-1Starcraft: Takeover
Paul Franklin
Original Concept by Blizzard Entertainment ©
Chapter 4: Objective
"Damn, man, would you-"
"Stop doing that?" Revillo grinned. Ever since his Ghost training began, he had tapped into more of his psychic abilities. One of these was the ability to read the thoughts of others, as well as transmit his own thoughts to them. IA useful skill/I Revillo thought, prodding Noog's mind a little further.
"Seriously, quit finishing my sentences." Noog was getting a little flustered. "Ever since you started your Ghost training, you've been probing minds like nobody's business. Some of the other Marines are getting pissed. If you don't watch your back, you might get hurt."
Revillo's face wrought itself into a distraught expression. "Was that a threat?"
"No way, man. I'm just looking out for you. I don't want you to get jumped in the shower or anything. You know how it can get around here. We're low on women, and some of the guys are getting a little desperate."
Noog chuckled as he saw a shiver run down Revillo's spine. Rev would be sure to keep his mind searching for brainwave signals within 20 meters from now on.
Out of nowhere, Revillo heard a beeping sound. It was coming from Noog's HUD. "You've got a message, dude."
"I don't need damn psychic powers to know that," Noog retorted. Pulling the message onscreen, Noog read the message and turned pale. "Looks like we're being called to the Med Center. Seems something happened between Stickaz and Boxo again, and this time, it got ugly."
---------------------------------------------
Richter was waiting for the two Marines when they arrived. They noticed that the sergeant did not seem to be in the best of moods.
"What the hell happened between these two?" Richter fumed. "I need an explanation as to why Private Boxo here has his arm in three pieces."
IThat explains why Noog went pale/I Rev thought. "Well," Rev began, "Boxo started some shit with Stickaz again this morning." Richter's face suddenly demanded respect, so Revillo decided to be a little less casual with the sergeant. "The two don't exactly get along very well, so there's lots of commotion in the bunk."
Noog decided to pipe up here. "Well, whatever Boxo said, it must have been something about Stickaz's strength, because the next thing we knew, the two were sitting at a table having an arm wrestling match." An exasperated sigh escaped from Noog's mouth. "You can clearly see who the winner is."
Richter turned his attention to Stickaz, who was sitting in a cage in the corner with a smile on his face and restraints on his wrists and ankles. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, you little bastard, but I assure you that if it were my decision, you'd be fighting the Zerg on the front lines of Norda with your bare hands. Fortunately for you, it's Inot/I up to me. I'm going to have to talk about reassigning you to the Mengsk Administration, and I'll make sure you never hold a weapon again."
Richter went back to conversing with Revillo. "Have you finished that algorithm yet, soldier?"
Revillo gave a sharp salute. "Yes, sir. We can begin nuclear missile production in 2 hours and have a nuke completely assembled and ready for use in about an hour."
"Excellent job, Revillo. You've got a sharp mind. Keep up the good work." Richter saluted the Ghost and walked out, muttering, "Dismissed," on the way out the door. Noog and Revillo made their way back to the Marine Bunks, leaving Boxo and his attending Medic, Neeko, in the Medical Facility.
"You're a lucky guy, you know." Neeko gave a small smile. "You shouldn't have any kind of arm right now. If not for these advanced bionics we have here, you'd be out of service permanently." Having been trained in the top medical colleges and facilities to become a field Medic, Neeko was a fairly young girl who could mend wounds in mere minutes. Having an incredible knowledge of the human anatomy, as well as mechanics, Neeko was a miracle to the men stationed on Odesae.
"This isn't much," Boxo grunted. "Just give me a stim and I'll be fine."
Neeko gave a dejected look. "You Marines and Firebats around here pop those things like water. I don't think the commanders tell you that those things shorten your life span. Since I was stationed here about 5 months ago, I've had more men in here for stim abuse than any other base I've worked at." Neeko gave Boxo another shot to put him under for a little longer, then went back to attaching his new bionic appendage.
---------------------------------------------
Richter noticed a small red light flashing on his console when he arrived back at his quarters. He immediately ran to the console and pressed a series of buttons, bringing up the head of the Mengsk Administration on his view screen.
"Good evening, Sergeant," one of the councilmen said.
"To what do I owe this honor?" Richter replied.
"We've received some data from your Comsat team," another cabinet member said. "We're putting your base on red alert until further notice."
Richter didn't know what to make of the council's sudden urgency. "I'm going to have to ask for an explanation concerning the data you've received."
"As you wish." A smaller image popped up in the corner of the view screen. On it was a Mercator Projection of Odesae. Richter noticed that about 120 degrees from the Terran Base was very, very large Zerg cluster. "When did this get here?" Richter asked, his voice full of alarm.
"That's what we'd like to know. You're supposed to be the one monitoring this planet, yet somehow the Zerg managed to penetrate your observation team's scanning area and create a settlement."
Richter didn't like this at all. Somehow, a Zerg installment had arrived on Odesae without his knowledge. IThese can't be ordinary Zerg/I Richter thought. They were too smart, too tactful. From the size of the base, Richter estimated that the base had come into existence approximately… 2 months ago. That's two months that the Zerg had infested the planet without Richter's observation teams even getting a trace of Zerg. Richter turned back to the council. "What should I do?"
"We're going to promote you to Corporal and give you absolute command over all decisions made on Odesae until this matter is resolved. We want those forces eliminated as fast as you can. Do Inot/I lose this planet!"
"Absolutely, sir." Richter reached to turn off the monitor, but the chairman had one more thing to say.
"Not yet, Richter. There's one last request I have to make."
Richter felt a sense of dread come over him as he heard the chairman's order. He didn't like this one bit.
---------------------------------------------
Stickaz was still being detained in the Medical Facility when Richter stormed back into the room.
"Release him, nurse." Neeko noticed the urgency in the Corporal's voice, and thus obeyed immediately.
With Stickaz unbound, Richter advanced toward the Private and handed him a slip of paper. Rubbing his wrists, Stickaz snatched the paper from Richter and began reading it. A smirk spread across his face as he read.
"I knew you guys would come crawling back to me."
"Don't get cocky, bastard." Richter glared at him. "You're only being promoted back to the Goliath Corps because of the extreme state we're in. You won't be there for long."
"I won't need long. By the time I'm through, you'll be wondering why you ever demoted me in the first place." Stickaz left the Medic Center, making his way towards the Factory where his Goliath was sitting, blood stains still visible on its body.