First, I am sorry for releasing this chapter a day late. I will explain this at the end of this chapter.
But we are back from the intermission and can continue where Raynor left off! RGQC here and back to Wing's missions. For this chapter, it will be Welcome to the Jungle. We got space drugs to steal from the Tal'darim!
But as I have always done in the previous chapters, we have comments to address first! So let us get on with it.
Zacker1590: I can see how the folks in StarCraft can remind you of our casts from RWBY since they have some similarities. Will we see someone like an alternative Jaune in the StarCraft universe? Sorry but that's a flat no. While it is possible, thanks to the infinity of the Multiverse, I don't want to head in that kind of direction. And I mean those RWBY watches Jaune fics. I had my fair share of them, and I do not wish to have that in my stories anytime soon. Once again, sorry for the blunt reply.
x-x-TheBurnedMan-x-x: It is ok. I also have a habit of getting distracted while writing my stories. There are cases in which I should be writing, but I choose not to because I don't feel like it. And yes. I wanted to make every death of each Protoss hero unique. So, while some of them had similar deaths, aka, Mohandar and Selendis. I'm happy with how I portray their deaths. But thanks for sticking by, and I will await your next review.
Yolo27th: Yup. My mom says the same thing to me so that I won't make a fool of myself in school or the office. Part of the reason why I don't speak much now is that I think about it.
Jamieoeyes: Thanks! I had doubts about whether her advice would be fine for them, but it would be up to them to change their future when it comes. And yea, I was researching Dust and came across plant Dust. Ignoring how it works, I thought about how interesting it would be to see it in combat. Then we have High Queen Blake's Semblance.
And since this Blake is based on my first story Blake, her semblance evolved the more confident she got. So now it can fight and not act just mainly as a decoy. While I did not show it in the fight, she can also swap places with her Semblance's current location. And I have to admit. I forgot about Robyn again, lol.
Familiarantiguo: ¡Gracias! De hecho, tengo la idea de reescribirlo porque me dio vergüenza leerlo y compararlo con mis historias más recientes. De todos modos, sí, sin duda cuestionarían a los dioses hermanos. después de presenciar la tumba de los Xel'Naga en Legacy of the void. Pero pasarían años antes de que llegara a esa parte de la historia. Todavía tengo que terminar lo que queda de Wings seguido de Corazón del enjambre que podría tardar un poco. Sin embargo, me alegro de que hayas disfrutado leyendo mi historia y espero verte en el futuro. Usé Google para traducir esto, por lo que puede estar un poco fuera de lugar.
J-SECTION-L: Yes, that Alpha. Aka Virgil's daughter. Speaking of which, I do have a fic on her. Do check out Crimson Abyss Reawakened on my account. I think you will like what I have planned for it.
Loner's Rad Patch: Well, perhaps not here, but in a completely different story once I am done with Wings. Since I have a plan to make our dear guests react to the Multiverse. So perhaps I could show them that when we get there, yea?
Dakzillaman: Welp, you guessed it correctly. I don't know how you are doing it, but you somehow guessed it correctly. I agree with you on how each RWBY character will be as a unit in StarCraft. But I digress. Honestly, I do not know whether there will be a holiday special. While it does sound nice, I never liked going out of what I planned. Guess we will see. Perhaps I would do a Christmas chapter if the timing is right.
Viper0Vendalmy: Thanks! We will eventually move on to Heart of the Swarm and Legacy of the Void. It will take a few years, but I want to see it through if it is the last thing I do. And I like your thoughts on what Supreme commander faction they will be.
Diego3421: Thanks for the voice of confidence! I could make them react to the warcraft world, but I would most likely put it in RWBY reacts to the multiverse kind of story when I'm done with Wings. Who knows? Don't worry much. I, too, have moments where I wonder why I wrote or did that. We all have that kind of moment occasionally.
Dr174: If you want it, you can have it. But you already know that, yea?
And we are done with the reviews I wish to address. So, let's get on with this chapter, yea?
Like before, I do not own RWBY or StarCraft or any other character from any other series. They belong to their respective owners: Rooster Teeth and StarCraft 2 belong to Blizzard Entertainment. I only own my OCs in this story.
Welcome to the Jungle
Last we left off. Our dear guests took a break after witnessing the end, with most of them headed off to learn the game with the guide of RGQC, QAI and Lily Belladonna before Everyone was dismissed to get some rest. And so, it was a day of resting and relaxation before they went through their first game.
Right now, most of our dear guests are in the dining room having a lovely chat with each other while enjoying breakfast after several hours of watching or playing. More interestingly, several of them wore clothes that corresponded to the factions they played as.
Ruby, Pyrrha, Scarlet, Sun and Fox were in primarily red and black outfits that were complex, asymmetric and angular in design. Another critical feature of their clothing
was the unusual number of cybernetic enhancements on their uniforms and the Cybran logo on their chest or shoulder.
Weiss, Yang, Jaune, Neptune and Coco wore uniforms similar to the military in Atlas but were blue and more flasher and bore the album of the UEF. Especially Weiss, which RGQC kept calling her Weissdeath, much to her annoyance and confusion about why. Only to get a cheeky smirk instead from the realm lord.
Blake, Ren, Nora, Sage, Velvet and Yatsu wore uniforms similar to what Lily Belladonna wore a while ago. They bore the emblem of the Aeon Illuminate, with Blake looking precisely like Lily. Just younger and with her hair tied in a bun. Their faces also have the brightly-coloured Markings that were on Lily earlier.
"You know, we should have taken Nora out before she got the nukes…" Yang muttered to her team as she slumped on her table as her team slowly ate their food with a nod. As for team JNPR, their morale was higher since they won, as Nora was the deciding factor in the match. Since she rushed for strategic nukes, and much to her team's concern, but it somehow worked out in their favour.
"Hahahaha! You cannot beat the queen of big booms!" Nora laughed as she had a foot on the table with her arms on her hips.
"Nora, please get off the table and eat your pancakes," Ren muttered before drinking his tea. As for Jaune and Pyrrha, they were calmly eating while glancing at Nora. Both have to admit it was pretty fun with Jaune coordinating their armies together and covering their weaknesses.
"We'll be back! And next time, it will be us who will beat cha!" Ruby shouted as Weiss rolled her eyes with a slight smile on her lips. It was surprisingly tactical and fun to play. Well… minus the part where Nora built her strategic launchers in the corner of the map. And the absolute confusion followed by panic when they heard the Strategic launch detected alert followed by Nora's maniacal laughter in their comms.
And then explosions everywhere. So much for that game.
"Oh, I would like to see you try, miss I love big guns." Nora teased as Ruby pouted in response. She just can't help herself, ok? I mean, who doesn't like ships with legs or literal mechs that are called bricks? And a giant mech that has that laser of doom! Can't forget about that!
"Settle down students," Glynda commanded everyone as she sipped her tea. "I'm sure RGQC would let all of you continue your games later." While she won't admit it, this kind of game encourages her students to manage and work together as a team in a fight.
Well… Mostly. The match that includes JNPR involves Jaune and Pyrrha working together while Ren and Nora act as their backline. And Nora is going nuke happy, as RGQC put it. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see walkers of large proportions fighting each other and the skies choked with all sorts of aircraft blasting each other.
And the nukes. So many nukes.
