starcraft: dilation

lone wolf

I stand and whatch the passing zerg. They move slowly and meticulously as I can sense the ceribrates control taking hold. I dampen my own waves and listen to it's commands. "All minions. Return to the hive cluster. We prepair for the sloughter." It built back up already? This isnt good. "What do you have for me, Sheep?" I whatch as the zerg group start rushing back twords the orginal hive cluster. "The feral brood is pulling back. Thier preparing for an attack." Looks like we dont have much time. "Copy. Ill get our defenses ready." I look around is it seems like the entire brood is pulling back. I can move around freely. "Ravens report massive movement at thier main hive. Whatever that things planning, it's not good." Preaching to the quire. "Im sending my dark Templar out to aid you. Sheep, what is your location? Perhaps you can lead them to the main hive cluster and give us an advantage on the ceribrates movements." Good idea. "Im sending a location now. Ill meet them there." I pull up my map and mark a sport thats relatively safe. As far as I've seen, it's a small blind spot the ceribrates patrols dont go through. "Im sending my dark Templar now. I prey for your safety my friend." I start moving as I connect to the Ravens and get thier data. A live feed of movement. Can always use that. "Im moving there now." I make sure my mask is locked in as the red hue of the scope marks the location and how far it is. I slide down the steep hill and start making my way to the way point. "Im sending some of my brood out strike the outlying groups. Cutting down thier numbers will aid us in our defense." Seems like Nakara likes to be aggressive. This can work in our favor. "Set up ambushes while your at it. If we can draw out a large group and distroy it, it'll be a big help." I know Nakara can do that. Her brood is more evolved and can take them head on if the groups aren't to big. "A brilliant plan. I shall reinforce your ambushes. Many of my worriers are eager to strike back at this ceribrate. This shall quench thier fury for a while." Good. "Ive got alot of tanks up and running. Sheep, im getting some of admiral Horners strike fighter platforms up. As soon as those ships are in the sky, I can support you if you want to get a little aggressive." Instresting. "Dont we need support from the fleet for those?" The Ravens are still reporting the fleet is a few days away. "Not with these ones. Thier a larger platform that can make automated fighters along with the ammunition." Finally. Some good news. "Why not simply bomb the feral brood then? This would be simple if you did not spare the formalities." If only it was that simple. "The bombers can only drop one canister at a time. Its ment to harass infantry and light mech units. The automated ones need to have a mark to launch. A mark only specialized units like ghosts or high tech Ravens can use. Long story short, we'll need the fleet to do scorched earth. No fleet, no playing it safe." Who knew Warfield tought his daughter to put things in terms even a zerg can understand. "Unfortunate. Where is this fleet anyway? You claimed it would arrive yet I do not see any fleet. Has your own people abandoned you to this planet?" Bad call. "The fleets a few days away. After Amon was distroyed, pockets of mobius corps kept popping up. Alot of planets were still being held by them along with alot of hybrid witch control them. Until we take out the remaining hybrid, the dominion, Delam and Zegara are preoccupied with hunting them down. Out of everyone, the dominion was hit the hardest and after the Tal'darem attacks, Valerian has been trying to rebuild. Its estimated that 50 percent of the fleet itself was distroyed. With casualty rates souring, new tech and weapons were being developed to ensure something like this didnt happen again. That new fleets been being built and sent out. Out of everyone, the dominion is so spread out and so spread thin, everything is on a tightrope. One wrong move and everything could potentially be thrown into chaos." Its been a hard few years. Alot of good people have died. We've lost to many of them. At least now we have people in the right places to give us a fighting chance. "That explains why overqueen Zegara has been holding swarm back. Our alliance with you terrans has been fruitful but even the zerg must expand to continue evolving. It is our purpose and nature to do so." Everyone has thier reasons. "We protos have our purpose as well. After the loss of the kala, thousands killed amd transformed into hybrid, we have been struggling to maintain our systems as well. Our alliance with both the terran and the zerg has proven to be a great boon. Our strides in technological advances has been staggering. With the reintergration of the purifier faction, we have grown stronger then ever before." I check my map as little movement is happening now. "Youve alos helped us with our advances