Secret Mining Facility – Braxis
1:01 PM – Local Time
The mining facility on the surface of Braxis was small, located at the top of a small round mesa covered in ice with a single natural ramp leading down into a narrow icy ravine. The base itself had only a Command Center in the Orbital Command configuration, a Barracks without any addons, and a few supply depots but had four missile turrets and two sensor towers. The once rich and abundant mineral fields were nearly picked clean with only a couple clusters of minerals left and they were quickly being mined out by the freelance SCVs. There was a refinery though but there was a pipe running from the refinery over to a series of large tanks that were hastily being loaded onto a Hercules Dropship. The ramp leading into the base from the ravine was flanked by a pair of bunkers at the top but only a single customized red Crucio Siege Tank sat between them in its siege mode configuration. The Tank would occasionally fire at the ravine, seemingly hitting empty snow. Far in the distance at the opposite end of the ravine, one could see the top of an old Zerg lair poking up behind the ravine walls. As the tank fired on the ravine, a pair of War Pig Mercenary Marines on patrol paused to look at the tank.
"Mother mercy will I be glad when that stops." One of the marines muttered.
"Sometimes I wonder if Hammer falls asleep on the trigger on that thing." The other replied.
"Or…" a woman's voice said from nearby. The two marines turned and looked down to see a comparatively diminutive and stocky woman in a bulky green military issue polar jacket, a helmet on her head, goggles over her eyes, her long brown hair kept in a pair of long braids with pink ribbons on the ends, green camo pants with a tool belt, and black boots. She had a pair of tinted goggles on over her eyes to act as snow-shades. The woman was swirling an insulated mug of a hot but nameless beverage as she stood admiring the tank.
"…I could always just have it on remote auto-fire if anything bigger than my mama's Sunday meatloaf ever crawls within range. Ugh, I swear that meatloaf could've killed ol' Kerrigan by the smell alone if she ever caught a whiff." The woman commented, holding a small remote device up for them to see. The marines looked at each other before walking away from her, Kowalski smirking at them with a chuckle as they walked off.
"That's right ladies, move along and let the big girls have their fun." She chuckled as she pocketed the remote, walking towards the tank as its barrel swiveled and turned slightly whenever locking onto a target.
"And how's my little heartbreaker doin' this fine afternoon?" Kowalski asked the tank, putting a hand to her ear with a smirk. That smirk seemed to fade but only slightly.
"Mmm, needs some oil in those bearin's. Won't do no good while we're on this ice ball, but don't you worry sweetheart, our ticket out of the galaxy's freezer section won't be too far a comin'." Kowalski said as she rubbed her arm on part of the tank's cowlings, rubbing some scoring from the cannon's firing off with her sleeve. That's when she heard something on the winds, the sounds of roaring engines approaching. This caused her to smirk.
"Well, I do believe that would be said ticket now." She said as she turned back towards the base where she saw a medivac approaching for a landing. The missile turrets turned to track the vessel but didn't fire as it touched down, the turrets going back to their regular spinning as soon as the medivac was landed. Kowalski was sipping from her drink as Nova, Ace, and Morales disembarked, the former two approaching her while Morales stayed with her medivac. Nova was wearing a slightly more padded version of her usual hazardous environment suit to help combat the cold. She also had her Ghost visor down over her eyes to protect them from the glare off the snow.
"Sgt. Kowalski?" Nova asked as Hammer hopped up to sit on the cowling nearest them.
"Call me Sarge, Hammer, or Sergeant Hammer. Doesn't matter to me which of the three you call me. Kowalski works fine too. You must be the ex-Spook lookin' for an engineer." Kowalski replied as Nova gave a nod.
"Nova Terra of Nova's Nighthawks. This is Ace. We understand you're still under contract he-." Nova said before the tank suddenly fired, startling her and Ace slightly. Hammer just glanced at the tank with a smirk before looking back at them, amused by their reactions.
"Don't worry, pumpkin, she's just set to auto-fire whenever one of them creepy crawlies from the hive over yonder get too close. Installed the auto-firin' mechanism myself. But you were sayin' princess?" Kowalski asked.
"Graven said you were still under contract here." Nova said as Hammer took a sip of her drink.
"You got that right. Once those mineral fields are all mined up, my contract's fine-eat-o." Kowalski said. Nova could tell Hammer had deliberately mispronounced "finito" though.
"Had any Zerg trouble?" Ace asked, walking past to look across the ravine at the Zerg hive.