Speaking of new technology…
Ironwood, Penny, Pietro and Winter were in their separate group discussing what they had just witnessed from the games they'd seen just now and yesterday. Well… Mostly just now, as yesterday was dedicated to teaching everyone how to play it and a single test run game between RGQC and Lily while everyone watches.
Ironwood could only admit that it was an understatement how he was in awe of what he had just witnessed. Mechs on screen made the Colossus that Atlas had to look tiny and insignificant in size alone. Pietro was overwhelmed by the scale of everything, but all of it intrigued him to the core. And he wants to learn more.
And everyone enjoyed their lunch before heading back to the theatre room where everyone else not with them was. As for Lily, she went off somewhere. Most likely to explore more of RGQC's realm alongside Tamamo, who was acting as her guide.
When they arrived back in the theatre room when it was time, they could see those who did not join them yesterday were already waiting. Then, as if to drive to the point, Mercury commented.
"About time you guys show up. What's up with the new outfits? Playing dress-up or something?" Mercury raised an eyebrow as Cinder quietly observed them.
"I wouldn't say that." Fox was the first to speak up as everyone settled onto their seats.
"They had a game match which you missed out on." Robyn commented as she glanced at the others.
"Where's RGQC?" Ruby asked as she looked around for the realm lord.
"Fella said that he would be arriving soon red. Something about getting a new look." Torchwick explained as that got raised eyebrows. As if by luck or sheer coincidence, a portal appeared as RGQC walked in. But it was clear as day that something was different about him.
Firstly, his outfit had changed dramatically as he how has this punk ecstatic. First, he wore a green and white edgerunner jacket with black trimmings and some sort of black inner suit. Then, on his legs were a pair of high-end beige jeans with straight cuts with cyan leather flaps while wearing black platform boots reinforced with metal layering. There were also polycarbonate sport sunglasses on his forehead as well.
The second thing that everyone noticed from RGQC was that overall, parts of his skin had black articulation joints between them. A clear sign that RGQC is not like the previous forms he took. In fact, he looks more artificial in a way.
Yang lets out a whistle. "Hey, RGQC! That's quite the look. Almost make you look like a bad boy."
"Yup, and if you all were wondering what's going on with my face," RGQC smirks as he points to the side of his face as Velvet mutters out.
"Did you do something to yourself? You looked more artificial in a way…" RGQC just shrugged as he explained.
"Well, you're not wrong, Velvet. This body of mine has more cybernetic implants than my other forms. Even my cheeks have implanted artificial skin with a cyberware called Supra-Dermal Weave, which would make my skin extremely hard to penetrate to sharp blades or bullets."
…
"That's something alright," Qrow muttered softly as a couple of our guests seemed disturbed by it. Then, noticing the discomfort among the crowd, RGQC sighs.
"I get it if you are uncomfortable with what I just said about how far the augmentation is, and I will admit, it feels weird to be more mechanical than organic again. Heck, even my eyes are cybernetic implants."
"That sounds both interesting and incredibly disturbing. Since you're cutting bits of yourself and replacing them with mechanical versions. That got to have negatives to your psyche doing all that." Pietro says as RGQC just nods.
"Yup. Too many cybernetic implants can drive you insane in a particular illness called cyberpsychosis. This mental illness results in the patient losing their empathy and becoming increasingly erratic and violent the more implants they have. Of course, therapy exists to help reduce the chances of it happening. But even then, you will never be the same after it."
"Have you ever gone through it before?" Penny asks as RGQC shakes his head.
"I'd rather shoot myself and regenerate rather than let that happen to me. However, I heard from other realm lords that the mental damage from cyberpsychosis would linger forever until they kill themselves to regenerate from the damage." RGQC admitted.
"Didn't you say that you kill other realm lords a day back if they were to get corrupted?" Raven spoke up as RGQC sat on his chair.
"Yea. Realm lords naturally regenerate given enough time, but I possess a special ability to prevent them from regenerating. Effectively allowing me to kill them permanently." RGQC closed his eyes for a second before opening them. "Anyways, we should start now, but before that. A couple of things to address first."
RGQC raises a finger up. "First of all, High Queen Belladonna has departed from my realm and is no longer with us. She wishes you all the best of luck." RGQC's expression then became nervous. "She also wants me to tell you Cinder to go to hell for her."
"Excuse me?" Cinder scowled as Torchwick started laughing alongside Neo while everyone else looked confused.
"Wow! You must have done something bad to her to have her curse you before leaving."
"But why, though?" Ruby just looked confused. Cinder and her team are distant sure, but she doesn't deserve to go to hell. What happened in future in her world to make Mrs Belladonna despise her fellow student's existence?
"Should we be worried about that?" Emerald asked slowly as RGQC shook his head.
"Not really, the multiverse as a large place. Perhaps the Remnant she is from had Cinder be portrayed as a villain or something." RGQC lied naturally as he breathed, as everyone just accepted his answer.
RGQC then snaps his fingers as a flash appears before his audience is back into their Huntsman and Huntress outfits. "Much better, now let us begin," RGQC smirks as the theatre room darkens while the screen lights up as it had done before.
Zeratul has seen the grim fate that awaits the galaxy if Kerrigan dies. All that will remain are the Protoss-Zerg hybrid and their shadowy master.
Everyone could only shiver in fear at the thought of witnessing the end of the galaxy yesterday. And who could blame them?
"Hopefully, we will go to more light-hearted missions," Blake admits.
"Yea. I don't wanna see that again." Yang agreed with her partner as the screen changed to show the current time.
Hyperion Lab - 10:46 Shipboard Time
…
The screen lights up to show Zeratul's eyes staring at the audience while also showing on screen Hybrid Dominators and Destroyers. Zeratul then spoke to his dear friend.
"Friend Raynor, you now bear witness... to the truth. There is a malevolent presence within the Void that seeks to destroy everything we hold dear. Could this... Fallen One be a Xel'Naga? After so long... could the gods themselves seek our destruction?" He wondered as the screen changed to show Kerrigan among the numerous Zerg and Hives.
"That's a lot of Zerg," Sun mumbles as petty much everyone agrees with him.
"And Kerrigan... I can hardly believe - the wretched Queen of Blades will prevent the destruction of all that we know…" Zeratul admits as she and her Zerg fade from the screen. Leaving only Zeratul to explain.
"Yeah, me neither. Who would have guessed that she would be the one to save everyone."
Tai admits as Raven rolls her eyes at her husband's sarcasm.
"Raynor, you may soon hold Kerrigan's fate in your hands. I know only that she must live. Be wary, old friend... the hounds of the Void... are on the hunt." And so, the screen fades to black once again.
"So basically, keep Kerrigan alive somehow from people who want her dead. Which is pretty much everyone." Coco spoke up as RGQC just nodded in response.
"Yup. It won't be easy, and I'm not spoiling it at all." RGQC said as he paused, as his eyes glowed orange for a few seconds, all while a frown appeared on his face. "Looks like a fellow realm lord alerted me that something requires my attention. How unfortunate."
The realm lord quickly stood up and stretched his back. "No matter. QAI will still be here if you have any questions, so if you need anything, feel free to ask him. As for me, I got to deal with something." And so, RGQC gave a goodbye before walking left into a portal he summoned.
[I will take over, master. Good luck.]
"Where is he going?" Robyn asked while her arms were folded.
[The details of where master is going are classified. However, that should not stop this viewing at all. Let us continue.] QAI says as the screen then shows a time skip.
