Diablo 3 Armory - Unofficial Diablo 3 Fansite

Name: Sajuuk Bentus
Faction: Vaygar Raiders
Race: Terran
Affiliation: Bonecrusher’s Pirates
Points: 7

As a young lad Sajuuk grew up in a back-water fringe world. Said world was hit by a pirate raid. However, unlike most of his people, Sajuuk willing let himself be captured, saying he wanted to join the crew.
This was allowed, mainly because Sajuuk beat up a thug who claimed "this spinely kid has no ablity to fight or be a pirate." Sajuuk began his carrer in the pirate world under the eye of Captain Rommel. Eventually Sajuuk proved his worth in quick strike tactics, and by 23 he had his own crew and ship. The next five years was spent welding his crew together. He raided and plundered for Bonecrusher, and was fiercly loyal to both Bonecrusher and Rommel.
Five years later Rommel went out on a raid, and his ship didn't come back. Since then, when Sajuuk isn't raiding for Bonecrusher or doing a merc contract, he is looking for clues to what happened to Rommel to avenge the pirate.
While being very loyal to Bonecrusher, he isn't high up in the pirate higharchey, due to his mouth. He isn't afraid to point out when he thinks others are wrong, including Bonecrusher. Sometimes it is only the fact that Bonecrusher knows he is loyal that keeps Sajuuk alive. His crew is also very loyal to him, and as long as they obey his orders he is loyal to him. Most of the officers in his crew are from all the way back to his first command, are on good terms with him.

Sajuuk Bentus (pilots a Viking)
Modifiers: Armored, Mechanical, Heroic
HP: 500
Movement Speed: 3
Armor: 2
Sight: 10
Weapon: Missiles
~ Targets: Air
~ Damage 20x2
~ Cooldown: 1
~ Range: 7
Weapon: Chain Guns
~ Targets: Ground
~ Damage 10x2
~ Cooldown: 0.5
~ Range: 7
Abilities:
~Flight: Sajuuk’s Viking can fly.
~Transform: Sajuuk’s Viking can transform from air to ground mode.

Flagship: Nubaal
Battlecrusier Nubaal: The Nubaal is Sajuuk's ship, one he has captained for years now. This battlecruiser focuses on stealth and speed, rather than weapons, to get the job done. The Nubaal rarely engages in space combat, it is more for raids.

Weapons: 2
Armor: 2
Maneuverability: 5
Security: 3
Cargo: 3
Speed: 5

Tech:
Marine
Reaper
Hellion
Vulture
Diamondback
Medivac
Viking
Banshee
Raven
Nitro Pack
Infernal Preinighter
Orbital Command
Banshee Cloak

Standing Army:
59 Marines
24 reapers
12 vultures
12 hellions
12 Diamondbacks
15 Medivacs
26 Vikings
5 Ravens
13 Banshees

Name: Fleet Admiral Whitecomb
Faction:
Race: Terran
Affiliation: The Coalition
Points: 7

Admiral Alex Whitecomb, ak.a The Admiral, has been known to be a formidable opponent both on the battle field and as a strategist. Having a dark past, not even his first mate knows much about him other than his family originates from Umoja and accompanied the first colonialists to the Eurim Sector. But a man's past and demeanor doesn't matter so much if he works hard and contributes to the community. No one will bring up his past, right?

Alex Whitecomb
Modifiers: Biological, Light, Heroic
HP: 600
Energy: 200
Movement Speed: 3
Armor: 3
Sight: 9
Weapon: Gauss Rifle
~ Targets: Ground, Air
~ Damage 30 (+15 to mechanical)
~ Cooldown: 1
~ Range: 6
Abilities:
~Orbital Drop Shock Troopers: Calls down 12 marines from obit cost 600 minerals (from flagship)
~Overcharge (5 energy per attack): Adds 10 damage to Whitecombs attack.
~Plasma Burn (50 energy): 24 damage over 6 seconds, 1 second stun upon impact, 1.5 radius.
~Commanding Presence (passive): Friendlies in radius 4 around the Admiral gain 2 DPS.

Flagship: Long Night of Solstice
Long Night of Solstice, Battlecruiser
Weapons: 8
Armor: 2
Maneuverability: 4
Security: 3
Cargo: 3
Speed: 4

Tech:
Marine
Viking
Bunker
Missile turret
Medivac
Ghost

Standing Army:
220 Marines
10 Vikings
20 Medivacs
10 Ghosts

Name: Runa "Siege Breaker"
Faction: The Magma Brood
Race: Zerg (Infested Terran)
Affiliation: The Gracken Brood
Points: 0

Runa, despite being an infested Terran are quite different then her appearance, and actions on the battlefield might assume from the brutal and efficient way she goes about with her missions, the truth is that even after her infestation some unknown time ago by the Magma Broods former leader a Cerebrate known as Shuul, the exact details of how Shuul met it’s end are unknown, but rumors among the older members of Runas’ Brood all agree that their new leader played more than a small part in the cerebrates demise, she has retained her somewhat jolly and easy going nature while also enhancing the specialty from before she was infested, namely sabotage.

Only a select few of Runas’ most trusted generals know that Runa and Shuul actually had a deal going on long before Runa was actually Infested and that Shuuls death and Runas’ ascension to lead the brood had been agreed long before the Cerebrates demise.

Runa and Shuuls’ brood had by chance met while attempting to sabotage the same Protoss facility, and Runas low level psionic ability ended up saving her life that day, being a Linguapath, able to understand just about any language after just a few seconds, she managed to broker a deal with Shuul, simply because they both was after the same thing, destroying the base, the fact that that Shuul hated Protoss more than Terrans helped out as well, this deal slowly developed into respect then something akin to an extremely unlikely friendship between the two over several years of encounters.

It was this friendship that caused Runas eventual infestation as during a classified mission Runa was exposed to an experimental virus that was slowly killing her, and with no cure apparent from her employers, who viewed her as disposable, she turned to the only one she knew could help her, Shuul hardly needed any convincing and within a day she had been added to the brood, over the next few decades the relationship between Shuul and Runa remained good and Shuuls trust in his new lieutenant, who he had left almost completely untouched mentally as a sign of his appreciation of her company, grew steadily.

That trust also ended up saving Runas life, as she was away on an important mission when the Fenris Brood for one reason or another attacked the Magma Broods home world and destroyed Shuul, in the ensuing psionic backlash of the brood Runa did the one thing she had been trained to do take control of the situation, and in the span of just a few days Runa was in complete control of the survivors from the assault.

Without anywhere else to go Runa went to the Cerebrate Draal to seek aid, Shuul had introduced Runa to its close ally Draal long before as Shuul and Draal where allies and had a rather good relationship with one another simply because their fighting styles complemented one another and they generally had the same outlook on things, although Shuul viewed Draal more as a mentor and teacher than a superior, an outlook Runa came to share over the years, in battle Shuul would sabotage key structures within a stronghold or kill of key personnel, weakening the defenses while Draals powerful siege units would hammer their walls and destroy their armies with the overwhelming strength of his siege units, a beneficial relationship they both had profited from.

Runa
Modifiers: Biological, Heroic, Armored
HP: 400
Movement Speed: 3
Armor: 3
Sight: 8
Weapon: Gatling Spines:
~ Targets: Ground, Air
~ Damage 10 x 5
~ Cooldown: 1
~ Range: 6
Weapon: Ripper Claws:
~ Targets: Ground
~ Damage: 25 x 2
~ Cooldown: 1
~ Range: Melee
Abilities:
~ Hyper Regeneration: Runa constantly regenerates 10 hp/sec
~ Disguise:As per the Changelings ability, but it's at-will and not a passivle ability, attacking breaks the effect. With the understanding that if the base is on alert and the commander's attention is not otherwise distracted, Runa can be quite easily spotted. If there is no reason to suspect infiltration, or attention happens to be directed elsewhere more important, it can be very effective.
~ Sabotage:Places a charge of Baneling puss on target mechanical unit or structure that detonates on command, dealing 50 damage to mechanical units or 100 damage to structures. Any number of charges can be placed on a single target. 5 second channel. 20 charges max, 60 second recharge per charge(They recharge one at a time. To a maximum of 20 charges.) Only 20 charges may be active at one time.
~ Infra-Vision: Runa is a Detector since she can see into the infra-red spectrum.

Flagship: Ferrog
Ferrog, a Leviathan bred to serve as Runa’s flagship, a gift from Shuul

Weapons: 4
Armor: 4
Maneuverability: 4
Security: 4
Cargo: 3
Speed: 5

Tech:
Zergling
Queen
Roach
Overseer
Metabolic boost
Burrow
Tunneling Claws
Galial reconstitution
Mutalisk

Standing Army:
100 Zerglings
10 Queens
40 Roaches
25 Mutalisks
10 Overseers

Character Name: Razarac
Faction: The Kanja Brood
Race: Zerg
Affiliation: The Fenrir Brood
Points: 6

Razarac was already a relatively old zergling by the time he was part of the zerg attack on Apoca. Havign lived for more than two years, he was experienced and his body was tougher than that of other zerglings. However, none of that could have prepared him for the destruction of Apoca by the terran Arken. The sheer force of the blow and the radiation caused by it was enough to send him flying into space and overcome even his zerg resistance to radiation, causing his cells to mutate out of control and grow into huge tumors.

Alone, adrift in space and dying with each passing minute, Razarac experienced something few zerg ever did: a lack of control by a cerebrate or Overmind. Together with his mutating genes, this sense of freedom allowed Razarac to experience a level of sentience that was above that of a normal zerg but not nearly as aware as a terran's or protoss'.

Using this, Razarac called out to the Void in the hope that someone would rescue him. His call was answered by none other than the brood mother Shaharaz who was in the process of reforming the Fenris brood. Seeing his elevated level of consciousness, she offered him a deal: In return for salvation, he would acknowledge her dominance and serve her for the rest of his life.

Seeing no other options and finding Shaharaz's offer rather appealing, Razarac accepted and acknowledged her dominance. The Brood Mother rescued him and, after preventing the raging tumors from killing him, used the wealth of all his mutations to improve his body until he was far stronger than any normal zerg.

Then, she named him Razarac and said to him: "You are my destroyer and you shall destroy the will and resolve of my enemies".

This, Razarac has happily done, leading the Kanja Brood in battle ever since he had been rescued and obeying the orders of his Master. However, recently, with the time and sentience to think, Razarac has felt a deep longing, a calling deeper than his allegiance to Shaharaz, one that came from within him and not from the outside. While he is as ferocious in battle as he was when he first joined the Fenris brood, Razarac is spending an increasing amount of time outside of battle pondering this new call.

