Chapter 2: The Clash of Wills
Location: Koprulu Space Sector 12, KSS-12
Dominion Battle Group Epsilon and her flotilla moved slowly in the deep and inky space. A total of 25 wraiths made patrols and marked waypoints as Epsilon advanced, and the group has three Behemoth-class battlecruisers and eight valkyries. Five hulking and lumbering Dominion transports trailed slightly behind the great battlecruisers, and carried aboard a total of twelve marines, four firebats and four ghosts. The group commodore sat back comfortably in his sleek leather armchair, when suddenly, a beep sounded. He passed a casual glance at the display screens, before straightening up. It was a direct transmission from the Dominion capital, Tarsonis. He flicked on the holographic display and saluted smartly.
"Commodore Zim of Battle Group Epsilon reporting, great leader!"
The wizened and aged face of Arcturus gave a wan smile, and the holographic image spoke.
"At ease, soldier. We have had a bit of... trouble in the Outer Rim, and some investigations are in line there. I believe that you are the nearest battle group to TORS-8?"
Commodore Zim signalled to his ensign, and the ensign replied with a smart salute. He put on his headset, and punched a few keys into the system. Before long, a list of information streamed onto the screen and revealed Epsilon's proximity to TORS-8. The ensign flicked his head and nodded to Zim.
"Leader, you are absolutely right. What orders do you have?" Zim enquired questioningly. Whatever did he ever want with an Outer Rim planet? There's more, I'm sure... His thought process was interrupted as Mengsk spoke in a firm and authoritarian manner.
"I know you are puzzled as to why I'm concerned over such a trivial planet. It is because of the distressing reports I had received from Convoy Group 1555, who reported the mining colony on the planet to be burnt to the ground with no survivors. Later on, the convoy leader admitted not getting in for a closer look, but all this atrocities point towards the Zerg. It could not have been Raynor and his ragtag bunch of raiders, as they're too humane and benevolent to raze the colony."
"I understand, leader." Zim replied without hesitation.
"I want your battle group to investigate the scene thoroughly. It may not be the workings of the Zerg, but to be on the safe side, put your men on their highest alerts and set up a defensive perimeter IMMEDIATELY after you landed on that rock. Do you get me?" Mengsk whispered, as Zim felt the uneasy tension and weight of his speech.
"Yes, leader."
Time: Approximately three weeks after the attack on the Terran mining colony
Location: Protoss High Council, Aiur.
Two Protoss figures hunched forward, looking down on a glowing coral blue hologram of TORS-8. A solitary blinking ruby red dot blinked incessantly on the hologram, reporting the exact location of the Protoss observer on that planet. One of the Protoss figures straightened up, his cloak billowing slightly with his movements, his face covered with a sash. The other Protoss remained hunched, staring at his own silhouette. He wore the emblem of a Praetor, though he didn't felt particularly like a praetor in that moment.
Zeratul sighed, his glowing eyes dimming for a slight moment. "Hopefully my premonitions are wrong, exalted one." He turned and looked out of the archaic yet intricately carved windows.
Praetor Artanis, the beloved leader and saviour of the Protoss, looked up at Zeratul. He chuckled bitterly and lamented, "It has only been a few decades since the Brood Wars... now another war of such may possibly occur. Are you sure that Kerrigan is reviving her broods for another offensive against us? It has been a while since she had reared her ugly head in any known sightings of Zerg."
"It's only my premonition, exalted one. I cannot guarantee you the truth, but it is in the interests of the Templars and the Judicators to nip the Zerg problem in the bud before it gets any worse... before it gets any more catastrophic." Zeratul whispered quietly.
Artanis nodded dumbly and stared pensively downwards again. Aiur... the Aiur that I resurrected... Are you and your inhabitants ready to fight the dark evil that threatens our existence once more? Are the Protoss mentally and physically prepared to fight?
He found no answer, and it was unsettling and troubling.
Time: Approximately four weeks after the attack
Location: TORS-8
The first transports landed on the ground, disgorging all infantry units. Marines shouted orders and commands here and there, and the site where the four brave marines had perished suddenly came alive with activity and noise. Marines and Firebats scuttled around like ants, setting up temporary neosteel barricades and emplacing rapid pulse guns and ion cannons. The ghosts generally stood away from the crowd, polishing their canister rifles and scouting the vicinity for enemy presences. The heavier transports from the battlecruisers landed in the defense perimeter, and a total of eight vultures, four goliaths and two siege tanks lumbered out into the open. The siege tanks deployed, their arclite shock cannons glinting in the sunlight. The highly mobile vultures zipped around the perimeter, dropping spider mines as they moved. The towering goliath combat walkers joined their ghost comrades on their recon patrols, providing much needed anti-air support. The last aircraft to touch down on the surface was a science vessel, and out stepped two medics and scientists.