Hyperion Cantina - 10:04 Shipboard Time
"Back to the cantina to get a drink after all that? Can't blame him." Qrow mumbles out.
"I can't help but agree. That stuff is going to haunt my dreams for days," Roman admits as he took a sip of alcohol to relax his nerves.
The screen lights up to show Raynor back in the cantina in the morning, staring at his cup as Tychus comments on the situation. "You're lookin' a little pale there, Jimmy. What you need is another drink!"
Raynor glances at his partner before nodding his head in response and down the whole cup. He then glances up to see Tosh staring at him before he signals to come up the next second. Then, knowing that Tosh wished to speak to him, Raynor got off his seat and went to meet the local spectre in person.
"It looks like Tosh expects Raynor to talk to him at this point." Ozpin hummed.
"It's better than getting threatened to get tossed out of the ship." Ironwood added in as the screen continued.
As Raynor made it up to where the spectre was, Tosh only glanced at him to know that whatever Raynor saw, it had him shaken and saw fit to help him out. "Damn, brotha' - you look like you could use a drink." Tosh said as Raynor just huffed in response before speaking.
"I saw the last vision Zeratul put into the crystal." Raynor glances to the side to gather his thoughts. "It was a look into the future - a final battle against the hybrid. Armageddon. Somehow... Kerrigan's the key to preventing it." Raynor explained as Tosh just narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Who knows how the wheel turns? Cycles upon cycles. This much I know - Those that see the future best take heed. It's both a gift... and a curse." Tosh explained.
"A part of me feared what happened to me in the future to cause me to engage in such… abhorrent actions… Even if it is from an altar native Remnant." Ironwood rubbed his forehead.
"I guess it does make sense that seeing the future is both a blessing and a curse. Since you witnessed both the positives and the negatives of what will happen in the future." Yang scratches the back of her head as the screen resumes.
"But is it cast in stone? That's what I need to know." Raynor then asked as Tosh gave a slight shrug in response, for even he didn't know the answer himself.
"Who knows? I've heard you say we are who we choose to be. If that be true, the future cannot be fixed." Tosh gave an honest answer as Raynor looked lost in thought for a while.
"By what he said, is the bad future vision we saw yesterday in motion?" Ruby asked as all she got was shrugs from everyone else. But QAI then adds its thoughts to the matter.
[Master once told me that only you could change what happens in the future. Many in the multiverse witnessed their end and reacted differently. Some chose to fight against what was to come. Others embraced it for the better or worse. And some fight to avoid that future only to fall right into it anyways. The thing is that only you can decide the fate you desire if you are willing to make the sacrifices to achieve that dream.] QAI explained as that put everyone into thought. Even Ozpin was thinking it through.
[With that out of the way. Let us resume.] QAI then says as the screen continues.
Silence permeates as the two men are lost in thought for a while until Raynor snaps out from his thoughts. He needs to think about it elsewhere. "I'll think about it." That was all Raynor said as he left Tosh and walked towards the exit as another advert began to play on the tv screen.
This time it was about a space gas station and them selling BBQ Muta-Wings?
"This is literally just a dust station ad." Weiss deadpanned as Ruby raised an eyebrow with both curiosity and confusion.
"They eat Mutalisk wings?"
"Must be some sort of delicacy to them," Blake muttered to herself as everyone slowly turned their gazes onto Yang, who could only look puzzled at why everyone was looking at her.
"What?"
"You're not going to try Muta-wings?" Coco asks as Yang just shakes her head.
"Yea, no. I may be adventurous, but I don't wanna try that. Even though it sounds tasty." Yang explained as QAI could be heard.
[This ad is from Bubba's Gas & Grub. An interstellar pit stop space platform centred in the Tursobis Sector. Muta wings are an example of Terran cuisine and they are based on Mutalisks by the name. Its wings are one of the few parts Terrans can get out of the Zerg flyer thanks to their acidic blood, which they are not immune to.]
"And why does it have acidic blood if it can hurt itself?" Winter asks as QAI continues.
[The Mutalisk blood becomes acidic when it breaks into a fluoroantimonic compound when exposed to the atmosphere. This also makes it challenging to dissect their corpse for study as their bodies would dissolve in their own blood. And their wings are one of the only few body parts they can salvage from the carcass.] QAI says as Sun decides to speak his thoughts.
"So Muta-wings are just between ribs and chicken wings?"
[Yes.]
"Well… I know we just have lunch, but that sounds tasty. I mean, can you imagine what it must have tasted like? BBQ chicken that has the texture of ribs?" Qrow adds as the whole theatre room is silent.
…
"How did this conversion go from talking about the advert on the screen to food, then to Mutalisk biology and back to food?" Ilia wonders out loud as some of the more mature audiences could wonder the same thing.
[We should resume.] QAI says as the screen continues to show Raynor leaving the cantina.
The screen lights up to show Raynor in the armoury walking towards Swann, who is busy checking the console.
And once he arrived, Swann turned to face his commander only to see that something was seriously wrong with him. And as he put it, "Oh what the hell, cowboy, you look like crap. You been thinking about that girl again?" Swann asks as Raynor answers his chief engineer.
"He does have a point. Raynor looked unnerved as hell." Neptune commented as Fox joined in.
"So did we…"
"Kinda. I just got some bad news 'bout what might happen if we can't save her." He explained as Swann just let out an exhausted groan.
"Bah, no use worrying about what might happen if you ask me. You want me to help, you just let me know." Swann just explained as Raynor gave a smile at his friend.
"Sure, I'll keep you at your word Swann." Raynor just smiles before leaving the armoury as the screen darkens.
"Well… Someone's pretty chill about the whole thing. But, then again, he's not the one having to witness the end." Mercury said his thoughts out as everyone could only agree with him.
The screen lights up again to show Raynor in the Laboratory staring at the console, while Ariel stares at the Xel'Naga artefact for a second or two before turning her eyes on Raynor.
"I don't suppose you could give me a sample of your brain tissue for sample purposes?" Ariel suddenly asks, much to everyone's surprise. Even Raynor looked baffled at her request.
"Wait, what?" Neo sputtered out as everyone could only wonder.
…
"The process of taking a sample of brain tissue would require the subject to be deceased first! I doubt Mr Raynor could complete Ariel's request unless they possess some tools that would allow for collecting brain samples without killing the patient." Penny comments in a rather enthusiastic manner.
"Why, though?" Velvet was next to ask as Coco decided to add in.
"Perhaps to see whether his brain is much different after watching all those visions or something?"
"Uhh… sure, if something were to happen to me. Go ahead." Raynor muttered slowly as Ariel just nodded. In the meantime, the screen pans towards the tank containing the Zerg sample, growing massive enough that Zerg biomass could be seen on the bottom of the tank.
Its tentacles that wrapped the central core of the sample could be seen twitching while its 'core' seemed to pulse with life as it glowed much faster than before and could be seen. Also, it is much larger and could be caught convulsing every second.
The reactions to it are as well as you expect. Disgust and even more disdain for the Zerg sample.
"Ok… that thing is getting massive now," Tai muttered as Raven added in.
"It is."
A beep could then be heard as everyone turned to see Pietro already having his tablet out as he read through the details. "Looks like we have two entries to read. Penny, would you like to read the first one while I handle the second?"
