Omega Space Platform: Siege of Kerrigan’s Fortress over Tarsonis
Another one, John Conrad thought. Over a ridge of torn steel, a fledgling hive cluster was just getting up to speed. He motioned to the rest of his platoon to stay low. It was only a matter of moments before air support would arrive, so they could afford to play it safe… for now.
Conrad took his opportunity to study his enemy. He epitomized efficiency, and the Zerg were the height of efficiency. No commanders to salute, no protocol. Every unit knew its role, and performed its duties without thought. No conflicting egos, no warrior was insulted to be put on grunt work, nor bothered to be fed down the maw of a suicide run. This is why we are losing the war, He thought. This is why we can never win.
He was started from his daydreaming by a squawk in his ear. “What was that?” He asked.
His lieutenant’s voice came through, “The Dominion’s been routed, there’s Zerg going on the main base. Command said they can’t give us the air support.”
Conrad surveyed the siege tanks rolling down a nearby ramp. “Don’t matter. We can take it without them.”
With a wave of his hand, the tanks thundered into the hive, rolling over the drone lines, while the rest of the platoon lay torch to the partially formed hive structures, crushing the token resistance. Conrad didn’t take part in the attack. He didn’t have to. He surveyed the Zerg lines in the distance, showered as they were by shock cannon fire. Again he wondered at their lack of fear. A human would be running like a frightened dog down there, and a Protoss would be spouting some nonsense of the Khala’s End. But the Zerg… The Zerg just marched grimly into hell itself.
Conrad could see a small Zergling force massing nearby, and ordered the charge. Fire flew, and cannons thundered. The platoon cut into the side of a Zerg column encroaching on the UED main base camp. “Come on you worthless cows! Don’t you know how to fight?” He yelled into the intercom. His dwindling platoon returned a hail of blasphemy that even Conrad’s former Confederate brethren could never hope to match. Worthless. He thought, How the hell could the Dominion get whipped by such pansies?
He opened up with his own gauss rifle, and quickly gave his men a lesson. He strafed down a substantial group of zerglings. It pays to tinker with your weapons he thought gleefully as he mowed down another one.
Behind him, among the dissolving creep of the demolished hive cluster, a UED command center set down. The rest of the platoon ran for it, hoping to gain shelter. Conrad knew something was wrong, as did his lieutenant. He just didn’t know what it was…
Seeing a pulsating mass dangling from the side of the command center, he knew. “HEADS UP!” he yelled. A twisted human form dropped from the battered structure, and exploded. None of the men knew what hit them. A volley of needle sharp spines began to fall around them. Conrad was distantly aware of his lieutenant’s death scream. He ran, unable to find safety, unable to think.
In the distance, he spotted a wrecked Dominion Armored Squadron, abandoned to the void. He reached to his wrist, engaged his cloak, and waved a fond farewell to his bewildered attackers. He dodged through the Zerg swarms, firing randomly around him, making his way to the abandoned tanks. Still cloaked, he ran from vehicle to vehicle, cutting fuel lines, brake lines, oil lines, anything that had any even mildly combustible fluid in it, then climbed on top of a tank.
From his new vantage, he began to fire at a large group of Zerg, screaming, trying to attract as much attention as possible. “COME AND GET ME! EH? HOT SHIT ARE YA? COME GET SOME!” he yelled. He smiled as the Zerg descended on him, and took sadistic pleasure in firing into the spreading pool of fuel. As he watched the Zerg fry, he gave them a well-deserved finger. As the flames died, he keyed his comm. “Command? This is Conrad, my platoon is dead, I need immediate evac.” He listened, but got no response. “Command?” He looked east, and saw the UED fleet lifting off, beating a hasty retreat. “SON OF A BITCH!”
Just like Kerrigan. He thought, Left do die.
Sensing something behind him, he spun, and saw a lone zergling, watching him. He jumped down, and walked, without fear to the creature. “Bitch, I know your listening! I’m going to kill you, Sarah. I am going to kill you like I killed your damn pets. You’ll regret everything you ever did to help me.” He raised his gauss rifle, and splattered the zergling’s diminutive brain from its head.
Blue flame lit the platform, the Protoss forces were being hammered by the swarm. Conrad set out for the Dominion base, hoping to find a ship in which he could escape.
He found the base a smashed pile of twisted metal. Nothing could possibly be usable in it. Conrad found the closest approximation of a spaceport he could, but it was tilted at a sickening angle, crashed after lifting off… He cursed, and squeezed off several frustrated shots into the wreckage.
This action was greeted by a shifting. He was not alone in the base. He keyed a general channel on his comm, and said, “Anybody out there?” No reply.
Picking through the base, hoping for anything that could fly, Conrad began to consider a suicide run into the swarm. It was better than sitting around waiting for a bored zergling to jump him.
Again, something stirred in the rubble. Conrad stood ready, waiting for something to happen. Another sound, this time behind him. He spun around, just in time to feel the hammer-blow of a hydralisk attack on his right shoulder.
