Chapter 3: Alone
Three months had passed since Drake had enlisted in the ranks of the elitist Alpha Squadron. He had finished boot camp two weeks earlier, and was now just beginning to get accustomed to his squad mates. He was currently a Private, the grunt of the Terran army, and as such was not treated with much respect by higher-ranking officers. However, 6 more months of dedicated service would earn him the rank of Private First Class, which was not a huge leap, but still sounded much better to Drake. He was out patrolling the wastelands near Calatash, a small sub-city of Antigion, Antiga Prime's largest city. Not much had been happening over the two weeks he'd been on active duty. Indeed, the amount of enemy activity had almost seemed to drop since he'd enlisted. Drake was only on his third patrol, but he was already getting accustomed to the advanced Marine battle suit that he wore. Loping across the badlands in his powerful armor suit, he felt like some sort of ancient god. The armor must have weighed a ton, but due to his now incredibly muscular physique, and the extremely well-designed power system built into the suit, he was able to move freely within it, as if it were another layer of skin.
During his two and a half month training program, aptly named "Muscle Camp" by the soldiers who'd been through it, Drake had gone through what had seemed at the time like hell. He was put through all sorts of rigorous tests every day, given unhealthy slop to eat, and allowed only four hours a night to rest. After finishing one day of training, and feeling as if he couldn't go on, Drake was forced the very next day to get up and perform even more difficult tasks. Somehow, he survived them, and eventually made it to the final test, the one that all skinnies – that's what the soldiers called new recruits before they'd been through Muscle Camp – had to pass in order to complete Muscle Camp. He took the grueling test three times before he finally passed, and each time it was harder than the last. Drake just barely managed to finish the course his third time through, and was one of six other skinnies to finish camp that week. All seven of them went back to the enlistment tent at the end of the week to pick up their gear. While there, Drake caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He was so surpised that he did a double take, and walked right into one of the posts holding the tent up. As he stood rubbing his head, one of the desk clerks began to laugh.
"They don't call it Muscle Camp for nothin', boy," he said with a grin. "You likin' that new physique of yours?" Drake nodded as he stared into the mirror. His once-skinny arms were now huge tree trunks with massive biceps and thick forearms. His shoulders had nearly doubled in size, and his abdomen and chest were now chiseled and defined. His legs were also larger, with bulging quads and firm calves. "Good! You'll be puttin' it to good use real soon, so prepare yourself!" The clerk grinned again and passed Drake his uniform. Drake could only nod dumbly as he continued to gape at his new body.
As he re-joined his comrades and began to head over to the Barracks for equipment, Drake wondered how he had gained this much muscle in so short a time. He remembered very little of those two and a half weeks besides grueling exercise and excruciating pain. As he probed deeper into his memory, he grasped at a recollection of eating, no, taking something during lunch… pills? Supplements? Drake didn't know, but neither did he care. Whatever had gotten his body to look like this couldn't have been a bad thing. One of the other recruits nudged him, jolting him back to reality. "We're almost at the Barracks," he grunted. "Look alive, huh?" Drake nodded and stiffened his walk, trying to assume perfect militaristic form. He realized that he looked like a cheap wind-up toy, so he loosened his stride slightly, but tried to keep a precise, rhythmic march going.
The first thing the new recruits noticed when they entered the Barracks were several lengthy rows of what appeared to be stasis tubes. "What're those things?" one of the less intelligent recruits asked.
"Those are stasis tubes, soldier," growled a squat, dangerous looking man who had been sitting in the corner. "Now, I'll let you off with a warning this time. In the future, you will speak when spoken to, and only when spoken to, while addressing a senior officer. Do I make myself clear?" he barked.
"Yes, sir!" the recruit squeaked.
"Now, I am Staff Sergeant Nate Menson. I will be formally enlisting you in the Elite Alpha Squadron of the Confederate Fleet. Be proud, soldiers. In a short while, you will step out of those stasis tanks, not just as men, but as newly-enlisted Confederate Marines."
Drake was itching to ask what the stasis tanks were for, but he knew better than to say anything. Instead he just stood and practiced taking orders, as he figured that would be an essential skill for him later in his career. Drake had to mentally smack himself, because Sergeant Menson had been giving orders while he was daydreaming. "..nd step towards the stasis tube closest to you, if you will," he was saying. Drake did his best to improvise and moved over to a stasis tank on the end of a row. "Good," Sergeant Menson continued. "Now, press the small red button on the side of the tank." Drake did so, and was rewarded with a sterile hissing sound issuing from the tube as the glass panel on its front slowly slid out and away from the entrance. "Please step inside the stasis tube," Sergeant Menson dictated.