"With pleasure, father!" Penny smiled as she began reading. "In the first entry we have here, it appears that the Zerg sample had grown a large neural cortex which allows it to react to external stimuli. This reached a point where the sample stops moving when it detects Stetmanns presence."
Penny paused for a second as she continued reading for everyone to listen. "Stetmann noticed that Zerg alpha amino acids have unique R groups, and after running some tests on them, he got stunning results! Zerg aminos can combine dead cell matter with normal proteins to biosynthesise new cells! Furthermore, their cells don't suffer generational cell degradation, which means they will never die of old age as they constantly renew themselves via radically changing cell structure."
"This also brought the idea of alloying some of their metals with Zerg tissues which, in theory, would allow buildings to heal themselves without SCVs for repairs! Another thing is that the renewal process also throws off immense energy as a by-product. Stetmann wonders if he could harness the excess energy from the renewing process." With enthusiasm, Penny finished as everyone took time to process everything she said.
"Self-healing metals. That alone would cut maintenance expenses by a large margin…" Ironwood muttered to himself.
"Now then," Pietro took control of the conversation. "I shall read the second entry, and it says that the specimen is trying to escape as Stetmann has detected several new acids in the nutrient solution."
Silence permeated the entire theatre room as Ruby softly asked. "Uh… Should they do something about that?" Pietro just softly laughs.
"Stetmann did think about asking Mr Raynor to have some Marines in the laboratory to guard it but concludes that he would most likely have it destroyed. Besides that, Stetmann came across a breakthrough when he dosed some tissue with concentrated sigma radiation. It turns out exposure to this radiation slows the growth and movement by a severe margin, and he believes that he could create a device that would safely emit radiation on the battlefield."
"Another breakthrough Stetmann made scared him." Pietro took a second to catch his breath. "He mapped his way through the DNA of some brain tissue sample, and it peered back thousands of years. He managed to isolate the strain from which the Overmind was derived. This strain would allow insight into how the Overmind controlled the Zerg."
"Oh boy," Mercury muttered.
"Can you imagine creating something that would allow you to control Grimm? Sounds both amazing and horrifying if it gets into the wrong hands." Neptune muttered as his team agreed with him.
"Yep."
The camera then zooms out to show Raynor gazing at the console as he begins to choose his research upgrades. Wishing to be of assistance as to what upgrades Raynor chose, QAI steps in.
[Mr Raynor will be choosing some research upgrades here. What they are, I will do my best to explain them all.] QAI says as everyone just gives a nod as QAI continues. [We will start with the Protoss research before moving on to the Zerg research.]
[First of all, Raynor had chosen the Ultra-capacitors upgrade. They are self-replicating and reduce the reload time of weapons and systems, thus allowing for a faster firing rate on all of their guns. The next upgrade is called Micro Filtering, which improves the harvest of vespene gas by 25%. They combine Terran and Protoss filtering technologies, allowing their refineries to reclaim more vespene gas in its purest form.]
"I wonder if we could improve our Dust refining technics… The current refining methods tend to be… ecologically harmful to the environment." Weiss lets out another sigh. "Another thought to put in when I return and take back the company after my graduation.
"I'm sure you would find a way, friend Weiss!" Penny offered words of encouragement as the Schnee heiress could only smile at Penny's enthusiasm in return.
[The last Protoss research upgrade Raynor chose is called Automated Refinery. As the name suggests, it automates the refinery process of vespene gas and no longer needs SCVs to operate and for transportation. They do this by adapting Protoss warp technology to transport gas canisters straight from the refinery to the command centre. Stetmann also wonders why the Protoss have never considered transporting vespene in this fashion. He theorises that they lack Terran creativity and pragmatism, or possibly their primitive superstitions forbid the practice.]
"Wow. Imagine the cost savings if we could teleport goods and people all over Remnant in seconds." Summer spoke as Raven added in.
"There would also be more unemployed because of it."
"Well… Someone must ensure that the teleporting goes as planned, right?" Summer meekly adds in as Tai agrees.
"She does have a point." Summer offers a sheepish smile at Raven, who just rolls her eyes as a slight smirk slowly crawls on her face. QAI could then be heard again.
[Moving on, Mr Raynor had only chosen a Zerg research upgrade, and that is Regenerative Bio-steel. It uses regenerative nanobots to slowly repair the hull of whatever vehicle it is made from. While the process is slower than that of an SCV repair, it can serve to aid frontline vehicles when the need is dire.] QAI explained as Pietro could be seen pondering to himself.
"If I have time, I should try to create nanobots when we get back. The scientific and medical bonuses of it would be immense."
"That I agree, father!" Penny cheerfully says as Robyn notices something and asks.
"Wait. What about the others? Shouldn't there be more of them?"
QAI then confirmed Robyn. [Correct. Raynor had chosen to get the technology to upgrade his Command Centres into Planetary fortresses. As you all have seen in the Cartooned episode, these buildings have increased structure plating and can defend themselves with their Ibiks cannons.]
[The next research tech he got is the Hercules-class ships. And compared to their commercial cargo transport version, these have the addition of a reinforced superstructure based on Stetmann's research of Zerg biology. As a result, these ships have a larger carrying capacity than standard transport ships like the Medivacs. If the dropship is destroyed, the troops inside the vessel will be ejected in survival pods. Though the occupants will sustain damage from such hasty evacuation.]
"That's… interesting…" Glynda glanced at Ironwood, who was rubbing his chin with interest.
[The last Zerg tech Raynor has chosen the Psi disrupter. These structures released a concentrated dose of sigma radiation that can slow Zerg movement and reaction speeds by as much as 50%. That alone makes defending against the Zerg much more manageable.] QAI explained the last Zerg research tech as Jaune hummed.
"Imagine if we have something similar to the Psi disrupter that works against Grimm. That would make our jobs so much easier, yea guys?" Jaune wondered to himself as pretty much everyone except Cinder nodded in agreement.
After choosing all his upgrades, Raynor left the Laboratory and soon ended up on the Bridge as he walked in. Matt, who was always on the Bridge, turned and noticed that something was wrong with his commander and with concern, he asked.
"You look shaken, sir. What's wrong?"
"Zeratul called it a vision of the future." Raynor explained as he paused for a second to glance to the side and gather his thoughts. "It was the end time, Matt. Armageddon. More Protoss than we ever knew existed, but there still weren't enough to stop the hybrid." Raynor said slowly as the memories of the end replayed in his mind. But unfortunately, that same vision also played in the audience's minds.
"Yea… thanks for reminding all of us of that." Sun commented as he and pretty much everyone shuddered from the memories.
"Yup." Blake muttered to herself.
"But what about Kerrigan? Wasn't she supposed to stop them?" Matt could only ask as it was the logical conclusion. Only for Raynor to shoot it down.
"In this time-line she was dead. Killed by...us." Raynor hesitates for a moment. "That's what Zeratul's been trying to tell us all along. She has to live or we're all doomed."
"But the big question is how. Last I checked, everyone wants her dead." Mercury points out as everyone agrees with him. So how is she going to save the entire galaxy when everyone hates and wants her dead?
Matt could only nod. "Understood, sir, but that doesn't sound easy."
"I know Matt. I know." Raynor lets out an exhausted sigh before shaking his head. Matt then activates the console as it brings up a map to reveal three new planets to visit. Deadman's Port remained an option as a jungle world called Bel'Shir is now available alongside a temperate world called Haven and the last planet called Tyrador VIII.
