"His strange mannerisms and inability to sustain an erection can be directly linked to the fact that he lives so damn close to Canada, but we won't hold that against him."
- mattzarella's The Pentagram Paradigm
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| The Starcraft Chronicles: Episode VII The Last Ride | | | Author: | | | IP: | gateway.XXXX | | Date: | 11/30/00 07:11 | | Game Type: | Starcraft | | Labels: | none | | Report Rating: , # of Ratings: 1, Max: 7, Min: 7
Lifetime Rating for Monty Pylon: 6.0390 |  | The Starcraft Chronicles: Episode VII The Last Ride
Raynor struggled to come to grips with the revelation before him. Ahc was a zerg spy and had betrayed Raynor to Kerrigan. The commander was confused and his mind was torn. On one side was the thought that this man was still his friend and he could be saved. Sadly, the only true realization was that this man was not his friend. He wasn't even a man. He was a zerg spy and such a person could never truly be his friend. The long look on Raynor's face revealed his true feelings and Ahc smiled at his handy work.
"Don't look so down man. It's not like it was personal or nothing. I've been doing this since that first Overmind showed up. Plucked me out of a cruiser and showed me the light. Now I see that the zerg are the only way to stop all of the fighting and to get rid of Mengsk."
"But how? Why couldn't we see that you were zerg?"
"That's a good question doc but it's not like there weren't signs. How could I survive all those mortal wounds? Think about it. If I were just another terran, I would have died a long time ago. Amazing what a little zerg natural regeneration can do for a man."
"Amazing is not the term I would use. More like an abomination."
"Now come on commander. No need to put a man down. Pretty soon, you and me will be pals again and it'll be like old times."
"I'll never be a part of the zerg! Never!"
"Well fearless leader, that doesn't leave you too many options. You can join us or well, you can get fed to a few of the loyal subjects, if you know what I mean."
"I'll see you in Hell! Do ya hear me? In Hell you bastard!"
"Keep talking like that and you will get your wish. What do you think my queen?"
"Let him hang there. Maybe a few more days of hanging in this prison will persuade him. Let's go, I have other matters to attend to."
Kerrigan and her entourage left the three men chained to the walls. Raynor was angry and confused. They need to escape, with death or service to the zerg as their only other options. The zerg had taken their guns but had left a few pieces of equipment to their disposal. All three had the cloaking devices and doc still had his medical pack strapped to his belt. Sid had built in sensors and Raynor still had a knife stashed in his wrist holster. They needed a plan and a way out.
"Sid can you get a lock on our transport ship?"
"My central processor is malfunctioning slightly but I do have a faint reading of a terran transport vessel. Make that, seven vessels commander. They appear to be wraith fighters. My sensors indicate that they are functional and are not located near any know zerg guards. They appear to be abandoned."
"Must have been left over from the last battle. How far are they from our position?"
"They are currently five hundred metrics to the northwest. Sensors also indicate a large force of zerg just south of the site. No sunken or spore colonies present in the area but they are present near the path too the ships."
"Is there any way past the colonies that won't get us detected?"
"I have a route that we can travel sir. It is a bit narrow, but we can manage."
"Good job Sid. Doc, what can you do to patch us up?"
"The pack I have is limited. I can repair any cuts or bruises but you'll have to deal with broken bones or other internal injuries. I don't see the point since we have to get out of these bonds to begin with."
Raynor removed the knife from his wrist holster and slashed the flesh that was wrapped around his arm.
"Just remember Doc, the zerg are good for a fight, but they can't make a prison to save their lives."
The flesh chain gave way and soon all of Raynor's bonds lay shredded and bloody on the floor. The commander was quick and soon both Sid and Zchivago were free from their living shackles. Zchivago did what he could for the team but his fingers and Raynor's ribs would have to wait for a more equipped medic. Raynor set to slicing the bars of the cell as Sid scanned for approaching zerg. But as Raynor worked to escape, Kerrigan was busy with her own affairs.
"Who is using my zerg?! The overmind is dead and the UED was destroyed! Well, almost destroyed. That last UED ship should be here at any moment. That is if Petrov did his job correctly. That fool failed to warn me of the UED's last assault. For his sake he had better succeed."
"I still don't know why you bothered infesting him anyway. He rarely brought you any useful information. He failed to sabotage the UED's plans at Korhal and was a failure to bring his cruiser here. Now we have to get the other cruiser from that other commodore. If Petrov did his job right a newly infested commodore should be joining us. Maybe he will do a better job than Petrov."
"Petrov's cruiser was attacked by a renegade zerg brood and you know that. Disposing of Petrov will not gain you any favor with me. If you do want to please me you should find out who is in control of that renegade brood. First it attacks Petrov and now it made an assault on Braxis. They are getting closer and I do not like the zerg in control of another. I fought a long and costly battle to win the Brood Wars and I am not about to be dethroned just yet."
"Yes my queen. I shall find out who has control of the renegade zerg if it's the last thing I do."