There was little room left for discussion after the general diagnosis of the dead marines and creatures just outside the torn open gates of the colony. Anybody could identify a zerg, thanks to the propaganda efforts of both the fallen Confederacy and the new Dominion. Even the remorseless marines felt disgust when they saw the mutilated and mauled marines in the destroyed bunkers. The presence of a dead and rotting ultralisk signified the immense danger presented on this remote planet. A tank sargeant was relaying the information back to Commodore Zim when a ghost spoke metallically through the all-channels comm link.
"Enemy presence at two o'clock. Expect a mass of enemy units no lesser than that of a Terran army at full strength. Recon squads to return back to the perimeter to aid in the defense. Over and out."
The transmission made was clear and calm, but the primary reaction to the news was definitely not. General mayhem and pandemonium broke out as units scrambled to their positions, constantly strengthening their defenses. It was the only thing to do till the enemy arrived. Overhead, the fleet of wraiths and valkyries jostled into positions, while the battlecruisers took up posts at nine o'clock, twelve o'clock and three o'clock of the perimeter.
Up in the command bridge of the lead battlecruiser, Zim cursed under his breath as ensigns and fleet officers ran here and there co-ordinating the combat activation sequences of the flying behemoths. He looked into the distance and irritably glared at the seething mass of Zerg. He can only hope to ride this out as best as he can... if not, he'll perish honourably in the name of the Dominion.
Klaxons blared as the marines double checked the pulse guns and ion cannons. Firebats experimented with the retrofitted perdition flamethrowers, making sure that their only weapons do not fail them in the worst of times. Tank sargeants fixed their crosshairs on the ever-nearing zerg hordes and fingered the fire buttons. Goliaths whirred their twin autocannons and opened the hatches to the hellfire missiles. The ghosts jumped over the barricades just in time before the activation of the spider mines, locking their canister rifles at the zerg hordes. Zim's husky voice growled over the comm link.
"All ground units, fire only on my command. Do not waste ammo when the fleet commences its preliminary bombardment."
The Terrans gritted their teeth and endured the increasingly near screeches and roars of the Zergs. With a low humming sound, the three battlecruisers powered up their yamato cannons. Wih three huge blasts of anti-matter energies, the entire front section of the Zerg mass lay disintegrated, leaving behind three huge blast craters. The wraiths sprung into action, zipping here and there, crippling the Zerg and slowing down the advance of the hordes.
Kerrigan bared her teeth angrily and psionically sent commands for her mutalisks and devourers to attack the terran fleet from the rear. This was dutifully executed, as wraiths scrambled back to defend the potentially vulnerable battlecruisers. Halo rockets whizzed out of the valkyries and exploded all around the flying zerg menaces and the air battle commenced.
"All ground units, fire at will!"
The storm of gunfire erupted almost instantenously after the command, and everything within five hundred feet of the perimeter became mobile targets. Hydralisks shot acidic spines as they charged forward, while zerglings closed in on the firing infantry. The arclite shock cannons open fire, and there was not a need for accuracy at all. Fire and forget soon became the motto for the tank sargeants. The cannon fire took out groups of Zerg while the ghosts sniped from excellent vantage points with their canister rifles. Spider mines blew up more Zerg and the fragmentation grenades from the vultures disabled and maimed even more. The first wave of Zerg breasted against the perimeter, as zerglings jumped on firing marines. Overhead, the air battle raged on.
Devourers melted wraiths with acid spores, while the glave wurms spat out of the mutalisks punched holes in the battlecruisers. The burst laser batteries onboard the battlecruisers fired, scything down anything organic. Gemini missiles and halo rockets filled the skies, destroying their intended targets. Mutalisks rammed valkyries with animalistic intensity, while the wraiths entangled themselves with the devourers. It was chaos in the skies, with zerg parts falling to the ground and wrecked aircraft plummeting.
Marines struggled with the zerglings, fending off claws and replying with furious swings of their gauss rifles. Claws punctured armor, while gun butts bashed out carapaces. Firebats tussled with the ultralisks, and the ghosts and hydralisks played hide-and-seek with one another. Opportunistic goliaths simply swept the ground with autocannon fire, and vultures took to crushing the defilers. Plague killed both terrans and zergs, and the tides of war ebbed back and forth between the two battling races. Slowly but surely, the terrans were being decimated without replacements, while the zerg replaced every fallen broodling with three or more. Medics tried their best to rescue their fallen, but were helpless without proper equipment. The terran defense line slowly began caving in and disintegrating.