While most of the planets seemed interesting enough, it was Haven that caught everyone's attention.
"Wait, Haven's on the list of planets to visit?" Blake points out with concern as her mother agrees.
"Oh, dear. What happened over there?"
"Could it be that some of them were asymptomatic carriers like what Ms Penny Polendina said a while ago?" Robyn narrowed her eyes as she rubbed her chin. If that's the case and so close to Protoss space, that might earn their ire due to the presence of a Zerg infestation so close to them.
"Whatever's the case, I'm sure Mr Raynor will attend to it. He always does." Summer expressed her optimism as everyone agreed with her.
"What is our next destination, sir?" Matt asks as Raynor stares at the screen before selecting the planet of Bel'Shir.
Upon selecting it, Tosh appeared onscreen to give a briefing on this mission. "There's a rare gas on Bel'Shir the Protoss call 'the Breath of Creation'. They think it be a gift from their gods." Tosh explained as he let out a mischievous chuckle at the end.
"A rare gas?" Weiss raises an eyebrow. "And the Protoss on this planet called it the Breath of Creation?"
"Whatever it might be, I bet it must be a mouthful." Yang made a subtle joke as Blake stared at her while everyone else took a split second to realise it.
"Did you just make a breath joke?"
"Yup." Yang blatantly admitted it as the groans came in.
"We call it Terrazine and it be worth a fortune to the right bidder. Of course those Protoss'll kill us if they catch us on their holy ground - or at least they'll try." Tosh continued on as both Matt and Raynor looked at each other before nodding.
"Ugh. Set a course for Bel'Shir. At least that'll make me forget about the vision." Raynor muttered while Matt just nodded his head.
"Understood sir." And so, the screen darkens.
"Terrazine huh? Wonder what made those gas so valuable to sell?" Torchwick wonders as Neo joins in.
"Well, it must be special enough to try and steal it from the guards."
"I wonder what properties it might have…" Pietro hummed as Ironwood landed his eyes on him and asked.
"What makes you say that, Dr Polendina?"
"Days back, we watched as Raynor gathered Jorium crystals for Tosh, and Dr Hanson had discovered that it resonates at the same frequency as certain brain waves."
"And it could be used to produce psionic abilities in human exposed to it." Jaune adds in as Pietro smiles.
"Indeed. I believe that this Terrazine is important in Tosh's plan."
"But what plan he needs these materials for exactly." Winter adds in.
"Only time will tell." Ghira grunts as everyone agrees with the Belladonna patriarch.
The screen then lights up to show Tosh and Raynor staring at the screen as it pans over a lush jungle with a waterfall.
"Here we go." Tosh smiles as he continues. "Much prettier than Redstone, yeah?"
But Raynor was not enthusiastic about it. "I don't much like fightin' Protoss if I can avoid it." He says as the screen they were watching changes to show a Protoss base along some sort of altars could be seen littering the area. All while some kind of purplish gas could be seen erupting from the middle of it.
"Five guesses that it's the Tal'darim again." Qrow deadpanned.
"Yea… they seemed to be the standard Protoss enemy that goes against Mr Raynor." Tai mumbled as Raven added in.
"Even so, underestimating them would not bold well for anyone."
"Is this shrine where they keep those Terrazine? From the looks of it, they would have to bottle it up like vespene." Coco points it out.
"I don't know why but it feels outwardly about those Terrazine. There's just something mystical about those gas, and I can't put my thought in it." Weiss admits as the screen continues.
"Not just any old Protoss - fanatics called the Tal'darim. They believe the Terrazine is sacred, a gift from the Xel'Naga." Tosh explains as the screen pans over the place as several Protoss flyers can be seen. Including a couple of Void Rays.
"Oh… Void Rays, this is not going to be easy." Kali mumbled to herself. After all, they had seen how dangerous those ships were in Zeratul's vision. No doubt that Raynor would have trouble dealing with those massive Escort-class ships unless he has missile turrets to cover him.
"This mission won't be a cakewalk. I can tell." Ilia commented as Sun was next to speak.
"What gave it away?"
"What's the other ship we saw? I don't remember seeing that in Zeratul's vision." Ruby points out as QAI explains.
[That starship is called the Scout. They are aerospace superiority and reconnaissance starfighters which are versatile and powerful Protoss fighters, though they are generally considered more for scouting purposes. Though they are steadily in the process of being phased out by the Phoenix, they are still used by the main Protoss factions and the Tal'darim.]
Nodding at what QAI had said, Penny offered her thoughts. "Those ships do look armoured compared to the Phoenix. However, I believe that it is less manoeuvrable than them."
[Correct. Now let us continue.]
The screen then changes to show Raynor frowning when he notices the air units the Tal'darim were defending their shrines with. "If these Tal'darim bring in their air power they're gonna hammer us."
Raynor then looks over his shoulder as the camera shifts to show Swann on the Communicator behind Raynor, patched in from the Armory. "Swann, get the Goliath schematics loaded at the factory. If their anti-air missiles are still any good, we might just pull this off."
"Oh! We're getting Goliaths now?" Ruby says with excitement about getting to see now toys in action. Or in this case, seeing a new mecha in action.
"Kinda strange to hear the word Goliath and not think of the Grimm Goliaths." Yang says her thoughts out as QAI agrees.
[Understandable. Different realms have other names for everything. It can be confusing when several items or animals from different domains have the same name. I'd advise you to keep an open mind about what specific things can be called.] As the scene continued, everyone just gave QAI a hint that they understood what he meant.
"Alright, cowboy. I'll get the Goliath schematics loaded so we can build more." Swann confirmed the order as Raynor turned his head back to where he was looking at.
"How do we get to the Terrazine?" Raynor then asked the debriefing screen to change to show a Protoss altar containing the source of Terrazine, as Zealots could be seen guarding it. All while Tosh explains how to get it.
"See those altars? Tal'darim mystics set them up to collect the Terrazine. We just need to grab it." He explained as Raynor stared at the screen before concluding.
"Well, our SCVs'll be able to haul the Terrazine. We just got to keep 'em protected." He paused for a moment before continuing. "With any luck we can pick up what we need before the Tal'darim find us."
The screen then cuts to Raynor as he concludes the mission briefing. "Alright, let's get to it." The screen then fades to black.
"If they were as fanatical as the last time, I doubt good old Jimmy boy can just walk in there and take it without conflict against them." Torchwick huffs as Neo nods.
"And with them having air power, I think they might have to pull off another smash and grab not to face their wrath since now they do not have the giant laser to help them."
"Only one way to find out." Ilia mutters.
The screen then lights up again to show a decently sized Terran base with a barracks and a factory. SCVs could mine for minerals, and the Refinery could be seen automatically harvesting vespene gas without the need for SCVs to transport the vespene tank to the Command Centre.
On the field were three Goliaths and two marines on guard. Compared to the Goliaths seen under the dominion, these Goliaths were painted blue and had the Raynor's Raiders emblem on them. They could also have different paint jobs near the cockpit.
"Talk about giving them a paint job." Yang points at one of the Goliaths with sharp teeth painted on its hull.
"It looks like some of them like to personalise their goliaths. I suppose it does give it personality in a way." Ren added in as Nora was next.
"Oh! Oh! It is like us with our weapons! Except they have a mecha!"