Drake was so caught up with following directions that he had no time to wonder what this machine would do to him. Before he knew what was happening, the tube had sealed itself shut and a large, tangled mess of wires and tubes had dropped from the ceiling into his face. "Reach out in front of you and locate your oxygen mask," the sergeant's voice crackled over the intercom. "Fasten it around your head, making sure that your mouth and nose are completely covered by the mask. Next, locate the protective goggles housed in the side of your stasis tube and put those on, as well." Drake did so, making sure they were tightly fastened. "Finally, reach out and grab the wires in front of you. Attached to them should be four small nodes. Attach the nodes to your skin as follows: One above the heart, one directly over the stomach, one in the middle of the back, and one below the left lung." Drake placed the four small nodes on his body in the correct positions and waited for his next order.
To Drake's surprise, his tube instead began to fill with a cold blue liquid. "Do not be alarmed," Sergeant Menson's voice droned over the intercom. "The liquid is part of a small testing procedure we must put you through to test your mental ability. You will feel a small prick in the back of your head. This is an instrument that will measure your neural output during the exam. You will also feel a prick in your arm. This is a mild dose of a drug that will make you tired. In order to complete this exam, you must be asleep, so let the drug take its full effects and do your best to fall asleep." As Sergeant Menson was talking, the liquid in the tank slowly rose to his waist and above it. He felt the prick in his arm, and nearly a second later, the prick in the back of his head. Slowly, the effects of the drug began to take effect, and Drake became woozy. He could no longer distinguish Sergeant Menson's individual words, and his last articulate observation before he passed out was that a small headrest had extended to support his head. Drake's mind floated off into deep sleep.
Light shone through a window somewhere in the room, piercing Drake's eyelids and bringing him sharply awake from what felt like one of the best rests he'd ever had in his life. He rolled over, preparing to get up and work in the fields as he usually did. Instead, he bumped into an arm. Opening his eyes wider, what appeared to be a girl came into focus in front of him. Drake started, but then he remembered that it was only his girlfriend, Melanie. She had come over to meet his family for the first time the night before – they had met at a town meeting and had been dating in secret for several months – and had wound up spending the night with him. Feeling a strange, tingling contentment flowing through his whole body, he moved over and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
"Hm?" Melanie mumbled as her sky blue eyes slowly opened. She sat up slowly and brushed back her tangle of flowing blond hair. She turned to look at him, giving him one of her cute smiles. She leaned in slowly and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Morning, cutie," she whispered. Rising from the bed, she walked over to her clothes, draped across a chair in the corner of the room. Drake watched her from the bed, admiring her delicate, graceful movements and beautiful, attractive body. She had caught his eye not just for her toned, firm body and beautiful facial features, but for her keen wit and startling intellect. Drake had never expected to meet someone like Melanie living in his own town, and he could say without a doubt that his relationship with Melanie was one of love at first sight. He enjoyed being with her more than anything else in the world, and hoped that they would never be separated.
Melanie turned to look at him as she dressed herself, and caught him staring at her. She grinned, chastising him lightly. "Can't a girl get a little privacy around here?"
Drake smiled back at her and rested his head against his pillow. Melanie walked over to him and kissed him again. "I really enjoyed last night, Drake. I really, really did!" she exclaimed, continuing to caress and stroke his face. "I wish for all the world that I could stay longer, but I have to go before the rest of your family wakes up." She kissed him again and tears began to well up in her eyes. "I hope we can see each other again soon," she sniffed.
"Mel," Drake breathed as he sat up. "Mel, c'mon, you're just going back to your home. I'll come over later this week to see you, okay? Please don't get sad like this, you're too beautiful to be in tears." Drake wore a concerned expression on his face, and he drew Melanie close in a warm embrace. "I love you, Mel, and I promise that I'll see you again real soon, okay?"
Melanie sniffed. "I love you too, Drake," she whispered. "I love you more than I can express in words, and I never want to be separated from you." She sniffed again, and then wiped her eyes. A smile danced across her face, and she kissed him one last time. "You're right, though," she said, getting up from the bed and dancing over to the corner to finish getting dressed. "I'm only going back home, and we'll see each other later this week! It's going to be hard, but I'll wait for you, Drake, I promise."
Melanie began to walk out the door, but Drake rose from his bed and called out softly. "Melanie," he said. She turned from the door to look at him and he walked towards her. "I love you, Melanie," Drake said as he wrapped her in a warm embrace.