Ahc left the queens throne room and went to the prison to see if Raynor had changed his mind. What he saw were a pile of tentacles that once served as the cell bars. Ahc found no trace of the prisoners and an alarm was sent to every member of the swarm. Raynor and the others had made it past the guards and the colonies and only a group of hydralisks barred their way to freedom. An overlord was sent to investigate the area and Raynor had to think fast.
"Doc let me see that bag of yours!"
Zchivago complied and Raynor dug through the pouch, spilling pain killers and gaze.
"What are you looking for commander?"
"This!"
Raynor pulled out a small gun and aimed it at the overlord. A small puff of smoke ejected from the gun and crashed into the overlord. The men waited for a reaction from the hydralisks that stood not twenty feet away but their came none. Raynor handed the bag back to Zchivago and they headed towards the wraiths.
"Good work commander. Now that blind bastard can't see us."
Without detection the three reached the wraiths without notice. Zchivago and Sid worked to hotwire the ships as Raynor served as lookout. He saw Ahc run out of the Hive and headed in their direction. The hydralisks were ordered to attack the dropship that was still docked on the other side of the platform. Ahc armed with a rifle scouted the northwest quadrant, near the wraiths. Raynor saw his chance and drew his knife. No overlords were in the air, except for the blind one that was still patrolling the area. Raynor was cloaked and Ahc was unaware of his presence. Raynor charged his target and tackled Ahc to the ground. Stunned Ahc fired shots into the air but not one of them found a target. Raynor plunged his knife into the ghost suit that Ahc was still wearing and disabled his cloak. Ahc was stunned and was slowly losing consciousness.
"Like I said buddy, I will see you in Hell."
Ahc struggled to breathe and whispered what he could.
"Not if I see you first, fearless leader."
Ahc eyes closed and Raynor engaged his cloaking. He ran back to the wraiths where Sid and Zchivago were waiting. They had seen everything but said nothing. They knew it had to be done, if not for their sake, then for Ahc's. The engines engaged and the wraiths departed the platform. The zerg were now in full chase and they were gaining speed. The ships still had to power enough energy to use the cloaking fields. All they needed were a few more seconds, but the zerg were close behind. Raynor looked up to see a ship headed in their direction. It was a battlecruiser and by the looks of it, it was a UED vessel. Raynor tried to contact the ship to both warn them and maybe get a little more firepower.
"To the commander of the UED vessel. We are under attack by zerg forces. Request assistance. Do you copy?"
There was no response. Raynor tried again, but this time the ship opened fire. Lasers slammed into the armor and the small wraith group took evasive maneuvers. The cloaking field was online with not a moment to spare. The ships disappeared into thin air and nothing was left but the blackness of space. The wraiths fled the sector and finally landed at a small trade outpost. There they enlisted the services of a trained physician and the broken bones were healed. Without a ship or a crew the mission to kill Kerrigan was placed on hold. The three returned to Aiur and recuperate a devastating loss, of both a battle and a friend.
Meanwhile on the platform, Kerrigan stood over the body of Ahc. She looked towards the distance and saw that the UED cruiser had arrived.
"Get up you fool! The cruiser is here."
Ahc slowly rose to his feet, coughing up blood and a few teeth.
"Forgive me my queen. I had hoped to regenerate a little longer before our guests arrived."
"Well they are here now so get moving. I want every crew member who is under my control to be led to the main Hive. Any who resist, kill them."
"Yes my queen."
Ahc limped to the docking zone and the crew of the UED Saturn was escorted off. A few were resistant and tried to fight but packs of zerglings and hydralisks soon put an end to their resistance. Petrov met Kerrigan in her throne room and gave her an account of what occurred after his ship had abandoned the UED fleet.
"As you know, my crew was under your command and I left the battle to land my vessel and wait for Serov. I had convinced him to follow me and knew that you could use two ships and there crews as spies for your next conquest. I landed and soon an unknown zerg brood attacked us. They killed all of your spies and I was badly wounded. I regenerated and hid in Serov's cruiser. After I had completely healed I infested Serov and sabotaged the ship so that the chambers would malfunction. The crew awoke and set to work repairing the vessel. I was then able to infest the rest of the crew by contaminating the food rations. The crew and this vessel are now at your command."
"Excellent work Petrov, you have done well. A pity you do not know who mastered the renegade zerg. Where is Serov?"
"He is here my queen. Shall I bring him in?"
"Yes, bring him in here. I wish to speak with him as well."
Serov stepped into the room and bowed low.
"My queen I have very important news to bring you."
"And that is what?"
"To start my queen, have you ever heard of the Lost Temple?"
Serov relayed all the details of the Xel' Naga and the Lost Temple. He spoke of the great weapon and that the protoss had possession of it. Kerrigan was intrigued and her mind was quick to formulate a plan to obtain this new weapon.
But while Kerrigan dreams of victory so does another monarch. He too sits on a throne and contemplates victory over his enemies. He waits for news from his fleet that has been sent to capture the terran known as Samir Duran. Little does he realize that the Protoss too, are looking for Duran. Both fleets are soon to meet and it is unknown what course of action the commanders will take. Little do they know that their actions are monitored as every second goes by. Duran knows the age old adage. keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
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