With the operation to gather Terrazine on the go, Raynor's base got to work as his factory roared to life. At the same time, everyone can hear an alert ping as the camera pans over to several altars holding Terrazine and their Tal'darim guards as Tosh appears on the screen.
"Huh, sweet. That's a lot of them." Coco comments.
"There's a total of 12 altars that possess Terrazine in this region. How much must Raynor gather for Tosh?" Penny asks as QAI provides the answer.
[Raynor must gather at least 7 of them for Tosh.]
"There's an excess of 5 altars. I believe that the Tal'darim would do something to them once Raynor is detected." Ghira hummed in conclusion.
"Here are the coordinates for the Terrazine sites, brother. This should make our lives a little easier." Tosh gave some help to Raynor as Swann quickly took over and gave a debrief on how to gather the Terrazine.
"Our SCVs can pick up Terrazine canisters and move 'em. It'll take 'em a while to disconnect the canister so make sure you watch out for 'em."
"So, protect the SCVs as they harvest the Terrazine from any Tal'darim attacker. Sounds simple enough." Qrow mumbled.
"That appears to be the case, Qrow." Ozpin murmured as he took a sip of his cup.
As Raynor continues to prepare his base and army with a siege tank rolling out of the factory and constructing a bunker, Raynor soon receives a transmission from a pissed-off Tal'darim Executor.
"This land was sacred to the Tal'darim before Terrans ever reached the stars! You must depart immediately!" The Tal'darim Executor on Bel'Shir made his demands clear as Raynor tried to calm him down.
"Hold on now. We just need some of this gas here, and we'll be long gone before you know it."
But as expected from these kinds of fanatical Tal'darim, the response to the offer was adamantly refused. For the gas was a gift from the gods and not to be disturbed by the Terrans. "No! You shall not defile the Breath of Creation! Tal'darim warriors, execute all those who would desecrate our altars!"
"Guess diplomacy is down the drain." Blake deadpanned.
"Well… at least they tried, right?" Ruby glanced to the side.
Seconds later, a small scouting squad consisting of two Zealots and a stalker headed for Raynor's base, ready to scout and slay the trespassers. Only be immediately blown up by a siege tank and filled with lead by both Marines and Goliaths.
"Well, that was fast." One of the marines muttered as he pulled his rifle away from the bunker's entrance.
"Bah, it's always with these crazy ass fanatics and charging into their deaths as if it means nothing." Another marine uttered as he and his fellow marines left the bunker. While that was happening, Matt's face appeared on the screen as he gave an alert.
"The Protoss are mobilizing, sir. Looks like they're gonna go after our SCVs when we harvest the Terrazine. I suggest we only harvest one site at a time and run with a heavy escort."
"Well, that would work, though there's a couple of altars within proximity of each other. He could gather two at one go and save time. But I believe that would aggravate the Tal'darim defenders even further than before." Ironwood made a key observation.
Ozpin nods his head in agreement. "That is true, James. Though I wonder how much time he would have to gather all the Terrazine he needs. We all undoubtedly saw the power of the Protoss technology in the previous mission. And I do not believe he has all the time before the Tal'darim mobilises and brings in a carrier or void rays."
"Or Colossus. We all saw that thing burn through everything with those thermal lances. I honestly don't believe Mr Raynor has the firepower to deal with such threats as easily." Glynda chose to add in as everyone could only remain silent as they processed everything that was said out.
"I suppose the main job of this mission is to get in, grab as much gas as possible and get out." Weiss folded her arms and closed her eyes. Only for Yang and several others to snigger.
Weiss opened her eyes again at the sound of giggles and glared at Yang. "What?" She then asked as Yang uttered.
"You said gas." Yang continued to snicker as Weiss just rolled her eyes and groaned.
Back on the screen, there was an alert ping as the Adjutant appeared on the side of the screen. "Warning. The Tal'darim are sealing off a Terrazine altar." Adjutant says as the camera pans over to show one of the Terrazine altars being sealed by a probe while protected by some guards. Those consisted of stalkers as well as scouts.
"I knew it." Ghira says as Kali adds in after her husband.
"Then, if that's the case, they probably should stop that."
As for Raynor, he just gives a sarcastic reply about how this job won't be fast or easy. "Wonderful. The Tal'darim are sealing off the Terrazine altars so we can't get at 'em! If they keep it up we won't be able to collect enough." Raynor says as his men leave the base and head straight for the first altar in the process of being sealed off.
Everyone watched as the siege tanks that had just rolled off the factory sieged up and unleashed their Shock Cannons onto the stalkers. And as advertised, it instantly vapourised one of the stalkers on the field, alerting the probe's escorts.
That got a cackle from Nora, who watched as the remaining stalkers guarding the altar were blown to bits by the siege tanks on high ground. Everyone was concerned, especially Ren, who was keeping a close eye on her.
Goliaths unleashed their Hellfire missiles from their pods and the camera followed them as they collided against the Scout's plasma shields. They, in return, began to perform strafing attacks on Raynor's forces, who fought back just as hard.
In the end, and surprisingly without any casualties, the Tal'darim guards were eliminated and secured the first altar as they repaired and healed up, thanks to the arrival of medics and SCVs. Speaking of which, one of them spitted off from the rest. Said SCV, then plugged what looked like a massive canister onto the valve of the Terrazine altar as it slowly began to fill up.
That also started to cause the teal lights of the structures to fade for a split second before lighting up again. But it was clear that the extraction of Terrazine from the altars was damaging the altar itself.
"Is that supposed to happen?" Pyrrha asks with concern.
[Affirmative. With the Tal'darim unwilling to share Terrazine with Raynor and his forces, they have no choice but to take it by force. But, as you all can see, the extraction of Terrazine forcefully from the altars has some adverse effects.] QAI explained as the screen continued.
While the SCV worked on extracting the Terrazine from the altar, more Goliaths and tanks could arrive to assist in the defence of the SCV, as well as marines and marauders.
"So, the boss puts us to babysit those guys?" The marine points his thumb towards the SCV, busy behind him.
"Yea? Heard that the creepy guy who stays in the cantina wants those stuff for some reason." The other marine says as a medic walks into the conversation.
"That 'stuff' as you were calling, is called Terrazine."
"Whatever." The marine scoffed back. "Nobody likes a smartass." The marine passively retorts as the medic just rolls her eyes
Soon, the Tal'darim counter-attack arrived. It was a relatively a cakewalk as marine marauders focused on the ground with tanks as the Goliaths focused on the scouts above, with those starships soon crashing into the forest somewhere.
As soon as the counter-attack is dealt with, the camera pans over to the SCV as it unhooks the canister out from the valve of the alter and speaks. "I've got the first canister unhooked, sir! I'll take it to the nearest command center…"
"And that's one canister of purple gas thing ready to be brought back!" Nora shouts out as Ren mutters.
"It's called Terrazine Nora."
"Nope! Purple gas thing!" Nora just giggled as she gulped some water.
The SCV pilot says he made his way back as the rest of Raynor's army retreated to the safety of the base, which now has bunkers and missile turrets on the outer edges of the base. Eventually, the SCV returned and entered the command centre as Tosh appeared on screen to congratulate Raynor.
"Good job! That's the first canister filled." Tosh smirked as Raynor continued to build his forces up with more Goliaths.
"That's a lot of Goliaths…" Ilia muttered as Blake nodded.
