Chapter 6
Four days passed since the initial invasion. During this time, the Revanites and their Mandalorian allies learned everything they could from the Protoss about the Zerg. Tassadar and Zeratul told them about each one of the creatures, their role in the Swarm and how to effectively counter them… They left out no details.
On the fifth day, the time had come to stage the counterattack. And even with this new information they've acquired, the Revanite forces knew that the Zerg weren't going to be taking things lightly with the arrival of the Protoss.
"The two-pronged assault worked in the initial invasion, but we can't keep relying on it if we're going to assail these Cerebrates," said the Revanite High Master.
"With the sizeable strike force, we've built up and deployed to attack the surrounding infected settlements, they can distract at least one of the Cerebrates long enough for your Hunters and the dark templars to slay the other Cerebrate that is not too far from its location," said Tassadar.
"There is still the matter of those… Defense structures, those sunken and spore colonies, you called them, being in close proximity," said Kovez.
"Fear not my friends, for we have just the perfect counter-measure," said Zeratul, "I have sent out corsairs to compensate for their defenses."
/\/\/\/\/\
Location: Cragacre
"Refresh my memory, I how did you end up taking command of these troopers?" asked Daralec.
"Because of my experience serving in The Clone Wars," said Vaukel.
"Well, you don't really seem that enthusiastic about it," said Daralec.
Vaukel made a face.
"I'm grateful that your healers managed to… Repair my mind and restore my connection to the Force," he said, "but… There are some demons that you just can't completely cleanse."
"Don't worry about a thing, commander," a Revanite trooper said as he put a hand on Vaukel's shoulder, "we'll watch your back. You've got nothing to worry about."
Vaukel looked at the trooper.
"…I'm going to hold you to that, sergeant," he said.
Vaukel heard his holo-com go off. He fired it up and saw that it was the Protoss Field commander, Khaduch.
"Commander Vaukel, we are closing in on our destination," he said.
"Excellent," said Vaukel, "alright everyone, weapons up, it's almost time to touchdown-"
"FLYERS!" screamed the pilot.
Vaukel and Daralec raced up to the gunship's cockpit and looked outside. Sure enough, they saw saw swarms of small Zerg flyers heading for the gunships.
"Crap, aren't those scourges?" asked Daralec.
Vaukel saw a scourge collide with a gunship and cause it to explode in one go, bringing the vessel down.
"Yes, they are," said Vaukel.
Vaukel got on the comms.
"All escorts! Get those bastards off of us! All gunships, I'm ordering an early landing! Repeat, I'm ordering an early landing!" he barked.
"Belay that order," said Khaduch, "all Corsairs, get the attention of the Zerg, fly over the settlement and deploy the Disruption Webs as you make your pass over the area, then engage the flyers."
"Na ferash," said the lead corsair.
Vaukel, Daralec and the rest of the Revanites watched ats the Corsairs fired on the Zerg flyers, getting their attention, and causing them to follow the aircraft that flew right past them. The Corsairs generated electromagnetic fields over their designated targets as they flew over the settlement and went high into the sky before breaking off. The scourge were following in close behind them, breaking off and going after their own targets either by themselves or in groups of two or three.
"Thanks for that Khaduch," said Vaukel, "all ships, begin landing."
The gunships and shuttles began landing their troops. Squads and squads of Revanite troopers and Protoss Zealots and Dragoons rushed the settlement. Dragoons provided cover fire for the zealots as zerglings rushed out onto the battlefield, while the troopers fired on the disrupted zerg structures, letting loose a hail of rocket fire.
Daralec, Vaukel and a few other Revanite Vanguard joined the zealots on the battlefield, cutting through a swathe of zerglings and deflecting a few shots from infested colonists up above on some of the rooftops.
"Commander Vaukel," said a Revanite trooper.
Vaukel turned after impaling a zergling.
"We just got word from the Mandalorian warriors of Clan Cold-Blood, they've begun their attack on the other settlement," he said.
"Good," said Vaukel, "this should be a big enough distraction to keep the Cerebrate focused on us."