Razarac
Modifiers: Ground, Light, Hero.
HP: 700
Mov. Speed: 4
Armor: 3
Sight: 10
Weapon: Tooth and Claw
~ Targets: Ground
~ Damage: 20(+8 vs armored)
~ Cooldown: .5
~ Range: Melee
~ AOE: frontal cone of 1
Abilities:
~ Toughened Hide (passive): All ranged attacks made against Razarac have their damage lowered by 3.
~ Flight: Razarac extends his wings and flies. Can attack air units at melee range. Can no longer attack ground units. Can be toggled. Cooldown: 10 seconds.

~ Feed: Kills a target friendly zerg ground unit and healed for the target's health. Can feed five times before a thirty second cooldown. Only works on zerglings, queens, roaches and hydralisks.

Flagship: Pangar (Behemoth):

Weapons: 2
Armor: 2
Maneuverability: 3
Security: 3
Cargo: 4
Speed: 4

Tech:
Zergling
Baneling
Queen
Hydralisk
Spore Crawler
Zergling Speed
Baneling Speed
Lv. 1 melee attack
Lv. 1 ground armor.

Standing Army:

200 Zerglings
25 Queens
100 Banelings
100 Hydralisks

Name: Zeroth
Faction:
Race: Protoss
Affiliation: The Wandering Tribes
Points: 0

Though Zeroth was originally a Executor in The Ancestral Imperium of Protoss, Zeroth soon realized how pointless the fighting was so, he mostly devoted himself to the research of newer technologies in hope of ending the war peacefully and stopping all the unnecessary blood shed.

Though being trained as a zealot, Zeroth always had a strong devotion towards science and had a lab constructed in his ship where he could tinker all he wanted to. Shortly after, seeing that there was no way to convince the Council that his ideas were right, Zeroth left The Ancestral Imperium of Protoss. All Zeroth brought along with him was his ship,crew and his lab.

Knowing of his intending departure, The Council tried to stop him for aboard his ship, hundreds of designs, schematics and working prototypes could help bring The Ancestral Imperium of Protoss back to its seat of power. During the escape, multiple carriers, void rays and even tempest of his own design tried to stop him, but with the modifications made to his ship, Zeroth was able to escape rather easily.

Zeroth now considers himself as part of the wandering tribes for he has now devoted himself to science, either by upgrading his ship or by creating new, radical designs to improve the weaponry on board. Having valuable technology and ideas, Zeroth was soon contacted by one of the wandering tribes, soon afterwards, a few seemingly random coordinates were picked by The Ark's sensor array. Following these coordinates, The Ark soon found itself on the edge of know space.

After they arrived, a planet was seen against a sun. On that planet a small cloaked city was hidden, and within was one of the wandering tribes. After sharing information and technology.... the tribe asked Zeroth a few questions about his past. Zeroth said whats was needed to be said and soon, he was accepted into the tribe.

Zeroth
Modifiers: Biological, Light, Psionic, Heroic
HP: 400
SP: 200
Movement Speed: 5
Armor: 3
Sight: 9
Weapon: Psi Blades::
~ Targets: Ground
~ Damage 25 x 2
~ Cooldown: 1
~ Range: Melee

Abilities:
~Chronosphere (75 Energy, 10 sec Cooldown): The result of years of breakthroughs, The Chronosphere temporarily slows time down by 10000% in a radius of 2 for 5 seconds. The only one who is not affected by this is the user. All range attacks are rendered useless when shooting into this.
~Tempest (50 energy+10/s, 30 sec Cooldown):By temporarily overcharging his new zealot suit, Zeroth gains amazing strength, speed and damage for a short period of time. With this active Zeroth gains boosted damage. speed and an small AoE. Gains: Damage: +16 (8 to each attack), Speed: +1, AoE: +1
~Infinity Shields (passive): This shield generator was originally meant for the immortal but Zeroth managed to compress it enough that it could be used for himself. This shield, like the immortal, suppressed all damage 10 and above to 10 damage. This effect works only if Zeroth has shields.


Flagship: The Ark

The Ark is a mothership that has been modified for Zeroth's needs. For instance the ships quantum engines are very unique, for instead of moving the ship around the universe, these engines move the universe around the ship. Therefore this mothership has a far better speed and mobility than the eye sees. Due to all the energy moved to the engines, The Breaking Dawn has a very low attack power and defense. Its main purpose is to get from point A to point B in a flash.

Weapons: 3
Armor: 3
Maneuverability: 5
Security: 3
Cargo: 3
Speed: 5

Tech:

Zealot
Sentry
Stalker
Observer
Immortal
Phoenix
Voidray

Standing Army:

20 Zealots
25 Stalkers
10 Sentries
10 Observers
10 Immortals
25 Phoenixes
30 Voidrays

Domovoi raised the wineglass to his lips, and hesitated shortly before taking a sip, looking out of the massive glass windows from the top of his skyscraper at the city below him.

He wore a dark blue leather-like jacket that wasn't closed by buttons at the center but almost at his right arm, and the buttons were silver. His pants were made of the same material, and he wore matching gloves as well – He had been training to fight in close combat for as long as he could remember, and felt uncomfortable in formal clothes. Above it all he wore a royal blue cloak with a thick silver thread going parallel to it's edges. The cloak was large enough to cover his entire body and usually had his arms hidden, which made it easy for him to conceal weapons when he gave public speeches. Not that they were ever needed.

He wore the gloves not only to protect his hands in the almost impossible case of having to defend himself, but also because his training had left them with numerous scars, and he had suffered some severe burns. When he was sixteen, he snuck away during one of his fathers speeches and took a walk, and saw a burning building. He could hear a young girl inside, and decided to take matters into his own hands – which ended up with them being burned.

He may not like how they looked now and hid them from not only the public but from himself, but he never regretted saving that one life. It also had the nice side effect of the people liking him more than his father, who had been a ruler who cared more for military dominance than his own people. Domovoi Aranov tried to balance the two.

In the window, he saw a reflection of himself. He was in his early thirties, looked strong, handsome and intelligent, but despite his youth, his hair was bone white. People said it was a consequence of the Aranov family always marrying other nobles, practically inbreeding. Domovoi couldn't deny it, he looked through his family tree. All males going three centuries back had pure white hair, and so did a few women, and while the surnames of spouses changed, he could always track them back to the same few families. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn't marry a noble woman.

Marriage. He thought and smiled. I'm taking my time...

He walked back to his table and set down the wineglass. He had no time for women at the moment, seeing how inactive the Quantum Legion was. It was up to him and, unfortunately, that Bonecrusher guy to keep the Coalition defended. While the pirates had their uses, they didn't do well in defense unless Doom Bonecrusher was present. No matter how much he disliked the man, he had to admit that he was a strategic genius. Well, either him or that creepy templar, Waiter or whatever silly name he had. Or that short guy Kenny. He seemed odd. He could swear the the Quantum Legion had a similar person with them.

“Lord Aranov,” The elderly voice of his butler came from his door. He hadn't even heard it open. “General Wray has arrived.”

“Thank you, let him in.” Domovoi answered and smiled at the butler. He wondered how much longer he'd stay in the job – He had worked for his father when they had both been young, and traditionally the butler went out of service when the Aranov he served gave up his position. But Milotin Aranov had died merely at the age of fifty, and Domovoi didn't want to fire the man.

“Good afternoon, your highness.”

“Good afternoon as well, General.” Aranov said and gestured at a comfortable armchair, and sat in an identical one opposite it. The general sat down as well. “Wine?”

“No thanks. You know why I am here?”

“Your regular report?”

“Well, yes. We’ve shot down the flagship at Dunar, but apart from that we haven't had any direct confrontations with the Outsiders this week. Doom apparently fulfilled his promise and forced them on the defensive for a while.”

Doom. That damn pirate family always had such strange names. He thought to himself, and his smile turned genuine for a second as he realized the slight irony in that statement - Damn had been the name of Doom's father. He remembered how his own father kept ranting and raging about the pirate king. As the father, so the son. The two of them hated each other, and so do I and Doom. Too bad we have to work together.

“Good, good.” Aranov replied. “So nothing special to report?”

“Well, there is still a considerable amount of Outsider ground forces on Dunar that have bunkered themselves in, but I can handle that. And as I always say, I don't really like the zerg being so close...”

“And as I always answer, we can't go on a full offensive. We have to protect the Coalition. If we move out, the Outsiders will strike at our undefended worlds.”

“The pirates can--”

“The pirates can't defend us. They could maybe wipe out the Outsiders in that time, I wouldn't put that past them, but they honestly couldn't defend our worlds. There would be too many casualties, one way or another.”

Aranov was getting tired of this conversation. The general brought it up almost every week. Yes, Aranov wished he could clean out the closeby zerg systems to create some form of buffer space, but he knew he couldn't do it without the rest of the Coalition cooperating – Most importantly the Quantum Legion.



“Well, that was easy.” Doom said as he sat on his stool and took a bottle of rum from the bar.

He was eight feet tall, reeked of pirate (A mixture of sweat, rum and sheer badassness), and looked the same way he smelled. Long untidy black hair and beard, a t-shirt that used to be white, and urban camo pants with a holster and a heavy gun in it. And he of course wore an eye-patch over his right eye. He downed the bottle of rum in one go.

Meh, wanna-be Outsida pirates. They got no idea how ta do dis. A dark echoing voice answered.

It came from the large protoss that sat down beside the pirate. He looked very odd for a templar. First of all, his body features pointed heavily into the Nerazim direction, his unsevered nerve cords pointed towards Khalai, and his white shirt, dark grey pants and long dark grey coat were pretty much the finger of a drunk trying to point at the pink elephant that was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In addition to those human clothes he also wore wooden tribal looking necklaces and bracelets.

His name was Darth Waiter. Darth because he looked Nerazim and creepy, and because it sounded better than Dark, and Waiter not because he served food in protoss restaurants (Mostly because such a thing doesn't exist) but because he was rather patient.

“Couldn't have gone better.” Kosh, the barman, said. He was wearing a white shirt and a brown tie, pants and jacket.

“Actually...” Kenny started. He was short. He looked very young, had short brown hair, green eyes, was wearing a black hat, white shirt and black pants. He looked rather clean compared to all other pirates. “We did lose a viking.”

“Shut up, Kenny.” Doom said and grabbed another bottle of rum. “So, any other Outsiders in our territory?”