"It makes sense in this situation as those guys are his only viable anti-air forces."
Raynor's men then headed north of their base to secure more altars. Only to immediately ran into a void ray who was patrolling the area a distance away. What happened next was an immediate oh crap moment as every single Goliath launched their missiles at the Void ray as it slowly turned.
"Oh boy. This ain't good." Jaune muttered as his entire team agreed with their leader.
"I doubt any of the infantry could do much against it," Pyrrha says as everyone watches as Raynor's infantry scatters and run for cover.
"That's an understatement." Robyn deadpanned.
"Assistance required." One of the pilots in the Goliath comments in a robotic voice as another responds.
"Locked on target. Engaging." More missiles were launched at the Void ray as explosions could be seen all over the starship's plasma shields. The void ray then retaliates as it unleashes its beam. The Goliaths scampered out of the way while continuously firing their missiles at the Void ray.
Though it wasn't without casualties, the Tal'darim Void ray took several Goliaths to the grave before it lost its shields and was quickly destroyed.
"Well damn. Looks like time isn't on their side." Torchwick points out as everyone has to reluctantly agree with the crime lord. As shown, one Void Ray took the hits of several Goliaths at once and still kept going. It was only due to sheer numbers that they managed to destroy it.
"Ah hell, we might die in this job boys." One marine muttered as he and everyone else regrouped among the remains of the several unfortunate Goliaths that got eviscerated. Only for him to get sucker punched in the face.
"Quit your bitching boy! I trust the commander to see us through this mission alive. Even if we're up against those crazy-ass Tal'darim. Now let's move!" Another marine with a beard ordered as all of them headed north of their position. And they ran into a Protoss Nexus point, but with Siege tanks, the destruction of it was trivial despite the presence of photon cannons and other Tal'darim defenders.
But before they could push into the base, Adjutant appeared on screen to alert everyone. "Warning. The Tal'darim are sealing off a Terrazine altar." The camera then pans not too far away from the Siege tanks to show another altar in the process of being sealed off by a probe and its escorts.
"That's oddly convenient for them to be close to where they're sealing off the altar, right?" Ilia commented as Sun added in.
"Whatever's the case, at least it makes it way easier to stop the sealing process, yea?" Sun shrugs his shoulders as his partner Neptune takes over.
"Speaking of it being conveniently close to where the siege tanks were," He paused as it happened.
In a split second, at least five tanks swerved their turrets and opened fire in the direction of the altar, and seconds later… both the probe and its stalker escorts were instantly eviscerated into nothing but scrap metal. And to the laughter of several of the audience members.
"That was fast." Robyn had to hold a chuckle back as several of the younger audience were more open about their amusement.
"Ha! Talk about going out with a literal bang!" Yang laughed out with no sense of indoor voice while making a pun. Much to the utter annoyance of everyone else at another pun. Except for Tai. Who just chuckled at his daughter's attempt to joke.
Its air escorts consisting of two scouts, flew in to avenge the loss of their brothers and were also obliterated by the number of nearby goliaths guarding the tanks. And soon, they were back to sieging the Nexus point. Shot after shot, the siege tanks tore through the Tal'darim defences. Once the Tal'darim base was sufficiently damaged, the rest of Raynor's men, plus a large number of Goliaths, pushed in and filled everything and everyone with bullets or grenades.
"Oh. An expansion place!" Ruby points out.
"And it is much closer to the altars." Summer adds in as she ruffles Ruby's hair.
"And that means the distance to secure the Terrazine canister is much quicker than before." Ozpin joined in.
As Raynor's men cleared out the remaining Tal'darim structure, the camera pans over to show a command centre flying in before landing near the mineral line. That was quickly followed by SCVs leaving it to mine minerals or beginning to build up defences to defend the new expansion. With that secured, Adjutant appeared on screen to warn them of the Tal'darim attempting to seal off another altar.
"And there they go again." Qrow deadpanned.
"You got to give them where credit is due, Qrow. They won't let up any time soon to stop Raynor from gathering some Terrazine for Tosh." Tai said to Qrow as Raven added.
"And clearly, they are more stubborn than you'll ever be brother."
"Was that supposed to be an insult or compliment, Ray?" Qrow raised an eyebrow as his twin sister did respond with a single word.
"Yes."
Spitting his forces into two, half of them headed east of the map to stop the Tal'darim's attempt to seal off another altar. At the same time, the other holds the position to protect the expansion base until it has sufficient defences. They soon came back with relatively few casualties as all of them headed west. Only to see a colossus warping in.
"Oh no! Colossus!" Ruby cried out in alarm. After all, everyone has seen how powerful these war machines were, as they could take out clumps of enemies with one attack cycle.
"Take it out! Hurry!" Jaune says urgently.
"Colossus! Take it out before it warps in!" A marine yelled out as every single Goliath fired their Hellfire missiles at once. Everyone watched as every single missile collided with the still-warping in colossus and took it out. What remained of the Colossus began to fall onto the ground as all of Raynor's troops pushed in and wiped out the remaining Tal'darim defenders in the area.
With the area secure, SCVs moved in and built-up large groups of missile turrets within the range of three altars relatively close to each other. And once they had finished their construction of several missile turrets, all three of them began extracting the Terrazine from their altars in one go.
"I know that harvesting two altars at once is risky, but three? Raynor here has balls." Yang admitted as Mercury added in.
"Yeah. Gotta give him credit here. It takes guts to pull off what I think he plans to do. Despite the risk."
As the SCVs began harvesting the Terrazine, Tosh appeared on screen, sounding impressed. "Bold move, Mr. Raynor, collecting Terrazine from three places at once!" Tosh smirked as Raynor's face appeared next.
"Sure, it's gonna be harder to keep the Tal'darim off our backs, but the quicker we're done here the sooner we can get off this rock." Raynor acknowledged as the Tal'darim Executor roared.
"You shall not steal the Breath of Creation so easily!"
"Everyone, get ready! Here they come!" A marauder yelled out as what was considered a small fleet of scouts supported by two Void Rays flew in from a distance. It wasn't long till Raynor's Goliaths, and Missile turrets began to unload their payloads onto the oncoming Tal'darim ships.
They weren't alone; however, on the ground, tens of Zealots and stalkers could be seen charging into battle and the desire to slay these Terran trespassers. Soon, the battle commences as both sides trade fire as missiles fill the air while plasma shots also fill the air. The struggle for the defence of the altars felt like it lasted for half an hour but, in truth, was only a couple of minutes max.
Dead bodies of both Terran and Protoss soon littered the combat area as several Zealots managed to get in close and cut through several marines into two or pieces. Blood soaked the ancient jungle as all three SCVs extracted the Terrazine from their respective altars and returned to the closest Command Centre. The rest of Raynor's men also followed behind, taking their wounded and dead alongside them.
"That was brutal…" Emerald muttered as Cinder silently nodded her head.
"That appears to be the case…"
As the SCVs return to drop off the canisters, Tosh appeared on screen, "Three down. You're doing great! Keep it up!" Tosh grinned as the third SCV entered the command centre, securing the 4th Terrazine canister needed as Raynor appeared on the screen.
"That's over half the canisters you wanted."
"Guess high risks mean high reward. He got at more than half of what Tosh needs." Neptune says as he grimaces at the sight of the dead being brought back into the Command Centre.
