Episode 5: Battlefield
Planet Chau Sara IVCorporal Shanks lifted his boot from the thick, purple slime. Next to him Private Brud began to whimper softly to himself.
"Zerg creep," Shanks said, working the slide of his rifle and slowly backing away. His eyes moved back and forth, surveying the rocky horizon.
"Oh no....no....oh goddamn...." Brud began to whimper. Brud, his Corporal and Ghost had made their way from the devastated Base Alpha, narrowly averting the Protoss attack that had slaughtered their fellow Terrans. The three had been heading for a supply depot in the hopes of finding some communication equipment when they stumbled into Zerg territory. By Shanks understanding, the Zerg should have been several kilometres from their present location.
"Looks like the Zerg moved faster than we thought," Shanks said over his shoulder to the location of Ghost. Receiving no response, he took a quick look over his shoulder to find the sniper gone. "Dammit," he whispered.
"Shanks, man, we have to get out of here," Brud said, tapping the Corporal's shoulder.
"Every Zerg within ten kilometres know we're here, Brud," Shanks said, "if there's Zerg creep then one of their damn sentry growths must be close by."
"Or they are under our feet right now," Brud said, panicking.
"Calm down, Private. There is a small chance they really don't know we're here or are too occupied to worry about three lone Terran soldiers. With that Protoss army on their doorstep they might just forget about us. Let's head back to the forest."
The two Marines cautiously made their way for the tree line, heading down the stony path. As they left the narrow pass, the ground around them erupted in an upheaval of rocks and earth, a half-dozen Zerglings emerging from their underground burrows and quickly surrounding them.
"Shit!" Brud screamed, raising his weapon on the advancing horde. Shanks yelled at the man to hold his fire, as the sound of further emerging Zerg could be heard up the trail. The Zerglings hissed and spit at the men, as well at each other, snapping at one another if they got too close. Three advanced on the Marines, forcing them up the trail and then stepping back, eyeing the Terrans closely.
"They want us alive," Shanks said. He slowly turned around and faced three massive Hydralisks, their carapace's dripping with creep. One slithered forward, eyeing Shanks for a long moment. Shanks held the gaze, not letting his revulsion of the alien creature showing. Silently, the lead Hydralisk moved aside and gestured with its arm for the men to proceed up the hill. Shanks took a step, when the Hydralisk hissed and pointed at the ground, then at Shank's weapon.
"What do we do, Shanks?" Brud asked in a shaky voice.
Protoss behind us and Zerg ahead of us, Shanks thought. We can't cloak like good old Ghost, and we're just about out of ammo. Nodding to himself, he turned his head over to the Private and asked in a firm voice, "Do you want to see what these Zerg have in store for us, Brud?"
"No sir," Brud said in a quiet voice.
"You up for this, Private?" Shanks asked. Behind the men the impatient Zerg began to make guttural noises. Up the path more commotion could be heard.
"I think we can take most of them out, sir. Maybe even make the tree line." Brud's eyes told a different story.
"Maybe, Private," Shanks said as he watched a small red dot circle Brud's forehead and then flash out. The message was clear; Ghost could not save the men, but he would make sure their end would be quick. Far quicker then what the Zerg had in mind.
"Then let's give them hell," Shanks said, spinning and lifting his weapon. The Hydralisk's drew back, hissing in alarm, but the two soldiers noticed they were no longer watching their prisoners. Off to the side a cascade of red energy had begun to coalesce, small crimson embers of energy spinning and swirling, swiftly taking a vaguely humanoid form. The Hydralisk leader growled deep in its throat, and the Zerglings prodded the marines away from the glowing energy shape.
With a loud snap, the energy dissipated. A massive metal frame stepped out of the fading glow, its torso and 'head' swivelling to encompass the group of shocked warriors.
"Is that Protoss?" Brud whispered in awe.
"I don't think so," Shanks said. The construct was at least eight feet tall, extending to its full height as they watched. Atop the large torso a cone shaped head could be seen, two glowing blue "eyes" place in the front and the forehead tapering off into two sharp points. The arms were thick and covered in what looked like flexible metal, one forearm revealing some kind of glowing weapon.
"TRANSPORT 3179 COMPLETE. HUMANS PRESENT. UNIDENTIFIED ALIEN PRESENCE. PROJECTILE AND ORGANIC WEAPONDRY DETECTED. THREAT ASSESSMENT: MINIMAL."
The Hydralisk emitted a loud screech, and two Zerglings rushed forward. The first was batted aside, its body spinning high over the trees, a victim to the construct's sweeping metal arm. The second was caught by the throat, the small warrior writing in the grip of the robot's clawed hand. With a swift squeeze, the Zergling's head exploded in a shower of green sludge. The rest of the Zerglings rushed forward, their claws and teeth having little effect against the strange construct's metal hide.