to. Without your shared tech, we wouldn't have been able to our fleet and basic survivabilities the way are now." Thats for sure. Its nice having a better suit and the ability to change my rifle as needed. "It seems we have all benefited. We can agree on that." Thats for sure. I get to the way point as I look around and dont see anyway. "Ive made it to the targeted area." I decloack as I dont sense the ceribrates phyonic pulses anymore. "My forces will arrive shortly." I look at the Ravens data as the ceribrates brood is consolidated in the main hive. Thier just wondering around right now witch means we'll have little wiggle room when we get there. Feral zerg is the most dangerous kind of zerg. "It appears we meet again." I turn around and see a figure slowly decloacking as I recinize the crude armer and phy blade scythe. The figure approuches me as I remember the first time in saw him. "Bloodhunter." That fight. The first time I fought one. The hardest fight I've faced so far. "We meet as allies this day. It appears fate had its hand played this day." He stands tall as I see the scares I left on him day. The leg I tore off, replaced by a mechanical leg that has spikes shooting out of it for a crude but effective weapon. Armer that shows countless battles and cracked pieces from other battles. The missing eye i took after slicing the face that stared at me with eternal hatred and pure anger. "Looks like youve recovered from our fight." He stops a few inches away from me. "Indeed. Our battle left me wounded but it lead to my discovery of a strangth I only dreamed of. Now, im more deadly and more efficient than most of my brothers." Hes even stronger now? How is that possible? It took everything I had just to get him incapacitated so I could escape. The first time I failed a mission. The last one I failed to. "You appear to have gotten stronger as well. You radiate phsyonic power and your scares bare the marks of a seasoned worrier." I remembered the hard lessons I learned that day. Getting more combat experionce and focusing on close quarter combat skills helped alot in more missions then I care to remember. "The lessons I learned that day made me the ghost I am now. As much as I hate to admit it, without that fight, I would have failed more missions." His death stare appears to soften as he nods. "Indeed. We both have changed and learned. We serve diffrent masters as well serve a commen purpose." Looks like he not holding a grudge right now. At least we can wait for our rematch. He walks up next to me and faces the direction where the hive is as I see other blood hunters and more traditional dark Templar appear. "What can you tell me of our adversary?" My visor lifts as no movement is happening. "After I nuked it, there wasn't much left of the main hive cluster. We both know the main army didnt take to much of a hit but from the looks and sounds of things, the hive is growing again. The main army is huddled in the hive cluster and preparing for a attack." The other gather behind us as I look at the hunter. "My observers report the hive has bearly been birthed. This ceribrate struggles to rejuvenate. Something else pledges this brood however. Its movements are hindered and it acts spuraticly. I am unable to determine why." He looks at me as he plants his staff into the ground. "The ceribrate is losing control over its brood. Its only able to issue commands in waves that are few and far between." He folds his arms and lowers his head to look at me in the eyes. "Its losing control? Is it afflicted with something? Losing its strangth due to an outside force?" Hes calmer. More calculated then before. The blood hunters I faced after him were always reckless and spearheaded an assult that used all of thier strangth. They knew how to disable strategic defenses to get in and begin the slaughter. "As far as I can tell, Amon revived it and convinced it that he was the overmind trying to reassurt control over the swarm. He gave it more power witch im assuming was granted to it via the powers of the void. My running theory is without that power boost, it's losing it power and invertantly losing control over it own brood. The futher it's army goes, the harder it is to control it. The closer they are, the easier it is." Hes not eager to rush in. Hes thinking and trying to gather information. Good. Charging in will only get himself and his squad killed. "From my understanding, these ceribrates are hard to kill. The Templar of old required the Nerizem to deleaver the final killing strike. This one is empowered by the dark god. If we wish it's permanent death, we may need another way." I didnt think of it that way. "Maybe we just need to get you or a another dark Templar in to kill it. It might still have the same weaknesses. Conventional ways are off the table as I learned that the hard way already." Just becuase it's empowered doesnt mean it's overcome it's orginal weaknesses. The ceribrates