Things did not bode well for the terran fleet. Two battlecruisers went down with multiple hull breaches and the presence of a lone figure in the distance almost destroyed the flagging terran morale. Kerrigan definitely knew when to make an appearance, and where it counts most. She grinned viciously, enjoying the carnage and destruction caused by her broods. Victory was sweet.
The last firebat went down with a kaiser blade sticking out of him, and all that remained of the terran forces were a lone battlecruiser, three valkyries, ten wraiths, two goliaths and four marines. A marine locked in mortal combat with a zergling finally got the upper hand and kicked the zergling off before pumping it full with lead. Four acid spines streaked through the air and embedded themselves in the marine, dropping him as he tried to retreat. Just when things seemed bleak and the Dominion forces resigned themselves to their fates, eight squadrons of 96 wraiths sped in out of nowhere with the colours and patterns of Raynor's Raiders.
"Hello boys, need some help here? Kerrigan is the common enemy here, and I'm here to destroy her, and not you. Firing at me will just seal your fates to either death or infestation." Raynor curtly spoke through the Dominion comm link.
The sudden appearance of so many wraiths gravely upset Kerrigan's plan. Her broods were in no position then and there to counter the new threats, and the nearest forces she could muster were more than fifty miles away. She hissed at the new wraiths, noting the peculiar designs. Hmm... this isn't Dominion reinforcements, it's possibly that of some space pirates. Could it be... Jim Raynor? Kerrigan cast one longing glance at the lead wraith and retreated.
The battle ended with an inconclusive terran victory, as the leaderless Zerg were left to their devices without Kerrigan. The Dominion remnants simply stood back as the Zerg turned on each other, ripping and mutilating. It was a simple matter of mopping up the few Zerg which survived the cannibalism. The enigmatic Jim Raynor and his squadrons of wraiths had mysteriously disappeared after the combat, leaving Commodore Zim a puzzled but grateful man.
In the orbit, the Protoss observer silently recorded the entire battle down, relaying the horrifying news back to Aiur.
Author's note: I am greatly spurred on by the comments by the reviewers, and will definitely try my best to write more to present to the public. I thank the reviewers for their comments, and will rectify any errors made. Till then, please support my story. Thanks.
Location: Koprulu Space Sector 12, KSS-12
Dominion Battle Group Epsilon and her flotilla moved slowly in the deep and inky space. A total of 25 wraiths made patrols and marked waypoints as Epsilon advanced, and the group has three Behemoth-class battlecruisers and eight valkyries. Five hulking and lumbering Dominion transports trailed slightly behind the great battlecruisers, and carried aboard a total of twelve marines, four firebats and four ghosts. The group commodore sat back comfortably in his sleek leather armchair, when suddenly, a beep sounded. He passed a casual glance at the display screens, before straightening up. It was a direct transmission from the Dominion capital, Tarsonis. He flicked on the holographic display and saluted smartly.
"Commodore Zim of Battle Group Epsilon reporting, great leader!"
The wizened and aged face of Arcturus gave a wan smile, and the holographic image spoke.
"At ease, soldier. We have had a bit of... trouble in the Outer Rim, and some investigations are in line there. I believe that you are the nearest battle group to TORS-8?"
Commodore Zim signalled to his ensign, and the ensign replied with a smart salute. He put on his headset, and punched a few keys into the system. Before long, a list of information streamed onto the screen and revealed Epsilon's proximity to TORS-8. The ensign flicked his head and nodded to Zim.
"Leader, you are absolutely right. What orders do you have?" Zim enquired questioningly. Whatever did he ever want with an Outer Rim planet? There's more, I'm sure... His thought process was interrupted as Mengsk spoke in a firm and authoritarian manner.
"I know you are puzzled as to why I'm concerned over such a trivial planet. It is because of the distressing reports I had received from Convoy Group 1555, who reported the mining colony on the planet to be burnt to the ground with no survivors. Later on, the convoy leader admitted not getting in for a closer look, but all this atrocities point towards the Zerg. It could not have been Raynor and his ragtag bunch of raiders, as they're too humane and benevolent to raze the colony."
"I understand, leader." Zim replied without hesitation.
"I want your battle group to investigate the scene thoroughly. It may not be the workings of the Zerg, but to be on the safe side, put your men on their highest alerts and set up a defensive perimeter IMMEDIATELY after you landed on that rock. Do you get me?" Mengsk whispered, as Zim felt the uneasy tension and weight of his speech.
"Yes, leader."
