Michael looked back at the compound. He didn't know what to think, "Have the SoK's mastered the art of hallucination?"
None of it made sense. He looked across to the north where he was headed. All desert, bare and empty, with maybe a few zerg here and there. What awaited him? Was there really an ancient temple? Or was it just a myth like Kal had said?
"What the?! Why am I wondering? Damn you Michael just go find out!"
There he was talking to himself again. Never the less he went on...a few yards until a giant Boom filled the air! He turned to see what it was. And there! On border of Korhal and the UED came rushing in Tanks and Goliaths with a fist's insignia on them. Michael's face became straight, "It's about time."
Anek awoke to loud roars. A thunderous earthquake shook his quarters as men ran by, toppling over each other, smashing into walls, grabbing their weapons, and yelling, "Incoming!" all the way. Anek reached for his rifle. He stumbled out of his room, half dressed, from bottom to top, in his marine suit. He rushed to the outer shell of the bunker and rushed toward the trench where he met up with the rest of the resistance. He looked over to a marine with a pair of goggles who was sighting out enemy vehicles, "What have we got?
The marine gave the goggles to Anek and described what the targets were. "We have two tanks and four Goliaths."
Anek skimmed the area, "Any footmen?"
The soldier shook his head, "No, not that I saw, but I did notice the plating on those babies! They've been upgraded alright, I could see that just by lookin at 'em.
Anek gave the goggles back to the marine as he brought out his rifle, "Then we'll have to give them a mixture of heavier weaponry as well, All troops! Prepare for bombardment!"
All the soldiers scuttled to their posts. They dropped into trenches, climbed into walls and towers, entered bunkers, anything that would prolong their firing ability. They all readied their weapons in preparation for the assault. Anek eyed every man, "Do not fire until attacked, understand?"
All the troops gave the silent affirmative and targeted their enemy units. The heavy masses of machinery closed in on the suspects but never fired. Anek and his men were puzzled. They had expected the vehicles to at least give the first ring but nothing happened. They finally reached the walls of the trench. Anek's men evacuated the inside of the trench but remained on the other side directly across from the enemy. No one fired a shot. They all stood there for a matter of minutes doing nothing but aiming their weapons at each other like a never-ending stand off.
Finally one of the marines uttered out one word..."Sir?" Anek kept his rifle raised, yet he surveyed the rest of the land through the corner of his eye. He noticed a movement from the side, but didn't pay much attention to it. He kept aim at the bulk of a tank in front of him. Another swift movement caught his attention, this time he looked. It was like a ghost moving about the compound, "Ghost. Report."
There was no response. He tried again, "Ghost why are you not at a post? report!"
There was still no response. Anek shook his head as he turned to two men assigning them extermination duty of the ghost. The two marines began to move when it happened. A huge whoomph! noise came from behind them. They both turned around. Anek look toward his tank to see it disappear before his very eyes. He lowered his gun in shock, he knew what had happened.
And over on the other side of the border, where the Son's of Korhal were stationed, dozens of dead Korhal troops covered the land. Smoke rose from destroyed vehicles and buildings. The camp was in ruins, and it was all done so stealthily. Only one could do such damage so well...
A UED marine turned around to see a cloaked figure in front of him. He heard three words,
"En Taro Adun!" The soldier gasped and with one clean swipe, he was lying on the ground. One piece on the left, and the other on the right. All the soldiers witnessed the same fate. Anek spun all around him to see his men dying. Within seconds his group was slaughtered. He ordered retreat but it was too late. The dark templar had already made it to the tower posts. He ran toward the bunker where Kal and a regiment of fighters were.
He looked up, as he was running, toward a rooftop and found the two marines fighting off the one warrior, but it was no use. Within a second one was down and in another the other also. Anek dashed for the bunker. He charged in and saw the marines shooting out the bunker windows with Kal examining the battle plans. Anek went up to the Protoss ally and threw the paper off the table as he tossed Kal a Canister rifle, "This will much more damage to our enemies than those plans."
