson, you know that these subjects tend to have memory loss. But otherwise his mind is fine. He should be ready to go off into basic training tomorrow."
"Even though he thinks he's an animal?"
"Yeah, they should understand that the process changes people. I once sent them a guy who thought he was some guy called Napoleon Bonapart, something like that."
"What happened to him?"
"He recovered. You would know him as Edmund Duke."
Online were two of the friends-
-Dernhelm76-wheres elk?
-UbeRTAnkEr-dunno
-UbeRTAnkEr-chillin w/new friends
-Dernhelm76-who?
-Dernhelm76-that Gary guy?
-UbeRTAnkEr-yea
-Dernhelm76-i wish he'd come on
-UbeRTAnkEr-yea
-UbeRTAnkEr-i guess the games not important
_DarkElk has entered chatroom_
-Dernhelm76-hey elk
-DarkElk-hi
-UbeRTAnkEr-where you been?
-DarkElk-places
-UbeRTankEr-where man
-DarkElk-it doesnt matter
-UbeRTAnkEr-sure does
-Dernhelm76-hey
-Dernhelm76-we gonna play or what?
*5...4...3...2...Game Started*
--------
Renate had been given a new assignment. She was to infiltrate the site of a possible Terran Dominion rebellion. Essentially, some youths had been influenced by Dominion propaganda, and they were going to meet with a spy. Renate's orders were to destroy all of them. It would be quickly done, as she had done similar things before. In less than an hour, those kids would be dead. A typical job, usually considered boring.
She saw them gathering in an old, abandoned building. With patience, she watched them, waiting to see which one would stand out as a leader. Less than a minute had passed when she noticed a white haired boy directing the group. She smiled. It was not a professional operation. The youths went inside, leaving a few boys as lookouts.
Renate cloaked and crept behind those boys, knife in hand. They were dead before they could give even a whimper. She closed in on a large room, where the others were gathered. Their leader was spouting some Dominion propaganda, and Renate paid it little heed, instead preparing to plant a bomb nearby.
She leaned over the orb of destruction, setting its controls to five minutes. She looked up just before she placed it; she saw her son sitting on the side of the room.
"What is he doing here?" Renate thought.
Something had to be done. Renate checked her cloak's mana level. It was running low. She would have to be quick, whatever she did. But then her thoughts returned to something she had said before, almost a motto of the Ghosts, "the mission is more important than the people".
Renate controlled her doubts, and once again forced herself to turn on the destructive machine. She was about to push the last button to set off the timer when she stopped.
"I can't do this."
Suddenly she found herself falling to the floor. Renate turned to see one of the youths, an escaped psionic, preparing to kick her again.
"Run, everybody!" he yelled. "There's a Ghost!"
Most of the youths hastily exited, while a few gathered around to fight the intruder. Renate found most of them to be rather easy opponents, and they soon lay dead on the floor. The psionic boy approached her. A bullet soon found its way into his head.
"Gary!" a voice resounded. Renate was flung back by another, crashing straight into a wall. She brushed away the fallen hair from her face as she rose.
"Mom? You're...a Ghost?"
The two stared at each other for a second, then Renate got control of herself.
"Come on, Allen. Let's go home."
She passed by him, but he failed to follow, just staring at the beast he called 'mom'. Renate grabbed his arm and pulled him away. The ride home was completely silent.
--------
Allen was scared. In all of his eighteen years he had never been scared like this.
"My mom is a Ghost..." he thought.
This did not go by undetected by the mother, but she remained silent as they entered their house.
"We need to talk, son."
"Why didn't you tell me you were a Ghost?" Allen burst out. "Why?!"
"I knew all of the rumors about the Ghost project. I didn't want you to think that I was something to be feared."
Suddenly Allen started. "You knew about dad. You had him killed!"
Renate shook him. "That is not true! You know it isn't!"
"Let go of me!"
Another thought formed in Allen's mind. Renate sensed it, and heard the door opening. Renate had forgotten that Cooter was supposed to come over tonight.
"Hey, y'all, what's going...on.."
"D*** it, Cooter, don't you ever knock?" Renate stormed away.
"Your mom is a Ghost?" was the last thing she heard as she made her way to her room.
Renate lay down on her bed, clearing her thoughts as Ghosts had been trained to do. But one thought, not her own, popped up. It was Chaos.