Kenny was silent.

“Kenny?”

More silence.

“Kenny, stop screwing with me. Talk.”

“Not my fault you told me to be silent.” Kenny said and smiled mischievously.

“Shut up-- Wait, damn. Talk.”

“Scanners say no one's around. Should we head back to base? Also, we have a conference call in about an hour.”

“Yea, do that.” Doom said and downed the next bottle of rum.



Neal connected the wire to the battery, then he adjusted the connection on the transformer, did a dozen other things, and flipped the switch.

“KENNY!” He yelled, but Kenny was already there with the fire extinguisher and was taking care of it. “Thanks.”

Kenny was short. He had short brown hair, green eyes, looked young, and was wearing an orange uniform.

“Neal, you here-- What did you blow up this time?” Keeva said and frowned as she got into the room.

She wasn't exactly tall, but neither short. She had long black hair, emerald eyes and a body that would leave even a homosexual stuttering in her presence. Her completely black ghost outfit didn't reduce the effect she had on men. She literally looked stunning – A fact that made a lot of assassinations easier.

She looked at the scientist Neal Smith, who had countless doctor and professor titles. His protective glasses were completely black with burn marks and he was trying to take them off so that he could see where she was. He had short blonde hair that stood up in spikes – not because he styled them that way but as a side effect of his trial-and-error experimentation style. He was covered in oil and burn marks.

At least he's wearing the lab coat and not ruining yet another shirt. she thought to herself and sighed, then helped him take off the glasses.

“Clean yourself up.” She said.

“Let me just finish--”

“Kenny, drag him to his shower.” She said and Kenny started dragging the scientist away. “We've got a conference call in a few minutes.”

She started walking towards the bridge. She liked Neal, he was the only man that never tried to ask her out or gave her a look that suggested it. She didn't like-like him, she liked him as a friend. A good one. He undid her resoc. He had somehow stopped her from killing him. That was the first time she had failed an assassination. Now she had a mind of her own, she was free. Well, as free as you could get when you had to babysit a scientist that wouldn't leave his lab by himself.

It took ten minutes till Neal got to the bridge, but at least he was clean now. Keeva nodded to a finely dressed man that sat in the captains chair, and five holographic screens lit up in front of Keeva. All the way on the left was Lord Domovoi Aranov. Then came Arthur Dent, leader of the Magrathean Empire. He looked about forty years old, had brown hair and was drinking tea. In the middle was president Doug Lass – a short round man, leader of the Tirion Republic. To his right was Orion Nells, who was about fifty, had white hair and a sort of robotic spectacle over his left eye. He was the leader of the Aurulean technocracy, and looked even more unfriendly than the two faces on the screen to his right – Doom Bonecrusher and Darth Waiter.

“Late again.” Orion commented.

“Sorry. Something blew up so I was delayed.” Neal said.

“Let's just get on with it.” Keeva said. “Anything happening?”

“Took out a small Outsider fleet in the Locker an hour ago.” Doom said. “My men in Karibia have raided the closeby Outsider planets as well.”

“We’ve shot down the Outsider ships on Dunar, but they’re hiding in the underground tunnels now. It won’t take long for us to get rid of them. Apart from that minor nuisance, nothing to report on my end.” Aranov said. “The pirates must have kept them occupied.”

“Everything's running fine. My people are happy.” Dent said with a smile.

“There have been some raids on cargo fleets.” Doug said and shrugged. “But the Pirate and Aranov escorts did their jobs.”

“I still don't like the fact that the zerg are so close.” Orion said.

“Well, we don't want to start a pointless war.” Neal answered.

“But they will!”

“We don't know that.” Keeva said “And if they do, we will defend ourselves. We've discussed this many times – And I'm sure our arguments and answers haven't changed, and there really is no point in repeating ourselves.”

“I guess that's it then?” Neal asked, eager to be back in his lab.

“Good bye.” Aranov said, and his screen disappeared. The others mumbled farewells and disappeared as well.

“Was it really necessary to pull me out of my lab?” Neal asked and started walking away. Keeva followed.

“No. But people think you are a too inactive ruler--”

“I'm not a ruler. The Quantum Legion is just supposed to be some sort of overseer in the Coalition.”

“--And you seriously shouldn't spend your entire time in the lab.”

“I take showers.”

“You installed a shower in your lab.”

“I.. Uh.. eat.”

“You don't honestly believe I don't know that you're sending Kenny to fetch your food?”

***OOC: Gina Blue is a civilian NPC whose “blag” I’m writing to give you a better idea of how people think of the factions and ongoing events. It is highly unlikely that she’ll ever personally interact with any of your characters, seeing as she’s just a civilian and going to stay out of trouble wherever possible.***

Hey guys! =)

My final exams are *finally* done! I’ve succesfully graduated from the Third Tardisian University! I can now apply to any news company and become a proper journalist! But if I did, I’d probably just have to write articles about what the lions are doing at the zoo (In short: nothing) or something else totally boring.

But if I, let’s say, travelled around the terran systems and wrote articles about the things I saw, and put all that on my resume, I’m bound to get a better job than observing lions do nothing! At least I hope that’ll happen. And if not... Well, I had my fun at least =)

And thanks to all of you who have been sending donations to make that trip possible! Much to all of you! If anyone wants to send more donations: eiw.ginablue.blag/donations

I will be leaving for Apoca tomorrow! We’ve already collected enough money for a few more trips after that! I’m thinking about Tortuga in Karibia - Who knows, maybe I get to meet the legendary and most wanted pirate Cap’n Bonecrusher himself! If you have suggestions where I should go, plz comment =)

Why Apoca? I’ve been living on Gallifrey my entire life, since even before the Federation fell and the Quantum Legion took over. While I like the Quantum Legion and everything it stands for, seeing the triangle in the sky that I know is the Arken orbitting Gallifrey stills makes me shiver, even after three years. I’ve heard about what it has done to Apoca three years ago when the Zerg had attacked and that it ended the war, but I want to see it myself.

I mean, come on, a shattered planet? Everyone knows stories are always exaggerated. I’m not going to trust the word of a drunk soldier in a bar that the Arken had actually shot a crater into the planet with such force that a chunk on the other side of Apoca had detached and formed a moon, or that the entire planet has seperated into large pieces that are barely being held together by the Legion’s machines.

The moon story has gotta be total BS - Although I wouldn’t find it hard to believe if someone told me that the impact of the Graviton Cannon shot debris into space that then clumped up and turned into a moon. But it creating a moon on the other side of the world? Trolololol

The planet splitting apart sounds a bit more reasonable, but I’m sure that’s just another exaggeration. I do expect that there will be large cracks inside it though, but not that it’s actually falling apart...

Anyway, I’ve managed to get in contact with a supply fleet from a Tirion planet which is making a stop here on Gallifrey to refuel and pick up additional crew members and supplies, and they’ve agreed to take me along for a small fee. My only other option to get to Apoca was joining a volunteering organization working to help fix the planet, and the next trip they are organizing there is in three months.

I’ll try and post as soon as possible again! =) Don’t know whether I’ll have web access on the supply ship though.

Gina

General Wray of the Aranov Consectorate is looking for someone to handle the Outsider Ground Forces on Dunar, Magrathea. Contact him on planet Zagrov, Dinari, for more info.
The Outsiders need someone to get their ground forces off Dunar, Magrathea. Contact any Outsider Officer at any of their planets.
Someone at Flamin’ Jeff’s Merc. Port (2 hexes above Myrym) is looking to hire a fleet for a retrieval mission, and isn’t afraid of zerg.
There are rumours about strange things going on in the unnamed orange system near Dras Lana and Zaratun. Maybe someone at Flamin’ Jeff’s has more info.
The Pirates at Tortuga would prefer getting drunk over blowing up Outsiders. Feel free to solve their dilemma.

The Dunar job can be a “co-op” job on both sides, it’s not just for whomever comes first. Once that one is done, more jobs will be offered by the faction you helped.

Going on an expedition to an unexplored system. (Contact a faction that could be interested (QL, Auruleans, Outsiders) for supplies and a scientific crew to accompany you, and payment for your services)
Ask a military faction for work. (Outsiders, Pirates, Aranov)
Going to a merc port and see whether anyone has something to offer.
Contact a scientific/engineering faction (QL, Auruleans, Tirion) with ideas for developing new technology (Unlocks/Creates custom units. Requires you to invest points and test out prototypes in battle over a not so short period of time.)

Black smoke mingled with white clouds while explosions echoed off in the distance. Bodies and debris littered the streets and parts of the city were still on fire. From his vantage point, Khanyr could clearly see blue sparks of electricity jumping from building to building where the capital's power grid had been damaged.

However, he paid no heed to the physical chaos and destruction before him. He was far too busy dealing with the emotional turmoil taking place inside his own head. Wave after wave of wild and untamed emotions hit him as the planet plunged deeper and deeper into chaos, filling the Khala with the fear, confusion, anger and grief of thousands of protoss.

The force of the onslaught was almost physical, forcing him to hold onto the railing in front of him as if his life depended on it. It was too much. Far, far too much...


"{That was chaos. What we are faced with here is no more than a single complaint, a whisper. It can only harm us if we spend too long debating our course of action. It does not merit our attention and should have been left to the workings of the local law enforcement,}" Khanyr concluded. A moment of silence followed the end of his argument and Odranos opened his eyes to look at the rest of the Council.

There were sixteen of them, including Khanyr and himself. Sixteen of the Imperium's most powerful and influential protoss in the same room. If the rebels had half a mind, they would concentrate all their efforts on infiltrating and destroying the building with their enemy inside instead of running about and causing messy but insignificant mischief. But they didn't. In fact, the actions of "Erana's Order" firmly convinced Odranos that the rebels had no mind to think with and instead relied on pure instinct to fight for their cause.

It was this knowledge that allowed him to attend the Ruling Council's assemblies without fear of, as terrans would put it, a nasty surprise. The assemblies themselves were, in Odranos' opinion, nothing more than nominal, a formality. Very little meaningful discussion went on and Odranos left every assembly feeling as if he had planned the whole thing before hand.

Even as the rest of the Council stirred and began to respond to Khanyr's argument, Odranos predicted their reactions and counter arguments. Malyr and A'eth would side with Khanyr's argument. The three of them were perhaps the most conservative and indecisive of the Council, as afraid of facing decisions as they were of facing change.