"SCAN LEVEL DISTANCE WILL BE EXTENDED. UNUSUAL BIOPRESENCE DETECTED. PRESENT HUMANS AND ALIENS POSE NO THREAT AND WILL BE ELIMINATED."
"Did that things just say we'll be eliminated?" Brud yelled over the din of the Zerg attack. The Hydralisk's were pushing forward, unleashing a shower of flying spines at the construct, some sinking into the metal torso but most simply bouncing off.
"Screw that," Shanks said. He pointed his rifle and fired, the animosity between Zerg and Terran momentarily forgotten. The rifle rounds sparked and flashed against the metal exoskeleton, but appeared to have little effect. Under their feet the ground began to rumble, just as an enormous Overlord drifted into view. Around the bend the soldiers viewed a charging Ultralisk rush its way to the field of battle.
"Good Lord!" Brud yelled, "This is turning into a war!"
"They must have a Nydus Canal close by!" Shanks yelled, watching as the Ultralisk headed straight for the construct, trampling Zerglings that were accompanying it. "They must have been readying for the Protoss advance! Make for the tree line, Brud!"
The Ultralisk crashed into the construct, its terrifying mandibles slashing forward in a vicious arc and sending the robot tumbling down the path. The construct quickly righted itself, raising to its feet and facing the charging organic tank. The robot's torso had been damaged, the armour peeled away in one long swath across its middle.
"ALERT STAUS. ALIEN PROJECTIONS ARE COMPOSED OF MONOMOLECULAR EDGES. PROBABLE ADVANDED GENETIC ENGIEERING. THREAT ASSESMENT MODERATE. DEPLOYING COUNTERMEASURES."
The construct pointed its glowing metal tube and fired a series of blasts into the rushing Ultralisk. Red plasma fire covered the screeching creature as it stumbled and fell to the ground, swiftly turning to ash beneath the energy blaze. A dozen Zerglings swiftly avoided the carcass and swarmed the construct.
"Brud, I think it's time for us to leave," Shanks said. The two men turned and headed for the tree line, the Zerg's screeching echoing behind them, followed by the low thumping noise from the robot's energy cannon. Brud quickly ran ahead of Shanks, blocking the Corporal's view of trail ahead when the Private slid to a stop.
"Fuck me," Brud cursed.
Ahead of the men two trees toppled over, a gold-plated leg of a Dragoon walker emerging into view through the thick foliage. The Dragoon scrambled into the opening, followed by another walker and over a dozen Zealots. Several Observers flew over the soldier's heads, their lenses focusing on the battle at hand. Brud raised his weapon, breathing heavy.
The lead Zealot eyes went from the Terran's to the construct battling the Zerg. The ground around the robot was quickly becoming covered in the slop Zerg innards. Raising his hand, the Protoss Zealot called out to the Marines.
"What is the meaning of this? What is attacking the Zerg? Speak!"
"I don't know what the hell that thing is," Shanks called back, "it just showed up and started firing at anything that moved!"
Several Zerglings were tossed aside by the robot, crashing next to the soldiers and sending them scrambling for cover. The construct turned in the direction of the Protoss, "ALERT STATUS. NEW ALIEN PRESENCE DETECTED. ENERGY BASED WEAPONS. CYBERNETIC TECHNOLOGY. THREAT LEVEL MOD…"
The Protoss were not about to discuss matters with the strange robotic construct. The device was obviously not a creation of theirs, so their commander reasoned it must be Terran and the soldiers were lying, or more unlikely, a Zerg infested mechanism gone wrong. The Protoss Zealot pointed his arm, his shimmering psi-blade extending into view, "Attack!" the Protoss yelled. The Zealots rushed up the path, covered by the cannons of the Dragoons.
The Dragoon energy fire impacted on the robot, some hitting the Zerglings crawling all over it. The construct was knocked back a few steps, its outer hull smoking from the damage but otherwise unharmed. One arm covered its midsection, protecting the damaged torso. The construct brought its own weapon to bear, firing on the Zealots and Dragoon escort, watching as the energy fire was absorbed by the Protoss shielding.
"ENERGY SHIELDING DETECTED. WEAPON INEFFECTIVE. DEPLOYING ALTERNATE COUNTEREMASURES."
The Zealots had reached the construct, slashing at the metal frame with their psi-blades. The blades sparked where they impacted the robot but did little else. The construct's arm sliced outwards, sending the Protoss warriors flying in all directions. Overhead of the Marines, Dragoon's weapon fire sizzled through the air, smashing into the robot. On its shoulder another tube was sliding into view, adjusting itself in the direction of the walkers. With a loud thump, a ball of red energy flew outwards and impacted on the Dragoon's leg, the shield shuddering from the impact. Behind the robot more Hydralisk's fired their grooved spines.
"Our tree line path has been cut off!" Brud yelled.