"I know what happened at the wharehouse. You failed."
"Yes, there was a psionic boy there, and he detected me."
"The young ones detect only overt thought patterns. Couldn't you keep your mind quiet?"
"There are no excuses."
"Very well. But I have trouble trusting you. There is significant evidence that your son has recently been participating in Dominion activities. You must terminate him. This shall be the test of your loyalty to our program. And destroy the Jones boy as well."
"By your orders?"
"By Sapphire's."
Renate got up, took her gun, and went to the living room, where the boys were talking. She stayed away in the shadows, and aimed the rifle at Allen. But she did not shoot.
Why was she doing this? She already lost her husband, and now she must lose her son. Yet what would be the point of life once he was gone? The Confederacy had ruined her life, and it was no pleasure to serve this government. She lowered the rifle.
"Get in the car. Both of you."
--------
Raymond Sapphire watched as Chaos mentally conversed with Renate Grey. The two were in his office, going over the evidence damning Renate's son.
"She has received her orders, Sapphire," said Chaos as he finished. "though I doubt she will follow them."
"I had expected as much. She loves nothing as much as she loves her son. It is truly a pity such a lovely thing must be destroyed." Sapphire turned towards his Ghost. "Also terminate the boys. Oh, and get George's parents while you are at it. I don't need them to suspect where their son could have gone."
"Orders acknowledged."
--------
"I know where we can go." Allen said as the three drove. "Yates can get us to the Dominion."
"Todd Yates?" Cooter said incredulously. "You know him? Dang, Elk, he's like a major rebel."
"How do we find him?" asked Renate.
"He's not far. First, turn left up ahead."
--------
The car parked near a field of grass, obviously uninhabited. They got out. Allen pulled his overshirt tight, regretting that he didn't bring a jacket.
"Hey Elk, are you sure this is the place?" Cooter asked.
"It is."
"Then where's Yates?"
"He should be around here somewhere..."
"Hey, Elk. What brings you down here?"
Everyone turned to see a short man. He was athletic, and the small fringe of hair that was left on his bald head shined a pale blonde.
He jerked his thumb at Renate. "Who's the ghost?"
"That's my mom. We all need to get out of here; the Confederates are after us."
Yates grinned. "You've been caught, huh? Well, y'all c'mon to the craft. It just so happens, we're gonna be taking some others. It's just over there, hid in the trees, all ready to go. Y'all got lucky today."
Suddenly Renate started. "Chaos is here. I can feel him-"
"S***, y'all follow me!"
They ran quickly to the shelter of the trees. Yates yelled to the craft's pilot, "Hey Jackson, get ready to go, man! Engage the engines!"
"Shut up!" Renate hissed. "You don't want him to hear you."
"Where is this guy anyway?"
Renate paused, sensing. "He doesn't see us yet, but he will in a matter of seconds--oh crap."
They entered the ship, watching through a window as Chaos suddenly got into a strange postion.
"What is he, crazy?" exclaimed Renate. "He's starting a nuclear launch!"
"No, he's not!" Allen yelled as he ran off of the craft, just as the doors were closing. He ran up to the Ghost and grabbed his rifle, pulling at it with all his might. He succeeded, because this interrupted the nuclear sequence. He failed, because he had no chance against the Ghost. Chaos flung the boy to the ground and smashed him in the head with the butt of his rifle. Allen Grey was out before he could notice that the vessel escaped, and his mom and friend were safe.
--------
A young adult was contained in a stasis cell, in some sort of science facility. He heard, but did not comprehend, a cold, robotic feminine voice say, "Resocialization process complete".
The stasis cell opened, and out emerged the youth. He was greeted by two doctors.
"How do you feel today?"
"Okay, I guess."
"Good. Now, do you remember who you were?"
"I was called...Dark Elk."
"You don't remember your name?"
"I am Dark Elk, and nothing else."
One doctor turned to the other. "Eriks, what's wrong with his mind?"
The second smiled. "Robinson, you know that these subjects tend to have memory loss. But otherwise his mind is fine. He should be ready to go off into basic training tomorrow."
"Even though he thinks he's an animal?"
"Yeah, they should understand that the process changes people. I once sent them a guy who thought he was some guy called Napoleon Bonapart, something like that."
"What happened to him?"
"He recovered. You would know him as Edmund Duke."