"I love you too, Drake," Melanie replied sincerely. As Drake released from their embrace, Melanie pivoted quickly and trotted out the door, leaving Drake with the same feeling of contentness that he had woken up with.
Moving over to his dresser, Drake rummaged through several piles of clothing until he found something that he decided was suitable for him to wear on such a fine morning. Stopping for a moment to assure himself that he wasn't dreaming, Drake looked out the window and was just barely able to make out a small speck moving off to the west, towards what he knew to be Melanie's home. Until we meet again, fair maiden, he thought to himself. Pulling on his clothes, Drake walked out into the kitchen to find his mother preparing breakfast. "Good morning, Drake," she chirped. "You look like you slept well."
"I did, mom," he replied. "Are dad and James up yet?" Drake hovered over the stove, trying to see what his mother was cooking for breakfast.
"Oh, I don't think they're awake just yet. They stayed up for a little while last night listening to the local news. Did you have fun with your girlfriend last night, dear?" She asked, while nearly burning the ingredients for a dish she made at least once a week. Drake noticed the rather strange mishap, but hashed it up to his mother being tired.
"Yes, I did, mom. I was really glad that you guys finally got to meet her. I never intended to hide the relationship from you, it's just that you had so many other things to worry about at the time; we thought it would be best if we kept our relationship to ourselves for the time being. I'm going over to meet her family in a couple of nights."
"That's nice, dear. She seems like a very kind young lady, and very pretty too. Do you think she's the one, Drake?"
Taken aback by the directness of his mother's question, Drake stuttered for a moment. "Well, I, uh- you see, um-"
"Drake, just answer my question."
"Well, I don't know, mom. We've only been dating for a few months, and-"
"Drake, do you love her?"
Knowing that he wasn't going to weasel his way out of answering her question, Drake admitted defeat. "Yes, mom, I do love her. I don't want to rush into things, but this is the most intense feeling I've ever experienced in my life. It's like a rush, and it began the moment I first met her. I love her, mom, and she loves me."
Drake's mother nodded knowingly. "Yes, your father and I were like that when we were young. It certainly seems like you've found the one, Drake. Well, I'm happy for you. I hope everything goes well with her family, although you're such a charmer that you really don't have to worry at all." She winked at him and went back to cooking.
Drake shook his head and walked over to the cabinet. Grabbing a small cup from a shelf, he filled it with water from the sink and took a long draught. Placing the cup on the kitchen table, he pulled up a chair and sat down. Just then, his brother James walked in and flicked on the shortwave transmitter. "Morning, bro," Drake mumbled, but he was silenced by James' finger as he listened intently to the radio. Drake leaned in, trying to catch a wisp of what James was listening to.
"..eatures everywhere," Drake heard. "They are..ghtering the Conf..ate forces and ra..ing through the str..Antigion," the shortwave crackled.
"What's going on, James?" Drake asked.
James sighed deeply and sat down at the table. He looked solemnly at Drake before he began speaking. "Drake, last night dad and I heard a report over the shortwave of strange alien beings attacking a Confederate outpost. We didn't think much of it then, and we didn't want to scare you or mom, so we didn't say anything. We did spend some time prepping the SCV and loading up the Gauss Rifles, though. I wasn't going to tell you until dad woke up, but I think you should know. You heard what the reporter on the transmitter. There's an alien invasion force attacking Antigion, and they're going to be here soon. We have to get ready, Drake."
"An alien invasion force?" Drake exclaimed. "Oh, no, I have to warn Melanie!" Drake began to run out the door before the stern voice of his father brought him to a screeching halt.
"You'll do no such thing, Drake! Melanie's family is plenty bright enough to find out about this on their own, and we need you here." Drake's father walked in and stood facing him, hot embers glowing in his eyes. "Don't make this harder than it has to be, Drake."
Just then, a faint buzzing reached their ears from the west, and the entire family turned to stare out the window as the buzzing grew louder. A dust cloud appeared in the distance, and all three men ran outside to get a better look. James rushed to the shed to grab the Gauss Rifles while Drake and his father waited in anxious anticipation. The buzzing grew into a sharp whine as the object moved closer, and Drake suddenly snapped his fingers. "It's a Vulture, dad! I'd recognize that engine any day! Boy, whoever's riding that thing is really gunning it," he commented.
As if to punctuate Drake's remark, the Vulture came rocketing past them at a speed that must have been greater than 200 miles per hour. Swerving sharply, the Vulture returned to their house and slowed to a stop. The rider took off his helmet and smiled warmly at them. "Didn't see you on the first pass, boys. When you're goin' that fast, it's hard to distinguish the terrain from everythin' else. Lucky I had this little cutie to point the spot out to me," he chuckled.