died out shortly after the overmind did. Either that are they were forced to evolve into the original brood mother's. "Perhaphs I know of a way." We turn to see a Nerizem dark Templar walking up to us. "The ceribrates of old could be slain by us Nerizem but this one is empowered by the now dead Amon. If what you say is true, we may be able to bleed the ceribrate is starve it." Bleed it? "We are unable to withstand it's standing army. If we wish to bleed this brood, we will need more worriers and the ability to confuse it, driving it's brood into the feral state." Confuse it? That wont be hard. "I can confuse it." The hunter looks at me. "Explain." A simple command but an imposing one. His old ways are still shining through. "I can sense it's psychic pulses as it commands its brood. I can hear it's commands and what is says. If I focus hard enough, I may be able to send a jolt of energy through it's mind at its weakest points and force a command through the brood to scatter, leaving the massive army open for small attacks that will drive the swarm out more, giving us more opportunities to wittle down it's numbers." Itll be hard but I can do it. Itll leave me wide open to though and it will send everything it has to stop me. "Attacking it psychologically will lead to a quick and brutal counter. We are unprepared for a counter attack of you are to fail." I can think of another way to stop that. "Warfield, do you copy?" If I can get another nuke, it'll force the ceribrate to hold its army back more. "I read you. What do you have for me?" My visor lowers as I bring up the map and drag the hive cluster over. "Do you have another nuke ready? I think we can cause more damage and leave the ceribrate open to another attack it wont be able to recover from." I start getting data from the base. "I can get another one built for you but it'll be a while. What's your plan?" I open the communications channel to everyone. "We've come up with a few ideas on how to take this thing and it's army down but it's not going to be easy. If we can, I want to launch an attack on the main hive to deal as much damage as possible to force the swarm back to protect the ceribrate. After that, I want to try an launch a psyonic attack agenst the ceribrate and cause it brood to go feral and force it to scatter, giving us a chance to draw it's army into a trap to at least bring the numbers down to a manageable level so we launch a full scale assult and contain it and bleed it dry." Warfield bring up data. "Though it is a sound plan, we simply dont have the forces to draw the swarm into a trap. We would be overrun before we could even get a chance to contain it." Damnit. "My brood is recovering quickly and I can create ambush territories that will guarantee heavy losses to this ceribrates brood. I only require additional supplementary forces to ensure manageable losses." I look at the hunter. "Let us return to the base and discuss this further. I believe we are able to execute this and give us a chance of surviving this." I nod. "Ravens aren't seeing to much movement so we still have some time to get things ironed out. I say let try and see what we can come up with." Sounds like we're back in play. "Initiating mass recall. Well done worriers. Time for us to begin the next steps twords our victory here." For once, it's not hope that driving us forward. It accually feasible that we can beat this thing back. "I wish to know your name terran." I see the shining particles start to form around us as we're being teloportatrd back. "Sheep. General Sheep, former shadowblade turn ghost for Rayners Raiders." He lowers his arms and grabs his staff. "I am Fara'lash. Previously the third ascendant for Alarak's blood hunters, now the judicator for Kalas and his dark Templar." Looks like even the Tal'darim can learn to be calmer and accept a diffrent life style. "Pleasure to meet you Fara'lash. Ill need you and your Templar so ill wait you to be apart of this briefing. Your input and expertise will valueable for our attack." He nods as we teloport back into the base. "It would be a pleasure to plan and execute the death of this monstrosity." I reach up and unlock my mask as I let it hand. "Lets get moving them. The sooner we get a plan in action, the fast we can prepair to get off this rock." He nods. "We're in the command center now. Im getting the data gathered now so the sooner the both of you get here, the sooner we can started." I turn and start walking twords the command center. "I am pleased we are taking our time with this. I have met many great worriers and I will be grateful if thier lives are preserved." Sounds like he's grown to respect people's lives now. Good. "Though, I will bathe in our enemies blood soon. I wish to see the ferocity of this brood first hand and crush them with my own strangth." Looks like old habbits die hard. "Dont worry. There's going to be plenty of fighting. Just dont get to carried away once