Umar and Naren, the rash and young "warriors" of the Council, would suggest a quick and brutal retaliation that was well beyond the Imperium's means but which they ignorantly believed was the only real way to end "the rebel nuisance".

Khandra, Sirenis, Aldram and Lanos would be convinced that increased security and law enforcement would be the correct response, an option even more foolish than what Umar and Naren would propose.

The rest of them, Virmun, Inarix, Asarun, Daros, Erriun and Arali, would remain silent, content to let others decide for them. Odranos almost trembled with disgust. This was The Ruling Council, governing body of the Ancestral Imperium of Protoss, the greatest protoss faction in existence. Most of its members had been part of it for five hundred years and even the newest member had been a member for more than a century. And yet, they had learned nothing.

It was as if all the experience and knowledge they could gain simply washed over their polished, decorated nerve cords. The Ruling Council was, in Odranos' opinion, made up of imbeciles, defective protoss completely lacking the qualities necessary for good rulership. He did not mind though. It made them easy to manipulate.

Odranos let them argue for ten minutes, only listening to make sure his assumptions were correct but otherwise ignoring their drivel: he could not stand listening to such ignorance. When their arguing died down, he spoke.

"{If you will permit it, I would speak,}" he said, addressing not only the Council members but also their various advisors and guards and doing his best to appears as respectful as possible. The chamber suddenly went quiet. Not only did the psionic communication cease but so did all physical sounds. Everyone in the chamber was still and silent as Odranos stood up and slowly walked towards the center of the chamber where everyone could see him clearly.

"{Before I begin, I would like to ensure that we all know we are not discussing an isolated incident but a string of aggressive acts performed by the rebel faction calling themselves Erana's Order and their affiliates. Over the past year, we have borne witness to an increasing number of rebel attacks, both on our borders and here, on New Aiur, the heart of the Imperium. Up till now, we have allowed the military and law enforcement agencies to handle these threats. Some of you have suggested we continue in this way.}" He lowered his head to look at the floor as he said the latter, not wanting to offend any of the Council members by naming them.

"{However, as the very existence of this assembly indicates, this is proving ineffective. The military and law enforcement agencies have proved incapable of dealing with the threat without proper instruction and planning. The most recent attack, the one we are discussing at this very moment, an assault on the monument to the Founders, on this very planet, in this very city, is, in my opinion, all the evidence we need to discard the idea of simply leaving things as they are.}" Odranos paused, waiting for some kind of response from Khanyr or his two friends. When none came, he continued, satisfied but appearing somber and weary.

"{Others have suggested a sharp and decisive counterattack, retaliation swift and final. However,I am confident that I am not the only one who would discourage such a decision. With the zerg at our very borders and our so-called brethren as tense and active as they are, our resources are spread far too thin for a direct attack to be a viable option.}"

"{So you agree with us, Odranos? You agree that we should strengthen our security measures in order to eliminate the threat?.}" This came from Khandra who, Odranos noted not for the first time, had a bad habit of speaking out of turn.


She moved her head as she spoke, causing her decorated nerve cords to jingle and add an odd flavor to her words. Odranos looked down at the floor and then began to pace back and forth, as if deep in thought.

"{The paranoid approach,}" he said after a long silence, evoking confusion and curiosity in those present. He let the silence linger for a minute longer, strengthening their interest and attention. When it looked like they couldn't wait any longer and were about to speak, he continued.

"{The rebels are not attacking us without a reason. They truly believe us to be an oppressive, corrupt and incompetent regime.}" Which we are, Odranos added to himself before continuing, although he made sure to keep the thought hidden.

"{And they seek to overthrow us by spreading this belief. By turning our own people against us.}"

"{What? By killing them and attacking their homes? That is the most ridiculous thing I-}" Odranos silenced Umar by simply standing still and glaring at the idiotic youth. The young protoss seemed to lose his courage and simply leaned back in his seat. Satisfied, Odranos continued.

"{To put it in words you will understand, Umar, the scale of the security measures needed to control our populace and prevent any further attacks would make us look like an oppresive, corrupt and incompetent regime. The rebels' aim is not to harm but to provoke. They seek to anger us, to lure us into making mistakes that would turn our subjects against us.

Theirs is not a protoss way of fighting for only terrans would stoop so low in an effort to gain power. Nonetheless, we must not deceive ourselves by thinking their strategy is inferior and flawed. Unless we react properly and with care, the rebels may very well triumph over us.}" His last sentence caused a visible stir among the rest of the Council but he did not continue, instead remaining where he was to indicate he wished to continue but was also allowing the others time to think. Surprisingly, Khanyr was the first to speak.

"{As always, your words are wisdom, Odranos. But are you merely proving our arguments wrong or do you have a suggestion of your own to share with us?}" The eyes of the Council members seemed to narrow at this.

"{I believe I can suggest a... suitable course of action,}" Odranos answered and, not expecting a response, continued.

"{We know that all these attacks are the result of the former Praetor Erana's imprisonment. This is what triggered the rebellion itself and this is what the populace believes the rebels are fighting for: Erana's freedom. In the eyes of the public, these attacks are protests against Erana's imprisonment and efforts to free her. The attack on the monument to the Founders in particular may appear as a protest.}"

"{So what do you suggest we do? Free her?}" Umar's voice was laced with scorn. The young fool thought Odranos was presenting the obvious as something unknown!

"{Nothing so drastic,}" Odranos replied, controlling his mental voice in order to appear unfazed.
"{Erana is the source of all this turmoil and she is located right here, on New Aiur. Her presence makes New Aiur a logical target both to her "Order" and in the eyes of the populace. If she were to simply be removed from the planet, the rebels would lose any public sympathy regarding their attacks on this planet.

If they are foolish enough to continue with their attacks, any increased security measures would become justified and our options would become more numerous. For now however, I believe this is the best way to deal with the threat.}"

"{But there is no guarantee that the attacks would stop?}" asked Inarix.

"{No, but that is beside the point. The attacks may continue but they would pose less of a real threat to us and we would be able to deal with them in a far more drastic way.}" Silence followed his answer as the Council digested the information. Then:

"{Erana is a top priority prisoner. Moving her elsewhere would be nothing but foo-}"

"{Oh, be quiet, Umar. Odranos' proposal is the most reasonable we have all heard and you know it. Odranos, where would the traitor be taken?}" Arali's outburst surprised everyone, including Odranos. The slight and young female was not known for such passionate words.

"{I believe Vetras is the best choice. It is small and on the very border of Zerg territory, ensuring that there will be little cause for civil conflict,}" Odranos replied, almost immediately.

"{Very well. I, Arali, am in favor of this arrangement. Who opposes it?}" When no one, not even Umar, spoke, Odranos returned to his seat, knowing that he had accomplished his goal.

Fools, the lot of them he thought to himself as he sat down.

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Mostly empty space really. Almost completely empty space. Between the stars, between the atoms. But not quite, no. There was always matter. One electron as good as any more, one atom proving mass. And with mass came force and with force came mass, not so much a cycle as one line. But still, there was force and with force came systems and interaction. But still empty space, mostly. But not quite.

And then there was time. Always tricky. But it was essential, it was only movement. No time, no change. No change, and the universe did not matter. Without time, empty space became full and overflowing. Because without time, nothing mattered.

And with it? There was change. A reason to be. But what was reason? A concept? To be? Madness. Chaos. And what were those? It did not matter. So long as the meaning got across, it did not matter. Definition was a trap. As long as there was change, there was reason. There was difference. There was a gradient, potentia-

Erana's eyes snapped open as the door to her cell emitted a sudden hiss. She sat bolt upright in her bed and turned around to look at the door, her eyes quickly adjusting to the constant twilight-blue glow of her cell.

That glow had been there since the moment she had entered the cell, three years ago. It had been an unchanging, unwavering, maddening constant. Only three years. It was intriguing how easily one's view of the passage of time changed. Indeed, she had often found herself thinking that time was entirely subjective, that a mind could completely manipulate it, not through psionics but through sim-

"{Prisoner Erana, Kharun seventy nine.}" A bulky guard stood in the doorway, his body completely obscuring what was behind him. His voice carried the same lifeless neutrality Erana had heard every protoss speak in since her nerve cords had been severed. She got off her bed and stood to face the guard.

"{Did you know Kharun was actually seventy nine years old when the Imperium was formed? It wasn't until later that he was accepted as a Founder, when he had further proved himself by defeating three separate fleets in order to drive the Tama out of Ilyr. Still, I find it an interesting coincidence that I bear that number. Almost as if I am like him, yet unproven but hopeful,}" she blurted out, sharing thoughts she had often had herself but had never discussed with anyone else. However, if the guard seemed even mildly influenced by her words, he did not show it.

"{You will be moved soon. You are to be prepared.}" It was all he said. A short sentence made shorter by its lack of emotion. The guard turned to leave but, just before the door to the cell closed, he said:

"{Kharun was no traitor.}"

And then the door to her cell swung shut with another hiss, separating her from the rest of the universe both mentally and physically. She stood there for a while, staring at the door as if she could pierce it.

"{Neither am I!}" she screamed at the closed door after a prolonged, painful silence. And then again.

"{NEITHER AM I!}" she kept on screaming, barraging the door and wall with her thoughts. After a while, she began to attack the space physically as well, throwing herself at the solid barriers as if she could break them, as if it made a difference. But it was futile. After about half an hour of it, she found herself back in her bed, staring at the ceiling with both of her now bleeding fists clenched tightly.

"{Change,}" she said, to no one in particular.

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"{It is a fool's errand. Praetor Erana has been in the custody of the Imperium for three years. We may not know exactly what has been done to her but we can rest assured that she is not what she was. She is a figurehead, one whose power has diminished significantly over the past years. More concrete actions will be needed if you are to encourage the Imperium's citizens to rebel against their masters. Simply rescuing your Praetor will mean nothing alone.

If you still wish to free her, do so but know that you will not have the support of the Exiled.}"

The holographic screen showing the representative of the Exiled Council blinked out of existence and Rassyr sighed mentally. Not dwelling on the Exiled Council's decision, which he had not expected, he turned his head to face the other two screens more fully.

One showed Patriarch Myr, the leader of the Tama Tribe, while the other one showed Keeva Lane, the terran woman who Rassyr took to be the true leader of the Terran Coalition. Both were allies to him and the Order but, as he was beginning to realize, even allies were conditional and restrained.

The meeting itself had been brief and hastily organized. As soon as an informant had informed the Order of Praetor Erana's imminent transfer, Rassyr had called together an emergency meeting between himself and the Order's allies. All he had done was explain the situation, inform them of his barely formed plans and wait for their responses, the first of which had been a disappointment.

