Chapter 3: First Strike

The sounds of war have long since passed and the silent and stillness of the atmosphere around me creates an eerie effect that would keep any grown man on his toes. Of course I am not on my toes, let alone on my feet. I lay quietly as robotic arms repair my mauled body in the med bay. I became fully conscious around five minutes ago and have to be still until the robots have finished mending my injuries so that they won't slip and cause my body to be disfigured. Since some parts of my body have been damaged beyond the power of self-healing and stitches I get brand new flash cloned organs and new metal bone fragments that will hold my skeleton together. I try to glance around the room I am in without disturbing the machines. I notice that my body has been taken to a med bay, which is not all that fancy, more of a makeshift medical bay than a pre-established one with rejuvenation tanks and everything. This one has no tanks and looks to be 2 operating tables with the basic robot mechanics.

A light on a machine next to be blinks green and the robots halt there work and rear back to let the patient out. I slowly get to my feet and stretch out my newly repaired body. I look down at my scars; one went from the left of my belly button to the edge of my nipple. The other ran from to top of my arm to the bottom of it. I walk over to the closet and pick up my fatigues that have my name embroidered on them and put them on. I walk out of the med bay and right into the makeshift barracks. Men lay around, some hurt, others relaxing reading magazines and books, some talking to each other, some practicing take down moves. I walk over to the nearest marine who is laying down reading a book. As I walk over he immediately sits up and salutes me. Normally, a civilian wouldn't be saluted, but I guess I am not a civilian any more.

"Why hello sir, my name is PFC Mendez. The Sergeant told me to look after you and to show you around our new complex," the soldier says. I have many questions for the private and was unsure where to start when he opens his mouth again.

"Sir, the place you're in right now is the General Infantry Barracks, You just exited the Medical Bay and I can show you around the rest of the campus shortly if you wish."

"Why do you keep calling me sir," I asked.

"All that the Sergeant told me was that you were some specialist and that once you were moving that I escort you to the comm. room for briefing on our next moves."

"Well where is the comm. room?"

"I'll show you." The private starts to walk and turns to see if I was going to follow so I start off after him.

"So where are we anyway?"

"This is the new military complex that we traveled to after the aliens attacked. The complex's old name was Omega Outpost, but we all call it New Refuge." The private turns right onto another corridor and then turns and opens a door. The door leads to a small conference room with a large table in the middle and chairs all placed around. In the front of the room is a large projection screen with a map of some sort on it. The room is full of men; most of them high-ranking officials and the others are all Sergeants.

"Glad you could join us," a man in the corner states. Immediately I knew who is speaking. The man could be no one but Beers. I walk over and give him a big hug knowing that other people in the room are now staring at us.

"I thought you didn't make it," I say with slight tears in my eyes. The moment was awkward but I soon get over it. The conference starts and I take a seat in the back as the lights are turned off. A man stands up and walks to the front of the room. I could tell that he is a general from the stance he takes and he then points to the map highlighting certain regions which are the topic of the conference.

"Fellow what we have is very simple and very complicated all in one little neat package," the General says without hesitation. The room is quiet and the men in it are attentive and listen to what the General has to say very closely.

"The simple part is that the Zerg have nestled in for the long run and have created a base outside of our location. Their numbers are estimated to be quite large and they have many resources at their disposal. The complicated part is figuring out how to stop them. If we sit here and wait, their numbers will grow larger and will soon be unstoppable. If we attack, I am unsure that we will be victoriouis or even if we can have a significant effect on their numbers. So here I stand asking you, the great minds of our day, to devise a plan that will stop this infestation from occurring."

His words hit the audience like an atom bomb would hit a city. Many men are befuddled how the Zerg managed to get so strong so quickly; others simply don't know what to do. I take this moment of confusion to think of possibilities that we could use to our advantage. I raise my hand like I was in grammar school and wait to be called on by the General.

"Umm, you in the corner, you have a question or something?" the General asks as if I should just have kept my hand down and stayed quiet.

"I believe that our only option is to attack the enemy as fast as we can because if we delay the assault then their forces will grow and sooner or later we won't be able to stop them. We might be able to decimate them if we strike now, but if we wait we will never be able to stop them." My words resonate crisp and clear. Not a person in the room can argue that I am wrong in what I have stated. The General ponders a moment and then says.

"Who are you soldier?" Just as he finishes his question, Beers stands up to talk.

"He is with me sir. I brought him in because I thought he would be of some use in the hard times ahead."

"Well I like his idea so we are going to run with it." The General's words are clear; he now has a strategy and can move in the right direction. I can tell that the chain of command is on shaky ground now that civilization has collapsed. I leave the room while the leaders get into the details of the attack. Beers follows me out and we sit in the hall.