The trooper gave a nod and started to get back to work when Vaukel spoke up.
"Remember trooper," he said, stopping the man, "watch your back, stick close to your friends, and never… Ever stop moving."
"Understood, sir," said the trooper.
The Revanite took off, blasting three more zerglings and putting them down in quick succession.
With the combined forces of the Protoss, Revanites, and Mandalorians harassing the infested settlements, outside of the battle zone, a lone overlord was seen ferrying someone over to border of Cragacre and dropping them off. It was a ghost, an Infested Ghost, wearing a hybrid suit of chitin power armor, she had snow-white hair, pale yellow eyes, and was armed with a sniper rifle.
"This is Cipher, I'm in position," she said.
"Excellent," said Ygasel, "the enemy seeks to destroy this settlement and gain a foothold before moving in on Naruk and his hive. Eliminate the leaders and I shall send in reinforcements to wipe them out before they have a chance to escape."
"By your command, cerebrate," said Cipher.
Back inside of the settlement, Daralec and Vaukel fought back-to-back as they cut down a total of ten zerglings at a time.
"These bastards don't know when to quit," Daralec grunted as he kicked a zergling in the face and cut down two that came to his left and right.
Vaukel gasped and pulled Daralec in close before using the Force to deflect a volley of poisonous spines that came at the boys. Hydralisks.
"Great," muttered Vaukel, "them."
"I've got you guys covered," said Sekahr.
Vaukel saw the Miralua Vanguard hurl his lightsaber at the hydralisk to the right and take off its head, startling the hydralisk on the left.
"Thanks, Sekahr," said Vaukel.
The hydralisk on the right let out a roar and slithered over to Vaukel and Daralec, hissing and roaring at them. Daralec jumped in front of Vaukel and hacked off the hydralisk's right scythe blade, then he sliced the beast across the belly and impaled it. The hydralisk let out a pained groan before falling over.
"You know, I'm really starting to hate these things," said Daralec.
"Daralec, look out!" yelled Vaukel.
Daralec turned and saw a zergling lunge at him. Daralec got ready to swing when a zealot intercepted the beast and stabbed it with both of his psi blades.
"Are you alright, friend?" he asked.
Daralec nodded. The zealot took off.
"…I need to get me one of those," said Daralec.
"Same," said Vaukel.
Suddenly, Vaukel turned and began deflecting a hail of blaster bolts from above.
"Damn infested!" he snapped, seeing several shooters up on nearby rooftops.
/\/\/\/\/\
Location: Flatham
"It is a shame that these colonists could allow themselves to be assimilated by these ferocious creatures. With these 'cerebrates' coordinating their attacks, they fight with the instinct of wild beasts," said Xakro.
The Clan Cold-Blood Mandalorian warrior fired five clean shots at three infested colonists and brought them down.
"You sound like you're upset that they don't provide enough of a challenge," said Hior.
"Do not misunderstand Protoss," said Xakro, "I am merely pained that these colonists have gone from innocent individuals to meek prey."
Xakro ducked as a glaive came his way and struck the ground behind him, the Mandalorian warrior looked up and saw several mutalisks heading over to both him and Hior.
"Fortunately, these other Zerg keep these battles from being too boring," Xakro said with a chuckle as he took to the air.
Three more Mandalorians followed in close behind Xakro and fired their rocket packs, killing four mutalisks. The remaining three spewed their glaives at the Mandalorians; Xakro and his allies broke off and the mutalisks broke off as well, chasing after their targets. Unfortunately, as one of the mutalisks prepared to spew another glaive, three dragoons fired and brought the beast down.
"En Taro Adun! We have enemy incoming!" barked a zealot.
Xakro and the other three Mandalorians turned and saw a cluster of crab-like creatures slowly making their way over to the settlement. Xakro activated his range finder and scanned the incoming Zerg reinforcements.
"Identity confirmed… Guardians," he said.
"Those guardians are slow, but they're heavily armored and have much greater range as opposed to the mutalisks," said Hior, "if they get within range, their acid spores are going to be a big problem."
"…Guardians are primarily meant for anti-ground roles, yes?" asked Xakro.