"{Our forces are spread out and battered... but we owe Praetor Erana many things, not the least of which is our loyalty. I shall see what I can do to organize an assault force. We may not be able to provide a flagship and army of our own, but rest assured that we will do something to help. Contact me when you have more information.}"

Despite its flatness, the Patriarch's voice never failed to inspire and excite Rassyr. It did so even now, and he nodded vigorously to show his gratitude. The Nerazim's screen disappeared and Rassyr turned to the final screen.

Keeva Lane stared at him from inside it, her face as unreadable to Rassyr as a zerg's. He had heard other terrans call her beautiful but he saw nothing special in her features: he supposed terrans thought too differently for him to share their views.

"You know that the Coalition cannot intervene directly. We don't want to start a war, especially not with the Empire. However, we haven't forgotten your Praetor's help in the war and we aren't about to forget it either. We will try to intervene discretely, even if it means hiring a third party or getting the Pirates to fight. However..."

"{You will need more information, I know. I shall do my best to notify you of everything we learn the moment we learn it. Currently, however, I am not sure if even the Ruling Council knows more about the transfer than we do.}"

"I see. Well, contact me or our officers when you have something new to say. Until then, I will do my best to organize some kind of attack. Goodbye."

"{En Taro Tassadar, Keeva Lane,}" Rassyr replied and her screen also disappeared. He was silent for a moment, staring at the empty space where the screens used to be. The Exiled Tribes would not help, the Tama Tribe would do the little it could and the terrans would intervene in only a small way. It was not what he had expected and certainly not what he wanted but he knew it was all he and the Order would get. And he was grateful for it.