the fighting starts." I hear his malicious chuckle. "I may serve the first born now but I am still Tal'darim. I seek to cull the weak by making them strong and still fully intend to relish the battles to come. Strangth is always valued and seeing how the templar fight and fighting beside them, bathing in thier ruthlessness brings me great pride in my choices and picked suplicants. Hierarch Artanis charges me with leading with Kalas and I fully intend to lead as I always have. Entering the battle first and drawing the blood of my prey that hides within that hive then moving onto the next battle and the next till I die, standing beside the worriers I've trained and tought to replace me and forges even stronger worriers that will lead the next generation." At least he not as single minded as most Tal'darim. He still absolutely loves to fight but now he's grown to care about the soldiers under his care and has accepted the fact that when he dies, he dies fighting and knowing that the next one that takes his place will be just as strong, if not stronger and continue his legacy. "I can respect someone who just wants to fight and good fight and train others to be just as strong, if not stronger then you are to replace you. It takes alot for someone to recicnize that they will die someday and it takes a stronger worrier to train his successors, knowing they'll surpass them." I respect that alot. Its why I continue to keep pushing as hard as I do. Not only do I like a good fight and a good challenge, i can try and find former members of project shadow blade and/or train future ghosts who are smarter, stronger and better then I could ever be. I just hope they do the same thing i do and make a ghost branch that so strong, so smart that their called on when the elite of the elite need someone to lead them or needs someone that'll get a job done without a single issue. "Its takes more then strangth to train your replacement. Its takes the will and spirit to learn and accept your own fate and die knowing you fought for what you believe is correct. Thats what makes a good leader. Thats what forges a true worrier." I can help but chuckle. "I couldn't agree more." We walk up to the entrance of the command center as I see the mourader from before and the grizzled zealot standing guard. "Hey! Its good to see you again, general!" I walk up to up as his bulky suit forces him to look down at me. "Hows your  buddy doing? Had he recovered yet?" He takes a second to recover from the shock that I remember him and his marine friend. "He's walking again thanks to you and the caption. If it wasnt for you, we wouldn't even be here right now. I owe you guys more than just a beer. I owe y'all a whole bar for what you did!" His excitement is infectious. "Glad to hear he's doing good. What about you? Your ready to take on a ceribrate?" He struggles to contain to his confidence. He raises one of his blasters. "Im ready to take on the whoke swarm! I got another chance to show what I signed up for and im not going to waist a single second of it!" He lowers his blaster as its clear he's ready for a fight. "Good. Make sure you and your boys are ready. If things go as well as we thing they will, we'll all be getting off this planet soon and getting some r and r before hunting down the rest of mobius corps." I can sense he's ready for anything. Moruaders have always been very eager to blast anything and everything into smithereens. Its why I've always trusted the moruader corps to get something done when it comes to general distruction and mayhem. "Glad to hear it. Who knows, maybe we'll even get to go back to Korhal and see some of those new ships launch for the first time. That'll be a damn good party to get slammed at!" Good lord he's an energetic one. "Keep that positivity comming. Its people like you that'll get shit done. Its people like you that we desperately need now more then ever." I know its giving him an ego but it's people like him that'll really make the army good. "Im here to stay general. You can count on me and my boys anytime." Good. "Alright. Ill be in touch soon. Make sure you get rest whenever you can. The next few days are going to be long and I dont want you fallin asleep on me out there." He laughs. "Like hell ill do that! I ain't fallin asleep when a bug needs blastin!" The raiders always have been able to get good people in. Always ready to do whats needed. "General Warfield's waiting for inside. Best get to work before our little breather runs out." I look at Fara'lash as he finishes talking to the zealot. "Be safe out there. From what I hear about you, you like to play with fire. As much as I like to play with fire myself, I like to see people come walkin." I shake my head. "Its going to take alot more then a rouge brood to stop me. Let alone a delusional ceribrate." I walk into the command center as the repaired building looks good. A sign that things are back on track. The best sign.