Drake peered behind the strange man to see Melanie sitting as gracefully as possible on the back of the Vulture. Extremely unnerved by the high-speed lift, she looked ashen and ready to vomit. Drake rushed over to her and helped her off of the bike. Stepping forward, Drake's father addressed the rider. "Excuse my asking, but who might you be, and why have you brought this young lady to our estate?" he inquired.
The man smiled. "Why, I'm Ben Gilford, Marshall around these here parts. I found Miss Melanie here walkin' on over the plains off to the west of here. I asked her where she was goin', and she said that she was headin' to her house, a good eight or ten miles off. I asked her if there was anywhere closer she could be headin', and she mentioned your place to me, sayin' it was about four miles back. I suggested to her that I give her a lift so as to make the trip quicker, and she agreed, though she was curious as to why. By the look o' your son holdin' the rifles over there, I'd say you already know, so I'll leave the explainin' to you. Now, I've got to finish my patrol, so I'll wish you safe passage and give you this here broadcast protocol. That's the central hub for the local defense network, you can wire a message in there and we'll have someone out here to help right quick. Take care, all of you! Especially you, cutie," he said with a wink. Melanie blushed ever so slightly and giggled as he mounted his Vulture and rocketed off into the badlands once again.
Everyone began talking at once. "Are you alright?" Drake inquired.
"What was that guy talking about?" Melanie asked carefully.
"What's Melanie doing back here, son?" Drake's father asked.
"When's breakfast gonna be ready?" James whined.
They decided it would be best if they all went back inside and talked it through over breakfast. Drake hugged Melanie tightly and began to walk with her towards the door. As they were about to enter the house, Drake happened to glance off to the east, in the direction of Antigion, and what he saw froze him with horror. "Drake, what is it?" Melanie asked, sensing his fear.
"Uh.. It.. uh.. look that way," he said, pointing off to the east. Following his finger, Melanie gazed off into the east for several seconds. Her eyes grew wide and she slowly drew in a deep breath.
"Wh.. What is that?" she breathed.
"That… would be the alien invasion force," James said. He tossed a rifle to Drake and his father, and then ran off himself to activate the SCV.
"Drake, what's going on?" Melanie asked anxiously.
"Melanie, I want you to go inside, and take my mother into the back room, and lock the door. No matter what happens, don't come out of that room, okay?" It took every ounce of will left in Drake's body to force out those words, but he knew it was what had to be done. There was no way the three men could fight off the horde charging across the badlands, but Drake would pile corpses around the doorframe before he allowed one creature to touch a strand of hair on Melanie's beautiful head. As she hurried inside, Drake glanced over at his father. "This is it, huh, dad?" Drake quipped nervously.
"Yes, son, I guess it is," his father replied dejectedly. James came out from the shed suited up in the SCV, and they made their final preparations. Drake estimated that they had approximately three minutes until the first wave reached them, so they decided to say a short prayer before the creatures attacked. After spending a moment in silence, Drake and his father and brother stood up and prepared to look death in the face.
They didn't have to wait long, as the first wave of Zerglings came crashing through their outlying fields within seconds of the ending of their prayer. Drake and his father began unloading rounds from their Gauss Rifles, the small, spike-shaped projectiles tearing straight through the small, dog-like creatures. To all three men's horror, the creatures did not fall even after 15 direct hits. "These things take more ammo than Rhynadons!" James yelped.
"Doesn't matter, pump 'em full of lead!" Drake yelled back. As the Zerglings drew close, James fired up the SCV's fusion cutter and moved up in front of his father and brother. The Zerglings seemed almost suicidal in their lust for battle, hurling themselves against the SCV in an attempt to crack its armor or damage its weapons. James did his best to get the creatures off of the armored suit, but there were too many. The suit went down under their weight, and they began to tear the plating away. Drake saw his brother go down, and began to blast the Zerglings on top of the craft. This gave James time to escape through the back, carrying the last Gauss rifle. He joined the others, and they continued their brave defense.
They were only three men, though, and no matter how strong or talented or determined they were, they could not win. Slowly, the horde of creatures was advancing. James, still near the downed SCV, didn't realize that he was being surrounded until it was too late. Taking him by surprise, a small pack of Zerglings jumped on his back and began to tear at his neck. Frantically trying to untangle himself while escaping another pack of Zerglings, James tripped and fell. An entire swarm of the dogs was instantly upon him, tearing his body to shreds. Drake heard his brother's screams, and began to run to help him, but his father's firm arm held him back. He looked back to see his father in tears at his eldest son's death, but his mouth was set in a grim, determined fashion. "We can't save him now," he breathed painfully. "We need to fall back and defend the doorway."
