Chapter 8 - Old friend, new job
Hizzan system -Hizzan 6, High Orbit 2503-05-27, 06:00 Battleship Lightning
"Ok sir. Were about to enter the atmosphere." Collins had been taken to the bridge, against the doctors will, and had been strapped into the Commanders chair. "Ok, lets start the decent. The Commander will be waiting for us."
Hizzan 6 2503-05-27, 06:05 Sector 7-3-1
"Commander, everyone is in place. We only await the arrival of the Lightning." Captain Fawcett said. Jason looked at him. "Very good, Captain." Jason looked around, the area had been picked because it was close to the base and there was no uneven ground, or vegetation. This would offer the Lightning the best chance of survival, considering the damage it had received, Jason wasn't sure it would survive anyway. The two remaining Battlecruiser's, had pushed the lightning into position in the atmosphere, and would place themselves under it, as they tried to keep the Lightning steady. At the last moment both Battlecruiser's would remove themselves from under the Lightning and let it fall to the ground. This would be done as close to the ground as possible to minimise damage.
Looking up into the sky, Jason could see the outline of the Battleship Lightning. Repairs would take forever, and with the Zerg still present on this planet, even longer. As the Lightning entered the low atmosphere, Jason could see the two Battlecruiser's that were settled underneath the Lightning. Compared to the Lightning the Battlecruiser's were tiny. This made Jason smile; his ship was coming down to him. Closer and closer they came down, the Battlecruiser's trying to keep the Lightning balanced on top of them. When the Battlecruiser's were 15 meters of the ground, they hit their thrusters, and pulled themselves away from the Lightning. Two seconds later the Lightning dropped, and Jason turned his head away in fear.
Hizzan 6 2503-05-27, 06:12 Battleship Lightning
Collins may now of been blind, which luckily allowed him not to watch their freefall for the last 15 meters, but the tension on the bridge could have been cut with a knife, and you didn't need you eyesight to notice it. Collins could feel the affects of gravity as the Lightning dropped and the impact shook everything. Collins hoped that another beam would become loss and fall on him. He wouldn't be able to see it, but he wanted to live. He had a family back on Earth, and he hadn't seen his wife for over three years now. Someone walked up to Collins; "Sir, are you alright?" came a concerned voice. "Yes, I am. Can someone untie me now, so I can greet the Commander, and hand, what's left of his ship, back to him?" Collins heard a few chucks come from somewhere, but he was untied and directed to the main exit hatch on the side of the Lightning. "Collins!" Jason said in shook. The sight of Collins with bandages over his eyes was a sight he never wanted to see. "I glad to say that the landing wasn't to damaging, and I'm glad you're alive." "Thank you Commander," Collins saluted in what he hoped was the right direction. "I did my best to protect your ship" Jason walked over to Collins and hugged him.
Hizzan 6 2503-05-27, 06:05 Sector 7-3-1
"You did a good job, and I'm sorry you had to lose your eyesight in the process." Jason guided Collins towards the command center. "I hope to mount a counter attack against the Zerg base, but first I want to have proper defence around the base, and my ship." Collins grinned weakly. "How may I help you sir?" Jason sat Collins in the briefing chair. "You may not be combat worthy old friend, but you can relay information though this briefing room. It will save me having to pull the plug on the stupid adjutant." Jason smiled briefly. "Thank you sir. I will not let you down, or let you pull the plug." Collins and Jason both laughed together. Jason left his First-mate in the briefing room, and walked outside.
He walked over to the factory, and entered it. He walked over to the commanding officer of the facility and started talking. "Lieutenant, I want you to mass produce Goliaths and have them covering the Lightning. I don't want any Zerg near it, while it's on this planet." "Sir, yes, sir." The Lieutenant replied and started making the necessary arrangements to comply with Jason's orders. Jason left there, and asked Collins to call Captain Fawcett to his current position. Ten minutes later, the Captain came running up to him. "Sir, you called." The Captain said and saluted at the same time. "That I did. I want to mount a counter attack on the Zerg base. I'm going to need all the data your men can get for me." Jason spoke in a cold calm voice. "Sir, one step ahead of you. My men are already gathering intel about the base as we speak." Jason nodded; glad to hear that someone was still focused on the Zerg base.