"Good job in there, now we can put together a force to stop the infestation that has occurred."

"It doesn't matter what we do today, doesn't even matter at all. All that I know is that one attack won't win the war here. It is the right decision, but I can see the many faces on the men after they win when another force of aliens twice as strong counters our efforts with a full-fledged annihilation of our base." Beers looks down as his shoes as I speak. I know how he feels, his eyes wander and I feel deep sorrow flow from his body.

"When the time comes, I will be there for you. I will not let you fall and I will not let the men in my squad fall either." His words feel like bombshells hitting me. He knows we are all going to die and hates to admit it to himself or anyone else.I walk away from him and return to the barracks. From there I ask the same marine I talked to earlier where my suit is being kept. He points me off into the direction through the med bay to the armory. As I walk down the hallway that leads to the armory, I think about what Beers had said and wonder if the time he fears most will actually come. At a time when my life is in his hands, will he falter and kill us all or will he be the savior that was needed, I ask myself Beers is known for his emotions overwhelming him; I just hope that these emotions make him do the correct thing. I reach the armory and I walk up to the counter where a person sits and reads an old magazine of some sort.

"I am looking for my suit, when my body was being repaired my suit was taken off."

"Do you remember your suit identification number?"

" I think it's a 73C41 model." The person types in the model number into the database and looks at the screen reading something.

"Today is your lucky day. There is only one suit with the model number 73C41 and it is in bay 4, which is right down the hall. Here is your key to access the room with your suit in it. Would you like any help putting it on?"

"No I am fine, thanks anyway." I walk down the hallway to the door with the corresponding number that is imprinted on the card key given to me. Room 432, 432 come on where is it. I find the room after 20 minutes of searching. It wasn't in bay 4 it was in bay 14. I reach the door and slide the card key through the pad. The door lock clicks and a green light blinks letting me know I can open the door now. I walk into the room, if that's what one would call it. It was more like a broom closet. My suit stood on a rack facing the door; the suit had been repaired and looked as good as new. I activate the start procedures and jump into the suit and take off. On my way out of the armory I take a turn into the weapons department. I look over the weapon stash and grab a C-14 Impaler rifle with extra ammo clips. I sling the rifle of my back and grab a standard issue 9mm pistol and put it in its holster. I look at the other weapons and decide that a belt of grenades will be helpful and attach them to my waist. Along with those weapons I grab an infantry personnel Anti-Aircraft launcher with 2 missiles. I un-sling my rifle and attach the launcher and rockets to my back. I load the rifle and move out.

The General announces over the comm. that we are moving out in two hours and that all men have specific orders from the commanders. Everyone is bustling about in pandemonium as they prepare for the assault many have been waiting for. I walk back to the barracks already done with my preparations and help with the heavy lifting. Beers walks in and announces that we are going to be stationed in the front and we are being called upon to line up and prepare to strike.

I follow the rest of the squad outside and we are told where to go by a traffic director. The men form a line and I stand outside it not knowing what part I play in all of this. Beers walks out and looks at me strangely.

"Get in line so we can get ready for orders." He says with no happiness in his voice. I walk to the end of the row and stand at the ready.

"Men, today is a day that we will all remember. Today we will strike the Zerg with such force that they will tremble the next time they hear our name. Our orders is to secure and protect a strip of land east of the Zerg base and wait for the artillery to arrive and setup. We must secure that strip so that we can get artillery on the board, which will even the odds. The 118th marine squad and their partners in crime, the 123rd marine squad, will accompany us into battle. Our 3 squads will form the Beta Division, which will be the deciding factor in this war." His words are thrown out and the men gobble them up. They are ready for revenge, they all want blood. The General issues the order and our men begin their march towards the rendezvous spot where we will meet up with the 118th and the 123rd. The spot is approximately eight clicks north of our current position.

As we begin the trek some men are saying prayers, some chat with each other on their comm. channels, others just are silent as they walk towards doomsday. We reach the rendezvous location in a mere 55 minutes, the 118th and 123rd are already waiting for us as we arrive. The Sergeants talk over the game plan as the rest load weapons and check ammo supplies of weapons. One of the Sergeants walks over to a man who is praying and slaps him upside the head telling him he is jinxing us.