"I see that, Private. Head for those rocks and we'll try to go around this hill and get the hell out of here!"
As the soldiers moved to the side, more trees collapsed as a massive Protoss Reaver crawled into view, flanked by more Zealots. It crept into the field, pausing for a moment. Overhead, twin Protoss Scout flyers passed by and peppered the construct with weapon's fire, covering the Reaver.
"This might get messy," Shanks thought as he ran for the rocks.
"ROBOTIC CONSTRUCT DETECTED. ATTEMPTING TO ACCESS DATABANKS. AI LEVEL MINIMAL. LOCALALIZED PSIONIC INTERFERENCE PREVENTING DEEPER SCAN."
The Reaver crept forward and then unleashed several glowing balls of energy. The Zealots around the construct moved aside, as the dancing Scarabs bounded their way towards the robot.
"ALERT STATUS. INTIATE PRIMARY DEFENSI..."
The impact was tremendous, sending the construct flying backwards. The shoulder-mounted cannon was blasted apart, hanging off its holder by a scant few wires. The construct's armour was peeled back in several places, thick blue liquid oozing from within and dripping down its legs. The robot swayed a moment and then rose to its full height once more.
"TRANSPONDER DAMAGED. UNABLE TO LOCATE TRANSPORT COORDINATES. TRANSFER POWER TO REMAINING WEAPON."
On its arm the glowing tube grew in intensity, while silver shimmering blades extended from other arm. It advanced on the Protoss, firing wave after wave of fiery energy. Several Zealots were consumed in the plasma blasts, their shields overwhelmed.
"Why doesn't the Reaver fire again?" Brud asked.
"It needs time to reload," Shanks returned, "I don't think the Protoss were expecting a fight this soon. Looks like they were just heading for the Zerg encampment."
"It's heading right for the Reaver…it looks like it's going to tear it apart with its bare hands!"
The construct tossed aside the Zealots and remaining Zerglings, heading for the Reaver. The Dragoon's moved forward, placing themselves in the line of fire and protecting the defenceless Assault Crawler. As the robot reached the end of the rocky path, the familiar sound of a C-10 canister rifle could be heard, followed by the hiss of a projectile. A thin cylinder stuck to the front of the construct, which promptly unleashed a series of electrical arcs throughout the robot's body. The construct swayed a moment and then pitched forward, smashing into the ground.
"SERVO-MOTORS DISABLED BY WEAPON OF UNKOWN ORIGIN. REQUIRE ASSITANCE. TRANSMITTING EMERGENCY BEACON. REQUEST MILITARY INTERVENTION."
"I don't like the sounds of that," Shanks said. Turning, he grabbed Brud and scrambled over the rocks, "they'll have to finish this without us, Private."
"What about Ghost?"
"I think he can take care of himself. Let's move while we can."
Above the construct another shimmering field was coming into existence, as another robot stepped into view through the wavering energy currents. A larger construct appeared, this one larger and sleeker in design, covered in silver-blue alloy. Its shape was more humanoid than the last, the head larger and tapered to twin points. Twin folds of metal extended outwards from its back like wings, while a segmented tail twisted around, focusing on those aliens behind it as three dangerous pincers opened and closed around a centralized barrel. One arm opened out to allow an energy cannon to emerge, while the other arm unfolded two gleaming metal blades.
"ALERT STATUS. DISABLED. REQUIRE ASSISTANCE."
"Acknowledged. Shut down primary systems and initiate emergency repairs. Transport will begin shortly. Transferring coordinates."
Ahead the Dragoons opened fire once more, their cannon fire hitting the new robot and impacting on a barely detectable energy field covering the construct's body. The blasts energy was dissipated throughout the large metal wings. The Reaver moved forward, unloading another volley of Scarabs, the bouncing energy balls making their way for the constructs. The new robot leaned forward, one wing covering its fallen comrade and taking the Scarab strike. Smoke and rocks flew upwards, but the robot emerged undamaged. Swivelling upwards, the wing closed slightly allowing the robot to bring its own weapon to bear. For a brief moment the energy field around its body sparked, then exploded outwards in a massive EMP burst. The Protoss shields winked out of existence, just as the robots energy gun opened fire, striking the Reaver and quickly turning it to scrap. Twice more it fired, destroying the Dragoon in short order. Behind it, the robot's tail twisted upwards, firing discharge after discharge on the remaining Zerg and aerial units.
"Threat nullified. Initiating transport."
Above the robots, the lead Zealot jumped off the rocky ledge, its psi-blade poised to lodge into the new robots head just as the energy field began to cover them. Landing with a crash on top of the robot, the three combatants vanished in a sparkling of red light.
The Zerg withdrew from the field, wounded and humiliated by the robotic constructs. Down in the field, the remaining Protoss advanced cautiously, looking for their vanished commander.