"Have you got anything for me Captain?" Jason asked, "Indeed I do. The adjutant is compiling my men's finding so far." Jason groaned, the adjutant was beginning to get on his nerves, never the less he needed to know as much as possible. Walking into the briefing room, Jason was Collins still seating in the chair with a cup of coffee. Another chair had been brought in for the Commander. Sitting down Collins looked up, a natural reaction, which did nothing for Collins, how he has lost his eyesight. "Commander, is that you?" "Yes Collins it's me. I'm here to listen to the stupid adjutant go on about the new findings." Collins cracked a smile, "Sorry to break it to you Commander, but ill be the one giving you the report. Me and the adjutant have been working together, and my memory is still very good Commander." Jason relaxed, at least with Collins Jason wouldn't have to worry with answering stupid questions, or respond to insane comments.
"Then please begin Collins. I'm all ears." Collins crossed his legs and started reciting the report. "It appears that the Zerg are some how able to detect our cloaked troops or cloaked wraiths. This only seems to happen when one of these are around, a picture of a large floating creature appeared on the screen. It has been called the Overlord, and seems to be a vital creature to the Zerg. Not only can it detect cloaked units, it can also transport creatures in these sacks at the bottom. It is designed for space transportation as well. Some men have had the idea that this creature also may serve the same purpose as our supply depots, but we are still investigating this possibility." Jason looked at the Overlord on the screen. "How hard is it to kill?" "A good question, because it travels though space, it has some tough armour but if shot in the right places, can be killed easily."
"What can you tell me about their base in general Collins?" Jason asked. "Quite simple really," Collins said, "They don't build building like we do, they grow them." "THEY WHAT?" Jason screamed. "Sorry, but how do they grow them?" Collins hadn't flinched. "They seem to operate like a hive sir, and everything is a separate creature, that has just evolved into something that helps the whole survive." Just great, Jason thought. "Their equivalent to our SVC's are what we're calling Drones. These simple breasts not only collect resources for the base, but also evolve into any structure they want." "And how long a process doe these evolutions take?" Jason asked. "That all depends on how big, and how complex the structure is. All the units for the Zerg are evolved from the Lava, as you've already seen. But there is one creature that has to evolve from another."
"Oh, would that be a good thing or bad?" Collins looked like he was thinking, "That would depend where they're evolving. If they've evolving where we can shot them, then it's a good thing, as they can't attack while evolving, but deep behind enemy lines and its very bad." Jason shook his head. "Please tell me about these two then." Collins uncrossed his legs and sat up. "The first is the creature that we faced upon arriving in the sector. The 'C' shaped creature, which has been called a Mutalisk. When used with the Hydralisk, they are very deadly, both have medium body armour and both have the ability to attack land and air units. The difference is that the Mutalisk can attack three enemies at one time. It also moves faster than the Hydralisk as it doesn't have to slither on a tail, but instead it flies, obvious I know."
"It's when the creature evolves that problems begin. Although the evolved version cannot attack air units, it can attack ground based units at long range and with deadly accuracy. The creature, which has been called the 'Guardian', also has a thicker armour that protects it better against our attacks. The main problem is the range of these creatures. To help compensate for this, the adjutant has come up with a new design called the Charon Booster Upgrade. This will allow the Goliaths missiles to be able to hit the Guardian at longer ranges. Also the gauss rifles have been upgraded with a new type of ammo called U-238 Shells. This will give them a slightly longer range." "Very good, Collins. I'm glad to see that you've been able to use the adjutant for something useful." Collins smiled at that comment. "I try my best sir."
