"Theta squad. Siege mode, now!" cried General Duke.
In a sea of noise, siege tanks all came to an abrupt halt. They turned to position and their huge shock cannons came up, pointing to the sky. In unison they all swung towards the zerg hive. They'd bee working their way through since the morning, torpedoing the various organs of the creep. General Duke sat far away from the battle in his command center, barking orders. He watched through one of the tanks as still zerg fell hand without struggle under the massive missiles. One after another they burst into tissue and blood.
It had been so simple since the beginning. Duke had been so careful in the beginning, moving slowly into the hives, using firebats to begin probing and burning the hives. He suddenly realized after five days of pointless strategy the zerg weren't fighting back, and cursed the resources he'd already spent on his defense. Not one attack had come so far, and the only kills so far had been by those zerg with still enough instinct to attack when someone got to close, or friendly fire.
Duke had hated bringing in rookies. He always had. RookieÕs mistakes often led to the death of veterans. Duke trusted battle experience above all, and he rarely ever used ghosts for anything besides nuclear strikes.
Duke had been careful not to lower his guard, but he found himself nodding off very often as the siege tanks could waltz into the middle of a hive and slowly destroy everything within their radius.
Though he had picked up a few very good mineral clusters and vespene geysers, and since there were no zerg, he left them with minimal defense until all the resources were recovered. Once he was given a proper base of operation, he could create a very formidable army.
Then again, what would he use it for? Arcturus' only enemies were the zerg, and since they were falling like flies, the army build up might be completely pointless. Wherever the zerg came from, if they ever came back, Duke could deal with them with a lot of ease.
"General Duke." the comlink opened.
"What is it Marshal?"
"Hive 02938 is dead. We got it all. Permission to move on?"
General Duke looked at the time. The progress they had made today was more than enough, but what was the point of waiting?
"If you and your men ain't tired you keep on going Marshal. I'll send a transport of SCV's over to fix y'all up."
"Not necessary sir."
General Duke snorted. "Right then. Keep on going. When your ready to come in, you have clearance."
"Yes sir." the link closed.
Duke stood up from his seat.
"Any more commands tonight General?" asked the familiar robotic voice.
Duke nodded. "Open a com-link to all our forces on Tarsonis." Duke waited for a resounding beep. "Attention all squadron leaders. I am retiring for the night, so when you are ready to come in for repairs, do so. If there are no opposing threats, feel free to keep moving through nightfall as long as you have someone to relieve you in the morning." Duke looked more maliciously into the camera. "And don't get sloppy. These are still the zerg people, and they may come alive again at any moment."
The link closed and Duke moved out of the room. Before he reached the door, another beep came.
"Incoming transmission from Lieutenant Malask."
Duke rolled his eyes. "Bring him up."
The screen opened. A thin, pale man sat in the command seat of a goliath. He looked almost cartoonish with his slim frame letting gaping holes in his harness where he should have been filled in. "What is it Malask?"
"General Duke. My team still hasn't cleaned up our hive cluster, and my men are exhausted."
"What in god's name are you doing out there Lieutenant? I have given you more than enough resources to keep up and your behind some of the rookie Marshals."
The lieutenant shook. "I'm sorry sir, but we're exhausted. I don't have enough men."
"Well what have you been using your resources for?" asked Duke.
"Well," the man looked even paler now, if that were possible, "we ran into a cluster of sunken colonies today."
Duke wildly rolled his eyes. "Oh for god sakes."
"We suffered heavy damage there. My goliaths don't have enough ground power-"
"Of course they don't!" shouted Duke outraged. "Their not meant to take out defense structures. I have one word for you son. Siege Tanks."
"ThatÕs two words s-"
Malask cut himself off when he saw Duke's angry face. "Listen carefully Malask. I won't have any member of my squadrons talk like that to me. You are relieved of your duties here on Tarsonis. Pack up and get back to your base. I will talk with you when I do a re-evaluation of our forces."
Malask shook quite violently. "Sir, I assure you, a small error in judgment was all-"
"And if your not gone by sun rise, I'll be over their myself to remove your status as a lieutenant bright and early."
Malask seemed to resist leaving in the morning, but the alternative was much worse. "Yes sir. Sorry sir."
General Duke turned and left the room. The comlink broke without his word, and the doors shut behind him. Malask was a good scientist, and excellent at sniffing out resources and new bases, but ever since this war had turned into a slaughter, he had been completely useless.
'I'll send Marshal Ballid to clean up for Malask tomorrow.' thought Duke. 'I hope we can get off this blasted world soon. It will he good for military use and testing, but I won't be caught dead here after I clear it.'
Duke strolled down the hallway to his quarter. 'By the end of the week, it should be clear.' thought Duke. With this in mind, he slipped into his quarters.
Late into the night the explosions could be heard across Tarsonis, huge hive clusters falling, troops simply allowing themselves to get some target practice.