He rose from his seat and turned towards the door, sighing inwardly once again. A dozen matters required his attention and he would have to tend to all of them before he could even begin to plan and organize Erana's rescue and he was not sure he could cope with any of them. And yet, he felt hope for the first time in what seemed like decades.

~~~ Somewhere in the Dvergar System~~~

"Come on, Orloth. How long do you really expect to hide out out here like this. What do you think you're accomplishing. Just come back to Sharon with me and rejoin the Themos Brood."

"I won't do that Aria, and you know that."

The creature Orloth was speaking to was once a beautiful woman, and held herself as one, but her features had been covered by the scars of infestation. Her entire body was covered in carapace the deep brown of a cockroach and her fingers ended in a set of wicked claws. Her hair had been replaced by a set of tendrils, used to amplify her already impressive psionic power and her eyes glowed with a dangerous orange light. The only part of her relatively untouched by infestation was the face, which was a pleasant oval of loveliness and cruelty that only hinted at the creature she had been before their former master had brought her into the Swarm.

Of course, Orloth himself was equally twisted by Baal's "gift" of infestation. Dark layers of Carapace covered his body like a suit of armor, and he had his own set of psionic tendrils carefully bundled at the back of his head. He however, chose to cover himself in a large, grey overcoat. He patiently tapped at the hidden blades within his wrists as he prowled the dark corridors of the abandoned terran facility, Aria in tow.

"Lilith won Themos, Orloth. Why do you fight that fact? Baal would not want us to be divided when the rest of the Broods are posed to crush us. Your defiance is admirable, and it would certainly be good reason for you to become second in command upon your return. So, what are you accomplishing out here that would warrant your continued defiance?"

Orloth stopped at a door set into the solid rock of the installation. The door itself was built and reinforced of metal, likely Vanadium, or some other super durable material. The infested quietly studied the door for a few moments, and then calmly tore it from it's frame and set what remained of the door carefully to the side, before strolling into the room beyond.

"My dear, Baal is dead, and I am reasonably certain he would not have wanted the other broods involved in a purely internal affair. Lilith won Themos, but she did so by involving those same broods who now wish to destroy her. What comes now is not my responsibility. If I were to ride to the rescue now, she wouldn't learn anything."

"So you are taking the high ground? You? That can't be the only reason. You and I both know you have nothing to gain out here and everything to lose. You can assist Themos without risking a backstab, and might be able to oust Lilith in the process. I just don't see what keeps you out here in the Coalition's back yard."

"A mystery, my sister." Orloth drawled, perusing the darkened banks of computer terminals that filled the room. "There is much that has happened in recent years that I wish to know more about, and under the eye of the Overmind and the other broods I would not have the leisure to pursue my investigations."

Aria shook her head in amazement as Orloth booted up a computer, seemingly at random and started sifting through it's contents. "Give me something, Orloth. Lilith will kill me if I come back empty handed."

Orloth paused concidering. "Draal and Zemreh are allied?"

"As far as we've been able to determine and we're pretty certain Fenris is involved too. They have been attacking us in Pern."

"Shaharas isn't allied with them. She is convinced she is the dominate evolution and wouldn't ally unless they submitted to her. And that is something the Cerebrates wouldn't do as they think much the same. I'd be willing to bet that they are fighting over the Nebula. If all three broods were attacking Themos it would be much worse then it is now." Aria frowned as Orloth paused to consider. How did Orloth know how the enemy was dispersed? Was he assuming or was someone feeding him information? "That may be your window. An alliance with Fenris."

"You can't bargain an alliance with Shaharas, Orloth. That creature is completely unreasonable."

"Only partially true. An alliance with Fenris would involve Lilith submitting to the Brood Mother's superiority."

Aria tried not to scoff, "You're kidding, that would work?"

"Shaharaz is a beast, an animal. She is clever but her understanding of social interactions is equivalent to that of canines. You acknowledge her as Alpha zerg and she will trust you. At least until such time as someone teaches her the concept of deception. The bigger question is whether Lilith would actually do such a thing. She is as proud as any Cerebrate."

"Lilith may not need to. I could act as emmisary for my Queen and return to Sharon with good news ... if you are right."

"I am right. I had opportunity to work with the Brood Mother some years ago, before Dras Lana."

For a while, both infested terrans remained silent, contemplating. The only sound in the darkened room was the clicking of Orloth's fingers on the keyboard of the terran computer.

"Lilith will not like me returning without you, even if I do manage to arrange a Fenris cease fire." Aria stated, probingly, "She does not like you being out here out of her sight. She is convinced you are up to something dangerous."

"I am up to something dangerous, but not to her. But she wouldn't believe that even if she were in my head." The terminal Orloth was using lit up a bright red and started beeping annoyingly. "Whoops."

"Whoops? Terran security got you beat?"

"No. Terran paranoia about to incinerate us."

"What!?!"

Orloth was already moving, glistening black blades extending from his wrists, he swiftly exited the room and opened a hole in the opposite wall of the hallway with one long slash, revealing a stary sky beyond. As the instalation began to depressurize, Orloth turned to Aria and extended his hand, {Please, my dear. I would be a bad host if I allowed you to be damaged by my blunder.}

Aria snatched Orloth's hand as a tendril reached through the gap in the wall and snatched the two Infested Terrans into the jaws of a serpentine zerg creature with dragonfly wings. The world suddenly became unreasonably bright as the corridor where they had just been standing was consumed by nuclear fire. Radiation warmed the zerg harmlessly as flocks of Mutalisks and Overlords swept in to inspect the hole that had been opened in the asteroid. {Who protects their computers with a Nuclear booby trap?} Aria thought, still stunned.

{My dear, I have been trying to figure that out since I got here. Shall I have you dropped off at your ship?}

{Um. Yes, I think that will do. Yes.}

{Then go well, Aria of the Themos Brood.} Orloth's gestures were lost to Aria as she was picked up by an Overlord and escorted by a flock of Mutalisks and Vipers to her ship, a monstrous old Battle-cruiser. It's hull gleamed dully with a strange light and bore the scars of many conflicts, and pock marks of infestation covered it's gun ports and docking bay. Orloth allowed himself to sit in the void for some time as Aria was deposited, unharmed and the Infested Battle-cruiser slowly turned and then jumped into warp space. Even then, the Infested allowed himself to drift, quietly pondering. As he sat there, the bright star of the anomaly entitled "Zeus's Fury" drifted across his vision. Orloth frowned at it. {What are you planning, my lord Overmind?} Orloth, thought, not expecting an answer. {Why is that storm so important to you.}

{You will find out, my child.} Came the distant reply. {Soon.}

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Apoca, Outpost 51 1657 hours
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Sargent Thomas Harrison slowly walked down the darkened maintenance corridor, he was certain that he had seen something on the security monitor, something that just didn’t fit, he looked around at the rusty pipes that were leaking in more than a few places, the dripping sound only added to the sense of dread that was slowly building in the back of his mind, in fact nearly all of the hairs on his neck was standing straight out from his neck.

As he neared the small shaft going down into the reactor of the Command Centre he noticed that the hatch was open, not a good sign, he drew out his side arm, nothing more than a peashooter when compared to the gauss rifle he could have wielded had it been enough space to wear a Marine Suit inside the maintenance corridor.

He got down on one knee and peered down into the gloom of the reactor room before he carefully started to climb down the ladder, halfway down he heard a clanking noise, followed by what sounded like someone suppressing a frustrated scream.

He removed the safety of his gun and crept closer to the area where the sound had come from, he rounded the corner and prepared to fire.

“ Sarge lower your weapon!”

Thomas lowered his gun and peered towards the Marine in front of him.

“Davis, is that you?”

“Yes, Sir, it is Davis, Sir!”

“What are you doing here?”

“Thought I saw something on the security monitor when I came to check on you, with you gone and all I decided to check it out”

Thomas lowered his gun, relieved at the news, sure Davis’ voice was a little off, but then again it was hot in the room and his own voice had cracked some too.
“So did you find anything?”

“Nothing to report, Sir”

“Very well, let’s go”

Thomas secured his gun and holstered it, then turned and started walking towards the main exit as his comm. Unit lit up signaling that someone wanted a talk with him.

“This is Sgt. Thomas”

“Hey Sarge, me, Bill and Davis were talking here and we’re wondering if your game for that round of poker tonight or if you’re stuck on night duty”

“Sure thing Olsen I... wait Davis?”

“What about him, Sarge?”

“Where are the three of you now?”

“Mass Hall, it’s Pizza Day today, you know I never miss out on Pizza Day!”

“I see...”

Sgt. Thomas knew his death was upon him as he slowly turned around and looked at Davis or what had moments before been Davis, but now was a lithe figure dressed in what seemed like a skintight suit made of Zerg Carapace and seemingly wielded a pair of Tekagi-shuko, a cynical smile was on her lips, clearly amused by his shocked expression, a pair of olive green snake-like eyes looked back at him.

“Are you done talking? I don’t have all day and I really need to overload this reactor to cause some havoc with the planet.

“Olsen?”

“Yeah Sarge what is it?”

“Send a response team into the R- GLARGH!”

“Sarge? Sargent? Common answer me, dammit! SARGE!”

Runa calmly crushed the device and placed the last charge on the reactor.

“Ok boys, only a little more and im done”i]

On Runas’ order the main host of Shuuls forces was thrown into the combat that was raging above to cover Runas’ retreat out of the base.

She calmly took the form of a Marine with the combat visor down and as the proximity alarm went off quickly joined a group of Marines heading for the bunkers outside, only to break up from them in order to “get her gun” a quick appearance change later and she was inside a Medivac and heading out with a squad of Marines to flank the Zerg, by the time the Medivac reached the Zerg lines, runa was the only Living individual on board.

Runa calmly disembarked the Medivac about ten miles away from the outpost.

“I trrrusssst the missssion wahss successful?”

Asked one of the two Overlords that waited for her in the small crater where she had landed, all around them the rest of the Magma Brood was moving out in order to join the Gracken brood on the front lines, this world would be theirs soon enough.

Runa pulled out a box of cigars she had pilfered, then lit one on the remains of the another Medevac that had carried evacuees from the base, but had been shot down by several pretty much everything that the Zerg had to offer in the form of anti-air, Runs took a deep breath of the cigar and gave a wide and somewhat devilish grin as the sky behind her turned white.

“Destroyed the coolant lines, that flash was the reactor going critical, I will give you a full report upon my return to home, but seriously Boss, it’s me were talking about, have a little faith, would ya?”
She said as she entered the Overlord that was waiting to take her back into Orbit.

“OK time to head back to home, no doubt the Boss will want a full report of it all” she said as soon as she entered Ferrog, her personal Leviathan.

As Ferrog slowly turned about and prepared to leave the system Runa looked down at the planet, all across it Zerg spores were raining down as the other Zerg forces started their main assault of the planet itself, all around them the fighting grew ever more feverish as well, as the defenders fought back with all their might, but Runa knew that it was inevitable and the might of the Zerg would overcome them soon enough.

A sudden jarring motion awoke Runa from her sleep inside Ferrog, se sat up and looked around slightly disoriented, before she realized she had dreamt that dream again, with a sigh she sat up and scratched her cheek, more out of old habit then anything as her carapace dulled the sensation somewhat.

”Mistress, we have arrived at Hel, I am informing Draal of our arrival now, by the way mistress, you dreamt of Apoca again, didn’t you?”

Runa nodded solemnly, the entire war of Apoca all those years ago had been the beginning of the end for the Magma Brood, both herself and Shuul had felt it, and prepared for the worst case scenario, but it was still a shock just how badly things had gone from there these last few years, the brood itself was not even a shadow of its former glory, and Runa knew that if it wasn’t for Draal her brood would simply cease to exist all together.

“I just hope that Sensei has a real job for us this time, that last one was a joke”

“I hardly call losing all the units Draal sent with us a joke, Mistress”

“I warned Sensei that it was too few, ah well, can’t be helped I suppose, besides he did say that it didn’t matter anyhow”

With that Runa left her chambers and prepared to meet with Draal.

SOA:

Intro of my character Runa

Runa dreamt about the opening events of the Apoca war.

Since it was a dream, no losses incurred.

Currently at the planet Hel, will meet with Draal shortly.

Razarac growled as one of the resident brood's zerglings came too close to him. He shook his entire body to warn the creature of his mood. But the zergling did not listen. It edged closer towards him, its purpose unknown to Razarac.

Razarac growled again, louder this time and the zergling stopped... and he pounced. His muscles flexed and he sprang at the intruder. The zergling yelped and tired to run but was too slow. His jaws snapped shut just as he landed on the ground, shaking it with the force of his fall. Then, he swallowed the zergling whole, not even bothering to crush its body with his inner jaw: the acid in his stomach would be more than enough to break down the corpse, for it was real acid, not the stuff of lesser creatures.

Satisfaction filled his mind as warmth spread through his body, a sensation he knew was connected to the rapid dispersion of the zergling's energy and nutrients through his body. He went back into the same prone position he had been in before the planet dweller's intrusion. He growled to scare of the remaining planet brood zerglings and closed his eyes.

He was a magnificent beast. Four zerglings in length and three in height, with wings twice as long, Razarac dwarfed most any zerg creature. And those he did not dwarf, he outmatched, outperformed or outran.

Flexible spikes covered his entire body, not for defense, but for the rapid absorption of water to aid his metabolism. His carapace matched that of an ultralisk's in strength but weighed no more than a zergling's. His claws, teeth and scythe-claw-appendages were sharper than a hydralisk spine and as sturdy as a kaiser blade. The constant secretion of small amounts of acid served to both make tearing enemy armor easier and to lubricate his own weapons for unhindered slashing and stabbing.

Of all this and more he was aware for Shaharaz had blessed him with sentience, a power he prized more than any other. He was the epitome of zerg: deadly, resilient, adaptable and ruthlessly efficient: the peak of evolution. And he was waiting. His brood was waiting.

Yatara's body strained with effort as she climbed the makeshift ladder to the top of the pole, where the nets were suspended. They were sensor nets, complex instruments designed to monitor the atmosphere, and a few minutes ago, the base's computer system had notified her of a malfunction which she had gone to fix.

She could have used a remote probe or other robot to investigate and repair the thing for her but, like any good member of the Wandering tribes, she followed the old rule of use-not-what-you-can-make-not: she would not use a remote probe until she could design and make one. That, and she couldn't resist the opportunity to climb up the pole and survey the area she and the rest of her team were investigating.

She did this now, sitting down on a narrow platform atop the pole to rest her muscles. All around her, extending as far as the eye could see, was nature: cyan-leaved trees, green grass she knew glowed at night and countless other fantastic plants she had never seen and couldn't wait to study.

And study them she would. That was the reason they were here. Big as the verdant area was, it was the only one on the entire planet: the rest was made up of huge oceans and barren wastes that supported no more than the most basic life. The fifty kilometer-radius area they were in was as different from the rest of the planet as the living were different from the dead. And they were here to find out why.

Yatara closed her eyes and nodded as if appreciating the scene and task before her and got to work. She stood up and began to walk from one net-supporting pole to the other using the narrow platforms that connected them. She kept an eye out for any damage or inconsistency in the thin, barely visible fabric above her but saw none.

Confused, she accessed her suit's personal data crystal to look at the report. "High Pressure Abnormality in Quadrant 3, Gird (6, 7)" it read. Yatara raised her head to look at the source of the anomaly but saw nothing strange. Confused, she was about to contact the rest of the small expedition to check if her equipment was malfunctioning when she heard a crackling sound coming from above her.

She whipped her head up in time to see a mass of blue sparks course through the net, making the sky beyond seem dim and distant. And then, with the sound of tearing fabric, the net gave in. For the briefest of moments, the discharged electricity allowed Yatara to see the outline of a large, winged form. A second later, it was gone. She screamed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yatara clutched her makeshift weapon tightly as she advanced down the corridor as silently as she could, her mind carefully shielded. The distance between her and the door at the far end of the corridor seemed to stretch as she came closer.

A distant sound came from somewhere else in the building and she crouched, her weapon at the ready. It wasn't even a weapon. She had merely disassembled a probe and turned its particle beam into a portable weapon. It wasn't powerful but it was enough to hold off the... things.

She waited, not entirely trusting any of her senses. When nothing seemed to happen after two minutes, she continued, albeit more cautious than before. She reached the door withing half a minute and found it to be locked.

She cursed, something she had become accustomed to doing in the past few... hours? days? weeks? She couldn't tell. All she really knew was that something had happened and that something had disabled the base's power crystals. Without the power, she couldn't open the door. So she cut through it with her particle beam, pushed it to the side and entered the base's control room.

As soon as she was inside, she pulled the door closed and, after changing the particle beam's settings, fused the door closed. Still not entirely secure, she set about piling the rooms chairs and other movable furniture against the door. Once she was done, she walked over to one of the many crystal computers in the room and tapped its core. Nothing happened.

Frustrated, she shook her head and activated the particle beam in order to dispel the gloomy darkness of the room. She crouched and reached down to grab the cables that connected the crystal core to the power supply. Using the particle beam, she severed the cables, grabbed them and stood back up.

She then turned off the particle beam and, using the little light that illuminated the room to see, took out the power crystal inside. She curled the power cables around the crystal and held it with one hand while touching the computer core with the other hand. Reciting a mental prayer, she reached out to the power crystal with her mind and activated it.

The crystal glowed blue and, thanks to the miracle that was protoss technology, the power cables wrapped around it received its energy and transferred it to the computer. The core suddenly lit up and, before the conscious part of her even realized, she was instructing it to send out a distress signal to any friendly ships. Then, as quickly as she had turned the computer on, she turned it off. She could not afford to waste the crystal's energy. She needed it... for the things.

The Brood Mother's call had been heard and it was being answered. Razarac watched through Pangar's eyes as the Fenrir Brood's forces departed the planet. The Fenrir spore sailed on ahead with its cargo while Pangar and the Swarm Lord that was accompanying them followed at a slower pace.

The plan was to have the spore land on the planet and create a suitable amount of chaos on the planet's surface. Pangar and the Swarm Lord would use the chaos to find an advantageous angle of attack and strike the Themos in a favorable way. The knowledge that the enemy had at least one Battlecruiser with them changed Razarac's battle plan considerably. He had faced the terran counterpart many times and knew enough about the Themos version to know it would be a big threat.

They would have to destroy any battlecruisers before really attacking the planet and they could only do that if the fight favored them from the start. They would have to attack the ships from the inside and outside while defending their own ships from enemy flyers. It would not be easy.

One of the Swarm Lords would stay behind on Anna to guard the planet against counter attacks but would be called if help was needed. Dangerous as the attack was, Razarac was not willing to leave Anna unguarded.

Razarac let out a roar as Pangar surged forward and was answered by the entirety of his brood.

-------------
Hel
------------

Runa carefully exited the Overlord as it touched down at Draal’s primary Hive Cluster as she looked around she noticed the usual level of activity. The Roaches was patrolling the edges of the cluster as usual and the Hydralisks was ever watchful as well.

Runa walked up towards the gigantic Hive which served as Draals stronghold as she drew near several higher evolutions of the different strains moved as to intercept her, but let her pass as they recognized who it was.

As soon as Runa entered the Hive she could feel Draals mind focusing on her and she did not resist when he made contact with her mind.

”Ah, Runa, I have been expecting you”

”I am sorry if I kept you waiting, Sensei, this latest development with the Themos have the entire brood on edge and makes it harder to move about undetected”

”I see, anyway let’s talk more when you reach my chamber”

“Of course, Sensei”

As Runa made her way through the confusing labyrinth that was Draals home she again pondered, as she had pondered so many times before, how she never lost her way, she suspected that Draal might have implanted the knowledge into her mind at some point, but if he had she had never noticed it or he mentioned it.

After walking for several minutes she finally entered a gigantic space at the center of the hive, in the middle of which was Draal and a small fleshy pad which served as Runas seat when she visited, all around the chamber was Draals bodyguard, highly evolved strains of all the units at his disposal, from the Hunter Killer to the gigantic Torrasque, but Runa ignored them, if Draal wanted her dead she would never have gotten this far in the first place.

Runa walked over to the fleshy pad and knelt down on it, keeping her head down as a sign of respect.

“You sent for me, Sensei?”

SOA: Runa goes to see Draal, not much else happens really

{Yes, my child. I have need of your skills. But first, what do you think of the Themos Brood?}

"With all respect Sensei, the Themos Brood are a lesser brood that copied Shuuls battle tactics simply because their leader didn't have the skill to create her own."

{Ah, but Baal never did have an original idea. Even his progeny are mere echoes of something far older, and far greater.} Runa only nodded in assent to this, hoping to learn more, but the great mind instead asked, {And the Fenrir?} Runa clenched her fists tightly and clenched her teeth, but remained silent, the mental waves of hatred that emanated from her was answer enough. {I would give you a chance to strike at either of them. Would you take it?}

Runa closed her eyes in deep thought for a moment before answering. "I am sorry, but I have to decline Sensei, my brood are still to scattered and to weak to be able to stand up to either of them, only ifyou commited your entire brood to the offensive would I stand a chance, and that would be to great a risk, even for one as powerful as you"

{You show wisdom by tempering your passion. May it be used as a deadly weapon, at the appropriate time.}

Runa bowed her head at the compliment "I have had two great teachers in the art of war, one of those lessions was to always be calm and collected even in the most dire of circumstances, I believe both My old Master, Shuul and you, said so, Sensei"

{I beleive he learned that lesson from me, but that is not the point. If you do not wish to aid one of the current conflicts, I would demand of you another task. What do you know of the Terran world of Apoca?}

"Hmm.. Apoca, its ironic that you should mention that place, I just had a dream from my first visit there after my infestation, I took out one of the outposts there allowing the Magma Brood a beach head on the surface, I left shortly after for That mission..."

{It has changed much since you were there then. I wish you to go there with two missions: Find out what weapon the Terrans used to oust us from it, and find out if an attack on Dras Lana would be feasible. We have left the Terrans sitting comfortably for far to long, to my mind, but the Overmind had not yet given the order to resume the attack. I hope to be ready when he does, or to push the issue if he does not.}

Runa bowed her head "As you wish, Sensei, and what if an attack is not possible at this time, what then?"

{Do as much damage as you can, without provoking or allowing a counter attack. We are already fighting on two fronts, we need not open a third until the Themos and Fenrir have been subdued.}

Runa momentarily flinched at the mention of Fenrir but bowed her head, "I think I know how to pull it off and make it look like someone else did it... I will have to think about it some more first though. If there is nothing else, sensei, then I will take my leave. I must make preparations for the mission"

{Very well. Go well, my child.}



Aria's old Battlecruiser, the Rossvelt, returned to normal space in time to witness the Fenrir spore blaze into light as it began entering Mary's atmosphere, releasing the raw materials to start amassing a brood on the planet's surface. The Infested Battlecruiser in high orbit was joined by two other dark forms, maneuvering for position in preparation for a fight.

{Aria! Glad to have you back! Reinforcements have been called from Sharon, but your presence is sorely needed in the skies.}

The Infested directed her ship to join the other in the skies, and in quick bursts of thought relayed Orloth's insight to her brother and sister Prophets of Baal. In a discussion that lasted only a few seconds, and consisted of more emotion then words, it was decided. The battle would go on, but Aria was allowed to attempt to communicate with the Fenrir. Aria reached out her mind to the Fenrir, and traced their lines of command back to find its strongest will, its dominate personality, its Alpha Wolf. She found something, not too high, but definitely the driving force behind this particular attack. With an effort of will she stretched out her mind in an effort to communicate.