Hizzan system -Hizzan 6, High Orbit 2503-05-27, 06:00 Battleship Lightning
"Ok sir. Were about to enter the atmosphere." Collins had been taken to the bridge, against the doctors will, and had been strapped into the Commanders chair. "Ok, lets start the decent. The Commander will be waiting for us."
Hizzan 6 2503-05-27, 06:05 Sector 7-3-1
"Commander, everyone is in place. We only await the arrival of the Lightning." Captain Fawcett said. Jason looked at him. "Very good, Captain." Jason looked around, the area had been picked because it was close to the base and there was no uneven ground, or vegetation. This would offer the Lightning the best chance of survival, considering the damage it had received, Jason wasn't sure it would survive anyway. The two remaining Battlecruiser's, had pushed the lightning into position in the atmosphere, and would place themselves under it, as they tried to keep the Lightning steady. At the last moment both Battlecruiser's would remove themselves from under the Lightning and let it fall to the ground. This would be done as close to the ground as possible to minimise damage.
Looking up into the sky, Jason could see the outline of the Battleship Lightning. Repairs would take forever, and with the Zerg still present on this planet, even longer. As the Lightning entered the low atmosphere, Jason could see the two Battlecruiser's that were settled underneath the Lightning. Compared to the Lightning the Battlecruiser's were tiny. This made Jason smile; his ship was coming down to him. Closer and closer they came down, the Battlecruiser's trying to keep the Lightning balanced on top of them. When the Battlecruiser's were 15 meters of the ground, they hit their thrusters, and pulled themselves away from the Lightning. Two seconds later the Lightning dropped, and Jason turned his head away in fear.
Hizzan 6 2503-05-27, 06:12 Battleship Lightning
Collins may now of been blind, which luckily allowed him not to watch their freefall for the last 15 meters, but the tension on the bridge could have been cut with a knife, and you didn't need you eyesight to notice it. Collins could feel the affects of gravity as the Lightning dropped and the impact shook everything. Collins hoped that another beam would become loss and fall on him. He wouldn't be able to see it, but he wanted to live. He had a family back on Earth, and he hadn't seen his wife for over three years now. Someone walked up to Collins; "Sir, are you alright?" came a concerned voice. "Yes, I am. Can someone untie me now, so I can greet the Commander, and hand, what's left of his ship, back to him?" Collins heard a few chucks come from somewhere, but he was untied and directed to the main exit hatch on the side of the Lightning. "Collins!" Jason said in shook. The sight of Collins with bandages over his eyes was a sight he never wanted to see. "I glad to say that the landing wasn't to damaging, and I'm glad you're alive." "Thank you Commander," Collins saluted in what he hoped was the right direction. "I did my best to protect your ship" Jason walked over to Collins and hugged him.
Hizzan 6 2503-05-27, 06:05 Sector 7-3-1
"You did a good job, and I'm sorry you had to lose your eyesight in the process." Jason guided Collins towards the command center. "I hope to mount a counter attack against the Zerg base, but first I want to have proper defence around the base, and my ship." Collins grinned weakly. "How may I help you sir?" Jason sat Collins in the briefing chair. "You may not be combat worthy old friend, but you can relay information though this briefing room. It will save me having to pull the plug on the stupid adjutant." Jason smiled briefly. "Thank you sir. I will not let you down, or let you pull the plug." Collins and Jason both laughed together. Jason left his First-mate in the briefing room, and walked outside.
He walked over to the factory, and entered it. He walked over to the commanding officer of the facility and started talking. "Lieutenant, I want you to mass produce Goliaths and have them covering the Lightning. I don't want any Zerg near it, while it's on this planet." "Sir, yes, sir." The Lieutenant replied and started making the necessary arrangements to comply with Jason's orders. Jason left there, and asked Collins to call Captain Fawcett to his current position. Ten minutes later, the Captain came running up to him. "Sir, you called." The Captain said and saluted at the same time. "That I did. I want to mount a counter attack on the Zerg base. I'm going to need all the data your men can get for me." Jason spoke in a cold calm voice. "Sir, one step ahead of you. My men are already gathering intel about the base as we speak." Jason nodded; glad to hear that someone was still focused on the Zerg base.