"Naw, nothin' my sweetheart here can't handle. Hive's feral anyway. Nothin' to worry about." Kowalski said as Ace and Nova exchanged worried looks.
"Any chance we could help speed the miners along? We'd like to get out of here as soon as possible." Nova said as Hammer looked at her curiously with a smile.
"What's the matter, princess? Don't like bugs? Well if you're callin' me in, you won't need to worry much, darlin'. This baby will pound 'em flat, then pound 'em again. And that's just me after a hearty meal and too much moonshine." Hammer said with a confident smirk as she pat her stomach. Ace couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement.
"Funny, I thought that was you after a little wining and dining." Ace commented, earning a challenging smirk from Hammer.
"Oh-ho, shots fired, shots fired." She remarked as Nova passed them, approaching the edge of the ramp and looking through the scope of her rifle. She could see a couple of older breed Overlords floating over the Lair, but the frozen ravine walls prevented seeing anything else.
"The Zerg are a concern to me, Sergeant. Simply put, there's no such thing anymore as a feral hive." Nova said, turning to walk back towards them.
"They ain't done nothin' 'cept send a few Zerglin's our way to get flattened by my baby here. None of 'em have ever gotten close enough for the marines to even fire their guns. 'Course they'd have to get through the minefield I put down first." Hammer said as she took another sip of her drink only to discover it was empty.
"Haven't you tried to take the hive out?" Ace asked.
"Well, see there's the thing. We ain't equipped for that. Trust me, we probably could take it with just my tank and the few marines we've got, but that ain't in the contracts we signed. Plus, we sent a scout out to take a look, but the poor sap got shredded by Lurkers in the ice. Ain't no tellin' where those varmints are hidin'. Besides, the hive ain't done nothin' of interest like I said." Hammer said just as the tank fired another round.
"Your Command Center's equipped for sensor sweeps, isn't it?" Nova asked, looking at the Command Center.
"Yeah, but tryin' to get the C.O. to use it is like convincin' my daddy that cold fusion ain't meant for keepin' the beer cool." Hammer said as Ace looked at her. Nova couldn't help but turn back to look at the Hive.
"It works though, doesn't it?" Ace argued as Hammer gave him a dismissive wave.
"Yeah but that's not what cold fusion's for. It's for blowin' stuff up! Right princess?" Hammer asked but Nova didn't reply, keeping her eyes on the Hive.
"Uh, Commander?" Ace asked worriedly at Nova's silence. Hammer took notice and quietly stood up, moving towards the top hatch of her tank.
"Something's not right." She said as she put her hand to her earpiece.
"Nova to Griffin, anything unusual going on?" Nova asked.
"Nothing out of the ordinary. We're monitoring that Zerg Lair though. We're picking up something…unusual though. Are the miners mining anything specific?" Reigel asked as Nova looked towards the large refinery near the Command Center, looking at it suspiciously.
"I have a hunch. Standby." She replied before looking at Hammer.
"What exactly are they mining here, Hammer?" she asked as Hammer shrugged.
"Minerals mostly. The SCV pilots have been a bit quiet though, especially the ones workin' around the refinery." Hammer said as Nova closed her eyes, stretching out with her psionics towards the Refinery. She could hear the scattered thoughts of the techs and crews working in and around the facility but nothing stood out. She then shifted her focus towards the Command Center where she could hear the C.O.'s thoughts and that's when she got the major clue she needed, causing her eyes to open back up wide.
"Mother mercy." She said as she turned back towards the Zerg hive, raising her rifle and scanning it across the horizon, searching for something.
"Nova? What's the matter?" Ace asked as Nova took a breath, putting a hand to her earpiece.
"Nova to Griffin, stand by to make a break for it and have an emergency jump spun up and ready. It's the Vapor Protocol." Nova said as she steadied her breathing, still scanning the horizon.
"Oh holy hell." Ace muttered, cocking his rifle but Hammer was confused.
"Uh, you mind explainin' what this Vapor Protocol is?" Hammer asked.
"I have a feeling you're going to find out soon enough." Nova muttered before finally spotting what she was looking for. To the untrained eye, there was a specific spot on the horizon that appeared empty, but to Nova who knew what to look for, she saw everything she needed to. A strange distortion in the air, remaining perfectly stationary. Nova steadied her breathing again as she took aim and fired her rifle. The shot resulted in a small and distant explosion of red energy.
"What the hell just blew up?" Hammer asked as Nova lowered her rifle.
"We need to evacuate, now, before they arrive!" Nova said, clearly concerned by what she had shot down.