"Alright you lazy sacks of shit, get ready 'cause we 'bout to hit hell with our hardest," the leading Sergeant screams. The men scream in reply and I am wondering if the Zerg heard us yet. The strip of land we must take is only a quarter mile away. I can see movement around some of the buildings that the Zerg have erected. A purple mat extends out in all directions and when we step on it, the mat almost seems alive because flexes under our pressure. We begin to walk towards one of the buildings with our weapons drawn. Suddenly one of the buildings comes alive and shoots a tentacle down into the ground. The tentacle the races underground and shoots up at the nearest marine. The marine instantly is decapitated from the blow and falls over in a pile of blood. The other marines answer back with volley of spikes from their rifles. The bullets hit the attacking building and actually puncture it. The building begins to bleed and soon explodes from the never-ending wave of rounds. The building managed to take three other brave marines with it before it collapsed.

The marines, who are now at caution as hey approach other building. The building doesn't attack as we get near and some marines fire their rifles anyways. The building begins to bleed, but before we can destroy it the Zerg make their move. Five of the serpent Hydralisks move out from cover of a building. Their midsection opens up and out of it launches an array of deadly projectiles. Instantly three marines crumble to the ground. I answer with my rifle, the recoil shaking in my hands. I manage to hit a Hydralisk and it fall over dead. Other marines answer my call with more fire onto the Hydras. The remaining four explode into a bloody pile from a marine's grenade launcher.

Some marines cheer but are cut short when a pack of twenty Zerglings rise up from the ground, obviously burrowed there and charge us. They waited until we got close enough to un-burrow. I drop my rifle and reach for a grenade on my belt. I prime the grenade and toss it at the closest Zergling. The grenade sticks and the Zergling explodes along with five others. The remaining Zerglings continue their assault and devour any marine that gets close enough. To my left five marines line up with their rifles aimed and unleash all they got. Under the massive pelting of fire, the Zerglings fall back and flee the battle taking heavy casualties. We continue our march and destroy every building in our path. We receive no resistance from the Zerg and we clean the strip of land clean. We figure the Zerg are too busy elsewhere fighting our comrades to worry about our little mission.

The Sergeants meet and together they call in to HQ and announce that they area is clear and it is ready for artillery to arrive. The marines sit around as the Sergeants talk over our next moves. I count that was lost twelve marines in our little skirmish. I look over at a group of marines that are standing laughing at jokes. Strangely one of them falls over gasping as if he is injured. His friends bend over and try to talk to him. Another marine falls over also gasping. I stand up and look around for potential snipers. Then I look at the marines again, they drew the attention of the Sergeants. I see a shimmer swirling around the marines and remember what happened the last time I saw that shimmer. I drop to one knee and shoulder my rifle and send out a burst to the shimmer. The figure instantly begins solid and falls to the ground. It appears to be a blade warrior that we fought previously. I look around if there are anymore and see a large group of shimmers. I quickly set my rifle to full auto and unleash rounds at the shimmers. The marines see what I am doing and help out with some firepower. Figures become solid and fall and the entire group uncloaks and charges. Marines answer this with all they got. The remaining warriors fall and we do not lose a single soldier to the small skirmish. I wonder if this was just a scout force. The Sergeant ends my thoughts and gives us the all-clear signal.