Anek turned toward a window and opened fire on the warriors. His shots seemed to count better then the others. Protoss templar fell left and right as the single bunker stood along with a detector at its side. Kal'Buldaras looked at his weapon then back at Anek who was firing his rounds out into the field. He took one more glimpse of the gun and threw it down as he activated his psi blades. Anek heard the noise and turned to see Kal with his blades, "What are you doing? I told you that the gun would be more helpful!"
Kal only stood there as the rest of the marines fired at their targets. The shots rang in the back ground as Kal reached into Anek's mind sending him into a trance. Kal tilted his head and with one slash Anek fell. His body bloodied, and eyes wide open. Kal looked down at the Terran officer then back up at the rest of the marines. He shoved his blades through the two marine's backs and lifted them off the ground. The marines screamed in torment as their bodies twitched and jerked. He spread his arms apart and brought them back in again, smashing the two soldiers together. Their metal suits were, for once, used against them as they were crushed inside. Kal de activated his psi blades letting the two bodies fall to the ground.
He turned to look out the window. There was still a fight out there. He slowly made his way out side, the bullets screaming, bodies falling, Protoss yelling. It was all torture for Kal. He threw open the bunker doors and walked out side. All was silent. He looked one way, then the other, and finally forward. There stood a circle of templar surrounding a single marine. He was out of uniform, his armor probably scattered somewhere else. He held his gun, bleeding, in heroic defiance. Kal walked into the circle as he stared the marine down.
The marine let out pantings of air. Kal saw his exhaustion, and all the killing angered him. He looked into the marine's eyes, "I am tired of all of this killing. I want it to end and so do you, so we will end it now."
The marine sighed in relief as he dropped his gun. The moment the rifle hit the ground, the templar rushed in, their swords drawn, ready to strike. There was a loud scream and sounds of slashing and chopping. Kal turned around, his face proud and high for the glory he had gained. But it was blown out by the sight of one man.
Michael stood there, his jaw dropped, his mind blank. He knew what had happened. He knew of his friend. There was no stopping it. His anger burned inside of him. But he knew he couldn't stop such an assassination force as strong, clever, and many as this. There was no turning back. He turned around and started for the mountains in the north.
Kal knew where Michael was headed. He couldn't let him escape after seeing what had happened. If word got through then UED would never offer an alliance again and Kal's quest for universal supremacy would never be. He pointed at Michael, "There! another ghost! Don't let him escape!
Three templar warriors ran at full speed toward Michael. Michael dashed through the desert, his boots thudding against the dirt. He could feel his heart beat and his adrenaline pumping. If the templar caught up he was finished. He reached the mountain cliffs and started the climb to safety. The templar were almost to the cliffs, and he was in perfect view.
One rock at a time he slowly made his way up to the top. He reached a mid line where he came upon a rock platform. He slowly turned around and looked down. He could see the clear shapes of the naturally cloaked templar. He lowered the aim of his rifle and pulled the trigger. One shell burst out of the mobile cannon and into the side of the cliff just above one warrior. The explosion shook the wall forcing templar to let go. He fell into the air and made his way down to the ground hollering all the while. He hit the ground with a thud, and his body came into view.
Michael sighed as he turned once more and began the climb. The other templar were nearing him more now. He finally reached the top and lifted himself up onto hard ground. He looked ahead of him, more flat plain. He started his run again and gained a lot of distance before the templar reached the top as well. They looked forward and saw their target losing them. They reactivated their blades and made the charge. Michael stopped and turned around, looking for any ideas that would come to mind.
He activated his cloaking shield and started the run again. The templar kept the pace not looking forward, or to the side, but down at their obstacles ahead. Michael fell to the ground. He rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop. He laid still as the templar approached. If this didn't work he was dead. The templar came to a halt directly across from Michael. He slowly shifted his head to the side to see them. His power was running low now, and the templar did not seem to be moving. They stood there speaking their own language in confusion. Finally they stopped and headed back to the camp. Michael sighed in relief. His journey was just on the verge of being born, but it seemed as if it were right at the climax. What was out there, this was just the beginning, just the starting line.