Time: Approximately three weeks after the attack on the Terran mining colony
Location: Protoss High Council, Aiur.
Two Protoss figures hunched forward, looking down on a glowing coral blue hologram of TORS-8. A solitary blinking ruby red dot blinked incessantly on the hologram, reporting the exact location of the Protoss observer on that planet. One of the Protoss figures straightened up, his cloak billowing slightly with his movements, his face covered with a sash. The other Protoss remained hunched, staring at his own silhouette. He wore the emblem of a Praetor, though he didn't felt particularly like a praetor in that moment.
Zeratul sighed, his glowing eyes dimming for a slight moment. "Hopefully my premonitions are wrong, exalted one." He turned and looked out of the archaic yet intricately carved windows.
Praetor Artanis, the beloved leader and saviour of the Protoss, looked up at Zeratul. He chuckled bitterly and lamented, "It has only been a few decades since the Brood Wars... now another war of such may possibly occur. Are you sure that Kerrigan is reviving her broods for another offensive against us? It has been a while since she had reared her ugly head in any known sightings of Zerg."
"It's only my premonition, exalted one. I cannot guarantee you the truth, but it is in the interests of the Templars and the Judicators to nip the Zerg problem in the bud before it gets any worse... before it gets any more catastrophic." Zeratul whispered quietly.
Artanis nodded dumbly and stared pensively downwards again. Aiur... the Aiur that I resurrected... Are you and your inhabitants ready to fight the dark evil that threatens our existence once more? Are the Protoss mentally and physically prepared to fight?
He found no answer, and it was unsettling and troubling.
Time: Approximately four weeks after the attack
Location: TORS-8
The first transports landed on the ground, disgorging all infantry units. Marines shouted orders and commands here and there, and the site where the four brave marines had perished suddenly came alive with activity and noise. Marines and Firebats scuttled around like ants, setting up temporary neosteel barricades and emplacing rapid pulse guns and ion cannons. The ghosts generally stood away from the crowd, polishing their canister rifles and scouting the vicinity for enemy presences. The heavier transports from the battlecruisers landed in the defense perimeter, and a total of eight vultures, four goliaths and two siege tanks lumbered out into the open. The siege tanks deployed, their arclite shock cannons glinting in the sunlight. The highly mobile vultures zipped around the perimeter, dropping spider mines as they moved. The towering goliath combat walkers joined their ghost comrades on their recon patrols, providing much needed anti-air support. The last aircraft to touch down on the surface was a science vessel, and out stepped two medics and scientists.
There was little room left for discussion after the general diagnosis of the dead marines and creatures just outside the torn open gates of the colony. Anybody could identify a zerg, thanks to the propaganda efforts of both the fallen Confederacy and the new Dominion. Even the remorseless marines felt disgust when they saw the mutilated and mauled marines in the destroyed bunkers. The presence of a dead and rotting ultralisk signified the immense danger presented on this remote planet. A tank sargeant was relaying the information back to Commodore Zim when a ghost spoke metallically through the all-channels comm link.
"Enemy presence at two o'clock. Expect a mass of enemy units no lesser than that of a Terran army at full strength. Recon squads to return back to the perimeter to aid in the defense. Over and out."
The transmission made was clear and calm, but the primary reaction to the news was definitely not. General mayhem and pandemonium broke out as units scrambled to their positions, constantly strengthening their defenses. It was the only thing to do till the enemy arrived. Overhead, the fleet of wraiths and valkyries jostled into positions, while the battlecruisers took up posts at nine o'clock, twelve o'clock and three o'clock of the perimeter.
Up in the command bridge of the lead battlecruiser, Zim cursed under his breath as ensigns and fleet officers ran here and there co-ordinating the combat activation sequences of the flying behemoths. He looked into the distance and irritably glared at the seething mass of Zerg. He can only hope to ride this out as best as he can... if not, he'll perish honourably in the name of the Dominion.
Klaxons blared as the marines double checked the pulse guns and ion cannons. Firebats experimented with the retrofitted perdition flamethrowers, making sure that their only weapons do not fail them in the worst of times. Tank sargeants fixed their crosshairs on the ever-nearing zerg hordes and fingered the fire buttons. Goliaths whirred their twin autocannons and opened the hatches to the hellfire missiles. The ghosts jumped over the barricades just in time before the activation of the spider mines, locking their canister rifles at the zerg hordes. Zim's husky voice growled over the comm link.
"All ground units, fire only on my command. Do not waste ammo when the fleet commences its preliminary bombardment."