"Yea," Sun added in. "But because of that, he took much larger casualties. Not sure if that's worth it for a bunch of purple gas."
But time doesn't wait, and neither does the Tal'darim, as another altar was in the process of being sealed. With no time for respite, Raynor's forces moved east of their expansion base to intercept the sealing process of another altar right as they grabbed a Protoss relic in a small shrine on the way. At the same time, SCVs followed them to gather more Terrazine once the threat was dealt with.
"Talk about no time for respite." Summer says as Tai is next.
"Reminded me of that time during beacon when all four of us had to keep moving thanks to someone," Tai said as he slowly glanced at Qrow, whose semblance alerted a massive Grimm horde that outnumbered them 1 to 15.
"Oi! I know why you're looking at me, Tai! It wasn't my fault, and it wasn't that big!"
"I wouldn't call it 'big' Qrow." Raven deadpanned as Qrow just grumbled silently about his shitty semblance.
Raynor's men soon arrived and encountered more Tal'darim defenders as soon another battle reigned in the form of siege tanks shelling the exposed Tal'darim forces. That also included a colossus that happens to be there. Everyone watched as the colossus was attacked from a distance by both siege tanks and missiles from the goliaths. In fact, due to everyone focusing their fire on it, the colossus blew up and crushed several Tal'darim defenders who were underneath it.
And with the area secured, and like before, Raynor ordered his SCVs to begin extracting the Terrazine from their altars. Again, and like last time, the Tal'darim threw a combination of both air and ground forces at Raynor's men, who only have so much time to set up some fortifications.
(Poor author is getting sick of all this and will go into lesser detail now.)
"You know, after witnessing all the blood and death, I should have gotten used to it, apparently not seeing people disintegrated into ash. So how did the Terrans survive against the Protoss and Zerg again?" Yang slowly asked as QAI helpfully answered.
[Through sheer tenacity and ability to adapt to any harsh circumstances. Same with the rest of you. Humanity in the multiverse has proven to be tenacious and adaptive to its surroundings. Either in peace or through combat.]
"Just like how we all stand against the Grimm and survive, right?" Penny spoke up as QAI confirmed her.
[Correct.]
Another slaughter soon happened as the forces of Raynor and the Tal'darim clashed again. But soon, the Tal'darim were repulsed as two SCVs quickly took the Terrazine back to the command center as more reinforcements arrived to assist the remaining forces in stopping the next sealing attempt.
The screen then follows the two SCVs carrying the canister full of Terrazine back into the command centre, and once they did, Tosh appeared on screen to report on the situation. "You and your Raiders sure can walk the walk! We just need one more canister."
"Better be worth the lives lost here…" Ironwood mutters in distrust at the thought of losing men in a job to secure this Terrazine.
The camera then pans back to show Raynor's army heading far west of the operational area laying waste via Siege tanks on the surrounding Tal'darim. At the same time, Goliaths could unleash all their missile batteries on any aircraft in the vicinity. Especially Void rays.
Soon, Raynor's men pushed through and secured the altar for the final SCV to begin extracting Terrazine from it. Even more missile turrets were built near the Terrazine alter, and the Tal'darim Executor was not happy. Not at all.
"These reckless Terrans must be stopped! Slay them all!" He roared as a massive fleet could fly in, much to everyone's shock.
"Holy hell! That's a big fleet!" Mercury cried out.
"One… Two… There are four of those ships!" Ruby points out in a panic when she counts four Void Rays heading in with the support of tens of Scouts.
"They'd aren't going to get most out alive!" Neo says it with urgency as Raynor's men share that feeling as they begin showing signs of worry that they will never make it out of her alive.
Nevertheless, they held and fought on to buy time for the SCV to extract the Terrazine from the altar. And they did it! Though barely, the number of losses to buy additional time was staggering. But thanks to the presence of Siege tanks, most of the attacks on land were dealt with ease. But the air was the problem as Void Rays burned through not only the missile turrets but also Goliaths and anyone that happened to be in the Void Ray's attacks.
But they held on for long enough for the final extraction of Terrazine to be completed. And once that happened, two Hercules-class ships could be seen landing down as a medic yelled out for everyone to hear. "Evac has arrived! Everyone! Get inside of it now! We're leaving this place!"
"About time. I believe they were about to get overwhelmed." Ghira says as Kali lets out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. At least some made it out of there."
"But some must pay the price, unfortunately." Glynda muttered as the screen resumed.
Every person on the field retreated into the Hercules, and the audience watched as it took off and flew away with its passenger. What remains of the Tal'darim fleet chased after them with a burning desire to uphold vengeance. Unaware that the SCV harvesting the last Terrazine managed to escape from the scene.
"Yea! They got the last canister out of there!" Ruby cheered. But the mood was silent as they witnessed many lives lost to gather this Terrazine gas for Tosh. They better be worth it.
"Uh-huh. But was it worth losing so many lives to get this gas?" Weiss wondered.
[In any conflict. Any causalities are to be expected. As we said before, all you can do is minimise the casualties in a battle.] QAI said as the camera panned towards the SCV as it made it back to the expansion Command Center and once it entered in to deposit it, Raynor appeared on the screen.
"That's the last canister! I think we've outstayed our welcome, boys!" Raynor says as every single person quickly rushes into the buildings before all those buildings that can take off activates their thrusters and took off.
The camera then pans towards a command center flying away, with at least four factories and two barracks tailing behind it. The screen then fades to black.
"That's a lot of factories." Sun muttered.
"I guess that explains the absurd number of Goliaths on the field. But they still struggled to deal with those Void Rays." Ilia says as everyone can only nod in agreement as the lights come back on.
[And we are done with this mission. You can either take a break or stay here until the subsequent viewing begins. Master is done with his-] Whatever QAI was saying was interrupted when a portal appeared out of nowhere. It was followed by RGQC flying out of it and crashing against the theatre room wall in front of everyone.
"Ow." RGQC muttered as the portal he came out from closed.
"Uhh… RGQC? What was that?" Ruby asked as the realm lord pushed himself off his feet and dusted himself before rubbing his slightly redden cheeks.
"Some stuff involved another realm lord. Nothing to worry about besides her sucker punching me in the face through a portal," RGQC rolled his eyes. "And all of it was because of her distaste of technology."
"Right…" Pyrrha mumbled.
"Eh, whatever. I see that you all have finished watching. I got more work to deal with, and we can continue watching after a short break, okay?" RGQC waved everyone off as they got off their seats and left the theatre room. Leaving the realm lord alone.
And we are done!
First of all, I am so sorry that this chapter was released a day late. First-time ever since I started writing fanfic over two years ago.
THE SHAME UPON ME.
And the reason for that, well… I got heavily distracted with a combination of Cyberpunk 2077, a new VR headset my sis got for the whole household to use, work and procrastination to do anything and games. PAIN.
Besides reading me self-deprecating myself, I hope you at least enjoyed the chapter overall. It's good to be back writing the main missions after completing the bonus campaign. But yea. RGQC changed his look and as you can tell, his outfit is actually based on V in my game.
Also watching Edgerunner was pain.
So, yea, I have nothing else to say now. If you like my work and want to see more of it in the future, favourite and follow this work of mine. Suppose you wish to say anything to me, good or bad. Leave a review. I will answer it if I feel it is relevant or want to address it.
Other than that, I will see ya guys in the next chapter soon.
RGQC out!