Danny's skull smashed intensely against the battle worn turf. Blood cascaded from his mouth, nostrils, eyes, ears, and most noticeably a gaping bullet hole in his skull. A muttered battle cry from the divergent rebels showed their triumphal satisfaction for the death of Bishop.
With their leader dead, Danny's squad lost focus and began to fall back to the edge of the cliff. One man stayed behind, kneeling over his fallen comrade, brother, and friend.
"Damnit!" he yelled. "Danny, I told you if any one of us dies first it was gonna be me! Get up!"
Rook's eyes pulsed with tears, which rolled to his crimson painted face. His right hand grasped a cluster of dirt and he made a tight fist as if trying to grind the rich soil in to dust. As he loosened his grip, allowing the soft soil to slip through his fingers he spoke once more.
"What am I gonna do, Danny!" Anger swelled through him as thoughts of him parting with his brother invaded his thoughts. "Why the hell did you leave me? You should have waited until I got here."
Rook's left hand, which held Danny's dropped to his side. A rifle barrel pressed hard against the back of his skull, rendering him speechless.
A rugged voice behind him addressed him accordingly, "So, marine, what army are you with?"
Rook remained silent.
"Silent, huh? Well how about I make that a permanent notion?"
"Piss off"
Rook felt the barrel press closer to his brain. His instincts withheld him and he closed his eyes. Rook could hear several ships, perhaps the wraiths, part the haze filled sky. He could almost see them, but they began to fade away. His breathing intensified and he choked. Unconsciousness soon followed and became him.
"So why are you here, Jack?" Sayne asked not even yet seeing his opponents face. It was, perhaps, that Sayne was beginning to mature. He didn't quite think so; a good soldier wouldn't have hurt his own comrade. He had never got rid of his anger for the Cell Administrators. His life had been amiss and he sought a way to rid himself of the deep pit in his soul.
"Sayne, it's good to see you again!" a distant voice called out.
"Jack, where's Amy?" Sayne asked hesitantly.
"Gone…a traitor." A figure answered merging from the shadows. "It's been a long time, Sayne. You've grown. Hah! A general! That's quite an accomplishment. I commend you on your rise to the top." The man said.
"Jack, tell me; where the hell is Amy!" Sayne yelled.
Jack sighed, " I told you…she's a traitor."
"Jack from the look of it you are my enemy too…now where is she at?" Sayne asked again.
"She's working for them now!" Jack replied.
"The rebels?" Sayne asked growing impatient.
Jack laughed madly, "Hah hah hah heh heh! T-The rebels! The rebels! Oh I don't think so! She's working for the enemy of not just you! But all of the god damn Terran civilization!" Jack's speech stuttered as in both excitement and fear. Sayne had no choice but to believe Jack's madness. Sure anxiety had obviously taken its toll over Jack, but Sayne knew that the man still would not lie. Sayne didn't quite know how, but Amy was now working for the menace of space, the Zerg.
"What can we do when the Zerg arrive on our door steps…" Jack said questionably.
Sayne closed his eyes in thought, it was well known that the Zerg were advancing on the Confederacy's lines, and it was just a matter of time before they overthrew the Terran Armada. His thoughts turned to another race…could they help?
"There is another race…" Sayne started.
"No way!" Jack roared. "They may be enemies of the Zerg, but they are still mortal enemies of the Terran!"
"We have no choice!" Sayne interjected. "If we can't gain the aid of the Protoss then there is no hope for us!"
"This is madness! Why would the Protoss even care? Even if they did they would just finish us off in the end!" Jack continued to push aside the seemingly impossible task.
"All I need is a chance to ask! It will be hard, I could use someone of your skill with me, but Jack remember that this isn't just about you…it's about the rest of the universe can you save it from extinction? Sayne asked.
Jack paused in thought. Something seemed to be circulating through his thoughts.
"Has something gone wrong?" Sayne asked.
"No! I have an idea!" A smile crossed Jack's face and he began to shake with excitement. "I know of a tribe of Dark Templars who constructed a crusade to persuade the Protoss officials to all with the Terran Confederacy. This pack of Templars were banished from Aiur, Protoss home world. They were charged with heracy to the Protoss Empire. If we can find those templars, we can rally other protoss forces as well."
"It sounds good, but we don't know where the templars are. They could be anywhere!" Sayne argued.
"Not quite." Jack bitterly laughed. "I know a friend on Sheranole II that has reports of a sighting of a pack of Dark Templar."
"That's great!" Sayne smiled. "That's not to far from here either!"
It seemed that Jack had been swayed from his temporary madness. Jack
Now looked normal and appeared to be in deep thought. His appearance, on the other hand was very poor. He was covered in filth and light coat of fuzz covered his chin.
"Ok, we should go." Sayne suggested.
"Go get three of your best men." Jack had said. Sayne traveled back to where he had left his party. They gave him a dismal stare. He sighed and explained the whole situation. He explained how he would have to choose three soldiers to go with him and Jack to Sheranole II.
"So who are you choosing?" Ripper asked.
"It's tough but I have my choices." Sayne said. "Ripper I need you to come as a scout seeing that Shadow is incapable. That brings me to my next point. Since Shadow has been downed, Bren I need you to get him to a medics facility." Sayne paused, "That only leaves Spade and Nagi."
When Sayne saw that there where no objections, he radioed in for evac.
When the dropship arrived Sayne discussed the battle situation with his team. It appeared that both Bishop's and half of Rook's forces were casualties. Bishop was dead, and Rook was in critical condition.
On the positive side, Knight's forces had managed to maintain the hostile situation and liberate the struggling remains of Rook's forces. In turn, Knight's platoon had also managed to surround the enemy's main outpost. It was then that Sayne decided that it was best to leaves corporal Kaleb Basey, Rook, in charge.
Late in the day the dropship arrived at starport 24. Bren and Shadow, as ordered, stayed aboard the dropship to be transported to a medical facility.
It was hard for Sayne to part with her again, but his rank came between his feelings. He had to fulfill the mission at all costs. Sayne, Jack, Ripper, Spade, and Nagi entered the starport and went to the main info desk. A middle-aged woman sat behind the desk, her facial features were dark and almost ailing.
"Is there something the matter?" Spade asked the woman.
The woman looked towards Spade as if she were out of her mind. The woman tried to speak but fumbled with her words.
"Ma'am?" asked Saynebaffled.
The woman finally straitened up and said, "Haven't you heard? The Zerg have entered the system."