The Terrans gritted their teeth and endured the increasingly near screeches and roars of the Zergs. With a low humming sound, the three battlecruisers powered up their yamato cannons. Wih three huge blasts of anti-matter energies, the entire front section of the Zerg mass lay disintegrated, leaving behind three huge blast craters. The wraiths sprung into action, zipping here and there, crippling the Zerg and slowing down the advance of the hordes.
Kerrigan bared her teeth angrily and psionically sent commands for her mutalisks and devourers to attack the terran fleet from the rear. This was dutifully executed, as wraiths scrambled back to defend the potentially vulnerable battlecruisers. Halo rockets whizzed out of the valkyries and exploded all around the flying zerg menaces and the air battle commenced.
"All ground units, fire at will!"
The storm of gunfire erupted almost instantenously after the command, and everything within five hundred feet of the perimeter became mobile targets. Hydralisks shot acidic spines as they charged forward, while zerglings closed in on the firing infantry. The arclite shock cannons open fire, and there was not a need for accuracy at all. Fire and forget soon became the motto for the tank sargeants. The cannon fire took out groups of Zerg while the ghosts sniped from excellent vantage points with their canister rifles. Spider mines blew up more Zerg and the fragmentation grenades from the vultures disabled and maimed even more. The first wave of Zerg breasted against the perimeter, as zerglings jumped on firing marines. Overhead, the air battle raged on.
Devourers melted wraiths with acid spores, while the glave wurms spat out of the mutalisks punched holes in the battlecruisers. The burst laser batteries onboard the battlecruisers fired, scything down anything organic. Gemini missiles and halo rockets filled the skies, destroying their intended targets. Mutalisks rammed valkyries with animalistic intensity, while the wraiths entangled themselves with the devourers. It was chaos in the skies, with zerg parts falling to the ground and wrecked aircraft plummeting.
Marines struggled with the zerglings, fending off claws and replying with furious swings of their gauss rifles. Claws punctured armor, while gun butts bashed out carapaces. Firebats tussled with the ultralisks, and the ghosts and hydralisks played hide-and-seek with one another. Opportunistic goliaths simply swept the ground with autocannon fire, and vultures took to crushing the defilers. Plague killed both terrans and zergs, and the tides of war ebbed back and forth between the two battling races. Slowly but surely, the terrans were being decimated without replacements, while the zerg replaced every fallen broodling with three or more. Medics tried their best to rescue their fallen, but were helpless without proper equipment. The terran defense line slowly began caving in and disintegrating.
Things did not bode well for the terran fleet. Two battlecruisers went down with multiple hull breaches and the presence of a lone figure in the distance almost destroyed the flagging terran morale. Kerrigan definitely knew when to make an appearance, and where it counts most. She grinned viciously, enjoying the carnage and destruction caused by her broods. Victory was sweet.
The last firebat went down with a kaiser blade sticking out of him, and all that remained of the terran forces were a lone battlecruiser, three valkyries, ten wraiths, two goliaths and four marines. A marine locked in mortal combat with a zergling finally got the upper hand and kicked the zergling off before pumping it full with lead. Four acid spines streaked through the air and embedded themselves in the marine, dropping him as he tried to retreat. Just when things seemed bleak and the Dominion forces resigned themselves to their fates, eight squadrons of 96 wraiths sped in out of nowhere with the colours and patterns of Raynor's Raiders.
"Hello boys, need some help here? Kerrigan is the common enemy here, and I'm here to destroy her, and not you. Firing at me will just seal your fates to either death or infestation." Raynor curtly spoke through the Dominion comm link.
The sudden appearance of so many wraiths gravely upset Kerrigan's plan. Her broods were in no position then and there to counter the new threats, and the nearest forces she could muster were more than fifty miles away. She hissed at the new wraiths, noting the peculiar designs. Hmm... this isn't Dominion reinforcements, it's possibly that of some space pirates. Could it be... Jim Raynor? Kerrigan cast one longing glance at the lead wraith and retreated.
The battle ended with an inconclusive terran victory, as the leaderless Zerg were left to their devices without Kerrigan. The Dominion remnants simply stood back as the Zerg turned on each other, ripping and mutilating. It was a simple matter of mopping up the few Zerg which survived the cannibalism. The enigmatic Jim Raynor and his squadrons of wraiths had mysteriously disappeared after the combat, leaving Commodore Zim a puzzled but grateful man.
In the orbit, the Protoss observer silently recorded the entire battle down, relaying the horrifying news back to Aiur.
Author's note: I am greatly spurred on by the comments by the reviewers, and will definitely try my best to write more to present to the public. I thank the reviewers for their comments, and will rectify any errors made. Till then, please support my story. Thanks.