"Correct," said Hior.
"Good," said Xakro, "warriors! On me!"
/\/\/\/\/\
"How many have you taken down, Daralec?" asked Vaukel.
"Fifty-five," Daralec grunted as he impaled a zergling after knocking it down with a roundhouse kick.
"Ah, you're falling behind, better catch up," he said with a chuckle.
Daralec grinned.
"So that's how it is," he said.
"Commander, our troops have begun sweeping the buildings," said a trooper.
"And?" asked Vaukel.
"We've closed off five that contained Nydus Canal's so far," said the trooper, "we won't have to worry about-"
But the trooper was cut off after being thrown to the ground from taking a shot to the chest.
"Trooper!" yelled Vaukel.
Daralec gasped.
"VAUKEL!" he yelled, pulling him back with Force Pull as another shot was fired.
"Th-Thanks," panted Vaukel.
"We've got a sniper," said Daralec.
The boys looked up and saw Cipher, who had them in her sights.
"Dibs!" Vaukel barked as he rushed over to her.
"Wait, wha-DUDE!" sputtered Daralec.
But before Daralec could follow, he was cut off by several infested colonists. The young Revanite sighed and readied himself. Cipher switched her rifle to 'Burst Mode' and began firing several shots at him in quick bursts. Vaukel used a combination of quick evasive maneuvers and timed deflections as he jumped up into the air, deflected a few more bursts and brought his lightsaber down on Cipher, forcing her to jump back.
"And you are?" asked Vaukel.
Cipher responded by removing the long barrel on her sniper rifle and started firing more bursts. Vaukel buckled down and tanked up, deflecting each burst of bullets with relative ease.
"What? No chit-chat? No monologue? Just getting right to the point, huh?" he asked with amusement, "I can dig it."
Cipher responded by switching to 'Full-Auto' and letting loose a hail of bullets. Vaukel was on the move, deflecting the hail of rounds as he circled around Cipher in and tried to close the distance.
*Click*
*Click*
*Click*
"Shit," muttered Cipher.
She started to reload.
"Oh-no, you don't!" barked Vaukel.
He charged, jumped, and brought his lightsaber down. Cipher threw her rifle up and rolled out of the way; her weapon ended up sliced in half. Cipher drew her sidearm, a Colt M1911, and started firing off a few shots at Vaukel. Once again, the young Revanite deflected the rounds with relative ease, then he pounced and swung at her neck. Cipher rolled out of the way, jumped to her feet, and fired at Vaukel from behind; Vaukel however, blocked the shot, turned, and started deflecting more shots.
"This girl is different," he thought, "…she wouldn't happen to be one of the 'Ghosts' that Kayla told me about, could she?"
Cipher took a few steps, back, then she reached behind her back and threw something down at Vaukel's feet, which emitted a bright flash of light.
"AHH!" he yelped, shielding his eyes.
Cipher quickly reloaded. Vaukel heard the sidearm being cocked.
"Oh crap," he thought.
Cipher started firing again. Vaukel rolled out of the way and used the force to pick up pieces of the rooftop, then he sent them flying at Cipher. The infested ghost evaded the first three projectiles but was struck in the face by the fourth and was sent flying back onto the ground after taking the fifth projectile to the chest.
"Got you," thought Vaukel.
Vaukel jumped and attempted to impale Cipher, but she evaded via backflip and started firing again; Vaukel dodged the first three shots, but had his lightsaber disarmed from the fourth shot.
"Die," said Cipher.
She fired. Vaukel deflected the bullet with the Force, then he rushed Cipher and swatted her magnum out of her hand the second she fired one more time. Cipher gasped and stumbled back in shock, but Vaukel grabbed her by her shoulders and drove his right knee into her gut, then he proceeded to throw her down to the ground. Vaukel pulled his lightsaber into his hand and prepared to impale Cipher, but she sent him sliding back without even laying a finger on him.
Vaukel gave Cipher an amused smirk.
"I'll be damned… She is a ghost," he thought.