"Before who arri-." She said before they heard a strange wailing sound on the winds coming from the Zerg Lair. They looked to see the strange bolts of blue energy firing up at the Overlords, causing them to fall from the sky.
"Too late! Nova to Griffin! They're here!" Nova exclaimed into her earpiece.
"Who's here?!" Hammer asked before they heard a loud booming in the air, a large shadow suddenly blocking out the sun over the base. They all looked up and saw a sinister black and red metal monstrosity. Nova and Ace recognized it instantly.
"It's the Tal'darim, they're here." Nova said as they saw the Tal'darim carrier hovering in the sky overhead. The base sirens started blaring as the carrier started deploying its interceptors and a pair of War Prisms towards the base. The missile turrets immediately spun towards the approaching craft, firing at the interceptors and the War Prisms. The Carrier was out of range.
"We're bugging out! Come on, Hammer!" Nova ordered as Hammer hopped into her tank, disengaging its siege mode while Nova and Ace, along with the rest of the Marines, opened fire on the Tal'darim forces overhead. One of the War Pig Marines near the three made his way towards them.
"What the hell are the Protoss doing here?!" the marine asked.
"Talk to the C.O. of the base! They're the ones mining Terrazine!" Nova replied.
"Terra-what?" the marine asked, firing at an interceptor as it passed overhead. They were interrupted by a booming voice from the carrier.
"Foolish Terrans! You have defiled this holy ground and seek to claim the Breath of Creation! Your transgressions will not go unpunished! In the name of the Highlord, you shall be exterminated!" the Carrier Captain boomed as the War Prisms flew beyond the range of the missile turrets, flying over the ravine and deploying the troops onboard into the ravine before reconfiguring into their stationary phase mode, beginning to warp in more Tal'darim troops.
"Nova to Griffin! We need some help down here!" Nova ordered.
"Already on it!" Hana replied. They then heard the screaming of the Griffin's engines before the Griffin suddenly decloaked, firing its weapons at the Carrier, getting the attention of its Interceptors as it flew past. The War Pigs and SCVs were rushing to the Command Center and Barracks while the Hercules, loaded with Terrazine, began to lift off. As it started to fly low over the ravine though, the Tal'darim Slayers and Havocs started firing up at the transport, scoring a critical hit on its engines, sending the transport crashing into the top of the ravine, the Tal'darim quickly moving to surround the vessel, slaughtering any survivors of the crash.
"Come on Hammer we don't have all-!" Nova exclaimed but fell silent as she saw Hammer's tank rolling quickly towards her.
"Move aside, Princess! Comin' though!" Hammer yelled as she rolled towards Morales's Medivac. They could hear the explosions of Hammer's Spider Mines at the base of the ramp as the Tal'darim forces got within their detonation range but even that wasn't enough to stop their advance.
"Nova, we're picking up more Tal'darim warp signatures! They're bringing in the Death Fleet!" Reigel reported.
"We're almost airborne!" Nova replied as she and Ace leapt aboard the medivac, a few War Pigs and an SCV from the mining camp having leapt aboard with them.
"Hold on back there!" Morales called as they started to lift off, the missile turrets still providing the needed AA support for them to lift off. As they fled the scene, they saw several Tal'darim Destroyers and Scouts flying in towards the base.
"Uh-oh! Incoming!" Morales exclaimed, hitting the boosters, the Medivac quickly flying between the approaching scouts while the Destroyers headed straight for the departing Terran structures. Two of the scouts turned to pursue them while the rest remained to escort their destroyers.
"We've got two bogies on our tail!" Morales exclaimed as the Scouts continued their pursuit. Nova hurried into the cockpit.
"Can we lose them?" Nova asked.
"I'm trying, but these are persistent bastards!" Morales replied before noticing a large canyon in the ice.
"I've got an idea!" Morales said as she started flying them into the canyon, the Scouts following after them.
"Nova to Griffin! We could use a hand here!" Nova said into her earpiece as they banked hard around a corner in the canyon but the Scouts weren't shaken off. They rounded a corner in the canyon and saw a large rock formation arching across the middle of the canyon, splitting it into two directions, one up and one down.
"This'll shake 'em! Hang on!" Morales exclaimed as she started flying for the lower passage. The Scouts both had to pick the upper direction as their wingspans were too wide for the lower, but Morales quickly reversed the thrusters, the medivac coming to a stop under the arch while the scouts rocketed past. Morales quickly pulled back, the medivac turning around and rocketing away in the opposite direction.