In a sea of noise, siege tanks all came to an abrupt halt. They turned to position and their huge shock cannons came up, pointing to the sky. In unison they all swung towards the zerg hive. They'd bee working their way through since the morning, torpedoing the various organs of the creep. General Duke sat far away from the battle in his command center, barking orders. He watched through one of the tanks as still zerg fell hand without struggle under the massive missiles. One after another they burst into tissue and blood.
It had been so simple since the beginning. Duke had been so careful in the beginning, moving slowly into the hives, using firebats to begin probing and burning the hives. He suddenly realized after five days of pointless strategy the zerg weren't fighting back, and cursed the resources he'd already spent on his defense. Not one attack had come so far, and the only kills so far had been by those zerg with still enough instinct to attack when someone got to close, or friendly fire.
Duke had hated bringing in rookies. He always had. RookieÕs mistakes often led to the death of veterans. Duke trusted battle experience above all, and he rarely ever used ghosts for anything besides nuclear strikes.
Duke had been careful not to lower his guard, but he found himself nodding off very often as the siege tanks could waltz into the middle of a hive and slowly destroy everything within their radius.
Though he had picked up a few very good mineral clusters and vespene geysers, and since there were no zerg, he left them with minimal defense until all the resources were recovered. Once he was given a proper base of operation, he could create a very formidable army.
Then again, what would he use it for? Arcturus' only enemies were the zerg, and since they were falling like flies, the army build up might be completely pointless. Wherever the zerg came from, if they ever came back, Duke could deal with them with a lot of ease.
"General Duke." the comlink opened.
"What is it Marshal?"
"Hive 02938 is dead. We got it all. Permission to move on?"
General Duke looked at the time. The progress they had made today was more than enough, but what was the point of waiting?
"If you and your men ain't tired you keep on going Marshal. I'll send a transport of SCV's over to fix y'all up."
"Not necessary sir."
General Duke snorted. "Right then. Keep on going. When your ready to come in, you have clearance."
"Yes sir." the link closed.
Duke stood up from his seat.
"Any more commands tonight General?" asked the familiar robotic voice.
Duke nodded. "Open a com-link to all our forces on Tarsonis." Duke waited for a resounding beep. "Attention all squadron leaders. I am retiring for the night, so when you are ready to come in for repairs, do so. If there are no opposing threats, feel free to keep moving through nightfall as long as you have someone to relieve you in the morning." Duke looked more maliciously into the camera. "And don't get sloppy. These are still the zerg people, and they may come alive again at any moment."
The link closed and Duke moved out of the room. Before he reached the door, another beep came.
"Incoming transmission from Lieutenant Malask."
Duke rolled his eyes. "Bring him up."
The screen opened. A thin, pale man sat in the command seat of a goliath. He looked almost cartoonish with his slim frame letting gaping holes in his harness where he should have been filled in. "What is it Malask?"
"General Duke. My team still hasn't cleaned up our hive cluster, and my men are exhausted."
"What in god's name are you doing out there Lieutenant? I have given you more than enough resources to keep up and your behind some of the rookie Marshals."
The lieutenant shook. "I'm sorry sir, but we're exhausted. I don't have enough men."
"Well what have you been using your resources for?" asked Duke.
"Well," the man looked even paler now, if that were possible, "we ran into a cluster of sunken colonies today."
Duke wildly rolled his eyes. "Oh for god sakes."
"We suffered heavy damage there. My goliaths don't have enough ground power-"
"Of course they don't!" shouted Duke outraged. "Their not meant to take out defense structures. I have one word for you son. Siege Tanks."
"ThatÕs two words s-"
Malask cut himself off when he saw Duke's angry face. "Listen carefully Malask. I won't have any member of my squadrons talk like that to me. You are relieved of your duties here on Tarsonis. Pack up and get back to your base. I will talk with you when I do a re-evaluation of our forces."
Malask shook quite violently. "Sir, I assure you, a small error in judgment was all-"
"And if your not gone by sun rise, I'll be over their myself to remove your status as a lieutenant bright and early."
Malask seemed to resist leaving in the morning, but the alternative was much worse. "Yes sir. Sorry sir."
General Duke turned and left the room. The comlink broke without his word, and the doors shut behind him. Malask was a good scientist, and excellent at sniffing out resources and new bases, but ever since this war had turned into a slaughter, he had been completely useless.
'I'll send Marshal Ballid to clean up for Malask tomorrow.' thought Duke. 'I hope we can get off this blasted world soon. It will he good for military use and testing, but I won't be caught dead here after I clear it.'
Duke strolled down the hallway to his quarter. 'By the end of the week, it should be clear.' thought Duke. With this in mind, he slipped into his quarters.
Late into the night the explosions could be heard across Tarsonis, huge hive clusters falling, troops simply allowing themselves to get some target practice.