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C.S.V. Liberator (Chapter 1)Jason Fondor, captain of the Nova Squadron Science Vessel "Liberator", bit back a swear as his 1st Officer shouted "Twelve Mutalisks approaching at 3:00, full alert!"
The red-alert lights blazed with the loud humming of the alarms, the Captain sat down and watched as the Zerg approached, ready to rip his ship to pieces. The bridge was
full of scrambling Lieutenants and Cadets watching how their superiors operated in combat situations. "Launch the Wraiths, and set up a defense matrix around them, fire
up the irradiate!"
Commander Wilkins, 1st Officer of the Confederate Science Vessel Liberator, sent the commands to engineering. The six Wraiths launched from their external docking clamps and zoomed toward the Mutalisks, which were about 40 seconds from firing range. Suddenly, his com-link beeped. He could barely hear it through all the noise, but he flipped it on, "Wilkins here." It was his daughter, Lisa. She picked a hell of a time to call. "Can you call back later, daddy's got to calm the captain down before his skull pop out of his skin." He flipped the com-link off and took a quick glance at the Captain. He was sweatier than a siege-tank operator on Char, and just as annoyed. The Captain called
Wilkins over, "Take the bridge, I'm going to go see how engineering is doing with those irradiate projectors." He hopped out of his chair and stepped into the turbolift, the doors slid behind him silently.
The Wraiths were engaging the Mutalisks s, and it wasn't going too well. Three Mutalisks were dead, one hurt, and three of the Wraiths were heavily damaged. He watched as a Wraith exploded into an expanding ball of gas and fire. A Lieutenant announced, "Irradiate projectors ready, Commander. Power supply is at full." He looked at a tactical display on the wall that showed three Wraiths left, and only 4 Mutalisks had died. Three of them were in tight formation, blasting Glave Wurms at the Liberator. The perfect target for irradiating. "Lock on to those three heading for us, Lieutenant. Fire." The Mutalisks were surrounded with green gas, they tried to break formation but the effects of the gas slowed them down. They each exploded into a floating ball of blood and carapace. Five Mutalisks left, two Wraiths, and enough energy for one more irradiate. Considering that they were escaping from the now demolished Terran colony of Mau Sara, the frustrated officer felt a little lucky to have only been chased by 12 Mutalisks s. The Wraiths were dead, and the Mutalisks were flying in groups of two, making one irradiate not enough to kill them. If he got 2, the other 2 would finish them off.
Captain Fondor rushed into the bridge, and took back his chair. He looked at the wall-mounted tactical display and swore to himself... Then he grinned. "Target the closest group of Mutalisks and fire, Luitenant."
The two Mutalisks were vaporized, and now only two remained. He shouted to one of the officers, "Do we have any spare parts or weapons for those Wraiths?" The Officer gave an affirmative. Wilkins finally smiled back, realizing the plan. "Fondor to engineering, taker all the spare weapons for the Wraiths and mount them on the ship on the double! Then link them to the bridge gunnery system."
The two Mutalisks were 40 seconds from firing range, distracted by the earlier skirmish with the Wraiths.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! What's taking them so long!!" Fondor thought as he read 10 seconds until they were vaped by two stinking Mutalisks. His com-link suddenly beeped, "Captain, the guns are mounted and ready for firing."
"Thank you, promotions for everyone in engineering!" He heard a collective "woo-hoo" and flipped off his com-link. "Target Mutalisks and fire with everything we have, Lieutenant." There were six missile launchers, and 5 replacement burst-cannons mounted on the side of the ship, each blasting away at the doomed Zerg.
Soon it was over, and the Liberator survived with minimal damage, with the exception of six Wraiths. He tried to relax himself by remembering that the pilots were mostly rookies,
fighting an enemy that suffered no fatigue, had no remorse, but fortunately wasn't all to bright, for today anyway.
Wilkins walked up to the command chair, "Captain, Tarsonis has ordered that we return their immediately....."
There's no way news of their victory could have reached Tarsonis that fast!
"For WHAT, Commander?" Wilkins looked like they had lost the battle against those 12 Mutalisks, then he spoke up, "To assist in the defense of the central platforms protecting the
Coneferate capital... Against Sons of Korhal and....."
Fondor was getting impatient, "AND, Commander?"
"And Alpha Squadron forces, sir. General Duke has defected to the Sons of Korhal."
The Captain could almost HEAR the collective thoughts of everyone on the bridge... "We're dead."
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