"That oughta buy us some time! Griffin, where's that evac?!" Morales asked. She then noticed something big appear on sensors behind them. It was the Griffin.
"Right behind you! We'll do a scoop and scoot!" Song replied as the Griffin opened its forward cargo ramps, Morales lowering the landing gear.
"Hang on this may be rough!" Morales said as she slowed the medivac down, allowing the Griffin to overtake them, the medivac being swallowed into the Griffin's bay, touching down safely.
"We're onboard! Go!" Morales yelled into the radio as the Griffin closed its ramps. The Griffin quickly started gaining altitude, breaking for orbit despite being pursued by the two Tal'darim scouts and a pair of Tal'darim Phoenixes. They were still evading them as Nova, Ace, Morales, and Hammer emerged onto the bridge.
"Now would be a good time to get out of here, Corporal!" Nova said as the Griffin was rocked by an explosion, a near miss from one of the Scouts' antimatter missiles.
"All hands, emergency warp in five, four, three, two…!" Hana said just before the Griffin jumped to warp, emerging from it seconds later in an empty region of deep space, leaving Braxis behind to the Tal'darim.
"That…was close." Ace said as he breathed a sigh of relief.
"So what in the Sam Hill happened back there?" Hammer asked as she shrugged off her polar jacket, revealing a red tank-top and her dog tags underneath. She had a tattoo of her sergeant stripes on her shoulders in black.
"Terrazine. The stuff is a powerful gas that enhances the powers of psionics, sells for a hefty fee on the black market, and the Tal'darim revere it as being the breath of their god. Apparently, the miners found a cache of it and decided to try and mine it without the Tal'darim noticing. As you can see, it didn't exactly go unnoticed." Nova said as she pulled her visor up off of her eyes.
"How'd the Tal'darim find out though?" Morales asked.
"The Tal'darim have survey ships sneaking across the sector scanning for Terrazine traces. Their sensors are highly tuned and advanced so they can detect even miniscule traces from incredible distances. It's why the Dominion invented the Vapor Protocol, so they could scramble a fleet to protect any Terrazine sources within Dominion space because the Tal'darim always respond with heavy force when their access to Terrazine is put at risk." Nova explained as Reigel approached.
"And it's a good thing the Tal'darim were more interested in the Terrazine than us. We have a bit of a history with Highlord Alarak." Reigel commented as Nova gave a grim nod.
"He's probably filleting the hapless commander that let us get away even as we speak." Nova muttered.
"Well, either way, my contract's ended prematurely, so I'm free to pick up the contract with you. And from the looks of things, I think I might like it here." Hammer said, looking around the bridge with intrigue.
"The Griffin's a state of the art stealth frigate and light-carrier. We've managed to keep her flying for over a year without Dominion support. The engineering bay is waiting for you, Sergeant." Reigel said as Hammer cracked her knuckles, pulling out a mallet with a star on the side of the head.
"I gotta get my tank unloaded, but that can wait until I see what kind of setup you've got here. If the bridge gear is any indication, woo-eee, I'm gonna have some fu~un." Hammer said as Ace stepped up.
"I'll show you to the engineering bay." Ace said as Hammer smiled up at him.
"Well aren't you a nice fella? I warn ya, you made that joke on the surface, but put enough moonshine in me and I could probably peel you out of that armor with my teeth." Hammer said as Ace laughed.
"We have a 'no-distillery' policy so I'll be watching you." Ace remarked as they left the bridge, Morales following behind them, headed for the med-lab.
"Challenge accepted, pretty boy." Hammer replied as the door closed behind them.
"An…interesting addition to the crew." Reigel commented, mildly amused.
"Graven says she's the best mechanic available. You should see what she's done to her Crucio. She's good, Reigel." Nova said as Reigel gave a nod.
"I agree. Graven hasn't let us down yet in terms of crew replacements. Morales has done a remarkable job so far and given Hammer's record, I imagine she will do just fine as well." Reigel said as the door to the bridge opened, allowing Graven to enter.
"I love the sound of my ego being stroked." Graven commented as he walked in.
"Graven, I'm assuming you have a CAG for us?" Nova asked but Graven smiled at her.
"Working on it. He's taking some sweet talking, but I just wanted to let you know that with Hammer aboard, your armor divisions are signed and sealed. Spartan Company, the Siege Breakers, and the Junkers are all signed up." Graven said as Nova gave a grateful nod.
"Much appreciated, Graven. After that scrape with the Tal'darim on Braxis, I'm getting a little anxious to get the Nighthawks capable of meeting the enemy in the air instead of just on the ground." Nova said as Hana gave a nod.
