StarCraft: Outcasts

Chapter 4: Drained [Joseph]

Joe groaned and tossed another drained battery aside. Towering above him was the Transponder, or at least it would be as soon as he found the parts to make it run. Right now it was a metal skeleton waiting for its guts to arrive. Behind him was the archon, gazing up at the light red sky. It's been hours of searching and it seemed to be content just standing there, meditating or whatever it is Protoss do it pass time.

Joe moved his SCV through the waist deep wreckage what once was a science vessel. He had been searching for something- anything that might help get them off this rock. Joe sighed. It seemed pointless, but he couldn't give up.  He had most of the needed parts; an the auto targeting node from a broken turret that he could reconfigure to send a signal, a few conductor cells to fill out insides of the transponder and enough wires from various ships and vehicles to connect everything together. The last and biggest problem left was power.

Every power node he found had all either been used up in battle, destroyed, or leaked out in the aftermath. After searching through countless ships, it seemed to be hopeless. Joe rummaged through his compartment in his SVC to grab the best power supply he found, and  put on his goggles to scan it one more time. It was a fully intact battery from a Banshee, but it didn't had enough power to even send a signal within two klicks, muchless into orbit. It would need more energy to broadcast out of the Void. 

"There is something out there." The archon turned from gazing up at the sky.

"What do mean?" Joe said only half listening.

The archons head raised and scanned the area. "We can feel it."

"Feel what?" Joe put the battery back in his supply compartment then turned his SCV to where Nyx was looking.

The archon motioned toward the sky. "Something is up there."

Joe flipped his goggles to wideband and scanned out into the battlefield, but saw nothing other than layers of destruction. "You're going bonkers, there's nothing out there." Joe said, spinning in a slow circle.

"Zergs thoughts invade us, we can feel them approaching."

"Riiiiiight, and next you're gonna tell me your knees can tell us when it's about to rain."

"We do not understand you Joseph Swail."

Joe sighed. Let Nyx believe what it wants, but nothing survived. It's been over a week, if anything else was alive, they would've shown their face by now. "Let it go man. Nothing is out there." Joe shrugged and moved onto the next junk heap. "Alright Joe, we need to find a fully charged power source." He said, shoving a clawed hand into the debris. Hefting the arm, he lifted a hand full of pieces out of the pile.

"May I assist?" Nyx asked startling Joe. How could a massive supercharged creature sneak up on him like that?

Joe turned, "Don't' scare me like that puffball. I'm just looking around."

"We will assist," the archon said as bolt of light struck out from his back, striking a nearby rock.

"Gaaah," Joe said clenching his heart. "Could you please stop that?"

"It is unintentional influx of power."

"Well then, please go influx yourself somewhere else? I'm trying to find a power- ooooh. Nevermind, hold on and stay right there. I'll be right back."

Joe scanned the area in his mind, as he zoomed his SCV around the wreckage. Where had he seen the that regulator? All he needed was to jimmy rig an absorption conduite with the regulator and some scrap parts and he could have the battery charged in no time. Five minutes later he was ready. He set the empty battery on the charred ground and attached it to the makeshift power regulator then attached that to an absorption conduite on the other side of the path. "Okay Nyx, do me a favor and hit that thing with a blast," he pointed one of the SCV's arms to the conduite.