~~~

Razarac felt a presence in his mind, totally alien to anything he had ever felt before. It was zerg, but it did not think like zerg. It gave an image of a smaller zergling, showing due respect to a larger zergling, and spoke {We recognize the dominance of the Fenrir Brood. We wish to discuss a cessation of hostilities.}

Razarac felt a presence in his mind, totally alien to anything he had ever felt before. It was zerg, but it did not think like zerg. It gave an image of a smaller zergling, showing due respect to a larger zergling, and spoke {We recognize the dominance of the Fenrir Brood. We wish to discuss a cessation of hostilities.}

For a moment silence reigned and the Themos and Fenrir forces floated in space as if frozen.

{Brood Mother?} asked Razarac. All he got was a short instinctual answer that roughly translated to 'go on'.

Razarac ordered his own brood and the Fenrir forces to stand down but stay ready to attack in case the enemy was trying to trick them. Then he focused on the alien mind inside his own an probed it as he would inspect a lesser zerg. It did not recoil from him.

{The weak recoil. That is domination} he said more through feelings than words. He felt the alien mind retreat away from his own somewhat and was satisfied.

{The weak show subordination to the strong in order to live. But subordination is not simply... peace without... consequence} his imperfect vocabulary was made up for by his ability to send images and feelings directly to the other mind. He felt the mind of the Themos agree to his statement.

{Who are you?} he asked.

{I am Aria of the Themos Brood, servant to Lilith, its leader} came the reply and Razarac knew at once that he was talking to a halfling. An infested. Not a zerg. The information angered him.

{So the Themos rely on halflings to command. I am not surprised then, that you wish to end the... hunt before it is begun.} His words seemed to cause a reaction in the infested but whatever it was, the halfling seemed to repress it. This angered Razarac further. True zerg did not hide their emotions!

{You do not talk. Perhaps you fear my dominance or perhaps you seek my favor. I do not care which for both end in the same outcome if you truly fear our might}

{And that outcome is?}

{The Themos will surrender immediately and depart this world, leaving only a small force behind. You will redirect half of this planet's resources to the Fenrir Brood and cease all fighting with us. In turn, your existence shall be spared. These are the conditions of domination. You must give up land and rank to live. And if you do not, you have neither land, rank or life. Are our terms understood?} It was there again. The ancient instinct. He talked without thinking, driven by instincts and skills he was not aware of.

{Very well. The Themos brood agrees to your terms and they will satisfy them immediately. Since this is possibly the last time we will meet, I would ask of you to receive one our own as an ambassador to the Fenrir Brood so that future communication between our Broods can be quick and fluent.} The response came after a minute of silence during which the halfling had probably weighed up its options.

{Would this ambassador be a halfling such as yourself?} Razarac asked, full of suspicion.

{Yes. Is that a problem?}

{Only if you value it highly, for I will rend the flesh off its bones the moment it sets foot on our territory.}

{Very well. We will have to rely on other methods of communication in the future, then.} Aria answered, not in the least disturbed by the creature's words. But she was late: Razarac had already expelled her from his mind.

{You have done well. See to it that the Themos truly accept our dominance and then join our Brood in Karinth}

{Yes, Brood Mother.}

Aranov looked at the holographic faces, analysing their reactions to his suggestion. He couldn’t read Doom and Waiter, one of them didn’t have a face, and the other’s was covered in hair and an eyepatch. From what he could see, the filthy pirate didn’t seem surprised or against it.

Keeva Lane looked as if she were thinking. Neal Smith wasn’t present this time. Orion tried to put on an “I couldn’t care less” look, but failed and simply looked uneasy. Aranov knew that the Technocracy wasn’t able to lend any financial support due to their... Project.

Doug looked mildly interested: They would need his factories afterall, so it was good for business. Dent was the first to answer though.

“Seriously? Aren’t they good enough as it is?” He asked with a laugh. “Why throw money out the window?”

“They’re nothing exceptional.” Aranov explained. “While our patrols aren’t bad, they aren’t very good either. The reason they have been able to fight off other flagships before was not because of their weapons systems or armor, but because of the troops they had. Those are fine. Actually, those are very good. But the flagships themselves aren’t good enough.”

“He’s got a point.” Doom said. “Our patrols can handle situations pretty well themselves, but their battles can last for a while. If we upgraded the flagships, they could end battles sooner, therefore we would have less losses.”

“To add to what the pirate said,” Aranov continued. “The situation on Dunar would’ve been resolved much faster had our patrol taken care of the Outsider flagship before it was able to deploy its troops. Unfortunately, our weapons aren’t good enough for that. And if we were to go to a war, our patrols are meant to serve as air dominance, which in their current state would take them too long to achieve.”

“How much would it cost?” Keeva asked.

“I am able to pay for about one third of it.” Aranov said as he uploaded the costs of various set-ups he thought about. “I am sure that between us, we should have the rest.”

“Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but we are already paying quite a lot to keep those patrols maintained.” Arthur Dent said. “I don’t mind that cost, seeing as they have proven their worth many times already, but I honestly don’t believe we need to put even more money into them.”

President Lass remained quiet. Aranov guessed it was because the Tirion Republic would be hired to do all the work anyway, so his economy would only get better through this.
“I am sorry, but I can’t afford to pay more money for this.” Orion said. “We still haven’t recovered from the war with the bloody zerg, and now you aren’t only taxing us, you are also refusing to reclaim planets that belonged to us from the zerg, and you want more money for patrols?”

“Thank you for your input.” Keeva said politely and didn’t even look at the technocrat. “The Legion is able to pay a good chunk of this as well. If Cap’n Bonecrusher is able to and agrees to, we shouldn’t need much more.”

“We haven’t had a bad time lately.” Doom said. “We can pay a chunk as well.”

“We’ll chip in.” Doug Lass finally said. “We will probably end up making a profit with this anyway, so it’s only fair.”

“Eh, I won’t be a partypooper. I’ll pay for a bit as well.” Arthur gave in.