"Have you got anything for me Captain?" Jason asked, "Indeed I do. The adjutant is compiling my men's finding so far." Jason groaned, the adjutant was beginning to get on his nerves, never the less he needed to know as much as possible. Walking into the briefing room, Jason was Collins still seating in the chair with a cup of coffee. Another chair had been brought in for the Commander. Sitting down Collins looked up, a natural reaction, which did nothing for Collins, how he has lost his eyesight. "Commander, is that you?" "Yes Collins it's me. I'm here to listen to the stupid adjutant go on about the new findings." Collins cracked a smile, "Sorry to break it to you Commander, but ill be the one giving you the report. Me and the adjutant have been working together, and my memory is still very good Commander." Jason relaxed, at least with Collins Jason wouldn't have to worry with answering stupid questions, or respond to insane comments.
"Then please begin Collins. I'm all ears." Collins crossed his legs and started reciting the report. "It appears that the Zerg are some how able to detect our cloaked troops or cloaked wraiths. This only seems to happen when one of these are around, a picture of a large floating creature appeared on the screen. It has been called the Overlord, and seems to be a vital creature to the Zerg. Not only can it detect cloaked units, it can also transport creatures in these sacks at the bottom. It is designed for space transportation as well. Some men have had the idea that this creature also may serve the same purpose as our supply depots, but we are still investigating this possibility." Jason looked at the Overlord on the screen. "How hard is it to kill?" "A good question, because it travels though space, it has some tough armour but if shot in the right places, can be killed easily."
"What can you tell me about their base in general Collins?" Jason asked. "Quite simple really," Collins said, "They don't build building like we do, they grow them." "THEY WHAT?" Jason screamed. "Sorry, but how do they grow them?" Collins hadn't flinched. "They seem to operate like a hive sir, and everything is a separate creature, that has just evolved into something that helps the whole survive." Just great, Jason thought. "Their equivalent to our SVC's are what we're calling Drones. These simple breasts not only collect resources for the base, but also evolve into any structure they want." "And how long a process doe these evolutions take?" Jason asked. "That all depends on how big, and how complex the structure is. All the units for the Zerg are evolved from the Lava, as you've already seen. But there is one creature that has to evolve from another."
"Oh, would that be a good thing or bad?" Collins looked like he was thinking, "That would depend where they're evolving. If they've evolving where we can shot them, then it's a good thing, as they can't attack while evolving, but deep behind enemy lines and its very bad." Jason shook his head. "Please tell me about these two then." Collins uncrossed his legs and sat up. "The first is the creature that we faced upon arriving in the sector. The 'C' shaped creature, which has been called a Mutalisk. When used with the Hydralisk, they are very deadly, both have medium body armour and both have the ability to attack land and air units. The difference is that the Mutalisk can attack three enemies at one time. It also moves faster than the Hydralisk as it doesn't have to slither on a tail, but instead it flies, obvious I know."
"It's when the creature evolves that problems begin. Although the evolved version cannot attack air units, it can attack ground based units at long range and with deadly accuracy. The creature, which has been called the 'Guardian', also has a thicker armour that protects it better against our attacks. The main problem is the range of these creatures. To help compensate for this, the adjutant has come up with a new design called the Charon Booster Upgrade. This will allow the Goliaths missiles to be able to hit the Guardian at longer ranges. Also the gauss rifles have been upgraded with a new type of ammo called U-238 Shells. This will give them a slightly longer range." "Very good, Collins. I'm glad to see that you've been able to use the adjutant for something useful." Collins smiled at that comment. "I try my best sir."