"Yeah, and no offence, but the Griffin's not really meant for direct assaults. That run on the carrier wasn't exactly the smartest thing we could've done." Song commented from her station.
"I'm working on the CAG. Like I said earlier, if I can convince him, he'll bring a whole squadron of Wraiths, Banshees, Vikings, Liberators, Valkyries, and even a Science Vessel or two with him. I'm also in negotiations with the Jackson's Revenge but that's a little contingent on the CAG I have in mind." Reigel said as Nova nodded appreciatively.
"Keep on it Graven. If there's anything we need to do, let us know." Nova said but Graven merely smiled coyly at her.
"You let me worry about that. I've actually got a little something for you, a bonus if you will, something that might let you take the fight to the Angels for once." Graven said as Nova arched a curious eyebrow.
"Really? Let's hear it." Nova said as Graven produced a tablet from his satchel, handing it to her.
"Dominion Covert Ops team's recently tracked a stolen science vessel to the Shakuras system. Registry codes identified it as the Malthael." Graven explained as Nova looked the tablet over.
"Shakuras is an asteroid field now. The Protoss destroyed the planet during the End War to bleed Amon's forces. What could be out there now that would interest the Angels?" Reigel asked.
"More importantly, isn't Shakuras within Protoss space? Wouldn't they have jurisdiction?" Nova asked.
"The Protoss are still focusing on rebuilding on Aiur. They don't appear to be focusing on defending the borders of dead planets." Graven said as Nova looked at Reigel.
"This sounds risky, and I'm not too keen on making enemies of another faction of Protoss, but if the Angels are involved, we should take a look. It might help us put a stop to their plans to use that weaponized Infestation Virus." Nova said as she turned towards Hana.
"Set a course for Shakuras, Corporal." Nova ordered as Hana gave a quiet nod, entering the information into her console.
"I'll head back and keep on negotiating for that CAG. I'll keep you apprised." Graven said as he started back towards the door. Nova, Reigel, and Hana were all silent as Graven left before Nova finally broke the silence.
"I know what you're thinking, Reigel. I feel like a look." Nova said as Reigel took a breath.
"Lieutenant Morales informed me that, physically, you're in peak condition. She said nothing else but given our past conversations…what's wrong, Nova?" Reigel asked as Nova took a breath of apprehension, heading for the door.
"I wish I knew." She replied.
…
The Highlord's Hand – Highlord's Throne Room
Braxis Orbit
Not much later…
Highlord Alarak stood near his throne on his flagship, the Highlord's Hand, a Tal'darim Super-mothership, looking out at a holographic projection of the planet's surface, the Death Fleet blockading the planet. As he watched the hologram, the door to his throne room opened, allowing one of his ascendants to enter, approaching the Highlord with a bow.
"What is it now, Tulrass?" Alarak asked, disinterested.
"Highlord, we have reclaimed the Breath of Creation from the Terran filth. Their facility is in ruins and the Feral Zerg have been slaughtered." The Ascendant replied. Alarak merely let out an amused chuckle as he turned towards his throne.
"Feral Zerg…indeed." He chuckled with a mocking tone as he sat down. Tulrass, still on one knee before the Highlord.
"Highlord, there was one…complication." Tulrass said as Alarak glared at him.
"You mean the Terran vessel that escaped? It is insignificant to us. Nothing more than a pest to be crushed under foot. Tell me something that might interest me." Alarak said dismissively.
"We identified the vessel. It belongs to the Terran known as Nova Terra." Tulrass reported, Alarak's gaze shifting sharply towards him.
"Nova Terra? Oh~h this does interest me, Tulrass. What was she doing here, I wonder?" Alarak asked, rapping his clawed fingers on the arm of his throne in thought.
"We interrogated some of the survivors before we executed them. It seems she was only there to retrieve one of her fellow Terrans. She did not appear to be after the Breath of Creation." Tulrass commented as Alarak sat forward in his throne.
"Whatever her intent, Tulrass, she is still to be punished for her betrayal. But I am not completely without mercy. I have…plans for her." Alarak said as Tulrass looked at him curiously.
"What is your will, Highlord?" Tulrass asked.
"For now, we wait. The Terran will find herself in a position of no escape eventually, and when she does, I will be waiting to strike." Alarak said, clinching his fist with a malicious chuckle.
End Chapter 8.
Second Ascendant Tulrass is the only character I wholly own so far in the story.