"Listen up you dumbasses. HQ says that we are finished here and our next mission is to cause a distraction so that our friends can attack the Hive without any forces stationed there. We have been sent 3 SCV (Space Construction Vehicles) to build us some defensives placements if needed. I spoke to the other Sergeants and we believe that if we attack and draw there forces back to our defenses that we can distract them long enough for our boys on the other side to do their job." He spoke with a booming voice and everyone listened intently. Immediately the 3 SCVs get to work building bunkers and defensive positions. I am stationed to be the one of the few men who will lure the Zerg out of their base and bring them back here. They chose me because I was the fastest and had the lightest armor. I walk to the edge of our defenses and peer out at the base. I use my magnification lens on my suit and look at the base with 10x vision on. I saw thousands of Zerg waiting for something; they were just standing there. I start to walk; I was accompanied by three other men. We had donned our heavy weapons and carried only our rifles. I begin to run and the others run to keep up with me. We reach the outskirts of the Zerg base and look at the army that is assembled there. The army just stares at us, tempting us, urging us to come within their range. Most of their army was made up of Zerglings with only about a couple of hundred Hydralisks. Who was I kidding - we can't take even a hundred Hydralisk. I shoulder my rifle and open fire on their ranks. Five Zerglings fall, which isn't even a dent in their numbers. They begin to march towards us. We begin to fall back but we don't stop firing. Ten, fifteen, twenty, we keep firing our weapons killing more and more. Finally they get fed up with waiting and full on charge us. I begin to jog still firing behind me, the men with me run without looking back. I scream after them, but it is too late, they are gone. So there I am, luring an entire army of Zerg with only a rifle. My rifle soon runs out of ammo and I throw it at the enemy. It hits a Zergling and cracks its skull open. I unclip the grenade belt and prime all the grenades at once. I throw the belt over my head and the belt hits a Hydralisk. The grenades explode and kill ten Zerg, this did nothing but fuel the fire. The Zerg are almost upon me and all I have left in my arsenal is my pistol. I un-holster the pistol and begin firing it behind my back. The bullets do little but bounce off the carapaces of the infuriated Zerg. I throw the pistol on the ground and begin to sprint. I am no more than 300 meters away from the first line of defenses when the nearest bunker full of marines opens up. Bullets zip by my head and behind me bodies hit the ground. Grenades fly from every direction blowing holes in the Zerg line. I reach the defenses with seconds to spare before the Zerg hit our wall of D. I jump over the bunker wall and run to the makeshift HQ. I spot the lead Sergeant and give him the mission-accomplished signal. I run out of the HQ to the armory, as I reach the front door of the armory I hear explosions erupt on the front defenses. The Zerg have broken through! I sprint into the armory and grab a new rifle along with extra ammo. I have to time to grab anything else because I hear men cry outside from the terror the Zerg are unleashing. I get outside of the armory and run to the nearest bunker. I lie in the prone position on the top of the bunker and begin to lay down the full auto rattle of my gun and blow Zerglings and Hydralisks alike into smithereens. The Zerg filter through the cracks left in-between the bunkers and swirl around the space that was left on purpose between the first and 2nd line of bunkers. The Zerg have been corralled into a small space that the bunkers eventually cut their numbers down and wait for more to fill the gap. I run my gun dry and reload it one last time. I jump down from my position and run around to the gap in our defenses. Many marines lie dead around the gap. This area was the choke point in our defense, if this fell we all fell. I look through the gap and saw a wall of Zerg charge through. Bunkers perched up on either side of the bunker opened up and slaughtered the invaders. I help with the carnage by unloading my rifle into the nearest Hydralisk. With my gun dry I throw it to the ground and pull out my pistol. This is the weak 9mm pistol I had earlier, this gun of a beast is a double barrel 12 gauge sawed off shotgun pistol. Meant for crowd control, this weapon is designed to hit the first target and travel through to the next one. The pistol however only holds 4 rounds, 2 in each barrel. The gun is meant as a last resort when everything else is spent. I grip the pistol with both hands and let of the first round. The gun was pointed at a Hydralisk, but when you are shooting at a wall of enemies, you will always hit something. The round struck a Hydralisk in the chest and went clean through to another Hydralisk. Both creatures fell with the might of one round. Two down two hundred to go. The bunkers help a lot considering that only ten men we are the end of the gap, most with pistols or short range weapons.

I spend all the rounds in the pistol; and dropping it, I sprint over the unmanned stationary AA gun. I jump into the hatch of the turret and spin the gun around to face the oncoming attackers. The guns display screen comes to life and a targeting system comes online. I grasp the controls and unleash a deadly barrage of terror on the creatures remaining in the gap. Instantly the front row of Zerg are liquefied from the non-stop wall of shells hurtling at them. The remaining attackers then get a clue and fall back to safety outside my gun's range. I jump out of the gun and run over to an injured man lying on the ground. Before I could reach him his insides explode and two little Zerg pop out. Not the Zerglings I have faced before but a new terror. These little fellows are about two feet long and have two-foot long spikes protruding from their mouth. They run at me but before they reach me a marine in a bunker opens fire on them and pulverizes them into the ground. I wave a thank you to the marine and quickly think about what to do next.

The ground trembles and I turn around to see a behemoth of a Zerg. The creature must have run straight through the wall of bunkers and crushed any opposition that stood in its way. The creature must have been twenty feet tall and about fifteen feet long. The creature looks to be an oversized elephant with 2 huge scythes as tusks. The beast must be none other than what the marines call an Ultralisk. The Ultralisk charges toward me and I dive out of its path. The thing's speed is way faster than one would think. I turn and face my foe with nothing more than hopes and dreams. I look left and then right for anything I can use. I spot the AA gun I used earlier and wonder if that has enough firepower to put the beast down. With no time to think, I sprint to the AA gun and hop in. I activate the control and hold down both triggers as the target acquiring system becomes active. The roar of the Ultralisk is drowned out with the steady drone of the huge 50mm cannons on the AA gun. The gun blows holes into the creature and after twenty relentless rounds the Ultralisk falls.

I again get out of the gun and look around. The carnage of the Zerg has left our company almost dry of resources and men. The men huddle together as medics tend to wounds and marines carry and stack the dead. I count only thirty-three marines left from a company of close to five hundred. The Zerg backed off finally realizing that their base had fallen and went back to pick up the pieces.

End of Chapter 3