-1Starcraft: Takeover

Paul Franklin

Original Concept courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment ©

Chapter 6: Wager

Ben looked on the view screen of his ship. IThis definitely doesn't look good…/I he thought. The red mass on his planetary map, depicting the Zerg colony, had begun a mass swarm of the Terran base, noted by a smaller blue mass. IIf we don't do something, and fast/I Ben concluded, Ithe lives of those Terrans won't even be measured in hours./I Ben clicked a button on his console that connected a communications circuit between his ship and the ship housing his Second in Command, Ganja, head of the Protoss Air Forces sent to Odesae.

"What is it, Templar?" Ganja said with an uneasy tone in his voice. "It's not usual for you to be awake at this hour, let alone wake Ime/I up."

Ben smiled. Ganja was definitely not the morning type. "I was up reviewing the data gathered by my Observers on Odesae within the past hour." Pressing another button, Ben showed Ganja exactly what was on his screen. "The Zerg are on the move."

Ganja gave a big sigh. "I fail to see how this concerns us," he said. "The Terrans down there would be nothing but another obstacle to us, and having the Zerg defeat them should be an advantage."

"Ganja, my friend, of all people, you should know the most about the battle capabilities of the Zerg. You know the Zerg can recreate any that they lose with surprising speed. You know that they can amass forces large enough to wipe out entire Protoss bases. Now, which would you rather fight: a small brigade of Terran refugees, or half a planet of Zerg?"

Ganja hesitated for a few moments. He knew quite well of the dangers a horde of Zerg posed. Having been scarred by a Zerg Ultralisk, he had decided a long time ago that he would rather take on the Terrans than the Zerg.

"You're right," Ganja agreed. "The opportunity to wipe out one strike force seemed advantageous at the time, but now I see that it would be unwise to let the Zerg have a victory over the Terran base." Ben sat down in his console chair as he watched Ganja pace the bridge on the view screen. "What do you propose that we do?"

Ben closed his eyes and thought for a while. Finally, he opened them and grinned. "We'll extend the hand of alliance to the Terrans," Ben said. "They're in dire need of help, and they cannot deny the presence of a Protoss fleet as a sign of hope. Besides, there are many worlds as of recent that are inhabited by both the Protoss and the Terran, and so far none has erupted in conflict."

Ganja looked distraught with Ben's plan. "I personally agree with this tactic," he said, "but my acceptance wavers when I think of what the council might think of this. We should contact them and brief them of our plan." Ganja reached over to press the communication link button that would connect the two to the Conclave, but Ben would not hear of it.

"They do not need to know about this," Ben said as Ganja neared his console. Ganja halted in his steps, listening intently. "Who do you think is in control of this operation, my dear comrade? Certainly not the Conclave. They specifically delegated this mission to the two of us. For what reason should we inform them of the means by which we wish to complete this mission?"

A grin crawled across Ganja's face. He knew that the blatant act of defiance the Templar wished to commit would send the Conclave into an uproar. Ganja liked the thought of that.

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"Damnit, Noog, watch where your shells fly!"

"I'm too busy shooting the Zerg to notice, princess. Keep your eyes on the fucking target." With that, Boxo grimaced and continued firing upon the continuing onslaught of Zerg from his bunker. A short distance in front of them, the flash of ignited butane lit the air with a blinding light, signaling that the Firebat squads were doing exactly what they were assigned to do.

Richter and his 1st Goliath Squadron had taken the front lines with the Firebats. Firing as rapidly as he could, the commander was laying waste to Zerglings and Hydralisks all around him. As a Mutalisk flew over his head, preparing an acid shot aimed at him, Richter spun around, locked on, and fired a volley of ground-to-air missiles, vaporizing the target in an incinerating ball.

The Ghost squadrons were not sitting around back at base. Though not directly in battle at the moment, Richter had delegated another task to them, with the help of the workers at the Factory - setting up the GRSITS. The GRSITS, or the Galactic Reconnaissance Satellite Interception and Transmission System, was a collection of 53 satellites strategically placed above the planet. GRSITS had three specific purposes: 1) to collect information about the entire planet, including visual, geographical, biological, thermal, and atmospheric information and transfer it directly to the main computer; 2) to send and receive transmissions across the galaxy to other colonies; and 3) to intercept any foreign transmissions that might pass through or across the planet. With GRSITS in place, Richter could call for reinforcements from other colonies without having to go through the Mengsk Administration first.

As another Goliath pilot blasted a Zergling off of his windshield, Richter contacted the Factory back at base. "How soon can we expect GRSITS to be in orbit?"

Revillo was closest to the communicator, but had trouble hearing what the commander had asked due to the crossfire of the battle. IGuess we'll do this my way/I Revillo thought. Connecting directly to Richter's brainwave patterns, Revillo asked the commander to restate his question.

IHow soon can GRSITS be in orbit/I

Glancing back at the workers, he counted how many of the 53 satellites were ready to be launched - only 17 were fully ready. Revillo sighed and told Richter the bad news. IAt the rate we're going/I he said, Iwe could be done in about 12 hours./I

Richter was growing impatient. IWe don't have 12 fucking hours, soldier! I need those satellites in orbit in no more than 4 hours, or else we're screwed. Do you understand me, soldier/I

IYes, sir. I'll have it completed in half that time./I Revillo closed his mind connection and spoke to the Factory workers. "Ok, men, listen up. I've got $10,000 in my personal account." A gasp went through the group, making Revillo grin slightly. "You all get to split that if we get these things up in 2 hours." Immediately, the workers began to frantically compete to see who could work the fastest. IApparently/I Revillo thought, Ithese guys aren't very good at detecting a liar./I

A series of explosions heard throughout the base sent a shudder down Revillo's spine. IOh hell/I he thought.

With a sudden urgency ringing in his head, Richter responded to Revillo's call. "What is it now? I'm just a tad busy." Revillo felt his connection with the commander waver slightly as a large explosion occurred due to another missile volley from Richter's Goliath.

IYou're not going to like this/I Revillo said. I You know those Spider Mines we had the Vultures place at the back of the base to detect a rear assault/I

IYeah/I Richter answered. I What about them/I

IWell, they just blew up./I

Richter was overcome with a horrible feeling of dread. IShit/I he thought. He pulled up Stickaz on the radio communicator.

"What is it, sir?" Stickaz's voice was dripping with sarcasm even as he and his squadron was under attack by a group of Guardians and Hydralisks.

Richter had no time for Stickaz's smart comments. "I'm not here for your bullshit," he said urgently. "I'm leaving you and your squadron in charge of the front lines up here. I'm taking 4 of the Marine Squadrons and 2 Firebat Squads back to the base. You take care of things here."

Stickaz didn't quite understand why Richter was retreating back to the base. "What's the trouble, sir?"

"We're being flanked."