“I believe we are done then?” Orion said, looked at the faces for a moment, then ended his feed and the screen disappeared.

“I guess we are done.” Keeva said. “Lord Aranov, once you have the schematics, send them to President Doug. President, I take it you will handle everything?”

“Of course. Good bye.” Doug said, and cut his feed as well.

“Well, send me the bill when you’re ready. See you all soon.” Dent said and his screen disappeared as well.

“You two, stay.” Keeva said. “We have to talk.”

Aranov wasn’t surprised at Keeva’s bluntness, she was always less formal when only the three of them were present.

“What is it?” Aranov asked.

“I’ve been contacted by Erana’s Order. Apparently Erana is being moved from her prison on the capital to another one on a fringe world or so. The Order wants to intercept and free her.”

“What do we do?” Aranov asked.

“The Coalition can not get involve as that would give the Imperium a very big reason to start a war with us, which isn’t a good idea. So just to be very clear: Aranov, if you see the Order’s ships moving out of Dras Lana, bring your own forces in to protect our system in case the Imperium decides to counterattack. Doom, you do not under any circumstance go to the planet Dras Lana, do not offer your help and do not find some way to help them that doesn’t make it look as if the Coalition was involved. Understood?”

“Of course.” Aranov replied.

“Same.” Doom replied as well. “Kenny! Do not set course to Dras Lana, the planet, not the system.”


Hey guys!

Turns out there was no web access on the ship, making it a very boring trip Oh well. It was worth it. I have arrived on Apoca! And...

O.M.F.G.

Seriously. This place is just... Not an exaggeration. I made a picture from the observation deck on the ship. The planet IS falling apart.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6522898087_1dd9a69b3d_b.jpg (OOC: Actual link to a pic I made of Apoca. Beware of terrible photoshop skills)

It looks a lot hotter than it is though. On the planet its about forty degrees celsius, but the houses have good air conditioning. Still, outside it’s hell. All the workers apparently wear special suits to keep them cool. I asked the workers that I travelled with whether they knew the entire story of what happened, and this is what I gathered.

Three years ago, the construction of the Arken was completed and immediately deployed to Dras Lana. It just showed up and started charging up it’s graviton cannon - the zerg weren’t even given a chance to realize it had arrived. It took a while, but the Arken was far too powerful to be stopped on time.

So... It practically punched a hole into the planet. Well, out of it actually. The impact point is just a massive crater, and the exit point of the blast resulted in a moon. As you can see on the picture I’ve taken, there’s actually a city on the moon. But back to the points: The Arken hit the planet with the Graviton Cannon, which hit the place with such a force that it actually broke down molecules or something like that, which ended up with lots of flammable stuff in the atmosphere, which then burned. People say the entire planet was engulfed in flames for a few minutes after the Graviton Cannon hit, and when the flames cleared, all they saw was this broken world.

Nothing on the surface had survived. No plant, no animal, no humans, no zerg. Everything got pwned.

It still looks that way from outer space, but things have changed. There’s actually orange and red grass and trees growing on the planet, brought from Gallifrey. Apparently they brought those because they were more heat resistant and required less water. (OOC: And no, not because me putting green patches onto the planet would’ve made the pic look worse. /sarcasm) And even though you can’t see it from outer space, the planet is held together by massive metal structures. Kinda like braces. Thank god I got rid of mine a few years ago...

I asked the workers what the plan was on how to fix it. Apparently moving things as large as pieces of planets required too much energy and was far too hard, so instead they just prevented it from moving further apart instead of trying to put it together again. Once the atmosphere cools down further, the top layers of lava should start turning solid. They say that in a few decades the planet should be fully habitable again and it’s surface solid, and that there was enough water to fill up the cracks and create some odd oceans/rivers to make the planet look less broken.

The cracks don’t look that large from space, but they get really scare when you see them from the surface. I could barely see the other cliff, and the drop downwards is huge. I am pretty damn happy that I am not one of the thousands of workers that have to work on the metal structures/bridges. I couldn’t stand looking down there the entire day... The bridges are pretty huge themselves, and they end about half a kilometers inwards from the cliff. Must’ve been a lot of work to get them into place...

All the settlements for the workers are apparently build a kilometer away from the cliff - not only because of the slight chance of it collapsing, but because the plan is to blow them up once the lava cools down, to create a smoother and more natural looking terrain. The planet would be odd if every continent were bordered by a large cliff. There wouldn’t be any beaches! Oh, and there are earthquakes. There’s only been one since I arrived, usually its about once a day according to the workers. I asked them whether it was dangerous to work on the bridges with all these earthquakes, but apparently they are outfitted with magnetic gear to prevent them from falling off, and the earthquakes can be predicted so no one is on the bridges anyway.

Anyway, I’m leaving this place tomorrow. While it’s hot as hell (and quite literally looks like hell at some places), it was an interesting trip. The crew of a supply ship heading to Zagrov, the capital of the Aranov Consectorate, were nice enough to let me come along. Not going to go to Tortuga anytime soon - It’s pretty far away, and apparently Doom Bonecrusher is almost never there. He roams around Locker according to what the people here told me.


Gina

Razarac personally oversaw the Themos overlords and drones as the deposited their tribute of minerals and vespene gas sacks on the surface of Anna. Fenrir drones waited for the resources and carried them to the nearest hive cluster as soon as they were available. There was a swiftness and flow to the whole process which showed nothing about its origins. The Themos and Fenrir could have been allies for all the hostility they showed.

This bothered Razarac. The Themos could so easily turn on the Fenrir without a second's warning, their intentions as hidden as a burrowed zerg.

{Your thoughts amuse me, Razarac.} Razarac nearly jumped as the thoughts of Shaharaz, his Brood Mother and Queen, echoed through his mind. How long had she been there, listening to his thoughts? Why now? What for?

{I am always in your mind, Razarac, for it is mine. Do not forget that. You submitted to my dominance because you were weak and because I was powerful. The powerful dominate the weak for they know their thoughts and their actions. In this way, I dominate the Themos. They are weak and I am powerful. I know their thoughts and actions and they bend to my superiority. Trouble yourself not with hidden intentions for they are not yours to ponder. Fear instead hidden zerg for it is they you will confront and it is they that are most likely to tear apart your sadly equipped but eager brood.}

{Brood Mother?}

{I have already ordered a resident queen to provide your brood with the necessary information to morph Overseers. You will need good eyes to thwart those foes who would hide from our might. As soon as the transfer is complete, you are to depart Pern and make for Karinth. I have need of you there. Leave what materials you cannot carry to the Broods in Pern.}

{Yes, Brood Mother.}

{And do not forget, Razarac. You are mine. Where your mind goes, I go. Do not forget.}

{Brood Mother.}

A man in a white lab-coat entered the room. It was clean. The surfaces were white or silver and not a single speck of dust could be found. Along the wall were five capsules filled with water, and a naked human inside each of them with breathing devices covering their mouths and noses. On the right hand side of the room stood desks with blue keyboards and matching holographic screens above, and four scientists were tending to them.

The man cleared his throat. The scientists stopped working and looked at him, then one jumped up and ran over to him.

“Good afternoon, dr. James.” The scientist said uneasily.

“Is it?” James asked.

“Yes, it’s four P--”

“I meant the good part.”

“Well, that depends on how you see it.” The scientist walked over to the capsules. “Four of our subjects aren’t responding well to the treatment, whereas one is. Rather well actually.”

Dr. James looked at the humans inside the capsules. The first one was a woman. A lot of long black hair had fallen off her head and was collecting at the bottom of the capsule. The next was a man with blond hair, the roots of which were now becoming white. The third was another man, with short black hair, but he looked... starved. The fourth was a woman with long brown hair which actually looked very healthy. James smiled, then quickly glanced at the fifth subject, which looked rather sickly, and looked back at number four.

“It’s her, right?” He smirked, knowing he picked the right one and further impressed the men that called themselves “scientists” that worked for a genius like him. All other’s were defect in one way or another, a sign of the treatment not working the way it should.

“Actually, doctor...” The scientist was getting even more nervous. “Her body rejected the treatment completely. It’s him.” The scientist pointed towards the white haired man. “It didn’t work entirely; it turned him into an albino. His eyes are becoming red as well, and the hair is quickly changing color to white, which also happens to prove his regenerative abilities. He has advanced a lot more than we expected on such a dosage.”

James observed the man carefully. The albino part was a slight complication, but nothing serious. It only affected his looks. He looked very muscular, and he was tall. He was already a great candidate to begin with. But if he really responded to the treatment better than expected...

“Good job.” Dr. James said and smiled. “Mark him. X-04. I believe this one will be successful. Continue with the treatment. Get rid of the failures.”



“You asked for me?” A man said and entered the room, surprising Aranov.

The man was almost two meters tall, wore a black ghost outfit, had short black hair and black eyes.

“Xavier, yes. Have a seat.” Aranov said, and the ghost sat down. Aranov heard the expensive armchair creak under the man’s weight, which Aranov knew was far beyond natural. “Wine?” he asked.

“I believe I should say that I am on duty.” The ghost answered. “But even if I weren’t, I’d prefer something non-alcoholic.”

Aranov poured water into a glass and handed it to the ghost, then poured himself some red wine and took a sip before sitting down in the armchair opposite the ghost.

“Why did you ask me to come?” Xavier asked. His face showed absolutely no emotion, as always.

“I’d like you to resolve the situation on Dunar. You are rather good in dealing with such situations.”

Aranov looked at the ghost for any sign of surprise, doubt or offense at being sent on such a petty task. As always, he found none. The ghost didn’t even hesitate before replying.

“I will head there immediately. Anything else I should know or take into consideration?”

“I’m always on the search for good commanders for our army, someone that shows initiative or creativity, someone who doesn’t need orders in the length of essays to get the job done efficiently. If anyone else volunteers to deal with the situation, let them handle it and tell me how they do. You may help if asked to.”

The ghost finished his glass of water in silence, and Aranov watched, still searching for any sign of a humanity in the ghost. This man was probably the most peculiar human he had ever met. He was used to resocs acting in a similar way, but this ghost hadn’t undergone resocialization. He simply was this way.

“Is that all?” Xavier asked.

“Yes. You may leave. Take any of the fleets in orbit, with exception of my own.”

“Very well. Goodbye.” The ghost stood up and left.

Aranov watched him leave. Once again he had not shown a single sign of emotion, had not questioned him, and had not used a single title of respect. He liked the ghost.