Episode 8- The Mar sara assignment.

Being assigned as magistrate at the edges of Confederacy isn't any man or woman's dream. Add that it is the end of terran civilization, and you can feel the great unknown slowly slip into your mind, making you unsure if the next day wouldn't be your last. Add the sister planet of the one you are flying to being glasses by some aliens, and you don't need to fear the great unknown. Because you can be sure that something WILL happen, and the expected length of your life is rather short. So, going towards your doom, you can save people, or become a loon.

The magistrate inner narrative was interrupted when he heard his pilot say "someone is hailing us"

He walked over to her, standing somewhat to the side.

"Confederacy?"

"No, it's personal communication. In fact, it's very close to us, like, very very close."

"Are we gonna crash? Is it invisible? A wraith?"

"No, no, it's smaller than us, smaller than any ship to be exact. And, it's flying beside us".

"The anticipation is killing me! Open it already".

There was a moment of silence, then green light sprung up, forming a screen. They were shown a young man, or rather his face in a space mask, and nothing more. It seems the communication was very close and personal.

"You know you are flying into a boiling hotpot of high tensions, just waiting to blow?"

"I'm painfully aware, I'm also painfully aware that I don't have much of a choice. And what are YOU doing here?"

"You know, just flying around taking in the fresh air".

"Fresh, in cosmos?"

"Well, I do have bottles with freshly packed air, so yes."

"Where are you exactly?" asked the pilot, a little tired of the banter, "My scanner shows only something small, no ship outline or model."

"Slow down a little, and I will show you".

Doing just that, they soon saw a metallic thing emerging from their left, revealing to be a Giant Metal Chicken, with golden wings equipped with a small thruster.

To say they were completely unprepared, would be the truth. Smiling at their gobsmacked expressions, the raider waved to them, his smug grim very noticeable on the screen.

"Anyway, I warned you, so I leave you my contact data, and return to doing my thing".

With that he flew to the side, quickly disappearing from their view, and a while later from the scanner.

"What the actual F ck?!

"I like him already, him and his big metallic-"

"Don't even finish that sentence!"

"Flying bird, what did you expect me to say? You take me for some uncultured swine? I expected better from you."

The pilot just sighed and returned to piloting, there was just so much Bullshit she could take.

The magistrate returned to his seat, his grin growing, and though going so much brighter than before.


He would call the training a complete waste of time, and he would be right. Becoming a magistrate takes much more training similar to this, so having to do the same countless times, It grates the nerves. But, there is one completely new thing. The few dog-like creatures that attacked marines under his command. They were definitely unfriendly looking, what with all those spikes, claws and needle teeth. He, and most of all his men as well, were glad it didn't reach them, swish kebabs are great, but only as food in restaurants, without humans in them.

.

"Hey boss?" He was torn from his musings second time this day, if it wasn't the sense of his existence, he would start worrying,

"Hmm?"

"One of the Tomato Riders is gliding our way."

"Wait, what?" He was completely blown away the second time this day, now he could start to worry. "What do you mean, Tomato Rider?!"

"Oh, how ignorant of me, of course you wouldn't know"

"Know what?" Magistrate was beginning to grow more tired of all those new thing popping up.

"It's their official name, they registered it and everything."

"But why Tomato and, I don't know, Blood?

"It's the name of their home planet, and the official statement was "We just want to expand outward" and that was it."

"So what one of them is doing here?"

"Their homeworld is actually very close to ours, in space terms we are like brother and sister. So after the Chau Sara was blown to bits, all of the tomato knights arrived here, and just wandered around helping if needed, and mostly doing their own thing".

Magistrate just walked over to one of his command center's screens, taking at the object closing in. Squinting, and practically touching the screen with his nose, he asked the marin standing by "Do they all use flying giant metal chickens?"

"No, they all use giant boars to travel around, only their leader is more quirky, in many, many ways."

"I think I met him before, and I am sure he is the one gliding down to us right now."

"You did? But you arrived straight here, sir."

"Well, before that, I spoke with him briefly, in space."

"This thing fly in space? That explains why he is so hard to find."

They just fell silent, watching as the thing began growing in shape, showing the giant majestic metal chicken gliding down on big, very big wings, both of them gleaming with golden light. The rest of the bird was metallic gray, but also gleaming in the light.

.

After seeing who it was, the marines outside lowered weapons, clearly knowing better. They didn't even stop him, as his chicken landed in half sprint to bleed off the momentum. Jumping down from his mount, he put his helmet on a special slot on the bird's head, and walked inside the small command center. The bird turned around and "sat", for a lack of better description. The Marines just looked at it, getting a stare back. If not for the prior experience, they would be weirded out. But the explanation they received was a smart animal like AI.

.

"Hey Magistrate. and Camill! I somewhat expected to see you there, what with your merry band being constantly thrown all over this desert world."

"If you haven't done it multiple times already, I would say you were showing off".

"And you would be right, I love showing around my big metallic… chicken".

"Ekehm, what brings you here?"

"Ah, right, you already watched the corpses of those creatures outside, yes?"

"You know something, and you want to share."

"Already seen right through me eh? Sharing is caring, and I or rather WE, care about our sisterly system, so I will share that we already dealt with them in the past, many times in fact."

"Wait what do you mean, many?"

"We destroyed 50 pockets of them, ranging from twenty to two hundred, persistent little buggers. And after that, they started to try watching us from afar with those floating things. Lucky us, they don't have anything to attack with, and that is the main purpose of building the chicken. It's something like the difference between a vulture and a tank, better on a smaller scale. Then they started to send some aerial fighters, and we needed to mobilize some older ships, and then there was breakthrough and overhaul of our equipment, then they stopped coming and THEN! We heard Chau Sara was glassed. We're still reeling somewhat, so only my band was sent to help."

"And through all of this you wanted to say?"

"We are gonna help you help colonists. The aliens or rather zerg as they are called-"

"Wait" said Camill "Why zerg?"

"That's what we found in other aliens small data bank, but anyway-"

"Other Aliens!?"

"Can I finish? Yes? good. The Zerg are showing increased activity, and considering the other Aliens, called Protoss, have problems with the pests, Mar Sara could be next."

"Protoss?"

"It was their device that showed and named the zerg. And anticipating your question, it was mostly a psionic device, so you know, no language barriers. It mostly showed that Zerg are a big threat, beware and yada yada. You get the gist right?"

"Wait, so how many of them are out there?"

"Many, too many. So we definitely don't stand a chance. I advise preparing all the colonists for evacuation. My boys already dealt with a few groups, preventing a lot of massacres, but there are only a few of us."

Magistrate digested all that information, taking a deep breath, releasing it after a while, and started to think. Five minutes later, he gained resolve.

"I will give the order, and contact the marshal. We need to stay together, and gather all the militia. If you are so good when it comes to dealing with them, can you and your men guard colonists as they travel?"

"Of course man, that's what we are here for."