Cipher jumped to her feet and pulled something into her hand. Vaukel raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Cipher pressed a button and a katana blade with a shining electric blue edge extended.
"This should be intriguing," thought Vaukel.
Vaukel flourished his lightsaber and charged. Cipher also charged and swung when the two warriors met in the middle.
"If I can't match him with my firearms, I'll have to match him with my blade," thought Cipher.
Vaukel shoved Cipher back and delivered three overhead one-handed swings, then one upward slash to break Cipher's guard and send her flying over to the wall of the rooftop. Vaukel flourished his lightsaber and marched over to Cipher, but she quickly jumped to her feet and jumped over to the next building.
"A savvy warrior always calls for assistance," she said as Vaukel raced over to the edge and looked over at her.
Cipher looked down. Vaukel got ready to jump over to her position when a hydralisk came up and swung at him with its scythe blades. Vaukel gasped and jumped back. The hydralisk used its scythe blades to lock itself into place, then it began to shoot its spines at the young Revanite. Vaukel buckled down and cut through the oncoming projectiles, then he grabbed a handful of them and sent them flying at the hydralisk's face.
The serpentine zerg let out an annoyed roar and got ready to climb up when… Vaukel charged and cut off its right blade, then the left blade and bought the beast crashing down to the ground below. Vaukel jumped over to Cipher and smirked.
"You thought you could get away?" he asked.
Cipher gritted her teeth and tossed something at Vaukel's feet.
"Crap," he said, seeing that it was a grenade.
He kicked up the grenade and sent it flying off the roof, with a roundhouse kick, where the grenade went off. Cipher charged and swung at Vaukel's neck. He blocked her attack and the two ended up in a lock. Vaukel shoved Cipher back, he followed it up with a high sweep attack to make Cipher jump back, then a low sweep to get her to evade via backflip, then she followed up her evasion by whipping out her sidearm and fired off a few shots.
"This again?" Vaukel thought as he deflected the shots and countered with Force Push, sending Cipher tumbling back and disarming her of her Desert Eagle.
Cipher reached out and pulled her sidearm into her hand as Vaukel rushed her and swung at her neck. Cipher ducked and countered with a thrust; but Vaukel leaned back and swat her blade away with his lightsaber, then he followed it up with a thrust, Cipher jumped back and jumped forward, going for a thrust; Vaukel deflected the thrust and countered with a punch to her face, sending the infested ghost stumbling back.
Cipher groaned and shook off the blow, then she glared at Vaukel and came at him once again; but when Ciper took a swing at the Revanite, someone jumped in and blocked her attack.
"Daralec!?" Vaukel exclaimed in shock.
"Hope you don't mind, the Zerg were kind of getting cut down to the point where our forces are just mopping up stragglers," said Daralec.
Daralec shoved Cipher back.
"So… Who's the girl in the hybrid armor? Looks pretty wizard," he said.
"Didn't say," said Vaukel, "not much for words."
"Heh, that's how it starts," Daralec said as he flourished his lightsaber, "bet she'll be pretty chatty when we take her into custody."
Cipher gritted her teeth and readied herself. The boys charged at her and swung at the same time. Cipher blocked their attacks and was shoved back.
"This is bad," she thought, "I can't take them both… Not by myself…"
Vaukel and Daralec got ready to come at Cipher again when… The infested ghost gasped and dropped her psi blade, letting out a pained groan as she doubled over and put her hands to her head. Vaukel and Daralec looked at each other in confusion.
"Vaukel! Daralec!" barked Khaduch.
The boys looked down at the zealot field commander.
"It is done," he said, "let us return to the base."
"Heh, it took them long enough," said Daralec.
Vaukel and Daralec looked at Cipher, who seemed to have a pained expression on her face when she looked at the boys.
"Catch you later, girlfriend," Vaukel said, doing the 'Gotcha' salute to Cipher before jumping from the rooftop.
Daralec followed behind him.
"Wait a second, are you running away!?" she snapped as she tried to give chase.
But Cipher could only take three steps before falling to her knees and groaning in pain.
"…This pain… It's almost unbearable… What… What the hell happened?" she thought.