Drake followed his father back to the doorway, and took up a position beside him. As he was firing, he heard a noise off in the distance and turned to see what the sound was. He squinted, and could just barely make out a Dropship making its way towards their farm. "Dad!" he shouted. "There's a Dropship coming towards us!"
"Focus, son! If that dropship wants to have a chance at rescuing us, we need to at least survive long enough for it to get here!" his father barked back, and continued firing.
Drake nodded and continued to fire at the alien horde. They fought for what seemed like hours, and expended what seemed like clip after clip of ammo. The noise from the dropship was getting louder, and Drake knew that they wouldn't have to hold out much longer. Then, a projectile went whistling past his face. He ducked quickly out of reflex, and another one whizzed over his hair. Looking up, he saw several snake-like creatures with menacing claws slithering towards them. Intending to alert his father of the new creatures, he turned to find his father impaled by several of the creature's spikes. "Drake…" he wheezed. "Drake… defend your mother… and… Melanie…" With the last bit of his strength, Drake's father reached up and handed Drake his gun.
Wielding two rifles, Drake bit into the Zerg force with a vengeance, and bodies began to pile up in front of him. Suddenly, he heard a crash in the back, and he heard Melanie scream. He turned to look inside, and saw her run out of the back room with several Zerglings chasing her. "Melanie!" he screamed.
At the exact same moment, the Dropship arrived overhead. A rope ladder dropped down and the voice of the pilot whipped down to him from the transport. "Hey, kid! Hurry on up that ladder before these bastards smoke me!"
Drake began to reach for Melanie, not prepared to leave without her. She was sprinting towards him with her hands outstretched, and he stretched his out to meet hers. He was within inches of grabbing her when a Marine who had climbed down the ladder grabbed him and hauled him up onto it and out of the doorway. Drake howled and tried to struggle free of the Marine, tears flowing down his cheeks. The last he saw of Melanie, she had a terrified, gut-wrenching expression plastered on her face, her mouth frozen in horror and her eyes wide in terror. She was flailing madly, trying to escape the mini demons that chased her, trying hard, so very hard, to reach Drake, to hold him one last time before they died. Drake was horrified, grieved and enraged beyond belief. No matter how much he struggled, he could not escape the grasp of the Marine holding him.
As the pilot pulled up and away from the farm, Drake could hear faint screams drifting up from the farm, and each one drove a rusty knife deeper and deeper into his heart. He sobbed uncontrollably, unable to fully comprehend what had just happened.
"Somebody shut him up," the pilot groaned.
Drake's temper flared, and he shouted, "You left her there! If you had waited just two seconds longer, I could have saved her! Why did you have to be so god damn impatient!" He wailed and broke down into sobs again.
"Listen, kid," the pilot replied emotionlessly. "I'm an Alpha Squadron pilot. I'm trained to save lives on missions like this, so that's what I do. If I had waited two seconds longer to pick you up, you'd both be dead right now. Look, we're getting off this rock before the Protoss nuke it, and all of the blubbering in the world isn't going to bring back your precious girlfriend, so why don't you put a sock in it? If you cared about her that much, then maybe you should enlist and avenge her!" She cackled at her own joke, and several Marines laughed along with her.
Maybe I will, Drake thought to himself. Maybe I will.
Drake woke with a start in a dark, damp, unfamiliar place. He was sweating and shaking uncontrollably. Where am I? he thought to himself. Why am I here? Suddenly he remembered. Melanie, the invasion, that stupid Dropship pilot, all of it. He felt a well of emotions rising up in his chest, as well as a pain deep within his chest that wouldn't seem to go away no matter how much he tried to calm himself. He remembered that he was here to enlist and pay back those Zerg scum for ruining his life. He remembered that they had killed Melanie, and that was all he needed to know.
Suddenly, a light flicked on overhead. A crackly voice sounded through an intercom, and a familiar hissing sounded. "Congratulations, Marines. You've passed your mental exams. Welcome to Alpha Squadron. After exiting your stasis tubes, please speak with Corporal Vaijen regarding your armor and equipment." Responding mechanically, Drake stepped out of his stasis tube and lined up with six other strangers for his armor. Strangely, though he knew nothing about them, he felt as close to them as if they were family. Not pondering this thought for long, Drake focused himself by reminding himself of the reason why he had come, and the reason why he belonged here.